de Maupassant is rightly regarded as the father of the French short story, but he always seems to be slightly holding his nose at his characters' foibles with that typical Gallic superiority that has been so readily lampooned by comics for generations. That would seem to make him a strange bedfellow for Ophuls, who literally surrounds his filmic characters in loving camera embraces and an almost fatherly concern. As strange as it may seem, though, the two end up being a match made in heaven, though Ophuls does lighten the distaste factor that lies just beneath the surface of a lot of de Maupassant's writing. He also lightens de Maupassant himself, ironically making the author a friendly and all-knowing voice in the dark offering three depictions of that most elusive sensation, pleasure.

While the plots of these three stories are as wispy as pleasure itself, there's a melancholy subtext to all of them that unites them and grounds what would otherwise be rather transitory efforts, especially in the shorter bookending segments. "The Mask" follows the travails of an elderly masked man (Paul Azais) who collapses at a sort of Moulin Rouge can-can affair, revealing not only his age but his long suffering wife. The longer and most developed middle section, "The Tellier House" involves a trip to the country by a Madam (Madeleine Renaud) and her prostitute charges (one of them the gorgeous Danielle Darrieux) in order to attend the Madam's niece's confirmation. The closing episode "The Model" is perhaps the most disturbing, portraying the volatile relationship between an artist (Daniel Gelin) and his subject (Simone Simon).

While the fleeting nature of pleasure is explored in all three of these dramas, what is notable is the portrayal of women in each. "The Mask" finds the elderly gentleman lusting after nubile young women while his devoted wife suffers quietly at home (and actually not so quietly once a doctor brings the ailing man back to her). In the most interesting portrait of the dance between the sexes, "The Tellier House" shows not only the dichotomy of the Madonna-whore complex which seems to color many men's perception of women, it also highlights different reactions to that very complex: when the brothel closes so that the women can travel elsewhere, the entire town is put into disarray, yet out in the country (with some glorious shots that almost seem modeled on Claude Renoir), the women, notably Darrieux, find themselves almost worhsipped (especially by a very sweet yet intense Jean Gabin). And most tellingly, Simon's model in the final episode is forced to the most extreme measures when her lover abandons her cruelly, almost mockingly.

While the character work is strong in all of the stories, it's really Ophuls' overwhelming mastery of the camera, something for which he is rightly legendary, that ultimately lends Le Plaisir its lasting value. The camera swoops, darts and peeks through windows, grills, and around plants, almost as if we viewers are voyeurs let in on a very private dance between various people. The technical mastery reaches its apex in the third episode, with a completely amazing unedited POV shot that will knock any cinephile's socks off (I don't want to reveal too much lest I spoil the surprise). This sort of shot has become more commonplace with digital editing and Steadicam manipulations, but to think of Ophuls managing it in the relatively Dark Ages of the early 1950s is testament to his visionary genius and complete mastery of the film medium.

If you haven't yet delved into Ophuls' amazing oeuvre, there's probably no better place to start than with Le Plaisir, at least until a restored version of Lola Montes comes along (are you listening, Criterion?). The pleasure, as they say, will be completely yours, I assure you.

The DVD

Video:
This 1.33:1 transfer (windowboxed in Criterion's usual fashion) is mostly exemplary, with outstanding contrast and solid black levels. There's no noticeable damage, though the image is occasionally a tad on the soft side.

Sound:
The remastered Dolby mono soundtrack isn't quite up to the image's quality, with some apparent hiss and a typically boxy, compressed sound, especially during the musical segment of the first episode. English subtitles are available.

Extras:
As is usual with a Criterion release, there are a host of excellent extras, chief among them an introduction by director Todd Haynes (which contains a host of spoilers, so you might want to save it until after the film). "From Script to Screen" offers a nearly incomprehensible Jean-Pierre Berthomé offering his analysis of the film in an accent so thick you will probably need to replay parts twice to understand him. His best observations surround a jettisoned bawdy story about lesbians that would have originally been placed where "The Model" now resides. There are three shorter interviews with actors and crew associated with the film, including Daniel Gelin, AD Tony Abeyant and in the segment I personally found most interesting, set decorator Robert Christides. Rounding out the extras are two very brief examples of multilingual narrations done for various markets, including Peter Ustinov and Anton Walbrook. The entire package comes in a new, slimmer case that replaces some of Criterion's bulkier packaging of yore, and which includes a nice color booklet.

Final Thoughts:
Le Plaisir may seem inconsequential as you're watching it, but it works its magic quietly and once you've had time to absorb its depth, and especially Ophuls' overwhelming technical genius, it's a film you'll return to again and again, making it a DVD Talk Collectors Series title.

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"G-d made stars galore" & "Hey, what kind of a crappy fortune is this?" ZMK, modern prophet