Rating: 
Summary: Magnificent
Review: I've lost track of the number of times I've seen this movie... I've never wearied of it in any way. It continues to move me deeply & incessantly surprises me. It's a map of the world & a cross-section of mankind boiled down to essences. From Baptiste to the ragpicker Jéricho every character is a real person but a totally non-overlapping archetype at the same time. Lacenaire (my hero as an NYC teenager) is the only true Dostoyevskyan character ever to appear on the screen. The Criterion disks are magnificent. 1000 stars!
Rating:
Summary: HEAVENLY
Review: Once again Criterion delivers one of the all time great French films, Marcel Carne's majestic "CHILDREN OF PARADISE" ("Les Enfants du Paradis") in a superbly restored, bounteously filled two-disc digital transfer . The screenplay by poet Jacques Prevert is a celebration of theater, art, music and literature. The story follows the life and loves of the serenely beautiful and worldy-wise Garance (Arletty) and the four masculine archetypes -- from sensitive to sordid -- with whom she becomes entangled. This epic, wise, witty, romantic melodrama unfolds in an 1820s Parisian society teeming with hucksters, aristocrats, pimps, prostitutes, courtesans, psychics and performers.The actress who went by the single name Arletty was born Leoni Bathiat. On screen and off she was perceived as a free spirit who believed in "neither God nor the devil and still less in the men around her." Shortly after WWII she faced a prison sentence for having an affair with a Nazi officer. In "Children of Paradise" Arletty dominates the screen and is a palpable force of light and shadow that reverberates somewhere deep in the psyche. A decade ago this world class film underwent a major restoration for the laser disc. For the DVD transfer, Criterion claims it digitally cleansed an additional 30,000 flaws and filtered minute snaps and pops on the sound track as well. It is unlikely that a finer print of this magnificent black and white film exists anywhere. The film itself is divided between the two discs. Disc 1 "The Boulevard of Crime" features an insightful and clever introduction by Terry Gilliam who lauds the sheer theatricality of the enterprise as a perfect marriage of poetry and big budget filmmaking. An astute commentary is provided by film scholar Brian Stonehill. He notes the difficulty of shooting this film during the German occupation. Some of the work was even done in secret since production designer Alex Trauner and composer Joseph Kosma were Jewish. Disc 2 concludes the film and features Prevert's original film story "The Man in White," a still gallery, production art, the original U.S. trailer from 1947 (the film was released in Europe in 1945) and a terrific commentary by Charles Affron. This wonderful, resplendent, sumptuous film seems to be a prime inspiration for the recent hit "Moulin Rouge." "Children of Paradise" is a film to own. It's one of those all-too-few timeless classics about the human condition that truly entertains and does not wear out its welcome on repeated viewings.
Rating:
Summary: Just wonderful
Review: I've been waiting for the Children of Paradise DVD for a long time, as I've been watching a crummy VHS dupe that I made some years ago. This is a great movie, and a great DVD. The video is very clean, there's a nice interview with Carne in the booklet that's included, and the Terry Gilliam interview is a lot of fun. I haven't looked at the subtitles or the commentaries yet, but I'd be very surprised if they're not first rate, based on the amount of time Criterion spent on this DVD, and on the high quality for which they're famous. A lot of people have said a lot of things about Children of Paradise, and I'm not sure I have a lot to add to it. It's a big romantic epic, very much larger than life, with a very earnest feel to it. All of the actors are fabulous, with Arletty in particular turning in a great performance. I find this to be a very human picture. Perhaps not as intimate as some of the best the New Wave had to offer later, but remarkably so given the big studio soundstage techniques that Carne used. I was a little saddened to learn a bit more from the liner notes about the circumstances under which this film was made -- I came away from them feeling that the anti-Nazi mindset of the production had been exaggerated in some of the legends, and that the real people living in the real world had made some compromises. I never knew that Arletty had been the consort of a Nazi while she filmed this, for example. But it is, despite and because of everything, a great film.
Rating:
Summary: POETRY IN MOTION
Review: I just bought this movie on DVD after seeing it on vhs last year and I was really anxious to rediscover it. The thing that amaze me the most about this masterpiece is the high quality of the writing. I've seen a lot of Marcel Carné's movies with Jacques Prévert's screenplays and let me tell you, this is a dream team of directing and writing. All the characters are different so they all bring something of their own to the mix. Baptiste the mime, a romantic, gives Garance (Arletty) poetic words of love. Frédérick the great actor, also a seductor, brings words of love with a nice touch of humor. Lacenaire the criminal (my favorite character), the pessimist whose rage against the world makes for the greatest black and intelligent writing I have ever seen in a movie. The count , a snob that you couldn't help but hate, brings the words of the upper class but always with wit and sarcasm. And Garance, stuck in the middle of these casanovas, always sure of herself and always the right word (great performance by Arletty by the way). So you have it, a 3 hour screenplay with words of love, humor, sarcasm, witty black dialogue and I didn't even talk about the great story (other reviewers did a great job doing it). Let just say that the performances are all great and the story plays real life like the theater, which is genius since the movie is about the theater. In this day and age of stupid one-liner and special effects with no decent screenplay (except maybe in independant films), this is a breath of fresh air. The transfer by Criterion is quite good. They restore the image and the sound and believe me the french films of this period (1940's) are in bad shape on vhs. They give a little restoration demonstration on disc one to show the work they did and it convince me that they made a good effort to restore it. I don't know if they improve the quality since the release of the laserdisc but it looks 10 times better than on vhs that's for sure. You have 2 audio commentaries (one for each part) and if you like this sort of thing, it's quite interresting and informative. Also, stills photos and a 24 page booklet. Enjoy!
Rating:
Summary: Probably the greatest film ever made
Review: This is a film that is remarkable for many reasons. It was made in Vichy France during the war. It is a film that has lasted and unlike so many others has never dated. It also combines the most delightful comedy with some of the most moving drama. The last scene is one of the more moving in any film and resembles the last scene in City Lights. It tells the story of four main characters, a mime, a talented dramatic actor, a criminal and a courtesan. The film starts in a theatre devoted to pantomime. The mime has an opportunity to star when another actor is injured. He is successful and he has a vision for recreating the theatre. The dramatic actor works for a while with him but soon goes off to become a great dramatic star. Binding together their lives is the courtesan Garance. All of the principals lover her to some degree and she, quite unintentionally destroys some of their lives. The film is strong in every department. The actors put in the performance of their lives. The script is amazing. It is witty moving and profound. The ensemble scenes are full of life and convey an energy and sense of place that is never artificial. A truly great film.
Rating:
Summary: I thought I'd hate this film--but noooo!
Review: A lot of people have written excellent reviews here already--I just want to convince a few more of you. I first came across this film starting to play on cable around 11 o'clock one night, just as my wife and I were about to go to bed. She thought it sounded like something she'd like, so she wanted to watch a bit. While I like foreign films, I really don't like period costume dramas (while my wife loves Masterpiece Theater), I certainly don't like stories about "theater people," and like most sane folk, I hate mimes. Since that's exactly what this movie was supposed to be about, I figured I'd be snoozing inside of 5 minutes. The next thing I know, it's 2 a.m., and I've just watched an amazing film--and I've caught it several times since then. I have little ability to explain why, but this movies just envelopes you in all sorts of intrigues and interesting characters. Even in the theater scenes, the extras that make up the audience are as interesting as the actors on stage. Completely engrossing, and knowing the circumstances under which the film was made makes it just all the more fascinating. I've already got a number of other Criterion discs, and seeing the informative extras they have here means I'll happily shell out for a film I've seen several times now.
Rating:
Summary: haunting...
Review: Though this DVD has not been released at this time, I signed up for one. In my mind, "Les Enfant du Paradis" is one of the ten best films ever made. It would take almost thirty years for American films to match the bold and daring tone of this film. This film will appeal strongly to those who relish films about people who refuse to be subject to anything save the freedom of their choices and who are willing to face whatever consequences that come from clinging to this freedom. This film is hard to find in Rental Stores and has been difficult to purchase through regular means. This is one to keep for your own collection, especially if you love this film.
Rating:
Summary: Outstanding bittersweet drama
Review: "Les Enfants du paradis [The Children of Paradise]" is an incredible feast of sparkling dialog, interesting and unique characters, and simple truth within a sweet tragicomic fantasy about the world of theater. The story follows three men and the woman they love. Garance led a hard life when she was orphaned as a child and is kind to all but wise and independent of all attachments. She does not hope for love and is stronger than the men that love her. Baptiste Debureau, an extraordinary mime, is an artistic genius who loves simply and carries his pure-hearted empathy for his fellow humans into all his performances. Frederick Lemaitre is a grand actor with a courageous heart to match his skill on stage. Like Garance, he does not hope to love, but also like her, he falls victim to a bittersweet affection despite himself. My favorite character of all is the thief and murderer Lacenaire, who expresses a fierce admiration for truth and the exquisite ironies of life, despises society, has always known and loved Garance, and maintains a peculiar and noble dignity. Imagine a lucidity that enabled you to fully understand the world and your loved ones and then award yourself the tongue of an angel to express what you felt. That is what you find in Jacques Prevert's screenplay. See it now. Trust me.
Rating:
Summary: Magic Captured on the Screen
Review: To view this film, is to have the greatest pleasure, for you have a chance to witness greatness captured on celluloid, specifically, the brilliance and genius of Jean-Louis Barrault, who exquisitely portrays a celebrated pantomimist. Yet I doubt if Dubureau himself could have come close to Monsieur Barrault. It's like watching moonlight to see his pantomime scenes and the kind of sublime, French romanticism between his character and the actress Garance (portrayed by Arletty, 50 plus at the time, who convinces us with ease that she is in her 20's) that the French have always, always been famous for. It is, as the French say, "exclusive."
Rating:
Summary: A Masterpiece
Review: This film is a glittering gem from the early days of motion pictures. Shot in B&W in Paris when the City of Light was under German Occupation during WWII, it tells the story of a French mime and the wrenching love dramas he gets caught up in between his sublime performances. But the film is so much more than that- its a microcosm of mid nineteenth-century Paris complete with costume, sets and an acurate depiction of Parisian society at the time. In this respect it boarders on epic. Barrault's ultimate rejection hits like sharp spike due to the repercussions it has on himself and others around him. The high society of Paris has a coolness which stems from experience which Barrault comes cavorting into like a reckless child- and how the glass shatters. The acting is superb and the smoothness of the direction and film style is stunning. Its a long film- I think over three hours, and it is spoken in French with English subtitles. But it is a timeless and majestic works by the early French director Marcel Carne. Its amazing that he made this film inconspicuously to to avoid run-ins with the German troops who constantly encrouched upon his film studio. Today many very bad films are made in multi-million dollar studios. Children of Paradise goes to show how real genius shines through.
| 
