Selected Scholarly Resources
French Literature on Screen by ISBN: 9781784995171Date: 2019This collection presents new essays in the complex field of French literary adaptation. Using a variety of textual and interpretive approaches, it sheds light on issues of gender, sexuality, class, politics and social conventions while acknowledging a range of contexts, from the commercial to the archival and the aesthetic...
The History of French Literature on Film by ISBN: 9781501311840Date: 2020French novels, plays, poems and short stories, however temporally or culturally distant from us, continue to be incarnated and reincarnated on cinema screens across the world. From the silent films of Georges Méliès to the Hollywood production of Gustave Flaubert's Madame Bovary directed by Sophie Barthes, The History of French Literature on Film explores the key films, directors, and movements that have shaped the adaptation of works by French authors since the end of the 19th century...
Jules Verne on Film: A Filmography of the Cinematic Adaptations of His Works, 1902 through 1997 by ISBN: 9780786404506Date: 1998Jules Verne—Voila!—is a name that resonates with visions of fantastic adventures and images of exotic exploits. In his voyages extraordinaires, the noted French author integrates his encyclopedic knowledge of science and geography with his ability to tell fascinating and entertaining tales, taking his readers on unprecedented journeys across the globe, into the earth, and out into space. This revered writer, who with his boundless imagination had hoped to contribute substantially to the world of letters, has surpassed that expectation to become coincidentally a significant influence on film. This comprehensive filmography not only offers an incisive analysis of Verne's epic creations, but also presents an examination of the films inspired by his stories and characters...
Introduction
This section provides a selection of film and television shows that have been adapted from French literature, as well as a few selections that are biographical or documentary films about French works or authors. For more information on film studies for France and other parts of Europe, see the European Film Research Guide.
Selected Media Adaptations Available to Stream on Kanopy
Fantômas #1: Fantômas in the Shadow of the Gullotine (dir. Louis Feuillade, 1914)
Based on the phenomenally popular French pulp novellas, Louis Feuillade's outrageous, ambitious Fantômas series became the gold standard of espionage serials in pre-WWI Europe and laid the foundation for such immortal works as Feuillade's own Les Vampires and Fritz Lang's Dr. Mabuse films. In the first of the series of films, René Navarre stars as the criminal lord of Paris, the master of disguise, the creeping assassin in black: Fantômas. Over the course of five feature films (which combined to form a 5 1/2-hour epic), Fantômas, along with his accomplices and mistresses, are pursued by the equally resourceful Inspector Juve (Edmund Bréon) and his friend, journalist Jerôme Fandor (Georges Melchior).
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The Hunchback of Notre Dame (dir. Wallace Worsley, 1923)
This version of Hunchback, featuring Lon Chaney was a huge production: the sets depicting 15th-century Paris covered nineteen acres of Universal Pictures’ back lot and included the façade of Notre Dame Cathedral. Filming took six months and the climactic sequence employed two thousand extras, but it’s Lon Chaney’s performance that makes the character unforgettable. The Hunchback of Notre Dame premiered at New York’s Astor Theatre on September 2, 1923. The success of the film was immediate; it made Carl Laemmle and Universal Pictures a fortune, and turned Lon Chaney into a screen legend.
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Beauty and the Beast (dir. Jean Cocteau, 1946)
Jean Cocteau’s sublime adaptation of Mme. Leprince de Beaumont’s fairy-tale masterpiece—in which the pure love of a beautiful girl melts the heart of a feral but gentle beast—is a landmark of motion picture fantasy, with unforgettably romantic performances by Jean Marais and Josette Day. The spectacular visions of enchantment, desire, and death in Beauty and the Beast (La Belle et la Bête) have become timeless icons of cinematic wonder.
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The Adventures of Arsène Lupin (dir. Jacques Becker, 1957)
Lupin engages in a series of daring criminal schemes. His activities arouse the interest of Kaiser Wilhelm II of Germany, who offers Lupin a challenge: to steal a jewel of great value from a secret hiding place. Should Lupin accept the wager? Starring Robert Lamoureux, Liselotte Pulver and O.E. Hasse; directed by Jacques Becker (Casque d’or, Touchez pas au grisbi).
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Eyes Without a Face (dir. Georges Franju, 1959)
At his secluded chateau in the French countryside, a brilliant, obsessive doctor (Pierre Brasseur) attempts a radical plastic surgery to restore the beauty of his daughter’s disfigured countenance—at a horrifying price.
Eyes Without a Face, directed by the supremely talented Georges Franju, is rare in horror cinema for its odd mixture of the ghastly and the lyrical, and it has been a major influence on the genre in the decades since its release. There are images here—of terror, of gore, of inexplicable beauty—that once seen are never forgotten.
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The Day of the Dolphin (dir. Mike Nichols, 1974)
Jake Terrell (George C. Scott), a biologist who devotes his life to dolphin research, has concentrated his efforts for four years on Alpha, an animal born and brought up in the center, and for whom he feels an almost fatherly affection. Regrettably, the outside world insists on trying to use his research for political ends and Jake finds himself trapped tragically between these forces and his own beliefs.
Nominated for Best Sound and Best Original Score at the Academy Awards.
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Marquise (dir. Véra Belmont, 1997)
Born into poverty, Marquise (Sophie Marceau) is a promiscuous young woman who uses her exquisite beauty and seductive dancing to earn a living. When the distinguished Molière (Bernard Giraudeau) and his theatre troupe come to town, Marquise mesmerises the men, especially the lead actor, nicknamed Gros René, (Patrick Timsit), who falls in love with her and asks for her hand in marriage. She agrees on condition that she joins the group to become an actress. Gros René is deeply in love with his wife, and even accepts her on-going infidelities, until she meets Jean Racine (Lambert Wilson), while they are performing for King Louis XIV and his court. Although flirtatious in manner, Marquise carries honour and integrity in her heart. Following Racine’s coaching, Marquise’s acting talents improve dramatically, and she is at last able to perform the leading dramatic role in his play Andromaque.
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The Miracle of the Little Prince (dir. Marjoleine Boonstra, 2018)
Inspired by the worldwide best-selling children’s book The Little Prince, The Miracle of the Little Prince shows the stories of the passionate translators of the book who fight for the preservation of their endangered languages.
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Les Misérables (PBS, 2019)
Against the backdrop of France at a time of civil unrest, this is the story of Jean Valjean, a former convict unable to escape his past life. His future is threatened by his nemesis, the chilling prison guard Javert, who is determined to bring him to justice. As revolution ignites on the streets of Paris, Jean Valjean begins an epic journey towards self-acceptance, redemption and love.
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Other Selected Media Adaptations
- Around the World in 80 Days (dir. Michael Anderson, 1956)Based on the novel Le tour du monde en quatre-vingt jours (Around the World in 80 Days) by Jules Verne, first published in Paris in 1873.
- Arsène Lupin vs. Arsène Lupin (dir. Edouard Molinaro, 1962)Lupin is dead! And soon after he has been laid to rest, his two sons, François and Gérard, decide to go into their father’s profession in order to rescue some gems for a gorgeous princess. Starring Jean-Claude Brialy, Jean-Pierre Cassel, and Françoise Dorléac; directed by Édouard Molinaro (Back to the Wall, La Cage aux Folles).
- Barbarella (dir. Roger Vadim, 1968)An erotic science fiction fantasy in which a female adventurer travels through space vanquishing evil in the forms of robots and monsters and rewarding the men who assist her.
- Cyrano de Bergerac (dir. Michael Gordon, 1950)France, 1640: Cyrano, the charismatic swordsman-poet with the absurd nose, hopelessly loves the beauteous Roxane; she, in turn, confesses to Cyrano her love for the handsome but tongue-tied Christian. The chivalrous Cyrano sets up with Christian an innocent deception, with tragic results. Much cut from the play, but dialogue not rewritten.
- Fantômas #2: Juve versus Fantômas (dir. Louis Feuillade, 1914)In this second Fantômas episode, the action picks up—some of it filmed in the scenic streets of old Paris (to the visible delight of several gawking passer-bys). In between his busy love life with several women, Fantômas finds time to pull off a train disaster, in addition to the titular battle with Inspector Juve that includes an ambush, a capture and escape, and a murder attempt. Along with the action, lots of details are filled in via hand-written reports, notes, letters, and telegram so reading is still required (Internet Archive).
- Fantômas #3: The Murderous Corpse (dir. Louis Feuillade, 1914)With his mentor Inspector Juve missing, journalist Jérôme Fandor (Georges Melchior) assumes the difficult task of pursuing the infamous Fantômas (René Navarre), a frightfully brilliant villain who excels in deception, larceny and murder. In this third film of the classic silent film series, Fantômas uses a dead artist's fingerprints to keep the pesky police constantly guessing.
- Fantômas #4: Fantômas vs. Fantômas (dir. Louis Feuillade, 1914)Evildoer Fantômas (René Navarre) operates uninhibited as his rival, Inspector Juve (Edmund Bréon), battles false accusations in prison in Fantomas Vs. Fantomas, the fourth film in the series. Director Louis Feuillade's five Fantômas films feature surrealistic horror, cold-blooded murder and startling plot twists.
- Fantômas #5: The False Magistrate (dir. Louis Feuillade, 1914)In The False Magistrate, Louis Feuillade's fifth and final film in the Fantômas series, Inspector Juve (Edmund Bréon) once again battles false accusations from behind bars (though this time in a plan of his own devising). It is all part of a fiendish plot of multiple disguised identities in order to recapture the ingenious Fantômas and imprison him back in France.
- The Man in the Iron Mask (dir. James Whale, 1939)The rightful King of France is imprisoned by his pretender-to-the-throne twin brother. The legendary musketeer D'Artagnan rallies his now aged swashbuckling companions Porthos, Athos and Aramis to rescue the real King, whom they have raised from infancy.
- The Man Who Laughs (dir. Paul Leni, 1928)Adapted from the Victor Hugo novel, The Man Who Laughs is Gwynplaine (an extraordinary Conrad Veidt ), a carnival sideshow performer in 17th-century England, his face mutilated into a permanent, ghoulish grin by his executed father's royal court enemies. Gwynplaine struggles through life with the blind Dea (Phantom of the Opera's Mary Philbin ) as his companion though she is unable to see it, his disfigurement still causes Gwynplaine to believe he is unworthy of her love. But when his proper royal lineage becomes known by Queen Anne, Gwynplaine must choose between regaining a life of privilege, or embracing a new life of freedom with Dea (Eureka Entertainment).
- The Phantom of the Opera (dir. Rupert Julian, 1925)A forerunner of the American horror film, and one of the most lavish productions of the silent cinema, The Phantom of the Opera has inspired countless remakes and imitations. But none of its successors can rival the mesmerizing blend of romance and mystery that haunts every frame of the Lon Chaney original.
- Planet of the Apes (dir. Franklin Schaffner, 1967)Four American astronauts crashland on an unchartered planet and discover it is ruled by a race of intelligent apes.
- Signed, Arsène Lupin (dir. Yves Robert, 1959)At the end of the Great War, Lupin resumes his mischievous lifestyle with zeal. The theft of three paintings committed by an adversary leads him to the mysterious treasure of the Golden Fleece.
- The Tenant (dir. Roman Polanski, 1976)A quiet, timid file clerk whose unremarkable life begins to be increasingly overshadowed with dread and fear after he moves into his new home—an apartment building with an unhappy past. Adding to his paranoia are the building's other occupants, who do nothing to alleviate his growing obsession with the untimely, tragic fate of the apartment's previous tenant.
- The Three Musketeers (dir. Fred Niblo, 1921)The young Gascon D'Artagnan arrives in Paris, his heart set on joining the king's Musketeers. He is taken under the wings of three of the most respected and feared Musketeers, Porthos, Aramis, and Athos.
- Total Eclipse (dir. Agnieszka Holland, 1995)In September 1871, Paul Verlaine, a poet, young but already established in Paris, received a letter from the provinces containing eight extraordinary poems by one Arthur Rimbaud. He wrote back at once, saying: 'My dear great soul, come to us, you are summoned, you are expected.' What follows is their story directly taken from their letters and poetry. While Verlaine was a great poet, Rimbaud was a genius, a revolutionary. His poems from age sixteen to the age of nineteen forever changed the face of modern poetry. Together, these two men feed each other's insatiable hunger for life and love, trying desperately to straddle the lines between knowledge and self-destruction, creativity and delusion (OCLC Worldcat).