Reviews (22)

Sherlock Holmes as You've Never Seen Him Before
The late, great George C. Scott does a fine turn as a widower judge who thinks he's Sherlock Holmes in "They Might Be Giants," a film that proves Scott easily could have played the fictional detective in a straight adaptation of Conan Doyle's mysteries, too. The film takes great delight in lampooning the establishment of the day--no surprise, as it debuted in 1971--with particular attention on cutting down to size the burgeoning mental health industry. Joanne Woodward is charming as a psychiatrist and social misfit, appropriately named Dr. Watson, who teams up with Scott to track the nefarious Moriarity, only to discover love and destiny instead. Along the way, they are joined by a battalion of New York City's cataways, including laconic Jack Gilford, a young M. Emmet Walsh, F. Murray Abraham with an afro, and even Paul Benedict, the fellow who would go on to fame as "Mr. Bentley" of television's "The Jeffersons" fame. Though it has an atypical but beguiling score by John Barry and some very tender moments courtesy of screenwriter James Goldman (Gilford's affinity for swashbuckling and Watson's doomed attempt at a romantic dinner among them), "They Might Be Giants" sometimes suffers from a lack of thematic focus that rivals the mania of its main characters. A slapstick scene in a grocery store seems tonally wrong in a film that otherwise takes the high road of satire rather than the low road of farce. (Apparently, it was originally excised from the film, only to return in a later version, though I recall seeing the film on TV as a child in the 70s, and the grocery store scene was intact.) Commentary by the film's director, Anthony Harvey, is worth noting, though the man interviewing him dodges the most obvious question burning in the mind's of viewers--exactly what is one to make of the film's ending?

Hm...
Okay, I gave this movie 3 stars, mostly because I didn't know if it deserved 2 or 4 stars. It's kind of a weird flick, and I bought it soley because I'm a They Might Be Giants fan; and TMBG, to my understanding, plucked their band name from this film.

The premise is interesting enough: a once-respected judge has decided he's THE Sherlock Holmes. His brother is trying to get him declared an official nut-ball. His seemingly fate-selected Dr. Watson is a female psychiatrist who has taken his case to heart. A slice or romance rises between them, but that's not quite the thrust of the movie. I've yet to identify that "thrust" by the way.

I was bored in spots, and I mention this because I think many of you might feel the same. But, considering when the film debued (1971, the year of my birth), it was pretty unique. I cut it lots of slack. It was just . . . strange.

The ending made me squirm with embarassment that I was enjoying myself; at the same time, I squinted my eyes wondering why.

As with all of my Amazon reviews, I don't like to give away too much. I just like to give my reactions. I haven't watched this movie twice, though I do own it. I will probably put it my DVD player again soon and perhaps come up with a second opinion.

I'm curious to know what you all think of it. All I can tell you is it wasn't bad. It was probably a 4-star movie, maybe a 2, and I finally acquiesced and ratee it with a 3 while scratching my head and smirking smirkingly.

They Might Be Giants
I write lots of lists. Lists like, 100 Geatest Movies and 100 Greatest Westerns and so on and so on. This movie is near the very top of my 100 Greatest Sleepers(a very cherished list)and near the very top of my Movie Charm list. It is the top, though, of my Greatest Movie endings list, contrary to a lot of Amazon reviewers. That means I think it has a better ending than 2001 or Some Like It Hot or A Clockwork Orange or Ball of Fire or All Quiet on the Western Front or Blow-Up. It breaks me every time.
It's one of the sweetest movies ever made and I'm going to purchase the DVD this weekend. I found it on VHS some time ago and was dismayed to find that it had the late night supermarket scene removed and I'm dying to have a copy with it restored. After many repeated viewings I went from finding the supermarket sequence, originally, a silly outta place slapstick moment to later it being an integral part of the resolution and essential to the impact of the ending.
I'm not the biggest fan of George C Scott. I often find he's chewing the scenery. That's not to say that I don't think he's a great actor and that I don't like many of his films. This is my favorite of his performances and I think the role is perfectly suited for his style. He also seems to be enjoying himself tremendously. He was so rarely given a chance to play lighter or comic roles. An unfortunate fact considering how well he did with this role and with General Buck in Dr Strangelove.
Joanne Woodard is the perfect counterpoint and has all the needed skill to be able to play off such a powerhouse as Scott, keeping everything in balance.
Both play their part with great vunerablity while hiding behind their facades. There some great acting going on here.
Add an seemingly endless ensemble supporting cast of great character actors like Jack Gilford and Al Lewis and Severn Darden
and many others. Plus a teriffic script, full of wit and heart and room to let everybody to spread their wings and you have one of the most charming undiscovered gems in the world. Mind you, this isn't for everyone. It has to be watched with a little sensitivity and patience and it's quirky to say the least. When they go to the phone company, well, there aren't too many scenes like that in anywhere(Most directors are too afraid something like that just won't work). Films of the late sixties and seventies were just a little more courageous and less worried with the bottom line. So, during that time we get some of our greatest flops and some of our sweetest sucesses.
If you liked The Owl and the Pussycat or Little Fugitive or Little Murders, you'll like this movie. A real little gem.

A Waste of Good Plastic
George C. Scott and Joanne Woodward were/are great actors. What is a great mystery is what they are doing in this piece of junk. The derainged one had to be the director. At the ending(?)I felt totally robbed! But I'm being too kind. The only reason I gave it one star is there was no option to give it less. This movie SUCKS! and if you buy it don't say I didn't warn you!

George C Scott and Joanne Woodward shine!
This is a GREAT film that was unnoticed upon it's original release because of its quirkiness.
It concerns a judge (played by Scott) who believes he is Sherlock Holmes. He lives in a complete fantasy world, which he created right after his beloved wife died, to provided shelter from a cold world. However, he finds the fantasy world a bit lonely, for no one believes he is Holmes. A psychiatrist played by Woodward (also excellent) tries to cure him, much to the disdain of his brother, who would like Scott to be declared incompetent so he can control Scott's money.
It turns out that Woodward is also lonely, and you can see where the movie will go, but it doesn't detract from a sweet, funny and touching movie.
The film gained popularity on TV's Late Show. It isn't shown much on cable, so this DVD is invaluable. It also contains commentary by the director.
Much thanks to Anchor Bay for releasing this film, and so many others that deserve to be seen but are not that well known. ... Read more

Description

As this landmark series demonstrates, the cataclysmic effects of World War I last to this day. "The war to end all wars" has influenced the Atomic Age and the Cold War, and is now shaping the conflicts in Bosnia and the Middle East. Period film footage and eyewitness accounts powerfully dramatize the horrors of trench warfare and the chaos of political revolution. History comes alive as The Great War reveals how World War I influenced the rise of communism, witnessed the first use of weapons of mass destruction, and provided a fertile aftermath for the rise of Nazism. Through perspectives from all sides of the war, the series shows how violent events early in this century still cast a dark shadow on life today. Titles include: "Explosion & Stalemate," "Total War & Slaughter," "Mutiny & Collapse," and "Hatred and Hunger & War Without End." ... Read more

Reviews (14)

A Great Disappointment
I am a big Great War buff. It's hardly uncommon to find books and documentaries about the Great War, but they're rare enough --especially in the US, where I live-- that I eagerly look foward to every new book, video, or work of fiction about this subject. I'm so happy to find videos about the Great War, instead of just books, that I often cut them extra slack. Given the calibre of the people who produced it and who lent a hand to the production, "Great War" SHOULD be the Documentary to End all Documentaries, but it's not. Fortunately, I was able to watch this video series at no cost from my local library. I would have probably demanded my money back if I had purchased it.

It's done in the "Ken Burns" style of documentary, with voice actors reading from period correspondence, poems, etc. to give a sense of "living history" and illustrate key themes. However, unlike in Ken Burns' documentary about the American Civil War, we rarely if ever learn the IDENTITIES of these letter writers, what have you. So you'll hear a soldier commenting on the war, or an editorial in the Times commenting on the war, but apart from contextual clues, who exactly the voice actors are trying to portray can be very unclear. (This is more frustrating than it sounds.) Not to mention Ralph Fiennes practically ruined the poetry of Wilfred Owen for me with his snooty, disaffected whine.

As other reviewers have remarked, the treatment of how the war broke out, the battles, the Armstice, and everything is between is very cursory. That would be understandable if this documentary was only 2 hours long, but on four video cassette tapes, it just comes across as sloppy and full of broad generalizations. It does indeed concentrate on "politically correct" events like socialism and feminism that are currently fashionable. It's nice to give voice to neglected facets of the war effort, like the female munitions workers or the African-American soldiers who served alongside the French, but I also would have liked some more standard commentary on weapons and battles. For a documentary of such length, it has a very rushed, incomplete feel.

By far the best thing about this series isn't the pastiche of voice actors and images, it's the interviews with famous (and infamous) Great War historians like Paul Fussell and Niall Ferguson. Hearing Fussell et alibi talk with real passion about their interest in the First World War was great, but it hardly justifies buying "Great War."

An extraordinary documentary at all levels
I'll not presume to bore you with too much detail, but as one man's opinion I thought this documentary was extraordinary. It breaks into chapters that both stand on their own and also intertwine into a comprehensive storyline. It offers an excellent beginning to explain in simple terms how the entire conflict began, and never loses the sight that the war is a series of human casualties as well as tactical gains and losses. With a musical score by Mason Daring which can vary from narrative to heroic to absolutely chilling, and many texts readily available for the more serious devotee of the subject, I give this documentary my highest rating. No longer satisfied with checking it out from my local library, I bought it to own, and consider it one of my best intellectual investments. Enjoy!!

Personal suffering not history
This tape series covers the personal suffering of people in the war. What it does not cover is the history of the war, why it happened,or why it unfolded as it did.

A description of endured suffering and false triumph
While we number them, there was really only one world war in the twentieth century consisting, of two outbreaks of intense fighting separated by twenty years of relative peace. Although when you consider the millions who died in the Soviet Union and China in those years, it is difficult to refer to it as peace. As is mentioned in this tape, the horrors of mass extermination started in the first round of fighting, with the first extermination being the Turkish slaughter of Kurdish civilians on their border with Russia.
This is not an easy tape series to watch, not because it shows so much death, but due to the human face it puts on the dirty, muddy men killing each other. The description is split up into sections, some of which examine the attempts of people to cope with something that it was impossible to cope with for long. The most poignant moment is the description of the mutiny in the French army in 1917. After yet another pointless battle where hundreds of thousands died, most of the army simply refused orders to attack. Coming amidst incredible brutality, it was a rather polite revolt. In general, officers were not killed and no one went on a rampage. They simply refused to attack when they understood (correctly) that it would accomplish nothing more than more death.
The fact of the revolt is not what is surprising, the astonishing part is that it took three years before it happened. As you can see from the images on these tapes, the soldiers lived for years in mud, surrounded by danger, dead bodies and excrement. The best that can be said is that it is a tribute to the resilience of the human body that even that can be tolerated for years.
As difficult as it is to face, the true horrors of war must be examined by all of us. There is no magic solution to the end of wars between humans. However, it is true that understanding the consequences is the first step towards deciding that it is a poor alternative to everything else.

Best Documentary I've ever seen
I watch perhaps more documentaries than is healthy, but I do tend to learn a lot. In my many years of watching I've never found a documentary as well done as this. It's entertaining and disturbing at the same time. The use of photographs and voices in this production are put together quite well and by far surpass any other production I've ever seen. I would definately recommend this to even new students of the war, although this is done well enough to impress even historians who have spent many years in study. ... Read more

Amazon.com

Of all the wars waged in the name of God, none has ever matched the arrogance and conceit of the Christian Crusades.For nearly two centuries (1095-1291), this medieval "holy war" variously raged, sometimes so spiritually misshapen by rapaciousness, murder, and political greed that to think it all had to do with Christian faith is absurd. And really, there is no one better to dramatize such a theater of holy war than Wales-born Terry Jones, host of The Discovery Channel's Ancient Inventions and an accomplished medievalist. Best known for his absurdist contributions to all things Monty Python--he was a founding member of Monty Python's Flying Circus and cowriter of Monty Python and the Holy Grail, Life of Brian, and Monty Python's The Meaning of Life, among others--Jones wields an uncanny ability to explain the methodologies and madness of the Crusades while not failing us his sense of humor.

Jones wrote the scripts for each 50-minute presentation in the four volumes of The Crusades, which originally aired on The History Channel. His narration is not without an occasional sardonic air, almost of the roll-your-eyes type, which not only lends a skeptical perspective to a frequently misunderstood era in Western Europe, but also quite frequently editorializes the events that occurred between Pope Urban II's call for liberation of Jerusalem from the "infidels" of Islam and the embarrassing moment when officers of the fourth Crusade are conned out of its divine calling by the Venetians. While Jones's reconnaissance is sometimes oversimplified by casually not mentioning several Crusade sorties after the fourth (there were several, but by the 13th century they had become redolent of ennui and misguided commercial adventure), the technical ingenuity of the production and Jones's use of anecdote backed by academicians and preserved eyewitness accounts cinches a viewer's interest. Medieval "siege machines" are re-created to test their mettle against legends of famous battles, Jones dons real 11th- and 12th-century armor to demonstrate the outlandish appearance of Crusaders in the lands of Mohammed, mosaics come to life with body-painted characters of medieval fable, and computer graphics are deployed to re-create the interior of the great cathedral at Cluny.

All these elements are contrasted with intermezzos of contemporary European and Middle Eastern society and a moving original soundtrack to make The Crusades a thoroughly engaging documentary of the bloodletting of medieval Christian conquests and the ultimate result of Islamic fanaticism born from its crimson tide. In Jones's own words at the end of Volume IV: "It took 200 years for the Crusaders to create [this] Muslim fanaticism. It was the exact imitation of Christian intolerance." To understand the effects of the Crusades is to understand much of today's religious geography, and Mr. Jones and company can fairly lay claim to having helped set the record straight. --Jamie Friddle ... Read more

Reviews (34)

Entertaining and accurate for the most part
Being a scholar of history and Medieval Europe in particular, I found this documentary rather accurate on most points, despite what a few of the previous reviewers have said. Also, it was very entertaining. You can't beat that combination.

The only real problemswith it, is that it is only 4 hours long, and therefore, takes some short-cuts, oversimplifies a few things and is not as in-depth as I would have liked it to have been.

That said, it is still mostly true to the sense of the Crusades that is conveyed in many historical accounts, while at the same time cutting away the Pro-European bias that is present in many texts.

Some of the "facts" that the previous reviewers have mentioned (such as: the Crusades being a response to the Muslim takeover of the Balkans, which in actuality did not occur until well in the 14th century. another is the statement that the Muslims who eventually took over the Balkans were motivated by Mohammed's original fervor, which is also not true as these Muslims were Turks who only recently converted to Islam), are not really facts, and are clearly motivated by unfounded Anti-Muslim sentiments. I suggest ignoring them.

All in all, this is a very informative and enjoyable DVD set.

Propaganda? Make no mistake about it?
Readers and viewers of this work should realize that history contains ugly realities to anyone's perspectives. Certainly, the Moorish hordes relegated Christians and Jews to Dimi status (mostly as a sort of tax strategy), looted, enslaved, and killed masses just like the crusaders, but THIS ISN'T A BOOK ABOUT THE ARABS!!!

This same sort of 'prejuidcial history' is leveled against Noam Chomsky for his history of the Arab Israeli conflict and his focus on Israel and the U.S. As with critics of Chomsky, you should note that the author of the previous review makes no mention of the facts presented in the book. Why? Because he cannot refute them. Instead he accuses the authors of apologetic propaganda; exactly the exercise in which he is involved.

The humor of history triumphs in all the wrong places
This set of two disks takes a very modern look at about two hundred years of history, but I am not going to remember which two hundred. It was so long ago that people no longer seem to be concerned about how everyone involved managed to absorb all of the financial costs involved. Warfare often upsets some apple carts, and this presentation of the Crusades is openly aware of aristocratic ambition that could be condemned as a desire for conquest while it remains mired in the inversion of spiritual values which prompted the institutional churches at that time to consider each pathetic episode a great thing for one reason or another.

My intellectual bias in this area is that no college professor could have made a better version of a history for our times. Back in 1995, the nature of the Order of Assassins with its suicide squads high from hashish was hardly as important as it is in the world since September 11, 2001, but on the other side, the financial suicide involved in trying to change the nature of the Middle East by military invasion was as clear then as more recent expeditions threatening to last another two hundred years boggle the mind today. I might be taking a stand that is too political for 2004, which might be a year in which people in America try to impose their own interest in intelligence, competence, and living within the limits of our ability to absorb losses. This series of television shows puts a lot of emphasis on the extraordinary wealth of Constantinople and Egypt in those times, when military equipment also had a high price. What really gets your goat the first time through this series, though, is the treachery: cities plundered, caravans attacked, truces violated, and hostages held for ransom.

People with pride might feel that this DVD set is trying to chip away at it by using ridicule as the ultimate weapon against everything that used to consider itself great, and well they might. They should, too. Why am I giving this stars? Why can't I give it ARFs?

ARF, ARF, ARF, ARF, ARF!

As balanced as Humpty-Dumpty
Call this history? Try Monty Python and the Holy Grail for deeper insight, historical content and accuracy.

Giggle and Learn!
Who better than Terry Jones (Say no more, say no more, nudge nudge wink wink) to host a fresh look at warfare - in the name of Religion mind you - during the Middles Ages?

Rather conceited, in the name of reclaiming the Holy Lands (excuse for adventure and to loot!) - The Church not only encouraged the Crusades but sponsored them! It was a way a Knight could pay dispensation for sins of life and earn his way to heaven - by lopping of the heads of the Infidel (and stealing everything they had). For Centuries, involving the royal heads of France, Britain and Europe, the seemingly endless Crusades raged on and on. So who better to explain the unexplainable madness, but the head jester himself!

Terry Jones wrote each episode and starred as the host, trying to muddle through the mounds of nonsense involved everything connected to the religious sponsored mayhem. With his brilliantly incisive humour that made Monty Python was it was, he dons chain mail and pointy toe armour and has it.

It is great fun for the whole family and a painless way to have a good introduction to the Crusades. ... Read more

Reviews (30)

A True Classic in International Cinema
Filmed in the style of the screwball comedies of the 1950's, Pedro Almodovar's classic, "Women on the Verge of the Nervous Breakdown," is widely seen as the Spanish director's greatest directorial effort ever, due to his witty script, wonderful use of colors and schemes, and his ability to capture the range of emotions women possess.

The story, which revolves around a jilted woman (Carmen Maura in her final film collaboration with Almodovar) in search of her lover (Fernando Guillen) might sound like a melodrama at first, however if you mix in a bit of zany subplot and an array of classic characters, and you got yourself a comedy classic.

Pepa (Maura) finds out that her longtime lover Ivan has left her for another woman. Pepa, who works with Ivan dubbing foreign films into Spanish, discovers that she is expecting a child, and must convey this important message to Ivan in hopes of convincing him to return.

In her search for Ivan, she discovers that Ivan's ex-wife Lucia (Julieta Serrano) has been released from the asylum that has taken care of her since her breakup with Ivan. She also discovers that Ivan has a son (Antonio Banderas) she never was told about, and due to a series of coincidental encounters, they encounter each other.

Pepa doesn't seem to be the only person having love problems. Her best friend Candela (Maria Barranco) has discovered that her Arab boyfriend and his friends are actually Shiite terrorists planning to hijack the next flight to Stockholm. Scared, confused, and out of her mind, Candela finds refuge in Pepa's penthouse, and along with Pepa, Carlos (Banderas), and Carlos' fiance (Rossie de Palma), the madcap hysteria that will overtake the later half of the film takes place.

Using a wide selection of colors that benefit from the film's use of Technicolor, Almodovar has definitely creating a visual feats of patterns, objects (notice the clocks at the beginning), cityscapes (Madrid's famous skyline), and especially colors (as the main character, Pepa is identified by reds, which probably is Almodovar's tribute to American director Nicholas Ray and his famous use of Technicolor red in the classic "Rebel Without a Cause"). Other eye-catching objects that make this film truly wonderful include Candela's coffeepot earrings (they became a major fashion accessory in Spain and Latin America in the early 1990's) and the campy cab decor that the driver of the Mambo Taxi (Guillermo Montesinos) has adopted for his cab.

Almodovar also adopted a wide selection of beautiful and popular music and songs to tell his story. "Soy Infeliz," by Lola Beltran and "Puro Teatro," by La Lupe are eternal classics thanks to this film. His selection of the rarely heard, yet beautiful compositions by Russian composer Rimsky-Korsakov ("The Story of the Kalandar Prince" from Scheherezade-Symphonic Suite, Op. 35 AND the "Fandango Asturiano," from Capriccio Espagnol. Op. 34) gives the film both a feeling of relaxation and fiery anger.

"Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown," marks a totally new direction in Spanish cinema. The end of the censorship that was widely well known during the Franco regime of the past allowed Almodovar and many new Spanish directors to explore filmmaking without any restrictions. This film, which was nominated for Best Foreign Film at the Academy Awards in 1989, went on to win many awards including several Goya awards (Spain's highest film awards) and Maura went on to win Best Actress at the Venice Film Festival. Truly, this was her greatest role, and Almodovar knew that he wanted to give his audience a major overdose of Maura that the audience will likely beg for more. He was right, and Maura's performance is considered to be one of the greatest performances by non-English speaking actress in recent years.

If you're looking for an amazing, funny, and visual film, then "Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown" is the best choice to fulfill your search. I have seen this movie over 30 times, and I can't get tired of it. It is a true cult classic, and it only illustrates the genius that Almodovar is. The DVD edition contains English, French, and Spanish subtitles and the film's promotional trailers.

Watch it and tell your friends about it!
Hollywood sure doesn't make movies like it used to. For instance, screwball comedies that immortalized the likes of Cary Grant, Jimmy Stewart and Katherine Hepburn in the 30s and 40s were abandoned after Jack Lemmon and Billy Wilder stopped making them in the 60s. But no matter. That grand old wacky tradition continues; it just moved across the Atlantic to get updated with a European facelift at the hands of Pedro Almodovar.

So hop on your motorcycle with your granny or catch a cab, run to the grocery store, grab yourself a glass of gazpacho (hold the sleeping pills!) and watch this hilarious movie. Subtitles be damned, you'll love this no matter what! If you can watch this without huge belly laughs, you're simply not human!

Universal Shennanigans
In 'Women On The Verge Of A Nervous Breakdown', Pedro Almodovar subtley overturns traditional gender stereotypes. Outside of the shennanigans she encounters from place to place, Pepa takes stock of her situation in the taxi that carries her between buildings. Its here she recognizes that the mechanics of motorcycles are much easier to fathom than those of male psychology. Ivan's first wife Lucia, remains in the 60's fashion she was wearing when he left her. It's almost as if time stopped for her the moment he left. The array of colours seem to be used as a metaphor for the full and intense emotions of the women involved, compared to the grey and black of Carlos and Ivan.

Apparently Almodovar had to film the balcony scenes in a studio because the downtown skyline of Madrid is now just a sea of office and apartment buildings. Almodovar has never made any secret of the fact that a director should "never borrow, but steal if it is justified" from another director. Witness his homage to Hitchcock's 'Rear Window' when Pepa looks across the street into Lucia's apartment building.

It's ironic that in his native Spain, Pedro Almodovar finally broke free from being described as a 'cult' director to being appreciated by a wider audience with the massive success of this film. Meanwhile in the U.S., the film was specifically marketed by Orion as a 'minority' picture aimed at an Hispanic and female audience. They must have been pleasantly surprised when the audiences for this film crossed racial and gender barriers.

From an Almodovar fan, "like a child with his new toy"
casually, while shopping, i found this DVD in a store... i remember i saw this movie once, a long time ago...the price was fine, a whole new movie for my eyes, i took it home... what happened next, i can't explain by words: just put the disc on the player, turn on the tv and begin laughing, just from the overture to the end!!! The music is excellent, the ideal song for every moment on the movie... the caracters, from the main to the most secondary, has its whole story inside the movie... the camera shows everything important, even smallest details... and the story, classic from Almodovar: a lot of people, that appears to be distant and different from each other, join at the end, to make one of the funniest movies ever!! Only from Almodovar's mind can come a story so complicated to explain by words, so insane and desperating, but that makes you get into it, understand it, and love it. Well, that's my appreciation from "Mujeres al borde de un ataque de nervios", in its original language, so i hope the translated version makes you feel the same

We can't help but stare
We cannot help but stare in awe as this movie unfolds in all its technicolor glory and darkly twisted wit.
Ms Maura's performance ranks up there with some of the best.
Cinematography and Art Direction are spectacular.

Perhaps not understood by all, Aldomovar's films borrow from those mundane moments of life and gives us all the range of human emotions that many films strive for but fall short. ... Read more

Description

A young coffee salesman rises to the top, only to fall and rise again. ... Read more

Reviews (21)

watch this movie
I can't really describe how I feel about this movie. I would love to just make you watch it. I am writing this because I felt a need to write a review for the soundtrack, now on cd. I found myself constantly talking about how much I love this movie. The music is incorporated into the film directly. So much so that McDowell(Travis) and Price(Price) actually exchange words at one point(and in the middle of one of Price's songs). Price's personality is felt everywhere. At a middle point, Price's band rescues Travis from a mad doctor(see Brittania Hospital)and appear proper in the film. The film itself was based partly on the character from "If.." and partly on McDowell's own experience as a coffee salesman. It is the middle part of Travis's trilogy. In my review of the soundtrack, you will see how I feel that Price's soundtrack adds to the tone and personality of the film. As serendipitous as Travis's adventures are, you can see layers of humanity peel away. To say something definite about it would just ruin the plot and theme. There are alot of scenes that are mockingly anti-authoritarian. And some creepy "things to be" scenes. Also, there are cold political reality scenes that still resonate. All that said, it is really Travis' story. Just watch it. The talents are huge and the movie is bleak. You will never see another movie like this again.

Inspirational! Cynical! Wonderful!
My all-round favorite film. Favorite because of its scope, Brit humor and enduring power to pick me up when I am down. Malcom McDowell's expressions throughout are bildungsroman in action. Music is amazing, and heralded a life-long love affair (sadly from a distance) with Alan Price, a sort of music hall Randy Newman. Band/party sequences are fabulous! Movie endures beyond intellectual collegiate urge to deconstruct symbolism. I like it even better than Shirley Temple's The Little Princess, another fave. Better than Robert Altman. 'Course, I'm one of the few who like Ishtar (at least parts)....But then I also adored Bullworth.

lucky to say the least
I recently watched O Lucky Man again with a friend who was watching it for the first time, and I became accutely aware of the feelings I had when I first watched it. It was an exhilarating and inspirational experience. I envied my friend for a moment and then I got back to the picture...and I realized how much better this movie gets after repeated viewings. Wow!

But as so many have said here in these reviews, a DVD release (Criterion are YOU listening??) packed with extras is sooooo overdue. I've only ever seen this film on vhs and I'm salivating at the thought of seeing it on DVD...

It'll be like watching it for the first time...

O Lucky Viewers
Everytime I see pictures of the flemish painter Heironymous Bosch and then see Lindsey Anderson in this movie I think, gee he looks just like Bosch; kinda makes movies like Bosch paints as well. His loosely connected Mick Travis trilogy: if.., O' Lucky Man and Britannia Hospital often look like the typical Bosch tryptich, in which the left panel shows man's expulsion from a distorted forboding man's view of "heaven"; in if..'s case a British authoritarian boarding school, while the right side of Bosch's tryptichs show the twisted tortuous hell that man merits from his sins on earth; in Britannia Hospital's case, an insane asylum diguised as a government run hospital where death is certain from the most disgustingly violent experiments and sponsered by bureaucratic sadists. In the middle of these moralty paintings is the incendiary display of sins man commits. And it is here that we often find the most engaging bits of Bosch's work where so much happens in an instant as viewing a painting, which, actually takes years to see it all. O' Lucky Man is very much designed in this fashion even if it wasn't intentional. We get elements from this movie that may never be fully realized again in film; a dismal prospect indeed. Innovations actually abound with this revolutionary film. We have it's soundrack and score composer not only effectively weigh commentary on the movie's long suffering but affably earnest protagonist Travis (played with astonishing exuberence and charm by Malcolm McDowell), but that the singer (Alan Price, formerly of the Animals) even interacts with him in the film. As innovative and amusing as that technique was, the soundrack can still stand on it's own as one of the greatest and most relevant to a film plot ever written. Tell anyone who goes on a job interview or for that matter, hates their job to listen to the world weary idiosyncratic bliss in the song Poor People, a song that sticks forever in the souls of those who loved this movie like honey melting on hot toast crumpets. All in all, a very touching ode to smiling down disaster.
Many may twitch at the seemingly overindulgent symbolism going on and the lengthy running time and disjointed feel of this epic. They may also get confused by the hilarious running gag of the actors playing repeated roles. I found it fun beyond a roll in the hay to catch when each player shows up again and again several times over then bust out in laughter when Travis actually recognizes the lusciously charming Helen Mirren groupie character Patricia who showed up in episodes before his stint in jail, then looking at her talent agency clerk character with puzzling bewilderment a few moments later as if he had no clue. As Mick, Malcolm McDowell can come off as enthusiastic and gullible then believably struggle with frustration, cynicism, and finally dogged determination to be "good" then giving up only to be thwacked back into his trademark grin. The writing is all over his vastly expressive face and makes this one of his most unforgettable portrayals, completly abscent is the casual sadism that has garnered him praise but unfortunate typecasting down the road. This is a must see movie for fans of his villian work who want to see his range; simply brilliant work.
It is also a film that is astonishingly relevant to how capitalist societies still function. We're often amazed at how we havn't changed much from our need to divest in our homeland to rape another for the needs of the selfish. Granted the film is long and bitingly sardonic and perhaps that idealism causes a slower decay then Anderson might have imagined. Still, many of the films relevant lines about dying like dogs, radio commentary on Zen and revolution being the opium of intellectuals ring strong in the hearts of anyone who questions their existence and worth in the world. This seems to be the one true everyman type of film as surreal as it may be. There is just something so satisfying in just hearing the characters walking, which sounds strikingly like marching. And it happens almost everytime before our poor boy Travis gets a beating. It is a movie that has to be seen and heard repeatedly. Defintely buy this film. For anyone who cares, if you managed to tape the uncut British version of the film when it ran on some obscure cable stations back in the early 90s, you may have gold in your hands; the deleted 'My Home Town' suicide sequence is there. Yes, like a Boscsh picture, there is so much to see in this gem and we are all the luckier for having it in our lives.

YEAH
I give this movie 5 stars because they just don't make 'em like this anymore. Also, when I read comments where folks bash the 70's, I simply wonder,I mean WONDER-what are they comparing the 1970's to??? Today? WHAT? You have got to be kidding? O Lucky Man is a journeyman movie built with the rambling sober style so popular at the time. The soundtrack I found irritating BUT it's still classic and really the movie wouldn't be the same without it. Some of the images and scenes in this movie are simply in the very top of movie ideas, the very top. See this movie. And as far as dated, it is dated compared to Survivor, The Apprentice, Friends, The Reality Show, ad nauseum and all the rest of the Nothing Zone we call today's digital media culture offerings. Blah! Give me the ole rusty 70's any day of the week! ... Read more

Amazon.com essential video

Manhattan, Woody Allen's follow-up to Oscar-winning Annie Hall, is a film of many distinctions: its glorious all-Gershwin score, its breathtakingly elegant black-and-white, widescreen cinematography by Gordon Willis (best-known for shooting the Godfather movies); its deeply shaded performances; its witty screenplay that marked a new level in Allen's artistic maturity; and its catalog of Things that Make Life Worth Living. But Manhattan is also distinguished in the realm of home video as the first motion picture to be released only in a widescreen version. You wouldn't want to see it any other way. Allen's "Rhapsody in Gray" concerns, as his own character puts it, "people in Manhattan who are constantly creating these real, unnecessary, neurotic problems for themselves, because it keeps them from dealing with more unsolvable, terrifying problems about the universe." It's a romantic comedy about infidelity and betrayal, the rules of love and friendship, young girls (a radiant and sweet Mariel Hemingway) and older men (Allen), innocence, and sophistication. (a favorite phrase is used to describe a piece of sculpture at the Guggenheim: "It has a marvelous kind of negative capability.") The movie's themes can be summed up in two key lines: "I can't believe you met somebody you like better than me," and "It's very important to have some kind of personal integrity." OK, so they may not sound like such sparkling snatches of brilliant dialogue, but Manhattan puts those ideas across with such emotion that you feel an ache in your heart. --Jim Emerson ... Read more

Reviews (74)

One of Allen's best
While I would have to say that Allen's "Crimes and Misdemeanors" is better than this, "Manhattan" is still an amazing movie. Even if the script was terrible (it isn't), the characters flat (they aren't) and the great moral undertone not present (it is) the cinematography and soundtrack alone would make this movie stand out. "Manhattan" was Woody Allen's love letter to New York, filled with sweeping images of the city accompanied by terrific Gershwin music. It's a good thing he wouldn't let anybody release it unletterboxed.
But, of course, there is more to a movie than cinematography. "Manhattan" is funny (it's a Woody Allen movie, for goodness sakes), poignant, uplifting, and wonderfully intelligent. The scene near the end of the film that depicts the confrontation between Allen and his friend Yale (Michael Murphy) is one of the best scenes I've ever had the pleasure to see. The single shot of Allen, putting his face in the same frame with a vaguely Allenesque skeleton's face, is one of those things that you don't notice the first time around but on repeated viewings recognize as one of the best things about the movie.
The only people I have ever seen give bad reviews to this movie are those who point out that Allen's character is committing statuatory rape. This is true, but it's not necessarily glorified - if anything, it fits into the movie's strongest point about morality. In a world where most people who make accepted points about morality say that it's relative and accuse others of trying to be God, it's wonderful to see a film in which somebody answers to that very argument, "I gotta model myself after someone!"

I'll Take Manhattan
Easily of of the best American films of all time, Allen examines relationships and life in this funny/bittersweet story set with NYC as the backdrop. Beautiful CinemaScope photography, Woody's typical neurotic cast of characters, Gershwin score, excellent acting, all come together despite Sandy Morse's non-editing talents. This was the Woody I loved... Mr. Annie Hall, now unfortunately, a man that has literally become a characature of himself. Too bad for us... What happened to you Woody?

Diane Keaton, Michael Murphy, Meryl Streep, Wally Shawn, and (especially) Mariel Hemmingway seemlessly float around Allen's chatracter flawlessly, as the film surges towards a realistic but sad end as Allen and 17 year old Hemmingway part. Funny how life imitates art (as Woody is now married literally to Rosemary's Baby).

Despite my hostility (as Allen would say), don't miss this film. It's everything that Manhattan is, and more.

PS - if you ever have a chance to see it on a big screen, do so...!

Better Than Annie Hall
This is how a black and white should be filmed. And in the perfect location. I'm not a Woody Allen fan but this is just simply an excellent film. Funny, smart, insightful and emminently watchable.

A timeless christmas gift for New York!
Woody Allen made a pictoric statement ; an artistic gift of countless carats ; an etarnal portrait for the next generations who will watch this picture with the same devotion we have in front a masterpiece in the Metropolitan , Louvre or any other prestigious museum in the world.
The story turns as a leit motive in many films of this clever film maker , about the disturbing relationship between two lovers , the loneliness , the no sense living who seems work out for many people in a city as NY that owns the sublime virtue of being capable of renovating to itself from time to time . This is the clue why we love so much this unique city .
The opening shots shows Allen who is left by his wife (Meryl Streep) for another woman ; this bitter sight is linked with the fact Woody falls in love with a teenager that it might be well his own daughter (Mariel Hemingway) ; notice this relationship is built for the Pygmalion effect. She admires him and eventually falls in love with him when she compares his rich gaze about the world with the routiny of her friends ; flat and deepless.
In the middle of this emotional chaos the rendezvous to NYC emerges from time to time with unforgettable images . Gordon Willis stole the show with this arresting landscapes. He caught the mythical essence of this caleidoscopic city: irreverent , creative , seductive , challenging but fascinating . However Allen knew show the viewer the underestimated wonderful treasures that by one or several reasons some proportion of the people who lives there it doesn't seem to realize . Once more the sight of an artist is to make open the eyes and alterate the usual perspectives of the reality , creating a new one.
And Allen made it . Bravo!

all-white stuttering misanthrope in black and white
Does it bother anyone else that in what the director himself cals an "idealized New York" there are never any people of color? I'm talking about all of Woody Allen's films, not just this smug, prettily photographed, over-rated film. Wait, I've just been told that there is a black extra standing silently in the background of a party scene in Hannah and Her Sisters. I guess I'm wrong.

Why are people so crazy for this nasty, self-absorbed hack? ... Read more

Reviews (212)

Comedy For All Eternity
It's a Mad Mad Mad Mad World is a comedy for all eternity. This is one of those big box, big budget, long-running-time, cameo-loaded, expensive, broad-canvas farces of the 60's that I love so much. Released in 1962, this was one of Stanley Kramer's greatest and last movies. This award-winning movie is a timeless masterpiece for the whole family.

After a bouncy, splashy Saul Bass animated title sequence, the story begins with a brief car chase in the California desert. Bank robber Smiler Grogan (Jimmy Durante) wrecks his car, and with his dying words reveals a secret about buried treasure to the seven strangers who stopped on the roadside. 'Look for the big W' in Santa Rosita, he says, and then he kicks the bucket.

After a brief attempt at cooperation, the treasure hunt is on and it's every man for himself, in four teams. Mickey Rooney and Buddy Hackett decide to take to the air but their pilot, Jim Backus, gets hammered on Old Fashioneds. Husband-and-wife Sid Caesar and Edie Adams can only find a biplane cropduster. The lone truck driver, Jonathan Winters, can't get gas. And his mother-in-law Ethel Merman fatally hampers Milton Berle, with his wife Dorothy Provine.

So all four teams scamper across the landscape, across the broad canvas of this movie, wound tight by desperate greed and calmly monitored by a Sergeant Culpepper, Spencer Tracy. This is the framing story for an amazing string of billed appearances and unbilled cameos so many that at last your senses are sort of dulled. Oh, it's Carl Reiner in the control tower. Oh, look, it's Stan Freberg, yeah. The best cameo, hands down, is Jerry Lewis, who comes barreling down Long Beach Boulevard in a moment of exuberant stupidity and runs over Spencer Tracy's hat.

Probably my favorite, I have so many, co-star was Terry Thomas who plays a vacationing Englishman in a rattling station wagon, who picks up Milton Berle. He's talkative. He prattles away (accurately) about why it is that the American male is positively preoccupied with booo-sums, and says things like, "I'll wager you anything you like, if American women stopped wearing brassieres, your whole national economy would collapse overnight!" This sequence, within the context of the movie so far, has a single funny moment when this whole vast farce might come alive, find its voice, and this circus might make sense - Terry-Thomas finds the tone for the rest of the movie. I find it compelling that the aesthetic success of all this footage, all these appearances, all this thoroughly American spectacle, suddenly pivots around a few fussy syllables about breasts. But once the moment passes, Terry-Thomas is efficiently neutralized and dismissed by Ethel Merman, and on we go.

The array of challengers eventually reach Santa Rosita, and several unexplainably humorous events occur. These I will not reveal to you and allow you to view the movie on your own time. I must add though, that if you do see this movie, reserve several hours. Like most from its decade its LONG... VERY LONG... But allow me to assure you, you wont be disappointed.

Madness is Genius
Eight traveling vacationers witness the sudden car-crash and slow final death of con-man Smiler Grogan in the hills above Palm Desert, Cal.. Grogan's dying words reveal the secret location of $350,000 hidden in Santa Rosita Park, near San Diego. This sparks a wild, hectic race for the dough. Pure greed,buried treasure, and car crashes. It's all here. "It's a Mad,Mad,Mad, Mad World" was the most successful movie directed by ace Stanley Kramer. All of the famous television and film comics from 1963 appear in this wild comedy. Only Bob Hope is missing. The cast includes Milton Berle, Sid Caesar, Phil Silvers, Jerry Lewis, Joe E. Brown, The Three Stooges, Buster Keaton, Jimmy Durante, Jack Benny, Jonathan Winters, and Spencer Tracy. Ernest Gold composed an original booming, wonderful soundtrack you'll be humming for days. At two hours and 41 minutes, "Mad World" is too long, but an incredible cast and mad-cap action propel the story along. This new MGM DVD is presented in widescreen anamorphic 2.35:1 aspect. The colors are crisp and vibrant. The "Mad World" DVD includes an excellent 1991 documentary with all the major surviving cast members. There's also 1 hour of "out-takes", faded and damaged, from the original Cinerama 70mm release. And there's two trailers. The year 2001 produced an obvious remake of "Mad World" called "Rat Race", a modest hit. Stanley Kramer and Spencer Tracy made 4 classic films together. The last was the inspiring "Guess Who's Coming to Dinner" in 1967. In ill health, sadly, Tracy died just days after shooting ended. Stanley Kramer himself died in Feb. 2001. His genius is now gone. His legacy lies before you.

It's a Bad, Bad, Bad, Bad DVD
I would give this DVD 5 stars if all the movie was here, but it isn't, hence 3 stars. There's no excuse for this considering that no major restoration has been attempted here, the storage capabilities of DVDs are huge, and MGM has already released the full-length movie on VHS. The deleted scene feature is a mess. Watching the scenes seperately is tedious and not much fun. The least they could do would be to put the deleted scenes in the order that they appeared in the original film. The third and fourth scenes appear to be exactly the same as do others later on. Sometimes the scene appears the same only zoomed in. Others scenes have no sound. Some of the last scenes go on and on up to 10 minutes and contains everything that is included in the feature except for very minor snippets of dialogue. Sometimes you can't detect anything new, like in the money dividing proposal scene.

I can see why MGM would want to keep their pristine 35mm print whole and transfer that to DVD but perhaps they should have included a 2nd disc and a 2nd version that patched together all the missing scenes, no matter what condition, and reconstructed the film as best as they could to the longest originally released version.

MGM, when you finally "Special Edition" this movie offer a rebate with the proof of purchase from this inferior edition!

Best, Most Memorable Comedy Ever Made !!
I originally saw the movie in '63. I was 8. Dad started my Birthday party with it. After the movie, Dad drove the route of the Santa Monica portion of the car chase(yes, there really was a "Big W").
Just finished watching the movie on Turner TV. The narrator came on after the movie and said that THE ORIGINAL WAS 5 HOURS long(Just too much "good stuff"). The movie studio had it edited to the shortened current version of three hours.
Back in '63 it was a terrific movie-In '04 it is still a terrific movie.

An all star cast of comics, great comedy

Director: Stanley Kramer
Format: Color
Studio: Mgm/Ua Studios
Video Release Date: September 26, 1995

Cast:

Spencer Tracy ... Capt. T.G. Culpeper
Milton Berle ... J. Russell Finch
Sid Caesar ... Melville Crump, DDS
Buddy Hackett ... Benjy Benjamin
Ethel Merman ... Mrs. Marcus
Mickey Rooney ... Ding 'Dingy' Bell
Dick Shawn ... Sylvester Marcus
Phil Silvers ... Otto Meyer
Terry-Thomas ... Lt.Col. J. Algernon Hawthorne
Jonathan Winters ... Lennie Pike
Edie Adams ... Monica Crump
Dorothy Provine ... Emeline Marcus-Finch
Eddie 'Rochester' Anderson ... Second cab driver
Jim Backus ... Tyler Fitzgerald
Ben Blue ... Biplane pilot
Joe E. Brown ... Union official
Alan Carney ... Police sergeant
Chick Chandler ... Detective outside Chinese laundromat
Barrie Chase ... Sylvester's girlfriend
Lloyd Corrigan ... The Mayor
William Demarest ... Police Chief Aloysius
Andy Devine ... Sheriff of Crockett County
Selma Diamond ... Ginger Culpeper
Peter Falk ... Third cab driver
Norman Fell ... Detective at Grogan's crash site
Paul Ford ... Col. Wilberforce
Stan Freberg ... Deputy sheriff
Louise Glenn ... Billie Sue Culpeper
Leo Gorcey ... First cab driver
Sterling Holloway ... Fire Chief
Edward Everett Horton ... Mr. Dinckler
Marvin Kaplan ... Irwin
Buster Keaton ... Jimmy the boatman
Don Knotts ... Nervous man
Charles Lane ... Airport manager
Mike Mazurki ... Miner
Charles McGraw ... Lt. Matthews
Cliff Norton ... Reporter
Zasu Pitts ... Switchboard operator Gertie
Carl Reiner ... Tower controller at Rancho Conejo
Madlyn Rhue ... Secretary Schwartz
Roy Roberts ... Policeman outside Irwin & Ray's Garage
Arnold Stang ... Ray
Nick Stewart ... Migrant truck driver
Joe DeRita ... Fireman
Larry Fine ... Fireman
Moe Howard ... Fireman
Sammee Tong ... Chinese laundryman
Jesse White ... Radio tower operator at Rancho Conejo
Jimmy Durante ... Smiler Grogan
Roy Engel ... Patrolman/Police radio voice unit F-14
Nicholas Georgiade ... Detective at Grogan's crash site
Stacy Harris ... Police radio voice unit F-7
Don C. Harvey ... Policeman in helicopter
Allen Jenkins ... Police officer
Tom Kennedy ... Traffic cop
Harry Lauter ... Police dispatcher
Ben Lessy ... George the steward
Jerry Lewis ... Man who runs over hat
Bob Mazurki ... Eddie (miner's son)
Jack Benny ... Man in car in desert
Eddie Ryder ... Air traffic control tower staffer
Paul Birch ... Policeman
Doodles Weaver ... Dinckler's Hardware Store clerk
Stanley Clements ... Detective in squad room
Bobo Lewis ... Pilot's wife
Minta Durfee ... Bit Part

Intended to be the comedy to end all comedies, with a cast including virtually all the name comedians at the time.

Jimmy Durante plays a guy who is in a fatal auto accident, but before he dies, tells 5 bystanders where there is $350,000 hidden under a "W", whuch leads to a chase to find the money.

Meanwhile, Capt. T.G. Culpeper (Spencer Tracy) is aware of the stolen money and he and his policemen observe the chase with interest through the desert, mountains, and along the California coast, with the contestants using aircraft, cars, trucks, a bicycle and every method of transportation in their attempt to be first to reach the money.

Tracy was ill when the film was shot, and so only worked four hours per day. The long shots and physical stuff was performed by stand-ins.

This is a fun movie. If there is a criticism, it is that the comedy is perhaps overdone. With so many top comedians, there is certainly no dearth of funny lines, pratfalls, and laughs--that's for sure.

Joseph (Joe) Pierre

author of Handguns and Freedom...their care and maintenance
and other books

... Read more

Amazon.com

Triumph of the Nerds won legions of computer-skeptical and computer-naive viewers with its mix of minutiae and hip techniques. Going one step further into the digital maze, Nerds 2.0.1: A Brief History of the Internet operates as a sequel of sorts to the surprise docu-hit. Just as its precursor chronicled the rise of empires built on computer software, Nerds 2.0.1 collects interviews from key players in the development of the Internet. Fashionably hip in its visual feel, the film begins by amassing data on the net's crowning, collaborative irony: conceived in the Pentagon during the counterculture's smokiest high point by members--dare it be said--of the military industrial complex, the Net developed on the axis of university research networks and Deadhead (as in the Grateful Dead) electronic bulletin boards. Much of the rest has become history, but Internet and computer industry pundit Robert X. Cringley makes the narrative a jumping, attractive embrace of being a nerd. Interviews with Bill Gates, Mark Andreesen, and Steve Case make these three hours (three tapes slipcased in a nice box) fly by. --Andrew Bartlett ... Read more

Reviews (13)

High motivation and Detail
This is a very exciting video about the origin, history, developments, success and failures of the Internet. It has good detail in the topics and companies that refers, but it does not touch every important(historical level) company in the net. Perhaps less time for "excite" and jokes, and more time to relevant companies and phenomena.

Great Video revealing the history of networking, internet.
I belive this is one of the greatest video on the subject of internet and world wide web. It gives a clear picture of the internet and world wide web. It commends the work of great research scientists who were not recognised for their initial achievements. It gives an idea how the internet emerged and how big companies like 3com, Cisco came into existence. This is great story of all the nerds who worked hard (not for money) to achieve good things in their research. Finally I believe money is nothing and it all comes because of hardwork and luck.

Where's the DVD???
This is an excellent historical overview of the Internet and the World Wide Web! NERDS 2.0.1 picks up right where TRIUMPH OF THE NERDS left off. Both documentaies are very interesting, informative and somewhat comical...from beginning to end!

Hopefully NERDS 2.0.1 will be released on DVD soon! I already own TRIUMPH OF THE NERDS on DVD and these two programs really go great together. I'm keeping my fingers crossed.

Great Entertainment and Education
Fantastic view of a topic that has changed all of our lives. The video is very entertainig and a good source of information. Would recommend this to anyone wanting to learn more about the roots of the internet.

Vintage Internet
Parts of these tapes already look like the old Volkswagen in the Woody Allen movie "Sleeper." For instance, the students who started Excite are all caught in their gloriously self-centered success, which didn't last long, it turns out, but did stoke them each with millions.

Cringely is eloquent, in words and in deeds. The shot of him driving in a convertible along a freeway, while holding forth about the internet as a big pipeline, is a great way to cast an image. His patient tracing of how the internet emerged from simple attempts to hook one computer to another, and get them to communicate meaningful information is also very well done, and penetrates to the level of the PhD thesis written in 1959 that laid out the binary math basis for it all in the first place.\

The tension between the hippie beginnings of the communitarian internet, and the later proprietary commercialization of the medium is also profiled, with subthemes like how to lose control of your company, played out in interviews with 3Com's Metcalfe, who also articulated "Metcalfe's law."

These videos stand on their own feet, but also on the shoulders of the book, written by Stephen Segaller, who wrote it, amazingly, for PBS. So look, some good things can come out of PBS after all(!). Segaller's book is, as you might suspect, much more detailed, but only the video takes you to Microsoft's campus, or shows you the inventor of an early wireless internet, Norm Abramson, years later standing on a beach holding a surfboard with his current corporate logo plastered in dead-center. Perhaps another symbol of hippie-goes-Ferrari. The book and the video also touch on the fascinating history of Cisco, and the bitterness of former husband and wife Sandy Lerner and Len Bosack, toward their first V.C., Don Valentine. The video has Sandy sitting in front of her English country mansion, and also Len, speculating on the existence of sentient beings elsewhere in the universe.

So most of these people were and still are complete nerds, and but for their work, we too would have to be nerds to use our computers. So thanks, nerds, for being nerds, so I don't have to be. ... Read more

Reviews (47)

It's the Cheese!
Note: This movie is about Dr. Hunter S. Thompson. And for those of you who already know this, I've read that Thompson was not happy with the outcome of this production. Based on other things I've read, it is my interpretation that he was unhappy with the storyline and not the acting. What you must keep in mind is that this movie was made in 1980. It was meant as a comedy and starred a cast member of SNL. But then again, Blues Brothers was a huge hit. The movie met with crappy reviews and had a short lived theater run-time. I happen to be a huge Hunter Thompson fan and love everything Thompson. I know all of Thompsons books and as much as he doesn't want to admit it, this movie is pretty much the man. This is not for everyone. Many would find it silly. In fact it is silly. I suppose the question would be: Do you Fear you might Loath this film? If that question exists in you, you simply MUST find out for yourself. If you don't understand the question, you're too late. Me? I loved it.

"It never got weird enough for me"
Supposedly Hunter Thompson said he didn't like this movie although he said he thought Bill Murray did a great job of portraying him. Something like that. I loved this movie. I barely knew who Thompson was when I saw it the first time and now I have all of his books. I couldn't believe this was on The Book of Lists 10 worst movies of all times. Screw The Book of Lists! They have the 10 worst movie reviewers of all times. Thompson has had two movies made about him already and he's still going strong. That must be some kind of record. I liked this one better than "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas" although Johnny Depp did a great job in that one. And it's really interesting to me how few people even know who Hunter Thompson is. If you're a biker (motorcyle variation) you got to read "The Song of the Sausage Creation" article that he wrote for Cycle World Magazine back around 1995. Bad Craziness! They should make a movie from that article.

the funniest movie i have seen in a long time
I am a hard critic when it comes to comedy movies. This movie was one of the best comedy movies i have seen in 6 months. You will want to c this movie over and over again

I agree. DO NOT Buy the Anchor Bay release of this film!
Anchor Bay bought the rights to this film and for some reason only included a couple of the original songs. And they still advertise on the package that there is music from Bob Dylan and Jimi Hendrix. This music was taken out! Curse their flagrant lies! The music they added is some horrible studio band. The original music is a key part to this film. Why would any respectable video release company change an origianl film, and on top of it boast an advertisement for something that is not there? Find an original version of this film and
BOYCOTT ANCHOR BAY!

Sorry, but this was a baaaaddddd movie...
First of all, I don't like Bill Murray, so the rating will automatically be dropped to three stars because of that factor. And second of all, it was just so boring! I was forced to watch this as a 'family time' event and I'll admit that I felt like poking out my eyes! Poor Hunter S. Thompson ~ I feel so bad for him for being portrayed by Murray. Had I been him, I wouldn't have been happy one bit. While it wasn't the WORST movie I'd ever seen, it was certainly on the bottom of my list. ... Read more

Amazon.com

Anglophiles and Britcom aficionados will welcome the video of this delightful 1974 series based on the books by Charlotte Bingham. Happily, the sparkling dialogue and engaging characters wear much better than the actors' horribly dated '70s wardrobes. John Alderton and his real-life wife, Pauline Collins, star as C.D. and Clara, the George Burns and Gracie Allen of Hampstead, right down to the "Say goodnight, Clara" that closes each episode.

This boxed set contains the first seven episodes of the series. Episode 1 sets the stage as C.D. and Clara, who have been married, Clara notes, "nearly 10 years next Thursday a week on Monday," recall how they met at "Freddie's awful party." Framed by the couple's light banter, each of these episodes flashback chronologically to their often comically confused courtship and marriage.Oddly enough, we do not see them joined in (again, Clara's words) "holy deadlock," but instead join C.D. and Clara as they embark on their honeymoon and endeavor to keep their newly married status a secret (why they keep it a secret is a bit unclear) by pretending to be a boring, frustrated long-married couple.

"Life with Clara," C.D. observes at one point, "is not a bowl of cherries, it's a dish of blouse buttons." And in less expert hands, Clara could get tiresome quickly ("I tend to get things rather muddled," she confesses early on), but Pauline Collins (perhaps best known for her signature role as Shirley Valentine) plays her with a mischievous twinkle that make her leaps of illogic endearing. She particularly shines in episode 4, in which she resists C.D.'s efforts to make her dress more fashionably than like "the remnant of a disbanded folk group." --Donald Liebenson ... Read more

Reviews (7)

Very Cute
I saw these shows on public TV several years ago, and I fell in love with this couple. The girlfriend is extremely daffy, and her beau is a laid back kind of guy. I am pleased to find that they are on video.

fantastic video series finally on video!
I remember watching No, Honestly in the 70s and I have been looking for these videos for years! It is great that they have finally been released. Pauline Collins is terrific! These videos are highly recommended!

Oh, Honestly!
This show is very seventies and in my opinion, very good! The characters, CD and Clara recount the events leading up to their marriage. Clara is as cute as a whip and a bit scatterbrained and CD is most understanding and usually the recipient of all the disasters that befall them. A most entertaing show that really is funny in a nice clean sort of way. I give this show two wrench's up!

Wonderful, delightful, witty -- British humor at its best!
No, Honestly is a wonderfully funny British comedy showcasing the comedic talents of Pauline Collins and John Alderton as two young people who meet, fall in love, and eventually marry. The viewer is presented with a tour-de-force of wit and hilarity, as we see Charles (John Alderton), a struggling young actor and Clara (Pauline Collins) a kind of British Gracie Allen, look back fondly on their early days together through comical flashbacks that include football teams, parties, parents, friends, and the sometimes bewildering process of falling truly, madly, unexpectedly in love. No, Honestly will prove a delightful and very popular addition to any community library video entertainment collection.

A real treat from two comedic superstars
Since Mr. Liebenson's in-house review says much of what Iplanned to say, I thought I might expand on some of the details. Thereference to Burns and Allen is very apt but with a difference. Burns' timing to Gracie's inanities is slow, letting the audience have their laugh at her line before laughing at his reaction. With this Alderton and Collins, the delivery is rapid-fire; and indeed there are times when I had to ask my wife, "Did you catch that last remark?" because some of the zingers went by too quickly. And of course, those based on British idioms need footnotes for us Colonials.

As with Hyacinth Bucket's family relations, Clara's loopiness is obviously inherited from her parents, who will insist on misinterpreting everything they are told. Into this menage, Royal the super-Jeeves butler fits in perfectly.

The concept of chronological plots in these seven episodes is a good one from their first chance meeting to their (well, it was only 1974!) off-camera wedding night. And, by the way, their reason for not wanting to be known as newlyweds is explained--and fairly logically too, for Clara!--at the start of the episode.

The funniest two of the seven are those based on mistaken identity, that hoary device that goes back to Terence. The 3rd episode has C.D. arrive at his future in-laws just in time to be mistaken for the plumber with predictable results. The 5th episode is more elaborate, when an orphaned C.D. asks two fellow actors to appear as his parents at a dinner given at Clara's, just when her family has to hire temporary help to serve it. Once we accept the silliness of his not wanting to be known as parentless and the premise that no one in these scripts ever really tries to explain a thing in a normal manner, the results are not predictable at all; and this single episode alone is, I think, worth the price of the set.

Now if Acorn Media will only reissue these two wonderful comedians in the "Wodehouse Playhouse" series of "Mulliner" stories, life would be that much more perfect. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Beauty of Ireland
Excellent video. It brought back wonderful memories of my past trip to Ireland. It also gave me new ideas for my next trip. The video has a wonderful blend of lanscape, culture, and history. Unfortunately the video only covers four counties (Donegal, Dublin, Cork, and Kerry), but it covers them very well. ... Read more

Reviews (115)

Life's A Banquet--and Auntie Mame Invites You To It
The Patrick Dennis novel was a runaway bestseller--and it was soon followed by a stage version starring Rosalind Russell, who was born to play the madcap Mame in this story of an eccentric, fast-living society woman of the 1920s who "inherits" her nephew when her brother died. Determined to "open doors" for her adoring nephew, Mame exposes to him everything from bootleg gin to oddball characters--all the while doing battle with her nephew's ultra-conservative trustee, who is equally determined that the boy's life remain free of "certain influences."

This is a knockout show, and Rosalind Russell delivers a knockout performance in it--easily her finest comedy performance since 1939's THE WOMEN. She is extremely well supported by the sadly under-acknowledged Coral Brown in the role of Vera Charles, an actress who passes out in Mame's apartment with considerable regularity, and Forrest Tucker as the Southern gentleman who becomes her knight in shining honor; the supporting cast, which includes Fred Clark, Peggy Cass (particularly memorable as Agnes Gooch, Jan Handzlik, Roger Smith, and Joanna Barnes is equally flawless.

The infamous "production code" was still somewhat in force when AUNTIE MAME was filmed, and consequently several of the play's most famous lines had to be re-written--but this scarcely gets in the way of Russell and company, and director DaCosta offers a brilliant compromise between the art of cinema and the "set piece" nature of the stage show. The production values are rich, the score is memorable, and everything about the show is a tremendous amount of fun; by the time it ends, you'll wish that Auntie Mame was yours.

Although there were a few minutes when I felt the film had been slightly cropped, the DVD version offers a visually stunning print of the film in its original ratio, and the sound is quite good as well. The few extras are nothing to speak of--but frankly, it hardly matters: this is one film you'll be glad to have on DVD, for you're likely to wear out a VHS in short order. If you need a good laugh, especially one with a slightly satricial edge, you'll adore AUNTIE MAME from start to finish. One of my favorite films, and strongly recommended.

Hysterical, warm, REALLY TOP-DRAWER!
I'm a big fan of this movie after only seeing it 3 times. It's filled with great scenes and one-liners that'll have you laughing for days on end. I won't spoil them; you'll have to watch the movie to find them. Rosalind Russell gives the performance of a lifetime. She's got great dialogue and great costumes! Not only that, she's a very warm person and shows true love for her nepwhew. I really wish I had an Auntie Mame, or a Rosalind Russell in the person of Auntie Mame! there are plenty of other great performances, too, such as Peggy Cass, who's an absolute riot as mame's hopelessly out-of-it secretery, Agnes Gooch, and coral browne, who's good as Mame's friend, the first lady of the American theatre, Vera Charles. A wonderful movei, one that I definitly recommend. However, I DO NOT RECOMMEND THE MUSICAL REMAKE, MAME, WITH LUCLILLE BALL! That's not nearly as god as this one.

One of my favorite DVDs
I bought this as soon as it came out on DVD. I just got around to reviewing it.

The sound is not as great as I'd like but it is a must have.
Image quality is stunning. This movie makes me wish I had a huge tv and not just a 36".

This is one of the best written films. You will watch again and again. My fiancee doesn't normally watc older films. He has seen this one over and over. He will start reading or playing on the pc and always sets it aside to watch one more time with me. You can't help yourself. That is the best praise I can think of.

Buy this dvd. I can't think of anyone who would dislike it. Seriously. It was a hit play and a hit movie.

If you like old movies and this one try "the Women" on DVD. Not as broad of an appeal. But the same quick wit and same sort of humour. And Rosalind Russell, Norma Shearer, and Joan Crawford too.

Life is a banquet........
And most poor fans of Lucille Ball will be starving to death. I still have this and it's counterpart on tape. May buy it on disc soon, as it is one of my favorites (Rosalind Russell Rules). But who was the nutcase who included the trailer for the musical from 1974, without releasing a DVD of the musical? Oh well, I guess we buy this one now, and will get the musical next year. Wait, it IS next year. Come on Warner release the other one too.:-)

Mame was better
The Lucille Ball version was sooooo much better. If you want to see a good version of this movie, get "Mame" with Lucille Ball, not "Auntie Mame!" ... Read more

Amazon.com essential video

As critic Roger Ebert observed in his original review of Ran, this epic tragedy might have been attempted by a younger director, but only the Japanese master Akira Kurosawa, who made the film at age 75, could bring the requisite experience and maturity to this stunning interpretation of Shakespeare's King Lear. It's a film for the ages--one of the few genuine screen masterpieces--and arguably serves as an artistic summation of the great director's career. In this version of the Shakespeare tragedy, the king is a 16th-century warlord (Tatsuya Nakadai as Lord Hidetora) who decides to retire and divide his kingdom evenly among his three sons. When one son defiantly objects out of loyalty to his father and warns of inevitable sibling rivalry, he is banished and the kingdom is awarded to his compliant siblings. The loyal son's fears are valid: a duplicitous power struggle ensues and the aging warlord witnesses a maelstrom of horrifying death and destruction. Although the film is slow to establish its story, it's clear that Kurosawa, who planned and painstakingly designed the production for 10 years before filming began, was charting a meticulous and tightly formalized dramatic strategy. As familial tensions rise and betrayal sends Lord Hidetora into the throes of escalating madness, Ran (the title is the Japanese character for "chaos" or "rebellion") reaches a fever pitch through epic battles and a fortress assault that is simply one of the most amazing sequences on film. --Jeff Shannon ... Read more

Reviews (135)

A rich experience worth viewing over and over again
This is a magnificent movie. It is visually beautiful - the colors and the way the shots are framed are stunning. The visuals are controlled in ways that add to the poetic power of the story. I do not speak Japanese, but the sound of the language combined with the musical score also adds to the intensity of this movie. The subtitles are good, but I am sure that those who understand Japanese get even more from this story.

This is not a film of Shakespeare's "King Lear". Rather, it is an adaptation and is based on the underlying themes of the play. It is not important for me to list the differences between the play and the movie, it is just important that a first time viewer not expect the Shakespearian story. If you know the play you will recognize aspects of the movie and enjoy the ways in which Kurosawa adapted the story to his own and Japanese sensibilities. It may nod to Shakespeare, but Kurosawa makes this his story.

The costumes, music, and acting are superlative. For me, the trademark Kurosawa battle scenes are more wonderful here than usual. This is a masterpiece by a filmmaking virtuoso who is also a sensitive enough artist to make a spectacular movie that is also poetic, humorous and heart breaking, tender and brutal as well images that are beautiful and others that are hideous.

This isn't light viewing or mind candy, but it has so much to offer that it is worth watching and learning from over and over again.

The Greatest Adaptation of Shakespeare to Film
"Ran" (Chaos) is the greatest cinematic adaptation of Shakespeare and a masterpiece in its own right. In adapting the broad scenario of "King Lear" to a setting in Sixteenth Century Japan, Akira Kurosawa felt free to manipulate it to his own purposes, leading to a film that is perhaps even more bleak than the play.

First and foremost "Ran" is a visually stunning film, unencumbered by the received tradition of Shakespearean language, which never translates well onto the cinema screen, he has allowed the scenario to develop into images that are beautiful and horrific. Filmed on the slopes of Mount Fuji there is a sense of unreality, or nightmare about the whole epic, as though it is taking place in a mythic space, at once recognisable and alien. For a director best known for his black and white movies ("Seven Samurai", "Rashomon"), Kurosawa surprisingly uses color to breathtaking virtuoso effect. The scenes of soldiers flooding in waves across the volcanic wasteland of Mount Fuji carrying vivid blue, red or yellow flags are amongst the most extraordinary ever filmed. The battle scenes shock and astonish, not least because Kurosawa's use of sound is so exquisite and original; many of the most horrendous images of battle are shown without sound effects with only an elegiac musical accompaniment. Far from sanitising them, the effect is to shock you out of the viewing habits formed watching so many other "war" movies.

Yet "Ran" is so much more than a broad epic, or war movie. The more intimate scenes are carried off with understated conviction, the sly hypocrisy hidden behind formality and convention is conveyed in highly poised and stylised interior shots. This film can be both visceral (prepare yourself for the beheading of Lady Kaede: as visually explosive as anything by Tarantino, and set within a film that is more than mere surface) and restrained, depending on the nature of the scene. There are moments of quiet and tenderness that resonate long after the film had ended.

It is odd that so few successful films have been made from Shakespeare. The pre-eminent playwright of the western canon has translated beautifully into opera and stage directors can continually find fresh things to say about the plays themselves, yet in general film had been hopelessly incapable of doing anything of note with Shakespeare. Think of the ghastly declamatory rhetoric of Laurence Olivier in "Henry V", or the inane pop video that Baz Lurmann made from "Romeo and Juliet", not to mention Kenneth Brannagh's tediously self-important "Hamlet". Somehow Kurosawa succeeds where all these others fail. His earlier "Throne of Blood" was a beautifully realised adaptation of "Macbeth" to the Samurai period in Japan: "Ran" builds on that achievement and surpasses it. Perhaps the fact that Kurosawa was Japanese allowed him more creative license to work with Shakespeare, able to approach it simply as valid material for film making, and not as the shibboleth that it is to western artists.

In Ran we have the late masterpiece of one of the greatest and most important film makers. It is a distilled and precise work, powerful, visceral, contemplative, epic and intimate. In short this is film making on a par with the greatest art. Ran shows us what mainstream film making can achieve, but so rarely does.

WHO WILL ENJOY THIS SENSATIONAL MASTERPIECE:
People who care about grandiloquent visuals yet a controlled palette accentuated by the immemorable use of sound -- or, in one major battle scene, the absence of the sounds of the battle, the horrors of war somehow magnified by the silent screams and the unheard bullets, only the quietly mournful dissonance of the haunting background score to be heard.

Castle gates close with resounding, hollow booms, shutting people out, shutting people in. A crescendo of cicadas. And the final anguished shriek of a flute lending a much more effective voice to the great tragedy that has been played out than closing words might have done.

If you're expecting flaming Gladiator-type fight scenes or Samurai action, you may be disappointed. That said, the battle scenes are magnum opus if you know how to appreciate visual splendor. The screenplay may be relaxed overall, sure, it takes a while to unfold a tale of filial destruction ("King Lear" adaptation) but when the forts crumble and arrows fly asunder, the pace of the film is unbridled.

Whether you're a film philistine or a major Kurosawa buff or simply someone who relishes tastefully done cinema, this is absolutely worth the ride. I highly recommend this as a rental, but the discerning types may also want to add it to their collections. It's among Kurosawa's best.

Not as good as all you people are making it out to be
This movie is terrible. I bought it expecting a good action epic with lots of battles and sword fights. There are no battles there are 2 massacres where all that happens is "samurai" with guns? shoot each other and women. samurai dont have guns. The story was good but they ruined it with 2 hours and 30 mins of talking on and on about the same topic over and over, yak yak yak. There is no drama the characters dont develope except for the old guy who just walks around starring and goes crazy. The perfomances are the same in everyone, yelling even when there happy, and they all sound the same even the women. No action, no drama, nothing except talk and fake blood from the stupid shooting, not swords, guns, What? Very bad movie, I was dissapointed, greatly. I would give 0 stars but they dont let me.

William Akira Shakespeare Kurosawa
This film is undeniable the most notable adaptation of any work of William Shakespeare to the movie. The insights in every detail, the superb cast, the overwheelming photography, the camera's handle makes us inevitably to remind that happy sentence of Orson Welles who said once:
"One film is really extraordinary , when the camera is an eye in the mind of a poet".
Casually this film is made in 1985, the same year of Welles'death.
Kurosawa was a truly master. Once upon a time a critical compared to Kenji Mizoguchi with Bach. If this methaphor is assumed valid, then Kurosawa would have his musical image in Ludwig van Beethoven.
The amazing scene of the castle in flames, with a remarkable red that invites us to reflect about the human condition, his hunger for power, the horror generated by that unthirsty ambition. The multiple readings that concern with the violence and the passion carrying the devasting facts that appear all along this film.
The opening sequences in which the three brothers are together with their father is filmed with such kind of perfection that I wouldn't wonder to know that this an obligated reference for all those students of direction. In this sense, this multiple exchange of points of view reveal us without affections of any kind,the essencial nature of the human being inmersed in the purest spirit shakesperian.
Kurosawa, like the great giants of th cinema handles the camera like Gods, includes the color and the nature's elements like adittional actors (Dreams). Just remember that Akira was the first filma maker who dared film against the sun in that glorius film Rashoman from 1950. His achievements all along his brilliant career are too many and certainly, would be beyond the reach of this shorts analysis.
This is one of these gems that you must see over and over, just when you admire this eternal masterpiece.
To be true the others Shakespeare's versions that deseve to be carried to the desert island would be in my opinion Titus 2000 (Julie Taymor), Othelo 1953 (Welles) , Richard III 1955 (Olivier), and Throne of blood 1957(Kurosawa).
But this movie is just several steps ahead all the titles above mentioned. ... Read more

Reviews (8)

Women, their problems, and more women with their problems...
...typical Almodovar. If you happen to like him for that, then, you will enjoy this film. I like the fact that Almodovar keeps his style unchanged, from working with virtually same group of actors every time to using the same combination of colors every time. This repeatition creates a sence of continuity and familiarity, which allows us to enjoy every film to its fullest.

While this film is not Almodovar's funniest one, it is definitely one of the most exploring, when it comes to the parent-child relationships.

And again, Almodovar, is at his best, when he talks about women... Just how in the world does he manage that? Well, it does not matter how; what matters is that he DOES.

Almodrama
Like all great Almodovar movies, traditional gender roles are subverted in 'High Heels'. In fact for WASP suburbanite America, much of this plot would seem like an episode of Jerry Springer. Mother abandons daughter for singing career, daughter marries mother's former lover, mother continues to have affair with son-in-law while daughter becomes pregnant through a night of passion with a drag queen. How ironic it is then that Almodovar takes much of his influence for this movie from Douglas Sirk. A director noted for his melodramas about late 50's/early 60's family life amongst WASP suburanites in America. In fact this meshing of a traditional film genre with more modern edgy characters has even been given a name - an Almodrama -.

The title 'High Heels' refers to the time when Rebecca was a child and couldn't sleep until she heard the high heels of her mother click-clacking her way home from work outside her bedroom window. Despite being abandoned by her mother, Rebecca never lets go of her love for her and tries all her life to be as 'good' as her in her life and in her loves.

While this movie was critically panned by many critics both in Spain and abroad, 'High Heels' went on to become the then, second highest-grossing film in Spanish history, ('Women On The Verge Of A Nervous Breakdown' being the first!)

"I'm whatever you call me."
The Spanish comedy film, "High Heels" directed by Pedro Almodovar is the story of a daughter, Rebecca (Victoria Abril) who reunites with her mother, the famous actress/singer Becky del Paramo (Marisa Paredes) after years of estrangement. The mother-daughter relationship is already severely strained due to Becky's single-minded devotion to her career--and a string of unfortunate relationships with men, but Rebecca's marriage to the shady and rather unpleasant Manuel, her former step-father, makes the difficult reunion almost intolerable.

Rebecca is now a successful television newscaster, but all her success and confidence is stripped away in her mother's presence. Rebecca has never quite managed to overcome her childhood abandonment, and she has yet to resolve many issues about her mother. Rebecca's desire to understand her mother has led to her fascination with Lethal--a female impersonator at a local night club. Lethal specializes in impersonating Becky's Pop years, and performs Becky's songs wearing a mini-skirt, platform shoes and fishnet tights. But is Lethal just another drag-queen or is he something more?

"All About My Mother" is Almodovar's best film, but "High Heels" is my favourite. I have yet to see a film that depicts a mother-daughter relationship quite as well as "High Heels." This film covers all the usual nasty mother-daughter conflicts of rivalry, abandon, selfishness, aging, and jealousy, but these issues are resolved in the most beautiful way by the story. Victoria Abril is amazing (as always) in the role of Rebecca--the abandoned daughter who can't quite forget or forgive the childhood memories of her mother packing and leaving for professional engagements, and Rebecca's wounds are reopened when her mother returns to Madrid. Abril plays the role with vunerability veneered with toughness. Marisa Paredes, as the elegant Becky del Paramo, is the woman who failed as a mother but succeeded as a star. The reunion of the two women as they finally salvage their relationship is perhaps the most touching event I have ever witnessed on film. Almodovar's message is acceptance and forgiveness of the human failings we all share before the moment passes us by and the opportunity is lost forever.

The film does include one sexually explict scene. Also the soundtrack to the film is simply marvellous, and it was through the soundtrack I discovered the Spanish popstar Luz Casal. She performs two beautiful songs in the film: "Piensa en Mi" and "Un Ano de Amor."--displacedhuman--Amazon.com Reviewer

BECKY DEL PARAMO E HIJA
Although it's not a materpiece, a bit slow in some parts, every Almodovar film is always a gift for the senses, and Tacones Lejanos "High Heels" is not the exception. Exceptional acting performances by Victoria Abril and Marisa Paredes, amazing cinematography, marvelous songs by Luz Casal ("Un año de Amor" and the heartbreaking "Piensa En Mi"), funny impersonators secenes (Miguel Bose aka Letal), and a must-seen for all the fans of the House Of Chanel with big exposure of clothes, jewelry, bags, glasses (eraly 90s collections). At last, i recommend this film for just having a big time with this funny Almodovar.

An intriguing and riveting film.
I watch many foreign films, and have always had trouble getting into the serious dramas, because I have to rely so heavily on the subtitles, which distracts me from immersing myself into the action. Foreign comedies are easy to get into. And, though this does have some humorous bits, it's one of the few foreign dramas with which I really became engrossed. I found myself guessing at every clue of the mystery and calculating every next step of the action. It may be bad form to give away clues to great mysteries, but here's a tidbit to keep you from being frustrated at trying to guess the mystery; the judge and the transvestite are the same guy. Almodovar is a great director. For a lighter fare, with a sadonic bite, try Almodovar's other masterpieces, TIE ME UP TIE ME DOWN or WOMEN ON THE VERGE OF A NERVOUS BREAKDOWN. ... Read more

Reviews (70)

The Rise and Fall of Tony Soprano continues its way
Tony Soprano is almost a Shakespearean tragic hero. His meteoric rise through the first season has been matched by a slow descent. Through the fourth season, we continue to see this, as those who Tony relied upon (in business, or emotionally, or otherwise) fall away through death, or abandonment (by Tony or the other person).

This DVD set contains the 13 episodes of the fourth season, together with commentary from writers, actors, and David Chase. Unfortunately, only a few of the episodes have such commentary, and the choice of episodes is open to question (episode 4-11, with Tony's dreams, needs interpretation from an authoritative source). The "trailers" at the beginning and end of each episode are also included (i.e., "Previously on the Sopranos", etc.)

All of the regular actors shine, and the bit players are, as always, very well cast.

The quality of most of the episodes is high, perhaps higher than any but the first season. But as the number of planned seasons has gone from four, to five, and now to six, I wonder if the purity of David Chase's vision has not been invaded by fluff. Well, we won't know until the series ends, I suppose.

Highly recommended.

Season 4 is great. You will realize it soon enough!
A lot of these so called Sopranos fans have an IQ of 4 when it comes to realizing what happend over the 13 episodes of season 4. For the first time in the series history we were left with a cliffhanger. If you notice in seasons 1,2,and 3 the story line for the season ended in the season finale. For season 4, Its going to carry over to next year. Dont you people get it? Season 4 was a setup. If you think about it all that happend in the season finale has to be resolved next season. For example, Paulie has been ratting out to new york and will probably get whacked, Adriana has ratted out to the feds and will probably get whacked, and if Tony finds out who really set the fire at the stables thier going down too!! And do you honestly belive that Tony and Carmela will get divorced? PLEASE! The way Tony is, hes going to do everything humanly possible to make up with her, that should be cool to see. And with the news reports of Steve Buscemi and Robert Loggia joining the cast, I think alot of Sopranos fans will quit whining when they see how season 4 was a setup to what looks to be a bad-... season 5

Another Brilliant Season
Above all other seasons, the forth in this groundbreaking series focuses on the complex enigma that is Tony Soprano. Creator David Chase allows Gandolfini's character to go places rarely reached in television or film. Traveling through these thirteen episodes with Tony, a viewer will get to experience utter joy, limitless rage, and the unequaled pain that accompanies an acknowledgment of personal culpability in creating one's troubles.

Tony comes to realize how others truly see him in the early episodes of Season Four. He laughs at his friend Artie and his cronious cohort Councilman Zellman when they nervously try to discuss different requests. He does not understand why they should be so afraid. But soon, he validates their concerns and sees the monster inside that drives away the closest people in his life.

His marriage is also falling apart, a plotline most associated with this season. Gandolfini and Falco provide career performances, particularly in the finale's blow-up scene. But Tony's most powerful moments concern two important losses in his life. Sudden news of the passing of an old acquaintance sends an unstable (and violent) Tony back to therapy and another tender relationship with an animal (remember the ducks) ends with Tony out looking for blood.

Chase loves to allow small incidental moments to provide the genesis for much of the show's conflict, a comment on the fragile nature of life. In the first season, the jokes about Junior's acquired "taste" of his girlfriend drive the wedge between he and Tony that causes many to get whacked. In this season, a throw-away line made about the weight of a tangential character builds and festers animosity all season. Plot built in such a masterful way is just another example of why The Sopranos is television's finest hour.

Click the order button!
Frankly I think they need to make the sopranos a couple more seasons. This season is just as good as all the other ones except for the fact they they jump to conclusions. If you're looking buying this season then that probably means you've already seen the first 3. Anyone who needs to read weather the Sopranos are good from this point has something seriously wrong with them. Go ahead and finish it up already! Why would you stop now!

WARNING ! If you buy this you won't be able to switch off
I've always loved the Sopranos, mainly for its subtle humour and incredible writing and story plots. I always thought The Sopranos would make a good book, because it would sure to be a page turner. Season four is no different. We start the series revitalised and ready for any new troubles that may face Tony Soprano (James Gandolfini better than ever).

The economy is down and the mob business is slow. That can only mean one thing. All the guys are going to have to work twice as hard to make more money. As this happens on Tony's mob side of life, it becomes clear he's also facing troubles at home - amazing acting takes place between Edie Falco and James Gandolfini in the incredible final episode.

This is one of the best things ever to come off of TV, and each episode is almost like a mini movie, action - drama - twists and turns. The only problem is, you buy this DVD, you're guaranteed to call in sick for work the next morning to carry on watching. You may even find yourself dropping the words 'BADA BING, BADA BOOM' into a conversation unknowingly... ... Read more

Reviews (3)

Teachers Beware!
I was looking for a video of this short story by Marquez because my high school class was reading it in school. I borrowed the tape from a local library before I bought it to see if we wanted a copy in our library.
I thought the movie was very true (overall to the author), and I enjoyed how closely the director kept to the story, but then the second half changed dramatically from the first half, so much that I became very thankful that I previewed the tape before I showed it to my class.

There was quite a bit of profanity in the second half, AND there were several sexual scenes that could not be shown in the classroom. These scenes were not in the short story, so I guess they were added to give some spice to the video, but I thought it was very unnecesary, and of course, now my students can't enjoy it in class as we had hoped to do after we read the story. Obviously, Hollywood isn't the only production area that adds 'T & A' because they think it will help sell the video.

Faithful to García Márquez, but difficult to follow
The dubbing of this film makes it difficult to follow. The actors' lips do not move in tandem with what appears to be dubbing in to Spanish. (The original may have been in Portuguese, filmed in Brazil.)

There are, however, several interesting cinematic expressions of the magic component of García Márquez's new literary genre, magical realism. Making a movie out of a García Márquez novel or short story certainly gives the privilege of being able to depict, on film, extraordinary and magical events. The director of this film certainly had "literary license" to think up the surrealistic events you will see. Think of it as the cinematographic equivalent of expressionism or surrealism in painting (artistic movements often begin in painting and only much later find expression in literature). Expressionism portrays reality in broad strokes, making it more beautiful in an impossible way.

This movie tries to be faithful to García Márquez's effort to portray (an often difficult) reality in a way that produces fascination and wonder. The film only partially succeeds; sometimes I found there was both wonder and puzzlement as to what was going on.

The young actress portraying a protagonist has a beauty (candidly depicted in the film) that carries the film in some parts. Her youthfulness is well portrayed, as are her potential and her sexuality.

Viewers enjoying this film should definitely see the intriguing and wide-open film "Eréndira", based on García Márquez's gem of a novella "La increíble y triste historia de la cándida Eréndira y su abuela desalmada" ("The incredible and sad tale of innocent Erendira and her heartless grandmother").

Fascination, wonder, fantasy
Gabriel Garcia Marquez, excuse me if Ive mispelled the name, offers such a wonderful world of fantasy and yet such insite. I've watched this film again and again. Amazing. Not since I viewed "Seet Movie" was I so moved. ... Read more

Reviews (11)

A Masterpiece.
"Los Olvidados" is a masterpiece of a film, a true work of graphic realism in the cinema. Of course it is, it being directed by the great genius Luis Bunuel. "Los Olvidados" is a great film, richly photographed with a gritty, graphic feeling and superbly written and acted. Bunuel takes deep into the world of poverty and the consequences and events surrounding children living on the streets. It is not just an examination of juvenile crime in Mexico, but on juvenile crime as a whole. It examines what happens to people who grow without a good home, education or parents. "Los Olvidados" can also be seen as a study of the dark side of man. Bunuel looks at reality unblinkingly and makes a movie that can be hypnotic at times. It is beautiful, in a dark way. The realism can be felt vibrating off the screen and "Los Olvidados" can take on the disturbing feeling of a street documentary equipped with murder, lust and violence. Bunuel also adds a touch of eroticism that elevates the material. "Los Olvidados" is a slice of true cinema, Mexican or otherwise. It displays the masterful talent that Bunuel possessed for realism in the cinema. This is an effective, unforgettable movie. One of the greatest works ever made in Latin cinema.

Great Art And Compassion From Bunuel
This superb Mexican film, beautifully written, composed and shot, was one of Bunuel's personal favorites. Its rough b&w suits very well its penetrating and compassionate, but pessimistic, look at the misery of indigent juvenile delinquents in Mexico City. This is a good example of how at times Bunuel's surrealism seems to be just a very deep realism.
This film follows the story of Pedro and Jaibo, two youths destroyed by the squalid conditions in which they live. It is very easy at first to feel much more sympathy for the very likeable Pedro, with his endless bad luck, than for Jaibo who seems to be simply cruel, but by the end Bunuel very effectively shows that they are both equally tragic victims of larger forces. One of the most effective touches in this film is the way Bunuel contrasts these 'criminal' youths with the deeply self-righteous cruelty of a both literally and spiritually blind street performer who prides who himself on his law-abiding conservatism; then with Pedro's shallowly judgmental mother who regrets her attitude too late to save her son; and finally even with a seemingly sincere and very caring social worker who can not hold back the tide that sweeps Pedro and Jaibo into the void. The last frames of the film portraying the demise of these two youths are heartbreaking and reveal the great artistry and compassion of Bunuel. A great film. Highly recommended.

a natural classic
I like Buñuel not just because he's a great director. I also like him because he made Los Olvidados. It is ripe with social issues, poverty, gang violence, ignorance, and the struggle to survive. I like Los Olvidados because the movie reveals an unusual but common side to Latin America, poverty. Los Olvidados also has strong symbolism throughout the movie and a CONVENIENT ending for those interested in Latin American class and social reality. It is not surprising that the protagonist ends up somewhere that is a common theme to Latin American Literature. Let me not give up the ending. I first saw this film in a Media Studies/ Art class in Spain. The focus of the course was Surrealism.

Classic Buñuel.
"Los Olvidados" remains a landmark in not only Hispanic cinema, but world cinema as a whole. It marked the return of Luis Buñuel after two decades of obscurity and proved he was more than just a memorable name from the Surrealist movement in Europe. "Los Olvidados" is gritty, surreal storytelling at it's finest, Buñuel masterfully mixes the storytelling with dreamlike touches to create a film that is unforgettable and timeless. The film follows the lives of children living in the poverty-stricken areas of Mexico City, there is little hope in their daily living for social advancement and they resort to crime to fulfill their needs. A murder for revenge eventually creates friction between two friends and sends them on a dangerous odyssey. "Los Olvidados" is a striking social commentary, even more so today because anyone who has lived or traveled through Latin America can fully relate to the issues the film explores. Consider that the youth culture in "Los Olvidados," made in 1950, is no different from that which is shown in a more recent, equally great Mexican film, "Amores Perros," made in 2000. Buñuel paints here on a canvas of love, death, revenge, lust and murder.The images are rich and the writing is on par with the visuals, especially since Buñuel takes what would in other circumstances be seen as simple storytelling and turns it into a work full of great depth and visceral energy, there is even a hypnotic dream sequence that reminds us that Buñuel was a surrealist first and foremost in his filmmaking. When the movie first came out it won him a Best Director award at the Cannes Film Festival and played for months in Paris and London, influencing many a young aspiring filmmakers, including Roman Polanski who remembers seeing the film as true literature. "Los Olvidados" has survived the test of time, and like all great movies it only grows better with age.

Unrelentingly grim, but worth watching
This is a rather unreletingly grim film about young people in Mexico City's barrio in the early 50s. Sympathetic and intersting characters draw you into the film, such as the orphan "Little Eyes" and his female friend, and Pablo, the street urchin hated by his mother because of her bitterness toward the boy's absent father. Audiences will be repelled at first by the boys' mugging of a blind and crippled man, but the film shows you both sides of the story. Not exactly the most uplifting material in the world, but it is a timeless example of the saying "Children learn by what they live." ... Read more

Reviews (293)

art collides with television
Twin Peaks rates as one of the most singularly innovative additions to network telelvision. David Lynch's obsession with making the everyday middle-american world beautifully strange (the word "awe" with its horrific element intact is useful here) and Mark Frost 's (St Elsewhere) quirky writing meld seamlessly in this soap opera that exposes to much beneath its surface. The episodic nature of television often strains to create new episodes that maintain sturdy characters while repeatedly playing the same scenario over and over. In this case the characters are superficial, common and quirky. But rather than falling into the dull routine of love triangles and deceit (although TP has these in abundance) Lynch and Frost immediately disrupt quiet american life with a murder--a dead prom queen, Laura Palmer, floats up to Pete Marshall shattering his early morning fishing routine. The town is cast into chaos. FBI agent Dale Cooper, played perfectly by Kyle MacLachlan, enters the town wide-eyed and appreciative of its tranquil simplicity. Using holistic methods, Cooper unravels the black underbelly that provides the illusion of innocence. Playing between superficial soap opera moments and some of the most horrific and surreal moment ever shown on TV, Lynch and Frost use the weekly format to delve deeply into the dark forces and evils which exists within beauty. And the show is ultimately beautiful in its raw exploration that reveals fear is always obliterated by love--not justice or truth. The show's inteligence survived its first season by hiding behind the murder mysery of Laura Palmer. Lynch and Frost planned to leave this mystery unsolved indefinitely in order to explore all corners of Twin Peaks. Unfortunately, the network forced the team to rush towards a solution in the second season fearing that ratings were dropping because viewers needed closure (actually Twin Peaks was losing the soap opera element as they realized the world of Twin Peaks was more complex and real than most prime time viewers were prepared to patiently stomach). Without its central nexus and Lynch leaving to complete Wild at Heart, the show floundered until Lynch's return. However, the show snapped back into brilliance following Lynch's return. But it was too late. The show met the same fate of all brilliant American network shows that shined too brightly before its time--it was cancelled. The team put together a final TV movie that "ended" the show in the manner it began. Lynch followed it with a dreamlike prequel in the theaters called Fire Walk With Me (a creepy mantra pulled from Laura's phantom killer). All of this if assembled adds up to a work of visual art that was way ahead of its time and dismissed as quirky and silly--but its rough end was probably caused by people expecting to be entertained by quirkines, but kept safe from the show's more awesome yet brutal spectacles. Still the entire work (if one can find it all and watch it in order) stands as a challenge to network programming need for dumbed-down product. First time viewers and skeptical fans should bravely revisit this fragmented masterpiece.

The best presentation of Twin Peaks
I won't try to sell you on the series in this review. I just want to say that this is, flat out, the best that Twin Peaks has ever looked (unless of course you were David Lynch and had the original master copies.)

Before the series was released on DVD, we had two options: We could either watch the high quality VHS version of the first season, or we could watch the low quality VHS version of both seasons. The first season boxed set was pretty good--you even got to see the "previously on Twin Peaks" montage, but it only covered the first seven episodes of the show. The complete box set had quality issues as all of the episodes were crammed onto 6 tapes--gone were the "previously on Twin Peaks" montage and there were issues with the picture/sound quality. Boo!

But I have received the DVDs and just love them. The show looks outstanding. If you want to share Twin Peaks with someone this DVD set is the way to do it--just a spectacular looking picture with great sound and no picture issues. Overall, Artisan did a great job and I would highly recommend the set to anyone looking for a high quality copy of the first season.

The show that saved television for the nineties
Okay, after waiting the two extra weeks for the release, from what I understand it was due to high demand, I faithfully went out and bought the DVD set today(Dec 18th) and boy my import DVD of the pilot really looks shoddy now in comparison to the brilliant transfers of the original series and the DTS sound and the packaging of this box set is very sweet. It DOES look and sound better than when it origianlly aired 11 years ago and broke the ground for such shows as The X Files Northern Exposure and American Gothic. If you are a Twin Peaks fan do not deny yourself. Make it a Xmas present for yourself. The extras do leave a little to be desired, but it has been said the extras on subsequent releases (and the more the first season sells the sooner we get the second season which may be in two separate sets) the extras are going to be even phatter. I have only watched the first disc so far (eps 1 and 2)and the extras (on disc 4) and I was blown away. The deep textures and feel of the show is beautifully maintained and looks fantastic and Angelo's score really stands out revealing the genius he is in his own right. I would recommend buying the import DVD and there are many to be had on Ebay (mainly because it looks better than my 11 year old copy of the original airing or any previous VHS release) even if the sound quality is a bit distorted at times, just because we may never get the pilot on DVD. There are no deleted scenes but there are script notes in the chapter selections for each ep which describe with text altered dialogue and deleted scenes giving fans a real inside look at the development of the series. The commentary is intersting and I personally like that they added the "previously on Twin Peaks" intros to each show like when it aired on TV. The one bright spot of the extras is the "Twin Peaks Directory" that starts with Laura Palmer where fans can get lost in the different characters and their various relationships to each other including bios and filmographies and in some cases "Video Postcards" which are excerpts of interviews ranging from how they got involved with the show or glimpses of their home life etc. Like Richard Beymer's psychedelic trip down the Amazon and Al Strobel's poignant story of the accident(when he was 17) which cost him his arm. It is a true delight for fans. And the extra an "Introduction to David Lynch" gives an insightful journey through vatious interviews on what it's like to work with him and work on the show. I can't say enough about how good these shows look. I kept saying "This looks fantastic" and "There is no other show like this nor will there ever be again." It dared the television audience to use their minds and get lost in the characters and their intertwining relationships to the point where you didn't care who killed Laura Palmer because there was so much more to dive into besides the main arc of the series. Don't hesitate. Go buy it now, because I want the second season to come out ASAP. I would give five stars but I adamantly agree Artisan should have went the extra mile to get the pilot. And in closing, something I noticed. The Republic Pictures emblem is on this DVD set. Well, guess what? It's on the import DVD of the pilot as well, so what's the problem? I'm guessing it had something to do with the European release of the pilot with the alternate ending but who knows for sure I don't even thinks Artisan does. Dust off that recipe for cherry pie, put on some coffee and invite your friends over for a Twin Peaks party, especially those who haven't seen it before (costume optional).

Great set...where is season 2?
All Twin Peaks fans need to buy this set...Season 2 isn't available yet but maybe it will be if more copies of Season 1 are sold. This first set was really well done and actually has extras unlike a lot of other David Lynch discs. If you loved the series, you'll love this.

As others have stated, the pilot episode is available and the quality is very passable.

A slice of pie, coffee and murder
"Twin Peaks" didn't roar out of the gate when it first appeared. Lynch and Mark Frost quietly set up this twisted soap opera (which had an impact and influence on the style, look and texture of everything from "The X-Files" to "CSI"). My only complaint is that when I received this as a gift, my wife didn't know that the pilot episode wasn't included and that's where the murder occurs.

Here's what you do get--seven episodes in a nearly pristine high definition transfers of the original full screen series on four discs with extras on disc four. There's material from the fan website, a booklet (which should have had more material on the series), interviews, introductions by the Log Lady and audio commentary. I haven't accessed the latter two features yet and have only watched bits and pieces of each episode until I receive the 90 minute pilot episode.

The packaging is exceptional although it's in an accordian fold out case. Curiously (or not as Lynch isn't the most interested in doing audio commentaries from what I can tell), it looks as if Lynch doesn't do an audio commentary for the series. The set only gets four stars as it doesn't include the pilot and honestly this could have been put onto a two or three disc dual layered set without any loss of quality at a less expensive price. Still, all told it's always interesting to visit Twin Peaks. Aside from some damn fine coffee you're never quite sure what you'll get in Lynch and Frost's twisted tale of murder, money and dry humor. Get it before it goes away. ... Read more

Amazon.com

In the same vein as The Larry Sanders Show, The Newsroom exploits the foibles behind the scenes of a television program (this time a Canadian public newsroom rather than a talk show), using dark humor and incredible wit. Ken Finkleman stars as George Findlay, a news director with few morals, an affection for bran muffins, and a BMW constantly in need of repair. (One of the funniest running jokes of the series is his quarrels with his BMW dealer, who must submit to George's tasteless anti-German remarks; when the dealer refuses to send someone to pick up George's car in order to fix a broken window, George retorts, "Well, listen, you had no trouble sending people over to Poland.") Finkleman is supported by a wonderful cast, including a less-than-submissive intern (she refuses to run his errands), two producers who are happy to "alter" the news, and a somewhat clichéd anchorman who makes bubbleheaded on-air faux pas.This set contains all 13 episodes of the show. For those lucky enough to have seen The Newsroom on television, this is a wonderful chance to relive the hilarious moments.For those who have yet to see the program, this is the perfect opportunity to discover one of the most intelligent and clever television shows made. --Jenny Brown ... Read more

Reviews (10)

"Newsroom" is sophisticated and wickedly funny satire.
If you love writing, acting and overall production like "Sports Night," "SCTV," and "Northern Exposure," you should feel your intelligence and funny bone rewarded with "Newsroom." What is it about Canadians that makes them so talented at very urbane parody and satire? They really know how to hit their target with just the right characterizations. Well, they got my attention big time with this series, which is now a part of my entertainment library.

Note: Somebody from Chicago told me that her cousin worked in the actual newsroom and offices where the series was filmed during working hours. I have this image of these stories being played out in the middle of the characters that inspired them. Funny is as funny does.

Brilliant
One of the best sitcoms of all time. Canadian television at its best. Excellent satire of tv news.

I asked for a BRAN muffin.. this isn't a BRAN muffin!!!
I stumbled onto this PBS series several years ago when it first aired, and was able to tape it on VHS, subsequently watching it over and over again.

This series KILLS me! I'm positively giddy as I see now that it's available on DVD. (Therefore, this rating applies to the series itself and not to the quality of the DVD release).

What can I say.. this show is brilliant, and the series finale is the height of over-the-top cynical humor. There are still moments when I think back on this series and laugh out loud.

If you like a little wickedly cynical humor, especially the kind that exposes all the ugly and pathetic human vices, then you will likely LOVE this series. And if you don't, you're probably in a coma, in which case.. watch out, George is probably scheming to take over your parking space!

Hilariously ahead of its time!
With the success of the BBC's "The Office" here in the US, fans of acerbic humor owe it to themselves to check out "The Newsroom." This Canadian contribution to the genre of wickedly funny workplace satires pre-dates Britain's "The Office" by a few years, but time has done nothing to take away its bite. Every character from the self-centered producer to the vacuous anchor to the put-upon intern is deftly played and gives the sharp dialogue just the right spin. This show never gained more than a minor cult following, but the time is right for a serious re-appraisal. The DVD version imrpoves on the VHS, with some nice extras, but really either verison of the show is well worth your money and (more importantly) your time.

Garry Shandling, get out your notebook
I was lucky enough to stumble upon "The Newsroom" on PBS, and after having only caught 3 episodes, they stopped showing it. Right away, I searched far and wide over the internet for this boxed set, and it's one of my most prized possessions. A half hour of this show is funnier than most of today's two hour movies. It's perfect in every aspect: writing, acting, directing, and laughs. It remains one of my favorite TV shows or movies, and if you like classics like this is spinal tap, larry sanders show, or network, this you have to check out. ... Read more

Reviews (107)

A CLASSIC
It's great to finally see The Right Stuff appear on DVD as a special-edition. The sound and image quality is awesome, much better than the LD.

This is one of the greatest achievements in film, depicting the birth of the space program. It's difficult to think of anything wrong with the production.

The cast (many of whom at the time were not A-list caliber) is top notch, especially Ed Harris as John Glenn and Sam Shepard as Chuck Yeager.

The beginning, which chronicles the breaking of the sound barrier, is excellent. One particular scene has Yeager staring down the X-1 while on horseback; almost as if two living ceatures are involved in duel. The Oscar-winning score by Bill Conti brings tears to my eyes every time, especially the breaking the sound barrier and the final coda, which ends at Gordo Cooper's historic orbit.

Director Philip Kaufman (just look at his resume; what an incredible career, with Henry and June, Unbearable Lightness of Being and Quills among his films), brings a humanness and respect to his characters, and dots the script with bit of humor and tenderness as well. He depicts the Mercury astronauts as heroes, an aspect that unfortuantely has gone away. These men (and their wives) pushed the envelope to it's capacity, went to the top of the pyramid.

We live in a time in which we no longer look up when a plane passes overhead, where, instead of real people risking their lives to further technology and science, our heroes are born out of comic books or the sports pages.

The Right Stuff is truely a very special film! They don't make 'em like this anymore!

New Stuff
The Right Stuff is Phillip Kauffman's sprawling three-hour epic about the Mercury Space Program. Based on Tom Wolfe's amazing book, the movie is a visual stunner with a top-notch ensemble cast. Sam Sheperd stands out as Chuck Yeager, the first man to break the sound barrier. He portrays Yeager as a cowboy who flies jets instead of riding horses. Mr. Sheperd gives a cool and impressive performance. Ed Harris first sprang to attention with his performance of John Glenn. He gives a gentle and passionate performance and the scenes with his wife (who was hearing-impaired) are touching. Fred Ward gives a blustery and gruff performance as Gus Grissom who appears to be on the verge of cracking after his space launch goes awry. Scott Glenn adds a touch of humor to film as Alan Sheppard the first American in space. Dennis Quaid is brash and cocky as Gordo Cooper. This 20th Anniversary two disc special edition is an immediate upgrade over the original dvd, which was one of the first films to be released in that format. The film is perfectly suited for the dvd landscape and while the picture quality was excellent on the original release, the digital transfer adds depth and scope to the film. The real bonus is the 5.1 Dolby Surround Sound. The film won four Academy Awards and two were for Best Sound and Best Sound Effects and the remastered audio increases the powerful and majestic tones of the film in home viewings. The extras are great for any space program aficionados as there are interviews with the real life astronauts from the film.

well done
Hollywood has mostly ignored one of the most dramatic events of the modern age, the space program. It's been willing to lavish millions on sci-fi and fantasy but has been meager in detailing the real drama. Tom Wolfe's marvelous book has been captured in this film with the same blend of irony, whimsy, humor and real drama.
The astronauts were accidental heroes, men who never expected to be elevated to such a public Olympus. They were never what the PR machine promoted but they got the job done and eventually earned the heroic status they were automatically granted by the propaganda machine of the time.
An interesting film that genuinely manages to distill out the essence of the 'right stuff.'

The Greatest American Epic
The fact that "The Right Stuff" lost the Oscar for best picture to "Terms Of Endearment" is beyond me; this movie should have won. The fact that it wasn't a hit at the box office back in 1983 is also beyond me. We are talking about what I think it's the best American epic in all the sense of the word.
It's strange that a Venezuelan-born like me should talk about a movie like this, but I feel that "The Right Stuff" should have been a classic -well, it is for me. The story of the "Mercury" astronauts is portrayed marvelously by Philip Kaufman's direction, showcased beautifully by Caleb Deschanel's stylish photography, and supported by an incredible cast including Scott Glenn, Ed Harris, Barbara Hershey, Sam Shepard, Pamela Reed, Kim Stanley, and Veronica Cartwright.
In fact, I remember when I was watching that movie at home, and my late father asked me if a man that appeared on the screen was astronaut John Glenn because he looked just like him. Of course I told him he was an actor who was playing his role. That said, it's incredible to see how Ed Harris is perfectly cast as Glenn.
And I don't want to forget one of the reasons why I love this movie, and that's Bill Conti's spectacular music score. Of course it may sound a little like Holst's "The Planets", but I usually weep every time I listen to the main theme.
I'm glad that a special edition DVD of "The Right Stuff" has been released, with fantastic extras that include new interviews with the cast and crew, deleted scenes, and an incredible documentary on John Glenn. I'm also glad about it because I think that this movie should be rightfully appreciated not only because it deals with historical events like the breaking of the sound barrier and the first American astronauts, but also because, as I said before, this is a classic.

FABULOUS
"The Right Stuff", based on Tom Wolfe's book and directed by Phillip Kaufman, was a wonderful American story about the Mercury space program that told the tale of U.S. pilots just brimming with gusto, bravado and...the right stuff.

STEVEN TRAVERS
AUTHOR OF "BARRY BONDS: BASEBALL'S SUPERMAN"
STWRITES@AOL.COM ... Read more