Renowned French director François Truffaut is "at the top of his form" (The Hollywood Reporter) in this whimsical, lively story about an eccentric casanova who loves every woman he meetsliterally! Irresistibly "charmi... more »ng" (Leonard Maltin) and "witty" (Independent Film Journal), thisplayful romantic comedy is heartwarming, hilarious and highly entertaining! Bertrand Morane (Charles Denner) is a ladies' man like no other. Wholly obsessed with the female species, he goesto outrageous lengths for the prospect of a fleeting romantic encounter. But when he documents all of his passionate flings in a racy autobiography, he piques the interestboth personally and professionallyof a beautiful and provocative editor named Genevieve (Brigitte Fossey). And as the two begin to play the game of proverbial predator and prey, Bertrand is surprised to discover that he might just be the one who gets trapped by true love!« less
"This is one of Truffaut's best films and it is an excellent exploration into the impulses that drive men to seek out a woman. The main character falls in love with any woman who catches his eye and in one case is so attracted to a pair of legs that he seeks out the woman with a very devious - but innocent - system that will ring true to many a romantic Casanova. the man is so obsessed by women - never in a bad way - that he decides to explore his feelings through a book. as he looks for the publisher he ends up finding t=yet another interest. the film, however, in no way presents women in a degrading way and is very thoughtful in its respect of women in fact. The main character could be compared to Casanova as he too loved and respected women. the film has a comedic tone and almost comes across as a personal documentary as the scientist narrates his feelings and motivations. The subject matter and its portrayal are still relevant today. excellent."
The womanizer
James Ferguson | Vilnius, Lithuania | 04/20/2004
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Charles Denner plays a seemingly mild mannered engineer who has a fatal attraction to beautiful women. The story begins by showing the length he will go to track down an elusive beauty, then spins a wonderful array of thoughts and observations on the nature of relationships as Bertrand tries to come to terms with his obsession. This leads him to pen a book that more or less forms the backbone of the movie as he drifts back in time to chart some of his early relationships, including the Oedipal one with his mother. However, the movie maintains a firm focus in the present, ultimately leading to an engaging relationship with his editor. Along the way there is the playful banter between Bertrand and the operator who provides wake up calls each morning; an older woman who runs a lingerie shop at which Bertrand gazes at the new window displays; and a couple of relationships from the past which come back to haunt him. Unlike the 1983 remake featuring Burt Reynolds, this movie doesn't devolve into middle age angst. Bertrand is modest and relatively honest with himself, which is what ultimately wins over his editor. The only problem is that Bertrand still has one woman that has managed to elude him leading to a fateful closing scene where he rushs headlong into traffic after the perfect pair of legs."
Too true . . . !
Glenn R. Urbanas | Richmond Hill, New York USA | 03/19/2006
(5 out of 5 stars)
"All I can say is ... great! But do NOT see this film with a date ... or even your wife! Most women I've known don't get the poignance of the hero's obsession ... not at all!"
Wholly fulfilling
blockhed | UK | 03/15/2005
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Somehow it's difficult to say anything useful about this film. It is so well made, so well told, that it leaves me merely with a sense of completeness. There is no real "plot", and it is senseless to give a pedestrian outline of what does or does not happen. I must have seen it when it came out, perhaps about 1977, and have not been able to forget it. It is, somehow, a perfectly made presentation of one man's life: insignificant yet universal, simultaneously realistic, surrealistic, artistic, fantastic, true yet imaginative. I was staggered to see that an apparently bone-headed remake by Blake Edwards, a clumsy and insensitive film-maker --- think of what a misuse of Peter Sellers' talents the Pink Panther series was! --- had attempted either to spoof it, or to exploit it. Well, I haven't seen his remake, but I can imagine it as the crudest possible American bludgeoning of French finesse. This masterpiece by Truffaut is an utterly fascinating account of the enigma of the male-female human relationship --- far, far superior in its own terms to anything produced in the English-speaking world."
The Man Who Loved Women
John Farr | 07/05/2007
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Truffaut's pseudo-autobiographical romantic comedy concerns a man who, at least outwardly, has no particularly exceptional qualities. And yet his persistence, frankness, and attentiveness to the physical attributes of the various women he encounters--played by Fossey, Natalie Baye, and Nelly Borgeaud--result in his becoming a rather roguish ladies' man. Denner--unsmiling, helplessly leering, yet somehow charming--was a perfect choice for the role, and there's a lot more to the story than conquest. As Bertrand writes about his life, he discovers dissatisfaction at the heart of his enterprise, a revelation Truffaut turns into bittersweet irony. For a witty take on the frustrations of love, hang with "The Man Who Loved Women.""