Product Description

Picturehouse and HBO Films present a critically-acclaimed biopic about the legendary international singing icon Edith Piaf whose voice and talent captivated the world. Starring award-winner Marion Cotillard (A Very Long Engagement A Good Year) in an astonishing performance the film is a portrait of a remarkable artist born into poverty who survived using the only gift she had ? her voice. Piaf?s tragic life was a constant battle to sing and survive to live and love with no regrets.Running Time: 141 min.Format: DVD MOVIE Genre: DOCUMENTARIES/BIOGRAPHY UPC: 026359441226 Manufacturer No: 94412

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #768 in DVD
• Brand: Warner Brothers
• Released on: 2007-11-13
• Rating: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested)
• Aspect ratio: 2.35:1
• Formats: AC-3, Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, DVD-Video, Subtitled, Widescreen, NTSC
• Original language: English, French
• Subtitled in: English, Spanish, French
• Number of discs: 1
• Dimensions: 1.00 pounds
• Running time: 141 minutes

Amazon.com
Edith Piaf is the subject of La Vie en Rose, director Olivier Dahan's powerful if emotionally redundant biographical film about the iconic French superstar whose life, as depicted here, seems to have been a numbing succession of tragedies interrupted on occasion by artistic triumph. Dahan's portrait begins with Piaf's stay in a brothel as a young girl. Left to the care of her grandmother (who runs the place) after her father pulls her away from a narcissistic mother, Piaf undergoes significant health problems and grows up to sing on the street in lieu of outright prostitution. The film pulses along with the usual biopic rhythms, with pivotal moments in the life of Piaf (played as an adult by Marion Cotillard) turning up regularly only to be smacked aside by the unseen hand of perpetual misfortune. There's the impresario (Gerard Depardieu) who recognizes Piaf's great but raw talent only to have a run-in with the criminal element around her. There's the heavyweight fighter (Marcel Cerdan) who becomes the love of Piaf's life but can't be with her. Drug addiction, random car accidents, tax problems, you name it, it's all here, topped by an unnerving revelation that pops up in La Vie en Rose's final moments. After awhile, with such a concentration of bad news squeezed into 140 minutes, one begins to wish Dahan had taken a more expansive approach to Piaf's life and times. But the film is never less than interesting, and the lead performance by Cotillard is often astonishing. --Tom Keogh

Customer Reviews

Fascinating
For a Francophile, music and movie lover, this was a fascinating film. I love biographies as well, and enjoyed trying to understand the French. Admittedly, this represents a rather narrow range of interests, but this is definitely a worthwhile movie.

La Vie en Rose
This is a well made, truly excellent rendition of Edith Piaf's life. It tells the story of her life though a series of flashbacks. It takes us from her humble birth, though the difficult years of her childhood and teen years. This movie helps us better understand the kind of events that helped shape her personality as well as her complexes. Throughout the film we hear her beautiful music which reflects her deep desire to be loved and her unwavering sense of hope. One comes away from the film with sadness for the difficulties she endured thoughout her life but with a great respect for her ability to rise above her problems and create beautiful music.

"I regret nothing."
The story of France's most beloved singer begins in 1918 in a squalid section of Paris. Little Edith is abandoned by her parents and goes to live in her grandmother's brothel. There, she becomes blind from an eye disease and is cared for by the prostitutes. When she recovers her sight, she is forced to join her father as a street performer. Her remarkable singing voice is noticed by a night club manager and she begins her meteoric climb to success, but it is tempered by a series of personal tragedies.

The beautiful Marion Cotillard gives the performance of her life as Edith as she physically transforms several times and is utterly convincing as a scrappy street kid, a sickly drug addict, and finally, a prematurely-aged invalid. She rightly won the Best Actress Oscar for this challenging role.

The movie is in French with English subtitles, but that didn't detract from my enjoyment at all; in fact, hearing the beautiful French throughout made it better. Piaf's voice is heard on all the songs and it's a voice that reflects great pain and inner strength. This is an emotionally-draining film with outstanding acting. Highly recommended.