Belle de Jour (1967) Belle de jour (original title)

Director:

Luis Buñuel

Writers:

Joseph Kessel (novel)
Luis Buñuel (adaptation) ...
(more)

Release Date:

10 April 1968 (USA)

Genre:

Drama

Tagline:

Luis Bunuel's Masterpiece of Erotica!

Plot:

A frigid young housewife decides to spend her midweek afternoons as a prostitute.

Plot Keywords:

Prostitute | Marriage | Brothel | Surgeon | Car Accident

Awards:

Nominated for BAFTA Film Award. Another 5 wins

Cast

Catherine Deneuve	...	Séverine Serizy / Belle de Jour
Jean Sorel	...	Pierre Serizy
Michel Piccoli	...	Henri Husson
Geneviève Page	...	Madame Anais
Pierre Clémenti	...	Marcel
Françoise Fabian	...	Charlotte
Macha Méril	...	Renee
Muni	...	Pallas
Maria Latour	...	Mathilde
Claude Cerval
Michel Charrel	...	Footman
Iska Khan	...	Asian client
Bernard Musson	...	Majordomo
Marcel Charvey	...	Prof. Henri
François Maistre	...	L'ensignant
Francisco Rabal	...	Hyppolite
Georges Marchal	...	Duke
Francis Blanche	...	Monsieur Adolphe
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Adélaïde Blasquez	...	Maid (uncredited)
Luis Buñuel	...	Man in Gardencafe - Left from the Duke (uncredited)
Dominique Dandrieux	...	Severine as a child (uncredited)
D. De Roseville	...	Coachman (uncredited)
Marc Eyraud	...	Barman (uncredited)
Bernard Fresson	...	Le grele (uncredited)
Pierre Marcay	...	Intern (uncredited)
Brigitte Parmentier	...	Severine enfant (uncredited)

Directed by
Luis Buñuel		(as Luis Bunuel)

Writing credits
Joseph Kessel		(novel) (as Joseph Kessel de l'Académie Française)
Luis Buñuel		(adaptation and dialogue) (as Luis Bunuel) and
Jean-Claude Carrière		(adaptation and dialogue)

Produced by
Raymond Hakim	....	producer (as Robert et Raymond Hakim)
Robert Hakim	....	producer (as Robert et Raymond Hakim)

Cinematography by
Sacha Vierny		(director of photography)

Film Editing by
Louisette Hautecoeur

Production Design by
Robert Clavel

Set Decoration by
Robert Clavel

Costume Design by
Hélène Nourry

Makeup Department
Janine Jarreau	....	makeup artist
Simone Knapp	....	hair stylist

Production Management
Henri Baum	....	production manager
Marc Goldstaub	....	unit manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Jacques Fraenkel	....	assistant director
Pierre Lary	....	assistant director

Art Department
Marc Desages	....	assistant decorator (as Marc Robert Desages)
Pierre Roudeix	....	property master
René Ferracci	....	poster designer (uncredited)

Sound Department
Pierre Davoust	....	sound assistant
René Longuet	....	sound engineer

Camera and Electrical Department
Philippe Brun	....	camera operator
Lionel Legros	....	second assistant camera
Pierre Li	....	assistant camera
Raymond Voinquel	....	still photographer

Editorial Department
Walter Spohr	....	assistant editor

Other crew
Jacqueline Delhomme	....	secretary
Robert Demollière	....	administrator
Suzanne Durrenberger	....	script girl

Production Companies

• Robert et Raymond Hakim (presents)
• Paris Film Productions (co-production) (as Paris Film Production)
• Five Film (co-production) (as Five Film Rome)

Distributors

• Valoria Films (1967) (France) (theatrical)
• StudioCanal (2003) (France) (DVD)
• Allied Artists Pictures (1968) (USA) (theatrical) (subtitled)
• Alta Films (1967) (Spain) (theatrical)
• Filmmuseum Distributie (2007) (Netherlands) (theatrical) (re-release)
• Inter-Verleih Film-Gesellschaft (1967) (West Germany) (theatrical)
• Kino-Filmi (1968) (Finland) (theatrical)
• Miramax Zoë (1995) (USA) (theatrical) (re-release)
• Argentina Video Home (Argentina) (video)
• Criterion Collection, The (2012) (USA) (DVD)
• Criterion Collection, The (laserdisc)
• Koti-Kino (1988) (Finland) (VHS)
• Lumière Home Vídeo (????) (Brazil) (VHS)
• MFA Filmdistribution (1999) (Germany) (re-release)
• Manhattan Film &Video (1988) (Finland) (VHS)
• Miramax Home Entertainment (2003) (USA) (DVD)
• Panorama Distributions (2011) (Hong Kong) (DVD) (Blu-ray)
• Yleisradio (YLE) (1980) (Finland) (TV)

Other Companies

• Académie Française  member of: Joseph Kessel
• Yves Saint Laurent  costumes: for Catherine Deneuve
• Éditions Gallimard  book publisher
• Poste Parisien  sound recording
• Franstudio  studio (as Studios Franstudio, Saint Maurice)

Also Known As:

"Belle de jour" - France (original title)
"Beauty of the Day" - International (English title) (literal title)

Runtime:

101 min

Country:

France | Italy

Language:

French | Spanish | Mongolian

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Argentina:16 | Australia:M | Chile:18 | Norway:15 (re-rating) | Norway:16 (original rating) | Spain:13 | Sweden:15 | UK:18 | UK:X (original rating) | USA:R | Ireland:18 | Finland:K-16 (1988) | Finland:K-18 (1968) | France:-12 | South Korea:18 | Philippines:R-18 | Portugal:M/16 (video rating) | Netherlands:16 | Singapore:M18 | Portugal:17 (original rating) | Japan:PG12 (2011)

Filming Locations:

1 Square Albin-Cachot, Paris 13, Paris, France

Company:

Robert et Raymond Hakim

Trivia:

The comment by Pierre Serizy, "Semen retentum venenum est" is in Latin, and could be roughly translated as "To retain one's semen is poisonous" or "To retain one's semen will allow it to eat away at one like a poison."

Goofs:

Continuity: When Severine goes to Duke's house to participate in a ceremony she is wearing a brown coat. When Majordomo kicks her out in the street later, he throws her completely different black cloak.

Quotes:

Madame Anais:I have an idea. Would you like to be called "Belle de Jour"?
Séverine Serizy:Belle de Jour?
Madame Anais:Since you only come in the afternoons.
Séverine Serizy:If you wish.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Sal de Prata (2005)

One of Bunuel's more well-known works; an interesting morality story with Deneuve

Luis Bunuel, notorious for his use of simple, striking, yet un-cannily affecting surrealism in movies, keeps it down to a lower (yet still imaginative) key for Belle Du Jour. This works though because un-like a film like Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie where surrealism was like another character amidst the other character's dreams and nightmares, this one only keeps in surrealism for the sake of the lead character's inner demons poking up through the every-day malaise. This lead, Severine, is played in one of Catherine Deneuve's key career performances, that finds that two-sided-ness she feels while married to her husband Pierre. She loves him, but there's something that she's not getting out of the marriage that's leaving her empty, aimless, and her fantasies- however in the realm of (dark) fantasy- go to show she needs to do something during the day. She then finds out about a high-class brothel with only a couple of workers already employed. At first reluctant, she gives in to her temptations, serving the odder types of Paris looking for a good time, with one of them, Marcel (Pierre Clementi) falling head over heels for her.

What seemed most intriguing about the film was how Bunuel dealt with the themes- the two crucial ones being morality and sexuality. His imagery is direct, maybe too direct, but it gets its points across with a realism that is alluring and far & away (almost like a satire of such a life). She can't stop what she's started, and she doesn't really know how to end it unless she gets caught. Then with the sexuality, it's never over-emphasized (i.e. no nudity, outside of a quick couple of shots of nudity), and no one is shown having sex on screen. What comes out is the emotional tally of Severine, the other girls, and the supporting characters that come in and out of the brothel. It may seem dated at moments, and the observatory notes go to making the film seem a tad longer than it is. But never-the-less, Belle de Jour is a worthwhile, memorable effort of the 1960's cinema. And, at times, it's quite funny.