Main Cast: Martine Carol, Peter Ustinov, Anton Walbrook, Oskar Werner, Ivan Desny, Will Quadflieg
Release Year: 1955
Country: FR/WG
Run Time: 115 minutes
Plot
Max Ophuls' final film (and his only movie in color) is a cinematic tour-de-force masquerading as a biography, in this case a dazzling fictionalized life of the notorious 19th century dancer, actress, and courtesan. A still beautiful, but weary and disillusioned (and, as we later discover, ailing) Lola Montes (Martine Carol) is first seen as the featured attraction at a seedy American circus, appearing at the center of a series of various tableaux depicting the scandalous events for which she is known. With a strangely sincere yet sinister and manipulative ringmaster (Peter Ustinov) providing color commentary, some of it very ironic on two or more levels, the movie flows between these staged recreations in the circus and the events as recalled by the subject. In a series of dissolves, the film takes us through her girlhood with her mother, interrupted when her mother's lover (Ivan Desni) becomes attached to the daughter; her unhappy marriage and its aftermath; romances with composer Franz Liszt (Will Quadflieg), abduction by a Russian general (in the arms of Cossacks, no less); her affairs across the landscape of Europe with men great and notable; her thwarted aspirations as a dancer; and her romance with King Ludwig I (Anton Walbrook) of Bavaria, which led to her being made Countess of Landsfeld, and, later, to his abdication. The gracefulness of Ophuls' cyclical narrative, and the transitions between the recalled elegance of the locales, and the people with whom her romances and affairs took place, and the seediness of the circus -- where she is also compelled, in the course of performing, to perform as an aerialist -- were lost on viewers in 1955. And for many years the movie only existed in a version re-cut without the director's approval, in which the story was presented in linear fashion. It was only in the 1960's, long after Ophuls' death, that efforts were made to restore the original structure, and in 2008 the movie's original Technicolor luster was restored to its full depth and richness. ~ Bruce Eder, All Movie Guide
Review
Lola Montès is acclaimed for showcasing the grand visual style of Max Ophuls, whose looming crane shots and 360-degree pans continue to impress critics, just as they did throughout his career. Though considerable liberty is taken with the life of the historic Lola Montès, the film remains an opulent chronicle of the loves and affairs of its title subject. For some critics (notably Andrew Sarris), this is one of the greatest films ever made. Others may feel that Ophuls' camera style is garish and tiresome or that the narrative lacks energy; and even some critics who praise the film as a masterpiece cite the central performance of Martine Carol as weak. Nearly all critics appreciate the film's technical brilliance and production design. ~ Richard Gilliam, All Movie Guide
Henri Guisol - Maurice; Lise Delamare - Mrs. Craigie; Germaine Delbat - Stewardess; Friedrich Domin - Circus Manager; Paulette Dubost - Josephine; Carl Esmond - The Doctor; Jean Galland - Private Secretary; Helena Manson - James' Sister; Marcel Ophüls; Claude Pinoteau - Conductor Claudio Pirotto; Werner Finck - Wisboeck; Daniel Mendaille - Captain; Willy Roesner - Minister
The film presents scenes from the life of the 19th century dancer Lola Montez as told by her via flashbacks from her current life - as a performer in a circus, where the ringmaster (Ustinov) befriends her.
This would be the last film directed by Ophüls before his death of a heart attack in March 1957. As originally shown in France in 1955, the audience sees the events of Lola Montès' life through the use of flashbacks. Use of the technique was criticized upon its release and the movie did poorly at the box office. In response, the producers re-cut the film and shortened it in favor of a more chronological storyline, against the director's wishes.
According to Roger Ebert, a "savagely butchered version was in circulation for a few years" following Ophuls' death.[1] The film critic Andrew Sarris and others eventually showed improved versions, progressively closer to the original, at the New York Film Festival in 1963 and 1968.
Restoration
Certain elements remained missing and believed lost forever, but the recent discovery of the lost footage allowed a new version to be edited according to Ophul's original intensions. It was shown at the New York Film Festival in the restored version on Sept. 26 – Oct. 12, 2008.[2]
Lola Montes was re-released by Rialto Pictures in November 2008 with the full Cinemascope aspect ratio restored and with five minutes of additional footage never before shown in any U.S. release.
