The Debussy Film

Thursday 22 March 2018
Cinema 21 @ 7:00 pm
Free Film — with no-host snack bar:
wine, 6 beers on tap, pizza & popcorn!

---

PROGRAM

A
Introduction to Ken Russell’s film

Clair de Lune
poem by Paul Verlaine
Debussy music box

La Flûte de Pan
poem by Pierre Louÿs
alto flute solo by Debussy (Syrinx)

Bob Priest – emcee
Ronni Lacroute – reader
Amelia Lukas – alto flute
Tom Ranieri – theatre manager

B
THE DEBUSSY FILM (UK – 1965 – 82 minutes)
PDX Premiere Screening

Ken Russell – director & producer
Ken Russell & Melvyn Bragg – scenario
Monitor @ BBC – production company
Oliver Reed – Debussy
Annette Robertson – Gaby Dupont
Vladek Sheybal – Pierre Louys & film director

---

During the 1960s, Ken Russell made a goodly slew of documentaries for the BBC’s Monitor series, including bios of Elgar, Bartok, Debussy, Delius, Isadora Duncan & Richard Strauss.

“The Debussy Film” essentially is a film within a film (story within a story) that was undoubtedly an influence on later cinematic efforts such as Francois Truffaut’s “Day for Night” (1973) & the Karel Reisz’s movie version of John Fowles’s “A French Lieutenant’s Woman” (1981).

“The Debussy Film” signals Oliver Reed’s first appearance in a Russell opus before he went on to star in Ken’s greatest works, “Women in Love” (1969) & “The Devils” (1971). Oh, Oliver was also a good drinking buddy of The Who’s Keith Moon!