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Originally made as a two-part TV miniseries, this umpteenth adaptation of Johann Spyri's novel is exceptionally easy on the eyes. Jason Robards plays the grumpy grandfather who tends for the orphaned Swiss girl. Jane Seymour chews up the scenery as the governess to a spoiled, rich city girl whom Heidi is forced to visit. The adults think the invalid Klara (Lexi Randall) needs companionship, but wise old grandpa knows she needs good mountain air and independence. Noley Thornton is sweet enough in the title role and Robards's performance provides depth. This Disney production brings little to the story, but is worth watching for its stunning Alpine vistas.--Rochelle O'Gorman ... Read more

Reviews (9)

Stunning!
This version of Heidi is truly wonderful. The story is so great and all the actors played the roles very well. Shirley Temple was good, but Noley Thornton is fantastic. Unlike the older version of Heidi this has a freshness to it. The other version the Alps don't look nearly as stunning and the slede ride was the fakest thing I have seen in my life. In this re-make you can almost see the hills bursting with song and joy. It is truly magnificent.

Great film for People of all ages!!!!
I rented this from Top Hat Video the other day and I watched it last night when the thunderstorm was interupting the sound this has gotta be one of the best disney films ever Noley Thornton is a sweet girl in this films she's great for the part of Heidi Sure Shirley Temple was good for the part of Heidi in her version of the tale but Young Noley is great too her sweetness in this film makes me feel so good if you thought Shirley was great for Heidi wait till you see this disney version of the tale it's a very sweet story I recommend you get this Noley Thornton is great for Heidi!!!!!!

absolutely absolutely perfect
I viewed this film and realized how ugly I am compared to such a beautiful person as Heidi. She was so patient, caring, loving and wise. Please if you ever want to see a good film and you want to waste almost 3 hours of your life on films SEE THIS FILM!

The outside beauty makes you feel so ugly within... I am not kidding. It's that beautiful!

a movie for the heart
Great movie with very good actors. Little Noley thornton is wonderful and loveable in the title role.

Heidi has a refreshing perspective on life
Heidi has a refreshing perspective on life. She chooses love, love for a crochety old man. In her eyes he becomes lovable to the viewer as well. The scenes of nature are stunning and the tender exchanges in human relationships are deeply moving. Heidi is not just a great "G" movie for children, it's a great movie for adults who need another glimpse, another reminder, of the beauty in our surroundings... both in people and in nature. ... Read more

Reviews (9)

Vanessa Redgrave fantastic in forgotten biopic
"Isadora", the ambitious movie bio of famed early 20th Century dancer Isadora Duncan, opened in 1968 to mixed reviews and poor boxoffice. In those days, the contractual right to a director's cut of a film was quite rare. The distributor, Universal Studios, quickly shortened the picture by 30 or so minutes. It later changed the title to "The Loves of Isadora". None of these efforts bore fruit, and the production soon faded from most people's memories. It did result in a much deserved Oscar nomination for its star, Vanessa Redgrave, who lost out to Barbara Streisand and Katherine Hepburn [tie vote].

Duncan was a remarkable woman who vowed never to get married [though she finally did] in an age where marriage was most women's singular goal. She may not have revolutionized The Dance, but she certainly had a strong influence on it. She openly had several lovers over the years. These ranged from a brilliant set decorator to the American heir to the Singer sewing machine fortune to a Russian Bolshevik poet. Her dance recitals enthralled audience in American and Europe. She founded several schools whose purpose was to educate children though art.

Redgrave is stunning as Isadora, and her inspired performance makes the movie well worth watching. Some viewers recommend the original version, which I own. It runs 157 minutes. I suspect, though, that this is a movie that actually benefits from some judicious editing. In the original, the Russian sequences go on and on and are filled with stereotypical views of Russian artists, performers and poets during the Bolshevik period. Up to that point, "Isadora" is quite fascinating. I feel the shorter version, which runs about 131 minutes, is more coherent. It maintains the great majority of Redgrave's amazing interpretation of Duncan.

Other memorable Redgrave movies include "Howard's End", "Julia" and "The Devils". Reisz did a wonderful directing job on "Saturday Night and Sunday Morning", "Morgan" and "The French Lieutenant's Woman".

A free spirit ahead of her time...
The legend of Isadora Duncan seems to be gradually fading with time. But when this film was made in the 1960's, she was still very much a bright memory and her free-spirited approach to both life and her art struck a definite chord with the Love Generation. Seen today, it's still a fascinating glimpse into what was undoubtedly an eccentric and frustrating yet brilliant character. As a dancer, Isadora was unique although hardly a pivotal figure in the history of dance.

The film is always beautiful to look at - the style seems to suggest that there were many similarities between the Twenties and the Sixties. I don't know about that, but the film has a splendid period feel. The gorgeous Croatian resort of Opatija was an inspired choice to represent the French Riviera of the Twenties. A lot of attention has been paid to all the detail. Too bad, therefore, that Maurice Jarre's music seems to reflect neither the era nor the character of Isadora. But visually the film is fantastic.

Director Karel Reisz deserves much praise for making the enigmatic character of Isadora as accessible as he does. The script tries hard to illuminate her by concentrating on key events in her life rather than making a conventional biopic for this very unconventional person. But it constantly and somewhat needlessly jumps back and forth in time which is occasionally confusing. The concentration on Isadora is so absolute that the other people come and go with barely a word of introduction or explanation. Much is made of Isadora's grief over the death of her children in a car accident. But no mention is made of her Russian husband's suicide. Our view of Isadora is more impression than insight.

Even so, Vanessa Redgrave treats us to a remarkable performance - making Isadora as credible as she was outrageous. She is also surprisingly good in the dance sequences, some of which are quite stunningly staged. Redgrave's American accent may wander a bit, but she holds nothing back in baring Isadora's soul to us. It is a powerful performance.

All the other actors are truly just "supporting". Cast against type, James Fox has a great time as the extravagent designer Gordon Craig. Jason Robards, by contrast, is permanently morose as millionaire Paris Singer. As the Russian poet who eventually marries Isadora, Ivan Tchenko is full of fire and vodka. Special mention should be made of John Fraser, who plays Isadora's long-suffering secretary Roger. Fraser was a wonderful actor in some significant films of the Sixties (El Cid, Repulsion, Tunes of Glory) yet stardom somehow eluded him. He gives the second best performance in Isadora - an expertly judged mixture of devotion and exasperation.

But the film really belongs to Vanessa Redgrave and Karel Reisz. Together, they create many memorable moments. The best of these is when Isadora is dancing for an audience of Russians in those dark days just after the Revolution. Suddenly, a power failure puts the lights out. Isadora is given a lantern and someone starts to sing. Soon, everyone is singing and dancing an impromptu and emotional version of "Kalinka". The scene captures Isadora's love of dance, the Russian soul, the universal appeal of art, and everything that is good about film. We are both touched and thrilled. It is too much to expect the film to be that good all the way through.

"BEWARE OF BOAS IN BUGATTIS"
Slightly irreverent, but apt, considering la Duncan's dramatic demise [if you don't know - it is quite a moment!].

Book-ended between Isadora's final days somewhere on the French Riviera, she's obsessed with a handsome stranger driving said Bugatti; it's a remarkable tale of early 20th century feminine liberation when corsets were still de rigueur. Vanessa Redgrave stuns with her beauty and talent as the pioneering Duncan - difficult sandals to fill! Perfect casting. Equally impressive are James Fox as Edward Gordon Craig, theatrical designer extraordinaire, and Jason Robards as sewing machine millionaire, Paris Singer [both fathering Duncan's tragic offspring].

Big budget sets and costumes are unfortunately not too visible in this format, at least we do have the complete version BUT we miss the superb camera work - constant movement until the end - the stillness of the ocean .........

Peppered with intentional patches of humor [the unsightly pianist Singer provides for Duncan] and moments of utter pathos [the tormented Russian poet, Sergei Essenin - who also exited rather spectacularly from life, we're spared that.] This is another treasure from the liberated days of 1968 in need of total DVD restoration.

Footnote: Ken Russell also paid homage to Ms. Duncan in the Omnibus series "Isadora Duncan, the World's Biggest Dancer" with Vivian Pickles. Rarely seen, but both versions well worth it!

A remix of Isadora
I was amazed when I received my copy of "Isadora" from Amazon, the miracle store, to discover a director's cut with scenes in it I had never seen before. A treasure with added bonuses and one of Vanessa Redgrave's finest moments. Thank you Amazon

Redgrave's performance is a triumph!
This is not a masterpiece, but it is a very qualified, very good movie. What makes the film, however, is Redgrave, the greatest actress of her generation. Her performance is a must-see for anyone who likes craft and artistry. ... Read more

Reviews (20)

interesting period drama
Jessica Lange stars as Cousin Bette, the older spinster aunt recruited to help those relatives who have all the beauty and wealth --- and therefore all the love (it's a bit odd because Lange is really attractive even when they are playing her looks down. you just have to give in and believe it.)

When Bette finds a boyfriend in a younger artist, her pretty niece Hortense goes after him because she does not see why Bette should have ANYTHING at all. Bette, meantime, is a costumer at a local Parisian theater, where she meets Jennie, a courtsean (played by Elizabeth Shue), who is also single but with quite a different take on life. Bette decides to put her spoiled selfish nasty relatives in their place once and for all.

This is a great little movie and well worth watching!!!

Not Quite
"Cousin Bette" is one of those modern costume dramas where people muck about with British accents, (even the American actors--in France, no less!) that purport to make them civilized, yet behave more or less like animals rather than people. The Balzac novel on which the film is based managed to satirize much of "high" culture of the period-where privileged people behaved more or less like animals than civilized people--yet the film seems resigned to revel in the broad, soap-opera-ish plot of a woman wronged taking her revenge than anything else. (It's difficult to find subtlety in a film that finds excuses to repeatedly show Elizabeth Shue's naked, muscular backside.) The film features a who's who "B" list of capable actors--Shue, Bob Hoskins, Hugh Laurie, and others, though the real star of the movie is the production, which is better than the typical BBC production but not quite the best of Merchant/Ivory fare. The biggest flaw is the characterization of Bette. Lange brings Bette to life with a bit too much darkness--she often comes across more as a snake waiting to be provoked than a plain woman abused by the selfishness of the beautiful and wealthy--which undermines our sympathy for her. In the end, Bette gets her revenge, but she lowers herself to the level of villain to do it, making the film seem more a poor imitator of "Dangerous Liaisons" than anything else.

Absolute trash!
I'll never forget the Masterpiece Theater mini-series from 1971. It was a sheer delight. Jessica Lange's Bette is a defanged, declawed pussy cat when compared to Margaret Tyzack's fierce tigeress whose fangs and claws are lethally sharp and carefully concealed.

I keep hoping PBS will rebroadcast the original series. Until then, forget the insipid movie.

Fantastic Lange
As always Jessica Lange does an incredible job. The movie is worth to buy just to watch her perform. In my view she's the greatest actress alive today!!

Jessica Lange is excellent as Bette.
This is a story of revenge as though Shakespeare had written it. Jessica Lange becomes Bette and you find yourself on her side from the start. All the actors are believeable and the story carries you along. If you enjoy british period films, this one is for you. ... Read more

Reviews (40)

Seriously good psychological thriller
CONTAINS ONE MINOR SPOILER
The Stendhal Syndrome was the second movie I saw by Dario Argento. Since then I've become a huge fan of his work. Many people find this multi-layered thriller to be one of his failures and I find that hard to believe. Granted, it's more character driven than most of his movies tend to be and the movie's pace and athmosphere change dramatically in the second half. Still, I found out that it's got a lot of his trademarks (having now viewed all his movies except Four flies on grey velvet, which I can't find anywhere). It's stylish as hell, with great use of artworks (as metaphors that is; the scene where Asia covers herself in paint had me wondering), the music score is excellent (by Ennio Morricone; not Goblin) and the violence is at times extreme (the rape scenes particularly, since you know Asia's father is directing them).
The real difference with this film considering Dario's other films is the psychological undertone. I have watched this movie now three times and I'm always seeing something I didn't figure out the last time. That's what great complex thrillers do, they always keep you wondering. This is without a doubt Dario Argento's most complex film, it demands the audience pay attention to what's happening. As far as psychological thrillers go, this one ranks high.

SERIOUS TROMASONE DAMAGE
Despite an incredible opening 20 minutes, THE STENDHAL SYNDROME
soon meanders into tedium and never manages to recover. Although initially disappointing Argento titles such as TRAUMA, for example, have blossomed with the passage of time, this film seems particularly resistant to reappraisal. Certain elements work extremely well, with Thomas Kretschman's forceful performance, Morricone's repetitive score and Asia Argento's hypnotic visit to the Uffizi Gallery being the major assets. Unfortunately, the film soon abandons it's one truly original idea - the "Stendhal Syndrome" itself - and heads in a more mundane killer vs. police direction. Of course, Argento tries to spice this up with abherrent psychology, grotesque sadism and narrative trickery, but the end result never approaches the high standard set by classics such DEEP RED or TENEBRAE. Scenes between Anna (Asia) and the police psychiatrist are interminably boring, whilst the less said about the unconvincing family relationships and romantic scenes, the better. Although this is my least favourite Argento film, it certainly didn't deserve the humiliation of being released by Troma! Lloyd Kaufmann's inane, ill-informed introduction claims the DVD contains the digitally re-mastered director's cut. What this actually means is a BADLY transferred version of the TRUNCATED export print. Compared to the luminous image quality of the French DVD, the Troma disc's muddy, washed out colours are extremely unimpressive. The largely irrelevant extras and promos for idiotic junk only add to the bargain basement atmosphere. If you're an Argento completist, wait for a more definitive release - shelling out for this contemptible mess from Troma would be murder.

Horrible DVD Quality, Interesting Movie
Troma should feel ashamed by the horrible quality of this DVD. Argento's films are usually released on Anchor Bay, who does a stellar job with the transfers. This DVD, though, is so full of artifacts in dark scenes that it felt like I was watching a 5 year old video from a rental store. It also didn't feel like it was a FULL letterbox version as parts of the opening credits were cut off on the left and right edges.
One of the interviews was OK, but it was really an interview all about Argento's 'Phantom of the Opera'. The other interviews were extremely cheesy as they weren't even done in person -- it was just Dario holding a microphone answering questions that were coming to him over the phone.
The movie is quite interesting and better than I expected. It deserves a much better DVD than this extremely cheesy production from Troma, though. Movie gets a 4/5, DVD gets a 1/5.

deep but disturbing
I am a little torn on how to judge Dario Argento's "The Stendhal Syndrome". The movie is about a Rome police inspector Anna Manni (director Dario's daughter, Asia Argento; who seems a bit young to play a police detective), who is assigned to the anit-rape unit. Manni's current case is to track down a serial rapist and killer who is stalking girls in Rome and Florence. The killer finds her in an art museum. While she is there, she falls victom to the stendhal syndrome (that is, having a physical reaction to a powerful emotional piece of art) which catches the attention of the killer. Shortlyu there after, Anna is captured and savagly raped and beaten by the killer. The attack leaves her seriously damaged mentally and emotionally. She now must hurt and mutalate herself just to feel. While on vacation, Anna is captured and tortured again by the killer, but this time mangaes to escape and kill the man. But this only leads to deeper despair. "Stendhal" has it's good points and it has it's bad points. Well, first the good. This is a powerfully disturbed movie; unflinching and brutal. I must praise Ms. Argento for having the guts to play such a demanding role; what she lacks in talent (and she dose lack), she makes up for in courage and effort to play on such raw emotions. She has made a career out of playing victoms who, after they are damaged in whatever way, can only respond to new world with equal amount of venom. The violence is very disturbing, not so much the amount of gore (although there is plenty of that), but because it is so mean spirited. However, if you're a Dario Argento fan, you're probably, um, if not used to it, at least you're expecting it. Now onto the bad. Structurely, the movie seems disjointed. At first it is a serial killer movie, and then it is a tour through the mind of victom turned killer Anna. The twist of having Anna turned into the killer at the end seemed a little strange, but I guess it isn't too terrible a streach. The acting is pretty bad, but I blame dubbing the language from Italian to English. The movie also has long straches where seemingly nothing happens. This scene is the most offensive: Manni's partner and sometime lover comes over and tries to suduce her right after her first rape. How insensitive can the jerk be! But as if that wasn't bad enough, Anna turns the table on him and psudo-rapes him! How very disturbing. All in all, this is an Italian horror film, so it is intensly violent and gory. But it is Dario Argento, who knows that the more scary violence is done to the mind, not nessisarily the body.

Terrible DVD of an impressive film
The Stendhal Syndrome is an effective, stylish thriller from horror maestro Dario Argento. The film alone would rate at least 4 (out of 5 stars)but the Troma DVD is pretty appalling. The audio is hissy and the volume low and the picture is incorrectly letterboxed and riddled with digital artifacts. If the DVD weren't bad enough it's made even worse by having a horrible, embarrassing introduction and foolish, faux interviews with Troma president Lloyd Kaufman. A good film is severely cheapened by a garbage presentation. A big, fat ZERO for the disc. Hopefully, Blue Undergroud or Anchor Bay will be able to obtain the rights soon. ... Read more

Description

Film version of Evelyn Waugh's novel by the same name. Follows the events leading up to the end of a marriage of an elite English couple in the 1930's. What else could you expect when the wife has no qualms about her selfish habits (including an affair) and the husband is a stick in the mud confined by his sense of tradition? ... Read more

Reviews (5)

"So much for infidelity."
Brenda (Kristin Scott Thomas) and Tony Last (James Wilby) live at Hetton--the magnificent ancestral home of the Last family. Tony dotes on their only child--a son--James Andrew. Life at Hetton is fairly predictable, and Brenda is clearly bored by it all, and yet she doesn't display her boredom except to bemoan the demands of another hideous local event and the tedious rounds of weekend guests who descend upon them regularly. One weekend, Tony invites a young man named John Beaver (Rupert Graves). Beaver's arrival is so innocuous that Tony even forgets that he's been invited, and so the task of entertaining Beaver falls to Brenda.

Brenda, up to this point, has acted like the perfect wife and mother, moving automatically from one role to another, but the arrival of Beaver sparks some dormant desire. With a cold deliberation, Brenda manipulates Tony into allowing her to take a flat in London. Under the pretense that she's studying economics, Brenda begins to indulge in an affair with the shallow Mr. Beaver. Everyone knows about it, but Tony remains blissfully unaware until a tragedy forces Brenda's affair to the surface.

Tony Last is indeed the 'last' of his kind. He represents tradition and gentility that will be swept away by up and coming demands of the more avaricious aspects of society. Beaver is a hanger-on. His mother owns a shop, and supports her darling, precious Beaver, and now he's grown accustomed to a certain lifestyle. Beaver couldn't possibly work hard enough to earn adequate money to enable him to live as the Lasts do, so he contents himself with becoming an eternal guest--staying at other people's splendid mansions. The affair with Brenda is all fun and games--until he is faced with the possibility of actually supporting her in the manner to which they have both grown accustomed. With supreme selfishness, Brenda and Beaver--two unpleasant characters--decide they 'deserve' a large share of Tony Last's money. When faced with being stripped of everything, Last finally refuses to comply, but this action sends him spiraling off into the jungles of Brazil.

Tony Last is an incredibly nice man, but that doesn't save him from becoming the victim of several extremely selfish and self-indulgent people. There's Brenda--she hopes that Tony hands over the money without a big fuss--after all, she doesn't want anything to cloud her happiness. Then there's Beaver--he's perfectly content to live off another man's bounty, but finally, there's Mr. Todd (Alec Guinness) who sees Tony as some sort of living, breathing entertainment deal. The film is based on Evelyn Waugh's brilliantly dark satiric novel, "A Handful of Dust", and the story is marvelously and expertly transferred to the screen. The acting is superb--Kristen Scott Thomas acts her role with deliciously cold detachment, and James Wilby as Tony Last seems mildly bewildered by the demands of the world outside Hetton. Stephen Fry stars in a small (but very funny) role as Brenda's callous brother. The sets and scenery are breathtaking, and fans of Evelyn Waugh should find themselves well pleased with this adaptation--displacedhuman

A film in a place of its own.
Films haven't got much better than this recently. The jewel in inception and the making of this film which makes it is that the producers know the limitations of the "great" film and just how many ingredients of a great film, and also then elements of the stage, go into making this world-beating drama.

This is one of the most distinctive films which has been made therefore: a film which knows the entertainment context of film, drama, literature, the stage and then the television or movie-house film today. This is supreme entertainment.

In the same tradition and indeed category, without qualification or doubt, as the great pieces of cinema of old - "as Lawrence of Arabia" - this is a modern piece of dramatic art for the nineties and remains remarkably unchallenged in this decade. There are few films of the the last few decades which see so far ahead. Neither an enfant savage nor an enfant terrible - rather this film is as it knows these have been high or prevalent in the cultural climate, in the general cultural prescription. And these notions or identities are and have long been lurking in a culturally bound class (and country). This is embedded within the dramatisation of the tale. The compass of the film and of the story are great but limited.

I give it five stars because of the supreme, engaging and limited but total cinematic nature of this piece, which unexpectedly touches but also inspires the intellect with the emotions in making the story true by successfully refusing to explicate this human fantasy story in anyway; by its actual subtlety of treatment of the book; by giving the audience a direct light to see this literary tale.

And so also a more intellectual fable is given to the viewer on a silver platter, to indulge in without even a semblance of exertion.

Actually I would think it was a true story because of the devious, contextually ambiguous ending - which is not quite cunning. Should be seen and seen again and kept precious.

Understated and beautiful
This dramatization of Evelyn Waugh's novel is nicely done. The story concerns the marriage of Tony and Brenda Last, members of Britain's upper crust. From all outward appearances and, as far as the oblivious Tony is concerned the marriage is perfect. Brenda is bored and proceeds headlong into a destructive relationship with John Beaver, a man without personality or resources. Tony watches in denial and Brenda watches in self-absorption as their "perfect" world crumbles.

The dialogue in the film is remarkably faithful to the novel. With one notable exception, the actors quietly underplay the scenes, almost all of which involve tense and emotionally-wringing scenarios. This serves to underscore the absurdity of the "stiff upper lip" social mores of the time. The film stars James Wilby as Tony Last. Wilby is a dead ringer for the young Evelyn Waugh -- a nice touch given the story's autobiographical origins. Kristen Scott Thomas stars as Brenda.

About three-fourths of the film is set in London and rural Great Britain during the years between WWI and WWII. The remainder is set in the Amazon jungles. The film's score features native South American musical instruments throughout the scenes set in Great Britain which, again, serves to underscore the film's social themes.

Sir Alec Guinness dominates the jungle scenes as the amoral Mr. Todd. He's the one actor in this film who doesn't underplay his role. In this film, Guinness is unwashed, unshaven, scheming, hateful and maniacal. In short, he becomes "The Man Who Liked Dickens". I felt that his performance here was one of the best I've seen.

I rated this film 4 stars rather than 5 because there are one or two scenes which are so underplayed I would have missed them entirely had I not read the novel beforehand and been on the lookout for them.

Overall, this is definitely worth watching.

Marvellous
This is a brilliant adaptation of Waugh's sharply satirical novel "A Handful of Dust" (also worth reading). The pace is beautiful and I thought the casting was perfect. Kristin Scott Thomas is remote and succinct as Lady Brenda, James Wilby as her husband Tony is restrained panic. Giving Rupert Graves the part of near-sociopathic Mr Beaver was a stroke of genius. He is good-looking without being overly unctuous.

The story is set in England of the 1930's. Tony and Lady Brenda, and upper class couple who live mostly in the country, have been married for seven years when Tony invites a man from his club to come and stay, Mr Beaver. Brenda gets an odd hankering for their guest, even though Mr Beaver proves himself to have feet of clay over and over again - but then so does she. There is a slow decline in Tony and Brenda's relationship, the deterioration filtering through layers of genteel gossip and impeccably good manners. The ending has a marvellous twist to it also. The script retains some of the sharpness of the Waughs novel, and much of the humour.

brilliantly acted and visually stunning
Evelyn Waugh's novel gets more than your average "period piece" treatment here. Art direction is a plus, as are costumes, set design, and score. But there's also a consistent (and coherent) effort to convey the sense of inevitability present in the novel. Thanks to superb acting (particularly by James Wilby and Kristin Scott-Thomas) that effort pays off. You feel the main cahracters spiralling down - but there seems to be no way to guess their end. Rupert Graves is also very good, but Judi Dench and Alec Guiness in comparatively smaller roles give us performances that are as luminous as ever. Intriguing score. Why not 5 stars? Tempo. Pace. A few minuts less wouldn't hurt it - they're not essential to plot or characterization, they just let the camera take in the beautiful sets languidly... Maybe for some people that would be deserving of a 5th star. Maybe. I still think it's a beautiful music, the acting is superior and it's something of an unknown gem. ... Read more

Description

In the sixteenth century, the king of England jeopardizes his reign when he ignores his wife and openly carries on an affair with his male lover. ... Read more

Reviews (9)

14th Century Gay-Bashing á la Derek Jarmam
Definitely Derek Jarman's most refined film. That said, refined for Jarman is bizarre for most.

Based VERY loosely on Christopher Marlowe's play from 1592, however, should be viewed in its own light / right. Whereas it does tend to capture the wonderful Marlow language, this is no "Shakespeare" here! It's a brilliantly acted ensemble piece, set in Jarman's abstract vision of the world, with a core message that is as valid today as it must have been shocking then.

Jarman "paints" his film - as he always did - not in any logical manner or order, but like a mosaic of images, creating a whole and a statement - a strong statement about intolerance in this case.

This one might even be palatable for non-Jarman fans.

Give in to the senses, forget common sense
First off, I have to say that this movie should not be viewed as a rendition of the Marlowe play, but as its own creation. If you are expecting a faithful adaptation, you will be disappointed. However, if you come to it without prejudice, it is an impressive cinematic work of scope and vision.

Jarman's directing style is not for everyone--plot continuity or story structure is not very important to him--but he crafts each scene of the film with such care and skill that the sensuousnes of the cinematography becomes the central point. The film is presented as a gallery of images: every shot is a painting. Everything is subordinated for the effect of these images: the narrative is presented in a series of symbols and allegories, switching between times, places, reality and fantasy, until it all blends together in a wonderful cascade of pure visual exhiliration. This movie is first and foremost an aesthetic experience: watch it for the sake of watching it, enjoy first and alalyze later.

Should you wish to analyze it after all, you will find that the seemingly aimless or irrelevant images are actually an integral part of the story, carefully distributed throughout. There is meaning in everything that is presented in the film, from the extraneous vision of an Apollo with a golden snake, to the huddle of Rugby players Edward's son stumbles upon during his midnight forays. It is telling that the final scene has the Queen and Mortimer sitting inside a cage, caked in flour, while the son (wearing a suit and his mother's earrings and listening to a walkman) dances on top. Jarman goes with the maxim "a picture is worth a thousand words," and prefers to tell his story through abstract yet meaning-laden images.

Another approach that Jarman has to the play is taking literally the figurative language of it. Many of the images come from the words the characters say, adding new dimensions to the language. Thus, when in the play, Edward's actions are compared to that of a butcher, during those scenes in the film, he is literally a butcher: coat, knife and all.

There are also elements that are outside the play, such as the gay rights protests that form a background but necessary part of the movie. Injecting new interpretations to the text, Jarman's work is a comment on boith the modern and the ancient problems that intolerance causes. Substance is something this film has a-plenty, convention is something that it does not. Don't expect logic or an easily (if at all) understandable story, but do expect an aesthetic experience that you will remember.

Simply amazing
I came across this film by chance, and it was on a German channel - yes, overdubbed. Even if my first watching was robbed of its original language, I was completely won by the director's mastery in creating such rich images unsing practically no 'background' at all. This simplicity puts characters forward and also makes the film look like a dream, a story --- as they should be told, leaving enough space to listeners/ viewers to imagine their own settings for the plot & its protagonists. It's at the same time thrilling and sad, sensual and merciless - a fantastic experience in all.

Painfully Boring....
...That's pretty much the best way to describe it. Not only was I 'sleeping' through the entire thing, just waiting for something to develope. but I can't even tell you what the whole point to the plot was. Even if I was in gradeschool again, I could not give a single summary on this thing. It went way too fast, the characters underdeveloped as were the relationships, (there was no sense of what was driving them). Overall it lacked depth and familiarity. The 'english' prose couldn't even help out this one!

Gay Bash
This film is very good at catching Marlowe's wordplay and the actors here are all well known and great at their craft. The problem I had with this was Jarman's use of contemporary issues to illuminate the story of England's openly gay monarch. Better correlations could have been drawn from then to now, not putting pro-gay protestors in the background. Show us how Edward II's treatment by his family and subjects contributed to the kind of gay bashing that still goes on today, hundreds of years afterward. I slightly recommend this film. ... Read more

Description

Hercule Poirot (David Suchet), Agatha Christie’s beloved Belgiandetective, is back on the case.Based upon Agatha Christie’s best-selling novels and setagainst the art deco elegance of 1930s England, THE MURDER OF ROGERACKROYD and LORD EDGWARE DIES feature fascinating clues, deviant suspectsand riveting conclusions by this most masterful detective. ... Read more

Reviews (6)

New Poirot not up to earlier efforts
I won't bother to get into details of the stories, since that is already well-covered by other reviews on this site.

This two DVD set includes "The Murder of Roger Ackroyd" and "Lord Edgeware Dies". The producers set these stories as taking place after previous episodes. This decision was probably made on account of how much older the actors look. While Poirot and Inspector Japp have aged gracefully, both Captain Hastings and Miss Lemon show their years.

The Murder of Roger Ackroyd is one of Agatha Christie's most famous novels, but it translates poorly on the screen. It is impossible to go into details without giving away who the murderer is, but suffice it to say that the surprise of the novel is greatly diluted here. There is also a wistful sort of sadness that permeates the entire story, with none of the charm of the earlier episodes. There is also a feeling that the production was rushed, and that the actors feel uncomfortable in their roles.

Thirteen at Dinner is a much better production. All the old favorite characters are re-united here and some of the charm/humor missing in the first story is present here. There is also a greater sense of locale. This episode feels more populated and the variety of locations along with the complexity of the story helps keeps this moving along at an entertaining clip.

If you have the opportunity to purchase the two DVDs seperately, definately choose Thirteen at Dinner and forget about Murder of Roger Ackroyd.

Wonderful!
I loved these films! The story arch of Poirot moving back to his apartment and then in the next being rejoined by Miss Lemon and Hastings was brilliantly done!

The Murder of Roger Ackroyd - Not the best and most intriguing murder ever done, but seeing Japp and Poirot back in action was done, and the climax was just plain thrilling! - 4 stars

Lord Edgware Dies - This is probably one of my three favorite Poirots ever! (The other two are "One, Two, Buckle My Shoe" and "Yellow Iris") The case is great, complex, intriguing, fascinating, and I love the drum beat music when someone's about to be killed! If this is the finale to the whole series, it's a great one! Brave! - 5 stars

- I heard they're still making more though, so that's good news!

Poirot at his best!
I was extremely excited to hear that a new Poirot made-for-tv-movie was coming out(The Murder of Roger Ackroyd) I was not disappointed upon viewing the movie. I couldn't figure out who the murderer was, among all the suspects that were featured before me. The Murder of Roger Ackroyd has so many twists and turns, just when you think one person did the deadly deed, you're wrong. You will be shocked when you find out who the murderer is!Lord Edgeware Dies is an equally intriguing mystery, where the motive for murder is clear, but just who did the deed is not. This movie has just as many twists and turns as the first disc(The Murder of Roger Ackroyd. Remember, this is a 2-disc set) Again, you will be shocked to find out who the murderer is!

great production...rotten DVD
The two POIROT tales in this set are great tv productions, but are given are rather poor DVD release. The actual picture quality is fine, but the image format leaves a lot to be desired: being reformatted from the 16:9 ratio down to the "normal" tv size of 4:3. Unfortunately this often results in very odd looking pictures where two halves of characters chat to each other either side of the screen! And despite the correct running times of 100 minutes being displayed on the cases, both stories have been edited down to just 95. A&E - you could, and should, do so much better....

Lord Edgware Dies
This Tv adaptation of lord Edgware Dies is one of the finest Poirot Movies.Helen Grace plays a great Jane Wilkinson.I Highly recomend this to Agatha Christie Fans. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

One of the worse films I've ever seen....
I recently made it through King Solomon's Treasure. While this film has a great cast who can all act, none of them managed to make it through this film unscathed. The film is a story of the search by Allan Quartermain for King Solomon's Treasure, which in this version is found in a supposedly Phoenetian style city somewhere in Africa. This is only the beginning of the far-fetched nonsense that we see throughout this film.

While there were some entertaining scenes, particularly the interplay between McCallum, Colicos and McNee, they were overshadowed by the giant monsters and other bad special effects (particularly a lot of watery mud that was supposed to be lava).

I have yet to understand where all these giant monsters - including a giant crab and dinosaurs - came from in what is supposed to be an 1800's period action adventure.

While Britt Eckland and David McCallum are particularly beautiful in some scenes, I discourage you from watching this film as you will be as bitterly disappointed as I was. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

Rarely broadcast Sean Connery winner
One really can't account for good taste. This rarely broadcast thriller starred Sean Connery as he was first attemtping to escape 007 typecasting during the 1970's. He is in fine form here as a Scandinavian Security Chief trying to negotiate with and outwit a team of terrorists. Excellent winter landscape photography adds to the film's realism and there are some interesting plot surprises along the way. Kudos to 20th Century Fox for releasing this gem on DVD; I never thought I'd see this film again. The quality of the DVD is very good as well.

gritty cat and mouse game with terrorists
This movie also goes by the title of Ransom in Britain. It is a tense drama with Ian McShane and Sean Connery (need I say more!!???). Connery is the head of a security force sent in to negotiate with terrorist holding an ambassador and his servants. The terrorist demand transport to the airport, where they learn an aeroplane has been hijacked and is awaiting the arrival of the terrorists and their hostages. Connery is determined to stop them at all costs. It is a taught game of move-counter move, with nearly everyone involved running their own game within a game, and Connery can trust no one. McShane is very believable at the head of the hijacking team, that has more than one mask he is wearing. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

Beautiful
There's nothing else in the world of cinema like this beautiful brilliant movie, this Blue. From Jubilee to Blue is an amazing arc indeed, and this, Derek Jarman's last film, is a marvel of music and color and poetry. To be with Jarman's film from the opening "O Blue come forth" to the final "I place a delphineum, blue, upon your grave" is to be in the presence of genius. He is deeply missed.

Untitled Blues
"I fall into a blue funk..." says the narrator about 10 minutes into this film. An understatement by far. Blue is a brooding spoken-word epic that traces the mind of a person (Jarman himself) who is in the advanced stages of AIDs. Jarman died from AIDs-related causes in 1994. The text, excerpted from Jarman's sublime book about color, CHROMA, riffs on the nature of the color blue--literally and metaphorically. These are melancholy, but not necessarily sad, meditations on the various "blues" the speaker has experienced throughout his life in general and his sickness in particular. True to the visionary nature of many of Jarman's films (The Last of England and Jubilee, for instance), Blue is a lush, experimental tour-de-force: there are no images accompanying the dialogue in this film, only an empty, glowing, aqua-marine blue screen that overwhelms the potential sadness of this film with a Tabula-Rasa like radiance. Aesthetically, this is a beautiful, but radical choice; viewers of this film will have to focus entirely on the fragmentary dialogue, without the help of images to keep distractions at bay. Politically, this choice sums up Jarman's artistic modus operandi: he is interested in work that leaves plenty of space for the viewer's imagination to fill in the narrative blanks. Jarman's empty blue screen shows the director working to not pin-down the experience of sickness and death too firmly. My only criticism of this films is that sometimes the dialogue becomes too melodramatic, undermining the understated visual component, All in all, however, Blue is an intoxicatingly morose film that, in spite of the lack of images, manages to engage the viewer throughout its duration. ... Read more

Reviews (9)

Stunning!
This version of Heidi is truly wonderful. The story is so great and all the actors played the roles very well. Shirley Temple was good, but Noley Thornton is fantastic. Unlike the older version of Heidi this has a freshness to it. The other version the Alps don't look nearly as stunning and the slede ride was the fakest thing I have seen in my life. In this re-make you can almost see the hills bursting with song and joy. It is truly magnificent.

Great film for People of all ages!!!!
I rented this from Top Hat Video the other day and I watched it last night when the thunderstorm was interupting the sound this has gotta be one of the best disney films ever Noley Thornton is a sweet girl in this films she's great for the part of Heidi Sure Shirley Temple was good for the part of Heidi in her version of the tale but Young Noley is great too her sweetness in this film makes me feel so good if you thought Shirley was great for Heidi wait till you see this disney version of the tale it's a very sweet story I recommend you get this Noley Thornton is great for Heidi!!!!!!

absolutely absolutely perfect
I viewed this film and realized how ugly I am compared to such a beautiful person as Heidi. She was so patient, caring, loving and wise. Please if you ever want to see a good film and you want to waste almost 3 hours of your life on films SEE THIS FILM!

The outside beauty makes you feel so ugly within... I am not kidding. It's that beautiful!

a movie for the heart
Great movie with very good actors. Little Noley thornton is wonderful and loveable in the title role.

Heidi has a refreshing perspective on life
Heidi has a refreshing perspective on life. She chooses love, love for a crochety old man. In her eyes he becomes lovable to the viewer as well. The scenes of nature are stunning and the tender exchanges in human relationships are deeply moving. Heidi is not just a great "G" movie for children, it's a great movie for adults who need another glimpse, another reminder, of the beauty in our surroundings... both in people and in nature. ... Read more

Reviews (5)

"So much for infidelity."
Brenda (Kristin Scott Thomas) and Tony Last (James Wilby) live at Hetton--the magnificent ancestral home of the Last family. Tony dotes on their only child--a son--James Andrew. Life at Hetton is fairly predictable, and Brenda is clearly bored by it all, and yet she doesn't display her boredom except to bemoan the demands of another hideous local event and the tedious rounds of weekend guests who descend upon them regularly. One weekend, Tony invites a young man named John Beaver (Rupert Graves). Beaver's arrival is so innocuous that Tony even forgets that he's been invited, and so the task of entertaining Beaver falls to Brenda.

Brenda, up to this point, has acted like the perfect wife and mother, moving automatically from one role to another, but the arrival of Beaver sparks some dormant desire. With a cold deliberation, Brenda manipulates Tony into allowing her to take a flat in London. Under the pretense that she's studying economics, Brenda begins to indulge in an affair with the shallow Mr. Beaver. Everyone knows about it, but Tony remains blissfully unaware until a tragedy forces Brenda's affair to the surface.

Tony Last is indeed the 'last' of his kind. He represents tradition and gentility that will be swept away by up and coming demands of the more avaricious aspects of society. Beaver is a hanger-on. His mother owns a shop, and supports her darling, precious Beaver, and now he's grown accustomed to a certain lifestyle. Beaver couldn't possibly work hard enough to earn adequate money to enable him to live as the Lasts do, so he contents himself with becoming an eternal guest--staying at other people's splendid mansions. The affair with Brenda is all fun and games--until he is faced with the possibility of actually supporting her in the manner to which they have both grown accustomed. With supreme selfishness, Brenda and Beaver--two unpleasant characters--decide they 'deserve' a large share of Tony Last's money. When faced with being stripped of everything, Last finally refuses to comply, but this action sends him spiraling off into the jungles of Brazil.

Tony Last is an incredibly nice man, but that doesn't save him from becoming the victim of several extremely selfish and self-indulgent people. There's Brenda--she hopes that Tony hands over the money without a big fuss--after all, she doesn't want anything to cloud her happiness. Then there's Beaver--he's perfectly content to live off another man's bounty, but finally, there's Mr. Todd (Alec Guinness) who sees Tony as some sort of living, breathing entertainment deal. The film is based on Evelyn Waugh's brilliantly dark satiric novel, "A Handful of Dust", and the story is marvelously and expertly transferred to the screen. The acting is superb--Kristen Scott Thomas acts her role with deliciously cold detachment, and James Wilby as Tony Last seems mildly bewildered by the demands of the world outside Hetton. Stephen Fry stars in a small (but very funny) role as Brenda's callous brother. The sets and scenery are breathtaking, and fans of Evelyn Waugh should find themselves well pleased with this adaptation--displacedhuman

A film in a place of its own.
Films haven't got much better than this recently. The jewel in inception and the making of this film which makes it is that the producers know the limitations of the "great" film and just how many ingredients of a great film, and also then elements of the stage, go into making this world-beating drama.

This is one of the most distinctive films which has been made therefore: a film which knows the entertainment context of film, drama, literature, the stage and then the television or movie-house film today. This is supreme entertainment.

In the same tradition and indeed category, without qualification or doubt, as the great pieces of cinema of old - "as Lawrence of Arabia" - this is a modern piece of dramatic art for the nineties and remains remarkably unchallenged in this decade. There are few films of the the last few decades which see so far ahead. Neither an enfant savage nor an enfant terrible - rather this film is as it knows these have been high or prevalent in the cultural climate, in the general cultural prescription. And these notions or identities are and have long been lurking in a culturally bound class (and country). This is embedded within the dramatisation of the tale. The compass of the film and of the story are great but limited.

I give it five stars because of the supreme, engaging and limited but total cinematic nature of this piece, which unexpectedly touches but also inspires the intellect with the emotions in making the story true by successfully refusing to explicate this human fantasy story in anyway; by its actual subtlety of treatment of the book; by giving the audience a direct light to see this literary tale.

And so also a more intellectual fable is given to the viewer on a silver platter, to indulge in without even a semblance of exertion.

Actually I would think it was a true story because of the devious, contextually ambiguous ending - which is not quite cunning. Should be seen and seen again and kept precious.

Understated and beautiful
This dramatization of Evelyn Waugh's novel is nicely done. The story concerns the marriage of Tony and Brenda Last, members of Britain's upper crust. From all outward appearances and, as far as the oblivious Tony is concerned the marriage is perfect. Brenda is bored and proceeds headlong into a destructive relationship with John Beaver, a man without personality or resources. Tony watches in denial and Brenda watches in self-absorption as their "perfect" world crumbles.

The dialogue in the film is remarkably faithful to the novel. With one notable exception, the actors quietly underplay the scenes, almost all of which involve tense and emotionally-wringing scenarios. This serves to underscore the absurdity of the "stiff upper lip" social mores of the time. The film stars James Wilby as Tony Last. Wilby is a dead ringer for the young Evelyn Waugh -- a nice touch given the story's autobiographical origins. Kristen Scott Thomas stars as Brenda.

About three-fourths of the film is set in London and rural Great Britain during the years between WWI and WWII. The remainder is set in the Amazon jungles. The film's score features native South American musical instruments throughout the scenes set in Great Britain which, again, serves to underscore the film's social themes.

Sir Alec Guinness dominates the jungle scenes as the amoral Mr. Todd. He's the one actor in this film who doesn't underplay his role. In this film, Guinness is unwashed, unshaven, scheming, hateful and maniacal. In short, he becomes "The Man Who Liked Dickens". I felt that his performance here was one of the best I've seen.

I rated this film 4 stars rather than 5 because there are one or two scenes which are so underplayed I would have missed them entirely had I not read the novel beforehand and been on the lookout for them.

Overall, this is definitely worth watching.

Marvellous
This is a brilliant adaptation of Waugh's sharply satirical novel "A Handful of Dust" (also worth reading). The pace is beautiful and I thought the casting was perfect. Kristin Scott Thomas is remote and succinct as Lady Brenda, James Wilby as her husband Tony is restrained panic. Giving Rupert Graves the part of near-sociopathic Mr Beaver was a stroke of genius. He is good-looking without being overly unctuous.

The story is set in England of the 1930's. Tony and Lady Brenda, and upper class couple who live mostly in the country, have been married for seven years when Tony invites a man from his club to come and stay, Mr Beaver. Brenda gets an odd hankering for their guest, even though Mr Beaver proves himself to have feet of clay over and over again - but then so does she. There is a slow decline in Tony and Brenda's relationship, the deterioration filtering through layers of genteel gossip and impeccably good manners. The ending has a marvellous twist to it also. The script retains some of the sharpness of the Waughs novel, and much of the humour.

brilliantly acted and visually stunning
Evelyn Waugh's novel gets more than your average "period piece" treatment here. Art direction is a plus, as are costumes, set design, and score. But there's also a consistent (and coherent) effort to convey the sense of inevitability present in the novel. Thanks to superb acting (particularly by James Wilby and Kristin Scott-Thomas) that effort pays off. You feel the main cahracters spiralling down - but there seems to be no way to guess their end. Rupert Graves is also very good, but Judi Dench and Alec Guiness in comparatively smaller roles give us performances that are as luminous as ever. Intriguing score. Why not 5 stars? Tempo. Pace. A few minuts less wouldn't hurt it - they're not essential to plot or characterization, they just let the camera take in the beautiful sets languidly... Maybe for some people that would be deserving of a 5th star. Maybe. I still think it's a beautiful music, the acting is superior and it's something of an unknown gem. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

The Last Englisman. The perfect 'little' film.
There is much in this film to be admired and enjoyed. It delights the soul and tweaks the heart. Well done and well acted. The music is wonderful. I would recommend it to anyone who enjoys history as well as the English 'starch'. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

Latter day film from Italian master deserves better release
Stylish Italian horror master Dario Argento's well regarded latter day effort, distinguished by the fine acting of his daughter, Asia Argento, in the lead role of a cop in an Italian anti-rape unit who falls prey not only to a vicious attack by a psychopath, but also to the title syndrome, an affliction which causes its victims to literally lose themselves in works of art.

The one star rating is not for the film itself, however, but for the quality of this VHS release.

Unfortunately, this new VHS version is not only pan and scan, but worse yet, it's in the slow speed EP mode, which produces noticably poor picture tracking, video noise, and very poor color reproduction. A director as visually brilliant as Argento deserves better treatment for his films--a high quality SP letterbox release would serve this film better.

Incidently, this film *was* originally released in SP mode--this is the higher priced verson listed elsewhere on Amazon as a special order. Neither version is letterboxed--only the DVD is--but both VHS releases are at least uncut, and the more expensive *other* VHS version is at least in a decent quality SP mode, unlike this one.

Why an EP release of this film?
While Troma treated this well regarded latter day Argento film reasonably well with its DVD release, and its initial $14.98 VHS release, anyone who is a fan of this talented director's visual virtuosity and deft use of color, camerawork, and scene composition should be aware that this new, reduced-price VHS version of The Stendhal Syndrome is in the inferior *EP* speed mode. I have yet to ever see an EP release of a film on video that did not have considerable video noise and very poor color quality. Since the original, more expensive SP version of the tape appears to be in the process of being phased out by the less than artistic-oriented Troma, this is very unfortunate.

Please, Troma, give us VHS buyers back a decent quality SP version of this film.

And please, Amazon, do include a note in the technical information section when you do carry a VHS tape in EP mode. ... Read more