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Jules and Jim - Criterion Collection |
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Staring:
Jeanne Moreau, Oskar Werner, Henri Serre, Vanna Urbino, Boris Bassiak
Director:
François Truffaut
Average Customer Rating:  
List Price: $39.95
Our Price: $26.16
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Description
Hailed as one of the finest films ever made, legendary director François Truffaut’s early masterpiece Jules and Jim charts the relationship between two friends and the object of their mutual obsession over the course of twenty-five years.
Amazon.com
François Truffaut's third feature, though it's named for the two best friends who become virtually inseparable in pre-World War I Paris, is centered on Jeanne Moreau's Catherine, the most mysterious, enigmatic woman in his career-long gallery of rich female portraits. Adapted from the novel by Henri-Pierre Roché, Truffaut's picture explores the 30-year friendship between Austrian biologist Jules (Oskar Werner) and Parisian writer Jim (Henri Serre) and the love triangle formed when the alluring Catherine makes the duo a trio. Spontaneous and lively, a woman of intense but dynamic emotions, she becomes the axle on which their friendship turns as Jules woos her and they marry, only to find that no one man can hold her. Directed in bursts of concentrated scenes interspersed with montage sequences and pulled together by the commentary of an omniscient narrator, Truffaut layers his tragic drama with a wealth of detail. He draws on his bag of New Wave tricks for the carefree days of youth--zooms, flash cuts, freeze frames--that disappear as the marriage disintegrates during the gloom of the postwar years. Werner is excellent as Jules, a vibrant young man whose slow, melancholy slide into emotional compromise is charted in his increasingly sad eyes and resigned face, while Serre plays Jim as more of an enigma, guarded and introspective. But both are eclipsed in the glare of Moreau's radiant Catherine: impulsive, demanding, sensual, passionate, destructive, and ultimately unknowable. A masterpiece of the French New Wave and one of Truffaut's most confident and accomplished films. --Sean Axmaker
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Virtuosity yes, but..., 2009-12-08
Truffaut reportedly watched some 2,000 movies before making his first one and also spent several years reviewing (rather harshly, I understand) for "Cahiers du cinema." I suppose it could be concluded he came away with a pretty good idea of things NOT to do when he finally got around to making his own movies. If we go by that criterion alone, novelty, J&J is off the charts. But I don't think we should do that because story is still king; style is not quite on par with substance and I hope it never is -- though this movie sure did a lot to encourage that idea, intentionally or otherwise.
What we have here is a woman-child, headstrong, impulsive, manipulative, whose idea of morality is tit-for-tat, and two fellers who are, well, gutless wonders and are unable to understand how one deals with children, of whatever age or sex. Once Catherine starts cheating on Jules with his best friend, Jules turns into Catherine's ... male girlfriend, playing letter carrier and letting her do whatever she wants as if marriage didn't mean anything. Jim is not that much better, dropping everything the minute Catherine calls, including joining her on that fateful last ride at the end. Dude, what were you thinking?
The film has many charming moments, Moreau is delightful and in many scenes so adorable that you almost understand why it must have been so hard to say no to her -- notice I said almost. But at the end of the day, what we have here is a lesson in what NOT to do in life, what to avoid. That's a good lesson to learn from one movie, considering Truffaut had to see 2,000 of them to get there.
Back in the Day, 2009-08-16
If you love French cinema, Francois Truffaut, and/or Jeanne Moreau, you have probably already seen this film. It's a classic film, that warrants viewing. The Criterion edition is great for the DVD viewer. The picture quality is just superb, making it seemed like it was filmed more recently than it was. The subjects and wonderful landscape hold the viewer's attention.
Although, Truffaut was a master of the cinema, I found the content of Jules et Jim more of a drawback than I'd expect. The first time I saw this film was in 1974 and didn't really have a clue. On this, my second viewing, I found the idealism of the relationships a bit trying. Although, I found Jules and Jim to be interesting, like watching two puppies play and romp, the inclusion of "The Love Interest" added a chaos that struck me as very awkward. I found the Catherine character tedious. Though many leading ladies of novels and films play out this role of the vivacious, captivating, fun-loving and erratic Ideal Woman ... for me it is not that interesting. This is like/dislike that varies from viewer to viewer.
Overall, this film has so many great attributes. It was amazing to see Jeanne Moreau, back in the day (1962); Oskar Werner as Jules; and Henri Serre as Jim. Jules et Jim remains a film worth seeing just for the sake of its being a "classic".
As good as advertised, 2009-08-16
The Bottom Line:
A stellar film about two men in love with the same woman that features three-dimensional characters and actions that feel like what real people might do in opposed to what a screenwriter would dream up, Jules and Jim is marred a tad by an conclusion that doesn't seem to fit with the rest of the movie but on the whole it's just as good as cineastes would lead you to believe.
3.5/4
L'adultere, encore une fois., 2009-12-21
Oh, la vie, les hommes, la folie, l'adultere, la femme, l'art, la mort!
Oh, les francaises!
Catherine doesnt escape suffering., 2009-09-14
Head docs in training should see this movie. She seems to be a violent gun toting manic depressive with a touch of sadism. She cant help herself from risking it all every 3 months and this was before the meds were available. Throughout the movie I think Jules is the hero for keeping their daughter safe. The director Truffaut though used riveting dialogue, great directing and character monologues. Did the alienation produced by the conflicts in her parents cultures Anglo/French before such marriages were common, cause this poor creature to run from inimacy so. She refers to maternal love as a magnet. This tells me she is a psycho. One doesnt know if she knew the bridge was damaged or not before crossing it to die. There were loose females who really run from men to men needing a new adventure and sex for sex's sake all around her. I think Catherine used the same 3 men in her life as self medication because with these hapless men she could
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Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1
Binding: DVD
Brand: Image Entertainment
EAN: 9780780027688
Format: Black & White, Closed-captioned, DVD, Special Edition, Subtitled, Widescreen, NTSC
ISBN: 078002768X
Label: Criterion Collection, The
Manufacturer: Criterion Collection, The
Number Of Items: 2
Publisher: Criterion Collection, The
Region Code: 1
Release Date: 2005-05-31
Running Time: 105
Studio: Criterion Collection, The
Theatrical Release Date: 1962 |
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