''The Green Room'' (french: La Chambre verte) is a 1978 French

historical drama A historical drama (also period drama, costume drama, and period piece) is a work set in a past time period, usually used in the context of film and television. Historical drama includes historical fiction and romance film, romances, adventure f ...

film directed by

François Truffaut François Roland Truffaut ( , ; ; 6 February 1932 – 21 October 1984) was a French film director, screenwriter, producer, actor, and film critic. He is widely regarded as one of the founders of the French New Wave. After a career of more tha ...

, based on the 1895 short story " The Altar of the Dead" by

Henry James Henry James ( – ) was an American-British author. He is regarded as a key transitional figure between literary realism and literary modernism, and is considered by many to be among the greatest novelists in the English language. He was the ...

, in which a man becomes obsessed with the dead people in his life and builds a memorial to them. It is also based on two other works by James: the 1903 novella ''

The Beast in the Jungle ''The Beast in the Jungle'' is a 1903 novella by Henry James, first published as part of the collection, ''The Better Sort''. Almost universally considered one of James' finest short narratives, this story treats appropriately universal themes: l ...

'' and the 1896 short story "

The Way It Came ''The Way It Came'' is a short story published in 1896 in London by American writer Henry James. The unnamed female narrator recounts her obsession with the mystical coincidence of two friends who seem destined to meet and who apparently do unite ...

". It was Truffaut's seventeenth feature film as a director and the third and last of his own films in which he acted in a leading role. It stars Truffaut,

Nathalie Baye Nathalie Marie Andrée Baye (born 6 July 1948) is a French film, television and stage actress. She began her career in 1970 and has appeared in more than 80 films. A ten-time César Award nominee, her four wins were for '' Every Man for Himself' ...

Jean Dasté Jean Dasté, born Jean Georges Gustave Dasté, (18 September 1904 in Paris, France – 15 October 1994 in Saint-Priest-en-Jarez, Loire, France)

Plot

The action takes place ten years after the end of World War I in a small town in France. The protagonist, Julien Davenne, is a war veteran who works as an editor at the newspaper, ''The Globe''. He specializes in funeral announcements ("a virtuoso of the obituary", as defined by its editor-in-chief) and the thought of death haunts him. Davenne has reserved a room for the worship of his wife, Julie, on the upper floor of the house he shares with his elderly housekeeper, Mrs. Rambaud, and Georges, a deaf-mute boy. His wife had died eleven years previously, at the height of her beauty. During a thunderstorm, a fire destroys the green room, Davenne managing to save only pictures and portraits of his wife. On discovering an abandoned chapel in ruins, at the same cemetery where Julie is buried, Julien decides to consecrate it not only to his wife but to all the cemetery's dead, having reached "that point in life where you know more dead than alive." The place is transformed into a forest of lighted candles, with photos of all the people he treasured in life. To keep the chapel, Davenne calls a young woman, Cécilia, secretary of the auction house that has regained a ring that had belonged to Julie. The friendship between the two seems to evolve when Paul Massigny, a French politician and Davenne's former best friend, dies. The film suggests that Massigny once betrayed Davenne but does not say what constituted the betrayal. When Davenne first visits Cécilia at home, Davenne discovers that the living room is full of pictures of Massigny and, without asking for explanations, leaves. At the chapel, Cecilia tells him that she was one of Massigny's many women and still loves him. She requests that Massigny be represented by one of the candles on the altar. After being rebuffed by Davenne, Cecilia breaks off the relationship and he breaks down. He locks himself away at home, refusing to eat, to see the doctor, or talk. The managing editor of ''The Globe'' recommends that Cécilia write him a letter. She finally declares her love, knowing he would never reciprocate, "because to be loved by you, I should be dead." Having forgiven Massigny, Davenne joins her in the chapel, but he is weakened, falls to the ground and dies. Cécilia completes the work, as she had asked the first time, dedicating one last candle to Julien Davenne.

Cast

Production

Background and writing

Truffaut first began work on ''The Green Room'' in December 1970 after reading the works of

. Truffaut especially liked " The Altar of the Dead" and asked his friend Aimée Alexandre to translate a new French version for him. Alexandre also recommended works by

Anton Chekov Anton Pavlovich Chekhov (; 29 January 1860 Old Style date 17 January. – 15 July 1904 Old Style date 2 July.) was a Russian playwright and short-story writer who is considered to be one of the greatest writers of all time. His career ...

and

Leo Tolstoy Count Lev Nikolayevich TolstoyTolstoy pronounced his first name as , which corresponds to the romanization ''Lyov''. () (; russian: link=no, Лев Николаевич Толстой,In Tolstoy's day, his name was written as in pre-refor ...

with similar themes, while Truffaut did his own research on James's life and visited his home in

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

. Truffaut worked on other projects until 1974, when a new French version of the short story was published, renewing his interest. Truffaut commented on the film, "the story was difficult to construct, but at the same time, I was attracted to the subject." In July of that year he then reached a contract agreement with screenwriter

Jean Gruault Jean Gruault (3 August 1924 – 8 June 2015) was a French screenwriter and actor. He wrote 25 films between 1960 and 1995. He was nominated for an Academy Award for Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay for the 1980 film ''Mon oncle d'A ...

to begin drafting a film adaptation. Truffaut and Gruault had previously collaborated on ''

Jules and Jim ''Jules and Jim'' (french: Jules et Jim ) is a 1962 French New Wave romantic drama film, directed, produced and written by François Truffaut. Set before and after World War I, it describes a tragic love triangle involving French Bohemian Jim ...

'' (1962), ''

The Wild Child ''The Wild Child'' (french: L'Enfant sauvage, released in the United Kingdom as ''The Wild Boy'') is a 1970 French film by director François Truffaut. Featuring Jean-Pierre Cargol, François Truffaut, Françoise Seigner and Jean Dasté, it tel ...

'' (1970), and '' Two English Girls'' (1971). For several years Truffaut had become increasingly interested in people from his life who had died, beginning with his mentor and father-figure André Bazin, who had died the day before Truffaut began shooting his first feature, ''

The 400 Blows ''The 400 Blows'' (french: Les Quatre Cents Coups) is a 1959 French coming-of-age drama film, and the directorial debut of François Truffaut. The film, shot in DyaliScope, stars Jean-Pierre Léaud, Albert Rémy, and Claire Maurier. One of ...

''. Truffaut told a reporter for ''

L'Express ''L'Express'' () is a French weekly news magazine headquartered in Paris. The weekly stands at the political centre in the French media landscape, and has a lifestyle supplement, ''L'Express Styles'', and a job supplement, ''Réussir''. History ...

'': "I'm faithful to the dead, I live with them. I'm forty-five and already beginning to be surrounded by dead people." In 1977 Truffaut lost two other important father-figures: Cinémathèque Française director

Henri Langlois Henri Langlois (; 13 November 1914 – 13 January 1977) was a French film archivist and cinephile. A pioneer of film preservation, Langlois was an influential figure in the history of cinema. His film screenings in Paris in the 1950s are often c ...

and

Roberto Rossellini Roberto Gastone Zeffiro Rossellini (8 May 1906 – 3 June 1977) was an Italian film director, producer, and screenwriter. He was one of the most prominent directors of the Italian neorealist cinema, contributing to the movement with films such ...

, whom Truffaut called "the most intelligent man, with André Bazin" during an interview with ''

Le Matin de Paris ''Le Matin de Paris'' was a French daily newspaper, founded on 1 March 1977 by Claude Perdriel, and disappearing in 1987 ("dépôt de bilan" on 6 May). Its foundation is the subject of the documentary ''Numéros zéro'' by Raymond Depardon. His ...

''. Around this time Truffaut had watched ''

Shoot the Piano Player ''Shoot the Piano Player'' (french: Tirez sur le pianiste; UK title: ''Shoot the Pianist'') is a 1960 French New Wave crime drama film directed by François Truffaut that stars Charles Aznavour as the titular pianist with Marie Dubois, Nicole Ber ...

'' and noticed that half the actors had since died. In an interview with '' L'Humanité-Dimanche'' magazine Truffaut asked "Why not have the same range of feelings for the dead as for the living, the same aggressive or affectionate relationship?" and added that he wanted to film "what it would be like to show on screen a man who refuses to forget the dead." According to him, ''The Green Room'' is not the worshipping of death, but an extension of the love for the people that we have met and who are no longer alive, and the idea that they have a permanency. What matters is that Davenne refuses to forget, and this refusal is important for Truffaut. Truffaut recommended that Gruault read James's 1903 novella ''

'' and 1896 short story "

", which were also incorporated into the film. Truffaut also wanted to change the setting of the original story to 1920s France with

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

as a major factor in the plot. In fact, he stated that he chose to adapt Henry James’ 1928 themes because he wanted to link them directly with the memory of the First World War. The idea of massacre, millions of deaths, is not evoked as effectively by the Second World War. By spring 1975, Gruault had finished a first draft called ''La Fiancée disparue'' (''The Vanished Fiancée''). Truffaut thought the script was too long and Gruault made cuts. Truffaut's continuing requests for script modifications caused Gruault to become dissatisfied working with him. Truffaut, also busy writing the script for Alain Resnais's ''

Mon oncle d'Amérique ''Mon oncle d'Amérique'' (English: ''My American Uncle'' or ''My Uncle from America'') is a 1980 French film directed by Alain Resnais with a screenplay by Jean Gruault. The film juxtaposes a comedy-drama narrative with the ideas of Henri Labori ...

,'' put the entire project on hold and eventually shot '' Small Change'' and '' The Man Who Loved Women''. He continued to research the themes of ''The Green Room'', reread

Marcel Proust Valentin Louis Georges Eugène Marcel Proust (; ; 10 July 1871 – 18 November 1922) was a French novelist, critic, and essayist who wrote the monumental novel ''In Search of Lost Time'' (''À la recherche du temps perdu''; with the previous Eng ...

's '' Remembrance of Things Past'' and Japanese literature such as the works of

Jun'ichirō Tanizaki was a Japanese author who is considered to be one of the most prominent figures in modern Japanese literature. The tone and subject matter of his work ranges from shocking depictions of sexuality and destructive erotic obsessions to subtle por ...

. He also asked

Éric Rohmer Jean Marie Maurice Schérer or Maurice Henri Joseph Schérer, known as Éric Rohmer (; 21 March 192011 January 2010), was a French film director, film critic, journalist, novelist, screenwriter, and teacher. Rohmer was the last of the post-World ...

for help with the script, but the material thus far produced did not interest the director. In October 1976, Truffaut showed a new draft to Gruault, which now included a deaf-mute child as the main character Julien Davenne's protégé, and had Davenne work as an obituary writer in a small Parisian magazine. The presence of Paul Massigny was also vital for the development of the story. Indeed, Truffaut stated that without Massigny there would be no film because it would be too static, and that ''The Green Room'' is a tale in which Massigny is the anti-hero. Gruault finished a new version of the script by February 1977. Truffaut worked on it with his assistant Suzanne Schiffman and completed the final draft in May 1977.

Casting

For the lead role of Julien Davenne, Truffaut first wanted to cast actor

Charles Denner Charles Denner (29 May 1926 – 10 September 1995) was a French actor born to a Jewish family in Tarnów, Poland. During his 30-year career he worked with some of France's greatest directors of the time, including Louis Malle, Claude Chabrol, ...

, but he was not available. Because of the personal nature of the film and the character of Julien Davenne, Truffaut decided to play the part, stating that "this film is like a handwritten letter. If you write by hand, it isn’t perfect, the writing may be shaky, but it is you, your writing." ''.'' This decision was not simply taken because Truffaut embodied the character, but because Davenne’s obsession, what he does throughout the whole film, what defines him, that is, keeping the memory of the dead alive, refusing to forget them, linked in a way to the activity of the director. Specifically, he felt a closeness to the character of Davenne, due to his own valuations of remembrance of the dead as helping in the "struggle against the transience of life". Despite his strong feeling for the character, Truffaut was hesitant about the role and thought he may be perceived as too old. He had a wig made, but ended up not using it.''.'' It was Truffaut's third and last of his own film in which he played a leading role. According to co-star

, Truffaut almost shut the film down for fear of a bad performance: "He would say to me, 'It's madness; it will never work!' And he came close to wanting to stop everything." Baye was cast as Cécilia after having worked with her in ''

Day for Night Day for night is a set of cinematic techniques used to simulate a night scene while filming in daylight. It is often employed when it is too difficult or expensive to actually shoot during nighttime. Because both film stocks and digital image s ...

'' and '' The Man Who Loved Women''. Baye later stated that "If Francois asked me to perform with him, it was because he knew I wasn't the kind of actress who caused problems. He could rely on me, which was very reassuring to him." Truffaut filled out the cast with

Jean Dasté Jean Dasté, born Jean Georges Gustave Dasté, (18 September 1904 in Paris, France – 15 October 1994 in Saint-Priest-en-Jarez, Loire, France)Antoine Vitez Antoine Vitez (; 20 December 1930 – 30 April 1990) was a French actor, director, and poet. He became a central character and influence on the French theater in the post-war period, especially in the technique of teaching drama. He was also tr ...

as a clergyman, Jean-Pierre Moulin as a widower that Davenne comforts in the film and Patrick Maléon as the deaf-mute child. Truffaut also cast technicians and personnel from his production company in small roles. When asked about the message of ''The Green Room'', Truffaut said "I am for the woman and against the man. As this century approaches its end, people are becoming more stupid and suicidal, and we must fight against this. ''The Green Room'' is not a fable, not a psychological picture. The moral is: One must deal with the living! This man has neglected life. Here we have a breakdown of the idea of survival."

Filming

''The Green Room'' was shot in the fall of 1977 in

Honfleur Honfleur () is a commune in the Calvados department in northwestern France. It is located on the southern bank of the estuary of the Seine across from le Havre and very close to the exit of the Pont de Normandie. The people that inhabit Honf ...

, France with a budget of 3 million francs provided by

United Artists United Artists Corporation (UA), currently doing business as United Artists Digital Studios, is an American digital production company. Founded in 1919 by D. W. Griffith, Charlie Chaplin, Mary Pickford, and Douglas Fairbanks, the studi ...

. That summer, Truffaut scouted locations and hired his longtime collaborator,

Néstor Almendros Néstor Almendros Cuyás, (30 October 1930 – 4 March 1992) was a Spanish cinematographer. One of the most highly appraised contemporary cinematographers, "Almendros was an artist of deep integrity, who believed the most beautiful light wa ...

, as cinematographer. To give the film a Gothic look, Almendros used candle light as both source and practical lighting, with electrical lights used to "exploit the contrast between electric light and a flood of candlelight to give the film a ghostly quality." Truffaut also intended a resulting lack of colour throughout filming, condemning colour as a removal of the final "barrier" between film and reality: "If there is nothing false in a film, then it is not a film." Almendros later said that, despite the film's somber tone, "this film was put together with joy, and the shooting was the most pleasant" of his career. Many of the scenes were shot in the four-story Maison Troublet in Honfleur. This house and its grounds included sets for many of the film's main locations: Davenne's house, his office at ''The Globe'' and the auction room. Other locations included the Caen cemetery and the Carbec Chapel in Saint-Pierre-du-Val. The chapel was used for Davenne's shrine to the dead, with

Jean-Pierre Kohut-Svelko Jean-Pierre Kohut-Svelko (born in 1946) is a French production designer and art director. He is a César Award winner and 6 times nominee. He worked several times with legend of the French cinema François Truffaut, Yves Robert, André Téchin� ...

designing the set inside. Among the portraits included in the shrine are

Oscar Wilde Oscar Fingal O'Flahertie Wills Wilde (16 October 185430 November 1900) was an Irish poet and playwright. After writing in different forms throughout the 1880s, he became one of the most popular playwrights in London in the early 1890s. He is ...

, an old man who played a small role in Truffaut's '' Two English Girls'', actor Oskar Werner in a World War I uniform,

Jacques Audiberti Jacques Séraphin Marie Audiberti (March 25, 1899 – July 10, 1965) was a French playwright, poet and novelist and exponent of the Theatre of the Absurd. Audiberti was born in Antibes, France, the son of Louis Audiberti, a master mason, and hi ...

Jean Cocteau Jean Maurice Eugène Clément Cocteau (, , ; 5 July 1889 – 11 October 1963) was a French poet, playwright, novelist, designer, filmmaker, visual artist and critic. He was one of the foremost creatives of the su ...

, Maurice Jaubert,

Raymond Queneau Raymond Queneau (; 21 February 1903 – 25 October 1976) was a French novelist, poet, critic, editor and co-founder and president of Oulipo ('' Ouvroir de littérature potentielle''), notable for his wit and cynical humour. Biography Queneau wa ...

Jeanne Moreau Jeanne Moreau (; 23 January 1928 – 31 July 2017) was a French actress, singer, screenwriter, director, and socialite. She made her theatrical debut in 1947, and established herself as one of the leading actresses of the Comédie-Française. Mo ...

and her sister Michelle Moreau,

Louise Lévêque de Vilmorin Marie Louise Lévêque de Vilmorin (4 April 1902 – 26 December 1969) was a French novelist, poet and journalist. Vilmorin was best known as a writer of delicate but mordant tales, often set in aristocratic or artistic milieu. Early life Born ...

, Aimée Alexandre,

Oscar Lewenstein Silvion Oscar Lewenstein (18 January 1917 – 23 February 1997)Robert Murph"Lewenstein, (Silvion) Oscar (1917–1997)" ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography''. was a British theatre and film producer, who helped create some of the leadin ...

, Guillaume Apollinaire and

Sergei Prokofiev Sergei Sergeyevich Prokofiev; alternative transliterations of his name include ''Sergey'' or ''Serge'', and ''Prokofief'', ''Prokofieff'', or ''Prokofyev''., group=n (27 April .S. 15 April1891 – 5 March 1953) was a Russian composer, p ...

, many of whom were idolised figures of Truffaut's . Filming began on October 11, 1977 and lasted until November 27, 1977. The atmosphere on the set was especially fun and Nathalie Baye revealed that she and Truffaut often had laughing fits during takes. However, she also admits to having found it difficult to receive comprehensive direction from Truffaut, as he remained highly focused on his own performance. Baye also had difficulty performing alongside Truffuat, due to his "expressionless, nearly mechanical" approach to acting, which required her to adjust her own approaches accordingly.

Themes

Since the semi-autobiographical ''

'' (1959), it has been noted that Truffaut often portrayed personal experiences and emotions throughout his films. Via such expressionistic use of the medium, he proclaimed himself as a film auteur, within a theory of film as art which he personally advocated as a director and a critic. As a result, Truffaut's films often appeared to focus on certain themes and stylisations, such as the vitality of youth and childhood, particularly embodied by the character of

Antoine Doinel Antoine Doinel () is a fictional character created by François Truffaut and portrayed by actor Jean-Pierre Léaud in five films directed by Truffaut. Doinel is to a great extent an alter ego for Truffaut; they share many of the same childhood ex ...

, who is a recurring presence across a number of his films. ''The Green Room'' however was made towards the end of Truffaut's career, and thematically the film contrasts to his earlier works. ''The Green Room'' appears to reminisce on childhood, whilst focusing more on the final stages of life, as Truffaut expresses his views of death and remembrance of the dead. This theme for a film had "preoccupied him for several years and had been accentuated by the deaths of numerous friends and colleagues", such as those who previously worked alongside him on ''

''. Nonetheless, the alternative theme of the film again reflects Truffaut's sense of personal expressionism throughout his career. When asked "what do you make of the contradiction between the cult of death and the love of the life?" Truffaut replied "it's the theme of the film." Gillain wrote that the film "points to cinema as a celebration of memory." Yet, also thematic throughout ''The Green Room'' is a familiar "estrangement from human contact and romantic obsession", which has been prominent in "most of the films that Truffaut has made over a period of twenty years."

Music

Truffaut chose pre-recorded music from composer Maurice Jaubert's 1936 "Concert Flamand", whose work he had already used four times, and played it on set in order to create a rhythm and establish a religious, ritualistic atmosphere for the cast and crew. As Truffaut has stated, both camera and actors movements follow Jaubert's music rhythm. Filmmaker François Porcile later said "It's not surprising to find, in the sudden explosive tension and somber conviction of his acting, a direct echo of Jaubert's style, with its gathering momentum and sudden restraint, its reticence and violence." Truffaut explained: "I realized that his music, full of clarity and sunlight, was the best to accompany the memory of all these dead." However, an infrequent use of music throughout the final film sees a consistent quietness take place, which is regarded to have masked "an exploration of human isolation in an inhuman society and of the strength and limitations of moral and aesthetic purity." Gillain wrote that the film is cut like a musical composition and that each scene "performs a suite of variations on a single theme."

Release and reception

Truffaut completed the editing of ''The Green Room'' in March 1978 and showed it to his trusted friends and co-workers, who immediately praised the film and called it one of his best. Many wrote to him via letter, such as

Isabelle Adjani Isabelle Yasmina Adjani ; born 27 June 1955) is a French actress and singer of Algerian and German descent. She is the only performer in history to win five César Awards for acting; she won the Best Actress award for ''Possession'' (1981), ''O ...

, who stated: 'Of all your films it is the one that most moved me and spoke to me, along with '' Two English Girls''. I felt good crying in your presence.'

Alain Delon Alain Fabien Maurice Marcel Delon (; born 8 November 1935) is a French actor and filmmaker. He was one of Europe's most prominent actors and screen sex symbols in the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s. In 1985, he won the César Award for Best Actor for h ...

told Truffaut: "''The Green Room'', along with Clément,

Visconti Visconti is a surname which may refer to: Italian noble families * Visconti of Milan, ruled Milan from 1277 to 1447 ** Visconti di Modrone, collateral branch of the Visconti of Milan * Visconti of Pisa and Sardinia, ruled Gallura in Sardinia from ...

and very few others, is part of my secret garden."

said to him: 'I found your film deeply moving. I found you deeply moving in your film.'

Antoine Vitez Antoine Vitez (; 20 December 1930 – 30 April 1990) was a French actor, director, and poet. He became a central character and influence on the French theater in the post-war period, especially in the technique of teaching drama. He was also tr ...

told Truffaut: 'I haven't yet told you the emotion I felt on seeing ''The Green Room''. What I see in it, deep down, is kindness, and that's what touches me most. Thank you for having included me in it.' Publicly, ''The Green Room'' was Truffaut's biggest financial failure, but one of his most critically praised films. One major French film critic,

François Chalais François Chalais (; December 15, 1919 – May 1, 1996) was a prominent French reporter, journalist, writer and film historian. The François Chalais Prize at the annual Cannes Film Festival is named after him. Biography Born in Strasbourg in 1919 ...

of ''

Le Figaro ''Le Figaro'' () is a French daily morning newspaper founded in 1826. It is headquartered on Boulevard Haussmann in the 9th arrondissement of Paris. The oldest national newspaper in France, ''Le Figaro'' is one of three French newspapers of reco ...

'', disliked the film, but Truffaut received high praise elsewhere.

Pascal Bonitzer Pascal Bonitzer (; born 1 February 1946) is a French screenwriter, film director, actor, and former film critic for '' Cahiers du cinéma''. He has written for 48 films and has appeared in 30 films since 1967. He starred in Raúl Ruiz's 1978 fi ...

viewed the film as 'most profound, and without much exaggeration, one of the most beautiful French films of recent years', and that 'it is not for nothing that Truffaut embodies his character, and that in the latter, Julien Davenne, the author and the actor are entwined in the tightest possible way...rarely does a filmmaker involve himself to that point - involving his body (and note all the ambiguity of the word in the context of this funeral film) and even ''his'' dead; mixing together Julien Davenne's dead with those of François Truffaut in the flaming chapel where the film comes to an end.'

Joel Magny Joel or Yoel is a name meaning "Yahweh Is God" and may refer to: * Joel (given name), origin of the name including a list of people with the first name. * Joel (surname), a surname * Joel (footballer, born 1904), Joel de Oliveira Monteiro, Brazili ...

called Davenne the ultimate 'truffaldian' hero, 'unable to live the present moment in the fullness of his being, where he is...in a perpetual time-lag with reality'. The French magazine ''

Télérama ''Télérama'' is a weekly French cultural and television magazine published in Paris, France. The name is a contraction of its earlier title: ''Télévision-Radio-Cinéma''. Fabienne Pascaud is currently managing editor. Ludovic Desautez is dep ...

'' called Davenne 'l'homme qui aimait les flammes' ('the man who loves the flames').

Jean-Louis Bory Jean-Louis Bory (25 June 1919 – 11/12 June 1979) was a French writer, journalist, and film critic. Life Jean-Louis Bory was born on 25 June 1919 in Méréville, Essonne. The son of a pharmacist and a teacher, he came from a family of teacher ...

of '' Le Nouvel Observateur'' wrote that: 'In its simple and pure line, it resembles a cinematic testament. There will be other Truffaut films, but none that will ever be more intimate, more personal, more wrenching than this ''Green Room'', altar of the dead.' ''The Green Room'' was released on April 5, 1978 and was a financial failure, selling slightly more than 30,000 tickets (it has sold 161,293 admissions total as of 2015). Truffaut knew that a film about death would be difficult to market or attract an audience, but felt strongly that 'this kind of theme can touch a deep chord in many people. Everyone has their dead.' He hoped that the film would connect with the audience, and stated that he wanted people to watch it with their jaws dropped, moving from one astonishing moment to the next. Truffaut took a personal interest in promoting the film and hired renowned press agent, Simon Misrahi, in his determination to make the film reach a larger audience, despite its subject matter. A few days before the film's premiere, Truffaut completely changed his approach, putting more emphasis on his own track record as a filmmaker and the presence of rising star, Nathalie Baye. In a television appearance to promote the film, Truffaut showed two scenes from the film that had nothing to do with the dead. Truffaut was extremely upset by the film's financial failure, and referred to it as "The Empty Room". He publicly stated that he would not act again for at least ten years, and admitted to '' Paris Match'' that he regretted not casting Charles Denner in the lead role. Truffaut later blamed United Artists for not promoting the film properly, which led to his breaking from the US company for the first time in over ten years. His next film, made independently of American influence, would be '' L'amour en fuite''/''Love on the Run''. Truffaut premiered ''The Green Room'' in the US at the 1978 New York Film Festival, where its reception was again ill-fated.

Vincent Canby Vincent Canby (July 27, 1924 – October 15, 2000) was an American film and theatre critic who served as the chief film critic for ''The New York Times'' from 1969 until the early 1990s, then its chief theatre critic from 1994 until his death in ...

, writing for ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'', gave the film a mixed review and criticized Truffaut's performance, saying that: 'Truffaut does not make it easy for us to respond to Davenne'. Canby went on to call the film 'a most demanding, original work and one must meet it on its own terms, without expectations of casual pleasures'.

Dave Kehr David Kehr (born 1953) is an American museum curator and film critic. For many years a critic at the ''Chicago Reader'' and the ''Chicago Tribune,'' he later wrote a weekly column for ''The New York Times'' on DVD releases. He later became a c ...

, in the ''

Chicago Reader The ''Chicago Reader'', or ''Reader'' (stylized as ЯEADER), is an American alternative weekly newspaper in Chicago, Illinois, noted for its literary style of journalism and coverage of the arts, particularly film and theater. It was founded by a ...

'', said that the film 'dead-ends in sheer neurosis' while praising the cinematography. A negative review from ''

Time Out Time-out, Time Out, or timeout may refer to: Time * Time-out (sport), in various sports, a break in play, called by a team * Television timeout, a break in sporting action so that a commercial break may be taken * Timeout (computing), an enginee ...

'' blamed the film's 'failure' on 'Truffaut's lack of range as an actor hichis not helped by the script's purple prose'. Truffaut himself eventually reflected on the reception of ''The Green Room'' as a case where he was able to 'get out of trouble', rather than simply assert 'I succeeded', in relation to the commercial failure but general critical success of the film. On

review aggregator A review aggregator is a system that collects reviews of products and services (such as films, books, video games, software, hardware, and cars). This system stores the reviews and uses them for purposes such as supporting a website where users ...

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...

, the film has a rating of 38%, based on 8 reviews, earning an average rating of 5.5 out of 10.

Awards and nominations

References

Bibliography

Articles

* * * * * Article Unknown, ''

L'Aurore ''L’Aurore'' (; ) was a literary, liberal, and socialist newspaper published in Paris, France, from 1897 to 1914. Its most famous headline was Émile Zola's '' J'Accuse...!'' leading into his article on the Dreyfus Affair. The newspaper was ...

'', April 3, 1978, cited in Baecque, Antoine de; Toubiana, Serge (1999), ''Francois Truffaut: a Biography''. New York: Knopf. * Article Unknown, ''

'', March 3, 1978, cited in Baecque, Antoine de; Toubiana, Serge (1999), ''Francois Truffaut: a Biography''. New York: Knopf. * Article Unknown, ''L'Humanité-Dimanche'', June 5, 1977, cited in Baecque, Antoine de; Toubiana, Serge (1999), ''Francois Truffaut: a Biography''. New York: Knopf. * Article Unknown, ''Le Nouvelle Observateur'', April 3, 1978, cited in Baecque, Antoine de; Toubiana, Serge (1999), ''Francois Truffaut: a Biography''. New York: Knopf. * Article Unknown, '' Paris Match'', May 4, 1978, cited in Baecque, Antoine de; Toubiana, Serge (1999), ''Francois Truffaut: a Biography''. New York: Knopf.

Books

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External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Green Room 1978 films 1978 drama films 1970s French-language films 1970s historical drama films Films about grieving Films based on multiple works Films based on novellas Films based on short fiction Films based on works by Henry James Films directed by François Truffaut Films set in the 1920s Films shot in Normandy Films with screenplays by François Truffaut French historical drama films 1970s French films