The Hunchback of Notre Dame - DVD

Version Details

Cast

• Madeleine Barbulee - Mme. Lecornu
• Paul Bonifas - Maitre Lecomu
• Roger Blin - Mathias Hungadi
• Gina Lollobrigida - Esmeralda
• Albert Michel - Night Watchman
• Pierre Pieral - The Dwarf
• Albert Remy - Jupiter
• Anthony Quinn - Quasimodo
• Jean Danet - Capt. Phoebus
• Alain Cuny - Claude Frollo
• Georges Douking - Hoodlum
• Daniel Emilfork - Andry Le Rouse
• Jacques Dufilho - Guillaume Rousseau
• Maurice Sarfati - Jehan Frollo
• Jean Tissier - Louis XI
• Valentine Tessier - Aloyse de Gondelaurier
• Boris Vian - The Cardinal
• Danielle Dumont - Fleur de Lys
• Robert Lombard - Coppenole
• Philippe Clay - Clopin Trouillefou
• Dr. Robert Hirsch - Gringoire
• Jacques Hilling - Charmolue
• Hubert DeLapparent - Haraucourt
• Marianne Oswald - La Falourdel
• Camille Guerini - The President
• Daniel Emilfor Berenstein - Andry Le Rouse
• Jean Martin

Crew

• Screenwriter: Jean Aurenche
• Choreography: Leonid Massine
• Producer: Raymond Hakim ,Robert Hakim
• Songwriter: Angelo Francesco Lavagnino
• Cinematographer: Michel Kelber
• Songwriter: Paul Lafargs
• Costume Designer: Colosantis and Brenda
• Art Director: René Renoux
• Screenwriter: Jacques Prévert
• Editor: Henri Taverna
• Costume Designer: Georges Benda
• Songwriter: Georges Auric
• Composer (Music Score): Georges Auric
• Director: Jean Delannoy
• Book Author: Victor Hugo
• Choreography: Léonide Massine

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• Mary of Nazareth - DVD
• Venere Imperiale - DVD

The Hunchback of Notre Dame: AMG Review
Bruce Eder , AMG

Jean Delannoy's The Hunchback of Notre Dame (aka Notre Dame de Paris) was a major disappointment at the time of its release, and it has not aged well over the ensuing 46 years. The production values were high enough, yet the finished film ended up looking astonishingly crude, not only in the acting and much of the camera movement, but even in the dubbing process. Moreover, despite a script co-authored by Jacques Prévert, the screenplay possessed little subtlety or poetry, though this may have been the fault of the dubbing -- and, as there was never a subtitled edition, that eliminated any chance that the movie had to appeal to anyone interested in much more than Gina Lollobrigida's physique (though she does give a good performance). This is a darker film than the 1939 William Dieterle version, but not remotely as well-acted or directed, and the CinemaScope framing adds nothing to the spectacle; indeed, the Dieterle version looks more impressive on the big screen, despite being in black-and-white and academy ratio. Anthony Quinn had a hopeless task in the wake of the performances by Lon Chaney Sr. (in the silent version) and Charles Laughton (in the 1939 film) in the role of Quasimodo. Quinn's portrayal gives the character an element of confused humanity as he tries to achieve the same kind of childlike innocence that Laughton brought to the part; unfortunately, he comes off as more confused than childlike. The movie is an interesting exercise in film production, and a valiant attempt to generate a screen adaptation of Victor Hugo's book from his own country, but as drama, entertainment, or spectacle it's no more than a distraction from the 1939 film. ~ Bruce Eder, All Movie Guide