Première Classics n°26: Once upon a time in America, John Goodman, Beauty and the Beast, Delphine Seyrig, Green Sun…

Here is the summary of the new mook, which was just released for Christmas!

Once upon a time in America (1984), from Sergio Leone, is on the cover of the new mook. This is a film that deserves its reputation as a classic, just like Sorcerer (1977), from William Friedkinthe successful remake of Wages of Fear, Green Sun (1973), from Richard FleischerOr The beauty and the BeastDisney version, released in 1991 in cinemas.

The editorial team also invites you to reread an interview with Richard Gere originally published in First 30 years ago, at the time of the theatrical release of Sommersbyof Jon Amielor to discover a brand new one John Goodmanwho looks back on his busy career: he tells us in particular that he absolutely does not know how to bowl, unlike his cult character from The Big Lebowski, from the Coen brothers! The actress Evelyne Dress (Hibernatus, And tenderness? Mess !) also looks back on the best memories of her film.

Also at the heart of this new issue is the 4K release of My name is Nobody (1973), a focus on Bruce Leedisappeared half a century agoa portfolio dedicated to Delphine Seyrig (Donkey Skin) or even a focus on Mustard hits me in the face (1974)/The shallot race (1975), from Claude ZidiOr on Return to Ozthe unloved sequel to Wizard of Oz released in cinemas in 1984.

Good reading !

William Friedkin: “Sorcerer is the embodiment of my existential fear”

Here is the editorial of this issue 26:

Not even dead!

2023 is coming to an end. And it’s time for reckoning, or rather for questions and answers. What should we remember from this year in the heritage department? The recent Ozu retrospective forced us to recompose the figure of Japanese genius, to review our fundamentals. The very rare Women and thugs showed the filmmaker approaching the gangster film under strong Hollywood influence, while in An owner’s story, he flirted with the Chaplinian melodrama. In the same way, the release of eleven Guitry films made it possible to see that his gaiety, his frivolity, his explosive inventions and his sparkling formulas were perhaps only a way of hiding his tenacious melancholy and his terribly lucid view on the tragedy of existence. There was also the exhumation of some Mexican black pearls which reminded us that in the 30s and 40s, Hollywood was not alone in producing film noir (and good ones). We were able to rediscover a forgotten Lumet, Daniel, rewatch the remastered Wenders film and that of Walsh (a late film at the Cinémathèque)…

But the real event of the year was the edition of the Bruce Lee box set at Arrow composed of the films (of course), docus, alternative versions, new footage and a video essay of almost four hours around the game of death (ultimate film that Lee was never able to complete). We’ve already talked about it here (and we come back to it with its editor, at the beginning of this issue) but we still can’t get over it. The object is labyrinthine, fascinating, haunting. Particularly because it offers never-before-seen images which, once again, force moviegoers to review their judgments, to go beyond clichés…

Basically, it is proof (if one were still needed) that heritage, “classics” are organic matter, always living, that we must never stop examining, seeing, exhuming and… telling. What we will continue to do in 2024. In the meantime, the whole team wishes you a very happy new year full of movie-loving (re)discoveries.

Gaël Golhen, editor-in-chief.

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