“The funniest picture of the year!”
— National Board of Review [1978]
A RIOT OF FRANTIC DISGUISES AND MISTAKEN IDENTITIES,
FILM MOVEMENT CLASSICS BRINGS A SLAPSTICK TOUR DE FORCE FROM FRANCE TO BLU-RAY FOR
THE VERY FIRST TIME
THE MAD ADVENTURES OF “RABBI” JACOB
Street Date: September 10, 2019
Blu-ray/DVD/Digital: $39.95/$29.95
Nominated for Best Foreign Film at the 1974 Golden Globe Awards, the Blu-ray Features A Stunning 4K Restoration and Bonus Features Including an Exclusive Interview with Co-Screenwriter Danièle Thompson
SYNOPSIS
Hilarity ensues in 1973’s THE MAD ADVENTURES OF RABBI JACOB, a cult classic riot of frantic disguises and mistaken identities. Victor Pivert (Louis de Funès), a blustering, bigoted French factory owner, finds himself taken hostage by Mohammed Larbi Slimane (Claude Giraud), an Arab rebel leader. The two dress up as rabbis as they try to elude not only assassins from Slimane’s country, but also the police, who think Pivert is a murderer. Pivert ends up posing as Rabbi Jacob, a beloved figure who’s returned to France for his first visit after 30 years in the United States. Adding to the confusion are Pivert’s dentist-wife, who thinks her husband is leaving her for another woman, their daughter, who’s about to get married, and a Parisian neighborhood filled with people eager to celebrate the return of Rabbi Jacob (Marcel Dario).
A hodgepodge of plot twists and slapstick shenanigans culminating in a chaotic, fun climax, THE MAD ADVENTURES OF RABBI JACOB was a showcase for de Funès, one of the most popular French comic actors of the era. Helmed by French filmmaker Gerard Oury, who co-wrote a 1958 film that Barbra Streisand later adapted for The Mirror Has Two Faces, the film was nominated for “Best Foreign Film” at the 1974 Golden Globe Awards. Of the French farce, Leonard Maltin called it “quite funny, with echoes of silent-screen humor.” And The National Board of Review proclaimed it, “The funniest picture of the year,” with kudos to Louis de Funès as “in a class with Woody Allen”.
BONUS FEATURES
Interview with co-screenwriter Danièle Thompson
New essay from author Phoebe Maltz Bovy
PROGRAM INFORMATION
Type: Blu-ray/DVD/Digital (iTunes, Amazon, Vudu)
Running Time: 100 minutes
Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1 Widescreen
Audio: 5.1 Dolby Digital/2.0 Stereo
Language: French, English, Hebrew, Yiddish and Arabic with English subtitles
About Film Movement
Founded in 2002 as one of the first-ever subscription film services with its DVD-of-the-Month club, Film Movement is now a North American distributor of award-winning independent and foreign films based in New York City. It has released more than 250 feature films and shorts culled from prestigious film festivals worldwide. Film Movement’s theatrical releases include American independent films, documentaries, and foreign art house titles. Its catalog includes titles by directors such as Hirokazu Kore-eda, Maren Ade, Jessica Hausner, Andrei Konchalovsky, Andrzej Wajda, Diane Kurys, Ciro Guerra and Melanie Laurent. In 2015, Film Movement launched its reissue label Film Movement Classics, featuring new restorations released theatrically as well as on Blu-ray and DVD, including films by such noted directors as Eric Rohmer, Peter Greenaway, Bille August, Marleen Gorris, Takeshi Kitano, Arturo Ripstein, King Hu, Sergio Corbucci and Ettore Scola. For more information, please visit www.filmmovement.com. Visit www.filmmovementplus.com for more information about Film Movement Plus, the new subscription streaming service from Film Movement.
