Madame Bovary

Lonely Emma Bovary longs for romance, glamour, possessions. Wed to a country doctor she instead gets routine, motherhood and penny-pinching. So when she catches the eye of a handsome aristocrat, Emma risks all to reach for what she thinks will be happiness. Jennifer Jones stars in this lush adaptation of Gustave Flaubert's famous novel that scandalized 19th century France. The film's capstone is the stunning ballroom scene, contrasting Emma's social success with her husband's failure, culminating in his drunken arrival on the dance floor. In this famed sequence (highlighted by the unforgettable music of Miklos Rozsa), masterful director Vincente Minnelli skillfully combines dissolves, cross-cuts, pans, long takes- a library of techniques into a seamless triumph of head-spinning gaiety, heart-breaking despair, and moviemaking artistry.

• romance