La Cage aux Folles (film)
| La Cage aux Folles | |
|---|---|
.jpg) French release poster | |
| Directed by | Édouard Molinaro |
| Produced by | Marcello Danon |
| Screenplay by |
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| Based on |
La Cage aux Folles by Jean Poiret |
| Starring | |
| Music by | Ennio Morricone[1] |
| Cinematography | Armando Nannuzzi |
| Edited by |
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| Distributed by | United Artists |
Release dates |
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Running time | 91 minutes[2] |
| Country |
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| Language |
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| Budget |
FRF 7 million ($1.4 million USD) |
| Box office | $20.4 million[3] |
La Cage aux Folles is a 1978 Franco-Italian comedy film and the first film adaptation of Jean Poiret's 1973 play La Cage aux Folles. It is co-written and directed by Édouard Molinaro and stars Ugo Tognazzi and Michel Serrault.
Plot
Like the play, the film tells the story of a gay couple – Renato Baldi (Ugo Tognazzi), the manager of a Saint-Tropez nightclub featuring drag entertainment, and Albin Mougeotte (Michel Serrault), his star attraction – and the madness that ensues when Renato's son, Laurent (Rémi Laurent), brings home his fiancée, Andrea (Luisa Maneri), and her ultra-conservative parents (Carmen Scarpitta and Michel Galabru) to meet them.
Cast
- Ugo Tognazzi as Renato Baldi
- Pierre Mondy as voice of Renato (French release)
- Michel Serrault as Albin Mougeotte/'Zaza Napoli'
- Oreste Lionello as voice of Albin (Italian release)
- Claire Maurier as Simone
- Rémi Laurent as Laurent Baldi
- Carmen Scarpitta as Louise Charrier
- Benny Luke as Jacob
- Luisa Maneri as Andrea Charrier
- Michel Galabru as Simon Charrier
Reception
Box office
For years, the film remained the No. 1 foreign film to be released in the United States; as of 2014, it is No. 10.[4]
Critical response
The film received critical acclaim. On review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film has a 100% rating based on 18 reviews, with an average rating of 7.8/10.[5]
At the 52nd Academy Awards, the film was nominated for 3 Oscars: Best Director, Best Adapted Screenplay, and Best Costume Design, but it didn't win in any category.
Legacy
Sequels
The film was followed by two sequels: La Cage aux Folles II (1980), also directed by Molinaro, and La Cage aux folles 3 - 'Elles' se marient (1985), directed by Georges Lautner.
Musical adaptation
A 1983 Broadway musical of the same name based on the play and the film was also successful.
American remake
In 1996, an American remake titled The Birdcage, directed by Mike Nichols, was released, relocated to South Beach, Miami, and stars Robin Williams and Nathan Lane.
Adam and Yves
La Cage aux Folles caught the attention of television producer Danny Arnold, who in 1979 pitched the concept of a weekly series about a gay couple similar to the one in the film to ABC. His planned title was Adam and Yves, a play on both Adam and Eve and a slogan used by some anti-gay groups. After months in development, Arnold realized that the concept was unsustainable as a weekly series, which led to the show getting dropped.[6]
References
- ↑ Hinckley, David (January 21, 2001). "Is Ennio Morricone cinema's greatest living composer?". Daily News (New York). Retrieved April 4, 2012.
- ↑ "BIRDS OF A FEATHER (LA CAGE AUX FOLLES) (AA)". British Board of Film Classification. 30 January 1980. Retrieved 16 December 2015.
- ↑ La Cage aux Folles at Box Office Mojo
- ↑ Foreign Language Movies at the Box Office. Box Office Mojo.
- ↑ "La Cage aux Folles (1979)". Rotten Tomatoes. Flixster. Retrieved 16 December 2015.
- ↑ Tropiano, p. 252
- Tropiano, Stephen (2002). The Prime Time Closet: A History of Gays and Lesbians on TV. Applause Theatre and Cinema Books. ISBN 978-1-55783-557-4.
External links
- La Cage aux Folles at the Internet Movie Database
- La Cage aux Folles at Box Office Mojo
- La Cage aux Folles at Rotten Tomatoes
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