Subtitles download link
The first time I watched Day For Night was, and this absolutely dates me, not long after I first saw Close Encounters of The Third Kind. The part of ‘Mr Lacombe’ the French scientist/ET hunter was played by François Truffaut; since I was a kid I had never heard of him. I must have looked him up at the library, and some time afterward I saw his film Day For Night on TV, probably Seattle Channel 9, the PBS affiliate. Although it could have been NBC Channel 5, in those days the Bullitt family owned it, and their afternoon movie slot was where I first saw things like The Seven-Ups, What's Up, Doc?, and Sugarland Express.
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| l-r: Dani as Liliane, Jean-Pierre Léaud as Alphonse, Truffaut as Ferrand. |
Being a kid, of course I didn't understand it. “So boring,” I probably said. I do recall being fascinated by the technical aspects of filmmaking.
Recently I came across a homemade CD of various French songs from different eras, and one of the tracks was Le grand choral, basically the Day For Night theme, composed by Georges Delerue. I recognized it immediately and was suddenly seized by an urge to see the film again.
I found the Criterion release, which I assume is the 2016 restoration. I don’t know where the Opensubtitles file came from. I quickly saw that the English translation had the sort of paraphrasing and abridgement that annoys me, so after watching it I thought it would make for a fun project.
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In one of the best movies about moviemaking, Ferrand (Truffaut) is a director trying to make a formulaic romantic tragedy titled Meet Paméla, about a young wife who falls in love with her father-in-law. Ferrand has to herd his temperamental actors and crew through an increasingly rocky shoot on a Nice studio backlot :
- Séverine (Valentina Cortese from Baron Munchausen), a veteran Italian actress who now needs cue cards;
- Alexandre (Jean-Pierre Aumont, Mahogany), longtime leading man who has a showbiz story for everything;
- Alphonse (Jean-Pierre Léaud from The 400 Blows), an immature up-and-coming heartthrob type;
- Julie (Jacqueline Bisset), the British actress playing Paméla, has already had a nervous breakdown and is all over the gossip magazines.
- Stacey (Alexandra Stewart from Under The Cherry Moon), playing Alexandre’s secretary, hasn’t told anyone she’s pregnant, which could create a continuity problem.
MISC
Jean-Pierre Aumont’s credits include a lot of guest appearances on American TV shows in the 70s and 80s like Starsky & Hutch, Love Boat, and Simon & Simon.
Jean-Pierre Léaud served as Truffaut’s alter ego Antoine Doinel in The 400 Blows (1959) and four more movies, concluding with Love On The Run (1979).
The character of script intern Liliane (Dani aka Danièle Graule) returns in Love On The Run, although it's not a complete reunion with Léaud since he plays a different character than in Day For Night.
NOTES
On peut y aller, ‘we can go’ (1’20”), can also be translated ‘we’re good to go,’ but I don’t know if people said that in the early 70s. IMDB says the voice of the conductor is Delerue himself; he phones in later in the film.
The still of the Gish sisters (1’56”) is from DW Griffith’s An Unseen Enemy (1912), it was their first film. Many have heard of Lillian, but her younger sister Dorothy was an equally acclaimed actor in film and on stage.
3’54”: Joëlle, I think she’s the script supervisor, is played by Nathalie Baye from La Balance. Apparently, her performance was so real that Billy Wilder asked Truffaut if she was a real script girl.
Flexion is ‘bend,’ but fluxion (4’34”) is ‘swollen.’ Alexandre gestures to his face, so I don't have to put ‘face/cheek.’
Allons-y (5’30”) of course means ‘let’s go,’ but in movies it means ‘action.’
Ferrand is directing the newsstand extra to have plus vite (more energy), but it sounds like he calls him vendre boulot, ‘sale work.’ Seller?
The slate, the clapper board (6’40”), has the words Jour and Sonore (Day and Sound) at the top, but they don’t go with the numbers. Jour means the shot is during daylight, and Sonore means the scene has live sound.
The first of a number of appearances of Le grand choral (6’56”).
As Joëlle and Odile go up the stairs (7’57) the sound is echoey, I had to guess based on what I could hear: calmez-vous, c’est bon tes, and butée. There are gaps. I did my best.
In Tu m'avais pas dit qu'il était sourdingue ton metteur en scène (You didn't tell me your director was deaf, 10’15”), sourdingue for ‘deaf person’ historically could include not-entirely-complimentary connotations, the least charged of which might be ‘stone deaf.’
Ferrand's need for the hearing aid I think is a joke about him having the option of ignoring other points of view.
Alphonse and Liliane discuss moving the beds together, and he says (11’30”) on a viré, ‘we fire/veer it.’ I assume he means ‘slide/shove/push it.’
When Alphonse says Pierrot the photographer can te faire panser avec (go bandage himself), he means faire foutre avec (go fuck himself). Apparently it’s a common and childish type of swear-word substitution.
Ferrand and Bernard discuss the weapon Alphonse will use in the final scene (16’06”), and they call it le révolvedel (the revolver), even though three of the five are pistols (i.e. clip-fed). It’s a common movie/TV mistake; I’m using ‘gun.’
17’55”: I can’t make out what came after Paméla, [scene] 10, but 13 usually follows 12.
Ferrand asks the producer about insurance (19’05”), I can’t quite hear all of it. But based on the response, les assurances ne couvriront, j'espère vous savez (insurance won’t cover it, I hope you know that), it must have been something like ‘Will insurance pay for it?’’
Alexandre meets Lajoie and says, swallowing a lot of it, Ravi de vous rencontrer (Pleased to meet you).
20’22”: Séverine greets Alexandre with tu vecchia puttana, ‘you old whore.’ I'm translating it ‘you old bitch’ to highlight his being in the closet (although clearly the door is partly open).
On sera tous chocolat (we’ll all be chocolate, 22’49”) means ‘we’ve had it/we’re up a creek,’ there are a couple possible reasons why: 1) chocolate was once a luxury and hard to get, so you could be empty-handed; 2) (my favorite) there was once a clown named Chocolat who was always the butt of the joke.
Apparently, la visite by itself means ‘medical exam.’
A 5k spotlight (24’29”) is 5000 watts, 3200-capital-K color temperature (like on your box of light bulbs).
Use a volet (shutter/screen) …sinon on va plus le feu, ‘otherwise we won't be able to light the fire,’ in this case means illuminating it with the spotlight.
26’04: They’re about to rehearse, so I’m translating reciter as ‘run-through.’
Séverine and Ferrand are talking over each other, it sounds like she says Aucune passer, c'est vu moi (roughly, ‘not one passed, you saw me.’) I think she’s saying ‘I didn’t drop a line/make any mistakes, you saw!’
Un contrat en bronze (contract in bronze, 37’32”) is ‘a valid/proper/formal contract.’ It's like set in stone, or ironclad.
Why is a director who supposedly has his own creative vision ordering so many books about other directors?
41’32”: LOL, Julie’s husband is Mike Nelson.
Coincidentally, ‘bits and pieces’ (petits morceaux, 45’03”) is the name of the Dusty Springfield song composed for The Stunt Man (1980), another one of the best movies about moviemaking.
Alexandre could have been Julie’s father. Could have.
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| l-r: Léaud, Jean-Pierre Aumont as Alexandre, Jacqueline Bisset as Julie, Valentina Cortese as Séverine. |
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| Truffaut with Nathalie Baye |
47’13”: The foley artist really gave it their all, just listen to that gravel!
Équipe (50’07”) is ‘team’ of course, but it is also ‘crew.’
52’21”: Real nice, France, animal cruelty is funny.
LOL, Alexandre is telling Nelson he has to be 15 minutes early for his flight (53’02”).
Air Inter (56’41”) was a French airline that operated from 1958 to 1990.
Kursaal (58’37”) is German for a room for events and functions, here it’s the name of a movie theater.
Jean-Marius (59’27”) must be the French New Wave director Jean-Louis Richard, who was born Jean-Marius. He was briefly married to Jeanne Moreau. I can’t find that he ever had a Turgenev project.
Le repos du guerrier (‘rest of the warrior,’ 61’15”), means ‘sexual release for a hard-working man.’
68’19”: Drinks after stopping for the night. What it sounds like Alexandre says here makes no sense, all I can make out is (probably) Non and la bulle (bubbles/bubbly).
69’20”: I assume Séverine is referring to the Élysée Palace, Georges Pompidou was the President at the time.
The kids (whose are they, Pierrot’s?) are playing The 7 Families Game, which is like Happy Families, played like Go Fish. Opérateur is kind of a vague name for a family’s defining trade, it could be anything from phone operator to cameraman/photographer. The traditional game did not have any industrial professions. I’m putting ‘machinist.’
Grand vitesse (71’08”) means ‘full/top speed’— although if it were today, an alternative could be ‘warp speed.’ Unfortunately, French people weren’t saying that in 1973.
Fiddli (71’54”) was a laundry detergent.
Jean Vigo was an early film director (L’Atalante) who influenced the New Wave. There is a Rue Jean Vigo in Nice, but not as glimpsed in the film. You can tell the actual street sign was painted over.
73’04”: Prop master Bernard (Bernard Menez) has some serious François-Dominique Blin energy.
The École nationale supérieure Louis-Lumière (Louis-Lumiere National University/Graduate School) used to be located on Rue de Vaugirard in the 15th. It’s been in Saint-Denis since 1973.
La Vésubie is a scenic gorge about 26 miles north of Nice. The N565 is now the M2565.
Showbiz peasants must be Jews? Mmkay…
The full reveal of Ferrand's recurring nightmare is hilarious (79’17”), his subconscious is telling him he doesn't measure up to Welles. Meet Paméla ain't no Kane.
Showbiz peasants must be Jews? Mmkay…
The full reveal of Ferrand's recurring nightmare is hilarious (79’17”), his subconscious is telling him he doesn't measure up to Welles. Meet Paméla ain't no Kane.
I don’t think the nightmare is meant to be a real memory. If Truffaut is playing a version of himself, he was about 12 in 1944, and the silhouette of the car on the left as he’s running away (80’33”) looks late-Sixties.
Surdité (‘deafness’) must be a hearing aids store.
It looks like a giant walks into frame from the left, but he's on a raised sidewalk next to the street.
A géré (81’04”) means ‘are you managing?’
Toujours les salades (always salads/messes) comes from raconter les salades, ‘telling lies/stories/exaggerations.’
82’58”: Believe it or not, Bernard is the big stud in the movie.
83’59”: I really wanted to translate Séverine’s line as ‘Parting is such sweet sorrow,’ but what she says is nowhere close.
She then says Oui, “ciao,” des heures gagner c'est tetes a la shade, ‘Hours gained while hanging out in the shade,’ which is weird slang. I think she means ‘It was so relaxing spending time with you.’
I thought it’d be funny to translate misogynes into French, ‘chauvinists.’
It sounds like she calls out to the hotel guest, Mon cher, pas timide, ‘Don’t be afraid, my dear.’
‘La Duse’ (85’42”) was Eleanora Duse (1858-1924), an Italian stage actress who was also in silent movies, said to be the greatest of her time. She performed in many countries, and died in a hotel in Pittsburgh.
90’46: Joëlle isn't only the script girl, she's Ferrand’s fixer.
The Julie & Alphonse fling (91’10”) and the triangle with Mike are played as near-farce. But it mostly shows her toughness and commitment: Nothing is more important than finishing the shoot, and she's willing to use everything at her disposal to keep Alphonse from screwing it up.
Julie’s one movie star demand is for beurre à mode (96’07”), or maybe au mode or en mode. It means ‘butter in a style,’ I’m putting ‘that butter’ so it fits with Stacey’s explanation.
Something funny: Bertrand and Stacey are asking Bernard to go buy the butter, and he refuses, saying je pas du buerre (I have no / I’m not getting butter). Which is also an idiom meaning ‘I’m not making money,’ ‘I’m not doing that for nothing,’ or ‘it’s not child’s play.’
Alexandre has a story about Hedy Lamarr (96’44”), and talks about her as though the secretary might not have heard of her. I bet Hedy Lamarr built that rainmaking machine herself!
Il perd pas le nord (‘he doesn’t loses north,’ 103’11”) means ‘always stays focused on his ultimate objective.’ In this case, putting Julie’s anguished private words in Paméla’s mouth.
One of the insurance representatives (107’00” c.f.) is author Graham Greene, who wanted to be in the movie because he was a Truffaut fan. But no one told Truffaut it was Graham Greene, so they never became acquainted.
Greene blows one of his lines: “You can’t re-do the scene with Alexandre.” Instead of ‘scenes.’
Alphonse agrees to hold the gun bien-être (well-being, 110’47”), which makes no sense. Supposedly what he’s really saying in his weird accent is à bout portant, ‘at close range,’ or point-blank.
C'est trop particulier, les circonstances (the circumstances are too special/unique, 114’11”) means I think, in this case, ‘it’s [affecting me] too much.’
Surdité (‘deafness’) must be a hearing aids store.
It looks like a giant walks into frame from the left, but he's on a raised sidewalk next to the street.
A géré (81’04”) means ‘are you managing?’
Toujours les salades (always salads/messes) comes from raconter les salades, ‘telling lies/stories/exaggerations.’
82’58”: Believe it or not, Bernard is the big stud in the movie.
83’59”: I really wanted to translate Séverine’s line as ‘Parting is such sweet sorrow,’ but what she says is nowhere close.
She then says Oui, “ciao,” des heures gagner c'est tetes a la shade, ‘Hours gained while hanging out in the shade,’ which is weird slang. I think she means ‘It was so relaxing spending time with you.’
I thought it’d be funny to translate misogynes into French, ‘chauvinists.’
It sounds like she calls out to the hotel guest, Mon cher, pas timide, ‘Don’t be afraid, my dear.’
‘La Duse’ (85’42”) was Eleanora Duse (1858-1924), an Italian stage actress who was also in silent movies, said to be the greatest of her time. She performed in many countries, and died in a hotel in Pittsburgh.
90’46: Joëlle isn't only the script girl, she's Ferrand’s fixer.
The Julie & Alphonse fling (91’10”) and the triangle with Mike are played as near-farce. But it mostly shows her toughness and commitment: Nothing is more important than finishing the shoot, and she's willing to use everything at her disposal to keep Alphonse from screwing it up.
Julie’s one movie star demand is for beurre à mode (96’07”), or maybe au mode or en mode. It means ‘butter in a style,’ I’m putting ‘that butter’ so it fits with Stacey’s explanation.
Something funny: Bertrand and Stacey are asking Bernard to go buy the butter, and he refuses, saying je pas du buerre (I have no / I’m not getting butter). Which is also an idiom meaning ‘I’m not making money,’ ‘I’m not doing that for nothing,’ or ‘it’s not child’s play.’
Alexandre has a story about Hedy Lamarr (96’44”), and talks about her as though the secretary might not have heard of her. I bet Hedy Lamarr built that rainmaking machine herself!
Il perd pas le nord (‘he doesn’t loses north,’ 103’11”) means ‘always stays focused on his ultimate objective.’ In this case, putting Julie’s anguished private words in Paméla’s mouth.
One of the insurance representatives (107’00” c.f.) is author Graham Greene, who wanted to be in the movie because he was a Truffaut fan. But no one told Truffaut it was Graham Greene, so they never became acquainted.
Greene blows one of his lines: “You can’t re-do the scene with Alexandre.” Instead of ‘scenes.’
Alphonse agrees to hold the gun bien-être (well-being, 110’47”), which makes no sense. Supposedly what he’s really saying in his weird accent is à bout portant, ‘at close range,’ or point-blank.
C'est trop particulier, les circonstances (the circumstances are too special/unique, 114’11”) means I think, in this case, ‘it’s [affecting me] too much.’
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