La Cage aux Folles (film)

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La Cage aux Folles
French poster
Directed by	Édouard Molinaro
Starring	Ugo Tognazzi Michel Serrault
Release date(s)	25 October 1978 30 March 1979 1 March 1980
Running time	110 mins
Country	France / Italy
Language	French
IMDb profile

La Cage aux Folles (tr. The Cage of Queens or The Birdcage, lit. The Cage of Crazy Women or The Bird Cage) is a 1978 film adaptation of the 1973 LGBT play by Jean Poiret. It was directed by Édouard Molinaro. Like the play, the film tells the story of a gay couple - Renato, the manager of a Saint-Tropez nightclub featuring drag entertainment, and Albin, his star attraction - and the adventures that ensue when Renato's son brings home his fiance's ultra-conservative parents to meet them.

The film won over audiences with its sight gags, uproarious complications, and a tender and touching conclusion. It ran for well over a year at the Paris Theatre, an art house cinema in New York City, as well as theatres throughout the country in both urban and rural areas. For years it remained the most successful foreign film to be released in the United States.^{[citation needed]}

[edit] Cast

The film stars Michel Serrault as Albin, in the role he had created in the original stage production.

Ugo Tognazzi - Renato Baldi
Michel Serrault - Albin Mougeotte/'Zaza Napoli'
Claire Maurier - Simone
Rémi Laurent - Laurent Baldi
Carmen Scarpitta - Louise Charrier
Benny Luke - Jacob
Luisa Maneri - Andrea Charrier
Michel Galabru - Simon Charrier

[edit] Sequels and remake

The film was followed by two sequels: Cage aux folles II (1980), also directed by Édouard Molinaro, and La Cage aux folles 3 - 'Elles' se marient (1985), directed by Georges Lautner.

A 1983 Broadway musical called La Cage aux Folles based on the play and the film was also successful.

In 1996, an American remake entitled The Birdcage, directed by Mike Nichols, was released, relocated to South Beach, Miami, and starring Robin Williams and Nathan Lane.