The Bride Wore Black (1968)
Movie Info
Cast
as Julie Kohler
as Corey
as Coral
as Fergus
as Bliss
as David
as Delvaux/Holmes
as Morane
as Miss Becker
as Morane's Son
as Plaintiff
as Charlie
as Julie's mother
as Mrs. Morane
as Maid
as Cookie Morane
as Inspector Fabri
as Mechanic
as Plaintiff
as Examining Magistrate
as Musician
as 2nd Musician
as Julie as a Child
as David as a Child
as Sabine
as Gilberte--Bliss's Fiancee
as Gilberte, Bliss's fiancee
as Model
as Fergus's friend
Critic Reviews for The Bride Wore Black
All Critics (16) | Top Critics (7) | Fresh (13) | Rotten (3) | DVD (1)
Truffaut suggests a nation straining to burst its carapace of moralism. The film's subject and its object converge in the same self-liberating social revolution that would shake the country the following year.
With its summery, Mediterranean surface, Jeanne Moreau as the ultimate femme fatale heroine and a knife-twisting tale of murderous revenge and unexpected romance, "The Bride Wore Black" is well worth rediscovering.
For all of Truffaut's digressive asides, deadpan gags, and lyrical cinephiliac touches, his slow-starting movie is overly schematic, emotionally shallow, and not so much fun.
Unfortunately, Truffaut fell into a pit of awkwardness on the project; editingwise, he's hardly in the league of Hitchcock, his sequences rushing ahead, his ironies too obvious.
Miss Moreau remains one of the screen's great actresses, and there is a supporting cast of unusual quality.
Truffaut is such a poetic filmmaker that the film turns around and becomes, not at all Hitchcockian, but a gentle comedy and one of the few plausible and strange love stories in a long time.
Audience Reviews for The Bride Wore Black
Truffaut making a film as an homage to Hitchcock is inherently interesting, since they were both such legends. This story is about a young woman (Jeanne Moreau) who was widowed on her wedding day when her husband was killed accidentally by five guys messing around with a rifle; she then seeks to kill them one by one, in revenge. She does this in some pretty unbelievable ways unfortunately, though the way she goes about the killing at the end was creative and a nice touch. Moreau is captivating, the dialogue is fun and in keeping with 1968 France, and Truffaut is a master at capturing great shots - but I have to say, he didn't match Hitchcock in creating tension or emotional drama, so this film ends up being a bit 'too cool', and thus falls short. It's certainly worth watching if you like these directors though.
Super Reviewer
Made it on my favorite list tens minutes into the film. The advertising team made a great decision to put full frontal nudity in the trailer. I always thought that was considered taboo in the 60's. This is the film Quentin Tarantino ripped off to make Kill Bill. He claims never to have seen it but I say otherwise. This film is unpopular so there is a chance that he hasn't. But it is ironic that the plot of this is a bride going around killing people for revenge, it's the exact same plot as Kill Bill. This film is a homage to Alfred Hitchcock who is one of Quentin's inspirations. So maybe that's why there both similar, just maybe. I find it hard to believe that Quentin is an Alfred Hitchcock fan yet hasn't watched a film that was inspired by Alfred. Overall this is one cool film. If you liked Kill Bill then watch this as well. It's not as violent as Kill Bill but it's still entertaining. The plot was okay. People say that this film has a big plot hole. That plot hole being, how did she find the men? She herself answered the plot hole. She said it took her a long time but she managed. Hello people, ever heard of phone books and public registries. There are ways to find people that you know nothing about. The men where staying at a hotel so she could have just gone to the hotel and got there names they signed with. Moving along, the writing was okay. I didn't like the scene at the beginning with the two guys. All they where talking about is women. It had nothing to do with the story and contributed nothing so that part should have been taken out. Other then that the rest of the dialogue was great. I really enjoyed reading the movie. The acting was really good. You could really get into the characters minds and feel there suffering. That's something I didn't feel in Kill Bill. The direction was superb by the same director of The 400 Blows. The camera angles where great. They used the camera angles I like because if a film doesn't have the camera angles I like then it does take away from the experience. This is probably the longest review I have ever written. It just goes to show you how much I love this film. If you are a fan of Alfred Hitchcock and foreign films then this is the perfect film for you.
Super Reviewer
Stylish revenge thriller by François Truffaut, who I think was rather too ponderous, subtle and out of his element everytime he tried to get into Hitchcock territory; but with the macabre Bernard Herrmann in the music, and the sophisticated and calm Jeanne Moreau; he had winning aces.
Super Reviewer
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