DCSIMG
 
 

Charles Aznavour Movies

Born in Paris to an Armenian family, sad-eyed, sinewy singer/composer Charles Aznavour started performing as a dancer at age nine. During the 1950s, Aznavour rose to stardom as a soulful interpreter of melancholy romance ballads. Many filmgoers assume that his film debut was as the gangster-obsessed musician in Truffaut's Shoot the Piano Player (1962), but in fact Aznavour made his first film, Le Tete Contre les Murs, in 1959. Many of his movie roles have been in the same noirish vein as his Piano Player performance; in the 1975 remake of Ten Little Indians, he was on screen only long enough to brood over his miserable past and sing a sad refrain before he is poisoned. Busy in films as both performer and composer into the late 1980s, Aznavour is the sort of wordly, hard-shelled performer who'd seem naked without a cigarette dangling from his lips and a half-consumed drink on the top of the piano. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
1961  
 
Add A Woman Is a Woman to Queue Add A Woman Is a Woman to top of Queue  
Director Jean-Luc Godard's deceptively blithe tribute to the musical comedy features Anna Karina as an exotic dancer who decides that it is time for her to have a child. When her lover refuses to commit to the decision, she turns her romantic attentions to his best friend. This being a Godard film, the straightforward story serves as a framework for improvisation and stylistic experimentation, allowing for odd interludes and unexpected images. Rather than the sometimes alienating, dense intellectualism of later Godard works, Une femme est une femme offers aesthetic pleasure through luxurious visuals and a charming musical score by Michel Legrand. Against this bright backdrop, Karina proves particularly fetching, capturing the film's frolicsome mood in an unforced manner. While not one of Godard's most groundbreaking or influential films, Une femme est une femme is one of his most appealing and pleasurable efforts. ~ Judd Blaise, Rovi

 Read More

Starring:
Anna KarinaJean-Paul Belmondo, (more)
 
1965  
 
In this comedy anthology, the sex-capades of several Italian couples are chronicled. In "The Scandal," a dull and insensitive husband is unaware that his lonely wife has been flirting with a young buck at a vacation resort. When the husband finally finds out, he gets jealous and the marriage is renewed. In "Sin in the Afternoon," a movie producer is frustrated because his wife refuses to touch him, and so he winds up picking up a comely woman off the street and taking her to a motel. "The Victim" chronicles the relationship between an insanely jealousy woman and her beleaguered husband, whom she drives away. She, seeking revenge, begins an affair with his best friend. In the final episode, "Modern People," a deeply indebted cheese maker is given the option of paying the debt in cash or allowing the debtor an evening of lovemaking with his gorgeous wife. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

 Read More

Starring:
Nino ManfrediFulvia Franco, (more)
 
1975  
 
An Italian-French-Spanish version of the much-filmed Agatha Christie story, this film is strangely set in Iran, not Great Britain. Ten guests are invited to a remote desert inn and informed that the mysterious host has described in a nursery rhyme how they will all die during the gathering. One by one, the characters, played by such Continental stars such as Elke Sommer and singer Charles Aznavour as well as Britons Oliver Reed and Richard Attenborough, dwindle in number, each in accordance with a verse of the nursery rhyme, until only a few remain. The final characters then plot to ensnare the criminal mastermind behind the weekend of mayhem. ~ Michael Betzold, Rovi

 Read More

Starring:
Oliver ReedElke Sommer, (more)
 
2002  
R  
Add Ararat to Queue Add Ararat to top of Queue  
Canadian filmmaker Atom Egoyan explores his Armenian heritage, and how the country's tragic history has touched several generations of the nation's expatriates, in this ambitious drama. Edward Saroyan (Charles Aznavour), a veteran filmmaker of Armenian descent, is in Toronto shooting a film about the Siege of Van, in which invading Ottoman armies forced the evacuation of Armenian communities in 1915, leading to the genocide of over a million Armenian people at the hands of Turkish troops. Twenty-one-year-old Raffi (David Alpay) has been sent to Turkey to shoot background footage for the film; Raffi's mother Ani (Arsinee Khanjian), an author and historian, is also involved in the project as a consultant. Lately Raffi and Ani have been at odds; Raffi has been dating Celia (Marie-Josee Croze), Ani's stepdaughter, who is convinced that Ani is somehow responsible for the death of her father. Ani's first husband, who was Raffi's father, is also dead, after taking part in an assassination attempt on a Turkish political leader. As Raffi attempts to re-enter Canada with cans of exposed film, he's detained by David (Christopher Plummer), a suspicious customs official who has his own tenuous link to Saroyan's film -- David is struggling to come to terms with the gay lifestyle of his son Philip (Brent Carver), whose lover Ali (Elias Koteas) is playing the villain in the picture. Ararat also features Eric Bogosian and Bruce Greenwood. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

 Read More

Starring:
David AlpayCharles Aznavour, (more)
 
1996  
 
This sumptuous French drama offers episodes from the notorious life of 18th century socialite and playwright Pierre-Augustin Caron de Beaumarchais. The story begins in the 1770s with a rehearsal of his "The Barber of Seville." Young friend of Voltaire, Philipp Gudin introduces himself to the great playwright and offers to become his personal secretary. He then becomes the adventurous Beaumarchais' keeper as the author gets involved in a variety of situations including a duel with an angry husband, his battle with the corrupt French government and a serious long-term affair with Marie-Theres de Willer. It all comes to a climax when King Louis XV assigns the playwright a secret mission to London. There he must find and retrieve a damning document from transvestite aristocrat Chevalier D'Eon. Unfortunately, Beaumarchais gets tangled up with supporting American rebels and ends up tossed in jail. Louis XVI sees that he is finally released and then the writer becomes an arms smuggler for American revolutionaries. All of his activities bankrupt him and so Beaumarchais must return to writing plays. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

 Read More

Starring:
Fabrice LuchiniManuel Blanc, (more)
 
1968  
R  
Add Candy to Queue 
In this big-budget adaptation of Terry Southern's satiric sex farce (the sort of project that could get an immediate green light in the late 1960's and at practically no other time before or since), Ewa Aulin is Candy, a sweet young woman who doesn't seem entirely aware of the powerful sexual desire she brings out in men. While her father (John Astin) and mother (Elsa Martinelli) try to keep Candy in line, the task proves to be all but impossible, as she's seduced by a remarkable variety of men in her journeys, including a booze-addled poet (Richard Burton), a mystical guru who lives on a truck (Marlon Brando), a gardener from Mexico (Ringo Starr), a fanatical military man who refuses to leave his plane (Walter Matthau), a pair of uncomfortably high-strung doctors (John Huston and James Coburn) and even her own uncle (Astin, again). The Byrds and Steppenwolf contributed songs to the soundtrack; the screenplay was written by Buck Henry. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

 Read More

Starring:
Charles AznavourMarlon Brando, (more)
 
1968  
 
Caroline (France Anglade) is the heroine who is pushed by her father into a loveless marriage with a lawyer. Unknown to her new husband, she lost her virginity to a handsome young officer the day the peasants stormed the Bastille. When her husband flees the revolutionary fervor, Caroline engages in a series of adventures. She is seduced, then raped before her husband returns and relative calm has been restored. The officer, now a member of Napoleon's court, and her husband are now safe. She conspires to leave her husband and return to the arms of her true love, the dashing officer to whom she has given her all. ~ Dan Pavlides, Rovi

 Read More

 
1992  
 
Add Charles Aznavour and Liza Minnelli: Au Palais des Congrès de Paris to Queue Add Charles Aznavour and Liza Minnelli: Au Palais des Congrès de Paris to top of Queue  
Two legends of the stage and screen teamed up for one memorable performance at Paris' Au Palais du Congress, recorded here in all of its nearly two-and-a-half hour splendor. The duo sings over two dozen songs in this 1992 broadcast. ~ Michael Hastings, Rovi

 Read More

 
1995  
 
Add Charles Aznavour: Au Carnegie Hall to Queue Add Charles Aznavour: Au Carnegie Hall to top of Queue  
The concert video Charles Aznavour: Au Carnegie Hall. The French singer delivers over two-dozen songs including "Ave Maria," "She," "What Makes a Man," "You've Got to Learn," "The Old Fashioned Way," and "Yesterday When I Was Young." ~ Perry Seibert, Rovi

 Read More

 
1999  
 
Add Charles Aznavour: Live - Palais de Congrès 97/98 to Queue Add Charles Aznavour: Live - Palais de Congrès 97/98 to top of Queue  
From EMI Music France, this release features a total of 31 songs performed by renowned pop vocalist Charles Aznavour. Charles Aznavour: Live - Palais de Congres 97/98 includes renditions of such numbers as "Plus bleu que tes yeux" with Edith Piaf, "Dis-moi que tu m'aimes," and "Nous nous reverrons un jour ou l'autre." ~ Matthew Tobey, Rovi

 Read More

 
198z  
 
A musical performance video featuring Charles Aznavour doing a variety of easy listening songs. ~ Rovi

 Read More

 
1985  
 
Children's Songs & Stories with the Muppets was culled from some of the best moments of the popular syndicated TV weekly The Muppet Show. Most of the sketches spotlight the star Muppets Kermit, Miss Piggy, Fozzie Bear et. al. There are few of the series' celebrity guests, an omission evidently made to avoid residual costs. The best moment is an all-infant band bursting forth with a rendition of "Tuxedo Junction". This 56-minute compilation can generally be found in the "Family Viewing" section of your local video store, and rightly so; like all of the best Muppet material, the tape transcends age boundaries and can be enjoyed with equal fervor by both children and adults. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

 Read More

 
1979  
 
In this comedy, an Italian man in Paris is looking for his wife who has walked out on him. However, before he can get very far in his search, he is coaxed by his boisterous, boozy male friends into taking time out for a carouse. Afterward, he resumes his search, and he and his wife come to an understanding. ~ Clarke Fountain, Rovi

 Read More

Starring:
Gérard HeroldAnne Lonnberg, (more)
 
1961  
 
Add Daniella by Night to Queue Add Daniella by Night to top of Queue  
In this espionage drama a French model is shooting a layout in Rome when she finds herself entangled with spies who have hidden microfilm in her lipstick case. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

 Read More

Starring:
Ivan DesnyElke Sommer, (more)
 
1982  
 
Hans Castrop (Christoph Eichhorn) goes to visit a cousin in a Swiss tuberculosis sanatorium, intending to stay for about three weeks, but instead ends up staying for seven years observing the fascinating inhabitants at this supposed haven from the society that has slid downhill to the brink of World War I. The characters he observes range from the politically dueling pair of Lucovico Settembrini (Flavio Bucci), a capitalist "liberal" and Leo Nafta (Charles Aznavour), a Jewish leftist, Claudia Chaochat (Marie-France Pisier), an attractive, passionate Russian woman, and others such as a Dutch businessman with suicidal tendencies, Mynheer Peeperkorn (Rod Steiger). The unfolding exchanges between the protagonists are meant to mirror the larger European world in which they live, and stay close to the Nobel Prize-winning novel (1929) of the same name by Thomas Mann, on which this film is based. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, Rovi

 Read More

Starring:
Rod SteigerMarie-France Pisier, (more)
 
1959  
 
In this crime drama, a criminal mastermind and his gang plan to rob the Bank of Belgium during the Brussels Exposition as the roof of the bank is being repaired. Included in his gang are a woman, haunted by wartime memories, who loves money, her assistant, and a man pretending to be a construction worker who will help them get in. The woman owns a floating nightclub, and when she refuses to sell it to a gangster named "The Bug" real trouble ensues for the would-be crooks. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

 Read More

Starring:
Nadja TillerRobert Hossein, (more)
 
1978  
 
A music biography video of Edith Piaf, with clips from concerts and interviews. ~ Rovi

 Read More

 
1983  
 
This tragic musical drama chronicles the star-crossed love between beloved French singer Edith Piaf and World Middleweight boxing champion Marcel Cerdan who died in a plane crash. The tumultuous affair is paralleled by the love affair of a French POW and his young pen pal who get engaged after writing to each other for four years and having never met. Their romances are framed by the sad, torchy songs of Piaf. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

 Read More

Starring:
Evelyne BouixMarcel Cerdan, Jr., (more)
 
1976  
NR  
French New Wave director Claude Chabrol steps away from his usual style of mysteries and psychological dramas for the sex comedy Folies Bourgeoises, based on the novel Le Malheur Fou by Lucie Faure. Bruce Dern is the American writer William Brandels and Stephane Audran is his French socialite wife, Claire Brandels. The story follows the confusion of the infidelities of the wealthy upper class. Also starring Ann-Margret and Maria Schell. This film was also released in an English-language dubbed version titled The Twist. ~ Andrea LeVasseur, Rovi

 Read More

Starring:
Bruce DernStéphane Audran, (more)