La mariée était en noir (1968)

Director:

François Truffaut

Writers:

Cornell Woolrich (novel)
François Truffaut (adaptation) ...

Release Date:

25 June 1968 (USA)

Genre:

Crime | Drama | Mystery

Tagline:

She was a bride when the violence happened... Now she's a widow and it's going to happen again

Plot:

Julie Kohler is prevented from suicide by her mother. She leaves the town. She will track down, charm and kill five men who do not know her...

Plot Keywords:

Wedding | Murder Plot | Bow And Arrow | Female Nudity | Tape Recorder

Awards:

Nominated for Golden Globe. Another 1 nomination

Cast

Jeanne Moreau	...	Julie Kohler
Michel Bouquet	...	Coral
Jean-Claude Brialy	...	Corey
Charles Denner	...	Fergus
Claude Rich	...	Bliss
Michael Lonsdale	...	Rene Morane (as Michel Lonsdale)
Daniel Boulanger	...	Delvaux
Alexandra Stewart	...	Mlle Becker
Sylvine Delannoy	...	Mme Morane
Luce Fabiole	...	Julie's mother
Michèle Montfort	...	Fergus's model
Jacqueline Rouillard
Paul Pavel	...	Mechanic
Gilles Quéant	...	Examining judge (as Gilles Queant)
Serge Rousseau	...	David

Also Known As:

The Bride Wore Black (Australia) (UK) (USA)
La sposa in nero (Italy)

Runtime:

107 min

Country:

France | Italy

Language:

French

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

UK:12 | Portugal:M/12 | Netherlands:12 (2009) (DVD) | Argentina:13 | Canada:G (video rating) | Finland:K-16 | Sweden:15 | USA:Unrated | West Germany:16 (nf)

Filming Locations:

Alpes-Maritimes, France

Company:

Les Films du Carrosse

Trivia:

This film is François Truffaut's homage to Alfred Hitchcock, made shortly after Truffaut had published a book of extensive interviews with Hitchcock. As part of his homage, Truffaut chose a novel written by Cornell Woolrich, on who's story Hitchcock's Rear Window (1954) was based, and even chose long-time Hitchcock collaborator Bernard Herrmann to compose the score.

Goofs:

Continuity: When the Bride is looking at herself in the bathroom mirror after she changes into her Diana costume, she is wearing a bracelet; the bracelet is given to her by Fergus only after she is wearing the costume.

Quotes:

Julie Kohler: Je suis Julie Kohler!

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Day for Night: An Appreciation (2003) (V)

The bride wore black but the movie did not.

Truffaut was one of William Irish's greatest fans;he wrote a preface for an edition of the American writer's short stories.Not only he directed this movie but he adapted "la sirène du mississipi" too.There's just one problem.Irish's absolute tragic side totally eludes Truffaut.A critic wrote that this writer's endings did not put an end to horror,but prolongated it.Nothing comes close to Irish's desperate universe here.Jean Delannoy,whom Truffaut despised a lot,did a better job with "obsession" .Jeanne Moreau is not Irishian at all.She's too self-confident,too full of joie de vivre to interpret such a character.I've always dreamed of what Alexandra Stewart -who plays a small part as a teacher here- could have done with it.Obviously,Truffaut's directing is a tribute to Alfred Hitchcock,but I'm not sure that the Hitchcockian treatment was adequate here.It worked in "rear window" because this movie was ,in the beginning ,one of Irish's short stories and the master could develop it as he wished,but in the full length of a whole novel,the treatment destroys the emotion and the "lost in advance" feeling which emanate from this tormented soul-Irish spent all his miserable life in an hotel room with his mother;an homosexual,he never found true love-.The cast is appealing but most of the actors are wasted ,be they Michel Bouquet or Jean -Claude Brialy.Of course ,it watchable,there's some suspense,but if you're searching for Irish's world,you must move on.