Though little known outside of France, Jean Grémillon is a consummate filmmaker from his country's golden age. A classically trained violinist who discovered cinema as a young man when his orchestra was hired to accompany silent movies, he went on to make almost fifty films-which ranged from documentaries to avant-garde works to melodramas with major stars-in a career that started in the mid-1920s and didn't end until the late 1950s. Three of his richest films came during a dire period in French history: Remorques, starring Jean Gabin, was begun in 1939 but finished and released after Germany invaded France, and Lumière d'été and Le ciel est à vous were produced during the occupation. These are character-driven dramas that reveal either a society on the precipice of doom or people breaking free of societal limitations; humane, entertaining, and technically brilliant, they show Grémillon to be one of cinema's true hidden masters.

Supplements Includes the films Remorques, Lumière d'été, and Le ciel est à vous

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Forum User Averages Film Rating: 9/10 Artwork Rating: 4/10 Picture Rating: 7/10 Audio Rating: 5/10 Extras Rating: 3/10