Irreversible (2002) Irréversible (original title)

Director:

Gaspar Noé

Writer:

Gaspar Noé

Release Date:

22 May 2002 (France)

Genre:

Crime | Drama | Mystery | Thriller

Tagline:

Le temps détruit tout - Time destroys everything

Plot:

Events over the course of one traumatic night in Paris unfold in reverse-chronological order as the beautiful Alex is brutally raped and beaten by a stranger in the underpass.

Plot Keywords:

Underpass | Night | Revenge | Rapist | Bashing In Someone's Face

Awards:

4 wins & 5 nominations

Cast

Monica Bellucci	...	Alex (as Bellucci)
Vincent Cassel	...	Marcus (as Cassel)
Albert Dupontel	...	Pierre (as Dupontel)
Jo Prestia	...	Le Tenia (as Prestia)
Philippe Nahon	...	L'homme (as Nahon)
Stéphane Drouot	...	Stéphane (as Drouot)
Jean-Louis Costes	...	Fistman (as Costes)
Michel Gondoin	...	Mick (as Gondouin)
Mourad Khima	...	Mourad (as Khima)
Hellal	...	Layde
Nato	...	Commissaire
Fesche	...	Chauffeur Taxi
Jara-Millo	...	Concha (as Jaramillo)
Le Quellec	...	Inspecteur
Giami	...	Isabelle
Fatima Adoum	...	Fatima (as Adoum)
Foulaux	...	Janice
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Stéphane Derdérian	...	Client du Rectum (uncredited)
Christophe Lemaire	...	Le danseur avec la chemise hawaïenne (uncredited)
Eric Moreau	...	Extra (uncredited)
Gaspar Noé	...	Client du Rectum (uncredited)
Titof	...	Le mec sur le lit à la fête (uncredited)

Directed by
Gaspar Noé

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Gaspar Noé

Produced by
Vincent Cassel	....	co-producer
Brahim Chioua	....	co-producer
Emmanuel Gateau	....	consulting producer
Richard Grandpierre	....	co-producer
Gaspar Noé	....	co-producer
Christophe Rossignon	....	producer

Original Music by
Thomas Bangalter

Cinematography by
Benoît Debie
Gaspar Noé

Film Editing by
Gaspar Noé

Casting by
Jacques Grant

Production Design by
Alain Juteau

Costume Design by
Laure Culkovic

Makeup Department
Pierre Chavialle	....	hair stylist
Jean-Christophe Spadaccini	....	special makeup effects artist
Ghislaine Tortereau	....	hair stylist

Production Management
Serge Catoire	....	production manager
Eric Chabot	....	unit production manager
Virginia Lombardo	....	unit manager
Ève Machuel	....	production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Stéphane Derdérian	....	first assistant director
Olivier Théry-Lapiney	....	first assistant director

Art Department
Sandra Castello	....	assistant art director
Pascal Gras	....	carpenter
Nicolas Javel	....	assistant art director

Sound Department
Jean-Luc Audy	....	sound
Xavier Bonneyrat	....	assistant sound editor
Marc Boucrot	....	sound
Olivier Busson	....	boom operator
Vincent Cosson	....	sound mix technician
Valérie Deloof	....	sound
Cyril Holtz	....	sound re-recording mixer
François Lepeuple	....	foley artist

Visual Effects by
Rodolphe Chabrier	....	visual effects supervisor
Xavier Fourmond	....	digital compositor
Stéphanie Machuret	....	senior digital compositor: Mac Guff Ligne
Christophe Richard	....	digital artist
Isabelle Roussel	....	digital compositor
Eric Vidal	....	compositor

Camera and Electrical Department
Kamel Belaïd	....	electrician
David Campbell	....	crane operator: Super Technocrane
Eric Catelan	....	Steadicam operator
Benoît Debie	....	lighting designer
Denis Gaubert	....	assistant camera: second unit
Jérôme Mauduit	....	assistant camera: second unit
Antoine Rabaté	....	assistant camera
Sébastien Saadoun	....	assistant camera
Mathieu Szpiro	....	gaffer
Bretagne Benoit	....	additional electrician (uncredited)

Casting Department
Omri Ben Canaan	....	extras casting

Editorial Department
Richard Deusy	....	colorist

Other crew
Peter Block	....	acquisitions executive
Marielle Duigou	....	production assistant
Virginia Lombardo	....	assistant location manager

Production Companies

• 120 Films
• Eskwad
• Grandpierre
• Les Cinémas de la Zone
• Nord-Ouest Productions
• Rossignon
• StudioCanal

Distributors

• Mars Distribution (2002) (France) (theatrical)
• Accent Film Entertainment (2004) (Australia) (theatrical)
• Alamode Film (2003) (Germany) (theatrical)
• Alliance Atlantis Communications (2002) (Canada) (theatrical)
• Atlantis Entertainment (2003) (Czechoslovakia) (theatrical)
• BIM Distribuzione (2002) (Italy) (theatrical)
• Comstock (2003) (Japan) (theatrical)
• Distribution Company (2003) (Argentina) (theatrical)
• Frenetic Films (2002) (Switzerland) (theatrical)
• Lions Gate Films (2003) (USA) (theatrical) (subtitled)
• Metro Tartan Distribution Ltd. (2003) (UK) (theatrical)
• Muse Productions (2002) (USA) (theatrical)
• Paradiso Entertainment (2002) (Netherlands) (theatrical)
• Accent Film Entertainment (2004) (Australia) (DVD)
• All Media Company (2010) (Russia) (all media)
• Argentina Video Home (Argentina) (DVD)
• Argentina Video Home (Argentina) (VHS)
• Europa Filmes (2004) (Brazil) (DVD)
• Legend Films International (2003) (Germany) (all media) (rights)
• Lions Gate Films Home Entertainment (2003) (USA) (DVD)
• Palisades Tartan (2009) (UK) (all media)
• Paradiso Home Entertainment (2002) (Netherlands) (DVD) (VHS)
• Tartan Video (2003) (UK) (DVD)
• Universum Film (UFA) (2004) (Germany) (DVD)
• Universum Film (UFA) (2004) (Germany) (VHS)
• Warner Home Video (2003) (Switzerland) (DVD)

Special Effects

• Mac Guff Ligne (visual effects)

Also Known As:

"Irréversible" - France (original title)
"Alex" - Japan (English title)

Runtime:

97 min | Canada:99 min (Toronto International Film Festival)

Country:

France

Language:

French | Spanish | Italian | English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital

Certification:

Australia:R | Austria:18 | Denmark:15 | Finland:K-18 | France:-16 (with warning) | Germany:18 | Hong Kong:III (cut) | Ireland:18 | Italy:VM18 | Japan:R-18 | Netherlands:16 | New Zealand:R18 (with restriction) | Norway:18 | Singapore:R(A) (original rating) | Singapore:R21 (re-rating) | South Korea:18 | Spain:18 | UK:18 | Portugal:M/18 | Argentina:18 | Peru:18 | Brazil:18 | Iceland:16 | Canada:18+ (Québec) | Canada:R (Alberta/British Columbia/Manitoba/Nova Scotia/Ontario) | Sweden:18 (video rating) | Sweden:15 | Mexico:C | USA:Not Rated | Malaysia:(Banned)

Filming Locations:

Buttes Chaumont, Paris 19, Paris, France

Company:

120 Films

Trivia:

The man bludgeoned to death was a mix of an actor in the first few stages which was then substituted with a latex head. Digital effects were added to make the transition more convincing.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: At the party Vincent Cassel gives his characters name as "Vincent" instead of "Marcus" He quickly covers his mistake.

Quotes:

[First lines]
Philippe:You want me to say it? Time destroys everything.

Movie Connections:

References Brotherhood of the Wolf (2001)

Soundtrack:

Symphony No. 9 in D Major - Adagio

Makes an irreversible feeling...

Cinema is a multifaceted medium, with its limits extending in various dimensions…What I felt after watching Irreversible is, this movie is staged at the edge of one of the possible dimensions. I don't think another movie can be crueler. I was warned enough by the information I got from IMDb and I was determined to finish it what ever comes. The spinning camera work and the intentionally added noise made me literally sick, (may be because I am sensitive) but I persisted to continue. I read so many threads here in IMDb saying many people turned on watching the rape. To me, it seemed unattractively cruel, and I don't know whether it is close to reality as I have never witnessed or experienced a rape. But my conscience tells me, it is the worst thing a man can do. What more, I could not continue without a break. The entire story is told backwards, and if you see it from the end, in the reverse order, the murder at the Rectum is a real slap on the face, for who all turned on watching the rape. I haven't seen another movie by Gasper Noe, but this one was very powerful indeed. This will make you hate the heinous crime like a rape or a murder, even more intensely as you do now. I remember seeing a movie by Hitchcock, The torn Curtain, in which he shot a murder scene, to show how difficult it is and how cruel you need to be to murder another human being. Irreversible evokes a same feeling; it tells you how cruel you need to be, to be so. I appreciate the intention. But, I don't agree, presenting all the graphic details as the only way to evoke a similar emotion or feeling. I will mention another movie here, Bhoothakkannadi (eye lens), a movie made in Malayalam, my mother tongue. It was so powerful and it evoked a similar feeling in me, against humiliation and crimes like rape without delineating all those cruelty in detail. Irreversible, in a sense, diminish your soul rather than ameliorating it, what an art form is really meant to do. It even made me to hate the entire medium of cinema for a few days, and I recovered because I have an immutable faith in the potential of cinema. This is not a film to enjoy. You may not like this. I don't like this movie. But still I say it is powerful, as it says something very clearly.