Story of movie La Cage Aux Folles Film :
La Cage aux Folles is a 1978 Franco-Italian comedy film and the first film adaptation of Jean Poiret's 1973 play of the same name. It is co-written and directed by Édouard Molinaro and stars Ugo Tognazzi and Michel Serrault.
| La Cage aux Folles | |
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French release poster | |
| Directed by | Édouard Molinaro |
| Produced by | Marcello Danon |
| Screenplay by |
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| Based on | La Cage aux Folles by Jean Poiret |
| Starring |
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| Music by | Ennio Morricone |
| Cinematography | Armando Nannuzzi |
| Edited by |
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Production company |
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| Distributed by | United Artists |
Release date |
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Running time | 91 minutes |
| Country |
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| Language |
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| Budget | $1.1 million |
| Box office | $20.4 million |
Screenplay
Like the play, the film tells the story of a gay couple – Renato Baldi (Ugo Tognazzi), the manager of a Saint-Tropez nightclub featuring drag entertainment, and Albin Mougeotte (Michel Serrault), his star attraction – and the madness that ensues when Renato's son, Laurent (Rémi Laurent), brings home his fiancée, Andrea (Luisa Maneri), and her ultra-conservative parents (Carmen Scarpitta and Michel Galabru) to meet them.
- Ugo Tognazzi as Renato Baldi
- Pierre Mondy as voice of Renato (French release)
- Michel Serrault as Albin Mougeotte/'Zaza Napoli'
- Oreste Lionello as voice of Albin (Italian release)
- Claire Maurier as Simone Deblon
- Rémi Laurent as Laurent Baldi
- Carmen Scarpitta as Louise Charrier
- Benny Luke as Jacob
- Luisa Maneri as Andrea Charrier
- Michel Galabru as Simon Charrier
Box office
As of 2014, La Cage aux Folles has remained the No. 10. foreign film released in the United States of America. The film was the seconds highest-grossing film of the year in France with 5,406,614 admissions. In Germany, it received 2.65 million admissions, making it was the 11th highest-grossing film of the year.
Critical response
The film received critical acclaim. On review aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes, the film has a 100% rating based on 18 reviews, with an average rating of 7.8/10.
| Year | Award | Category | Recipients | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1979 | César Award | Best Actor | Michel Serrault | Won |
| David di Donatello | David di Donatello for Best Foreign Actor | Michel Serrault | Won | |
| National Board of Review | National Board of Review Award for Best Foreign Language Film (France/Italy) | Won | ||
| Top Foreign Films | Won | |||
| New York Film Critics Circle | Best Foreign Language Film | 2nd Place | ||
| 1980 | Academy Awards | Best Director | Édouard Molinaro | Nominated |
| Best Writing, Screenplay Based on Material from Another Medium | Francis Veber, Édouard Molinaro, Marcello Danon, Jean Poiret | Nominated | ||
| Best Costume Design | Piero Tosi, Ambra Danon | Nominated | ||
| Golden Globe Awards | Best Foreign Film (France/Italy) | Won | ||
| Sant Jordi Award | Best Performance in a Foreign Film | Michel Serrault | 2nd place | |
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Sequels
The film was followed by two sequels: La Cage aux Folles II (1980), also directed by Molinaro, and La Cage aux folles 3 - 'Elles' se marient (1985), directed by Georges Lautner.
Musical adaptation
A 1983 Broadway musical of the same name based on the play and the film was also successful.
American remake
In 1996, an American remake titled The Birdcage, directed by Mike Nichols and written by Elaine May, was released, relocated to South Beach, Miami, and stars Robin Williams and Nathan Lane.
Adam and Yves
La Cage aux Folles caught the attention of television producer Danny Arnold, who in 1979 pitched the concept of a weekly series about a gay couple similar to the one in the film to ABC. His planned title was Adam and Yves, a play on both Adam and Eve and a slogan used by some anti-gay groups. After months in development, Arnold realized that the concept was unsustainable as a weekly series, which led to the show getting dropped.
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