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French giant Gaumont is launching a new 4K restoration of Louis Malle’s 1958 classic crime thriller “Elevator to the Gallows,” starring Jeanne Moreau.
The special edition is being released in celebration of this year’s
70th anniversary of the French New Wave, the upcoming 70th anniversary of the film in 2028 and, in the same year, the centenary of Moreau’s birth.
Released 1958, “Elevator to the Gallows” marked the directorial debut for the young Malle, who was 25 years old at the time.
Set in Paris over the course of a night, the film stars Moreau and Maurice Ronet as lovers who set out to murder her husband and his boss (played by Jean Wall), only for the plan to go awry. Distinguished by Miles Davis’ award-winning jazz score, the film established both Malle and Moreau as verifiable talents.
Another Gaumont classic, “Betty Blue,” Jean-Jacques Beineix’s iconic tale of amour fou run rampant, is making its long-awaited return to the big screen at this year’s Lumière Film Festival.
Originally released in 1986 as “37°2 le matin,” the award-winning erotic drama chronicles the doomed romance between Zorg (Jean-Hugues Anglade), a handyman and aspiring writer in his 30s, and the volatile, impulsive and fragile 19-year-old Betty (Béatrice Dalle).
The film is also one of this year’s highlights for Gaumont, which is presenting the new 4K master of the full 185-minute version — “a film that has been invisible in theaters in this version since 1991,” noted Jérôme Soulet, head of catalogue at Gaumont.
The 4K restoration of “Betty Blue” was carried out by Gaumont at the GP Archives laboratory.
The film screens this year as part of the Lumière Festival’s Big Films on the Big Screen sidebar that offers the opportunity to rediscover cinematic masterpieces in their intended format.
Soulet will also be on hand at the Lumière Festival’s International Classic Film Market in Lyon to present the company’s lineup of new releases at the annual Catalogue Holders’ Premiere Presentation on Wednesday.
