I Am David

Starring:Roberto Attias, Elisabetta Bartolomei, Maria Bonnevie, Viola Carinci, James Caviezel, Silvia De Santis, Francesco De Vito, Marin Jivkov, Krasimir Kutzoparov, Diyan Machev, Joan Plowright, Krassimir Radkov, Paco Reconti, Shaila Rubin, Lucy Russell, Hristo Shopov, Alessandro Sperduti, Robert Syulev, Ben Tibber
Studio: Lions Gate
Product Type: DVD

Editorial Review:
Product Description
I Am David is adapted from Anne Holm's internationally acclaimed novel North to Freedom. David is thrust into the free world for the first time in his young life as he travels across Europe. It is a spiritual voyage of discovery, where David slowly loses his instinctual mistrust of humanity and begins to smiles, share, trust and ultimately, love.

System Requirements:

Running Time 90 Min

Format: DVD MOVIE

Average customer rating:

Powerful story, great example
I Am Yawning
I am David
Excellent movie
Of Rare Quality

I Am David
Starring: Roberto Attias , Elisabetta Bartolomei , Maria Bonnevie , Viola Carinci , and James Caviezel
Manufacturer: Lions Gate
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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Similar Items:

I Am David
The Cure
Small Miracles
The Dust Factory
Madison

ASIN: B0007N19X2
Release Date: 2005-04-05

Product Description

I Am David is adapted from Anne Holm's internationally acclaimed novel North to Freedom. David is thrust into the free world for the first time in his young life as he travels across Europe. It is a spiritual voyage of discovery, where David slowly loses his instinctual mistrust of humanity and begins to smiles, share, trust and ultimately, love.

System Requirements:

Running Time 90 Min

Format: DVD MOVIE

Customer Reviews:

Powerful story, great example.......2007-05-17

This is a fine example of how a powerful story can become a wonderful motion picture without gimmicks, million dollar sets and all the stuff that makes movies so expensive and yet uninteresting. The story is especially important now that our politics has fallen into a commerce of hateful propaganda and what it does to people.

The film is a total inspiration for people who want to write and/or produce books and films. Without name actors and huge sets it moves exitingly nonetheless. Some of the cast may not be great actors, but they are real people you care about in this powerful story. It is a great example of everything a motion picture should be.

I Am Yawning.......2007-04-17

Before I take this movie behind the woodshed for the sound thrashing it so richly deserves, I will tell you why people like it. It's very pretty, the cinematography of post war Europe is lush and inviting, and the period recreation is well done. It seems to shed light on important human themes of courage, perseverance, and hope in the face of cruelty and injustice. It does do all this, in the same sense that Marvel comics do.

Lest you think that I am some knee-jerk, knuckle-dragging Neanderthal, let me quickly point out that I yield to no man in my devotion to what might be called "art house" fare. I will never get back the hundreds of hours I have spent with the likes of Bernardo Bertolucci, Michelangelo Antonioni, Lina Wertmuller, Ingmar Bergman, and the Godfather of "What the heck was that all about?" - Federico Fellini. I Am David most certainly targets the likes of me, liberal save the whales recycle now skateboarding is not a crime ban handguns club soda not seals intellectual dilettantes. However, even the relentlessly tolerant must have limits.

They say character drives plot, which explains a lot. David is a cipher, at best a symbol. He has no character, which helps explain why the film has no plot. [Those startling moments when it attempts to introduce plot points give one the feeling that somewhere a script writer has temporarily awoken from a coma, to which he quickly returns.] Little David, our pint-sized Everyman figure, stumbles through the most ludicrous set of random encounters one might imagine, all designed to introduce him to the notion that humanity might not be irrevocably foul. Saving a rich girl from death by fire is only the most preposterous.

Jim Caviezel, who disgraced his profession by agreeing to work with Mel Gibson in the widely viewed torture spectacle, Son Of Torah, is given nothing to do but grimace soulfully with a bar of soap in his hand. Joan Plowright is alone in bringing acting skill to this picture; her performance looks radiant in comparison to the shabbiness around her. If you're the type of person who bursts into tears as you stroll through the mall listening to Minnie Riperton singing, "Lovin' You," you'll probably find this film emotionally compelling.

I am David.......2007-04-10

What, no gratuitous sex or violance? What was Hollywood thinking?! I am thinking it is about time. One of the BEST movies I have seen in a long time. Each and every actor in this movie should and must be proud of this one. Jim Caviezel is the best, God bless him and all he does. The actor playing David did a wonderful job. Too bad there aren't more movies like this being made in Hollywood. Will they ever wake up? I doubt it.

Excellent movie.......2007-01-31

This movie is great! It was filmed in Europe with spectacular scenery. It is an example of hope when you have no one to turn to and only strangers who offer shelter, food, a bath, and love. It is truly a movie about learning to trust. There is some violence, so be sure to view it and form your own opinion before letting little ones watch it.

Of Rare Quality.......2007-01-28

A bar of soap. A friend's sacrifice. An unexpected interview, an envelope, and a door to freedom. This movie is hard to pin down to anything a review could say. The emotions that it pulsates as we follow David on his journey to family, faith, and a sense of identity and belonging, the dark dreams and murky flash-backs that slowly peice together for us parts of his shattered insides that he so carefully gaurds from the rest of humanity are too abstract to be told in words. What I will say is this: It was perfect. There are a lot of movies that I come away from with a generally good feeling, but also with thoughts of how it could have been done better. In a rare instance of artistic genious, old fashioned good acting was combined with new fancy camera work, and the result is a masterpeice that should be in every home. The ending could not possibly have been better. What a wonderful song they picked . . . just the right thing for the moment. I could watch this a hundred times.

Average customer rating:

highly recommended
Not Widescreen
one of the best Jackie Chan movies ever
WONDERFUL!!!
Fun movie

Jackie Chan's Who Am I?
Starring: Neil Berger , Dik Brinksma , Jackie Chan , Pim Daane , and Michelle Ferre
Director: Jackie Chan
Manufacturer: Sony Pictures
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Action & Adventure | Genres | DVD | Video

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ASIN: 0767819640
Release Date: 1999-02-02

Amazon.com

Shot in English and budgeted higher than any of his previous Asian features, Jackie Chan's last film under his Hong Kong contract is an action-packed globe-trotting adventure shot with the American audience in mind. The spies and secret agent-laden plot is packed with car chases, explosions, gunfire aplenty, and of course Jackie's own brand of gymnastic martial arts. But the flood of his older films between his hits Rumble in the Bronx and Rush Hour had sated American viewers and Who Am I? wound up being sold directly to cable. It's our loss, for this mix of goofy slapstick and jaw-dropping action is his most impressive film since Drunken Master II. Playing a special forces agent (named, naturally, Jackie) struck with amnesia and adopted by an African bush tribe following a failed assassination attempt, he embarks on a quest to discover his true identity while armies of killers pour after him. After an explosive opening, the story gets momentarily bogged down in the kind of mugging humor that leaves most American audiences scratching their heads, but once Jackie kicks into gear the film is a high-speed action flurry that culminates in a furious battle atop a Rotterdam skyscraper. Jackie is at his most charmingly naive (he berates the villains, pleading "Why do you want to destroy when you can make things better?") and athletically impressive: the marvelous stunts--including a flight down the side of the skyscraper--and fight choreography make Rush Hour look like a Sunday drive. --Sean Axmaker

Customer Reviews:

highly recommended.......2007-01-31

This movie has everything we expect in a Jackie Chan flick, including plenty of bad guys for Jackie to fight (some are clearly great martial artists themselves, not just actors, as mentioned by other reviewers), pretty girls that Jackie must save, death defying stunts, chase scenes, guns, explosions, and plenty of humor. Two thumbs up! Regarding the dvd format, the one I saw in store had widescreen on one side and full screen on the other. (I own it on vhs myself and am considering upgrading to the dvd.) Some of you parents might also like to know this one has no nudity.

Not Widescreen.......2006-11-02

First off, the movie is great. It just may be my all-time favorite Jackie Chan film. Lots of fun, lots of action. The problem is, this DVD is not widescreen, it's fullscreen, no matter what the Amazon info says. I bought it, got the fullscreen version, sent it back for the widescreen version and got another fullscreen version sent to me. If you can stand Jackie Chan in fullsceen with all of the format's shortcomings, you'll love it!

one of the best Jackie Chan movies ever.......2006-08-19

Who Am I has it all - a decent story, great stunts, long car chase scene, some good ol' Jackie Chan comedy, and a roof-top fight scene that is unbelievable.

Jackie Chan plays "Jackie Chan", a special forces agent who is the last to survive a mission of deception in South Africa. Struck with amnesia, he sets on a quest to recover his identity, only to find himself being chased by gangs of men led by the man that Jackie thinks is helping him. The first 30 minutes of the movie is very slow, but the action picks up quickly when the chases begin.

Fortunately, the movie only gets better as it progresses, till a final roof-top fight with Jackie against 2 men, who have excellent martial arts skills. The fight scene literally lasts 8-1/2 minutes, with constant kicking, punching, and some Jackie stunts here and there. To finish it off, Jackie performs his best stunt of the movie, sliding down the glass angled side of the skyscraper.

If you like Jackie Chan movies, you will be pleased to know this is an above average treat. If nothing else, the ending of the movie is worth every bit in gold.

WONDERFUL!!!.......2006-03-23

This is probably Jackie Chan's best movie. It has it all; action, comic relief, and a great story line. Highly recommended to all fans of Jackie.

Fun movie.......2006-03-13

I had seen this movie before, and it was a gift for my husband who was having trouble finding a copy in the local stores. Great martial arts, had its funny parts, and we both give it two thumbs up.

Average customer rating:

Socially Relevant but Entertaining
Good Classic
some history surrounding a timeless classic
powerful & biting and thats even BEFORE the final sequence
Stale acting and B grade direction and script make film tedious

I Am a Fugitive From a Chain Gang
Starring: Paul Muni , Glenda Farrell , Helen Vinson , Noel Francis , and Preston Foster
Director: Mervyn LeRoy , and Roy Mack
Manufacturer: Warner Home Video
ProductGroup: DVD
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ASIN: B0007TKNJ2
Release Date: 2005-05-10

Amazon.com

I Am a Fugitive from a Chain Gang is one of the toughest and most uncompromising movies to ever come out of Hollywood. Paul Muni stars as a regular Joe, just back from World War I, who is unjustly convicted of a crime and sentenced to 10 years of bruisingly unfair treatment on a chain gang. Even a successful escape can't shake the spectre of the chains, nor the amazingly fatalistic twists the screenplay has in store. This picture could only have been made at Warner Bros., where social-justice movies flourished in the 1930s and criticism of judicial systems and prisons was sanctioned. Muni's weird acting style (he was recently off Scarface) somehow fits the film's furious tone, and director Mervyn LeRoy--as in his earlier Little Caesar--was dexterous enough to build the action to an unforgettable ending. It's a film that filters the American Dream through Depression realities and noirish pessimism (with a streak of pre-Code sexual frankness--note the one-night "friend" Muni makes the night of his escape). This one holds up, folks; it's a stunner. --Robert Horton

Description

Classic fact-based drama about an innocent man brutally victimized by the Depression-era criminal justice system.

Customer Reviews:

Socially Relevant but Entertaining.......2007-04-04

This film really surprised me by holding my attention despite its age.

Paul Muni gives a tremendous performance as a slight above average kind of guy that ends up in the wrong place at the wrong time. He fills the character with a lot of emotion and when he is in his "fugitive" stage the tension is visible in him at all times.

The movie is based in the 1920s but yet it very much has Depression era themes that fit more with when it was filmed. The 1920s are normally portrayed as a go-go financial decade rather than the desolate job environment seen here.

The other performances do not match the intensity of Muni although the character of his wife is believably evil if rather one dimensional.

The jail scenes are suitably horrible but any documentary about conditions in today's jails shows a much harsher scene. Also, the social criticism is somewhat muted because the audience is led to feel sorry for a man we know to be innocent. The point about the harshness of the system is still strong but it seems that the only plight that matters is that of Muni's character.

All in all, this is a film worth watching for its quality and its pre-Code script that includes plenty of bad behavior.

Good Classic.......2007-03-17

Almost perfect classic by Mervyn LeRoy. A man returned from fighting WWII decides not to go back to his routine job at the factory. His experience doing some engineering work in the Army inspires him to look into the construction business, study and maybe become an engineer. But society has other plans for him. One little mistake will start him in the opposite direction he had planned.

Social realism, without being preachy or melodramatic, is the best description for this film's style. High quality direction, great photography. The story is well developed and interesting all the way. The flaws are some characterizations: the mother and the older brother in the first scenes are too clichéd and poorly played. Luckily we don't see them much. The film goes increscendo in intensity and quality. One cannot help comparing it to "Cool Hand Luke". Muni was no Paul Newman but he manages it.

It's not just a criticism of the justice system in some States of the Union. It has a lot more meat, which saves it from the mediocrity of so many films on fugitives and prison life. There's a good study on female stereotypes; the disadvantages of individualism & the entrepreneural spirit in a totalitarian state; and, of course, the quiet resignation and resilience of blacks to injustice.

I loved this line said by a woman: "There're no musts in my life. I'm free, white, and twenty-one." Being neither of them could be pretty tough indeed.

A great film that has past the test of time fairly well.

some history surrounding a timeless classic.......2007-01-05

I'd avoided this film for decades, since I was generally unimpressed with Muni's stuffy biopic films--George Arliss he ain't. But Muni absolutely delivers the goods in CHAIN GANG, forcing me to re-view and possibly reassess his other film efforts. This movie is HBO quality, without the gratuitous profanity.

A word about the ending. Late in life, Mervin LeRoy fessed up that the blackout BEFORE delivery of the last line was a fluke. Previous scripts ended the movie with James Allen graphically depicted as a fugitive beast desperately escaping over a state border...as well as implied borders of societal humanity. But, in rehearsal, klieg lights blew a fuse just before the final line was delivered, and the impact of this accident made the intended coda superfluous.

Also note that the real-life subject of this story, Robert E. Burns, was still a fugitive when he served as technical advisor on the film. When the movie proved to be a tremendous success, he made public appearances on its behalf before being captured again by the authorities. He did receive a pardon this time, thanks in no small part to the riveting content of CHAIN GANG.

powerful & biting and thats even BEFORE the final sequence.......2006-07-04

based on a true story, this movie recounts the tale of a man who escapes from the chain gang, goes on to a prosperous life only to see it all collapse around him when his past is revealed. paul muni, who had just become a star in "scarface" turns in one of the great screen performances, leading up to possibly the most shattering fade-out ever filmed (and if you dont know what it is, go rent the movie, because 70+ years later, it still shocks!)

Stale acting and B grade direction and script make film tedious.......2006-06-10

This film is hardly a "classic", nor is it a "social protest movie" that most of these misguided reviewers would have you believe. It falls into the realm of impressionable 'exploitation' films that attempted to substantiate struggling theaters with their wealthy competitors. Warner Bros. looked for "controversial" themes to release them from their box office slump and found it with topics like this, packaging emotional rubbish into the screens in the form of low budget B grade "content films". Anyone who thinks Warner Bros was a "redeeming and caring company interested in the plight of man" is deluded, they were merely out to make a profit, nothing more. Examine their union records, dictatorial management and abuse of rights at the time if you don't believe me. Surely, a film which pulls at your heart is only intended to pull at your wallet.

The film itself has a weak script, stale acting (bordering on dull to over anxious), B grade direction, poor dialogue and is tedious. It meanders through one half hearted empty skit after another, dislodging us from any sincere interest at all. Muni is a boorish actor, neither disguising his brusque acting method nor elaborating on any convincing emotion. Standard film shots are scattered throughout, of locations and events in history, a parade from WW 1, a real street scene in Chicago, and this further aggravates the authenticity of the whole subject, making the film look "cut up" because most of it was filmed on cheap Warner Bros sets in Pasadena. The chain gang scenes are unrealistic, exaggerated, and only attempt to garner instant condemnation from the viewer. I don't need a mediocre film to instigate that "chain gangs are evil", I should know that from my own knowledge, and further more, this film contradicts itself because capitalism itself is slavery and there is so much insane dialog about the "virtues of work" in the beginning. I fail to believe that there is a difference between a worker at a factory occupied for 12 hours a day like a slave and a man stuck on a chain gang! An average film reduced by film historians and buffs to a "classic" merely because they can not understand why films had to make a profit for the capitalistic and authoritarian film companies which produced them. Do not tell me about "social awareness" when only profit to powerful monopolistic companies was involved!

I Am Trying to Break Your Heart - A Film about Wilco (Single Disc Edition)

Average customer rating:

I Was Afraid I Was Going To Hate It
Wilco yes
I Am Trying to Forget This Movie
Good Movie for Wilco Fans
A Rock Film for the ages

I Am Trying to Break Your Heart - A Film about Wilco (Single Disc Edition)
Starring: Jeff Tweedy , John Stirratt , Leroy Bach , Glenn Kotche , and Jay Bennett (III)
Director: Sam Jones (IV)
Manufacturer: Plexifilm
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Rock | Styles | Music

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Jeff Tweedy - Sunken Treasure - Live in the Pacific Northwest
The Wilco Book (with CD)
Wilco: Learning How to Die
Kicking Television: Live in Chicago
Billy Bragg & Wilco - Man in the Sand (The Making of "Mermaid Avenue")

ASIN: B000EQ5UPU
Release Date: 2006-04-18

Amazon.com

This splendid documentary captures the band Wilco's struggles (both with their record company and within the band itself) while recording their album Yankee Hotel Foxtrot. I Am Trying to Break Your Heart is completely engrossing, whether or not you are familiar with the band. As they work on the album, there's some tension between singer-songwriter Jeff Tweedy and bandmate Jay Bennett, but overall the band members are happy and enjoying exploring their music. But when they turn in the finished songs, their record label drops them, leaving them adrift with the album that promises to be a huge artistic leap. For fans of Wilco, this gorgeously photographed movie will be a thrilling look at the life of the band and Tweedy's creative process; but even novices will be drawn into the contrasts between art and commerce brought out by the conflict. --Bret Fetzer

Description

This is the single disc DVD version of I AM TRYING TO BREAK YOUR HEART - A FILM ABOUT WILCO.

First time director Sam Jones documents the making of Wilco's fourth studio Album, Yankee Hotel Foxtrot. Named after the Wilco song that is featured on Yankee Hotel Foxtrot, an album that strays from the Alt-country that made them famous. Jones' desire was to document the creative work of YHF's production, he seems to have found a bit more, including band members departing and a conflict with Reprise record company. This is a true documentry of art versus money-driven media conglomerates.

Customer Reviews:

I Was Afraid I Was Going To Hate It.......2007-04-14

I am big fan of Wilco and I have followed their career from Tweedy's days with Uncle Tupelo. After reading some bad reviews about this movie from some that called it "boring" and from another who stated they disliked the band after watching this, I was afraid I was going to hate the movie and I didn't want to dislike Wilco after seeing the film. I decided I should never let anybody else decide for me (especially in advance) or tell me what I am and am not going to like. Luckily for me, I made the right choice.

This film is not perfect. It's not supposed to be. It is, however, supposed to tell the story of a band trying to make an album and trying to get along together as people, friends, and business partners. The film maker does an excellent job of telling this story and the music speaks for itself...it's top-notch. There are a few scenes I would have shortened and I have to admit the candid scene of Tweedy talking to his wife (I assume) on his cell phone is boring, but it also allows the viewer/fan a glimpse of Jeff Tweedy being Jeff Tweedy rather than Mr. Wilco. I highly reccomend this DVD to any Wilco fan or anybody who is interested in becoming one. What a great ending!

Wilco yes.......2007-01-19

I love this Documentary. ifu love of like or whatever Wilco, you will love this film. beautifully shot and created. yes.

I Am Trying to Forget This Movie.......2006-04-28

Who cares?

A completely mediocre band is given appropriately mediocre docu-coverage. What's truly amazing -- and the only interest the film holds -- is the towering self-importance of everyone involved with Wilco. Guys, just who do you think you are? You're not the Beatles, Coltrane's Quartet, or the Brandenburg Orchestra. A rather more interesting movie, perhaps called "I Am Trying to Break Your Eardrums", might be about Wilco's fans and why they're so tone-deaf.

Almost as bad as "Darkon".

Good Movie for Wilco Fans.......2006-04-03

If you are a big Wilco fan, like me, you will enjoy this movie. If you want to know Jeff Tweedy better--or better yet, you already feel you know Tweedy and want just to see more of him--you will enjoy this film.

However, it is not a great concert film--there are many better, despite the grandiose comparisons--and it spends a lot of time on matters that will prove inconsequential in the long run. Years from now, who will really care that Wilco lost its record company after recording Yankee Hotel Foxtrot and sold the record to a different company? Who will care about the resentful difficult guy they kicked out of the band and replaced, whose name I don't even remember now? If you will, of course this film's for you.

What you have here is a well-filmed version of a reality show with really likeable characters, a little music biz drama, and great great music. That was enough for me to enjoy this film a lot.

A Rock Film for the ages.......2006-03-24

Wilco is one of the definitive bands of the times, not some flash-in-the-pan group - if Wilco were to disappear or break up tomowrrow, they would be remember single handidly for arguably having one of the best albums of the last six years, that being Yankee Hotel Foxtrot. I feel we are very lucky the infamous story over that album was filmed, whether for some "looming" future purpose, or it just randomaly happened - I believe it just happened - and for that reason alone is why this film is of value.

Wilco fans, and just rock music fans, should really enjoy this documentary over the development of Wilco's classic album Yankee Hotel Foxtrot, and the behind-the-music like story that takes place. The bonus disc is worth the money alone, seeing solo performances by Jeff Tweedy, and extra footage of the Wilco live. Like Dylan's Don't Look Back, I Am Trying to Break Your Heart is of a classic rock film level and not to be taken lightly. Excellent film. Definitely worth purchasing!

Average customer rating:

I am the Cheese
DISJOINTED
Adam still pedals on is lonely bike ride in my mind..
Ancient Video
Execelent

I Am the Cheese
Starring: Robert MacNaughton , Hope Lange , Don Murray , Robert Wagner , and Cynthia Nixon
Director: Robert Jiras
Manufacturer: First Run Features
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: B0007YMW32
Release Date: 2007-06-19

Description

A film by Robert Jiras • Starring Robert MacNaughton (E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial), Cynthia Nixon (Sex and the City), Robert Wagner (Austin Powers, Hart to Hart), and Hope Lange (The Ghost & Mrs. Muir)In this captivating adaptation of Robert Cormier's best-selling novel, 14-year-old Adam Farmer seeks to uncover a secret lost in his subconscious that will allow him to locate his parents, who have disappeared mysteriously. Suspense mounts as Adam pieces together the fragments of the story with the help of his psychiatrist, uncovering fantastic clues which lead to a shocking conclusion. "It's DEAD POETS SOCIETY meets THE X FILES! MacNaughton is endearing, and the presence of the then-innocent Cynthia Nixon is a guilty pleasure." - FILMCRITIC.COM "Homespun simplicity! Robert MacNaughton, who played the older son in E.T., makes a gentle and sympathetic Adam." - THE NEW YORK TIMES DVD Bonus Features: Trailers • Director's Bio • Photo Gallery. 100 minutes, color, Rated PG

Customer Reviews:

I am the Cheese.......2007-02-09

I thought this movie portrayed the book very well. I would still HIGHLY recommend reading the book though before you watch the movie or you will feel "lost".

DISJOINTED.......2006-08-16

This film is hard to follow. It keeps jumping back and forth in time and from scene to scene. It has some interesting segments, but it wasn't put together too well...and leaves a person wanting more answers at the end. Acting was pretty good, but some characters not developed enough.

Adam still pedals on is lonely bike ride in my mind.........2006-01-16

        I first read this book when I was in the 7th grade. I didn't understand it all then, because there are a lot of levels to the story. I so identified with Adam, felt so alone, felt all this stuff inside me, wanted to be a writer and kept a journal full of what was in my head, felt like screaming and screaming and never stopping. I'd read the book twice, I think, when I chanced upon the movie late one night on cable more than 20 years ago. I was with a friend, and couldn't really let myself go into the movie like I wanted, but remembered liking it, and especially the punch (you'll know what I'm talking about if you see the movie). I spent years looking for a copy, and finally found a VHS copy, which I promptly ordered.

         When it showed up, I took the TV and the VCR and set them up in my bedroom and sat on my bed in the corner to watch it. This was such a personal story to me, I wasn't going to share that first watching with anyone. It was...very very well done. The story has changed slightly from the book, especially the parts with Amy, but I was glad to see them. I'd have loved it being just like the book, of course, but the changes made, kind of give Adam an "adolescent growing up" feel. The soundtrack is very subdued, but perfect. Violin, Oboe, Cello, I'm not sure which is used, but it's about the only instrument used through much of the film, and it really adds that touch of loneliness, of being so alone, especially on Adam's bike ride. There's a bit of music that plays at times throughout that mimics part of "The Farmer in the Dell" that has stayed with me all these years, as Adam, eternally riding his father's bike on that lonely ride to Monument in my head. They both play together in my mind.

         Robert MacNaughton, who played Elliot's older brother in "E.T.", was the perfect Adam. I've seen several different covers for the book, one of which shows a boy, who looks to be about 8 years old at the most, in some kind of prison cell or something similar. And while the feel of the cover captures the essence of the book, the boy is far too young. Robert MacNaughton is just the right age and does such a great job in this, you have to wonder why his acting career never took off. As I'm watching this, he IS Adam. It's like there isn't any acting involved. Someone followed Adam around with a camera filming his life, and released it as a movie.

         Some people talk about the cold relationship he and Doctor Brint have, how unrealistic it is, and thus makes a poorer movie. I disagree completely. For Adam's part, all that has happened to him, though he can remember only parts of it, have lead him to be distrustful of anybody in authority (in fact, that was the theme of Cormier's book, man versus government/authority and how man ultimately loses), and Brint is certainly an authority figure, and one who seems to be trying get specific things out of Adam, all the while trying to help him. There's at least one scene where Brint is asking him specific questions and Adam starts to get paranoid and asks repeatedly to end the session. So it's no surprise Adam doesn't warm up completely to Doctor Brint. And as for Brint's part, he knows, ultimately, what is going to happen to Adam once he gets all the information his superiors are wanting, and thus I can easily see him not wanting to get close to this particular patient. Part of him just wants to think of Adam as a tool, so when the eventual end happens, it won't affect him emotinally, but another part of him is still the doctor, wanting to help, and can't distance himself completely. Which is why, at the end of the movie, he does nothing when he sees Adam through the window, on his bike, riding near the van.

         The only actor I had problems with was Adam's father (Don Murray), who gives a completely wooden performance in this, which is surprising considering I've seen him do a fine job in other movies, like "Quarterback Princess," and "Peggy Sue Got Married."

         This has the feel of a low-budget movie, but that very feel works to its benefit. More money, a slicker production, would have taken away from the essence of the movie, that core feeling that runs through both the movie and the book.

         The movie begins with Adam waking up, putting on his coat and picking up a wrapped package, and starting off on his bike. It switches after a bit to Adam in a room, meeting Doctor Brint. It switches back and forth between the bike ride and the psychiatric sessions with Brint, and scenes from Adam's life as Brint helps him to remember them. The bike ride is not uneventful, but always lonely, even when other people are encountered. The music meshes perfectly with the scenes, and once the movie is over, you find yourself thinking about all the different levels to this story. The book has them all, but the movie really helps to bring them out. The endings are different between the movie and the book, but unlike most book-to-movie adaptations, I don't mind. After years of living with the book, and that ride, and those sessions, in my head, I needed the ending the movie gave me.

         I highly recommend watching the movie and reading the book, most especially to those not yet adults, but to people of all ages. It is a tale that makes you think, that makes you feel, and doesn't just provide an hour and a half of entertainment easily forgotten when the next movie is on. This one will stay with you for a very long time, if not forever.

         I gave the movie 5 stars because it's better than 4. On a scale of 1 to 10, I'd rate a 9, but that doesn't quite break down to 4 of 5.

Ancient Video.......2005-09-04

I have been looking for a copy of the VHS version of I am the Cheese novel for several years. I not only found it; I found it in excellent condition at a reasonable price. Thanks.

Execelent.......2003-12-03

The Book was great, and if you have read the book the movie folds the whole book together

Average customer rating:

LEICA A LOT..........!
Brilliant Characterization of a Zany and Colorful Young Lady
Hilarious

I Am a Camera
Starring: Julie Harris , Laurence Harvey , Shelley Winters , Ron Randell , and Lea Seidl
Director: Henry Cornelius
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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Similar Items:

The Berlin Stories: The Last of Mr. Norris and Goodbye to Berlin (New Directions Book)
I Am a Camera
Cabaret
Cabaret: The Illustrated Book and Lyrics
Cabaret: The New Broadway Cast Recording (1998 Broadway Revival)

ASIN: B0002CH7VQ

Customer Reviews:

LEICA A LOT..........!.......2002-02-19

NOW, when this one hit the big screen about half a century ago! What a Stirr!

THEN it was followed by the musical and that 'other movie' - also excellent. This one resonates perhaps just slightly more, more hints of 'actual'. Gone are the 'gorgeous people' ..... except maybe for Laurence Harvey as our Hero.

Justice to these Berlin Stories by Christopher Isherwood is still to come, still seeking the definitive version of this 'innocent abroad in pre-WWII Berlin and his subsequently peculiar, to say the least 'episodes' with waif Sally Bowles [Miss Harris - also quite devine] and the rest of the motley and tarnished boarding-house crew and other various inhabitants of the city. [Sex was never this fun in the Big City.]

Interesting to see Great Shelley Winters in the role so differently realized in Fosse's "Cabaret" - both views work, but Miss Winters is possibly more 'period perfect".

It seems like a great fuss was made about this movie some 50 years ago, compared to today's fare? Tame indeed, but it's time for a 're-visiting' of Mr. Isherwood's Berlin - so devine, so dark, so decadent!

Brilliant Characterization of a Zany and Colorful Young Lady.......2001-12-31

Julie Harris mesmerized screen audiences along with Ethel Waters in "Member of the Wedding." Harris provides a brilliant characterization of zany, madcap, but always interesting, totally effervescent and colorful Sally Bowles in "I am a Camera." The film is an adaptation of the John Druten play, which was in turn adapted from Christopher Isherwood's "Berlin Stories."

Laurence Harvey does a convincing job as the man saddled with the well-nigh impossible job of keeping up with the peripatetic, endlessly energetic Harris. He plays Christopher Isherwood, the actual author of the series of stories depicting Berlin in the days leading up to Hitler's accession to power. The picture conveys a feel for the period, with Isherwood, anything but the type who looks for fights, at one point getting into a brawl with Hitler brownshirts seeking to corral believers.

Shelley Winters performs convincingly in a supporting role. Henry Cornelius, who directed this British production, is also associated with the rollicking comedy "Passport to Pimlico" while the film's photographer, Guy Green, is one of the finest in cinema history, being teamed frequently with the great David Lean. Green won a Best Cinematography Oscar for Lean's "Great Expectations" and could easily have won one for another Lean Dickens classic, "Oliver Twist."

Sallys Bowles is a lady incapable of boring anyone. She keeps the action going at a frantic pace in this excellent film, from which Bob Fosse's great 1975 masterpiece "Cabaret" was adapted.

Hilarious.......2000-04-22

Very funny, but tempered with a sobering look at the end of Weimar Germany. The contrast in personalities: Chris wants to get ahead, Sally lives for the minute, Fritz and Natalia want to survive; is well-done. The acting is good all around, except for Winters' accent, which is shaky.

Average customer rating:

A Beautiful Movie

I Am David

Manufacturer: Walden Media
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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I Am David
Madison
I Am David
Glory Road (Widescreen Edition)
Frequency (New Line Platinum Series)

ASIN: B000BMXM7A

Product Description

The back cover states, "I AM DAVID is adapted from Anne Holm's internationally acclaimed novel NORTH TO FREEDOM. David is thrust into the free world for the first time in his young life as he travels across Europe. It is a spiritual voyage of discovery, where David slowly loses his instinctual mistrust of humanity and begins to smile, share, trust and ultimately, love."

Customer Reviews:

A Beautiful Movie.......2006-03-11

A story about a boy moving from the darkness of communist rule in eastern europe in the early 1950's into the light of freedom. He escapes from Bulgaria, and travels through Greece, Italy, and Switzerland in order to get to Denmark. In his imprisonment and his journey, David benefits from love and sacrifice, both given and received. A benefactor, whose identity is gradually revealed, tells David to trust no one until he gets to Denmark.
Religious and moral themes abound. There is a Christ-like figure who gives his life to save David. An executioner forced to commit murder by "the state", chooses love over blind duty when he conspires with his victim. David achieves freedom in his escape from Bulgaria, but is unable to recognize or understand what that means. In his travels, his heart and his mind gradually open to love. As his trust grows, he gets closer and closer to his destination. He does not understand why Denmark is his destination, only that he was told by his protector to go there. When David makes a leap of faith, he reaches his destination in a dramatic fashion.

I Am David (2003), Jim Caviezel, Ben Tibber, Joan Plowright

Average customer rating:

I Am David (2003), Jim Caviezel, Ben Tibber, Joan Plowright

ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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Widescreen Version, 5.1 Dolby Digital Surround, 2.0 Dolby Digital
Spanish Subtitiles, English Closed Captioning
Scene Index, Deleted Scenes, Discovering David Featurette
Commentary with Director, Paul Feig
Rated PG, Special Features Not Rated

ASIN: B000PFHMOW

Product Description

Actors: Roberto Attias, Elisabetta Bartolomei, Maria Bonnevie, Viola Carinci, James Caviezel Format: Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, Subtitled, Widescreen, NTSC Language: English Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.) Aspect Ratio: 16:9 Number of discs: 1 Rating Studio: Lions Gate DVD Release Date: April 5, 2005 Run Time: 90 minutes Genres: Inspirational Drama Plot Synopsis: I Am David is adapted from Anne Holm's internationally acclaimed novel North to Freedom. It is the story of a 12-year-old boy, David, who escapes a Communist concentration camp with little more than a compass, a sealed letter, a loaf of bread, and instructions to carry the letter to Copenhagen, Denmark. David is thrust into the free world for the first time in his young life as he travels across Europe. It is a spiritual voyage of discovery, where David slowly loses his instinctual mistrust of humanity and begins to smile, share, trust and ultimately, love. I Am David addresses the cruelties, politics, and suffering of warfare while celebrating the resilience of youth and the unbreakable spirit of a child.

Average customer rating:

Not awesome, but still worthwhile....
Maltin should not be allowed to rate films!!
One thousand beautiful images blended into motion

The Replacement Killers/Who Am I?
Starring: Neil Berger , Dik Brinksma , Jackie Chan , Pim Daane , and Michelle Ferre
Director: Jackie Chan
Manufacturer: Sony Pictures
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Action & Adventure | Genres | DVD | Video

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ASIN: B00000K3D0
Release Date: 1999-10-26

Amazon.com

The Replacement Killers
The director of Chow Yun-fat's first Hollywood outing, music-video veteran Antoine Fuqua, seems to be trying to squeeze the charismatic Asian superstar into a conventional American action-hero mold, and the results are dispiriting. Fuqua never lets this high-spirited actor smile, fetishizing him as a gunslinging clotheshorse in a series of garish, scenery-smashing battle scenes. As a paid assassin whose former employers turn against him, Chow enlists the help of an illegal documents specialist played, with surprising grit, by Mira Sorvino, and then spends most of the time fending off squads of killers in mirror shades. The movie is art-directed and photographed fit to kill (even the most routine incidents are eye-gougingly colorful) and edited to a hip-hop beat. It's garishly superficial. The frequent gunplay duels may keep action fans riveted, but they'll hate themselves in the morning. --David Chute

Who Am I?
Shot in English and budgeted higher than any of his previous Asian features, Jackie Chan's last film under his Hong Kong contract is an action-packed globe-trotting adventure shot with the American audience in mind. The spies and secret agent-laden plot is packed with car chases, explosions, gunfire aplenty, and of course Jackie's own brand of gymnastic martial arts. But the flood of his older films between his hits Rumble in the Bronx and Rush Hour had sated American viewers and Who Am I? wound up being sold directly to cable. It's our loss, for this mix of goofy slapstick and jaw-dropping action is his most impressive film since Drunken Master II. Playing a special forces agent (named, naturally, Jackie) struck with amnesia and adopted by an African bush tribe following a failed assassination attempt, he embarks on a quest to discover his true identity while armies of killers pour after him. After an explosive opening, the story gets momentarily bogged down in the kind of mugging humor that leaves most American audiences scratching their heads, but once Jackie kicks into gear the film is a high-speed action flurry that culminates in a furious battle atop a Rotterdam skyscraper. Jackie is at his most charmingly naive (he berates the villains, pleading "Why do you want to destroy when you can make things better?") and athletically impressive: the marvelous stunts--including a flight down the side of the skyscraper--and fight choreography make Rush Hour look like a Sunday drive. --Sean Axmaker

Customer Reviews:

Not awesome, but still worthwhile...........2001-05-09

While I rarely agree with Maltin, I will say that I was SOMEWHAT disappointed with Replacement Killers. The Corrupter was SOOO much better and would have been a more appropriate introduction for Chow Yun-Fat to Hollywood. That being said -- I LOVE Mira Sorvino so it was still a GREAT movie with some GREAT action. Just not as a good as The Corruptor, IMO.

'Who Am I?' roolz! Nuff said. You won't be disappointed with this DVD.

Maltin should not be allowed to rate films!!.......2000-09-23

These are two excellent movies if you enjoy Hong Kong action movies. Being a big Jackie Chan fan, I thought Who Am I? is perhaps Jackie's best movie to date. Ditto for the Replacement Killers. Was reading the review for Titan AE and noticed that Maltin hated that movie also, BUT I remember Roger Ebert saying he really liked Titan AE because of its great graphics. If like me you hate Maltin's reviews so much that you use him as a contra-critic (you like what he hates)--these two movies are for you. Both have terrific action sequences with more action than in 5 American action movies each. And if you like Jackie Chan's playful comedic style of movies you will love both of these great action movies. Replacement Killers will keep you on the edge of your seat wondering what happens next. A super combination of two movies, rare when so many companies are packaging movies like this with one bad movie put with one good one--I assure you this is not the case here.

One thousand beautiful images blended into motion.......1999-10-22

A perfectly executed painting, set in motion, and wrapped around a simple story. This is a piece of art. A series of beautiful images and motion. Colors and movement flow from scene to scene taking the viewer into a deep realm of perfect design. If your the kind of viewer who involves themselves in a visual experience, you can't go wrong. If your looking for a story to blow your circuits and change you forever.... don't be lazy, go buy a book.

Average customer rating:

A Pair of Poignant, Sensitive Stories

A Walk to Remember/I Am Sam
Starring: David Andrews , Al Butler , Peter Coyote , Clayne Crawford , and Lauren German
Director: Adam Shankman
Manufacturer: Warner Home Video
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Drama | Genres | DVD | Video

( W ) | Titles | Features | DVD | Video
ASIN: B0000E6FRE
Release Date: 2003-11-18

Customer Reviews:

A Pair of Poignant, Sensitive Stories.......2006-09-10

This pair of movies shows some of the best things that make us human. These movies can be sad, but the triumph of life in the worst of circumstances reminds us that we can to support each other through those times. The first movie is a must-have; the second is nice to watch, but optional for your home library.

"A Walk to Remember"

We meet Landon Carter (Shane West) at the very beginning of the movie. Landon is one of the "popular" crowd. He and several other teenagers have challenged another teenager to jump into a pool of water, where he immediately becomes injured. I quickly disliked Landon and had him pegged as shallow with too much time on his hands; his only goal was to have fun. During the initial portion of the movie I struggled to keep watching because Landon's character was too stereotypical and shallow. Landon is the kind of person I avoided in high school.

Soon we meet Jamie Sullivan (Mandy Moore). Jamie is everything that Landon is not. She is serious and focused. She is involved and has goals. It's also immediately apparent that Jamie is considered a geek and is about as far from being popular as a high school person can be. Yet, I found Jamie to be far more interesting than Landon, and once she was introduced I started to become interested in the story.

At first I thought that Landon was going to spend a fair amount of time trying to have sex with Jamie. He started his relationship in just that way. Jamie has a healthy dose of skepticism for the motives of "popular" males and sees his advances for what they are. Jamie intrigues Landon. She is everything he is not. Landon likes her self-assurance, her goals for the future. In spite of his background, he finds himself falling for her.

We are soon deeply involved in the romance between Jamie and Landon. Jamie share's her goals with Landon, some of which he tries to make come true. One of my favorites was Jamie's goal of being in two places at once. Landon figures a cool way of making it happen.

Eventually we find that Jamie has a secret that she must reluctantly share with Landon. Rather than pushing Landon away, Jamie's secret causes Landon to fall so deeply in love with Jamie that the rest of the movie is incredibly, wonderfully beautiful and poignant.

I puzzled for much of the first part of the movie to figure out what this movie was really about. Was it about Landon? Was it about Jamie? Was it about the two of them together? It took me until the end of the movie to realize that the central character was always Landon. Jamie remains the same person from the beginning to the end, a beautiful soul. Landon starts the film as a shallow person, but changes his life to one of purpose by his exposure to Jamie. We see Jamie fill Landon with a sense of resolve that will carry him through the rest of his life.

After having seen so many awful teen movies, it was wonderful to find one that treated teenagers as people with hopes, dreams and goals. Jamie's secret is profound and sad, but Jamie's secret was but one step in Landon becoming a sensitive man with goals of his own. Therein lays the beauty of this movie. It recognizes that all things beautiful require evolution, and the love that Jamie and Landon share evolves naturally versus a single event that pushes the two toward love.

I strongly recommend this movie for teenagers and older family members, avoiding the younger members of the family due to some of the situations and profanity. Just be sure to have a box of tissues handy.

"I Am Sam"

Sean Penn is outstanding as mentally challenged Sam Dawson. Sam has the intelligence of a 7-year-old, which means his 7-year-old daughter, adorable Dakota Fanning playing Lucy Diamond Dawson, is rapidly passing him in intellectual capacity. Events cause "The Authorities" to take Lucy away from Sam. Sam obtains lawyer Rita Harrison, played by Michelle Pfeiffer, to win his daughter back. Diane Wiest plays Annie, a concerned and intelligent neighbor with some bizarre mental problems of her own. Laura Dern plays Randy, a foster parent interested in adopting Lucy because she and her husband can give Lucy a better home and life than Sam.

Before I give you critical comments, understand that I liked this movie. I thought it was uplifting and positive.

I thought Michelle Pfeiffer did a wonderful job. However, in places she was a little over the top. I think that the director had a great actress and should have let her do her job rather than directing her to be unbelievable.

Laura Dern was a serious disappointment. Laura has a lot of ability, but here she mostly provided "looks" of disapproval or approval or whatever. I blame her poor use on the director.

One last negative comment: when Sam got dressed for court in a suit and went to work at Starbucks, I knew he was going to get something on the suit, everyone watching the movie knew it, and the characters in the movie should have known it. Somehow the "intelligent" people around Sam couldn't foresee and prevent the suit from getting dirty. This event makes me wonder who the mentally challenged person in the movie was.

I am not sure what to say about the bobbling camera. There were places where the bobbling was used to try and give you a "real life" feel. In a few places it was distracting. Eventually I got used to it as I became involved with the characters and the story.

Conclusion: I would definitely watch the movie again, though not for a while. Not a "must buy" for me, though if you are into character stories, this movie could be a good one for your collection.

DVD:

DVD

DVD

DVD

Star Trek Generations (Special Collector's Edition)

The Cannonball Run

Memento [Limited Edition] [2 Discs] [2000] (REGION 1) (NTSC)

DVD: Akira (DTS)

Video 019