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The man this is about,
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Erich von Stroheim,
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actor and filmmaker,
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spent his life creating characters
for himself.
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Thus it is not useless
to enumerate
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what posterity retained of him.
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Here it is:
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The Dragoons lieutenant ,
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the immortal character,
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"Herr Direktor",
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the eccentric actor,
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the banned 'Caesar'.
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Erich von Stroheim lands in
America one day in 1909.
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A 25 year old immigrant lost in the mass?
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Not really.
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Sure, like many others, he works hard,
he slaves away, but misery doesn't undermine him.
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Railway hand, swimming lifeguard,
or salesman,
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he retains the aristocratic manners
and style in-keeping with his rank.
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He clicks his heels,
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for he is Erich Hans Oswald
Karl Maria Von Stroheim,
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former cadet,
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Dragoons lieutenant in the Imperial
army of Austria-Hungary.
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In 4 years, the lieutenant's thousand jobs
have him cross the continent east to west.
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California, Hollywood, cinema...
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are at the end of the rainbow,
by chance.
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In 1914,
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Hollywood is just a place.
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Progressively peopled by
movie pioneers.
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The most illustrious of which being
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David Wark Griffith.
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Whose story the Dragoon Lieutenant
is about to become a part of.
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Stroheim becomes one of many who
people what is referred to as "the pen".
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Some sort of paddock, visited
every morning by Griffith's assistants,
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To recruit, among the wishful crowd,
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those who'll have the privilege, for 2 dollars pay,
to become extras in the Master's movie.
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In his first gig, the Lieutenant becomes a stuntman.
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That's him falling off the roof in this
scene of Birth of a Nation.
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Take a good look at this footage.
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It seals Stroheim's union with cinema,
till death do them part...
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Stroheim does not settle
for jobs as an extra.
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00:03:25,894 --> 00:03:28,553
He puts his knowledge of uniforms and
military etiquette to good use,
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And becomes technical advisor or assistant to films
that deal with the army, or anything teutonic,
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Clicking his heels all the way through.
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The turning point, however, is the American
involvement in World War One.
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It takes propaganda films to win the masses to
the cause, and that's where Stroheim comes in.
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He owes his fame to his roles
as a despicable character.
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And that's what gave him the idea.
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He became "The Man You Love To Hate".
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Playing the 'dirty Hun' enabled him
to make his image and his face known.
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00:04:03,228 --> 00:04:07,866
He plays terrible, nurse-raping characters,
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stripping them with his teeth,
throwing babies out the window,
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rolling his eyes... anyway, that's
how he becomes known.
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What he liked about Griffith was
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his noble demeanor.
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Griffith was no royalty, but his
high-and-mighty profile seduced him.
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His panama hats, his style, his behaviour
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on a set - it all impressed
Stroheim a great deal, who saw
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in Griffith, nobility as it could exist
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humanly, in America. So he said to himself:
"This is what I have to be".
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Stroheim immediately saw that this was where power
was. Because on a set, the director is in charge.
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And that's what he aimed for from the first.
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His education was rather discreet, actually,
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because a ruler, by definition, knows
it all without having to learn it.
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So he trained himself by looking
over a lot of people's shoulders.
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Just because you're there only to
sweep the set doesn't mean you
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can't watch who does what, how this
is done or where that goes, and so on.
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Basically he learned his trade by
watching a lot of what was going on.
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At once, Stroheim wanted to do it all.
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He wanted to write, to direct,
to act, he wanted to do it all.
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He wanted his films to be his own.
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00:05:24,330 --> 00:05:27,607
In 1919, Stroheim takes the bull by the horns.
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He's written a script he wants to direct himself.
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He only has to convince
one man: Carl Laemmle,
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the almighty founder of Universal Studios.
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An hour-long face to face conversation
does the trick. It all happens in German.
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Stroheim relinquishes all rights on the script, against
the promise of a minimum budget allowance to film it.
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And for 200 dollars a week,
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he takes on the job of director
and lead actor.
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Putting yourself in Laemmle's
shoes you'd think: "Well,
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This young man has a project.
It's a tossup, but in the end,
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I don't have much to lose,
and it might be worth a try.
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Laemmle was a gambler, too.
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Also, they were both of Mittel-European Origin.
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That's where the film is set, and that
rings a bell to Laemmle as well,
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who was sensitive about his origins.
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So I guess all these elements weighed
on Laemmle's decision,
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and accounted for his decision to trust Stroheim.
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"Blind Husbands" is hardly a screen-test.
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Stroheim doesn't fumble. He asserts.
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His work methods are grueling and despotic.
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He screams, he scolds, he rewards,
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and swears like a sailor.
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But his crew soon realizes that this very
teutonic energy serves the film.
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For all the qualities that will blossom and become
his trademark in the masterpieces to come,
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Are there already.
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Realism, actor's direction, the emphasis on
"decoupage" over "montage" (?) (editing)
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Taste and use of the sets.
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And although he keeps it all rather classical, his
style already breaks from that of his revered master.
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How did he evolve from Griffith's
cinema to his own?
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For they don't have the same culture,
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They don't have the same past.
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But there is
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A common point, where
grandiose is concerned.
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Because Stroheim loves to
set up splendor.
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Griffith did the Babylonian era...
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Stroheim sets his ceremonies in
St-Stephen's Cathedral in Vienna.
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These are two different forms of realism.
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They are both in the melodrama, in a way,
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But I'd say that Stroheim
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Is more
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Credible in his realism...
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He's also much more of a Mittel-European,
but then, how do you define that....
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It's complicated, because he...
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He captures the sordid, he....
He's more into the intimate, in fact.
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There are a lot of things Griffith would
never have allowed himself to delve into.
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In fact Stroheim goes a lot further with
everything that has to do with sexuality.
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Undeniably, Stroheim went for the shock value.
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He shocked profoundly because he
brought about a revolution
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In his depiction of sexuality,
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And I think that this is a fundamental difference
from everything that preceded him,
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And what was it that preceded him? There's Griffith,
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Who is after all a 19th Century man,
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There's Dickens, the spirit of Dickens,
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The pure maidens and all that, who, actually,
also exist in Stroheim's world.
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But it's still Griffith....
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As Stroheim says:
"At the end of a Griffith movie..."
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"They marry and live happily ever after -
and to me, that's where the film begins"
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i.e., the consequences of marriage, and
not marriage as a happy ending...
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00:08:59,544 --> 00:09:05,596
He said he found it surprising that people
were allowed to attack banks in the movies
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00:09:05,874 --> 00:09:08,804
But they were not allowed to desire a woman,
which, indeed, at the time, was not acceptable.
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And so THAT was what Stroheim filmed.
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The critics love "Blind Husbands",
and the public flocks to see it.
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The film is a huge commercial success.
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Laemmle's not sorry about his gamble
and produces Stroheim's second film,
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"The Devil's Passkey", also a
great commercial success,
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but of which there are no
extant copies today.
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00:09:33,432 --> 00:09:35,017
Laemmle now only swears
by his newfound genius,
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And for the next movie, he
gives him "carte blanche".
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Stroheim is given free rein
to choose his story,
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His script, his cast & crew.
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And he has an unlimited budget.
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Erich von Stroheim,
former Dragoons Lieutenant,
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has become "Herr Direktor".
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"Foolish Wives" is his first masterpiece.
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'Herr Direktor' spared no expense.
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00:10:06,168 --> 00:10:07,973
And even though censors cut
out a great deal from the film,
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They were unable to extinguish
its poisonous charm.
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Stroheim shows European crooks
that are morally repugnant,
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but extremely attractive.
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Their luxury, their manners, their frivolity.
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00:10:19,108 --> 00:10:21,690
Their loose morals, their sophistication,
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are in opposition with the
simplicity of Americans,
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00:10:24,308 --> 00:10:27,355
Straightforward, well-meaning, clumsy.
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Stroheim confronts these characters
within so fascinating a Monte-Carlo,
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So realistic, that Jean Renoir,
discovering the film in Paris,
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concludes that it was the real
Monte-Carlo that was wrong.
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There's something very interesting in
"Foolish Wives", I think...
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00:10:46,653 --> 00:10:49,688
And it is that Stroheim plays
with what HE is all about.
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00:10:49,808 --> 00:10:54,250
Like a virtuoso joggler, because...
160
00:10:54,370 --> 00:10:57,281
The main theme of his film is "the fake".
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He makes a film in which there's a fake
Russian count, fake princesses, fake money...
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Fake feelings... It takes place in Monaco,
a city in which one's earnings
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are fake - where everything is fake.
164
00:11:09,672 --> 00:11:14,452
And nobody notices that he is denouncing
what he is and the world he lives in.
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00:11:15,314 --> 00:11:17,615
It took 'Herr Direktor' almost
a year to shoot his film.
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00:11:18,197 --> 00:11:21,400
His demands are boundless, and meet none.
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00:11:21,520 --> 00:11:26,219
The Monte-Carlo casino is entirely rebuilt
in Monterey, near San Francisco,
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300 miles away from Hollywood.
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Armies of carpenters, masons, plasterers,
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work on it for months.
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00:11:33,248 --> 00:11:36,628
Stroheim also demands that the buildings
windows be made of real glass,
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00:11:36,748 --> 00:11:39,567
instead of wire netting, so that
they may be lit at night,
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and that they can be opened.
174
00:11:41,449 --> 00:11:44,219
He also wants the hotel bells to ring for real.
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It's a silent film,
but he has bells
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set up in the ceilings
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to page the servants.
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00:11:54,575 --> 00:11:57,420
Seems absurd... why
bother? For a silent film?
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00:11:57,540 --> 00:11:58,885
But it's really out of
concern for realism.
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00:11:59,110 --> 00:12:02,284
To give the actors
the feeling that...
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00:12:02,692 --> 00:12:05,208
Well, as far as they were concerned,
they were in a talking picture,
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00:12:05,328 --> 00:12:07,959
While performing on the
set of 'Foolish Wives'.
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00:12:08,166 --> 00:12:11,603
So you heard the bells because
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00:12:11,723 --> 00:12:16,196
some bellboy or other
was being paged.
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00:12:18,007 --> 00:12:20,542
In Stroheim's case, the scenery
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is of pivotal importance.
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As if he came from
the theatre.
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00:12:24,334 --> 00:12:26,213
Because very often, the directors who
are known for their elaborate sets,
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00:12:26,333 --> 00:12:27,847
Like Welles, Losey,
190
00:12:28,198 --> 00:12:31,945
Or Visconti... they are people
who come from the theatre.
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00:12:32,193 --> 00:12:35,667
A man like Kubrick...
his obsession
192
00:12:36,135 --> 00:12:39,910
for accuracy and maniacal precision
193
00:12:40,236 --> 00:12:42,800
echoes that of Stroheim.
194
00:12:42,920 --> 00:12:45,843
Including where extravagant
budgets are concerned.
195
00:12:45,963 --> 00:12:48,612
The recreation of the hotel for
'The Shining', for example.
196
00:12:48,732 --> 00:12:50,010
It was in Colorado.
197
00:12:50,130 --> 00:12:53,869
He had it rebuilt completely
198
00:12:54,188 --> 00:12:56,207
in studios near London.
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00:12:56,327 --> 00:12:58,937
That's really very Stroheimian.
200
00:13:01,697 --> 00:13:04,599
Inevitably, the budget for 'Foolish Wives'
is blown out of all proportion.
201
00:13:05,164 --> 00:13:07,888
To the extent that Universal
decides to advertize it,
202
00:13:08,292 --> 00:13:10,939
Giving the film its famous tagline:
"The First Million Dollar Picture".
203
00:13:14,310 --> 00:13:16,686
Stroheim's extravagances
are publicized,
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00:13:16,949 --> 00:13:19,315
exaggerated, and,
if need be, made up.
205
00:13:34,130 --> 00:13:35,632
Stroheim's actors are true,
206
00:13:35,998 --> 00:13:38,083
even when the characters
are over the top.
207
00:13:38,612 --> 00:13:41,288
Stroheim wants, and obtains,
that their gestures,
208
00:13:41,550 --> 00:13:43,616
their gaze, their gait,
209
00:13:43,736 --> 00:13:45,673
the way they pass each
other, be credible.
210
00:13:46,643 --> 00:13:48,924
Whether they are surrounded by
dozens of extras, like in this scene,
211
00:13:49,281 --> 00:13:52,465
Or alone, facing the camera,
in a single shot,
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00:13:52,755 --> 00:13:55,600
like Dale Fuller, possessed here
with homicidal jalousy.
213
00:14:10,710 --> 00:14:13,387
It's true that Stroheim instantly
knows how to direct his actors.
214
00:14:13,507 --> 00:14:16,279
Stroheim has always used
215
00:14:16,399 --> 00:14:19,031
- and I say "used" without any
negative connotations -
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00:14:19,241 --> 00:14:21,804
actors who were not famous.
217
00:14:21,924 --> 00:14:24,208
He favoured unknown actors,
218
00:14:24,407 --> 00:14:26,877
so that he could shape them himself.
219
00:14:26,997 --> 00:14:28,576
He had two methods:
220
00:14:28,696 --> 00:14:32,041
Either he didn't say anything and had them
go through retake after retake after retake,
221
00:14:32,378 --> 00:14:34,567
And when I say "retakes"...
222
00:14:37,425 --> 00:14:39,913
Generally, what could be considered
reasonable would be five takes or so.
223
00:14:40,579 --> 00:14:42,635
For Stroheim, 20 or 30 takes
per scene would be the norm.
224
00:14:42,755 --> 00:14:45,028
And what's more,
he often retook it
225
00:14:45,148 --> 00:14:46,794
without so much as giving his actors
a clue on what he expected from them.
226
00:14:46,914 --> 00:14:50,268
He just made retake after retake,
without any indication whatsoever,
227
00:14:50,388 --> 00:14:52,194
between the takes.
228
00:14:52,314 --> 00:14:55,200
His directorial methods were
also very tyrannical.
229
00:14:55,320 --> 00:14:57,106
He was extremely demanding,
230
00:14:57,377 --> 00:14:59,246
not unlike Kubrick in this respect.
231
00:14:59,518 --> 00:15:01,096
He put his actors through
terrible ordeals,
232
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All he retakes and so on,
233
00:15:03,737 --> 00:15:06,235
Putting them in Death Valley
234
00:15:06,355 --> 00:15:07,333
for the end scene of 'Greed',
235
00:15:07,722 --> 00:15:10,727
Without any water, in terrible
conditions, in order to really
236
00:15:10,847 --> 00:15:14,341
get that realism he was looking for.
237
00:15:15,657 --> 00:15:19,001
Or he would have them
live on the very sets,
238
00:15:19,930 --> 00:15:21,442
On Polk Street,
239
00:15:21,562 --> 00:15:23,780
in the filthy digs...
240
00:15:23,995 --> 00:15:26,089
Despite all that, the actors loved him
241
00:15:26,427 --> 00:15:28,511
Because they realized that he
was getting the best out of them,
242
00:15:28,852 --> 00:15:31,960
and that all these constraints,
all these efforts yielded results.
243
00:15:34,588 --> 00:15:35,565
Since 'Blind Husbands',
244
00:15:35,997 --> 00:15:37,621
Stroheim surrounded himself
with loyal cast & crew members:
245
00:15:37,969 --> 00:15:40,542
Actors, seasoned technicians,
246
00:15:40,823 --> 00:15:44,165
and rankless minions, all of whom
constituted his 'Pretorian Guard'.
247
00:15:46,831 --> 00:15:49,244
Among the actors
were Dale Fuller
248
00:15:49,892 --> 00:15:51,085
And Cesare Gravina,
249
00:15:51,348 --> 00:15:52,662
Who were cast in almost
every one of his films.
250
00:15:55,723 --> 00:15:57,094
There is also Gibson Gowland,
251
00:15:57,752 --> 00:15:59,151
who played Sepp in 'Blind Husbands',
252
00:15:59,433 --> 00:16:01,105
and McTeague in 'Greed'.
253
00:16:06,669 --> 00:16:09,439
And then there's ZaSu Pitts.
The Great ZaSu Pitts,
254
00:16:09,946 --> 00:16:10,866
who becomes after 'Greed'
255
00:16:11,242 --> 00:16:14,218
the forced and unloved bride
in 'The Wedding March'.
256
00:16:15,362 --> 00:16:18,573
Also worth mentioning is the duo formed
by Will Daniels and Ben Reynolds,
257
00:16:18,892 --> 00:16:20,507
who photographed 6 out of his 10 films.
258
00:16:20,990 --> 00:16:23,919
And Richard Day, Hollywood's
most exacting art director,
259
00:16:24,267 --> 00:16:25,544
contributed to even more.
260
00:16:26,004 --> 00:16:28,041
There are two types of creators
in the movies.
261
00:16:28,161 --> 00:16:30,661
There are those who change
collaborators all the time,
262
00:16:30,970 --> 00:16:33,252
and those who like to have a company,
263
00:16:33,550 --> 00:16:35,803
the most obvious example being Bergman,
264
00:16:36,911 --> 00:16:38,169
And Griffith, as well.
265
00:16:38,289 --> 00:16:39,888
And in my opinion he takes
after Griffith in this respect.
266
00:16:40,388 --> 00:16:41,703
I think he wanted a company....
267
00:16:41,823 --> 00:16:43,798
Which, for one thing, proves
that his actors loved him,
268
00:16:43,918 --> 00:16:45,610
since they appeared several times
269
00:16:45,910 --> 00:16:47,441
in his films,
270
00:16:47,561 --> 00:16:49,664
And also because the
kind of movies he made
271
00:16:50,481 --> 00:16:53,420
Could get him in trouble
with the producers,
272
00:16:53,617 --> 00:16:55,711
He had to have a trustworthy,
273
00:16:55,831 --> 00:16:57,100
homogeneous company around him,
274
00:16:57,300 --> 00:16:58,709
who would be on his side.
275
00:16:58,829 --> 00:17:00,587
He couldn't afford to be betrayed
276
00:17:00,707 --> 00:17:02,634
by co-workers who could
277
00:17:03,444 --> 00:17:04,459
takes sides with....
278
00:17:04,579 --> 00:17:06,328
So when he gained people's trust,
279
00:17:07,735 --> 00:17:09,388
He wanted to retain them.
280
00:17:09,602 --> 00:17:12,588
After 'Foolish Wives' came
'Merry Go Round'.
281
00:17:12,898 --> 00:17:14,100
A film from which Stroheim was fired.
282
00:17:15,526 --> 00:17:16,700
But we'll come back to it later.
283
00:17:16,906 --> 00:17:20,437
For time has come to speak of the film
that gave the former Dragoon Lieutenant
284
00:17:21,042 --> 00:17:22,159
His share of immortality.
285
00:17:22,853 --> 00:17:23,501
The cursed,
286
00:17:23,970 --> 00:17:24,750
the imperishable,
287
00:17:24,994 --> 00:17:25,633
the mutilated...
288
00:17:27,511 --> 00:17:27,943
'Greed'.
289
00:17:31,616 --> 00:17:34,123
'Greed' as we know it,
the film-library classic,
290
00:17:34,333 --> 00:17:36,802
the film that dazzled Eisenstein,
Bunuel and Cocteau,
291
00:17:37,178 --> 00:17:39,741
is but the pale shadow of
the film made by Stroheim.
292
00:17:40,885 --> 00:17:41,665
Rex Ingram,
293
00:17:41,956 --> 00:17:43,918
who directed 'The Four
Horsemen of The Apocalypse',
294
00:17:44,038 --> 00:17:44,904
and a friend of Stroheim's,
295
00:17:45,130 --> 00:17:47,497
cut the film down, upon Stroheim's
request, to a 3:30 hour long version.
296
00:17:48,359 --> 00:17:50,256
Ingram delivered his
version warning him that
297
00:17:50,481 --> 00:17:53,242
"If you cut out another inch,
I'll never speak to you again".
298
00:17:56,329 --> 00:17:56,930
But that was in vain.
299
00:17:57,355 --> 00:17:59,459
Irving Thalberg ordered his editor
300
00:17:59,825 --> 00:18:02,642
to cut the film down to the two-hour
long version we know and love,
301
00:18:02,980 --> 00:18:04,247
and which Stroheim disowned.
302
00:18:06,842 --> 00:18:08,382
What was lost from 'Greed'
303
00:18:08,502 --> 00:18:09,725
- the great mine scenes,
304
00:18:09,845 --> 00:18:13,143
the subplot involving the old couple
who live in Trina & McTeague's building -
305
00:18:13,743 --> 00:18:15,414
remains in the form of set stills,
306
00:18:15,780 --> 00:18:17,621
inert and evocative.
307
00:18:19,272 --> 00:18:22,239
Reduced to its main plot,
badly distributed,
308
00:18:22,359 --> 00:18:24,535
'Greed' turns out to be an
abyssal financial flop.
309
00:18:25,258 --> 00:18:27,897
A film on the corruptive power of money,
310
00:18:28,394 --> 00:18:30,198
'Greed' was the source of a massive
financial loss to its producers.
311
00:18:30,906 --> 00:18:31,686
And yet,
312
00:18:31,892 --> 00:18:34,540
Everyone knows that the reasons
that make 'Greed' a cursed film
313
00:18:34,756 --> 00:18:35,507
lay elsewhere.
314
00:18:35,910 --> 00:18:38,145
'Greed' was, to begin with,
315
00:18:38,265 --> 00:18:40,389
rejected by the popular press,
316
00:18:41,074 --> 00:18:43,656
who were outraged by
the film. Truly outraged,
317
00:18:43,776 --> 00:18:46,437
while at the same time being
supported by art lovers,
318
00:18:46,557 --> 00:18:49,057
by critics and other filmmakers.
319
00:18:52,999 --> 00:18:56,999
The problem is that, besides 'Greed',
which is set in the United States,
320
00:18:57,328 --> 00:18:58,915
All of Stroheim's films are set in Europe.
321
00:18:59,115 --> 00:19:01,340
And the fact that they are set
in Europe, as costume dramas,
322
00:19:01,460 --> 00:19:05,040
Either in the Austro-Hungarian
Empire, or in fictional countries,
323
00:19:05,246 --> 00:19:09,228
Like Ruritania or Monte-Bianco,
in 'The Merry Widow',
324
00:19:09,348 --> 00:19:11,680
Or 'Queen Kelly''s Ruritania,
325
00:19:12,402 --> 00:19:14,750
Made the pill easier to swallow,
because to the American public,
326
00:19:14,870 --> 00:19:16,750
The immoral behaviour that was
under scrutiny was not American.
327
00:19:16,870 --> 00:19:18,422
It was all transposed...
328
00:19:18,542 --> 00:19:19,915
It was Old World decadence.
329
00:19:20,035 --> 00:19:21,838
The Europe of sexual debauchery,
330
00:19:21,958 --> 00:19:25,444
the Europe of the idle rich,
331
00:19:25,564 --> 00:19:27,717
of corrupt aristocracy,
332
00:19:28,375 --> 00:19:32,093
All this in contrast to the puritan ethics
praising work for the sake of work.
333
00:19:32,316 --> 00:19:34,016
So the foreign setting
334
00:19:34,994 --> 00:19:37,782
sort of softened the shock
335
00:19:37,902 --> 00:19:40,477
it could have provoked if
he had set the same story
336
00:19:40,597 --> 00:19:43,294
and characters in the American society.
337
00:19:43,414 --> 00:19:47,344
Hence the public's violent
rejection of 'Greed',
338
00:19:47,607 --> 00:19:49,456
Because, this time,
it was about America.
339
00:19:52,290 --> 00:19:53,924
He is a naturalist.
340
00:19:55,501 --> 00:19:58,422
Which means that he is
really a man of his era.
341
00:19:58,542 --> 00:19:59,946
The difference being that
342
00:20:00,265 --> 00:20:02,143
what was commonplace in literature,
343
00:20:02,444 --> 00:20:04,500
was absolutely exceptional in cinema.
344
00:20:04,826 --> 00:20:06,845
The quest for truth,
345
00:20:06,965 --> 00:20:09,240
the quest for the genuine,
346
00:20:09,360 --> 00:20:11,324
for the truthful impression,
347
00:20:11,534 --> 00:20:15,374
this aspiration to get rid
of all pretence,
348
00:20:15,494 --> 00:20:16,895
to get rid of all the trickery,
349
00:20:17,015 --> 00:20:18,962
that was what the great
novelists aimed for,
350
00:20:19,331 --> 00:20:20,702
ever since Balzac, Flaubert,
351
00:20:20,822 --> 00:20:24,138
Zola being the culmination, as
one shifts from realism to naturalism,
352
00:20:25,067 --> 00:20:27,658
and in a way, that's what
Stroheim attempted to do.
353
00:20:29,543 --> 00:20:32,848
The whole corporeal aspect of 'Greed',
354
00:20:32,968 --> 00:20:35,628
the physiological approach,
355
00:20:35,997 --> 00:20:39,481
eating, gorging oneself,
356
00:20:40,843 --> 00:20:42,383
it's all part of life.
357
00:20:42,592 --> 00:20:44,940
To Stroheim, that's part
of life, so he shows it.
358
00:20:45,060 --> 00:20:47,634
He wants to show life
as it is. Again,
359
00:20:47,754 --> 00:20:50,709
This insistance on asserting
360
00:20:50,829 --> 00:20:52,324
the importance of the real.
361
00:20:52,444 --> 00:20:55,058
He is against all edulcoration.
362
00:20:55,546 --> 00:20:57,293
And from there on,
363
00:20:58,307 --> 00:21:00,091
Man is an animal also,
364
00:21:01,038 --> 00:21:02,559
He is not ONLY an animal,
but he is ALSO an animal,
365
00:21:02,679 --> 00:21:04,831
So his animalistic urges are shown.
366
00:21:05,639 --> 00:21:08,230
Had he been allowed to,
Stroheim would have shown
367
00:21:08,350 --> 00:21:10,662
copulation.
368
00:21:10,905 --> 00:21:13,497
He would have done it
artfully, but he would have shown
369
00:21:13,693 --> 00:21:16,181
things that could have shocked people,
370
00:21:16,301 --> 00:21:19,129
things that you can show today,
but that you couldn't show back then.
371
00:21:25,732 --> 00:21:28,492
Stretching over seven months,
the shooting of 'Greed' was epic.
372
00:21:29,220 --> 00:21:32,036
The scenes shot in the Valley of Death
373
00:21:32,271 --> 00:21:33,464
Were also the film's end scenes.
374
00:21:34,124 --> 00:21:36,894
A 37 day purgatory for
the 41 crew members,
375
00:21:37,014 --> 00:21:38,743
14 of whom had to be brought
back to civilization.
376
00:21:40,892 --> 00:21:44,255
'Herr Direktor' seemed to adapt to the
scorching heat better than everyone else,
377
00:21:44,649 --> 00:21:47,513
And managed to bring his little
crowd exactly where he wanted.
378
00:21:48,416 --> 00:21:51,346
What's more, it's August, so he just happens
to be shooting this during the hottest month.
379
00:21:51,466 --> 00:21:53,074
The ground, legend has it,
380
00:21:53,345 --> 00:21:56,509
When you rub your body on the ground
- and their skin was burnt by the sun by then -
381
00:21:56,629 --> 00:22:00,301
So they had blisters, and the blisters burst
when in contact with the ground.
382
00:22:00,421 --> 00:22:04,142
The ground, itself, is littered with
substances that make it burn,
383
00:22:04,262 --> 00:22:07,188
When the skin comes
in contact with it.
384
00:22:07,308 --> 00:22:09,272
So these are the conditions in which the
two actors have to wrestle in the scene.
385
00:22:09,392 --> 00:22:11,620
And Stroheim tells them:
386
00:22:11,969 --> 00:22:13,922
(These are the ultimate moments)
And he tells them:
387
00:22:14,042 --> 00:22:18,044
"Fight! Try to hate each other
as much as you both hate me!"
388
00:22:18,164 --> 00:22:19,921
And the fight he got
was indeed realistic.
389
00:22:24,582 --> 00:22:27,428
Stroheim created his characters
in a very special way.
390
00:22:27,663 --> 00:22:30,057
When there was someone
who had to appear on screen,
391
00:22:30,177 --> 00:22:33,099
He needed, for this person to
have a genuine existence,
392
00:22:33,219 --> 00:22:35,768
To invent his or her complete biography.
393
00:22:35,964 --> 00:22:40,264
Screenwriters who worked
with him attested to this.
394
00:22:40,384 --> 00:22:43,034
They said: "I saw Stroheim come up with
395
00:22:43,154 --> 00:22:47,267
This young girl's mother, her past,
her childhood, her youth
396
00:22:47,387 --> 00:22:48,032
- That of the mother! -
397
00:22:48,152 --> 00:22:50,989
Even though that character was
never even to appear on screen".
398
00:22:51,186 --> 00:22:54,594
He needed to come up with
the day of her communion,
399
00:22:54,714 --> 00:22:56,753
The disease that struck her
at this or that age,
400
00:22:56,873 --> 00:23:00,368
All of which enabled him to set
his characters on solid ground.
401
00:23:02,840 --> 00:23:06,098
After the extravagances of 'Foolish Wives'
and being fired from 'Merry Go Round',
402
00:23:06,462 --> 00:23:11,027
The failure of 'Greed' gives Stroheim's
reputation a detestable reek among producers.
403
00:23:11,724 --> 00:23:14,202
Among them Thalberg,
who has been mentioned already,
404
00:23:14,322 --> 00:23:15,986
and whose path crossed
his several times before.
405
00:23:16,371 --> 00:23:18,259
So much so that the story
of their infernal relationship
406
00:23:18,379 --> 00:23:20,108
Long served as
the exemplary fable
407
00:23:20,228 --> 00:23:22,907
For all those who saw in it the
triumph of the grocer over the artist.
408
00:23:24,468 --> 00:23:27,463
The Stroheim / Thalberg
relationship is particular.
409
00:23:27,773 --> 00:23:29,848
Stroheim and Thalberg met
410
00:23:30,090 --> 00:23:31,894
during 'Foolish Wives'.
411
00:23:32,316 --> 00:23:33,969
Stroheim was shooting 'Foolish Wives'.
412
00:23:34,089 --> 00:23:36,898
And halfway through arrives Thalberg,
413
00:23:37,018 --> 00:23:39,756
Dropping in from nowhere thanks
to Laemmle, who trusts him.
414
00:23:39,953 --> 00:23:43,568
And it dawns on Thalberg that this
project is beginning to be costly.
415
00:23:43,688 --> 00:23:47,050
Running overboard both where the
deadline and the budget are concerned.
416
00:23:47,170 --> 00:23:50,063
Thalberg summons Stroheim,
who replies:
417
00:23:50,183 --> 00:23:53,839
"If you fire the director,
you fire the lead actor as well".
418
00:23:54,067 --> 00:23:58,414
And since he has started shooting the film
with the scenes involving his character,
419
00:23:58,534 --> 00:24:00,245
There's nothing Thalberg can do.
420
00:24:00,501 --> 00:24:04,520
So much for controlling Stroheim
on 'Foolish Wives'.
421
00:24:04,782 --> 00:24:07,477
Then comes the next film,
422
00:24:07,597 --> 00:24:09,204
'Merry Go Round'.
423
00:24:09,420 --> 00:24:11,842
On 'Merry Go Round',
Thalberg is suspicious.
424
00:24:11,962 --> 00:24:14,903
Thalberg, by then, was made
head of production by Laemmle,
425
00:24:15,023 --> 00:24:18,199
And he says to himself: "I have
to watch over that Stroheim fellow
426
00:24:18,319 --> 00:24:21,548
Or else he's gonna explode budget
and deadline all over again".
427
00:24:21,668 --> 00:24:26,102
So he sets up a system involving
a Director of Unit Production,
428
00:24:26,222 --> 00:24:29,236
Some guy called Hum.
429
00:24:30,591 --> 00:24:33,511
So this guy is supposed to
430
00:24:33,631 --> 00:24:38,649
Watch over the proceedings
and report everything to Thalberg.
431
00:24:39,055 --> 00:24:41,938
Stroheim is incensed by the idea,
432
00:24:42,058 --> 00:24:44,839
He dislikes the guy from the get-go,
433
00:24:46,296 --> 00:24:49,808
He schemes to have the rest of the
crew dislike him as well,
434
00:24:50,005 --> 00:24:53,433
And basically, he stalls while the guy is
around, and as soon as he leaves,
435
00:24:53,553 --> 00:24:55,751
he says: "we can get to work
now that the spy is gone".
436
00:24:55,871 --> 00:24:57,770
"Now let's really get down to it".
437
00:24:58,280 --> 00:24:59,557
He plays rotten tricks on him...
438
00:24:59,677 --> 00:25:00,769
Rotten indeed.
439
00:25:01,031 --> 00:25:03,078
So much so that Thalberg, who
hasn't even turned 22 yet,
440
00:25:03,332 --> 00:25:04,722
but who mesmerized Carl Laemmle,
441
00:25:05,031 --> 00:25:06,816
takes a historical and
definitive decision:
442
00:25:07,162 --> 00:25:08,288
He fires Stroheim.
443
00:25:08,922 --> 00:25:09,861
A self-effacing craftsman,
444
00:25:10,199 --> 00:25:13,954
Rupert Julian, finished the film instead.
"Herr Direktor" disowned it.
445
00:25:15,435 --> 00:25:16,768
Then came 'Greed',
446
00:25:17,078 --> 00:25:19,614
For which Stroheim signed with
Samuel Goldwyn's company.
447
00:25:20,713 --> 00:25:24,093
During shooting, it was bought and
absorbed by Metro
448
00:25:24,213 --> 00:25:26,772
and Louis B. Mayer, to form MGM.
449
00:25:27,667 --> 00:25:28,991
And thus Thalberg,
450
00:25:29,196 --> 00:25:30,398
Fresh off Universal,
451
00:25:30,745 --> 00:25:32,726
and Executive Director
of the new company,
452
00:25:32,961 --> 00:25:35,759
was able to order and commission
the butchering of 'Greed'.
453
00:25:36,820 --> 00:25:39,637
Stroheim's contract with Goldwyn
covered two motion pictures,
454
00:25:39,757 --> 00:25:41,826
and it was again under Thalberg's
close supervision
455
00:25:42,051 --> 00:25:43,873
that he started working
on the next feature:
456
00:25:44,260 --> 00:25:45,236
'The Merry Widow'.
457
00:25:46,391 --> 00:25:49,612
Thalberg thinks: "Okay,
here's this genius director,
458
00:25:49,732 --> 00:25:51,549
whom I must manage
459
00:25:51,831 --> 00:25:53,756
to keep under control -
how do I go about it?"
460
00:25:53,953 --> 00:25:56,394
And Thalberg is going to set up
a very ingenious stragegy.
461
00:25:56,797 --> 00:26:00,477
The keystone of his system
is to hire a star.
462
00:26:00,692 --> 00:26:04,505
Stroheim had never worked
with stars before.
463
00:26:04,712 --> 00:26:06,308
And on this film, he's gonna have
to deal with two at the same time:
464
00:26:06,428 --> 00:26:08,362
Mae Murray and John Gilbert.
465
00:26:08,482 --> 00:26:12,803
Gilbert doesn't pose any problem,
he's relatively flexible.
466
00:26:12,923 --> 00:26:17,552
There is a confrontation or two, but these
get settled around a bottle, no big deal.
467
00:26:17,909 --> 00:26:19,759
It's another story with Mae Murray.
468
00:26:19,955 --> 00:26:23,147
Mae Murray is a star, and she
wants to be in charge,
469
00:26:23,267 --> 00:26:25,111
with the director at her orders.
470
00:26:25,391 --> 00:26:28,630
Naturally, Stroheim won't hear of it,
and he intends to keep the power.
471
00:26:29,395 --> 00:26:32,559
She kept bitching: "He's doing
this and that, it'll be terrible".
472
00:26:42,794 --> 00:26:44,343
And Thalberg replied:
473
00:26:44,463 --> 00:26:48,795
"Let him have his way: He depicts
degeneracy, decrepitude,"
474
00:26:48,915 --> 00:26:50,813
"this man is a genius, let him
do it the way he wants".
475
00:26:56,508 --> 00:26:59,428
I gues Stroheim disowned
the film afterwards
476
00:27:01,738 --> 00:27:04,226
because Thalberg managed to
477
00:27:04,346 --> 00:27:06,780
demonstrate how one could
direct Stroheim.
478
00:27:06,900 --> 00:27:07,522
And THAT,
479
00:27:07,935 --> 00:27:09,747
being ordered around,
was not something he liked.
480
00:27:09,957 --> 00:27:11,478
And especially to note
that it had worked...
481
00:27:11,769 --> 00:27:14,332
I guess that is really what
disturbed him, in a way.
482
00:27:15,525 --> 00:27:18,576
After 'The Merry Widow',
Stroheim made 'The Wedding March'.
483
00:27:18,815 --> 00:27:20,739
A realistic and melancholy fairy-tale,
484
00:27:20,974 --> 00:27:22,627
another great popular success.
485
00:27:24,120 --> 00:27:26,946
And yet, Stroheim's film-making
career is nearing its end.
486
00:27:28,340 --> 00:27:31,307
Inexorably, he becomes
the great banished lord.
487
00:27:35,701 --> 00:27:38,330
I think his films did make money,
488
00:27:38,624 --> 00:27:42,089
so that is not the main reason
489
00:27:42,209 --> 00:27:44,286
why he stopped making films.
490
00:27:44,406 --> 00:27:47,272
The problem is actually
Stroheim's behaviour
491
00:27:47,392 --> 00:27:49,028
More than his financial disasters.
492
00:27:49,148 --> 00:27:51,352
Stroheim was a director who could,
potentially, make a lot of money,
493
00:27:51,472 --> 00:27:54,160
but who had to be watched over. Someone
who was unmanageable, in other words.
494
00:27:54,280 --> 00:27:56,734
He lived at a turning point
495
00:27:56,854 --> 00:27:59,185
in Hollywood history,
496
00:27:59,305 --> 00:28:04,076
namely the fusion of the great
companies, Paramount, Metro and so on,
497
00:28:04,196 --> 00:28:06,630
that will become the 7 majors,
498
00:28:06,750 --> 00:28:08,167
later, in the 30's.
499
00:28:08,287 --> 00:28:10,327
Well, he did spend outrageous
amounts of money.
500
00:28:10,447 --> 00:28:12,882
And another problem with Stroheim
was that you knew where it began,
501
00:28:13,002 --> 00:28:15,079
but you never knew where it would end.
502
00:28:15,359 --> 00:28:18,261
He kept rewriting scenes along the way,
503
00:28:18,381 --> 00:28:20,618
extending shooting days,
504
00:28:20,738 --> 00:28:22,559
- and when we say "days"...
505
00:28:22,679 --> 00:28:24,540
it meant the nights as well...
506
00:28:25,703 --> 00:28:28,023
So it was really
extensible at will.
507
00:28:28,239 --> 00:28:31,328
From 1924, 1925 onwards,
508
00:28:31,734 --> 00:28:34,336
Scrutiny became tighter.
509
00:28:34,731 --> 00:28:36,750
There was less and less room
for the independant artist.
510
00:28:36,870 --> 00:28:38,327
It becomes more and more difficult.
511
00:28:38,645 --> 00:28:42,391
And it became even more
difficult 5 years later,
512
00:28:42,511 --> 00:28:44,016
with the advent of the talkies.
513
00:28:44,136 --> 00:28:46,224
Because when the talkies come round,
514
00:28:46,487 --> 00:28:48,055
films are a lot more expensive to make.
515
00:28:48,266 --> 00:28:50,961
It is quite out of the question
to reshoot scenes
516
00:28:51,081 --> 00:28:54,237
when the audio has been
worked on already,
517
00:28:54,435 --> 00:28:57,740
or when there's been
direct sound capture.
518
00:28:57,860 --> 00:28:59,461
With silent pictures, it was easy.
519
00:28:59,581 --> 00:29:02,531
Chaplin took a year to make
a movie, he made retakes,
520
00:29:02,651 --> 00:29:05,546
he reshot it, and so one,
it wasn't quite as costly.
521
00:29:05,666 --> 00:29:09,187
From the moment when the technical equipment
became considerable because of talkies,
522
00:29:09,398 --> 00:29:10,769
films are a lot more expensive,
523
00:29:10,889 --> 00:29:14,611
scripts are extremely precise,
while during the silent era,
524
00:29:14,731 --> 00:29:16,415
there was a lot of improvisation,
525
00:29:16,535 --> 00:29:19,495
there was a huge freedom on the set.
526
00:29:19,615 --> 00:29:22,152
From the moment when
costs had to be reduced,
527
00:29:22,272 --> 00:29:24,302
and useless expenses
had to be avoided,
528
00:29:24,422 --> 00:29:26,217
scripts were being followed to the letter.
529
00:29:26,337 --> 00:29:28,386
Very scrupulously.
530
00:29:28,506 --> 00:29:29,842
So the script became a stranglehold.
531
00:29:29,962 --> 00:29:33,745
Filmmakers were under surveillance.
532
00:29:34,373 --> 00:29:36,739
He directs another picture.
One last gem:
533
00:29:36,974 --> 00:29:37,642
Queen Kelly,
534
00:29:37,762 --> 00:29:39,266
Starring Gloria Swanson,
535
00:29:39,386 --> 00:29:41,097
And Senator Joe Kennedy's money.
536
00:29:42,055 --> 00:29:43,294
But it is an unfinished gem.
537
00:29:43,685 --> 00:29:46,717
Swanson, however much she admires
his films, and who doesn't have cold feet,
538
00:29:47,009 --> 00:29:49,046
thinks that this time, he goes too far.
539
00:29:49,471 --> 00:29:52,852
This S&M side of the film,
540
00:29:52,972 --> 00:29:54,439
with this "venus with fur",
541
00:29:54,659 --> 00:29:57,213
who was really the naked
queen under her furs,
542
00:29:57,333 --> 00:30:00,287
whipping the young maiden and all...
543
00:30:00,407 --> 00:30:03,508
taking baths....
544
00:30:03,628 --> 00:30:06,437
and young lovers and all that...
545
00:30:06,679 --> 00:30:09,890
It was all very bold...
546
00:30:10,010 --> 00:30:14,650
And I think that... already then, the
puritan America is on the way...
547
00:30:14,846 --> 00:30:16,329
The 20's are drawing to a close...
548
00:30:16,449 --> 00:30:18,705
The Hays code is about to settle in....
549
00:30:18,825 --> 00:30:21,705
- not at the time of Queen Kelly, but soon -
550
00:30:21,825 --> 00:30:24,943
Puritan America of the Prohibition
era is falling into place.
551
00:30:25,169 --> 00:30:27,751
All that coincides with the
advent of the talkies.
552
00:30:28,072 --> 00:30:31,856
So all these elements together,
553
00:30:31,976 --> 00:30:33,527
accounted for a rejection of Stroheim.
554
00:30:36,322 --> 00:30:40,003
But then, did the talkies put
an end to his career?
555
00:30:40,463 --> 00:30:41,486
The anecdote...
556
00:30:42,248 --> 00:30:44,708
Well, one could use that
anecdote to say that
557
00:30:44,828 --> 00:30:46,304
it was what triggered it.
558
00:30:46,424 --> 00:30:50,154
From the moment the shooting of
the talkie version of 'Blind Husbands'
559
00:30:50,274 --> 00:30:52,857
had been set up,
560
00:30:52,977 --> 00:30:55,722
- it had been written, everything
was in place -
561
00:30:55,842 --> 00:30:57,722
Shooting was about to begin,
562
00:30:57,920 --> 00:31:02,671
and at some point, Stroheim asks for the
bells to be placed over a lake,
563
00:31:02,791 --> 00:31:05,623
because it's supposed to have a
different sound over water.
564
00:31:06,055 --> 00:31:08,224
But the sound people tell him that
565
00:31:08,344 --> 00:31:11,133
the sound will be recorded from elsewhere
and played over the footage.
566
00:31:11,253 --> 00:31:12,833
And Stroheim goes berzerk,
567
00:31:12,953 --> 00:31:14,841
because he wants his bells over the lake,
568
00:31:14,961 --> 00:31:16,541
and he won't have
it any other way.
569
00:31:16,661 --> 00:31:18,616
That's when they pull
the plug on him.
570
00:31:19,012 --> 00:31:21,481
This was the incident that triggered
571
00:31:21,601 --> 00:31:24,054
Stroheim being fired from this project,
572
00:31:24,174 --> 00:31:24,938
and the project was cancelled.
573
00:31:25,058 --> 00:31:27,006
I think that the advent of the talkies
574
00:31:27,204 --> 00:31:30,312
gave the movie moguls a good opportunity
575
00:31:30,509 --> 00:31:32,499
to get rid of someone who was
576
00:31:32,619 --> 00:31:34,911
extremely complicated to handle.
577
00:31:40,810 --> 00:31:41,937
Stroheim is 45.
578
00:31:42,538 --> 00:31:44,003
He will never direct again.
579
00:31:44,641 --> 00:31:45,712
For the remainder of his life,
580
00:31:46,003 --> 00:31:48,032
He'll have to act in
other people's films.
581
00:31:48,555 --> 00:31:49,832
Lesser films than his,
582
00:31:50,123 --> 00:31:52,564
made by directors who don't
necessarily have ideas,
583
00:31:53,109 --> 00:31:54,724
and in increasingly broke productions.
584
00:32:08,527 --> 00:32:10,386
For 5 years, Stroheim withers
doing cheapies,
585
00:32:10,677 --> 00:32:13,578
until a more serious proposal
arrives from France.
586
00:32:14,686 --> 00:32:16,433
And so leaves the
great banished lord.
587
00:32:16,714 --> 00:32:19,156
He leaves America and
returns to the Old World,
588
00:32:19,430 --> 00:32:20,284
where he was born,
589
00:32:20,613 --> 00:32:21,946
where he grew up.
590
00:32:23,269 --> 00:32:24,659
The year is 1935,
591
00:32:25,156 --> 00:32:26,227
and like in 1909,
592
00:32:26,584 --> 00:32:28,922
crossing the Atlantic is
still done by boat.
593
00:32:29,362 --> 00:32:30,424
It lasts 10 days.
594
00:32:30,818 --> 00:32:32,058
It gives one time to think.
595
00:32:32,565 --> 00:32:35,335
And Stroheim has plenty to think about.
596
00:32:36,427 --> 00:32:38,051
He must be thinking about his mother,
597
00:32:38,276 --> 00:32:39,760
whom he's going to see again
after so many years,
598
00:32:40,154 --> 00:32:42,398
Joanna Stroheim, nee Bondy.
599
00:32:43,202 --> 00:32:44,573
He must be thinking that she,
600
00:32:44,693 --> 00:32:46,151
Joanna, knows.
601
00:32:47,052 --> 00:32:48,264
She knows that her son Erich
602
00:32:48,536 --> 00:32:50,264
has falsified the family identity
603
00:32:50,563 --> 00:32:52,414
to replace it with a
new one he came up with,
604
00:32:52,620 --> 00:32:54,460
when boarding off the boat
at Ellis Island,
605
00:32:54,686 --> 00:32:56,564
one day of November, 1909.
606
00:32:57,642 --> 00:32:58,854
It only took 3 letters.
607
00:32:59,210 --> 00:33:00,300
By putting 'Von'
608
00:33:00,534 --> 00:33:01,924
between Erich and Stroheim,
609
00:33:02,298 --> 00:33:03,885
the son of a Viennese hat maker,
610
00:33:04,082 --> 00:33:05,350
the Jew Erich Stroheim,
611
00:33:05,601 --> 00:33:07,845
became the former
Dragoons lieutenant.
612
00:33:08,605 --> 00:33:11,196
Later, those 3 letters made
him into 'Herr Direktor',
613
00:33:11,316 --> 00:33:12,417
and everything that followed.
614
00:33:12,700 --> 00:33:14,540
He decided to become someone else.
615
00:33:14,660 --> 00:33:17,656
That's interesting, and that's
something he's going to hold on to,
616
00:33:17,776 --> 00:33:19,947
even though he has no idea at this point
617
00:33:20,067 --> 00:33:22,237
that he's going to work in movies.
618
00:33:24,161 --> 00:33:27,832
In 1935, Benno Stroheim,
Erich's father, is long dead.
619
00:33:28,574 --> 00:33:29,757
His son had disappointed him.
620
00:33:30,177 --> 00:33:33,050
He had shown no promise for
commerce and keeping the shop.
621
00:33:33,736 --> 00:33:34,976
Repugnance, rather.
622
00:33:36,703 --> 00:33:38,055
Stroheim dreamt of being a Dragoon.
623
00:33:38,175 --> 00:33:39,819
And that's precisely
624
00:33:39,939 --> 00:33:42,279
what he pretended to have been.
625
00:33:42,533 --> 00:33:45,002
The Dragoons are an elite unit.
626
00:33:45,258 --> 00:33:48,348
He was really in a unit that's
equivalent to the "train regiment".
627
00:33:48,601 --> 00:33:51,042
Not a very prestigious unit,
628
00:33:51,162 --> 00:33:53,242
an administrative unit. It's
important, capital even,
629
00:33:53,362 --> 00:33:57,384
but it's not a fighting unit.
They don't go to the front.
630
00:33:57,504 --> 00:34:00,246
And this unit, according to the
era's antisemitic jargon,
631
00:34:00,366 --> 00:34:03,114
(because Stroheim's youth
also coincided with
632
00:34:03,234 --> 00:34:05,396
a wave of antisemitism)
633
00:34:05,516 --> 00:34:08,953
This unit was called
"Moses' Dragoons",
634
00:34:09,073 --> 00:34:10,211
because it was comprised
of many Jews.
635
00:34:10,702 --> 00:34:13,848
It must have irked Stroheim
to be appointed to this unit,
636
00:34:13,968 --> 00:34:15,669
as it was really an inferior unit.
637
00:34:15,789 --> 00:34:19,074
The fact that he often showed photos
638
00:34:19,194 --> 00:34:20,803
of him as a young officer,
639
00:34:20,923 --> 00:34:23,141
- there are two that
are commonly shown -
640
00:34:23,261 --> 00:34:26,906
really demonstrates that this was his
dream, one that he never accomplished.
641
00:34:27,026 --> 00:34:29,403
Once we know
642
00:34:29,600 --> 00:34:31,825
Stroheim's secret about his origins,
643
00:34:31,945 --> 00:34:34,594
it sheds a light on his personality:
There are three levels:
644
00:34:34,714 --> 00:34:35,974
First, there is, deep down,
645
00:34:36,801 --> 00:34:39,450
the little Stroheim, the young Jew,
646
00:34:39,570 --> 00:34:42,570
who has gone into hiding, in a way.
647
00:34:42,690 --> 00:34:44,279
Just one level above
him there is 'Von',
648
00:34:44,399 --> 00:34:46,290
'Von Stroheim', the persona
649
00:34:46,543 --> 00:34:49,323
he plays in his everyday life,
650
00:34:49,443 --> 00:34:50,534
the one he pretends to be,
651
00:34:50,654 --> 00:34:53,154
And above that are the various
characters he plays in movies.
652
00:34:53,274 --> 00:34:57,171
And there is a permanent
interaction between
653
00:34:57,291 --> 00:34:59,127
the parts he plays onscreen
654
00:34:59,247 --> 00:35:01,203
and what he is in real life,
655
00:35:01,323 --> 00:35:03,231
the person he is,
with his family and friends,
656
00:35:03,351 --> 00:35:05,344
some of whom don't
even know the truth.
657
00:35:07,662 --> 00:35:10,432
Where the Hollywood community
is concerned, I don't know.
658
00:35:10,552 --> 00:35:13,914
I guess most of the Hollywood community
knew about Stroheim's secret.
659
00:35:14,294 --> 00:35:16,707
But in Hollywood,
660
00:35:16,827 --> 00:35:19,447
being Jewish was no big deal.
661
00:35:19,719 --> 00:35:22,772
Pretty much everyone was Jewish
and it was a secret to no-one.
662
00:35:22,892 --> 00:35:26,015
But Stroheim didn't want it to be known.
663
00:35:26,135 --> 00:35:27,028
So out of respect for him,
664
00:35:27,244 --> 00:35:29,084
people didn't talk about it.
665
00:35:35,405 --> 00:35:37,377
All this only works because
666
00:35:37,631 --> 00:35:39,527
there is a real vitality
667
00:35:39,647 --> 00:35:42,063
to the character he has hidden.
668
00:35:42,183 --> 00:35:44,338
And this vitality expresses itself
669
00:35:44,458 --> 00:35:46,281
in an almost mathematical way,
670
00:35:46,401 --> 00:35:48,629
meaning that Stroheim systematically
presents the reverse
671
00:35:48,749 --> 00:35:50,436
from what he was supposed
to be, to begin with.
672
00:35:50,739 --> 00:35:51,856
He was really
673
00:35:54,645 --> 00:35:56,617
a commoner, originally.
674
00:35:56,737 --> 00:35:58,457
And he pretends to be a nobleman.
675
00:35:58,677 --> 00:36:02,602
He tried to join the army several times,
676
00:36:02,722 --> 00:36:04,869
he was refused several times,
677
00:36:04,989 --> 00:36:07,019
and he pretends to be a former officer.
678
00:36:07,139 --> 00:36:10,942
He constantly pretends to be the
opposite of what he really was.
679
00:36:11,062 --> 00:36:13,485
And this is precisely what leads
to this reinvention,
680
00:36:13,605 --> 00:36:15,870
and gives this persona its strength.
681
00:36:17,315 --> 00:36:18,536
The French proposal was
682
00:36:18,656 --> 00:36:21,334
'Marthe Richard Au Service de
la France', with Edwige Feuillere.
683
00:36:22,047 --> 00:36:24,029
Stroheim resumes his "Evil Hun" persona.
684
00:36:24,844 --> 00:36:26,451
'La Grande Illusion', made
right after that film,
685
00:36:26,770 --> 00:36:28,404
is not just going to restore his image.
686
00:36:29,018 --> 00:36:31,347
It will give his character its immortality.
687
00:36:32,457 --> 00:36:33,931
Playing "Von Rauffenstein",
688
00:36:34,051 --> 00:36:36,344
the "career officer in the
Imperial German army"
689
00:36:36,897 --> 00:36:38,202
Stroheim solidifies once and for all
690
00:36:38,322 --> 00:36:40,793
the image that all
generations of filmgoers
691
00:36:40,913 --> 00:36:42,803
will come to know and love.
692
00:36:43,468 --> 00:36:44,839
Or at least those of France.
693
00:36:47,187 --> 00:36:48,746
Jean Renoir directs the film.
694
00:36:49,027 --> 00:36:50,942
And since Renoir admires
Stroheim the filmmaker,
695
00:36:51,355 --> 00:36:53,618
he heartily welcomes
several of his suggestions.
696
00:36:54,865 --> 00:36:56,827
Rauffenstein's notorious
neckbrace, for one thing,
697
00:36:57,062 --> 00:36:58,226
is a pure Stroheim touch.
698
00:37:00,085 --> 00:37:01,710
And Rauffenstein is no "Evil Hun".
699
00:37:02,092 --> 00:37:03,501
He's almost not even German.
700
00:37:03,621 --> 00:37:05,623
In spite of the uniform and the accent.
701
00:37:07,374 --> 00:37:08,547
He is much more:
702
00:37:08,989 --> 00:37:10,032
The end of a world,
703
00:37:10,331 --> 00:37:12,509
a world ruled by a pre-1914
aristocratic code of honour,
704
00:37:12,838 --> 00:37:14,519
and which did not survive the Great War.
705
00:37:19,679 --> 00:37:22,477
The character created by Stroheim
completely revives his acting career.
706
00:37:23,041 --> 00:37:24,797
He becomes "the eccentric actor".
707
00:37:26,177 --> 00:37:27,858
First, 'Les Disparus de St-Agil',
708
00:37:27,978 --> 00:37:29,736
which dazzled a whole generation of kids.
709
00:37:30,136 --> 00:37:32,653
In it, Stroheim is soft-spoken,
shy, and bold.
710
00:37:36,738 --> 00:37:37,564
'Les Pirates du Rail'.
711
00:37:37,807 --> 00:37:39,864
Stroheim plays the Chinese
General Tchou-King.
712
00:37:41,291 --> 00:37:42,305
'L'affaire Lafarge'
713
00:37:42,727 --> 00:37:44,079
directed by Pierre Chenal,
714
00:37:44,279 --> 00:37:45,444
another admirer.
715
00:37:49,423 --> 00:37:51,235
In Edmond Greville's
'Mademoiselle Docteur',
716
00:37:51,355 --> 00:37:52,663
he plays yet another German spy.
717
00:37:53,039 --> 00:37:54,917
But in 'Rappel Immediat', sudden change:
718
00:37:55,244 --> 00:37:56,925
He portrays an American officer.
719
00:38:04,132 --> 00:38:05,850
In Robert Siodmak's
underrated 'Pieges',
720
00:38:06,094 --> 00:38:09,155
he plays a fallen fashion designer, who
presents his collections to empty rooms.
721
00:38:16,093 --> 00:38:19,163
The declaration of war, in September
1939 forces him into exile.
722
00:38:19,764 --> 00:38:22,487
Stroheim leaves France with
his wife-to-be,
723
00:38:22,607 --> 00:38:23,533
Denise Vernac.
724
00:38:24,435 --> 00:38:25,514
He goes back to America,
725
00:38:25,787 --> 00:38:27,420
where his status as an
actor is rather modest,
726
00:38:27,705 --> 00:38:29,470
and where everyone is
oblivious or pretends to be
727
00:38:29,724 --> 00:38:32,099
to the fact that he was, twenty
years earlier, 'Herr Direktor'.
728
00:38:33,827 --> 00:38:35,076
Stroheim does one
acting gig after another.
729
00:38:35,634 --> 00:38:38,329
As usual, he plays one
"Kraut" after the other.
730
00:38:57,306 --> 00:38:58,583
The films are mediocre.
731
00:38:59,006 --> 00:39:01,822
And even 'Five Graves to Cairo', directed
by his fellow countryman Billy Wilder,
732
00:39:01,942 --> 00:39:03,043
is far from sublime.
733
00:39:03,772 --> 00:39:05,998
Stroheim plays Rommel. Naturally.
734
00:39:06,937 --> 00:39:08,383
But as soon as the war is over,
735
00:39:08,503 --> 00:39:11,132
he goes back to France to play
under the direction of Jean Delannoy.
736
00:39:11,990 --> 00:39:13,558
Stroheim goes on being an actor.
737
00:39:13,867 --> 00:39:15,097
But unlike his pre-war engagements,
738
00:39:15,217 --> 00:39:17,538
the French films are, for the
most part, really bad.
739
00:39:18,610 --> 00:39:21,070
While working on one of them, he
makes the acquaintance of a young extra
740
00:39:21,190 --> 00:39:22,225
who is overwhelmed with admiration.
741
00:39:22,866 --> 00:39:24,228
I was a humble
742
00:39:24,697 --> 00:39:26,340
assistant of sorts.
743
00:39:26,460 --> 00:39:29,608
I was something of a
spectator of his life.
744
00:39:29,963 --> 00:39:31,823
But I was not intimate with him.
745
00:39:31,943 --> 00:39:34,920
Very few people.... well
some people saw me with him, but
746
00:39:35,277 --> 00:39:37,943
nobody knows I knew Stroheim.
747
00:39:38,307 --> 00:39:40,628
I say it sometimes, just to boast.
748
00:39:41,522 --> 00:39:45,316
I knew him from 'L'Alibi',
749
00:39:45,729 --> 00:39:48,358
'L'Affaire Lafarge', all the films
we just talked about,
750
00:39:48,478 --> 00:39:49,203
i.e.
751
00:39:49,624 --> 00:39:51,887
'Macao', 'Menaces',
752
00:39:52,169 --> 00:39:54,751
and really I didn't see 'Menaces' until
much later, because it was forbidden...
753
00:39:55,088 --> 00:39:56,703
But of all the films, 'Les
Disparus de St-Agil'...
754
00:39:56,823 --> 00:39:58,769
Because to the kid that I was,
755
00:39:58,889 --> 00:40:00,581
Well yes I was very impressed.
756
00:40:03,517 --> 00:40:07,358
And I used to go with him to a
place called "L'Elysee Matignon"
757
00:40:07,901 --> 00:40:11,159
Which was a sort of place
a bit like the Fouquet's, but
758
00:40:11,404 --> 00:40:12,906
He went to L'Elysee Matignon,
759
00:40:13,257 --> 00:40:15,783
He went there like some extras do,
760
00:40:15,903 --> 00:40:18,187
to be seen.
761
00:40:18,307 --> 00:40:20,956
Even though he didn't have to. He was...
762
00:40:21,170 --> 00:40:22,842
Everybody knew who he was.
763
00:40:22,962 --> 00:40:26,129
But I never saw him ask anyone
764
00:40:28,728 --> 00:40:30,568
for money.
765
00:40:31,407 --> 00:40:33,951
He didn't go from table to table
saying: "Hey could you..."
766
00:40:34,393 --> 00:40:36,055
Producers were there.
767
00:40:36,327 --> 00:40:38,261
The Akim brothers were there.
768
00:40:38,720 --> 00:40:42,288
They were often there, and they
were very important people back then.
769
00:40:42,408 --> 00:40:43,452
The two brothers.
770
00:40:44,150 --> 00:40:47,240
He didn't go ask them for a job.
771
00:40:47,360 --> 00:40:49,785
Or to ask them to make a film.
He was very proud.
772
00:40:49,905 --> 00:40:51,646
He confided in me.
773
00:40:51,766 --> 00:40:53,674
He kept telling me
774
00:40:54,341 --> 00:40:57,712
about the fact that he hadn't
directed a picture in 25 years.
775
00:40:57,832 --> 00:40:59,054
He was tormented by this.
776
00:40:59,485 --> 00:41:01,560
He used to tell me:
"When you're a director"
777
00:41:01,680 --> 00:41:03,194
or "when you try to become a director"
778
00:41:03,403 --> 00:41:07,010
"Don't disappoint the producers.
Don't do what I did".
779
00:41:07,245 --> 00:41:08,991
"Don't destroy your sets"
780
00:41:09,111 --> 00:41:11,583
"Don't make them go bankrupt"
781
00:41:11,703 --> 00:41:14,398
"Because even if you only
lead one of them to bankruptcy"
782
00:41:14,699 --> 00:41:16,201
"All the others will resent you for it".
783
00:41:16,407 --> 00:41:18,078
"Not just the one you ruined".
784
00:41:18,198 --> 00:41:19,167
"Because if you do that,"
785
00:41:19,479 --> 00:41:21,751
"Then it's the desert. They will..."
786
00:41:21,871 --> 00:41:25,329
"They cast you out".
787
00:41:25,449 --> 00:41:27,065
"They go 'This guy is a nutcase',
788
00:41:27,185 --> 00:41:29,113
'He made you lose money',
789
00:41:29,233 --> 00:41:32,605
'He had his set destroyed',
790
00:41:33,050 --> 00:41:35,585
'Something horrible'",
791
00:41:36,242 --> 00:41:38,956
So they took their revenge on him.
792
00:41:39,076 --> 00:41:41,302
He didn't direct anything for 25 years.
793
00:41:49,193 --> 00:41:52,329
Stroheim didn't like comedies.
794
00:41:52,617 --> 00:41:55,471
He found them stupid.
795
00:41:55,591 --> 00:41:58,654
I remember, at the time there were
those comedies with Sophie Desmarets,
796
00:41:59,340 --> 00:42:01,481
with Annie Ducaux...
797
00:42:01,823 --> 00:42:04,217
Stuff like 'Florence Est Folle'...
798
00:42:04,337 --> 00:42:05,466
He hated that.
799
00:42:05,732 --> 00:42:08,041
He was my master in that respect,
800
00:42:08,161 --> 00:42:10,201
because when I tackled comedies,
801
00:42:10,539 --> 00:42:11,845
I remembered what he told me.
802
00:42:11,965 --> 00:42:13,997
That is, not to make empty comedies.
803
00:42:14,739 --> 00:42:17,678
Always make a comedy that
is also a social satire.
804
00:42:18,883 --> 00:42:21,399
He did, on the other hand, love Feydeau.
805
00:42:21,519 --> 00:42:22,620
Loved Feydeau.
806
00:42:22,873 --> 00:42:25,916
Because he said that in Feydeau
there was a social criticism.
807
00:42:26,036 --> 00:42:29,299
That is the main problem with this
type of actor, like Orson Welles,
808
00:42:29,703 --> 00:42:32,106
Who had the same problem
when he worked with Chabrol.
809
00:42:32,378 --> 00:42:35,627
Namely that when you hire
such a legend,
810
00:42:35,900 --> 00:42:37,167
as a director,
811
00:42:37,674 --> 00:42:38,698
you're overawed.
812
00:42:39,184 --> 00:42:41,794
You say to yourself: "Shit, he's so great!"
813
00:42:41,914 --> 00:42:42,949
"Who the hell am I to direct HIM?"
814
00:42:43,201 --> 00:42:45,248
And even Renoir, who was...
815
00:42:45,368 --> 00:42:48,206
Renoir was extremely...
816
00:42:48,505 --> 00:42:49,698
humble.
817
00:42:49,961 --> 00:42:52,017
He was not pretentious at all.
818
00:42:52,269 --> 00:42:54,120
So he was afraid of Stroheim.
819
00:42:54,240 --> 00:42:56,439
He used to say to himself:
"Geez, I'm directing a guy who..."
820
00:42:56,678 --> 00:42:59,298
Well, he considered him
to be much greater then himself.
821
00:42:59,794 --> 00:43:02,968
So he suffered a lot from this, Erich.
822
00:43:03,088 --> 00:43:03,736
Because
823
00:43:03,856 --> 00:43:06,928
People were afraid of hiring him.
824
00:43:07,048 --> 00:43:09,886
So he was only getting hired by
guys who were former assistants,
825
00:43:10,330 --> 00:43:11,297
and he used to say to me:
826
00:43:12,687 --> 00:43:15,326
"All the films I make, I make them because"
827
00:43:15,446 --> 00:43:18,481
"I want to stay involved in movies, somehow".
828
00:43:18,601 --> 00:43:20,104
"I can't give it up".
829
00:43:20,611 --> 00:43:22,330
Stroheim's problem,
830
00:43:22,736 --> 00:43:26,004
And Jouvet's problem, and that
of this kind of actors,
831
00:43:26,124 --> 00:43:27,985
the character actors,
832
00:43:28,105 --> 00:43:29,938
was that they had 3 days of shooting.
833
00:43:30,184 --> 00:43:31,978
They weren't given leading roles,
834
00:43:32,098 --> 00:43:33,931
they were given supporting parts.
835
00:43:34,051 --> 00:43:36,372
For example, Louis Jouvet, in 'L'Alibi',
had 3 days of shooting
836
00:43:36,492 --> 00:43:38,888
to play the part of the police inspector.
837
00:43:39,647 --> 00:43:40,483
So
838
00:43:40,990 --> 00:43:42,915
Actors were hired on a gig-by-gig basis.
839
00:43:43,035 --> 00:43:45,328
And their name was added to the casting.
840
00:43:45,448 --> 00:43:47,440
And Erich von Stroheim, in,
for example, 'Minuit'...
841
00:43:47,560 --> 00:43:50,134
'Minuit, Quai de Bercy',
842
00:43:50,670 --> 00:43:52,144
was scheduled to shoot for 2 days.
843
00:43:52,475 --> 00:43:54,072
Christian Stengel said, "Okay",
844
00:43:54,363 --> 00:43:56,917
"Let's have Stroheim for 2 days".
845
00:43:57,037 --> 00:43:59,443
For 'Serie Noire' I think he
also had 2 or 3 days,
846
00:43:59,648 --> 00:44:01,976
'La Madone des Sleepings", 2 or 3 days,
847
00:44:02,182 --> 00:44:04,671
On 'Macao', he worked
for 5 days, I think.
848
00:44:04,791 --> 00:44:08,246
It was always reduced to a bare minimum.
And in some films he was there for a day.
849
00:44:08,462 --> 00:44:11,382
Shooting over a period of two days
850
00:44:11,627 --> 00:44:14,030
gave him the status, not
quite of an extra, but
851
00:44:14,150 --> 00:44:15,742
of a meaningless supporting part.
852
00:44:15,986 --> 00:44:18,681
To the assistants, it was like:
"Well, that guy there, the..."
853
00:44:19,399 --> 00:44:22,602
"the Mittel-European guy there, he's here for
2 days". The guy didn't know who Stroheim was.
854
00:44:22,722 --> 00:44:26,425
Didn't know his films as an actor
and even less those he had directed.
855
00:44:26,838 --> 00:44:29,411
'Greed' or 'Queen Kelly', he
hadn't ever heard of any of it.
856
00:44:29,531 --> 00:44:30,856
I learnt about that part
of his career eventually,
857
00:44:30,976 --> 00:44:33,428
but long after I had met him.
Long after that.
858
00:44:34,751 --> 00:44:37,305
I witnessed an incident that
shocked me tremendously.
859
00:44:37,425 --> 00:44:39,590
From a young
860
00:44:39,710 --> 00:44:42,548
assistant who has now
become a revered director...
861
00:44:43,018 --> 00:44:45,309
I won't give his name, out of charity.
862
00:44:45,555 --> 00:44:47,752
It was on the set of a movie
he was making,
863
00:44:47,872 --> 00:44:50,729
One of those movies in which
he had one of those bit parts,
864
00:44:50,849 --> 00:44:52,193
for two days, and so on...
865
00:44:52,682 --> 00:44:54,128
At some point,
866
00:44:54,248 --> 00:44:56,295
the assistant went and knocked
on his dressing room door,
867
00:44:56,680 --> 00:44:58,352
and - Stroheim told me that story -
868
00:44:58,472 --> 00:45:00,878
the guy knocked on his door,
869
00:45:00,998 --> 00:45:02,891
and said: "All righty Erich,
on the set! Chop chop!"
870
00:45:03,011 --> 00:45:04,468
"Come on!"
871
00:45:04,722 --> 00:45:06,722
(using the French "tu",
familiar form of "you")
872
00:45:15,743 --> 00:45:17,480
The last glimmer of hope
comes from America after all.
873
00:45:17,843 --> 00:45:20,613
Billy Wilder has written the part
of Max von Mayerling for him.
874
00:45:20,810 --> 00:45:21,843
A fallen film director,
875
00:45:21,963 --> 00:45:24,773
Who has become the butler of
another fallen idol of the silent era.
876
00:45:25,506 --> 00:45:26,792
And to play her part,
877
00:45:26,912 --> 00:45:28,763
Wilder casts Gloria Swanson,
878
00:45:29,193 --> 00:45:31,081
the very one who starred in 'Queen Kelly'.
879
00:45:37,021 --> 00:45:38,693
'Sunset Boulevard' is a masterpiece.
880
00:45:39,237 --> 00:45:39,819
Beautiful,
881
00:45:40,139 --> 00:45:40,899
mean,
882
00:45:41,237 --> 00:45:42,242
funereal.
883
00:45:58,346 --> 00:46:00,299
Stroheim ended his life in France.
884
00:46:00,590 --> 00:46:03,378
He died in Maurepas.
885
00:46:04,402 --> 00:46:05,491
In Ile-De-France.
886
00:46:05,611 --> 00:46:09,611
He had settled in a house
that was very much like him.
887
00:46:10,821 --> 00:46:13,601
If I had to describe it, I'd say it was a
sort of "neo-Normandy fantasy".
888
00:46:13,721 --> 00:46:15,159
Some sort of little manor,
889
00:46:15,279 --> 00:46:16,971
with half-timbering, old stones...
890
00:46:19,869 --> 00:46:22,761
He had decorated it in his likeness, so with
military paraphernalia all over the place,
891
00:46:22,881 --> 00:46:25,268
many of which were in fact film props.
892
00:46:25,388 --> 00:46:27,371
There are a few famous pictures showing
893
00:46:27,491 --> 00:46:30,344
Stroheim sitting at his desk,
perched on a horse saddle,
894
00:46:30,464 --> 00:46:33,536
He had placed a saddle over a wooden
trestle and he sat on top of that.
895
00:46:34,548 --> 00:46:37,074
Stirrups were used as ashtrays...
896
00:46:37,637 --> 00:46:40,464
There were ashtrays made
from sculpted horse heads,
897
00:46:40,921 --> 00:46:42,593
Various objects of that kind...
898
00:46:42,713 --> 00:46:44,236
Stained-glass windows in the house...
899
00:46:44,356 --> 00:46:46,292
Objects that made you think of
900
00:46:46,412 --> 00:46:48,855
A former military officer...
901
00:46:48,975 --> 00:46:52,085
And nobleman... a very special house.
902
00:46:59,716 --> 00:47:00,861
Erich von Stroheim
903
00:47:01,068 --> 00:47:02,119
died peacefully
904
00:47:02,239 --> 00:47:03,490
in his Maurepas manor
905
00:47:03,610 --> 00:47:05,180
in the spring of 1957.
906
00:47:06,479 --> 00:47:08,216
The actor,
907
00:47:08,336 --> 00:47:10,517
and film director, Stroheim
and von Stroheim,
908
00:47:10,637 --> 00:47:11,484
were buried a few steps away,
909
00:47:11,900 --> 00:47:13,544
in a small graveyard in the countryside.
910
00:47:14,389 --> 00:47:17,131
A gypsy band followed the parade.
911
00:47:17,975 --> 00:47:21,411
You view Stroheim's death differently,
depending on where you stand.
912
00:47:21,655 --> 00:47:23,101
If you're American,
913
00:47:23,351 --> 00:47:26,318
He's a bit forgotten. You may remember
that there was once, long ago,
914
00:47:26,438 --> 00:47:28,084
Someone by the name of Stroheim.
915
00:47:28,281 --> 00:47:31,764
But if you're French, you know that
Stroheim was this cursed filmmaker,
916
00:47:31,983 --> 00:47:34,501
You know that he was crushed
by the Hollywood system,
917
00:47:34,621 --> 00:47:36,275
You know that he was a great actor,
918
00:47:36,395 --> 00:47:39,111
At the time of his death, he is, to French
audiences, first and foremost, a great actor.
919
00:47:39,776 --> 00:47:42,640
Film buffs may remember
the great filmmaker,
920
00:47:42,760 --> 00:47:45,476
But he's especially
known as an actor
921
00:47:45,596 --> 00:47:46,152
at this point.
922
00:47:46,348 --> 00:47:48,667
What killed me about his death was
923
00:47:48,940 --> 00:47:50,611
that I wanted to cast him.
924
00:47:50,894 --> 00:47:51,909
And I was like...
925
00:47:52,106 --> 00:47:55,440
It's like when something's just
within your reach,
926
00:47:55,560 --> 00:47:57,365
You reach out for it and it escapes you.
927
00:47:57,485 --> 00:48:00,419
That thing is just inches away...
928
00:48:00,786 --> 00:48:02,964
And that's amazing because
929
00:48:03,342 --> 00:48:05,483
I chose to do this
just to be able to direct
930
00:48:05,603 --> 00:48:07,258
Stroheim, Jules Berry, Raimu...
931
00:48:07,378 --> 00:48:08,366
And they're all dead!
932
00:48:08,486 --> 00:48:11,521
I managed to catch a few of them...
933
00:48:12,205 --> 00:48:13,952
I made it happen, but not HIM!
934
00:48:14,072 --> 00:48:17,070
Can you imagine? Stroheim...
in one of MY films...
935
00:48:17,631 --> 00:48:18,476
How happy I'd have been.
936
00:48:18,673 --> 00:48:21,190
I think that Stroheim's heirs
937
00:48:21,310 --> 00:48:23,855
Must be found in European cinema,
938
00:48:23,975 --> 00:48:25,789
as it gave more freedom.
939
00:48:25,909 --> 00:48:27,647
For example, Renoir,
940
00:48:27,767 --> 00:48:30,661
Who said himself: "I saw
'Foolish Wives' ten times"
941
00:48:30,886 --> 00:48:32,510
"It was the film that impressed me most".
942
00:48:32,630 --> 00:48:34,961
Undeniably, Renoir, after
seeing 'Foolish Wives',
943
00:48:35,170 --> 00:48:36,766
was influenced by Stroheim.
944
00:48:36,886 --> 00:48:38,054
And then Bunuel,
945
00:48:38,174 --> 00:48:40,542
Undeniably, the same naturalism
946
00:48:40,662 --> 00:48:42,504
as Stroheim's.
947
00:48:42,624 --> 00:48:46,108
- a naturalism that is not incompatible with
surrealism, contrary to common belief -
948
00:48:46,371 --> 00:48:47,394
Orson Welles,
949
00:48:47,791 --> 00:48:49,275
The only one in America,
950
00:48:49,585 --> 00:48:52,543
who can boast direct influence...
951
00:48:52,663 --> 00:48:54,712
His famous ceiling-shots
952
00:48:54,832 --> 00:48:56,327
are the ceilings from 'Greed'.
953
00:48:56,447 --> 00:48:58,541
They are both great revolutionaries.
954
00:48:58,661 --> 00:49:01,556
They transformed the cinema
of their respective eras,
955
00:49:01,779 --> 00:49:03,685
They are both
956
00:49:03,920 --> 00:49:06,483
patsies, both outcasts,
957
00:49:06,681 --> 00:49:07,591
expelled from the film industry.
958
00:49:07,805 --> 00:49:11,289
The revenge, in a way, is when
you watch one of my films,
959
00:49:11,552 --> 00:49:15,336
or Stroheim's or anyone else's,
960
00:49:15,921 --> 00:49:21,029
is the pleasure people have in rediscovering
them 20, 40, 50, 60 years afterwards.
961
00:49:21,558 --> 00:49:23,831
And that's really what success is.
962
00:49:24,356 --> 00:49:25,774
It's not scoring 20 million admissions.
963
00:49:26,000 --> 00:49:28,460
That's what I find fascinating
about Stroheim's persona.
964
00:49:28,580 --> 00:49:31,717
That, film after film,
965
00:49:31,837 --> 00:49:33,248
he creates himself.
966
00:49:33,368 --> 00:49:36,573
Stroheim's films are, in
themselves, fabulous.
967
00:49:36,693 --> 00:49:39,615
But to me, his greatest
masterpiece is himself.
968
00:49:39,830 --> 00:49:41,905
In a way,
969
00:49:42,025 --> 00:49:44,225
it's the fusion of his
films with himself.
970
00:49:44,345 --> 00:49:47,315
And the creation of his
persona, through his films.
971
00:49:47,435 --> 00:49:49,702
He has used cinema
for personal ends,
972
00:49:49,822 --> 00:49:52,172
namely to create himself.
973
00:49:53,367 --> 00:49:55,527
- Wow!
- But... It's artistic.79457
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