French Postcards (1979)

Director:

Willard Huyck

Writers:

Willard Huyck (written by) &
Gloria Katz (written by)

Release Date:

26 October 1979 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama

Tagline:

American students go to Paris ... The less they study the more they learn.

Plot:

An American group of exchange students come to Paris to study the language and culture for a year. The...

Plot Keywords:

Institute | Sightseeing | School | American Abroad | Sex

Cast

Miles Chapin	...	Joel
Blanche Baker	...	Laura
David Marshall Grant	...	Alex
Valérie Quennessen	...	Toni
Debra Winger	...	Melanie
Mandy Patinkin	...	Sayyid
Marie-France Pisier	...	Madame Catherine Tessier
Jean Rochefort	...	Monsieur Tessier
Lynn Carlin	...	Mrs. Weber
George Coe	...	Mr. Weber
Christophe Bourseiller	...	Pascal
François Lalande	...	Monsieur Levert
Anémone	...	Christine
Véronique Jannot	...	Malsy
Marie-Anne Chazel	...	Cécile
Laurence Lignères	...	Madame Levert
André Penvern	...	Jean-Louis
Jacques Rispal
Patrick Fierry	...	Jean-Claude
Roland Neunreuther	...	Bus Driver
Jean Champagne	...	Staffer
Guy Bouchet	...	Staffer
Jean-José Richer	...	Medieval Knight
Jean-Pierre Kohut-Svelko	...	Photographer
Susan Bredhoff	...	Iranian Maid
Gloria Katz	...	Chief Snail
Charlotte Graham	...	Students in the Play
Cleve Stockmeyer	...	Students in the Play
Jean Sullivan	...	Students in the Play
Tori D'Angelo	...	Students in the Play
Denise Gayle Gordon	...	Students in the Play
William Randolph Cole	...	Students in the Play
David Alan Yuro	...	Students in the Play (as David Allen Yuro)
Glen Gormezano	...	Students in the Play
Mary Budgen	...	Students in the Play
Christopher Welton	...	Students in the Play
Jane Casey	...	Students in the Play
James Pultz	...	Students in the Play
Jim Haslen	...	Students in the Play

Directed by
Willard Huyck

Writing credits
Willard Huyck		(written by) &
Gloria Katz		(written by)

Produced by
Gloria Katz	....	producer

Original Music by
Lee Holdridge

Cinematography by
Bruno Nuytten		(director of photography)

Film Editing by
Carol Littleton

Casting by
Margot Capelier
Marion Dougherty
Mary Goldberg
Gretchen Rennell

Art Direction by
Jean-Pierre Kohut-Svelko

Set Decoration by
Jacques Leguillon

Costume Design by
Catherine Leterrier
Joan Mocine

Makeup Department
Françoise Andrejka	....	assistant makeup artist
Chantal Durpoix	....	hair stylist
Eric Muller	....	makeup artist

Production Management
Richard Dupuy	....	assistant unit manager
Patrick Halpine	....	apprentice unit manager
David Lasserson	....	unit manager
Jean-José Richer	....	production manager
Olivier Schoen	....	apprentice unit manager
Lindsley Parsons Jr.	....	executive production manager: Paramount (uncredited)

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Gabriel Aghion	....	second assistant director
Jean-Jacques Beineix	....	first assistant director
Claire Chevauchez	....	apprentice director
Gérard Pujolar	....	second assistant director

Art Department
Caroline Barbe	....	property buyer
André Delpierre	....	property master
Pierre Gompertz	....	assistant art director

Sound Department
Bernard Bats	....	sound mixer
Bernard Chaumeil	....	boom operator
Rick Kline	....	sound re-recording mixer
William L. Manger	....	sound editor (as William Manger)
Donald O. Mitchell	....	sound re-recording mixer
Richard Oswald	....	sound editor
Bernard Rochut	....	boom operator
Tex Rudloff	....	sound re-recording mixer (as Tex Rudolff)

Camera and Electrical Department
Jean-Luc Bezeau	....	grip
Louis Bihi	....	gaffer
Bernard Brégier	....	key grip
Idislawe Kielar	....	second assistant camera
Victor Rodrigue	....	still photographer
Christian Weyers	....	electrician
Romain Winding	....	first assistant camera

Casting Department
Juliette Toutain	....	extras casting

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Fanny Jakubowicz	....	wardrober (as Franny Kakubowicz)
Kristi Zea	....	assistant costume designer

Editorial Department
Dominique Daudon	....	assistant editor
Mia Goldman	....	apprentice editor
Gib Jaffe	....	assistant editor
Christine Roy	....	apprentice editor

Music Department
John Caper Jr.	....	music editor
Naser Cheshmazar	....	composer: song "Rashidkhan"
Naser Cheshmazar	....	composer: song "Shateri"
Paul Desmond	....	composer: song "Take Five"
Patrick Fierry	....	composer: song "Doggy Rock"
John Kander	....	composer: song "The Thing of It Is"
Ron Melrose	....	location music arranger
Ted Roberts	....	music editor

Other crew
Gervaise Blattmann	....	production secretary
Henry Dutrannoy	....	location auditor
Wayne Fitzgerald	....	titles
Thierry Jault	....	apprentice operator
Gary Kessler	....	production assistant
Robert Maniquis	....	dialogue coach
Judith Mullen	....	production secretary
Malsy Prévotat	....	production assistant
Alice Ziller	....	script supervisor

Production Companies

• Paramount Pictures
• NF Geria II Filmgesellschaft m.b.H. (as Geria Production)

Distributors

• National Broadcasting Company (NBC) (1984) (USA) (TV) (broadcast premiere)
• Paramount Pictures (1979) (USA) (theatrical)
• CIC Vídeo (19??) (Brazil) (VHS)
• Fotomat (Drive-Thru Movies) Video (1980) (USA) (VHS)
• Legend Films (2008) (USA) (DVD)

Also Known As:

Runtime:

95 min

Country:

France | West Germany | USA

Language:

English | French

Color:

Color

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

UK:15 | USA:PG

Filming Locations:

Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport, Roissy-en-France, Val-d'Oise, France

Company:

Paramount Pictures

Quotes:

Alex:I've had enough experience - plenty. Right now I'm just going to travel a little this summer and then I'm going back to Ohio. It's quiet there. I can recuperate from all my experience.

Wow! Who'd've thunk it!?!

It's funny how cruising the internet will take us off on some of the most trivial tangents! I just purchased a film ("Sleep With Me" with Eric Stoltz, Meg Tilly and a cameo appearance -- NOT to be missed -- by Quentin Tarantino) and thought I'd look for "French Postcards" . . . another of my long-time favorites.

I thought I was the ONLY one who had even SEEN this film much less had such fond memories of it!!

Like so many, I first saw the film via cable . . . either on Cinemax or HBO. I was in Michigan on internship and while visiting my future (now ex-) wife, I caught this wonderful little film on her VERY little b/w television. I liked it so much that I watched it at almost every opportunity as it ran its repetitive course.

As has been posted already here, I saw a little bit of me in many of the characters (not so much in Sayyid, of course!!). I also found many of the characters to be very believable — as well as the story. My guess is that it was probably written by someone who'd had such an experience.

I suppose that I related mostly to Alex, who -- despite being somewhat of a lech — was an utter romantic. Like him, I'm a songwriter AND hopelessly drawn to romance. The song he sings ("Paris") was in my head for days and weeks . . . MONTHS after watching the film.

I was particularly attracted to Laura (Blanche Baker's character), who — much like Alex — was in love with romance and tried so very hard to experience her preconceived notions about Paris. While Alex's affair with Madame Tessier was rather titillating (I mean, isn't it EVERY young man's dream to have an affair with an older, married woman?!?), I rooted for Laura and Alex to get together.

Many of us here can probably also relate with the dweeb-y (initially), socially clumsy Joel. That he was able to finally come to grips with his feelings for Toni and EXPRESS them was — IS — something we'd all like to be capable of doing all the time. We probably all initially took affront to Toni's brusque responses to Joel, but (sigh!) fell in love with her as well (if ONLY for her accent!).

Although Debra Winger's part is so very small, her character was entertaining.

And while we're speaking "French" . . . I highly, highly, HIGHLY recommend "Le Fabuleux destin d'Amélie Poulain" (Amélie) if you haven't yet seen it.