Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1702 in DVD
• Released on: 2002-07-01
• Rating: Universal, suitable for all
• Aspect ratio: 1.66:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Formats: Dubbed, PAL, Widescreen
• Original language: Danish, French, Swedish
• Subtitled in: English, French, Italian
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 103 minutes

Amazon.co.uk Review
Released in 1987, Babette's Feast is a film which depicts so little, yet says so much. Set in a rural Danish community, it centres around the twin sisters of the village pastor and the French women who serves them after fleeing the 1871 revolution. On winning the lottery she plans a feast to mark the centenary of the sisters' father, bringing a dimension of fine living into the lives of the God-fearing Lutherans and healing festering personal animosities in the process.

Director Gabriel Axel captures the rugged timelessness of the Jutland landscape, and draws inspired performances from Stéphane Audran as Babette, and Bodil Keyer and Birgitte Federspiel as the sisters Filippa and Martine. Per Norgard's sparse but affecting score captures the mood of the film perfectly. Altogether it's a heart-warming and affecting experience.

On the DVD: Babette's Feast on disc reproduces the vivid colour photography well in widescreen. There’s dubbing and subtitles in English, French and Italian. Both the trailers for the English- and Danish-speaking markets are included, the latter an effective summary of the film.--Richard Whitehouse

DVD Description
Artistic, sensual and sacred passions unite in Babette's Feast. This Oscar-winning film offers "an irresistible mixture of dry wit and robust humanity" (Newsweek).

Special Features
1.66 Wide Screen
Danish\English\French\Italian
English
French
Region 2
Dolby Digital Mono English\Dolby Digital Stereo Danish French Italian
Dolby Digital
Original Theatrical Trailer
Interactive Menu Screens
Chapter Search
English\French\Italian

Customer Reviews

The best gentle film I've ever seen
This is my favourite film. It oozes humanity and love, but not to overflowing: there is no glossing-over of life's injustices and problems. Most importantly, it never loses its sense of humour. In fact the major success of the film is to let us laugh at the characters but not to undermine them. It is delightfully funny to see characters being their usual selves - conceited, puritan or over-romantic - but the funniness isn't malicious.

In some ways the least interesting character is Babette herself. Her character is certainly the least developed, and her last scene verges on soupiness - but just keeps to the right side. The general, on the other hand, is marvellously written and acted. His scene with Martine (whom he has loved, but never visited, for many decades) is deeply touching, and just captures the feeling of warmth after a sublime banquet.

The speech that he makes while the 'cailles en sarcophage' are served is the crux of the film: physical pleasure (eating, he means), when the food is good enough, is just like spiritual pleasure, or love. This shocks his puritan fellow diners, who were initially worried about the sin of a gluttonous banquet. But the banquet is art, not gluttony, and they feel the truth of what he says: the schisms and discord in the congregation vanish, and in the last sight we have of the villagers they are in a circle around the village well, under the stars, singing the same hymn they sung with the old pastor earlier in the film.

The cinematography is very good, and the Danish setting is as beautiful as they come. As for the sound, I think this film is much better in the original soundtrack with subtitles: the English dubbing has an unpleasant Disney quality. (The DVD has this feature, as well as notably better picture and sound quality). By the way there is a beautiful song near the end, just after the banquet.

This film's gentle beauty amply makes up for a few rough edges and less successful scenes here and there. 5 stars is the only rating possible.

Great film, but not a patch on the Danish language original
I agree with the reviewer from London who laments the fact that this version is dubbed - and doesn't warn the buyer. This is one of my all-time favourite films in the Danish language original with English sub-titles. In English it loses so much of its atmosphere and appeal.

badly dubbed into American English
Absolutely disgraceful that this version does not come with a warning that it has been dubbed from its original Danish into American English. The film loses so much because of this.

I would have much prefered a subtitled version and am still looking (in vain) for one.