Paris, je t'aime (2006) |
|
Paris, je t'aime (2006) |
|
|
| BUY IT |
| General | Extras | ||
| Category | Drama |
Main Menu Audio & Animation Featurette-At The Heart Of Paris Featurette-Making Of-18 Segments Theatrical Trailer-Trailers and Teasers for Paris, je t'aime Deleted Scenes-Five Deleted Scenes Short Film-An animated sequence by Vincenzo Natali Storyboards-Tour Eiffel storyboard directed by Sylvain Chomet Interviews-Cast & Crew-Interview with Chris Doyle and Rain Li Interviews-Cast & Crew-ABC's At The Movies interviews with cast and directors Theatrical Trailer-Madman Propaganda |
|
| Rating |
|
||
| Year Of Production | 2006 | ||
| Running Time | 115:31 (Case: 120) | ||
| RSDL / Flipper |
Dual Layered Dual Disc Set |
Cast & Crew | |
| Start Up | Menu | ||
| Region Coding | 4 | Directed By |
Olivier Assayas Frédéric Auburtin Emmanuel Benbihy Gurinder Chadha |
|
Studio
Distributor |
 Madman Entertainment |
Starring |
Florence Muller Hervé Pierre Bruno Podalydès Leïla Bekhti Julien Beramis Cyril Descours Thomas Dumerchez Daniely Francisque Audrey Fricot Salah Teskouk Christian Bramsen Marianne Faithfull Elias McConnell |
| Case | Amaray-Transparent-Dual | ||
| RPI | $34.95 | Music |
Pierre Adenot Michael Andrews Reinhold Heil |
| Video | Audio | ||
| Pan & Scan/Full Frame | None |
French dts 5.1 (768Kb/s) French Dolby Digital 5.1 (448Kb/s) French Dolby Digital 2.0 (256Kb/s) |
|
| Widescreen Aspect Ratio | 1.78:1 | ||
| 16x9 Enhancement |
 |
||
| Video Format | 576i (PAL) | ||
| Original Aspect Ratio | 1.85:1 | Miscellaneous | |
| Jacket Pictures | No | ||
| Subtitles | English | Smoking | Yes |
| Annoying Product Placement | Yes | ||
| Action In or After Credits | No | ||
For various reasons many directors left the project (i.e. schedule conflicts), but the 18 directors who contributed to the production are still an impressive ensemble. Developed from an idea from Tristan Carné and extended into a feature film concept by Emmanuel Benbihy (who is currently producing New York, I Love You) Paris, je t'aime was to be composed of a short films set in each arrondissement of Paris. The film features 18 of the 20 arrondissements of Paris as two were cut in post production –the XVe arrondissement directed by Christoffer Boe and the XIe arrondissement by Raphaël Nadjari.
The 18 arrondissements are:
Montmartre (XVIIIe arrondissement) — written and directed by Bruno Podalydès:
Quais de Seine (Ve arrondissement) — written by Paul Mayeda Berges and Gurinder Chadha, directed by Gurinder Chadha:
Le Marais (IVe arrondissement) — written and directed by Gus Van Sant:
Tuileries (Ier arrondissement) — written and directed by Joel Coen and Ethan Coen:
Loin du 16e (XVIe arrondissement) — written and directed by Walter Salles and Daniela Thomas:
Porte de Choisy (XIIIe arrondissement) — written by Gabrielle Keng, Kathy Li and Christopher Doyle, directed by Christopher Doyle:
Bastille (XIIe arrondissement) — written and directed by Isabel Coixet:
Place des Victoires (IIe arrondissement) — written and directed by Nobuhiro Suwa:
Tour Eiffel (VIIe arrondissement) — written and directed by Sylvain Chomet:
Parc Monceau (XVIIe arrondissement) — written and directed by Alfonso Cuarón:
Quartier des Enfants Rouges (IIIe arrondissement) — written and directed by Olivier Assayas:
Place des fêtes (XIXe arrondissement) — written and directed by Oliver Schmitz:
Pigalle (IXe arrondissement) — written and directed by Richard LaGravenese:
Quartier de la Madeleine (VIIIe arrondissement) — written and directed by Vincenzo Natali:
Père-Lachaise (XXe arrondissement) — written and directed by Wes Craven:
Faubourg Saint-Denis (Xe arrondissement) — written and directed by Tom Tykwer:
Quartier Latin (VIe arrondissement) — written by Gena Rowlands, directed by Gérard Depardieu and Frédéric Auburtin:
14e arrondissement (XIVe arrondissement) — written and directed by Alexander Payne:
Paris, je t'aime has something for everyone – the stories are about immigrants in France, the many tourists, as well as the locals and the sights and sounds. Some of the short-films are charming such as Gurinder Chadha’s Quais De Seine, others emotional, for example Oliver Schmitz’s Place Des Fetes, Isabel Coixet’s Bastille and Walter Salles and Daniela Thomas contribution Loin Du 16E. Joel and Ethan Coen’s Tuileries is perfectly conceived as is Quartier Latin by Frederic Auburtin and Gerard Depardieu and Parc Monceau by Alfonso Cuaron.
Paris, je t'aime is an enjoyable experience for fans of French cinema, as well as fans of the many included actors and directors who contributed to the film. I’m sure everyone will have their favourite short film.
The film is presented in the original aspect ratio of 16x9 enhanced 1.78:1 widescreen.
Over a dual layer DVD, the film has been encoded at the average bit-rate of 6.49 Mbps.
Mild MPEG compression artefacts are visible – for example the skyline at 35:15 or at 40:39.
As the bit-rate drops to 3.25 Mbps during the opening scenes of the short film Pigalle, mosquito noise artefacts become evident and the picture quality becomes imposed with blotchy noise patterns. An example can be seen in this picture
Mild telecine wobble is visible on the opening credits.
Colours are vibrant, skin tone remains natural and the images remain sharp and focused. Black levels are average.
There were no issues with positive and negative film grain.
The title of each short film and the director are burnt onto the print of the film.
The optional English subtitles appear in a yellow Arial font and are a close translation of the French, Spanish, Arabic and Mandarin dialogue.
There are 18 chapter selections – allowing to the viewer to access the various short-films individually.
| Sharpness |  |
| Shadow Detail |  |
| Colour | |
| Grain/Pixelization | |
| Film-To-Video Artefacts | |
| Film Artefacts | |
| Overall | |
There are three audio options available – a DTS 5.1 soundtrack, a Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtrack and a Dolby Digital 2.0 soundtrack. Each soundtrack is very good in most respects.
There are a number of environments in the short films such as well occupied bars and busy restaurants, as well as the crowded Paris streets in the day and night, and the soundscape of each environment is replicated well.
The dialogue is clear and detailed without any distortion. There are no obvious audio synchronisation issues.
The dialogue is mostly emitted from the front of the soundstage with occasional sound effects and music emitted from the rear speakers. Overall the soundtracks are an encompassing experience with the subwoofer discreetly used.
The short films are all tied together with the song We're All in the Dance by Leslie Feist. The original music featured in the transitions is by Pierre Adenot and Marie Sabbah. Michael Andrews composed the original music for Quartier de la Madeleine. Reinhold Heil, Johnny Klimek and Tom Tykwer composed the music for Faubourg Saint-Denis.
| Dialogue | |
| Audio Sync | |
| Clicks/Pops/Dropouts | |
| Surround Channel Use | |
| Subwoofer | |
| Overall | |
DISC ONE (Dual Layer DVD):
The main menu features subtle animation of the many scenes of the film and is accompanied by a section of the score. The menu is well organised and allows the user to navigate through the content with ease. (1.78:1 widescreen and 16x9 enhanced)
The cast and crew speak about the different themes of the film and what Paris means to them. Brief behind the scenes footage of each short film is included with explanation by the cast and crew. There is no English subtitle stream included for the French language interviews. When English is spoken French burnt-in subtitles appear (Full Frame 1:33.1).
· Teaser: San Francisco (1:07) - The cast and crew all say Paris, je t'aime! An English subtitle stream appears when French is spoken or written.
· Teaser: France (1:05) - The cast and crew all say Paris, je t'aime! An English subtitle stream appears when French is spoken or written.
· French Trailer (1:16) – 10 Million Hearts – One City. An English subtitle stream appears when French is spoken or written.
· International Trailer (2:13) – The trailer focuses on the cast and crew and is a much more fast paced trailer then the French Trailer.
· Toyota – Partner of Paris, je t'aime – A look at the product placement of Toyota in the film.
· Making the Trailer (4:42) – The raw interviews which were edited into the Teaser trailers.
Following an anti-piracy trailer and a trailer for Lucky Miles the following trailers can be accessed individually:
DISC TWO (Dual Layer DVD):
The main menu features subtle animation of the many scenes of the film and is accompanied by a section of the score. The menu is well organised and allows the user to navigate through the content with ease. (1.78:1 widescreen and 16x9 enhanced)
A behind the scenes look at the making of each short film.
This featurette can be viewed as 18 separate segments or as one feature.
An optional English subtitle stream automatically appears when a featurette is selected.
Bruno Podalydès explains how he wanted to balance comedy and drama his short-film. This featurette is composed of raw production footage and an interview with the director and actress Florence Muller.
The featurette includes raw production footage of Gurinder Chadha directing her actors. Chadha also explains the issues of her short film in depth.
The featurette includes raw production footage of Gus Van Sant directing his actors. Cast and crew are interviewed and Van Sant’s directing style is explored.
Joel and Ethan Coen explain the genesis of their short film. We also see raw production footage and interviews with the cast and crew.
Walter Salles and Daniela Thomas and the cast and crew explore the themes in this atmospheric and minimalist short film.
Raw production footage of Christopher Doyle directing his actors. A brief interview with the director is included.
Isabel Coixet explains the catalyst for the themes in her short film. Cast and crew are also interviewed. The featurette includes behind the scenes footage.
Nobuhiro Suwa and his cast and crew explore the themes and visual style of his short film about coping with grief. The featurette includes behind the scenes footage.
Sylvain Chomet and his cast and crew explain the visual style of the film. The featurette includes behind the scenes footage.
We see Alfonso Cuarón plan and rehearse his short film which was filmed in a single shot. The featurette includes interviews with the cast and crew.
Olivier Assayas explains the themes in his short film. The featurette includes interviews with the cast and crew and behind the scenes footage.
Oliver Schmitz explains the choice of location and the universal themes of the film. We see the casting process and the crew planning the shots. The featurette includes interviews with the cast and crew.
Richard LaGravenese explains the location of his film and the paring of Bob Hopkins and Fanny Ardent. The featurette includes interviews with the cast and crew and behind the scenes footage.
Vincenzo Natali explains why he chose to make a vampire film. The featurette includes interviews with the cast and crew and behind the scenes footage.
Wes Craven explains why he chose to join the project. The featurette includes interviews with the cast and crew and behind the scenes footage.
Tom Tykwer explains his connection to Paris and the spontaneous nature of the film. The featurette includes interviews with the cast and crew and behind the scenes footage.
Frédéric Auburtin explains the themes of the film and the location. The featurette includes interviews with the cast and crew and behind the scenes footage.
Alexander Payne explains the documentary-like techniques which he incorporated into his short film. The featurette includes interviews with the cast and crew and behind the scenes footage.
Christopher Doyle and Rain Li explain the eclectic visual style of the film.
This content is exclusive to the Madman DVD. Filmed at the Cannes Film Festival 2006.
The interviews can be viewed separately or as one feature.
NOTE: To view non-R4 releases, your equipment needs to be multi-zone compatible and usually also NTSC compatible.
The extensive R4 release is the obvious winner as it includes exclusive interviews from At The Movies.
The recently released Limited Edition R1 2 DISC DVD set from First Look Pictures has the same technical specifications and extras as the R4 bar the At the Movies Interviews with David Stratton and teasers and trailers.
This title will be released in the UK in early 2008.
The transfer is relatively good despite minor incidents of compression.
The audio soundtracks have good channel separation.
The array of extras are extensive and worth a look for fans of the film.
However the featurette At the Heart of Paris does not include English subtitles.
| Video | |
| Audio | |
| Extras | |
| Plot | |
| Overall | |
| Review Equipment | |
| DVD | OPPO DV-980H, using HDMI output |
| Display | Panasonic PT-AE 700. Calibrated with THX Optimizer. This display device is 16x9 capable. This display device has a maximum native resolution of 1080p. |
| Audio Decoder | Built in to amplifier/receiver. Calibrated with THX Optimizer. |
| Amplification | Yamaha DSP-A595a - 5.1 DTS |
| Speakers | (Front) DB Dynamics Polaris AC688F loudspeakers,(Centre) DB Dynamics Polaris Mk3 Model CC030,(Rear) Polaris Mk3 Model SSD425,(Subwoofer) Jensen JPS12 |