Un condamné à mort s'est échappé ou Le vent souffle où il veut (1956)

User Rating:

7.9/10   

Director:

Robert Bresson

Writers:

Robert Bresson (scenario and dialogue)
André Devigny (memoir)

Release Date:

26 August 1957 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Thriller | War

Plot:

French Resistance activist Andre Devigny is imprisoned by the Nazis, and devotes his waking hours to planning an elaborate escape...

Plot Keywords:

French Resistance | Escape | Nazi | Prison | Spoon

Awards:

Nominated for BAFTA Film Award. Another 2 wins & 1 nomination

Cast

François Leterrier	...	Fontaine
Charles Le Clainche	...	Jost
Maurice Beerblock	...	Blanchet
Roland Monod	...	Priest of Leiris
Jacques Ertaud	...	Orsini
Jean Paul Delhumeau	...	Hebrard
Roger Treherne	...	Terry
Jean Philippe Delamarre	...	Le Prisonnier 110
César Gattegno	...	Prisoner X
Jacques Oerlemans	...	Chief Warden
Klaus Detlef Grevenhorst	...	L'Officier de L'Abwehr
Leonhard Schmidt	...	Escort Guard
Roger Planchon	...	Guard on a Bike
Max Schöndorff	...	Soldat Allemand
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
André Collombet	...	(uncredited)

Directed by
Robert Bresson

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Robert Bresson		scenario and dialogue
André Devigny		memoir

Produced by
Alain Poiré	....	producer
Jean Thuillier	....	producer

Cinematography by
Léonce-Henri Burel		(as L.H. Burel)

Film Editing by
Raymond Lamy

Production Design by
Pierre Charbonnier

Art Direction by
Pierre Charbonnier

Production Management
Irénée Leriche	....	assistant production supervisor
Robert Sussfeld	....	production supervisor

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Jacques Ballanche	....	assistant director
Michel Clément	....	assistant director

Art Department
Sydney Bettex	....	assistant production designer

Sound Department
Joseph Abjean	....	sound assistant
Pierre-André Bertrand	....	sound engineer
Guy Rophé	....	sound assistant

Camera and Electrical Department
Jean-Louis Castelli	....	still photographer
Jean Charvein	....	first assistant camera
Jean Chiabaut	....	second assistant camera
Henri Raichi	....	assistant camera

Editorial Department
Anne Kespars	....	assistant editor

Music Department
I. Disenhaus	....	conductor

Other crew
Annie Dubouillon	....	script girl
Andrew Litvack	....	subtitler: English (1994 version)
Anne Walter	....	production assistant (uncredited)

Production Companies

• Gaumont
• Nouvelles Éditions de Films (NEF)

Distributors

• Gaumont (1956) (France) (theatrical) (as Gaumont Distribution)
• Continental Distributing (1957) (USA) (theatrical) (English subtitles)
• Artificial Eye (2008) (UK) (DVD)
• Gala Film Distributors (1960) (UK) (theatrical)
• Kinokuniya (2009) (Japan) (DVD)
• New Yorker Films (1994) (USA) (VHS) (new English subtitles)
• New Yorker Films (2004) (USA) (DVD)
• Prodimag (2006) (Spain) (DVD)

Other Companies

• Franstudio  studio facilities

Also Known As:

A Man Escaped (International: English title)
A Man Escaped or: The Wind Bloweth Where It Listeth (USA) (complete title)
Le vent souffle où il veut (France) (short title)
Apodrasis mellothanaton (Greece) (reissue title) [el]
Ein zum Tode Verurteilter ist entflohen (West Germany) [de]
En dödsdömd har rymt (Sweden) [sv]
En dødsdømt flygter (Denmark) [da]
Enas katadikasmenos se thanato edrapetefse (Greece) [el]
Fugiu Um Condenado à Morte (Portugal) [pt]
Ha-Nidon L'Muv'it Barah (Israel: Hebrew title) [iw]
Kuolemaantuomittu on karannut (Finland) [fi]
Rangaistusvanki on karannut eli tuuli puhaltaa siellä missä haluaa (Finland) [fi]
Um Condenado à Morte Escapou (Brazil) [pt]
Un condannato a morte è scappato (Italy) [it]
Un condenado a muerte se ha escapado (Spain) [es]

Runtime:

99 min | Portugal:90 min (censored version)

Country:

France

Language:

French | German

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Sound System)

Certification:

USA:Not Rated | UK:U (1990) | Australia:PG | Finland:K-16 | Norway:12 | Sweden:15

Filming Locations:

Prison de Montluc, Lyon, Rhône, Rhône-Alpes, France

Company:

Gaumont

Trivia:

After seeing the film, Jean-Luc Godard said that Bresson was "to French cinema what Mozart is to German music and Dostoevsky is to Russian literature".

Movie Connections:

Referenced in De weg naar Bresson (1984)

Soundtrack:

Great Mass in Do Minor, No.16 (K.427) - Kyrie

Amazing, one of the best movies ever made

Though the title seems to ruin the end, the movie isn't boring for a moment. Suspense to the end. Marvelous filmmaking. The movie follows slowly and quietly the day of the prisoner who's to be executed and plans an escape. I don't know what else to say. You have to watch this. 32 of the 46 voters gave it a 10! Genius. They don't make movies like this often. Must See for movie lovers and all.