COCTEAU Jean (1889-1963) La Princesse de Clèves
Autograph manuscript of the scre…
Description

COCTEAU Jean (1889-1963)

La Princesse de Clèves Autograph manuscript of the screenplay accompanied by letters and documents relating to the preparation of the film S.l., [1944-1961], 83 autographed leaves in-4 recto alone (screenplay); 4 leaves in-4 and 2 leaves in-8 autographed recto alone (letters); 1 leaf in-4 handwritten and 2 leaves in-4 typewritten. The whole mounted on tabs in 1 volume in-folio. Maroon morocco, first plate titled in gold, lining and endpapers in mouse grey box (Loutrel). More than 800 autograph corrections. Autograph manuscript, largely unpublished, abundantly corrected, of the first version of the screenplay written by Jean Cocteau after the novel by Madame de La Fayette. Enclosed are 4 autograph letters, 3 of which are signed by Jean Cocteau and addressed to the director Jean Delannoy, as well as a distribution project, very different from the one of the film. The idea of adapting The Princess of Cleves was born after the great success in 1943 of the film L'Eternel retour (The Eternal Return) directed by Delannoy from a script by Cocteau. After Tristan and Isolde, the choice of the famous novel by Madame de La Fayette allowed for a new variation on the theme of sublimated love. Jean Cocteau then produced a cut and dialogues on the sheets here present, which can be dated to 1944-45 since "the adaptation of The Princess of Cleves was barely finished when the Allied landings and the Liberation took place" (Jean Delannoy, Aux yeux du souvenir, Les Belles Lettres, 1998). Sixteen years later, the project was relaunched with a new cast and a revised script with the help of Delannoy. Compared to this final version, which was used for the shooting in 1961 (published by l'Avant-Scène cinéma), the present manuscript contains important variants, whether in the description of the sequences or in the dialogues. The pages of the manuscript are divided into two columns: on the left, the indications of staging and on the right the dialogues. The roles of the Clèves were interpreted by Marina Vlady and Jean Marais, the role of the Duc de Nemours by Jean-François Poron.

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COCTEAU Jean (1889-1963)

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