Lumière et compagnie (1995)

User Rating:

7.0/10   

Directors:

Theodoros Angelopoulos
Vicente Aranda

Writer:

Philippe Poulet (original idea)

Release Date:

20 December 1995 (France)

Genre:

Documentary

Plot:

40 international directors were asked to make a short film using the original Cinematographe invented by the Lumière Brothers...

Plot Keywords:

Director | Film Making | Silent Filmmaking | Paris France | Film Camera

Cast

Jeffe Alperi	...	Policeman (segment "David Lynch")
Romane Bohringer	...	(segment "Claude Miller")
Michele Carlyle	...	(segment "David Lynch")
Lou Chapiteau	...	(segment "Claude Miller")
Marc Chapiteau	...	(segment "Claude Miller")
Antoine Duléry	...	(segment "Claude Lelouch")
Pascal Duquenne	...	(segment "Jaco Van Dormael")
Bruno Ganz	...	Damiel (segment "Wim Wenders")
Charles Gérard	...	(segment "Claude Lelouch")
Ticky Holgado	...	(segment "Claude Lelouch")
Neil Jordan	...	(segment "John Boorman")
Patrice Leconte	...	Himself (segment "Sarah Moon")
Satchel Lee	...	(segment "Spike Lee")
Spike Lee	...	Himself (segment "Sarah Moon")
Claude Lelouch	...	Himself (segment "Sarah Moon")
Stan Lothridge	...	Policeman (segment "David Lynch")
David Lynch	...	Himself
Alessandra Martines	...	(segment "Claude Lelouch")
François Mitterrand	...	Himself (segment "Régis Wargnier")
Liam Neeson	...	(segment "John Boorman")
Sven Nykvist	...	(segment "Liv Ullman")
Lena Olin	...	(segment "Lasse Hallström")
Idrissa Ouedraogo	...	Himself
Géraldine Pailhas	...	(segment "Cédric Klapisch")
Russ Pearlman	...	Child (segment "David Lynch")
Pam Pierrocish	...	Mother (segment "David Lynch")
Aidan Quinn	...	(segment "John Boorman")
Kathleen Raymond	...	(segment "David Lynch")
Stephen Rea	...	(segment "John Boorman")
Nathalie Richard	...	Ninon (segment "Jacques Rivette")
Alan Rickman	...	(segment "John Boorman")
Jacques Rivette	...	Himself (segment "Sarah Moon (I)")
Félix Romeo	...	Himself (segment "Fernando Trueba")
Joan Rudelstein	...	(segment "David Lynch")
Dawn Salcedo	...	(segment "David Lynch")
Otto Sander	...	Cassiel (segment "Wim Wenders")
Clyde Small	...	Father (segment "David Lynch")
Zinedine Soualem	...	(segment "Cédric Klapisch")
Liv Ullmann	...	Herself (segment "Sarah Moon (I)")
Mark Wood	...	Policeman (segment "David Lynch")
Yimou Zhang	...	Himself

Also Known As:

Lumière and Company (International: English title)
Lumiere y compañía (Spain)

Runtime:

88 min

Country:

France | Denmark | Spain | Sweden

Language:

French | English | Danish | Norwegian | Swedish | Greek | Japanese | Mandarin

Color:

Black and White | Color

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

South Korea:15 | Spain:T | UK:15

Filming Locations:

Athens, Greece

Company:

Cinétévé

Movie Connections:

References Danse serpentine (1897/II)

Great celebration!

I think this was a great idea. It works three fold: as a fun game, a slice of world cinema, and ultimately as a celebration of cinema. You get to see some more well known directors while some lesser known though not necessarily less important ones get exposure. I agree that David Lynch's film is probably the standout of the lot for its creativity within 50 seconds and the other rules of the game. But there are also many other interesting things going on throughout the whole exercise;weather the film is particularly entertaining or more personal, the whole project remains interesting. Other films I personally found memorable included the ones by Greenaway (also very creative, particularly his use of light), Zhang Yi Mou (sleight of hand with no special effects), Idrissa Ouedraogo and Gaston Kabore from Burkina Faso, Egypt's Youseff Chahine, to mention a few. Finally, after reading the other comments I wanted to say, instead of complaining that most of these directors showed no creativity why not think about and discuss what you yourself might film if given the chance.