L’Atalante
Directed by Jean Vigo • 1934 • France
Starring Jean Dasté, Dita Parlo, Michel Simon
In Jean Vigo’s hands, an unassuming tale of conjugal love becomes an achingly romantic reverie of desire and hope. Jean (Jean Dasté), a barge captain, marries Juliette (Dita Parlo), an innocent country girl, and the two climb aboard Jean’s boat, the L’ATALANTE—otherwise populated by an earthy first mate (Michel Simon) and a multitude of mangy cats—and embark on their new life together. Both a surprisingly erotic idyll and a clear-eyed meditation on love, L’ATALANTE, Vigo’s only feature-length work, is a film like no other.
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L’Atalante
Directed by Jean Vigo • 1934 • France
In Jean Vigo's hands, an unassuming tale of conjugal love becomes an achingly romantic reverie of desire and hope. Jean (Jean Dasté), a barge captain, marries Juliette (Dita Parlo), an innocent country girl, and the two climb aboard Jean's boat, the L'Atalan...
Extras
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L’ATALANTE Commentary
Recorded in 2011, this commentary features Michael Temple, author of “Jean Vigo.”
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Adam Gopnik on L’ATALANTE
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Cinéastes de notre temps: Jean Vigo
Directed by Jacques Rozier, this episode of the French television program “Cinéastes de notre temps,” which first aired on October 15, 1964, covers the brief but explosive career of filmmaker Jean Vigo.
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Truffaut and Rohmer on L’ATALANTE
This conversation between New Wave directors François Truffaut and Eric Rohmer, titled “Postface à L’ATALANTE,” was presented following a 1968 French television broadcast of the film.
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A Tribute to Jean Vigo by Michel Gondry
This animated tribute to L’ATALANTE director Jean Vigo was created by filmmaker Michel Gondry in 2011.
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Les voyages de L’ATALANTE
In this documentary, film historian and restorer Bernard Eisenschitz describes the path of L’ATALANTE over the years, from the savage cuts made to it in 1934 to the more complete version we have today.
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Otar Iosseliana on Jean Vigo
In this 2001 interview, Georgian-French filmmaker Otar Iosseliani (CHASING BUTTERFLIES; FAREWELL, HOME SWEET HOME) talks about the influence that Jean Vigo has had on his own work.
