Movie Reviews by Edwin Jahiel

DAY FOR NIGHT (LA NUIT AMERICAINE) (France, 1973)

The premier picture about the making of a movie "Meet Pamela." Directed by Francois Truffaut, who plays himself the role the director. The film-within-the-film is joyous nonsense, with Jacqueline Bisset as its star. Excellent score by Georges Delerue and tour-de-force, smooth cinematography by Pierre-William Glenn. Cast includes Jean-Pierre Aumont, Valentina Cortese, Jean-Pierre Laud. The difficulties of film-making, the comradeships and rivalries among crew and cast, the many temperaments and the many things that go wrong are fascinatingly, lovingly and meticulously shown. And affairs, sexual and otherwise, keep intruding into the process. Never has the magic of cinema been so affectionately, intimately and clearly shown. Unlike the Hollywood movies on film-making that stress personal Drama with a big D ( "Sunset Boulevard" , "A Star is Born," etc.) this one is more preocuppied with the details of the art and the trade, and with its panorama of people. There is an intimacy here that brings you close to the movie-makers as persons rather than as icons. Extremely entertaining. Oscar for Best Foreign Film.