An ingenious and poignant experience, Francois Truffaut's fascinating The Wild Child is based on a real-life 18th-century behavioural scientist's efforts to turn a feral boy into a civilised specimen. In a piece of resonant casting that immediately turns this story into an echo of the creative process, Truffaut himself plays Dr Itard, a specialist in the teaching of the deaf. Itard takes in a young lad (Jean-Pierre Cargol) found to have been living like an animal in the woods all his life. In the spirit of social experiment, Itard uses rewards and punishments to retool the boy's very existence into something that will impress the world. Beautifully photographed in black and white and making evocative use of such charmingly antiquated filmmaking methods as the iris shot, The Wild Child has a semi-documentary form that barely veils Truffaut's confessional slant. What does it mean to turn the raw material of life into a monument to one's own experience and bias? The question has all sorts of intriguing reverberations when one considers that Truffaut's own wild childhood was rescued by love of the cinema and that a degree of verisimilitude factors into his films starring Jean-Pierre Leaud--the troubled lad who grew up in Truffaut's work from The 400 Blows onward. (The Wild Child is dedicated to Leaud.) --Tom Keogh
A four disc DVD box set of World Cinema classics from acclaimed French director Claude Berri. Jean De Florette (1986): French director Claude Berri's stunning adaptation of the acclaimed Marcel Pagnol novel is the winner of numerous international awards and is the world's most popular foreign language film ever. City-dweller Jean de Florette (Gerad Depardieu) moves his family to the Provence countryside in the 1920's to forge a new life as a farmer. But his proud cocky neig
Robert Altman's much-anticipated broadside at the world of fashion, Pret A Porter is a disappointment. The film's crazy-quilt Nashville-like narrative structure and ensemble casting (Julia Roberts, Tim Robbins, Lauren Bacall, Marcello Mastroianni, Sophia Loren) are a thing to behold, but the story's many interlocking pieces lack overall depth and resonating emotion. There is a grand, satiric statement about fashion and society at the end of the film, and there are hints of an aging, nostalgic filmmaker's scepticism about our post-modern world of short-lived attachments and meanings. But watching this film is a long, long uphill climb, with a lot of thin air to endure before arriving at a destination. --Tom Keogh, Amazon.com
Based on the childhood memoirs of Marcel Pagnol, author of Jean de Florette and Manon des Sources, Yves Robert's La Gloire de Mon Pre and its sequel Le Chteau de Ma Mre are two of the most loved and successful French films ever made.An adult Marcel nostalgically recalls idyllic retreats with his family to the hills of Provence. A love affair with the country began and during those perfect days he found new respect for his school-teacher father as he adapted to life away from the city, while the long journey there would soon bring its own adventures.Together these timeless classics stand as one of cinema's greatest celebrations of childhood, filled with warmth, love and a poignant nostalgia for bygone days they continue to captivate audiences.
An arms dealer on the run from an Interpol agent re-evaluates the morality of his work.
A pair of lovers have a tryst in a vacant tomb, but then find themselves unable to escape form the graves and crypts of the massive cemetery. One of cult director Jean Rollin's most unconventional film, THE IRON ROSE vividly depicts the young couple's steady descent into madness.
Just a Question of Love follows the whirlwind romance of two young men in different stages of coming out. The film paints a heartbreaking portrait of the difficulties that befall a relationship when one man lives proudly out of the closet while the other has created a double life to please his parents.
On the hottest day of the year Antoine and Helene hit the road destined for the south of France. The oppressive heat and traffic gridlock take their toll on Antoine's frazzled nerves and as he attempts to cool off with one cold beer after another tensions between the bickering couple are pushed to boiling point. As night draws in Antoine stops off at yet another bar but returns to the car to find Helene missing. Panic-stricken he embarks on a desperate search only to find event
Worried by a disturbing dream, Nora wakes to find her husband missing during a trip to Litan. She goes out to find him but encounters one bizarre event after another taking place at the village festival, including uncanny acts and a masked marching band. As Nora and Jock attempt to escape the village, a series of strange murders take place against the backdrop of a mad doctor performing experiments on the recently deceased. Jean-Pierre Mocky's Litan is a classic cult Euro-horror and a Kafkaesque fever dream of surrealist imagery, arrestingly shot by Edmond Richard (The Trial, The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie).BLU-RAY SPECIAL FEATURES:New 4K restoration, available on Blu-ray (1080p) for the first time outside of FranceUncompressed mono PCM audioSmall Town Masquerade: Love, Death and Dreams in Litan - a visual essay by journalist Anton Bitel (2024, 17 mins)Archival behind-the-scenes documentary for Litan from French television (1982, 26 mins)Archival interview with Jean-Pierre Mocky about his relationship to the fantastic (1982, 12 mins)New and improved optional English subtitlesSleeve featuring newly commissioned artwork by Time Tomorrow
The story involves a rock drummer who accidentally kills a man and is drawn into a web of murder by a masked assassin who appears to have a vendetta against him.
Alexandre Dumas' celebrated book 'The Count Of Monte Cristo' follows the adventures of Edmond Dants (Gerard Depardieu) a 19th-century French version of James Bond a rich ruthless and suave purveyor of homemade justice. This French production is extravagant having the destinction of being the first filmed version of the newly restored unabridged version of Dumas' classic which runs about 800 pages. The movie was filmed all over Europe and doesn't leave out any detail from the celebrated novel.
Tintin is the world's most famous boy reporter. With his faithful dog Snowy at his side the intrepid pair travel the globe to investigate exciting cases. Along the way they encounter a colourful cast of characters who have become familiar to generations of children and adults: Captain Haddock Thompson and Thomson Professor Calculus and Oliveira da Figueira among many others.
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The first of several lavish Christie adaptations from producers John Brabourne and Richard Goodwin introducing Albert Finney as the first screen Hercule Poirot. This 1974 production of Agatha Christie's 1934 classic is a judicious mixture of mystery murder and nostalgia. Which member of the all-star cast onboard the luxurious train perforated the no-good American tycoon with a dagger twelve times? Was it Ingrid Bergman's shy Swedish missionary; or Vanessa Redgrave's English rose; Sean Connery as an Indian Army Colonel: Michael York or Jacqueline Bisset; perhaps Lauren Bacall; Anthony Perkins or John Gielgud as the victim's impassive butler. Finney spreads unease among them with subdued wit and finesse. Arguably the most successful screen adaptation of a Christie novel in addition to Bergman's Oscar for Best Supporting Actress 'Murder On The Orient Express' achieved nominations for Best Actor Screenplay Photography Costume Design and Music Score.
A veritable masterpiece of French cinema, Henri-Georges Clouzot's (The Wages of Fear, Les Diaboliques) Le Corbeau is a dark and subversive study of human nature starring Pierre Fresnay and Ginette Leclerc. A wave of hysteria sweeps the small provincial town of St. Robin when a series of poison-pen letters signed Le CorbeauĀ (The Raven) appear, denouncing several prominent members of society. Starting with the village doctor, the slow trickle of sinister letters soon becomes a flood and no one is safe from their mysterious accusations. Condemned by the political left and right and the church upon its release in 1943, Clouzot was banned from filmmaking for two years after making the film. This Classic noir is essential viewing from the director often dubbed the French Hitchcock. Features: The Cursed Masterpiece Of Henri Georges Clouzot
An explosive love story of two women who lead a reclusive professor (Lancaster) into a complex web of sexual intrigue...
A group of extreme snow boarders hit the Alps for a commercial shoot, but when one of the cameramen stumbles upon a group of terrorists hiding in the mountains, their script goes out the window.
This DVD box set features: Innocence With Dirty Hands (1975): Beautiful Julie Wormser (Schneider) is unhappily married to rich drunk slob Louis (Steiger) so plans to kill him with the help of her panicky young lover Jeff Marle (Giusti). However when the deed appears to be done Jeff scarpers leaving Julie to face the fallout. Who's Got The Black Box (1967): When US radar installations in Greece are jammed and an undercover NATO security man is killed suspicion falls on his widow who sets out to find the real culprits and prove herself innocent. The Flower Of Evil (2003): Francois (Benoit Magimel) the handsome young son returns home from a 3-year stay in Chicago and quickly rekindles a fiery romance with his cousin Michele (Melanie Doutey). Meanwhile his mother Anne (Natalie Baye) is running for public office and has stirred up more than a bit of controversy. When a slanderous letter appears in the newspaper revealing family indiscretions - incest adultery murder and even war crimes - the entire family remains firmly in denial of any wrongdoing. The dead giveaway is sweet elderly Aunt Line (Suzanne Flon) whose mischievous smile pegs her as the omniscient keeper of family secrets. Pleasure Party (1975): Phillipe and Esther live an apparently idyllic life with their daughter Elise. In an attempt to preserve this bliss Phillipe decides that he and Esther should each have affairs being sure to tell each other openly about them. The plan backfires with tragic results as Phillipe becomes engulfed in jealously. The Break Up (1970): Helene Regnier's husband Charles who is mentally ill injures their son Michel in a rage. Charles moves back in with his wealthy and manipulative parents who blame Helene for their son's condition and vow to win custody of Michel. While the boy is in hospital Helene rents a room in a boarding house nearby. The Regniers hire Paul Thomas a family acquaintance who needs money to find dirt on Helene before the court hearing on custody. Paul moves into the boarding house and with the help of his girlfriend Sonia who rarely wears clothes plots to ruin Helene's reputation and then her very life. Cop Au Vin (1985): Based on a novel by Dominique Roulet introduces the character of Inspecteur Lavardin a loner detective whose affable exterior hides a man willing to go to any lengths to find the truth though his tactics are sometimes questionable. A small French town experiences a spate of murders and Lavardin is called in to investigate. He meets withdrawn teenager Louis Cuno a postman who uses his position to gather information to stop a plot to take over his family's property. Louis lives with his overbearing crippled mother whose cruelty spurs Louis to take his amateur sleuth work a bit too far.
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Stylish and sexy Breathless [A Bout De Souffle] is the epitome of cinematic cool. A fast tale of a young man on the run in Paris at the end of the 50's Breathless shook up the film world upon its release and has made a lasting impression on cinema history. Starring Jean Paul Belmondo the film was produced by Godard from an original treatment by Fran''ois Truffaut in a production that united the four initiators of the 'nouvelle Vague' - Claude Chabrol acted as artistic director while acclaimed director Jean Pierre Melville appeared in front of camera.
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