Grin Without a Cat (1977)
"Le fond de l'air est rouge" (original title)

Director:

Chris Marker

Writer:

Chris Marker

Stars:

Laurence Guvillier, Davos Hanich, François Maspero

1 nomination.

Cast

Credited cast:
Laurence Guvillier	...	Narrator (voice)
Davos Hanich	...	Narrator (voice)
François Maspero	...	Narrator (voice)
Yves Montand	...	Narrator (voice)
François Périer	...	Narrator (voice)
Sandra Scarnati	...	Narrator (voice)
Jorge Semprún	...	Narrator (voice)
Simone Signoret	...	Narrator (voice)
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Beatriz Allende	...	Herself (archive footage)

Storyline

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Plot Keywords:

marxism | archive footage | stalin | revolution | che guevara | 

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Genres:

Documentary

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Details

Country:

France

Language:

French Spanish English German Japanese Vietnamese

Release Date:

23 November 1977 (France)

Also Known As:

Grin Without a Cat

Company Credits

Production Co:

Dovidis, Institut National de l'Audiovisuel (INA), Iskra

Technical Specs

Runtime:

240 min 177 min (1993)

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Black and White Color (Eastmancolor)

Did You Know?

Trivia

The untranslatable French title is a play on words suggesting that revolution was in the air but not on the ground. The English title, "A Grin without a Cat", has a similar meaning. Director Chris Marker has given it the subtitle "Scenes from the Third World War 1967-1977".

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Connections

Edited into Histoire(s) du cinéma: Le contrôle de l'univers (1998)

User Reviews

1967

This is Chris Marker's three hour elegy to the New Left and the contradictions that swept the world in 1967 and 68. Divided in two parts, Marker covers Vietnam, Che's death, May 68, Prague, Chile and much more, connecting these images with Marker's comments about the downfall of the New Left.

Each image is so powerful by itself. From a distorted Fidel giving a speech to a demonstration in Japan against a company that's poisoning the water. A true compilation of historical documents. It's three hours long, but it's worth it.