Hollywood Ending

Starring:Barbara Carroll (II), Bob Dorian, Gregg Edelman, Howard Erskine, Bill Gerber, George Hamilton, Neal Huff, TÃ©a Leoni, Ivan Martin, Douglas McGrath, Debra Messing, Isaac Mizrahi, Roxanne Perry, Stephanie Roth Haberle, Mark Rydell, Marian Seldes, Tiffani Thiessen, Mark Webber (II), Treat Williams
Studio: Dreamworks Video
Product Type: DVD

Editorial Review:
Amazon.com
With Hollywood Ending, Woody Allen good-naturedly bites the hand that feeds him. The modern studio system is a ripe target for Allen's rapier wit, but the veteran writer-director goes a delicious step further by playing a has-been filmmaker who suffers from psychosomatic blindness--during the production of his big-budget comeback! Rather than sabotage his career, he proceeds to direct the film with guidance from his Chinese cinematographer's translator, telling his agent (played by another veteran director, Mark Rydell) while hiding the truth from his ex-wife and producer (TÃ©a Leoni), her studio honcho husband (Treat Williams), and his ditzy actress girlfriend (Debra Messing), who has a small role in the film. Chaos ensues--and so does Allen's predilection for casting much-younger female costars--but Hollywood Ending favors a more contemplative blend of comedy and drama, peppered with memorable punch lines and blessed with, yes, a Hollywood ending that's as entertaining as the mayhem that precedes it. --Jeff Shannon

Woody Allen Four Movie Comedy Collection (Anything Else / The Curse Of The Jade Scorpion / Hollywood Ending / Small Time Crooks)
Average customer rating:

Woody Lite

Not Apocalyptic but Adequate!

Not all great films, but collectable

Madagascar: the twist and turn word!

Everything new is old again...

Woody Allen Four Movie Comedy Collection (Anything Else / The Curse Of The Jade Scorpion / Hollywood Ending / Small Time Crooks)
Starring: Woody Allen
Manufacturer: Dreamworks Video
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Comedy | Genres | DVD | Video
Woody Allen | Comedy Directors | Comedy | Genres | DVD | Video
Woody Allen | Comedy Stars | Comedy | Genres | DVD | Video
( W ) | Titles | Features | DVD | Video
Comedy | Boxed Sets | Stores | DVD | Video
All Paramount | Paramount Home Entertainment | Studio Specials | Stores | DVD | Video
Boxed Sets | Paramount Home Entertainment | Studio Specials | Stores | DVD | Video
Comedy | Paramount Home Entertainment | Studio Specials | Stores | DVD | Video
DreamWorks | Paramount Home Entertainment | Studio Specials | Stores | DVD | Video
Similar Items:

The Woody Allen Collection, Set 3

The Woody Allen Collection, Set 2 (Shadows and Fog / September / Crimes and Misdemeanors / Another Woman / Alice)

The Woody Allen Collection - 8 pack

Mighty Aphrodite

Deconstructing Harry

ASIN: B00023P4JW
Release Date: 2004-07-06

Customer Reviews:

Woody Lite.......2007-07-04

I'm a big Woody Allen fan. Other than "What's New Pussycat" I had enjoyed everyone of his movies that I've seen. I'll now add one more to the mediocre list; "Anything Else". Unfortunately, "Anything Else" was the last of the four movies that I watched and it was spoiling my impression of the set. I took time out to reflect on the unique Woody Allen style that is strongly present in the other three movies and reassessed my rating of this set.

All four movies are what I would call light entertainment. These are movies that you can relax and enjoy. The humor is good but not overwhelming like is is in "Bananas" or "Love and Death". What appealled to me in the three good movies in this set was the way Woody Allen constructed such oddball plots and twists within those plots. These wacky roads end up leading us to a lot of amusing relationships. These are all romantic comedies the most of which have the leading man (Woody Allen) fall for the leading lady. In some, the relationship is a reunion, in another, it is making opposites attrack. In "Anything Else" it's, well, a sort of agonizing patience.

I missed these movies when the originally came out. Part of that is due to the fact that Woody Allen movies usually don't make it to our local theaters. That's too bad because Allen can do more with less than any director I know.

Not Apocalyptic but Adequate!.......2007-03-11

Let me preface this by saying my "collecting" habits revolve around movies, etc. filmed in NYC. I wasn't always a huge Woody Allen fan, but have grown to appreciate his humor over the years.
These are all decent Woody Allen movies.
Some of the acting in the lesser of this group, seems forced. Usually Woody's humor slips under the radar, and forces one to think for a second or two. In some of these, the jokes seem telegraphed between the parties. Especially in the first few minutes of each film. My personal test is if I ever use a Woody Allen one liner from one of his films, that film gets a passing grade in my book. The title of my review might be found in one these four.

I'm ranking these within the set from Best to Worst. (within this set)

Small Time Crooks
The best of the lot, with the best simpleton plot. Strong supporting cast in Tracey Ulman, and Hugh Grant.
If you are simply looking for quality over quantity, simply buy this title on its own, and call it a day. It's a rags to riches and back to rags again story. Some very funny moments packed into this one.

Anything Else
This is another good NYC movie. Some awesome scenes filmed in wide sweeping shots, and some great streets scenes. Christina Ricci is really something to look at it this film, too. She is believable in the "struggling / tortured actress" role. Woody plays a mentor role to the love sick male co-star (Jason Biggs), however, Mr. Biggs is not a good fit for this movie. The film gives a nice "sunny Sunday afternoon, in NYC feeling", along with a few laughs.

Curse of the Jade Scorpion
This is one of Woody's "flash back" to the 30's pictures. Good upbeat jazz soundtrack. Fun story line, but a little corny and forced. This movie almost lost me in the first 10 minutes of joke dialog, but stick with it. (If you're looking for something from the 30's era, skip this, and go to "Sweet & Lowdown")

Hollywood Ending
Good NYC scenery and some good cinematography, but WAY TOO LONG. My wife and I gave up on this before we could see the "Hollywood Ending", so that's all I'll say about it.

Overall, I give the set a B- rating, as a set. However, the price per film is excellent, if you are collector, or like to have an occasional Woody film to queue up, on a Sunday afternoon. You might have a hard time finding one or two of these movies at a standard circuit city or Best Buy store, so it's worth it to grab them at an average of $6 per movie. If you don't like Woody's style, you probably won't like most of these, and you might be better off reviewing them on a title by title basis.

Not all great films, but collectable.......2007-01-15

I admit I'll buy anything with Woody's name on it. Some of these are not great movies, as it seems he'd been trying to set a Guiness record for volume of work, but as a collector I had to have them, and this is a great deal.

Madagascar: the twist and turn word!.......2006-04-23

This is very funny film immersed in the great tradition of Woody Allen. A hypnotist (Voltan Polgar)will make a true mess of entangles I this fantastic comedy of mistakes that included the prestigious presence of this talented and beautiful actress. Helen Hunt. A delightful movie that finds an inspired script, a towering cast and obviously, the acid occurrences of this remarkable and irreverent filmmaker.

Everything new is old again..........2004-08-04

Woody Allen is one of the greatest comedic voices of our time. Be it as a stand-up, a writer or a director of countless films, Allen is not only unquestionably funny, but clever as well. The four films in this box - Anything Else; The Curse Of The Jade Scorpion; Hollywood Ending; and Small Time Crooks represent the most recent period of his film history, under the Dreamworks banner.

Many say Woody has lost his magic, and to some extent they may be right. I'm not sure whether audiences have seen this "talky" humour to death now (the modern sitcom was born out of pictures like 'Annie Hall', in my opinion), or there is a distaste towards Allen because of his private life or much-imitated performances, but these four movies are largely overlooked gems.

First up, two of these pictures are not Woody standards. 'Small Time Crooks' and 'Curse of the Jade Scorpion' are caper and detective stories respectively, and as full of Woody-isms as they are, it works beautifully. The last two movies are more Woody standards - lots of talking, lots of film references and a lot of humour. 'Anything Else' has been the subject of most of the criticism of Woody's recent work, but it is hard to see why. 'Anything Else' is like a cross between 'Annie Hall' and 'Stardust Memories', although not quite as good as either. For detractors of Woody, he is not in it nearly as much as his on-screen protégée (Jason Biggs). I really couldn't see that much wrong with it (although as one critic said, you know Allen has lost touch with the youth of New York when his characters go to a Diana Krall concert and enjoy it). The script is still sharp too. Christina Ricci's character at one point warns Biggs not to kill himself because it is "so middle class".

So don't let the critics fool you - these films are the work of a man who has certainly earned, and continues to earn, his place in the pantheon of great directors. And you can't pass up four Woody Allen films for under $25.

Average customer rating:

2.5 stars--Tries, but fails
A comedy about Woody Allen - Hollywood beginning
A Generous 4 stars
Interesting and funny
Good film

Hollywood Ending
Starring: Barbara Carroll (II) , Bob Dorian , Gregg Edelman , Howard Erskine , and Bill Gerber
Manufacturer: Dreamworks Video
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Comedy | Genres | DVD | Video

Satire | Comedy | Genres | DVD | Video

Farce | Comedy | Genres | DVD | Video

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

All Deals | Today's Deals in DVD | Special Features | DVD | Video

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

Anything Else
The Curse of the Jade Scorpion
Small Time Crooks
Celebrity
Don't Drink the Water

ASIN: B00005JL81
Release Date: 2002-09-17

Amazon.com

With Hollywood Ending, Woody Allen good-naturedly bites the hand that feeds him. The modern studio system is a ripe target for Allen's rapier wit, but the veteran writer-director goes a delicious step further by playing a has-been filmmaker who suffers from psychosomatic blindness--during the production of his big-budget comeback! Rather than sabotage his career, he proceeds to direct the film with guidance from his Chinese cinematographer's translator, telling his agent (played by another veteran director, Mark Rydell) while hiding the truth from his ex-wife and producer (Téa Leoni), her studio honcho husband (Treat Williams), and his ditzy actress girlfriend (Debra Messing), who has a small role in the film. Chaos ensues--and so does Allen's predilection for casting much-younger female costars--but Hollywood Ending favors a more contemplative blend of comedy and drama, peppered with memorable punch lines and blessed with, yes, a Hollywood ending that's as entertaining as the mayhem that precedes it. --Jeff Shannon

Customer Reviews:

2.5 stars--Tries, but fails.......2007-04-17

In Hollywood Ending, Woody Allen plays a once-great director with the reputation of being hard to work with. He's in need of a comeback project to get him out of directing TV commercials. A chance comes from an unexpected place, his ex-wife, who is now engaged to the head of a studio. She lobbies hard for Allen's character to direct a new movie about New York City. Despite tremendous reservations, he is hired and begins his great comeback. However, in the few days before shooting, he develops a case of temporary blindness. Not wanting to blow his big chance, he directs the movie anyway with the help of his agent/friend and the translator for the Chinese cameraman. When the translator gets fired, he confides in his ex-wife and she helps him because the movie is over half-way done.

The premise of this movie is a good one I think, but it just wasn't funny. The cast is very good and they all try hard, but I didn't laugh out loud once only smiled a few times. The movie doesn't take any chances, all the jokes are too tame. Woody is a hypochondriac (haven't seen that before), Woody walks into a wall (he's blind, remember?), Woody looks the wrong way when talking to people, people keep asking him things like 'which color do you like best?', 'which prop clock do you want to use?'. It all begins to repeat itself and it wasn't funny the first time. Woody Allen also continues to stretch credibility with the lovely women he casts. Tea Leoni as his ex-wife, Debra Messing as his girlfriend and Tiffani Thiessen as an actress who tries to seduce him. Yeah, right. Hollywood Ending tries, but fails.

A comedy about Woody Allen - Hollywood beginning.......2006-08-01

Woody Allen's deliberate but successful attempt to make a joke on himself. Even non Woody Allen fans like me can get it. Woody Allen was Val Waxman, a director at a low point of his career. Ellie (Tea Leoni) was his ex-wife who left him for the studio head Hal Jaeger. Out of her faith in Val, Ellie went out of her way to convince the studio to let Val direct a 60-million budget A-class film in New York - Val's specialty (first similarity). This was to be a comeback (second similarity) Val much needed.

The first half had a little bit too much talk with Val constant wining about Ellie's abandoning him 10 years ago. Yet once Val actually started to direct the film, an insurmountable obstacle came up. The movie immediately took a comic turn and became highly watchable. Debra Messing and Geroge Hamilton also appeared.

Tea Leoni, as a down-to-earth film producer was practical and Woody Allen must be credited for not asking her to portray a love struck romantic falling for the great and talented director. Throughout the film, she was more to him a loyal friend which was utterly convincing.

The story wrapped up neatly and headed for an unexpected ending - both hilarious and truly romantic. His reunion with his son is fun to watch. Some dialogues were memorable. "Inertia kept two-thirds of the marriages and love kept one-third." "This's really the work of a blind man" "Husbands should all be blind for some time." The joke on the French was actually quite bold (Afterall they have been Woody's steadfast supporters) and kept me laughing for some time. And the icing on the cake was a touch of romance and relationship in the end.

This was actually Woody Allen's self-reflection (as perceived by Hollywood studios) projected on the director Val Waxman - his style (more individualistic and nervous), his work (arty rather than mainstream) and his audience (more European than Hollywood). By stating his profile in the past, it is as if Woody Allen is ready to take a more proactive and commercial approach. By making a Hollywood film to tell of his "unHollywood" traits, this seems more like a Hollywood beginning for him - Match Point (good film) and Scoop are movies made for Hollywood. Woody Allen is reaching out for a broader base.

A Generous 4 stars.......2006-07-09

More like 3.5. A great premise gets a hit and miss treatment. At nearly two hours the tissue-thin premise wears out its welcome by at least 15-30 minutes. A hopelessly neurotic and difficult director goes psychosomatically blind and films his comeback movie anyway. The blindness is a metaphor. We are often so blinded by selfishness and desperation that we don't see the damage we do to ourselves and others.

Interesting and funny.......2006-04-09

I rented and watched this a year or so ago, loved it, bought a copy, and just opened and watched the copy. It is wonderful. Everyone does an excellent job acting. It seems to me at the outset like a one joke show and that after a few blunders with the blindness, it would become repetitious and obvious. But it does not. I underrated Allen (odd for me, I love him), he brings it off perfectly. I did not mind the mismatch agewise of him and his ex-wife at all, I wouldn't have had anyone but him play the part. I found it fascinating, original, inventive, imaginative, witty (though it is NOT as laden with one-liners as these other reviewers claim, it still has a lot of funny remarks), other people besides Allen have jokes, it is well and evenly written and has the perfect Hollywood ending.

Good film.......2005-12-05

This is a funny film and has some fine performances from all involved.

Woody has some great one liners and neurotically stumbles metaphorically and literally (he goes psychosomatically blind) through the movie.

The movie can tend to drag a little in places, but there is enough witty exchanges to keep it ticking along nicely and then leave you with a feel good Hollywood ending.

Obviously not in the calibre of his finest work, but still very much worth the ride.

Anything Else/Hollywood Ending Value Pack

Average customer rating:

Great!

Anything Else/Hollywood Ending Value Pack
Starring: Anthony Arkin , Jason Biggs , Stockard Channing , David Conrad , and Danny DeVito
Manufacturer: Dreamworks Pictures
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Comedy | Genres | DVD | Video

( A ) | Titles | Features | DVD | Video
ASIN: B00024JANC
Release Date: 2004-06-29

Customer Reviews:

Great!.......2005-03-17

These are two great underrated Woody Allen films. They are unique and funny in their own way. Not the best but still worth owning if you are a Woody Allen fan...

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