Jacques Ertaud Movies

Set in the 1930s, Premier de Cordee begins as Zian (Frederic Gorny), a young man who has traveled from his birthplace in the Alps to Paris, returns to his family home just as his father, a mountain guide, dies after being struck by lightning. Zian has chosen to carry on in his father's work, although he's very much aware of the dangers involved. Along with the death of his father, he's also been confronted with the sad fate of his best friend, who went into the mountains to rescue Ruspoli (Giuliano Gemma), the rich client stranded by the death of Zian's father. When the young man returned, it was discovered he had lost his toes to frostbite. However, Zian is determined to become a guide, and he soon wins the attentions of Ruspoli's daughter, Bianca (Silvia de Santis), even though her socially prominent family is not happy that she's become involved with a poverty-stricken mountaineer. A climbing accident leaves Zian with a chronic case of vertigo that threatens his new career, but with Bianca's help he sets his sights on conquering Mount Blanc. Based on a series of three novels by Roger Frison-Roche (which were previously adapted for the screen in 1943), Premier de Cordee was originally shot on videotape for broadcast by French, Italian, and Swiss television networks, though it was later transferred to film for theatrical screenings. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Thomas (Sylvain Joubert) works on his grandfather's land, boxes in his spare time, and dreams of becoming a veterinarian. He is equally happy to beat up trespassing hippies or thieves when they come onto the land. When he is seriously injured during an anti-nuclear demonstration, he seeks death rather than live as a disabled man. This drama was first shown on French television before being released to movie theaters. ~ Clarke Fountain, Rovi

The esteemed Louis Malle spent his career alternating between features and documentaries; the latter often brought him a much-needed respite from fictional projects, by enabling him to shoot cinema direct footage in a "hands-on" manner - acting as a refresher and renewing his interest in filmmaking. Vive le Tour constitutes a relatively minor work in Malle's catalogue but is skillfully made and quite enjoyable. For a number of days in July 1962, Malle and his crew (Ghislain Cloquet, Jacques Ertaud and others) travel to the Tour de France bicycle race and film a series of inclusive spectacles. The overall mood is jovial and bouncy - the film shot in bright rotogravure colors, with a peppy Georges Delerue score - but Malle continually varies the overtone of the picture depending on the spectacle at hand, interweaving notes of ebullience, whimsy, jet black humor, awe and unspeakable tragedy. The covered events include: two riders sharing a fudgesicle as they race; a number of cyclists pilfering food from local shops; one rider growing ill from "fish that was not fresh, eaten the night before," and - on a heartbreaking note - a rider who falls and cracks his head open, presumably unaware of the extent of his injury and complaining constantly, "put something on my head, my head is cold." Most of all, Malle underscores, with great admiration and astonishment, the grueling physical exhaustion that the race exacts from even the most seasoned riders. Vive le Tour is a worshipful documentary of a sport made by a man who knew it intimately and loved it: next to filmmaking, cycling was Louis Malle's second great lifelong passion. ~ Nathan Southern, Rovi