The Immortal Story

Infobox_Film
name = The Immortal Story


caption = Italian DVD cover art
imdb_id = 0063127
writer = Karen Blixen
Louise de Vilmorin
Orson Welles
starring = Jeanne Moreau
Orson Welles
Roger Coggio
Norman Eshley
Fernando Rey
director = Orson Welles
producer = Micheline Rozan
distributor = Altura Films S.L. (USA)
released = May 24, 1968 (France)
runtime = 58 min
language = French
budget =

"The Immortal Story" (French: "Une histoire immortelle") is a 1968 French film directed by Orson Welles and starring Jeanne Moreau. The film was originally broadcast on French television and was later released in theaters. It was based on a short story by the Danish writer Isak Dinesen. With a running time of 58 minutes, it is the shortest feature film directed by Welles.

Plot

In 19th century Macao, Mr. Clay (Orson Welles) is a wealthy merchant at the end of his life. His only constant companion is his bookkeeper, a Polish-Jewish emigrant named Levinsky (Roger Coggio). One evening, Levinsky mentions an apocryphal story of a rich old man who offers a sailor five guineas to impregnate his wife. Clay becomes obsessed in making that legendary tale come true, and Levinsky is dispatched to find a sailor and a young woman who will play the part of Clay’s wife. Levinsky approaches Virginie (Jeanne Moreau), the daughter of Clay’s one-time business partner. Clay’s ruthless dealings drove Virginie’s father to bankruptcy and suicide, and she is eager to participate in this action to get her revenge. The destitute sailor, a young Englishman named Paul (Norman Eshley), is discovered on the street and recruited. Virginie and Paul find an emotional bond in their brief union, but go their separate ways – Virginie is exorcised of her bitterness against Clay while Paul disappears into Macao’s teeming streets. Levinsky goes to inform Clay about what took place, but discovers the old merchant has died. [Cowie, Peter. “The Cinema of Orson Welles.”1978, A.S. Barnes & Co.]

Production

Orson Welles was a self-professed admirer of the writing of Isak Dinesen and, at one point, announced plans to create a series of films based on her writing. [http://www.filmthreat.com/index.php?section=features&Id=930 Film Threat review] ] "The Immortal Story" was originally meant to be half of a two-part film, with the second half based on the Dinesen story "The Deluge at Nordenay." However, the second film was cancelled when Welles raised concerns on the professionalism of his crew in Budapest, Hungary, where production was to have taken place. [http://books.google.com/books?id=nFdIKjmUB-QC&pg=PA311&lpg=PA311&dq=%22charles+higham%22+%22immortal+story%22+%22orson+welles%22&source=web&ots=IVdcz_gf_V&sig=IjUVrZh9aLZyXG8qqKK1eQXzTaQ&hl=en&sa=X&oi=book_result&resnum=1&ct=result “Orson Welles” by Charles Higham, Google Books] ] Welles received financing from Organisation Radio-Télévision Française to create "The Immortal Story" for premiere presentation on French television, to be followed by theatrical release in France and other countries. As part of the financing, Welles was contractually obligated to shoot the film in color. Welles was not a fan of color cinematography, and in one interview he stated: "Color enhances the set, the scenery, the costumes, but mysteriously enough it only detracts from the actors. Today it is impossible to name one outstanding performance by an actor in a color film." [Brady, Frank. "Citizen Welles." 1989, Charles Scribner's Sons. ISBN:0-684-18982-8] ]

Much of the film was shot in Welles’ home, located outside of Madrid, Spain. Exterior scenes depicting Macao were shot in Chinchón, a town near Madrid. Welles used Chinese restaurant waiters from Madrid as extras to recreate the setting for Macao.

Release

"The Immortal Story" had its U.S. premiere at the 1968 New York Film Festival. In February 1969, it had its U.S. theatrical release on a double feature bill with Luis Buñuel's "Simon of the Desert". [ [http://movies.nytimes.com/movie/review?res=9C06E0DB133BE73ABC4A52DFB4668382679EDE New York Times review (free subscriber sign-in required)] ]

To date, "The Immortal Story" has never had an official home video or DVD release in the U.S., although it has been released in European home entertainment markets.

References