The City of Lost Children
by Jean-Pierre Jeunet, Marc Caro
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DVD Cover Information
Actor: Daniel Emilfork, Dominique Pinon, Jean-Claude Dreyfus, Judith Vittet, Ron PerlmanDirector: Jean-Pierre Jeunet, Marc Caro
Writer: Jean-Pierre Jeunet
Writer: Marc Caro
Producer: Arlette Mas
Producer: Claudie Ossard
Writer: Gilles Adrien
Writer: Guillaume Laurant
DVD: Region Code 2
Audio: French (Subtitles For The Hearing Impaired), Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround; French (Unknown), Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround; French (Subtitled); French (Original Language), Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround
Format: Anamorphic, Full Screen, NTSC
Picture Format: 1.85:1
Running Time: 112 minutes
Audience Rating: R (Restricted)
Studio: Sony Pictures Classics
Movie Reviews of The City of Lost Children
Movie Review: Great eye-candy from the French Terry Gilliam
Summary: 3 Stars
Clearly influenced by Gilliam's Brazil, The City of Lost Children is undeniably gorgeous to watch (especially on an upgraded HDMI DVD system). Shot entirely in studio, the attention to detail in all locations from the Dickensian style city to Krank's gothic lair is phenominal. The acting too, most notably from 9 year-old Judith Vittet as Miette - the leader of the orphans, and from everyone's favourite neanderthal Ron Perlman, is outstanding.
Why then only three stars? Because, in my humble opinion, almost two hours was far too long to drag out this basically simple fable about good and bad, exploitation of the innocent and the quest for lost youth (a la recherche...?). I'm sure I will not be the only one to feel that the stunning sets sometimes take precedence over the plot.
I enjoyed it the first time through. Will probably skim through it again to wallow in the sumptuous detail and skillfully choreographed scenes with the "octopus", but doubt if I could sit through the entire movie again without a yawn or two.
A few extras add value to the DVD, most notably a "making of" and "behind the scenes" which give away some of the clever special effects. I wonder why co-director Marc Caro refused to participate in the documentaries though - was he on the verge of doing an Alan Smithee?
Finally a note about the dubbing. I started with the English version, but found the dubbed voices to be very poorly lip-synched and with irritatingly inappropriate accents - most notably Pinon's that sounded impossibly aristocratic! I therefore switched to the original French with English subtitles and would certainly recommend that as the preferred audio option.
Summary of The City of Lost Children
The fantastic visions of Belgian filmmakers Marc Caro and Jean-Pierre Jeunet find full fruition in this fairy tale for adults. Evoking utopias and dystopias from Brazil to Peter Pan, Caro and Jeunet create a vivid but menacing fantasy city in a perpetually twilight world. In this rough port town lives circus strongman One (Ron Perlman), who wanders the alleys and waterfront dives looking for his baby brother, snatched from him by a mysterious gang preying upon the children of the town. Rising from the harbor is an enigmatic castle where lives the evil scientist Krank (Daniel Emilfork), who has lost the ability to dream and robs the nocturnal visions of the children he kidnaps, but receives only mad nightmares from the lonely cherubs. Other wild characters include the Fagin-like Octopus--Siamese twin sisters who control a small gang of runaways-turned-thieves--Krank's six cloned henchmen (all played by the memorable Dominique Pinon from Delicatessen), and a giant brain floating in an aquarium (voiced by Jean-Louis Trintignant). Caro and Jeunet are kindred souls to Terry Gilliam (who is a vocal fan), creating imaginative flights of fancy built of equal parts delight and dread, which seem to be painted on the screen in rich, dreamy colors. --Sean AxmakerSimilar DVD Movies
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