The Red and the Black (1954 film)

The Red and the Black (French: Le rouge et le noir) is a 1954 French-Italian historical drama film directed by Claude Autant-Lara, who co-wrote the screenplay with Jean Aurenche and Pierre Bost. It is based on the 1830 novel The Red and the Black by Stendhal and follows the rise and fall of the ambitious provincial Julien Sorel. Gerard Philipe plays Julien, with Danielle Darrieux as Madame de Renal and Antonella Lualdi as Mathilde de la Mole, and Jean Mercure, Jean Martinelli and Antoine Balpetre appear in supporting roles. The film was shot at the Saint-Maurice Studios in Paris, with sets designed by the art director Max Douy. It exists in several versions, generally given as 113 minutes, with a Canadian cut of 171 minutes and a longer French release of 185 minutes. It won the French Syndicate of Cinema Critics award for the best film of 1955 and the Grand Prix de l'Academie du Cinema the same year.