Bay of Angels

Starring:Jeanne Moreau, Claude Mann, Paul Guers, Henri Nassiet, AndrÃ© Certes, Nicole Chollet, Georges Alban, Conchita Parodi, Jacques Moreau, AndrÃ© Canter, Jean-Pierre Lorrain
Director: Jacques Demy
Studio: Fox Lorber
Product Type: DVD

Description

Lovingly restored by his widow, Agnès Varda, Jacques Demy's brilliant second feature - long unavailable to American audiences due to print damage - can now be seen in its original glorious form.
One night while on vacation, Jean Fournier (Claude Mann), a bank employee, is introduced to gambling by a friend and soon becomes hooked. Intoxicated by winning large amounts of money, Jean abandons his normal middle-class existence and moves to the South of France where he meets Jackie (Jeanne Moreau), a compulsive gambler. Jean is fascinated by Jackie's insolent beauty and a feeling of complicity is soon established between them - but there is also a misunderstanding. Jean is sincerely in love with Jackie, whereas Jackie only puts up with Jean out of superstition; she believes that he brings her luck.
Together, they win and lose considerable sums at the table, but Jean soon grows tired of this rootless, chaotic life, as well of being the "mascot" of Jackie, for whom it seems that life itself is just a game of chance.

Customer Reviews:

The Nigtmare of Gamblers.......2004-11-29

While this is a remarkable film, the story is about addiction to roulette gambling and the devastating impact gambling has on the lives of the gamblers. So much of the film was spent watching the balls roll around the roulette wheel, that it felt sufficating, but not to the gamblers. The actors were marvelous, but the story is very depressing. Brillantly filmed.

terrific Jeanne Moreau film from Demy, til now hard to find.......2003-12-12

I had heard of Jacques Demy's "Bay of Angels"; and Pauline Kael gave it a favorable review that made me want to see it, saying Jeanne Moreau blond gambling bombshell was the New Wave equivalent to some of Bette Davis' intense 30s portrayals. But it never played anywhere I knew of, it's never been on tv, it seemingly dropped off the face of the earth. I just came across the dvd in a store the other day, saw that Demy's filmmaker wife restored it -- and it's gorgeous in the dvd edition -- and I bought it and watched it. It's strange and peculiar but thoroughly engrossing. Most of Demy's work is very stylized ... and in this Moreau has white/blond hair and white/blond clothes and I guess black/addict's soul. I was surprised how powerful, in its off-hand way, the film was about gambling as addiction... Moreau seemed to live in a kind of hell, but also loved being in it. She's very good in the film, and very unlike many of her other roles (where she's also great). Very worth watching, memorable. And the visuals are really stunning. (By the way -- I did manage to see Demy's "Lola" with Anouk Aimee years ago, loved it, and will probably get that dvd too. Also has been hard to find.)

BAY OF ANGELS at last on DVD.......2003-12-12

BAIE DES ANGES is beautifully shot in Paris, Nice and Monte Carlo--even in B&W that place was a paradise. The gifted (but for some, always slightly off-putting) Jeanne Moreau is a late 30-something gambler--she has ALL the issues, very much like an alcoholic, which she is as well. A handsome young Parisian, Claude Mann, meets, and becomes fascinated with her. They embark on a gambling binge together. In mere hours they go from poor to near-rich and back again. The film convincingly conveys the allure and dangers of gambling--and all the games one plays with oneself and others as well. The characters develop an interdependence (no surprise), but the young man is not really a gambler--his approach to playing is careful and calculated-- and his sense of self-preservation never leaves him. Demy's vision is fundamentally optimistic and romantic, but this film has nonetheles a wide range of character and emotion. It is not as great as his LOLA (1961), now also on DVD, a film that more satisfyingly creates its own universe and haunts the viewer long after with its own conflicted romantic vision.

There is a pleasing score by Michel Legrand, which can overwhelm in the DVD's 3.1 "stereo" optional audio track--the orignal mono is also an option. The restoration of this film is very well done and it looks marvelous in this letterboxed presentation. Also included are the film's trailer and a brief segment from Demy-widow Agnes Varda's documentary on Demy, with comments from Moreau and Mann and Demy himself.

GAMES OF CHANCE............2003-11-29

Little seen Jacques Demy film restored by his widow is a lovely New Wave look at chance. Stiff, young unmarried Jean (Claude Mann), who works in a bank, is introduced to gambling by a co-worker. When Jean wins a bundle on beginners' luck, he impulsively defies his father's warning of the evils of gambling and heads for a resort town on the Bay of Angels to start a new life...as a gambler. There he meets bleached blonde Jacki (Jeanne Moreau) who gambles recklessly and compulsively. She's split from her husband and young son because of her need to gamble. She slyly moves in on Jean in his hotel room because she's broke and has nowhere to go. Jean then becomes her lucky charm at the casino tables. They win big together. They also lose big together. But Jean is in love with Jacki even though to her he's more of a good luck piece. But Jacki isn't as tough as she seems. Lush b&w filming of a deceptively short tale (79 min.) is easy to watch and enjoy. Moreau is a stunner as Jacki---a woman caught in a haze of addiction but nevertheless upbeat even though her heart is breaking. Young, inexperienced Jean is repulsed by what Jacki sometimes does to get money or chips but he's like a gangly lovestruck puppy tagging along. He's caught in the gambling web, too, but is willing to take the chance to get out. Jacki LIVES on chance...but she's too scared to take that kind. How two unlikely people find each other and Jacki finds such a strong supporter is also pure chance. Like the roulette wheels they play, every day is a game of chance. Michel Legrand's score is loaded with dramatic piano flourishes rising at key moments and moody jazz flavors at others as the couple roam from casino to casino, hotel to hotel, high times to low times. Moreau, cigarette dangling from her full lips, her hip swinging worldly walk and hand brushing her teased platinum hair isn't easily forgotten. For film lovers---this is a find. Enjoy.

Average customer rating:

Fun, frothy, crazy
Not the best place to start for a Franco newbie...
Trashy Fun
Headache Inducing - For Masochists Only

Two Undercover Angels
Starring: Marcelo Arroita-Jáuregui , Ana Casares , Pilar Clemens , Dorit Dom , and Alexander Engel
Manufacturer: Anchor Bay
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: 6305463484
Release Date: 1999-06-15

Customer Reviews:

Fun, frothy, crazy.......2004-10-26

I love Jess Franco films, and this is one of his frothiest. No sex, but suggestiveness and madcap comedy abounds. A stylish, tongue-in-cheek twist, lightly ghoulish, effusive, with a pair of ahead-of-the-game gals. Probably not the best place to start watching Jess Franco films, but if watched the right way, this film just might make you happy.

Not the best place to start for a Franco newbie..........2002-04-17

...or even the experienced, err, Francophile. "Two Undercover Angels" reminds one of a tall soda, appealing at first glance but ultimately filled with empty calories. In this film, two attractive women live together as a detective agency called "Red Lips." The redhead (Jeanine Reynaud of the far superior "Succubus") is the brains of the group and seems almost like a poor man's Jane Fonda. The blonde, whose name I forget, seems airheaded but is a master of disguise. Little information is given of their backgrounds, which might have been helpful. They investigate a series of strange murders involving an art gallery, and director Franco makes a cameo as a toady who angers his employer. A wearwolf-like man known as "Morpho" (a common name in Franco's movies) also shows up. All in all, it's a confused mess, although there is some eye candy to be found, mostly in the Mediterranean setting, the two female leads, and an extended striptease scene set to ultra-groovy '60s mamba music.

Trashy Fun.......2001-09-19

Don't kid yourself this one is dreadful! But there is something funny about watching a couple of woman running around with a bomb looking for the perfect place to throw it to escape being blown up, while they deliver the most outrageous (stupid) lines which are suppose to be witty. This is one of my favorate, So bad it's funny films.

Headache Inducing - For Masochists Only.......2000-06-17

From the brash dialog to the annoying characters to the nonsensical narrative to the lackluster editing --- this has got to be one of the most grating films Jess Franco has ever done (and that's saying a lot!). The same characters were in Franco's "Kiss Me Monster", but it's a tossed coin to decide which movie is worse. This one is also known as "Sadisterotica" and is really a chore to sit through.

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