DETOUR FILMS. 4 EDITIoN Todary's Cinema. 13 June 1969 LE DERNIER TANGO A PARIS Monthly Film Bulletin(London), August 1969 Films and Filming (London), September 1969 See Last tango In paris emprun,Jorge, and Palle Kjaerulff-Schmidt, in Chaplin(Stock holm),no.3,1976 ty, Ib, ""Danish Film, "in Factsheet Denmark, Copenhagen, 1983 Film Dope(Nottingham), January 1985 DETOUR Schepelern, Peter, in Kosmorama( Copenhagen), Summer 1987 Mitchell, G.," Filmmaking History in Denmark, in American Cinematographer(Hollywood), February 1989 Us,1945 Director: Edgar G. Ult part from Carl Th Dreyers Gertrud, Der var engang en krig is Production: Producers Releasing Corp ; black and white, 35mm, the most important Danish film of the 1960s. It is a portrait of a 15- Spherical; running time: 69 minutes year-old boy from middle-class Copenhagen during the German occupation. The German occupation of 1940-45 has been described in several documentaries, most notably in the unique Your Freedom Is Producer: Leon Fromkess, Martin Mooney(assistant producer) at Stake, based on illegally shot material and reflecting the views of screenplay: Martin Goldsmith, Martin Mooney (uncredited) the resistance movement-a view quite critical towards the official Guire Danish collaboration policy. Sixteen feature films were inspired by music: Leo Erdody; sound: Max Hutchison; art director: William his important period in recent Danish history, most of them stressing A Calihan, Jr, Edward C. Jewell; set decoration: Glenn P. Thomp- the heroic aspects of the resistance. Contrary to this approach, Der var son; costume design: Mona Barry engang en krig uses the war as a background, but reflects the daily life of the danes in a more authentic and honest manner Cast: Tom Neal(Al Roberts, alias Charles l, r );Ann The film is structured as a chain of incidents, showing the boy in Savage(Vera); Claudia Drake(Sue Harvey):Edmund McDonald relation to family, friends, teachers, and girls. The main story centers ( Charles Haskell Jr); Tim Ryan( Diner Proprietor); Esther Howard on the boy's love for one of his older sister's girlfriends To her he is (Holly); Roger Clark(Man); Pat Gleason(Man);Don Brodie(Used a boy, to him she is the object of his adolescent dreams. He fantasizes Car Salesman) about her, seeing himself as a resolute hero in a number of daydream sequences, which are among the most problematic In an otherwise beautifully controlled film. It is based on a meticulous care Award d to National Film Registry, National Film Preserva- for authentic detail, and its intensity of feeling grows out of these tion Board, 1992 carefully recollected views of the past. Though visually it can be considered within a realistic tradition. it is the situations the excel lently written dialogue, the characters, and the way it brings a period Publications to life which make the film engaging and emotionally rich. The film not without humor, but as the narrative is from the boys point of view, he is never presented in an ironic way. The stronger feelings are Books condensed in the long travelling shots and pans, when the boy is cycling, expressing his feelings in physical activit Sarris. Andrew. The American Cinema. Directors and Directions The film was written by Klaus Rifbjerg who, like Palle Kjaerulff- 1929-1968, Chicago,l968 Schmidt, the director, takes advantage of personal experiences to Truffaut, Francois, The Films in My Life, New York, 1975 enhance his work Peary, Danny, Cult Movies, New York, 1981 generation,and he and Kjaerulff-Schmidt started collaborating on Hirsch, Foster, Film Noir: The Dark Side of the Screen,New films in 1959. In 1962 they made Weekend, a study of young adults York. 198 and their emotional problems. Weekend was considered one of the Bogdanovich, Peter, ho the Devil Made It: Conversations with Ims heralding a new, more modern era in the Danish cinema. Reality Legendary Film Directors, New York, 1997 has finally returned to the Danish film after a long barren period. The collaboration between Rifbjerg and Kjaerulff-Schmidt culminated ith Der var engang en krig, their finest achievement and one of the Articles. ghlights of contemporary Danish cinema. Influenced by Truffaut 4 pecially The 400 Blows)and similar to films by Ermanno Olmi and Schrader, Paul, "Notes on Film Noir, in Film Comment (New os Forman, Der var engang en krig represents the best in intimate York), voL. 8, no. 1, Spring 1972. alism. The film was received very well by Danish critics and also Combs, etour, in Monthly Film Bulletin (London), vol. 49, got very fine reviews abroad, especially in England. no.582,July1982. Pulleine.T.‘ Detour Films and Filming (South Croydon, -lb monty 310
DETOUR FILMS, 4th EDITION 310 Today’s Cinema, 13 June 1969. Monthly Film Bulletin (London), August 1969. Films and Filming (London), September 1969. Semprun, Jorge, and Palle Kjaerulff-Schmidt, in Chaplin (Stockholm), no. 3, 1976. Monty, Ib, ‘‘Danish Film,’’ in Factsheet Denmark, Copenhagen, 1983. Film Dope (Nottingham), January 1985. Schepelern, Peter, in Kosmorama (Copenhagen), Summer 1987. Mitchell, G.J., ‘‘Filmmaking History in Denmark,’’ in American Cinematographer (Hollywood), February 1989. *** Apart from Carl Th. Dreyer’s Gertrud, Der var engang en krig is the most important Danish film of the 1960s. It is a portrait of a 15- year-old boy from middle-class Copenhagen during the German occupation. The German occupation of 1940–45 has been described in several documentaries, most notably in the unique Your Freedom Is at Stake, based on illegally shot material and reflecting the views of the resistance movement—a view quite critical towards the official Danish collaboration policy. Sixteen feature films were inspired by this important period in recent Danish history, most of them stressing the heroic aspects of the resistance. Contrary to this approach, Der var engang en krig uses the war as a background, but reflects the daily life of the Danes in a more authentic and honest manner. The film is structured as a chain of incidents, showing the boy in relation to family, friends, teachers, and girls. The main story centers on the boy’s love for one of his older sister’s girlfriends. To her he is a boy, to him she is the object of his adolescent dreams. He fantasizes about her, seeing himself as a resolute hero in a number of daydream sequences, which are among the most problematic scenes in an otherwise beautifully controlled film. It is based on a meticulous care for authentic detail, and its intensity of feeling grows out of these carefully recollected views of the past. Though visually it can be considered within a realistic tradition, it is the situations, the excellently written dialogue, the characters, and the way it brings a period to life which make the film engaging and emotionally rich. The film is not without humor; but as the narrative is from the boy’s point of view, he is never presented in an ironic way. The stronger feelings are condensed in the long travelling shots and pans, when the boy is cycling, expressing his feelings in physical activity. The film was written by Klaus Rifbjerg who, like Palle KjaerulffSchmidt, the director, takes advantage of personal experiences to enhance his work. Rifjberg is the finest poet and author of his generation, and he and Kjaerulff-Schmidt started collaborating on films in 1959. In 1962 they made Weekend, a study of young adults and their emotional problems. Weekend was considered one of the films heralding a new, more modern era in the Danish cinema. Reality has finally returned to the Danish film after a long barren period. The collaboration between Rifbjerg and Kjaerulff-Schmidt culminated with Der var engang en krig, their finest achievement and one of the highlights of contemporary Danish cinema. Influenced by Truffaut (especially The 400 Blows) and similar to films by Ermanno Olmi and Milos Forman, Der var engang en krig represents the best in intimate realism. The film was received very well by Danish critics and also got very fine reviews abroad, especially in England. —Ib Monty LE DERNIER TANGO À PARIS See LAST TANGO IN PARIS DETOUR US, 1945 Director: Edgar G. Ulmer Production: Producers Releasing Corp.; black and white, 35mm, Spherical; running time: 69 minutes. Producer: Leon Fromkess, Martin Mooney (assistant producer); screenplay: Martin Goldsmith, Martin Mooney (uncredited); cinematographer: Benjamin H. Kline; editor: George McGuire; music: Leo Erdody; sound: Max Hutchison; art director: William A. Calihan, Jr., Edward C. Jewell; set decoration: Glenn P. Thompson; costume design: Mona Barry. Cast: Tom Neal (Al Roberts, alias Charles Maxwell, Jr.); Ann Savage (Vera); Claudia Drake (Sue Harvey); Edmund McDonald (Charles Haskell Jr.); Tim Ryan (Diner Proprietor); Esther Howard (Holly); Roger Clark (Man); Pat Gleason (Man); Don Brodie (Used Car Salesman). Awards: Named to National Film Registry, National Film Preservation Board, 1992. Publications Books: Sarris, Andrew, The American Cinema: Directors and Directions 1929–1968, Chicago, 1968. Truffaut, Francois, The Films in My Life, New York, 1975. Peary, Danny, Cult Movies, New York, 1981. Hirsch, Foster, Film Noir: The Dark Side of the Screen, New York, 1981. Bogdanovich, Peter, Who the Devil Made It: Conversations with Legendary Film Directors, New York, 1997. Articles: Schrader, Paul, ‘‘Notes on Film Noir,’’ in Film Comment (New York), vol. 8, no. 1, Spring 1972. Combs, R., ‘‘Detour,’’ in Monthly Film Bulletin (London), vol. 49, no. 582, July 1982. Pulleine, T., ‘‘Detour,’’ in Films and Filming (South Croydon, Surrey), no. 335, August 1982
FILMS. 4th EDItION DETOUR Detou Belton, John, " Edgar G. Ulmer, in American Directors, vol. 1, New argument could be made that this Poverty Row gem distills noir to its York. 1983 basic components: suffocating fatalism, sexual paranoia, the down- Miller, Ron, ""Detour to Immortality, ""in San Jose Mercury News, 16 on-his-luck patsy/protagonist born to come to a bad end. Detour also October 1983 contains what for many students is the definitive noir plaint. "It was Piccardi, A, "Detour di Edgar G. Ulmer, ' in Cineforum, vol 27, no. just my luck, picking her up on the road, says Al Roberts(Tom Neal) 261, January-February 1987. in morose voice-over. " It couldnt be Helen.. or Mary or Evelyn or Garsault, A,""Un artiste, "in Positif(Paris), no. 358, Decem- Ruth; it had to be the very last person I should ever have met. That's ber1990. life. Whichever way you turn, Fate sticks out a foot to trip you McBride, J, ""Family Drive, in American Film(Marion, Ohio), vol Fate has less to do with als ultimate undoing than al 15,no.11, August1990. -purpose fall guy. The real cause is Als Atkinson, Michael, ""Noir and Away. Notes on the Two Detours. obsessive-compulsive personality. A frustrated pianist in a New York Bright Lights(Cincinnati, Ohio), no 15, 1995. dive called the Break O Dawn Club, Roberts juggles(poorly) dual obsessions: a stalled concert (he fancies himself a budding Shoshtakovich) and a relationship with the club's pretty vocalist, Sue ( Claudia Drake). Sue's decision to try her luck in Hollywood sets up her beaus fall. Eaten alive by those twin betes noires, jealousy and There are more elegant and ambitious examples of classic desperation, Al"takes it on the thumb"and follows his worst oir-Jacques Tourneur's Out of the Past and robert Aldrich's Kis Instincts west Me deadly leap to mind-but it's unlikely that you will find a more Half of this compact(69 minute) programmer is devoted to Als tightly plotted or single-minded example of the postwar, German misfortunes on the road. In Arizona he is picked up by a obnoxious Expressionist-rooted style than Edgar G. UImer's Detour Indeed, the bookie named Haskell(Edmund Mac Donald), who rambles on about
FILMS, 4 DETOUR th EDITION 311 Detour Belton, John, ‘‘Edgar G. Ulmer,’’ in American Directors, vol. 1, New York, 1983. Miller, Ron, ‘‘Detour to Immortality,’’ in San Jose Mercury News, 16 October 1983. Piccardi, A., ‘‘Detour di Edgar G. Ulmer,’’ in Cineforum, vol. 27, no. 261, January-February 1987. Garsault, A., ‘‘Un artiste,’’ in Positif (Paris), no. 358, December 1990. McBride, J., ‘‘Family Drive,’’ in American Film (Marion, Ohio), vol. 15, no. 11, August 1990. Atkinson, Michael, ‘‘Noir and Away. Notes on the Two Detours,’’ in Bright Lights (Cincinnati, Ohio), no. 15, 1995. *** There are more elegant and ambitious examples of classic film noir—Jacques Tourneur’s Out of the Past and Robert Aldrich’s Kiss Me Deadly leap to mind—but it’s unlikely that you will find a more tightly plotted or single-minded example of the postwar, German Expressionist-rooted style than Edgar G. Ulmer’s Detour. Indeed, the argument could be made that this Poverty Row gem distills noir to its basic components: suffocating fatalism, sexual paranoia, the downon-his-luck patsy/protagonist born to come to a bad end. Detour also contains what for many students is the definitive noir plaint. ‘‘It was just my luck, picking her up on the road,’’ says Al Roberts (Tom Neal) in morose voice-over. ‘‘It couldn’t be Helen . . . or Mary or Evelyn or Ruth; it had to be the very last person I should ever have met. That’s life. Whichever way you turn, Fate sticks out a foot to trip you.’’ Of course Fate has less to do with Al’s ultimate undoing than Al himself. Fate is noir’s all-purpose fall guy. The real cause is Al’s obsessive-compulsive personality. A frustrated pianist in a New York dive called the Break O’ Dawn Club, Roberts juggles (poorly) dual obsessions: a stalled concert career (he fancies himself a budding Shoshtakovich) and a relationship with the club’s pretty vocalist, Sue (Claudia Drake). Sue’s decision to try her luck in Hollywood sets up her beau’s fall. Eaten alive by those twin betes noires, jealousy and desperation, Al ‘‘takes it on the thumb’’ and follows his worst instincts west. Half of this compact (69 minute) programmer is devoted to Al’s misfortunes on the road. In Arizona he is picked up by a obnoxious bookie named Haskell (Edmund MacDonald), who rambles on about
DEUS EO DIABO NA TERRA DO SOL FILMS. 4 EDITIoN a childhood duel and some nasty scratches compliments of"the most a series of strokes, didnt live long enough to enjoy Detour's critical langerous animal in the world-a woman. As Al takes his turn at reappraisal (he considered it his best film, along with The black Car the wheel, Haskell nods off, has a heart attack, and dies. In the and Naked Dawn). widow Shirley Ulmer, in a 1983 interview, said he pounding rain, Al, true to form, makes a suspicious situation worse by died a disappointed man. Savage went from low-budget to lowbrow taking Haskell,s clothes, car, and identity. His muddled reasoning: graduating to such epics as Renegade girl and Pygmy Island. Neal 'By that time I'd done just what the police would say I did, even if fared worse. A hopeless alcoholic with a hair-trigger temper, he was imprisoned in 1965 for the murder of his third wife. Perfect tabloid- Al gets himself in deeper when he picks up a sullen vixen named fodder, he died destitute in 1972 at age 58. An execrable, almost shot Vera(ann Savage parodying the trampy, consumptive Bette Davis). for-shot video remake of Detour appeared in 1992. It was directed by Vera knows Al isnt Haskell and uses the information to blackmail Wade williams and starred Tom Neal Jr, a dead ringer for his father. him into an inheritance scam. Al, thinking only of Sue, resists both the scam and Veras drunken advances. a fight ensues and in an all-too- -Glenn lovell plausible accident involving a phone chord, Al finds himself fleeing another "murder''scene. Unable to buck Fate. he surrenders to it. Someday a car will stop to pick me up for a ride that I never thumbed, "he says as a police car pulls up and a door swings open. DEUS EO DIABO NA TERRA DO Yes, Fate, or some mysterious force, can put the finger on you or me for no good reason at a” SOL Adapted by Martin Goldsmith from half of his 1939 novel (which unfolds from both AlI's and Sue's perspectives)and told in flashback(Black God. White Devil) from a Nevada diner playing, mockingly, Sue's hit song, ' I Can't Believe That You're in Love with Me, Detour was shot in six days for the notoriously cheap Producers Releasing Corp. The Czechoslo- Brazil. 1964 vakian-born Ulmer, who had apprenticed with F w. Murnau before migrating to Hollywood in 1931, was, as The Black Cat(1934)and Director: Glauber Rocha Bluebeard (1944)demonstrate, a past master at employing shadows. tight two-shots, and minimalist set design to create ambience and Production: Copacabana Films(Rio de Janeiro); black and white, stretch a budget. After a brief rehearsal period, he told interviewers, 35mm, running time: 125 minutes. Filmed in Monte Santo, Bahia, he could shoot 60 to 80 setups in a day 1963. Released in Rio de janeiro. 1 June 1964 Forced again to economize. this time on less than S30. 000. Ulmer turned Detour into an unrelenting journey down what he called"that Producer: Luiz Augusto Mendez; associate producers: Glauber ong road of Fate. "Each element of the mise-en-scene(mirrors, fog, Rocha Jarbas Barbosa: director and screenplay assistant: Walter motel blinds, the fuming Vera in profile) serves a distinctly noir Lima, Jr. director and dialog assistant: Paulo Gil Soares: screen- overview and sensibility. On the cross-country drive, process shots play: Glauber Rocha; photography: Waldemar Lima: editor: Rafael further distance the already-alienated Al from his surroundings. In the Justo Verde: art director: Paulo Gil Soares; music: Heitor villa Nevada diner sequences, artificial spotlighting(of AI's twitching Lobos and Sergio Ricard(songs by Glauber Rocha) eyes)and exaggerated sound underscore Al,s agitated mental state As he surveys the second"'murder scene, Als disorientation suggested by a roaming camera that, as it picks out Vera's things Cast: Geraldo Del Rey (Manuel): lona Magalhaes(Rosa): Othon strewn about the room, keeps going out of focus. Tracking shots down Bastos(Corisco): Lidio Silva (Sebastiao): Mauricio do valle(An- foggy roads give the impression that Al is on a conveyor belt, being onio das Mortes): Sonia dos Humildes (Dada); Marrom (Blind dragged, inexorably, to his final destination. Julio): Joao Gama(The priest): Antonio Pinto(The"Coronel) Released by PrC as a routine crime" meller'(the tawdry poster Milton Rosa(Coronel"Moraes) ontained the come-on"I Used My Body for Blackmail! ), Detou like many of the great noirs, was championed by France's Cahiers du Awards: Prize of the Mexican Critic at the International Festival of Cinema critics(who dubbed its director"le plus maudit des cineaste Acapulco(Mexico), 1964: Great Prize, Festival of Free Cinema or unjustly cursed) before being discovered by their American (Italy ) 1964; Gold Naiade--International Festival of Porreta Terme counterparts, most notably Andrew Sarris and, in his influential Notes (Italy ) 1964; Great Prize Latin American, at the International Mar on Film Noir(1972), Paul Schrader. Francois Truffaut, writing in Del Plata Festival(Argentina), 1966 1956. called Ulmer"the least-known''of American auteurs and his The Naked Dawn(1955)"a small gift from Hollywood. The first observation no longer applies as scholars find references to Detour in Hitchcocks Psycho and, more recently, the noir-infused works of Publications David lynch and Ethan and Joel Coen. The second Truffaut comment is more applicable to Detour, which, for too long, was an unappreci Script ated gift from 1940s Hollywood. Ironically, Fate wound up putting the finger on some of those Rocha, Glauber, Deus e o Diabo na Terra do sol, Editora Civilizaca connected with this film. Ulmer. confined to a wheelchair after Brasileira, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, 1965 312
DEUS E O DIABO NA TERRA DO SOL FILMS, 4th EDITION 312 a childhood duel and some nasty scratches compliments of ‘‘the most dangerous animal in the world—a woman.’’ As Al takes his turn at the wheel, Haskell nods off, has a heart attack, and dies. In the pounding rain, Al, true to form, makes a suspicious situation worse by taking Haskell’s clothes, car, and identity. His muddled reasoning: ‘‘By that time I’d done just what the police would say I did, even if I didn’t.’’ Al gets himself in deeper when he picks up a sullen vixen named Vera (Ann Savage parodying the trampy, consumptive Bette Davis). Vera knows Al isn’t Haskell and uses the information to blackmail him into an inheritance scam. Al, thinking only of Sue, resists both the scam and Vera’s drunken advances. A fight ensues and, in an all-tooplausible accident involving a phone chord, Al finds himself fleeing another ‘‘murder’’ scene. Unable to buck Fate, he surrenders to it. ‘‘Someday a car will stop to pick me up for a ride that I never thumbed,’’ he says as a police car pulls up and a door swings open. ‘‘Yes, Fate, or some mysterious force, can put the finger on you or me for no good reason at all.’’ Adapted by Martin Goldsmith from half of his 1939 novel (which unfolds from both Al’s and Sue’s perspectives) and told in flashback from a Nevada diner playing, mockingly, Sue’s hit song, ‘‘I Can’t Believe That You’re in Love with Me,’’ Detour was shot in six days for the notoriously cheap Producers Releasing Corp. The Czechoslovakian-born Ulmer, who had apprenticed with F.W. Murnau before emigrating to Hollywood in 1931, was, as The Black Cat (1934) and Bluebeard (1944) demonstrate, a past master at employing shadows, tight two-shots, and minimalist set design to create ambience and stretch a budget. After a brief rehearsal period, he told interviewers, he could shoot 60 to 80 setups in a day. Forced again to economize, this time on less than $30,000, Ulmer turned Detour into an unrelenting journey down what he called ‘‘that long road of Fate.’’ Each element of the mise-en-scene (mirrors, fog, motel blinds, the fuming Vera in profile) serves a distinctly noir overview and sensibility. On the cross-country drive, process shots further distance the already-alienated Al from his surroundings. In the Nevada diner sequences, artificial spotlighting (of Al’s twitching eyes) and exaggerated sound underscore Al’s agitated mental state. As he surveys the second ‘‘murder’’ scene, Al’s disorientation is suggested by a roaming camera that, as it picks out Vera’s things strewn about the room, keeps going out of focus. Tracking shots down foggy roads give the impression that Al is on a conveyor belt, being dragged, inexorably, to his final destination. Released by PRC as a routine crime ‘‘meller’’ (the tawdry poster contained the come-on ‘‘I Used My Body for Blackmail!’’), Detour, like many of the great noirs, was championed by France’s Cahiers du Cinéma critics (who dubbed its director ‘‘le plus maudit des cineaste’’ or unjustly cursed) before being discovered by their American counterparts, most notably Andrew Sarris and, in his influential Notes on Film Noir (1972), Paul Schrader. Francois Truffaut, writing in 1956, called Ulmer ‘‘the least-known’’ of American auteurs and his The Naked Dawn (1955) ‘‘a small gift from Hollywood.’’ The first observation no longer applies as scholars find references to Detour in Hitchcock’s Psycho and, more recently, the noir-infused works of David Lynch and Ethan and Joel Coen. The second Truffaut comment is more applicable to Detour, which, for too long, was an unappreciated gift from 1940s Hollywood. Ironically, Fate wound up putting the finger on some of those connected with this film. Ulmer, confined to a wheelchair after a series of strokes, didn’t live long enough to enjoy Detour’s critical reappraisal (he considered it his best film, along with The Black Cat and Naked Dawn). Widow Shirley Ulmer, in a 1983 interview, said he died a disappointed man. Savage went from low-budget to lowbrow, graduating to such epics as Renegade Girl and Pygmy Island. Neal fared worse. A hopeless alcoholic with a hair-trigger temper, he was imprisoned in 1965 for the murder of his third wife. Perfect tabloidfodder, he died destitute in 1972 at age 58. An execrable, almost shotfor-shot video remake of Detour appeared in 1992. It was directed by Wade Williams and starred Tom Neal Jr., a dead ringer for his father. —Glenn Lovell DEUS E O DIABO NA TERRA DO SOL (Black God, White Devil) Brazil, 1964 Director: Glauber Rocha Production: Copacabana Films (Rio de Janeiro); black and white, 35mm, running time: 125 minutes. Filmed in Monte Santo, Bahia, 1963. Released in Rio de Janeiro, 1 June 1964. Producer: Luiz Augusto Mendez; associate producers: Glauber Rocha, Jarbas Barbosa; director and screenplay assistant: Walter Lima, Jr.; director and dialog assistant: Paulo Gil Soares; screenplay: Glauber Rocha; photography: Waldemar Lima; editor: Rafael Justo Verde: art director: Paulo Gil Soares; music: Heitor VillaLobos and Sergio Ricard (songs by Glauber Rocha). Cast: Geraldo Del Rey (Manuel); Ioná Magalhães (Rosa); Othon Bastos (Corisco); Lídio Silva (Sebastião); Mauricio do Valle (Antonio das Mortes); Sônia dos Humildes (Dadá); Marrom (Blind Julio); João Gama (The priest); Antônio Pinto (The ‘‘Coronel’’); Milton Rosa (‘‘Coronel’’ Moraes). Awards: Prize of the Mexican Critic at the International Festival of Acapulco (México), 1964; Great Prize, Festival of Free Cinema (Italy), 1964; Gold Naiade—International Festival of Porreta Terme (Italy), 1964; Great Prize Latin American, at the International Mar Del Plata Festival (Argentina), 1966. Publications Script: Rocha, Glauber, Deus e o Diabo na Terra do Sol, Editora Civilização Brasileira, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, 1965
FILMS. 4th EDItION DEUS EO DIABO NA TERRA DO SOL Deus e o Diabo na Terra do sol Books Nazario,Luis, A marge do cinema, Sao Paulo, Brazil, 1986 Pierre, Sylvie, editor, Glauber Rocha: Textes et Entretiens de glauber Rocha. glauber. Revisdo critica do cinema brasileiro, rio de Rocha Collection"'Auteurs. 'Paris. 1987. Janeiro. 1963 Passek, Jean-Loup, editor, Le Cinema Bresilien, Paris, 198 Gardier. Rene Glauber Rocha. Paris. 1974 Pierre, Sylvie, Glauber Rocha, Paris 1987 Amengual, Barthelemy, Glauber Rocha e os caminhos da liberdade, Armes, Roy, Third World Film-making and the West, Berkeley, 1987 in Glauber rocha. Rio de janeiro. 1977. Bernadet, Jean-Claude, Brasil em tempo de cinema, rio de Articles. Janeiro. 1977 Rocha, Glauber, Revolucdo do cinema novo, Rio de Janeiro, 1981 Variety(New York), 20 May 1964 Torrres, Augusto M. Glauber rocha, Madrid, 1981 Predal, Rene, Jeune Cinema(Paris), October 1967 Gerber, Raquel, O mito da civilizagdo Atlantica: Glauber rocha Gardies, Rene, Terres en transes, in Image et Son(Paris), Decem- stetica do inconsciente. Rio de janeiro. 1982. Rocha. Glabuer. O seculo do cinema. Rio de Janeiro. 1983 Rocha, Glauber, ""Memorias de Dios y el Diablo en las Tierras de Xavier. Ismail. Sertdo Mar-Glauber Rocha e a estetica da fome Monte Santo y Coco-Robo, ' in Cine- Cubano(Havana), 1967. Sao paulo. brazil. 1983 Levy, J, ""Mythologies: un continent en trois, in Cahiers du Cinema Hollyman, Burnes, Glauber Rocha and the Cinema Novo in Brazil. ( Paris), January 1968 A Study of his Critical Writings and Films, New York, 198 Zele, Van, Image et Son(Paris), no 233, 1969 Johnson, Randal, Cinema Novo X5-Masters of Contemporary Bra- Francovich, Alan, Film Quarterly(Berkeley ) winter 1969-70 zilian Film,( Chapter 4: Glauber Rocha: Apocalypse and Resur- Houston, P, Sight and Sound (London), Spring 1970 rection). Austin, Texas, 1984 Dawson, J, Monthly Film Bulletin(London), April 1970 313
FILMS, 4 DEUS E O DIABO NA TERRA DO SOL th EDITION 313 Deus e o Diabo na Terra do Sol Books: Rocha, Glauber, Revisão critica do cinema brasileiro, Rio de Janeiro, 1963. Gardier, René, Glauber Rocha, Paris, 1974. Amengual, Barthélemy, Glauber Rocha e os caminhos da liberdade, in Glauber Rocha, Rio de Janeiro, 1977. Bernadet, Jean-Claude, Brasil em tempo de cinema, Rio de Janeiro, 1977. Rocha, Glauber, Revolução do cinema novo, Rio de Janeiro, 1981. Torrres, Augusto M., Glauber Rocha, Madrid, 1981. Gerber, Raquel, O mito da civilização Atlântica: Glauber Rocha, Cinema, Politica e a Estética do Inconsciente, Rio de Janeiro, 1982. Rocha, Glabuer, O século do cinema, Rio de Janeiro, 1983. Xavier, Ismail, Sertão Mar—Glauber Rocha e a Estética da Fome, São Paulo, Brazil, 1983. Hollyman, Burnes, Glauber Rocha and the Cinema Novo in Brazil: A Study of his Critical Writings and Films, New York, 1983. Johnson, Randal, Cinema Novo X5—Masters of Contemporary Brazilian Film, (Chapter 4: Glauber Rocha: Apocalypse and Resurrection), Austin, Texas, 1984. Nazário, Luis, À margem do cinema, São Paulo, Brazil, 1986. Pierre, Sylvie, editor, Glauber Rocha: Textes et Entretiens de Glauber Rocha, Collection ‘‘Auteurs,’’ Paris, 1987. Passek, Jean-Loup, editor, Le Cinéma Brésilien, Paris, 1987. Pierre, Sylvie, Glauber Rocha, Paris 1987. Armes, Roy, Third World Film-making and the West, Berkeley, 1987. Articles: Variety (New York), 20 May 1964. Prédal, René, Jeune Cinéma (Paris), October 1967. Gardies, René, ‘‘Terres en transes,’’ in Image et Son (Paris), December 1967. Rocha, Glauber, ‘‘Memorias de Dios y el Diablo en las Tierras de Monte Santo y Coco-Robo,’’ in Cine-Cubano (Havana), 1967. Levy, J., ‘‘Mythologies: un continent en trois,’’ in Cahiers du Cinéma (Paris), January 1968. Zele, Van, Image et Son (Paris), no. 233, 1969. Francovich, Alan, Film Quarterly (Berkeley), Winter 1969–70. Houston, P., Sight and Sound (London), Spring 1970. Dawson, J., Monthly Film Bulletin (London), April 1970
DEUTSCHLAND IM HERBST FILMS. 4 EDITIoN Tarrat, M, Films and Filming(London), May 1970 cangaceiro Lampiao while proffering impassioned speeches in de- williams, B, Splintered Perspectives: Counterpoint and Subjecti fense of the poor. Antonio das Mortes and Corisco face off in ity in Modernist Film Narrative, in Film Criticism(Meadville, a stylized duel in one of the films most effective sequences. Corisco Pennsylvania), Winter 1991 is shot and dies screaming "the power of the people will win out. Valdes, Zoe, ""El Desear poder Querer, in Cine-Cubano(Havana). Manuel and Rosa, true representatives of Corisco's""people, October-November 1992 flee headlong through the interior, leaving behind them the fanaticism Diegues, C, Positif(Paris), June 1994 and the violence until the crazy Sebastiao's words become true: the dry lands become sea and the sea becomes dry land. Herein lies the utopia of Glauber Rocha. The voice of the blind man is heard explaining the reasons for so much suffering: divided up the way it You could say that Deus e o Diabo na Terra do Sol l is, the world is wrong The land belongs to man not to God nor to the White Devil) was a film provoked by the impossibility of doing a truly ds peis e o Diabo, Glauber Rocha's second feature, launched after great Western, as, for instance, John Ford could. Equally, there was a trail of inspiration from Eisenstein, from The General Line, from Barravento in 1961, the director created a tragic and convulsive The Battleship Potemkin, and further ideas from Visconti and rossellini, northeasten opera; it is strongly allegorical, with symbols for"good from Kurosawa and from Bunuel. Deus e o Diabo arose from this and""evil""in constant interaction. Some true-to-life portrayals, such ussle between Ford and Eisenstein, from the anarchy of Bunuel, and as Manuel and Rosa, contrast with others of a classically theatrical from the savage strength of the lunacy of surrealism tone, notably Corisco, inspired, according to Rocha, by Brecht Linking aspects of popular culture with elements of the western, the So Glauber Rocha defined the multiple influences which contrib- film is narrated and sung by a blind man, a simplification of the Greek ted to Deus e o Diabo in an April 1981 interview with Joao Lopes(in the book Glauber rocha, by Sylvie Pierre), four months before his chorus. The outstanding sound track alternates bach with villa- death at the age of 42 Shown at Cannes in 1964. Deus e o diabe Lobos. whose Fifth Bachiana contributes to one of the films most together with Nelson Pereira dos Santos'Vidas Secas(Barren Lives) striking moments: the love scene of Corisco and Rosa, choreographed and rhythmical, an unexpected outpouring of guileless poetry against introduced the international viewing public to the Cinema Novo, an a desolate backdrop marked by poverty and violence. artistic movement which strove, in the name of a political conscience, A true exponent of the authors cinema style, with the strong for a Brazilian identity and ethos. Enthusiastically received at Cannes- political and social concern of the 1960s, Glauber Rocha's restless- Georges Sadoul considered its style"revolutionary- Deus e o ness is felt through the impatient use of the hand-held camera, the Diabo genuinely lived up to the Cinema Novo's motto: an idea in originality of his framings, and the rhythm of the editing. The use of he head and a camera in the hand. Glauber Rocha. the Cinema panoramics, travellings, zooms, and close-ups produces a tense and Novos most controversial figure, was the author of bombastic writings, such as the manifesto"The Aesthetics of Hunger, (pre eloquent narrative, punctuated by philosophical interjections-"fate is greater than we are: we have nothing to take but our fate, and sented in Genova in January 1965 during the Resena del Cine "man learns nothing in peace, he needs to fight to live and he needs to Latinoamericano), in which he stated that" our originality is our die to win hunger. And the concept of hunger-both literally and in reference Thirty years after it was made, Deus e o Diabo retains its hunger for social justice-is central to Deus e o Diabo na Terra contesting tone and the revolutionary personality of Glauber rocha do Sol. The films opening is prosaic enough: Manuel( Geraldo Del At the age of 25, with a camera in his hand and a whirlwind of ideas Rey), a poor herdsman, married to Rosa(Yona Magalhaes)and living his head, Glauber rocha created one of the most important brazilian in the dry barren countryside of Northeastern Brazil in the early films through the undeniable strength, originality, and beauty of this 1940s, decides to sell his cows and buy a plot of land. Things go awry furious fable about good and evi when he ends up killing the buyer of his cows. Fleeing his destiny, he embraces the first option in the gospel according to Glauber rocha -Susana Schild religious fanaticism, embodied by the Negro god, Beato Sebastiao (Lidio Silva, a synthesis of the messianic leaders of that time and region. Sebastiao promises his flock divine salvation and foretells the day when"the dry lands will turn into sea and the sea into dry land DEUTSCHLAND IM HERBST hich is the leitmotif of the film glauber rocha believed that ''the people of the Northeast are truly obsessed by the desire to see the sea, a sea which signifies the broadest sort of liberty. ( Germany in Autumn) As Manuel and Rosa follow the fanatic priest, Antonio das mortes (Mauricio do valle)enters the scene; he is famous for exterminating West Germany, 1978 cangaceiros, the rural and very violent bandits of the region. hired to kill Sebastiao, Antonio das Mortes is a quasi-mythological figure in Directors: Alf Brustellin, Hans Peter Cloos, R. W. Fassbinder, his intimidating black cape. His character is further developed Alexander Kluge, Maximiliana Mainka, Beate Mainka-Jellinghaus subsequent film, O Drago da Maldade contra o Santo Guerreiro Edgar Reitz, Katja Rupe, Volker Schlondorff, Peter Schubert, and (Antonio das Mortes). By the time the killer reaches Sebastiao, it is Bernhard Sinkel too late: the fanatic has already been killed by rosa in a sacrificial ritual. On the run again, Manuel and Rosa join Corisco(Othon Production: Project Filmproduktion/Filmverlag der Autoren; color/ Bastos, the blonde devil. The physical embodiment of bitterness and black and white, 35mm; running time: 1 16 minutes. Filmed October ruelty, Corisco's ambition is to avenge the death of the legendary 1977. Released in West Germany, 17 March 1978 314
DEUTSCHLAND IM HERBST FILMS, 4th EDITION 314 Tarrat, M., Films and Filming (London), May 1970. Williams, B., ‘‘Splintered Perspectives: Counterpoint and Subjectivity in Modernist Film Narrative,’’ in Film Criticism (Meadville, Pennsylvania), Winter 1991. Valdes, Zöe, ‘‘El Desear poder Querer,’’ in Cine-Cubano (Havana), October-November 1992. Diegues, C., Positif (Paris), June 1994. *** ‘‘You could say that Deus e o Diabo na Terra do Sol (Black God, White Devil) was a film provoked by the impossibility of doing a truly great Western, as, for instance, John Ford could. Equally, there was a trail of inspiration from Eisenstein, from The General Line, from The Battleship Potemkin, and further ideas from Visconti and Rossellini, from Kurosawa and from Buñuel. Deus e o Diabo arose from this tussle between Ford and Eisenstein, from the anarchy of Buñuel, and from the savage strength of the lunacy of surrealism.’’ So Glauber Rocha defined the multiple influences which contributed to Deus e o Diabo in an April 1981 interview with João Lopes (in the book Glauber Rocha, by Sylvie Pierre), four months before his death at the age of 42. Shown at Cannes in 1964, Deus e o Diabo, together with Nelson Pereira dos Santos’ Vidas Secas (Barren Lives), introduced the international viewing public to the Cinema Novo, an artistic movement which strove, in the name of a political conscience, for a Brazilian identity and ethos. Enthusiastically received at Cannes— Georges Sadoul considered its style ‘‘revolutionary’’— Deus e o Diabo genuinely lived up to the Cinema Novo’s motto: ‘‘an idea in the head and a camera in the hand.’’ Glauber Rocha, the Cinema Novo’s most controversial figure, was the author of bombastic writings, such as the manifesto ‘‘The Aesthetics of Hunger,’’ (presented in Genova in January 1965 during the Reseña del Cine Latinoamericano), in which he stated that ‘‘our originality is our hunger.’’ And the concept of hunger—both literally and in reference to a hunger for social justice—is central to Deus e o Diabo na Terra do Sol. The film’s opening is prosaic enough: Manuel (Geraldo Del Rey), a poor herdsman, married to Rosa (Yoná Magalhães) and living in the dry, barren countryside of Northeastern Brazil in the early 1940s, decides to sell his cows and buy a plot of land. Things go awry when he ends up killing the buyer of his cows. Fleeing his destiny, he embraces the first option in the gospel according to Glauber Rocha: religious fanaticism, embodied by the Negro god, Beato Sebastião (Lídio Silva), a synthesis of the messianic leaders of that time and region. Sebastião promises his flock divine salvation and foretells the day when ‘‘the dry lands will turn into sea and the sea into dry land,’’ which is the leitmotif of the film. Glauber Rocha believed that ‘‘the people of the Northeast are truly obsessed by the desire to see the sea, a sea which signifies the broadest sort of liberty.’’ As Manuel and Rosa follow the fanatic priest, Antonio das Mortes (Maurício do Valle) enters the scene; he is famous for exterminating cangaceiros, the rural and very violent bandits of the region. Hired to kill Sebastião, Antonio das Mortes is a quasi-mythological figure in his intimidating black cape. His character is further developed in a subsequent film, O Dragão da Maldade contra o Santo Guerreiro (Antonio das Mortes). By the time the killer reaches Sebastião, it is too late: the fanatic has already been killed by Rosa in a sacrificial ritual. On the run again, Manuel and Rosa join Corisco (Othon Bastos), the blonde devil. The physical embodiment of bitterness and cruelty, Corisco’s ambition is to avenge the death of the legendary cangaceiro Lampião while proffering impassioned speeches in defense of the poor. Antonio das Mortes and Corisco face off in a stylized duel in one of the film’s most effective sequences. Corisco is shot and dies screaming ‘‘the power of the people will win out.’’ Manuel and Rosa, true representatives of Corisco’s ‘‘people,’’ flee headlong through the interior, leaving behind them the fanaticism and the violence until the crazy Sebastião’s words become true: the dry lands become sea and the sea becomes dry land. Herein lies the utopia of Glauber Rocha. The voice of the blind man is heard explaining the reasons for so much suffering: ‘‘divided up the way it is, the world is wrong. The land belongs to man, not to God nor to the devil.’’ In Deus e o Diabo, Glauber Rocha’s second feature, launched after Barravento in 1961, the director created a tragic and convulsive northeastern opera; it is strongly allegorical, with symbols for ‘‘good’’ and ‘‘evil’’ in constant interaction. Some true-to-life portrayals, such as Manuel and Rosa, contrast with others of a classically theatrical tone, notably Corisco, inspired, according to Rocha, by Brecht. Linking aspects of popular culture with elements of the western, the film is narrated and sung by a blind man, a simplification of the Greek chorus. The outstanding sound track alternates Bach with VillaLobos, whose Fifth Bachiana contributes to one of the film’s most striking moments: the love scene of Corisco and Rosa, choreographed and rhythmical, an unexpected outpouring of guileless poetry against a desolate backdrop marked by poverty and violence. A true exponent of the author’s cinema style, with the strong political and social concern of the 1960s, Glauber Rocha’s restlessness is felt through the impatient use of the hand-held camera, the originality of his framings, and the rhythm of the editing. The use of panoramics, travellings, zooms, and close-ups produces a tense and eloquent narrative, punctuated by philosophical interjections—‘‘fate is greater than we are;’’ ‘‘we have nothing to take but our fate,’’ and ‘‘man learns nothing in peace, he needs to fight to live and he needs to die to win.’’ Thirty years after it was made, Deus e o Diabo retains its contesting tone and the revolutionary personality of Glauber Rocha. At the age of 25, with a camera in his hand and a whirlwind of ideas in his head, Glauber Rocha created one of the most important Brazilian films through the undeniable strength, originality, and beauty of this furious fable about good and evil. —Susana Schild DEUTSCHLAND IM HERBST (Germany in Autumn) West Germany, 1978 Directors: Alf Brustellin, Hans Peter Cloos, R. W. Fassbinder, Alexander Kluge, Maximiliana Mainka, Beate Mainka-Jellinghaus, Edgar Reitz, Katja Rupé, Volker Schlöndorff, Peter Schubert, and Bernhard Sinkel Production: Project Filmproduktion/Filmverlag der Autoren; color/ black and white, 35mm; running time: 116 minutes. Filmed October 1977. Released in West Germany, 17 March 1978