Les Enfants du paradis

New Restoration by Pathé

Dir by Marcel Carné | Starring: Arletty, Jean-Louis Barrault, Pierre Brasseur, Maria Casarès, Marcel Herrand| France 1945 |190 mins | Cert tbc

Often featuring on all-time-best lists, Carné and Prévert's portrait of the Boulevard du Crime in the early 19th century is a sublime romance, miraculously made during the Nazi Occupation.

Charting the fortunes of various actors, aristocrats, aficionados and villains frequenting Paris's theatrical district – many wooing the devil-may-care Garance (Arletty) – the rich, wonderfully engrossing tale of professional and personal rivalries, murky intrigue and unrequited passion explores, to brilliantly witty effect, the crucial role played by different kinds of performance in all aspects of everyday life… but most especially in matters of the heart. Inspired by real events and colourful characters like the mime Baptiste Debureau (Jean-Louis Barrault), the star Frédérick Lemaître (Pierre Brasseur) and the playwright Pierre-François Lacenaire (Marcel Herrand), the film is not merely a masterclass in great acting but a breathtaking achievement on every front, from the superb cinematography and sets (courtesy of the great Trauner) to Carné's deft elaboration of the sheer genius of Jacques Prévert's script. All are enhanced in this glittering new digital restoration.

8 January 2012
Cornerhouse, Manchester
Rio Dalston
Riverside Hammersmith

10 January 2012
DCA Dundee

24 January 2012
Warwick Arts Centre, Coventry

29 January 2012
Stamford Arts Centre

30 January 2012
Saffron Community Cinema

5 February
Eden Court Inverness

31 January 2012
Ludlow Assembly Rooms

1 March
Savoy Penzance

7 March
Courtyard Hereford