 |
Amelie (aka Le Fabuleux Destin D'Amelie Poulain)With its use of special effects to express the main character's internal emotions, Jean-Pierre Jeunet's Amelie could have been mistaken for a French version of Ally McBeal; however, unlike Ally--"woe is me for I cannot find a man"--McBeal, Amelie is not distressed by the lack of men in her life, in fact the whole idea of sex seems to amuse her no end. Basic pleasures such as cracking the top of a Crème Brule offer her all the sensual satisfaction she needs and her existence in the "Paris of Dreams" is the stuff of fairy tales. Indeed, this cinematic treat must have worked wonders for the Paris tourist board: Jeunet's beautiful interpretation of Parisian life is depicted in all the vibrant colours you would expect from the director of Delicatessen.
On the DVD: Amelie has received an additional disc for this special edition release. Disc 1 is the same as the original single-disc release, with a choice of DTS or Dolby 5.1 sound and an 16.9 anamorphic widescreen picture with optional director's commentary. The second disc contains the new special features and, just like original disc, a lot of thought has gone into the access menu with its lavish graphics offering the choice of entering the Café, the Canal or the Station. Yet the most exciting extra in name--"Audrey Tautou's funny face"--is simply a series of out-takes which does little more than allow you to warm to Tautou as a person. The home movie includes the transformation of Tautou into Amelie and the creation of the "photo-booth album". There are also interesting interviews with Jeunet and the cast and crew, and a nice little section themed around the gnome and his travels. Along with this is a storyboard-to-screen exposition, behind-the-scenes pictures, scene tests, teasers and trailers. All in all a decent enough package, but hardly warranting the special edition label. It's hard not to wonder why Momentum didn't offer this set two months earlier. --Nikki Disney ... Read More » |
Average User Rating: 80% (59 Reviews) | |
| 5 / 5 | Why can't I give it a six?
C. Kilvington (London) - 13 December 2002 You're sat outside a cafe. There's a smell of roasting coffee in the air, the table has a red check cloth and a local is playing accordion on the corner of the street. Get the picture? Amelie is everything that is beautiful about the city of Paris. Or to take it a little further, it's everything that's beautiful about life and humanity itself. Pourquoi monsieur, I hear you say? Well firstly because it is a feelgood movie, without the overpopular American syrupy sentiment. And there's more. It's got humour. It's moving. It's colourful. And it's quirky in only a way the French can be. Visual poetry is the only way I can describe it. I'm not really sure if I can compare it to anything else I've seen - possible because I've never been big on subtitles. But this one's definitely worth the eye strain. Don't think you'll be able to hone your O-Level French on this though...without the words, you'd not get further than "Pour allez a la gare" in the first scene. Anyway, let's cut the chat. Amelie is your film if - like me - you love the romanticism that is France. It's also your film if you believe in a sense of karma and good winning over in the end. So, if you're someone who gets a buzz about the thought of hopping on the Eurostar and taking a trip to the capital of chic, buy it now. Oh, and before I go, the second CD does't add an awful lot more to the film. There are a couple of quirky spots, but not much else. But with a film this perfect, who cares?! |
| 5 / 5 | Excellent cinema
Stephen Hill - 6 December 2002 Amelie is a great film to look at. It has the camera work is a delight, making the finished film a joy to watch. Audrey Tatou gives a perfect performance in the title role. Living in a fantasy world, she sets about helping others find love and make their dreams come true. The fact that this is a French film with subtitles should not deter you from watching. It will not take long before you are entranced by the fanatsy tale of this Parisian cafe waitress. The new 2 disc DVD version contains a second disk, with the normal trailer and 'making of' feature. It also contains a section of 'out-takes' of Audrey Tautou and this is certainly worth watching. In summary a loving crafted film from director Jean-Pierre Juenet that will certainly become a classic.... Read Full Review » |
| 4 / 5 | QUIRKY BUT FULL OF GALLIC CHARM! ****
Mr. N. Carnegie (Kirkcaldy, Scotland, UK.) - 5 November 2002 Amélie is the feel good whimsical romantic comedy that has broken all French box office records (around 8 million people in France alone have seen it), charmed many British audiences and is now winning lots of fans in North America. But is it any good? In short, yes. It's very good. Don't worry about the subtitles, there's no problem in following screenwriters Guillaume Laurant and Jean-Pierre Jeunet's plot. Director Jean-Pierre Jeunet's doe-eyed heroine Amélie (Audrey Tautou) has had a lonely childhood and an unsatisfying love life. Her father is a glum recluse, who never offered her any physical contact, warmth or love (but who cherishes his garden gnome) and her neurotic mother was killed by a suicide jumper who hit her on the way down outside Notre Dame. As a result, Amélie has become wrapped up in her dreams as a way of escaping her lonely life. By day, she waits table at a Montmartre brasserie frequented by many eccentric characters and at night, she goes home alone to a little box flat with a rear window from where she can spy on her neighbours and dream of what their lives must be like. Until one day when she discovers a box of discarded toys left behind in her apartment 40 years ago and begins a search for the man-boy who once owned them. Finding that she can make a difference to other peoples lives, Amélie's own life is given a new purpose and a new vocation but can she find love and happiness for herself? Some critics have complained that Amélie's is a right wing exercise in nostalgia and that Director Jean-Pierre Jeunet's depiction of Montmatre is too lushly perfect, whilst others have criticised it for being nothing more than a rip-off of Jane Austen's Emma. All of these criticisms are unfair (although there are obvious comparisons in the plot that can be made to Emma) and downright offensive. There is no obvious political agenda on display here and so what if the streets of Montmatre are picture postcard friendly? Amélie's Montmartre may just be a dream but it's a beautiful dream. Who cares if in the real France most people eat at Burger King or Mc.Donalds or shop at a supermarket for their groceries? Amélie's Montmartre is an enchanted place, where the water's of the canals are blue and sparkling and the scenery picture perfect. Jean-Pierre Jeunet (Director of the much darker Delicatessen and City of Lost Children), has created his own universe and populated it with some wonderfully eccentric characters, thus allowing some of France's finest actors to charm their audience with a proliferation of visual humour and pseudo-philosophical dialogue. In particular, Serge Merlin, the wise old artist from across the street, conjures up magical wisdom and steals most of his scenes, as does Rufus, as Amélie's morose father. However, make no mistake this is the rather beautiful and elfin-like Audrey Tautou's movie and she captures your heart with her big doe-eyes and her mischievous smile and plays the role of Amélie to whimsical perfection. Amélie will capture your heart; make you smile, make you laugh and send you off into the night glowing happily, with a little bit of faith and hope in life restored. We all like to feel good about ourselves and Amélie is well worth checking out for anybody who enjoys a little romance and dares to dream. |
| 5 / 5 | A Masterpiece
David Rush "Fasten your seatbelts, its going to be a bumpy night!" (Glasgow, Scotland) - 27 December 2007 Amazing Magnificent Enchanting Lovable Intelligent Excellent Miss it at your peril! |
| 5 / 5 | The stuff dreams are made of
the thief of brisco "dean_andy" - 4 August 2006 Some films are great. Others are life changing. And then there is Amelie. Quite simply there has been no other film made like it in the history of cinema. The first five minutes hook the viewer in with an utterly gorgeous array of soft packed light scenes. From there in on in, try as one might to resist, the viewer is embarking on a journey that will that take them to places that simply cannot be described by words. />The acting is universally outstanding. The directorial techniques at times seem to pay a homage to Frank Klinsvosky's earlier work and plays around with shade-flicker editing techniques; clearly designed to tease out our childlike imagination. In parts, this is a seriously amusing film. In other parts, it's a deeply, deeply touching piece of art. Simply beautiful. ... Read Full Review » |
RRP
£24.99
Release Date
8 July 2002
Price Range
£4.99 - £20.61