Les Cent Livres des Hommes(1970)

Les Cent Livres des Hommes is a French literary television series that aired on ORTF from 1969 to 1973. Created by Claude Santelli and Françoise Verny, the program set out to introduce classic literary masterpieces to younger viewers through dramatization, dramatic readings, and documentary segments. Though originally conceived as a hundred-episode run, the series concluded after thirty-nine episodes. Produced by Santelli, Jean Archimbaud, and Serge Moati, it represented a significant shift in how French television approached cultural education, placing creative control in the hands of television producers rather than traditional literary critics. The series pioneered what became known as "télévision d'auteur"—author-driven television—establishing a new model for intelligent, accessible literary broadcasting that balanced artistic ambition with educational purpose.