The Bride Wore Black

Starring:Jeanne Moreau, Michel Bouquet, Jean-Claude Brialy, Charles Denner, Claude Rich, Michael Lonsdale, Daniel Boulanger, Alexandra Stewart, Sylvine Delannoy, Luce Fabiole, MichÃ¨le Montfort, Jacqueline Rouillard, Paul Pavel, Gilles QuÃ©ant, Serge Rousseau, Van Doude, Christophe Bruno, Jacques Robiolles, Elisabeth Rey, MichÃ¨le Viborel
Director: FranÃ§ois Truffaut
Studio: MGM (Video & DVD)
Product Type: DVD

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François Truffaut's 1968 thriller was an attempt to reconcile the exclusive experience of the Hitchcockian hero with the expansiveness of Jean Renoir's view of flawed humanity. Jeanne Moreau stars as a newlywed whose husband is shot dead on the church steps following their wedding. The story then follows her systematic and relentless efforts to track down the men who were involved in the killing, murdering each one with a creative efficiency that Truffaut does not mean for us to take too seriously. The film's real point is the interesting tension between the audience's growing knowledge about and sympathy toward the guilty fellows, who really are rather ordinary people, and the narrative hook concerning the heroine's reinvention into a figure of insulated emotion and revenge. (Moreau's character resembles nothing so much as the pathological but vulnerable title character of Hitchcock's Marnie.) The Bride Wore Black (based on a novel by Cornell Woolrich) is not meant to be taken as an object lesson in irony, however. In the finest and most entertaining tradition of Hollywood movies (certainly most of Hitchcock's movies), one can watch Truffaut's film without giving a thought to anything other than its own smooth movement. Take a step back, however, and there are riches to be explored. --Tom Keogh

Description

An engrossing, enigmatic tale of passion and revenge, this 1969 Golden GlobeÂ(r) nominee* from FranÃ§ois Truffaut and co-writer Jean Louis Richard is "cool, witty and disturbingly heartless" (Saturday Review). The bewitching Jeanne Moreau is "simultaneously stunning, chilling and altogether remarkable" (Boxoffice) as a woman who will stop at nothing to avenge her husband's death! Julie (Moreau), a beautiful young bride, has just married her childhood sweatheart and love of her life. But just moments after the ceremony, her beloved is murdered on the steps of thechurch. Emotionally distraught, Julie becomes obsessed with her bridegroom's death and begins a descent into madness as she relentlessly pursues the men responsible. One by one, Julie sees to their demise, and, with each murder more bone chilling and diabolically clever than the last, the question is not who will be next--but rather how they will meet their ghastly end. *Foreign Language Film

Customer Reviews:

A wonderful Hitchcockian black comedy of murder and revenge by Truffaut, starring Jeanne Moreau.......2006-12-04

Truffaut said The Bride Wore Black was his homage to Hitchcock. A great homage it is, with that Bernard Herrmann score, murderous psychological ambiguity, bad things happening on warm, sunlit days and a complex -- and looney -- main character. Think of it as a black comedy with enough riffs on Vertigo to smile at. Just as importantly, while the film may be Truffaut's homage to Hitchcock, the film remains completely Truffaut's. It's one of his best, and features a wonderful performance by Jeanne Moreau as a woman whose husband is shot and killed as they're standing on the church steps just after they've been married. After recovering from the shock, depression and a suicide attempt, Julie Kohler decides to do something about the five men responsible. If you are unfortunate enough to hear the whispered words, "Je suis Julie Kohler," they will be the last words you'll ever hear.

Julie methodically checks off the names on her list as she finds ways to see that her version of justice is done. She may be obsessed, but she knows exactly what she's doing...and she is implacable. Jeanne Moreau, with those plump, downward-turning lips and puffy smoker's eyes, has never been better. Moreau is an extraordinary actress. She had features that at times could seem almost coarse, but then almost beautiful and certainly desirable. She had a strange fusion of intelligence which challenged and a vastly intriguing nature. I could easily picture her watching Casanova with those reserved, quiet eyes while he struggled to mumble self-consciously, "I love you." Moreau can do more with a stare, a look, a glance than just about any actress I know.

As much as the movie is a joy to watch, the last five minutes has a conclusion that is unexpected and completely satisfying. I think even Hitchcock would have had a smile on his face as he patted Truffaut on the back.

The Bride Wore Black has a fine DVD transfer. It is not anamorphic. There are no extras of any importance. Let's hope it gets reissued not only anamorphic, but with the substantial extras on Truffaut and Moreau the film deserves. For those fans of Truffaut and Hitchcock, you may find of interest Hitchcock (Revised Edition) by Helen G. Scott and Francois Truffaut. The book covers the lengthy interviews Truffaut had with Hitchcock as they discussed Hitchcock's work and each of his films.

The Bride Wore Black (1968) - Francois Truffaut.......2005-10-14

The Bride Wore Black is yet another average film by the always irregular French director Francois Truffaut. Truffaut is such a talented director that it's a shame he never quite found his place before his untimely death. Barrowing elements from Hitchcock, and mixing it with some oddly placed comedy, The Bride Wore Black is a mishmash of cruelty and farse that never comes together to form anything coherent. Visually the film is good, and the music is nice and fitting, but none of these elements saves the ridiculous story from veering off in too many different directions. The Bride Wore Black is ultimately a film that doesn't know what it wants to be, just as Truffaut never quite found what type of films he wanted to make.

An entertaining murder melodrama!.......2005-10-09

Dedicated to Hitchcock, whom Truffaut admired so much, it tells us the sordid revenge of a suddenly when leaving behind the church minutes ago, his husband is shot by three men. He will assume the role of Fair Agent even she has to be in jail in order to come to the last act.
Jeanne Moreau as always was magnificent and the rest of the cast too.

An excellent, original movie.......2005-10-05

"The Bride Wore Black" is not your typical French film. It keeps your attention throughout the whole film. I have never come across something quite like it.

The film is centered around a woman, who is seeking to kill five men. When the film commences, you have no idea exactly why she is doing this. Through her clever tactics, she manages to kill them all.

As the film progresses you understand each piece of the puzzle, and by the end, the puzzle fits together, and you learn exactly why the film is called "The Bride Wore Black" and why she needed to get her revenge.

Truffault and Moreau: Who Could Ask for Anything More.......2005-09-08

Truffault brilliantly brought to the screen Cornell Woolrich's outstandingly paranoiac thriller, The Bride Wore Black. And who but Moreau could have played the role of the relentless avenger who finds so many inventive modes to destroy those who killed her husband. On the church steps! I like Truffault's ending better than the novel's contrived ironic one. The novel, though fine, lacks the melancholic and weirdly comic quality of the film. It is a film that puts one in the uncomfortable position of rooting for its murderous heroine though one of her muders is especially distressing to both her and us because the victim is endearing. But see for yourself.

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