Darling Lili (1970)

Regisseur:

Blake Edwards

Drehbuchautoren:

William Peter Blatty (writer)
Blake Edwards (writer)

Premierendatum:

24. Juni 1970 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Musical | Kriegsfilm

Werbezeile:

For a spy, love is the deadliest enemy.

Plot:

Set during WWI, this movie is a cute spin on the Mata Hari legend.

Plot Keywords:

Spy | WWI | Cancan Dance | La Marseillaise | Submarine

Filmpreise:

Nominated for 3 Oscars. Another 1 win & 4 nominations

Nutzerkommentare:

A FAIRLY GOOD FILM IN THE DIRECTOR'S CUT

Besetzung

Julie Andrews	...	Lili Smith (Schmidt)
Rock Hudson	...	Maj. William Larrabee
Jeremy Kemp	...	Col. Kurt Von Ruger
Lance Percival	...	T.C
Michael Witney	...	Lt. George 'Youngblood' Carson
Gloria Paul	...	Crepe Suzette
Jacques Marin	...	Maj. Duvalle
André Maranne	...	Lt. Liggett
Bernard Kay	...	Bedford
Doreen Keogh	...	Emma
Carl Duering	...	Gen. Kessler
Vernon Dobtcheff	...	Kraus (Kessler's goon)
Laurie Main	...	French general
Louis Mercier	...	French general
Arthur Gould-Porter	...	Sgt. Wells

Länge:

143 Min (with overture and exit music) | USA:107 Min (director's cut)

Produktionsland:

USA

Sprache:

Englisch | Deutsch

Farbe:

Farbe (Technicolor)

Seitenverhältnis:

2.20 : 1

Tonverfahren:

70 mm 6-Track (70 mm prints) | Mono (35 mm prints)

Altersfreigabe:

Netherlands:AL | Singapore:PG | Australia:M | Finland:K-12 | Sweden:11 | USA:G

Drehorte:

Brussels, Belgium

Firma:

Geoffrey Productions Inc.

Dies und das:

Because of the students' rebellion and strike that paralyzed Paris in May 1968, the movie producers moved to Brussels to film the major scenes (June-July 68). For example, it was possible to use the Superior Court building and transform the ground floor into a Paris railroad station with fake trains and a waiting room and all the other accessories.

Bezüge zu anderen Titeln:

Verweis/Anspielung/Erwähnung in Easy Riders, Raging Bulls: How the Sex, Drugs and Rock 'N' Roll Generation Saved Hollywood (2003)

Soundtrack:

Keep the Home Fires Burning (Till the Boys Come Home)

A FAIRLY GOOD FILM IN THE DIRECTOR'S CUT

Blake Edwards' "Darling Lili" is not a great film, but it is better than most people give it credit for. One of the most maligned productions in history (the aerial sequences took 2 years to film, the budget swelled to 3 times the original budget, various cuts of the film only add to the muddle), my final analysis is this: an underrated film whose reputation should soar once it's more widely seen.

This film exists in three versions: the original roadshow version (190 minutes)which Edwards disowned, the general release version (136 minutes)and Edwards' personal director's cut (113 minutes).

Tones shift between versions. The roadshow version had more talky sequences and was a numbing bore. The general release version deleted these sequences and was an improvement, but was still missing something. Edwards' cut was a great improvement. It is more serious in tone than the previous cuts, but the story concucted by Edwards and William Peter Blatty benefits from that approach. Julie Andrews is simply great as Lili, the singer/spy and her singing is at an all time high. Rock Hudson is excellent as her American pilot lover. Only after his inclination was exposed, did people take him seriously as an actor. But he was great all along. The songs by Henry Mancini and Johnny Mercer are strong as is the cinematography (by Russell Harlan, in Panavision)

Sadly, "Darling Lili" is not available on tape or DVD. But luckily for us, AMC shows this very often.

Roadshow version: 1/2* General Release: ** 1/2 Director's Cut: ***1/2