Delicatessen (1991)

Post-apocalyptic surrealist black comedy about the landlord of an apartment building who occasionally prepares a delicacy for his odd tenants.

Directors:

Marc Caro, Jean-Pierre Jeunet

Writers:

Jean-Pierre Jeunet (screenplay), Marc Caro (screenplay)

Stars:

Marie-Laure Dougnac, Dominique Pinon, Pascal Benezech

Nominated for 1 BAFTA Film Award. Another 15 wins & 14 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
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

Storyline

Centered on a post-apocalyptic society where food is scrarce and used as currency. In an apartment building with a delicatessen on the ground floor. The owner of the eatery also owns the apartment building and is in need of a new maintenance man since the prior one "mysteriously" disappeared. A former clown applies for the job and the butcher's intent is to have him work for as little as possible, and then serve him to odd tenants who pay the butcher in grain. The clown and butcher's daughter fall in love and she tries to foil her father's plans by contacting the "troglodytes", a grain eating sub-group of society who live entirely underground.

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Plot Keywords:

black comedy | landlord | pipes | tenant | trick knife | 

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Taglines:

A futuristic comic feast

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Genres:

Comedy | Crime

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for violence

Details

Country:

France

Language:

French

Release Date:

3 April 1992 (USA)

Also Known As:

Delicatessen

Filming Locations:

France

Box Office

Budget:

FRF 24,000,000 (estimated)

Gross USA:

$1,794,187

Company Credits

Production Co:

Constellation,Union Générale Cinématographique (UGC),Hachette Première

Technical Specs

Runtime:

99 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

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.

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Goofs

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.

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Quotes

Louison: One must always forgive.
Julie Clapet: Depends. It's not always possible.
Louison: Don't say that. No one is entirely evil. It's circumstance. Or they don't realize the wrong.

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Crazy Credits

In the opening credits, crew members' names appear on objects that the camera tracks across: the director of photography's name appears on a camera, the composer's name on a broken 12" record, etc.

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Connections

Referenced in One Step Beyond: The Making of 'Alien: Resurrection' (2003)

User Reviews

Love for detail shows at every turn

Jeunet & Caro have created a masterpiece. While certainly this film will not be everyone's cup of tea, I cannot recall anyone I know seeing it and not being delighted. No other movie I've seen so far could top this one for its combination of wittiness, dark humor, love for detail and collection of regular people holding a mirror up to each and everyone of us, showing us how strange we really are.

Indeed this movie will not be constrained by a classification as romance, comedy or science fiction or horror. It is much more than the sum of these - it is a work of art and the painstaking work and love for detail which Jeunet & Caro have put into it show everywhere you look.

This movie is definitely off-beat and I definitely love it!