Search - Françoise Hardy :: Le Temps Des Souvenirs

Only great at times, and FAR too short.

Shlomo Sinatra | Alaska | 01/13/2008

(3 out of 5 stars)

"Well, I hate saying anything other than how great Francoise is, but I must say, I've become a fan only quite recently, thanks to the videos on YouTube first, then purchasing the Magnificent double-disc set "The Vogue Years"

Immediately I wanted to see if this goddess had a DVD available; and this is her sole one (not counting acting appearances in movies).

It opens with an interview, which at 6 mins. 51 secs., is, for anyone who Doesn't speak French, without any subtitles, a bit frustrating. Still, what did I expect, subtitles? Actually, maybe I did. I'm not quite sure.



The remaining videos on the first part of the disc (this is divided up in an odd way; the 'main' part ('film') features Francoise in her '60s heyday, young and gloriously beautiful. The second part ('clips') is her now--well, from '93 to 2000.



The first part, young Francoise, features 9 clips totalling only 22 and a half minutes! one clip, the great Comment te dire adieu, cuts off at exactly one minute into it! Inexplicable. I have seen much better videos of her in her heyday, such as a different one for Mon Amie la rose; the highlights for me on the first part, well, there's a duet with Jaques Dutronc, very playful and silly (of course, what they're singing i have NO idea), a good bit of fun.

Ma jaeunesse fout l'camp and Meme sous la pluie are my other favorites from the extremely short 'film' part. (Exactly HOW the early clips constitue a 'film', but the second part of clips are called just that, 'clips', is beyond me).

The 'clips' section starts out Very promising; the song Mode d'emploi, from '96, has a modern pop-rock sound, really fantastic, with Francoise's singing truly wondrous; of course, her voice IS; but here it really had me feeling, "she stayed great all through the years? Fantastic!"

And, while maybe she did, it's all downhill from there on this disc; while Un peu d'eau is an interesting video, its also disturbing: Francoise singing to a younger man who's lying in the street, a victim of a car accident of sorts?

Strange.

And the first of three duets, Celui que tu veux, with Ol (??) is really boring. Only a brief moment with a bunch of women on violins (which appears to be a combination of Francoise, and some young beauty, done with computer enhancement, appearing all over the screen, multiple vision) is mildy interesting.

The other two are incredibly dull; the last number on here, with Jaques Dutronc, is by far the worst number on here.

Francoise fanatics will want this no matter what, but i must caution any other young men who are discovering her in her '60s heyday and wanting video footage of that time, you are paying for only under 30 minutes of such footage when you buy this, and that's including near seven minutes of an interview that, without subtitles, may numb your mind, no matter how pretty she was.

Also, there are TONS of great, no, utterly FANTASTIC clips that are not on here. A real disappointment. A shame.

Hopefully one day, there will be a more inclusive DVD available with all her wonderful clips, such as Je veux qu'll revienne, and Ce petit coeur, not to mention her masterpiece, Je Changrais d'avis.

But they are not here. nor the vastly superior one for mon amie la rose.

It's your money; it's your choice; I am glad to have something of her in video form on DVD, and to have discovered that she still could do great stuff later on, such as the afformentioned Mode d'emploi.

But this is too little, and price-wise, too MUCH!"

Great.. The quintessential chantreuse

Gillian E. Mobey | Atlanta USA | 03/05/2008

(4 out of 5 stars)

"I read the previous review and I am not sure what the author was expecting. This DVD is fabulous. It starts off with an interview in French (she IS french afterall). There are early 60's videos of Tout les garcons.. , Mon amie la rose and others, as well as some of her more recent stuff from the last 15 years. All in all, it is well put together and does a pretty good job of covering the last 45 years of Francoise Hardy's career. It does leave you wanting to see more. I hope there are some follow ups to this DVD.

It is not intended as an ogle-fest for young guys, but as a DVD that represents Francoise Hardy. I have known and heard her music for the last 45 years, and this DVD is a gem. Add it to your library.

EMI.. we want more, please.

"