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Reviews
La chance de ma vie (2010)
Rather predictable
Julien is a counselor for married couples. He is good at his job, and the only problem is that what he succeeds putting right for other people, he can't put right for himself. Then, the classical thing happens: in his practice, he meets the girl he fell in love with, and he spends the night with her. Only, since he means bad luck for every girl he meets, he is convinced that this relationship is going to be the same as all the others. So he gives up, because he knows he is to blame for her bad luck. Inevitably, the ending of the story is known beforehand. No need to put this in writing here. The only thing is, that the story doesn't contribute a lot to the classical pattern we all know through films we have seen time and again. It is not so much bad acting, the whole thing is utterly flimsy. As my teachers would say at school: you tried hard, you really wanted to make something good, but you failed halfway. So the score is 6 out of 10, for all the trouble you went through. Which is the rating of this movie.
Une robe d'été (1996)
Money lost
Every other review here has been written by non-French. So I make the difference, which makes sense as well. This short film is not the expression of what is going on in France or in French sexuality. Only some very small Parisian bi-sexual circles will recognize themselves, and yet even they will not like the film. Why? Because it is bloody badly acted! You, other reviewers, who do not speak French, may be charmed, but to my ears, it all sounds massively false. I guarantee you: no-one talks like that, no-one acts like that. So what is the thing about this film, and how on earth did Ozon manage to raise the funds to make it? Surely, because in the French film world, no single person would like to be considered as being "frustrated", so they all have to pretend that the subject is worthwhile financing. Well, it wasn't...
Cloclo (2012)
Only for hard-boiled nostalgic fans
Just saw the film, that came out today in France. For those who are nostalgic, it is probably a good enough reason to like this biopic. For those who are fans of Claude François, there is nothing that should make them sad or angry. All the ingredients are there: poor young lad becomes rich and famous through music, gets the money and the beautiful girls, and dies in a stupid accident, young enough (39) to not have to witness his decay, like with Johnny Hallday. However, for those who are not nostalgic of the seventies and who are no fans of Claude François: don't even consider satisfying your curiosity, because there is nothing to see.
GG at the GG (2006)
One of the two official videos
There is little footage of Gentle Giant concerts. After "Giant on the box", this is the only other official recording available. For the fans, it is an absolute must have. For having seen them in concert in Rotterdam, early 80s, this brings back some memories. It just shows that you can make very "clever" music, that sounds complicated yet melodic, and give a good show too! Though all the songs they play are ranging from good to very good, I clearly prefer the older ones, in particular from the album "OCtopus", that made me discover the group in 1975. Late night shows on Dutch radio were quite good at the time, and I will always be grateful that Ad Visser introduced me to these boys.
Giant on the Box (2004)
The only official Gentle Giant video DVD
Giant on the Box was Gentle Giant's first official DVD. It contains:
1974 concert from German TV station ZDF. Tracks include Cogs in Cogs, Proclamation, Funny Ways, The Runaway, Experience, Features from Octopus, Advent of Panurge, So Sincere. 50 minutes.
1975 US TV concert from the Terrace Theater, Long Beach, California. Tracks include Experience, Features from Octopus, Advent of Panurge, Funny Ways. 30 minutes
Szene '74: a short bit of rare footage from the 1974 tour, filmed by German television station BRW. It's an excerpt from "In a Glass House" but you might not recognize it at first (I didn't): a blistering guitar jam based on some of the material from the second part ("Master inner voices..."). Sounds almost like heavy metal. 3 minutes
Baroque & Roll: black & white footage and interview from Italian television. 22 minutes. (English translation)
Photo gallery from Gary's private collection. 36 photos
Plus original, instrumental music by Kerry is played over the DVD menus.