A Nous la Liberte [Criterion Collection]

MOVIE DESCRIPTION:

Rene Clair's comedy A Nous La Liberte comes to DVD with a standard full-frame transfer that preserves the original theatrical aspect ratio of 1.33:1. The French soundtrack is rendered in Dolby Digital Mono. English subtitles are accessible. Supplemental materials include the Clair short Entr'acte, interviews, and deleted scenes. Criterion has done a fabulous job with this title, as has come to be expected from them. Anyone with an interest in film history should see this DVD. ~ Perry Seibert, All Movie Guide

DVD FEATURES:

• Number of Discs: 1
• Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1 (Pre-1954 Standard)
• Audio: Dolby Digital Mono
• Screen: Black and White
• Subtitle: English
• Features:
  • New digital transfer
  • Deleted scenes
  • "Entr'acte" (1924), the classic Surrealist short by Clair and artist Francis Picabia
  • 1998 video interview with Madame Bronja Clair
  • Film historian David Robinson on the plagiarism lawsuit against Charlie Chaplin's "Modern Times"
  • New and improved English subtitle translation
  • Optimal image quality: RSDL dual-layer edition

AWARDS

• Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences

•     Nominated Best Art Direction - 1931- (Lazare Meerson)

• National Board of Review

•     Won Best Foreign Film - 1932

• Venice International Film Festival

•     Won Most Entertaining Film - 1932 (René Clair)

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:

• Cast:

  
       Henri Marchand - Emile
       Raymond Cordy - Louis
       Rolla France - Jeanne
       Paul Olivier - Paul Imaque
       Jacques Shelly - Paul

• Director:

  René Clair

• Screenwriter:

  René Clair

• Cinematographer:

  Georges Périnal

• Composer (Music Score):

  Georges Auric

• Editor:

  René Clair, René Le Henaff

• Production Designer:

  Lazare Meerson

REVIEW:

• What's the point of escaping from a real prison if you only wind up trapped in, say, a factory job, or a loveless marriage, or the strictures of high society? That's the question René Clair poses in this oddly paced but totally winning comedy. Emile (Henri Marchand) is the con who makes good on his escape, leaving his pal Louis (Raymond Cordy) behind to fill out his sentence. By chance, persistence, and talent, Emile turns from a slob to a potential snob, a successful manufacturer of phonographs. Marchand, who looks like the young Jackie Gleason, thus accomplishes the transformation, in Gleason character terms, from the Poor Soul to Reginald Van Gleason III. But Emile is no ordinary captain of industry; he actually wants his workers to enjoy more freedom, and to that end, he's looking to mechanize his factory without downsizing his work force. A blackmail plot almost spoils his plans, but a well-timed wind storm saves the day. At the end, the two pals are almost back where they started but happier than ever. Clair's sound effects and musical interludes may feel dated to contemporary audiences, but they mark this film not as a quaint artifact but a forward-looking historical document. The factory scenes may be reminiscent of Charlie Chaplin's Modern Times, but Clair's work preceded Chaplin's by several years. Among the extras on the DVD edition is an essay by Chaplin scholar David Robinson on the plagiarism lawsuit brought against Chaplin by the producers of À Nous la Liberté, a suit of which Clair wanted no part. He said he would have been honored if Chaplin had used his film as inspiration, acknowledging his colleague's unmatched virtuosity. ~ Tom Wiener, All Movie Guide

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