Review of Day for Night (1973) by Alvin Y — 23 Jul 2011

Day For Night, Great Movies.

Francois Truffaut's "Day For Night" is a masterpiece in filmmaking. I think this is the best movie about making a movie, and as a movie lover, I also think this movie will be as well a study or lesson to some future filmmakers. Every scene in this film is very much of reality, it's like watching a behind the scenes of how this film was created and then somebody watches it and they're gonna critique it. What I also realize are so many things that I could even make another essay discussing about it. One of them is telling us some movie making tricks that I think Truffaut did a good job. Think of a place full of snow in a summertime? Think of also a scene shoot during day when the scene is taken at night? How is that possible? That's most of the things that made me impressed in this picture. I wonder most directors uses CGI these days to make some special effects, but "Day For Night", shows a lot of things how to make an incredible scene, of course, without CGI, since the film was released way back in 1973. Another brilliance of this film is it's characters, or maybe you can say the actors playing actors. Like I said in my review of "An Unmarried Woman", the actors are not acting in their roles, it's like they're playing who they are in real life, no script, no direction, pure reality. Notice each of the actors here have some story about sacrifice, emotion, and guilt, that you may say very powerful in many ways. And folks! The director, Truffaut, is also on this movie, playing also a director, and what he as a director and a director of this film shows to us, is how important making movie is, whether many people hate or love it, still when you make a movie with your actors and crew, it's like one family, when they start filming, they all meet and greet and make friends and make love either, and when they finish filming, they all say goodbye and like a family, they will never forget each other. And for most of all, why is it on my great movies list? The reason is it's a movie about a movie within a movie that inspired a movie, WOW! And think of some films like "Ed Wood" and "Living in Oblivion" about movie making, it really shows the beauty and art of filmmaking whether you think is easy or hard, doubt it, it's one of your most memorable experiences ever in your life.

So "Day For Night" or in French, "La Nuit Americaine", is truly a great movie, if not, probably my other favorite Francois Truffaut movie, that compares to some of his masterpieces like "400 Blows". So whenever you feel lost or no idea to watch today, then go see this film. If you can't find this film on a DVD or online, then lucky you, you maybe watching yourself on this film, or in other words, one of the actors can be related to you. Thank you!