New digital transfer, with extensive image and sound restoration A gallery of production photos A rare American television interview with René Clair New and improved English subtitles, with every song lyric translated for the first time
[Criterion Collection] Audio: 5.1/1
Genre: Musical Release Date: 05/16/2000 SubTitles: English Dubbed: French Sound: 5.1/1 Run Time: 81 Minutes Flags: Suitable for Children Distributor/Studio: Criterion
René Lefèvre and Annabella are sheer delights, as is everything else in Le Million, René Clair's bright and winning early sound comedy. Clair has his actors sing their dialogue in a blithe and breezy way and utilizes a succession of surrealistic and Dadaesque touches to chronicle this lighthearted extended chase, concerning an artist racing through the streets of Paris (an amazing studio set constructed by Lazare Meerson) in order to retrieve a winning lottery ticket left in the pocket of a discarded jacket. Many of Clair's comic embellishments (like the dubbed-in sound effects of a football game over a portion of the chase) have been used endlessly in comedies ever since, but in Clair's hands, the old jokes still look fresh and magical.
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