I Spit On Your Grave
Adaptations of books have a history of being derided by the author, but few are as dramatic an example as J’irai cracher sur vos tombes. Minutes into the premiere screening, the author dropped dead.
Read moreTag Archives: France
A World of Wicker, Part 1: The Life and Myth of Emmanuelle
On Diabolique, I’m exploring the sultry wicker-heavy world of the legendary erotic film Emmanuelle, starting with the original book and the woman who wrote, or at least inspired it all.
Read moreEyes Without a Face
A fan of silent serials and a precursor to the French Nouvelle Vague, Georges Franju was inspired by the early thrillers of Louis Feuillade when he made the haunting, at times shocking, story of a disfigured woman, a driven scientist, and the horror of physical beauty.
Read moreFrancoise Hardy: Midnight Blues
Francoise Hardy may have been the most stereotypically French of the Yē-Yē girls: Aloof, sophisticated and beautifully melancholy. Nevertheless, her sound was one that was largely made in England.
Read moreThe Great Silence
The decision to film The Great Silence in Spain’s snowy Pyrenees was the result of Sergio Corbucci wanting to take a skiing trip. Whatever the case, it’s a decision responsible for giving the film a unique and visually striking character.
Read moreClothilde: Queen of the French Swinging Mademoiselle
At the height of the Yeh Yeh Girl craze, here were many girls compelled by external forces to seek fame. Yet, as the brief and quite odd career of Clothilde demonstrates, the results were not always bad.
Read moreMade In France: France Gall’s Baby Pop
France Gall might not have had the sophisticated mystique of Francoise Hardy, the it girl “oomph” of Sylvie Vartan, or the continental sensuality of Bardot, but she was nonetheless an integral part of the Yeh Yeh Girl pantheon.
Read more