The Work of Director Michel Gondry (2003) (V)

User Rating:

8.6/10   

Directors:

Michel Gondry
Lance Bangs

Release Date:

23 October 2003 (USA)

Genre:

Documentary | Comedy | Music

Plot:

A look at the work of director Michel Gondry, through his music videos, short films, and commercials. |

Cast

Michel Gondry	...	Himself (numerous segments)
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Akhenaton	...	Himself (segment "Je Danse Le Mia") (as IAM)
Patricia Arquette	...	(segment "Like a Rolling Stone")
Thomas Bangalter	...	Himself (segment "I've Been Twelve Forever")
Beck	...	Himself (segment "Deadweight" and "I've Been Twelve Forever")
Jean-Michel Bernard	...	Farfisa Organ salesman
Björk	...	Herself (numerous segments)
Jim Carrey	...	The Driver (segment "Pecan Pie") (archive footage)
The Chemical Brothers	...	Themselves (segment "I've Been Twelve Forever")
David Cross	...	The Turd (segment "One Day")
Guy-Manuel De Homem-Christo	...	Himself (segment "I've Been Twelve Forever")
Robert del Naja	...	Himself (segment "Protection") (as Massive Attack)
Foo Fighters	...	Themselves (segment "Everlong")
Miho Hatori	...	Herself (segments "Sugar Water" and "I've Been Twelve Forever") (as Cibo Matto)
Taylor Hawkins	...	Himself (segment "Everlong") (as Foo Fighters)
Yuka Honda	...	Herself (segments "Sugar Water" and "I've Been Twelve Forever") (as Cibo Matto)
Mick Jagger	...	Himself (segment "Like a Rolling Stone") (as Rolling Stones)
Stephanie Landwehr	...	Girl (segment "Let Forever Be")
Grant Marshall	...	Himself (segment "Protection") (as Massive Attack)
Massive Attack	...	Themselves (segment "Protection")
Nate Mendel	...	Himself (segment "Everlong") (as Foo Fighters)
Kylie Minogue	...	Herself (segments "Come Into My World" and "I've Been Twelve Forever")
Daft Punk	...	Themselves (segment "I've Been Twelve Forever")
Keith Richards	...	Himself (segment "Like a Rolling Stone") (as Rolling Stones)
The Rolling Stones	...	Themselves (segment "Like a Rolling Stone")
Tom Rowlands	...	Himself (segment "I've Been Twelve Forever") (as The Chemical Brothers)
Ed Simons	...	Himself (segment "I've Been Twelve Forever") (as The Chemical Brothers)
Pat Smear	...	Himself (segment "Everlong") (as Foo Fighters)
Tracey Thorn	...	Herself (segment "Protection") (as Massive Attack)
Mushroom Vowles	...	Himself (segment "Protection") (as Massive Attack)
Charlie Watts	...	Himself (segment "Like a Rolling Stone") (as Rolling Stones)
Jack White	...	Himself (segments "Dead Leaves & the Dirty Ground", "The Hardest Button to Button" and "I've Been Twelve Forever") (as The White Stripes)
Meg White	...	Herself (segments "Dead Leaves & the Dirty Ground", "The Hardest Button to Button" and "I've Been Twelve Forever") (as The White Stripes)
Ron Wood	...	Himself (segment "Like a Rolling Stone") (as Rolling Stones)

Runtime:

USA:30 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | French

Color:

Color | Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Germany:16 | UK:E

Company:

Palm Pictures

Trivia:

The White Stripes famous "Fell In Love With A Girl" lego video took over two months to complete. Every shot was done by hand, and changing a single block required much of the "sets" to be rebuilt.

Movie Connections:

Features I've Been Twelve Forever (2003) (V)

Soundtrack:

The Hardest Button to Button

Works of art

Part of the DVD series "The Work of Director ________", a trio of DVDs featuring the work of three groundbreaking video and short film directors, "The Work of Michel Gondry" is an extensive filmography of the director's work prior to his acclaimed feature film debut "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind". It was interesting to see these pieces after having seen that film because it is so clear that his innovative and (usually) whimsical vision were present long before that film was released.

Essentially "discovered" by musician Bjork and tapped to do the video for her film "Human Behaviour", Gondry went on to do several videos for her as well as for The White Stripes, The Chemical Brothers, Foo Fighters & The Rolling Stones, among others. All of the videos feature enormous amounts of color, are usually laden with fantasy elements (there are a lot of themes that involve time-shifting) and most either are ironic or dryly humorous. The total effect is completely intoxicating. I have always found Bjork's videos to be wonderful and unusual, but all of the videos in fair succession of one another are a heady experience. The amount of work that went into The White Stripes' "Fell in Love With a Girl" video, which features the band as Legos, with every shot done manually is mind-boggling. Even Kylie Minogue's "Come into my World" (I personally find her insipid at best) was extremely enjoyable because the video, essentially a mobius strip where Minogue is walking around a city block, was so sublime.

The collection also features some commercial work and short films that Gondry has produced during his professional career including a beautifully shot black and white film called "The Letter". Having now seen all three of the collections released by the Directors Label series (including Spike Jonze and Chris Cunningham) Gondry's work is the perfect addition to the series because he brings an element of bright imagination, and while all three directors are creative, his work is laced with a fancifulness that works as a thin patina, under which obvious intelligence lies. I considered "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind" to be the best film released in 2004, and Gondry's video work is a strong support for his talent and vision. I highly recommend it. 8/10 --Shelly