L'immortelle DVD or other

Dear Thomi.

I too have looked for this movie in at least 20 years, but all in vain. In addition, the Swedish Film Institute in Stockholm has at least thrice during the last 30 years shown lists of Robbe-Grillet's movies. I think that L'immortelle was included in the first series, but I am sure that it was not included in any of the last two series.

It seems that many of the experts think of this movie as being worse than the others. I am unable to understand such a taste.

Together with the movie Robbe-Grillet released what might look like the film manuscript. But it was intended to be a separate but full artistic work. I own it in French, German, and English. Not being very good in French, I prefer to read the German translation.

Nevertheless, there is some hope. During the last few years other French movies have been released, which I had never thought I would get the opportunity to see again. "L'épave" (The Wreck, Sin and Desire) is one of them. "Souvenirs perdus" is another. I am absolutely sure that I saw both in Denmark, before my immigration to Sweden in 1952 - and then never again until the DVDs (without subtitles) became available. "Cybèle" has been released in Spain, an edition that can be dubbed into 5 languages and subtitled into 10 languages.

I have been astonished by learning what rare movies finally became available. To me there is a handful of movies I would give very much to see again. Highest priority are:

"Oiseau de Paradis" (Marcel Camus), which I saw in Sweden in 1964 (probably thrice in a row), and never more.

"L'immortelle" (Alain Robbe-Grillet) I must have seen it quite a few times during the 1960s, 1970s, 1980s, but probably not later.

"Count Only the Happy Hours" (Rune Carlsten, Sweden, 1944). I can know with certainty that I have not seen this since 1946 - but maybe the right year was 1945 or 1944.

I could add a few more titles. But real surprises do happen now and then. For instance, the Japanese movie "With Beauty and Sorrow" I have had without subtitles for some years. But recently a copy subtitled in English and Chinese was released by dvdasian.com The Canadian "Mon oncle Antoine" has also been released very recently, although I had not seen it since the early 1970s. And the Japanese "Hangyaku-Ji" (I have seen more than one rendering of the title) is also a recent release, and subtitled.

Most probably none of us shall obtain "L'immortelle", unless it should become released by a firm of some size, and then we will both obtain it at the same time. But there is a microscopic possibility that one of us might find it. So we could exchange email addresses and, if the miracle should happen for one of us, he could help the other.

Greetings
Max



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If you're not against torrenting, a copy is floating around the net. It's far from great quality, but it's the best there is right now.

At last there is a Robbe-Grillet box set that includes L'immortelle in excellent condition

He was so crooked, he could eat soup with a corkscrew.