Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Surprisingly faithful, surprisingly good, 13 Dec 2006
Strangely, there has never been a bad film of Victor Hugo's classic tale, and while this is indeed less successful than Laughton, Chaney or Disney's versions, this French effort is still a surprisingly good and much under-rated film. To get the most out of it, you have to bear in mind that Hugo did not write a horror story but a tale of unrequited love and anguish. There is little of the Gothic on show here; rather, everyone is trapped by a desire for what they are denied. This is much more 'Notre Dame de Paris' (the novel's actual title) than 'The Hunchback of Notre Dame': Quasimodo probably gets less screen time here than in any of the other films, only dominating the drama in the last third. Instead, as with Hugo, it uses the cathedral of Notre Dame as the thread that binds all social stratas - Kings and beggars, thieves and soldiers, gypsies and alchemists, playwrights and aristocrats - giving a vivid portrait of a time and place half imagined, half real.
Quinn is more of a brute than we're used to seeing in our Quasimodos: unlike Laughton, he's no poetic soul trapped in a broken body but an animal who is given an inkling of what it means to be human. Lollabrigida fares better than usual as Esmerelda, and if their relationship is never moving, the ending, for once taken directly from the novel, is genuinely touching.
There are problems: the dubbing is at times irritating (and there is no French-language option on the disc), while Jean Danet is quite the most embarrassing Phoebus imaginable, stilted, impossibly smug and just plain odd-looking. Some key scenes are poorly staged, most notably Quasimodo's rescue of Esmerelda, while the hunchback is not given a strong entrance. But, if you're willing to take a chance and watch it with an open mind, the pleasant surprises outweigh them. While not the most lavish version, the scale and colour of the film, particularly in scenes such as the Court of Miracles, gives us a sense of a world around these characters, the addition of CinemaScope and some impressive sets helping to broaden the scale. Delannoy's direction is occasionally imaginative, with a good eye for the Scope frame. The script (co-written by 'Les Enfants du Paradis' Jacques Prevert) is often witty and doesn't shy from the darker tragic tone of the novel. Georges Auric's score, though ill-served by the original sound recording, is also a fine effort.
The transfer on the REgion 1 NTSC DVD is good, with only a few edge enhancement problems, although it seems very slightly cropped in some shots, and the failings of the early CinemaScope lenses do result in an occasional loss of detail in some shots. The DVD even includes one brief torture sequence that has long been cut from many prints, as well as the original theatrical trailer.
Kept out of distribution for years (Disney bought the rights around the time they were working on their version and shelved it), the film has not been able to gain much of a reputation. Indeed, it continues to get short shrift from many critics - 'Time Out's film guide is particularly hostile. But, as they say in Britain, 'Time Out hated it, so it must be good.' And it is - not great, but certainly pretty good.
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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A great introduction to the original performance, 31 Jul 2001
By A Customer
This CD is the french equivelent of the english soundtrack release. It holds more than it's english counterpart including some of the lesser known but just as impressive songs. The french version truly is spectacular and if you have an understanding of french and love the english version, you will love this more, the show lost a great deal in translation to english and although it is still a great show, to really appreciate the beauty of it, you need to hear the original french lyrics.
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1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Absolutely marvellous show!! But do check which version CD., 8 Jan 2000
By A Customer
I can't make out from the Amazon site whether this is the supberb double-cd and booklet with pics full French version of the show or the preview CD of some of the songs, issued sometime before the show was staged, or even the English version that's supposed to be appearing soon. You need to check this, especially if you want the songs in English.I saw this show in Paris in January 1999 after being entranced by the original pre-show cd of some of the songs. It is one of the best musicals I have ever seen. Exciting, driving music by Richard Cocciante with a strong Spanish flavour as befits Esmeralda the gypsy heroine. Great singers and fine lyrics by Luc Plamondon. The staging of the show was as you'd expect in France, stylish (and unusual). NDdP has been an absolutely huge success in France and elsewhere French-speaking. Certainly the audience when we were there went crazy with excitement - us too - at the end. I'll be very surprised if you don't love the CD.
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