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It's not Blazing Saddles, but there are some chuckles to be found in Mel Brooks's 1993 spoof of the Robin Hood legend. Cary Elwes is Robin (with a lighthearted jab at Kevin Costner's bad English accent in Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves), while Richard Lewis plays an angst-ridden King John, and Roger Rees a snotty Sheriff of Nottingham. Comic David Chappelle has some good moments as the only black member of Robins's noble thieves, and Brooks does his own spin on Friar Tuck: Rabbi Tuchman. The song-and-dance sequences featuring a chorus line of the Merry Men ("We're men / men in tights") is vintage Brooks, but otherwise the film can't get any traction. --Tom Keogh ... Read more

Reviews (115)

A spoof for people who hate spoofs.
If you're sick and tired of spoofs, especially the dumb ones of today, like "Mafia!" or "Scary Movie", this is the spoof for you. This movie has all kinds of crazy humor that doesn't offend anyone or go over the top, and has a mess of celebrities in it, like the main star, Cary Elwes, and a great supporting cast consisting of Amy Yasbeck, Dave Chappelle, Isaac Hayes, Megan Cavanaugh, and even Patrick Stewart, under the direction of comedy legend Mel Brooks, who also appears in the movie. This movie has all kinds of humor, from humor spoofing modern times, to "secret" humor, to metaphorical humor, and to simply wacky humor anyone can laugh at. Like the Monty Python movies and the Naked Gun trilogy, you'd have to be dead not to find this movie funny.

So in short, see this movie! You'll laugh till your sides hurt!

It is not one of Mel Brook's best but there are some laughs
I read that Mel Brook's made this movie because he is facinated with the Robin Hood legend (In particular the Errol Flynn version) Remember "When things were rotten" back in the seventies. He did this movie to poke fun at the Kevin Costner version "Prince of thieves". Apparently Kevin Costner refused to wear tights and as far as Mel Brooks was concern Robin Hood wore tights. I remember one line in which Rabbi Tuckman said to Robin Hood. Robin Hood you just won the heart of the princess YOU PRINCE OF THIEVES YOU!"

Robin Hood is played the versitile actor Cary Elwese, who has done both comedy and drama. One of his most memorable lines in this movie was "Unlike other Robin Hoods, I have a British accent."

My main complaint his that many of the Jokes are recycled from previous Mel Brook's movies. The scene with Dom De Louis as a Godfather like character was funny. It was a pretty good immitation of Marlon Brando.

The actor who played hangman in this movie was also the Hangman in Blazing Saddles.

Of course Mel Brook's always played a character in his movies. He played Rabbi Tuckman who made money by going to differevt villages performing circumcisions.

Funny?
I saw this when it was released in theaters. I had hopes for quite a few laughs. Instead there were just a few. Very few. Ever see a "comedy" where you keep waiting for the funny stuff to happen, but it never does? That's what happens with "Robin Hood-Men In Tights".

A Classic Brooks Adventure!
"Robin Hood: Men in Tights" was the first of Mel's movies that I saw. It was also one of the movies that sealed me as a Brook's fan! Cary Elwes was the classic Robin, with fun pokes at all the various others who had been in the role. The merry men were the funniest group gathered on one screen and the raps that began and ended the movie were a different idea, but still really cool. This movie should be given more credit as a hilarious comedy. In fact, when my school did the musical "Brigadoon' (which takes place in Scotland), a bunch of the guy actors did a parody of "Robin Hood" as a school broadcast commerial. They changed the words of the famous song "We're men in tights!" to "We're men in Kilts". It was classic! If you are looking for a good film, this is it!

Where is the DVD?
This is one of the funniest movies ever made. If Dracula: Dead and Loving It can make it to DVD, then why not this? Not only that, but it is available in Europe and Australia but not in the US. What are they waiting for? ... Read more

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Success in that newfangled television business prompted Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz to bring their slapstick chemistry to the big screen, courtesy of a 28-foot monster of a trailer home. The Long, Long Trailer is one of those domestic nightmare movies, in which an ordinary couple has their existence upended by a new contraption:in this case, a lemon-yellow motor home. They make the mistake of towing said behemoth to Colorado, a honeymoon journey fraught with tilted axles and Lucy's ill-advised collection of large souvenir rocks. One disaster follows another, with the action rarely rising above the level of a sitcom (MGM's top director of musicals, Vincente Minnelli, is overqualified here). One notable exception:the climactic sequence, a funny-nervous crawl up an 8,000-foot mountain pass. The film was a box-office hit, proving that moviegoers would go to theaters to see a TV star's hair in its natural red color. --Robert Horton ... Read more

Reviews (69)

Better than the series
Because fans stayed away from this film in droves, Lucy and Desi never made another movie together. Too bad, because the film is far superior to the series. Credit should go to veteran director Vincente Minelli and his sure hand in balancing the material. Against all odds: Ball's slapstick is drained of usual shrillness, Desi's star is allowed to shine, situation is raised above personality, and peripheral crowd scenes are heightened to hilarious commentary on busybody middle America. In fact, this is one of few 50's movies to capture spirit of a rising middle class: the buoyant optimism, the credit card dependency, the aping of upper class tastes. All is accomplished, nevertheless, with an underlying sweetness that might not be expected from two overaged stars then in the process of subduing the tigers of TV land. Moreover, the choice of a trailer gimmick for the comedy setting was an inspired one. A true little gem and document of its time.

Marvelous!
First, I'd like to clear something up. The reviewer who said Lucy and Desi never made another movie together after this, is wrong. The made one more film, which was 1957's Forever Darling.

In this 1954 comedy, Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz light up the screen as newlyweds Tacy and Nicky Collini. Tacy's dream house is a mobile home, although Nicky would rather have a real house. Before their wedding, they decide to purchase a 28-foot long trailer and as soon as they say "I Do," the happy couple hits the road on a cross-country honeymoon. But there are some bumps up ahead.

Lucy and Desi were truly a fantastic duo and it shows in the Long, Long Trailer. This was a wonderful, laugh-out-loud comedy that all fans of I Love Lucy will love!

One of the Best Movies Ever!!
When you need a genuinely good laugh, slip "The Long, Long Trailer" into your VCR. It's sort of an extension of "I Love Lucy" except the characters are Nicky & Tacy Callini instead of Ricky & Lucy Ricardo and it's filmed in glorious AnscoColor instead of boring black and white. This hilarious movie is given the full MGM treatment, with the studio's premiere director at the time, Vincente Minnelli, directing. Starring as well are some of Hollywood's greatest character actors, particularly the fabulous Marjorie Main. Also featured are some beautiful scenes of Yosemite National Park and the mountains of California. And that yellow 1953 Mercury Monterey convertible is one of my personal favorites of the film. Another amusing highlight is hearing Lucy and Desi sing "Breezing Along With the Breeze", accompanied by the lush, 100-piece MGM symphony orchestra. This is one classy motion picture! "The Long, Long Trailer" was one of 1954's top box office hits and was MGM's most successful comedy in the studio's then 30-year history. That's quite impressive considering people could stay home and watch Lucy and Desi for free on television. So DO get this video. You'll watch it- and laugh- over and over again. In fact, I'm gonna go watch it right now. HEY, Warner Home Video -- hurry up with the DVD version of this 1954 MGM sensation. (Warner owns the entire pre-1986 MGM library.)

The trailer called "Nightmare"

Director: Vincente Minnelli
Format: Color
Studio: Warner Studios

Cast:

Lucille Ball ...
Desi Arnaz ... Nicholas 'Nicky' Collini
Marjorie Main ... Mrs. Hittaway
Keenan Wynn ... Policeman
Gladys Hurlbut ... Mrs. Bolton
Moroni Olsen ... Mr. Tewitt
Bert Freed ... Foreman
Madge Blake ... Aunt Anastacia
Walter Baldwin ... Uncle Edgar
Oliver Blake ... Mr. Sudloy
Perry Sheehan ... Bridesmaid
Edgar Dearing ... Trailer Park Manager
Robert Anderson ... Carl Barrett

Frank Gerstle ... Gas Station Attendant
Charles Herbert ... Little Boy
Donald Kerr ... Flagstone Station Attendant
Jack Kruschen ... Mechanic
Norman Leavitt ... Driver
Alan Lee ... Mr. Elliott
Peter Leeds ... Garage Manager
Karl Lukas ... Inspector
Howard McNear ... Joe Hittaway
Bert Moorhouse ... Car Salesman
Christopher Olsen ... Tommy
Emory Parnell ... Policeman
Phil Rich ... Mr. Dudley
Fay Roope ... Judge
Dennis Ross ... Jody
Herb Vigran ... Trailer Salesman

Emmett Vogan ... Mr. Bolton
Wilson Wood ... Garage Owner
Howard Wright ... Uncle Bill
Dallas Boyd ... Minister
John Call ... Shorty
Richard Alexander ... Bald Shopper in Bungalette Trailer
Ruth Lee ... Mrs. Tewitt
Ruth McDevitt ... Mrs. Vagabond
Ida Moore ... Candy Store Clerk
Dorothy Neumann ... Aunt Ellen
Janet Sackett ... Kay
Judy Sackett ... Dotty
Edna Skinner ... Maude Barrett
Sarah Spencer ... Tacy's Girl Friend
Connie Van ... Grace
Ruth Warren ... Mrs. Dudley
Geraldine Carr ... Tacy's Girl Friend
Juney Ellis ... Waitress

If you are one of the millions who loved Lucy, you'll love the Long, Long Trailer!

Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz were one of the great comedy teams, and The Long, Long Trailer was one of their most successful films.

Before their marriage Tacy Bolton and Nicky Collini decide (well, Tacy decides and Nicky goes along, reluctantly) to buy a trailer so that she can follow him and make a home for him while he travels to construction sites. Unfortunately, he has never pulled a long trailer and it proves almost too much for him, not to mention that it is a "budget buster."

This is a typical situation comedy of the type that Lucy and Desi did so well. A laugh a minute is guaranteed!

Joseph (Joe) Pierre

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

Lucy and Desi at their best!
This is one of my favorite films of all time. If you have the chance to see it, make sure you do! Gotta love that 8,000 foot mountain! I love Lucy....and I always will! ... Read more

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An affectionate homage more than a spoof of Alfred Hitchcock thrillers, Mel Brooks's hilarious movie is one of the funniest modern comedies around. Brooks plays a psychiatrist with a severe fear of heights who moves to the Bay Area to take over a psychiatric hospital after its former head mysteriously disappears. He must contend with the resident psychiatrist (Harvey Korman) and the twisted resident nurse (Cloris Leachman) as they plot against him, eventually framing him for murder. While on the run, Brooks teams up with the alluring daughter (Madeline Kahn) of the missing doctor to solve the mystery and confront his own fears. Containing some classic sequences and cowritten by Barry Levinson (Rain Man, Wag the Dog), who appears briefly as a too-touchy bellhop in a Psycho-shower-scene takeoff, High Anxiety is a thoroughly enjoyable romp from one of the masters of comedy today. --Robert Lane ... Read more

Reviews (38)

The Master of Comedy meets the Master of Suspense!!!!
This is a hilarious spoof of several Hitchcock films. The film wouldn't be as funny, if you hadn't seen some of hitchcock's films, including Psycho, the Birds, or Vertigo.
It stars Mel Brooks, the director, but the best acting comes from his girlfriend, Madeline Kahn. This is one of Madeline's best roles, as my brother says. She gets the best lines in the entire movie!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
This is probably my favorite of the brook's pictures that i've seen, and I highly recommend it to his and hitchcock's fans!!

High Anxiety, you win!
Hilarious Mel Brooks film second to only "Young Frankenstein." I know a lot of Hitchcock movies so I got a lot of the jokes that Mel Brooks is making about him, and since Mel Brooks is such a funny guy, his own stuff is great too. Check out the airport scene where he and Madeline Kahn impersonate the Russian Jews and try not to laugh. (Of course, if you're not a Russian Jew like me you might not laugh so hard.) Or Cloris Leachman's entire character, kinkiness, pointy breasts and all. Or the take on Psycho where Mel is attacked with a newspaper instead of a knife and the ink spilling down the drain serves as the blood.This entire movie is just funny. Rent it or buy it, either way see it!

The greatest comedy never released on dvd.
This is without a doubt , one of the funniest Mel Brooks movies of all time. The cast is hilarious and the hitchcock parodies are a scream. The big question is..when will this movie be released on widescreen DVD? It is certainly, in my opinion, as funny as Blazing Saddles. I hope it will soon be rereleased so it can be discovered by a new generation of movie lovers.

"...That bell-boy ain't gettin' no tip!"
Mel Brooks at his very best. Together with his usual cast of cronies, Brooks spoofs the Hitchcock Thriller genre, delivering hilarious gags about films like "The Birds", "Psycho", "North by Northwest", and of course "Vertigo". A silly plot about a professor from "The Institute" wraps the whole idea into a plausible story. Madeline Kahn, Cloris Leachman and Harvey Korman are scene-stealers, as always. A comedy gem!*****

High Anxiety, You Win!
Certainly a great Mel Brooks classic complete with his usual zany cast with the likes of Harvey Korman, Cloris Leachman and Madeline Kahn who have appeared in many of his other spoofs. Mel Brooks plays chief pshychiatrist Dr. Richard Harpo Thorndyke who had one severe phobia, and that was his fear of heights. Resident phsychiatrist Dr. Charles Montague (Korman) and head nurse Charlotte Diesel (Leachman) take advantage of this phobia, especially when Dr. Thorndyke goes to the phsychiatry convention at the Hyatt Regency in San Francisco; "Seventeenth floor, can't get any higher."

This film is a parody on many of Alfred Hitchcock's thrillers such as "Vertigo" (the main theme), "Psycho", "The Birds" and "The Man Who Knew Too Much". Dr. Thorndyke teams up with Victoria Brisbane (Kahn) who was in search of her father Arthur Brisbane who had been held at the Institute for the Very, Very Nervous against his will along with many of the patients by Dr. Montague and Nurse Diesel who have also attempted plots on the life of Dr. Thorndyke. Like all of Mel Brooks films, this movie will make anyone roll on the floor in laughter from start to finish as a lot of the unexpected occurs throughout such as the rock with a note tied to it come smashing through Dr. Thorndyke's bathroom window from the violent ward at the institute while brushing his teeth or the filming crew doing silly things like breaking a window pane with the camera lens. One of the best parts was when Brooks and Kahn dress and act like an old Yiddish couple attempting to go through security screening with a loaded gun at San Francisco Airport, "I BEEPED! I BEEPED!" This movie is great for Mel Brooks fans and a film that is highly recommended. "High Anxiety, You Win!" ... Read more

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Could this be the funniest movie ever made? By any rational measure of comedy, this medieval romp from the Monty Python troupe certainly belongs on the short list of candidates. According to Leonard Maltin's Movie & Video Guide, it's "recommended for fans only," but we say hogwash to that--you could be a complete newcomer to the Python phenomenon and still find this send-up of the Arthurian legend to be wet-your-pants hilarious. It's basically a series of sketches woven together as King Arthur's quest for the Holy Grail, with Graham Chapman as the King, Terry Gilliam as his simpleton sidekick Patsy, and the rest of the Python gang filling out a variety of outrageous roles. The comedy highlights are too numerous to mention, but once you've seen Arthur's outrageously bloody encounter with the ominous Black Knight (John Cleese), you'll know that nothing's sacred in the Python school of comedy. From holy hand grenades to killer bunnies to the absurdity of the three-headed knights who say "Ni--!," this is the kind of movie that will strike you as fantastically funny or just plain silly, but why stop there? It's all over the map, and the pace lags a bit here and there, but for every throwaway gag the Pythons have invented, there's a bit of subtle business or grand-scale insanity that's utterly inspired. The sum of this madness is a movie that's beloved by anyone with a pulse and an irreverent sense of humor. If this movie doesn't make you laugh, you're almost certainly dead.--Jeff Shannon ... Read more

Reviews (630)

one of the best comedies ever and dvd extras to rave about!
This is what dvds were invented for -- there are so many great features here! So in addition to seeing one of the funniest movies ever made, you can be entertained for hours with the extras, and the extras are terrific: subtitles in English, French or Spanish; audio track choices -- English (the original mono or a brand new full stereo version), French, a directors' (Gilliam and Jones) track or a commentary track with Cleese, Idle and Palin; a copy of the script overlaid on the film; a painstaking, hilarious Henry the IV-ish subtitle for those who don't like the film; a hard-of-hearing feature; killer rabbit easter eggs; animated menus using Gilliam's original animation; karaoke renditions of 'Knights of the Round Table', 'Sir Robin' and the 'Monks Chant'; a delightful 45 minute visit to the locations with Jones and Palin; an educational film about the 'other' uses of coconuts; Japanese versions of the French Castle and Knights Who Say Ni scenes, including references to the 'holy sake cup'; a 1974 BBC Film Night visit to a location site during filming; photos of tickets, press releases, reviews, posters, production stills and original artwork; trailers; cast credits (Palin played over a dozen parts!) with pictures of each character; a Lego knights version of the Camelot scene; pictures of sketches that were never used (a killer snail?!); a web link.

A lot of effort went into this special edition dvd, and it shows. I particularly enjoyed seeing Jones and Palin visit locations. They were in a jolly mood, their comments are interspersed with film footage, and they meet affectionate and funny fans along the way.

If you like this film you will love this dvd version; if you love the film, you wil adore this two-dvd set. An essential item for your collection.

Highest recommendation.

I Never Thought Looking For A Shrubbery Would Be This Fun!!
In the early 1970's the Monty Python troop (Michael Palin, Graham Chapman, Eric Idle, John Cleese, Terry Gilliam, and Terry Jones) stars from the immensely popular television series Monty Python's Flying Circus began producing, with the help of a fundraising concert headlined by Led Zeppelin and Pink Floyd (You lie!! No, I didn't!), initial photography on what would later become (from all my extensive years of movie watching) the single most unforgivably sidesplitting, enormously irreverent, shrewdly perceptive, unremittingly uproariously aggressive, gruesomely hysterical, and endlessly quotable comedies EVER. Not even Mel Brooks's Best Efforts (The Producers, Blazing Saddles, Young Frankenstein) comes very close to the revolutionary medieval merriment sustained in this royal purebred of cult classics. BAR NONE. No contest here.

Endlessly stockpiled with hauntingly hysterical sketches that will probably never leave your mind (no matter how hard you try) including, The Knights Who Say Nei, The Self-Abusing Monks (Eah aay ess eay dom eay nay), The Black Knight, The Trojan Rabbit, the Ever-Appearing Verbally Abusing French (I don't want to talk to you no more!!!), The Enchanter Named Tim, The Killer Bunny, The Bridge of Death (What is the capital of Hysteria?), The Old Woman Named Dennis, and so many countless more great sketches to include here that I'd die trying. Monty and Python and the Holy Grail remains an ever-enriching mirthful cult-classic that just seems to improve with age. Since Columbia has a bountifully hefty new special edition of the Holy Grail out now there should be no excuse, if you've never seen it (I think I'll go for a walk!!), just drop everything your doing (including Bringing Out Your Dead) and go experience this life changing movie today. You won't be disappointed, just tell them the Knight Not Appearing In This Film sent you, and they'll know what to do.

As for the options on the special edition here's a run-down:

Disc One: -"21st Anniversary" cut of the film running an extra 24 seconds; -Anamorphic Widescreen; -Dolby 5.1 track; -Original Mono Track; -Audio commentary with Terry Gilliam, Terry Jones, John Cleese, Eric Idle and Michael Palin; -subtitles "for people who don't like the film" (you get the text from Shakespeare's Henry IV instead); -an "on-screen screenplay" feature which lets you read the screenplay as you watch the film; -"Follow the Killer Rabbit" feature;

Disc Two: "Three Mindless Sing-Alongs"; -"The Quest for the Holy Grail Locations" featurette; -"How to Use Your Coconuts" educational film; -"Monty Python and the Holy Grail in Japanese" (with English subtitles); -the BBC Film Night special "On Location with the Pythons; -an interactive cast directory; -still galleries with Terry Gilliam's original sketches and behind-the-scenes photos; -"A Load Of Rubbish" with mystery items; -unused ideas and other material; -two trailers
and web-links.

Both discs represent the absolute final word resource for EVERYTHING and I do mean everything you'd need to know about the Python's greatest film. An Absolute Necessity for any Python Fan!!

P.S. You can't base a system of government just because some watery tart threw a sword at you.

What are you going to do, bleed on me?
excellent. Possibly the funniest movie ever made. Who could forget such a line as "I fart in your general direction. Your mother was a hamster and your father smelt of eldeberries." This is a great movie and a great dvd edition that gives it justice. This is completely worth the money. A comedy Classic.

This movie didn't make me Run Away! (or) Run away FASTER!!!
Monty Python and the Quest for the Holy Grail is, by far, my favorite movie -and I'm sure it always will be! Being a truly hilariously-random film, this DVD does an awesome job of showcasing this fact to the highest extent. The killer white "rrrrabit" will live on in my heart forever, and I will always be knowledgeable that African swallows are non-migratory. What other movie has a group of knights requesting shrubberies -from King Arthur, no less- to create a 'two-level effect with a path through the middle'? Only Monty Python and the Holy Grail.
The movie might sound strange as I mention these things out of context, but I assure you it is much stranger when Monty Python says it!
So, to conclude this review, I definitely give "Monty Python and the Quest for the Holy Grail" DVD a 5 star rating, as I know it will entertain millions for years to come. Enjoy!

The Lego Camelot Number Alone is Worth the Price
Who would have thought that, after nearly 30 years, the world's goofiest movie could be made even moreso? Not only is this DVD a comedy triumph (it would be simply if it were the DVD version of the classic film, in which a crew too broke to afford horses for King Arthur and his Knights changed history and college kids' banter forever by introducing coconuts as migrating props). Oh, no, this DVD is one that may become a standard for other DVDs. Just look at this list of extras above! To be sure, some of them are fluff. The "load of rubbish" selection is simply some receipts and a few odd notes. But most of it is stupendous.

The first disc contains the movie itself, along with some choices of how to watch it.... subtitles, commentary by directors Terry Jones & Terry Gilliam or by John Cleese & Eric Idle & Michael Palin. Then "for people who don't like the film", there's subtitles from Shakespeare's "Henry IV, Part II". Now, these do not faithfully follow Henry IV verse by verse, but they do come from the play, and it's hilarious how the phrases Shakespeare wrote do actually match up with the action on the screen.

Disc Two contains several mementoes: a film of John Cleese, Terry Jones, and "Grail" production manager John Young (who also played the hapless "Historian" towards the end of the film, and the "I'm not dead!" guy) paying a return visit to Castle Doune , in 2000. At first it's fun to hear them reminisce at the filming site, but since it's a very small spot with nothing but a wall and a bit of ground, they appear uncomfortable and that quickly gets old. More interesting is the home movie made by the two Terries when they looked for prospective film locations in the seventies. Their excitement is palpable.

A somewhat painful scene (except for the chance it gives us to watch Terry Jones in action as a director) is the BBC documentary made during filming. The interviewer seems more interested in trying to be funny himself than in the Pythons. But there are several great comic extras, including words to some songs, a coconut skit, two scenes dubbed in Japanese, and best of all, an animated feature of the "Camelot" scene and song done entirely in Lego...must be seen to be believed.

Finally, someone has made good use of the storage space on a DVD. ... Read more

Reviews (26)

Definitely on my top five list
This movie is one of my favorites, and definitely one of the best to come out of any country in the last few years. It is absolutely hilarious! I won't go too much into plot -- gangsters, romance, and a uproariously funny ending (and beginning, and middle), plus subtitles that are in a nice yellow so they're easy to read. The music score is great (I wish there was a soundtrack on CD) and the acting is excellent... I have seen two of Kusturica's other movies, and this is by far the best, although the others were very good too. You will not regret buying this movie, and I would recommend it to anyone!

Kusturica does it again, but better
Kusturica began focusing on the Roma culture most prominently in his movie, "Time of the Gypsies," revisiting this theme in later works either indirectly ("Arizona Dream") or with unabashed flirtation ("Underground"). In "Black Cat, White Cat," these talented musicians are center stage, and you won't take your eyes off them from the time they are tied up in a tree until they march off with their infectious brass beat in the sunset.

The plot follows a young Roma who falls for the village tomboy, but is promised to marry a lovely, albeit height-impaired, ganster's daughter as a result of a poker game. The young couple attempts to circumvent this arrangement by slipping away from their fate much like the silver fish in "Arizona Dreams." The high-charged get-me-out-of-here wedding scene is driven by the gypsy music which feeds the young couple's desperation, the ganster's testosterone levels, and the guests' oblivion, all of which is done very tongue-in-cheek by caricaturizing aspects of Balkan culture. If you like your humor black, you'll dig this movie.

Bizarre, joyful insanity -- don't miss this one!
The sublime goofiness of this movie is hard to describe; you really must see it for yourself. But some of its virtues are: it manages to be a classic farce, without ever seeming stylized; it showcases and celebrates the glorious music of the Romany people in almost every frame, while keeping the convoluted narrative running; it presents even its densest, dopiest, kookiest and weirdest characters as full human beings, not stereotypes; and, not least, it presents a number of farm animals in juicy cameo roles (the car-eating pig ought to get some kind of "Best Performance by a Barnyard Animal" prize). The title characters, for example, appear in almost every crucial scene, and end up making the happy ending possible.

Young lovers, lonely hearts, domineering grandparents, stupid con-artists, cokehead gangsters and flocks of geese make up the world of "Black Cat, White Cat," always accompanied by torrents of music. If loony, generous, dark humor appeals to you, you'll love this wonderful movie.

A great introduction to Kusturica's filmmaking.
For those who don't mind subtitles, this gets my highest recommendation. A chaotic and hilarious look at Yugoslavian Gypsy and gangster life -- lighthearted, not as long and without as much symbolism as UNDERGROUND. A wonderful modern fairy-tale and ideal "primer" for this master filmmaker.

If you like bizarre humor, this is it!
Matko Destanov is a crook and a moron and he wants to marry his son Zare to the mob boss Dadan Karambolo's ugly midget of a sister to pay off some old and new debt.
But Zare is really in love with the gypsy girl Ida, who loves him back, but who unfortunately has been promised to Dadan the Mob boss.
At the same time an old Mob boss from a different family with the exotic name Grga Pitic is out on a quest to find a suitable wife to his worthless dreamer of a son, who in turn has declared that he will not marry before he falls in love with a girl on first sight.
Matko's old dad, Zarije, has no intention of letting his son ruin his grandsons life and he has a grand plan to save Zare from marrying the ugly midget, using his accordion....(yes it goes on and on and on....)

Conclusion: No one can claim to have seen a weird, bizarre, totally crazy and mind blowingly far-out movie before they have seen this one. This one truly beats it all. If you are out there looking for something totally and completely different, something you have never even remotely laid your eyes on before, THIS IS IT! ... Read more

Amazon.com

This somewhat unpleasant 1992 sequel to the blockbuster Home Alone revisits the first film's gimmick by stranding Macaulay Culkin's character in New York City while his family ends up somewhere else. Again, the little guy meets up with colorful people on the margins of society (including a pigeon woman played by Brenda Fricker) and again he gets into a prop-heavy battle with Joe Pesci and Daniel Stern. The latter sequence is even worse than the first film in terms of violence inflicted on the two villains (director Chris Columbus, who also made the first film, can't seem to emphasize the slapstick over the graphic effects of the fight). The best running joke finds a concierge (Tim Curry) at the swank hotel where Culkin is staying trying and failing to prove that the boy is on his own. --Tom Keogh ... Read more

Reviews (60)

You guys give up? Have you had enough pain? "Nevahhhhhh!"
What kind of idiots do you have working here?
"The finest in New York."
- This is just an idea of the great writing & acting in Home Alone 2:Lost In New York. This is the second of 4 movies by Chris Columbus. Lil' Kevin McCallister gets caught up in more trouble again in this sequel to Home Alone.
Home Alone 2:Lost in New York starts with the Christmas Pageant where young Kevin manages to get himself in a bit of bother with Buzz who manages to make Kevin look like a laughing stock in front of many parents. Buzz then makes a very phony,but convincing apology to the family who accept it (as idiots).As he brings this apology to an end,he calls Kevin a "troutsniffer". The acting in this film is pure brilliance,especially the parts of the two "Wet Bandits" played by Joe Pesci & Daniel Stern.This film is such a hilarious film especially with great actors such as Joe Pesci,Daniel Stern,Catherine O'Hara,Tim Curry,Rob Schneider & not forgetting the fine young actor Macaulay Culkin. If you like Home Alone 2:Lost in New York then you are bound to love Home Alone.Although Home Alone 3 & 4 are not worth seeing as they are not the originals with Macaulay Culkin & the original Bandits

"He's Done it Again"
this is the best movie ever! if you liked the first one then you will definetly love this one no matter what! Little Kevin has done it again-he's all by himself again but this time in New York around christmas time. at first he is really happy that he is in new york without his family who are in Florida (where there is no christmas trees)after getting in a fight with his older brother (Buzz) and then in a fight with the rest of his family. But he soon learns that he wants his family to be with him after reuniting with the wet bandits (Marv and Harry). But on the way he gets in trouble with the Plaza hotel (New Yorks most exciting hotel)and he saves DUNCANS TOY CHEST from being robbed. and he also meets a couple of friends that at first scared him.on christmas eve his mom finally finds him at rockafella center and the family is all together. this is by far my favorite movie because (1) it takes place in New York (2)it takes place during christmas time and (3) the story is great!

Kevin McAllister Strikes Again!!!
This movie is too FUNNY!!!I love the Second Home Alone Movie as much as I like the 1st one.My favorite part the movie when Kevin sets up those Boob Traps for the 2 Burglars.And gets the wrong that goes to New York & Kevin gets sparated from his family again.This movie is the best,I gotta get this movie!!!

A brilliant sequel
Ok, so Home Alone 2 is very similar to Home Alone, but that's what's so brilliant about it. I think that the this film is better than the original, mainly because of the superb addition other characters make to the movie. Tim Curry is brilliant in this.

So yeah, if you like Home Alone, you'll love Home Alone 2. It rocks!

Best Movie EVER!!
This is the best movie of all time!!! Although the first one was EXCELLENT, this one is a little better. When Kevin gets separated from his family, he winds up in New York City, where he gets into some mischeif. BEST MOVIE EVER!!! I recommend this movie for everyone! Macaulay, YOU ROCK!!! ... 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

Amazon.com

Steven Spielberg produced this underwhelming 1986 effort at a slapstick spin on Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House. The pre-Oscar Tom Hanks stars with Shelley Long as a married couple whose efforts to finish construction on their home are sabotaged by costly and sporadically funny accidents. The unfinished domicile becomes a metaphor for their troubled relationship, as evidenced by Long's character's attraction to a madman violinist (Alexander Godunov). Hanks is the only reason at this point to check this film out. Richard Benjamin (My Favorite Year) directs but with no flair or distinction. --Tom Keogh. ... Read more

Reviews (60)

Classic, Classic Tom Hanks
My wife and I have seen this movie MANY times and we laugh harder each time we see it. This movie must be a cult classic, mainly because if we act out a piece of a scene or speak a line from it (as we often do) many people are 'in' on the joke having seen it repeatedly themselves. Alexander Gudenov really steals the scenes that he's in portraying Shelly Long's ex-husband/Symphony conductor. I love it when he admonishes the orchestra at lunchtime after a lackluster rehearsal and tells the members to '...go stuff yourselves, I hope you choke!' (in that wonderful accent).
I highly reccommend this film to anyone, especially if you own a house. Those laughing the loudest will have had home repair experience I'm sure. Tom Hanks at his funniest. You won't be dissapointed!

Favorite moments:

bathtub scene (with pop-up thermometer in the turkey)
raccoon scene
The Shirk brothers contractors
All of the Alexander Gudenov scenes
'The Cheap Girls' band
borrowing money from 'Benny'
Hanks and Long fighting in front of the contractors

.....the list goes on......

Simply too funny
"The Money Pit" may have been a disaster at the box office and with critics at the time but this movie is just too hilarious. This is one of the few movies that makes me laugh until tears starts rolling down my face. My personal favorite moment is when Shelly Long finds a raccoon in the dumb waiter and it leaps at her. Seeing her running around screaming with a raccoon on her shoulder is hysterical. Of course just watching Tom Hanks' character try to fix the house is equally funny, particularly when he hears Shelly's character screaming and he runs...or tries to run up the poorly built staircase. The classic moment is when he falls into that hole and is stuck there for most of the day, missing out on an important meeting with a contractor and then seeing Shelly Long's expression when she finds him stuck in the hole. "The Money Pit" remains one of my top favorite comedies of all time as well as favorite Tom Hanks film.

home blech home!
Tom Hanks and Shelly Long star in this 1980s Steven Spielberg movie as Walter and Anna, a Manhattan couple who are unceremoniously evicted from her ex-husband's apartment and must search for new housing. They find what seems to be a steal -- a huge million-dollar mansion for next to nothing --- and move in, only to be besieged with a collapsing staircase, chocolate-brown "water", rotting wood, exploding doorbell, you name it. Probably one of the funniest scenes I have ever seen is when Tom Hanks sinks through the rug into a hole in the den floor and gets stuck.

Broke and cranky from sinking more and more resources into the money pit in which they live, Anna and Walter snipe at each other. The shady contractors they hire say they can get the job done in 2 weeks -- and continue saying that four months later.

The house may or may not get rebuilt, but will Walter and Anna survive as a couple? Being a typical 1980s comedy which paved the way for everything starring Meg Ryan for 16 years, you already know the answer. But it is still a hilarious movie to watch, depsite its predictability.

Sigh sigh
When I watched this movie for the very first time, I was 18 yold. It was and it is one of the most loved movies I ever seen in my whole life and it meant so much to me because I felt like Tom Hanks when I was rising up my new house and I seen myself in that movie with all the hard time to make the house of my and her dream nice and cozy. We did it but I miss those times.

Thanks "The money pit".

Luca

One of my all-time favorites!
Who wouldn't want to see Tom Hanks stuck in a hole in the floor? This movie is hilarious right from the start - Shelley Long and Hanks play off each other well. Well worth a few bucks to have your own copy at home! ... Read more

Amazon.com essential video

Mel Brooks's 1981, three-part comedy--set in the Stone Age, the Roman Empire, and the French Revolution--is pure guilty pleasure. Narrated by Orson Welles and featuring a lot of famous faces in guest appearances (beyond the official cast), the film opens well with Sid Caesar playing a caveman, then moves along to the unlikely but somehow hilarious juxtaposition of Caesar's soldiers (the other Caesar, not Sid) with pot humor, and ends on a dumb-funny note in the French bloodbath. This is a take-it-or-leave-it movie, and it works best if you're in a take-it-or-leave-it mood. --Tom Keogh ... Read more

Reviews (85)

It's Good to Be Mel Brooks
When this film first appeared more than 20 years ago, it temporarily threatened to replace world history courses in schools, colleges, and universities. Of course, that didn't happen. Probably just as well, given the fact that screenwriter, producer, and director Mel Brooks never wrote, produced, and directed Part II and its eagerly-awaited portrayals of "Jews in Space" and "Hitler on Ice." There are historians' homes in which Brooks is still not welcome. In any event, what we have in Part I is a combination of five extended sketches: The Dawn of Man, The Stone Age, The Spanish Inquisition, The Bible, and The Future. Inevitably there are some gaps.

Brooks appears in several different roles while (in fact) portraying himself: Moses, Comicus, Torquemada, and King Lou. Other members of the Brooks Ensemble Company include Madeline Kahn (Empress Nympho), Cloris Leachman (Madame de Farge), Harvey Korman (Count de Monet), Ron Carey (Swiftus), Andreas Voutsinas (Béarnaise), and Shecky Green (Marcus Vindictus). Brooks has assembled a cast of thousands. The production values are remarkably good. However, as in other Brooks films such as Blazing Saddles and High Anxiety, the quality of the humor varies from Brilliant & Inspired (e.g. King Lou professing love of "the little people" while shooting at airborn peasants who have been launched as targets: "Pull!") to Oh No (e.g. Moses reducing the number of Commandments to Ten by dropping/breaking one of three tablets while descending Mount Sinai, and, Jesus becoming confused by use of his name as an expletive). Brooks is an incurable gagster and punster. More often than not, the humor in this film works. But when it doesn't....

Several clever touches. For example, beginning the film with a parody of 2001: A Space Odyssey, with Orson Welles providing the voice-over. Also, it is fun to play the equivalent of "Where's Waldo" by trying to spot familiar actors in supporting roles such as Bea Arthur (Clerk), Charlie Callas (Soothsayer), Jack Carter (Rat Vendor), Sid Caesar (Chief Caveman), John Gavin (Marche), Ronny Graham (Oedipus), Nigel Hawthorne (Official), John Hillerman (Rich Man), Hugh Hefner (Entrepreneur), Barry Levinson (Column Salesman), Spike Milligan (Monsieur Rimbaud), Howard Morris (Court Spokesman), Jan Murray (Nothing Vendor), and Henny Youngman (Chemist). As I said, a cast of thousands...if not more.

Brooks' best films, those most effectively developed, are The Producers and Young Frankenstein, the latter being a remarkably respectful version of several earlier films. All comics are thieves. The best comics steal from the best sources. I thought about that when I saw this film again recently, wondering if Brooks' History of the World -- Part I was in any way influenced by The Story of Mankind (1957), a film based on Henrik Willem Van Loon's bestseller. For purposes of parody, The Story of Mankind would be an excellent target of opportunity. Those among its diverse cast of thousands (if not more) include Charles Coburn (Hippocrates), Ronald Colman (The Spirit of Man), Cedric Hardwicke (High Judge), Dennis Hopper (Napoleon), Hedy Lamarr (Joan of Arc), Peter Lorre (Nero), Virginia Mayo (Cleopatra), Chico Marx (Monk), Harpo Marx (Isaac Newton), Groucho Marx (Peter Minuit), Agnes Moorehead (Elizabeth I), Vincent Price (The Devil), and Cesar Romero (Spanish Envoy). Whenever a list of the Ten Most Pretentious Movies Ever Made is formulated, The Story of Mankind is frequently and deservedly given serious consideration.

Despite its several flaws, The History of the World -- Part I remains a generally entertaining, at times hilarious film. Whenever I see it again, I feel eager anticipation as I await its strongest scenes, willing to endure its weakest meanwhile. To me at least, the previews for Part II (which conclude Part I) suggest why Brooks resembles the Little Girl with The Curl: "When she's good, she's very very good but when she's bad...."

Mel Brooks at his Bawdy Best
Mel Brooks is at the top of his game with this hilarious spoof on world history beginning with the Stone Age and touching on subjects all the way through the French Revolution. While much of the humor is far from sophisticated, it doesn't diminish the fact that the film is just plain funny!

Lots of comedic actors, great and small, make side-splitting appearances in the film, including Sid Ceasar, Harvey Korman, Dom DeLuise, Bea Arthur, Madeline Kahn, Cloris Leachman, Jackie Mason, and Gregory Hines.

The beauty of Brooks' scathing spoofs of historical events and figures is that the humor is timeless, holding up just as well in 2004 as it did when the film was originally released in 1981. If you have never seen or heard of this film, rent or buy it now, as you have missed an iconic movie. I've even heard of European History professors using Brooks' wacky take on the Spanish Inquisition in their history classes.

When it comes to bawdy satire, Mel Brooks found it "good to be the King" in the 1970s and 80s!

written by David Laing, not Julia Laing
One of Mel Brook's finest movies, in this one, he sets out to parody history, from the Stone Age, to the French Revolution. The first time period is the Stone Age, where we see the first homosapien and homosexual marriage, and discover how music was invented. Next, in a very short bit, we see Moses coming down from a mountain with the 15 commandments, until he drops one slab, and it becomes the 10 commandments. The next era is the Roman Empire, where after Philatipis[or something like that] gets a gig to do comedy for Caescar, he offends, the emporer, so him and his new found friend must fight each other to the death, but instead stop fighting and try to escape from Rome. The 4th era is by far the funniest, and the most offensive, The Spanish Inquisition. So in a musical extravaganza, we see how the Catholics tried to convert the Jews to become Catholics, and in the last part, we behold the French Revolution, and one of the greatest lines in this movie. So, see this hilarious movie, but if you are easily offended, then do not see this. The only thing that aggravates me was that Brooks had a part 2 planned out, but it was never released. At the end of the movie, we get a preview of the unreleased History of The World part 2.

History has never been more hilarious.
I wasn't familiar with History of the World until someone recommended that I see it. I knew a little of who Mel Brooks was and had seen Young Frankenstein so I knew this might be good. Now I think it is one of the funniest movies ever, a genius spoof of world history troughout different period of time. You get to see prehistoric man invent art, and along with the first art came the first art critic. We see the real story behind Moses and the Ten Commandments. The best part to me was the part about the Roman times, when Comicus the stand up philosopher is introduced. I was laughing long and hard when Comicus gets a job as waiter at the Last Supper. Also spoofed are the Spanish Inquisition and the French Revolution.

History of the World is a great movie that features a terrific cast including Mel Brooks, Gregory Hines, Madeline Kahn, Harvey Korman and Sid Caesar. There are others, but together they give an entertaining perspective into some of history's most important events. There are also countless quotes from the movie that will stick with you for a long time after you hear them. This is something I recommend seeing, as even after 23 years it still seems as fresh as ever with the humor it provides.

Nobody Expects the (Musical) Spanish Inquisition
Probably the success of MONTY PYTHON'S LIFE OF BRIAN two years earlier was the inspiration for Mel Brooks' HISTORY OF THE WORLD - PART I (A year earlier Python/'Brian' probably also inspired the also lesser ripoff WHOLLY MOSES). One reason are many of the biblical spoofs in this episodic movie. A lot of this is pretty lame especially during the Dom Deluise as Nero sequence that seems to go on forever. The only funny thing to come out of this is the classic line "When you die at the Palace..you really die!". Included is a scene outside of the actual Las Vegas casino Ceasar's Palace with Roman citizens going into it as if it is actually in ancient Rome. The rest of this particular sequence seems to come right out of Richard Lester's/Zero Mostel's A FUNNY THING HAPPENED TO ME ON THE WAY TO THE FORUM only it is not very funny. There are a couple inspired gags (i.e. The Spanish Inquisition- the musical,Moses receiving the 15..er, 10 Commandments, and a tribute to Esther Williams/MGM musical aqua dancing extravaganzas featuring bathing beauty nuns) in the rest of the film, but they are not very memorable. Whereas Monty Python's 'BRIAN' was deemed sacrilegious (at least in 1979) and brilliantly irreverent, 'HISTORY' is just plain dumb. Brooks' seemed to lose his touch starting with this film and would continue with SPACEBALLS,ROBIN HOOD MEN IN TIGHTS and DRACULA DEAD AND LOVING IT etc. Overall, a general waste of celluloid,talent, and time. ... Read more

Amazon.com

Director Blake Edwards, fresh from the success of the first two Pink Panther movies, indulged his love of classic slapstick comedy with this long free-for-all, which throws in everything but Laurel and Hardy's kitchen sink. The film reunites Some Like It Hot stars Tony Curtis and Jack Lemmon, ably aided by a spunky Natalie Wood. The subject is a New-York-to-Paris auto race in the early years of the 20th century, pitting the Great Leslie (Curtis), a goody-goody dressed all in white--even his teeth sparkle--against the malevolent Professor Fate (Lemmon), whose coal-black heart is reflected in his handlebar mustache. He looks like a bill collector from a silent- movie melodrama. Lemmon does double duty, also playing the pampered, drunken king of a small European country, whose laugh sounds like the wail of a cat in heat. The film may be too long for its own good, and you really have to love Jack Lemmon to put up with his over-the-top performance, but it's side-splitting in spots. It's one of those movies, if seen in childhood, that stays in your mind for years afterward. Some of the bigger routines, such as a pie fight of epic proportions, don't work as well as the simple chemistry between the perpetually exasperated Professor Fate and his much-abused assistant, Max (a terrific Peter Falk). Push the button, Max. --Robert Horton ... Read more

Reviews (97)

Nostalgic Comfort Viewing Perfect for a Family Night
THE GREAT RACE may not be a masterpiece--but it is a perfect choice for a cold and rainy night: stylish, frothy, and often flatly hilarious, it makes for "comfort viewing" at its best.

One of the movie's several charms is that it draws heavily from Victorian cliches that still linger in the public mind, gives them a gentle comic spin, and then drops them into the tale of an early 1900s auto race from New York to Paris by way of Siberia. Add to this a heap of favorite character actors, a big budget, flamboyant period costumes, and the biggest pie fight ever filmed, and you have a movie where there is always something to enjoy on the screen.

The great thing about THE GREAT RACE are the performances, which are very broad but endowed with a sly humor. The comedy accolades here go to Jack Lemmon and Peter Falk as the notorious Dr. Fate and his bumbling sidekick Max--wonderful bits of acting that will have you hooting with laughter in every scene--and Dorothy Provine scores memorably in a cameo as Lily Olay, the bombshell singer who presides over the most rootin'-tootin' saloon this side of the Pecos.

But every one, from Tony Curtis and the lovely Natalie Wood down to such cameo performers as Vivian Vance, get in plenty of comic chops as the film drifts from one outrageous episode to another: suffergettes crowding a newspaper, the biggest western brawl imaginable, polar bears, explosions, daredevil antics, and a subplot lifted from THE PRISONER OF ZENDA agreeably crowd in upon each other. True, the film does seem over-long and may drag a bit in spots, but it never drags for very long, and it's all in good fun--and the production values and memorable score easily tide over the bare spots.

The DVD bonuses aren't anything to write home about, and the film has not been restored per se--the color seems a bit faded here and there--but the print is remarkably clean and the widescreen format is an essential. This would be an excellent selection for a family movie night--or for any evening when you're alone and feeling a bit blue. Break out the popcorn, curl up on you sofa, and... as Dr. Fate would say... "Push the button, Max!"

GFT, Amazon Reviewer

Great Race DVD -It's about time!!!
I have been waiting for this movie to come out on DVD. I've even written to Blake Edwards asking, "What is the hold up?"
Get ready, citizens of Boracho! Finally it's coming out!
Every time I saw Jack Lemmon in interviews I was always curious and disappointed that 'The Great Race' was never mentioned among his favorite films. Of course he made many other wonderful classic movies and I enjoyed his performance in all of them...but 'The Great Race' has been my favorite comedy for a long time. I practically can recite it along with the characters. I enjoyed some of the other reviewer's (here) favorite lines from the movie. They are my favorites too.
If you haven't seen this movie or if you haven't seen it in a long time...do yourself a favor and grab it. The laughs never stop. The casting is perfect...Tony Curtis with Keenan Wynn as his sidekick...Jack Lemmon with Peter Falk as his...Natalie Wood...Ross Martin...Vivian Vance...Larry Storch ("Now will you give me some fightin' room?!")...and many others. It doesn't get any better or funnier than this.
Hurray for the DVD. Believe me, you'll enjoy it.

A Big Ole Moose Butt
A classically structured old time villian vs the good guy film, with the obligatory sidekicks and the beautiful love interest, who will eventually succumb to the charms of The hero. More about that later. OK, the stereotypes are there, but that's what the movie was about. Charging from the gate with the player piano, boos and hiss when the cast boards are shown, the movie brings the viewer up to speed very fast with humor and great slapstick. Following a PR auto race in the early days of the 20th century, the film follows the main characters through the landscape of the US and Europe. Sight gags abound and the scenery is often breathtaking. The plot is easy to floow and it's good fun. For the movie fan who doesn't want to disect a movies' every nuance, this is especially fun and worth seeing time and again. The characters will keep you laughing long after the soundtrack has ended,. I would comment more on the plot, but nearly 100 people already handled that - look, just take a chance on it. It's great fun.

A lot of fun, but not what it should have been.
Epics were in vogue in the Sixties, and even the early Seventies(although I can't really see a hippie watching any of them), and it was only natural that comedies would get the "big" bug. IT'S A MAD, MAD, MAD, MAD WORLD and THE HALLELUJAH TRAIL make up two of the big three. The other is THE GREAT RACE, Blake Edward's 159 minute slapstick excursion, restored on DVD in complete roadshow fashion, with overture, intermission, entr'acte, and exit music. And yet, for a film of this type, it is less about the race than about the rivalry between Professor Fate (Jack Lemmon) and the Great Leslie (Tony Curtis). There is precious little racing, and though the film is far from boring and has much going for it (the finale to Part One is brilliant) one can't help but wonder what it would have been like if the other entries in the race regrouped after being snuffed out and made their mad dashes for the forefront. That would make it THE GREAT RACE. Also, the lack of other challenge leaves a depressing side effect; the film seems mildly unfinished and undernourished, like 2 hours and 40 minutes of a 3 plus hour movie. And yet, the film has so much going for it that to ignore it is rather unfair. What there is (I should note that due to the previously noted flaws, the chapters on the disc make it a more pleasing experience) is very well made, and one can appreciate what they put into it.

If only they put more.

Jamie Teller

DVD version is fullscreen not widescreen
The movie is spectacular. This DVD version is a bomb. Shame on Warner Brothers for their greediness and lack of effort to bring widescreen versions to the masses including updated soundtracks and clean film reels! ... Read more

Amazon.com essential video

Cary Grant stars as an advertising executive who dreams of getting out of the city and building a perfect home in the country, only to find the transition fraught with problems. (See the 1980s Tom Hanks comedy The Money Pit for an updated version of the same idea.) The big appeal here are the two leads, Grant and Myrna Loy, who were each in their early 40s and at the peak of their careers. Together with solid support from Melvyn Douglas and a screenplay that might have been tailor-made for their polished brand of comedy, the stars dominate this simple project. --Tom Keogh ... Read more

Reviews (51)

Very funny...
Often imitated but never quite surpassed, Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House is a classic comedy about a topic still as current now as it was in the 1940s. Silly but very funny, this movie is really great - featuring the ever hilarious Cary Grant, and Myrna Loy.

Essentially, Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House is about a family that decides to move to the country and get away from the overcrowding in the apartment. Instead of making life easier, however, their decision to move causes disaster after disaster. This movie is a hilarious example of how whatever can go wrong will!

Although the topic could have easily degenerated into stupidity, the script, the directing and, most of all, the cast, turn the movie into a classic. The script is witty and very funny, and it is directed with style - but mainly, Cary Grant is terrific! His double takes and reactions will never be equalled...any scene that he is in in pretty much guaranteed to be hysterical. Myrna Loy does a good job of cooling balancing Grant's screwball character, and the supporting cast is good as well.

Anyhow, this is a funny movie for the whole family - it is highly recommended!

Been There, Done That
Cary Grant and Myrna Loy have a very comfortable chemistry together in this comedy about a couple that decides to get out of their cramped city apartment and move out into the country. Through stubborness and sheer ignorance, they end up making a number of expensive errors as they attempt to build their dream house. The story is narrated by their friend and lawyer Bill, well played by Melvyn Douglas, a cynical man who learns it's easier to just let them make their mistakes. Grant is the perfect actor to express the exasperation of the whole process. The man had amazing comedic timing, deceptively making it look easy. The script hits all of the potential problems with building, and the film is smoothly produced. This is the kind of comedy that will appeal to most people, because almost everyone has had the opportunity to experience the joy that is remodelling, landscaping, decorating, or building. There's something in here for everyone to appreciate.

Great movie but...
We were very anxious to get this classic CG movie. but the movie was in black and white. not color as advertized.

The original is the best
"The Money Pit" was based on this movie, but Cary Grant, Myrna Loy and Melvyn Douglas cannot be replaced, even by the talented Tom Hanks.This movie is a classic that is the equal to all the great romantic comedies of our day, including "Sleepless in Seattle", and "You've Got Mail".This movie was made just after the 2nd world war, millions were chasing the American dream of a new home, the baby boomers were on the way, and many must have been inspired by this movie to go after that dream with your heart and not your head.

Grant + Loy = Cinema Magic !
What a wonderful DVD to add to your classic comedy collection ! "Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House" ( "Mr. Blandings" ) was a very timely comedy in the late 1940s, when many young couples were looking to buy a home. When you buy that first house--be it new or "previously enjoyed"--it's amazing sometimes how many unforeseen problems can arise that result in more and more bills ! I'm sure that, even today, many of us can identify with the hurdles faced by the couple in "Mr. Blandings".

Cary Grant stars as advertising whiz, Jim Blandings. He lives in a cramped New York apartment with his wife ( marvellous Myrna Loy ),two young daughters, and live-in maid ( Louise Beavers ). Tired of battling for time in the bathroom, closet space, privacy etc., he decides to look into acquiring a house, preferably out in the country, away from the Manhattan rat race.
He and his wife are shown an old house in the beautiful Connecticut countryside--and--definitely throwing caution to the wind--and--without consulting his best friend/lawyer ( a droll, sardonic Melvyn Douglas )--they buy the place. It would be unfair to reveal more of the plot--let's just say that the house can be described as a "fixer-upper" !

This is a perfect role for Cary Grant--he is, as ever, suave, charming and funny, as well as embarrassed, befuddled and frustrated when facing one problem after another. His reactions, double-takes and expressions of incredulity are priceless. As Mrs. Blandings, Myrna Loy again proves that she is one of the great leading ladies of film--witty, sophisticated, smart and beautiful--her character is a full partner to her husband, rather than just a "rose in his lapel". By all accounts, Ms. Loy would not have had it any other way.
Melvyn Douglas also registers as the Blandings' lawyer, who--just to spice things up even more--was one of Mrs. Blandings old beaux from her college days. Supporting players are all fine, including "B" movie stalwart, Nestor Paiva, and--soon to be the screen's next Tarzan--Lex Barker.

The DVD exhibits a clear B & W image. Extras include quite a few trailers for other Cary Grant films, two radio shows with Cary, and a delightful, colour Tex Avery cartoon, "House of Tomorrow".

So--take a witty script--sharp direction--add Cary Grant, Myrna Loy and Melvyn Douglas--and you have a real winner. Highly recommended ! ... Read more

Amazon.com

Now and forever a favorite among kids, this 1990 comedy written by John Hughes (The Breakfast Club) and directed by Chris Columbus (Mrs. Doubtfire) ushered Macaulay Culkin onto the screen as a troubled 8-year-old who doesn't comfortably mesh with his large family. He's forced to grow a little after being accidentally left behind when his folks and siblings fly off to Paris. A good-looking boy, Culkin lights up the screen during several funny sequences, the most famous of which finds him screaming for joy when he realizes he's unsupervised in his own house. A bit wooden with dialogue, the then-little star's voice could grate on the nerves (especially in long, wise-child passages of pure bromide), but he unquestionably carries the film. Billie Bird and John Candy show up as two of the interesting strangers Culkin's character meets. Joe Pesci and Daniel Stern are entertainingly cartoonish as thieves, but the ensuing violence once the little hero decides to keep them out of his house is over-the-top. --Tom Keogh ... Read more

Reviews (111)

A Holiday Classic...
In 1990, another Christmas movie classic was made. This movie, "Home Alone" is a holiday classic that you can't find anywhere else. The cast is great, the scenes are hilarious, and it's wonderful family movie. Macaulay Culkin starts his fame as the family icon for parents and thier children.

The movie starts out in Chicago, IL at the McCillister house. Here we meet Kevin's family that is running all over the house preparing for their Christmas trip to Paris. Also in the house scoping out the place is Harry (Joe Pesci), a crook posed a cop that is planning on robbing the house after they leave. Now here is where the problems start. When the whole family is eating pizza for dinner, Kevin (Culkin) is looking around for his plain cheese pizza because that's all he eats. So his older brother Buzz (Devin Ratray) eats it on purpose. Then Kevin attacks him and the place becomes a mess and soda is spilled and the passports are soaked, etc. Kevin's mother Kate (Caterine O'Hara) sends him to his room. In Kevin's state of anger he says to his mother that he doesn't want to see his family again. Now while in bed Kevin says, "I wish they would all dissapear." During the night the power goes out and the alarm clocks goes out. The next moring they are rushing left and right to get to the airport. Here's the problem: THEY FORGOT KEVIN!

Now kevin wakes up an sees nobody is home. He actually thinks that his wish came true. Now at first Kevin loves this. He jumps on the bed, shoots his brother Buzz's BB gun, takes his brother's life savings, and eats all the junk food in the world and watches "R" rated films. While the family is on the plane, Kevin's mother gets the feeling they forgot something. Kevin's father Peter (John Heard) asks her, "What could we have forgotten?" Then Kate screams: KEVIN! Now while Kevin still is having fun back at home, the family is in Paris trying to get a flight back home. and calling the police, etc.

One day, Kevin goes out shopping and spots a misterious van in the neighbor's driveway. It's the crooks. Marv (Daniel Stern) and Harry (Pesci), The Wet Bandits. Now after Kevin actually goes out shopping to get food and milk, he notices the guys in the van. Now he realizes they are after his house. Sorry Christmas Eve night he plans his battle against the crooks.

The gadgets and the tricks he pulls on the crooks are undoubtably hilarious. First, when the crooks starts talking to Kevin through the back door pretending to be Santa Claus and an Elf, Kevin takes his borther's BB gun and sticks it through the cathole and shoots Harry is the lower region. Then Marv sticks his heasd through the cathole and he gets shot in the head. Now there is ice on all the stairways, the front door knob is burning hot and when Hary touches the knob, the knob's inprinted "M" is impronted into Harry's hand. Lol! Then in the basement there is tar paper on the stairs and eventually there is a nail sticking up which Marv steps on with his bare foot. See what other tricks Kevin has got up his sleeve.

This movie, "Home Alone" is the perfect holiday movie that the entire family can enjoy. It's another Christmas classic. One thing this movie does for me is it gets me into the holiday spirit. In the beginning when Kevin said he didn't want to see his family again, throughout the movie, you realize how important family is, especially around the holidays. Buy this movie for you and your kids and you will love it as much as I do. Merry Christmas! Ho, Ho, Ho!

A Christmas Favorite
Home Alone has always been one of my favorite Christmas movies, It's funny and entertaining!

The movie is about a boy named Kevin McCallister[Macaulay Culkin] who accidently gets left behind in his home in Chicago when his family goes off on a trip to France. While Kevin is at home, two burglars are trying to break in. The burglars are played by Joe Pesci and Daniel Stern. One of the burglars was at the house at the beginning, pretending to be a policeman, to check out the house. After Kevin finds out, he sets up a set of booby traps on the night they arrive. Meanwhile, Kevin's mom[Catherine O'Hara] wan'ts to get home as quickly as she can when she finds out that Kevin was left behind. So, instead of going on a plane she travels back to Chicago on a truck with a group of musicians and their polka king of the midwest[John Candy] when they offer to take her home. After the burglars get arrested with one of Kevin's plans, Kevin's mom arrives home with the rest of the family including his dad[John Heard] and they all feel so grateful to see him.

This is a movie your whole family will enjoy!!!

Home Alone
This is a great family film. You will laugh and laugh when you see keven (macaulay culkin) jumping for joy that his family is not at his house, but when robbers try to brake in the house he starts to see that he really wants his family. This will make the kids laugh seeing growns up laughing. This truely is a great movie!

Great Maculay Culkin
I own 1,2,and 3! I don't own 4. I don't like it!

My favorite holiday movie of all time (Or for any other day)
I am EXTREMELY happy that this movie finally made it to DVD because this is one of the most exciting and nicest holiday and family movies ever made. Everything from beginning to the end reminds me of the Back to the Future movies - when I watch that movie, I always notice something interesting, familiar, funny, or exciting when I see those movies and Home Alone. Many people may not like this DVD release because of inferior picture and sound quality and lack of bonus features - I THINK THIS DVD IS GREAT! Of course, the only bonus features on this DVD are the trailers to the Home Alone trilogy, and the sound is only stereo, but still, that's great because I LOVE THIS MOVIE! You know, because I love the funny parts - including the fake movie Kevin watches and uses to scare off the pizza guy and the villians (I always wanted to try that!) The fake movie, in case you didn't know, is translated into foreign languages as well! Speaking of which, this DVD comes in English, French, and Spanish audio and English subtitles. I've seen this DVD in English sound with closed-captioning from the TV, and on the computer in Spanish sound with English subtitles (still remains Kevin's infamous scream)! Yeah, I'm glad Fox has a Spanish option for this disc because I'm currently finishing up my Spanish class at my prep school and from time to time, I watch DVDs in Spanish (if available; otherwise it's French for the Canadian viewers!) You know, this week or next week, I'm bringing this DVD into Spanish class for my teacher to show. EVERYONE WOULD LAUGH!

This is a sweet movie. The DVD may not be the best, but it's still a great buy! Enjoy!

sethn172 ... Read more

Amazon.com

Unlike the fly in the 1958 horror classic, they never really explainwhat happens to the neighbor's sheepdog when young Wilby Daniels trades places with it. The dog just vanishes, or is subsumed or assumed or something, leaving Wilby (Tommy Kirk) to explain to his dog-hating, allergic, mailman father (Fred MacMurray) that he's turned into a canine.The Shaggy Dog seems like the first instance of Disney packaging, as most of the principals were either Mouseketeers or had been in the short Disney segmentSpin and Marty or a previous Disney film. As successful as The Absent Minded Professor for humor, Dog follows Wilby and a rival as they vie for the hand of the new French girl in school, and the girlnext door (Annette Funicello). The exchanges with Wilby's younger brother, Moochie (Kevin Corcoran), who always wanted a family dog, are alone worth the price ofthe tape. Indeed the most successful element of this overall endearing film is the re-pairing of the two actors as brothers (they had done so before in 1957's Old Yeller). This is family fare that's diverting without pandering, a feat that the later Disney regime would have a difficult time re-creating. --Keith Simanton ... Read more

Reviews (5)

Sweet, nostalgic Fun
This movie may seem a pretty dated to today's kids and teens, but adults will enjoy this family film about a boy (Tommy Kirk) who can shape-shift into a big, shaggy dog. The wonderful Fred MacMurray plays his allergic-to-dogs father.It is funny and innocent, set in a more carefree time. I highly recommend this movie. 5 Stars!

Hot diggetty Dog!
I hadn't seen this black and white Disney classic since I was knee-high to a sheepdog! It's a fun reunion with old friends and an enjoyable treat for the whole family. Fred MacMurray is a mail man. He hates dogs. His older son, Wilby (Tommy Kirk) is a geeky teenager. Younger son Moochie, (Kevin Corcoran) wants a dog. Annette Funicello (after the Mickey Mouse Club but before the Beach) is the girl next door whose hold on Wilby and his friend Buzz (later to be the eldest of MacMurray's Four - there were 3, and then he left and Ernie - Chip's real-life brother- came and there were still Three - TV Sons ) is threatened by an exotic new girl on the block, Francesca. Francesca has a very large Bratislavian (Shaggy) Sheepdog and a father with lots of unsavory friends and associates, including Struther Martin who will later have a "failure to communicate" with Paul Newman in "Cool Hand Luke."

It is 1959. It is the height of the Cold War with the USSR and its Eastern Bloc. Wilby has stumbled (literally) into possession of an accursed ring of Lucretia Borgia's - which, at unpredictable times and places "shape shifts" him into the Shag