Jacques Brel Is Alive and Well and Living in Paris (1975)

Three attendees at a puppet theater don various roles in order to sing a variety of songs by Jacques Brel, all while hippies and other eccentrics cavort about them.

Director:

Denis Héroux

Writers:

Eric Blau (screenplay), Eric Blau (play),

Stars:

Elly Stone, Mort Shuman, Joe Masiell

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Elly Stone	...	Lady With Shopping Bag
Mort Shuman	...	Taxi Driver
Joe Masiell	...	Marine
Jacques Brel	...	Himself
Annick Berger
Moni Yakim
Bernard Lafontaine
France Lombard
Sophie Héroux
Nico Sirakos
Jean Schianno
René Quivrin
Paule Tanneur
Martial
Jean Nény	...	(as Jean Meny)

Storyline

Jacques Brel Is Alive, etc. once toured American and European theatres. The show is comprised of 35 songs written by the famous travelling troubedor Jacques Brell (who also stars in the film version). The film centers on various aspects of life (love, marriage, death, war, etc.).

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Plot Keywords:

song | theater | puppet theater | puppet | stock footage | 

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Genres:

Drama | Music

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Certificate:

PG

Details

Country:

France Canada USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

27 January 1975 (Canada)

Also Known As:

O Jacques Brel, panta zontanos kai zei sto Parisi

Filming Locations:

Nice, Alpes-Maritimes, France

Box Office

Budget:

CAD 850,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

The American Film Theatre, Cinévidéo, The Ely Landau Organization Inc.

Technical Specs

Runtime:

98 min

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Did You Know?

Connections

Version of Jacques Brel Is Alive and Well and Living in Paris (1974)

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Soundtracks

"The Bulls (Les taureaux)"
Written by Jacques Brel, Gérard Jouannest and Jean Corti
Performed by Joe Masiell

User Reviews

An annoying film but interesting for the performers/performances

This film is of interest because it captures two of the original performers of the original version of the Off-Broadway revue, and because Jacques Brel appears in it. But wow, it couldn't be more 70s. The show is not improved by the faux-surrealism or the "hippie children" running around like escapees from "Pippin" or "Godspell". Elly Stone, who brought Jacques Brel's songs to the US, has an intensely irritating voice but is still compelling. Mort Shuman, another original cast member (I believe he also did some of the translations), is quite good. For some reason they dropped the second female role, and the second male role is played by Joe Masiell rather than the original Shawn Elliott, whom I would have been interested to see. Masiell has an excellent voice but his mannerisms are a little over the top.

The best part of the film is also the worst: Jacques Brel himself, singing one of his most famous songs, "Ne Me Quitte Pas". It starts out with a closeup of his eyes. The camera pulls back, and you see him simply sitting at a table, singing the song. He's stunning. You think to yourself, "What a great chance to see him at the height of his powers! How smart of them to let him just sit and sing!" And then the camera starts moving in, slowly but relentlessly, to just a closeup of his eyes ... and STAYS THERE for the rest of the song! What idiot directed THAT?? Truly a case of the sublime turning into the ridiculous.