#141: CARNÉ, Marcel: Children of Paradise (1945)

CARNÉ, Marcel (France)
Children of Paradise [1945]
Spine #141
DVD

Poetic realism reaches sublime heights with Children of Paradise (Les enfants du paradis), the ineffably witty tale of a woman loved by four different men. Deftly entwining theater, literature, music, and design, director Marcel Carné and screenwriter Jacques Prévert resurrect the tumultuous world of 19th-century Paris, teeming with hucksters and aristocrats, thieves and courtesans, pimps and seers. The Criterion Collection is proud to present this milestone of cinema in a new high-definition fim transfer made from the restored negative.

190 minutes
Black & White

Monaural

in French

1:33:1 aspect ratio

Criterion Release 2002

Director/Writers

Screenplay by Jacques Prévert.

Marcel Carné was 39 when he directed Children of Paradise.

Other Carné films in the Collection:

#245: Port of Shadows (1938)
#1139: Hôtel du Nord (1938)
#626: Les Visiteurs du Soir (1942)

The Film

The Extras

The Booklet

Twenty-six page booklet featuring an essay by Peter Cowie, cast biographies, and an interview with Carné by Brian Stonehill.

Commentary

Part 1: The Boulevard of Crime, by film scholar Stonehill.

Part 2: The Man in White, by film scholar Charles Affron.

Video introduction

By director Terry Gilliam.

Restoration demonstration

Prévert’s film treatment

Production designs

By Alexandre Trauner.

Filmographies

For Carné and Prévert.

U.S. theatrical trailer

99

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