Julie Kohler has reasons for wanting to avenge the death of the man she marries, but whom is no longer around to ensure their happiness as a couple. A determined woman, Julie knows she must deal with the five men that changed her life in a second as she and her husband are posing atop the steps of the church where they were married. Mme. Kohler embarks in a mission to remedy the situation that have rendered a bitter woman.
The novelist Cornell Woolrich, who also wrote under the pen name of William Irish and George Hopley, wrote the novel which is the basis of the Francois Truffaut's "The Bride Wore Black". The director, obviously inspired in the original text, brought it to the screen by co-adapting it with an actor, Jean-Louis Richard. The setting was changed to France, for obvious reasons. The result is a film that, on second viewing, recently, proved not to be as exciting as we once thought.
Part of the problem is in the execution of the story. Julie Kohler sets the trap to get the five men responsible to ruin her life, and yet, there is no clue in the film that gives a hint as to how she got to identify the men in the apartment across the way from where she was standing. We go along for the ride; the viewer wants to make concessions in order to enjoy the film. We want to think Julie can pull it off. At each killing, the otherwise intelligent murderess, is oblivious of the things the police will look into to identify the assassin, like leaving a trail of fingerprints on occasion. Logic was something M. Truffaut threw away when he decided to bring the novel, which, by the way, we have not read, to the cinema. The director, a fervent admirer of Alfred Hitchcock, gives a nod to his idol in this ambitious production.
Jeanne Moreau is perfectly chilling as the calculating Julie. She shows a determination and cold blood to do away with the five men that she blames for killing her husband. Ms. Moreau shows a remorseless woman in her resolve to get rid of the people that made her suffer. The casting was an absolute coup for the director, bringing actors of the caliber of Michel Bouquet, Jean-Claude Brialy, Michael Lonsdale, Charles Denner, Claude Rich, and Alessandra Stewart, among them.
Raoul Coutard, who had worked with Truffaut before, is the cinematographer. Bernard Herrmann, a frequent Hitchcock collaborator composed the musical score.
The novelist Cornell Woolrich, who also wrote under the pen name of William Irish and George Hopley, wrote the novel which is the basis of the Francois Truffaut's "The Bride Wore Black". The director, obviously inspired in the original text, brought it to the screen by co-adapting it with an actor, Jean-Louis Richard. The setting was changed to France, for obvious reasons. The result is a film that, on second viewing, recently, proved not to be as exciting as we once thought.
Part of the problem is in the execution of the story. Julie Kohler sets the trap to get the five men responsible to ruin her life, and yet, there is no clue in the film that gives a hint as to how she got to identify the men in the apartment across the way from where she was standing. We go along for the ride; the viewer wants to make concessions in order to enjoy the film. We want to think Julie can pull it off. At each killing, the otherwise intelligent murderess, is oblivious of the things the police will look into to identify the assassin, like leaving a trail of fingerprints on occasion. Logic was something M. Truffaut threw away when he decided to bring the novel, which, by the way, we have not read, to the cinema. The director, a fervent admirer of Alfred Hitchcock, gives a nod to his idol in this ambitious production.
Jeanne Moreau is perfectly chilling as the calculating Julie. She shows a determination and cold blood to do away with the five men that she blames for killing her husband. Ms. Moreau shows a remorseless woman in her resolve to get rid of the people that made her suffer. The casting was an absolute coup for the director, bringing actors of the caliber of Michel Bouquet, Jean-Claude Brialy, Michael Lonsdale, Charles Denner, Claude Rich, and Alessandra Stewart, among them.
Raoul Coutard, who had worked with Truffaut before, is the cinematographer. Bernard Herrmann, a frequent Hitchcock collaborator composed the musical score.