La sposa in nero

After attempting to commit suicide, the widow Julie Kohler (Jeanne Moreau) tells her mother that she will leave town. However, she stays and hunts down and executes the five men that accidentally killed her beloved husband David on the stairs of the church immediately after their wedding ceremony.

"La Mariée Était en Noir" is a simple but excellent thriller. The geniality of François Truffault develops the tragedy of the lead character Julie Kohler with only few flashbacks. Jeanne Moreau is amazing, in the role of a woman that sees her world falling apart with the stupid murder of her beloved husband, and is driven by revenge to stay alive. The conclusion with the camera focusing the security guard is fantastic. The famous "cross of legs" of Catherine Tramell in "Basic Instinct" was probably inspired in the shy one of Julie Kohler in the police department. "The Bride" of "Kill Bill" is also inspired in this classic French movie. My vote is eight.

Title (Brazil): "A Noiva Estava de Preto" ("The Bride Was In Black")

Note: on 06 December 2010, I saw this film again on DVD.

At a party you engage the fiancé, on the balcony you let him have his say, as the breeze catches your scarf, he tries to catch on your behalf, and then you leave, after you've helped him on his way. You invite, a gentleman, to a recital, at the end you make a plan to go where he dwells, enjoy a glass or two of drink, then clean receptacles in sink, as you leave it looks as if he's lost his vitals. Helping out when mum's away, it just seems right, businessmen don't find in kitchens, much delight, though that's not the only place, there's a less visited space, that you make cosier, sealed up, and quite air tight. You like to model for an artist as his muse, you overwhelm him with the picture you infuse, it's like a bolt from Cupid's arrow, has just settled in his marrow, as the lights go out, you may have blown his fuse. Serving lunch can be rewarding in its ways, helping out the less well-off with lengthy stays, and you'll always have a stab, to help your own mental rehab, to end the misery that haunts all of your days.

Jeanne Moreau is always outstanding!

Interesting take on Hitchcock territory, although it lacks the suspense and capacity to involve the viewer as The Master's films always did. The true wonder here is Jeanne Moreau, as cool as a cucumber, going about her revenge business with clockwork accuracy, exuding class and talent equivalent to five of today's stars. Bernard Herrman's passionate score seems slightly out of place against the film's emotional detachment, and most of the time things fall just a little bit too perfectly in place, but overall, this is a satisfying film, of interest to genre fans.

Set aside the place of the picture in Truffaut's oeuvre, along with the extent of Hitchcock's influence and the literary antecedents of the story; in other words, take a blindfold test, so to speak, on the movie itself. If created by J. Doe from a story by R. Roe, this film would generate lukewarm praise at best - none for the credibility of the plot or main character. The narrative, presented in a naturalistic, matter-of-fact manner, is in fact completely contrived to serve the purposes of a bizarre story. The leading character, whether to be viewed as suicidal or homicidal (or both), is presented not as psychotic, but as in total emotional control of herself - as self-composed and methodical as she could possibly be.

It just doesn't work. The stories Hitchcock used were developed from simple, seemingly random everyday encounters, the kinds of mishaps or minor aberrations that might touch any of us. Such an approach here might have made the picture more worthy of serious appraisal.

Francois Truffaut's THE BRIDE WORE BLACK is an excellent gift of a film to fans of Hitchcock and even to the master himself. There are many nods to Hitch's films and you know Truffaut had done his homework while making the picture (by writing the definitive book on Hitch's films). What makes BRIDE WORE BLACK more than just mere homage is an elevation of suspense and a less stylized, blatant approach to the material. Truffaut does not sell his own cinematic soul and is able to present a terrific suspense story of his own. It was almost like Hitch's work turned inside out. Jeanne Moreau plays a miserable middle-aged woman, both suicidal and murderous, looking to avenge the death of her life-long companion and husband.

We see the murder of the husband repeatedly throughout the picture, studied from different angles and vantage points. He is assassinated on the steps of the church, while the thunderous 'wedding suite' plays rather ominously. We find out why she picks her victims the way she does and how they all relate to the slaying. This is one ticked off woman. Some of the murders echoed Hitch, one inspired by FOREIGN CORRESPONDENT, another from NOTORIOUS. The scenes and "borrowing" that occur here are not as blatant as you may think, however. They are mostly inspirations and Truffaut puts his own spin on them, meshing them together or taking them apart and reassembling the elements. If you are a Hitch connoisseur, it is fun to interpret what Truffaut is doing with the master's vast material.

I was also struck by a feeling of NORTH BY NORTHWEST, but with a woman as the main protagonist and the journey turned inside out. Of course, we get the character who has seen this person before and either leads to her capture or is on to her, a staple in Hitch flix. The ultimate homage is Bernard Herrmann's score (he was Hitch's right hand man for years). The 'wedding suite' is louder than usual, resonating evil, and the music as a whole is Herrmann's typical gothic work, brilliant and memorable. Truffaut extends Hitchcock by showing us in more graphic detail some of the killings and the relentless mission this woman is on is not stylized the least bit.

Check out the poisoning scene and tell me you don't see Ingrid Bergman looking at Claude Raines circling and bellowing in expressionistic ways. Trains are littered throughout the film, one on the lampshade of a young boy, another with Moreau riding on it. This is all great, but it transcends some of Hitch's work in many ways. The blood-curdling ending is one of the best I have ever seen in film, period. Considering BRIDE WORE BLACK was released in 1968, the horrific ending may have inspired HITCH of all people when he made FRENZY in 1972. Watch both and see if you know what I mean. This is a must see for foreign film fans as well.

RATING: 8 1/2 of 10