is contemporary. Hélène (Maria Casarès, who achieved fame in another film released in 1945, Marcel Carnés Les Enfants du Paradis aka CHILDREN OF PAR­ ADISE) suspects her aristocratic lover Jean (Paul Bernard) has grown weary of her. When she makes the false confession that she no longer feels passionate to­ wards him, he is relieved and con­ fesses the same—but apparently in earnest. Devastated by his dis­ closure, Hélène vows revenge (“Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned”). She arranges for Jean to meet Agnès (Elina Labourdette), an impoverished aristocrat forced to become a cabaret dancer to support herself and her mother. Through the income provided by the occasional liaison with a dot­ ing admirer, she has become, as it were, a woman of “ill repute.” The mean-spirited Hélène man- oeuvers Jean into an engage­ ment and subsequent marriage to Agnès by concealing from him his bride’s jaded past, which she reveals to him immediately after the marriage vows. Although her reduced circumstances have driven the frail, artistic Agnès to sordid sexual acts, her heart re­ mains pure. She is the victim of a sycophantic mother, who lives off of Agnès’ suitors, and the cruel, vengeful Hélène,who ma­ nipulates her for her own ends— even though her evil plot backfires. Bresson may be generally


known as an austere, Catholic filmmaker, but based on this film, which celebrates romantic love, he had an intuitive understand­ ing of the “women’s picture,” and his early success may have been a result of his shrewd recogni­ tion of the commercial dimen­ sions of the story. Love triumphs through its spiritual, not physi­ cal expression—an ending that would satisfy the most jaded Hollywood producer. A compel­ ling if slow-moving film, LES


DAMES also benefits from Maria Casarès’ excellent femme fatale portrayal. Elina Labourdette, on the other hand, lacks the stun­ ning beauty that her role and the lines uttered about her demand, making Jean’s obsession with her, and his willingness to play the Prince to Cinderella, less credible. LES DAMES also begs comparison to Choderlos de Laclos’ novel LES LIAISONS DAN­ GEREUSES, in that Hélène be­ comes the imposter confidante to her former lover, effecting what she hopes will be a cruel liaison and unhappy ending. And like Jacques Rivette’s THE NUN (La Religieuse, 1966; also based on a story by Diderot), both LES DAMES and LES LIAI­ SONS DANGEREUSES portray a class-conscious society and an individual’s efforts to rise above its petty cruelty. The BOW source materials


are apparently as good as can be found, exhibiting various de­ grees of print damage throughout, including some rather noticeable speckling and scratches, and the transfer suffers from occasional wobbling. The soundtrack, how­ ever, has been digitally remas­ tered and is remarkably free of noise, though it has little dimen­ sionality. The packaging boasts that the transfer has new elec­ tronic subtitles, but we are not aware of any previous edition. —Rebecca & Sam Umland


THE DEATH DUEL OF KUNG FU


Hok ying dou sau tong long tui (Cantonese) He xing dao shou tang lang tui (Mandarin) “Crane Style Dagger, Sabre Master Praying Mantis Leg” 1979, Tai Seng #82913, HF, $9.95, VHS #82914, DD-2.0, $14.95, DVD-A, 85m 11s


DIRTY KUNG FU


Gwai ma gung too (Cantonese) Gui ma gong fu (Mandarin) “Wily Kung Fu” 1978, Tai Seng #82893, HF, $9.95, VHS #82894, DD-2.0, $14.95, DVD-A, 87m 26s


FLASH FUTURE KUNG FU


Dai lui toi (Cantonese) Da lei tai (Mandarin) “Fighting for the Top Spot” aka HEALTH WARNING, MISTER DIGITAL 1983, Tai Seng #82933, HF, $9.95, VHS #82934, DD-2.0, $14.95, DVD-A, 77m 47s


WAR OF THE SHAOLIN TEMPLE


Siu lam sap sam kwun tsung (Cantonese) Shao Un shl san gun seng (Mandarin) “Shaolin Thirteen Staff Monks” 1983, Tai Seng #82953, HF, $9.95, VHS #82954, DD-2.0, $14.95, DVD-A, 89m 3s


These entries in Tai Seng’s


ongoing “Martial Arts Theater” series offer a nice contrast: a Taiwanese historical effort lensed in South Korea, a kung fu com­ edy from the Lau Brothers, a kinky sci-fi thriller unlike anything else in the annals of HK cinema, and a Mainland production set at Shaolin Temple. Chang Chi’s THE DEATH


DUEL OF KUNG FU concerns Ming patriot General Hsiang Chin-kuei’s (Don Wang Tao) ef­ forts to flee China after assassi­ nating the commander of the Ching army. Upon learning that he is being pursued by kung fu master Tao Ko-lam (Han Ying), Hsiang decides to kill him, in the hope that his death will boost morale among the Ming forces.


11

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