''Success Is the Best Revenge'' (french: Le succès à tout prix) is a 1984 French-British drama film directed by

Jerzy Skolimowski Jerzy Skolimowski (, born 5 May 1938) is a Polish film director, screenwriter, dramatist and actor. A graduate of the prestigious National Film School in Łódź, Skolimowski has directed more than twenty films since his 1960 début ''Oko wyk ...

and starring

Michael York Michael York OBE (born Michael Hugh Johnson; 27 March 1942) is an English film, television and stage actor. After performing on-stage with the Royal National Theatre, he had a breakthrough in films by playing Tybalt in Franco Zeffirelli's ''Ro ...

. It was entered into the

1984 Cannes Film Festival The 37th Cannes Film Festival was held from 11 to 23 May 1984. The Palme d'Or went to the '' Paris, Texas'' by Wim Wenders. The festival opened with '' Fort Saganne'', directed by Alain Corneau and closed with '' The Bounty'', directed by Roger ...

Cast

as Alex Rodak * Joanna Szczerbic as Alicia Rodak * Michael Lyndon as Adam Rodak * Jerry Skol as Tony Rodak *

Michel Piccoli Jacques Daniel Michel Piccoli (27 December 1925 – 12 May 2020) was a French actor, producer and film director with a career spanning 70 years. He was lauded as one of the greatest French character actors of his generation who played a wide vari ...

as French Official *

Anouk Aimée Nicole Françoise Florence Dreyfus (born 27 April 1932), known professionally as Anouk Aimée () or Anouk, is a French film actress, who has appeared in 70 films since 1947, having begun her film career at age 14. In her early years, she studi ...

as Monique des Fontaines *

John Hurt Sir John Vincent Hurt (22 January 1940 – 25 January 2017) was an English actor whose career spanned over five decades. Hurt was regarded as one of Britain's finest actors. Director David Lynch described him as "simply the greatest actor in t ...

as Dino Montecurva * Ric Young as Chinese Waiter * Claude Le Saché as Monsieur Conio * Malcolm Sinclair as Assistant Stage Manager * Hilary Drake as Stage Manager *

Jane Asher Jane Asher (born 5 April 1946)The International Who's Who of Women, 3rd edition, ed. Elizabeth Sleeman, Europa Publications, 2002, p. 29 is an English actress and author. She achieved early fame as a child actress and has worked extensively in f ...

as Bank Manager

Production

''Success Is the Best Revenge'' was filmed in London. As the film's producer, Skolimowski decided to mortgage his house (which featured in several scenes) in order to raise funds for the project; when it failed to recoup the investment costs at the box office, he declared himself bankrupt and was forced to sell his home, subsequently leaving Britain for the United States.Ewa Mazierska
'Autobiographic Discourse in the Films of Jerzy Skolimowski'
''Kinema'' (Fall 2008). ''openjournals.uwaterloo.ca''. Retrieved 20 September 2021. Although refraining from starring in the film himself (opting to cast Michael York as his alter ego Alex instead), Skolimowski chose to cast his wife Joanna Szczerbic as Alex's wife and his sons Michał and Jerzy (appearing pseudonymously as Michael Lyndon and Jerry Skol respectively) as Alex's sons Adam and Tony.

References

External links

* 1984 films 1984 drama films 1984 independent films British drama films British independent films English-language French films Films directed by Jerzy Skolimowski Films with screenplays by Jerzy Skolimowski French drama films Films scored by Stanley Myers Films scored by Hans Zimmer 1980s English-language films 1980s British films 1980s French films {{1980s-UK-film-stub