Review for Le Jour Se Leve

Now regarded as one of the best French films ever made, Marcel Carne’s ‘Le Jour Se Leve’ has enjoyed a remarkable make-over with this release. Not only does it look breathtakingly flawless, surely as good as it could possibly look for the medium, but it also includes footage that has never been seen by general audiences as they were cut from the original through censorship by the then Vichy government.

The film must have been utterly remarkable in its day, credited as being the first ever to use flash-backs as part of its narrative, and it remains an emotionally powerful experience today – some 75 years after its original release.



Set in a five-story guesthouse in the middle of a Parisian working class neighbourhood, the film opens on the top floor of the building with shouts and a gunshot. A door opens and the body of a man tumbles down the stairs. As the police start to besiege the building and a crowd gathers, the killer, François (Jean Gabin; La Grande Illusion, Le Quai des Brumes), flees the crime scene and locks himself in his room.


After unsuccessfully failing to shoot their way into his room the police climb on top of the roof, and François, starts to recall previous significant episodes in his life. Carne uses what would become a standard method for such flashbacks with a slow dissolve to the same space but at a different time.


Flashbacks include his romance and love for Françoise (Jacqueline Laurent; Le vie del peccato, Dawn Over France), a beautiful florist, and her love for Valentin (Jules Berry; The Crime of M Lange, Parade en 7 nuits), an attractive dog trainer. The film also features the renowned Arletty (Hotel du Nord, Thunder Over Paris) as Clara, Valentin’s assistant and possibly his lover.


The film’s use of what would become termed by critics as ‘poetic realism’, a popular and influential cinematic style that emerged during the 1930s, marks it as an absolute classic of the genre. Using beautiful, high contrast black and white cinematography, its almost documentary realism makes the portrayal of every day working class lives feel very real. As a result, its emotional punch is delivered with even greater impact. Whatever the case, the lighting and cinematography would certainly give classic Hollywood films of the ear a run for their money. 


It’s fascinating to see the scenes which were deemed unsuitable for release by the Vichy Government – not, as I suspected, the semi-nude scene which seemed very unusual for the period to me, but rather any scene that might make government officials look stupid, or the ‘criminal’ look heroic. Very odd! Watching the film now, replete with these cut scenes, it’s clear that they were in no way just filler and something was certainly lost as a result – so it’s good to see the film as Carne intended.


Apparently, following these cuts, the film was eventually banned completely, but not before they had forced Carne to modify his opening credits to remove two Jewish cast member’s names – less surprising when you consider that the Vichy regime was arguably little more than a puppet party serving the occupying Nazi’s at the time.

The DVD looks as good as a DVD might, really superb even on my 50” plasma, though I feel sure that the Blu-Ray edition, housing a higher-definition version of this excellent transfer, must be even more impressive and undoubtedly the way to go.


The DVD edition has the following extra features (which I guess are matched on the Blu-Ray release).

Last Assault on the Popular Front (Documentary) A lengthy and detailed account of the political fall-out and impact of the film at the time.

Restoration Process A brief look at the fastidious care in restoring and reconstructing the film

Scenes Censored by the Vichy Government Half a dozen scenes originally cut from the movie which, in general, appear to denigrate the authorities including an amusing scene with the chief inspector arriving at the scene, complaining that the whole scenario was making the police look ridiculous.
Finally, I believe the DVD ships with a booklet too though I haven’t had sight of that so can’t comment.

All in all, a real treat for Carne fans in particular and for cinephiles everywhere.