The 18thCentury accordingto Guffroy

BY RUTH E. GOLDBERG

romwithin the oddly-shapedcluster of roughwooden set backs comes the •In Valmont, Milos Fonnans familiarcry "Attention ." Thesurrounding off-camera life of tapemeasures and film adaptation of Les Liai­ sons Dangereuses, produc­ ladders,hair sprayand spraypaint, cigarettes and sandwichesstops abruptly. tion designer Pierre Guffroy Filmdirector Milos Forman growls "action " and witha slapof the clapboard, recreated the interiors of an F opulent chateau at the Eclalr silencereigns in buildingF of EclairStudios in Epinay, a suburbnorth of Paris. Here, the Studios in Eplnay , outside Czechdirector hailed for OneFlew Over the CuckoosNest , Hair,Ragtjne and Amadeus Paris. Guffroy decorated with and his Czech/Americancrew have been filming Valmont , an adaptationof the 18th­ genuine antiques and bought real silks and velvets, such as centuryFrench play, Les Liaisons Dangereuses. those draped around the can­ Theplot of Valmontis alreadyfamiliar to manythrough Stepben Frear 's Dangerous ape bed (1). "You can't get such folds with imitation ma ­ Liaisonsfilm, as wellas the WestEnd and Broadwayproductions which spawned the terials," he note s. currentinterest. With a bountifulbudget from Renn Productions (The Bear and Jean de Florette), Forman'scompany was able to affordthe bestof all possibleworlds : returning • Pour Valmont, /'adaptation Parisianstreets and openmarkets to originalperiod states for exterior shots and cinematograpbique des Liai­ constructingchateau and carriagesets for interiorscenes . Thisallows for period accuracy sons Dangereuses de Milos Forman , le de corateur as wellas controlin lightingconditions and cameraaccessibility . Pierre Guffroy a construit les Chargedwith recreating Valmont's era , arguablythe mostopulent in Westernhistory, is tnterleurs d'un cbateau lux­ productiondesigner Pierre Guffro y. At6 3, Guffroyhas worked with directors as diverseas ueux dans les studios d'Epi ­ nay aux alentours de Paris . JeanCocteau , LuisBufiuel, Robert Bresson and Fran~oisTruffaut. He is probably best II a utilise des meubles an- knownfor his touchwith Roman Polanski. With Polanski 's Tess, Guffroywon the 1981 ciens et de verltables sates et Oscarfor best set decoration and was a lsonomin atedfor a Cesar. Hewon the bestdecor velours comme ceux du lit a baldaquins (1) . •on n'obtient Cesarfor Polanski's Piratesin 1986, honoringthe actualSpani sh galleonthat Guffroy pas les memes effets avec les tookfrom scratchpad to shipyardover three years . Hisfirst Academy Award nomination was tissus syntbetiques • a precise in 1966for Is ParisBurning? , whilehis firstwinning Cesar was in 1975-the yearof the Guffroy. ... In Valmont, Milos Formans Film nach dem Buch Les Ua/sons Dangereuses , baute der pro­ duction designer Pierre Guffroy In den ausserhalb von Paris llegenden Eclalr Studios In Eplnay das lnnere elnes op­ ulenten Schlosses nach. Guffroy stattete es mlt echten antlken Moblllar aus. Er kaufte echte Seide und Samt unter an­ PIERREGUFFROY DESIGNS MILOS FORMAN'S derem fuer das canape bed ( 1J. " Man kann solche Falten nlcht VALMONT' mlt lmltatlonen herstellen" , i~ ·~,<' bemerkte er.

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