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The Red Balloon (The Criterion Collection) [DVD]

Red Balloon (Actor), Albert Lamorisse (Director) Rated:
G
Format: DVD
4.8 4.8 out of 5 stars 855 ratings
IMDb8.1/10.0
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Genre Drama
Format Multiple Formats, Dolby, Widescreen, Subtitled, Color, Anamorphic, Full Screen, NTSC
Contributor Red Balloon, Albert Lamorisse
Language French
Runtime 34 minutes
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Product Description

Newly restored and available for the first time on DVD, Albert Lamorisse s exquisite The Red Balloon remains one of the most beloved children s films of all time. In this deceptively simple, nearly wordless tale, a young boy discovers a stray balloon, which seems to have a mind of its own, on the streets of Paris. The two become inseparable, yet the world s harsh realities finally interfere. With its glorious palette and allegorical purity, the Academy Award winning The Red Balloon has enchanted movie lovers, young and old, for generations.

Product details

  • Aspect Ratio ‏ : ‎ 1.33:1
  • Is Discontinued By Manufacturer ‏ : ‎ No
  • MPAA rating ‏ : ‎ G (General Audience)
  • Product Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 0.7 x 7.5 x 5.4 inches; 2.72 ounces
  • Item model number ‏ : ‎ CRRN1746DVD
  • Director ‏ : ‎ Albert Lamorisse
  • Media Format ‏ : ‎ Multiple Formats, Dolby, Widescreen, Subtitled, Color, Anamorphic, Full Screen, NTSC
  • Run time ‏ : ‎ 34 minutes
  • Release date ‏ : ‎ April 29, 2008
  • Actors ‏ : ‎ Red Balloon
  • Subtitles: ‏ : ‎ English
  • Language ‏ : ‎ Unqualified
  • Studio ‏ : ‎ Criterion Collection
  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B0012Z361M
  • Country of Origin ‏ : ‎ USA
  • Number of discs ‏ : ‎ 1
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.8 4.8 out of 5 stars 855 ratings

Customer reviews

4.8 out of 5 stars
4.8 out of 5
855 global ratings
Adults will NOT be mystified. by the dreamlike quality of the storyline......
5 Stars
Adults will NOT be mystified. by the dreamlike quality of the storyline......
This half-hour film won the Grand Prize at Cannes (1956), the Oscar for best original screenplay (a French film, with almost no words in it!) (1956), The New York Film Critics' Award (1956), the Best Film of the Decade, Educational Film Award (1968), and 10 other international film awards,--it's hard to believe that those august bodies were composed entirely of children!Let's hear it for grown-ups!I saw it with my mother as a mere 21-year old lass; she must have been nearly 50. When the Balloon jerks away from the Little Boy as the Other Boys climb all over them, I said "OH! That wasn't very nice!" My mother explained "You see, the Balloon knew the Other Boys were after it, and it didn't want the Little Boy to get hurt,.""Oooooh," I said.My VHS tape is fine, and in French (an occasional "Balon!"); when it is re-mastered by someone good, I'll buy the DVD. Recommend the VHS tape meanwhile (for 6.50, you can't go very wrong).
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Top reviews from the United States

DEPope
5.0 out of 5 stars A classic, magical tale for all ages
Reviewed in the United States on January 21, 2024
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This short (33 minute) Oscar winning film from1956(?) captived me when I saw it in the 70s. I showed it to my students and it still captived them today. While we can debate forever what the balloon symbolizes, or what the end means, that a film with perhaps 40 total spoken words, subtitled into English can capture the attention of my special education students speaks volumes.
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John P. Jones III
5.0 out of 5 stars Childhood attachments collide with the adult world…
Reviewed in the United States on August 16, 2017
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I first saw this delightful film by Albert Lamorisse at the one “art theater” in Atlanta in the 1970’s. Even showing it was a bit of an act of love, since the financial incentives played against it. Half an hour in length, it was not a “stand alone” movie. It had to be a “leader” for another film, which just might have stood alone itself. Fortunately, George didn’t usually think that way. He really loved good movies… and felt compelled to share, and educate. Now this movie, and so many other short movies can stand on their own, being downloaded at the viewer’s convenience.

I must have seen the movie five times, and read the book, in French,  Le Ballon Rouge (French edition of "The Red Balloon"  to my children ten times. It was a favorite. It was first released in 1956, the end of the first decade of “les annees trente glorious,” the 30 years of glorious economic development in France after the Second World War. Things still appeared a bit shabby, with the building facades and shutters unfinished and unpainted for so many years, still, and often enveloped in smog. The film was shot in Paris, in the Ménilmontant section, which is in the 20th arrondissement, on the hill, near Pere Lachaise and Belleville, which provides scenic backdrops of the central portion of the city. The buses had standing platforms on the back, which were phased out by the time of my first visit in 1971 (how many people fell off before the phase out?) ‘Tis a shame, since I always considered that an “essential” part of the Parisian experience. And all the people in the movie were white, and not by selection, since there were numerous street scenes. The movie commences with Pascal petting a street cat.

Many a kid has developed an attachment for a teddy bear, or another stuffed animal. Pascal’s attachment is for a very bright large helium balloon; the attachment is anthropomorphically reciprocated. A special relationship that a lot of adults, and even other kids try to thwart. His mother throws it out the window. The bus conductor will not allow it on the bus. And the school principal, grim and humorless, as are so many, goes berserk, as the balloon threatens his dignity. Pascal does receive a couple minutes of playful empathy from a girl his age carrying a blue balloon. Ah, and then there is the horrible jealousy of one’s peers, and it was in this book that I learn the literal and more metaphorical meaning of “voyous.” A glorious fantasy ending, that I had to puzzle as to how it was actually filmed.

Albert Lamorisse utilized his own children Pascal and Sabine in this film. In reviewing his bio I learned that he was the creator of the game of “Risk,” which I have played many a time in my own youth. Albert Lamorisse died at the age of 48, in 1970, in a helicopter crash during the filming of a film, “The Lover’s Wind” (Le Vent des amoureux) in Iran. His wife and Pascal would finish and release the film eight years later. 5-stars plus for this marvelous legacy.
27 people found this helpful
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Delant
5.0 out of 5 stars great service
Reviewed in the United States on January 26, 2024
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product as described, thank you
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Paulo Leite
5.0 out of 5 stars FIVE STAR FILM - ZERO STAR DVD... what a shame!
Reviewed in the United States on March 7, 2003
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This film is an absolute work of art! It tells the beautiful story of a young boy and his only friend: a big red balloon. Their friendship is true and the living balloon follows the little boy wherever he goes. They play with each other, trust each other... they are together for good!
A very simple and beautiful story... one that makes you remember how good it is to be a kid. ...all the possibilities... all the imagination and the innocence we lose when we grow up. This film will touch everyone who sees it.
The only problem is the print they used for this DVD. Absolutely horrible! Full of scratches and marks... (there are silent films in better shape!) it seems someone dragged the film stock on a street to make it look bad. I cannot believe such an important film had such a lack of caring. The soundtrack is also bad and the rich Technicolor is gone. I was lucky enough to see this film on the big screen during the seventies and... believe me... it was beautiful. Nothing like this.
I knew this print was bad because I read the other reviews, and yet, I bought it because I felt I must have it (for I love this film). But it was still shocking to see how bad a bad print can be.
I think this film is a masterpiece and I will buy it again if this is ever restored and released again... but this is an european film and I do not see that (restoration... or a new print) coming soon. So I bought it anyway - think like this: not even in France this film is available... go figure why!
A beautiful film that is worth every scratch... but it is a shame... Films like this one should be seen over and over and I am sure if it was to be rereleased it would be a success. Perhaps one day someone like Criterion (who for once released it in Laserdisc a looong time ago) will take this film and give the treatment it deserves.
By the way, the DVD comes with an american animated cartoon : "The Pincushion Man". It is about a ballon-like city with ballon-like characters. The print is equally bad. It is an early thirties "silly symphonies-like" color cartoon produced by Castle Films. The film is nice and it leaves you wondering about how many great films are there left to rot. ...
119 people found this helpful
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Kathryn A. McSkimming
5.0 out of 5 stars Great classic
Reviewed in the United States on May 20, 2023
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I remember my teacher showing this to us in class in the 70s. I wanted to see it again. It was as good 50 years later as it was then. Great for all ages.
2 people found this helpful
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Amazon Customer
5.0 out of 5 stars Visual Beauty
Reviewed in the United States on August 7, 2022
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The video was a very unique experience to the audience of kindergarten children. I had rented this movie many years ago when I first started more than 40 years ago. The children today are harder to please when it comes to movies with expensive special effects. This movie with very little monologue is visually moving to even the harshest critics, today's children. The students did get restless until I told them to wait and see, something will happen soon. The students were spellbound, and this beautiful movie grabbed their heart and soul at the end.
3 people found this helpful
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PDH
5.0 out of 5 stars i love this movie. always have. thanks very much
Reviewed in the United States on August 9, 2023
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its really terrific! highly recommended!
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RealWorldMusician
5.0 out of 5 stars Utterly charming and it now looks fantastic
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on April 19, 2015
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Bear in mind that two reviews here are concerned with region issues, I had a previous incarnation before it was remastered which was pretty dismal. However, this re-issue is superb, colours and everything within are excellent.
An utterly charming little film, seemingly written about children and for them , which makes a nice change. Not a CGI editor in sight which makes the final scenes breathtaking, this is very clever technical work indeed. The absence of dialogue is compensated for by a delightful music score.
If you like your children's films with a bit more grit then try 'The Singing Ringing Tree' - another childhodd gem which still scares the pants off me.
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FLOCH JOBIG
5.0 out of 5 stars Souvenirs
Reviewed in France on September 14, 2014
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Comme "Bim le petit âne" et "Crin Blanc" le Ballon Rouge ferme la trilogie des films qui nous ont fait rêver il y a "un certain temps" !
A l'heure de "Star Wars" c'est évidemment décalé... mais se laisse regarder par les nouvelles générations...
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Gabriele
5.0 out of 5 stars La metafora della vita e degli ideali
Reviewed in Italy on January 29, 2014
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La dolcissima vicenda di un bimbo che trova un palloncino rosso e inizia un storia che vede il palloncino come metafora degli ideali, della bellezza, della vita, dell'innocenza fragile. Vincere un Oscar e una Palma d'oro non succede per caso. E' un film bellissimo... con dialoghi minimali... e il sonoro, in fondo, serve solo per la colonna sonora. E parrebbe un film in bianco e nero, tanto è il verismo e l'accuratezza delle immagini. Una sceneggiatura di pura arte... poesia. Film da vedere col vostro bimbo di 4 anni, con adolescenti che si affacciano alla vita, col partner o col nonno: 32 minuti di vera dolce poesia. Alla fine vi sentirete migliori. Se non sarete d'accordo, rivolgetevi a me... vi rimborserò il costo del DVD.
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Torval Mork
5.0 out of 5 stars A magical film-making feat that transcends the generations
Reviewed in Canada on November 7, 2008
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As soon as I saw that this film was available on DVD, I knew it would be a touchstone for my young son, who had just turned 2 when I received it in the mail. We spend some father son time each week watching the latest Pixar and Disney movies, but it's hard to escape the reality that they've been engineered through test audiences to ensure that children absolutely must enjoy them. I've been yearning to introduce him to some visual narratives that don't rely on the smoke and mirrors that the digital age has used to drive up the take at the box office at the expense of the stripped down simplicity of a good story.

Enter The Red Balloon.

The opening shot is of a boy (played by the director's son, Pascal Lamorisse), walking on his way to school along a Parisian cobblestone street. He comes to the top of a stairwell, begins walking down the stairs, and up in a tree he spies an oversized, spherical red balloon. He scales the wall with the help of a handrail, and unfastens the string from the branches. Thus begins the journey of a little boy and his balloon. As the boy soon finds out, the balloon has a personality of its own, and an agenda to boot. The tale is timeless - and the construct is dialogue free, reducing the barriers for children of all ages to enjoy. At 2, my son kept saying "boy", "horse", "train", "balloon", and "bus"... along with the many other visual cues that a street scene in 1956 Paris may bring about.

There is plenty of scenery to soak in, but the triumph is in the ending, and is the epitome of many a child's dream. If you like this, I also highly recommend The White Mane, also directed by Albert Lamorisse.
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Williamson
5.0 out of 5 stars A Treasure in My Library
Reviewed in Canada on April 13, 2022
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Saw this film as a child and was enchanted. So grateful that this treasure is now a part of my library.
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