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Le Jour se l�ve (Daybreak) (1939)

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Average Rating: 8.2/10
Reviews Counted: 8
Fresh: 7 | Rotten: 1

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Average Rating: N/A
Critic Reviews: 2
Fresh: 1 | Rotten: 1

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User Ratings: 878

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Movie Info

Marcel Carne and Jacques Prevert's classic of French poetic realism stars Jean Gabin in one of his most famous roles as Francois, a rough, barrel-chested loner who hides out in his apartment awaiting for the police to arrive. Francois has killed a man in a crime of passion, the slimy lothario Valentin (Jules Berry). As he listens in the darkness of his Normandy apartment to the police sirens closing in and getting louder, he recalls the two women that he loved -- Francoise (Jacqueline Laurent)

Unrated, 1 hr. 25 min.

Drama, Art House & International, Classics

Directed By: Marcel Carn�

On DVD: Sep 15, 2009

Cast

Jean Gabin
Francois
Jules Berry
M. Valentin
Arletty
Clara
Jacqueline Laurent
Francoise
Mady Berry
Janitor's Wife
Jacques Baumer
Police Inspector
Rene Genin
Janitor
Rene Bergeron
Cafe Owner
Bernard Blier
Gaston
Arthur Dev�re
Gerbois
Georges Douking
Blind Man
Gabrielle Fontan
Lady on Stairs
Germaine Lix
Singer
Marcel Peres
Paulo
L�once Corne

Critic Reviews for Le Jour se l�ve (Daybreak)

All Critics (9) | Top Critics (3) | Fresh (7) | Rotten (1) | DVD (2)

The pity of it all seems slightly forced, the melodramatics too obvious.

March 25, 2006 Full Review Source: New York Times

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Bosley Crowther

New York Times

Top Critic

The screenplay is by Jacques Prevert, the most accomplished dialogist of the period, and the famous sets, with their overtones of German expressionism, are by Alexander Trauner.

January 1, 2000 Full Review Source: Chicago Reader

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Dave Kehr

Chicago Reader

Top Critic

Set convincingly on the streets and in the tenements, every frame here feels lived in.

July 19, 2009 Full Review Source: MovieMartyr.com

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Jeremy Heilman

MovieMartyr.com

A superb example of French poetic realism.

January 9, 2008 Full Review Source: TV Guide's Movie Guide

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TV Guide's Movie Guide

What brings this film into greatness is the absolutely pitch-perfect lucid performance by Gabin.

March 24, 2007 Full Review Source: Ozus' World Movie Reviews

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Dennis Schwartz

Ozus' World Movie Reviews

Possibly the best of the Carn�-Pr�vert films, certainly their collaboration at its most classically pure.

June 24, 2006 Full Review Source: Time Out

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Tom Milne

Time Out

This is the best of the fatalistic dramas scripted by Pr�vert and directed by Carn�, a doom-laden romance, heavier on atmosphere than tension, and made memorable by the performances.

May 24, 2003 Full Review Source: Film4

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Film4

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Audience Reviews for Le Jour se l�ve (Daybreak)

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awesome, i saw this a long time ago

July 4, 2011

Bob Stinson

Super Reviewer

one of the great doomed romantic epics of poetic realism, with director marcel carn�, his writing partner, the poet jacques pr�vert, and the fatalistic hero of so many films of the era, jean gabin, all at the height of their powers. wonderful atmosphere

May 12, 2011