Arsène Lupin joue et perd

Arsene Lupin, the wild and elusive gentleman burglar, has been portrayed by many actors - mostly French - but my favorite is Jean-Claude Brialy (this review is of the 1980 adaptation of "813" available on MHZ which offers other versions of Arsene Lupin starring assorted actors). My husband and I enjoyed the beautiful 6-episode story of "813" based on the novel by Maurice Leblanc. Here, France's favorite fictional criminal gets blamed for a triple murder committed at a swank Parisian hotel. To clear his name (which is quite atrocious), Arsene goes on a long series of misadventures - matching wits with shadowy figures, devising switcheroos, leaping over walls, falling off bridges, changing his appearance, teasing the police - and more. The only problem with this stunning display is that it was so puzzling that we just had to read the book which is even more intricate for Arsene who reaches a pinnacle of ego and grandiose plans for himself, for others, and for - gasp - the world! If you like 007, you may also like Arsene Lupin.

The precedent user is completely right;in spite of a low budget (since it's a made -for-TV production,Astruc ,who was a good director in the fifties (when he made two very worthwhile works:"le Rideau Cramoisi" and "Une Vie" ),made perhaps the best Maurice Leblanc adaptation that ever was -with the notable exception of "l'Ile aux Trente Cercueils" but some fans were cross cause Lupin was not in the series-.Whereas such a talented director as Jacques Becker failed,Astruc pulled it off masterfully.Why?Because he followed Leblanc's novel (whose title is "813" ,"Lupin Joue et Perd" being the second part of the novel) with accuracy;because Jean-Claude Brialy was the best Arsène Lupin:anyone who has read Leblanc's books knows it ;because a TV series was a better way to transfer the novel to the screen than a movie.

While universally known(from France to Japan), the legendary Arsene Lupin didn't travel well on the French screen. Jacques Becker and Yves Robert signed two acceptable versions, with Robert Lamoureux, and Jean-Claude Brialy made a first try impersonating the popular hero in 1962, when he was only 29. A dozen of one-hour episodes were filmed in the 70's for French TV, mostly by Jean-Pierre Decourt (Rocambole), with Georges Descrières from Comédie Française, who gave a certain charm to the hero, but the productions were in terrible lack of means and other talents. In 1980, one of the most talented French directors, Alexandre Astruc, known for his intellectual productions (Le Rideau Cramoisi, Une Vie, The Pit and the Pendulum) was given the opportunity to film "813", one of the best novels signed by Maurice Leblanc, in which Lupin rose up to defying the Kaiser Wilhelm II in person... This time, Jean-Claude Brialy gave a perfect impersonation of the gentleman-cambrioleur, in a six-hours TV series, complete with excellent music by Georges Delerue and a large cast of good French and German second roles. Filmed in France and Germany, the production was able to provide all the interiors and locations which were absent from the other TV essays. The narration had also an opportunity to underline the details, with a climax reached in the long scene confronting Lupin to the Kaiser. Unfortunately, the success was a mitigated one, and Astruc was not given an opportunity to reiterate his efforts, signing only three or four productions in the following 23 years. The grand-daughter of Maurice Leblanc brought the existence of this double DVD to my attention, and I was able to buy it at one of the Paris FNAC's. You may order it with Amazon, although they mention only the book. For less than 30 dollars,you'll get six hours of high entertainment, if you are a fan of Arsene Lupin! Harry Carasso, Paris, France