Set in turn-of-the-century Austria, this exquisite film starts out following an innocent love affair and takes a tragic turn. Based on Arthur Schnitzler’s play, LIEBELEI represents both Max Ophuls’ biggest triumph and his last film before the rise of the Nazis.

Director Max Ophuls' last completed film is based on the life of dancer and femme fatale Lola Montez (1821-1861). This epic historical romance revolves around the two most famous of Lola’s many affairs - with composer Franz Liszt and King Ludwig I of Bavaria. The most expensive European film of its time, LOLA MONTÈS flopped at the box office, but its artistic influence is highly acclaimed by film critics to the present day.

Director Max Ophüls’ final European film before emigrating to Hollywood is a frothy romance on the surface, but world war was brewing underneath, both on screen and off. John Lodge is Archduke Franz Ferdinand, whose love of a Czech aristocrat (Edwige Feuillère) and vision for Austria’s future put him at odds with his father - the country’s emperor - and ultimately into the crosshairs of an assassin. “The director’s lavish eye for the pomp of power is untinged with nostalgia; his vision of the era begins with a phony press release and ends in disaster.” - Richard Brody, The New Yorker. In French with English subtitles.