Inferno

“A dazzling evocation of what may be one of the greatest films never made . . . Serge Bromberg and Ruxandra Medrea’s documentary details the attempts of legendary French director Henri-Georges Clouzot (Diabolique, The Wages of Fear) in the early 1960s to film his long-planned project Inferno, a study of jealousy starring Romy Schneider and Serge Reggiani. Granted an unlimited budget by his American backers Columbia, Clouzot began an unprecedented process of technical experimentation, with the intention of creating an innovative film language based on the sonic and visual art of the period. But when filming commenced, the production started to unravel . . . Clouzot's highly ambitious vision for his tale of consumptive jealousy melded the progressive art forms of the mid-1960s — such as op art and electro-acoustic music — with an innovative set of filming techniques (including the use of colour inversion) to startling effect. The reams of experimental footage featuring pseudo-psychedelic visions of the film's star, the 26-year-old Romy Schneider, are an utter joy to behold. . . It’s a fascinating story” (Catherine Wheatley, Sight and Sound). “A true marvel . . . In the pantheon of great films that never got made, Henri-Georges Clouzot’s 8½-inspired drama might top them all . . . The glimpses of the dazzling, op-art inspired effects and star Romy Schneider at her dishiest will provoke paroxysms of pleasure among cinephiles” (Jason Anderson, Eye Weekly). Colour, Digibeta video, in French with English subtitles. 94 mins.

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► Plays in a double-bill with Margot Benacerraf's Araya.