Marius

I don't know how much new I have to say about this movie that others have not said already. I have watched this movie over and over, I have had the pleasure of teaching it in a French literature and culture course. Every time I watch it I marvel at how well it is done. The acting is uniformly excellent - but then, these actors had performed the play from which this movie was drawn hundreds of times and had been hand-picked by Pagnol. They will definitely strike modern audiences as theatrical, but that is one of the points Pagnol was making about the people of Marseille: they were fond of drama and "performed" in life. The script is clever, and sometimes hilarious. Scenes like 1) César teaching Marius how to make a mandarin-citron (a drink); 2) César, Panisse, Escartefigue, and M Brun playing a round of cards with César cheating; 3) Marius fuming when Panisse makes passes at Fanny in the bar; and many others are even funnier the 10th time than the first. The music is wonderful. In short, this movie is a marvel, full of acting gems. See it!

Although a film in subtitles, it easily translates into any language through the universal language of the heart. Pagnol was a strong believer that even though sound was a new and amazing convention in cinematography, it could not be taken advantage of. This belief is readily apparent in Marius. Marius is filled with wonderful dialogue, heartwarming scenes, and emotional relationships. Furthermore, the characters of Cesar and Marius were played to perfection. This film is one that breaks the barrier of time. Even though it may be seventy years old, its themes will universally touch all of those who watch it for ages and generation

Although Marius was primarily written for the stage, Pagnol brilliantly adapted this very theatrical piece to the screen. With the complicity and mastery of Korda's impeccable direction, while talkies were still in their infancy and sound recording was still a challenge, Marius flawlessly delivers high quality dialogues with superb photography of pre-war Marseilles accompanied by a suitable musical score. What is timeless in this masterpiece is the depth of the characters, their emotions, their trials, their flaws and their yearnings, all bathed in the humour unique to Pagnol and the spicy flavour of Southern French. I saw this movie for the first time when I was 9 years old - I was in awe - and for fifty years since have seen it a number of times. I don't think I'll ever grow tired of watching it again and again. A timeless piece!

Marius (1931) : Brief Review -

A Cult Classic. Just WOW. French Cinema shows why Men can never understand selfless Women and believe me every man gonna drop tears. I love those rare moments when I write review with tears in my eyes and i am very grateful to Alexander Korda for this Classic Tear-jerker because it worth every single drop of my tears. So Marius is not in IMDb Top Rated, not in any popular films list then just burn those lists, I don't give a damn to such low standard list. You know, i have a special place in my heart for some films where I get to see rich content driving to selfless sacrifice, just for the reference I would mention 'Casablanca' (1942) here, and Marius is closest or leveled to that Masterpiece. Not to forget that Marius came 11 years before Casablanca so obviously it deserves more credit. There have been films where we saw Women sacrificing so much for the Men they love but i don't think any movie will come close to Marius as far as the quality and emotions of storyline are concerned. The film about Marius who is faced with a choice whether to fulfill his passion by sailing the seas or stay and marry the woman he loves. One thing is certainly wrong with the film that it is not flawless in the first half. It is more like a comedy in the first half but then it gets to the main point in the second half and leaves you Speechless. I might be running short of words to explain how gorgeously and smoothly this films shows Woman's sacrifice and how painful it was to see the climax. There are so many heart-touching scenes in the last one hour which teach you a lot about Women's selfless love and Father and Son's Relationship. This film is named after a Man but glorifies the Woman and i bet every Man who sees this film is going to feel it for her, roll down tears for her. I don't want to say anything more than it's a MUST WATCH and i am feeling blessed to have this Cult French Drama.

RATING - 8.5/10*

By - #samthebestest

This movie is extremely similar to the first half or so of the movie Fanny (1961) and in many places it is almost word-for-word. All in all it is an exceptional movie and well worth watching.

Fanny (1962) is a remake that combines this movie and the two sequels, Fanny and César. All are great, though the cinematography and music make the remake a better picture (the trilogy had no music).

Overall, it was extremely well-acted and well-written and I strongly recommend it. However, be forewarned that the videotape by Interama Video Classics is VERY poor quality AND they use white subtitles that are often very hard to read. I don't know why, but nearly EVERY French film from the 1930s I have tried to watch on video is almost unwatchable due to the degradation of the print. I'm not sure why this is, but it could easily turn people away from classics like this movie, and that would be quite a loss.