Piaf - Her Story, Her Songs (2003) Review

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(More customer reviews)Raquel Bitton is a French-American jazz singer who specializes in the French repertoire and has built a reputation as one of the foremost interpreters of the music of Edith Piaf. In 2000, she held a series of concerts across North America in tribute to France's most famous songbird. This DVD is a memento of one such concert, recorded in the Elgin theatre in Toronto, and interspersed with interviews with Piaf's contemporaries, collaborators, friends and relatives, filmed in various bistros and restaurants across France and ending with a memorial visit to Piaf's final resting place at Pere-Lachaise cemetery.
The concert itself includes some of Piaf's most famous songs as well as lesser known ones, preceeded with anecdotes from Piaf's life, from her childhood amidst grinding poverty, to the heights of her success, to her untimely death at age 47, loved and mourned by millions the world over.
Many of Piaf's best songs and especially her delivery of them have always had the unfailing ability to bring tears to the eye and Bitton succeeds in no lesser measure. It is not just her voice which bears a certain similarity to Piaf but her ability to project her very soul through the music that makes her interpretations such a success. It is a moving concert and a moving film as a whole.
The songs featured in the concert are:
1. La goualante du pauvre Jean
2. J'em fous pas mal (I shouldn't care) (Second verse in English)
3. T'es beau tu sais
4. La Noel de la rue
5. Mon Legionaire
6. Enfin le Printemps
7. L'accordeoniste
8. Le vieux piano
9. Bravo pour le clown
10. Milord
11. La foule (Que nadie sepa mi sufrire) (First verse in Spanish)
12. Sous le ciel de Paris
13. Autumn leaves (English version)
14. Mon Dieu
15. Hymne a l'amour (A hymn to love) (First verse in English)
16. Elle a dit
17. Non, je ne regrette rien
18. La vie en rose (English version only)
19. Les Avions sont des Oiseaux (Closing credits) (New song by Francis Lai & Michel Rivegauche)
The film does not include footage of Piaf herself except for one intriguing interview taken from French newsreels after she was suspected of murdering her manager and friend Louis Leplee. Instead it concentrates on what matters most, Piaf's music. Piaf's songs have the rare ability to capture the flavour of an era long gone while somehow remaining absolutely timeless. The songs are just as able to reduce an audience to tears today as they were more than half a century ago.
The film is presented in its original 1.78:1 anamorphic widescreen (enhanced for widescreen TV). Picture quality is good with sharp images, well rendered colors and deep blacks. Audio is in 2.0 Dolby Surround and Dolby Digital 5.1. The sound is lovely and flatters both voice and orchestral accompaniment. Optional English and Spanish subtitles are provided, including translations of the song lyrics. Strangely the original French lyrics are not included. There are no extras.

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Part documentary part stage performance this entertaining look at Frech chanteuse Edith Piaf tells her story through a terrific theatrical presentation by singer Raquel Bitton who literally becomes Piaf while singing but steps back and tells her story - in English - between the mostly French songs. Archival photos of Piaf illustrate her life of lucky breaks and tragedy. But some of the film's best moments are of Bitton and friends happily discussing Piaf over food and wine at a Paris bistro.System Requirements:Running Time:94 MinFormat: DVD MOVIE Genre:DOCUMENTARIES/MISC. Rating:NR UPC:031398194415 Manufacturer No:19442

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