Filmed during the German occupation, this French milestone centers around the theatrical life of a beautiful courtesan and the four men who love her. Voted the "Best French Film in History" by the French Film Academy in 1990. Academy Award Nominations: Best Original Screenplay.

A romantic epic loosely based on the life of Baptiste Debureau, a 19th century mime idolized for his portrayal of the wistful, white-face clown Pierrot. The film won critical acclaim for its faithful recreation of Parisian street theater, as well as for Jean-Louis Barrault's brilliant performance as Debureau.
Above all, it is a love story, focusing on Debureau's passion for the beautiful Garance -- a passion for which he would risk everything... including his own marriage.

The film was shot during World War II, in occupied France; because both the composer Joseph Kosma and the art director Alexandre Trauner were Jewish, they could not work openly on the film. Kosma used the pseudonym Georges Mouqué in the credits for pantomime music.

Additional credits: Leon Barsacq and Raymond Gabutti (set decorators); Antoine Mayo (costume design); Societé des Concerts du Conservatoire (music performers); Robert Teisseire (sound editor); and Jacques Carrère (sound recordist).


The Home Vision Cinema VHS version is unabridged and fully restored, digitally remastered with newly translated subtitles.

The Voyager/Criterion laserdisc (CC1249L) includes:
Audio commentary by film scholar Brian Stonehill
An interview with director Marcel Carné
The original film treatment and production photographs
A study of French painting's influence on the film

DVD Features:

2-Disc Set
Region 1
Keep Case
Single Side - Dual Layer
Full Frame - 1.33
Audio:
Mono -French
Additional Products:
Booklet
Disc 1: PART I: THE BOULEVARD OF CRIME
Additional Release Material:
Audio Commentary: Brian Stonehill - Film Scholar
Restoration Demonstration
Introduction: Terry Gilliam
Disc 2: PART II: THE MAN IN WHITE
Additional Release Material:
Audio Commentary: Charles Affron - Film Scholar
Trailers: U.S. Theatrical Trailer
Text/Photo Galleries:
Film Treatment
Production Designs
Production Stills
Filmographies:
1. Marcel Carne - Director
2. Jacques Prevert - Screenwriter

Jean-Louis Barrault: French Actor/Stage Director
Pierre Brasseur: French Actor
Maria Casares: Spanish Actress/In France

Marcel Carne: French Director/Screenwriter

"...One of the few films that has the durability and emotional texture of a great 19th-Century novel. As a piece of romantic/dramatic cinema, its peers are few, its superiors quite simply nonexistent..."
"...One of the glories of cinema....The film celebrates freedom of spirit with passion..."
"...The film is both epic in scope and intimate in focus....The lead actors are superb..."
"...It's paradise to see the film's famed Boulevard of Crime -- 1840s Paris as street carnival -- rendered with revived sparkle after its negative's 57-year workout..."