The simultaneous electron and phonon relaxation dynamic in a metal film subjected to a laser pulse has been theoretically investigated. A system of two coupled time- and energy-dependent Boltzmann equations describing the electron and phonon dynamics has been numerically solved. The collision processes considered are electron-electron (e-e) and electron-phonon (e-p) collisions. Our results show the non-equilibrium electron distribution and the electron and phonon relaxation dynamics both after a femtosecond and a picosecond laser perturbations. (c) 2005 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.