Search - La Cage Aux Folles on DVD

MPAA Rating: R Content Advisory: Adult Situations, Not For Children, Adult Language Movie Release: 1978 DVD Release: 07/24/2001 Format: DVD - Enhanced Wide Screen Letterbox for 16x9 TV Edition: Special Collection Audio Tracks: English, French Subtitles: English, French, Spanish SwapaDVD Credits: 1 Number of Discs: 1 Run Time: 1 hrs 37 mins Studio: MGM Members Wishing: 8 Genres: Comedy, Farce, Comedy of Errors, Sex Comedy, Gay & Lesbian Films

An international comedy sensation based on a successful French stage play, La Cage aux Folles depicts the farcical chaos that results when a gay man attempts to pose as straight for the benefit of his son's future in-laws. Renato (Ugo Tognazzi) owns a popular nightclub and is the long-time lover of Zaza (Michel Serrault), a female impersonator who is the club's main attraction. Unfortunately, Renato's son Laurent (Remy Laurent) has told none of this to his future father-in-law, an important figure in a morally conservative political organization. Not wanting to ruin his son's chance of happiness, Renato agrees to pose as a straight man, but he finds his familiar habits, and those of the even more flamboyant Zaza, getting in the way at every turn. Zaza is the one who comes up with what he thinks is an ideal solution: he'll dress in drag and pose as Renato's wife. Naturally, the plan does not pan out as expected. La Cage aux Folles' pleasant, unthreatening comic sensibility attracted a large mainstream audience in both Europe and the United States, which was at the time unusual for a film with a homosexual theme. Indeed, the film was popular enough to inspire two remakes: a stage musical and, nearly two decades later, the Hollywood comedy The Birdcage with Robin Williams, Nathan Lane, and Gene Hackman. ~ Judd Blaise, All Movie Guide

Ugo Tognazzi - Renato
Michel Serrault - Albin/ZaZa
Michel Galabru - Charrier
Claire Maurier - Simone
Remi Laurent - Laurent

This wickedly funny French comedy became a massive international hit, spawning two horrendous sequels and a good American remake entitled The Birdcage. While this MGM DVD of La Cage Aux Folles isn't the deluxe release that the movie's many fans have been waiting for, it's still much preferable to the old video version, which made its carefully designed visuals look like a cheap rerun of Three's Company. The DVD returns the movie to its original widescreen aspect ratio, restores the lighting balance in the process, and offers three separate Dolby Digital 2.0 audio tracks: one in the original French, one in English, and another in Spanish. The DVD also offers subtitles in all three languages, closed-captions, and theatrical trailers for the series. The La Cage Aux Folles DVD can also be purchased in a bundle with its first sequel but all the laughs are to be found in the first movie. ~ Nick Dedina, All Movie Guide