Lola Montes (The Criterion Collection) (1905)

"Lola Montes" was German director Max Orphuls' first film in color, first in Cinemascope, and his last film. Due to its terrible reception in Paris in 1955, the film was re-cut twice -once by Orphuls and once by the producersin attempts to make it more palatable to audiences. It was the most expensive European film ever made when it was released, so it was a notable flop. The first attempt to restore the "Lola Montes" to its original cut was made in 1968 from an incomplete print. The version on Criterion Collection 2010 DVD is a complete restoration, completed under the leadership of La Cinémathèque française in 2008.

This has long been a film appreciated more by filmmakers than by audiences. It appeals either to those who scrutinize its camerawork or who can place it in the context of film history or of Max Orphuls' work. That said, and although the film is technically interesting, I found it quite watchable. "Lola Montes" was the stage name of Elisabeth Rosanna Gilbert, a famed Spanish dancer, courtesan, and mistress of King Ludwig I of Bavaria in the 1840s. Orphuls reduces her to a circus attraction in middle age, taking impertinent questions from the audience and recreating her scandalous life on stage through absurd tableaux vivants and dangerous stunts.

In fact, Lola Montes was never in a circus, and Orphuls hits the viewer over the head with his condemnation of exploitation and objectification, represented by Lola's (Martine Carol) circus act and its callous ringmaster (Peter Ustinov). I can't help but think this is at least partly responsible for the film's poor reception. As a rule, movies that scold, accuse, or condemn their own audiences are not popular. When Orphuls shames the audience of that circus, they are stand-ins for the film's audience. But the circus is something to see, as we watch Lola's adventures acted out by this bizarre company and in flashback as Lola recalls the events of her life.

Martine Carol was not Max Orphuls' choice for the role, and she is wooden. That's appropriate in the circus scenes, less so in the flashbacks. I think the real Lola Montes must have had more personality, but since this is a film about spectacle, not drama, Carol's limited acting skills don't hinder its ambitions. It takes liberties with Lola Montes biography, but it wasn't intended to be a biopic. Although Orphuls undoubtedly meant for "Lola Montes" to comment on exploitation, it could just as easily be a comment on celebrity, which might be more timely in the 21st century. Lola Montes used celebrity, and it used her. In French and German with optional English subtitles.

The DVDs (Criterion Collection 2010 2-disc set): On Disc 1 are the film and a feature commentary by Max Orphuls scholar Susan White, recorded in 2008. She discusses the film's history, composition, camerawork, making the film, its context in Orphuls oeuvre, and themes. On Disc 2, there is a 1965 episode of the French television program "Cinéastes de notre temps" (53 min) that features some of Orphuls collaborators. "Max by Marcel" (33 min) is a documentary by Marcel Orphuls about his father. There is some footage (1 min) of Martine Carol demonstrating hairstyles from the film. And there is a theatrical trailer for the restored version from Rialto Pictures. Subtitles are available in English.

The movie itself was great, but the transfer is extremly diaappointing, considering that Fox Lorber acquired it recently after Home Vision Cinema lost the video rights. Fox Lorber could have gone through new tranfers and a color and sound restoration, as they reportedly done with their new Truffaut releases on video and DVD (or it could've done by the French and picked up by convience and after Criterion lost their rights to the films, anyway, Fox Lorber claimed to have done "new translation").

The video and sound quailty is extremely poor that colors changed throughout a scene and the audio is quite low accompanied by tics and hisses. Fox Lorber did a disservice to everyone since this is the one and only source many of us have to watch the film. (As a side note, the director's cut, with a running time around 140 minutes, is rarely seen after it was butchered for a shorter running time since the production company was on the verge of bankruptcy as the movie failed to make any profit. This was done, sadly, when Ophuls was on his deathbed).

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...Fox-Lorber can be credited with sly only, for releasing this lack of quality even Madacy would be ashamed of.

The 1 star is because of this release. Maybe they don't know yet that DVD technology allow for subtitles as a choice option, and maybe their budget was too short to get them right (one quarter is accurate, one quarter is approximate, one quarter is absolute fancy, and one quarter has escaped translation. But the worse is the (absence of) quality of the picture which is perfectly matched by a botched soundtrack.

Until Criterion or some real professional in DVD business will take care of getting this released as it should be, better to avoid this one.

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I can hardly believe how bad the quality of the Fox-Lorber DVD version of this film is. I have the privilege of access to a local University library with an extensive laserdisc and DVD collection, so I was able to see both this DVD version and the criterion collection's out of print laserdisc edition of this film. The difference between the quality of the dated laserdisc and this DVD was like night and day the laserdisc was incomporably better. Why Fox-Lorber does not simply pay for the Criterion print is beyond me. For Fox-Lorber to buy the DVD rights to this film and then release a version of such shamefully low quality is ridiculous it seems to me alogical, as if though it would have made more sense for Fox-Lorber never to aquire the rights at all. In truth, because I enjoy this film so much, I feel that this DVD is an act of wanton cruelty on Fox Lorber's part. I would advise discriminating viewers to avoid this DVD; I despair because I can now not own a copy of the film for myself in the forseeable future.

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If Lola Montes were alive today I'm sure she would be a tabloid sensation or perhaps a reality television star famous for her notoriety. Born Eliza Gilbert, she reinvented herself during the late 1800s and tried her hand at singing, acting and dancing failing miserably at all three. What she lacked in talent, however, she more than made up for in sex appeal. Rumours swirled around her about various lovers and Bavaria's Ludwig I bestowed upon her the title of Countess of Landsfeld. She challenged her critics to duels and dared to smoke in public.

In short, Montes led a pretty exciting life ripe for cinematic treatment. Director Max Ophuls took up the challenge in what would be his last film and the only one in colour and Cinemascope. When Lola Montes was released in 1955, the critics savaged it causing the film's producers to panic and re-edit it. The film did have its admirers, chief among them filmmaker Francois Truffaut and critic Andrew Sarris. By 2008, Lola Montes was restored to Ophuls' original intentions and digitally remastered to its original glory, preserving its vibrant colour scheme.

The first disc includes an audio commentary by film scholar Susan White, author of The Cinema of Max Ophuls. She states that Lola Montes is not a film for everyone because of the unusual attention to style. She discusses the odd casting of Martine Carol and what she brought to the film. White does an excellent job of analyzing the film's style and what it means in relation to the characters and the story. She also sheds light on the film's rocky production. This is a very informative track full of insight into the film and the people that made it.

The second disc starts with "Cineastes de Notres Temps," an episode of the French television series featuring several of Ophuls' collaborators, many of whom worked on Lola Montes. The film's cinematographer talks about the director's love of movement. In fact, everyone talks about his working methods and obsession with movement within film.

"Max by Marcel" is a 2009 short film by Marcel Ophuls (Max's son) where he talks about his work on the film as an assistant director. Marcel interviews a few people who also worked on the film. The producers did not like the footage Ophuls was shooting forced Martine Carol and the use of colour and Cinemascope on him.

"Martine Carol Hair Tests" features silent footage of the actress showing some of the fantastic hairstyles she sports in Lola Montes.

Finally, there is the rerelease trailer.

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