HENRI-GEORGES CLOUZOT’S INFERNO
”A dazzling evocation of what may be one of the greatest films never made”
In 1964, famed director Henri-Georges Clouzo, (Wages of Fear, Diabolique, etc.), began work on his most ambitious film to date, L’ENEFER (INFERNO). It was a dark psychological study of the mental disintegration of hotel owner Marcel (Serge Reggiani), consumed by jealousy at the supposed infidelity of his stunning young wife, played by Romy Schneider in her prime. After months of preparation in Paris, Clouzot took his cast and crew to the south of France, where everything went horribly wrong.
For nearly half a century INFERNO was the stuff of legend among film buffs who heard tantalizing stories about the “lost” film by one the great directors, but in 2005 film archivist Serge Bromberg unearthed 185 cans containing not only the footage from the ill fated shoot, but the equally amazing pre-production tests. It is a kaleidoscope of colors, angles, tracking shots etc. unlike anything anyone had tried before or since. HENRI-GEORGES CLOUZOT’S INFERNO gives audiences the first glimpse of some of the most extraordinary film ever shot and brings together surviving members of the cast and crew including director Costa-Gavras, a production assistant and famed cinematographer William Lubtchansky, an assistant cameraman, to recount the equally amazing story behind them. The madness and obsession portrayed on the screen mirrored Clouzot’s own behavior on the set.
Trailer & Website: www.clouzotsinferno.com
“A revelation…a remarkable journey into the psyche of an obsessed director…. There's no way of knowing if INFERNO would have been a masterpiece or a fiasco, but Bromberg has crafted something of a film buff's dream from Clouzot's nightmare.” – Stephen Farber, Hollywood Reporter
“The riveting story of one of cinema history's great ‘lost’ movies… A must-see.” – The Guardian
Writer: Serge Bromberg
Directors: Serge Bromberg, Ruxandra Medrea
Distributor: Lobster Films
Genre: Documentary
Country: France
Runtime: 96 min.
Language: French w/English subtitles
Parents Guide: Not rated
FESTIVALS: Cannes Film Festival, France; Toronto International Film Festival, Canada; London Film Festival, UK; Vancouver International Film Festival , Canada; New York Film Festival, USA ; Chicago International Film Festival, USA; Vienna International Film Festival, Austria; Mar del Plata Film Festival, Argentina; Thessaloniki International Film Festival, Greece; Göteborg International Film Festival, Sweden; International Film Festival Rotterdam, Netherlands; Hong Kong International Film Festival, Hong Kong; Festival du Film Francophone, Greece; DOCVILLE International Documentary Film Festival, Belgium; San Francisco International Film Festival, USA; Planete Doc Review, Poland; Seattle International Film Festival, USA
AWARDS: International Jury Award, Best Documentary, César Awards, France; Best Documentary, São Paulo International Film Festival; Best Documentary, Étoiles d'Or, France
"Inferno offers more cinematically thrilling moments than anything currently on our screens." John Powers, Fresh Air NPR
Official website w/trailer and press kit: http://www.clouzotsinferno.com/
