Day for Night
A movie for people who love movies.
Overview
A committed film director struggles to complete his movie while coping with a myriad of crises, personal and professional, among the cast and crew.
Backdrop
What makes this movie Worth Watching
Released in 1973, 'Day for Night' arrives at a key point in the French New Wave. It can be viewed as a reflection on the changing landscape of cinema and Truffaut's own evolving relationship with filmmaking, moving from a rebellious outsider to a more established figure within the industry. The film also addresses themes of artistic collaboration, personal sacrifice, and the constant struggle to create meaningful work in a world obsessed with entertainment.
- Offers a fascinating and intimate behind-the-scenes look at the chaotic and often absurd world of filmmaking.
- Features strong performances from a stellar cast, including Jacqueline Bisset, Jean-Pierre Léaud, and François Truffaut himself.
- Explores themes of love, obsession, and the blurred lines between reality and fiction, which are all central to Truffaut's work.
- It's a deeply personal and self-reflective film, providing insights into Truffaut's own creative process and anxieties as a director.
Fun Facts
- The film's French title, 'La Nuit Américaine,' refers to the technique of shooting daytime scenes with filters and underexposure to simulate nighttime, also known as 'day-for-night' in English.
- Several scenes in the film were inspired by Truffaut's own experiences as a filmmaker, including the struggles with temperamental actors and the challenges of managing a film set.
- The cat that appears several times throughout the film was Truffaut's own pet.
Available Languages
English
US
Title: Day for Night
"A movie for people who love movies."
Deutsch
DE
Title: Die amerikanische Nacht
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Français
FR
Title:
"Un film pour ceux qui aiment le cinéma."
Italiano
IT
Title: Effetto notte
"Un film per le persone che amano fare film."
Español
ES
Title: La noche americana
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普通话
CN
Title: 日以作夜
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Where to Watch
Cast
Crew
Reviews
It's quite hard to succinctly review this Truffaut comedy - there is just so much going on. Essentially, Jacqueline Bisset ("Julie") is brought to Nice to star in a movie about a British woman who is married to a Frenchman. She comes to meet his family and promptly falls in love with her husband's father and so leaves him to shack up with his dad. It turns out, as the production progresses that the producer "Bertrand" (Jean Champion) and the director "Ferrand" (Truffaut himself) have to deal with an whole gamut of issues as the cast - all assembled in a small hotel - come with more baggage than the Queen Mary. "Julie" is recovering from a failed marriage and a nervous breakdown; "Séverine" (Valentina Cortese) is having an affair - but with a bottle, and Jean-Pierre Léaud steals the film as the petulant and high-maintenance "Alphonse". It reminded me a little of Fellini's "8½" from ten years earlier, another behind the scenes as a movie is made story - but it could hardly be more different. Here, the cast and the crew could not have been more dysfunctional - a trait of the creative, I believe - but in the end somehow or other there is a chance the film might actually get made! It is good fun, and the odd contribution from Jean-Pierre Aumont help keep this 2 hour extravaganza moving along entertainingly. Georges Delerue's jaunty score compliments the lovely open-ness of this production, and I really enjoyed this film.
Oscar Awards
Wins
FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM - 1973
None
Nominations
ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE - 1974
Valentina Cortese
DIRECTING - 1974
Francois Truffaut
WRITING (Original Screenplay) - 1974
Francois Truffaut, Jean-Louis Richard, Suzanne Schiffman
Media
Trailer
Day for Night (1973) ORIGINAL TRAILER [HD 1080p]
Featurette
Neil LaBute on DAY FOR NIGHT