Les Amants de Montparnasse
Encyclopedia
The Lovers of Montparnasse , also known as Montparnasse 19, is a 1958 French-Italian drama film chronicling the last year of the life of the Italian painter Amedeo Modigliani
who worked and died in abject poverty in the Montparnasse Quarter of Paris, France.
It was originally directed by Max Ophüls
, but he died of rheumatic heart disease
while shooting interiors on the film, so his name was credited as dedicatee; his friend Jacques Becker
took over after Ophüls's death and completed filming.
There are at least two versions of the film; the longer version is about 2 hours long and has more scenes featuring the character of Léopold Zborowski.
Amedeo Modigliani
Amedeo Clemente Modigliani was an Italian painter and sculptor who worked mainly in France. Primarily a figurative artist, he became known for paintings and sculptures in a modern style characterized by mask-like faces and elongation of form...
who worked and died in abject poverty in the Montparnasse Quarter of Paris, France.
It was originally directed by Max Ophüls
Max Ophüls
Maximillian Oppenheimer — known as Max Ophüls — was an influential German-born film director who worked in Germany , France , the United States , and France again...
, but he died of rheumatic heart disease
Rheumatic fever
Rheumatic fever is an inflammatory disease that occurs following a Streptococcus pyogenes infection, such as strep throat or scarlet fever. Believed to be caused by antibody cross-reactivity that can involve the heart, joints, skin, and brain, the illness typically develops two to three weeks after...
while shooting interiors on the film, so his name was credited as dedicatee; his friend Jacques Becker
Jacques Becker
Jacques Becker was a French screenwriter and film director.Becker was born in Paris, in an upper class background. During the 1930s he worked as an assistant to director Jean Renoir during his peak period, which produced such cinematic masterpieces as Grand Illusion and The Rules of the Game...
took over after Ophüls's death and completed filming.
There are at least two versions of the film; the longer version is about 2 hours long and has more scenes featuring the character of Léopold Zborowski.
Cast
- Gérard PhilipeGérard PhilipeGérard Philipe was a prominent French actor, who had appeared in 34 films between 1944 and 1959.-Career:...
as Amedeo ModiglianiAmedeo ModiglianiAmedeo Clemente Modigliani was an Italian painter and sculptor who worked mainly in France. Primarily a figurative artist, he became known for paintings and sculptures in a modern style characterized by mask-like faces and elongation of form... - Lilli PalmerLilli PalmerLilli Palmer , born Lilli Marie Peiser, was a German actress. She won the Volpi Cup, the Deutscher Filmpreis three times, and was nominated twice for a Golden Globe Award.-Life and career:...
as Beatrice HastingsBeatrice HastingsBeatrice Hastings was the pen name of Emily Alice Haigh an English writer, poet and literary critic. Much of her work was published in The New Age under a variety of pseudonyms, and she lived with the editor, A. R. Orage, for a time before the outbreak of the First World War... - Lea PadovaniLea PadovaniLea Padovani was an Italian film actress. She appeared in 60 films between 1945 and 1990. She starred in the film Black Dossier which was entered into the 1955 Cannes Film Festival...
as Rosalie - Lino VenturaLino VenturaLino Ventura , was an Italian actor who starred in French movies.-Biography:Born as Angiolino Giuseppe Pasquale Ventura in Parma, Italy to Giovanni Ventura and Luisa Borrini, "Lino" dropped out of school at the age of eight and later took on a variety of jobs...
as Morel - Gérard Séty as Léopold ZborowskiLeopold ZborowskiLeopold Zborowski was a Polish poet, writer and art dealer.Zborowski and his wife Anna were contemporaries with Parisian artists such as Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, Paul Cézanne, André Derain and Amedeo Modigliani, who painted their portraits.Leopold Zborowski was Amedeo Modigliani's primary art...
- Anouk AiméeAnouk AiméeAnouk Aimée is a French film actress. Aimée has appeared in 70 films since 1947. She began her film career in 1947 at age 14. In 1958 she portrayed the tragic artist Jeanne Hébuterne in the film Les Amants de Montparnasse...
as Jeanne HébuterneJeanne HébuterneJeanne Hébuterne was a French artist, best known as the frequent subject and common-law wife of the artist Amedeo Modigliani.- Early life :... - Lila KedrovaLila KedrovaLila Kedrova was a Russian-born French actress.-Biography:Kedrova claimed to have been born in 1918, in Saint Petersburg, Russia. Her parents were Russian opera singers. Lila Kedrova's brother was Nikolay Kedrov, Jr...
as Mme. Zborowsky - Marianne OswaldMarianne OswaldMarianne Oswald was the stage name of Sarah Alice Bloch, a French singer and actress born in Sarreguemines in Alsace-Lorraine. She took this stage name from a character she much admired, the unhappy Oswald in the Ibsen play Ghosts...
as Berthe Weil