In 1932, Michel Simon plays in “Boudu sauvé des eaux” under the direction of Jean Renoir.
Three years later, he was again invited to don the clothes of the famous tramp on the sets of Boulogne.
But it’s to shoot a film for advertising …Read More »
Jean Renoir
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Jean Renoir – Clo-Cloche AKA A Bum Deal (1935)
1931-1940FranceJean RenoirShort Film -
Jean Renoir – La nuit du carrefour AKA Night at the Crossroads (1932)
Jean Renoir1931-1940CrimeFranceMysteryInspector Maigret investigates the mysterious murder of a Dutch diamond dealer, found dead in a stolen car. The car belongs to an insurance agent, Michonnet, and has been abandoned in the garage belonging to Carl Andersen.Read More »
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Jean Renoir & Jean Tédesco – La petite marchande d’allumettes AKA The Little Match Girl (1928)
Jean Renoir1921-1930ClassicsFranceJean TédescoShort FilmThe story of a frozen girl who tries to sell matches during Christmas and dreams about a toy store. The film is based on the 1845 short story of the same name by Hans Christian Andersen.Read More »
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Jean Renoir – Sur un air de Charleston aka Charleston parade (1927)
Jean Renoir1921-1930FantasyFranceSci-FiPLOT DESCRIPTION
French filmmaker Jean Renoir would later remark that he directed the sensual dance fantasy Charleston because he’d “just discovered American jazz.” He also had some stock footage left over from his previous silent success Nana, and decided it would be provident to fashion a new film from these leavings. Even without the benefit of sound, one can hear the jazzy rhythms of Charleston through the exuberant gyrations of an African-American dancer whom Renoir and his star, actress Catherine Hessling, had discovered for this picture. Originally titled Sur un air de Charleston, the film was also released as Charleston Parade in English-speaking countries. In some areas of the US and Europe, the film was greeted with protests from censorship boards who simply couldn’t appreciate the aesthetic value in Catherine Hessling’s near-nude dance numbers.
~ Hal Erickson, All Movie GuideRead More » -
Jean Renoir – La règle du jeu aka The Rules of the Game (1939)
1931-1940Amos Vogel: Film as a Subversive ArtDramaFranceJean RenoirAlain Resnais° wrote:
It remains, I think, the single overwhelming experience I’ve ever had in a cinema. When I first came out of the theater, I remember I just had to sit on the edge of the pavement. I sat there for about five minutes and then I walked the streets of Paris for a couple of hours. For me, every thing had been turned upside down. All my ideas about the cinema had been changed. While I was actually watching the film, my impressions were so strong physically that I thought that if this or that sequence would to go for one more shot, I would either burst into tears or scream or something. Since then, of course, I’ve seen it at least fifteen times like most filmmakers of my generation. I even recorded the whole soundtrack on my tape recorder and it’s amazing how well it stands up well on its own.Read More » -
Various – La Vie est à nous AKA Life Is Ours (1936)
France1931-1940Jacques B. BruniusJacques BeckerJean RenoirJean-Paul Le ChanoisPoliticsVariousQuote:
A propaganda film produced by the French Communist Party (PCF) for the campaign for the May 1936 elections – which brought the Popular Front to power – “La vie est à nous”, by Jean Renoir, was shot by a team of militant filmmakers and technicians.Read More » -
Jean Renoir – La fille de l’eau AKA The Whirlpool of Fate (1925)
1921-1930FranceJean RenoirRomanceSilentAn orphan (Catherine Hessling) escapes from her cruel uncle and finds refuge with a landowner’s son, but her happiness is short-lived.Read More »
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Jean Renoir – Nana [+ Commentary] (1926)
Jean Renoir1921-1930DramaFranceSilentNana (1926)
When the vivacious and beautiful Nana bombs at the Théâtre des Variétés, she embarks on the life of a courtesan, using her allure and charisma to entice and pleasure men.Read More »
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Jean Renoir – La Marseillaise [+ Commentary] (1938)
1931-1940DramaFranceJean RenoirPoliticsA film about the early part of the French Revolution, shown from the eyes of the citizens of Marseille, counts in German exile and, of course, the king Louis XVI, each showing their own small problems.Read More »