The Red Balloon [Criterion Collection]

Director: Albert Lamorisse Albert Lamorisse

Overview

"Most of French director Albert Lamorisse's films celebrate the miracle of flight, but few were as landmark as his 1956 short subject The Red Balloon. The story, told with a minimum of dialogue, concerns a little boy (played by the director's son Pascal) who comes across a helium-filled balloon. As he plays with his new acquisition, the boy discovers that the balloon seemingly has a mind of its own. The little red orb follows its new ""master"" all through the streets of Paris, then dogs the boy's trail into the schoolroom, which drives the teacher to comic distraction. Towards the end, it seems as though boy and balloon will be parted forever....but director Lamorisse has a delightful surprise in store for us. In an unusual move, The Red Balloon in its American TV premiere was introduced by Ronald Reagan as an episode of the CBS anthology G.E. Theater on April 2, 1961."

Product Details

Release Date:	04/29/2008
UPC:	0715515028820
Original Release:	1956
Rating:	NR
Source:	Criterion Collection
Region Code:	1
Sound:	[Dolby Digital Mono]
Language:	English
Time:	0:34:00
Sales rank:	12,293

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits

Pascal Lamorisse	Pascal,Little Girl
George Sellier	Shopkeeper,Actor
René Marion	Actor
Paul Perey	Actor
Michel Pezin	Actor
Wladimir Popof	Actor
Renaud Séchan	Actor
David Séchan	Actor
The Children of Ménlimontant	Actor
Maurice LeRoux	Composer

Technical Credits

Albert Lamorisse

Albert Lamorisse	Director,Screenwriter
Michel Pezin	Producer
Pierre Vuillemin	Sound/Sound Designer

Editorial Reviews

A classic short film and a beloved children's story, Albert Lamorisse's Le Ballon Rouge (1956) radiantly celebrates the ability of a child's imagination to take flight. Starring Lamorisse's winsome son, Pascal Lamorisse, and the most expressive crimson helium and rubber object ever, Le Ballon Rouge's tale about a boy and his eponymous object is a touching fable of friendship and loss, as the balloon takes it upon itself to join the boy in his daily activities. Floating along with the boy, the balloon wreaks comic havoc on the boy's daily routine, and moves lyrically through his Paris neighborhood; their seemingly doomed adventures reach a magical conclusion that caps the film's visual beauty. A prize winner at Cannes and the New York Film Critics Circle's Best Foreign Film, Le Ballon Rouge even enchanted the Academy enough to win the Oscar for Best Original Screenplay, a rare honor for a short (not to mention foreign and dialogue-free) film, and a testament to its durable, fanciful charm.

An errant balloon with magical qualities becomes the companion of a young Parisian boy in this timeless fable by Albert Lamorisse, who relies much more on pictures than words to tell his affecting story. The director's White Mane, with its nearly as enchanting tale about a young boy and the wild horse only he can tame, also makes its disc debut. Newly restored, both of these treasured short films are essential for all collections.

—Jeff T. Dick

Library Journal

Intriguing” —Sunday Times

“This is children's theatre at its best... Anthony Clark's adapation is both delightful and moving” —Sunday Times

“Clark's adaptations have become justly regarded as unmissable seasonable entertainment... A wondrous children's musical guaranteed to crack the hardest of adult hearts... No neat moral yarn, but a humorous and haunting fable” —Independent

“A skilful and enchanting stage version of a 1950s classic” —The Times

From the Publisher