Port of Shadows
Encyclopedia
Port of Shadows is a 1938
French film directed by Marcel Carné
. It stars Jean Gabin
, Michel Simon
and Michèle Morgan
. The screenplay was written by Jacques Prévert
based on a novel by Pierre Mac Orlan
. The music score was by Maurice Jaubert
. It is a notable example of the poetic realism
genre. The film was the 1939 winner of France's top cinematic prize, the Prix Louis-Delluc.
A scene from the film is seen projected in the 2007 Oscar
-nominated dramatisation of Ian McEwan
's wartime tragic drama Atonement
.
55 years after its premiere, Luc Sante
, writing about the film for its DVD release by Criterion Collection, called the film a "definitive example of the style known as “poetic realism
.” The ragged outlines, the lowdown settings, the romantic fatalism of the protagonists, the movement of the story first upward toward a single moment of happiness and then down to inexorable doom—the hallmarks of the style had germinated in some form or other through the decade, but in Marcel Carné's third feature they came together as archetypes."
Director Carl Dreyer included the film in his list of top ten films.
, the DVD's "high-definition transfer does justice to Carné
, Schufftan
and Trauner
's richly detailed vision", though there are issues because of the "highly variable" quality of the 35 mm film
used: "Within the same scene some shots can be startlingly clear, while others are very grainy and have much weaker contrast and detail. On the balance, it still looks extremely good for a film of this vintage." Steffen also noted the "mono sound is clear and without too much distortion. The characters use lots of colorful slang whose flavor is difficult to translate into English, but the subtitles do an admirable job."
1938 in film
The year 1938 in film involved some significant events.-Events:*January — MGM announces that Judy Garland would be cast in the role of "Dorothy" in the upcoming Wizard of Oz motion picture. Ray Bolger is cast as the "Tinman" and Buddy Ebsen is cast as the "Scarecrow". At Bolger's insistence,...
French film directed by Marcel Carné
Marcel Carné
-Biography:Born in Paris, France, the son of a cabinet maker whose wife died when their son was five, Carné began his career as a film critic, becoming editor of the weekly publication, Hebdo-Films, and working for Cinémagazine and Cinémonde between 1929 and 1933. In the same period he worked in...
. It stars Jean Gabin
Jean Gabin
-Biography:Born Jean-Alexis Moncorgé in Paris, he grew up in the village of Mériel in the Seine-et-Oise département, about 22 mi north of Paris. The son of cabaret entertainers, he attended the Lycée Janson de Sailly...
, Michel Simon
Michel Simon
Michel Simon , was a Swiss actor. The actor François Simon is his son.-Early years:...
and Michèle Morgan
Michèle Morgan
Michèle Morgan is a French film actress, who was a leading lady for three decades.- Career :Morgan was born Simone Renée Roussel in Neuilly-sur-Seine, Hauts-de-Seine, a western suburb of Paris....
. The screenplay was written by Jacques Prévert
Jacques Prévert
Jacques Prévert was a French poet and screenwriter. His poems became and remain very popular in the French-speaking world, particularly in schools. Some of the movies he wrote are extremely well regarded, with Les Enfants du Paradis considered one of the greatest films of all time.-Life and...
based on a novel by Pierre Mac Orlan
Pierre Mac Orlan
Pierre Mac Orlan, sometimes written MacOrlan, was a French novelist and songwriter.His novel Quai des Brumes was the source for Marcel Carné's 1938 film of the same name, starring Jean Gabin...
. The music score was by Maurice Jaubert
Maurice Jaubert
Maurice Jaubert was a French composer of incidental music for stage and film music, famous for his collaborations with the masters of poetic realism Jean Vigo, René Clair, Julien Duvivier and Marcel Carné...
. It is a notable example of the poetic realism
Poetic realism
Poetic realism was a film movement in France of the 1930s and through the war years. More a tendency than a movement, Poetic Realism is not strongly unified like Soviet Montage or French Impressionism. Its leading filmmakers were Jean Renoir, Pierre Chenal, Jean Vigo, Julien Duvivier, and Marcel...
genre. The film was the 1939 winner of France's top cinematic prize, the Prix Louis-Delluc.
A scene from the film is seen projected in the 2007 Oscar
80th Academy Awards
The 80th Academy Awards ceremony honored the best films in 2007 and was broadcast from the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood, California on ABC beginning at 5:30 p.m. PST/8:30 p.m. EST, February 24, 2008 . During the ceremony, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences presented Academy Awards in 24...
-nominated dramatisation of Ian McEwan
Ian McEwan
Ian Russell McEwan CBE, FRSA, FRSL is a British novelist and screenwriter, and one of Britain's most highly regarded writers. In 2008, The Times named him among their list of "The 50 greatest British writers since 1945"....
's wartime tragic drama Atonement
Atonement (film)
Atonement is a 2007 British romantic suspense war film directed by Joe Wright. It is a film adaptation of the 2001 novel of the same name by Ian McEwan. The film stars James McAvoy, Keira Knightley, and Saoirse Ronan. It was produced by Working Title Films and filmed throughout the summer of 2006...
.
Cast
- Jean GabinJean Gabin-Biography:Born Jean-Alexis Moncorgé in Paris, he grew up in the village of Mériel in the Seine-et-Oise département, about 22 mi north of Paris. The son of cabaret entertainers, he attended the Lycée Janson de Sailly...
as Jean - Michel SimonMichel SimonMichel Simon , was a Swiss actor. The actor François Simon is his son.-Early years:...
as Zabel - Michèle MorganMichèle MorganMichèle Morgan is a French film actress, who was a leading lady for three decades.- Career :Morgan was born Simone Renée Roussel in Neuilly-sur-Seine, Hauts-de-Seine, a western suburb of Paris....
as Nelly - Pierre BrasseurPierre BrasseurPierre Brasseur , born Pierre-Albert Espinasse, was a French actor.He was the son of actor Georges Espinasse and actress Germaine Brasseur while the latter was married to Albert Brasseur. His grandfather, Jules Brasseur, was an actor as well...
as Lucien - Édouard Delmont as Panama
- Raymond Aimos as Quart Vittel
- Robert Le Vigan as Le peintre
- René GéninRené GéninRené Génin was a French film actor. He appeared in 134 films between 1931 and 1965.-Selected filmography:* Nuits de feu * Port of Shadows * Girls in Distress...
as Le docteur - Marcel PérèsMarcel PérèsMarcel Pérès is a French musicologist, composer, choral director and singer, and the founder of the early music group Ensemble Organum. He is an authority on Gregorian and pre-Gregorian chant....
as Le chauffeur - Léo MaletLéo Malet-Biography:Leo Malet was born in Montpellier. He had little formal education and began work as a cabaret singer at "La Vache Enragee" in Montmartre, Paris in 1925....
as Le soldat - Jenny Burnay as L'amie de Lucien
- Roger Legris as Le garçon d'hôtel
- Martial Rèbe as Le client
Reception
Frank S. Nugent called the film "one of the most engrossing and provocative films of the season"; according to him, "it's a thorough-going study in blacks and grays, without a free laugh in it; but it is also a remarkably beautiful motion picture from the purely pictorial standpoint and a strangely haunting drama. As a steady diet, of course, it would give us the willies; for a change it's as tonic as a raw winter's day."55 years after its premiere, Luc Sante
Luc Sante
-Early life:Born in Verviers, Belgium, Sante emigrated to the United States in the early 1960s. He attended school in New York City, first at Regis High School in Manhattan and then at Columbia University.-Writing:...
, writing about the film for its DVD release by Criterion Collection, called the film a "definitive example of the style known as “poetic realism
Poetic realism
Poetic realism was a film movement in France of the 1930s and through the war years. More a tendency than a movement, Poetic Realism is not strongly unified like Soviet Montage or French Impressionism. Its leading filmmakers were Jean Renoir, Pierre Chenal, Jean Vigo, Julien Duvivier, and Marcel...
.” The ragged outlines, the lowdown settings, the romantic fatalism of the protagonists, the movement of the story first upward toward a single moment of happiness and then down to inexorable doom—the hallmarks of the style had germinated in some form or other through the decade, but in Marcel Carné's third feature they came together as archetypes."
Director Carl Dreyer included the film in his list of top ten films.
Home video release
Prior to July 2004, Criterion Collection gave the film a "bare-bones" release, with a booklet and limited on-screen special features; according to James Steffen of Turner Classic MoviesTurner Classic Movies
Turner Classic Movies is a movie-oriented cable television channel, owned by the Turner Broadcasting System subsidiary of Time Warner, featuring commercial-free classic movies, mostly from the Turner Entertainment and MGM, United Artists, RKO and Warner Bros. film libraries...
, the DVD's "high-definition transfer does justice to Carné
Marcel Carné
-Biography:Born in Paris, France, the son of a cabinet maker whose wife died when their son was five, Carné began his career as a film critic, becoming editor of the weekly publication, Hebdo-Films, and working for Cinémagazine and Cinémonde between 1929 and 1933. In the same period he worked in...
, Schufftan
Eugen Schüfftan
Eugen Schüfftan was a cinematographer.He invented the Schüfftan process, a special effects technique that employed mirrors to insert actors into miniature sets. One of the first uses of the process was for Metropolis , directed by Fritz Lang...
and Trauner
Alexandre Trauner
Alexandre Trauner was a set designer.After studying painting at l'École des beaux-arts de Budapest, he emigrated to Paris in 1929, where he became the assistant of set designer Lazare Meerson, working on such films as À nous la liberté in 1932 and La Kermesse héroïque in 1935)...
's richly detailed vision", though there are issues because of the "highly variable" quality of the 35 mm film
35 mm film
35 mm film is the film gauge most commonly used for chemical still photography and motion pictures. The name of the gauge refers to the width of the photographic film, which consists of strips 35 millimeters in width...
used: "Within the same scene some shots can be startlingly clear, while others are very grainy and have much weaker contrast and detail. On the balance, it still looks extremely good for a film of this vintage." Steffen also noted the "mono sound is clear and without too much distortion. The characters use lots of colorful slang whose flavor is difficult to translate into English, but the subtitles do an admirable job."
External links
- Le Quai des brumes/Port of Shadows at filmsdefrance.com