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1940: Taking over French Cinema poster

1940: Taking over French Cinema

Film201955 min9.0/10 on TMDB

Directed by Pierre-Henri Gibert

The story

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.

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Cast & crew

Claude Heymann
Claude Heymann
Self (archive footage)
Jean DrévilleJean DrévilleSelf (archive footage)
Marcel CarnéMarcel CarnéSelf (archive footage)
Raoul Ploquin
Raoul Ploquin
Self (voice) (archive footage)
Henri Calef
Henri Calef
Self (archive footage)
Jean-Paul Le ChanoisJean-Paul Le ChanoisSelf (archive footage)
Michel DuranMichel DuranSelf (archive footage)
Henri-Georges ClouzotHenri-Georges ClouzotSelf (archive footage)
Hans Borgelt
Hans Borgelt
Self (archive footage)
Danielle DarrieuxDanielle DarrieuxSelf (archive footage)
Explore the crew
Original Music Composer
Arnaud Guillemant