GORRI LE DIABLE (ELEPHANT FILMS)

Gorri le diable is an excellent 1968 French adventure/period drama starring Robert Etcheverry as the title character.

 

It is now available on DVD (All Zone) in the remarkable collection Les joyaux de la télévision from Elephant Films.

 

In 1820, Louis XVIII is the king of France and Napoleon is in exile. The director of customs complains about smuggling at the border between France and Spain and he wants to end it once for all. The boldest smuggler of the Basque country region is named Gorri ("Red" in Basque) and he lives in the small town of Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port. Gorri operates with the complicity of its denizens. Melchior, the mayor, is Gorri's uncle and Maïder, the daughter of Juana the inkeeper, is the fiancee of the smuggler. Custom officer Lieutenant Caradoux and his troop arrive at Saint-Jean. Captain Guibert, a gendarme on special assignment, is there too. Ex-soldier of Napoleon, he dislikes Captain Mornard, the superior of Caradoux. Mornard wants to stop Gorri and his friends at any price.

 

Gorri is a "brigand justicier" like Mandrin or Vidocq  and an adventurer like Till Eulenspiegel or Fanfan la Tulipe. The character was imagined by Jacques Celhay, a scriptwriter of Basque origin who wanted to write a historical novel about his region but died before he could finish it (1). Swiss scriptwriter and journalist Rodolphe-Maurice Arlaud and Jean Faurez, a director, used Celhay's work and his notes to write the scenario of Gorri le Diable. Jean Goumain and Pierre Neurisse helmed the 13 x 30-minute colour episodes, aired weekly in black and white on the Première chaîne (2) of French pubcaster ORTF (Office de radiodiffusion-télévision française) from August to October 1968. Pierre Neurisse co-produced Gorri le Diable with ORTF through Dovidis, the company he founded in 1950. For ORTF, Dovidis also made the historical drama Quand la liberté venait du ciel (1967) and the light-hearted detective series De nos envoyés spéciaux (1965).

Though Gorri and his men regularly make fun of both customs and gendarmerie, the smuggler shows his own sense of justice when necessary. He helps a Spanish shepherd recover his stolen sheep and saves the daughter of a marquis, kidnapped by some dangerous robbers. Our bouncing hero is portrayed by an actor whose family was from the Basque country: Robert Etcheverry, fresh from Le chevalier Tempête. This popular adventure series was the first French drama to be shown in colour, on ORTF's Deuxième chaîne in October 1967. In 1969 the BBC aired it in the U.K. as The Flashing Blade (3). Etcheverry confirmed his TV star status in the same genre with the Franco-German series Arpad le Tzigane/Arpad der Zigeuner (1973), Les Mohicans de Paris (1973) and its sequel Salvator et les Mohicans de Paris (1975). Maïder is played by Danièle Évenou, seen in the sitcom Quelle famille! (1965). The actress later became famous for Marie Pervenche (1984-1991).

Best known for his recurring role of Agent/Brigadier Coulomb from 1959 to 1969 in Les Cinq Dernières Minutes (1959-1996), Pierre Collet plays the likeable Captain Guibert. Singer Yves Mathieu is Gorri's best friend Father Ariste Etcheverry (4). With Elisabeth Wiener (Laurence), Frédéric Santaya (Manech), Arlette Mery (Juana), Abel Corty (Captain Mornard), Bernard Waver (Lieutenant Caradoux), Michel Duplaix (Les Barbouzes) as Brigadier Marjolet, René Alié (Marquis), Pierre Gualdi (Melchior), Julian Antonio Ramirez (Berrecotchéa), etc. Basque singer Iñaki Urtizberea is the "Garçon chanteur" who sums up the story in each episode. Gorri le Diable was filmed in 1967 entirely on location in the Basque country, including Hélette and Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port. The inhabitants of Hélette served as extras.

 

The music was composed by lyricist, composer and singer  Charles Dumont. The end title song, titled "Air de Gorri", is performed by Jean-Paul Cara. It was composed by Charles Dumont (lyrics by André Salvet) and orchestrated by Bernard Gérard. The three-disc DVD set of Gorri le Diable from Elephant Films contains the 13 episodes of this Zorro in the Basque country (without the mask), an interesting photo gallery and the trailers of other titles from the collection Les joyaux de la télévision: the gripping French period drama Le trompette de la Bérésina (1966), La déesse d'or (1961), L'agence Nostradamus  (1950), Chéri-Bibi (1974) and the historical anthology Les enigmes de l'histoire (1956).

 

(1) A tie-in book of Gorri le Diable by youth writer Pierre Lamblin (the Jacques Rogy books) was released in 1968. Lamblin wrote several tie-ins for RTF/ORTF series like Commando Spatial/Raumpatrouille Orion or Les Globe-Trotters.

(2) The Première chaîne only switched to colour in January 1975 after ORTF was dismantled and the 1st channel was renamed TF1.

(3) During the 1960s and 1970s, the BBC also aired ORTF series such as Belle et Sébastien (Belle and Sebastian), Thibaud ou les Croisades (Desert Crusader) or Les chevaliers du ciel (The Aeronauts).

(4) Yves Mathieu performed the title song of Quand la liberté venait du ciel.

 

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http://www.elephantfilms.com/

https://fr.shopping.rakuten.com/boutique/ElephantFilm

See also:

https://tattard2.blogspot.com/2023/02/le-trompette-de-la-beresina-elephant.html (Le trompette de la Bérésina)

MARY, QUEEN OF SCOTS (COMBO BLU-RAY + DVD, ELEPHANT FILMS)

In the 16th century,  Mary Stuart and Elizabeth I of England, two queens with different temperaments, are engaged in a remote yet merciless confrontation. Mary, Queen of Scots is an outstanding 1971 historical film, starring Vanessa Redgrave as the title character and Glenda Jackson as Elizabeth.

 

It  is now available in France in a combo Blu-Ray/DVD (All Zone) from Elephant Films.

The story of Mary, Queen of Scots (1542-1587) inspired cinema as from 1895 with The Execution of Mary Queen of Scots. Katharine Hepburn played the monarch in John Ford's Mary of Scotland (1936). Alexander Mackendrick, director of The Man in the White Suit (1951) and The Ladykillers (1955), wanted to do a film about Mary Stuart since the 1950s. From 1967 to 1969, he worked on a movie project for Universal due to star Mia Farrow but it was cancelled just before production started (1). At the end of 1969, Universal released Anne of the Thousand Days, an adaptation of the play by Maxwell Anderson on the life of Anne Boleyn (1501-1536) co-written by scriptwriter John Hale and directed by Charles Jarrott. Both mostly worked for television until then.

The second wife of King Henry VIII (and mother of Elizabeth I) was portrayed by Geneviève Bujold, alongside Richard Burton as the king. The film was made in England by Hal B. Wallis, the Hollywood titan behind Casablanca (1942) for Warner Bros and the Elvis Presley movies at Paramount Pictures. Anglophile, he even produced the British historical drama Becket (1964) when at Paramount. After the U.K. box office success of Anne of the Thousand Days, Hal Wallis developed a follow-up centered on Mary Stuart and Elizabeth I (Anne Boleyn's daughter, 1533-1603): Mary, Queen of Scots, written by John Hale and helmed by Charles Jarrott. Like playwrights Friedrich Schiller (Maria Stuart, 1800) and Robert Bolt (Vivat! Vivat Regina!, 1970) before him, John Hale took liberties with history. He imagined a couple of encounters between the two queens though they actually never met. Hal Wallis and Universal wanted Geneviève Bujold to play Mary but she turned down the role, which finally went to Vanessa Redgrave (The Devils, Isadora, Blow-Up).

Glenda Jackson (The Music Lovers, Women in Love) became once again Queen Elizabeth I after the BBC serial Elizabeth R (1971), whose first episode was penned by John Hale. The shooting of Mary, Queen of Scots, took place at Shepperton Studios and on location in France (Château de Chenonceau), Scotland (Hermitage Castle), Northumberland (Alnwick Castle and Bamburgh Castle) and Sussex (Parham House) (2). Mary, Queen of Scotland returns to her country in 1560, after the death of her husband Francis II of France. Scotland is poorer than when Mary left and spilt between Protestantism and Catholicism. She must deal with the ambitions of her half-brother, James Stuart, Earl of Moray. Meanwhile, Elizabeth I fears that her scottish cousin will claim the throne of England and pledges that Mary Stuart will become heir to the English throne if she marries Lord Dudley, Elizabeth's favourite.  She sends him to Scotland with the younger Lord Darnley, knowing well that Mary will fall for the latter.

The two exceptional actresses of Mary, Queen of Scots are surrounded by a solid cast, which includes Patrick McGoohan (The Prisoner) as James and a young Timothy Dalton as Lord Darnley in another period film after The Lion in Winter (1968), Wuthering Heights (1970) and Cromwell (1970). There's also Nigel Davenport, Trevor Howard, Ian Holm, Daniel Massey,  etc. John Barry was chosen by Hal Wallis to compose and conduct the great score of Mary, Queen of Scots and he worked again with the producer on Follow Me/The Public Eye (1972). Vivre Et Mourir is performed by Vanessa Redgrave. The Marie Stuart, reine d'Écosse combo Blu-Ray/DVD from Elephant Films allows to appreciate the superb cinematography by Christopher Challis (Chitty Chitty Bang Bang), the costumes designed by Margaret Furse and the competent direction of Charles Jarrott.

After Mary, Queen of Scots, Jarrott directed Lost Horizon (1973), the now cult Condorman (1981), the excellent The Amateur (1981) or the miniseries Till We Meet Again (1989). From 1992 to 2015, Glenda Jackson took a break from acting to become a Member of the British Parliament (and a junior minister in Tony Blair's government). Amusingly, Vanessa Redgrave played Elizabeth I in Anonymous (2011). The Marie Stuart, reine d'Écosse combo Blu-Ray/DVD from Elephant Films contains Mary, Queen of Scots, in English and in French (with French and English subtitles), a very interesting presentation of the movie by cinema specialist Justin Kwedi, a trailer of the film and the trailers of other titles from Elephant Films in the same collection: Isadora (1968) and the recently released Thoroughly Modern Millie (1967) and Follow Me. In 2018, Alexander Mackendrick's Mary, Queen of Scots was adapted as a BBC radio drama narrated by Glenda Jackson.

(1) https://www.theguardian.com/film/2004/jun/04/3
(2) https://www.movie-locations.com/movies/m/Mary-Queen-Of-Scots.php 

  
https://fr.shopping.rakuten.com/mfp/shop/5556785/marie-stuart-reine-d-ecosse?pid=10079840252&sellerLogin=ElephantFilm
http://www.elephantfilms.com/
https://fr.shopping.rakuten.com/boutique/ElephantFilm

See also:

https://tattard2.blogspot.com/2023/04/follow-methe-public-eye-combo-blu-ray.html (Follow Me)
https://tattard2.blogspot.com/2023/03/thoroughly-modern-millie-combo-blu-ray.html (Thoroughly Modern Millie)

FOLLOW ME/THE PUBLIC EYE (COMBO BLU-RAY + DVD, ELEPHANT FILMS)

[Favourite of the Month] Follow Me is a delightful British romantic comedy film released in 1972 and led by the brilliant Mia Farrow, Topol and Michael Jayston.

 

This gem, titled Sentimentalement vôtre in French, is now available in France in a combo Blu-Ray/DVD (Region B) from Elephant Films. 

Follow Me is based on a short play by English playwright and screenwriter Peter Shaffer (Equus, Amadeus) called The Public Eye. This one-act comedy about a jealous chartered accountant, his wife and a private detective, had its premiere in London in 1962. It was part of a double bill with The Private  Ear, another play in one act written by Shaffer. Both opened on Broadway the following year and raised the interest of Hollywood mogul Ross Hunter. For Universal, he produced the Douglas Sirk melodramas Magnificent Obsession (1954) and Imitation of Life (1959) and the Rock Hudson-Doris Day comedies Pillow Talk (1959), Lover Come Back (1961) and  Send Me No Flowers (1964). 

Hunter bought the rights of The Public Eye in 1964 but it took years to turn the play into a film. Hired to direct, Mike Nichols was too busy finishing Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (1966). Julie Andrews was to star but had to withdraw because of the delay, though she worked with Ross Hunter on Thoroughly Modern Millie (1967). Later, the producer made a deal with Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton but the couple couldn't agree upon a director. At least he managed to adapt The Private Ear as The Pad (and How to Use It) (1966). In 1970, Ross Hunter announced that American actress Mia Farrow (Rosemary's Baby) would play the young wife in The Public Eye but he left Universal. Hal Wallis, the Hollywood titan behind Casablanca (1942) for Warner Bros and the Elvis Presley movies at Paramount, brought the project to fruition. 

Associated with Universal since 1969, Hal Wallis produced Anne of the Thousand Days (1969) and Mary, Queen of Scots (1971) in England for the company. He stayed in the country, where Mia Farrow lived with her then husband conductor André Previn, to make The Public Eye (titled Follow Me in the United Kingdom) at Shepperton Studios. Peter Shaffer adapted his own play and the producer asked Carol Reed, the director of The Third Man (1949) and Oliver! (1968), to helm. Israeli actor and singer Chaim Topol, known as Topol, was cast as the private detective. Topol became globally famous thanks to the role of Tevye the milkman in the 1967 West End production of the stage musical Fieddler on the Roof and its 1971 film version. English actor Michael Jayston, a familiar face to British TV viewers (The Power Game) who starred as Nicholas II in Nicholas and Alexandra (1971), was chosen to play the husband.

Charles Sidley (Jayston) is an uptight London-based chartered accountant who married Belinda (Mia Farrow), a free-spirited Californian waitress. He thinks Belinda is having an affair because she's never at home during the day. He talks to a private investigation agency, which sends him an eccentric Greek detective named Julian Cristoforou (Topol). Follow Me/The Public Eye is blessed with Peter Shaffer's finely chiselled dialogues and the wonderful performances from its perfect trio of stars. Carol Reed and director of photography Christopher Challis (Chitty Chitty Bang Bang) take us on a both comical and sentimental tour of the British capital and various locations, including the Windsor Safari Park and Sutton Place. Belinda spends her afternoons watching some Hammer films in a cinema until Julian shows her Franco Zefirelli's Romeo and Juliet (1968). 

The music by John Barry is sublime. Thelma Keating sings Follow Follow, the beautiful song composed by Barry with lyricist Don Black. Follow Me was edited by Anne V. Coates (Lawrence of Arabia). Mia Farrow continued to shine in The Great Gatsby (1974), Death on the Nile (1978) or The Purple Rose of Cairo (1985). Topol pursued a long career on stage, mostly in his signature role, and played in the films Flash Gordon (1980) and For Your Eyes Only (1981) and in the miniseries The Winds of War (1983). After Follow Me, Michael Jayston went on working on stage, for the cinema (Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, The Internecine Project...) and for television: The Merchant of Venice, Jane Eyre, Thriller, Tinker Taylor Soldier Spy, Doctor Who, etc. Follow Me was Carol Reed's final movie.

The Sentimentalement vôtre combo Blu-Ray/DVD from Elephant Films contains Follow Me in English and in French (with French and English subtitles), an interview with movie critic and American cinema specialist Samuel Blumenfeld, a trailer of the film and the trailers of other titles from Elephant Films in the same collection: Isadora (1968) and the recently released Mary, Queen of Scots and Thoroughly Modern Millie.

https://fr.shopping.rakuten.com/offer/buy/10079839267/sentimentalement-votre-combo-blu-ray-dvd.html
http://www.elephantfilms.com/
https://fr.shopping.rakuten.com/boutique/ElephantFilm
https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2023/mar/09/topol-obituary

See also:

https://tattard2.blogspot.com/2023/03/thoroughly-modern-millie-combo-blu-ray.html