The Last Tycoons

Released: 2022-01-18

Runtime: 56 minutes

Episode Overview

It takes a healthy dose of romanticism to try and build a film industry in a country whose economy is in ruins after war, but these producers were up for the challenge. Dissatisfied in Hollywood, brothers Robert and Raymond Hakim returned to France to re-launch their careers. André Paulvé was a grain broker who talked his way into his first production. Alexandre Mnouchkine parlayed fur business cash into a life in cinema. And the larger-than-life cigar-chomping Henry Deutchmeister built himself a faux 18th-century manor—complete with modular edit suites on the grounds.

Series Overview

An eight-part series on the history of French cinema from the postwar era to New Wave and beyond. Unearths the stories behind the films’ creation through live and archival interviews with the producers of the films in the series, as well as colleagues, family members, and experts on French cinema. Interlaced throughout is footage from a wealth of classic French films.