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La Bête Humaine

Original title: La bête humaine
  • 19381938
  • Not RatedNot Rated
  • 1h 40m
IMDb RATING
7.6/10
7.6K
YOUR RATING
  • Cast & crew
  • User reviews
  • Trivia
  • IMDbPro
Jean Gabin and Simone Simon in La bête humaine (1938)
  • Crime
  • Drama
In this classic adaptation of Emile Zola's novel, a tortured train engineer falls in love with a troubled married woman who has helped her husband commit a murder.In this classic adaptation of Emile Zola's novel, a tortured train engineer falls in love with a troubled married woman who has helped her husband commit a murder.In this classic adaptation of Emile Zola's novel, a tortured train engineer falls in love with a troubled married woman who has helped her husband commit a murder.
IMDb RATING
7.6/10
7.6K
YOUR RATING
  • Director
    • Jean Renoir
  • Writers
    • Émile Zola(novel)
    • Jean Renoir(adaptation and dialogue)
    • Denise Leblond(dialogue)
  • Stars
    • Jean Gabin
    • Julien Carette
    • Simone Simon
Top credits
  • Director
    • Jean Renoir
  • Writers
    • Émile Zola(novel)
    • Jean Renoir(adaptation and dialogue)
    • Denise Leblond(dialogue)
  • Stars
    • Jean Gabin
    • Julien Carette
    • Simone Simon
  • See production, box office & company info
    • 48User reviews
    • 42Critic reviews
  • See production, box office & company info
  • See more at IMDbPro
    • Awards
      • 1 nomination

    Photos24

    Blanchette Brunoy and Jean Gabin in La bête humaine (1938)
    Jean Gabin and Simone Simon in La bête humaine (1938)
    Jean Gabin and Simone Simon in La bête humaine (1938)
    Jean Gabin in La bête humaine (1938)
    Blanchette Brunoy and Jean Gabin in La bête humaine (1938)
    Jean Gabin in La bête humaine (1938)
    Jean Renoir in La bête humaine (1938)
    Jean Gabin in La bête humaine (1938)
    Jean Renoir in La bête humaine (1938)
    La bête humaine (1938)
    La bête humaine (1938)
    La bête humaine (1938)

    Top cast

    Edit
    Jean Gabin
    Jean Gabin
    • Jacques Lantieras Jacques Lantier
    Julien Carette
    Julien Carette
    • Pecqueuxas Pecqueux
    Simone Simon
    Simone Simon
    • Séverine Roubaudas Séverine Roubaud
    Fernand Ledoux
    Fernand Ledoux
    • Roubaudas Roubaud
    Blanchette Brunoy
    Blanchette Brunoy
    • Floreas Flore
    Gérard Landry
    Gérard Landry
    • Le fils Dauvergneas Le fils Dauvergne
    • (as Gerard Landry)
    Jenny Hélia
    • Philomène Sauvagnatas Philomène Sauvagnat
    • (as Jenny Helia)
    Colette Régis
    • Victoire Pecqueuxas Victoire Pecqueux
    • (as Colette Regis)
    Claire Gérard
    • Une voyageuseas Une voyageuse
    • (as Claire Gerard)
    Charlotte Clasis
    • Tante Phasie, la marraine de Lantieras Tante Phasie, la marraine de Lantier
    • (as Germaine Clasis)
    Jacques Berlioz
    • Grandmorinas Grandmorin
    • (as Berlioz)
    Tony Corteggiani
    • Dabadie, le chef de sectionas Dabadie, le chef de section
    • (as Cortegianni)
    André Tavernier
    • Le juge d'instruction Denizetas Le juge d'instruction Denizet
    Marcel Pérès
    Marcel Pérès
    • Un lampisteas Un lampiste
    • (as Perez)
    Jean Renoir
    Jean Renoir
    • Cabucheas Cabuche
    Jacques Roussel
    • Commissaire Caucheas Commissaire Cauche
    • (as Roussel)
    Jacques Beauvais
      Jacques Becker
      Jacques Becker
      • Un lampisteas Un lampiste
      • (uncredited)
      • Director
        • Jean Renoir
      • Writers
        • Émile Zola(novel)
        • Jean Renoir(adaptation and dialogue) (screenplay) (uncredited)
        • Denise Leblond(dialogue) (uncredited)
      • All cast & crew
      • See more cast details at IMDbPro

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      Storyline

      Edit
      Jacques Lantier is a train engineer who is prone to violent seizures, a condition he attributes to his forefathers' habit of excessive drinking. Roubaud is a train conductor on the same railroad that Lantier works on, married to the much younger Séverine. When Roubaud catches wind of his wife's affair with her godfather, the wealthy M. Grandmorin, he kills him during a train journey in a fit of jealousy. He makes sure that Séverine is also present, making her an accomplice to murder. Lantier, despite having witnessed them quite clearly in the train corridor, hides the fact during the investigation as he is attracted to Séverine. They both begin an affair, all the while Roubaud becomes increasingly withdrawn and starts to gamble. Séverine urges Lantier to kill her husband so that they would be free but she is unaware of Lantier's unfortunate condition. —Soumitra
      • railroad
      • train station
      • stationmaster
      • three word title
      • film starts with text
      • 193 more
      • Plot summary
      • Add synopsis
      • Taglines
        • From the novel "La Bete Humaine" a drama of consuming passions, directed by Jean Renoir
      • Genres
        • Crime
        • Drama
      • Certificate
        • Not Rated
      • Parents guide

      Did you know

      Edit
      • Trivia
        Jean Gabin learned how to conduct locomotive before shooting.
      • Quotes

        Jacques Lantier: Pecqueux, I have to tell you something. Don't say a word and don't move. I killed her. That's right, I killed her. It's all over. I'll never see her again. It'll be the death of me, I know it. I couldn't bear to hold her anymore. I loved her, you know? I loved her little hands most of all. But there's one thing I don't get: why haven't they arrested me?

      • Connections
        Edited into Histoire(s) du cinéma: Une histoire seule (1989)
      • Soundtracks
        Le Coeur de Ninon
        (uncredited)

        Music by Ernesto Becucci

        Lyrics by Georges Millandy

        Sung by Marcel Véran

      User reviews48

      Review
      Top review
      Renoir & Zola Make a Good Combination
      Jean Renoir's "La Bête Humaine" is an excellent screen adaptation of Émile Zola's novel, which also contains some excellent photography and a fine performance by lead actor Jean Gabin. While usually overshadowed by Renoir's other more (justifiably) celebrated masterpieces, in itself it is a very good picture, with Zola's ideas and characters providing ideal material for the great director.

      Most likely, the reason why "La Bête Humaine" is less appreciated than Renoir's other works is because it is so closely tied to the novel - which itself is actually part of a series of novels. Someone not familiar with Zola would find it harder to understand some of the action, especially the behavior of the main character, railway engineer Jacques Lantier (Gabin). There is a brief message at the opening of the film explaining the basic theme, but it would hardly be possible to bring an audience completely up-to-date with just a short note.

      The novel on which the film is based is part of a series of 20 novels that Zola wrote, which cover the history of a single family through several generations and through several decades of 19th-century French history. Each of these stories is capable of standing on its own, but they are more satisfying if you know at least something of the broader context. "La Bête Humaine" is one of the last few volumes in the series, and accordingly, it largely assumes a familiarity with the basic themes. Zola had two main concerns in these novels: (i) to show how certain family traits (positive and negative) re-appear in successive generations, and (ii) to show how the lives of a particular family reflect events and trends in French society as a whole. Zola was a naturalistic writer - he had a strong sense of identification with and sympathy for his characters, but he also portrayed his characters and his country in an uncompromising light, just as they were.

      There are at least a couple of ways that this context helps better to appreciate the film version of "La Bête Humaine". First, Jacques Lantier comes from a branch of the family that was particularly plagued with mental instability. He has many positive qualities, but also is tormented by barely-suppressed violent urges. Gabin does an excellent job (as he always does) of portraying his character, but some of it is lost if the viewer is unaware of who he is supposed to be. Second, the railway setting, interesting in its own right, is meant to be suggestive of other forces, both within Lantier's mind and also outside of his life. (The action in this story is supposed to have taken place in about 1870, a tumultuous time in French history.)

      All of this comes together in the outstanding opening sequence, which shows Lantier's train rushing across the countryside. The beautiful photography and skillful editing help us to feel as if we were in the train with him, and all of this is supposed to suggest not just the setting of the story to come, but also the powerful forces - both inside Lantier and outside of him - which he cannot control.

      All of the subsequent plot developments - interesting and sometimes surprising in themselves - build on this foundation. This is nicely and carefully done, even if some of it is unfortunately lost if the viewer does not know a little of the wider context.
      helpful•87
      5
      • Snow Leopard
      • May 24, 2001

      Details

      Edit
      • Release date
        • February 19, 1940 (United States)
      • Country of origin
        • France
      • Language
        • French
      • Also known as
        • Človek - zver
      • Filming locations
        • Gare Saint-Lazare, Paris 8, Paris, France
      • Production company
        • Paris Film
      • See more company credits at IMDbPro

      Technical specs

      Edit
      • Runtime
        1 hour 40 minutes
      • Color
        • Black and White
      • Aspect ratio
        • 1.37 : 1

      Related news

      From the archive, 1939: Jean Renoir talks about films
      From the archive, 1939: Jean Renoir talks about films
      Jan 27The Guardian - Film News
      Giveaway – Win Fritz Lang’s Human Desire
      Feb 10Flickeringmyth

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