Reviews (1)

Sam & Diane are off again at the end of Season 2
Volume 8 in the "Cheers" collection offers us both parts of "I'll Be Seeing You," the final pair of episodes from the show's second season (Original Airdates: 05/03 & 10/84). In the first part, Diane becomes furious when she learns Sam has been named one of the ten most eligible bachelors in Boston. To get back in Diane's good graces, Sam decides to have a portrait painted of her. Cliff advises him to hire Phillip Semenko (Christopher Lloyd in a wonderful guest spot). Of course, Sam cannot stand Semenko, but the artist is intrigued by Diane's "tortured soul" and insists on doing the painting anyway. In the second part, Sam forbids Diane to have her portrait done by Semenko, but she goes ahead and does it anyway. The episode/season concludes with Sam and Diane having a horrible fight (including the nose pulling depicted on the cover). In the end Diane walks out the door promising never to come back. Sam is left alone with the painting and when he looks at it all he can say is, "Wow." A very nice moment. Both of these episodes (#43 and #44 for those keeping count) were written by the Charles brothers and directed by James Burroughs. ... Read more

Reviews (3)

TV Gold
Watching these old Cheers episodes just conviinces me all the more that in the beginning, Cheers was parallel to Seinfeld, Mash and any other great American sitcom, sadly this couldn't be said by the end of the show's run. Boys in the bar is the first episode to properly explore Sam's character and morals, by the end of the show's run, it was hard to tell whether Sam still had a personality. Let me count the ways is, in my opinion, one of the greatest Cheers episodes. In the show's early years, the beauty of the writing was in how out of place Dinae was in the bar, and the the rest of the gang reacted in contrast. This episode also proves the sprak that actors Ted Danson and Shelley Long created were when put together (although it was said Sam and Diane's bitter squabbling spilled over into the on-set atmosphere.) In my opinion, it was this spark that was the soul of the whole show, I rarely watched once Kirstie Alley came on board, all that was left was great characters, while the writing had no real focus. But watch these classic episodes, and you're watching some of the best television ever written.

One classic and one average Cheers first season episode
This 3rd Volume in the "Cheers" collection offers a couple of episodes from the show's first season. "The Boys in the Bar" (Original Airdate: 01/27/83) finds Tom Kenderson (Alan Autry) coming by the bar to ask for Sam's support for his autobiography. Of course, Sam has not read the book and has to be told by Diane that in it Tom "comes out of the closet." Sam is thrown, but in the end he supports his friend. When gays start frequenting the bar, the gang decide they have to take matters into their own hands to stop Cheers from becoming a gay bar. The teaser for this episode has Harry Anderson helping Diane cover the pool table. Written by Ken Levine and David Isaacs, this episode was directed by James Burrows and is #16 for those keeping count.

"Let Me Count the Ways" (Original Airdate: 01/13/83) finds the gang trying to provide emotional support for Diane after her cat dies. Meanwhile, having received a hot tip Sam and Coach actually bet against the Celtics (secretly, of course). Rhea Perlman's sister Heide this episode, #14, which was directed by James Burrows. Actually, he directed all of them. This tape really deserves 4 1/2 stars. "Boys in the Bar" is certainly a 5, one of the early episodes to demonstrate Sam had some substance. But "Let Me Count the Ways" is an average "Cheers" episode.

more titles
I was wondering is there a way you could get all of the episodes on video? If not at least half. And if so how much and how many tapes is it on ... Read more

Reviews (3)

Frasier Crane joins the gang at Cheers in Season 3
This 9th volume in the "Cheers" collection presents the first two episodes from the show's third season, which introduced the character of Frasier Crane into television immortality. Part 1 of "Rebound" (Original Airdate: 09/27/84), finds Sam has started drinking again while Diane had ended up in a mental institution. Now Diane is enjoying a quiet life in a convent and Coach wants her to come back and get Sam to stop drinking. Of course each is convinced the other is still in love with them. In Part 2 (Original Airdate: 10/04/84), Coach convinces Diane to help Sam with his drinking problem by coming back to work at Cheers. However, Diane brings her psychiatrist friend Frasier Crane to talk to Sam. Frasier succeeds in helping Sam, who has no idea that Diane and Fraiser are a couple. Obviously, to be continued with much hilarity. Both parts of "Rebound" (Episodes #45 & #46 for those counting) were written by Glen & Les Charles and directed by James Burrows.

Excellent
Listen, Cheers is the best show of the 80's. If you are reading this, you probably know that. Anyway, this is an important episode. It marks the apperience of a very special character. You know who.

WONDERFUL SHOW
I WOULD HIGHLY RECOMMEND THIS SHOW TO ANYBODY WHO HAS EVER WATCHED TELEVISION. IT WAS AND STILL IS ONE OF THE BEST LOVED TELEVISION PROGRAMS OF ALL TIME. LONG LIVE CHEERS. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Great Mine Rescue Documentary!!
This is a great mine Rescue documentary.Check it out!! ... Read more

Amazon.com

There was such a magic on the screen in 1995 when the people at Pixar cameupwith the first fully computer-animated film, Toy Story. Their second feature film, A Bug's Life, may miss the bull's-eye but Pixar's target is so lofty, it's hard to find the film anything less thanirresistible.

Brighter and more colorful than the other animated insect movie of 1998(Antz), A Bug's Life is the sweetly told story of Flik(voiced by David Foley), an ant searching for better ways to be a bug. Hiscolony unfortunately revolves around feeding and fearing thelocal grasshoppers (lead by Hopper, voiced with gleeful menace by KevinSpacey). When Flik accidentally destroys the seasonal food supply for the grasshoppers he decides to look for help ("We need bigger bugs!"). The ants, led by Princess Atta (Julia Louis-Dreyfus), are eager to dispose of the troublesome Flik. Yet he finds help--a hearty bunch of bug warriors--and brings them back to the colony. Unfortunately they are just traveling performers afraid of conflict.

As with Toy Story, the ensemble of creatures and voices is remarkable and often inspired. Highlights include wiseacre comedian Denis Leary as an un-ladylike ladybug, Joe Ranft as the German-accented caterpillar, David Hyde Pierce as a stick bug, and Michael McShane as a pair of unintelligible pillbugs. The scene-stealer is Atta's squeaky-voiced sister, baby Dot (Hayden Panettiere), who has a big sweet spot for Flik.

More gentle and kid-friendly than Antz, A Bug Life's stillhas some good suspense and a wonderful demise of the villain. However,the film--a giant worldwide hit--will be remembered for its mostcreative touch: "outtakes" over the end credits à la manylive-action comedy films. These dozen or so scenes (both "editions" ofouttakes are contained here) are brilliant and deserve a specialplace in film history right along with 1998's other most talked-aboutsequence: the opening Normandy invasion in Saving Private Ryan.

The video and DVD also contain Pixar's delightful Oscar-winning short, Geri's Game. --Doug Thomas ... Read more

Reviews (401)

Fantastic Movie
An instant classic. The characters are strongly developed, every frame is a breathtaking masterpiece of art, and (thank goodness) NO SILLY SONGS. This movie will stand up to the test of time and across international borders because its themes are universally familiar to all people of all cultures. I have seen it three times in the movie theaters and look forward to seeing it again and again.

For those of you who like ANTZ, consider this: Pixar was already roughly two years into development on "Bug's Life" when Jeffrey Katzenberg left Disney for Dreamworks. Obviously he took many of the ideas with him to create ANTZ (wonder why Disney's "Armageddon" is similar to Dreamwork's "Deep Impact" -- and why both were released around the same time? Same reason.) So PIXAR gets an extra PLUS for originality.

Entertaining for kids and adults!
A Bug's Life is entertaining for kids and adults alike. This movie is a non-stop action fest that has been masterfully captured on DVD.

The picture quality if superb, if not the best I've seen, for an animated DVD due to the direct digital to DVD transfer. In full screen mode, you will be amazed how clean and delineated the picture is; the detail is incredible!

My big surprise was how amazing the sound is on this disc. You can use this to show off your Dolby Digital sound system to friends just as well as any action film. The surround effects are crisp and the bass is well defined.

My only complaint would probably be that the action and sound is so non-stop, that it can tire out adults, albeit mesmerizing children the whole time.

The extras are plenitiful and well done. The inclusion of the end-title outtakes is the highlight of a wonderful special edition disc you're sure to enjoy.

Gotta love them bugs
Those Pixar folk are amazing. Not only do they make an excellent movie, but they complement it with a first rate package of extras, especially the outtakes and the movie short "Geri's Game". The two-disc Collector's Editions are worth waiting for, and you will find yourself playing the second disc as often as the first.

This innovative take on the old fable "The Ant and the Grasshopper" teaches us a few important lessons:

1. There's a clumsy nerd who wants to be a hero in every colony
2. Phyllis Diller is an old queen
3. David Hyde Pierce is stiff
4. Julia Louis-Dreyfus is neurotic and can't dance
5. Grasshoppers live it up in Mexican joints during the Summer
6. German caterpillars are funny, and so are pill-bugs.
7. Ladybirds may not be ladies
8. Birds can be flammable
9. An ant may look at a queen
10. Don't stir up an ants nest

To maintain good family relations, you should allow your kids to watch this movie too.

Amanda Richards July 13, 2004

A Fun New Classic From Disney
As always, Pixar delivered a breath taking experience when they brought us A Bug's Life. While not overly realistic, the animation is bright and rich and incredibly detailed. The colours and textures suck you into their world.
The movie features a nice mix of humor and excitement. Some moments are full of suspense and tension.
The voice actors do a great job, particularly Kevin Spacey as the villain Hopper. He's truly menacing! When the voice talents are combined with Pixar's fabulous job of giving natural movements and mannerisms to each different species of insect the mix creates very believable characters.
As per usual Disney style there is a great moral to be learned through the story, about the importance of standing up for yourself, and how one small person truly can change the world.
The only drawback of the movie is that the characters are relatively shallow and underdeveloped when compared to Disney's usual level of complexity. However, when you consider that this film is based off of the fable "The Ant and the Grasshopper" it puts things into perspective and you appreciate how much imagination and creativity actually went into this project. The end result is highly entertaining and sure to be a classic in generations to come.

Just a Few Notches Below Finding Nemo
This film was originally released in 1998, but I didn't actually see it until a few months ago. Simply put, it's Pixar doing what they do best. A widely caried and excellent cast of characters, a simple but elaborately executed plot, and of course, the rendition of a half a dozen themes that run universal throughout our lives.

Essentially, a mild and nerdy ant known as Flic accidentally destroys the entire food supply of his ant colony. Of course, the food was not for them; it was their yearly offering to the grasshoppers. As a result, the grasshoppers decree that the ants can spend the remainder of summer gathering it all again. Hopper, the ingenius and menacing leader, notes that Flic stands up to him for one brief moment, and this becomes pivotal later. I won't say any more past there, only that there are plenty of intriguing twists to keep things interesting.

Overall, this movie bears an obvious resemblance to Finding Nemo. First of all, both movies involve the creation and manipulation of a natural environment and its inhabitants. Second, they both involve unlikely heroes (A bumbling ant and a fearful clownfish). Third, both are at a standard of quality that the animation world has never before seen.

Honestly, Kevin Spacey's portrayal of Hopper is reason enough to see A Bug's Life. (I could say the same thing about Albert Brooks' portrayal of Marlin in Finding Nemo.) However, the movie offers much more in the long run, and the special features are deep and surprisingly un-boring. The director's commentary of this movie and other Pixar films is much, much more entertaining than most movies. I credit a lot of that to Andrew Stanton, but the guys just have a creative knack to them that makes their ideas and comments brilliant.

Recommended to all fans of animation, all lovers of Pixar, and all those with good taste. ... Read more

Reviews (6)

truly a masterpiece
Camp Cucamonga is perhaps the most pointless, poorly done movie of all time. That said, you should buy it based on pure entertainment value.

Excellent movie!
I first saw this movie when it aired on TV when I was a kid. We taped it and my sisters & I watched it all the time growing up! It is a wonderful and entertaining movie! It's been my favorite movie of all time!

Classic 90's sitcom nostalgia
I remember seeing this movie when I was a teen, it's been hard to find over the years. Nice to see it being released on DVD. :) Worth a watch again after all these years.

awesome!
i first saw this movie back a long time ago on The Family Channel and i fell in love with it! it has all of your old sitcom stars like d.j from full house, the nerd from wonder years, etc. it also has jennifer aniston. it is a great movie for kids and teens.

i loved the movie
i loved the movie! it had all my favorite stars danica mckeller,candace cameron and more and it was a great movie ... Read more

Reviews (5)

Intriguing "Goliath Awaits" needs a complete DVD release
In 1939, luxury passenger liner Goliath was torpedoed and sank with presumably all hands lost. Discovered in 1981, the salvage crew was a bit startled to find some 337 survivors aboard. It turns out that the heroic crew took measures to "hold the water back" and special pumps were rigged to clean their remaining oxygen. Once aboard, the salvagers discover a quasi-utopian society run by Captain Christopher Lee - but his dicatatorship has more than a few dark secrets.

Engrossing undersea adventure stretches credibility paper-thin but certainly scores points for originality. I haven't seen the condensed video version, but try to catch the complete version on TV or cable.

Too Short
The movie was a very good undersea drama that was 3 hours and 20 minutes long. "Showtime" and "The Movie Channel" used to run this movie in it's full length with a break in the middle. The VHS and Laserdisc versions of this movie have been cut and edited so poorly it ruins the movie. This movie should be released in it's full length. (Maybe they will do it for DVD). Let's hope so. I rated it a two only because of the bad editing in the Video. The movie itself get's a Five!

great under sea drama
I seen most of this movie many years ago. On a tv mini series. It was great. lots of twists. Been waiting to get a copy for myself so I can see the few parts I have missed. This movie has kept me waiting to see the whole thing for over 15 years

Goliath Awaits still waiting!
I was extremely disappointed with the video copy of "Goliath Awaits". The original movie - I believe it was made for television - was more detailed. The video, in fact, deletes an entire section about the importance of the documents that went down on the Goliath and the U.S. senator that went down with the ship. It leaves a blank space in the film. I wish they had left it alone and made the video the same as the film version. The story is interesting and with the fairly recent discovery of the Titanic time relevant. What if someone had survived underwater? I honestly not sure that whoever edited this film actually watched it first. Bad editing of the plot gives this a 3.

An Incrediable Yarn
What would have happened had Dr. Robert Ballard found people living on the Titanic? It is with this premise in mind that one should consider the story of the Goliath. Torpedoed and sunk in the opening days of WWII the British passenger liner Goliath went down with some 300 people aboard. Now skip to 1981 when Mark Harmon (in one of his earliest leading roles) and Robert Forester lead a salvage expition to the ship only to find themselves involved in international intrigue, murder and deep sea adventure culimnating in a struggle between those that want to leave the Goliath and those that wish to stay with their leader (played superbly by Christopher Lee) that is very entertaining. Look for John Ratzenberger in a pre-CHEERS role as one of the salvage divers. While some of the acting seems forced and some of the dialog is awkward, the movie is entertaining and enjoyable and should not be taken too seriously. But by all means wait for the price to go down. I think you will enjoy this movie. It is different. ... Read more

Reviews (6)

PRESSURE COOKER
UNDER PRESSURE is a tense, disturbing film, dominated not by star Charlie Sheen's over the top performance as the demented fireman, but by the down to earth, touching performance by Mare Winningham. Mare portrays the mother of a family that is almost picture perfect; David Andrews plays her adoring husband, and she has two cute if persnickety kids. However, next door neighbor Charlie Sheen seems to have fallen apart since his heroic life-saving. His wife and son have left him, he's on probation from his job, and his wife has put a restraining order on him. Naturally, this leads him to resent the couple next door, and soon Charlie's a bloodthirsty killer. He tortures an unsuspecting refrigerator repairman, and ultimately does in a couple of cops before the final showdown with Mare and Andrews.
This could have been a much better film, had we at least understood what Sheen was like before his heroic deed. We also find out he let the baby's mother die in the fire because he was judgmental enough to condemn her having a child in a crackhouse.
Okay, so without that, we still have a good, solid movie, thanks mainly to Miss Winningham.

great
charlie sheen a firefighters wife leaves him so he starts messin with the neigbors nextdoor he starts out by punchingout thier windshield to move thier car later on he gets mad at the kids for wasting earths precious water and he fights an asian mailman charlie sheen plays a funny in a dark way lunatic in this cheap falling down clone i give 5 stars for the funny parts

Average Thriller with Major Chills
Under Pressure is about a fireman gone wacko. After being dumped by his wife and child, Lyle ( the neighbor from hell ) gets ticked off by anything he can't control. Mainly Mare Winningham and her two bratty children. It's obvious that the incredibly sweaty Lyle is insane the moment we lay eyes on him. The way he stalks around his neighbors' yards can only mean one thing: something's about to hit the fan. And it does.

When the bratty son from next door ruins Lyle's window he pays the family a very scary visit. This segment made no sense whatsoever. We were all geared up to see real action when Sheen grabs the knife and peddles it in front of the boy's face. But the supposed-frightening scene turns silly. Lyle just leaves claiming he has to check his mail. It was a cheap trick to get the audience's mouth watering. Later that night Lyle sneaks into their home and holds them hostage with a gun. He wants to play Russian Roulette. How original!

Okay this movie has some chilling moments. It's not boring but at times silly. The way the neighbors act towards Lyle isn't realistic at all. Anyone else would have called the cops the moment he stomped into their house. Just because he leaves on his own the first time made it all right? Please. The father was the most pitiful role in the film. He didn't do anything but get the heck beaten out of him. This film is lame to the T. Charlie Sheen does a decent job but hits the planet of overacting big time. Mare Winningham is okay. The kids were cute and cuddly. Minor characters like Dawnn Lewis and Cliff from Cheers moved the story along. This movie was too short for my taste. I would have liked to see the reason behind Lyle's insanity. I couldn't buy that he went crazy just because his wife took his son away. That didn't do it for me.

If you like exciting movies, you may like Under Pressure. It doesn't make sense all the time and the characters do stupid things but it's better than serving jury duty. You may realize Sheen's scarier than you ever thought he could be.

Sheen plays an excellent psychotic character role here!!!
I loved the tension that builds up during the movie. Sheen's character is funny, psychotic, and well rounded. The one liners in this movie are a piss. Especially between Sheen and the air conditioner repairman. Unfortunately I saw it on pay-per-view and never taped it. If you like Charlie Sheen as a actor, then you'll like seeing a different side of him in this film.

Great movie.
A great movie, wouldn't mind seeing for a second or third time ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Excellent Belly Dance Cameo by Suzanne Danielle!
The first time I saw this movie was around 1987 on commercial TV, and what caught my attention was a belly dance cameo by a woman credited as Suzanne Danielle. All the other times I saw this movie on U.S. TV, this cameo had been edited out. However, on British TV in Saudi Arabia in 1995, it had been left intact. ... Read more

Reviews (401)

Fantastic Movie
An instant classic. The characters are strongly developed, every frame is a breathtaking masterpiece of art, and (thank goodness) NO SILLY SONGS. This movie will stand up to the test of time and across international borders because its themes are universally familiar to all people of all cultures. I have seen it three times in the movie theaters and look forward to seeing it again and again.

For those of you who like ANTZ, consider this: Pixar was already roughly two years into development on "Bug's Life" when Jeffrey Katzenberg left Disney for Dreamworks. Obviously he took many of the ideas with him to create ANTZ (wonder why Disney's "Armageddon" is similar to Dreamwork's "Deep Impact" -- and why both were released around the same time? Same reason.) So PIXAR gets an extra PLUS for originality.

Entertaining for kids and adults!
A Bug's Life is entertaining for kids and adults alike. This movie is a non-stop action fest that has been masterfully captured on DVD.

The picture quality if superb, if not the best I've seen, for an animated DVD due to the direct digital to DVD transfer. In full screen mode, you will be amazed how clean and delineated the picture is; the detail is incredible!

My big surprise was how amazing the sound is on this disc. You can use this to show off your Dolby Digital sound system to friends just as well as any action film. The surround effects are crisp and the bass is well defined.

My only complaint would probably be that the action and sound is so non-stop, that it can tire out adults, albeit mesmerizing children the whole time.

The extras are plenitiful and well done. The inclusion of the end-title outtakes is the highlight of a wonderful special edition disc you're sure to enjoy.

Gotta love them bugs
Those Pixar folk are amazing. Not only do they make an excellent movie, but they complement it with a first rate package of extras, especially the outtakes and the movie short "Geri's Game". The two-disc Collector's Editions are worth waiting for, and you will find yourself playing the second disc as often as the first.

This innovative take on the old fable "The Ant and the Grasshopper" teaches us a few important lessons:

1. There's a clumsy nerd who wants to be a hero in every colony
2. Phyllis Diller is an old queen
3. David Hyde Pierce is stiff
4. Julia Louis-Dreyfus is neurotic and can't dance
5. Grasshoppers live it up in Mexican joints during the Summer
6. German caterpillars are funny, and so are pill-bugs.
7. Ladybirds may not be ladies
8. Birds can be flammable
9. An ant may look at a queen
10. Don't stir up an ants nest

To maintain good family relations, you should allow your kids to watch this movie too.

Amanda Richards July 13, 2004

A Fun New Classic From Disney
As always, Pixar delivered a breath taking experience when they brought us A Bug's Life. While not overly realistic, the animation is bright and rich and incredibly detailed. The colours and textures suck you into their world.
The movie features a nice mix of humor and excitement. Some moments are full of suspense and tension.
The voice actors do a great job, particularly Kevin Spacey as the villain Hopper. He's truly menacing! When the voice talents are combined with Pixar's fabulous job of giving natural movements and mannerisms to each different species of insect the mix creates very believable characters.
As per usual Disney style there is a great moral to be learned through the story, about the importance of standing up for yourself, and how one small person truly can change the world.
The only drawback of the movie is that the characters are relatively shallow and underdeveloped when compared to Disney's usual level of complexity. However, when you consider that this film is based off of the fable "The Ant and the Grasshopper" it puts things into perspective and you appreciate how much imagination and creativity actually went into this project. The end result is highly entertaining and sure to be a classic in generations to come.

Just a Few Notches Below Finding Nemo
This film was originally released in 1998, but I didn't actually see it until a few months ago. Simply put, it's Pixar doing what they do best. A widely caried and excellent cast of characters, a simple but elaborately executed plot, and of course, the rendition of a half a dozen themes that run universal throughout our lives.

Essentially, a mild and nerdy ant known as Flic accidentally destroys the entire food supply of his ant colony. Of course, the food was not for them; it was their yearly offering to the grasshoppers. As a result, the grasshoppers decree that the ants can spend the remainder of summer gathering it all again. Hopper, the ingenius and menacing leader, notes that Flic stands up to him for one brief moment, and this becomes pivotal later. I won't say any more past there, only that there are plenty of intriguing twists to keep things interesting.

Overall, this movie bears an obvious resemblance to Finding Nemo. First of all, both movies involve the creation and manipulation of a natural environment and its inhabitants. Second, they both involve unlikely heroes (A bumbling ant and a fearful clownfish). Third, both are at a standard of quality that the animation world has never before seen.

Honestly, Kevin Spacey's portrayal of Hopper is reason enough to see A Bug's Life. (I could say the same thing about Albert Brooks' portrayal of Marlin in Finding Nemo.) However, the movie offers much more in the long run, and the special features are deep and surprisingly un-boring. The director's commentary of this movie and other Pixar films is much, much more entertaining than most movies. I credit a lot of that to Andrew Stanton, but the guys just have a creative knack to them that makes their ideas and comments brilliant.

Recommended to all fans of animation, all lovers of Pixar, and all those with good taste. ... Read more

Reviews (27)

the best role of wesley snipes' career...
i think wesley is a much better actor when he's playing sensitive ,intelligent males. not just guys who live by their guns. the supporting cast is also very good. notably robert downey, jr. as a dying gay man. natsssia kinski looks lovely as always. there was some controversy when this film was released about wesley's wife being an asian woman instead of white woman. he said they didn't want to offend the black females who would be watching this movie.and cheating on an asian woman with a white woman would make black women less offended? go figure. still a good film. i pity the reviewer who made the "mandingo" remark a few reviews back. only an insecure, jealous white male would say something like that. people should be free to love who they want.

Snipes Deserves a Better Movie
The ever-cocky, sometimes-impressive Wesley Snipes--who probably will be best remembered for snatching second-rate shoot-em-up scripts from the likes of Arnold Schwarzenegger--this time tackles something that relies less on guns and knives (though, alas, there is a knifepoint mugging scene). Too bad he picked a script that meanders between "9 1/2 Weeks" and any evening soap, never getting much deeper than an episode of "Red Shoe Diaries." Snipes is the typical Hollywood everyman--young, buff, wealthy, professional and with a picture-perfect family, right down to a boy, a girl, and a dog. He has the ubiquitous dream job, advertising bigshot (where, of course, he never does any real work), and tons of free time to devote to, among other things, an affair with emotionally-fragile--get this--rocket scientist Nastassja Kinski, who specializes in roles requiring a smoldering "European" look and little or no clothing. Thrown into the fray is a dying friend, played by the overrated but bafflingly lucky Robert Downey, Jr., and a princess of a wife, played by "ER"'s resident whiner, Ming-Na. The story? Well, there isn't much of one. Trapped temporarily in New York City, Snipes has a brief affair with Kinski, then returns to LA supposedly haunted by what happened. Stuff--some of it played with a somber tone that is supposed to pass for drama--happens in creaky episodic form, with Snipes' narration trying to bridge the wide gaps in time and plot, and the movie concludes with an ending that is at least as fantastic as anything in Snipes' action pictures. Director Figgis also seems almost grimly determined to avoid acknowledging the interracial dynamics of the relationships; as someone who is bi-racial, I have mixed feelings. For instance, I want to applaud its rather matter-of-fact sensibility that an African-American man can be with any woman he wants--but at the same time, I'm left deploring the old stereotype the film supports--that an African-American man can be with any woman he wants. I guess we've come a long way from Sidney Poitier stirring things up at dinner but not too far from Superfly rolling up in a flashy car. At least the movie looks good, though at times everyone's ages show a bit.

Really Shallow
When it comes to this movie, my talent for cinimatic analysis goes right out the window. Yeah, it has a quiet intensity that I enjoyed. It also has some good acting, although at times it seemed a little contrived. The script was good, but also at times it seemed like it had written it's self into a corner. Nastassja Kinski is as beautiful as ever and deserves far more camera time than she get's. Those are all good, but.....the absolute greatest, quintessential, worhwhile reason for owning this movie and watching this movie over and over again is that Ming Na appears nearly naked and is absolutely gorgeous.

spectacular drama
Wesley Snipes(superb) and Nastassja Kinski(superb and sexy and you get to see her boobies in this one, hooray) have a one night stand, beacuse its the movies title after Kinski and Snipes get mugged and Snipes also visits his dying gay friend played nicely by Robert Downey Jr. Snipes goes home with his with Ming Na Win(you see her boobies too, hoorah). one year later he comes back because Downey's on the death bed and his brother, Kyle Maclachlan is there as well, Maclachlan introduces Snipes to his wife, Kinski(bum, bum, bummmmm) and then things start to heat up. Downey finds out then dies and then theres that scene where Kinski and Snipes are getting their groove on up against the wall and then they stop and turn and see Maclachlan and Win on the couch getting their groove on as well. then they switch partners and its a satisfying end.

Beautiful, quietly subversive, Existentialist Masterpiece
In order to truly appreciate this film, you really need to compare it to another film on the same subject of random one-time infidelity that came out ten years earlier: 1987's "Fatal Attraction."

That film provided us with graphic voyeuristic pleasure alongside moralistic self-satisfaction, titillating us with a sensationalistic view of adulterous casual sex which leads to divine/karmic retribution as the spurned One-Time Other Woman morphs into a vengeful psycho. The message of "Fatal Attraction" was crystal clear and clicked with Reaganite America: stick to the safe and narrow, or terrible things will happen to you!

In contrast, 1997's "One Night Stand" implies the opposite: let things flow and DIVERGE from the safe, familiar everyday even just once...and incredible personal and interpersonal transformation blossoms. For many, it's a disturbing subtext: take a chance, walk on the (somewhat) "wild" side, and your bliss just might follow!

It's easy to see why this film got such mixed reviews here in the States, and such good reviews in Europe: it bravely refuses to follow the standard American cliches about sexuality, marriage, materialism, "success," AIDS, death and life itself.

And there's a brilliant unspoken reversal of popular racial stereotypes and typical Hollywood stock roles: a Chinese-American woman (Ming-Na) is loud, aggressive, and sexually voracious while her African-American husband (Snipes) is quiet, introspective, intellectual, and sexually subdued in comparison. A beautiful blonde woman (Kinski) is actually a super-intelligent astrophysicist. A straight black man and a flamboyantly gay man (Downey Jr.) are longtime best friends. The gay man is dying of AIDS but refuses to engage in regrets or self-pity. And the sex scene between the two initial adulterers, Snipes and Kinski, is actually very restrained, non-sensationalistic, and emotionally substantiative---not the frantic animal lust portrayed in "Fatal Attraction" but two fragile human beings taking blessed refuge in each other during a passing fortuitous moment.

And that's what this film is really all about: life as a series of passing moments, which must each in its own turn be honored and lived as fully as possible. The cinematography and score are seamlessly stunning, so the DVD format should serve well.

Granted, there are a few contrived plot turns, the dialogue does sound a bit written in two or three places, and it does put a LOT of things on your plate. Bittersweet and poignant and a feast for both eyes and ears and even the gray matter between the ears. This is not some simple-minded, focus-group-pandering, saccharine feel-good Hollywood schmaltzfest but a mature, subtle, and passionately challenging film that Mike Figgis probably would never have had the chance to make were it not for the success of his "Leaving Las Vegas" which preceded this movie. Too bad for Hollywood... ... Read more