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Movies / On DVD / A Very Long Engagement
A Very Long Engagement

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A Very Long Engagement (2004)

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Reviews Counted: 142

Fresh: 110

Rotten:32

Average Rating: 7.4/10

Consensus: A well-crafted and visually arresting drama with a touch of whimsy.

Rated: R [See Full Rating] for violence and sexuality

Runtime: 2 hrs 14 mins

Genre: Dramas

Theatrical Release: Nov 26, 2004 Limited

Box Office: $6,167,817

Synopsis: This World War I mystery finds limitless beauty in the nostalgia of loss. Directed by Jean-Pierre Jeunet, whose whimsical AMELIE riveted audiences, A VERY LONG ENGAGEMENT also stars Audrey Tautou--the 21st century's Audrey... This World War I mystery finds limitless beauty in the nostalgia of loss. Directed by Jean-Pierre Jeunet, whose whimsical AMELIE riveted audiences, A VERY LONG ENGAGEMENT also stars Audrey Tautou--the 21st century's Audrey Hepburn--in the stubbornly emotional role of a widow in denial. Here she is Mathilde, a waifish young woman with a pronounced limp from childhood polio. Living with her quirky aunt and uncle in a farmhouse by the sea, and waiting desperately for her fiance Manech (Gaspard Ulliel) to return from the war, she believes that if he were truly lost she would feel it in her heart. Thus, when the bad news arrives--Manech and five fellow soldiers were exiled to No Man's Land for shooting off their own fingers in hope of being discharged--Mathilde refuses to believe he is dead. Instead, she begins her own investigation into Manech's infantry, hiring a private detective and tracking down the wives and girlfriends of each of Manech's compatriots. Conducting countless interviews, Mathilde pieces together Manech's war stories--which are told in earthshaking flashbacks involving gruesome explosions, flying guts, and massive suffering. And yet, the all-in-this-together humanity of these awful scenes, and the heartfelt bravery with which Mathilde absorbs the details of each battle, is undeniably moving. Jodie Foster appears as Elodie, one of the widows, in a charismatic yet muted performance and with a flawless accent. However, the most intriguing of the widows is Tina Lombardi (Marion Cotillard), a thrilling dominatrix-assassin bent on avenging her lover. A timeless masterwork that raises the bar for breathtaking camerawork, vivid landscapes, and fantastical storytelling, A VERY LONG ENGAGEMENT is adapted from the novel by Sebastien Japriscot. [More]

Starring: Audrey Tautou, Gaspard Ulliel, Clovis Cornillac, Marion Cotillard

Starring: Audrey Tautou, Gaspard Ulliel, Clovis Cornillac, Marion Cotillard, Jean-Pierre Darroussin, Gérard Depardieu, Jean-Claude Dreyfus, Albert Dupontel, André Dussollier, Jodie Foster, Ticky Holgado, Tcheky Karyo, Denis Lavant, Dominique Pinon, Michel Vuillermoz

Director: Jean-Pierre Jeunet

Director: Jean-Pierre Jeunet
Screenwriter: Guillaume Laurant, Jean-Pierre Jeunet
Producer: Bill Gerber
Composer: Angelo Badalamenti
Studio: Warner Independent

[See More Credits]

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Release:

May 24, 2005

[DVD Details]
 
 

DVD Features:

  • 2-Disc Set - Double Keep Case
  • Widescreen - 2.40

Audio:

  • Stereo - French
  • Dolby Digital 5.1 - French
  • Subtitles - English - Closed Captioned
  • Subtitles - English, French, Spanish - Optional

Additional Release Material:

  • Alternate Scenes - Deleted Scenes (w/Optional Commentary)
  • Audio Commentaries
  • Behind the Scenes - 1. "The Zepplin Explosion"
  • 2. "The Making of A VERY LONG ENGAGEMENT"
  • Documentaries - "Paris in the 20's"
  • Trailers - Theatrical Trailer

Reviews for A Very Long Engagement

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1 - 20 (sorted by date)
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Full Review Source: Sacramento News & Review | comment Comment
08/07/08
Mark Halverson
Sacramento News & Review
Ratings Image

A stylist filmmaker, unfortunately, Jeunet applies his usual aestheticized approach (which worked for Amelie) to the wrong subject, neglecting in the process the human characters and trivializing this WWII melodrama.

Full Review Source: EmanuelLevy.Com | comment 1 Comment
07/30/07
Emanuel Levy
EmanuelLevy.Com
Ratings Image

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Full Review Source: Big Picture Big Sound | comment Comment
07/14/07
Joe Lozito
Big Picture Big Sound
N/R

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Full Review Source: Time Out | comment Comment
06/24/06
Time Out
Ratings Image

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Full Review Source: Empire Magazine | comment Comment
04/01/06
Empire Magazine
Ratings Image

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Full Review Source: Film Threat | comment Comment
12/06/05
Film Threat
Ratings Image

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Full Review Source: Film Threat | comment Comment
12/06/05
Film Threat
N/R

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Full Review Source: Onion AV Club | comment Comment
09/26/05
Onion AV Club
Ratings Image

It's a romantic epic, an intense and gripping look at WWI, and a nifty little mystery-quest all rolled into one.

Full Review Source: DVD Clinic | comment Comment
07/28/05
Scott Weinberg
DVD Clinic
Ratings Image

a successful genre combination of a war film, period romance, detective story and black comedy

Full Review Source: Draxblog Movie Reviews | comment Comment
07/21/05
Dragan Antulov
Draxblog Movie Reviews
Ratings Image

Jean-Pierre Jeunet represents that select group of filmmakers who treat special effects as their own art.

Full Review Source: Film Threat | comment Comment
07/16/05
Rory L. Aronsky
Film Threat
Ratings Image

A Very Long Engagement is every bit the fantasy, the fairy tale, that Amelie was, yet we are expected to take it seriously. I couldn't.

Full Review Source: DVDTown.com | comment Comment
07/11/05
John J. Puccio
DVDTown.com
Ratings Image

...light entertainment, but offers only a shallow insight into war.

Full Review Source: eFilmCritic.com | comment Comment
06/28/05
Uri Lessing
eFilmCritic.com
Ratings Image

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Full Review Source: Film Threat | comment Comment
05/21/05
Film Threat
N/R

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Full Review Source: BBC | comment Comment
04/20/05
BBC
Ratings Image

...equal parts whimsy and war horrors, a potentially combustible combination that succeeds largely due to Jeunet’s ability to turn absurd melodrama into something magical.

Full Review Source: Reel Times: Reflections on Cinema | comment Comment
04/13/05
Mark Pfeiffer
Reel Times: Reflections on Cinema
Ratings Image

As lovely to look at it as it is heart-wrenching, “A Very Long Engagement” is one of the best films of 2004.

Full Review Source: KWQC-TV (Iowa) | comment Comment
03/20/05
Linda Cook
KWQC-TV (Iowa)
Ratings Image

(...) Una película vistoza, llamativa, en muchos aspectos sorprendente, pero que no deja de sonar a figurita repetida, a cosa ya vista.

Full Review Source: Uruguay Total | comment Comment
03/17/05
Enrique Buchichio
Uruguay Total
Ratings Image

This is one of the finest films -- foreign or otherwise -- to come along in years.

Full Review Source: MovieWeb | comment Comment
03/08/05
Rick Kisonak
MovieWeb
Ratings Image

The look of the film is impeccable, with very realistic-looking war and street scenes.

Full Review Source: Laramie Movie Scope | comment Comment
02/23/05
Robert Roten
Laramie Movie Scope
1 - 20 (sorted by date)
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Latest News for A Very Long Engagement

September 22, 2005: Critical Consensus: A Beautiful "Bride," A Bumpy "Flight," And a Bouncy "Bounce"
This week at the movies brings a twisted tale of love from beyond the grave ("Tim Burton's Corpse Bride"), a paranoid thriller at 40,000 feet ("Flightplan")... More...

February 14, 2005: Bruno Delbonnel Takes Top Honors at 19th ASC Awards
Bruno Delbonnel, the director of photography for "A Very Long Engagement," took top honors at the 19th Annual American Society of Cinematographers awards this past... More...

January 04, 2005: DFW Film Critics choose Million Dollar Baby
The Dallas-Fort Worth Film Critics Association voted Clint Eastwood's character-driven drama "Million Dollar Baby" as the best film of 2004, according to the results... More...

November 30, 2004: A Very Long Engagement Ruled Not French
More...

See More Topics...

Related Forums for A Very Long Engagement

REEL_REVIEWER
A VERY LONG ENGAGEMENT gets a very slow release & a Golden Globe nomination too!
by: REEL_REVIEWER 8/25/05

REEL_REVIEWER
A VERY LONG ENGAGEMENT gets a very slow release & a Golden Globe nomination too!
by: REEL_REVIEWER 8/25/05

REEL_REVIEWER
A VERY LONG ENGAGEMENT gets a very slow release & a Golden Globe nomination too!
by: REEL_REVIEWER 8/25/05

REEL_REVIEWER
A VERY LONG ENGAGEMENT gets a very slow release & a Golden Globe nomination too!
by: REEL_REVIEWER 8/25/05

A Very Long Engagement wins 8 Fidelio Film Awards
by: Fidelio 2/27/05
See All

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