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City Of Lost Children, The - Dubbed Version
1995
In THE CITY OF LOST CHILDREN, an imaginative fantasy from the creators of DELICATESSEN, a prematurely aging mad scientist named Krank (Daniel Emilfork) kidnaps children so he can steal their dreams. However, Krank runs into trouble when his henchmen grab Denree (Joseph Lucien), a little boy whose adopted brother, One (Ron .. Read more
| Starring | Ron Perlman, Daniel Emilfork, Judith Vittet, Dominique Pinon |
|---|---|
| Director | Jean-Pierre Jeunet, Marc Caro |
| Genres | Sci-Fi/Fantasy, World Cinema |
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City Of Lost Children, The - Dubbed Version
In THE CITY OF LOST CHILDREN, an imaginative fantasy from the creators of DELICATESSEN, a prematurely aging mad scientist named Krank (Daniel Emilfork) kidnaps children so he can steal their dreams. However, Krank runs into trouble when his henchmen grab Denree (Joseph Lucien), a little boy whose adopted brother, One (Ron Perlman), is a circus strongman. One desperately tries to find Denree and asks for help from Miette (Judith Vittet), a nine-year-old girl who heads up a gang of orphans. Together, One and Miette finally find Krank's castle, meeting along the way the lost identical brother--the original--of the three clones (each played by Dominique Pinon) who serve as Krank's assistants.
French directors Marc Caro and Jean-Pierre Jeunet once again prove their technical prowess with this dark fairy tale, which features outstanding performances from its youthful cast (most notably Vittet). As is the case with DELICATESSEN, however, their genius in constructing a highly artificial, beautiful, believable world threatens to overshadow the story. But even the fantastic sets cannot compare to the bizarre spectacles that Jeunet and Caro dream up. In one unforgettable scene, a pair of evil Siamese twin sisters prepare dinner, their four arms working perfectly in sync--one holding vegetables for another to chop while a third stirs the soup and a fourth scratches their collective itches. Frequent David Lynch collaborator Angelo Badalamenti creates the chilling, circusy musical score that adds to the film's magic.
| Starring | Ron Perlman, Daniel Emilfork, Judith Vittet, Dominique Pinon, Jean-Claude Dreyfus |
|---|---|
| Director | Jean-Pierre Jeunet, Marc Caro |
| Studio | OPTIMUM HOME ENTERTAINMENT |
| Run time | DVD: 1 hr 48 mins |
| Certificate | |
| Genres | Sci-Fi/Fantasy, World Cinema |
| Language | DVD: French |
| Dubbed | English |
| Released | DVD: 21 Jan 2006 Production year: 1995 |
| Format | DVD |
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Critics' reviews (6)
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Ron Perlman, still best known as Vincent in the TV series Beauty and the Beast stars in this sinister fantasy adventure from French directors Jean-Pierre Jeunet and Marc Caro, who, with their extraordinary Delicatessen, set new standards for dark fables. This surreal tale is an astonishing eye-opener from its nightmare opening to the climactic battle, as carnival strongman One (Perlman) leads the fight against the evil Krank (Daniel Emilfork), who steals children's dreams. For those who thought films could do nothing new, prepare to be surprised.
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"...A stunningly surreal fantasy, a fable of longing and danger, of heroic deeds and bravery, set in a brilliantly realized world of its own. It is one of the most audacious, original films of the year..."
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Most helpful member's review
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36 out of 47 people found this review helpful
A Truly Superb Example Of The Surreal
Now this is my kind of film! Twisted, freaky, surreal as a turkey dancing the bolero, and wonderfully macabre. The City of Lost Children really is a wonderful film. The City of Lost Children is one of those preciously rare films where for the first fifteen minutes, you?re sat there going ?What the hell?!?. But unlike those films, with The City of Lost Children, you?re sat there going ?What the hell?!? for the whole film. I do surreal, I really, really do? but this film takes it to another level! This film aint for the kinda person who finds the plot of A Nightmare on Elm Street taxing. That kind of person, in their tragically dull and ignorant way, would most definitely not understand and would simply say this film is ?rubbish?. I pity them.
The characters range from evil Siamese twin women to a brain in a jar to five inept clones who argue about who was the first to a nutter with a hypnotic accordion to a nymphet who makes Natalie Portman in Leon look normal to an evil midget woman devoted to a messed up old man who is dying because he can?t dream. With the main character being the big bad from Blade II as a mentally challenged Circus strongman who?s little brother is stolen by the messed up old man who is dying because he can?t dream. Care Bears the Movie, this aint.
The music is haunting, freaky, and downright spine tingling, especially that scary, scary accordion. Ugh! Sends shivers down my spine thinking about it. Now *that* is the testament of a good score for a movie.
Darkly directed, set in a fantastical world, with a genius casting supervisor coupled with Jean-Paul Gaultier as the costume designer: you have a very, very stylised and distinctive ?look? to this film. And that look is freaky.
Normally, I really hate dubbed foreign films. There is so much stuff out there that has lousy, 99% of the time unemployed, talentless ?actors? doing voiceover after voiceover that doesn?t fit the lip synch. However, this the one film where the dubbing ADDS to the film! Yes, I personally feel that it adds. Because the film is so wonderfully surreal, the dubbing serves to exaggerate and emphasise this! Whether it was meant to, I don?t know, but for me, for one time only: dubbing rocks!
So to wrap up, did I mention this film is freaky? This is a film for the intelligent, the slightly twisted, and the kinda person that likes their humour dark and their plotlines a little different. That?s me. If that?s you too, watch it; if it aint, you?ll hate this film and simply won?t get it. -
Most recent members' review
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1 out of 1 person found this review helpful
Lost on me
I have to be honest this film was completely lost on me. It was still watchable but I didn't think it was as brilliant as everyone else although I did love some of the characters which is why I still gave it 3 stars! !
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