Lola Montes (1955)

Cautiously Recommended

France/West Germany

Feature Film

Director: Max Ophüls

Writers: Max Ophüls, Annette Wademant, Jacques Natanson, Cécil Saint-Laurent

Cinematographer: Christian Matras

Composer: Georges Auric

Cast: Martine Carol, Peter Ustinov, Anton Walbrook, Henri Guisol, Lise Delamare, Paulette Dubost, Oskar Werner, Jean Galland, Will Quadflieg

Infamously butchered on its original release, this 2008 restoration of Ophüls’s biopic of the Countess of Landsfeld brings about a return to the director’s original vision, brilliantly showcasing his dynamic direction and the film’s excellent production values, but unfortunately the resultant film is also often rather uninvolving emotionally and even quite tedious in spots. Iain.Stott