True Best Movie: Georges Franju
After Chaplin’s TBM, let’s go for Georges Franju.
Usual Best Movie: Les Yeux sans visage
True Best Movie: Judex
I’m really fond of Les Yeux sans visage. It’s always mentioned as a classic and it’s a well deserved honour. It’s a beautiful way to turn a scary movie into strange emotions with a quiet pace.
Besides that, the story around the movie making is great. No epic shooting. No earthquake, no tornado or actor going mental. Just the way Franju talks about the story itself. He’s a great movie-making storyteller*.
Despite all that, Judex seems more important to me. First of all, the impulse to make a movie about a 1916 serial in the sixties and being serious about it is a really humble tribute. I love and respect that (if you’ve watched the somehow vintage funny sixties movies about Fantomas, you know what I mean). And now, the uppercut. No matter how strong you disagree with me regarding the best Franju movie, this scene from Judex ends any discussion. By the way, as an ending note, this music from Maurice Jarre is absolutely the best original motion picture soundtrack I’ve ever heard.
*If you speak french and are curious: among other things, consider reading the Oral History of Les yeux sans visage by Delphine Simon-Marsaud and published on the website of the Cinémathèque Française.