Sun August 4, 2013
Donkey Skin Jacques Demy (France, 1970)
SEE EVENT DETAILS
at Pacific Film Archive (PFA) Theater
(see times)
Digital Restoration!
(Peau d’âne). This charming adaptation of a fairy tale by Charles Perrault (creator of “Cinderella”) has been called Jacques Demy’s “grand synthesis of Cocteau and Minnelli.” With its wondrous costumes and vivid play of colors; its ingenious trick effects, calculated flights of fancy, and dream sequences; and its stellar cast, Peau d’âne has become a classic for adults and young people alike. There are dark sides to the fable, with an unusual theme of incest; but in Demy’s tongue-in-cheek translation, the net result is infectious delight. The tale involves a beautiful Princess (Catherine Deneuve) whose own father, the Blue King (Jean Marais), desires to marry her in order to fulfill a deathbed promise to his wife that his next wife be even more beautiful than herself. The Princess enlists the aid of the Lilac Fairy (Delphine Seyrig), and together they devise a scheme of imaginative demands designed to thwart even the most ardent suitor. When all are met—this being an enchanted kingdom—the Princess is forced to flee, clothed in a donkey skin, to a nearby forest where she takes refuge until a charming prince provides the inevitable happy ending. Talking roses, magic donkeys, Blue Kings and Red Princes, and philosophical fairies floating in the sky: make-believe was never wittier, nor more enchanting.
• Written by Jacques Demy, based on a fairy tale by Charles Perrault. Photographed by Ghislain Cloquet. With Catherine Deneuve, Jean Marais, Jacques Perrin, Delphine Seyrig. (90 mins, In French with English subtitles, Color, 35mm, From Janus Films/Criterion Collection)
show less
(Peau d’âne). This charming adaptation of a fairy tale by Charles Perrault (creator of “Cinderella”) has been called Jacques Demy’s “grand synthesis of Cocteau and Minnelli.” With its wondrous costumes and vivid play of colors; its ingenious trick effects, calculated flights of fancy, and dream sequences; and its stellar cast, Peau d’âne has become a classic for adults and young people alike. There are dark sides to the fable, with an unusual theme of incest; but in Demy’s tongue-in-cheek translation, the net result is infectious delight. The tale involves a beautiful Princess (Catherine Deneuve) whose own father, the Blue King (Jean Marais), desires to marry her in order to fulfill a deathbed promise to his wife that his next wife be even more beautiful than herself. The Princess enlists the aid of the Lilac Fairy (Delphine Seyrig), and together they devise a scheme of imaginative demands designed to thwart even the most ardent suitor. When all are met—this being an enchanted kingdom—the Princess is forced to flee, clothed in a donkey skin, to a nearby forest where she takes refuge until a charming prince provides the inevitable happy ending. Talking roses, magic donkeys, Blue Kings and Red Princes, and philosophical fairies floating in the sky: make-believe was never wittier, nor more enchanting.
• Written by Jacques Demy, based on a fairy tale by Charles Perrault. Photographed by Ghislain Cloquet. With Catherine Deneuve, Jean Marais, Jacques Perrin, Delphine Seyrig. (90 mins, In French with English subtitles, Color, 35mm, From Janus Films/Criterion Collection)
Digital Restoration!
(Peau d’âne). This charming adaptation of a fairy tale by Charles Perrault (creator of “Cinderella”) has been called Jacques Demy’s “grand synthesis of Cocteau and Minnelli.” With its wondrous costumes and vivid play of colors; its ingenious trick effects, calculated flights of fancy, and dream sequences; and its stellar cast, Peau d’âne has become a classic for adults and young people alike. There are dark sides to the fable, with an unusual theme of incest; but in Demy’s tongue-in-cheek translation, the net result is infectious delight. The tale involves a beautiful Princess (Catherine Deneuve) whose own father, the Blue King (Jean Marais), desires to marry her in order to fulfill a deathbed promise to his wife that his next wife be even more beautiful than herself. The Princess enlists the aid of the Lilac Fairy (Delphine Seyrig), and together they devise a scheme of imaginative demands designed to thwart even the most ardent suitor. When all are met—this being an enchanted kingdom—the Princess is forced to flee, clothed in a donkey skin, to a nearby forest where she takes refuge until a charming prince provides the inevitable happy ending. Talking roses, magic donkeys, Blue Kings and Red Princes, and philosophical fairies floating in the sky: make-believe was never wittier, nor more enchanting.
• Written by Jacques Demy, based on a fairy tale by Charles Perrault. Photographed by Ghislain Cloquet. With Catherine Deneuve, Jean Marais, Jacques Perrin, Delphine Seyrig. (90 mins, In French with English subtitles, Color, 35mm, From Janus Films/Criterion Collection)
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(Peau d’âne). This charming adaptation of a fairy tale by Charles Perrault (creator of “Cinderella”) has been called Jacques Demy’s “grand synthesis of Cocteau and Minnelli.” With its wondrous costumes and vivid play of colors; its ingenious trick effects, calculated flights of fancy, and dream sequences; and its stellar cast, Peau d’âne has become a classic for adults and young people alike. There are dark sides to the fable, with an unusual theme of incest; but in Demy’s tongue-in-cheek translation, the net result is infectious delight. The tale involves a beautiful Princess (Catherine Deneuve) whose own father, the Blue King (Jean Marais), desires to marry her in order to fulfill a deathbed promise to his wife that his next wife be even more beautiful than herself. The Princess enlists the aid of the Lilac Fairy (Delphine Seyrig), and together they devise a scheme of imaginative demands designed to thwart even the most ardent suitor. When all are met—this being an enchanted kingdom—the Princess is forced to flee, clothed in a donkey skin, to a nearby forest where she takes refuge until a charming prince provides the inevitable happy ending. Talking roses, magic donkeys, Blue Kings and Red Princes, and philosophical fairies floating in the sky: make-believe was never wittier, nor more enchanting.
• Written by Jacques Demy, based on a fairy tale by Charles Perrault. Photographed by Ghislain Cloquet. With Catherine Deneuve, Jean Marais, Jacques Perrin, Delphine Seyrig. (90 mins, In French with English subtitles, Color, 35mm, From Janus Films/Criterion Collection)
show less
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Pacific Film Archive (PFA) Theater
2575 Bancroft Way, Berkeley, CA 94720
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