Jean-Louis Tristan Movies
- 1973
Proof of the success of French filmmaker Edouard Molinaro is the fact that several of his home-grown hits have been remade as American films. The most recent example of this is 1996's The Birdcage, a highly profitable reworking of Molinaro's La Cage aux Folles (1978). The director's 1973 comedy A Pain in the A... also went the Cage aux Folles route of enjoying worldwide popularity, then undergoing an Americanization process. In the Molinaro original, Lino Ventura plays a friendless hit man who holes up in an Italian hotel room, awaiting the opportunity to knock off his target, a mob witness. No sooner has Ventura drawn a bead on his would-be victim than he is interrupted by the comically suicidal Jacques Brel, who wants to jump from the open window in the assassin's room. The banter and byplay between Ventura and Brel is priceless, especially when veering towards the "sick" humor that Molinaro handles so well. Based on a play by Francis Veber, Pain in the A... was remade by Billy Wilder as Buddy Buddy (1978), with Walter Matthau as the hit man and Jack Lemmon as his unexpected guest. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Lino Ventura, Jacques Brel, (more)
- 1970
Linda Veras stars as Michelle in this French crime melodrama. Escaping from prison, Michelle falls in love with a mysterious artist. Disaster looms in the form of a murder, with Michelle at the center of things. The ending manages to have its cake and eat it too in terms of Michelle's punishment and future happiness. Originally released in 1967 as Adorable Canailles, Michelle is also known as Sexy Gang. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1969
Jean Renoir's last completed work was this made-for-television effort, comprised of three short films along with a musical interlude courtesy of Jeanne Moreau. Included are The Last Christmas Dinner, The Electric Floor Waxer and A Tribute to Tolerance. ~ Jason Ankeny, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Fernand Sardou, Nini Formicola, (more)
- 1967
In this exploitation drama, a young woman's dreams of marital bliss with a handsome playboy are shattered when she finds out that he is a white slaver who wants her to be his newest hooker. He sends her to a client aboard a yacht. She tries to flee but gets caught and is sent to a hellish punishment place called "The Hole." Meanwhile the playboy is left to sort out his feelings for her. Unbeknownst to him, the cops are hot on his trail. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
