SYNOPSICS
Piaf: Her Story, Her Songs (2003) is a English,French movie. George Elder,Bernard Salzmann has directed this movie. Raquel Bitton,Marcel Cerdan Jr.,Francis Lai,Michel Rivgauche are the starring of this movie. It was released in 2003. Piaf: Her Story, Her Songs (2003) is considered one of the best Documentary,Music movie in India and around the world.
French jazz singer Raquel Bitton is internationally praised as the greatest interpreter of music from the Edith Piaf repertoire. Bitton's critically acclaimed hit show, Piaf: Her Story...Her Songs, celebrates Piaf's extraordinary life through stories and songs that reflect the major episodes in her life from singing in the streets of Paris as a child to becoming the highest paid singer in the world at that time. Bitton's heartfelt renditions (sung in French) and her powerful delivery takes her audience on an intensely moving and emotional journey. Woven into the live concert is a luncheon where noted composers, authors, friends and family of Edith Piaf came together at a small bistro at the foot of Pere la Chaise, the cemetery where she is buried, to share intimate personal stories offering a rare look into the true life and persona of Edith Piaf. As the wine poured, the stories flowed. The film includes a new original song by two of Piaf's favorite composers, Francis Lai and Michel ...
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Piaf: Her Story, Her Songs (2003) Reviews
A History Lesson and more
What an excellent film this is. What you get is a filmed version of the popular stage show that was written and performed by Raquel Bitton, one of the greatest interpreters of music from the Piaf repertoire, in which she is performing the songs of Piaf. As well as the music you also get shots of Ms Bitton in Paris chatting with close friends of Ms Piaf. Though these scenes are in French with sub-titles, you get the feeling you are listening in on these secrets. The best of these scenes is the large group of friends (Ms Bitton managed to get together) that are sitting around a large table sharing their memories of Piaf. This is totally recommended for anyone who loves that kind of music and would like to know a little more.
Superb and fantastic Piaf Her story her songs
PIAF: HER STORY, HER SONGS Tears flowed down my eyes through at least half of Piaf: Her Story, Her Songs, a documentary about the famous French chanteuse. Not that it is a particularly sad film. It's just that Edith Piaf's life, expressed mostly in her songs, is full of the passion that stirs all kinds of emotions. French singer Raquel Bitton feels an equal passion for Piaf. Bitton's show of the same name as the film was critically acclaimed internationally. More than just singing Piaf's songs, though she emulates her style and voice, Bitton becomes a storyteller, weaving that inseparable tapestry of Piaf's songs with her life. Bitton casts a moving figure in her little black dress and short hair. "Piaf..Her story..Her songs" is an astonishing triumph. Bitton's voice is powerful and emotional. The presentation is exquisite. BITTON is superb in sight and song. I could listen to her combined English/French renditions for hours, not minutes. Her intensity and authenticity are utterly overwhelming. She loves to sing, she loves the songs she has selected and loves the crowd that shares her delight in the songs she does so brilliantly. One wishes along the way to come up for air, to shout and clap and whistle in tribute to the glorious music and to the captivating BITTON." And to see on film those people that had known Piaf,been her lovers,composers,friends talk about her over food and wine was a tour de force. This is truly one of a kind film,never to be duplicated,it beats having an actress portray Piaf and lip-synch to her original recordings. Raquel Bitton is quite extraordinary,she channels Piaf vocally and spiritually like no one will ever achieve.
Piaf her story her songs reviews
"PIAF..Her story..Her songs" Bitton sings material that she does better than anyone else in our midst - the songs associated with Edith Piaf. Piaf and Billie Holiday shared a poignancy in their delivery that few others have mastered; Bitton, here, is one. Phil Elwood. San Francisco Examiner/Chronicle On the subject of Piaf. You are no doubt over qualified from your clips and the sound of your CD (The Golden album). Your CD is terrific and I will be glad to say so." Liz Smith New York Newsday "Passion is at the core of the "Piaf" Persona, in this case there is a surrogate, she is RAQUEL BITTON." Anna Kisselgoff. New York Times "PIAF..Her story..Her songs" "The great French jazz singer Raquel Bitton has fashioned interpretations of Piaf's songbook that are the best thing since, well, Piaf herself sang them." Janice Page Boston Globe "PIAF..Her story..Her songs" Bitton's homage to Edith Piaf PIAF..Her story..Her songs". Raquel Bitton created a lovely homage to Edith Piaf . Piaf's songs were sung with high artistry and knowledgeable flair. "Bitton, for all her dignity and elegance is an excellent, refined singer .The jaunty ''Milord'' came across like a jubilant burst of street-wise confidence. ''Mon Dieu,'' the song Piaf sang for her boxing champ boyfriend the night he died in a plane crash, held high drama. ''Hymne a l'amour,'' Jean Cocteau's favorite Piaf song, showed how truly accomplished Bitton is." Daniel Gewertz Boston Herald Saturday Raquel Bitton's remarkable French articulation of the lyrics to such classics as "La vie en rose" and "Non, je ne regrette rien" is Piaf-like, but Bitton's phrasing and her sound are her own. The result is a glorious contemporizing of one of the classic 20th century musical styles. DON HECKMAN Los Angeles Times -The stance was familiar: legs rigidly astride, hands on hips and fingers splayed below the waist. Diminutive, with cropped hair and wearing a plain black dress, Raquel Bitton took center stage and re-created the imagery and the magic of the legendary French chanteuse Edith Piaf. Bitton, who discovered Piaf's repertoire in 1982, has subsequently shaped and molded the material into a thrilling program of song that goes beyond imitation. Bitton infuses her performances with her own musical richness and instinctive sense of drama and storytelling. VARIETY Raquel Bitton Sings: Edith Piaf - Her Story, Her Songs By ROBERT L. DANIELS "A phenomenally good singer, BITTON can rasp with the best, and on the softer tunes be crisply, sensationally Rhapsodic". Peter Stack San Francisco Chronicle "Piaf..Her story..Her songs" is an astonishing triumph. Bitton's voice is powerful and emotional. The presentation is exquisite. BITTON is superb in sight and song. I could listen to her combined English/French renditions for hours, not minutes. Her intensity and authenticity are utterly overwhelming. She loves to sing, she loves the songs she has selected and loves the crowd that shares her delight in the songs she does so brilliantly. One wishes along the way to come up for air, to shout and clap and whistle in tribute to the glorious music and to the captivating BITTON." Philip Elwood San Francisco Examiner PIAF: HER STORY, HER SONGS Tears flowed down my eyes through at least half of Piaf: Her Story, Her Songs, a documentary about the famous French chanteuse. Not that it is a particularly sad film. It's just that Edith Piaf's life, expressed mostly in her songs, is full of the passion that stirs all kinds of emotions. French singer Raquel Bitton feels an equal passion for Piaf. Bitton's show of the same name as the film was critically acclaimed in New York. More than just singing Piaf's songs, though she emulates her style and voice, Bitton becomes a storyteller, weaving that inseparable tapestry of Piaf's songs with her life. Bitton casts a moving figure in her little black dress and short hair. Bitton Leads Edith Piaf Revival Thank goodness Raquel Bitton has taken up the cause for reviving Edith Piaf's mystique and talent as a singer and a performer. Although Edith Piaf (1915-1963) is a popular name in the French music genre, her special performing talent is at risk for suffocation, especially for the generations who have grown up without knowing much about the amazing person Piaf was during her hey-day. Bitton's revival of Piaf's life and work is an accompaniment to the feature length movie of the same name now showing in artist circles and film festivals. It's Bitton's passion to keep the candle of the little sparrow's memory alive, a feat she easily takes on as her repertoire of Piaf's songs is lively, charming and portrays a deep understanding for the way Piaf would like to be remembered in her music. Raquel Bitton returns Piaf to life, as though the singer never left us prematurely in 1963. Although Piaf's hallmark La Vie en Rose is one of the selections on this CD, the sparkle in this rendition of Piaf's work comes through Bitton's selections of other highly entertaining songs, especially Mon Dieu, an invocation evocative of Piaf's painful biography. I highly recommend Bitton's portrayal of Piaf's songs, especially for those who enjoy chantons en française. Piaf: Her Story, Her Songs is a fine tribute to an unforgettable singer. M.Barber.Miami Herald
Better to See Videos of the Real Piaf
If you love Piaf, do not bother renting this. It is ruthless self-promotion by a bad impersonator of the "Little Sparrow". Raquel Bitton's versions of Piaf's songs are a struggle of mockery and mime. She forces her voice into its most narrow confines to eek out sounds that just barely approach the original. To make matters worse, the full orchestra, rather than just a piano, drowns out any chance of intimacy. Bitton uses Piaf's legacy to mold her own career and it is heart-breaking to watch. The only silver lining is the anecdotal information between songs - so if you see it have your finger ready on the FF button!