Le Jour Se Leve - 75th Anniversary Edition [DVD] [1939]

There is always more beneath the surface of a Marcel Carne film. It's all in the details such as the shots of a one-eared teddy bear in the attic reflecting the hurt of the man about to be terrorized by the police. This movie - a precursor of film noir - begins almost at the end when an honest laborer, beaten down by the system, kills another man out of passion and has to hide in an attic until the police finally break down the door..at daybreak. (French law provided that the police could not enter until dawn). The story of the events leading to this dark ending is told in flashback. There is an eerie sense of dread everywhere. For example the hero (or shall I say anti-hero) works as a sandblaster in a factory and when he works, he is sealed in a cold suit of metal...all the while dark, demonic shadows abound or sulfurous fumes escape. In the same scene, a flower girl arrives but loses the freshness of her plants because of the smoke.Made in 1939, the film is also a warning to France which was on the eve of war with Fascist Germany and itself holed itself up - in isolation - until the inevitable disaster. (The Vichy government which collaborated with the Nazis forbade the showing of the film0.As in so many of the great Marcel Carne films, the director is obsessed with doomed love. In those dark, edgy days leading up to the war, it must have seemed to Marcel Carne that happiness, while precious, is short lived - always on the verge of being snuffed out callously.I cannot fault the pitch perfect, sad performance of Jean Gabin. Watch his eyes as he awaits his inevitable doom. Gabin - as Francois - portrays a sympathetic, bruised man. He loves an orphan perhaps because he himself was an orphan.Of all Marcel Carne films, "Le Jour se Leve" is his most compelling metaphor for the impending disaster awaiting France. Poetic realism indeed.

along with Port of Shadows I saw before. One can say this and Port of Shadows have all the noir cliches--Homme and Femme Fatales,macho men who don't act in their ultimate self-interests and who get blinded by jealousy and pride,, shoot em ups, staircases as a mise-en-scene, one room bed sitters, philosophical conversations, the killer criminal as a sad hard done to loser, etc.. However, these Were the noirs which started those cliches.

I just watched this French film classic online. I recommend watching this version for all the reason stated above.Remastered: Now you can better appreciate the achievement of the movie's four cinematographers and the awesome, realistically detailed production design of Alexandre Trauner.Uncut: Yes, you briefly see one shot of Arletty in full frontal nudity. More importantly, the rest of the previously deleted material helps the flow of the story.New subtitles: I don't speak French, but these subtitles gave me a better idea why Jacques Prévert's dialogue is considered some of the finest ever written for the movies.Go see it!

A masterpiece! I loved this film and can't wait to watch it again. Beautiful imagery and lighting - Jean Gabin is fascinating as always but this maybe one of, if not his best movie. So lucky to have found this one Amazon to stream and with English Subs. Truly a work of art. Don't miss this one!

The Long Night with Henry Fonda and Vincent Price (1947) is a Hollywood remake of this film. Almost a blow by blow imitation but this film has a French Twist.

A classic and oh, so French! The great Jean Gabin can portray every emotion known to man just with his eyes. A brooding, foreboding and fatalistic film. Amazingly, a great deal of it takes place in a small room but you won't be able to take your eyes off the eyes of Monsieur Gabin.

it was made in 1939, not 2015 as the blurb says. I notice this same mistake frequently. Pour quoi?

After reading about Arletty in a book documenting the liberation of Paris, I was determined to obtain some examples of her work. Not only is this an excellent film, but it provides an excellent introduction to Arletty.

Another wonder film by Marcel Carne. The human condition, love, lose and murder, with a wonderful cast weaving an intriguing narative.

Although it's a movie of 80 years old, it is still a very good movie.

One of the greatest movies ever made! Brilliant!

I enjoy French films and and was looking to renew my acquaintance with films that as a teenager or young adult I had seen or heard about. Le jour se leve does not disappoint. The build-up to its conclusion is well done; the characterisation is credible; the cimenatic approach suits the pace and character of the film.

There are certain films (Pepe le Moko, the Marius trilogy, Le Crime du M. Lange, Le Quai des Brumes) that could only have been made at a certain time and in a certain place - France in the 1930's. "Jour" is one of them. It has all the ingredients that made certain French films of the epoch so very special - breathtakingly beautiful photography, a deceptively simple plot, wonderful acting and that particular cinematic flair, made up of an admixture of elements such as filmic elan, note-perfect acting and understated scripting, that only the French were capable of, and which no-one has even come close to since.The plot, on the face of it, is simple. Man shoots other man for unknown reasons and then waits, holed up in a bedsit, for the Police to come at daybreak and seal his fate. He reviews the events that have led to this impasse. As in all the best films, things aren't what they initially appear to be, and the actions, feelings and motivations of the various characters unfold as the film progresses, sometimes quite surprisingly.Jean Gabin puts in what is arguably his finest performance. Jules Berry is a suitably lubricious and plausible villain, while Arletty is spot-on as the world-weary woman who's been round the block of life a few times too many.If you're unacquainted with the magic of French films of this period and want to give it a try, you won't go far wrong with this one.Sublime.