Émile Zola

Séverine and her husband Roubaud kill their former employer in a train. Engineer Jacques watches them, but doesn't tell the police, because he's in love with Severine (imdb)

Therese has a boring life. She married Camille, her cousin, a sickly haberdasher, fully dominated by his mother (who lives with them). She dreams about passion. One day comes a truckdriver, Laurent... and of course they fall in love. But they will be pursued by fate. (imdb)

Engineer Jeff, returning from Korea, falls in Love with his co-worker Carl's wife Vicky, who both commited a murder. Naturally Carl gets jealous but can't say a thing because Jeff knows a little bit about the case. (imdb)

It's mid 19th century, north of France. The story of a coal miner's town. They are exploited by the mine's owner. One day the decide to go on strike, and then the authorities repress them (imdb)

An adaptation of Emile Zola's novel L'Assommoir, about the troubles encountered by a family because of alcohol.

Renee Saccard is a pampered, selfish young wife of a middle-aged Parisian businessman who falls in love with her stepson but is driven to the point of madness when her husband tricks the stepson into betraying her. (imdb)

Denise, an orphaned girl, moves to Paris where she hopes to find work at her uncle's store. But the glamorous department store 'Aux Bonheur des Dames' across the street crunches all the little businesses around. She finds a position there (imdb)

Serge Mouret is a frail and devout young priest in a tough country parish. When he falls down and loses his memory, he is nursed back to health by Albine, the beautiful carefree niece of the outspoken atheist Jeanbernat. (imdb)

Beloved and devoted priest from a small town volunteers for a medical experiment which fails and turns him into a vampire.

As Jean is walking across the countryside in search of work, he helps and befriends a young woman, Françoise, who is having trouble controlling the cow that she is leading. Jean finds work at a local farm, but he soon finds himself caught in the middle of the conflicts in Françoise's family. (imdb)

Based on a novel by Emile Zola, the film stars Gerard Philipe as Octave, an opportunistic Parisian youth who hops from bed to bed -- and from bedmate to bedmate. Young or old, plain or beautiful, Octave loves and leaves 'em all. His romantic rovings come to a halt when he meets pragmatic businesswoman Mme. Hedouin (Danielle Darrieux). Apparently impervious to Octave's charms, Mme. Hedouin nonetheless marries the boy and transforms him into a useful (and least to her) member of society. (allmovie.com)

The tragic story of two sisters whose lives are disrupted by two men. Amidst a landscape of rural hardship and a community consumed with superstition, events unfurl which threaten their sibling bond. (imdb)

In Zola's Paris, an ingenue arrives at a tony bordello: she's Nana, guileless, but quickly learning to use her erotic innocence to get what she wants. (imdb)

In a small European country, the king is scheduled to visit a small, quiet and "safe" village. It turns out that while the village may indeed be small, it's neither as quiet nor as safe as it's expected to be. (imdb)

A moral story on what happens to a man if he starts to drink and gamble.

Denise Baudu, an orphaned girl in need, decides to go to Paris where her uncle Baudu keeps a small draper's shop, "Le Vieil Elbeuf". The young woman hopes her kinsman will be able to give her a position. Unfortunately Octave Mouret, Baudu's visionary competitor, has just opened a giant department store nearby, "Au Bonheur des dames", which now attracts customers like a magnet. Denise, realizing that "Le Vieil Elbeuf" is dying away, crosses the street to offer her services to Octave Mouret... (imdb)

Set in the lower echelons of 1860s Paris, Therese Raquin, a sexually repressed beautiful young woman, is trapped into a loveless marriage to her sickly cousin, Camille, by her domineering aunt, Madame Raquin. Therese spends her days confined behind the counter of a small shop and her evenings watching Madame play dominoes with an eclectic group. (imdb)

Martine Carol stars as Nana, a Parisian prostitute who rises from poverty to become the lover of a high-placed government bureaucrat, Comte Muffat (Charles Boyer). But as their affection for each other grows, they discover that society will exact a terrible price for their love. (Netflix)

Based on Emile Zola's novel, an uncompromisingly harsh and realistic story of a coalminers' strike in northern France in the 1860s.

At the time of its release, L'Assommoir was hugely successful. Based on Zola's novel, this movie is about the free fall of human beings, deals with degradation, alcoholism and it is, in short, a very pessimistic story.

A father and son are working in a coal mine. An explosion occurs, which kills the son. (imdb)

A woman enjoys a life of pleasure and luxury through her relationships with different men. However, her lavish life-style does not always bring her happiness. (imdb)

An itinerant, hunchbacked worker falls for a woman from afar, but is prevented by his handicap from expressing his feelings. Thus he vicariously romances her by smoothing the path of her relationship with a handsome villager.

First, the eye is introduced to the old mill itself, with a gay betrothal party in progress, and laughter and merriment on all sides. Suddenly the laughter is hushed by the martial tread of feet, and the smile of joy fades from the two young lovers' faces as the French soldiers march into the courtyard and prepare to defend the mill against the oncoming attack of the German army.

Julien, a modest postal worker, admires and hopelessly loves Thérèse, the lovely daughter of the local squire. But, quite unexpectedly, on the very night of her engagement with Count of Vétheuil, Thérèse asks Julien for help. In fact, she has just killed Pierre, her lover and wants his body disposed of. Julien performs the sinister task and is entitled to a night of love with Thérèse. Then he disappears. When Thérèse, ashamed, wants to confess, nobody believes her.

Two brothers compete for the love of a woman while the impending war threatens to separate them from both sides of the border. Based on the novel "La Débâcle" by Émile Zola.

Charles Maucourt and Roger Joris, two mine workers, battle for the love of Claire Lenoir. Their rivalry will be put to the test when they find themselves buried alive in the mine after an explosion.

Having grown up in poverty, the ambitious Nana is determined to break out of it. She becomes part of the Paris theatre scene and gets involved with several of the men who court her. However, Nana’s impoverished past catches up with her, and the story comes to a tragic end.

In the late 19th century, an orphan girl moves to her aunt and uncle's home in Normandy, who take her in for her inheritance. She falls for her lazy cousin, whom she often helps financially, but he eventually cheats on her. After her aunt's death, she takes over the household and supports the family. Despite disappointments and betrayals, she remains a selfless woman who never loses her joy for life.

During a harsh winter, as Christmas approaches, Angélique, a poor child, is found by an old couple, Hubertine and Hubert. But is not a wealthy couple, and life for the little family is hard and laborious. Angélique likes to escape to the city to dream. One day she meets Félicien and falls in love. But she is told that this handsome man is the bishop's son, and that marrying him is therefore impossible.