Black and White in Color (1976)
"Noirs et blancs en couleur" (original title)

French colonists in Africa, several months behind in the news, find themselves at war with their German neighbors. Deciding that they must do their proper duty and fight the Germans, they ... See full summary »

Director:

Jean-Jacques Annaud

Writers:

Jean-Jacques Annaud, Georges Conchon

Stars:

Jean Carmet, Jacques Dufilho, Catherine Rouvel

Won 1 Oscar. Another 1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Jean Carmet	...	Sergeant Bosselet
Jacques Dufilho	...	Paul Rechampot
Catherine Rouvel	...	Marinette
Jacques Spiesser	...	Hubert Fresnoy
Maurice Barrier	...	Caprice
Benjamin Memel Atchory	...	Assomption
Peter Berling	...	Père Jean de la Croix
Marius Beugre Boignan	...	Barthelmy
Claude Legros	...	Jacques Rechampot
Dora Doll	...	Maryvonne
Baye Macoumba Diop	...	Lamartine
Jacques Monnet	...	Père Simon
Dieter Schidor	...	Kraft
Aboubakar Toine	...	Fidele
Marc Zuber	...	Major Anglais

Storyline

French colonists in Africa, several months behind in the news, find themselves at war with their German neighbors. Deciding that they must do their proper duty and fight the Germans, they promptly conscript the local native population. Issuing them boots and rifles, the French attempt to make "proper" soldiers out of the Africans. A young, idealistic French geographer seems to be the only rational person in the town, and he takes over control of the "war" after several bungles on the part of the others.

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Plot Keywords:

geographer | soldier | africa | world war one | firearm | 

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama | War

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Certificate:

PG

Details

Country:

Côte d'Ivoire France West Germany Switzerland

Language:

French

Release Date:

8 May 1977 (USA)

Also Known As:

Black and White in Color

Filming Locations:

Côte D'Ivoire

Company Credits

Production Co:

Artco-Film, France 3 Cinéma, Reggane Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

90 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Did You Know?

Trivia

This was the first winner of the Oscar for best foreign language film after the rules for the category were changed requiring all Academy members who wished to vote having to prove they had attended screenings of all five nominees.

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Connections

Featured in The 79th Annual Academy Awards (2007)

User Reviews

And the officer wasn't even British

Fall of 1914. French and Germans, living in colonies side by side (Togo or Cameroon, take your pick), feel compelled to be at war with each other since that is what's happening back home, too. Naively and almost playfully at first, until the game starts getting uglier and they experience the horror of casualties nobody had really wanted. Both sides get professional help and they become hardened by the everyday routine (the Germans winning, because their officer studied in Heidelberg...)and start killing each other more efficiently, until finally the war ends and the British arrive to restore law and order in the territories. The long column of British troops, all Africans and Asians, is led by one junior officer on horseback - who when his face is eventually revealed, turns out to be Indian.

Annaud shot the film in the Ivory Coast, then a very staunchly pro-French country. He refused to show anybody the script and pretended he was shooting a very different type of movie. At the gala premiere performance in Abidjan, when the French officials realized the entire picture was a spoof on French colonial policies, they walked out, much to the embarrassment of the Ivorians, who were just as unaware of what Annaud had been up to...