La mariée était en noir

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.

The Bride Wore Black is, for my money, Truffaut's best film! Jeanne Moreau is pitch perfect as the shattered bride, who will stop at nothing to punish the men responsible for her husband's death. She is fully authentic, as she tracks down and dispenses justice to those responsible, with a cold and icy single mindedness, that would make a shark shudder!! This is a must see for all Truffaut fans, one that still remains vivid to me! 9 out of 10!

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!

La Mariee Etait En Noir/The Bride Wore Black(1967) is more a study of lost love and revenge than a film of Hitchcockian proportions. Based on the novel by Cornell Woorich, The Bride Wore Black(1967) is a sad story that has an Edgar Allen Poe quality to it. Jeanne Moreau tops her performance from Jules & Jim(1961) with her role as the death obsessed Julie Kohler. Fits in with the two themes of Francois Truffaut in life and death. Films that belong with the theme of life are The 400 Blows(1959), The Wild Child(1969), and Day for Night(1972). The movies that goes with the theme of death are The Bride Wore Black(1967), Jules & Jim(1961) and The Story of Adele H(1975).

The performance of Jeanne Moreau is as heart wretching to watch as the performance given by Isabelle Adjani in The Story of Adele H(1975). The film score by Bernard Herrmann is hauntedly macabre. The scenes depicting Julie planning her revenge are chilling and well planned. The Bride Wore Black(1967) showed the big respect Francois Truffaut had for the techniques of Alfred Hitchcock. Another movie that has its tragic elements is the Terence Fisher film, Frankenstein Created Woman(1966). The only difference between the film and the novel is the omission of the twist ending from the motion picture.

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.