Alain Fleischer Publishes Unmade Sade Film Script

Alain Fleischer has published 'Sade scénario' (Le Cherche-Midi), the script for an unmade film about the Marquis de Sade that was to star Marlon Brando. The project collapsed due to a series of mishaps. In the book, Fleischer revisits 20th-century readings of Sade, notably by Pierre Klossowski and Simone de Beauvoir. He argues that Sade's major fictions (Justine, Juliette, 120 Days of Sodom) are unrepresentable on film, but his life—27 years imprisoned in Vincennes, Bastille, Pierre-Encise, Miolans, Charenton—provides rich material. Fleischer rejects comparisons between Sade and Nazism, calling Pasolini's 'Salò' a misrepresentation. He drew primarily on Gilbert Lély's 'Vie de Sade' and archival documents. Fleischer also laments the inaccessibility of his 350 films, including 'Zoo Zéro' and 'Dehors-Dedans', held at Forum des images, Maison européenne de la photographie, and Cinémathèque française.