Mrs. Brown

Starring:Judi Dench, Billy Connolly, Geoffrey Palmer, Antony Sher, Gerard Butler, Richard Pasco, David Westhead, Bridget McConnell, Georgie Glen, Catherine O'Donnell, Sara Stewart, Finty Williams, Claire Nicolson, Hattie Ladbury, Oliver Kent, Alex Menzies, Simon McKerrell, Rupert Farley, Elaine Collins, Jimmy Chisholm
Director: John Madden
Studio: Miramax
Product Type: DVD

Amazon.com essential video

Joseph Mankiewicz's moody classic is less ghost story than romantic fantasy, a handsome 1947 drama of impossible love set on the picturesque turn-of-the-century New England coast. Independent young widow Lucy Muir (the luminous Gene Tierney), desperate to escape her uptight in-laws, falls in love with a grand seaside house and moves in, only to discover the cantankerous ghost of the hot-tempered Captain Gregg (a histrionically flamboyant performance by Rex Harrison). Lucy refuses to let the bombastic captain frighten her away, earning his respect, his friendship, and later his love. They team up to turn the captain's salty memoirs into a bestseller, but as his affection grows he fades away, leaving Lucy free to undertake a more worldly suitor, notably a charismatic children's author (George Sanders at his smarmy smoothest) with his own guarded secret. Charles Lang's melancholy black-and-white photography and Bernard Herrmann's haunting score set the tone for this sublime adult drama, and Tierney delivers one of her most understated performances as the resolute Mrs. Muir. Mankiewicz turns this ghost story into a refreshingly mature and down-to-earth romance. --Sean Axmaker

Description

A romance between a young widow and a sea captain's ghost weaves a magical tale of immortal love. Determined to live her life the way she wants, newly widowed Lucy Muir (Gene Tierney) declines her straitlaced in-laws demand that she live with them and moves with her daughter (a young Natalie Wood) to the seaside into a cottage haunted by the handsome, blustering Captain Gregg (Rex Harrison). A deal is struck between the two in the wee hours of the morning allowing Lucy to stay in the house and the captain to materalize only in the master bedroom. As they gradually get to know each other better, Lucy's spunk and stubborness gains first the captain's grudging respect, then his heart. But when another man woos Lucy, both must face that her future lies with the living, not in the spirit world.

Customer Reviews:

Deeper, Richer, and More Complex Than Its High Concept Romance Suggests .......2007-06-30

THIS REVIEW REVEALS SPOILERS ABOUT THE PLOT. IF YOU DON'T WANT TO KNOW HOW THE PLOT DEVELOPS, DON'T READ THIS REVIEW

I saw "The Ghost and Mrs. Muir" years ago on television. I was just a kid and I noticed, mostly, the high concept romance: A spunky, living, twentieth-century woman is in love with a pre-feminist, sea captain ghost. I enjoyed the film's wit and romance, but then I filed it and forgot about it, thinking of it as a clever concept, but not a classic.

Because my own reaction to the film was rather shallow and cliched, I thought that the film itself was rather shallow and cliched, that it was just about its obvious wit and romance, with nothing deeper there.

I recently rewatched the film. I saw the same amusing, stylish, witty, clever, high-concept romance -- living woman loves ghost -- that I had seen for the first time as a child. But there is a whole 'nother movie here beneath the surface style, a movie of great depth.

As soon as the score began, while the Fox logo was still onscreen, I was all atremble, as if bewitched, with goosebumps and near tears. That score brought home to me the story and its attendant feelings of profound yearning and mystery.

Perhaps I had registered all this when I had seen it as a child, but not consciously.

Ken Geist, who offers commentary on the DVD version, said this about the score:

"I can't really say enough about it ... it's haunting; it's the most haunting thing about this ghost picture and he brings to it the same quality of his haunting movie with Hitchcock, 'Vertigo.' I think that Bernard Hermann is a great film composer, from 'Citizen Kane' right through to 'Taxi Driver' and this may be his finest...it's wildly romantic."

There is the feminist subtext. Significantly, the film is set in early twentieth century England, the place and time of sufragettes. Women were breaking new ground. Lucy Muir, the lead here, breaks new ground by leaving her in-laws, living alone, and making her own living.

Charles Lang's black and white cinematography is perfection, and it serves the story's various elements: its spookiness, romance, and humor, in turn -- perfectly.

Rex Harrison is a revelation. Yes, this is a romance; it's not great literature. And yet, like great literature, it takes on big, universal themes: the passage of time, mortality, yearning, the complexities of love, the limitations of the legendary loves.

Harrison's performance serves these themes in this frame perfectly. His Captain Daniel Gregg is a bit of a cartoon, but beneath the cartoon's exaggerations, you sense a real living, breathing, man, a boy who ran away from home and went to sea; his adopted mother yearning for him as his living lover would yearn for him once he died.

I can't think of any other actor who could have performed this role with the utter perfection, the combination of intelligence, conviction, generosity, focus and flair that Harrison gave it.

Gene Tierney is incredibly beautiful and that makes her believable as the target of the captain's yearning. she doesn't work 100% for me, though. She is perfect in "Laura" as the beautiful blank screen on which men project their fantasies; she's also perfect in "Razor's Edge" as a schemer.

I never see Tierney connect with the women in her audience, though. I don't sense that she's up there doing what she's doing for *me,* and the rest of the women in the audience, as I do with other female stars, from Garbo to Jane Fonda.

I would have liked to have seen Olivia de Havilland in the Lucy Muir part. She has that impossible combination of incredible, Fairy Queen beauty, plus human warmth and spunk so necessary in a romantic heroine.

Too, Natalie Wood as Anna Muir is woefully underused. Did director Joseph Mankiewicz not realize what a goldmine of charm and talent Wood was? A scene where Lucy and Anna perform their mother-daughter bond would have added depth to the film.

When i saw the film the first time, I had found George Sanders as Uncle Neddy / Miles Fairley to be a shallow snake in the grass and operator.

Viewing it this time, though, I see that Miles is as human as Lucy and Daniel, with his own tragic incapabilities. Daniel can't be a real -- flesh and blood -- man; Miles can't be a real -- stand up -- man. Sanders' eloquent face, half supercilious, half tragic -- renders Miles' failed manhood poignant and tragic.

Just as Daniel and Lucy yearn for what they can't have -- a flesh and blood romance -- Miles yearns for some impossible romance he can't have, and so he chases women by moonlight, and abandons them in the day.

"The Ghost and Mrs. Muir" highlights gender differences in love. Lucy Muir yearns for a man most women would love to meet -- a manly, strong, competent leader of men who is also dedicated to her, hangs on her every word, helps her around the house -- he even helps her with her in-laws.

In helping Lucy, Daniel is not belittling her; he leads her to become her best self. He rescues her financially, but, in that rescue, he reinforces her own strengths, strengths she had not been aware of before him. Finally, he sacrifices himself utterly for her, going so far as to remove her memory of him in order that she can live a happy life without him.

What a man. Does he exist? If he did, he'd have a very long waiting list of women trying to get to him. This man may not be just a fantasy in the movie; this man may be a fantasy in life, as well.

This film poses the question: Is there such a thing as a soulmate? Someone you are destined to meet, no matter what intervenes between you and that person? Does love transcend death?

Girls Night In.......2007-06-29

I love this film. I always have. From the opening credits with that sweeping Bernard Herrmann score you know you're in for a treat; the duel delights of a "real" ghost and love story in one film. Rex Harrison is completely cantankerous and sexy at the same time and Gene Tierney is as always "exquisite" even in black and white.

I have been a fan of the talents of Bernard Herrmann ever since I first became aware that he was responsible for providing the perfect backdrop for suspense in Alfred Hitchcock films. He does a beautiful job here continually reminding the audience with the plaintive strain of strings that these two lovers are "star-crossed" by death itself.

Then, of course, the best part is that Death intervenes again and gives them a second chance at love.

I recommend this to anyone who loves Love and happy endings with a "twist".

Gift was broken.......2007-06-27

The DVD froze on scene 15 and it was a gift so I had to get it from a different source-I was not happy at all.

The Ghost and Mrs. Muir.......2007-06-25

The ever-talented Mankiewicz's deeply romantic "Mrs. Muir" is pure Hollywood fantasy, driven by the entrancing presence of its two fabulous co-stars. While a love story between a gruff dead seaman given to salty turns of phrase and a gorgeous grieving mother might sound a bit hokey, the chemistry between Tierney (radiant as ever) and Harrison (quite dashing as an unapologetic man's man) is not only credible but winning. Worlds better than its `70s TV spinoff and heartier than latter-day imitations like 1990's "Ghost," this is one cinematic haunted house you should be sure to visit.

bewitching romance.......2007-05-29

THE GHOST AND MRS MUIR is a top-flight romantic story...where the leads don't even kiss. But more about that later.

Young widow Lucy Muir (Gene Tierney) packs up her little daughter (Natalie Wood) and moves to the windswept English coast. There she falls in love, first with an abandoned mansion overlooking the sea; and again with it's mysterious occupant, Captain Daniel Gregg (Rex Harrison)...a ghost.

Despite their obvious differences, Daniel trusts Lucy enough to help him write his memoirs. The money will help Lucy stay in the mansion without having to bother her tiresome in-laws. Along the way, their special friendship blossoms into love, but could a ghost and a mortal ever find a common ground for happiness?

Gene Tierney and Rex Harrison deliver gentle performances in this very singular love story, based on the bestselling novel by R.A. Dick. Tierney is especially grand here, in a rare departure from the noir dramas that had catapulted her to super-stardom.

THE GHOST AND MRS MUIR was filmed in 1947, a period in Gene Tierney's private life when she was under much emotional strain. Her marriage to fashion designer Oleg Cassini was beginning to unravel, and her young daughter Daria was institutionalised due to severe physical and mental disabilities (sustained during pregnancy when Tierney came into contact with a fan who was sick with German Measles). Despite what must have been happening in her private life, her performance as Lucy Muir is so delicate and nuanced, and simply perfection. Everyone falls in love with her, including the audience (and Tierney's costumes here were designed by Cassini).

The film also features an early performance from child star Natalie Wood (her role is relatively minor and she only features in a handful of scenes). The supporting cast includes George Sanders, Edna Best, Vanessa Brown, Anna Lee, Isobel Elsom, and Robert Coote.

(Single-sided, dual-layer disc).

Average customer rating:

A heart-warming true story of friendship and loyalty, politics and betrayal.
Victoria and John
A cure for those in perpetual mourning...
Simply stunning story
Mrs. Brown

Mrs. Brown
Starring: Judi Dench , Billy Connolly , Geoffrey Palmer , Antony Sher , and Gerard Butler
Director: John Madden
Manufacturer: Miramax
ProductGroup: DVD
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ASIN: B00000IQC6
Release Date: 1999-06-15

Amazon.com

A romantic drama in the Masterpiece Theater vein, this John Madden film looks at the relationship between Queen Victoria and John Brown, a commoner who, though a servant, becomes her closest friend and confidant. As such, he proves the catalyst to bring her back into public life and out of her private mourning for the late Prince Albert. But the closeness of their friendship sets tongues wagging about the impropriety of what appears to be an affair between queen and commoner (an issue the film never directly addresses). The film's charm lies in the flinty give-and-take between the wonderfully starchy Judi Dench as Victoria and the robust Scottish comedian Billy Connolly, here playing it straight as a strong-willed Scotsman who comes to enjoy the power he wields by virtue of having the queen's ear. Antony Sher is also striking as Prime Minister Disraeli, in a performance that all but shimmers with unspoken malice. --Marshall Fine

Description

Acclaimed as one of the year's must-see films, MRS. BROWN is a riveting, true-life story of forbidden love and passion! Queen Victoria (Judi Dench -- TOMORROW NEVER DIES, GOLDENEYE) was the world's most powerful woman. Rugged Scotsman John Brown (Billy Connolly -- INDECENT PROPOSAL) was a lowly servant who looked after her horses. Yet when circumstances brought them together ... the result was a passionate friendship that scandalized a nation! With commanding performances from stars Dench and Connolly -- you're sure to find this motion picture outstanding and entertaining!

Customer Reviews:

A heart-warming true story of friendship and loyalty, politics and betrayal........2007-05-25

Queen Victoria has long been one of my favorite British monarchs, so it was with great interest I viewed this movie about her extraordinary friendship with John Brown, an outspoken, charming Scottish highlander who was her devoted manservant ... also highly admired by her late husband, Prince Albert.

The Queen goes into mourning after the death of Prince Albert, and the Scotsman is the one who, by sheer guts and determination, brings her back to active life. As their friendship grows, Brown becomes the Queen's closest friend and confidante, resulting in personal and political ramifications for both.

The way the movie develops the friendship between the two main characters is exquisite in its timing and it appears the Queen and the commoner are indeed in love. Although the film never directly addresses the issue, Brown obviously adores his Queen and she defies convention many, many times to stand by and support him. Being an incurable romantic myself, I wish it had addressed the issue in more depth, but it was rather titillating to allow my imagination to run amok, forming my own conclusions.

This romantic drama is humorous in places, and is exquisitely shot. Sparkling, brilliant performances were given by Judi Dench as Queen Victoria, the woman behind an empire, and Billy Connolly as the robust John Brown who helped her live again, then risked his life for her on many occasions. Another outstanding performance was given by Antony Sher who portrayed Prime Minister Disraeli with cunning malice.

My heart went out to this beloved Queen, whom wagging tongues called Mrs. Brown, and her indomitable friend, Mr. Brown ... a heart-warming true story of friendship and loyalty, politics and betrayal.

Don't miss this outstanding movie.

SIDENOTE: You may have noticed that Amazon has made some changes to its website. If it looks the same to you right now, look out for a new format that will be rolling out gradually in the weeks to come. If you can see the changes, especially the review format, I'd like to know what you think. Please leave me a comment with your opinion.

"Love the new look" or "Hate the new look" comments are perfectly acceptable.

My e-mail address is at top of this review. Thank you for your time."

Victoria and John.......2007-05-18

One imagines, I think, that it must be quite trying to live life not so much as a person, but as an institution; an icon - especially when this state of being isn't chosen, it's assigned. There's little room for being human, or experiencing other people as they really are, not simply as the version of themselves they must be when in The Presence. Deep, soul-rending mourning and this particular kind of status must make poor bedfellows indeed.

I should confess straight off that I am a rabid Anglophile and would be more than content to watch Dame Judi Dench read from the phone book. She could burn down my entire town and I'd applaud. With those biases admitted to, I should add that as I am well aware of them, I can and do step back from them in assessing this film.

But the result is the same. Such a wonderful movie. Talent abounds, the scenery is beautiful and Her Majesty is shown without her "modifier" - "Queen." Here we have glimpses into a woman named Victoria, a woman who has lost her most beloved husband. She, however, faces rather unusual circumstances. Rare, I would wager, is the widow who has Parliament clamouring for attention, a Prime Minister ever at her door, a cabinet, and a nation all wanting their share. What's a devastated queen/woman to do?

Find John Brown. When John Brown came to service at Balmoral after Albert's death, it was not the first time he had been in service. She first mentions him in her immaculate and lifelong journal several years prior to Albert's death. His treatment of her as a person, with flesh and feeling, coupled with her innate fondness for Highlanders - the Queen was very unlike most of her English subjects in that she was refreshingly devoid, for the most part, of prejudices based around nationality or religion - produce in her some of the very first moments of peace and "lightening of the spirit" in the wake of what I am sure can be called the greatest tragedy of her long life.

All the above it played out in inimitably talented hands, all across the board. Perfomances true and moving, landscapes sweeping and full of that beautifully moving and melancholy magic that is the vistas of the Scottish Highlands.

Long story long, my friends, buy it. Yesterday. 'Nuff said.

A cure for those in perpetual mourning..........2007-04-28

Judi Dench in another great performance, this time playing Queen Victoria, whose friendship with her dead husband's valet, the outspoken Scotsman John Brown, helps her to overcome her continuing grief over becoming a widow. She needed to get out into the fresh air, and he forced her to do it even though he was her servant and she was royalty. A nice character study of what might have been more than a friendship. Well played.

Simply stunning story.......2007-03-23

Brilliantly directed by John Madden, and words seem so inadequate to even begin to express the unbelivable emotion that runs in the depths of these character portrayals. Of course, as has come to be known internationally, Dame Judi Dench brings this historical character to life in such an amazingly brilliant and stunningly multi-dimensional way. The range of human emotion that both she and Billy Connolly bring to this story-telling just simply should not be missed. Buy it, rent it, whatever...just see it as soon as possible! I do believe Helen Hunt was properly surprised when she won her best actress Oscar in '98...beating out Judi Dench. Helen said after she had seen "Mrs. Brown" she was absolutely positive that Judi was going home with the Oscar. Everyone deserves to win a prize, but I agree with Helen...Dame Judi should have definitely won for this performance!

Mrs. Brown.......2007-01-09

Judi Dench and Billy Connolly are wonderful in this movie. The story is wonderful and I've really enjoyed watching it.

Average customer rating:

A Bit of a Mess But Interesting
Imperfect, yet deeply poignant
The Roman Spring of Mrs. Stone
"But we are all drifting Mrs. Stone"
Great Talents Muddled

The Roman Spring of Mrs. Stone
Starring: Vivien Leigh , Warren Beatty , Lotte Lenya , Coral Browne , and Jill St. John
Director: José Quintero
Manufacturer: Warner Home Video
ProductGroup: DVD
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ASIN: B000EBD9TO
Release Date: 2006-05-02

Amazon.com

Vivien Leigh, so stirringly memorable as Blanche in Tennessee Williams's A Streetcar Named Desire, stars in this 1961 adaptation of Williams's only novella, giving a nuanced, slightly neurotic performance that is haunting and all the more tragic by its being one of the actress's last performances before her sad death at age 53. Leigh plays Karen Stone, a 50-ish theater actress whose comeback vehicle never gets off the ground; en route to Rome for a brief escape, she's devastated by the sudden death of her beloved husband. She decides to stay in Rome, and there, her loneliness takes root against the spectacular backdrop of the city. Lotte Lenya plays a viperous contessa who pimps young men to older rich ladies, and introduces the handsome Paolo (played with dissolute perfection--though his Italian accent is shaky--by Warren Beatty) to Mrs. Stone. Leigh's performance is unnervingly raw, though one wonders why a woman with a long, happy marriage and at least one very real friend (played by Coral Browne) should be doomed to such relentless loneliness--surely she and her hubby had some pals back in New York? But with Williams, you simply must go along for the ride, and the journey through the emotional dark spaces of Mrs. Stone's life is gripping. The location shots of the glorious, decaying beauty of Rome are fabulous, as are the costumes. Extras include a featurette, Mrs. Stone: Looking for Love in All the Dark Corners. --A.T. Hurley

Description

An ageing starlet is off to vacation in Rome with her husband when he suffers a fatal heart attack on the plane. Mrs. Stone stays in Rome where she leases a magnificent apartment with a view of the seven hills from the terrace. Soon, a contessa comes calling and introduces Mrs. Stone and a young man named Paola. A wary Mrs. Stone ultimately succumbs to Paolo's charms.

DVD Features:
Documentaries
Featurette:? New Featurette Mrs. Stone: Looking for Love in All the Dark Corners

Customer Reviews:

A Bit of a Mess But Interesting.......2007-05-14

This movie doesn't wear the years very well, but if you have the patience to get through the plodding pace, wooden acting and totally bizarre script, there is still something to think about. I'd definitely recommend listening to the interviews that come with the DVD, as they help you make more sense of the movie. Probably one of the most interesting aspects of the film for me was how it showed Warren Beatty rather true to life.

Imperfect, yet deeply poignant.......2006-12-04

The Roman Spring of Mrs. Stone is a magnificent failure of a film: it addresses the themes of fear, self-loathing and the decay of age more sensitively than any other Hollywood film which springs to mind, but ultimately feels a bit cramped and over-done at times. Based on a Tennesee Williams novel, it tells the story of Karen Stone, an aging actress known for her light, comedic performances, who, after a failed turn in Shakespeare's As You Like It begins to fret that her career is over. She makes the decision to set off for Rome with her husband, who dies on the plane taking them there. She meets up with a handsome young money-hungry gigolo, played by an out-of-his-league Warren Beattie, whose terrible faux-Italian accent threatens to turn this film into camp. It contains one of Vivien Leigh's darkest and most autobiographical turns as the miserable Mrs. Stone, who shacks up with Beattie to try to bring some meaning to her life. She is as beautiful and sensitive here as she ever was. Two excellent performances by Lotte Lenya and Coral Browne help to bolster the film's quality. Lotte Lenya's lends a superb performance as the witch-like Contessa whose stable of handsome boys entertain the bored, wealthy American expatriates, both male and female. The always-engaging Coral Browne is brilliant as Karen's close friend, Meg, who attempts to help her and pull her out of the downward spiral of decay in which she is so clearly headed. A bonus featurette on the DVD discusses the troubled making of the film, it is particularly poignant in its discussions of the insecurities that Williams, Leigh and Beattie faced at the time of the film's creation.

The Roman Spring of Mrs. Stone.......2006-07-25

I searched everywhere for this movie, before I contacted Amazon.com and found it, because to my mind, it exactly captures Tennessee Williams' story. Vivienne Leigh is fabulous as Mrs. Stone. She has exactly the right degree of world weariness and vulnerability, and of course even towards the the end of her career when this picture was made, she embodies my idea of glamour.

Warren Beatty is the ideal gigolo. His Italian accent may not be perfect, but I don't believe that anyone could have done it better. He looks just right, and of course he turned out in later life to be a great womaniser, so this role is almost type casting.

All in all it is a wonderful addition to my movie collection.
David Farquharson.

"But we are all drifting Mrs. Stone".......2006-05-06

The Roman Spring of Mrs. Stone is a film about need and seduction and the fear of being all-alone in the world. Legendary New York stage actress Karen Stone (the legendary Vivian Leigh) is unhappy with her latest performance, and is even more distraught when the play turns out to be a flop. She decides to retire from acting, telling everyone she needs a holiday to take care of her ailing husband.

However, when he dies on board a jetliner on the way to Rome, she decides to stay in the City and book herself into a lavish rooftop apartment. She wonders the streets, drifting in a haze of expensive loneliness, wondering what to do with her life now that acting is over for her. She soon falls in with the Contessa (Lotte Lenya), a female pimp, and a sharp procuress of handsome young men for forlorn wealthy old widows.

The Contessa hooks her up with the young Paolo di Leo (Warren Beatty). The sexy Paolo thinks nothing of acquiring money out of rich, older women, and with the Contessa's encouragement, he wines and dines Karen. Karen, however, isn't your typical widow. At around fifty, she's is still very beautiful, although she worries about getting older, she's obviously enamored of Paolo and she's desperate for affection, but she's determined that Paolo's need for money will not triumph her need for love.

They eventually become lovers. Karen showers gifts upon Paolo and they take a trip to Tangier. The Contessa becomes furious that Paolo isn't "cutting her fifty-fifty on the deal." Karen also doesn't heed the warnings of her friend, journalist Meg (Coral Browne) that she has "a disease" that can't be fulfilled. When Paolo begins to make the movies on younger starlet Barbara Bingham (Jill St. John), Karen begins to see Paolo for what he really is.

Based in Tennessee Williams novella, Roman Spring of Mrs. Stone is full of his trademark themes of desperation and isolation of fearful people aching to connect. There's no doubt that Paolo is an attractive man, but he's also selfish, spoilt and petulant and he thinks nothing of two-timing Karen. Karen is an intelligent and intuitive woman, and she's well aware of Paolo's agenda, but it's as though she's observing life through a looking glass, and is ultimately seduced by the gigolo lifestyle.

Director Jos? Quintero bathes the movie soft hews of gold and orange and he makes the most of Rome's stunning surrounds. Vivien Leigh remains a rather downcast presence - she's plays Karen with a fascinating mixture of neurosis and foreboding, she knows the relationship with Paolo will probably lead nowhere but she just can't help herself.

When their romance starts to sour, she and her young and deceitful companion trade sharp words but there no extravagant theatrical exchanges. Likewise Beatty plays down the truculent Paolo - much has been made of his Italian accent, but I found it perfectly suitable, and he's totally convincing as a manipulative pretty-boy Italian gigolo.

The Romance of Mrs. Stone was probably pretty sensational when it was released in 1961; and it's moral ambiguities - paying for sex and high-class prostitution, quite shocking to some. The film as aged well, although it dances around the more intimate aspects of the relationship - there's only one short love scene, which fades to black - the film certainly does a good job of highlighting the trials and tribulations of poor lonely women with bags of money who find themselves at a loss, living in exotic places and desiring to connect with someone. Mike Leonard May 06.

Great Talents Muddled.......2006-05-01

This film is worth seeing because of the talents involved. Vivien Leigh continues her fictional autobiography on film, Scarlett in desperation became Blanche but found a rich husband who dies and she ends as the despondent Mrs. Stone, which somewhat mirrored Leigh's own troubled life, at least in trajectory. Leigh's mental problems and nymphomania bleed through brief moments in the performance and make it uncomfortable if real. Warren Beatty is physically blessed for the role of gigilo supreme (his own personal qualities bleed through as well) but his inability to play an Italian is so obvious the part should have been rewritten into Paul the American ex-pat. Lotte Lenya in her first screen role since Pabst's "Threepenny" in the early 30s is perfection as the Countess pimp. Her relationship with her pet is the most powerful in the film. She's worth having it for alone. Williams script is flawed by the pervasive Death Wish theme, there is no where to go with the story, it becomes a very intimate flat scandalous tabloid story (very much kin to "The Misfits"). Quintero, one of the great theater talents (personally responsible for the revival of Eugene O'Neill from oblivion), does not know how to shape a film and in particular the end, which should have power, hardly registers. When such great talents work together, it is worth seeing even if only to see where even they went wrong. If the others had worked with the focus and force of Lenya, this film would have been something much greater than it is.

Average customer rating:

Open Your Eyes [Region 2]
Starring: Faire Binney , Mrs. Joupert , Jack Hopkins , Halbert Brown , and Eddie Beryll
Director: Gilbert P. Hamilton
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: B000063BMJ

Average customer rating:

A Bit of a Mess But Interesting
Imperfect, yet deeply poignant
The Roman Spring of Mrs. Stone
"But we are all drifting Mrs. Stone"
Great Talents Muddled

The Roman Spring of Mrs. Stone
Starring: Vivien Leigh , Warren Beatty , Lotte Lenya , Coral Browne , and Jill St. John
Director: José Quintero
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Drama | Genres | DVD | Video

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

Sweet Bird of Youth
The Roman Spring of Mrs. Stone
The Night of the Iguana
Baby Doll
Ship of Fools

ASIN: B000EHT4G0

Amazon.com

Customer Reviews:

A Bit of a Mess But Interesting.......2007-05-14

Imperfect, yet deeply poignant.......2006-12-04

The Roman Spring of Mrs. Stone.......2006-07-25

"But we are all drifting Mrs. Stone".......2006-05-06

Great Talents Muddled.......2006-05-01

The Widowing of Mrs. Holroyd (Broadway Theatre Archive)

Average customer rating:

The Widowing of Mrs. Holroyd (Broadway Theatre Archive)
Starring: Joyce Ebert , Frank Converse , Rex Robbins , Roberta Maxwell , and Veronica Castang
Director: Arvin Brown , and John Desmond (II)
Manufacturer: Kultur Video
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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Big Blonde (Broadway Theatre Archive)
Back to Back (Broadway Theatre Archive)
Burning Bright (Broadway Theatre Archive)
Hogan's Goat (Broadway Theatre Archive)
The Typists (Broadway Theatre Archive)

ASIN: B0000714BJ
Release Date: 2002-10-29

Description

D.H. Lawrence's "The Widowing of Mrs. Holroyd" is a naturalistic drama drwn from Lawrence's memories of his parents' turbulent marriage. Set in pre-World War I England, the play centers on the conflict between a coarse, blustering coal miner and his refined, working-class wife. Stars Oscar-nominee Geraldine Fitzgerald (Wuthering Heights, Arthur).

Average customer rating:

A heart-warming true story of friendship and loyalty, politics and betrayal.
Victoria and John
A cure for those in perpetual mourning...
Simply stunning story
Mrs. Brown

Mrs Brown [Region 2]
Starring: Judi Dench , Billy Connolly , Geoffrey Palmer , Antony Sher , and Gerard Butler
Director: John Madden
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Drama | Genres | DVD | Video