Enfants du paradis, Les (1945)

Réalisateur:

Marcel Carné

Scénariste:

Jacques Prévert (writer)

Release Date:

15 novembre 1946 (USA)

Genre:

Drame | Romance

Plot:

This tragic tale centers around the ill-fated love between Baptiste, a theater mime, and Claire Reine...

Plot Keywords:

Romantic Rivalry | Love | Mime | Pantomime | Theater

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar.

Avis des utilisateurs:

The film is Life itself.

Ensemble

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	...	Turkish Bath Attendant
Rognoni	...	Director, 'Grand Theatre'
Jacques Castelot	...	George
Paul Frankeur	...	Police Inspector
Albert Rémy	...	Scarpia Barrigni
Robert Dhéry	...	Celestin
Auguste Bovério	...	First Author (as Auguste Boverio)
Paul Demange	...	Second Author
Louis Salou	...	Édouard, Count de Montray
Marcel Herrand	...	Pierre-François Lacenaire
reste de la distribution par ordre alphabétique:
Jean-Pierre Belmon	...	Little Baptiste Debureau (Jr.) (uncredited)
Gérard Blain	...	(uncredited)
Jean Carmet	...	Extra (uncredited)
Jean Diéner	...	Third Author (uncredited)
Guy Favières	...	Debt Collector (uncredited)
Jean Gold	...	Second Dandy (uncredited)
Gustave Hamilton	...	Stage Doorman, 'Grand Theatre' (uncredited)
Jean Lanier	...	Iago (uncredited)
Léon Larive	...	Stage Attendant (uncredited)
Lucienne Legrand	...	First Pretty Girl (uncredited)
André Numès Fils	...	Man whose watch gets stolen (uncredited)
Raphaël Patorni	...	Another dandy (uncredited)
Cynette Quero	...	Second Pretty Girl (uncredited)
Roger Vincent	...	Bit part (uncredited)
Lucien Walter	...	Ticket Seller (uncredited)

Réalisé par
Marcel Carné

Scénaristes (in alphabetical order)
Jacques Prévert		writer

Produit par
Raymond Borderie	....	producer
Fred Orain	....	producer

Musique originale
Maurice Thiriet
Joseph Kosma		(uncredited)

Image
Marc Fossard
Roger Hubert

Montage
Henri Rust		(as Henry Rust)
Madeleine Bonin		(uncredited)

Création des décors
Alexandre Trauner		(as Alex. Trauner)

Direction artistique
Léon Barsacq		(as Leon Barsacq)
Raymond Gabutti

Création des costumes
Mayo

Directeur de production
Louis Théron	....	unit manager

Assistant réalisateur
Pierre Blondy	....	artistic assistant director
Bruno Tireux	....	technical assistant director

Technicien du son
Robert Teisseire	....	sound engineer

Music Department
Charles Münch	....	conductor

Production Companies

• Pathé Cinéma

Distributors

• Pathé Consortium Cinéma (1945) (France) (theatrical)
• Tricolore (1947) (USA) (theatrical) (subtitled)
• Criterion Collection, The (1992) (USA) (video) (laserdisc)
• Criterion Collection, The (2002) (USA) (DVD)
• Versátil Home Vídeo (2002) (Brazil) (DVD)
• Zazie Films (2005) (Japan) (theatrical)

Other Companies

• Lanvin  costume makers (uncredited)

Autre(s) titre(s) :

Boulevard du crime, Le (France) (first part title)
Children of Paradise (USA)
Homme blanc, L' (France) (second part title)
Enfants du paradis, Les (Belgium: French title) [fr]

Durée:

190 min | USA:163 min

Pays:

France

Langue:

Français

Couleur:

Noir et Blanc

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Son:

Mono

Classification:

Brazil:18 | Australia:PG | Finland:K-16 | Sweden:15 | Sweden:7 (1986) | UK:PG | USA:Approved | Germany:12

Emplacements De Pelliculage:

Nice, Alpes-Maritimes, France

Company:

Pathé Cinéma

Anecdotes:

Production designer Alexandre Trauner and composer Joseph Kosma -- both Jews -- had to work in hiding and submit their ideas via intermediaries.

Guillemet:

Director: Act! Act! You have the wrong place. We are not allowed to act here. We walk on our hands! And you know why? They bully us. If we put on plays, they'd have to close their great, noble theaters! Their public is bored to death by museum pieces, dusty tragedies and declaiming mummies who never move! But the Funambules is full of life, movement! Extravaganzas! Appearances, disappearances, like in real life! And then-boom-the kick in the pants!

Connexions De Film:

Featured in In girum imus nocte et consumimur igni (1978)

The film is Life itself.

One day in 1966 I was walking along 8th Street in the Village. The Village was where I went when I had no where else to go, when I belonged no where, where I thought I could discover myself. It didn't hurt that there were people to stare at, without being too obvious about it.

It was a gray day and it started to rain. I stopped under the first protection I found, a movie marque - neither handsome nor attractive.

The photos promoting the film were behind glass at odd angles, held by tacks. I just wasn't in the mood. It wasn't what I was looking for. But the rain got worse, and I needed warmth. So I bought my ticket to join the twenty or so people who comprised the full audience.

From its first moment, the film pulled me in. After a frenetic start, it quieted to Jean-Louis Barrault sitting alone on a barrel. I'd seen Marceau before, but not until now had I seen the quiet poetry of true mime.

Barrault's character, Baptiste, had silently observed the theft of a watch. Baptiste pantomimed the theft but staged his pantomime as if people's perceptions were a mistake, as if the theft never took place. In the doing, he made everyone laugh. He did this for the love of Garance, played by Arletty, whom he had seen for the first time.

There follows in the film first love - unrequited, poetic, soulful. We see villainy, melodrama, danger, heroism, satire, plays within plays - a host of stories all integral to the whole of the play. And we believe completely.

It is the most complete film ever made. It changed my life.