i digged C’est important d’aimer
I’m gonna check out the devil.
Possesion was great.
Though i’m an Isabelle Adjani fan, i didn’t like Possession at all, but Third Part of the Night is a fascinating and at times surreal Kafkaesque film that seems to poke at Communist bureaucracy in a setting of resistance to the Nazis and scientific work involving leeches.
I loved Possession. The miscarriage scene in the tunnel just may be the scariest scene I’ve ever seen.
Just incase anyone is interested and just to bump this topic both ’C’est important d’aimer’ and ’L’amour Braque’ are currently available in region 1 from Mondo Vision.
Zulawski is my favorite filmmaker and through one way or another, I’ve seen all of his films. Though I get really into Possession every time I see it and can’t turn it off, I think “L’amour Braque” may be the best film I’ve ever seen. Most people never realize that Zulawski is actually really funny and many of his movies have a lot of comic parts while dealing with serious subjects (Diabel was damn hilarious). L’amour Braque is his funniest and most postmodern.
Is it me, or does the end of Jacob’s Ladder look like it was ripped off of Third Part of the Night?
To people new to Zulawski, Szamanka will give you an idea of one side of his work while still being easy to watch; La Femme Publique will give you the other side.
The Mondo Vision edition is so beautifully designed. Perfection. Eat it, Criterion! Zulawski is insane. I mean, off the chain crazy. If you’re in any way a devotee of excessive cinema, you need him in your camp. One other thing: Sophie Marceau. There.
Third Part of the Night is one of my favourite films of all time. My introduction to Zulawski was, as probably most people here, Possession, which is a serviceable suspense/horror film, but Third Part of the Night is a wonderful, surreal out-of-body romp that just trumps every other film he’s done. It’s certainly one of the greatest directorial debuts in film.
Another interesting (and rather unfinished) film by Zulawski I don’t think was mentioned here is The Silver Globe. Kind of disjointed dystopian science fiction that really paints a gloomy picture. It’s not a great film, but it has that trademark Zulawski look to it, and for those partial to “blue tints” then this is a dream come true.
@ Bardesanes: Jacob’s Ladder looks like it was ripped off of Third Part of the Night because they were both influenced by Ambrose Bierce’s An Occurance at Owl Creek Bridge.
You know what, I am no fan of “blue tint”. It just screams Jerry Bruckheimer. ’Nuff said.
i loved The Third Part of the Night. i’ve been getting more into Zulawski’s films ever since Mondo-Vision has been putting out these exquisite limited editions. i wasn’t real into L’Amour Braque or La Femme Publique, but i admired how Zulawski truly forces his actors to act in ways that are crippling and more challenging than the norm… almost like a Shakespearean mindset. This applies to every single one of his films i’ve seen (those three aforementioned, Possession which is one of my favorite films of all time, and The Most Important Thing is to Love). The only other director i can think of off the top of my head whose trademark involves having their actors act strangely peculiar in comparison to outside films the actors have done is David Lynch. i hope that made sense?
i loved The Third Part of the Night. i’ve been getting more into Zulawski’s films ever since Mondo-Vision has been putting out these exquisite limited editions. i wasn’t real into L’Amour Braque or La Femme Publique, but i admired how Zulawski truly forces his actors to act in ways that are crippling and more challenging than the norm… almost like a Shakespearean mindset. This applies to every single one of his films i’ve seen (those three aforementioned, Possession which is one of my favorite films of all time, and The Most Important Thing is to Love). The only other director i can think of off the top of my head whose trademark involves having their actors act strangely peculiar in comparison to outside films the actors have done is David Lynch. i hope that made sense?
The question is when will some of his films be linked to The Auteurs?
The list function is almost useless without his works for me.
This is one of my all time favorite openings:
I think it will take some time but Zulawski will get his due and be recognized as extremely important director. The cinematography on his films is flawless and is as important to his films as the acting. The hammy acting is great and the use of a few musical themes as opposed to a lot of soundtrack music really set his movies apart. I think it’s funny people think he’s this pretentious director when he’s actually a funny old man who says everyone’s forgotten his movies. Boris Godounov and Piesn Triumfujacej Milosc are probably his weirdest films.
I am glad someone started this thread because i think Zulawski is the most underrated Director of all time ,and i just love his insane and challenging films.
Does anybody know if “Third Part of the Night” is available to watch somewhere on the web?
I’ve been dying to see it but my internet search has turned up nothing so far.
“I’ve been dying to see it but my internet search has turned up nothing so far.”
you clearly know nothing of either torrents or Pirate Bay for that matter…
that being said,Zulawski isn’t underrated at all,he’s just vanquished to many individuals who prefer to follow the canon…bullshit i say,Zulawski is a master alright,and Femme Publique,On the Silver Globe and My nights are More Beautiful than your Days prove it so…
The more of your posts I read, the more I am convinced that you are not a real person but an elaborate joke perpetrated by some dadaist collective.
Right… he is vanquished and underrated.
Zulawski in my opinion is not entirely underrated, it’s just that his films have not been widely available outside of Europe (until more recently with some re-releases) I currently own a limited edition of L’Amour Braque from Mondo Vision, and have seen Possession. He has a way of filming that fuses words and motion together quite beautifully.
Here is a clip from Possession as an example:
Possession pretty much blew my mind and I thought right away it made a great companion piece to Antichrist (which I watched a couple nights later!) and The Important thing is to love has been on my to watch list for some time now…I’m really hoping Queen video in Toronto has a good chuck of his work on DVD for me to lose a weekend to :D
Antichrist also made me think of Possession. Isabelle Adjani’s subway freakout is pretty unforgettable. I’ve seen a couple of his other movies, Silver Globe and The most important thing, Love. Neither had the kind of manic energy that Possession had, but that would probably be hard (and unhealthy) to maintain.
I think Zulawski’s work proves that women can be just as fearless as men—if not more so—when it comes to acting. His male performers are certainly insane, but I don’t think they’ve ever matched the intensity of Isabelle Adjani, Valerie Kaprisky, or Iwona Petry, to name a few. Mondo Vision deserves some serious props for giving his films such lavish treatment. If only they weren’t so pricey…
I’m very new to Zulawski’s work. After recently watching the amazing “L’important C’est D’aimer”, I ordered the three films released by Mondo Vision. The numbered special editions really are wonderful packages! I’m hoping his other films get similar treatment and release by Mondo.
Can anyone tell me the quality of the Region 1 releases for “The Devil” and “On the Silver Globe”?
A thread and a director to be re-discovered, I’d love to hear more views on his work, especially on The Devil and The Most Important Thing is to Love!
The Devil is fantastic. Need to see more.
I love “The Most Important Thing is to Love”. Never heard of Zulawski before and I hate to say that L’important C’est D’aimer is my first and only film I’ve seen of his. I’d love to see The Devil and Possession.
Say, just in the last couple weeks, I’ve noticed that the prices on all the Mondo Vision / Zulawski DVDs on Amazon have shot up astronomically… has the company gone under already? That would really be a shame.
They’re back to normal. I just wanted to bump this. In four years Mondo Vision has only released the four Zulawski films: La Femme Publique, L’Important C’est d’Aimer, L’Amour Braque, and Szamanka. Possession, On The Silver Globe, and La Note Bleue are supposed to come out this year. More after that. So few releases! They’re gonna die if people don’t support them! More directors after him.
lindenbrock
Not as well known in the US as Polanski or Wadja, Andrzej Zulawski is generally known for his psychological horror film ‘Possession.’ However, he has produced a body of work which rivals any his contemporaries for sheer originality and daring.
Although I’ve seen most of his work, I recommend:
The Third Part of the Night
The Devil
C’est important d’aimer
Szamanka (note: the only DVD of this film with English subtitles is unfortunately dubbed in Russian from the original Polish soundtrack)
Some of Zulawski’s work was hard to track down, even if you have an all region player.
However, Mondo Vision recently released Zulawski’s ‘La Femme Publique’ in region 1 and will (hopefully) be releasing ’C’est important d’aimer’ and ’L’amour Braque’ in the near future.