BBC Omnibus - Jean Renoir (1993) Part 1 From La Belle Epoque to World War II

David Thompson's beguiling documentary on Renoir's life and work, made for the occasion of the one-hundredth anniversary of his birth. Born 100 years ago, Jean Renoir (1894-1979) is considered by many the greatest of film directors. Omnibus presents a two-part investigation of Renoir's life and career, coinciding with a short season of his films on BBC2. The son of Impressionist painter Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Jean's career began in the silent era but his most acclaimed films date from the 1930s. His films are said to reflect his father's love of nature and deep humanity, and have long been an inspiration to other directors as well as audiences. This uniquely captivating documentary made for the BBC explores the life and work of Jean Renoir for the occasion of the director's centenary. Interviewed are many of Renoir's “family”-not just his son Alain but the many colleagues and friends who remained close to the director up to his death in 1979. Many major filmmakers appear, to shed light on Renoir's style and technique, as does Renoir himself in important extracts from past interviews. Directors Bernardo Bertolucci, Peter Bogdanovich and Claude Chabrol are among those interviewed. The importance of friendship–as well as the pursuit of happiness and the dislike of perfection–were just some of the principles Jean shared with his hugely influential father, the painter Pierre Auguste Renoir. As we are taken through the idyllic provincial childhood and idealistic adulthood of the artist, we come to understand the director's statement, “You know, one tells the same story throughout one's life. We have one story in mind, and we discover different aspects of it, little by little.” And what a story it is. In 1975 Jean Renoir was awarded an honorary Academy Award for his lifetime contribution to film. He is considered one of the first great auteurs, a cinematic master whose distinctive style always contained a concern for human issues and a reverence for natural beauty.

Part 1 From La Belle Epoque to World War II

As the son of the great impressionist painter, Auguste Renoir, the filmmaker as a young man was encouraged to freely explore artistic and intellectual pursuits. He eventually chose ceramics, but during a long convalescence, developed a passion for film. His first film, LA FILLE DE L'EAU (1925) THE WHIRLPOOL OF FATE, and other silent films display early signs of what was to become characteristic of Renoir's work–a sense of visual realism, the love of nature and the poetic representation of the physical environment. First episode “From La Belle Epoque to World War II” follows Renoir from his youthful love of movies, aerial photography work in the French air force, marriage, first film with actress-wife Catherine Hessling, to early sound films like “Boudu Saved From Drowning,” to the string of classics, including “Grand Illusion” and “Rules of the Game.”

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