Overview
A tale of love and loss set against the backdrop of 19th century Paris, where fate intertwines the lives of three individuals through a pair of earrings.
Ember's analysis
- Pacing
- Measured
- Intensity
- Strong
- Complexity
- Layered
- Violence
- Mild
- sensuous
- melancholic
- elegant
- classic cinema evening
- romantic drama night
What critics said
Critics broadly celebrate Ophüls's graceful, sensuous camerawork, romantic atmosphere, performances, and powerful depiction of luxury intertwined with loss.
What sets it apart
May contain story progression spoilers
The diamond earrings repeatedly pass from Louise to André, Lola, and Donati, linking debt, deception, desire, and fate.
Ophüls uses sensuous, constantly mobile camerawork through balls, salons, corridors, and ceremonial spaces.
Louise's marriage, debts, adultery, and public reputation are governed by late nineteenth-century aristocratic convention.
The earrings' successive sales, purchases, gifts, and returns propel misunderstandings and romantic misfortune.
Films like The Earrings of Madame de..., and why
Lola Montès
shared sumptuous period romance, marital infidelity, and emotionally devastating social performance
Letter from an Unknown Woman
shared elegant black-and-white romantic melodrama, doomed passion, and elaborate camera movement
The Rules of the Game
shared European aristocratic romance, adultery, and tragic conflict between desire and social convention
Movie Details
- Director
- Max Ophüls
- Release Date
- 1953-04-16
- Runtime
- 105 min
- Rating
- 7.5 / 10 (264)
Cast
- Charles Boyer
- Danielle Darrieux
- Vittorio De Sica
- Jean Debucourt
- Jean Galland
- Mireille Perrey
- Paul Azaïs
- Jacques Josselin
- Hubert Noël
- Lia Di Leo
Where to watch in United States
- Streaming
- HBO Max Amazon Channel, Criterion Channel, HBO Max
- Rent
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Fandango At Home
- Buy
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Fandango At Home
Streaming options come from TMDB and change over time.
Common questions
- What is The Earrings of Madame de... about?
- A dazzling Belle Époque romance turns a pair of diamond earrings into a fragile map of marriage, deception, and doomed desire.
- What is The Earrings of Madame de... like to watch?
- Ember's analysis rates the pacing of The Earrings of Madame de... as measured, its intensity as strong and its storytelling as layered.
- Is The Earrings of Madame de... violent?
- Only mildly. Ember rates the violence in The Earrings of Madame de... as mild.
- What did critics think of The Earrings of Madame de...?
- Critics broadly celebrate Ophüls's graceful, sensuous camerawork, romantic atmosphere, performances, and powerful depiction of luxury intertwined with loss.
- Which films are like The Earrings of Madame de...?
- Films with a similar feel include Lola Montès, Letter from an Unknown Woman, and The Rules of the Game.
- How long is The Earrings of Madame de...?
- The Earrings of Madame de... runs 105 minutes.
- Where can I watch The Earrings of Madame de...?
- In United States, The Earrings of Madame de... streams on HBO Max Amazon Channel, Criterion Channel, HBO Max.
