Diner

Starring:Steve Guttenberg, Daniel Stern, Mickey Rourke, Kevin Bacon, Timothy Daly, Ellen Barkin, Paul Reiser, Kathryn Dowling, Michael Tucker, Jessica James, Colette Blonigan, Kelle Kipp, John Aquino, Richard Pierson, Claudia Cron, Tait Ruppert, Tom Tammi, Pam Gail, Lauren Zaganas, Sharon Ziman
Director: Barry Levinson
Studio: Warner Home Video
Product Type: DVD

Amazon.com

On the surface, David Cronenberg may seem an unlikely candidate to direct A History of Violence, but dig deeper and you'll see that he's the right man for the job. As an intellectual seeker of meaning and an avowed believer in Darwinian survival of the fittest, Cronenberg knows that the story of mild-mannered small-town diner proprietor Tom Stall (Viggo Mortensen) is in fact a multilayered examination of inbred human behavior, beginning when Tom's skillful killing of two would-be robbers draws unwanted attention to his idyllic family life in rural Indiana. He's got a loving wife (Maria Bello) and young daughter (Heidi Hayes) who are about to learn things about Tom they hadn't suspected, and a teenage son (Ashton Holmes) who has inherited his father's most prominent survival trait, manifesting itself in ways he never expected. By the time Tom has come into contact with a scarred villain (Ed Harris) and connections that lead him to a half-crazy kingpin (William Hurt, in a spectacular cameo), Cronenberg has plumbed the dark depths of human nature so skillfully that A History of Violence stands well above the graphic novel that inspired it (indeed, Cronenberg was unaware of the source material behind Josh Olson's chilling adaptation). With hard-hitting violence that's as sudden as it is graphically authentic, this is A History of Violence that's worthy of serious study and widespread acclaim. --Jeff Shannon

On the DVD
On a single disc and with little fanfare, this DVD makes an excellent case for the best extras of the year. Dive into the one-hour-long documentary and learn more about moviemaking than on many a double-disc. The secret lies in director David Cronenberg's (and his usual crew) folksy casualness in showing off the craft, be it makeup (green screens were used), directing (Cronenberg doesn't storyboard), or art direction (the diner set). It also is very funny to hear about "fish Fridays" and how Maria Bello's Uncle Pete became an influence. Even the infamous sex-on-the-staircase scene is diagnosed with candor as stars Viggo Mortensen and Bello act as if there is no backstage camera. There's only one deleted scene, but it's uncommonly deconstructed on why it was filmed and why it was cut (it's a very Cronenbergian dream sequence). A short bit on Cannes is also a delight. So much is here that Cronenberg's smart commentary track is nearly superfluous. Isn't that a nice surprise? --Doug Thomas

More to Explore

The Graphic Novel

Other Graphic Novels that Inspired Movies

David Cronenberg Essentials

Why We Love Maria Bello

The work of Viggo Mortensen

The work of William Hurt

Stills from A History of Violence

Viggo Mortensoe as Tom Stall
Ashton Holmes as Jack Stall and Kyle Schmid as Bobby Jordan

William Hurt as Richie Cusack
Ed Harris as Carl Fogarty and Viggo Mortensen as Tom Stall

Maria Bello as Edie Stall
Director David Cronenberg

Description

An average family is thrust into the spotlight after the father (Viggo Mortensen) commits a seemingly self-defense murder at his diner.

DVD Features:
Audio Commentary:Director David Cronenberg Commentary
Deleted Scenes:Deleted scene w/director commentary
Documentary:"Acts of Violence" documentary
Easter Eggs
Featurette:"The Unmakeing of Scene 44" "Violence's History: U.S. vs. International Versions" "Too Commercial for Cannes"

Customer Reviews:

BORING.......2007-07-04

This movie was so dull and dry!!! It was boring from start to finish. With the exception of the sex scenes between Viggo Mortensen and Maria Bello!!, and the fight scenes with the son and that stupid jock!!! Either than that it was corny as hell!!!

A History of Violence (David Cronenberg).......2007-06-28

David Cronenberg's "A History of Violence" has become of my favorite movies of the decade so far. The sex scene between Mario Bello and Viggo Mortensen on the staircase has all but become legendary. Just watching it makes my back hurt. That must have been so uncomfortable but still sexy. The great thing about having this DVD is that you can watch the scene over and over.

The story is very simple but really effective. A man hiding his identity is found out by the thugs he is hiding from, just because of an act of bravery which got him on TV. They come and try to destroy his new life. Really not bad. I don't know why so many people don't like this movie.

HISTORY OF A GREAT MOVIE.......2007-06-23

I loved this movie, i found it riviting. Im not a huge fan of Mortensen but i thought he was fantastic in this, the whole movie spins off of his great performance. I also loved William Hurts performance, he went totally against type, I laughed so hard. My friend recommended this, and i could not look away, i was revited by this movie, from start to finish. Great film, I highly recommend it, and im picky as hells...whom ever game this review an unhelpful is an idiot straight up.

golden violence.......2007-06-04

When you hear the title "History of Violence" you probably think of some kind of documentary focusing on history between people from all over the world. Well, it's not that. This is just a movie that focuses on one family where the wife, husband, son and daughter seem to disagree with each other on many occasions, and in fact, it stretches beyond the family. Some of the scenes were truly unbelievable in a graphic kind of way, such as a certain something that happens on the stairs of the home. The violence actually kicks in pretty heavily towards the end, but without spoiling anything, I'll just leave it at that. It's not a classic film, but it's dark and quiet tone makes it worth watching.

A morality tale worth seeing.......2007-05-29

David Cronenberg is not the first person I think of for an action film. But then, despite the movie's name, this isn't an action film. It's parable about all kinds of violence: violence between parent and child, between children, between husband and wife, between brothers, and of course, good old-fashioned violence against people who disagree with you.

The Stalls are a perfect family. There's hot lawyer wife Edie (Maria Bello), soft-spoken Tom (Viggo Mortensen), and their children: wisecracking teenage Jack (Ashton Holmes) and cute-as-a-button Sarah (Heidi Hayes). Into this perfect family portrait enters violence in the form of bullies at school and thugs who attempt to rob Tom's diner.

It turns out that Tom has an ugly past he's been trying to keep secret. But when Tom violently repels the robbers and becomes a minor celebrity, his past comes back in force.
Carl Fogarty (a snarling Ed Harris), a mobster who wants Tom to "go for a drive," shows up at Tom's doorstep, threatening his friends and family. Things spiral downward from there.

Tom's struggle isn't just about his criminal past. Cronenberg unspools on screen a litmus test of violent scenarios, and then asks the audience each time: Is this okay? The questions start out easy to answer and become increasingly complex. By the time Tom grabs his wife in a violent embrace that turns passionate, we suddenly understand that each person defines their own boundary of when violence is and isn't acceptable. And the morality attached to each act of violence is a fluid thing indeed.

All the actors pull their weight in History of Violence, except perhaps Hayes--she's no Dakota Fanning, but she acts suitably cute (a little too cute). Everyone else is excellent, from Bello's desperate, hurt looks to Holmes terrified/thrilled rage, to the inimitable Harris as a very scary man. And of course there's Mortensen, who infuses every character with a level of depth with a sad glance.

By the time Richie Cusack (William Hurt) appears, the violence at home has come full circle. I'm not particular fond of Hurt, but he does an excellent, frightening job here, as a mobster completely bereft of any moral compass.

This movie poses important questions that challenge American assumptions about violence, similar to how American History X challenged our assumptions about racism. It's in answering those questions that the movie becomes more than action film and transforms into a morality tale worth seeing.

Giant (Two-Disc Special Edition) (Digipack)

Average customer rating:

Very grand spectactle
Giant
Vintage Dean, Deals with Important Issues
James Dean comes through again
One of my most favorite movies

Giant (Two-Disc Special Edition) (Digipack)
Starring: Elizabeth Taylor , Rock Hudson , James Dean , Carroll Baker , and Jane Withers
Director: George Stevens
Manufacturer: Warner Home Video
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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Shane

ASIN: B000092T6L
Release Date: 2003-06-10

Amazon.com essential video

They call it Giant because everything in this picture is big, from the generous running time (more than 200 minutes) to the sprawling ranch location (a horizon-to-horizon plain with a lonely, modest mansion dropped in the middle) to the high-powered stars. Stocky Rock Hudson stars as the confident, stubborn young ranch baron Bick Benedict, who woos and wins the hand of Southern belle Elizabeth Taylor, a seemingly demure young beauty who proves to be Hudson's match after she settles into the family homestead. For many the film is chiefly remembered for James Dean's final performance, as poor former ranch hand Jett Rink, who strikes oil and transforms himself into a flamboyant millionaire playboy. Director George Stevens won his second Oscar for this ambitious, grandly realized (if sometimes slow moving) epic of the changing socioeconomic (and physical) landscape of modern Texas, based on Edna Ferber's bestselling novel. The talented supporting cast includes Mercedes McCambridge as Bick's frustrated sister, put out by the new "woman of the house"; Chill Wills as the Benedicts' garrulous rancher neighbor; Carroll Baker and Dennis Hopper as the Benedicts' rebellious children; and Earl Holliman and Sal Mineo as dedicated ranch hands. --Sean Axmaker

Description

Texan rancher Bick Benedict visits a Maryland farm to buy a prize horse. Whilst there he meets and falls in love with the owner's daughter Leslie, they are married immediately and return to his ranch. The story of their family and its rivalry with cowboy and (later oil tycoon) Jett Rink unfolds across two generations.

Customer Reviews:

Very grand spectactle.......2007-06-29

The title Giant captures much about the movie - Giant personalities portrayed by Giant actors in a Giant sized state, shown on a Giant movie. This is a multigenerational story of the adoption of Texas by rancher-oilmen. Hollywood's best (Elizabeth Taylor at an age my generation won't recognize, and Dennis Hopper in a surprise smaller role) play in this story that confronts big topics such as inter-generational transfer, racism, and faulty attempts at personal growth.

It's a heavy and long movie - best seen in 3 parts over 3 nights. As such, it can be appreciated as a masterpiece. In one night it might be too much.

Enjoy!

Giant.......2007-06-25

Based on Edna Ferber's best-seller, Stevens's vibrant, sprawling epic about a rivalry that spans decades is every bit as grandiose, melodramatic, and visually arresting as it was half a century ago. In his final performance, Dean really hits the mark, playing the noxiously racist Jett Rink--a surly cowboy who inherits oil-rich land and establishes himself as Bick's nemesis--with smoldering angst. Hudson and Taylor offer some of their finest screenwork, too, making their often turbulent marital conflicts (especially over Mexican-American workers' rights) equal to the grand majesty of the Lone Star landscape. Fascinating and unforgettable, "Giant" truly is larger than life.

Vintage Dean, Deals with Important Issues.......2007-06-22

Notably, this film highlights issues that were controversial at that time, including respect/equal rights for women and minorities. Acting is excellent. James Dean was on a roll with this film, his last, although he seems to play pretty much the same character in all three of his movies. Deserves to be a classic.

James Dean comes through again.......2007-05-14

Who can forget James Dean as Jett Rink and Rock Hudson as Jordan in this movie that is almost 4 hours long that takes place on a cattle ranch in Texas. This was another one of James Dean's outstanding roles after Rebel Without a Cause and East of Eden. In the movie Rock Hudson's character plays a cattle rancher who lives out on a big farm in Texas. His farm hand, played by Dean, is there to help out and assist the character Jordan, played by Hudson, with tasks on the farm. Jordan becomes power hungry and eventually forces Rink to take actions into his own hands. Enjoy this story of two friends separated by power.

One of my most favorite movies.......2007-02-09

This is one of my favorite movies of all time. I am impressed that the timing was right ontime.

Average customer rating:

Feel good movie
super delayed
Love Frankie & Johnnie
Good Michelle Phyffer[sp] movie
Good

Frankie & Johnny
Starring: Al Pacino , Michelle Pfeiffer , Hector Elizondo , Nathan Lane , and Kate Nelligan
Director: Garry Marshall
Manufacturer: Paramount
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: B00005QTAU
Release Date: 2001-12-11

Amazon.com essential video

Garry Marshall (Pretty Woman) directs the screen adaptation of Terence McNally's play Frankie and Johnny at the Clair de Lune, the story of a short-order cook (Al Pacino) who drives a waitress (Michelle Pfeiffer) crazy with his adamant courtship and mixed messages. The film is okay and not much more than that, the major stumbling block being Marshall's failure to scrub away enough star veneer on Pacino and Pfeiffer to accept them as minimum-wage drones with nowhere to go but toward each other. Fortunately, Marshall's feel for the texture offered by supporting players--Hector Elizondo as a café owner, Nathan Lane as Pfeiffer's inevitably gay neighbor-buddy, Kate Nelligan as another lonely waitress--keeps things interesting enough. --Tom Keogh

Customer Reviews:

Feel good movie.......2007-03-08

Al Pacino is an ex-con (minor forgery was his crime) who's learned how to cook in the slammer; when he gets out he comes to NYC and takes a job as a short-order cook in a Greek restaurant. Here he meets and falls in love with waitress Michelle Pfeiffer - only she's got a head full of bad memories with men and resists Pacino like the plague. He keeps plugging away, though, and predictably wins her over. It's a feel-good movie through and through, and some of the techniques used to get the two together - a song heard on the radio, for example - are pretty trite. But the two principals do a very credible acting job, and the movie pushes all the right buttons to achieve its happy conclusion.

super delayed.......2007-01-10

you should consider paying a better shipping, i took the normal shipping, and it took A MONTH to get to arizona from i dont know where.. maybe china on ground shipping.. haha this shipping is so cheap, avoid this one, or buy the extra shipping that maybe would take 3 weeks. :(
too bad this took so long amonth, anyways the movie is in new condition and no problems at all, just the super extra long delivery time... bad bad bad

Love Frankie & Johnnie.......2006-11-04

Frankie and Johnnie is a great movie. Al Pacino is hot!!!!!!!!! He and Michelle Pfeiffer are the perfect couple in this movie. It is so sweet and romantic. Al Pacino has never made a bad movie in my opinion! If you are thinking of purchasing Frankie and Johnnie, you definetly should. You will not be disappointed. The dynamic between Al Pacino and Michelle Pfeiffer is totally different than their dynamic in Scarface, which is also a great movie!!!!! Like I said the man hasn't made a bad one. Anyway, I definetly recommend buying Frankie and Johnnie. You won't be disappointed.

Good Michelle Phyffer[sp] movie.......2006-03-25

I have the vhs,but not the dvd,maybe when I go to Best Buy,I will get this movie.It's about this waitress,who has a gay best friend,and this ex-con who got out of parole gets a job as a short-order cook at a diner falls in love with the waitress Frankie. Helen,who is sick from the beginning of the movie til she dies of what,I don't know.They have Nedda,? Frankie and Johnnie at the church to see the closed casket. They kind of get together when a customer gets an epilepsy seisure.

Good.......2006-02-23

Pacino is not bad in a "soft" role. This is kind of refreshing after all the violent movies he has been in.

See this film with the one you love.

Average customer rating:

Now this is an acting clinic
Great Movie
Great cast, good story.....but ?.
Good, Good, Really
One Of The Better Film Adaptations

Empire Falls
Starring: Monique Jeanine Lycette , Ed Harris , Philip Seymour Hoffman , Helen Hunt , and Paul Newman
Director: Fred Schepisi
Manufacturer: Hbo Home Video
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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Proof

ASIN: B0009W5IMO
Release Date: 2005-09-13

Amazon.com

A frame-bursting roster of actors crowds this two-part HBO miniseries, which is nothing less than a look at America through the lens of a small New England town. Richard Russo adapted his own novel, a story of a gently depressed factory town that has always been run by the wealthiest family around (currently lorded over by matriarch Joanne Woodward). Ed Harris plays the central role, a decent, cautious man who runs a local diner and carefully negotiates the political niceties of Empire Falls; Paul Newman is his rapscallion of a father (the son is perpetually picking food out of Dad's beard), Helen Hunt is Harris's ex-wife, Aidan Quinn his feistier brother, and Robin Wright Penn his tragical mother seen in flashbacks.

The goal of Russo and director Fred Schepisi seems to have been fidelity to the novel, which gives the film a pleasingly relaxed pace but also a somewhat literal-minded binding. Even that doesn't explain the general lack of tautness, or why so much of the dialogue has an awkward fit in actors' mouths. Harris and Newman, of course, are younger and older versions of American monuments, and their sheer presence goes a long way toward making the picture work (for the premium Newman-Russo match, see Robert Benton's sublime film of Nobody's Fool). Most of the twists in the final reels are genuinely affecting, and the movie has the courage to end on a mild note rather than strain to tie everything up. It's a fitting finale for an unassuming enterprise. --Robert Horton

Description

Adapted by author Richard Russo from his 2001 Pulitzer Prize winning novel, EMPIRE FALLS is a portrait of the gritty drama and human comedy that make up everyday life in blue-collar America. On a daily basis, goodhearted restaurant manager Miles Roby (Ed Harris "Glengarry Glen Ross") tries to keep his Empire Grill going, even as the wealthy and powerful Mrs. Whiting(Joanne Woodward "Philadelphia"), makes life difficult for him. If that wasn't enough, Miles has to keep tabs on his scoundrel of a dad, Max (Paul Newman "The Color of Money") who is always looking for trouble. But, Miles has something much bigger than just restaurant receipts and a cantankerous father on his mind-he can't shake the ghosts of his past that keep his fate inevitably connected to Empire Falls.

DVD Features:
Audio Commentary:Audio commentary with director Fred Schepisi and writer/author Richard Russo
Featurette:The Making Of

Customer Reviews:

Now this is an acting clinic.......2007-06-12

Ed Harris and Paul Newman are both amazing here. I know Newman won the Emmy and the Golden Globe, but Ed Harris really made this film for me. Not only was this one of his best performances, but I also liked his character the most. Everyone else in the cast is very good as well, especially the almost too cute Danielle Panabaker as the daughter.

The movie took a little time to pull me in, but once that relaxed "small town" pacing got a hold of me, I wasn't able to look away.

Great Movie.......2007-04-10

Excellent movie and well written story to follow. I bought this movie as a present for my girlfriend because she was one of the extras in it.

Great cast, good story.....but ?........2007-03-23

I'm scratching my head, wondering what was lacking in this DVD for me. The cast could not be better---each actor was wonderul, and Ed Harris, the lead certainly held my interest. The story was interesting and worth telling, and it seemed good that they took their time in telling it---not trying to crowd a novel into a two hour movie.

The closest I can come to for an explanation of my lack of real enthusiasm for it is the tone. It really tells a very dark story and although it's nice to enter into it with all the ordinariness of small town life, but it doesn't adequately prepare us for the really terrible revelations that occur later in the film. I left it with the impression of all the nice folks together eating donuts at the Empire grill. Perhaps it was the cinematograpy---just too much light and shots of the pretty New England town. It was too uniformly sunny...for the dark subject matter. The development of the character depended on his digging into the darkness of his past and this was not adequately represented in the style of the film.

The main idea of the film was the development of the emotionally watered down grill owner (Ed Harris) who is obviously an underachiever. We hear he got straight A's in school and went to college, which was unusual in that town, and yet here he is, working for the town Tyrant (Woodward) managing the small restaurant for the last twenty years with no end in sight. He's great looking and charming but his wife left him for an obvious bozo. His daughter begs him to stand up and stop the marriage but he's so nice and easy going that he just makes her promise to be a bridesmaid. Perhaps, as another reviewer suggested, Harris is just too naturally virile and macho to play such a wimpy character. (I loved him in History of Violence)

When he finally breaks out, he's not convincing either. The fight with the cop is good and it's satisfying to hear him tell off the town witch but he still seems rather sappy to me....spending an awful lot of time hugging his daughter. (If the characters in this story spent more time hugging their mates rather than their kids, they might all have been better off.)

The ending was not clear to me. Does he go back to his really drippy ex-wife (Helen Hunt)? and go into business with his mother-in-law? (I'd hoped he would steal the cute blond waitress away from his step-brother.)

Another thought: maybe it was the enormous joy that Paul Newman obviously took in playing his character that sort of spoiled the darkness of the film. Shame on you, Paul!

Good, Good, Really.......2007-03-07

I had waited in great anticipation when this came out on HBO, and I wanted to see it, I waited, and waited, and it finally comes on T.V, and I sat down and watched it. It has an all-star cast, it has a brilliant cinematic view to it. It is brilliant. It runs slow sometimes, some things get lost in it, as it tries to balance the outside world around Ed Harris character. There are scenes that can bring out emotion, scenes that can entertain, scenes that can do a lot of things, and that's what makes it very good.

One Of The Better Film Adaptations.......2006-11-21

So, I finally caved and bought the DVD version of Empire Falls based off Richard Ruso's novel. And the first thing I have to say is that it was good. Not as good as the novel, but still good. I actually didn't know that Russo himself had written the screenplay. If I had known that earlier, I would've watched it a while back.

Fred Schepisi does a wonderful job putting the pieces together in the small New England town of Empire Falls. Almost every actor was dead-on portraying the characters from the book. Although, Francince Whiting didn't seem quite as evil in the film adaptation. I was especially in awe of Paul Newman's performance of Max Roby. He was by far the funniest (and the saddest when he needed to be) character in the film.

There seems to be something missing from the adaptation though. I can't quite put my finger on it, but it's there. I guess that's what you get from any film in which you've already read the book. It's lacking some of the little details that one can only explain in words.

Nevertheless, the film was wonderful. A young movie and book buff like myself can only hope for more film adaptations like this one in the future. By far, one of the best adaptations you can get your hands on.

Average customer rating:

Theatrical History in the making!
Finer
New Kids On the Block
Not the right actors
Underrated '80s coming of age flick

Diner
Starring: Steve Guttenberg , Daniel Stern , Mickey Rourke , Kevin Bacon , and Timothy Daly
Director: Barry Levinson
Manufacturer: Warner Home Video
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: B00004RE27
Release Date: 1999-04-04

Amazon.com essential video

Barry Levinson's debut film as a writer-director nearly got lost in the shuffle before New York critics rescued it from oblivion. Set in his native Baltimore in 1959, it focuses on a group of pals coping with life post high school. Each of them has problems with women, it seems, whether it's Steve Guttenberg (as a guy about to get married who forces his fiancée to pass a test about the Baltimore Colts), Mickey Rourke (as the womanizing hairdresser with a gambling problem), or Daniel Stern (as the married one who makes his wife miserable with his carefully cataloged record collection). The only time these guys seem like they have it together is when they gather at the diner to sling the bull. The cast includes Ellen Barkin, Timothy Daly, Paul Reiser, and Kevin Bacon--each in a breakthrough role. --Marshall Fine

Description

The film that launched successful careers for Kevin Bacon, Ellen Barkin, Paul Reiser, Mickey Rourke and more! It's a lively, poignant tale of friends trying to recapture their lost innocence in 1959 Baltimore.

Customer Reviews:

Theatrical History in the making!.......2006-11-27

I saw this many years ago and was happy to finaly find it on DVD. This is a who's who of film history. What a cast of hopeful and promising talent. I Loved the guy perspective, something you didn't see much of back then. Mickey Rourke was looking good!

Finer.......2006-07-23

Set in 1959 Baltimore, this is a tale of 6 college age friends. As the title says, it is at their favorite diner that a lot of the action takes place. It is also the one place where they can all get together at once. This is most certainly a character study, with a fine job by a talently cast of young actors(who are all older veterans now) Some of it is a little stale, but overall it is a fine movie about facing life.

New Kids On the Block.......2006-05-18

This is a remarkable tribute to adolescence in the age of diners, the edge of the 60's. All the stars-to-be,Mickey Rourke, Steve Guttenburg, Daniel Stern, Kevin Bacon and Ellen Barkin play small-time characters with brilliant conviction. At the diner, the gang collects to dream, boast,gamble and connive their way into the human race. All the pranks, risks, deceptions kids can conceive of, they individually try to pull off, in order to convince themselves that their adolescence will remain forever. Some dreams are achieved, others fall short, but this town clique changes in the end. Special recognition should be spent on the sensitive character that Ellen Barkin plays. As a less-than-gorgeous beautician with ambitions and under-rated, she is "set-up" as a gag. When things do not entertain, only hurt her, the way Mickey Rourke recovers his decency to reach out to Ellen is a very special moment. Small towns did that. Cities are less forgiving.Unpredictable, quirky, childish but ultimately exhilarating are the reactions to this nostalgic gem. The bride's "test" for the nervous groom is worth the price of admission.

Not the right actors.......2006-02-05

James Spader was supposed to be in the last season of DINER. That would be my only reason for buying it. He is certainly not in this one! So where is he????!!!
Are there no Diner videos or DVDs with James Spader?

Underrated '80s coming of age flick .......2005-09-26

I have some older friends that love the Brat Pack movies because they came of age in the 80s when they were popular. I however came of age in the early 90s, and though I've seen the movies I can't fathom why the Breakfast Club is so great. Diner is a different story. I loved this movie. And of the 80s movies, I think it's one of the most underrated when we look back on that great decade of big hair, Reagan, and movie flicks that are of the period. Of course, I never liked or could understand why Reagan was so great either. But back to Diner, for someone like Kevin Bacon who has gone on to fame with Mystic River and other movies, Paul Reiser of Mad About You and Daniel Stern of the Wonder Years to name a few, its interesting to see where they came from. Even more, while the Brat Pack members of Breakfast Club type movies, with the exception of Demi Moore and Emilo Estevez all burned out, the fact that the Diner actors still shine brightly,by contrast,if sporadically, I think says alot about the film itself and the acting. Tim Daly of Wings and Paul Reiser of Mad About You in 90s tv are really recent when you get right down to it. Again, the acting is great, the plots like the dick in the popcorn or the football quiz are wonderful insights into how guys think. And I like them even more as this cuts to the stereotype of being a guy but the movie itself is more of a thinking man's guy flick. I think that's why I like it. As I'm a thinking man. Exchanging football for History, I could see myself as an Eddie character ,and for a time and indeed sometimes now, I classify stuff like Shreibie, though there's no woman to heckle like Stern does. Its that type of transcendant quality that makes the film great. Eddie's marriage,and I'm not sure if this is 50s behavoir or not, to his wife to be and the fact that Eddie still lives with his parents I think is an interesting plot line into how these guys think. Though it should be said, back then, parents slept in seperate beds, so it could be natural time period peice info while exercising the view of the character as well. The DVD Diner I recently watched and I liked that. I think it has a lot of good features. There's interviews from the main characters as well as secondary characters, the director himself, the trailer of Diner, the "Baltimore films" catalog, and another trailor this time for I think it was Liberty Heights. While either VHS or DVD is good in itself for the movie, I think the DVD is the better of the two.

Average customer rating:

here on earth
Love's Destruction
Awesome
Cute Movie
Even Hilary Duff is a better actor than this.....

Here on Earth
Starring: Chris Klein , Leelee Sobieski , Josh Hartnett , Michael Rooker , and Annie Corley
Director: Mark Piznarski
Manufacturer: 20th Century Fox
ProductGroup: DVD
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ASIN: 6305962979
Release Date: 2000-08-08

Amazon.com

Slumming among the locals of a small New York town, Kelley Morse (Chris Klein), graduating senior at a posh prep school and all-around insufferable rich kid, engages the testosterone of one of the hicks (Josh Hartnett) when he flirts with the guy's girlfriend, Samantha (LeeLee Sobieski). A car chase ensues, resulting in Samantha's family's diner getting blown up, which in turn lands the boys in hot water with the law. The upshot is the snotty rich kid is sentenced to help the locals rebuild the diner. A romance develops between Kelley and Samantha, apparently because they like a particular Robert Frost poem. So now they're deep, see. But then their love is tested when Samantha contracts Ali MacGraw disease. You know, that's the sudden disease Ali McGraw gets in Love Story--really an excuse to emphasize the strength of the characters' love. You don't know what you got till it's gone, right? This film would be pretty bad if the performances weren't so engaging, especially LeeLee Sobieski's, who seems to be channeling Helen Hunt in this movie. Though Chris Klein never makes us believe for an instant that his arrogant character could make the changes he does, or that his and Sobieski's characters could ever really get together. The script is too thin to support any motivations, and the film falls into formula weepy territory to appeal to teen tear ducts. Lovers of weepies might overlook the film's plot weaknesses in favor of the strong performances and the prospect of a good cry. --Jim Gay

Description

Chris Klein ("American Pie") and Leelee Sobieski ("Never Been Kissed") star in a "heartfelt story of romance, friendship and true love." (JUMP Magazine). Rich kid Kelley Morse (Klein) thought he had it all - money, good looks and a new Mercedes. But after

Customer Reviews:

here on earth.......2007-05-07

Is the sweetest touching movie, I'm going to live not as much as you? oh my God! Strong, beautiful, one of the best teen movies that I've ever seen

Love's Destruction.......2007-04-05

This heart wrenching story shows us just how sad love can be. It's reminiscent of Bronte's Wuthering Heights.

Awesome.......2007-03-20

I love this movie. It was the first romantic comedy I ever saw and when I saw it online i just had to buy it. It's so simple and there is such a great story line. i would recommend this movie to everyone.

Cute Movie.......2006-06-26

I just saw this movie last night. It is a really cute movie. This movie stars Leelee Sobeski, Josh Hartnett and Chris Klein. This is a very cute romantic movie about falling in love. Ignore the negative reviews and watch this movie. First of all this movie is about a rich guy (Kelley) who falls in love with a girl(Sam) from "the other side of the tracks".This movie starts off when Kelley comes to town. Sam's boyfriend gets mad at Kelley and they both get into a car race and end up burning down Sam's family restaurant. As a punishment they are both forced to help rebuild the restaurant. Sam eventually falls in love with Kelley. Sam's boyfriend then finds out about their romance. What will happen next? You'll have to watch to find out. I highly recommend this movie and I am sure that teenagers and pre-teens will enjoy it.

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Even Hilary Duff is a better actor than this............2006-06-21

Warning, DO NOT WATCH THIS MOVIE! The acting was horrible, and the movie was pointless! I have never seen such a bad movie in my life. I was appalled! This movie should have never been made. Can someone say burn this DVD? If you buy this movie, you are only going to contribute waste to landfills.

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i used to like it
Tarantino's Masterpiece
Well... let not start sucking each others....quite yet!
"There is no me and you. Not no more..."
A royale with cheese

Pulp Fiction
Starring: Rosanna Arquette , Steve Buscemi , Paul Calderon , Bronagh Gallagher , and Peter Greene
Manufacturer: Walt Disney Video
ProductGroup: DVD
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ASIN: 1558908242
Release Date: 1998-05-20

Amazon.com

With the knockout one-two punch of 1992's Reservoir Dogs and 1994's Pulp Fiction writer-director Quentin Tarantino stunned the filmmaking world, exploding into prominence as a cinematic heavyweight contender. But Pulp Fiction was more than just the follow-up to an impressive first feature, or the winner of the Palme d'Or at Cannes Film Festival, or a script stuffed with the sort of juicy bubblegum dialogue actors just love to chew, or the vehicle that reestablished John Travolta on the A-list, or the relatively low-budget ($8 million) independent showcase for an ultrahip mixture of established marquee names and rising stars from the indie scene (among them Samuel L. Jackson, Uma Thurman, Bruce Willis, Ving Rhames, Harvey Keitel, Christopher Walken, Tim Roth, Amanda Plummer, Julia Sweeney, Kathy Griffin, and Phil Lamar). It was more, even, than an unprecedented $100-million-plus hit for indie distributor Miramax. Pulp Fiction was a sensation. No, it was not the Second Coming (I actually think Reservoir Dogs is a more substantial film; and P.T. Anderson outdid Tarantino in 1997 by making his directorial debut with two even more mature and accomplished pictures, Hard Eight and Boogie Nights). But Pulp Fiction packs so much energy and invention into telling its nonchronologically interwoven short stories (all about temptation, corruption, and redemption amongst modern criminals, large and small) it leaves viewers both exhilarated and exhausted--hearts racing and knuckles white from the ride. (Oh, and the infectious, surf-guitar-based soundtrack is tastier than a Royale with Cheese.) --Jim Emerson

Customer Reviews:

i used to like it.......2007-07-03

I used to love this film,i watched it several times over and never got bored with it. But now i hate it. I hate it not because of the violence, no there are many other movies w/ WAAAAAY more disturbing sequences in them, and this one is mild in comparison(alot of the violence is offscreen anyway). no the reason i hate this film is because i hate Tarantino. Like every film he's ever made, Pulp Fiction is just a rip off of all the blacksploitation/crime drama he's ever seen, hell even the infamous Ezekial 25:17 line is a rip from an old sonny chiba movie. I think its fair to say that this movie has no originality in it whatsoever. Sorry Mr. Tarantino u should have become a film critic at best, but a director, i dont think so. So people, if u want an original crime drama then pass this one up and try the French New Wave films,thats where Quentin the hack gets most of his ideas anyway.

Tarantino's Masterpiece.......2007-06-15

Pulp Fiction is one of the best American films ever made. As Tarantino was both writer and director the film has his mark all over it. The trademark use of natural dialog that essentially has nothing to with the plot. Scenes are shown chronologically out of sequence, which sounds odd but Tarantino makes it work to his advantage as the loveable rogues are still alive at the end of the film, in the scene where the film started from.

Tarantinos casting is perfect. John Travolta is a revelation, Samuel L Jackson is Samuel L Jackson, but this is before we knew who Samuel L Jackson was! Uma Thurman is also great, but in possibly the best scene in the film Bruce Willis and Ving Rhames also turn in teriffic performances. In a lovely cameo role Harvey Keitel also turns up near the end of the film as well.

There are cimematic nods to a number of Tarantinos favourite movies as well. The most noteable being the dance scene with Travolta and Thurman which is based on a sequence in Jean-Luc Goddard's 'Bande A Parte'.

This is a very violent film, but as the title indicates its a form of comic strip violence, and there is also an underlying black comedy element as well. It is endlessly watchable and quoteable and that is the sign of a really great film.

Well... let not start sucking each others....quite yet!.......2007-06-08

This is the most entertaining movie I have ever seen. Seen it at least 20 times. Just brilliant.

"There is no me and you. Not no more...".......2007-05-22

In "Pulp Fiction," director Quentin Tarantino consistently defies viewer expectation and delivers one of the best films of the '90s. You'll marvel at Tarantino's adept bending of time structure, brilliant dialogue and memorable images. Some indie fans may prefer the admittedly great "Reservoir Dogs," but I say no go: "Pulp Fiction" is a deeper, more audacious and more accomplished picture.

Plot synopsis is difficult when dealing with Tarantino's time-bending narrative, but here goes: "Pulp Fiction" commences with two hitmen -- Vincent Vega (John Travolta) and Jules (Samuel L. Jackson) -- slinging hilarious dialogue (already considered classic) as they journey to collect some product from a soon-to-be former employee. After taking care of business, Travolta takes out his boss's lovely wife (Uma Thurman) as a favor to his out-of-town employer. A seemingly innocent night out turns into a unforgettable evening of '50s nostalgia, drug overdose and a memorable needle scene that will have the more squeamish population wincing.

The next sequence involves Bruce Willis as a boxer who agrees to throw a bout at the behest of Vincent's boss (Ving Rhames), but then has second thoughts. The situation gets considerably hairier when Willis and Rhames unexpectedly come face-to-face following the bout, and then must eventually join forces due to the most unforeseen of circumstances.

The movie does have its slow spots, most notably a dull sequence when a death-obsessed female cab driver peppers Willis with a series of bizarre questions. The scene isn't particularly funny, and in a 3-hour film it's clearly superfluous. That said, complaining about a single scene seems like sour grapes when discussing a masterpiece like Pulp Fiction. The film is consistently hilarious and pushes the envelope in just about every sense.

An oft-overlooked plot point is Jules' life-changing realization in the film's final act, a transformation that makes the movie about something instead of just a stylish piece of entertainment. Jackson's phenomenal performance is the best of many excellent acting turns, most notably John Travolta's outstanding comeback role, Uma Thurman's career-best peformane and Ving Rhames' star-making turn. Even the perpetually obnoxious Eric Stoltz is hilarious.

Andrzej Sekula's brilliant cinematography demands mention, making great scenes even greater (e.g. Travolta's walk down drug-trip lane). "Pulp Fiction" is a stunning film that deservedly cements Tarantino's position as one of the industry's hottest directors.

A royale with cheese.......2007-05-14

Awesome movie. The story is a complex intertwining adventure which will leave you thinking about it and trying to unravel it in your mind. Granted, the violence and language is a little extreme, but yet it is still done in a stylized manner. A must-have for Tarantino fans, crime drama fans, or for those who just appreciate good films.

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The Postman Always Rings Twice
a very sexy example of the film noir genre, at its best.....
Tale of Obsession
One ofthe best of its kind
in the time of film noir

The Postman Always Rings Twice
Starring: Lana Turner , John Garfield , Cecil Kellaway , Hume Cronyn , and Leon Ames
Director: Tay Garnett , and David Heeley
Manufacturer: Warner Home Video
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ASIN: B0000EYUCU
Release Date: 2004-01-06

Amazon.com essential video

Even under the heavy censorship of 1946 Hollywood, Lana Turner and John Garfield's libidinous desires burn up the screen in Tay Garnett's adaptation of James M. Cain's torrid crime melodrama. Platinum blond Turner is Cora, a restless sexpot stuck in a roadside diner married to mundane middle-aged fry cook Nick Smith (Cecil Kellaway) when handsome drifter Frank (Garfield) blows her way. It's lust at first sight, a rapacious desire that neither can break off, and before long they're plotting his demise--but in the wicked world of Cain nothing is that easy. Garnett's visual approach is subdued compared to the more expressionistic film noir of the period, but he's at no loss when he films the luminous Turner in her milky-white wardrobe. She radiates repressed sexuality and uncontrollable passion while Garfield's smart-talking loner Frank mixes street-smart swagger and scrappy toughness with vulnerability and sincere intensity. Costar Hume Cronyn cuts a cold, calculating figure as their conniving lawyer, a chilly character that only increases our feelings for the murderous couple, victims of an all consuming amour fou that drives their passions to extremes. --Sean Axmaker

Description

Adapted from James M. Cain's story, the film relolves around the destructive relationship of two lovers whose troubles mount after they do away with her husband.

Customer Reviews:

The Postman Always Rings Twice.......2007-06-25

Tay Garnett's sizzling "Postman," adapted from the pulp novel by James M. Cain, concerns fate, temptation, and the kind of irrational urges that drive people to murder. A gorgeous Lana Turner bewitches as the femme fatale, and enigmatic, underrated actor John Garfield plays the regular Joe who falls into her clutches. Garnett's direction is solid and tantalizingly suggestive, as when Frank spots a lipstick rolling across the floor moments before he lays eyes on Cora. Garnett's "Postman" delivers the goods.

a very sexy example of the film noir genre, at its best............2007-05-20

Cora (Lana Turner) is a very beautiful and frustrated woman, married to middle aged fry cook, Nick (Cecil Kellaway), residing with him in a small town that seems way too small for her tastes. Enter Frank (John Garfield), a handsome loner, who arrives at their door, one day. Cora and Frank are instantly drawn to each other, of course. The problem that stands in their way is her husband. What a pesky problem! Together, the two plot to murder Nick, so they can be together. Of course, this does not go according to plan.

This grizzly, sexually charged story said so much with so little (back at a time when even depicting "so little" granted you a firm rap on the knuckles from the MPAA censorship board). Lana Turner glows in a series of white ensembles that she clearly fills out quite pleasingly. What's more, no one ever made lipstick look so sexy before. In fact, Lana Turner's character made lipstick even more popular, after this film came out! Just a little trivia. The acting is wonderful, the plot is engrossing and there is a delicious feeling of dark forboding from this film, one of the best example of sexy film noir (literally, "black film") stories ever! This puts the murder mysteries of today to shame.

Tale of Obsession.......2007-04-19

*** This comment may contain spoilers ***

James Cain's tale of lust, murder, and retribution has attracted the filmmakers in different countries in different times. It's been adapted in France in 1939 by Pierre Chenal as "Le Dernier tournant" aka "The Last Turn" with great Michel Simon as a husband who was an obstacle for his young wife's and her lover's happiness. Luchino Visconti told the story in his "Ossessione" (1943) aka Obsession (how appropriate). The novel was also adapted in 1998 by the Hungarian director György Fehér in the movie Szenvedély (1998)aka "Passion". Hollywood has made two films based on Cain's novel of passionate obsession; both are titled "The Postman Always Rings Twice" - in 1946 by Tay Garnett with Lana Turner in her star making role as Cora Smith and John Garfield as Frank Chambers, a drifter who looked for a job but found something completely different and in 1981 by Bob Rafelson with Jack Nicholson and Jessica Lange. I've seen later movie many years ago and all I remember well is the very hot scene between Nicholson and Lange. The earlier film that I saw few weeks ago for the first tine is different. Turner and Garfield are sizzling and although there is no single sex scene between them, the movie is genuinely sexy and perfect in creating the atmosphere of obsession and desperate desire to change the lives no matter what the price would be.
4.5/5

One ofthe best of its kind.......2007-02-25

This is one of the best film noir that was evr made. The plot is captivating, the atmosphere unique and you can feel the sensuality and tension that Lan turner and John Garfield give out. The story is very well known- a hitchaker that stops at a restasurant, falls in love with the owner's wife and they plot to kill him. Extremely well acted and with an also excellent directing and photography this is a must.
Enjoy it.

in the time of film noir.......2007-02-25

I admit to being a film noir fan of long standing. Maybe it was the fact of growing up in the time of black and white television and watching all those late night movies which were freely available at the time. Maybe it was that tight, if improbable, dialogue, the relatively simple plots and the dramatic effect of the shadows of black and white photography on mood. In any case, the Postman Always Rings Twice fits nicely into that mix. The plot line is fairly simple- unhappy California housewife, older uncaring husband and a younger man at the door who turns out to be handy with a wretch- all the ingredients for a murder. Hey, isn't this the plot for Double Indemnity. Oh well, you get the point. Of course, as always the guilty parties will have to face justice. You know this is a modern morality play, after all. In any case one should like Double Indemnity by the same author, James M. Cain, read the book to get a better feel for the language, the steamier sexual tension and better insight into the motivations of the parties. This movie was remade in color in the 1980's and is probably truer to Cain's wicked designs but this is the definitive Postman.

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"Tom Baxter's come down off the screen and he's running around New Jersey!... Nobody knows how it happened, but he's done it."
I just met a wonderful new man. He's fictional; but you can't have everything
Lovely Movie
A Masterpiece
Reality vs. Fantasy

The Purple Rose of Cairo
Starring: Mia Farrow , Jeff Daniels , Danny Aiello , Irving Metzman , and Stephanie Farrow
Director: Woody Allen
Manufacturer: MGM (Video & DVD)
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ASIN: B00005O06L
Release Date: 2001-11-06

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One of the high points of Woody Allen's career. Cecilia (Mia Farrow), a depression-era waitress married to a brutish husband (Danny Aiello), finds her only escape at the movies, her current favorite being a light comedy about an explorer among socialites, called The Purple Rose of Cairo. She sees it so many times that the main character, Tom Baxter (Jeff Daniels), falls in love with her and steps off the screen to woo her. When news of this gets back to the movie studio, the producers send the actor who played Baxter (also Daniels) to convince Baxter to get back on the screen. The script is one of Allen's funniest, but underlying the whole story is a current of sadness that gives the movie's ending a surprising impact. Allen himself considers The Purple Rose of Cairo to be his personal favorite of his own films. A gem. --Bret Fetzer

Customer Reviews:

"Tom Baxter's come down off the screen and he's running around New Jersey!... Nobody knows how it happened, but he's done it." .......2007-03-16

"The Purple Rose of Cairo" was the first Allen's movie I saw back in Moscow in the end of the 80s and it started my eternal love for his films. "The Purple Rose..." is wonderful, is one if Allen's greats - a perfect combination of poignancy and humor, romance and drama, reality and fiction. It is the movie-within-the-movie that blends sophisticated romance from the lives of rich and beautiful where the dashing main hero with bravery and chivalry written into his character always gets a girl and Depression Era New York City where a poor waitress tries to escape the realities of her joyless life in the movie theater. The story focuses on Cecilia (Mia Farrow), a waitress and a battered wife of an unemployed abusive man (Danny Aiello). Cecilia only feels alive when she watches her favorite movies that take her away from her dreary realities. One day, as she watches "Purple Rose of Cairo" for the 10th or maybe 15th time, the leading man Tom Baxter (Jeff Daniels) decides to leave the movie and be with Cecilia in real life. His screen partners are left confused and "trapped" in a scene they can't get out of. The live actor who plays Baxter is blamed by the film's producer for his character's rebellion and tries to get him back on the screen. Cecilia's husband finds out that his wife was seen with a good looking man instead of working as a babysitter in the evening. On the top of all, Tom Baxters in other theaters try to leave "Purple Rose of Cairo", too... It is not the first or last time Allen has played with the concept of the thin line (in this film, the silver screen) that divides film's world and reality but rarely has he created the film as sweet, gentle, sad, technically realized and simply terrific as "Purple Rose of Cairo".

9.5/10

I just met a wonderful new man. He's fictional; but you can't have everything.......2007-03-03

Woody Allen's The Purple Rose Of Cairo ranks among his better films. The film centers on the experiences of a poor woman named Cecilia who is played wonderfully by Mia Farrow. Cecilia is trapped in a loveless marriage to a brute named Monk who is played by Danny Aiello.

Cecilia has a job as a waitress in a small diner during the depression and although she tries to work hard she can't help but fantasize and chat about the movies with her sister who also works at the same diner. Cecilia's only comfort is in the movie theater watching glamorous but highly contrived movies about rich people who aren't suffering from poverty and the scorn of her husband. Cecilia eventually loses her job and after catching Monk being unfaithful to her she winds up watching The Purple Rose Of Cairo endlessly at the small movie theater in their town.

Imagine Cecilia's surprise when one of the characters, the dashing all-American type guy Tom Baxter, decides to leave the film, jump from the screen into the audience, and run away with Cecilia! Tom represents the purity of heart and the true compassion that Cecilia longs for in her real marriage. She knows Tom is fictional because he came off the movie screen; but Tom maintains he's never going back because he wants to experience the real world with Cecilia as his new bride.

Of course, all of this horrifies the movie theater manager and the Hollywood studio that produced the film entitled The Purple Rose Of Cairo. How inconvenient this is for Gil Shepherd, too, the actor who portrayed Tom Baxter in the film! The movie studio executives and Gil Shepherd hatch a plan to get Tom to return to the movie--but will it work? What would happen if Tom returned to the movie but took Cecilia with him into the land of make believe?

The Purple Rose Of Cairo is a film you cannot afford to miss. Mia Farrow as Cecilia, Danny Aiello as Monk, Cecilia's husband and Jeff Daniels as both Gil and Tom all give some of the most convincing performances I've ever seen. Their performances moved me and engaged my attention much longer than I initially thought they would.

This movie deals with the universal human desire to escape the pain and boredom of everyday life so many of us experience and to replace that misery with a world in which there are no real problems and everyone has money or at the very least a secure job. Cecilia represents us all as she delights to Tom's world of relative innocence and harmony. Therein lies the true strength of this film.

The cinematography shines: I like the scenes in the movie house where you see the film being screened within Woody Allen's picture. The scenes filmed in the amusement park reflect careful forethought concerning lighting and camera angles. The choreography amazes me: I love the scenes in which both the movie theater patrons and the actors in the film are stunned by Tom's decision to leave the movie and they all move about simultaneously in ways that prove good judgment on the part of Woody Allen and his colleagues who worked on this film.

Overall, The Purple Rose Of Cairo will remain an excellent film as long as the human condition and the quality of our lives are imperfect. Everybody dreams of a world where their true desires are reality and their troubles disappear. The Purple Rose Of Cairo elegantly explores this theme with sophistication, wit and poignancy.

Lovely Movie.......2007-02-26

This sweet romantic movie is a favorite of many and perhaps Woody Allen's best film. Mia Farrow is perfect as sweet Cecilia who really deserves a handsome hero in her life, Jeff Daniels is great in his duel road and Danny Aiello plays a villain with enough charm that you can see why Cecilia got involved with him in the first place. The 1930's setting is well realized and nostalgic. And the movie within a movie is fantastic since as others have said Allen somehow makes the black and white fantasy world brighter and more appealing then the drab reality.

A Masterpiece.......2006-10-10

An absolutely masterpiece, Woody Allen's "The Purple Rose of Cairo" is a great movie that even people who don't usually like Woody Allen might like. I love Woody Allen and out of all of the films I've seen by him (7, I think) this is in my top 3 (below Annie Hall and Manhattan). The movie blends comedy, romance, drama, and features a genuinely sad ending. Allen's baby mama (and wife's mama) Mia Farrow plays Cecilia, a Depression-era housewife trapped in an unhappy marriage. She works as a waitress, makes little money, and is clumsy which frequently pisses off her boss. To escape from everything, she goes to the movies. When she sees the newest movie, 'The Purple Rose of Cairo' she falls in love with the character Tom Baxter (Jeff Daniels); When Cecilia is finally fired from her job, she sees the movie five times in a row prompting the character Tom to take notice. In doing so, he walks right out of the screen and into the arms of Cecilia. Leaving his fellow characters trapped in the movie and needing him to come back, Tom takes off from the theatre prompting management to call the films producers. When the actor who plays Tom, Gil Shepherd (Jeff Daniels again) gets wind of it...He fears his career may be in jeopardy and he seeks out Tom, but falls in love with Cecilia in the process. Meanwhile, on screens across America; The Tom Baxters are going haywire, forgetting their lines and trying get out of the movie. It's definitely a strange and original idea that could fail in the wrong hands. Any fan of Allen's should love it, but I did say that non-Allen fans would like it too. Here's why. If you don't like Woody Allen because of his work (a lot of people don't like him because of the Soon-Yi debacle), then it's probably because you don't like the neurotic character that's featured in almost all of his films (and almost always played by him) or you don't look his way of storytelling (the Greek thing in "Mighty Aphrodite" or the three endings in "Sweet and Lowdown"); This film has no neurotic Woody character, straight-forward storytelling. The only way you could even tell it's a Woody Allen movie is from the score and the credit sequences. This is a truly wonderful movie and I highly recommend it.

GRADE: A

Reality vs. Fantasy.......2006-08-26

In my humble opinion, Woody Allen is the best movie director that's currently out there practicing the trade. He says more, amuses more, and creates more on a relatively "shoestring" budget than any other director today. His popularity is apparently rather limited to the point that his movies usually don't even get shown in my town. Allen's films get praised by a lot of people "in the know" but, come Oscar time, about the only award handed out for his productions goes for Best Supporting Actress. Well, to each his own but I'll recommend every movie he's ever been involved in (with the lone exception of "What's New Pussycat?"); even the ones I haven't seen yet.

Last night I got my first look at "The Purple Rose of Cairo" and I ended up rating it "4 Star" mainly because I thought it moved along rather awkwardly at times (by Woody Allen standards). The concept is certainly original; an actor in a movie steps out of the screen and into real life (seems they're watching us as closely as we're watching them). I started seeing all sorts of possibilities and, I admit, I was disappointed that some of them didn't emerge. What did emerge was an excellent study of fantasy vs. reality.

The setting for the film was in the midst of the Depression which was a brilliant idea because it gave a readily understood backdrop of gloom and doom. Anyone would love to escape from such an existance. Our main character, played by Mia Farrow, finds her escape in the movie theatre. As the strange events unfold, she finds herself ultimately having to choose between fantasy and reality and we, the audience, find ourselves rooting for one choice or the other. (Even the exasperated screen characters were cheering sides as well). In the end she makes her choice and has to live with the consequences...or does she?

I saw this movie on TCM on a night they were celebrating Van Johnson. I presumed that the "late" Mr. Johnson would somehow be shown in one of his old sceen roles. However, there he was in a fairly small part looking well and doing a credible job. I learned, from Robert Osborne's introduction to the film, that it's still a little early to call Van Johnson "late". Much of the cast is competent to good with top kudos to Ms. Farrow. The ending to the movie was strong and I was almost tempted to give it a "5 Star" rating but I remembered that I had been significantly more impressed with some other Woody Allen movies I've seen lately.

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Dinner at Eight
One of the great sophisticated pre-code films
Dinner at Eight
Five Star DVD of a Five Star Movie
Jean Harlow Sizzles in Dinner at Eight

Dinner at Eight
Starring: Marie Dressler , John Barrymore , Wallace Beery , Jean Harlow , and Lionel Barrymore
Director: George Cukor , Jom McQuade , and Roy Mack
Manufacturer: Warner Home Video
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ASIN: B0006Z2KXO
Release Date: 2005-03-01

Amazon.com

MGM originally promoted Dinner at Eight by touting the "all-star cast," but this is no run-of-the-mill omnibus picture. On the contrary, rather than cramming as many big names as poss

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