Film vs Film
Select two cult films to compare side by side.
Le brasier ardent Synopsis
A woman, named simply "Elle" and her husband, a wealthy industrialist, are not on the best of terms. While she enjoys the way he caters to her every whim, she wonders whether he really loves her. He, on the other hand, torments himself by imagining rivals. One morning she awakens from a nightmare in which she has been pursued by a man in various guises, who turns out to be the famous Detective Z, whose memoirs she has been reading. When she and her husband quarrel over leaving Paris permanently for a country estate, he goes to the "Trouve Tout" Agency and hires, of all people, Detective Z, to win back her affection. She promptly steals their marriage contract. Z tracks down the document and is nearly seduced in the process, but he resists her and returns to the comforts of home, his adoring mother, and a pet bulldog. In a chic restaurant one evening, she challenges him to a dancing duel, which he wins. After her confession of love, he goes home with a toothache. The contract is returned, the married couple plan to go away on a trip - all is ending as it should...
The Great Shadow Synopsis
Jim McDonald, the foreman of a shipbuilding plant and head of the labor union, strives to combat the anarchistic propaganda being put forth by Klimoff, the leader of a Bolshevik gang whose goal is to disrupt the country with strikes and anarchy. Despite McDonald's efforts, a strike is called, resulting in chaos. McDonald's child is knocked down by runaway horses abandoned by their striking driver, and dies. Mob scenes take place in America, as well as in Russia. Eventually, the unrest is quelled with an armistice called between Capital and Labor for a year, during which time wages are to be increased to reflect the cost of living, and leaders are to work out a common plan for their mutual advantage. The strikers now realize that they have been pawns of the Bolsheviks and call off the strike, agreeing to the plan.
"Le brasier ardent" holds a slight edge in general audience appreciation, but "The Great Shadow" offers its own unique cult appeal.
Suggested Watch:
Le brasier ardentBoth films share