| | | The Extraordinary Story of Edith Piaf.
Features: DVD, English, French, Spanish, Subtitled
Marion Cotillard stars as Edith Piaf in this biography also featuring Sylvie Testud, Pascal Greggory, Emmanuelle Siegner, Jean-Paul Rouve, Gerard Depardieu, Clotilde Courau, Jean-Pierre Martins, Catherine Allegret, and Marc Barbe. This Extended Version includes footage not seen in theaters, as well as a featurette about Cotillard's transformation into Piaf.
"One of those rare cinematic happenings where every aspect of the production...is done to perfection." Doris Toumarkine, Film Journal International
"Dahan makes us wait for the cathartic release until the very end; the effect is not manipulative but absolutely exhilarating." Melissa Anderson, Time Out New York
"Hurtling and impassioned, driven by some of the greatest popular music ever recorded...a true experience." Owen Gleiberman, Entertainment Weekly
"The most astonishing immersion of one performer into the body and soul of another I've ever encountered on film." Stephen Holden, The New York Times
"Marion Cotillard is perfection itself in this role." Tim Brayton, Antagony & Ecstasy
Editor's Note
According to Marlene Dietrich, chanteuse Edith Piaf's voice was "the soul of Paris." This French drama explores the often troubled life of the singer as her fame took her from the City of Lights to America to the South of France. Abandoned by her mother, Piaf grew up in her grandmother's brothel and her father's circus, which is hardly the fun one might imagine. While singing on the streets of Paris as a teen, Piaf (played as an adult by Marion Cotillard, A VERY LONG ENGAGEMENT) is discovered by club owner Louis Leple (Grard Depardieu), and this chance encounter changes the woman's life. Her powerful voice takes her all over the globe, but it can't guard her from the pain and suffering she can't avoid. As Piaf, Cotillard is mesmerizing. She fully inhabits the singer's ivory skin, crafting a character that never descends into caricature or camp. She lip syncs to Piaf's legendary voice, but the performance is seamless. Like WALK THE LINE and RAY, this biopic creates a fascinating picture of an artist whose songs only begin to reflect the singer's painful life. But director-writer Olivier Dahan (LA VIE PROMISE) doesn't take the traditional biopic route with LA VIE EN ROSE. Instead, the film jumps between various moments in the singer's life, with little concern for linear narrative. Cotillard is just as adept at playing the teenage Piaf as she is the songbird on her deathbed at the age of 47, and it's her amazing performance that makes LA VIE EN ROSE worth seeing.
| Features | Interactive Menus | | Scene Selection |
| Technical Info
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Release Information
| | Studio: HBO |
| Release Date: 11/13/2007 |
| Running Time: 141 minutes |
| Original Release Date: 2007 | | Catalog ID: 1000014211 | | UPC: 00026359441226 | | Number of Discs: 1 |
Audio & Video
| | Original Language: French | | Available Audio Tracks: English, French | | Video: Color |
| Cast & Crew
| Awards |
Academy Awards (2007) |  | Winner, Best Makeup | | Marion Cotillard, Winner, Best Actress |
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| | Professional Reviews | Box Office
"[I]t's the inner sadness, the desperate, tragic yearning for the love and fulfillment she never attained, that lies at the heart of Cotillard's breathtaking turn, arguably one of the greatest biographical performances in the history of movies." 06/01/2007 p.90Rolling Stone
3.5 stars out of 5 -- "Marion Cotillard, lip-syncing Piaf's songs and digging into her soul with gale-force urgency, gives a performance for the ages." 06/14/2007 p.113 Entertainment Weekly
"Driven by some of the greatest popular music ever recorded, this wildly overripe biopic is a true experience." -- Grade: B 06/15/2007 p.61 Total Film
3 stars out of 5 -- "[Cotillard's performance is] a vibrant tour de force that channels Piaf's earthy charisma and fearlessly embraces her myriad contradictions..." 07/01/2007 p.50 Reel.com 8 of 10
In making La Vie En Rose director Olivier Dahan has said that he did not want to make a biopic of legendary French chanteuse Edith Piaf. Yet, while he does play with the form somewhat--particularly in the way he shifts time--that is exactly what he has done. Just as in Ray, Walk the Line, and Life with Judy Garland: Me and My Shadows, the emphasis is on the dark life behind the public genius. Like those movies, it is a limiting portrayal saved by the absolute conviction of the performer in the central role...Marion Cotillard's commanding performance as the troubled singer who managed to cram several lifetimes into a scant 47 years overcomes all objections...The actress, last seen in A Good Year, utterly melts into the character, her face and speaking voice (she lip synchs the singing) are utterly metamorphosed. And while the screenplay concentrates on Piaf's flaws, Cotillard finds the humanity beneath the brittle surface. It is a richly moving, completely empathetic performance, and it elevates the film. Like Piaf, Cotillard is capable of taking something ordinary and transforming it into something special, and that is exactly what she does in La Vie En Rose. - Pam Grady
Chicago Sun-Times 10 of 10
Olivier Dahan's "La Vie en Rose," one of the best biopics I've seen, tells Piaf's life story through the extraordinary performance of Marion Cotillard, who looks like the singer. The title, which translates loosely as "life through rose-colored glasses," is from one of Piaf's most famous songs, which she wrote herself. She is known for countless other songs perhaps most poignantly for "Non je ne regrette rien" ("No, I regret nothing"), which is seen in the film as her final song; if it wasn't, it should have been...Dahan and his co-writer, Isabelle Sobelman, move freely through the pages of Piaf's life. A chronology would have missed the point...Then there are the songs, a lot of them. I gather from the credits that some are dubbed by other singers, some are sung by Piaf herself, and some, in parts at least, by Cotillard. In the video clips you can see how Piaf choreographed her hands and fingers, and Cotillard has that right, too. If a singer has been dead 50 years and sang in another language, she must have been pretty great to make it onto so many saloon jukeboxes, which is how I first heard her. Now, of course, she's on my iPod, and I'm listening to her right now. - Roger Ebert
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