Impressions de France explained

Impressions de France
Imagedimensions:250px
Location:Epcot
Section:World Showcase (France Pavilion)
Status:Operating
Opened:October 1, 1982
Type:Movie Theater
Designer:WED Enterprises
Theme:Sights of France
Music:Arrangement by Buddy Baker; includes works by Boieldieu, Debussy, Offenbach and Saint-Saëns
Duration:18:00
Accessible:yes
Assistive Listening:yes
Cc:yes

Impressions de France (Impressions of France) is a film about France and the featured attraction in the France Pavilion of Epcot's World Showcase at Walt Disney World in Florida. The movie is presented in the Palais du Cinéma (Cinema Palace) building and projected onto five adjacent screens, giving 200° coverage and resembling a Cinerama Screen, in which one giant, curved screen stretches so wide that the edges are at the peripheral vision of the average person, unlike Circle-Vision 360° found at the Canada pavilion and the China pavilion.

Synopsis

Impressions de France is one of the original Epcot park attractions, which has been playing every day since the park opened in 1982. It is also recognized by the Guinness World Records as holding the world record for the "longest running daily screening of a film in the same theater."[1] The film sweeps pavilion guests into a tour of the French countryside, major cities, various regions and important structures. Set to a musical score written and arranged by Buddy Baker (composer), the film encompasses the music of classical French composers such as Claude Debussy and Camille Saint-Saëns.[2] The film is the work of director Rick Harper[3] and written and co-produced by two-time Academy Award nominee Bob Rogers.[3] [4] [5] The film's aerial views, mixed with closer views, include, the Eiffel Tower, the Champs-Élysées and the Arc de Triomphe, the French Alps, Versailles, scenes from Cannes, Notre-Dame de Paris and scenes from Normandy. The movie is presented with a lively classical soundtrack and narrated by Claude Gobet.

Scene list

The film showcases 49 locations in France. The areas that appear (in order) in Impressions de France are:

  1. The cliffs at Étretat in Normandy
  2. Gliding through the Marais Poitevin, a swamp area near La Rochelle
  3. Château de Chenonceau; in the Loire Valley, then from the gardens
  4. Horsemen and hunting dogs cross the Cheverny Forest
  5. Aerial shot of Château de Chambord
  6. Flying over the red rooftops up to the bell tower of the church in the Vézelay village
  7. Vezelay Church interior, with church bells in the background
  8. Horsecart ride through Riquewihr Village near Germany
  9. Moving through the market place in Beuvron-en-Auge, Normandy
  10. French pastries
  11. Wine harvest at the Monbazillac Vineyard
  12. Interior of a Cognac cave
  13. The Fountain of Apollo at Versailles
  14. The Palace of Versailles Garden
  15. The Versailles building and the Hall of Mirrors
  16. Flying over Castle Beynac in the Dordogne Valley
  17. Man chopping wood with Chateau Montpoupon
  18. La Roque - Gageac in the Dordogne Valley (bicyclists)
  19. Chateau Montpoupon, bicyclists racing toward us
  20. Bugatti race cars in Cannes
  21. Hot air balloons take off near Chaumont Castle on the Loire river
  22. Hot air balloons in front of the cliff city of Rocamadour
  23. French Alps in the spring
  24. Mountain climbers on rocky peaks in Chamonix (French Alps)
  25. Skiers in Chamonix
  26. La Rochelle Harbor
  27. On board a Brittany fishing boat at sea
  28. Fishing boats on the rocky beach of Etretat in Normandy
  29. Mont Saint-Michel
  30. Interior of Notre-Dame-de-Penhors church in Pouldreuzic, Brittany
  31. Wedding reception in full swing at a Brittany farm to traditional Brittany folk music
  32. Couple walks along the cliffs of Normandy in Étretat
  33. The cliff city of Bonifacio, Corsica
  34. Villefranche near Nice
  35. Calanque cliffs near Cassis
  36. Pier in front of the Carlton Hotel in Cannes
  37. Cannes Harbor at twilight
  38. Racing along railway tracks in the small Lozère town of Chapeauroux next to the Allier River
  39. Gare du Nord (North rail station) in Paris
  40. Champs-Élysées at twilight featuring the Arc de Triomphe
  41. Seine River in Paris
  42. Notre Dame de Paris
  43. Through the archways at the Louvre, the Republican Guard
  44. Eiffel Tower
  45. Aerial shot of Étretat Cliffs
  46. Aerial shot of the Pyrenées of Cirque de Gavarnie
  47. Aerial shot of Château de Chambord
  48. Aerial shot of French Alps near Mont Blanc
  49. Finale - Eiffel Tower

Soundtrack

Buddy Baker arranged the film score, and he conducted the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra at Abbey Road Studios. The soundtrack was recorded digitally with a Sony prototype recorder, and Impressions de France became the first movie with a digital soundtrack from beginning to end.[6]

Rick Harper made the initial selections of French music for the movie. Regarding the inspiration for his musical choices, Harper said:

I grew up being exposed to a lot of great music. My mother is a fantastic musician and pianist, and when I was in grade school, she would take me out of school to go the San Francisco opera and symphony. I built a classical music collection of records starting from when I was about 6 years old. I was really familiar with music from the Romantic era and primarily French music. It's almost in my DNA. Even to this day, that's the music of my preference.

A listing of the movie's score from official and unofficial sources:[7]

The selections marked with * can be found on these albums:

Additions

On January 17, 2020, the Palais du Cinéma theatre began its new schedule, which involves alternating between showing Impressions de France and a Beauty and the Beast sing-along.[8]

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Impressions de France: Longest running daily screening of a film in the same theater. Guinness World Records.
  2. News: Why 'Impressions de France' is the best movie ever made for a theme park . . December 17, 2008 . Robert . Niles . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20131221023437/http://www.srsounds.com/forum/showthread.php?10299-Why-Impressions-de-France-is-the-best-movie-ever-made-for-a-theme-park . December 21, 2013 . mdy-all .
  3. News: 2010 Best Theme Park Attraction nominee: Epcot's Impressions de France . . March 8, 2010 . Robert . Niles.
  4. Web site: Bob Rogers: Theme Park Storytelling . . January 12, 2011 .
  5. Web site: France Pavilion, EPCOT: Impressions de France. BRC Imagination Arts.
  6. Web site: Rick Harper: A Conversation -- Impressions de France. The MacGyver Project.
  7. Web site: Impressions de France. Theme Park Insider.
  8. Web site: 2020-01-13 . Showtimes Revealed for "Impressions de France" and "Beauty and The Beast Sing-Along" at the France Pavilion in EPCOT - WDW News Today . 2022-12-28 . wdwnt.com . en-US.

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