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starring: Edmond Beauchamp, Gérard Blain, Jean-Claude Brialy, Philippe de Broca, Claude Cerval
Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Binding: VHS Tape
EAN: 9786304306932
Format: Black & White, Subtitled, NTSC
ISBN: 6304306938
Label: Henstooth Video
Manufacturer: Henstooth Video
Number Of Items: 1
Publisher: Henstooth Video
Release Date: February 11, 1997
Running Time: 98 minutes
Sales Rank: 45301
Studio: Henstooth Video
Theatrical Release Date: 1959-01
Editorial Review:
Amazon.com:
Often considered the real beginning of the French New Wave movement, this 1958 film, the first feature by Claude Chabrol, is also--strangely--underrated on its own terms. The story of a theology student (Jean-Claude Brialy) who returns to his provincial home town for convalescence and reunites with his unhappy childhood friend (Gerard Blain), the film introduces many of Chabrol's pet themes and interests, particularly the Hitchcockian relationship between two characters who transfer or implicitly share a private experience or fate. Chabrol's consideration of that idea would naturally deepen and become more complex over the years (brilliantly in 1969's La Femme Infidele and Le Boucher), but at this career flashpoint it is a little overstated and obvious in religious allusions. Still, Le Beau Serge is an engrossing film with no shortage of dramatic momentum. The final act, driven by the main character's efforts at self-sacrifice, is as affecting as ever. --Tom Keogh
Customer Reviews
Average Rating: 
Rating:  - Many Stars for ~Le Beau "Francois"~
I feel that "Le Beau Serge" is a very sweet and well thought out film. It tells a story of a young student (Francois Bayon) who returns to his countryside hometown to recuperate. Upon arrival, he runs into a drunkard whom he recognizes to be his childhood friend (Serge). Francois' friend Michel tells him how Serge is on the verge of self-destruction after failing to get his architectural degree. Later, both friends are reunited and have an opportunity to catch up on old times. Francois observes ... Read More
Rating:  - Handsome Serge
Credited as the first feature of the French New Wave, Claude Chabrol's first film as writer/director has little of the controlled tension that defines his best work. This study of a village which witnesses the return of Francois, who left 12 years ago to seek a future in Paris, has Chabrol's customary exploration of the class divisions in French society, with the prodigal son the bourgeoisie, and the villagers the pagan primal proletariat. Francois is determined to "help" his friend Serge and the lifestyle ... Read More
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