Reviews (19)

A Great Adaptation
This is another film that's been secreted away in the MGM vaults that just cries out to be adequately transferred to DVD.

Talent abounds here. Start with a great director in Tony Richardson (Tom Jones, A Delicate Balance, The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner, The Entertainer, etc) who is the perfect choice for such a project. Have Christopher Isherwood and Terry Southern adapt the screenplay from a wonderful Evelyn Waugh novel. Assemble a perfect cast, including James Coburn and Dana Andrews, Milton Berle, Tab Hunter, Roddy McDowall, Margaret Leighton and Liberace (unforgettably!) in cameo roles. Feature the likes of Rod Steiger (why didn't he try more comedy? He's brilliant here!), John Gielgud, Jonathan Winters in memorable supporting roles and top it off with excellent leads in Robert Morse and Anjanette Comer (both relative unknowns at the time, but perfect for the roles).
How could the movie not be memorable?

Suffice it to say it holds up amazingly well after almost 40 years. It has to rank as one of the great classic comedies of the sixties.

The plot revolves around a young English twit named Dennis Barlow (Morse) who shows up at his uncle's (Gielgud's) doorstep, having won his air passage to LAX through some absurd stroke of luck. He has no money and his gregarious uncle takes him in and introduces him to the expatriated Brits that inhabit LA. Chief among these is the snobbish Sir Ambrose Abercrombe (Morley) who takes an instant dislike to Barlow, whom he feels doesn't adequately represent the proper English gentleman (and he doesn't). In short order, Uncle Francis is canned by his crass Hollywood Studio boss (McDowall), in spite of the fact that he has been a faithful employee for 30 years. Unwilling to face the future at his advanced age, Uncle Francis hangs himself beside the decrepit pool that represents his sagging fortunes.

It's at this stage that the movie shifts satirical gears and the humor gets darker and darker. Waugh's study of American mores and materialistic mindset as represented by the funeral industry is brilliantly captured by the screnwriters, director and cast. It's a great ensemble effort from a once in a lifetime creative team. THE LOVED ONE deserves a broad DVD release, hopefully in the not too distant future.

BK

Strange comedy, not for all tastes
MY RATING: 6.4

I've watched this one last night on tv, and I must say its's quite an odd mov. It's a comedy, a black comedy as many say, yet it's not for all tastes since cause it contains an amount of strange characters and situations. Some good points for the presentation of the eternal rest of the loved ones and that horrid mother of Rod Steiger, who is probably the best character on the film. Also starring Robert Morse as the brit who has just arrived from London, John Gielgud as his gay uncle, a dual role for Jonathan Winters, Roddy McDowall, Robert Morley and the irritating voice of Anjanet Comer.
Really an mov with some importance in the 60's, but nothing special now.

I haven't forgotten
I just order a VHS copy and look forward to seeing this unforgettable movie again. (There are just)Too much brilliant characterizations and scenic situations! But above all, one scene:

Dennis Barlow{Robert Morse},
Mr. Joyboy's mother{Ayllene Gibbons},
a roasted turkey in the refrigerator.

Nothing Much to Add...
In a parallel universe this is a flick that's as well known as Strangelove or The Producers. Yes, Steiger should have done more comedy--he's incredible in this movie.

I write this with the hope that someone out there is adding up the votes for a DVD release. I'll also add that the long out of print "Catalogue of Cool" dubbed 1962 " The Last Good Year." After that...well, we lost a lot of our wit, charm, whimsy, humanity, and creativity to Viet Nam, Watergate, and all the other dreariness--from Reaganism to Political Correctness--that led up to this uniquely ugly moment in history. There were a lot of sharp films made in the late Fifties to early Sixties that had qualities sadly lacking since--check out Wilder's "One, Two, Three" or "Inherit the Wind." One reviewer notes that "The Loved One" is black comedy without the nihilism. I agree and that's kind of what I mean. This era of film deserves a re-examination and we could all probably learn a lot from it.

Black Humor At It's Best
As many have already stated, this is one dark, funny movie. The casting is perfect. It is on my top ten list. It has been since I saw it as a youngster. It is a film to see over and over. This really needs to be on DVD. SOON! ... Read more

Amazon.com

You know those movies that seemed really, really awesome when you were a teenager? Then, when you saw them again as a adult, you recognized them for the romantic dreck they always were? Mahogany exemplifies the breed. Made in 1975, Mahogany is mired in tedious melodrama that is not enhanced by a predictable and sexist ending. Diana Ross, a poverty-stricken young woman, pulls herself up by her camisole straps until she is at the top of the fashion world. Along the way she meets terrible people who want to use her. They break her heart. She has trouble bouncing back. One of those troubled people who seem to flock to Ross's unstable character is a deranged photographer, played with wild abandonment by Anthony Perkins. His psychotic performance gives this film its only energy. Ross remains unfulfilled until she finds love with inappropriate Billy Dee Williams, who shows none of his usual charisma. --Rochelle O'Gorman ... Read more

Reviews (29)

Wonderful Masterpiece by Berry Gordy
Mahogany is a Wonderul black love story of a woman raised in Chicago's inner city ghetto (Diana Ross). She has dreams and aspirations of becoming a fashion designer and eventually achieves that goal. But when she leaves home to go to Rome to claim her fame as a model she learns that it's lonely at the top and she starts to miss home and her one true love (Billy Dee Williams) who she's forsaken. The movie has a great moral to the story simply put by Billy Dee Williams, What's sucess (money and fame) when you don't have no one to share it with. This was a great performance by both actors.

Bringing back memories...
Even young people might like to hear old Supremes songs like "Baby Love" or "You Can't Hurry Love", they really have something going for themselves. The Supremes were enormously successful in the sixties. It all seemed to end when Diana embarked on a solo career in 1970. Luckily she managed to return to the top of the charts with her dramatically version of "Ain't No Mountain High Enogh". She then surprised everyone when she did a wonderful acting role in her first movie "Lady Sings The Blues" in 1972. She followed with "Mahogany" in 1975 and scored a #1 single with the beautifully sung title theme "Do You Know Where You're Going To?". The film doesn't belong to what you could call "classics" but for all those Ross fans, who enjoyed almost every career-step Diana made, the album brings back nice memories. But let's be honest after all those years: the music - except for the nice title theme - can't tempt anyone anymore.

Diana screeches, Billy Dee mumbles
MAHOGANY is a camp classic featuring screechy acting by Ms. Ross, mumbling by Billy Dee Williams, and drama queen antics by Anthony Perkins. Talent is wasted all around in the film depicting the rise of a poor-little-rich African-American model and fashion designer who has her mouth poked out because she misses her man. After this film, Berry Gordy never stepped up to the director's chair again (thank God). Good for its camp factor and that's about it.

A camp classic
Like so many divas before her and after her, "La Ross" shines in this 1975 camp classic which exemplifies the cliche saying "it's lonely at the top."

The gowns, the glamour, the nails and the youth of Miss Ross are unparalleled. She was beyond fabulous and at the height of her artistic zenith. The montage is especially pleasing and one can only fantasize about being in Rome in the mid 70's while swathed in those fantastic creations and Fendi and Maximillian furs (read the credits).

Substantively, the film is not to be taken seriously....but I agree with one reviewer's assessment back then who said that it is "testament to how glorious it is to be Diana Ross." I wholeheartedly agree.

Classic!
Diana Ross returns after her acclaimed film debut in 'Lady Sings The Blues. She plays the role of an ambitious struggling secretary who becomes a world famous designer-model (hmmm...). Diana Ross is a challenging & versatile performer and in this classic flick she showcases her impressive talents. Watch out for Anthony Perkins 'reprising' his Norman Bates persona.
Over the top plot, cheesy dialogue, wonderful soundtrack, glamorous costumes... Diana Ross never looked more gorgeous! ... Read more

Amazon.com

A bleak, but powerful 1960 British film that ranks as one of the most important United Kingdom imports of the decade. Director Tony Richardson (Tom Jones) tells the story of a rebellious social misfit and petty thief played by Tom Courtenay (The Dresser) who is picked to run on the track team at a reform school for boys. He finds he must balance his spirit and desire to win with his anger and frustration at the life he has led. At times a wrenching character study with no easy answers, Courtenay's performance is a touching portrait of a young man and the journey he takes as he tries to run not only for an unclear future, but from a past he cannot forget. A film indicative of the working class expressionism that came out of England in the early 1960s, Richardson's films stands alone as a downbeat, but insightful story of one man's struggle to determine who he is. --Robert Lane ... Read more

Reviews (7)

The British version of The Longest Yard
This was the story later used in the American film with Burt Reynolds, The Longest Yard. British actor, Tom Courtenay, in his first major film role plays the downcast, but likeable youth from the seedy side of town.

Courtenay's character is saturated with events in his life for which he has no control. He lives in poverty, his father dies, his mother's waiting in the wings-boyfriend is a jerk, and he has no job skills or future. He is ultimately placed in a youth detention facility where he finds, to his warden's joy, that he has athletic ability. He is ambivalent about this skill, but he can obtain privileges and possible early freedom if only he wins the running trophy for the warden.

The Burt Reynolds film, centered on his character developing an interest in his fellow prisoners to decide on how to respond to the warden's promised rewards and punishments. The British version focuses almost completely on the character's internal conflict. Ultimately, his decision is based on how he could best gain an aspect of control in his life. His decision is based not for his peers, and not for the authorities, but for his own sense of self. Aspects of the youth prison may seem funny by today's standard, but the story remains fresh and interesting. I highly recommend it.

I cant believe its still not on DVD!
This is one of the great classics that I watch every couple of years. It has no Hollywood cosmetics. The people look and feel very real and there is truth to their emotions. It's such a great movie I can't believe its not on DVD yet!
You certainly get the feeling you've ran a mile in his shoes and that it was worth the ride.

"Rebel with a Pause"
This British film is a stark masterful portrayal of a young working class man, and the urban world he is trapped inside. The black and white photography lends a honest depiction of his tough bare existence. Colin watches his foolish widowed mother fritter away her meagre inheritance, and he seems to be as incarcerated in this world, as in the reform school he ends up in, after a bungled robbery. His stolen cash, stashed away in a drain pipe at the front door, floats out during a rainy day at the very feet of a detective making inquiries at his house. So it goes for Colin, a man trapped at every turn. His life gets a lift when he joins the cross country team at the reform school. The scenes of him running freely through the woods during meets are poetry on film. Colin lashes out against his fate and lot with one bold pause at the end. His expression as he stands there is priceless. This film's images will last with the viewer for a life time. This is great art.

The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner
Tony Richardon's grim evocation of the experience of one bottom feeder at the low base of Britain's crumbling class pyramid features editing as harsh - and cinematically effective, especially in the film's well-placed flahsbacks - as this story of hard-bitten young Colin Smith (grittily portrayed by Tom Courtenay). For a petty theft Smith is sentenced to borstal (reform school) where his speed in the long distance run elevates him, in the eyes of his inmate brethren, to become the "guvnor's blue-eyed boy", because the warden's goal is to win the special long distance running cup in the borstal's trial athletic competition against an upper-class public school. Smith finds himself trapped between the guvnor's self-serving, manipulative solicitude and the class-based peer pressure of his borstal mates. Courtenay plays out Smith's repsonse to his dilemma with breathless, bristling, teeth-clenched defiance that the film, grippingly, doesn't reveal until its withering dénouement.

Avis Bunnage lends a biting performance as Smith's mother: a woman hardened by her straitened life circumstance as the working class widow of a resentful factory worker, struggling on welfare to raise her children in a grimy, shabbily built, claustrophobic low-income dwelling. Alec McCowen, as the borstal's pyschologist, deftly adds depth to the story as a well-meaning advocate of fresh approaches to rehabilitating inmates, whose efforts are trumped by the warden's timeworn methods. As the warden Michael Redgrave communicates all that's right - and wrong - about the upper reaches of the class pyramid.

Developed from a short story by Alan Sillitoe (author of Saturday Night and Sunday Morning, and screenwriter of that eponymous 1961 film), rooted in industrial Nottigham, filmed in sooty, bleak black & white, 1962's The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner may, in 2002, feel a bit dated, yet its theme of the bottom-of-the-food-chain working class individual clamped in the maws of animals and powers beyond his influence remains trenchant, timeless and thought-provoking.

There is more than one way to win the race
I saw this British film when it first came out in 1962 and never forgot it. I even remember an argument I had with my aunt about its controversial theme - that of an alienated angry young man who defiantly refuses to conform to the system. Shot in black and white, the video stars Tom Courtenay as a working class Nottingham youth who is sent to a reformatory because of a robbery. Michael Redgrave is cast as the warden, referred to as the "governor" as this is a British film. It is a modern reformatory, and plans are being made to for it to compete in sports with a private school. The long distance run is considered the biggest prize and Courtenay is granted special privileges as he stands out as someone who could actually win. He's allowed to take long runs outside of the reformatory gates each day, and the cinematography here is outstanding. During these runs, Courtenay experiences flashbacks of his life and we see a picture of its grimness. We see his anger at the system and admire him for belief in his ideals. And yet we also want him to win the race and move into a more privileged life. Finally the day of the run arrives. And young Courtenay makes his decision. It is startling and yet something we can understand. No wonder it's haunted me all these years.

Now, watching the video all these years later, I found it a little slow for my taste, especially since I already knew the ending. And, also, as with many British films on video, I sometimes wish there were subtitles. But this is a film that makes me think. I think about choices I've made in my own life. I think about how they turned out. And I think about the message of the film - still fresh after all this time. Recommended. ... Read more

Reviews (8)

A Different Hamlet
This video is an adaptation of the stage production that was produced in London's Roundhouse (a former train roundhouse converted into a theatre). The film makes use of the entire theatre, not just the stage. It makes for a very claustrophobic, but effective setting.

I have mixed feelings about this film. I am glad someone tried something different with Hamlet. I was glad to see a 30 year old Hamlet for a change. Hamlet is not the young undergrad college student we always picture him to be, but a 30 year old grad student. Shakespeare's play tells us that Yorick's skull has been in the ground for 24 years and Hamlet tells us how he knew Yorick as a childhood friend. Nicol Williamson (while not the common image of Hamlet)was a 30 year old actor playing a 30 year old character.

stuck in its time
they don't show the ghost, for one, but rather there's this sort of trippyish light, as if they're at a psychedelic rock concert. Ophelia is the most gorgeous Ophelia I've seen, and she acts well, too. While Anthony Hopkins looks spectacular as Claudius, he's not as good as Derek Jacobi in the Branagh version. But he is quite good.
Overall, kind of weak. The costumes are lame. The player king is good.

flawed
Nicol Williamson is a great actor but he's too darn old to play young Hamlet. He looks older than his Uncle Claudius played by Anthony Hopkins.

BRAVO! An Actor's Hamlet!
Tony Richardson's production of Hamlet is perhaps too subtle for those used to more ostentatious renderings of the play, but do not let that discourage you from enjoying the depth and clarity of this fine stage/film version, which reads very well on the television screen. Celebrated Nicol Williamson plays an infinitely human and palpable Hamlet. There is no bombast nor bloat to the intelligent tone and pithy rhythm of his soliloquies. Williamson is one of a handful of actors who can phrase the complex *long bow* of Shakespeare's verse into the meaningful and memorable images that the author so skillfully aimed. With Williamson (as with Branaugh 25+ years later), this Hamlet's increasingly cynical dispair fuels his rage--not the simpering *moral confusion* of more formalized drama school portrayals. Gordon Jackson, best known to American film buffs as THE GREAT ESCAPE's MacDonald (*Intelligence*), plays a wonderfully intimate and faithful Horatio--indeed, here IS a friend! Marianne Faithful is in her element as Ophelia. And one can only wonder how Anthony Hopkins would play Claudius today? He seems to overdraw his character in this 1969 stage to film version--but then again, why wouldn't a King breakfast on baked fowl in the comfort of his own bed while tenderizing fair Rosencrantz and good Guilenstern for their fouled English mission? Let others scoff at the humanity and subtlety of this performance. This lovely version is shown frequently on the BRAVO channel (*The Actor's Channel*) for good reason. *Ah, the point and the venom, too....*

the worst interpretation of Hamlet ever
it sucked! the close ups were aweful, it had to be either a really horrible artistic director or a lowbudget on camara film. the acting was hard to watch it had horrible caracture choices and they all were vulger...not to sound too harsh or anything ... Read more

Reviews (16)

Those of us who haven't read the book will flounder
"The Hotel New Hampshire" is a very pretty movie with a strong cast, good direction and interesting ideas - so why does it fail to be a great film? Largely because as it stands, it's very disjointed; it appears that the screenwriters took only small snips from the book without bothering to segue from one development to the next, leaving the viewer who hasn't read the novel to flounder in bewilderment.

In a nutshell, we view the family through Rob Lowe's character's eyes, as he tells us about their struggles over the years. While the story focuses on John (Lowe) and Frannie (Foster,) everyone has an important part to play. The family faces trial after trial, from death to rape to incest to relocating themselves to another continent, but their ties to each other keep them strong. That is, most of the time: There are moments and actions when suddenly the family can't keep itself cohesive, with disastrous results that are only barely explained. It seems everyone is looking for something bigger, better and *more*, but they cannot seem to find it, either within themselves or without. John tells the story in a very matter-of-fact way, without casting blame or judgment on anyone for their thoughts or behaviors, even though some would find room for condemnation. He seems to be saying "Folks are folks, and sometimes behave in unusual extreme ways; but that doesn't mean they're bad people, or without feeling."

However, motives are usually not clear; characters act completely out of character for no imaginable reason, on small and grand scales, leading to large developments which have no foundation. Rob Lowe and Jodie Foster perform very well, especially given their age and experience in 1984, and they actually do a good job with what they're given. Paul McCrane's character could have been much more interesting, but he is relegated almost to cameo status, and we're never quite sure why he and Seth Green's character are so obsessed with Sorrow, the family's unfortunate dog (and the basic underlying theme to the entire story.)

There are some very warm and funny moments in the film, as well as a couple of poignant ones - but we don't know or care about the characters well enough to truly feel their pain when someone important to them passes away. The audience is left with far more questions than answers, when it all comes right down to it.

It's not a bad movie on it's own, but neither is it *good*.

Crowded Hotel
Based on author John Irving's story about the ecletic Berry family, The Hotel New Hampshire, may boast a star studded ensemble and have a steady hand behind the camera, yet, the film isn't as good as the sum of its parts at times.

Patriarch Win Berry (Beau Bridges) has an obsession with hotels, which leads to the purchase of a delapidated New England monastary, to be transformed into a hotel. This leads to the coming together of the entire Berry clan. The family's eldest son John (Rob Lowe), foul mouthed Franny (Jodie Foster), Frank the dwarf (Paul McCrane) Egg-the youngest son (Seth Green), Iowa Bob (Wilford Brimley) Win's Dad are just some of those who put their two cents in. Soon the brood is invited by a family friend (Wallace Shawn) to take over another hotel in Vienna. Upon arrival, the get more then they bargained for.

I never read the book so I can only guess as to how it compares to the film. The movie, though watchable thanks to its cast, can at times seem like a jigsaw puzzle--with some pieces missing. The story as told through the eyes of Lowe's character, has great and "darkly" funny moments, with some satire thrown in. But the film can also be quite disjointed at times--perhaps so that the writer/director Tony Richarson could adapt the story for the film. The cast does their best and gives solid peformances, despite some of the scripts faults. There's enough subplots in The Hotel New Hampshire to fill two movies.

The DVD doesn't have any extras on it. That is to say, save of course, for the theatrical trailer. I thought the film was good--but had Richardson reworked the script a bit--it could have been much better.

Black-humored, subtle, inteligent, explicit - fun.
"The Hotel New Hampshire" is, indeed, not "very easy". If you're into "American Pie" or something, it's likely not to work for you. It's fast, subtile, black humor, surrealistic sometimes, and there's no "audience laugher" to know when you're supposed to laugh - and that's probably why people don't like (or understand) it. It can take more than one watch to get it all, and it sure deserves it.

The book's no requirement at all, like some of the obtuse reviewers above are arguing. In fact, i only know of Irving's existence from hearabouts - and still HNH was a masterpiece that made me laugh to tears. The flatulent dog named Sorrow. The (quick) way people die. Incest, clowns, rape, and Kinski wearing a bear suit. Do you want more to life than this? and there is.

Like one of the reviews i've read before, in this film the joke isn't assigned, all weird is put as just normal and if you don't have the hability to laugh at the bizarre on normal things you'll maybe find this movie a bored, puzzling experience.

It's ironical, thought, to think that maybe it was made to be this little hermetic and still so little people can get it. This world is ruined.

Not your typical movie
I first wanted to see this movie because I am a fan of Jodie Foster. I rented it and found it a little muddled. I liked it, I was just confused as to what was going on in certain parts. After watching the movie, I decided to read the book (which is very, very good!!!), and I rented the movie again after a while and found it much more enjoyable. My advice is to read the book before you see the movie!!! It's an oddly entertaining film... but you might get lost without the help of John Irving's novel.

Please spare me the agony...!!
A savagely bad movie, adapting John Irving's novel wherein the baby boomer generation attempts to digest the muddled narcissism of the '70s. That description, however, gives this flick too much credit. Mostly this is just a terrible film -- badly written, uninvolving and lurching about without apparent purpose, and without an emotional center. An incestual relationship between brother and sister, amid a wacky, unconventional family is supposed to somehow elicit our sympathies -- but its execution is as flat an unbelievable as the rest of the film. The cast, however, has some nice celeb-spotting eye-candy: Jody Foster, Wallace Shawn, and a 9-year old Seth Green. Rob Lowe is the movie's sole saving grace... As the perv-bound sibling, he was certainly breaking out of his brat pack bimbo typecasting; it's fascinating to see him working on the quirks and mannerisms he later built into a solid acting style. And at age 19, he's pretty hunky... easy on the eyes. But other than a chance to see a bunch of famous folks at an odd moment in their careers, this film is a total waste of time. (See also: "The Royal Tennenbaums.") ... Read more

Reviews (15)

hard to believe this was shelved for a few years
This is an extraordinary movie, with a role that earned jessica Lange an Oscar for Best Actress. Lange is Carly Marshall, a mentally unstable wife and mother who refuses to be pigeonholed into the life of moving from military base to military base as her husband's career dictates (Tommy Lee Jones in a powerful role.) This wreaks havoc on their two daughters (Amy Locane and Anna Klemp) who must pick up the slack of running the household and raising themselves since their mother can't do it and their father expends all his energy running after and caring for her.

Carly is like a large hibiscus rapidly outgorwing its greenhouse. She just thinks about how very glamorous she is like the movie star du jour in the late 1960s. In addition, her husband's work as a military nuclear engineer leads him to discover a cover-up of nuclear testing in Nevada. This situation forces Carly to think of someone other than herslef and show a little love and strength of character.

It is an original story, with a great cast and writing.

Lange did deserve the award!
Jessica Lange plays a stressed out "crazy" military housewife who moves with her husband tommy lee jones and kids from hawaii to alabama. She gets involved with his boss who is working on a radiation project Jones does not believe in. LAnge has to go far to prove her love for Jones and she does. i read this movie sat on the shelf for three years becase its distributor Orion went out of business. Excellant movie and beautiful music.

Great Movie!
I very much enjoyed the movie for reasons that I can relate to the stress military life brings to a family. My husband is active duty Army & our family has endured the moves to various places much like the ones depicted in the film. I can relate to Jessica Lange's character, because I know how challenging it is to try and make inadequate housing feel like a cozy home. It can definitely bring out the *crazy* in any sane person!
I feel both Tommy Lee Jones & Jessica Lange gave stellar performances in this film!!

A great film with wonderful acting...
This film depicts Jessica Lange as the wild, slightly crazy wife of Army officer Tommy Lee Jones. Lange and Jones are really perfectly paired in this film, and their acting talents shine through. Overlooked by many are the wonderful jobs the actors who played their children performed. It is quite a shame that this film did not receive the recognition it deserved, for the plot and acting are tremendous. The DVD is short on special features (only has the theatrical trailer), but the audio and video quality are excellent. Highly recommended!

True love tested
This story brings home the conflicts, stress, emotions, and hardships of being a family in the Army. (A situation I am glad I never endured) An emotional and sexually charged wife of a career military man trying to deal with family, loneliness, and the stress of moving alot and her adoring, but career minded husband.
Her sexuality and infidelity strain the marraige and he is torn between his morals and ability to do his job, and keep his family together. Emotionally riveting!! ... Read more

Reviews (16)

Those of us who haven't read the book will flounder
"The Hotel New Hampshire" is a very pretty movie with a strong cast, good direction and interesting ideas - so why does it fail to be a great film? Largely because as it stands, it's very disjointed; it appears that the screenwriters took only small snips from the book without bothering to segue from one development to the next, leaving the viewer who hasn't read the novel to flounder in bewilderment.

In a nutshell, we view the family through Rob Lowe's character's eyes, as he tells us about their struggles over the years. While the story focuses on John (Lowe) and Frannie (Foster,) everyone has an important part to play. The family faces trial after trial, from death to rape to incest to relocating themselves to another continent, but their ties to each other keep them strong. That is, most of the time: There are moments and actions when suddenly the family can't keep itself cohesive, with disastrous results that are only barely explained. It seems everyone is looking for something bigger, better and *more*, but they cannot seem to find it, either within themselves or without. John tells the story in a very matter-of-fact way, without casting blame or judgment on anyone for their thoughts or behaviors, even though some would find room for condemnation. He seems to be saying "Folks are folks, and sometimes behave in unusual extreme ways; but that doesn't mean they're bad people, or without feeling."

However, motives are usually not clear; characters act completely out of character for no imaginable reason, on small and grand scales, leading to large developments which have no foundation. Rob Lowe and Jodie Foster perform very well, especially given their age and experience in 1984, and they actually do a good job with what they're given. Paul McCrane's character could have been much more interesting, but he is relegated almost to cameo status, and we're never quite sure why he and Seth Green's character are so obsessed with Sorrow, the family's unfortunate dog (and the basic underlying theme to the entire story.)

There are some very warm and funny moments in the film, as well as a couple of poignant ones - but we don't know or care about the characters well enough to truly feel their pain when someone important to them passes away. The audience is left with far more questions than answers, when it all comes right down to it.

It's not a bad movie on it's own, but neither is it *good*.

Crowded Hotel
Based on author John Irving's story about the ecletic Berry family, The Hotel New Hampshire, may boast a star studded ensemble and have a steady hand behind the camera, yet, the film isn't as good as the sum of its parts at times.

Patriarch Win Berry (Beau Bridges) has an obsession with hotels, which leads to the purchase of a delapidated New England monastary, to be transformed into a hotel. This leads to the coming together of the entire Berry clan. The family's eldest son John (Rob Lowe), foul mouthed Franny (Jodie Foster), Frank the dwarf (Paul McCrane) Egg-the youngest son (Seth Green), Iowa Bob (Wilford Brimley) Win's Dad are just some of those who put their two cents in. Soon the brood is invited by a family friend (Wallace Shawn) to take over another hotel in Vienna. Upon arrival, the get more then they bargained for.

I never read the book so I can only guess as to how it compares to the film. The movie, though watchable thanks to its cast, can at times seem like a jigsaw puzzle--with some pieces missing. The story as told through the eyes of Lowe's character, has great and "darkly" funny moments, with some satire thrown in. But the film can also be quite disjointed at times--perhaps so that the writer/director Tony Richarson could adapt the story for the film. The cast does their best and gives solid peformances, despite some of the scripts faults. There's enough subplots in The Hotel New Hampshire to fill two movies.

The DVD doesn't have any extras on it. That is to say, save of course, for the theatrical trailer. I thought the film was good--but had Richardson reworked the script a bit--it could have been much better.

Black-humored, subtle, inteligent, explicit - fun.
"The Hotel New Hampshire" is, indeed, not "very easy". If you're into "American Pie" or something, it's likely not to work for you. It's fast, subtile, black humor, surrealistic sometimes, and there's no "audience laugher" to know when you're supposed to laugh - and that's probably why people don't like (or understand) it. It can take more than one watch to get it all, and it sure deserves it.

The book's no requirement at all, like some of the obtuse reviewers above are arguing. In fact, i only know of Irving's existence from hearabouts - and still HNH was a masterpiece that made me laugh to tears. The flatulent dog named Sorrow. The (quick) way people die. Incest, clowns, rape, and Kinski wearing a bear suit. Do you want more to life than this? and there is.

Like one of the reviews i've read before, in this film the joke isn't assigned, all weird is put as just normal and if you don't have the hability to laugh at the bizarre on normal things you'll maybe find this movie a bored, puzzling experience.

It's ironical, thought, to think that maybe it was made to be this little hermetic and still so little people can get it. This world is ruined.

Not your typical movie
I first wanted to see this movie because I am a fan of Jodie Foster. I rented it and found it a little muddled. I liked it, I was just confused as to what was going on in certain parts. After watching the movie, I decided to read the book (which is very, very good!!!), and I rented the movie again after a while and found it much more enjoyable. My advice is to read the book before you see the movie!!! It's an oddly entertaining film... but you might get lost without the help of John Irving's novel.

Please spare me the agony...!!
A savagely bad movie, adapting John Irving's novel wherein the baby boomer generation attempts to digest the muddled narcissism of the '70s. That description, however, gives this flick too much credit. Mostly this is just a terrible film -- badly written, uninvolving and lurching about without apparent purpose, and without an emotional center. An incestual relationship between brother and sister, amid a wacky, unconventional family is supposed to somehow elicit our sympathies -- but its execution is as flat an unbelievable as the rest of the film. The cast, however, has some nice celeb-spotting eye-candy: Jody Foster, Wallace Shawn, and a 9-year old Seth Green. Rob Lowe is the movie's sole saving grace... As the perv-bound sibling, he was certainly breaking out of his brat pack bimbo typecasting; it's fascinating to see him working on the quirks and mannerisms he later built into a solid acting style. And at age 19, he's pretty hunky... easy on the eyes. But other than a chance to see a bunch of famous folks at an odd moment in their careers, this film is a total waste of time. (See also: "The Royal Tennenbaums.") ... Read more

Amazon.com

This is one of Jack Nicholson's most underrated performances and director Tony Richardson's most overlooked films. Nicholson is a member of the U.S. Border Patrol who moves with his materialistic wife (Valerie Perrine) to a small Texas town. There, his new colleagues try to pull him into the web of corruption that runs through the local department and he's tempted, because the illicit cash will help pay the bills that his charge-happy wife is running up. But his conscience gets the better of him when he gets involved in a case of a young Mexican woman whose baby is stolen to be sold for adoption. Nicholson simmers, stews, and eventually explodes. The superior cast includes Perrine, Harvey Keitel, and Warren Oates. --Marshall Fine ... Read more

Reviews (7)

almost perfect
The border is a great film,drama,action,and a feeling that jack is gonna snap and the fit will hit the shan before the end.the only problem is it ends way to quick,leaving a situation with his wife unresolved.but I guess a film that leaves you wanting more is a good thing?

Tony and Jack
When i saw this film on it's first release back in 1982, i walked out of the theatre moved to tears. As i've grown older, i realize how much i've grown into the politics of this film. We're all corruptable, we're all tempted, but we all make choices and decide which line we will not cross. Further, as in Traffic, there are wars we cannot win. So choose small battles and win those. Do something you can feel good about. This is atypical Jack Nicholson (he even hides his famous arched eyebroes under mirror shades for much of the film)and i was thrilled to read elsewhere that he considers this perhaps his best film. (I've thought of trying to tell him this somehow just as i've wanted to tell Duton Hoffman about his Straw Dogs performance). He's amazing in a performace that matches the pain and sublte beauty of the film. He has so many quotable lines ("I sure miss feeding those ducks." "I married a #*&% bananna.")) Tony Richardson, the man who brought us Tom Jones, couldnt be more out of his element yet there's no one else who could have pulled the emotion from this riveting story. Buy, rent, steal today. Great freeze at the end with Ry Cooder playing over.

Underrated and overlooked, but definitely worthwhile
Although this is not a great film it is a lot better than its reputation. Jack Nicholson is excellent and Harvey Keitel is very good. The beautiful and beguiling Mexican actress, Elpidia Carrillo, handles a limited role with enough artistry to make me wonder why I never heard of her before. Turns out she does have a healthy list of credits both internationally and in the US.

The direction by Tony Richardson, who had his heyday in the sixties with films as varied as The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner (1962), Tom Jones (1963), and The Loved One (1965), all adapted from novels, is at times inspired and artistic, and at other times as ordinary as dishwater. I don't think he was able to make up his mind while directing this film about whether he wanted win an award at Cannes or Venice or to just sell some tickets. As it turns out he did neither as well as he might have. Nonetheless as a snapshot of poor Mexican immigrants (and would-be immigrants) as they clash with the border patrol culture twenty-some years ago The Border is definitely worth a look. Particularly vivid is the depiction of the absurdities and hypocrisies among the coyotes, the "wets," the border patrol rank-and-file, the law and the realities of life along both sides of the thin strip separating the promised land from the third world.

Nicholson plays Charlie Smith, a border patrol cop with a trailer trash wife (Valerie Perrine) who yearns to move up to the luxury of duplex living. In particular she wants to move in next door to her high school girlfriend Savannah (Shannon Wilcox) who is married to the "Cat" (Harvey Keitel). Charlie Smith is a bit of an innocent who was satisfied with his trailer home and his sexy, loving, but not overly sharp, wife Mary. When they do pick up and move to Texas he runs headlong into the corrupt lifestyle of the Cat and the cruel realities of his job which consists of arresting illegal immigrants and sending them back to Mexico. Meanwhile Mary isn't just sitting home twiddling her thumbs. Instead she is out buying water beds and dinette sets, overstuffed chairs and sofas, and other knickknacks that put a strain on the couple's budget which leads Charlie into temptation. But when taking kickbacks turns to murder, Charlie draws the line in the sand (literally as it happens) and he and the Cat have a rather rude falling out. Meanwhile Charles spots Carrillo as the lovely Maria with babe in arms and a little brother at her side. Predictably the system cruelly exploits her, bringing Charlie to her rescue.

I think the striking contrast between Charlie's air-headed Mary and the desperate and needy Maria needed to be further explored. As it was played Charlie is just a good joe doing a good deed or two when in fact we know he is much more involved than that. I think the movie would have been improved by making him choose between the two women as he had to make the moral choice between going with the Cat's corruption or going against him.

See this for Jack Nicholson, one of the great actors of our time, who brings subtlety and veracity to a role that could have been ordinary, while giving us only a hint of the commanding and irreverent style that he would adopt in later years.

Great film, great Nicholson
At one point in his career, not that long ago, Jack Nicholson mentioned that of all the films he'd done, he thought The Border was his best. And he just may be right about that. His performance as a good, simple man who's caught up in the pressures of corruption and material life is perfect. Tony Richardson, director of such diverse films as Blue Sky and Tom Jones, knows how to keep the focus on his characters rather than on the superficial bulls**t that so often marks films these days. The supporting cast includes Harvey Keital, Warren Oates, and Valerie Perrine, and they, along with the remaining cast, are just as great as Nicholson is.

Keitel plays Cat, a fellow border patrol officer and Charlie's (Nicholson's) neighbor and so-called friend. Cat, the C.O. (Oates), a crude lowlife Texan, and a sleazy Mexican are all in on a corrupt scheme to sell wetbacks (Mexican laborers in the U.S.) for profit. When murder becomes part of the mix, Charlie--who had finally agreed to cash in--backs out and the others turn on him. He helps a young Mexican woman whose baby has been snatched and meanwhile tries to put up with his greedy wife (Perrine) who loves material objects more than life itself.

For some very strange reason, this film has sunk so far into the depths of obscurity that no one seems interested in releasing this on DVD. This is a great dramatic work and showcases not only Nicholson himself, but a story that means something, a director who knows how to do what has to be done, and a film whose emphasis is where it should be--on story and characters, not on shallow emotions that can be resolved with the snap of a special effects finger.

Very highly recommended.

One of Jack Nicholson's greatest performances
Of all Jack Nicholson's finest performances, this is without question the least rarely seen. Although Nicholson can excel at over-the-top performances, in many of his greatest, he goes to the opposite extreme. In this one, he rarely expresses emotion, rarely smiles, and instead communicates a simmering, barely contained rage at life and himself for having settled for being so much less than he ought and would like to be. By the end of the movie, he discovers that he has become a person he really doesn't want to know.

Told parallel to the story of Nicholson's descent into corruption is a Mexican woman who clearly wants to cross the physical borderline (just as Nicholson in the film has clearly crossed the moral borderline) with her baby to try and find a better life for him and her. Over and over we confront her and her trials, until her destiny becomes entwined with Jack Nicholson near the end of the film when he has to decide whether he will help her and run up against the other corrupt cops, or lose whatever tiny bit of self-respect he has left. The quiet, understated dynamic between their two stories is beautifully contrasted with the tawdriness of the lives of the border cops.

There are so many positives about this film: an incredible supporting cast, including Valerie Perrine as Nicholson's grasping, materialistic wife, Harvey Keitel as the corrupt border guard who pulls Nicholson into, and Warren Oates as a thoroughly despicable associate. I am not sure of the name of the young Mexican girl, but I love the innocence and yearning that she manages to project. The soundtrack is extraordinary, with one superb musical sequence after another by Ry Cooder, capped off by Freddy Fender's vocal on the Cooder-written "The Borderline."

The film is somewhat predictable, but, you know, I find that nearly all films are. Was this film does feature is a phenomenal performance by Jack Nicholson as a tortured, conflicted, unhappy man who barely managed to keep from losing all sense of his own worth and manages to salvage his humanity. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Biography of Aviatrix - Beryl Markham - raised in Africa
For those interested in early women aviators, horses and with a love for the genre depicted in the movie "Out of Africa", this is worth viewing. Stephanie Powers plays the role of Beryl from teenager to mature women. Although Ms. Powers is pushing reality playing Beryl at 18, her love and passion for Africa and getting this biography on film/video is apparant. I am happy to have found it on tape and add to my library. . ... Read more

Reviews (7)

Well, at least Andy Milligan Liked it . . .
Jeanne Moreau! Tony Richardson! Jean Genet! Art! Art! Art! Mod! Mod! Mod! Oh brother . . . Crazy, repressed schoolteacher pants after hunky woodcutter in small French town, setting fires and such to relieve her epic sexual tensions in the process. The woodcutter, who is even dumber and hornier than most males, stays in this town because he's apparently keeping every woman in town but Moreau very, VERY happy . . . Anyway, she eventually has some sort of erotic(?) encounter with him and accuses him of rape. None too happy ending follows. In short, a nasty little exploitation drama dressed up with bad dialogue, a draggy pace, and portentous acting. Moreau is terrible, and you have to wonder how anyone talked her into appearing in this piece of dreck . . . Did someone have proof she paid for acting school by robbing banks?

"The fire had been made just for him."
The film "Mademoiselle" from director Tony Richardson is based on a story by Marguerite Duras and adapted by Jean Genet. It's a riveting and very unusual tale of the violence of female sexual repression. Jeanne Moreau is 'Mademoiselle'--the only teacher in a sleepy French village. However, life in the village isn't exactly sleepy and peaceful as it becomes clear to the village residents that a malicious person is on the loose. Someone is responsible for setting fires, causing floods, and poisoning farm animals. Suspicion naturally falls on the unpopular outsider--an Italian woodcutter named Manou (Ettore Manni). Manou is already very unpopular with the jealous husbands whose wives are luring Manou off to dally in the fields, and tensions in the village reach boiling point after yet another disaster. It matters little that Manou is on the scene of each disaster as he risks his life to salvage the meagre possessions of the villagers. Manou's friend and fellow woodcutter, Antonio, urges Manou to move away from the village, but Manou choses to stay--partially because the women in the village provide him with many distractions, but also Manou thinks his son, Bruno, should stay in school where he receives attention from Mademoiselle.

Jeanne Moreau as Mademoiselle is magnificent in this role. She is at once the very prim and proper, sexually repressed school mistress, and also the wanton, violent woman who desires Manou and will stop at nothing to get him and keep him. The highly erotic scenes between Manou and Mademoiselle are perhaps some of the oddest in cinema, and certainly it doesn't get more symbolically graphic than Manou uncovering the snake he has around his waist which he then persuades Mademoiselle to fondle.

Fondling the snake, unleashes Mademoiselle's buried passions, and the viewer is privy through flashbacks, to the most bizarre courtship to exist on film. A horrible, seductive pattern exists to explain Mademoiselle's behaviour. Mademoiselle dresses--complete with make-up, seamed stockings, black laced gloves, and high-heeled shoes for each destructive act as she watches her witless prey--stripped and sweaty, muscles rippling for the occasion. Jeanne Moreau manages the duality of the role marvellously as she seamlessly moves from the bitter, cruel schoolmistress to the abandoned sexual wanton with a penchant for pyromania.

The film is in black and white with French subtitles. Cult film director, John Waters discusses "Mademoiselle," one of his favourite films in his book "Crackpot"--displacedhuman.

Interesting Work Here
MADEMOISELLE is the kind of picture that always caused Quentin Crisp to roll his eyes and hiss, "FESSSTIVAL MATERIAL!!" -- meaning too arty and rarefied for mere mortals chomping down popcorn at their local movie palace. A major thud in its day, this movie still features plenty worth seeing. Directed with intelligence and care by Tony Richardson from a Jean Genet screenplay, MADEMOISELLE features a story like a Bunuel fever dream, without his sly humor. Jeanne Moreau gives a subtle, controlled performance as the titular sack of seething neuroses; her first scene, opening a sluicegate to flood a stable while sporting fetishistic hat, gloves and high heels, all cut in counterpoint to a processional of priest and villagers blessing the crops, certainly grabs the attention! Watch her careful underplaying in the schoolroom scene where she fills her students in on that ultimate Gallic bad guy, Gilles de Rais. Moreau's one actress who never lets you down. At times way over the top (surely someone connected with this project could have given the scene where she ogles her sexy Italian's snake a second thought), MADEMOISELLE is a picture that's fallen between the cracks of cinema releasing, hardly seen since its initial release. In this satisfactory MGM DVD, at long last, you can take a look. Please do!

Cinematography looks superb, Moreau and others do not
I am a huge Jeanne Moreau fan and was thrilled to see some fine cinematography and those classic faces Moreau gives off without having to utter a word. But this was just the first 10 minutes of the film, and usually you know a film is going to be good when the first 10 minutes or so is very intriguing, however this one went downhill from there.

I have to say that Moreau probably looks the worst here than she did in any other film either 5 years prior or 5 years after this. I am not sure why, but while the cinematography was carefully filmed, I don't think they spent much time on lighting and make-up for our lovely Jeanne.

The story is very far fetched, and was presumably quite risque for the time (and still has scenes that would shock most even today) however there is no one in this film to either care about or be intrigued by. We quickly jump into Moreau's character's devious acts of violence, but we never really know why. Why does she act so deviously? And now that she is, you just can't relate or care to relate.

Besides Moreau, there are no other adults in this film who give any decent performances, or develop any characters which held my attention. The only other interesting player in this bleak (but ironically beautifully filmed) film is Manou's son, who the boy who played him gives a very credible performance.

I quickly lost interest in this film, and a lot more could have happened, and should have happened. The plot and story development, while risque and shocking, was not very intriguing. No likable roles, no likable scenes, I just didn't care about the people in this film or the film. 2 stars for the cinematography and ahead of it's time shock value.

Mademoiselle's Return to Nature
Opening shot: In the countryside a religious procession moves along under a hot sun. Somewhere in the hills above Jeanne Moreau cranks open a floodgate. She is wearing black fishnet gloves, a black dress and heels. The water pours downhill toward a farm flooding it. The church bell rings alerting everyone of the disaster, the procession disperses, and Moreau heads down hill to watch as they all try to save the livestock from drowning.

Tony Richardson directed Tom Jones and in that picture showed he had quite a knack for capturing English rural folk. But with this tale filmed in a gorgeous tinted black and white which makes apple blossoms look more beautiful than they ever do in color he has swapped the 18th Century ribaldry of Fielding for the 20th Century subversive austerity of Genet and made a French language film which I'm certain raised quite a few eyebrows, French and English, in its day. Its shock value I do not think has diminished much, if at all.

The star of the film is Jeanne Moreau as the chaste schoolmistress who comes from the city to educate the rural children. But lurking within her cool reserved impassive demeanor are passions that have perhaps been too long divorced from nature so she is especially vulnerable when her long hidden passions are stirred by the presence of an Italian woodsman who she spies on one of her solitary strolls through the woods. "Be careful miss," yells one of the villagers as he sees her heading toward the woods, "there's a wolf in those woods." But thats just what shes seeking. Meanwhile a series of fires have been set and being the foreigner the Italian woodsman is the the prime suspect. We know who it is however setting those fires, and we slowly learn why. Tony Richardson captures Moreaus face as it changes from mood to mood. He captures her melancholy and isolation as she applies her lipstick and puts her hair up in preparation for one of her "acts", and then he shows what she looks like when she returns and looks in the mirror again seeing how the "act" has changed her. Moreau is one of the more mysterious beauties of French cinema and in this role that beauty is used to greater effect than any other director has used it. She is fascinating to watch as this prim sophisticated schoolmistress who finally undergoes the transformation she has been longing for.The night Moreau and the woodsman spend together is one of unleashed instinct and abandon and it is all filmed in an unforgettable series of vignettes: the two lying down in tall grass as the sun goes down, beside a pond in utter darkness as a storm breaks, running from each other and surrendering to each other time and again. Raw and sensual as anything you will see in a film then or now Richardson takes the film to a completely different plane with these scenes. When Moreau returns to the village the next morning covered in mud and clothes in shreds the villagers ask her if it was the Italian. Her answer and her final expression seen from a car window as she drives away from the village is one of utter self-content.

Also recommended: Elevator to the Gallows, The Lover, Bride Wore Black. ... Read more

Reviews (25)

LOVE this movie!!!!
I saw this in the theatre when it was first released, and the passage of time has done nothing to dim my love and fascination of this superb translation of the novel by Fielding. Of course, Albert Finney made a very dashing Tom Jones, and wqas so perfectly suited to the role; Susannah York great as his true love, Sophie, and the other roles, Hugh Griffith as Sophie's father, and hilarious in his part as a drunken, boisterous, lusty squire, and Dame Edith Evans as his rather disapproving, but very funny sister, reprimanding him with a trilling "Brrrrrrrrrrrrrrrother...." while he is wrestling some country maidens in the haystacks, straw in his hair and a pack of bulldogs surrounding him. The dinner scene with him eating a roast chicken with great gusto, so much so that he harangues Sophie with pieces of it in his nose, is delightful, as is his unscripted departure from Squire Allworthy's residence, on his horse, and turning so tightly that the horse rears and collapses with Hugh Griffith on top of him...so funny Richardson wisely decided to keep it in the film.
I also appreciated the performances of David Warner, as the disgustingly priggish tutor, Mr. Bliful, and Diane Cilento (once married to Sean Connery...) as Tom's sometime paramour. The entire cast is excellent, including Joan Greenwood as the predatory older woman after Tom at any cost. Watch for the Masquerade Ball and see Hugh Griffith in his elephant mask; what a great scene!
The peripheral players are superb, as is the setting of London in the eighteenth century, with the deplorable lack of sanitary conditions and the terrible poverty. The music is haunting, the scene at the Inn (yes, the food scene, of course, one of the more outstanding in the movie) but also the frenetic byplay of the characters winding up in each other's beds with different wives and lovers, it is such a classic melange of humor, drama and near tragedy, there simply isn't one moment of bad film or minute of tedium...you will be absorbed all the way through, and enjoy this rambunctious, joyful frolic with Tom and his supporting cast of finely drawn characters. One last comment: The scene of Tom and Sophie, running, taking turns rowing a boat and falling in love on the grounds of her father's estate, is absolutely beautiful; watch for the scene of them picking blossoms and Sophie laughing and the blossoms falling into her mouth; very sensual and exquisitely detailed, as is the entire production.

Pay No Attention to the One Star Voters
Just want to add my 2 cents worth. There is a reason this film won best picture. It WAS the best picture that year and one of the best for any year. The writing and direction is consistently inventive, clever, witty and intelligent. The massive old novel has been rendered down to its essence and filmed with wit and verve and played by a dream cast. The narration punctuates the humor and the depiction of 18th century England, both country life and London, is excellent. Tony Richardson and his cast had fun with the material, using every manner of technique (fast motion), asides to the audience, and so on to make a rollicking good modern comedy, that was much imitated (Woody Allen did the eating scene at least twice in his films). Comedy is definitely in the eye of the beholder, as witnessed by the negative reviews. All I can say is, they missed the point entirely. See Tom Jones and enjoy how much can be packed into a movie in under 2 hours.

A Masterpiece
Perhaps in 1968 there were fewer idiots in this world than in 2004? It's difficult to explain why this film has so many negative reviews. It is one of the best movies of the late 60s, and I have watched it so many times, nearly every scene has burned itself into my memory.
It is a perfect adaptation of Fielding's Tom Jones. Every minute of the film has so much joy, humor, excitement and hilarity that it's very difficult to sum up in this review.
If you have any taste in film at all, and are a patient and intelligent filmgoer, you'll want to buy this classic.

If there is a God...
...why does he allow people to suffer through this movie?

If you think it's funny to watch people kick dogs and have sex with their own parents, then this is the movie for you. Albert Finney looks about 15 years too old to portray the virile title character in this adaptation of the classic 18th century novel. The "plot," if you can call it that, is a little hard for me to describe since I am expending a tremendous amount of energy trying to block it from my mind. Suffice to say it plods along much like a typical episode of Three's Company, with it's misunderstandings, sexual escapades and slapstick humor. The difference of course being that a typical episode of Three's Company is better written, better directed and far easier to stomach. In particular, the last hour of the movie is a boringly boring bore. Sitting through it is like sitting through the end credits of the Olympics. I find it to be unbelievable that this movie was nominated for any Oscars much less win for best picture given the fact that it is as difficult to watch as footage of starving African babies with flies all over their heads. Wow, that is two hours of my life I can never get back.

Of its Time
Heavily influenced by Godard's 1959 mould-breaker "Breathless" (jump-cuts, hand-held camera, addresses to the viewer) this film is full of brilliant episodes, especially the stag-hunt. Contrary to the opinions of some reviewers, imho it does an outstanding job of presenting the uninhibited flavour of 18th century England; especially by bringing out the contrast between town and country, which incorporated one of the greatest and most far-reaching social changes which took place in that century. The luxury and squalor of London compared with the almost idyllic feeling that many had for the vanishing bucolic life is commented on by almost every notable writer of the age. However, the film doesn't seem to be well-paced, overall. The first part is too slow, and the second is too disjointed, and there is a sense of dissatisfaction in the end at the lack of balance and rhythm. It is not quite as good as I remembered from having seen it when it first came out, 1963. The leading performances are nevertheless superb, although Squire Western's boorishness is, let's face it, just a bit over-played. The dialogue is nonetheless excellent: not artificial in the slightest. The narrator's accent is not assumed, as somebody supposed: it was delivered by a very well-known Irish actor in his natural speaking voice. The use of a narrator in this instance makes for an intelligent transfer of Fielding's long, picaresque novel to the screen. The film expects a literate audience: which is not supplied by the negative reviews posted here. ... Read more

Amazon.com essential video

Winner of four Academy Awards including best picture, director, screenplay, and music, this 1963 adaptation of Henry Fielding's classic novel is a rousing, bawdy comedy about a young man's ribald adventures in 18th-century England. Albert Finney is splendidly hilarious in the title role of a charming womanizer who was discovered as an abandoned infant in the bed of Squire Allworthy, a wealthy landowner who named the child Tom Jones and raised him as his own. As a young man, Tom yearns for the comely daughter (Susannah York) of a neighboring squire, but his amorous adventures (including an extended food orgy that becomes the film's funniest scene) lead him to London and to a duel with a jealous husband. He's sentenced to hang, but fate intervenes. A hit around the world, the film was expertly written by noted playwright John Osborne, and director Tony Richardson uses a variety of old-style movie techniques to heighten the lusty, good-natured fun. Don't miss this one! --Jeff Shannon ... Read more

Reviews (25)

LOVE this movie!!!!
I saw this in the theatre when it was first released, and the passage of time has done nothing to dim my love and fascination of this superb translation of the novel by Fielding. Of course, Albert Finney made a very dashing Tom Jones, and wqas so perfectly suited to the role; Susannah York great as his true love, Sophie, and the other roles, Hugh Griffith as Sophie's father, and hilarious in his part as a drunken, boisterous, lusty squire, and Dame Edith Evans as his rather disapproving, but very funny sister, reprimanding him with a trilling "Brrrrrrrrrrrrrrrother...." while he is wrestling some country maidens in the haystacks, straw in his hair and a pack of bulldogs surrounding him. The dinner scene with him eating a roast chicken with great gusto, so much so that he harangues Sophie with pieces of it in his nose, is delightful, as is his unscripted departure from Squire Allworthy's residence, on his horse, and turning so tightly that the horse rears and collapses with Hugh Griffith on top of him...so funny Richardson wisely decided to keep it in the film.
I also appreciated the performances of David Warner, as the disgustingly priggish tutor, Mr. Bliful, and Diane Cilento (once married to Sean Connery...) as Tom's sometime paramour. The entire cast is excellent, including Joan Greenwood as the predatory older woman after Tom at any cost. Watch for the Masquerade Ball and see Hugh Griffith in his elephant mask; what a great scene!
The peripheral players are superb, as is the setting of London in the eighteenth century, with the deplorable lack of sanitary conditions and the terrible poverty. The music is haunting, the scene at the Inn (yes, the food scene, of course, one of the more outstanding in the movie) but also the frenetic byplay of the characters winding up in each other's beds with different wives and lovers, it is such a classic melange of humor, drama and near tragedy, there simply isn't one moment of bad film or minute of tedium...you will be absorbed all the way through, and enjoy this rambunctious, joyful frolic with Tom and his supporting cast of finely drawn characters. One last comment: The scene of Tom and Sophie, running, taking turns rowing a boat and falling in love on the grounds of her father's estate, is absolutely beautiful; watch for the scene of them picking blossoms and Sophie laughing and the blossoms falling into her mouth; very sensual and exquisitely detailed, as is the entire production.

Pay No Attention to the One Star Voters
Just want to add my 2 cents worth. There is a reason this film won best picture. It WAS the best picture that year and one of the best for any year. The writing and direction is consistently inventive, clever, witty and intelligent. The massive old novel has been rendered down to its essence and filmed with wit and verve and played by a dream cast. The narration punctuates the humor and the depiction of 18th century England, both country life and London, is excellent. Tony Richardson and his cast had fun with the material, using every manner of technique (fast motion), asides to the audience, and so on to make a rollicking good modern comedy, that was much imitated (Woody Allen did the eating scene at least twice in his films). Comedy is definitely in the eye of the beholder, as witnessed by the negative reviews. All I can say is, they missed the point entirely. See Tom Jones and enjoy how much can be packed into a movie in under 2 hours.

A Masterpiece
Perhaps in 1968 there were fewer idiots in this world than in 2004? It's difficult to explain why this film has so many negative reviews. It is one of the best movies of the late 60s, and I have watched it so many times, nearly every scene has burned itself into my memory.
It is a perfect adaptation of Fielding's Tom Jones. Every minute of the film has so much joy, humor, excitement and hilarity that it's very difficult to sum up in this review.
If you have any taste in film at all, and are a patient and intelligent filmgoer, you'll want to buy this classic.

If there is a God...
...why does he allow people to suffer through this movie?

If you think it's funny to watch people kick dogs and have sex with their own parents, then this is the movie for you. Albert Finney looks about 15 years too old to portray the virile title character in this adaptation of the classic 18th century novel. The "plot," if you can call it that, is a little hard for me to describe since I am expending a tremendous amount of energy trying to block it from my mind. Suffice to say it plods along much like a typical episode of Three's Company, with it's misunderstandings, sexual escapades and slapstick humor. The difference of course being that a typical episode of Three's Company is better written, better directed and far easier to stomach. In particular, the last hour of the movie is a boringly boring bore. Sitting through it is like sitting through the end credits of the Olympics. I find it to be unbelievable that this movie was nominated for any Oscars much less win for best picture given the fact that it is as difficult to watch as footage of starving African babies with flies all over their heads. Wow, that is two hours of my life I can never get back.

Of its Time
Heavily influenced by Godard's 1959 mould-breaker "Breathless" (jump-cuts, hand-held camera, addresses to the viewer) this film is full of brilliant episodes, especially the stag-hunt. Contrary to the opinions of some reviewers, imho it does an outstanding job of presenting the uninhibited flavour of 18th century England; especially by bringing out the contrast between town and country, which incorporated one of the greatest and most far-reaching social changes which took place in that century. The luxury and squalor of London compared with the almost idyllic feeling that many had for the vanishing bucolic life is commented on by almost every notable writer of the age. However, the film doesn't seem to be well-paced, overall. The first part is too slow, and the second is too disjointed, and there is a sense of dissatisfaction in the end at the lack of balance and rhythm. It is not quite as good as I remembered from having seen it when it first came out, 1963. The leading performances are nevertheless superb, although Squire Western's boorishness is, let's face it, just a bit over-played. The dialogue is nonetheless excellent: not artificial in the slightest. The narrator's accent is not assumed, as somebody supposed: it was delivered by a very well-known Irish actor in his natural speaking voice. The use of a narrator in this instance makes for an intelligent transfer of Fielding's long, picaresque novel to the screen. The film expects a literate audience: which is not supplied by the negative reviews posted here. ... Read more

Reviews (7)

The British version of The Longest Yard
This was the story later used in the American film with Burt Reynolds, The Longest Yard. British actor, Tom Courtenay, in his first major film role plays the downcast, but likeable youth from the seedy side of town.

Courtenay's character is saturated with events in his life for which he has no control. He lives in poverty, his father dies, his mother's waiting in the wings-boyfriend is a jerk, and he has no job skills or future. He is ultimately placed in a youth detention facility where he finds, to his warden's joy, that he has athletic ability. He is ambivalent about this skill, but he can obtain privileges and possible early freedom if only he wins the running trophy for the warden.

The Burt Reynolds film, centered on his character developing an interest in his fellow prisoners to decide on how to respond to the warden's promised rewards and punishments. The British version focuses almost completely on the character's internal conflict. Ultimately, his decision is based on how he could best gain an aspect of control in his life. His decision is based not for his peers, and not for the authorities, but for his own sense of self. Aspects of the youth prison may seem funny by today's standard, but the story remains fresh and interesting. I highly recommend it.

I cant believe its still not on DVD!
This is one of the great classics that I watch every couple of years. It has no Hollywood cosmetics. The people look and feel very real and there is truth to their emotions. It's such a great movie I can't believe its not on DVD yet!
You certainly get the feeling you've ran a mile in his shoes and that it was worth the ride.

"Rebel with a Pause"
This British film is a stark masterful portrayal of a young working class man, and the urban world he is trapped inside. The black and white photography lends a honest depiction of his tough bare existence. Colin watches his foolish widowed mother fritter away her meagre inheritance, and he seems to be as incarcerated in this world, as in the reform school he ends up in, after a bungled robbery. His stolen cash, stashed away in a drain pipe at the front door, floats out during a rainy day at the very feet of a detective making inquiries at his house. So it goes for Colin, a man trapped at every turn. His life gets a lift when he joins the cross country team at the reform school. The scenes of him running freely through the woods during meets are poetry on film. Colin lashes out against his fate and lot with one bold pause at the end. His expression as he stands there is priceless. This film's images will last with the viewer for a life time. This is great art.

The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner
Tony Richardon's grim evocation of the experience of one bottom feeder at the low base of Britain's crumbling class pyramid features editing as harsh - and cinematically effective, especially in the film's well-placed flahsbacks - as this story of hard-bitten young Colin Smith (grittily portrayed by Tom Courtenay). For a petty theft Smith is sentenced to borstal (reform school) where his speed in the long distance run elevates him, in the eyes of his inmate brethren, to become the "guvnor's blue-eyed boy", because the warden's goal is to win the special long distance running cup in the borstal's trial athletic competition against an upper-class public school. Smith finds himself trapped between the guvnor's self-serving, manipulative solicitude and the class-based peer pressure of his borstal mates. Courtenay plays out Smith's repsonse to his dilemma with breathless, bristling, teeth-clenched defiance that the film, grippingly, doesn't reveal until its withering dénouement.

Avis Bunnage lends a biting performance as Smith's mother: a woman hardened by her straitened life circumstance as the working class widow of a resentful factory worker, struggling on welfare to raise her children in a grimy, shabbily built, claustrophobic low-income dwelling. Alec McCowen, as the borstal's pyschologist, deftly adds depth to the story as a well-meaning advocate of fresh approaches to rehabilitating inmates, whose efforts are trumped by the warden's timeworn methods. As the warden Michael Redgrave communicates all that's right - and wrong - about the upper reaches of the class pyramid.

Developed from a short story by Alan Sillitoe (author of Saturday Night and Sunday Morning, and screenwriter of that eponymous 1961 film), rooted in industrial Nottigham, filmed in sooty, bleak black & white, 1962's The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner may, in 2002, feel a bit dated, yet its theme of the bottom-of-the-food-chain working class individual clamped in the maws of animals and powers beyond his influence remains trenchant, timeless and thought-provoking.

There is more than one way to win the race
I saw this British film when it first came out in 1962 and never forgot it. I even remember an argument I had with my aunt about its controversial theme - that of an alienated angry young man who defiantly refuses to conform to the system. Shot in black and white, the video stars Tom Courtenay as a working class Nottingham youth who is sent to a reformatory because of a robbery. Michael Redgrave is cast as the warden, referred to as the "governor" as this is a British film. It is a modern reformatory, and plans are being made to for it to compete in sports with a private school. The long distance run is considered the bi