or
Sign in to turn on 1-Click ordering.
 
 
More Buying Choices
20 used & new from £4.19
Have one to sell? Sell yours here
 
   
Beau Travail [1998] [DVD]
 
See larger image 
Share your own customer images

Beau Travail [1998] [DVD]

DVD ~ Denis Lavant
4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
RRP: £19.99
Price: £5.98 & this item Delivered FREE in the UK with Super Saver Delivery. See details and conditions
You Save: £14.01 (70%)
o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o
In stock.
Dispatched from and sold by Amazon.co.uk. Gift-wrap available.

Want guaranteed delivery by Wednesday, November 11? Choose Express delivery at checkout. See Details
17 new from £4.41 3 used from £4.19
Learn about Lovefilm
Amazon's choice for DVD rental.
With a 14 day FREE trial. Learn more

Frequently Bought Together

Customers buy this item with Chocolat [DVD] [1988] DVD ~ Isaach De Bankole

Beau Travail [1998] [DVD] + Chocolat [DVD] [1988]
Price For Both: £15.96

Show availability and shipping details

  • This item: Beau Travail [1998] [DVD] DVD ~ Denis Lavant

    In stock.
    Dispatched from and sold by Amazon.co.uk.
    This item Delivered FREE in the UK with Super Saver Delivery. See details and conditions

  • Chocolat [DVD] [1988] DVD ~ Isaach De Bankole

    In stock.
    Dispatched from and sold by Amazon.co.uk.
    This item Delivered FREE in the UK with Super Saver Delivery. See details and conditions

What Do Customers Ultimately Buy After Viewing This Item?

Beau Travail [1998] [DVD]
91% buy the item featured on this page:
Beau Travail [1998] [DVD] 4.2 out of 5 stars (5)
£5.98
Foreign Legion [DVD] [2005]
3% buy
Foreign Legion [DVD] [2005] 3.4 out of 5 stars (5)
£4.98
He Loves Me, He Loves Me Not [DVD] [2002]
2% buy
He Loves Me, He Loves Me Not [DVD] [2002] 4.4 out of 5 stars (34)
£5.28
L.627 [DVD] [1992]
2% buy
L.627 [DVD] [1992] 5.0 out of 5 stars (1)
£6.98
Explore similar items

Product details

  • Actors: Denis Lavant, Michel Subor, Grégoire Colin, Richard Courcet, Nicolas Duvauchelle
  • Directors: Claire Denis
  • Format: Anamorphic, Full Screen, PAL
  • Language French
  • Subtitles: English
  • Region: Region 2 (This DVD may not be viewable outside Europe. Read more about DVD formats.)
  • Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
  • Number of discs: 1
  • Classification: 15
  • Studio: Artificial Eye
  • DVD Release Date: 20 Nov 2000
  • Run Time: 90 minutes
  • Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
  • ASIN: B00004Y3PJ
  • Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 27,694 in DVD (See Bestsellers in DVD)

    •  Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?

Reviews

Amazon.co.uk Review

One of the very finest French films released in 2000, Claire Denis' resetting of Billy Budd among modern-day French Foreign Legionnaires welds near-experimental formal minimalism with a savage exposure of male aggression, jealousy and repressed homosexual desire, all set in an eye-peeling desert setting and choreographed to the grunts of men at work. Ravaged-featured Denis Lavant plays Galoup, who narrates his story in flashback, perhaps at the moment before his life ends. A sergeant in charge of a troop of Legionnaires, Galoup's position as the favourite of the Commander (Michel Subor) is threatened by the arrival of pretty-boy Sentain (Grégoire Colin, who played the spoiled wastrel in The Dream Life of Angels). Galloup plots to discredit his rival. As the drama unfolds through indirection and Galloup's unreliable disclosures, Denis dwells lovingly on the ballet of men at work as the soldiers run through their obstacle courses, practice combat pas de deux and disport like lean, khaki-clad dolphins by the Mediterranean shore. Sort of like Full Metal Jacket meets early Derek Jarman. It's a sensuous and exquisite film, as perceptive about relationships between men as it is about those between colonisers and the colonised. --Leslie Felperin


Product Description

Inspired by Herman Melville's 'Billy Budd', filmmaker Claire Denis' 'Beau Travail' is a stunning combination of literature, music and dance that explores the near-mythical world of the French Foreign Legion. Dennis Lavant stars as Galoup, a sergeant-major whose position and power are threatened when the bravery and heroism of new recruit Sentain (Gregoire Colin) attracts the attention of the platoon's commandant (Michel Subor). Enraged, Galoup plots Sentain's downfall, a doomed course of action that leads to his own undoing. Director Denis creates a dark mounting tension that underlies the exquisite cinematography of Agnes Godard, whose stark visual style contrasts vividly with the graceful training rituals of the sculpted young soldiers.
See all Reviews

Customers Who Bought This Item Also Bought

Chocolat [DVD] [1988]

Chocolat [DVD] [1988]

DVD ~ Isaach De Bankole
£9.98
35 Shots Of Rum [DVD] [2008]

35 Shots Of Rum [DVD] [2008]

DVD ~ Alex Descas
3.5 out of 5 stars (2)  £12.98
Vendredi Soir [DVD] [2003]

Vendredi Soir [DVD] [2003]

DVD ~ Valérie Lemercier
2.5 out of 5 stars (2)  £6.98
The Intruder [2005] [DVD]

The Intruder [2005] [DVD]

DVD ~ Michel Subor
3.0 out of 5 stars (1)  £6.98
A Man Escaped [DVD] [1956]

A Man Escaped [DVD] [1956]

DVD ~ François Letterier
4.8 out of 5 stars (8)  £4.88
› Explore similar items

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)
 
(1)
(1)
(1)
(1)
(1)
(1)
(1)
(1)
(1)
(1)

Your tags: Add your first tag
 
See most popular tags
 

Customer Reviews

5 Reviews
5 star:
 (3)
4 star:    (0)
3 star:
 (2)
2 star:    (0)
1 star:    (0)
 
 
 
 
 
Average Customer Review
4.2 out of 5 stars (5 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
Share your thoughts with other customers:
Most Helpful Customer Reviews

 
13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Both warm and chilling, 31 Dec 2005
The stark and expansive scenery is the perfect backdrop for the rawness of human character that we are exposed to. Beau Travail was a wonderful film for me in its understatement and simplicity. It was interesting to use masculinity as both the hero and villain of the story. Don’t miss out on it, and don’t be put off by the prospect of French – the film’s comment is nationality-less, gender-less, and timeless. In Denis Lavant’s ravaged features there is more than what is supposed to be a superficial ugliness. He surpasses himself by conveying an immense ugliness of character. It is interesting that he doesn’t get a tangible come-upance, but you will only be unsatisfied if you count ‘come-upances’ as falling off the edge of a cliff or getting hit by a bus. His actions have a much deeper torture, which he conveys both impressively and quietly.
The highlight however – sans doute – is the final scene: An imaginative and insightful suggestion of what a life of structure and self-control could do to you when you are free of it.
Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)



 
15 of 18 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars Intriguing but Slow, 3 Mar 2004
By Westley (Stuck in my head) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)   
This review is from: Beau Travail [DVD] [1999] [Region 1] [US Import] [NTSC] (DVD)
Beau Travail is a modern-day update of Billy Budd, although the plot is much changed and the characters more ambiguous. Directed by French director Claire Denis (best known for 1988's "Chocolat"), Beau Travail stars Denis Lavant as a Foreign Legion officer in Africa. Lavant is the perfect officer, but he finds himself largely ignored by his commandant (Michel Subor), whom he greatly admires. His jealousy is piqued when he sees his commandant drawn to a new recruit, Sentain (played by Grégoire Colin).

The movie has some simple and beautiful scenery of barren Africa; accordingly it won several awards for its cinematography, including a Cesar (the equivalent of the French Oscar). The tone of the film is mesmerizingly aloof, with little dialogue and character development (most are nameless and credited simply as "legionnaire"). However, the movie is glacier paced, relying on repeated imagery and stark narration. There are also far too many scenes in which the camera lingers on the legionnaires training or ironing their clothes. Despite the languid pace, the movie is rarely boring, as it manages to maintain a sense of intrigue. In addition, the ending is amusingly peculiar and bewildering.

Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)



 
14 of 19 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars Elegant but Insubstantial, 11 Nov 2003
By Gary F. Taylor "GFT" (Biloxi, MS USA) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   
Introspective and subtle, Claire Denis' BEAU TRAVAIL offers a modern retelling of Herman Melville's BILLY BUDD, transposing the tale of an officer who self-destructs through his jealousy of a new recruit to an outpost of the French Foreign Legion. And although the film is elegant in both its simplicity and purity, I myself found it a shade too simple and pure to be completely effective.

Still, BEAU TRAVAIL has two things going for it: director Denis' cinematic eye and superior performances throughout. One truly senses the location in all its elemental nature, and the cinematography is remarkable for its restrained elegance. The cast follows suit, with direct and underplayed performances that fold seamlessly into both Denis' atmosphere and the story itself, and the result is often quite stylish.

But for all its elegance and style, I found BEAU TRAVAIL too introspective and subtle for its own good; to me it lacks any significant substance, with both story and characters slipping through my attention as easily as sand slips through my hand. While this is doubtlessly part of director Denis' intent, and while I have admired many a film with a notably elusive touch, my ultimate reaction to BEAU TRAVAIL is that it is a rather superficial exercise in style over substance, and I cannot say that it leads me to interest in the director's other work.

The DVD transfer is reasonable, if not entirely first rate, and there are few bonuses of any kind. In passing, I also note that BEAU TRAVAIL is often marketed as a film with homoerotic context and imagery, but I personally did not find it so. Final word: worth a look, but not greatly memorable for all that.

Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)


Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review
 
 
 
Most Recent Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Haunting Film
Wonderful film - based on Melville's Billy Budd as a story. Set in the desert with the French Foreign Legion - the story is real Billy Budd - commanding officer and junior and... Read more
Published on 8 May 2005

5.0 out of 5 stars A very well thought out and beautiful movie, a must see!
...Beautifully directed and very well acted. Clare Denis does it again, but this time, better! If you enjoy good scenery in a movie then you have to see this one just for that... Read more
Published on 28 Sep 2000

Only search this product's reviews


Customer Discussions

This product's forum
Discussion Replies Latest Post
No discussions yet

Ask questions, Share opinions, Gain insight
Start a new discussion
Topic:
First post:
Prompts for sign-in
 


Active discussions in related forums
   
Related forums
  • drama  (152 discussions)

Listmania!

Create a Listmania! list

Look for similar items by category

Look for similar items by subject






i.e., each product must be in subject 1 AND subject 2 AND ...

Feedback

Ad

Your Recent History

 (What's this?)

After viewing product detail pages or search results, look here to find an easy way to navigate back to pages you are interested in.