Irréversible (2002)

User Rating:

7.3/10   

Director:

Gaspar Noé

Writer:

Gaspar Noé (writer)

Release Date:

22 May 2002 (France)

Genre:

Crime | Drama | Mystery | Thriller

Tagline:

Le temps détruit tout - Time destroys everything

Plot:

Events over the course of one traumatic night in Paris unfold in reverse-chronological order as the...

Plot Keywords:

Night | Revenge | Rapist | Paris France | Gore

Awards:

2 wins & 5 nominations

Cast

Monica Bellucci	...	Alex
Vincent Cassel	...	Marcus
Albert Dupontel	...	Pierre
Jo Prestia	...	Le Tenia
Philippe Nahon	...	Philippe
Stéphane Drouot	...	Stéphane
Jean-Louis Costes	...	Fistman
Michel Gondoin	...	Mick
Mourad Khima	...	Mourad
Hellal	...	Layde
Nato	...	Commissaire
Fesche	...	Chauffeur Taxi
Jara-Millo	...	Concha
Le Quellec	...	Inspecteur
Giami	...	Isabelle
Adoum	...	Fatima
Foulaux	...	Janice
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Stéphane Derdérian	...	Client du Rectum (uncredited)
Christophe Lemaire	...	Le danseur avec la chemise hawaïenne (uncredited)
Eric Moreau	...	Extra (uncredited)
Gaspar Noé	...	Client du Rectum (uncredited)
Titof	...	Le mec sur le lit à la fête (uncredited)

Directed by
Gaspar Noé

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Gaspar Noé		writer

Produced by
Vincent Cassel	....	co-producer
Brahim Chioua	....	co-producer
Emmanuel Gateau	....	consulting producer
Richard Grandpierre	....	co-producer
Gaspar Noé	....	co-producer
Christophe Rossignon	....	producer

Original Music by
Thomas Bangalter

Cinematography by
Benoît Debie
Gaspar Noé

Film Editing by
Gaspar Noé

Casting by
Jacques Grant

Production Design by
Alain Juteau

Costume Design by
Laure Culkovic

Makeup Department
Pierre Chavialle	....	hair stylist
Jean-Christophe Spadaccini	....	special makeup effects artist
Ghislaine Tortereau	....	hair stylist

Production Management
Serge Catoire	....	production manager
Eric Chabot	....	unit manager
Virginia Lombardo	....	unit manager
Ève Machuel	....	production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Stéphane Derdérian	....	first assistant director
Olivier Théry-Lapiney	....	first assistant director

Art Department
Pascal Gras	....	carpenter

Sound Department
Jean-Luc Audy	....	sound
Xavier Bonneyrat	....	assistant sound editor
Marc Boucrot	....	sound
Olivier Busson	....	boom operator
Valérie Deloof	....	sound
Cyril Holtz	....	sound re-recording mixer

Special Effects by
Rodolphe Chabrier	....	special effects supervisor

Visual Effects by
Xavier Fourmond	....	digital compositor
Stéphanie Machuret	....	senior digital compositor: Mac Guff Ligne
Christophe Richard	....	digital artist

Camera and Electrical Department
David Campbell	....	crane operator: Super Technocrane
Eric Catelan	....	Steadicam operator
Benoît Debie	....	lighting designer
Denis Gaubert	....	assistant camera: second unit
Jérôme Mauduit	....	assistant camera: second unit
Antoine Rabaté	....	assistant camera
Sébastien Saadoun	....	assistant camera
Mathieu Szpiro	....	gaffer

Other crew
Marielle Duigou	....	production assistant
Virginia Lombardo	....	assistant location manager

Production Companies

• 120 Films
• Eskwad
• Grandpierre
• Les Cinémas de la Zone
• Nord-Ouest Productions
• Rossignon
• Studio Canal

Distributors

• Mars Distribution (2002) (France) (theatrical)
• Accent Film Entertainment (2004) (Australia) (theatrical)
• Accent Film Entertainment (2004) (Australia) (DVD)
• Alamode Film (2003) (Germany) (theatrical)
• Alliance Atlantis Communications (Canada)
• Argentina Video Home (Argentina) (DVD)
• Argentina Video Home (Argentina) (VHS)
• Atlantis Entertainment (2003) (Czechoslovakia) (theatrical)
• BIM Distribuzione (2002) (Italy) (theatrical)
• Comstock
• Distribution Company (2003) (Argentina) (theatrical)
• Europa Filmes (2004) (Brazil) (DVD)
• Frenetic Films (2002) (Switzerland) (theatrical)
• Legend Films International (2003) (Germany) (all media) (rights)
• Lions Gate Films (2003) (USA) (subtitled)
• Metro Tartan Distribution Ltd. (2003) (UK) (theatrical)
• Muse Productions (2002) (USA) (theatrical)
• Paradiso Entertainment (2002) (Netherlands) (theatrical)
• Paradiso Home Entertainment (200?) (Netherlands) (video)
• Universum Film (UFA) (2004) (Germany) (video)
• Warner Home Video (2003) (Switzerland) (DVD)

Also Known As:

Irreversible (USA)
Irreversibel (Austria) (DVD title) (Germany) [de]
Необратимость (Russia) [ru]
Alex (Japan: English title) [en]
Dönüs yok (Turkey: Turkish title) [tr]
Irreversível (Brazil) [pt]
Irreversible (Norway) [no]
Irreversible - syntiset (Finland) [fi]
Mi anastrepsimos (Greece) [el]
Nieodwracalne (Poland) [pl]

Runtime:

97 min | Canada:99 min (Toronto International Film Festival)

Country:

France

Language:

French | Spanish | Italian | English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital

Certification:

Portugal:M/18 | Peru:18 | Argentina:18 | Brazil:18 | Iceland:16 | Canada:18+ (Québec) | Canada:R (Alberta/British Columbia/Manitoba/Nova Scotia/Ontario) | Australia:R | Austria:18 | Denmark:15 | Finland:K-18 | France:-16 | Germany:18 | Hong Kong:III (cut) | Ireland:18 | Italy:VM18 | Japan:R-18 | Netherlands:16 | New Zealand:(Banned) (video rating) | New Zealand:R18 (film festival rating) | Norway:18 | Singapore:R(A) (original rating) | Singapore:R21 (re-rating) | South Korea:18 (cut) | Spain:18 | UK:18

Filming Locations:

Buttes Chaumont, Paris 19, Paris, France

Company:

120 Films

Trivia:

The blood on Bellucci's face towards the end of the rape scene was added digitally afterwards, as were the smashed-face effects in the club fight scene.

Goofs:

Continuity: When Alex walks down the stairs of the tunnel, the knot of her dress around her neck and her hairstyle change after the camera shows the sign "passage" and comes back to Alex's back.

Quotes:

Marcus: Off to The Rectum!

Movie Connections:

References Possession (1981)

Soundtrack:

Symphony No. 7 in A Major op. 92

Interesting film technique without much substance

Yes, the film technique is prodigious and inventive, but that's about all this film has to show. In his tentative to make out of Irreversible a subtle meditation about relationships, love, violence and destiny, the director succeeds only in having a juvenile, therefore superficial, glimpse at all these themes. Irreversible lacks substance and unfortunately this lack of substance is not compensated by the visual spectacle: the Dantesque homosexual bar called Rectum or the infamous rape scene, probably the longest in the history of cinema are images/scenes one can't easily forget. Characters aren't veridical - and that's a flaw in a movie that tends to talk about life and destiny. The script, the lines have the same shortcomings and only the fact that the movie runs from the end to the beginning makes it a little bit more interesting. But I'm afraid this couldn't be enough to make it worth viewing.