#572: MELVILLE, Jean-Pierre: Léon Morin, Priest (1961)

MELVILLE, Jean-Pierre (France)
Léon Morin, Priest [1961]
Spine #572
Blu-ray
OOP


Jean-Paul Belmondo delivers a subtly sensual performance in the hot-under-the-collar Léon Morin, Priest (Léon Morin, prêtre), directed by Jean-Pierre Melville. The French superstar plays a devoted man of the cloth who is desired by all the women of a small village in Nazi-occupied France. He finds himself most drawn to a sexually frustrated widow — played by Emmanuelle Riva — a religious skeptic whose relationship with her confessor turns into a confrontation with both God and her own repressed desire. A triumph of mood, setting, and innuendo, Léon Morin, Priest is an irreverent pleasure from one of French cinema's towering virtuosos.

117 minutes
Black & White
Monaural
in French
1:66:1 aspect ratio
Criterion Release 2011
Director/Writers


Based on the novel by Béatrix Beck.


The Extras

The Booklet

Thirty-two page booklet featuring an essay by critic and novelist Gary Indiana and excerpts from Melville on Melville.

Commentary

Selected-scene commentary by film scholar Ginette Vincendeau.

French television interview

With director Melville and actor Belmondo from 1961.

Deleted scenes

Original theatrical trailer

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

The Complete Criterion Collection By Director

The Complete Criterion Collection By Spine #

#1271: LONERGAN, Kenneth: You Can Count On Me (2000)