Unforgetting an Unforgotten VHS!

Some exciting news to report for you Bresson fans, and those who have followed our Forgotten VHS Series. A film that Brandon wrote about earlier in the series, The Devil, Probably is being released on DVD. Although it isn't Region 1, it should be widely available as a Region 2 DVD and is an exciting bit of DVD news. Lesson to learn here: buy a region free DVD player immediately and start taking advantage of the whole world of DVDs.

Here's a link of where to buy The Devil, Probably. The site (Movie Mail) is one of my favorite DVD sites. Basically has all the Region 2 DVDs you could ask for at very reasonable prices.

Enjoy your weekend of movies!

-James

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Forgotten VHS #6- Bresson's "Une Femme Douce"

From the harrowing, elliptical opening sequence depicting the suicide of a stunningly beautiful young girl, Robert Bresson’s first color film, 1969’s Une Femme Douce, is an astounding example of the disciplined simplicity signifying Bresson’s undoubtedly unique cinematic signature. In the film, a young girl, named Elle (Dominique Sanda), is wooed by Luc (Guy Frangin), a greedy, materialistic pawnbroker, eventually marrying him. Their personalities clash, as foreshadowed by Luc’s handling of a gold crucifix necklace, which he regards merely a precious metal, but which Elle holds in higher esteem for its metaphysical significance. In this fantastically Bressonian scene, Luc begins his domineering, oppressive reign over Elle, disregarding her strong feelings about the crucifix in favor of his own interests. Elle’s suicide, which begins the film, is brought forth as a result of her severe depression while in the relationship and the film is essentially told by her grieving husband as he details his past with Elle to their maid, played by Jeanne Lobre.

The first of two Dostoevsky adaptations undertaken by Bresson during his color period (the other being Four Nights of A Dreamer (1971), adapted from the short story “White Nights”), Une Femme Douce contains many fascinating elements that are quite idiosyncratic when placed alongside the rest of Bresson’s oeuvre, particularly a fascinating play-within-a-film scene in which a terribly-acted performance of “Hamlet” is viewed by Elle and Luc. The performance drips with campy artifice and sensationalized melodrama and serves as a slyly-placed criticism of the theatrical acting style that Bresson famously loathed and sought to deconstruct with his highly original technique of using amateur “models” in his films rather than professional actors. Having seen it only once, on loan from Jeremy over at Moon in the Gutter, my thirst for this sadly overlooked Bresson masterpiece is still not quenched and I hope to acquire a copy of the VHS myself, which sells for about $35 on eBay and the Amazon Marketplace. A great companion to another Bresson Forgotten VHS, The Devil, Probably (1977), this beautiful film would be excellent as part of a Forgotten VHS double feature.

by Brandon Colvin
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Forgotten VHS #2- Bresson's "The Devil, Probably"

Robert Bresson’s 1977 masterpiece “The Devil, Probably” is his greatest color work, epitomizing Bresson’s brilliant transition from a mastery of classical black and white to the expanded possibilities of a multicolored cinematic world. The film is the apotheosis of Bresson’s ascetic style, which delves further into nihilism in “The Devil, Probably” than in any of his other films. Along with “Agnes du péché” (1943), “Trial of Joan of Arc” (1962), “Une femme douce” (1969), and “Four Nights of a Dreamer” (1971), “The Devil, Probably” is currently unavailable on DVD, and, sadly, its rights belong to New Yorker Video, a company which has historically released low quality, bare bones DVDs with terrible prints, as is the case with Bresson’s “A Man Escaped” (1956), “Lancelot du lac” (1974), and “L’ Argent” (1983). However, “The Devil, Probably” is certainly worth searching for on VHS and can be found easily on the Amazon.com Marketplace or eBay.

Bresson’s film follows a disaffected youth, named Charles, who confronts and challenges religion (a favorite Bresson topic), industrialism, psychology, politics, and the counterculture during his existential journey through the banal and uninspired streets of Paris. The film addresses one of the primary themes of Bresson’s oeuvre, suicide, in a more direct way than in previous films, truly dealing with issues of unavoidable meaninglessness and bypassing the faith-based semi-miracles that transform many of Bresson’s characters and save them from the void of nothingness, as in “Diary of a Country Priest” (1950), “A Man Escaped” (1956), and “Pickpocket” (1959). “The Devil, Probably” contains many unforgettable scenes, including a great conversation between Charles and a psychoanalyst, as well as a haunting final scene that feels like the immaculate capstone to Bresson’s highly influential and totally inimitable career.

by Brandon Colvin

*Editor and Writer's Warning*
The subtitles on the VHS are not very good, but it is still well worth it. Just don't say we didn't warn you...

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