Bolero: Dance of Life (Les uns et les autres) 42 years old

The film is a musical epic and it is widely considered as the director's best work with Un Homme et une Femme.

Bolero: Dance of Life

The film follows four families, with different nationalities (French, German, Russian and American) but with the same passion for music, from the 1930s to the 1960s. The various story lines cross each other time and again in different places and times, with their own theme scores that evolve as time passes. The main event in the film is the Second World War, which throws the stories of the four musical families together and mixes their fates. Although all characters are fictional, many of them are loosely based on historical musical icons (Édith Piaf, Josephine Baker, Herbert von Karajan, Glenn Miller, Rudolf Nureyev, etc.) The Boléro dance sequence at the end brings all the threads together.

Credits

Bolero: Dance of Life Cast

Name Character
James Caan He was 41, now 83 years old as Jack Glenn / Jason Glenn
Geraldine Chaplin She was 36, now 79 years old as Suzan / Sara Glenn
Fanny Ardant She was 32, now 75 years old as Véronique
Éva Darlan She was 32, now 75 years old as Eva
Paul Préboist He was 53, 69 years old when he died as Le grand-père d'Edith
Jacques Villeret He was 30, 53 years old when he died as Jacques
Alexandra Stewart She was 41, now 84 years old as Alexandra
Daniel Olbrychski He was 36, now 79 years old as Karl Kremer
Macha Méril She was 40, now 83 years old as Magda Kremer
Jean-Claude Brialy He was 48, 74 years old when he died as Le directeur du Lido
Francis Huster He was 33, now 76 years old as Francis
Geneviève Mnich She was 39, now 82 years old as Jeanne
Marthe Villalonga She was 49, now 92 years old as La grand-mère d'Edith
Robert Hossein He was 53, now 96 years old as Simon Meyer / Robert Prat
Richard Bohringer He was 39, now 82 years old as Richard
Manuel Gélin He was 22, now 65 years old as Patrick Prat
Jean-Pierre Castaldi He was 36, now 79 years old
Andy Fenwick as Glenn as a boy
Nicole Daresco as Gina
Thérèse Crémieux
Nicole Croisille She was 44, now 87 years old as Nicole Croisille
Jean-Pierre Kalfon He was 42, now 85 years old as Père Antoine
Raymond Pellegrin He was 56, 82 years old when he died as M. Raymond
Christophe Bourseiller He was 23, now 66 years old
Mireille Audibert She was 36, 48 years old when she died
Anne Caudry She was 23, 34 years old when she died as La fille d'Eva
Bernard-Pierre Donnadieu He was 31, 61 years old when he died as Le représentant Croix Rouge (UNICEF)
Katalin Csarny
Jorge Donn He was 34, 44 years old when he died as Boris & Sergei Itovitch / Lead Dancer of Boléro
Maxime Dufeu as Le voisin
Andrée Delair
Evelyne Hue
Dan Daes
Linda Dingwall
Nicole Garcia She was 35, now 77 years old as Anne Meyer
Féodor Atkine He was 33, now 76 years old as Alexis
Sarah Abrell
Candice Patou She was 34, now 77 years old as Candice
Louise Chevalier She was 84, 89 years old when she died as La bonne du Père Antoine
Philippe Jacques
Charles Gérard He was 54, 92 years old when he died as Charlot
Ginette Garcin She was 53, 82 years old when she died as Ginette
Véronique Coquet
Rita Poelvoorde She was 30, now 73 years old as Tatiana & Tania Itovitch
Évelyne Bouix She was 28, now 70 years old as Evelyne / Edith
Ernie Garrett as Bobby
Gérard Ismaël
Lyle Joyce as Mr. Tracy
Jean-Claude Bourbault He was 28, now 71 years old as Le garde-barrière
Maïa Simon She was 41, 67 years old when she died as Me Isabelle Prat
Jean-Claude Bouttier He was 36, 74 years old when he died as Philippe Rouget
Farmer Fuller

Bolero: Dance of Life Crew

Name Department
Jean Boffety as Director of Photography. He was 55 (63) years old when He died Camera
Sophie Bhaud as Editor. She was 42 (now 85) years old Editing
Hugues Darmois as Editor. He was 18 (now 24) years old Editing
Michel Legrand as Music. He was 49 (86) years old when He died Sound
Bolero: Dance of Life poster
Bolero: Dance of Life (42 years)

The film is a musical epic and it is widely considered as the director's best work with Un Homme et une Femme.

  • Release day: Wednesday, May 27, 1981
  • Runtime: 184 minutes