Lila Kedrova Movies
Born in Russia during the second year of the communist regime, actress Lila Kedrova has spent most of her life in France. After spending a decade establishing herself in European films and theatrical productions, Kedrova won an Academy Award for her first English-speaking role: fading courtesan Madame Hortense in 1964's Zorba the Greek (she replaced Simone Signoret, who withdrew shortly after shooting started). She would go on to win a Tony nomination when she reprised Hortense for the Broadway musical Zorba, again co-starring with Anthony Quinn. Appearing in fewer and fewer films as the 1970s became the 1980s (sometimes there were four-year gaps between her pictures), Lila Kedrova won the Golden Mask award at the Taorima Film Festival for her portrayal of a terminally ill woman in the American Tell Me a Riddle (1980). ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi- 1993
The study of semantics has convinced Amedio (Jean Rochefort) that things only have relative validity, and that everything is changeable. So it seems, because while on an Italian holiday with his family, he conceives the idea that his aging wife (Marie-Christine Barrault) should assume the role of his mother, and his daughter (Jacqueline Lustig), who has an infant son, should assume the role of his wife and lover. His real mother (Lila Kedrova), an elderly invalid, dies just as this conceit begins to take form, and, inexplicably, the women placidly go along with this odd notion for a time, but eventually return to their former roles. ~ Clarke Fountain, Rovi
- Starring:
- Jean Rochefort, Marie-Christine Barrault, (more)
Michael (Patrick Dempsey) is a college student invited to spend Christmas vacation in Quebec City with his sweetheart Gabby (Jennifer Connelly) and her family. The wide-eyed Michael sees the city as a fairytale land with the splendid architecture gently dusted by the falling snow. When Michael arrives, Gabby tells him she is breaking up with him, and separate sleeping arrangements are made, and Gabby's mother (Florinda Bolkan) makes sure the visitor adheres to Gabby's wishes. Gabby's eccentric father (Andre Gregory) is an idealistic scholar who likes to work in the nude. Michael isn't lonely for long, as Gabby's two younger sisters show amorous interest in him. Lila Kedrova gives an excellent performance as the slightly daffy grandmother who believes Michael is her late husband. ~ Dan Pavlides, Rovi
- Starring:
- Patrick Dempsey, Florinda Bolkan, (more)
In this uneven dramatization of a legendary sword-and-sorcery tale, the Green Knight (Sean Connery) is a magician who appears at King Arthur's court brandishing an axe and challenging anyone to do battle with him. When no one responds, King Arthur himself steps into the breach -- but is turned back when Gawain (Miles O'Keeffe) takes up his axe to stand in for the king -- and promptly decapitates the Green Knight. But lo-and-behold, the Knight's magic is so great that he puts head and body back together again and then further challenges Gawain with a riddle that must be solved within the next 12 months or Gawain is dead. Lucky for Gawain, the riddle involves several rescues of the charming Princess Linet (Cyrielle Claire) -- but how will he manage to outfox the Green Knight and the evil Morgan La Fay (Emma Sutton)? ~ Eleanor Mannikka, Rovi
- Starring:
- Miles O'Keeffe, Cyrielle Claire, (more)
It will come as quite a shock to discover the venerable James Earl Jones and José Ferrer slumming in this Greek-lensed ultra-cheapie about a legendary sea creature aroused from centuries of sleep off the shores of a Greek island by an opportunistic American archaeologist (Jones). It seems the beastie's legacy is well known by some of the island's old-timers (namely Ferrer), including the part about appeasing the monster with a virgin sacrifice -- namely the alluring Deborah Shelton. The exotic locations and the presence of the gruff Jones (who apparently saw this as a paid vacation) lend a great deal of production value, but apparently Jones' salary came out of the filmmakers' special-effects budget -- because the feared creature of ancient legend looks like a sock puppet! This film is also known as Red Tide and Demon Lake. ~ Cavett Binion, Rovi
- Starring:
- James Earl Jones, José Ferrer, (more)
Featuring Lila Kedrova and Melvyn Douglas as elderly couple Eva and David who, after forty years of a less-than-satisfying marriage, find the lost love they once had for each other as they travel to San Francisco to visit their grandchildren. Actress Lee Grant's first directorial feature, this drama is based on a novella by Tillie Olsen. ~ Kristie Hassen, Rovi
- Starring:
- Melvyn Douglas, Lila Kedrova, (more)
- 1979
A discontented concert pianist causes all sorts of heartbreak with his egotistical and womanizing antics, and all the people in his life attempt to force him to grow up in this French comedy/drama (with English subtitles). ~ Kristie Hassen, Rovi
- Starring:
- Jean Rochefort, Nicole Garcia, (more)
- 1979
Noted political filmmaker Costa-Gavras turned his attention to personal issues in this drama. Michel (Yves Montand) has had to deal with the death of his wife, while Lydia (Romy Schneider) is mourning the loss of her daughter. Both Michel and Lydia are lonely, and they are attempting to start a relationship together, but neither has been able to purge themselves of their sorrows, which makes it difficult for them to live in the moment. Clair de Femme was based on a novel by Romain Gary. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
- Starring:
- Yves Montand, Romy Schneider, (more)
- 1979
In July of 1976, the Societé Générale of France was robbed of well over $10 million dollars by a group burrowing through the sewers of Paris. This movie is based on a book by the thieves' mastermind, Albert Spaggiari. The famous theft won the nickname, "the great drain robbery," and this romanticized cinematic retelling of the true story stars Francis Huster as Spaggiari. ~ Clarke Fountain, Rovi
- Starring:
- Francis Huster, Jean-François Balmer, (more)
- 1977
In this film, the arrival of some unwanted visitors interrupts the peaceful Cuban home life of sisters Dolores (Valentine Cortese), Carmen (Jadwiga Branska), and Elvira (Yvonne Mitchell) when their presence stirs up unwelcome memories. ~ Iotis Erlewine, Rovi
- Starring:
- Patricia Neal, Valentina Cortese, (more)
- 1977
Isabelle (Jodie Foster) is a young American girl who has accompanied her older sister Ble (Sydne Rome) a model, to Paris. There, the two of them have romances. For the teenaged Isabelle, her romantic and sexual encounter with Isidore (Bernard Giraudeau) is her first. ~ Clarke Fountain, Rovi
- Starring:
- Jodie Foster, Jean Yanne, (more)
- 1977
- PG
Dick Richards directed this French Foreign Legion adventure that's at once parodies and pays tribute to the venerable Hollywood epics that preceded it. Gene Hackman stars as Major William Sherman Foster, a soldier who has been kicked out of West Point but has managed to obtain command of a group of Legionnaires after the end of World War I. His troops have been ordered to accompany an archeological expedition traveling to Morocco headed by Francois Marneau (Max von Sydow). Foster's motley band includes an on-the-lam cat burglar named Marco Segrain (Terence Hill), an ex-guardsman from the deposed Russian monarchy named Ivan (Jack O'Halloran), an adventure-seeking aristocrat named Fred Hastings (Paul Sherman), and an alluring beauty named Simone Picard (Catherine Deneuve). As the band makes their way to Morocco, they cross paths with the fervid and bloodthirsty Arab leader El Krim (Ian Holm), who vows to unite his people to expel foreigners from their land. ~ Paul Brenner, Rovi
- Starring:
- Gene Hackman, Terence Hill, (more)
Director Roman Polanski casts himself in the lead of the psychological thriller The Tenant. Trelkovsky (Polanski) rents an apartment in a spooky old residential building, where his neighbors -- mostly old recluses -- eye him with suspicious contempt. Upon discovering that the apartment's previous tenant, a beautiful young woman, jumped from the window in a suicide attempt, Trelkovsky begins obsessing over the dead woman. Growing increasingly paranoid, Trelkovsky convinces himself that his neighbors plan to kill him. He even comes to the conclusion that Stella (Isabel Adjani), the woman he has fallen in love with, is in on the "plot." Ultimately, Polanski assumes the identity of the suicide victim -- and inherits her self-destructive urges. Some critics found the movie tedious and overdone; others compared it to Polanski's early breakthrough, Repulsion. The film was based on Le Locataire Chimerique, a novel by Roland Topor. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Roman Polanski, Isabelle Adjani, (more)
Desirous of marrying a wealthy man, a delicate woman searches the stars and the streets of Montreal in hopes of finding the perfect match in this supernatural romantic Canadian drama. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi
- Starring:
- Elizabeth Moorman, Tommy Lee Jones, (more)
- 1975
- R
Peter Sellers stays busy in this comedy playing Hitler, Prince Kyoto, and four others in this tale of an anti-Nazi French whorehouse which supports the Allied war effort by exterminating the most dangerous of its patrons in the bedroom. Highlights include Lila Kedrova as the madame who becomes a general in the resistance, and Curt Jurgens as Gen. Von. Grotjahn, Sellers' nemesis. ~ Clarke Fountain, Rovi
- Starring:
- Lila Kedrova, Curd Jürgens, (more)
- 1972
Filmed in Greece and Italy, Cool Million was the pilot film for a shortlived 1972 TV series which ran as a recurring feature of the NBC Wednesday Mystery Movie. James Farentino stars as private eye Jefferson Keays, who takes cases only on the proviso that he is to be paid $1 million if he solves the mystery. Keays' current assignment is to locate the heiress to a $50 million fortune. With several candidates to choose from, the detective must use his million-dollar nose to sniff on the worthy one--and to find out if she's responsible for the peculiar death of her wealthy father. Cool Million was released to syndication under the title Mask of Marcella. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- 1972
In this French drama, the limitations of the medical system are exposed. Lila Kedrova plays a mature woman of Russian origin who is stricken with cancer ("rak" in Russian). She wants to live, and in order to do so she must fight the inertia and indifference of the specialists and bureaucrats she encounters. The doctors seem unable to treat her as anything other than an assembly of unconnected organs. She is greatly assisted in her survival quest by the loving assistance of her son (Sami Frey). ~ Clarke Fountain, Rovi
- Starring:
- Lila Kedrova, Sami Frey, (more)
- 1972
The ongoing plight of Russian Jewry serves as the backdrop for the Golan-Globus effort Escape to the Sun (Habricha el Hashemesh). Laurence Harvey is cast against type as Major Kirsanov, a nasty KGB officer who refuses to allow Soviet Jews Nina Kaplan (Josephine Chaplin, Charlie's daughter and Geraldine's sister) and Yasha Bazarov (Yuda Barkin) to emigrate to Israel. In desperation, Nina, Yasha and several others hijack a jetliner. Kirsanov foils the plan, but Nina and Yasha manage to escape--if you can call heading to the desolate Russian steppes an "escape." The actors are talented and the locations well chosen, but the script is a real let-down. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- 1971
A play by Jean Anouilh is the basis for A Time for Loving. In this Gallic blend of La Ronde and Plaza Suite, a single Paris flat is the scene for three separate romantic stories, bookended by a fourth. Star Mel Ferrar also functioned as producer; it must have taken some fast talking to keep him from directing as well. Filmed in 1970, A Time for Loving made the international rounds one year later, after some judicious editing. It has also been released as Paris Was Made For Lovers. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- 1970
- PG
When American agents in Moscow try to recover a stolen letter implicating America in an anti-Red China plot, they discover a hornet's nest of treason, double agents, murder, and betrayal. The plot has as many switchbacks as a Formula One racetrack, and a pad and paper to keep track of the agents and their code names wouldn't hurt. Still, The Kremlin Letter is an interesting espionage movie with some good performances. ~ Tana Hobart, Rovi
- Starring:
- Bibi Andersson, Richard Boone, (more)
- 1969
Childhood sweethearts Jolanda (Virna Lisi) and Franco (George Segal) meet once again after a separation of nearly 15 years. The two immediately rekindle the romance on an adult level. Franco is a dedicated physician working hard to have a successful career and longtime security, while Jolanda is a free-spirited woman who embraces radical causes and lives from day to day. Comedy ensues when this odd couple experiences life from each other's point of view. Jolanda releases animals from a research hospital in protest over their capture. Franco is always chasing the fast-moving Jolanda around in order to extricate her from the consequences of her many activities in this convulsively funny romantic comedy. The exasperated Franco is torn between the love for Jolanda and the stoic professionalism of his medical career. ~ Dan Pavlides, Rovi
- Starring:
- Virna Lisi, George Segal, (more)
- 1969
- PG
In this comedy, a medical assistant and his strange childhood friend fall in love. Unfortunately, the girl is unable to make a permanent commitment. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi
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