• Réplique célèbre • "Le premier? Oh! Vous exagérez..."

LES AMANTS (FRAVIDIS) (1958)
Réalisateur: Louis Malle
Dialogues de: Louise de Vilmorin
Acteurs: JEANNE MOREAU, ALAIN CUNY, JEAN-MARC BORY
Genre: DRAME / VIDEO
Editeur: FNAC
Date de sortie: 01/10/1998
Format: Vidéo / VHS / SECAM (France seulement)

• Réplique célèbre • "Le premier? Oh! Vous exagérez..."

• Dans LES AMANTS, Jeanne Moreau joue le rôle de Jeanne Tournier, épouse du directeur d'un quotidien dijonnais, Henri Tournier (Alain Cuny).
» Peu sensible aux charmes routiniers d'une existence monotone, Jeanne séjourne fréquemment à Paris. Au retour d'un de ces séjours, elle tombe en panne sur une route de campagne.
» Après une longue attente, une 2 CV s'arrête. Jeanne court vers le conducteur (Jean-Marc Bory).
» "Enfin!... Je n'en crois pas mes yeux!... Monsieur, vous êtes le premier..."
» L'automobiliste providentiel repousse négligemment sa casquette et, feignant de se méprendre sur le sens d'un tel propos, répond qu'il y a vraisemblablement exagération.
» Jeanne ne perçcoit pas l'ironie de la repartie et insiste :
» "Non, je n'exagère pas... Monsieur, je suis en panne."
» Le jeune homme, Bernard Dubois-Lambert, ramène à bord de sa 2 CV la jeune femme vers son époux. Il s'ensuivra une grande passion.

• Réplique célèbre • "Ah! Les petites femmes!..."

VIVA MARIA (1965)
Réalisateur: Louis Malle, Jean-Claude Carrière
Dialogues de: Jean-Claude Carrière
Acteurs: BRIGITTE BARDOT, JEANNE MOREAU
Genre: DRAME / VIDEO
Editeur: FNAC
Date de sortie en salles: 18 Décembre 1965
Date de sortie VHS: 2 Mars 1994
Format: Vidéo / VHS en français

• Réplique célèbre • "Ah! Les petites femmes!..."

• Viva Bardot! Viva Moreau!
» Sur le point d'être exécutées les deux Maria (Brigitte Bardot et Jeanne Moreau) sont sauvées par une intervention des révolutionnaires.
» Maria-Brigitte à Marie-Jeanne "Tu est morte? -Non...et toi? -Moi non plus!..."
» Le religieux qui les assite (Francisco Reiguera) s'éclipse discrètement. Tandis qu'il descend un escalier, une grenade tombe dans son capuchon. Elle explose et décapite le moine qui continue de descendre, tenant dans ses mains.
» Quand il passe devant la caméra, il s'arrête un court moment et la tête murmure:
» "Ah! Les petites femmes!..."
» le formule rencoie au refrain des deux Maria "Ah! les p'tit' femmes, les p'tit' femmes de Paris !"
» Ce gag surréalisant porte la marque de Jean-Claude Carrière qui avait ddéjà inauguré sa collaboration avec BUNUEL (Le Journal d'une femme de chambre en 1964).

• From Amazon.com / Get in line, buddy
» Who doesn't want to see Jeanne Moreau and Brigitte Bardot costarring as turn-of-the-century vaudevillians who get mixed up with Mexican revolutionaries? This slapstick 1965 movie by Louis Malle came three years before he took off for India to make his famous documentary, Calcutta, and it shows off the carefree side of Malle to rousing effect. The two heroines play song-and-dance women who flirt with the striptease and end up fighting for the cause of Pancho Villa. Great fun, and what a way to see two very different icons of mid-century French cinema. --Tom Keogh

• Almost a Masterpiece, September 20, 2002
» I saw this movie on Turner Classic Movies not too long ago. It was in English. The dubbing was quite good. This was one of the few movies that exceeded my expectations. I usually come away at least somewhat disappointed. Not with this movie. It was very entertaining and I believe a near masterpiece. The reviewer from Michigan pretty much expresses my own sentiments. For her energetic and enchanting performance, Bardot deservedly was nominated for a BAFTA award (British's Oscar equivalent) for best actress in a foreign film.
This movie is highly recommended.

• When Brigitte Met Jeanne..., May 31, 2002
» Reviewer: David Kujawa
Viva Maria is a wonderfully sexy, screwball, and at times surreal period comedy starring the two great French sex symbols of the sixties - Brigitte Bardot and Jeanne Moreau. I must admit that when I first saw the film (when I was young and impressionable) I was primarily attracted to the obvious charms of La Bardot. But now that I am older and wiser (well, older anyway) I can fully appreciate the subtle sensuality of Jeanne Moreau whose gorgeous eyes alone could seduce any man. Together, these two make a formidable team and seem to genuinely spark off each other.
The plot is suitably silly. In some unnamed South American country, Bardot is an Irish (!) terrorist's daughter who has learned all the tricks of the trade before suddenly becoming orphaned. On the run from the authorities, she takes refuge with a motley band of travelling performers whose shows seem to mix circus and music hall. Moreau is a star attraction although she has just lost the partner in her double act. Naturally, the two girls - both named Maria - end up on stage together where problems with the costumes lead to some delightful striptease sequences. The girls are a big hit - no surprise!
The troupe's travels take them to a country in the midst of revolution. Moreau falls for the rebel leader - George Hamilton, of all people, trying hard to look moody and magnificent. When he is killed (sad for Maria, relief for the audience) the two Marias take over leadership of the rebels - inspired by Moreau's zeal and Bardot's technical knowledge of explosives.
The film rattles along at a brisk pace, littered along the way with saucy humour and outrageous sight gags. There is a marvellous supporting cast to jolly things along, chief among them the droll Claudio Brook as the head of the troupe - a crack shot obsessed with developing a gun to shoot around corners. And, as is Louis Malle's habit, there are also some bitingly funny digs at the Catholic Church. This is not a film to be taken seriously, as its many surreal touches prove. For example, the skeleton of a horse and rider. Or the big black border guards who drink tea and speak English with impeccable Oxbridge accents. It says a lot for the ensemble playing that the film is still fun when Bardot and Moreau are not on screen.
But, of course, it's fantastic when they are - Bardot the playful kitten who enjoys sex and explosives equally, and Moreau the slightly more mature cat: sleek, sensuous and seductive. I hate to tell you about the dreams I had for weeks after seeing her love scene with Hamilton - in a prison with him chained to a wall.
Not a great film, perhaps, but certainly superlative entertainment. It would make a great double feature with Philippe de Broca's "King of Hearts". The video version is also extemely well done, with bright yellow easy-to-read subtitles, even if they occasionally clean up the translations.
Viva Bardot! Viva Moreau!