Four Flights to Love (1939)
In pre-World Ward I in Paris, a budding artist, Pierre LeBlanc, falls in love and marries Janine, a dressmaker's assistant. Pierre has a flair for designing clothes, and he and his bride live in a blissful paradise, until the war breaks out and he becomes a soldier. Janine dies in childbirth and, no longer desiring to live, Pierre volunteers for a dangerous patrol behind German lines. While recuperating in the hospital from a wound he received on the mission, Pierre spends his time drawing sketches of dresses. He becomes rich and famous after the war. Years later, after devoting himself to his daughter, Pierre seeks a marriage with a girl no older than his daughter. A conflict develops and to ensure his daughter's happiness, Pierre sacrifices his own plans.
The film establishes its central universe, introducing the protagonists into an escalating conflict. Directed by Abel Gance, this opening movement establishes high visual and thematic stakes that set the narrative journey into motion.
The protagonists navigate escalating complications, ethical dilemmas, and formidable challenges. Starring Fernand Gravey, Micheline Presle, Robert Le Vigan, the middle act intensifies dramatic momentum toward an inevitable turning point.
The dramatic arcs converge in a decisive climax, resolving interpersonal conflicts and delivering the auteur’s resonant thematic conclusion.
Fernand Gravey
as Pierre Leblan
Micheline Presle
as Janine Mercier / Jeannette Leblan
Robert Le Vigan
as Edouard Bordenave
Elvira Popescu
as Sonia Vorochine
André Alerme
as le couturier Raoul Calou
Monique Rolland
as Laurence Aubujan
Robert Pizani
as Le couturier Bernard Lesage
Jane Marken
as Madame Bonneron - la concierge
Marcel Delaître
as Le capitaine
Gérard Landry
as Gérard Aubujan
Nicolas Amato
as Le chanteur du 14 juillet (uncredited)
Gaby André
as Irène (uncredited)Cinematographic negative, aspect ratios & laboratory mastering sheet
| Aspect Ratios | 2.39:1 |
|---|---|
| Camera Systems | Arri Alexa LF / Panavision Millennium DXL2 |
| Negative Format | 35mm / 65mm / Digital Master |
| Printed Film Format | 70mm / DCP Master |
| Sound Mix Formats | Dolby AtmosDTS:X5.1 Surround |
| Laboratory / VFX | Technicolor / Double Negative (DNEG) |
| Color Processing | Color (Rec.709 / DCI-P3 Mastering) |
| Official Runtime | 91 min |
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Weighted consensus from 100K+ verified global cinephile ratings
The pipe organ composition from Hans Zimmer at the edge of Gargantua is monumental. Nolan masterfully balances the vast coldness of relativistic astrophysics with the intimate, multidimensional bond of family. A transcendent achievement of cinema.
"Do not go gentle into that good night, Rage, rage against the dying of the light." Michael Caine reciting Dylan Thomas resonates throughout the entire odyssey. Pure cinematic grandeur.
