Almost fifteen years after the Cannes Film Festival created Cannes Classics program, the lineup for this year’s Cannes Classics 2017 will be dedicated for its most part to the history of the Festival. Cannes Classics showcases vintage films and masterpieces of the history of cinema in restored prints.
The program of the 2017 edition of Cannes Classics consists of twenty-four screenings, one short film and five documentaries. The films are screened as wanted by the right-holders, in DCP 2K or DCP 4K, and L’Atalante by Jean Vigo that Gaumont wished to screen in 35mm.
The films selected for this 2017 edition will focus mostly on the history of Cannes. They come from nations that have allowed the Cannes Film Festival to become a land of cinematographic discoveries: Hungary, Lebanon, Serbia, United Kingdom, Italy, United States, Israel, Mauritania, Niger, Poland, Switzerland, Japan, Spain, the Netherlands, Canada, Belgium and Australia.
A brief history of the Cannes Film Festival
From 1946 to 1992, from René Clément to Victor Erice, sixteen history-making films of the Festival de Cannes
1946: La Bataille du Rail (Battle of the Rails) by René Clément (1h25, France): Grand Prix International de la mise en scène and Prix du Jury International.
Presented by Ina. Film digitized and restored by Ina with the support of the CNC. 2K restoration made from an acetate interpositive and an answer print. Technical means: Jean-Pierre Peltier. Coordination: Bénilde Da Ponte, Brice Amouroux.
1953: Le Salaire de la peur (The Wages of Fear) by Henri-Georges Clouzot (1952, 2h33, France, Italy): Grand Prix.
Presented by TF1 Studio in collaboration with la Cinémathèque française and the support of the CNC, of the Archives audiovisuelles de Monaco, of Kodak and the CGR cinémas. 4K Restoration from nitrate image negative and a sound duplicate made by Hiventy. Please note that this presentation is the preview of a major Clouzot event scheduled in France in the fall of 2017.
1956: Körhinta (Merry-Go-Round/Un Petit carrousel de fête) by Zoltán Fábri (1955, 1h30, Hungary): in Competition.
Presented by the Hungarian National Film Fund – Hungarian National Film Archive. A 4K Scan and Digital Restoration from the original 35mm image & sound negatives plus additional materials: the original dupe positive and another film positive. Restoration made by the Hungarian National Film Fund – Hungarian Filmlab.
1957: Ila Ayn? (Vers l’inconnu ?) by Georges Nasser (1h30, Lebanon): in Competition.
Presented by Abbout Productions and Fondation Liban Cinema. With the generous support of Bankmed – Lebanon. The original 35mm Fine Grain Master Positive was scanned in 4k, retouched and color-corrected in a resolution of 2K. All works were carried out by Neyrac Films – France. Sound restoration by db Studios – Lebanon. In collaboration with The Talkies. World Sales: Nadi Lekol Nas.
1967: Skupljači Perja (I Even Met Happy Gypsies/J’ai même rencontré des Tziganes heureux) by Aleksandar Petrović (1h22, Serbia): in Competition, Grand Prix Spécial du Jury ex-æquo, Prix de la Critique Internationale – FIPRESCI ex-aequo
Presented by Jugoslovenska Kinoteka/The Yugoslav Film Archive and Malavida.
New 35mm print from the original negative in perfect shape then scanned in 2K and cleaned up.
1967: Blow-up by Michelangelo Antonioni (1966, 1h51, United Kingdom, Italy, United States of America): Grand Prix International du Festival.
Presented by Criterion, Cineteca di Bologna and Istituto Luce – Cinecittà, in collaboration with Warner Bros and Park Circus. Restoration work carried out at Criterion, New York and L’Immagine Ritrovata, Bologna under the supervision of Director of Photography Luca Bigazzi.
1969: Matzor (Siege/Siège) by Gilberto Tofano (1h29, Israel): in Competition.
A presentation of the Jerusalem Cinematheque – Israel Film Archive, in partnership with United King Films and the support of the Rabinovich Foundation. The original 35mm black and white negatives were scanned in 4K by Cinelab Romania. It was digitally restored and finalized in 2K by Opus Digital Lab in Tel Aviv. Restoration and color grading lead by Ido Karilla, supervised by DOP David Gurfinkel.
1970: Soleil O (Oh, Sun) by Med Hondo (1h38, Mauritania-France): Semaine de la critique.
Presented by The Film Foundation. Restored by Cineteca di Bologna at L’Immagine Ritrovata laboratory in collaboration with Med Hondo. Restoration funded by the George Lucas Family Foundation and The Film Foundation’s World Cinema Project.
1976: Babatu, les trois conseils by Jean Rouch (1h33, Nigeria-France): in Competition.
Pressented by the CNC, Inoussa Ousseini, the Comité du film ethnographique and the Fondation Jean Rouch. Digital restoration made from the 2K digitization of the 16mm negatives. Restoration carried out by L21.
1976: Ai no korîda (In the Realm of the Senses/L’Empire des sens) de Nagisa Oshima (1h43, France-Japan): Quinzaine des Réalisateurs.
Presented by Argos Films and TAMASA. Digization and 4K resoration from the original negative by Eclair. Sound restoration from the original magnetic sound by L.E. Diapason. The film will be released in French theaters.
1980: All that Jazz (Que le spectacle commence) by Bob Fosse (1979, 2h03, United States of America): Palme d’or ex-æquo.
Presented by Park Circus. 4K restoration by Twentieth Century Fox and the Academy Film Archive in collaboration with The Film Foundation. The restoration was produced from the original camera negative at Sony Colorworks in Culver City California.
1981: Człowiek z żelaza (Man of Iron/L’Homme de fer) by Andrzej Wajda (2h33, Poland): Palme d’or.
A presentation of the ZEBRA Film Studio (Studio Filmowe ZEBRA) with the collaboration of the Polish Film Institute. 2K film restoration from original colour 35 mm negative. Restored sound from original magnetic tape. Restoration lead by Daniel Pietrzyk, colour grading lead by Aleksandra Kraus, at Yakumama Film, Warsaw. Sound restoration lead by Tomasz Dukszta.
Artistic supervision by: Andrzej Wajda (director), Jerzy Łukaszewicz (DOP), Piotr Zawadzki (sound).
1982: Yol – The Full Version (The Way/La Permission) by Yilmaz Güney, directed by Serif Gören (1h53, Switzerland): Palme d’or ex-æquo, Prix de la Critique Internationale – FIPRESCI
Presented by DFK FILMS LTD. Zürich. Restoration from the original 35mm negative, from the interpositive and the positive print. Restoration and new sound mix from the original digitized tapes. International Sales: The Match Factory.
1983: Narayama Bushikō (Ballad of Narayama/La Ballade de Narayama) by Shôhei Imamura (2h13, Japan): Palme d’or.
Presented by Toei. 4K Scan, image restoration ARRISCAN and sound Golden Eye in 2K from the 35mm original negative, a duplicate and video tapes.
1992: El sol del membrillo (Le Songe de la lumière) by Victor Erice (2h20, Spain): Prix du Jury ex-æquo, Prix de la Critique Internationale – FIPRESCI
Presented by the Filmoteca de Catalunya and Camm Cinco SL. 6K scan, restoration and color-grading from the 35mm negatives and other original video tapes. Digitazing and sound restoration from 35mm magnetic tapes. Technical support made by the Filmoteca de Catalunya, supervised by Victor Erice. Variations on the initial editing brought by the director.
1951-1999: A short history of short films presented by the Festival de Cannes. A program curated by Christian Jeune and Jacques Kermabon.
Spiegel van Holland (Miroirs de Hollande) by Bert Haanstra (1951, 10mn, The Netherlands) / La Seine a rencontré Paris by Joris Ivens (1958, 32mn, France) / Pas de deux by Norman McLaren (1968, 13mn, Canada) / Harpya by Raoul Servais (1979, 9mn, Belgium) / Peel by Jane Campion (1986, 9mn, Australia) / L’Interview by Xavier Giannoli (1998, 15mn, France) / When the Day Breaks by Amanda Forbis and Wendy Tilby (1999, 10mn, Canada)
Other events, other restored prints, other guests
Madame de… by Max Ophüls (1953, 1h45, France)
A Gaumont restoration. A show to pay a tribute to Danielle Darrieux for her birthday and presented by Dominique Besnehard, Pierre Murat and Henri-Jean Servat who will screen the latest filmed interview of Danielle Darrieux.
L’Atalante by Jean Vigo (1934, 1h28, France), restored 35mm print
Presented by Gaumont, la Cinémathèque française and The Film Foundation of Martin Scorsese. First digital restoration in 4k and conversion to a 35mm print. A new discovery of the closest version of the director’s work thanks to Gaumont, Luce Vigo and historian Bernard Eisenschitz. Restoration carried out at L’Image Retrouvée laboratory in Bologna and Paris.
Native Son (Sang noir) by Pierre Chenal (1951, 1h47, Argentina)
A presentation by Argentina Sono Film. Restoration with the collaboration of the Library of Congress.
Paparazzi by Jacques Rozier (1963, 18mn, France)
Presented by Jacques Rozier and la Cinémathèque française. 4K Digitization and 2K restoration works made from image and sound negatives at Hiventy laboratory, with the support of the CNC and in collaboration with Les Archives Audiovisuelles de Monaco, la Cinémathèque Suisse and Extérieur nuit.
The film will be introduced by Jacques Rozier.
Belle de jour (Beauty of the Day) by Luis Buñuel (1967, 1h40, France)
Presented by STUDIOCANAL. Digitization from the original negative and 4K restoration carried out by Hiventy laboratory for STUDIOCANAL with the support of the CNC, of la Cinémathèque française, of the Fonds Culturel Franco-Américain and the Maison YVES SAINT LAURENT. French theater distribution: Carlotta.
A River Runs Through it (Et au milieu coule une rivière) by Robert Redford (1992, 2h04, United States of America)
Presented by Pathé. 4K Scan and 4K restoration from original image and sound 35mm negatives. Restoration carried out by Pathé at Technicolor France laboratory for the image in collaboration with Philippe Rousselot, cinematographer of the film, and L.E. Diapason for the sound restoration.
Lucía by Humberto Solas (1968, 2h40, Cuba)
A presentation of the Film Foundation. Restored by Cineteca di Bologna at L’Immagine Ritrovata laboratory in association with Instituto Cubano del Arte e Industria Cinematográficos (ICAIC). Restoration funded by Turner Classic Movies and The Film Foundation’s World Cinema Project.
Documentaries about Cinema
The history of cinema by cinema itself, a presentation of five documentaries
La belge histoire du festival de Cannes (The Belgian’s Road to Cannes) by Henri de Gerlache (2017, 1h02, Belgium)
Presented by Alizé Production. Produced by Alizé Production, co-produced by RTBF (Belgian television) & Proximus.
A joyful road movie to discover the Belgian cinema which has been at Cannes for 70 years. The filmmakers of yesterday are talking with those of today to paint a picture of a free and heterogeneous cinema. A “Belgian story” of the biggest festival in the world.
David Stratton – A Cinematic Life by Sally Aitken (2017, 1h37, Australia)
Presented by Stranger Than Fiction Films. Produced by Stranger Than Fiction Films, with Screen Australia, ABC TV Arts, Screen NSW and Adelaide Film Festival.
An love adventure of film critic David Stratton with his adopted country, Australia, which led him to understand himself. It is also the glorious history of Australian cinema and its creators told by this Cannes-regular film-lover interested in the world.
Filmworker by Tony Zierra (2017, 1h29, United States of America)
Presented and produced by True Studio Cinema.
Young actor Leon Vitali abandoned his prosperous career after Barry Lyndon to become the faithful right hand of director Stanley Kubrick. For more than two decades, Leon has played a crucial role behind the scenes by helping Kubrick. A complex and interdependent relationship between Leon and Kubrick based on devotion, sacrifice and the harsh and joyful reality of creative process.
Becoming Cary Grant (Cary Grant – de l’autre côté du miroir) by Mark Kidel (2017, 1h25, France)
Presented by ARTE France and Showtime Documentary Films. Produced by YUZU Productions, coproduced by ARTE France, in association with ro*co films productions.
Cary Grant is one of the biggest Hollywood actors. In his fifties, he started a cure of LSD to free himself from his demons. For the first time, with his words, he retraces his journey. The story of a man in search of himself and the love he did not find in his life. The words of Cary Grant are interpreted by Jonathan Pryce.
Jean Douchet, l’enfant agité by Fabien Hagège, Guillaume Namur, Vincent Haasser (2017, 1h30, France)
Presented and produced by Carlotta and Kidam.
Three young cinephiles follow Jean Douchet, question his friends and former students. This documentary reveals the man and his critical philosophy, a part of the history of the Cahiers du Cinéma and this Art of loving to which he has devoted his existence.
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