Product Details

• Actors: Isabelle Huppert, Jean-François Balmer, Christophe Malavoy, Jean Yanne, Lucas Belvaux
• Directors: Claude Chabrol
• Writers: Claude Chabrol, Gustave Flaubert
• Producers: Marin Karmitz
• Format: Color, NTSC
• Language: French
• Subtitles: English
• Rated: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested)
• Number of tapes: 1
• Studio: Republic Pictures
• VHS Release Date: March 5, 1996
• Run Time: 143 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (15 customer reviews)
• ASIN: 6302413753
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #262,201 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Gustav Flaubert's celebrated novel of obsessive ardor undergoes a dazzling retrofit for the screen, courtesy of French neurosis-master Claude Chabrol. The basic story (a woman's selfish quest for happiness ends up obliterating all she holds dear) may be the same, but Chabrol's talent for biting through to the dark marrow of passion makes this a startling experience, even for people familiar with the source material or the numerous other cinematic adaptations. Casting Isabelle Huppert in the title role (she's at least a decade older than the standard conception of this willfully tragic heroine) was a potentially risky gambit that paid off big; underneath her glorious surface lies a startling foundation of brilliant ice. The same can be said about this stunning film. Viewers intrigued by this potent actress-director pairing may also want to check out The Story of Women and the wonderful La Ceremonie. In French with English subtitles. --Andrew Wright

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

32 of 36 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars C'EST MAGNIFIQUE..., April 11, 2002

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Lawyeraau (Balmoral Castle) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Madame Bovary (Amazon.com Exclusive) [VHS] (VHS Tape)

This is an excellent adaptation of the Gustave Flaubert novel of the same name. Isabelle Huppert is superb as the central character, Emma, a prosperous farmer's daughter, who marries a doctor, Charles Bovary (Jean Francois Balmer). He is a kind and gentle soul who adores her and wants nothing more than to make her happy. The problem is that he does not know how. Even Emma does not really know what would make her happy.

This is the story of Emma Bovary and her unhappy, wasted, shallow life. She is a woman who on the surface seems to have everything, an adoring, doting husband, a lovely, healthy daughter, an attractive well appointed home. Yet, she is unhappy. She loathes her husband, finding him pedantic and dull. She has little time for her daughter and seems to have little motherly instincts. What worldly goods she has never seem to ber enough.

Seeking fulfillment, she takes lovers who always seem to fail her in the end. She mistakes passion for love and never fails to be disappointed when that love turns out to be fleeting, blind to the love that exists under her very own roof. As her unhappiness and dissatisfaction grow, so does the beauty of her wardrobe. Beautifully gowned and accessorized, Emma Bovary is as beautiful as she is shallow. She spends what she does not have on passing fripperies, only to have her world eventually come crashing down around her. She takes the easy way out of her self inflicted misery and, in doing so, consigns those who had the misfortune to truly love her to a doomed existence.

Claude Chabrol deftly directed this arresting period piece, exacting wonderful performances from the entire cast. Isabelle Huppert is perfectly cast as Emma Bovary with her icy beauty and gives a performance that is on the money. Jean Francois Balmer is also notable for his portrayal of her doting and supportive husband. This is an excellent, value priced film, one that is well worth having in one's collection. Period piece lovers will especially enjoy this film.

17 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars The Madame of Bad Decisions, August 31, 2004

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V. Marshall (North Fork, CA USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Madame Bovary (DVD)

This film is a French adaptation of Gustave Flaubert's classic tale of human bondage, "Madame Bovary."

I expected this adaptation to be better than others I have seen simply because it was done by the French, but sadly the film does not hold up to Flaubert's original work. Isabelle Huppert does a so-so job as the lead character, the great sufferer, Madame Bovary. Huppert does not show enough passion and emotion for my taste though, the original character is consumed by suffering and desperately stabs at whatever form of relief comes her way, but Huppert doesn't quite get any depth out of this performance. She looks lovely in her period costumes however. Madame Bovary succumbed to adultery, debtful spending habits and even suicide while being married to Dr. Bovary and never feeling passionately satisfied with her life. The character is both the ultimate victim of her own circumstances and that of the stigma society held over women of her time. In the classic novel she screams for understanding and compassion but here Huppert only manages to stir a selfish and self-absorbed creature lacking any decent humanity.

Contrasting to the Madame is Dr. Bovary, played decently by Jean-Francois Balmer, who manages to bring a sorrow to the dutiful man who cowers at the Madame's feet. Malavoy is sweet and hardworking much as I imagine the original character to be and also sadly unsuspicious of his wicked wife's activities at his expense. The enigmatic and suave character of Rodolphe Boulanger is played by the handsome and convincing Christophe Malavoy. Malavoy is seductively charming and maliciously evil at the same time, the perfect match for Mrs. Bovary!

I enjoyed this film for the French aesthetic value but feel the need to dust off my old classic novel and re-read the story as written by the master, Flaubert. I enjoy the message contained in this story about the sin of excess and lack of reason behind decisions, interestingly enough this 1856 novel could use a few more readings in today's world. The film is good but the novel is GREAT, enjoy both for the experience.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Flaubert + Chabrol = Period Drama, November 15, 2008

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The Movie Man "tenebre89" (Maywood, New Jersey USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Madame Bovary (DVD)

"Madame Bovary," based on the novel by Gustave Flaubert, stars Isabelle Huppert in the title role. Unsuccessfully prosecuted by the French government as "immoral" after its publication in 1857, "Madame Bovary" is the story of a country doctor's wife bored with the banalities and emptiness of her provincial life in 19th-century France. To escape, she throws herself into love affairs with a suave local landowner (Rodolphe Boulanger) and a law student (Leon Dupuis) and runs up huge debts, much to the dismay of her dull husband. The 1991 film, directed by Claude Chabrol, closely follows Flaubert's novel and beautifully captures most of the famous scenes. Filmed in Rouen and neighboring villages, it lavishly evokes 19th-century France with its winding country roads, meadows, and homes. Period costumes complete the portrait of the era. The movie is in French with English subtitles. The two-disc DVD includes the bonus documentary "Isabelle Huppert: A Life of Acting.