Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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19 of 19 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Spellbinding!! 7 1/2 Hours of Jacques Brel is not Enough, February 11, 2004
For people who can't get enough of Jacques Brel this three DVD Box set is not enough. Only four different versions of "Ne me Quitte Pas", four of "Madeleine", three each of "L'Ivrogne", "Ces Gens La," " Mathilde," two each of "Rosa", "Les Bonbons," "La Valse à Mille Temps" "Les Paumés de Petit Matin" , "Le Plat Pays" and "Chanson de Jacky."
So, viewing a lot of these together, almost all in black and white, does leave one wishing for more variety. Brel was not big on improvisation. More like a classical musician than a jazz artist, once he decided on the words of a song and their accompanying gestures, that was it. Yet he poured so much of his own fire into each performance it seemed fresh and full each time.
Then 5 1/2 stars for the impeccable Jacques Brel and 4 stars for the people who put this set together, givng us so many repetitions and English subtitles for the interviews but not for the songs. While many of us English speakers stumble along in French Jacques runs and flies. While much can be lost in translation, even more can be lost in lack of translation. It is impossible to know Brel without understanding his words. Here's hoping that the next 7 1/2 hours comes complete with subtitles as good as the ones in the interviews. Thanks to these we can catch such lines we may otherwise have missed like:
"A head gets hit so many times before it stays on your shoulders."
"A saint is a fool who went to mass."
"Girls hope to meet Prince Charming. Princes are not charming."
So many surprises on these discs! The late '60s videos of "Regarde bien Petit" and "L'Eclusier", "Vesoul" "Je suis un Soir d'Ete" primitive and contrived, but it's still great to see Jacques lip-synching these songs. In color, photo collages by Jacques' daughter France Brel to the unpublished 1977 songs give us lots of ocean and sailing, a refreshing change from the concert hall and lights of the T.V. cameras. Jacques films are referred to with musical excerpts from "Mon Oncle Benjamin", and "Franz" with Barbara is the background for "L'Amour est Mort." An extract from "Le Far West" gives us the beautiful song "L' Enfance"
Most interesting is the depth, honesty and liveliness of Jacques in interview. We see him creating songs like "Les Singes" and "Quand Maman Reviendra" , retiring from music hall side by side with a retiring champion athelete, riding in a car, eating, performing "Mon Enfance" complete with admitted mistakes 36 hours after its creation, and at his home in Belgium.
We see him in cabarets in the late 1950's, the audience perplexed, disturbed but entranced. Some smile knowingly, others remain stiff, amazed. We see him with bonbons in his hand, in a toreador costume, with a rope around his neck singing "Le Pendu." Though there is some overlap with other Brel videos most of the material is new , nowhere else to be found.
For instance, the magical film short "Brel à Montmartre" made in 1961, exactly the year Dylan came to Greenwich Village. Young Brel, Montmartre in the Spring-- Magnifique!
The last disc ends with a reading of 'Pierre et le Loup". With Jacques at the height of his handsomeness combining boyish charm with rakish sex appeal it's hard to know whether he's Peter or the wolf.
For the fans of grand Jacques, the lovers of chanson, English speaking francophiles or students of French, for singer-songwriters everywhere this set is a gem.
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23 of 24 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Astonishing - the finest music DVD I've ever seen, March 31, 2004
I have been listening to Brel's music for 30 years but had never seen a single clip of him performing. After this time to suddenly have 7.5 hours of him walking, talking and singing is amazing. I was totally unprepared for the extraordinary mobile face and the almost vaudeville performances - eg the hand movements. And some of the singing is breathtaking, indescribably brilliant. To mention just one track, the intensity of Ne me quitte pas at the opening of volume 3 is completely devastating. Here is a poet and performer teetering on the edge of madness and despair. It rips you apart. Unreservedly recommended (though a literal English subtitling of the lyrics would add to the pleasure.)
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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
What songs you get when you buy these 3 DVDs, December 13, 2007
Here's what you're buying when you get this 3-DVD set:
DVD 1 total time: 152 minutes 51 seconds
1959 : Magazine de la chanson (INA) - director: Marcel Cravenne
La valse à mille temps
1977-2003 (Fondation Brel) - director: France Brel
La cathédrale
1962 : Club Domino (AVRO) - director: Thijs Chanowski
Les prénoms de Paris - Les paumés du petit matin - Rosa - La dame patronnesse - Madeleine - Les bourgeois - L'ivrogne - Le moribond - Les Flamandes - Ne me quitte pas - La valse à mille temps
1962 : 9 000 000 (RTBF) - director: Roy Beeckmans
Quand maman reviendra
1963 : Discorama (INA) - director: René Lucot
Les vieux
1964 : Le temps de la chance (INA) - réalisateur : Jean-Pierre Marchand
Mathilde
1964 : Discorama (INA) - director: Jean-Pierre Marchand
Les bonbons
1966 : Midi-Variétés (INA-Marseille) - director: Charles Paolini
Mon enfance - Hé ! m'man (new) - Le plat pays - Madeleine
1966 : Spécial Brel à Discorama (INA) - director: Raoul Sangla
La chanson de Jacky - Ces gens-là
1966 : Brel renonce à la scène (INA-Actualités)
La bière
1977-2003 (Fondation Brel) - director: France Brel
Jojo (unpublished version)
1967 : Le temps des loisirs (INA) - director: Jean Manceau
Fils de...
1968 : Jacques Brel (INA) - director: Alain Dhenaut
Regarde bien, petit - L'éclusier - Vesoul - Je suis un soir d'été - La quête
1969 : Le château des chansons (INA) - director: Pierre Badel
Le petit chemin (unpublished version)
1973 : extrait du film "Le Far-West" (Pouchenel) - director: Jacques Brel
L'enfance
DVD 2 total time: 141 minutes 46 seconds
1958 : 36 chandelles (INA) - director: R. Iglesis
Quand on n'a que l'amour
1960 : Lichtjes van de Schelde (VRT) - director: Kris Betz
Il pleut
1960 : Rendez-vous avec (INA) - director: Claude Barma
Seul - On n'oublie rien - Je ne sais pas - Marieke
1961 : Music-Hall Parade du Moulin de la Galette (INA) - director: Gilles Margaritis
L'ivrogne
1961 : Toute la chanson (INA) - director: Robert Valey
Les paumés du petit matin
1962 : Discorama (INA) - director: Philippe Ducrest
Le plat pays
1962 : scopitone (Davis Boyer) - director: Alexandre Tarta
Rosa
1963 : Club Domino (AVRO) - director: Bob Rooyens
Bruxelles - La statue - La Fanette - Le pendu (inédit) - Les fenêtres
1963 : Journal Télévisé (INA-Actualités)
La Toison d'or (inédit)
1963 : Discorama (INA) - director: René Lucot
J'aimais
1964 : 7 jours du monde (INA-Actualités)
Le dernier repas
1965 : Jacques Brel Optreden 1964 Huis met de Pilaren (VPRO) - director: Kampen Van Warry
Au suivant - Le tango funèbre
1966 : Carrefour (TSR-Actualités) - director: Claude Charbon
Madeleine
1966 : Palmarès des chansons (INA) - director: Roger Pradines
Le cheval - Les vieux - La chanson de Jacky - Ne me quitte pas - Amsterdam - Mon enfance - Mathilde - Ces gens-là - Jef - Les bonbons 67
1968 : Journal télévisé (RTBF) - director: J. Juin
L'homme de la Mancha
1968 : À l'affiche du monde (INA) - director: Robert Manthoulis
Vesoul
1977-2003 (Fondation Brel) - director: France Brel
Avec élégance (new)
DVD 3 total time: 129 minutes 20 seconds
1959 : Music-Hall Parade (INA) - director: Gilles Margaritis
Ne me quitte pas - Les Flamandes
1961 : Discorama (INA) - director: Pierre Badel
L'ivrogne
1961 : Brel à Montmartre (Davis Boyer) - director: Jean Guillon
Au printemps - Sur la place - Ne me quitte pas - La valse à mille temps - Les singes - Quand on n'a que l'amour
1961 : Toute la chanson (INA) - director: Marcel Cravenne
Le moribond
1963 : Les raisins verts (INA) - director: Jean-Christophe Averty
Les toros
1964 : Discorama (INA) - director: Jean-Pierre Marchand
Jef - Mathilde
1965 : Carrefour (TSR-Actualités)
La Fanette
1965 : Format 16/20 (RTBF) - director: Léo Quoilin
Les vieux - Les bonbons - Les bigotes - Le plat pays - Madeleine
1965 : Chanson pour un ami (INA) - director: François Chatel
Place de la Contrescarpe (new)
1966 : Cocktail Variétés (INA) - director: Alain Boudet
Ces gens-là
1977-2003 (Fondation Brel) - director: Frédéric Rossif
Mai 40 (new)
1966 : Panorama (INA-Actualités)
Adieu aux foules : Brel & Jazy
1969 : extraits du film Mon oncle Benjamin (Gaumont) - director: Edouard Molinaro
Buvons un coup (new) - Les porteurs de rapières (new) - Mourir pour mourir (new)
1977-2003 (Pouchenel / RTBF / VRT / Barclay) - director: Jacques Brel / Jean Allaert / France Brel / Christophe Acker
L'amour est mort (new)
1963 : Il était une fois la télé (RTBF) - director: Serge Leroy
Pierre et le loup
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