Les Cent Livres des Hommes

1970

Les Cent Livres des Hommes (ORTF, 1969-1973) was a series of literary programs created by Claude Santelli and Françoise Verny, and produced notably by Santelli, Jean Archimbaud, and Serge Moati. Planned for one hundred episodes but completed at thirty-nine, the series aimed to introduce great literary works, 'chefs-d’œuvre', to a younger audience through a mix of dramatization, reading, and documentary techniques. It marked a transfer of cultural legitimacy from writers and critics to a generation of television producers, offering a new model of educational and creative literary broadcasting - 'télévision d’auteur'.

Trailers & Videos

Proust - Docudrame "La Recherche": Barrault - Huppert - Rozan 1971 - Subtitles - Restauré 2025 - 4K

Seasons

17 Episodes • Premiered 1970

1. Le Petit Prince de Antoine de Saint-Exupéry

'The Little Prince' by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry. An introduction to the poetic and philosophical universe of Saint-Exupéry, blending analysis and adaptation of his masterpiece.

2. Le Petit Chose

'Little Good-For-Nothing' or 'Little What's-His-Name' by Alphonse Daudet.

3. Le Noeud de vipères

'The Knot of Vipers' by François Mauriac. A reading of Mauriac's novel that combines personal accounts with adapted scenes.

4. La Chartreuse de Parme

'The Charterhouse of Parma' by Stendhal.

5. Du côté de chez Swann

'Swann's Way' by Marcel Proust.

6. A la recherche du temps perdu

A realistic and poetic evocation of Marcel Proust's 'In Search of Lost Time.' Halfway between an audiovisual adaptation and a portrait of the dandyish and reclusive writer, all in black and white by Claude Santelli, evoking the mystery, the intimacy, and the fatalism of existence.

7. Martin Eden

'Martin Eden' by Jack London. Claude Santelli and Jean-Louis Muller interview Professor Las Vergnas, a specialist in American literature, who contextualises the book within the author's entire body of work and life. Then, Maurice Le Goas, a labor activist, shares his experience of Jack London's influence on him.

8. Le portrait de Socrate

The portrait of Socrates.

9. L'exode

The biblical Book of Exodus.

10. Les Souffrances du jeune Werther

'The Sorrows of Young Werther' by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe.

11. L'île mystérieuse

'The Mysterious Island' by Jules Verne.

12. L'Enfance de Gorky

'My Childhood' by Maxim Gorky.

13. Gargantua

'Gargantua' by François Rabelais.

14. Jude l'Obscur

'Jude the obscure' by Thomas Hardy.

15. Robinson Crusoe

'Robinson Crusoe' by Daniel Defoe.

16. Histoire de la Révolution

'History of the Revolution' by Jules Michelet.

17. Alice aux pays des merveilles

'Alice's Adventures in Wonderland' by Lewis Carroll. This program explores Wonderland from every angle: iconic scenes in which Brigitte Fossey portrays a mischievous Alice, readings by Claude Rich, and analyses of the 'delirious metaphysics' of this great literary classic. Lewis Carroll's universe never ceases to amaze!

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