Carmen Jones

Starring:Dorothy Dandridge, Harry Belafonte, Olga James, Pearl Bailey, Joe Adams (IV), Nick Stewart, Roy Glenn, Diahann Carroll, Brock Peters, Madame Sul-Te-Wan, Sandy Lewis, LeVern Hutcherson, Marilyn Horne, Marvin Hayes, Carmencita Romero, Margaret Lancaster (III), Sam McDaniel, Bernice Peterson, Max Roach, DeForest Covan
Director: Otto Preminger
Studio: 20th Century Fox
Product Type: DVD

Amazon.com essential video

Few actresses have captivated the camera as powerfully as Dorothy Dandridge in Carmen Jones. Her polished beauty plays in irresistible contrast to her title character's leonine sexuality and fluid emotions; a man can't decide from moment to moment if he wants to save her from doom, build her a castle, or never let her out of bed. Of course, that's the problem with the boys in this semi-experimental adaptation of Bizet's opera, Carmen. Straight-arrow Joe (a strapping Harry Belafonte), an obedient corporal on a Southern military base during World War II, is all set to go to flight school and marry his hometown sweetie, Cindy Lou (Olga James), when his troublemaking sergeant orders him to accompany Carmen to a civilian court. In short order, Joe is swept up in Carmen's carnal anarchy and her craving for release from lousy options in life. An impulsive act of violence ensures that Joe's future is gone forever, putting Carmen in the difficult position of destroying their relationship to save him. Oscar Hammerstein II took Bizet's music in 1943 and rewrote the book and lyrics. The result is largely a smashing success with a few missteps (the bullfighter in Bizet's piece becomes a heavyweight boxer here, which breaks up a certain grace in the story) and a couple of perfect stretches (the long prelude to Carmen and Joe's first embrace, set on Carmen's hoodoo-ish home turf). Despite the fact that both Dandridge and Belafonte were singers, their vocal performances were dubbed by LeVern Hutcherson and Marilyn Horne. (Yes, it is a little disconcerting to hear another voice come out of the more familiar Belafonte's mouth.) Otto Preminger directed with his usual eye on economy of action and production, as the numerous musical numbers tend to be shot in lengthy, single, carefully choreographed takes. The result can be a little visually static at times, but the passion behind the singing pulls everything through. --Tom Keogh

Description

Powered by Georges Bizet's grand music and Oscar Hammerstein II's magnificent lyrics, this Americanized all-black version of the classic opera Carmen is "a dynamic superb show" with a positively "incandescent Carmen." (Newsweek) Oscar® -nominee Dorothy Dandridge stars in the title role, a passionate, sexy creature who lures Joe (Harry Belafonte), a handsome soldier, away from his sweetheart (Olga James). Following a fatal brawl with his sergeant, Joe deserts his regiment with the sultry femme fatale. But Carmen soon tires of him and takes up with a heavyweight prize-fighter (Joe Adams). Triggering Joe's tragic revenge. Helping to set the screen on fire are Pearl Bailey and Diahann Carroll, part of the "sensational troupe" that makes this jubilant musical film "hard to beat."

Customer Reviews:

Carmen Jones.......2007-06-25

One of the first films with an all-black cast targeted to white as well as black audiences, Preminger's film reflects a seamless transference of Bizet's tale and music to the mid-twentieth century. The movie stands out for Dandridge's searing, Oscar-nominated portrayal (with her singing voice dubbed by Marilyn Horne), and for the platform it provided African-American performers Pearl Bailey (as fortuneteller Frankie) and Diahann Carroll. Sadly, Dandridge would die in obscurity of a drug overdose in 1965, but "Carmen" remains a testament to her striking beauty and prodigious talent.

Carmen Jones a Spectacular Tale.......2007-03-29

I loved this movie as a child and I purchased it in order to introduce my daughter to Dorothy Dandridge and Harry Belafonte. Many children do not realize who these icons are and how they paved the way for other prominent Black actors. This is a family movie that everyone can enjoy. The story is just as rich today as it was 40 years ago.

Fabulous Bizet movie in english!.......2007-03-24

Wonderful way to hear Bizet's music and see the USA in the 40's. And the actors are surperb!

Joe - Thanks, but I don't drink........2007-03-08

Carmen Jones - Boy, if the army was made up of nothin' but soldiers like you, war wouldn't do nobody no good.

Adapted from a legendary opera, Carmen, and the successful Broadway musical, it is a timeless story which explores the consequences when a deep devotion leads to personal anguish and then to intense, tragic rage.

The movie won a Golden Globe Award for Best Motion Picture and Dorothy Dandridge - in a sizzling performance as Carmen Jones - was the first black woman nominated for an Academy Award as Best Actress. The film was selected for preservation by the U.S. National Film Registry.

The cast is nothing less than outstanding, with Harry Belafonte (Joe) and Joe Adams (heavyweight fighter, Husky Miller) capturing the emotional turmoil and consequences in striving to be Carmen's only lover. Olga James (Cindy Lou), Pearl Bailey (Frankie), Diahann Carroll (Mert) and Brock Peters (Sgt. Brown) are captivating in their roles.

Adapted to film by Oscar Hammerstaein III - who wrote the dialogue & lyrics for the musical - and Harry Kleiner & directed by Otto Preminger, the movie was also nominated for an Oscar for Best Music, Scoring of a Musical.

Rarely do all the elements fall into place for a perfect movie. They all came together for Carmen Jones.

Dandridge fan.......2007-02-13

Excellent movie based on the Carmen opera. I had seen this on regular tv as a kid, and had to own it.

Average customer rating:

It's a different Friday, Ya'll...
Fun ;-)
Not as good as the first
Better than FRIDAY
A Huge Disappointment

Next Friday (New Line Platinum Series)
Starring: Ice Cube , Tamala Jones , Justin Pierce , Mike Epps , and Don 'D.C.' Curry
Director: Steve Carr (III)
Manufacturer: New Line Home Video
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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Similar Items:

Friday After Next (Infinifilm Edition)
Friday (New Line Platinum Series)
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Barbershop (Special Edition)

ASIN: 0780631234
Release Date: 2004-06-01

Amazon.com

Ice Cube wrote and stars as Craig in this sequel to Friday, which he also wrote. His nemesis from that film, neighborhood bully Debo (Tommy "Tiny" Lister Jr.), has just escaped from county jail and is out to get revenge. To protect Craig, Craig's father (John Witherspoon) sends his son to stay with his Uncle Elroy (Don "DC" Curry), who won the lottery and bought a house in Rancho Cucamonga. Craig expects the suburbs to be dull, but no sooner has he arrived than conflicts arise: The neighbors are hostile hoods, his cousin's girlfriend is out for blood and child support, and the house is about to be seized because of unpaid taxes. It's up to Craig and his cousin Day-Day (Mike Epps) to solve these problems before the day is over. It's a rambling, loose movie, but a genuinely entertaining one. Ice Cube doesn't write punch lines--though funny lines abound. He writes richly comic characters that speak in virtual arias of bragging, complaining, and scamming. Sure, some of the characters are stereotypes and many of the jokes are about drugs and scatology--but that's been the basis of humor since Plautus and Molière. The rhythmic energy of Ice Cube's dialogue and the easy charisma of his performance make Next Friday thoroughly enjoyable. --Bret Fetzer

Customer Reviews:

It's a different Friday, Ya'll..........2007-01-03

I love this movie! The first Friday was more about a message and life growing up in the ghetto. The last two Friday movies are straight up comedy and will make you laugh til you on tha flo! Day-Day is Craig's loveable idiot cousin and has some of the best lines in the move - and EVERYBODY beats on this guy. If you were looking for more reality like the first Friday, you may be disappointed - this is more like the lighter side of Barbershop (If you have seen Barbershop go shoot yourself in the foot, fool!). All jokes aside.. see this movie and Friday After Next if you just want to laugh. They can get a little ridiculous, but that's what's it's about! Where's the next after next, Cube?? I can't wait.

Fun ;-).......2006-09-17

I enjoyed each of the Friday series. I reviewed the original way back, and now after re-watching Next Friday, I thought I'd finally get around to reviewing this.
I still think I enjoyed Friday the best, but this is a good follow up. Ice Cube returns as Craig Jones who has a knack for getting into trouble. He goes to stay with family out in Rancho Cucamonga. They've just won the lottery and have this whole new place. While Chris Tucker isn't in here this time, we still get the hilarious John Witherspoon. He's fantastic. I only give this four stars because it goes a little flat during the second half, but it's still good overall. The cousin Day-Day is probably the funniest, but if you are a fan of the original, then you have got to see this. I loved it.

Not as good as the first.......2006-01-20

...but a decent sequel. (But hey? It's not often that the sequel is better than the prequel.) I was mad because alot of questions were not answered and the plot was not all that good. I wanted Craig (Ice Cube) to hook up with that girl next door. All she does is have a short convo with her and at the end she blows a kiss and thats the end. I believe thats pointless for Craig's Pops (Jon Witherspoon)drops him off in Rancho Cucamonga (I don't think I spelled it right) then turns around and picks him up. Its a funny movie, but not as good as the first though.

Better than FRIDAY.......2005-10-09

I thought Next Friday was way better than the original....... The first movie was really slow in the beginning.......so slow that I fell asleep. As soon as you pop this movie in, you'll be laughing from beginning to end........ Mike Epps is hilarious as Day-Day, Craigs cousin, and Craigs father has some pretty funny lines in this one........ Rent it, you won't be sorry.......

A Huge Disappointment.......2005-09-26

Like most people, I loved the original Friday - a true classic. I had heard that this one wasn't as good, so I rented a copy just to check it out for myself.

This movie is straight-up garbage. Mike Epps can't carry Chris Tucker's jock. What a waste of what could have been a very good movie series.

Stick with the original; don't waste your time or money on this one.

Scary Movie 4 (Unrated Widescreen Edition)

Average customer rating:

Great Parody.
A comedy that pokes fun at scary movies.
Cornball Sophmoric Parody
Hit and Miss Comedy, Just Average
Fun movie with a boatload of Special Features on the DVD

Scary Movie 4 (Unrated Widescreen Edition)
Starring: Craig Bierko , Chris Elliott , Kevin Hart , James Earl Jones , and Cloris Leachman
Director: David Zucker
Manufacturer: Weinstein Company
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Comedy | Genres | DVD | Video

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ASIN: B000FOQ1KY
Release Date: 2006-08-15

Amazon.com

Some comedy is like a scalpel; the Scary Movie series is a hand grenade, spewing bodily fluids and big-breasted women in all directions as they lampoon the latest horror. In Scary Movie 4's case, the main targets are War of the Worlds, The Village, The Grudge, Saw, and Tom Cruise jumping all over Oprah's couch (the scariest of the lot). Along the way, potshots get taken at non-horror fare like Brokeback Mountain and Million Dollar Baby, as well as obvious targets like Michael Jackson and George W. Bush, among others. Anna Faris (Lost in Translation) and Regina Hall (The Honeymooners) return as the central characters wandering through a crazy quilt of horror scenarios, joined by Craig Bierko (Cinderella Man) doing a dead-on parody of Cruise at his most manic. Cameos include everyone from Charlie Sheen to Shaquille O'Neal to Carmen Electra. Some of it's funny, some of it's not, but there's a generally buoyant zaniness that comes from director David Zucker, one of the creators of Airplane!, which started the whole firehose-of-jokes aesthetic. --Bret Fetzer

Description

The Scary Movie gang is back for their funniest, most fearless installment yet. -Starring Anna Faris & Regina Hall (previous Scary Movie films), Leslie Nielsen (The Naked Gun, Airplane), Carmen Electra (Cheaper by the Dozen 2)

Customer Reviews:

Great Parody........2007-07-03

After seeing a preview for Scary Movie 4, I knew that I had to have it. It was simply hilarious. I thought that they would run out of material after the third movie, but this was surely just as funny.

I definitely chuckled more than a few time at the amusements that this video ensued. I especially loved the Tom Cruise/Oprah ending, and the Brokeback Mountain sequence.

Ok, So this movie may not be the best movie I have ever seen, but it did make me laugh for a couple of hours.

Scary Movie 4 is a great parody!

A comedy that pokes fun at scary movies........2007-06-13

If you've seen any of the 4 Scary Movies, you know what they're about. They're comedies that poke fun at scary movies. They don't have any real story line. They're just there to make us laugh.

So what's to like about this movie? There are quite a few jokes that had me laughing out loud. Some of the funny parts remind me of my own weird sense of humor and it's good to see a movie that contains not-so-typical/predictable jokes. Also, it's good to see the same old characters again in this movie (if you've seen Scary Movie 2, you'll appreciate the fact that the "Take my little land!" guy is in this one as well).

What's not to like about this movie? There's a couple of things. First, if you're not a horror movie fan (or if you haven't been to the movie theatre in a while), you may not understand some of the jokes and/or part of the plot. The majority of this movie is based on the movie "The Grudge" and "War of the Worlds". If you haven't seen both of these movies (or at least know in general what they are about), it's easy to get confused. Also, as I said above, if you're expecting a really good story line, don't even bother. All of the movies in the Scary Movie line are basically just random scenes thrown together to gain some laughs that will come together to create an ending (and not even a good one at that).

My rating: 3.5/5 stars. If you've seen any of the other Scary Movies, you'll know what to expect. If you haven't seen them or you aren't a horror movie fan, you may be disappointed.

Cornball Sophmoric Parody.......2007-06-05

I actually founds some parts of this film amusing. I'm a big "war of the world's" fan, so when I saw this film was going to spoof it, I checked it out. Yeah, I'm not a fan of the potty humor (the scene with the old woman getting the sponge bath), or homophobic jokes (Brokeback Mountain parody), some of this film had some amusing bits. Tom on the Winfrey show. The Michael Jackson 'cameo' when the Tripods are attacking, the scene where "Tom" is trying to take the minivan.

Other scenes were just lame. (The beginning Saw scene), The scene in the Village.

I really can't see rating this film any more than 2 stars. It was Trash TV. But some of the scenes were well done, and I thought the actors: particularly the Tom character and his daughter (dead ringer for the kid in the actual movie), did an excellent job.

Recommend this film for adults only. Too much sex and potty humor for the kiddies.

Hit and Miss Comedy, Just Average.......2007-05-28

"Scary Movie" franchise still goes on, with lots of parodies about the recent hit movies such as "War of the Worlds" "SAW" "The Village" and "The Grudge." David Zucker who also helmed the second sequel "Scary Movie 3" throws in lots of gags with his trademark zany humor. He just cannot sit still behind the camera. He is always trying to find something to joke about and the results are hit-and-miss.

Each gag or parody should be seen for yourself. Some are very funny, some unfunny and misguided, and all in all, well, just good. One sad thing for me is that the glorious days of comedies in the 1980s like "Airplane!" and "The Naked Gun" are gone. Funny as they are, the gags of "Scary Movie 4" still look repetitious and predictable for the fans like me who have seen these classics 20 years ago.

Maybe the filmmakers should have chosen some other materials for parody. The combined story of sci-fi big budget "War of the Worlds" and Japanese horror remake "The Grudge" is not likely to work, so are the occasional flashbacks that are inserted for the sole purpose of introducing another parody of "Million Dollar Baby" and others. Or maybe some jokes are not just funny when a little girl (spoof of Dakota Fanning's screaming girl in "WOTW") is forced to suffer numerous painful experiences repeatedly. Or just maybe, Charlie Sheen (who appears as cameo here) should be in the lead instead of Craig Bierko, who is, I think, miscast as "Tom Ryan."

The film makes fun of at least three internationally famous people - Michael Jackson, Tom Cruise, and President of the United States of America (the last one done by Leslie Nielsen). I don't say it's not funny - yes, I laughed, I admit - but the targets are too familiar and the jokes are too obvious. The many cameos (including James Earl Jones, Doctor Phil McGraw and many others) are surely interesting to see, but some originality in the plot or humor would not hurt.

I really like comedies of David Zucker and Jim Abrahams, and lovely Anna Faris who has returned to the film as "Cindy." She shows her comedic talent again, and the film is benefited from its surprisingly good (and costly) production designs and special effects for this genre. What it needs is the laughs up to the standard of the past masterpieces.

Fun movie with a boatload of Special Features on the DVD.......2007-04-04

I've enjoyed the Scary Movie franchise. I know some are sick of it but fot me it's good fun. This time they focused making fun of "Saw", "War of the Worlds", "BrokeBack Mountain", and "Grudge" to name a few.

The gags work some of the time and others they don't. One of my favorites jokes had to be that killer intro mocking "The War of the Worlds" and the whole bit with Tripod. Other jokes aren't as funny because they're jokes that don't leave much surprise. The Tom Cruise bashing in the Oprah show is a riot.

The DVD for the flick is extensive and if you liked the movie is well worth watching. A lot of deleted scenes, bloopers, commentary, and makings on the film. Many of the deleted scenes are alternate or extended scenes that were left on the cutting room floor. The makings on the movie are done well. The cast clearly loves the franchise and hopes it never ends. All in all a decent dvd if you saw the movie but what more than what the theatrical release gave you.

Led Zeppelin - The Song Remains the Same

Average customer rating:

Pure Zeppelin
A product of its time...
Led Zeppelin DVD
Fascinating...In its way
Hutch's Led Zep movie review

Led Zeppelin - The Song Remains the Same
Starring: John Bonham , John Paul Jones , Jimmy Page , Robert Plant , and Peter Grant (III)
Director: Joe Massot , and Peter Clifton
Manufacturer: Warner Home Video
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: B00002E23E
Release Date: 1999-12-21

Amazon.com

For Led Zeppelin fanatics, this 1976 feature The Song Remains the Same is a treasure of searing live performances, particularly welcome in light of the sad scarcity of such visual material from the band's great decade. Despite the group's road weariness after a long tour, their final, three-night stand at Madison Square Garden in 1973 was full of the old power. Performances of "No Quarter," "Whole Lotta Love," "Black Dog," "Dazed and Confused," and "Stairway to Heaven" underscore Zep's charisma. Trouble is, you don't get an unbroken performance here. Viewers have to wade through a mishmash of documentary insight into the lives of Robert Plant, Jimmy Page, John Bonham, and John Paul Jones, as well as fantasy sequences supposedly inspired by the thoughts and fantasies of the band's individual members. It's mostly garish and silly, but there are some nice elements, especially insights into the late Bonham's life. The DVD doesn't offer much in the way of add-ons (a theatrical trailer is about it), but there is also enhanced viewing for 16 x 9 televisions. --Tom Keogh

Description

Experience the lightning of Led Zeppelin's 1973 Madison Square Garden concert-and enter the dreams and backstage lives of one of rock's all-time best-selling bands! Year: 1976 Director: Peter Clifton, Joe Massot Starring: Jimmy Page, Robert Plant, John Bonham, John Paul Jones

Customer Reviews:

Pure Zeppelin.......2007-05-07

I am biased because i love Zeppelin and have done for over 30 years but Song Remains the Same is just a fantastic insight into the band and an awesome display of live music. Not many bands sound better live than their studio albums but Zeppelin pull it off, from Plants awesome vocals to Pages screaming guitar this album just blows you away!

A product of its time..........2007-04-03

In some ways this film was rendered obsolete by the 2003 Led Zeppelin 2-disc dvd set, in terms of Led Zeppelin live on video. Shot at the end of the 1973 Houses of the Holy US Tour over several nights in Madison Square Garden, the Song Remains The Same had been shelved for a few years and only managed to get released when lead singer Robert Plant's car accident sidelined the band for a year. The concert footage finds the band a bit spaced out and exhausted at times in terms of the performances (although I suppose buggering daft teenage runaways and consuming vast quantities of booze, coke and smack will tend to do that to you); a nearly half-hour version of Dazed and Confused becomes particularly pondersome about 7 minutes in. Combined with the live footage were fantasy concept sequences, most of which appear to have been directed by 1st year film school students tripping on mescaline. Only John Bonhams really works well. Still, it is an unapologetic display of the debauchery, confidence and mystery that Zeppelin evoked at the time - just not really some of the band's best performances.

Led Zeppelin DVD.......2007-01-09

The Song Remanis the Same DVD - Super DVD - it Rocks!

Fascinating...In its way.......2006-11-28

What can you say about THE SONG REMAINS THE SAME--or Led Zeppelin for that matter--some 30 years after the film's release? Everybody pretty much knows where he (or she, but let's be honest, we're mostly talking 'he's' here) stands on all things Zep. For those who never saw the band live (like me), it certainly gives you a taste of what that experience was like. But then, I'm told that the DVD more recently compiled by Jimmy Page did a better job at that.

But still, this performance film/cum documentary/cum pre-MTV video fest captures an era in the group's history and our own in its own unique fashion. I was never an ueber-fan, so maybe it's not really for me to say, but I, for one, did not come away from this film feeling too disappointed.

Some maintain that SONG really would have been much better had it simply been a performance film, with no pretensions. But actually, there have been VERY few pure performance docs historically. Even the best concert films (THE LAST WALTZ,say) usually throw in a least a few documentary elements, a la WOODSTOCK. And it can give the viewer a better sense of place (here NYC) and time (1973). The documentary elements give some flavor of the rock'n'roll life as it was lived by both musicians AND fans. And it does so more by presenting random clips of backstage life than by interviews. It speaks volumes to me that in one scene, security is letting a couple of kids sneak backstage with a proverbial nod and a wink, and in another, someone--who may have been a little drunker, more high or otherwise more disorderly--is being chased down like a (black)dog.

And all those shots of the NYC skyline in 1973 register in a very strange way in these post-9/11 times. Those towers were pretty new back then.

As for the much reviled "fantasy" sequences. Well, I admit, I'd probably prefer to see more live sequences myself. But they really do serve as a precursor to the video-era (and you'll recall that the first videos weren't exactly big budget spectaculars either, so having Robert Plant in medieval garb ride around on horseback for a couple of minutes or having Jimmy Page scaling a mysterious mountain, only to meet up with a mysterious warlock (who looks, again mysteriously, like his own bad self) is scarcely any sillier than what was being broadcast 24 hours a day on "Music Television" a few years later. As a bridge between psychedelia and the MTV era, THE SONG REMAINS THE SAME is an invaluable document.

Besides would a full length performance film really have been everything some fans seem to imagine it could have been? I don't think so. At some point, I concluded that the cinematographer must have had a mad crush on Robert Plant. The shots of his, uh, torso were getting a little monotonous. And poor John Paul Jones is all but ignored in the live shots. He gets a few moments where he's fingering the fretboard, before the camera action is once again lovingly diverted back to Page and Plant. Well, they were the showmen after all. And this was quite the show.

For good or ill, depending on your point of view. At the time, as I recall, I was just purist enough to think that I could have done with less 'show' and more of the musicianship I knew the group was capable of. But looking at the film in 2006, I'm more "que era, era." It was what it was. And it's worth a look.

Hutch's Led Zep movie review.......2006-11-12

The Song Remains The Same is Led Zep at their early (1973) in concert best. For those of us that were lucky enough to see the band in concert, this is as close as we can get to revisiting that magicial time! For everyone this lets us see why Led Zep was one of the few greatest bands of all time!! The music and the performance here proves that!!

Average customer rating:

Martin Lawrence done it again.......funny!
Martin rulezzz
Rip Off
Dat's my boy! Martin is Brilliant!!!
TERRIBLE!

Blue Streak
Starring: Martin Lawrence , Luke Wilson , Peter Greene , Dave Chappelle , and Nicole Ari Parker
Director: Les Mayfield
Manufacturer: Sony Pictures
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

Crime | Action & Adventure | Genres | DVD | Video

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ASIN: B00003GPFT
Release Date: 2000-02-08

Amazon.com

Martin Lawrence can certainly talk a blue streak (witness his concert film, You So Crazy), but he tones it down to PG-13 for this by-the-book action comedy. Lawrence stars as Logan, a bank robber and jewel thief (nice role model we're supposed to cheer for) who, just before he is arrested, manages to stash the $20 million diamond he has just heisted at a construction site. When he is released from prison two years later, he returns to the scene of the crime only to find that the completed building houses a police station. To get inside and retrieve the precious gem he secures a fake ID and passes himself off as LAPD's newest, and most unorthodox, detective. As he demonstrated on his TV series, Lawrence has a knack for characterization second to Eddie Murphy. But he's no Beverly Hills Cop. Indulgent sequences where Martin has seemingly been given free reign to ad-lib are the film's weakest. Early on, Logan cases the police station outlandishly disguised as a snaggle-toothed, Geri-curled pizza deliveryman. You'd think the last thing his character would want to do is call attention to himself. Lawrence is at his best in the scenes in which, thanks to all those years of breaking and entering, his formerly lawless character proves to be a natural at cracking burglary cases. Logan is paired with the requisite white partner, Carlson (Luke Wilson), a buttoned-up rookie. Departing from the Lethal Weapon, buddy-movie playbook, they are not antagonists; theirs is more a teacher-mentor relationship. "Don't we need a warrant to do that?" Carlson asks Logan at one point. "We don't even need a key," Logan responds, picking a lock. There is little in Blue that is remotely fresh, but Lawrence fans, who watched him play it straight opposite Murphy in Life, will relish the opportunity to see him get down with his bad self. --Donald Liebenson

Customer Reviews:

Martin Lawrence done it again.......funny!.......2007-05-06

What can i say...Martin Lawrence is just one funny guy and is a joy to watch him being silly which is what he does best. Blue Streak has his signiture all over it after i seen it today. *spoiler* i have to admit that the bank robbery at the beginning is not believeble or just plain stupid. If a crook is going to double cross his partners in crime, DON'T DO IT DURING THE CRIME!!!! Like this guy shot his partner up on the roof with a gun while Martin was still in the process of stealing the diamond. Doesn't he think the sound might cause some suspicion? And when the body landed on the cop car, that guy was still trying to get the diamond with the police aftering both of them at his point...just stupid. They can learn a few things on double crossing from the 'The Italian Job' movie. But then again, this is more comedy then thriller so i let that part go but still an entertaining funny movie to watch...check it out!

Martin rulezzz.......2007-01-27

This film is a very funny film and if you like Martin Lauwrence it really worth watching.

This certainly is one of the funniest Martin's movies, it really is a quality film which will make you snigger with its diverse cop/robber characteristics. this is one of those films where you could certainly watch it again just for laughs.

This movie will make you laugh and relax at the same time. Nice watch.

Rip Off.......2007-01-22

There was no dvd in the case when it arrived, even though the packaging had not been tampered with. i want a refund.

Dat's my boy! Martin is Brilliant!!!.......2006-07-10

Awesome movie! This one really shines! I love the pair up with Martin and Luke Wilson. A great matchup. This is one of my favorite movies to put up on my 55 Inch HD Wide Screen, with the surround sound system pumpin'!!! I love the special features, and all the music videos. This movie rocks! I'll edit this later, but for now, it rocks!!!

TERRIBLE!.......2006-04-11

This movie SUX! Martin Lawerence isn't funny at all, all he does is make vulgar jokes and shout profanity constantly! The movie has no funny parts at all and pushes the PG-13 rating to it's limits. It stinks, don't rent or buy this movie!

Average customer rating:

Only difference is the case

Beetlejuice
Starring: Jack Angel , Alec Baldwin , Simmy Bow , Dick Cavett , and Tony Cox
Director: Tim Burton
Manufacturer: Warner Home Video
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: B000P0J074
Release Date: 2007-05-15

Description

a couple of nice homebody ghosts, trying to rid their house of afamily of trendsetting human beings, is hell-bent on making theirhome unlivable -- even for the dead.

Customer Reviews:

Only difference is the case.......2007-05-10

This is not a new edition of the movie, the only difference is the case is a standard DVD case instead of the cardboard snap kind.

Average customer rating:

Ride the High Country
one of the best westerns
"Ride the High Country (1962) ... Randolph Scott & Joel McCrea ... Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Classic Western"
Mythic and Monumental
"All I want is to enter my house justified"...and with that Sam Peckinpah (plus McCrea and Scott) gives us a great Western

Ride the High Country
Starring: John Anderson , R.G. Armstrong , Edgar Buchanan , John Davis Chandler , and James Drury
Manufacturer: Warner Home Video
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: B000BT96DW
Release Date: 2006-01-10

Amazon.com essential video

Ride the High Country is the one Sam Peckinpah movie about which there has never been controversy--save at MGM in 1962, when a new studio regime opted to dump this beautiful, heartbreakingly elegiac Western into the bottom half of a double-bill. Westerns rarely even got reviewed back then, so it's wellnigh miraculous that critics discovered the movie and raved about it. Newsweek called it the best American picture of the year.

Veteran cowboy stars Randolph Scott and Joel McCrea portray aging gunslingers in the twilight of the Old West. McCrea's character, Steve Judd, signs on to transport a shipment of gold from a remote mining camp. Gil Westrum (Scott), an old crony now trick-shooting in a carnival, agrees to help but really aims to seduce Judd into stealing the treasure. The slow-building tension between longtime friends--one still true to the code he's lived by, the other having drifted away from it--anticipates the tortuous personal dilemmas played out to the death by Peckinpah's Wild Bunch, Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid, and Benny and Elita in Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia.

The action scenes are powerful, if only beginning to suggest the radical technique with which Peckinpah would astonish audiences in just a few years. But his feeling for flavorsome dialogue, Rabelaisian humor, and full-blooded character acting is already unmistakable. Warren Oates, L.Q. Jones, and John Davis Chandler are among the "redneck peckerwoods" complicating the journey, and Mariette Hartley is fresh and saucy in her big-screen debut. As for McCrea and Scott, they are simply superb. The two proposed that they swap roles before filming got underway, and the question of who got first billing was settled by flipping a coin. Both men retired once the film was in the can. They knew they'd never top it. --Richard T. Jameson

Description

An ex-lawman agrees to escort a shipment of gold cross-country, but runs into trouble when the men hired to help him turn out be not be as moral as their boss, and plot to steal the gold.

Customer Reviews:

Ride the High Country.......2007-06-28

Crisp, flavorful entry benefits from poignant premise of two tired, outmoded cowboys struggling to survive in a world they barely recognize (and that barely recognizes them). Veterans McCrea and Scott play off each other beautifully, and Hartley is radiant in her debut role. Stunningly photographed on location, this western has more on its mind than shoot-outs. An early Peckinpah peak.

one of the best westerns.......2007-05-27

You can read all the decriptions of the story on other reviews all I will say is this is required watching for a history of & how to make a western. It has the classic elements of good versus evil & the struggle of a man's conscience between right & wrong. It also has some of the best one-liners & powerful scenes I have come across. This ranks up thar' with Shane & the 1/2 dozen of so of Jimmy Stewart's. What a great start for Sam Peckinpaugh.

"Ride the High Country (1962) ... Randolph Scott & Joel McCrea ... Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Classic Western".......2007-04-13

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer presents "RIDE THE HIGH COUNTRY" (1962) (94 mins/Color) (Dolby digitally remastered) --- Starring Randolph Scott, Joel McCrea, Mariette Hartley, Ron Starr & Edgar Buchanan --- Directed by Sam Peckinpah and released in July 28, 1962, our story line and film, The time is the early 1900s, when the Old West was slowly and stubbornly giving way to the new. McCrea plays Steve Judd, an ex-lawman living on the fringes of poverty but maintaining his dignity and honesty. Hired to escort a gold shipment from the wide-open mining town of Coarse Gold, he engages his old pal Gil Westrum (Scott) to help him. But Gil hasn't Steve's integrity, and he and his young saddle pal Heck Longtree (Ronald Starr) hope to talk Steve into helping them steal the gold ... Sam Peckinpah's feature film directorial debut was intended as the cinematic swan song for both Randolph Scott and Joel McCrea and this western serves as an excellent valedictory for both men ... A final shoot-out that allows Steve and Gil to reconcile their differences and pave the way for the film's elegiac finale ... Wonderful character actors of the screen John Anderson, Edgar Buchanan, L.Q. Jones, Warren Oates and James Drury soon to be lead in "The Virginian", TV series --- Randolph Scott and Joel McCrea had come to specialize in many fine westerns, set an admirable style in quiet heroism, always courageous, ever dignified, never vulgar... They ride this time together, ruminating over times that used to be ... Both are heroic figures, having been noted lawmen, and yet they are now reduced to taking whatever comes their way in order to live --- Randolph Scott's and Joel McCrea's last film! ... the film is splendidly directed by Sam Peckinpah --- this will satisfy western lovers of Randolph Scott and Joel McCrea fans alike.

Under Sam Peckinpah (Director), Richard E. Lyons (Producer), N.B. Stone, Jr. (Screenwriter), Lucien Ballard (Cinematographer), George Bassman (Composer (Music Score), Frank Santillo (Editor), Leroy Coleman (Art Director), George W. Davis (Art Director), Henry W. Grace (Set Designer), Otto Siegel (Set Designer), William J. Tuttle (Makeup), Hal W. Polaire (First Assistant Director) - - - - the cast includes Randolph Scott (Gil Westrum), Joel McCrea (Steve Judd), Mariette Hartley (Elsa Knudsen), Ron Starr (Heck Longtree), James Drury (Billy Hammond), Edgar Buchanan (Judge Tolliver), Jenie Jackson (Kate), R.G. Armstrong (Joshua Knudsen), L.Q. Jones (Sylvus Hammond), John Anderson (Elder Hammond), Warren Oates (Henry Hammond), Byron Foulger (Abner Sampson), Percy Helton (Luther Sampson), John Chandler (Jimmy Hammond), Carmen Phillips (Saloon Girl) - - - - Randy Scott had a quiet gentleman nature about him which is not seen in the films of today ... Randy took his job and his responsibility to his audience very seriously ,,, would not settle for anything less than his best ... same was true in his personal life.

SPECIAL FEATURES BIOS:
1. Randolph Scott (aka: George Randolph Scott)
Date of birth: 23 January 1898 - Orange County, Virginia
Date of death: 2 March 1987 - Beverly Hills, Los Angeles, California

Special footnote, George Randolph Scott better known as Randolph Scott, was an American film actor whose career spanned the sound era from the late 1920s to the early 1960s ... his popularity grew in the 1940s and 1950s, appearing in such films as "Gung Ho"! (1943) and "Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm" (1938); but he was especially famous for his numerous Westerns including "Virginia City" (1940) with Errol Flynn and Humphrey Bogart, "Western Union" (1941) with Robert Young and "Ride the High Country" (1962) with Joel McCrea (a coin was flipped to see whether Scott or McCrea would receive top billing, and Scott won despite having a slightly smaller role) ... his long fistfight with John Wayne in "The Spoilers" (1942) was frequently cited by critics and the press as the most thrilling ever filmed; they were fighting over Marlene Dietrich ... another smash hit film together that same year called "Pittsburgh" (1942) once again with Dietrich, Scott and Wayne --- Daniel Webster defines "Legend", as being a notable person, or the stories told about that person exploits --- well by the time Randolph Scott made his best films he had long established himself as a legend in the film industry --- they say practice makes perfect, if that is true by 1958 at 60 years of age he was the master with these oaters from the 50s ... "The Cariboo Trail" (1950), "The Nevadan" (1950), "Colt .45" (1950), "Santa Fe" (1951), "Sugarfoot" (1951), "Fort Worth" (1951), "Man in the Saddle" (1951), "Carson City" (1952), "The Man Behind the Gun" (1952), "Hangman's Knot" (1952), "Thunder over the Plains" (1953), "The Stranger Wore a Gun" (1953), "Ten Wanted Men" (1954), "Riding Shotgun" (1954), "The Bounty Hunter" (1954), "Rage at Dawn" (1955), "Tall Man Riding" (1955), "A Lawless Street" (1955), "Seven Men from Now" (1956), "Seventh Cavalry" (1956), "Decision at Sundown: (1957), "Shoot-Out at Medicine Bend" (1957), "The Tall T" (1957), "Buchanan Rides Alone" (1958), "Ride Lonesome" (1959), "Westbound" (1959), "Comanche Station" (1960) --- Scott's age seemed to matter little, they only came to see another Randolph Scott film and always got their money's worth --- Scott's films were good and getting better becoming classics --- so if you wonder "What Ever Happened To Randolph Scott", just rent or purchase one of his films and you'll see he's never left us.

2. Joel McCrea
Date of Birth: 5 November 1905 - South Pasadena, California
Date of Death: 20 October 1990 - Woodland Hills, Los Angeles, California

3. Mariette Hartley
Date of Birth: 21 June 1940 - Weston, Connecticut
Date of death: Still Living

4. Sam Peckinpah (Director)
Date of Birth: 21 February 1925 - Fresno, California
Date of Death: 28 December 1984 - Inglewood, California

Hats off and thanks to Les Adams (collector/guideslines for character identification), Chuck Anderson (Webmaster: The Old Corral/B-Westerns.Com), Boyd Magers (Western Clippings), Bobby J. Copeland (author of "Trail Talk"), Rhonda Lemons (Empire Publishing Inc), Bob Nareau (author of "The Real Bob Steele") and Trevor Scott (Down Under Com) as they have rekindled my interest once again for Film Noir, B-Westerns and Serials --- looking forward to more high quality releases from the vintage serial era of the '20s, '30s & '40s and B-Westerns ... order your copy now from Amazon where there are plenty of copies available on VHS, stay tuned once again for top notch action mixed with deadly adventure --- if you enjoyed this title, why not check out VCI Entertainment where they are experts in releasing B-Westerns and Serials --- all my heroes have been cowboys!

Total Time: 94 min on DVD ~ Warner Home Video Video ~ (1/10/06)

Mythic and Monumental.......2007-04-13

Peckinpah really hit his stride as director with his second picture, RIDE THE HIGH COUNTRY. An intelligent screenplay, gorgeous cinematography, fine acting from a distinguished supporting cast (including a very appealling Mariette Hartley in her film debut), and the picture's crowning glory -- two career-topping performances from stars Scott and McCrea. Both were always underrated actors, and here their work, both economical and rich with the weight of years of experience, is absolutely marvellous. Outfitted in a fine new DVD transfer, complete with a good commentary track from Peckinpah scholars and a fascinating documentary featuring Peckinpah's sister, this is one picture that repays repeated viewings. An essential purchase.

"All I want is to enter my house justified"...and with that Sam Peckinpah (plus McCrea and Scott) gives us a great Western.......2007-04-04

"Partner," says Gil Westrum to Steve Judd, two aging ex-lawmen whose time has past them by, "do you know what's on the back of a poor man when he dies? The clothes of pride...and they're not a bit warmer to him dead than they were when he was alive. Is that all you want, Steve?" "All I want is to enter my house justified," says Judd.

"Partner," says Gil Westrum to Steve Judd, two aging ex-lawmen whose time has past them by, "do you know what's on the back of a poor man when he dies? The clothes of pride...and they're not a bit warmer to him dead than they were when he was alive. Is that all you want, Steve?" "All I want is to enter my house justified," says Judd.

That exchange sums up as well as anything what the heart of Ride the High Country is all about. The time is somewhere past the turn of the century, when gold is still being mined in the High Sierras and motorcars are starting to make their appearance. Steve Judd (Joel McCrea) was a lawman with a code of honor who now needs eyeglasses. His town-taming days are long past. What he's got to show for bringing law to people are a horse, a silver saddle, a $2 watch...and holes in his boots. In the town of Hornitos he takes on a job of traveling up to the mining camp of Coarse Gold to bring the gold back down to the local bank. He meets an old friend and former lawman, his long-time partner, Gil Westrum (Randolph Scott), now reduced to suckering the rubes in fixed carnival shows. Westrum long ago figured out that honor and respect don't go far for an aging lawman when it comes to paying for his dinner. Judd takes Westrum on as help to bring the gold back, and he also accepts Westrum's young partner, Heck Longtree. Judd plans to deliver the gold and earn his money, a last chance to confirm his code of honor. Westrum plans to take the gold. Along the way they encounter a farmer who is a religious zealot and the man's daughter, Elsa Knudsen (Marietta Hartley), who longs for her own life and thinks she has met the man she wants to marry. Billy Hammond and his four brothers work a claim in Coarse Gold. She leaves her father and, reluctantly, Judd and Westrum let her accompany them to Coarse Gold. Ride the High Country is an economical hour and thirty-four minutes long. Peckinpah spends the first half of the movie letting us get to know Judd and Westrum on the ride to the camp, their age, their disappointments, their different ways of looking at self-respect and personal honor. He lets us see how the two respect and like each other, and how Westrum tries to get Judd to think about that gold...and how Judd seems not to understand. It's a long look at the sadness of age. Scott, at 64 and in his last movie, and McCrea at 59 and in his last major movie (he made four more quickie westerns) bring major elements of nostalgia, regret, sand and honor to the movie.

Once we get to the mining camp and from there to the conclusion, nostalgia, regret, sand and honor take over with a steady increase in the action. Billy Hammond and his brothers, ranging from slick and ruthless to just plain dumb, make a case for the dominance of recessive genes. Coarse Gold turns out to be a muddy, cold free-for-all of grubby tents, grubby miners and grubby women. The only wooden building in Coarse Gold is Kate's place, the saloon-brothel with a fat madame and a drunk of a judge. When Elsa is nearly raped on her wedding night by a drunken Billy in the brothel that served as the place for the marriage ceremony, with his brothers leeringly awaiting their turns, Steve's honor requires she be returned to her father. And then we're heading back to Hornitos with the Hammond brothers in pursuit and Westrum more determined than ever to get his hands on the gold. The final shoot-out at the Knudsen farm is a gripping, immensely satisfying confrontation; it also has an overlay of pride and humor when Judd challenges the remaining Hammond brothers with "I want to know if you red-necked peckerwoods are too chicken-gutted to finish this thing in the open!" Ride the High Country reaches a genuine, dramatic emotional peak where honor and self-respect are redeemed and friendship is reaffirmed. "Don't worry about about anything. I'll take care of it, just like you would have," Gill says to Steve. "Hell, I know that. I always did... you just forgot it for a while, that's all." Still, it's clear that for men like Judd and Westrum, their time has passed.

Peckinpah's Wild Bunch and Ride the High Country, in my view, are among the best Westerns made. What I like so much about Ride the High Country is it's restraint, it's bitter-sweet sadness and the history and memories that Joel McCrea and Randolph Scott bring to their roles. They give the movie it's mood and character. It's fascinating to think that they were originally cast to play the other's role. They both felt so uncomfortable they separately went to Peckinpah and asked if they could switch. The three instantly agreed. And why did Scott get first billing? The two old stars just got together privately and flipped a coin.

The DVD transfer looks fine. There are two or three extras, including a commentary, which I didn't sample.

Scary Movie 4 (Unrated Full Screen Edition)

Average customer rating:

Great Parody.
A comedy that pokes fun at scary movies.
Cornball Sophmoric Parody
Hit and Miss Comedy, Just Average
Fun movie with a boatload of Special Features on the DVD

Scary Movie 4 (Unrated Full Screen Edition)
Starring: Craig Bierko , Chris Elliott , Kevin Hart , James Earl Jones , and Cloris Leachman
Director: David Zucker
Manufacturer: Weinstein Company
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: B000FOQ1L8
Release Date: 2006-08-15

Amazon.com

Description

Customer Reviews:

Great Parody........2007-07-03

A comedy that pokes fun at scary movies........2007-06-13

Cornball Sophmoric Parody.......2007-06-05

Hit and Miss Comedy, Just Average.......2007-05-28

Fun movie with a boatload of Special Features on the DVD.......2007-04-04

Wagner - Der Ring des Nibelungen / Pierre Boulez, Bayreuth Opera (Complete Ring Cycle, Parts 1-4)

Average customer rating:

TWO MAJOR DEFECTS MAR AN OTHERWISE SPLENDID PRODUCTION
The Best Video Staging of Wagner's Ring
Modern staging that makes sense

Wagner - Der Ring des Nibelungen / Pierre Boulez, Bayreuth Opera (Complete Ring Cycle, Parts 1-4)
Starring: Matti Salminen , Fritz Hübner , Marga Schiml , Helmut Pampuch , and Ilse Gramatzki
Director: Brian Large
Manufacturer: Deutsche Grammophon
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: B0009F2EPU
Release Date: 2005-10-11

Amazon.com

The first opera (the prologue) in Wagner's Ring Cycle, Das Rheingold, is a beautifully conducted and thoughtfully staged performance. As soon as the clouds of mist have dissipated, while the daring, long-held opening chord is still reverberating, the screen clears to show not only the River Rhine and the three maidens (dressed like prostitutes in this production) assigned to guard the gold hidden there. It also shows an enormous dam (not mentioned in Wagner's text). This is the underwater base of a hydroelectric plant, and its presence tells us two things immediately: that this production takes the story out of the vaguely medieval fantasy world in which Wagner had placed it, and that a basic theme of the four-opera cycle would be power. Alberich, the Nibelung, is willing to renounce the love of women, after stealing the gold from the Rhine, to become the ruler of the world. Another basic theme is greed. The cast is uniformly excellent. The approach of stage director Patrice Chereau carefully balances realism, symbolism, and fantasy. The two giants (Matti Salminen and Fritz Hübner) tower over the gods who are waiting to enter the newly constructed Valhalla; Loge (brilliantly played by Heinz Zednick) appears in a burst of flame; the subterranean lair of the Nibelungs looks something like a prison and something like a mass-production sweatshop. In contrast, the gods look like members of a rather aimless leisure class. Freia, the goddess of youth (Carmen Reppel), whose fate is one of the basic items in the plot, is presented as a lovely but helpless beauty queen. Pierre Boulez conducts this episode. like the entire cycle, with power and precision.

Wagner's ideas of "racial purity" reach a logical conclusion in Act I of Die Walküre. Siegfried, the tragic hero of the cycle, is begotten in an adulterous, incestuous mating of Siegmund (Peter Hoffmann) and Sieglinde (Jeanne Altmeyer), a twin brother and sister. No miscegenation here. Siegfried will not be seen until the next opera in the cycle. For now, the Valkyries (after their famous, musically spectacular ride) are asked to protect Sieglinde, his pregnant mother-to-be, until he can be born. His father is killed in a fight with Hunding, Sieglinde's brutish husband, with Wotan intervening against his will to help the wronged spouse. Wotan has been forced by his wife Fricka, who is the goddess of marriage, elegantly played by Hanna Schwartz. Her victory is a striking display of Wotan's diminishing powers. Brunnhilde, Wotan's daughter and leader of the Valkyries (Gwyneth Jones), disobeys a paternal prohibition, rescues Sieglinde and hides her in safety to wait out her pregnancy. For this, she is punished by losing her divine status and being left asleep for years, surrounded by a circle of magic fire, until a hero (Siegfried, who has not yet been born) will come to rescue her. This episode is extremely well-sung, with particularly notable work by Hoffmann, Altmeyer, Schwartz, Jones and Donald McIntyre as Wotan, while conductor Pierre Boulez and director Patrice Chéreau work smoothly together to define the opera's overall form and continuity.

Siegfried is the most eventful of the four Ring operas: the hero of the cycle grows to maturity, forges his father's broken sword Notung, kills the dragon Fafner and the dwarf Mime, takes the cursed ring, frees Brunnhilde from the spell that has kept her asleep, and falls in love with her. It is all presented, powerfully and as efficiently as the self-indulgent text will permit. Not seen in the cycle's previous operas are Manfred Jung (Siegfried) and Norma Sharp (the Forest Bird), the central figure of the cycle and one of the most peripheral. Sharp is lovely in her brief appearance. Jung is the most controversial bit of casting in the cycle; his voice and acting have been criticized, but they seem to be up to the standard for this role, Perhaps the criticism really applies to Siegfried, who is neither intelligent nor compassionate, but a naive youth who knows nothing of the world and has never seen a woman. Jung conveys these qualities effectively. Wagner's ideal hero turns out to be a bit of a proto-Nazi in his own naive way, swaggering arrogantly, killing the dragon Fafner and the dwarf Mime with hardly a second thought, and blithely assuming that he deserves all the good fortune that comes his way. Wagner may have thought he was inventing another sort of hero, but this Siegfried rather faithfully reflects his creator's personality. Jung's characterization faithfully follows the text of the opera and it is compelling for those who can take their Wagner without illusions, those who have come to terms, for example, with the self-centered, unsympathetic personality that emerges from his wife Cosima's voluminous and blindly adoring diaries.

According to director Patrice Chereau, "Götterdämmerung undoubtedly presents a world in which no values exist any more... a world in which it is difficult for anyone to believe in anything any longer." It is truly, as its title proclaims, "The twilight of the gods." Siegfried is tricked, drugged, and treacherously murdered by power-hungry humans, deceived into betraying Brunnhilde, who remains faithful without hope. An air of weariness and decadence pervades the action and much of the music (though the score includes two of Wagner's finest instrumental inventions: Siegfried's Rhine journey and his funeral music.) A new note is the introduction of a chorus of humans (effectively used by Chereau) for the first time in the cycle. The heyday of the gods is over; now, world domination is sought by a human family, the Gibichungs. The cursed ring is stolen from Brunnhilde, who has kept it as a token of Siegfried's love. Siegfried, who has taken the ring in disguise, has been drugged and deceived into wooing Gutrune, a Gibichung. Brunnhilde is forced to marry Gunther, another Gibichung, but still faithful to Siegfried she commits suicide on his funeral pyre. The fire spreads to destroy Valhalla. The ring, snatched from Siegfried's dead hand, is dropped into the Rhine, where it is restored to its rightful place, and the situation returns to the normality of the time before Das Rheingold. The Gibichungs, new to the cycle, are well-portrayed by Franz Mazura and Jeanne Altmeyer, and Fritz Hübner is impressive as the treacherous Hagen. Gwemdolyn Killibrew stands out as Brunnhilde's ally Waltraute. As always, Pierre Boulez conducts with a clear vision of the total work. --Joe McLellan

Customer Reviews:

TWO MAJOR DEFECTS MAR AN OTHERWISE SPLENDID PRODUCTION.......2006-07-02

I enjoyed this Ring cycle a great deal, but I had two huge problems with it. First, this Ring cycle rips all four installments out of their mythological context and sets them in the 19th century. The result is an absurd mish-mash of mythological and realistic elements that obscures the cycle's meaning and, above all, its magic. Take the great set-piece with Hagen's men in "Gotterdammerung." Hagen's vassals are here a citizen militia rounded up from the local proletariat. How absurd is the sight of these French-looking working class townspeople singing in German and wielding long, primitive spears while being instructed by Hagen, dressed in suit and tie, to "kill a boar for Froh, and sacrifice a goat to Donner, but slaughter sheep for Fricka"? What are these mythological gods doing in this setting, and why are 19th century working class people sacrificing to them? Or take Siegfried: in one scene he's dashing about with his sword and hunting horn while in the next he's elegantly strolling about in a tuxedo. The result is ridiculous. The sets are equal parts realism and surrealism, making for a confused locale. The hunting scene where Siegfried is murdered by Hagen happens in front of a drab, industrial-looking hydraulic damn. Are we in industrial France, in pastoral Germany, in the legendary world of mythology, or in some strange hybrid dimension that weaves in and out of all three? The result is neither one thing nor the other, very half-baked and confusing. According to Chereau, the director, he was working from two principles. First, being primarily a director of nonoperatic theater, he wanted to intensify the music drama's dramaturgical elements--which in my opinion he does splendidly for the most part. For example, the emotionally charged finale where Brunnhilde has the body of Siegfried burned and jumps into the flames is wonderfully staged; I couldn't have asked for better. (Although I did have some problems earlier in the cycle with the lovers rolling around on the floor, and with some excessively histrionic hand gestures that I found unnecessary.) But Chereau is led astray by his second working principle. He explains in the documentary (it's part of the box set and worth watching), "Wagner used mythology to tell the story of his time, the politics of his time." Starting from this (in my view dangerous) premise, Chereau brings out the latent political content that he (Chereau) claims is implicit in the text. I feel this is where Chereau gets it terribly wrong. As I understand it, Wagner's main concern was in creating archetypes rather than "real" people in "real" contemporary settings. The Ring cycle is not "verismo." If Wagner wanted to set the Ring in his own time and place, he would have done so. Wagner wasn't shooting for "realism," but Chereau IS shooting for it (hence so many of the conflicting tendencies of his production). It's very unfair for Chereau to categorically state that Wagner's "real" intention was to tell the political story of the late nineteenth century,