Every day, AlloCiné recommends a film to (re)watch on TV. Tonight: an irresistible detective comedy.
Buoyed by the immense public success of La Grande Vadrouille (more than 17 million admissions), Gérard Oury embarked, in 1968, on the most disproportionate project of his career. Alongside Danièle Thompson and Marcel Jullian, he relies on real events to co-write the screenplay for Le Cerveau: Arthur, a resourceful little crook assisted by his friend Anatole, plans to seize the secret funds of the nations of the NATO during the move of the HQ from Paris to Brussels, without suspecting that a brilliant crook is planning the same hold-up on the other side of the Channel.
As headliners, Gérard Oury brings together the stars Jean-Paul Belmondo and Bourvil, who meet ten years after having rubbed shoulders in A funny Sunday. Ambitious, the director also hires, at a hefty price, the Briton David Niven and the American Eli Wallach, simultaneously shooting his film in French and English in order to conquer the market across the Atlantic.
Bringing together the biggest budget of French cinema at the time (about 24 million francs, or about 30 million euros), he had spectacular means, such as the liner France, mobilized in the port of Le Havre for the end of the film. , as well as a 13.5m replica of the Statue of Liberty. The shooting, which brings together 2,000 extras, moves from France to Italy, via England and finally New York, in the United States.
A true “blockbuster” before its time, Le Cerveau attracted more than 5 million spectators when it was released in theaters, becoming the second biggest success at the French box office of 1969. Classic French comedy, with comical scenes and tasty lines, he gives particular pride to the stunts of “Bébél”, which will turn again under the direction of Gérard Oury in 1982 in L’As des as.
The Brain by Gérard Oury with David Niven, Jean-Paul Belmondo, Bourvil…
Tonight on 6ter at 9:05 p.m.