Product Description

One of "the most successful foreign films ever shown in the U.S." (The Wall Street Journal),this "wildly hilarious" (Independent Film Journal) French farce is "giddy, unpretentious andan entirely lovable film" (Time)! When young Laurent returns to exotic St. Tropez, he bears big news for his beloved father, Renato. Laurent has found the girl of his dreams and they are engaged! What's more, she and her family are on their way over for dinner at Renato's home to meet the in-laws-to-be. This traditional meeting of families seems typical, but because this ultraconservative family will be expecting to meet Renato and wife, they'll never be prepared for the shock of meeting Renato and his flamboyant, campy, outrageous loverand dragqueenAlbin! So in agreat effort to please his son, Renato asks Albin for the performance of a lifetime'setting up an unforgettable evening that is charged and ready to detonate an explosion of zaniness and absurdity.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #14564 in DVD
• Released on: 2001-07-24
• Rating: R (Restricted)
• Aspect ratio: 1.66:1
• Formats: Closed-captioned, Color, Dubbed, DVD-Video, Letterboxed, Subtitled, Widescreen, NTSC
• Original language: English, French
• Subtitled in: English, Spanish, French
• Dubbed in: Spanish
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 97 minutes

Amazon.com
A likable 1977 French farce (and the basis for the 1996 American remake, The Birdcage), this popular comedy was one of the most successful international films of all time, and even spawned a Broadway musical and two sequels. It tells the story of a gay couple who--when one man's son from a previous liaison brings home his fiancée--masquerade as husband and wife for their prospective in-laws. The film is saved from becoming an exercise in silliness by the heartfelt characterizations of the gay nightclub owners. La Cage aux Folles is one of the funniest imports from Europe and a great comedy in any venue. --Robert Lane

Customer Reviews

Birdcage Mark 1
This is the original film on which The Birdcage is based. It is a little sharper in every respect, but just as funny. While in The Birdcage you know all along that everybody's joking, the actors play it for real here. You never doubt that these are committed homosexuals living in a long-term relationship. The highlight is the outrageous male maid - a laugh at every turn.

Although nominally about a gay relationship, this is really just another of Francois Weber's brilliant "buddy" movies, one of the first in a long tradition that includes Tais Toi and The Dinner Game as particular highlights. Weber has a superlative grasp on the comedy archetype: the set-up, the tangle of confusions, the resolution and the moral. Few people in movies have had such a clear and consistent grasp of the demands of comedy. And, as with his other great comedies, this one packs a great moral punch.

By the way, nowadays Weber is both writer and director; in La Cage Aux Folles he was one of the four writers.

La Cage Aux Folles (1979)
The original movie.. superb.. a laugh a second.
The American remake was fun, but doesn't enen come close.

La Cage Aux Folles
Before "The Birdcage" and the glitzy stage musical of the same name, Molinari's uproarious farce crossed boundaries to become a big international hit. Campy and outrageously off-kilter in the tradition of the best Hollywood comedies, "La Cage" thrives on the credibly affectionate performances of Tognazzi and Serrault, brilliant as the flamboyant Albin and his drag-queen alter ego, ZaZa. Adding to the fun is Michel Galabru, the snobby father-in-law-to-be who heads an organization called the Union of Moral Order. Through it all, Molinari's antic, assured direction keep the high-strung hysterics at a soulful pitch.