Peter Ibbetson
Screening on Film
Directed by Henry Hathaway.
With Gary Cooper, Ann Harding, Ida Lupino.
US, 1935, 35mm, black & white, 85 min.
With Gary Cooper, Ann Harding, Ida Lupino.
US, 1935, 35mm, black & white, 85 min.
Allegedly “discovered” by French poet Paul Eluard after following a woman into a Paris cinema at which it was playing, this loose adaptation of George du Maurier’s novel was hailed by André Breton as “a triumph of Surrealist thought.” This tale of l’amour fou—the love that transcends all known obstacles—relates the story of sweethearts who are separated in childhood and then drawn together by destiny years later, even unto death. The film’s seamless transitions between the worlds of reality and dream and its unhesitating and exultant acceptance of the primacy of love are captured in beautiful cinematography by Charles Lang.