The Inferno Unseen

France, 1964 / UK, 2017. Director Henri-Georges Clouzot. 

In partnership with Lobster Films and MUBI, we are proud to present a newly mastered cut of rushes created in 1964 in preparation for Henri-Georges Clouzot’s film Inferno, which was never finished. Together with his cinematographers Andréas Winding, Armand Thirard and Claure Renoir, Clouzot staged seemingly endless kinetic and optical experiments focusing primarily on actress Romy Schneider performing simple, seductive actions in carefully composed mises-en-scène. Departing from Serge Bromberg’s critically acclaimed documentary about the making of Clouzot’s film (2009), The Inferno Unseen focuses solely on Clouzot’s intoxicating visions, allowing them to build up their own momentum as they unfurl in all their glory.

The newly mastered edit was created by Rollo Smallcombe and Marketa Uhlirova, and was co-produced by Marketa Uhlirova at Fashion in Film Festival, Kiri Inglis at MUBI, and Serge Bromberg and Maria Chiba at Lobster Films.

The edit exclusively features film rushes for Henri-Georges Clouzot’s unfinished film Inferno (1964), left behind in 185 cans at the CNC Archive and re-discovered by Lobster Films in 2007. It incorporates voice recordings of Serge Bromberg for Monocle’s podcast The Cinema Show (March 2017).

With Romy Schneider, Serge Reggiani, Dany Carrel, Jean-Claude Bercq, Jacques Gamblin, Bernard Stora, Brigitte Bardot and others.
Cinematography by Andréas Winding, Armand Thirard and Claude Renoir.
Costumes by Jacques Fonteray.

For further reading, see Marketa Uhlirova’s reflective essay.

Past screenings

Wearing Time: Past, Present, Future, Dream – London
Sunday 25 March 2017, 16:30 | Barbican
World premiere. With live musical accompaniment by Rollo Smallcombe.