Children of Paradise (1945) ( Les Enfants du paradis )

Children of Paradise (1945) (DVD) (*)

$24.99

Original Title: Les Enfants du paradis
Screened, competed or awarded at:
Oscar Academy Awards

Language Selections:
English ( Subtitles )
French ( Mono )

Product Origin/Format:
France ( PAL/Region 2 )

Running Time:
182 min

Aspect Ratio:
Fullscreen

Special Features:
2-DVD Set
Interactive Menu
Scene Access
Black & White
Remastered

Movie filmed in 1945 and produced in:
France ( France, Benelux )

Directed By:
Marcel Carné

Written By:
Jacques Prévert

Actors:
Arletty ..... Garance (Claire Reine)
Jean-Louis Barrault ..... Baptiste Debureau
Pierre Brasseur ..... Frédérick Lemaître
Pierre Renoir ..... Jéricho
María Casares ..... Nathalie (as María Casarès)
Gaston Modot ..... Fil de Soie
Fabien Loris ..... Avril
Marcel Pérès ..... Director of the Funambules
Palau ..... Stage manager of the Funambules (as Pierre Palau)
Etienne Decroux ..... Anselme Debureau (as Étienne Decroux)
Jane Marken ..... Mme. Hermine (as Jeanne Marken)
Marcelle Monthil ..... Marie
Louis Florencie ..... Policeman
Habib Benglia ..... Turk.ish Bath Attendant
Rognoni ..... Director, 'Grand Theatre'

Synopsis:

Set amidst the glittering theater world of 19th century Paris, the story revolves around the beautiful and free-spirited courtesan, Garance, and the four men who compete for her affections; a mime-artist, an actor, an aristocrat and a criminal. As the melodrama unfolds, we are treated to one of cinema's greatest love stories, a captivating tale of passion, deception and murder.

This tale centers around the love between Baptiste, a theater mime, and Claire Reine, an actress and otherwise woman-about-town who calls herself Garance. Garance, in turn, is loved by three other men: Frederick, a pretentious actor; Lacenaire, a conniving thief; and Count Edouard of Montray. The story is further complicated by Nathalie, an actress who is in love with Baptiste. Garance and Baptiste meet when Garance is falsely accused of stealing a man's watch. Garance is forced to enter the protection of Count Edouard when she is innocently implicated in a crime committed by Lacenaire. In the intervening years of separation, both Garance and Baptiste become involved in loveless relationships with the Count and Nathalie, respectively. Baptiste is the father of a son. Returning to Paris, Garance finds that Baptiste has become a famous mime actor. Nathalie sends her child to foil their meeting, but Baptiste and Garance manage one night together. Lacenaire murders Edouard. In the last scenes, Garance is returning to Edouard's hotel and disaster as Baptiste struggles after her through crowds of merrymakers, many dressed as his famous character.

Shooting secretly over a two-year period during the German Occupation of France, director

Marcel Carné and writer

Jacques Prévert produced their grandest masterwork. In the 19th century Paris theater world, life and performance become interchangeable, as the complex romantic entanglements of Arletty's inscrutable Garance with superficial actor Frederick, a wealthy count, and especially Jean-Louis Barrault's sensitive mime Baptiste become fodder for the masses crowding the 'Street of Crimes' and the theater's uppermost balcony. Structured as two intricate 'acts' complete with curtains rising and falling, the film reveals the creative power of idealized love in Baptiste's exquisite mimes of his fateful passion for Garance, even as the ebb and flow of human behavior thwarts that ideal. Magnificently recreating the period and its tradition of popular entertainment, Les Enfants du Paradis was released to international postwar acclaim for its spectacular beauty and excellent acting, while Prйvert's intelligent script was nominated for a screenplay Oscar. Even as Carnй fell out of artistic favor after the 1940s, Les Enfants du Paradis's glorious visuals transcended its association with the maligned French 'Tradition of Quality,' maintaining its legacy as Carné's and Prévert's crowning achievement.

This product was added to our catalog on Tuesday 30 July, 2024.