The Last Tycoons - Episode 6
57m
Directed by Florence Strauss • Documentary • 2020 • 56 minutes
Episode 6 - The Immortals
“People told me I’d catch the bug,’ and it must be quite a bug because I’ve had it for 30 years.” — Raymond Danon
Raymond Danon projected a hard-nosed, no-nonsense persona. But that persona covered a deep love for cinema and a flair for the theatrical. Like the other producers profiled in this episode — Albina du Boisrouvray and Serge Silberman — Danon fought for the projects he loved, even while understanding that nobody really understands why some films are hits and others flop.
One of very few women producing at the time, Albina du Boisrouvray remembers the macho swagger of colleagues who dismissed her as playing at making films. We also get a close-up look at the working relationship between producer Serge Silberman, writer/director Luis Buñuel, and writer Jean-Claude Carrière on The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie.
Films spotlighted in this episode:
The Things of Life (1970) / Raymond Danon / dir. Claude Sautet
That Most Important Thing: Love (1975) / Albina du Boisrouvray / dir. Andrzej Zulawski
The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie / Serge Silberman / dir. Luis Buñuel