The Bride Wore Black

Play trailer

The Bride Wore Black

Released Mar 22, 1968

1h 47m

Mystery & Thriller

Play Trailer

Watchlist

Watchlist

Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

85%

Tomatometer

20 Reviews

80%

Popcornmeter

2,500+ Ratings

After newly widowed Julie Kohler's (Jeanne Moreau) mother stops her from commiting suicide, she hatches a different plan to deal with her grief. In a small black book, she lists five men. One by one she visits the men with murderous intentions, assuming different identities to get close to them. Only one man remains elusive, having been captured by the cops before Julie could reach him -- but despite the obstacles, Julie intends to see her task through to the end.

Richard Brody

The New Yorker

Truffaut suggests a nation straining to burst its carapace of moralism. The film's subject and its object converge in the same self-liberating social revolution that would shake the country the following year.

Mar 11, 2013

Full Review

Andrew O'Hehir

Salon.com

With its summery, Mediterranean surface, Jeanne Moreau as the ultimate femme fatale heroine and a knife-twisting tale of murderous revenge and unexpected romance, "The Bride Wore Black" is well worth rediscovering.

Nov 6, 2011

Full Review

J. Hoberman

Village Voice

For all of Truffaut's digressive asides, deadpan gags, and lyrical cinephiliac touches, his slow-starting movie is overly schematic, emotionally shallow, and not so much fun.

Nov 1, 2011

Full Review

Justine Smith

Vague Visages

The Bride Wore Black has a rather deft sense of humor that raises it above many of the other brightly-lit neo-noirs of the 1960s.

Nov 21, 2023

Full Review

Jeffrey M. Anderson

Combustible Celluloid

Moreau's icy quality works well here, and her cold-blooded cunning is far more interesting than an explosive rage would have been.

Rated: 3.5/4

Apr 22, 2023

Full Review

Matt Brunson

Film Frenzy

Moreau is mesmerizing as the avenging angel.

Rated: 3.5/4

Feb 18, 2023

Full Review

Read all reviews

Audience Member

The greatest 01 hour: and 47 minutes ever!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

02/11/23

Full Review

william d

This is a half decent story. I didn't find it all that interesting, but I did keep watching to find out why Jeanne Moreau's character was doing what she was doing.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

03/31/23

Full Review

marco b

A French film in which a woman gets her revenge on the men who accidently killed her husband. The film starts interestingly enough but drags a bit towards the end.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

03/30/23

Full Review

Audience Member

I was definitely a big fan of this and couldn't keep from wondering throughout whether I'd appreciate Kill Bill (one of my very favorite QT stories) as much as I do had I experienced this film first. This offered more emotional variance and depth than the standard revenge thriller and the cinematography made it hard to glance elsewhere. The performances were all top notch and Moreau gets a 10/10 as the protagonist referenced in the title.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

01/20/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Truffaut making a film as an homage to Hitchcock is inherently interesting, since they were both such legends. This story is about a young woman (Jeanne Moreau) who was widowed on her wedding day when her husband was killed accidentally by five guys messing around with a rifle; she then seeks to kill them one by one, in revenge. She does this in some pretty unbelievable ways unfortunately, though the way she goes about the killing at the end was creative and a nice touch. Moreau is captivating, the dialogue is fun and in keeping with 1968 France, and Truffaut is a master at capturing great shots - but I have to say, he didn't match Hitchcock in creating tension or emotional drama, so this film ends up being a bit 'too cool', and thus falls short. It's certainly worth watching if you like these directors though.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

01/13/23

Full Review

Audience Member

(G) 7.9 [François Truffaut]

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

01/22/23

Full Review

Read all reviews

Read More

Read Less

POST RATING

WRITE A REVIEW

EDIT REVIEW

François Truffaut

Director

Jeanne Moreau

Julie Kohler

Claude Rich

Bliss

Jean-Claude Brialy

Corey

Michel Bouquet

Coral

Charles Denner

Fergus

View more photos

Synopsis

After newly widowed Julie Kohler's (Jeanne Moreau) mother stops her from commiting suicide, she hatches a different plan to deal with her grief. In a small black book, she lists five men. One by one she visits the men with murderous intentions, assuming different identities to get close to them. Only one man remains elusive, having been captured by the cops before Julie could reach him -- but despite the obstacles, Julie intends to see her task through to the end.

Director: François Truffaut
Producer: Marcel Berbert, Oscar Lewenstein
Screenwriter: Jean-Louis Richard, François Truffaut, Cornell Woolrich
Distributor: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, Lopert Pictures Corp.
Production Co: Les Films du Carrosse, Dino de Laurentiis Cinematografica, Les Productions Artistes Associés
Genre: Mystery & Thriller
Original Language: Canadian French
Release Date (Theaters): Mar 22, 1968, Original
Box Office (Gross USA): $42.3K
Runtime: 1h 47m
Sound Mix: Mono
Aspect Ratio: 1.66:1