La nuit américaine (1973)

User Rating:

8.0/10   

Director:

François Truffaut

Writers:

Jean-Louis Richard (writer)
Suzanne Schiffman (writer)
(more)

Release Date:

7 September 1973 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Comedy

Tagline:

A movie for people who loves movies.

Plot:

A committed film director struggles to complete his movie while coping with a myriad of crises, personal and professional, among the cast and crew.

Plot Keywords:

Director | Actor | Pregnancy | Press Conference | Filmmaker

Awards:

Won Oscar. Another 10 wins & 5 nominations

Cast

Jacqueline Bisset	...	Julie
Valentina Cortese	...	Severine
Dani	...	Liliane
Alexandra Stewart	...	Stacey
Jean-Pierre Aumont	...	Alexandre
Jean Champion	...	Bertrand
Jean-Pierre Léaud	...	Alphonse (as Jean-Pierre Leaud)
François Truffaut	...	director Ferrand
Nike Arrighi	...	Odile
Nathalie Baye	...	Joelle
Maurice Seveno	...	TV Reporter
David Markham	...	Doctor Nelson
Bernard Menez	...	Bernard the Prop Man
Gaston Joly	...	Lajoie
Zénaïde Rossi	...	Madame Lajoie
Xavier Saint-Macary		(as Xavier Macary)
Walter Bal	...	Walter (Cinematographer)
Jean-François Stévenin	...	Jean-François (assistant director) (as J.F. Stevenin)
Pierre Zucca	...	Photographer
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Marc Boyle	...	Stuntman
Martine Barraqué	...	Martine (uncredited)
Marcel Berbert	...	French Insurance Broker (uncredited)
Yann Dedet	...	Yann (uncredited)
Georges Delerue	...	Georges the composer (voice) (uncredited)
Graham Greene	...	English Insurance Broker (uncredited)
Marie Poitevin	...	Woman (uncredited)
Christophe Vesque	...	Boy with Cane in Dream Sequence (uncredited)

Directed by
François Truffaut

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Jean-Louis Richard		writer
Suzanne Schiffman		writer
François Truffaut		writer

Produced by
Marcel Berbert	....	producer

Original Music by
Georges Delerue

Cinematography by
Pierre-William Glenn

Film Editing by
Martine Barraqué
Yann Dedet

Production Design by
Damien Lanfranchi

Art Direction by
Damien Lanfranchi

Costume Design by
Monique Dury

Makeup Department
Fernande Hugi	....	makeup artist
Thi-Loan Nguyen	....	makeup artist
Malou Rossignol	....	hair stylist

Production Management
Claude Miller	....	production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Suzanne Schiffman	....	assistant director
Jean-François Stévenin	....	assistant assistant director

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

Sound Department
Antoine Bonfanti	....	sound mixer
René Levert	....	sound
Harrik Maury	....	sound

Stunts
Marc Boyle	....	stunts (uncredited)

Camera and Electrical Department
Walter Bal	....	camera operator
Dominique Chapuis	....	assistant camera
Jean-Francis Gondre	....	assistant camera
Pierre Zucca	....	still photographer (uncredited)

Other crew
Christian Lentretien	....	production administrator
Alex Maineri	....	general manager
Christine Pellé	....	script supervisor
Roland Thénot	....	general manager

Thanks
Dorothy Gish	....	dedicatee
Lillian Gish	....	dedicatee

Production Companies

• Les Films du Carrosse
• PECF
• Produzione Intercontinentale Cinematografica (PIC)

Distributors

• Warner-Columbia Film (1973) (France) (theatrical)
• Columbia-Warner Distributors (1973) (UK) (theatrical)
• Warner Home Video (1981) (USA) (VHS)
• Warner Home Video (1982) (Australia) (video)
• Warner Home Video (2003) (USA) (DVD)
• Warner Home Vídeo (2003) (Brazil) (DVD)
• Warner Bros. Pictures (1973) (USA) (theatrical) (subtitled) (also English-dubbed)
• Warner Home Vídeo (Brazil) (VHS)

Other Companies

• La Victorine  studio

Also Known As:

Day for Night (USA)
Effetto notte (Italy)
The American Night (International: English title) (literal title)

Runtime:

115 min

Country:

France | Italy

Language:

French | English

Color:

Black and White | Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Iceland:L | Argentina:13 | Australia:PG | Chile:14 | Finland:S | Sweden:Btl | UK:PG | USA:PG | West Germany:12

Filming Locations:

Alpes-Maritimes, France

Company:

Les Films du Carrosse

Trivia:

As the director Ferrand (Francois Truffaut) and the Cinematographer Walter (Walter Bal) are looking over promo stills of Julie Baker (Jacqueline Bisset), one remarks that he remembers her "from that movie with the car chase". This is an inside reference to the fact that five years earlier Bisset played the role of Steve McQueen's girlfriend in Bullitt (1968), a film featuring a groundbreaking car chase.

Goofs:

Crew or equipment visible: During the filming of the car crash scene, when the stunt man backs up the car driving through the the open door, and when he jumps free as the "driverless" car supposedly heads for the cliff where it will crash, someone else is visible inside the car, actually driving.

Quotes:

[repeated line]
Alphonse: Are women magic?

Movie Connections:

References La reine Margot (1954)

Soundtrack:

Grande Chorale

A close and intriguing look at the film-making process

François Truffaut's La Nuit Américaine is one of the most remarkable achievements in the "film within the film" genre. The movie stars Truffaut himself (who else could possibly play the role?) as Ferrand, an experienced director who's working on a new feature, "Je vous prèsente Pamela" (I introduce Pamela), and La Nuit Américaine showcases the difficulties of the production: props not working, actors struggling to memorize their lines, crew members leaving the project and scenes that have to be shot various times before Ferrand nails them (the "bad actor-cat" scene is a must-see). You know the bloopers that are sometimes included on the DVDs? Same thing, only funnier. Truffaut is brilliant in showing how different an actor can be from his on-screen persona (Jean-Pierre Léaud is outstanding as selfish, spoiled Alphonse), the cast and crew's private lives affecting or being affected by the making of the film, and how the slightest detail can change an otherwise foolproof schedule.

The most intriguing aspect of this movie, however, is perhaps the autobiographical elements the director has added: it basically sums up Truffaut's entire career, with references to his previous masterpieces (Léaud's presence being the most obvious one), and he has clearly based the character of Ferrand on himself (the flashback with the then 9-year old film lover stealing pictures of Citizen Kane is pure movie magic). He fascinates us so much we don't immediately realize the film was made under the same circumstances as the fictitious flick the characters are trying to achieve.

A flawless love letter to cinema, La Nuit Américaine should be on everyone's must-see list. Thirty years on, it has lost none of its appeal.