L'Assommoir

Everyman Coupeau's attempts to stop drinking are routinely thwarted by the wicked and vengeful Virginie. Based on Zola's novel, Capellani's film is about the free fall of a group of working-class French folk into degradation and tragedy due to carelessness, jealousy, and alcohol abuse. At the time of its release, L'Assommoir was hugely successful.

• Early French Cinema
• Naturalist Drama
• Tragic Alcoholism
• Working-Class Struggle
• Social Realism
• Historical Melodrama
• Downbeat Narrative
• Emile Zola Adaptation
• Silent Era Aesthetic