Georges Mathieu Ou La Fureur d'Être

Introduction

For a long time the documentary "Georges Mathieu Ou La Fureur d'Être” was one of the biggest mysteries in the creative collaboration of French director Frédéric Rossif and Vangelis. Little was known about this production, until in 2006 its DVD release made it accessible to a wider audience. The film, which gives a unique view on the art of Georges Mathieu, is the second collaboration between Frédéric Rossif and Vangelis, after their initial documentary “Cantique Des Créatures” (1970). What makes "Georges Mathieu Ou La Fureur d'Être” unique is Vangelis' personal appearance in the final section, as part of an improvised performance where Georges Mathieu paints 'live', accompanied by Vangelis who simultaneously improvises his music before the camera!

Georges Mathieu (1921-2012) was a French abstract painter, recognized as one of the leading performers of ‘action painting'. His abstract style of painting is mostly based on intuition and spontaneity, which is expressed in his paintings by the speed in production and adding paint in impulsive movements straight from the tube. Mathieu considers himself a traditional painter of history, with many of his works inspired by historical events. Apart from his paintings, Georges Mathieu has also provided artwork for commercials, posters, events, furniture, jewelry and even the French 10 franc coin...

Other art-based documentaries by Frédéric Rossif that Vangelis provided a musical score for include Au Pays Des Visages (1972), Georges Braque Ou Le Temps Différent (1974), Pablo Picasso Peintre (1981) and Morandi (1989).

Details and credits

Title: Georges Mathieu Ou La Fureur d'Être
Year: 1971
Country: France
Length: 53 minutes
Directed by Frédéric Rossif
General director: Jean-Charles Cuttoli
Scenario: Frédéric Rossif
Music: Vangelis Papathanassiou
Decors: Jacques Marillier
Photography: André Maurice
Cameraman: Bernard Zitzermann
Operator: Georges Barsky
Sound Engineer: Harald Maury
Dialog by François Billetdoux and Nathalie Nerval
Montage: Geneviève Winding and Gizele Chezeau
Producer: Michelle Wiart
Assistent producer: Jean Mylonas
Produced by Télé-Hachette and Bayerischer Rundfunk

Media

DVD

2006 Zoroastre France (PAL all region)

The DVD is still for sale directly from Zoroastre here.

Synopsis

Frédéric Rossif's “Georges Mathieu Ou La Fureur d'Être” is a film organized around an improvised graphic interview with Georges Mathieu, conducted at the filmmaker's request. It gives the film a narrative line which, by “fictionalizing” it, restores, in the form of an initiatory tale, placed under the seal of the sign, the rites, ceremonial and, in the end, all the mystery and marvellous legend of Georges Mathieu. Mathieu painted two canvases live for this film: Charles Quint and La Nécessité de l'espérance. It is then, through the magic of cinema, that the motion of the cinematograph intimately embraces the creative gesture, bringing to light the supreme quintessence of genius at work, Mathieu's art, the premise for the supreme feast of being: the privilege of being. “Georges Mathieu Ou La Fureur d'Être” marks one of the very first collaborations between Frédéric Rossif and Vangelis.

Mathieu's genius, united with that of Vangelis, summoned under Rossif's extraordinary eye, makes this film much more than a work of art: through the exaltation of all the senses, it is a veritable manifesto for future generations, a call for an aesthetic, spiritual and moral Renaissance. The highly prophetic aspect of this Dionysian work finds unexpected extensions in today's world, more than thirty years on.

The film is enhanced by the majesty of François Billetdoux's commentary and the melodious, haunting voices of the playwright and actress Nathalie Nerval. All these elements combine to give Rossif's work an epic, chivalric breath, imbued with the flashes and beauty of childhood, which merge with the grandeur of Mathieu's art.

They also support the poetic value that emerges from the whole, completing and translating Mathieu's semantic revolution through the filmmaker's language and the very essence of cinematic art: the sign precedes its meaning.

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