Search - My Night At Maud's on DVD

YOU SHALL NOT ...

wdanthemanw | Geneva, Switzerland | 04/17/2000

(5 out of 5 stars)

"How to find the right words to make you want to discover french author/director Eric Rohmer ? I would lie if I'd say MY NIGHT AT MAUD'S is an action movie. It's not a boring arty work either. Eric Rohmer is a very peculiar case among french directors. He's interested in morals, in the deep psychology of his movies' characters, in literature and philosophical problems. Vast program, rich but not rebarbative at all.MY NIGHT AT MAUD'S is the third of the six moral tales he shot in the sixties and early seventies. The action takes place in Clermont-Ferrand, in southern France. Jean-Louis Trintignant (leading actor of Lelouch's A MAN AND A WOMAN) is a catholic 34 years old man looking for a girl to marry. Observing a young blonde girl at the Mass celebration, he decides she will be the one.His friend Antoine Vitez invites him to pass an evening at Françoise "MAUD" Fabian's place. Light dialogs become soon a conversation about the Grace, the Predestination, the Sin and the Faith. Antoine Vitez leaves and let the not-so puritan Trintignant alone with a Maud still chatting and lying in bed almost naked.Will Trintignant succumb to the charm of Maud or be faithful to the blonde girl he hasn't had the chance to meet yet ? That's the moral point of the movie. MY NIGHT AT MAUD'S is a 1968 movie, shot in black and white with english subtitles you can't remove (!), that has won two Oscars. I sincerely hope you'll have the curiosity to take a look at it since 5 or 6 Rohmer's movies have hit the DVD market these last months, all of them being pure gems. Oh yes ! I forgot. MY NIGHT AT MAUD'S is one of these movies that can deeply change in you the way you approach movies.Take the risk to consider MY NIGHT AT MAUD'S as a DVD for your library."

5 Stars for Rohmer's Film; only 1 Star for Fox Lorber's DVD

wdanthemanw | 02/22/2002

(4 out of 5 stars)

"First of all, I want to stress that there is siginifcant disjunction here between the quality of MY NIGHT AT MAUD'S as a film, and the dismal quality of the Fox Lorber DVD. Thus, my criticism is not addressed to the film itself, which, like every one of Rohmer's Six Moral Tales, I would highly recommend, but to the lackluster transfer from Fox Lorber. I am in full agreement with the reviewer who argued that the film itself deserves 5 stars, whereas the DVD itself offers nothing better than a vhs quality audio and video transfer (in fact, this trasfer is below the standards of many vhs releases). Moreover, as with their many Godard and Truffaut releases, Fox Lorber has marked only 6 chapter headings. Now how hard is it to bookmark a chapter heading? Of course, I suppose that would actually require taking some interest in the film itself, so as to gadge the appropriate moments to bookmark. In sum, this DVD does not even have the advantage of convenient chapter options. It is a shame that a company who owns the rights to so many great films repeatedly releases such poorly engineered DVDs. There are, of course, exceptions (more recent titles, of few of the Truffaut releases, or Godard's "Vivre Sa Vie," for example). Nonetheless, I have come to expect from Fox Lorber below average video and audio quality, along with few special features, if any (even the director and actor videographies are often incomplete). Even though I own many DVDs from Fox Lorber, inspite of their mediocre quality, this is one issue that I cannot recommend. In fact, I first rented this film on DVD, but elected to purchase a...VHS copy, instead. MY NIGHT AT MAUD'S is a remarkably subtle, yet powerful, filmic treatment of infidelity and the complexity of human relationships. However, do not waste your money on this DVD release. To cite one auspicious development, Criterion has acquired the rights to many foreign titles from Fox Lorber's new parent company, Wellspring, and there have been credible rumors that Criterion will be releasing special editions of several Rohmer titles, including My Night at Maud's. Thus, with any luck, this film will soon receive the DVD treatment it deserves. Until then, however, I recommend holding on to your vhs copies."

Rohmer at His Best

JamesNYC | New York, NY USA | 07/06/2002

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This is the fourth and best of Eric Rohmer's six moral tales. Like many of Rohmer's films, "My Night at Maud's" is about the search for a life-partner, temptation and fidelity. Also, like most Rohmer films, "My Night at Maud's" is made up mainly of conversation's, and some might find it "boring" or "just talking." But the conversations are interesting and intellectually stimulating, and, at the films end, the last piece of the puzzle falls into place.
An engineer (Jean-Louis Trintignant) becomes infatuated with a woman he sees in Church (Marie-Christine Barrault). But before he is able to ask her out, he spends the night at the apartment of Maud (Francoise Fabian) trying to be faithful to his Catholic values by resisting her attempts at seduction. (I won't spoil the film by telling you how his night with Maud ends.) He later meets, dates, and eventually marries the woman from Church. Years later, after running into Maud at the beach, he discovers that his wife has a connection to Maud. (Again, I won't spoil the film by telling you what it is.)"

My Night With Rohmer

Alex Udvary | chicago, il United States | 03/31/2002

(5 out of 5 stars)

"There are few filmmakers whom I can say truly put me in a good mood and Rohmer is one of those filmmakers. What I love about Rohmer's films is the delicacy and the subtleness in them.
"My Night At Maud's" was the third film in Rohmer's "Six Moral Tales". And many see it not only as the best of the six, but, also as Rohmer's best film. And, they have a good case to give it that credit.
To those who are unaware of the story it goes something like this, and I'll try not to reveal any major plot-points.
A young man, Jean-Louis (Jean-Louis Trintignant) is searching for the perfect mate. A woman who must share his religious beliefs, which are catholic, and his views of love. He has set quite a high standard for himself, considering it's the "modern world". Where religion doesn't really play a big part in most people lives or at least in the women whom he meets. That is until he meets a beautiful blond,Francoise (Marie-Christine Barrault) in of all places, church! He soon finds himself, along with a friend, Vidal (Antoine Vitez) spending the night at Maud's. A "modern" woman with "modern" views. These two seem to be as different as they come. She is not really what he's looking for and he is too "old-fashion" for her.
What happens afterwards is truly priceless. As Rohmer has made a film that is about as funny as a film could be dealing with sexual morals. It also has some of the "smartest" dialogue I've ever heard. If you've never seen a Rohmer film, this is a wonderful place to start. One of the best French films of all-time and one of the true "classics" in cinema.
"My Night At Maud's" was nominated for two Oscars; "Best Foreign Film" and "Best Screenplay". It was also hailed as the best film of the year in 1970 by the late Gene Siskel."