A young American studying in Paris in 1968 strikes up a friendship with a French brother and sister. Set against the background of the '68 Paris student riots.A young American studying in Paris in 1968 strikes up a friendship with a French brother and sister. Set against the background of the '68 Paris student riots.A young American studying in Paris in 1968 strikes up a friendship with a French brother and sister. Set against the background of the '68 Paris student riots.
- Awards
- 2 wins & 11 nominations
Jean-Pierre Léaud
- Self
- (as Jean-Pierre Leaud)
Gilbert Adair
- Man in the Louvre
- (uncredited)
Fred Astaire
- Jerry Travers
- (archive footage)
- (uncredited)
Jean-Paul Belmondo
- Michel Poiccard a.k.a. Laszlo Kovacs
- (archive footage)
- (uncredited)
Charles Chaplin
- A Tramp
- (archive footage)
- (uncredited)
Virginia Cherrill
- A Blind Girl
- (archive footage)
- (uncredited)
Marlene Dietrich
- Helen Faraday, aka Helen Jones
- (archive footage)
- (uncredited)
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaTo make the actors feel comfortable and natural in the film's nude scenes, the director Bernardo Bertolucci would encourage them to be totally nude long before the actual shot so they could get used to be naked around each other. Source: Director's commentary on DVD
- GoofsOn the walk along the canal, Isabelle states that she "...entered this world on the Champs-Elysees, 1959." She is obviously much older than 9, but she is not referring to her actual birth. She is reciting a speech from Breathless (1960), whose clips are shown.
- Crazy creditsThe word "events" is misspelled in the sentence stating "The wevents, characters and firms depicted in this photoplay are fictitious."
- Alternate versionsUS R-rated version runs ca. 3 minutes shorter than the uncut NC-17-rated version. The following was cut from the NC-17 version for the R rated version:
- 45:40/45:40-45:45 Extended shot of Theo kneeing in front of the Marlene Dietrich masturbating while being watched by Isabelle and Matthew. The following shot of Isabelle lacks a second.
- 45:55/46:00-46:09 The scene with Matthew ends earlier in the R-Rated Version. In the Unrated Version, he's being shown from another angle while he's still masturbating. He slightly hits the wall with the head and touches the picture. The beginning of the following shot of Isabelle moving her head is missing as well.
- 46:02/46:16-46:29 A moment later, the R-Rated Version ends when Isabelle pets Theo's butt and back with a feather duster. Theo's waving hand can be recognized better here.
- 46:07/46:34-46:37 The end of the shot of Isabelle is missing and so is the beginning of the following shot of Theo masturbating. The R-Rated Version is back in the game when Theo's coming.
- 53:42-53:45/54:12-54:20 Alternate footage of Isabelle dropping Matthew's shorts in the R-Rated Version. In the Uncut Version, she drops his shorts and his penis is visible. Furthermore Matthew had a picture of her in his shorts. (7.97 sec) The R-Rated Version contains a close-up of Matthew instead. This exact shot is exclusively in the R-Rated Version. (3.21 sec)
- 55:03/55:38-55:55 The camera pans over their naked bodies. Isabelle has her hands at Matthew's crotch and supports him to penetrate into her.
- 55:20/56:12-56:21 Extended shot of Isabelle's face while they're having sex. She moans. The beginning of the following shot a little lower is also missing.
- 57:05/58:07-58:50 The R-Rated Version stops and goes on with alternate footage of Isabelle when Theo enters the kitchen. The footage is slightly different to the footage a little later in the Uncut Version. Theo slowly goes to Isabelle and Matthew who are still lying lying on the ground. The camera tracks to them over the table. Theo knees down in front of his sister, pets her und touches her vagina. His fingers are bloody and he smiles at her. Then he gets up and Matthew touches her, too. His fingers are also bloody and that is where the R-Rated Version continues.
- 57:31/59:12-59:41 The R-Rated Version ends when Matthew smudges Isabelle's face with her own blood while they're kissing. They keep kissing, then they hug. The beginning of the following scene is also missing: they're having sex and the camera tracks slowly to the top.
- 58:42/1:00:52-1:00:59 The camera tracks slowly ober Isabelle's legs to the top, an explicit shot of her vagina included. The R-Rated Version only shows her breasts.
- 59:17-59:21/1:01:35-1:01:42 The R-Rated Version contains alternate footage of Isabelle when Matthew puts is head next to Isabelle's hip and her pubic hair is visible for a short period. The beginning of Matthew's comment is slightly shorter. (3.67 sec) The NC-17 Version sticks with Matthew. (7.63 sec)
- 59:27/1:01:49-1:01:59 Earlier beginning of the shot of Matthew. His face is pretty close to Isabelle's pubic area.
- 59:35/1:02:06-1:02:10 Same here. This time he kisses Isabelle's belly.
- 1:25:32/1:28:08-1:28:18 Extended shot of Isabelle in the mirror. Then a shot of Matthew's head between Isabelle's legs, under the tied round blanket. Then Isabelle in the mirror again. she really enjoys what Matthew is doing up there. The first frames of the following shot of Matthew are missing as well.
- ConnectionsFeatured in Cinema Sex Politics: Bertolucci Makes 'The Dreamers' (2003)
- SoundtracksThird Stone from the Sun
Written and Performed by Jimi Hendrix
Published by Experience Hendrix LLC
(p) 1967 Experience Hendrix LLC/MCA Records
Courtesy of Experience Hendrix LLC
Under license from Universal Music Enterprises & Universal Music Special Projects France
Featured review
Potentially great, but...
Beautiful Paris. Beautiful Eva Green. Beautiful Michael Pitt. Beautiful naked Eva Green and Michael Pitt. Sound promising? Unfortunately, the "reality" of The "Dreamers" is a letdown.
Against the backdrop of 1968 Parisian revolution, American student Matthew (Michael Pitt) meets French twins Isabelle (Eva Green) and Theo (Louis Garrel). The 3 share a passion for film and intellectual discussion and soon Matthew is staying with the twins in their parents' apartment. Insulated from the "reality" of the streets the twins "dream" away the days drinking wine, discussing film and playing mind games with each other and with Matthew.
The film in inter-cut with scenes from classic films such as Freaks and Breathless just to name a few. These scenes were fun and worked well. The best scene in the film is when the main characters recreate a dash through the Louvre from A Band Apart.
Interesting but perplexing is the sexual politics at play between the three. The intimate relationship between the twins is supposed to be shocking but is merely curious. An attraction between the boys goes nowhere and when Matthew and Isabelle get down and dirty on the kitchen floor it isn't really sexy at all.
This is very obviously a European film and I mean that in the worst possible way. The characters are lifeless, naive and arrogant. Only Matthew seems to recognize the pretension. He is meant to be the voice of reason and even though he seems a bit dense he comes off all wise and worldly in comparison to the twins.
The last half hour or so of the film is the weakest part and doesn't seem to fit with the tone of what went on before.
I tried to like The Dreamers. I almost feel guilty for not liking it more. If it didn't try so hard to be saying something about youth, sex and revolution then it wouldn't have failed so miserably.
Against the backdrop of 1968 Parisian revolution, American student Matthew (Michael Pitt) meets French twins Isabelle (Eva Green) and Theo (Louis Garrel). The 3 share a passion for film and intellectual discussion and soon Matthew is staying with the twins in their parents' apartment. Insulated from the "reality" of the streets the twins "dream" away the days drinking wine, discussing film and playing mind games with each other and with Matthew.
The film in inter-cut with scenes from classic films such as Freaks and Breathless just to name a few. These scenes were fun and worked well. The best scene in the film is when the main characters recreate a dash through the Louvre from A Band Apart.
Interesting but perplexing is the sexual politics at play between the three. The intimate relationship between the twins is supposed to be shocking but is merely curious. An attraction between the boys goes nowhere and when Matthew and Isabelle get down and dirty on the kitchen floor it isn't really sexy at all.
This is very obviously a European film and I mean that in the worst possible way. The characters are lifeless, naive and arrogant. Only Matthew seems to recognize the pretension. He is meant to be the voice of reason and even though he seems a bit dense he comes off all wise and worldly in comparison to the twins.
The last half hour or so of the film is the weakest part and doesn't seem to fit with the tone of what went on before.
I tried to like The Dreamers. I almost feel guilty for not liking it more. If it didn't try so hard to be saying something about youth, sex and revolution then it wouldn't have failed so miserably.
Helpful•317
Details
- Release date
- Countries of origin
- Official sites
- Languages
- Also known as
- Los soñadores
- Filming locations
- Rue Beethoven, Paris 16, Paris, France(group of friends walking back home after demonstration)
- Production companies
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
Box office
- Budget
- $15,000,000 (estimated)
- Gross US & Canada
- $2,532,228
- Opening weekend US & Canada
- $142,632
- Feb 8, 2004
- Gross worldwide
- $23,671,594
- Runtime1 hour 55 minutes
- Color
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 1.85 : 1
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