Children of Paradise [2 Discs] [Criterion Collection]

Director: Marcel Carne Marcel Carne

Overview

Criterion presents the first ever DVD presentation of the classic Children of Paradise. The film is presented in 1.33:1 full-frame and is as close to perfection as a DVD can get. The black-and-white colors are all crisp and clean without even a hint of grain or dirt in the image. This is an excellent transfer which should please any fans of the film. The soundtrack is presented in Dolby Digital 1.0 Mono and is aptly supportive of the film. While the directional effects are nonexistent, overall, this is a very clean, crisp soundtrack that includes no hiss or distortion in the mix. Also included on this disc are optional English subtitles. There are a few well-produced extra features on this disc, starting with a video introduction by filmmaker Terry Gilliam. A commentary track by film scholars Brian Stonehill and Charles Affron allow a rare glimpse into the making of the film. A gallery of behind-the-scenes and production still gallery is included, as is a restoration demonstration showing how Criterion preserved the film. Finally, there is a theatrical trailer for the film, text treatment by writer Jacques Prévert, and some production drawings from the film. All in all, this is an excellent edition of Children of Paradise that should please fans.

Product Details

Release Date:	01/22/2002
UPC:	0037429151723
Original Release:	1945
Rating:	PG
Source:	Criterion
Presentation:	[B&W]
Sound:	[Dolby Digital Mono]
Language:	English
Time:	3:10:00
Sales rank:	59,686

Special Features

New digital transfer; Commentary by film scholars Brian Stonehill and Charles Affron; Video introduction by director Terry Gilliam; Restoration demonstration; New and improved English subtitle translation; Optimal image quality: RSDL dual-layer edition; Jacques Prévert's film treatment; Production designs by Alexandre Trauner; Production stills gallery; Filmographies for Marcel Carné and Jacques Prévert; U.S. theatrical trailer; 26-page booklet, including transcribed excerpts from Brian Stonehill's 1990 interview with Marcel Carné, cast biographies, and an essay by film historian Peter Cowie

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits

Arletty	Garance
Jean-Louis Barrault	Baptiste Debureau
Pierre Brasseur	Frederick Lemaitre
Marcel Herrand	Pierre-Francois Lacenaire
Louis Salou	Edouard de Monteray
Maria Casares	Nathalie
Pierre Renoir	Jericho
Fabien Loris	Avril
Etienne Decroux	Anselme Debureau
Jane Marken	Mme. Hermine
Leon Larive	Stage Doorman, `Funambules'
Pierre Palov	Stage Manager, `Funambules'
Marcel Peres	Director, `Funambules'
Albert Remy	Scarpia Barrigni
Gaston Modot	Fil de Sole
Jacques Castelot	George
Jean Gold	Second Dandy
Guy Favieres	Debt Collector
Paul Frankeur	Police Inspector
Lucienne Vigier	First Pretty Girl
Cynette Quero	Second Pretty Girl
Gustave Hamilton	Stage Doorman, `Grand Theatre'
Rognoni	Director, `Grand Theatre'
Auguste Boverio	First Author
Paul Demange	Second Author
Jean Diener	Third Author
Louis Florencie	Policeman
Marcelle Monthil	Marie
Robert Dhery	Celestin
Lucien Walter	Ticket Seller
Jean-Pierre Delmon	Little Baptiste
Raphael Patorni	Another Dandy
Jean Lanier	Iago
Habib Benglia	Arab Attendant
Pierre Palau	Director
Jean Carmet	Actor
Louis Salon	Actor
George Mouque	Composer
Maurice Thiriet	Composer
Joseph Kosma	Composer

Technical Credits

Jacques Prevert

Marcel Carne	Director
Jacques Prevert	Screenwriter
Fred Orain	Producer

Scene Index

Side #1 -- Disc One
1. Opening Titles [3:31]
2. "The Boulevard of Crime" [5:15]
3. Lacenaire & His Guardian Angel [6:27]
4. Baptiste Rescues Garance [6:15]
5. Backstage at Les Funambules [5:24]
6. Chaos Onstage [6:38]
7. Baptiste & Nathalie [3:42]
8. Frédérick Lemaître [2:22]
9. At Madame Hermine's [2:48]
10. Baptiste & the Blind Man [2:49]
11. At the Rouge Gorge [7:37]
12. Baptiste Fights Back [4:28]
13. "Love Is So Simple" [4:47]
14. Baptiste Loses His Nerve [2:55]
15. "Paris Is Small..." [2:08]
16. Onstage at Les Funambules [5:48]
17. Nathalie Speaks [4:44]
18. Hope Remains [2:55]
19. Frédérick & Garance [4:16]
20. The Court de Montray [4:45]
21. A Man Full of Hate [3:46]
22. Criminals at Work [2:30]
23. A Judicial Error [5:17]
24. Color Bars [:20]
1. Introduction
2. Garance/Frédérick
3. Lacenaire/Jéricho
4. Baptiste
5. Backstage World
6. Appetite for Diversion
7. Poetic Realism
8. Frédérick's Passion
9. Shameless Flirting
10. Carné & Prévert
11. Paradox & Hierarchy
12. A Cubist Film
13. Head & Heart
14. Two Kinds of Love
15. From Flowers to Astronomy
16. A Sophisticated Juggling Act
17. Wounds
18. A Circular Dance
19. Love the Whole World Over
20. The Language of Flowers
21. Broken Hearts
22. Misinformation
23. An Object of Art
24. Color Bars
Side #2 -- Disc Two
1. Opening Titles Repeated [3:43]
2. Summary of Part One [1:02]
3. "The Man in White" [4:59]
4. Rehearsing With the Authors [4:10]
5. Opening Night Improvisation [5:21]
6. Frédérick Meets Lacenaire [5:39]
7. Duel [1:55]
8. Garance Has Changed [4:16]
9. Baptiste Performs [4:35]
10. Frédérick Is Jealous [3:03]
11. Backstage Reunion [4:55]
12. "Yes, I'm All Alone" [2:47]
13. A Visit From Lacenaire [7:04]
14. Garance & the Count [4:09]
15. Baptiste Hides From the World [4:24]
16. Frédérick as Othello [2:13]
17. Baptiste & Garance Reunited [4:57]
18. "Jealousy Belongs to All" [5:44]
19. Garance Was Right [1:44]
20. At the Bath [3:47]
21. Nathalie Intervenes [5:31]
22. Lost in the Carnival [2:52]
23. Color Bars [:19]
1. A Film in Two Parts
2. Prévert's Creative Chronology
3. Frédérick's Fame
4. French Romanticism
5. Reversals & Inventions
6. A Real Drama
7. Death Off-Screen
8. Garance's Formality
9. Pierrot & the Rag Man
10. Meeting of Life & Art
11. Robert Le Vigan/Maria Casarès
12. Nathalie's Ploy
13. Power Games & Private Spaces
14. Alienated Lovers
15. Baptiste's Suffering
16. Shakespeare
17. Time Has Stood Still
18. "The Plots Are All the Same"
19. Poetic Realism
20. Exoticism & Murder
21. Lovers Interrupted
22. Final Ironies
23. Color Bars

Menu

Side #1 -- Disc One
   Play the Movie
   Terry Gilliam Introduction
   Chapters
   Commentary
      Play
      Index
   Subtitles
      Optional English Subtitles: On
      Optional English Subtitles: Off
   Restoration Demonstration
Side #2 -- Disc Two
   Play the Movie
   Chapters
   Commentary
      Play
      Index
   Subtitles
      Optional English Subtitles: On
      Optional English Subtitles: Off
   Film Treatment
   Stills Gallery
   Production Designs
      Trauner Designs
      Barsacq Designs
   Filmographies
      Carné Filmography
      Prévert Filmography
   Trailer

Editorial Reviews

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 Prévert's intelligent script was nominated for a screenplay Oscar. Even as Carné 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 and Prévert's crowning achievement.

All Movie Guide - Lucia Bozzola