Malle in an interview in Cinefantastique (Volume 5, Number 1): "It began with the fact that I wanted to shoot the film in my own house. Black Moon certainly comes very much from the place where I live, the kind of countryside around the house. There's something very ancient, maybe archaic, about it, also something...hostile." Malle also said that the film was influenced by his admiration for Lewis Carroll's Alice in Wonderland. Malle hired Sven Nykvist, Ingmar Bergman's cinematographer, to shoot the film, and wanted there to be no scenes in which there was direct sunlight. They shot indoor scenes on sunny days until the light was right for the exterior shots. Thinking that the film would be difficult for audiences to sit through as a full-length feature, Malle considered releasing it in a shorter version, and prepared a one-hour cut, removing scenes that he felt did not work. Release Home media A digitally restored version of the film was released by The Criterion Collection in June 2011. Critical response Vincent Canby of The New York Times praised the film's cinematography, performances, and imagery, calling the film "baffling and beautiful and occasionally very funny." Time Out wrote, "Malle offers no explanation for his heroine's visionary odyssey through a world in which all history runs parallel with all realities. Yet a logic is there, even if its reference point is jabberwocky." Dennis Schwartz from Ozus' World Movie Reviews awarded the film an A− rating, praising the film's cinematography and themes, calling it "an hysterical but absorbing Alice-in-Wonderland surrealist fantasy film." TV Guide gave the film a positive review, calling it "'[a] haunting, disturbing picture that is half-fantasy, half-reality, but we are never certain which is which." Joseph Jon Lanthier of Slant Magazine rated the film three out of five stars, concluding, "Suckling as it does from the budding teat of preadolescent sexuality, it’s not surprising that Black Moon is a tad Malle-nourished." Awards and nominations Black Moon won French César Awards for Best Sound and Best Cinematography. References Sources External links Black Moon at TCM Black Moon: Louis in Wonderland an essay by Ginette Vincendeau at the Criterion Collection 1975 films 1970s avant-garde and experimental films 1970s fantasy films 1975 horror films French avant-garde and experimental films French fantasy films Films about telepathy Films about unicorns Films directed by Louis Malle Films set in country houses German avant-garde and experimental films