About the film
- Directed by
- Jean-Pierre Jeunet, Marc Caro
- Released
- April 17, 1991
- US theatrical
- April 3, 1992
- Certification
- R
- Country
- France
- Starring
- Dominique Pinon, Marie-Laure Dougnac, Jean-Claude Dreyfus, Karin Viard, Ticky Holgado
More credits
- Language
- French
- Origin
- FR
- Studios
- Constellation, Hachette Première, UGC
- Written by
- Jean-Pierre Jeunet, Gilles Adrien, Marc Caro
- Produced by
- Claudie Ossard
- Cinematography
- Darius Khondji
- Music
- Carlos D'Alessio
- Also starring
- Pascal Benezech, Edith Ker, Rufus, Jacques Mathou, Chick Ortega
- Budget
- $4,000,000
- Box office
- $1,794,187
In a world running out of meat, one apartment building has found a reliable source of supply: the tenants upstairs, one at a time, courtesy of the landlord in the butcher shop below.
DELICATESSEN (1991) is set in an unnamed, crumbling future France where grain is currency and protein is scarce. The building's landlord, Clapet, solves the food problem by hiring handymen he has no intention of paying in cash. Each new hire becomes the next meal.
Louison, an ex-circus performer played by Dominique Pinon, takes the job and falls for Clapet's daughter Julie, who is desperate to save him before he ends up on the menu. Meanwhile the building's other tenants, a chorus of oddballs, scheme in the background, some plotting rescue, some just waiting their turn to eat.
Jean-Pierre Jeunet and Marc Caro co-directed, working from a script they wrote with Gilles Adrien. The film announced their visual style at once: a jaundiced, sepia-toned world of rust and grime, shot through with slapstick timing worthy of silent comedy. Bodies move like clockwork, gags land with mechanical precision, and horror and comedy share the same frame without apology.
It was Jeunet and Caro's feature debut, made in France on a small budget, and it turned cannibalism into farce without losing its edge of dread.
How to see Delicatessen (1991)
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Source: JustWatch
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Movies we wrote about
1 commentThe City of Lost Children (1995)
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10 commentsCemetery Man (1994)
499 commentsTruly Madly Deeply (1991)
Careful (1992)
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cf. Eating Raoul (1982)
This and The City of Lost Children are brilliant moves. The latter being my introduction to the great Ron Perlman.
One of the greatest films ever made. I was lucky enough to see it on a theater screen at UGA
Love this movie. To this day whenever I cook lentils for supper, my wife blurts,
“Des lentilles!”
“Mais c’est tout ce qui me reste.”
At least she doesnt’ ask me for my shoes anymore.
Post-apocalyptic wasteland movies usually have someone like Mad Max as the hero. Not this one. This one is a clown. And just as awesome. ♥️
Classic.
“We have Tim Burton at home”
This movie is pure nightmare genius.
This is a great film.
One of my favorites
You forgot the Vegan underground resistance. The Frogmen.
show us the frog room
Ian Moir “In case i don’t come back…”
Jeunet et Caro. Some of my favorite films!!
Such an amazing film with beautiful imagery.
Great movie!
Makes City of Lost Children look normal. Demented.
My mother said the subtitles were poorly done.
Permanently in my top ten, not to be unseated.
GREAT movie
One of my favorite films!
One of the greatest love letters to cinema. His whole team knocked this out of the park. Listen to his cinematographer talk about shooting this…masters of their craft.
I have had it on DVD since it’s release on DVD (and their followup City of Lost Children). Fantastic films
Sounds like a higher budget British version of Eating Raoul.
Genius. Their first and best.
Truly amazing film!
Bought this on VHS and didn’t watch it for ages . ( cos it was in French ) finally watched it one night bored and loved it . And city of lost children . And mickmacks . All live on the shelf now . Favourites lost children.