Max Ophüls | |
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| Born | Maximillian Oppenheimer (1902-05-06)6 May 1902 |
| Died | 26 March 1957(1957-03-26) (aged 54) |
| Resting place | Père Lachaise Cemetery |
| Other names |
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| Citizenship |
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| Occupation(s) | Director, writer, art director |
| Years active | 1931–1957 |
| Spouse | Hildegard Wall (m. 1926) |
| Children | Marcel Ophuls |
Maximillian Oppenheimer (/ˈɒpənhaɪmər/OP-ən-hy-mər,German:[maksiˈmiːli̯aːnˈʔɔpn̩ˌhaɪmɐ]; 6 May 1902 – 26 March 1957),[1] known asMax Ophüls (UK:/ˈɔːfəls/AW-fəlss,US:/ˈoʊfəls/OH-fəlss,[2]German:[maksˈʔɔfʏls]; also spelledOpuls,Ophuls) was a German–Frenchfilm director,screenwriter andart director. He was known for his opulent and lyrical visual style, with heavy use oftracking shots, and his melancholic, romantic themes.[3] TheHarvard Film Archive has called Ophüls "a supreme stylist of the cinema and a master storyteller".[3]
A refugee fromNazi Germany, Ophüls worked in Germany (1931–33), France (1933–40 and 1950–57), and the United States (1947–50). He made nearly 30 films, the latter ones being especially notable:Letter from an Unknown Woman (1948),The Reckless Moment (1949),La Ronde (1950),Le Plaisir (1952),The Earrings of Madame de… (1953), andLola Montès (1955).
Max Ophüls was born inSaarbrücken, Germany,[4] the son of Leopold Oppenheimer, aJewish textile manufacturer and owner of several textile shops in Germany, and his wife Helene Oppenheimer (née Bamberger). He took thepseudonym Ophüls during the early part of his theatrical career so that, should he fail, it would not embarrass his father.[5]
Initially envisioning an acting career, he started as a stage actor in 1919 and played at theAachen Theatre from 1921 to 1923. He then worked as a theater director, becoming the first director at the city theater ofDortmund. Ophüls moved intotheatre production in 1924. He became creative director of theBurgtheater inVienna in 1926.Having had 200 plays to his credit,[citation needed] he turned to film production in 1929, when he became a dialogue director underAnatole Litvak atUFA in Berlin. He worked throughout Germany and in 1931 directed his first film, the comedy shortDann schon lieber Lebertran (literallyIn This Case, Rather Cod-Liver Oil).
Of his early films, the most acclaimed isLiebelei (1933), which has a number of the elements for which he became known: luxurious sets, a feminist attitude, and a duel between a younger and an older man.
At the Burgtheater Ophüls met the actress Hilde Wall.[6] They married in 1926.[7]
Predicting theNazi ascendancy, Ophüls, a Jew, fled to France in 1933 after theReichstag fire and became a French citizen in 1938. After France fell to Germany, he traveled through Switzerland and Italy, where he had directedEverybody's Woman (1934). In July 1941, before leaving for the United States, he stayed in Portugal, inEstoril, at Casa Mar e Sol.[8] Once in Hollywood, championed by directorPreston Sturges, a longtime fan, he directed a number of distinguished films.[citation needed]
His firstHollywood film was theDouglas Fairbanks, Jr. vehicleThe Exile (1947). Ophüls'sLetter from an Unknown Woman (1948), derived from aStefan Zweig novella, is the most highly regarded of the American films.[1]Caught (1949) andThe Reckless Moment (1949) followed before his return to Europe in 1950.
Back in France, Ophüls directed and collaborated on the adaptation ofArthur Schnitzler'sLa Ronde (1950), which won the 1951BAFTA Award for Best Film, andLola Montès (1955), starringMartine Carol andPeter Ustinov, as well asLe Plaisir andThe Earrings of Madame de... (1953), the latter withDanielle Darrieux andCharles Boyer, which capped his career. Ophüls died fromrheumatic heart disease on 26 March 1957 in Hamburg, while shooting interiors onThe Lovers of Montparnasse, and was buried inLe Père Lachaise Cemetery in Paris. This final film was completed by his friendJacques Becker.
Ophüls's sonMarcel Ophüls became a documentary-film maker, director ofThe Sorrow and the Pity and other films examining the nature of political power.[9]
The annual Filmfestival Max Ophüls Preis inSaarbrücken is named after him.
All his works feature his distinctive smooth camera movements, complex crane and dolly sweeps, andtracking shots.
Ophüls' style inspiredStanley Kubrick, who once stated that Ophüls "did some brilliant work. I particularly admired his fluid camera techniques."[10]
Paul Thomas Anderson gave an introduction on the restored DVD ofThe Earrings of Madame de... (1953).
Some of his films are narrated from the point of view of the female protagonist. Film scholars have analyzed films such asLiebelei (1933),Letter from an Unknown Woman (1948), andMadame de... (1953) as examples of thewoman's film genre.[11]Nearly all of his female protagonists had names beginning with "L" (Leonora, Lisa, Lucia, Louise, Lola, etc.)
ActorJames Mason, who worked with Ophüls on two films, wrote a short poem about the director's love for tracking shots and elaborate camera movements:
| Year | Title | English title | Country | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1931 | Dann schon lieber Lebertran | I'd Rather Have Cod Liver Oil | Germany | Short film |
| Die verliebte Firma | The Company's in Love | Germany | ||
| 1932 | Die verkaufte Braut | The Bartered Bride | Germany | |
| 1933 | Liebelei | Germany | French versionUne histoire d'amour released the same year | |
| Lachende Erben | Laughing Heirs | Germany | ||
| On a volé un homme | A Man Has Been Stolen | France | Lost film[12] | |
| 1934 | La signora di tutti | Everybody's Woman | Italy | |
| 1935 | Divine | France | ||
| 1936 | Komedie om geld | The Trouble With Money | Netherlands | |
| Ave Maria | France | Documentary short film | ||
| La Tendre Ennemie | The Tender Enemy | France | ||
| Valse brillante de Chopin | France | Documentary short film | ||
| 1937 | Yoshiwara | France | ||
| 1938 | Le Roman de Werther | The Novel of Werther | France | |
| 1939 | Sans lendemain | There's No Tomorrow | France | |
| 1940 | L'École des femmes | France | ||
| De Mayerling à Sarajevo | From Mayerling to Sarajevo | France | ||
| 1946 | Vendetta | Vendetta | United States | Fired during filming |
| 1947 | The Exile | The Exile | United States | |
| 1948 | Letter from an Unknown Woman | Letter from an Unknown Woman | United States | |
| 1949 | Caught | Caught | United States | |
| The Reckless Moment | The Reckless Moment | United States | ||
| 1950 | La Ronde | Roundabout | France | |
| 1952 | Le Plaisir | House of Pleasure | France | Nominated for anAcademy Award[13] |
| 1953 | Madame de... | The Earrings of Madame de... | France | |
| 1955 | Lola Montès | France, West Germany | Eastmancolor film |
