La Cage aux Folles

Renato (Ugo Tognazzi) and Albin (Michel Serrault)—a middle-aged gay couple who are the manager and star performer at a glitzy drag club in Saint-Tropez—agree to hide their sexual identities, along with their flamboyant personalities and home decor, when the ultraconservative parents of Renato’s son’s fiancée come for a visit. This elegant comic scenario kicks off a wild and warmhearted French farce about the importance of nonconformity and being true to oneself. A breakout art-house smash in America, Edouard Molinaro’s La Cage aux Folles inspired a major Broadway musical and the blockbuster remake The Birdcage. But with its hilarious performances and ahead-of-its-time social message, there’s nothing like the audacious, dazzling original movie.

France
1978
96 minutes
Color
1.66:1
French
Spine #671

Special Features

New, restored 2K digital film transfer, with uncompressed monaural soundtrack on the Blu-ray edition
New interview with director Edouard Molinaro
Archival footage featuring actor Michel Serrault and Jean Poiret, writer and star of the original stage production of La Cage aux Folles
New interview with Laurence Senelick, author of The Changing Room: Sex, Drag and Theatre
French and U.S. trailers
New English subtitle translation
PLUS: An essay by critic David Ehrenstein

New cover by Maurice Vellekoop

Blu‑ray 1 Disc $31.96 SRP: $39.95

DVD 1 Disc $23.96 SRP: $29.95

Special Features

New, restored 2K digital film transfer, with uncompressed monaural soundtrack on the Blu-ray edition
New interview with director Edouard Molinaro
Archival footage featuring actor Michel Serrault and Jean Poiret, writer and star of the original stage production of La Cage aux Folles
New interview with Laurence Senelick, author of The Changing Room: Sex, Drag and Theatre
French and U.S. trailers
New English subtitle translation
PLUS: An essay by critic David Ehrenstein

New cover by Maurice Vellekoop

Cast & Credits

Cast

Ugo Tognazzi: Renato Baldi
Michel Serrault: Albin Mougeotte, a.k.a. Zaza Napoli
Claire Maurier: Simone Deblon
Rémi Laurent: Laurent Baldi
Carmen Scarpitta: Louise Charrier
Benny Luke: Jacob
Luisa Maneri: Andréa Charrier
Michel Galabru: Simon Charrier
Venantino Venantini: Charrier’s chauffeur
Carlo Reali: Bouncer
Guido Cerniglia: Doctor
Angelo Pellegrino: Nightclub assistant
Liana Del Balzo: Madame Charrier
Pierre Mondy: Voice of Renato Baldi

Credits

Director: Edouard Molinaro
From the play by: Jean Poiret
Adaptation and dialogue: Francis Veber
Adaptation and dialogue: Edouard Molinaro
Adaptation and dialogue: Jean Poiret
Adaptation and dialogue: Marcello Danon
Music: Ennio Morricone
Photography: Armando Nannuzzi
Edited by: Monique Isnardon
Edited by: Robert Isnardon
Tognazzi’s and Serrault’s costumes by: Ambra Danon
Sound: Mario Dallimonti
Production design: Mario Garbuglia
Produced by: Marcello Danon

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Ennio Morricone

Composer

After making a name for himself scoring spaghetti westerns, Ennio Morricone went on to work with some of the most renowned European and Hollywood moviemakers of all time in a career that has spanned five decades. The maestro was born in Rome and educated in trumpet and choral music at Italy’s National Academy of Santa Cecilia, one of the oldest musical institutions in the world, during World War II. Early in his career, he wrote background music for radio dramas, composed classical pieces, and performed in jazz bands, but it was his sixties movie scores for Sergio Leone—specifically his now ubiquitous woodwindy wah-wah for The Good, the Bad and the Ugly—that put him on the international map. Thanks to the iconic themes from these films, Morricone would be commissioned to write music for more than forty other westerns, but he would also work with such filmmakers as Marco Bellocchio (Fists in the Pocket), Gillo Pontecorvo (The Battle of Algiers), Pier Paolo Pasolini (Salò), and, when he began scoring American films, Terrence Malick (Days of Heaven), Samuel Fuller (White Dog), Brian De Palma (The Untouchables), and John Carpenter (The Thing). Moving easily between B movies and prestige films, adventure and romance, Morricone has remained one of cinema’s most adventurous, active, and versatile composers.