Biyograficim
Manon 70

Manon 70

Movie · 1968 · 10 people

Jean Aurel directed the 1968 film Manon 70. A co-production of France, Italy and West Germany, it sits somewhere between romantic drama and romantic comedy, is shot in French and runs about 101 minutes. The "70" in the title signals the idea: the film takes Antoine François Prévost's 1731 novel Manon Lescaut as a loose starting point and moves the story out of the eighteenth century into the present day of the late 1960s.

Catherine Deneuve leads, sharing the principal roles with Jean-Claude Brialy and Sami Frey. Elsa Martinelli, Robert Webber and Paul Hubschmid also appear, with Claude Génia, Jacques Paoli, Jean Martin and Chris Avram also in the cast.

The screenplay was written by Aurel together with Cécil Saint-Laurent, and the original score is by Serge Gainsbourg. Manon 70 reached French cinemas on 21 February 1968 and West German cinemas about three months later, on 17 May of the same year. In Germany the film is known as Hemmungslose Manon, and it also circulates as The French Mistress.

DirectorJean Aurel

Reactions

You can pick up to 3 reactions.

Cast

Only cast members with a profile on this site are listed.

Catherine Deneuve Catherine Deneuve Film actor · 83 years old Jean-Claude Brialy Jean-Claude Brialy Stage actor · died at 74 Sami Frey Elsa Martinelli Claude Génia Jacques Paoli Jean Martin Paul Hubschmid Robert Webber Chris Avram

Titles sharing this cast

More from this director

Through different eyes

Cinephile Looks at script, editing and directing choices; keeps a distance from formula films.

Taking Prévost's 1731 novel Manon Lescaut as a loose starting point and moving the story to the late 1960s is a bold idea, and the 70 in the title openly announces that ambition to update. The problem is that the film never settles firmly on a tone between romantic drama and romantic comedy. That indecision sometimes brings lightness and sometimes squanders the weight an adaptation carries. The screenplay Aurel wrote with Cécil Saint-Laurent does not, in my view, fully answer how far the classic's dramatic core can be planted in the modern world. Serge Gainsbourg's original score is the layer that ties the film most firmly to its period.

History & Society Lens Asks about the period, the social background and what the work reflects.

What makes Manon 70 interesting is how it tests what changes and what stays the same when an eighteenth-century love story moves to the Europe of 1968. Its status as a French, Italian and West German co-production also reflects the cross-border way European cinema was made at the time. Bringing a classic heroine into the present could have opened a debate about shifting views of female desire and independence; but the film leaves that question inside a stylish romance rather than digging into it. Still, for anyone curious how a literary classic was read in the spirit of the sixties, it is an interesting time capsule.

Family Viewer Asks whether the whole household can watch it; cares about humour and heart.

It is an adult film built around love affairs, not the kind you put on with the children or grandparents. Even with its touches of comedy, its audience is clear: adults. Those who like old French films and adaptations of classic novels can watch it among themselves. For a family evening, it is better to look for something else.

These are not reader reviews: they are short editorial takes written from different viewer perspectives with AI assistance. Reader reviews are below.

Reviews (0)

Log in Log in to write a review.

Comments