48 years ago he opened Midnight Cinema, Patrick Brion will return to the air by the end of the year.

If you are interested in the so-called heritage cinema, you surely know Midnight Cinema, formerly “Ciné-Club”, broadcast since 1976 on France 3 and France 5 and presented by Patrick Brion. But the page is turning, because the program is no longer hosted by a film historian.

Patrick Brion’s Midnight Cinema? institution

For almost 50 years and almost every Sunday (the day has changed in recent years), the midnight cinema has shown nearly 2,000 films in the late evening from the silent film era to the early 1970s European and Hollywood eras of several generations, including the time when VHS, DVD and Blu- Ray didn’t exist and only television and movies made it possible. to watch movies.

Midnight Cinema broadcast new films with special subtitles for the occasion, notably by the historian and critic Bernard Eisenschitz. Sometimes even feature films were restored for broadcast, turning the Midnight Cinema into a giant movie theater free for all.

The last program presented by Patrick Brion will be broadcast on December 20, 2024 with Marcel Pagnoli’s César (1936), Raimus and Pierre Fresnes. For reference, the first film to be broadcast on the program was Fred Niblo’s The Temptress (1926), starring Greta Garbo, an actress to whom Patrick Brion devoted a reference work.

But the adventure continues

Rest assured, the show will go on, the voice assured the group Manuel AlduyDirector of Film and Digital and International Fiction at France Télévisions: “We take on the challenge of continuing to offer the public the best selection of classical works, free-to-air, on TV and on demand.”

He also praised Patrick Brion’s work over the years: “France Télévisions would like to thank Patrick Brion for his exceptional commitment, thanks to which the Midnight Cinema box has become a true space of discovery and emotion for moviegoers. His contribution to the cinematic culture and preservation of our heritage. He will leave an indelible mark in the history of television and France Télévisions.