Rialto Pictures will release five films, for the first time on DCP, by legendary French director Claude Sautet at New York’s Lincoln Plaza Cinemas the week of June 12-18, 2015.
Claude Sautet (1924-2000), who began his filmmaking career in the early 1950s assisting such directors as Georges Franju (Eyes Without a Face) and Jacques Becker (Touchez Pas Au Grisbi), first tasted success with the crime thriller Classe Tous Risques (1960), but was unfairly overlooked as the New Wave directors dominated French cinema.
After spending much of the 1960s as a screenwriter – and earning a reputation as a master “script doctor” – Sautet re-emerged as a director to watch. His collaborations with Austrian-born actress Romy Schneider, leading men Michel Piccoli and Yves Montand, screenwriter Jean-Loup Dabadie, and cinematographer Jean Boffety, yielded romantic, yet haunting, films that embodied the privileges and struggles of the French bourgeoisie following the political upheavals of the 1960s.The series features three of his collaborations with Schneider – Les Choses De La Vie (1970), the policier Max et Les Ferrailleurs (1971), and César and Rosalie (1972) – along with the rarely-seen Vincent, François, Paul and The Others (1974), starring Yves Montand, Michel Piccoli, and Gérard Depardieu, and Sautet’s final film, Nelly and Monsieur Arnaud (1995). All five films will have their U.S. premieres in new DCP format and are not available on Blu-ray or DVD.
LES CHOSES DE LA VIE (1970)
Runtime: 85 minutes
Cast: Michel Piccoli, Romy Schneider, Léa Massari
Winner, Prix Louis Delluc
Nominated, Cannes Film Festival Palme d’Or
Pierre’s (Michel Piccoli) life flashes before his eyes following a car accident, focusing on his decision to leave his wife (Léa Massari) for a younger woman, Hélène (Romy Schneider).
MAX ET LES FERRAILLEURS (1971)
Runtime: 112 minutes
Cast: Michel Piccoli, Romy Schneider, François Périer, Bernard Fresson
Max (Michel Piccoli) has only one thing on his mind: putting away criminals. When yet another bunch of professional criminals get away, Max unexpectedly runs into an old army buddy, Abel (Bernard Fresson), who has turned to a life of petty crime with a small band of hoodlums, the “ferrailleurs,” or junkmen, of the title. He hatches a plan to trick the group of amateurs into committing a major crime, using Abel’s girlfriend Lily (Romy Schneider) as unwitting bait.
CÉSAR AND ROSALIE (1972)
Runtime: 111 minutes
Cast: Romy Schneider, Yves Montand, Sami Frey
After her divorce, Rosalie (Romy Schneider) splits her time between her family and the wealthy César (Yves Montand). When David (Sami Frey), an old flame of Rosalie’s, appears, the two men battle each other for her affections.
VINCENT, FRANÇOIS, PAUL AND THE OTHERS (1974)
Runtime: 114 minutes
Cast: Yves Montand, Michel Piccoli, Serge Reggiani, Gérard Depardieu
Three friends, Vincent (Yves Montand), François (Michel Piccoli), and Paul (Serge Reggiani), confront problems in work, love, and money. Sautet presents an all-too-true snapshot of mid-life crises in middle-class France.
NELLY AND MONSIEUR ARNAUD (1995)
Runtime: 107 minutes
Cast: Emmanuelle Béart, Michel Serrault, Jean-Hugues Anglade
Winner, Prix Louis Delluc
Winner, César Award for Best Actor (Michel Serrault) and Best Director (Claude Sautet)
Nelly (Emmanuelle Béart) is behind on her rent and saddled with an unemployed and uninterested husband. When she meets Monsieur Arnaud (Michel Serrault), an older and wealthier man, Nelly sees a chance to escape from poverty and loneliness. Arnaud enlists her help with transcribing his memoirs and, as their unconventional relationship blossoms, barely-contained emotions threaten to break free.
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