Farewell to "Our Lady of the Fantastique" - the sublime Édith Scob (b. Édith Vladimirovna Scobeltzine), who has left this world at age 81. More than any other actress, she epitomized for me the essence of the Uncanny onscreen. She is the very avatar of what my own writing about the fantastic cinema has always sought to celebrate.
Unforgettable in the works of Georges Franju, including HEAD AGAINST THE WALL, EYES WITHOUT A FACE (her signature role), JUDEX and THÉRÈSE DESQUEYROUX, as well as Luís Buñuel’s THE MILKY WAY, Christophe Gans’ BROTHERHOOD OF THE WOLF, Pitof’s VIDOCQ, and most recently, Leos Carax’s THE LOVERS ON THE BRIDGE and HOLY MOTORS. If a filmmaker needed a figure of enchantment, they went to her - but she could be much more than the characters who, as she said, walked with their feet somewhat above the ground. She also took fierce pride in playing strong, capable, down-to-earth women, as she did in Patrice Leconte’s MAN ON THE TRAIN, Andrzej Zuławski’s FIDELITY, and Olivier Assayas’ SUMMER HOURS. Her filmography amounts to nearly 120 titles in film and television and she also had grand successes onstage.
Most preciously to me, she became a friend and intermittent pen pal after I conducted her longest-ever print interview for VIDEO WATCHDOG #107 with the help of my long distance friend and colleague, Frédéric Albert Levy. Here is a look back at the cover of that issue (featuring Charlie Largent's splendid cover art) and the essay I wrote to introduce her interview, on my short list of the top achievements from our 27-year publishing history.
Édith told me that she loved my introductory essay and invited me to visit her at her home, should I ever find myself in her part of the world. My deepest condolences to her husband, the composer Georges Aperghis, their children, and the grandchildren she so adored.
RIP Milady.
(c) 2019 by Tim Lucas. All rights reserved.
VIDEO WATCHDOG 107 scans (c) 2004 by Tim and Donna Lucas.
