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Balzac: A Life of Passion

Gérard Depardieu (Actor), Jeanne Moreau (Actor), Josée Dayan (Director) Rated:
PG-13
Format: DVD
2.7 out of 5 stars 27 customer reviews
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(Dec 19, 2000)
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$32.10 & FREE Shipping on orders over $49. Details Only 3 left in stock. Sold by ustrade and Fulfilled by Amazon. Gift-wrap available.

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Special Features

None.

Product Details

  • Actors: Gérard Depardieu, Jeanne Moreau, Fanny Ardant, Virna Lisi, Katja Riemann
  • Directors: Josée Dayan
  • Writers: Didier Decoin
  • Producers: Doris Kirch, Edith Colnel, Jean-Pierre Guérin
  • Format: Color, Subtitled, NTSC
  • Language: French, Spanish, English, Italian
  • Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  • Number of discs: 1
  • Rated:
    PG-13
    Parental Guidance Suggested
  • Studio: Fox Lorber
  • DVD Release Date: December 19, 2000
  • Run Time: 200 minutes
  • Average Customer Review: 2.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (27 customer reviews)
  • ASIN: B00004Y7CX
  • Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #203,436 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

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  • Learn more about "Balzac: A Life of Passion" on IMDb

Customer Reviews

Top Customer Reviews

1.0 out of 5 starsWhy would you ever DUB OVER Gerard Depardieu???/This version should be eliminated!
By C. P. Wilson on April 29, 2007
Format: DVD
GREAT STORY/GREAT FILM/HORRIBLE edtion. GET THE PREVIOUS VERSION/THIS ONE HAS A REALLY REALLY REALLY BAD ENGLISH VOICE-OVER DUB...So bad it hurts!!! I rented this version of Balzac from the video store tonight originally thinking it was the only version. I, like the other reviewers here, was horrified to find Gerard Depardieu's voice being dubbed over by someone who sounded like "Daddy Seaver" on the horribly cheesy 80's sitcom Growing Pains. It had the same screachingly criminal effect as, say dubbing over Laurence Olivier in "Wuthering Heights" with the 'hey dude' voices/tones found in Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure. I immediately called the video store back to find out if there was another version of the same film (preferrably one IN FRENCH with English subtitles) WHICH THERE WAS. They exchanged it with no hassle. Now I can sit down and enjoy what looks to be a great film of one of the most exemplary literary figures in French history. Don't waste your time with this newly released in Lion's Gate 2006/2007 version. Get the older 1999/2000 Fox Lorber/Bravo version!
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1.0 out of 5 starsMy dog could have dubbed this better.
By Audio on May 12, 2007
Format: DVD
Amazon's product description reads: Language: English, French - which is false and misleading because there is no French to be found anywhere on this DVD.

Listening to the masterful delivery of Gerard Depardieu (one of the finest voices in in current cinema) being smothered by voiceovers less expert than a low budget kung-fu film was painful to experience. Amazon would be doing future misguided purchasers of this DVD a favor if they removed this dubbed version from the site.

However, if you're having trouble with the badly dubbed english your other option, the only one, is to enable the english subtitles and turn the sound off altogehter. What genius was up all night thinking of that one?

The distributors must have anticipated the limits of viewers' endurance but did not have the budget or energy left to give us the option of the original french audio version. Obviously it's stressful packaging foreign productions like this for american audiences and we trust the inclusion of subtitles didn't cause too much lack of sleep.

The main lesson learned is read reviews when purchasing foreign films. It is not beyond a distributors capacity to ruin fine productions such as this one.

If there must be dubbing for brilliant foreign actors I propose a new rule: only brilliant English actors can be used. I guarantee you Balzac did not sound like a bad actor flubbing a soap-opera audition.
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1.0 out of 5 starsWhat a load of horrible overdubbing.
By R. Bourgeois on February 9, 2007
Format: DVD Verified Purchase
There is no French soundtrack on this DVD to go with the legendary French actors. There is just an English subtitle with HORRIBLE english overdubbing. The voices are woefully miscast, even worse if you are familiar with the famous French actors true voices. And the Foley work is just amateurish. It was a total distraction throughout the whole 3 hours. Absolutely a waste, with little entertainment value. Stay clear and try to find a version with original dialogue (and English subtitles if necessary).
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5.0 out of 5 starsFor the wont of a Mother's love;how one's life is affected
By KerrLines on March 7, 2007
Format: DVD
Can a three hour miniseries do justice to one of the most prolific French authors ever? No, but this one does sweep through Balzac's life and hits the high points enough to make one want to read or know more.If there is one central theme to this entire series it is this:the little boy in Balzac NEVER got over the simple fact that his Mother never loved him.Everything he did,touched,wrote was colored by his cold abandonment of his Mother.With that in mind,watch this sweeping biopic masterfully executed by the likes of Gerard Depardieu,Jeanne Moreau and Fanny Ardent and be transported into a very accurate portrayal of the times that the likes of Balzac,Hugo,Sand and Sue lived and wrote.EXCELLENT COMPANION FILMS would be COLONEL CHABERT and COUSIN BETTE (both adapted from Balzac) and LES MISERABLES (by Victor Hugo) and IMPROMPTU (about Georges Sand and Chopin) to help fill in the spaces in that period of history.

DO NOT PURCHASE THE ENGLISH DUBBED VERSION!!!! Stick to the original.It is VERY accessible and readable on VHS or DVD.
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1.0 out of 5 starsMaking Balzac English Spoken is an abomination!
By Isabella Balkert on June 9, 2009
Format: DVD Verified Purchase
I unfortunately got this substitute for the real thing. I did not have the imagination to even think that you would make Jeanne Moreay, Depardieu og Fanny Ardant speak english and ruin the whole film in the process.

Whoever made that stupid decision should be kicked in the bud for a week, because not only have this person undone most of the nerve in the film, the fact that you can get this version, has made the original version almost impossible to get.

If one cannot bear listening to French, and the saw dusted tounge of Jeanne Moreau, which is so much the very essence of Balzac's mother - One should not attemt to even see Balzac.

Let us have the choise of the real thing and burn this copy in Hell.
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1.0 out of 5 starsGerard DUB-pardieu
By Littlebort on August 13, 2009
Format: DVD
WARNING! Allow me to join the group of other naysayers about this insult of an edition from Lionsgate. The English dubbing sounds like a bunch of wacky and untalented college kids snuck into the film studio and, as a joke, recorded their own soundtrack to this telemovie. And nobody at Lionsgate caught the mistake before releasing it to unsuspecting patrons like myself. Some joke. I couldn't make it past twenty minutes. Imagine the great Jeanne Moreau talking like Selma Diamond and you'll have some idea to how excruciating this version is. Depardieu is closer to Howie Mandel for all you Mandel fans (include me out, please.) In a single word: Irresponsible.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews

1.0 out of 5 starsOne Star

This is dubbed. DO NOT purchase.

Published 3 months ago by Todd P. Love
5.0 out of 5 starsFive Stars

great biopic!

Published 5 months ago by bigcat
5.0 out of 5 starsFive Stars

excellent. great actor !

Published 18 months ago by augie uleckas
5.0 out of 5 starsGetting to know Balzac's life

Despite the fact that the movie is dubbed in English, I enjoyed it very much. Great acting and a very absorbing story. I recommend it.

Published on November 14, 2013 by Viviana Fernandez
1.0 out of 5 starsRegrets

I am very sorry that I failed to understand that this film has been dubbed. I find it impossible to watch. Read more

Published on October 29, 2011 by a son caring for his elderly parents
4.0 out of 5 starsBalzac's life

Personally, I enjoyed reading Balzac's novels and as a writer he fascinated me. But I knew next to nothing about Balzac, the man. Read more

Published on January 28, 2011 by Eugenia
5.0 out of 5 starsUse Your Imagination!!!

I wanted to write a review after all of the bad ones I saw.
Yes, the dubbing over is poor, but have an imagination!!! Read more

Published on January 22, 2011 by Roi Marie
2.0 out of 5 starsI bought the film to LISTEN and see Depardieu. This was very...

I did not realize the Dubbing of the voices. I was so excited to hear Depardieu and when I heard this other voice I thought at first it was being told from a different person for... Read more

Published on November 4, 2010 by Mastercard
1.0 out of 5 starsA Waste of Money

Woof! The voice-overs were laughable. I HOPE the translation was not literally from the French e.g. Read more

Published on October 7, 2010 by Victoria Mitchell
1.0 out of 5 starsWorst Dubbing Ever

I did not realize that this version was English only. It is the worst voice over I have ever heard. I will be buying the French version of this ASAP. Read more

Published on August 20, 2010 by Shannon Mooney

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