The Extraordinary Adventures of Adèle Blanc-Sec (2010)

An adventure set in the early part of the 20th century and focused on a popular novelist and her dealings with would-be suitors, the cops, monsters, and other distractions.

Director:

Luc Besson

Writers:

Luc Besson (screenplay), Jacques Tardi (comic books)

Stars:

Louise Bourgoin, Mathieu Amalric, Gilles Lellouche

2 wins & 1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Louise Bourgoin	...	Adèle Blanc-Sec
Mathieu Amalric	...	Dieuleveult
Gilles Lellouche	...	Inspecteur Albert Caponi
Jean-Paul Rouve	...	Justin de Saint-Hubert
Jacky Nercessian	...	Marie-Joseph Espérandieu
Philippe Nahon	...	Le professeur Ménard
Nicolas Giraud	...	Andrej Zborowski
Laure de Clermont-Tonnerre	...	Agathe Blanc-Sec (as Laure de Clermont)
Gérard Chaillou	...	Président Armand Fallières
Serge Bagdassarian	...	Ferdinand Choupard
Claire Pérot	...	Nini les Gambettes
François Chattot	...	Raymond Pointrenaud
Stanislas de la Tousche	...	Le chauffeur Pointrenaud
Youssef Hajdi	...	Aziz
Mohamed Aroussi	...	Traître égyptien

Storyline

Desperate to cure her near catatonic sister, intrepid authoress Adèle Blanc-Sec braves ancient Egyptian tombs and modern Egyptian lowlife to locate a mummified doctor and get him back to Paris. Her hope is that oddball Professor Espérandieu will then use his unusual powers to bring the doctor back to life so he, in turn, can use his centuries-old skills on the unfortunate sister. In Paris however Espérandieu is already causing mayhem, having brought to life what was a safe museum egg but is now a very active pterodactyl. Paris 1911 may not be the healthiest place to be.

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Plot Keywords:

pterodactyl | tomb | mummy | female explorer | belle epoque | 

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Taglines:

A Face of Beauty. A Mind for Adventure.

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Genres:

Action | Adventure | Family | Fantasy | Mystery

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG for some violence, language, brief sensuality and rude humor

Did You Know?

Trivia

In the original french narration. "Pourtant, au même instant, à 953m de la rue de Rivoli, la vie battait son plein." "Pendant ce temps, Ferdinand n'avait parcouru que les 280m qui séparent la Concorde...de la place des Pyramides."

However, the Moulin Rouge is approximately 2 km from Rue de Rivoli, and la Place des Pyramides is nearly 953 m from Place de la Concorde. Maybe, followings are the original texts.

"Pourtant, à exactement 1,857 mètres de la rue de Rivoli, la fête bat son plein. " "Ferdinand Choupard ne lui a permis de couvrir que les 953 mètres séparant la place de la Concorde de la place des Pyramides. "

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Goofs

The Titanic arrived in Cherbourg, France in the evening, not daytime. And she didn't dock so passengers couldn't have boarded by gangway; she anchored in the harbor and passengers boarded tenders which traveled to her.

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Quotes

Adèle Blanc-Sec: [repeated line]
Adèle Blanc-Sec: Into my arms!

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Crazy Credits

In the credits there is a little story about the great wildlife hunter after he shot the prehistoric pterodactyl.

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Alternate Versions

US version was cut by ca. 2 minutes to secure a PG rating. The scene where Adèle takes a bath was edited to remove nudity and smoking. In addition Professor Espérandieu's beheading and Adèle's accident at the tennis game were edited to remove frightening images.

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Connections

References The Messenger: The Story of Joan of Arc (1999)

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Soundtracks

Can Can No. 3
Written by Jacques Offenbach
Performed by The Cincinnati Pops Orchestra
Conducted by Erich Kunzel (as Eric Kunzel)

User Reviews

Tardi in the cinema

I am a Tardi fan. The comics by his hand are unique. I read the books in Dutch. The translator also changed the names of the characters from French to Dutch. In order to help the reader to understand the meaning. F.i. Adele Blanc-Sec is changed to Isabelle Avondrood. No problem. I still reread them. But now the movie. It is well made and entertaining. That one expect from Luc Besson. But there are some flaws, that the reader notices at once. Like another critic already wrote: the story is a mix of two of the novels and some Egyptian story lines. The actress playing Adele is kind of Rachel Weisz in the Mummy or one of Indiana Jones' sidekicks. That is a pity. Because the real Adele is sarcastic, a little bohemian and not really pretty. She dresses almost shabby. The storyline in the books show a France that is not so nice as the movie makes us believe. The policemen are incompetent, have no trouble beating up prisoners, lunatic scientists roam the street or hang out in the catacombs under the city. Homicidal maniacs want Adele dead, the Great War is not depicted as a heroic event, but one that left an nation with numerous deaths and invalids. That is the atmosphere in the books. And that is something I really miss in the movie. But, like I said already: it is good entertainment.

Details

Official Sites:

Official site [Japan]

Country:

France USA

Language:

French English Spanish

Release Date:

14 April 2010 (France)

Also Known As:

Adèle and the Secret of the Mummy

Filming Locations:

Cairo, Egypt

Box Office

Budget:

EUR31,340,000 (estimated)

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$34,604,339

Company Credits

Production Co:

EuropaCorp, Apipoulaï, TF1 Films Production

Technical Specs

Runtime:

107 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital DTS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1