Synopsis
Michel Simon gives one of the most memorable performances in screen history as Boudu, a Parisian tramp who takes a suicidal plunge into the Seine and is rescued by a well-to-do bookseller, Edouard Lestingois (Charles Granval). The Lestingois family decides to take in the irrepressible bum, and he shows his gratitude by shaking the household to its foundations. With Boudu Saved from Drowning, legendary director Jean Renoir takes advantage of a host of Parisian locations and the anarchic charms of his lead actor to create an effervescent satire of the bourgeoisie.
Cast
| Boudu | Michel Simon |
| Lestingois | Charles Granval |
| Madame Lestingois | Marcelle Hainia |
| Anne Marie | Séverine Lerczinska |
| Vigour | Jean Gehret |
| Godin | Max Dalban |
| The student | Jean Dasté |
| The poet | Jacques Becker |
Credits
| Director | Jean Renoir |
| Screenplay | Albert Valentin and Jean Renoir |
| After the play by | René Fauchois |
| Producer | Michel Simon, Jean Gehret and Marc Le Pelletier |
| Assistant director | Jacques Becker and Georges Darnoux |
| Cinematography | Marcel Lucien and Georges Asselin |
| Editing | Marguerite Houllé and Suzanne de Troye |
| Sound | Igor Kalinowski |
| Sets | Jean Castanier and Hugues Laurent |
Disc Features
- New, restored high-definition digital transfer
- Archival introduction by Jean Renoir
- New video interview with filmmaker Jean-Pierre Gorin
- Excerpt from a 1967 Cinéastes de notre temps program, featuring Renoir and Michel Simon
- French television conversation between director Eric Rohmer and critic Jean Douchet
- Interactive map of 1930s Paris, highlighting the film’s locations
- New and improved English subtitle translation
- Plus: a new essay by Renoir scholar Christopher Faulkner
From the Current
Boudu Saved from Drowning:
Tramping in the City
by
Aug 22, 2005
When Jean Renoir looked back on Boudu Saved from Drowning from the vantage point of 1967, there were two aspects of the film that stood out in his mind. One, not surprisingly, was the brilliant, idiosyncratic performance of Michel Simon, in the role of Boudu, which . . .
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