Claude Lelouch on DVD

[batiar]

It looks almost unbelievable but German Black Hill-Warner Bros company released almost all Claude Lelouch DVDs with both French and German audio and with English subtitles. They released them in 5 boxes with 4DVDs in each box.

In box 1 only 2 DVDs have English subtitles. The movies "La Belle Histoire" and "L'aventure C'est l'aventure" have no subtitles. In boxes 2, 3, 4 all DVDs have English subtitles. In box 5 at least 3 DVDs have English subtitles. I am not certain of subtitles on the DVD of the movie "Ca n'arrive qu'aux autres" (German title "Das passiert immer nur den anderen"). By the way this movie according to IMDB was directed by Nadine Trintignant, so it seems puzzling why this movie is included in the Lelouch collection.

There is also a new 2 DVD Lelouch set recently released, but I don't know if English subtitles were included.

Maybe somebody in Germany can check the subtitles status of all of the uncertain cases. Additionally these boxes cost only 35 or 26 euro each in Amazon.de. This is incredible news. It seems that Germans started to subtitle many French and German movies in English.

Recently Romy Schneider collection was released in Germany that is completely English friendly.

If you find any other boxes or DVDs of French, Italian, Spanish or German movies released in Germany please let us know!!!

[Gordon]

Impressive packages. But I don't seem to see La Vie, l'amour, la mort (Life, Love, Death) from 1969, the film about the capital punishment - the guillotine - in France, shot with black and white and color sequences.

Could someone post a complete list of the films in this set, as I am having trouble reading the words on those jpegs.

Still no english-subtitled Les Misérables available, though, which is a crying shame.

Thanks, batiar.

[batiar]

This is the list of movies in the Lelouch DVD box sets:

Set 1

1. Itinéraire d'un enfant gâté (Der Lowe) (1988)
2. La Belle Histoire (Die Schonste Geschichte der Welt) (1992) (NO SUBS)
3. Tout ça... pour ça! (Alles Fur die Liebe) (1993)
4. L'Aventure, c'est l'aventure (Die Entfuhrer Lassen Grussen) (1972) (NO SUBS)

Set 2

1. Édith et Marcel (Edith und Marcel) (1983)
2. Robert et Robert (Ein Man Sucht Eine Frau) (1978)
3. Partir, revenir (Weggehen und Wiederkommen) (1985)
4. La Bonne année (Ein Gluckchet Jahr) (1973)

Set 3

1. À nous deux (Allein zu Zweit) (1979)
2. Attention bandits! (Die Zeit des Verbrechen) (1986)
3. Viva la vie! (Es Lebe das Leben) (1984)
4. Uns et les autres (Ein Jeglicher Wird Seinen Lohn Empfangen) (1981)

Set 4

1. Le Bon et les méchants (Der Gute und die Bosen) (1976)
2. Le Chat et la souris (Eine Katze Jagt de Maus) (1975)
3. Smic Smac Smoc (1971)
4. L'Amour avec des si (Die Fahnung) (1962)

Set 5

1. Toute une vie (Ein Leben Lang) (1974)
2. Il y a des jours... et des lunes (So Sind die Tage und der Mond) (1990)
3. Ça n'arrive qu'aux autres (Es Passiert Immer nur den Anderen) (1971) (SUBS ???)
Directed by Nadine Trintignant . Lelouch company Les Films 13 only produced this movie.
4. Mariage (Eine ehe) (1976)

Extra 2 DVD set

1. Une pour toutes (Eine fur Alle) (1999) (SUBS ???)
2. Une fille et des fusils (1964) (SUBS ???)

[Gordon]

Thank you!

[Kinsayder]

A small addition to your Lelouch collection (from an IMDb post):

http://mirror.rtor.net/rendezvous20_04.mov

C'etait un Rendezvous is the creation of the French filmmaker Claude Lelouch in 1976. Using a Ferrari 275 GTB early one August morning, Lelouch attached a camera to the bumper of the car and sped through the streets of Paris. He gave the driver a set route from Porte Dauphine, through the Louvre, to the Basilica of Sacre Coeur, which is straight through the heart of Paris. The driver is still unknown to this day, because Lelouch was never able to obtain a permit to close the streets. The driver, who Lelouch told officials was an F1 racer, went over the speed limit and blew off many red lights. When this film was first shown, Lelouch was arrested, and because of this, the footage has spent many years underground before it began to resurface on DVD a few years ago. Lelouch used a new technology of the time, a gyro stabilized camera mount, in order to mount the camera on the car. The problem with this is that the technology of the time only allowed for a ten minute film with this mount. Lelouch told his driver to rush because of this time limit, and the video itself is only about nine minutes.

Looks like a typical Paris driver to me

[Le Feu Follet]

I stopped following Claude Lelouch in the sixties I think it was when I saw Un Homme et Une Femme (A Man and a Woman), and I thought 'never again'.

Recently I went to Paris with a friend and he dashed into a shop and bought a DVD, and a week later pressed it onto me, urging me to watch it. It was two Lelouch films in one box, the one he was excited about was called 'La Belle Histoire'. I was somewhat taken aback when I put it in my player and discovered that it is three hours twenty-two minutes long (just the one film), with an intermission banner half-way through.

Well, now I've watched it, and it is a slightly amazing film, tacky but watchable, a bit like Lost on TV in that way, ambitious and with some good things such as ambition, a coherence of style, photography and mise-en-scene, a sort of bravura film-making, but with cheesy characterisation. It looks as though it cost a fortune to make.

I have a French cinema reference book which ways 'Lelouch is an auteur. He has a grasp of light, and he knows how to direct actors from stars to the young and inexperienced. He likes flattering colours, sentimental romance and the superficial psychology of best-sellers.'

I think La Belle Histoire is pretty unknown in the English-speaking world, as the DVD is only available without English subs, and I am not aware that it has ever had a release in London. I was wondering whether anyone here has seen it or has anythng to say about it or Lelouch.

[Toxicologist]

Apologies if i'm posting in the wrong area...

Imagine my suprise briefly tuning into MTV2 and seeing the 'new' Snow Patrol video....or should i say..the 1976 infamous C'etait Un Rendez-Vous'!!

[Dylan]

A few questions for Lelouch fans on here:

1. Aside from A Man and a Woman (which I think is great, by the way), how are the films he did with Anouk Aimee, particularly The Second Chance (1976)?

2. How are the films he's made in the last decade?

Thanks!

[Caligula]

I've seen Les Miserables (1995) several times.

It might be my single biggest want on DVD (other than the unsubbed French DVD, not available anywhere else).

It's not really Victor Hugo's novel in the strict sense of the word, more a tale about a character who realises strong similarities between his own life and the novel of the title. It takes you (on a dance, perhaps? taking into account the opening and closing scenes) through the first half of the previous century as we follow the travails of the main character.

I find viewing the film every time a very emotional experience. There are beautiful images in the film that stay with you (the parachutists dropping down, for example) and small touches (the Lucky Strike cigarettes in the D-Day Landing Soldier's helmet, the camera respectfully withdrawing & not zooming in at an emotional moment) that makes this film very special for me.

Writing film appreciation is not really my forte but hope this helps.

[Dylan]

Sounds like a good adaptation of Les Miserables, too bad it's unavailable with English subs.

Aside from A Man and a Woman, Lelouch is largely undistributed outside of Europe, which is a shame because he seems like a very prolific, entertaining and skillful filmmaker. Does anybody else on here consider any of his films great (or very good) and wouldn't mind offering some thoughts? Once again, I'm particularly interested in the films he made with Anouk Aimee.

[pro-bassoonist]

2. How are the films he's made in the last decade?

And Now Ladies and Gentlemen received some mixed reviews however I enjoyed this film a great deal. It flows perfectly, it has a notable 80s feel, Michel Legrand is back on board, and Patricia Kaas is shockingly good. Frankly, this isn't his best work but in my opinion it is one of the director's solid works.

Ciao,
Pro-B

[martin]

Extra 2 DVD set

1. Une pour toutes (Eine fur Alle) (1999) (SUBS ???)
2. Une fille et des fusils (1964) (SUBS ???)

No subs on these. In fact Une fille et des fusils (1964) doesn't even have a German audio track, which is strange!

[Le Feu Follet]

Aside from which is a shame because he seems like a very prolific, entertaining and skillful filmmaker.

I agree with prolific, entertaining and skillful, but I would also add tacky, with cliched characterizations that don't ring true.