''Wedding in Blood'', also known as ''Red Wedding'' in the UK (french: Les Noces rouges) is a 1973 French

crime drama Crime films, in the broadest sense, is a film genre inspired by and analogous to the crime fiction literary genre. Films of this genre generally involve various aspects of crime and its detection. Stylistically, the genre may overlap and comb ...

film directed by

Claude Chabrol Claude Henri Jean Chabrol (; 24 June 1930 – 12 September 2010) was a French film director and a member of the French New Wave (''nouvelle vague'') group of filmmakers who first came to prominence at the end of the 1950s. Like his colleagues a ...

. It was entered into the

23rd Berlin International Film Festival The 23rd annual Berlin International Film Festival was held from 22 June to 3 July 1973. The Golden Bear was awarded to the Indian film ''Ashani Sanket'' by Satyajit Ray. Jury The following people were announced as being on the jury for the fes ...

Plot

In a small French town, filmed in Valençay, the deputy mayor Pierre is having an affair of snatched meetings with Lucienne, the mayor's wife. So that they can be together more often, Pierre poisons his sickly wife without anybody suspecting and Lucienne then starts visiting his house at night. Her husband Paul, aware of what's happening, blackmails Pierre into supporting a dubious land deal. To escape this, the two lovers decide to get rid of Paul, who they kill on a lonely road and set fire to the car. Under orders from Paris, the police treat it as an accident, until they receive a letter from Lucienne's teenage daughter who may have deduced the whole story, but claims she just wants her mother cleared of suspicion. When arrested, the guilty couple do not deny their crimes. Incredulous, the police inspector asks them; "Why didn't you just leave? Go and live somewhere else?" Bemused, they reply; "We never thought of that." The plot comes from a real event in the little town of

Bourganeuf Bourganeuf (; Limousin: ''Borgon Nuòu'') is a commune in the Creuse department in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region in central France. Geography An area of farming and forestry, comprising the village and several hamlets situated in the valley of ...

in 1970. René Balaire, a heating engineer, was found burned to death in his car, from which his wife Yvette had escaped unharmed. The police investigation found that he had died from a revolver bullet fired by her lover Bernard Cousty, who had previously killed his own wife.

Cast

Stéphane Audran Stéphane Audran (born Colette Suzanne Dacheville; 8 November 1932 – 27 March 2018) was a French actress. She was known for her performances in award-winning films such as ''The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie'' (1972) and ''Babette's Feast'' ...

as Lucienne Delamare *

Michel Piccoli Jacques Daniel Michel Piccoli (27 December 1925 – 12 May 2020) was a French actor, producer and film director with a career spanning 70 years. He was lauded as one of the greatest French character actors of his generation who played a wide vari ...

as Pierre Maury *

Claude Piéplu Claude Léon Auguste Piéplu (9 May 1923, Paris–24 May 2006, Paris) was a French theater, film and television actor. He was known for his hoarse and frayed voice. Selected filmography *''D'homme à hommes'' (1948) - (uncredited) *'' Le R ...

as Paul Delamare * Clotilde Joano as Clotilde Maury * Eliana De Santis as Hélène Chevalier, Lucienne's daughter * François Robert as Auriol *

Daniel Lecourtois Daniel Lecourtois (25 January 1902 – 16 January 1985) was a French film actor.Hayward p.250 He appeared in more than sixty films and television series during his career. In his later career he often played authority figures. Partial filmography ...

as Prefet / Department governor

References

External links

* 1973 films 1973 crime drama films French crime drama films 1970s French-language films Films directed by Claude Chabrol Crime films based on actual events Films à clef 1970s French films {{crime-drama-film-stub