Les Cent Livres des Hommes

Synopsis

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'.

First Air Date: 1970-06-07

Last Air Date: 1973-12-28

Number of Seasons: 1

Number of Episodes: 17

Created By: Claude Santelli, Françoise Verny

Networks: ORTF Télévision

View Technical Specifications on IMDb

Top Cast

Denise Gence as Françoise
Dominique Rozan as Le père
Alain Libolt as Fabrice del Dongo
Marie-Christine Barrault as La mère
Germaine de France as La grand-mère
Isabelle Huppert as Gilberte
Gabriel Cattand as Duc de Guermantes
Nicolas Silberg as Alcibiade
Brigitte Fossey as Grande Alice
Alice Reichen as Babouchka, la grand-mère

Seasons

The Hundred Books of Men (1970)

Episodes:

Ep. 1: Le Petit Prince de Antoine de Saint-Exupéry (1970-06-07)

'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.
Ep. 2: Le Petit Chose (1971-02-03)

'Little Good-For-Nothing' or 'Little What's-His-Name' by Alphonse Daudet.
Ep. 3: Le Noeud de vipères (1971-04-07)

'The Knot of Vipers' by François Mauriac. A reading of Mauriac's novel that combines personal accounts with adapted scenes.
Ep. 4: La Chartreuse de Parme (1971-11-17)

'The Charterhouse of Parma' by Stendhal.
Ep. 5: Du côté de chez Swann (1971-12-22)

'Swann's Way' by Marcel Proust.
Ep. 6: A la recherche du temps perdu (1971-12-22)

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.
Ep. 7: Martin Eden (1972-01-24)

'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.
Ep. 8: Le portrait de Socrate (1972-01-26)

The portrait of Socrates.
Ep. 9: L'exode (1972-02-23)

The biblical Book of Exodus.
Ep. 10: Les Souffrances du jeune Werther (1972-03-22)

'The Sorrows of Young Werther' by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe.
Ep. 11: L'île mystérieuse (1972-04-15)

'The Mysterious Island' by Jules Verne.
Ep. 12: L'Enfance de Gorky (1972-04-26)

'My Childhood' by Maxim Gorky.
Ep. 13: Gargantua (1972-05-24)

'Gargantua' by François Rabelais.
Ep. 14: Jude l'Obscur (1972-07-26)

'Jude the obscure' by Thomas Hardy.
Ep. 15: Robinson Crusoe (1972-12-20)

'Robinson Crusoe' by Daniel Defoe.
Ep. 16: Histoire de la Révolution (1973-07-30)

'History of the Revolution' by Jules Michelet.
Ep. 17: Alice aux pays des merveilles (1973-12-28)

'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!