7 x the Bolero
This end-of-year cycle invites audiences to discover select 35mm prints from in our collection, creating dynamic contrasts in eras, styles, and cultures from one film to the next.
Programmed by an enthusiast of Ravel's Bolero, this 65-minute screening multiplies the famous composition by presenting seven examples of its application in films. It is, in a way, an experiment of extreme Bolerism. If the Bolero bewitches with its repetitive melody, 7 x the Bolero makes literal use of the motif of repetitiveness. In other words, you'll hear the Bolero seven times: five times in an shortened version, twice in its full version. It's a hypnotic, intoxicating adventure, in true Bolerian style.
The program is unusual and deliberately eclectic, featuring works on film as well as in digital format, live action as well as animation. Patrice Leconte (Le batteur du Boléro) and Ivan Maksimov (Bolero) concentrate on the invariable rhythm of Ravel's work. Bruno Bozzetto (Allegro non troppo) and Zbigniew Rybczyński (The Orchestra) focus on the inexorable nature of the crescendo. For their part, Michel M. Delgao (El Bolero de Raquel), Claude Lelouch (Les uns et les autres) and Estonian students Erik Alunurm, Mihkel Reha, Mari-Liis Rebane and Mari Pakkas (Breakfast on the Grass) use the Bolero as a reminder that it was originally grandiose ballet music - not without sarcasm, as far as the Estonians are concerned. 7 x the Bolero will be a true happening that only a movie theater can offer!
Le batteur du Boléro, Patrice Leconte
[Fr., 1992, 8 min, num., SD]
Bolero, Ivan Maksimov
[Russie, 1993, 6 min, 35 mm, SD]
Allegro non troppo (excerpt), Bruno Bozzetto
[It., 1976, 13 min, 35 mm, SD]
The Orchestra (excerpt), Zbigniew Rybczyński
[É.-U.-Jap.-Fr., 1990, 14 min, num., SD]
El bolero de Raquel (excerpt), Miguel M. Delgado
[Mex., 1957, 4 min, num., SD]
Breakfast on the Grass (Eine murul), Erik Alunurm, Mihkel Reha, Mari-Liis Rebane, Mari Pakkas
[Est., 2011, 5 min, num., SD]
Les uns et les autres (excerpt), Claude Lelouch
[Fr., 1981, 16 min, num., SD]
Explore
Composed in 1928, Maurice Ravel's Bolero has been a staple in popular culture for decades. Its resurgence around 1980 brought the piece into the limelight. Blake Edwards briefly featured it in a memorable scene from his 1979 comedy 10. Two years later, Claude Lelouch used the entire composition as a powerful closing for Les uns et les autres. Then in 1982, the Montreal Symphony Orchestra under Charles Dutoit recorded the Bolero, garnering both public and critical acclaim. Some might also recall the unusual 1983 mash-up from Radio-Québec (now Télé-Québec), where the network’s theme song, sung by Véronique Béliveau, flowed into the Bolero’s distinctive rhythm and melody. In short, Maurice Ravel's masterpiece was in vogue.
The steady rhythm, repeating melody, and crescendo of the Bolero naturally lend themselves to cinematic storytelling. And with each use, the Bolero creates a new, distinct narrative experience.
Maurice Ravel in 1925. Bibliothèque nationale de France.
