Reviews (95)

4.5 stars -- more enjoyable than "Titanic."
"The Poseidon Adventure" is the quintessential disaster movie -- the very best of the disaster film genre that reigned through the 70's and early 80's.

This particular disaster flick involves a ocean liner capsized by a tidal wave (on New Year's Eve of all times!)and the ten survivors who struggle to make it up to the hull (which is actually the bottom of the ship) to possibly find a way out through the stern. Being that everything is upside down presents major obstacles to the cast.

The pic features a stellar cast, including a young Gene Hackman and a fit Ernest Borgnine, who are constantly at each others throats because, as the Hackman character points out, they're two of a kind and Borgnine simply doesn't like what he sees in the mirror. The female cast includes Pamela Sue Martin (Nancy Drew), Carol Lynley and Stella Stevens, all well-cast as scantily-clad babes in distress. Also, Shelley Winters does a nice job as an overweight heroine. Red Buttons, Roddy McDowall and Leslie Nielson (in a serious role as The Captain) are also on hand.

The sets of the sinking, upside down ship are absolutely outstanding. The scene wherein the ship tips over showing the party-goers fall/slide to the ceiling is superb.

The characters are great and you really start to care for them. Okay, there is admittedly some silly dialogue, but I KNOW people who talk like this in real life, so it's not as campy and unrealistic as some criticize.

Hackman as the fiery-passionate rebel preacher is excellent. His real struggle is ultimately with his Creator, who he "has it out" with at the end. Unspiritual people will no doubt tend to laugh at this scene, but it powerfully portrays humanity's grappling with the universal question "Why does a righteous God allow evil and hardship to exist?"

The "Preacher" is nicely balanced out by the Pamela Sue Martin character who loves him and the Borgnine character who despises him; but observe Borgnine's nice change-of-heart at the very end.

It's interesting to note that, even though some say this flick has campy aspects, everyone highly rates it. "The Poseidon Adventure" is just a very entertaining and moving motion picture. It's got "cult movie" written all over it.

I find it of interest that many reviewers state how they like "The Poseidon Adventure" better than "Titanic." "Titanic" is hailed as one of the greatest, most popular pics of all time, yet all these folks say they prefer to see the former. I'd have to agree. "Titanic" is a good flick, there's no doubt; but given the choice I'd much rather see "The Poseidon Adventure."

the mother of all disaster movies
Irwin Allen's THE POSEIDON ADVENTURE is regarded as being the forerunner of the myriad of disaster movies that reigned supreme at the box-office through the 70's and into the 80's.

In this enjoyable and quite campy film, we see the "stock characters" that would become a fixture in the disaster movie genre; the Jewish couple (Jack Albertson and Shelley Winters), the swashbuckling ah...priest? (Gene Hackman), the rowdy policeman and his ex-hooker wife (Ernest Borgnine and Stella Stevens), the nervous little singer (Carol Lynley), the bachelor (Red Buttons), the leggy teen (Pamela Sue Martin) and the know-it-all little brat (Eric Shea).

Mind you, the ship was bound to sink with Leslie Nielsen (AKA Frank Drebin) at the helm...

When the SS Poseidon capsizes in a tidal wave on New Year's Eve, this motley bunch of survivors try to climb to the thinnest part of the hull to escape. Climbing up a huge Christmas tree to begin the adventure, the Priest first makes some convienient "alterations" to the women's outfits. First he orders Stella Stevens to take off her evening gown and put on a short pink shirt; then he orders Pamela Sue Martin to take off her red mini-skirt, which she does, only to reveal a matching pair of red hotpants beneath!!

Then sit back and watch as our vaccuous and totally unbelievable band of dim-wits try to thwart the crumbling wreckage that is continually exploding around them. I mean really, what is Stella Stevens thinking that she can climb through vents and up ladders in silver stilettos?!!

Featuring the theme song "The Morning After" (mimed convincingly by Carol Lynley) and some marvellous miniature effects techniques.

My Favorite Disaster Movie!
I have written a review of The Poseidon Adventure before but that was before I got the DVD and in that review I basically was reviewing the movie so I thought I would write a new review. I received the DVD for Christmas and just watched it a little while ago and though I do think that they should release a new special Edition DVD with anamorphic widescreen and more extra features I'm pleased with this letterbox widescreen for now but will definitely think of getting a special Edition DVD if one is ever released. I enjoyed watching this movie and I think this is the best disaster movie I have ever seen and the whole cast is great. Gene Hackman (The French Connection), Ernest Borgnine (The Dirty Dozen), Shelley Winters (Night of the Hunter), Stella Stevens (Where Angels Go, Trouble Follows), Jack Albertson (Chico and the Man), Pamela Sue Martin (Dynasty), etc. If you are looking for great extra features on this DVD you will find that this is a bare bones DVD and the features are rather sparse and are only the trailer and a couple of short biographies and filmographies of only a couple of the actors from the cast and I hope that if a new DVD is released that it will have more special features that will include a biography and filmography of the whole cast and also cast interviews, deleted scenes and all of the usual extras. Well anyway until a better DVD comes along I'm actually content with this one.

SPECIAL EDITION!
Come on, everybody, just keep chanting it 'til we get it:
SPECIAL EDITION!
SPECIAL EDITION!
SPECIAL EDITION!
SPECIAL EDITION!
SPECIAL EDITION!
SPECIAL EDITION!
SPECIAL EDITION!
SPECIAL EDITION!

ALL STAR DISASTER CLASSIC!
As far as disaster flicks go, it's hard to find one as effective and engrossing as THE POSEIDON ADVENTURE. Director Ronald Neame, and the astute guidance of Irwin Allen, forged this riveting tale of a world turned upside down. Remember, they didn't have CGI back then, but the set builders and other technical crews gave us a ship turned topsy turvy by a monstrous tidal wave. While all the performers did very well, my favorites were Stella Stevens as the foul-mouthed ex-hooker starting a new life with her cop husband; Ernest Borgnine as Rogo, the aforementioned cop who brought all his trademark bluster, and innocence, to the role; Roddy McDowall, the oh-so-polite steward who always called everybody sir or ma'am; and Jack Albertson, the devoted husband of the doomed Shelley Winters.
THE POSEIDON ADVENTURE will always be one of (if not the) best disaster films----it has all the necessary ingredients and yes, it even had THE MORNING AFTER.
A good film!!!! ... Read more

Reviews (74)

A subtle movie! A Dynamite Cast! A Gorgeous Score!
This is a subtle and rewarding film. The cast is magnificent--the performances great! One of my favorite film scores too!

A hint for watching the movie. With each viewing, I find I have been concentrating on a different actor. Kim Novak is definitely at her peak; William Holden is remarkable; Rosalind Russell is at her very best, with a fantastically varied and difficult part; Susan Strasberg is wonderful indeed. All of the supporting actors are super too! And this IS primarily a story of individuals' lives, and how they are changed.

The film gives a remarkably accurate picture of life in 1950's rural Kansas. But onto this background is thrust a love story of great interest and appeal. The film has super color and fine sound (for its era anyway).

The film is, quite simply, astounding. Don't rent it....buy it, bucause it just gets better and better with repeated watchings!

Dripping with lust!
Picnic is one of those films that just transports the viewer into another time and era and that's the sign of a truly great film. Holden has the daunting task of playing a loveable hustler with big dreams that he just can't make happen. So he decides to go back to familiar grounds and falls for kim Novak. Novak is a treasure in this movie her exotic beauty and shaky voice highlights her characters uneveness to conform into the town's perfect beautiful young woman. This film at it's time was billed as too sexy due to the dance that Novak and Holden share at the picnic and till this day the scene holds up great. The lust in both their eyes and Novaks raw sex appeal against Holden's rugged good looks is a sight to be hold. But the back story which I won't give a hint of is the true tale of this flick and shows how human nature is always determined by the role society wants you to play based on your looks! This film still holds up today as a work of pure sexual energy and raw human emotions.

William Holden & Kim Novak are OUTSTANDING in Picnic
I saw PICNIC during its release in 1956 in India when I was in
school. I was crazy about English films and never missed a good
film.one of my class mates saw the film before me and remarked
about the energetic dancing of Holden as spellbinding.I was not
that keen in the beginning to see the film due to its title which meant lightweight and fun. But when I saw the film the experience was tremendous, I had just seen a masterpiece. William Holden and Kim Novak were just outstanding. Holden

brought a breath of fresh air as soon as he appeared, and Kim
Novak was not just a small town beauty queen, she oozed raw sex
and hidden desires exposed to the full by carefree but passionate William Holden. Although, without doubt the highlight of the film was the picnic and the dancing where all the principal players of the film are envolved emotionally and the finale to the story builds up, there other memorable scenes notably the swing scene where Holden gets hold of the swing where Novak is sitting, he begins playing with it unintentionally and realises for the first time that he has fallen for the fiancee of his best friend. Then there is that passionate scene beside the waterfall where both Holden and Novak admit their love for each other and kiss intensly, Holden with torn shirt. After this Holden runs and catches the running train and finally Novak follows him, her true love in the Greyhound. The execution of all these scenes and the whole story is nothing less than perfect. James Wong Hoe's technicolor photography is outstanding. Needless to say I have seen this film many times since and found it always charming.

Holden Sparks, Novak Smolders, Kansas Burns
In a decade of conformity and great prosperity William Inge and Tennessee Williams tackled subjects ahead of their time. Of course they in some cases had to veil the subject matter but that lead to some wonderful revelations in writing and reading between the lines. In this DVD from Colombia of Inge's Pulitzer Prize winning 'Picnic' we have one of the best films of this genre of sexual repression, animal heat, and desperation in small town America.
Most reviewers of this film might begin with the leads but I must start of with the wonderful Verna Felton as Helen Potts the sweet old lady who is caretaker of her aged mother and lives next door to the Owens family. This gifted and now forgotten character actress sets the tone of the picture as she welcomes drifter Hal Carter (William Holden) into her house. At the end of the film she glows in tender counterpoint to the dramatic ending. She is the only person who understands Hal, even more than Madge (Kim Novak). Her speech about having a man in the house is pure joy to watch. It is a small but important performance that frames the entire story with warmth and understanding.
Betty Field turns in a sterling performance as Flo Owens, Mother of Madge and Millie. She is disapproving of Millie's rebellious teen and smothering of her Kansas hothouse rose Madge. A single Mom trying in desperation to keep Madge from making the same mistakes she did. She becomes so wrapped up in Madge's potential for marriage to the richest boy in town she completely ignores the budding greatness that is bursting to get out in her real treasure. Millie.
Susan Strasberg creates in her Millie a sweet comic oddball. She is the youngest daughter who awkwardly moves through the landscape nearly un-noticed, reading the scandalous "Ballad of the Sad Café" being the only one who is different and can't hide it. Her yearning to get out of the smallness of small town life is colored with the skill of a young actress with greatness her.
Rosalind Russell nearly steals the show as the fourth woman in the Owens household boarder, Rosemary, a frantic, hopeless and clutching spinster. In the capable hands of Miss Russell we have a real powerhouse of a performance. She imbues Rosemary with all the uptight disapproval of a woman who knows that her time has past and there are very few options left. She is electric in her need for love. Every nuance of her emotions is sublime in her presentation. Just watch her hands alone.
Floating above all of this is Madge Owens, the kind of girl who is too pretty to be real. The kind of girl who in a small town like this is not understood to have any real feelings or thoughts other than those that revolve around being beautiful and empty. Enter Kim Novak, who is just such a girl. Who could ever expect such a beauty to be anything more than just pretty? But Miss Novak, a vastly underrated actress in her day paints a knowing and glowing portrait of Madge. Her explosion of sexual heat upon meeting Hal for the first time is internal and barely perceptible until she looks at him from behind the safety of the screen door the end of their first scene. That screen door is a firewall protecting her from the flames. She fights in the early part of the film to keep her sexual desire for Hal in check. That night she loses her fight at the picnic and we watch as she opens to reveal a woman of feelings and dreams so much deeper than the prettiness of her eyes or the luminosity of her skin. This is one of Kim Novak's early great roles and one she fills out with lush and deep emotion.
The lives of all of these women of Nickerson Kansas are changed one Labor Day when Hal comes steaming into town. William Holden gives a raw and wounded portrayal to Hal, a man at the edge of his youth and on the verge of becoming a lost man. He lives as he always has, on the fading glow of his golden boy charm and his muscular magnetism. Holden was 35 when he made Picnic, a real golden boy at the edge of his youth. He was perfect for the part. Some reviewers say he was too old to play Hal, but I disagree. Without being thirty-five in real life as well as in the story Rosemary's "Crummy Apollo" speech would not be so effective or devastating. Hal is a man who never bothered to grow up, a man who never let anyone get too close for fear they might see through is bravado and discover his fears of feeling something, anything before it's too late.
Holden also brings a sexual heat to the film that is eons beyond the time it was filmed. He is presented almost like a slab of meat. He struts around in a pre-Stonewall dream of sexy hotness. Not only the girls in town notice him but a few boys too. (There are several layers to Nick Adams paperboy if one bothers to look.) When finally Holden sparks with Novak they blow the lid off of the uptight code bound studio-strangled world of Hollywood in the Fifties.
The film is photographed magnificently in lush color and cinemascope by famed cinematographer James Wong Howe. The famous score by George Durning is classic not only for the famous reworking of the old standard "Moonglow" but for his virtuosity in dramatic power. This is a giant of a score from the silver age of film music. The direction by Josh Logan is perfect in every way and stands among the best of his work.

Moonglow moments
You know it's good:

1. It's the look on William Holden's face when he first catches a glimpse of Kim Novak coming down the stairs in that pink dress. ("Madge is the pretty one"--she sure is)
2. It's the way she shimmies up to him. Revealing her intentions, she never loses eye contact or says a word.
3. It's the moment he takes her into his arms to dance close--he gives a little sigh of pleasure.
4. It's the look on his face when he's dancing--that criptic smile of pleasure and sensuality--all the while knowing that she's totally off limits.

and of course the song itself. This scene in itself makes the movie and with DVD you can play it over and over and over... Not many dance scenes have stood the test of time. I loved it. What can I say--I'm a chick. ... Read more

Reviews (21)

Great lineup, sterile handling
Carlos Saura has cornered the market for flamenco movies today, from his 'Carmen' and 'Bodas de Sangre'. The long career has given him access to Spain's top artists working today. Unfortunately he has not seen fit to change his doggedly austere style, throwing artists into a stark empty room hoping to induce a more somber, and presumably purer, more dignified and more respectable Art.

This may be good politics, but makes for bad art. Like it or not, the soul of flamenco cannot be torn from the Andalucian sun and earth and still live. Like Argentine tango and jazz, it is at its most vibrant and purposeful when it's at home among its people.

A much better intro to flamenco, which showcases this living link, would be "Duende y Misterio del Flamenco", "Los Tarantos" by legend Carmen Amaya, or the many Spanish TV documentaries like "Caminos Flamencos" or "Años de Flamenco" (with many of the same artists), available from Catalina's (catalinas@aol.com)

All the power, passion and artistry of contemporary flamenco
This is THE flamenco film. Carlos Saura, famous for his work with the great Antonio Gades ("Blood Wedding," "Carmen" and "El Amor Brujo") and for his portrait of Andalusian folklore in "Sevillanas," creates one of the best flamenco films ever made.

The focus in this work is on the performers and their performances. Sets are minimal and there is no "story" except that generated by the lyrics of the flamenco songs themselves. The director is careful to capture not only the larger aspects of the performances but also to zero in on the emotional engagement of the performers with their art . Flamenco is as much about the performer's struggles with the art and the emotions that underpin it as it is about a stage presentation. This is an intimate film despite the fact that it was shot in a train station. The sets, lighting and camera work continually direct your focus to that intimate space created by the performers.

The conceit of the film is a journey not only through flamenco's different styles as embodied by some of the art's greatest contemporary performers, but also a journey into the night. Not only is the night evoked through lighting effects, but the deep inner recesses of the soul are suggested as well, that inner wellspring from which flamenco itself arises.

This is the most profound exploration of flamenco ever captured on film. To understand flamenco, there is no better place to start than with Carlos Saura's masterpiece, "Flamenco."

Not what I thought...
I have listened to flamenco music all my life..I was born in Spain, and I'm telling you that this tape is not the true flamenco you would find on the streets of sevilla, or anywhere else in the south. ALso did not have enough dancing, which is the main atraction of the flamenco music.

Duende on film
Those not in the know tend to think of Flamenco in terms of women with fans and flying skirts and men in boots and macho attitudes. Well, yeah, but there's more, much more. This movie, filmed in a converted Spanish railway station, presents the full range of the Gitano's art, from traditional to modern, individual to group, expressing all the pain and joy of a true, very serious artform. A delight.

not enough dance
I am relatively new to flamenco and do not understand spanish. I like flamenco for the passion in the dance. I do not understand the music though, so my review might be that of a novice. I cannot even recognize the artists. I expected more dance in the video, though there are some very good pieces. I wanted to see more of the performers dancing like the world did not matter to them and the sound of the shoes was all the sound in the world, and the expressions in their faces. I am disappointed considering the price i paid for this. I wish I knew where to look for heart stopping flamenco dance. ... Read more

Reviews (63)

The epic sense of the life
Andrei Rubliov is the masterpiece of Andrei Tarkovsky. I 've watched very carefullly all his works, and Andrei contains the quintessential thought of this unique film maker.
What Tarkovsky made with this film may be one the most overwhelming and haunting achievemnts in all the story of the world cinema.
Rubliov is a icon painter who after an important fac, decides not continue in that office.
The powerful of the barbarian invassion into a church, where he acquires the human experience gets far away the world, he isolates and becomes in a wanderer.
The unforgettable images that appear before the viewer are of a trascendental poetic beauty never seen before and even now.
All the journey along the Russia of XVI century is a reflexive gaze of the human condition , the sense of the life and how dealing with it, the unsaid code of one must behavior humanly, even in inhuman conditions, facing the world, with his singleness, its little moments of joy, his infinite sadness and its miseries.
The opening sequence in which the fall is shown before us, is a original metaphor of how facing with the failure; and is depicted with such kind of beautiness that mesmerizes you. No other film n the story, with the exception of the ending of A man escapes from Robert Bresson reveals with so frehness and vitality the epic sense before the life.
When Rubliov knows this teenager, in the final chapter, and faces with him the huge challenge that implies to make the asgned mission, turns back çRubliov and it invites him to keep on going in his mission or the moira term greek, his place in the universe, his meaning in this brief stage in the world.
This superb masterpiece, has countless remarkable sequences, the dialogues are feed of a blissness and poetic raprure without a drop of effectism.
When the mission is completed, and everybody celebrates the fact our young hero remains alone and Rubliov will gather with him and will tell wisdom words that I must not tell.
This is the goal of the artist; he must go to the forrest and seek the mushrooms; the people will be just waiting from the safe place for him; and no matter how dangerous or hazardous be the journey; they only expect for your bag. They will consume these gifts; but the creator must seek them.
Tarkovsky was in the middle of the creative universe (remeber his father Arseni Tarkovsky was a poet)in 1966; the script has an inner mytical force ; and every bit of this film is sublime, perfect.
Tarkovsky showed what many film makers haven't been able to do; express with a camera such landscape of images, in all his whole meaning.
Andrei Rubliov will be always a landmark ; an eternal triumph ; a epic statement that will be with all of us till the end of our lives.
And even more.

Revelation in Contemplation
I had never seen a Tarkovsky film before "Andrei Rublev", but I intend to see more. This film was *very* different, but very good, and I was moved by it on many different levels.

Set in Russia in the early 15th century, this film is based on the life of Andrei Rublev, an icon painter and arguably Russia's first great artist. It's told in a series of vignettes that don't always focus on Rublev; many times he is either a background observer or not involved at all. He is a device that Tarkovsky uses to tell a grander tale, a tale about art, life, humanity, history, faith, good, evil and other philosophical ideas that most filmmakers fear like the plague. This film is much more than a historical epic, it is a work of art, and possibly more than that a path to enlightenment.

Like many of the greatest directors, Tarkovsky is more than just a filmmaker. He is an ARTIST, possibly more so than any director I've ever encountered. For example, most directors use techniques like music and editing to elicit specific emotions from the audience, but Tarkovsky uses few to no manipulative devices. Scenes are typically wide, sweeping, epic shots, which often linger for up to several minutes. The viewer is allowed to absorb the situation and the imagery, to internalize them and let them sink into the subconscious. If one is still and contemplative, one will enter into a dialogue with the film and begin to experience it on a higher level.

The film lacks a tightly knit plot, and there's no pat morality tale. Rather it is LIFE, boiled down to its essence. Scenes feel real, and often play out in real time according to the rhythm of life. Characters will sit and wait, and we wait with them. Incidents unfold in real time, with no cuts and nothing edited. Tarkovsky uses the natural world a great deal. For instance, a character will chance upon the carcass of a snow-white egret mired in the swamp, or a somber procession will scale a snowy embankment where the mud has bled through like a pair of weeping eyes.

It's a work of art, I've established that, but I also love the historical setting. Fifteenth century Russia was grim and unforgiving. Orthodox Christianity was the official religion, but paganism was still commonplace. Boyars, kings and princes frequently skirmished with one another. Tartars from the south took advantage of the regional instability to sack villages and cities. Plague and sickness were rampant, and the vast majority of people lived in abject poverty. But the so-called "Dark Ages" were nearly at an end. Art and ideas from West were steadily infiltrating the East. Rublev himself was inspired by a Greek painter named Theophanes, a relationship depicted in the film. Tarkovsky captures the period perfectly in "Andrei Rublev", and to me it seems like the next thing to being there.

Having said ALL that, I cannot in good conscience recommend this film to most people. Here are all the reasons a modern filmgoer probably would not like "Andrei Rublev": it was filmed in black and white; it's old (originally released in 1966); it's long (the unedited Criterion release is nearly 3 and a 1/2 hours); it's in Russian with subtitles; at least one animal was brutally killed during the filming (for which there is NO excuse - shame on Tarkovsky); scenes linger for several minutes without cuts or editing; it's arty (though not pretentious); it's very difficult to understand; it requires repeated viewings and you may never fully "get it"; it's told in a series of vignettes with only a loose overarching narrative; etc., etc. If none of that scares you off, you should definitely check it out, because it's a real gem.

RUINED BY ANIMAL CRUELITY
I was really looking foward to this film as i have enjoyed SOLARIS, THE MIRROR and many other russian films so much. Everything you,ve read about the magnificents of this film is true,it is one of the most striking,poetic and beautiful looking films ive seen period, however i must say thatiam utterly repulsed by the three barbaric acts of animal torture , Seeing a cow running around its enclosure after being set on fire, a horse fall down some steps , breaking its leg and then have a spear shoved through its throat
and a dog being beaten to death and watching its final twitching
make this film ultimi unwatchable ..is this art??is this excusable??Do you think this is okay? these are the most repulsive and distrurbing scenes i have ever seen in a movie. I DO NOT SUPPORT THIS I DETEST ANIMAL CRUELTY/TORTURE, ESPECIALLY SIMPLY TO MAKE A FILM.....im shocked that so many of your reveiwers did not mention this..Please , someone tell me i wrong and that these scenes did not really happen for real
and its all trickery..

THE Russian epic with striking imagery (1966)
Andrei Rublev is probably the greatest looking film of all time. It was shot on a Konvas (you can pick one up on Ebay for $1000) and film students will be stunned by what has been achieved in terms of cinematography with such an old and dated 35mm motion picture camera. It is inspirational in terms of film-making and this is the core reason why you should watch the film. If you are interested in Kino Art then Andrei Rublev can probably lay claim to the greatest art film ever made. If you are looking to experiment with Tarvoksky, then Andrei Rublev is not a bad place to start.

Like most of Tarkovsky's films, Andrei Rublev is extremely artistic, conjectures much on the human condition, metaphysics and Russian life - that all seem to have some hidden meanings that contains the film's truth that Tarkovsky expounds on - namely the wickedness of men and the temptations that they face. It is also about triumph of the will and the nature of man. This is all done via the "narrative" and the look of the film. Tarkovsky mixes moments of dialogue about the metaphysical (a doctrine that would continue to be a theme in all of this other films giving a sense of what was to come - especially the intricateness of Stalker, Solaris), arrestingly simple and slow cinematography (his trademark water shots), complex action sequences (there are full scale battles like from a Kurosawa movie) and visionary set designs (15th century villages, towns and cities). This is Tarkovsky's biggest film ever (and quite possibly the biggest Russian film ever).

The premise is complex. Andrei Rublev, a monk with the gift of painting, is invited to paint churches around the country and in Moscow. Between travelling from job to job he encounters - monks who have lost their faith, monks with too much faith in themselves, fools who are imprisoned for their beliefs, Wicca festivals (the pagan ceremonies of St. John's night), murder, torture (the Russian crucifixion), death, error, the sacking of towns by the Tartars (the sacking of Vladimir), vows of silence and of course the most striking final piece of the film - the making of the bell (the casting of the bell). Characters appear and disappear (a cinematic technique found in The Thin Red Line), but there is also a lot of hidden imagery (every time you watch it you find something new), in particular scenes of novice monks putting dirt on their cheeks which makes no sense at the time yet later on we seen Andrei put the same dirt as a stain on a church he has painted because of the bureaucratic blinding of artists (an extremely violent scene of which there are many. As a note: Andrei Rublev happens to be an extremely violent film and there are several disturbing scenes. Also a scene where a horse falls down a stairs was cut because of animal cruelty but this has been restored for the DVD). All of these scenes are done via several chapters that each tells a story in which Andrei Rublev is present either as the central character of focus, a participant or an observer. If you pay close attention to the chapters you will realize that the themes of each chapter are contained in all the chapters. Tarvoksky plays with the audience in so many ways that you can only hope to watch the film again and again until you make ALL of the connections. You will likely not see a more striking film for imagery. The ending is obviously what got Kubrick working on his trip scene in 2001. Tarkovsky returned a nod by filming Solaris.

Andrei Rublev is shot in monochrome although the ending does a little Wizard of Oz for us. The story is divided between two discs. You have 86 minutes in the first disc and 99 in the second for a grand running time of 185 minutes. This DVD is PRICEY but this is Kino Art at its finest and worth every penny. The extras are many and there are some very important historical interviews about Tarkovsky. However I will say that DVD is totally unsuitable for Tarkovsky's films and possibly you will do better to watch a widescreen video or even better a 35mm print of the film in the cinema next time it comes to town. Even though the transfer is sublime for a 1966 picture (a Russian one at that) and there has been a lot of digital correction, the DVD produces artefacts on nearly all of Tarkovsky's films because of his complex imagery, but this is just quibbling and is not the fault of the DVD producers. Tarkovsky has simply exceeded the limits of what DVD mpeg compression can handle, even after this film is spanned over 2 discs... and that says a lot about the quality of this man's vision.

Kino Art does not come much better than Andrei Rublev.

Excellent, but slow paced and not for everybody.
This review is for the Criterion Collection DVD edition of the film. This film, like many of Tarkovsky's movies are slow-paced. This may bore some, but Tarkovsky viewed many his films as a form of art as opposed to entertainment.

Most people like movies that entertain, but not all films do that. I am a longtime fan of Russian cinema and find this to be a good example of "art house" cinema.

This movie contains some scenes that some persons may find unsettling. There is a scene where a man kicks a dog to death, a scene of a horse falling down a set of stairs breaking its leg, and another where a cow is on fire. There is also nudity.

The film itself was banned in the Soviet Union, but later released in a heavily cut version. The film has many religious references and quotes from the Bible. (The subtitles on the Criterion Collection DVD use the King James Version for translation of the Bible which is my favorite.)

The film follows the story of real life 14th-15th century icon painter Andrei Rublev. Not knowing too much about him, I cannot give a clear comparison between the film and his life. The movie is well photographed and has an excellend full color sequence at the end of the film showing his acutal paintings.

The Criterion Collection DVD has numerous special features.
Interview with director Andrei Tarkovsky, Improved Subtitles, A timeline showing events of Russian history, and the works and life events of Andrei Rublev and Tarkovsky. There is also a partial length audio essay during certain chapters on the DVD track that conform with the scenes the narrator is talking about.
The booklet lists these tracks so one would not need to view the whole film to search for the commentary. ... Read more

Reviews (55)

They fought and never look back
Fatal Fury the movie is one of a kind anime mix with a video game. Street Fighter is still the other anime that I like because bringing the favor into the character is wonderful. Terry is the calm, street fighter, Andy is stressed out because of Mai, Joe acts like a bonehead and Mai is a bit pighead sucking up to Andy to protect her. When one of the pieces of "Armor of Mars" was founded by "Laocorn" he plans to use all six pieces to become a god. Not only that his twin sister Sulia asked Terry to help her brother to be free of the cruse. Terry and his team went on to find the armor to prevent Laocorn to be controled by the armor. Fatal Fury action, drama,and some comedy to impress the fans. Special apperances by Kim Kapwhan, Duck King, Billy Kane and others from FF2. What makes also makes this movie special is the song "Oh Angel" at the credits. sounds romatic.

If you like Anime, But this Movie!
After Fatal Fury 1: Legend of the Hungry Wolf, and Fatal Fury 2 this third installment was a welcome addition to the series. Picking up where the second left off it takes our heroes into the hardest fight they have encountered yet; an new emerging mad man equipped with the armor of Mars.

Despite dragging a little bit in the middle this movie has high paced action mixed in with great directing calls by Masami Obari. With a plot worthy of a Greek Tragedy, Terry Bogard yet again struggles with both the finding of a new love and the struggling question of why he fights. Is it because he knows no other life or because he protects those around him? Subtle innuendos like that run through the movie and help to make it what it is. A story of four incredible fighters in a quest to help a complete stranger save her brothers' life and quite possibly his soul.

High paced figths, well thought plot, and well designed characters both good guy and bad guy alike, this is well worth adding to your video collection.

Do You REally Want Anime? Buy This!!!!!!
For those old that remeber animes like Robotech or maybe relative new animes like Evangelion or Magick Knight Rayearth, well they are great But this Fatal Fury Anime is The God Of The Animes, Mixes all Adventure,Action,Martial Arts,SciFi Power Battles, and a Great Story, Indiana Jones wold be Jealousy if he saw at this anime and the adventure story in it, and the personality of the characters is very well made comparated to the game story, if u are a fan or not of Fatal Fury Games u will Love this DVD, last to add is that if u are smart and wannna keep a great video Anime in your DVD colection u will buy this for sure

IF only Hollywood could be this good
It is pretty much a solid fact that most Video Game movies tend to suck. Even in the Anime world there are some that are at best Mediocre, however despite some criticism this is truely one of the better action Anime videos available, as well as Video Game inspired.

The story is that Terry Bogard, Andy Bogard, Joe Higashi, and Mai get recruited by this frightend girl Sulia to stop her Brother Lalcorn from gathering the armor of Goddamous, and ancient God back in the Days of Alexander the Great. Throughout the movie they search for clues as other Warriors get taken out in the meantime. Eventually the four of the Square off against Lalcorn and his Henchmen in an action packed finally.

This movie did what hollywood could not, capture the essence of the video game inside the movie and create an incredible story around it. To date from my personal viewing the only other Anime series to date that has done this task was Street Fighter 2V. If you are just getting into Anime, or an Action Anime fan than this is a title to check into.

Awsome anime
When I first got this movie I had thought I was some kind of sequel to Street Fighter but I was wrong. Fatal Fury was 1 of the best I've seen. This is my second best anime next to the Street FighterII series. Kids who can't really watch a PG-13 movie or R I suggest you shouldn't watch this because there are some blood and gore scenes and a hott shower scene. I hope this was helpful. ... ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Seven Deadly Sins - 1962
This is an awesome classic!!!

In the 'sloth' segment I saw the most beautiful body on earth. I was a twenty year old college student when I viewed this movie at the Times Fine Art theater in Milwaukee in 1962.

Her name, I believe, is Danielle Aubry. I have made love to women with gorgeous... but Danielle is still #1 even after all these (40) years.

There are also some socially redeeming qualities about this film but I forgot what they were.

GM ... Read more

Amazon.com

Astronomer and all-around scientific hero Jeff Morrow (he of the stone face, Cro-Magnon brow, and heavy voice of dire intonation) discovers a new celestial body that suddenly changes course and slams into the Pacific Ocean off the Mexican coast. Meanwhile a mysterious white light takes over the body of lab director John Emery, who becomes the eyes and ears of the UFO when it emerges days later as a skyscraper-sized robot. Morrow and his crew--including his beauty-with-brains girlfriend, Barbara Lawrence; wisecracking sidekick, George O'Hanlan; and computer, SUSIE, which whirs and blinks but offers little real help--leap to the rescue, but not before the Mexican air force takes on the giant in a scene reminiscent of King Kong. Director Kurt Neumann, best known for the original The Fly, gives this low-budget sci-fi thriller an impressive scope, sending the striking, austerely designed giant robot (a walking battery with piledriver legs) marching across a B&W widescreen frame like a relentless tank and punctuating the drama with an impressively chilling A-bomb blast. Though hardly a classic, this is one of the more interesting alien invasion movies of the paranoid 1950s. --Sean Axmaker ... Read more

Reviews (25)

A delicious alternative for standard 50s SF
"Down here we have half the atomic secret... we convert matter into energy... up THERE, they have the other half... they convert energy in matter!" So intones John Emery as a half-alien possessed, dying scientist in KRONOS. You can read about the plot and actors in the other reviews (esp. George "Jetson" O'Hanlon), so I thought I'd just throw in some noteworthy points about this movie -
1. The cinematography is great - you have some shots worthy of Conrad Hall's work on Outer Limits.
2. Irving Block and Jack Rabin - two of the creative minds behind Forbidden Planet - did a lot of the production and model work and they did a lot on limited money.
3. The monster - a giant electrical energy-sucking battery that pulverizes everything with its motive power units - has to be seen to be enjoyed.
4. You really, really get the feeling that this thing is alien in purpose and thinking. This is not some guy in a rubber suit standing in for the communist threat.

Terrific widescreen DVD of underrated 50s SF thriller
Far more intelligent and absorbing than your typical giant-rampaging-monster-on-the-loose flick, Kronos is one of my top picks for 'most underappreciated science fiction film,' possessing one of the more ingenious SF concepts of the 1950s (see also Monolith Monsters), as well as one of the decade's coolest, ahead-of-its-time alien invaders. The cast includes familiar genre stalwarts Jeff Morrow (Creature Walks Among Us, The Giant Claw), John Emery (Rocketship X-M, The Mad Magician), and Morris Ankrum (zillions of B-westerns and SF flicks), with Barbara Lawrence (Oklahoma!) as the lady scientist/love interest. The moody B&W cinematography is by Karl Struss (Island of Lost Souls, The Great Dictator, Mesa of Lost Women), and the curiously Angry Red Planet-like score is by Paul Sawtell and Bert Shefter (too many genre credits to list). Competently directed by B-film veteran Kurt Neumann (The Fly, She Devil), the film unfolds like a mystery, building slowly at first, adding a few plot twists, then really kicking in with the appearance of the colossal metallic "energy collector", subsequent scenes of devastation, and final assault on Los Angeles. The always-imaginative if chronically underfunded Jack Rabin-Irving Block-Louis DeWitt effects team (World Without End, War of the Satellites, Atomic Submarine) gets a major assist from 20th Century Fox budget dollars this time out and it shows, particularly in the design and execution of the monolithic robot itself and the scenes of mass destruction, effectively realized through the clever orchestration of miniatures, animation, mattes, stock footage, and spacey sound effects. The script may not always hold up to intense scrutiny (why don't the aliens just send their device to suck energy directly from stars?), the science is more comic-book than Isaac Asimov, and it's almost impossible not to think "George Jetson" every time George O'Hanlon (GJ's voice on TV) opens his mouth; but if this was in Technicolor it would be revered today as one of the SF greats (just compare this to the extremely overrated "classic" This Island Earth some time).
The Image DVD presents the film in its original 1.85:1 aspect ratio, and while the source print exhibits some light speckling throughout, the brightness, contrast, tonal values, sharpness, and detail are uniformly excellent. A middling-quality trailer and 16 chapter stops are the only extras, but this is still a must-have for any serious collector of 50s science fiction, especially at the recently-reduced price. I'll probably be sorry I said it but, in the right hands (James Cameron? Darren Aronofsky?), a modern remake of this could kill!

KRONOS: A Should-be 50's Sci-Fi Classic!
Being a fairly new collector of 50's Sci-Fi, I just finished watching "KRONOS: Ravager of Planets" and it was excellent! Starring Jeff Morrow of "This Island Earth" fame and written by Irvin Block (Forbidden Planet), KRONOS has above-average effects for it's genre and the story is very good. The giant alien machine/robot from outer space, known only as "KRONOS", is a fresh idea thrown into the mix of 50's classic invaders-from-space type films. If you enjoy collecting classic b&w 50's Sci-Fi, then KRONOS is an excellent addition to your DVD library. I only wish the DVD special features contained more. The Theatrical Trailer, Scene Selection and Feature Movie are the only options on the DVD. Anyway, it's still an enjoyable and fun classic Sci-Fi flick. Get one for yourself today!

Kronos: A Short Film In Feature Length Clothing
Sorry, nostalgia alone isn't enough to save this turkey of a movie. Yes, the basic premise is interesting and original, but it lacked development. In fact, it apparently lacked an editor! KRONOS is a prime example of a "padded" film. It is 80 minutes long and stretched thin to fit. Unfortunately a lot of B movies from the 50s suffered from the same problem.

An example:
A helicopter with two researchers takes off. We see lots of footage of the helicopter in the air. Then we see a coastline. Then the copter. Then the coastline again. Then the researchers in the cockpit looking around. Then the ocean and more coastline. The researchers point to something. The copter turns. We see rocks in the ocean. The copter turns again. The researchers finally figure there's nothing to see. The copter turns around again and heads for home.
So the filmmakers have burned up a good 4 minutes of the movie with a sequence that 1) doesn't have a point, and 2) doesn't resolve anything or add to the movie, and 3) makes you grateful for the fast forward feature of your remote control. Unfortunately there are many such sequences in this film.

I won't even get into the cheesy special effects - let's just say they're good for a chuckle. Also had to laugh at the scientist who is "possessed" by the alien life force...is it me or does this guy look like a psychotic Walt Disney?

Watching (and fast forwarding through) the film, I had a nagging thought that the makers of KRONOS could have pared the film down to half its running time and shown it as part of a double bill with some other edited-down flick from the same era. Would have been a vast improvement.
PS - another reviewer mentioned that an interesting remake could be culled from the concept of KRONOS. Actually, that may be true! The underlying idea is pretty interesting, hence the two star rating.

Crush! Kill! Destroy!!!!
A titanic robot from outer space invades earth, attempting to absorb all of our electrical energy. The press names it KRONOS after the mythical titan. Seemingly unstoppable, this juggernaut stomps it's way across Mexico, squashing all in it's path! Airplanes are pulled into it and explode like the models they are! All weapons are useless, as even the dreaded A-bomb only serves to make Kronos stronger! Can it be defeated before depleting us of all electricity? Can super-egghead Jeff Morrow and his team of labcoats find the answer in time? Or, will Kronos flatten us under it's mighty piston legs?? An absolute must-see flick for any true 50s sci-fi addict like myself... ... Read more

Reviews (26)

Beware of cheap imitations
"Diva" is one of my very favorite movies -- I distinguish that term from "film." It has a wonderful combination of a suspenseful plot (based on a detective novel by Delacorta,( who, I believe, has a Lolita complex illustrated by the young Vietnames girl), pop-art imagery, and a thoughtful theme (the increasing mechanization/depersonalization ) of modern classical music. A beautiful mixture of film noir, nouveau vague, and Hollywood thriller, with a self-deprecating sense of humor.

BEWARE OF THE OTHER DVD VERSION (with the gangster portrait on the box). IT HAS HORRIBLE SOUND WHICH IS FATAL FOR A MOVIE CONTAINING OPERATIC AND CLASSICAL MUSIC.

Run, Jules, Run!
I first saw this film in high school and was immediately impressed with it. I've rented it innumerable times and am glad it's finally made it to DVD. The premise is somewhat ridiculous, but if you see the film as an operetta in itself, then it makes sense. The plot interweaves three stories quite skillfully: the first thread involves the obsessive love that Jules, a delivery man, has for an opera singer (the Diva), and the lengths he will go to in order to possess her (or at least to capture her amazing voice). The second tale involves two cut-throat Japanese agents who will do anything to nab Jule's bootleg copy of the Diva singing (as she refuses to be recorded and thinks that music should be an emphemeral experience). And the final intrigue that provides the weft and woof for this movie is that of an underground sex slave ring and the Paris police department's attempts at apprehending the crime lord in charge of it.

All the characters in the movie were quite well-developed, except for that of the title character, the Diva, played by Wilhelmenia Fernandez. She is in real life an American opera singer, and as such I probably should not have expected so much from her as an actress. Nonetheless, her lackluster performance did not sabotage the great work by Frederic Andrei, who was superb as a naive, lovestruck Jules. Other notable performances were given by Richard Bohringer, the fabulously enigmatic Gorodish, the Zen-man with an answer for everything; and Thuy An Luu, his incorrigible, shoplifting girlfriend. I also loved the slapstick humor provided by the crime lord's two henchmen.

Diva is an all-around enjoyable film that capitalizes on the sense of sound in the same manner that "Like Water for Chocolate" culled from the sense of taste. You will hear a certain aria over and over again from this film, but the music that will actually stay with you is a haunting piano piece by Erik Satie (when Jules and Cynthia are in the park). I highly recommend this movie, especially if you liked "Run Lola Run."

As wonderful now as it was then
When I saw DIVA in the theaters, back in 1982, I knew I had witnessed something incredibly special. And for years it had kept a warm spot in my heart and mind. When I heard the DVD had been released, I was afraid of two things: 1) that the transfer would be a disaster and 2) the film would be terribly dated.

The not-so-good-news first: while superior to the earlier DVD release (which I had never seen, but heard about) the film suffers a little from some muddy sound, and at the worst times: during the operatic performances. Yet, the chase scenes have incredibly crisp sound. But I can't let that spoil the fact that the movie has held up incredibly well after 20+ years. While the fashions are of a by-gone era, everything else holds up perfectly. The plot, the direction, the performances are all as engaging as anything that's come out in recent years. Younger viewers may feel that this is a little old-fashioned, but I doubt it. This is a great film that has a little bit of everything: drama, love, comedy--and the strangest villains in cinema history! Give DIVA a chance.

A Thrilling Visual Poem
Diva is poetically visual as it displays a cinematically stunning experience, which renders one speechless with its sublime cinematography. The story begins with a postman, Jules, who is absorbed by opera as he tapes an opera singers performance. Unknowingly Jules has been observed by two peculiar men followings him in order to try retrieve the recording. In addition, a woman who is murdered has placed a tape recording in Jules's postman bag, which will add more problems for him. Diva is a superb cinematic experience that will visually intrigue as much French New Wave did during the 60s and 70s as it often produces new and interesting ways of displaying cinema.

cult film - no question about it
Diva is very intriguing with it's two parallel plots. The first time I saw this movie I was a bit confused and to this day I wouldn't know how to properly categorize it. It's a bit of a crime story, a bit of a romantic drama and has got lot's of great music.

But even if the movie had no plot and the acting was absolutely terrible (which it isn't), you could still just sit back and enjoy the music and the pictures (the lighthouse scene is absolutely gorgeous). Thuy An Luu is very tantalizing and a joy to watch, especially skating around Gorodish's warehouse / home.

Vladimir Cosma's piano sequences like the "promenade sentimentale" are masterpieces in their own right and I highly recommend the soundtrack.

I've seen this movie many times in the theatre. Owning this DVD is the next best thing to the real experience on the big screen and this was one of the first purchases I made after getting a DVD player. ... Read more

Reviews (211)

Stellar Acheivement
The 1996 film "Hamlet" directed and starring Kenneth Branagh is by far the best film adaption of the play! Even though its 4 hours, you hardly notice it because of how much is going on. His acting job is superb, as are Julie Christies as Gertrude, Derek Jacobi's as Claudius, and Kate Winslet as Ophelia (a role much better than her overrated one in "Titanic'). But what's really amazing is Kenneth Branagh's direction. He is such a genius and everyone involved with the movie should have gotten Oscars. Also, what I liked were the great visuals. Elsinore is so cool, especially the main hall with the mirrored doors and checkered floor. Plus he changes the play very subtlely, such as putting Claudius in a confessional for the praying scene or having him and Polonius watch Hamlet deliver the "to be or not to be" speech from a one-way mirror. I've heard Branagh say that he didn't want his movie to be gloomy and infatuated with death and deciet like the other films are. Instead it's a celebration of life and love, and adventure. END

Superior to all other versions.
Kenneth Branagh's version of Hamlet combines lush and breathtaking visuals with the complete, unabridged text of Shakespeare's masterpiece. In other versions of Hamlet, such as the ill-cast Mel Gibson film, the play is mistakenly cut down to a "more reasonable" two-hours-or-less atrocity. The unexpurgated method allows for the inclusion of important scenes that, if removed, take away from the overall effect of the drama. Despite its length of more than four hours, the film keeps the viewer entertained until the startling last scene. The stunning visuals can be attributed to the rarely used 70mm film on which the play was captured and the exceptional set design involved. The play is actually done in a 19th century motif, a unique departure from other versions of Hamlet. Impressive costume design add to the remarkable images in the film. The star-studded cast includes Derek Jacobi as Claudius, Kate Winslet as Ophelia, and Branagh, himself, as Hamlet, all parts delivered with brilliant authenticity. Other well known actors such as Robin Williams, Charlton Heston, and Billy Crystal also appear in small, but equally well-implemented roles. Some argue that Branagh's execution of the part was overdone, but it fits perfectly within the film and is, therefore, quite believable. The acting is overall a big plus to the end effect of the film. Beautifully executed in an outstandingly well-calculated manner, Branagh's film made Hamlet more accessible to modern viewers and will certainly remain popular for a long time to come.

Excellent Film
Kenneth Branagh's "Hamlet" works so well on the big screen because the guy has a knack for Shakespeare, acting, directing, and knowing what "modern" audiences wanted out of a Shakespearean play. He takes the tale of Hamlet, prince of Denmark, and transports it to more of a modern setting (well, more modern than the 16th century). He assembles an all-star cast that includes Kate Winslett, Charlton Heston, Derek Jacobi, Billy Crystal, Jack Lemmon, Robin Williams among others in this adaptation of Shakespeare's classic.

Although 4 hours in length (mainly because every word in the play is inserted in the script), the stunning effect of the play is extraordinary. The backdrop for the ghost of Hamlet in the opening scene, the mirror used when Hamlet (Branaugh) is making his "To be or not to be" soliloquy, the palace in which Hamlet and Laertes fight, and the snowy landscape in which Fortenbras and his men arrive are all instances of using scenery and directing to update this version of the play.

Although the setting and interpretation of what Shakespeare intended are left in doubt, the movie itself is visually stunning and the acting is great. Although Branaugh hired a few American actors to take on some of Shakespeare's characters (for instance, Robin Williams plays Osric and Billy Crystal plays one of the gravediggers), there "American" accents are hardly noticed in the film.

As an educator, I also think this is a fantastic version to use as a resource for a study of the play. Because the dialogue is accurate to the play, it works well. Also, this version seemingly makes the work of Shakespeare easier to understand. (Although, as a warning, there is one scene with Winslet (Ophelia) and Branaugh (Hamlet) that is definitely "adult" in nature).

Overall, a great gamble by Branaugh to update Shakespeare's work into his own insight. There is also a few extras on the VHS version: interviews with many of the cast members as well as a behind the scenes about the movie.

Also recommended: Hamlet (Mel Gibson version)

Great Film for learning
This film is a great tool to be used within a classroom to reinforce Shakesperian lessons. The film presents one of the best adaptations to Shakespeare's original work. Awesome production!

Good.
This version of 'Hamlet' starring and directed by the one and only Kenneth Branagh is a joy to watch and might be the best version of the famous play. It follows the play word by word, so one has to read it and understand it fully to understand the film. Better than the Mel Gibson 'Hamlet'. ... Read more

Description

Writer/director Federico Fellini tells the tale of a woman (Giulietta Masina) dealing with her husband's possible infidelity. The result is a surreal and wild investigation into the psychology of a modern woman. Powered by Nino Rota's haunting score, "Juliet of the Spirits" was the winner of five Best Foreign Film of the Year awards and received Academy Award nominations for Best Art Direction and Costume Design in 1966. ... Read more

Reviews (31)

"C'mon Guilietta! We're all waiting!" (for you to come out)
This is a film about a woman in her 30s--a well-to-do Italian housewife--and the inner changes she experiences through several events in her life including, most prominently, the infidelity of the husband she loves. But it's much more too.

Fellini's stunning visuals--the colors and settings, the outrageous dress, and the fantastic score of Nino Rota, makes it seem as if Italy is the most exotic place on earth.

The first time I watched this film I was a bit put off by some of the events that didn't always make sense, as well as the annoying white subtitles that are difficult to read. But there was something about it that compelled me to watch again. I'm still not sure I understand the ending, or the role of the tall Spaniard, but there are many subtle and wonderful things happening.

The music of Rota is simply captivating. Most of it is carried by a lilting, swinging clarinet and a quirky organ in an unlikely but very rich marriage. I'm disappointed to find there is apparently no film score available on CD.

The viewer is treated to the whole litany and range of emotions of a woman suspecting her husband of cheating--and Guilietta Masina, in a great performance, tells it all in her face.

Guilietta also has visions. Her penchant for the spirts, along with the urging of her kooky friends, ("S/he only comes every seven years!") leads her to visit a spiritual charlatan, a phony guru, in a memorable and hilarious scene. "
"Isn't it an apple?"
"No dear, you must see beyond material form."

Guilietta's friends also try to persuade her to experience love beyond her marriage. I shan't tell the result but, again, Fellini treats the viewer to many, many exotic and unexpected scenes.

Finally, this film also explores the relationships of Guilietta to her husband, her mother and sisters, her friends, her husband's friends and her maids. In a sense, this is very much a woman's film. But it's more; it's surreal; it's certainly one for those tired of boring, contemporary films.

FELLINI'S BEST FILM?
Federico Fellini's films often reflected an enticing and disturbing dreamworld. "JULIET OF THE SPIRITS" is his first color film and it is a delight to see the bright, vivid colors again. All previous existing prints on tape were deplorable transfers.

Simply put, the story focuses on a wealthy Italian housewife in her 30s and the interior metamorphosis she undergoes as she experiences the passages, events and changes in her life, most notably her husband's unfaithfulness. A husband she loves. No words can do justice to the stunning visuals -- cinematography, costumes and production design.

Many film buffs consider this Fellini's best film -- even better than his autobiographical "81/2" -- a film that is in many ways the psychological flip side of "Juliet."

Fellini was one of only a handful of world class filmmakers that was fully actualized as an artist. He could not only break the rules, but make new ones. And no one excelled better than he in visualizing an elliptical, ephemeral dreamstate that still speaks to our deepest feelings in a unique and fresh style.

Nina Rota's fantastical score raises the intensity of the images and nuances the fleeting emotions. See this great movie for the first time and discover a genius and humanist who painted with light.

Thanks to Criterion for continuing the tradition of gathering the greatest films from the finest filmmakers around the world and publishing them in editions that offer the highest technical quality and award-winning, original supplements.

Who Doesn't Daydream...?
....It's a Fellini Cine, babes!

I was--like I have been while watching other foriegn films--put off initially by the seemingly incongruous little snippets of music and visuals. I mean, couldn't those Europeans make a movie that flowed better? Jeez! I open my mind, watched it a few times and came to these conclusions. First, Giulietta, the actress, must have been a bit off to have done this apparently semi-real story abouat a middle aged woman married to a famous director who she suspects is having an affair. I mean, she was married to Fellini when this was produced. Second, albeit the digital reprocessing has made the cinema more vivid and the costuming more striking, the women more sexier, it showed it's date. When Juliet goes to confront the lady about l'affair, she should have kick the B*'s tail. That probably would have been the response for a character in a current day movie. Third, in an odd sort of way, it all but helps a more modern Eyes Wide Open to make some kind of sense. I mean, who can say how we will respond when a whiff of infidelity comes into our relationships, our lives? Juliet's response were these visions. Some of these were from her far away youth. Some just were pure Fellini bacchanalia. Tom Cruise in Eyes was thinking well, if my wife can *think* it, well, I can just *do* it and be one up on her. It starts for Tom as 'getting even', but it corrodes into something else that he had no control over. (I always say we are forever one step from a huge disaster and we don't know it....) We see Juliet almost giving into her urges with the pretty Latin kid who she meets at her neighbor's...but something just doesn't feel right.

And so, that's what this film is about. What we go thru when we suspect something or hear some painful news. We have the brilliant Guilietta Masina and the surreal Fellini to thank for giving these emotions some sort of form..

One of Fellini's best films
I started watching Fellini films as a young teen, seeing the older ones in the revival theatres, and eagerly anticipating his newest films. Juliet of the Spirits is truly my favorite Fellini film. The camera visuals and color are stunning. The wide screen format is imperative. I only wish that Criterion had also added the (bad) English language soundtrack. It's better for first time viewers. Some of Fellini's imagery is easily missed by reading too many subtitles.

Beautifully Filmed Nonsense
While I admire the cinematic beauty of "Nights of Cabiria" and even its plot (as threadbare as it is, it's still good fun), by the time Fellini got to Juliet of the Spirits, he had really run out of things to say. Early on in the movie, there are harbingers of a plot, some suspense and even something verging on high drama, but none of these pan out, and instead we are left with.......a mess.

Giulietta Masina is a very great actress, it is just that there wasn't much material for her to work with. It is too bad she hitched her wagon to husband Fellini's star her entire career, because if she were just in a few movies with plots, character development and finely crafted dialogue, we could have discovered the full range of her talent.

In 1965, when this movie came out, there weren't so many movies about a woman's "midlife crisis" and her quest for "fulfillment"; By now this plot has become a cliche. As far as the story line goes, "Juliet of the Spirits" has got to rank among the worst, even losing out to the B-movies and straight-to-video films that are grist for the mill on Lifetime and The Oprah Channel.

And that is really a shame, because this is one of the most gorgeously filmed movies I've ever seen. Director of Photography Gianni di Venanzo's use of Technicolor is breathtakingly fascinating for its sumptuous use of warmth and its balance of colors and use of shocking hues. It rivals movies such as "Fantasia" and "Vertigo" for its artistic *visual* excellence.

Yet, this movie taken as a whole is rambling, unfocused and pretentious in a genre that is not too difficult to master. Some call Fellini's movies "surrealistic," and I have no argument with that. Perhaps my bourgeoise temperament lacks the patience to put up with it in two-hour-long doses. I prefer my surrealism in visual stills from Dali, Man Ray, Magritte.

The irony of it is that the best movie of the "woman finding herself" genre -- "Shirley Valentine", directed by Lewis Gilbert -- is filmed so dryly that it borders on incompetence. Imagine what a movie that would have made were the script put into the hands of di Venanzo and Fellini with a soundtrack by the great Nino Rota.

Altogether, viewing "Juliet of the Spirits" can be a pleasant experience, so long as one is concerned with camera work, editing, color timing and music. ... Read more

Reviews (24)

A Most Accurate Depiction of the Civil War and the Old West
Hollywood couldn't make a movie like Josey Wales today. In an age of political correctness, sappy westerns, and revisionist history, I find this movie a refreshing break from modern "reality." It is a classic, and one of the few movies that I own and watch more than once.

The realistic representation, references to actual historical figures, interwoven irony, and tightly knit dialogue make this movie a pleasure even for those prone to analyzing small details.

I grew up in the South and still remember my grandparents describing life during the Civil War in much the same terms that Josey Wales experiences it. The vast majority of Southerners were dirt-poor farmers who had never even seen a plantation, much less owned slaves, and I can't help but regard The Outlaw Josey Wales as a cinematic vindication of the wrongs they suffered at the hands of looting and pillaging murderers like W.T. Sherman.

A couple of interesting side notes that will enrich your viewing of Josey Wales: Clint Eastwood's son in the movie is his son in real life; Lone Watie was a chief in real life; Sondra Lock went on to become Clint Eastwood's wife in real life.

Classic Eastwood, Classic Western, Classic Movie
In recent years, Clint Eastwood's "The Outlaw Josey Wales" has been elevated to a higher plain than it occupied when released in summer 1976. Praised by a handful of critics, the film did well at the box-office but really acquired a following through no less than six highly rated airings on NBC, ABC, and CBS. Now it's often considered Eastwood's finest hour as director and star, even surpassing his Oscar winning "Unforgiven" in some eyes. Among its fans was the late Orson Welles who praised it as one of the finest Westerns ever made, and praised Eastwood as a director worthy of notice long before it was fashionable to do so. In 1996, Eastwood's fifth film as a director was even recognized by the Library of Congress when it was added to the National Film Registry, that collection of films deemed historically, artistically, and/or sociologically important and deserving of protection from tampering by anyone but the original director.

At first glance, I found it overlong and meandering, enlivened only occasionally by some trademark Eastwood gunplay. But if it's a little short on the action for which Eastwood made his name, repeated viewings make it clear that there is much more happening beneath the surface. The Outlaw Josey Wales is very much a film about community and trying to find a place in one. Josey Wales is an outlaw only because he avenged the death of his family at the hands of murderous Union soldiers. Now a hunted man, this peaceful farmer is an Angel of Death wandering the west in search of vengeance but also a place to call home. Its scope is much bigger than the revenge tale at its center, and the film represents an important step in Eastwood's maturation as a director.

Beautifully photographed, splendidly acted (especially by John Vernon), and capably directed, "The Outlaw Josey Wales" is one of Eastwood's finest hours (although "Unforgiven" is superior in my book), and one of the finest hours for the western, as well.

"I RECKON SO."
LEAVE THE WINING 'UNFORGIVEN' ON THE SHELF AND BUY THIS ONE.
EASTWOOD HAS NEVER BEEN BETTER IN FRONT OF OR BEHIND THE CAMERA.
WALES (EASTWOOD) IS A MISSOURI DIRT FARMER RAIDED BY RED LEGS UNION TROOPS AT THE END OF THE CIVIL WAR. AS A RESULT HE BURIES HIS WIFE AND CHILD AND SETS OUT WITH CONFEDERATE IRREGULARS TO "SET THINGS ARIGHT."
AND THAT HE DOES EARNING A REPUTATION AS A FEARED PISTOLERO IN THE PROCESS. ALONG THE WAY HE IS FORCED TO ACCEPT A RAG TAG FAMILY OF LONERS AND LOOSERS.
HE IS FREQUENTLY CHALLENGED AND SYSTEMATICLY BLASTS THE BAD GUYS
PUNCTUATING HIS KILLS WITH TOBACCO SPITTLE ON THE CORPSES FOREHEADS. WHEN A PARTNER REGRETS NOT BEING ABLE TO BURY THE BAD GUYS, JOSEY QUIPS IN TRUE LACONIC FASHION "BUZZARDS GOTTA EAT, SAME AS WORMS.'
THE DIALOGUE SELLS THIS SHOW. THE CHIEF VILLIAN YANKEE WHO IS CHARGED WITH TRAKING THE OUTLAW REMARKS TO HIS MEN (REFERRING TO WALES) "NOT A HARD MAN TO TRACK, LEAVES DEAD MEN WHERE EVER HE GOES." WALES CONCLUDES HIS EPIC MISSION BY FINALLY KILLING HIS ARCH RIVAL 'RED LEGS TERRELL' THEREBY AVENGING HIS LONG DEAD FAMILY.
THE FILM IS NOT WITHOUT HUMOR THANKS TO 'LONE WATIE' AN OUTCAST ELDERLY INDIAN WHO LIGHTENS THE DRAMATIC LOAD WITH TIDBITS OF WIT AND WISDOM. WHEN WALES ASKS WATIE IF HE HAS ANY THING TO EAT.
THE OLD WARRIOR REPLIES AS HE HOLDS UP A COLORFUL STONE "JUST THIS PIECE OF ROCK CANDY, BUT ITS NOT FOR EATIN....JUST FOR LOOKIN THROUGH."
WATIE ENCOURAGES WALES BY INSISTING THAT HE "ENDEAVOR TO PERSEVEARE."

WALES DOES SO AND SLOWLY REDISCOVERS HIS LOST EMOTIONS AND IN THE END WE ARE LED TO BELIEVE ALL WILL BE WELL.

GOOD WESTERN ENTERTAINMENT?

AS JOSEY WOULD SAY "I RECKON SO."

Simply the Best
This is the best Western of all time, bar none.

GREAT!
i love this movie i have seen lots of of clints movies (yes and some R ones but just 2) this is the best! ... Read more

Amazon.com

Ira Levin's scary novel about forced conformity in a small Connecticut town made for this compelling 1975 thriller. Katharine Ross stars as a city woman who moves with her husband to Stepford and is startled by how perpetually happy many of the local women seem to be. Her search for an answer reveals a plot to replace troublesome real wives with more accommodating fake ones (not unlike the alien takeover in Invasion of the Body Snatchers). The closer she gets to the truth, the more danger she faces--not to mention the likelihood that the men in town intend to replace her as well. Screenwriter William Goldman (Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid) and director Bryan Forbes (King Rat) made this a taut, tense semiclassic with a healthy dose of satiric wit. --Tom Keogh ... Read more

Reviews (73)

You'll Just Die If You Don't See This Movie
Whether or not you've actually seen it, you'll probably have heard of "The Stepford Wives". Based on Ira Levin's novel, it was produced in the 1970s and has endured in the public consciousness ever since. Indeed the terms "Stepford" and "Stepford Wife" are now part of our vernacular. If you're in any doubt what these expressions mean, just imagine a woman who is the perfect male fantasy...a wife who cooks, cleans and keeps her husband's home to perfection whilst remaining an object of beauty, with well-preserved looks, sexy outfits and just the right-sized cleavage. A female who is there to service her man's every need - domestic, emotional, sexual - whilst never questioning her role as devoted housewife.The film tells the tale of New York housewife and photographer Joanna Eberhart, who moves with her lawyer husband Walter (sexy name - not!) and their two kids to the seemingly idyllic rural town of Stepford. Very soon Joanna becomes disenchanted with her surroundings, missing the liveliness of New York. Her feelings of isolation are compounded by the fact that the other women in the town appear content to stay at home for their husbands as loyal house fraus, with no outside interests whatsoever. Also, all new male arrivals in Stepford are invited to join "The Men's Association", an organisation from which the town's women are strictly excluded. Whatever goes on there remains a mystery; the women aren't told.

Fortunately Joanna meets the effervescent and rebellious Bobby Marco, another recent arrival in Stepford who shares her concerns about the strange behaviour of the women in the community. Together they decide to set up a consciousness-raising group and rally to get the local women involved...almost to no avail! At the first meeting of the wives, the other women prefer to agonise over the cleanliness of their kitchens and talk about the wonders of "Easy-On" starch spray and baking. One other recruit is found though; a feisty redhead called Charmaine who feels restricted by her husband Ed's demands. However after a weekend away with him, Charmaine returns strangely altered, allowing her hubby to bulldoze her much-loved tennis court and confessing that she all she wanted to do was "please Ed...and boy am I gonna please him". Weird.

Mystified, Joanna and Bobby seek an answer to the zombie-like behaviour of the local women, wondering if "something in the water" might be responsible. They enlist one of Joanna's ex boyfriends, who is a scientist, to help, but this fails to pay dividends. Joanna soon comes to the frightening realisation that the town's wives undergo a change in personality after they have been resident in Stepford for roughly three months... and her time is almost up...

I won't give any more away but this is a thought-provoking and intriguing movie!! Although low on action, the film builds its sense of momentum through a growing feeling of paranoia: are the women in the town somehow being "substituted" for drone-like replacements? Or are all of Joanna's anxieties inside her own head? If you're looking for a fast-moving film you might be disappointed, but the cleverness of the movie lies in its subtlety and the way in which the events take place in a seemingly normal domestic setting.

Another reason for this movie's success lies in the acting. Katherine Ross (also of "The Graduate") puts in an intelligent, sympathetic performance as a woman who feels increasingly hemmed in by the claustrophobia of Stepford, and you really root for her as she feels she might be next on the list for "conversion". Paula Prentiss is great as Bobby, a funny, bubbly and tomboyish character determined not to become "one of those pan-scrubbers" and the rapport between her and Joanna is believable and touching. Given her determination to escape Stepford, Bobby's last few scenes are all the more poignant; I won't say any more but they make for some of the film's best moments! The supporting cast do a good job: amongst these are Peter Masterson as Walter, becoming gradually less supportive of his wife's feelings and fears and more and more influenced by the demands of the "Men's Association"; and Nanette Newman as Carol Van Sant, one of the wives who starts behaving very oddly at a barbecue, continually proclaiming "I'll just die if I don't get that recipe" (!!) Newman's role as a wife is all the more ironic considering all those "Fairy Liquid" adverts she once did (remember?!)

The movie has also attained a kitsch/camp quality over time, mostly due to the fact that it was made in the 1970s! This doesn't spoil the subtler elements to the film, rather makes it all the more entertaining! A large part of the camp appeal is down to the wives themselves - their appearance, behaviour and dialogue. According to this movie, men would like nothing better than to see their wives dressed in frilly blouses (still showing off their assets), flowery dresses and big floppy hats - hilarious. The wives all say things like "I really shouldn't say it, but I just love my brownies" (that's cakes in case you were wondering) and constantly praise their husbands' performances in the bedroom department: "You're the King....you're the Master"!! No comment!

To summarise this is a very enjoyable movie, which, as I have already mentioned, shows the dangers of male fantasies coming true and the perils that women must face having to exist in a patriarchal society. Go buy it...but don't get any ideas about changing your girlfriend...okay?!

I'll simply die if I don