The Lumière Classics label was created 17 years ago by the Lumière film festival to recognize the most outstanding recent restorations of world cinematic heritage.
Each year, in response to a call for films, nearly 180 works are submitted to the festival by film libraries, studios, archives, rights holders and foundations from around the world. A selection of the finest restorations receives the label and is screened exclusively during the festival.
Rare or little-known œuvres, as well as a few classics, are brought together under the “Treasures & Curiosities” theme, while other restorations bearing the label can be found in retrospectives and in various other sections of this edition.
A journalist investigates the mysterious shipwreck of a luxury yacht whose sole survivor is a mute woman… A little-known film noir full of well-crafted suspense and virtuoso direction.
In Buenos Aires of the 1920s: having grown up in an aristocratic and puritanical household, young Ana sees her world turned upside down by a member of parliament... This pivotal work of Argentinian cinema earned Torre Nilsson international recognition.
In Sydney in 1925, a mother leaves her cheating husband and works as a waitress to raise her children as a single mother… A powerful portrait of female emancipation, which epitomizes the revival of Australian cinema in the 1970s.
Every single Sunday, a couple invites a guest for a game of chess… until a complicated situation arises, disrupting their ritual... The Mozart rondo that runs throughout the film, akin to the narrative technique, subtly reveals the romantic triangle forming in Zagreb.
With the Chinese Civil War fully underway, Shanghai Lily reunites with a former flame aboard a train that will soon be taken hostage... Featuring Marlene Dietrich and Anna May Wong, enhanced by the aesthetics of Oscar-winning black-and-white cinematography.
Aboard a luxury liner sailing from New York to London, sweethearts, friends and a gangster disguised as a reverend find themselves caught up in a flurry of misunderstandings… Bing Crosby and Ethel Merman star in this effervescent adaptation of Cole Porter's musical, a hit on Broadway.
Zouzou and Jean (Jean Gabin) grew up together, yet the former harbors a secret love for the latter and dreams of becoming a music-hall star... Joséphine Baker's first talkie, allowing her to showcase the full range of her talents.
Anne-Marie dreams of becoming an aviator. When she begins her flying lessons, five potential suitors revolve around her, but her heart is captured by a certain enigmatic inventor… An aerial comedy based on Saint-Exupéry's one and only screenplay.
Aware of the fact that his wife is cheating on him, instead of confronting her, Félix Bonnadieu decides to provoke her jealousy... Danielle Darrieux and Bernard Blier star in a delightful vaudeville that has fun with roles and the morality of married couple.
A young journalist (Marina Vlady) is on a mission to clear the name of her murdered neighbor's husband... Somewhere between comedy and noir thriller, the fast-paced Parisian investigation is led by a heroine as ingenuous as she is fearless.
A police commissioner (Alain Delon) hunts down a gang of thieves, but he is unaware that his friend is amongst them... Melville's last work, an icy, elegiac, melancholic crime drama, starring the perfectly reserved Catherine Deneuve.
Hazel (Jennifer Jones), a fiercely independent young woman, must deal with the insistent advances of a landowner... This clash between masculine desire and the power of nature is enhanced by Technicolor.
Under the omnipresent gaze of Big Brother, Winston (John Hurt) dares to love and think in secret… A faithful and dark adaptation of Orwell's famous novel, featuring Richard Burton in his final role.
Raised as a future courtesan, Sahibjaan dreams of living a love that her status forbids... All the splendor of the colorful Bollywood tradition shines through in this classic of Indian cinema, headlined by star Meena Kumari.
In Mexico, Cuchillo must find a treasure meant to fund the revolution, with a horde of pursuers on his trail... Tomás Milián once again incarnates the character of "Cuchillo", in this lively and political western with wide appeal. An exhilarating, entertaining ride!
Giovanna, having no news from her husband, missing on the Russian front, sets out to find him. The mythical couple of Sophia Loren & Marcello Mastroianni come together for this historical melodrama, a sweeping tale of tragic lyricism.
From the countryside to prostitution: for four decades, Tome has fought for survival in a society that crushes her... Emblematic of the Japanese New Wave, the film earned Imamura worldwide recognition and Sachiko Hidari won the Best Actress Award in Berlin.
Three hapless young people respond to a world in ruins by betting on play, love and madness... A baroque fable of dazzling visual inventiveness, celebrated at its screening at the Directors' Fortnight.
After a sordid killing is committed near his home, a man (Werner Krauss) haunted by murderous dreams, consults a psychoanalyst... Pabst’s œuvre was the first film to depict Freudian theories of the unconscious through avant-garde editing.
Prince Séliman (Olaf Fjord) becomes the personal secretary of an offbeat aristocrat (Claude France) and goes off to negotiate oil concessions... A stylized adaptation featuring lavish production sets, this silent flick was a major triumph of the Roaring Twenties.
In tsarist Russia, a peasant's son who has become an officer, falls in love with a princess. She rejects him and the Revolution will seal his fate... A great melodrama led by the intensity of John Barrymore.
The daughter of a railroad crossing guard is charmed by a passing traveler; their encounter will change the course of her life… An erotic love/lust-at-first-sight story, a portrait of a woman exploring her sensuality. A grand œuvre of Czech silent cinema!
A young employee manages to fend off a man's advances and finds safe haven with a laborer with whom she promptly falls in love… Gustav Machaty's first talkie, and arguably his finest achievement.
A young woman leaves her husband and meets another man who awakens the sensuality in her for the first time… The highly controversial film became notorious, and its impact paved the way to Hollywood for Machaty and his go-to actress, future glamour icon, Hedy Lamarr.
During the Spanish Civil War, the Republicans fight against Franco's troops and come to the aid of villagers… The only film by writer and future Minister of Culture André Malraux. An ode to courage and brotherhood.
From misery to glory, Gilberto becomes a singer and then a doctor before his happiness falters... A musical melodrama, a smash hit of Brazilian cinema based on a song by the famous Vicente Celestino, the director's spouse.
In a Greece characterized by poverty, the Lymberis family bets all its hopes on their youngest son, a brilliant student... A devastating neorealist drama, paving the way for new Greek cinema.
During the Restoration, a former Officer of Napoleon, whose greed knows no bounds, sets his sights on his uncle’s fortune…A captivating adaptation of Balzac’s book La Rabouilleuse (The Black Sheep/The Two Brothers), it employs historical reenactment to draw a portrait of human ambition.
Under the Occupation, a village doctor helps resistance fighters while maintaining a cordial relationship with a German officer... Betrand Blier stars in one of Georges Lautner’s early successes, painting a nuanced portrait of occupied France.
In Deauville, a pair of widowed people fall in love... Winner of the Palme d'Or at Cannes, as well as two Academy Awards, the film enjoyed worldwide recognition. We commemorate the 60th anniversary of Claude Lelouch's iconic film starring the incomparable Anouk Aimée and Jean-Louis Trintignant.
Valet Blaze plots a thousand ways to trick his miserly master Don Salluste out of his fortune... A humorous cult classic penned by Danièle Thompson, starring the iconic duo Louis de Funès and Yves Montand.
In 17th-century France, a lecherous priest who opposes Cardinal Richelieu finds himself at the heart of the torment, accused of witchcraft… Vanessa Redgrave and Oliver Reed star in this highly controversial œuvre featuring unapologetic flamboyance, inspired by the real-life case of the possessed women of Loudun, France.
A young rickshaw driver would like to ask for Rose’s hand in marriage, but his future father-in-law demands an exorbitant dowry... A Cameroonian smash hit that successfully blends humor with social critique to denounce the excesses of certain traditions.
Wanted by the mafia, Nicky calls his friend Mikey to help him make a getaway... A striking œuvre of the 1970s, featuring the excellent duo John Cassavetes and Peter Falk.
In a shantytown in the suburbs of Rome, Giacinto (Nino Manfredi) rules over a large family that is after the stash of money he keeps hidden… A biting social satire, it won the Best Director award at Cannes.
Devastated by the death of a female friend, Barbara (Delphine Seyrig) returns to Poland, where she finds love with an actor… An intimate portrait of loneliness and the search for self, by a pivotal director of Hungarian cinema.
Longtime friends get together for a party on the lavish terrace of an apartment in Rome. Despite appearances, they are all hiding a deep unease... A sprawling ensemble saga of the failure of a generation.
In 1913 Beijing, three women, vastly different, find themselves drawn together in the quest for a mysterious document… A thrilling, colorful extravaganza, Tsui Hark signs a landmark film.
From age sixteen, Ti Hung (Lu Hsiao-fen) shows resilience while subjected to poverty, widowhood and social norms. Over the course of her life, she uses her cunning – and dazzling beauty – to alter her fate . This work is Kun-hou Chen's first to be distributed in France.
