Gigot

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deke p Endearing characterization of a mute janitor in old Paris, written & starring GLEASON. This is a side of him I did not know. He also loves to attend funerals even of people he did not know. Reminds me of similar them in old movie starring THELMA RITTER. I never heard of this movie before & at first I thot it was Giget (Sally Fields). Saw Gigot 1st time 1.23.2022 on the movie channel I shd watch i again, paying particular attention Rated 3.5/5 Stars •  Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 03/30/23 Full Review Ken R Gigot – Makes Curious Entertainment It's easy for critics to take the odd dig at a film like this – an artist expressing his artistic side even if it seems unsuited. Critics like to put personalities into categories, especially those like the versatile Jackie Gleason. He was an artist who obviously didn't like being typecast or easily pigeonholed and Gigot is a prime example, even if sometimes eccentric. Here he writes the story, the music, and takes the lead. Perhaps Gene Kelly might not have been the right director for this exercise but it fitted with his likening to attempt unusual subjects – and Gigot is certainly unusual. There are shades of Keaton and Chaplin and even though Kelly says Seven Arts made many cuts that he and Gleason did not approve of - the movie, as it stands, could perhaps still do with a couple of minor trims. Gleason was a large heavy-set man and the way he was able to throw himself around suggests he must have seriously trained to take falls during a surprisingly active career. Regardless of the odd overindulged scenes, Gigot offers many thoughtful and poignant sequences and is far better than many overrated (even awarded) works that have come and gone since. Cinematically it's wonderfully shot by Jean Bourgoin (Mon Oncle '58) with many beautifully set-up situations helping to unfold a story that while offering some off the wall characters, also challenges us to consider those less fortunate with several poignant scenes. It stands as a one-of-a-kind specialist enterprise, well worth a look and the ‘Shock' Hollywood Gold Series DVD is a welcome, nicely transferred addition to any collector's shelves. Many people have this as one of their favorite movies and it's easy to see why. Rated 3.5/5 Stars •  Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 05/10/21 Full Review steve d Sweet enough even if the script is just ok. Rated 3/5 Stars •  Rated 3 out of 5 stars 03/30/23 Full Review Audience Member Very much of its time, it’s about as slow as its titular character with an unfortunately overbearing score; hard to tell if I liked the character - or simply felt sorry for him - as he is surrounded by the most reprehensible human beings. Rated 2/5 Stars •  Rated 2 out of 5 stars 01/21/19 Full Review Audience Member Gigot is a movie directed by Gene Kelly and starring Jackie Gleason. There is a certain feeling of good intention with the movie project even if the ultimate result is not very good Gleason plays the non-speaking title character. He is the town fool in this sort of Hollywood version of an in-the-past French town. Gigot perhaps is somewhat related to Gleason's recurring TV sketch character The Poor Soul who was also silent. I say a feeling of good intention because I think that both Gene Kelly, born in 1912, and Gleason, born in 1916, must've been pretty impressed early on as children watching the Golden Age of silent film the late 1920's and were, with Gigot, trying to recreate the magical special nature of pantomime cinema. The problem is that the movie doesn't work. Why? First of all I think they chickened out. This is not a silent movie. Only Gigot is silent and since he doesn't speak while everyone else does he come of as a disabled man. This is a problem in scenes of teasing and abuse from the speaking townies. Yes, this establishes some pathos, but it just seems too cruel when they trick him into getting drunk for their amusement. The scenes are only cruel, the comedy in the practically undetectable. Gigot just isn't funny. Attempts at solo silent bits just fall flat. It is as if neither director nor star can come up with a few minutes of something funny to do. Ok, so he's not funny. So maybe the movie isn't supposed to be funny. That is fine, but if that is so at least we need something to engage our viewing interest. To that end, I suppose, they have added a sort of love story. Gigot loves a woman with a daughter around 8 or 10 years old. So he loves the girl too. Like he gets a Chaplin-like remote love object as well as a child, like Coogan's The Kid. But the acting girl in this is not Jackie Coogan and the woman gives no indication of and interest in Gigot and actually is very nasty to him. So that doesn't work either. Gleason was pretty hot as an actor right then, or about to be. And I big TV star. The movie was shot between The Hustler and Requiem for a Heavyweight. It could have just been that he was way too busy to put a lot of thought or effort into the movie. And the studio might have forced the talking characters on them, refused to finance a totally silent movie. With all the teasing, very remote love object, and his appearance, Gigot is really a sort of Quasimodo in The Hunchback of Notre Dame. There are chase scenes toward the end. The movie is just not good. Bland. Rated 1.5/5 Stars •  Rated 1.5 out of 5 stars 02/06/23 Full Review Richard S With a stellar performance from Gleason and a gut-wrenching plot, this picture will be sure to leave you crying at the end if you have a soul. Rated 5/5 Stars •  Rated 5 out of 5 stars 02/18/14 Full Review Read all reviews

Gigot

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