Jean-Paul Sartre Movies
- 1993
Is the relationship between Lucie (Christine Brucher) and her prim, pedantic and fussy husband (Francois Chattot) irreparably ruined, or is she only just bored by daily life with such a tedious man, and also somewhat comforted by it? In this romantic drama, based on a short story by the great existentialist philosopher Jean-Paul Sartre, Lucie tests the waters by having a fling with another man (Christian Izard) on the advice of a friendly shopkeeper. Meanwhile, her husband is treating her to such intimate kindnesses as scolding her for her mental sloppiness in watching television without consulting the channel guide. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Christine Brucher
- 1976
The French title of this feature-length documentary (filmed in 1976, released in the US six years later), is Sartre par lui meme. In English and French, the point is made. The focus is of course on the famed French existentialist author/ poet/ playwright/ philosopher Jean-Paul Sartre (1905-80). Sartre himself appears on screen from time to time, discussing-but, wisely, never thoroughly explaining--his outlook on life. The film was codirected by longtime Sartre admirer Alexandre Astruc and Michel Contat. At 190 minutes, Sartre by Himself will probably appeal most to those already familiar with Sartre's works. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1966
Prisoners await execution by firing squad when they are captured during the Spanish Civil War in this drama taken from the novella by Jean-Paul Sarte. Pablo (Michel Del Castillo) is a loyalist jailed after he searches for his brother. An Irish mercenary and a Belgian physician are his cellmates. Flashbacks recall their lives before the war as they spend their last moments on Earth waiting for their date with death. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Michel del Castillo
- 1963
Vittorio De Sica's version of a play by Jean-Paul Sartre stars Frederic March as Albrecht von Gerlach, the owner of one of Germany's biggest industrial firms. Albrecht calls for his son Werner (Robert Wagner), a lawyer who is married to an actress, Johanna (Sophia Loren). The aging Albrecht wants Werner to take over the family business, but Werner is not interested, as he knows that the company helped to build the Nazi war machine that caused the deaths of millions of people. Werner, however, was not first in the line of succession; his older brother Franz (Maximilian Schell) was running the company for his father during the war, and as a result he was cited for war crimes and executed. Or so everyone believes. In fact, Franz was able to escape the gallows, and he lives in the basement of the family's Altona estate, watched over by his sister Leni (Francoise Prevost). Franz has gone mad, and he believes Leni when she tells him that Germany never recovered from its defeat in the war and that poverty has layed waste to the nation. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Sophia Loren, Maximilian Schell, (more)
- 1962
Perhaps the most stunning moment in this interesting adaptation of the famous play by Jean-Paul Sartre is the last scene itself when the finality of three antagonist people being doomed to spend an eternity together hits home hard. The three are a journalist who betrayed members of the resistance movement in World War II, a lesbian who tempted a married woman to leave her husband, and a social-climber who killed her son and drove her husband to suicide. The trio are led into their "hotel" room by a bellboy (Ben Piazza) and when they try to leave, they quickly discover there is literally no exit. Thus trapped like rats in a cage, they reveal their sins of the past in flashbacks and soon find that the hell of being forced to spend an eternity together is much worse than fire and brimstone. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Viveca Lindfors, Rita Gam, (more)
- 1962
Filmed in Germany by American director John Huston, Freud is a sincerely felt but overly simplistic biopic of the pioneering psychotherapist. The brooding, introspective Montgomery Clift was a curious choice for the role of Sigmund Freud; at times he looks more off the beam than some of his patients (his comic-opera Viennese accent doesn't add to the credibility). The screenplay takes the shape of a detective mystery, attempting to link various crises in Freud's private and professional life with his theoretical conclusions, most often doing so within well-staged dream sequences. Less successful are the scenes with the poor unfortunates who come to Freud for help, notably an embarrassing sequence with a young man suffering from an Oedipus complex. Freud was at one point supposed to have been scripted by existentialist playwright Jean-Paul Sartre, who gave up after he realized that the subject would require a four- or five-hour film at the very least. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Montgomery Clift, Susannah York, (more)
- 1957
American playwright Arthur Miller was still under an "unfriendly" cloud in 1958, so far as the anti-Communist brigades were concerned. Thus, the film version of Miller's stage play The Crucible was lensed in France. Drawing several parallels to the McCarthy era, Miller dramatizes the Salem Witch Trials of the late 17th century, when hearsay, rumor, and mass hysteria passed for hard evidence. Given an opportunity to escape being hanged for witchcraft, John Proctor (Yves Montand) refuses to bow to the demands of the so-called justices. Many observers felt that this climactic scene was an act of contrition for Arthur Miller, who was (by his reasoning) not nearly so courageous when grilled by the HUAC. Also known as The Witches of Salem, The Crucible was adapted for the screen by Jean-Paul Sartre. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Yves Montand, Simone Signoret, (more)
- 1954
Arletty heads the cast of this first film version of Jean-Paul Sartre's existential theater piece No Exit. The scene is a tawdry hotel room in Limbo, where several damned souls are gathered. At first, the group fails to comprehend where they are or why they're there. When the horrible truth dawns upon them, they carp and snipe at one another, blaming everyone but themselves for their dismal fate. The Sartre original had only one setting and three characters. Pierre Laroche's screenplay unnecessarily "opens up" the play, adding four more characters and several sequences in the "real" world. A more successful (but no more faithful) version of No Exit was filmed in Argentina in 1962. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Arletty, Gaby Sylvia, (more)
- 1952
Barbara Laage plays the title role in the ironic French drama The Respectful Prostitute. No one considers Lizzie (Ms. Laage) particularly respectful until one of her clients is accused of a crime. Summoned to court, Lizzie perjures herself, hoping to become socially respectable-and in so doing, she betrays her black lover. In the end, Lizzie has nothing to show for her "grand gesture". Originally titled La Putain Respecteuse, the film was adapted from a 1946 play by Jean-Paul Sartre. Now all but forgotten, The Respectful Prostitute was a runner-up in the "best picture" category at the 1952 Venice Film Festival. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Barbara Laage, Ivan Desny, (more)
- 1951
Les Main Sales is based on the Jean-Paul Sartre play of the same name. The hero, Hugo Barine (Daniel Gelin), is a dedicated communist. Hugo suffers a crisis of conscience when he is ordered to assassinate his Marxist mentor Hoederer (Pierre Brasseur) at the behest of a more radical Red faction. It turns out that Hoederer is even more idealistic than Hugo, thoroughly understanding the "necessity" of his elimination in the scheme of things. At least, that's what seems to be happening; with Jean-Paul Sartre involved, one can never be entirely certain who's doing what to whom and why. Whatever the case, poor Hugo eventually learns to his dismay that most so-called revolutionaries are more concerned with power than proselytizing. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Pierre Brasseur, Daniel Gélin, (more)
- 1949
Documentary filmmaker Nicole Vedre's first semi-fictional feature was released in France in 1949 as La Vie Commence Demain. The film made it to the U.S. in 1952 as Life Begins Tomorrow. Made in cooperation with UNESCO, the film speculates on the future of mankind after the advent of Atomic Energy. Many prominent French artists and intellects contribute to the narration: Jean-Pierre Aumont plays The Man of Today, Andre Labarthe is the Man of Tomorrow, and Jean-Paul Sartre, Daniel Agache, Jean Rostand, Le Corbusier, Pablo Picasso and Andre Gide are respectively seen as "The Existentialist," "The Psychiatrist,' "The Biologist," "The Architect," "The Artist" and "The Author" (talk about typecasting!) Film clips of hospitals, schoolrooms, scientific laboratories, and even nightclubs are woven into Vedre's fascinating tapestry. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jean-Pierre Aumont, André S. Labarthe, (more)
- 1947
Released in the US as The Chips are Down, Jean Delannoy's Les Jeux sont Faits represented the first work written directly for the screen by Jean-Paul Sartre. Not surprisingly, the film is drenched with existentialist philosophy, but overall it works best as a romantic tragedy. The story takes place in an unnamed dictatorship, resistance fighter Pierre (Marcello Pagliero) is killed in a street confrontation. Almost simultaneously, Eve (Micheline Presle), the wife of the dictator, dies of poison administered by her unfaithful husband. Pierre and Eve rematerialize on a dismal little street outside of Heaven's waiting room, where the businesslike admissions clerk (Marguerite Moreno) informs them that they might have become lovers had they met while still alive--and that it is possible to briefly return them to Earth to find out if their romance could have been consummated. Desperately, Eve and Pierre agree to be restored to life, hoping not only to fall in love but also to alter the events leading up to their deaths. Alas, and inevitably, nothing works out as planned. Though Sartre's traditional defeatism is prevalent throughout Les Jeux Sont Faits, what lingers longest in the memory is the brilliant performance by Micheline Presle and the (literally) haunting musical score by Georges Auric. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Micheline Presle, Marguerite Moreno, (more)
