Sixties inferno

This week sees the release of a documentary film starring one of my all time favourite actresses: Romy Schneider.

The film, called “Henri-Georges Clouzot’s Inferno” tells the story of how the then hotly-tipped French director Henri-Georges Clouzot (‘The Wages of Fear’ and ‘Les Diaboliques’) experimented and failed in putting together his 1964 effort ‘L’Enfer’. Famously given an unlimited budget for the project – Clouzot blew extortionate amounts of cash experimenting on camera tests; and quickly alienated his cast and crew. Filming stopped after just 10 days – so the public never saw the film that was tipped to revolutionise the industry.

The documentary came about when thirty years after Clouzot’s death his widow, Inès de Gonzalez, found herself trapped in an elevator with Serge Bromberg, young film-maker and restoration prodigy. He persuaded her to allow him to access the hours of footage she’s kept hidden away since the disastrous shoot.

‘L’Enfer’ was originally meant to tell the story of a husband, played by a 42 year-old Serge Reggiani, who suffers from bouts of paranoid jealousy over his new bride, 26 year-old Romy Schneider who was then at the height of her stardom. Inspired by kinetics and kaleidoscopic techniques, ‘L’Enfer’, would have been an incredible step forward for the Sixties Nouvelle Vague scene.

Watch these mesmerizing takes of Romy and see the full cinema trailer for ‘Henri-Georges Clouzot’s Inferno’ here.