Bolero: Dance of Life (1981)

One of the greatest classic films; saw it several times in the eighties on VHS video with an English soundtrack. It appears there is no DVD version available with an English soundtrack which seems strange and annoying as I would like to have a copy to keep. Along with Gone With The Wind and Dr Zhivago it is one of the best of its type. A complicated entwined WWII story or stories of various people brought together for a single purpose, a Unicef concert in Paris that may take a couple of viewings to piece it together but well worth it. The ballet performance to Bolero at the end is spine tingling,and from someone who does not really like ballet.....

I just watched Bolero for the umpteenth time and it gets better each time. The film works on so many levels--character complexity, theme, emotion--that it stands up to many viewings. Lelouch is a Romantic, but knows when to stop, in the French tradition. His use of silence to convey emotion, especially near the end when David finds his mother is extremely poignant.Lelouch also gets incredible performances from his actors.This film deals with identity, war, lost love, and redefining oneself. it is profound while being entertaining. A true work of art and one of the great films of all time.

Along three generations, the lives of different families in Russia, France, Germany and United States of America, all of them connected to music and dance, are affected by the World War II. In Russia, the Bolshoi ballerina Tatiana Itovitch (Rita Poelvoorde) loses her husband, the musician Boris Itovitch (Jorge Donn), in the Russian front. She raises alone their son, the professional dancer Sergei (Jorge Donn), who escapes from Soviet Union and coming to have a daughter, the also ballerina Tania. In France, the Jewish violinist Anne Meyer (Nicole Garcia) marries the pianist Simon Meyer (Robert Hossein), and both are sent to a concentration camp, where Simon dies. On the train travel to the camp, Simon leaves their baby son on the trails and he is raised by a priest, becoming the lawyer Robert Prat (Robert Hossein), who has a professional singer son. Also in France, in Paris after the war, the singer Evelyne (Evelyne Bouix) is accused of sleeping with the enemy, and moves to Dijon, where she has a daughter, Edith (Evelyne Bouix). In Germany, the pianist and conductor Karl Kremer (Daniel Olbrychski) leaves his wife Magda Kremer (Macha Méril) and their son to fight in the war. In USA, the famous pop singer Jack Glenn (James Caan) leaves his wife Suzan Glenn (Geraldine Chaplin) to join the army and entertain the troops in London. Their gay son Jason Glenn (James Caan) and daughter, the singer Sara Glenn (Geraldine Chaplin) become important persons in the show business. Their lives are entwined in a Red Cross presentation of the Ravel's Bolero in Paris. "Les Uns et les Autres" is the masterpiece of Claude Lelouch and is one of my favorite movies ever. First time I saw it I was amazed with such a magnificent story. The direction, the story, the cast, the soundtrack, the location, everything works perfectly in this overwhelming film. The long scenes are fantastically well filmed and Claude Lelouch was certainly inspired when he made this wonder. Only a couple of months ago, this DVD was released in Brazil by the Brazilian distributor "Classicline" and yesterday I saw it again, for my delight after twenty and something years. The unknown Sharon Stone has a minor uncredited participation in the end of the movie, watching the show on TV in bed with Jack Glenn. "Les Uns et les Autres" is a highly recommended movie, for lovers of arts and cinema. My vote is ten.Title (Brazil): "Retratos da Vida" ("Pictures of the Life")Note: On 10 February 2014, I saw this wonderful movie again.

Magnificent movie. Overwhelming. I was interested to read that it had been drastically shortened. In places it's not easy to keep the story straight. The only aspect I thought not good was the American story. James Caan is not good and Geraldine Chaplin is bizarrely cast. But. Having said that, I can't think of many other movies with a similar sweep and ambition. Personally I still prefer Les Miserables; but that, I think, is one of the best movies of the last ten years.