Reviews (163)

OK A Romantic B Film.
The idea of reuniting Julia Roberts and Richard Gere after the phenomenal success of Pretty Woman was a good idea. The fact the reunion was so spaced out, it made Gary Marshall look like he was either remaking or shooting a sequel for Pretty Woman. The film just didn't cut it for me. It lacked everything that Pretty Woman had. The humor was a more cheesy slapstick style, and the plot was too weak to compare to its predecessor. Looking at it as a movie by itself, however, it wasn't all that bad. If you loved Pretty Woman, give it a try. I sort of reccomend this.

Bad film, uh NO...
Well, PW it's not...but I liked it.

Unlike most people I don't go to the movies or watch a video expecting anything in particular. I wasn't watching the movie with a view to Gere and Roberts previous endeavor, and I mean that. I'd missed it. It looked interesting to me, so I watched it.

Ya know, it's a CUTE movie, well done and IMHO a lot of fun.

I enjoyed the antics of the supporting cast. I thought Gere and Roberts did a nice job and had some amazing chemistry besides. Yeah, the town was a tad phony, but not so much so that I didn't buy her living there. It was a bit touristy, but still very much a real community underneath the facade.

I don't think it's so wise to compare one film to another all the time, particularly when you're talking about a blockbuster like PW. When you do that it's often far too easy to get caught up with what you THINK the actors should be doing. Being so critical you just might miss something worthwhile doing it.

Fact is if they had not done PW and made such an impact 90% of these bad reviews would likely have been a LOT kinder. There is nothing wrong with "Runaway Bride" except for the fact that folks expected another PW instead of the quainter, quieter film they got. On it's own merit this film was warm, funny, and far wiser than it's being given credit for, more "real" than Pretty Woman and I enjoyed that. It was nice to see Gere and Roberts together again, and clearly enjoying the experience. It was fun to watch and I'd cheerfully do it again sometime. I hope they will sometime too.

As far as I am concerned this film is a keeper, period.

Runaway Bride: what you didnt know!
The runaway bride is a classic story of a woman who tries to get married, but fears commitment. Before each attempted wedding is over, she puts on running shoes, and does just that; she runs. near the end of the movie, she finally finds the man right for her, and before the wedding starts, she gives him her running shoes, so she cannot run away (no really). warning: this material is not appropriate for young children. warning: be perpared to cry and scream and laugh and frolic and poop!

Run Away Bride!!!!
this movie was awsome! not only because julia is in it, but the plot is hilarious, and everything else is just so awsome! i mean really, i can't find the right words to describe this movie it is so good. when it was out i saw it 5 times in the theatures. 1st time with a group of my friends. 2nd with my mom 3rd with my dad 4th with my grandma 5th with another group of friends, it is so good!

Still a fun flick
I thought this movie was fun. It was a light romantic comedy in the old fashioned sense, a good film to watch on a rainy afternoon where you want to veg. I had the priveledge of getting to see how a town is transformed to be used as the background of a movie, with this movie. It was filmed in the small town of Berlin, Maryland, which is half way between Salisbury, MD and Ocean City, MD. The kind of town people like to drop into because it looks so nice. Lots of Antique shops, and such, but it was neat to see how they painted the windows and made signs for the movie backgrounds. Person that said, makes you want to pack up and move to Vermont? Sure isn't Vermont, and I am told that the hilly scenes were just outside of Baltimore on the Western Shore of Maryland. Eastern Shore (where Berlin is, the town was changed to Hale for the movie) is flat as a pancake. ... Read more

Amazon.com essential video

This high point in the 1940s vogue for movies about family life at the turn of the century was directed by George Stevens (Shane), and stars Irene Dunne as the matriarch of a Norwegian family that faces hard knocks with grace in 1910 (or so) San Francisco. Based on John Van Druten's hit play (derived from Kathryn Forbes's autobiographical memoir), the film is gorgeously rendered and quite moving as an act of memory. The sterling cast of character actors--Edgar Bergen, Rudy Vallee, Oscar Homolka, Barbara Bel Geddes, Ellen Corby, Cedric Hardwicke--add great texture and a depth of experience that make the film feel quite lived-in. Hardwicke's turn as a penniless boarder who "pays" his rent by reciting from classic literature is a special highlight. --Tom Keogh ... Read more

Reviews (20)

Mama as Memory
Few films can tug at the heart strings as well as I REMEMBER MAMA. Adapted from the John Van Druten play, which was itself taken from the Kathryn Forbes novel, I REMEMBER MAMA captures indelibly slices of time in the life of a Norwegian family living in San Francisco at the turn of the 19th century. Narrated by a grown up Katrin (Barbara Bel Geddes), the film combines the problems of adapting to life in the United States with solutions that seem unworkable to those still steeped in the ways of the Old Country. At the center is Mama(Irene Dunne), who orchestrates the lives of her large extended family. Irene Dunne is superb with her profound understanding of human nature. She shows in scene after scene that a matriarch must be flexible enough to account for and guide the divergent personalities of her family. For her sisters, Mama makes it clear that she will not permit them to bully her vulnerable children. For her children, she extends praise when it is needed and stoicism when that is needed too. And for the boarder who skips town without paying his owed rent, she resigns herself that he has paid in a different coin, that of reading the classics to her children, thus inculcating in them a love of words. Surrounding Irene Dunne is a group of superb supporting actors, all of whom add flavor to a film that is linked only by the memories of Katrin. Perhaps the most outstanding job is the one done by the non-paying boarder, Mr.Hyde (Cedric Hardwicke), who nightly regales the family with timeless tales narrated in his booming voice, the sum total of which is to create a story within a story with each passing tale. Although the years pass, no one seems to age, and that is all right since the segue from scene to scene is accomplished so seamlessly that the audience scarcely notices. Oscar Homolka as Uncle Chris hits just the right note as the blustery yet kindly man who hides his kindness beneath a pushy attitude. Interspersed through key scenes in the movie are the appearances of Katrin, who interrupts the narrative to talk directly to the audience, commenting like a subdued omniscient narrator on the plot. Again, rather than putting off the audience with a style of narration that in another film would surely be seen as intrusive, in I REMEMBER MAMA, Katrin's comments, as well as all the various strands of the film, are seen instead as welcome threads that unite what could have been an aimless, disjointed movie into a chronicle of a family that rings true with each passing scene. Not many movies can come close to accomplishing this. Homolka, Bel Gedddes, and Dunne were all nominated for Academy Awards. This is truly one of the most heart-warming films of all time.

A families common goal
I enjoyed watching this film. Irene Dunn, who plays "Mama", does an excellent job holding this family together. She, also, does a great job of establishing and holding onto the treasures that makes this family blend together. What good memories I will have of this movie when I drink a cup of coffee. The movie is narrated by Barbara Bel Geddes. She brings the love this family has for each other by her presentation of the story. How many families do we know today who would share all aspects of the ups and downs a family faces, especially financial? Nothing was held back from anyone in the family which allowed them all to work towards one common goal.

they don't make them like this any more
it will make you cry and laugh a truley wonderful and memorable movie

dvd please
This is a magnificent performance by a wonderful artist, Irene Dunne, PLEASE....DVD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Great Movie...see it!

A Hilarious, Touching Family Movie
Our whole family (ages 1-44) watched this movie together and every one of us (except the 1 yr old) laughed and cried throughout the whole thing. Dunne is an amazing actress for her day and plays "Mama" beautifully. Uncle Chris is a brilliant character that adds much color to this black-and-white film. The family- Mama's husband and children- are delightful to watch mature and grow up. The aunts are a load of fun! From beginning to end, this movie grabs your attention-and you will most certainly laugh! I also suggest reading the book "Mama's Bank Account" before or after watching the film. What a great movie! WONDERFUL! ... Read more

Reviews (39)

Very good horror film entry
Others put this film down comparing it to other less than imaginative horror films, but that is not the case at all. This is a film head and shoulders above the rest of the early 80's slasher films.Actually one of the best.The murderer in this movie is particularly vicious and cruel (that's what makes it way cool)obviously taking delight with each murder. (Notice the smile on the murderers face after one murder in particular?)Both funny and engrossing. Yes I agree with other reviews, the murders, at least some of them are imaginative , as well as clever.I liked the psychological bent of the film. A worthwhile way to spend an evening of video viewing. Give it a try.

Horror movie classic. Who is the killer? Best twists!
Here is another horror movie classic. College kids like this one. Melissa Sue Anderson (Little house on the Prarie) and a gaggle of other university students are being killed one by one. Each one of the students are a little on the crazy side, so no telling whom the killer may be. Her mom had died. Eventually her dad and herself move back into town and the family house. "Virginia" is really down and bothered. But she is making friends in school and considers herself to be in the Top Ten. Cast also includes Tracy Bregman (Days Of Our Lives, Young and the Restless, Bold and the Beautiful) and Glenn Ford (Superman [1978]). Can you guess who the killer is? This RCA home video print is not too good. The color is faded. The film being Canadian might have something to do with that. But this is a good film worth watching and good acting from Melissa Sue Anderson.

Highly Underrated Slasher
5 out 5 stars when it comes to slashers! Clever plot twists, inventive murder scenes, and a great build up to the ending. Plus: Melissa Sue Anderson is great as our lead character, Ginny. Worth a watch!

cheesy fun
okay so it isn't the best movie ever but it's fun and funny. i liked it.

You Say It's Your Birthday
Thanks to horror classics like Halloween, The Howling, and The Exorcist, the genre saw a resurgence in the 70's and 80's, not even matched by today's standards. More often then not though, most of them were just pale imatations of, the crazed killer stalking teens with raging hormones plot. Very few of these films broke away from the pack, comming up with a new spin, an exception is the mildly clever Happy Birthday To Me.

Thanks to severe head trauma, Virginia Wainwright, (Melissa Sue Anderson, who tried to shed her past role on TV's Little House, but hasn't done much since) part of her brain is damaged, to the point where she can't remember her recent past. When she returns to school at the Crawford Academy, she is welcomed into the Top Ten, a snooty social clique. Things turn deadly, as someone starts killing off the members of the group. With her 18th birthday approaching Virginia starts to doubt her own sanity, thinking that the killer's real identity, may indeed, be linked to her own forgotton past - or that she herself may even be the killer, acting out, during one of her blackouts.

Directed by Lee J. Thompson, who worked on the original Cape Fear and Battle For The Planet Of The Apes, elevates the film a bit, and makes you (almost) forget that it's really just a slasher flick. The interesting twist of the possiblity that the heroine may be the murderer is also kinda fun. The film is also given even more credability, by the prescence of the great Glenn Ford, as Dr. David Faraday. The script has all the familiar horror film cliches, of course but as I said, it's still got enough there to make it watchable and even fun.

Happy Birthday To Me is not yet available on DVD. Therefore, VHS will have to do for now. It may be hard to find a copy of it. If you do...Rent don't Buy...It's worth a look for horror enthusiasts *** and a half stars ... Read more

Amazon.com

When a mail-order apprentice witch (Angela Lansbury) is saddled with three sibling refugees from London during World War II, the outlook is grim. But the kids soon discover her secret and sign on for adventure in the name of England. With the aid of a magical bed, they track down her fraudulent headmaster (David Tomlinson) to find the spell that will aid the Allies. Fascinated that she has actually achieved results with his lessons, he joins forces. The quintet does battle with corrupt booksellers, animated-lion royalty, and, eventually, invading Germans. Songs include Lansbury's Oscar-nominated "The Age of Not Believing." This film is often compared to director Robert Stevenson's earlier effort, Mary Poppins, and for good reason. In addition to Tomlinson, the movies share a fondness for magic at the hands of a good woman, light romance with an understanding male, and wide-eyed children. Stevenson also graces both films with interaction between humans and animated animals. Disney is wise to play up that aspect on its box this time around as both the underwater ball and the subsequent island soccer match are the most visually interesting and appealing parts of the film. Adults may find the 1971-vintage mixing of actors and animation a bit creaky, but kids used to a variety of animation quality will find the action a hoot. Ages 4 and up. The movie has been recut several times but was restored to the original length of 139 minutes for its 30th anniversary in 2001. --Kimberly Heinrichs ... Read more

Reviews (70)

A Magical Disney Adventure
While the special effects on this movie are rather outdated (they were really quite good for the era) the story line still delivers an enjoyable experience, and is hightened by the fabulous acting of Angela Lansbury and David Tomlinson and superb song and dance scenes.
While the youngest viewers will delight in the scenes where live action and animation mix, and where everyday objects take on lives of their own, I recommend this movie primarily for older kids and adults. The movie is to some extent a little slow paced compared to many modern childrens movies, which may cause the smaller children to grow a little restless, and much of the plot will be lost on the younger audience. I first saw this movie when I was four or five years old, and enjoyed it thuroughly, but it wasn't until years later that I was able to understand what was going on with the Nazis and the war and was able to truly appreciate it.
Now as an adult I'm able to fully enjoy every aspect of Bedknobs and Broomsticks, and think it's great fun!

I Love This Wonderful Movie! 5+ Stars!
Bedknobs and Broomsticks is my favorite Disney movie ever created. However, it is also one of the most overlooked ones as well. I've watched this movie since I was a little child, and you never get bored of it. One childhood memory I have, is watching this movie with my family. Now, I watch this 30th Anniversary DVD with my baby brother. Now I'll tell you all what this classic is about.

Bedknobs and Broomsticks is about a middle aged apprentice witch named Eglantine Price who lives in 1940 England. She is ordered to watch after 3 children who have been evacuated from London. The kids find out Miss Price's secret, and they also find out that Miss Price learns witchcraft from a mailorder course. To make a pact that states that if they keep her secret, she'll make it worth her while. So, she enchants a brass bedknob that will make them go wherever they want. However, the school closes, without the most important final spell, the Subsitutiary Locomotion spell.

So, using the bedknob, they go to London and seek out the headmaster of the school, Emelius Brown. Mr Brown can't find the spell either because the book he got out the spell of is torn, and the spell is only found on a necklace of a sorcerer named Astoroth.

Anyway, they go to Portobello Road, like a mini mall, and learn that towards the end of Astoroth's life, he captured animals and kept them in cages to make them more human like. The animals rebelled and killed Astoroth and stole the necklace. The animals escaped and took refuge on a mythical Isle named Niboombu.

The animation starts know as the tiny group explore the sea and then the island using hte traveling bedknob, and get the necklace that has the spell on it after a fun soccer game with a lion, which almost ends our story. After getting the necklace and returning home, the Nazi soldiers attack, and using the Spell, Miss Price and Company defeat them.

Now, I highly reccomend this DVD because of its digitally restored and digitally remastered format, and the resolution is so clear. This also has one of the best climaxes in Disney history, when they fight the Nazi's, and also has great animation.

As Mr Brown says, "Do it with a Flair", and get this 30th anniversary DVD, Digitally Restored and Remastered and Ready to Go!

Poppins-lite
Made during the Disney wilderness years following Walt's death, Bedknobs is a re-tread of the hugely successful Mary Poppins. However, if you're going to re-tread a film, it might as well be a classic! Check off the ingredients: - initially cold matronly female lead who the children and audience quickly warms to, capable and charming child leads, a perky male side-kick, an animated/live action interlude that has nothing to do with the plot, a Sherman brothers score, an episodic structure, a general magical story-book quality to the film etc.
Angela Lansbury gives her most likable screen characterisation (apart from perhaps Jessica Fletcher!) and shows to those not familiar with her Broadway career that she can sing and dance. David Tomlinson brushes off the stuffy ghost of Poppins' George Banks and plays a buffoon with great relish. The children are all well cast and shine in slightly cliched and under-written roles. Special mention must go to Roddy McDowell for a lovely cameo as a scheming cleric and to British-favourite Bruce Forsyth as a flick-knife toting 'spiv'.
The animated sequence involving the 'Beautiful Briney' is wonderful and, once the characters reach dry land, the soccer game with the animals is as 'Looney Tunes' as Disney would probably dare be! The rest of the film is slightly slow in places but has some excellent set-pieces, in particular the Portabello Road musical interlude, the clothing being 'magic-ed' to life and the final 'Armour vs. Nazis' showdown. The special effects are very good for the age, especially the animated object scenes. The score, by the Shermans, isn't a patch on their Mary Poppins but includes some real gems including the afore-mentioned 'Beautiful Briney' and 'Portabello Road' as well as the catchy 'Substituciary Locomotion'.
This edition includes around fifteen minutes of previously cut scenes and lines of dialogue that have been re-inserted into the main body of the film. Unfortunatly, the audio from these clips has been lost, and so the lines had to be re-recorded with varying degrees of success. Lansbury and McDowell have supplied their own voices but Tomlinson's, the children's and Tessy O'Shea's have been 'impersonated' quite poorly, meaning that those with relatively keen ears can tell when a newly inserted scene is playing. The audio for the songs survived, meaning that 'Eglantine' and 'Portabello Road' have been extended, although some of the film quality in the latter also draws attention to the cut scenes. These quibbles do not, however, spoil the film and the re-inserted scenes at least clarify McDowell's character's intensions towards Miss Price. Prior to this edition, we were not aware that he was wanting to marry her for her 'nice, sturdy house' - which is why he is jumping up and down on her porch when she answers the door to him!
Overall, this is a film that plays well to all ages (I loved it as a child and now sit and watch it often with my son). It's unfortunate that it will forever live in Mary Poppins' substantial shadow (along with the weaker Pete's Dragon), but at least it lives as one of the better Disney films made in those wilderness years prior to The Little Mermaid'.
Thouroughly recommended.

SLOW
I bought this for my 3-year old since she just loves Chitty-Chitty Bang Bang and it just doesn't have any comparison. Amazon made the suggestion and I fell for it. Bad move! Very slow moving movie!!!

Magic
This is a very good movie for every one. The story is very nice and the characters are fun for every body. I really can't think of any complaints. A rated acting and scenery. ... Read more

Reviews (10)

A Flawed, if Unflinching Look at Genocide in the U.S. West
With its stark re-creation of the massacre of Native Americans at the hands of a volunteer U.S. Army during the American Civil War, it's no surprise that "Soldier Blue" has been largely buried by cable and broadcast TV. When a local station was brave enough to air it--uncensored, no less--years ago, I was stunned at the depiction not only of sadistic violence, but overt racism and genocide that most westerns have chosen to whitewash or ignore to avoid offending mainstream audiences. That said, it's not easy to watch "Soldier Blue" without recoiling at the visciousness of so-called civilized people who defended their actions by labelling everyone else "savages." Peter Strauss plays a wayward cavalry soldier who teams up with a frontier-savvy immigrant (Candice Bergen) on the eve of a brutal attack by the army (based loosely on Chivington's massacre of the Cheyenne at Sand Creek) He quickly comes to realize who the real savages are but is nonetheless powerless to prevent the gleeful slaughter that includes rape and dismemberment. "Soldier Blue" may remind viewers of "Little Big Man" and "Dances with Wolves"--and there are striking similarities--but despite their higher production values, neither film seems to capture the sheer venom of actions and attitudes against Native Americans. (The film itself stops short of depicting the full range of brutality.) Still, "Soldier Blue" is far from a perfect film--the acting at times is over-the-top and the parallels to the Viet Nam War (think: My Lai Massacre) detract from the film's focus. Watch it not as great cinema but as a glimpse of an American West we usually don't get to see.

How the West was really won
Soldier Blue was made as a biting allegory of the Vietnam war. It divided critics at the time of its' release and indeed, continues to do so. It is extremely brutal but not gratuitously so. The appalling acts depicted are shown from the point of view that this actually happened, as opposed to well lets give the audience some gore. People seeing the film tend to be shocked from the former point of view as opposed to the latter.

The film opens deceptively with a Cheyenne massacre of a US Cavalry troop guarding a pay chest. The survivors of the massacre are one naive boy soldier and a savvy, young frontier woman, played superbly by Peter Strauss, and Candice Bergen respectively. Their adventures and subsequent romance are then chronicled. Along the way they encounter Donald Pleasance's superbly sinister arms smuggler. The film's climax is a savage massacre of a Cheyenne village by the US Army - based on the real life events at Sand Creek, Colorado. In an orgy of blood lust, women and children are slaughtered and body parts are taken as trophies. By this time the film has swung 180 degrees from its' opening and has established the root cause of the suffering which is the white man's treatment of the native american. During all this, Strauss' character has changed from naive volunteer soldier to conscientious objector while the character of Candice Bergen remains the hope of reconciliation and co-existence.

The film is brutally honest and makes its' point more effectively than other bigger budget films of the same genre eg. Dances With Wolves. Sadly the film is not readily available in the USA. I would strongly urge MGM who now own the rights to re release the film on dvd, preferably in its' completely uncut version(The film is available on vhs only here in the UK but it is the cut version). In the current climate where Fahrenheit 9/11 is generating massive interest in the US, the re release of a brutally honest recreation of a bloody piece of American history would be timely and well received. In the meantime, if you can get a copy, I strongly urge people to see this film and form their own conclusions.

Not Very Good Then (1970); Not Very Good Now!
The Sand Creek Massacre portrayed in the worst Hollywood exploitive fashion! Stupid obligatory Hollywood love story mixed with a poorly produced Sam Peckinpah-like bloodletting. Add a decapitation of a squaw-dummy holding her doll-papoose; simulated rape of a curvaceous nude Indian maiden; a young Cheyenne boy's head exploding a-la the Zapruder-Kennedy assasination film and a young soldier (Strauss) asking, "Why? Why?". Good question: "Why make such a movie?" I can't help but recall that BOTH sides in the Indian Wars perpetrated atrocities with equal ferocity. By the end of this film you learn nothing new. "Soldier Blue" has developed a cult following for reasons probably based upon the simulated sex, blood and gore. It will only satisfy a cultist video-phile!

Roy's Music
I happen to be in the studio when Roy Budd (my brother) did the score for this movie. I thought then and still do that it is some of the best music he had written. The released version of "Soldier Blue" was heavily edited, due to the content of the ending. There were many musicians in the studio that were visibly upset with the violence, and Roy actually apologized for it enough though he had no part of the actual filming of the film. I saw the the uncut version, and it was very violent at that time. Now days it would be acceptible. Apart from the overacting of Candice Bergen it still stands up to scrutiny.

A Minor Masterpiece Of 'Radicalization'...
Ralph Nelson, the director, began in television and much of "Soldier Blue" has a tv quality, e. g., the tight focus on the two leads, the adequate but relatively modest production values, even the annoying musical score that seeks to lead the viewer into a "certified" emotional response.

That said, the film is quite striking nevertheless: the performances by Candice Bergen and Peter Strauss are probably the most memorable of their careers, with Bergen a delight as the profane, independent young woman. The characterizations actually reverse the expectations of the helpless lady from the East (Bergen's "Chresta Marybelle Lee" is from New York City but she is no "lady") and the trail-wise cavalryman (Strauss, also in a very fine performance, is naive, rather prissy and only accidentally adequate as a frontiersman) in that it is Bergen who understands the environment, evinces the most courage and Western savvy, and who is the most powerful voice of sanity and humane conscience -- despite her seeming "utilitarian" philosophy.

The final section of the film is of course the most controversial but it is really (especially in the edited version) only a truncated look at the historical atrocity of the Sand Creek Massacre (only one among many by the way, and unfortunately not unusual), upon which it is based. With its contemporary, Arthur Penn's more artistically accomplished "Little Big Man," "Soldier Blue" has attempted to show what the conventional celebrations of American military conquest rarely reveal, namely its base in racism, crude jingoism and gross brutality. The final scene of the braver-and-wiser (now "radicalized") "Honus Gant" (Strauss), chained behind a cargo wagon as a "traitor" (a charge with which he had formerly accused "Chresta"), while a deerskin-clothed Bergen, now moving off with the remnant of Cheyenne survivors, beams at him through tear-streaming eyes is reminiscent of the moving last meeting between Kirk Douglas as "Spartacus," crucified at a Roman gate, and Jean Simmons as his wife "Varinia," defiantly revealing to him their baby son who will now live in freedom in that 1960 epic.

This movie, most will say I think, could have been better; yet it is, despite so many flaws, a true "minor masterpiece": it has something worthwhile to say and says it so that you will always remember. The lead actors (Donald Pleasence is also -- as always -- remarkable as a "prairie scum" worthy of the legendary Strother Martin and L. Q. Jones) create characters with strong human qualities, good and bad; you will like the two leads, identify with them, and I hope, become "better" as they become better in their understanding and their courage to dissent against unjust war. ... Read more

Reviews (585)

one of the best comic flicks, since spider-man.
he's faster than a speeding bullet, more poweful than a locomotive and able to leap tall buildings in a single bound.....no i'm not talking about the guy in the red n blue tights..but green skin with purole pants.

that's right true belivers.THE HULK is nothing short of another marvel masterpiece alongside BLADE, SPIDERMAN and X-MEN
instead of filling the movie with boring dialogue and senseless fight scenes ("can you say MATRIX RELOADED"?) ANG LEE gives a psychological perspective behind marvel's mightiest monster. the origin is surpasses it's comic counterpart..here banner deals with his surpressed anger and confusing regarding a truamatic experince during his childhood.

ergo the result of his alter ego's rage. the special effects are pretty impressive and not the "shrek on steriods" as some naysayers would believe. HULK isn't the sterotypical smash and destroy everything in sight, there's even a breif moment of heroism during the scene over the san francisco bridge.

eric bana does a great job as bruce banner, he even resmebles the mild manner scientist from the comic version and pays more homage to the comic as oppossed to the laughable tv series of the 70's (lou ferigno) all in all a great film and FINALLY co-creator JACK "KING" KIRBY is credited, his name was missing during the xmen movies.

marvel is on a roll next up THE PUNISHER, GHOST RIDER AND DEATHLOK!!!YES!

Too heavy a mood
When an arthouse director like Ang Lee takes the helm of comic pulp fantasy Hulk popularized by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, you are almost sure of a heavy Freudian psychodrama with sense and sensiblity. One can't help also but to admire Lee's vivid use of split screens and panels, textures and colors to furnish a graphic novel. The gargantuan green creature of angst and amazing flying power is magnificently expressive and menacing as he storms through deserts, wrecking helicopters and fighting mutated beasts. Banner (Eric Bana) undergoes mutation agitated by a gamma-ray explosion with earlier experimenting done by his deranged geneticist of a father (Nick Nolte). Jennifer Connelly is his love-interest who helps to cure Banner of his trauma while her father (Sam Elliot) is the general assigned to destroy Banner. It is a moving essay on the dynamics of father-and-child with charged symmetry from Banner and Betty with their parents. The pace of the thrills also get unnecessarily bogged down in the first hour with its emotional cloud. Hulk fortunately regains its momentum with a special-effects extravaganza and draws exceptional performances from Nolte and Connelly that provides Hulk the movie substance and bulk.

Horrible
I saw this movie @ my cousin's and I thought it was gonna be so good. I love comic book movies so I was expecting something excellent. I thought this movie was a waste. It just totally sucked. I wouldn't buy this @ all. If you wanna see it, go out and rent it or borrow it. It's not worth spending your money on actually buying it

transhumanism meets the indigenist movement...
I know...a lot of people don't "get" it. This is a story about humanity's desire to tweek nature to transcend the "common" human condition. The hubris of science trying to break free of nature by manipulating nature...big business and the military industrial complex attempting to enlist this Icarus-like program for their own nefarious and very inhuman-human purposes...the HULK...transcending and returning to the very place his creation was an attempt to escape...those few Indians in South America facing genocide at the hands of modern civilization (so called)...snake bites it's own tail tale...

puny human
Wow this movie was amazing. I dont understand why it got a low rating. great dialogue from the actors. I enjoyed watching Jennifer Connelly on camera. She has pretty eyes and shes cute. The special effects were awesome! I especially like the behind the scene special features. Both discs are loaded with goodies! I hope they make a sequel. ... Read more

Description

What happened to Father Ralph de Bricassart and Meggie Cleary O'Neill during the mystery years not covered in the original 1983 smash-hit miniseries?Now every fan can be in the know."The Thorn Birds: The Missing Years" provides the spellbinding answer.

The time is World War II.De Bricassart heroically rescues refugees in Rome, then is sent by the Vatican to the sprawling Australian sheep ranch he though he had left behind forever.There, a fateful reunion withMeggie leads to new temptations and a profound crisis: Meggie may lose custody of the beloved son concieved during the season of forbidden love she shared years earlier with de Bricassart. ... Read more

Reviews (13)

Okay, I'm a bit generous...
Sure, we all know that nothing will ever surpass te original Thorn Birds mini, so let's just look at the big picture. At least we get look at what happens during unknown years the the original did not cover, although it is quite a mix-up with characters at the beginning, I rather like to see Ralph again and Amanda Donahue does a great Meggie, sure she doesn't look like or have the same style as Rachel Ward but she is still a very good actress. I like her. Olivia Burnette also does a finejob as Justine. But of course this movie has disadvantages, like contradictions and variatins from the origial book and TV series. I just can't stand the new Fiona Cleary, the atheist who clearly speaks about the greatness of God at various times during this movie. The pathetic excuse for the Mary Carson painting also gets on mynerves but what can I do.

At least we get to enjoy the same great music, the soundtrack is a great idea for those who like me loved the Mancini scores and some new music that has been add.

So-so
Thorn Birds fans will have mixed feelings on this one. It sorely misses Rachel Ward, although Amanda Donohoe does a fine job of acting, it just doesn't seem like "Meggie". The chemistry isn't the same between Meggie and Ralph. It is interesting to see the fill-in for those missing years, but a couple of things don't add up (hmmmm....thought Meggie said she hadn't gone back to Luke after that month with Ralph). Overall, I would say it's an okay movie and parts of it will bring back that "Thorn Birds" feeling, but nothing like the original miniseries (but then, how can you match up to that?). If you've not seen it, you might want to rent it, but not sure if it's worth buying.

If you want the "real missing years" read the book
I can sympathize with TV producers who wish to make "prequels" or "sequels" to Mini Series but not "in betweeners". In this film Ralph de Bricassart (played again by Richard Chamberlain) comes back to visit Meggie (now played by Amanda Donohoe) while Justine and Dane are growing up (something that never happened in the novel). She also gets a visit from Luke (who also never resurfaces in the book except in a letter) years after she told him off. Meggie and Ralph are as distant as they were before Matlock Island in it, making the first "19 years later scenes" irrelevant (even before Ralph helps Dane tell Meggie he wants to enter the priesthood). There is also a place where Justine discusses Ralph with Dane though they don't see him, and Justine hints that Meggie must have fancied him, and the like which again ruins the book text/sciptwriting from the forementioned "19 years later segment". Since the original series is hitting DVD next week, and they decided not to include this (being the DVD is gonna sell a lot less expensive than the VHS copy), you are much better off buying it (the DVD of the original that is). If you really wanna know what happened in the time between Dane's birth on Drogheda, and the "19 years later" segment that comes next in the Original, then read the book, there is more story there, none of which is covered by this very "brief" miniseries. If THIS in betweener ever hits DVD, I will debate ALL Pros and Cons before buying it.

A disgrace!
This is a disgrace to the original and thank God Rachel Ward & CO had the sense and taste to stay away from this crap! Only Chamberlain fell into the trap of fame and money! What a shame!

hey, people!
This is an audio CD. Why are you are reviewing the movie. Come on folks, stick to the idea here. ... Read more

Amazon.com

Imagine a work by Shakespeare reduced to one of those pretty, glossy coffee-table picture books that have only a dollop of text alongside its sumptuous photographs, and you might have Michael Hoffman's adaptation of A Midsummer Night's Dream. This all-star version of Shakespeare's comedy is gorgeously shot in Tuscany, complete with a magical forest, breathtaking landscapes, beautiful villas, picturesque villages, stunning period costumes--oh wait, there's supposed to be a story here, too!Hoffman hijacks Shakespeare's basic premise but doesn't instill it with much more than surface shine and transplants it to turn-of-the-century Italy.Ergo, it's left up to the actors to find the heart and soul of this classic play, in which the fairies of the forest play mix and match with four young lovers, courtesy of a magical love potion. Hoffman couldn't ask for better (or better looking) actors to play Shakespeare's dreamlike love games--Michelle Pfeiffer, Rupert Everett, Calista Flockhart, Christian Bale, Stanley Tucci, Kevin Kline, Anna Friel, Dominic West, the list goes on and on--but he sure as heck doesn't know what to do with them, aside from putting them in various states of undress. Only Flockhart (as the lovestruck Helena), Tucci (a sprightly Puck), Pfeiffer (dazzling and funny as the queen of the fairies), and especially the sublime Kline (as weaver-turned-donkey Bottom) seem to connect with their characters in ways that make this adaptation occasionally soar; the rest are inexplicably left to flounder. Hoffman does seem to set himself right with the film's climax, when Bottom's amateur acting troupe hilariously enacts the tale of Pyramus and Thisbe (it helps that the troupe includes Roger Rees, Sam Rockwell, and Bill Irwin). Those searching for a more in-depth exploration of Shakespeare's farce might do better to look elsewhere, but if it's gorgeous actors and scenery you're in the mood for (along with an evocative opera soundtrack), and an all's-well-that-ends-well ending, this Midsummer Night will give you pleasant if weightless dreams. --Mark Englehart ... Read more

Reviews (110)

Cast better than inept direction
While I don't have a problem with new interpretations of Shakespeare, I didn't find this all that new, just confused. Updating Shakespeare is also fine, if it serves a purpose, or at least doesn't interfere with the story, but those bicycles were ridiculous, and simply not funny. There was no point of reference, no reason for them to be there, no punchline. Likewise with Helena and Hermia's little mudbath...generally, the direction was absolutely horrible. The film is quite entertaining though, thanks to some very hard work from some of the cast. And that does not mean Calista Flockhart and Michelle Pfieffer (C.F. is grating, and M.P. obviously not comfortable with the text). It means Kevin Kline, Stanley Tucci, and Rupert Everett among the stars, but especially to some of the secondary characters: Anna Friel as a grounded Hermia (mud bath excepted) Sophie Marceau as an actually likeable Hyppolyta, and the great Roger Rees, as the most memorable Peter Quince I've ever seen. The music is gorgeous, and the scenery is nice, although having actually taken the trouble to go to Tuscany, Hoffman decides to film the magical forest on a really horrible, cheesy, creaking sound stage. Watch it for the cast.

Ah the Tuscan Hills!
Wow, what a great movie! But of course if you're a traditionalist closed to new interpretations, lock yourself back in your room with your Turner Classic movies. And if you've never had an English class where you liked Shakespeare or if you've never read and enjoyed an Elizabethan comedy and/or tragedy, forget about this movie. The language will just confuse you too much.

But if you can get past your conservative views and are open to the language, then watch A Midsummer Night's Dream.

I think that after five hundred years, it's amazing that these plays are still around and can generate such mainstream attention. I also feel that after that long, a fresh adaptation is more than welcome, especially if you've been subjected to the less than glamorous BBC version.

I felt that the setting (the Italian Athens you've never heard of) and anachronistic props (bikes with lights) actually lend to the farcical quality of this movie. It is a comedy and it is supposed to be funny, so lighten up and enjoy the fantastic performances of Michelle Pfeiffer (my FAVORITE Fairy Queen), Rupert Everett (fairy king--pun intended?), Kevin Kline as Bottom (he makes an Ass of himself--heehaw), and the myriad of other wonderful actors and actresses that breathe life into an old play.

And before you take offense to a director's interpretations, you might inquire as to the reasons for them before you denounce his movie. And if you really want the Bard's opinion, Joseph Fiennes could probably give it to you.

All good things, JOE

Not perfect, but certainly worth watching
To make Shakespeare accessible, you have to make it entertaining. Not just entertaining to those who already know and love his work, but entertaining to those who have never picked up a Folger edition of anything in their lives.

I teach English to teenagers. Teenagers, who gasp in horror at the mention of Shakespeare. Teenagers, with their 30 second attention spans, faulty grasp of the modern English they supposedly speak, and affection for the physical comedy of the likes of "Jackass."

So, how do we make teenagers like Shakespeare? We edit. So, naturally, some of the best speeches are missing or drastically shortened (remember, 30 second attention spans); the physical, often silly humor is accented; and the women mud wrestle. So what?

This movie is entertaining. At times, it is enchanting. It is fast-paced, visually interesting, and funny. The emphasis is shifted away from the complexities of the language because it is the language, the very thing we love about Shakespeare, that makes these plays inaccessible to the majority of the American movie audience.

I use this film because it is easy to understand. The actors have faces my students recognize, and it gets them excited about Shakespeare.

What this film does is to put the content of the play within the grasp of its modern audience. Shakespeare himself would have done no less.

An occasional dream
One of Shakespeare's most beloved works finally gets a modern cinematic makeover, good news for all of those who'd rather not see Mickey Rooney's Puck again. Unfortunately the latest retelling leaves much to be desired. Though mostly enjoyable, this film could use a good shot of fairy dust.

The story concerns three sets of lovers - Hermia and Lysander, Helena and Demetrius, and fairy royalty Titania and Oberon. The first pair loves each other but cannot marry because Hermia is betrothed to Demetrius, the object of Helena's desperate affection. When Hermia and Lysander steal away, the second couple makes chase and all four end up lost in the woods where our third pair, the quarreling fairy king and queen, reside. Oberon, dissatisfied with all about him, enlists his servant, Puck, to make amends. Puck is to place a spell on Demetrius so that he will fall in love with Helena, but a case of mistaken identity causes Lysander to become smitten with her. Meanwhile, a traveling actors troupe, led by Nick Bottom, stumbles into the woods for a late-night rehearsal. They prepare a play for the Duke's wedding and soon become the object of the fairies' mischief.

With the shell of Shakespeare's original, this movie pulls of adequate amounts of wit and humor; clearly the script is better than most. Despite Puck's much abbreviated role, it remains a light comedy and surreal and magical in every sense. The costuming, makeup, and Italian backdrop add to the enchantment and are some of the most enjoyable aspects of an aesthetically pleasing film. I loved the energy of Monte Athena in turn-of-the-century Italy (punctuated by a soundtrack of renowned operatic talent), although it added little to the understanding of the story or the updated time period.

My main qualm for this otherwise fanciful retelling is the distracted acting, which ranges from inspiring to embarrassing. Shakespeare's language, archaic by our standards, depends on talented actors and directors to lift it and his beautiful stories from obscurity. Kevin Kline proves that you don't need an English accent to perform Shakespeare effectively. His Nick Bottom is the most rounded character in the film, wholly human and rich with emotions thick enough to dip your fingers through. Anna Friel's Hermia acutely defines the play's romance and innocence. Along with Kline, she seems the most comfortable in her role and possesses a grace and naturalness absent from the other female characters. Dominic West gives an amusing and (sometimes) smitten Lysander to Friel's Hermia. I also liked Roger Rees' affectionate Peter Quince. The remainder of the cast spirals downward. Calista Flockhart as Hermia and Michelle Pfieffer as Titania appear uncomfortable and rather unsure of their characters, as if they are too afraid of fouling up the Bard's work to dig deeply into it. Rupert Everett's Oberon is tired and melancholy to a point of boredom. I am still trying to figure out why David Strathrain, who lacks the nobleness of his character, was cast as the Duke. Poor Sophie Marceau should have stuck with Mel Gibson. Though I would not have picked Stanley Tucci for Puck, he provides a slightly amusing if ineffectual performance, as does Christian Bale as Demetrius.

Because of the spotty acting, the film never gels completely. An unfamiliarity with the play by certain actors interrupts otherwise fluid scenes. Those who act well in this film make it worth watching; the others leave us wanting more.

Kline and Flockhart shine!!!
3.5 stars. This is a moderately enjoyable Shakespearean comedy with only two stand-out performances. Calista Flockhart, of "Ally McBeal" fame, shows here that her range and understanding of the poetic language of Shakespear is both impressive and fluent. She steals every scene she is in. Speaking of scene-stealing, Kevin Kline, a veteran of the stage and Shakespearean theater, has the best performance here. He hams up the goofyness of his character and makes him ultimately hilarious and endearing. Many of the other actors are merely okay. Michelle Pfeiffer, often a great actress, seems to struggle here. She sounds like she understands iambic pentameter well, but fails to emote any feeling behind the words; except for her scenes with Kevin Kline, she is simply mediocre. Also, the character of Puck, played by Stanley Tucci, is traditionally portrayed as more mischievous and problem-causing than the lap-dog of Oberon as he is portrayed here. All in all, this is certainly above par, with great costumes and fine sets and scenery. It just doesn't come together as a whole. This film is fun in moments, but eventually feels incomplete. ... Read more

Reviews (424)

Absolutely Effective
Most movies I've seen about the Vietnam War have been depressing. "Platoon" and "Hamburger Hill" come to mind, as they are there to remind us that Vietnam was a real shock to us back in the 60's and 70's. Yes, we remember we pulled out, lost if you want to say, but I don't go to a movie to get depressed. Randall Wallace's "We Were Soldiers" is not a depressing movie by any means, but shows that heroes were made in a war we look down on even today.

From the book "We Were Soldiers...And Young", the main character is Lt. Col. Hal Moore (Mel Gibson), a family man put in charge of, for the most part, green officers and men. The film also stars Sam Eliott, Chris Klein, Madeline Stowe, Keri Russell, and Berry Pepper. The majority of the movie takes place in Vietnam, where Moore and his 7th Cavalry fights 4000 NVA's while there are only 300 with Moore.

The battle scenes (which comprise the movie pretty much) are gory. Now, this isn't the goriest battle sequences you've ever seen, but it ranks number three in my book ("Black Hawk Down" and "Saving Private Ryan" taking the other two) for realistic wounds and such. The battle is hot and exciting, featuring infantry, air force, artillery, the whole deal. Some of the most frightening scenes come at night, when we see how close the NVA's really get to the lines. Wallace effectively knows when to change scenes at different places of the battle, and the changing it to back home with the soldiers' wives.

Gibson of course performs admirably here. He plays Moore to detail as not only a father of seven, but a father of three hundred. Sam Eliott was casted brilliantly as the gruff Sgt. Major, Barry Pepper as the journalist who would write the book along with Moore, Klein as an upcoming platoon leader that meets his demise, and Russell and Stowe clean up at home. Once again a great ensemble cast, and a great film. A little lengthy, but this film makes it worthwhile. "We Were Soldiers" is a rather positive look on Vietnam, thankfully conveyed by Wallace and Gibson.

I knew that Wallace had written the flop "Pearl Harbor", but the last time that he and Gibson got together was "Braveheart", and we all know how successful that movie was. "We Were Soldiers" is no different, with intense battles, emotion, and the reminder that heroes can just be ordinary people.

Hard to connect to depiction of early Vietnam War combat
"We Were Soldiers" is an good-but-not-great post-"Private Ryan" Vietnam War film. I had read the excellent book by retired General Moore, which describes his experience in leading a battalion into the Ia Drang Valley in 1965, and nearly getting overrun in a day-and-night battle. The Ia Drang battle took place when the news from Vietnam wasn't quite the nightly dinner-table companion, and when helicopter assaults were still new. Mel Gibson is good as Moore, but lots of people could have played this part. The movie doesn't let us get to know most other characters, so it feels more like a high-octane A&E documentary than a theatrical drama.

I don't know why I had trouble completely connecting with the movie. Perhaps the main reason is after so many movies dealing with the late-war period like "Apocalypse Now", and "Platoon", it's a bit of a culture shock seeing earnest, crew-cut soldiers that look like they stepped off of "Sands of Iwo Jima." We're used to seeing our average Vietnam grunt as a stoned-out disaffected short-timer. This isn't the director's fault - the Oliver Stone version of the war was four years in the future, but in might as well have been forty.

So what remains is a conventional war story which could have just as well taken place on Okinawa or in Korea. The political and spiritual upheaval caused by the war was just a glimmer, and the film can't really address it. The brief scenes of Colonel Moore's Vietnamese officer counterpart are interesting but far too short. The North Vietnamese soldiers, at least, are humans, we see them as individuals with histories and feelings, and rather than mindless insects or worse, sadists ("Deerhunter").

Recommended reading: Moore's book, "We Were Soldiers", is better than the movie. Another account of the battle is Larry Gwin's book, "Baptism" which follows a different battalion which, while walking back from the Ia Drang, was ambushed and nearly wiped out.

New wave propaganda
It is highly disappointing to watch Mel Gibson giving his high credibility (Patriot; Braveheart) as humanistic actor in this cheap propaganda. There is nothing in the movie but (a) 45 minutes of wasting time before going to Vietnam and (b) 90 minutes of violent extremist Vietnamese wanting to humiliate the west (by liberating their country??) challenged by few American heroes.
Opposite to 1800 Vietnamese, there were almost 360 Americans, supported by artillery, helicopters and extensive use of Napalm bombs by jet fighters. What is heroic on this? Why making a movie about it? Are we back to the 50's to celebrate American heroism of WWII?
Am glad that I saw the film on cable and did not specifically pay for it; the film is very boring, repeated and vague.

very good
the war scenes are outstanding, but the scenes with the women getting the cards were too sappy. dvd has good extras. the irish song was kind of strange at first, but it and the rest of the music was very good.

Great movie...
This is a really great movie. The war scenes were great as well as the acting. My heart really went out to the wives of the men when they started receiving the messages that their loved one had passed on. I recommend anybody to see this movie. I won't forget this movie for a long time to come. ... Read more

Reviews (5)

Uneven (like most bios), but not without its rarities.
This film is a curiosity more than anything else. I rented it years ago and found it uneven at best. Like most of MGM's alleged 'composer biographies,' it distorts the details of the composer's actual life (in this case, Broadway stage/operetta afficionado Sigmund Romberg) and hangs all of his magnificent songs on an all-star coatrack. And there lies the attraction: seeing Gene Kelly in his only on-screen appearance with real-life brother Fred; seeing Jose Ferrer's bride Rosemary Clooney in her fresh-faced beauty and ear-delicious voice; watching grande dame soprano Helen Traubel sing "Aufwiedersen" to a dying Merle Oberon; and most of all seeing Ann Miller blend the Charleston with her signature tap dancing (I'm not kidding) and superbabe Cyd Charisse in probably the single most erotic dance performed on film: an Arabian Nights-influenced duet with James Mitchell to the song "One Alone." And how she moves in that all-lace, form-fitting gown is anyone's guess.

Not So Deep
I'm conducting a wake for Rosemary Clooney (Born May 23, 1928. Died June 30, 2002.) I read "Girl Singer: an autobiography" and got the conveniently packaged "Songs from the Girl Singer: a musical autobiography " CD set. Like Girranimals, the similarly titled pieces have the same picture on the front so that the purchaser will know that they go together. I heartily recommend both. But I can only give a mid-depth recommendation to "Deep In My Heart." Perhaps this is because of reading Rosemary's book and determining that the Star, Jose Ferrer, was a real-life scoundrel to her. And it may also have to do with my unfamiliarity with the Sigmund Romberg oeuvre. The joy and spectacle of the "Specialty numbers" with guest stars including Gene Kelley, Ann Miller (how does she even WALK in those super-high stilletos - let alone do that dazzling dance?,)Merle Oberlin's "Camille"-like turn, Ferrer's Jolson-esque "Jazza Do" synopsis, and the piece de resistance: the "Mr. And Mrs." song and dance duet by Ferrer and his real-life newlywed bride, Rosemary Clooney, make this an Oldie worth renting, but I'm not going to rush to buy a copy.

Such beautiful music!
This movie is a real pleasure to watch. Good, old-fashioned entertainment with lots of singing and dancing. Jose Ferrer is a surprisingly good song and dance man in this story of Sigmund Romberg, the man who wrote the music for The Student Prince, Desert Song, Maytime, and many others. There are production numbers from many of his shows featuring famos stars in cameos and a little romance, too. A heartwarming film for music lovers!

Great Music, Cast, and Film
A biography of Sigmund Romberg, the musical and operetta composer. Anything which features his music must have some good features, but this is superlative all the way around. Jose Ferrer is charming as Rommie, Merle Oberon gives a nice performance as his love interest, and the list of cameos is starry, with Rosemary Clooney shining in one number and the great operatice soprano Helen Traubel singing "Softly" as it must be, a touching plea full of torment, angst, and ultimately acceptance. Beautiful technicolor, good direction. Very amusing, filled with some of the best songs ever written, and beautifully performed and captured on film.

Great dancing
The only thing good about the movie is the dancing. Gene Kelly, Cyd Charisse, and Ann Miller. They are 3 of the best dancers and you won't see anything like this again. ... Read more

Reviews (7)

Rita Hayworth stars with Glenn Ford in the "sequel" to Gilda
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Rita Hayworth had been absent from the screen for a few years when she made this film, but as the camera proves, although a bit older, she hadn't lost her on-screen magic.

This film isn't technically a "sequel" to the noir classic "Gilda", but it has many of the same elements. Rita (still with her famous Gilda hairstyle) again stars opposite Glenn Ford, who slaps Rita across the face just as he did in "Gilda"; Rita sings and dances (ala Gilda) in a couple of musical numbers wherein the voice is dubbed by the same singer who sang for her in "Gilda"...

The plot is contrived, and nowhere near as interesting as "Gilda", but it still makes for an interesting film, especially if you enjoyed "Gilda" and want to see more of the sultry Rita Hayworth making onscreen magic with her most effective co-star, Glenn Ford.

For fans of Hayworth, it's worth seeing for the musical numbers alone.

Lovely Rita... this film bears watching just to see her beautiful face light up the screen!

An "Affair" to Forget
"Gilda" is a great nasty film noir, in which Glenn Ford isn't quite man enough to take on Rita Hayworth, and she keeps flaunting it in his face. Will he step up to the plate... or burst into tears? If you're a fan of that movie hoping for more of their unique sado-masochistic chemistry, forget it. "Affair in Trinidad" is a third-rate knockoff of Notorious, but director Vincent Sherman is no Charles Vidor. In fact, he's nobody. The stars don't make fools of themselves as they did in their ludicrous "Carmen," but duller isn't necessarily better. She throws her hair around energetically, but years of hard living had taken their toll, and you know Hayworth is in trouble when you find yourself wondering if she's wearing a wig. "Gilda" was Ford's finest hour, maybe because his usual scowling tough guy act was framed up as a paper-thin cover for sexual ambiguity. Here, he looks like he can barely keep himself from stomping off the set in disgust. You're luckier than he was: you have a remote.

de-energised Hayworth
On the orders of Columbia studio head Harry Cohn, Rita Hayworth was transformed from a latin B player to an A picture love goddess, her high spirits passing as all-American in titles like Cover Girl and Gilda. However the curse of the beautiful is that they become possessions by collectors, just as Rita told screenwriter of Gilda, Virginia Van Upp - men fell in love with Gilda but woke up with me. Her greatest collector was Prince Aly Khan, and the idea of capturing a movie star predated Grace Kelly and Prince Rainier in the 1950's. However the Hayworth/Khan marriage failed and Rita returned to Hollywood. Perhaps in a depression, unhappy with the vehicle provided for her comeback role, or simply older, Hayworth's sparkle had dimmed. That's not to say that she doesn't look beautiful in the film. Whilst not lit as gorgeously as she was by Rudolph Mate in Gilda, she has a moment here standing in repose in shadow, smoking. But even with her character being a recent widow, her voice is dead and she carries herself like a somnambulist. She is best when she is dancing as she does twice here. In the first, Trinidad Lady, is the Carmen Rita - barefoot and tossing her dress. The framing distances us - director Vincent Sherman may be more interested in the crowd around the stage, but she looks happy performing. The second, I've Been Kissed Before, has obvious parallels to her Put The Blame on Mame from Gilda. She wears a shimmery black dress as fetishistic as the famous black satin sheath, the number is schematically arranged to present her as a tramp to later be rewarded with a face slap, even the choreography recalls that of Mame. However her announced intention to dance, even if contextualised, is a dramatic change of characterisation. She gives us the Gilda we want, and not the woman we have accepted up to this time - the one we have woken up with. The Gilda connection is made in the film by the casting of Glenn Ford as her romantic partner, thankfully treating her a little kinder this time around, Steven Geray in an amusing supporting role as her employer, Alexander Scourby as a pseudo-George Macready but without the menace, the locale being Trinidad as Gilda was set in Buenos Aires and a plot about German-ish hoods investing in shady activities that pose a threat to security. Ford tells us he was a pilot in the war and since he isn't old enough to mean WW1, we know that Upp and her cowriters have written their screenplay in a rush, explaining Hayworth's own reluctance to participate. Scourby is give the witty lines like "Some people are mellowed by drink. Have another" and "At the risk of dislocating your personality, try to be calm". He has a funny exchange with Ford about Hayworth - "I think you look lovelier in this colour than any other. Don't you agree?" "There's a few shades I haven't seen her in yet". Valerie Bettis who created Rita's dances also appears as the wife of one of the Germans and her drunken energy is very welcome. She has a great laugh and even gets to parody Hayworth's dancing at one point, and Juanita Moore is good as Rita's maid. Sherman provides an exterior of an airport with seemingly limitless open skies, and gives Scourby's interior an imposing staircase. This film is not the bomb I thought it was the last time I saw it, plot holes notwithstanding, but Sherman moves things along and at least Hayworth isn't the embarassment she was in the Hall of Mirrors sequence in The Lady from Shanghai. Perhaps sadly Aly Khan took the best of her and Harry Cohn was left to salvage her career with the little she had left to give.

The goddess spies (and dances and collects male resentments)
The thriller plot with a beautiful woman under-cover and unable to respond to maligning suspicions seems to me to owe much to Hitchcock's sublime "Notorious." (The original murder mystery of the plot is never solved. Hitchcock would not have left that hanging.)



The noirish cinematography is excellent, though the editing cannot compare with that in "Notorious" (or "Gilda"). I find Glenn Ford's sanctimonious hard to take (here as elsewhere).

Primarily, however, this was a vehicle for the return of screenn goddess Rita Hayworth in 1952, after the collapse of her marriage to Ali Khan ended her early retirement. There is a sadness underlying many of Rita Hayworth's sultry performances (as in "Gilda").

She could most certainly dance! No one at the time credited her with being able to act, but she could do that, too. She was so mesmerizingly beautiful that she just had to be vapid, everyone seems to have thought. 34 years old when she made this film, she looked absolutely ravishing.

The film's costume design won an Academy Award, but in the (deservedly) best-remembered scene, she danced barefoot.

More than I expected
I have seen Ford and Hayworth in movies (seperately) since World War II. The story is quite good, as are the script and the direction. The suspense and plot twists are interesting, and Rita Hayworth was very good in a fairly difficult role. I expected only a steamy romance vehicle, having seen repeatedly publicity so indicating for Gilda and for this picture. I was very pleased at the picture,including theTrinidadian blacks being so favorably and well protrayed for the time, and such roles being very well acted. And there is some chemistry there ! Maybe 3 1/2 stars out of 5 (I don't give many 5s). ... Read more

Description

Peter loves his next door neighbor Erica and, on the advice of his uncle, decides to camp out on her front lawn for the entire summer, or until she agrees to go out with him. ... Read more

Reviews (24)

Will Power
I've seen a lot of teenage movies, and this was the best. It's my new favorite movie. There are some really funny parts in this film and the whole thing is done really well. It's the best movie that nobody has seen. Sure some of the sexual references are numerous and sometimes disturbing, but it all adds to the fantastic ambiance. Jocks really are jerks, as shown, and somehow they always seem to get the girls. Kids with thick framed glasses are coming back and we want the girls, even if we have to spend months living on their front yards. This movie is just too good

a refreshingly honest teen comedy
I hate to bring up such manipulative teen romantic comedies as "10 things I hate about you", "She's all that", "Varsity Blues", "Down to you", "Boys and Girls", "Loser", and any other movie starring Freddie Prinze Jr that I have forgotten, but those films are under the impression that everyone in High School is a model, everyone drives around in sports cars, everyone carries a cell phone, and everyone speaks as if just out of Shakespearean times. "8 days a week", does not. Our hero is NOT beautiful, in fact, he is a genuine loser. Of course Keri Russell is beautiful, but yet she is not the everyday person, she is the object of the loser's affection. What I really liked about this movie is it's honesty in proving that nice guys do finish last. Even though it was a bit raunchy that doesn't detract from the movies charm and honesty about life and teenage love. Even though this film had only a limited theatrical release and was essentially straight to video with no big Hollywood models/actors, this proves to be the most genuinly sweet and honest teen romance out there.

Sigh
It was ok, but that was about it. As I think many people have said, it's for those who really like Keri Russel, but didn't test
her acting ability at all.

Oh, and it can be bought on DVD out of the UK at blackstar, and
maybe amazon.co.uk for those of you with multizoning.

Must See
You may overlook this film, thinking that it's your average everyday teen flick..... If you pass up a chance to watch "8 Days a Week", you are doing yourself a huge injustice. Not only is it brimming over with completely original and witty humor, it offers a different perspective on the people who surround us everyday, making you think twice before judging another's actions. Wonderfully written and executed, "8 Days a Week" is a must see for all ages.

INCREDIBLE
This is my new Favorite Movie. If you like this you'll probably also enjoy 100 girls. If you enjoy 100 Girls you'll probably also enjoy this. PLEASE COME TO DVD. ... Read more

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This film and Hello Dolly were the knockout blows to the studio movie musical, but Paint doesn't deserve its tarnished name. Ben Rumson (Lee Marvin) takes the model of a rakish derelict to an unequaled high as a prospector who teams up with a greenhorn named Pardner (Clint Eastwood), and they both end up marrying the same scorned woman (Jean Seberg). No-Name City, the prospecting town they found, is Sodom and Gomorrah without the camels, and a vision of humanity left to its own devices. The songs are mostly wonderful melodies from Lerner and Loewe, with definite high points, notably "They Call the Wind Maria" and "Wand'rin' Star." Clint Eastwood always gets flack for his versions of "I Still See Elisa" and "I Talk to the Trees," but that scorn is equally undeserved. Perhaps Paint's biggest sin, in retrospect, was trying to combine the aesthetics of the musical with the aesthetics of the male protagonists' world-weary machismo. Not the easiest task, but Paint pulls it off. --Keith Simanton ... Read more

Reviews (57)

Bawdy Good Fun!
Totally irreverent and unabashed Paint Your Wagon is bawdy good fun for the whole family! In spite of the critics' remarks about its morals or lack of them, I found the story to be true to life in the old west. In watching the documentary "Ken Burn's presents The West," one learns that many decent law abiding folk abandoned all sense of morality and manners once out on the American Frontier.

The music as with all Lerner and Loewe films is excellent, especially the unforgettable song, "They Call The Wind Maria." Clint Eastwood sings beautifully and most probably could have had a nice singing career had he not gone to tough guy films and spahgetti Westerns. Lee Marvin and Jean Seberg compliment a fine cast of actors that make this musical very enjoyable and a believable picture of life in the Old West.

Adapted by Paddy Chayefsky (remember "Marty?") the musical is filmed on location in a beautiful wilderness (supposedly) in California which is about to become a state. Reckless, raucous and full of good fun it makes Rogers and Hamerstein's "Oklahoma" look dull and tame by comparison. Like the song "With A Little Bit Of Luck" in the musical, My Fair Lady, Lerner and Loewe tend to celebrate the lesser (and more real) qualities of humanity with a tongue-in-cheek sense of humor. Thus so I dare say I enjoy Lerner and Loewe much more than Rogers and Hammerstein.

Bawdy Good Fun!
Totally irreverent and unabashed Paint Your Wagon is bawdy good fun for the whole family! In spite of the critics' remarks about its morals or lack of them, I found the story to be true to life in the old west. In watching the documentary "Ken Burn's presents The West," one learns that many decent law abiding folk abandoned all sense of morality and manners once out on the American Frontier.

The music as with all Lerner and Loewe films is excellent, especially the unforgettable song, "They Call The Wind Maria." Clint Eastwood sings beautifully and most probably could have had a nice singing career had he not gone to tough guy films and spahgetti Westerns. Lee Marvin and Jean Seberg compliment a fine cast of actors that make this musical very enjoyable and a believable picture of life in the Old West.

Adapted by Paddy Chayefsky (remember "Marty?") the musical is filmed on location in a beautiful wilderness (supposedly) in California which is about to become a state. Reckless, raucous and full of good fun it makes Rogers and Hamerstein's "Oklahoma" look dull and tame by comparison. Like the song "With A Little Bit Of Luck" in the musical, My Fair Lady, Lerner and Loewe tend to celebrate the lesser (and more real) qualities of humanity with a tongue-in-cheek sense of humor. Thus so I dare say I enjoy Lerner and Loewe much more than Rogers and Hammerstein.

The movie they tried to ruin
"Paint Your Wagon" is almost a textbook case in how to ruin a film version of halfway decent musical. Take a minor Lerner & Lowe hit, blow it up all out of proportion, cast three non-singers for the main leads, and remove most traces of the whimsy and irony that made this moderately popular in the first place. That the result is STILL somewhat entertaining is almost a miracle. A lot of the credit has to go Lee Marvin, who plays his trademark drunken Westerner to the hilt. But Clint Eastwood and Jean Seberg are bland to the point of nonexistence. A standout (he's hard to miss) is Harve Presnell, an actual singer who belts out the movie's big hit, "They Call the Wind Maria" then promptly disappears. There's a lot of "what-in-the-world-were-they-thinking?" in this one. But it's still worth a couple hours of your time.