Dangerous Attraction

Starring:Linden Ashby, Rae Dawn Chong, Andrea Roth, Ian Tracey, Aaron Pearl, Ian Marsh, Paul McGillion, Marya Delver, Deryl Hayes, Nels Lennarson, Amy Esterle, Dan Joffre, Judith Maxie, Michael P. Northey, Sheila Paterson, Paul Wu, Ryan Young, Denisa Ronzani
Director: Penelope Buitenhuis
Studio: Ventura Distribution
Product Type: DVD

The Last King of Scotland (Widescreen Edition)

Average customer rating:

Great Movie.
Even as fiction, very scary...
More relevant than ever!
We know you liked the film, but what about the Special Features?
Part Historical Biography With Some Fiction Added In.....

The Last King of Scotland (Widescreen Edition)
Starring: Forest Whitaker , James McAvoy , Kerry Washington , Gillian Anderson , and Simon McBurney
Director: Kevin Macdonald
Manufacturer: 20th Century Fox
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Drama | Genres | DVD | Video

DVDs Under $7.49 | Today's Deals in DVD | Special Features | DVD | Video

( L ) | Titles | Features | DVD | Video
Similar Items:

The Queen
Blood Diamond (Two-Disc Special Edition)
The Good Shepherd (Widescreen Edition)
The Departed (Two-Disc Special Edition)
Babel

ASIN: B000NIVJF4
Release Date: 2007-04-17

Amazon.com

As the evil Ugandan dictator Idi Amin, Forest Whitaker gives an unforgettable performance in The Last King of Scotland. Powerfully illustrating the terrible truth that absolute power corrupts absolutely, this fictionalized chronicle of Amin's rise and fall is based on the acclaimed novel by Giles Foden, in which Amin's despotic reign of terror is viewed through the eyes of Nicholas Garrigan (James McAvoy), a Scottish doctor who arrives in Uganda in the early 1970s to serve as Amin's personal physician. His outsider's perspective causes him to be initially impressed by Amin's calculated rise to power, but as the story progresses--and as Whitaker's award-worthy performance grows increasingly monstrous--The Last King of Scotland turns into a pointed examination of how independent Uganda (a British colony until 1962) became a breeding ground for Amin's genocidal tyranny. As Whitaker plays him, Amin is both seductive and horribly destructive--sometimes in the same breath--and McAvoy effectively conveys the tragic cost of his character's naiveté, which grows increasingly prone to exploitation. As directed by Kevin Macdonald (who made the riveting semi-documentary Into the Void), this potent cautionary tale my prompt some viewers to check out Barbet Schroeder's equally revealing documentary General Idi Amin Dada, an essential source for much of this film's authentic detail. --Jeff Shannon

Beyond The Last King of Scotland

More from Forest Whitaker
General Idi Amin Dada
The Last King of Scotland (Paperback)

Stills from The Last King of Scotland

Description

As Ugandan dictator Idi Amin, Forest Whitaker gives "one of the greatest performances of modern movie history" (Wall Street Journal), one that the Associated Press calls "nothing short of Oscar(r) worthy." This is Amin's incredible story as seen through the eyes of Nicholas Garrigan (James McAvoy), a young Scotsman who becomes the volatile leader's personal physician, due in part to Amin's unexpected passion for Scottish culture -- Amin even proclaims himself "The Last King of Scotland". Seduced by Amin's charisma and blinded by decadence, Garrigan's dream life becomes a waking nightmare of betrayal and madness from which there is no escape. Inspired by real people and events, this gripping, suspenseful stunner is filled with performances you will never forget.

Customer Reviews:

Great Movie........2007-07-03

This movie is very moving. To think that stuff like that actually is still happening all over the world is crazy. Worth watching for sure. Forest Whitaker was excellent.

Even as fiction, very scary..........2007-07-03

This is said to be fiction, but the subject of that fiction is as frightening as anything you may ever see. Idi Amin certainly had charm, charisma, and all the things I've learned to avoid in people as I've gotten older. It's never what it seems... James McAvoy is really the lead, and it's his observations that create the center of this fine film. Forrest Whitaker justifiably won many awards for his powerful, insightful portrayal, though he really wasn't the lead character. Known for generally sweet-natured performances, Mr. Whitaker has a repertoire that is most respected. This display of total control and command of the character is frightening and complete, a tour de force. Anyone remember his magnificent performance as Charlie Parker in Eastwood's "Bird"? Though he wasn't the main character, this man created memorable moments (not unlike other Oscar winners with limited screen time, like Anthony Hopkins in "Lambs" or Geoffrey Rush in "Shine"). James McAvoy was given a bad rap by many, but I thought he was terrific. Kerry Washington, too was excellent, and te direction & editing were to the utmost power of the simple story being told.DVD extras are insightful, and Mr. Whitaker's humble approach to the frighteningly powerful role is well examined. The atrocities committed by Idi Amin are only history now, and the idea that such people still exist cannot be ignored. Even as fiction, this depiction of a power hungry maniac can't be discounted by a caring world public.

More relevant than ever!.......2007-07-01

The Last King of Scotland sheds light on one of the most well known African dictators, General Idi Amin Dada of Uganda, who ruled from 1971 to 1979.
A Scot doctor arrives in Africa upon graduating from University in order to distance himself from his overprotective family as well as get a feel of adventure. In Uganda he witnesses the military coup d'etat that brings Idi Amin to power. Upon stumbling across the new leader by chance he renders his medical services and before he knows it he becomes the Ugandan leader's personal physician. His problems, however, have just started...
James McAvoy, Forest Whitaker, Gillian Anderson (who looks great after losing weight and going blonde), and the rest of the cast carry out their respective roles very well.
More relevant than ever, the movie does a great job as an eye-opener to one of the most brutal leaders the Dark Continent has seen in the twentieth century. The film provides the necessary background as well as an accurate description of political and social conditions therein. British involvement is briefly touched upon, but nevertheless provides for some important insight.
Moreover, it could have been and it should have been much more graphic in showing what really took place in Uganda's "killing fields."
Hopefully more will be done to stop the ongoing genocide in the Darfur region of Western Sudan and we will not have to wait for another movie to come out after it's all over before people become aware and do that which is humane.
Similarly to movies like The Lord of War, Hotel Rwanda, and Blood Diamond to name a few, The Last King of Scotland draws attention to some very important issues facing Africa.

We know you liked the film, but what about the Special Features?.......2007-06-30

DVD Bonus Materials
* Seven Deleted Scenes, With Optional Audio Commentary By Director Kevin MacDonald
* Capturing Idi Amin Documentary
* Forest Whitaker: Idi Amin Featurette
* Fox Movie Channel Presents: Casting Session - The Last King Of Scotland
* Theatrical Trailer

Viewing The Last King of Scotland's Special Features section is a lot like stopping off for dessert at a fast-food restaurant after dining on a sumptuous five-course meal. In striking comparison to the feature film's nail-biting tension and riveting drama is "Seven Deleted Scenes," a special feature that is about as exciting as a bowl of boiled rice, and a nonessential theatrical trailer that should be fast forwarded. On the positive side, "Casting Session--The Last King of Scotland" is worth viewing if a behind-the-scenes peek at pre-production casting dilemmas is of interest. Fans of Forest Whitaker (and who isn't?) will appreciate the "Forest Whitaker: Idi Amin Featurette," which highlights the artistic challenges presented by Whitaker's demanding leading role. In it, the actor discusses the methodology behind his brilliant, Oscar-winning performance.

"Capturing Idi Amin" is a first-rate source of information for viewers desiring a crash course on Amin's life and Ugandan politics. The mini-documentary features insightful interviews with key people in Amin's life, interspersed with authentic film footage of Amin. Viewers can compare and contrast this nonfiction depiction of events and supporting characters with Director Kevin MacDonald's cinematic interpretation of Giles Foden's fictional thriller, on which The Last King of Scotland's screenplay is based. Foden's altered reality is mesmerizing, but reality is darned interesting too.

Part Historical Biography With Some Fiction Added In............2007-06-27

Forest Whitaker gives the best performance ever! I thought he did a great job of bringing the violent, former Ugandan dictator, Idi Amin to life on the silver screen.

Throughout the movie, I thought the character of Dr. Nicholas Garrigan was completely naive and bogus, but a REAL PERSON..... so, I kept wondering how could someone of his stature and educational level be so naive about Idi Amin's violent character for so long when he had such close personal contact with him?

Then at the end of the movie when I was watching the special features I discovered that Dr. Nicholas Garrigan wasn't even a part of Idi Amin's inner circle and that he was a fictionalized character! No wonder Dr. Nicholas Garrigan felt completely off the entire movie, he didn't exist in real life!

Had the unbelievable character of Dr. Nicholas Garrigan not been in the movie I would have given this movie a higher rating.

Average customer rating:

"You're nothing but waste and disappointment!"
pitiful
Typical
Great fun!
Highly Recommend, Good, Solid Movie.

Notes on a Scandal
Starring: Judi Dench , Cate Blanchett , Tom Georgeson , Michael Maloney , and Joanna Scanlan
Director: Richard Eyre
Manufacturer: 20th Century Fox
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Drama | Genres | DVD | Video

DVDs Under $7.49 | Today's Deals in DVD | Special Features | DVD | Video

( N ) | Titles | Features | DVD | Video
Similar Items:

The Queen
The Last King of Scotland (Widescreen Edition)
The Good Shepherd (Widescreen Edition)
Little Children
Babel

ASIN: B000NIVJFY
Release Date: 2007-04-17

Amazon.com

Gold stars to all for this taut psychological thriller based on Zoe Heller's novel that that gets more insidiously twisted as it unfolds. Oscar-nominated for her chilling performance, Dame Judi Dench gives a master class as schoolteacher Barbara Covett, a frumpy, friendless, and flinty spinster who lives with her cat. A formidable presence, Barbara is standoffish with colleagues and not one for students to trifle with (not that they'd dare). Cate Blanchett, also an Oscar nominee and winner of several critics society awards for her impassioned performance, costars as Sheba Hart, the new, overwhelmed art teacher who first becomes enthrall to Barbara after she steps in to help Sheba discipline unruly students. Barbara cultivates a friendship, and insinuates herself into Sheba's chaotic life, which includes her older husband (Bill Nighy), teenage daughter, and a son with Down's syndrome. Then, Barbara catches the reckless Sheba in a compromising position with a 15-year-old student (Andrew Simpson). Seizing her opportunity, the calculating Barbara does not turn her in. Rather, she wants to "help" her. "She's the one I've been waiting for," she writes in the journals she meticulously keeps, and which provide, in voiceover, her corrosive commentary. This all sounds very Fatal Attraction, but no boiling rabbits, please; we're British. Philip Glass's Oscar-nominated score accentuates the growing menace. Though there is little in these characters to admire, (one would think GLAAD would have something to say about the predatory turn Barbara's character takes), Notes on a Scandal is a compelling tour-de-force for its Grade-A cast. --Donald Liebenson

Notes on a Scandal Extras

Cate Blanchett and Judi Dench on their characters in the film

Beyond Notes on a Scandal

Book to Movie Adaptations
More Cate Blanchett Films
What Was She Thinking? Notes on a Scandal: A Novel

Stills from Notes on a Scandal

Description

Academy Award(r) winners Judi Dench and Cate Blanchett give wickedly entertaining, Oscar-nominated performances * ? one as a woman consumed by her colleague's guilty secret, the other, a victim to her own dark obsessions ? in this sexy, stylish thriller. Dench mesmerizes as Barbara Covett, a teacher who rules over her classroom with an iron fist, yet leads a desperate, solitary life outside it. That is, until she meets radiant new art teacher Sheba Hart (Blanchett). Although at first overjoyed with her newfound kindred spirit, when Barbara discovers that Sheba is having an affair with a teenage student, her jealously and rage spiral out of control.

Customer Reviews:

"You're nothing but waste and disappointment!".......2007-07-03

Cate Blanchett delivers another great performance as a lust-crazed, almost-40 teacher looking for illicit, illegal love in the arms of a 15 yo student. I found the film quite fascinating and very disturbing. The director uses Judi Dench's and Cate's acting brilliance to create a raw intensity that comes from watching adults at their most debased. The magnetism that draws the creepy spinster Dench into an obsessive adulation of Cate's character is true even for the viewer. Blanchett is so beautiful and full of live that the audience can't help but like her. This affection makes her fall from grace all the more shocking. The film was clearly inspired by recent events in America, and the director created a really fine film from such sordid material. Any true fan of Cate Blanchett must see this film!

pitiful.......2007-07-01

An extremely disturbing movie with no clear moral or even comic relief. I can't remember a single character who exhibited good judgement or self-control. Of course with moral relativity in vogue, the suggestion that one should exercise self-restraint or that there even is good and bad is old-fashioned and bigoted.

But if you want to see graphic scenes of Cate Blanchett having sex with a smallish 15 year old boy or an elderly lady lusting after Cate, then this is your movie.

Typical.......2007-06-29

Once again, modern cinema cannot resist the urge to set up and then tear down symbols of moral authority, which this film gleefully does by making a pinata out of Judi Dench's character. Behind every judgmental facade, preaches the movie, lies a twisted and lonely soul who lacks the courage to indulge her passions in the way that Cate Blanchett's character does (and whose atrocious behavior is ultimately portrayed as less culpable than Dench's). Sorry, but no matter how well acted this film was, it's the same old slashing and burning of any remaining pockets of piety.

Great fun!.......2007-06-18

After an uncomfortable hour of Middle Class coffee table navel gazing I decided "Scandal" was best treated as a comedy. A southern gothic like "Whatever Happened To Baby Jane" transposed to Blighty.

A hoot!

Highly Recommend, Good, Solid Movie........2007-06-17

This is my favorite movie with Cate Blanchett of all time. She plays the character of a wife and mother of 2, and now a school teacher. The turmoil she creates in her life seems like it is done because she is simply bored, and wants some adventure. She is beautiful, captivating, and sexy.

She becomes friendly with the character Barbara, played by Judy Dench, who is a fellow school teacher. She becomes entranced with Cate. As the movie progresses, she wants more and more of her attention, and the intimate secret they share becomes more and more convoluted.

Judy Dench is wonderful, she is eerie yet something about her character feels so familiar and close to home.

Highly recommend as a good, solid movie.

The Dreamers (Original Uncut NC-17 Version)

Average customer rating:

THE DREAMERS
perfect quality and cheap, too
Adequate productions, etc.
Great Movie!
House of 'Yes' in the War Zone or The First Tango in Paris

The Dreamers (Original Uncut NC-17 Version)
Starring: Michael Pitt (II) , Eva Green , Louis Garrel , Anna Chancellor , and Robin Renucci
Director: Bernardo Bertolucci
Manufacturer: 20th Century Fox
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Drama | Genres | DVD | Video

Period Piece | Drama | Genres | DVD | Video

4-for-3 Art House & International | 4-for-3 DVD | Stores | DVD | Video

4-for-3 Drama | 4-for-3 DVD | Stores | DVD | Video

4-for-3 All DVDs | 4-for-3 DVD | Stores | DVD | Video

DVDs Under $7.49 | Today's Deals in DVD | Special Features | DVD | Video

( D ) | Titles | Features | DVD | Video
Similar Items:

9 songs - Unrated Full Uncut Version
Intimacy (Unrated, Widescreen Edition)
Swimming Pool (Unrated Version)
Romance
Havoc (Unrated Version)

ASIN: B00023P4I8
Release Date: 2004-07-13

Amazon.com

A love letter to movies (and the French new wave of the 1960s in particular), Bernardo Bertolucci's The Dreamers starts with a 1968 riot outside of a Parisian movie palace then burrows into an insular love triangle. Matthew (Michael Pitt, Hedwig and the Angry Inch), an expatriate American student, bonds with a twin brother and sister, Isabelle (Eva Green) and Theo (Louis Garrel), over their mutual love of film--they not only quote lines of dialogue, they act out small bits and challenge each other to name the cinematic source. Matthew suspects the twins of incest, but that doesn't stop him from falling into his own intimacies with Isabelle. As the threesome becomes threatened, Paris succumbs to student riots. The Dreamers aspires to be kinky, but the results are more decorative than decadent; nonetheless, the movie's lively energy recalls the careless and vital exuberance of Godard and Truffaut. --Bret Fetzer

Description

From Academy Award®-winning director Bernardo Bertolucci (The Last Emperor, 1987), comes an erotic tale of three young film lovers brought together by their passion for movies -- and each other. When Isabelle and Theo (Eva Green, Louis Garrel) invite Matthew (Michael Pitt) to stay with them, what begins as a casual friendship ripens into a sensual voyage of discovery and desire in which nothing is off limits and anything is possible. Featuring an engaging, seductive cast, The Dreamers is a ?spellbinding, provocative feast!" (Ebert & Roeper)

Customer Reviews:

THE DREAMERS.......2007-07-01

Its tempting to try selling this film as the debut performance by the newest Bond girl Eva Green.

As an alternate, see my review, as well as this Amazon review by Bret Fetzer below mine.

Many would attempt judging this film as kinky with a sprinkling of frontal nudity and a menage a' trois scene thrown in (the NC-17) version. However, this Bernardo Bertolucci film would rather like to remembered as a love letter to the movies and to the average Parisian's intense love for good films. Using a backdrop of the 1968 student riots brought about by the firing of the director at the Cinematheque Francais - a temple for students and afficionados of art films, the story weaves into it the coming-of-age story of a bother-sister par and a young exchange student from America living together duing the heady days, and their evolving relationship.
-------------------------------
"A love letter to movies (and the French new wave of the 1960s in particular), Bernardo Bertolucci's The Dreamers starts with a 1968 riot outside of a Parisian movie palace then burrows into an insular love triangle. Matthew (Michael Pitt, Hedwig and the Angry Inch), an expatriate American student, bonds with a twin brother and sister, Isabelle (Eva Green) and Theo (Louis Garrel), over their mutual love of film--they not only quote lines of dialogue, they act out small bits and challenge each other to name the cinematic source. Matthew suspects the twins of incest, but that doesn't stop him from falling into his own intimacies with Isabelle. As the threesome becomes threatened, Paris succumbs to student riots. The Dreamers aspires to be kinky, but the results are more decorative than decadent; nonetheless, the movie's lively energy recalls the careless and vital exuberance of Godard and Truffaut". --Bret Fetzer
--------------------------------

perfect quality and cheap, too.......2007-05-13

For $5, a great film at an even better price...

Adequate productions, etc........2007-05-07

This was an ok flick...........always good to see up and coming artists and these were fine......Eva Green should definitely do more of these types........very sexy.....sequel might do better.........

Great Movie!.......2007-05-07

If you haven't seen it you should, if you have then you're already here to buy it.

Some of the finest modern film making, subtle, sensual, insightful.

Not a fan of the last 4 minutes though.. other than that better than great till that point.

House of 'Yes' in the War Zone or The First Tango in Paris.......2007-04-26

When Bernardo Bertolucci makes a new film, I want to see it. I know it will be visually beautiful, deep and meaningful. Even when he is not completely successful - his films are difficult to forget. It applies to "The Dreamers" (2003)

In this film, Bertolucci returns to Paris of 1968. His First Tango is as shocking as Last one - it received NC-17 rating for very open scenes of nudity, masturbation, sex, and the hints to incest. But it is not just about sex - it is about film itself. It was the time when Pauline Kael said, "Bertolucci and Brando have altered the face of an art form". It was the time when a crowd in Chicago would line up under umbrellas on the sidewalk, waiting in the rain to get into the next screening of Godard's "Weekend." It was the time when movie makers became the Artists. It was the time when closing down of the famous Cinematheque Francais in Paris by the government started the student culture riots which became the part of youthful rebellion all over the Western World.

Young American, Mathew, a devoted movie buff (Michael Pitt who by the opinion of several reviewers looks like cross between Leo DiCaprio and Macaulay Culkin. I found him looking more like young Roger Ebert would've. ) becomes friends with two French students and fellow movie lovers, twins Isabella (Eva Green, in a star making debut) and Theo (Louis Garrel) and accepts their invitation to stay with them at their apartment while their intellectual parents are away for vacation.

All three are big fans of movies - they not only talk about movies, they live their favorite scenes. "The Dreamers" is Bertolucci's love letter to cinema, and his irony toward people taking it so seriously that the real world is ignored.

When Matthew moves in with the twins, the result closely resembles "Last Tango in Paris". Much of the film's second half occurs in that apartment, as insular as Marlon Brando and Maria Schneider's more than thirty years ago. Flirting becomes passion becomes dark and dangerous games to see how far someone will go. The difference is that the kids of "The Dreamers" are not as complicated and interesting as Paul or Jeanne (especially Paul, one of the greatest performances by genius Brando).

With this wistful ode to sex, cinema, and the heated atmosphere of the '60s, Bertolucci has proved that he is still on the top of his game. I will be happily waiting for his next film.

Average customer rating:

A classic film by Ms. Ross!!!
Good but not Great
DIANA ROSS RADIATES SUPERSTAR GLAMOUR IN A FUN FILM!!
Excellent
Miss Diana Ross

Mahogany
Starring: Diana Ross , Anthony Perkins , and Foch
Manufacturer: Paramount
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Drama | Genres | DVD | Video

DVDs Under $9.99 | Today's Deals in DVD | Special Features | DVD | Video
Similar Items:

Sparkle
Dreamgirls (Two-Disc Showstopper Edition)
Claudine (1974)
Reflections: The Definitive Performances 1964-1969
The Wiz

ASIN: B000B5XOSY
Release Date: 2007-05-01

Amazon.com

One simple question, people: Do you know where you're goin' to? And furthermore, Do you like the things that life is showin' you? These questions are posed in the unavoidable theme song (a huge Seventies hit) from Mahogany, a splashy, diva-sized vehicle for Diana Ross. Miss Ross was hot off her unexpected and critically approved starring role in Lady Sings the Blues when she embarked on this musical, a rags-to-riches saga of a Chicago girl who dreams of being a fashion designer but becomes a supermodel instead. Original director Tony Richardson was replaced behind the camera by Motown founder and puppetmaster supreme Berry Gordy, who knew something about turning Ross into an idealized vision of femininity (for more on their relationship, check out the fictionalized version in Dreamgirls).

Ross looks a little overwhelmed by the plot machinations, which take her from the orbit of a regular-guy activist (Billy Dee Williams) into the glam world of European fashion--the latter courtesy of a cranky, unstable photographer played by Anthony Perkins. Perkins is sky-high fun in this thing, as though he suspected the movie was in trouble and decided to let the tics and nerviness fly. These days Mahogany is treasured either as a fond childhood memory or as a ripe camp-fest, and that's probably about where it belongs. Still, it looks positively restrained next to the other big diva musical of the same historical moment, Barbra Streisand's 1976 A Star is Born. --Robert Horton

Customer Reviews:

A classic film by Ms. Ross!!!.......2007-06-13

This film just happens to be one of my favorite films of all time. Diana Ross gives another stellar performance. I would have to say that this film should have done well at the box office. Thankfully, I own it on DVD. Billy Dee Williams is so damn sexy. Add this film to your list of favorites!!!!!!!

Good but not Great.......2007-06-10

I thought that Diana's performance in this movie was good, it wasn't great. I would have love to seen the other characters in the movie reaction to her success. How did Diana's(Tracy's) character discover her love of fashion, why did the film not bring her success to America. None the less, the movie was good not great.

DIANA ROSS RADIATES SUPERSTAR GLAMOUR IN A FUN FILM!!.......2007-06-09

This is a super camp movie because of the incredibly implausible script. However, it is also incredibly entertaining with a wonderful musical score. Diana Ross looks gorgeous in unbelievably glamorous costumes, jewels, make-up and furs. And, in spite of the movie's flaws, Diana's acting is really good while poor Anthony Perkins is atrocious. Beautiful scenes of Rome, Italy! This is a must for any Diana Ross fan! Unfortunately, some of the scenes, notably the "Kabuki Fashion Show" have been cut for the DVD while other unnecessary scenes have been left in. It is a tragedy she didn't make may more movies after this one.Mahogany

Excellent.......2007-06-08

I absolutely love this movie. It is definitely a keepsake. Oh and the price was just lovely. Amazon is the place to purchase DVDs.

Miss Diana Ross.......2007-06-03

People can say what they want about her,but what a good movie I always wanted this movie but could never find it. Thanks to the making of Dreamgirls I was able to enjoy one of my all time favorite movies.If you're out to look for something special either rent or make a purchase of this one.

Average customer rating:

Vertigo
Hitchcock at his trippiest.......
Criterion Collection would have done a superior job!
Compelling!
One of Hitchock's best!

Vertigo (Collector's Edition)
Starring: Isabel Analla , Raymond Bailey , Barbara Bel Geddes , Paul Bryar , and Ellen Corby
Manufacturer: Universal Studios
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Drama | Genres | DVD | Video

Classics | Drama | Genres | DVD | Video

Suspense | Mystery & Suspense | Genres | DVD | Video

Thrillers | Mystery & Suspense | Genres | DVD | Video

Mystery | Mystery & Suspense | Genres | DVD | Video

General | Mystery & Suspense | Genres | DVD | Video

DVDs Under $14.99 | Today's Deals in DVD | Special Features | DVD | Video

( V ) | Titles | Features | DVD | Video
Similar Items:

Rear Window (Collector's Edition)
North By Northwest
The Birds (Collector's Edition)
To Catch a Thief (Special Collector's Edition)
The Man Who Knew Too Much

ASIN: 0783226055
Release Date: 1998-03-31

Amazon.com essential video

Although it wasn't a box-office success when originally released in 1958, Vertigo has since taken its deserved place as Alfred Hitchcock's greatest, most spellbinding, most deeply personal achievement. In fact, it consistently ranks among the top 10 movies ever made in the once-a-decade Sight & Sound international critics poll, placing at number 4 in the most recent survey. (Universal Pictures' spectacularly gorgeous 1996 restoration and rerelease of this 1958 Paramount production was a tremendous success with the public, too.) James Stewart plays a retired police detective who is hired by an old friend to follow his wife (a superb Kim Novak, in what becomes a double role), whom he suspects of being possessed by the spirit of a dead madwoman. The detective and the disturbed woman fall ("fall" is indeed the operative word) in love and...well, to give away any more of the story would be criminal. Shot around San Francisco (the Golden Gate Bridge and the Palace of the Legion of Honor are significant locations) and elsewhere in Northern California (the redwoods, Mission San Juan Batista) in rapturous Technicolor, Vertigo is as lovely as it is haunting. --Jim Emerson

Customer Reviews:

Vertigo.......2007-06-27

Hitchcock's psychological tingler was not a huge success on release, but understandably has achieved cult status over time. Ambitious, dense and more than slightly twisted, "Vertigo" is both an elaborate puzzler and a meditation on man's basest fears and desires. Though perhaps a trifle old for the part, Stewart brings a barely suppressed desperation to Scotty that resonates, while Novak is ideal in a dual identity role, playing Madonna-like Madeleine, and the garish, earthy Judy, whom Scottie meets later in the saga. Glorious San Francisco locales, and a peerless Bernard Herrmann score complete this winning package from the master of suspense.

Hitchcock at his trippiest..............2007-06-01

VERTIGO remains one of the most thought-provoking films I have ever seen. I still remember my first taste of this film (at least thirteen years ago!). It's safe to say (without exaggeration) that it changed my life and how I view cinematography. Yes, I know that is a tall statement to make about this movie, but it's well-merited. Why? For starters, Alfred Hitchcock's depiction of the medical condition of vertigo (extreme dizziness onset by perceived or actual drops in height--example: standing at the top of a tall staircase and glancing down at the ground floor from where you stand) feels like, both, a deep acid trip (complete with spinning imagery and disorientation), as well as a really extreme look at the effect of this condition on Scotty (James Stewart), a retired policeman, hired by an old friend to follow his beautiful wife (Kim Novak) who believes is possessed by the dead soul of a mad woman. Of course, this woman also has a penchant for ascending to great heights and attempting to jump off of them. This only adds another twist to Scotty's pursuit of the woman.

Alfred Hitchcock always had a flair for bringing the ironic, gothic and darkly comedic all to the foreground, in his films. Cinematography was one way he achieved (and manipulated) these emotions in the stories he wove so eloquently, on screeen. VERTIGO is no exception. What's more, Kim Novak is a very compelling and beautiful actress who stepped out of her more "cheesecake" roles to play the role of Madeleine, a very deeply disturbed (and perhaps, psychologically pursued?) woman with a secret. What's more, I love James Stewart, here. His relationship with Madeleine is conflicted and borders on pseudo-erotic. Of course, I won't divulge more plot details here. I just figured dropping that clue would tease and tantalize you enough to want to see this great film for yourself. I am so glad that it was given the kudos it deserved, with a re-released DVD addition. Great news!!!

Criterion Collection would have done a superior job!.......2007-05-28

This mesmerizing film has been part of our culture for over a half-century. While it has its flaws -- especially in a script that reaches it's climax too early, and tacks on a final twist that is so unsatisfying-- it's a legacy film worth all the praise it has received.

James Stewart and Kim Novak are each remarkable, and the cinematography is perhaps the best of any Hitchcock film. Indeed, so many compelling moments in the film have no dialogue, the camera work is amazing. Bernard Hermann's score is consistently fine, though at times overbearing. The complexities of plot and use of symbols and colors throughout the movie are dazzing.

So why not five stars? Because Universal Home Video screwed up this particular remaster so badly, it interfered with my enjoyment in a BIG way. While the visual transfer is acceptable, the sound remastering is gruesome, with the score blasting several decibels above the voices, with reengineered sound effects produced on a Foley stage, and some critical dialogue marred by rolloff distortion. (Some viewers care about this stuff; others don't.)

Here's the beef. No corporation has the right to re-engineer a film -- especially one of this caliber -- in a way that alters the intent of the fimmaker. If one adds to that the weird balance of score and voice on the DVD, the occasional man-made distorion and trumped-up sound effects -- it's just not right. As for anamorphic widescreen, forget about it. It's not here.

I buy Criterion Collection remasters more than any because they are faithful to the originals, because their extras are meaningful, and because the company simply respects great movies. Their DVDs may cost a little more, but the payoff is worth it. Hopefully, Criterion will secure the rights to this beautiful chiller some day so the next generation can see it the way filmgoers did in the 1950's.

A wonderful psychological thriller poorly transferred and remastered by a company that should have known better.

Compelling!.......2007-04-23

This timeless thriller is one I love to watch often on a Sunday afternoon. One of Alfred Hitchcock's greats! James Stewart plays the police detective Scottie Ferguson who suffers from vertigo when in high places after the accidental death of a police friend during a roof chase. The accidental death is partly Scottie's fault and he bears the mental scars. Before he can recover from one blow, he's given another when duped by a beautiful woman and an old friend who have a sinister plot and a part for Scottie to unwittingly play.

Chrissy K. McVay - Author

One of Hitchock's best!.......2007-04-05

This haunting, mysterious, romantic movie about obsession is amazing every time I watch it. Although Hitchcock didn't originally cast Kim Novak as the source of Jimmy Stewart's affections, he later admitted that she made this movie what it is. The beautiful San Francisco Bay Area is truly a memorable "character" in this fabulous classic.

Average customer rating:

What more do you need?
Brillant
John Waters Best Movie! A Must Have For all Rockabilly's and Squares!
can't recommend a purchase
"You got it baby, you got it raw."

Cry Baby (Director's Cut)
Starring: Johnny Depp , Amy Locane , Susan Tyrrell , Polly Bergen , and Iggy Pop
Director: John Waters
Manufacturer: Universal Studios
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Comedy | Genres | DVD | Video

Satire | Comedy | Genres | DVD | Video

Teen | Comedy | Genres | DVD | Video

School Days | Comedy | Genres | DVD | Video

DVDs Under $14.99 | Today's Deals in DVD | Special Features | DVD | Video

( C ) | Titles | Features | DVD | Video
Similar Items:

Hairspray
Cry Baby: Original Soundtrack Album
Benny and Joon
What's Eating Gilbert Grape
Ed Wood (Special Edition)

ASIN: B0009IOR6Q
Release Date: 2005-07-12

Amazon.com essential video

John Waters's goofy, 1990 comedy about a Baltimore girl (Amy Locane) who can't decide if she should remain "good" in her 1954 world or hang out with the motorcycle boys is funny in a scene-by-scene way, but doesn't quite gel into the grand piece the director was hoping for. The cast is exceptionally likable, however, including Johnny Depp as an Elvis type and Iggy Pop as a chattering loony. The best material is set in a fringe world of bikers and losers on the outskirts of town, and Waters writes some hilarious sardonic dialogue for the characters. Cry-Baby is the last of Waters's more undisciplined features; he followed it with the glossier but no less perverse Serial Mom. --Tom Keogh

Customer Reviews:

What more do you need?.......2007-06-17

Being written and directed by John Waters and Johnny Depp not playing a gay drunken pirate is all this movie needs to be good. Add the fact that Cry Baby is an original version of the cliched movies that have the same plot as Grease. John Waters is a modern day critic of American society and his movies add comedy to the criticism. All his movies are classics and Cry Baby is no different.

The DVD features Commetary by John Waters, deleted scenes, and "It Came From Baltimore" which is a behind the scenes Featurette. The price is good the movie is great, what is stopping you from buying this?

Brillant.......2007-06-13

Great movie. Really Enjoyable. Got my 15 year old cousin to watch it and she loved it. Great cast.

John Waters Best Movie! A Must Have For all Rockabilly's and Squares!.......2007-06-01

This movie holds a special place for me. The fact that my grandpa in the 50's lived in Baltimore and he was a Drape! That man had alot of wild stories. Drapes as John Waters talks about was a gang in Maryland and term used for juvenile delinquints. Suffice to say I often wonder if John and my grandpa ever crossed paths. In fact the character Crybaby is alot like my grandpa he was white trash, he'd been to juvie, he rode a motorcycle, had a leather jacket and a greasy ducktail. He used to swipe cars and get into fights. He also was a musician with band called Rich Rocket and the Automobiles. It was a Rockabilly band he did a song called "Shaking my Dice" a euphemism for you know what, after watching a film warning about the solo act him and his buddies came up with this song as a joke. My Grandpa said they did a 45, the flip was a cover of Jerry Lee Lewis' "Great Balls of Fire" they pressed copies only for the band and after he died I looked all through the attic to find it to no avail I was pretty pissed and sad. His stories and bravado made me want to be a Drape and Rockabilly greaser.
Your probably wondering what this has to do with the movie. Alot, when I was a kid me and my grandpa watched this movie in theatres. He snuck me past my parents who wouldn't let me ever set eyes on a John Waters film. I had a good time and so did my grandpa. He thought the movie vulgar and little stupid because he had become a born again Christian but overall I saw that gleam in his eyes and he said it brought back memories. This movie is hilarious and some of the music in this film is really hokey and corny. The Rockabilly stuff is pretty good since Rockabilly veterans Dave Alvin and James Intveld worked on those numbers. Its pretty surreal and crazy overall it is a mind trip and a delightful one. My grandpa if he was alive would recommend this movie. The DVD has interviews with John Waters, the cast and crew. Waters talks in length about the real Drapes which I found interesting and there is commentary. Some of the musical numbers could've been done a little better, but all in all as my grandfather said after leaving the theater with a smile on his face: "Swell, pretty swell."

can't recommend a purchase.......2007-05-24

Even though Cry Baby is an above-average comedy movie, the thing is, more often than not the storyline is more *silly* than it is actually funny. Johnny Depp's character was pretty good, but he wasn't as much of a bad guy or rebel as you'd believe. Just because he goes around driving a motorcycle and taking a few punches in the face doesn't mean he's a believable bad guy. His character was lacking in that area, in my opinion.

I also felt that the grandmother of his girlfriend (the GOOD girl who sings happy 50's-style rock tunes, instead of the more loud and outrageous Elvis Presley-like rockers intended for the troublemakers) wasn't entirely in character for the majority of the film. I mean, she tried so hard to flat out HATE teenagers who rebel against their parents to the point where she actually stood up to a crowd and mentions how she will not be brought down by them. But then, a short time later when Depp showed up to her granddaughter's musical thing in a motorcycle, for some reason the grandmother forgot that she was supposed to strongly dislike teens who rebel and didn't mind at all that her granddaughter opted to drive away with Depp. Strange.

The musical parts were okay, but most of them were 50's style rockers. You know how the music sounds. No need to elaborate on that.

A pretty decent movie with a few flaws in the way. Pick up some of Depp's other superior movies, such as Charlie and the Chocolate Factory or Secret Window.

"You got it baby, you got it raw.".......2007-05-24

Cry-Baby is a hilarious, campy musical that pokes fun at some classic musicals. The movie takes place in Baltimore and is named after its main character Wade Walker (Johnny Depp) who is nicknamed Cry-Baby because of the single tear he's able to shed at will. This unique ability and his devilish good looks drive the ladies wild. He even has Cry-Baby tattooed on his arm under Depp's real Cherokee chief head tattoo and scripted across the back of his leather jacket.

Cry-Baby is a drape, a leather wearing, motor cycling bad boy who hangs with a bunch of other drapes made of up of his pregnant sister Pepper (Ricki Lake), Hatchet-Face girl (Kim McGuire), Wanda Woodward (Traci Lords), and Milton Hackett (Darren E. Burrows); all delinquents in their own right.

One day one of the "square" girls takes notice of Cry-Baby. Allison (Amy Locane) decides she doesn't want to be so good anymore and encourages Cry-Baby's advances. Cry-Baby crashes a square party and takes Allison for a ride on his bike back to the drapes hang-out where his troupe gives her a makeover reminiscent of Sandy in Grease. They sing a duet together and there's a memorable make out scene with everyone wet French-kissing. Cry-Baby teaches Allison the basics of how to French Kiss ("Kiss Me, kiss me hard") which was both sexy and pee your pants funny. Everyone is interrupted when Allison's jilted boyfriend and his gaggle of goons pay a visit and set Cry-Baby's motorcycle on fire. A fight breaks out, the police show up and Cry-Baby is arrested and sent to a detention center until he's 21. There are some songbirds singing in jail reminiscent of Elvis Presley's Jailhouse Rock but perhaps less choreographed. But bars, conniving girls and angry mothers can't separate Cry-Baby from his true love for long.

Acting wise it is really hard to judge. Everyone was over acting to make a point and these roles are really tongue-in-cheek. As far as I'm concerned this film proves Johnny Depp can do just about anything and still be sexy. Johnny already had a huge following with his success in 21 Jump Street. As for fat girl, Ricki Lake, this came after Babycakes and Hairspray which I think were better roles for her. It looks like she's sporting a pregnant breasts and tummy body suit for her role. I didn't notice any fat stereotypes. She already has two illegitimate kids and gets just as much make-out time as any of the other characters. Even the somewhat deformed Hatchet Face girl gets a lot of action. Special appearances by Willem Dafoe (Batman) as a mean guard and rock star Iggy Pop as Uncle Belvedere round off the cast.

Cry-Baby was written and directed by John Walters who is also the writer and director of the Hairspray musical. You really have to have an open mind for comedy to enjoy this film. I thought it was hilarious, going in with the perspective of not taking it seriously. There are a lot of great one-liners. Would it be on my favorite movie list? Probably not, but I'd watch it again and recommend seeing it at least once. Reviewed by M.E. Wood.

Average customer rating:

OK
He got his Kicks
Find out what a billionaire does in his spare time
Watchable caper flick
Excdellent!

The Thomas Crown Affair
Starring: Pierce Brosnan , Rene Russo , Denis Leary , Ben Gazzara , and Frankie Faison
Director: John McTiernan
Manufacturer: MGM (Video & DVD)
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

Crime | Action & Adventure | Genres | DVD | Video

General | Action & Adventure | Genres | DVD | Video

Romantic Adventure | Action & Adventure | Genres | DVD | Video

General | Drama | Genres | DVD | Video

DVDs Under $7.49 | Today's Deals in DVD | Special Features | DVD | Video

( T ) | Titles | Features | DVD | Video
Similar Items:

The Thomas Crown Affair - New Transfer
The Thomas Crown Affair: Music From The MGM Motion Picture
The Saint
Ocean's Eleven (Widescreen Edition)
Entrapment (Special Edition)

Accessories:

The Thomas Crown Affair: Music From The MGM Motion Picture

ASIN: 6305657947
Release Date: 2000-01-04

Amazon.com

For the Hollywood remake rule, which dictates that an update of an older film be inferior to the original in almost every aspect, The Thomas Crown Affair stands as a glorious exception. The original 1968 film, starring a dapper Steve McQueen and a radiant Faye Dunaway, was a diverting pop confection of mod clothes and nifty break-ins, but not much more. John McTiernan's new version, though, cranks up the entertainment factor to mach speed, turning what was a languid flick into a high-adrenaline caper romance. Thomas Crown (Pierce Brosnan) is now a man of industry who likes to indulge in a little high-priced art theft on the side; Catherine Banning (Rene Russo) is the insurance investigator determined to get on his tail in more ways than one. If you're thinking cat-and-mouse game, think again--it's more like cat vs. smarter cat, as both the thief and the investigator try to outwit each other and nothing is off-limits, especially after they start a highly charged love affair that's a heated mix of business and pleasure.

What makes this Thomas Crown more enjoyable than its predecesor is McTiernan's attention to detail in both the set action pieces (no surprise from the man who helmed Die Hard with precision accuracy) and the developing romance, the witty and intelligent script by Leslie Dixon (she wrote the love scenes) and Kurt Wimmer (he wrote the action scenes), and, most of all, its two stunning leads (both over 40 to boot), combustible both in and out of bed. Brosnan, usually held prisoner in the James Bond straitjacket, lets loose with both a relaxed sensuality and a comic spirit he's rarely expressed before. The film, however, pretty much belongs to Russo, who doesn't just steal the spotlight, but bends it to her will. Beautiful, stylish, smart, self-possessed, incredibly sexy, she's practically a walking icon; it's no wonder Crown falls for her hook, line, and sinker. With Denis Leary as a police detective smitten with Russo, and Faye Dunaway in a throwaway but wholly enjoyable cameo as Brosnan's therapist. --Mark Englehart

Description

Thrill-seeking billionaire Thomas Crown (Brosnan) loves nothing more than courting disasterand winning! So when his world becomes too stiflingly safe, he pulls off his boldest stunt ever: stealing a priceless paintingin broad daylightfrom one of Manhattan's most heavily guarded museums. But his post-heist excitement soon pales beside an even greater challenge: Catherine Banning (Russo). A beautiful insurance investigator hired to retrieve the artwork, Catherine's every bit as intelligent, cunning and hungry for adventure as he is. And just when Thomas realizes he's finally met his match, she skillfully leads him into a daring game of cat and mouse that's more intoxicating and dangerous than anything either of them has ever experienced before!

Customer Reviews:

OK.......2007-03-27

This movie is OK, but I prefer the original version with Steve McQueen. This remake is too Hollywood for me, with too many unbelievable stunts. The original was better.

He got his Kicks .......2007-02-07

Despite my misgivings I actually enjoyed this movie. I found it to be very entertaining. Pierce Brosnan is rich, affluent and board. He steals art treasures for kicks. Pierce Brosnan and Rene Russo make an acceptable and reluctant love duo. Denis Leary as the detective trying to nab Brosnan actually steals this film with his dedicated yet easy going style. As remakes go this is one of the better ones as of late. This film was made as one of Brosnan's non-Bond films during his tenure as 007. I still prefer the original.

Find out what a billionaire does in his spare time.......2006-12-22

+++++

This movie is a remake (actually not an exact remake) of the 1968 movie "The Thomas Crown Affair" starring the legendary Steve McQueen and Faye Dunaway (who has a small role in this remake).

In this movie a bored billionaire named Thomas "Tommy" Crown (Pierce Brosnan who also co-produced) masterminds an art theft of a 100 million dollar Monet painting. Unlike in the original movie (that was a bank heist), Crown actually participates in the theft.

Enter insurance investigator Catherine Banning (Rene Russo) with police detective Michael McCann (Denis Leary). Banning identifies Crown as the mastermind behind this crime. She's out to get him but a problem ensues along the way: she falls for Crown and Crown falls for her. Their scenes together are sizzling and explosive.

Unlike the 1968 original, there is tension created as the viewer wonders if Crown will actually get caught. As well, the sexual tension between Crown and the insurance investigator is heightened in this movie.

The acting is terrific by Brosnan, Russo, and Leary. I have to give special kudos to Russo as the smart and very sexy insurance investigator Catherine Banning. The background music is interesting and adds to each scene. There is a clever ending that I found unforgettable and fun to watch. I felt the entire movie was slick and ingeniously done.

Finally, the DVD (the one released in 2000) is perfect in visual and audio quality. It has the movie on both sides of the disc. Extras consist of the 1968 and 1999 theatrical trailers as well as a director audio commentary.

In conclusion, watch this movie for yourself to discover what a billionaire does in his spare time!!

(1 hr, 55 min; 1999; full screen; 36 scenes; rated `R')

+++++

Watchable caper flick.......2006-12-05

This is a movie that moves in fits and starts. Parts of it are a lot of fun, parts of it stumble.

Most of the stumbling is done when Rene Russo is the focus of the movie. Admittedly, the script verges on the downright ridiculous, and she's placed in scenes that were simply hopeless. (Some of the dialogue is so bad that this movie might almost have made its way into an MST3K episode.) Still, a better actress might have made them...less hopeless. I found myself groaning and rolling my eyes at her hamming. And to hot things up, she's reduced to shimmying sans underwear in a see-through gown, and then providing plenty of topless footage. It doesn't work. The sudden, extended nudity seems kind of jarring, as if I just switched over to Cinemax without realizing it. There are also scenes where Russo switches to the cartoonish character known as The Bitch, and she's not believable then, either.

Brosnan is also a touch ridiculous from time to time, but mostly he plays his usual suave, handsome character. If you like that, you'll like him here.

Dennis Leary surprises with a low-key performance. If I would have expected anyone to deliver a true hambone performance, it would have been him.

There are lots of shots of exotic locales, like a hilltop cabana on a tropical island, or a glider flying over a forest alive with autumn colors, that are nice eye candy. We had just gotten our first widescreen TV and it was pretty nice to watch this movie show off the TV.

I found myself reaching for the remote a few times during this movie, telling myself, "OK, I've seen about enough of this." But I must admit, it held my attention, just barely, to the end.

Excdellent!.......2006-12-02

I absolutely LOVE this movie. I am on my way to purchase my very own DVD today. I have been borrowing my sisters and decided I need my very own copy. Just like another reviewer said this movie requires intelect so if you do not have that don't bother. This movie is sexy, it has suspense, the music is nice and the characters make this movie seem very real. My sister and my friend use to rave about this movie years ago and I wander what the hype was about then finally years later I decided to watch it and became hooked! I can watch this everyday! LOL

Double Indemnity (Universal Legacy Series)

Average customer rating:

Double Indemnity
Classic film noir from the great Billy Wilder
It doesn't get any better than this blistering jewel
a great example of the early days of film noir.......
Lust and Greed Lead to Murder

Double Indemnity (Universal Legacy Series)
Starring: Fred MacMurray , Barbara Stanwyck , Edward G. Robinson , Porter Hall , and Jean Heather
Director: Billy Wilder , and Jack Smight
Manufacturer: Universal Studios
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Drama | Genres | DVD | Video

Classics | Drama | Genres | DVD | Video

Film Noir | Mystery & Suspense | Genres | DVD | Video

Suspense | Mystery & Suspense | Genres | DVD | Video

Mystery | Mystery & Suspense | Genres | DVD | Video

General | Mystery & Suspense | Genres | DVD | Video

( D ) | Titles | Features | DVD | Video
Similar Items:

The Maltese Falcon (Three-Disc Collector's Edition)
Sunset Boulevard (Special Collector's Edition)
Film Noir Classic Collection, Vol. 3 (Border Incident / His Kind of Woman / Lady in the Lake / On Dangerous Ground / The Racket)
The Conformist (Extended Edition)
Laura (Fox Film Noir)

ASIN: B00005JNG5
Release Date: 2006-08-22

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

Customer Reviews:

Double Indemnity.......2007-06-21

One of the quintessential noir films, Billy Wilder's "Double Indemnity" is a masterpiece of stark atmosphere and carefully stylized suspense. The talented Barbara Stanwyck, a familiar face in the 1940s noir universe, assumes her role with feline deviousness, while "My Three Sons" TV dad Fred MacMurray--narrating the film via flashback--brilliantly plays against type. Raymond Chandler's screenplay sizzles with hard-boiled repartee and the great Edward G. Robinson is aces as always as the dogged investigator hot on the lovers' trail. Sinister, tense, and cynical, Wilder's "Indemnity" is riveting film suspense.

Classic film noir from the great Billy Wilder.......2007-06-10

"Double Indemnity" is one of the first films of the genre that would come to be known as "Film Noir".

The plot is classic film noir - a smug, womanising insurance salesman Walter Neff (played by Fred MacMurray) gets in over his head with a conniving femme fatale Phyllis Diedrichson (Barbara Stanwyck) who wants rid of her boorish husband. Neff must also be wary of a suspicious claims manager at his insurance company Barton Keyes (Edward G. Robinson).

Naturally the story has some dated elements (it was made in 1943) but it still holds up pretty well as entertainment for a modern audience.

MacMurray is excellent in his role as a heel making a change from his usual nice guy roles. He helps make the character sympathetic whereas Stanwycks role has few redeeming features - she really is "rotten". Her turnabout at the end is also somewhat unconvincing. The great Edward G. Robinson steals every scene he's in as the tenacious investigator who has a soft spot for Neff.

The DVD includes a good commentary by Lem Dobbs and Nick Redman with useful insights on the film but it also continually laments the decline of Hollywood, which I think is a trifle unfair.

Like most Billy Wilder films "Double Indemnity" doesn't really have a message - it just provides great entertainment aimed at adults. It also marks a growing shift in the 1940s towards more maturity in Hollywood film-making.

It doesn't get any better than this blistering jewel.......2007-05-30

What else remains to be said about one of the true classics of noir? Fred Macmurry is just right as the sap who thinks he's a lot smarter & sharper than he really is; Edward G. Robinson shines as a dedicated & inexorable seeker of the truth, even as his concern & disappointment for his fallen friend shows clearly; and Barbara Stanwyck scalds the screen as the trashy, blatantly sexy femme fatale with the morals of an alley cat & an icy ruthlessness that stops at nothing -- just look at that cover art! Wrap these characters in moody, bleakly beautiful black & white cinematography, give them a witty, scathing script by Raymond Chandler, and you've got a sordid masterpiece about small-timers whose greedy, self-centered dreams are much larger than their shriveled souls. I can't recommend this film highly enough!

a great example of the early days of film noir..............2007-05-20

DOUBLE INDEMNITY, a 1944 film by Billy Wilder, is one of the most definitive and beautiful examples of early film noir (literally, "black film") at its best. For those of you unfamiliar with the genre of film noir, this was a type of film made popular in the 1940s and 1950s, features very dark cinematography (plenty of shadows intermixed with light), as well as equally dark subject matter. Common themes are murders, affairs and grizzly illegal activity. DOUBLE INDEMNITY is a great example of this style at its best.

Fred MacMurray plays wily insurance man Walter Neff, who finds himself drawn to a beautiful, married woman, Phyllis Dietrichsen, played by the lovely Barbara Stanwyck. Together, they cook a plot to murder her husband, so Walter can make off with the policy money. Of course, things don't go quite according to plan. Enter Barton Keyes (Edward G. Robinson), an investigator who gets wind that "something is rotting in Denmark." Keyes knows that there is something decidedly un-kosher about the whole arrangement between Neff and Dietrichsen, and he is determined to find out where that feeling is coming from.

This film is beautifully acted, directed with great zest, and very, very engaging. Even though some of the dialogue is (delightfully) dated, you are still going to have a great time watching DOUBLE INDEMNITY. There is no question that this is an example of filmmaking, at its best.

Lust and Greed Lead to Murder.......2007-05-15

Late at night a man enters an office building. Mr. Walter Neff is working overtime. Dozens of desks for the clerical workers are void of life. In his office he begins to speak into his Dictaphone about the Diedrickson claim. It all started when Neff went to see about an auto insurance renewal. Mr. Diedrickson wasn't home, but his wife Phyllis was. [The dialogue between them shows Raymond Chandler's skills.] Claims manager Mr. Barton Keyes is skilled in sniffing out false claims. Neff returns to Diedrickson for the auto insurance renewal. Phyllis asks about an accident policy for her husband. Could she get one without her husband's knowledge? Neff explains why she could never get away with it. But Phyllis visits Neff to better explain her wants, and there is a meeting of their minds. [Use your imagination.] Phyllis doesn't like her stepdaughter Lola, and Lola doesn't like her stepmother (there is a reason for this).

Neff explains how insurance companies know all the tricks used to make a murder look like an accident. But Neff impulsively decides to help Phyllis remove an inconvenient husband. [Is this plausible? Like the rain in Los Angeles.] Mr. Diedrickson is concerned about Lola's activities. Neff explains to Phyllis why Mr. Diedrickson must travel by train. Lola also has problems with her boyfriend. Neff plans their surreptitious meeting where they can plot the crime. The film show how they could then check if a doorbell of telephone rang. The murder is cold-blooded and horrible, but off scene. [Did they leave fingerprints on those crutches?]

The actuarial tables are cited to show the encyclopedic knowledge of insurance companies. But Keyes has noticed a discrepancy in this case, and begins to question the apparent facts. Then there is another glitch, something that wasn't foreseen. Daughter Lola meets Neff and tells him some old facts, and some new ones! Keyes surmises how this accident was concocted. There is now great danger for Phyllis and Neff. More surprising complications arise in this story until the shocking ending. [Could a person who murders another be implicitly suicidal?]

One important part of this story is the background of life in 1944 Los Angeles. How much was changed in just twenty years! [There was no mention of war-time rationing or shortages in that grocery supermarket.]

Average customer rating:

Shakespear at it's best
Good enjoyable interpretation.
Mel Gibson Does Shakespeare...
Odd ingredients make maybe the most accessible hamlet
Hamlet as he should be played

Hamlet
Starring: Mel Gibson , Glenn Close , Alan Bates , Paul Scofield , and Ian Holm
Director: Franco Zeffirelli
Manufacturer: Warner Home Video
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Drama | Genres | DVD | Video

DVDs Under $7.49 | Today's Deals in DVD | Special Features | DVD | Video

( H ) | Titles | Features | DVD | Video
Similar Items:

Romeo & Juliet
Much Ado About Nothing
Macbeth / McKellen, Dench (Thames Shakespeare Collection)
Twelfth Night
A Midsummer Night's Dream

ASIN: B00019072G
Release Date: 2004-02-24

Amazon.com essential video

Franco Zeffirelli's stripped-down, two-hour version of Shakespeare's play stars Mel Gibson as a rather robust version of the ambivalent Danish prince. Gibson is much better in the part than many critics have admitted, his powers of clarity doing much to make this particular Hamlet more accessible than several other filmed versions. The supporting cast is outstanding, including Glenn Close as Gertrude, Alan Bates as Claudius, Ian Holm as Polonius, and Helena Bonham Carter as Ophelia. Zeffirelli's vigorous direction employs a lively camera style that nicely alters the viewer's preconceptions about the way Hamlet should look. --Tom Keogh

Description

Treachery. Madness. Murder. The story of Hamlet has been told for 400 years...but it's never been told like this! Mel Gibson (the Mad Max and Lethal Weapon films) takes on his richest part to date, the title role in a dynamic new version of Shakespeare's Hamlet. Directed by Franco Zeffirelli (Romeo and Juliet, Jesus of Nazareth), the location-shot production has a sumptuous look that won Academy Award nominations for Art Direction and Costume Design. Gibson plays the prince of medieval-era Denmark, who senses treachery behind his royal father's death. Glenn Close (Fatal Attraction, Dangerous Liaisons) plays Hamlet's mother Gertrude, all too dangerously entangled in that treachery. A brilliant supporting cast, including Alan Bates as Claudius, Paul Scofield as the ghost of Hamlet's father, Ian Holm as Polonius and Helena Bonham-Carter as Ophelia, adds its powerful presence to this immortal tale of high adventure and evil deeds. Big, bold and heroic, this is a vivid and virile Hamlet for the modern age and all time.

Customer Reviews:

Shakespear at it's best.......2007-06-08

Stunning acting by Mel Gibson, Shakespearian art hasn't been lost from this DvD a must buy if you have read the story before or just getting into Shakespeare. Truly a intellectual movie you will watch for years to come.

-SBJ

Good enjoyable interpretation........2007-06-04

I liked this version of the tragic prince's tale. As someone who's spent a lot of time studying Hamlet, the portrayal of the closet scene irritated me, but is entirely forgivable. The acting is very good, though the editing and arrangement of the script might throw you for a loop. If you're not a student who's read the play umpteen times, you should be fine though. Regardless, it's very enjoyable, and definitely worth the price.

Mel Gibson Does Shakespeare..........2007-06-02

1991's "Hamlet" featured action star Mel Gibson as the melancholy Danish Prince of the title of Shakespeare's famous tragedy. Gibson, whose resume was based on the Mad Max and Lethal Weapon franchises at that time, is surprisingly effective in a role thought be a stretch. Director Franco Zeffirelli had the good sense to let Gibson's energetic performance drive the pacing of a very brisk two-hour version of the story. The result is a very accessible production about murder and revenge in the Danish Royal Family, and a vigorous portrayal of the normally languid and moody Hamlet.

Zeffirelli's movie features beautiful location shooting, excellent costumes, and an extremely talented supporting cast, lead by Glenn Close as Hamlet's mother Gertrude, Alan Bates as the treacherous step-father, and Helena Bonham-Carter as the doomed Ophelia. At the center is Hamlet, as played by Gibson, visibly disturbed in his madness over his father's death, and movingly emotional in his approach to his mother and to Ophelia.

This movie is highly recommended as a different but highly entertaining version of Hamlet. It may appeal most to those without preconceived notions about how Hamlet should be portrayed, or to those who know Mel Gibson only from his later films.

Odd ingredients make maybe the most accessible hamlet .......2007-05-31

I laughed my head off when I was told that Mel Gibson had made a version of Hamlet. But even though casting a then action star as the meloncholy dane made as much sense as casting Charlie Sheen as King Lear, Gibson actually pulls it off, making for a more accessible and relateable Hamlet without cheapening or selling-out the material. The rest of the cast is perfectly acceptable: Glenn Close, Alan Bates, Ian Holm etc. And director Zeffirelli (already a notch on his belt with a definitive version of Romeo & Juliet) brings an interesting visual style to the mix: Matching the film to a rugid, harsh, grey, landscape the mirrors the rugid, harsh, grey content of the film to an effect that would have made Igmar Bergman proud (along with an, of course, wonderful Ennio Morricone score). The play is abridged which means that there isn't nearly enough of (amoung others) Helena Bonham Carter's Ophelia, but I suppose it's better to wish you could spend more time with someone than for them to wear out their welcome.

Hamlet as he should be played.......2007-05-27

I saw this in the theater in 1991. I was familiar with the play and with the way I was taught to understand Hamlet. The problem was that I never believed that the traditional interpretation of Hamlet, as a fairly weak and troubled youth, as it did not seem right to me.

This Hamlet is troubled, no doubt. However, he is wracked with anger and pain. His rage bubbles forth in a sometimes psychotic set of behaviors which always keeps its hold on reality. He is suicidal, but he intends to take any and all villians with him.

This made sense to me. This is how I really saw Hamlet. Mel Gibson does this edge of crazy perfectly. He is not weak, but tortured and seeking revenge.

Furthermore, he makes the traditional script (not completely faithful, but very close) very understandable. Even the novice will be able to understand what he is saying after the rhythym of the piece is understood. To me, this means Gibson understands the role. When Shakespeare is not understood by the audience, it is somebody on the production side that does not get the role.

I understand why critics don't like this Hamlet, but in my opinion it is the most accurate version yet on film.

If you know someone you wish to initiate into the Shakespeare circle, view this film with them.

Average customer rating:

Great "Who done it..??"
One Misstep Leads to Murder
Dvd...? Hello...?
DVD?
Fritz Lang intrigue with a twist - rightly 4 1/2 stars

The Woman in the Window (MGM Film Noir)
Starring: Edward G Robinson , and Joan Bennett
Manufacturer: MGM (Video & DVD)
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Drama | Genres | DVD | Video

Classics | Drama | Genres | DVD | Video

General | Mystery & Suspense | Genres | DVD | Video