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The Trial

Original title: Le procès
  • 19621962
  • Not RatedNot Rated
  • 1h 59m
IMDb RATING
7.6/10
21K
YOUR RATING
  • Cast & crew
  • User reviews
  • Trivia
  • IMDbPro
Anthony Perkins in Le procès (1962)
Official Trailer
Play trailer3:55
1 Video
74 Photos
  • Drama
  • Mystery
  • Thriller
An unassuming office worker is arrested and stands trial, but he is never made aware of his charges.An unassuming office worker is arrested and stands trial, but he is never made aware of his charges.An unassuming office worker is arrested and stands trial, but he is never made aware of his charges.
IMDb RATING
7.6/10
21K
YOUR RATING
  • Director
    • Orson Welles
  • Writers
    • Pierre Cholot(adaptation and dialogue)
    • Franz Kafka(based on the novel by)
    • Orson Welles
  • Stars
    • Anthony Perkins
    • Arnoldo Foà
    • Jess Hahn
Top credits
  • Director
    • Orson Welles
  • Writers
    • Pierre Cholot(adaptation and dialogue)
    • Franz Kafka(based on the novel by)
    • Orson Welles
  • Stars
    • Anthony Perkins
    • Arnoldo Foà
    • Jess Hahn
  • See production, box office & company info
    • 124User reviews
    • 76Critic reviews
  • See more at IMDbPro
    • Awards
      • 2 wins & 2 nominations

    Videos1

    The Trial
    Trailer 3:55
    The Trial

    Photos74

    Anthony Perkins in Le procès (1962)
    Orson Welles and Romy Schneider in Le procès (1962)
    Anthony Perkins and Jeanne Moreau in Le procès (1962)
    Anthony Perkins, Jess Hahn, and Billy Kearns in Le procès (1962)
    Anthony Perkins and Romy Schneider in Le procès (1962)
    Anthony Perkins in Le procès (1962)
    Anthony Perkins in Le procès (1962)
    Le procès (1962)
    Le procès (1962)
    Anthony Perkins and Jeanne Moreau in Le procès (1962)
    Orson Welles and Romy Schneider in Le procès (1962)
    Anthony Perkins in Le procès (1962)

    Top cast

    Edit
    Anthony Perkins
    Anthony Perkins
    • Josef K.as Josef K.
    Arnoldo Foà
    Arnoldo Foà
    • Inspector Aas Inspector A
    Jess Hahn
    Jess Hahn
    • Second Assistant Inspectoras Second Assistant Inspector
    Billy Kearns
    • First Assistant Inspectoras First Assistant Inspector
    Madeleine Robinson
    Madeleine Robinson
    • Mrs. Grubachas Mrs. Grubach
    Jeanne Moreau
    Jeanne Moreau
    • Marika Burstneras Marika Burstner
    Maurice Teynac
    • Deputy Manageras Deputy Manager
    Naydra Shore
    • Irmieas Irmie
    Suzanne Flon
    Suzanne Flon
    • Miss Pittlas Miss Pittl
    Raoul Delfosse
    • Policemanas Policeman
    Jean-Claude Rémoleux
    • Policemanas Policeman
    Max Buchsbaum
    • Examining Magistrateas Examining Magistrate
    Carl Studer
    Carl Studer
    • Man in Leatheras Man in Leather
    • (as Karl Studer)
    Max Haufler
    • Uncle Maxas Uncle Max
    Romy Schneider
    Romy Schneider
    • Lenias Leni
    Fernand Ledoux
    Fernand Ledoux
    • Chief Clerk of the Law Courtas Chief Clerk of the Law Court
    Akim Tamiroff
    Akim Tamiroff
    • Blochas Bloch
    Elsa Martinelli
    Elsa Martinelli
    • Hildaas Hilda
    • Director
      • Orson Welles
    • Writers
      • Pierre Cholot(adaptation and dialogue)
      • Franz Kafka(based on the novel by)
      • Orson Welles
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
    • All cast & crew

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    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      In May '62, while filming, Jeanne Moreau suffered a slight nervous breakdown due to the stifling atmosphere of the film.
    • Goofs
      When Josef K. follows Hilda being carried out of the large trial room/hall by the law student, he hastily grabs and throws on his suit jacket. In the succeeding scenes, the jacket's buttons which are buttoned change.
    • Quotes

      [first lines]

      Narrator: Before the law, there stands a guard. A man comes from the country, begging admittance to the law. But the guard cannot admit him. May he hope to enter at a later time? That is possible, said the guard. The man tries to peer through the entrance. He'd been taught that the law was to be accessible to every man. "Do not attempt to enter without my permission", says the guard. I am very powerful. Yet I am the least of all the guards. From hall to hall, door after door, each guard is more powerful than the last. By the guard's permission, the man sits by the side of the door, and there he waits. For years, he waits. Everything he has, he gives away in the hope of bribing the guard, who never fails to say to him "I take what you give me only so that you will not feel that you left something undone." Keeping his watch during the long years, the man has come to know even the fleas on the guard's fur collar. Growing childish in old age, he begs the fleas to persuade the guard to change his mind and allow him to enter. His sight has dimmed, but in the darkness he perceives a radiance streaming immortally from the door of the law. And now, before he dies, all he's experienced condenses into one question, a question he's never asked. He beckons the guard. Says the guard, "You are insatiable! What is it now?" Says the man, "Every man strives to attain the law. How is it then that in all these years, no one else has ever come here, seeking admittance?" His hearing has failed, so the guard yells into his ear. "Nobody else but you could ever have obtained admittance. No one else could enter this door! This door was intended only for you! And now, I'm going to close it." This tale is told during the story called "The Trial". It's been said that the logic of this story is the logic of a dream... a nightmare.

    • Crazy credits
      The end cast credits are read over by Orson Welles without titles (though the actors are read in a different order from their listing on the screen).
    • Alternate versions
      The short version cut the opening pin screen sequence and also deleted and rearranged a number of scenes.
    • Connections
      Featured in The Queen of Sheba Meets the Atom Man (1967)
    • Soundtracks
      Adagio D'Albinoni
      Interprété par André Girard (as A. Girard) et Orchestre de l'Association des Concerts Colonne

      Arranged by Jean Ledrut

      Music by Tomaso Albinoni (T.Albinoni)

      Publisher: S.l. : Philips, 1962.

    User reviews124

    Review
    Top review
    The Closest Thing to a Paranoid Nightmare Ever Filmed
    Like many of Orson Welles films, The Trial has been imitated by other filmmakers. Patrick McGoohan borrowed part of The Trial's interiors for the famous opening of "The Prisoner", and David Lynch borrowed part of the exteriors for "Eraserhead". Neither, however, approaches the relentlessly grim paranoia of the Welle's original.

    I don't believe that Kafka ever published The Trial during his lifetime. In his will he left instructions that all his literary manuscripts should be destroyed after his death. In what was, perhaps, the final irony of Kafka's life, it was only the disobedience of the executor of the writer's estate that made the peculiarly paranoid world Kafka had created available to the public at all.

    See this film and, afterwords, try to get a peaceful night's sleep.
    helpful•18
    2
    • robertguttman
    • Apr 4, 2007

    FAQ2

    • Is "The Trial" based on a book?
    • Is the novel available for reading online?

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • December 22, 1962 (France)
    • Countries of origin
      • France
      • Italy
      • West Germany
    • Language
      • English
    • Also known as
      • Der Prozess
    • Filming locations
      • 240 Grada Vukovara Street, Zagreb, Croatia
    • Production companies
      • Paris-Europa Productions
      • Hisa-Film
      • Finanziaria Cinematografica Italiana (FICIT)
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Technical specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      1 hour 59 minutes
    • Color
      • Black and White
    • Aspect ratio
      • 1.66 : 1

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