The Last Tycoons

From The Distrib Films Collection

Directed by Florence Strauss

416 minutes / Color
French / English subtitles
Release: 2020
Copyright: 2019

film poster

A 2-disc set!

Exploring how a host of groundbreaking films were made, THE LAST TYCOONS is an eight-part series on the history of French cinema from the postwar era to New Wave and beyond – told from a unique angle.

When film credits roll most people focus on the stars of the show. Not Florence Strauss. She is most interested in the producer, and her series THE LAST TYCOONS unearths the stories behind the films’ creation, through live and archival interviews with the producers of the films in the series, as well as colleagues, family members, and experts on French cinema. And interlaced throughout is footage from a wealth of classic French films.

DISC 1

Episode 1 - The Romantic Ones
Casque d'Or (1952) / Robert and Raymond Hakim / dir. Jacques Becker
Beauty and the Beast (1946) / André Paulvé / dir. Jean Cocteau
Fanfan la Tulipe (1952) / Alexandre Mnouchkine and Georges Dancigers / dir. Christian-Jaque
French Cancan (1955) / Henry Deutchmeister / dir. Jean Renoir

Episode 2 - The Tenacious Ones
Forbidden Games (1952) / Robert Dorfmann / dir. René Clément
A Story of Water (1961) / Pierre Braunberger / dir. Jean-Luc Godard and François Truffaut
Night and Fog (1956) / Anatole Daumann / dir. Alain Resnais

Episode 3 - The Audacious Ones
Breathless (1960) / Georges de Beauregard / dir. Jean-Luc Godard
And God Created Woman (1956) / Raoul Levy / dir. by Roger Vadim
The Sucker (1965) / Robert Dorfmann / dir. Gérard Oury

Episode 4 - The American Way
Belle de Jour (1967) / Robert and Raymond Hakim / dir. Luis Buñuel
The Sicilian Clan (1969) / Jacques-Éric Strauss / dir. Henri Verneuil
Crooks in Clover (1963) / Alain Poiré / dir. Georges Lautner

DISC 2

Episode 5 - The Lovers
The Umbrellas of Cherbourg (1964) / Mag Bodard / dir. Jacques Demy
Z (1969) / Jacques Perrin / dir. Costa-Gavras
That Man From Rio (1964) / Alexandre Mnouchkine and Georges Dancigers / dir. Philippe de Broca

Episode 6 - The Immortals
The Things of Life (1970) / Raymond Danon / dir. Claude Sautet
That Most Important Thing: Love (1975) / Albina du Boisrouvray / dir. Andrzej Zulawski 
The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie / Serge Silberman / dir. Luis Buñuel

Episode 7 - Censorship
Emmanuelle (1974) / Yves Rousset-Rouard / dir. Just Jaeckin
Going Places (1974) / Paul Claudon / dir. Bertrand Blier
The Mother and the Whore (1973) / Pierre Cottrell / dir. Jean Eustache 

Episode 8 - The Magnificent Ones
La Grande Bouffe (1973) / Jean-Pierre Rassam / dir. Marco Ferreri
The Wing or the Thigh (1976) / Christian Fechner / dir. Claude Zidi
Tess (1979) / Claude Berri / dir. Roman Polanski

"A tribute to the producers of the golden age of French cinema."Le Monde

"So well done! Retraces the saga of movie madmen ready to do anything to bring the stories of their dreams to life."Le Figaro

Ways to Watch

Individuals

Home use DVD for $29.98

Available online from:

Colleges, Universities, Government Agencies, Hospitals, and Corporations

Purchase DVD for $399.00

Select Accolades

  • Festival Lumière

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