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UK Mall 1 - The Diving Bell And The Butterfly [2007]
![The Diving Bell And The Butterfly [2007]](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51N1cYwWruL._SL160_.jpg)
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List Price: £19.99
Our Price: £8.99
Your Save: £ ( % )
Availability: Usually dispatched within 24 hours
Manufacturer: Pathe Distribution
Starring: Mathieu Amalric, Lopez Garmendia, Emma De Caunes, Jean-Philippe Watkins, Nicolas Le Riche
Directed By: Julian Schnabel
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Average Customer Rating:  
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Audience Rating: Suitable for 12 years and over
Binding: DVD
EAN: 5060002835975
Format: PAL
Label: Pathe Distribution
Manufacturer: Pathe Distribution
Number Of Items: 1
Publisher: Pathe Distribution
Region Code: 2
Release Date: 2008-06-09
Running Time: 112
Studio: Pathe Distribution
Theatrical Release Date: 2007
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Spotlight customer reviews:
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Customer Rating: 
Summary: Clever and Original Film
Comment: "The Diving Bell and the Butterfly" is a gripping French film based on a true story about a renowned magazine editor,who after suffering a devastating stroke became paralysed,only able to communicate by blinking one of his eyes. The acting in the film is of a very high standard throughout as we watch the immobile Jean-Do face up to his life altering circumstances at first with despair but then with resignation and finally acceptance of his horrible fate. He is lucky in that he has the love of two women,his wife and mistress to keep him going , as well as his three children and several attentive speech therapists and helpers. Their support bolsters his spirits and enable him to "write" his memoirs and share his experiences of life as a victim of "locked in" syndrome with the world.The film is at times depressing and sad , but it is vital and original as well.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Not a patch on the book!
Comment: The book was extraordinary, both for how it was painstakingly written and the condition of JDB, but mostly because it was genuinely uplifting.
The film despite being beautifully shot and well played just can't compete, it keeps having to tell us things rather than show them and basically becomes a monologue. The imagery of the diving bell which worked to well in the book falls apart when it's shown on screen - it rendered too plodding and literal. Essentially it's un-filmable.
Disappointing, stick with the book despite being a brave effort.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Funny, moving and beautifully shot - the best film of 2007!
Comment: The book is so beautiful a piece of personal philosophy that I went to see the film with some trepidation, but if anything the film adds to the book by Bauby. The film is beautifully shot, funny and moving (but not in a sentimental way).
The director (who does not speak fluent French) chose to retain the original language of the book and this, I believe speaks volumes in a world of cinema where the digestability of a film by a mass audience is often classed as more important than retaining the soul of a piece of artistic cinema. The film was originally meant to be made by Pathe and star Jonny Depp - I think a tragedy was averted!
This film can be enjoyed (yes enjoyed - despite its theme it really isnt at all depressing) on so many levels - as a compelling human story, as an uplifting philosophy and as a work of art. You should not miss this film.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Touched by genius
Comment: Just when you started to feel that film had become little more than a merchandising exercise, along comes a release that reminds you what it can be. Reading The Diving Bell one could be forgiven for thinking it essentially unfilmable - so much is going on inside the head of the protagonist, there's little `action' not a great deal of dialogue, a slight plot... Yet, Schnabel's film is touched with genius and blessed with uniformly excellent performances, from the speech therapist down to the telephone engineers. Moreover, unlike other films dealing with disability, where the audience looks `at' the disability, here we look `from' - and there's a big difference. The decision to take the point of view from inside Bauby's head is inspired and completely transforms the relationship of the viewer to the subject. Technically and aesthetically it is a triumph - it's quite difficult to think how it could have been improved, even down to the soundtrack. Obviously, there's a depressing side to the tale of a man stricken by total paralysis(!), but the film stands as a testament to the remarkable resilience of the human spirit.
Customer Rating:
Summary: A must see film - a total gem
Comment: Can I just start by saying: this film is outstanding. It clearly benefits from the remarkableness of Jean-Dominique Bauby's book - the notion of a man with 'locked-in' syndrome being able to write such a poetic story about his experiences using only the blinking of his left-eye to signal the letters of the words is, in itself, awe-inspring. It would seem an almost impossible task to turn such a book into a film, but it has been done here with considerable skill.
The film adopts a highly phenomenological approach, using blurred shots, muffled sounds, metaphor clips, flashbacks, to tell the story in a perfectly-timed and engaging fashion. Some of the frames, to my mind are incredibly powerful in evoking all the senses - one that particularly sticks in my mind is the 15 second shot of his girlfriend's hair, shot from behind, flowing in the wind, full-frame, on the way down to Lourdes. Images like this keep reminding us of how little we appreciate until its lost.
This is an emotional film, it made me laugh and cry. The ensemble cast is outstanding, I don't think there was a dud line, a dud shot or a beat-missed in the whole film. I can't wait for this to come out on DVD and I shall now be rushing off to read the original text. When I finished watching "The Diving Bell and the Buttefly" I thought that it was the best film I'd seen since "The Lives of Others". The more I reflect on it, I think its actually better. Don't miss this gem!
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Editorial Reviews:
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Customer Rating:
Summary: Clever and Original Film
Comment: "The Diving Bell and the Butterfly" is a gripping French film based on a true story about a renowned magazine editor,who after suffering a devastating stroke became paralysed,only able to communicate by blinking one of his eyes. The acting in the film is of a very high standard throughout as we watch the immobile Jean-Do face up to his life altering circumstances at first with despair but then with resignation and finally acceptance of his horrible fate. He is lucky in that he has the love of two women,his wife and mistress to keep him going , as well as his three children and several attentive speech therapists and helpers. Their support bolsters his spirits and enable him to "write" his memoirs and share his experiences of life as a victim of "locked in" syndrome with the world.The film is at times depressing and sad , but it is vital and original as well.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Not a patch on the book!
Comment: The book was extraordinary, both for how it was painstakingly written and the condition of JDB, but mostly because it was genuinely uplifting.
The film despite being beautifully shot and well played just can't compete, it keeps having to tell us things rather than show them and basically becomes a monologue. The imagery of the diving bell which worked to well in the book falls apart when it's shown on screen - it rendered too plodding and literal. Essentially it's un-filmable.
Disappointing, stick with the book despite being a brave effort.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Funny, moving and beautifully shot - the best film of 2007!
Comment: The book is so beautiful a piece of personal philosophy that I went to see the film with some trepidation, but if anything the film adds to the book by Bauby. The film is beautifully shot, funny and moving (but not in a sentimental way).
The director (who does not speak fluent French) chose to retain the original language of the book and this, I believe speaks volumes in a world of cinema where the digestability of a film by a mass audience is often classed as more important than retaining the soul of a piece of artistic cinema. The film was originally meant to be made by Pathe and star Jonny Depp - I think a tragedy was averted!
This film can be enjoyed (yes enjoyed - despite its theme it really isnt at all depressing) on so many levels - as a compelling human story, as an uplifting philosophy and as a work of art. You should not miss this film.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Touched by genius
Comment: Just when you started to feel that film had become little more than a merchandising exercise, along comes a release that reminds you what it can be. Reading The Diving Bell one could be forgiven for thinking it essentially unfilmable - so much is going on inside the head of the protagonist, there's little `action' not a great deal of dialogue, a slight plot... Yet, Schnabel's film is touched with genius and blessed with uniformly excellent performances, from the speech therapist down to the telephone engineers. Moreover, unlike other films dealing with disability, where the audience looks `at' the disability, here we look `from' - and there's a big difference. The decision to take the point of view from inside Bauby's head is inspired and completely transforms the relationship of the viewer to the subject. Technically and aesthetically it is a triumph - it's quite difficult to think how it could have been improved, even down to the soundtrack. Obviously, there's a depressing side to the tale of a man stricken by total paralysis(!), but the film stands as a testament to the remarkable resilience of the human spirit.
Customer Rating:
Summary: A must see film - a total gem
Comment: Can I just start by saying: this film is outstanding. It clearly benefits from the remarkableness of Jean-Dominique Bauby's book - the notion of a man with 'locked-in' syndrome being able to write such a poetic story about his experiences using only the blinking of his left-eye to signal the letters of the words is, in itself, awe-inspring. It would seem an almost impossible task to turn such a book into a film, but it has been done here with considerable skill.
The film adopts a highly phenomenological approach, using blurred shots, muffled sounds, metaphor clips, flashbacks, to tell the story in a perfectly-timed and engaging fashion. Some of the frames, to my mind are incredibly powerful in evoking all the senses - one that particularly sticks in my mind is the 15 second shot of his girlfriend's hair, shot from behind, flowing in the wind, full-frame, on the way down to Lourdes. Images like this keep reminding us of how little we appreciate until its lost.
This is an emotional film, it made me laugh and cry. The ensemble cast is outstanding, I don't think there was a dud line, a dud shot or a beat-missed in the whole film. I can't wait for this to come out on DVD and I shall now be rushing off to read the original text. When I finished watching "The Diving Bell and the Buttefly" I thought that it was the best film I'd seen since "The Lives of Others". The more I reflect on it, I think its actually better. Don't miss this gem!
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