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"We went looking for your wife, and we found friendship." Janus Films has revealed a brand new trailer for the 4K restoration re-release of The Baker's Wife (originally titled La femme du boulanger), French filmmaker Marcel Pagnol's "enchanting slice-of-life comedy" that was first released (in the Us) in 1940. The film tells a story about how the peace of a Provençal village is shattered when the baker's wife runs off with a handsome shepherd. In his despair, the baker becomes heartbroken and can no longer bake. The villagers organise themselves to bring the wife back to her husband and so regain their daily bread. An amusing satire about life in a tiny town. The film stars Raimu, Ginette Leclerc, Fernand Charpin, Robert Vattier, Charles Blavette, Robert Bassac, Marcel Maupi, and Alida Rouffe. Playing in NYC later this month. Here's the new 4K restoration trailer for Marcel Pagnol's The Baker's Wife,...

No longer out of reach, Marcel Pagnol’s stunning 3-feature saga of love and honor in a French seaport is one of the great movie experiences — and the most emotional workout this viewer has seen in years. The tradition of greatness in the French sound cinema began with gems like these, starring legendary actors that were sometimes billed only with their last names: Raimu, Charpin. Those two, Pierre Fresnay and Orane Demazis are simply unforgettable — it’s 6.5 hours of dramatic wonderment.

Marcel Pagnol’s The Marseille Trilogy

Marius * Fanny * César

Blu-ray

The Criterion Collection 881-884

1931 – 1936 / B&W / 1:19 flat full frame, 1:19 flat full frame, 1:37 flat full frame / 127 * 127 * 141 min. / available through The Criterion Collection / Street Date June 20, 2017 / 79.96

Starring: Raimu, Pierre Fresnay, Orane Demazis, Fernand Charpin, Alida Rouffe, Paul Dullac, Robert Vattier, André Fouché.

Cinematography: Ted Pahle, Nicolas Toporkoff, Willy Faktorovitch

Original Music: ?, Vincent Scotto, Vincent Scotto

Written by Marcel Pagnol

Produced by Ted Pahle,...

Marcel Pagnols’ Marseille Trilogy, Alfred Hitchcock’s “The Lodger: A Story of the London Fog” and Nicholas Ray’s “They Live by Night” are among the new titles joining the Criterion Collection this June. In addition, Kenji Mizoguchi’s “Ugetsu” and Sam Peckinpah’s “Straw Dogs” are being upgraded in new Blu-ray editions. More information below.

Read More: The Criterion Collection Announces May Titles: ‘Ghost World,’ ‘Dheepan,’ ‘Jeanne Dielman’ and More

“Ugetsu”

“Having refined his craft in the silent era, Kenji Mizoguchi was an elder statesman of Japanese cinema-fiercely revered by Akira Kurosawa and other younger directors-by the time he made ‘Ugetsu.’ And with this exquisite ghost story, a fatalistic wartime tragedy derived from stories by Akinari Ueda and Guy de Maupassant, he created a touchstone of his art, his long takes and sweeping camera guiding the viewer through a delirious narrative about two villagers whose pursuit of fame and...

With a new restoration of Marcel Pagnol's "Marseilles Trilogy" coming to art-house cinemas, Mubi is showing three later Pagnol adaptations: Joshua Logan's Fanny (1961) and Daniel Auteuil's Fanny (2013) and Marius (2013) in the United States.The sea calls to Marius like a siren song, a tantalizing beckon to a life of mobility, exhilaration, and maritime adventure. It is a life far from his current reality, slinging drinks in his father’s shoreline bar, but it is a tempting existence that forever fills his fantasies and directs his path forward. Little wonder, really. The port of Marseilles is teeming with the influence of a sailor’s life, from the towering ships, their sails and masts hovering above the liquid horizon, to the shopfront interiors adorned with innumerable images of nautical signification, paintings and model ships that testify to the lifeblood of this city. Lifeblood, maybe, but also a curse. For Marius (Pierre Fresnay), his father,...

“I am not the father of neorealism on screen, you are,” said director Roberto Rossellini to novelist, playwright and filmmaker Marcel Pagnol, one of the most prolific artists in the early years of cinema. Now, many will soon be able to watch one of Pagnol’s defining works in his career: the epic “Marseille Trilogy,” a saga of love, labor and good food in 1930’s France, which will return to theaters in a brand-new 4K restoration this January.

Read More: ‘Mulholland Drive’ Returns To UK Theaters Next Year In New 4K Restoration

The series follows young barkeep Marius (Pierre Fresnay) who is in love with the cockle monger Fanny (Orane Demazis), but cannot quell his wanderlust. Stretching out over years, their romance plays out amidst many provincial characters, like Marius’ father César (Raimu), who struggles to keep his family and community together, and Honoré Panisse (Fernand Charpin), the aged widower vying for Fanny’s hand.

Colcoa French Film Festival, "9 Days of Film Premieres in Hollywood," and its producer, the Franco-American Cultural Fund, have  announced the Focus on a Filmmaker program as well as an exclusive line up of predominantly digitally restored French Classics, presented as World, International or U.S. Premieres. All screenings will take place at the Directors Guild of America.

The Colcoa Classics Series will be shown from Tuesday 19 to Saturday 23 and on Monday April 25 as part of the 20th anniversary program.

Focus on a Filmmaker: Academy Award0 Nominee Jean-Paul Rappeneau

Colcoa will honor Academy Award-nominated writer-director Jean-Paul Rappeneau on Thursday, April 21 with the World Premiere of new digitally restored "A Matter of Resistance"  (1965), starring Catherine Deneuve and Philippe Noiret, as well as the U.S. Premiere of his new film "Families.," which had its World Premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival last fall. Rappeneau joins previous honorees, writer-directors Michel Hazanavicius, Cédric Klapisch, Bertrand Blier, Costa Gavras, Florent Siri, Julie Delpy and Alain Resnais, whose key bodies of work have been cited in past festivals.

Jean-Paul Rappeneau will make a rare personal appearance as well as meeting audience members for a Happy Hour Talk panel dedicated to his work. (Colcoa Classics + Panel +Premiere of "Families"). This focus is presented with the support of TF1 International.

International Premiere of Digitally Restored "More"

Writer-director Barbet Schroeder, feted at the 2015 Cannes Film Festival, will have a Colcoa-presented International Premiere of his digitally restored masterpiece, "More" (1969), in association with Les Films du Losange and Janus Films. Initially banned in France, Schroeder's debut feature cast the myth of Icarus as a cautionary tale of free love and drug addiction in the shadow of the May '68 Paris, illustrated by an original score by The Pink Floyd. (Colcoa Classics)

45th Anniversary of "Delusions of Grandeur"

The digitally restored version of writer-director Gérard Oury's hit comedy, "Delusions of Grandeur" (1971), will have its U.S. Premiere at the festival. Co-written with his daughter, Danièle Thompson, and Marcel Jullian, this historical spoof of the Victor Hugo play,Ruy Blasfeatures a first -time collaboration of two French giants, Louis de Funès and Yves Montand ."Delusions of Grandeur" will be presented in association with French studio Gaumont (celebrating its own 120th anniversary). (Colcoa Classics)

- International Premeire of Digitally Restored "Marius"

Colcoa will present the digitally restored version of "Marius" (1931), the first part of the famous trilogy taking place in Marseille, created by novelist Marcel Pagnol and writer director Alexander Korda. It stars Pierre Fresnay, Fernand Charpin , Raimu and Orane Demazis. This exclusive presentation in the U.S. is made possible by the Franco American Cultural Fund (Facf), which supported the restoration, La Cinémathèque Française and Les Films Marcel Pagnol. (Colcoa Classics)

- Internatonal Premiere of the Digitally Restored "They Were Five"

A special 80th anniversary screening of digitally restored "They Were Five" (La belle équipe) (1936) will be offered to the Colcoa audience just weeks after its French release. Thus, the festival will pay tribute to writer-director Julien Duvivier (born 120 years ago) who was the first filmmaker to cast two French stars Jean Gabin and Charles Vanel in this classic, popular, social comedy (presented with the support of Pathé International - (Colcoa Classics)

- World Premiere of Digitally Restored Colcoa Hit: "On Guard"  

Romance and revenge are the main ingredients in this sweeping swashbuckler set in a lavish 17th century backdrop. "On Guard,"   which premiered 19 years ago at Colcoa, stars Daniel Auteuil, Philippe Noiret, Fabrice Luchini, three of the multi-star cast and co-written and directed by Philippe de Broca. The festival will present the World Premiere of the restored version for its U.S. release by The Cohen Media Group (Colcoa Classics)

From April 18 to April 26, 2016, filmgoers will celebrate the 20th edition of Colcoa French Film Festival  at the Directors Guild of America.

The full line-up of films in competition for the Colcoa Cinema and Television Awards, will be announced before March 29 .

Marc Allégret: From André Gide lover to Simone Simon mentor (photo: Marc Allégret) (See previous post: "Simone Simon Remembered: Sex Kitten and Femme Fatale.") Simone Simon became a film star following the international critical and financial success of the 1934 romantic drama Lac aux Dames, directed by her self-appointed mentor – and alleged lover – Marc Allégret.[1] The son of an evangelical missionary, Marc Allégret (born on December 22, 1900, in Basel, Switzerland) was to have become a lawyer. At age 16, his life took a different path as a result of his romantic involvement – and elopement to London – with his mentor and later "adoptive uncle" André Gide (1947 Nobel Prize winner in Literature), more than 30 years his senior and married to Madeleine Rondeaux for more than two decades. In various forms – including a threesome with painter Théo Van Rysselberghe's daughter Elisabeth – the Allégret-Gide relationship remained steady until the late '20s and their trip to...

Simone Simon: Remembering the 'Cat People' and 'La Bête Humaine' star (photo: Simone Simon 'Cat People' publicity) Pert, pretty, pouty, and fiery-tempered Simone Simon – who died at age 94 ten years ago, on Feb. 22, 2005 – is best known for her starring role in Jacques Tourneur's cult horror movie classic Cat People (1942). Those aware of the existence of film industries outside Hollywood will also remember Simon for her button-nosed femme fatale in Jean Renoir's French film noir La Bête Humaine (1938).[1] In fact, long before Brigitte Bardot, Annette Stroyberg, Mamie Van Doren, Tuesday Weld, Ann-Margret, and Barbarella's Jane Fonda became known as cinema's Sex Kittens, Simone Simon exuded feline charm – with a tad of puppy dog wistfulness – in a film career that spanned two continents and a quarter of a century. From the early '30s to the mid-'50s, she seduced men young and old on both...