Les Cent Livres des Hommes

1h

Documentary

Action & Adventure

Drama

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'.

Episodes

Cast

Le Petit Prince de Antoine de Saint-Exupéry

1. Le Petit Prince de Antoine de Saint-Exupéry

33min

7th Jun 1970

'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.

Le Petit Chose

2. Le Petit Chose

3rd Feb 1971

'Little Good-For-Nothing' or 'Little What's-His-Name' by Alphonse Daudet.

Le Noeud de vipères

3. Le Noeud de vipères

50min

7th Apr 1971

'The Knot of Vipers' by François Mauriac. A reading of Mauriac's novel that combines personal accounts with adapted scenes.

La Chartreuse de Parme

4. La Chartreuse de Parme

1h 15min

17th Nov 1971

'The Charterhouse of Parma' by Stendhal.

Du côté de chez Swann

5. Du côté de chez Swann

22nd Dec 1971

'Swann's Way' by Marcel Proust.

A la recherche du temps perdu

6. A la recherche du temps perdu

1h

22nd Dec 1971

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.

Martin Eden

7. Martin Eden

51min

24th Jan 1972

'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.

Le portrait de Socrate

8. Le portrait de Socrate

1h

26th Jan 1972

The portrait of Socrates.

L'exode

9. L'exode

23rd Feb 1972

The biblical Book of Exodus.

Les Souffrances du jeune Werther

10. Les Souffrances du jeune Werther

1h

22nd Mar 1972

'The Sorrows of Young Werther' by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe.

L'île mystérieuse

11. L'île mystérieuse

15th Apr 1972

'The Mysterious Island' by Jules Verne.

L'Enfance de Gorky

12. L'Enfance de Gorky

55min

26th Apr 1972

'My Childhood' by Maxim Gorky.

Gargantua

13. Gargantua

1h

24th May 1972

'Gargantua' by François Rabelais.

Jude l'Obscur

14. Jude l'Obscur

30min

26th Jul 1972

'Jude the obscure' by Thomas Hardy.

Robinson Crusoe

15. Robinson Crusoe

1h

20th Dec 1972

'Robinson Crusoe' by Daniel Defoe.

Histoire de la Révolution

16. Histoire de la Révolution

30th Jul 1973

'History of the Revolution' by Jules Michelet.

Alice aux pays des merveilles

17. Alice aux pays des merveilles

1h

28th Dec 1973

'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!

First air date

7th Jun 1970

Last air date

28th Dec 1973

Status

Ended

Type

Scripted

Original language

fr

Networks