1940: Taking over French Cinema
Seen it?2019 | 55 min | Documentary, History, TV Movie
Monday Morning Maybeearly ratingWhy it’s a Monday Morning Maybe
With a box office flop and almost no lasting buzz, this one could be a tough watch. Keep your phone handy.
Based on critics, audiences, awards, box office and buzz. Details below.Is it for you?
- Who'll love it
- Made for the curious and history buffs. If you loved They Shall Not Grow Old, start here.
- The mood
- Eye-opening.
- The pace
- Moves along nicely, at 55 min.
- What might put you off
- It's in French, so expect subtitles (or a dub).
Paris, 1940. German occupation forces create a new film production company, Continental, and put Alfred Greven – producer, cinephile, and opportunistic businessman – in charge. During the occupation, under Joseph Goebbels’s orders, Greven hires the best artists and technicians of French cinema to produce successful, highly entertaining films, which are also strategically devoid of propaganda. Simultaneously, he takes advantage of the confiscation of Jewish property to purchase film theaters, studios and laboratories, in order to control the whole production line. His goal: to create a European Hollywood. Among the thirty feature films thus produced under the auspices of Continental, several are, to this day, considered classics of French cinema.
How it earned its rating
- CriticsNot counted
Not enough reviews on record yet
- AudiencesNot counted
Not measured yet: not enough ratings
- AwardsNot counted
Awards data unavailable, so this isn't counted
- Reach & staying powerWeak
Streaming release that reached a small audience so far
- Buzz & cultural impactWeak
Not enough engagement data yet
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Cast & crew
Directed by Pierre-Henri Gibert
- Sarah-Jane SauvegrainSelf (voice)
- Louis-Émile GaleySelf (archive footage)
- Claude HeymannSelf (archive footage)
- Jean DrévilleSelf (archive footage)
- Marcel CarnéSelf (archive footage)
- Raoul PloquinSelf (voice) (archive footage)
- Henri CalefSelf (archive footage)
- Jean-Paul Le ChanoisSelf (archive footage)
- Michel DuranSelf (archive footage)
- Henri-Georges ClouzotSelf (archive footage)