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Animal

Animal (L'Animal)

Movie · 1977 · 4 people

Jean-Paul Belmondo, famous for doing his own stunts, stars in L'Animal, Claude Zidi's French action comedy of 1977, with Raquel Welch at his side. He plays two roles in it. In Germany it was released as Ein irrer Typ, and in the United States Analysis Film Releasing Corp distributed it as Stuntwoman.

The story begins with two professional stunt performers who are engaged to each other. They are hurt in a car stunt on their wedding day, and the accident ends both their relationship and their working partnership. After a spell without work, the man is offered a well-paid job and wants to bring his former fiancée back into the partnership. He then learns that she is now engaged to a nobleman, and tries desperately to win her back before the wedding. Besides Belmondo and Welch, the cast lists Jane Birkin, Dany Saval, Johnny Hallyday, Aldo Maccione and Julien Guiomar.

Michel Audiard, Dominique Fabre and Zidi wrote the script. Cerito Films made the film, Christian Fechner produced it and Vladimir Cosma composed the music. It opened in West German cinemas on 27 October 1977 and in East Germany on 12 January 1979, and in the Soviet Union in 1979.

DirectorClaude Zidi
Production companyCerito Films

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Jean-Paul Belmondo Jean-Paul Belmondo Film actor · died at 88 Claude Chabrol Claude Chabrol Director · died at 80 Henri Attal Henri Attal Actor · died at 67 Paul Bisciglia Actor · died at 81

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Action & Thriller Fan Puts pace, tension and set pieces first; little patience for slow drama.

Belmondo was a star who did his own dangerous scenes, and here he plays exactly that, a stuntman; I can't think of a better match. The stunt work is the film's real fuel, and the double role adds to the fun. But once the middle turns into the effort to win back the ex-fiancée, the pace dips a little and the romcom side pushes ahead of the action. Still, light and enjoyable old-school entertainment.

Yeşilçam Nostalgic A viewer raised on the classics, looking for warm storytelling and strong acting.

In seventies European cinema Belmondo was one of those stars who always played heroism with a wink, and L'Animal makes the most of that cheerful persona. His sparring with Raquel Welch has the endearing stubbornness of old-style romantic comedies, and the race against the wedding day is a familiar but warm device. Vladimir Cosma's music rounds out the period mood nicely. My heart leans toward stories of deeper feeling, but this playful film, which never takes itself seriously, will fill a Sunday afternoon with a gentle smile.

Cinephile Looks at script, editing and directing choices; keeps a distance from formula films.

Claude Zidi builds his film on his star's public image: he casts Belmondo, known for doing his own dangerous scenes, as a stuntman, and in a double role at that. The self-referential idea is clever, but the script spends it on spectacle rather than turning it into commentary. With Michel Audiard among the writers, you'd expect sharper dialogue; instead the story leans on the formula of winning back the ex-fiancée before her wedding and follows a route without surprises. Still, Zidi's sense of rhythm and the physical comedy of the stunt scenes make it one of the more fluent examples of its kind. Entertainment that documents Belmondo's charisma, with limited cinematic ambition.

These are not reader reviews: they are short editorial takes written from different viewer perspectives with AI assistance. Reader reviews are below.

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