Edith Piaf: The Perfect Concert / Piaf: The Documentary

Spanning Piaf’s passionate, dramatic life, this 2-disc set contains a comprehensive documentary alongside ‘The Perfect Concert’, a collection of her greatest performances from different venues and eras.

France’s most popular singer and cultural icon, Edith ‘The Little Sparrow’ Piaf was beloved for pouring her rich and tumultuous life into her performances and seeming to become the character or emotion that the song provided.

Abandoned by her parents and raised in a brothel by her grandmother, Piaf sang on the streets to raise money, initially accompanying her father before going her own way. There followed a slow but steady rise to national and international acclaim, performing in nightclubs against a backdrop of World War 2, doomed relationships and various addictions, the last of which contributed to her untimely death in 1963, aged 47.

This set serves as an ideal introduction to the life and work of Piaf, as the documentary is a perfunctory run through of the main events of her life. However, her experiences and music speak for themselves, as Piaf was quite extraordinary in giving her absolute all to every situation and song, never saving anything or holding back. An utterly unique person and performer.



Released on DVD on 2nd February 2009 through Acorn Media.

Written by Simon Amphlett.