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La Guerre des boutons or War of the Buttons is a 1962 French film directed by Yves Robert. War of the Buttons is about two rival kid gangs whose playful combats escalate into violence. The title derives from the buttons that are cut off from the rival team's clothes as combat trophies. The film is based on La Guerre des boutons, a novel by Louis Pergaud (1882–1915), who was killed in action in World War I and whose works portray a fervent anti-militarism.
The young and largely untrained actors included André Treton ("Lebrac"), Michel Isella ("l'Aztec") and Martin Lartigue ("Petit Gibus"). The character Petit Gibus's line of dialogue - uttered in frustration - "si j'aurais su, j'aurais pas v'nu" ("if I woulda known, I wouldn'ta come"), with its incorrect grammar (the correct form should be: "si j'avais su, je ne serais pas venu") has become a familiar tagline in France (the line was not in the original novel).
The film won France's Prix Jean Vigo.
The film was remade in Ireland in 1994 as War of the Buttons, in an Irish setting, and again in France in 2011, with the original title.
Original Release
04/18/1962
US Release
12/18/1963
Cast
Name | Character |
---|
Jacques Dufilho | L'Aztec's father |
Yvette Etiévant | Lebrac's mother |
Michel Galabru | Bacaillé's father |
Michele Meritz | L'Aztec's mother |
Jean Richard | Lebrac's father |
Pierre Tchernia | Bédouin / Bédouin, rural warden |
Pierre Trabaud | School teacher / Teacher at Longeverne |
Claude Confortès | Nestor the postman / Nestor, postman |
Paul Crauchet | Touegueule |
Henri Labussière | A countryman / Countryman |
Directors
Writers
François Boyer, Yves Robert, Louis Pergaud
Cast
Name | Character |
---|
Jacques Dufilho | L'Aztec's father |
Yvette Etiévant | Lebrac's mother |
Michel Galabru | Bacaillé's father |
Michele Meritz | L'Aztec's mother |
Jean Richard | Lebrac's father |
Pierre Tchernia | Bédouin / Bédouin, rural warden |
Pierre Trabaud | School teacher / Teacher at Longeverne |
Claude Confortès | Nestor the postman / Nestor, postman |
Paul Crauchet | Touegueule |
Henri Labussière | A countryman / Countryman |
Robert Rollis | Le père de 'Migue la Lune' / Migue la lune's father |
Louisette Rousseau | Bacaillé's mother |
Gérard Aubry | Un enfant de la bande à Lebrac |
François Bazinsky | Un enfant de la bande à Lebrac |
Christophe Bourseiller | Gaston |
Jacky Delory | Un enfant |
Marie-Catherine Faburel | Marie-Tintin |
Michel Isella | L'Aztec |
Daniel Janneau | La Crique |
Bernard Lambert | Un bucheron |
Producers
Name | Role |
---|
Yves Robert | Producer |
Léon Carré | Producer |
Danièle Delorme | Producer |