Carmen 63

The umpteenth story inspired by Prosper Mérimée's short story,the action of which was transposed to the early sixties .Don José (Antonio in the movie, there was an Antonio in Mérimée's work but he was not the main character) becomes a self-conscious policeman ,played by BB's ex-husband Jacques Charrier;Carmen is a singer and she performs here there and everywhere.For the cop,it's love at first sight,but the brunette wants to be free .

Following roughly the plot of the short story,the action becomes quite trite in the early sixties :the policeman is forced to resign,he becomes part of a drug traffickers gang whose boss is none other than Carmen's husband ,just released from jail (Lino Ventura ,in one of his less famous parts).As the action takes place in Italy ,it's impossible to introduce a bullfighter as Antonio's rival.Never mind that,the Torero will be a motorbike racer (also called Lucas) and the bullfight ..a race !Why not after all? In Preminger's much Superior version,"Carmen Jones" ,entirely played by black actors ,Don José became a boxer and the "Corrida" a boxing match.

For all that,Gallone's movie remains flat and bland :one sees little of the burning passion of the hero in Charrier's performance ;the movie is also handicapped by songs and ballroom and cabaret dancing which are essentially filler (none of Bizet's arias is heard ,so opera lovers ,do not bother).Besides,Carmen is Spanish to the core ;she is part of the Spanish scene and cannot be credible,riding her motorbike with her squeeze ,a la "Roman holiday".

Gorgeous Giovanna Ralli interprets a modern Carmen in early sixties Rome. The photography by Carlo Carlini is incredibly beautiful. Rome is shown under all aspects, from the romantic old town and the Tiber banks, until the ugly modern suburbs. The incredible Roman sunlight bewitches every scene of the movie, like Carmen does with sweethearted Antonio. Nights are magic too, singing and swinging...Lino Ventura joins for a short part of the movie, but his strong presence makes a difference. If it's a good version or not of Mérimée's story doesn't really matter. It's an absolute visual delight and the story works!