The Bride Wore Black

Interesting take on Hitchcock territory, although it lacks the suspense and capacity to involve the viewer as The Master's films always did. The true wonder here is Jeanne Moreau, as cool as a cucumber, going about her revenge business with clockwork accuracy, exuding class and talent equivalent to five of today's stars. Bernard Herrman's passionate score seems slightly out of place against the film's emotional detachment, and most of the time things fall just a little bit too perfectly in place, but overall, this is a satisfying film, of interest to genre fans.

Francois Truffaut's THE BRIDE WORE BLACK is an excellent gift of a film to fans of Hitchcock and even to the master himself. There are many nods to Hitch's films and you know Truffaut had done his homework while making the picture (by writing the definitive book on Hitch's films). What makes BRIDE WORE BLACK more than just mere homage is an elevation of suspense and a less stylized, blatant approach to the material. Truffaut does not sell his own cinematic soul and is able to present a terrific suspense story of his own. It was almost like Hitch's work turned inside out. Jeanne Moreau plays a miserable middle-aged woman, both suicidal and murderous, looking to avenge the death of her life-long companion and husband.

We see the murder of the husband repeatedly throughout the picture, studied from different angles and vantage points. He is assassinated on the steps of the church, while the thunderous 'wedding suite' plays rather ominously. We find out why she picks her victims the way she does and how they all relate to the slaying. This is one ticked off woman. Some of the murders echoed Hitch, one inspired by FOREIGN CORRESPONDENT, another from NOTORIOUS. The scenes and "borrowing" that occur here are not as blatant as you may think, however. They are mostly inspirations and Truffaut puts his own spin on them, meshing them together or taking them apart and reassembling the elements. If you are a Hitch connoisseur, it is fun to interpret what Truffaut is doing with the master's vast material.

I was also struck by a feeling of NORTH BY NORTHWEST, but with a woman as the main protagonist and the journey turned inside out. Of course, we get the character who has seen this person before and either leads to her capture or is on to her, a staple in Hitch flix. The ultimate homage is Bernard Herrmann's score (he was Hitch's right hand man for years). The 'wedding suite' is louder than usual, resonating evil, and the music as a whole is Herrmann's typical gothic work, brilliant and memorable. Truffaut extends Hitchcock by showing us in more graphic detail some of the killings and the relentless mission this woman is on is not stylized the least bit.

Check out the poisoning scene and tell me you don't see Ingrid Bergman looking at Claude Raines circling and bellowing in expressionistic ways. Trains are littered throughout the film, one on the lampshade of a young boy, another with Moreau riding on it. This is all great, but it transcends some of Hitch's work in many ways. The blood-curdling ending is one of the best I have ever seen in film, period. Considering BRIDE WORE BLACK was released in 1968, the horrific ending may have inspired HITCH of all people when he made FRENZY in 1972. Watch both and see if you know what I mean. This is a must see for foreign film fans as well.

RATING: 8 1/2 of 10

The Bride Wore Black is, for my money, Truffaut's best film! Jeanne Moreau is pitch perfect as the shattered bride, who will stop at nothing to punish the men responsible for her husband's death. She is fully authentic, as she tracks down and dispenses justice to those responsible, with a cold and icy single mindedness, that would make a shark shudder!! This is a must see for all Truffaut fans, one that still remains vivid to me! 9 out of 10!

Bride Wore Black, The (1968)

*** (out of 4)

Truffaut's homage to Hitchcock deals with a mysterious woman (Jeanne Moreau) who, after a failed suicide, decides to track down and kill the five men responsible for her husband's death on their wedding day. Needless to say, this film was pretty much remade by Quentin Tarantino in the two KILL BILL films but you can see the films influence go even further with various exploitation movies including Jess Franco's SHE KILLED IN ECSTACY as well as the notorious I SPIT ON YOUR GRAVE. I think this film works very well as a homage but doesn't work too good on its own. What I was shocked to find is that there's very little emotion of any kind here. There's really no drama, no one to really care for, no suspense and very little mystery. I'm really not sure what the point of the film was except perhaps for Truffaut to show his appreciation to Hitchcock and try to copy a film like the mystery master would have made. The movie has some very good stuff in it but again, I'm sure it could have been better had a few things been changed. The five murders are pretty much like separate short films and this is something I liked. I like how all five murders appear just like their own movies but this does lead to one of my complaints, which is the running time. It really seemed like the movie was padded with needless scenes and stuff that could have been handled in less time. I found all the murders to be quite fun in their own right and that includes the ending, which really worked even though I've read it was different than what was in the novel. Another major plus is the performance by Moreau who manages to be very believable in the role. I thought she came off perfect as the quiet assassin even though you could look into her eyes and see the pain she's feeling for her dead husband. The supporting players, mainly the five men, are quite good as well, although none of them really stick out as being great. The Bernard Hermann score does a good job at reminding us of his previous work with Hitchcock and there are plenty of nice references to the master's films.

Set aside the place of the picture in Truffaut's oeuvre, along with the extent of Hitchcock's influence and the literary antecedents of the story; in other words, take a blindfold test, so to speak, on the movie itself. If created by J. Doe from a story by R. Roe, this film would generate lukewarm praise at best - none for the credibility of the plot or main character. The narrative, presented in a naturalistic, matter-of-fact manner, is in fact completely contrived to serve the purposes of a bizarre story. The leading character, whether to be viewed as suicidal or homicidal (or both), is presented not as psychotic, but as in total emotional control of herself - as self-composed and methodical as she could possibly be.

It just doesn't work. The stories Hitchcock used were developed from simple, seemingly random everyday encounters, the kinds of mishaps or minor aberrations that might touch any of us. Such an approach here might have made the picture more worthy of serious appraisal.