By RAY KELLY and MARCO PIERRARD
A snippet of a documentary with Orson Welles and Jeanne Moreau is making the rounds on social media these days following the iconic actress’ death on July 31.
The footage is from a TV documentary shot by Jacques Rozier at the Ritz Hotel on March 26, 1972 for the series Vive le cinéma.
The three-minute excerpt, spoken entirely in French, is just the beginning of a conversation between Moreau and Welles at the Ritz.
For those unable to understand French, here is a summary of the conversation contained in the video below.
Welles tells Moreau that he loves the Ritz, but can never find a room because it’s always full of rich Americans and laughs. When he realizes that Moreau is drinking water, Welles complains that he doesn’t want to drink alcohol alone because it’s sad. So Moreau agrees to drink with him.
Moreau mentions she met Ernest Hemingway at the bar of the Ritz once. Welles tells her that Hemingway freed the hotel bar the day that Paris was liberated, which prompts Moreau to laugh and say “That’s a good idea.”
Welles reveals that he hates the word “professional” and Moreau agrees. He says there is no word sadder than”professional” because the word “amateur” comes from the French word for love, “amour.” “We must do things for love, otherwise we’re fools,” Welles said. Moreau adds, “It’s beautiful.”
Then, Welles asks Moreau, “What do we do now ?”
She answers, “Nothing!”
“No, we must do a movie,” Welles said. “What do you want to do now ?”
Moreau expresses a desire to star in La ferme africaine. (The French title of Out of Africa by Karen Blixen).
Welles tells her that it is a magnificent story, one of the greatest books of the century.
The three-minute clip concludes with Moreau telling Welles she would love to go to Africa with him.
The entire half hour video can be viewed from INA for a slight fee at http://www.ina.fr/video/I00002667/jeanne-moreau-et-orson-welles-video.html
Welles — who once described Moreau as “the greatest actress in the world” — directed her in The Trial, Chimes at Midnight, The Immortal Story and the unfinished The Deep. They appeared together in Tony Richardson’s The Sailor From Gibraltar.
She famously once said of Welles, “To me, Orson is so much like a destitute king. A ‘destitute’ king, not because he was thrown away from the kingdom, but (because) on this earth, the way the world is, there is no kingdom good enough for Orson Welles.”
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