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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Genres:

Action | Adventure | Fantasy | Mystery

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

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

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:

€25,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

$4,607,170 (France), 18 April 2010, Wide Release

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$34,522,487, 6 May 2011

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

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

When Adèle arrives at Paris station, one can see "SNCF" on one of the train cars. SNCF was created in 1938 but the movie is set in 1911.

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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

Referenced in Special Collector's Edition: Titanic - 1ª Edición (2011)

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Soundtracks

La Valse des Faubourgs
Music by Désiré Berniaux
Lyrics by Ferdinand-Louis Bénech
Performed by Marcelly

User Reviews

Beautifully filmed fantasy in minutely reconstructed early 20th century Paris

"Les aventures extraordinaires d'Adèle Blanc-Sec" is a good film. It almost qualifies for very good, but there a few small details which are poorly executed and which bar it from reaching its full potential.

The film has three excellent elements: masterful pacing, perfect editing and a great leading actress. Louise Bourgoin carries the movie with no apparent effort; the character of Mlle. Adèle Blanc-Sec "comme le vin" (*) fits right in with the minutely reconstructed Paris near the beginning of the 20th century. The quick pacing and seamless editing convey the thrill of moving from panel to panel in a comics (**) book (and I suspect that this was the intended effect).

(*) "Blanc sec" is French for "dry white". She helpfully tells a police officer that her name is "Dry White, as the wine", adding that he probably knows very well how to spell that.

(**) (For Americans) Note that in France and Belgium (and in Italy, to some extent) comics ("B.D." for "bandes dessinées") are an art form bearing little resemblance with Marvel's productions.

To get the most from the film you should watch it in the original French -- if you understand French, of course (subtitles may help). Part of the zany humor derives from the untranslatable undertones and rhythm of the dialog and narration.

The small details which detract from the overall beauty of the film consists in a few brief scenes where the computer-generated special effects should have been better. Carelessness is the word -- the vast majority of scenes containing CGI are well executed.