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A Disney "classic" that actually is a classic, Dumbo should be part of your video collection whether or not you have children. The storytelling was never as lean as in Dumbo, the songs rarely as haunting (or just plain weird), the characters rarely so well defined. The film pits the "cold, cruel, heartless" world that can't accept abnormality against a plucky, and mute, hero. Jumbo Jr. (Dumbo is a mean-spirited nickname) is ostracized from the circus pack shortly after his delivery by the stork because of his big ears. His mother sticks up for him and is shackled. He's jeered by children (an insightful scene has one boy poking fun at Dumbo's ears, even though the youngster's ears are also ungainly), used by the circus folk, and demoted to appearing with the clowns. Only the decent Timothy Q. Mouse looks out for the little guy. Concerns about the un-PC "Jim Crow" crows, who mock Dumbo with the wonderful "When I See an Elephant Fly," should be moderated by remembering that the crows are the only social group in the film who act kindly to the little outcast. If you don't mist up during the "Baby Mine" scene, you may be legally pronounced dead. --Keith Simanton ... Read more

Reviews (127)

Excellent for two and three year olds and everyone else too!
Dumbo is a cinematic milestone and masterpiece of family entertainment. The storyline and characters are well rounded enough (just) to entertain adults and older children and the quality of the animation both holds children's attention and enables them to empathise with the principle characters. In addition, the moral of the story is well presented without being clumsily overstated as in much modern animation.

Both my children have frequently watched this DVD (which first came out (without extras) in Europe in 1999) since they were one and both enjoy it imensely.

I'm both astonished and disturbed that anyone could deem this movie unsuitable for children but can only assume they come from the same group of people who banned Robin Hood books from schools for being 'pro communist' and Shakespeare for being 'too explicit'!

The 'drunken scene' is funny, brief and discrete (all you see is the shadows of characters through canvas). As to fast forwarding through the dream sequence for the kids' benefit because it is 'too long' that is verging on irresponsible. All doing so teaches a child is that it's OK to have a short attention span and to zoom through films to the 'interesting bits'. Perhaps I was wrong though and the moral of the story has been hidden too deeply "Persevere - Don't Give Up" is lost on some people.

Great, despite the grainy picture quality
This sweet animated film (only 64 minutes long) is truly a Disney treasure. The simple story is about a little elephant that just doesn't fit in because of his freakishly large ears. Timothy, a little circus mouse, befriends Dumbo and sees only beauty in his new friend. Dumbo entertains us, as well as teaches us a timeless lesson about love and tolerance in a world that is often times unkind and cruel. The animation is rather simple as compared to the detail found in Snow White or Pinocchio, but it somehow works because of the film's other strengths. In Dumbo your emotions run the full spectrum from laughter to tears. The musical numbers are memorable, especially "Baby Mine". Baby Mine is a tearjerker if ever there was one. The crows add great comic relief toward the end of the film. The Special Bonus Features on the DVD are a real nice touch and generous. Among the extras are a "Celebrating Dumbo" featurette, two animated shorts, and a Music Video of "Baby Mine" sung by Michael Crawford that will have you sobbing all over again, guaranteed! The only complaint I have was mentioned by other reviewers, that being the grainy quality of the film. This flaw simply does not make any sense. I would have expected that Disney, promoting Dumbo as the "60th Anniversary Edition", would have bothered to restore the picture and audio elements. The DVD back cover makes claims to Dumbo being digitally restored and remastered with a Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound, but it certainly is not evident to me. I guess we should be thankful for the merits of the DVD which are many. Recommended.

A True Disney Classic
This is one of Disney's true enduring classics. The story is simple. A baby elephant is delivered to the delighted Mrs. Jumbo, but he has big ears. Dubbed Dumbo, he is soon separated from his mother and must find a way to deal with his ears on his own. With only Timothy Mouse to help him, he soon learns that, thanks to his big ears, he can fly.

I have always loved this movie. The story is simple, but moves quickly and from heart felt emotion to laughter easily. The moral is simple, but isn't preachy. Watching this movie again recently, I was surprised again at how much of the early story to told in song. I usually forget "Look out for Mr. Stork" and the song they sing as they build the circus in the rain when thinking about the classic songs. "Baby Mine" is one of my favorite Disney songs because of its heartfelt emotion and I love all the puns in "When I See an Elephant Fly."

This is a truly remarkable movie. Pop some corn, sit back, and joy this classic tale.

Good, yes... however...
Sure, it's a good tale. However, one thing you might consider before letting your children watch it is how dark this movie is. This movie is an exploration of some of the more darker and vile aspects of the human psyche. It is an animated meditation on abuse, slavery, and mistreatment. As such, it may disturb not only the children watching it, but the parents as well. Think twice about this one. There is also the very weird scene where Dumbo gets stinking drunk on alcohol and has "hallucinations." Yes, you should very much think twice about this one as a parent.

Dumbo, a classic
Made in the 40s and still appreciated by yours truly now. My favorite scene is when Dumbo and the mouse fall into the well and his wine in it. they get so drunk and they ended up hallucinating for like a 10 minute long substance abuse horror scene for children. honestly, unless you are taking shots of cheap vodka or smoking out of your buddies pipe whose name is an inside joke, do not let your kid see this part. (OR ANYOTHER SCENE because I remember crying when I was a little kid when Dumbo goes in a different cage than his mom on the circuis train and they get separated).
Anyways, about that scene. why does it last so long? was it like an inside joke to all the older viewers? i think this movie was the origin of the timeless hallucination of pink elephants. it is so trippy like when the elephants combine and they shoot into the sky or something like that and everything turns into fire works.
the next morning dumbo and his mouse friend end up in a tree and they're like man what happened. ... Read more

Reviews (156)

A MOVIE WITH EVERYTHING BUT THE KITCHEN SINK!!
am 36 years old and I never saw this movie until this year..
I have to say that I thought it was FANTASTIC!! I have a 3 1/2 year old and she loved it !!
The actors did a Great job!! especially Lesley Anne warren who in my opinion is Cinderella... no hype or overdoing it, she did the part simply and classy, taking her scenes beyond what most actresses would do. (you really feel sorry for cinderella with all the amount of neglect she gets,I enjoyed the fact that she tries to remain good natured and happy spirited with the situations that were given to her). Beautiful singing voice and a great dancer! ("In my own little corner", "Impossible","A lovely night" are wonderful songs).
. Her together with the prince were a match made in HEAVEN!, BRAVO to the both of them!! they look, act and sing VERY well and speaking of Stuart Damon....(where do I start) He is SO HANDSOME in this movie my jaw dropped!! I thought he was very humorous in many scenes,(He new what he was looking for in a woman and test ran all the maidens at the ball, maybe he was a little harsh with the step- sisters but he had an idea of who wanted him for her "prize"). . His singing voice is Excellent (especially with his songs "loneliness of evening", "10 minutes ago" and "do I love you because your beautiful". I loved how he would look at her especially at the ball when he saw her at the top of the stairs(one will never forget that gaze along with the silence that followed as they walked toward each other...aaaaah!)and the end when he realized that this poor gal was his true love, and when he tried the slipper on her, My gosh where did they find him! -A GREAT CHOICE OF A MAN FOR THE PRINCE.
The rest of the cast is great!... Pat Carol was quite funny as Prunella especially at the ballroom,and when the prince tried on her slipper!) she has alot of humor (especially her little laugh) and with her wicked sister they make quite a pair( I thought the sisters were supposed to be Anastasia and druzella??) Unfortunately Walter pigeon and Ginger Rodgers didn't have enough "Air time"(I thought) but made a grand King and Queen when they were shown. Jo van fleet's version of the wicked stepmother was very interesting (she really does not like cinderella) and the interplay between her and Cinderella was very good, her facial expressions are priceless, you have to pause your vcr and have a good laugh!!. Celeste Holmes was a very convincing Fairy god mother(a very silly one)her singing voice was good.
The sets/ special effects are totally fake but you tend to overlook that and concentrate on the story. The movie rolls right along ,(no time for boredom). There are parts in the original "Cinderella" children's book/film (the WALT DISNEY version) that are not shown in this film (examples: the mice that help Cinderella, her trying on the dress the mice made for her and having it ripped by the stepsisters, and getting helped at the end to get out of her room to try on the glass slipper.)etc
I TOTALLY recommend this classic movie to anyone.. I have the VHS version and It's GREAT!!(picture and sound) I also have ordered the soundtrack cd!! Do your family and yourself a favor and buy this!!It is sooooooooo romantic... I have actually cried at some scenes, I wish I could have seen this as a child but I APPRECIATE this now.....

Do I love you because you're beautiful?
As a lover of the fairy tale "Cinderella," I have watched this over and over again since I was a child. I can't remember a time when I didn't know the songs in this musical. I used to go around singing "Impossible" all the time as a young girl.

The story is simple and straighforward, we all know it, so there's no need to go into any plot details. This story does not deviate from the story we all know and love.

What makes this particular rendition a bit unique is simply that it's filmed as a play, rather than as a movie. The sets are very stage-y, and the acting is overdone and a bit cheesy for a movie -- but you'll find that it works well on the stage.

The reason it works in this is because they didn't TRY to film it like an ordinary movie -- because it wouldn't have worked. They filmed it as though they were just video-taping a play, and it was charming.

Leslie Ann Warren is positively adorable in the role of Cinderella. The rest of the cast is wonderful as well; the stepsisters can be a riot sometimes, I can't help laughing at "The Stepsisters' Lament." This is a movie any fairy tale lover will enjoy.

lamp lady
i saw this film a long time ago, when I was 3 or 4. Of course I didn't know who Ginger rogers was, and the only thing I really remember about her performance is that she puts a lamp shade over her head. well, no wonder I'm not surprised that she brings a smile to my face in all her movies. she's a natural.

great musical
One of the best "Cinderella is great and a wonderful romantic story starring Leslie Ann Warren its for children and adults a must see film.

Is the JULIE ANDREWS Version Available for DVD or NOT???
I read or heard that the 1957 JULIE ANDREWS version of Cinderella was not saved, but I've just seen lots of scenes from it on a PBS special about Rogers and Hammerstein. And it looked great! Sadly, the 1965 color version with Leslie Ann Warren is not nearly as good. Try listening to the CD with Julie Andrews and then watching the Leslie Ann Warren version. You might agree. Lets have the Julie Andrews version on DVD!!! ... Read more

Amazon.com essential video

Blarney and bliss, mixed in equal proportions. John Wayne plays an American boxer who returns to the Emerald Isle, his native land. What he finds there is a fiery prospective spouse (Maureen O'Hara) and a country greener than any Ireland seen before or since--it's no surprise The Quiet Man won an Oscar for cinematography. It also won an Oscar for John Ford's direction, his fourth such award. The film was a deeply personal project for Ford (whose birth name was Sean Aloysius O'Fearna), and he lavished all of his affection for the Irish landscape and Irish people on this film. He also stages perhaps the greatest donnybrook in the history of movies, an epic fistfight between Wayne and the truculent Victor McLaglen--that's Ford's brother, Francis, as the elderly man on his deathbed who miraculously revives when he hears word of the dustup. Barry Fitzgerald, the original Irish elf, gets the movie's biggest laugh when he walks into the newlyweds' bedroom the morning after their wedding, and spots a broken bed. The look on his face says everything. The Quiet Man isn't the real Ireland, but as a delicious never-never land of Ford's imagination, it will do very nicely. --Robert Horton ... Read more

Reviews (136)

John Ford's gentle and loving salute to Ireland.......
From all reports "The Quiet Man" was a very personal and passionate undertaking from director John Ford, and his company of players (most of Irish ancestry)....and what sweet fruit their passion bore...

This is a film of such warmth, tenderness, humour and beauty that it just sparkles from beginning to end.

Irish-born, American boxer Sean Thornton (John Wayne) returns to his place of birth after accidently killing another man in the ring. Seeking to find peace and happiness in the lush green country side, Sean is enraptured with the fiery Mary Kate Danaher (Maureen O'Hara in a wonderful performance) but incurs the wrath of her bully of a brother Red Will Danaher (Victor McLaglen) because of Thornton's purchase of local land. Failing to abide by the customs of Irish courtship as advised by resident matchmaker Michaleen Flynn (Barry Fitzgerald) and Father Peter Lonergan (Ward Bond)...it's not long before the whole county is in a spin about this big Yank in their midst !!

Amidst the lopsided courtship and Red Will's refusal to pay the dowry, Thornton & Danaher square off in what must be the most entertaining and longest on screen fights in cinema history...much to the amusement of the entire town that turned out to watch !!

"The Quiet Man" is such a wonderfully enchanting film, that it is as enjoyable for all ages today, as it was nearly 50 years ago. Truly, a film for those young at heart and those who can appreciate such a warm hearted and lovingly prepared ode to the magic of Ireland.

A Movie You'll Watch Over And Over
A true masterpiece, this movie captures the heart and soul of Ireland. That said, not only the Irish will love it. It tells the story of an American, coming home to his mother's beloved Irland. There he meets and falls in love with a beautiful colleen, only to find that her brother is against the affair and basically, out to get him. Shot on location in Ireland, the view is gorgeous, and the plot has everything from exciting fights to tender love scenes. ( My favourite scene is their famous first kiss, when he kisses her in the storm and then she slaps him. Btw, Maureen O'Hara fractured her wrist doing that!)

"The Quiet Man" was John Ford's favourite film, and also his most personal one. He cast his favourite actors in it, and it shows. John wayne is just great -whoever thinks he only played himself in every role should see his performance here. For his love interest we have Ford's kind of a woman, the breathtakingly beautiful Maureen O'Hara.She gives a magnificent performance as Mary Kate, and in my opinion should have won the Oscar for it. (She Wasn't even nominated!) Sparks flew when this couple met on screen, and the result is out there for you to witness.

Don't wait till the next St. Patrick's Day -see this film now. I promise you won't regret it.

A romance almost out of time and place - wonderful cast
Anyway, the story is an idyll that is really out of time and place. Apparently it takes place in the early 20th century in Ireland. It seems to be after the Irish Revolution, but before the First World War. I say before the war because the movie never references the awful loss of life that traumatized every European nation that experienced it. Any later than that and you would wonder where the planes and cars would be.

It is a good love story, but the whole concept of dowry and the stubborn character shown by the whole Danaher clan would be mysterious to the younger American generation, as would the purpose of a matchmaker and the formal courting rituals that the movie sends up.

John Wayne is quite fine in this role as is the whole cast. It is a very enjoyable film with a lot to recommend it for the family. It will certainly spark some discussion with the kids that might be helpful and broaden their cultural horizons.

One of the great classics of world cinema
Everything about this film is first rate. The storyline, cast, the directing, the cinematography. You can't go wrong with this one.

Restored ? Huh !
I'm going to keep this short. The Quiet Man is a classic, so why treat it like crap. I have VHS copies of old Disney Afternoon cartoons that are a million times better than this. The transfer is so bad I finally just messed with the color on my set and decided it would be better in black and white.
Theatrical Trailers? That's what the box says, but there are only three "trailers" on the disc, and none are theatrical. they are all commercials for other Artisan discs, which makes no sense as anyone who sees what a terrible job they did to this classic will be very wary before they ever pick up another Artisan disc. Can you imagine the outcry if they did this to Wizard of Oz or any ohter film classics. ... Read more

Reviews (14)

A great comedic discovery.....
Not too many people have heard of the 1967 film "The Flim Flam Man," and that's too bad for them. I have owned this lovely valentine of a movie for several years, and have always appreciated its comedic/dramatic allure. Everything clicks perfectly in this old fashioned film, from its authentic locations (this movie was filmed in small town Kentucky) to a wonderful musical score by Jerry Goldsmith.

I love George C. Scott's rip-snorting performance as a train-hopping con-man whose legend precedes him. He literally stumbles upon a military AWOL drifter in Michael Sarrazin, and the unlikely pair join forces to make a little cash. Camping in abandoned railroad cars, hiking cross country and stealing a car or two, this colorful pair eventually has the county police hot on their tails. Along the way, Sarrazin falls in love with the mayor's daughter, Slim Pickens loses his paycheck (great scene) and Scott samples a bit of the local moonshine.

"The Flim Flam Man" is aided by a cast of extraordinary character actors, including Harry Morgan, Jack Albertson, Strother Martin, Albert Salmi and Pickens. Morgan, as the local sheriff, is especially funny in a grand slapstick role. But director Irvin Kershner has done an excellent job in balancing comedy, drama and romance with skilled ease. It's the quieter moments in "The Flim Flam Man" that I truly admire, such as the scene when Scott reminisces about the purple-eyed girl he once loved in Missouri, or when Sarrazin discusses his dreams of the future with Sue Lyon.

This is such a charming movie, that each time I watch it I'm sad to see it end. "The Film Flam Man" transports us to a dreamy Southern land, colorful and optimistic, train whistles in the background, vibrant town squares, campfires beneath railroad bridges, bustling general stores. While this film was made in 1967, the small town ambiance of "The Flim Flam Man" harkens back to a time 30-40 years prior. It's a romantic recreation, in some ways a tender tribute to a past way of life. I always find the final image, of the abandoned bicycle resting at the railroad crossing, to be haunting, with Scott's character having disappeared to rustic parts unknown. I would love to join him on his journey.

For those anacquainted, "The Flim Flam Man" is a great discovery.

Forget Patton - give me Mordecai!
As loveable rogue Mordecai Jones, George C. Scott endures bad community theatre make-up and inhales acres of gorgeous Southern scenery in this picaresque crowd-pleaser about a veteran con-man and his reluctant apprentice (Michael Sarrazin). Three years shy of the career-defining "Patton," Scott clearly relished the chance to let his hair down amid "Flim-Flam Man's" feel-good flood of chicanery, slapstick and car chases (this one has a couple of beauts). Sarrazin, a good actor who unfortunately never found his big break-out role, is fine as Curley, an Army deserter whose talent for larceny is undermined by a stubborn streak of honesty. Flaxen-haired beauty Sue Lyon, who epitomized, in the Sixties, the image of the girl you wished lived next door, is wholesomely alluring as Sarazzin's love interest. Rounding out the cast is a dizzying assemblage of fun character actors - Harry Morgan, Strother Martin, Alice Ghostley, Slim Pickens, Jack Albertson, Albert Salmi - whose presence makes for a lively game of "Name That Second Banana."

An unassuming curio from the same year (1967) as the iconoclastic "Bonnie and Clyde," "The Flim-Flam Man" is good-looking, well-acted, imaginatively directed (by Irvin Kershner, who later skippered "The Empire Strikes Back"), and wildly successful at its sole purpose: to entertain. Hollywood used to excel at this brand of lightsome fare. Today, hopelessly vulgarized and dumbed-down, and hell-bent on dragging the audience down to its level, Tinseltown wouldn't know where to begin to make a flick like this. That's everybody's loss.

DVD Please
This movie is truly a classic. Very touching and funny is George C. Scott as Mordecai "the flim flam man". This could be classified as a road picture as Scott and Michael Sarrison an army deserter during the Vietnam War, go from town to town pulling scams on hicks who are also trying to get something for nothing. Henry Morgan is very funny as the sheriff chasing them. Where is the DVD for this movie. Sue Lyon who was a hottie in the 1960's plays the love interest of Sarrison, and daughter of Henry Morgan. Morgan starts out chasing a moonshiner named Dootle whom he thinks made his last escape by using an "anphobibias" vehicle. To not like this movie means you are humorless, there is a great car chase even by todays standards.

George C.'s favorite
A light comedy with some meaningful undertones. It was also one of George C. Scott's favorite roles. Filmed in beautiful central Kentucky in the early fall of 1966, this movie is somewhat dated in it's meanderings, but its value focus is as pertinent today as then. A can't miss for any George C. Scott fan.

A Serious Actor Does Comedy--Very Well, Thank You!
Most of us probably think of George C. Scott and think "Patton." In this movie he plays a character about as far removed from General George as you can get. Mordecai Jones is a con artist with a mission: to teach people (by "flim-flamming" them) not to give in to "greed and fourteen-karat ignorance." Jason "Curly" Treadaway, a farmboy who has deserted the Army after breaking the jaw of a mouthy Yankee sergeant, comes to his aid when he's thrown off a train. Since both are broke, Mordecai suggests that Curly shill for him long enough to accumulate a small stake. From this springs a partnership in which Curly, to his dismay, discovers he has a real gift for dishonest dealings. Tormented by conscience and shattered illusions, he still originates a plan to escape when the pair are finally run down and arrested--and then comes up with an even more audacious one to get Jones out, because, as he tells the girl he's fallen in love with, "he's my *partner*, and that means somethin'."

This movie lacks the slapstick that often characterizes comedy; there's a wild car chase (Jones and Curly in a convertible Mordecai has "borrowed," pursued by the local sheriff, turning their chariot into a "ramblin' wreck" and destroying a considerable portion of the town of Clayton in the process), but most of the film concentrates on Mordecai's schemes--everything from three-card monte and punchboards through the Pigeon Drop to an elaborate masquerade in which he manages to swap a truckload of moonshine for a mound of assorted merchandise. The supporting cast is especially good, with Harry Morgan shining as Sheriff Slade and Albert Salmi delightful as his young chief deputy, Meshaw. And while not for the morally ambivalent, it manages to bring up some important ethical issues. As Mordecai tells Curly, "You can't cheat a honest man!" With no sex or profanity to speak of, it could well serve as the launching point for some telling discussions with your kids about right and wrong, loyalty, and what honesty really is. ... Read more

Description

Hayley Mills received a special Academy Award(R) for her performance as Pollyanna in this timeless Walt Disney tapestry of small-town Americana. Here you'll meet Pollyanna, the orphan who brings sunshine into the lives of everyone she meets. But her Aunt Polly (Jane Wyman) is too concerned with appearances, propriety, and local politics to appreciate her effervescent niece. It isn't until the town almost loses their "Glad Girl" that Aunt Polly realizes the power of love and lightheartedness. Featuring an impressive all-star cast and a story filled with fun, laughter, and tears, POLLYANNA will inspire your entire family and prove that the art of positive thinking is just as delightful today as it was at the turn of the century! ... Read more

Reviews (23)

"Hayley Mills is great in 'Pollyanna'"
Hayley Mills in her first Disney movie ever. In "Pollyanna", she plays a 12-year old orphan who comes to Harrington Town to stay with her aunt Polly (Jane Wyman). The whole town needs some happiness,so Pollyanna invents "The Glad Game" to make everyone fell better. Hayley sings a delightful version of "America The Beautiful" in the scene where all the girls dress up as the American flag. Hayley Mills won an Academy Award for her performance as Pollyanna. This movie is fun for the whole family to enjoy!

A charming, wonderfully performed, BELIVEABLE film
A vast improvement on the cutesy, blatantly unrealistic and cliched book on which it's based, the Disney film version of Pollyanna has a very charming feel to it. The talented cast are all great, and really make you believe in them and forget they're all stereotypes, unlike in the book, which was the total opposite. Jane Wyman is quite good as Aunt Polly, and so are Agnes Moorhead, Adolphe Menjou, and espicially Karl Malden. Hayley Mills more than holds her own, delivering a very calm, subtle, BELIEVABLE performance. It's really obvious that she's made such a difference in the town because she interacts so well and effectively with everyone and does it throughout the movie, instead of chatting her mouth off about nothing and thinking that every cold act of her aunt's is an expression of love, like in the book. She stays with each person just long enough to subtly get her point across, but her presence lingers. She deserved her special Academy Award; her performance is excellent, astonishing for a 14-year-old who had only done one other film. She continued to enchant audiences throughout the '60's in other Disney films, all of which (that I've seen) are good and deserving of her talent. There, I've said enough. Get the movie; it's wonderful.

A Beautiful Movie that Will Touch Your Heart!
This movie is a very touching movie about a young girl who shines light on everyone around her. Pollyanna (Hayley Mills) is an orphan who comes to live with her aunt Polly Harrington (Jane Wyman). But her aunt is too concerned with other matters than with her little niece. Her aunt doesn't notice that Pollyanna goes around, playing the "Glad Game", and brightening up everyone around her, including the old town snob (Agnes Moorehead). Only until she has a bad accident does she realize how many people she's touched! I would highly reccomend this movie!!!

This Movie Brings Back Such Fond Memories
I remember for Christmas one year My Parents got me the following DISNEY MOVIES.

One And Only Genuine Origional Family Band
Follow Me Boys!
BON VOYAGE!
Pollyanna

And I love all of them but my ultimate top favorite was Pollyanna I got the same edition as pictured above the Old white clamshell release with A Little Mickey Mouse at the Top. Well My Favorite Seen was when Pollyanna (Haley Mills) and Jimmy Bean (Kevin "Moochie" Corcoran) went to Mr. Pendergast and Jimmy was trying to climb the tree. My Favorite Actoress in this classic Disney film though was Jane Wyman as Aunt Polly. I also liked Richard Egan as Dr. Chilton. But one of the best roles other than Aunt Polly, and Pollyanna was played by Nancy Olson (SMITH!, Absent Minded Professor, Snowball Express) as Nancy. I still remember sitting by the television set. With the Video case in my hand watching in awe. At this classic Disney Film. This movie has never gone out of circulation with Disney. It is one of the few that hasn't. Those films are what started me collecting Disney. I still have those 4. And I have alot more of the old white clamshell releases of The Old Disney Films. Well Disney did a great thing when they put this classic film on Disney. I know that there has been a debate that They shouldn't have had Haley Mills sing America The Beautiful. But why don't people grow up. She did a great job and she put feeling into it. She wasn't one of those stuped singers that sings it without meaning. She sang it with meaning. This Is A Movie To Remember. If the had a 10 star rating on here. I would give it 10 stars. Other Tha Follow Me Boys! This Is the best Disney Film ever created.

A Story That cherishes your heart
This film, although very different from The book is a must to your Disney films collections. Hayley Mills Recieved an OScar for he role which i must admit was like eating 'Norwegin smoked salmon and Iranian Caviar toppeld with bubbling Champagne'. I think that this film deservs to be cherished over again and again. ... Read more

Description

New 2001 digital transfer from refurbished elements
Introduction by Omar Sharif
Trailer
2 vintage documentaries:
Behind the Camera
David Lean's Film of "Doctor Zhivago"
... Read more

Reviews (132)

Doctor Zhivago with Omar Sharif
Doctor Zhivago is David Lean 's measured and beautiful adaptation of Boris Pasternak 1958-acclaimed novel. Made in 1965 and winner of five Academy Awards, starring Omar Sharif and Julie Christie, Doctor Zhivago is a cinematic masterpiece, a visually stunning and expressively powerful love story set in the foreground of life in Russia during the latter days of Czarist Russia and the turmoil of the Bolshevik Revolution of 1917.

The film features gorgeous landscape and romantic scenes set to Maurice Jarre's haunting music. Lean uses Panavision cinematography to boast his landscapes that are often remote and cold is contrasted with the emotional fires burning within Zhivago and Lara -- a romanticized version of an illicit relationship without moral dilemmas or conflicts. The romance is amid the opulence of Russia before the war and the violent social upheaval that followed. Like many Russians, Zhivago's life is swept away with the radical currents of the Revolution.

A stunning Russian love epic of grand proportions.
This is the film that set off a fashion trend at my high school when it was released in a 30th Anniversary edition. This film is a grand scale drama about a Russian poet/doctor who dearly loves his sensitive wife yet wants this other woman named Lara. The backdrop is Russia during the Revolution around 1916, or something like that. Zhivago and his family are swept up in these fleeting events that put him in self-conflict between his wife and adulterous lover. His final choices concerning her and his family forever alter his remaining years. Based on the Nobel-Prize winning novel, it won 5 Academy Awards in 1965--Best Screenplay Adaptation, Best Cinematography, Best Art Direction, Best Costume Design, and Best Music Score, which introduced the hit tune "Lara's Theme" a.k.a. "Somewhere My Love." It was also a Best Picture nominee. Omar Sharif won a Golden Globe for his portrayal of Zhivago. Julie Christie and Geraldine Chaplin also star. Christie won the Oscar that same year for Best Actress in the film "Darling", which I also reviewed. Not rated upon its release, but the anniversary edition denotes a PG-13 rating for mature themes and situations. This is one of my favorite films ever and is one of the films listed on AFI's Top 100 Films of All Time. The acting is great, costumes exquisitely detailed, gorgeous photography, lavish sets, and a famous score all add up to one of the greatest films of this century.

Doctor Zhivago Was An Adulterous Slime!!
Folks, get the romantic stars out of your eyes. Doctor Zhivago was cheating on his pregnant wife with (...) Lara, who started out in the world by having an affair with a MARRIED MAN! She seems to like the married ones. Commitment phobic?

Yes, it had a soaring score and gorgeous landscapes, but the morals of these characters made me sick. For Zhivago to leave his pregnant wife with an old man in the middle of nowhere in a Russian winter was reprehensible. I found it poetic justice when Zhivago's raging hormones led him back to the town where Lara was and he was caught by the army and inducted as military surgeon. He deserved the misery he put upon himself! That's the plot in a nutshell!

great film
This dvd format of "Doctor Zivago," is excellent a great documentary and much extra special and footage and a trailer. This is well worth getting and excelent film, one of the best ever. Great packaging and wonderful acting. A must see movie.

An epic that lasts...
David Lean, creator of the also epically great Lawrence of Arabia, has taken Boris Pasternak's novel and created a very good film with it. Having not read the book, I cannot comment and will not on whether it matches the book, but I can say the movie itself is very near excellent. This movie is really almost a historical film in disguise, since it highlights the lives of many, but especially Yuri and Lara, the main characters, and their attempts to live during and after the early nineteen hundreds Russian revolution. Like the movie To Live did for China, Dr. Zhivago helps one understand the daily sufferings before and after the revolution. These sufferings, or sufferers, are laced with almost hope as they live and love one another and try to thrive. This movie, although long, should interest almost anyone. It will also touch the mind and remind themselves of other culture's and their historical changes. ... Read more

Description

Jane Austen's classic novel about the prejudice that occurred between the 19th century classes and the pride which would keep lovers apart. ... Read more

Reviews (84)

Miscast Elizabeth
Greer Garson stars as Elizabeth Bennet in this 1940 version of Pride and Prejudice. She plays the clever and witty eldest of five daughters, who are all looking for rich husbands. Lawrence Olivier plays Mr. Darcy, a suitably wealthy prospect, however he is too arrogant for Elizabeth's liking. The story follows the two as they tease and rebuff, only to end happily with their engagement, as we always knew it would.

Being such an old film, the quality of the picture and sound were poor. Even so, they were better than the outrageous casting of Greer Garson as the lead. She was much too old to play Elizabeth, and was utterly unconvincing. Two of her sisters were played by Anne Rutherford and Maureen Sullivan. They were both excellent and would have done better in the lead. Olivier was wonderfully snooty as the aristocratic Mr. Darcy.

The other major weakness with the film was the costume design. The ladies' gowns and men's suits looked like they were borrowed from the set of Gone With the Wind. The dresses were full and puffy, not at all like the delicate and low-cut gowns of the early 1800s in England.

There were no exterior shots of the grand houses; rather we saw only small rooms with very ordinary furnishings. The photography was drab, even considering the age of the film.

The screenplay was co-written by the famous Aldous Huxley, who, it seems, had no knack for reproducing Austen's glorious dialogue. All in all, I found this film an acceptable introduction to Jane Austen's classic book, but not deeply satisfying or beautiful.

Wonderful movie of a timeless novel
This version of Pride and Prejudice first got me interested in Jane Austen. Though it may not be the most acurate version of the famous novel, it is very funny and all of the characters are played well. Lawrence Olivier IS Mr. Darcy, and Greer Garson shines as Lizzy, despite her age difference to the character.

An inferior adaptation of a great book
There are three film versions of Jane Austen's immortal "Pride and Prejudice" extant, and this one, the first, is by far the weakest. It would be hard to tamper with the great story, which is so well known as to need no rehashing here; but although the film tries to follow the story, Aldous Huxley proved incapable of incorporating Austen's incomparable dialogue into the film script, as the two later versions were able to do with remarkable success. There are other, more egregious shortcomings, in this film, which are:

1) Casting Greer Garson as Elizabeth Bennet. Whoever had this idea should have been put in the stocks and pelted with water balloons. Elizabeth Bennet is 20 years old in the book, and Greer Garson, on the wrong side of 35, looks absolutely ridiculous trying to play a young ingenue. Who was she kidding? She doesn't even look like Austen's description of Elizabeth. Vivien Leigh might have made a great Elizabeth, if she wasn't already fixed in the public mind as Scarlett O'Hara. Which brings us to:

2) The 1860-ish costumes. Were they trying to move the timeline up? Somebody should have told the costume department that Longbourn and Tara were six thousand miles and sixty years apart. "Pride and Prejudice" was set sometime between 1790 and 1810 (Austen's biographers are in disagreement as to the exact date), but the costumes in this first version of "Pride and Prejudice looked like leftovers from the set of "Gone With the Wind". A big no-no.

3) The casting of Lawrence Olivier as Darcy was a mistake. Austen describes Darcy as being tall and handsome. Olivier was handsome but he didn't look much taller than Garson. Or maybe Garson was too tall. Whatever... it was a total mismatch.

4) The whole scene at Pemberley, which is central to the book, was eliminated. So how did Elizabeth's one-eighty from loathing to love take place? The movie doesn't say and we're left totally unconvinced.

It is a truth universally acknowledged that "Pride and Prejudice" is one of the best-loved books in English literature. It certainly deserved a better film adaptation than this one. Fortunately it has not one, but two: the BBC version of 1985 starring Elizabeth Garvie and David Rintoul (my personal favorite), and the A&E film of 1995 starring Jennifer Ehle and Colin Firth. Watch either or both of these after seeing the Garson/Olivier movie, to see what a good film adaptation of a great book really is.

Worst Adaptation!
This film was the worst adaptation of Jane Austen's famous novel that I have ever seen in my life. It is not really true to the novel, the costumes are ridiculous looking, not to mention that they do not match the kind of clothing that was worn in Austen's time. They hardly ever use the famous words and/or phrases from the book, only once or twice but they are somewhat changed. Granted I think Laurence Olivier made a great Darcy if he was more like Darcy is suppose to be, instead his version of him was more perky and uppity than nonchalant and melancholy and a little arrogant, which to me is what Darcy is actually like. If you want to see the greatest adaptation of Jane Austen's "Pride and Prejudice" ever made then check out the BBC and A&E production starring Colin Firth and Jennifer Ehle, I guarantee you'll watch it all the way through with a satisfied and happy smile on your face.

It is a truth universally acknowledged that this movie is
Misleading, to say the least.

I saw this movie last week on Turner Classic Movie channel, expecting to see a nice little 40's style rendition of that book we oh-so dearly enjoy.

What a silly movie.

Granted, I'm sure making a two hour movie out of the novel is difficult, but if you were to take a high school test on Pride and Prejudice after seeing this movie instead of reading the book, you would fail miserably.

The dresses were too elaborate. Mary is way too pretty. Greer is too blonde to play Elizabeth, where are those dark "fine eyes"? Darcy grossed me out. I don't even remember Bingley or Jane, and Elizabeth's transition from hating to loving Darcy goes a little something like this (paraphrased, of course):

Elizabeth: "Oh, how I miss Mr. Darcy"
Jane: "What? I thought you hated him?"
Elizabeth : "Well now, quite suddenly I love him!"

This is without the reunion at Pemberly. Its rushed, to say the least.

I did like Lydia, and there is a lovely, albeit irrelevant scene where Mrs. Bennet and the girls Mrs. Lucas and Charlotte (who is much too pretty in this adaptation) are racing neck and neck via carriage to get to Netherfield to meet the eligible men.

And the slightly amusing part where Mr. Bingley is talking about what's wrong with Jane when she's sick. That was just weird. Trés 40's, no?

Mr and Mrs Bennet are enjoyable characters, but I imagine that it would be difficult to screw up those well-written characters in any cinematic endeavor.

And the part with Lady Catherine acting as a "secret agent" for Darcy. What the hell.

Ugh. This movie is slightly amusing, if it was 5 hours of nonsense I would give it one star, but since its only 2 hours you might as well watch it if you feel so inclined.

But read the book and check out the 1995 BBC production one, too. ... Read more

Amazon.com essential video

Director Billy Wilder (Sunset Boulevard) and writer Raymond Chandler (The Big Sleep) adapted James M. Cain's hard-boiled novel into this wildly thrilling story of insurance man Walter Neff (Fred MacMurray), who schemes the perfect murder with the beautiful dame Phyllis Dietrichson (Barbara Stanwyck): kill Dietrichson's husband and make off with the insurance money. But, of course, in these plots things never quite go as planned, and Barton Keyes (Edward G. Robinson) is the wily insurance investigator who must sort things out.From the opening scene you know Neff is doomed, as the story is told in flashback; yet, to the film's credit, this doesn't diminish any of the tension of the movie. This early film noir flick is wonderfully campy by today's standards, and the dialogue is snappy ("I thought you were smarter than the rest, Walter.But I was wrong. You're not smarter, just a little taller"), filled with lots of "dame"s and "baby"s. Stanwyck is the ultimate femme fatale, and MacMurray, despite a career largely defined by roles as a softy (notably in the TV series My Three Sons and the movie The Shaggy Dog), is convincingly cast against type as the hapless, love-struck sap. --Jenny Brown ... Read more

Reviews (80)

"I never knew that murder could smell like honeysuckle."
Double Indemnity is a superb story about an insurance salesman who gets involved with a woman married to a husband she doesn't care for. The murder of her husband is planned perfectly and brilliantly, but it all comes crashing down. The cause was due to themselves (Plot details).

Although it received a total of six Oscar nominations (With no wins), none of the nominations went to Fred MacMurray as Walter Neff ("Insurance salesman, age 35"). Neff is very successful at what he does (He's been at it for eleven years). He visits the home of Mr. Dietrichson to renew automobile insurance but soon finds himself falling in love with his wife Phyllis Dietrichson (Barbara Stanwyck), who convinces Walter to have Mr. Dietrichson sign an accident insurance without his knowing it so he can be killed. But it's the Double Indemnity clause that gets them really involved, since they will get double the pay.

Stanwyck provided, for me, a superb performance as the cold, calculating Mrs. Dietrichson, who used Neff so she could get rid of her husband and collect up some money. Meanwhile, Walter finds himself getting involved with her step-daughter Lola. He discovers from Lola that her ex-boyfriend has been seeing Phyllis, suggesting perhaps that Phyllis has plans for him.

One of the most memorable performances in the movie is Edward G. Robinson's Barton Keyes, the claims manager, a brilliant fellow who is by hunches when a claim doesn't seem right. He's the one who figures out that the Dietrichson claim doesn't seem right, but can't quite figure out who assisted. In fact, most of the safeguards put into the plot by Neff were done so to prevent Keyes getting any major suspicions. "I did it for the money and for a woman. I didn't get the money and I didn't get the woman". These words said by Neff form a sense of irony. The murder fell apart not because of the authorities, who were too dumb to figure it all out, but because of themselves. Murder's never perfect.

A film noir masterpiece...
Double Indemnity is a film noir masterpiece - chilling, dark, and very suspenseful. It features a great script with many memorable lines (for instance - "But I was wrong. You're not smarter, you're just a little taller."), an interesting plot with many good twists, and fantastic performances from two classic stars (especially Stanwyck, who won an Oscar for her portrayal of the evil wife).

Basically, Double Indemnity is about a less-than-brilliant insurance salesman, Walter Neff(Fred MacMurray), who falls for a beautiful married woman (Barbara Stanwyck) who wants to use him to get rid of her husband for the insurance money (hence the title, Double Indemnity). Although he resists her at first, Neff soon falls for the scheming woman and decides to help her plan the perfect murder. The movie itself starts after the murder has been completed with Neff leaving a message for his boss confessing what occurred and then goes back in time to the beginning of the scheme.

Double Indemnity is a great film - the idea behind it, interesting in itself, was brilliantly executed by the legendary director Billy Wilder. Consequently, Indemnity is a true film noir classic and must-see!

STANWYCK AND MACMURRAY WERE OSCAR ROBBED
Yes, they deserved the 1944 Academy Award. Both of them. They were robbed. Perhaps its because they played murderers and MacMurray was caught in Stanwyck's spider web. The movie was released during the prime war years (1944) and Hollywood chose to go the sentimental route with "GOING MY WAY". But Ingrid Bergman's performance in "Gaslight" in no way comes close to touching Stanwyck's bravura in "Double Indemnity". It was a close race between them but Bergman won out (inexplicably because her performance in Gaslight is overwrought and over the top). Stanwyck's evil restraint with one look that could burn a house down. And that wig!! That awful unflattering wig on her! Maybe that's why she didn't win?????

Possibly the Best Noir Film of the Era
Starting with an amazing cast and a great plot, this film lives up to anyone's expectations. Life insurance agent falls into the clutches of a woman looking to collect a double indemnity on her husband's death benefits because he died accidentally. One problem - her husband is not dead yet. By ensnaring the insurance agent into a plot to kill the woman's husband and making it look like an accident, everything is in place. I don't want to give much more away, but, even if you are not a film noir fan, you will find this to be a tightly written, wonderfully acted drama. This classic is well worth owning.

GREAT FILM - TERRIBLE, TERRIBLE DVD TRANSFER
Do not purchase this DVD release. Its transfer to DVD is truly horrendous.

Wait for some other distributor to release it.

Wonderful film. Totally botched DVD release.

Wait for it... ... Read more

Reviews (74)

Enjoyable and Interesting version
This is an enjoyable Godzilla movie and is the third in the series. Godzilla breaks free from the ice that trapped him in the previous movie, Godzilla Raids Again (aka Gigantis, The Fire Monster). Here Godzilla is the bad guy. I think you can probably guess the basic plot.

It gets silly at some points. Don't get caught up in production mistakes. Just enjoy the ride. Here electricity is supposed to harm (or at least slow down) Godzilla, but later in the series, Godzilla gains his strength from lightning. (The lightning comes up in Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla - aka Godzilla vs. The Cosmic Monster.) Plus, electrical lines didn't affect him in the original movie either.

This film had the potential of getting into legal trouble. The basic idea for this movie originally came from Willis O'Brien. He had the idea of having King Kong fight a large Frankenstein. Unfortunately, he shared his idea with the wrong person who would later take the idea to Toho without O'Brien's knowledge. O'Brien learned about it just before he died.

I find the packaging for this DVD (and the VHS edition) interesting if you consider some stunts that Toho pulled when promoting this movie. Back in 1963, Toho used images of the 1933 Kong on the posters. The ape costume looks nothing like O'Brien's version of Kong. The packaging for this video edition uses images from other versions of the monsters too. Kong does not look that real. The version of Godzilla shown here (in the lower portion with the red background) looks like the version used from 1973-1975 (Japanese release dates) which included Megalon and the original Mechagodzilla movies. I can't place which movie the close-up is from.

Kingu Kongu Tai Gojira
"King Kong vs. Godzilla" is the 3rd installment of the Godzilla series, and the first Godzilla film to be shown in color. The film was produced 7 years after "Gojira No Gyakushu" and it is immediately clear that Toho has become rusty on how to make excellent Godzilla films. The elements of a classic such as compelling storyline, good kaiju opponent, and several moments of high drama are all present. The problem with this film is execution. The effects are subpar for the series, which really pulls the viewer out of the movie. Worse still the progression of the storyline seems choppy at best. This jarring progression of events in "King Kong vs. Godzilla" really irritates me, because the concept of an intelligent animal like King Kong squaring off against the brute force of Godzilla is very appealing. I suspect some of these problems are due to editing of this film for American audiences, so I may revise this movie review when I see the Japanese version. The US version is 7 minutes shorter than the Japanese version, and the American version has 10-15 minutes of scenes in English only. No doubt these scenes provided at least some of the continuity lacking from the US version Taken as it is, "King Kong vs. Godzilla" is a fair but uneven Godzilla film that leaves me wanting for more. (also, dubbing is good, even excellent, but the American professor is an absolute [X]!)

Not bad, but not good, but at least enjoyable
"King Kong vs. Godzilla" is the 3rd installment of the Godzilla series, and the first Godzilla film to be shown in color. The film was produced 7 years after "Gojira No Gyakushu" and it is immediately clear that Toho has become rusty on how to make excellent Godzilla films. The elements of a classic such as compelling storyline, good kaiju opponent, and several moments of high drama are all present. The problem with this film is execution. The effects are subpar for the series, which really pulls the viewer out of the movie. Worse still the progression of the storyline seems choppy at best. This jarring progression of events in "King Kong vs. Godzilla" really irritates me, because the concept of an intelligent animal like King Kong squaring off against the brute force of Godzilla is very appealing. I suspect some of these problems are due to editing of this film for American audiences, so I may revise this movie review when I see the Japanese version. The US version is 7 minutes shorter than the Japanese version, and the American version has 10-15 minutes of scenes in English only. No doubt these scenes provided at least some of the continuity lacking from the US version Taken as it is, "King Kong vs. Godzilla" is a fair but uneven Godzilla film that leaves me wanting for more.

Sounds entertaing but not
First off the rumor going around that Kong wins in the american version and godzilla wins at the japanese version is false.In the Japanese version both of them roar at the end thats the only difference.

First off this Godzilla was first color picture Godzilla star in.It wasn't a great flick but it wasn't to bad.Godzilla suit was alright not as good as some of the laters ones but it was alright.Kong LOL man he look so cheap i mean TOHO really miss him up bad.He look so goofy,face was stupid and acted dumb in my point of view.It seems Kong loves Electricity and gets stronger
if he gets struck by it what are the chances of that.

First the movies starts an island when an giant octopus attacks
the girl and boy in a house that was full of berry juice.Then
Kong comes out and defeats it.Meanwhile a pilot notice that godzilla is breaking out of an iceberg and was the news all across tokyo.The idea of the people is to let kong and godzilla
fight it out to simply destroy each other.

First off theres no chance in hell King King aka Donkey Kong
would beat godzilla.All godzilla have to do is use his fire breath and the monkey would got roasted but it seems the movie
did a cheap thing about that.But overall the monster fighting
was pretty good but the movie wasn't so be kinda disappointed
about the TITLE

"Ohhh, Godzilla is roasting King Kong"
I would be embrarass to admit how many times I've seen this flick
(and yes any film with "vs."in the title tells you it's bubblegum)
KK v.s Godzilla Cheap and laughable as it maybe was one of biggest
events of it's'63 release year second only to the Ali-Liston fight
Historics aside This film is exactly what it's suppose to be cheap
cheesey entertainment. Japan is in double crisis not only by Kongs
capture but by the reappearance of Godzilla. Both monsters pretty
much tear up most of the asian city before their final title fight
around the Mt. fuji area. Now for those of you just joining in
there is NO alternate fight version of this movie. King Kong wins
fair and square. I mean think about it, in the film that follows
"Godzilla vs.the Thing" when Godzilla reappears again from under
the beach area isn't he disorientated and kind of "punch drunk"
This was the 1st of the Godzilla films in color in a series that
is still going on as long and as the Bond series.

I gave this dvd version a bad rating not for picture quality but
for overall presentation. I mean if if's the 35th anniversary ed
at least add a trailer or the original poster art perhaps. ... Read more

Reviews (88)

One of the Most Energetic Musicals of all Time
1954's "Seven Brides for Seven Brothers" is rough around the edges and that's just what the doctor ordered. Stanley Donen directed this rough and tumble highly acclaimed musical, set in Oregon in 1850. It was adapted from Stephen Vincent Benét's story "The Sobbin' Women" (based on Plutarch's The Rape of the Sabine Women) and perfectly integrates song, dance, and storytelling. Russ Tamblyn as one of Howard Keel's brothers and Julie Newmar as one of the potential brides are very memorable. Besides Michael Kidd's brilliant choreography (which almost goes without saying) is Cinematographer George Folsey's CinemaScope photography that captured both the grandeur of the land (shot on MGM's back lot!) and the brilliant and bawdy dance numbers. Unfortunately it was shot in Ansco Color and not Technicolor which makes the images less vivid. Yet it does not hinder the film. I saw a recent interview with Jane Powell and she believed that MGM thought they had a real dud on their hands. Boy, were they wrong. Of the DVD versions I prefer the original MGM issue which had a 2.55 to 1 aspect ratio. The Warner Studios version is 2.35 to 1. Both DVD versions remastered the original 4-track magnetic soundtrack to 5.1 Dolby Digital discrete channels. I find this sound remastering very annoying especially to stereophonic films made in the 50s and 60s. The sound on the hi-fi VHS tape is actually truer to the original film.

Singin' & dancin' & sobbin'
A "sleeper" when it was released in 1954, "Seven Brides for Seven Brothers" is still one of the freshest musicals ever made. With a pretty, spirited score by Gene de Paul and Johnny Mercer and rambunctious but carefully-controlled choreography by Michael Kidd, this modestly-budgeted movie surprised everyone by becoming an enormous hit, even being nominated for Best Picture. Based on a short story by Stephen Vncent Benet called "Sobbin' Women" (which was the film's working title), it tells the story of a frontier woman Millie (Jane Powell) courted by a backwoodsman Adam (Howard Keel). He takes her off to his rustic home, neglecting to tell her he has six untamed brothers to care for. Undaunted, Millie sets about domesticating the household, complete with readings from classical history, including the story of the Sabine women, which the boys take to heart. The musical was filmed in AnscoColor and CinemaScope, and the wide screen is utilized to great effect, especially in the barn-raising sequence. Letter-box is mandatory. DePaul and Mercer wrote some effective songs ("Wonderful Day", "When You're in Love", "Sobbin' Women") and the numbers blend into the story perfectly under Stanley Donen's smooth direction. Dresden-doll coloratura Powell and strapping baritone Keel make such an attractive couple it's odd M~G~M never co-starred them again. (Evidently a musical version of "Robin Hood" never got past the drawing board.) The brothers include New York City Ballet star Jacques d'Amboise and a non-dancer, the mysterious Jeff Richards, who may have been the handsomest man ever to appear on the screen, Rock Hudson notwithstanding. Among the brides is Julie Newmar, who a couple of seasons later would stupefy Broadway in "Li'l Abner".Bright and pleasantly aggressive, "Seven Brides for Seven Brothers" is right up there with Metro's best musicals.

Fun movie!
The movie Seven Brides for Seven Brothers is an excellent, fun, family movie with singing, dancing, romance, and even some action. It tells the story of seven brothers who all live together way out in the country. When the eldest brother, Adam, comes home from town one day with a wife, the other six brothers decide they want brides too. They have to battle the townsmen, however, who have already "spoken for the girls." This movie is full of fun and laughs, and I would highly recommend it.

Seven Brides for Seven Brothers
This is a great film, two wonderful singers. Good story line as well. My kids, my husband and myself all like this one! It is a good family film everyone will enjoy.

I LOVE THIS FILM SO MUCH
I mean who wouldnt love, not like, but love this incredible film. This was the first film that I watched when I was growing up. It is similar to pretty woman but reverse because here are 7 rough western thugs that in need of brides to tame them, after their oldest brother got married. Not only did the film have good actors and actresses that were too funny to ignore, but the music and dancing were just as good. I love it and can you believe all but one brother are still alive today? Wow!!!! ... Read more

Reviews (17)

A powerful, emotional rollercoaster ride!
All the actors are great in this "tear jerker" movie. Susan Hayward is beautiful and lovable. Vera Miles is beautiful, but she is intolerable and a drunk!--proves how good an actress she is. John Gavin is effective as he portrays the man caught between these two women. If you want a great movie to watch over and over and to shed tears every time you watch it, this is the one!

GONE IS THE ROMANCE
Okay, folks...clearly this movie was made for another time, another decade, another life....it's 1961, and Ross Hunter has churned out these weepers for years now. The audiences wanted a love affair that appeared "heavenly," "bad," etc. Sure John Gavin is a cad..he never bothers to tell Susan Hayward that he's married and has two children. Sure, Vera Miles is the ultimate bitch---cold, calculating, unloving, and an alcoholic to boot. Sure Gavin should get a divorce in spite of Miles' threats. Sure the kids are hokey and unconvincing actors. Too many gowns, too many starry eyed I love yous...but isn't this what movies like BACK STREET are all about. No matter what, one can't deny the tissue factor when hunky Gavin lies dying in his bed, and when the children ask if they can visit Rae.
This isn't cinematic history folks..it's just a glitzy and moving tearjerker, which will probably stand the test of time.

TEARSTAINED IN MINK
Susan Hayward and Lana Turner battled it out on the screen in the early 1960's for the heavy weight crown of tearstained mink queen of the movies. What was left for an actress over 40 in 1961 but the highly glamorous gloss of a Ross Hunter picture or the grand gargoyle glamour of something like "Baby Jane"? Not much. To be a female movie star of a certain age at that time in Hollywood and to some extent even today meant only one thing, you're Over The Hill baby.
Both actresses had done their best work during the preceding two decades. It was Lana of the tawdry emotions versus hard Hayward of the rat-a-tat Brooklyn delivery always punctuated with a Garlandesque gesture. With films like "Ada", "Stolen Hours" and "Where Love Has Gone", Hayward wins the crown.
"Back Street" is the jewel in this crown. The essential Hayward tearjerker with all the required elements, an impossibly beautiful mannequin of a leading man for her and the audience to project their dreams upon. A truly wicked wife for him to make it almost impossible to denounce Hayward for coming between them, and two throwaway children to soften the tragic end of the film in one final surge of violins and Kleenex. All of this played out in the glamour capitals of New York, Rome and Paris provided by Universal's backlot (and a few lovely locations in Monterey County doubling for the Italian coast). Add to the mix the highly sophisticated costumes of the early 60's and sets of stunning beauty, all strung together to one of the most lyrically beautiful scores ever written for this genre. The result is the glossiest most improbably romantic film of her career that can be taken today in one of two ways, high camp comedy or lush romance. It all depends upon your point of view.
In support of Miss Hayward there is Virginia Grey as her older (and I mean much older!) sister Janenee. She provides throughout the picture the image Rae "All small letters, very chic. Smith, carries of what an ideal marriage and family means. She hits all the right notes as the loving sister who pushes Rae out of her small mid-western life in Lincoln Nebraska and into the world of high fashion in New York.
Reginald Gardner is the perfect picture of the perfunctorily gay designer Dalian who helps her to make her name and sends her off to Europe, or at least around the corner to the "Rome" set. His is just an extension of the Franklin Pangborne harmless gay man of the early years of movie history. Elegant sophisticate always ready with a bon mot and a hanky. He is alarmingly memorable in the role.
John Gavin, more beautiful than Rock Hudson and with a better body, is Paul Saxon, the spineless Ken Doll upon which Rae drapes all her dreams as if he were a mannequin to dress for each love scene. But with such a man around she and the audience need nothing more than what appears. He is the perfect vessel to dream about, create a personality for, and waist a good twenty years loving while passing up the opportunities presented for a real life.
About a quarter of the way into the film the fun arrives in the cool resplendent form of Vera Miles as Liz (perhaps the screenwriter chose that name to make a subliminal connection with the then scandalous Elizabeth Taylor) Saxon, wife to Paul. She is given all the attributes of a monster, alcoholic, unfaithful and a lousy mother. (Sounds like the tabloid "Liz" we all know and love.) She is perfectly designed to make us love Rae and her sad little back street affair. For there was just no other way to get around the taboo of infidelity in those days but to have a Liz on hand. Her confrontation with Rae is supremely bitchy and utterly wonderful.
As the beautiful Rae Susan Hayward plays one of her few completely sympathetic characters in her long and lustrous career. She approaches Rae as if this was a chance to win a second Oscar and in fact in the scene where she calls late one night from Rome back home on Thanksgiving she is magnificent. Her beautiful bourbon flavored voice is used to accentuate her loveliness in every scene. Her trademark gestures are at a minimum and only called into play when they are most needed. She carries the improbable picture on her perfect shoulders and gives a fine and detailed performance that is perfection in the soapy atmosphere of Europe. A few of the many highlights is the scene where she finds out that Paul is married, the phone call from the hospital and the race to the airport in Lincoln early on in the film. She is stunningly dressed in gowns by Jean Louis that are smart and very contemporary to what the ladies are wearing on the red carpet today. David Webs beautiful jewelery complements her and adds a feel of true richness to the picture.
As I mentioned earlier the score by Frank Skinner is perfection and punctuates the drama in so many ways that are essential in this movie.
The direction by stalwart David Miller is right on target. He should know how to do it, after all he did the same for Joan Crawford in "The Story of Esther Costello" and "Sudden Fear", as well as Doris Day in "Midnight Lace" and Lana Turner in "Diane".
This all was helmed by the master of the genre, Producer Ross Hunter who defined the genre with such hits as "Imitation of Life", "Portrait in Black", and "Madam X".
"Back Street" remains to this day the shinning beacon of the last gasp of the woman's picture where women were smart, strong, self-made in a mans world and all the while ever glamorous in tearstained mink.

Sidesplittingly funny
This movie must have arrived in garbage rather than film cans, and via the sewage rather than the postal system. Susan Hayward, pace an earlier reviewer, was possibly the worst actress in Hollywood history, which is saying something. She makes such simple, everyday acts as answering the phone or walking to her car seem fraught with unseen danger: in fact, she makes Anne Bancroft seem positively restrained. The terminally stolid John Gavin is ideally cast as her "lover" - for comedic purposes. This couple has an unsettling way of looking like Oedipus and Jocasta. Add to this the impossible-to-underrate Vera Miles (in the role she was spawned to play) and the two most unattractive child actors ever as her whelps, mix in some of the most horrid injuries ever inflicted upon the music of Johannes Brahms, and you have the single funniest movie ever made in the most ridiculous of all Hollywood modes.
That this was made AFTER the death of Buddy Holly and not long before the Bay of Pigs should make you laugh even harder.
There is not a sincere frame anywhere in this abortion. If you take it seriously, you should not be allowed in public unsupervised.

Back Street
I believe this is one of the best movies of all times. It is an emotion-evoking movie. The dialogue is clear and decisive and above all there is no vulgarity throughout the film. It is the type of movie that can tirelessly be seen over and over again. The story could be anybody's life. The acting is very convincing. ... Read more

Reviews (33)

Engrossing, changed my perception
I just watched this film last night, and I haven't been able to stop thinking about it. I loved this film so much that I went and bought the book by Somerset Maugham today.

A young man disillusioned with the "conventional" life deemed worthy by society treks through Paris and reaches India, finding there spiritual fulfillment. He comes back to the United States a changed man, only to find that his childhood friends have changed--mostly for the worst.

Terrific performances, especially by Anne Baxter, who won the Academy Award for best supporting actress through her role as Sophie in this film.

Although 2 and half hours long, this movie will keep you glued to your seat. Beautifully written, directed, and played. Highly recommended.

If you want a movie you will watch over and over again--a movie that will make you think and question--watch The Razor's Edge.

Ambitious, but Flawed Adaptation
This film has achieved "classic" status, yet it looks a bit shop-worn and creaky in some respects, when approached from a modern perspective. This is, overall, a highly stylized treatment of Maugham's novel. Scriptwriter Lamar Troti definitely focuses on the melodramatic elements of Larry Darrel's spiritual odyssey. Maugham was a highly realistic novelist. His subtle wit and sharp observations are buried under here in the moviemaker's wallowing in the bathetic.

The performers, with the exception of Clifton Webb as Uncle Elliot and Herbert Marshall as Somerset Maugham, are decidedly from the "studied" school of drama. Tyrone Power, in particular, is at times painful to watch, especially in the scenes opposite Tierney. Such emoting might work on stage, but before a camera, the overblown gestures, lack of facial expression, and wooden delivery border on the farcical. Tierney is a delight to look at, but her emotive range is severely limited as well. She seems to have two modes: coquettish or angry. Sure, this stylized sort of performance was the order of the day in 40s Hollywood, but it looks really dated these days. And there were exceptions, even then. One can well imagine what actors the caliber of Olivier and Leigh would have done with the roles. Anne Baxter, who received a Best Supporting Actress Oscar for her performance as the unfortunate Sophie, is also guilty of overacting, at least by naturalistic standards. She could have used a dose or two of Ibsen.

Which brings us to the two bright spots, performance wise. Clifton Webb probably would have won a Best Supporting Actor Oscar, had he not received one two years earlier for his work in "Laura." His death bed scene, though maudlin as all get out, is nonetheless unforgettable. The man had a knack for line delivery. He made a character with despicable motives and questionable morals, somehow sympathetic, even loveable. Herbert Marshall delivers an understated, brilliant portrayal of author Maugham. As reviewer Bernie mentions, it's easy to make the mistake when we envision Maugham in our mind's eye as looking identical to Marshall. I thought the first time I viewed the film that it was Maugham playing the part, as it's not a polished or studied performance in the least. He acts as if he's too shy to actually face the camera in most scenes, which fits the character perfectly. Most of the time he is the half reluctant, frequently uncomfortable observer, standing on the perifery, making mental notes for his next novel. A great piece of acting.

Even though the lead actors turn in stagey performances and the script may not be true to the tone of Maugham's novel, the movie still "works" on many levels. It's too good a story to completely mess up. If you can accept it as a product of cinematic trends of the era and allow that audiences of the time bought into the concept that over emoting and over gesticulating was something screen stars were supposed to do, you may find, as I did, that this is still a very enjoyable film

BEK

Do yourself a favor and skip this one.
Maughm's outstanding book deserves much better than this. The 1980's film of the same title (with Bill Murray)is a MUCH better and truer presentation of the story than is this bit of fluff. Do yourself a favor and see the other film, or better yet read the book!

Worth watching but not buying
Having watched the movie directly subsequent to reading the wonderful text, I knew that the film version would leave something to be desired, but I didn't know it would not only abridge the book, but alter many scenes as well -- for the worse. The first 30 minutes were superb -- as was Clifton Webb as Elliott Templeton. Tyrone Power just didn't seem like the right match to me -- he was perhaps a trifle guarded and meticulous in his portrayal of the winsome and quixotic Larry Darrell.

Also, too many totally unnecessary, not to mention disconcerting, deviations from the text result as well. These include, but are not limited to: Larry's supposedly rough and bearded appearance when he returns from India (he comes back not only clean shaven but in a suit), Isabel (instead of Larry) recommends the vulgar bar where they meet Sophie, Isabel leaves to the dentist AFTER (not before) Sophie arrives, Larry accuses Isabel of getting Sophie drunk (instead of Maugham), Isabel and Gray arrive before Elliott dies (instead of after), and last but certainly not least, Suzanne Rouvier, a rather paramount character in the novel, is conspicuously absent from the ENTIRE movie. Overall, I found it worth watching, yet hardly riveting or true to the text -- to put it mildly.

Hindu Sage based on Ramana Maharshi
I really enjoyed this film. It was nice to find a film from 1946 dealing with philosophy and spirituality. I wanted to add that the sage represented in the film and book was based on the actual sage Ramana Maharshi, whom Carl Jung has spoken very highly of. For a sample of his work, I would recommend "The Spiritual Teaching of Ramana Maharshi", which includes an introduction by Carl Jung. I recommend this film! ... Read more

Reviews (9)

SONJA`S BEST
This is remembered primarely because of the excel