Martin Ritt, a committed filmmaker in Hollywood
A committed American director from the 1960s through the 1980s, Martin Ritt (1914-1990) created a rich, powerful and socially-conscious œuvre in an America undergoing profound change. His most renowned film, Norma Rae, the portrait of an American trade unionist, resulted in a Best-Actress Oscar for Sally Field. During Ritt’s career, he worked with the likes of Barbra Streisand, Paul Newman, Sidney Poitier, Orson Welles, Sean Connery, John Cassavetes, Woody Allen, Richard Dreyfuss, Jane Fonda and Robert De Niro... addressing themes ranging from social status and trade union struggles to McCarthyism and racial injustice. This great cinema is worth discovering!
Don’t miss the special feature on Martin Ritt in the October edition of film magazine Positif.
Our thanks to Amazon MGM Studios, la Cinémathèque française, le Forum des Images, Paramount, Park Circus, Sony Pictures, Studiocanal, Swashbuckler Films, Tamasa, The Walt Disney Company France, Warner Bros.
Screenings
Edge of the City by Martin Ritt (1957, 1h25)
UA fugitive named Axel (John Cassavetes) finds a job at the docks and becomes friends with a black labourer (Sidney Poitier)... Ritt paints a shrewd picture of the plight of the exploited in this condemnation of racial hostility. A magnificent film about brotherhood.
Institut Lumière (Villa) Mon13 9.15pm | Institut Lumière (Villa) Mon13 9.30pm | Lumière Bellecour Thu16 8pm
No Down Payment - en VOI de Martin Ritt (1957, 1h45)
In a newly built middle-class American neighbourhood, the lives of four couples... A critical look at conventional lifestyles, materialism, the lust for wealth, and routine racism.
Lumière Bellecour Tue14 8.30pm | Institut Lumière (Villa) Thu16 9am | Institut Lumière (Villa) Thu16 9.15am
The Long, Hot Summer by Martin Ritt (1958, 1h57)
Ben, who has a bad reputation, is hired by powerful landowner Will Varner (Orson Welles)... Adapted from a work by William Faulkner, this family drama is fraught with tension. Paul Newman, who would become Welles’ favourite actor, garnered the Best Actor Award at Cannes for his performance.
Comœdia Sun12 10.45am | UGC Astoria Mon13 1.45pm | Pathé Bellecour Wed15 4.45pm | Tassin la Demi-Lune Thu16 8.30pm | Institut Lumière (Hangar) Fri17 1.45pm
Paris Blues by Martin Ritt (1961, 1h38)
In Paris, two American musicians (Paul Newman and Sidney Poitier) play nightly in a jazz club. They meet some American women who are visiting... The pic displays the wild atmosphere of jam sessions and the misadventures and trials of the duo of uprooted men.
UGC Confluence Mon13 1.30pm | Pathé Bellecour Thu16 4.30pm | Lumière Terreaux Fri17 4pm | Cinéma St-Denis Sat18 2.30pm
Hud by Martin Ritt (1963, 1h52)
Hud, an unapologetic and unscrupulous seducer, is at odds with his faithful, strait-laced father. Meanwhile, the teenage Lon is torn between his grandfather and his uncle Hud... A magnificent and poignant western. Paul Newman excels in the ambivalent role.
Pathé Bellecour Sun12 10.45am | Sainte-Foy-lès-Lyon Tue14 8pm | UGC Confluence Thu16 9pm | Lumière Terreaux Sat18 2pm | Institut Lumière (Hangar) Sun19 4.30pm
The Spy Who Came in from the Cold by Martin Ritt (1965, 1h53)
In the middle of the Cold War, British secret agent Alec Leamas is dispatched to East Germany where he must sneak past the Iron Curtain... This work offers sleek direction and an intriguing plot, starring Richard Burton and Oskar Werner. Thrilling.
Pathé Bellecour Mon13 11.15am | UGC Confluence Tue14 11am | Oullins-Pierre-Bénite Thu16 8pm | Institut Lumière (Villa) Fri17 4.30pm | Institut Lumière (Villa) Fri17 4.45pm | UGC Astoria Sun19 11am
Hombre by Martin Ritt (1967, 1h51)
In this innovative western, a white man (Paul Newman) who grew up among the Apaches, travels by stagecoach with other passengers who are recalcitrant to share the ride with him... Martin Ritt displays American society and its contradictions.
Institut Lumière (Villa) Sat11 11am | Institut Lumière (Villa) Sat11 11.15am | UGC Confluence Wed15 4.15pm | UGC Confluence Thu16 1.45pm | Comœdia Sat18 2.30pm
The Molly Maguires by Martin Ritt (1970, 2h05)
In 1876, in the coal mines of Pennsylvania, miners are being exploited. A group of activists led by Jack Kehoe (Sean Connery) springs into action... A gripping film with a highly political narrative that left a lasting impression on the filmmaker's career.
UGC Confluence Sun12 4.30pm | Villeurbanne Tue14 8pm | Institut Lumière (Hangar) Fri17 11am | Pathé Bellecour Sat18 10.45am | Lumière Terreaux Sun19 4.30pm
The Front by Martin Ritt (1976, 1h35
For a fee, a restaurant employee (Woody Allen) accepts to sign his name on screenplays of a writer who has been blacklisted by McCarthyism... An acerbic comedy penned and directed by former victims of the blacklist.
Pathé Bellecour Sun12 4.30pm | UGC Astoria Wed15 6pm | Institut Lumière (Villa) Thu16 9pm | Institut Lumière (Villa) Thu16 9.15pm | UGC Confluence Sun19 2.30pm
Norma Rae by Martin Ritt (1979, 1h54
Norma Rae (Sally Field) works in a cotton mill. When a union delegate arrives, she decides to wage a battle to defy the management... A compelling portrait of a determined worker and a woman who is not afraid to stand up to social norms. Outstanding.
Institut Lumière (Hangar) Sat11 2.30pm | UGC Confluence Mon13 6.45pm | UGC Confluence Tue14 10.45am | Comœdia Wed15 10.45am | Saint-Genis-Laval Wed15 8pm | CinéDuchère Sat18 5pm | Pathé Bellecour Sun19 10.45am
Cross Creek by Martin Ritt (1983, 2h
In 1928, Marjorie (Mary Steenburgen) leaves her husband and her worldly life behind to follow her literary calling, alone in Florida... Martin Ritt sensitively captures the evolution of his heroine and the era that she inhabits.
Pathé Bellecour Tue14 4pm | UGC Confluence Thu16 4.15pm | UGC Confluence Fri17 1.45pm | UGC Astoria Sat18 11am
Murphy's Romance by Martin Ritt (1985, 1h47)
Recently divorced, Emma moves into a small town with her son, where she meets a much older widowed pharmacist... Sally Field is at the heart of this gentle film.
Institut Lumière (Villa) Sun12 7pm | Institut Lumière (Villa) Sun12 7.15pm | Pathé Bellecour Tue14 11.15am | Lumière Terreaux Sun19 11am
Nuts by Martin Ritt (1987, 1h56)
A call girl from a middle-class background, Claudia Draper (Barbra Streisand), is accused of murdering one of her clients. Her court-appointed lawyer (Richard Dreyfuss) fights to defend her on the grounds of self-defence... A closed-door drama that probes the shortcomings of justice.
Lumière Bellecour Sun12 5pm | Pathé Bellecour Mon13 2pm | Institut Lumière (Hangar) Fri17 4.30pm
Stanley & Iris by Martin Ritt (1990, 1h45)
Iris (Jane Fonda), a widow and mother of two, works in an industrial bakery, where she meets an illiterate cook Stanley (Robert De Niro)... A social romcom about those left on the sidelines of the American dream.
UGC Confluence Wed15 6.45pm | UGC Astoria Thu16 8.15pm | Lumière Terreaux Fri17 6.15pm
