Originally, Claude Chabrol was working on a film project on the peasants of the Creuse at the beginning of the twentieth century. After reading the best-seller "Le Cheval d'orgueil: Mémoires d'un Breton du pays bigouden" (The Horse of Pride: Life in a Breton Village) by Pierre-Jakez Hélias, he decided to change the location and the history to that of the book which depicts rural Brittany at the beginning of the twentieth century, in the years preceding the First World War. The adaptation, entrusted to Daniel Boulanger, focuses on the autobiographical part and tells the story of Pierre.
The film was badly received by French critics on its release. It is very rarely broadcast on French television, and it has never had its own release on DVD in France. The French DVD releases bundle it as a double feature with Bluebeard (1963), or with Quiet Days in Clichy (1990), both directed by Claude Chabrol too.
Claude Chabrol's greatest regret for this film was that he did not have the audacity to make the movie in the Breton language. It is true since using the French language forced him into some contortions (see the scene where little Pierre is reluctant to learn French at school). However, this film remains a faithful adaptation to the work of Pierre-Jakez Hélias and a fascinating painting of a region with a strong identity.
René Vautier and Nicole Le Garrec began filming their version of "Le cheval d'orgueil" in 1977, shooting was interrupted because of disputes with production and the project fell through.