An Evening with René Clair

"Rene Clair is the French cinema," one critic wrote in the 40s, and few people would have disagreed. It seems a surprising judgment now since Clair's reputation suffered a steep decline while other veteran filmmakers, such as Renoir and Came, grew in esteem and the New Wave stole the limelight. Clair died earlier this year at the age of 82, still the only man of the cinema to have been elected to the Académie Frangaise. Gavin Millar introduces two of his most famous films and offers a reminder of just why he was, for a whole generation, the epitome of Gallic wit, elegance and charm.