Cinema
La Grande Bouffe
Marco Ferreri · 1973
Synopsis
Four friends in their forties, including an airline pilot, a restaurateur and a judge, withdraw for a weekend to the unoccupied villa of one of them, Philippe, determined to eat to the very end. Provisions arrive without cease, and they send for three prostitutes. A class of schoolchildren comes to see in the garden the lime tree under which Boileau used to meditate; the men invite the young schoolteacher, Andréa, to dinner, and she joins them.
Context
A Franco-Italian co-production, the film was shot in a private mansion on rue Boileau, in the sixteenth arrondissement of Paris. The screenplay is by Ferreri and Rafael Azcona; the cinematography is by Mario Vulpiani, the music by Philippe Sarde. The four characters bear the first names of their performers, Marcello Mastroianni, Ugo Tognazzi, Michel Piccoli and Philippe Noiret, joined by Andréa Ferréol. It was presented in competition at the Cannes Film Festival in May 1973.
Who it is for
A little over two hours; food and sex are shown without reserve, for an adult audience.
Prizes and reception
International Critics' Prize at Cannes in 1973, shared with a film by Jean Eustache; booed at the festival, it was a great popular success.
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