3 Films by Louis Malle
Few directors have portrayed the agonies and epiphanies of growing up as poetically—and controversially—as Louis Malle. Laced with autobiographical details, Murmur of the Heart; Lacombe, Lucien; and Au revoir les enfants tell stories of youth, set against the tumult of World War II and postwar France. Tragic, amusing, and poignant, these three films are more than just coming-of-age stories. They are the director’s ongoing response to a world gone wrong.
Films In This Set
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Murmur of the Heart
1971
Louis Malle’s critically acclaimed Murmur of the Heart gracefully combines elements of comedy, drama, and autobiography in a candid portrait of a precocious adolescent boy’s sexual maturation. Both shocking and deeply poignant, this is one of the finest coming-of-age films ever made.
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Lacombe, Lucien
1974
One of the first French films to address the issue of collaboration during the German occupation, Louis Malle’s brave and controversial Lacombe, Lucien traces a young peasant’s journey from potential Resistance member to Gestapo recruit. At once the story of a nation and one troubled boy, the film is a disquieting portrait of lost innocence and guilt.
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Au revoir les enfants
1987
Au revoir les enfants tells a heartbreaking story of friendship and devastating loss concerning two boys living in Nazi-occupied France. At a provincial Catholic boarding school, the precocious youths enjoy true camaraderie—until a secret is revealed. Based on events from writer-director Malle’s own childhood, the film is a subtle, precisely observed tale of courage, cowardice, and tragic awakening.
Special Features
- New, restored high-definition digital transfers
- New interviews with actor Candice Bergen and biographer Pierre Billard *- Excerpts from a French TV program featuring the director on the sets of Murmur of the Heart and Lacombe, Lucien
- Audio interviews with Malle from 1974, 1988, and 1990
- The Immigrant, Charlie Chaplin’s 1917 short comedy, featured in Au revoir les enfants
- A profile of the provocative character of Joseph from Au revoir les enfants, created by filmmaker Guy Magen, in 2005
- Original theatrical trailers
- New and improved English subtitle translations
- Essays by critics Michael Sragow, Pauline Kael, and Philip Kemp and historian Francis J. Murphy, as well as a filmography
New covers by Michael Boland
Films In This Set
-
Murmur of the Heart
1971
Louis Malle’s critically acclaimed Murmur of the Heart gracefully combines elements of comedy, drama, and autobiography in a candid portrait of a precocious adolescent boy’s sexual maturation. Both shocking and deeply poignant, this is one of the finest coming-of-age films ever made.
-
Lacombe, Lucien
1974
One of the first French films to address the issue of collaboration during the German occupation, Louis Malle’s brave and controversial Lacombe, Lucien traces a young peasant’s journey from potential Resistance member to Gestapo recruit. At once the story of a nation and one troubled boy, the film is a disquieting portrait of lost innocence and guilt.
-
Au revoir les enfants
1987
Au revoir les enfants tells a heartbreaking story of friendship and devastating loss concerning two boys living in Nazi-occupied France. At a provincial Catholic boarding school, the precocious youths enjoy true camaraderie—until a secret is revealed. Based on events from writer-director Malle’s own childhood, the film is a subtle, precisely observed tale of courage, cowardice, and tragic awakening.
Special Features
- New, restored high-definition digital transfers
- New interviews with actor Candice Bergen and biographer Pierre Billard *- Excerpts from a French TV program featuring the director on the sets of Murmur of the Heart and Lacombe, Lucien
- Audio interviews with Malle from 1974, 1988, and 1990
- The Immigrant, Charlie Chaplin’s 1917 short comedy, featured in Au revoir les enfants
- A profile of the provocative character of Joseph from Au revoir les enfants, created by filmmaker Guy Magen, in 2005
- Original theatrical trailers
- New and improved English subtitle translations
- Essays by critics Michael Sragow, Pauline Kael, and Philip Kemp and historian Francis J. Murphy, as well as a filmography
New covers by Michael Boland
