Reviews (35)

A Choreographic Tour de force
This is an impressive cinematic experience which borders on pure ballet. What Evita achieved in some measure in its operatic effort (for all that it was worth)the movie Tango unleashes a continuous virtuosic display of stunning dance sequences which is not unlike that of classical ballet. To be sure, the visual (not special) effects assume precedence over any character development, although the main character's angst is to some degree fairly well defined. There is some philosophical adumbrations, some of which betray influences of Jorge Luis Borges; namely, the omnipresence of mirrors, which suggest the reality/illusion references; the encapsulated, closed environment of the mise-en-scene, the inveterate lonliness of the protagonist. Overall the film tends toward the abstract, not unlike a painting in perpetual motion.

Saura does not take a back seat to Spielberg
Much of this extraordinary movie deals with the Tango; its origins, its importance to the Argentine culture. The dancing is superlative, the music is wonderful. Amidst the music and the dancing, is a taut, dramatic love story. The depth of the story is not necessarily in the character development, but rather in the blurring of the imagination and reality experienced by the main character. This "back and forth" between reality and the imagination is marvelously portrayed as a result of Saura's sophisticated direction. At times you think you are looking at the characters only to find that you are looking at reflections. The cinematography and lighting are superb. A moviegoer does not have to have an affinity for the Tango to appreciate this movie. The terrific acting, beautiful use of light and color and the surreal thought processes of the main character are worthwhile in their own right, but the music, dancing and insight into the production of the "show within the show" are truly wonderful. Definitely an eleven on a scale of ten.

Excellent cinematography, a motion picture art piece
Tango is an amazing movie in its exceptional combination of dance, music, camera technique, color, mirrors, and lighting.

At several points in this movie I thought to myself: "Wow, this lighting/camera perspective is perfect, why don't we see more of this in movies?" After watching the movie once, I found myself immediately going back to re-watch some specific scenes just like one may be drawn back to an especially interesting piece of art.

The plot of this movie *is not* what makes this a great picture, although it does effectively tie together the various scenes and the overall context of the film. What makes this a great film are the actors/actresses, dance numbers, music, and cinematography.

The english subtitles were clear and easy to read at all times.

Overall a very different and entertaining movie... Recommended.

A movie about a Tango movie, but not really...
This movie is definitely different than most American movies. It is by far abstract. This is my warning to you folks. Be glad there is definitely Tango in this movie. This is a movie about the making of a Tango movie where the real life of the director is blended into the movie he's making. There's also a dark political message in there.
There are some dramatic Tango and some fun and playful tango during practice. There's a female voice over working on her craft. And an intro to the musicians. This movie really shows the audience every that goes into Tango, not just the dancers. Everyone. Including the lighting director. It has some social aspects of tango, although it could have gone deeper into this.
This movie is great for people exploring Tango, movie making, or the inner workings of a musical.
This movie won't appeal to people who only like mainstream or are irritated by abstract art or ideas. You might even walk away thinking..."was that a movie?"...not really.

There aren't many Tango movies out there. This is better than Assassination Tango. I would give this a 3star if there are better ones out there. The main actor in this movie is really good. I've never seen him before, but I can see he would fit in
perfectly with any American movie.

Now to answer a previous review:"No talent movie". I don't think this movie have to have the BEST TANGO dancers. Just because someone can Tango doesn't mean they can act. In fact, as the movie shows, they make mistakes in the audition and practice.
Would it be realistic to be perfect from dance school to audition to practice to show?

Tedious with not much tango
Long boring monologue about a director's midlife crisis with a young dancer. We don't see much dancing (or even much of her), just his dreary voice and self, with uninspired artsy pseudo-ballet tango fitfully in the background ... Read more

Amazon.com

Filmmaker Michael Verhoeven (not to be confused with Showgirls director Paul Verhoeven) made one of the best films of the '80s with this bold, 1989 German production about an adolescent girl, Sonja (Lena Stolze of Verhoeven's The White Rose), who researches the history of her hometown's involvement in the Holocaust. The "nasty" of the title doesn't refer to provocative behavior on the heroine's part but rather Sonja's sudden reputation as a busybody, stirring up dirt about her neighbors' sundry crimes against humanity and being rebuffed or punished at every turn. Verhoeven makes a number of inspired, artistic leaps in portraying Sonja's story (she grows up and is a married woman before her quest is complete) as an epic myth for post-war Germany. The director draws on thrilling performance ideas from Bertolt Brecht and pursues heavy visual stylization to bring an exciting immediacy to this tale of dangerous secrets. Topping it all off is Stolze's sharp, likable, smart acting. --Tom Keogh ... Read more

Reviews (24)

Accepted History
I viewed this film for a historiography seminar - a study of the study of history. "The Nasty Girl" is a crazed but shrewd look at how new theories are first subverted and then accepted by the historical community, oftentimes because of its symbiotic relationship with the governing class.

As Sonya comes of age, her native West Germany is the metaphoric heart of the Cold War. Apropos of this, she writes a
prize-winning essay on the history of Democracy in Europe and confirms her position among family and mentors of a very clever, but more importantly, very good girl - a classic conformist. The next year she enters another essay contest, this time on her hometown during the Third Reich. She discovers that her hometown, which claimed to be a lonely wartime bastion of anti-Nazism, worked with Hitler's regime. Though Sonya is unable to complete the essay, her curiosity is piqued, and leads to her chosen major of History and Thelogy that will culminate in the book/thesis that brings her town's sins to light. To the town fathers and other dangerous charachers, all this makes Sonya a nasty girl after all.

The film is very good. All sorts of devices - speaking to the camera, praying to trees, using trucks for the sets of rooms, even an inside joke on the controversy over the director's previous film (OK!), are utilized. I have heard "The Nasty Girl" compared to Brecht. It is absurdist hilarity tied to a great cause. Sonya is terrorized by those who disagree with her, but her ultimate moment of peril - and her only of self-doubt - is when her theories are finally accepted. Is she being co-opted? A fine parable for students who aspire to enter into the profession.

Intriguing
While based on the true story of Anja Rosmus (renamed Sonja in the film, played by Lena Stolze), Michael Verhoeven's Nasty Girl is a daring reproduction that adroitly juxtaposes Sonja's persistent endeavors of Vergangenheitsbewältigung (coming to terms with the past-more specifically with the horrific events of WWII that took place in her provincial town) with the town's stubborn will for Vergangenheitsverdrängung (repression of that past) in order to probe the complex conflicts of the era with a distant, analytical eye. Using such Brechtian Verfremdungseffekte (distanciation devices) as fragmented and/or false projections engages the audience in dialectical thinking about the issues of the play rather than the characters. In fact, the characters are somewhat laughable and stereotypical-the strict Catholic school denying pregnant women the right to teach, Sonja's teacher who bursts through the door every time an essay opportunity arises, the cutesy grandmother shouting "follow Sonja's example" even when Sonja strays from the norm in "negative" ways. (And by "negative," I mean anything that is not reflective of the goody-two-shoes girl who only says positive things about her country.) Instead, we focus on the scenes themselves-not just the fact that Sonja's neighbors prove to be a panoptical regime, closing in on Sonja's life, leaving daunting phone messages and desecrating her home without her caring about what others thought, but more importantly the unique ways in which such scenes are depicted. For those of us who are used to cathartic, Aristotelian progress and ending of American Hollywood films, the fragmented, strange Brechtian view with an ambiguous ending might seem a weird "gyp" to the closed-minded, but will prove a refreshing outlook for those with open, analytical minds.

Hooray For All Nasty Girls
This film by Michael Verhoeven is about a Bavarian schoolgirls's (Sonya) quest to find out the truth behind her small village's history and involvement behind the Third Reich. The film gives a chilling depiction of how partriarchal institutions and powerful individuals in control will use any means to neutralize any seroius threats brought against them. Surprisingly enough, Nasty Girl is one of few films that depict a woman as being single-mindedly obsessed by the pursuit of the facts. This kind of discourse has always been reserved for males. Several times Sonya is almost diverted from her quest by the temptations society dangles in front of women to keep us in our places. Sonya even receives this kind of pressure from her own husband.

Verhoeven does an excellent job of depicting the panoptical regime Sonya is objectified to in the film. There are a number of scenes in the film in which they are filmed on the back of a moving, open-top truck dressed up to resemble a family sitting room. There are no walls which hint at Sonya's lack of protection for herself and her family. Everyone is able to see into her actions without her being able to see into theirs. It is only until she is able to get hold of the facts that are intentionally being withheld from her that she is able to regain control. This allows for the walls to reappear around Sonya and her family. The Nasty Girl is a wonderfully constructed (with heavy use of many cinematic visual techniques) film that follows the journey of a highly ambitious woman towards the truth behind her homeland's history. Ironically, there is nothing "nasty" about this film...well maybe the kiss Sonya and her schoolteacher share in the film, but that's another review...

My view on "The Nasty Girl"
"The Nasty Girl," directed by Michael Verhoven, is a German film about a woman, Sonya Rosenberger, trying to find the truth behind her Bavarian town's hidden past. Everything about Sonya's town appears pleasant and quaint as she is growing up until she begins digging into its history during the Third Reich. While Sonya's search encounters obstacle after obstacle, the town's pristine appearance fades. Secrets of clergymen ratting out Jews to the Nazis, concentration camps, and other scandals upset the townspeople when their true identities are revealed by Sonya.
For the ordinary viewer, "The Nasty Girl" may seem more of an avant-garde film. However, there is much meaning behind the way Sonya is portrayed through her own actions and the actions of the town. Sonya feels the gaze of everyone in the town, as her every move is documented and judgments are cast against her. In his book, Ways of Seeing, John Berger's idea of the surveyed, being Sonya, and the surveyor, being the townspeople, is beautifully displayed in scenes of the film where her world and pursuit for the truth is known by all the townspeople. The film may also seem different because Sonya's character does not fit the Hollywood stereotype of a "perfect" woman. She is not typified as a tall blonde who acts in a "girlie" manner or is purely a sexual object. She has her own set of values and beliefs that she holds strongly to, even though others might try to scare or hurt her. Sonya is a rare kind of woman in film because looks like any other woman and endures many hardships like any other woman. Overall, this is a highly recommendable film for those who enjoy thinking beyond what is on the screen.

The Slightly Disheveling Girl
Michael Verhoeven's The Nasty Girl tells a tale of a controversial woman who uncovers the Nazi related secrets of her Bavarian hometown during the course of writing a book. The heroine, Sonja (Lena Stolze), begins a quest to discover her Heimat, her patriotic love of homeland. Uncovering the anti-semitic and pro-Nazi actions of the town elders, she becomes the target of hatred by Germans who are unwilling to change their view towards their history in the Third Reich. Verhoeven aptly uses Brechtian techniques and Verfremdungseffekte to allow the viewer to focus not on the plot but on the thematic issues, namely Vergangenheitsbewältigung (coming to terms with the past), gender roles, and Heimat.
The unidentifiable, young, beer drinking men in the film make frequent attempts to silence Sonja, representing the majority mindset of repressing the past so it will not be dealt with. In her struggle against this Vergangenheitsverdrängung, her character transcends the stereotypical "housewife" notion that her husband and peers try to pin on her. For example, she breaks typical gender notions by bringing her baby to a lecture, and her husband comments on how he must put the children to bed.
The Nasty Girl is a stylistically powerful film, attempting to aid in the Vergangenheitbewältigung in Germany, but still felt in audiences elsewhere. ... Read more

Amazon.com essential video

Expect to be very hungry (and perhaps amorous) after watching this contemporary classic in the small genre of food movies that includes Babette's Feast and Big Night. Director Alfonso Arau (A Walk in the Clouds), adapting a novel by his former wife, Laura Esquivel, tells the story of a young woman (Lumi Cavazos) who learns to suppress her passions under the eye of a stern mother, but channels them into her cooking. The result is a steady stream of cuisine so delicious as to be an almost erotic experience for those lucky enough to have a bite. The film's quotient of magic realism feels a little stock, but the story line is good and Arau's affinity for the sensuality of food (and of nature) is sublime. You might want to rush off to a good Mexican restaurant afterward, but that's a good thing. --Tom Keogh ... Read more

Reviews (98)

Superb - One of the Great Foreign Language Films of Our Time
A thrilling, intoxicating masterpiece, "Like Water for Chocolate" will leave you hungry, happy and hung over with its surreal vision and unforgettable performances. Some of the film's charm lies in its uncompromising vision of what it must be like to be a poor, Mexican woman, surrounded by angry sisters and petty jealousies. The food is a miracle of texture and authenticity that makes the book a recipe lover's dream. But the spiritual aspects of the movie take it someplacve else altogether....by tying food and unseen forces together, the author and director have fashioned love as a cycle of human emotion coupled with betrayal and passion. Believers and non-believers alike are asked to suspend judgement and just BE with this movie, for it raises issues and themes rarely imagined or acheived on film. A few sequences are startling - such as a wedding party where every guest is gastronimically infected by a soup that is stewed with the tears of our protagonist, and they all end up regurgitating the mixture, and in the end, understanding that true love should not be gambled away for money or superiority. Another sequence, where the middle daughter Gertudis, is literally kidnapped by a horse riding gunslinger while she sits alone in an outhouse doing her business, is hysterical, yet also painful to watch, because it symbolizes the woman's need for free choice in a world where men have so much of the power. Besides, any couple who has eloped or married without their parent's blessings will quickly make the connection to their own experience. If you can keep up with the subtitles, I'd advise against a dubbed version, for in its Spanish - eloquent, funny and dramatic - the film c aptures its truest form of communication. And food as metaphor - used in other terrific fims like "Babette's Feast" - has never been presented in such an awe inspiring manner. This is a feast to be savored every step of its delectible way.

A passion for cooking and romance!!!
This has to be one of my all time favorite foreign films. I loved the book and I think the movie is equally good. The story is set around a young woman named Tita, who according to an unfair family tradition, must care for her overbearing, demanding mother. Because of this, she is unable to marry the young man she has fallen in love with and transfers her passion into the meals she prepares(with very interesting results!). Based on the book by Laura Esquivel and directed by her husband at the time (Alfonso Arau, who also directed the Keanu Reeves movie, "A Walk in the Cloud") this film is a captivating fairy tale that is sure to entertain.

a feast of the 5 senses, come to life
after you watch this movie, you will either want to eat, cook (preferably one of the mentioned recipes), make love or all three! i saw the version dubbed in spanish, and also read 3 selected chapters from the book, for spanish class. it's a work of art and genius, and it must be watched all the way through without stopping. the characters are excellently portrayed, and it combines love, feminism, drama, sensuality, lust, hope, passion, and humour, topped with cultural tradition and folklore. i don't know which one is better, the book or the movie. all of the 5 senses are provoked on a deep and perhaps even primal level, especially taste and smell, feverishly yearning for a sum greater than their overall parts (gestalt) - which brings up the sixth sense, intuition.

Like Water For Chocolate
In the novel, "Like Water for Chocolate," I found it very interesting that two young people, Tita and Pedro fell deeply in love and they could never marry each other. The best part about the book was that they had to hide their feelings from everyone but they knew they loved each other deep inside their hearts. I liked the fact that they loved each other until the day they died and they died making love to each other. I strongly recommend this book to other people.

Like water for chocolate!
This is a very sensual movie about two lovers who could not be together. I loved it and would watch it again and again. ... Read more

Reviews (6)

Fantastic Movie - - Terrible Print
This is a terrific movie. To see it is to love it and want to see it again. But if you've never seen it, this video is not going to make you a fan. The subtitles are unreadable whenever they appear against a light background - - there are entire scenes were the subtitles are lost over things like a white tablecloth. Still, the acting will certainly allow you to follow the story - - you won't be lost or confused. In fact, the whole movie is blurry. I had to watch this video in parts because it gave me a headache trying to look at it. But, all that said, if you've seen it and must, must, must see it again, this print is better than nothing. Am I glad I spent the money? Yes, I had to own this movie. I'd just rather have it in a more watchable edition.

five star film one star video print
I purchased this video--the VHS version currently offered by Amazon.com--and was disgusted by the quality of the print. The print is very worn, the subtitles sometimes faded, quite often in the last third of the film. This film is beautifully photographed, the elegance of its backgrounds an essential part of the world in which it is set, and its meaning. These backgrounds are a worn blur much of the time in this print. I cant believe the other reviewers watched this print, for they surely would have complained too.

Age Cannot Wither, Nor Custom Stale...
...this little jewel's infinite variety (with apologies to Shakespeare for the paraphrase).
I have seen this film at least nine times, and each viewing brings new things to discover and love. The direction, set decoration, music, cast and photography always delight, but this time around I must also pay tribute to the screenplay. Knowing it so well I spent time last night really listening to the nuances of the script, in particular that of Charles Boyer's general. Unlike the showier cleverness of my previous favorite moments ("I don't love you, I don't love you, I don't love you" must be the most passionate non-declaration of all cinematic history), I admired as if for the first time the restrained, dignified, tragic journey the general takes from amused tolerance to suppressed love to frustration and, finally, a soldier's resort to arms. I cannot give adequate expression to my love for this film.

OPHULS 's greatest film !
This is one of the greatest European classics ever made. I felt Max OPHULS was very influencied by masters like Ernst LUBITSCH or Joseph MANCKIEWICZ (and French autors like STENDHAL). The script is marvellous and the actors superb (Danielle DARRIEUX found her greatest role, and Charles BOYER and Vittorio DE SICA support her admirably). It is a dreamed feminine role for any actress, and I don't find feminine characters like Danielle DARRIEUX's one in the current movies. If you liked this movie, then try LOLA MONTES and LA RONDE (also by OPHULS).

A Masterpiece among Masterpieces
A masterpiece beyond question. "Madame de" is undeniably Ophuls greatest achievement and one of the ten best films of all time. No written review can accurately describe the profoundly sublime after-effect of "Madame de" - a delicate and sumptuous screen tragedy, typified by a Ophuls exhilaratingly swirling camera and extravagantly decorative period sets and costumes. Danielle Darrieux, Charles Boyer, and a suave Vittorio De Sica all turn in an all-time best performances. A Perfect Film! ... Read more

Amazon.com

This Mike Todd production was a star-studded, multi-million dollar extravaganza when first released in 1956. It remains enjoyable family fare, but time has somewhat dulled its shine. Still, it compares favorably to the overly long, TV mini-series starring Pierce Brosnan and Eric Idle.

Elegant David Niven plays the neurotically punctual Phileas Fogg, a British gent who is spurned on by a wager to prove he can travel around the world in 80 days. He is accompanied by his valet, played with persnickety humor by Cantinflas.

Nominated for several Academy Awards, this was written by John Farrow (Mia's dad) and S.J. Perelman, based on Jules Verne's 1873 classic. The fun part is the razzle-dazzle. Todd knew what he was doing with all those exotic locales and over 40 cameo appearances, including Charles Boyer, Ronald Colman, Marlene Dietrich, José Greco, Peter Lorre, Buster Keaton, Frank Sinatra, and Red Skelton. A very young Shirley MacLaine was painted and dyed to play a lively Indian Princess. --Rochelle O'Gorman ... Read more

Reviews (44)

Approaching 50, but Entertaining as Ever
If you're looking for a steely-eyed, completely objective review of Mike Todd's 1956 blockbuster "Around the World in 80 Days," don't look here! As a very unsophisticated boy of 12 I saw this film in its first release, and though I'm long past being an innocent 12-year-old, its spell over me has never faded. I loved the story, and I thought the "twist" at the ending was wonderfully clever (it still is!), but in 1957 it was the technical aspects of this movie that really blew me away--it was the first movie I ever saw in a super-wide-screen format, and the first I ever heard that was in stereophonic sound. Today, however, as I see ATWIED through adult eyes, the acting and the production values are what make it a great film for me.

The story is about Phileas Fogg (David Niven), a wealthy Englishman of compulsively punctual habits who wagers a staggering sum that he can complete a journey around the world in 80 days--quite a feat for 1872. Accompanied by his somewhat seedy gentleman's gentleman Passepartout (Cantinflas), Fogg sets off on his journey, unaware that Scotland Yard suspects him of masterminding a recent robbery of the Bank of England. Fueled by the bumbling and thick-headed Inspector Fixx (portrayed by Robert Newton, who died shortly after this film was completed), this subplot helps move the action along very smartly.

For movie buffs, the best feature of this film is the profusion of cameo roles, often delightfully tongue-in-cheek, that punctuates the action. (In fact, the term "cameo role" originated with this movie!) In some films--"The Longest Day" comes immediately to mind--cameo roles are often hokey, and an annoying distraction. In this one, they work beautifully because the casting is so good: Evelyn Keyes as a snooty Parisian girl, John Carradine as an blustering denizen of the American West, George Raft as a sinister saloon owner--every role is perfectly filled. And if you're not the type of viewer who immediately recognizes classic film actors at first glimpse, don't worry about it. You won't miss a thing. The good-natured cameos are so skillfully worked into the fabric of the film that they never intrude upon the plot.

Is "Around the World in 80 Days" flawless? Of course not. Parts of it, like the opening monologue by famous, cigarette-in-hand newscaster Edward R. Murrow, are certainly dated--but in a way, this gosh-gee-whiz segment showing a relatively tiny rocket being fired into the stratosphere is a nostalgic reminder of what life was like mere days before the first artificial satellite orbited a planet that would never be the same again.

Now, after a seemingly endless wait, nostalgia buffs can see this wonderfully good-natured film on DVD. The restoration is virtually flawless (there are a few places where the print could have been cleaned up a bit), but compared with the faded VHS copies that have been floating around for years, this release of ATWIED is absolutely stunning, its color and sound brilliantly restored, and well worth the modest investment to obtain it. The special added features are generally worthwhile, too. Highly recommended!

Lots of fun
This wonderfully comic, beautifully photographed mini epic is one of my favorite films of all time. The plot sticks pretty close to the Jules Verne novel of the same name as it relates the unlikely Victorian tale of Phileas Fogg, a mysterious millionaire played with panache by David Niven. (Was there ever a more perfect stiff English gentleman type?) Fogg bets his snooty London club that he can travel around the world in eighty days, and sets off immediately with his new servant Passepartout (played by Cantinflas, the Charlie Chaplin of Mexico.) In beautiful travelogue photography we follow the pair through many adventures in Spain, India (where they rescue an Indian princess, played by Shirley McClean, which may seem absurd today but heck it was made in the fifties), Japan, and the wild west of America. Along the way they take balloons, trains, boats, handcars, etc. all the while playing whist, having four o'clock tea, and encountering as many Hollywood cameos as are found in the other great comic epic of this film era, "It's A Mad Mad Mad Mad World." Dogging their every step is the detective Mr. Fix, who suspects Fogg is really a bank robber. Is he? Will they make it around the world in time? And has there ever been such a winning cast in such a splendid story?

A Must
Superb release of the star-studded Michael Todd venture. The film looks great. But what makes this special is the feature-length commentary by Brian Sibley. He not only gives a run down on all the actors (including, helpfully, those whose stars have faded -- how fleetingis fame) but gives an extraordinary wealth of information about the music, costuming, back lots, writers and, especially, Michael Todd. Anyone weary of commentaries with tired directors and vapid actors who tell nothing more than what's going on on-screen, will find Sibley's commentary not onlyl informative but a lot of fun.

AROUND THE WORLD IN 80 DAYS
I only give this one 2 stars because it is such a poor transfer. The picture image is very soft. Such a shame...but then that is Warner Brothers who do not seem to take a great deal of care in their work. One of my all time favorite movies....I can't tell you how many times I saw it in the theatre and was thrilled when it came out on VHS a few years ago. But the picture is soft focus....actually gets hard on the eyes. Shame on you Warner Bros.

Aound The World, 1956,
This won best picture in 1956. I cannot understand why. Very cheesy plot in many places. Phileas Fogg is a bore most of the time. Events fall into place so easily its almost laughable ! Phileas Fogg and his assistant just leave with no planning. Just grab some money and go. Phileas Fogg seems to never plan ahead and just assumes the next ship is ready to take him and his assistant to the next location.

Oh yes, when in France and all trains have been cancelled due to a bad crash, the guy selling the tickets happens to have a hot-air balloon ready to go for them !

And don't even mention that Phileas Fogg can just carry larges amounts of cash in a large handbag. And in India they save an Indian princess who is a young Shirley Shirley MacLaine dressed up to look Indian. If filmed in India, you think they could have hired an Indian actress. In the west the Indian attack on the train is so phony, its almost a joke.

Only once did the movie add a bit grit, by having the team buy a steam ship that was headed for South America. They make it go to England with some hard work and ingenuity. ... Read more

Reviews (15)

Love it or hate it!
If you are looking for action, define action. If you like dance, define dance. If you like Saura, this is Saura. Gades... If you want Lorca's play word by word, read the book. A movie is a movie is a movie. Not a play. Not a script. This is one of the best movies ever made, if you like the style, if you like tension, if you like contained filming, and new filmic vocabulary expressions and techniques. Sit back and enjoy. This is at the same level as The Tango Lesson (Sally Potter, don't miss it!) and that old classic black & white movie, They Shoot Horses, D'ont They? And if you like Japanese direcor Akira Kurosawa, you will like this movie. This is not an action movie, this is movie action! A poem on screen!

A Poor Adaptation
I watched "Bodas de Sangre" as part of a Hispanic Literature and Film class. Our goal was to compare novels and plays with their cinematic adaptations. After reading the play, I was greatly intregued, more so than any other time in the class, to see how it would transfer on to the screen. However, that intrerue quickly turned into a great anxiety to leave the movie. As a person who is not very experienced with dance, it was somewhat difficult to transfer what I gained from the play over to an understanding of the movie. It made the movie far too boring for myself and everyone in the room with me. By concentrating almost entirely on the use of the Flamenco to tell the story, Saura loses a great deal of his potential audience. Not everyone is an expert in interpreting what certain types of dance moves are supposed to suggest and as a result those people are going to feel at a loss when watching this movie. A greater use of dialogue would have vastly improved the quality of the adaptation as well as allowing a much larger audience to appreciate the terrific story that Frederico Garcia Lorca originally created. On the bright side for me, a person who typically favors the movie over the written version...This experience has taught me to have more of an appreciation for the latter.

See it just to hear Pepa Flores!!!
It is a flamenco film...Saura style...Gades is a great dancer but the real treat here is the appearance of the magnificent Pepa Flores, the once known singer and actress named Marisol. A superb voice added to the lullaby...what a treat!!!! The few snapshots of her are worth it as is the sound of her voice through the scene. Don't miss it!!

Blood Wedding
This is the first Flamenco Ballet I have ever seen. It is filmed at a studio but magically it turns into a gypsy camp. It is a story about two fathers who make a "blood" pack that their children will marry. However, their children grow up and fall in love with other people in the camp. But, they have to marry each other and not the ones they love. Has gypsy folklore. Wonderful Flamenco music and dancing. Different than any movie I have seen, but I would wee it again.

Duende
I saw this film a number of years ago, but still remember vividly the passion of the dance and the film style. I feel that it is fitting that this piece of literature should have been translated into flamenco, because de Lorca was a great lover of the art form. I study flamenco with a woman from Cadiz, Spain, who sings and dances many of the great songs that he wrote the lyrics for, and she says that he was often quoted as saying that flamenco was deeper than the deepest part of the deepest ocean. So, I guess it goes to say that this is a film not to be merely watched, but intensly felt, as not only the story of Blood Wedding, but in the duende, or soul, of the dancers portraying it. If you are looking for mere entertainment, this is not for you. If you are looking for something to engage your passions, soul, and mind--take a look. ... Read more

Description

Claire Danes (THE MOD SQUAD), Minnie Driver (GOOD WILL HUNTING), and Billy Bob Thornton (ARMAGEDDON, SLING BLADE) head a cast of hot Hollywood stars who lend their talents to this exquisitely animated, overwhelmingly acclaimed adventure epic! Inflicted with a deadly curse, a young warrior named Ashitaka (Billy Crudup -- WITHOUT LIMITS) sets out for the forests of the west in search of the cure that will save his life. Once there, he becomes inextricably entangled in a bitter battle that matches Lady Eboshi (Driver) and a proud clan of humans against the forest's animal gods, who are led by the brave Princess Mononoke (Danes), a young woman raised by wolves! Also starring Gillian Anderson (THE X-FILES) and Jada Pinkett Smith (SCREAM 2), this monumental struggle between man and nature will have you transfixed as stunning artistry blends with epic storytelling to create a uniquely entertaining motion picture! ... Read more

Reviews (687)

Mononoke a must for Fantasy Fans
This is an amazing anime feature reminding me a little of Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (Except that was Chinese Folklore). It has simplistic yet very professional and detailed animation by Hayao Miyazaki. Featuring a beautiful instrumental score rendered by the Tokyo Philharmonic Orchestra. This movie is set in isolationist Japan, and is filled with eastern/Japanese cultural elements for us westerners to attempt to understand. Along with a decent fantasy helping of personified animals and Gods. Be careful watching it if you can constitute a western audience member. This isn't a tree hugger movie like Fern Gully (me shudders). If you think this movie has contemporary western political motives then you are thinking too hard! I had to stop myself and just enjoy it. The story really has no antagonist because both sides in the story are equally guilty of one emotion (try and find the best line in the movie that sums up what I just said)...plus it smacks of Eastern values and mythology. And that's all I'm going to say about the story. If a devout conservative can love this movie...anyone can. Leave the soap box at home. Incidentally the english dub features the voices of American Hollywood stars such as Gillian Anderson (The X-Files)and Billy Bob Thorton (Armageddon, Pushing Tin, etc...)...But don't tell the real Anime buffs that I watched it dubbed...lol...I know only real anime fans watch subbed anime.

Excellent Display of how our world is!
I have experienced some of the things that Miyazaki has put in "Princess Mononoke". For example, i've had to step into fights and then get rejected by both sides. We ourselves are demons in a certain view. We hurt others when they're in the way of our dreams or whatever. For example, if I wanted to rule the world and my friend opposed me, I would hurt him. Miyazaki is clearly showing this and that's why I give "Princess Mononoke" a 5-stars rating.

Be literal, "artistic" metaphors are stupid!!
Don't listen to rhogen, he's not smart. So what if all the characters have human actions, this movie is full of dizzying contradictions and superstitious crap!! Those who think in a literal way are much smarter than those who don't. I'm not an Evangelist Christian from Mississippi who thinks Princess Mononoke is full of paganism, I'm a Soviet Marxist who thinks Princess Mononoke is full of anti-human new-age supersition and metaphors that are silly and nonsensical. Miyazaki screwed up and should keep his enviromental anti-human commentary in Japan, like killing people will help trees grow. Watch Akira (Streamline version), Ninja Scroll, and Ghost In The Shell. All of those anime have adult and provacative content, but don't have anti-human new-age spiritual crap, "artistic" metaphores, and they don't make you puke out your lunch.

Don't be so literal, this is artistic metaphor at its best
I have to respond to those who freak out about the "superstitions" of this film. Being a totally non-magical thinker myself I can understand the first-order reaction. But frankly, you need to see the metaphors. When the spirit gods express anger at "humans", this is metaphorically our own conscience questioning and evaluating what we are doing. It's that simple. If you can do that, you will be able to LOVE this film. SEMI-SPOILER: The first great thing about it is that there are no mustache-twirling villains. Everyone's motivations are human, they're doing what they think is best. That's just the appetizer. Great stuff!

VISUALLY SPECTACULAR, HOT-BUTTON MESSAGES, BUT..
The reviews for this typical Miyazaki blockbuster are so rabidly of the WOW mentality that you may expect something mind-blowing. 'Manage your expectations and enjoy the bloody ride' is my advice.

In terms of sheer execution this is one of the best anime capers you'll see, replete with beasts of mythic proportions, lush forests, sparkling waterfalls, and some mind-numbing inter-galactic slaughter. I could wager in a blink that this is what inspired Tarantino to do that little anime insert in Kill Bill Vol 1.

Plus, the film has some swank credentials under its belt: the Japanese voices are dubbed, not just subtitled, by big *American* stars -- Billy Bob Thornton, Minnie Driver, Claire Danes, Bill Crudup, etc -- who lend their laryx to a host of universally relevant issues such as the plight of indigenous people and nature in the face of unchecked business interests, the death of spirituality in the name of social progress, misogyny in its many variations, etc.

But I have my gripes. The film is violent. Very violent. Sometimes senselessly violent. I had to frequently turn my volume knob to the left. There are gigantic guns, and blood and guts splatter the landscape every minute. Most of this soon seems overdrawn (and the film is looooong) with all this supposedly cool action amounting to precious little in terms of any clear message about good versus evil. The underlying purpose is summed up brilliantly by a roadside beggar when he says something like the world is cursed, but we still find a reason to live.

I also found something lacking in the animation itself. While exquisitely vivid it seems to lag in its flair for capturing natural motion. Disney or Pixar movies pore over a sense of suppleness when an eye is raised or a muscle is twitched by a character. Miyazaki's animators on the other hand haven't penetrated beyond the skin, the moving creatures feel inarticulate and jerky, particularly when played against the very 2D painted backgrounds.

But that still doesn't stop me from recommending this powerful cult flick, a must if you're an anime acolyte. If not, then be prepared for a Tarantino x 100 and you'll do fine. ... Read more

Reviews (20)

Good for the kids...
I saw this movie as a child and still remembered many scenes...although I didn't remember that most of the movie is dubbed for English...even many of the scenes with Kirk Douglas... The DVD audio wasn't very good...but not hearing any other version (either VHS or broadcast) I don't really have anything to compare it to. Perhaps they're bad on other media types too, or I guess that with DVD's we've just come to expect too much...;)... The kids enjoyed the story very much. Nothing really objectionable.

Kirk Douglas as Ulysses in an impressive failure from Italy
"Ulysses" is an impressive failure, an admirable attempt to bring Homer's epic "The Odyssey" to the big screen that ultimately fails to click. Kirk Douglas plays "Ulysses" (the Latin version of Odysseus, which makes sense since this was an Italian film directed by Mario Camerini and produced by Dino De Laurentis and Carlo Ponti. The story in the film actually begins with the end of the Trojan War and Ulysses' strategem of the Trojan Horse. After sacking the city Ulysses and his men head for home, but the next thing we now our hero is washed up on the shore of an island suffering from amnesia. With the help of a beautiful young princess (Rossana Podesta), he eventually remembers everything that happened to him and his men during the past several years and that he has a wife waiting for him back home. Of course, she is trying to put off all those suitors who insist her husband is dead and that she should remarry. The best idea in this film was having actress Silvana Mangano play both Penelope, Ulysses' wife, and Circe, the sorceress who keeps our hero for several years on his magical isle. However, the English dubbing of the film is painfully reminiscent of a SNL gladiator film sketch and the script, worked on by seven writers including Irwin Shaw and Ben Hecht, is too obviously a cut and paste job. Anthony Quinn is wasted in this 1954 film as Antinous, which will remind you more of those Italian he-man movies than a Hollywood epic. The set designs are quite impressive and the sequence with the Cyclops has some good moments, but overall "Ulysses" just lacks fire.

This is a question not a review
Almost half of world population speak Spanish. Why do not you edit this clasic movie with subtitles (at least) in Spanish?

Fun flick...I wish someone would dig up the original 3-D
Not many people know that ULYSSES was shot in 3-D, but it only released in flat 2-D form as the craze was over by the time the film was completed. I wish someone would try to locate the original 3-D elements so we could see this film as intended!

More of a satire then anything else.
What can I say. This was made by the same film company that made all those low budget Hercules movies. Kirk Douglas is somewhat amusing in the part but the cheesy effects and art direction will make you turn the movie off in five minutes. ... Read more

Reviews (33)

Excellent true life World War II suspense story!
Gregory Peck and Christopher Plummer give outstanding performances as Monsr. Hugh O'Flaherty(Peck) and SS Col. Herbert Kapler(Plummer). The action and suspense of the movie keeps it going at a brisk pace. The story follows Peck as a Vatican official trying to save Italian Jews and Allied escaped POW's from the hands of the German SS. Plummers portrayal as Col. Kapler is both chilling and frightening, especially when he personally executes a Catholic priest who was caught helping the Resistance. Peck's portrayal of Father O'Flaherty is very moving to watch. The intelligence and compassion of this man truly shows through and shows how much Father O'Flaherty deserved the awards and decorations he received from the Allies after the war. And the ending is very surprising as well! It is also a plus having the movie shot in Rome where the actual events took place. A truly classic movie. I highly recommend it.

Excellent true life World War II suspense story!
Gregory Peck and Christopher Plummer give outstanding performances as Monsr. Hugh O'Flaherty(Peck) and SS Col. Herbert Kapler(Plummer). The action and suspense of the movie keeps it going at a brisk pace. The story follows Peck as a Vatican official trying to save Italian Jews and Allied escaped POW's from the hands of the German SS. Plummers portrayal as Col. Kapler is both chilling and frightening, especially when he personally executes a Catholic priest who was caught helping the Resistance. Peck's portrayal of Father O'Flaherty is very moving to watch. The intelligence and compassion of this man truly shows through and shows how much Father O'Flaherty deserved the awards and decorations he received from the Allies after the war. And the ending is very surprising as well! It is also a plus having the movie shot in Rome where the actual events took place. A truly classic movie. I highly recommend it.

amazon bias
erik reitz review is incredibly bigoted and hostile toward catholics - however i wrote a review pointing this out and incredibly you don't post my review but retain his - another thing i've noticed that amazon allows bigoted views against western civ, christianity, catholicism, anglos, men, heterosexuals etc to be posted & while some people will reply exposing this bigotry amazon runs the double standard of allowing unrestrained bigotry on one side while censoring the other side - you claim to moderate fairly yet what you do is allow left wing bigotry unchecked and the rest censored - amazon has presented a hostile evironment to the above mentioned censored majority of which i am a part - i cringe everytime i shop amazon's reviews that my sensibilities will not only be ignored but trampled and violated

The Scarlet & The Black
Great Job ... Acting, Location & Story. Its nice to see one more positive telling of the Church during the war. Not too many people know that the Chief Rabi of Rome during and immediately after the war, Israel Zolii, was so impressed by the Christians in Rome who tried to protect Jews from nazi persecution, that he was baptised as Catholic shortly after the end of the war. He took for his Christian name Eugene ... the same first name as Pope Pius XII, whom he especially admired as a friend and protector of Jews. He died as a devout Catholic.

One of the best!
This movie never gets enough credit! This is one of the best war time movies ever and with Mr. Peck's passing this is a must see for Peck fans who have not seen this movie. Gregory Peck and Christopher Plummer in one of his best roles play a cat and mouse game during WW2. The acting is fantastic and there is a lot of suspense! A must see! ... Read more

Amazon.com

This wrong-headed adaptation of the very funny (and scatological) novel by T. Coraghessan Boyle was written and directed by Alan Parker, who doesn't seem to have much of a clue. It's not a botch, just a movie that hammers its efforts at humor too hard. The focus is split between three story lines: the life of cereal tycoon John Kellogg (Anthony Hopkins with buck teeth), who has created a health spa for the wealthy that focuses on regular cleansing of the digestive tract (as well as applications of electricity); the troubles of an unhappy young couple (Matthew Broderick and Bridget Fonda), who come to the spa hoping to cure their marital ills (Broderick gets the worst of the deal); and the efforts of a young hustler (John Cusack), who is trying to break into the breakfast-cereal business but gets taken by an even bigger hustler (Michael Lerner). There are subplots about Kellogg's children but they add little. For all the doo-doo and enema jokes, the joys of this movie are distinctly scattered.--Marshall Fine ... Read more

Reviews (36)

Hilarious, but where's the big picture?
Quite simply, this movie is hysterically funny. Well written, evenly paced and contains one of the most catchy soundtracks ever recorded. Chances are, if you're looking at this page for the DVD, you've seen the movie. If not, you can read the other reviews for the particulars because I'm going to focus on the technical aspects of the DVD. Besides, this is my second-favorite movie of all time, so any attempt to review the plot would be extremely biased and I know this movie isn't everyone's cup of tea.

First of all, the movie itself looks beautiful. They did a great job on the digital transfer... the compression isn't all that noticeable and everything is crisp and clear. Audio is par for the course. Nothing too special here, but nothing lacking.

However, one question begs to be asked: why, in these days of "Enhanced for 16:9 televisions," is a DVD being released containing ONLY a full screen version? The fact that they have "Full Screen Presentation" bulleted as a special feature shows just how far Columbia/Tristar missed the boat. The lack of widescreen is the only reason I've deducted a star from my rating. As for the other special features, don't be fooled by the "Bonus Trailers," which are all for other movies.

Should you get the DVD? Certainly! If you love this movie, you'll enjoy watching it with a clean digital picture (especially if you've had the tape for years and it's getting worn out.) But if you've been waiting all these years for a widescreen version, you're going to have to keep waiting. This DVD can only be described as a visual and audio upgrade from the videotape, but not a definitive version of the film.

Uneven, not for everyone, but still pretty good
It's uneven because the movie can't quite figure out what it wants to be. It's a comedy, mostly--I burst into laughter several times. Yet, at times it's sad, and at other times it's almost horror, as when people start dying through electrical contraptions gone bad, and possibly through anorexia. It's also pretty scatalogical, what with all the enemas and obsessions with bowels (that's why it's not for everyone). It's a pretty good satire of John Kellogg, of Kellogg's Corn Flakes (who, by all accounts, was a thoroughly strange fellow), and it does a good job of sending up the kind of obsessive vegetarian anti-fur silliness that exists even today (there is an amusing scene when Kellogg shows the audience his "vegetarian wolf"). Anthony Hopkins, with buck teeth and glasses, is unrecognizable, as is Dana Carvey as his rotten-toothed adopted son. What the movie says clearly is that people who are this obsessive-compulsive over their health have sexual problems, and come from dysfunctional families. It's pretty funny, but certainly not for everyone.

Don't read the book first...
I made the unfortunate mistake of reading The Road to Wellville before watching the movie. I think it would be less forgiving if I had watched the movie first, then read the book, but the inconsistencies in the movie vs. the text are so blaring that I just lost all interest in the movie.

The screenwriter took many liberties with the text to make this movie a more "adult" film, and I found this really disheartening since this is not what T.C. Boyle intended it to be. I'm not against "adult" movies (i.e. nudity), but there a few things that occur in the movie that do not occur in the book at all.

The ending of the movie was to most "let's tie this up real quick-like" ending I've seen in awhile, and in fact, the ending (where all the main characters meet to watch the "san" burn down and then slowly walk away) didn't even happen like that.

I know, I know.... it's like comparing apples to bananas to pineapples, but I just want others to know that if you've read the book, don't bother with the movie. If you haven't read the book, then you'll probably get a bit of a kick out of the really quirky movie. Laura Flynn Boyle plays an excellent patient with "green sickness" (this was before she became unusually thin). There is a great cast of actors involved as well. Nice to see them play characters outside of what they normally do.

Blah. Not necessarily awful, just blah.
The Road to Wellville (Alan Parker, 1994)

I have thought for years that the novel upon which The Road to Wellville was based was written by the loathsome Garrison Keillor. Well, my copy showed up in the mail the other day, and I found out the novel was written by the far more easily-digested T. Coraghessan Boyle, so I decided I wouldn't exile the wife to the living room to watch this alone as I had planned.

What a horrible mistake.

The Road to Wellville chronicles, supposedly, the doings of a number of folks in the late nineteenth-century, all presided over by cornflake inventor John Harvey Kellogg (Anthony Hopkins). The story centers, if there can be said to be a center, around the Lightbodies, Eleanor (Bridget Fonda) and Will (Matthew Broderick), who come to Kellogg's sanitarium in order to recover from an unspecified disease of Will's (his wife confides in someone later what it is, and it's something of a major plot point). Also weaving through the tale is that of Charles Ossining (John Cusack), who gets involved with Kellogg's outcast adopted son George (Dana Carvey) and a crook named Bender (Michael Lerner, the "lost another loan to Ditech!" guy). And we haven't even begun to cover the principal actors yet, much less the cameos.

You may already be able to see where I'm going with this. If so, feel free to skip to the end of the review.

I've always considered Alan Parker an inconsistent director, but while mulling this travesty of a film over, I realized why. The movies he made early in his career that worked so very well (Midnight Express, Fame, The Wall, etc.) are movies where a lot of stuff is going on, and the viewer is being bombarded by stuff from every direction at all times. That's how the movies are written, and they succeed very well.

The movies he's made since then have had scripts that are more focused (or, in the case of The Road to Wellville, were in desperate need of more focus), but Parker is still using the same technique. And we're still getting bombarded when we require focus. Simply put, there's too much going on in any two hours of Alan Parker celluloid, and whether or not it works has to do with the material rather than the director or the actors. After all, Parker has a history of getting fantastic actors to work on his films (perhaps another thing; in every movie Parker made until Birdy, he was working with a cast of unknowns. Starting with Mississippi Burning, he started getting the A-list) and do things that could very well destroy their careers. I'm amazed that, after this mess, Hopkins, Broderick, Cusack, and a number of others survived with their careers intact.

Yes, this is a mess. Provides a few good one-liners here and there, but is basically the grown-up version of the unfunny teen sex comedy (and I can never say that without saying "American Pie and its sequels are not funny, and if you think they are, you're wrong"). Will probably be enjoyed by those who thought Scary Movie was a laff riot. Everyone else can safely stay away without feeling like they've missed anything. **

Does no one get this move?
Let me first say that the only reason this movies got made was because it seemed an interesting script to the Hollywood execs. Luckily enough it was shopped to enough big stars that it made at least a little splash in Hollywood. Part historical record, corrupted by the industrialism of America, and part comedy. Not one review I read captures the truth of this movie. I must admit I should read this book first, but having studied Eastern and Western medical practices for over a decade, I understand the premise behind the book, movie, and Dr. Kellog's, somewhat, misguided health practices themselves. The truth behind them is real, despite what your doctor wants you to belive, "become an slave to the pharmaceutical companies." I emplor all that read this to discover the power of "food combining" and a fitness related lifestyle. Your health and longevity depend upon it. Please read anything by Daniel Reid, and any author he recomends. I myself am working on writing a series of books that tackle this problem and many more. This movie is nothing more than Hollywood taking liberty with a, slightly, misguided idealist from almost a hundred years ago. He had the right idea, just a little early for what we really need in this day and age. ... Read more

Reviews (137)

ROFLMAO funny!
A not-to-be-missed movie about the collusion of the residents of a remote Irish village into getting the national lottery money to divide among themselves. Trouble is that the holder of the winning ticket died of shock with the winning ticket in his hand when he heard his numbers called off, so someone must pose in his place when the detective comes to verify the ID of the winner. Things get stickier and more problematic as layer upon layer of inventive Irish complications are added to the stew. The most memorable scene is probably the skinny old guy who plays the imposter, stark naked except for a helmet and boots, racing into town on a motorcycle to meet up with the lottery man to verify his bogus identity.
My favorite story about this movie has passed into family lore. I told my somewhat deaf mother she would surely enjoy it, and she persisted in mis-hearing me when I gave her the title. Ever since, in our family, it's Making God Divine or, her next best guess, Waking Teddy Klein. I finally told her to go to the video store and ask for either of those, that surely the guy behind the information desk would know what she was talking about...and he did.

Jackie and Michael try to cash in a winning lottery ticket
A charming comedy about a pair of lifelong friends, Jackie O'Shea (Ian Bannen) and Michael O'Sullivan (David Kelly), who are presented with the opportunity of a lifetime when they discover Ned Devine has died, clutching the winning ticket frm the Irish lottery in his hand. This means enlisting everybody in town to join the grand conspiracy and to share in the pot of gold. Meanwhile, in what we think is an unrelated subplot, Pig Finn (James Nesbitt) is trying to convince Maggie (Susan Lynch) to marry him and to learn if her son is his own. "Waking Ned Devine" ends up being more about friendship than greed, with the high point coming when Jackie eulogizes his friend Michael when they bury old Ned under Michael's name to fool the Lottery Official. Yes, there is a bit of fantasy here since the Lottery Office could not be so easily fooled, but what is wrong with a harmless suspension of disbelief? Filmed in beautiful locations on the Isle of Man, "Waking Ned Devine" is a gentle reminder than you can have a nice little film with good actors and a fine script that does not cost a whole lot of money.

Bit O' Irish Fun
Waking Ned Devine is a wonderful, hilarious movie that focuses on the antics of two old (but not down) men who hatch a brilliant but very risky scheme that if it works, will bring wealth to their small Irish town, but if it fails will land them in jail for fraud. The performances by all are so good, you are drawn into the movie and in love with all the characters from the start.

A subplot of romance between a beautiful single mother and an earnest (but smelly) pig farmer adds to the general warmth of the movie. The end scene is one of the most well-executed ones I have ever seen. It is a real show stopper. My brother and mother watch this movie over and over.

A PLEASANT SURPRISE
MY BROTHER HAD MENTIONED THIS MOVIE SEVERAL TIMES, AND AS I SOMEWHAT DEPEND ON RECOMMENDATIONS OF OTHERS BEFORE SITTING DOWN LONG ENOUGH TO BE ENTERTAINED, I DECIDED TO RENT "WAKING NED DEVINE" AT FIRST, IT WAS A CHUCKLE, THEN AT SOME POINT IT TURNED INTO FULL BLOWN LAUGHTER. A SWEET MOVIE, GREAT ACTORS!!
I LOVE IT ENOUGH TO BUY IT...

It's a Sleeper but it won't make You Sleepy
If hope you see this without knowing ANYthing about the movie except what I write here. Because I won't tell you anything about it. YOU are fortunate, more so than I, because you haven't seen this yet.

This is a sleeper movie, one that is far better than the public generally knows.

Be ready to enjoy a symphony of acting. If you don't like foreign films (I didn't) this may very well be the first you enjoy (and then see Run Lola Run, one that is 100% different from this but another foreign movie for people who don't think they like foreign movies). ... Read more

Reviews (3)

One of James Mason's Best
I love this movie. I fell in love with in when I saw it the first and was hooked ever since to James Mason. I didn't know that Todd and Mason were having an affair but no matter, they certainly made a good couple. It astounds me how Todd acted so well to her character and how Mason protrays the deep love that he had for her in his way of rejecting her time and time again. How he slams his cane over her hands as she dares to leave him for someone else. In the end though, I kinda felt that she should have ended up with the doctor but I know that she and Mason were meant to be together. Mason has always fascinated me as an actor that never got his true claim. When he played in Lolita, he did very well though I was surprised that he would do a movie like that. But the Seventh Veil was very good and I recommend it to everyone who likes in the old classics that the modern stuff would never obtain.

An understated and elegant movie
This is a fascinating and intense movie, a classic of its genre and one which is teeming with repressed sexuality. The two lead performers, James Mason and Ann Todd, were romantically involved throughout the making of this film and had an affair in real life (as Todd later admitted). Their chemistry is quite palpable, though not in the same way as Tracy and Hepburn; the entire movie is an exercise is repression, caution and masked motions. In fact, with a few exceptions, neither star even touches one another throughout the movie, but there is more overt sex here than in many more graphic films. One must simply strain harder to discern it.

Mason is beautifully wicked here, his evil nature and sadism are extremely attractive to watch. Ann Todd is a repressed and frightened pianist who suffers to horror of having Mason slam his cane down upon her hands while she scales the keyboard. Delicious! This scene, above any other, catapulted James Mason to the forefront of British cinema stars. Watch the scene where a white kitty is curled on his lap as he dourly pets it and stares daggers as Todd in the background. You can cut the psychological melodrama here with a thick butter knife.

This isn't everyone's cup of tea, but if you appreciate a beautiful man in Mason, a terrified lamb of a starlet like Ann Todd, and an adroit and mature screenplay, then watch "The Seventh Veil." It has worn very well in the ensuing decades and still makes for gripping viewing.

Haunting psychological drama
A young James Mason molds a distant relative into a world-class pianist (Ann Todd). The film begins in the present with Francesca (Ann Todd) being hypnotized by a psychiatrist to probe her fear of injury to her hands. Through flashbacks the story of an orphaned young girl and a controlling guardian is told amid beautiful piano music. I loved the focus of Beethoven's Adagio from the Pathetique as well as the ever popular Rachmaninoff 2nd piano concerto. The title, "The Seventh Veil" refers to each level of disclosure a person reveals about themselves. The psychiatrist must reveal the last and most deep..."The Seventh Veil". Superb acting and wonderful music make this film at the top of my list of classics. Ann Todd is especially withdrawn and emotionless dealing with her guardian, James Mason. James Mason is quite handsome and sometimes infuriating. Turn off your phone and curl up with this magnetic movie, you won't be disappointed!! (It won a best original screenplay oscar in 1946). ... Read more

Reviews (115)

A very touching biographical movie
Rabbit-Proof Fence is a true and real life biography of a girl being snapped away from her mother because she is a half-caste - offspring of a white man and an aboriginal woman. The movie has a very detail description of the intention of the Whilte Australians in the 30s to whiten all these children by removing them from their mothers, sending them to the training camps. The story depicted 3 girls running away from the camp and walked 1200 miles back home to reunite with their mother. The movie is very natural and touching that you will just be drawn inside the hearts of those girls, who has nothing but strong determination to go home and live a life they want. The movie also described the arrogance of the Whitle Australians until the 1970s, who tried every effort to justify their whitening process of this Stolen Generation. It is a very honest portray of the experience of Molly, who was unfortunately being forced into this generation and lived a wandering and heart breaking life due to this policy. It should be watched by all people so that we could learn to respect other people's life and culture as they are, instead of superimposing what we think is the best for them, for they might end up to be a curse of life for these people. This is a very touching and introspecting production that should not be missed. It does not attempt to achieve a melodramatic effect, but a simple honest reminder for respecting the aboriginals who are actually the native people who live on this island continent. Things haven't been really improved in Australian over the aboriginal issues, but this is a very good attempt to raise the conscious of people over the land that the White Australians conquered 200 years ago, and how much the mentality of some of these people have and have not changed. The cinematography is also spectacular. In all, this is not a movie to be missed.

Courage and determination during a dark chapter of history
Between 1905 and 1971, the Australian government had a horrible policy. They forcibly removed all half-caste Aboriginal children to special training schools. The grown daughter of one of these children wrote a book about her mother's experiences. This film is an adaptation of that book.

The story takes place in 1931, when Molly, then 14, her sister Daily, then 8, and her cousin Gracie, then 10, are literally torn from the arms of their mothers, put in a cage, and taken 1,200 miles away to a school which is actually a sort of prison. Here, they are forbidden to speak their own language, they have to attend a Christian church, and are taught the ways of the white Australian culture around them. Led by Molly, the girls run away. And most of the film is the odyssey of their trek back home, following the rabbit-proof fence that bisects Australia, constructed to keep rabbits out of the pastureland.

The villain is clearly the white director of the school. It is amazing, but he actually believes in the racial theories that were prevalent at the time. He believes he is helping them and plays his role well, coming across as stupid and misguided rather than evil. The Aboriginal girls are all unknowns, and terrific actresses, as are the women who play Molly and Daisy's mother and grandmother. The courage and determination of the girls during their three-month journey, the people they meet along the way, and their efforts to dodge the trackers who have been sent to retrieve them by the school, is truly inspiring. This is all set against the backdrop of the Australian outback; the cinematography certainly captures its beauty.

The film is 94 minutes long and moves quickly. I immediately identified with the girls and felt their fear as well as their bravery as they made their way across the Australian continent. In a postscript to the story, we learn more about their lives. It did not turn out to be pretty. But two of the girls have survived into their nineties, and we meet them briefly. They are strong women with weathered faces, one of them walking with a cane, but clearly at home in their Outback surroundings.

The film is a lesson in inspiration and courage as well as a geography and history lesson about Australia. I loved it and highly recommend it.

A Universal Wake Up Call
This is probably the most emotional a film has ever made me. It's powerful, disturbing, and full of hope in the same breath. For "westernized" reviewers who acknowledge the content of this movie as an atrocity, this film is a wake up call to truly challenge to your beliefs. If you were in the same situation as a white person in 1931, would you still feel the same as you do now after seeing the movie or would you believe assimilation was the right thing to do? The most important thing to take away from this film is to never forget.

"In spite of himself, the native must be helped."
Set in Australia's bleak outback, this 2002 film takes place in 1931, when white bureaucrats forced their own morality on aboriginal half-castes living in the bush. Believing that these half-white children "deserved" the "advantages" of "civilization," and convinced that in three generations their blackness could be "bred out," the Australian government forcibly removed them from their families, brought them to settlements hundreds of miles from their homes, and trained them to be domestic servants. Forty years later the government finally abandoned the policy, leaving a "Stolen Generation" in its wake. Molly Craig has long been the symbol of the Aborigines' refusal to accept this genocidal policy, and this film, brilliantly directed by Philip Noyce, celebrates her unconquerable spirit in the face of sanctioned governmental cruelty.

Molly Craig (Everlyn Sampi), her cousin Gracie (Laura Monaghan), and her sister (Tianna Sansbury), aged thirteen to eight, are cruelly removed from their mothers in Jigalong (Western Territories) and taken a thousand miles to the Moore River Native Settlement, which is directed by the self-righteous Mr. Neville (convincingly played by Kenneth Branagh), who believes in the inherent correctness of the resettlement policy. Placed in overcrowded dormitories, prohibited from using their own language, and required to live according to another world's rules, Molly, her sister, and her cousin decide to escape by following the 1500-mile "rabbit-proof fence," which borders both the settlement and their distant home. They must avoid detection by a hired Aborigine tracker (played menacingly by David Gulpilil) and by government workers and white settlers. For nine grueling weeks, the girls live virtually on their own, surviving through their ancestral knowledge of the land.

Written by Molly Craig's daughter, Doris Pilkington Garimara, who, later, was also removed from her mother Molly and forced to live in a settlement, the film is a moving celebration of the human spirit, a tribute to Molly Craig, and a plea to acknowledge the rights of aboriginal peoples, wherever they may live. The harsh and unforgiving land is beautifully photographed, and the haunting music of aboriginal voices and instruments in the Golden Globe-nominated score by Peter Gabriel further the realism. The cast of young girls, all making their film debuts, never makes a misstep, conveying the trauma of their separation, their commitment to returning home, and, in Sampi's case, an anger which is only barely hidden. Branagh, though effective, really does not have to do much to be the villain here. In this beautifully realized depiction of a wrong-headed policy, director Noyce wisely chooses not to embellish the message with unnecessary, artificial melodrama--reality here is drama enough. Mary Whipple

A heartbreaking and inspirational story about the Aborigines
I was aware that the treatment of the Aborigines by those that settled Australia was fairly consistent with that of all European settlers dealing with indigenous people when "colonizing" someone else's land. I specifically recall how during the 2000 Sydney Olympics much was made of the symbolism of Cathy Freeman, an Aborigine on the Australian Olympic team, lighting the Olympic torch. Even more was made of the symbolism when Freeman went on to win the gold medal in the 400 meter. But I have to admit that when it comes to Australian films I tend to think in terms of "Breaker Morant" and "Gallipoli," where the point was how the British Empire was treating the Australian citizens of the Commonwealth as if nothing had changed since the first convicts were sent from Britain Down Under. Still, to see Australians turn around and treat others even more inhumanely was rather something of a shock.

"Rabbit-Proof Fence" is the story of three young Aborigine girls who escaped from a government camp in 1931 and tried to walk home 1,500 miles. Molly (Everlyn Sampi), her sister Daisy (Tianna Sansbury) and cousin Gracie (Laura Monaghan) were taken from their mothers because they are half-castes, their white fathers long gone after constructing the rabbit-proof fence which saves Australia's farm land from being devoured. The fence, of course, is both a metaphor for the separation of the children from their families as well as the touchstone that can help the girls get home.

The reason the girls are removed is because of the edict of A.O. Neville (Kenneth Branagh), who was the administrator in charge of Aborigines in Western Australia. As portrayed in the film Neville is concerned about the creation of a third race and has the idea that with the proper breeding within three generations the half-castes will look white. Now there is conflicting historical evidence on how Aborigine children ended up at the Moore River Native Settlement pertaining to half-castes being ostracized by pure bloods and Aborigine parents wanted their children to receive an education. But in "Rabbit-Proof Fence" the reasons are clearly to "save" these children from themselves, and there is an implication the education is so these children can be domestic servants for white families.

Even if you did not see Branagh in "Conspiracy," the TV movie where he played SS-Obergruppenführer Reinhard Heydrich, Chief of the Reich Main Security Office, and chief architect of the "Final Solution" at the Wannsee Conference the parallels are unmistakable between Neville's theory of eugenics and the Nazis. But once Molly leads the other two