Movies
Isabelle Huppert Gets Lethal in ‘Eva’
Isabelle Huppert, who has just won a Gotham award for her outstanding performance in Paul Verhoeven’s Elle, is set to play a femme fatale in Benoit Jacquot’s Eva, says Variety.
A psychological thriller, Eva is adapted from James Hadley Chase’s novel which turns on a beautiful, yet lethal woman, to be played by Huppert.
The French star will play opposite Gaspard Ulliel, a leading French actor who was last seen in Xavier Dolan’s It’s Only the End of the World, which won Cannes’ Grand Prize.
The novel was previously adapted into a 1962 movie directed by Joseph Losey and starred Jeanne Moreau in the title role.
Eva will start shooting in mid-January in Paris, Lyon and Annecy.
Produced by Paris-based Macassar Productions, Eva was penned by Jacquot and Gilles Taurand.
Movies
Ken Russell’s Controversial ‘The Devils’ Restoration Gets First Teaser Ahead of Theatrical Release
A holy grail for cinephiles is finally within reach after half a century; the long-awaited restoration of Ken Russell‘s controversial horror movie The Devils will arrive this fall.
The first official teaser gives us our first peek at the new restoration, below.
Warner Bros. Clockwork will release the film in theaters globally this fall, in partnership with the British Film Institute (BFI) in the UK. It opens in select North American theaters on October 16 for an exclusive one-week engagement with international theatrical dates to be announced.
Based on Aldous Huxley’s 1952 non-fiction novel The Devils of Loudun and its 1961 stageplay adaptation, The Devils is set in 17th-century Loudun, France.
Oliver Reed stars as Grandeur in the film, complete with the sex appeal that has all the ladies swooning, including the hunchbacked Sister Jeanne (Vanessa Redgrave). Jeanne is exceptionally lustful for Grandeur, which pushes over into wrathful jealousy when she learns of his relationship with the young and stunning Madeleine (Gemma Jones). Cue the demonic seduction accusations, and hysteria and chaos ensue.
Why is this restoration such a big deal? Russell’s original vision was considered far too incendiary and political for its time, with key sequences deemed too intense for viewers. That most infamously includes a sequence in which a demonic possession public display culminated in hysterical nuns tearing down and ravaging a giant crucifix, cut from the film in its entirety, with further cuts for American audiences and edits for UK viewers.
As the press release details, “This new 4K restoration of Ken Russell’s masterpiece was assembled from the original camera negative. The film’s sound has been remastered from original English Composite 35mm Mag Film, transferred at 96kHz, plus other original film elements in selected spots as needed. The Picture and Sound restoration was performed by Warner Bros. Post Production Creative Services, Water Tower Color, and Warner Bros. Sound.“