Day and Night
Directed byBernard-Henri Lévy
Written byBernard-Henri Lévy
Jean-Paul Enthoven
Guadalupe Loaeza
Produced byJacques de Clercq
Eric Dussart
Denise Robert
StarringAlain Delon
Lauren Bacall
Arielle Dombasle
Francisco Rabal
CinematographyWilly Kurant
Edited byFrance Duez
Music byMaurice Jarre
Production
companies
Les Films du Lendemain
Cinémaginaire
Distributed byMKL Distribution
Release dates
  • 12 February 1997 (1997-02-12) (France)
  • 17 February 1997 (1997-02-17) (Berlin)
Running time
108 minutes
CountriesFrance
Belgium
Canada
Spain
LanguageFrench

Day and Night (French: Le Jour et la Nuit) is a 1997 French drama film directed by public intellectual Bernard-Henri Lévy and starring Alain Delon, Lauren Bacall, Arielle Dombasle and Francisco Rabal.[1][2][3] The film follows a French author who fled to Mexico for a quiet life and an actress who is willing to seduce him to get a part in a film adapted from one of his books.

Plot

Alexandre (Alain Delon) is an ageing writer who lives as a monarch in the depths of Mexico. Surrounded by his court (strange and mysterious characters), he staves off boredom with alcohol, boxing, women and ballooning. Desiring to acquire the adaptation rights of Alexandre's first novel, film producer Filippi (Karl Zéro) and his actress Laure (Arielle Dombasle) soon arrive in the life of the celebrated author. Alexandre and Laure gradually become closer and set off extreme passions in the heart of the community.

Cast

Reception

The film opened in France on 74 screens and grossed $236,256 in its opening week, ranking 14th at the box office.[4] The Independent described Day and Night as "an unmitigated critical disaster and a complete box office flop".[5] When the film premiered at the 47th Berlin International Film Festival in 1997, hundreds of journalists walked out of the screening and those that stayed audibly ridiculed the film.[6] Day and Night was considered the worst French film since 1945 by Cahiers du cinéma, and considered as a possible "worst film in history" by the French version of Slate.[7] Variety claimed that the film was, "Laugh-out-loud awful without touching the cult realm of 'so bad it's good". Françoise Giroud stated "It's a bad movie, there's no question",[6] L'Humanité called it an "Absolute debacle",[8] and Michel Houellebecq referred to it as the "most preposterous film in history".[9] English-language film site /Film described its status as "one of the worst foreign language movies ever made".[10] An original documentary, Anatomy of a Massacre, was released with the Day and Night DVD, and focused on the film's intense negative reception and failure.[11]

References

  1. ^ Roberto Chiesi Alain Delon 2003- Page 105 "Lévy avait présenté Le Jour et la nuit comme une histoire bigger than life, propre à évoquer l'atmosphère romanesque des mélos des années ..."
  2. ^ Philippe Durant Alain Delon/Jean-Paul Belmondo: Destins croisés -2004 Page 97 - "De même, Delon se retrouva sur le plateau de Bernard-Henri Lévy, grand condottiere intellectuel. Mais Le Jour et la nuit ne méritait pas son casting. Un coup d'épée dans l'eau pour Jean-Paul et Alain."
  3. ^ Le Figaro magazine - Issues 849-852 - Page v 1997 Un rôle d'écrivain exilé Dans Le jour et la nuit. le premier film de fiction de Bernard-Henri Lévy. Alain Delon interprète un écrivain que l'inspiration a abandonné. Comme dans « Variations énigmatiques », la pièce qu'il a jouée cet hiver au ...
  4. ^ "France Top 15". Screen International. 28 February 1997. p. 30. $1=FFR5.4
  5. ^ "Philosopher who thinks a turkey is a masterpiece". The Independent. 23 February 1997. Retrieved 10 May 2023.
  6. ^ a b Dahlburg, John-Thor (March 28, 1997). "The Film That Plato Didn't Make". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2013-10-14.
  7. ^ «Le Jour et la Nuit», pire film de l'histoire... Vraiment?
  8. ^ "The volcano a molehill". L'Humanité. February 19, 1997. Retrieved 2013-10-14.
  9. ^ Adams, Tim (8 December 2011). "Public Enemies by Michel Houellebecq and Bernard-Henri Lévy – review". The Guardian. Retrieved 8 May 2023.
  10. ^ Pearson, Ben (30 October 2018). "BBC Polls Critics, Releases 100 Greatest Foreign Films List". /Film. Retrieved 8 May 2023.
  11. ^ "BHL et la critique ciné, c'était le jour et la nuit". 20 minutes (France). October 11, 2010. Retrieved 2013-10-14.

External links

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