Theatrical Release Date: TBC
Home Ent. Release Date: 08 Jul 2007
Cert:
Not Rated
An early masterpiece from the great Max Ophüls (Letter From An Unknown Woman, Madame de...), Liebelei is set in Imperial Vienna during the early years of the twentieth century. After Cavalry Lieutenant Fritz Lobheimer meets Christine at the opera, the two quickly fall in love. Lobheimer, however, is already having a affair with the married Baroness Eggerdorff. Although he tries to end the affair, the suspicious Baron Eggerdorff soon finds out about their secret and challenges Lobheimer to a duel... The last film made by Ophüls in his native Germany before he fled the rising anti-semitism, Liebelei is an adaptation of a play by Arthur Schniztler, whose La Ronde Ophüls later adapted for the big screen. A box-office success in Germany, Liebelei was way ahead of its time and clearly shows the genesis of Ophüls’ distinctive style. With stunning photography and breath-taking virtuoso camera moves, Liebelei is a poetic and intensely moving work by one film’s greatest ever directors.