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Actually, this comedy is one of the more enjoyable films to examine midlife crisis in the 1980s. Written and directed by Alan Alda, it examines the effects of middle age on a group of married couples who are longtime friends. Each season they go away on a vacation together, but the dynamic gets skewed when one of the men dumps his wife for a younger woman. Though some may find the characters' self-satisfaction and upscale neuroses a shade cloying, they are more than matched by Alda's solid, often funny writing. The couple with the biggest laughs: the hilariously paired Jack Weston and Rita Moreno (although Alda and Carol Burnett also strike comic sparks). --Marshall Fine ... Read more

Reviews (22)

A movie to watch again and again.
The characters in this movie are so genuine! Light-hearted humor that is so real that we can all relate to it...very typical Alan Alda. It is a true examination of relationships.

Four seasons
Why isn't this wonderful movie on dvd? I've been waiting a long time. I have it on tape, but wouldn't it be great on DVD, with audio comentary.

Release The DVD Already!!!!!!
I saw this movie as a young child, I have loved it ever since. I just do not understand why it is not on DVD yet. It is one of the best as far as I am concerned, and Alan Alda is amazing. Please Release it ASAP!!

Really Fun
I liked this film a great deal. three couples meet for vacation during each season of the year. Each one is totally different. Alan Alda is the intellectual that thinks too much. Jack Weston is the cheap dentist that fights with his wife (Rita Moreno) all the time while she keeps saying that she can't help it because "I'm Italian." The other couple is kind of sexually adventurous and the wife is a big flirt, especially with Alan Alda.

The couples go through all the ups and downs that real friends do, from big fights to real touching moments.

Best mid-life crisis movie ever
It's like something our friends would do - go someplace together every few months, then fight and backbite and love and hate each other. That's what friends are for. Not for the faint of heart - you may see your friends (or your spouse) in this movie. ... Read more

Amazon.com

Poor Harold Fine (Peter Sellers)... he's a suit-and-tie-wearing Jewish professional who's being pressed by his fiancée (Joyce Van Patten, in a supremely whiny and irritating performance) to nail down a wedding date. Harold's bored and dissatisfied with his life, though; when he meets Nancy (Leigh Taylor-Young), a hippie-chick friend of his brother's, he decides to tune in, turn on, and drop out, in a big way. He flees the altar, leaving Joyce standing alone, and pursues the counterculture life. Soon, though, Harold discovers that the hippie life isn't all it's cracked up to be, with its hipper-than-thou hypocrisy adding up to little more than a different brand of conformity. Screenwriter Paul Mazursky skewers the shallowness of the '60s with dead-on humor and some hilarious set pieces; the scene where Harold and his straitlaced parents eat some of Nancy's "funny" brownies is especially memorable. Sellers's comic timing and physical awkwardness, paired with Mazursky's dialogue, makes this one of the better '60s-time-capsule flicks. --Jerry Renshaw ... Read more

Reviews (15)

I love you Alice B. Toklas
This is one far-out hippy romp that will drive you to walk barefoot, wear flowers in your hair, and contemplate life. Another dynamic performance by Peter Sellers proves he really is outta sight. In this one, he plays Harold Fine, a lawyer stuck in the rut of everyday living, not to mention a nagging girlfriend who forces him into a wedding proposal. But all this changes the night Harry picks up his brothers girl, a free spirited, free loving flower child that's about to introduce him to a new world and a new kind of brownie created by Alice B. Toklas. That's when Harry's day of living for The Man is interrupted by some nutty antics that will have you in fits of laughter. Now if only I could figure out what that secret ingredient in the brownies is. . .

My "I Love You, Alice B. Toklas" Review
I Love You Alice B. Toklas really is a great movie. Peter Sellers, one of the best actors of all time, is excellent as a business man turned into a hippie all because of a drug-laced brownie. Although rated R it has very little language. If it were made today, it would probably be rated PG-13. It's also true that people don't give this film enough credit. If you like a good comedy or Peter Sellers, see this movie. You'll be glad you did. I hope it comes out on DVD.

"What are these LSD clothes he's wearing?"
"I Love You, Alice B. Toklas...and so does Harold Fine!"...and so begins the rousing theme song that belongs to this strange, sometimes random movie with a brilliantly meaningless title that refers to a sole line in the movie.
Peter Sellers stars as Harold Fine, an extremely hairy dude who is about to reluctantly marry his annoying secretary. Oh, excuse me, I mean "Administrative Professional"; after all, this isn't the sixties!....OR IS IT???? This movie will take you back to the times of the hippie movement, free love, and hitchhiking. And we think a traditional Hopi Indian outfit is awesome for a funeral.

I Pluck You From The Crannies...
one of my all time favorites. cannot wait for the DVD release, which hopefully will be coming out soon.

This Movie Needs To Be Released On DVD!!!
It's a very sad state of affairs when a comic artist the caliber of Peter Sellers is not as appreciated as he should be. The man was a genius at playing the uptight middle class doltish kinda guy. And his Harold Fine is the quintessential umcd. I didn't see this film until the late 80's. My brother & I were stoned one night and just laughed our asses off. It was amazing how the film had retained its comic force after 20 years. After viewing it I gave it a few years and wondered if it wasn't just the added effect of the drugs but I saw it again stone cold sober and still lmao. Some of the 60's hippie-era stuff probably hasn't aged well but Sellers can't be denied. I think along with his brilliant triple-shot in Dr. Strangelove this is his best work. The film also benefits from its terrific supporting cast including Jo Van Fleet, Joyce Van Patten & Leigh Taylor Young(giving arguably the best of films many spaced-out hippie portrayals). Hopefully whoever owns the rights will get a clue and have this dvd-released sometime soon but if not I highly recommend the vhs version of this comic gem. ... Read more

Reviews (123)

good plot but horrible outcome
Jaws 3 had a very good story line plot.

Mike Brodie, played by Dennis Quaid, works at Sea World and his brother, Sean comes over to visit, and that's when the fun happens, sort of.

first, a baby great white is caputured and placed in captivity. the park immmediately gains fame as being the only park to hold a live great white shark in captivity, but the fame quickly dies out as the baby shark dies.

then, Momma comes to town. the shark for jaws 3 is the biggest in the series. huge monster shark that swallows people whole.

what really killed Jaws 3 to me, was the cheap special effects at the end, when the shark attacks the main control center of the under sea kingdom. the shark never moves, and the effect is that of a cheap B movie. i realize that this effect is probably better appreciated in 3-D, but watching it in 2-d is just flat out horrible.

the ending also suits the special 3-d version, where the 2 jaws explode in front of the camera.

i like Jaws 3 for the simple fact that Jaws is Jaws, but it had so much more to offer.

Should have included a Field Seqential 3-D version!
Not that many people are aware of the Field Sequential 3-D.
This is a 3-D TV system that uses special shutter glasses that can be purchased here through Amazon in a set that includes 3 DVD's using this process. This system Is the only way to view a 3-D film effectively on TV to date. The result is about 90% close to the effect you will see in a theatre showing.. like IMAX and Disney and Universal.
These glasses are made of sturdy plastic and clear not these cardboard red and blue pieces of garbage, so you can view the film without constricted to seeing red and blue colors and with this system you will see more actual 3-D depth with the films true colors.. It's really amazing!
For some add reason the big studios haven't adapted to include a separate version of a 3-D title in this great format.
Films like:
"House of Wax","Kiss Me Kate","Friday the 13th Part 3", "Robot Monster, "Cat Woman on the Moon", "Creature from the Black Lagoon" and "Jaws 3" are all now in 2-D DVD, but were originally shown in 3-D and could have been included using the Field Seqential 3-D system on the same disc with the 2-D version.
In Japan in the late 80's there were a few 3-D titles released using Field Sequential and can be found on e-bay converted to DVD and VHS.
Why aren't the studios producing these now!
I boycott any film DVD release that was originally intended to be seen in 3-D that's only presented in a 2-D version or anaglyph (Red and Blue Glasses).

Especially this terrible movie should have included 3-D!
The studios should really be awaken to this great 3-D system.

Not bad for a 3rd sequel
I saw this movie yesterday and it is really good. Part of it was 3D and part of it wasn't. Some of it scared me so much I left the room!! Great film, if you think about it. For my rating, the fourth Jaws was good. Keep shopping!!!!

Unworthy of the original.
I've read very few good reviews of this "Jaws" sequel, but decided to check it out for myself anyway. All I can say is that this is a pretty lousy addition to the series.

To maintain some relationship with the first two films, this sequel centers on Mike and Sean Brody, the sons of Sheriff Martin Brody. Mike is an engineer working at Sea World and he's just helped build the park's latest venue: a series of underwater tunnels that allow tourists to get closer to the marine life. But the Brody boys hard luck around water soon catches up with them when a baby Great White and its 35-foot mother get into the park via lagoon. The baby is caught and put on display but it soon dies and its mother (which, initially, nobody knows is around) begins to wreak havoc on the park.

"Jaws 3-D" is a cheaply made film to be sure. And it certainly isn't worthy of Steve Spielberg's original classic. One thing that really stuck out for me in this sequel was that, unlike the first two movies, it wasn't well acted. That's lame considering the good cast, which includes Dennis Quaid, Louis Gossett Jr., and Lea Thompson. The characters were underdeveloped and uninteresting too, which made the human side of things even worse. Joe Alves' didn't help matters with his shoddy direction either. Much of film seemed to lack focus and the scares, which were so powerful in the first movie, were cheap(though they were probably more effective in the 3-D format, which is no longer there on the video). From what I can see, the biggest complaint people have with this film is the special effects, and I can partially see why. The blue screen techniques are pathetic, but the shark, which is sorely hated by a lot of viewers, isn't totally bad; it actually LOOKS decent. The problem is it's as stiff as a two-by-four when it moves (not to mention that it roars and swims backward).

"Jaws 3-D" stands as a cheesy movie in the end. Given it's sub-par acting, direction, and effects, the only people who are going to really like it are fans of B-movies and diehard "Jaws" freaks. See this if you like but don't be surprised if you're shaking your head when it's all over.

An okay sequel.
This may not live up to the reputation of the first two Jaws series, but it is still good to watch. Dennis Quaid has done a good job with the performance as Mike Brody, along with co-stars
Bess Armstrong and Louis Gossett,Jr. For all Jaws fans, this will satisfy your collection. ... Read more

Amazon.com

Lovely to look at, this story reveals little more than the characters' nude bodies. Like couples whose only attraction is physical, this has little to offer once it leaves the bedroom. We never learn the interests or inner workings of the lovers in question. They become nothing more than attractive bodies, which makes this little more than a shallow exercise in sexuality. The story is based on the controversial, and supposedly autobiographical, bestseller by experimental French novelist Marguerite Duras. It tells the story of a young French schoolgirl who becomes sexually involved with a sophisticated, older Asian man. Set in Indochina in the late 1920s, this is stunningly photographed and artfully directed by Jean-Jacques Annaud. That said, the lack of a more satisfying plot means this is merely tastefully produced soft porn. --Rochelle O'Gorman ... Read more

Reviews (71)

A sensuous, erotic and touching love story
"The Lover" is a gorgeously sensuous and erotic film about a young girl's awakening to love and her own sexuality. Whover categorized this movie as soft porn needs to wash his or her mind out with Lysol. It is, quite simply, a love story. Jane March plays "the young girl", a French adolescent in colonial Vietnam living with her widowed mother and two brothers. Her mother barely makes ends meet by teaching, her younger brother, with whom she has a relationship both protective and erotic, is weak and passive, and her older brother is brutally antisocial, stealing the family's few funds to support his opium habit and bullying his younger siblings through violence. The girl attends a lycee in Saigon where she and her friend are the only Caucasian pupils. On a trip from her home back to school she meets "the Chinaman" played by Tony Leung, and their encounter sets off sparks. Leung is the son of a rich overseas Chinese, engaged to marry the Chinese girl picked out by his father, who spends his own days in an opium haze; his feelings for the young girl are at first purely sexual but ripen into a love so deep it confuses and frightens him. It's a love that is doomed from the start; his father will not hear of him marrying a non-Chinese, and her family, although the equivalent of white trash, still considers themselves better than the Asians they live among. When the word of her affair with the Chinaman gets out, she becomes an outcast among her schoolmates. The young girl tries to cope with the social and emotional conflicts by convincing herself and telling him that she doesn't love him; he knows she's kidding herself and so do we, and toward the movie's end, when she has lost him forever through his marriage to the woman chosen for him by his father and her own repatriation to France, she herself realizes she is in love with him. Jane March is incredible in the role of the young girl; she brings out all her character's innocence, sexuality and adolescent confusion. Tony Leung is just right as the pampered son of a rich family who is hamstrung by the mores and traditions of his family and society; and Frederique Meininger is especially effective as the mother, who dotes on her worthless older son (the more venal she knows he is, the more she dotes on him, helpless to deal with the reality of what he is, and worse, what he will become), and condemns her daughter's relationship with a Chinese on the one hand while she has no problem taking her daughter's lover's money on the other. The cinematography is beautiful and conveys all the heat and languor of colonial Vietnam. This is no film for children; the sex scenes are as explicit as can be shown in any film not rated X. At the film's end (Jeanne Moreau does an excellent voice-over throughout the movie), when the Chinaman after decades of silence telephones the girl who is now a middle-aged woman and tells her he has never forgotten her and will love her until death, we realize how strong was the love between these two. It's a beautiful film of two people who were just right, even while they were all wrong, for each other.

From Lust to Love
This is a physically beautiful film, set in an exotic locale (Vietnam) and inhabited by very attractive actors who know their trade. It starts as a lustful adventure for the wastrel son of a Chinese merchant and a bored teenage girl who finds her all-girls academy to be quite stifling. It ends as a true and tragic love story as the protagonists find that their sexual affair leads to real caring.

Many professional critics disliked this movie, but my wife and I both found it quite involving. This director (Jean-Jacques Annaud) also created "Quest For Fire", which I think met a similar fate among the critics. And again, both my wife and I found that very unusual film to be quite impressive.

I do hope that movie-lovers will give this one a chance. It was meant to be a film of quality, and in spite of its frank sexuality it is by no means to be considered soft-core pornography. It is perhaps in the same genre as "Sirens", a little Australian movie that combines a rather complete view of Elle MacPherson with a clever, well-photographed story.

Let me say that if you're looking for a good "date" movie, here's your answer. This is a love story that both sexes will enjoy. Warm up the DVD player, and lower the lights.

The Lover - A Passionate Love Story
For those who think this movie is only carnal, I extend my deepest sympathies for your apparent ignorance. This is a romeo and juliet parallel not to be missed.

This is one of, if not the best, love story ever written. It tells of a young woman, barely 17, whose life is already a tragedy. Her family was thrown from wealth and good standing, to poverty and squalor, scraping by to make ends meet in French occupied Vietnam. She is all but shakespearean in her suffering, without the guidance of a father, and the love of a weak and unscrupulous mother and drug addicted brother. There is much tenderness in the cannonization of the youngest brother, as a living saint, the one pure thing in her life.

The lover, played by Tony Leung Kai Fai, is himself, a tragic hero. Educated in France, he longs to shirk the burden of his chinese culture, buck tradition and marry for love. He is consumed by the forced arranged marriage, and pursues the young Jane March with the guile of an experienced and wealthy man, but with the tenderness and respect of a true lover.

The two make an arrangement to meet in his bachelor pad, which according to chinese tradition, is a "practice area" for marriage. Jane March's young virgin surrenders to passion and experience, while remaining emotionally detatched from her chinese lover, for he tells her that they can "never be married" as it is "not allowed", and he would be disowned and poverty stricken if he went against the wishes of his family. Seemingly, Jane March's character cares little for the potential of this toxic relationship, revelling only in the sexual experience and conversation that they share in their secret room, away from the rest of the world. He is her escape, as surreal as the life she escapes from.

The scenes are intimate and touching, full of tenderness and imagery that conveys the worship like reverence with which they experience each other. He, worshiping her sexual innocence, while she worships his sexual experience. A powerful and erotic culmination.

Truly as story continues, you believe each of the characters less and less, as they joke about how they would not fit in to each others world. They do a wonderful job trying to convince each other that the affair means nothing. It becomes less believable, as you see them fall deeper and deeper into love, and examples of arguments where they truly hurt each other, in the way that only two people in love can wound.

A truly touching ending that had me in tears, as her ship pulls away from the harbour and he is there, in his car, watching her leave.

Highly recommend this movie as a measure to restore your faith in the very real power and strength of love, even when there is no "story book" ending.(...)

Visually stunning, well-told story
I'll admit it, I first watched The Lover for the erotic scenes with Jane March, who I happen to think is gorgeous. But the more I watched it, the more the direction (Annaud) and the story (Duras) shone through. I recently bought my own copy, and I watch it more frequently than I would have thought. If it were only the sex, there are more efficient films, although the sex is quite good and again Jane March is truly a hottie.

The story, which is based on Duras' own life, talks about a young girl living at school, a 1-day trip away from her dissociative family in French Indochina in the 1930s. One day, returning to school from a visit with her family, the 15 year-old meets a Chinese man, who offers her a ride. They begin an affair, based on her curiosity and his desire for love. Needless to say, this causes scandals on both sides of the relationship. As their intimacy deepens, the Chinese man's arranged marriage looms closer, until he has to leave her for his new wife. Shortly after, the French girl and her family leave for France. As we see, the relationship was stronger than either one suspected it had become, but by that point it's too late.

The physical beauty of the film, which owes much to both Annaud's direction and the Vietnamese countryside, is amazing. I find myself watching it over and over just to see the cars driving through incongruous fields, bridges and streets. The subtext of foreigners (French, Chinese) in a foreign land (Indochina) governed by foreigners (French) reinforces the story's quality of isolation, as do the locales: there are rarely more than a handful of people in any scene, and the exceptions are telling, as well.

This is definitely one of the best films of the decade and deserves to be seen over and over.

Diffrentiating Between Sex and Love
This movie has one thinking what sex and love is. Can sex and love go hand in hand? That is the question of what the movie brought to my attention. I saw this movie on an independent film channel and the character, a young girl, has an affair with an older Chinese man. Her family struggles financially. The mother is a widowed schoolteacher and her brothers are obnoxious and want to get into her personal life. She does introduce her lover to her family and he does treat them to dinner. However, what was puzzling was their relationship. Did they actually have real feelings toward one another? He was arranged to be married and there would have never been anything more between them.
This movie diffrentiates between sex and love. Is it possible to have a sex only relationship? If so, how can it last? Do emotional feelings get in the way of their relationship?
Duras was experimenting sex for the first time. It was an experience that she would carry through her adult life. ... Read more

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Jean-Jacques Annaud's The Name of the Rose is a flawed attempt to adapt Umberto Eco's highly convoluted medieval bestseller for the screen, necessarily excising much of the esoterica that made the book so compelling. Still, what's left is a riveting whodunit set in a grimly and grimily realistic 14th-century Benedictine monastery populated by a parade of grotesque characters, all of whom spend their time lurking in dark places or scuttling, half-unseen, in the omnipresent gloom. A series of mysterious and gruesome deaths are somehow tied up with the unwelcome attention of the Inquisition, sent to root out suspected heretical behavior among the monastic scribes whose lives are dedicated to transcribing ancient manuscripts for their famous library, access to which is prevented by an ingenious maze-like layout.

Enter Sean Connery as investigator-monk William of Baskerville (the Sherlock Holmes connection made explicit in his name) and his naive young assistant Adso (a youthful Christian Slater). The Grand Inquisitor Bernado Gui (F. Murray Abraham) suspects devilry; but William and Adso, using Holmesian forensic techniques, uncover a much more human cause: the secrets of the library are being protected at a terrible cost. A fine international cast and the splendidly evocative location compensate for a screenplay that struggles to present Eco's multifaceted story even partially intact; Annaud's idiosyncratic direction complements the sinister, unsettling aura of the tale ideally. --Mark Walker ... Read more

Reviews (66)

Interesting Medieval Movie
Sean Connery plays William of Baskerville, a 14th cenutry Franciscan Monk who comes to an abbey high in the Italian Alps and investigates a series of murders that surround a mysterious book.

A young Christian Slater plays his companion/student. Connery is similar to a Sherlock Holmes, using very modern methods of investigation during this dark ages period.

The Monastery is home to all sorts of creepy monks including Ron Perlman playing a hunched backed simpleton. William find himself the target of heresy charges by a vengeful cardinal portrayed by the villian F. Murray Abraham.

The movie is somewhat slow but not in a bad way. It's a dark but thought provoking movie with religious overtones. Throughout is an on-going battle between William and some of the older monks. It seems the older Monks want the book supressed because it's a comedy and comedy is thought to be the work of the devil.

I've heard that the movie doesn't hold a candle to the book, but since I've never read it I have nothing to compare it to.

The film shows Connery's richest & diverse acting talents !
From the opening scenes you are mesmerized at the story and characters throughout this movie. The setting takes place in an old Italian Monastery where several Monks have died in mysterious ways and Connery, as a fellow Monk of the Order, is called in to investigate what is behind it. I was especially enlightened to this movie when on a trip to Europe I took a Rhine River Cruise and had actually visited the German Monastery where the movie was shot. The props created for the altar scenes are still there for visitors to see. As this movie unfolds the plot thickens testing your wits as to what is really going on in this remote monestary, heightened by the intervention of the Grand Inquisitor because the movie takes place during the period of the Inquisition in Europe. The acting is superb because the casting was excellent. The movie has enough historical fact and content that the viewer will learn something about medieval history as well as being entertained. If you are a Connery fan you will enjoy this movie for its content and story line. As with any GOOD actor you know Connery will not become involved in a bad script, you will not be disappointed with this Monk that he portrays. See it, rent it, buy it for your home library, you will watch it over - and - over again !!!

A Winner in Every Way
I have seen this fine film 5 or 6 times and each time I see something new and fascinating in it. Umberto Eco's novel was a complex story to adapt to a major film, and this was done with skill and intelligence by Andrew Birkin, Gérard Brach, Howard Franklin & Alain Godard. The idea of such a tragic murder solved with only the tools of the time is nothing short of brilliant. I am wondering how much the BBC television series "Cadfael" with Derek Jacobi is based on this motion picture. Both are superb in their own way.

If you enjoy a film with mystery, brilliant performances, gothic photography and magnificent art direction, you will enjoy this masterpiece. Be warned, however... you will require an attention span. This is not a film kids will understand.

Excellent adaptation.
How do you take a long and very dense book, and turn it into a cohesive and quickly-paced film? The makers of THE NAME OF THE ROSE answered that riddle.

All around, this film has everything going for it. The performances are compelling and right on--no one acts like a 20th Century actor trying to act 14th century. The setting is gorgeous, although the squalor of the less fortunate is vividly conveyed. The intricate almost Escher-like quality of the labyrinth within the monastery is an amazing feat of set design and engineering.

Most of all, it's the script and direction that carry the day. Given how much information had to be siphoned and sifted from Umberto Eco's novel, the screenwriters and director Jean-Jacques Annaud masterfully created a taut and convincing murder mystery without getting bogged down in the details. The only time I thought it did was during the dragged out Inquisition scenes. However, these scenes did represent what was at risk for these characters. All in all, this is a marvelous film which murder mystery fans or fans of period pieces will want to have in their collections.

Rocco Dormarunno, author of THE FIVE POINTS.

Dark Rose
1986's The Name Of The Rose is a dark, deep mystery set in the unusual setting of a medieval Italian abbey and is based on Umberto Eco's bestseller. Sean Connery stars as William of Baskerville, an English monk who is sent to the secluded abbey to investigate a murder. Along with his apprentice Adson von Melk (a young Christian Slater in just his third film), they dive into the case in which more dead bodies start turning up. F. Murray Abraham (in his first film after winning the Oscar for Amadeus) plays Bernardo Gui, an icy inquisitor who gets involved in the case, but whose motives are questionable. William struggles to solve the case against the intense religious fervor of the time and the film tries to show the conflicts between religion and justice. Director Jean-Jacques Annaud captures the dark and dank feeling of medieval times and captures the period well. The cast gives strong performances, especially Mr. Abraham in yet another menacing role. ... Read more

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The House of the Spirits is a generational tale of life among the ruling class in a South American country, as adapted from the Isabel Allende novel, but thepolitical realities coexist very uneasily with the magical realism in this Bille August film. The star power alone (Jeremy Irons, Meryl Streep, Glenn Close, Winona Ryder, Antonio Banderas, Vanessa Redgrave, and Armin Mueller-Stahl) should have cranked it up a few notches, but that's not the case. Irons is appropriately cruel as the ambitious man who achieves wealth and makes everyone around him miserable and Streep is luminous, but it's slow and ponderous all the way. --Marshall Fine ... Read more

Reviews (26)

Disappointing
I confess - I watched this video without having read the book first, so I did not know what it was going to be about. However, I had just finished another Allende book "Daughter of Fortune" and really loved her writing style and the way in which she brings her characters to life and enlightens you about various time periods and cultures. So I had great hopes that "House of the Spirits" with its outstanding cast would do the book justice and be a worthy interpretation . I was wrong. At no time during the entire movie did I ever feel any of the emotions that the characters were trying to evoke - it just didn't come across at all. I liked Glenn Close in her portrayal of Esteban's spinster sister, and some of the minor characters such as the illegitimate son gave good performances, but I thought Jeremy Irons to be totally miscast in his role and did not care for his performance - it was stiff and rehearsed - I guess that's what I felt about the movie as a whole - it wasn't alive - the actors just learned their lines and spoke them without immersing themselves into their characters. Yes, that goes for Meryl Streep as well, I'm sorry to say - I am a big fan of hers! So, I'm off to the bookstore!

AN OUSTANDING MULTI-GENERATIONAL FAMILY SAGA...
I love this movie! It has a stellar cast, who give top notch performances. How can you go wrong with Jeremy Irons, Meryl Streep, Glenn Close, Antonio Banderas, Winona Ryder, Vanessa Redgrave, and Armin Muehler-Stahl? The answer is that you can't. It is a riveting piece of film making, based loosely upon Isabelle Allende's wonderful book of the same name.

The film delicately captures the mysticism of the book, rendering those scenes in which such is the focal point highly believable. This is no mean feat given the subject matter. The story takes place in South America. The saga begins in the nineteen thirties.

Vanessa Redgrave and Armin Muehler-Stahl play the wealthy and liberal parents of two daughters, Rosa and Clara Del Valle. Rosa is the beautiful, older daughter. Clara, played by Meryl Streep's real life daughter, is a lovely child with exceptional, psychic gifts. Jeremy Irons plays the part of Esteban Trueba, an impoverished young man in love with Rosa. Vowing to make his fortune in order to marry her and provide her with the comforts to which she is accustomed, he succeeds in making his fortune. He loses Rosa, however, before being able to marry her, when she drinks poisoned wine intended for her liberal party father.

Esteban, broken hearted, leaves with his fortune and buys an estancia, where he sternly rules with an iron fist over the peasants who work the land for him. They obsequiously refer to him as "Patron". He takes what he wants, even the women, with the expected result. He has a bastard son whom he does not acknowledge.

Esteban has a spinster sister, Ferla, well acted by Glenn Close, who, for the past twenty years, has lived a grim existence in the city with their ailing mother, whom she has taken care of. When their mother dies, Esteban, now a bitter and lonely man, returns to the city from his estancia to attend his mother's funeral. In doing so, he spots Clara, who is now all grown up and ethereally portrayed by the very talented Meryl Streep. Not wasting a moment, he goes to her home. She, luminous, and mystical, already knows that he is there to ask for her hand in marriage and happily accepts. After all, she has loved him ever since she first saw him all those years ago.

Clara lovingly embraces his sister, Ferla, into the bosom of her househould, when they move to her Esteban's estancia. Ferla blossoms from a bitter old maid into a companionable and pleasant woman, under Clara's warmth. Esteban and Clara eventually have a child, Blanca, who grows up playing with Pedro, the son of the estancia's indigenous indian foreperson. When Esteban discovers this, he sends Blanca away to boarding school. He does not want his daughter fraternizing with the peasants.

Clara, loving and pure of heart, is his exact opposite. When their daughter finally grows up and returns home from school, she knows that the independent Blanca, well played by Winona Ryder, has fallen in love with her childhood playmate, Pedro, passionately portrayed by Antonio Banderas. Esteban hates Pedro, as Pedro is a liberal inciting the peasants to unionize and demand their rights, whipping them into a frenzy against the "Patron", or so Esteban sees it. He drives Pedro off his land. He also drives Ferla off, as he believes her to have unatural feelings for his wife, Clara. Possessive to a fault, he is consumed by jealousy. Clara and Esteban have a fight over his cruelties, and she finally leaves him, taking Blanca with her to the Del Valle family home in the city.

Meanwhile, life goes on. Blanca, pregnant by Pedro, has his child, believing that Pedro has been killed by her father. Esteban, representing the wealthy, becomes senator. He reigns for years, until the liberals win power. When they do, however, their tenure is short lived, as a militairy coup sets up a reign of terror and his old sins come home to roost. Meanwhile, Blanca discovers that Pedro is alive, and they joyously hook up again. When Blanca is picked up as a political dissident and tortured for her political views, Esteban, old and broken, is now just a bit player in a larger arena. Too late, he tries to right some wrongs. Some of the wrongs, however, can never be righted.

This is a magnificent, multi-generational family epic, that holds the viewer in its thrall. While it only loosely follows Isabelle Allende's wonderful book of the same name, it is a winner in its own right. It has something for everyone, as it deals with human nature, as well as the complex emotions, forces, and events that shape one. The film is about a family struggling to find its place in our ever changing world, and the relationships that each member of that family forges. It is a rich and vibrant tapestry, which succeeds in capturing the viewer.

Dishwater
Ponderous, pandering and dull, THE HOUSE OF THE SPIRITS wastes an amazing cast of great actors on what can only be called a bad couple of hours.

The very thought of Jeremy Irons, Vanessa Redgrave and Meryl Streep wasting six months of their lives only to produce this meandering flop is beyond me. The performances are fine, but the script their given to work with is lifeless.

It is, I think, a film which takes itself way too seriously; at no point is there substance to back up the self-reverence.

Book is great, Movie [is bad].
Having some truly talented actors, and a wonderful story could not save the horrid movie that is The House of the Spirts. This adaptation does not even closely do justice to the book. The book, first of all, focuses on the lives of three Trueba women. It shows the hardships and turmoil they faced in an enthralling way. The movie, I'm afraid, is too over the top, and chooses not to follow the overall plot of the novel. PLEASE if anyone suggests this film to you, DO NOT LISTEN. But do yourself a favor and read the book, it is an excellent piece of litterature.

One of the worst adaptaitions I have ever seen!
I have not seen a film quite as appaling as this one in a long time, I am Chilean and a huge fan of the book "La casa de los espiritos" (The house of the spirits), which is beautifly written, with some of the most truthfull and thoughtfull characters I have come across.
The film however is very different. To start with the characters are meant to be Chliean not British, and fair enough If they were unable to use an accent (or perhaps latin american actors) they could have at least made a respectable attempt at the names, hearing them all pronounce "Alba", "Olba" was infurriating. To keep with the cast problem the charaters of "Nivea" and "Severo Del Valle" were the two most stereotypical middle class white american parents, with a hint of the brady bunch, Nivea was more like the Mmother in "American Beauty" than a revolutionary socialist and women's rights activist, and such a passionate lover that she has given birth 15 times!
The characters were also changed and blended together changing them entirly and destrying their originality and thought making them into something dull and annoying.
The horrifying coup of 73 was perfectly covered in the book no romantic notions, just the horrendos reality, the film attempts to show a supposed torture scene with Winona Ryder, though there is nothing wrong with her acting the pitiful display of screams and a few blows soon followed by her release was just the slightest bit unrealistic, as the chance of release was about 5 to 1, and the torture sessions consited on slightly more than a few blows.
In short the film was an overly romantic, corny and pathetic attempt to sum up the book, to be honest the entire thing was greatly amusing.
Very disapointing ... Read more

Amazon.com essential video

Kathy Bates stars as an unhappy wife trying to get her husband's attention in this amusing and moving 1991 screen adaptation of Fannie Flagg's novel Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe. After befriending a lonely old woman (Jessica Tandy), Bates hears the story of a lifelong friendship between two other women (Mary Stuary Masterson and Mary-Louise Parker, seen in flashback) who once ran a cafe in town against many personal odds. The tale inspires Bates to take further command over her life, and there director Jon Avnet (Up Close and Personal), in his first feature, has fun with the film. Bates develops a real attitude toward her thickheaded spouse at home and some uppity girls in a parking lot, but dignity is generally the key to Avnet's approach with the story's crucial relationships. Tandy is a joy and clearly loves the element of mystery attached to her character, and Masterson and Parker are excellent in the historical sequences. --Tom Keogh ... Read more

Reviews (88)

Fried Green Tomatoes
Reviewed Date: October 2003
Studio: Universal Studios
Genre: Drama
Exposure: Color
Running Time: 130 Minutes
Rating: PG-13
Release Year: 1991
Directed By: Jon Aunet

Starring: Kathy Bates, Mary Stuart Masterson, Mary-Louise Parker, and Jessica Tandy.

Co-Starring: Gailard Sartain, Stan Shaw, Cicely Tyson, Gary Basaraba, Grace Zabriskie, Richard Riehle, Grayson Fricke, Lashondra Phillips, Enjolik Oree, Nick Searcy, and Ginny Parker.

If you want to see a good movie for the whole family, "Fried Green Tomatoes" is the movie for you. It shows friendship, compassion, humor, laughter, and real life encounters.

The setting takes place in the late 1980's and takes you back in time a half century to the town of Whistle Stop, Alabama.

"Fried Green Tomatoes" is a movie for anyone. It can make the best of us laugh and cry through the entire movie. "Fried Green Tomatoes" is a movie that gives you two different stories within itself. One story takes you back to the 1930's. The other part of the story takes place in the 1980's between Ninny Threadgooda, telling the story of her past to help her new friend Evelyn get her life together.

The frienships made within the movie show that this woman do hold their friendships in very high regards. The friendship in the 1930's would help both women to get through some really tough times. The friendship in the 1980's between Ninny and Evelyn keep these two ladies on track.

I give this movie 5 stars because it is a movie for anyone. Also because it shows how good friends will help a loved one in need of there help at a drop of a hat. This movie is just a well rounded movie, filled with emotion.

Better than Steel Magnolias
Fried Green Tomatoes is two stories in one ---- depressed housewife Kathy Bates befriends an elderly woman (Jessica Tandy) who tells her the story of two best friends (Mary Stuart Masterson and Mary-Louise Parker) who ran a cafe in the 1930s. The tale of the friends depicts domestic violence, pregnancy, childbirth, and two accidents involving trains. But the courage and spirit that the women have, as told by Tandy to Bates, encourages Bates to stop being a victim in her own life, particularly to her all right but insensitive husband.

The movie does a great job of showing the trials and tribulations of being a woman but how female friendship can conquer all. It is even more riveting to see it set in a time when women -- particularly unmarried women of dubious sexuality --- have to overcome obstacles set by society in general and its views of what a woman's role is. TOWANDA!!!!!

fried green tomatoes, food for the soul
I have seen this movie probably 20 times in my life and I have to say it is definetly a personal favorite in my collection. This movie touches on so many emotions that it will have you angry, sad, touched, uplifted, empowered and roaring with laughter. This movie is told to a fed-up repressed housewife (kathy bates) by a sweet ,lonely ,vivacious old woman (ninny) during visits to a nursing home after a chance meeting. The intertwined story is about Idgy a Tom-boy who distances herself with the world due to a tragedy at a young age. As Idgy ages the only person she is close with is her "hired hand" Big George and his mother Sipsy. Idgy's mother becomes concerned with Idgy and decides to have Ruth ( a girl from idgy's past) come and stay with them to try to reach Idgy. At first Idgy is stand offish but soon they become best friends that is, until Ruth leaves because she marries. I dont' want to "spoil" the rest of the story so I'll leave that alone for the time being. As Ninny tells Mrs. Couch (kathy bates) they become close friends and Mrs. Couch begins to become empowered by the strong women in the stories and making some changes in her own life. It touches on tough topics such as racism, spousal abuse, death, tragedy, loneliness, fear of death, and fear of life for some. This dvd is a must watch and own for your dvd collection.

Great Southern Storytelling on the Screen
I'm always surprised how badly great storytelling makes it to the screen. Particularly, great Southern stories, which tend to make it to the big screen replete with caricatures and stereotypes. I recall, with particular sadness, the movie adaptation of Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil. While this adaptation to the screen of Flagg's tremendously moving novel does have its share of simple, stereotypical southern "archetypes", these are largely drawn from Flagg's book, and are largely essential to the story. It is, without a doubt, one of the most enjoyable movies I have ever seen and, ten years after first seeing it, it still brings raucous laughter and tears to my eyes. It's the classic "story within the story", and begins with the introduction of a tenacious elderly widow to a repressed younger southern housewife in a nursing home in rural Alabama. What starts off to the housewife as polite and indulgent small talk of past acquaintances with a likely senile elderly woman turns rapidly into an engrossing story with what must be the best "hook line" in storytelling ("Why anybody would have thought she killed that man is beyond me!"). This story then becomes a parable which the housewife uses to change her life for the better.

While certainly a moral parable of the greater value systems of past times, and of loyalty and courage in the face of bigotry and oppression, the story never loses its infectious humor, despite some genuinely tragic events. The lesbian theme of the book is only mildly hinted at, and one would almost overlook it were one not to deliberately search for it. Some of the more brutal aspects of the book are retained, with the rampant racism and wife-abuse still harrowingly reflected, if toned down. Consequently, younger viewers may best appreciate the film in the company of an adult. Regardless, this is one of the best "feeling good" movies I have ever seen, and being a Southerner from an area very near that depicted in the book, makes me pine for the South in profound ways. It's a film about empowerment and, more importantly, the empowerment one gains through friends, and through standing up for one's friends, and through an unshakable belief in self-respect.

No little credit for the success of the film goes to the incredibly strong performances of Masterson as the tom-boyish Idgie Threadgood, and Marie Louise-Parker as Ruth Jamison, along with the underrated performance of Stan Shaw, one of TV's great character actors, as Big George. However, the film's strongest performances come from three grande dames of the screen (and stage): Cicely Tyson, as Sissy, Jessica Tandy, as Ninny Threadgood, and Kathy Bates, as Evelyn Couch. While Tandy and Bates have received their due, Tyson's performance, as always, is often overlooked.

To Wander!!!!
A story of friendship and love, and how they can both intertwin. Mary Stuart Masterson (Somekind of wonderful) and Mary louise-Parker (Boy's on the side) Displaying fabulous performance's along with Jessica Tandy (Driving miss Daisy) and Cathy Bates (Misery). The whole story surrounding a relationship that can not be defined. My Favourite film ever! However i think some people are wrong with one aspect surrounding Ninny and Idgie. That they are one and the same! Best Quote- " Face it girl's.... I'm older and have more insurance"
A film for any Mary Stuart masterson Fan. ... Read more

Amazon.com

This smart, funny episode finds the Enterprise visiting the planet Iotia, where the starship Horizon accidentally left behind Earth materials a century before. During that time, as Captain Kirk (William Shatner) discovers, the Iotians have made much of one of those items, a book called Chicago Mobs of the Twenties. The planet's population has divided into rival gangs who dress, speak, and do violence like the spiritual descendants of Al Capone, plunging Kirk, Spock (Leonard Nimoy), and McCoy (DeForest Kelley) into a facsimile of Earth's colorful and dangerous past.

The episode is played for comedy: Kirk and Spock keep getting kidnapped by the warring hoods, each of whom wants the Federation team to use their technology to defeat the other side. The big payoff, however, is a summit meeting of bosses, where Kirk employs plenty of gangster-movie jargon to get matters settled. --Tom Keogh ... Read more

Reviews (6)

Except on Tuesday
This gangster episode, and Tribbles, were the two Trek comedies that really worked. While I wouldn't exactly call the humor here subtle, it is intertwined in a fairly traditional action plot. We are able to enjoy Kirk and Spock's thuggishness for its own sake while simultaneously staying focused on the plot, for the simple reason that their behavior is called for by the story, rather than being a gimmick. The idea of a highly impressionable alien race who's cultural evolution could depend so thoroughly on a random event (the leaving behind of the book) is an interesting one as well. This episode is also helped by strong guest acting, most notably from Tayback.

The funniest of the original series
This is without question the funniest episode of the original Star Trek series. There is no funnier deadpan scene anywhere in television than the one where Kirk is "explaining" the fizzbin card game and asks Spock what the odds are against getting a royal fizzbin. His deadpan, yet truthful answer is, "I have never computed them." I laughed out loud the first time I saw that and still smile when I see it, even though I have seen it over fifty times.
The main premise is that a Federation vessel visited a planet before the Prime Directive was imposed and members of the crew interacted with the planet's inhabitants and contaminated them. Therefore, the primary task of the Enterprise is to repair the damage. The earlier Federation vessel left a book that described the Chicago gangs of the prohibition era and the inhabitants have modeled their entire culture after the book. Their clothing, buildings, speech and social structure are all modeled from the gangster movie cliches.
After many trials and errors, including Kirk trying to drive a car, there is a climactic scene where Kirk takes charge and unifies the government under one of the gang bosses. His pacing on a pool table while brandishing a machine gun and speaking one gangland cliché after another is one of the best scenes in the entire original series. His solution, where the Federation is described as an interplanetary gang, is funny and original. I have always wondered what the reaction of Star Fleet command was to his report of how he solved the contamination problem.
Funny, and essentially a spoof of a movie genre, this is one of the best Star Trek episodes ever, original series and beyond.

"A Piece of the Action," the 2nd funniest Star Trek episode
"A Piece of the Action" has the Enterprise visiting Sigma Iotia II, where a hundred years early the USS Horizon visited. Apparently this was before the Prime Directive, because one of the Horizon crew left behind a book: "Chicago Mobs of the Twenties." Now, once you get past the fact that (a) someone was toting a book into Deep Space and (b) it happened to be that particular book, you can really enjoy this one. Bela Oxymy wants the Federation to supply his gangsters with weapons so he can take over the planet, taking down Krako and the other bosses. My favorite part is when Kirk makes up a very complicated card game to play with the gangsters holding him hostage and Spock has to admit having never calculated the odds on the rarest of possible hands. Then there is also the bit where they try to drive an automobile. In the end, Kirk decides if you cannot fight them, join them. "A Piece of the Action" may well be the second funniest Star Trek episode, after "The Trouble With Tribbles," of course.

Excellence
In my opinion, A Piece Of The Action is in the top 3 episode category along with Mirror Mirror and the Corbomite Manuever. The whole episode is very deep and never uneventful. The action never stops. It employs humor in the form of "slang talk" which people like Spock and McCoy dont understand. I cant explain it all here, but I will tell you it is a very good episode.

One of the funniest and best Star Trek episodes
"A Piece of The Action" is one of my five favorite episodes of Star Trek. In "A Piece of The Action," Captain Kirk, Spock, and Dr. McCoy beam down to a planet whose landscape is similar to that of earth. The boss of a bunch of gangsters demands that the trio from the Enterprise make a deal with him which would help him ward off some of his enemies. To put it short, the Enterprise crew has been tricked. There must be a way for Captain Kirk, Spock, and Dr. McCoy to escape the planet alive, but they have a little bit of fun first.

"A Piece of The Action" is a great episode of the original series of Star Trek. It is well written and some parts of it are hilarious, especially the part when Captain Kirk drives a car for the first time. It's also amusing the way that Kirk talks in slang and has to repeat himself for the others to understand him.

William Shatner and Leonard Nimoy both give one of their best performances to make this one of the unforgettable episodes of Star Trek. I recommend "A Piece of The Action" to anybody. ... Read more

Reviews (3)

WOW!
David Duchovny hosts three more episodes of the popular adult series. Contains the episodes: "The Psychiatrist," "Four on the Floor," and "Emily's Dance."

Segment: "The Psychiatrist." Linda, the client played by Demetra Hampton (Valentina [1988]), picks up men on trains and in hotel bars and accepts money for various active and passive sex acts but contends that it's the psychiatrist with the problem. Linda asserts, "You sit there in your big chair and listen but you feel nothing." The "Psychiatrist" (Denise Crosby) writes to Red Shoes lamenting, "Whom does he psychiatrist talk to?" (Actually, the role looks more like that of a psychologist, because she seems to rely on logo therapy rather than drugs.) The Psychiatrist goes to the hotel bar and hooks up with the same man (Georges Corraface) replicating the experience of Linda. On "The Man's" prompts, she progressively removes items of her clothing, accepting various amounts of money for each garment. But eventually she turns the tables on him by demanding that he touch her. Has she gotten in over her head or can she manage a real relationship with him? Segment: "Four on the Floor." An old movie featuring two couples who engage in group sex while on a vacation far from home serves as the inspiration for the story. The Red Shoes correspondent (Rachel Palmieri, I think) reports having seen the movie during a break from final exams preparations at college. Later, when she and her lover are involved in a car accident while on a double date with their best friends, they have to take shelter from the rain in an old abandoned building. Of course, they must all remove their rain-soaked clothing and huddle together to keep warm. Is history (as told in the movie) about to repeat itself? Segment: "Emily's Dance." Emily (Kent Masters King) is an aspiring dancer. Her technique is excellent and the film makers like her looks, but she can't let herself "get into" her performance. She gets a tryout on a project directed by Zalman King (Himself), who is assisted by Ashley Lowengrub (Herself) and which is choreographed by Tony Ciulla (Himself). Freedom Williams is the lead male dancer who also coughs up the rap stuff in the background. He sees her talent and tries to push her over the line where she will finally be free to express herself through her dance. Will he succeed or just break her spirit?...

Not sure if this is same version? Different Box
The one I have, I like the first story best with Denise Crosby from Star Trek Next Generation. She plays a psychiatrist and mimics her patient's wild adventure, except she is better. It is called The Psychiatrist. The next one is called Four on the Floor like the title, it is sexy, but as the other reviewer stated these are soft porn. The last one is Emily's Dance, it is really sexy dancing. The first story is the best. I was going to put it up for sale here, but since it has a different box, I will put it up in auctions with a picture.

My Review
This is one of the best porno movies that i have ever purchased it has some of the best details. And the picture is so CLEAR. The movie has some of the hottest girls I have yet to see in a movie. The one thing i didn't like about this movie is their wasn't enough hardcore. It was just a lot of softcore. I would strongly recemend this movie if you are into softcore, but i would look for something else if you want hardcore. ... Read more

Amazon.com

Director Gillian Armstrong (My Brilliant Career, Little Women) is behind this absolute gem of a movie. Though the soundtrack is pure New Wave, Starstruck has a surprisingly traditional plot. Jackie Mullins (Jo Kennedy, doing her own singing) has just gotta sing! And her cousin Angus is determined to make her famous. The two team up with local band The Wombats to take their shot at stardom and try to save the family pub. Starstruck's buoyant spirit will remind viewers of fellow Aussie films The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert and Strictly Ballroom, but it has a charming quirkiness all its own. Armstrong fills the background with sly sight gags and throwaway lines ("I'm looking for something good for the cat." "How about a brick and a bag?"), and the choreography has a real sense of humor, right down to the water ballet number with inflatable sharks. But for all its deliberate silliness, Starstruck is a musical with real heart; the 1980s hairdos and giant kangaroo costumes can't cover up the movie's deep central conviction that dreams really can come true. --Ali Davis ... Read more

Reviews (12)

The best fun!
I absolutely love this movie. It shows that if you're clever enough and have enough tenacity (not to mention talent) that you really can "make it". The Swingers were fantastic! For me, they were a stand-out in the film. The soundtrack is awesome. The only thing I would love to have changed about this movie is the sound quality with some of the dialogue. At times it's hard to hear what's being said.

I hope this will be released on DVD in the US one day.

Loved it when it came out!
The movie is light, but very funny. Aussie accents get only a little thick at times. A good movie for light entertainment. Loved the soundtrack, so I bought it--and am glad, since it's not out on CD. I was (and still am) a big fan of the late 70s-early 80s bands from Australia and New Zealand, and this film showcased a number of them!

Very enjoyable movie
I don't generally like Gillian Armstrong movies. I find them to be too snooty but I was surprised by this one. There isn't too much of a plot in this one. Young waitress from a small town wins a big contest but the atmosphere was fun, very 80's.
Throughout the movie I pointed out how the girl was such a Cyndi Lauper want to be. When my sister pointed out the fact that this movie was before She's so Unusual, I became silent.
The real gem in this movie is Ross O'Donovan who played Angus. Although he's good in business managing, he's just an adorable geek.

Starstruck
One of my all-time favorite films. Silly, over-the-top, but absolutely delightful. The water ballet doubles me up every time. The characters are endearing and enterprising--you'll cheer for them and for the gorgeous scenes at the Sydney Opera House. Infectious music will have you humming long afterwards, and might even inspire you to get a parrot for your shoulder.

Fabulous, fabulous, fabulous, fabulous, fabulous, fabulous!
Without hesitation I give Starstruck my vote as one the the all-time great movie musicals, right up there with the best of Warner Bros of the 30s, Fox of the 40s and MGM of the 50s. Possibly, it's the only movie to perfectly integrate (original & terrific) rock music with a funny, compassionate & inventive plot. The dance numbers, particularly the campy all-male sharks-in-the-pool scene & the one with all the regulars in the tavern joining in a stunning spine-tingling production number are absolutely outstanding. The "Monkey-in-Me (That Made Me Wanna Do It)" show-stopper is literally that. Jo Kennedy is marvelous, Ross O'Donovan & all the rest are first-rate. They will never make another movie like this. What a gem! I hope it comes out on DVD & the word spreads. A great big gift of joy! ... Read more

Amazon.com essential video

Written for the stage and coherently opened up for the screen by veteran director Herbert Ross, Play It Again, Sam is closer to a conventional comedy than Woody Allen's more self-contained films, but his smart script and archetypal hero-nebbish achieve a special charm aimed squarely at movie buffs. Allen is Allan Felix, a film critic on the rebound after his wife's desertion trying to brave the choppy waters of born-again bachelorhood and struggling to reconcile his celluloid obsessions with the hazards of real-world dating. His apartment is a shrine to Humphrey Bogart, and it's none other than Bogey himself who materializes at strategic moments to counsel Allan on romantic strategy. He gets more corporeal aid from his married friends, Linda (Diane Keaton) and Dick (Tony Roberts), who try to orchestrate prospective matches and reassure him when those chemistry experiments explode. When Allan finds himself falling in love with Linda, the dissonance between fantasy and reality proves both funny and poignant--a precursor to the deeper emotionalism missing from the star's earlier directorial efforts that was soon to inform Allen's most affecting '70s comedies. It's also the start of his onscreen relationship with Keaton, further underscoring Allen's evolution toward a more satisfying contemplation of the friction between head and heart. --Sam Sutherland ... Read more

Reviews (25)

Classic Woody!
As I'm sure you now by now, this film stars Woody Allen as a film critic and CASABLANCA buff (coincidentally named Allen) whose bored wife leaves him in the throes of insecure bachelorhood, while he secretly yearns to fulfill Humphrey Bogart's role in his own love life. Watching Woody at his neurotic, self-deprecating best is fun, and he does a lot of physical comedy in this entertaining little film. It's funny that this is an essential Woody Allen film, yet Woody Allen himself didn't direct it! The film's director is Herbert Ross, director of some clever & funny movies such as MY BLUE HEAVEN (1991), and some not-so-clever-and-funny movies, most notably the awful PENNIES FROM HEAVEN (1981). However, Woody wrote the screenplay, which had been adapted from the stage play that he also had written. Since Herbert Ross doesn't take any liberties with Woody's style, it ends up being by all accounts a classic Woody Allen film.

Co-starring in this enjoyable film are Diane Keaton (in her first of many films with the irreppressable Allen), Tony Roberts (as Keaton's too-busy and full-of-himself husband), and Jerry Lacy (who continually appears to Woody as a vision of Mr. Bogart). This film was originally set in New York City, but ended up getting re-set to San Francisco due to a labor strike. Of course, all of the actors in this movie have New York accents, but that's no matter. PLAY IT AGAIN, SAM is so much fun to see for all of the trouble that Woody gets into with his dates that we only care for how his character will redeem himself by film's end.

Classic Woody!!!

An unknown classic
A very clever, funny film. Anyone who has struggled in the dating game will probably see a little of themselves in Woody Allen's charactor. The scene on the couch, between Woody and Diane Keaton, is one of the funniest scenes in any movie ever. Tony Roberts and Jerry Lacey are excellent as the too-busy husband and Humprey Bogart. If you liked ANNIE HALL or WHEN HARRY MET SALLY, I highly recommend this movie, even if you are not a Woody Allen fan.

Play it again, Sham... Go on!!!
A work of genius.

While this is one of Woody's finest moments, it also brilliantly underscores one of the dilemmas of modern man.

Allen's nerdy new age man Allan Felix is so in his head and ineffectual that his wife simply abandons ship - a brilliant observation on a social a trend that is if anything, on the increase.

The magic and true genius of this movie lies in the way Bogart's grounding yet wild Dionysian energy drives Allen's UberNerd to stop whining and intellectualizing and just act. I'm slightly paraphrasing, but Bogie's ghost's advice to Felix to 'Tell her she's beautiful' and 'Go on, kiss her... Go on!' are a joy to behold.

The revelation is that by finding his inner warrior, his wild man energy, he is actually successful, and creates a scenario in which the man and the woman can be more comfortable in their clearly defined, yet non-hierarchical roles.

While there is immense significance in the role and transforming power of the Bogart figure, this is still a warm, loving and utterly crazy Woody classic and can be enjoyed on any level.

Diane Keaton... sigh...

Great for my teenage angst
This was an important movie to me as a teen. Its the classic Woody as nebbish who wins out in the end. Far more conventionally filmed than a Woody-directed film its nonetheless up their with his funniest - touching as well.

Funniest movie ever
If you like comedy, I mean genius works of comedic brilliance, watch this movie. Buy it, rent it, or whatever. You won't be dissapointed. ... Read more

Reviews (3)

Light, but entertaining
Various comic characters from different countries gather for a road rally through Europe in the 20's, setting the stage for plenty of good-natured, family friendly hijinks. The international cast (including Tony Curtis and the wonderful Terry-Thomas) is very good. Although lightweight, the story moves along at a good pace. If you enjoy the kind of madcap comedies with large ensemble casts that were made so often in the 60's (think "It's A Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World"), you'll probably get a kick out of this.

jaunty jalopies rock
this film is a classic. it's great in so many ways. it's a prime example of old school filmmaking. they literally don't make films like this anymore. a cast of classic comic actors, assembled for a romp onscreen. the situations are clean, anyone in the family can watch the film. terry-thomas is dynamite, playing his typical nasty english cad role. tony curtis is good, playing chester scofield as a wacky nutty type of american adventurer. the subplot of germany vs. u.k. is funny as are the italian racers who want the fame and fortune, but also the girls. and the girls! early feminists. a great film all around. a must buy!

one of the best sequels
The sequel to "Those Magnificent Men in their Flying Machines" Storyline relation very good to first movie,nicespecial effectsfor it's time, long but worth it. good for rent but maybe not for purchase...you decide. ... Read more

Reviews (12)

"Family-freindly" my butt!!
This movie was very poor. For one thing this is NOT family friendly. For example in one scene these dogs get mad and they attack each other and in the end of that scene one of the dogs WAS RIPPED APART AND WAS VERY BLOODY. Also my Mom says that a scene were cut. Also the music is horrible. Also there was one very stupid curse they called the dogs(very ironic) also if you know spanish you can get an easter egg from the song they sing. In a few scenes all of a sudden stuff is completely red.

such a shame
i was telling my wife of a film i had seen when i was a child that was both excellent and moving.......CALL OF THE WILD

so i sourced it from australia as the dvd is deleted in the uk.
i thought i had given my money to a con man who had sent me a pirate copy until i read reviews from other buyers.

never have i seen such a rough dvd with the most awful picture and sound quality. the film is also one of the most dissapointing i have seen and i am embarrassed that i admitted to my wife that it made me cry when i was a kid!!!
i can only presume that it was the trauma of sitting through such badly worked material that upset my childhood.....

do yourself a favour and buy white fang instead.

such a shame

poor quality
Sorry ragmuffin, for being honest, I thank you for your 1 nice email,
but object to your other 2 " not so nice email's "
I will give you 100% for very good delivery very quick to the uk...thank you.
picture cover on dvd was different to advertised on amazon. very weary on buying again on amazon.

Not worth it
My mom purchased the video for my viewing pleasure, but I wasn't pleased. The music in the beginning sounds sort of alienated, the picture quality is horrible, and you actually see dogs tearing apart an animal and leaving its blood everywhere! I could only watch twelve minutes before I decided that it was not worth it to watch. If you ever, for any reason, actually WANT to watch the movie, then I recommend you read the book first, because the book is MUCH better than the movie.

Only Charlton Heston could keep me watching a dog like this
It's never a good plan to make a film where the dog is named Buck and the star is called Chuck, but this film's got more problems than that. Silly acting, weak photography, and a mediocre script that only sparks when it turns violent and nasty. In Charlton Heston's thoughtful 'In the Arena' autobiography, he considers this film "a total failure". He may not know good politics, but he has enough taste and sense to avoid film debacles most actors of his age have lived off for decades. So if Chuck actually writes "please don't watch this", listen to the man. Or listen to Paramount Studios, which shelved this film after they saw it.

"The Call of the Wild" is not unwatchable, but it's bad enough, one of the worst movies in Heston's career. Place this on the Turkey shelf next to Heston's equally bad "The Awakening", a ridiculous 1980 Exorcist/Omen knockoff. I haven't read Jack London's book, but this movie seems, um, a very loose adaptation.

The extras in the Alaska town are played by an assortment of German/Italian/British/American/Spanish actors, mostly overdubbed. What gems they say: one jumps onto a bicycle and yells "Yippee! Yippeeeee!" (Note: "Yippee!" will never be acceptable in a Hollywood script, and is punishable if done in real-life.) Heston's human co-star runs into that same town, yelling "Hi! Hi! Hi!" like a stoner coming down from the mountain commune. If all of the movie was as corny as the townspeople, we might have had a comedy for the ages. Alas.

As amusing as the vomiting town drunkard was, it was Charlton Heston, always a powerful presence, who kept me watching. He looks a little grumpier than usual, perhaps he noticed that the many wolves in the film are actually hybrid dogs that don't look much like North American wolves. However, his scenes with Buck are touching, against all odds and logic. I never thought of actors having on-screen chemistry with animals, but Heston proves it does exist. Those scenes keep the film from being a complete waste of film stock, but there aren't nearly enough of them.

Still, this dull film contains one classic Chuck Heston line - words he was born to speak: "Mister, if you touch that dog again I'm gonna shoot ya!" Yippee! ... Read more