Black Moon (1975)

Director:

Louis Malle

Writers:

Louis Malle (written by)
Joyce Buñuel (collaboration: dialogue) ...
(more)

Release Date:

24 September 1975 (France)

Genre:

Fantasy | Sci-Fi

Tagline:

An apocalyptic Alice in Wonderland!

Plot:

There is a war in the world between the men and the women. A young girl tries to escape this reality...

Plot Keywords:

Girl | Children | Old Woman | Bed | Unicorn

Awards:

2 wins

Cast

Cathryn Harrison	...	Lily
Therese Giehse	...	Old Lady (as Thérèse Giehse)
Alexandra Stewart	...	Sister Lily
Joe Dallesandro	...	Brother Lily

Directed by
Louis Malle

Writing credits
Louis Malle		(written by)
Joyce Buñuel		(collaboration: dialogue) (as Joyce Bunuel)
Ghislain Uhry		collaboration

Produced by
Claude Nejar	....	producer

Cinematography by
Sven Nykvist		(director of photography)

Film Editing by
Suzanne Baron

Production Design by
Ghislain Uhry

Production Management
Paul Maigret	....	production manager
Roland Thénot	....	assistant production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Fernand Moszkowicz	....	assistant director

Art Department
René Ferracci	....	poster design (uncredited)

Sound Department
Michèle Collison	....	post-synchronisation assistant
Nara Kollery	....	sound recordist (as Nora Kolery)
Jacques Lévy	....	post synchronization
Jacques Maumont	....	sound mixer
Luc Perini	....	sound designer: dream sequence

Special Effects by
Pierre Roudeix	....	special effects

Camera and Electrical Department
François Catonné	....	assistant camera
Bruno de Keyzer	....	assistant camera

Editorial Department
Joëlle Barjolin	....	assistant editor (as Joelle Barjolin)

Music Department
Les Enfants de la Maîtrise de Radio-France	....	music collaborator
Sylvia Lindenstrand	....	music collaborator
Diego Masson	....	musical director
Anthony Roden	....	music collaborator

Other crew
François Nadal	....	consultant: Conseillers Animaliers
Robert Verbecke	....	consultant: Conseillers Animaliers

Thanks
Therese Giehse	....	in memory of (as Thérèse Giehse)

Production Companies

• Nouvelles Éditions de Films (NEF) (co-production) (as NEF - Paris)
• Bioskop Film (co-production)

Distributors

• Cinema International Corporation (CIC) (1975) (France) (theatrical)
• Filmverlag der Autoren (1976) (West Germany) (theatrical)
• Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation (1976) (USA) (theatrical)
• Criterion Collection, The (2011) (USA) (DVD)
• Kinowelt Home Entertainment (2008) (Germany) (DVD)
• Nightmare Video (1996) (USA) (VHS)
• Video Film Express (2007) (Netherlands) (DVD) (Louis Malle Collection Vol. 2)
• Vision

Other Companies

• Eastmancolor  filmed in
• Lax  titles
• Panavision France  camera and lenses (as Panavision)
• Paris Studios Cinéma  auditorium

Also Known As:

Runtime:

France:100 min | France:95 min

Country:

France | West Germany

Language:

English | French

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

UK:12 | Australia:M | Finland:K-18 | Sweden:15 | USA:R | West Germany:16 (bw) | Brazil:16

Company:

Nouvelles Éditions de Films (NEF)

Quotes:

Lily:I see. Your name's Lily too. Funny, you spell it differently.

Soundtrack:

Tristan und Isolde

Haunting, surreal and ever-lasting

I must say, seeing this film was like an adult orientated verison of Alice in Wonderland; the material is dark and surreal as the music is eerie to set the mood of the film. The story revolves around a girl 'Lily' who finds herself stuck in a strange and bizarre world between fantasy and reality. Such events occurred in this film contains a talking unicorn, a teenager breast feeding an old woman (and later a unicorn?) and a naked children, frocking around the meadow as if nothing were watching them. Not since 'Eraserhead' have a seen such a bizarre, disturbing and fascinating work of art. A must see indeed for those of you who Cherish rare pieces of work like this.