Hedwig and the Angry Inch (New Line Platinum Series)

Starring:Michael Aronov, Ermes Blarasin, Rob Campbell, Karen Hines, Mary Krohnert, Sook-Yin Lee, Theodore Liscinski, Andrea Martin, Ben Mayer-Goodman, Maggie Moore, Renatta Options, Michael Pitt (II), Mike Potter (III), Gene Pyrz, Miriam Shor, Max Toulch, Stephen Trask, Alberta Watson, Maurice Dean Wint
Studio: New Line Home Video
Product Type: DVD

Amazon.com

Sometimes grace and hope come in surprising packages. The title character of Hedwig and the Angry Inch, a would-be glam-rock star from East Germany, undergoes a botched gender-change operation in order to escape from the Soviet bloc, only to watch the Berlin Wall come down on TV after being abandoned in a trailer park in middle America. Hedwig gets involved with Tommy, an adolescent boy who steals her songs and becomes a stadium-filling musical act. Suffering from a broken heart and a lust for revenge, Hedwig follows Tommy's tour, playing with her band (the Angry Inch) at tacky theme restaurants. Into this simple storyline, writer-director-star John Cameron Mitchell packs an astonishing mix of sadness, yearning, humor, and kick-ass songs with a little Platonic philosophy tucked inside for good measure. A visually dazzling gem of a movie. --Bret Fetzer

Customer Reviews:

I Love Hedwig.......2007-06-27

Having seen this film in the theatre twice, I don't know what took me so long to buy the DVD - I enjoy it every time I watch it! It has great heart and empathy and the music is fantastic! John Cameron Mitchell is enchanting as well as the whole cast. It is absurd, outrageous and yes, lovingly done. I especially liked Michael Pitt - he is one of my favorite actors - puts his whole being into every character he portrays.

Compelling Music that moves you!.......2007-05-07

a great movie , if you enjoy a good musical DEFINATELY take a second look at this film!

weirdWildness.......2007-04-11

My daughters bought this film and both enjoyed it for its weirdwildness. I can't say that I did, but it's a generational thing I guess. They especially liked the music, but again I can't say that I did although I'm a musician myself. Clearly inventive movie making and excellent musicians doing exactly what they want to do, but... I guess it's a generational thing. I don't particularly like Andy Warhol's flicks, or Broadway musicals, or Wagnerian opera, or John Coltrane, Philip Glass, or Modest Mouse indy music either. What's an old classical guitarist to do when the Bach D-minor partita is pulled off the music stand and the cross-dressers appear? The topics are not quite my style, although emotionality is the same across the entire human race. Inventive, wild, weird, very well done, but not my style.
Dr. Dude

An Inch Just Ain't Enough.......2007-03-30

Hedwig Robinson (John Cameron Mitchell) is a rocker. And she's got The Angry Inch beside her (and in her pants). As a young man, Hansel/Hedwig lived in East Berlin, right before The Wall came tumbling down. His sexual identity was always in question and when a cute, black, American soldier gives him a way out of the Eastern Bloc, Hedwig jumps on him (literally and figuratively). But he can't get to the other side of The Wall as a man, so an operation takes place to remove his vital functions below the waist ...if you get my meaning. Needless to say (if you pay attention to the title of the film), the surgery gets botched and leaves Hedwig with his "Angry Inch."

The anger is twofold. First is the failed operation; second is Hedwig's fury over stolen musical material by someone named Tommy Gnosis (Michael Pitt). Tommy is a rock-n-roll sensation, but it's all because of what Hedwig taught him in his early days. So Hedwig, in true b!tchy fashion, follows Tommy's rock tour around the world. But instead of playing in theaters and high end places, Hedwig and his Angry Inch band play at lowbrow restaurants, often to the dismay of its patrons who've simply come in to eat.

Hedwig's decline into obscurity is well played by director/actor John Cameron Mitchell. The musical soundtrack is very well done and the catchy tunes will have most movie watchers tapping their toes along to the rockin' beats. That he also remains angry at some of his band members is quite funny, actually holding them hostage by keeping their passports hidden away.

Revenge is the meal of the day as Hedwig finally meets up with Tommy again, eventually leading to Tommy's career demise and launching Hedwig into the spotlight. But is this what Hedwig really wanted? Not realizing the sacrifices she'd have to make, Hedwig decides to re-open her/his closet and show the world his/her true identity. He also sets free one of his band members who turns out to be a woman masquerading as a man, too.

Those willing to watch a film without sitting in judgement of the material will most likely eat this story up. It's quite funny, well acted, and has a rippingly good soundtrack. But if you're a staunch conservative or -- god forbid -- homophobic, you might want to pass on this one.

Mind-Altering Viewpoint.......2007-03-24

First time I watched this movie I was kinda confused, but felt like I'd just been run over by a truck. Still, I came back a second time, and a third, and a fourth...
And each time it amazes me. The meaning behind this movie and the idea of what makes someone happy might not end up completing them in the long run. *sigh* How many people can this touch before it becomes a cult classic?
Oh wait, It already is! :)