French Cancan (Only the French Can) (1955)
Average Rating: 7.7/10
Reviews Counted: 20
Fresh: 20 | Rotten: 0
No consensus yet.
Average Rating: N/A
Critic Reviews: 3
Fresh: 3 | Rotten: 0
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Average Rating: 3.9/5
User Ratings: 701
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Movie Info
Beautifully photographed, this comedy drama from Jean Renoir chronicles the revival of Paris' most notorious dance as it tells the story of a theater producer who turns a humble washerwoman into a star at the Moulin Rouge. The film is also title Only the French Can. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi
Apr 16, 1956 Wide
Aug 3, 2004
Criterion Collection
Cast
-
Jean Gabin
Danglard -
María Félix
La Belle Abesse -
Françoise Arnoul
Nini -
Gaston Modot
Danglard's Servant -
Gianni Esposito
Prince Alexandre -
Annick Morice
Therese blanchisseuse -
-
Jaque Catelain
The Minister -
Jean-Roger Caussimon
Baron Walter -
Jacques Ciron
1er gommeux -
Max Dalban
Le patron de la Reine B... -
Sylvine Delannoy
Titine -
Hubert Deschamps
Isidore garcon de cafe -
Dora Doll
La Génisse, La Génisse... -
Jacques Hilling
Le chirurgien -
Jacques Jouanneau
Bidon -
-
Pierre Moncorbier
L'huissier -
Pierre Olaf
Roberto pierrot siffleu... -
Mme. Paquerette
Mimi Prunelle -
Jean Parédès
Coudrier -
Franco Pastorino
Paulo le boulanger -
Patachou
Yvette Guilbert -
Mich_le Philippe
Eléonore, Eléonore, El... -
Michel Piccoli
Valorgueil -
Albert Remy
Barjolin -
Jean-Marc Tennberg
Savate -
Valentine Tessier
Mme. Olympe Nini's Moth... -
Edith Piaf
Eugenie Buffet -
Philippe Clay
Casimir -
Leo Campion
The Commandant -
France Roche
Beatrix -
R.J. Chauffard
Police Inspector -
Jean Sylvere
The Groom -
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All Critics (23) | Top Critics (4) | Fresh (20) | Rotten (0) | DVD (4)
M. Renoir's affectionate picture hasn't quite the class of Huston's Moulin Rouge. But it makes for diverting entertainment as sheer sentimental spectacle.
The climactic cancan scene is one of the finest dance sequences ever filmed, and worth the price of a ticket on its own.
Top CriticThis 1955 Technicolor musical is the easiest to like of Jean Renoir's late films, full of color, movement, and romance.
Nostalgic studio-bound Hollywood-like splashy pic about the beginnings of the Moulin Rouge.
A simple story told with abundant charm.
Begins with an extended and breathtaking evocation of the Moulin Rouge at its most ravishing, one of the cinema's greatest sequences.
It is unashamedly nostalgic and somewhat meandering but chock full of colour and affection for its characters.
The glorious final sequence, in which the cancan is finally unveiled to the rowdy audience, is some kind of masterpiece, perhaps the equal of anything Renoir ever achieved: wild, free, turbulent, exhilarating.
Nothing if not thoroughly enjoyable.
[It] was not the cinema event it promised to be. Yet there is still much to treasure in this exuberant tribute to the Moulin Rouge.
If the film lacks the social bite of Renoir's pre-war work, it's still a rich celebration of life and the director's own birthplace.
A playful, colorful spectacle from the late era of Renoir.
French Cancan is full of fire, and incredibly sexy for 1954.
French Cancan vibrantly brings to life the dawning days of the Moulin Rouge, complete with high-kicking choristers flaunting their frills.
...the fin de siecle Paris of our imagination, or of Auguste Renoir's paintings. Renoir's finale blends exhilarating showmanship and a carriageload of characters reconciled, their intrigues and follies stepping aside for 'the show must go on.'
In wonderful color
This is lighter than usual fare for Renoir, but his usual gracefulness is ever-present and he adds a distinct human center to the color and dazzle.
It's a true spectacle; Renoir suggests that, potentially, for those involved in theater, all of life is.
The birth of the Moulin Rouge lights up the screen in Jean Renoir's breathtaking, colourful vision of a bygone Paris.
Audience Reviews for French Cancan (Only the French Can)
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Foreign Titles
- French Cancan (DE)
- French Cancan (UK)
