Les Uns et les Autres
Encyclopedia
Les Uns et les Autres is a 1981 French
film by Claude Lelouch. The film is a musical epic and it is widely considered as the director's best work with Un Homme et une Femme. It won the Technical Grand Prize at the 1981 Cannes Film Festival
. In the United States, it was distributed under the name Boléro
in reference to Maurice Ravel
's orchestral piece, used in the film. The film was very successful in France with 3,234,549 admissions and was the 6th highest grossing film of the year.
s that evolve as time passes.
In Moscow, 1936, an aspiring dancer Tatiana marries a man, Boris, who will give her a son just before he is killed during World War II. In Berlin, Karl Kremer’s success as a pianist is confirmed when he receives praise from Hitler – something which will haunt him throughout his life. In Paris, a young violinist Anne falls in love with a Jewish pianist, Simon Meyer; they marry and produce a son, but they end up on a train bound for a Nazi concentration camp. In New York, Jack Glenn is making his name with his popular jazz band. Twenty years on, their children are reliving their experiences, and Anne Meyer continues her hopeless quest to find the son she was forced to abandon.
The main event in the film is the Second World War, which throws the stories of the four musical families together and mixes their fates. Although all characters are fictional, many of them are loosely based on historical musical icons (Édith Piaf
, Josephine Baker
, Herbert von Karajan
, Glenn Miller
, Rudolf Nureyev
, etc.) The Boléro
dance sequence at the end brings all the threads together.
Cinema of France
The Cinema of France comprises the art of film and creative movies made within the nation of France or by French filmmakers abroad.France is the birthplace of cinema and was responsible for many of its early significant contributions. Several important cinematic movements, including the Nouvelle...
film by Claude Lelouch. The film is a musical epic and it is widely considered as the director's best work with Un Homme et une Femme. It won the Technical Grand Prize at the 1981 Cannes Film Festival
1981 Cannes Film Festival
- Jury :*Jacques Deray *Ellen Burstyn *Jean-Claude Carrière *Robert Chazal *Attilio D'Onofrio *Christian Defaye *Carlos Diegues *Antonio Gala...
. In the United States, it was distributed under the name Boléro
Boléro
Boléro is a one-movement orchestral piece by Maurice Ravel . Originally composed as a ballet commissioned by Russian ballerina Ida Rubinstein, the piece, which premiered in 1928, is Ravel's most famous musical composition....
in reference to Maurice Ravel
Maurice Ravel
Joseph-Maurice Ravel was a French composer known especially for his melodies, orchestral and instrumental textures and effects...
's orchestral piece, used in the film. The film was very successful in France with 3,234,549 admissions and was the 6th highest grossing film of the year.
Plot
The film follows four families, with different nationalities (French, German, Russian and American) but with the same passion for music, from the 1930s to the 1980s. The various story lines cross each other time and again in different places and times, with their own theme scoreFilm score
A film score is original music written specifically to accompany a film, forming part of the film's soundtrack, which also usually includes dialogue and sound effects...
s that evolve as time passes.
In Moscow, 1936, an aspiring dancer Tatiana marries a man, Boris, who will give her a son just before he is killed during World War II. In Berlin, Karl Kremer’s success as a pianist is confirmed when he receives praise from Hitler – something which will haunt him throughout his life. In Paris, a young violinist Anne falls in love with a Jewish pianist, Simon Meyer; they marry and produce a son, but they end up on a train bound for a Nazi concentration camp. In New York, Jack Glenn is making his name with his popular jazz band. Twenty years on, their children are reliving their experiences, and Anne Meyer continues her hopeless quest to find the son she was forced to abandon.
The main event in the film is the Second World War, which throws the stories of the four musical families together and mixes their fates. Although all characters are fictional, many of them are loosely based on historical musical icons (Édith Piaf
Édith Piaf
Édith Piaf , born Édith Giovanna Gassion, was a French singer and cultural icon who became widely regarded as France's greatest popular singer. Her singing reflected her life, with her specialty being ballads...
, Josephine Baker
Josephine Baker
Josephine Baker was an American dancer, singer, and actress who found fame in her adopted homeland of France. She was given such nicknames as the "Bronze Venus", the "Black Pearl", and the "Créole Goddess"....
, Herbert von Karajan
Herbert von Karajan
Herbert von Karajan was an Austrian orchestra and opera conductor. To the wider world he was perhaps most famously associated with the Berlin Philharmonic, of which he was principal conductor for 35 years...
, Glenn Miller
Glenn Miller
Alton Glenn Miller was an American jazz musician , arranger, composer, and bandleader in the swing era. He was one of the best-selling recording artists from 1939 to 1943, leading one of the best known "Big Bands"...
, Rudolf Nureyev
Rudolf Nureyev
Rudolf Khametovich Nureyev was a Russian dancer, considered one of the most celebrated ballet dancers of the 20th century. Nureyev's artistic skills explored expressive areas of the dance, providing a new role to the male ballet dancer who once served only as support to the women.In 1961 he...
, etc.) The Boléro
Boléro
Boléro is a one-movement orchestral piece by Maurice Ravel . Originally composed as a ballet commissioned by Russian ballerina Ida Rubinstein, the piece, which premiered in 1928, is Ravel's most famous musical composition....
dance sequence at the end brings all the threads together.
Cast
- Robert HosseinRobert HosseinRobert Hossein is a French film actor of Azeri origin, director and writer. He directed the 1982 adaption of Les Misérables, and appeared in Vice and Virtue, Le Casse, Les Uns et les Autres and Venus Beauty Institute...
as Simon Meyer / Robert Prat - Nicole GarciaNicole GarciaNicole Garcia is a French actress, film director and writer. Her film Selon Charlie was entered into the 2006 Cannes Film Festival.-Actress:*1968: Des garçons et des filles directed by Étienne Périer...
as Anne Meyer - Geraldine ChaplinGeraldine ChaplinGeraldine Leigh Chaplin is an English-American actress and the daughter of Charlie Chaplin.Chaplin first came to prominence for her Golden Globe-nominated role of Tonya in David Lean's Doctor Zhivago . She received her second Golden Globe nomination for Robert Altman's Nashville...
as Suzanne Glenn / Sarah Glenn - James Caan as Jack Glenn / Jason Glenn
- Daniel OlbrychskiDaniel OlbrychskiDaniel Olbrychski is a Polish actor best known for leading roles in several Andrzej Wajda movies and also known for playing the Russian defector and spymaster Vassily Orlov, alongside Hollywood actress Angelina Jolie in the movie Salt....
as Karl Kremer - Jean-Claude BouttierJean-Claude BouttierJean-Claude Bouttier is a French actor and former European boxing champion. He has appeared in 7 films, beginning in 1981.-External links:* at IMdB...
as Philippe Rouget - Jorge DonnJorge DonnJorge Donn, born in El Palomar, Buenos Aires, Argentina, on 25 February 1947, was an internationally-known ballet dancer, he was best known for his work with the Maurice Béjart's Ballet company, and his participation as lead dancer in Claude Lelouch's film Les Uns et les Autres. He died of AIDS on...
as Boris Itovitch / Sergei Itovitch - Rita Poelvoorde as Tatiana Itovitch / Nadia Itovitch
- Macha MérilMacha MérilMacha Méril, born Princess Maria-Magdalena Vladimirovna Gagarina on 3 September 1940, Rabat, Morocco, is a French actress and writer, descended by her father from the Russian princely house Gagarin and by her mother from a Ukrainian noble family...
as Magda Kremer - Évelyne BouixEvelyne BouixÉvelyne Bouix is a French film actress and stage actress. She has appeared in 61 films from 1970.She was made Chevalier of the Ordre national du Mérite in 1999.-Selected filmography:* Les Misérables...
as Évelyne / Édith - Francis HusterFrancis HusterFrancis Huster is a French stage, film and television actor, film director and scriptwriter.-Biography:Francis Huster was born in Neuilly-sur-Seine. He studied acting at the Conservatoire of the 17th arrondissement of Paris, at the Cours Florent and at the Conservatoire national , where he had...
as Francis - Raymond PellegrinRaymond PellegrinRaymond Pellegrin was a French actor.Born in Nice, Pellegrin made his screen debut in the 1945 French feature Naïs....
as M. Raymond - Paul PréboistPaul PréboistPaul Préboist was a French actor.He made his film debut in Cresus . Appeared in more than hundred films, mostly in supporting roles, and is best known as a comic actor.-Selected filmography:* Il y a des jours.....
as Édith's grandfather - Jean-Claude BrialyJean-Claude BrialyJean-Claude Brialy – died 30 May 2007, Monthyon, Seine-et-Marne, France was a French actor, director, and socialite.-Biography:...
as Lido's director - Marthe VillalongaMarthe VillalongaMarthe Villalonga , is a French actress. She has appeared in 93 films between 1963 and 2008.She was born in Fort-de-l'Eau, Algeria.-External links:...
as Édith's grandmother - Fanny ArdantFanny ArdantFanny Marguerite Judith Ardant is a French actress. She has appeared in more than fifty motion pictures since 1976. Ardant won the César Award for Best Actress in 1997 for her performance in Pédale douce.-Early life:...
as Véronique - Jacques VilleretJacques VilleretJacques Villeret was a French actor.-Early life and Family:Born Jacky Boufroura in Loches, Indre-et-Loire, France, to an Algerian father and a French mother, he is most famous internationally for his role as François Pignon in Le Dîner de Cons, both on the stage and in the later film...
as Jacques - Alexandra StewartAlexandra StewartAlexandra Stewart is a Canadian actress.Born in Montreal, Quebec, Alexandra Stewart left for Paris, France, in 1958, to study art...
- Richard BohringerRichard BohringerRichard Bohringer is a French actor.-Personal life:Bohringer was born in Moulins, Allier. He is the father of actress Romane Bohringer, and has two other children, Richard and Lou.-Career:...
as Richard - Nicole CroisilleNicole CroisilleNicole Croisille , is a French singer and actress. She has appeared in 24 films between 1961 and 2005 and recorded albums since 1961. Croisille made an attempt to represent France in the 1974 Eurovision Song Contest with the song "Tu m'avais dit," but was not selected.-External links:...
as Herself - Ginette GarcinGinette GarcinGinette Garcin was a French actress of stage, film and television.-Biography:Ginette Garcin made her musical debut with Jacques Hélian and his orchestra in 1946. She then worked with Loulou Gasté and went on to appear in Strélesky's absurdist theatre revues in Rouen...
as Ginette - Jean-Pierre KalfonJean-Pierre KalfonJean-Pierre Kalfon is a French film and television actor.-Selected filmography:* The Rabbi's Cat * Parc * The Dreamers * Lulu * La Repetition...
as Antoine's father - Geneviève MnichGeneviève MnichGeneviève Mnich , is a French actress. She has appeared in 80 films since 1972.She was born in Cuffies, Aisne, France.-External links:...
as Jeanne, Jacques' mother - Ernie Garrett as Bobby
- Francis LaiFrancis LaiFrancis Lai is a French accordionist, and composer noted for his film scores.While in his twenties, Francis Lai left home and went to Paris where he became part of the lively Montmartre music scene...
- Barry PrimusBarry PrimusBarry Primus is an American television and film actor.Primus is primarily an actor, but has also doubled and tripled as writer and director. He worked on stage for the first decade of his career. He gained some experience on TV in shows like The Defenders, East Side/West Side and The Virginian...
- Brigitte RoüanBrigitte RoüanBrigitte Roüan is a French film director and actress.-Early life and career:Rouan was born into a French naval family in Toulon in 1946. She was orphaned at age six and spent her childhood in Algeria and Senegal. At age 12, she left for convent school in Paris.Her acting career began at age 21, on...
(only in director's cut) - Sharon StoneSharon StoneSharon Vonne Stone is an American actress, film producer, and former fashion model. She achieved international recognition for her role in the erotic thriller Basic Instinct...
- Michel Rivard (only in director's cut)