From France and Japan, respectively, this double-disc set compiles two very different adaptations of Maxim Gorky's acclaimed 1902 play The Lower Depths, providing a fascinating lesson in comparative cinema. Filmmaker Jean Renoir's 1936 version changed the setting from czarist Russia to an unspecified French slum, casting the great Jean Gabin as a thief struggling to rise from his misery, and Louis Jouvet as a benevolent baron whose gambling debts send him on a downward social spiral. Renoir altered the play considerably, retaining its serious tone while also infusing his film with his trademark warmth and humanity. Two decades later, Akira Kurosawa remained faithful to the play, but also dared to fashion The Lower Depths as a comedy, in which Edo-period peasants (including Toshiro Mifune, in Gabin's role) concoct lavish illusions to ease the burden of their impoverished reality. While both films remained relatively overlooked during the careers of their creators, this exemplary two-disc set provides a welcome opportunity for reappraisal. Renoir's film still shows its age, but thanks to meticulous remastering it will never look or sound better than it does here, and Renoir provides here an informative introduction culled from the same archival materials featured on the Criterion DVD of his masterpiece The Rules of the Game. Kurosawa's film is accompanied by a superb commentary by Japanese film scholar Donald Richie, who provides a treasury of anecdotes (he actually visited Kurosawa's set in 1957), thematic analysis, production history, and scholarly insight. A 33-minute excerpt from the Japanese TV series Akira Kurosawa: It Is Wonderful to Create offers rare interview clips with Kurosawa and surviving members of his cast; Kurosawa expert Stephen Prince profiles the esteemed cast of the 1957 film; and exclusive essays about both films are included in the accompanying booklet. Add it all up and you've got a portable master class in the art of adaptation. Highly recommended. (J. Shannon)
The Lower Depths
Criterion, 2 discs, 89/125 min., in French & Japanese w/English subtitles, not rated, DVD: $39.95 Volume 19, Issue 5
The Lower Depths
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