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Synopsis
From humble beginnings to the heights of society, this is the astonishing story of Gabrielle Chanel, the legendary couturier who became a timeless symbol of success, freedom and style.
Orphaned at a young age, Coco Chanel was raised in a convent school, where she learned to embroider and sew. Bored and dissatisfied with the living she could earn as a seamstress, she began singing in backstreet cafés and bars, where she attracted the attention of Étienne Balsan, a rich gentleman who immediately became intrigued by the stubborn, striking young ingénue. Swept up in her rich lover’s world, Coco soon drew the eyes of society towards her with her unique, elegant style in a time of flamboyance and excess. Just as controversial was the passionate love affair in which she became embroiled, which shattered the conventions of her society – a love so dangerous and forbidden it threatened to destroy her.
Also featuring Benoît Poelvoorde (Man Bites Dog) and Alessandro Nivola (Mansfield Park, The Eye), Coco Before Chanel stars Audrey Tautou (Amelie, The Da Vinci Code) as Coco, the woman who dared to be different and became an icon!
EXTRAS • COCO BEFORE CHANEL: LA RENCONTRE (“THE MEETING”) Includes interviews with director Anne Fontaine and star Audrey Tautou. • THE MAKING OF COCO BEFORE CHANEL • COMMENTARY by Director & Writer : Anne Fontaine
Product Description
United Kingdom released, PAL/Region 2 DVD: LANGUAGES: French ( Dolby Digital 5.1 ), English ( Subtitles ), WIDESCREEN (2.35:1), SPECIAL FEATURES: Cast/Crew Interview(s), Commentary, Interactive Menu, Making Of, Scene Access, SYNOPSIS: A little girl from central France, who is placed in an orphanage with her sister and waits in vain every Sunday for her father to come and collect them. A weak-voiced café singer, who faces an audience of tipsy soldiers. A young seamstress destined to repair hems in a provincial tailors back shop. A thin-bodied apprentice courtesan, who finds refuge at her protector Etienne Balsans abode, among the loose women and party revellers. A lover who knows she'll never be "someone's wife", not even for Boy Capel, the man who nonetheless loves her. A rebel who feels stifled by the conventions of her time and wears her lovers' shirts. This is the story of Coco Chanel, who embodied the modern woman before inventing her. SCREENED/AWARDED AT: European Film Awards, ...Coco Before Chanel ( Coco avant Chanel )
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
58 of 61 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD
I'm giving this a five to make up for all the imbeciles who have criticized a French film for being in French, and the other imbeciles who think it should have had more explosions in it. Actually, I thought it was a four.
I don't know how accurate the details of Coco Chanel's life are as shown, but it conveys the period beautifully. I think the French do historical films very well - partly because of their attention to detail, and partly because they concentrate on showing how things were rather than preaching or disapproving.
Audrey Tatou is in every scene and is rivetting. She plays Chanel as the relaistic and determined person she must have been. The other actors are good too, no wrong notes.
And it's stunningly photographed. Whether it's the inside of the convent, the ballroom in her lover's chateau, or the beach at Deauville, you can't take your eyes off it. For myself, I would have liked to know more about the fabrics and the clothes, but I realise I'm in a minority. I had expected to watch this film once and move on, but now I know I'll watch it again - well written, very well acted and beautifully photographed.
I don't know how accurate the details of Coco Chanel's life are as shown, but it conveys the period beautifully. I think the French do historical films very well - partly because of their attention to detail, and partly because they concentrate on showing how things were rather than preaching or disapproving.
Audrey Tatou is in every scene and is rivetting. She plays Chanel as the relaistic and determined person she must have been. The other actors are good too, no wrong notes.
And it's stunningly photographed. Whether it's the inside of the convent, the ballroom in her lover's chateau, or the beach at Deauville, you can't take your eyes off it. For myself, I would have liked to know more about the fabrics and the clothes, but I realise I'm in a minority. I had expected to watch this film once and move on, but now I know I'll watch it again - well written, very well acted and beautifully photographed.
34 of 36 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD
The Guardian stated in its review of Coco Before Chanel that it is dull. I have to disagree with that completely. This is elegant, refined, inspiring and as an added bonus it features the lovely Audrey Tautou.
Chanel as the subject matter of a film is interesting as when you look at the company's many high end products you realise that you know very little if anything about the woman whose name sits so proudly and smartly them. I loved the simplistic approach this movie took to Chanel's life and the novel idea of analysing her before her success. There are so many gross, hysterical films now that are almost pornographic and it is wonderful to come across a film that is controlled and tasteful.
The story begins with a heart breaking scene, Chanel and her sister abandoned by their father. The DVD extras reveal that not all the scenes should be taken at face value and that because Chanel used to exaggerate certain aspects of her life to convey and place emphasis on social problems, the script was written in the same manner. The plot is a journey of hope, expectation, disappointment, despair, love and achievement. The film is structured in such way that it is impossible to not feel anything but admiration for Chanel because of her courage and her intellect.
Character wise the film is aided by a strong supporting cast who all come across as believable. Boy in the film (Nivola) is the most intriguing character after Chanel. The right depth is given to Chanel's character. None of the segments of the film feel rushed and you always believe that Tautou is her.
I can only describe the script as beautiful. A thing of joy. It really is very pleasant. As the film is subtitled it helps you to take in the dialogue more than you would have done if it had been acted in English. The authenticity of the film is ensured through the use of French in the film and thankfully you do not have to endure actors speaking their lines in a multitude of accents as so often happens in period dramas set in Europe.
The locations used at the different points of Chanel's early life range from squalid to lush. It all looks bona fide.
My only complaint is the very end of the ending which is why I only gave it 4 stars. As with a lot of biopics the film ends with a sort of bullet point list of what happened next to her. I did not like this as it is so often used and just feels tired. Furthermore, I cannot believe that there is anyone who doesn't know of Chanel in a fashion sense so to have to read that she was an icon in that world was a bit silly. I also think that if the screen writer thought that those extra details weren't important enough to portray on screen then you shouldn't have to read about them. That was the only thing I didn't like about the film. Other than that minor point I have to say that the last scene is so gorgeous, staggeringly sumptuous. It is memorable picture and it has panache.
Chanel as the subject matter of a film is interesting as when you look at the company's many high end products you realise that you know very little if anything about the woman whose name sits so proudly and smartly them. I loved the simplistic approach this movie took to Chanel's life and the novel idea of analysing her before her success. There are so many gross, hysterical films now that are almost pornographic and it is wonderful to come across a film that is controlled and tasteful.
The story begins with a heart breaking scene, Chanel and her sister abandoned by their father. The DVD extras reveal that not all the scenes should be taken at face value and that because Chanel used to exaggerate certain aspects of her life to convey and place emphasis on social problems, the script was written in the same manner. The plot is a journey of hope, expectation, disappointment, despair, love and achievement. The film is structured in such way that it is impossible to not feel anything but admiration for Chanel because of her courage and her intellect.
Character wise the film is aided by a strong supporting cast who all come across as believable. Boy in the film (Nivola) is the most intriguing character after Chanel. The right depth is given to Chanel's character. None of the segments of the film feel rushed and you always believe that Tautou is her.
I can only describe the script as beautiful. A thing of joy. It really is very pleasant. As the film is subtitled it helps you to take in the dialogue more than you would have done if it had been acted in English. The authenticity of the film is ensured through the use of French in the film and thankfully you do not have to endure actors speaking their lines in a multitude of accents as so often happens in period dramas set in Europe.
The locations used at the different points of Chanel's early life range from squalid to lush. It all looks bona fide.
My only complaint is the very end of the ending which is why I only gave it 4 stars. As with a lot of biopics the film ends with a sort of bullet point list of what happened next to her. I did not like this as it is so often used and just feels tired. Furthermore, I cannot believe that there is anyone who doesn't know of Chanel in a fashion sense so to have to read that she was an icon in that world was a bit silly. I also think that if the screen writer thought that those extra details weren't important enough to portray on screen then you shouldn't have to read about them. That was the only thing I didn't like about the film. Other than that minor point I have to say that the last scene is so gorgeous, staggeringly sumptuous. It is memorable picture and it has panache.
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful
Format:Blu-ray
"Coco Before Chanel" is an interesting attempt at a biopic but rather little more. The story is told in good old fashioned way - no jumping back and forth, no experiments, and rather slowly too - the problem is that it takes so long that there is not enough time for the story to end in an interesting way. Or may be it was the idea from the start to get the audience begging for more? Another possibility is that they took it for granted that the audience knows what happened next. The French may know it, I don't. Actually, I may be utterly wrong but I have a hunch that the life of Coco Chanel gets really interesting only once the movie ends.
This is a movie full of missed opportunities - Tautou has little chance to show her charms (she can do that, we all remember Amelie Poulain ;) - she hardly has a chance to smile... Chanel made her name as a dress designer? Well, don't expect to see any. Coco in the movie spends quite a lot of time watching fishermen at work. Does she find them so sexy? Not really, she finds their apparel an inspiration for her designs but... you won't see them in the movie. The fascination with how nicely the producers could recreate the fin-de-siecle provincial France on the screen reaches such proportions that it gets in the way of telling the story in an interesting manner. Too much attention to details, too little of a broader view.
The director and screenplay writer intended to present to the audience the humble beginnings of Coco Chanel's career. The succeeded in that perfectly but the final result is far from perfect - there was, apparently, no room left for the actual career. All we get is a brief show just before credits rather loosely connected with what happened earlier - we just have to believe that she made it. They wanted to show how difficult it was to be an independent woman before the Great War. They succeeded again... but the message is brought to you in such a slow and painstaking manner that you hardly care in the end.
In short: a moderatly interesting biopic but not really a movie. Keep your expectations fairly low if you choose to buy it.
This is a movie full of missed opportunities - Tautou has little chance to show her charms (she can do that, we all remember Amelie Poulain ;) - she hardly has a chance to smile... Chanel made her name as a dress designer? Well, don't expect to see any. Coco in the movie spends quite a lot of time watching fishermen at work. Does she find them so sexy? Not really, she finds their apparel an inspiration for her designs but... you won't see them in the movie. The fascination with how nicely the producers could recreate the fin-de-siecle provincial France on the screen reaches such proportions that it gets in the way of telling the story in an interesting manner. Too much attention to details, too little of a broader view.
The director and screenplay writer intended to present to the audience the humble beginnings of Coco Chanel's career. The succeeded in that perfectly but the final result is far from perfect - there was, apparently, no room left for the actual career. All we get is a brief show just before credits rather loosely connected with what happened earlier - we just have to believe that she made it. They wanted to show how difficult it was to be an independent woman before the Great War. They succeeded again... but the message is brought to you in such a slow and painstaking manner that you hardly care in the end.
In short: a moderatly interesting biopic but not really a movie. Keep your expectations fairly low if you choose to buy it.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Loved it
What a great film... brilliant editing and photography. Well worth buying the Blu Ray version, super sharp and great clours
Published 16 days ago by Terence Scott
Tautou not Coco
This is not a film about Coco Chanel. If it was there might be some reference to her activities as agent of the Nazi party, her recruitment by General Walter Schellenberg of the SS... Read more
Published 1 month ago by Island Living
Handsome and Chic
Handsome and chic, plus the lovely Audrey Tatou to portray Coco Chanel, what more could you want?
This lavishly mounted, expensive looking biopic plays out nicely and... Read more
This lavishly mounted, expensive looking biopic plays out nicely and... Read more
Published 2 months ago by Tim Kidner
A wonderful 'little black dress' of a movie !
With a couple of possible exceptions, Audrey Tautou (Amelie) being one of them, the names of other actors in this movie may be meaningless unless you are a follower of French... Read more
Published 2 months ago by DoDo Fan
Lovely film
I loved this film, it was very easy and entertaining to watch. A must have for any Chanel or fashion fan!
Published 3 months ago by Elp1983
Coco Chanel
Audrey Tautou is brilliant as Coco Chanel.
I found this film quite fascinating as it gives an insight in Life before Chanel became famous. Read more
I found this film quite fascinating as it gives an insight in Life before Chanel became famous. Read more
Published 3 months ago by Galadnic
Read the product description!
Product details
Language: French
Subtitles: English
That is all.
Terrific film and a typically phenomenal performance from Tautou. Read more
Language: French
Subtitles: English
That is all.
Terrific film and a typically phenomenal performance from Tautou. Read more
Published 5 months ago by Mr. L. J. Baker
Where theres a Will theres a Way!
Determination and Hard work with that never die attitude always pay in the end and the old cliche where theres a will theres a way, a true story which shows how tough it was for... Read more
Published 6 months ago by City Sleeker
.
gives an insight into the life of an extrodinary fashion designer. Audrey plays the role perfectly, and the film as a whole was brilliant. I was disappointed when it ended!!!!!!
Published 7 months ago by dgilks
likeable but unconvincing
Audrey Tatou is a tremendously attractive and likeable actress and this film relies heavily on her. It tells the story of the early life of Coco Chanel the fashion designer. Read more
Published 8 months ago by tallmanbaby
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