Nana (1926)

User Rating:

7.2/10   

Director:

Jean Renoir

Writers:

Pierre Lestringuez (writer)
Jean Renoir (writer)

Release Date:

25 June 1926 (France)

Genre:

Drama | Romance

Plot Keywords:

Based On Novel | Character Name In Title

Cast

Catherine Hessling	...	Nana
Jean Angelo	...	Count de Vandeuvres
Werner Krauss	...	Count Muffat
Raymond Guérin-Catelain	...	Georges Hugon
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Claude Autant-Lara	...	Fauchery (as Claude Moore)
André Cerf	...	The Tiger
Pierre Champagne	...	Hector de la Faloise
Jacqueline Ford	...	Rose Mignon
Jacqueline Forzane	...	Comtesse Muffat
Valeska Gert	...	Zoe
René Koval	...	Fontan
Pierre Lestringuez	...	Bordenave (as Pierre Philippe)
Roberto Pla	...	Bosc
Marie Prevost	...	Gaga
Nita Romani	...	Satin

Runtime:

150 min

Country:

France

Language:

French

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Silent

Certification:

Spain:T | Finland:(Banned)

Company:

Les Films Jean Renoir

Movie Connections:

Featured in Jean Renoir: Part One - From La Belle Époque to World War II (1993) (TV)

Nana,Gervaise's daughter

Nana was the ninth volume in the Rougon-Macquart saga ,and actually the follow-up to the seventh "l'assommoir",because it told the story of Gervaise Coupeau's daughter,Nana ,a fly who raised from the gutter and the manure to corrupt the bourgeoisie.Nana was featured in "l'assommoir" ,first a vicious little girl,then at the end of the novel,she leaves the house for the broader horizons of a courtesan.When "Nana" (the novel and the film) begins,she tries her hand at "acting" .After her failure,she contents herself with being supported by the nobles and the rich wealthy persons.In her wake,she will cause despair and death.

Catherine Hessling was Renoir's then-wife and she's well cast as the selfish despising cynical bitch whose motto must be "divide and rule".Like many actors,her career ended with the coming of the talkies;she was not really an actress,but a model of Renoir's father.

The quality of the copy I saw is average-to-good.It's rather long and might repel people who do not enjoy silent movies.However ,there are good scenes,the best of which is certainly the young lad 's suicide,where Renoir uses ellipsis .Like in "la chienne" (the killing of Lulu),it is a model of film noir scene.