Edith Piaf - A Passionate Life

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DVD details

Actor: Edith Piaf
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Original Language)
Format: Color, DVD-Video, NTSC
Picture Format: 1.33:1
Running Time: 50 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2004-05-25
Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Studio: White Star

DVD Reviews of Edith Piaf - A Passionate Life

DVD Review: For devoted fans only
Summary: 1 Stars

This DVD should be viewed by devoted fans only and preferably French speaking fans at that. The picture quality is extremely poor, the appearances of Piaf are cobbled together and the sound is atrocius. It's dedinitely not one for the average viewer!

DVD Review: Edith Piaf-Wonderful
Summary: 5 Stars

If you are a fan of Edith Piaf you will absolutely love it. I did!!!

DVD Review: Big dissappointment
Summary: 2 Stars

Essentially, the problem for me was that the dubbing was done so obtrusively and so poorly that it becomes painfully embarrassing to watch this DVD in English (which is the only option.)

Subtitles would have done the trick nicely, enabling us to hear the people onscreen yet understand them. When Piaf talks, her voice is immediately paved over by the voice of non-actor reading a translation of Piaf's words.

Beyond that, it seemed a bit ragtag as a documentary -- some interesting details, but it all feels rather like an inexpensively made TV special that makes do with whatever odds and ends are most readily available.

DVD Review: Edith Piaf - A Passionate Life
Summary: 3 Stars

I rate this film at 3 stars for the music, it's wonderful. But of course it's wonderful, it's Edith Piaf. The original dialogue of the documentary portion of the film is overdubbed in English. The women used for Edith's voice is some chirpy sounding person they must have gotten from Fox News. The overdubbing is simply awful. The film would be 4 or 5 stars had they used subtitles and let us hear Edith's speaking voice.

DVD Review: fine biopic--as far as it goes, that is
Summary: 3 Stars

Edith Piaf's contributions to the arts and the details of her life can never be dealt with seriously in any 44 minute video--although this video attempts to do just that. The video, here on DVD, was a 1967 retrospective of Edith Piaf and her life. Unfortunately, while they tried their best to make something worthwhile about Edith Piaf, they did not fully succeed. Huge amounts of details are left out and major issues and triumphs are completely ignored.

Nevertheless, this movie does try. We do get rare footage of Edith performing in concert; this rare footage has value because in the 1950s and early 1960s people simply did not record concerts on film. It just wasn't done. There are many beautiful audio tracks of Edith singing in the background while friends are interviewed about her. We also get a brief interview with Theo Serapo; he was married to Edith at the time that she died. It's touching to see and hear these people speak so fondly of Edith. In addition, the funeral footage demonstrates even more the emotional impact Edith had on so many people.

The sound quality is rather good; but the image quality varies. The interviews from 1967, filmed in black and white, are high quality images with proper lighting and sound equipment being used. The concert footage and a few clips of Edith made by friends unfortunately lack this quality; the images are often rather fuzzy and this frustrates me.

The worst blow to Edith and her fans is that this could have been an excellent springboard for a much more in-depth look at the life and times of Edith Piaf. So much remains unsaid--we see pictures of the boxer she loved so much with newspaper headlines about his death in a plane crash--but heaven forbid we should even be told his name! There is no time devoted to Edith's childhood; and the movie keeps returning to focus on the very last months of Piaf's life when she was remarkably frail. Sigh.

Overall, this documentary runs on the cheap and that makes me feel very sad. It has quality--but only as far as it goes; and that's just not very far at all. I agree with reviewers who write that this is for die-hard fans who already know the details of Piaf's life. If you wish to begin to know about Edith Piaf I would then recommend the recent biopic out in theaters as well as CDs of her wonderful performances.

Description of Edith Piaf - A Passionate Life

Edith Piaf was one of the most popular female singers of all time, with a unique voice and talent that conquered the hearts of admirers around the world. Her life story was truly remarkable: from her birth in 1915 on a policeman's cape, under gaslight, to her extraordinary love affairs and heart-breaking tragedies, she was a true artist that lived to sing. The death of the 'little sparrow' in 1963 was mourned internationally. Now, for the first time, her extraordinary life has been captured on DVD. Four years after her death a documentary was made by French television to commemorate her life. It captured a moment in history that can never be re-created with rare footage of her life, career, loves, and her funeral. It also includes film clips of Edith performing some of her most famous songs, including La vie en rose, A quoi ?a sert l'amour, Milord, Mon Dieu, and more. With historic interviews, scenes from her funeral and news reports of the time, it is a one-of-a-kind tribute to an unforgettable artist. Includes four complete bonus audio tracks.

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