For the first topic of the year, I have chosen
to review a poetry movie which is also very close to my heart : “Five Days One Summer” (1982).
“Five Days One Summer” is, unfortunately, the last
movie directed by one of the masters of the cinema, Fred Zinnemann (1907 / 1997). He was the prolific director of many famous classic
movies, such as : “High Noon” (1952), “From here to Eternity” (1953), “The
Nun’s Story” (1959), “A Man for all Seasons” (1966) and “Julia” (1977).
I watched it on video only in the second part of
the 80’s. Immediately, I was totally thrilled at the sight of the movie. Zinnemann‘s
elegant style as a story teller and the impressive photography of the Swiss
Alps mountains were a surprise to me. If you like beautiful mountain landscapes
of the Switzerland, the climbing and romance, this movie is for you.
End of the summer 1932, a Scottish doctor
Douglas Meredith (Sir Sean Connery) married and in his fifties, takes his young
mistress, Kate (Betsy Brantley), half his age, on climbing holiday to the Swiss
Alps. At their hotel, they register as husband and wife. Soon the tourists and
the villagers gossip. The relationship of the couple of lovers must face the
social conventions of the time and becomes very vulnerable.
They hire a climbing young native guide, Johann
Biari (Lambert Wilson). Soon, Johann discovers that Kate is actually the niece
of Douglas. The two young people fall in love each other and Kate is shared
between his love for Johann and his great passion for Douglas (even if she is
aware at his refusal to divorce from his wife). Before breaking her love affair
with the doctor, she accepts to wait for him in a mountain hut while the two
men go to a very difficult climb. After long hours, only one man returns alive from
a fatal accident…
“Five Days One Summer” on production
The story of “Five days One Summer” was based on
the short story “Maiden, Maiden” written by the American novelist, Kay Boyle
(1902 / 1992). The director first read the novel some 40 years ago and he’s
long wanted to film it.
Fred Zinnemann explains his approach of the film
:
Quote
“A story which has haunted you
for so long has done so for a very good reason. I have never been able to get
the shape of the tale from my mind. The mountains were daunting, but they’ve
always been part of my life.
The coming together of this
haunted love affair amidst the purity of the Alps has sure and certain correspondences
to me”.
Unquote
Three years ago, Zinnemann went hiking in the
southern Swiss Alps in the region of the Upper Engadine. It is a landscape of
meadows and pine forest topped by the great Bernina range. The director /
producer seduced by the foothills of the Bernina, the eternal peaks and the
glaciers thought those locations could be the right background for the film
adaptation of Kate Boyles’s novel.
With a draft of the script, he approached Sean
Connery during the shooting of “Outland” (Peter Hyams / 1981). The Scottish
actor gave his agreement to the subject because it was an opportunity for him
to play an “unconventional” part far away from the “tough guys” he used to
portray on the screen. To prove his total involvement, he suggested that the
talented scriptwriter Michael Austin (Greystoke : The Legend of Tarzan, Lord of
the apes (Hugh Hudson / 1984)) should cooperate with the director for the rewriting
of the script.
In January 1981, the 74 year old famous producer
/ director/ writer succeeded in convincing the producers of the Ladd Company
(“Body Heat” (Lawrence Kasdan / 1981), “Blade Runner” (Ridley Scott / 1982)…),
Alan Ladd Jr and Jay Kanter to raise $17 Million, Warner Bros agreed to
distribute the movie.
The casting of “Five Days One Summer”
For the two other leading parts, Zinnemann
wanted unknown but talented young actors. That’s why the American actress Betsy
Brantley (as Kate Meredith) and the French actor Lambert Wilson (as Johann
Biari) were chosen. Among others, two distinguished actresses joined the cast Jennifer
Hilary (as Sarah, Douglas‘ wife) and Isabel Dean (as Kate’s Mother). In
addition to the Swiss villagers, the director gathered several French Actors as
supporting roles : Gérard Buhr (as Brendel, the manager of the hotel), Georges
Claisse (as Dieter) and Marc Duret (as the French student).
The great director of the photography Guiseppe
Rotunno (“The leopard” (Luchino Visconti /1963), “Amarcord” (Federico Fellini /
1973), “All That Jazz” (Bob Fosse / 1979), “The Adventures of the Baron
Müchhausen” (Terry Gilliam/ 1988)…), the talented editor/ director Stuart Baird
(“Tommy” (Ken Russell / 1975), “The Omen” (Richard Donner / 1976), “Revolution”
(Hugh Hudson / 1985), “Skyfall” (Sam Mendes / 2012)…) and the versatile
composer Elmer Bernstein (“The Magnificent Seven” (John Sturges / 1960), “To
Kill a Mockingbird” (Robert Mulligan / 1962), “The Prisonner of Alcatraz” (John
Frankenheimer / 1962), “The Grifters” (Stephen Frears / 1990), “Far from
Heaven” (Todd Haynes / 2002)) were hired by the producers.
Peter Beale as executive producer (“Doctor
Zhivago” (David Lean / 1965), “Julia” (Fred Zinnemann / 1977)…) and Willy Holt as
production designer (“The Day of the Jackal” (Fred Zinnemann / 1973), “Julia”
(Fred Zinnemann / 1977)…) joined the technician team manager. Norman
Dyhrenfurth (“The Eiger Sanction” (Clint Eastwood/ 1975)) a professional Swiss
mountaineer and film director accepted to direct most of the hair-raising
climbing scenes as second unit director and special climbing adviser.
The shooting of “Five Days One Summer”
The prolific collaboration of the Swiss production
manager Leonhard Gmür helped the production team to prospect for locations and
to deal with the Swiss authorities.
The big challenge was to recreate the mood of
the thirties. Bearing this in mind, the producer designer Willy Holt started
the building of the hotel Anton and a replica of an old hut in April 1981. Each
location was approved by Norman Dyhrenfurthand, safety experts Hamish Mac Innes,
Joe Brown and local Swiss guides : “ The Summit of Diavolezza (the 11,000–foot
high plateau close to Pontresina), the beautiful Roseg Valley with the
impressive Piz Palü and Val Forno (its means “The Oven”).
The shooting of “Five Days One Summer” began in
the first weeks of June 1981. During almost three months, each of the 75-member
unit was equipped with prospective clothing and survival gear to withstand the
extremes of cold, heat and the sun’s dangerous rays. In the event of an accident,
sickness or deterioration in the weather, helicopters were the only means of
rescue and transportation for food, equipment and the production team. At the
autumn 1981, the filming was completed at the Shepperton Studios in England for
the interiors.
A gathering of confirmed and new talents
Sir Sean Connery was the first choice of the
director to play the part of the Scottish doctor. He was a good sport and also
one of the best actors of the time. He portrayed Douglas Meredith with a great
human sensibility and also a great sense of humor. Here, also, Sean Connery
gave another unknown side of his great talent in the same vain as his role in
“The Offence” (Sydney Lumet / 1972). He played a kind gentleman who cannot control
or change the run of the circumstances. An outstanding performance for Mr Bond
!
For her first major part, the young and gorgeous
Betsy Brantley played the part of Kate Meredith with a lot of strength and
honesty. We share and understand her intimate conflict between her two lovers
(Connery-Douglas / Wilson-Johann).
Five years before, the young French actor,
Lambert Wilson surprised Zinnemann in a short part in “Julia”. The legendary
director remembered Lambert and thought of him to portray the young Swiss
guide, Johann. Opposite to the great Sean Connery, Wilson gave also a very fine
performance.
The photography of the Swiss locations by
Giuseppe Rotunno with the help of his first assistant Tony Wayne, was amazing.
The editing of Stuart Baird was very efficient especially for the “mountain”
scenes combined with some flashbacks. The Willy Holt’s production designer team
built wonderful sets.
The prolific American composer, Elmer Bernstein,
with the friendly collaboration of Cynthia Miller (Ondes Martenot player),
wrote a very sensitive score. In his autobiography, Zinnemann reminded how
sorry he was that he couldn’t get the talented French composer and friend
Georges Delerue (“A Man for all Seasons”
(1966), “The Day of the Jackal” (1973)
and “Julia” (1977)).
Quote
“The Music was adequate, but indifferent ; it did
nothing to enhance the film, I’m sorry to say ; Unfortunately, Georges Delerue
had not been available…”.
Unquote
Nevertheless, I think that with his score for “Some
came running” (Vincente Minnelli / 1958) and later with “The Age of Innocence”
(Martin Scorsese / 1993), it is one of his most beautiful and intimate score ever
written by the talented composer for a melodrama movie. He merged brilliantly
the Swiss tradition folklore with a symphonic orchestra. I hope that one day a
label will release the complete score.
“Five Days One Summer”, a masterpiece of the melodrama
The New York premiere of the movie took place in
November 1982. Despite the colossal efforts to make “Five days…” a great
entertainment, the responses from the audience and the critics were not
positive. In an 80’s interview, Lambert Wilson reminded that the producers and
distributors didn’t believe in the potential of success of the movie. That’s
the reason why they refused to promote it with a large advertising campaign. Fortunately,
the movie received a very good appeal on video in a full length version of 108
minutes. Some rumors say that the movie was reduced by about 20 minutes for the
American TV channels.
In any case, Fred Zinnemann made a very special and rare movie. The
director of “The Nun’s Story” (1959) and “Julia” (1977), gave once again the
proof that he was an expert in the exploration of the human soul. Like in his
other movies, the conscience and human behaviour of his characters were always
the central part of the human drama.
Even today, I regret to note that a lot of
critics still consider this movie as a minor work in Zinnemann’s career. Lee
Pfeiffer and Philip Lisa (the authors of “The Films of Sean Connery”, Citadel
Press, 1997), reported that some critics regarded Zinnemann’s style as too
classic and old-fashioned in the post “Star Wars” era. I don’t agree with that point
of view. I regard “Five days…” as a masterpiece which, after so many years, has
kept its power of attraction. The photography, the editing, the performances of
the actors and the music score are just perfect.
The last moments of the picture are particularly
moving and wonderful. I will not say a single word about the ending because I
prefer you to keep the surprise.
I hope that review will encourage people to watch
or to rewatch this “black pearl” of the melodrama. I prefer to conclude with
some words from the 75-year-old director explaining the aim of his life as a
filmmaker :
Quote
“I’m not interested in making
films for the elite, intellectual or otherwise. My aim is to entertain a large
popular audience”.
Unquote
If you want to know more about “Five Days
One Summer”, please refer to :
● Books
:
a) The Novel (Short Story “Maiden,
Maiden”)
“50 Stories” by Kay Boyle (in English), Doubleday
(Hardcover -1srt edition / 648 pages), October 1980 ; (Paperback –reissue/ 640
pages), New Directions Publishing Corporation, February 1993, New York, USA.
b) Fred Zinnemann and Sir Sean Conney
“Fred Zinnemann, An Autobiography” by Fred
Zinnemann (in English / From conversations with Alexander Walker), 1992,
Bloomsbury Publishing, London, Great Britain.
“Fred Zinnemann : films of characters and
conscience” by Neil (in English), 2003, Mac Farland & Compagny, Jefferson
NC, USA.
“The Films of Fred Zinnemann : critical and
perspectives” by Arthur Nolleti Jr (in English), 1999, State of University of
New York, USA.
“Interview with Fred Zinnemann” by
Philippe Le Guay (in French), “Le Cinématographe” (N°87), March 1983), Paris,
France.
“Interview with Lambert Wilson” by Jacques
Fieschi (in French), “Le Cinématographe” (N°102), July 1984), Paris, France.
“The Films of Sean Connery” by Lee Pfeiffer and Philip
Lisa (In English), 1997, Citadel Press Book, USA.
“Sean Connery : The Measure of Man” by Christopher Bray
(In English), 2010, Faber and Faber, UK.
“Sean Connery” by Jean-Jacques Dupuis (in
French), 1986, Editions Artefact / Henry Veyrier, Paris, France.
“Sean Connery” by Philippe Durant (in
French), 1985, Editions PAC, Paris, France.
“Sean Connery” by Alain Silver (in
French), 2009, Movie Icons, Taschen, Cologne, Germany.
● Video
:
“Five Days One Summer” by Fred Zinnemann, 1982, Creative
Films, Spanish DVD Zone 2, Ref. N°B00551GUBM, Wide Screen Edition, Pal, 1.78.1.
Languages : English (Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono) and Spanish (Dolby Digital 2.0
Mono), Spanish Subtitles.
To order the
DVD in USA
Links to Download the Movie
● Music :
● Websites :
a) Kay Boyle and The Novel
Direct link to “Maiden, Maiden” from “50 Stories” (in English)
Memorandum (Aspects
de la civilisation anglo-saxonne / French link)
b) The Movie (1982)
The Movie (French link)
The Trailer
c) Fred Zinnemann
d) Sir Sean Connery
e) Betsy Brantley
f) Lambert Wilson
g) Elmer Bernstein – The Composer
Elmer Bernstein (French Links)
Elmer Bernstein in Concert (at the Royal Albert Hall,
London, October 9, 2002)
Cynthia Millar
and Elmer Bernstein (“Digging to China” by Timothy Hutton / 1998)
The Ondes Martenot
Here are some stills from my collection
“I loved the feeling one had
in those old days of going to a place that was absolutely still, the feeling of
majesty, the mystery of the mountains”. Fred Zinnemann (1981)
