LES GRANDES MANOEUVRES

(1955, René Clair) In pre-WWI garrison town, local Casanova cavalry lieutenant Gérard Philipe bets he can seduce any woman chosen at random before the summer maneuvers begin in a month — the choice: divorced milliner Michèle Morgan; and the duel d’amour begins. But what if actual love breaks out? Clair’s carefully pastelled first color film. Approx. 106 min. 35mm.

REVIEWS

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“Clair’s only truly romantic film and one that contains more genuine emotion than any of hit others. The sets are scrupulously correct and superbly convey the atmosphere and panache of life in a garrison town.”
– Georges Sadoul

“To Clair it’s an illustration of “the disadvantages of the human condition,” and certainly its an elegant expression of the triumph of pride over love.”
– Pauline Kael