BootDigest Such a frustrating disappointment

Inclubabu Plot so thin, it passes unnoticed.

2hotFeature one of my absolute favorites!

Ava-Grace Willis Story: It's very simple but honestly that is fine.

Greg Truffaut's film about making a film is rather like a documentary. There's no real drama, no real comedy, and in fact it made no emotional impact on me. The closest the film comes to being dramatic is one scene where we're told that one of the characters died off screen, and another in which an actress had been drinking and can't remember her lines, but even these are less weighty than what you might see in a made-for-TV movie about a runaway teenager.There's also a brief dream sequence in which the director as a boy steals movie stills from Citizen Kane, as Truffaut's alter ego Jean-Pierre Léaud did fourteen years earlier in The 400 Blows — a far, far better film. Speaking of Jean-Pierre Léaud, in 1973 he appeared not only in Day For Night but starred in Jean Eustache's masterpiece La Maman et la Putain. Check it out just to compare the performances, and the relative power of the two stories.Truffaut's friend and colleague Jean-Luc Godard reportedly walked out of Day For Night and then wrote him a letter saying that the film was "a lie", and the two never spoke again. I managed to watch the whole movie, but won't bother to a second time. Three stars for the physical beauty of Jacqueline Bisset, Dani, and Nathalie Baye.

kenjha A director must overcome financial and logistical obstacles as well as the personal problems of his stars while shooting a film in the south of France. This is probably Truffaut's best film. It offers a nice behind-the-scenes look at the film-making process. It bogs down somewhat in the latter stages with melodramatic situations, but mostly it hits the mark. Of course there is a dream sequence, but it is harmless and unpretentious. Although no one really stands out, the cast works well together, with Truffaut wisely giving himself the role of the director. It's interesting seeing Aumont and Cortese reminisce about working in Hollywood, as each actor did so since the 1940s.

Lechuguilla Making a movie can be grueling work. It can also be boring with lots of downtime, depending on level of contribution. Clashing egos, financial problems, technical glitches, snafus and pressures of all kinds also are common on movie sets. It's a grubby business, hardly the idolized fantasy of outsiders.The film's director Francois Truffaut plays the role of director Ferrand on the movie set of "Meet Pamela", the film within a film. All kinds of people participate in the making of "Meet Pamela", including the producer, the stunt man, sound man, prop man, and script girl. There's also a recalcitrant cat that won't do what it's supposed to do in its appointed scene. "We'll shoot the scene when you can dig up a cat that can act", growls the director. Funny stuff. Through it all, Ferrand does the best he can. And viewers get a peek at what goes into making a movie."Day For Night" belongs in the comedy-drama genre. There are funny moments. There are also quite serious moments. Some of the characters come across as insecure prima donnas, like the actress Severine (Valentina Cortese) who gets frustrated because she keeps opening the wrong door in one of her scenes. And midway through, a scene proves tragically prophetic, but it's very subtle.It's a talky film with the immense dialogue of a stage play. Which might explain why the film's pace seems speeded up. Dialogue is rushed, with a conspicuous absence of natural pauses in people's conversations. As such, "Day For Night" comes across as a bit contrived, forced, put-on. Which it is. But viewers are supposed to be getting the opposite impression. That's my main complaint, though, additionally, I would have recast the role of Alphonse.As movies about movies go, "Day For Night" is one of the better ones. Viewers do get a peek behind the camera. But the entire film is still fictional. And viewers would be mistaken if they assumed that "Day For Night" is movie-making realism.

sme_no_densetsu François Truffaut's "Day for Night" gives a behind-the-scenes glimpse into the world of movie-making. In the film, director Ferrand (Truffaut himself) does his best to keep shooting running smoothly despite a steady stream of personal and technical crises.Truffaut surrounded himself with a fine cast which included Oscar nominee Valentina Cortese as an aging diva whose drinking has adverse effects on her performance. Others who give memorable performances include Jean-Pierre Léaud & Jacqueline Bisset, though the entire cast performs admirably in my opinion.Truffaut's Oscar-nominated direction is naturally top-notch and the script (co-written by Truffaut) also received Oscar attention. However, I must admit that I didn't care for the Georges Delerue score, which is probably a matter of personal taste.Ultimately, "Day for Night" is an absorbing film about the trials and tribulations of movie-making. In Truffaut's hands it is lovingly crafted and exhibits a successful balance of entertainment and artistry.