Marcel Carné on Children of Paradise: Forty-Five Years Later
September 20, 2012
The following is excerpted from a 1990 audio interview that originally appeared on the . . . Read more »
Film Info
- France
- 1945
- 190 minutes
- Black and White
- 1.37:1
- French
- Spine #141
Poetic realism reached sublime heights with Children of Paradise, widely considered one of the greatest French films of all time. This nimble depiction of nineteenth-century Paris’s theatrical demimonde, filmed during World War II, follows a mysterious woman (Arletty) loved by four different men (all based on historical figures): an actor, a criminal, a count, and, most poignantly, a mime (Jean-Louis Barrault, in a longing-suffused performance for the ages). With sensitivity and dramatic élan, director Marcel Carné and screenwriter Jacques Prévert resurrect a world teeming with hucksters and aristocrats, thieves and courtesans, pimps and seers. And thanks to a major new restoration, this iconic classic looks and sounds richer and more detailed than ever.
Cast
| Garance | Arletty |
| Baptiste Deburau | Jean-Louis Barrault |
| Fréderick Lemaître | Pierre Brasseur |
| Lacenaire | Pierre Renoir |
| Jéricho | Marcel Herrand |
| Nathalie | María Casares |
| Count Edouard de Montray | Louis Salou |
Credits
| Director | Marcel Carné |
| Screenplay | Jacques Prévert |
| Producer | Raymond Borderie |
| Music | Joseph Kosma and Maurice Thiriet |
| Editing | Henri Rust and Madeleine Bonin |
| Costumes | Antoine Mayo |
| Production design | Alexandre Trauner |
| Cinematography | Roger Hubert |
Disc Features
- Pathé’s 2011 restoration of the film, with uncompressed monaural soundtrack on the Blu-ray edition
- Audio commentaries by film scholars Brian Stonehill and Charles Affron
- Video introduction by director Terry Gilliam
- Restoration demonstration
- U.S. trailer
- Once Upon a Time: “Children of Paradise,” a 2009 documentary on the making of the film
- New visual essay on the design of Children of Paradise by film writer Paul Ryan
- The Birth of “Children of Paradise,” a 1967 Rob Houwer Film documentary featuring interviews with director Marcel Carné; actors Arletty, Jean-Louis Barrault, and Pierre Brasseur; production designer Alexandre Trauner; and others
- New English subtitle translation
- PLUS: A booklet featuring a new essay by film scholar Dudley Andrew and excerpts from a 1990 interview with Carné
Current Posts
Film Essays
Film Essays
The Romance of Children of Paradise
By September 18, 2012
Marcel Carné’s theatrical spectacle set in early nineteenth-century Paris is an operatic work . . . Read more »
Photo Galleries
Video
Photo Galleries
Video
Video
Photo Galleries
Film Essays
Children of Paradise
By January 21, 2002
Few epics, not even Cleopatra or Titanic, have endured such disruption as Children of Paradise . . . Read more »
Film Essays
Children of Paradise
By October 21, 1991
Children of Paradise is the high-water mark of the Golden Age of French cinema. This is the . . . Read more »
Film Essays
Marcel Carné on Children of Paradise: Forty-Five Years Later
September 20, 2012
The following is excerpted from a 1990 audio interview that originally appeared on the . . . Read more »
Film Essays
The Romance of Children of Paradise
By September 18, 2012
Marcel Carné’s theatrical spectacle set in early nineteenth-century Paris is an operatic work . . . Read more »
Film Essays
Children of Paradise
By January 21, 2002
Few epics, not even Cleopatra or Titanic, have endured such disruption as Children of Paradise . . . Read more »
Film Essays
Children of Paradise
By October 21, 1991
Children of Paradise is the high-water mark of the Golden Age of French cinema. This is the . . . Read more »
Film Essays
Marcel Carné on Children of Paradise: Forty-Five Years Later
September 20, 2012
The following is excerpted from a 1990 audio interview that originally appeared on the . . . Read more »
Film Essays
The Romance of Children of Paradise
By September 18, 2012
Marcel Carné’s theatrical spectacle set in early nineteenth-century Paris is an operatic work . . . Read more »
Photo Galleries
Video
Photo Galleries
Video
Video
Photo Galleries
News
Return to Paradise
July 08, 2011
Marcel Carné’s rich backstage drama about the theater world of nineteenth-century Paris, . . . Read more »
Clippings
The Origins of Bond, James Bond
November 02, 2008
It’s all things Quantum of Solace these days, with the latest in the Bond franchise opening . . . Read more »
Film Essays
Children of Paradise
By January 21, 2002
Few epics, not even Cleopatra or Titanic, have endured such disruption as Children of Paradise . . . Read more »
Film Essays
Children of Paradise
By October 21, 1991
Children of Paradise is the high-water mark of the Golden Age of French cinema. This is the . . . Read more »
