Product Details

• Actors: Lino Ventura, Françoise Fabian, Charles Gérard, André Falcon, Mireille Mathieu
• Directors: Claude Lelouch
• Writers: Claude Lelouch, Pierre Uytterhoeven
• Format: Color, Dolby, Full Screen, Subtitled, Widescreen, NTSC
• Language: French (Dolby Digital 1.0)
• Subtitles: English
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Rated: PG (Parental Guidance Suggested)
• Studio: Image Entertainment
• DVD Release Date: August 12, 2003
• Run Time: 90 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B0000A0WH8
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #138,176 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)
• Learn more about "La Bonne Annee (Happy New Year)" on IMDb

Editorial Reviews

From the Back Cover

Sparks fly between a charming jewel thief and a sophisticated antique dealer in this bittersweet romantic adventure. Just released from prison, Simon (Lino Ventura) hooks up again with the woman who stole his heart, Francoise Fabian (Belle de Jour), and recalls how they met during the bungled robbery that got him arrested six years earlier. As their attraction rekindles, Simon must dodge the police intent on finding his stolen loot!

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 17 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Our favorite French Movie. Worth the wait. January 22, 2004

By William T. Bebout

Format:DVD|Amazon Verified Purchase

My wife Clare and I have been watching La Bonne Annee every New Year's Eve since the early 90's. What a thrill for us to be able to retire the VHS copy this year. The DVD transfer is much cleaner.It is true that the English sub-titles are not always an accurate translation of the French, but we find that true with all French Films. FYI when you hear the French for "comfortable" in the film, you should know that it has a much more intimate sense than our English version.

La Bonne Annee really stands up to repeated viewings. It has many pleasures, It's wonderfully directed, filmed and edited. The acting is seamless (the lingering close-ups of Lino Ventura's face linger in the mind too) . It has wit, romance, friendship, is poignant, and has suspense too. You will never look at any price that ends with .99 the same way again.

We own very few DVD's. This one is a treasure.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars What took you so long? August 13, 2003

By F.M.Brewster

Format:DVD

Claude Lelouch made this movie in 1973. He had made "a Man and a Woman "in 1965 and the haunting melody will be forever in our ears. He loved his work so ,that he could even joke about it "you have to love windshield wipers" He did a sequel in 1985"A Man and a Woman,2O years later" which was surprisingly good."La bonne année"starts with a scene from this masterpiece and I love both movies . Although one could object to the ending-crime is not supposed to pay-Françoise Fabian is so beautiful and Lino Ventura so believable,that the ending seems well deserved. I am glad it is finally available on DVD and I only wish for French subtitles, the English ones only approximate the dialogue.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars The quintessential French existential movie January 18, 2009

By Dong Tran

Format:DVD

When this movie first came out in the 70s, I went to see it repeatedly. Then, when the VHS version came out, I was able to watch it every Christmas. It's the quintessential French existential movie; Ventura's character, Simon, says it all when he asserts to Francoise as she visits him in jail, "But I am a nice guy!" . (In French, "un type bien" means more than "a nice guy", but that'll do). What is perceived as criminal behavior (breaking into a jewelry store) is not a matter of "crime" so much as what a person chooses to do. He might as well have been an ice cream vendor. What counts is a man's honor and integrity. Again, Simon says it all: "There are only two types of people in my world: those that I like, and those that I don't." Legality and morality are not at stake here, but a man's honesty with himself. Again, Simon says it all: "A woman is a man who cries a little; a man is someone who goes all the way." What defines a man is his character.