Foreign period dramas made in the 1970's..

[nandywell]

Care to recommend any German, French, Russian, Swedish, Norwegian, Polish, Austrian or Czech period drama films that were made in the 1970's? I tend to like period dramas that document the upper classes and the lives they lead. I also like the colour texture of 70's film, hence my rather bizarre request.

[Nick Dando]

One that I've just received today on DVD - Dersu Uzala by Akira Kurosawa. It's set in early 20th century far-eastern Russia.



Although not made in the 1970s, the French films Jean de Florette and Manon des Sources, together with the other Pagnol stories La Gloire de mon Père and Le Château de ma Mère. Cyrano de Bergerac with Depardieu.



Aguirre, Wrath of God, Woyzeck, Nosferatu and Fitzcarraldo by Herzog.



From the late 1960s try Closely Observed Trains from Czechoslovakia (although it's in monochrome).



Danton, Man of Iron and Man of Marble by Andrzej Wajda.



Solaris by Tarkovsky (if you can stand the pace).



Though there aren't many aristos in these choices, they are period films (just, if you include Solaris).



Nick

[nandywell]

Some good recommendations there Nick; notedly, Manon des Sources. I'll have to check that one out. I'd already planned to buy Aguirre and Fitzcarraldo but thanks for those.

[batman]

If you like a bit of Kinski I can highly recommend Woyzeck (1979), Herzog's brilliant version of Buchner's classic about a soldier's descent into madness and murder.



"Woyzeck" Anchor Bay Region 2- PAL vs Anchor Bay Region 1 NTSC



Woyzeck - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

[christoph404]

In my opinion the best 1970s period drama to emerge from Europe was Kubrick's "Barry Lyndon"

[nandywell]

Aye Chris, I'd have to say Kubrick's Barry Lyndon and Bergman's Cries & Whispers are on a par with one another, followed by Ridley Scott's The Duellists.

[Frank63]

How come when I posted a message about a foriegn film some wazzock removed it ?.

[TimR]

You don't mention Italy or Britain in your list, but I would add The Go-Between and de Sica's masterpiece The Garden of the Finzi-Continis as well. If you are interested in films on that theme made in the 60s, Visconti's The Leopard is outstanding and the color is dazzling in the the recently released DVD.

[TimR]

name='christoph404']In my opinion the best 1970s period drama to emerge from Europe was Kubrick's "Barry Lyndon"

I agree with you on this one - it received very mixed reviews, but I enjoyed it. It is a visual masterpiece, although the story is a bit sluggish.

[nandywell]

I've just viewed trailers of the 3 you mentioned TimR, The Leopard looks amazing. I'll be renting that one no danger!

[TimR]

name='nandywell']I've just viewed trailers of the 3 you mentioned TimR, The Leopard looks amazing. I'll be renting that one no danger!

European historical epics are my favorite type of film. I was very impressed by this one.

[Everett Sloane]

Nuit de Varennes, La (1982) is great. Not quite the 1970s, but don't be too purist about this!

[Frank63]

Anyone know where I can get a copy of

"Si tous les gars du monde " aka 'Race for Life' 1956



'Twould me much appreciated

[Captain Oates]

Nandywell



You may have omitted films from Italy for a very good reason but two absolute classics which otherwise fit your description (well, almost) must be:



The Damned (1969 - but it feels very 1970s) by Visconti



The Conformist (1970) by Bertelucci



both recently issued on DVD and both look wonderful.



With slightly less to recommend it you might also try



The Night Porter (1975)

[dremble wedge]

Bertolucci's 1900

Kyrou's The Monk

Visconti's Ludwig

Szabo's Mephisto

Truffaut's The Story of Adele H

Fellini's Casanova

Borowczyk's Blanche, Immoral Tales and Story of a Sin

Pasolini's The Decameron, The Canterbury Tales and Arabian Nights

[nandywell]

Good lord, thanks for all those recommendations, I'll have to trawl through them now and add them to my LoveFilm wishlist.

[Octave]

For Germany, in addition to the various Herzog titles that have been mentioned, you might try some Fassbinder. Effi Briest fits the bill of nineteenth-century aristocratic intrigue perfectly.



For Poland, you should definitely check out Wajda's stunning Promised Land, based on the novel by Reymont about the emergence of capitalism in an aristocratic society. Also, though it's not so really about aristocrats, you might consider Wajda's The Wedding, based on one of Poland's most famous plays, about a turn-of-the-twentieth-century wedding between a well-to-do and prominent poet and a peasant girl and the implications for Polish nationalsim.



In Russia, there's a good 1970 film of Uncle Vanya, though it may be tough to track down, and Chekhov isn't quite writing about the aristocracy. Similarly, in Sweden, Bergman's Cries and Whispers is about characters about at the level of Chekhov's, but it's stunning, and you shouldn't miss it.



In France, Truffaut made a number of period pieces in the 70s. They're not my favorite Truffaut, but some people love them. You might consider The Story of Adele H, about Victor Hugo's daughter. But again, it's not really aristocracy. If you're interested in later films by 70s directors, you might consider Rivette's recent The Duchess of Langeis (still playing in theaters in New York, but I don't know about the UK).

[Owlett]

Don't know if it's got that 70's quality you're after and like Mephisto it's from the 80's, but I'd most strongly recommend Szabo's Colonel Redl. Based on a Somerset Maugham novel, it follows the rise through the military of a working-class Ruthenian in the context of the crumbling Austro-Hungarian empire in the days before the assassination of Archduke Ferdinand and the onset of WW1.



A great drama, it encompasses human frailty, racism, ambition, self-loathing, etc., and not least (as in the aforementioned Mephisto), a superlative performance by Klaus Maria Brandauer.