Arch of Triumph (1948)

Set in pre-WWII Paris, the film stars Charles Boyer as Dr. Ravic, a brilliant German surgeon who has fled to Paris to escape the growing power of the Nazis. There he meets Joan Madou (Ingrid Bergman), a depressed, unemployed cabaret singer. Ravic finds her a job and they fall in love. Suddenly, after being unable to produce his passport, he's deported. When he's finally able to return to Paris, matters come to a crisis.

ARCH OF TRIUMPH

UN CLASICO DEL CINE DE LOS 40', CON INGRID BERGMAN SENSACIONAL UN DRAMA PARA NO DEJAR DE VER... November 25, 2008

Grim and wonderful

This movie is very much of a time--that being the German occupation of Paris during World War II. It's the story of two people, each of whom has a Past--with a capital "P." There's a strong sense of world weariness along with a strong desire to survive and avenge. Ingrid Bergman, as always, is magnificent, and Charles Boyer, as always, is a dream. I give it five stars because it's an all-time favorite of mine, not because it's what the AFI--or anyone else--would call a great movie. November 16, 2008

Unforgettable Flotsam

ARCH OF TRIUMPH has generated a faithful following in the years since its initial failed release, and with good reason. Director Lewis Milestone's film of Erich Maria Remarque's novel, FLOTSAM, didn't achieve the success of his earlier Remarque adaptation, ALL QUIET ON THE WESTERN FRONT; the downbeat subject matter, coupled with the offbeat casting of Bergman in the kind of role her fans couldn't accept, doomed the project. But this picture boasts many strengths, starting with Milestone's intelligent screenplay. The usual Hollywood euphemisms for promiscuous heroines fail to prevent Bergman from creating an unusually frank, complex portrait of female sexuality, deeper and more moving than many of her performances from this period. She's matched by Boyer, whose cynicism breaks in the film's last scene, to shattering effect. Kudos, too, to Louis Calhern and Charles Laughton in incisive work in supporting roles, Russell Metty's striking black-and-white photography, and William Cameron Menzies' production design. Despite the carping of other reviewers here, the quality of the dvd is fine, certainly easily watchable; I'm not of the opinion that we should ignore classic films altogether until some studio springs for a perfect restoration. The UCLA restoration work here's given us an ARCH that clocks in at its original release time of 131 minutes (not 123, as the dvd's box states). Until the happy day more archival material's found and made available, fans of the actors, director, or films of this period shouldn't hesitate. A surprisingly moving viewing experience. October 28, 2008

Great Film - Poor Quality Film to DVD Transfer

It's surprising that this film comes from the UCLA film archives and this DVD is NOT a restored version. In fact the print it came from was dirty and not well transferred. You see white and black spots all over the place, in one point you see a hair that got stuck in the projector thats just hovering on an area until it dislodged. You occasionally see streak lines going through the whole frame during segments. Also I noticed some flickering (picture jumping up and down) inherent to poor film projector alignment. The source film that must have been used for transferring this to digital (DVD) looks like reels that were played many times in theaters and also there are many signs of splicing as there are some abrupt cuts.
I have seen better quality of this film shown on cable where TCM plays it often. The film was shot with very high contrast(very common in European films of the day to use exaggerated contrast levels) very black blacks and very bright whites, (US made films of the time tended more towards a grey smoother low to medium contrast) and I must say that the digital resolution is very good on this DVD as far as there not being digital grain or pixelation in the dark blacks, which is a very good plus for this DVD. The contrast balance is well preserved here!
You dont see any of the digital artifacting that one might find with poor transfers - but you have all the dust and dirt and scratches from the unrestored film source to bear with. It's like playing a record lp that was not protected - and has scratches and cracks and pops similar to the transfer of this DVD. This movie is what I would consider a classic Great and should get the full treatment to preserve and restore and make available to the consumer the best possible quality - which in this case they did not do.
If you dont mind the dust dirt scratches and other imperfections, overall this is a great movie and DVD and worth having.
Otherwise Catch it on cable or wait for a possible re-release that might come restored - although I have doubts we will see a new release or a restored version for a very long time. October 17, 2008

A FINE FILM

Any movie with Charles Boyer is worth it, and the added attraction of Ingrid Bergman and Charles laughton add more talent to this fine film. I would love to have seen the 4 hour version of "Arch of Triumph". If you love the B&W classics I recommend it. October 6, 2008

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