Gypsy

Starring:Bette Midler, Peter Riegert, Cynthia Gibb, Edward Asner, Christine Ebersole, Michael Jeter, Andrea Martin, Linda Hart, Anna McNeely, Jennifer Rae Beck, Jeffrey Broadhurst, Tony Shalhoub, Rachel Sweet, David Marciano, John LaMotta, Keene Curtis, Mike Nussbaum, Lacey Chabert, Elisabeth Moss, Sean Sullivan (XV)
Director: Emile Ardolino
Studio: Live / Artisan
Product Type: DVD

Editorial Review:
Amazon.com essential video
This faithful broadcast TV remake of the classic Jule Styne/Stephen Sondheim musical looms as a career triumph for top-lined Bette Midler--and a bittersweet measurement of how far mainstream film and TV have retreated from the glories of musical theater. By the time Midler, as the mother of all stage mothers, observes, "I was born too early and started too late," it's only too obvious that the star's words are an ironic inversion. Had Midler been born earlier, she certainly would have reigned as a major musical comedy star. In a role form-fitted to Ethel Merman's brassy persona and brassier voice, Midler more than holds her ground musically and, especially, dramatically.

Titled partly for its source, the life of stripper Gypsy Rose Lee, Gypsy alludes as well to the itinerant life of her family. The show's focal point isn't the titular character, but rather her manipulative mother, Mama Rose (Midler), who channels her own frustrated dreams of stardom into Baby June, the curly blonde daughter who always eclipses sister Louise. The story follows Rose's machinations as she tirelessly reinvents June to defy the passage of time and even puberty itself. By the time Louise herself conquers the marquee as Gypsy Rose Lee, Rose's single-minded focus has alienated her long-suffering lover and agent, Herbie (a well-cast Peter Riegert), and surrendered to the inherent compromise of burlesque.

Product Description

Master violinmaker Nicolo Bussotti creates what will be his greatest achievement--a perfect violin, inspiring passion and obsession in every life it touches. Francois Girard's "The Red Violin" follows the imaginary history of this unique instrument as it travels across continents and through lives over the span of three centuries.

System Requirements:

Starring Carlo Cecchi, Colm Feore, Greta Scacchi, Jason Flemyng, Jean Luc Bideau, Samuel L. Jackson, Sylvia Chang

Directed by Francois Girard

Running time: 132 minutes

Amazon.com

Mounted in high lavish style, from the opening strains to coda, The Red Violin pays homage to the careful uses of color and composition without bothering to support these qualities with any real substance. Oh, it's a class act on the surface all the way, while failing on nearly every other level to convince. The story tells the story, revealing precious little else. The 17th-century Cremonese instrument-maker Niccolo Bussotti finishes his final violin with a curious red varnish, the secret of which spans the film, yet will come as a surprise only to the very sleepy. The odd voyage of this unique violin through history is then explored from one episode to the next, from child prodigy to gypsies to Victorian virtuoso to a clandestine enclave of art lovers in Shanghai during the Cultural Revolution. This is all framed by the violin's rediscovery in present day by instrument appraiser Charles Morritz (Samuel L. Jackson), for whom the perfect instrument strikes a resonant chord. The main scheme of the film, an object connecting a number of seemingly disparate stories, has been used many times, most notably in Max Ophuls's La Ronde. But while this approach is employed elsewhere to cause one scene to reverberate against another, The Red Violin is content to leave each episode thematically unconnected with any of the others. On the decorative level, the film may satisfy many viewers with its sensuous attention to tone and detail, as well as its eclectic and expertly performed score. But as narrative it is very slight. Just pierce the pretty crust of this puff pastry and gaze in wonder at the pocket of air within. --Jim Gay

Customer Reviews:

No surround sound.......2007-05-29

I have seen this movie several times, and it is intriguing. The video portion of the dvd is fine. However, purchasers should be aware that the audio on this dvd is Dolby stereo only, not surround.

Wonderful Film.......2007-05-20

The RED VIOLIN is a beautiful film, witty and powerful. It traces the story of a violin as it is passed across many cultures and into the hands of many interesting characters.

The heart of this film is the score which, as a film of this title implies, features some incredible violin solos. Great musical performances by Joshua Bell and others giving this violin the majesty necessary to command its central role.

Ze Red Violin & Ze Mahogany Bass.......2007-05-15

One of the Best Movies Ever! Tracing the history of an exquisite instrument, this story is superbly told.
The use of foreign languages without English translations is a bit annoying, but very effective. You get the gist.
Samuel Jackson is excellent as the expert who discovers the famous violin in the present & sees that it gets where it belongs...
I recently purchased a 1953 violin bass which is the first year Gibson made an Electric Bass guitar. When I saw this gorgeous immaculate Gibson EB1 on ebay, with a Buy It Now price of 12 grand, I started thinking....I should buy it! I said to myself "but I'm left handed." Yes, but it's a perfectly balanced bass....it could be flipped & made lefty. When I remembered this movie, The Red Violin, I realized that this solid mahogany violin bass with f holes was a lot like the violin in the movie. I felt like Sam Jackson's character must have felt when he realized how special this great instrument is. It was quite a RUSH to click on that Buy It Now button!
I owe the makers of this movie a big thank you. THANK YOU!!!! 1953 is also the year I was born. MOJO, baby!
My daughter plays bass lefty too. She'll be inheriting this beauty when I check out. I gave her this movie.

The Red Violin Resurrected.......2007-05-15

Here is interpretation regarding "The Red Violin," which I hope helps you to gain insight into the movie's hidden meaning:

Charles Morritz (Samuel Jackson) is called on by a Montréal auction house to assess the value of a recently procured violin. His initial reaction is that the violin is the long-lost, world famous Nicolo Bussotti "Red Violin". In verifying its authenticity, the film flashes back to the birth of the violin...

Famous Italian violin maker Nicolo Bussotti (Carlo Cecchi) designs the perfect violin, originally intended for his unborn son, but he soon confronts the death of both his son and beloved wife while she is in childbirth. He subsequently varnishes the violin with a mysterious red pigment, and it makes its way across the continent of Europe, first appearing in an orphanage where a Mozart-like child prodigy Kaspar Weiss (Christoph Koncz) comes in possession of it. Ushered off to Vienna and poised on the precipice of worldwide fame, Weiss suffers a heart attack, and in memorial the violin is buried with him. Thereafter, his grave is subsequently looted and the violin is "resurrected" [Lazarus-like] by gypsies, who give it a home with them for some time before it is acquired by the Dionysian inspired red-haired musical genius, Frederick Pope (Jason Flemyng). When Pope injures the heart of his longtime lover Victoria (Greta Scacchi), the violin is damaged by a bullet...

A servant of Pope's eventually transports the red violin to the Asian Continent where it is purchased and used first as a teacher's aide, and then eventually given to a care-taker to hide during a Communist regime which fears the potential influence of aristocratic 'Western music' and the musical instruments used to create and disseminate it. When the Shanghai violin care-taker in possession of the red violin dies "upstairs" with all the angelic musical instruments he has been protecting from harm, the Chinese government confiscates the collection and places the instruments up for auction with Duval, a Canadian auction house.

Finding the red violin in its midst, two experts work to verify its authenticity, and when they do, a fierce bidding war takes place to see who will get the prized possession. But an article of such great value can only be held by someone who truly appreciates the truth of its "provenance and beauty"...

The plot is not conventional, but it is a moving tale about loss and rebirth [not always in its most obvious form)] There is the story of the creator, who, upon his wife's death, infuses the violin with his wife's body and soul. There is the young protégée who dies just before his great talent is discovered. There is the Diablo/Dionysian musical genius who gains musical inspiration from his passion. There is the secret music lover and her sacrifice for the love of her family and country. Finally, there is the violin expert who recognizes this instruments worth, and finds that it is what he has been searching for his whole life.

Remember that early in the film [in 1681], the famous "luthier" Nicolo Bussotti [17th century violin maker] smashes an employee's handiwork because it's only fit for ordinary people to play and therefore not worthy to carry his name; ironically his own personally crafted "perfect" masterpiece, the Red Violin, subsequently follows the exact path he demeans and goes on to provide the story of the film [i.e., his masterpiece ironically comes into the hands of "ordinary people" such as orphans, gypsies, an opium addict adulterer, a mother, a little girl, etc..].

Also in the beginning, Nicolo's wife, Anna Bussotti, tells her husband that he is jealous of her affair with "Luna [the Moon], but he exclaims, "no I'm not, because I know you will always return." Anna has her future read by her [gypsy?] house-servant. The Tarot card reader tells her she cannot predict her unborn child's future [because their "humors" (or "blood") are still the same. She therefore predicts a very long life for the wife with many exciting events of love, death, and passion. The actual scenes of the Tarot reading are performed well, and over the course of the film, we come back to this scene again and again; thus, the table upon which the Tarot are read becomes the stage.

Right after Anna's future is told, she and her child die, but her husband [the violin's creator] varnishes the violin [we later discover] with her blood, in order to resurrect her soul into an instrument that will soon speak the words of angels [namely, music and harmony]. From that moment, the truth of the fortune that was told Anna, now instead transfers to the blood of the violin [she has given birth to this red violin], and Anna Bussotti's soul guides the destiny of the violin in a long journey through time. As expected, therefore, all the predictions given to Anna, instead happen to the violin [i.e., by finishing the red violin with his wife's life blood, Bussotti has nailed the fate of each of the owners of the violin to the fate that the cards foretold to Anna]. Thus, throughout the film, just as foretold by the Tarot, the soulful and haunting music carries the viewer and her into the gifted hands of a "motherless and fatherless" orphan prodigy [query: was this the gifted son that the violin's master creator himself foretold or intended?], then to gypsies resurrecting the violin from the grave, giving it new life in their hands while roaming Europe, to the hands of the diablo, English virtuoso Frederick Pope, who plays her with a devilish flair. Again, as the cards foretold, she is tried, almost by fire [is almost burned in China], and when she finally yields her secret to Morritz [violin appraiser], another predestined link to a human soul is forged.

What this violin has is a soul, and a gift or a curse [i.e., an ability to totally possess its owner or those who come in contact with her]. Therefore the real star of this movie is the red violin, who is soulful, hauntingly enchanting, desirous, and ultimately pierces the lives of those who think they have possessed her, but in fact have become possessed by her.

All in all, the movie methodically develops a wonderful plot, which has a fantastic underlying message, but I do have two critical comments:

Firstly, the editing or proper lack thereof left the viewer completely confused at times. Certainly it was a monumental task to edit together all the different scene locations and historical time frames. I therefore do appreciate the effort that was put into the film by the editor [especially since this film is noteworthy in that it is only one of two films to ever contain more than four different languages spoken in it; and in which each of the languages remains true to the location and time where the action is being filmed]; but still I felt that a little more attention to editing would have made this film a shining gem, whereas it instead remains a diamond in the rough [waiting for the enlightened viewer to polish and properly cut it]. Perhaps the intention was to get the viewer to watch it a second time and with more understanding. In this regard, it succeeds.

Secondly, upon first impulse, I felt that Samuel L. Jackson was wrong for the part he played, and was he even acting or just grunting and scowling his way to a paycheck? He seemed so groundlessly angry and unpleasant, so miscast and unbelievable in his role that he distracted from the goings-on that should have held the attention at vitally significant times. For example, he plays the jet-setting violin broker who deals in antiquities that typically cost no less than 50 grand and, often, many, many times that. Jackson however handles this role as though he has just stepped off the set of "Pulp Fiction" and walked onto the set of "The Red Violin"- hot-headed, crude, impatient, and explosive, he embodies the exact opposite personality of one whose job involves dealing in fine antique instruments. My initial thought therefore was did the producer demand a big name draw? However upon further reflection, it all became clear that one should instead look at Jackson's character [Morritz] as the reincarnation or spiritual rebirth of Bussotti, the master creator of the red violin. Morritz shows the same temperament as Nicolo, and he also has a deep need - beyond the love of a fine instrument - to possess the violin. At the end, when Jackson rides away in the taxi with the moon [Luna] overhead - he is heading home to his wife and child - completing the circle full round from Nicolo, Anna and their unborn child; and profoundly confirming Nicolo's earlier statement to his wife Anna that despite her affair with "Luna," she will always return.

On a much higher plane, could this be the myth of the creator Osiris's rebirth [reincarnation or transformation of the master violin creator], through the journey of Isis [his divine female soul within the red violin], collecting all of the "lost" parts of the master violin creator during her journeys through time and through each of the characters [e.g., the heart of the child, the phallus of the red-haired master musician, the self sacrifice of the Chinese mother, etc..], which are all delivered and put back together to be transformed into the newest Creator now in possession of the violin?

In the end, I believe, the prodigal violin is grown old and wise, and she finally realizes the destiny that her creator intended.

A stunning movie.......2007-05-08

Visually and audibly stunning. This movie follows the path that the Red Violin travels through different era's of time.

Average customer rating:

Superb, but...
Beautiful
The Last Unicorn Anniversary Edition DVD
A beautiful DVD . . . but may disappoint some fans
A Cult Classic For All Ages

The Last Unicorn
Starring: Alan Arkin , Jeff Bridges , Mia Farrow , Tammy Grimes , and Robert Klein
Director: Arthur Rankin Jr. , and Jules Bass
Manufacturer: Lions Gate
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: B000KJU128
Release Date: 2007-02-06

Description

Brought to life by the luminary voice talents of Jeff Bridges, Mia Farrow, Angela Lansbury and Rene Auberjonois (STAR TREK: DEEP SPACE NINE, "Boston Legal"), this animated treasure is the story of a lonely unicorn who sets out on an extraordinary quest to find her lost brothers and sisters. Along the way she meets a colorful cast of characters, including a bumbling wizard who magically transforms her into a beautiful damsel. When a handsome prince falls in love with her, he challenges the evil foe who holds her captive. But the task proves harder than imagined, and the unicorn soon discovers that real magic comes from believing in the impossible. Featuring songs performed by America.

Customer Reviews:

Superb, but..........2007-06-08

This film is superb. I watched it many times as a young child, and am thrilled to be able to watch it again as an adult. It's one of the rare few films with more than enough wonder to hold the attention of a child, yet enough depth and honesty to touch the soul of a grown up; a deeply meaningful, poinient animated classic. Another reviewer described it as the "best animated film ever," and while I'm not quite bold enough to echo that sentiment, I can't seem to think of one that surpasses it at the moment.

That said, I'm deeply irritated by the edits that were made. The producers who did it should be ashamed of themselves for altering a single word. Who exactly did they think they were protecting? Or was it just a money thing? Stupid fools. Unchanged, it would get 5 stars, but I in good concience, I must give it 4 stars for that reason along.

Beautiful.......2007-05-21

The presentation (picture and sound) are excellent. The edits mentioned are very annoying (and not edited out of the earlier DVD edition) but the widescreen presentation is much nicer to watch. The extra features are somewhat interesting but do not reveal anything very interesting about the movie itself (story-writing, making of, casting, etc.). Worth getting, but I am also keeping my earlier DVD for posterity.

The Last Unicorn Anniversary Edition DVD.......2007-05-15

My little girl and I both really liked this DVD, especially the enhanced 5.1 sound and cleaned up video transfer.
Really, my only gripe with this edition is the small edits that remove a couple of uses of the words "damn" and "hell," that I recall were used in the older versions.
As far as price, order accuracy, speed of delivery, and payment and shipping accuracy, I cannot complain at all.
I ordered online on a Saturday afternoon, and it was waiting for me before the following Friday.

A beautiful DVD . . . but may disappoint some fans.......2007-05-03

The color is beautiful and crisp and the audio is crystal clear. and what might be unforgivable to some . . . is the editing of "damn". It appears three times . . . if my memory serves me right. The first time it is spoken by Ruk("I don't care how many damn spells you put on her! Get rid of that harpy!) the bad guys can say damn. But the good guys obviously can't. They're removed it from both Molly's speech and Lir's exclamation as he asending the steps to meet Amalthea. They very neatly edited it out. You won't notice it if you haven't memorized the script, but for those who have(like me) it ruins one of the most moving speeches in the movie. What does this movie have a G rating anyway? Busty trees, naked ladies and crazed, nipply harpies . . . slap a PG on "The Late Unicorn" and give my "Damn!", damnnit!
I'm also disappointed that they used Mia Farrow's singing for "Now that I'm a Woman" when the german soundtrack has a different woman sing the song. I thought they would remove Mia's singing and use the better version.
It's a shame that after all this work that went into this release, they changed the one thing that did matter to fans and didn't change the other thing that obviously needed to be changed.
I'm not sorry I bought it, i got 2 dvd of it i love the last Unicorn however. It's a major improvment on the old DVD.

A Cult Classic For All Ages.......2007-04-19

I remember watching this film as a child (whether is was renting it, owning it, or seeing it on the Disney Channel) and it's one of those old classics that has managed to reappear in my movie library. I had the beat up VHS copy last and I've recently given it the upgrade it deserved (especially after the VHS mysteriously disapeared when I wasn;t home...seriously, that did happen and it sucked! But back to my review) and I have to hand it to you...The picture: MUCH clearer (and wider too), the colors: As BRIGHT and RICH as ever, and the sound: Good old America, CAN'T GET ANY BETTER than that! So there's my review, but the re-release becuase A.) It was recent and B.) You'll love it!!

Average customer rating:

Stealin' stones and Breakin' Bones
wish I would have seen this movie sooner.
Hidden treasure
great guy flick
Overrated

Snatch (Widescreen Edition)
Starring: Ade , William Beck (II) , Andy Beckwith , Ewen Bremner , and Jason Buckham
Manufacturer: Sony Pictures
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: B000093FLA
Release Date: 2003-06-03

Amazon.com

Usually it might seem a tad unfair to begin a review by referring to the director's missis. But then the missis in question wouldn't usually be Madonna--a woman whose ability to reinvent herself several times before breakfast seems in marked contrast to that of hubby Guy Ritchie. Certainly, this follow-up to the filmmaker's breakthrough film--the high-energy, expletive-strewn cockney-gangster movie Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels--hardly breaks new ground being, well, another high-energy, expletive-strewn cockney-gangster movie. OK, so there are some differences. This time around our low-rent hoodlums are battling over dodgy fights and stolen diamonds rather than dodgy card games and stolen drugs. There has been some minor reshuffling of the cast too, with Sting and Dexter Fletcher making way for the more bankable Benicio Del Toro and Brad Pitt, the latter pretty much stealing the whole shebang as an incomprehensible Irish gypsy. And, sure, people who really, really liked Lock, Stock--or have the memory of a goldfish--will really, really like this. The suspicion lingers, however, that if the director doesn't do something very different next time around then his career may prove to be considerably shorter than that of his missis. --Clark Collis

Customer Reviews:

Stealin' stones and Breakin' Bones.......2007-06-27

What a follow-up to "Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels!" It's the closest thing to a sequel without being one. Some say that "Snatch" is a poor follow up of Ritchie's first film, I say that this is an improvement on his signature style, an aggressive and a supercharged 21-gun salute to Britain film/filmmakers. The deftness displayed in this writer/director's pacing and editing is at times electrifying and sometimes simply beautiful. The soundtrack is not only superb and includes one of my personal favorite bands, Oasis, and is used to great comic effect as an poignant accompaniment to certain scenes.

In the vein of Pulp Fiction, Trainspotting, and Fight Club, Snatch is a gritty dance with the criminal element, revolving around a stolen 86-karat diamond that any good crook would give his right arm for. (And in one case, I mean that literally.)After a boggling series of double-crosses, triple-crosses, and multi-crosses, Snatch becomes a game of who will end up with the gem -- and how will they get it? Ritchie keeps us guessing at every turn, with Russians hiring mercenary crooks to steal the jewel, hit men sent to kill the mercenaries, mobsters trying to outwit the hit men, Jewish jewelers scheming to undermine the mobsters, a crazed bare-knuckled boxer looking for his payday despite the chaos, and one dog who's lost his bark.

And every one of these stories is hilarious.

Vinnie Jones as Bullet Tooth Tony, a hunter/assassin who chills his prey with deadly stares; Benicio Del Toro (Traffic) is caught-in-the-middle robber/gambling addict; Dennis Farina, a stressed jeweler who can never catch a break; or any of two dozen other apt actors who fully own their roles. In the end, though, you have to give a hand to Brad Pitt, still buff from Fight Club, as a slur-mouthed Gypsy boxer who always manages to get one step ahead of the crowd.

"Snatch" is great. There are some funny lines, and some of the violence is quite inventive. Several times in this movie I was reminded of the "strange occurrences" theme seen in Magnolia. I wholeheartedly recommend this film if you haven't already snatch it.

wish I would have seen this movie sooner........2007-06-21

Guy Ritche slid this one out a few years ago, and I missed it. A good cast including Jason Statham plays Turkish (the transporter, Crank) and Brad Pitt as mickey,the bare knuckle gypsy boxer. Essentially an Action Comedy. Turkish, a unlicenced boxing promoter, narrates the story as it revolves around and 84 carrot Diamond, and what eventually turns out to be a stuggle to try and save his own hide from Brick top, the underground promoter that "tells you what will happen". Its intriguing how thing and paths finally entertwine. Must see. If you like Lock, stock and two smoking barrels, this one I believe is better. And if You like Jason Statham, this movie is good as well. A good movie for any collection.

Hidden treasure.......2007-06-15

A very funny movie with an amazing Brad Pitt as a Gipsy boxing champ. The storyline is great, and the movie never had a dull moment. The director keeps your attention by leading the audience through the story with video clip styled movie scenes. The actors themselves play accordingly, so after watching the movie you'll end up with a big smile on your face.

great guy flick.......2007-05-09

not a fan of leaving long detailed reviews but this movie is pretty much awesome from beginning to end...Def check it out!

Overrated.......2007-03-18

I was upset that I wasted my money on this film. The film is extremely overrated. At best it should have only gotten 3 stars. I do not see what there is to like about this film. It was not funny, the plot was stupid, everybody's running around trying to find a diamond and the movie just ends so abruptly, not a comfortable ending at all. If you have never seen this film I highly suggest that you rent it before you buy it.

Average customer rating:

Great Show, Great Film
Gypsy (Natalie Wood, Rosalind Russell)
Natalie at her best.
Wonderful (if not entirely faithful) film version!
Good version of a great show

Gypsy
Starring: Rosalind Russell , Natalie Wood , Karl Malden , Paul Wallace , and Betty Bruce
Director: Mervyn LeRoy
Manufacturer: Warner Home Video
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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Gypsy

ASIN: B00004RF86
Release Date: 2000-05-02

Product Description

Everything comes up roses when you let Rosalind Russell, Natalie Wood and Karl Malden entertain you in the lavish movie musical of the Broadway hit about Gypsy Rose Lee and her formidable mother.
Year: 1962
Director: Mervyn LeRoy
Starring: Rosalind Russell, Natalie Wood, Karl Malden

Format: DVD MOVIE

Amazon.com

Widely considered, top to bottom, one of the finest musicals in Broadway history, Gypsy got lucky in its film version. Granted, Rosalind Russell doesn't have the bell-ringing voice one craves for in "Everything's Coming Up Roses," but as a domineering stage mom, she's truly fearsome. Trouping through vaudeville with her is her daughter, the future celebrity stripper Gypsy Rose Lee, played by Natalie Wood in all her youthful lusciousness. The production is studio-bound, but this actually fits the unreal show-biz world depicted. The Jule Styne-Stephen Sondheim score has no weak spots, and some of the burlesque numbers ("Let Me Entertain You" and the riotous "You Gotta Get a Gimmick") are so authentic, you'd swear they were at least 100 years old. Gypsy is one of those big, somewhat stately musicals that does satisfying credit to its stage origins; no cinematic ground-breaking here, but a swell way to spend a rainy afternoon. --Robert Horton

Customer Reviews:

Great Show, Great Film.......2007-06-19

I am a big fan of "Gypsy", having seen it onstage with Tyne Dale and Bernadette Peters on Broadway and having heard the recordings with those women as well as Angela Lansbury and Ethel Merman many times. This really is one of the best shows of all time, in my view. Clearly, Mama Rose is the main character and the show really rests on the shoulders of the lady playing her. For that reason, I can never understand why casting Rosalind Russell as Rose was ever controversial at all. There can be no doubt that she was a more skilled film actress than Ethel Merman. I think Russell is wonderful in this part: driven, brassy, pushy, comic, over the top, and, often, heartbreaking. Her "Rose's Turn" at the end is just great. She moves beautifully in the musical numbers when she needs too, as well. Sure, she does not sing all of her numbers by herself (her vocals are mixed, not dubbed, with Lisa Kirk's), and that has to be pointed out in an honest review. This was a common Hollywood practice in those days. Does it really make a difference? Not to me. This is not a stage production. We are not really watching a "performance", but the amalgamation of many days and weeks of performing into an edited whole. Kirk matches Russell's vocals well enough that it is not jarring or distracting. That said, Natalie Wood, who was dubbed in West Side Story sings her own numbers here. Her singing is pretty good. She is also gorgeous to look at and very believable as plain Louise who becomes glamorous Gypsy Rose Lee. Karl Malden is also good in the rather boring part of Herbie. The costumes are great, the sets are stagy, but opulent, and the cinematography really sumptuous. This is one of the last big, splashy Hollywood adaptations of a big Broadway hit, full of songs which have become standards, and a story which is moving, funny, and, best of all, ENTERTAINING. Get it!

Gypsy (Natalie Wood, Rosalind Russell).......2007-04-10

This is a classic; I bought it to show the dance and music to my 9-year-old friend who has just begun to learn hip-hop and jazz. (I doubt anyone will be buying "classic hip-hop" movies 50 years from now.) Some people may think that the fact that Gypsy Rose Lee was a stripper would make this unacceptable for children, but I saw it many times as a child, (I know all the words to all the songs, so that's how many times!), and I didn't grow up to be a stripper. My mother explained the age of burlesque to me in the context of history. Frankly, Bratz dolls and children's television and movies are a lot more offensive, inappropriate, and sexually explicit than anything you'll find on this movie.

Natalie Wood, Rosalind Russell and the music of Steven Sondheim are examples of what was and is the best of our culture. It's important that they be passed on to future generations; it's cheating our kids to let them grow up believing that Britney Spears, Hanna Montana, the Olsen twins and their ilk define what was and is GREAT in our movies and entertainment. There hasn't been much written today that has the poignancy and depth of Mama Rose's song at the end of the movie. Watch this movie -- you'll love it!

Natalie at her best........2007-03-29

Great movie. Natalie at her luscious best. A must for any Natalie Wood fan. Just don't buy it from Smokey Mountain Books, they're a rip-off.

Wonderful (if not entirely faithful) film version!.......2007-03-11

Let's get this out of the way first. Yes, Rosalind Russell is not a singer. She really does not have the pipes for songs written for someone with the belting ability of Ethel Merman. Yes, she was dubbed for most of the songs by the wonderful Lisa Kirk, save for a bit of "Rose's Turn" and all of "Mr. Goldstone" (though Lisa Kirk makes an excellent effort to mimic Rosalind Russell in her singing). Yes, it is less thrilling to hear the songs sung in a lower key to accomadate Ms. Russell's vocal abilities, which can slightly hurt the film in its more dramatic moments.

But why should we find fault in the parts when the sum of the film is as wonderful as it is? Rosalind Russell completely gives her all for this performance, surpassing what she lacks musically with a fierce determinated attitude worthy of the most infamous stage mother of all time. She infuses her Rose with true passion and vigor while still keeping her grounded in reality, something that perhaps even Ethel Merman would not have been able to effectively pull off on screen. Natalie Wood, doing all her own singing, is perfectly cast as the future Gypsy Rose Lee, both insecure and awkward, yet pulling a very convincing transformation to seductive and classy. The film itself suffers from a problem that plagues many movie musicals of the era, such as occasionally flat staging reminiscent of the show itself, but, again, why quibble? You quickly get so caught up in the story that such things are easily overlooked.

And of course, there is the 1993 Bette Midler version, which is somewhat enjoyable in its own right if a bit campy and fake, but nothing can compare to this classic movie musical complete with the great star turns of Natalie Wood and the always wonderful Rosalind Russell.

Good version of a great show.......2006-08-09

This is one of the "big" 1960s Warner Bros. musicals.While definitely not in the same class as "My Fair Lady" or "The Music Man",it's as good as "Finian's Rainbow" and MUCH better than "Camelot".Leonard Speigelgass's script wisely lets Arthur Laurents' book virtually speak for itself.John Beckman and Ralph Hurst's sets,Orry-Kelly and Howard Shoup's costumes,Harry Stradling's photography,and Frank Perkins's musical direction are all excellent.Mervyn LeRoy's direction is very good,
especially in the dramatic scenes.The cast is excellent,with
Rosalind Russell,Natalie Wood,and Karl Malden particularly
outstanding.
Faith Dane,Roxanne Arlen,and Jean Willes stop the show with a
hilarious "You Gotta Get A Gimmick".All in all,a good 1960s
musical that provides an evening of solid entertainment.

Average customer rating:

Love This Story
good movie
My kids like it too
Great Movie for Everyone
Flight of dragons you got competiton

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ASIN: B00019330Y
Release Date: 2004-03-16

Amazon.com

A story line that truly deserves the A-list treatment, The Last Unicorn is memorable for its attempts to stay faithful to its origins, the Peter Beagle novel of the same name. The animation is vintage Rankin/Bass, and that's too bad; but there's an undeniable strength in this tale and telling. A unicorn (Mia Farrow)--she believes herself the last--searches for any others of her kind, while avoiding the malevolent Red Bull, the agent believed to have destroyed the rest of the herd. Along the way, she is mistaken, ignored, attacked, and obsessed about, finally finding help from a magician named Schmendrick (Alan Arkin) and a knight named Prince Lir (Jeff Bridges). A haunting film that pays homage to mythology and the people who love it. --Keith Simanton

Customer Reviews:

Love This Story.......2007-05-08

This story is one of my all time favorites. The movie is great, but the book is magical. I just love it!!!!

good movie.......2007-05-03

The Last Unicorn is my favorite movie of all time. I have loved it since I first watched this when I was a little boy, and I love it just as much now as I ever did it is a good movie for all but The DVD says it has special features, but I can't find them!

My kids like it too.......2007-04-30

My boys never wanted to watch this "girlie" movie, until I told them a shortened version for a bedtime story. Then I told them that we had the movie, and they watched it. They were stuck to the TV, they would not move! I'm glad that they like it as much as I did, and still do!

Great Movie for Everyone.......2007-03-28

I first watched this when I was a little girl, and I love it just as much now as I ever did. It teaches kids good lessons nand is a joy to watch.

Flight of dragons you got competiton.......2007-03-27

I bought this movie about three months ago I belive I got in some time in Early January. I had know about it longer than that. I belive the first time I saw it up for sale was in August of either 06 or 05. I however was reluctant to get it I wasn't sure if it would be as god as the other animated movies that came out in the same decade such as the original return of the king. This movie has been out a long time in vhs format but is relatively new in dvd format. The film was original relased 25 years ago in the middle of 1982. But has only been avilable in DVD format for about the last three years or mid 2004 This a phonominal move tells the story of a young unicorn who is despertly searching to find here missing kin. Can she with the aid of a bumbling magican defeat the red bull and free the other unicorns. This movie has phonominal cast including the phonimal Christopher lee who recently appeared in the Fellowship of the Ring and the Two towers and who was also original appeared in one scene in the Return of King but unfortunaetly that scene of the movie was cut out of the widescream and theatrical version of movie to save time and two speed up the film. You can see it but only in the four disk special extended edition. Also thought to inform you there are two version of this there is a regular version then there is a special 20th aniversary version you can get them on Amazon for under 20 dollars if you get them used in just very good conditon. A word of advice if you have a dvd player but you live out side of North Americas in contents Europe- through Austarila I recommend you get this in VHS format if possible. There are copies of this dvd up for sale on amazon in region two format but they are kind pricy the cheaptest you can purchase a copy of the dvd in this format is some where inbetween $100 and 110 with the shipping fee include. A word of warming even though this movie got a g-rating some parts of this movie like the scenes with the red bull chasing the unicorn and the part when the wizard is being smothered by the female tree may be to intense or to vulgar for kids under the age of thirteen to handle depending on what there parents our guardians thinks is appropriate for there age. Will the unicorn free here people. There is also a novel version of this as well.

Average customer rating:

Stealin' stones and Breakin' Bones
wish I would have seen this movie sooner.
Hidden treasure
great guy flick
Overrated

Snatch (Special Edition)
Starring: Ade , William Beck (II) , Andy Beckwith , Ewen Bremner , and Jason Buckham
Manufacturer: Sony Pictures
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: B00003CXS4
Release Date: 2001-07-03

Amazon.com

Customer Reviews:

Stealin' stones and Breakin' Bones.......2007-06-27

wish I would have seen this movie sooner........2007-06-21

Hidden treasure.......2007-06-15

great guy flick.......2007-05-09

not a fan of leaving long detailed reviews but this movie is pretty much awesome from beginning to end...Def check it out!

Overrated.......2007-03-18

Average customer rating:

ok, but should have just rented it
Where is the story?
Really a 3 and a half star movie.
Kinda lame
Sad and mesmerizing

The Man Who Cried
Starring: Christina Ricci , Oleg Yankovsky , Claudia Lander-Duke , Danny Scheinman , and Anna Tzelniker
Director: Sally Potter
Manufacturer: Universal Studios
ProductGroup: DVD
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ASIN: B00005R87R
Release Date: 2002-01-02

Amazon.com

Fans of the testudinate pace and art-house vibe of writer-director Sally Potter's other works (Orlando, The Tango Lesson) will likely enjoy The Man Who Cried. Fegele (Christina Ricci) is a Russian Jew separated from her father as a child. Raised as "Susie" by an English family, she makes her way to Paris, where although the city's multiculturalism is vibrant, the Nazis are already on the rise and the secret of her origin becomes increasingly dangerous. The cast of The Man Who Cried is excellent; Cate Blanchett, Johnny Depp, John Turturro, and Harry Dean Stanton all do fine jobs in what could have easily degenerated into an accentfest. Depp and Ricci do very well with minimal dialogue--both go through the entire movie almost without speaking. The film moves at a leisurely pace and is beautifully shot. Not a film to show to a roomful of action movie fans, but it's well suited to people who like their films a little more European in flavor. --Ali Davis

Customer Reviews:

ok, but should have just rented it.......2007-05-14

If you're buying this because you're a Johnny Depp fan I recommend renting it first. It's set in the time of the jewish persecution and WWII. Personally I'm a bit tired of this and it is all repetative for me. This film was interesting in that it had a dark pensiveness and mystery about it, but still not worth purchasing. Just another sad story of persecution. The acting was good and there was an element of wonder, and the ending was happy though bitter sweet.

Where is the story?.......2007-05-01

Dress Johnny Depp as a Gypsy and put him on a poster and I would have been happy. That was the highlight of this movie for me. This incredible cast is amazingly wasted. How on earth can a movie like this lack a story or any kind of meaningful point? Somehow, it does.

Really a 3 and a half star movie........2007-04-08

"The Man Who Cried" starts, literally, from a child's point of view, and even as it pulls back to follow her journey to young adulthood, it never loses the child's sense of life's mystery and enigma. The first few minutes of the movie establish, with very few words and notable compression, the central events, beginning in the late 1920s, of a little Russian Jewish girl's early life, her separation from her father (who emigrates to America) and the violent circumstances under which she leaves her home and arrives in England. The little girl who started life as Fegele finds herself with a new name, Suzie, in an alien world where the only familiar sight is the gypsies who pass by her school. This, a photograph of her father, and the memory of the songs he sang are all that is left to her of her old life. The desire to reach America to find her father never leaves her.

Suzie (played as an adult by Christina Ricci) matures into a pretty girl with a lovely voice who leaves England to become a showgirl in Paris, where she meets Lola (Cate Blanchett), a Russian emigree, Dante (John Turturro), an Italian tenor, and most important, Cesar (Johnny Depp), a Gypsy horseman whose center is as still as hers. The lives of these characters interweave as the Germans approach, then occupy Paris. Suzie must decide whether to use the ticket Lola has given her to reach America, or to stay in occupied Paris.

The first minutes of this film are as good as any I've ever seen. (Claudia Lander-Duke, who plays Fegele/Suzie as a child, is particularly moving.) Though I don't think the movie subsequently ever again quite equals these moments (or that the plot quite supports itself toward the end), the haunting, almost dreamlike, atmosphere created by the wonderful photography, and the central relationship of Suzie and Cesar make the film well worth watching.

Kinda lame.......2007-03-13

There is something missing in this movie. I dunno, I just don't care about these people. I really want to, but I just don't connect with them. It's a beautiful movie, I must give it that.

Sad and mesmerizing.......2007-03-04

Christina Ricci is so believable as a lost Russian Jewish girl misplace in England where she is adopted by a Christian family who is in my opinion sadistic and vile. Cate Blanchett is excellent as a blonde show girl who falls in love with a man (John Turturo) who sees Mussolini as the Italians savior, and then leaves him because her heritage makes her a prime target for the Nazi's who are coming to power.

Johnny Depp, is seems can play any part well. He speaks little but his expressions speak volumes which for me is a sign of a great actor. I found myself feeling like a person across the room drawn into his presence.

The story line is wonderful for those of us who appreciate history and the lessons it has to teach about evil and how no matter how hard we may believe that the evil we see elsewhere can never come to our land, it can.

The music is mesmerizing as is the cinematography. Yes, its slow at times, but I appreciated this because it added some intellectual magic to the movie. Its a terribly sad movie, with an ending that is different. But feeling sadness isn't all bad.

Average customer rating:

Very good but not great
Atmospheric and brooding
decent
If you are going to tackle Bronte, do it right
Wonderful

Wuthering Heights (1992)
Starring: Juliette Binoche , Ralph Fiennes , Janet McTeer , Sophie Ward , and Simon Shepherd
Director: Peter Kosminsky
Manufacturer: Paramount
ProductGroup: DVD
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ASIN: B0000AUHPK
Release Date: 2003-12-02

Amazon.com

Peter Kosminsky's 1992 adaptation of Emily Brontë's Wuthering Heights goes to the extreme of casting Sinéad O'Connor in a brief bit as Brontë herself, but the film still doesn't approach the accomplishment of William Wyler's classic 1939 production (with Laurence Olivier and Merle Oberon) or subsequent versions by Luis Buñuel and Robert Fuest. That doesn't make it unwatchable, however: it still offers The English Patient costars Ralph Fiennes and Juliette Binoche as doomed lovers Heathcliff and Cathy. Binoche is a bit washed-out, but Fiennes makes a strong impression as the rejected laborer who makes his fortune and exacts a vengeance. Unlike Wyler's film, this one covers all the chapters of Brontë's book, but it is sodden with misery and lacks all grace. --Tom Keogh

Customer Reviews:

Very good but not great.......2007-05-28

I enjoyed this film from beginning to end and recommend it. I'm not sure exactly why I didn't give it five stars. Perhaps because it failed to live up to my memory of the book, which I read many, many years ago and my memory of the Lawrence Olivier screen version. Both of those probably formed "my" Heathcliff, which was different from Ralph Fiennes'. "My Heathcliff" was stockier, more physical, craggier, (looking more like Beethovan!) Fiennes' is more mental and serpentine.

However all of that is personal and Fiennes' performance is certainly powerful and convincing. I felt a sympathy for him, too, even in his last, most monstrous days. The scene in which he grabs Cathy from the coffin is memorable.

I was a little disappointed in the performance of Juliette Binoche. There was something unconvincing in her Cathy. Another reviewer suggested that she lacked the necessary qualities to play an English country girl. I'm not sure exactly how to define those qualities but I tend to agree with that comment. Perhaps she was less firey than the original.

I agree with others, too, that the sequences were choppy and somewhat rushed, especially in the second half. But it's hard to fit all of the novel into two hours. I did like the ending a lot.

In sum, it's a great story, very well done and certainly worth watching.

Atmospheric and brooding.......2007-05-27

Atmospheric version of classic. The movie is all about the interaction between the "players". Ralph Fiennes was excellent as the scheming villian.

decent.......2007-05-06

how some people say this version surpasses the 1939 version is beyond me....id really say its 3 and 1/2 stars......the pacing is just too fast...it all happens too fast...they fit the entire novel into an hr and 46 mins....we barely have time to FEEL the love between cathy and heathcliff before she marries edgar ..heathcliff comes back..cathy dies....it just happens so fast before we can really connect to the lovers...Fiennes is brilliant and is what really keeps u interested in the film....Binoche is ok but to me pales in comparison depthwise to Merle Oberon....just watch the scene where Cathy discovers Heathcliff runs away...in the 1939 version it is pouring rain and u can actually FEEL the pain and longing to have Heathlciff back.....makes me cry everytime...but this one Binoche barely seems to shed a tear or show any emotion in what should be one of the most emotional scenes of the film.......and the other actors in the film dont compare to those in the original..........still the film is beautiful to watch..contains great scenery on the moors.....and a wonderful score as well..id love to have the soundtrack....it just isnt as moving as the original.......but worth watching for a great performance by Ralph Fiennes

If you are going to tackle Bronte, do it right.......2007-04-30

Not to say that Ralph and Juliette are not fantastic actors in their own right, they are just not Cathy and Heathcliff. This production lacked so much of the novel's mood, that it just seemed esthetically boring. I personally would never hire that cinematographer again if I were the director/producer. I have YET to see a film version of Wuthering Heights that can do justice to Emily's art. I am not under some naive assumption that movies based on novels always turn out great (just look at Stephen King movies - BLECH!) - however we all thought that The Lord of the Rings could never be done properly, and then Peter Jackson came along to wow us all. It CAN be done with Wuthering Heights as well, and the great thing about it is, it would require no special effects. Just a great director, a better script adaption, and some actors who have chemistry - unlike the two in this one. They may be great, but again, they are no Heathcliff and Cathy. I really wish someone would get this right. Turn it into a miniseries ala Pride and Prejudice BBC style. Maybe they could ge