La Cage aux Folles (film)

La Cage aux Folles
French theatrical release poster
Directed by	Édouard Molinaro
Screenplay by	Marcello Danon Édouard Molinaro Jean Poiret Francis Veber
Based on	La Cage aux Folles 1973 play by Jean Poiret
Produced by	Marcello Danon
Starring	Ugo Tognazzi Michel Serrault Claire Maurier Rémi Laurent Carmen Scarpitta Michel Galabru
Cinematography	Armando Nannuzzi
Edited by	Monique Isnardon Robert Isnardon
Music by	Ennio Morricone[1]
Production companies	Les Productions Artistes Associés Da.Ma. Produzione
Distributed by	United Artists
Release dates	20 October 1978 (1978-10-20) (Italy) 25 October 1978 (1978-10-25) (France)
Running time	91 minutes[2]
Countries	France Italy
Language	French
Budget	$1.1 million
Box office	$20.4 million[3]

La Cage aux Folles ([la kaʒ o fɔl], also released as Birds of a Feather) is a 1978 comedy film directed by Édouard Molinaro, based on Jean Poiret's 1973 play of the same name. It stars Ugo Tognazzi and Michel Serrault as a gay couple operating a drag nightclub in a French resort town, Rémi Laurent as the former's son, and Michel Galabru and Carmen Scarpitta as his new fiancée's ultra-conservative parents. The French-language picture was a Franco-Italian co-production by United Artists.^[4]

The film was released in Italy on 20 October 1978 and in France on 25 October. A considerable commercial success, it became one of the highest-grossing foreign-language films released in the United States. It won the Golden Globe Award for Best Foreign Language Film and was nominated for three Oscars: Best Director (Molinaro), Best Adapted Screenplay, and Best Costume Design. Michel Serrault won the César Award for Best Actor. It was followed by two sequels, with Tognazzi, Serrault, Galabru, and Luke reprising their roles. The 1983 musical and the 1996 American film The Birdcage were adapted from the same source material.