I don't know how I managed to miss this treat of 70s TV visuals that is the short film that was made to accompany Serge Gainsbourg's Histoire de Melody Nelson.The TV special was directed by Jean-Christophe Avery, a pioneering and award winning TV director who had previously worked with Johnny Hallyday, Joan Baez, Françoise Hardy, Yves Montand and others for TV shows. Avery and Gainsbourg had crossed paths on Avery's ground-breaking 60s TV series Les raisins verts.
While the album's rightly been given the classic status it deserves - Jane Birkin commenting that it only took 30 years for it to become an overnight success, I hadn't come across the accompanying film.
It's either a long music video or a short film depending on how generous you're feeling, and probably one of the most eye-popping pieces of 70s psychedelic visuals you'll see.
Every track from the album is featured on the film, although the album's 28 minute running time keeps it fairly short.
With Serge and Jane such iconic figures and the music presenting Serge at probably his peak, I don't know why the film's not widely know. Maybe it has dated a bit, to say the least, but it has dated in a stylish way.
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