| 
| Director: Albert Lamorisse
Actors: Pascal Lamorisse, Georges Sellier, Vladimir Popov (ii), Paul Perey, Rene Marion
Studio: Homevision
List Price: $14.95
Buy Used: $2.57
You Save: $12.38 (83%)
New (8) Used (36) Collectible (3) from $2.57
Rating:  117 reviews
Sales Rank: 2603
Format: Color, Ntsc
Language: French (Original Language)
Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Media: VHS Tape
Number Of Items: 1
Running Time: 34 Minutes
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.3
Dimensions (in): 7.5 x 4.2 x 1.1
ISBN: 6303968651
UPC: 037429097038
EAN: 9786303968650
ASIN: 6303968651
Theatrical Release Date: March 11, 1957
Release Date: February 20, 1996
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Shipping: Expedited shipping available
Shipping: International shipping available
Condition: Average used video with original case * * We carefully inspected this * Great customer service * Satisfaction Guaranteed!
|
| Customer Reviews:
 An enchanting film for the child in each of us. February 21, 2008
G. Merritt (Boulder, CO)
17 out of 23 found this review helpful
After first seeing them as a child, I recently experienced a theatrical double feature of the beautifully restored prints of The Red Balloon and White Mane, finally available in DVD format. (The Criterion Collection released a laserdisc of the films in 1986.) French award-winning filmmaker, Albert Lamorisse is best known for The Red Balloon (Le Ballon rouge) (1956), which not only earned him the Palme d'Or Grand Prize at the Cannes Film Festival, but an Oscar that same year (the only dialogue-free film ever to win the award). His two children, Pascal and Sabine are featured in the film. With a running time of just thirty-four minutes, The Red Balloon follows the adventures of a young boy (Pascal), who discovers a sentient red balloon in the Menilmontant neighborhood of Paris. The balloon befriends Pascal and then follows him through the streets of Paris, drawing inquisitive looks from adults and envious looks from other children. The balloon upsets the authoritarian figures in Pascal's life, namely his teacher and mother. After the balloon is destroyed (or crucified like Jesus, as some critics have suggested) by a gang of neighborhood bullies, Pascal is transported above Paris by a cluster of balloons. This is an equally poignant and truly enchanting film that will captivate children of all ages.
G. Merritt
 Great Film - Terrible DVD March 3, 2003
Katherine Gross (Altadena, CA United States)
15 out of 18 found this review helpful
It's a shame that such a classic film has been RUINED by the people who produced this DVD - and I use the term "produced" lightly. It appears that "they" simply found the worst possible 16mm print of the film (probably from a school or library), digitized it and mass produced these discs for the film's nostalgic fans - willing to spend their money to own one of their favorite films in digital format. Alas, the result looks and sounds like you're watching a bad film in a classroom - terribly scratched images, pops, dust - I think I even saw a piece of Scotch tape go by. How is this even acceptable? In these days of remastering and the ability to make a film look at least decent without massive expense, it's an embarrassment to the film makers that their classic has been brought to the DVD market with such disdain. Was an original print unavailable? If so, couldn't a few dollars be spent to clean up the only print apparently in existence? The film doesn't even end - during the final moments, it suddenly cuts out - and segways into a very politcally-incorrect cartoon from the same era. This DVD is not worth what it is selling for on Amazon.com. Let's hope somebody with an eye for quality rescues this classic from the company currently producing this disc. And soon!
An excellent video with such meaning... October 30, 1999
14 out of 15 found this review helpful
I remember seeing this when I was little. I am a teacher, and my young four-year-old class saw this, and never had I see the children so interested in a video like this. They wanted to see it again when it was over!
your kids will never forgive you October 2, 2001
Orrin C. Judd (Hanover, NH USA)
14 out of 67 found this review helpful
... Nonetheless, for those of us who were born in the 60s, there's one factor, above all others, that forged our contempt : The Red Balloon. We are the lost generation that had to sit through this godawful flick in some stinking grade school auditorium every time that it rained and we weren't allowed out on the playground for recess. I don't recall, but I suppose the first time we saw it we may have even thought it was mildly cute. It's fairly harmless--a little kid is followed all around some miserable, bombed out, French city by a vibrantly colored red balloon that he finds tied to a lamppost. It eludes the grasp of others, but bobs and weaves all over the place so that the boy can tow it around. After disrupting school and church it is finally hunted down by a gang of nearly feral French schoolchildren who stone it to death. There follows the obligatory resurrection (the balloon having previously been immaculately conceived and crucified) as the boy is transported heavenwards by a host of balloons. Hard to believe then how grating these 34 minutes of celluloid become by the end of the first viewing, never mind on the umpteenth. We used to sit in the dark and pray that just this one time someone would burst the balloon in the first few minutes and save us from misery. To no avail...
Up, Up & Away ~ A Beautiful Tale Set In The "City Of Lights" April 30, 2008
Brian E. Erland (Brea, CA - USA)
14 out of 16 found this review helpful
Synopsis: Young French boy discovers a red balloon on the streets of Paris. When he discovers the balloon is too large to take on the bus he decides to walk to his destination. His new acquisition is soon noticed by a group of bullies who desire the balloon for themselves and a chase ensues. Will the boy get away with his balloon intact? What eventually happens is both bittersweet and unexpected. It's truly the stuff from which delightful day dreams are made.
Critique: For me, the charming little '56 French film `The Red Balloon' carries with it fond memories of grammar school. Whenever it was too rainy outside for recess the student body would be gathered into the cafeteria to watch a short film or a couple of cartoons. Without question the film most requested by the young audience was `The Red Balloon.'
It had been at least forty years since my last viewing of this childhood classic. I'm happy to say that it still possesses all the charm and childhood wonder as it had upon its initial release fifty years ago. Looking at the streets of Paris as they were in the mid-fifties is a delight all its own serving as a mini-time capsule of a more innocent, naive time in one of the most beautiful cities in the world.
`The Red Balloon' is waiting to enchant a whole new generation of viewers! This is definitely a film that belongs in every child's DVD collection.
|
|
|
