By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 4 cats
Director: Jacques Richard
Original language title: Le Fantôme d'Henri Langlois
Country: france
Year: 2005
Running time: 210
IMDB: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0412703/combined
Bruce says: “The opening scenes of Bernardo Bertolucci’s THE DREAMERS involve Andre Malraux’s firing of Henri Langlois founder of the Cinémathèque Française. In front of the Cinémathèque Matthew, an American, meets Isabelle and Theo, twins who have a bizarre incestuous relationship. Unfortunately their ahared love of film and some clips from the fabulous classics they adore are overshadowed by the details of what becomes a ménage a trios. In one of the early moments we actually see footage of Henri Langlois himself ascending the subterranean steps in front of the Cinémathèque which was housed in the Palais de Chaillot (aka the Trocadero). Langlois’ dismissal triggered the famous Paris riots of 1968 and, when every luminary involved in cinema came publicly to his defense, he was reinstated. For those who long for more history about the Cinémathèque, Jacques Richard’s wonderful documentary HENRI LANGLOIS: THE PHANTOM OF THE CINÉMATHÈQUE is just the ticket.
“Every cinephile is indebted to the genius of Henri Langlois. Way ahead of his time, he understood the value of film. The Cinémathèque Française was created in 1936 and evolved after a couple of false starts – the founding of the National Film Archives in 1934 and the Club du Cinema in 1935. HENRI LANGLOIS: THE PHANTOM OF THE CINÉMATHÈQUE provides a rich, in depth view of the man behind what many consider to be the most important effort to promote and preserve film since the invention of motion pictures. His eclectic taste contributed to the rescue of thousands of film that would be lost today had he not had the foresight to save them Langlois wanted to save every film; he always was pained by his not acting fast enough to save SALOME with Theda Bara, a film that is now lost forever.
“Langlois’ importance in the film industry goes beyond historic film preservation. He was the mentor to literally all of the French Nouvelle Vague filmmakers. He encouraged them; he showed their films often when no one else was interested. Langlois began buying objets du cinéma in addition to purchasing films (by 1944 Langlois had already purchased 50,000 films) and opened the first film museum which displayed items such as costumes Marilyn Monroe wore in her films and Mrs. Bates’ shriveled up scull from PSYCHO. Jokingly, Langlois is even considered the father of the cineplex, simultaneously showing films in the upstairs and downstairs of his apartment and even in the stairwell.
“HENRI LANGLOIS: THE PHANTOM OF THE CINÉMATHÈQUE is comprised of archival footage of film giants such as François Truffault, Eric Rohmer, Kenneth Anger Buster Keaton, Alfred Hitchcock, Jacques Rivette, JeanVigo, Mary Meerson (Langlois’ wife), John Ford, Fritz Lang, Jean Paul Belmondo, Satyajit Ray, and many others; current day interviews with Martin Scorcese, Claude Chabrol, Agnès Varda, Jean-Luc Godard and Jean-Pierre Leaud; and clips from countless archival films.
“Throughout his career Langlois was plagued by a constant shortage of funds and bureaucrats who demanded good accounting practices, lacking any understanding of the visionary in their presence. In 1974 Langlois received an honorary Oscar for his vast contribution to cinematic history. The Academy got that one right!! 4.5 cats”
Chris says: “It’s worth seeing; anyone with a geek-level interest in film history will love it. Having said that, I didn’t think it was an exceptionally well-made film; the low budget definitely shows, it’s too long, and the director could’ve made some better stylistic choices here and there. But Langlois, who looks like a French version of Timothy Spall, is an endlessly fascinating character, and learning about him is as essential as viewing many of the films he saved and exposed to a contemporary audience. 3.5 cats”