Day For Night - Francois Truffaut (1973)

Why it is in the book: "Amid the whimsical succession of ordinary situations, the rare, strong moments of drama occur as sudden interruptions that switch the mood" 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die

In today's DVD extra fascination, this film is great for not only watching just a good movie, but learning about the process of making one. The movie is about the making of "Meet Pamela" with the director being played by Truffaut himself. Day For Night focuses on the various cast and crew and their interactions with each other.

Truffaut does a great job of balancing a good story line with the intricacies of making a movie. I learned more from this movie than I have numerous "behind the scenes" features. First and foremost, every member of the cast and crew seem to have sex with one another. Scary thought when I think of movies like Cocoon. Everyone is very welcome for that visual.

The characters of the film are very well rounded and have great interaction between each other. The entry of American actress Jacqueline Bisset into the French "film" works to contrast the already established characters and brings more depth to the production. She has the most troubling past, but acts as the sanity check to everyone.

As the 1001 Movies book mentions, there are numerous mood changes through the film. It goes through the range of emotions from humour, drama, and to sadness. This is how it works so well to keep the audience interested in what could have turned into a completely boring feature.

I would recommend this movie to almost anyone. There are some slow portions, but I believe the subject matter is of interest to not only film enthusiasts, but also the typical moviegoer.

Day For Night IMDB Link

Day For Night DVD