High Fidelity

Starring:John Cusack, Jack Black
Studio: Walt Disney Video
Product Type: DVD

Editorial Review:
Amazon.com
Transplanted from England to the not-so-mean streets of Chicago, the screen adaptation of Nick Hornby's cult-classic novel High Fidelity emerges unscathed from its Americanization, idiosyncrasies intact, thanks to John Cusack's inimitable charm and a nimble, nifty screenplay (cowritten by Cusack). Early-thirtysomething Rob Gordon (Cusack) is a slacker who owns a vintage record shop, a massive collection of LPs, and innumerable top-five lists in his head. At the opening of the film, Rob recounts directly to the audience his all-time top-five breakups--which doesn't include his recent falling out with his girlfriend Laura (Iben Hjejle), who has just moved out of their apartment. Thunderstruck and obsessed with Laura's desertion (but loath to admit it), Rob begins a quest to confront the women who instigated the aforementioned top-five breakups to find out just what he did wrong.

Amazon.com

Transplanted from England to the not-so-mean streets of Chicago, the screen adaptation of Nick Hornby's cult-classic novel High Fidelity emerges unscathed from its Americanization, idiosyncrasies intact, thanks to John Cusack's inimitable charm and a nimble, nifty screenplay (cowritten by Cusack). Early-thirtysomething Rob Gordon (Cusack) is a slacker who owns a vintage record shop, a massive collection of LPs, and innumerable top-five lists in his head. At the opening of the film, Rob recounts directly to the audience his all-time top-five breakups--which doesn't include his recent falling out with his girlfriend Laura (Iben Hjejle), who has just moved out of their apartment. Thunderstruck and obsessed with Laura's desertion (but loath to admit it), Rob begins a quest to confront the women who instigated the aforementioned top-five breakups to find out just what he did wrong.

Low on plot and high on self-discovery, High Fidelity takes a good 30 minutes or so to find its groove (not unlike Cusack's Grosse Pointe Blank), but once it does, it settles into it comfortably and builds a surprisingly touching momentum. Rob is basically a grown-up version of Cusack's character in Say Anything (who was told "Don't be a guy--be a man!"), and if you like Cusack's brand of smart-alecky romanticism, you'll automatically be won over (if you can handle Cusack's almost-nonstop talking to the camera). Still, it's hard not to be moved by Rob's plight. At the beginning of the film he and his coworkers at the record store (played hilariously by Jack Black and Todd Louiso) seem like overgrown boys in their secret clubhouse; by the end, they've grown up considerably, with a clear-eyed view of life. Ably directed by Stephen Frears (Dangerous Liaisons), High Fidelity features a notable supporting cast of the women in Rob's life, including the striking, Danish-born Hjejle, Lisa Bonet as a sultry singer-songwriter, and the triumphant triumvirate of Lili Taylor, Joelle Carter, and Catherine Zeta-Jones as Rob's ex-girlfriends. With brief cameos by Tim Robbins as Laura's new, New Age boyfriend and Bruce Springsteen as himself. --Mark Englehart

Description

From the guys who brought you GROSSE POINTE BLANK comes the absolutely hilarious HIGH FIDELITY. John Cusack (BEING JOHN MALKOVICH) stars as Rob Gordon, the owner of a semi-failing record store located on one of the back streets of Chicago. He sells music the old-fashioned way -- on vinyl, with two wacky clerks, the hysterically funny rock snob Barry (Jack Black) and the more quietly opinionated underachiever Dick (Todd Luiso). But Rob's business isn't the only thing in his life that's floundering -- his needle skips the love groove when his longtime girlfriend Laura (newcomer Iben Hjejle) walks out on him. And this forces him to examine his past failed attempts at romance the only way he knows how! For a rocking fun time, give HIGH FIDELITY a spin. It's sure to make your all-time top five list for comedies -- with a bullet.

Customer Reviews:

"High Fidelity" - still great after all of these years.......2007-06-09

Whether you're a John Cusack fan or not, "High Fidelity" is a great movie featuring the humorous antics of a younger (funnier?) Jack Black and a nice light romatic buzz. An excellent date movie for two people of out-of-the-ordinary tastes in music (great soundtrack).

Learn from the Anti Hero........2007-02-28

This is one of my favorite movies of all time. It's possible to learn from others to avoid those same mistakes yourself. I see that in this enjoyable movie. As with anything really good it seems to be more than the sum of its parts. You can pick apart individual performances and scrutinize every detail, or you can appreciate the overall message and theme. The overall sticks with me longer and keeps me coming back.

A John Cusack classic........2007-01-05

John Cusack is my favorite actor, so it may sound like this is subject to bias. However, it's easy to judge a movie by its talent, especially when an actors fills a role as perfectly as Cusack does here. He plays the fool he always seems to play in this cult classic movie. Set to a great soundtrack, Cusack owns a record store and frequently makes "Top 5" lists, of all varieties. The movie as a whole is a documentation of a critical Top 5 list in his life--Top 5 relationship breakups. The simple man owning his small fry record store relates his 5 worst breakups throughout life, dating as early as his middle school childhood.

Ultimately, this is a sappy romantic comedy, as he retells the good and the bad from all his relationship woes, and ultimately searches for meaning and growth in his personal life, as his breakups and/or dumpings relate to it.

Classic Cusack here, so if you like the actor, you'll love the movie.

Perfect Comedy.......2006-11-19

High Fidelity is a comedy about Rob Gordan (John Cusack), a record store owner/operator who has recently split with his girlfriend Laura (Iben Hjejle) and now is trying to get it all together. The movie opens with her leaving and Rob giving us his top five list of the most painful breakups. At work, his two "employees" Dick (Todd Louiso) and Barry (Jack Black) share his passion for music and to tell people that what to listen to. The top five motif is present throughout the entire movie, giving it a unique take on life. Rob cheated on Laura, borrowed money from Laura and hasn't given it back to her, and caused Laura to have an abortion. He pretty much feels like a jerk, but it all goes away when he finds out that she is living with Ian Raymond (Tim Robbins), his former neighbor known as "Ray".

When Rob realizes that he is miserable from thinking about his breakups from past years, he has an epiphany. If he just confronts each one individually, the pain will go away. To just see that they have moved on so he can move on as well, but the anguish over Laura resonates due to the fact that she keeps coming over to get her stuff. Now Rob must figure out if he should just move or try to make amends with Laura and get back together.

Cusack is fantastic as the funny, sometimes self loathing music enthusiast. He narrates just about the entire movie and some of the dialogue he gives us is priceless. Black and Louiso seem to be on opposite ends of the rock and roll spectrum but they come together to appreciate the art of making music even with their sometimes totally different styles. Black is very energetic as the self-proclaimed 'know it all' of rock music and Louiso is the calm, quiet rocker. Even Hjejle and Cusack's sister Joan give great performances. All together the cast did incredibly well.

High Fidelity is a perfect movie to just pop in one night and enjoy

Great comedy.......2006-11-10

Great cast, Jack Black is classic, moves at a good pace, good story line

Average customer rating:

"When a woman strikes at the heart of another woman,she seldom misses!"
Beautiful movie, horrible dvd quality....
English Class
Raise The Red Lantern
Masterpiece!

Raise the Red Lantern (MGM World Films)
Starring: Li Gong , Caifei He , Cuifen Cao , Jingwu Ma , and Qi Zhao
Director: Yimou Zhang
Manufacturer: MGM (Video & DVD)
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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Ju Dou
The Story of Qiu Ju
The Road Home
To Live
Memoirs of a Geisha (Widescreen Two-Disc Special Edition)

ASIN: B000PMFS6O
Release Date: 2007-07-24

Amazon.com essential video

Zhang Yimou (Ju Dou) directed this fascinating, visually formal 1991 film about an educated woman (Gong Li) who is sent off to become the newest wife of a feudal nobleman in 1920s China. Nearly isolated in his spooky, palatial home, she develops relationships with several of the other wives and slowly becomes aware of a hideous legacy of punishment toward more willful women. The film has a brittle and dry quality that is deliberate, but also suggestive of Zhang working through various explorations of his own style (which he resolved in his next film, The Story of Qiu Ju). Gong Li, one of the world's great actresses, is superb. --Tom Keogh

Customer Reviews:

"When a woman strikes at the heart of another woman,she seldom misses!".......2007-07-02

My review title is from a line from DANGEROUS LIAISONS that fits this movie to a tee:Four mistresses to one man forced to scheme and plot and maneuver against one another in order to gain position and favor.When the Master is home whom will he favor with the lighting of the red lantern?

This is one powerful piece of work, and I dare say you will ever see this subject matter so elegantly and brutally honest in it's treatment. Your allegiance and understanding with each mistress will alter as this film progresses.Each mistress is shown up close and quite personal. The Master is always shot from afar.Not once do we see him closely.As the women are forced into each other's personal space constantly causing immense and intense friction, the master is always allowed to come and go and stay totally detached from all of the "warfare."

Gong Li superbly portrays Songlian, a 19 year old former University whose father has died and whose stepmother gets her "married" off and out of her hair. Songlian becomes new wife #4 to a Master Chen who has been keeping the old family traditions of centuries past alive and well. Songlian immediately faces the odd tradition of the red lantern and the other wives.

This film shows the cruelty and hate that is made possible for women subjected to such bitter contests for recognition. The point is made well:"We are like rats,cats or dogs...not humans."

From cinematography to soundtrack,acting to screenplay this is at the top as far as quality movie making. This review refers to the excellent vhs version which is crystal clear with English subtitles.

Beautiful movie, horrible dvd quality...........2007-06-28

I can only repeat what Tony Polito wrote. I was talking with a friend and virtually quoted Tony's review (prior to reading it, that is).

The reason I bought this DVD was because I had just seen the movie on DirecTV HDTV. What a difference. This DVD is a quality disaster. Do not waste your money.

I am now looking for a HDTV source version DVD.

English Class.......2007-06-27

For any English teachers who teach Amy Tan's "The Joy Luck Club" this movie corresponds well with the chapter where An-Mei Hsu learns about her mother's life as the fourth concubine. Lots of parallels in the woman's situation and fascinating for the students to see China in this way.

Raise The Red Lantern.......2007-05-28

The film that drew me into the world of arthouse/world films.
"RAISE THE RED LANTERN" will probably rank as Zhang Yimou's all time best art film. The asthetic quality of the film, the authenticity of the story context and a very powerful performance by Gong Li has made me watch this film again and again. Its a pity that Yimou moved away from this style and approach of filmmaking and got bitten by the commercial techno-simulated action stunt-driven art films that appeal to a younger and more commercial film market.

"RAISE THE RED LANTERN" will rank alongside films exploring the social period context of human life made by master directors such as Satyajit Ray, Vittorio de Sica, Truffaut and Kurosawa.

A TRIVIA: (if you didn't know already) The film was banned by the Chinese government for many many years, if its not still so.

COMMENT: A restored version of the film was shown to small audiences in film-loving cities (New York and San Francisco) recently. I hope this DVD represents the restored version of the film. The original version was distributed with very poor subtitles and an oversaturated color balance that spoiled viewing pleasure somewhat.

Masterpiece!.......2007-05-14

Set in the War Lord era of China, Gong Li does a phenomenal acting job. The story will haunt you for days.

Average customer rating:

Ozu's Late Spring
A zephyr's touch
Quietly Stated, Profoundly Moving
Magnificent --- one of the most touching films I have ever seen
There've always been people from good and bad families

Late Spring - Criterion Collection
Starring: Chishu Ryu , Setsuko Hara , Yumeji Tsukioka , Haruko Sugimura , and Hohi Aoki
Director: Yasujiro Ozu , and Wim Wenders
Manufacturer: Criterion
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: B000EOTWIS
Release Date: 2006-05-09

Amazon.com

A masterpiece of postwar Japanese cinema, Yasujiro Ozu's Late Spring serves as an elegant primer for many of the themes that would define Ozu's later career. As with other Ozu classics, this is a calm, meditative drama about the dynamics of family, in this case the inevitable separation of 56-year-old father and widower Shukichi (Chishu Ryu) and his adult daughter Noriko (Setsuko Hara), who is content to care for her father and remain unmarried, despite the urging of friends and relatives to find a suitable husband. There are some viable candidates, and several attempts at matchmaking, but the likeliest match is a man who's already engaged. Noriko simply wishes for things to remain as they are, but when she does eventually marry a handsome chemist who "looks like Gary Cooper," Ozu's drama remains intimately focused on the subtle emotions at play; there's not a scene or sequence that feels out of place, and Late Spring serves a secondary function as a light and lively portrait of post-war Japan, as hints of Western influence (like a Coca-Cola sign in one of the film's most memorable scenes) that signal Japan's transition toward a modern commercial economy. Most of all, however, Late Spring is a carefully observed and quietly heartbreaking story of a parent who yearns to set things right for his daughter who must balance her father's love with her own prospects for a fulfilling future. And while Ozu would go on to examine familial issues in later, equally noteworthy films, Late Spring represents a milestone that would ensure Ozu his rightful place among the greatest of all Japanese directors. --Jeff Shannon

On the DVDs
Criterion's release of Late Spring contains a few minor flaws in terms of image quality (such as occasional emulsion scratches), but viewers can rest assured that this DVD was mastered from the finest available materials, and the film looks very good considering the conditions of post-war Japan that were typically harsh on films of that period. The "windowbox" framing format accurately preserves the film's original 1.33:1 aspect ratio. There's a new and improved English subtitle translation, and the audio commentary by Richard Peña (an Ozu expert and program director of New York's Film Society of Lincoln Center) emphasizes the literary traditions that inform Ozu's films, in addition to the director's signature fixed-camera, low-angle style. Disc 2 includes Tokyo-ga, the 1985 feature by German director (and avid Ozu admirer) Wim Wenders. It's a tribute to Ozu's Japan, in which Wenders wanders the city searching for remnants of Tokyo as seen in Ozu's films, including interviews with Late Spring actor Chishu Ryu and Ozu's long-time cameraman Yuharu Atsuta. In keeping with Criterion tradition, a 21-page booklet is also included, containing informative essays by critic Michael Atkinson and renowned Japanese-film historian Donald Richie. --Jeff Shannon

Description

The first of a series of intimate family portraits that would cement Yasujiro Ozu's reputation as one of the most important directors in cinema history, Late Spring tells the story of a widowed father who feels compelled to marry off his only, beloved daughter. In the hands of two of the director's finest actors—Chishu Ryu and Setsuko Hara—this poignant tale of love and loss in postwar Japan remains as potent and meaningful today as ever.

Customer Reviews:

Ozu's Late Spring.......2007-06-25

A lovingly crafted fable about family relations in mid-century Japan, "Late Spring" is a testament to Ozu's elegant visual style and tranquil humanism. Two of his favorite actors, Ryu and the resplendent Hara, have an especially beautiful rapport in this touching story of sacrifice, which hinges on Noriko's cheerful willingness to forego freedom, and Somiya's desire to see Noriko married, though he knows he'll lead a lonely life without her. With consummate skill, Ozu uses shots of parks, walkways, and gardens to illustrate his characters' emotional states. Poignant and languorously paced, this is a masterful study of father-daughter affection.

A zephyr's touch.......2007-06-23

LATE SPRING's story is so airy that it is best watched on an lazy late afternoon. It's so subtle that it would be a shame to reveal too many details and possibly ruin your 'experience' of this. If you're the type who wants some, check out other reviews. I intend to reveal as little as possible.

After some 20 minutes of glimpses into the everyday lives of the widower and his 27-year-old daughter living near Tokyo around 1949, the story eases into first gear. And quite a bit after that, we see the main conflict float into view. It resonates and grows at an unlikely setting, becoming an aching poignancy that carries to the end of the film.

There's no real outburst of emotion. Only a couple almost understated moments of honest expression amid tons of near-ritualistic etiquette, often with the people wearing broad masking smiles. (I'm part Japanese and it still seems somewhat alien to me.)

All filmed in director Ozu's exquisite style, still potent despite being in black and white. (I'm glad I first saw the Criterion DVD of FLOATING WEEDS by the same director because it had Roger Ebert's film commentary which taught me how to watch an Ozu film.)

As for DVD extras, I skipped thru most of Wim Wender's 90-minute tribute to Ozu, altho, near the end, it has a fascinating piece on Ozu's camera setups. In the commentary by Richard Peña, background information gives way to extensive interpretion the scenes (I prefer the other way around).

Sadly, this is film that could use some first class restoration work to eliminate the signs of decay. It certainly deserves it.

Quietly Stated, Profoundly Moving.......2007-05-23

There might not be a director that personifies "profundity through simplicity" like Ozu. Unlike Kurosawa and Mizoguchi, Ozu relied on the deepest humanities of his strong characterizations to create a dynamic and moving rendering of his simplest of narratives. In all honesty, I've not seen anything or anyone in film like Ozu. With that, I get to Late Spring. If there was ever a simpler narrative premise I don't know of one. A daughter - Noriko, played perfectly by Ozu mainstay Setsuko Hara - stays at home to help her aging father - Shukichi, played perfectly by Ozu mainstay Chishu Ryu. The father soon realizes it's time for his daughter to marry. The daughter's ambivalent feelings towards marriage are inclined towards not doing so out of love and dedication to her father. So the father crafts a small white lie of his impending re-marriage to gently nudge the daughter out of the nest.

No description of the narrative however could give any insight into the immense and poignant power of this film. The gentle interplay between Noriko and Shukichi is largely what makes this film so great. Through this, we get to know these characters so intimately we feel as if we know them not as fictional characters, but as very real ones. It's not just the fact that they are so likable, it's the fact that they're so human. Ozu's depictions of everyday people in everyday life confronting life's small but meaningful moments is what drives it all. Late Spring simply allows us a look into the lives of two people we feel we know from the beginning. By the end, their emotions effect us as much as them. The final scene of Ryu peeling a fruit (and I'll leave it there so as not to spoil it) carries infinitely more weight and emotion than it should. But this scene perfectly illustrates Ozu's ability to take the simple and make it profound.

The moving scenes are not just saved for the closing however. The extended Noh play serves as the film's centerpiece, and the turning point for its main characters. For 7 minutes we're allowed to view something that is likely completely alien to all of America, if not Western Civilization. But the words in the play actually reflect many of the underlying themes of the film. And a simple look and smile on Shukichi's part to his potential wife, and the noticing of this by Noriko, serves as the catalyst for the rest of the film. The scene immediately afterwards of Noriko and Shukichi walking side by side, only to have Noriko separate to go her own way, is perhaps my favorite scene in the film for what it represents.

Much has been said of Ozu's style in technical terms - low angle shots, sparse camera movement. But I'd like to comment on the emotional effect this style has. I would describe Ozu's style as one that's as minimally intrusive and obtrusive as possible. This essentially creates a window in the lives of very real people. One can almost gets the impression that they're not watching a brilliant film, but a real life documentary into the lives of its characters. What we end up with is a snapshot of a time and place, and most importantly of people whose lives end up mattering to us. It's startling how many subtleties this film reveals with repeat viewings. The reason for this is because of the underlying themes that Ozu expresses throughout the film. They are told in such intricate, subtle ways, that the complex depths of those ideas are revealed only with repeat viewings.

I honestly don't know if I can heap enough acclaim onto this film. Although not for everyone and every taste, this is a film unlike any other you're likely to ever see. The phrase "They sure don't make them like this anymore" springs to mind. Also, no review of this size could bring into light everything that makes this film so rich. Ozu's style combines with emotional characterization and an elaborate world in which they exist with underlying themes that are delicate, but extremely subtle and important. This creates a work that is so multi-layered, one can only choose a few layers while leaving out many others.

It's astounding to think that in this day of Plasma screens and 1080p and 5.1 surround sound and all the effects that CGI and computers can generate, a film as simple and quiet as this can be as effectively affecting as it is. Indeed, Late Spring as well as Ozu's other masterworks are more real in their fiction than all of reality television put together, and more deeply rich and rewarding than most anything you're likely to ever see.

Magnificent --- one of the most touching films I have ever seen.......2007-02-27

I almost hate writing reviews about movies like this, because there are only so many superlatives I know. Simply put, this is one of the most beautiful & touching films ever --- an utterly convincing portrait of a father/daughter relationship which must be forever changed. Noriko is perfectly content with this idyllic relationship as it is, but her father knows that ultimately she will be unfulfilled if she does not move on with her life, and in what has to be one of the most wonderful scenes I have ever seen in a film, he explains the essence of marriage & the creation of a new life & persona within the marriage. That scene alone is worth the price of the DVD.

Of course, with Criterion, you get what you pay for --- lots of really good commentary (discussing this movie within the greater context of Ozu's career, as well as an examination of everyday life in Occupied Japan) and other features. Five stars really doesn't seem to be enough for this. Every father of a daughter ought to watch this, I think.

There've always been people from good and bad families.......2007-02-26

They haven't made any films like this in decades, anywhere in the world. From a time when the word decency could be used more as a weapon than as a boomerang. Traditional family values is what we have here exposed, without lecturing. Those film critics that talk so much nonsense about Japanese films are just a bunch of hippies with bow ties, proletarians in nike shoes. John Ford himself made many movies like this one, where family values are proclaimed and sanctified thru his artistry, but critics don't want to see that, they only see what they want. Well, here's this director from Japan, right after WWII, giving us a last tour of the good old times when they are about to change.

Sure, it's about a father and his lovely daughter. But at the same time it's about those times I was talking about. The daughter doesn't want to change, just like all the decent people wouldn't want to change; but it's inevitable. It's life's law. Progress cannot be stopped, and daughters must marry off, to start a new family, maybe new societies.

There are such things as good and bad families. Just as there's right and wrong. This is a wonderful film. But I've seen more old films like this one, and they weren't Japanese. They were American and European. Why not give them the same Criterion treatment? Are "traditional values" only nice when they apply to foreign cultures? I see a double standard in these phony critics. Whatever they say about this film, it is not one that disfunctional families can feel identified with.

Average customer rating:

"When a woman strikes at the heart of another woman,she seldom misses!"
Beautiful movie, horrible dvd quality....
English Class
Raise The Red Lantern
Masterpiece!

Raise the Red Lantern
Starring: Li Gong , Caifei He , Cuifen Cao , Jingwu Ma , and Qi Zhao
Director: Yimou Zhang
Manufacturer: Razor Digital Entertainment
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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Similar Items:

Ju Dou
The Story of Qiu Ju
The Road Home
To Live
Memoirs of a Geisha (Widescreen Two-Disc Special Edition)

ASIN: B000BBOU5O
Release Date: 2006-01-17

Amazon.com essential video

Customer Reviews:

"When a woman strikes at the heart of another woman,she seldom misses!".......2007-07-02

Beautiful movie, horrible dvd quality...........2007-06-28

English Class.......2007-06-27

Raise The Red Lantern.......2007-05-28

Masterpiece!.......2007-05-14

Set in the War Lord era of China, Gong Li does a phenomenal acting job. The story will haunt you for days.

Average customer rating:

Very Dramatic, Great Performances, & Memorable
EXCELLENT MOVIE
Subtle and thoughtful drama with a powerhouse cast
Jessica Lange!
Pfeiffer and Lange: Powerhouse Performances

A Thousand Acres
Starring: Michelle Pfeiffer , Jessica Lange , Jason Robards , Jennifer Jason Leigh , and Colin Firth
Director: Jocelyn Moorhouse
Manufacturer: Walt Disney Video
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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