FILM SCREENINGS

No Sun in Venice

1957. France. Written and directed by Roger Vadim. With Francoise Arnoul, Christian Marquand, Robert Hossein. Set in a wintry Venice (beautifully photographed in hues of deep blue and green by Armand Thirard), Vadim's continental melodrama features one of John Lewis's most enduring scores. Rarely has the inimitable, crystalline Modern Jazz Quartet sound of vibraphone, piano, string bass, and drums seemed more dreamy or erotic. Several of the tracks are now MJQ standards: "Three Windows," with its triple fugue form; "Cortege," a dirge-like ballad; and "The Golden Striker," a bell-clear composition said to have been inspired by the chiming mechanical clock in Venice's St. Mark's Square. In French; English subtitles. 97 min.