Reviews (481)

One of the Most Overrated Films Ever
Gone With the Wind is remember as a great movie because of it's epic scope and excellent production values. But 60 years later when the big budget no longer thrills us, we are left with a decent film but nothing special.

To begin with the entire film is very campy and melodramatic. The whole film is very heavy-handed and over-done. Scenes like where Scarlet crys "I'll never be hungry again" are just plain ackward. Someone should have tatooed the word "subtlty" on Selznick's head.

The script is fairly weak too. It presents a very narrow, one dimensional view of the Civil War. Worse, the Civil War ends half way through the movie and the rest of the film lacks the first half's energy.

Another major flaw is that the characters lack any real depth. Scarlet is cold and nasty through the whole movie. She never changes untill the last two minutes of the movie. There is simply no development. Ashley is noble and his wife is so nice and sweat that it makes me sick. These characters simply aren't human and don't feal real. Probably the only character in the whole movie who actually developes at all is Ret. Sadly, Clark Gable's strong performance isn't enough to carry the rest of the cast.

It should also be noted that Gone With the Wind is very racist at some points. The scene where all the slaves are going off to fight the "evil yankees" is enough to turns one's stomache. Most of the black characters are portrayed as child-like and stupid. The only exception to this is Mimi who does an excellent job and deserved her Oscar.

Gone With the Wind is still an example of fine production values but when you strip away all the lavish sets and money spent on the film, you're left with a rather hollow experiance. While there is no denying that it is a very pretty movie, even today, and it does have it's moments, Gone With the Wind is simply an over-done and campy movie. This film does not deserve to be ranked up there with the likes of Citizen Kane or the Godfather. It's just not that good.

After more than 400 reviews...
...you can't say much else!! A spectacle to end all spectacles; the epitomy of costume, art direction, and cinemagraphic grandeur (Technicolor film was still rare in the 1930's, and the industry was already engulfed in production of at least one *other* color movie that same year). I wasn't enthralled with this film when I first saw it years ago but I have come to appreciate its epic presentation and gothic, almost soapy, storytelling. And the cast is entirely first-rate, from the leading lady (whose historical casting was a mini-series in itself) to the supporting roles (Hattie McDaniel, Thomas Mitchell, Ona Munson, Laura Crews, Ann Rutherford, Harry Davenport, Oscar Polk, 'Superman's' George Reeves, et al) to the hundreds (thousands?) of extras who populated the pre-and-postwar South (the tracking shot of the Twelve Oaks mansion at the start of the barbecue and the sprawling, widening shot of Scarlett walking amidst all the wounded soldiers come to mind). It is a great script ("Waste always makes me angry;" "Do you ever shy away from marrying men you don't love?") and great direction (Victor Fleming, George Cukor, and Sam Wood- anyone else?). It is a record-holder of sorts among Oscar nominated (or Oscars won) films, but it came out in an extraodrinary year of films. 1939 also saw the releases of, among others, GOODBYE MR. CHIPS, DARK VICTORY, THE OLD MAID, GUNGA DIN, ALEXANDER GRAHAM BELL, JUAREZ, ON BORROWED TIME, THE WOMEN, GULLIVER'S TRAVELS, AT THE CIRCUS, BABES IN ARMS, THE HUNCHBACK OF NOTRE DAME, LOVE AFFAIR, MADE FOR EACH OTHER, and THE WIZARD OF OZ.

Lesley Howard is brilliant and a strong character
In his role of Scarlett O'Hara's (initially) true secret love. I had been a fan of Mr. Howard's for many years. His performance here is among his finest. Also check him out in The Petrified Forrest. As for the rest of the film. When he's not in it it's a little strong on the romantic side.

Worth Another Look for this Fan of Classic Film
Gone with the Wind creates many strong opinions, but I daresay many of them by people who haven't seen the film, or at least not in many years. It is sort of an amalgamation of both Margaret Mitchell's book and a reworking of DW Griffith's even more controversial silent blockbuster Birth of a Nation.

I had written this off as a silly commercialized Hollywood fairly tale but recently decided to give it another look. Basically, I think the claims of racism are far overblown, especially compared to other films of this era. It seems to me that Selznick and company went to great pains to stamp out the more overtly racist themes of Griffith's famous 1915 film. For instance, Scarlett's attempted rapists were all white; real black actors have menial but still important roles; those black actors are treated with dignity and respect; and finally the "n" word probably more frequent in southern parlance of the day was replaced with the more delicate term of "darky", and never used in a scornful fashion. And while establishment opinion in the North still clings to belief that the Civil War was a most noble and unselfish effort, the truth was something much less certain. Surely slaves in the prewar South were not all treated as gingerly as in this film; but just as certainly they were also brutally repressed in the North as well (just watch Gangs of New York for a history lesson on Northern feelings towards African Americans). All wars have a side people would rather forget, and this one was certainly no different. Also on the positive side, the film does a good job of capturing this broad historic period with smart scenes amidst well designed sets. It's really quite a grand production, in color no less, with a marvelous historical and cinematic scope.

On the less positive side, the heralded performances I think are a bit overrated. Clark Gable's presence helps considerably, but he is certainly not nearly as natural or comfortable as he was in It Happened One Night. And Mitchell's sappy, soap operaesque story frequently slips nearly into the preposterous, especially in latter scenes of the film when the historic takes a back seat to the dramatic. But maybe that's what gave the film its broad appeal, as it has a little of something for everyone. I think another factor may have really launched its success: released during the cold winter of 1939, its four-hour sitting time gave depression-weary Americans a warm night on the town for a cheap price that they could all afford.

Regarding the standard edition DVD, its very serviceable but the extras are appallingly poor for a film of this esteemed history. Also, Spanish subtitles would have been nice (only has English and French).

The Best of the Best
A total classic...everyone should own this film. ... Read more

Reviews (4)

What a waste!
I have to say that even though Teti Hatcher's performance was good the movie itself was terrible. The plot was pretty dumb and the situations that take place in the movie are not believable. I can;t believe I wasted my money on this one!

Looks like trash, but it's so much more then that
When I first saw this movie I HATED it, could hardly even watch it, but Teri Hatcher is my favorite actress so I felt I had to give it a shot, and now I love it...the weird thing is I can't really tell you WHY. It's one of those movies that you just have to get into, which isn't easy and it is hard to care about the main characters. Dani Payson (Teri Hatcher) is an actress who really will do anything she has to to be a star, and seduces a writer, Jarvis Scott (Robert Patrick) to get the lead in his new play. Jarvis doesn't have all his marbles as it is, after finding the body of his wife after she MAY have commited suicide, hard to tell but you start to feel differently about this scene as the movie progresses. I don't want to give a lot away, and even though the movie is probably best known for it's nudity, it is a great movie that is very intriguing and suspenseful. A must for any real Teri Hatcher fan and Robert Patrick fan.

If you love Terri Hatcher then you must own this, otherwise.
This is a must for fans of Ms.Hatcher, she is sexy and smart in this film. The movie is trying to be a noir but it just doesn't make it. Acting is alright but the director needs to spend more time in class.

Pretty Good if you like Teri Hatcher
Yes, that's right...she gets naked. that, in my opinion, is the only reason I give it 3 stars. Other than that, it's a pretty dull and boring movie, until near the end when it gets.....weird! ... Read more

Amazon.com

Hayley Mills is the two-fer star of this original version of the 1961 Disney comedy. The young actress plays twin sisters originally unaware of each others' existence and who later determine to bring their divorced parents together again by secretly trading places. Brian Keith and Maureen O'Hara bring some adult legitimacy to their roles as the wary parents, Joanna Barnes is a good sport as dad's new and despised girlfriend, and director David Swift makes the whole production sprightly, warm, and fun. --Tom Keogh ... Read more

Reviews (97)

A Fun, Spirited Adventure Starring Hayley Mills
In the original movie, The Parent Trap, Hayley Mills stars, twice! As twins, not knowing about each other's existence, who meet at a summer camp where they immedietly dislike eachother, until, of course, they discover that they are twins. In the course of all this, they switch places in attempt to reunite their parents, played by Maureen O'Hara and Brian Keith. A fun movie to watch. Though perhaps not quite as colorful as the new version, it is a nice addition to your video collection, especially to compare to the new one. A must see movie that your whole family will enjoy.

"Let's Get Together,Yeah,Yeah,Yeah!"
"The Parent Trap" tells the story of two girls at summer camp: Sharon McKendrick and Susan Evers(both played by Hayley Mills). Their parents got divorced and took both of them separately. Maureen O'Hara plays Margaret McKendrick,and the late Brian Keith plays Mitchell Evers. The song that Hayley sings in the movie was a # 1 hit for her in 1961: "Let's Get Together" is written by Richard M. Sherman and Robert B. Sherman,who also wrote the title song sung by Tommy Sands and Annette Funicello. Hayley Mills also reprised the roles of Sharon and Susan in "The Parent Trap II" (1986),"The Parent Trap III"(1989),and "The Parent Trap Hawaaian Honeymoon"(1989). Lindsay Lohan took Mills' roles in the remake of "The Parent Trap"(1998).

Help, I'm seeing Double........
I love this movie. Both versions arwe great. The first one, with Haley Mills, has the song,"lets get together yeah yeah yeah, why don't you and I combine.." and the second one with Lindsay Lohan, has the song "There She Goes" And there are some other diffrences. Like in the new one, there is the lizard fiasco. I'm pretty sure that wasn't in the old one. But they are both good. if I wer you I wouldn't chose. I'd get both.:)

Hayley to the Rescue
This was the highest grossing box office success in America in 1961 and if there isn't a statue of Hayley Mills in Disneyland there oughta be. Her successive hits for Walter and Roy Disney bailed them out of a tight spot financially. Ms. Mills effortless adolescent charm is backed by two first rate performers in Brian Keith and Maureen O'Hara and neither was ever better. The plot about separated twins is older than Shakespeare and doesn't bear too close examination, but the theme of a re-kindled love and re-united family is one very few of us can resist. Highly recommended.

Special features are wonderful
Of course this is a wonderful Disney family film. I'm in my twenties, and I can remember watching this movie since I was a toddler. Since I'm sure you know how great the movie is and can read other reviews for that, I'll concentrate on the special features of this DVD, some of which aren't even mentioned above.

• "Caught in the Act: The Making of the Parent Trap" is a good documentary (about 30 minutes), including interviews with Hayley Mills, Maureen O'Hara, director David Swift, Joanna Barnes, and more. It provides a lot of background details on how the idea for the film came about, selecting the cast, fine-tuning the screenplay, etc.

• "Disney Legend: Hayley Mills" is a 25-minute feature all about Hayley, and it's quite good. It includes photos and home movies from her childhood as well as interviews with Hayley, Maureen O'Hara, Dean Jones, Kevin Corcoran, David Swift, Nancy Olson, and others she worked with at Disney. Hayley talks about her family, her experiences at Disney, and her departure from that Disney image in the late '60s.

• "Seeing Double" is a short feature on the split-screen technology that allowed viewers to see two images of Hayley Mills side by side at once. This technology was quite innovative and experimental at the time, but it worked beautifully.

• The Sherman Brothers featurette is a short but interesting bit of facts and trivia on two men who wrote songs for many memorable Disney films, including "Mary Poppins" and "The Parent Trap."

• "Lost Treasures: Who's the Twin?" is an interesting feature about Susan Henning, the girl who played the double for Hayley Mills in the film (in scenes with the camera over her shoulder or to her back). Now that I know to look for her, I can plainly see in several profile shots that the other twin is NOT Hayley. Watch the fight scene at the dance closely too. Henning is a warm presence and gives some little-known facts about the film and about Walt Disney.

• "Let's Get Together" is a music video of the two Hayleys singing the song from the movie.

• The Donald Duck animated cartoon, "Donald's Double Trouble," is a Disney short filmed a few years before this movie, but it's a cute bonus.

• Other special features include theatrical trailers, TV spots, radio spots, a lengthy Parent Trap photo gallery, and a 1961 Disney studio album.

• The film's audio commentary by Hayley Mills and director David Swift is also a great feature. Hayley reveals many interesting tidbits about her experiences on the film, her relationships with her costars and Walt Disney, and how she views the film today. Swift offers his own recollections on Hayley's performance and other background information on the film. For example, the scene where Brian Keith finds the bra hanging on his shower was almost censored!

The widescreen transfer is wonderful. I'd never seen this film in its original aspect ratio, so this was a treat. The abundance of special features make this DVD edition truly wonderful. (I had no problems with it playing in my DVD player, either.) This is simply a fun family film that you can watch over and over. I know, because I have for the past 20 years. ... Read more

Reviews (6)

A Fawcett triumph
The small screen treatment of author Ann Rule's best-seller is all the more gut-wrenching because this really happened, a self-absorbed mother whose horrific act of violence against her own children (all for a boyfriend who, it turned out, couldn't wait to unload her?) commanded overdue attention to the threat to children in their own homes. For anyone still unconvinced by "The Burning Bed" that Farrah Fawcett can act better than she can jiggle, they won't be with this one. Fawcett is superlative in getting across the pathological selfishness of Diane Downs and how her children paid for it. The performance was, for Fawcett, a richly earned Emmy nomination. Despite more than ample supporting acting by the likes of John Shea, et al, Fawcett carries this production and highlights it with an indelible emotional wallop. This is an important social piece, much as is "The Burning Bed" remains, and forces us to examine our childrens' safety in a new light. Read Rule's book for background to appreciate the production's faithfulness to its subject matter. Despite that wrenching subject matter, the film gives us some comfort in knowing that the justice system worked this time.

a true story
This TVM directed by David Greene is based on the book by Anne Rule and the teleplay adapted by Joyce Eliason. The female contribution accounts for the stance taken on Diane Downs, an Oregon postal worker who in 1983 was accused of murdering her own children to free herself for a lover who "just don't wanna be a Daddy". The crime outrages the male DA's assistant and presecutor with it's seemingly Medea brutality, their suspicion of Diane raised, in spite of her claim of a "bushy haired stranger" being responsible for the shootings, based on her "weird" behaviour. This behaviour is said to include a lack of emotion, inopportune humour, and a taste for the Duran Duran song Hungry Like the Wolf. (Greene's attempt to make Diane the wolf via her car headlights as eyes is a bit much). The DA's office takes months to form their case against Downs, and in their frustration, resent Diane's use of the media to gain sympathy, though we hear someone comment that "the camera loves her", implying that she possesses an unnatural empathy. At one point the audience becomes the TV camera with Diane talking to us subjectively. Given the nature of the context, it's easy for Downs to be more sympathetic than the police who wish to do her harm, but this perceived unbalance in the light of their feeling about the crime isn't helped by Greene's casting of John Shea as the DA's assistant and prosecutor, who specialises in a wooden stare. Eliason's teleplay reduces Downs by having someone say "She doesn't love. She devours" and gives her a memory monologue that she inexplicably delivers to Shea where she confesses that she hates men. There is also a court opportunity for Shea to project all his bile, and a queasy plot point of Shea's interest in Diane's children, overstepping his professionalism and getting way too personally involved. Greene uses similar cutaways of a crowd outside the courtroom during the trial, and stages a court re-enactment of the shootings in a model car for the camera with projected crosscuts, that the jury is unable to see.
As Downs, Farrah Fawcett has some delicious moments. Although an actress whose effort is always obvious, she captures Diane's recklessness and beauty, as she walks down a hallway talking and passing Shea, and as the camera circles her when a psychiatrist gives an evaluation of her personality. If she says and does things that appear to deliberately make herself look bad in the eyes of others, she still retains tube empathy so that we don't want to see her be found guilty, perhaps because only seeing her doing the shooting through the eyes of the prosecutor, helps it remain unreal. The casting of Ryan O'Neal as her former lover allows her to be uninhibited with him, though funny because of his resistance. There is also a perversity in the casting since it represents them at a time when they were a real life couple, but his stock was falling as hers was rising.
This TVM originally ran at 186 mins which is the version I saw, but ironically the length works against the treatment. In spite of it being truthful to the length of time the real events took, the inbalance of empathy becomes even stronger, and while we wait and wait with the police for Down's surviving daughter to regain her speech so she can stand as a witness against her mother, Fawcett's achievements become Greene's own small sacrifices.

As good as the book!
Movies based upon books are usually not much good, but "Small Sacrifices" is the exception to the rule. Farrah Fawcett delivers a stellar performance as Diane Downs, an Oregon mother who was convicted in mid 1984 for the May 1983 slaying of one of her children and the attempted murders of the other two, all because she was trying to win back the affections of her married lover, who had broken off their affair because he didn't want to be a daddy. Fawcett absolutely excels as Diane Downs because she brings to life Downs's coldness, self absorption, disregard for her children, and psychopathology in an extremely compelling and realistic fashion. John Shea is also commanding as the intense prosecutor, who, convinced of Downs's guilt from the very beginning, relentlessly seeks justice, and not because he feels he has only a legal obligation to do so. Joyce Eliason based her fabulous screenplay on Ann's Rule's bestselling book of the same name. This is an emotional movie, vey tough to watch, and will leave you drained at the end, simply because it is such a hard hitting, spellbinding story about the awful crime committed by a cold blooded woman who never should have been blessed with the gift of children.

Blood For Love
Small Sacrifices, a novel-turned-television-movie, is based on an incredibly true story about a women who tries to kill her three children to keep her lover. My first reaction to this movie was a sick feeling in my stomach that any mother could do such a thing. What also struck me was how convincingly Farrah Fawcett portrayed the cold Diane Downs. I was pleasantly stunned at the intensity each character showed and found that there were no lags or boring lulls in the story line. The devastating story prompted me to read the book by Ann Rule, and I fell in love with the story all over again. I wholeheartedly recommend this movie to anyone who is as fascinated by true crime as I am.

STUNNING PERFORMANCE!
Farrah Fawcett's interpretation of child killer Diane Downs stays with you forever. A multi-faceted banquet of film-making brilliance, this made-for-Tv adaptation of a real life event is haunting, seductive, and lacrimate. Chameleon-like Diane Downs is "Hungry Like The Wolf", and doesn't want any "kinks" in her social life. Her kids are the "kinks" that prevent her from pursuing a relationship with a clearly confused married man who up and moved hundreds of miles in a futile attempt to hide from the classique femme fatale. heartless maximus. ... Read more

Reviews (239)

I Give This Four Barks Out of Five
Best in Show is a clever 'mocumentary', a delightful satire of the dog show world. Director Christopher Guest and co-writer Eugene Levy also star in the movie, along with a slew of other comic actors. As writers, Guest and Levy are throwbacks to kinder, gentler times. Their brand of satire is funny and sometimes biting, but it is never brutal. They allow the performers to improvise a lot. This doesn't always work out, but when it does, the results are hysterical. The movie succeeds because the dogs' owners, not the dogs themselves, are the real characters. It shows that in the bond between man and dog, man may be the strangest and funniest half.

At the start, we meet several couples and individuals who will be showing their dogs in the Mayflower competition in Philadelphia. Some are shown in real scenes, other in fake interviews. Christopher Guest is Harlan Pepper, a down home North Carolina boy who runs a fishing supply store. He also raises champion blood hounds and dreams of being a ventriloquist. Eugene Levy and Catherine O'Hara play the Flecks. He literally has two left feet, and she is an aging hot babe, who is constantly running into men from her past, much to Mr. Fleck's annoyance. Parker Posey and Michael Hitchcock are the Swans, a couple of yuppie lawyers who have channeled way too much emotion into their dog. Sherri Ann [Jennifer Coolidge] is a very buxom and very wealthy matron who, along with her trainer, Christie [Jane Lynch], has entered her pom-pommed poodle. Finally, we met Scott and Stephan [John Michael Higgins and Michael McKeen], a gay couple who has entered one of their beloved toy dogs. In their spare time, Scott and Stephan produce calendars, using photos of their dogs dressed up like characters in famous movies.

The movie follows the characters before, during and after the competition. The show itself is quite authentic looking. It even spoofs sports announcing. One of the announcers is a proper Englishman, full of knowledge about dog shows. The other is an American who is completely clueless. Their scenes are among the film's funniest.

The humor is Best in Show is too dry for some viewers. It's often subtle comedy. I enjoyed it, but I like my humor from broad to dry and everything in-between. I also think I share Guest and Levy's point of view. They seem to be dog lovers who think that what goes on in the world of championship dog lovers is somewhat over the top. What the characters in the movie express towards dogs isn't exactly love. It's more obsession and a need to be noticed. In fact, these people require more attention than their mutts do.

Funny Mock-u-mentary
There's a shallow gold-digger married to a wealthy but mute 90 year old. There's a flamboyantly perky hairdresser (a most amusing character!) who is coupled with a hairdresser. There is also the two lawyers, married, dysfunctional, and highly high-strung. Then there's the former "popular" and experienced prom queen married to the nerdy and self-conscious salesman with two left feet (literally). And finally, there's "Harlan", the ventriloquist wannabe. What do they all have in common? Besides being hysterically human and flawed, each enter their prize dogs in a "Best in Show" contest. With excellent dry humor and in the mode of a documentary, "Best in Show" displays very aptly the human condition, relationships, ambition, and quirky but spunky dog owners and how they react to life, to thier self-worth and to winning (or not winning). I loved this movie for many reasons. The acting was superb; the storyline was choppy but worked very well; and the humor was intelligent and some of the one-liners hit you 5 seconds after they're said--the most powerful form of comedy. This is not for those who like fast moving movies; it's for those who like intelligently quiet humor and can read in between the lines by taking a simple process of entering a dog show and making it into a social, psychological, and fun story. You'll enjoy it!

Not quite "Best"
Christopher Guest has a rare misstep in "Best in Show," the follow-up to comedy classic "Waiting for Guffman." While "Best" is still a fun and frenetic mockumentary, it isn't up to the standards of its sibling mockumentaries -- it's a little too repetitive and over-the-top.

Welcome to Philadelphia, the home of the Mayflower Kennel Club Dog Show. Among the crazy dog owners are Starbucks yuppies Hamilton and Meg Swan (Michael Hitchcock and Parker Posey), gay couple Scott and Stefan (John Michael Higgins and Michael McKean), ventrilogist hick Harlan Pepper (Christopher Guest), and buxom airhead Sherri Ann (Jennifer Coolidge) and her lover/trainer Christy Cummings (Jane Lynch). Front and center is two-left-footed Gerry Fleck (Eugene Levy) and his wife Cookie (Catherine O'Hara), whose sexy past keeps coming back to haunt her.

All these people converge at the dog show, and face difficulties ranging from wrenched knees to televised lesbian smooches to lost squeaky toys -- and some of the dogs are getting a bit crazy as well. With an obnoxious commentator watching over it all, they all strive for the ultimate prize. Poodle, Norwich terrier, bloodhound, Shih Tzu or emotionally scarred Weimaraner -- who will be best in show?

"Best in Show" does for dog shows what "This is Spinal Tap" did for old metal -- it makes affectionate fun of them. Christopher Guest returns to mockumentary turf in the moderately funny "Best in Show" -- it's flawed, but still far above the average comedy.

The biggest problem with "Best in Show" is that Guest tries too hard. The jokes and goofiness are over-the-top, belying the mockumentary format. And the jokes get a bit repetitive. How many times can Cookie run into old boyfriends? Isn't the gay humor both cliched and overdone? But, the humor itself is quite funny, with plenty of strange lines like "We have so much in common! We both love soup... and the outdoors... snow peas... talking and not talking. We could not talk or talk forever and still find things to not talk about."

No flaws can be found in the veteran mockumentary cast -- these people look like they're having a good time. Hitchcock and Posey are chillingly good as the couple who met over J. Crew catalogues in a Starbucks, while Coolidge is deliciously dumb as a bisexual Anna Nicole Smith clone. McKean and Higgins, despite being cliched, play their roles with unadulterated delight. Fred Willard's vulgar commentator is over-the-top stupid, but still amusing.

Despite repetitive humor and the occasional dud joke, Christopher Guest's follow-up to "Waiting for Guffman" is an amusing look behind the scenes of dog shows. It's not "Best in Show," but it's one of the best of breed.

Definitely the funniest of the mockumentaries
This is a fast moving and funny movie that's a truly great comedy, worthy enough to stand alongside This is Spinal Tap.
This one has everything. Conflict-who will win the dog show? Humor, and lots of it. Fred Willard again proves he needs his own TV show (nay, his own channel) as a dog-show commentator so obliviously stupid he's lovable. Eugene Levy and Catherine O'Hara are perfect as your typical, middle-class east-coast family; Eugene's plays somewhat of a "loser", Catherine's great as the promiscuous wife. Jennifer Coolidge is pretty funny as the "glamorous" lesbian who can be aggressive in subtly funny ways.
The best thing about this movie is that it's truly humorous with truly funny actors. These people aren't puppets for lame sex jokes (well, not counting both gay couples) they're funny because they (as in the talented actors, the whole lot of 'em) inherit their characters and give them a life of their own. I mean, I bet that Eugene Levy came up with his character's two left feet on the spot because he knew he had to make a somewhat pathetic character even more pathetic. There's an absolutely pointless scene where Guest's character, a southerner/hunter/ventriloquist, talks to the camera about how he used to stay up all night naming nuts. It's funny though, because it makes no sense but somehow falls in line with the character.
This is a great comedy that makes few cheap shots but is consistently funny through and through.
The DVD has a pretty entertaining commentary with Guest and Levy, and some funny deleted scenes (look for the one where Hamilton tells Posey about "a saying my father used to say"). Those extras are enough for this disc though, and the price is great. Buy this inspired and funny comedy.

Best in Show
BEST OF SHOW was a little disappointing. I couldn't connect with Christopher Guest's hillbilly character, Eugene Levy's character lost me behind his buck teeth and two left feet (No, they really are two left feet!), and I thought Fred Willard's ringside color-man bit was more irritating than slashingly satiric. Bummer. It was because they were in it that I got this one.
On the other hand the movie is filled with strong characterizations and funny bits. Larry Miller has a hilarious scene as one of Catherine O'Hara's ex-lovers who, to husband Levy's obvious discomfort, describes things in graphic detail. Ed Begley Jr. hits the right note as the quietly helpful hotel manager. The bickering yuppie couple and the gay couple were fun, too. ... Read more

Amazon.com essential video

Otto Preminger turned this 1959 courtroom drama, based on the popular novel, into terrific adult drama. James Stewart stars as a small-town lawyer who defends an army officer (Ben Gazzara) accused of murdering a bartender who assaulted his wife (Lee Remick). The taut script, large performance by Stewart, and then-daring elements of the story (words like "panties" are spoken in the context of discussing a sex crime) give the action a certain immediacy--which you don't find very often in today's movies about jurisprudence. Nice work by Remick and Gazzara, as well as George C. Scott, Arthur O'Connell, and real-life judge Joseph N. Welch, who plays the judge in this film. A very good experience all around. --Tom Keogh ... Read more

Reviews (48)

One of the finest courtroom dramas ever filmed.
Anatomy of a Murder is one of the finest courtroom dramas ever filmed -- on a par with Witness for the Prosecution and Inherit the Wind. Jimmy Stewart gives one of his finest performances as a small town attorney defending an army officer who has coldbloodedly killed a man alleged to have raped his flirtatious wife. The rest of the cast is uniformly good, especially Lee Remick as the beautiful sexy wife and Ben Gazzaro as her jealous husband on trial for murder. Stewart's character is assisted by his old friend, an alcoholic former attorney convincingly played by Arthur O'Connell -- an outstanding character actor whose work, unfortunately, is often overlooked. A young George C. Scott (in one of his first films) plays a skilled and implacable prosecutor. This is movie making at its best; a true classic.

Good movie, if you haven't read the book. Otherwise, lousy
I had the great misfortune of reading the book before watching the movie. The book was a masterpiece, arguably the best piece of courtroom fiction ever written. John Grisham's a head of lettuce compared to Robert Traver's brilliant, accurate portrayal of the controversial (fictional) trial of Frederic Manion.

But if you've read the book, DO NOT WATCH THE MOVIE. It will be a massive dissappointment.

You will be put off by the Duke Ellington soundtrack. Sure, it's good music, but this is the story of rural northern Michigan, not the nightclubs of NYC. Duke's jazz does a disastrous job of complementing the setting of the film, and seems quite jarring in spots.

You will be put off by the inaccuracies, like Biegler's ability to play the piano, which never happened in the book (and which only happens in the movie to make Duke's score fit). You will feel that the story could have happened anywhere, anytime, whereas the book was distinctively Upper Peninsula in atmosphere.

You might agree with me that Jimmy Stewart was miscast. Sure, he does a great acting job as always, but whenever I looked at the screen, I saw Jimmy Stewart: Jimmy Stewart is talking to the bartender, Jimmy Stewart is arguing in a courtroom--as opposed to seeing Paul Biegler. It's like watching a movie where Jimmy Stewart's the lawyer, not Paul Biegler. Jimmy Stewart, defense attorney.

The only real highlight, what saves the movie, is the superb acting job by George C. Scott, whoever played the Irishman, and others. If it weren't for them, I'd be giving this movie a one-star review.

Perhaps if you haven't read the book you'll delight in the movie. It's a good stand-alone movie. It's fairly enjoyable despite its faults. But if you've read the book first, you'll hate it. And if you haven't read the book, I highly recommend you read it now. It's far superior to the movie in every way.

Think of it as a Courtroom Film Noir
The excellence is Anatomy of a Murder lies is how it doesn't try to cram itself down your throat. The movie takes its own sweet time telling an intelligent and challenging story. There really aren't any good guys here and there are no easy answers. That's the point of film noir. Everyone is bad in some way, everyone has motives, and happy endings rarely take place in real life. Very direct for a movie made in the late 50's. A woman's alleged rape and the murder of her alleged rapist by her husband is described repeatedly and in detail. James Stewart is surprisingly effective as a weary cynic who takes the case not because he thinks the accused is innocent or a swell guy but because he thinks he can win and get the guy off. After Stewart returned from the horrors of WWII, he turned away from the cheerful harmless fare of his younger days. It can be fairly said that he had two careers. His post war career is much more serious and mature. Introspective characters. Deeply troubled men. Obsessed men. Men of dubious morality and hard bitten practical values. Stewart never made a WWII movie. He didn't need to, he lived it.

"I beg the court...let me cut into the apple"
This film hooks you in the first minute with Saul Bass' brilliant titles and Duke Ellington's music, and then has you caught for the duration in the next few scenes; the dialogue is sharp and intelligent, and at the age of 50, Jimmy Stewart gives one of the best performances of his illustrious career, as Paul Biegler, an attorney who would rather be fishing than getting fees for his work. Stewart is so natural, so real, and so immensely likable. He's the kind of guy you wish you could have in your family, but wily enough to argue a good defense in court.

Lee Remick has just the right amount of provocative sensuality as Laura Manion to make one wonder what exactly happened on the "fateful night" in question.
After playing Southern belles in both "A Face in the Crowd" (1957) and "The Long Hot Summer" (1958), Remick was offered the role of Laura because Lana Turner, who was supposed to play the part, refused to wear an "off-the-rack" wardrobe, and wanted dresses designed by Jean Louis (hardly what a Army wife would be wearing). It was a big break for Remick, and she makes the most of it.

The entire supporting cast is superb: Ben Gazzara as the intense Lt. Manion, Arthur O'Connell as Biegler's assistant and friend, Eve Arden as Biegler's loyal secretary. George C. Scott is Dancer, the Assistant State Attorney, and Joseph N. Welch, who gained fame for being the Special Counsel for the Army in the Army-McCarthy Congressional hearings, is a delight as Judge Weaver. Duke Ellington makes a cameo appearance as Pie Eye, and even Muffy the beer drinking dog does a great job. Otto Preminger's direction flows at a lovely pace, with a balance between the dramatic tension and thoughtful scenes tinged with humor.

There were Oscar nominations for Best Actor, Supporting Actor (both O'Connell and Scott), Picture, and Editing (all losing to "Ben Hur"), as well as Sam Leavitt's beautiful b&w cinematography (lost to "The Diary of Anne Frank") and Wendell Mayes marvelous screenplay adaptation of the Robert Traver best-seller (lost to "Room at the Top"), proving that 1959 was a great year at the movies.
I love courtroom dramas, and this is one of the best ever made; it's unpredictable, with a very authentic feel to it, perhaps because the author, using the pen name of "Robert Traver", was actually Michigan Supreme Court Justice John D. Voelker.
Total running time is 160 minutes.

A legendary film
Otto Preminger was one of the most creative and brave directors of the american cinema in the fifties and sixties.
His works were loaded with a ravishing realism , they were very expilict , challenging and disturbing .
Imagine what it means the plot around the adultery commited by the wife of an officer in that age . You can reply me with From here to the eternity but this film is more shocking , and overcomes in dramatic punch to From here ...The other examples you may think is Baby doll and Dial M for murder in the fifties, but this one wins the match.
The powerful sequence in the Court has only a serious match in The Nuremberg judgement . Never before there was not a previous film so disturbing like this that film who explicitly turned around the bitter and awful consequences about the adultery .
The plot is overwhelming , magnificient built , without any hole . The cast is incredible . Consider these giants actors as Ben Gazzara , George C. Scott , Arthur O'Donell, James Stewart and Lee Remick in her screen debut .
This film was nominated as the best film but was unlucky , because Ben Hur literally won all the prizes and somehow that fact stroke the undeniable virtues of that superb work.
However the time seems to set in the right place this picture.
Acquire this one.
One of the most remarkable films in the american cinema story.
If I could give this film ten thousand stars , I 'd do it . ... Read more

Reviews (52)

See Exodus
The screenplay by Dalton Trumbo differs from the book but captured the essence of the story of Exodus. A close obsever and listner will learn much of the climate and environment of the time, noted scene, the broadcasting of news to refugees aboard the Exodus while declaring a hunger strike in a harbor on the island of Cyprus. Paul Newman is not particularly strong as Ari Ben Cannon. The character in the book was a bit more masculine. Eva Marie Saint and Sal Mineo are great, and Sir Ralph Richardson. Sal Mineo desrved an oscar. Otto Priminger was atypical for the day, choosing to film outside of a sound stage on location as much as possible. There are mistakes, shadows of the camera on the faces of actors at times but his unique style of direction is the film's power. Ernest Gold's score is stirring and powerful and beautiful. Some may find the story telling a bit slow by today's standards. If patient, a complex, historical and significant drama will unfold. This is an excellent film. See Schindler's List first and then Exodus. Actually, the sequence here should go somthing like this: Lawrence of Arabia, Schindler's List, and Exodus. What a history lession of the Middle East. Enjoyable, too. The widescreen format is the only way to thoroughly enjoy this film.

Where are the pompadours?
Remember the gladiator movies from the 1950's where all the men wore pompadour hairstyles? If this movie had been made five years earlier we would have seen Paul Newman with puffy hair. Sadly, we missed it. Suffice it to say this movie is really quite bad. It is filmed as if the actors were all on holiday and there just happened to be cameras around. In several spots the sound quality is really quite poor. If you are a Paul Newman fan you should give this movie a miss.

Beautiful and tragic
This tale of the subjugation of the Palestinian people will appeal to hard-core Israelites, but will seem amazingly brutal to those of us who still harbor questions about the Zionist Cleansing Experiment.

Right up there with "Bonnie and Clyde" in making you cheer for the bad guys -- and feel badly thereafter.

A Slice of History!!!
This is one of the best films of all time. With Paul Newman, Eva Marie Saint, and Lee J. Cobb, and Sal Mineo, among the ensemble cast, it doesn't get any better than this. The movie tracks the crew of a ship which ultimately wants to go to Israel- they are Jews from Europe who want to repatriate, and Paul Newman is highlighted as the son of Lee J. Cobb, who represents Ben Gurion.

There's lots of action in this movie, and the additional casting of Peter Lawford as an American attache is real interesting as well. There's intrigue, a prison break, romance, a great soundtrack, and an ending which points to the headlines of today.

A marvelous film, and highly recommended!!

How the Movie Exodus Influenced My Life
The movie 'Exodus' has been a very big influence in my life. The first time I viewed it was when I was 10 years old, right after it was first released back in 1960. My older sister explained to me that it was the true story of the rebirth of the nation of Israel in 1948 in fulfillment of bible prophecy ("...shall a nation be born in a day?" Isaiah 66:8). I didn't fully understand it back then, but it made a big impression on me and became a seed in my heart that continued to grow for another 38 years. During that period of time I never forgot the movie or what it represented. The seed came to fruition in 1998, the 50th anniversary of the State of Israel, when I was blessed to be able to visit Israel for the first time. A few days prior to my departure I obtained a copy of the movie and viewed it again. The memories flooded back, but with a much more enlightened understanding of the miracle of Israel and the return of the Hebrews to their ancient covenant land after 2000 years of dispersion ("...I [God] will gather you from the nations and bring you back from the countries where you have been scattered, and I will give you back the land of Israel" Ezekiel 11:17). How could anyone not see that the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob has proven He keeps His word and continues to watch over His word to perform it??!! Why is He doing this? "I [God] do not do this for your sake, O house of Israel, but for My holy name's sake... I will sanctify My Great name...and the nations shall know that I am the LORD" Ezekiel Chapter 36. In other words, God keeps His word and this proves it. And if God can redeem Israel and the Hebrews He can redeem anybody from any nation if they will repent and acknowledge Him as Lord. I recommend the movie, it will help you relive the miraculous moment, and give you a taste for that which is yet to come. The epic musical score is unforgettable... if only it were still available. ... Read more

Reviews (6)

Errol Flynn Shines As Legendary Lover!
THE ADVENTURES OF DON JUAN was intended as something of a 'comeback' film for Warner Bros. resident 'bad boy', combining the heroic elements of 'ROBIN HOOD' and 'THE SEA HAWK' with Flynn's well-established (by 1948) reputation as a hell-raising womanizer. Unfortunately, the color production was not a box office hit, but the comic adventure is today embraced by his many fans as one of his best roles!

It was not an easy film to make, as Flynn's carousing and frequent disappearances stretched the filming out by months, and forced frequent reshooting. Director George Sherman, cinematographer Elwood Bredell, and editor Alan Crosland often had to 'cut-and-paste' snippets of many takes to achieve a decent performance from the star, and careful lighting had to be used to play down the increasingly obvious effects of the star's hedonistic lifestyle. (The opening sequence, and closing scene, featuring then wife Nora Eddington, were shot nearly a year before the remainder of the film, and the change in the Flynn's physical appearance is clearly evident.) At 38, the star, who always hated being called a 'pretty boy' (to the extent that his home had no mirrors) was aging rapidly, and badly.

All this being said, Flynn tried to give the film his best he could. It had been a landmark film for his friend/mentor John Barrymore, in the first Warners' film with sound, employed for music and special effects only, in 1926 (THE JAZZ SINGER would introduce 'talkies' a year later). It reunited him with friend and frequent costar Alan Hale, who, at 56, was still a popular character actor, and whose son, Alan Jr., was starting to make his mark around town (he would eventually be best known as the Skipper in 'Gilligan's Island'). The script for DON JUAN passed through many hands, including uncredited help by William Faulkner and Robert Florey, with the end result being marvelously funny, tongue-in-cheek, and swashbuckling, to boot! The score, by the legendary Max Steiner, became an instant classic, and would be reused, years later, in George Hamilton's ZORRO, THE GAY BLADE. This was a film which, despite Errol Flynn's self-destructive lifestyle, had enough talent involved to still stand up as one of the better films of the 1940s.

The plot involves roué Don Juan, tossed out of England after breaking up a 'diplomatic' wedding (a VERY funny scene), returning home to Spain to find evil Duke de Lorca (the sublimely nasty Robert Douglas) controlling weak King Phillip, and taxing the population to near starvation, with only the beautiful Queen Margaret standing in his way. Flynn quickly dispatches a de Lorca press gang, earning the Count's hatred, and the Queen's attention...and Don Juan finds himself truly falling in love, for the first time, with the youthful monarch (played by the radiant Viveca Lindfors). Assigned as a fencing master at the Academy, the legendary lover draws the ire of the Queen by stating his feelings for her, then is manipulated into another disastrous diplomatic blunder, involving, of course, another woman. On the run, he discovers de Lorca's ultimate scheme (manipulating the Crown into war), and with the help of the students of the Academy, he must save the King and Queen.

Featuring a great early appearance by Raymond Burr (as a de Lorca henchman), and a stirring final duel between Flynn and Douglas (expanded from the 1926 version, and featuring an astonishing climactic stairway jump, performed by stuntman and future 'Tarzan' Jock Mahoney), THE ADVENTURES OF DON JUAN is a gloriously adventuresome romp. Sadly, it didn't save Flynn's flagging career, but it certainly has earned a place among his classic films!

very good!
Errol Flynn is perfect as the romantic figure Don Juan. This is a must see film with adventure and romance. It's colorful and one of Flynn's best.

The Greatest (Next to Robin Hood)
Errol Flynn's Robin Hood is one of the greatest adventure films ever made. But after you've seen it again and again, you wish you could see the same thing only different. And that's what Don Juan is. We still have the incomparable Flynn at his best, we still have the fights and the swordplay, and a bunch of Flynn's acolytes storming the old castle (this time they're not men in green tights, they're men in black swordsmen tights, but what the hell). It's "almost" a remake of Robin Hood, and that's why it's so terrific. If you loved Robin Hood, you'll like Don Juan. And if you like Don Juan and haven't seen Robin Hood, well, lucky you, you're in for one of filmdom's supreme achievements.

A Classic Swashbuckler
"Adventures of Don Juan" was Errol Flynn's last memorable swashbuckler before his sad decline. A loose remake of John Barrymore's "Don Juan" (1926), this 1949 production is colorful escapism on a grand scale -- abetted by lavish sets, Oscar-winning costumes and a fine Max Steiner score. Flynn's deterioration is somewhat evident, yet this dissipation seems appropriate for the debauched Don Juan. The light-hearted romanticism of "The Adventures of Robin Hood" is replaced by a darker and sometimes brutal tone. Robert Douglas and Raymond Burr are appropriately slimy villains, while Viveca Lindfors' Queen of Spain is not easily won over by Flynn's charm. Admittedly, the film is a bit dialogue-heavy and one can see how Warner Brothers saved a little money through its occasional use of stock footage. However, these flaws are more than compensated by first-rate action sequences and sword duels -- particularly the climactic confrontation between Flynn and Douglas. Though only a moderate success in American theaters, "Adventures of Don Juan" remains a solid swashbuckler and a classic of the genre.

Flynn's Last Great Swashbuckler
"The Adventures of Don Juan" was Warner Brothers' last big investment in Errol Flynn. Their resident bad boy had long ago used up any goodwill he might have had with the studio -- goodwill based primarily on Flynn's power at the box office. But in the late 1940s, Errol Flynn's star was on the wane, and the studio was beginning to take a hard and skeptical look at their one-time box office bonanza.

In an attempt to rekindle some of the old fire, Warner Bros. produced "The Adventures of Don Juan," in which Flynn plays the title role. His Don Juan is world-weary, a man for whom all the loves and swordfights and scandals are beginning to wear him a bit thin. But the most compelling aspect of this Don Juan's character is his sense of humor. Flynn brings a humorous, tongue-in-cheek element to the character that is extraordinarily appealing.

The film is lush and well-appointed. There are times when Flynn shows the effects of years of hard drinking and womanizing, but for the most part he is strikingly handsome. Stunt doubles were used extensively for him, particularly in the final duel scene. In the shot where Don Juan leaps down a long staircase and lands on top of the villain, future "Yancey Derringer" star Jock Mahoney performed the leap.

"Don Juan" did poorly in the United States and fabulously well in Europe. Its cool reception at home convinced Warner Brothers that Flynn was no longer a bankable commodity, and considerably less money was spent on his films in the few years he had left under his contract.

But in the intervening years, "The Adventures of Don Juan" has earned a huge following among Errol Flynn admirers and movie buffs as well. It is a grand, humorous and thoroughly enjoyable jaunt with the King of the Swashbucklers, and one that should not be missed. ... Read more

Amazon.com

This lush, perfectly cast 1969 drama concerns both a doomed, royal loveaffair and a pivotal moment in British history. Based on Maxwell Anderson's 1948 play, Anne of the Thousand Days concerns the mess that surroundedKing Henry VIII's decision to rid himself of his first wife, Catherine ofAragon (Irene Papas), and marry the young Anne Boleyn (Geneviève Bujold).Anglophiles know what happened next: Henry (Richard Burton) solved hisproblems with the Vatican's condemnation of divorce by having himself named head of the Church of England (see also A Man for All Seasons), whileAnne's perceived problem conceiving a male heir made her vulnerable to plotsby the nefarious likes of Oliver Cromwell (John Colicos). Director CharlesJarrott does a splendid job bringing all of these intrigues to life, though the storyis ultimately about Anne, a naive young woman who prepares herself tonavigate some of the dangers of Henry's court. Bujold and Burton never gave better performances, and this strange, tragic chapter in the history of the kings of England has never been more compellingly told on film. --TomKeogh ... Read more

Reviews (43)

....And My Blood Will Have Been Well Spent
This movie, based on the 1948 play by Maxwell Anderson, owes much of its success to the popularity of the Tudor England film genre of the mid-to late 1960s, of which it is a part.
It is a fine, gracefully portrayed, albeit sometimes inaccurate account of the life of the mother of Queen Elizabeth I. In the title role, Quebequoise Genevive Bujold is the quintessential Anne Boleyn, whose slight French accent comes nicely into play, as Anne had just returned from the French Court when she first appears onscreen. Bujold gives a lot of strenghth and dignity to the role, happily without the neck tumour and extra digit on her right hand like the real Anne. One major accuracy portrayed in the film is that Anne originally wanted nothing to do with Henry.
Richard Burton is a beefy-looking Henry VIII, a bit slimmer than most actors I've seen in the role. With his lovely, lyrical Welsh accent, he captures much of Henry's nuances and temperment, and the scene of him dancing the galliard with Anne is particularly seductive.
Valerie Gearon captures the sense of betrayal and frustration that must have been experienced by the real Mary Boleyn when the King casts her aside, and her story is an interesting footnote in this drama. Sir Michael Hordern, as Thomas Boleyn comes across as both an amoral man willing to sell his wife and daughters into the King's concubinage to advance his position, and also as someone who is a bit intimidated by Henry.
Anthony Quayle's Cardinal Wolsey is a cold, impersonal schemer, and immoral churchman who acts as the King's procurer. Terence Wilton's spurned Harry Percy looks to have been a more suitable match for Anne, but unfortunately, the King thwarted their plans for marriage.
John Colicos'Cromwell is the ultimate snake-in-the-grass lawyer, who succeeds in making the King's power absolute, which would ultimately be to his own detriment.
Solemn Irene Papas bears little resemblance to the real Catherine of Aragon, but emphasizes the spurned Queen's piety and firmness in the face of her ordeal. Nicola Paget as her daughter, Mary has a brief scene at her deathbed. But in reality, when Anne became Queen, the only condition under which Catherine could see her daughter was if she admitted that her marriage to the King was invalid. So mother and daughter never saw each other again.
Another point of interest in the movie was when Anne asked that the lives of Henry's adversaries be spared, she gives birth to a living child; later, when she does the opposite, she gives birth to a still born son.
Things soon come to a head for this noblewoman who became ensnared in the King's lair originally through no will of her own, but who suffered greatly when she finally accepted Henry when the King becomes enamored of Jane Seymour, and Anne becomes a political liabity. The reenactment of Anne's arrest on trumped-up charges of treason is not accurate. But the scene of Anne's final moments with Elizabeth is very poignant.
Gary Bond's Mark Smeaton is a pityable charcter as the court musician tortured into a confession of adultery with Anne. Michael Johnson's George Boleyn, Anne's wrongfully convicted brother, displays a certain gutsiness when he tells off Cromwell during the trial for his life. As was the case with his impregnated daughter, Mary, we see Thomas Boleyn once more turn his back on a teary-eyed daughter in order to keep the King's favor during the trial.
The final confrontation scene between Anne and Henry is fictitious, but it provides a great piece of acting. The speech Anne made before her execution is mercifully deleted; there is no place for her to praise the King who was having her executed in this production.
One wonders about the significance of the theme of Anne's Thousand Days in the years just after the 1,000-day Kennedy Administration ended tragically.
Placed in historically accurate settings, filled with regal pomp and splendor, and costumes in colors that were fashionable at the time of its release, "Anne of the Thousand Days" enthralls a viewer with its story, and Anne's prediction of her daughter's glorious future in her abscence reminds us that destiny, even in the face of the scheming brutality of a powerful King, can be greater than any of us know.

Wonderful Performances! Warning: Spoilers
Now, if Henry VIII had looked like Richard Burton, it might have been a little more tempting to be his queen. Both Bujold and Burton are lovely onscreen whereas, their real life counterparts were not. But we can't very well have a Hollywood movie with plain looking leads can we? This a beautiful movie to watch, and both of the leads play their roles very well. The chemistry between them is electrifying and the roller coaster ride that was Henry and Anne's tempestuous relationship is well portrayed here. Yes, there are inaccuracies, but who cares? Once you get engrossed in this film, it won't matter. Bujold brings the fiery and cunning Anne Boleyn to life in a believable and honest way. She is not shy about exposing Anne's faults. Her jealousy, nagging, teasing, and enormous ambition are all laid bare here. And this just makes her human, a real person rather than a footnote in a history text. That is why it is all the more heartbreaking when the film reaches it's tragic end. The last scene shows a small Elizabeth, later to become Queen Elizabeth I, with a voice over by Bujold proclaiming that one day her daughter would be queen, and her blood "will have been well spent." It is a very touching end to a pleasing film.

Applause, applause - now please get this on DVD
A nicely done docudrama regarding the relationship between King Henry VIII of England and Anne Boleyn. Much of the filming was done on location, which adds to the " atmosphere. " Mr Burton played Henry as a strong, but majorly flawed person, as he should have. Ms Bujold was lovely, more than competent and held her own against some of the finest actors of that time. The story is as old as air, but with a twist - it really happened and it changed the course of England. How far would a man go to secure a son ? An heir ? This film lays it out beautifully and it is a eye feast and makes one want to learn more about the woman who helped bring about great social and religious change and also gave birth to one of Englands' most dynamic rulers, Queen Elizabeth I. It holds up very well.

A Wonderful Film
Just thought I would add my comments to those already here. As a small child before Hever Castle was open to the public I spent many happy holidays with friends who were in service to Lord and Lady Astor, and who lived in the Staff Quarters in the Tudor Village adjoining the Castle.

In the absence of Lord and Lady Astor the Castle and the Gardens were my playground - I had complete freedom to roam all over the Castle, and used to enjoy walkng His Lordship's dogs in the grounds.

When the film was released I was delighted to see the places I remembered so well. It's a fine film and I would recommend it to everyone

Movie Freak
A Sensible statement is worth repeating:

Another viewer stated:

PLEASE, September 2, 2003
Reviewer: A viewer from Dayton, Ohio United States
This is gonna be short and sweet. Loved the movie, it is one of my all time favorites. But would one of the studios please, please put THIS MOVIE ON DVD! I think it is about time. My tape is deteriorating fast and I won't buy it again unless it comes out on DVD. Thank you.

--------------

It's now, May 8, 2004, and I still look for this movie on DVD.

Now, I will add my two cents, and say; please, please, please! Put this movie on DVD! Genevieve Bujold was absolutely robbed of an Oscar for Best Actress in this film. When Ms. Bujold is delivering that final speech, you want to stand up and cheer for her as an outstanding actress. Those of us who love period epics have this one in our library, now we want it the way it ought to be seen, i.e., in widescreen, in all it's spectacular glory with all those wonderful words, costumes, lush settings, and incredible acting by an incredible cast. So what do you say? GIVE IT TO US ON DVD ALREADY! PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE. There, now I've begged enough. I feel much better now that I got that off my chest. ... Read more

Amazon.com

Critics largely dismissed this 1978 movie despite the fact that it was directed by a serious filmmaker, Bryan Forbes (The L-Shaped Room, King Rat). A sequel to National Velvet, the film stars Nanette Newman as the grown-up Velvet (played by Elizabeth Taylor in the 1944 film), and Tatum O'Neal as her niece. O'Neal's character decides to become an Olympic-caliber horsewoman herself, and the prestardom Anthony Hopkins plays the no-nonsense trainer who helps her get there. No dull shadow of its famous predecessor, International Velvet is an exciting film in its own right, with a distinct tone and personality (Hopkins has a lot to do with this), and some very nimble work by Forbes behind the camera. This is more than just a movie for the kids. --Tom Keogh ... Read more

Reviews (19)

Still one of my Top Five Favorite movies!
I've never understood why this movie has been so largely ignored by viewers and critics since its release in 1978.

I saw "National Velvet" when I was young, and truthfully, I hated it. I was able to get my mother to take me to see "International Velvet" because of her love of Elizabeth Taylor (her peer) and the original. I loved this movie for many reasons, but it was wonderful to see Tatum O'Neal (a slightly-older peer of mine) in such a wonderful, heart-warming role.

Ms. O'Neal moved so gracefully in this movie from age 8 to 18 without question. She portrays Sarah Velvet Brown, niece of the "original" Velvet Brown - winner of the Grand National. At the beginning of the film, Sarah arrives in England to live with her Aunt Velvet and "Uncle" John after the car-accident deaths of her parents in their home town of Cave Creek, Arizona.

She soon develops a keen interest in horses, and raises Velvet's horse, "Pi"'s son, "Arizona Pi" to adulthood and eventually rides him to to the Olympics.

This is a true "coming-of-age" story with SUPERB cinematography (a stunningly-beautiful sea-side English locale), haunting score and stellar acting by a first-class cast, including two of my all-time favorite actors, Christopher Plummer and Sir Anthony Hopkins.

A year or so ago, I happened to catch the tail-end of a short featurette on this film, on the Independent Film Channel. It featured clips and details about how Tatum O'Neal learned to ride entirely for, and during the production of this movie. The race-footage clearly shows Tatum doing most, if not all, of the actual riding, even in the most difficult steeplechase sequences.

Even if you're not a horse-lover, you'll adore this movie.

NOW, LET'S GET IT RELEASED ON DVD!!!

Where's the DVD & soundtrack??
This is a superb movie that I still love & remember from childhood. It also has one of the most gorgeous & moving soundtracks of any film I can remember. So, where is the DVD edition and the soundtrack CD?? I am still looking and refuse to give up!!

Great Parts, Could Have Been Better
This movie had a lot going for it--Anthony Hopkins, a beautiful score and scenery, wonderful cross-country eventing scenes--but on other terms it falls quite flat. At some points Tatum O'Neal is acting very well; at other times she's not quite up to the material. Christopher Plummer and Nanette Newman are charming as John and Velvet--I particularly like John--but many of the other characters are just two-dimensional, like the student with the crush on Sarah, her riding partners, etc. Plus the romance late in the film just appears; she marries this guy after knowing him two weeks???? The quality of the film is uneven as well; sometimes it looks as if it were videotaped rather than filmed. Plus there's a big anachronism in the film: NATIONAL VELVET takes place in the 1920s! In the 1970s Velvet would have been an elderly woman and the Pi would have been dead!

Loved it
I saw this movie before National Velvet, and I feel it was just as good as National Velvet! I think the ambition Sarah had was great :)

good story bad quality tape
sweet story for pre-teen and teenage girls, but the sound quality was awful. popping, hissing and static throughout the video. ... Read more

Amazon.com

The Olsen twins take viewers to Lincoln Center, where they have a workout with the ballerinas of the New York City Ballet, go sightseeing in the Big Apple, and bring everything to a big finish with a grand-finale performance featuring some fine young dancers. With the cultural angle, this is better than most Olsen videos. --Tom Keogh ... Read more

Reviews (12)

Mary Kate and Ashley's You're Invited to a Ballet Party
My three year old daughter has learned several steps, her dance classes have not produced, thanks to this video. I love it, she loves it, even my nieces loved it! They watched it and we rewind the tape and they watched it again, like they had never seen it. I love the songs, the dance steps, everything! I would recommend this to anyone who has a little ballerina, or just for fun!

My daughter loves it too!
My 3 year old daughter LOVES this video! She knows almost every word from the opening credits right thru to the end. She now wants all their viedos. She has been in ballet since she was 2 1/2 and practices at home with Mary-Kate and Ashley. It's a video you will want to watch together over and over!

Short and Sweet for Little Dancers!
My four year old daughter LOVES this video. She puts on her leotard and ballet shoes and acts out the entire thing while it is on and even when it isn't. A lot of people talk about how videos are destructive "babysitters" but the imagination I see my daughter using as a result of this video makes me disagree. Also, it is "only" 30 minutes long, so if you want to curb your little one's appetite for TV, you can pop this one in and it's over before it gets to be "too much." Order it and have fun!

Great for aspiring ballerinas
My 4-year-old daughter loves this video. She just started taking ballet classes, and this video shows her little girls learning how to dance as well as adult professionals in New York--real life prima ballerinas.

It's a well-made video with catchy songs and a positive message--that getting good at anything requires lots of practice, and that even if you're not the best dancer in the world, it's still a fun and healthy thing to do.

I definitely recommend this for any little girl who enjoys ballet.

Ballet!
It is a little strange. Mary-Kate and Ashley go to New Yorks Ballet theater. They sing and do ballet with a profesional ballet dancer and with their friends. They even dance for the audience at the end of the video. Its tward the younger age and has a lot of sing along songs. This would be for any Olsen fans or ballet fans. ... Read more

Reviews (23)

Finally a movie about the TRUE general Custer
I find that son of a morning star is the best cinema work about general Custer and the battle of Little Big Horn of the cinema's history ! All american people MUST see this movie for learning what was really the general Custer. I advise all people to see this movie, it is very very very very very good. If it will be more than 5 stars for rating it, it would have more ! GARY COLE IS WONDERFUL IN CUSTER, THE INDIAN ACTOR OF CRAZY HORSE TOO. ROSANNA ARQUETTE IS GREATLY IN LIBBY, AND THE LITTLE INDIAN GIRL TOO. SIMPLY THE BEST MOVIE ABOUT CUSTER, LITTLE BIG HORN AND THE INDIAN'S WAR !

Well Done!
This is as good a version of the Little Bighorn that has ever been done for film.

Gary Cole is very good- although he does not look like a horseman. Unfortunatly, Rosanna Arquette, who plays Libbie Custer the General's wife, seems just to be interested in collecting a paycheck. She is as wooden as it gets. However, I think David Strathairn, a regular of John Sayles' films, does an excellent job as Capt. Benteen. Although, the horrendous wig he is outfited with detracts from his performance, he does capture, IMHO, the cranky complainer personality of Benteen very well. (Anyone familiar with the writings of Fred Benteen can tell you he WAS angry with the world.)

"Son of the Morning Star" relied on the services of dedicated re-enactors who brought a sense of authenticity to the uniforms and equipment not seen in other Little Bighorn movie re-creations. Unfortunatly, although re-enactors are great at dressing their parts, they don't often look their parts- the 7th Cavarly was not as heavily populated with middle-aged, overweight men as "Son of the Morning Star" would have you believe.

Finally, the outfit Gary Cole is wearing for the Little Big Horn scenes is based on an actual photo. In 1875, a picture was taken of Custer at a picnic near Ft. Lincoln wearing a hat and a white buckskin jacket, which look alot what was depicted in the movie. Of course, we don't know if Custer wore that outfit a year later, but that photo shows that the producers for the movie just didn't make it up. However, the movie's Little Big Horn scenes show Gary Cole with his face shaven and hair immacutely clean, conditioned, and styled. Hardly realistic.

Custer: Symbol v. Human Being.
The purpose of "Son of the Morning Star," both the book and the miniseries, was to show that George A. Custer is not just a symbol, good or bad, for culural/political causes, but a human being with flaws and attributes. A previous review is a perfect example of the failure to see Custer as anything but as a symbol. To some people, Custer is the embodiment of the evils of Manifest Destiny. It's an ironic fate for someone who died in the most spectacular, albeit temporary, setback for Manifest Destiny.

Custer is a fascinating historical figure because of his symbolism. So many people have such strong feelings about him for what he represents, but so few people really know anything about him. Born the son of blacksmith in a rinky-dink Ohio farm community, Custer was no son of privilege. Yet he was a brigadier general at age 23, a major general at age 25, and fought with great courage and skill in America's most horrific war. It never ceases to amaze me how people throw slurs at the officers and men of the Indian fighting army, but ignore that a large percentage of those men fought with undeniable heroism to re-unite this country and free the slaves. Custer, Reno, Benteen, Cooke, Yates, Keogh, Tom Custer, Smith, and a number of other officers of the 7th Cavalry were all Civil War vets.

Attacks on Custer's courage for "fighting women and children" just demonstrates an ignorance of his Civil War combat record and the realities of Plains Indian warfare. Custer graduated college in June 1861 and a month later he saw action at Bull Run. In April 1865, he would receive General Lee's flag of truce near Appomattox. In between, he saw action in almost every campaign in the Eastern theatre of operations. Even after he became a general, he still exposed himself to danger and was often seen fighting in hand to hand combat. At Appomattox, his superior, General Sheridan awarded him the wooden table, upon which General Grant signed the papers of General Lee's surrender, as a gift of appreciation for his magnificent courage and leadership.

Yet people believe that such a ferocious combat commander reveled in fighting women and children! Plains Indians didn't fight like Rebels. They had a different concept of warfare from the U.S. Army- guerrilla tactics, hit and run. To the Army, the biggest difficulty of Plains Indian warfare wasn't fighting the Indians, it was finding them! In 1876, the biggest fear the U.S Army had was that the Lakota and Cheyennes would scatter before the Army could attack them and this mentality was the reason for Custer's decision processes on June 25. The Army had been forced to attack villages because this was the only effective method it had of forcing the Indians to stand and fight. Yes, women and children would die as a result and this was regrettable, but so were civilian casualties at Vicksburg and Atlanta. However, on June 25, 1876, the Army completely underestimated the Lakotas' and Cheyennes' willingness to stand and fight. Custer thought he would be pressing the issue, but instead had the battle dictated to him with catastrophic results for himself and his men. This "arrogance" was a mindset held not only by Custer, but the entire U.S. Army and they paid for it on June 25.

"Son of the Morning Star" was an attempt to present Custer and the Little Big Horn not just as symbols. Another reviewer mentioned "Little Bigman" as being a more historically accurate potrayal. That is absurd. While "Little Bigman" is a very entertaining film, it's as unrealistic as the 1941 movie "They Died with Their Boots On" which starred Errol Flynn. Flynn's Custer was portrayed as the ideal American military hero for a country that was preparing for World War II. In 1970's "Little Bigman," Custer is shown as a symbol of lunatic American imperialism as the country clashed over the Vietnam War. "Son of the Morning Star" was an attempt to show Custer as a human being without World War II or Vietnam era propaganda. This miniseries does take a lot of dramatic license with its subject, but in comparison to previous efforts on the Custer/Little Big Horn story it's refreshing in its candor.

Not the true Custer
This is a terrible and unaccurate portrayal of one of history's most overblown "heroes," George A. Custer.
He was a butcher and a madman who did most of his "Indian fighting" against women and children as the Seventh Calvary rode them down in ambush attacks in their village. Custer was one of the biggest contributers to America's own version of the holocaust which we conviently tend to ignore. Custer is not someone to glorify as this miniseries tries to do on the heels of the Indian freindly "Dances With Wolves." This seems to be more of a PR move to appease those appalled at 'Wolves' notion that the U.S. army at the time were less than honorable.
Rodney A. Grant from that film (Wind In His Hair) plays exceptionally the role of Crazy Horse, but his screen time is cut embarassingly low. Custer on the otherhand, is played up like a Tall Tale from the western drugstore dime novels. Here he's romanticized as a great guy, but this just ain't so.
The novel "Son of The Morning Star" from which this miniseries is supposedly based, gives a more realistic portrayal of the real Custer. His Indian name translation, "Son of the Morning Star," is actually another name for the devil in American Indian lore.
Skip this movie and read the book, or "Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee" by Dee Brown. It's an historical chronicle of the destruction of the American Indian. It's difficult to read because it's so shocking and sad, but every American should read it. "Little Big Man" starring Dustin Hoffman gives a much more accurate version of the Battle of the Little Bighorn and of Custer.

Release this to DVD now!!!!
A very well done production even though two of the main characters were miscast.
One of the best Custer films made but with many inaccuracies and typical Hollywood foul-ups.
But still, very entertaining.
This needs to be released onto DVD uncut and with the making of the movie A.S.A.P. ... Read more