La bete humaine

The Criterion Collection, A Continuing Series of Important Classic and Contemporary Films

Based on the classic Émile Zola novel, Jean Renoir’s La Bête Humaine was one of the legendary director’s greatest popular successes, tapping into the fatalism of a nation in despair. Jean Gabin’s emblematic portrayal of doomed train engineer Jacques Lantier granted him a permanent place in the hearts of his countrymen. Part poetic realism, part film noir, the film is a hard-boiled and suspenseful journey into the tormented psyche of a workingman.