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The Diving Bell and the Butterfly | |||||||||||||||||
 
| 80% Recommended by our customers. Studio: Buena Vista Home Video Catalog: DVD Release date: 2008-04-29 Media: DVD released in theatres: 2007-12-25 Running time in minutes: 112 DVD aspect ratio: 1.85:1 Audience Rating: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested) Format: Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, DVD-Video, Subtitled, Widescreen, NTSC DVD Region code: 1 released in theatres: 2007-12-25 Ean: 0786936750119 Upc: 786936750119  Tip: compare prices with similar DVDsDirector:
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 Written on June 3, 2008 Summary: The Diving Bell and the Butterfly Jean Do Bauby finds himself a parapheligic and gives a view of his life from his locked in syndrome. He finds all he has left are his memories and his imagination after once being the head editor of Elle magazine. It is sad and its inspiring and make you appreciate all you have in life. The film was great but the book better. Its a short read but well worth the time. Written on June 2, 2008 Summary: filmmaking at its purest ****1/2 Because film is a largely realistic medium, "impressionism" is a style rarely attempted by even the most adventurous of moviemakers. Indeed, Terrance Malick is one of the few directors working today who has found consistent success (artistic if not commercial) in that genre. Now we can add French filmmaker Julian Schnabel to the list for his truly remarkable work in "The Diving Bell and the Butterfly," a movie that defies easy categorization and is quite unlike anything we've encountered before. The story definitely falls into the "truth is stranger than fiction" category. Jean-Dominique Bauby was a 43-year-old writer and editor-in-chief of Elle Magazine when, in 1995, he suffered a massive stroke that left him completely paralyzed in all but his left eye. Confined to a bed and a wheelchair and unable to speak or move, all Bauby could do was look out on the world around him without any real hope of ever being able to communicate beyond a simple batting of the eyelid in response to a string of "yes or no" questions. However, thanks to the ingenuity of one of his therapists, Bauby eventually found a way - by painstakingly spelling out each word one letter at a time - to not only communicate fully with those around him but to actually dictate an entire best-selling book with the use of his one eye. For the first twenty minutes or so, we see the world only as Bauby does, from the severely limited viewpoint of his one good eye, as he wakes up from his coma and begins to slowly realize what has happened to him. As the story progresses, Schnabel gradually allows us to escape Bauby's bodily prison and to see the events from a more objective angle. From that point on, we split our time fairly evenly between these two perspectives. "The Diving Bell and the Butterfly" could have been a mere "gimmick film" were it not for the tremendously revelatory nature of Bauby's tale. Through voiceover narration, we are able to enter into Bauby`s mind to explore the many thoughts and moods that enlighten or plague him. At first, of course, Bauby is filled with a sense of hopelessness and despair, telling his therapist early on that the one thing he wishes for above all else is death. However, as time goes on, Bauby begins to realize that, while his body may be trapped in a physical prison (a diving bell), his mind is now free to soar as never before into the realm of fantasy, imagination and memory (the butterfly). Forced to remove himself from the petty concerns that so often overtake us in our daily lives, Bauby is now able to contemplate the things that REALLY matter in life, principally, what it means to be a partner to his girlfriend, a father to his children, and a son to his aged father. As such, the movie becomes a celebration of the ability of the human spirit to endure and flourish under even the most trying of circumstances. The impressionism comes as Schnabel follows the course of Bauby's dreams, visions, memories and imaginings as they come pouring out in virtual stream-of-consciousness fashion, always backed up by Bauby's lyrical contemplation on what they mean to him both as an individual and as a part of the collective human race. "The Diving Bell and the Butterfly" is a movie overflowing with imagination and surprise, as when, out of nowhere, Schnabel and screenwriter Ronald Harwood insert a lovely little homage to the opening scene in "The 400 Blows." Conversely, the scene in which Bauby has his right eye sewn shut against his unheeded wishes is quite literally harrowing. Indeed, the movie is often at its most poignant in scenes where Bauby is completely at the mercy of what other people think is best for him, as when an unthinking orderly turns off a soccer match just as Bauby is really getting into it or a well-meaning therapist takes Bauby, an avowed atheist, to visit a Catholic priest. It is at times like these that he is closest to having his identity as an individual subsumed by his illness and the people around him. Beyond the brilliant performances by Mathieu Amallic as Bauby, Max von Sydow as his 92-year-old father, and Emmanuelle Seigner as his longtime girlfriend, among others, special recognition must surely go to editor Juliette Welfling and cinematographer Janusz Kaminski (Spielberg's preferred cameraman) for the various miracles they have wrought in bringing this tightrope-walking tour-de-force to the screen. Heartbreaking but never sentimental, "The Diving Bell and the Butterfly" is that rare film that will haunt you for a long time after it's over and will make you look at life in a whole new way. Written on May 28, 2008 Summary: Finding Eloquence Against Foreboding Odds in a Mesmerizing, Resonant Film Imagine being left immobilized after a massive stroke, and having the ability to move only your left eye. Such was the case of 43-year-old French Elle magazine editor-in-chief Jean-Dominique Bauby in December 1995 when he awakened from a twenty-day coma to find himself mentally active but physically paralyzed. To think he would have the wherewithal to write a poignant and elegant memoir through the blink of his eye is astounding, but he did it and the publication date of his book was a mere two days before his death in 1997. It takes someone with painter/filmmaker Julian Schnabel's (Before Night Falls) visual flair to bring such a fragile but empowering story to cinematic life, and screenwriter Ronald Harwood (The Pianist) has done a compelling job translating Bauby's book into a highly charged story that complements Schnabel's bold filmmaking choices. The 2007 film begins with Bauby, known as Jean-Do to his friends, slipping in and out of consciousness, slowly realizing he has his faculties but cannot communicate with is doctors. The first half-hour shows only Bauby's viewpoint with his thoughts articulated through an interior monologue shared with the viewer. It's an intentionally constricted technique that Schnabel uses effectively to convey Bauby's helpless state. Four women play pivotal roles in his road toward at least partial recovery - speech therapist Henriette, who teaches him the blinking technique that enables him to communicate; physiotherapist Marie who demonstrates a series of tongue exercises that sets Bauby off on some hilariously profane thoughts; his estranged partner Céline who bore and raised his three children and is now willing to take on the role of caretaker; and finally Claude, the editor who has come to take dictation for the book Bauby promised to his publisher before his stroke. These encounters are intertwined with fantasy sequences and flashbacks where we see the fully functional Bauby. There are an excellent couple of scenes between Bauby and his curmudgeonly father that shows just how much son takes after father and how vibrant and flawed Bauby was before his paralysis. The acting is outstanding beginning with Mathieu Amalric (the informant Louis in Steven Spielberg's Munich) as Bauby. In a powerful, unsentimental performance that recalls the exalted levels achieved by Daniel Day-Lewis in My Left Foot and Javier Bardem in The Sea Inside, the French actor conveys the fertile brain at work and the vibrant man that has been forcibly left behind. Amalric also shows how human-sized his character is, a philanderer who still manages to engender the devotion of those closest to him. The actresses playing the women - Marie-Josée Croze, Olatz Lopez Garmendia (Schnabel's real-life wife), Emmanuelle Seigner, and Anne Consigny -are all strong if a bit interchangeable. The legendary Max Von Sydow steals his brief scenes as Bauby's homebound father. There is masterful work by Spielberg's longtime cinematographer Janusz Kamiñski (his latest work is Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull) seamlessly alternating between the reality and fantasy aspects of the narrative. It is a remarkable film that on the surface, appears to focus on the traumatic effects of sensory deprivation, but evolves into a triumph of an eloquent soul yearning to share life's often harsh lessons with the world. Four bonus features are included in the 2008 DVD. The first is a standard, thirteen-minute making-of featurette, "Submerged: The Making of The Diving Bell and the Butterfly" featuring the principal cast and crew as they share their thoughts on the production under Schnabel's direction. The second is the shorter "A Cinematic Vision", which describes what was done to convey Bauby's first-person point of view during the first part of the film. There is also a twenty-minute Charlie Rose interview with Schnabel from 2007, which turns out to be a lot more informative than the director's audio commentary on the film. Schnabel is disappointingly reticent with his observations, and it would have been good to have someone like Amalric or Harwood available to prompt greater insights. Regardless, it's a fine package for such an accomplished film. By the way, the diving bell of the title is refers to Bauby's horrendous physical limitations, and the butterfly represents his fertile imagination. Written on May 21, 2008 Summary: A reminder of life unlived... I love this movie! It was well casted and directed. I loved the way the director made the movie from the patient's perspective. My father also suffered a massive stroke. He is paralyzed on one side of his body. He sits on a wheelchair all day. His body may not have the movement, but his mind is more clear than all of us. When he tells a joke, he knows exactly what he is saying...only the words come out muffled and we don't understand what he is saying. We laugh because he expects us to. All his life, he hates to depend on people...and now, his very basic needs have to depend on people around him...especially my mother, his main caretaker. This movie did a wonderful job of portraying the frustration of the stroke victim. I walked away with more appreciation for simple things in life. Thank you, Jean-Dominique Bauby, for writing the book and thank you, Julian Schnabel, for making it come alive. I'll share this movie with my parents. Written on May 21, 2008 Summary: A medical dilema of Great Proportion Julian Schnabel has made an important film. His subject matter of "Locked In Syndrome" is accurate, and he uniquely emphasizes the profound reality of this very devistating neurological tragedy. He captures the empathy of the therapists and speech pathologists with uncanny realism, yet the independent nuances of the therapists do not distract one from the emotional experince of his film. Even the scenery is a beautiful contrast to the hospital setting in which much of the DVD takes place. In 'Le Scaphandre et le papillon' ('The Diving Bell and the Butterfly') he has portrayed the story of Jean-Dominique Bauby with a sensitivity that is endearing to the viewer, yet it remains emotionally overwhelming to the end. There is an old episode of "The Twilight Zone" by Rod Serling in which a similar situation arises with the same brain stem area involved only in that 1950's black and white episode it was due to brain trauma rather than a stroke. There are few portrayals of this condition, and as a neurologist, I am acutely aware of the very detailed medical research that must have gone into the production of this film. It is now on DVD and should be in ones collection. Dale B. Haufrect, M.D., M.A. Medical Director Med DataLink, LLC |
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| Our price | $18.99 | $13.49 | $13.49 | $19.99 | $14.99 | $19.99 |
| List price | $29.99 | $29.99 | $29.98 | $27.98 | $29.98 | $29.99 |
| Lowest used price | $9.94 | $3.99 | $5.13 | $2.99 | $3.99 | $3.95 |
| Lowest new price | $16.68 | $7.85 | $11.98 | $12.71 | $6.00 | $10.00 |
| Collectible price | $29.99 | $29.99 | $29.98 | $27.98 | $59.99 | $29.99 |
| Catalog | DVD | DVD | DVD | DVD | DVD | DVD |
| Release date | 2008-04-29 | 2008-04-08 | 2008-04-15 | 2008-04-22 | 2008-03-18 | 2008-03-25 |
| Media | DVD | DVD | DVD | DVD | DVD | DVD |
| released in theatres | 2007-12-25 | 2008-04-08 | 2207-12-14 | 2007 | 2007 | 2007 |
| Running time in minutes | 112 | 158 | 96 | 114 | 130 | 128 |
| DVD aspect ratio | 1.85:1 | 2.35:1 | 1.77:1 | 1.85:1 | 2.35:1 | 2.35:1 |
| Audience Rating | PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested) | R (Restricted) | PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested) | R (Restricted) | R (Restricted) | PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested) |
| Format | Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, DVD-Video, Subtitled, Widescreen, NTSC | AC-3, Color, Dolby, Dubbed, DVD-Video, Subtitled, Widescreen, NTSC | Color, Widescreen, NTSC | AC-3, Color, Dolby, Dubbed, DVD-Video, Subtitled, Widescreen, NTSC | AC-3, Color, Dolby, Dubbed, DVD-Video, Subtitled, Widescreen, NTSC | AC-3, Color, Dolby, Dubbed, DVD-Video, Subtitled, Widescreen, NTSC |
| DVD Region code | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Ean | 0786936750119 | 0097363479246 | 0024543506874 | 0024543506799 | 0025193328526 | 0097361179742 |
| Upc | 786936750119 | 097363479246 | 024543506874 | 024543506799 | 025193328526 | 097361179742 |
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