Events

Rialto Pictures is proud to announce the restoration and re-release of the late Alain Resnais’ seminal debut film HIROSHIMA MON AMOUR, which will be released theatrically in the U.S. for the first time in decades on Friday, October 17 in New York and Los Angeles following its premiere at the 2014 New York Film Festival. A pillar of the French New Wave, long unavailable for exhibition in the United States due to rights issues, it will be released nationally in a spectacular new 4K restoration.  

Employing a radical use of voice-over narration and quickly-flashbacked scenes, Hiroshima Mon Amour tells the story of a brief relationship in post-war Japan between a French actress, played by Oscar nominee Emmanuelle Riva (Amour), and a Japanese architect, played by Eiji Okada (Woman in the Dunes).

The Oscar-nominated screenplay was written by Marguerite Duras, who in novels like The Lover, often dealt with European/Asian relationships. 2014 marks Duras’ centennial and she will be honored with a film series, “By Marguerite Duras,”  October 15-22 at the Film Society of Lincoln Center.

A worldwide art house sensation when first released, and widely considered one of the most beautiful and influential movies ever made, Hiroshima Mon Amour was awarded the International Critics’ prize at the 1959 Cannes Film Festival. Due to its harrowing anti-nuclear stance, it was kept out of the main competition to avoid offending the U.S.  Hiroshima returned to Cannes last year in this new 4K restoration.  Director Alain Resnais died this past March 1st at age 91.

Hiroshima Mon Amour has been restored by Argos Films, Fondation Groupama Gan, Fondation Technicolor, and Cineteca Bologna, with support from the CNC.

Founded in 1997, New York-based specialty distributor Rialto Pictures has released over 70 classic films, including Resnais’ Last Year at Marienbad, Godard’s Breathless, and the recently restored Godzilla: The Japanese Original. Rialto now represents the Studiocanal library of over 2,000 classics.

"RESNAIS’ TESTAMENT!  THE MOST IMPORTANT CONTRIBUTION TO FILM AESTHETICS SINCE CITIZEN KANE!  Duras’ script soars to new levels of narratage! Riva's portrayal provides that rare illusion of continuous existence beyond the ellipses of the cinema!” – Andrew Sarris

“A TOUR DE FORCE!” - The New York Times

 “ONE OF THE MOST INFLUENTIAL FILMS IN THE SHORT HISTORY OF THE MEDIUM! It's difficult to quantify the breadth of Hiroshima's impact.” – Kent Jones

“VISUALLY PERFECT LIKE FEW OTHERS!  THERE’S BARELY A FRAME YOU COULDN’T EXTRACT, EXPAND AND HANG ON THE WALL!” – Tom Huddleston, Time Out (London)

“THE MOST BEAUTIFUL FILM I’VE EVER SEEN!” – Claude Chabrol

“IT BREAKS DOWN A WALL OPENING NEW HORIZONS TO THE CINEMA!” – Henri-Georges Clouzot