Les visiteurs du soir (1942)

Director:

Marcel Carné

Writers:

Jacques Prévert (writer) and
Pierre Laroche (writer)

Release Date:

29 August 1947 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Fantasy | Romance

Plot:

At the end of the 15th century, two minstrels Gilles and Dominique come from nowhere into the castle of Baron Hugues...

Plot Keywords:

Devil | Love | Baron | Castle | Fire

Cast

Arletty	...	Dominique
Marie Déa	...	Anne
Fernand Ledoux	...	Le baron Hugues
Alain Cuny	...	Gilles
Pierre Labry	...	Le seigneur
Jean d'Yd	...	Le baladin
Roger Blin	...	Le montreur de monstres
Gabriel Gabrio	...	Le bourreau
Marcel Herrand	...	Le baron Renaud
Jules Berry	...	Le diable

Also Known As:

The Devil's Envoys (International: English title)
Der Teufel gibt sich die Ehre (West Germany) [de]
Die Nacht mit dem Teufel (Germany) [de]
Die Satansboten (Austria) [de]
Ikuinen rakkaus (Finland) [fi]
L'amore e il diavolo (Italy) [it]
Los visitantes de la noche (Argentina) [es]
Nattens gäster (Sweden) [sv]
Os trovadores Malditos (Portugal) [pt]
Wieczorni goscie (Poland) [pl]

Runtime:

120 min | USA:115 min

Country:

France

Language:

French

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Sound System)

Certification:

Finland:S | Sweden:15 | West Germany:12 (f)

Filming Locations:

Franstudio, Saint-Maurice, Val-de-Marne, France

Company:

Productions André Paulvé

Movie Connections:

Featured in Histoire(s) du cinéma: La monnaie de l'absolu (1998) (V)

Carné and Prévert at their best

Simply the most beautiful and moving movie that stemmed from the "réalisme poétique" movement. A truly atemporal story, despite the resistance allusions which can live long after the end of WWII.

What makes me really love this movie is the contrast between the very dated conventions of acting, the seemingly slow pace that was the rule at a time the video clips were still waiting in an unforeseeable future and the perfect consistency of the characters and psychology. The emotion is still intact no matter how much the way actors and directors are supposed to convey it has changed over decades.

What a bunch of great actors! True professionals working seamlessly together to serve a masterly written script. I really advise non-french speaking people to watch it in original version with subtitles, to enjoy the music of Prevert's poetic lines.

This movie is a real gem.