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IMDbPro

Day for Night

Original title: La nuit américaine
  • 19731973
  • PGPG
  • 1h 56m
IMDb RATING
8.0/10
23K
YOUR RATING
POPULARITY
11,016
771
Day for Night (1973)
Trailer for Day for Night
Play trailer2:48
1 Video
94 Photos
ComedyDramaRomance
A committed film director struggles to complete his movie while coping with a myriad of crises, personal and professional, among the cast and crew.A committed film director struggles to complete his movie while coping with a myriad of crises, personal and professional, among the cast and crew.A committed film director struggles to complete his movie while coping with a myriad of crises, personal and professional, among the cast and crew.
IMDb RATING
8.0/10
23K
YOUR RATING
POPULARITY
11,016
771
  • See more at IMDbPro
    • Director
      • François Truffaut
    • Writers
      • François Truffaut(screenplay)
      • Jean-Louis Richard(screenplay)
      • Suzanne Schiffman(screenplay)
    • Stars
      • Jacqueline Bisset
      • Jean-Pierre Léaud
      • François Truffaut
    Top credits
    • Director
      • François Truffaut
    • Writers
      • François Truffaut(screenplay)
      • Jean-Louis Richard(screenplay)
      • Suzanne Schiffman(screenplay)
    • Stars
      • Jacqueline Bisset
      • Jean-Pierre Léaud
      • François Truffaut
  • See production, box office & company info
    • 85User reviews
    • 90Critic reviews
    • Won 1 Oscar
      • 13 wins & 7 nominations total

    Videos1

    Day for Night
    Trailer 2:48
    Day for Night

    Photos94

    "Day for Night"  Jacqueline Bisset, Francois Truffaut (Director) 1973 Warner Bros.
    Francois Truffaut Directing "Day For Night" 1973
    "Day For Night" Fir. Francois Truffaut, 1973.
    fotobusta 18 x 26
    François Truffaut, Jacqueline Bisset, Jean-Pierre Aumont, Valentina Cortese, Dani, and Jean-Pierre Léaud in Day for Night (1973)
    Jacqueline Bisset in Day for Night (1973)
    Day for Night (1973)
    François Truffaut and Jean Champion in Day for Night (1973)
    Jean-Pierre Léaud in Day for Night (1973)
    Jacqueline Bisset and Jean-Pierre Léaud in Day for Night (1973)
    Day for Night (1973)
    Jacqueline Bisset and Jean-Pierre Aumont in Day for Night (1973)

    Top cast

    Edit
    Jacqueline Bisset
    Jacqueline Bisset
    • Julie Baker
    Jean-Pierre Léaud
    Jean-Pierre Léaud
    • Alphonse
    • (as Jean-Pierre Leaud)
    François Truffaut
    François Truffaut
    • Ferrand, le réalisateur
    Valentina Cortese
    Valentina Cortese
    • Séverine
    Dani
    Dani
    • Liliane, la stagiaire scripte
    Alexandra Stewart
    Alexandra Stewart
    • Stacey
    Jean-Pierre Aumont
    Jean-Pierre Aumont
    • Alexandre
    Jean Champion
    • Bertrand, le producteur
    Nike Arrighi
    Nike Arrighi
    • Odile, la maquilleuse
    Nathalie Baye
    Nathalie Baye
    • Joëlle, la scripte
    Maurice Seveno
    • Le reporter TV
    David Markham
    David Markham
    • Dr. Michael Nelson
    Bernard Menez
    Bernard Menez
    • Bernard, l'accessoiriste
    Gaston Joly
    • Lajoie, le régisseur
    Zénaïde Rossi
    • Madame Lajoie
    Xavier Saint-Macary
    • Christian
    • (as Xavier Macary)
    Marc Boyle
    • Le cascadeur anglais
    Walter Bal
    • Walter, le chef opérateur
    • Director
      • François Truffaut
    • Writers
      • François Truffaut(screenplay)
      • Jean-Louis Richard(screenplay)
      • Suzanne Schiffman(screenplay)
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

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    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      After the release of this film, Jean-Luc Godard sent François Truffaut a letter criticizing the way the film depicts filmmaking and called him a liar for it. Godard also criticized him for pandering to the mainstream, something they were both critical of filmmakers doing when they were critics at Cahiers du Cinema. Additionally, Godard went on to say that because the film was not truth and because the film was a hit, that they should make a film together about the filmmaking process; Truffaut would produce, Godard would direct, and they would both co-write the script. Godard's return address was of Jacques Daniel-Norman, a virtually unknown filmmaker whose films were loved by Truffaut and Godard when they were film critics, hinting at a return to a simpler time. Ignoring this hint, Truffaut was insulted by the letter and responded by telling Godard that he is demeaning and pretentious and that he pretends to be poor, when in reality he was the wealthiest of their circle of friends. The response also included a line in which Truffaut flat out calls Godard a "shit". It is believed that this quarrel is what ended their lifelong friendship. Godard later regretted writing this letter, especially after Truffaut's early death in 1984 and went as far as to write a moving tribute to his former friend.
    • Goofs
      Several takes are wasted trying to get a cat to drink milk from a tray. Eventually Joelle brings in "the studio cat" to do the scene. But the cat that actually drinks the milk is actually a third, different cat.
    • Quotes

      Julie: Liliane ran off with the stuntman.

      Joelle: Does Alphonse know?

      Julie: I had to tell him.

      Joelle: With the stuntman? I'd drop a guy for a film. I'd never drop a film for a guy!

    • Crazy credits
      This film is dedicated to Lillian and Dorothy Gish.
    • Connections
      Edited into Day for Night: A Conversation with Jaqueline Bisset (2003)

    User reviews85

    Review
    Top review
    9/10
    Delicate but penetrating
    La Nuit Américaine is an interesting movie with celebrated French director Francois Truffaut playing a director making a movie. He proves to be a modest and convincing actor himself while patiently weaving a tale about how movies are made and how intense the emotional interactions among those making the movie can be.

    Don't give up on this one too soon. It starts slow and seems almost amateurish because of the relatively low-tech way the film within the film is being shot. Truffaut gives us a glimpse of how the production crew works together (and sometimes at odds) while showing us some of the things that can go wrong while making a movie. He begins with the technical details of the production but before long begins to concentrate on the personalities of the movie-makers and their individual stories. Each story is carefully crafted in a somewhat leisurely way almost like the characterizations in a soap opera (without of course the phony drama and mass market sentimentality seen on TV). Truffaut's fine sense of emotional conflict and how conflict might be resolved makes the various stories touching without being maudlin.

    Jacqueline Bisset who stars as English actress Julia Baker who plays the title role in the film within the film (May I Introduce Pamela?) doesn't make her appearance until about a fourth of the way in. She is a delight as an actress with a heart of gold recovering from a nervous breakdown married to an older man whom she does indeed love. Jean-Pierre Leaud, whom most viewers will recall as the running boy in Truffaut's The 400 Blows, plays a young and not entirely confident actor who gets jilted by the script girl who runs off with the stunt man during production. Bisset's warm and sisterly befriending of Leaud is, shall we say, entirely French (which gets her into trouble with her husband). This really is a skillful showcasing of Bisset since she gets to play something like an ingenue with her husband and the older woman with Leaud. Be careful you might fall in love with her.

    Valentina Cortese in a fine supporting role does a most convincing job of playing the temperamental Italian actress just past her prime who quaffs champagne while working, who forgets her lines and can't find the right door, but when properly indulged gives a great performance.

    My problem with this movie is I saw the dubbed version and of course that is disconcerting because one is constantly trying to reconcile the visualized actor with the dubbed one. To see Jacqueline Bisset who is beautifully fluent in both English and French speaking French while at the same time hearing someone else speaking English for her is just a bit too much to take. I understand that the DVD version is in French with subtitles. I would recommend that you get that and not the dubbed video.

    Truffaut is the kind of director who allows the audience to penetrate not only his characters to see what makes them tick, but also the stars who play those characters. He does a particularly beautiful job with Bisset who is warm and wise and something close to heroic, and with Leaud whose childishness seems natural and whose pettiness forgivable. Don't believe those reviewers who think this is a slight film. It is carefully crafted and very well thought out and is a fine example of the work of the one of the great directors of the French cinema. See it for Truffaut whose delicate genius is evident throughout.

    (Note: Over 500 of my movie reviews are now available in my book "Cut to the Chaise Lounge or I Can't Believe I Swallowed the Remote!" Get it at Amazon!)
    helpful•28
    5
    • DeeNine-2
    • May 24, 2003

    FAQ2

    • Why was this movie nominated for Academy Awards in two different years?
    • Why was the title changed?

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • September 7, 1973 (United States)
    • Countries of origin
      • France
      • Italy
    • Languages
      • French
      • English
      • Italian
    • Also known as
      • Ameriška noč
    • Filming locations
      • Aéroport Nice-Côte d'Azur - Nice, Alpes-Maritimes, France
    • Production companies
      • Les Films du Carrosse
      • PECF
      • Produzione Intercontinentale Cinematografica (PIC)
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

    Edit
    • Gross US & Canada
      • $509
    • Opening weekend US & Canada
      • $11,206
      • Apr 25, 1999
    • Gross worldwide
      • $509
    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Technical specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      1 hour 56 minutes
    • Color
      • Color
    • Sound mix
      • Mono
    • Aspect ratio
      • 1.66 : 1

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