HENRI GEORGES CLOUZOT'S INFERNO (L'ENFER D'HENRI-GEORGES CLOUZOT)

In 1964, director Henri-Georges Clouzot (QUAI DES ORFEVRES, LE CORBEAU, THE WAGES OF FEAR, LES DIABOLIQUES, THE MYSTERY OF PICASSO) chose Romy Schneider, aged 26, and Serge Reggiani, 42, to star in L'ENFER (INFERNO), an enigmatic and original project granted an unlimited budget due to the enthusiastic interest in the project by investors, Columbia Pictures.  Reggiani was to play Marcel Prieur, the manager of a modest hotel in provincial France who becomes possessed by the demons of jealousy. Intended to be a cinematic "event" upon its release, three weeks after shooting began on INFERNO, things took a turn for the worse.  The project was stopped, and the images, which were said to be "incredible", would remain unseen...until now.

"Clouzot's footage is all about the fascination of a man for a woman. It is all in the eyes, the smiles, the skin, the flesh. Watching a thrilling film like Clouzot's INFERNO requires the ultimate quality in vision and sound. For the first time, this Blu-ray will give these images their hypnotic power. Never was an actress filmed like this. Never was an enigma so obscure. INFERNO was an impossible film to shoot. Thanks to my chance encounter with Clouzot's widow in an elevator, the images are back and we are on set, in 1964, to watch the drama unfold...yet the mystery remains."    

– Serge Bromberg

Working closely with Clouzot's widow, Inès, Serge Bromberg reconstructs Clouzot's original vision, filling and explaining the gaps with new interviews, re-enactments and Clouzot's own notes and storyboards.  Midway between documentary and narrative, HENRI-GEORGES CLOUZOT’S INFERNO unveils, for the first time in nearly half a century, these luminous visions.  It delivers an in-depth look at the masterpiece that might have been and explores the unnerving parallels between an artist and his work, featuring the original astonishing color expressionism that Clouzot captured on celluloid, a visual exploration of the director's own anxiety.

HENRI-GEORGES CLOUZOT"S INFERNO Blu-ray/DVD Combo was produced by Jeffrey Masino for Flicker Alley in association with MK2, Lobster Films and France 2 Cinéma. Both the DVD and the Blu-ray versions feature a brand-new HD transfer of the feature film with 5.1 audio and English subtitles in addition to a number of HD special features. "They Saw Inferno" is a 57-minute behind-the scenes featurette and is joined by an nine-minute interview with Director Serge Bromberg. Rounding out the set is an extensive image gallery, featuring rare pictures from the original production.

2010 César — Best Documentary Feature

Los Angeles Film Critics Association — Legacy Award

City of Lights/City of Angels — Jury Award

"Best of 2010" Year-End Lists

 Kenneth Turan, Los Angeles Times

 J. Hoberman, The Village Voice

 David Ehrenstein, LA Weekly

 David Sterritt, Tikkun

  Contents

Format: Blu-ray & DVD-NTSC / 
Region A & Region 0
(No Regional Code)

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HENRI GEORGES CLOUZOT'S INFERNO (L'ENFER D'HENRI-GEORGES CLOUZOT)
(France, 2009)

• A film written and directed using rushes from Henri-Georges Clouzot's INFERNO. 

Director: Serge Bromberg & Ruxandra Medrea Annonier
Screenplay: Based on an original idea by Serge Bromberg
Original Screenplay: Henri-Georges Clouzot, José-André Lacour & Jean Ferry
Music: Bruno Alexiu
Editor: Janice Jones
Cinematographer: Jérôme Krumenacker & Irina Lubtchansky
Production Design: Nicola Faure
Producer: Serge Bromberg
Executive Producer: Marianne Lère
Cast: Romy Schneider, Serge Reggiani, Bérénice Bejo, Jacques Gamblin, Dany Carel, Jean-Claude Bercq, Mario David, Maurice Garrel, Catherine Allégret, Henri-Georges Clouzot, Gilbert Amy, Inès Clouzot, Jacques Douy, Jean-Louis Ducarme, Eric Duvivier, Costa-Gavras, William Lubtchansky, Nguyen Thi Lan, Joël Stein, Bernard Stora & Serge Bromberg

• 96 minutes
• B&W, Color

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 Bonus Material

DIRECTOR'S INTRODUCTION BY SERGE BROMBERG
(France, 2010) 

• 9 minutes
• Color

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THEY SAW INFERNO
(France, 2009)

Director: Serge Bromberg & Pauline Richard

• Blu-ray Disc Exclusive
• 57 minutes
• Color / B&W

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• Image gallery

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Total Running Time: 01:48:31 (DVD)
02:48:19 (Blu-ray)

Language: French with English subtitles

Booklet Text: Thomas H. Pauly, Robert S. Birchard & Rodney Sauer

Published By: Flicker Alley

Institutional Price: $300 (plus shipping)

To order call: 212.280.8654 or click here for information on ordering by fax, e-mail or post.