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The film, in its American television premiere, was introduced by then-actor Ronald Reagan as an episode of the CBS anthology series General Electric Theater on 2 April 1961. [10] The film premiered and opened nationwide in France on 19 October 1956; it was released in the United Kingdom on 23 December 1956 (as the supporting film to the 1956 Royal Performance Film The Battle of the River Plate, which ensured it a wide distribution) and in the United States on 11 March 1957.
The film was first released on VHS by Embassy Home Entertainment in 1984. A laserdisc of it was later released by The Criterion Collection in 1986, and was produced by Criterion, Janus Films, and Voyager Press. Included in it was Lamorisse's award-winning short White Mane (1953). A DVD version became available in 2008, and a Blu-ray version was released in the United Kingdom on January 18, 2010; it has now been confirmed as region-free. [24] [25] Book [ edit ] The main role is played by Lamorisse's son, Pascal. French singer Renaud and his brother play the twin brothers who appear at the end of the film, wearing red coats. They got the role through their uncle, Edmond Séchan, the director of photography for the film. [9] Release [ edit ] Authors Myles P. Breen has identified the film as having thematic/stylistic qualities that are reflective of the poetic medium. This perspective is rationalised by Breen through quoting film theorist Christian Metz, who states, "in a poem there is no story line, and nothing intrudes between the author and the reader". The film, therefore, is categorised by Breen as being a filmic poem, partially due to its loose, non-narrative structure. [6]a b Kennicott, Philip (23 November 2007). " 'Red Balloon' and 'White Mane': Childhood Colored by Adult Cynicism". The Washington Post . Retrieved 9 May 2020.
As the film was filmed in Paris after World War II, its mise-en-scène is quite dark and grey and therefore gives a depressing quality to the setting and mood. In contrast, the balloon's bright color acts as a symbol of hope and light within the film. [2] The cluster balloon ride in the closing scene could also be said to represent a religious or spiritual analogy. For example, when the balloon is destroyed, its "spirit" lives on as it is transferred to all the other balloons in the city, which some believe to be a metaphor for Christ. [3] Themes of self-realisation and loneliness are also present in the film. [4] The film has been featured in many festivals over the years, including the Wisconsin International Children's Film Festival; the Los Angeles Outfest Gay and Lesbian Film Festival; the Wisconsin Film Festival; and others. [ citation needed] In 1960, Lamorisse released a second film, Stowaway in the Sky, which also starred Pascal and was a spiritual successor to the film. A boy with a bright red balloon is featured in the epilogue of Damien Chazelle's 2016 musical film La La Land. [21]
Bob Godfrey's and Zlatko Grgic's animated film, Dream Doll (1979), has a very similar plot and ending to the film, except instead of a red balloon, the protagonist is obsessed with an inflatable nude woman. Lamorisse was a former auditor at the Institut des hautes études cinématographiques (IDHEC), and the crew that he used for the making of the film was entirely composed of IDHEC graduates. [8] When the film was re-released in the United States in late 2006 by Janus Films, Entertainment Weekly magazine film critic Owen Gleiberman praised its direction and simple story line that reminded him of his youth, and wrote: "More than any other children's film, The Red Balloon turns me into a kid again whenever I see it...[to] see The Red Balloon is to laugh, and cry, at the impossible joy of being a child again." [12] The music video for "Son of Sam" by Elliott Smith, from his 2000 album Figure 8, is a direct homage to the film.
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