Reviews (14)

Funny, cute, sweet and lightly witty
I had heard and heard about what a great film Something About Mary is, but never saw it. It is now clear to my why all those who praised it never really explained why it was so good. This is a guilty pleasure movie. Cameron Diaz is beautiful and plays her sweet, innocent, charming character flawlessly. The humor is in-your-face funny. Within 10 minutes you will either eject the video or sit back for a fun ride. I especially liked the twist with the heavily accented architecture character.

Bottom-line: This is a light-hearted, funny and fun film. It's not high art, strong social commentary, nor stirring dramatic fare. However, it is often witty, and always cute.

P.S. I also thought the dog scenes were hilarious slap-stick comedy. Maybe he--rather than Cameron--should get Most Valuable Player Award?

OK
The cameo appearance by Brett Farve is the best part of the film. The rest is so low brow...7th grade humor..that it is a bore. Young teens and gawkers will like this. Maybe a sports director I used to work with would like this too. HA.

To adults this is mindless garbage.

Doesn't this airline supply paper bags on its flights?
There should be stars with negative integers situated to the left of the y-axis intersection on the horizontal x-axis number line to rate this film. Watching this movie gave me the same physiological results as a good swig of ipecac. Everything from its lousy script and acting to its tasteless, sordid brand of humor (especially that "have you seen my baseball" ridicule of the mentally-challenged) made me regret even renting the video. To begin with, that offkey troubadour who must have been gonged by Jamie Farr, Jaye P. Morgan, and the Unknown Comic was painful to listen to. Cameron Diaz is currently a box office magnet with her charming looks; but she appears incongruous with her unsuitable role in this flick. Equally wasted is the appearance of Ben Stiller who is bound to find funnier and more suitable roles in his future films. Anyone who thinks any part of this film is funny has to have about enough intelligence to half-fill a shotglass. Now that the global Human Genome Project is completed, the gene responsible for bad taste can be theoretically altered and any future productions of films similar to this one can be obviated.

Looks good, not what i expected. 16th april 2004.
I watched it and it was nothing like what i had got in mind. I never expected it to be like this, it is quite boring to watch. It may look good by the box, its watchable but not brilliant.

Extremely Hilarious!
I saw There's Something About Mary when it first came out in the theaters and I even had the video but I gave the video away because when I get around to it I'm going to buy the widescreen DVD. I liked this movie and didn't have a problem with the low brow humor. Some people get offended by this type of humor but I didn't have a problem with it and I think this movie is hilarious and I think Cameron Diaz and Ben Stiller were both terrific and the supporting actors were pretty good too and I even enjoyed the cameo by Brett Farve from The Green Bay Packers and I highly recommend this movie but only to people who don't have a problem with crude humor. ... Read more

Amazon.com

Bill Murray does warmth in his most consistently effective post-Stripes comedy, a romantic fantasy about a wacky weatherman forced to relive one strange day over and over again, until he gets it right. Snowed in during a road-trip expedition to watch the famous groundhog encounter his shadow, Murray falls into a time warp that is never explained but pays off so richly that it doesn't need to be. The elaborate loop-the-loop plot structure cooked up by screenwriter Danny Rubin is crystal-clear every step of the way, but it's Murray's world-class reactive timing that makes the jokes explode, and we end up looking forward to each new variation. He squeezes all the available juice out of every scene. Without forcing the issue, he makes us understand why this fly-away personality responds so intensely to the radiant sanity of the TV producer played by Andie MacDowell. The blissfully clueless Chris Elliott (Cabin Boy) is Murray's nudnik cameraman. --David Chute ... Read more

Reviews (239)

it's going to last you the rest of your life!
Groundhog Day is the funniest movie of the 90's. Brilliant performance by Bill Murray who plays a cocky weatherman Phil Connors who covers Groundhog day every year in the small town of Punxatawnee that he hates. The day end with him being stuck there because of a blizzard that he didn't predict...and what more, he relives groundhog day over and over again...taking advantage of it, taking his own life, making a move on his producer Andie Macdowell which turns out to be his first lesson in reviewing his inner cruelty and becoming a better person, and a local hero!

This movie is straight out funny...it will make you crack up with every viewing. Watch out for Stephen Tobolowski in his bizarre role as Ned Ryerson, and a cameo appearance by the film's director (and Murray's costar in Ghostbusters) Harold Ramis.

The features are well worth the money too.

A tale of love, hope, and redemption
This is a terrific movie - hilarious, uplifting, and deeply romantic and heartwarming.

Bill Murray and Andie McDowell are perfect in this film, Murray as the cynical, infinitely self-centered TV weather newscaster, and Andie McDowell as his radiant and relentlessly uplifting TV producer and love interest. The plot has been rehashed many times by others, so I won't repeat it again.

The thing that makes this movie so memorable, and makes it stand out from all others is not the comedy, which is enjoyable, but the deeper themes behind it.

What are these themes? In reading the other 226 reviews, people have mentioned everything from Buddhist karma and reincarnation, Nietzsche and existentialism, Kubler Ross, the Seven Sins, and Gurdjieff -Ouspensky and the Fourth Way. Comparisons have been made to themes from the Twilight Zone, and Frank Capra movies like "It's a Wonderful Life".

Yes, I suppose all of these themes are present, and people will interpret this movie in the religious or philosophical context with which they are most familiar. Which is why it's a bit surprising that so far nobody has mentioned the main theme that stood out immediately for me in this movie.

Above all the existentialism and New Age themes that might be found in this movie is a very old fashioned one - at its core, this movie is a moral tale of love, hope, and redemption.

Bill Murray's character is stuck in time, stuck in purgatory, stuck in a perpetual rut of endless reincarnation and immortality, whatever you want to call it. His character, Phil Connors asks, "What would you do if you were stuck in one place and every day was exactly the same, and nothing that you did mattered?"

Connors first uses his recursive immortality to dive even deeper into the Seven Sins, and then sinks into despair, hopelessness, and attempted suicide. But gradually, he awakens to the possibility that his choices of action do matter, and discovers that through caring for the other people in this town, he is able to regain hope in his own life again. It is this genuine turn in becoming a better person that wins the heart of Andie McDowell's character and earns him redemption from this purgatory.

Another reviewer had mentioned a link to the theme of making hard choices in the "Lord of the Rings". Thanks to "Groundhog Day", I came to understand one question from LOTR that had always bothered me - why would any immortal being (i.e., elves like Arwen and Haldir in LOTR) ever give up their immortality? The answer: maybe immortality becomes tiresome and meaningless if one cannot make a difference in this world, maybe leaving immortality to gain the love of another is truly more worthwhile.

There was just one other aspect of this idea that came to mind - what if whoever or whatever had kept Phil Connors stuck in time had continued to keep him there even after his transformation? We like to think that love and hope always leads to redemption. What if it doesn't? That's one real-life possibility which is not explored in this movie, but nevertheless, it is still a terrific movie.

Renaissance Man Extraordinaire - Carpe Diem
There are so many messages behind this great movie with Bill Murray and Andie MacDowell. He is head over heals for MacDowell from the start, but as an arrogant weatherman, he seems to just tick her off from the start as well.

Imagine waking up every morning and it is the same day over and over again? Well, Murray has this happen to him. Every time he does his day becomes one disaster after another until he finally gives in and figures out he can use each day to improve himself and his life a little at a time.

The message here is clear. We all have a life that is made up of the same day everyday, what we choose to do with that day is really up to us. Do we want to improve our lot in life or just go along with being ourselves in a boring unfulfilled endless life that is a cycle of recurring themes?

This movie shows anyone, even though it is a comedy, that each day we have a choice to make the day what it can be. Murray plays Phil Connors, on Ground Hog Day when the ground hog's name is also Phil...go figure. Connors is as arrogant as they come and he just keeps trying so hard to impress people.

He goes from egotisical and self serving to seeing himself to get the girl of his dreams, Rita. It would be nice to know how many days of Ground Hog Days he spent there. You can see him go from this to a renaissance man who really cares about people, loves life and takes each day and uses it to improve himself.

Rita, although the same person and not being influenced or affected by being in Ground Hog day, comes to really like Phil. This movie makes us laugh at ourselves and our humanity. And by the end of the movie, he shows that he can have a positive effect on everyone he comes in contact with.

So when you hear the song, "I've Got You Babe," and the announcers saying, "It's Ground Hog Day....." remember to use the day to its fullest.

Perfect
G.D really is nearly perfect. I never tire of it. At the same time I think most people miss the point. (By the way, I've NOT seen the Special Edition.)

I'm facinated each time watching the totally self centered Bill Murray caught in this marvelous time paradox, living the same day over and over. He goes through differing stages: fear and confusion; euphoria, when he realizes he can do ANYTHING without consequence; despair, when he realizes that life is meaningless if one pursues selfish pleasures without goals; and finally a peaceful self actualization when he dedicates himself toward self improvement and the humanitarian goals his situation gives him the opportunity to pursue.

It gives one pause to consider what each of US would do in a similar circumstance.

Oh, it's really funny, too.

Groundhog Day a classic
In 1993 , director Harold Ramis genius of dark comedies like ''Analyze This'' casted Bill Murray as Phil Connors in this dark but mostly enjoyable movie named GroundHog Day.

Bill Murray plays Phil Connors a weatherman, who covers everything from weather to Ground Day. Phil isn't happy with his life, in fact he realizes that he is repeating the same routine over and over again. From work in the morning,to
talking to the annoying Ned Ryanser( Stephen Tobolowsky), while listening to Sonny and Cher in the morning to covering the stupid GroundHog Day, Phil is repeating the same day over and over again. Of course the irony here as done by the plot, is that he is the only that knows it. It's like an episode the ''Twilight Zone'' (which I reviewed too on other sites). Eventually Phil has a mental breakdown in which he plans to do whatever he wants. He comes completely unglued when realizing how wasted his life had become, and thus wants to change it.

I use the term breakdown because well Phil isn't exactly a nice guy, he's arrogant and obnoxious. We hardly sympathize with this guy, much less that he is miserable.
However, the point the movie makes is the guy realizes he has been wasting his life away and wants to change it, although Phil's change doesn't go ahead smoothly.

He drives reckless around the train tracks, gets arrested, steals a bagfull of money from a couple of dumb cops, charms his way into sleeping with a beautiful young girl and yet finds out that he still isn't happy. Until he puts the moves on Rita (Andy McDowell), his producer. McDowell is the few actresses that I know that has limited acting potential but her beautiful presence can convey some emotions making her sympathetic.

However, in order to get close to Rita, Phil has to get info on her likes and dislikes from her friends. This angle in the movie, really made me a little sick, because even we are suppose to sympathize with Phil, he hasn't really changed all that much. Rita, eventually finds out Phil's motives and slaps him in the face, and telling him to get lost. LOL No surprise there, in fact Rita's action sums up my argument that Phil hasn't really changed all that much despite his aim to not repeat the same day, he is still repeating his same behavioral patterns.

Phil though in order to impress her and to change himself, starts doing bizarre, yet unreal things that get him attention and he does start to become nicer. This is where the movie gets ridiculous, because even though this is a comedy, I found the rest of the movie to be predictable, superficial, yet enjoyable
Phil becomes a gifted ice sculpter (who knows where he learned this) as one scene, where his cutting a sculpture of an ice angel is shown. Then Phil saves a guy from choking to death, a kid from a falling tree and a host of other surprises. LOL

Yes Harold Ramis does go a bit over the top with this Phil guy, obviously a lot of the stuff he pulls of is almost impossible giving Phil's background, but Ramis is again trying to show the point (although laughingly bad) that Phil is changing. He now has a heart and will do anything to be with this nice woman and of course by Phil doing this he has filled that empty void that he had when he was repeating the same unfulling routine of covering that stupid Groundhog Day in Pennsylvania.

Ramis is actually a buddy of Murray going back to the old days of their ''SCTV'' days, and ''Ghostbusters'' days, so these two talented comedian can pull the hijinks in the film with some realism.

Still though Ramis does do a good job of making us think about the movie and Phil itself and gives us that scary thought that we perhaps might end up like Phil, a shriveled, ugly man who has been repeating the same stupid routine yet doesn't have the capacity to see that this misery is at his own doing.

LOL ... Read more

Amazon.com essential video

As one of the most respected American independent filmmakers, John Sayles has created a body of work as distinguished in its diversity as for its consistent quality and inspiring originality. He's never been one to march to the commercial beat, but chooses instead to follow his creative impulse wherever it leads him. The Secret of Roan Inish led Sayles to the beautiful and moody West Coast of Ireland; it is a tale of a girl who discovers that her family has been touched by myth and magic throughout the years. Following the death of her mother, young Fiona (Jeni Courtney) is sent to live with her grandparents on the Irish coast across from Roan Inish, the island where her family once lived. She's told stories about the selkies--seals that can turn into humans--who have been connected with Fiona's family over the ages. At first she's not sure if the selkies are real or mythological, but she later realizes that they hold the key to reclaiming her family heritage.

What's remarkable about this film (which Sayles adapted from Rosalie Fry's novel Secret of the Ron Mor Skerry) is that it's not told as a cute fantasy for children, but as a straightforward, unsentimental story of a young girl's family history. That gives the film--which was beautifully photographed by master cinematographer Haskell Wexler--an understated charm that is completely absorbing in its atmosphere and subtle tone. There's magic as well, to be sure--you could almost swear that the seals and seagulls in the film took direction from Sayles as well as any human actor! --Jeff Shannon ... Read more

Reviews (70)

Magical Irish Tale
The Secret of Roan Innish is a movie unlike any other I have seen. Truly enchanting, haunting, moving, and inspiring, I recommend this movie to anyone who has not lost their sense of childlike wonder, and who remembers fairy tales read on a rainy day.

Roan Innish means Seal Island in Celtic. The story is of a young, orphaned Irish girl determined to uncover her family's secret. Her brother has been missing, and is never mentioned by her traditional and loving grandparents, who are raising her. The intrepid girl uses her detective skills, perseverance, hard work, and all the resources at hand to uncover a mystery greater than she or her grandparents ever imagined.

This is a movie for adults more than children, as the heavy Irish brouge is a bit difficult to translate at first, and the beautiful filmography may seem slow-moving to children. Amazing acting will transport you to a place you have never been and will never forget.

Fiona solves the mystery of the island of Roan Inish
The family of young Fiona (Jeni Courtney) has been touched by tragedy. Her mother has died and no one wants to talk about when her baby brother Jimmy drifted off to sea in his cradle. Fiona is sent to live with her grandfather (Mick Lally) and grandmother (Eileen Colgan) on the coast across from the family's former home on the island of Roan Inish. Everyone from her grandfather to the people she meets in towns have stories to tell young Fiona, about Roan Inish and the selkies, "ceils" who assume human form and can be captured if you but get their skins away from them. Bit by bit Fiona puts the stories of her family and the local legends together until she and her cousin Eamon (Richard Sheridan) finally learn the secret of Roan Inish.

Director John Sayles and cinematographer Haskell Wexler have crafted a simple story, told in leisure about a young girl who believes in her heart long before she has evidence for her eyes. Besides any film that involves a young man having to be tied between two cows for warmth after the sea refuses to drown him is obviously a film worth seeing. Then there all those lilting Irish accents and their wonderful way of coming up with a phrase to describe each situation. Add to this the wonderful soundtrack of Irish music and the captivating mystery and I do not think you will have to worry that the relatively slow pace of the film will lose the interest of your children. They too will want to learn if their suspicions about the island's secret are correct. "The Secret of Roan Inish" is a delightful family film, of the sort we will all agree they simply do not make enough of any more.

Magic!
An absolutely beautiful story building on legends from the west coast and the islands. Captures the magic of the legends better than anything has since my storytimes with an old West Kerry grand uncle.
Beautifully acted by an excellent cast despite the distraction of Judi Courtney's northern accent when the rest of the family have southern accents.
The Selkie is well played by Susan Lynch who has been in many other films including Ned Devine

What a beautiful film
This film was so gorgeous...the scenery was breathtaking. Though I was a bit confused at times about the plot (now I understand it more), overall it was a spectacular piece of cinema. Lovely.

The Secret of Roan Inish
The movie made me want to GO to Ireland - to go to Inishmore (the island off the west coast).
It's a good movie - if someone is interested in Irish folklore, by all means get it!
Oh, I FINALLY did go to Ireland, and Inishmore a few weeks ago, and saw the seals playing on the beach! It's just as beautiful (and mysterious) as the movie! ... Read more

Amazon.com essential video

Arguably the greatest black comedy ever made, Stanley Kubrick's cold war classic is the ultimate satire of the nuclear age. Dr. Strangelove is a perfect spoof of political and military insanity, beginning when General Jack D. Ripper (Sterling Hayden), a maniacal warrior obsessed with "the purity of precious bodily fluids," mounts his singular campaign against Communism by ordering a squadron of B-52 bombers to attack the Soviet Union. The Soviets counter the threat with a so-called "Doomsday Device," and the world hangs in the balance while the U.S. president (Peter Sellers) engages in hilarious hot-line negotiations with his Soviet counterpart. Sellers also plays a British military attaché and the mad bomb-maker Dr. Strangelove; George C. Scott is outrageously frantic as General Buck Turgidson, whose presidential advice consists mainly of panic and statistics about "acceptable losses." With dialogue ("You can't fight here! This is the war room!") and images (Slim Pickens's character riding the bomb to oblivion) that have become a part of our cultural vocabulary, Kubrick's film regularly appears on critics' lists of the all-time best. --Jeff Shannon ... Read more

Reviews (264)

Absolutely Brilliant, Yet Creepy Satire
Splendidly acted and brilliantly directed, Dr. Strangelove is Kubrick's satiric masterpiece about the insanity of the Cold War Era and the silliness of the infamous military-industrial complex--i.e., militaristic war machine-- that seems hell-bent on destroying the world with its overblown paranoia and jingoism. After rumors of a supposed Doomsday Machine that the "Commie Rats" are developing, a general, Jack D. Ripper (Sterling Hayden), tricks 34 U.S. Air Force bombers into nuking the U.S.S.R. without asking the President's permission (played by Peter Sellers in one of three roles). Not surprisingly, he's a little touched in the head, as he decides to bomb Russia not only because of this device, but because he's obsessed with the idea of preserving America's "precious bodily fluids." (It's a long story, folks.) Adding to the mess is Joint Chief of Staff, Turgidson (George C.Scott, in a brilliant performance), who's as paranoid as they come and wouldn't mind helping Ripper take out half of civilization to save America from the evil Russians. (One hilarious scene has Turgidson confronted with the possiblity of killing millions of people because of Ripper's stunt. "So what if we get our hair a little mussed?" he says.) Also mired in the madness is another military man, the veddy British Mandrake (Sellers) who works under Ripper and tries desperately to get the insane man to give him the code needed to turn the planes back, but alas to no avail. The star of the movie, however, is the weapons scientist, Dr. Strangelove (Sellers again), a very bizarre wheelchair-bound ex-Nazi with a "trick arm" that can't stop doing the Seig Heil salute. (For trivia buffs out there, this character may have been an allusion to the very real Wernher von Braun, the rocket scientist for Nazi Germany who was recruited by the U.S. after the war.) Also doing a wonderful turn is Slim Pickens, the tough-talking cowboy and man in charge of the only bomber that fails to get the recall from Washington; the scene in which he rides a falling nuke to its destination is a cinematic classic.

What makes Dr. Strangelove so brilliant is that is able to straddle that line between reality and absurdity without having each side cancel the other out. On one hand, the performances are so over the top that you not only laugh, you sigh with the relief that this is, after all, *just* a movie. (A weird cat like Dr. Strangelove could never exist in real life.) On the other hand, there's something about the way the film is directed where there's an eery and creepy feeling that something like this *could* happen-- not with these zany characters, of course, but with saner people in similar circumstances. In the end, no matter how crazy people like Turgidson and Ripper may act, the bottom line is that their underlying beliefs are shockingly similar to what a lot of U.S. military personnel in a position of power to push the button feel like. But then again, that was the point of the film-- on one hand to make people laugh, but on the other hand, to wake them up to the dangers of the Cold War and an entity like the military-industrial complex, that-- if not kept in check-- could one day feel itself powerful enough to perform certain reckless acts without consulting Congress or even the President himself. All in all, a terrific film, and a complete thumbs up from me.

A Kubrick Classic.
U.S. Air Force General Jack D. Ripper (Sterling Heyden) goes entire and Utterly Crazy and Sends his Bomber Wing to Destory the U.S.S.R. He distrust that the Communists are Noted to Contaminate the Expensive Carnal Liquids of the American People. The U.S. President (Peter Sellers) meets with his Advisors, where the Soviet Ambassador tells him if the U.S.S.R. is hit by Nuclear Weapons, it will trigger a Doomsday Decive. Which will Annihilate all Plant and Animal Life on Earth. British Captain Lionel Mandrake (Also Sellers), the only person with access to the Demented General Ripper. U.S. President Merkin Muffley, whose Best Effort to Avert Disaster depend on Placating a High Soviet Permier and the former Nazi genious Dr. Strangelove (Also Sellers), who concludes that such a decive would not be a Cognizant Deterrent for Reasons which at this moment must be all too obvious. Will the Bombers be Stopped in Time or will General Jack D. Ripper succeed in destroying the world?

Directed by Stanley Kubrick (Lolita, 2001:A Space Odyssey, A Clockwork Orange) filmed a well made Black Comedy, feature an Impressive Cast including-George C. Scott, Slim Pickens and James Earl Jones. This film is Unique and It's gets better, every year. Oscar Nominated for Best Actor:Peter Sellers, Best Picture and Best Director:Stanley Kubrick and Best Adapted Screenplay by Peter George, Stanley Kubrick and Terry Southern. DVD has an clear Pan & Scan format and an Dolby Digital 1.0 Mono Sound. A well made that become a Classic. The Newest Edition from Columbia Home Video DVD has Many Extras. Grade:B+.

Oh for the days of the Cold War!
Every ideology that seems terribly important to one generation usually ends up seeming idiotic and even disturbingly naive to the following generation.

Think about it. The ideologies of the 18th century - dying for one's prince, duke or loot - seemed insane during the Napoleonic Wars, when nationalism became THE primary motivating factor.

"Pure" nationalism - like the extreme gung-ho attitudes at the beginning of World War I - seemed rather distasteful to the Allied forces in World War II, who fought to liberate peoples from Fascism.

The idea that Fascism would always endure, and was seriously in danger of taking over the world, seemed laughable during the Cold War.

How does the Cold War look to us today? The McCarthy era; Americans truly believing the USSR and the Communists were veritable Antichrists; truly believing that DESTROYING ALL LIFE ON THE PLANET was a feasible prediction about life in the near future; that the world was, always had been, and always would be, characterised by a fight between Communists and Capitalists.

*Sigh*

Dr Strangelove (or: how I learned to stop worrying and love the bomb) is actually MORE funny - and disturbing - in some ways now than it was before. Admittedly I can sort of understand the immense impact of this film - could ANY politial satire have been more timely - but the fact that the "better red than dead" ideology nowadays seems as ridiculous as fighting for your Duke, means that this film can be seen in a new light.

People actually believed that is was better to be dead than Red? (Yes they did). People actually believed fluoridation of water was a communist conspiracy??? (Yes, they did). The Russians actually contemplated building a Doomsday device? (Yes they did!!! Josef Stalin actually started research on such a device, which would have EXTERMINATED ALL LIFE ON THE PLANET for the sake of a politial dispute between Communist and capitalist that today seems absolutely laughable!)

The passing of the Cold War era means that this movie is seriously disturbing. To a new generation, the all-annihilating power of the superpowers of the 1960s appears to have been based on disputes that appear petty in the extreme. Truly this movie makes us wonder what future generations will think of our fixation on modern ideologies; in an era that began three years ago with the late unpleasantness - and which is already making Francis Fukuyama's ideas, from the happy days of the 1990s, seem obsolete. He claimed that history was over; that free market ideology was the ULTIMATE ideology that would finally bring about an end to all future historical events by making us all live in peace.
That is SO 1995...

History is not over. Each generation seriously believes its own era is the ultimate era - that their own era is THE era whose disputes TRULY matter.

Well, history changes, as Strangelove shows us. I seriously hope that this movie makes us moderns think a little further before considering annihilating the world again! At least over something like fluoridation of water...

Satire at its best!
There are excellent reviews here about this movie, most of them rate it highly, and rightly so. It is no accident that this DVD is on average (at the time of writing) around 4.5 stars.
I must confess I did not know about Peter Sellers before watching this movie. I was recommended the movie by an 'artsy' friend - you know, the type of guy that thinks Citizen Kane is the greatest movie ever made - so I wasn't expecting too much, knowing how these types prefer style over substance.

I was pleasantly surprised. This is the type of film anybody can enjoy, it's seriously funny. It will probably have more meaning if you are familiar with the Cold War and the arms race, but if you don't know too much about that, the extras are a great help. There is one extra that deals with the making of the film, and how at the time of its production there was some subtle opposition to its release. Subtle in that the Air force was unwilling to lend it's expertise in the design of the B-52 bomber used in the film, and there was fear that its release at the time of J.F.K's death might have been seen as unpatriotic.

Well that's all behind us now, and we don't have to worry about the bomb so we can enjoy it more as a comedy than as a political message presented as satire. I must say that Peter Sellers is a genius; I couldn't tell when I first watched it that he was playing three roles! There are so many funny parts in the film and I don't want to spoil it for you by mentioning any. George C. Scott is also excellent and has some very memorable lines.

A bonus for me was that there was a language soundtrack in five languages; German, Italian, French, Spanish and English (off course) plus there were subtitles in more languages which is great for anyone trying to learn a new language.

I would highly recommend this film to anyone who loves satire and who appreciates jokes that aren't always below the belt.

"I think you're some kind of deviated pre-vert."
Some films have a timeless quality intrinsically inherent with the story, allowing for them to maintain a certain amount of relevance, despite the subject matter, or when they were made. This aspect holds true for many of Stanley Kubrick's films, in my opinion, and is true with this film, Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb.

Directed by Kubrick, written by Kubrick and Terry Southern (Easy Rider), based on the serious novel Red Alert aka Two Hours to Doom by Peter George, and starring Peter Sellers, George C. Scott, and Sterling Hayden, Dr. Strangelove deals in a highly farcical and satirical manner the subject of nuclear proliferation, and proposed responses devised by men of power to perceived threats, whether they be based on reality, or founded from paranoia.

The film starts off with Brigadier General Jack D. Ripper (Hayden), commander of Burpelson Air Force Base, initiating Attack Plan R to his group, a plan created to allow someone other than the president to launch a nuclear counterattack in the event the enemy has managed to disrupt the normal chain of command, thereby preserving our response abilities despite significant loss of leadership. Only problem is, there has been no offensive put forth by enemies of America, and it turns out this issuance was completely unprovoked and the result of one who has basically lost his mind. Group Captain Lionel Mandrake (Seller, in one of three roles), a British officer participating in a officer exchange program, and, subsequently Rippers 2nd in command, realizes this, and must act before the B-52 bombers reach their destinations within the Soviet Union and deliver their atomic payloads, in turn setting off a new doomsday device conceived by the Soviets due to the fact that they were unable to keep up the United States in terms of arms proliferation, which, if activated, would cover the planet in a radioactive cloud for 100 years, destroying all life on Earth. Pretty heavy stuff, huh? One wouldn't think there'd be much humor to be found in a situation like this, but then one would be wrong...

The humor comes in the form of the absolute ludicrosity (it's not a word, as I just made it up) of the situation grown from the intense level of paranoia developed between democratic and communist powers after WWII and how, once things are set into motion, how safeguards meant to protect us basically work against that goal. It's really pretty funny to see what a mutated beast has been born of these fears, both perceived and real. Hayden Sterling is wonderful as the psychotic general with visions of communists infiltrating the very core of our democratic being, with his thoughts on 'precious bodily fluids', and conspiracies by the red menace to undermine and sap our strength. Peter Sellers is perhaps the standout in the film, playing three separate parts with such ability that I often unable to distinguish the actor from the characters within the film, seeing not an actor playing three separate parts, but only seeing three distinct characters in the British officer Mandrake, President Merkin Muffley "Gentlemen, you can't fight in here! This is the War Room", and finally ex-German scientist Dr. Strangelove "Of course, the whole point of a Doomsday Machine is lost if you keep it a secret! Why didn't you tell the world?", advisor to the President. One thing each of the characters does have in common is the Seller's comedic genius. His most memorable roles were those involving the bumbling Inspector Clouseau in the Pink Panther movies, but his skills shine through in his portrayal of three completely separate personalities, one straight-laced (Mandrake), another sort of bewildered but trying to maintain a sense of control (President Muffley), and a third hilariously over the top (Dr. Strangelove). Finally, there's George C. Scott's performance as the scheming, opportunistic, plotting and conniving, but all in the name of patriotism, General 'Buck' Turdigson "Mr. President, I'm not saying we wouldn't get our hair mussed. But I do say no more than ten to twenty million killed, tops. Uh, depending on the breaks". He completely reminds me of his lead role from the film Patton (1970), but in a very perverted, devolved manner. Great support roles include Slim Pickens Major T.J. 'King' Kong as the pilot of one of the B-52's, James Earl Jones as one of his crewmembers, and Colonel 'Bat' Guano as the leader of the force assigned to take control of Burpelson Air Force Base, and recover the recall codes from base commander General Ripper.

All in all, Kubrick has just an amazing style for relating a story to the audience. From his use of different formats of film to evoke a particular mood or convey a sense of feeling, i.e. the documentary style use for the actual fighting footage at the air force base, to the choice of music to enhance the tone set in the various scenes. It all works perfectly to create mock realism in spite of the comedic nature, presenting the essence of a black comedy.

The picture looks wonderful in this full screen format, and you will see that change from time to time as Kubrick used various aspect ratios in the film. As far as special features, there are quite a few of them, including a theatrical trailer, a featurette titled 'The Art of Stanley Kubrick: From Short Films to Strangelove', a documentary titled 'The Making of Dr. Strangelove', original split screen interviews with actors Scott and Sellers (this was done by having the actors answer pre-determined questions, and then local interviewers could be added in later asking said questions, making it look like they were interviewing the actors), promotional advertising gallery, and talent files. Some have called this 'The Greatest Black Comedy of All Time', and I would have little difficulty in arguing that...

(...) ... Read more

Reviews (32)

Amazingly suspenseful psychological thriller
This story of a psychotic ventriloquist is truly frightening, especially as portrayed through the gifted Anthony Hopkins. Ann-Margret gives her best performance as his high-school sweetheart stuck in a bad marriage. Based on the novel, the plot is powerful and well-developed. One caution: This video is edited; with the abundant vulgar language of the movie removed. This hurts the impact of the film, but the story is strong enough to overcome this sad bit of editing.

Good Ingredients Not Blended Well, Plus A Flaw
Anthony Hopkins plays a reclusive ventriloquist who tries to hide his mental illness. For him, his dummies come alive, and are not nice. He struggles to be the one in control, but often gets overwhelmed by the dummies (alter-egos).

Hopkins is, as usual, brilliant. Is he hallucinating, or are the dummies really coming to life? His internal good-versus-evil struggle gets externalized into the dummies, and the viewer clearly sees Hopkins barely holding onto control, and sometimes slipping. This is a great piece of acting. I also liked the fun-turned-creepy musical score, and the setting was very nonstandard for a horror film.

Despite all those positives, this film seems disjointed; it keeps losing its flow. I was also put off by a blatant Hollywood tactic done here to the extreme: the insertion of gratuitous profanity to insure a more adult rating. This movie should have earned its PG rating because of violence and the portrayal of a disturbed individual, but added the profanity to make sure it got the PG rating. It actually pushes toward an R rating because of one brief scene of intense profanity. The story would have been undiminished without that scene. "Eddy" starring Whoopi Goldberg used this same tactic.

Sad and disturbing ending
I loved this video so much that I watched it on the edge of my chair.The only part that was sad was the ending were Fats and Corky die. [I practially cried at the end of this movie.]The funny parts was when Fats was on stage and said something about his sex life and when he told Corky to look at some girls chest.Fats is one funny dummy when it comes to the girls.When Peg places her hand in him he actually talks as she moves his ears and eyes and lips...........That's about all for know........later much..........................

Wooden It Be Loverly?
Yes, there have been better films written by William Goldman, and yes there are better performances by Anthony Hopkins out there as well. But it you have a real desire to see a scarry movie with fine production values (including Jerry Goldsmith's haunting score) then check this film out. Watch it with the lights on and with someone you won't be embarrassed to see you jump when the knife drops or Fats goes into a rant. Hope it comes out on DVD sometime soon. It deserves to be seen by a whole new generation of Hopkins fans.

One Of The Best Movies I Have Ever Seen With Anthony!!!!!
At first, I thought I had gotten the PG version, but soon found that it was the R-rated version that I had hoped for. It was a bit more fast paced and compacted than the book, which I read less than a week before purchasing and viewing the movie. I have to admit, I am a little biased because I think that Anthony Hopkins is the best actor that ever has been or ever will be. But I truly think that this is one of his best works. Ann-Margaret is cool too, and I enjoyed the lovey parts between them. People on this site seem to want to describe this movie as scary when the only part that I jumped on was when Corky drops the knife at the end, and that was only because the thump it made was so sudden. Otherwise, 'Magic' was a nice, refreshing romance with a twinge of schisophrenic weirdness. But all in all, this rare find was one of the best movies, both that I have seen and that Anthony Hopkins has been in. Great job!!!! I hope to see this movie make it to DVD some time soon! ... Read more

Reviews (219)

I have a "hunch" you'll love this!
Frederick Frankenstein (Gene Wilder) wants nothing more than his job teaching biology at the university, the love of his life Elizabeth (Madeline Kahn), and to put behind him the legacy of his grandfather, the infamous Baron Viktor von Frankenstein. He never planned on inheriting his ancestral castle complete with assistants (Marty Feldman, Terri Garr, Cloris Leachman). He never planned on finding his grandfather's notes . He didn't plan to reanimate a corpse (Peter Boyle) with an abnormal brain. And he certainly didn't plan for said corpse to get loose...

Put that way, this hardly sounds like a comedy at all. Ah, but Gene Wilder and Mel Brooks, like Dr. Frankenstein, have deftly grafted inspired lunacy to a touching and solid story and given their creation life. Wordplay, slapstick, innuedno, sight gags and cinema's most memorable musical scene combine in a hilarious brew. Yet it is the original core, the story of the deformed oucast and the creator who ultimately redeem each other, that keeps it all from simply being vaudeville. Peter and Gene are fabulous at being silly and sincere simultaneously.

On to the extras! The trailers and production stills are nice, standard fare. The outakes are little disappointing. Several of the clips are close-up shots of a single performer, the camera never moving, so we hear the cast and crew cracking up, but don't always understand why. Some of the deleted scenes were pretty funny, and a shame they didn't make it into the final cut. The making of documentary interviews several of the key figures and does a good job of exposing what exactly it took to make the film. (Note to techno-geeks: not much detail on special effects, if that's your thing.) Also, there a couple of interviews done for a Mexican studio with Marty and Gene (don't worry, they also speak English).

Did you ever watch old home movies with, say, an uncle who'd reminisce and sometimes just make silly comments about what's going on? OK, now imagine that your uncle is Mel Brooks and that his home movie is this multi-million dollar spectacle. That's what the comentary track is like. It was really neat to hear not only what Mel had in mind for the various scenes, but his unabashed adulation at the creative talent he had to work with. He even talks about the fellow who plays Inspector Kemp's chauffeur!

All in all, a wonderful movie with a good helping of juicy extras.

Homage to Horror
This is probably Mel Brook's finest work, though some might vote for Blazing Saddles or the Producers. Not me, though. I'll take this one. In a tribute to the old horror movies of yore, Brooks puts together the perfect cast to carry it out. Gene Wilder as Dr. Frankenstein (pronounced FRONKENSTEEN), Marty Feldman as Igor (pronounced EYEGORE), Teri Garr as the lab assistant Inga, Peter Boyle, Cloris Leachman, and my personal favorite from the movie Madeline Khan. Her scene with Marty Feldman standing at the doorway of the castle and the one where she saunters into the bedroom looking like Elsa Lanchester are both absolute total screams. The great thing about the cast is the fact that they all are in total flow with the movie and with each other. The DVD has many extra features which makes it miles ahead of the VHS tape.

"Roll, roll, roll in ze hay."
Mel Brooks' "Young Frankenstein" is not only a loving tribute to James Whale's original Frankenstein films, but a wildly entertaining spoof that still generates laughs years after its original release. This is Brooks in his prime and that is indeed a wonderful sight to behold.

Dr. Frederick Frankenstein (Gene Wilder) is the grandson of the notorious Victor Frankenstein. After reviewing his grandfather's work, Frederick tries to recreate the famous reanimation experiment at his ancestral castle. Frederick succeeds in bringing his own creation to life but as luck would have it, there is a problem with the brain implanted in the monster (Peter Boyle). Soon, the monster is roaming the countryside and finding itself in one hilarious situation after another until Frederick catches up with him and promptly puts his tap-dancing talents to good use.

"Young Frankenstein" is blessed with top quality comedic performances from start to finish. Wilder and Boyle are pitch perfect as the doctor and his creation and the supporting cast of Marty Feldman, Madeline Kahn, Terri Garr, Cloris Leachman, and Gene Hackman all shine. The production design also is top notch as the Frankenstein Castle's interiors and exteriors are faithfully recreated - with the help of some of the original props - in glorious black and white and literally look like holdover sets from Universal's "Frankenstein" (1931) and "The Bride of Frankenstein" (1935). You would never think that source material like Mary Shelley's original work could inspire such a funny film, but leave it to Brooks to prove it could be done.

"PARDON ME BOY...IS THIS THE TRANSYLVANIA STATION?"
"Yah, yah, track twenty-nine...I hope you make it in time!" Non stop gags; a terrific atmosphere, worthy of the classic Universal Frankenstein movies we all know and love...James Whale would have LOVED this! Whenever the name Frau Blucher (Cloris Leachman) is mentioned, the horses go into a frenzy of neighs; GREAT stuuf. At night in the graveyard, Igor (Pronounced EYE-GORE) and Wilder are digging up a corpse (digging because Igor took the wrong brain...Abby Normal!) for their nefarious lab work; Wilder starts complaining and Igor (Feldman) says: "Could be worse....could be raining." No sooner are the words out of his mouth then we hear a terrific crash of thunder, then see lightning, and then the skies open up. Then Igor says: "I have a hunch..." This is so funny it can make you sick from laughing; when Peter Boyle, as Frankenstein's Monster, launches into his famous "Puttin' on the Ritz" you are pretty much over the edge and barely able to breathe any more. One of my favorite lines is when Igor is driving Wilder to the Castle and there is a howl in the distance; Wilder says nervously: "What was that?" And Igor replies: "Werewolf." Wilder: "Werewolf?" Igor: "There...wolf."
Feldman, Wilder and Cloris Leachman are wonderful in this, and it was shot, appropriately, in black and white. I was fortunate enough to be at the studio when this was being shot and went onto the set and opened a door in the Castle and there were Peter Boyle, Wilder and Feldman all sitting around a table, taking a break...and Boyle had the most sickening shade of green make-up all over his face; he looked terrific. the sets were fantastic, and it was a thrill to be allowed to see them all. Great stuff and a very funny movie.

comedy at its best
Young Frankenstein is one of the few movies that EVERYONE knows. The actors do an excellent job of delivering the great "slap-stick" comedy throughout the film. The entire movie is also delivered in black and white to give it that old horror film feeling, and takes place mostly in the castle of Dr. Frankenstein. Now that the infamous Dr. Frankenstein has passed, his grandson, Fredrick, goes to the castle.

While in the castle he falls upon his grand fathers old library and realizes that bringing people back to life after death could work, and creates a fully operational hulk! This movie is great if you ahve a sharp grasp on humor and a bit of information from the timespan. Some jokes will pass right over the heads of some of the younger viewers, such as the scene where Dr. FRONKenstein (as he likes to be called) arrives at the train station at track 29 and a boy asks if he can give him a shine. Me being a high school student, i am greatful that my jazz choir sang the chatanooga choo choo or i would have never understood that one. in conclusion the movie is a hilarious collection of old cliches about horror movies, yet never gets tiresome like some of monty pythons movies. A great, entertaining trip to Transylvania awaits you! ... Read more

Reviews (279)

Honor and Horror
The story of the 54th Massachusetts Infantry is told in a solid and entertaining movie. The casting is brilliant, including the surprisingly good choice of Matthew Broderick, an actor I'm normally indifferent to, who is utterly believable as the scion of a wealthy Boston family who accepts a commission as Colonel in command of the first black regiment in the Civil War. Rounding out the cast are Morgan Freeman and Denzel Washington, the two finest actors of ANY color working in Hollywood these days, and Cary Elwes in easily his best performance since The Princess Bride. If there is anything negative to say about this film, it is in the archetypical nature of several of the characters (I do not know how "fictionalized" the indivdual soldiers are) and a bit of, yes, "glorification" of what ultimately was one of the most horrific and wasteful events in history. But ultimately that is what makes honor and glory: sacrifice for the future. The tragedy should not be forgotten in the glory. So when you see this movie, let your heart swell for the glory and honor, and let your eye weep at the waste of human life.

A Movie for Warmongers and Pacifists alike
The Academy Award winner from 1989 stands out as a monumental film with stunning acting, crisp cinematography and one of the most realistic depictions of the horrors of war ever filmed.

Matthew Broderick is compelling as Robert Gould Shaw, the young and inexperienced commander of the 54th Regiment of Massachusetts, an all-black unit initially deprived of the right to fight but eventually allowed to prove its mettle in a pivotal battle of the Civil War. Morgan Freeman exudes paternal strength and wisdom as the eldest member of the platoon. Andre Braugher, Cary Elwes, Jihmi Kennedy, and a brilliant Denzel Washington (winner of "Best Supporting Actor" Oscar) make this film a genuine classic.

Making small but significant contributions to the film are Jane Alexander as Shaw's mother and veteran Raymond St. Jacques (his last role) as Frederick Douglas.

A further nod of praise goes to James Horner's masterful score. His music, along with the harmonies of the Boys Choir Of Harlem provides as glorious a background as is the inspirational story itself.

A Great American Movie!
This is one of the most historically acurate films about the Civil War. Not only that, it's one of the best acted and best shot movie in many years. Denzel Washington's performance is worth the Oscar he recieved. Matthew Broderick and Morgan Freeman are also exceptional. It's an unforgetable film about an event that changed the course of history.

HOTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTT
THIS IS ONE OF THE BEST MOVIES I HAVE EVER SEEN!
Matthew Broderick is AMAZING buy it and you won't be disapointed.

American tragedy
For so long, the image of the Civil War has existed in the collective American mind as a series of sepia-tone Matthew Brady photographs: ghoulish and nightmarish landscapes littered with bodies and body parts. However, with the notable exceptions of his portraits of the field generals, there is a sort of anonymity to the corpses in Brady's works. In one of GONE WITH THE WIND's most powerful scenes, scores upon scores of wounded soldiers lie in the streets, until they appear to be one large, unidentifiable mass of pain--which was the filmmaker's point. Edward Zwick's GLORY was one of the first films to put a human face and individuality to those who fought and died in America's most brutal years. Based upon the true story of Boston's young colonel, Robert Shaw, and his efforts to allow his all African-American outfit (the "54th") to fight on the side of the Union, GLORY is one of those rare films that successfully combines history with movie-making.

Wonderful performances abound in this powerful film: Washington, Broderick, Freeman and Elwes all give their best efforts. But the real star of the show is the camera. The battle sequences, as other reviewers have mentioned, are horrific, as is the scene in the triage tent. (THIS MOVIE IS NOT FOR PEOPLE WITH WEAK STOMACHS.) But the scenes in between, the relatively quiet ones, have as great an impact. I especially have in mind the training sequences. In another director's hands, the scenes in which the troops begin understanding each other, and as the officers begin understanding their troops could have wound up a syrupy mess. Instead, their horrible predicament unites them in an unsentimental, yet sensitive manner. Zwick's camera-work throughout is exemplary, making GLORY one of the best films about America's most tragic episodes. ... Read more

Reviews (344)

Visually spectacular (unbelievably cheesy storyline)
I know "What Dreams May Come" is a constant punching bag for movie critics alike and it wasn't exactly a blockbuster smash for Robin Williams but I sincerely like this film. I first saw "What Dreams May Come" when it was in the movie theaters. It was total eye candy with the gorgeous colors and the art-like quality. I felt like I was watching an artist creating his art work. The premise of the film is a bit silly. Robin Williams's character Chris is killed in a freak accident, leaving his emotionally unstable wife Annie played by Annabella Sciorra devasted and alone. The viewer also finds out that their two children were killed earlier in a car accident so when Chris dies, Annabella is completely consumed by grief and chooses that life is not worth living any more. Chris is sent to heaven which is basically a Monet painting. The bright vivid colors were stunning and made it a joy to watch. Cuba Gooding Jr. welcomes Chris into the after life and eventually helps Chris in his quest to find Annie. At the time, I enjoyed the storyline but as I was watching it tonight on tv, I never realized until now just how hokey the storyline and dialogue could be. Despite the hokiness of the film, I still enjoy watching "What Dreams May Come". I think my favorite scenes had to be when Chris literally went to purgatory. The images and colors were spectacular. Those scenes of people falling from the waves as well as from the air and exploding when hitting the ground was stunning to say the least. Those scenes were pure eye candy. "What Dreams May Come" is a good movie. It isn't nowhere as emotionally manipulative as "Patch Adams" was except maybe for a few scenes that involved the children. Otherwise "What Dreams May Come" is a good popcorn movie. It may not be Masterpiece Theater but I will take this movie over something as tripe as "Patch Adams" or overblown as "Armaggedeon" any day.

I wish my dreams were this cool.
What Dreams May Come is a very powerful movie. Simply put, it can make you think some very deep thoughts.

The story is very moving and brilliantly crafted. The main character is a doctor named Chris (Robin Williams). He has a wife (Annabella Sciorra) and two kids. His family is great and he seems to be living the American dream. Then his children are killed in a car accident and his life is shattered. He spends the next four years trying to recover from the tragedy. Then he is killed in another traffic accident and the story takes off as he goes to the beautiful afterlife.

The movie seamlessly transitions from present to flashback to give a sense that time is irrelevant in the afterlife and to fill in the rest of the story. The first person he sees is a young version of the doctor he apprenticed under (Cuba Gooding Jr.) who later turns out to be someone else, but I won't tell you because I don't want to ruin any parts of the movie. He is then taken to a beautiful heaven, which is actually his mental re-creation of one of his wife's paintings. He later learns that his wife has committed suicide and in doing so has trapped herself in a never-ending spiral of guilt (a.k.a. Hell). Chris then has to travel to the depths of Hell to find and attempt to bring back his wife.

This movie is loaded with abstract thoughts and themes. For example: Your obsessions in life will become your afterlife; Thought is real, physical is the illusion; God lets bad things happen to good people; and far too many others for me to list here.

The movie is visually breathtaking and the computer-generated graphics add greatly to the realness of the movie. The acting is good and director obviously knew what he was doing. I will recommend this movie to anyone who has ever contemplated his or her existence.

Visually beautiful and theologically interesting
There are surprisingly few movies dealing with a nonterrestrial afterlife. While there are hundreds of films dealing with the existence of individuals following death as embodied or disembodied spirits on earth, there are remarkably few that provide any glimpse of heaven. The few that do tend to present it as an inconceivably white, vast, and indistinct place, from HERE COMES MR. JORDAN to A MATTER OF LIFE AND DEATH to THE HORN BLOWS AT MIDNIGHT. In contrast to these other films, WHAT DREAMS MAY COME stands out as one of the most intensely colorful, beautiful, and vividly concrete films in cinema history.

The cast of the film is strong, but it would be a mistake to imagine that they are the reason for the film's success. Robin Williams as Chris Nielsen, Cuba Gooding Jr., Rosalind Chao (who I previously mainly knew only from STAR TREK: THE NEXT GENERATION), Max von Sydow, and the lovely but underused (not only in this film, but by Hollywood in general) Annabella Sciorra all hand in wonderful performances, but they are largely overwhelmed by the astonishing beauty of the sets, the inconceivably vivid colors, and the marvelous use of light. No performers could have competed, though they try gamely.

I find the film especially interesting for theological reasons. Ron Bass based the screenplay on a novel by Richard Mattheson. I must confess to not knowing the work of either, but I would lay heavy money that one of them (probably Mattheson) knew well C. S. Lewis's THE GREAT DIVORCE. In that work Lewis was concerned to lay out a concept of heaven and hell that did not regard God as responsible for sending people to hell. Instead, he described an afterlife in which people in hell still had the option of leaving hell and departing for heaven. These two ideas--of people placing themselves in hell and of having the option to leave hell for heaven--drive the metaphysics of WHAT DREAMS MAY COME, as I'm sure anyone who has seen the film will recognize.

So why do I give the film only four stars after all the nice things I have said about it? Primarily because the film doesn't really have all that much of a story to tell. The plot feels like a short subject stretched to feature length film proportions. Once you subtract all the amazing visuals, there simply wasn't that much to the film. The challenge for the filmmakers was primarily padding out the action of the film. Nonetheless, I do recommend this as an interesting and intensely beautiful film, despite the slender narrative.

Interestingly, the title of the film comes from Hamlet's famous soliloquy, in which he ponders whether or not to commit suicide. In the end, he decides not to because of the dreams that the dead may dream, presumably worse for having killed oneself. But such dreams did not prevent Annie Nielsen in the film from committing suicide. It is a nice ironical touch.

A Different Type of Love Story
This is a wonderful tale of death and love. Robin Williams dies in a car crash and wakes up in heaven. He sees his old dog and friends from his life that have died before him along with his two children that have died in a previous car accident. Robin finds out he that his wife is having an impossible time of living without him. She ends up committing suicide and then is sent ot hell. The rest of the movie is Robin on his quest to find his wife in Hell. The movie is stunning in detail and is truly beautiful to look at. Cuba Gooding Jr. and Max Von Syndow give stellar performances as supporting actors in this film. The DVD has the usual extras including a less than happy alternate ending.

A great movie despite some flaws
"What Dreams May Come" is an overlooked film that should have gotten more attention than it did. While not perfect, it's one of the most visually stunning and thought-provoking films to come around in a long time. Chris (Robin Williams) and Annie (Annabella Sciorra) are a happy couple who suffer the devastating loss of their children. Shortly afterwards Chris dies himself and goes to an afterlife, which turns out to be a surreal lush dreamworld that is a reflection of his wife's paintings (which deservedly won the Academy Award for Best Visual Effects). While there Chris meets an "angel" (Cuba Gooding Jr.) who guides him through the transition. Meanwhile, back in the real world, Annie becomes unable to cope with all the pain and losses and takes her own life, sending her to Hell. Determined to rescue Annie from an eternity in damnation, Chris sets out to find her and re-establish their bond together.

This movie could have easily been a masterpiece, with such a great cast, excellent visual effects and production. However, there are two things which severely take away from its effectiveness. For one, the flashback style becomes tedious after a bit and interrupts the flow of the story. Many other reviewers have commented on this. It's a major drawback. And two, some scenes simply do not work. For example, when Chris arrives in Hell and begins maneuvering around the heads sticking out of the ground. This scene is done in a humorous way, seemingly for comic relief. It simply does not work and is majorly out of place. Comic relief isn't what should happen here.

Aside from these flaws, "What Dreams May Come" is an enlightening viewing experience and will stay with you long after you're finished watching it. It can be interpreted in many ways: a film about the possibility of life after death: a film about never-ending love: a film about affirming the beauty of life. However you may see it, you will surely take away at least something from it after the credits roll. ... Read more

Amazon.com essential video

Billy the Kid is reimagined by director Sam Peckinpah as a kind of Old West rock star, a young man who wants to do his own thing but constantly runs up against the objections of the establishment--in this case, the cattle barons who run this part of the country. Peckinpah indulged in some quirky casting, including Bob Dylan as an outlaw named Alias and most of Kristofferson's band as Billy's gang. He also draws exceptional performances out of a cast of old veterans, including James Coburn as the reluctant Pat Garrett, R.G. Armstrong, Katy Jurado, and Slim Pickens, who has a terrific death scene to Dylan's "Knockin' on Heaven's Door." Look for this longer version (122 minutes); the shorter version is the one that MGM recut against Peckinpah's wishes, removing all the character development and Peckinpah's elegiac sense of the Old West in favor of action and violence. --Marshall Fine ... Read more

Reviews (42)

Outstanding Western
This is a stunning Western by any count, whether its the exhausted 70's patina (strangely similar to Easy Rider), Coburn's whiskey-soaked degenerate ambiance, or Peckinpah's inspired and artful trademark mayhem (yes, it even has children playing on a hangman's noose). Forget about Dylan's "Peas ... corn .. carrots" scene, which is completely idiotic and funny only in a 1973 "I'm stoned on brownies and watching Dylan read vegetable cans, wow man" sort of way. Dylan could actually have provided his soundtrack and been done with it. Because that soundtrack is crucial to the lasting and laconic mood of the film. The image of a wounded Chill Wills going to his knees for death while Heaven's Door plays in the background is far too poetic for words. That scene will stay with you for a very long time. As Billy, Kristoffersen has somehow mutated into a baby-faced Jim Morrison lookalike. Coburn is a grizzled and cynical character, hard nosed and out for himself. "I aim to be rich, old, and happy, in that order." The mood throughout the film is fated, inevitable, manifest destiny, "just doing my job." Billy/Kristoffersen is the single character who fights the inevitable: "Times might change, not me." Dozens of great lines in this film. A unique ambiance. Interesting twists and characters. Definitely a keeper.

Did I rent the wrong version?
While recently reading Howard Sounes' "Down the Highway - The Life of Bob Dylan," I rented this movie at my local video place. The "baby-faced" Kris Kristofferson is well worth the price of rental. Dylan's performance is one long wry wink at the Western genre. I watched the movie three times and still never heard Bob *SING* "Knockin' on Heaven's Door." Sure, there's a haunting instrumental version accompanying Chill Will's death walk to the creek bed, but I thought I remembered Bob singing it in the theatrically released version?

this needs to be on DVD!
This is a wonderful Western. Extremely stylish. Both Colburn and Kristofferson are cooler than cool. You might also want to check out the Last Days of Frank and Jesse James. It lacks Peckinpah's style and is a tv movie, but it's on DVD and Kristofferson is great as Jesse James.

Jack Elam at his best
The portrayal of Alamoosa Bill by Jack Elam is a classic. It's a shame The Kid has to shoot him, but it's the exclamation point of Elam's skill as an actor. The soundtrack is superb. Rita Coolige is in her prime. See it!

Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid
One of the best Westerns out there! I just love Rita Coolidge. I've got this movie on Letter Box Laser Disk, but I just can't wait till the DVD arrives! How much longer must we wait?? ... Read more

Amazon.com

The 1993 film adaptation of Amy Tan's bestselling novel is both a delight and a moving experience, an anthology of stories wrapped in one Chinese-American woman's journey to understand her roots. Wayne Wang (Eat a Bowl of Tea) directs a large, outstanding cast spread over eight different tales of the lives of Chinese women, most of them set in the past. The script by Tan and Ronald Bass (Rain Man) is a delicate balance of emotions that swell but don't gush, and Wang brings impressive texture and a personal feel to Tan's descriptions of daily life in the Chinese-American community. This sprawling, good-looking movie makes for a cathartic tearjerker one can feel good about. --Tom Keogh ... Read more

Reviews (101)

A Heartbreaking and Powerful Testament to the Human Spirit
"The Joy Luck Club" is a ground-breaking film with universal themes that anyone can relate to regardless of age, gender or nationality. Truly epic in its scope and haunting vision, the movie is also deeply heartfelt and familial, enhancing its ability to speak to the audience in myriad, boundless ways. This is an intimate portrait of two generations of Asian women - the mothers who risked everything to create a better life for their daughters in the United States. At this juncture in American history, the movie resonates more than ever by reminding the viewer of our fore-mother's immigrant experience. In doing so, "The Joy Luck Club" serves as a vibrant contemporary document on freedom and the pursuit of happiness.

Ming-Na Wen (now known to millions as Ming-Na or Deb Chen on NBC's top rated drama "ER") is superb in the central role of June, greiving for her recently deceased mother with the 3 "aunties" who miantain her place at the mah-jon table. Their gatherings continue, with June's presence, and in the process form the backdrop from which these women's personal stories and life-journies are shared. Each auntie - and their now-adult Americanized daughters - explain their often-harrowing attempt to escape Communist China and their difficult transition to an American way of life in the U.S. Tears flow in both generations, not only for what has been lost, but also for what has been found here - a society with different values that challenges these women in unexpected but nearly universal ways. As both generations - and all eight women eventually - share their stories, the viewer literaly steps into each life, aware of where the characters end up, yet fully experiencing the challenges each of them faces. Set against the backdrop of June's trip to China to find her long-lost sisters (whom her mother was forced to leave behind in one of the film's most powerful sub-plots) "The JOy Luck Club" can be ANY family's story, regardless of how long they or their ancestors have lived in this country. In doing so, it succeeds at building bridges to the past, while staunchly looking ahead to the future. This is the sort of film that embraces real life and human themes, but also puts a face on what it means to be a zero-generation immigrant, or an exile in a land far from one's home and culture. Like the current spate of Latin and Soviet block immigrants and the last century's explosion of new Americans from Europe and Africa, we recognize through the characters the meaning and value of freedom, family and peace as well as the unimaginable challenges our elders faced in coming to this land of opportunity.

The cast of Asian-American actresses is uniformly superb, straddling a delicate balance for the viewer that requires they be both accessible AND remote at once. Although long seen as a "woman's movie" the film deserves to be widely experienced by all people, including men, who might otherwise reject the film as nothing more than handkerchief fluff. In fact, since few similar films exist with central male characters, "The Joy Luck Club" stands as a film I believe many men would embrace if they give it a chance. The film speaks for our fathers and brothers, not just our sisters, mothers or wives. This is grand, epic storytelling with a heart, beautifully directed by Wayne Wang and amazingly accessible in every way, due to its stellar cast. Had there been a Best Ensemble Oscar designed to honor the contribution of a group of actors at the top of their form, "The Joy Luck Club" cast would have surely been honored.

A magnificent film that fully captures what it means to be an American of any descent.

One of the great overlooked gems! Deserves a DVD release!
This and the Ang Lee film "Eat Drink Man Woman" were both released at about the same time. And I think they may have cancelled out each other. Both are great but like any wonderful film, if another equally great film with a similar theme is released at the same time it can cause an overload. People won't go see either.

So why should you see the Joy Luck Club? Because the acting is wonderful. Really top notch. If the current affection for having asian women in films lasts then maybe we could see more of these fine actresses. Too bad that so many wonderful actors can get typecast because of race but there is hope. I'd absolutely love some more films like this.

Wayne Wang's direction is great. This story goes from funny to sad to touching without being cliche. This movie might be marketed more toward women, and it does hit on great female relationships, but it's not to sappy the boyfriend will cry from boredom.

This is not only about being Chinese
Plenty of people have pointed out the movie's good points but beyond the mother - daughter theme that is so wonderfully dealt with, this movie is also about the immigrant experience. In this world today, so many people immigrate and must contend with the difficult process of watching their children grow up in another culture - wonderful, different, distant, restive - and they have to figure out how to connect with their children. "Joy Luck Club" portrays this poignantly. How many children of refugees really have any idea what their parents went through? Many people from a variety of cultures will appreciate the film for that reason alone.
As for those who say Tan is "male-bashing", keep in mind the very loving character of June's father. Also, if you've read Tan's other books, (The Kitchen God's Wife, for example), there are both good and bad men with great depth of character.
Let's remember, too, that history is not exactly littered with the stories of women, and Tan is just trying to rectify that imbalance. Having lived in Asia for 8 years, I'd say that male privilege is still alive and well...and in support of Tan's story, the (lack of) legal rights of women alone in pre-war China should illustrate the possiblity that four women might have had such experiences.

A great movie from a story by a wonderful writer

Having spent a year in China (1948), I admit to a soft spot for the Chinese people and their stories, and especially for Amy Tan, whose books I have read and loved. This superlative movie was based on her book of the same name.

In this story (the script was written by Tan and Ronald Bass) the tension between four Chinese women, who were born in China and later came to the United States, and their Americanized daughters, is the foundation of the story, and is the theme that epitomizes Amy Tan's stories. She has noted in an interview that such tension existed in her own life between her and her own mother.

Much of the tension is due to the cultural clash. Times in China were hard a few short decades ago, and life was harsh. Starvation and disease was rife even in later years, when I was there in the late 'forties. When Americans today refer to poverty or hunger in this country, they have no conception of the real poverty and hunger that existed in China in the 'thirties and 'forties, or customs like the very painful historical binding of women's feet, which in effect crippled them for life, in the name of beauty, or the custom of wealthy Chinese men often having multiple wives and concubines, or the total degradation of women which existed and was totally accepted throughout the culture. Not to mention the impact of continuing warfare between warlords, the nationalists (Kuomintang) and communists, and the Japanese occupation all of which lasted for generations.

This is an emotion evoking story. It is more than simply entertainment; it is a story with which you will identify, with characters with which you will empathize.

Amy Tan knows whereof she writes, and her stories are compelling and sympathy evoking. Another Chinese woman who wrote her autobiography which touched on some of the same themes, who was in Tsingtao when I was, and whose tale enchanted me, was Dr. H. Mei Lu, who now lives in Honolulu, and whose book was titled, "Grandfather's Microscope" q.v. Coming from a humble background, in China, she became an esteemed pathologist in the United States. I heartily recommend her book as well as Amy Tan's, for any Sinophile. These ladies both write extremely well, and have immensely interesting things to say.

Joseph (Joe) Pierre, USN (Ret)

author of The Road to Damascus
and other books

Not Very Impressed with EITHER the Book or the Movie
I had to read the Book and watch the movie in school and I did not like either of them. I had to also write a movie review for it so im gunna publish it to the whole world to see. Hope this helps anyone who is thinking about watching this movie or buying the book. Also there are a few spoilers in this review so be forwarned but their isnt anything that really ruins the story, wait what am i saying the story is to mixed up to really understand in the first place that it shouldnt make much of a difference. O well here goes nothing:

The "Joy Luck Club" was just an average film due to its soap opera-like quality and random flashbacks. This made me confused by sending the plot into all different tangents and directions. When a book changes time frames, the reader can go back and re-read sections if need be. In a movie setting, however, the viewer cannot turn back and rewind the lost moments and the time frames quickly occur. The movie features only fine looking Chinese daughters who are part of this "Joy Luck Club." I felt that this was an unrealistic portrayal, as in the real world; there are many types of people. The "Joy Luck Club" is not explained to the audience and assumes that all have read the book prior to this movie. This movie was directed by Wayne Wang and the screen play was written by Amy Tan, who also wrote the book.

This movie begins in San Francisco where a party is being held for Jing-Mei "June Woo". She has been given money to go to China to see her two lost sisters. Jing-Mei June Woo is played by Ming-Na. The movie followed closely to the book in some respects by not others. For instance, during the red candle scene in the movie, there was no mention of the importance of the candle. The chapters in the book were scrambled when they appeared in the movie.

The acting was inconsistent. At the end of the film when she meets her sisters for the first time they do not seem to be reacting to each other. One of the women who is supposed to be the sister, also played the mother of June in a flashback. Andrew McCarthy who played Ted Jordan did a good acting performance and sold the scenes he was in, such as the scene where he told his mother off. Some of the mothers, such as Ying Ying and Lena Saint Clair who were played by France Nuyen and Lauren Tom respectively, made me want to laugh because of some of their unrealistic portrayals of overly broken Chinese accented English.

The plot was sporadic at times and seemed to take away from the original story line to the point that was irritating. The whole movie was a series of flashbacks that each person lived through. There was originally a party at the beginning of the movie, but then the scenes would quickly shift backwards in time to each person's life. I liked the transition that the director made when June's father talked about her mother's past because he explained what the mother had experienced. The flashback of best quality, however, didn't quite fit into the movie where it had been placed. It seemed to throw the viewer into the scene without hesitation. This movie was also quite choppy with too many events occurring in rapid sequence which began to lose steam while becoming dull and redundant. Three out of the four mothers seem to have lived the same story comprised of a bad marriage followed by a divorce and remarriage with many trials and tribulations along the way.

The themes were spelled out much more in the movie than in the book. The feather that was given to June was explained to her by her father without subtlety. The mother who sacrificed her life for her daughter was also played out and the reasons for it were amply described by the daughter. There