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Before making Batman, director Tim Burton and star Michael Keaton teamed up for this popular black comedy about a young couple (Geena Davis and Alec Baldwin) whose premature death leads them to a series of wildly bizarre afterlife exploits. As ghosts in their own New England home, they're faced with the challenge of scaring off the pretentious new owners (Catherine O'Hara and Jeffrey Jones), whose daughter (Winona Ryder) has an affinity for all things morbid. Keaton plays the mischievous Beetlejuice, a freelance "bio-exorcist" who's got an evil agenda behind his plot to help the young undead newlyweds. The film is a perfect vehicle for Burton's visual style and twisted imagination, with clever ideas and gags packed into every scene. Beetlejuice is also a showcase for Keaton, who tackles his title role with maniacal relish and a dark edge of menace. --Jeff Shannon ... Read more

Reviews (107)

Say it once, say it twice, third time's the charm!
When this movie first came out about fifteen years ago, my father owned a video store and every Wednesday night was "Beetlejuice" night. I'm older now, obviously, but I still cannot get enough of this movie.

Alec Baldwin and Geena Davis play Adam and Barbara Maitland, two Connecticut yuppies who die prematurely in a car wreck. Within a couple weeks, their home is overrun by an ultra-trendy New York City family, Charles and Delia Deetz, and their Goth daughter, Lydia (played respectively by Jeffrey Jones, Catherine O'Hara, and Winona Ryder). Adam and Barbara want their house back, and attempt to scare the Deetz's out of the house by wearing sheets and even by possessing them over dinner, making them sing and dance to Harry Belafonte's "Day O." Those attempts fail and enter Michael Keaton as Betelguese, "the afterlife's leading freelance bio-exorcist." The movie is dark without being scary and funny without being ridiculous.

In my opinion, one of the real gems in this film is the late Sylvia Sidney as Juno, Your Case Worker. Sidney was pushing eighty when this film was made, but turns in a great performance as the embittered equivalent of an afterlife social worker. Love how the smoke from her ever-present cigarette comes out of the slit in her throat.

If you've never seen this movie, see it. If you have seen it but don't own it on DVD, get it. The picture quality is better than ever.

tim burton=a classic movie
a couple dies.they live in a house as spirits and then some people move in.the dad is a dork.the mom is a control freak,crazy women who sculpts.she is a similar character in home alone but in that one shes a unbelivably terrible and neglectful psycho mom.the daughter is a dark depressed girl played by wyona ryder.she looks very sexy in thisone.a cool line is:my whole life is a dark room.one big dark room.they get constant visits from other weirdos also.the 2 dead people-some dork and a belive it or not somewhat sexy geena davis play them.they spirits try to scare the living out but are too good natured to suceed.so they hire michael keaton-beetlejuice-to get rid of them.he is more forceful.it is a tim burton movie which of course means its awesome.most everyone could like this.wyona ryder looks awesome in a red wedding dress late in the film.that stupid child hater of a mom lady is this movies only flaw.shes such a bitch.this movie is full of well written mastery and great special effects.it is great!

beetlejuice
this movie was really good, it was so creative, like edward scissorhands. i loved the story and the underworld scenes were great. i think that winona ryder did an excellent job as Lydia, the troubled daughter. betelguese was hilarious! this is not your mainstream kid movie, be aware of that if if you plan on showing it to your kids.

Remains one of my favorites
Re-watching Beetlejuice more than a decade after it thrilled, frightened and enthralled me as a child makes me sad about Mr. Tim Burton's transformation into a Hollywood favorite semi-quirky remake-director (Planet Of The Apes, Sleepy Hollow) in recent years (Big Fish indeed signals a hopeful recovery - if only Charlie And The Chocolate Factory doesn't spoil it...!) At the young age of thirty, and in only his second full length feature, Burton created a cult favorite that is one for the ages. In this bizarre, off-beat script by Michael McDowell (who collaborated with him before on an episode of the 'Alfred Hitchcock Presents' television series) he found the ideal vehicle for his unique and strange imagination - and indeed, Burton's unique vision is more apparent here than in any of his movies, The Nightmare Before Christmas being the happy exception. Though it's true that it's not as personal a creation as 'Nightmare' or Edward Scissorhands, this is the movie that would place Burton on the map as a major director, and would earn him his breakthrough job - directing the first Batman feature film. It is on Beetlejuice that he would also start several long-time collaborations with actors who would work with him again in the future - Michael Keaton (Batman & Batman Returns), Winona Ryder (Edward Scissorhands), Jeffrey Jones (Ed Wood, Sleepy Hollow), Glenn Shadix and Catherine O'Hara (both of whom did voiceovers for Nightmare Before Christmas).

So, again, while Beetlejuice isn't as deep and personal film as we would see in Nightmare Before Christmas, Edward Scissorhands, Ed Wood or Big Fish, Beetlejuice is an incredibly imaginative and captivating film and is a perfect black comedy. Geena Davis and Alec Baldwin are both more than adequate, but Michael Keaton in the title part is of course the real star of the show - although in reality his part is much smaller than those of Davis and Baldwin. Keaton is electric and mesmerizing as the bio-exorcist or 'the Ghost with the Most', Beetlejuice (spelled BETELGEUSE!), probably the greatest and most memorable performance of his career (with the possible exception of the part of Batman). Keaton really let loose in Beetlejuice, and he and Burton were seemingly having a blast - they created one of the most memorable horror and comedy characters on the big screen. Seventeen year old Winona is also terrific as Goth-girl Lydia, fascinated and repulsed by Betelgeuse's extreme personality. Similarities between her character here and the one in Edward Scissorhands are easy to find, but for my money her performance as Lydia is the better one.

And in conclusion, if there's any movie that I'd recommend to own on VCR or DVD, it's Beetlejuice; because Burton at his best made films that are well rewarding in repeated viewing, and Beetlejuice is Burton at his very, very best, even if it's not his best film. So even if it's not an essential masterpiece like Edward Scissorhands, Beetlejuice is one of the classic cult films of all time, and I can't imagine going through life without it - that is, if you have the tiniest bit of a sense of fun and humor.

This is the dumbest movie I ever saw...
I can't see why so many people liked this movie. I think it stinks. It has no script, Burton's story telling is lost in bad effects and cheesy dialoge and Keaton gets to act like a goofball. These two were no way the right ones to make Batman. ... Read more

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Ever spend eight hours in a "Productivity Bin"? Ever had worries about layoffs? Ever had the urge to demolish a temperamental printer or fax machine? Ever had to endure a smarmy, condescending boss? Then Office Space should hit pretty close to home for you. Peter (Ron Livingston) spends the day doing stupefyingly dull computer work in a cubicle. He goes home to an apartment sparsely furnished by IKEA and Target, then starts for a maddening commute to work again in the morning. His coworkers in the cube farm are an annoying lot, his boss is a snide, patronizing jerk, and his days are consumed with tedium. In desperation, he turns to career hypnotherapy, but when his hypno-induced relaxation takes hold, there's no shutting it off. Layoffs are in the air at his corporation, and with two coworkers (both of whom are slated for the chute) he devises a scheme to skim funds from company accounts. The scheme soon snowballs, however, throwing the three into a panic until the unexpected happens and saves the day. Director Mike Judge has come up with a spot-on look at work in corporate America circa 1999. With well-drawn characters and situations instantly familiar to the white-collar milieu, he captures the joylessness of many a cube denizen's work life to a T. Jennifer Aniston plays Peter's love interest, a waitress at Chotchkie's, a generic beer-and-burger joint à la Chili's, and Diedrich Bader (The Drew Carey Show) has a minor but hilarious turn as Peter's mustached, long-haired, drywall-installin' neighbor. --Jerry Renshaw ... Read more

Reviews (493)

Way underrated
Anyone who has ever worked in corporate America will relate to this hilarious gem.
It is low key as opposed to slapstick comedy. I think the movie was well cast about a cube dweller who had enough and basically quits working and gets a promotion to upper management while his hard working and dedicated buddies get slated for layoffs by "The Bob's" two management consultants.
Ron Livingston does a great job as Pete Gibbons, and Ajay Naidu as "Samir Nu, ne, nunu, uh nnn ,not work here anymore" David Herman as Micheal-why should I change - Bolton.
The boss Lundbergh is played perfectly deadpan by Gary Cole, and I think there is a Tom Smykowski and Milton Waddams in every organization. Lets not forget the "Bob's" I knew two idiot consultants just like them.
Office Space has it all, from stupid meetings, CI programs, and of course the infamous TPS reports - "didn't you get the memo about the new cover sheets?"
I could not stop laughing through the whole thing.

Well worth the price of the DVD, even though the transfer was only fair.

Hiliariously Close to the Truth
Though the situations and characters in Office Space are certainly larger than life, they are not that far from the truth--to which those of us in the corporate world will readily attest. That's what makes the movie so delightfully funny: seeing characters on screen act out (without much exaggeration) the trials and tribulations of today's desk-bound workforce.

The plot of the movie itself is somewhat secondary to its entertainment value. Basically, the main character (Ron Livingston) isn't happy with his job; having been asked once by his high school guidance counselor to picture what he'd do without being paid and consider that his ideal job, he responded that he's like to sit around and do nothing. The rest of the main plot centers on his attempt to get his life back on track, from discovering a love interest in a local waitress (Jennifer Anniston) also unhappy with her job to plotting revenge on his company for firing his friends.

Quickly one sees exactly why the characters are so unhappy with their jobs: a clueless, paper-shuffling boss who speaks in total monotone; inane office regulations requiring more time spent on reports than on real work; faulty office equipment; and so on. Carefully crafted to represent archetypes we all know from our own office experiences, the characters and their attempts to break free of the 9-to-5 drudgery are absolutely hilarious.

You don't have to be a computer programmer or engineer to enjoy this film--all you need is to have worked somewhere once in your life that was far from the ideal environment. Watch this film and enjoy a laugh at schmucks who have it ten times worse than you ever have!

THE comedy movie to see from the late 90s
If you see one comedy from the late 90s, see this one! The cast is great, and the story is better. The only person I know who didn't like this movie just doesn't understand the modern industrial/metroplitan environment. Driving to work in Silicon Valley REALLY IS THIS BAD, and if your definition of heavy traffic is going 15-20 mph on the freeway, you might not appreciate this film.

Dilbert's got it easy!
OFFICE SPACE either suffered from bad marketing or poor distribution because I had never heard of it nor did many of my movie-going friends. When I saw it on cable, I kept asking myself, "Where did this come from?" While the film occasionally breaks down in predictable sequences and cheap shots, it really does hold together remarkably well. This is one of the better written, directed and acted comedies in a long time. Even though the late 90's office world it illustrates is long gone, muddle-headed supervisors, know-nothing consultants, and very weird office workers are not. Enjoy this movie!

A MODERN CULT CLASSIC
Having seen and enjoyed bits and pieces of this movie countless times on cable (usually on Comedy Central) over the last couple of years, I finally broke down and purchased it to add to my DVD collection. Smart move on my part. Now that I've seen the entire movie from start to finish, it makes a lot more sense now (I'd never seen the hypnotism scene). It has all the makings of a modern cult classic. How do I know? Because every time I roll across it on cable I usually wind up watching the balance of the film and enjoying it all over again. Having 2 Geto Boys songs on the soundtrack and co-starring Jennifer Aniston doesn't hurt either. Damn it feels good to be a gangsta. ... Read more

Reviews (13)

A Real Classic
This is a real classic movie. Don Ameche and Tom Selleck did a supurb job. As any movie it has its slow spots but keeps you laughing. Ive watched this flick a dozen times already and still laugh just as hard and times even harder. I highly recommend this movie to anyone who's looking for a warm comedy with lots of laughs. Now if it would only come out on DVD.

Folks Is One Of The Funniest Movies Out There!
I would recommend this title to everybody! It is one of the funniest movies that I have ever seen and I couldn't stop laughing the first time I saw it! This Video is a MUST GET for all movie lovers!!!

My uncle loves it!
I purchased this for my uncle to show at the VA Hospital. Alot of the veterans had not seen "Folks". THEY LOVED IT!

the worst movie ever
I'm sorry, but this is one of a few movies I've ever seen that I couldn't finish. It's that bad. Poor acting, poor script, poor everything. Only good for tormenting someone.

very funny
Totaly enjoyable, very funny. Tom Selleck is very good in this movie. ... Read more

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What is junior high school but a strange, disorienting pastiche of black comedy, tragedy, soap opera, and (most of all) horror movie? Well, that pretty much describes Todd Solondz's astonishingly honest and clear-sighted film, Welcome to the Dollhouse. Like Solondz's even more controversial follow-up--the acclaimed and despised Happiness (1998)--Dollhouse unflinchingly looks deep into its characters' souls (and their embarrassing desires, and their floundering sexuality) in ways that can be simultaneously disturbing and liberating, appalling and hilarious. Dawn Wiener (Heather Matarazzo) is a hapless seventh-grade geek whose cruel and contemptuous schoolmates have nicknamed her (what else?) "Wiener Dog." Everything about Dawn is so awkward--the way she looks, talks, moves--that it's no wonder other kids dump on her. They're most likely so insecure about themselves that they're terrified of the Wiener Dog they know lurks somewhere down inside themselves, too. So, the best social and psychological survival tactic is to distance themselves from Dawn by relentlessly reminding her of her "place" at the bottom of the junior-high pecking order.Solondz's vision is hardly sentimental, and you wouldn't even call it "compassionate," but it is a moral vision: authentic, undiluted, and, in the end, understanding.--Jim Emerson ... Read more

Reviews (127)

One of the Best Movies of the 1990s.
Let me get this out of the way: in grade school, I was teased. A lot. In fact, it was so bad that even walking to school was an emotionally and physically painful experience. I can relate to every second of misery Dawn endures in the dynamite "Welcome to the Dollhouse." Most films like "Sixteen Candles" view high school as some insulated paradise. Not this film. Here, Dawn (played by Heather Matarazzo) is as socially inept as a pre-teen girl can be. She is subject to taunts, verbal assault, and vicious mind games at the hands of her classmates. Home life isn't much better; her parents blissfully ignore her while they shower attention on her cutsey younger sister, Missy. They give her attention only when they catch her doing something wrong, which seems to be most of the time. On top of this, she develops a crush for the teenage lead singer of her brother's band. Anyone who has experienced unrequieted love will find this subplot heartbreaking to watch. Despite the above, "Welcome to the Dollhouse" is a murderously funny movie to watch, even if you were a victim of grade school teasing. The performances are dead-on and it's one of my favorite movies of the 1990's.

A painfully honest film you will never forget
Bold, unabashedly honest, psychologically riveting, and painfully mesmerizing are just a few of the words and expressions that come to mind when I think about this uniquely extraordinary film. First shown at the 1996 Sundance Film Festival, Welcome to the Dollhouse walked away with the grand jury prize, and it is easy to see why. Writer/director/producer Todd Solondz brought a unique vision of the sharpest kind to this film, cutting right through the fluff of the typical "geek makes good" nonsense and forcing his artistic scalpel forcefully down into the nethermost regions of the adolescent heart. The story is so unsettling and painfully uncomfortable that some parents hesitated or refused to let their children participate in the filming. It's just an amazing, unforgettable movie.

Eleven-year-old Heather Matarrazzo gives one of the most remarkable performances I've ever seen from an actress of such tender age. Her eyes and bodily expressions encapsulate and transmit the hurt and misery writhing inside her every moment, leaving the viewer helpless to do anything but watch with increasingly unrestrained unease. Born with the unfortunate name of Dawn Weiner, the poor girl is ridiculed, ignored, teased, insulted, and basically mentally terrorized every day at school. Chants of "Weiner Dog" follow her throughout the hallways, her locker is marked with awful graffiti, and even her teachers and administrators are less than kind to her. Then, after school, she has to come home to parents who dote on her smart older brother and "little miss perfect" younger sister. Dawn has only one friend, a younger neighbor boy who seems to be following in her ignominiously alienated footsteps. Dawn does not escape all of this mentally unscathed, taking her own anger out on her sister in particular and doing several things that good girls should not do. In the most surreal of story elements, Dawn longs to be rescued from her situation by a boy, but hers is not a Cinderella type of fantasy. Her infatuation with a rebellious high school boy is somewhat understandable, but her relationship with a certain school bully is nothing short of surreal. I only wish I could discuss the psychology of this aspect of the movie in this context.

The one thing that really struck me about this movie is the fact that we never see Dawn cry; she internalizes all of her torments, and this does not have a pretty effect on her. I may be inventing a phrase here, but the director's vision seems to me to have been one of unsympathetic compassion. Far from holding Dawn up as the paragon of innocent, unrecognized virtue whose Prince Charming will come some day, he gives us a girl who becomes cruel in her own right to those few people around her, turning her hatred of others into a deep hatred of herself, several times teetering on the peak of mental unbalance. Solondz does not stray anywhere near the realm of fairy tale, as this ugly duckling does have an ugly side to her. The brutal honesty and lack of a visibly sympathetic portrayal of the character makes her worst moments even more unbearable to the viewer, and this is where the compassion kicks in. Solondz seemingly makes no effort to redeem this character in our eyes, yet the fact that he shows us, in such a harsh and brutal way, the miseries of this poor child's life makes her a character you desperately want to see find a degree of happiness.

The only thing I don't really understand about Welcome to the Dollhouse is the dark comedy label it seems to have acquired. I found nothing funny whatsoever about anything I saw here. Maybe that's the sensitivity of the former nerd in me, but honestly this movie is just utterly dark and depressing. Those looking for laughs will probably not embrace Welcome to the Dollhouse, but those who want to see the harsh light of truth shone into the bottom of an individual's soul and learn something from the painful experience will walk away from this film a different person than they were an hour and a half earlier. This movie has the power to touch you in ways you may never have imagined.

Everybody Runs Away....
Todd Solondz' WELCOME TO THE DOLLHOUSE was one of those films that was "on my list" for many years. I had seen his second film HAPPINESS and was intrigued by Solondz dark dark humor. Why it took me so long to take in another of his films is hard to explain. Every review I had read of DOLLHOUSE praised it (and even some reviewers who literally hated HAPPINESS were oddly touched by this debut film). Perhaps it took me a year or so to summon up enough strength to take another Solondz flick. Now that I think about it, such hesitancy only seems natural. As it turns out, however, biting as it is, DOLLHOUSE is still a heck of a lot easier to watch than its follow-up.

Perhaps it's because as some reviewers here suggest, we all have our own "inner Dawn Wiener." It's easy to identify with this ungainly, hopelessly unpopular teenager--with the awful barrettes and clothes, a brainy older brother, and pertly adorable younger sister. We can all cop to that one pretty much. (If you identify at all with the characters in HAPPINESS, you probably wouldn't want to admit it.) But I honestly don't think that Solondz' intent was to get viewers in touch with their "inner adolescent." He's going after something bigger than that--and more sinister too.

I guess it shouldn't be so surprising that many reviewers here identify with Dawn, but when they start calling the film "realistic," you have to wonder. If there was ever a film that was an exercise in pop SURrealism, this is it.
As a teen alienation flick, I'd rate it right up there with GHOST WORLD, and like that film, it has a distorted, fun-house-mirror quality--that is, I'll grant you, simultaneously more and less real that mere realism. (I guess that's the essence of SURREALISM). Dawn's parents, for example, are little more than cartoon figures--at least until her father has a near nervous breakdown.

And doesn't that reflect a teenage sense of reality even better than sheer realism, after all? Your average teen doesn't see his or her parents as full-fledged human beings. They're way too busy with their own boiling over emotions. Until their parents humanity hits them in the face, kids see them through the looking glass, darkly--if at all.

Which is not to say that either of Dawn's parents becomes remotely sympathetic. Interesting too how in the end, Dawn's two almost-boyfriends have run away to the city. Dawn kinda sorta runs away herself trying to track downr her kidnapped little sister. Seems like anyone with a lick of sense gets out of that town.

realistic account
welcome to the dollhouse is a touching and realistic account of what its like to be on the outskirts of growing up. dawn is a young gyrl trying to fight her way in. she deals with bullies, her parents rejection, and her own self hate. the film has its funny moments such as dawn standing over her sleeping sister's bed with a hammer in her hands. the character of dawn is well played but barely develops. brendon sexton jr plays brandon, a bully in his own right but has feelings for dawn. his role is small but quite significant. dawn's family is very unlikeable strictly because of their arrogance and complete disregard of dawn.
overall the film is good. you will find yourself not only sympathizing with dawn but may find her angst and vulnerbility alittle like your own in the often harsh world of growing up. the ending could be better; it leaves you wondering about alot of things. but despite the ending the film is heartfelt and very satisfying.

Painfully realistic
I felt like switching this movie off a lot of the time. Having been where Dawn was throughout high school, I didn't think it was possible for me to watch right to the end. I was told that this movie was the story of my life. Not quite. But I did identify with some parts - Dawn being called a loner, her looks, being called ugly. But what really upset me, was the director heavily focusing on looks in the movie. I don't know why I still get upset over that kind of thing in movies. And the fact that Dawn does exactly what everyone does to her - she turns round, and says hurts them. But that's cos she's been bullied herself, so effectively, she turns into the bully.

But of course, we've all been there, haven't we? Don't say you haven't, go and dig out your old photo album. Look at the dorky hair, clothes, teeth in bad need of a brace - I could go on. And we've all had that embarrassing, awkward first kiss - I've NEVER put a spell on a guy just to make him like me! (It wouldn't work, believe me)

Heather Matarazzo, although quite pretty now, is probably always going to be cast in "character" roles, than anything else. What I really hated was where were all the kids with bad skin?! Even Dawn had porcelain skin. It's not fair, nor is it true.

Dawn was made to look all the worse, by constantly having her hair scraped back, made to wear god-awful clothes, and those terrible clothes (although I found an old pair of glasses when cleaning out my drawers - did I wear those?!)

This is a good film to watch, although I can't see myself touching a guy with a bargepole who bullied me, or called me names. That bit just didn't ring true. It's not a film I would watch again, it upset me that bit too much. But it's worth having a look at if you can get your hands on a copy. ... Read more

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

Reviews (264)

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

*Sigh*

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

(...) ... Read more

Amazon.com

Though it seems like a one-joke premise, this spinoff of Al Franken's Saturday Night Live character, self-help nerd Stuart Smalley, actually has some substance. And, in fact, it offers a message that wouldn't be out of place at an Al-Anon meeting (although with the laughs). Stuart, fired from his cable TV self-help show, goes home to resolve a family crisis. Dad (Harris Yulin) is an abusive drunk, Mom (Shirley Knight) is an enabler, Sis is an over-eater, and Brother has a problem with his temper. The film turns serious, but Franken actually makes the drama interesting, using humor to leaven it. And he brings a certain sympathy and resolve to the lisping, cross-eyed Stuart. To be sure, it's not your typical SNL movie. --Marshall Fine ... Read more

Reviews (34)

ONE OF THE BEST MOVIES I HAVE EVER SEEN...
The first time I saw this movie was when it was in theatrical release, (which lasted about a week). I was in a movie theater in Times Square with a friend, and there were only two other people in the audience. Al Frankin has referred to this movie as a "disaster" because it was pulled from theaters after not even reaching one million dollars. Note to Al: THIS MOVIE IS NOT A FALIURE!

Every detail of this film, from the opening montage to the marvelous acting, (these are TOP NOTCH actors in this film), to the hilarious comedy to the story to the music...everything is hysterical. I only wish they had chosen a different title. Stuart does not save his family, he can only try. The movie should have been called "Stuart Smalley."

I was so astounded by how wonderful this movie was, yet practically no one saw it and Al Frankin calls it a disaster. I honestly, truely, unexagerratedly believe that this movie should have been up for several Oscars, including Best Director and for the supporting cast. The actor who plays the father was especially wonderful. I only hope that more people discover this movie.

When the movie was over in the theater, (I have since seen it again on video several times), the two other people in the audience came up the aisle and also expressed how good the movie was. I wish I could have direct addresses for director Harold Ramis and Al Frankin so that I could write to them and tell them how proud they should be of this movie.

He doesn't really save his family, but...
Sadly, a lot of folks have never heard of this little gem. It had a very short theatrical release but has been gaining a wider audience, largely among members of 12-step programs, through its various video releases.

To describe the story line of this very funny movie would be to sell it short, because the premise doesn't sound like it would lend itself to such a delightful comedy. But the film grabs one's attention from the very beginning with its montage of 50s and 60s family photographs during the opening credits. Are these possibly family photos of the lead actors at an earlier stage of life? When Vincent d'Onofrio's name is on the screen, the guy in the photo looks an awful lot like him. And then we're off and running, with Stuart telling us on his television show that he has just received a sweater that one Melissa D. knitted for him. Melissa is a recovering sex addict and knitting the sweater "gave her something to do with her hands."

From that point on, the pace only rarely slackens, as we are introduced to Stuart's various friends and nemeses, beginning with Roz Weinstock, very possibly the meanest and most sadistic boss since Captain Bligh, and deliciously played by Camille Saviola. Roz has fired Stuart for maligning her on the air, and she is only the first of a series of people Stuart manages to annoy as he lives out his affirmation of "I'm good enough, I'm smart enough and, doggone it, people like me." Perhaps not everyone likes him, certainly not the customer in the restaurant (an unbilled role, possibly director Harold Ramis?) who has to wait while Stuart explains his latest predicament to his best friend and Al-Anon sponsor Julia, wonderfully played by Laura San Giacomo.

From there, it is a constant back-and-forth for Stuart between Chicago, where he lives, and Minneapolis, ironically one of the chief centers of recovery programs, and the home of his very dysfunctional family. Stuart's beloved Aunt Paula has died, setting in motion an ever-muddier chain of events that eventually teach Stuart in a big way that the only one he really has the power to change is himself. Nevertheless, the ever-optimistic Stuart continues to offer his gifts to others, some of which are eventually picked up and appreciated.

Just as the setting goes back and forth from Chicago to Minneapolis, so the time frame goes back and forth from the present to the past through black-and-white flashbacks, some happy, some less so. These give us some idea of how Stuart has come to be the way he is today, and of the ghosts that he has to grapple with while living out his affirmation.

The film does take a rather serious turn near the end, but Al Franken as Stuart Smalley helps to keep the tone somewhat light during this section. And, as in real life, not all the loose ends ever get neatly tied up, but Stuart has nevertheless made his impact, as we see in a very heartwarming ending.

While most of the actors in the film are not household names, a number of them are quite experienced and turn in some memorable performances. Harris Yulin, Shirley Knight, Lesley Boone and Vincent d'Onofrio are all good as Stuart's family members, the men in particular. There are also a number of memorable cameos, particularly Julia Sweeney as the constantly apologizing Mea C., and Walter Olkewicz and Jeremy Roberts as the Skoag brothers who try to force the teetotaling Stuart to drink beer at a bar.

The music is fun also, beginning with the codependent song that is played during the opening credits. And it was great to hear Ethel Merman blasting her way through "Everything's Coming Up Roses," during one of the scenes where Stuart is trying to pull himself up by his bootstraps.

This picture has some of the funniest lines I have ever heard in any film. My particular favorite is Stuart's brother Donnie's attempt to define for him what an "easement" is, despite the fact that he obviously doesn't have the slightest notion. But many will like even better Stuart's comment to his sister about the pound cake. While there is plenty here for audiences in general to laugh at, there are also a number of jokes that are targeted toward members of 12-step programs, and especially those programs geared toward helping friends and family members of those addicted to alcohol and drugs. It's obvious from the writing that these are topics near and dear to screenwriter Franken's heart.

So, I recommend this movie with just the caveat that you will find it funnier and closer to home if you have some familiarity with the programs that the film gently pokes fun at. And even if you don't, after seeing the film you may still wind up with a new approach to life.

Great Great Movie
I absolutely love this movie! I watch it everytime I am frustrated with my family and always end up feeling a little bit better. Other than making us laugh, this movie teaches us that at some point it's ok to separate ourselves from our family's problems and that we have to accept that we can't fix everything for everyone that we care about. I was happily surprised that this movie contained more than obvious humor, it actually has heart!!

If you've ever been a member of a 12-Step Program...
If you're ever been or are now a member of a 12-Step Program you'll find this movie wildly entertaining. Sadly, the humor so evident in this film is so common amongst many familes struggling with relatives of addictions. Key words here are : affirmations, 12-Step, intervention, codependency, and many others to mention here.

A Jewel of a Movie
It's sad when I mention scenes in this movie at work and I get a "huh?" Very few people has bothered to see this movie and I think they're missing something. I found it poignant, funny and subtle. It it has some of the best one-liners and a rather sad but well written ending. Any grown-up out there (belonging to a dysfunctional family) still trying to stay with the concept of "family holiday gathering" should do what Stuart ultimately did in the end. ... Read more

Amazon.com essential video

Black comedies don't come much blacker than this cult favorite from 1972, and they don't come much funnier, either. It seemed that director Hal Ashby was the perfect choice to mine a mother lode of eccentricity from the original script by Colin Higgins, about the unlikely romance between a death-obsessed 19-year-old named Harold (Bud Cort) and a life-loving 79-year-old widow named Maude (Ruth Gordon). They meet at a funeral, and Maude finds something oddly appealing about Harold, urging him to "reach out" and grab life by the lapels as opposed to dwelling morbidly on mortality. Harold grows fond of the old gal--she's a lot more fun than the girls his mother desperately matches him up with--and together they make Harold & Maude one of the sweetest and most unconventional love stories ever made. Much of the earlier humor arises from Harold's outrageous suicide fantasies, played out as a kind of twisted parlor game to mortify his mother, who's grown immune to her strange son's antics. Gradually, however, the film's clever humor shifts to a brighter outlook and finally arrives at a point where Harold is truly happy to be alive. Featuring soundtrack songs by Cat Stevens, this comedy certainly won't appeal to all tastes (it was a box-office flop when first released), but if you're on its quirky wavelength, it might just strike you as one of the funniest movies you've ever seen. --Jeff Shannon ... Read more

Reviews (193)

Takes it's audience too much for granted
I'm puzzled as to why some people have adopted this movie as a life manifesto as it is rather a nasty piece of work. Counter culture perniciousness is never far from the surface and the death stuff is pure 'Addams Family' corn, although undeniably amusing on that level.
Someone here mentioned the curious adoption of an 'Ubermensch' philosophy by Maude reminiscent of her war time captors and I don't know whether or not it was intended ironically. Before the fall she was obviously part of the same bourgeoise. Mind you, Hitler was a bit of a pleb and skint, too. Anyway, does 'aiming above morality' mean lack of responsibility to those closest to you? Despite surely being aware of Harold's emotional vulnerability, Maude does not make her 'saturday' intentions clear to him, other than as a vague reference in passing. The expression on Ruth Gordon's face as an actress while dropping this bombshell to Harold suggests she did not truly believe in this scene or the film as a whole, which uses the smokescreen of eccentricity to excuse Maude's lack of clarity. But since she is clearly articulate on most matters, there is an ambivalence at the heart of this picture. She appears to cruelly lead him on, only to crush him with a bromide. What are we to make of all of this? Even an offbeat film needs to maintain a certain internal logic. Likewise, stealing cars that may have been needed in a life and death emergency leaves a nasty taste. If there is an epiphany here, then I cannot see it.
This lack of internal logic extends to the direction, too. Ashby has great quirky timing but there is also a curious dishonesty at work. On the first date, how could Harold have got out from under those sheets and replaced them with a dummy without the girl in the house noticing? It would have taken exceptional sleight of hand and the director doesn't convince us. Likewise the business with Harold's hand on the second date. He clearly uses his real hands for the mouth freshner but are we then expected to believe he could have somehow slipped a false hand on to his sleave (miraculously lengthened) in front of his guest? This sloppy attitude can be seen in the opening scene. The shot behind Harold's head shows the rope not touching his body. From the other side we clearly see the rope going into his shoulder to support his weight. Also, in a later scene, the motorcycle cop aiming to shoot the fleeing protaganists with a civilian clearly walking into view. Should any of this matter in what is basically a comedy of (bad) manners? I think the film wants it both ways, that is seriousness and silliness, but it doesn't think it has to try too hard. However, if you sacrifice credibility in a style of dead pan realism you will not get away with it. Perhaps someone should have reminded Mr Ashby that comedy is, in fact, a serious business.
The main compensations in 'Harold and Maude' are the little details. The motorcycle cop's trouser problem. The way various vehicles splutter into life and barely get going suggesting the vulnerability of us all in a changing world. Harold's legs in the opening scene and his petulant reaction to furniture obstructing his way. The peculiar pause when Maude asks Harold whether it's wrong to pose nude.
As a whole though, it is distinctly uneven. The 'took my head' scene does not work but the actress scene is absolutely inspired.
This is the archetypal cult movie and beggers the question as to whether films can ever be 'cult' like this again, what with the closure of 'rep' cinemas which traditionally supported these pictures and the ready avaliability of home video. Will the definition of 'cult' simply mean failure at the box office?
The picture quality is reasonable. The chief advantage is the sound which is hugely superior to my video copy.

You should be dying to see "Harold and Maude"
I have taken it upon myself to see many of the movies that I enjoyed as a young adult in the 60's and 70's. Some of them I remember as being great, but when I see them again, they're not so great. One of the truly great ones is "Harold and Maude" (1972). The movie has lost nothing for me, and if anything, is actually better now.

It is the story of a young man (Harold - Played by Bud Cort) obsessed with death, and his relationship with an older woman, (Maude- Played by Ruth Gordon)who is a complete free spirit. Maude is fond of funerals, but is more fascinated with the circle of life, not just death. Their relationship takes Harold on a journey to maturity that is full of humor and heartache. I was quite pleasantly surprised recently while I was watching "Something about Mary" that "Harold and Maude" was mentioned a few times as Mary's favorite all time love story.

This film is the ultimate black comedy. The music is one of the highlights of this great work. All of the music is by Cat Stevens. The music of Cat Stevens also plays through a larger portion of this film that most of today's soundtracks which may be made more to sell CDs than to provide mood for the story. Cat Stevens is also an artist that we can forget how much we enjoyed.

I showed this video to my sons (12 and 14), they even appreciated it. If you want to see a video that gives you a glimpse of a how we felt about life and death in the 1970's (and how many of us feel today) see Harold and Maude. You won't be disappointed.

bittersweetness of life
Harold and Maude is an insightful, comedic and touching view of two individuals who are seemingly polar opposites. Ashby, the director, reminds the viewer that in death there is life and in life there is death and having a sense of humor is the best, if not the only antidote to both phenomena.

As many have mentioned, with a few dissenters, this is truly a wonderful film, full of irony and paradoxes. One falls in love with the characters and thus the film. Cat Stephens' haunting music provides a perfect soundscape to a film that will haunt
your memory for all time.

Hialrious!
I watched this movie the first time with a bunch of friends, and the general consensus was that it was the best movie they had ever seen. It's hilarious, sweet, and rather disturbing... but overall an excellent movie, and my current favorite.

Wonderful, wonderful & wonderful!
In an age of cynicism, bitterness, and pointless movies about horny teenagers, this film is a breath of fresh air. Movies like this simply do not get made anymore. People who hate it miss the point, it is about love and life and enjoying who you are. Movine and wonderful, and Ruth Gordon is darling. To those who hated it, please watch it again, and open your mind and your heart. You will be surprised at what you find there. ... Read more

Amazon.com

Elaine May wrote, directed, and starred in this acidic comedy about a wealthy playboy (Walter Matthau) who discovers that he has nearly spent all of his fortune. Casting about for a solution to his money problems that won't actually involve work, he finds a desperate solution: He'll marry an heiress (May) for her fortune. The hitch: She's a social maladept ("The woman is feral," Matthau growls). Indeed, Matthau finds marriage so intolerable that he decides there's only one course of action, which is to actively pursue making himself a widower by bumping her off. An offbeat, funny, and dry film, with a wonderfully misanthropic performance by Matthau and a sharply drawn one by May. --Marshall Fine ... Read more

Reviews (35)

Timeless classic
A New Leaf is a suprisingly unknown gem. If you were to watch this movie in another 20 years, it would still be as funny as the first time you saw it. Absolute classic comedy that appeals to all ages. Wonderful performance by May & Matthau. Can't say enough about May's performance. Priceless. They don't make movies like this any more. If you want to see how comedy should be done, you'd need to see this one, because it is the best. All others should be compared with it. I've rented it numerous times, but never found a copy of the original. I was a teenager when I first saw this from a real, and could never forget it. It is, without a doubt, my favorite of all time. This movie has been, sadly, edited of the most choice scenes from the original. I meet people all the time who have seen the original, and remember all the clipped scenes. The original is worth it's weight in gold - a must own. I give it 5+ stars.

Funniest film of Matthau's oevre. May is also brilliant.
This has been a favorite movie of my sister's and mine for ten years; this year I'm going to give her a copy for Christmas. Matthau's roles often exhibit some variation on his take on "The Odd Couple's" Oscar Madison. Here he plays half against type, convincingly presenting a mannered, cultivated snob, while maintaining and even expanding on his usual grouchy, wise-cracking attitude.

It's got laugh-out-loud moments, and is packed with enough wry scenes and subtle performances that it demands multiple viewings to catch them all. Many touching insights, too, but never a long rest between chuckles. Things do slow a bit at the end, but no more than most great comedies.

Now I read Maltin's capsule review and am amazed that May distanced herself from the final edit. Good gravy, could it have been significantly better? While not a masterpiece of cinematography or special effects, this certainly ranks as a comedy which, particularly if Maltin is correct, demands a Director's Cut.

Very dated, thin plot, not funny
I know that everyone's funny bone varies but this movie is
just NOT very funny. Any family that makes the viewing of this
movie an annual tradition for all ages needs to get real. If
you want to see Walter at his best, stick with Hello Dolly.

It's all true.
This movie is so clever and funny, that it is easy to miss the love story at its heart. It is one of my all-time favorite films and I've been evangelizing it for years.

I'm only adding this review to encourage lobbying to bring this film out on DVD and restore it to May's original cut.

So if each person who reads this will get the movie and show it to 10 friends, and so on, and we get a huge deman for the full three our releas on DVD, we might create movie history.

It is a crime that this movie has been so badly neglected since if was first released.

Barkeep, Gimme Mogen David Malaga Cooler!
Saw this movie in the theatre many years ago, and never ever forgot it. It has become the source of numerous family jokes (poor Henrietta and her lapful of crumbs) - we've even gone so far as to order a Mogen David Malaga cooler at a fancy restaurant -- much to the alarm of the server. This is really how comedy should be done - not vulgar or gross-out, just a great set of characters. Oh, and how about that scene with the toga/nighty? That still makes me scream! Give yourself a treat and get this movie - you'll watch it over and over. ... Read more

Amazon.com

This spotty black comedy from Lawrence Kasdan (The Big Chill)--based on a true story--stars Kevin Kline as a womanizing pizzeria owner whose mousy wife (Tracey Ullman) tries multiple ways of murdering him with the aid of sundry friends and hired hands. The film never picks up the necessary momentum or develops the necessary tone to drive it, and one is left picking and choosing which of the performers is at least adequately entertaining. Kline is good but perhaps a bit too theatrical, and Joan Plowright is hilarious as his mother-in-law. The funniest joke in the whole thing belongs to William Hurt and Keanu Reeves as deeply-stoned, would-be-killers who emerge from a taxi and look as if they can't remember what planet they're on. --Tom Keogh ... Read more

Reviews (20)

True love just won't die ¿ no matter how hard you try!
Watch this with someone who knows you well enough to appreciate that awful, embarrassing snort-laugh you have when you can't catch your breath. This movie has put a nice twist on the jealous wife who wants to murder her cheating husband. Who'd think it could be funny! The characters aren't polite or glossy, they're down-to-earth and hilariously direct. Watching these actors chew up the scenery is a treat. Tracy Ulman really does nearly love Kevin Kline to death, enthusiastically assisted by loved ones Joan Plowright and River Phoenix and two hopelessly high hit men, William Hurt and Keanu Reeves, who can't (and never will) get it right. Everyone concerned does a terrific job and you may just find yourself liking these unlikely but endearing characters. Just like Joey and Rosalee, there's no accounting for what you love-you just do.

Far Under-Rated Comedy..
I saw this movie shortly after it's release on HBO in the earliy '90s. It has a full fledge cast that just make it superb to watch. Kevin Kline as Joey the Pizzaria Owner, who just can't get enough women, and is soo fun loving. Tracy Ullman plays his wife Rosalee, who loves her husband soo much, she would rather kill him than share him with any other woman. Joan Plowright plays Rosalee's Mother, who has a nack for mechanical work and it's nothing for her to be working on a carbortor at the Dinner Table at a restaraunt while the family is dinnig out. River Phoenix plays the boy who works at the Pizzaria, and is deeply in love with Rosalee, so much so,that he is willing to aid her in knocking off her husband, only after the futile attempts from Rosalee and her Mom. After he fails, they call in a couple of bargin basement junkies,(William Hurt & Keanu Reeves) from the local tavern to finish the job, but even they can't seem to pull it off. It's just one good laugh after another. I wore out my VHS Tape and then got the Laser Disc. I was happy to discover that it has been released on DVD!

Also, I believe that this is based on a true story as well!!

SITCOM-STYLE COMEDY OF MISADVENTURES WITH APPEALING CAMEOS..
I take off one star for the somewhat slight theme based on the true but quaint counter-intuitive romance of a couple whose marriage was revitalized after the wife almost succeeded in murdering her husband.

But it comes with some brilliant cameos from some big names: Kline as an Italian pizza shop owner, William Hurt and Keanu Reeves as spaced out druggies, Plowright a staunch mother with a thick Yugoslavian accent and extremely funny, and an absolutely pivotal wife's role played by Ulman, who finds the stubborn vindictiveness inside her character, sunny and trusting one moment and unforgiving and brutal the next.

It's not an astounding comedy and some gags are hit-and-miss, but as a saving grace the film is well-paced. The DVD I got features trailers for three other movies (go figure) but I still recommend this one as a decent rental.

Yes, I Love You All to Death!
There are some films of which you should never be critical on details but should just sit back and enjoy what the film gives you. gI Love You to Deathh is the best one of such kind. Oh, yes, having watched it for many, many times, it never fails to give me fresh bliss every time I watch it!

Why this film is so excellent is obvious: it has a shiny set of brilliant, extraordinary and adorable characters that are played by the gorgeous-like-chandelier actors. My personal favorite of all these stars is, of course, Marlon, the a-bit-moronic-but-lovable drug addict turned gtoo-sweet-to-killh killer, played by Keanu Reeves with drastic hair-do and off-beat fashion sense.

And, you got to see this Joey (Kevin Kline), the womaniser pizza shop owner, who broke his faithful wife, Rosalie (Tracey Ullman)fs heart so devastatingly that she decides to kill him. One problem here is, he is not a human! Seriously! He works 14 to 15 hours a day, 7 days a week, never sleeps more than two or three hours a night. And still has surplus energy (or hormones, maybe?) to go out with a different woman every night! Personally, I would like to kill him just because he eats like an excessively greedy elephant yet gain no weight at all!! That ability alone is intolerable for all women, not to mention his outrageously frequent adultery. But, still, Rosalie loves him so much that she wants him to die but not to be hurt!? !

To see other countless jewel moments that make you burst to laugh, smile, mad and moved, and to witness how on earth you can ever kill this monstrously superhuman-like cheeky Italian guy, you definitely got to see this yourself.

Everyone becomes happy in the end including ones who have been watching. Once I tried it when I was extremely depressed and found myself still be able to laugh and love. For that quality, gI Love You to Deathh is undoubtedly irreplaceable treasure to me.

A classic finally arrives on DVD!!
I've been waiting for years for this to come out on DVD. I won't recap the story, because most people have already heard it. Just want to say that the DVD version offers both wide-screen and full-screen versions. There's nothing in the way of extras, which was a little disappointing--I would have loved to have seen something about the real-life couple that inspired this movie. But I was just so excited to get my hands on this DVD, it's one of those movies that not many people heard of, but don't forget once they've seen it. And you'll never be able to take Keanu Reeves seriously again, no matter how many times you see him in the Matrix!! ... Read more

Reviews (4)

Deeds to be released in DVD fromat
A great movie!
An absolute delight.
But it needs to be released in DVD format SOON !!
Kaz Jann

Clever Comedy with a "Killer" Twist
Glenn Ford is the producer of a television mystery series who attempts to protect his Broadway star wife (Debbie Reynolds) from a blackmailer--and decides to eliminate the blackmailer via a murder plot suggested by his own series. The result is a comic chaos involving a couple of gansters, a peculiar pigeon, and the gazebo his wife is having built on their country property.

Based on the play of the same name, THE GAZEBO strives for a mix of broad farce, screwball comedy, and sprightly sophistocation--and by and large brings it off quite well. I have never been a great fan of Glenn Ford, but he manages both the broad physical comedy and the clever dialogue of this film with equal ease. Debbie Reynolds is also quite good in the role of the stage-star wife, and she and Ford have a surprisingly successful chemistry. Although the humor is more smile-and-chuckle than laugh-out-loud, THE GAZEBO is a well made, well acted, and quite enjoyable. Recommended.

Gazebo
A great comedy, Glen Ford is at his best. I could watch it over and over again. The movie keeps you laughing all the way through it. The ending is great, a 10+

Glenn Ford can do comedy!
A great and unlikely role for Glenn Ford who has the perfect comedic timing in this charming movie about a gazebo, pigeon and a murder. This is a very refreshing change from Ford's typical dramatic/western roles. A must see for all Ford fans! END ... Read more

Amazon.com essential video

When the Devil (Peter Cook) offers suicidal short-order cook Stanley (Dudley Moore) seven wishes, Stanley easily surrenders his soul. All of his wishes are granted, to the letter. Unfortunately, as each wish comes to life, the Devil--cheeky sod!--manages to slip some unexpected problem into the mix, ruining everything in a deliciously funny way. Bedazzled was made long before 10 and Arthur made Dudley Moore an unlikely movie star. It's a much purer expression of the off-kilter British humor that Moore and his writing partner Cook pioneered, humor that would lead to Monty Python's Flying Circus and other absurdist goofballs. Moore is charming enough, but what really makes Bedazzled work is Cook, who combines upper-class arrogance with a cheerful, even casual lunacy. Though he played character roles in movies like The Princess Bride and Black Beauty, he was never able to parlay his sneaky sense of humor into starring roles. Bedazzled is his outstanding triumph. Not only does the movie offer some sly commentary on Christian morality, it has a cameo with Raquel Welch as the embodiment of Lust. A classic. --Bret Fetzer ... Read more

Reviews (54)

Why would anyone remake this film?
Yeah, I know, nobody in Hollywood has had an original idea in decades, but the news that they were putting out a new version of THIS near-perfect comedy stunned me. And with the guy from "Encino Man"! The original stars the great British team of Peter Cook and Dudley Moore back when the former was still alive, and the latter was still funny. It's basically a retelling of Faust, with short-order cook Stanley Moon (Moore) head-over-heels for a completely indifferent waitress. Stanley sells his tortured soul to The Devil (Cook) for seven chances at romantic bliss, only things never seem to be quite right. No matter how hard Stanley tries to spell out exactly how he wants his new life to be, George (that's the name Satan goes by here on Earth) manages to find a loophole in each wish. The situations that result are all priceless, and there's even a few steamy scenes with Raquel Welch as one of the Seven Deadly Sins (guess which one). The original film is a 10, and there's no more chance of the 2000 version living up to it than there is of Brendan Fraser winning an Academy Award. Like, ever.

terrific classic doesn't need to be re-made!
I first saw this film my first semester in college... in English 101 of all places! After reading the Goethe's "Faust," we were treated to this drop-dead, split your sides open comedy.

Dudley Moore is perfect as the bumbling, broken-hearted bafoon, Stanley Moon. Peter Cook is the evil, but somehow still loveable George Spiggot aka the Devil. Raquel Welch plays a small cameo role as "Lust," one of the seven deadly sins personified.

Moon (Moore) is lovelorn and secretly pining away for the waitress he works with at the local "Wimpy Burger" in London. When Moore realizes that the girl he desires will never notice him, he attempts to take his life and is rescued by none other than the Prince of Darkness.

Moore agrees to sign over his soul to Spiggot in return for 7 wishes. The poor sap just isn't street smart enough and constantly wishes for something he either didn't intend to wish for or worse, a wish he hadn't really thought out properly and thoroughly... exacerbating the meaning of the phrase, "be careful what you wish for... you might just get it!"

Cook does an exemplary job as the wolf in sheeps clothing. Spiggot gains Moon's confidence by being kind to him... despite his alterior motives, it is probably the first time anyone has been kind to Moon in his whole life and the Devil exploits this to the fullest measure. Lack of street-smarts gets moon in one hilarious pickle after another.

I can't say much more without ruining the plot and the hilarity, but suffice to say, you'll never hear "Julie Andrews" the same way again. I highly recommend this as a clever comedy... and one that's safe to show to teens.

I don't even wanna see the remake!
Ok, I only saw this movie once, so I don't remember all of the details properly, so I will try to keep my thought short. (besides, everyone else has filled in most of the details) The movie had me hooked with one of Cook's opening lines about suicide being the last thing you should do. But, I must disagree with those who have considered Cook's role as that of a hero. He was quite likeable on the screen, but I knew someone like that in real life, and it wasn't a fun experience. Ah, but the best part is the end where the devil ends up hosed and Dudly Moore's charactor has his life back. And, I liked how God was portrayed as a nasty type. It's kind of like the moral of the story is that you shouldn't trust either of them. This movie is on my must find DVD list, so I can put it on the shelf next to Dr Strangelove. Not that it is as good as Dr. Strangelove, but it comes closer than a lot of other comedy movies.

Spellbound...
Dudley Moore and Peter Cook were once the dynamic duo of comedy in Britain (and, to a lesser extent, America), having variously stage shows, television shows, and movies before going their mostly separate ways. One of their great collaborations is 'Bedazzled', a somewhat Faustian-influenced comedy about a man making a pact with the devil to get the woman he desires, only to have it get increasingly silly as it gets increasingly specific.

Moore is the poor man in love with a woman unobtainable; Cook is the devil (in very seductive guise, as is the devil's usual image) who promises him he will grant wishes if in turn he gains rights to Moore's soul. During the course of conversation, the devil explains that he and God have been in competition, and the first to reach a set figure wins, and Moore will put the devil over the top.

So, Moore makes a wish. Of course, in typical devilish fashion, it goes awry. The devil, being a sporting sort, gives Moore the chance to be more specific, to refine his wish. And this he does, to the point of absurdity. Instead of simply wishing to have the woman he loves, he ends up wishing that he loves her and she loves him (poof! they're in love, but married to other people--still a bit of a no no in 60's Britain); increasing refinements bring him to the point of wishing that he loves her, and she loves him, they're not married, etc. until finally Moore finds himself and his love are both nuns (forget to specify that he would be male!) in a convent specialising in spiritual leaping (the scene of Moore on the trampoline wearing a nun's habit is worth the full cost of rental of the movie!).

In the end, the devil pays a call on God (who lives in a greenhouse that looks suspiciously like one of the major botanical research greenhouses in Britain, but...) who lets the devil in on the trick that the competition wasn't really on, releases Moore to go back to his life (which by this point Moore realises wasn't so bad), and the devil slinks away, disappointed.

There is so much subtle humour mixed in with the bawdy and tumbling humour that this really is a treat. One reviewer has likened it to Austin Powers, and that is not far off the mark, for this really was the swinging 60s in Britain.

It is amazing to see what passed for questionable morality in movies (given what we see on prime-time television today) with the hindsight that living in the 2000s gives us. This movie seems positively tame by comparison to more recent features. But, it still delights, and the plot is timeless (even if the details will change over time).

You'll be bedazzled too.

Damn L'Amour !
As an American, I typed Bedazzled as a Damn Yankees comparison, or contrast whichever you like. The only comparison is a lady named "Lust" to a zinger of a dancer named "Lola." The only contrast is a guy in Bedazzled who want