- Actors: Josephine Baker, Jean Gabin, Pierre Larquey, Yvette Lebon, Illa Meery
- Directors: Marc Allégret
- Format: Black & White, Closed-captioned, DVD-Video, Subtitled, NTSC
- Language French
- Subtitles: English
- Region: Region 1 (US and Canada DVD formats.)
- Aspect Ratio: 4:3 - 1.33:1
- Number of discs: 1
- Classification: Unrated (US MPAA rating. See details.)
- Studio: Kino Video
- DVD Release Date: 21 Jun 2005
- Run Time: 93 minutes
- Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (1 customer review)
- ASIN: B0009CTTYM
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 82,849 in Film & TV (See Top 100 in Film & TV)
Product details |
Suggested Tags from Similar Products(What's this?)Be the first one to add a relevant tag (keyword that's strongly related to this product)
|
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD
As star vehicles go, they don't come much messier than Zou Zou, Josephine Baker's first talkie, which throws everything and the kitchen sink at the screen in the hope that some of it sticks. That some of it does almost seems more by luck than judgment. Mugging away and overacting wildly at every turn, the hyperactive Baker is the laundress raised in a carnival with her `twin' brother Jean Gabin - with whom she's secretly in love but who's in love with her best friend - who gets her big break on stage when the untalented star runs off to Rio de Janeiro with one of the musicians. Of course, she's only doing it because Gabin is falsely accused of murder and she needs to make some big money fast to pay for his lawyer. And if you don't like those clichés, there'll be some more along any minute as the film never seems to make up its mind quite what it wants to be as it ambles along, veering from undemanding amiability to absurdity even before the bizarre lavish musical numbers clearly inspired by Busby Berkeley Warner Bros.' backstage musicals but lacking his focus and discipline. They're incredibly spectacular but even more spectacularly disjointed, not only lacking internal logic but feeling like random shots from various parts of the film have been edited completely out of sequence into a kind of musical nonsequiter rather than a complete and properly thought-out sequence. Like so much of the rest of the film it just seems to be throwing unrelated ideas in - in this case often just for a brief shot - in the hope that you'll like some of them enough not to notice they don't seem to belong together in the same scene. The finale isn't helped by some added melodrama that sees Baker walk out on opening night to clear Gabin's name and return in time for her encore, though at least she becomes more convincing when she's just required to calm down and sing. A strange movie and a messy one, but certainly a fascinatingly watchable one, if not always for the right reasons.
Kino's NTSC DVD offers a decent subtitled print considering the film's age with a couple of featurettes on Josephine Baker and the `Chez Josephine' club, song selections and stills gallery.
Kino's NTSC DVD offers a decent subtitled print considering the film's age with a couple of featurettes on Josephine Baker and the `Chez Josephine' club, song selections and stills gallery.
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
7 reviews
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful
Great Talking Debut
31 July 2005
Format:DVD
Zou Zou is the story of a girl and a boy who were raised as brother and sister. The sister Zou Zou falls in love with Jean and works contentedly as a laundress who delivers clothing to a theater where Jean works. The production is in trouble because of it's star, Barbara, who is incredibly temperamental. In the end, Zou Zou replaces her and becomes a star. The love story is a little strange, but the dialogue is witty and the story is realistic because Zou Zou has no expectations or ambitions of stardom throughout. The story is similar to 42nd Street just as Josephine Baker's later film Princess Tam Tam resembles The Pygmalion.
Baker has a clear voice that makes the songs enjoyable although her use of vibrato can be a little annoying if it is excessive. The songs are presented at the end of the film similar to the way they are often exhibited in American backstage musicals. However, unlike in American films, we see sections of the show that were shown being rehearsed earlier in the film. The show itself is strange; it consists of a series of vignettes of chorus girls surrounded by oversized objects such as beds and telephones. One oversized object is a birdcage with Baker inside, warbling a lament to Haiti. It is a sweet song accented by Baker's scanty, feathery bird costume. The next song that sings, "There's only one man in Paris for me," is catchy and resembles songs that became standards in America.
The film features an artistic and emotional tracking shot at the end that stands out aesthetically.
Josephine Baker is extrordinarily vivacious and talented in this film. Her character is energetic and interesting.
The print of the film used for the DVD is scratched but not too noticeably. It is still watchable and often times, the story distracts the audience from the damaged print.
The extra features on the disk are nice to see because one might not expect them. However, the two videos concerning Josephine the woman are short. Josephine Baker: The Woman is a short documentary-like tribute featuring opinions of Lynn Whitfield, the woman who played Baker in the biopic, and her son Jean-Claude. The fact that the subtitles are optional is a great addition because those who know French would be distracted by the English words on the bottom of the screen. This feature makes the film accessible to a larger audience.
Baker has a clear voice that makes the songs enjoyable although her use of vibrato can be a little annoying if it is excessive. The songs are presented at the end of the film similar to the way they are often exhibited in American backstage musicals. However, unlike in American films, we see sections of the show that were shown being rehearsed earlier in the film. The show itself is strange; it consists of a series of vignettes of chorus girls surrounded by oversized objects such as beds and telephones. One oversized object is a birdcage with Baker inside, warbling a lament to Haiti. It is a sweet song accented by Baker's scanty, feathery bird costume. The next song that sings, "There's only one man in Paris for me," is catchy and resembles songs that became standards in America.
The film features an artistic and emotional tracking shot at the end that stands out aesthetically.
Josephine Baker is extrordinarily vivacious and talented in this film. Her character is energetic and interesting.
The print of the film used for the DVD is scratched but not too noticeably. It is still watchable and often times, the story distracts the audience from the damaged print.
The extra features on the disk are nice to see because one might not expect them. However, the two videos concerning Josephine the woman are short. Josephine Baker: The Woman is a short documentary-like tribute featuring opinions of Lynn Whitfield, the woman who played Baker in the biopic, and her son Jean-Claude. The fact that the subtitles are optional is a great addition because those who know French would be distracted by the English words on the bottom of the screen. This feature makes the film accessible to a larger audience.
16 of 21 people found the following review helpful
Poor first talkie vehicle for Josephine Baker
11 Jun 2003
A more extensive review of mine appears on the imdb. This is
a poor film by any standards. The sound is not very good and
the editing is very choppy and crude. Acting is merely
acceptable and the Baker mystique does not translate well to
the screen in this-her first talkie (she had made one silent
in 1927, of which only three reels survive). Kino's source
material is of a lower standard than their usual pristine
archive prints - there are lines, jumps and focus problems. It
may have been the only print available at the time.
a poor film by any standards. The sound is not very good and
the editing is very choppy and crude. Acting is merely
acceptable and the Baker mystique does not translate well to
the screen in this-her first talkie (she had made one silent
in 1927, of which only three reels survive). Kino's source
material is of a lower standard than their usual pristine
archive prints - there are lines, jumps and focus problems. It
may have been the only print available at the time.
This then is a mixed bag- interesting for historical purposes
and for those fans of Ms. Baker's vocal recordings. She only
made four films and only three talkies are available on video.
Other films in her imdb filmography consist of musical scenes
lifted from the four core films.
4 of 5 people found the following review helpful
"What a voice..."
30 Jun 2005
Format:DVD|Amazon Verified Purchase
"Zou Zou" is the French musical, ala Busby Berkeley, about the laundry girl(Josephine Baker) who falls in love(with her own brother), and naturally, by film's end, becomes an enormous theater star. A final scene has Baker drenched in the latest chic Paris fashion. Wounded by the loss of her one true love, it is but one of many touching sequences. The 1934 "Zou Zou" co-stars Jean Gabin. A generous Kino DVD, the transfer includes a documentary with Baker's adopted son, Jean-Claude Baker, several songs, and other extras. Kino released a video of "Zou Zou" in 2003. Choppy and crude, it sported lines, jumps, and breaks. Sadly, this 2005 DVD is from the same source print.
Were these reviews helpful?
Let us know
Customer Discussions
|
This product's forum
Active discussions in related forums
Search Customer Discussions
|
Related forums
|
Listmania!
Look for similar items by category
- Film & TV > Classics > Comedy
- Film & TV > Classics > Musicals
- Film & TV > Comedy
- Film & TV > Crime, Thrillers & Mystery
- Film & TV > English Subtitles
- Film & TV > Musicals & Classical > Musicals & Stage Performances > Classic
- Film & TV > Musicals & Classical > Musicals & Stage Performances > Film Musicals
- Film & TV > Region 1
- Film & TV > World Cinema
Look for similar items by subject
Feedback
- Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
