''La Ronde'' is a 1950 French

anthology film An anthology film (also known as an omnibus film or a portmanteau film) is a single film consisting of three or more shorter films, each complete in itself and distinguished from the other, though frequently tied together by a single theme, premise ...

directed by

Max Ophüls Maximillian Oppenheimer ( , ; 6 May 1902 – 26 March 1957), known as Max Ophüls ( , , ) or simply Ophuls, was a German and French film director and screenwriter. He was known for his opulent and lyrical visual style, with heavy use of trac ...

and based on the French translation of

Arthur Schnitzler Arthur Schnitzler (15 May 1862 – 21 October 1931) was an Austrian author and dramatist. He is considered one of the most significant representatives of Viennese Modernism. Schnitzler’s works, which include psychological dramas and narratives ...

's 1897 play '' Reigen''. Set in

Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...

in 1900, it shows ten amorous encounters across the social spectrum, from a street prostitute to the nobility, with each scene involving one character from the previous episode. The French term "La Ronde" can mean doing the rounds, a round of drinks, or a circular dance. The film won the

BAFTA award for Best Film The BAFTA Award for Best Film is a film award given annually by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts and presented at the British Academy Film Awards. It has been given since the 1st BAFTA Awards, representing the best films of 19 ...

and was nominated for two

Academy Awards The Academy Awards, commonly known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit in film. They are presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) in the United States in recognition of excellence in ...

: Best Writing and Best Art Direction.

Plot

The master of ceremonies opens the proceedings by telling the audience that they will see various episodes in the endless waltz of love. Prompted by the MC, a prostitute picks up a soldier, and they go to a private spot under a bridge. The soldier picks up a chambermaid at a dance hall, and they find an empty bench in the park. The chambermaid willingly succumbs to the son of her employers while his parents are away. The young man starts an affair with the young wife of an older businessman. The wife has a discussion in bed with her husband. The husband takes a young woman to a private dining room in a fancy restaurant and gets her drunk. The young woman spends time alone with a poet in his apartment. The poet has a heated discussion with an actress in her dressing room after a performance of his play, in which she is starring, about where they will spend the night. The actress is visited in her bedroom by a count who saw her perform. Although she invites him to visit her again that evening, instead he gets drunk and ends up in the bed of the prostitute, completing the circle.

Cast

Production

died in 1931. Although, at the time the film was made, his son was still abiding by his explicit wish that his play '' Reigen'' should never be performed or adapted, Ophuls was able to secure the rights to make a film adaptation in French because Schnitzler had willed the rights to the French translation of the play (titled ''La Ronde'') to his French-language translator, who granted permission.

Censorship

The New York film censors classified the film as "immoral", and therefore unacceptable for public screening. At the end of 1953, the film's producers appealed to the

U.S. Supreme Court The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that turn on question ...

, and, in 1954, ''La Ronde'' was approved for exhibition in New York without any cuts.

Reception

Critical response

On the

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website

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review aggregator, review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee ...

, 95% of on 19 critics' reviews of the film are positive, with an average rating of 8.5/10.

References

External links

* *
''La ronde: Vicious Circle''
an essay by

Terrence Rafferty Terrence Rafferty is a film critic who wrote regularly for ''The New Yorker'' during the 1990s. His writing has also appeared in ''Slate'', ''The Atlantic Monthly'', ''The Village Voice'', ''The Nation'', and ''The New York Times''. For a number ...

at the

Criterion Collection The Criterion Collection, Inc. (or simply Criterion) is an American home-video distribution company that focuses on licensing, restoring and distributing "important classic and contemporary films". A "sister company" of arthouse film distributo ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ronde (1950 film), La 1950 films 1950 drama films Films about adultery French anthology films Films about prostitution in Austria French films based on plays Films based on works by Arthur Schnitzler Films directed by Max Ophüls Films set in the 1890s Films set in Vienna French drama films French romantic comedy films Best Film BAFTA Award winners Films scored by Oscar Straus French black-and-white films 1950s French films