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Mystery, murder...
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00:00:34,828 --> 00:00:36,705
jealousy, vice...
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The venomous power of Henri-Georges
Clouzot's films still grips us today.
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It was me I meant to kill!
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Me, not him!
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Mario!
7
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Mario says, "Screw you!"
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The Wages of Fear...
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Quai des Orfevres...
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Diabolique...
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00:00:59,436 --> 00:01:01,730
Clouzot was a master of suspense
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00:01:01,896 --> 00:01:06,067
who spun human neuroses
into riveting entertainment.
13
00:01:09,487 --> 00:01:13,450
A media darling,
he reigned at film festivals worldwide.
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00:01:13,575 --> 00:01:15,577
Cannes, Berlin, and Venice
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00:01:15,910 --> 00:01:17,996
awarded him their highest honors.
16
00:01:18,246 --> 00:01:21,916
Yet the filmmaker remains a mystery.
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00:01:23,168 --> 00:01:27,338
With his wife's death
and his involvement in WWII...
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00:01:27,464 --> 00:01:30,925
a dark legend gathers around him.
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He's been called diabolical,
uncontrollable.
20
00:01:34,679 --> 00:01:36,598
But was he really?
21
00:01:36,765 --> 00:01:40,560
Who is the real
Henri-Georges Clouzot?
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THE CLOUZOT SCANDAL
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Clouzot was born in Niort in 1907...
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the eldest of three boys.
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Even as a child,
drama fascinated my brother.
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He loved drama and fear.
27
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He'd constantly scare me
and make me cry.
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CLOUZOT'S BROTHER
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He'd think, "It's working.
My audience is crying."
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00:02:17,430 --> 00:02:22,769
You said he wrote
his first play at five years old?
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That's right.
He dictated a puppet show...
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in which Punch laces
his wife's bread with thumbtacks.
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That's the sort of ideas
he had at five.
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00:02:37,325 --> 00:02:40,620
Young Clouzot
never witnessed a murder,
35
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but he lived
through his parents' divorce
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00:02:43,331 --> 00:02:46,167
after the bankruptcy
of the family bookstore.
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"You and Dad never really got along,"
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he wrote to his mother later.
39
00:02:52,340 --> 00:02:55,677
"If you'd lived together
a few years before marrying,
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00:02:55,802 --> 00:02:58,137
I probably wouldn't exist -
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00:02:58,263 --> 00:03:00,849
a great loss for the dramatic arts."
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00:03:02,392 --> 00:03:05,103
Deeply affected
by his father's decline
43
00:03:05,228 --> 00:03:09,399
and the depression of his mother,
who turns to him for affection,
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Clouzot has no choice
but to try to make it on his own.
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00:03:14,863 --> 00:03:17,490
Attracted to the bright lights
of the capital,
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he's quickly drawn to show business.
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00:03:21,035 --> 00:03:24,372
He makes a name for himself
as a music-hall lyricist
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and then a screenwriter.
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BARGEKEEPER'S DAUGHTER
A SMASH HIT
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00:03:29,043 --> 00:03:32,589
In writing he finally finds
an outlet for his anxiety.
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In his 20s
he had such terrible nightmares
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that he made himself stay awake.
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FRIEND AND ASSOCIATE
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He became a terrible insomniac.
He couldn't sleep without pills.
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So he went to see a psychoanalyst.
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"Please help me.
I can't take any more."
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After five minutes,
the psychoanalyst said...
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"Continuing psychoanalysis
is too risky for you.
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If I rid you of all these things
that haunt you,
60
00:04:06,998 --> 00:04:10,043
I'll take away your imagination too."
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00:04:10,168 --> 00:04:12,253
So I thanked him and left.
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00:04:16,007 --> 00:04:18,885
- Are you ill?
- They killed him! I'm sure of it!
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00:04:19,010 --> 00:04:23,389
Mr. Durand, the faceless killer.
THE MURDERER LIVES AT NUMBER 21
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00:04:23,514 --> 00:04:25,433
Four murders in one month,
all in the neighborhood.
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So they say!
66
00:04:27,185 --> 00:04:30,521
I think the journalists make it up
to sell more papers.
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00:04:30,730 --> 00:04:33,650
His first feature,
The Murderer Lives at Number 21,
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00:04:33,775 --> 00:04:36,110
already reveals
a master of the genre...
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00:04:36,903 --> 00:04:40,114
with its striking images
and snappy dialogue.
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Clouzot's sure hand is impressive.
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00:04:45,244 --> 00:04:49,624
But this fear of the world
comes from firsthand experience,
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00:04:49,749 --> 00:04:52,001
what he lived in the flesh.
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00:04:53,461 --> 00:04:56,631
An interesting period in Clouzot's life
FILMMAKER
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00:04:56,798 --> 00:04:59,008
was when he was very ill
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00:04:59,133 --> 00:05:01,135
with pleurisy.
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00:05:01,260 --> 00:05:05,974
He was bedridden for four years -
a long time for a young man.
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00:05:06,099 --> 00:05:09,894
He said it left
"a taste of death" in his mouth.
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00:05:12,355 --> 00:05:15,191
Leysin Sanatorium.
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00:05:15,316 --> 00:05:17,944
October 17, 1934.
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00:05:18,069 --> 00:05:20,113
Clouzot is 26.
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00:05:20,238 --> 00:05:23,449
"I've been in the sanatorium
since yesterday.
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A flurry of invisible flakes
fills my clear lung
83
00:05:27,286 --> 00:05:29,497
and hinders my breathing."
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00:05:31,833 --> 00:05:33,793
I thought I was dying.
85
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"How can I have peace of mind
when I might not survive the week?
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00:05:43,011 --> 00:05:45,013
In a few hours I'll be 27,
87
00:05:45,138 --> 00:05:48,182
though I can't even be sure
I'll live that long.
88
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My life isn't in immediate danger,
89
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but there's never any guarantee.
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00:05:53,896 --> 00:05:58,192
The environment of uncertainty mirrors
our deep, inner uncertainty."
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00:06:04,032 --> 00:06:08,202
THE LAST ONE OF THE SIX
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You see that in his films.
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His films are haunted...
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00:06:28,389 --> 00:06:30,349
by the fear of death,
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by dark forces.
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00:06:32,310 --> 00:06:35,563
This period is also important,
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00:06:35,897 --> 00:06:39,025
because for those who've been sick
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or who've been around the sick,
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it's a terrifying experience
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to realize your own body
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is beyond your control.
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I think an important theme
in Clouzot's work
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00:06:54,832 --> 00:06:57,502
is the loss of bodily control.
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In his staging and framing
you sense a desire for control,
105
00:07:02,256 --> 00:07:06,427
yet he often shows characters
spiraling out of control.
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His first film takes place
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not in a sanatorium
but in a boarding house
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00:07:12,141 --> 00:07:14,560
where a group of people
live as shut-ins.
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00:07:14,685 --> 00:07:17,939
That's where the murderer lives,
at number 21.
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00:07:18,231 --> 00:07:22,777
It's a basic crime thriller
about finding a murderer.
111
00:07:23,277 --> 00:07:27,281
But behind the comic characters
and seemingly lighthearted tone...
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00:07:28,324 --> 00:07:32,120
Clouzot presents an outside world
haunted by predators.
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A sense of menace fills the air,
because out there...
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someone's killing people.
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There are times when the pressure
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of external events is such
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that individual moral concerns
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are forced to take a back seat
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00:07:50,263 --> 00:07:53,015
to those thrust upon us
by the real world.
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00:07:53,141 --> 00:07:57,145
My first brush with the world of terror
was the world itself.
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It's certainly provided plenty recently!
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The Murderer Lives at Number 21
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00:08:12,535 --> 00:08:15,163
was shot in 1942
during the German Occupation.
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To the violence of war
and economic and political subjugation,
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00:08:19,333 --> 00:08:23,296
Nazi Germany sought to add
cultural domination.
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00:08:23,421 --> 00:08:25,631
When the Germans arrived in France,
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00:08:25,756 --> 00:08:30,094
they wanted to show the world
they weren't barbarians.
WRITER
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To this end they got
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00:08:32,763 --> 00:08:34,891
the film industry running again
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00:08:35,016 --> 00:08:38,895
and reopened
publishing houses and theaters.
131
00:08:39,020 --> 00:08:41,856
The occupying forces
created Continental Films
132
00:08:41,981 --> 00:08:44,692
and named as its director
a long-standing Nazi,
133
00:08:44,817 --> 00:08:46,360
producer Alfred Greven.
134
00:08:49,697 --> 00:08:52,325
Greven wooed film stars by claiming
135
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he didn't want to make
propaganda films.
136
00:08:56,495 --> 00:08:58,998
But could he be believed?
137
00:08:59,123 --> 00:09:02,877
I can't remember the exact date
I was summoned,
138
00:09:03,044 --> 00:09:06,088
but it was at the very end of 1940.
139
00:09:06,756 --> 00:09:10,968
I was asked
if I'd work on a script
140
00:09:11,135 --> 00:09:13,471
for a detective film.
141
00:09:13,596 --> 00:09:16,891
Clouzot had a budding reputation
as a screenwriter,
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00:09:17,058 --> 00:09:21,020
and he was familiar with German cinema
from having supervised
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00:09:21,145 --> 00:09:25,483
the French versions of German films
shot in Berlin before the war.
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Probably thinking Clouzot
was ambitious enough
145
00:09:28,861 --> 00:09:32,240
to be politically harmless,
Greven hired him.
146
00:09:32,365 --> 00:09:34,408
Greven then told me...
147
00:09:35,618 --> 00:09:40,248
"Your script is much better
than others I've read recently.
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00:09:40,373 --> 00:09:45,586
I'd like you to head up screenwriting
at Continental Films."
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At just 33...
150
00:09:48,130 --> 00:09:50,841
under particularly
dramatic circumstances,
151
00:09:50,967 --> 00:09:55,596
Clouzot becomes one of the most
powerful men in the French film industry.
152
00:09:57,640 --> 00:10:00,101
Goebbels's orders are clear:
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00:10:00,268 --> 00:10:03,896
only lighthearted, superficial films.
154
00:10:05,106 --> 00:10:08,693
But Clouzot is not the type
to follow anyone's orders.
155
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Now that he has power,
he intends to use it.
156
00:10:13,197 --> 00:10:17,618
Greven gave me the okay to make
The Murderer Lives at Number 21,
157
00:10:17,743 --> 00:10:19,954
and right after that,
Le Corbeau.
158
00:10:20,288 --> 00:10:23,582
Le Corbeau is the first film
where I did what I wanted.
159
00:10:23,708 --> 00:10:26,043
- I'm accused of being your mistress.
- By whom?
160
00:10:26,210 --> 00:10:28,963
I received a poison-pen letter.
161
00:10:29,088 --> 00:10:32,758
- I got another poison-pen letter.
- Again?
162
00:10:32,883 --> 00:10:36,053
We have an epidemic on our hands,
and it's spreading daily.
163
00:10:36,178 --> 00:10:39,974
Louis Chavance's script,
L'Oeil du serpent,
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was obviously based
on the Tulle affair.
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You can't tell how far
this filth will go.
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The whole town may be infected.
167
00:10:50,067 --> 00:10:53,612
A series of poison-pen letters
plunges a small town
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00:10:53,738 --> 00:10:57,491
into a toxic climate
of suspicion and rumors.
169
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It's a portrait of small-town life
that's also a thriller.
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00:11:23,684 --> 00:11:26,979
Let's be honest:
It's a godsend for any director!
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We're delighted
to find stories like that.
172
00:11:29,857 --> 00:11:33,152
It's based on a news item
from the 1920s
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that is completely apolitical.
174
00:11:36,030 --> 00:11:38,449
The story he tells is apolitical.
175
00:11:39,241 --> 00:11:42,828
Yet at the same time,
it's extremely politically charged,
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and even morally charged.
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It's a bit blasphemous,
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with the priests droning on and on,
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00:11:53,631 --> 00:11:56,217
and the Republican "religion"
represented by the prefect,
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00:11:56,384 --> 00:11:59,720
making a ridiculous speech
in which he explains, as usual,
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that the guilty will be punished
FILMMAKER
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and law and righteousness
will prevail.
183
00:12:06,394 --> 00:12:10,064
Unhappy victim
of a nameless murderer,
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you shall be avenged!
185
00:12:12,566 --> 00:12:15,486
- She's the Raven!
- It's not true!
186
00:12:15,694 --> 00:12:17,071
You put the letter in the wreath!
187
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It's uncompromising.
188
00:12:23,244 --> 00:12:29,834
And the fact it was made
during the Occupation...
189
00:12:30,501 --> 00:12:32,420
is quite significant.
190
00:12:32,545 --> 00:12:34,880
Give us Marie Corbin first!
191
00:12:35,005 --> 00:12:38,342
She came to work this morning.
We dismissed her.
192
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The story suited
Clouzot's personality
193
00:12:43,347 --> 00:12:46,058
and his penchant for taking risks.
194
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We must give the impression
we're taking action.
195
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He has a slightly anarchistic,
rebellious,
196
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provocative,
and sometimes cynical way
197
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of lashing out at everything.
198
00:13:00,239 --> 00:13:02,658
No one is spared.
199
00:13:02,783 --> 00:13:07,496
Yet at the same time,
he's working for Continental Films.
200
00:13:08,747 --> 00:13:12,042
So I think it showed
201
00:13:12,168 --> 00:13:17,298
a powerful independent streak in him.
202
00:13:17,548 --> 00:13:21,135
Even working for the Germans,
he manages to do what he wants.
203
00:13:21,469 --> 00:13:24,305
I find that quite remarkable.
204
00:13:24,430 --> 00:13:28,434
If you don't want to shock anyone,
don't be a director.
205
00:13:28,559 --> 00:13:31,103
It's what films do...
FILMMAKER
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00:13:31,228 --> 00:13:33,814
with every image, every scene.
207
00:13:34,356 --> 00:13:38,402
Cinema is always on the attack
to some extent.
208
00:13:38,527 --> 00:13:42,114
But great filmmakers
are usually aggressive types.
209
00:13:42,239 --> 00:13:44,283
They're on the attack.
210
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In Clouzot's presence
you sensed a certain danger.
211
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He was a dangerous man.
212
00:13:51,999 --> 00:13:54,543
The Occupation gave rise to heroes,
213
00:13:54,668 --> 00:13:58,756
but it also revealed the darkest,
most cowardly aspects of human nature.
214
00:13:59,006 --> 00:14:00,841
In Marshal Petain's France,
215
00:14:00,966 --> 00:14:03,469
people were rounded up,
tortured, and executed,
216
00:14:03,594 --> 00:14:06,013
often based solely
on anonymous letters,
217
00:14:06,180 --> 00:14:08,641
avidly encouraged
by the occupying forces.
218
00:14:08,766 --> 00:14:10,768
Your evidence is invaluable.
219
00:14:10,893 --> 00:14:16,315
Write to: Jews Against France,
116, Avenue Champs-Elysees, Paris.
220
00:14:16,440 --> 00:14:18,526
After Liberation...
221
00:14:18,651 --> 00:14:22,696
they found thousands
of denunciatory letters
222
00:14:22,863 --> 00:14:25,783
yet to be processed
by the Germans.
223
00:14:25,908 --> 00:14:28,369
They'd been overwhelmed
by the sheer volume
224
00:14:28,536 --> 00:14:30,538
during four years of Occupation.
225
00:14:31,038 --> 00:14:33,707
They later admitted
that there were so many
226
00:14:33,874 --> 00:14:36,252
that they couldn't process them all.
227
00:14:36,377 --> 00:14:40,005
YOU ARE OUR LAST HOPE
SOON THE JEWS WILL RULE US
228
00:14:40,130 --> 00:14:44,176
Your denouncer might be
a neighbor with a bone to pick,
229
00:14:44,301 --> 00:14:47,596
or someone
who has an eye on your shop.
230
00:14:47,721 --> 00:14:50,891
But women would also often
denounce their husbands
231
00:14:51,016 --> 00:14:53,227
to get rid of them.
232
00:14:53,352 --> 00:14:55,604
It couldn't be more sordid.
233
00:14:55,729 --> 00:14:59,733
- Do we keep delivering them?
- Unless we have orders not to.
234
00:14:59,858 --> 00:15:01,569
We're accessories!
235
00:15:01,860 --> 00:15:04,863
It was very well-received.
236
00:15:04,989 --> 00:15:07,700
The press was almost unanimous.
237
00:15:07,825 --> 00:15:11,745
It's the only time in my life
I got good reviews.
238
00:15:11,870 --> 00:15:15,583
Then, as you know,
Mr. Greven fired me.
239
00:15:16,458 --> 00:15:19,837
I was fired because
the Kommandantur complained
240
00:15:19,962 --> 00:15:23,507
that the film discouraged
anonymous denunciations.
241
00:15:23,632 --> 00:15:26,051
This was at the end of 1941,
242
00:15:26,176 --> 00:15:28,721
when informers were really useful.
243
00:15:28,846 --> 00:15:31,724
So I was abruptly fired.
244
00:15:31,849 --> 00:15:35,060
Almost immediately, Radio London
issued my death sentence.
245
00:15:35,185 --> 00:15:37,980
But the tide abruptly turns.
Everyone's against him.
246
00:15:38,105 --> 00:15:40,774
He's attacked from every side.
247
00:15:40,941 --> 00:15:44,612
In a way, it's reassuring
to have everyone against you,
248
00:15:44,737 --> 00:15:47,114
but it creates
real problems for him too.
249
00:15:47,239 --> 00:15:50,909
Vichy attacks him,
as do Catholic circles,
250
00:15:51,035 --> 00:15:53,912
who declare the film immoral.
251
00:15:54,038 --> 00:15:56,582
Even the Resistance
and the Communists attack him.
252
00:15:56,707 --> 00:15:59,501
The famous article by Georges Sadoul
253
00:15:59,627 --> 00:16:04,048
compares the film to Mein Kampf,
which is a bit absurd.
254
00:16:04,548 --> 00:16:07,760
And after Liberation,
he's attacked yet again.
255
00:16:07,885 --> 00:16:11,221
The film was banned after Liberation,
256
00:16:11,347 --> 00:16:16,268
supposedly because it showed
the Occupation and occupiers
257
00:16:16,393 --> 00:16:18,479
in a favorable light.
258
00:16:18,646 --> 00:16:21,690
I don't see how,
but it was clearly political,
259
00:16:21,815 --> 00:16:25,110
a way to sideline Clouzot
for the horrendous offense
260
00:16:25,235 --> 00:16:27,988
of collaborating
with Continental Films.
261
00:16:28,155 --> 00:16:30,824
HITLER'S EAGLE
IN A RAVEN'S PLUMAGE
262
00:16:30,949 --> 00:16:33,327
It's difficult today to distinguish
263
00:16:33,494 --> 00:16:37,790
between the often clumsy sincerity
of the attacks
264
00:16:37,915 --> 00:16:41,335
and the guilt felt
by many French people at the time
265
00:16:41,460 --> 00:16:45,798
that made them conveniently
forget their own cowardice,
266
00:16:45,923 --> 00:16:48,133
imposed in part
267
00:16:48,258 --> 00:16:51,178
by the difficult conditions
during the Occupation.
268
00:16:51,303 --> 00:16:54,807
They overcompensated
by showing no mercy
269
00:16:54,932 --> 00:16:57,518
to those charged as collaborators.
270
00:16:58,102 --> 00:17:02,356
I have no right
to judge those people.
271
00:17:02,523 --> 00:17:04,525
They suffered terribly.
272
00:17:04,858 --> 00:17:07,486
I don't think...
273
00:17:08,696 --> 00:17:12,658
that courage and honesty
are so widespread today
274
00:17:12,783 --> 00:17:17,496
that we have the right
to pass judgment
275
00:17:17,996 --> 00:17:20,666
or criticize
what happened back then.
276
00:17:21,166 --> 00:17:23,127
"I felt unjustly attacked,
277
00:17:23,252 --> 00:17:27,297
but such horrors had been committed
that I couldn't indulge in self-pity.
278
00:17:27,423 --> 00:17:29,425
I got off lightly."
279
00:17:29,883 --> 00:17:32,636
The film is banned
by military censors.
280
00:17:32,761 --> 00:17:36,890
Clouzot is banned
from directing for two years.
281
00:17:37,015 --> 00:17:41,979
It wasn't until Max Ophuls's
The Sorrow and the Pity in 1971
282
00:17:42,104 --> 00:17:45,274
that France finally agrees
to face its history head-on.
283
00:17:45,399 --> 00:17:48,736
Clouzot is ahead of his time.
Too far ahead.
284
00:17:49,236 --> 00:17:53,198
The artist in him makes him reject
a comfortable stance.
285
00:17:53,323 --> 00:17:55,743
In his subject matter
286
00:17:55,909 --> 00:18:00,164
he's always stepping
outside his comfort zone,
287
00:18:00,372 --> 00:18:02,374
testing moral boundaries.
288
00:18:02,499 --> 00:18:04,084
You're amazing.
289
00:18:04,209 --> 00:18:06,879
You think people
are all good or all bad.
290
00:18:07,004 --> 00:18:09,715
That Good is light
291
00:18:09,840 --> 00:18:12,050
and Evil is dark.
292
00:18:12,217 --> 00:18:15,095
But where does each begin?
293
00:18:15,262 --> 00:18:16,930
Where does evil end?
294
00:18:17,097 --> 00:18:20,142
Are you on the good side
or the bad side?
295
00:18:20,267 --> 00:18:24,938
It's clear we all carry
corruption in our hearts.
296
00:18:25,606 --> 00:18:28,901
We'd just usually rather
not know about it.
297
00:18:29,026 --> 00:18:31,028
We close our eyes
298
00:18:31,153 --> 00:18:33,906
and bury it so deep
in our subconscious
299
00:18:34,031 --> 00:18:37,785
that we convince ourselves
we're pure. We're not.
300
00:18:38,786 --> 00:18:40,954
"The Gospels always bothered me,
301
00:18:41,079 --> 00:18:44,458
because they had no answer
to the problem of evil.
302
00:18:44,625 --> 00:18:49,296
Of all mysteries, that of evil
seemed to me the deepest."
303
00:18:49,463 --> 00:18:52,633
Are you an optimist or a pessimist?
304
00:18:52,800 --> 00:18:56,595
People call me a pessimist,
which is wrong.
305
00:18:56,720 --> 00:19:01,266
If I weren't an optimist, I wouldn't try
to improve people with my films.
306
00:19:01,391 --> 00:19:04,645
A pessimist? Yes.
But is that a fault?
307
00:19:05,312 --> 00:19:09,817
After all, humanity has
a very dark side.
308
00:19:10,651 --> 00:19:13,278
I'd call it a fertile pessimism,
309
00:19:13,654 --> 00:19:17,658
for it makes us ponder
what human nature truly is.
310
00:19:17,783 --> 00:19:22,162
It helps us take off our blinders
and not be fooled by events.
311
00:19:23,872 --> 00:19:25,958
But beneath
his apparent self-confidence...
312
00:19:26,667 --> 00:19:30,921
the pessimism Clouzot is accused of
is turned mainly against himself.
313
00:19:32,297 --> 00:19:34,925
A new attempt at keeping a journal:
314
00:19:35,050 --> 00:19:37,511
"What matters isn't
to fight one's adversaries
315
00:19:37,636 --> 00:19:39,972
but one's own weaknesses."
316
00:19:40,097 --> 00:19:43,350
I never rewatch my films.
It's too agonizing.
317
00:19:43,475 --> 00:19:47,020
"I'm an idiot!
I should have done this or that...
318
00:19:47,187 --> 00:19:49,898
anything but what I did."
319
00:19:50,023 --> 00:19:53,694
But that's utterly pointless.
It's over and done with.
320
00:19:53,861 --> 00:19:57,531
Better to make a new film
and forget the old one.
321
00:19:57,865 --> 00:20:00,534
"Why this constant doubt?"
322
00:20:00,993 --> 00:20:03,328
"This need to express myself fully...
323
00:20:03,453 --> 00:20:06,707
and the certainty that I never will."
324
00:20:07,082 --> 00:20:09,877
"Nevertheless,
I quickly returned to work.
325
00:20:10,419 --> 00:20:13,547
But my professional success
hardly mattered to me.
326
00:20:13,714 --> 00:20:16,091
I felt just as discouraged
when it was released."
327
00:20:16,216 --> 00:20:18,510
He was a perfectionist.
328
00:20:18,635 --> 00:20:23,724
And since perfection is unachievable,
you're always dissatisfied.
329
00:20:24,016 --> 00:20:27,603
He was jealous, dissatisfied.
330
00:20:27,728 --> 00:20:31,148
But he was fine with that.
No one forced it on him.
331
00:20:31,273 --> 00:20:33,400
He relished it.
332
00:20:33,567 --> 00:20:36,236
He relished both his flaws
and his strengths.
333
00:20:36,403 --> 00:20:39,364
He cultivated them.
They were what drove him.
334
00:20:39,489 --> 00:20:43,118
He constantly doubted his work.
SET DESIGNER
335
00:20:43,243 --> 00:20:46,079
"You think it's any good?
I don't know...
336
00:20:46,914 --> 00:20:50,083
Let's rehearse it."
So we'd rehearse.
337
00:20:50,959 --> 00:20:54,880
We'd try different staging.
We'd play around.
338
00:20:55,005 --> 00:20:58,634
Suzy Delair was living
with him at the time.
339
00:20:58,759 --> 00:21:03,764
He'd call her and say,
"Come over. We're rehearsing.
340
00:21:05,599 --> 00:21:08,602
No, I need you now. Get dressed.
341
00:21:08,810 --> 00:21:11,021
I don't care.
Skip your appointment."
342
00:21:11,688 --> 00:21:14,066
She lived down in Seville
343
00:21:14,358 --> 00:21:16,944
And from square to villa
344
00:21:17,277 --> 00:21:19,947
She had the greatest skill
345
00:21:20,280 --> 00:21:22,908
Of all the gypsy girls there
346
00:21:23,533 --> 00:21:26,119
Others had lovelier faces
CLOUZOT'S COMPANION
347
00:21:26,244 --> 00:21:28,705
But she put them in their places
348
00:21:28,830 --> 00:21:31,750
Her gift wasn't commonplace
349
00:21:32,209 --> 00:21:34,127
There was nothing to compare
350
00:21:34,294 --> 00:21:37,881
When he was interested,
it was with a passion.
351
00:21:38,006 --> 00:21:40,676
He was only interested in people
352
00:21:40,801 --> 00:21:43,553
who'd become part of his work.
353
00:21:43,679 --> 00:21:47,140
I've almost always mixed
354
00:21:47,265 --> 00:21:51,019
my professional and private lives,
355
00:21:51,144 --> 00:21:54,648
either by copying characters
from real life
356
00:21:55,023 --> 00:21:57,985
or by using emotions I had felt
357
00:21:58,110 --> 00:22:01,321
or that others had felt toward me,
358
00:22:01,446 --> 00:22:03,615
often reversing those two.
359
00:22:03,824 --> 00:22:07,160
And I also included
my romantic partners in my work.
360
00:22:07,285 --> 00:22:11,123
He was a vampire.
361
00:22:11,248 --> 00:22:14,001
He had an unerring instinct
for finding people
362
00:22:14,167 --> 00:22:16,837
who might interest him,
363
00:22:16,962 --> 00:22:22,092
who'd fuel his creative fire...
364
00:22:22,217 --> 00:22:25,178
or his personal hell.
365
00:22:25,303 --> 00:22:27,431
I won't be your pawn
366
00:22:27,556 --> 00:22:30,934
So with her tra-la-la
Her petite tra-la-la
367
00:22:31,059 --> 00:22:33,562
She set out to capture her prey
368
00:22:33,687 --> 00:22:36,690
With one quick tra-la-la
She went tra-la-la
369
00:22:36,857 --> 00:22:39,901
And Pedro's defenses gave way
370
00:22:40,027 --> 00:22:41,945
I met Suzy Delair
371
00:22:42,070 --> 00:22:45,365
when she was in a show
before the war.
372
00:22:45,866 --> 00:22:49,536
I'd written a few songs for her.
I got my start writing songs.
373
00:22:49,661 --> 00:22:52,372
I wrote for Marianne Oswald
and for Gilles and Julien.
374
00:22:52,497 --> 00:22:55,375
- And she sang?
- I sang.
375
00:22:56,376 --> 00:22:59,629
Henri-Georges made
wonderful use of Suzy...
376
00:22:59,755 --> 00:23:02,299
her insolence...
377
00:23:02,424 --> 00:23:04,551
her way of being.
378
00:23:05,761 --> 00:23:07,721
That's how Suzy really was.
379
00:23:09,222 --> 00:23:12,684
I was lucky to have met Clouzot.
VOICE OF SUZY DELAIR
380
00:23:12,809 --> 00:23:16,563
He gave me advice
and paved my way.
381
00:23:17,230 --> 00:23:19,316
He told me,
"Don't try to be different.
382
00:23:19,691 --> 00:23:23,028
Don't imitate a certain type
or have a 'gimmick.'
383
00:23:23,153 --> 00:23:24,905
Be yourself."
384
00:23:25,072 --> 00:23:29,034
Stage fright makes me sweat buckets.
My undies are soaked.
385
00:23:29,159 --> 00:23:31,328
- Let's see.
- The shock would kill you.
386
00:23:31,453 --> 00:23:34,664
He had one shortcoming or flaw,
387
00:23:34,790 --> 00:23:38,293
an especially cruel one
for an artist:
388
00:23:38,418 --> 00:23:41,254
He lacked imagination.
389
00:23:41,880 --> 00:23:44,132
He always surrounded himself
390
00:23:44,257 --> 00:23:47,177
with screenwriters and co-authors.
391
00:23:47,302 --> 00:23:49,930
On his own, he was crippled.
392
00:23:50,055 --> 00:23:53,350
He couldn't work on his own.
393
00:23:53,475 --> 00:23:57,562
He needed a constant supply of ideas.
394
00:23:59,272 --> 00:24:02,776
It was his only shortcoming.
395
00:24:03,485 --> 00:24:05,529
Was he aware of it?
396
00:24:05,779 --> 00:24:09,491
Painfully so!
It was a source of anxiety.
397
00:24:09,616 --> 00:24:12,452
Like an addict who needs his dose,
398
00:24:12,577 --> 00:24:15,580
he was dependent
on the ideas of others.
399
00:24:15,705 --> 00:24:18,291
Did you inspire
some of his dialogue?
400
00:24:18,416 --> 00:24:19,960
Yes, often.
401
00:24:20,085 --> 00:24:21,628
- Often?
- Very often.
402
00:24:21,920 --> 00:24:24,381
If he were poor,
he'd have been in jail long ago.
403
00:24:24,506 --> 00:24:27,008
He'd ask how I'd reply,
and I'd tell him.
404
00:24:27,134 --> 00:24:28,468
There you go!
405
00:24:28,635 --> 00:24:30,512
The capitalists!
The big fortunes!
406
00:24:30,637 --> 00:24:31,763
- Can we go?
- Go ahead.
407
00:24:31,888 --> 00:24:35,892
He'd write it down.
"That works. Great."
408
00:24:36,226 --> 00:24:38,311
You're jealous of the rich.
409
00:24:38,478 --> 00:24:42,190
Well, I want my share of their dough.
I'm all for royalty.
410
00:24:42,315 --> 00:24:44,317
Your dad was a laborer.
411
00:24:44,442 --> 00:24:47,737
So what? Under Louis XV,
I'd have been Madame de Pompadour.
412
00:24:47,863 --> 00:24:50,157
I'd have heated up their tights!
413
00:24:50,282 --> 00:24:51,950
You're being despicable.
414
00:24:52,075 --> 00:24:55,871
I always insisted
that she keep her vaudeville style.
415
00:24:55,996 --> 00:25:00,000
Very few women have
her gift for comedy.
416
00:25:03,503 --> 00:25:06,298
In her last film with Clouzot,
417
00:25:06,423 --> 00:25:10,177
Suzy Delair reprises her role
of impetuous wife.
418
00:25:10,302 --> 00:25:12,888
Her ambition
and her husband's jealousy
419
00:25:13,013 --> 00:25:16,016
make them both
prime suspects in a murder.
420
00:25:17,642 --> 00:25:19,144
It's a film noir.
421
00:25:19,269 --> 00:25:21,313
It takes place in cabarets.
422
00:25:21,438 --> 00:25:23,190
There's music, rhythm.
423
00:25:23,982 --> 00:25:26,610
It bears comparison
424
00:25:27,068 --> 00:25:30,197
to great American films.
425
00:25:30,363 --> 00:25:34,117
You might compare it to
Some Like It Hot, for example.
426
00:25:34,242 --> 00:25:37,162
But this film is just as good,
if not better,
427
00:25:37,537 --> 00:25:40,207
because it has a realistic element.
428
00:25:40,373 --> 00:25:42,250
There's a real crime...
429
00:25:42,375 --> 00:25:44,002
real murders...
430
00:25:44,127 --> 00:25:46,671
real cops and interrogations...
431
00:25:46,796 --> 00:25:49,674
clouds of cigarette smoke
at police headquarters...
432
00:25:49,799 --> 00:25:51,927
the stench of stale cigarette butts.
433
00:25:52,052 --> 00:25:54,221
It's a curious thing.
434
00:25:54,346 --> 00:25:57,140
I think that before I came along,
435
00:25:57,349 --> 00:26:01,019
no French filmmaker
making crime thrillers
436
00:26:01,144 --> 00:26:03,939
had ever set foot
in police headquarters.
437
00:26:04,064 --> 00:26:06,483
I spent four months there.
438
00:26:06,608 --> 00:26:09,110
Every shot is accurate.
439
00:26:09,236 --> 00:26:13,448
If you want to learn
how to fit lots of characters
440
00:26:13,573 --> 00:26:15,492
into an interior shot,
441
00:26:15,617 --> 00:26:19,496
Quai des Orfevres is the film to watch.
FILMMAKER
442
00:26:19,621 --> 00:26:21,915
All the interrogation scenes
443
00:26:22,040 --> 00:26:25,877
contain six or seven characters.
444
00:26:26,002 --> 00:26:29,547
You wonder how he fit them all in.
445
00:26:30,548 --> 00:26:32,801
Quiet, for chrissake!
446
00:26:32,926 --> 00:26:35,220
You left the Eden
and went to the Villa St-Marceaux.
447
00:26:35,345 --> 00:26:37,847
Don't be thick.
You know we'll get you.
448
00:26:37,973 --> 00:26:39,557
Say yes and we'll call it a night.
449
00:26:39,683 --> 00:26:43,186
It's very realistic.
In fact, you could say...
450
00:26:43,311 --> 00:26:46,147
his films are part documentary.
451
00:26:46,273 --> 00:26:48,775
You'll get this
when you tell us you were there.
452
00:26:48,942 --> 00:26:52,654
But I wasn't there!
Get off my back! I've had enough!
453
00:26:54,197 --> 00:26:57,617
Yet its realism is transcended
454
00:26:57,742 --> 00:26:59,786
by a style of direction
455
00:26:59,911 --> 00:27:02,914
that often leans toward abstraction.
456
00:27:06,376 --> 00:27:08,628
I think I'll have me a cig.
457
00:27:11,089 --> 00:27:15,343
Some shots owe a lot
to Clouzot's time in Germany,
458
00:27:15,468 --> 00:27:19,431
where he worked before the war,
459
00:27:19,556 --> 00:27:21,641
and to his vision
of German Expressionism.
460
00:27:22,350 --> 00:27:23,768
That's for sure.
461
00:27:23,893 --> 00:27:26,271
You see it in the lighting
462
00:27:26,396 --> 00:27:28,440
and in his deep faith
463
00:27:29,149 --> 00:27:32,235
in the expressive force
464
00:27:32,360 --> 00:27:35,905
of lighting angles and framing.
465
00:27:36,072 --> 00:27:39,451
You sense the strong influence
of Fritz Lang and Murnau.
466
00:27:39,576 --> 00:27:42,329
He often spoke of them.
467
00:28:12,817 --> 00:28:17,405
I think his films
were almost always working
468
00:28:17,530 --> 00:28:20,450
to redeem the discredited.
CLOUZOT'S BROTHER
469
00:28:23,578 --> 00:28:26,790
Jouvet said to me once...
470
00:28:26,915 --> 00:28:29,876
"That guy's like
a character out of Dickens."
471
00:28:30,001 --> 00:28:33,463
I think that's the best description
of Clouzot's work.
472
00:28:33,588 --> 00:28:35,548
Especially in Quai des Orfevres,
473
00:28:35,715 --> 00:28:38,426
there was a truthfulness
474
00:28:38,676 --> 00:28:42,055
and a populist aspect,
475
00:28:42,180 --> 00:28:44,265
in the positive sense,
476
00:28:44,391 --> 00:28:48,186
that you only find
in certain great novels.
477
00:28:48,311 --> 00:28:50,730
Clouzot is fantastic
CARTOONIST
478
00:28:50,855 --> 00:28:53,233
at showing
how people really live:
479
00:28:53,441 --> 00:28:55,652
the concierge's lodge,
480
00:28:55,777 --> 00:28:58,947
the staircase,
the apartment, and so on.
481
00:28:59,072 --> 00:29:02,325
It's all interesting on a graphic level.
482
00:29:02,492 --> 00:29:06,162
I love the shabbiness,
483
00:29:06,287 --> 00:29:10,250
the rundown furniture.
484
00:29:10,375 --> 00:29:14,587
You see that in almost all his films.
485
00:29:14,963 --> 00:29:19,551
By refusing to divide humanity
into good and bad,
486
00:29:19,676 --> 00:29:23,471
Clouzot challenged
the very concept of social hierarchy.
487
00:29:23,596 --> 00:29:25,849
We're all equal
because we're all guilty.
488
00:29:25,974 --> 00:29:29,269
Or we could be,
which to him is the same thing.
489
00:29:29,436 --> 00:29:32,730
There are more stories to be told
about the down-and-out,
490
00:29:32,856 --> 00:29:35,275
about those
who have trouble surviving.
491
00:29:35,567 --> 00:29:37,444
There are more stories to tell.
492
00:29:37,861 --> 00:29:40,363
I fell in love at one point.
493
00:29:40,488 --> 00:29:44,200
I never even mentioned it flat out,
but he said to me...
494
00:29:44,325 --> 00:29:46,828
"You're happy.
You no longer interest me."
495
00:29:46,953 --> 00:29:48,955
I find that remarkable.
496
00:29:49,122 --> 00:29:52,167
We still saw each other,
but as friends.
497
00:29:52,292 --> 00:29:54,294
But what a great line!
498
00:29:54,461 --> 00:29:56,629
"You're happy.
You no longer interest me."
499
00:29:56,754 --> 00:29:59,883
He was only happy
seeking out others' flaws.
500
00:30:00,008 --> 00:30:02,135
He took pleasure
501
00:30:02,594 --> 00:30:07,307
in revealing how
other people's lives weren't working.
502
00:30:07,474 --> 00:30:10,143
You care for your friend
well enough.
503
00:30:11,227 --> 00:30:12,479
Well or badly, I love her.
504
00:30:12,604 --> 00:30:16,024
I know.
I'll try to bail her out of this.
505
00:30:16,149 --> 00:30:19,360
I think I know the real culprit.
506
00:30:19,486 --> 00:30:20,778
Thank you.
507
00:30:20,904 --> 00:30:23,698
Don't thank me.
I'm just doing my job.
508
00:30:24,240 --> 00:30:28,077
Besides, I have to admit,
I've taken a liking to you...
509
00:30:29,162 --> 00:30:31,331
Miss Dora Monnier.
510
00:30:31,915 --> 00:30:32,999
Me?
511
00:30:34,167 --> 00:30:37,837
Because you and I are two of a kind.
512
00:30:40,048 --> 00:30:43,843
When it comes to women,
we'll never have a chance.
513
00:30:43,968 --> 00:30:46,304
He took particular interest
514
00:30:46,429 --> 00:30:49,641
in people who couldn't find love
515
00:30:49,766 --> 00:30:53,061
or who felt some sort of guilt
from childhood.
516
00:30:53,186 --> 00:30:55,522
Georges is no saint.
517
00:30:55,688 --> 00:30:59,400
He likes vice in people,
in his characters.
518
00:30:59,526 --> 00:31:02,111
But like all great artists,
519
00:31:02,237 --> 00:31:04,656
he explores the problem in depth.
520
00:31:04,781 --> 00:31:07,325
We all have our obsessions,
521
00:31:07,450 --> 00:31:10,912
but I personally prefer
a guy with vices
522
00:31:11,037 --> 00:31:13,706
who can accept the vice in others
523
00:31:13,831 --> 00:31:16,876
to a fellow who's virtuous
but intolerant.
524
00:31:17,418 --> 00:31:20,964
Though the film is renowned
as a classic in the genre
525
00:31:21,089 --> 00:31:25,927
and finally brought Clouzot
unanimous acclaim in the film world,
BEST DIRECTOR, VENICE 1947
526
00:31:26,052 --> 00:31:28,680
it marks the end
of a certain aspiration.
527
00:31:28,805 --> 00:31:30,056
Slate!
528
00:31:30,223 --> 00:31:32,016
Brasil, scene 1.
529
00:31:32,141 --> 00:31:36,229
I was sick of traditional screenplays
and their tired plots.
530
00:31:36,396 --> 00:31:40,149
For Brasil, I didn't even have
to go looking for an idea.
531
00:31:40,275 --> 00:31:43,194
It appeared
very naturally in my life.
532
00:31:43,319 --> 00:31:45,822
It's not a typical film.
533
00:31:45,947 --> 00:31:50,535
Just as this is my actual apartment
and not a set,
534
00:31:50,660 --> 00:31:55,290
nothing you'll see onscreen
will be made up or faked.
535
00:31:55,540 --> 00:32:00,628
Usually you're shown
a fake story played by real actors.
536
00:32:00,962 --> 00:32:04,090
This time, you'll see a real story
537
00:32:04,215 --> 00:32:06,426
performed by nonactors.
538
00:32:06,593 --> 00:32:09,262
He reinvents himself before our eyes
539
00:32:09,429 --> 00:32:12,307
and steps
through the screen to direct
540
00:32:12,432 --> 00:32:15,184
his own life
in a strange mix of genres.
541
00:32:15,310 --> 00:32:18,062
This true story has a prologue
542
00:32:18,187 --> 00:32:21,649
that has already played out.
I've just gotten married.
543
00:32:21,774 --> 00:32:25,570
Because I love her eyes,
the eyes of a kind-hearted sorceress.
544
00:32:25,695 --> 00:32:29,782
"With Vera, I found love at 43.
I was on fire.
545
00:32:30,074 --> 00:32:34,120
We never left each other's side.
My life had found meaning.
546
00:32:34,287 --> 00:32:38,416
My selfishness didn't disappear.
It expanded to make room for two.
547
00:32:38,541 --> 00:32:40,918
Between us, we'd share the world."
548
00:32:41,210 --> 00:32:44,881
The candor and exhibitionism
of a once-jaded man
549
00:32:45,006 --> 00:32:48,926
who can't believe
he's finally found true love.
550
00:32:49,052 --> 00:32:51,220
As a professional voyeur,
551
00:32:51,346 --> 00:32:54,682
Clouzot can't help but film
the object of his fascination.
552
00:32:58,936 --> 00:33:01,147
I'm filming!
Leave me alone!
553
00:33:01,856 --> 00:33:03,650
Where was I?
554
00:33:03,816 --> 00:33:06,778
At first it was just
a lovers' voyage.
555
00:33:07,403 --> 00:33:10,823
I wanted to visit Brazil
because Vera is Brazilian.
556
00:33:12,742 --> 00:33:17,789
We met Henri-Georges Clouzot
at the bustling port of Marseille.
557
00:33:17,914 --> 00:33:22,669
Can you tell us about the film
you've started shooting here?
558
00:33:22,794 --> 00:33:26,589
It's a travelogue
that will differ from a documentary
559
00:33:26,714 --> 00:33:29,300
in that it will be entirely subjective.
560
00:33:29,425 --> 00:33:33,346
I don't know if the country's
social issues will interest me
561
00:33:33,513 --> 00:33:35,932
more than its picturesque aspects.
562
00:33:36,057 --> 00:33:38,685
That's all we'll ever know
about the documentary.
563
00:33:38,851 --> 00:33:42,522
It's abruptly halted by Brazilian
authorities as too dangerous.
564
00:33:42,980 --> 00:33:46,484
But it will inspire
Clouzot's two greatest films,
565
00:33:46,609 --> 00:33:49,028
starting with his most iconic...
566
00:33:49,612 --> 00:33:51,948
The Wages of Fear.
567
00:33:52,740 --> 00:33:54,701
One drop of this liquid....
568
00:33:59,080 --> 00:34:03,000
Experienced drivers sought...
569
00:34:04,043 --> 00:34:06,003
for dangerous work.
570
00:34:06,587 --> 00:34:07,714
Good pay.
571
00:34:28,735 --> 00:34:31,946
All washed up
in a seedy South American town,
572
00:34:32,071 --> 00:34:35,491
several idle characters
try to change their fortunes
573
00:34:35,616 --> 00:34:38,244
by agreeing to drive
run-down trucks
574
00:34:38,369 --> 00:34:41,706
packed with nitroglycerine
over rough terrain.
575
00:34:43,249 --> 00:34:45,168
None will survive.
576
00:34:48,212 --> 00:34:50,423
At a certain point...
577
00:34:50,548 --> 00:34:53,009
you get tired
of telling the eternal story
578
00:34:53,134 --> 00:34:57,680
about a husband, wife, and lover,
or about small-town life in France.
579
00:34:57,805 --> 00:35:00,433
I saw my chance to make in France
580
00:35:00,600 --> 00:35:03,019
what the Americans
have made many times
581
00:35:03,144 --> 00:35:06,355
but has rarely
been attempted in Europe:
582
00:35:06,481 --> 00:35:08,983
a true action film,
583
00:35:09,108 --> 00:35:11,778
but one where
the men's inner struggles
584
00:35:11,903 --> 00:35:14,864
are as violent as the external events.
585
00:35:16,908 --> 00:35:17,950
10...
586
00:35:19,035 --> 00:35:19,911
Leave it!
587
00:35:20,036 --> 00:35:23,873
12, 13, 14!
588
00:35:26,000 --> 00:35:28,795
Action films are rare
in French cinema.
589
00:35:28,920 --> 00:35:32,799
They're hard to make.
590
00:35:32,924 --> 00:35:34,801
One day
Rene Clair said...
591
00:35:34,967 --> 00:35:36,969
"I wouldn't have done it
for a billion francs!
592
00:35:37,136 --> 00:35:39,889
I'd never get involved
in such a crazy venture."
593
00:35:40,014 --> 00:35:43,184
It would have been easier
on a soundstage,
594
00:35:43,309 --> 00:35:45,520
as was customary at the time,
595
00:35:45,645 --> 00:35:48,314
but Clouzot wanted
to break with tradition.
596
00:35:48,523 --> 00:35:51,108
Years before the New Wave,
597
00:35:51,317 --> 00:35:55,112
he believed in the power
of real locations and real experiences.
598
00:36:00,409 --> 00:36:02,620
The film suffered a breakdown.
599
00:36:02,745 --> 00:36:06,207
Out with the umbrellas!
Bad weather halted filming
600
00:36:06,332 --> 00:36:08,334
that October.
601
00:36:08,459 --> 00:36:10,962
I remember a full-page article
602
00:36:11,087 --> 00:36:13,506
published during the shoot
603
00:36:13,631 --> 00:36:17,301
that claimed I had single-handedly
TORRENTIAL RAINS DELAY SHOOTING
604
00:36:17,426 --> 00:36:21,013
sunk French cinema
with my ridiculous demands.
605
00:36:21,138 --> 00:36:24,308
It might have ended there,
but seven months later,
606
00:36:24,433 --> 00:36:26,769
in June 1952,
607
00:36:26,894 --> 00:36:29,689
shooting begins again
with a new producer.
608
00:36:29,814 --> 00:36:31,858
Against all odds...
609
00:36:32,024 --> 00:36:35,194
the film will finally be completed.
610
00:36:40,449 --> 00:36:42,577
At 10, when I saw this film,
FILMMAKER
611
00:36:42,702 --> 00:36:45,079
I shook with emotion.
612
00:36:45,204 --> 00:36:48,457
I was all worked up.
My palms were moist.
613
00:36:50,793 --> 00:36:53,880
I needed to use the bathroom,
but I couldn't.
614
00:36:54,046 --> 00:36:56,173
I didn't want to miss a thing.
615
00:36:56,299 --> 00:36:58,634
Something might happen
while I was gone.
616
00:36:59,844 --> 00:37:02,388
Terror filled me as I watched.
617
00:37:19,238 --> 00:37:21,365
It's pure suspense...
618
00:37:21,490 --> 00:37:24,535
and the direction
is absolutely brilliant:
FILMMAKER
619
00:37:24,660 --> 00:37:26,871
all the pitfalls along the way,
620
00:37:26,996 --> 00:37:29,206
everything threatening these men
621
00:37:29,332 --> 00:37:33,544
who are risking their lives
with every jolt of their truck.
622
00:37:42,929 --> 00:37:45,181
Surprise only lasts a moment...
623
00:37:45,723 --> 00:37:48,643
but with suspense,
the longer it lasts,
624
00:37:48,768 --> 00:37:51,020
the more it drives viewers crazy.
625
00:37:54,023 --> 00:37:57,276
The tension in
those slow movements is incredible.
626
00:37:59,445 --> 00:38:02,949
It's like walking on ice
or on a razor's edge.
627
00:38:05,743 --> 00:38:08,329
I was struck by how the sound
628
00:38:08,454 --> 00:38:10,456
helps builds the suspense too.
629
00:38:14,043 --> 00:38:17,421
The downshifting...
630
00:38:17,546 --> 00:38:20,675
accelerating, slowing down...
631
00:38:20,800 --> 00:38:22,218
and stopping.
632
00:38:24,261 --> 00:38:27,223
It's like musique concrete!
633
00:38:27,348 --> 00:38:30,810
Any hack director would
have drowned it in music.
634
00:38:30,977 --> 00:38:33,145
Clouzot uses only sounds.
635
00:38:35,982 --> 00:38:39,151
It's a way of challenging
Hollywood's usual tricks
636
00:38:39,318 --> 00:38:41,654
and attempting something new.
637
00:38:44,031 --> 00:38:47,827
Clouzot is brilliant
at choosing what to show.
638
00:38:57,795 --> 00:39:01,090
We don't know
why the truck blew up.
639
00:39:01,215 --> 00:39:03,175
We just hear an explosion.
640
00:39:03,467 --> 00:39:09,140
That's a magnificent moment visually.
641
00:39:09,265 --> 00:39:14,311
We sense their deaths through
a close-up of a cigarette being rolled.
642
00:39:14,437 --> 00:39:17,440
In terms of masterful direction,
643
00:39:17,565 --> 00:39:19,859
it's simply magnificent.
644
00:39:19,984 --> 00:39:22,445
If you stop,
you'll never get started again.
645
00:39:23,446 --> 00:39:25,364
We got no choice.
646
00:39:26,532 --> 00:39:27,366
Okay.
647
00:39:37,334 --> 00:39:39,378
Hurry up!
648
00:39:43,299 --> 00:39:45,676
Wait, wait!
649
00:39:46,802 --> 00:39:48,721
Let me move this.
650
00:39:50,598 --> 00:39:52,808
Wait!
651
00:40:00,066 --> 00:40:01,317
Stop!
652
00:40:01,442 --> 00:40:03,069
Get out of the way!
653
00:40:03,986 --> 00:40:05,654
I can't!
654
00:40:05,780 --> 00:40:07,406
I'm stuck!
655
00:40:08,908 --> 00:40:09,992
Move!
656
00:40:12,369 --> 00:40:14,580
Mario, stop!
657
00:40:22,004 --> 00:40:24,215
It's absolutely brilliant.
658
00:40:24,340 --> 00:40:27,259
In that moment of pure sadism...
659
00:40:27,384 --> 00:40:30,096
lies something very powerful.
660
00:40:35,935 --> 00:40:40,064
Their relationship
is truly sadomasochist.
661
00:40:40,439 --> 00:40:44,610
Yves Montand slaps Vanel,
662
00:40:44,777 --> 00:40:46,987
Vanel whimpers.
663
00:40:47,113 --> 00:40:50,241
Their dominant-submissive relationship
is completely sexualized.
664
00:40:50,366 --> 00:40:53,327
It's very powerful.
665
00:40:53,452 --> 00:40:56,247
It's the soul of the film.
666
00:40:56,372 --> 00:40:58,791
He must have believed -
667
00:40:58,958 --> 00:41:01,877
rightly or wrongly, I don't know -
668
00:41:02,002 --> 00:41:04,630
that sadomasochism
ruled the world.
669
00:41:04,755 --> 00:41:08,384
I agree that the desire
for power and domination
670
00:41:08,509 --> 00:41:10,719
is certainly a key...
671
00:41:11,971 --> 00:41:14,723
in human relationships.
672
00:41:14,849 --> 00:41:18,144
But he wasn't a sexual pervert.
673
00:41:18,269 --> 00:41:21,897
It was a way of seeing relationships,
674
00:41:22,022 --> 00:41:24,358
a way of decoding them.
675
00:41:24,483 --> 00:41:29,947
I knew nothing about sadomasochism,
but I learned that, for Clouzot,
676
00:41:30,072 --> 00:41:34,076
a true sadist is also a masochist.
677
00:41:34,201 --> 00:41:38,998
What should be the role of the man
and the woman in a marriage?
678
00:41:39,456 --> 00:41:42,710
The roles of dictator and slave.
679
00:41:44,211 --> 00:41:47,131
Woman is the dictator,
man is the slave.
680
00:41:47,256 --> 00:41:49,341
Bravo! I agree totally!
681
00:41:49,466 --> 00:41:52,720
The awards at Cannes
were announced tonight.
682
00:41:52,845 --> 00:41:55,806
The Palme d'Or went to
The Wages of Fear,
683
00:41:55,931 --> 00:42:01,020
and Best Actor went
to Charles Vanel in the same film.
684
00:42:01,145 --> 00:42:04,356
The Palme d'Or at Cannes,
the Golden Bear in Berlin,
685
00:42:04,690 --> 00:42:07,568
London's BAFTA Best Film Award.
686
00:42:07,693 --> 00:42:10,905
The film's iconic images
are shown worldwide
687
00:42:11,030 --> 00:42:14,617
and prove Clouzot the equal
of the greats in cinema.
688
00:42:15,201 --> 00:42:18,162
Vera has a secondary
but unsettling role,
689
00:42:18,287 --> 00:42:21,207
a mix of desire and submission.
690
00:42:21,332 --> 00:42:23,500
But it's just the beginning.
691
00:42:23,626 --> 00:42:27,046
The film's success leads
to a starring role for her.
692
00:42:28,881 --> 00:42:33,219
Diabolique is a really interesting film
CLOUZOT'S MASTERPIECE
693
00:42:33,344 --> 00:42:36,972
because it's a curious example
of a great actress, Simone Signoret,
694
00:42:37,389 --> 00:42:42,186
acting in true tandem
in many scenes
695
00:42:42,311 --> 00:42:46,857
with a weaker,
less experienced actress.
696
00:42:46,982 --> 00:42:52,196
Something very intriguing
emerges from this clash
697
00:42:52,321 --> 00:42:58,869
of mismatched actresses
with differing abilities.
698
00:42:58,994 --> 00:43:00,955
Vera Clouzot's inexperience
699
00:43:01,080 --> 00:43:04,375
ends up working
in her character's favor.
700
00:43:04,500 --> 00:43:09,380
It underlines
the element of manipulation.
701
00:43:09,505 --> 00:43:13,801
Good screenwriting is about
writing for your specific actors.
702
00:43:13,926 --> 00:43:19,098
Hitchcock once told me he chose
his actors based on their flaws.
703
00:43:19,223 --> 00:43:22,768
You can always try
to play up their strengths,
704
00:43:22,893 --> 00:43:25,854
but you can't get rid of their flaws,
705
00:43:25,980 --> 00:43:27,606
so it's best to use them.
706
00:43:28,107 --> 00:43:30,109
During their trip to Brazil,
707
00:43:30,276 --> 00:43:33,904
Clouzot was fascinated to learn
how superstitious Vera was.
708
00:43:34,029 --> 00:43:37,658
When an oracle announced
ill omens for the couple,
709
00:43:37,783 --> 00:43:40,786
Clouzot saw the fear
on his wife's face.
710
00:43:41,287 --> 00:43:44,248
She warned him about dark forces...
711
00:43:45,124 --> 00:43:48,711
and he decided to use that
as the basis for Diabolique.
712
00:43:48,836 --> 00:43:53,966
The wife and the mistress
join forces to kill the husband.
713
00:43:54,300 --> 00:43:56,885
I may be a bit old-fashioned,
714
00:43:57,011 --> 00:43:59,471
but this is absolutely astounding.
715
00:43:59,596 --> 00:44:03,434
The legal wife consoling the mistress.
716
00:44:03,559 --> 00:44:05,060
No, no, and no.
717
00:44:05,185 --> 00:44:08,230
I'd like to die
and never see him again.
718
00:44:08,355 --> 00:44:10,816
Die, my sweet.
Die quickly.
719
00:44:11,358 --> 00:44:14,737
We'll give you a nice funeral
and finally be rid of you.
720
00:44:14,862 --> 00:44:17,990
The school won't suffer,
and I'll feel much better.
721
00:44:19,450 --> 00:44:21,535
But the corpse disappears.
722
00:44:21,910 --> 00:44:24,663
- He isn't there anymore?
- No, he isn't.
723
00:44:25,539 --> 00:44:28,167
Does a corpse that disappears
seem natural to you?
724
00:44:28,292 --> 00:44:30,502
Returned from the dead,
725
00:44:30,669 --> 00:44:34,089
his ghost seems to torment
his diabolical wife.
726
00:44:36,008 --> 00:44:39,970
A remarkable thing about Clouzot
is that he doesn't need dialogue
727
00:44:40,095 --> 00:44:43,182
or elaborate staging
to terrify viewers.
728
00:44:44,183 --> 00:44:46,685
He terrifies them discreetly
729
00:44:46,810 --> 00:44:49,313
with little details.
730
00:44:50,105 --> 00:44:53,317
His style is to show
the tension and fear
731
00:44:53,442 --> 00:44:56,320
that reside in the shadows.
732
00:44:56,445 --> 00:45:00,699
He has a talent
for terrifying viewers with the unseen.
733
00:45:04,745 --> 00:45:08,415
And at the core of this intrigue,
this spectacle,
734
00:45:08,540 --> 00:45:12,086
Clouzot incorporates
his wife's real-life heart condition.
735
00:45:27,226 --> 00:45:29,561
It was madness.
736
00:45:30,104 --> 00:45:33,065
If your wife has a heart problem...
737
00:45:34,566 --> 00:45:36,735
you don't put her in films.
738
00:45:37,069 --> 00:45:40,697
You put her in a lounge chair
with some knitting
739
00:45:41,073 --> 00:45:43,534
and an orangeade.
740
00:45:43,659 --> 00:45:46,078
That's not love.
741
00:45:46,203 --> 00:45:48,914
It's certifiable madness.
742
00:45:55,045 --> 00:45:59,550
I imagine there were personal
and other factors at play.
743
00:45:59,675 --> 00:46:03,554
She probably asked him,
"Why don't you give me a role?"
744
00:46:03,679 --> 00:46:07,057
So he had no choice.
745
00:46:07,182 --> 00:46:09,852
But at the same time,
746
00:46:10,269 --> 00:46:13,230
he shouldn't have deluded himself.
747
00:46:13,355 --> 00:46:15,441
He worked her extremely hard.
748
00:46:15,566 --> 00:46:17,734
Filming was terribly stressful,
749
00:46:17,860 --> 00:46:20,362
with lots of takes.
750
00:46:20,487 --> 00:46:22,823
That's due to the fact
751
00:46:23,157 --> 00:46:27,786
that when you're aiming
for a certain intensity on set,
752
00:46:27,953 --> 00:46:31,123
you have to give yourself
to it completely.
753
00:46:31,290 --> 00:46:34,418
If you yourself aren't
totally tense and concentrated,
754
00:46:34,543 --> 00:46:38,505
feeling the very terror
you're trying to express,
755
00:46:38,630 --> 00:46:40,048
nothing happens.
756
00:46:40,424 --> 00:46:43,635
Quiet on the set. Silence!
757
00:46:43,927 --> 00:46:45,971
Camera.
758
00:46:46,638 --> 00:46:50,142
- Action!
- What a job!
759
00:46:50,893 --> 00:46:53,061
You have to act, Gisele!
760
00:46:53,187 --> 00:46:56,607
You're in such a hurry
we hardly see you.
761
00:46:56,732 --> 00:46:58,984
We don't even realize it's you.
762
00:46:59,151 --> 00:47:01,737
Should I wait a beat after "action"?
763
00:47:01,862 --> 00:47:04,990
No, sweetheart.
That's not the point.
764
00:47:05,157 --> 00:47:07,826
The camera has
an incredibly sharp eye.
765
00:47:08,410 --> 00:47:13,165
If the terror isn't real,
viewers won't believe it.
766
00:47:13,290 --> 00:47:17,461
For Clouzot, you can only convey
what you're feeling.
767
00:47:17,586 --> 00:47:21,340
This is where
you mustn't speak too fast.
768
00:47:21,507 --> 00:47:24,593
If you want to capture
769
00:47:24,718 --> 00:47:27,971
a character's suffering
as if in a documentary,
770
00:47:28,096 --> 00:47:30,516
you have to make the actor suffer.
771
00:47:30,849 --> 00:47:35,020
So he slaps his actors
and treats them badly.
772
00:47:35,145 --> 00:47:37,147
He's very rough.
773
00:47:37,272 --> 00:47:41,860
He creates terrible tension on set.
Many people have reported that.
774
00:47:42,027 --> 00:47:46,657
We've heard about his violence
toward actors, particularly toward you.
775
00:47:46,782 --> 00:47:50,077
Sure, he slapped me,
but that's because he's crazy.
776
00:47:50,202 --> 00:47:52,704
It was actually very funny.
777
00:47:53,080 --> 00:47:58,043
You have to put an actor
into a certain nervous state.
778
00:47:58,168 --> 00:48:02,881
And if he can't find that state
on his own after various takes,
779
00:48:03,006 --> 00:48:05,133
you have to help him...
780
00:48:05,384 --> 00:48:07,678
by any means necessary.
781
00:48:07,803 --> 00:48:11,056
When he was on set,
782
00:48:11,181 --> 00:48:15,686
I think he really enjoyed
dominating others.
783
00:48:15,978 --> 00:48:17,896
That's for sure.
784
00:48:18,063 --> 00:48:20,566
Now, it either worked or it didn't.
785
00:48:21,567 --> 00:48:24,611
Thus the dark legend
around Clouzot is born.
786
00:48:24,736 --> 00:48:27,406
Paradoxically, it's great for publicity
787
00:48:27,531 --> 00:48:30,158
with a scandal-hungry press.
788
00:48:30,284 --> 00:48:33,161
Reporters looking for scoops
crowd his sets,
789
00:48:33,287 --> 00:48:36,081
hoping to witness
the next outburst.
790
00:48:36,206 --> 00:48:40,502
The event of the week
is Clouzot's film La Verite.
791
00:48:40,627 --> 00:48:43,338
We're here with the director
of Le Corbeau,
792
00:48:43,463 --> 00:48:46,466
Quai des Orfevres,
and The Wages of Fear.
793
00:48:46,592 --> 00:48:49,428
Things didn't go
very well between them,
794
00:48:49,553 --> 00:48:52,764
because he was used
to slapping his actresses.
795
00:48:53,098 --> 00:48:55,392
One day he slapped her,
796
00:48:55,517 --> 00:48:58,937
and she slapped him back
and stomped on his foot.
797
00:48:59,313 --> 00:49:01,773
It was a big drama!
BARDOT'S DRESSER
798
00:49:01,940 --> 00:49:05,527
But he got the message.
Things went smoothly after that.
799
00:49:05,861 --> 00:49:08,989
Being around Clouzot had its dangers.
800
00:49:09,114 --> 00:49:12,576
But if it wasn't working after a few days,
801
00:49:12,701 --> 00:49:14,995
he got rid of you.
802
00:49:15,120 --> 00:49:18,915
However, if you engaged with him
and played his game,
803
00:49:19,041 --> 00:49:21,084
things got complicated.
804
00:49:21,209 --> 00:49:25,255
Because the point wasn't just
to go along with everything.
805
00:49:25,380 --> 00:49:28,759
You had to rebel
806
00:49:28,884 --> 00:49:33,013
and stand up to him,
807
00:49:33,138 --> 00:49:37,017
but not in a stupid,
knee-jerk fashion.
808
00:49:37,142 --> 00:49:39,936
It was complicated.
809
00:49:40,062 --> 00:49:42,439
So yes, it was dangerous,
810
00:49:42,564 --> 00:49:46,526
but as all the actors
who worked with him agree,
811
00:49:46,652 --> 00:49:50,155
including Bardot,
they went back for more.
812
00:49:50,280 --> 00:49:52,991
Brigitte had never looked so -
813
00:49:53,116 --> 00:49:58,288
With him she's incredibly natural,
beautiful - it's all there.
814
00:49:58,622 --> 00:50:00,415
He made her shine.
815
00:50:01,291 --> 00:50:05,671
He didn't behave as he did
just to get her down.
816
00:50:06,963 --> 00:50:11,802
For his tenth film,
ironically entitled La Verite,
817
00:50:11,927 --> 00:50:14,596
Clouzot denounces
the absurdity of the legal system.
818
00:50:14,721 --> 00:50:17,516
With a girl like that, truth may be
the best defense for once.
819
00:50:17,683 --> 00:50:19,184
But which truth?
820
00:50:19,309 --> 00:50:21,937
He adopts Andre Malraux's phrase:
821
00:50:22,062 --> 00:50:24,773
"To judge is clearly
not to understand,
822
00:50:24,898 --> 00:50:27,150
because if one understood,
one couldn't judge."
823
00:50:27,275 --> 00:50:30,404
I wasn't ready to marry.
I just wanted us to be happy.
824
00:50:30,529 --> 00:50:33,281
Is happiness incompatible
with respectability?
825
00:50:33,407 --> 00:50:35,117
Is marriage so respectable?
826
00:50:35,784 --> 00:50:37,661
In the dock...
827
00:50:37,869 --> 00:50:41,498
Bardot once again embodies
a sexually liberated generation.
828
00:50:41,623 --> 00:50:45,085
She's sleeps around and urges
Sami Frey to bed her own sister.
829
00:50:45,210 --> 00:50:48,213
So what are you waiting for?
She might lighten up.
830
00:50:48,505 --> 00:50:51,007
In short, everything
that shocks and frightens
831
00:50:51,133 --> 00:50:55,220
the conservative society
in whose name justice is meted out.
832
00:50:55,345 --> 00:50:59,725
Is it a documentary
about the actress playing the role,
833
00:50:59,850 --> 00:51:02,394
or is it about the character?
834
00:51:02,519 --> 00:51:04,396
But Gilbert did love me!
835
00:51:04,563 --> 00:51:07,774
You just don't want to admit it!
You can't bear to!
836
00:51:07,899 --> 00:51:09,901
That's the only truth!
837
00:51:10,068 --> 00:51:13,822
I was silly and cruel,
with flaws galore...
838
00:51:14,114 --> 00:51:16,241
but he loved me anyway!
839
00:51:16,908 --> 00:51:18,869
Now I'll never see him again.
840
00:51:18,994 --> 00:51:22,372
That scene was done in one take.
841
00:51:22,497 --> 00:51:28,295
I could only give my best performance
with the first swell of emotion,
842
00:51:28,420 --> 00:51:32,257
unlike professional actors
843
00:51:32,424 --> 00:51:36,595
whose acting gets better
with every take.
844
00:51:36,720 --> 00:51:38,680
I couldn't do that.
845
00:51:39,097 --> 00:51:43,101
Clouzot got me worked up
into a state of despair
846
00:51:43,226 --> 00:51:46,229
just before doing the scene.
847
00:51:46,438 --> 00:51:49,399
I didn't allow her to rehearse.
848
00:51:49,524 --> 00:51:53,153
I'd get her worked up as needed,
849
00:51:53,278 --> 00:51:56,656
then throw her
in front of the camera,
850
00:51:56,782 --> 00:51:59,826
and she'd get it on the first take.
851
00:51:59,951 --> 00:52:02,746
He'd say "action" and I'd go for it.
852
00:52:03,205 --> 00:52:05,165
Never again, you hear?
853
00:52:05,290 --> 00:52:08,752
So do as you like with me!
I'm not afraid!
854
00:52:08,877 --> 00:52:12,005
You sit there
in your ridiculous outfits!
855
00:52:12,130 --> 00:52:16,134
You judge me,
but you've never lived or loved!
856
00:52:16,551 --> 00:52:20,972
That's why you hate me -
because you're all dead!
857
00:52:21,223 --> 00:52:25,143
For me, her performance
in the last 45 minutes
858
00:52:25,310 --> 00:52:30,690
is some of the best work ever
by any actress in a film.
859
00:52:30,816 --> 00:52:33,318
Even more so since it's Bardot,
860
00:52:33,485 --> 00:52:36,154
who was seen
as frivolous and superficial.
861
00:52:36,279 --> 00:52:38,907
Suddenly she's this tragic character.
862
00:52:39,032 --> 00:52:41,993
I was no longer myself,
863
00:52:42,118 --> 00:52:46,748
yet the emotions
I was expressing were real.
864
00:52:46,873 --> 00:52:48,667
I wasn't acting.
865
00:52:51,545 --> 00:52:54,631
Clouzot was always pushing
the boundaries of his era
866
00:52:54,756 --> 00:52:57,175
to capture something new.
867
00:52:57,300 --> 00:52:59,845
But his exploration
of this new territory
868
00:53:00,011 --> 00:53:02,430
where reality and fiction blur
869
00:53:02,556 --> 00:53:04,516
wasn't without its perils.
870
00:53:08,436 --> 00:53:11,398
In a strange echo of the film,
871
00:53:11,523 --> 00:53:14,693
Bardot tries to kill herself
after the shoot ends.
872
00:53:15,277 --> 00:53:17,779
Clouzot too has a brush with death,
873
00:53:17,904 --> 00:53:20,991
when his first heart attack
knocks him unconscious.
874
00:53:21,116 --> 00:53:24,202
With Vera, the game
of submission and domination
875
00:53:24,327 --> 00:53:27,372
takes a particularly dramatic turn.
876
00:53:27,539 --> 00:53:30,292
"I'm a monster
with the face of a madman,
877
00:53:30,417 --> 00:53:33,169
selfishly pushing her
to madness and death.
878
00:53:33,420 --> 00:53:36,798
I don't let her rest.
I smoke constantly.
879
00:53:36,923 --> 00:53:40,051
She wonders why she left
her ex-husband."
880
00:53:40,176 --> 00:53:43,847
Clouzot continues,
"And it's not just her.
881
00:53:43,972 --> 00:53:48,018
No one loves me
or ever has loved me -
882
00:53:48,143 --> 00:53:51,396
not my mother,
nor any woman, nor any girlfriend."
883
00:53:51,563 --> 00:53:54,482
"My love,"
writes Vera to Henri-Georges,
884
00:53:54,608 --> 00:53:57,736
"I haven't been nice.
I'm sorry I'm not a better person.
885
00:53:58,403 --> 00:54:01,364
You deserve to have me
always at your feet.
886
00:54:01,489 --> 00:54:03,241
I promise to be very sweet.
887
00:54:03,366 --> 00:54:06,077
I love and adore you.
Your little monster, Vera."
888
00:54:06,536 --> 00:54:10,248
We just received news
of the death of Vera Clouzot,
889
00:54:10,415 --> 00:54:14,252
wife of the director of Diabolique,
The Wages of Fear, and Les Espions.
890
00:54:14,377 --> 00:54:16,963
Clouzot learned the tragic news
891
00:54:17,088 --> 00:54:19,925
upon flying in from Nice.
892
00:54:20,050 --> 00:54:24,596
Her residence, the Hotel George V,
was quickly swarmed by photographers.
893
00:54:24,721 --> 00:54:27,599
Our reporter, Philippe Real,
was on the scene.
894
00:54:27,933 --> 00:54:30,101
He interviewed the police chief,
895
00:54:30,226 --> 00:54:34,439
who said the medical examiner
ruled it a natural death.
896
00:54:34,606 --> 00:54:37,943
There will be no investigation.
897
00:54:42,280 --> 00:54:44,199
With Vera's consent...
898
00:54:44,324 --> 00:54:46,868
Clouzot had filmed Death's approach,
899
00:54:47,285 --> 00:54:51,623
making us voyeurs
and reluctant accomplices
900
00:54:51,748 --> 00:54:55,293
as we watch these images
that remain forever troubling.
901
00:54:57,337 --> 00:55:00,507
Is it the ardent love
of a passionate filmmaker?
902
00:55:04,219 --> 00:55:07,138
The perverse pleasure of the artist?
903
00:55:07,305 --> 00:55:11,309
Or the impotence of a man
terrified his wife might die
904
00:55:11,685 --> 00:55:15,730
who can only exorcise that terror
by putting it on-screen?
905
00:55:17,691 --> 00:55:21,820
Clouzot constantly pushes the boundaries
in search of something new.
906
00:55:25,907 --> 00:55:28,827
It would be a great mistake
to think of Clouzot
907
00:55:28,952 --> 00:55:31,246
solely as the great classic filmmaker
908
00:55:31,371 --> 00:55:34,582
behind Quai des Orfevres,
Le Corbeau, or La Verite.
909
00:55:34,708 --> 00:55:38,503
He is that, but there's more.
910
00:55:39,045 --> 00:55:41,172
He knew that to express
911
00:55:41,756 --> 00:55:45,552
the most extreme and demented
aspects of human nature,
912
00:55:45,677 --> 00:55:50,515
he'd have to go beyond the limits
of cinema and its technology
913
00:55:50,640 --> 00:55:52,809
and explore other arts
914
00:55:53,226 --> 00:55:57,939
like sculpture, painting,
and innovations in music.
915
00:55:58,523 --> 00:56:01,943
You must never
allow yourself to stagnate.
916
00:56:02,402 --> 00:56:05,321
What was interesting
15 years ago remains so,
917
00:56:05,447 --> 00:56:08,283
but you have to explore
what's happening now.
918
00:56:09,868 --> 00:56:13,288
You should always be searching,
or you might as well quit.
919
00:56:13,413 --> 00:56:15,832
Clouzot rubs shoulders
with giants:
920
00:56:15,957 --> 00:56:18,543
His work with conductor
Herbert von Karajan
921
00:56:18,710 --> 00:56:20,712
and Pablo Picasso
922
00:56:20,837 --> 00:56:23,131
makes him a major art-film figure.
923
00:56:23,256 --> 00:56:26,885
His aim isn't just to reach a goal
but to surpass it.
924
00:56:27,010 --> 00:56:30,221
He instinctively senses
that cinema must go further
925
00:56:30,680 --> 00:56:33,767
and break away from cliched plots,
926
00:56:33,892 --> 00:56:36,352
from the tricks of the trade,
927
00:56:36,478 --> 00:56:40,065
which leads
to an experimental style of cinema.
928
00:56:41,649 --> 00:56:43,943
This is clear in L'Enfer.
929
00:56:44,069 --> 00:56:47,781
He quickly intuits that
the character's jealous hallucinations
930
00:56:47,906 --> 00:56:50,241
can only be conveyed
931
00:56:50,366 --> 00:56:55,038
by shredding cinematic conventions
932
00:56:55,163 --> 00:56:58,666
and pushing the boundaries
of what's possible technically.
933
00:56:59,167 --> 00:57:02,212
Clouzot sets out to shatter
conventional narrative.
934
00:57:02,337 --> 00:57:07,217
In L'Enfer, he uses
the main character's mental confusion
935
00:57:07,342 --> 00:57:11,262
to mix past, present,
reality, and fantasy
936
00:57:11,387 --> 00:57:13,598
in an incredible kaleidoscope.
937
00:57:13,765 --> 00:57:16,976
No art that is not free
can be complete.
938
00:57:17,102 --> 00:57:21,940
But no director in a very long time
has been completely free.
939
00:57:22,065 --> 00:57:26,611
We never have
enough film, time, or money.
940
00:57:26,736 --> 00:57:28,947
One of the film's problems was
941
00:57:29,072 --> 00:57:32,075
that Clouzot was
the only one in charge.
942
00:57:32,200 --> 00:57:34,619
He did exactly what he wanted,
943
00:57:34,744 --> 00:57:37,997
how and when he wanted it.
944
00:57:38,123 --> 00:57:40,959
It was a crew of over 100 people,
945
00:57:41,084 --> 00:57:44,462
with three teams
shooting simultaneously,
946
00:57:44,587 --> 00:57:47,632
often getting in each other's way.
947
00:57:47,757 --> 00:57:51,469
The idea was that Clouzot
would go from set to set,
948
00:57:51,594 --> 00:57:54,430
theoretically speeding up filming.
949
00:57:54,556 --> 00:57:57,392
The shoot went badly.
Plus, he was sick.
950
00:57:57,517 --> 00:58:01,020
And he fell victim
to his own megalomania.
951
00:58:01,146 --> 00:58:06,317
I don't remember how old he was,
but he was no spring chicken.
952
00:58:06,442 --> 00:58:11,823
To try to juggle three film crews
at once isn't very sensible.
953
00:58:11,948 --> 00:58:17,036
He'd always been sickly,
with a weak constitution.
954
00:58:17,162 --> 00:58:20,206
Now he had a heart attack,
955
00:58:20,331 --> 00:58:24,335
and the film was abruptly halted.
956
00:58:28,506 --> 00:58:33,094
You have to be a megalomaniac,
or everyone would be a director.
957
00:58:33,761 --> 00:58:38,099
But not too much of one,
because it quickly becomes a trap.
958
00:58:38,224 --> 00:58:40,518
Many of the greatest directors
959
00:58:40,727 --> 00:58:43,771
were victims of their own megalomania.
960
00:58:43,897 --> 00:58:47,192
Fellini, for example.
One of the greatest ever.
961
00:58:47,734 --> 00:58:53,198
He died without ever making the film
he'd always dreamed of making.
962
00:58:53,323 --> 00:58:55,992
I think Clouzot was very ambitious,
963
00:58:56,117 --> 00:58:59,078
and that's a huge asset
in this profession.
964
00:58:59,245 --> 00:59:02,457
Better to be ambitious than not!
965
00:59:02,582 --> 00:59:07,337
And he was.
He aspired to produce works of art.
966
00:59:07,462 --> 00:59:10,131
Striving to be a true artist
967
00:59:10,256 --> 00:59:13,885
is a very ambitious
and perilous endeavor.
968
00:59:14,010 --> 00:59:16,387
You could say that
L'Enfer killed him...
969
00:59:16,554 --> 00:59:18,598
even if not immediately.
970
00:59:18,723 --> 00:59:23,061
Forcing a director
to stop working is like killing him.
971
00:59:24,479 --> 00:59:27,023
He did go back to work,
972
00:59:27,148 --> 00:59:29,359
but he never again had -
973
00:59:29,484 --> 00:59:31,736
how can I put it? -
974
00:59:31,861 --> 00:59:35,323
the strength to tackle major projects.
975
00:59:36,366 --> 00:59:41,287
Clouzot classifies, summarizes,
theorizes, diagrams, organizes,
976
00:59:41,412 --> 00:59:45,083
and tries to master his story
to the point of exhaustion.
977
00:59:45,416 --> 00:59:47,835
He'd always second-guess everything
978
00:59:47,961 --> 00:59:50,713
and tear apart his work
from the day before.
979
00:59:50,838 --> 00:59:54,133
It was rough not only on him
980
00:59:54,259 --> 00:59:57,387
but on his co-screenwriters too.
981
00:59:57,512 --> 01:00:01,391
It grew out of control,
like a cancer.
982
01:00:01,516 --> 01:00:05,728
Toward the end of his life,
the last ten years,
983
01:00:05,853 --> 01:00:10,358
no matter what had been written,
he'd pick it apart the next day,
984
01:00:10,483 --> 01:00:12,568
so nothing moved forward.
985
01:00:12,694 --> 01:00:15,113
You were always at a dead end.
986
01:00:15,238 --> 01:00:19,492
He no longer knew what to film.
987
01:00:19,617 --> 01:00:22,203
He'd have writers bringing him
ideas all the time.
988
01:00:22,328 --> 01:00:24,580
I myself spent an afternoon
talking with him,
989
01:00:24,706 --> 01:00:27,083
like all the other writers
he'd summon.
990
01:00:28,126 --> 01:00:32,171
He'd see three writers a day,
young and old.
991
01:00:32,297 --> 01:00:33,923
"What's your story about?"
992
01:00:34,048 --> 01:00:37,427
We'd all tell him our stories
and leave...
993
01:00:37,552 --> 01:00:39,595
and he'd do nothing.
994
01:00:39,721 --> 01:00:44,058
- Do you have faith in yourself?
- No. Less every day.
995
01:00:44,392 --> 01:00:46,561
- Less every day?
- That's right.
996
01:00:47,145 --> 01:00:50,440
"October 8, 1970.
It can't go on like this.
997
01:00:50,565 --> 01:00:53,985
Must I live out
whatever time is left to me?
998
01:00:54,152 --> 01:00:57,405
The slightest thought
leads to anxiety."
999
01:00:58,156 --> 01:01:01,826
With his last wife, Ines,
Clouzot seeks spiritual salvation.
1000
01:01:02,869 --> 01:01:04,996
"The idea of damnation.
1001
01:01:05,121 --> 01:01:08,583
If God created us,
why does he allow such suffering?"
1002
01:01:08,708 --> 01:01:11,002
"Death now wears Vera's face.
1003
01:01:11,169 --> 01:01:13,796
It's a sweet Death
that will come for me,
1004
01:01:13,921 --> 01:01:17,091
offering its cold lips
and soft, slim hands.
1005
01:01:17,675 --> 01:01:20,345
If Vera can judge,
how will she judge?
1006
01:01:20,511 --> 01:01:22,597
I'm not afraid.
1007
01:01:23,306 --> 01:01:25,850
I have faith in her love."
1008
01:01:25,975 --> 01:01:28,519
In November 1977...
1009
01:01:28,644 --> 01:01:31,314
Henri-Georges Clouzot
is found dead in his office.
1010
01:01:31,439 --> 01:01:33,816
He took his fears with him
1011
01:01:33,941 --> 01:01:38,029
and left us with ten
of the greatest French films ever.
1012
01:01:38,529 --> 01:01:40,740
Near his splayed-out body...
1013
01:01:40,865 --> 01:01:43,034
his stereo played
1014
01:01:43,159 --> 01:01:45,870
Berlioz's La Damnation de Faust.
1015
01:01:46,037 --> 01:01:48,873
Staged like a true director...
79506
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