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I cannot agree more with the 2 already existing reviews, this documentary had everything to become a classic, one to use to educate the future generations :

• a fascinating period of history
• a lot of research into facts & quotes
• unbelievable recoloured archives of extreme quality and powerful images we've never seen before

Why they thought it necessary to go back and forth in time is beyond me !

I still give it a 7 because I was fascinated by the images and the facts, but with a simple chronological narration, that would have been a straight 10.

First things first : Jacques Brel (aka le grand Jacques) is the greatest out there, and seeing him in concert at the theater is an extraordinary experience for someone who hasn't had the chance to live at the right time to do it for real.

So all in all, my night in the cinema watching this was very emotional and I'm extremely happy to have been there for this re-edit.

However the work behind this movie is, at best, mediocre. Almost no post-prod, just one line comments in WordPad fonts such as "3 years later..." linking the two concerts shown. Even though some parts are edited or cut, they are definitely not the right ones, since there are no less than FIVE songs coming up twice in this 90mn film !!! Fortunately, Jacques never had the same stageshow, but still, it's not like we didn't have enough fantastic footage from him to be able to compensate with other songs ? There's not even "Ne me quitte pas" which is arguably his most famous song and makes up the movie's title !!

If you love Jacques, you'll still have a great time. If you're an alien and have never seen him, watch all you can find on YouTube. But this "work" 40 years after his death doesn't deserve praise...

I discovered recently the "Grand Détournement" series: small scenes of movies, assembled in an absurdly hilarious patchwork and dubbed by French actors.

Being quite fond of absurd humor (I especially love seeing serious movie stars say something completely out of bounds with what was said in the original movie...), I knew I was a potential target for these shows...

However, having now seen all 3 of them (I think there were only 3), I must say that "La classe américaine" is not my favorite and this by a long way! Had I discovered it first, I would surely have rated it much higher, it sure does have its funny moments, but it is a bit too long for what it gives us... Since there is clearly no plot, you keep expecting jokes for 80 minutes and it does not always succeed to keep your attention alive...

I feel compelled to tell you to watch "ça détourne" aka "Le triomphe de Bali-Balo ou la splendeur de la honte" instead... It lasts only 45 minutes, but of pure condensed fun without a single time-out. Seeing Steve Mc Queen as a "serial joker" is quite unique and leaves "La classe américaine" a bit behind. The third one "Derrick vs Superman" is the poorest of the series, fortunately, it lasts only 15 minutes and has a few good moments...

I have just seen this movie for the first time, and it was the ReduX version. I really enjoyed it at the beginning, but then it dragged on for too long and that finally numbed me to the point of not liking the second part of the movie... Thus it is difficult for me to rate this movie because reading what was added to the first version, I must say that without these 50 supplementary minutes, it must really be a stunning experience... I would have given it a 6 for the ReduX version (interesting but far too long with the boring scenes that were added: Bunnies girls, plantation...) and the original version would probably have gotten an 8 or a 9... I rate it 7 then...

This is a movie that is absolutely superb (surroundings, clothes...) and that it is all... It is a ridiculous supposedly true story (apparently denied since), so enhanced that no one can believe the smaller part of truth exists...

SPOILER AHEAD !!!!!!!!!!

And what about this fantastic horse which is almost dead twice but rises and runs faster than the best (and unwounded) arab steed???

END OF SPOILER

Truly a bad movie, and holding the arabs in very low regards... fortunately the cowboy was there to help them...

Let's face it, Hollywood must be in total lack of inspiration... To take a fantastic original movie like "Les visiteurs" (which was close to perfection) and put it back in New York with new actors (not better, C. Applegate is nowhere near V. Lemercier), add a car chase, some ridiculous lines (You are in America! You can be free! Say: "I am a free man!"), and some ridiculous emotional sequences is just not the way to do it...

The original gags still make you laugh but they are drowned on the whole in this just average movie... Sad...

What's more, even if Christian Clavier and Jean Réno try to do their best in Shakespeare's tongue, they are no way near their original performance... 4/10 while the original deserved a 9...

Fortunately the woman are hot, really hot!!! Because apart from that, oh my God... How corny it is!!!! Don't expect a plot, man, this is PORN, so what it really wrong here?? The dresses and haircuts are just plain "n'importe quoi" (I don't know how to translate that ,I hope you guys know a bit of French...), the haircuts are strange piles on top of the actresses heads, the dresses are plain ridiculous and not at all exciting... and what can we say about the fact that the men have pigs voice (with the grunting and everything!!!) , to make them look more beastly...; Really ridiculous, corny but not in the good sense.... Bad, bad really bad.... a shame because between Jenna and this Asian girl, it was impossible to do a worst movie....

I really wasn't ready to enjoy "Vidocq" having heard a friend of mine telling me he felt like throwing up in the middle of the movie, due to the peculiar camera angles and motion. But having some time to lose while waking up in front of TV, why not take a look?

And I was really taken in that old-Paris atmosphere, which I found strangely bewitching... I did not find the special FX better than in other big budget movies, but "different", finally something original, kind of an nightmarish, apocalyptic surrounding... The storyline had some nice parts to it, but we could have had more. Depardieu was pretty good, Dussollier as well, as opposed to a dreadful Guillaume Canet...

Overall, an interesting movie, with pluses and minuses, I was glad to see it but I won't buy the DVD.... 6/10

Movies just don't get better than this. Sure this is slow paced but that comes with the scenery and the story (rural France), you don't expect anything else when you know what the movie is about: Great storytelling, and fantastic acting (Depardieu and Montand are just outstanding...)

If this movie cannot move you, then you should stick to action flicks because I have never seen more touching!! A definite 10/10

Some would try to pass this off as a good movie/documentary about the Iraqi war... It is actually trying to pass off as established facts testimonies that were already denounced at that time as being false such as the girl Naira testifying as to what she saw, when she in reality had never set foot in Kuwait. But who cares?? As long as very few people hear the denial, the propaganda has worked...

If you watch this, stay alert and just watch it like you would watch "Broken Arrow"... fiction... or else you will end manipulated by the spin doctors who do their job perfectly well...

Having heard good comments throughout my family, I was very eager to enjoy this documentary... No stunts? That's fine with me... No plot? Of course, this is a documentary, but the problem is... at the end, there was nothing left.... so little is going on, that this classroom is boring and apart from one or 2 smiles the cute children will bring to you, you don't care a cracked iron copper about what happens... Mr. Lopez claiming a lot of money after the success of the movie (even though he had no legal claim to it) did surprise me a bit... maybe the kids will ask for some when they grow up too... Very disappointing 4/10...

Not much more to say, watch this movie that is a lot more subtle than you could imagine (not just the ordinary farce), and if you want to be accepted easily in France, learn 2 or 3 of the punchlines, you can be sure you'll make friends!!! Everyone knows them here!!!!

I really found it funny how Mariah tried to give us a "little shy girl" impression of herself, being manipulated and afraid to show herself as sexy... COME ON!!!!! In reality, she is so arrogant, always showing herself on a couch, being a real slut in all of her videos... You can call it propaganda... Apart from that not much to say about this movie, it does SUCK but not as little as a 1... maybe a 2... She can't act but that was a given... the one good thing was .....

************SPOILERS*********** The guy who dies at the end!!! That was the one part we had not predicted right... *******************************

All in all quite a bad movie but I've seen worse (Big Momma's house, Crossroads or Gone in 60 seconds...) 2/10

OK, Toy Story is nice and yes, it is visually quite good but hello, how can this be rated as one of the greatest movies in history??? It is just entertaining at times... maybe it is better for kids... Monsters Inc. is a lot better, and if you want to see a cartoon that says something rent "Hotaru No Haka" aka "The grave of the fireflies" is Soooooooo much better....

Once you have witnessed the scene where Pamela (as a hooker??? how cheesy is that... at least the director knows why we are watching this crap...) gets the job done, you have no more reason to keep watching this atrocity... I put a 3/10 but for a girl or anyone who thinks Pam is ugly, this movie is not even worth that...

Absolutely hilarious, a must see for those who liked "c'est arrive près de chez vous" (Man bites dog), even though I still rank it a tone under, Bernie is a very funny, dark and absurd movie just like Albert Dupontel always makes..... Do not rent it if you are easily shocked, because the jokes tend to go quite far...

Yes, it is completely depressing and not only for the weak of hearts, and the elderly, this is really one of those movies that make you think about yourself, and about the real sense of happiness.... I can't really say that you'll feel better after having seen it, and you won't be like "Wow, I'd like to see it again" but for a movie to move and shake you that much, I think it's job is done...

NB: It was only prohibited under 12 in France.... wow, I'd never let my kids watch this under 16, it even made ME sick at times....

I just watched the 137 minutes version and frankly it was far too long, and I got bored... the 90 minutes is probably a treat. This was my first impression of a silent movie, and not one I'll forget soon, even if I'm not going to watch silent movies everyday now. Nonetheless, even if the pace was too slow (I'm not an action junkie but still....), I couldn't help being awestruck by Fritz Lang's work and imagination, the plot is quite good, the visuals must have been stunning at the time the movie came out (I didn't imagine seeing special FX in 1925!!!)... Artistic value: 4/4 Entertainment value (for the 137min version): 2/6

I'm far from being an action junkie but, to see a movie where nothing happens, and which does not make you particularly think (unlike Clockwork Orange, or 2001: Space Odyssey) is too much for me... I'm trying to see the maximum number of films from this Top250 and mostly am enjoying it but, this.... Waoow..... this was terribly boring.... no plot, not much to think about, too long (2h11 for ... nothing...) Geez, stay away from this, except if you firmly believe that someday the aliens will come for U... 2/10

Just plain hilarious... Even though the last 15 minutes are a bit less comical (you have to find an ending to these comedies... it's very often the less fun part), you need to see this movie... The actors are good and a lot of jokes made me go wild... even though I am unsure of their worth if they are to be translated... For all who speak French it's a must!! 9/10

I really wasn't expecting much (I'm not a car maniac... and I'm not an action movie fan either) but being stuck in the plane with this movie showing, I decided I had nothing better to do..... SO WRONG!!!! Staying in the bathroom or picking my nose for 2 hours would have been a lot more enjoyable!!!

The plot is laughable, the actors soooooooooo bad (even Giovanni Ribisi is awful... I usually find him great) and the ending?? Well don't expect a valid one... The only good thing was Angelina Jolie (and not for her acting skills...) but if you love cars then you'll probably like that as well..

1/10 (because there is nothing lower...)

I usually watch IMDb's ratings before deciding to see a movie or not... but that well may change in the future.... "Body Shots" has got 4.9 ??? I would never ever have tried to see it!! !but fortunately I didn't know that before the screening and frankly I loved this movie, it talks about sex and the way you feel about it... the actors are good, I liked the "plot", one of the guys is real fun, and I loved the ending... (even though my best friend hated it...)

Probably one of those movies that you either love or hate but do see it!! TO me, more than worth a rental!!!

Yes this movie is a bunch of crap... it destroys the Rocky myth (he is now incapable of boxing), it contains so many cliches and the plot can be read really far ahead that it is light-years behind the 2 first Rocky films... III and IV even being quite poor at least were quite entertaining... But I'm such a Rocky fan that I still enjoyed seeing a new fight scene with this "body-blows sequence" that occurs in every movie...

I gave it a 4.... but for someone who hasn't seen the other movies pass your way, this is not even worth that...

Having seen the original "Les Diaboliques"(1955) which is a masterpiece, I was just not in the mood for watching a second (third?)-rate remake... The acting is terrible and the plot completely destroyed near the ending... I know a lot of people don't like Black-and-white movies (what's more French movies) but frankly the original is a gem and this is crap... If you haven't seen the original this could earn a 4 but for me no more than 2....

I just cannot understand how such a movie can "only "have a weighted average of 6.9 ??? Seen over and over and over with so many different people, I never could find a single person not laughing the whole way through!!! The usual "Different characters" are this time represented by Depardieu and Pierre Richard, both absolutely wonderful!! A must see... If you loved this watch "Les Compères" and "Les fugitifs" with the same Richard/Depardieu tandem even though they are a tone under "La chèvre"...