Contemporary paintings, manuscripts and lithographs are used in this film depicting the life of Balzac, nineteenth century French novelist. Beginning with shots of the workroom in which Balzac wrote many of his novels, the film flashes back to the Napoleonic era during which the writer was born. The film traces his boyhood, his career, the mounting of his debts, his love affairs, and concludes with his death which came after he had recreated a whole society in his ninety-six novels.
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How to watch
Collection
In ACMI's collection
Credits
Collection metadata
ACMI Identifier
000999
Language
English
Subject categories
History → France - History - 19th century
Literature → Balzac, Honore de, 1799-1850
Literature → Novelists - Biography
People → Balzac, Honore de, 1799-1850
Sound/audio
Sound
Colour
Black and White
Holdings
16mm film; Access Print (Section 1)