Day for Night (1973)

Delicate and volatile relationships on the set -- Truffaut celebrates the triumph and struggle behind cinema

Day for Night has not aged quite as well as some of Truffaut's other films, since it feels like an homage to a bygone era, but that is partly because it has influenced so many subsequent portrayals of what goes on behind the scenes during the making of a film, and it is partly because the filmmakers wanted to make an homage to an older style of filmmaking. Tom di Cillo's "Living in Oblivion" for example is the American indie version of Day for Night -- more cynical, even more funny, but not nearly so complex or profound. Day for Night almost wants to be a tragedy, and while the fact that the film gets finished in the end lends the film a comic dimension, it is clear that Truffaut knows life is never so neatly packaged. That is, in fact, the central theme of the film: that life is unpredictable and often tragic, but cinema makes magic of tragedy, and is worth the sacrifice that are made for it. The acting is very real and compelling -- especially when you recall that most of the actors play essentially two roles: their stage role and their character. The film itself seamlessly moves between scenes that are shot for the film within a film and scenes shot of the filming process and of the lives of the actors and crew. I did enjoy the fact that Truffaut included himself as the director of the film with the film that he was also directing; I also enjoyed a great deal the glimpse into what seems to be his process of working with actors and improvising in response to the demands of situations.

My only complaint is that there are a few fairly heavy-handed elements in the film, that belie Truffaut's otherwise light and subtle touch. At a few moments in the film we can hear what a character is thinking through voiceover -- and it seemed somewhat sporadic and inconsistent rather than the result of a coherent approach. When Truffaut (playing a director) falls asleep he hears voices (usually his own) and then dreams -- and the dreams are always of a little boy walking down the street in black and white. The dreams don't fit as clearly or as lightly into the film as similar sequences in Fellini's 8 1/2 (a film that this film is obviously comparing itself to at certain points). Though it seems that the boy in the dream must be the director, it wasn't clear to me what the dreams revealed other than: this is someone who, from an early age, was fascinated by film (and, possibly, felt guilty about "stealing" from Orson Welles). But I'm not sure why we needed three separate dream sequences (or any at all) to convey what seemed already clear -- at another moment the director opens a package of books and they are books about several of the great western directors including Orson Welles, Fellini, and Cocteau. Even that seemed a bit heavy handed -- was the point to make a comparison or to suggest a feeling of inadequacy?

On the whole, though, in spite of a few reservations that may be peculiar to me, this is an excellent film that belongs especially among the very great films about film: 8 1/2, Stardust Memories, Living in Oblivion, Beware of a Holy Whore, State and Main, and a few others. Highly recommended for lovers of film. May 13, 2008

Must-watch french movie from one Master filmmaker!

If you haven't watch it, you should. If you have, congratulations, you've watched one of the masterpieces of cinema history! March 30, 2008

Truffaut's Love Letter to Cinema.

"Francois Truffaut's funny and touching film, 'Day for Night,' is not only the best movie ever made about the movies, but is also a great entertainment"--Roger Ebert.

While French Director, François Truffaut (1932-1984) is best known for his "Antoine Doinel Cycle" (Adventures of Antoine Doinel (The 400 Blows / Antoine & Collette / Stolen Kisses / Bed & Board / Love on the Run), and for his films Jules and Jim and The Story of Adele H., his lesser gems from the '70s like Small Change (L'argent de poche) and Day for Night (La Nuit américaine), shine just as brilliantly. Day for Night is an Academy Award winning dramatic comedy about the filmmaking process. Stated differently, it is a movie about making movies. Set in the Victorine Studio in Nice, it tells the story of a director filming a doomed French melodrama entitled "Meet Pamela" (in which a British girl falls in love with her French husband's father). "When I begin a film, I want to make a great film," the director comments during production. "Halfway through, I just hope to finish the film." Jean-Pierre Aumont plays Alexandre, Valentina Cortese plays aging diva Séverine, Jean-Pierre Léaud plays love-struck heartthrob Alphonse, beautiful Jacqueline Bisset plays Julie Baker (an actress recovering from a nervous breakdown and a scandal). The film offers fans of Truffaut a behind-the-scenes glimpse into his challenges and obsessions as a filmmaker.

In two of my favorite scenes in the film, Ferrand (Truffaut) opens a package of books on the film directors he most admires, including Luis Buñuel, Carl Theodor Dreyer, Ingmar Bergman, Ernst Lubitsch, Alfred Hitchcock, Jean-Luc Godard, and Robert Bresson. In another scene, he reminisces about stealing a still from Citizen Kane from a theater as a boy. Film buffs will thrill at the many inside allusions to other films such as Renoir's The Rules of the Game and Marcel Ophüls's documentary The Sorrow and the Pity (cleverly used to describe a marriage). Day for Night will delight anyone who loves great movies.

G. Merritt March 13, 2008

WARNING

Despite the image in the listing clearly depicting the newer Warner Home Video re-issue in a Keep Case packaging, I purchased this last week and was sent what was obviously leftover stock of the old Snap Case version!

I am waiting for a replacement to arrive in the mail but I wouldn't be surprised if they sent em the exact same thing and I have the same problem again as the customer service rep that I spoke with on the phone did not seem to understand a word I said and was not particularly fluent in English nor did she seem to know very much about the products her company was selling (ie. DVD's).

So don't order this DVD expecting any sort of assurance that you will be getting the reissued packaging just because of the image in the listing. I paid more than I would've at other online retailers based on this and I hope it's sorted out soon. If I purchase something from a company based on what I see listed on their website and they send me something else, that is considered false advertising. Even if it wasn't intentional. So if you are reading this AMAZON, please stop mailing out old stock and send the Snap Cases back to Warner Bros. Otherwise, change the picture in the listing to reflect what people are actually paying for!

I could have bought the same DVD at my local retailer for half the cost had I known it was just the old packaging. The reason I ordered is because I want the KEEP CASE re-issue. Please correct this with the exchange you are sending me!

Thank you.


PS: The stars rating is obviously based on the film itself and not Amazon's screw-up.


UPDATE: Apparently the Keep Case version is ONLY available in the "International Cinema Collection". Not on it's own! AMAZON should really update the product image as it is False Advertising! October 29, 2007

Estupenda película

Wonderful film, that any lover of the cinema cannot be lost, mainly
because is cinema within the cinema and the magic of the
cinematographic accomplishment. The DVD has good extras, documentary
and interviews, although some do not have without subtitles and that
can be annoying for some people hispanoparlanntes.

My only complaint is that the broken box arrived and evidentmente was
not broken by bad maipulación during its transport, since noticed
that already it was broken before empacar it. September 13, 2007

More reviews at Amazon.com ...