''The Immortal Story'' (french: Une histoire immortelle) is a
1968
The year was highlighted by protests and other unrests that occurred worldwide.
Events January–February
* January 5 – "Prague Spring": Alexander Dubček is chosen as leader of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia.
* Januar ...
French film directed by
Orson Welles
George Orson Welles (May 6, 1915 – October 10, 1985) was an American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter, known for his innovative work in film, radio and theatre. He is considered to be among the greatest and most influential f ...
and starring
Jeanne Moreau
Jeanne Moreau (; 23 January 1928 – 31 July 2017) was a French actress, singer, screenwriter, director, and socialite. She made her theatrical debut in 1947, and established herself as one of the leading actresses of the Comédie-Française. Mo ...
. The film was originally broadcast on French television and was later released in theatres. It was based on a short story by the
Danish
Danish may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to the country of Denmark
People
* A national or citizen of Denmark, also called a "Dane," see Demographics of Denmark
* Culture of Denmark
* Danish people or Danes, people with a Danish a ...
writer
Karen Blixen
Baroness Karen Christenze von Blixen-Finecke (born Dinesen; 17 April 1885 – 7 September 1962) was a Danish author who wrote works in Danish and English. She is also known under her pen names Isak Dinesen, used in English-speaking countrie ...
(more widely known by her pen name Isak Dinesen). With a running time of sixty minutes, it is the shortest feature film directed by Welles.
Plot
In nineteenth-century
Macao
Macau or Macao (; ; ; ), officially the Macao Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (MSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China in the western Pearl River Delta by the South China Sea. With a pop ...
, Mr. Clay (
Orson Welles
George Orson Welles (May 6, 1915 – October 10, 1985) was an American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter, known for his innovative work in film, radio and theatre. He is considered to be among the greatest and most influential f ...
) is a wealthy merchant at the end of his life. His only constant companion is his book-keeper, a Polish-Jewish emigrant named Levinsky (Roger Coggio). One evening, while reading to Clay before bed, Levinsky recites a prophecy by
Isaiah
Isaiah ( or ; he, , ''Yəšaʿyāhū'', "God is Salvation"), also known as Isaias, was the 8th-century BC Israelite prophet after whom the Book of Isaiah is named.
Within the text of the Book of Isaiah, Isaiah himself is referred to as "the ...
. Clay declares his hatred of prophecies and begins to tell a story he once heard on a ship of a rich old man who offers a sailor five guineas to impregnate his wife, however Levinsky completes the story, having heard it himself from multiple other seamen. Clay becomes obsessed in making that legendary tale come true, and Levinsky is dispatched to find a sailor and a young woman who will play the part of Clay’s wife.
Levinsky approaches Virginie (
Jeanne Moreau
Jeanne Moreau (; 23 January 1928 – 31 July 2017) was a French actress, singer, screenwriter, director, and socialite. She made her theatrical debut in 1947, and established herself as one of the leading actresses of the Comédie-Française. Mo ...
), the daughter of Clay’s one-time business partner. Clay’s ruthless dealings drove Virginie’s father to bankruptcy and suicide, and she is eager to participate in this action to get her revenge. The destitute sailor, a young Dane named Paul (
Norman Eshley
Norman Eshley (born 30 May 1945) is an English actor best known for his television roles.
Biography
Eshley attended Bristol Grammar School and worked in a bank, before training as an actor at the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School. He played many ...
) recently rescued from a desert island, is discovered on the street and recruited. Having heard the story himself as well, Paul at first refuses to participate, but agrees when Clay reminds him that he needs the money.
Virginie and Paul find an emotional bond in their brief union, but go their separate ways – Virginie is exorcised of her bitterness against Clay while Paul disappears into Macao’s teeming streets. Before doing so, he asks Clay to give Virginie a shell he found on his desert island that will play a “song” if she holds it to her ear. Levinsky goes to inform Clay about what took place, but discovers the old merchant has died. He puts Paul’s shell to his ear, and remarks to Virginie that he has heard the song before but cannot remember from where.
Cast
*
Jeanne Moreau
Jeanne Moreau (; 23 January 1928 – 31 July 2017) was a French actress, singer, screenwriter, director, and socialite. She made her theatrical debut in 1947, and established herself as one of the leading actresses of the Comédie-Française. Mo ...
as Virginie Ducrot
*
Orson Welles
George Orson Welles (May 6, 1915 – October 10, 1985) was an American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter, known for his innovative work in film, radio and theatre. He is considered to be among the greatest and most influential f ...
as Mr. Charles Clay
*
Roger Coggio
Roger Coggio (11 March 1934 – 22 October 2001) was a French actor, film director and screenwriter. He appeared in 40 films between 1954 and 1998. He was married to actress Pascale Audret. He died of cancer.
Selected filmography
* '' Be ...
as Elishama Levinsky
*
Norman Eshley
Norman Eshley (born 30 May 1945) is an English actor best known for his television roles.
Biography
Eshley attended Bristol Grammar School and worked in a bank, before training as an actor at the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School. He played many ...
as Paul, the sailor
*
Fernando Rey
Fernando Casado Arambillet (La Coruña (Spain), 20 September 1917 – Madrid (Spain), 9 March 1994), best known as Fernando Rey, was a Spanish film, theatre, and television actor, who worked in both Europe and the United States. A suave, i ...
as Merchant
Production
Orson Welles was a self-professed admirer of the writing of Karen Blixen and, at one point, announced plans to create a series of films based on her writing.
''The Immortal Story'' is a short story first published in Blixen's 1958 short story collection ''
Anecdotes of Destiny
''Anecdotes of Destiny'' is a collection of stories by Danish author Karen Blixen. It was the last work put out during Karen Blixen's lifetime; it was published in Denmark on October 12, 1958.
Two of the stories from the collection have been ad ...
''. Originally ''The Immortal Story'' was meant to be half of a two-part
anthology film
An anthology film (also known as an omnibus film, package film, or portmanteau film) is a single film consisting of several shorter films, each complete in itself and distinguished from the other, though frequently tied together by a single theme ...
, with the second half based on the Blixen story ''The Deluge at Nordenay.'' However, the second film was cancelled when Welles raised concerns about the professionalism of his crew in
Budapest, Hungary
Budapest (, ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Hungary. It is the ninth-largest city in the European Union by population within city limits and the second-largest city on the Danube river; the city has an estimated population of ...
, where production was to have taken place.
Welles received financing from l'Office de Radio-Télévision Française to create ''The Immortal Story'' for premiere presentation on French television, to be followed by theatrical release in France and other countries. As part of the financing, Welles was contractually obligated to shoot the film in color. Welles was not a fan of color cinematography, and in one interview he stated: "Color enhances the set, the scenery, the costumes, but mysteriously enough it only detracts from the actors. Today it is impossible to name one outstanding performance by an actor in a color film."
Much of the film was shot in Welles’ home in
Chinchón
Chinchón () is a town and municipality in the Community of Madrid, Spain. Located 50 km south-east of the city of Madrid, the municipality covers an area of 115.91 km2. , it has a population of 5,239. Its historic centre, with a nota ...
, a small location outside of Madrid, Spain. The location for the port of Macao was the main square of Chinchón, and other exterior scenes depicting the portuguese-built city in China were also shot in the nearby towns of
Pedraza,
Brihuega
Brihuega is a municipality located in the Guadalajara (province), province of Guadalajara, Spain. According to the 2007 census (Instituto Nacional de Estadística (Spain), INE), the municipality had a population of 2,835 inhabitants.
In 1710 a h ...
and
Valdemoro
Valdemoro is a municipal district, located in the Southern zone of the autonomous community of Madrid, Spain. Located 27 kilometers from the capital, Valdemoro is officially part of the comarca of La Sagra, though it is generally also included ...
. Welles used Chinese restaurant waiters from Madrid as extras to recreate the setting for Macao.
Release
''The Immortal Story'' was entered into the
18th Berlin International Film Festival
The 18th annual Berlin International Film Festival was held from 21 June to 2 July 1968. The Golden Bear was awarded to the Swedish film ''Ole dole doff'' directed by Jan Troell.
Jury
The following people were announced as being on the jury for ...
in June 1968. The film had its U.S. premiere at the 1968
New York Film Festival
The New York Film Festival (NYFF) is a film festival held every fall in New York City, presented by Film at Lincoln Center (FLC). Founded in 1963 by Richard Roud and Amos Vogel with the support of Lincoln Center president William Schuman, it is ...
. In February 1969, it had its U.S. theatrical release on a double feature bill with
Luis Buñuel
Luis Buñuel Portolés (; 22 February 1900 – 29 July 1983) was a Spanish-Mexican filmmaker who worked in France, Mexico, and Spain. He has been widely considered by many film critics, historians, and directors to be one of the greatest and m ...
's ''
Simon of the Desert
''Simon of the Desert'' ( es, Simón del desierto) is a 1965 Mexican surrealist film directed by Luis Buñuel and starring Claudio Brook and Silvia Pinal. It is loosely based on the story of the ascetic 5th-century Syrian saint Simeon Stylites, w ...
''.
On 30 August 2016, ''The Immortal Story'' was released on DVD and Blu-ray in the U.S. by the
Criterion Collection
The Criterion Collection, Inc. (or simply Criterion) is an American home-video distribution company that focuses on licensing, restoring and distributing "important classic and contemporary films." Criterion serves film and media scholars, cinep ...
.
References
External links
*
*
*
''The Immortal Story: Divas and Dandies''an essay by
Jonathan Rosenbaum
Jonathan Rosenbaum (born February 27, 1943) is an American film critic and author. Rosenbaum was the head film critic for ''The Chicago Reader'' from 1987 to 2008, when he retired. He has published and edited numerous books about cinema and has ...
at the
Criterion Collection
The Criterion Collection, Inc. (or simply Criterion) is an American home-video distribution company that focuses on licensing, restoring and distributing "important classic and contemporary films." Criterion serves film and media scholars, cinep ...
{{DEFAULTSORT:Immortal Story
1968 films
1968 drama films
French television films
1960s French-language films
Films based on short fiction
Films based on works by Karen Blixen
Films directed by Orson Welles
Films with screenplays by Orson Welles
Films set in Macau
Films set in the 19th century
Films shot in the province of Guadalajara
Films shot in Chinchón