Gérard Philipe - Blog Posts

no longer than a sigh, anne philipe (1964) — english translation

until his death in 1959 gérard philipe was the greatest star of the french theatre and cinema. the death of someone so young, alive and brilliant shocked and grieved a large public, and in this book his widow, anne philipe, conveys with classic simplicity and economy the personal tragedy. no longer than a sigh can be read purely as a novel: it is the story of a woman who has loved her husband and who has lost him. his illness was sudden; after an operation she knew that he would die and let him believe he would recover. now that he is dead, truth again becomes all-important and it is only in trying to understand love, death, suffering that anne philipe sees the possibility of living again. the integrity and lucidity of this attempt to re-establish balance in her disrupted world are almost unbearably poignant. unable to accept the comfort of belief in life after death, too intellectually honest to take refuge in suicide, fantasy or misery, anne philipe looks at life itself, with all its memories, for a solution to grief which is worthy of her and gérard's life together. translated from the french by cornelia schaeffer

jacket photograph by agnès varda jacket design by madeleine dinkel

This person,  Gérard Philipe, is my favorite actor and was by all accounts a good and beloved man. I’ve seen a few of his films but had given up on finding the rest, in the US anyway. Today I searched his name on YouTube out of semi-idle curiosity, and found that people have been uploading his films!! There are four of his films on YouTube that I couldn’t find anywhere for years!!!! I am happy. And the man’s screen presence is amazing, you all would benefit from seeing him.

Juliette, ou la clef des songes:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u5oXmgNhSng

Pot Bouille:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bPxFf38-Y3s

Monsieur Ripois:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eQEwC2N7GRc

Also, if you understand French (of course the films are more enjoyable but also) he has several recordings of plays and books that are much easier to access from the US than his films, and his voice and expression are exquisite. Among them ‘Ruy Blas,’ (he plays Ruy Blas) ‘Le Cid,’ (he plays Rodrigo), and ‘Le Petit prince,’ (he is the pilot/narrator). Beautiful work.

Gérard Philipe dans “Le Cid” de Corneille, 1951. Photo : Thérèse Le Prat