Pas de C4 pour Daniel Daniel (1987) User Reviews

A comical short from the Man Bites Dog team

[Red-Barracuda · 5/10 · 11 October 2014]

The team that made the classic satire Man Bites Dog (1992) made this experimental short five years earlier. It takes the form of an extended fake trailer for a thriller about a spy called Daniel Daniel. Throughout the course of it, there are various disconnected scenes where Daniel Daniel interacts with different characters in a series of absurd episodes, amongst others, he thwarts a paedophile, saves a scout troop from a falling dinosaur skeleton and embarks on a jungle adventure with a black-faced man. The action is often accompanied by an annoying voice-over, which mimics the type that featured in trailers at the time.

At first this is a somewhat baffling and irritating short film but once it becomes clear what it is trying to do, it does become quite funny. But like most shorts it only makes a limited impression. Man Bites Dog, on the other hand, was the real deal.

Forgettable Bond spoof

[Horst_In_Translation · 4/10 · 21 November 2017]

"Pas de C4 pour Daniel Daniel" or "No C4 for Daniel-Daniel" is a French/Belgian French-language short film from 1987, so this one has its 30th anniversary this year. It spoofs spy movies (fittingly with the name of the current James Bond actor) from start to finish during these 13 minutes and I personally am glad it was this short because the material did not feel too string at all. I think the main reason why it is still somewhat known today is the inclusion of Benoît Poelvoorde here and according to IMDb, this is his very first acting credit and he was in his early 20s when he made this one. He is also credited being one of the three writers and three directors which really is a lot given the short running time here. I cannot even say that this one is only for spy movie lovers as these, like me, will probably be the ones who will enjoy this one even less than everybody else. And Poelvoorde fans will be disappointed because here he was still miles away from where he is today. Rather embarrassing to be honest. So the best is probably if you simply skip this one. I give it a thumbs-down.

before Machete, there was... Daniel Daniel!

[Quinoa1984 · 9/10 · 19 May 2008]

This is a fun, rough and buoyant example of homage from the guys who would later collaborate on Man Bites Dog. It's an extended "trailer" for a spy movie with the hero, Daniel Daniel, and his attempts to stop a bomb plot or other. What the plot really is I can't say exactly, but there are some horrible but hilarious jokes at the expense of a black-faced character whom gets crapped on by his hero until the moment of his tragic death ("Say bonjour, bonjour!") Then there's characters we barely see but get the grand cast roll-out in the final few moments, and big action set-pieces set around what must be entire scenes from the movie spliced together (one I loved was Daniel Daniel coming to the rescue of a bunch of kids in a museum about to be toppled by a hanging dinosaur skeleton). It's tongue placed firmly in three cheeks, and in the method of precise parody ala Grindhouse there's a gas to be had even if it's hard to recognize that it's all a take-off on European trailers (bad voice-over included, as is often the case in the US). Shot in glorious CINEMASCOPE, this is not to be missed if seeking out the Man Bites Dog Criterion DVD.

Very interesting avant-garde flick!

[a-moss · 8/10 · 13 November 2005]

I'm surprised nobody else has mentioned this original little short movie that is following the DVD for Man Bites Dog. In my world Man Bites Dog was kind of genius in a sense, because I've never seen any movie that has that kind of brood and originality. I never expected a little short done some years earlier by the same crew to be just as original and groundbreaking.. but it is.

Its an experiment with form, and it seems to be a full-length feature cut down to the highlights/basics. Its a summary movie lasting 13 minutes for a real one. Probably some kind of critical view on the average Hollywood movie who seems to be cutting out everything else than the highlights of a movie. The way most of the movie is done is highly different... even the credits.

Its really funny, and very well made. Highly recommended. A pity Rémy Belvaux never got around to more movies after Man Bites Dog, as he was in my opinion one of the most interesting directors of the 90s. He's doing acting these days I think.