|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Nooo! Not Alan Fivehouse!!!! Also Drax and a host of other fine characterizations. Rest well, sir.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Excellent in Day of the jackal. Rip
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Lonsdale's earlier work with 'art' directors, when he was billed as Michel, is how I remember him. The 1962 adaptation of Kafka's The Trial by Orson Welles is my favorite film in which Lonsdale appeared. He worked multiple times with Truffaut (Stolen Kisses & The Bride Wore Black) and Losey (The Romantic Englishwoman & Mr. Klein). Was quite memorable in a segment of Buñuel's 1974 The Phantom of Liberty. Stavisky Enigma (1982) Goya's Ghosts But I heard his voice the most ... with frequent listens to him as a narrator on an album of Roberto Gerhard's oratorio The Plague based upon Albert Camus. https://youtu.be/_n3JUoL8COg repose en paix
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: |
Sep 23, 2020 - 3:24 PM
|
|
|
By: |
Bob DiMucci
(Member)
|
Michael Lonsdale had a small role as a priest in Orson Welles' filmization of Franz Kafka's novel of bureaucratic paranoia THE TRIAL. According to fellow director Henry Jaglom, THE TRIAL "isn't that much Kafka, (but) a lot of it's Orson." Instead of depicting protagonist "Joseph K" as tiny, hunched-over and weasel-like, Welles cast the tall, strikingly handsome Anthony Perkins. Instead of setting the film in the small, claustrophobic offices that Kafka described, he used vast spaces that emphasized the character's desolation and helplessness. Casting Perkins brought another, unspoken element to THE TRIAL. Welles knew that the actor was a closeted homosexual, Jaglom says, and used that quality in Perkins to suggest another texture in Joseph K, a fear of exposure. Jean Ledrut's score for the 1962 film was released on a Philips LP, which was re-issued on CD by Kritzerland in 2011.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: |
Sep 24, 2020 - 10:59 AM
|
|
|
By: |
Bob DiMucci
(Member)
|
In her second and final lead role in a Francois Truffaut film, Jeanne Moreau starred in 1968's THE BRIDE WORE BLACK. Moreau played "Julie Kohler," the widow of a man who was shot to death on the steps outside the church where they were married. Kohler seeks revenge on the men responsible for the death of her husband, one of whom is the arrogant would-be politician “Rene Morane” (Michael Lonsdale). The film was Truffaut's homage to Alfred Hitchcock, made shortly after Truffaut had published a book of extensive interviews with Hitchcock. Claude Rich, Michael Lonsdale, and Michel Bouquet in THE BRIDE WORE BLACK As part of his homage, Truffaut chose a novel written by Cornell Woolrich, on who's story Hitchcock's REAR WINDOW (1954) was based, and chose long-time Hitchcock collaborator Bernard Herrmann to compose the score. (Truffaut had previously used Herrmann on 1967's FAHRENHEIT 451.) Four tracks from the score were released in France on a United Artists EP. These were re-issued on CD by Kritzerland in 2009. The 2015 Twilight Time Blu-ray of the film has a music and effects track, which has additional cues. Quartet released a re-recording of the score in 2018, by Fernando Velazquez and The Basque National Orchestra.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: |
Sep 24, 2020 - 12:57 PM
|
|
|
By: |
Bob DiMucci
(Member)
|
In STOLEN KISSES, shortly after he is declared unfit to serve in the army and discharged with a warning that he would never even get a decent job, “Antoine Doinel” (Jean-Pierre Leaud) visits a small Parisian brothel and buys himself an hour of pleasure. Much to his disappointment, however, the girl with whom he chooses to make love tells him that she does not kiss her clients. Antoine then visits the home of his girlfriend, “Christine Darbon” (Claude Jade), whose parents help him get a job as a night clerk at a shady Montmartre hotel. A few days later, however, he loses it after a private detective (Harry Max) tricks him, and he compromises a guest of the hotel. Moved by his sincerity, the detective recommends Antoine to the Blady Detective Agency, whose owner agrees to try him out as a private eye. After a few small assignments, Antoine gets a big one -- he becomes an undercover shoe salesman in the small but elegant store of “Georges Tabard” (Michael Lonsdale), who is convinced that his employees hate him and is dying to find out why. Michael Lonsdale in STOLEN KISSES François Truffaut directed this 1968 release. Eight minutes of Antoine Duhamel’s score has been released on several Truffaut film music compilation discs.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: |
Sep 24, 2020 - 2:15 PM
|
|
|
By: |
Bob DiMucci
(Member)
|
Working again with director Fred Zinnemann, Michael Lonsdale co-starred in the 1973 thriller THE DAY OF THE JACKAL. The OAS, an underground organization bent on assassinating French President Charles DeGaulle, has thus far failed in every attempt they've made on the leader’s life. Desperate for results, they bring in an outsider, a British assassin known only as “The Jackal” (Edward Fox), to finish the job. A true professional, the Jackal’s meticulous attention to detail confounds the rank and file of the French police, who have thus far been unable to determine either his true identity or his whereabouts. Enter “Claude Lebel” (Lonsdale), considered by many the best detective on the force. With time ticking away, Lebel must resort to extreme measures to locate the elusive Jackal and prevent him from carrying out his murderous assignment. Michael Lonsdale in THE DAY OF THE JACKAL In May 1971, author Frederick Forsyth completed a screenplay adaptation of his best-selling novel The Day of the Jackal. Kenneth Ross, who received sole onscreen credit for the screenplay, was later hired to do another adaptation, the first draft of which was completed in December 1971. As early as August 1971, Universal Pictures hoped to cast a well-known American actor in the lead role of “The Jackal,” despite Fred Zinnemann’s plan to cast largely unknowns. Zinnemann nevertheless agreed to meet with Robert Redford at Universal’s recommendation. Although Jack Nicholson was also suggested by the studio and flown to Europe to meet the director, Zinnemann had already viewed tests of his eventual choice, English actor Edward Fox. Due to stipulations in the Anglo-French production agreement, it was ultimately decided that only English and French actors would be cast for all roles. Other British actors considered for the lead role were David McCallum, Ian Richardson, and Michael York. Jacqueline Bisset was offered the role of “Denise,” but a conflict in scheduling and salary demands led to her turning down the part. THE DAY OF THE JACKAL marked the first release in seven years for Zinnemann, whose previous film had been the 1966 Columbia production A MAN FOR ALL SEASONS. Zinnemann had then spent four years working on a film project entitled “Man’s Fate” for MGM, but three days before commencing principal photography, the company’s new president canceled the film. THE DAY OF THE JACKAL marked the first English-speaking role for French actor Michael Lonsdale, who had appeared in a bit part in Zinnemann’s 1964 Columbia release BEHOLD A PALE HORSE. Five minutes of Georges Delerue’s score was released on a 2008 Delerue compilation set from Universal Jazz/Emarcy. THE DAY OF THE JACKAL ranked in the top 15 films of the year, with a U.S. box office take of $28 million. Michael Lonsdale was nominated for a BAFTA award as Best Supporting Actor, losing to Arthur Lowe for O LUCKY MAN!
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|