Directed by Marc Allégret • Drama • With Danielle Darrieux, Leo Genn, Erno Crisa, Jean Murat • 1955 • 100 minutes
This is the first film of D.H. Lawrence’s controversial novel, which premiered in 1955, five years before the uncensored novel even appeared in print in the UK. Danielle Darrieux (in the peak years of her stardom) is Constance Chatterley, faithful wife to her war-wounded paraplegic husband (British actor Leo Genn), whose fortune flows from a local coal mine. Everyone but she seems concerned about her loss of sexual fulfillment, and the possibility of her bearing an heir, until she crosses paths with the estate’s new gamekeeper (Erno Crisa), and they launch into an affair that ruptures the tight social fabric around them.
While this film wouldn't be considered risqué by today's audiences, it was seen as scandalous at the time. Initially banned upon its release, the Supreme Court eventually ruled this was a violation of free speech, letting LADY CHATTERLEY'S LOVER screen in theaters. Restored in 2K, this film deserves its place in cinema history.
Directed by Karel Reisz & Tony Richardson • Documentary • With Chris Barber, Monty Sunshine, Pat Halcox, Ron Bowden • 1956 • 22 minutes
This lively Free Cinema short captures a night out at the Wood Green Jazz Club, where teenagers jive to trad jazz. Funded by the BFI Experimental Film Fund,...
Directed by Marc Allégret • Drama • With Jean Marais, Dany Robin, Jeanne Moreau • 1953 • 97 minutes
JULIETTA is a romantic comedy with the whimsical energy of a hummingbird. Dany Robin stars as the eponymous demoiselle, a flighty, impulsive pixie in white gloves who is engaged to an older prince...
Directed by Alain Resnais • Documentary • 1948 • 18 minutes
Classic French New Wave director Alain Resnais’ early film, VAN GOGH won an Oscar for best short documentary film. Recently restored, this 1948 boundary-pushing short brilliantly evokes the life of Vincent Van Gogh, using only his paint...
