La Cage aux Folles (film)
Encyclopedia
La Cage aux Folles is a 1978 French-Italian film adaptation
of the 1973 play La Cage aux Folle
by Jean Poiret
. It is co-written and directed by Édouard Molinaro
and stars Ugo Tognazzi
and Michel Serrault
.
), the manager of a Saint-Tropez
nightclub featuring drag
entertainment, and Albin Mougeotte (Michel Serrault
), his star attraction – and the madness that ensues when Renato's son, Laurent (Rémi Laurent
), brings home his fiancée, Andrea (Luisa Maneri), and her ultra-conservative parents (Carmen Scarpitta
and Michel Galabru
) to meet them.
, as well as theatres throughout the country in both urban and rural areas. For years, it remained the #1 foreign film to be released in the United States
; as of 2011, it is #9.
Unlike many other non-English-language films, the English dubbing was done generally by the original cast.
The film currently holds a 100% 'Fresh' rating on Rotten Tomatoes
.
(1980), also directed by Édouard Molinaro, and La Cage aux folles 3 - 'Elles' se marient (1985), directed by Georges Lautner
.
A 1983 Broadway musical of the same name based on the play and the film was also successful.
In 1996, an American remake
titled The Birdcage
, directed by Mike Nichols
, was released, relocated to South Beach
, Miami, and stars Robin Williams
and Nathan Lane
.
, who in 1979 pitched the concept of a weekly series about a gay couple similar to the one in the film to ABC
. His planned title was Adam and Yves
, a play on both Adam and Eve
and a slogan used by some anti-gay groups. After months in development, Arnold realized that the concept was unsustainable as a weekly series, which led to the show getting dropped.
Film adaptation
Film adaptation is the transfer of a written work to a feature film. It is a type of derivative work.A common form of film adaptation is the use of a novel as the basis of a feature film, but film adaptation includes the use of non-fiction , autobiography, comic book, scripture, plays, and even...
of the 1973 play La Cage aux Folle
La Cage aux Folles (play)
La Cage aux Folles is a 1973 French farce by Jean Poiret centering on confusion that ensues when Laurent, the son of a Saint Tropez night club owner and his gay lover, brings his fiancée's ultraconservative parents for dinner. The original French production premiered at the Théâtre du...
by Jean Poiret
Jean Poiret
Jean Poiret, born Jean Poiré, was a French actor, director, and screenwriter. He is primarily known as the author of the original play La Cage Aux Folles. Jean Poiret was born in Paris, France, where he died of a heart attack in 1992...
. It is co-written and directed by Édouard Molinaro
Édouard Molinaro
Édouard Molinaro is a French film director, actor, and screenwriter. He was born in Gironde, Bordeaux.He is best known for his comedies with Louis de Funès , My Uncle Benjamin , Dracula and Son , and the Academy Award-nominated La Cage aux Folles Édouard Molinaro (born 13 May 1928) is a French...
and stars Ugo Tognazzi
Ugo Tognazzi
Ugo Tognazzi was an Italian film, TV, and theatre actor, director, and screenwriter.-Early life:Tognazzi was born in Cremona, in northern Italy but spent his youth in various localities as his father was a traveller clerk for an insurance company.After his return in the native city in 1936, he...
and Michel Serrault
Michel Serrault
Michel Serrault was a celebrated French actor who appeared in over 150 films.-Biography :...
.
Plot
Like the play, the film tells the story of a gay couple – Renato Baldi (Ugo TognazziUgo Tognazzi
Ugo Tognazzi was an Italian film, TV, and theatre actor, director, and screenwriter.-Early life:Tognazzi was born in Cremona, in northern Italy but spent his youth in various localities as his father was a traveller clerk for an insurance company.After his return in the native city in 1936, he...
), the manager of a Saint-Tropez
Saint-Tropez
Saint-Tropez is a town, 104 km to the east of Marseille, in the Var department of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region of southeastern France. It is also the principal town in the canton of Saint-Tropez....
nightclub featuring drag
Drag
- In science and technology :* Drag , the force which resists motion of an object through a fluid* Drag equation, a mathematical equation used in analyzing the magnitude of drag caused by fluid flow...
entertainment, and Albin Mougeotte (Michel Serrault
Michel Serrault
Michel Serrault was a celebrated French actor who appeared in over 150 films.-Biography :...
), his star attraction – and the madness that ensues when Renato's son, Laurent (Rémi Laurent
Rémi Laurent
Rémi Laurent was a French actor, best known for playing the son Laurent in La Cage aux Folles. He died from an HIV related illness in 1989.-Filmography:* La Princesse surgelée...
), brings home his fiancée, Andrea (Luisa Maneri), and her ultra-conservative parents (Carmen Scarpitta
Carmen Scarpitta
Carmen Scarpitta , was an Italian film actress. She appeared in 30 films between 1960 and 2001. She was born in Hollywood, California, and died in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico.-Selected filmography:* Pleasant Nights...
and Michel Galabru
Michel Galabru
Michel Louis Edmond Galabru is a French actor born on 27 October 1922 in Safi, Morocco.-Career:Over the course of his career, Galabru appeared in over 200 movies and worked with such renowned directors as Bertrand Blier, Costa-Gavras, Luc Besson , and Jean-Luc Godard...
) to meet them.
Cast
- Ugo TognazziUgo TognazziUgo Tognazzi was an Italian film, TV, and theatre actor, director, and screenwriter.-Early life:Tognazzi was born in Cremona, in northern Italy but spent his youth in various localities as his father was a traveller clerk for an insurance company.After his return in the native city in 1936, he...
as Renato Baldi (voiced in French by Pierre MondyPierre MondyPierre Mondy, whose real name was Pierre Cuq, born 10 February 1925 in Neuilly-sur-Seine, is a French actor and director.He began his film career in 1949 and has appeared in over 140 films. In 1960, he received international revcognition for the role of Napoléon Bonaparte in the film Austerlitz...
) - Michel SerraultMichel SerraultMichel Serrault was a celebrated French actor who appeared in over 150 films.-Biography :...
as Albin Mougeotte/'Zaza Napoli' (voiced in Italian by Oreste LionelloOreste LionelloOreste Lionello was an Italian actor and voice dubbing artist. He was well known as Italy's film 'voice' for Woody Allen.-Biography:...
) - Claire Maurier as Simone
- Rémi LaurentRémi LaurentRémi Laurent was a French actor, best known for playing the son Laurent in La Cage aux Folles. He died from an HIV related illness in 1989.-Filmography:* La Princesse surgelée...
as Laurent Baldi - Carmen ScarpittaCarmen ScarpittaCarmen Scarpitta , was an Italian film actress. She appeared in 30 films between 1960 and 2001. She was born in Hollywood, California, and died in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico.-Selected filmography:* Pleasant Nights...
as Louise Charrier - Benny Luke as Jacob
- Luisa Maneri as Andrea Charrier
- Michel GalabruMichel GalabruMichel Louis Edmond Galabru is a French actor born on 27 October 1922 in Safi, Morocco.-Career:Over the course of his career, Galabru appeared in over 200 movies and worked with such renowned directors as Bertrand Blier, Costa-Gavras, Luc Besson , and Jean-Luc Godard...
as Simon Charrier
Reception
The film (subtitled "Birds of a Feather" on the US poster) won over audiences with its sight gags, uproarious complications, and a tender and touching conclusion. It played for well over a year at the 68th Street Playhouse, an art house cinema in New York CityNew York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, as well as theatres throughout the country in both urban and rural areas. For years, it remained the #1 foreign film to be released in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
; as of 2011, it is #9.
Unlike many other non-English-language films, the English dubbing was done generally by the original cast.
The film currently holds a 100% 'Fresh' rating on Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is a website devoted to reviews, information, and news of films—widely known as a film review aggregator. Its name derives from the cliché of audiences throwing tomatoes and other vegetables at a poor stage performance...
.
Sequels and remake
The film was followed by two sequels: La Cage aux Folles IILa Cage aux Folles II
La Cage aux Folles II is a French-Italian film released in 1980. It is a sequel to 1979's La Cage aux Folles. It is directed by Édouard Molinaro and stars Michel Serrault as Albin, , the female impersonator star of a gay night-club revue, and Ugo Tognazzi as Renato, his mate of over twenty...
(1980), also directed by Édouard Molinaro, and La Cage aux folles 3 - 'Elles' se marient (1985), directed by Georges Lautner
Georges Lautner
Georges Lautner is a French film director and screenwriter.He was born in Nice, the son of actress Renée Saint-Cyr.- As director :* 1958 : La Môme aux boutons* 1960 : Arrêtez les tambours* 1960 : Marche ou crève...
.
A 1983 Broadway musical of the same name based on the play and the film was also successful.
In 1996, an American remake
Remake
A remake is a piece of media based primarily on an earlier work of the same medium.-Film:The term "remake" is generally used in reference to a movie which uses an earlier movie as the main source material, rather than in reference to a second, later movie based on the same source...
titled The Birdcage
The Birdcage
The Birdcage is a 1996 American comedy film directed by Mike Nichols, and stars Robin Williams, Nathan Lane, Gene Hackman, Dianne Wiest, Dan Futterman, Calista Flockhart, Hank Azaria, and Christine Baranski. The script was written by Elaine May...
, directed by Mike Nichols
Mike Nichols
Mike Nichols is a German-born American television, stage and film director, writer, producer and comedian. He began his career in the 1950s as one half of the comedy duo Nichols and May, along with Elaine May. In 1968 he won the Academy Award for Best Director for the film The Graduate...
, was released, relocated to South Beach
South Beach
South Beach, also nicknamed SoBe, is a neighborhood in the city of Miami Beach, Florida, United States. It is the area south of Indian Creek and encompasses roughly the southernmost 23 blocks of the main barrier island that separates the Atlantic Ocean and Biscayne Bay.This area was the first...
, Miami, and stars Robin Williams
Robin Williams
Robin McLaurin Williams is an American actor and comedian. Rising to fame with his role as the alien Mork in the TV series Mork and Mindy, and later stand-up comedy work, Williams has performed in many feature films since 1980. He won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his performance...
and Nathan Lane
Nathan Lane
Nathan Lane is an American actor of stage and screen. He is best known for his roles as Mendy in The Lisbon Traviata, Albert in The Birdcage, Max Bialystock in the musical The Producers, Ernie Smuntz in MouseHunt, Nathan Detroit in Guys and Dolls, Pseudolus in A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to...
.
Adam and Yves
La Cage aux Folles caught the attention of television producer Danny ArnoldDanny Arnold
Danny Arnold was an American producer, writer, comedian, actor and director known for producing Barney Miller, That Girl and Bewitched.-Life and career:...
, who in 1979 pitched the concept of a weekly series about a gay couple similar to the one in the film to ABC
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
. His planned title was Adam and Yves
Adam and Yves
Adam and Yves was a proposed American television series that was going to be based on the 1978 film La Cage aux Folles. Producer Danny Arnold was a fan of La Cage and in 1979 pitched a series featuring a male couple with a masculine/feminine dynamic similar to the one in the film. ABC...
, a play on both Adam and Eve
Adam and Eve
Adam and Eve were, according to the Genesis creation narratives, the first human couple to inhabit Earth, created by YHWH, the God of the ancient Hebrews...
and a slogan used by some anti-gay groups. After months in development, Arnold realized that the concept was unsustainable as a weekly series, which led to the show getting dropped.