Kino Lorber (Firm)

Before directing his first feature, Henri-Georges Clouzot (The Wages of Fear, Diabolique) spent ten years learning the ropes. During this prolific period as a screenwriter he learned cinematic grammar and began to forge his style. To better know and understand Henri-Georges Clouzot, you have to discover these rare films, of which he was one of the principal architects. Kino Classics is proud to present CLOUZOT: THE EARLY WORKS, which collects six...

Against the turbulent backdrop of occupied France, a priest and a beautiful, lonely young widow form a friendship. Barny, although a Marxist, is intrigued by the mysteries of religion. In confession, she meets the young priest Léon Morin and tries to provoke a reaction, but finds herself drawn in by the man. On the brink of conversion, Barny realizes she has fallen in love. Nominated for a **BAFTA Award** for Best Foreign Actor. Winner of an Award...

The one-room schoolhouse, where one teacher instructs several grades at once, is generally regarded a quaint thing of the past and a symbol of obsolete and ineffective teaching methods. However, TO BE AND TO HAVE offers an in-depth look at a small school in rural France where one remarkable man has been doing the job of a small teaching staff for 20 years, and has taught several generations of bright and capable children along the way. Nominated for...

Nine years after she left him for his best friend, journalist Abel (Louis Garrel) gets back together with his recently widowed old flame Marianne (Laetitia Casta). It seems to be a beautiful new beginning, but soon the hapless Abel finds himself embroiled in all sorts of drama: the come-ons of a wily jeune femme (Lily-Rose Depp), the machinations of Marianne’s morbid young son (Joseph Engel), and some unsavory questions about what exactly happened...

Max, a former judge, is obsessed with catching criminals red-handed. He almost never succeeds. When he meets an old friend who has become a petty crook, he hits on the idea of encouraging his friend's gang to commit a hold-up, so as to catch them in the act. But then Max falls in love with his friend's girlfriend and trouble ensues.

From its first release at an underground theater in Paris, this account of France's occupation under Nazi regime has been acclaimed as one of the most moving and influential films ever made. Director Marcel Ophüls interviewed the residents of Clermont-Ferrand who remembered the occupation, as well as government officials, writers, farmers, artists, and German veterans. Here, in their own words, is the story of how ordinary citizens and leaders alike...

When Jean (Jean Gabin), a deserter from the Colonial Army, hitchhikes his way into Le Havre, he's only looking for a place to hide until he book ship's passage. He never expects to become embroiled in a dispute between local "tough" guy Lucien (Pierre Brasseur) and wealthy but shady shopkeeper Zabel (Michel Simon). Nor does he expect to fall in love with the beautiful Nelly (Michèle Morgan), who Zabel also "keeps." What was supposed to be a stopover...

While alone in an abandoned television studio, two militants, Emile Rousseau and Patricia Lumumba, have a discourse on language. Referring to spoken word as "the enemy"--the weapon used by the establishment to confuse liberation movements--the two deconstruct the meanings of sounds and images in an attempt to "return to zero" and truly experience the joy of learning. Directed by Jean-Luc Godard, LE GAI SAVOIR was nominated for the Golden Berlin Bear...

A long-forgotten epic gem from Jean Renoir. Made towards the end of France's left wing "Popular Front" government when Europe was on the brink of war, LA MARSEILLAISE is a markedly political film about a country in flux. With an innovative new-reel style, the film follows a cross-section of people - from the citizens of Marseilles to Louis XVI - who are affected by the shifting political and social forces in the early days of the French revolution....

My Cousin From Warsaw is a 1931 adaptation of a hit play about a banker who takes the summer off from his job to stay at home, much to the chagrin of his wife and her lover.