Henri-Georges Clouzot
Henri-Georges Clouzot
RANKED:
5. Quai des Orfevres (1947)
Four years after making his controversial 1943 film "Le Corbeau" during the Nazi occupation, Clouzot was finally able to make his next film after his ban from filmmaking. This effort, 1947's "Quai des Orfevres," was based on a police procedural novel by Stanislas-Andre Steeman. Clouzot did not do a direct adaptation, as he did not have access to the novel at the time, and based the screenplay purely from his own memory of it. Because of this, it diverged greatly. But the result was something both critics and audiences adored. Centering on a police investigation into the murder of a skeevy businessman, a married couple's involvement with the man becomes the primary focus on the investigation. The film muses on post-war France's relationships between social classes and the police. On top of this, it showcased iconic French film actor Louis Jouvet's final great film performance as the police investigator. The film still remains a French classic and a favorite to modern filmmakers.
4. La Verite (1960)
When Henri-George Clouzot made "La Verite" in 1960, he had already established himself as a veteran of the French filmmaking scene that Francois Truffaut affectionately coined the "tradition of quality." When the French New Wave style introduced a new modernism to French film in the early 1950s/late 1960s, Clouzot decided to examine this new rebellious and liberated spirit by putting it in a courtroom. "La Verite" stars Brigitte Bardot in perhaps her greatest performance of her life, as a directionless and sexually expressive young woman who finds herself on trial for the murder of her former lover. The film takes us through her story, but along the way, the truth of what happened is never believed by the court, who view this young woman as selfish, debauched, and exploitative towards her former lover. With "La Verite," Clouzot examines this new sense of rebellious and sexual liberated modernity of youth culture, along with the new femininity of modern women, along with its inevitable patriarchal, oppressive, and judgmental pushback. Although he would go on to make one final film, Clouzot made one last masterwork that demonstrated his adept and keen eyes on the societal state of modern France.
3. Le Corbeau (1943)
Henri-Georges Clouzot was banned from filmmaking after his 1943 film "Le Corbeau." Why? Well, after it was made and released in France under Nazi occupation, the film was condemned by the right-wing Vichy regime, the left-wing Resistance press, and the Catholic Church. The film takes place in a small French town where a mysterious writer, known only as 'Le Corbeau (The Raven),' is distributing poison-pen letters containing revelations of all the townsfolks' misdeeds. Many French citizens believed that the film was vilifying them. However, upon reappraisal, the film is far more critical of the Nazi occupation. The film's town is haunted by a mysterious Big Brother-esque figure who is acting as a moral judge to the people, forcing the into states of paranoia and fear. This was not only a condemnation of the Nazis, but of all oppressive and 'morally virtuous' authority as well. This is why the film was suppressed and banned. However, the "Le Corbeau" was a radical and bold statement by Clouzot. Even though it cost him credibility and work, his audaciousness to condemn moral superiority with his contemporary Salem allegory created one of the greatest French films of the 1940s.
2. The Wages of Fear (1953)
After getting out of 'director's jail,' as many contemporary film fans would call it, Georges Clouzot made a series of his most commercial and critically adored films in the 1950s, starting with his global hit, 1953's "The Wages of Fear." The film centers on four down-on-their-luck European men who are hired by an American oil company to transport nitroglycerin across a dangerous South American landscape. Through this device, the film is fueled with edge-of-your-seat tension. The political conceit of the Europeans-for-hire helping the Americans bolster their continued resource grabs, along with the constant threat of nitroglycerin-bursting explosive 'at-any-moment' death, the film is oozing with Cold War anxieties. Although the Cold War and nuclear annihilation are nowhere to be found in the film, the tone of the film itself speaks to this tension brewing across the globe in the 1950s. Because of the film's global success, Clouzot was once again back at the top of renowned global cinematic recognition and allowed him the creative freedom to make his follow up, 1955's "Diabolique."
1. Diabolique (1955)
In perhaps Henri-Georges Clouzot's greatest achievement in film, 1955's "Diabolique" that set a precedent for thrillers and perhaps even set the standard for future films in the 'horror' genre. Adapted from the 1952 novel "She Who Was No More" by Boileau-Narcejac, the film creates an atmosphere of a unshakable darkness and terror that refuses to be brushed off. It centers on two women who attempt to murder one of their abusive and oppressive husbands, however, the twists and turns of the story leaves you on the edge of your seat and creates a startling sense of both awe and dread along the way. Many compare the film to the works of Alfred Hitchcock. Even so, Clouzot's masterpiece stands tall in its own right and even inspired Hitchcock's 1960 masterpiece "Psycho." "Diabolique" is a pitch black bleak film of unsettling proportions that never allows you a moment of safe viewing while watching and never leaves you after the film experience is well over.
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