The only way I can even touch the tip of what it was like seeing LOLA MONTES restored and on the big screen in November of 2008 is to compare it to seeing the Rolling Stones in concert or hearing a Beethoven sympathy at Carnegie Hall. It’s the greatest achievement of the daring Max Ophuls, it’s a hugely feminist film with a tragic heroine at its center (to be in the minority, I really liked Martine Carol—she’s certainly beautiful enough to be Lola Montes, and her coolness gives her an unpredictability, like a Hitchcock brunette), and it remains a scathing story about celebrity and fame. Ophuls’ film is a genuine feast for hungry eyes, there is never a dull or wasted shot (for a time my head was actually moving with the camera, a testament to how involved I was) in the nearly two hours of running time. If you can see this on the big screen, you will not be disappointed.