Delicatessen (1991)

Directors:

Marc Caro
Jean-Pierre Jeunet

Writers:

Gilles Adrien (dialogue)
Gilles Adrien (screenplay)

Release Date:

3 April 1992 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama | Fantasy | Romance | Thriller

Tagline:

A futuristic comic feast

Plot:

Post-apocalyptic surrealist black comedy about the landlord of an apartment building who creates cannibalistic meals for his odd tenants.

Plot Keywords:

Butcher | Food | Apartment Building | Clown | Underground

Awards:

Nominated for BAFTA Film Award. Another 12 wins & 10 nominations

Cast

Pascal Benezech	...	Tried to Escape
Dominique Pinon	...	Louison
Marie-Laure Dougnac	...	Julie Clapet
Jean-Claude Dreyfus	...	Clapet
Karin Viard	...	Mademoiselle Plusse
Ticky Holgado	...	Marcel Tapioca
Anne-Marie Pisani	...	Madame Tapioca
Boban Janevski	...	Young Rascal
Mikael Todde	...	Young Rascal (as Mikaël Todde)
Edith Ker	...	Grandmother
Rufus	...	Robert Kube
Jacques Mathou	...	Roger
Howard Vernon	...	Frog Man
Chick Ortega	...	Postman
Silvie Laguna	...	Aurore Interligator

MPAA:

Rated R for violence.

Runtime:

99 min | Spain:95 min

Country:

France

Language:

French

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Iceland:14 | Iceland:16 (video rating) | Singapore:NC-16 | South Korea:18 | Argentina:13 | Australia:M | Chile:18 | Finland:K-16 | Germany:16 | Spain:13 | Sweden:15 | UK:15 | USA:R

Filming Locations:

France

Company:

Constellation

Trivia:

Jean-Pierre Jeunet got the idea for a cannibal butcher when living in an apartment above a butcher's shop. Each morning at 7am he would hear the metallic clash of knives and a voice shout, "Chop chop!" His girlfriend said he was carving up the neighbors, and it would be their turn next week.

Goofs:

Continuity: When Julie welcomes Louison in her room and we see her following him to the table she has no socks, when she brings him later into his room after he has fallen asleep she has socks.

Quotes:

Louison: Nobody is entirely evil: it's that circumstances that make them evil, or they don't know they are doing evil.

Movie Connections:

References Le corbeau (1943)

The cornerstone of originality

Clever ideas and good notion of filmmaking are at the core of this movie, whose storyline is the smallest asset. But you won't really care when you see it, because even though the story isn't really elaborate, what you have here is one of the most original movies you'll ever get your eyes on. The setting is perfect, with no historic or geographic references, only an estranged building, which doesn't have a single straight normal tenant. The result is a magnificent work of actors, cinematography and set dressing, that makes the most of visual resources for a movie. The directors Jeunet & Caro show their true potential in this movie that will keep you glued with its naive-like comedy style, and its unique set of characters, which could generate a separate movie about each and every one of them. Magnificent, and truly original.