Maurice Leblanc means a lot
of things to me: I've read all his novels .Strange how little by little,they became very mysterious with an extraordinary sense of wonder whereas the first books were simple detective stories.
That Jean-Paul Salome who butchered Belphégor just a couple of years before can tackle one of the most original series of books of the genre can strike horror into your heart.And however,in spite of a very poor rating at my time of writing,I will say that it's not that much bad after all.
The actors are generally well chosen ,particularly Scott-Thomas ,the ideal countess.And the cast includes such luminaries as Matthieu Carrière and Robin Renucci .And the budget-which does not guarantee quality anyway-is not exactly what you call low-.Showing Lupin's childhood is not very new:see The Saint and Indiana Jones for that matter,not to mention good old Sherlock Holmes.And what 's amazing,for a character and adventures that are French French French (not to say Norman )to the core ,we have often the strange feeling of watching a made-in -Hollywood movie.
Anyone who knows Leblanc's books will notice that ,although Salome and his script writers adapted "La Comtesse de Cagliostro" ,they also borrowed from other books: "l'Aiguille Creuse" ,"Le Bouchon de Cristal" (Renucci's eye) ,"813" (the banker's name is none other than Kesselbach and the safe combination is of course 813!"and even "la Cagliostro Se Venge" which showed the son (Clarisse's and Arsene's) fighting against the father (Arsène).And other users will probably find other snatches taken from other Leblanc 's books.The screenplay becomes some kind of jumble in spite of Salome's good intentions and what was finally a good idea to use elements from other stories became a terrible mess. :for example,I cannot forgive Salome for botching the scene when Lupin visits the famous Etretat Aiguille Creuse(there's a Lupin museum there in that Etretat town).
In the movie Beaumagnan is Lupin's father -which is very difficult to accept - whereas in the novel he was simply his rival.It seems that the writers found their inspiration in "Star Wars" ,and their fights on the lighthouse or on the Aiguille Creuse make me think of Luke and Darth .
Too many things happen,and it's sometimes hard to catch up with the plot,which is most of the time complicated instead of complex .
Leblanc's books are deceptive:it is hard to transfer them to the screen badly (and Salome's movie,I say it again,has qualities:splendid settings ,nods to the readers, a good tempo)while being harder still to transfer them well.Even such a veteran as Jacques Becker failed ;the TV series 1971-1974 were an absolute nadir.The best came in the late seventies/early eighties with the made-for -TV 'L'Ile aux Trente Cercueils" and "Arsène Lupin Joue et Perd (813)"with an infinitely lower budget than Salome's extravaganza.
Entertaining movie,but we are still waiting for the MOvie which will do Leblanc justice.
of things to me: I've read all his novels .Strange how little by little,they became very mysterious with an extraordinary sense of wonder whereas the first books were simple detective stories.
That Jean-Paul Salome who butchered Belphégor just a couple of years before can tackle one of the most original series of books of the genre can strike horror into your heart.And however,in spite of a very poor rating at my time of writing,I will say that it's not that much bad after all.
The actors are generally well chosen ,particularly Scott-Thomas ,the ideal countess.And the cast includes such luminaries as Matthieu Carrière and Robin Renucci .And the budget-which does not guarantee quality anyway-is not exactly what you call low-.Showing Lupin's childhood is not very new:see The Saint and Indiana Jones for that matter,not to mention good old Sherlock Holmes.And what 's amazing,for a character and adventures that are French French French (not to say Norman )to the core ,we have often the strange feeling of watching a made-in -Hollywood movie.
Anyone who knows Leblanc's books will notice that ,although Salome and his script writers adapted "La Comtesse de Cagliostro" ,they also borrowed from other books: "l'Aiguille Creuse" ,"Le Bouchon de Cristal" (Renucci's eye) ,"813" (the banker's name is none other than Kesselbach and the safe combination is of course 813!"and even "la Cagliostro Se Venge" which showed the son (Clarisse's and Arsene's) fighting against the father (Arsène).And other users will probably find other snatches taken from other Leblanc 's books.The screenplay becomes some kind of jumble in spite of Salome's good intentions and what was finally a good idea to use elements from other stories became a terrible mess. :for example,I cannot forgive Salome for botching the scene when Lupin visits the famous Etretat Aiguille Creuse(there's a Lupin museum there in that Etretat town).
In the movie Beaumagnan is Lupin's father -which is very difficult to accept - whereas in the novel he was simply his rival.It seems that the writers found their inspiration in "Star Wars" ,and their fights on the lighthouse or on the Aiguille Creuse make me think of Luke and Darth .
Too many things happen,and it's sometimes hard to catch up with the plot,which is most of the time complicated instead of complex .
Leblanc's books are deceptive:it is hard to transfer them to the screen badly (and Salome's movie,I say it again,has qualities:splendid settings ,nods to the readers, a good tempo)while being harder still to transfer them well.Even such a veteran as Jacques Becker failed ;the TV series 1971-1974 were an absolute nadir.The best came in the late seventies/early eighties with the made-for -TV 'L'Ile aux Trente Cercueils" and "Arsène Lupin Joue et Perd (813)"with an infinitely lower budget than Salome's extravaganza.
Entertaining movie,but we are still waiting for the MOvie which will do Leblanc justice.