Jules et Jim (1962)

Director:

François Truffaut

Writers:

Henri-Pierre Roché (novel)
François Truffaut (adaptation) ...
(more)

Release Date:

23 January 1962 (France)

Genre:

Drama | Romance

Plot:

Decades of a love triangle concerning two friends and an impulsive woman.

Plot Keywords:

Love | Friendship | Love Triangle | WWI | Promiscuity

Awards:

Nominated for 2 BAFTA Film Awards. Another 3 wins

Cast

Jeanne Moreau	...	Catherine
Oskar Werner	...	Jules (as Oscar Werner)
Henri Serre	...	Jim
Vanna Urbino	...	Gilberte
Boris Bassiak	...	Albert (as Bassiak)
Anny Nelsen	...	Lucie
Sabine Haudepin	...	Sabine, la petite
Marie Dubois	...	Thérèse
Michel Subor	...	Récitant / Narrator (voice)
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Danielle Bassiak	...	Albert's companion (uncredited)
Elen Bober	...	Mathilde (uncredited)
Pierre Fabre	...	Drunkard in cafe (uncredited)
Dominique Lacarrière	...	One of the women (uncredited)
Bernard Largemain	...	Merlin (uncredited)
Kate Noelle	...	Birgitta (uncredited)
Jean-Louis Richard	...	Customer in cafe (uncredited)
Michel Varesano	...	Customer in cafe (uncredited)
Christiane Wagner	...	Helga (uncredited)

Directed by
François Truffaut

Writing credits
Henri-Pierre Roché		(novel)
François Truffaut		(adaptation and dialogue) &
Jean Gruault		(adaptation and dialogue)

Produced by
Marcel Berbert	....	executive producer (uncredited)
François Truffaut	....	producer (uncredited)

Original Music by
Georges Delerue

Cinematography by
Raoul Coutard

Film Editing by
Claudine Bouché

Production Design by
Fred Capel		(uncredited)

Costume Design by
Fred Capel		(uncredited)

Makeup Department
Simone Knapp	....	key hair stylist (uncredited)
Simone Knapp	....	key makeup artist (uncredited)

Production Management
Maurice Urbain	....	production manager (uncredited)

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Robert Bober	....	assistant director (uncredited)
Florence Malraux	....	assistant director (uncredited)
Georges Pellegrin	....	assistant director (uncredited)

Art Department
Ferracci	....	poster designer (uncredited)

Camera and Electrical Department
Claude Beausoleil	....	camera operator (uncredited)
Raymond Cauchetier	....	still photographer (uncredited)
Fernand Coquet	....	electrician (uncredited)

Other crew
Suzanne Schiffman	....	script supervisor (uncredited)

Production Companies

• Les Films du Carrosse
• Sédif Productions (as S.E.D.I.F.)

Distributors

• Cinédis (1962) (France) (theatrical)
• MK2 Diffusion (2000) (France) (theatrical) (re-release)
• MK2 Éditions (2001) (France) (DVD) (special edition)
• Concorde Filmverleih (1985) (West Germany) (theatrical) (re-release)
• Gala Film Distributors (1962) (UK) (theatrical)
• Slovenska Kinoteka (2004) (Slovenia) (theatrical)
• Suomi-Filmi (1962) (Finland) (theatrical)
• AV Channel (2003) (Australia) (DVD)
• Alpha Filmes (Brazil) (VHS)
• Altomedia. Co. Ltd. (Korea) (DVD)
• Atlantic Film (2007) (Sweden) (DVD)
• BIM Distribuzione (2006) (Italy) (DVD)
• Ciné Vog Films (Belgium)
• Concorde Home Entertainment (2004) (Germany) (DVD)
• Criterion Collection, The (2005) (USA) (DVD)
• Criterion Collection, The (USA) (laserdisc)
• Fox Lorber (USA) (DVD)
• Fox Lorber (USA) (VHS)
• Future Film (2008) (Finland) (DVD)
• Janus Films (1962) (USA) (subtitled)
• Kinowelt Home Entertainment (1996) (Germany) (VHS)
• Mainostelevisio (MTV) (1970) (Finland) (TV)
• Sunar Film (Turkey)
• Umbrella Entertainment (2003) (Australia) (DVD)
• YLE Teema (2008) (Finland) (TV)
• Yleisradio (YLE) (1989) (Finland) (TV)

Other Companies

• Les Films de la Pléiade  archive footage source (as Les Films de la Pleïade)
• Éditions Gallimard  book publisher

Also Known As:

Jules and Jim (UK) (USA)

Runtime:

105 min

Country:

France

Language:

French | German | English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Argentina:Atp | Australia:PG (DVD rating) | Portugal:M/12 (re-rating) (1975) | Portugal:M/16 (DVD re-rating) | South Korea:15 | Singapore:PG | Australia:M | Finland:K-16 | France:U | Hong Kong:IIA | Portugal:17 (original rating) | Sweden:15 | Sweden:7 (re-release: 2003) | UK:PG | West Germany:12

Filming Locations:

Alpes-Maritimes, France

Company:

Les Films du Carrosse

Trivia:

When Jim first visits Jules' home in Austria, Catherine shows him a picture of Jules costumed as Mozart. Oskar Werner, the actor who plays Jules, also portrayed Mozart in an earlier film.

Goofs:

Continuity: When Jules, Jim, and Albert are sitting on the grass sharing stories about the war, the order of the three characters repeatedly changes between shots. Note that this is actually a goof on the Criterion Region 1 disc, and the Tartan Region 2 DVD, in which the film is reversed left/right. It does not occur in other DVD releases of this film, including the Fox/Lorber Region 1 release.

Quotes:

Catherine: You said, "I love you," I said, "Wait." I was going to say, "Take me," you said, "Go away."

Movie Connections:

Referenced in La nuit américaine (1973)

Soundtrack:

Le Tourbillon

Truffaut's Classic Relationship Triangle as Idiosyncratic, Disconcerting and Mesmerizing as Ever

The enduring legacy around François Truffaut's emotionally turbulent 1962 film depends primarily on how compatible the three actors are in inhabiting the triangle at the core of the story adapted from Henri-Pierre Roché semi-autobiographical novel. And in fact, Oskar Werner, Henri Serre and especially Jeanne Moreau provide superbly etched characterizations in one of the defining works of the French New Wave. Fortunately, the two-disc Criterion Collection DVD set provides an appropriately rich package for this classic, although the print transfer is frustratingly variable at times.

The story focuses on the friendship between two writers, an Austrian named Jules and a Frenchman named Jim, kindred spirits who enjoy a decadent lifestyle in pre-WWI Paris. Inspired by a statue of a woman's face with a most enigmatic smile, they agree that they are destined to fall in love with a woman with the same smile. Enter Catherine, as seductively capricious a free-spirit as ever there was in cinema, and the two men are instantly enamored. Jules is intent on marrying her, even though it's clear from the outset that she is not one who could commit for the long term. The war intercedes, and the two friends are fighting on opposite sides. After the war, Catherine, married to Jules and raising their young daughter, is emotionally dissatisfied and embarks on an affair with Jim. With Jules' blessing, things are idyllic for a while, but Jim proves too much the alpha male to defer to Catherine's whims, and the resulting imbalance leads to increasingly dramatic consequences.

In just his third film, Truffaut's trademark style emerges with fast cuts between scenes and naturalistic camera movements (courtesy of Raoul Coutard's fluid cinematography). Moreover, George Delerue's animated music score and Michel Subor's voice-over add to the evocative photo-album memory atmosphere. At times, the storyline feels a bit disjointed, but the fulsome performances more than compensate. Werner fully captures the internal struggle within Jules in attempting to reconcile his love for Catherine with her impossible demands on him. Serre has the comparatively more objective role but convincingly shows his character surrendering to the tangled situation. After her impressive turn as an obsessed adulterer in Louie Malle's "Elevator to the Gallows", Moreau solidifies her vaunted reputation here, conveying Catherine's petulance and unyielding passion in a vividly mercurial fashion.

The DVD extras are abundant starting with two commentary tracks. The first one, a more factual account of the production, was recorded in 1992 with Truffaut collaborator Suzanne Schiffman, editor Claudine Bouche, co-screenwriter Jean Gruault, and scholar Annette Insdorf. The second, produced in 2000, is far better as it has Moreau sharing her personal recollections of the filming with Truffaut biographer Serge Toubiana. Disc One also includes a brief 1966 interview with Truffaut discussing Roché and a 1985 featurette, "The Key to Jules and Jim", which contains interviews with the author's friends as they discuss the inspirations for the characters. Disc Two takes a broader look at Truffaut with five separate interviews with the director over the span of fifteen years, as well as insightful interviews with Coutard and co-screenwriter Jean Gruault.