"THE SIEGES OF THE ALCAZAR" "Until 1963, there was a cinema here." "I'd written about it in Cahiers du Cinéma:" "This cinema, unknowingly, had the best programme in the whole of France." "In the same way that, unknowingly, Feuillade was making masterpieces." " One for the stalls, please." " The stalls are for children." "It's the two front rows." "It's not for children." "If it was, it'd say "children", not "stalls"." " Anyway, I've sat in the stalls before." " But it's not comfortable." "You'll strain your eyes." "Don't come back here complaining when you go blind." " They're the best seats in the house." " It's so we have a range of prices." "Don't say I didn't warn you." "There's no need to show me to my seat." "I can see perfectly well." "If we don't accompany people, they sneak into the upper circle." "And they don't buy any choc-ices." "You couldn't pay me to sit in the third row." "Certainly not further back." "The seats only change in the sixth row." "Why does the price change in the third?" "We're not obliged to have a range of prices, you know." "Pay more for a smaller picture?" "Not on your life." "I'm old enough to see myself in." "Come and get your Gilbert sweets." "Come and get your ice creams." "Come and get your sugared almonds." "Come and get your lvry Dupont sweets, your Dupont d'lsigny sweets." "Come and get your toffees..." "Spare some change for the actors in need, please." "This was my favourite seat." "I called it Castor." "The one next to it was, of course, Pollux." "There was also Titanic." "And Elastic." "And the Cupid seats." "Spare some change for the actors in need, please." "Thank you." "Do you have your cards?" "Thank you." "In order to note down as much as possible from the credits," "I had learned to write without taking my eyes from the screen." "It's not our fault." "The distributor didn't say it was black and white." "It only just arrived." "We didn't have time to take "color" off the poster." "Anyway, people prefer it like that." "There's more movement." "And the tax man's already collected his money." "I don't know how I'm going to get the tax back on your ticket." "I was surprised she gave me a refund so quickly." "I hoped she'd refuse, because I really wanted to see La Tour de Nesle." "It'd be better to see it without colour than not at all." "I just wanted to make a point." "Second showing" " 80 francs." " I said the stalls, not the circle." " So you've changed your mind." " No, I haven't." "I've never asked for the circle." "Especially not for a Cottafavi film." "Well, I heard "circle"." "You should speak up, people can't hear you." "I've taken the ticket out now." "What am I supposed to do with it?" "I'll take it." "Darling, I have a problem." "There isn't time to change the lens in the interval." "Tomorrow's documentaries are 1.32 and the feature is 1.86." "What should I do, my sweet?" "Project everything on a 1.66." "Split the difference." "That way everyone's happy." "Good idea." "Keep an eye on the tax man." "He seems so suspicious of everything..." "Oh, don't worry." "Off you go, now." "I had timed my arrival badly." "The documentary wasn't finished." "In the hopes that this film has caught your interest we can only end by saying:" "Farmers of France, equip your farm for faster production." "Steel pipes can help you." " There's no other alternative?" " I repeat, 54°40'." " Or else?" " Or else war." "Forward march!" "Surrounded by ten children, I felt like John Wayne under attack from the indians or the commies." "Mine is a modern form of heroism." "Perhaps my love of this cinema stemmed partly from the obstacles it presented." "That's a lot for so little love." " But if that amuses you, I'm amused." " Gerard!" "Do you want to kill me?" "Here, take this?" "It's loaded." "Take it!" "And for that extra touch of pathos, I shall accompany you on the piano." "Goodbye, hopeless love Goodbye, wretched love" "It's easier to speak and to dream" "Than to act, don't you think?" "That's why you failed That's why you'll never be free." "It was Jeanne Cavalero, a critic from Positif," "Cahiers du Cinéma's rival magazine." "Positif hated Cottafavi." "What was she doing here?" "She must have read my tribute to Cottafavi." "My God, she was going to write a long study on the art of Cottafavi just before my book came out." "Her presence aggravated me." "I could no longer concentrate on the film." "An idea came to me." "I would have chosen this one for the dining room." " Do you like it?" " I think so." "It's from the 18th century." "The colour is characteristic of this style." "You always pick out beautiful things." "Sadly it's not something one can learn." "The art of making money can't be learned either." " I didn't mean to be spiteful." " I know." "She was just a sheep." "Thinking I didn't like the film she dismissed as being of no interest." "It's lucky he left." "I couldn't stand another minute of that dreadful film." "I had the notion of laying a false trail towards the films of Couzinet." "She would praise them so fervently that Positif would lose all its readers." "Come on, let's eat." " Oh, Mrs Bonichon!" " Pull yourself together, baroness." " A cup of coffee for Madame?" " I think I need one." "I've had an argument with my son-in-law." "About peas, no less." " What did you do?" " Called him skinny-ribs." "A simple question of energy." "Judo can teach you everything." "He's thinking about it." "You're just a young whippersnapper, Mr Jolicoeur." "You're not a patch on me, Mr Bonichon." "Your insults are beneath my contempt." "A Jolicoeur never stops for a Bonichon." "It wouldn't surprise me." " Hoodlum!" "Cretin!" " Moron!" "Bastard!" "This must have seen some history." "It's hard to know where to put it, to find the precise location where it'll fit in." " Where shall I put it?" " In the dining room." "It will go very nicely." "It complements the style of its owner." " Are you saying I have a style?" " Certainly." "I really wasn't expecting that." "It's amazing how you find out these little things about me." "Just you, alone." "Anyone could have found out." "Listen..." "I'm afraid this is going to sound quite ridiculous." "A man of my age, showing his emotions, runs the risk of seeming ludicrous." "I knew what he was going to say, but I was apprehensive." "I was desperately searching for a way to refuse without hurting him." "But when he started speaking so softly," "I was filled with a great feeling of calm." "We got married in May." "Maxime seemed the happiest man in the world." "Life seemed simple." "I'll tell your mother we've decided to separate." "Go on then." "Without me you'd just be a dauber." " We could go on a marriage course." " Wait eight days." "Help!" "Right, you're all coming to the police station." " Come on." "To the police station." " I haven't done anything." "You're in the second row, where the gentleman said it came from." "It's no good trying to worm your way out of it." "This is my job." "Look at all the notes I've made." "Your job?" "All right." "Sorry about that." "But what are you doing sitting with all the kids?" "Third showing" "I was sure it was a Cottafavi film." "But seeing someone else's name on the poster troubled me." "What if L'Affranchi wasn't a Cottafavi?" "Had I enjoyed it solely because of the name Cottafavi?" "Or was Ottavio Scotti a genius?" "One for the stalls, please." "Go on, take an upper circle." "You'll find it's very comfortable." "Or else I've only 20 francs change." "So if you could take a circle..." "Stalls." "I'd always preferred Castor to Pollux." " How are you?" " Fine." "I watch films for free now." "I've got my green card." "Jealous?" "So, you don't like Cottafavi anymore?" " Why do you say that?" " You walked out of Femmes Libres." " Are you spying on me?" " A little bird told me." "I'm afraid I can't stay to the end either this evening." "I've been invited to two balls." "My women await me." "I'll leave you with your boyfriend." "IMAGES OF THE WEEK" "For the third year running, Algiers is seeing a number of campers from France and elsewhere flying in to enjoy a holiday." "Thanks to Air France, what was once the preserve of millionaires is now a popular weekend break." ""A camel to suit any budget" would be... a good slogan for Camp Matifou." "I had the urge to go and join her, to see what she was plotting." "But she might have misinterpreted my move." "And I was afraid a colleague from Cahiers might see me with her." "...on a chicken embryo." "Fowl plague is an infectious disease which afflicts all farmyard birds but, under natural conditions, the most significant losses occur among chickens." "Scientists have been aware of this disease since the late 19th century." "It seems to have been identified for the first time in Italy by Perroncito in 1878." "But it was in 1901 that Centanni classified the disease gave it the name by which we now know it and demonstrated that its causative agent was a filterable virus." "Since then, it has been observed in virtually all the regions of the world causing epizootics of varying degrees of fatality." "However, discrepancies were noted between countries and epizootics in certain experimental data." "Which led to the conclusion that there was not one fowl plague but several fowl plagues caused by different viruses." "Is that the programme for next week's showings?" " I got it from the publisher." " May I?" "I just want to see if Salt of the Earth is on." "That thing about the miner's strike?" " I couldn't tell you." "It's not my area." " Yes, I know." "Like all cinephiles, he had terrible breath." "You make all that fuss about sitting the stalls, and then you sit in the circle." "Some cheek!" "You're not even in the third row, you're virtually in the upper circle." "Upper circle!" "It's the same level as the other seats." "Don't change the subject." "The thing is..." " Here's the money for an upgrade." " There is no upgrade." "You'll have to buy a full-price circle ticket." "You're lucky I don't give you a fine." "I thought I'd sat in the stalls." "It was dark, I got mixed up." "Not true." "I saw you sneaking from the stalls to the circle via the toilets thinking I wouldn't see you." "I see all, even when I'm not there." "The worst thing is, the stalls are better than the circle." "Why don't you go back there then?" " Are you interested in Cottafavi?" " Not at all." "She was lying to cover her tracks." "He's awful." "Was she interested in me?" " And you don't like Cottafavi either." " Hark at her!" "What makes you say that?" "You left in the middle of Femmes Libres." "I had to go to the toilet." "If you really loved Cottafavi, you would have paid a visit beforehand." "I meant to say, because Cottafavi makes me cry, he's so amazing." "I had to go to the toilet to wipe away my tears." "The alienation of the masses through the opium of sentimentality." "And if you really loved his films, you'd pronounce it correctly." "Cottafavi." "Not Cottafavi, like a cocky Parisian kid." "I hate him, but even I can pronounce his name." "I was troubled." "I felt the works of CottaFAvi might be wholly different to those of CottafaVI." "Would I like them as much?" "Had I been in love with an impostor?" "The only reason you champion Cottafavi is to make a name for yourself." "That's a completely groundless accusation." "Every journalist has to find someone to write about." "Since Renoir, Welles and the rest are the private property of your editor." "Amongst unknowns there are always overlooked geniuses." "Look at Kafka, Van Gogh, Cottafavi..." "She was all right." "But she had terrible taste." "Don't die, Tamara." "I'm here to look after you." "But also to hear your first words, the words which will save Alberto." "It wasn't him, was it?" "There's little hope." "Her pulse is very weak." "Let me talk to her." "If you wish." "Tamara, it's Mother." "Alberto's mother." "If you can hear me, make a little sign, I'll understand." "Who shot you, my love?" "For the love of God, tell me who it was." "If you can hear me, say a name." "And save Alberto, who is innocent." "Tamara." "Tell us the name of the murderer, Tamara." "Alberto." "She wasn't answering my question, she's calling him." "She's calling him, not accusing him!" " Superintendent..." " You again!" "Don't waste my time." "Where are the wounded?" "Where's the fire?" "My young friend, you'll regret dragging me here in the middle of the night." "Superintendent, the projectionist has cut out one reel of this film." "That's why you disturbed me for?" "What a cheek!" "If I was called out every time a slot machine didn't work..." "Besides, only cotton comes on reels." "And films." " How do you know they cut a reel?" " I've seen this film before." "Then why do you need to see it again?" "If you remember the missing reel, you just have to replay your memory." "You're sure the reel was in this film?" " I've seen this film four times." " Four times!" "It's a good story." " I want to see the whole film." " It's not my problem." "It is!" "It says in Article 13 of the decree of the 15th January 1951 a film must be shown in the form in which it was approved by the board." "I'm reporting non-compliance with that article, which constitutes a crime." "15th January, 1951..." "I don't see it." "Ah yes, you're right." "But you have to prove that a cut was made." "Follow me." "The licence gives the duration as 90 minutes." "The screening started at 9.40." "It's 11.01." "If the film had been shown in full it wouldn't have finished yet." " Here it is." " Superintendent it's Sunday night." "It goes on for too long." "I know my customers." "I felt that they felt it was too long." "If you just come back in the week..." "If we finish late, it counts as disturbing the peace." "Don't exaggerate." "Play the man his reel and let's be done with it." "I want to see the whole film." "In order." "Perhaps I just wanted to impress Jeanne." "But no, she hates the films I love." "How could I be attracted to her?" "Good evening." "What's this?" "You're putting on an extra showing after my visit now?" "Not at all." "It's a free showing just for him." "You?" "Putting on free showings?" "What do you take me for?" "Let's take a look at your books." "The elation of my victory prevented me from watching properly." "My name is Marguerite Valli." "But my name lives on only in the hearts of my children." "I had..." "I mean I have two sons." "A mother never turns her back on those she brought into the world even when they believe she's left them forever." "Quite the reverse." "She feels closer to them and loves them all the more." "Interval" "You know they're talking about ten thousand dead in Constantine?" "Here's my article for Monday." "I should just have about time." "Guy Moscardo is the perfect subject for my investigation into cinephilia and its reactionary substratum." "And you'll win the Pulitzer." " You're not fooling anyone." " What do you mean?" "I have only to hear you tell the story of the police superintendent or see the look on your face when you talk about him." "You're hiding behind your research." "It's as plain as the nose on your face." "What are you insinuating?" "Don't be silly." "Me and that little fascist?" "Fourth showing" "One for This Spanish Earth, Monday the 8th, first showing." "That sold out some time ago." "You can buy a standby." "B3 for Volga Boatman, second showing." "And for Lady without Camelia..." "J3." "An Antonioni film." "Fraternising with the enemy?" "It might be good." "You never know." "For the next fortnight, I prepared what I would say to Jeanne." "Are you following me?" "Have you been interested in Antonioni for long?" "I'm here out of dedication to my profession." "I don't like Antonioni." " What do you have against him?" " He copied everything from Cottafavi." "The sense of transience, of the existential..." "But with an overpowering pretentiousness." "Whereas Cottafavi is discreet, supple, invisible..." "Invisible." "That sums it up!" "Cottafavi adapted Lady with Camelia." "Antonioni, since he doesn't have the talent to measure up to his forebears, refuses to do a Dumas adaptation, and instead resorts to parody." "Which you haven't yet seen." "And he stole Cottafavi's musician, Fusco." "You forget that Antonioni had worked with Fusco five years before Cottafavi." "Antonioni hides his mediocrity behind a veil of pretension." "Look at Under Rome's Sign." "In a genre thought of as minor, the historical film, he's useless." "Whereas Cottafavi worked wonders." "Antonioni is the poor man's Cottafavi." "I'll bet within ten years Positif will have done a Cottafavi issue." "If you want to lose your money." "Yes, I definitely liked her." "Our relationship had some spice." "Romeo and Juliet." "Horace and Curiace." "I was no longer afraid to be seen with her." "It added to the excitement." "We could do something together." "Have you read my book on Cottafavi?" "In all my life, I've never read anything quite as pathetic." "He should have reacted, carried on the discussion." "The moment was ripe." "But he just went to sit with his friend." "Why?" "I'd like to know." "Just to know." "Why did he sit next to me?" "I don't understand." "I've never seen you so impassioned by the slightest actions of a man." " You've got it bad." " Don't start that nonsense again." "Miss Difficult is blushing!" " It makes me want to meet the man." " Why not?" "You can give me a full report." "If he likes girls, he won't be able to resist you for a second." " You'll hold it against me." " Hardly." "I couldn't care less." "Right." "Where can I find him?" "Thursday... 2.30 at the Bikini." "No, I can't." "I've got that Pozner conference about the witch hunts." "I should go to that." "Pozner's unique." "I loved his early work." " He's wonderful." " Amazing." "You know I took part in his research trip to Siberia?" "You're so lucky." "At the Cocorico." "Angela, he'll be at the Cocorico, Friday, 6.30." "Here he comes, with his friends." "He mustn't see us together." "A toast." "You do it, Fortuné." "There are three great occasions in life." "Birth, publishing your first article, and getting your green card." "What does a green card look like?" "I could just make myself a copy." "A green card is real cause for celebration." "It'll turn into a yellow card, as washed-out as a Russian film." " Have you seen any Cottafavi?" " He's an academic." "A professional." "But there's only one filmmaker who excites me, and that's Sam Newfield." "You'll have plenty to write about." "The only man who's made 206 films." "207." "You forget, he took over from Akos von Rathony who went down with peritonitis whilst shooting Across the Sioux Territory." "I can't believe how lucky you are." "Jeanne Cavalero likes you." "You could just snap your fingers..." "I don't think so." "She called me pathetic." "That's just to get you going." "That's what I'm saying." "She can call me pathetic any time." "Fifth showing" " The stalls are full." " I don't want the stalls." "One free pass." "And one circle, please." "No, one upper circle." "It was the 68th time I'd been to the Alcazar." "And the first time I'd gone there with a girl." "I'd had a lot of trouble convincing Angela." "He gave me a 20 franc tip." "I felt comfortable with him." "He didn't smell bad." "Just a slight hint of champagne." "He must go to a lot of parties." "I love that." "He's cute." "I'm very tempted to keep him for myself." "I'd love to see Jeanne's face!" "What a great idea to show a Visconti in the first half." "There's nothing to see on the screen." "We can amuse ourselves in other ways." "Alexandre." "It's the interval soon." "Turn the heating up, or no one will buy any ice cream." "I've got a small technical problem." "Give me a moment, Roxanne." "It's not important." "But you know how much we make on the choc-ices." "To think that girl refused to go for a drink with me." "Seven years, and not a single girl prepared to sleep with me." "Not very hygienic." "The Visconti fans were leaving." "The Cottafavi fans were arriving." "A unique design, the Tourbillon girdle is elasticated in all directions." "Fear not, the Tourbillon is light and imperceptible." "An elegant girdle, to slim and shape your body." "With its faultless finish and quality the Tourbillon girdle wraps you in seduction." "For your washing up..." "You'll see, with Cottafavi, the perceived magic is filtered through traditional film techniques." "He lyrically exacerbates conventional forms." "Gilbert sweets!" "Come and get your Gilbert sweets, your ice creams..." "Did you know this is Cottafavi's last screening?" "Barbara Laage is wonderful, you'll see." " Where's Fortuné?" " He's making his first film." "The traitor!" "I need a wee wee." "You miss those beautiful colours which have faded over time." "But with Clair Éclat, you can bring them back..." "I saw a film of Lady with Camelia on the television." " They show films on television then?" " Yes, unfortunately." "Twice a month." "A television must cost a lot of money." "I came into a small inheritance." "I have my own studio apartment." "It's very cute." "You'll have to come and see one day." "You can give me decorating tips." "You should become an actress." "I'd love to see you in a film." "I was proud to have convinced everyone of the genius of Cottafavi." "But I was also sad." "Cottafavi was no longer mine alone." "This success worried me." "Did this mean it was a bad film?" "Sir, would you mind swapping?" "This is my seat." "I arrived extra early so I could have this seat." "It's the best seat in the Alcazar." "You should have got here earlier." "Comfort..." "Care..." "Calm, silence, comfort, care..." "That's what you'll find on board the DC-6 Super" "These machines fly at 20,000 ft..." "You should be ashamed, being so tight-fisted." "These children's parents only give them enough for the stalls." "Just put the cheap seats further back." "It's the world turned upside down." "Whatever next?" "We could club together to pay for circle seats for them." "You have a million a month to burn." "You're right." "That's one thing that's certain." "You're so silly." "Poor baby." "He's shocked." "I was embarrassed." "She might think I was copying the film." "That's Cottafavi!" "I thought he was in Rome." "He saw me kissing Angela during his film." "He'll take me for a phoney." "With a nice oil bath, it works like a charm." "So will the heating take long to fix?" "If your father has to close, will your family be ruined?" "It's so cold." "Haven't we seen enough?" "I don't feel very well." "I'd like you to take me home." "Wait until the end." "It's the last screening of this film in France." " You're ice cold." "What's wrong?" " Do something." "You have to find the money." "It's absurd." "And I'd already walked out once." "I wasn't sure if it was because of Angela or Barbara Laage." "It wouldn't be good to go with Angela, if I was really thinking about Barbara." "I needed a little time, and Angela seemed to be in a hurry." "I was afraid she'd discover that I already come." "But she wants it all." "I'm already envisioning children." "That'd put paid to a 2000 retrospective." " Are you coming?" " How about tomorrow?" "Tomorrow's a long way off." "I'm in the present." "I'm going to count to three." "Marry you?" "After spending one night together?" "Excuse me." "Yes, that's right." "I'll come and get it." "They've put your bag aside." "Thank you." "Can you have it sent to the house?" "Of course." "Don't call me any more." "It'll be better that way." "I don't belong to you." "I can't change my life to make you happy." "I have somebody who's given me a house, a car..." "He's given me everything I want." "I couldn't have gone home with Angela." "After this, there's Vidor at the film library." "And tomorrow morning I have a meeting at eight o'clock." "I couldn't concentrate on the film." "Because of Angela and the fans in the front row." "I should have gone with Angela." "Love is a luxury I can't afford." "With our savings from the last thirty years, we've bought a one bedroom flat in Palavas-les-Flots by the seaside."