A page is turning at France Télévisions. Patrick Brion says goodbye to “Midnight Cinema”, a program he has presented on France 3 since 1976. “César” by Marcel Pagnol (1936), with Raimu and Pierre Fresnay, is the last film to be broadcast on antenna preceded by the voice-over of the film historian, on December 20 — the first was “The Temptress” by Fred Niblo (1926), with Greta Garbo.
In almost fifty years, as part of “Midnight Cinema”, Patrick Brion presented nearly 2000 feature films, from the era of silent cinema until the beginning of the 1970s. Despite his departure, the film club will persist . “We are taking up the challenge of continuing to offer the public the finest selection of classic works, free, on television and on demand,” announced the director of digital and international cinema and fiction, for whom the man of 82 years “will leave an indelible mark in the history of cinema on television and of France Télévisions”.
After “Thalassa”, “Cinéma de midnight” is the oldest FR3 program still broadcast on France 3. The music for its credits, entitled “Les Étoiles du cinéma”, was composed by Francis Lai.
Patrick Brion also participated in the creation and programming of “The Last Session”, presented by Eddy Mitchell between 1982 and 1998.
