Providence (1977)

Director:

Alain Resnais

Writer:

David Mercer (writer)

Release Date:

9 February 1977 (France)

Genre:

Drama

Plot:

Clive Langham (Sir John Gielgud) spends one tormenting night in his bed suffering from health problems and thinking up a story based on his relatives...

Plot Keywords:

Human Autopsy

Awards:

11 wins & 1 nomination

Cast

Dirk Bogarde	...	Claude Langham
Ellen Burstyn	...	Sonia Langham
John Gielgud	...	Clive Langham
David Warner	...	Kevin Langham / Kevin Woodford
Elaine Stritch	...	Helen Wiener
Cyril Luckham	...	Doctor Mark Eddington
Denis Lawson	...	Dave Woodford (as Dennis Lawson)
Kathryn Leigh Scott	...	Miss Boon
Milo Sperber	...	Mr. Jenner
Anna Wing	...	Karen
Peter Arne	...	Nils
Tanya Lopert	...	Miss Lister
Joseph Pittoors	...	An Old Man
Samson Fainsilber	...	The Old Man

Directed by
Alain Resnais

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
David Mercer		writer

Produced by
Philippe Dussart	....	executive producer
Lise Fayolle	....	associate producer
Yves Gasser	....	producer
Juergen Hellwig	....	associate producer
Klaus Hellwig	....	producer
Yves Peyrot	....	producer

Original Music by
Miklós Rózsa

Cinematography by
Ricardo Aronovich

Film Editing by
Jean-Pierre Besnard
Albert Jurgenson

Production Design by
Charles Merangel
Jacques Saulnier

Art Direction by
Michel Breton
Jean-Claude Cabouret
Françoise Hardy
Daniel Pierre
Claude Serre

Costume Design by
John Bates
Catherine Leterrier
Yves Saint-Laurent

Makeup Department
Régine Havan	....	makeup artist (as Régine Ha-Van)
Victor Merinow	....	makeup artist
Michel Trigon	....	hair stylist
Marie-Hélène Yastchenkoff	....	makeup artist

Production Management
Michel Choquet	....	production manager
Fernand Dubois	....	unit manager
Yvonne Freche	....	unit manager (as Yvonne Frèche)
Antoine Gannagé	....	production manager
Gérard Gaultier	....	unit manager
Jacqueline Louis	....	unit manager
Joëlle Picaud	....	unit manager
Roland Sabarv	....	production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Reynald Lampert	....	second assistant director
John Lvoff	....	second assistant director
Florence Malraux	....	first assistant director

Sound Department
René Magnol	....	sound
Jacques Maumont	....	sound
Claude Plouganou	....	sound editor
Jean Schwarz	....	electronic effects sounds

Camera and Electrical Department
Philippe Brun	....	camera operator
Bernard Journoux	....	electrician
Jacques Labesse	....	camera operator
Daniel Smague	....	camera operator
Jürgen Vollmer	....	still photographer

Music Department
Miklós Rózsa	....	conductor
Christopher Palmer	....	orchestrator (uncredited)

Other crew
Marie-José Guissart	....	continuity
Reynald Lampert	....	assistant to director
Florence Malraux	....	assistant to director

Production Companies

• Action Films
• Citel Films
• France 3 (FR 3)
• Société Française de Production (SFP)

Distributors

• Cinema 5 Distributing (1977) (USA) (theatrical) (dubbed)
• Forum Distribution (1977) (France) (theatrical)
• Jupiter Communications (1977) (worldwide) (all media)
• KinoVista (2007) (Russia) (TV)
• Look Vídeo (19??) (Brazil) (VHS)

Other Companies

• Les Films Michel François  titles
• Yves Saint Laurent  clothes

Runtime:

110 min | USA:104 min

Country:

France | Switzerland

Language:

English

Colour:

Colour (Eastmancolor)

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Sweden:15 | UK:15 | USA:R

Filming Locations:

Berchem, Antwerpen, Antwerpen, Belgium

Company:

Action Films

Trivia:

First cinema film of Denis Lawson.

Quotes:

Kevin Woodford: I've got an erection.
Sonia Langham: Oh. Wanna do something about it?
Kevin Woodford: It's not mine!

Movie Connections:

Featured in "Zomergasten: (#7.4)" (1994)

Same director, same subject, another masterpiece

In Providence, his only film in English Language, Resnais again approaches the most recurrent subject in his career: the memory. Here, he explores how one's feelings can affect it: the life of the writer reflects directly on his view of his son and the wife of this one, and their respective (supposed) lovers, which actually are a representation of the writer's alienation, guilt and self-depreciation. It shows how memory can be more painful than any pain of the flesh, and even worse than reality itself. Like everything i've seen from Resnais so far (Night and Fog, Hiroshima Mon Amour, Mon Oncle D'Amérique and one of my favorite films, Last Year in Marienbad), this one is a very deep and original masterpiece.