| A Man and a Woman | |
|---|---|
original film poster |
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| Directed by | Claude Lelouch |
| Produced by | Claude Lelouch |
| Written by | Claude Lelouch Pierre Uytterhoeven |
| Starring | Anouk Aimée Jean-Louis Trintignant |
| Distributed by | United Artists |
| Release date(s) | July 12, 1966 |
| Running time | 102 minutes |
| Country | France |
| Language | French |
| Box office | $14,000,000 (USA)[1] |
A Man and a Woman (French: Un homme et une femme) is a 1966 French film, written by Claude Lelouch and Pierre Uytterhoeven, and directed by Lelouch. It is notable for its lush photography (Lelouch had a background in advertising photography), which features frequent segues between full color, black-and-white, and sepia-toned shots, and for its memorable musical score by Francis Lai. The film had a total of 4,272,000 admissions in France and was the 6th highest grossing film of the year. [2]
A sequel, A Man and a Woman: 20 Years Later (Un Homme et une Femme, 20 Ans Déjà) was released in 1986.
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The film tells the story of a young widow, Anne (Anouk Aimée), a film script supervisor whose late husband (Pierre Barouh) was a stuntman and died in an on-set accident, and a widower, Jean-Louis (Jean-Louis Trintignant), a race car driver whose wife committed suicide after Jean-Louis was in a near fatal crash during the 24 hours of Le Mans. They meet at their respective children's school in Deauville. They share a ride home to Paris one night after Anne misses the last train, and their mutual attraction is immediate. The story follows their budding relationship over the course of several trips back to Deauville, and as they fall in love despite Anne's feelings of guilt and loss over her deceased husband. After a night together in Deauville, Anne finds herself unable to be unfaithful to the memory of her husband, and decides to leave Jean-Louis. While she is traveling back to Paris by train, Jean-Louis races to meet her at the station, and when she gets off the train she is surprised to see him there. Happy that her lover had come back for her, they embrace as the film ends, the final outcome of the relationship left open to interpretation.
A Man and a Woman won many awards, including the Grand Prix at the 1966 Cannes Film Festival,[3] the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film and the Academy Award for Best Writing, Story and Screenplay – Written Directly for the Screen.[4] Aimée was nominated for Best Actress in a Leading Role and Lelouch for Best Director.
| A Man and a Woman | |
|---|---|
| Soundtrack album by Francis Lai | |
| Released | 1966 |
| Genre | Pop, Jazz |
| Label | United Artists |
The soundtrack was written by Francis Lai and earned "Best Original Score" nominations at both the BAFTA Awards and Golden Globe Awards in 1967. The film's theme song, with music by Francis Lai and lyrics by Pierre Barouh, was also nominated for "Best Original Song in a Motion Picture" at the Golden Globe Awards.[5] In Finland it has become one of the most easily recognizable TV advertisement themes, having been used for decades by the cruiseferry brand Silja Line.
Pierre Barouh, who plays the deceased husband in the film, also sings the songs in the soundtrack. In a sequence of the film, he makes a brief reappearance singing "Samba Saravah", a French version with lyrics by Barouh himself of the Brazilian song "Samba da Benção" written by Baden Powell with original lyrics by Vinicius de Moraes.[6]
The song "Aujourd'hui C'est Toi" is used as the theme for the BBC's Panorama current affairs program, plus Rede Globo's Jornal Hoje midday newscast, and YLE's Ajankohtainen kakkonen weekly current affairs television program in Finland on TV2.
| Year | Chart | Position |
|---|---|---|
| 1968 | Australian Kent Music Report Albums Chart | 1 |
| Preceded by Disraeli Gears by Cream |
Australian Kent Music Report number-one album April 13, 1968 – June 14, 1968 June 29, 1968 – July 26, 1968 |
Succeeded by Blooming Hits by Paul Mauriat and His Orchestra |
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