Black and White in Color
Black and White in Color (French: La Victoire en chantant, then Noirs et Blancs en couleur for the 1977 re-issue) is an Ivorian 1976 war film and black comedy directed by Jean-Jacques Annaud in his directorial debut. It depicts French colonists at war with the Germans in Central Africa during World War I, and is set in the then German colony of Kamerun. The film adopts a strong antimilitaristic point of view, and is noteworthy for ridiculing the French side even more harshly than their German counterparts.
Black and White in Color | |
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Directed by | Jean-Jacques Annaud |
Produced by | Arthur Cohn Jacques Perrin Giorgio Silvagni |
Written by | Jean-Jacques Annaud Georges Conchon |
Music by | Pierre Bachelet |
Cinematography | Claude Augostini |
Edited by | Françoise Bonnot |
Production company | France 3 Cinéma Reggane Films Smart Film Produktion Société Française de Production (SFP) Société Ivoirienne de Cinema |
Distributed by | Allied Artists (USA) |
Release date |
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Running time | 90 minutes |
Country | France Ivory Coast |
Language | French |
The original French title is the first four words (the first line) of the song Le Chant du départ, a French military song.
It won the 1976 Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film;[1] it was submitted to the Académie de Côte d'Ivoire, resulting in that country's first and only Oscar.
Cast
- Jean Carmet as Sergeant Bosselet
- Jacques Dufilho as Paul Rechampot
- Catherine Rouvel as Marinette
- Jacques Spiesser as Hubert Fresnoy
- Maurice Barrier as Caprice
- Benjamin Memel Atchory
Reception
John Simon described Black and White in Color as an "absolute gem".[2]
Around the film
- According to French director Jean-Jacques Annaud, producer Arthur Cohn never allowed him to attend to the Academy Awards ceremony and publicly receive the Oscar because he felt the American public took for granted that this film was directed by a native African.
- Theatrically released twice in France, before and after it received the award, this film was a commercial disaster on both occasions.
See also
- African theatre of World War I
- List of submissions to the 49th Academy Awards for Best Foreign Language Film
- List of Ivorian submissions for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film
References
- "The 49th Academy Awards (1977) Nominees and Winners". oscars.org. Retrieved 25 March 2012.
- Simon, John (2005). John Simon on Film: Criticism 1982-2001. Applause Books. p. 645.