Day for Night (1973)

A committed film director struggles to complete his movie while coping with a myriad of crises, personal and professional, among the cast and crew.

Director:

François Truffaut

Writers:

François Truffaut (screenplay), Jean-Louis Richard (screenplay)

Stars:

Jacqueline Bisset, Jean-Pierre Léaud, François Truffaut

Won 1 Oscar. Another 11 wins & 7 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Jacqueline Bisset	...	Julie Baker
Valentina Cortese	...	Séverine
Dani	...	Liliane, la stagiaire scripte
Alexandra Stewart	...	Stacey
Jean-Pierre Aumont	...	Alexandre
Jean Champion	...	Bertrand, le producteur
Jean-Pierre Léaud	...	Alphonse (as Jean-Pierre Leaud)
François Truffaut	...	Ferrand, le réalisateur
Nike Arrighi	...	Odile, la maquilleuse
Nathalie Baye	...	Joëlle, la scripte
Maurice Seveno	...	Le reporter TV
David Markham	...	Dr. Michael Nelson
Bernard Menez	...	Bernard, l'accessoiriste
Gaston Joly	...	Lajoie, le régisseur
Zénaïde Rossi	...	Madame Lajoie

Storyline

The shooting of "Je vous presente Pamela" (may I introduce Pamela) begins. This is the story of en English married wife falling in love and running away with the father of her French husband. Will be simultaneously shown the shooting, the behavior of the people (including the technical team) on the set, and a part of their private life (a factor of complication)...

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Plot Keywords:

film within a film | film industry | film crew | behind the scenes | filmmaking | 

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Taglines:

A movie for people who love movies.

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama | Romance

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Certificate:

PG

Details

Country:

France Italy

Language:

French English

Release Date:

7 September 1973 (USA)

Also Known As:

Day for Night

Filming Locations:

Côte d'Azur, France

Box Office

Opening Weekend USA:

$17,808, 27 July 1997, Limited Release

Gross USA:

$17,808, 27 July 1997

Company Credits

Production Co:

Les Films du Carrosse, PECF, Produzione Intercontinentale Cinematografica (PIC)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

116 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Black and White (dream sequences) Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

In "Meet Pamela," the film-within-the-film, Pamela (Jacqueline Bisset) explains that she met Alphonse's character after the girl he was supposed to be with in England came down with chicken pox. This is a reference to Bisset's first movie role, in Stanley Donen's "Two for the Road," where architecture student Albert Finney ends up traveling through France with English girl Audrey Hepburn after the girl he was supposed to travel with (Bisset) comes down with chicken pox.

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Goofs

During the filming of the car crash scene, when the stunt man backs up the car driving through the the open door, and when he jumps free as the "driverless" car supposedly heads for the cliff where it will crash, someone else is visible inside the car, actually driving.

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Quotes

[repeated line]
Alphonse: Are women magic?

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Crazy Credits

This film is dedicated to Lillian and Dorothy Gish.

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Connections

Referenced in Z Channel: A Magnificent Obsession (2004)

User Reviews

Truffaut's devoted work! Cortese's magnificent performance!

Truffaut's movie, dedicated to two great silent stars Lilian and Dorothy Gish, is very specific since it shows how a movie is being made from a technical as well as personal point of view. The content may seem to be boring for some people. However, it is not exactly so for many people since lots of us would like to see the real wings of a film and Truffaut's movie does a perfect job in this aspect.

The cast are generally good but the quality of performances is raised by very few individuals. The actors and actresses have a double work to do: to play in the film which is being shot, MAY I INTRODUCE PAMELA, as well as to play in DAY FOR NIGHT. Jacqueline Bisset is supposedly the main star of the film. Yet, she is far from best. Sometimes, it is felt that she cannot combine her role in DAY FOR NIGHT with her role of Pamela. She looks confused at switching to two different realities. There are some less famous French cast, like Dani or Jean-Pierre Aumont, who do a good job, but do not appear to be particularly memorable. However, the person who absolutely shines in her role is, in my opinion, Valentina Cortese. The Italian stage and movie actress, born in Milan, was cast by such great directors as Antonioni, Fellini, and Zeffirelli. She was always very good. But here, in Truffaut's movie, she gives one of her very finest performances. She beautifully combines the role of an actress and the role of Alfonso's mother. It's just a perfect flow between these two. I have watched the entire film twice, but the scenes with Ms Cortese - ten times. Her facial expressions in the portrayal of Severine, an alcoholic desperate movie star, her constant forgetting of the lines and opening wrong door, her whole acting REALLY DESERVE AWARDS!

Since the film's content deals with making movies, I would like to concentrate on one more aspect: how it really shows movie making and people who take part in it. Here, I must say that Truffaut did something unforgettable and universal. While watching DAY FOR NIGHT, a viewer is led to a wonderful journey into the core of film making. One can see, for instance, the scene shooting, problems with direction, writing the script, the private problems of the cast, the way others perceive the works, director's real devotion, including ultimate work - "Who is a director?...Someone who is constantly being asked". Finally, the film touches the most serious problem: what happens if an actor dies during filming... This is something that happens rather rarely (thank goodness); yet, it's double tragedy. Truffaut also develops the characters of actors and actresses - these are not only people who act but complex individuals.

I recommend DAY FOR NIGHT to those people who are interested in film-making. Truffaut did a piece of marvelous job and I am glad that Valentina Cortese was cast by him and her performance resulted in awards. She really deserves it.