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 an underpass tunnel.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 an underpass tunnel.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 an underpass tunnel.
- Awards
- 3 wins & 13 nominations
Videos4
Monica Bellucci
- Alexas Alex
- (as Bellucci)
Vincent Cassel
- Marcusas Marcus
- (as Cassel)
Albert Dupontel
- Pierreas Pierre
- (as Dupontel)
Philippe Nahon
- L'hommeas L'homme
- (as Nahon)
Jo Prestia
- Le Teniaas Le Tenia
- (as Prestia)
Stéphane Drouot
- Stéphaneas Stéphane
- (as Drouot)
Jean-Louis Costes
- Fistmanas Fistman
- (as Costes)
Mick Gondouin
- Mickas Mick
- (as Gondouin)
Mourad Khima
- Mouradas Mourad
- (as Khima)
Layde Hellal
- Laydeas Layde
- (as Hellal)
Michel Fesche
- Chauffeur Taxias Chauffeur Taxi
- (as Fesche)
Victoria Jaramillo
- Conchaas Concha
- (as Jaramillo)
Jean-Yves Le Quellec
- Inspecteuras Inspecteur
- (as Le Quellec)
Fatima Adoum
- Fatimaas Fatima
- (as Adoum)
Janice Foulaux
- Janiceas Janice
- (as Foulaux)
- Director
- Writer
- All cast & crew
- See more cast details at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaThe first thirty minutes of the film has a background sound with a low frequency of 27 Hz which is almost infrasonic (this sounds like a rumble/vibration), similar types of noises are at times used by police to stop riots. According to Gaspar himself, this could only be heard in theaters (which usually have huge sound systems/subwoofers) and not from headphones or regular home theaters. In humans, this noise causes nausea, sickness, and vertigo. It was one of the reasons people walked out of screenings during the first part of the film. In fact, it was added by Thomas Bangalter (from the electronic music group Daft Punk) to get this reaction.
- GoofsAt the party Vincent Cassel gives his characters name as "Vincent" instead of "Marcus." He quickly covers his mistake and saves the scene.
- Crazy creditsAs would be expected of a film that runs backwards, the "end credits" appear at the beginning of the film and scroll in reverse. There are no credits or studio logos at the end of the film, only the title card "Le temps détruit tout" ("Time destroys everything").
- Alternate versionsA new version, called "Irréversible - Inversion Intégrale" ("Irréversible - Straight Cut" in English), was screened in 2019 at the 76th annual Venice International Film Festival. It has been recut to put the narration in chronological order.
- ConnectionsFeatured in Zomergasten: Episode #18.6 (2005)
Top review
Overrated shock value, devoid of any real art, and not a particularly good film...
This film is ugly, brutal, depressing, visceral, and hopeless. The first time I saw it, I was devastated. I reeled for days afterwards. But seeing it a 2nd time, I didn't care for it as much, in fact, I feel I've been had. Its impact is really felt the first time you see it, because seeing it the 2nd time, you realise a lot of things about it that aren't particularly good. Most of the dialogue is poor (most of it was improvised, and not very well), the violence of the film is purposely over the top, and Noe the director seems to delight in showing nasty stuff without really bringing a sense of art to it. He enjoys rubbing your face in the sleazy, horrific violence, but has no purpose other than saying "life is brutal". I can't deny that the film did have a great impact upon first viewing, but too often when one's sense are assaulted (like they are here), you can mistake that for great, artistic film-making.
Technically, the film is astounding. It was shot mostly in long takes, but edited together with CGI effects (the smashing of the head in the gay bar at the beginning was done digitally, as part of the rape scene). It's definitely a curiosity, but realise what you're getting into. It's really not for the squeamish. The opening scene in the gay bar is dizzying and brutal, and the rape scene is beyond brutal. Noe films the rape scene in one take, which makes it even more difficult to watch. Is the film art? No, it isn't. Simply because the film polarized audiences doesn't make it art (a common assumption by people). Noe's films (he's only complete 2 features) aren't really deep or anything, just pessimistic and brutal.
A telling episode about Noe happened a year or so ago. The IFC Theater in NYC has a feature they do occasionally. They bring in a filmmaker to introduce a film they admire. Noe showed his first film, I Stand Alone, and Pasolini's Salo. After Noe's film concluded, he talked to the audience on why he wanted to show Salo. All he talked about was the coprophilia scenes (aka the s**t eating scenes). He didn't talk about anything else that Salo had to offer (in terms of its message on fascism, sexual perversion, the cinematography, the production design). Salo, or the 120 Days of Sodom is actually an excellent film. It's incredibly depressing and brutal, but has a real sense of art and is a genuinely controversial film, even to this day. Noe's films (he's made only 2) are not like this at all. Both I Stand Alone and Irreversible hit you in the face the first time you see them, but you shake it off, and Noe has nothing more to give you. This film has no resonance at all. It's just for shock value.
Technically, the film is astounding. It was shot mostly in long takes, but edited together with CGI effects (the smashing of the head in the gay bar at the beginning was done digitally, as part of the rape scene). It's definitely a curiosity, but realise what you're getting into. It's really not for the squeamish. The opening scene in the gay bar is dizzying and brutal, and the rape scene is beyond brutal. Noe films the rape scene in one take, which makes it even more difficult to watch. Is the film art? No, it isn't. Simply because the film polarized audiences doesn't make it art (a common assumption by people). Noe's films (he's only complete 2 features) aren't really deep or anything, just pessimistic and brutal.
A telling episode about Noe happened a year or so ago. The IFC Theater in NYC has a feature they do occasionally. They bring in a filmmaker to introduce a film they admire. Noe showed his first film, I Stand Alone, and Pasolini's Salo. After Noe's film concluded, he talked to the audience on why he wanted to show Salo. All he talked about was the coprophilia scenes (aka the s**t eating scenes). He didn't talk about anything else that Salo had to offer (in terms of its message on fascism, sexual perversion, the cinematography, the production design). Salo, or the 120 Days of Sodom is actually an excellent film. It's incredibly depressing and brutal, but has a real sense of art and is a genuinely controversial film, even to this day. Noe's films (he's made only 2) are not like this at all. Both I Stand Alone and Irreversible hit you in the face the first time you see them, but you shake it off, and Noe has nothing more to give you. This film has no resonance at all. It's just for shock value.
helpful•11073
- GrigoryGirl
- Mar 9, 2008
Details
Box office
- Gross US & Canada
- $792,200
- Opening weekend US & Canada
- $60,086
- Mar 9, 2003
- Gross worldwide
- $6,479,328
- Runtime1 hour 37 minutes
- Color
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 2.35 : 1
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