Casque d'Or - Criterion Collection

Description

Jacques Becker lovingly evokes the Belle Èpoque Parisian demimonde in this classic tale of doomed romance. When gangster's moll Marie (Simone Signoret) falls for reformed criminal Manda (Serge Reggiani) their passion incites an underworld rivalry that leads inexorably to treachery and tragedy. With poignant, nuanced performances and sensuous black-and-white photography, Casque d'or is Becker at the height of his cinematic powers—an achingly romantic masterpiece.

Customer Reviews:

Golden Signoret.......2007-09-11

Jacques Becker's classic romance, cleaned up by Criterion in this splendid new transfer, is essential viewing for anyone interested in French cinema. Signoret, never seen to better advantage than here, and Serge Reggiani are unforgettable as the film's doomed lovers. Co-star Claude Dauphin, as the treacherous gang head, is also masterful, as indeed is the entire cast. In doing a costume film, Becker was concerned that the actors inhabit the clothes and period settings, not vice-versa, and CASQUE D'OR certainly achieves that; eschewing either sentimentality or melodrama, at times the action seems almost documentary in feel. Despite the censorship limitations of the period, there's a marvelous sensuality to the romance on display here -- the morning-after scene between the lovers glows with passion. Somewhat ignored in France upon its initial release, this movie's reputation has grown through the years. This fine DVD release will win for it a new generation of fans.

Not just a pretty picture.......2006-12-17

Casque D'Or may take a little while to get into, with the first half hour being largely milieu and set-up, but once the plot kicks in it's compelling. Seen today it seems certain to have been one of Scorsese's influences in Gangs of New York, not least because Jacques Becker takes the standard period costume drama setting and then plays a down-and-dirty movie that pays no attention to the niceties you're expecting: these characters really are low lives. The knife-fight is tough stuff, and its aftermath beautifully staged, and the finale has real emotional power - not least the shots of Serge Reggiani's almost-dead waltz with Smone Signoret that in a more 'modern' (1940-50s) setting would have pegged out his fate from the moment he met her. Having only seen Signoret in her later haggard roles, it was also a surprise to see just how luminous she was in her youth. Impressive stuff.

A Tale of Loyalty.......2005-04-09

Having just finished watching two of Jacques Becker's gangster films of the 1950s, "Casque d'Or" ("Golden Hair") and "Touchez pas au grisbi" ("Hands off the loot"), I fear that most 21st century viewers will be underwhelmed by both, and such a conclusion is a pity because both films are well made for their time and genre. "Grisbi" is, _mutatis mutandis_, the better of the two films, and (I know; I know) although it influenced all the subsequent French detective films, including "Rififi," it is very pedestrian by today's standards, which possess "enhanced filmic techniques," reminiscent of the "piece-bien-fait" (French well-made-dramas) of the late 19th century, the "formula dramas" against which George Bernard Shaw so valiantly fought. Nevertheless, compared to "Rififi" or even the Goddard gangster-films, "Grisbi" and "Casque d'Or" are very pedestrian in their pacing, requiring a connoisseur's patience in viewing them. Additionally, one may read all the attached critical notes included in the DVDs boxes and find them curiously unhelpful in accustoming oneself to the slow pacing of each film. The type of suspense and expectation present in the late 20th century gangster genre is just not to be found in Mon. Becker's works. Surely, surely, these films require further "adjustment" of one's expectations to Mon. Becker's aesthetic style. The Susan Sontag approach in her "Against Interpretation" will not suffice here, because both these films require further accommodation in one's narrative anticipations, formed by a half-century of subsequent gangster films.
The problem with the Sontag's view point of "Against Interpretation," in reference to an historically distinct aesthetic, is that she posits the notion that a viewing audience or reader (for such works) must possess the same cultural- perspective or developed-sensibility possessed by the original audience for which the works were intended, or must demonstrate an educated sensibility to comprehend such cultural and _weltanschauung_ differences and, hopefully, such an audience will mentally amend for them. Unfortunately, this adjustment does not appear to be forthcoming in mass-cultural audiences of the early 21st century, or even in the semi-educated audience of the multicultural "scholars" therein; for, rather than adjusting one's waking reality to that of another, many of these politically correct writers merely impose a rigid ideology as a "Procrustic bed" of one-size-fits-all, underscoring an unabashed ignorance of the aesthetic nuances in any artistic work of the past, produced as series of "now points," to use T.S. Eliot's terminology, which do not appear to migrate well from one generation to another.
Yet, oddly enough, Mon. Becker appears to use this Sontagian approach in "Casque d'Or" by imposing, rightly or wrongly, contemporary behavior of the 1950s onto his characters living in the early 1900s, a period-piece for the uninitiated, as it were. Now, one should realize that such an imposition supposedly allows for contemporary audiences to "empathize" with fictional characters whose behavior patterns would reflect their own in such a selfsame, contemporary situation. The problem, of course, is that the pattern of behavior and action of Mon. Becker's French petit gang in 1901 is conditioned by each member's upbringing, beliefs, and situational culture of that time period. If a 1950s set of social conventions, standards and values were to be imposed upon such a petit gang, the behavior patterns and social interaction would be altogether different from that which Mon. Becker has thrust upon his characters in "Casque d'Or." One surely recognizes that the behavior of the 1901 characters and the outcome of those actions would be radically different from the behavior patterns of such characters today (or in 1952), and such a recognition leaves an abrupt gap or lacuna in the logical flow of the action/consequence narrative in "Casque d'Or," which is difficult, or impossible, for one to overcome psychologically. "Golden-Haired Marie" should not behave in 1901 as Paris Hilton does in 2005: atavism and anachronism should not inhabit historic narrative, but should forever remain a "visitation unimplor'd" to quote John Milton. We are, today, as far removed in time from Mon. Becker's film, as his film was from its historical setting when released in 1952.
Such an historic-period film as "Casque d'Or" requires both the "aesthetic distance" and an "historical perspective" if the narrative is to have logical, as well as psychological, consequence. "Casque d'Or" suffers from this "cognitive dissonance" by failing to bridge the historicity of the different time periods, a point which is crucial, perhaps fatal, to the success of the film with subsequent audiences, for it may disappoint upon first and subsequent viewings thereof. [The film was a failure when it was first released in France.]
That being said, Mon. Becker's use and emphasis of character-study reminds one that the cinema is not entirely "devoid of ideas" as Mary McCarthy wrote, at least not in the ideation of character development; in fact, "Casque d'Or" (like "Grisbi") is, above all, about character, the narrative of it being set within a narrow parameter of actionable-options available to each of them. That the consequence of behavior occurs as it does, need not necessarily stem from an unalterable determinism. No, quite the contrary; Mon. Becker's visual narrative reinforces the existential _angst_ in which options are always present, sometimes realized, sometime ignored. Within both films is a recognizable, operating, ethical system which especially emphasizes the virtue of loyalty, a virtue which is manifestly absent from the cultural currency of most of the current gangster-genre cinema. In this respect "Casque d'Or" is almost Aeschylian.
Consequently, like an Aeschylus drama, "Grisbi" is a fatalistic film, reinforced by Jean Gabin's terse performance as Max le Menteur, a precursor to such subsequent European film characters as Tony in Jules Dassin's "Rififi", or "Marcello" in Federico Fellini's "La Dolce Vita," both world-weary "players" who "knows the score" and can only await the outcome of a set of consequences, determined or otherwise, any or all of which are deleterious, negative, and inescapable. Accordingly, it is the "ethos" of Gabin's sad-but-wiser character which gives moral weight and "carries" "Grisbi" to its conclusion of, you guessed it, . . . _c'est la vie_. Of course, these ill-fated, albeit, emotionally appealing anti-heroes have populated drama since the Renaissance, but Gabin's performance (arguably one of the best of his career), has special weight in the hands of a director like Jacques Becker, whose nuanced approach to cinema-narrative requires of the audience erudition, sympathy, patience, and above all, a developed, aesthetic sensibility. That "Casque d'Or" or "Touchez pas au grisbi" will find in the 21st such an audience in sufficient number remains, so far, a statistical variable, but, as Max might say, " _C'est la vie_."

interesting French classic........2005-04-04

This review is for the Criterion Collection DVD edition of the film.

"Casque d'Or" known in English as "Golden Marie" or "Golden Helmet" is a nice French film about Belle Epoque women and their relationships with different men.

It has an interesting plot and has some nice scenery also. The film's music includes the ubiquitous waltz "Over the Waves" by Juventino Rosas, a song very often heard at amusement parks but rarely mentioned by name.

The DVD has a nice set of special features. There is an optional audio commentary by Peter Cowie, silent footage made during the film's production with optional commentary by Philip Kemp, a scene from the French TV series "cineastes de notre temps", a 1963 interview with actress Simone Signoret and a 1995 interview with actor Serge Reggiani.

In addition, there is an optional English language dubbed soundtrack with some of the original actors doing their lines.

This is a nice release and worth getting.

Becker's Brilliant Depiction of Agonizing Passion..........2005-02-03

Eyes are the source of visual perception though which most people conceive the world and all of its wonders. A moment where two pair of eyes catch one another and there is a spark of mutual interest could lead to further emotional investment. This mutual interest is most frequently triggered through the visual experience, which catches something that fascinates the individual. The fascination rapidly releases a rush of hormones as the visual contact continues and intensifies the emotional sensation through out the whole body. Occasionally, there are physical manifestations revealed through butterflies in the stomach and uneasy feelings that could cause sweatiness and involuntary stuttering. This is a common phenomenon, which most people undergo at least once in a lifetime, known as falling in love.

The moment of falling in love can be overwhelmingly passionate, as the affected could drift into oblivion with muffled thought and reasoning. This kind of love could be damaging to the person, even painful to those near and dear. Casque d'Or opens with such a spellbinding moment where the two main characters, Marie and Manda, gaze at one another unaware of their future predicaments. The title, Casque d'Or, refers to Marie (Simone Signoret) golden hair, which serves a symbolic meaning through the hypnotic effects it appears to have on men. Manda (Serge Reggiani) seems to be under its spell, as he passionately stares at Marie.

The carpenter Georges Manda's luck, or maybe more rightfully misfortune, began when he accidentally bumped into his old jail friend, Raymond. Through Raymond's acquaintances and criminal friends he meets Marie (Simone Signoret) who currently is together with Roland (William Sabatier). Bad omens surround the initial meeting between Marie and Manda, as Marie's jealous boyfriend is ready to turn to violence in order to end to Marie's infatuation.

Roland's boss, Felix Leca (Claude Dauphin), shows his interest in the love quarrel, as he openly expresses his concern for Roland, but internally has an alternative motive to why he wants to help Roland. Felix displays his own interest to Marie and requests that she respond to him later that evening after having thought about it. In the evening Manda appears to express his love for Marie while Roland's jealousy flares out as he suggests that they should go outside to solve their mutual problem. Felix lurks in the social shadow as the two men go out in the backyard to fight for Marie, and he appears the instant before the fight in order to put his dubious plans into action.

In the 1950's most films coming out of Hollywood were heavily influenced by guidelines of what was morally acceptable to depict. This is much due to the harm that the Catholic Legion of Decency accomplished in the 1930s, as the religious organization began to influence the creative process of filmmaking through their moral stipulations. Casque d'Or does not show these stipulations as the story dwells on the nitty-gritty of a love affair amidst criminal elements in Paris. Jacques Becker's story does not glorify or bottle up the darkness in human nature. He simply illustrates the actions of a group of characters in a specific social environment during the turn of the century. It does not turn into a period film, which he also tried to avoid. Instead Becker depicts a doomed couple hoping for a better time and place, as they are aware of their difficult situation.

In a historical perspective Casque d'Or is a masterpiece. François Truffaut and other directors thought it had a tremendous effect on the French New Wave some years later. This is amusing to ponder, as the film was at first received with very little praise in France while the Brits thought it was one of the best films of the year. Today an audience can still rejoice in the triumph that the film offers to its viewers from the beginning to the end, as the end offers something much darker than expected.

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