Criterion Collection (series)

Elevator to the Gallows

DVD Features:

Audio:

• Mono - French
• Subtitles - English

Product Description:

This psychological thriller is imbued with a wonderful Parisian atmosphere and a moody, improvisational score by legendary jazz trumpeter Miles Davis. A beautiful woman, Florence, and her lover, Julien, plan to murder her husband (who happens to be Julien's boss as well), so they can be together. After carefully carrying out the crime, Julien gets stuck inside the elevator when the power is turned off. The film takes off in a number of surprising twists and turns, one of which includes a young couple who steal Julien's car. They take a ride outside the city and kill a German couple in a hotel, a crime the police eventually pin on Julien. However, Jeanne Moreau's performance as Florence wandering around nighttime Paris in a sad, desperate search for her missing lover, with Davis' haunting score in the background, heightens the tension and suspense of the film and reveals the story's emotional core.

Plot Keywords:

Drama | Infidelity | Murder | New Wave (Film) | Suspense | Theatrical Release

Production Notes:

• Louis Malle (1932-1995) directed this film, his first feature, when he was 25 years old.
• Winner of the 1957 Prix Louis Delluc (awarded from 1937 to 1989) in France.
• Rated BBFC PG by the British Board of Film Censors.
• Copyright 1957, Nouvelles Editions De Films.

Cast and Crew: