Director Alain Resnais collaborated with novelist Jean Cayrol in this introspective drama of four lives linked by haunting memories.

In the haunting drama "Muriel," French filmmaker Alan Resnais continues his exploration of and fascination with memory and the impact of past events on people's present lives.
Helene is a lonely widow who lives with her stepson, Bernard, in Boulogne. Into their lives walk Alphonse, a lover from her past, and Francoise, who he claims is his niece but is actually his mistress. While Helene and Alphonse are obsessed with their past relationship, Bernard is troubled by his memory of a girl whose brutal death he witnessed while he was fighting in the Algerian War.
As in his prior films, Resnais tells the story in a dream-like, stylized fashion.

A co-production of Argos Films, Alpha Productions, Eclair, Les Films de la Pleiade (Paris) and Dear Films (Rome).

Shot in Eastmancolor.

The film was shown at the Venice Film Festival in August of 1963, where Delphine Seyrig was named Best Actress. It was also shown at the New York Film Festival.

Copyright 1993 Hen's Tooth Video, Inc.

DVD Features:

Keep Case
Anamorphic Widescreen - 1.66
Audio:
Dolby Digital - French
Subtitles - English
Additional Release Material:
Featurette - Alain Resnais Featurette
Interview - Francois Thomas Author Of L'atelier d' Alain Resnals
Trailer - Original Theatrical Trailer

Distributor Notes: Delphine Seyrig gives an award-winning performance in Alain Resnais hauntingly brilliant masterpiece. Helene (Seyrig) is a widow who sells antiques from the apartment she shares with her eccentric filmmaker stepson, Bernard. Bernard is a veteran of the Algerian War and is haunted by his participation in the torture and murder of a young woman named Muriel.

Source: Koch Entertainment Distribution

Delphine Seyrig: French Actress
Jean-Pierre Kerien: French Actor/"Muriel"
Nita Klein: French Actress
Jean-Baptiste Thierree: French Actor in MURIEL AND IN SWEET AND SOUR

Alain Resnais: Director/Writer/Editor

"[F]ew films have ever been so devoted to re-creating the painful shifts of memory, as it continually moves from one temporal plane to the next."
"From today's perspective MURIAL looks like the highest accomplishment of his early work."
"Dense and challenging but also potent and accessible, it virtually demands repeat viewings."