The Dreamers

The Dreamers (2003)

Timing: 1:55 (115 min)

7.178/10
3060

7.335/10
142343

0/10
0

All about film

Video 4

Photo 102

Actors and characters

Release date

2003-10-10

Country

Belgium, France, Italy, United Kingdom, United States

Production

Fox Searchlight Pictures, TELE+, HanWay Films, MEDIA Programme of the European Union, Recorded Picture Company, Peninsula Films, Fiction Films, Medusa Film, Peninsular Films, Fiction

Genre

Drama, Romance

Budget

$15 000 000

Revenue

$15 100 000

Website

Director

Bernardo Bertolucci

Actors

Michael Pitt, Eva Green, Louis Garrel, Anna Chancellor, Robin Renucci, Jean-Pierre Kalfon, Jean-Pierre Léaud, Florian Cadiou, Pierre Hancisse, Valentin Merlet
All actors and roles (10)

Scenario

Gilbert Adair

Producer

Jeremy Thomas

Operator

Fabio Cianchetti

Composer

Artist

Audition

Howard Feuer, Lucy Boulting, Juliette Ménager

Editing

Jacopo Quadri
All team (36)

• The film is based on Gilbert Adair's novel 'The Holy Innocents' (1988) and two other books by the author. He also wrote the screenplay for the film.
• Leonardo DiCaprio was considered for the role of Matthew. He turned down the offer due to filming 'The Aviator'.
• Jake Gyllenhaal was initially considered for the role. He turned it down due to the abundance of explicit scenes.
• Bernardo Bertolucci's film received the most restrictive rating in the US – NC-17.
• The film 'The Dreamers' does not feature original music. All the music in the film is taken from other films.
• The majority of scenes depicting the sexual relationship between Matthew and Theo were not included in the film. The filmmakers considered them too provocative. This is a significant difference between Bertolucci's film and Ader's novel.
• The scene in which the characters run through the Louvre quotes a scene from Jean-Luc Godard's 'Bande à part'.
• The scene in which Isabelle's hair caught fire was unplanned. Eva Green was supposed to lean forward to kiss Matthew goodnight, but her hair accidentally ignited from a candle on the table. Eva didn't make a big deal of it and acted so naturally that Bertolucci decided to keep the scene, as he felt it fully demonstrated the madness of what was happening.
• Throughout the film, the characters consciously recreate scenes from their favorite movies, or repeat characteristic gestures of beloved film heroes. For example, the scene where the heroes run through the Louvre is a repetition of the run through the Louvre in Godard's film 'Band of Outsiders'. The scene where Isabelle and Theo, after running in the Louvre, repeat the phrase “We accept him. He is one of us” recreates a scene from Tod Browning’s 'Freaks' (1932). Isabelle says that her first words in English were New York Herald Tribune – the opening line of the American woman in Godard’s 'Breathless'. The suicide attempt is accompanied by footage of Musette’s suicide from Bresson’s film of the same name. Other films quoted by the characters include Bresson’s 'Ladies of the Bois de Boulogne', Charles Chaplin’s 'City Lights', Buñuel’s 'The Golden Age', Howard Hawks’ 'Scarface', Billy Wilder’s 'Sunset Boulevard', 'Blonde Venus' with Marlene Dietrich, 'Queen Christina' with Greta Garbo, 'Top Hat' with Fred Astaire. In the cinema, the characters watch Samuel Fuller’s cult film 'Shock Corridor'. Posters for Ingmar Bergman’s ('Persona'), Godard’s ('La Chinoise') and Antonioni’s ('Blow-Up') films hang in the apartment. All the music in the film is taken from other films.
• The film is based on Gilbert Adair's novel "The Holy Innocents" (1988) and two other books by the author. He also wrote the screenplay for the film.
• Leonardo DiCaprio was considered for the role of Matthew. He declined the offer due to filming "The Aviator".
• The scene in which the heroes run through the Louvre quotes a scene from Jean-Luc Godard's film "Band of Outsiders".
• Throughout the film, the characters consciously recreate scenes from their favorite films or repeat characteristic gestures of their favorite movie heroes. For example, the scene in which the heroes run through the Louvre is a repetition of the run through the Louvre in Godard's "Pierrot le Fou." The scene where Isabelle and Theo, after running in the Louvre, repeat the phrase “We accept him. He’s one of us” recreates a scene from Tod Browning’s “Freaks” (1932). Isabelle says that her first words in English were New York Herald Tribune – the first line of the American woman in Godard’s “Breathless.” The suicide attempt is accompanied by footage of Musette’s suicide from Bresson’s film of the same name. Other films quoted by the characters include Bresson’s “Ladies of the Bois de Boulogne,” Chaplin’s “City Lights,” Buñuel’s “The Golden Age,” Hawks’ “Scarface,” Wilder’s “Sunset Boulevard,” “Blonde Venus” with Marlene Dietrich, “Queen Christina” with Greta Garbo, and “Top Hat” with Fred Astaire. In the cinema, the film’s characters are watching Samuel Fuller’s cult film “Shock Corridor.” Posters for films by Ingmar Bergman (“Persona”), Godard (“Chine”), and Antonioni (“Blow-Up”) hang in the apartment. All the music in the film is taken from other films.