The Private Affairs of Bel Ami

This 1947 film is a typically unusual entry from director Albert Lewin, following "The picture of Dorian Gray"(1945),the Oscar Wilde story of corrupted youth which also featured the great George Sanders, in this adaptation of a Guy de Maupassant tale Sanders has the perfect role,the Bel Ami of the title, a suave,persuasive rogue,using women ruthlessly to further his social ambitions,leaving a trail of broken hearts and ruined lives. It looks great, in lustrous monochrome photography (as in Dorian Gray there are brief colour sequences) great sets and costumes. Good support from among others,Angela Lansbury and John Carradine. Just one drawback,my brief description above is from memory not the Blu-ray,which does not play, I took a risk purchasing it but many classics such as Warner classics do play on region 2. I wish the Amazon reviews would mention it.Such a pity,as one could wait a lifetime for these great old classics to be released in Britain.

I CAN ALWAYS COUNT ON AMAZON PRIME TO HAVE THE ULTIMATE SELECTION OF OLDER MOVIES. THESE WERE MADE BACK IN THE DAY WHEN ACTORS KNEW THEIR CRAFT. THE INTENSITY AND THE DRAMA COMBINED WITH THE PERFECTION OF THE DIRECTOR, THE PHOTOGRAPHY AND THE AUTHOR MAKES THIS STORY LINE COME TO LIFE. THE TIMING OF THE ACTORS PLAYING OFF OF EACH OTHER LINES KEEPS THE MOMENTUM FLOWING AS THE VIEWER ANTICIPATES THE NEXT ADVENTURE. LISTEN CAREFULLY TO THE DIALOGUE. A VERY GOOD DRAMA WHICH STANDS THE TEST OF TIME AS THE VIEWER COMES TO THEIR OWN CONCLUSIONS REGARDING EACH SCENE. IT IS GOOD TO SEE HOW ANGELA LANSBURY, AT SUCH A YOUNG AGE, WAS SO CONVINCING AND PROFESSIONAL AND HOW SHE COULD HOLD HER OWN AGAINST SUCH SEASONED ACTORS. THE PAINTING OF THE TEMPTATION OF ST. ANTHONY WAS SHOWN IN COLOR AGAINST A BLACK AND WHITE MOVIE. UNIQUE FOR IT'S TIME IN THE MOVIE MAKING INDUSTRY. IF YOU LIKE THE OLDER BLACK AND WHITE MOVIES, YOU WILL DEFINITELY LIKE THE PRIVATE AFFAIRS OF BEL AMI. GET COMFORTABLE, SIT BACK AND ENJOY. JUNE 2015.

There’s a good Blu-ray movie

This is not a film for everybody. It follows the progress of a calculating, mean spirited seducer played to perfection by George Sanders. The cast is made up of wonderful actors that were usually not given the chance to prove what they were really capable of if given the chance.If you prefer a trashier version of this type of material, try the George Sanders opus “Death Of A Scoundrel,” inspired by the exploits of 1950s international playboy, Porfirio Rubirosa. It is not as “high brow” as “Bel Ami”, but it is just as irresistible.The Blu-Ray presentation of “Ami” is exemplary.

The black & white contrast is a tiny bit soft, the audio very clear. Overall quality of this copy is very good for it's era.This dvd is manufactured by Olive Studios, which seems to offer quality copies of the movies that they release, in line with the big studios, MGM, Paramount, Universal, etc.The story, settings, and costuming are very well done. Another very watchable movie featuring George Sangers as the self described 'Cad', always with the proverbial Tongue in Cheek.Another movie featuring George Sanders and set in a similar era is Scandal in Paris.

An amazing cast is wasted in this unpleasant movie. George Sanders sleepwalks through his role as a heartless man who uses woman for money and power. Woman after woman throws herself at him, begging him for love and promising to love him forever no matter how horrible he is to them (yes, they actually say that over and over again). The puzzling part is that he is so dull, I can’t imagine why anyone would want to be bothered.There are constant comments and discussions of how stupid and worthless women are. (The most amazing is how women are the only toys that pick themselves up after you knock them down.) Well, the women in this movie certainly are stupid.I kept watching it in astonishment, waiting for Sanders to get justice. Well, he sort of does, but really, the movie seems to support him and he gets off easier than he deserves. And, of course, all the women still love him, as promised. All in all, this is a very ugly and dull movie.I'm sorry I watched it and very sorry I watched the whole thing. There is no reason for anyone else to make the same mistake.

A period piece if ever there was one. If you like to think of Paris in the 19th century and/or like to watch George Sanders, you'll enjoy this movie. The plot is a little hard to follow at times - it will pay to keep the various lady loves of George Sanders distinctly in mind.

GOOD PERIOD PIECES ARE TO FIND ANY MORE...THIS FILM WAS LITERATE AND ENTERTAINING...GEORGE SANDERS IS THEPERFECT CAD AND WHAT ACTOR TODAY BRITISH OR AMERICAN HAS SUCH A RESOUNDINGLY CLEAR AND ROYAL VOICELIKE SANDERS....THE REST OF THE CAST WERE GREAT AND MOST BECAME FUTURE STARS LIKE ANGELA LANSBURY,,,,THE DUELING SCENE AT THE END WAS ASTOUNDING. THE MUSIC FOR THE FILM WAS BY DARIUS MILHAUD..ONE OF THE20th CENTURY'S PREMIUM COMPOSERS....JUST TERRIFIC!!

George Sanders' ability to portray slightly sinister, raffish chancer characters has seldom been better displayed than here in this 1947 gem retrieved from the vaults. The film stays fairly close to the novel and shows Bel Ami's drive and journalistic skills helping him charm and influence all the women he comes into contact with.This in turn enables him to improve his social and career prospects - assisted no doubt by his cheating his wife out of half an inheritance she receives, before framing her in order to get a divorce, all at the same time as having a brief affair with his boss' wife ! The hand of the censor is evident in showing the affair with Mme Walter ending c 2 mins (allowing for a brief scene involving a character who does not appear elsewhere in the film) of screen time after it started ! Although the film is dominated by George Sanders, the female characters of Clotilde as Bel Ami's mistress and Madeleine as his wife both come across as quite believable.The one area of difference from the book is where an incident is taken from the middle of the narrative, and placed at the end of the film - to my mind, giving it a much more satisfactory conclusion. Overall, this film is a pretty good rendition of the book, and is most certainly better than the 2012 remake.

Je pensais avoir déjà vu ce film. En fait, non. Et ben voilà, c'est chose faite. Deux fois même. L'acteur britannique George Sanders (1904-1972) tourne pour la troisième fois sous la direction d'Albert Lewin (après The Moon and SixPence et Le Portrait de Dorian Gray, respectivement en 1942 et 1945). Le voici donc dans cette somptueuse et jamais complaisante adaptation du roman de Maupassant. Et le moins qu'on puisse dire, c'est qu'il y est parfait. Qui s’en étonnerait ? Le film dans son ensemble est une sacrée réussite. C'est même surprenant. L’acteur dont on avait savouré l'interprétation dans All About Eve (Eve de Joseph L. Mankiewicz) contribue énormément au succès de The Affairs of Bel Ami. Il y est aussi cynique que dans L'aventure de Mrs. Muir (Joseph L. Mankiewicz, encore lui…) qu'il tournera la même année (1947), aux côtés de Gene Tierney et Rex Harrison. L'histoire de cet opportuniste, les amoureux de Littérature la connaissent. Je ne comparerai pas le bouquin avec le film (la fin est complètement différente...). Mais disons que si le roman de Maupassant est l'un de mes préférés de l'écrivain (Bel Ami aux éditions Folio ou encore Bel Ami chez GF Flammarion), un roman que j'avais lu et étudié au collège (un autre temps), puis relu bien plus tard, ça n'est pas le fruit du hasard : Maupassant y décrit un homme sans le sou qui débarque à Paris... Une histoire de réussite bien amère... Bel Ami est à Maupassant ce que Illusions Perdues est à Balzac. Le cadre est celui du monde du journalisme à la fin du XIXème siècle. Bel Ami, le surnom donné à un mufle, amant de plusieurs femmes, pensait que rien ne pouvait lui résister pour arriver à ses fins... Le film de Lewin est certainement plus moral que le roman...

A l'heure où Bel-Ami fait l'objet d'une nouvelle adaptation (Donnellan et Ormerod, 2012), il est intéressant de pouvoir comparer avec cette très habile version de Lewin. Certes un film US de 46-47 ne va pas aborder de front les questions d'adultère ou autres sujets de moeurs : Clotilde est donc ... veuve, le duel est repoussé ... en fin de film, etc. Mais la fidélité de Lewin à Maupassant est ailleurs, dans la psychologie des personnages (très bien interprétés), dans beaucoup d'éléments oubliés par Donnellan (le tableau ...), dans des trouvailles narratives (le guignol métonymique qui suit l'ascension de G Duroy) : fidèle jusque dans son inventive originalité ! Le bonus permet d'apprécier, de savourer ces trouvailles d'A Lewin.

A fine film with a great blu-ray transfer and excellent performance y George Sanders. Another lost classic revived by Olive films.

Depuis le temps que je cherchais ce film, je suis très contente de l'avoir trouvé même si j'en trouve le prix plutôt élevé. Je pensais qu'il était traduit en français et pas seulement sous-titré... mais c'est tout aussi bien comme ça.