Release CalendarDVD & Blu-ray ReleasesTop 250 MoviesMost Popular MoviesBrowse Movies by GenreTop Box OfficeShowtimes & TicketsIn TheatersComing SoonMovie NewsIndia Movie Spotlight
    What's on TV & StreamingTop 250 TV ShowsMost Popular TV ShowsBrowse TV Shows by GenreTV NewsIndia TV Spotlight
    What to WatchLatest TrailersIMDb OriginalsIMDb PicksIMDb Podcasts
    OscarsBest Picture WinnersBest Picture WinnersEmmysAPA Heritage MonthSTARmeter AwardsSan Diego Comic-ConNew York Comic-ConSundance Film FestivalToronto Int'l Film FestivalAwards CentralFestival CentralAll Events
    Born TodayMost Popular CelebsMost Popular CelebsCelebrity News
    Help CenterContributor ZonePolls
For Industry Professionals
  • All
  • Titles
  • TV Episodes
  • Celebs
  • Companies
  • Keywords
  • Advanced Search
Watchlist
Sign In
  • Fully supported
  • English (United States)
    Partially supported
  • Français (Canada)
  • Français (France)
  • Deutsch (Deutschland)
  • हिंदी (भारत)
  • Italiano (Italia)
  • Português (Brasil)
  • Español (España)
  • Español (México)

Le Boucher

Original title: Le boucher
  • 19701970
  • GPGP
  • 1h 33m
IMDb RATING
7.4/10
8.6K
YOUR RATING
  • Cast & crew
  • User reviews
  • Trivia
  • IMDbPro
Le boucher (1970)
Watch {VideoTitle}
Play trailer3:30
1 Video
88 Photos
  • Drama
  • Thriller

An unlikely friendship between a dour, working class butcher and a repressed schoolteacher coincides with a grisly series of Ripper-type murders in a provincial French town.An unlikely friendship between a dour, working class butcher and a repressed schoolteacher coincides with a grisly series of Ripper-type murders in a provincial French town.An unlikely friendship between a dour, working class butcher and a repressed schoolteacher coincides with a grisly series of Ripper-type murders in a provincial French town.

IMDb RATING
7.4/10
8.6K
YOUR RATING
  • Director
    • Claude Chabrol
  • Writer
    • Claude Chabrol
  • Stars
    • Stéphane Audran
    • Jean Yanne
    • Antonio Passalia
Top credits
  • Director
    • Claude Chabrol
  • Writer
    • Claude Chabrol
  • Stars
    • Stéphane Audran
    • Jean Yanne
    • Antonio Passalia
  • See production, box office & company info
    • 46User reviews
    • 47Critic reviews
  • See more at IMDbPro
    • Nominated for 1 BAFTA Award
      • 2 wins & 1 nomination total

    Videos1

    Bande-annonce [OV]
    Trailer 3:30
    Bande-annonce [OV]

    Photos88

    Stéphane Audran and Jean Yanne in Le boucher (1970)
    Le boucher (1970)
    Stéphane Audran and Jean Yanne in Landru (1963)
    Stéphane Audran and Jean Yanne in Le boucher (1970)
    Le boucher (1970)
    Le boucher (1970)
    Le boucher (1970)
    Orson Welles, Stéphane Audran, Romy Schneider, Michel Bouquet, Jacqueline Sassard, and Jean Yanne in Les biches (1968)
    Le boucher (1970)
    Le boucher (1970)
    Stéphane Audran and Jean Yanne in Le boucher (1970)
    Jean Yanne in Le boucher (1970)

    Top cast

    Edit
    Stéphane Audran
    Stéphane Audran
    • Hélèneas Hélène
    Jean Yanne
    Jean Yanne
    • Popaulas Popaul…
    Antonio Passalia
    • Angeloas Angelo
    Pascal Ferone
    • Père Cahrpyas Père Cahrpy…
    Mario Beccara
    • Léon Hamelas Léon Hamel
    William Guérault
    • Charlesas Charles
    Roger Rudel
    • Commissaire Grumbachas Commissaire Grumbach…
    • Director
      • Claude Chabrol
    • Writer
      • Claude Chabrol
    • All cast & crew
    • See more cast details at IMDbPro

    More like this

    This Man Must Die
    7.6
    This Man Must Die
    Just Before Nightfall
    7.2
    Just Before Nightfall
    La femme infidèle
    7.4
    La femme infidèle
    The Breach
    7.2
    The Breach
    Les noces rouges
    6.9
    Les noces rouges
    Les Biches
    6.9
    Les Biches
    La Cérémonie
    7.5
    La Cérémonie
    Les Bonnes Femmes
    7.2
    Les Bonnes Femmes
    Dirty Hands
    6.8
    Dirty Hands
    Le Beau Serge
    7.1
    Le Beau Serge
    Violette
    7.1
    Violette
    The Cousins
    7.2
    The Cousins

    Storyline

    Edit
    Butcher Popaul meets schoolteacher Helene at a wedding in a small rural French village. They become friends. But girls are murdered in the area and Helene finds at the scene the lighter she gave Popaul... —Yepok
    • reference to honore de balzac
    • indochina war veteran
    • cave painting
    • butcher
    • serial killer
    • 55 more
    • Plot summary
    • Plot synopsis
    • Genres
      • Drama
      • Thriller
    • Certificate
      • GP
    • Parents guide

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      Claude Chabrol was famous for his drunken antics on movie sets. Stéphane Audran remembers that, one day during the shooting of Le boucher (1970), he drank so much wine that he had to be brought away with a cart.
    • Goofs
      When the blood from a murder victim drips down onto a girl from a cliff above, the hand shown dripping the blood looks fake.
    • Quotes

      Popaul: But, shit, I asked you if I kissed you now, what would you say?

      Hélène: I'd say nothing, but please don't.

    • Connections
      Referenced in Butterfly (1975)
    • Soundtracks
      Capri Petite Île
      by Dominique Zardi

    User reviews46

    Review
    Top review
    Beyond suspense
    In my ongoing program of finally seeing films I should have seen years ago, tonight I watched "Le Boucher" on VHS. After two minutes of it, I wasn't sure I could bear to watch any more. And there was no overt cause for my uneasiness! All that was being shown was a simple country wedding banquet--yet there was such a palpable sense of unrest and evil that I felt like crawling down into the sofa to escape from it. And this relentlessly oppressive atmosphere persisted through the entire film.

    How Claude Chabrol managed this seeming magic is beyond my comprehension. He instantly draws the viewer into a world very similar to Hitchcock's, but without the comic relief that Hitchcock unfailingly put into his films. Without the relief of tension that comedy affords, the experience of the film becomes almost unbearable--but I managed to sit through this entire short masterpiece, marveling at how a skilled director can create so much nerve-wracking suspense with so few means.

    I was especially impressed by the film's totally unpretentious nature. The lighting is downright amateurish (on purpose, I'm quite certain), there are no special effects whatever, the dialogue is simple and straightforward: and in a theatrical setting, I think I would have been about scared out of my pants.

    I can see why Chabrol has been called "the French Hitchcock." The honor is well and truly deserved.
    helpful•48
    12
    • jonr-3
    • Aug 21, 2003

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • December 19, 1971 (United States)
    • Countries of origin
      • France
      • Italy
    • Language
      • French
    • Also known as
      • The Butcher
    • Filming locations
      • Grottes de Cougnac, Payrignac, Lot, France
    • Production companies
      • Les Films de la Boétie
      • Euro International Films
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

    Edit
    • Gross US & Canada
      • $474,458
    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Technical specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      1 hour 33 minutes
    • Sound mix
      • Mono
    • Aspect ratio
      • 1.85 : 1

    Related news

    79 Movies to See Before You Die, According to the Dardenne Brothers
    79 Movies to See Before You Die, According to the Dardenne Brothers
    Aug 7Indiewire
    We Won’t Grow Old Together | Blu-Ray Review
    Aug 19IONCINEMA.com

    Contribute to this page

    Suggest an edit or add missing content
    Le boucher (1970)
    Top Gap
    By what name was Le boucher (1970) officially released in Canada in English?
    Answer
    • See more gaps
    • Learn more about contributing
    Edit page

    More to explore

    View list
    List
    The 10 Most Anticipated Marvel and DC Movies
    See the full list
    View list
    List
    2022 TV Guide: The Best Shows Coming This Year
    See the full list

    Recently viewed

    Please enable browser cookies to use this feature. Learn more.
    Get the IMDb App
    • Get the IMDb App
    • Help
    • Site Index
    • IMDbPro
    • Box Office Mojo
    • IMDb Developer
    • Press Room
    • Advertising
    • Jobs
    • Conditions of Use
    • Privacy Policy
    • Interest-Based Ads

    © 1990-2022 by IMDb.com, Inc.