Nuits Rouges (lit. Red Nights, in French) is a 1974 French-Italian crime thriller film directed by Georges Franju. The film was released in the U.S. in an English-dubbed version by New Line Cinema under the title Shadowman in 1975. It is an adaptation of a 1973 French-Italian-Yugoslav TV mini-series titled "L'Homme sans visage" (The Man Without a Face).[5]
| Nuits Rouges | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Directed by | Georges Franju |
| Screenplay by | Jacques Champreaux[2] |
| Produced by | Raymond Froment[2] |
| Starring | |
| Cinematography | Guido Renzo Bertoni[2] |
| Edited by | Gilbert Natot[2] |
| Music by | Georges Franju |
Production companies |
|
| Distributed by | Planfilm[3] |
Release date |
|
Running time | 105 minutes |
| Countries |
|
| Language | French[4] |
Premise edit
Paul de Borrego is a scholar whose field of research is the history of Templars. His discoveries are used by a criminal organisation led by the mysterious Faceless Man to help the latter expand his army of killers composed of people with dead brains.
Cast edit
- Gayle Hunnicutt as the woman
- Jacques Champreux as the Faceless Man
- Josephine Chaplin as Martine Leduc
- Ugo Pagliai as Paul de Borrego
- Gert Froebe as Police commissioner Sorbier
Production edit
Nuits Rouges was filmed in 1973.[6] The film is a 100-minute theatrical version of a film originally commissioned for television.[6] The budget for the film was so modest that Franju had to film all interiors of the film on a studio set.[7]
Jacques Champreux (Louis Feuillade's grandson[8]) who plays one the lead roles, had directed the series that inspired the film. He also had worked on Franju's Judex, which was also based on a film series.[9]
Nuits Rouges is Franju's last feature film.[10]
Release edit
Nuits Rouges was released on November 20, 1974, in France.[11]
Reception edit
Nuits Rouges received mixed and even mocking reviews from French critics on its release.[12] Nuits Rouges was released on DVD in the United Kingdom as part of Eureka's Masters of Cinema series along with another film by Georges Franju, Judex (1963) in 2008.[13]
Notes edit
- ^ "Nuits Rouges". BFI Film & Television Database. London: British Film Institute. Archived from the original on January 17, 2009. Retrieved November 17, 2013.
- ^ a b c d e "Credits". BFI Film & Television Database. London: British Film Institute. Archived from the original on February 1, 2009. Retrieved November 17, 2013.
- ^ "Nuits rouges (1973) Georges Franju". Bifi.fr (in French). Retrieved November 17, 2013.
- ^ "Release". BFI Film & Television Database. London: British Film Institute. Archived from the original on February 1, 2009. Retrieved November 17, 2013.
- ^ Baudou, Jacques; Shleret, Jean-Jacques (1989-12-31). Meurtres en séries : les séries policières de la télévision française (in French). FeniXX réédition numérique. ISBN 978-2-402-09240-1.
- ^ a b Ince, 2005. p. 58
- ^ Ince, 2005. p.59
- ^ "Nuits rouges (Georges Franju, 1973) - La Cinémathèque française". www.cinematheque.fr (in French). Retrieved 2023-10-22.
- ^ Ince, Kate (2005-07-22). Georges Franju. Manchester University Press. ISBN 978-0-7190-6828-7.
- ^ Buache, Freddy (1996-01-01). Georges Franju : poésie et vérité: Rétrospective G. Franju organisée par le Festival de Belfort-Entrevues, 23 novembre-1er décembre 1996 (in French). FeniXX. ISBN 978-2-307-25154-5.
- ^ Erlewine, Iotis. "Nuits Rouges". Allmovie. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved November 17, 2013.
- ^ Ince, 2005. p.60-61
- ^ "Nuits rouges". Eureka Video. Archived from the original on May 9, 2013. Retrieved November 17, 2013.
References edit
- Ince, Kate (2005). Georges Franju. Manchester University Press. ISBN 0-7190-6828-2.
External links edit
- Nuits Rouges at IMDb
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