Impressions de France

Impressions de France (Impressions of France) is a documentary 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." 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. The film is the work of director Rick Harper and written and co-produced by two-time Academy Award nominee Bob Rogers. 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: 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. 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: The selections marked with * can be found on these albums: Walt Disney World Resort: The Official Album (1999) Walt Disney World Resort: Official Album (2000) Official Album: Walt Disney World Resort Celebrating 100 Years of Magic (2001) Official Album: The Happiest Celebration on Earth – Walt Disney World Resort Album Official Album: Where Magic Lives – Walt Disney World Resort Four Parks - One World: Walt Disney World Official Album (2008) 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. References External links Walt Disney World Resort - Impressions de France