Product Details

• Actors: Jeremy Davies, Angela Lindvall, Élodie Bouchez, Gérard Depardieu, Giancarlo Giannini
• Directors: Roman Coppola
• Writers: Roman Coppola
• Producers: Bob Bellion, Francis Ford Coppola, Gary Marcus, Georgia Kacandes, Jean-Claude Schlim
• Format: Closed-captioned, Color, NTSC
• Language: English, French
• Rated: R (Restricted)
• Number of tapes: 1
• Studio: MGM (Video & DVD)
• VHS Release Date: September 10, 2002
• Run Time: 88 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (26 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B00006CXJC
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #406,161 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Jeremy Davies is a different kind of American in Paris. In the heady days of 1969, this aspiring director edits a silly sci-fi spy adventure by day while spending his nights obsessively filming his own life, much to the frustration of his stewardess girlfriend (Elodie Bouchez), who tires of his using his camera to avoid intimacy. First-time director Roman Coppola (son of Francis) creates a slight but fun picture steeped in 1960s movie lore: the film-within-a-film is a pop-art spectacle that recalls Barbarella, Modesty Blaise, and Danger: Diabolique, while its Italian producer (Giancarlo Giannini) is a high-living Dino De Laurentiis. If the film is slight, the details are right, from the opulent and outrageous sets to the meticulously retro special effects to the groovy music by Mellow. You could think of CQ as Coppola's 8½, about a man so busy filming his life he forgets to live. --Sean Axmaker

From The New Yorker

An ambitious début film, written and directed by Roman Coppola (son of Francis, brother of Sofia) that aims to have the irreverent hum of Fellini's "8 1/2," Truffaut's "Day for Night," and Vadim's "Barbarella," for starters. The plot, as such, concerns an editor turned director (Jeremy Davies with an Antoine Doinel haircut) who lands in the revolutionary Paris of 1969, where he's given the assignment of polishing off a cheesy Italian science-fiction spy flick. "CQ" looks terrific, thanks to the production design of a master, Dean Tavoularis, but Coppola's relentless referencing of other movies dilutes the drama; each scene becomes another film-student pleasure. -Bruce Diones
Copyright © 2006 The New Yorker

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

17 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Lost in Distribution, March 19, 2006

By 

Trevor Willsmer (London, England) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: CQ (DVD)

Sofia Coppola may have got all the kudos with The Virgin Suicides and Lost in Translation, but, from a 60s movie buff's point of view, the other Coppola kid, Roman, turned out an even more enjoyable feature, CQ. Shame that no-one saw it. Barely released in the US (and not released at all in most countries), it's an engaging little number that pits underground cinema against Eurotrash moviemaking at a time when people still thought even pulp cinema could be the stuff of revolution (1969-70 to be precise).

A riff on Sullivan's Travels and 8½, it sees Jeremy Davies' editor of Franco-Italian co-pro 'Codename: Dragonfly' struggling to come up with a new ending while making his own personal film with borrowed equipment. Oh, and falling in love with the fictional main character, confusing film and reality (not only is he too busy documenting `the truth' of his life to see it around him but he even enters the film to sort out a plot hole) and possibly being targeted for retribution by Gerard Depardieu's fired firebrand director. (The door panel that Depardieu breaks that is later framed and given to the editors is actually one that Francis Ford Coppola smashed on one of his films!)

Filled with sly 60s cinema references from Fellini to Warhol (even the trailer he cuts for the film is inspired by the one for Dr Strangelove) and with some character touches straight out of James Joyce, the visual influence is much more Danger: Diabolik than Barbarella (John Phillip Law even appears in the film within the film), and Dean Tavoularis' spot-on production design and Robert Yeoman's superb photography are both pitch-perfect. Davies, so irritating in Soderbergh's disastrous Solaris, is quietly fine here, Jason Schwartzman has fun as a bizarre hybrid of a young papa Coppola mixed with Roger Corman via Austin Powers, Giancarlo Giannini does Dino de Laurentiis to a tee (with Sofia Coppola cameoing as his mistress), and there's good work from Dean Stockwell and Massimo Ghini as well. At the end of the day there's not much there, but Coppola's love of moviemaking makes it surprisingly joyful to watch if you're in a receptive mood. And MGM's DVD is filled with extras, both interesting and appropriately self-indulgent.

12 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars CQ, Dragonfly, & A 1st Time Directors' Vision, October 7, 2002

By 

Roger Shreeve (Columbia, MD.) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: CQ [VHS] (VHS Tape)

Cheeky, cheesy, funny, and thoughtful! I discovered this small gem of a film and rented it w/no idea of it except for what the back cover disclosed. Upon initial reading, I thought it might be akin to the "Matt Helm" or "Flynnt" films of the 1960's with a twist or a spoof of the spy film genre. I was wrong.

It's Roman Coppola's (Nicholas Cage's cousin) sentimental treatment of his early movie-watching experience as well as the personel odyssey of a first time director against the backdrop of the making of a late 60's/early 70's spy film. The idea of a film within a film is not new and could be confusing; however, Mr. Coppola's use of the technique works for him here. Though it is not the best film of 2002, it is an intelligent, thought-provoking, and entertaining little movie.

The caliber of talent Mr. Coppola assembled in Jeremy Davis, Elodie Bouchez, Angela Lindvall, Giancarlo Giannini, Gerard Depardieu, Jason Schwartzman, John Philip Law, and Dean Stockwell go a long way in making this a little gem and not a lump of coal. The choice for casting worked nicely for this 1st time director. The confusion and searching portrayed by Davis' character kept me interested in his trials and tribulations as he tries to find truth through the media of movies in his life. It is his search that ultimately made me like the film. This main character is neither good or bad, but a man trying to find his way in the world he has chosen, meanwhile, like the rest of us, he still has a day job [sound editor-turn-director] to contend with while searching. It is Mr. Coppola's handling of this character that will either keep or lose you in the film. His first outing shows he has definite potential and not just b/c of family ties. As his first directorial movie, its likable.

On a secondary note, the music and cinematography are reminiscent of the times. The Dragonfly visual sequences and soundtrack provided by Mellow almost take you back to those psycodelic times. Compare the Dragonfly scenes w/movies of the same period and you will notice how well the cinematography was done. The background music, though could sound cheesy, comes across authentic. In both categories, Mr. Coppola did nicely. It would seem his choice of music was influenced by his sister's "The Virgin Suicides" OST, except the dark electro-synth sounds of Air are replaced in "CQ" with the dreamy, relaxed sounds of Mellow.

In conclusion, if you're looking for a little movie done sentimentally, but not sappy about a person searching for truth to the background of some laid-back sounds, then CQ is the film for you.

9 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Pseudo 60s fun, June 17, 2005

By 

Charles Burgess (sunny FL) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: CQ (DVD)

Bought the DVD after remembering the photo of a space-suited Angela Lindvall in a magazine the year the movie was released. Money well spent. The recreation of late 60s Europe is well done as is the purposely cheesy film-within-the-film. Perhaps it will lead to "Danger: Diabolik" and other genuine 60s films for you.