L'amour fou

Sebastian (Jean-Pierre Kalfon, Weekend) is staging an adaptation of Racine’s tragedy, Andromaque while a film crew captures their rehearsals on handheld 16mm. The production’s star and Sebastian’s girlfriend, Claire (Bulle Ogier, Out 1), cannot take the pressure and removes herself. Life imitates art, creating a tragedy for the couple when Sebastian recasts the role with his ex. L’amour fou is a hypnotic study of tempestuous love, told with director Jacques Rivette’s signature reflexivity and containing striking examinations of performance, art, theatre and life. A classic of the French New Wave and one of Rivette’s most radical works, L’amour fou was unavailable for years, with the original elements tragically burned in a fire. Now meticulously restored, Radiance Films is proud to present this masterpiece from a new 4K restoration. “In my opinion—and I think it will be shared by many—this is one of the five or six best films of the New Wave.” - François Truffaut L’amour fou is still my favourite film.” - Bulle Ogier “The work of a rebel, of an artist seeking to smash the codes and clichés of the ‘normal’ productions of the time.” - Jean-Pierre Kalfon “L’amour fou, is cinema without formal precedent. As with all great films, it feels like watching the birth of cinema, seeing the first ever film, and also the last.” - André S. Labarthe “A filmmaker sets up his camera and, above all, watches the actors, with no concern for characters or respect for a preestablished scenario. I'd like to draw inspiration from this. I'd like to grasp the personality of my actors and make cinéma vérité.” - Bernardo Bertolucci “L'amour Fou speaks to those who are madly in love with cinema. ” Jean De Baroncelli, Le Monde, 1969 “One of Rivette's best films.” Serge Daney, Libération, 1991 SPECIAL FEATURES 4K restoration from materials kept at Les Archives du Film and in Éclair-Preservation, under the supervision of Caroline Champetier Uncompressed mono PCM audio A newly filmed feature-length documentary featuring new interviews with star Jean-Pierre Kalfon; writer/director and Rivette collaborator Pascal Bonitzer; Rivette biographer Antoine de Baecque; critic/historian Sylvie Pierre; and archival footage of Jacques Rivette (Robert Fischer, 2024, 95 mins) New interview with Caroline Champetier, renowned cinematographer and restoration supervisor (2024) The Third Eye - A video essay by film critics Cristina Álvarez López and Adrian Martin (2024) Newly translated English subtitles