Amazon.com

Not the egregious foul it seemed to be in theaters, Hercules stands up as an entertaining spritzer of an animated feature. The continual peppering of in-jokes and cultural references becomes less irksome on video. That there's no majesty or awe invested in the beloved Greek legends also seems less of an error. Also on the plus side is the bounciest Alan Menken music since Little Shop of Horrors. With Zeus's blood in his veins, young Hercules's amazing strength makes him an outcast (sorry, that still doesn't fly), so he trains with a satyr named Phil to become a hero. Along the way Herc meets Meg, a common mortal who falls hard for him. They're both against the jocular Hades, who has to destroy Hercules to take over Olympus. The hydra is the computer-animated set piece for this little number, a no-chance attempt to beat that wildebeest herd from The Lion King. --Keith Simanton ... Read more

Reviews (133)

Best Disney Movie since "The Lion King"
Hercules restored my faith that Disney can still make fun, engaging animated movies (this one's much better than the more recent disappointing Road to El Dorado or The Emperor's New Groove). The animation is dazzling (from the makers of Aladdin and The Little Mermaid), the music is a new take -- gospel, and the characters are funny. The voices include a cast of famous names, such as Tate Donovan and Danny DeVito as Hercules and his goat-man sidekick. The plot is predictable and the storytelling of the Greek myth may be a bit off, but after all, it's Disney. The DVD includes a documentary ("The Making of Hercules") and a Ricky Martin music video (for the song "I Can Go the Distance"), and most Disney DVDs hardly have any extras. I wouldn't call this movie a must-buy, but it's a welcome addition to Disney's family of great cartoon movies... and kids will certainly love it, too.

The World's First Super Hero
Disney adds a new twist to the story of the mythological strongman in the funny animated feature "Hercules". Hercules (Tate Donovan), the son of Zeus, is kidnapped and turned mortal by the sinister god Hades (James Woods). Now, with his amazing strength and the help from his fly stallion Pegasus and trainer Phil (Danny DeVito), Hercules journeys to regain his place among the Gods of Olympus. Though not as memorable as previous Disney animated films, "Hercules" is a lighthearted fun-filled fantasy adventure. The story is fresh and funny, and the animation is stylish and colorful. The film contains some clever humor and amusing scenes including a thrilling battle between Hercules and the fierce hydra. James Woods shines as the voice of the sly Lord of the Underworld Hades and Susan Egan is amazing as Grecian beauty Meg. The voice cast also includes Bob Goldthwait, Matt Frewer, Paul Shaffer and Rip Torn. The animated tale is presented in its THX certified 1.66:1 widescreen format. The DVD contains a very detailed video transfer and a rich 5.1 Dolby Digital sound. Its supplemental material features "The Making of Hercules" featurette and a music video with Ricky Martin. Despite the lack of interesting extras, "Hercules" earns a "B-".

Great teaching tool
Precisely BECAUSE of the complete disregard for the original mythology, this movie is a superb teaching tool for middle schoolers. After a unit on Mythology, the kids can identify for themselves the many creative changes Disney opted to make, and even better, they can figure out for themselves why Disney made those choices. It makes the kids savvier media consumers, they enjoy spotting the "mistakes," and the music is terrific and holds their attention. We all enjoy the fact that nearly every time the Muses sing "and that's the Gospel truth!" they're referencing something completely FALSE. And the group scene at the christening makes a great "test" of those symbolic identifiers--the kids like being able to identify the gods and goddesses based on the clues in their appearance.

Zero to Hero
When the evil Hades, god of the underworld, learns that if Zeus and Hera's newborn son Hercules fights his world takeover plan, he will fail, Hades' idiotic helpers Pain and Panic kidnap the tyke in an attempt to turn him mortal and kill him. But before baby Herc could drink the last drop of the potion, a middle aged couple intersept. They take young Hercules in and raise him as their own. The only problem Hercules has is his god like strength, which he retained because he did not drink the last drop of the potion.

Hercules grows up feeling like he doesn't belong and goes on a journey to find his true identity. When he discovers that he is the son of Zeus, he is told that the only way he can regain entry to Mount Olympus is to become a true hero.

So with the help of Phil, a satyr, and Pegasus he begins training to become a hero. He ends up meeting Meg, a young woman who sold her soul to Hades, and falling in love with her. Meg is torn between loyalty to Hades and her growing love for "Wonder Boy".

When Hades strikes a deal with Hercules to give up his strength for 24 hours, Hades frees the Titans to take over Olympus. Due to one technicality in the deal, Hercules regains his strength and defeats Hades. But when he learns of Meg's death, he strikes a deal with Hades to rescue her and take her place in the underworld.

A little bit too modern for a story set in Ancient Greece but this movie contains all the essential elements of a true Disney classic.

From Zero to Hero
Hercules is a total knockout - for the first half of the movie. The second half falls flat. Hercules has one of the best animated film scores ever. To promote the film, Disney had a traveling "troupe" of singers in Greek costume perform at malls around the country. The executives apparently even appreciated the incredibly orignal gospel-style songs with witty and joyful lyrics. The rollicking songs get a big "Amen!" The fabulous Muses are wonderful creations.

The story involves Hercules as an awkward boy trying to fit in with the humans who have adopted him. After he inadvertently causes a disaster at the marketplace, Herc strikes out on his own, and is shocked to discover his Mt. Olympus heritage. Megara, the female romantic interest, is not very likeable as a fallen woman redeemed by love. You feel Herc deserves better.

Since Aladdin, Disney has used celebrities as character voices. Hercules in particular benefits from this, with James Woods ad libbing hilariously as Hades, lord of the underworld, and Danny DeVito, who brings heart and laughs as "Phil" the Satyr. ... Read more

Reviews (7)

BARNEYS COLORS AND SHAPES
THIS BARNEY BONUS 2 PACK WAS GREAT! RED BLUE AND CIRCLES TOO WAS GOOD BUT THE TREASURE OF RAINBOW BEARD WAS TOO SCARY FOR MY SON. MY SON LIKES THE BOX. BUT THE PIRATE FROM THE TREASURE OF RAINBOW BEARD SCARED MY SON. THERE ARE SO MANY BETTER BARNEY EPISODES. IT WAS RATHER AWFUL FOR MY SON AND FOR MYSELF! THERE ARE SO MANY BETTER BARNEY EPISODES AND TAPES. ON THE SCALE IT HAS 3 STARS. IF IT HAD 5 STARS THE TREASURE OF RAINBOW BEARD WAS GONNA BE GOOD. BUT ITS SCARY. BUT ITS NOT THAT SCARY. IT HAS A FEW GOOD PARTS AND IT HAS GOOD SONGS TOO. AND ITS NOT THAT AWFUL. IT WAS PRETTY GOOD.

barneys colors and shapes
THIS BARNEY 2 PACK VIDEO IS GREAT! RED BLUE AND CIRCLES TOO WAS GOOD BUT THE TREASURE OF RAINBOW BEARD WAS TOO SCARY. MY SON ENJOYED THE FIRST TAPE BUT THE PIRATE FROM THE TREASURE OF RAINBOW BEARD WAS TOO SCARY.IT WAS PRTTY GOOD BUT IT HAS A FEW BAD PARTS. THERE ARE SO MANY BETTER BARNEY EPISODES. IT WAS RATHER AWFUL MYSELF!

Barneys Colors And Shapes
this barney 2 pack video was great! red blue and circles too was good but the treasure of rainbow beard was too scary.it was pretty good but the pirate scared my son.the treasure of rainbow beard was one of the worst barney episodes.there are so many beter barney episodes.the treasure of rainbow beard was to volient for my son.It was rather awful myself!

Rainbow Beard is scary!
My 3 year old daughter enjoyed the first tape in the box but the Rainbow Beard video was definitely too scary for her (I thought it was rather awful myself!).

Kind of Dated, Kind of Scary
Well, the content is good (colors and shapes are important), but the pirate scared my 2 1/2 year old. Plus the tape is pretty dated, there are so many better Barney tapes. ... Read more

Amazon.com

The true story of two English children who claimed they photographed fairies in 1917 produced two different movies in the late 1990s. Not aswell-known as the earnest family drama FairyTale: A True Story, the English-made Photographing Fairies takes a much more adult angle ontheincident. The film follows not the children, but Charles Castle (Toby Stephens), a young photographer who loses his beloved wife on their honeymoon. A shell of a man through World War I, Castlerediscovers faith when he is convinced the fairy photographs have not been faked (in a superb sequence reminiscent of Blowup). Castle makes a pilgrimage to the site where he discovers--in another vast departure from the other movie--narcotic flowers and erotic fairies that dazzle his sprit. Ben Kingsley costars as the down-to-earth preacher set to make his town right again. This first film by Nick Willing (TV's Alice in Wonderland) is a rare undiscovered gem, trippy and elegant, that deserved a release in the U.S. --Doug Thomas ... Read more

Reviews (26)

Beautiful in every way
In 1997 there were two movies made about English children who take pictures of fairies. One, Fairy Tale: A True Story, was released to wide audiences and charmed many as an intelligent kid's flick. This story was based on fact, hence the subtitle. The other, Photographing Fairies, was only selectively released on video here in the States, aimed at an adult audience. It deals with a fictional reimagining of the Cottingley fairy incident portrayed in Fairy Tale, as seen through the cynical eyes of a photographer bent on proving the girls false. Charles Castle, spiritually wounded by the death of his bride, tries to disprove the pictures using logic and a camera, but soon finds that there is more to the story than he had bargained on.

Although I was charmed by Fairy Tale, Photographing Fairies is the movie that holds a special place in my heart. I have watched it more times than I can count, and still manage to be surprised and touched by this haunting film. This is everything that is good about high-quality cinema - good acting, interesting story, FANTASTIC soundtrack (which doesn't seem to exist on CD!), and an intelligent look at some rather surprising philosophical questions; also the special effects beat anything in Fairy Tale.

The Acting: This movie was the first time I had seen the young actor Toby Stephens and I was very impressed at the restrained manner in which he chose to go about portraying a character who, in lesser hands, could very well have been bombastic or pitiful. His take on Charles Castle radiates Humanity and feeling, helping the audience understand the unspoken dilemma of mind and heart that he faces. My only complaint is that in many scenes the glasses that Stephens wore reflected the glare of the lights, making it difficult to see his eyes, and creating a distraction in the flow of the frame.

Ben Kingsley and Emily Woof, an old war-horse and a promising actress, also help the film along with convincing parts (the father of the girls and the governess, respectively). Although both of them are not given much to do, dramatically speaking, they too manage to bring a sense of realism to their roles.

The supporting characters, including the girls who's pictures are the catalyst for the action, are also drawn to perfection.

The Story: Although supposedly based on the book of the same name by Steven Szylagi, there are only superficial resemblances. The movie has more of a spiritual base, borrowing only a few names, settings, and narcotic flowers from the book and leaving most of the subplots and devices out.

The Music: Absolutely beautiful. The main theme is played as everything from a dance tune to a funeral dirge, and is almost guarenteed to get stuck in your head for days afterward. The score is very haunting and adds that extra ethereal touch to the total effect of the movie. Also, one side note: the 'death song' is a part of Beethoven's Seventh Symphony, and has been recorded by Sarah Brightman as Figlio Perduto, but seems to be unlisted on the credits...

When one watches a movie that has definite religious undertones, one often feels the pressure coming from one side or another, belief-wise. Part of what I love about Photographing Fairies is that it makes none of those distinctions. The preacher-father seems to be the pastor for some imaginary church, and the heaven ideas can be adapted to suit almost any taste. "What if heaven were as real a place as Claxton on the Sea?"

The real reason that this movie has sat with me for so long, and the reason that I keep returning to it, is another theme running through it. That of learning from love/to love. Linda, the governess, falls for Charles Castle, but Castle refuses here because of his love for his dead wife. Instead of persuing this man, Linda learns from him and sets her sights on "the man who'll love me as much as he loves her". In this age of inevitable cinematic love, this is a refreshing treat and a much more poignant result than another retread of "wounded man is revived by beautiful ingenue".

All in all, Photographing Fairies is a very affecting movie, no matter what your philosophical/religious beliefs are. Give this one a chance and it will surprise you, haunt you, move you.

Ishka Bibl!

Please don't eat the daisies
I saw watched this film for the first time on the Sci Fi Channel, which, after watching the movie, kind of confused me. I came away from the movie seeing it as a story of a man having a psychotic breakdown complicated by taking psycho-active flowers.

That being said, I thought it was a stunning film about star-crossed lovers who can only be together in death. The final scene reminded me of a story, whose name is lost to me, that I read way back in high school of a man waiting to be hanged during the Civil War. There is an expanded moment as he dies when he dreams he is escaping.

I am always shocked when I see I movie so good that I have never even heard of. (I know there are lots of good films I have heard of that I have never seen.) This is one I would recomend not leaving on the heard of but not seen list very long. I would put it on my best of list for its examination of grief, longing, drug abuse and spiritualism.

Fanciful thriller with lingering effects
Two films were made at about the same time based on, of all things, the Arthur Conan Doyle scandal from the early 20s about the supposed photographing of actual fairies playing with children. FAIRY TALE: A TRUE STORY garnered more attention, and largely took the children's perspective; this little thriller from the same year used the tale more as a point of departure, imagining instead an adult fantasy with erotic and philosophical overtones about a photographer haunted by the death of his first wife who becomes involved in a similar incident.

The film has unusual and wonderful effects that stay with you for a long time, and wish it were up to the ambitions the first-time director, Nick Willing, clearly had for it. Unfortunately, his inexperience shows, and the odd bridge he tries to naviagte between fantasy and realism doesn't always hold together. His use of expressionistic techniques--the bloodied head of the hero at the funeral, the linking image of the pocketwatch (brought out even when the hero is in a full body cast!)--just seem silly rather than evocative. The film has an unusual hero in Toby Stephens: while not very sympathetic, he's a superb actor, and his decided carnality and corporeality work startling effects on the character. Unfortunately, these same qualities makes it impossible to believe that Ben Kingsley (of all people), as a grieving country vicar, could ever get the better of Stephens so many times physically as he does in the film. Still, the ambition of the film, and its many evocative images, make you wish it were released on DVD with a director's or writer's commentary.

"Death is merely a change of state."
In the film "Photographing Fairies", photographer Charles Castle (Toby Stephens) is an unhappy young widower. Without his bride, his life no longer has meaning, and Charles shows a blatant disregard for his own safety while in the trenches of WWI. Against the odds, Charles survives WWI and with the assistance of the ever-loyal Roy, sets up a photography studio. While other professional photographers capitalize on weddings and other happy occasions, Castle states that "trick work" is his "specialty." Castle uses his considerable talent to create fake photographs and he joins--briefly--the living and the dead--in his photographs.

One day, a woman, Beatrice Templeton, brings Castle a photograph to authenticate. The photograph shows one of Mrs. Templeton's daughters staring at a blurry, bright shape at the end of her hand. Mrs. Templeton states that her daughter claims she holding a fairy.

Castle would like to dismiss the photograph as a fake, but he cannot dismiss the evidence so easily. The photograph begins to prey on his mind. Castle's tragic past has already created an almost morbid obsession with the afterlife, and the photograph offers Castle a glimpse of a "borderland between this world and the next." The photograph drives Castle to abandon his photography studio and discover the truth for himself.

Ben Kingsley plays the Reverend Templeton--a rather frighteningly domineering, slightly insane man whose faith dictates that the existence of Fairies is NOT a subject for exploration. Templeton groupies reinforce the vicar's behaviour while the females in his life rebel. Templeton's two little girls--Anna and Clara are quite marvelous as the stoic children who know the secrets of the "great tree." "Photographing Fairies" is NOT a children's film--very small children may, in fact, find the film a little frightening. Visually, the film is absolutely stunning. The footage of the Fairies and the flashback scenes are quite beautiful, and the story is mesmerizing and unforgettable. The film is very loosely based on the book "Photographing Fairies" by Steve Szilagyi--displacedhuman

Stunning, Inspiring, and a must see!
This is truely a stunning film. The cinematrophy is beautiful and epic and is only dwarfed by the truest and humblest plot that any film can recognize. That being "We are re-united with the things we have loved and lost in this life". It is the ultimate in understanding and comfort to know this. The film portrays it in a beautiful manner showing the undying committment of a skeptic photographer to his recently deceased wife. It is in the forest he discovers this truth "that the one's we love; the one's that reside in death are but truly a heart beat away from us." Those of us that have loved and lost and have paid the ultimate price for such loss will surely take comfort in seeing this film and realizing that hope doth spring eternal. ... Read more

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The flaws are easily forgiven in this beautiful version ofLouisa May Alcott's novel. A stirring look at life in New England duringthe Civil War, Little Women is a triumph for all involved. We follow one family asthey split into the world, ending up with the most independent, theoutspoken Jo (Winona Ryder). This time around, the dramatics andconclusions fall into place a little too well, instead of finding life'slittle accidents along the way. Everyone now looks a bit too cute and oh,so nice. As the matron, Marmee, Susan Sarandon kicks the film into amodern tone, creating a movie alive with a great feminine sprit. KirstenDunst (Interview with the Vampire) has another showy role. The youngensemble cast cannot be faulted, with Ryder beginning the movie in a roleakin to light comedy and crescendoing to a triumphant end worthy of anOscar. --Doug Thomas ... Read more

Reviews (113)

What You Would Call a "Beautiful" and Brilliant Movie
In my opinion, this is the best version of "Little Women". Although it sways just a bit from the book, it captures the essence of the book perfectly and weaves a story that works splendidly. The acting is phenominal and the casting was done incredibly well. Claire Daines, Christian Bale, and Susan Sarandon provide a stability to the movie that grounds it (and they do it so well), and Winona Ryder brings the passion and character of the beloved "Jo" that makes it such a fantastic film.

I also find this movie a thing of beauty. Everything about it, from the cinematography, to the color schemes, to the sets, to the seasons and the natural shots, to the Oscar nominated score, to the costumes, to the acting and the storyline, are beautiful. They work together in an artistic collaboration to create an atmosphere of reality and eye candy that can only be achieved through a period film. Certain period films have elements that will stand out and ruin the feeling of belief, but this movie suceeds in it's efforts to keep you suspended there, and the whole movie flows wonderfully together.

This is a brilliant movie.

This film captures the spirit of the book
While this film version of LITTLE WOMEN does not follow the book exactly, it captures its spirit with expert performances and cinematography. The soundtrack beautifully enhances this classic story of a family of women, struggling largely by themselves, in unforgiving New England.

This may be Winona Ryder's best role - she captures the ambitious spunk of Jo with a winning performance. As Jo's sisters, Trini Alvarado (Meg), Claire Danes (Beth) and Kirsten Dunst (the young Amy) give strong, if sometimes uneven, performances. Susan Sarandon as Marmee has the right measure of no-nonsense Puritanism; her feminist lines often are too heavy-handed for this film that otherwise has a light touch, but the way she sweeps into a room overshadows any flaws in the writing.

All in all, this is an excellent adaptation. Children may be bored by the art film pace, but teens and adults will delight in these characters brought to life by nuanced performances.

Highly recommended.

The best movie adaption of the novel!
Of all the versions of Little Women that I have seen, Gillian Armstrong's is the best! She definitely chose her actors/actresses well - the cast includes: Winona Ryder (Jo), Claire Danes (Beth), Trini Alvrado (Meg), Kristen Dunst (Amy), Christian Bale (Laurie), Susan Sarandon (Marmee), and Gabriel Bryne (Professor Bhaer). What an astounding performance they gave - this movie made me laugh, cry, and feel for the characters each and every time I watched it! . . . And though some of my favorite scenes from the book were missing, it still portrays the characters extremely well. I love this movie and highly recommend this to all Little Women fans, the people who didn't bother to read Little Women, and everyone else!

blah
if one was to compare katharine hepburn to winona ryder, the results would be obvious. the book isn't supposed to be a feminist account, it's supposed to be a civil war tale of a family. since it's so modern, and the acting and even the colors are modern, we never feel the full experience, or that we are in the 1800's. In the 1933 version we feel a part of the family. This is less than inspiring. how clare danes became Beth, i'll never know, what Kirsten dunst is doing here is a mystery. Although SUsan Sarandon is fine, she is the best thing in here, but nowhere near spring bryington. Christian bale is too dreamy, and his and winia'a chemisrty isn't right. it doesn't follow the book, and the cast is miscast. I don't recommend, instead watch the beautifully done 1933 CLASSIC, or even the 1949 one with June Allyson and Margaret O'brien. Skip this.

The best version, and NOT just for kids
This version of Alcott's classic story is luminescent, brilliantly acted, perfectly staged, and far more emotional than the book.

Katharine Hepburn's Jo, six decades earlier, was hard to top, but Winona Ryder does it -- with sensitivity, more believable passion, and a far more expressive face. Ryder's Jo is entirely believable in her plunging into writing with reckless abandon, more so than Hepburn, for whom it took second place to love. Yet, paradoxically, the romance is far more believable for the newer Jo when it does come along.

Everyone else in the story reflects her struggles and triumphs, and it's a stellar ensemble cast. Especially adept are Trini Alvarado, a conflicted and beautiful Meg; Claire Danes, trembling and heartbreaking as Beth; Christian Bale, giving a raucous edge to next-door Laurie; and most of all, Gabriel Byrne, a younger-by-15-years Prof. Bhaer, finally made both believable and romantic.

All actors portray the same character throughout except for Kirsten Dunst and Samantha Mathis, who assay Amy at ages 12 and 17. Others have criticized this casting, but it worked well for me, especially in the older Amy taking her propriety and "finishing" far more seriously than it deserved.

The story does depart slightly from the book, but not from Alcott, and the film is better for it -- certainly less precious and affected. A few plot elements from "Little Men" and later books flesh out this story, and Alcott's own attitudes about empowering women are brought into Susan Sarandon's quietly powerful Marmee. The Alcott family's intellectual interests inform Jo's stay in New York, adding some depth and grounding to her character and romantic feelings.

This new DVD's features are a delight, especially in Gillian Armstrong's intense narration on the commentary track. She had a vision and depth of attention to this film's details that ought to be celebrated, yet rarely is for women directors. Outtakes are also narrated, a rarity. The making-of featurette and other elements are well-shaped, though Danes's behind-the-scenes program from HBO is not present, which is a bit disappointing.

The transfers are crisp and clear, both video and audio. Thomas Newman's brilliant music can be heard on a separate audio track, and anyone who likes this film should watch it once with just his evocative (and often-imitated) score filling the ears. ... Read more

Reviews (14)

Lots of good old fashioned laughs and fun down on the farm
This film has always been a favourite of mine. Claudette Colbert, a superb commedianne always stated that the corn ball humour of this film was not really to her liking after appearing in such sophisticated fare as "Midnight", "The Palm Beach Story" and "Skylark". In reality Claudette has never been better than in this her last really successful film after a brilliant collection of both dramas and comedys during the 30's and 40's.
Some people might call the humour "corn ball" or "un sophisticated" but it is a lot of fun and the great cast carry it off wonderfully.
The film has many funny moments, Betty and Bob (Fred McMurray) meeting the unstoppable Ma and Pa Kettle (Marjorie Main, a superb and totally underated actress, in an Oscar nominated role...she should definately have won!) for the first time, Betty's hilarious "initiation" to Kettle table manners during her first visit to Ma and Pa's for lunch complete with children to numerous to count (even Ma doesn't know all their names!!). I also love the dance sequence when Claudette gets dumped with the oddest array of local yokels as dance partners. It still gets me laughing every time.
I strongly recommend this film to those of you who like old fashioned humour. I certainly have a soft spot for it, not only because of the excellent cast and the great acting by all but because my own mother was alot like Claudette Colbert in this film, she was a sophisticated city gal who moved to the country encountering many strange and funny instances along the way in her introduction to country life. Enjoy this film!! and to quote Ma, " sit back and don't stand on no ceremony!!"

Meet Ma and Pa Kettle in their first appearance.
Hop in the old truck with Bob (Fred MacMurray) and Betty (Claudette Colbert) and head for the hills of rural Washington State. Betty is unprepared for what awaits her--life on a chicken farm! Bob is gungho for the idea, but Betty has never gone near the kitchen to cook, much less to "put up all those canned goods" that Bob expects her to do! Down the road apiece live Ma and Pa Kettle and their hard-to-count-how-many children. Ma is an expert quilter and Pa is an expert borrower! You will experience life along with them going to the county fair, the weekly dances, planting a garden, everything right down to slopping the hogs. This movie is great fun to watch. I read the book, too. Try to get a copy, if you can. It is Betty's real life story. The movie is based on the book. I am sure you will be well entertained by them both.

A Funny Movie Based on a Hilarious Book
"The Egg & I", a movie based on the book of the same title, is entertaining, clean( you can let the kids watch this one), and funny. It's not quite as funny as the book, though.
Claudette Colbert is perfectly cast as Betty, the convenience-loving city girl who gets much more than she bargains for when she marries Bob, who is bent on pursuing his dream of owning a chicken ranch.
The ranch turns out to be isolated and primitive even by chicken ranch standards.
Poor Betty is forced to adjust quickly, and does so reluctantly and clumsily.
Those who read the book before seeing the movie may be a little puzzled by the appearance of "the other woman", who is absent from the book.
My suggestion: Read the book, then buy the movie, but don't expect the latter to be exactly like the former.
Both are VERY worthwhile buys, though.
If you have to choose between the movie and the book, I'd suggest going for the book.
The movie is very worthwhile, especially if you want a film that the whole family can enjoy.

Good clean fun... recommended!
A genuinely funny, old-school comedy, featuring Fred MacMurray as a city slicker gone country boy, a white collar executive who decides to chuck it all in and become a chicken farmer, somewhere deep in the boonies, and Claudette Colbert as his long-suffering, stand-by-her-man, newlywed wife. Both actors have superb comic timing, and their chemistry together-- he blithely missing her every disatisfaction, she gulping back her exasperation -- is quite good. This was also the first movie to feature the iconic "hick" couple, Ma & Pa Kettle, a Lil Abner-ish pair who went on to make several films together after this debut. I suspect this film, however, is the best of the lot. Recommended!

This is very funny!
Hi. I'm Aaron ... . Not only video game expert, but movie expert. Thank you, thank you. I couldn't laugh hard enough. Betty dances with all kinds of men, meets interresting people, falls in mud, gets ditched by her husband (or so she thinks), allows people to chatter her ears off, makes mistakes all the time, watches people act like pigs, lives around lunatics (and bears it), faints in the middle of crowds, bases her life around chickens, and bears all of it. Ma and Pa Kettle are part of this movie. You should watch it! ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Happy Birthday Barney!
This show is very cute! It one of the shows from the very first season of "Barney & Friends." It has the characters: Barney, Baby Bop, Shawn, Kathy, Min, and Tina. The kids decorate the classroom and frost a cake for Barney's birthday party. They also give him special presents, and Kathy learns that presents aren't the most important part of birthdays. Barney, Baby Bop, and the children are joined by Derek, Michael, and Luci at the end of the show, and they all celebrate together. This show includes the songs: There are 7 days, Growing, Everyone is Special, Happy Birthday, I Love You, and more! It also teaches how to say "Happy Birthday" in Spanish and Filipino and how children all over the world celebrate birthdays. This show is very cute, and I enjoy it very much! ... Read more

Reviews (92)

"A bear in his natural habitat....a Studebaker!"
This is one of the first films that I ever remember seeing, and it is still one of my favorites today. This story about the Muppets' cross-country excursion to Hollywood is beautifully told through the wonderful vision of Jim Henson. It answers the question about how the Muppets first came together, and offers the audience a glimpse into the lives of the various eccentrics that made up 'The Muppet Show' before they became famous. My favorite is, of course, The Great Gonzo, the "prince of plungers." His out-of-this-world weirdness always adds more fun to the chaos of the situation, as Kermit and Co. try to outrun the evil Doc Hopper and make it to Hollywood on time to audition. I also love the big Studebaker that Kermit and Fozzie drive around in as they sing "Moving Right Along." All of the songs are memorable, from "Rainbow Connection" to Gonzo's "I'm Going to Go Back There Someday." I have seen this movie a million times and I will watch it a million more. It's just one of those films that you can never get tired of viewing.

A classic for kids and adults
The Muppet Movie is a classic movie that shows how Jim Henson's Muppets made it big. The story begins with Kermit the Frog sitting on a log in a swamp when a Hollywood agent finds him and tells him to go to Hollywood for a casting call for frogs. Kermit hits the road and along the way picks up plenty of new friends while also running into some trouble. The evil Doc Hopper wants Kermit to be his spokesperson for his new frog legs restaurant, but Kermit refuses. Along the way to Hollywood, Kermit meets Fozzie the Bear, Miss Piggie, Gonzo the Great and many others. This is a great movie that has humor for both kids and adults. There are very funny parts that intermingle the talents of many real movie stars in small cameos.

All the Muppets are here from Kermit to Miss Piggie, Fozzie, Gonzo, Rolf the dog, Dr. Teeth and the Electric Mayhem, Dr. Munson Honeydew and Beaker, and many others. There are plenty of cameos including Edgar Bergen, Milton Berle, Mel Brooks, James Coburn, Dom Deluise, Elliot Gould, Bob Hope, Madeline Kahn, Carol Kane, Cloris Leachman, Steve Martin, Richard Pryor, Telly Savalas, Orson Welles, and Paul Williams. Steve Martin and Mel Brooks are the funniest as a sarcastic waiter and a mad scientist. Charles Durning is also very good as Doc Hopper with his bumbling assistant, Max played by Austin Pendleton. Fans of the Muppets of all ages with love this classic about how the Muppets came to be!

Never give up your dreams.
A simple story with simple themes: Don't give up on your dreams; sharing your dreams brings you more friends to help you find your dreams. As early as 5th grade I would rewatch this movie, and each time reminds me to keep going an not give up. Yes, its got great songs, great lines, great cameos; but to me its message to not give up is what makes it such a great movie.

Creme de la Kermie.
Mini review of one of my alltime 10 favorite films.

Many people question why this is on my top 10. I think the question is why is it not on theirs? This is pure entertainment for the whole family. It is a movie that works on all levels. The story is enchanting. The music is charming and whimsical. The muppetry is fantastic. It is hard to imagine a better opening to a movie than the rainbow connection sequence.

The movie is a cornucopia of awesome quotes. I think my favorite still remains: If frog's couldn't hop, I'd be gone with the Schwinn.

The cameo roles are excellent as well. Steve Martin excels as a put upon waiter. Dom Delouise is impressive as a hollywood agent adrift in a swamp and Mel Brooks steals the show as a german mad scientist.

Better than a Bucket of Doc Hooper Frog Legs!
I had the pleasure of introducing my two and half year old son to the magic of the muppets through DVDs of the original "The Muppet Show", the syndicated TV program, that I had watched and enjoyed, while growing up in the 1970s. He loved Kermit & company's surealistic, yet hilarious comedy and music, so the next logical step was to move on to the Muppet's various adventures on film. Luckily, the first DVD I bought was the original 1979 film, "The Muppet Movie". The plot is quite simple.In his hometown swamp, Kermit meets up with a lost and nervous agent (played by the ever hammy, Dom DeLuise) who informs him that a major Hollywood studio is looking for frogs with talent.Armed with a dream of making people happy through his dancing and singing, Kermit goes on a road trip to the West Coast to break into the movie biz. Along the way he picks up new found friends Fozzie Bear, Gonzo the Great, Miss Piggy (starting their long running, tumultuous romance), and the rock group, Dr.Teeth & the Electric Mayhem, who all share in dreams of Hollywood fame .Unfortunately, Kermit also gets the attention and ire of Doc Hopper (Charles Durning), a Col. Sanders knock-off, who wants to force our hero to be the spokesfrog for his fast food, frog legs chain, "alive or stuffed". What an adventure! This is a wonderfully entertaining film, which will appeal to both kids and adults alike. Its obvious, that Muppet creator, Jim Henson and his fellow performer, Frank Oz were at their creative peaks.The writing is sharp and never 'dumbed down' ("I think I've lost my way"..."Have you ever tried Hare Krishna?") and the musical numbers are well staged (including Kermit's now classic, "Rainbow Connection"). What's more the film is filled with entertaining cameos from 1970's Hollywood including Madeline Kahn, Richard Pryor, James Coburn, Mel Brooks, Elliot Gould, Steve Matin ETC. My son and I have now collected all the DVDs in the Muppet's cannon of films and we pretty much agree, that this movie is by far, the best of the lot! For great family entertainment get "The Muppet Movie"! ... Read more

Amazon.com essential video

This 1953 musical is very much a vehicle for Doris Day, in the title role, as a wild cowgal who can outshoot and outsing any boy on the range. When an actress arrives in Deadwood and uses her feminine charms on Jane's secret love, Wild Bill Hickock (Howard Keel), Jane tries to mend her tomboy ways. Not exactly up to the feminist code of honor, this is still energetic and Day is very perky. Of course, one could almost detect a homosexual undercurrent with the cross-dressing Jane, but this was Hollywood in the 1950s, so we best not. This won an Oscar for Best Song--"Secret Love," by Sammy Fain and Paul Francis Webster. --Rochelle O'Gorman ... Read more

Reviews (57)

How the Wild West was Sung!
Doris Day is an absolutely fabulous Calamity Jane. I can't describe how wonderful this movie really is. I grew up watching Calamity spout insult after insult and enjoyed it, but now after many years I still love this movie. As an adult I can't help but fall completely into the love story and the beautiful songs but part of me still enjoys the fastest mouth in the west.
Day plays opposite Howard Keel, probably one of the handsomest cowboys ever the set foot in the Golden Garter Saloon. Calam describes Wild Bill Hickok (Keel) as a seven year itch, but admits that's its awful fun scratchin'. Together Calam and Bill help to keep a would be actress from Chicago from getting herself killed, keep Deadwood's saloon from closing, and realize that underneath they really love one another. The musical numbers are staged perfectly and Doris Day sings song after song without hesitation and does it while wearing a deer skin suit. Howard Keel's rendition of "My Heart id Higher than a Hawk" makes me go weak at the knees, and the characters will dance right into your heart. A can't miss for either Keel or Day fans.

"Take Me Back To The Black Hills"
Two years ago, I began to rent a musical whenever I went to the video store. I started with the ones that I had at least heard of and then moved on to others (the workes still think I deranged). "Calamity Jane" was my first meeting with Doris Day, and I fell in love with this actress. This movie, completely historically inaccurate, is wonderful. It has everything without the vulger lanuage or sex scenes of today's movies. My one problem with this movie is its attitude and treatment of women and minorities (the Dakota Indians). This movie, if taken only for fun, music, and with a grain of salt--is absolutley delightful. My favorite part of this movie is the music. As the one songs says, "Take Me Back To The Black Hills." --Becky, 17 yearold girl

Fun western musical!
As tomboy Calamity Jane, Doris Day is entertaining and funny. In order to get noticed by leutenant GilMartin, Jane changes her deerskin leather for silk and high heels. Unfortunately for Jane, GilMartin has his eyes set on the newcomer actress Katie Brown. But all isn't lost for Jane because she manages to impress her handsome best pal Wild Bill Hickock (Howard Keel) with her new feminine look.
Fun musical numbers and great chemistry between Day and Keel.

Just Blew In From The Best DorisDayest Movie In The West
I watched this movie recently again and I love it so much. I love all doris day Movies and I own all 39/39 of her movies but I will have to say that this is my favorite out of all of her films. Doris Day was dynamite as Clamity Jane and Howard Keel was excelent as Wild Billy Hicock. This is a great movie it focuses around Calamitys lieing and 2-timing. And how even though she won't admit it the man she really loves is Wild Billy who has a crush on A Singing Sensation that Calam brings to town but at the end of the film Calam and Billy you guessed it they get themselves hitched. This movie also includes great songs from the old west like. Just Blew In From The Windy City. Secret Love. Black Hills. and a lot others. This movie is a movie you and your whole family will enjoy so buy or rent a copy tonight and share it with your whole family.

The Doris Day Show.
Very much the star of the show, Doris Day carries "Calamity Jane" with all the perkiness and spark one could possibly imagine. Jane is more manly than most of the men in the show, and although one could read a lesbian subtext into the film, that was most likely not the intention of the writers or the star. Still, this is a fun, albeit slightly cornball western musical, and one of Day's greatest film roles. ... Read more

Amazon.com essential video

Director Stanley Kramer's socially conscious 1961 film tackles the subject of the war crime trials arising out of World War II in an earnest and straightforward fashion, exploring the consciousness of two nations as they struggle to come to terms with the aftermath of the Holocaust. Spencer Tracy plays the American judge selected to head the tribunal that will try the suspected war criminals. As he sets about his task, he must confront the raw emotion felt by the German people, and his own notions of good and evil, right and wrong. Regarded as a classic, this stark rendering of one of the most pivotal events in the 20th century features a stellar cast including Burt Lancaster, Montgomery Clift, Marlene Dietrich, a young William Shatner, and Maximillian Schell, who won an Oscar for his role as counsel for the defense for those charged with crimes against humanity. Judgment at Nuremberg is important viewing not only for the history of film, but for the history of modern times. --Robert Lane ... Read more

Reviews (30)

Star-Studded Recounting of Legendary Nazi Trials
This star-studded film vividly captures the characters on all 3 sides of the spectrum: The accused, the victims, and the international tribunal judging the perpetrators of unspeakable atrocities against fellow human beings. It is shocking to see how many of the people responsible for the gruesome deaths of millions justified their actions.

After hearing witnesses who often were tortured, mamed by sadistic doctors, and had their loved ones murdered, I can not grasp the fact that the majority of those on trial were released after serving minimal prison terms. Some of them are still among us, while millions of victims lie in their graves at the hands of an evil minority!

Stellar performances by an International cast. Most noteworthy are Montgomery Clift and Judy Garland as testifying victims, Maximilian Schell as Prosecutor (Oscar Winner), Marlene Dietrich as wife of a defendant, and an elderly Spencer Tracy, trying to make sense of it all.

Effective use of B&W photography, first rate sets and costumes, along with many other production values, make this a timeless Classic. Although considerd over-long by some, I recommend this film to be shown to high school classes as a reminder that these things happened in a not so distant past.*****

SCHELL, TRACY, GARLAND, LANCASTER, CLIFT & WIDMARK GREAT!
This is a superb film by Stanley Kramer with an unbelievably great cast at the height of their craft. Each of the legendary actors were at the top of their performances in the reinactment of the Judge's Trial at Nuremberg. The world was tired of the Nuremberg trials. This one was a mopping up operation. Against a backdrop of an escalating Cold War with the Soviet Union, the selling out of justice by prominent Nazi judges serving the Third Reich is put on trial. Spencer Tracey plays Judge Dan Haywood, a retired Maine circuit court judge brought out of mothballs to serve as the chief justice. Amazingly, the usual action actor Burt Lancaster plays the top Nazi judge who at first does not recognize the Nuremberg tribunal's authority to judge him. For some mysterious reason, critics over the years failed to acknowledge the tremendous acting job he did in convincingly carrying off what was perhaps this film's most dynamic character change. However, my personal favorite was Maximillian Schell whose quintessential Germanic Hans Rolfe, the defense attorney released the full range of this incredible actor's virtuosity. For this he deservedly won an Academy Award Oscar.

One thousand words are not enough to celebrate this timeless film: Judy Garland (in perhaps her last film role) delivers a heartbreaking middle aging Irene Hoffman, reliving her experiences of Nazi cruelty on the witness stand; once again. However, not very good was the young Canadian actor, William Shatner playing Army Captain Byers, the aide de camp to Judge Haywood (Tracy). [The Starship Enterprise didn't seem to improve Shatner's skills any.] Richard Widmark (the moody, hostile prosecutor) and Montgomery Clift [who begged for the role he was willing to play without pay!] were excellent. Clift plays a slightly retarded German laborer, sterilized by Nazi doctors because of his mental slowness. This is among the very best films made by Kramer in the decade of the 1960s. Amazingly, it was released one year after INHERIT THE WIND, another Tracy-Kramer classic!

MASTERPIECE
What happens when Stanley Kramer teams Tracy, Dietrich, Garland, Schell, Clift, Lancaster and Widmark in a drama based on the trials in pos-war Nuremberg??? It`s vintage Hollywood; still 1 IF not THE BEST about the horrors from World War II ..... The film should be in every school-library across the world

MASTERPIECE
What happens when Stanley Kraner teams Tracy, Dietrich, Garland, Schell, Clift, Lancaster and Widmark in a drama based on the trials in pos-war Nuremberg??? It`s vintage Hollywood; still 1 IF not THE BEST about the horrors from World War II ..... The film should be in every school-library across the world

Wooooooooow
Ok, you`ll get Garland, Dietrich, Clift, Tracy, Widmark & Schell - the production headed by Stanley Kramer.... the result is pure Hollywood vintage combined with horrors from the 2nd World War??? But indeed; it is a masterpiece.... It should be in every school-library all over the world:-) ... Read more

Reviews (272)

Another masterpiece from Guy Ritchie
Highly talented writer/director Guy Ritchie delivers another masterpiece with Snatch, that equals the sheer quality and genius of his other masterpiece, Lock, Stock And Two Smoking Barrells. Once again the film is edgy with vast undertones of dark, gritty realism centering on the underworld but refreshingly encapsulates a darkly humorous side to it making the film have an even balance and therefore making it more enjoyable and entertaining in the process. The film has a host of subplots all shrewdly linked to the main storyline and a wealth of characters including a couple of likeley Cockney lads who are two novice unlicensed boxing promotors, Turkish (Jason Statham) and Tommy (Stephen Graham), fellow boxing promotor Brick Top (Alan Ford), Mickey O'Neil played by Brad Pitt as an Irish gypsy who gets roped into the boxing match where his opposition is rigged to win, Avi (Dennis Farina) as the man due to deliver a stolen 86 carat diamond and Bullet Tooth Villain (Vinnie Jones) who Avi hires to trace the diamond after he is robbed. The characters and performances are superb and vastly convincing, the host of plots are well-structured and the attutude-laced dialogue rides along like a roller coaster. Snatch on the whole is an utterly compelling film that will grip your attention and not let it go until the film is completed. Essential viewing and the extra features on this DVD are an added bonus. Highly recommended!

Chaotic, kinetic and outrageous fun
Snatch is a fast-paced gangster thriller from England. Like many such British films, it is equal parts drama and black comedy. Our friends in the UK may take crime seriously, but they can't bring themselves to do the same with criminals. Perhaps there is a lesson for us there. I thoroughly enjoyed Snatch, but I must warn you that the accents can sometimes be hard to understand. The one used by Brad Pitt is intentionally indecipherable. Fortunately, I watched the DVD version, which has an option that puts subtitles on the screen whenever Mt. Pitt speaks. The video edition does not have this feature, but that doesn't matter too much. His dazzling performance is entirely physical in nature, so what does it matter what he has to say? The other characters don't understand him either.

The movie was directed by Michael Ritchie, who is probably better known to Americans as Madonna's husband. His first picture, Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels, was also about psycho bad guys; in fact, Snatch is so similar to it that it is practically a sequel. The characters are different, but many of the same actors appear in both movies. Both films also share Ritchie's frenetic, stylish editing, as well as his fascination with lowlifes.

The plot is so complicated that describing it is difficult. I had little problem following it, but several reviewers admitted to getting completely lost. Basically, the story is about a huge diamond that gets stolen from a jewelry company in Amsterdam. It bounces from one group of criminals to the next, and, of course, everybody wants to get their hands on it at any cost. Meanwhile, a boxing promoter is having a very difficult time with a vile, ruthless gang boss who is demanding that he fix a fight. This is where Brad Pitt's character, One Punch Mickey, comes in. He is part of a band of gypsies [thus, the accent] who are the trickiest double-dealing folks you are every likely to see. Soon, everyone is merrily out to get everyone else.

The characters all have names straight out of a Damon Runyon story - Frankie Four Fingers, Bullet Tooth, Boris the Blade, Turkish and Brick Top are some of them. I think the names alone are enough of a clue that the movie is not to be taken seriously. One problem some viewers will have with it is that there are two or three times as many characters than in most movies. Keeping up with them can be a challenge.

Snatch should prove to be great fun for those who love for a movie to be fast and innovative. For those who like them to be cool, calm and collected, another choice of movies is recommended.

Where's the snatch?
I thought from the title that this was a XXX porno flick. Silly me. Brad Pitt still spends the entire movie talking like he's got a tampon stuffed in each cheek (sort of like the cotton wads Marlon Brando used in The Godfather). Is this the way these people really talk? And I thought I had a speech impediment. I should start auditioning for parts in movies about Irish gypsies. Still, this was a pretty good flick and I'd actually give it 4.5 stars if I could. Big Bubba says go see it and don't Bogart the popcorn.

I again can not think of a title
Here is the deal about "Snatch", if you happen to be a Brad Pitt fan, you will probably love this movie because the 1st time you watch it, he steals the show, and because he is (if I am not mistaken and I very well might be) the only American actor in the movie and the other actors are not very well known in the states, I mean some people know Jason Statham but who knows the other actors, very few people, or at least, before they see/saw "Snatch". Great movie, hilarious really, it gets old after you watch it a couple of times but if you watch it with your friends, it's all in good fun because you can go on reciting the lines you know and that makes it a lot more fun to watch but the 1st time, it's beautiful.

to all you 3* & below plonkers
Seen some critics say they can't understand what the f*** is being said by the english actors .Some even suggest leaving the subtitles on !

Why should all films pander to a middle USA marketplace .Can't you enjoy the cultural differences & isn't it fun to try to pick up how other people speak the great english language ? We don't have UK english subtitles for US movies .

By the way I'm saying this as a Scotsman living in England . The Londoners find us equally difficult to understand but we don't have english subtitles for scottish actors everyone over here just works it out .

Bloody good film if you make the effort . ... Read more

Reviews (33)

realism for a change
I first saw this movie during it's original release at a seminar of the society of army pa's at Ft Bragg . The director showed the film to us courtesy of the vietnam veterans association . We were mostly veterans at the time as was the director . He explained thar realism was his primary motivating factor along with relating his experiences in vietnam . There are no exploding blood bags for special effects , his effects man went to L.A.'s E.R.'s to study real gunshot wounds and portray the same in the film and in addition all the actors carried real weapons and packs . The overall effect is one of stark realism . This looks and feels like a real documentary filmed for the troops being trained for combat in vietnam , not like a staged movie . This is the opinion of a veteran along with the other vets who saw it with me . If realism and a true feel for that war is what you are looking for then get or watch this film . No large budget movie has ever done this so successfuly as has this film .

If you want a real war movie, this is it... -Polar Bear 6
Realism... Blunt, emotional, realism... This film, dedicated to the men of the 101st, 173rd, and 82nd Airborne Divisions, in a matter of ninety-five minutes will take the viewer right into the world of the Long Range Recon Patrol soldier of the Vietnam War. The director is able to achieve this transport by presenting the action through the viewfinder of a combat motion picture camerman. Prior to his recognition for his work as a technical advisor on "Saving Private Ryan", Captain Dale Dye was injecting reality in to other movies, 84 Charlie MoPic being one of them. The attention to detail is phenominal. No Hollywood heroics here - just men in combat that live day by day, looking forward to going home. In a little over an hour and a half, the viewer meets, comes to know, and share laughs, fear, and heartbreak with the men of the patrol. Each man reminds us, whether through mannerisms, speech, or physical characteristics, of someone we know. The viewer will be greatly touched by this film - it will make you want to go out and thank a Vietnam veteran.

Not THAT close...
84 Charlie Mopic (USA 1989), directed by Patrick Duncan, is a Vietnam War film directed by a Vietnam veteran. Yet Duncan typecasts both race and culture-in this Vietnam film, both the Vietnamese and each leading characters are stereotyped. The absence of the Vietnamese is a common occurrence through modern Vietnam War films, according to David Desser's article, "Charlie Don't Surf". Also, each character is stereotyped to a similar subculture of the 1969 era, including an angry, militant black man, a racist, southern white man, and an adolescent with only drugs on his mind. 84 Charlie Mopic comes closer than The Green Berets or China Gate to being close to reality of the Vietnam conflict, but it still is not completely historically accurate.

84 Charlie MoPic great complement to The Things They Carried
When I taught high school English Literature I showed "84 Charlie MoPic" to students as a visual complement to the novel "The Things They Carried" by Tim O'Brien. The film works great with the novel because there are things/ideas that you can identify in the film that are discussed in the book (e.g., some of the superstitions of soldiers).

When I first saw MoPic I had tuned into a PBS airing after it had already started and believed it was actual footage for most of the film. I would try to replicate the feeling (and in a way pay homage to the film maker's efforts at versimilitude) by starting the film with the number countdown and deflecting their questions about "is this real?" until our subsequent discussion.

I highly recommend both "84 Charlie MoPic" and "The Things They Carried" individually and paired together.

Mopic is one of best Vietnam films
I caught "84 Charlie Mopic" by accident many years ago on late-night TV. The film, which simulates a long range patrol (LRP) into the Vietnam jungle filmed by an Army cameraman (hence the term, Charlie Mopic) was so dead-on that for quite a while I thought I was watching some long-lost documentary. The movie is low-budget, filmed in a herky-jerky style, and the actors are not recognizable names.

I was not in Vietnam, but "Mopic," a real sleeper, has to be one of the better presentations of what Vietnam ambush combat was like. The enemy is barely glimpsed, death comes out of nowhere, and long periods of wait and boredom punctuated by noise and terror. It is closer to the mark than the big-budget "Firebase Gloria" and "Hamburger Hill," which struck me as essentialy WW2 style combat movies transposed into the jungle. It may not be saying too much that "Mopic" anticipates the quick-shift, buzzy camera work in "Private Ryan" and "Band of Brothers", on a very small scale.

If you can find it, grab it. ... Read more

Amazon.com

The Fox and the Hound marked the last collaboration betweenDisney's older artists, including three of the "Nine Old Men" (FrankThomas, Ollie Johnston, and Woolie Reitherman), and the young animators whowould make the record-breaking films of the '90s. Based on a book by Daniel P. Mannix, the film tells the story of a bloodhound puppy and a fox kit who begin as friends but are forced to become enemies. Tod and Copper barely establish their friendship before Copper begins histraining as hunting dog. Unfortunately, neither character develops much of apersonality, which makesit difficult to care about them. The screen comes alive near end of the film, when Tod and Copper have to joinforces to fight off an enormous bear. It had been years since Disney produceda sequence with this kind of feral power--and years would pass before theysurpassed it. The Fox and the Hound ranks as one of the studio's lesser efforts, butit suggests that better films were soon to follow. (Ages 5 and older) --Charles Solomon ... Read more

Reviews (85)

There couldn't be a better Disney movie to own on DVD.
For me, the Fox and the Hound cannot be matched by any other Disney film. Unlike the stiffer, older films and the newer, hokier ones, the atmosphere in TFATH is just perfect, truly a revolutionary point in Disney's timeline. The animation is very fluid and the characters have great design and movement. Most of the songs are more like talking than singing, but they're few and far between and manage to get the point across. A nice change from usual Disney fare in the surprisingly sad ending. Considering I'm pretty desensitized to on-screen emotion, it's unusual that I cry every time I watch this one. It's the ONLY Disney movie that can make me. Even so, there's a number of comedic moments to get rid of the tension. I'm not sure where the Amazon review got the idea that the characters lack depth. Believe me, by the time this one is over, you'll be wanting to see much more of all of them. It's an excellent feature that carries an important message all wrapped up inside a lovable, heartwarming, and poignant story. You owe it to yourself and your children to see this one.

An All-Time Favourite!
"The Fox and the Hound" was of the last films to be apart of the "Black Diamond Collection" before the "Masterpiecee Collection" came to the markets in 1994. The film was released into theaters in 1981 & 1988 and came to video in 1994! This movie is a really great and colorful movie to add too any Disney collector's collection!

The story is about a kind woman who takes in an abandoned baby fox after his mother is killed in a hunting trip. She names him Tod and considers him as part of her family. Tod then meets a bloodhound dog named Copper (Who lives right next door to the kind woman) and they eventually become good friends. They have no clue that they are supposed to be enemies (Since hounds hunt foxs and other forest creatures)

After returning on a hunting trip during the winter with his master (To learn how to hunt), Copper realizes how he shouldn't hang around Tod to prevent Tod from getting killed by his master. By this time, they are both grown up and all the fun times that they had together suddenly don't seem to matter anymore. Eventually, Tod and Copper become enemies and it is Copper's mission to hunt down Tod. You'll be surprised on what happens when Copper and Tod to come face to face!

The film also includes some great songs like "The Best Of Friends" and "Goodbye May Seem Forever" (Which I still cry at when I hear that song!) This movie will also make you cry, so make sure to have a tissue in your hand when approaching the middle part of the movie! All in all, it is a really great movie and people young and old will enjoy watching it! 83 minutes.

A Good Movie for people of all ages
I am sixteen years old and when I saw this movie, it really brought tears to my eyes. It reminds me of how me and my best friend was. I really enjoyed this movie. Everyone should watch it on Family Nights.

Friends to the end.
This is one of my favorite Disney movies. When Widow Tweed takes in a baby fox, whose mother had been shot by hunters, she names it Tod and raises it. About the same time she takes Tod in, her neighbor, Amos Slade brings home a hound dog puppy named Copper.

One day in the woods, Copper and Tod meet and instantly become the best of friends. When fall comes and Amos takes an unwilling Copper along for his winterlong hunting trip, Tod tries to convince his friends, Big Mama, Dinky and Boomer that even though Copper will come back a trained hunting dog, that they will still stay the best of friends. Big Mama tells Tod that a fox and a hound are natural enemies and that, surprise, you ARE a fox.

When the two are finally reunited in the spring, Copper tells Tod that they can't be friends anymore. After a tragic accident involving Amos's other dog Chief, Copper swears that Tod will pay. Widow Tweed, realizing that she can't keep Tod locked up forever, takes Tod to the game preserve and lets him go. Amos resolves to kill the fox, and with Copper's help, goes to track him down. But when Copper has a run in with a bear, Tod comes to his rescue and, ultimately, Copper gets Tod spared from death.

A touching story about friendship that never fails to bring a tear to my eye.

Finally a DVD Version of this Awsome movie
I love this movie a lot it has great music like "Best Of Friends"
"Goodbye may seem Forever" and "Thats what Friends Are For" are all great songs on this DVD. ... Read more

Amazon.com essential video

Edward D. Wood Jr. was an actor writer-director-producer, occasionally in drag, who combined meager bursts of talent with an undying optimism to create some of the most bizarrely memorable "B" movies to ever come out of Tinseltown. Though Wood died in obscurity as an alcoholic in 1978, his films have been considered cult classics for years. He is consistently voted the worst director who ever lived. You would think this an odd subject, but director Tim Burton harnesses the undying hopefulness that made Wood such a character. Shot in black and white, just like Wood's creations, this stylized, witty production captures the poetic absurdity of Wood's films and his unconventional life. Burton's recreation of Wood's wonderfully awful Plan 9 from Outer Space looks much better than the original low-budget quickie. Burton tackled an extremely strange subject matter for a biopic, but Wood is presented as naive almost to the point of delusion, so the story works. The pace sags in the middle, as the weirdness starts to wear thin, but Depp proves himself an adroit actor, even while wearing angora and a blonde wig. Wood's unconventional repertoire company is faithfully reproduced, including an Academy Award-winning Martin Landau as Bela Lugosi. Landau is pathetic, droll, and charismatic as the elderly junkie who made his last screen appearances in Wood's films. --Rochelle O'Gorman ... Read more

Reviews (150)

Good Movie about a horrible film-maker
Ed Wood, Jr. is more beloved than reviled as the "creative mind" behind such grade-z movies as "Plan 9 From Outer Space", "Glen or Glenda". Though it's generally accepted that Wood wasn't playing it straight with his horrible scripts ("he's been killed, murdered....and somebody's responsible!"; "Future events like these will affect you in the future!"), unbelievable special effects and nonesensical plots, this film slightly suggests that Wood actually bought into his own nonsense. Here, Johnny Depp (is there anything he can't do?) plays the beloved but infamous Ed, a WWII vet, failed movie maker and transvestite. Playing Ed as if doing an extended Jon Lovitz impression (his lines delivered all high-pitched and non-stop), Depp's Ed is mostly innocuous and guiless (his genuine belief in the implausible predictions of self-proclaimed seer, Criswell, are a hoot) and incapable of seeing his own sheer lunacy. The script uses "Glen" and "Plan 9" as bookends on Ed's checkered career - with the first film marking his collaboration with the then well-faded horror star, Bela Lugosi (Martin Landau), and the second marking a sort of tribute to the star who died before its completion. Director Tim Burton stocks the film with a well-rounded cast - Bill Murray as transvestite "Bunny" Breckenridge, Jeff Jones as Criswell, Sarah Jessica Parker as Ed's long suffering girl friend, Dolores, Lisa Marie as "Vampira" and George Steele as Tor Johnson - that's a lot of fun, but doesn't do much with them. Bill Murray seems at times the saddest transvestite in history, mulling his paltry earnings from Ed's flicks to pay for his "procedure" while Jones' Criswell puts a damper on things when he makes all too clear how he invents his predictions. Instead, Burton's attentions are reserved for Ed and Bela, with Landau turning in a performance that's in turns hysterical (when revealing his hatred for arch-rival Boris Karloff), heartbreaking and terrifying (the forgotten star dies trying to kick a heavy heroin habit). Even so, the script doesn't stay consistent, with the emotional and humours highs isolated in their own scenes. The script reaches a depth of sorrow and horror when revealing Lugosi's profound suffering in de-tox, yet only briefly. (The script dangles the question of how well the dying star recognized the inanity of Woods' work). In other moments, the film hints at other real-life horrors like Ed's war experiences, but much of the film is actually shy of risk. Much of the conflict is between Ed and his backers - mostly evangelicals conned into thinking they were financing a religious picture and slowly realize Ed's true caliber as a film maker. Ed fights back to preserve his artistic vision without having to prove what his vision is or whether he even has one. His flagging self-confidence is restored by a chance encounter with Orson Welles (Vincent DoNofrio, also an underappreciated Hollywood fixture, his lines dubbed by the same guy who voices "Brain" on "Pinky and the Brain"). The more famed director is about to start work on a troubled epic of his own which, though never named, will be instantly recognizable to film students as "A Touch of Evil" ("Can you imagine Charlton Heston as a Mexican Cop?", Welles laments). Plunging ahead, the film works to the climax of Ed's career- the infamous "Plan 9 from Outer Space"! With Ed's trademark horrible special effects, unintelligible plot and insultingly poor script, "Plan" is almost guaranteed cult-status. Burton only recreates some of the scenes, so the last few minutes of the film plays like a montage of SNL skits, with Ed almost crying as he savors each frame. Leaving Ed before the credits roll on his "masterpiece", we never see Ed's lowly ends, his own substance abuse problems or the more clearly horrible films that marked his latter years. Burton never confronts this and misses an ironic motherlode - whether the ridiculous fantasy of Ed's pictures were supposed to be scary, or whether in seeming scary but so ineptly so, they were actually meant to symbolize a safer world than the one he experienced for real.

Plan 10 From INNER Space -- a true American classic!!!!
Yes, Eddie!
Not only Burton's best yet, but one of the finest
American films from the 90's -- or of any decade for that matter.
Cleverly written, lovingly directed, stylishly shot, acted
with empathy, scored and designed with tasteful camp, ED WOOD
is a virtual paen to Hollywoodism (whatever the hell THAT is!).

Just Czapsky's cinematography or Shore's soundtrack alone are
worthy of immense praise. And Tim Burton hits all the right notes flawlessly (for a change). Definitely his Citizen Kane.
Can't praise Depp and Lugosi enough, nor the editing, or....oh, hell! If you have any affection for the 50s, or B-Movies, or Bela Lugosi (God rest his soul), or Maila Nurmi (yum-yum), or angora, or pulp American cinema - meaning REAL American movies - then you should be a fan of this movie, regardless of what you think of Ed Wood's stuff.

Last point.
This movie is overdue for a worthy DVD treatment: docus, bios,
making-of-background -- the whole bit.
Was good enough for an Oscar for Landau, so why are we still waiting?
Yes indeed, pull that (angora) string!

No really this is good, honest
Watching Ed Wood movies and watching Ed Wood there is an alarming thing - Ed Wood's life was better suited to a movie than he was as a director! And as he tried woefully to express this side of his personality to the public with the woeful Glen or Glenda ( " Did you see the movie? Uh huh. Worst movie you saw in your life? OK but how about.....hello hello! )

Johnny Depp is hilarious as Ed and really plays the part extraordinarily well. You almost feel sorry for him as he gets rejected from everyone because he seems to have his intentions right no matter how skewed they end up being.

Of course Ed has a fetish for women's clothing which would make itself known in the film Glen or Glenda but Dolores wouldn't know about this until she read the script. Let's just say she doesn't take to it as well as Ed's rather naive script would like her to be! Although I have to admit that Sarah Jessica Parker is not exactly that ea