''La Classe américaine'' (; ), also known as ''Le Grand Détournement'' (''The Great
Détournement''), is a 1993 French
television film
A television film, alternatively known as a television movie, made-for-TV film/movie or TV film/movie, is a feature-length film that is produced and originally distributed by or to a television network, in contrast to theatrical films made for ...
, written and directed by
Michel Hazanavicius
Michel Hazanavicius ( lt, Hazanavičius; born 29 March 1967) is a French film director, screenwriter, editor, and producer. He is best known for his 2011 film, '' The Artist'', which won the Academy Award for Best Picture at the 84th Academy Aw ...
and Dominique Mézerette. It consists exclusively of extracts of old
Warner Bros.
Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (commonly known as Warner Bros. or abbreviated as WB) is an American film and entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California, and a subsidiary of Warner Bros. D ...
films, put together and
dubbed with new lines so as to create an entirely new film that is a parody of ''
Citizen Kane''.
Plot
The film begins with the following lines appearing on screen, complete with deliberate spelling mistakes: "Attention! Ce ''flim'' n'est pas un ''flim'' sur le ''cyclimse''. Merci de votre compréhension." ("Attention! This is not a about . Thank you for your understanding.")
The story begins with the death of George Abitbol (
John Wayne), described as the "Classiest man in the world", somewhere near the fictitious atoll of "Pom Pom Galli" in the "South Pacific" (a place taken from the Wayne movie ''
The Sea Chase''). Reporters Dave (
Paul Newman), Peter (
Dustin Hoffman
Dustin Lee Hoffman (born August 8, 1937) is an American actor and filmmaker. As one of the key actors in the formation of New Hollywood, Hoffman is known for his versatile portrayals of antiheroes and emotionally vulnerable characters. He is ...
) and Steven (
Robert Redford) investigate his death by going to meet people who knew him during his life in "
Tegzas". They mostly investigate his last words: "Monde de merde" (French for "Shitty world").
Cast
Production
Warner Bros. had given the French film and television studio
Canal+ Group
Canals or artificial waterways are waterways or engineered channels built for drainage management (e.g. flood control and irrigation) or for conveyancing water transport vehicles (e.g. water taxi). They carry free, calm surface flow und ...
the rights to use extracts of Warner Bros. films.
Hazanavicius and Mézerette set about producing an entire film from cut-and-paste existing footage, and hired the usual French dubbers of
John Wayne (
Raymond Loyer
Raymond is a male given name. It was borrowed into English from French (older French spellings were Reimund and Raimund, whereas the modern English and French spellings are identical). It originated as the Germanic ᚱᚨᚷᛁᚾᛗᚢᚾᛞ ( ...
),
Paul Newman (Marc Cassot) and
Kirk Douglas (
Roger Rudel) to perform the dubbing. ''La Classe américaine'', which lasts seventy-two minutes, incorporates scenes cut from about fifty films, including ''
All the President's Men
''All the President's Men'' is a 1974 non-fiction book by Carl Bernstein and Bob Woodward, two of the journalists who investigated the June 1972 break-in at the Watergate Office Building and the resultant political scandal for ''The Washingto ...
'', ''
Rio Bravo'', ''
Band of Angels'', ''
The Cheyenne Social Club
''The Cheyenne Social Club'' is a 1970 American Western comedy film written by James Lee Barrett, directed and produced by Gene Kelly, and starring James Stewart, Henry Fonda and Shirley Jones. The film is about an aging cowboy who inherits a b ...
'', ''
Blood Alley
''Blood Alley'' is a 1955 American seafaring Cold War adventure film produced by John Wayne, directed by William A. Wellman, and starring Wayne and Lauren Bacall. The film was distributed by Warner Bros. and shot in CinemaScope and Warnercolor. ...
'', ''
Bullitt
''Bullitt'' is a 1968 American neo-noir action thriller film directed by Peter Yates and produced by Philip D'Antoni. The picture stars Steve McQueen, Robert Vaughn, and Jacqueline Bisset. The screenplay by Alan R. Trustman and Harry Kleine ...
'', ''
The Candidate'', ''
Chisum
''Chisum'' is a 1970 American Western film directed by Andrew McLaglen, starring John Wayne in the titular role, and adapted for the screen by Andrew J. Fenady from his short story "Chisum and the Lincoln County War." The supporting cast featu ...
'', ''
The Cowboys
''The Cowboys'' is a 1972 American Western film starring John Wayne, Roscoe Lee Browne, and Bruce Dern, and featuring Colleen Dewhurst and Slim Pickens. It was the feature film debut of Robert Carradine. Based on the 1971 novel of the same name ...
'', ''
The Crimson Pirate'', and ''
When Time Ran Out
''When Time Ran Out...'' is a 1980 American disaster film directed by James Goldstone and starring Paul Newman, Jacqueline Bisset and William Holden. The supporting cast features James Franciscus, Ernest Borgnine, Red Buttons, Burgess Meredith ...
''.
It is the third and last film of a triptych entitled ''Le Grand Détournement'', composed of ''Derrick contre Superman'' (September 1992) and ''Ça détourne'' (December 1992).
Bibliography
See also
* ''
Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid
''Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid'' is a 1982 American neo-noir mystery comedy film directed, co-written by, and co-starring Carl Reiner and co-written by and starring Steve Martin. Co-starring Rachel Ward, the film is both a parody of and a homage to ...
''
*
John Wayne filmography
*
Mozinor
*
Guy Debord
References
External links
*
''Cyclim.se a fan made website attempting to restore the film out of DVD releases''on
AlloCiné
French parody films
1990s parody films
1993 films
Films directed by Michel Hazanavicius
Parodies of films
1993 comedy films
1990s French films
{{1990s-France-film-stub