CinéMoi (Sky channel 839)

[tojoed]

For UK viewers Cinemoi, a channel devoted to French films, is currently free to air on Sky Channel 839. Very good it is, too.

[thirtyframesasecond]

If that's free to air (I have a Skybox but no card so to speak, so I just pick up the free channels), then that looks rather good indeed! Some Nouvelle Vague, L'Enfer and Heartbeat Detector just in the next few days!

For UK viewers Cinemoi, a channel devoted to French films, is currently free to air on Sky Channel 839. Very good it is, too.

[tojoed]

Yup, it's free to air, but only until April, I think. After that it appears to be £9.99 a month.

[colinr0380]

I watched Life Is A Long Flowing River last night on the channel and it was presented in its correct ratio with no DOGs on screen, though twice during the film some text about subscribing to the channel ran across the top of the screen. That's fair enough though, I guess!

The films this week that most peaked my interest were Claude Miller's A Secret, an early Cédric Klapisch film Reins du tout from 1992 and Ma 6-T va crack-er featuring Virginie Ledoyen (by the director who went on to do the Assault on Precinct 13 remake).

[tojoed]

Here's the answer to an e-mail I sent to Cinemoi. I think you'll find it interesting.

Dear Tony,

Thank you very much for your email and your interest in CinéMoi.

To answer your first question, we will show film on 4:3 or 4:3 LetterBox: that means that when the original format is 4:3 we leave it as it is. If it's 16:9 or Scope, we do the transfer on 4:3 LetterBox.

Regarding your second point, to be honest that's a part of the programmation we have left on the side for now. I will look into the whole era of Silent Cinema during the summer I think, with programme starting from September.

Neverthless, I confirm there will be a lot of attention put on the quality of the programme for the Classics. During the Free to Air period in March, we will programme the following films:
Remorques (Jean Gremillon, 1939)
Les Amants (Louis Malle, 1958)
Rififi (Jules Dassin, 1955)
L'Armée des ombres (Jean-Pierre Melville, 1969)

From April, we will be showing the following films:
Bob le Flambeur (Jean-Pierre Melville, 1956)
A Double Tour (Claude Chabrol, 1959)
Le Doulos (Jean-Pierre Melville, 1962)
Leon Morin, prêtre (Jean-Pierre Melville, 1961)
Le Trou (Jacques Becker, 1960)

From July, we will be showing:
Le Corbeau (H-G clouzot, 1943)
Pepe le Moko (Julien duvivier, 1937)
Quai des brumes (Marcel Carné, 1938)
Casques d'Or (Jacques Becker, 1962)
Quai des Orfèvres (H-G Clouzot, 1947)
Sang d'un Poete (Jean Cocteau, 1930)
Paris qui dort (René Clair, 1923)
Le Ciel est à vous (Jean Gremillion, 1943)

From November, films confirmed are:
L'Air de Paris (Marcel Carné, 1954)
La Bête Humaine (Jean Renoir, 1938)
Le Jour se lève (Marcel Carné, 1939)
La Marseillaise (Jean Renoir, 1938)
L'Auberge Rouge (Claude Autant-Lara, 1951)
Le Déjeuner sur l'herbe (Jean Renoir, 1959)

I am in negotiation with key distributors in France so we can show the following films from August (and I'm sure it will happen):
Boulevard (Julien Duvivier, 1960)
Copie Conforme (Jean Dreville, 1946)
Goupi Mains Rouges (Jacques Becker, 1942)
Le Bonheur (Marcel L'Herbier, 1935)
Le Désordre et la Nuit (Gilles Grandier, 1958)
Le Silence est d'Or (René Clair, 1946)
Les Enfants du Paradis (Marcel Carné, 1946)
Les Orgueilleux (Yves Allegret, 1953)
Les Portes de la Nuit (Marcel Carné, 1946)

This is a short list of titles confirmed or about to be confirmed. I will be also looking at the great classics like La Règle du Jeu, Boudu or Drole de Drame, for which I have to deal with distributors in the UK.

As you have noticed, I have not mentioned any titles from the New Wave and after, but I confirm we will show 14 films by François Truffaut, 15 films by Claude Chabrol, 5 films by Claude Sautet, films by Pierre Granier-Deferre, etc.

At last, to answer your last question, you don’t have to contact Sky to subscribe but you do it directly with us by calling at 0845 880 8008, or go on line: http://www.cinemoi.tv" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Enjoy French films on CinéMoi!

Kind regards,
Julien Planté
Operations Director & Head of Programmes
CinéMoi, The French Movie Channel
[email protected]
http://www.cinemoi.tv/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Jean Gremillon, Marcel L'Herbier, that's great news. They sound like my sort of people. Get the DVD-Rs ready.

[Jonathan S]

If anyone finds out when Remorques is being shown during the March free-to-air period, I'd be grateful if you could post it here please (I don't have Sky but I might be able to get a friend to record it). Thanks.

[thirtyframesasecond]

I have a Skybox but not a card so to speak; I watch the free to air channels.

I'd have to get a Sky subscription to get this channel, wouldn't I?

I wouldn't mind paying £8 otherwise.

[diligentboy]

Yup, it's free to air, but only until April, I think. After that it appears to be £9.99 a month.

oh, that's a little expensive for me,lol.

[Cinetwist]

#-o I was just about to get rid of sky! Not only that but now I'm probably going to buy a dvd recorder too....

I cannot believe a sky channel is going to broadcast Gremillon. Wow. I'm stunned.

[Dr Amicus]

I saw an ad for this in the new Sight & Sound and checked it out last night. Saw a bit of Lucie Aubrac - in scope and looked a decent print.

But...

4:3 Letterbox!!??! WTF? This might be the killer for me.

On the other hand, if there is a lot of stuff shot in Academy then this becomes tempting again.

[MaxCastle]

If anyone finds out when Remorques is being shown during the March free-to-air period, I'd be grateful if you could post it here please (I don't have Sky but I might be able to get a friend to record it). Thanks.

It's being screened next Wednesday (1 April) at 7pm. Possibly further screenings after that, I guess, but I've not seen any listings beyond that point.

[tojoed]

Chabrol season in July and August:

Cinémoi will show a wide selection of films from France’s master of suspense, Claude Chabrol. Artfully crafted thrillers with strong social critiques have become the former Nouvelle Vague director’s trademark and you can catch some of the best examples in this season, including Masques, Betty, L’Enfer, Au Coeur du mensonge and La Fleur du mal. Furthermore, there will be a rare opportunity to see the ‘Inspector Levardin’ films – Poulet au vinaigre and Inspecteur Levardin – as well as A Double tour and Les Bonnes femmes which have yet to be released in the UK.

[Dr Amicus]

Any sign of them moving to anamorphic? During the free-to-air, it was all non-anamorphic - OK for Academy material, but potentially disastrous for widescreen. I could stretch the image - and it looked OK for The 400 Blows, but the subtitles got lost!

Still, there is a discount for BFI members, and the Chabrol season makes it VERY tempting. If it wasn't for the non-anamorphic images, I'd be a subscriber already.

[tojoed]

No anamorphic broadcasts as yet. I find that switching my TV to a 16:9 setting gets the subtitles in view properly.
It's not ideal, but there's a lot of things on that I wouldn't want to miss.