HUMPHREY BOGART AND AVA GARDNER REUNITED BY JOSEPH L. MANKIEWICZ IN A FLAMBOYANT TECHNICOLOR DRAMA
"AN UNCHANGEABLE DIAMOND IN FILM HISTORY."
TELERAMA
In the pouring rain, director and screenwriter Harry Dawes attends the funeral of actress Maria D'Amata. He remembers his first meeting with her, when he was asked by producer Kirk Edwards to go to Madrid to convince the young woman, at the time a cabaret dancer, to become the new star of Hollywood. At first reluctant to make movies, Maria quickly becomes a star, but tired of success, she marries Count Vincenzo Torlato-Favrini...
Four years after his masterpiece Eve , Joseph L. Mankiewicz directs a dazzling film served by a legendary duo formed by Ava Gardner, as resplendent in talent as a dancer from Madrid as a new Hollywood star, and Humphrey Bogart, in doubles by Mankiewicz. The filmmaker plays with time, multiplies the flashbacks until the mise en abyme and fragments the points of view. Behind a cynical and grating portrait of Hollywood and the aristocracy, The Barefoot Countess exposes the overwhelming destiny of a modern Cinderella.
THE BAREFOOT COUNTESS by Joseph L. Mankiewicz
(1954 - Colors - 130 mins)
High Definition Masters
Original version with French subtitles + French version
Blu-ray or DVD edition
Unreleased on Blu-ray
SUPPLEMENTS
. DEFECTED TALE (29 mn)
"Cinderella is someone who has access to a world she shouldn't go to. In fairy tales, this becomes possible; in reality, there are no proletarians who become jet-setters and a fortiori aristocrats, countesses. An unpublished interview with Samuel Blumenfeld, journalist at Le Monde, author of The Man Who Wanted to Be a Prince, the imaginary lives of Michal Waszynski (Ed. Grasset).
. CINÉ-REGARDS: JOSEPH L. MANKIEWICZ (53 mn) Exclusively in the Blu-ray edition only
Directed by: Jean Douchet – © 1981 INA
Joseph L. Mankiewicz discusses his relationship to the film industry. He returns in particular to his difficulties in dealing with the rise of McCarthyism in Hollywood, when he was president of the Directors Guild.
. ORIGINAL TRAILER
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BD 50 • HIGH DEFINITION MASTER • 1080/23.98p • AVC ENCODING
Original Version DTS-HD MA 5.1 & 1.0 / French Version DTS-HD MA 1.0
French Subtitles • 1.85 format respected • Colors • Film length: 130 mins
DVD 9 • HIGH DEFINITION MASTER • PAL • MPEG-2 ENCODING
Original Version Dolby Digital 5.1 & 1.0 / French Version Dolby Digital 1.0 • French Subtitles • 1.85 format respected • 16/9 4/3 compatible • Colors • Length of Film: 125 mins
Released November 22, 2022
