Clever, believable, and super fun to watch. It totally has replay value.

The performances transcend the film's tropes, grounding it in characters that feel more complete than this subgenre often produces.

Just intense enough to provide a much-needed diversion, just lightweight enough to make you forget about it soon after it’s over. It’s not exactly “good,” per se, but it does what it sets out to do in terms of putting us on edge, which makes it … successful?

It is encouraging that the film ends so strongly.Otherwise, it wouldn't have been a particularly memorable film

Despite having read praise for his adaptation of Agatha Christie's And Then There Were None,I've somehow found the chance to see a title from René Clair to always escape me.Talking to a DVD seller,I found out that they had recently gotten hold of a fantasy movie by Clair,which led to me getting ready to meet the beauties of the night.The plot:Dreaming of writing a magical opera, composer Claude finds his ideas to be interrupted by the rude kids he is trying to teach music to.Giving up on ever becoming a highly praised composer,Claude decides to live out his desires in his dreams,which leap from Claude being the leader of the French Revolution,to catching the eye of women who look just look the girls Claude fancies in real life.Annoyed by the real world interruptions,Claude looks for ways to keep the real world out,and to keep his dreams flowing. View on the film:Believing that "sound" undermined the style which had developed in Silent Cinema,the screenplay by co-writer/(along with Pierre Barillet/Jean-Pierre Grédy & Gian Luigi Rondi) director René Clair delivers sly,satirical shots with this belief,by blocking Claude from being able to express himself,as loud "modern day" sounds drown out Claude's attempts to make his voice heard.Jumping from real life to the dream world,the writers thread a dazzling patchwork,that hops from wild flight of Fantasy to hilarious mad-cap Comedy-with added catchy songs,in a manner which makes Claude's world a joy to enter.Blending the real and surreal together,director Clair & cinematographer Armand Thirard weave spectacular "in camera" spells making Claude go from a dusty pub to taking on cavemen (!) appear as ultra-stylish, continuous shots. Bringing Claude's desires to vivid life, Clair makes Claude's dream girls look ravishingly beautiful,via smooth circling tracking shots making them each stand out of the desert of Claude's dream.Meeting Claude in both worlds,the elegant Magali Vendeuil gives a superb performance as Suzanne,whose caring side Vendeuil brings out as Suzanne tries to channel Claude's imagination into reality.Joyfully entering every lightning fast dream spot, Gérard Philipe gives an excellent performance as Claude,via Philipe hitting everything with an irresistible wide smile,as Claude discovers the beauties of the night.

This is a brilliant Frech-Italian comedy by René Clair. Extremely innovative, it divides the leading character's life in two moments: when he is awaken and while he sleeps. The former is - pardon the pun - a nightmare, as he hates to teach music in the school or in private classes. Even that is not regarded as something to be respected and his neighbors think that he should have another job, such as a car mechanic. His dream of being a successful musician and composing an acknowledged opera is far from coming true. Therefore, he wants to sleep all the time, as in his dreams his life is as interesting as he wants: not only he is a successful musician but also he has the most beautiful lovers in many different moments of History. That is the most remarkable achievement of the film: the dreams are exactly how we dream - crazy, incoherent, changing suddenly from a situation to another completely different, full of altered references of events in our daily life. Besides that, Gérard Philipe and all the actors do a great job. Gina Lollobrigida is particularly beautiful as the orientalist-style Algerian girl named Leïla. The unrealistic scenario works quite well in order to increase the environment of fantasy. Hilarious situations happen while Claude travels through French imaginary history in his dreams. This film makes me want to check out other movies made by René Clair.

I have been puzzled by some of the other comments so I am adding one of my own. I think your reaction to this movie comes down to two words: fantasy and charm. It is a fantasy, and it has a very great deal of charm. If those appeals to you, you will enjoy this movie immensely as I did. If they don't, well the movie is so good you will probably still like it anyway.I rated this film a 10 because I couldn't find a thing not to like. Gerard Philipe is charming (that word again) and appealing. All the women are gorgeous. The supporting cast is excellent. And since Phillip's character Claude is an aspiring composer there is a great deal of beautiful music in his dreams.What I noticed especially about the film was how Clair kept inventing ways to keep the idea fresh. You might think that a movie which basically shows a man's dreams would fun out of steam pretty fast but Clair is clever enough to keep it fresh and entertaining. For example, Claude constantly says that all he wants to do is sleep--and given his dreams, who wouldn't--and his friends interpret this as expressing a desire to commit suicide! So the efforts of his friends to prevent his "suicide" throws a new wrinkle into the story.My only complaint with the VHS version I saw were the English subtitles. First, they were in white, so that anytime they were in front of a white background you didn't know what the speaker was saying. And second, even though I don's speak French I am sure that the English subtitles came nowhere near doing justice to the original French dialog.This is a worthy candidate for a Criterion DVD. An unhesitant 10 out of 10.

....when France used to colonize (and civilize it)!When you know how that story ends ,such words make you wonder....Gerard Philipe precisely plays a music teacher who 's dreaming his life away.His daydreaming takes him back to the French revolution -with all the usual clichés- ,to 1900 and to French Algeria .THe moral of this story is that you haven't got to travel far to find happiness cause it's always near you.Two gorgeous ladies ,Gina Lollobrigida - he met the precedent year in the highly superior "Fanfan la Tulipe"- and Martine Carol give Philipe adequate support.Probably inspired by "the secret life of Walter Mitty " (1947)