Nana (1926 film)
Encyclopedia
Nana is Jean Renoir
's second full-length silent film
and is based on the novel
by Émile Zola
.
, in an eccentric performance as the flawed heroine Nana.
Jean Renoir’s film is a fairly faithful adaptation of Émile Zola’s classic novel. The film’s extravagances include two magnificent set pieces – a horse race and an open air ball. The film never made a profit, and it was the commercial failure of this film which robbed Renoir of the opportunity to make such an ambitious film again for several years.
Jean Renoir
Jean Renoir was a French film director, screenwriter, actor, producer and author. As a film director and actor, he made more than forty films from the silent era to the end of the 1960s...
's second full-length silent film
Silent film
A silent film is a film with no synchronized recorded sound, especially with no spoken dialogue. In silent films for entertainment the dialogue is transmitted through muted gestures, pantomime and title cards...
and is based on the novel
Nana (novel)
Nana is a novel by the French naturalist author Émile Zola. Completed in 1880, Nana is the ninth installment in the 20-volume Les Rougon-Macquart series, the object of which was to tell "The Natural and Social History of a Family under the Second Empire", the subtitle of the series.-Origins:A year...
by Émile Zola
Émile Zola
Émile François Zola was a French writer, the most important exemplar of the literary school of naturalism and an important contributor to the development of theatrical naturalism...
.
Plot
A government official, Count Muffat, falls under the spell of Nana, a young actress. She becomes his mistress, living in the sumptuous apartment which he provides for her. Instead of elevating herself to Muffat's level, however, Nana drags the poor man down to hers - in the end, both lives have been utterly destroyed.Production
The film stars Renoir’s wife, Catherine HesslingCatherine Hessling
Catherine Hessling was a French actress and the first wife of film director Jean Renoir...
, in an eccentric performance as the flawed heroine Nana.
Jean Renoir’s film is a fairly faithful adaptation of Émile Zola’s classic novel. The film’s extravagances include two magnificent set pieces – a horse race and an open air ball. The film never made a profit, and it was the commercial failure of this film which robbed Renoir of the opportunity to make such an ambitious film again for several years.
Cast
- Catherine HesslingCatherine HesslingCatherine Hessling was a French actress and the first wife of film director Jean Renoir...
- Nana - Werner KraussWerner KraussWerner Johannes Krauss was a German stage and film actor.-Early life:Krauss was born at the parsonage of Gestungshausen in Upper Franconia, where his grandfather was Protestant pastor. He spent his childhood in Breslau and from 1901 attended the teacher's college at Kreuzburg...
- Count Muffat - Jean Angelo - Count de Vandeuvres
- Raymond Guérin-Catelain - Georges Hugon