Black Widow

Starring:Debra Winger, Theresa Russell, Sami Frey, Dennis Hopper, Nicol Williamson, Terry O'Quinn, James Hong, Diane Ladd, D.W. Moffett, Lois Smith, Leo Rossi (II), Danny Kamekona, Rutanya Alda, Mary Woronov, Wayne Heffley, Raleigh Bond, Donegan Smith, Christian Clemenson, Arsenio 'Sonny' Trinidad, Darrah Meeley
Director: Bob Rafelson
Studio: Fox Home Entertainment
Product Type: DVD

Amazon.com

People who cherish the post-Terms of Endearment, post-reincarnation phase of Shirley MacLaine's career might be surprised to discover just how sexy and kooky she was in a past life--that is, the first few years of her movie career. After the triumphs of Some Came Running and The Apartment, MacLaine had a run of starring roles, including this elaborate comedy vehicle. What a Way to Go! cast MacLaine as an unlucky bride whose husbands meet early deaths, leaving her wealthy but unhappy. Gimmick casting of the hubbies adds a bit of dash: Dick Van Dyke as a simple country storekeeper, Gene Kelly as a two-bit entertainer, bearded Paul Newman as a Brandoesque, bohemian painter in Paris. In the movie's best turn, Robert Mitchum gets to play a Howard Hughes character, and Dean Martin and Robert Cummings are around for the ride.

A flabbergasting parade of Edith Head outfits keeps MacLaine hopping, and each segment has a Hollywood fantasy based on MacLaine's vision of her passing marriages (silent comedy, sexed-up foreign flick, splashy musical). Typical of a certain kind of super-production of the era, the film is impressive rather than entertaining, busy rather than funny. Perhaps hiring J. Lee Thompson, who directed The Guns of Navarone, was not the best idea for this Comden-Green script. It snuck in as one of the top ten box-office grossers of 1964, and it has one great surrealist sequence where Gene Kelly orders his house and grounds to be painted entirely pink. --Robert Horton

Customer Reviews:

What a Way to Go!.......2007-04-02

I've seen this movie before and ordered it because it's one of those rare "oldies" that can be watched over and over.....I was tickled to find this on DVD so I can share it with my unfortunate friends that haven't had the privilege of seeing it before. Thank you.

Shirley MacLaine.......2007-02-27

I love comedy and Shirley MacLaine. This movie is enjoyable but i wouldn't say fabulous.

Fun, Funny Movie.......2007-01-18

This movie is full of big name stars, poking fun at the industry in a very fun way. It is a great story that is great to watch over and over. It is also a great gift for people who love all the movies and actors or the 50's.

Wild, mainly agreeable, black comedy which starts on too high a note and fails to sustain..........2007-01-17

Written by Betty Comden and Adolph Green and directed by J. Lee Thompson, this super production had elaborate sets, and Shirley MacLaine with six leading men, 72 gowns and 72 hairstyles--all for the purpose of stating that money is the root of all evil!

Like "A New Kind of Love," it's a pathetic pastiche of sex comedy, satire, fantasy and pretentious techniques, which support a one-joke story: a woman wants to live a simple life, but has the "misfortune" to marry men who become millionaires, and who die shortly thereafter, leaving her hopelessly wealthy...

Newman had the good fortune to appear in only a small portion of this disaster... He's the second of five husbands--an American gifted painter who drives a taxi in Paris and has invented a machine that converts sound into oil paintings...

The couple are poor and happy until MacLaine feeds classical music into the machine, resulting in a successful painting... Newman becomes rich, builds more and more machines, and gets so involved in his work (another obsessed artist!) he ignores his wife...

Newman is surprisingly amusing when he talks about art in almost a Graziano voice, and when he "conducts" his machines into a frenzy...

A must see CLASSIC.......2007-01-03

When you have a movie with Shirley Maclaine, Dean Martin, Gene Kelley, Paul Newman, Robert Mitchum, Dick Van Dyke and Bob Cummings - it has to be fun. The story is a fun-filled love'em, marry 'em, become rich and successful, and they die tale. The songs and the dancing, not to mention the gorgeous costumes are a real treat! Most men may find this to be a sort of chick-flick, but it's still one for the CLASSIC film buff!

Average customer rating:

Nice flick to pass the time away.
Not that great of a film
WHY?
Interesting yet somewhat strange character study is worth a look
The movie might have accomplished just as much by using cardboard cut-outs.

When Will I Be Loved
Starring: Neve Campbell , Emily Coker , Kendria Colford , Victor Colletti , and Alex Feldman
Manufacturer: MGM (Video & DVD)
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Drama | Genres | DVD | Video

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

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

Havoc (Unrated Version)
Uncovered
The Dreamers (Original Uncut NC-17 Version)
9 songs - Unrated Full Uncut Version
Prozac Nation

ASIN: B0006HC00U
Release Date: 2005-01-25

Amazon.com

Neve Campbell is an arresting enigma in When Will I Be Loved, one of writer-director James Toback's most mysterious and successful minimalist dramas about sex, deception, and mutable identities in New York City. Campbell plays twentysomething beauty Vera, whose nude shower scene during the film's opening credits looks more like mythic preparation for a soon-to-be-fateful day than brazen exploitation. Ensconced in a fantastic loft paid for by her parents (Barry Primus, Karen Allen), the unemployed Vera embarks on an odyssey that begins with a mutually deceitful job interview with a college professor (Toback), leads to misadventures in questionable perception in Central Park, and climaxes with Vera's successful manipulation of two powerful men, one a craven lover (Fred Weller) and the other an Italian billionaire (Dominic Chianese) trying to get her in bed for a lot of money. Provocative as a good urban legend, the film sticks with one for a long time. --Tom Keogh

Description

Neve Campbell, Dominic Chianese and Fred Weller star in this smoldering erotic thriller about a femme fatale exploring the frightening reach of her sexual power - and the red-hot fusion of money, power and desire. Directed by James Toback, When Will I Be Loved is an "illumination of sexual and identity politics" (Slant Magazine) that sizzles and seduces.

Customer Reviews:

Nice flick to pass the time away........2007-06-23

Neve Cambell is six years older than she was in "Wild Things" She has never looked more beautiful or sexier than in this movie. The opening scene proves that. All in all, the characters are well developed & believable. There is a element of "Indecent Proposal" (1993) but not a ripoff. Nice flick to watch while sipping wine in front of the fireplace with you main squeeze. Nothing to get excited about, except, Neve's awesome bod.

As Vera, Campbell plays a free spirited bisexual with a girlfriend. An eccentric European Count sees her & offers 100 grand if she will sleep with him. Vera ups the ante to a million dollars in cash. He agrees to do! However, Vera already rich & she does not like the thought of men trying buy her. She plots a scheme to con the count.

Not that great of a film.......2007-01-09

Story is very weak and the acting is robotic. I suggest missing this flick.

WHY?.......2006-12-07

After reading many of the earlier reviews I can only conclude that the reviewers were watched one movie and wrote about another. The movie seemed to be a series of isolated conversations that made no real sense.

The back of the DVD case leads you to believe this is a 'smoldering erotic thriller'. I guess the movie is so short (only 81 minuts) because all the eroticism ended up on the cutting room floor. When Will I Be Loved is almost as erotic as a Kermit the Frog cartoon.

I recomand this DVD only to people that are planing a lawn party and nave a need for miniature frisbies.

One star only because I can not award a lower number.

Interesting yet somewhat strange character study is worth a look .......2006-12-01

Typical James Toback fare here: a leisurely story laced with edgy sex in stylish New York living spaces that are just as alluring and sexy as the beautiful bodies. Plusses: a courageously-on-display Neve Campbell, some good exchanges between Ms. Campbell and Dominic Chianese, and a short running time. Minuses mainly consist of several head-scratching moments, including a needless Mike Tyson cameo and a weird tryst in the park. When it's all over, you've gotten enough of a portrait of the Campbell character for the story to work as a character study, though enough of the director's intent remains mysterious enough that the movie ultimately feels like an art-film exercise. So, if you don't have a lot of patience for films with an ambiguous art-house feel, you might want to stay away from this. The DVD extras are somewhat illuminating and interesting.

The movie might have accomplished just as much by using cardboard cut-outs........2006-10-31

This was one weird and rather pretentious movie, but it held my interest. It did feel like writer/director Toback forgot to write a third act. Neve Campbell plays a manipulative sexpot whose boyfriend (Fred Weller) prostitutes her to some rich older Italian guy (Dominic Chianese). The situation is pretty much ripped off from "Indecent Proposal." Toback's film is interesting outside of the plot, especially in the introductory sequence, which cuts back and forth between Campbell and Weller without telling us how they're connected. Through out this film we have some odd cameos thrown in by real people not really playing themselves, including Mike Tyson, Lori Singer, rapper Damon Dash, let alone writer/director James Toback himself playing the name-dropping Professor Hassan al-Ibrahim ben Rabinowitz.

I believe Neve Campbell could have done better than this soft-core porn. In this story her character seemed to have it all, but yet still wanted to rebel and test the boundaries, and she needed the million dollars like a hole in the head, since the doting parents were already giving her everything she needed. I won't say how it ended, but it could have been done differently instead of it ending abruptly and unsatisfactorily.

I agree with the some reviewers who said that the music was overdone and too loud. I think that was probably done on purpose, to cover up all the lame scenes that would have been horrifically boring otherwise without some sort of distraction. The only really watchable scene that caught my interest was with her and Dominic Chianese. The dialogue and acting during their scene was really interesting.

Of course, if you've heard about this movie at all - and most have not, I think - it's because of Neve's naked body. She did the sex thing, and even the lesbian thing, way back in "Wild Things." That was just barely a step above pornography. The year before that, Neve worked with Robert Altman, in a project which she herself initiated. I guess with "When Will I Be Loved," she decided that, now that she's becoming a respectful actress, she had to do an art movie where she gets naked and makes out with a girl. In reality, this is about a step and a half above porn.

Other than that it's an interesting little film that has a good performance by Campbell and while this is not exactly riveting in terms of drama it does give fans of Toback another chance to view his unique talent.

Average customer rating:

Great movie!
A sleeper that sticks with you
Sexy, stylish thriller
Black Widow DVD
A Two Person Noir

Black Widow
Starring: Debra Winger , Theresa Russell , Sami Frey , Dennis Hopper , and Nicol Williamson
Director: Bob Rafelson
Manufacturer: Fox Home Entertainment
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Drama | Genres | DVD | Video

Suspense | Mystery & Suspense | Genres | DVD | Video

Thrillers | Mystery & Suspense | Genres | DVD | Video

Mystery | Mystery & Suspense | Genres | DVD | Video

General | Mystery & Suspense | Genres | DVD | Video

4-for-3 Drama | 4-for-3 DVD | Stores | DVD | Video

4-for-3 All DVDs | 4-for-3 DVD | Stores | DVD | Video

Mystery & Suspense | Today's Deals in DVD | Special Features | DVD | Video

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

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

Deceived
Jagged Edge
Someone to Watch Over Me
Suspect
Betrayed

ASIN: B00013RC66
Release Date: 2004-02-03

Description

Bob Rafelson directs this dark psychological thriller about the seductive interplay between two intriguing women. Catharine (THERESA RUSSELL) is a sultry beauty who meticulously sets her traps. Alex (DEBRA WINGER) is a federal sleuth who just as meticulously uncovers what no one else suspects-that this femme fatale tricks wealthy men into marrying her, then kills them to inherit their fortunes. Soon Alex's obsession with the mysterious Catharine draws her deeper and deeper into danger.

Customer Reviews:

Great movie!.......2007-06-02

This movie came to me in perfect condition and I received it super fast. This is a great suspense movie and it is really cool. Thank you for such great service!

A sleeper that sticks with you.......2007-05-10

Time has shown this 80s thriller to be a more durable, intriguing film than first it may have seemed. Debra Winger is at her most gorgeous, and the chemistry between her character and Theresa Russell's 'black widow' is palpable. I loved the colourful locations and the sense of glowing health of the cast. People who haven't seen it before will notice the 80s-style male chauvinism, but it doesn't detract from the movie. Great to see the portrayal of several murders without one violent scene or one spurt of blood. A genuinely adult movie.

Sexy, stylish thriller.......2007-04-25

BLACK WIDOW is a sexy and stylish thriller, mainly notable for the always-reliable Debra Winger playing a gutsy female investigator.

When several rich older men all die in sudden, bizarre circumstances, government investigator Alexandra Bates (Debra Winger) becomes convinced a common link will lead to one individual. Alex's theory later leads her across the path of Theresa (Catherine Russell), a woman with untold fortunes and several husbands. Determined that she is the 'Black Widow', Alex befriends her in Hawaii, and later becomes part of a sordid love triangle with the next intended victim of Catherine's plot. BLACK WIDOW is filled with enough chills and thrills to hook any audience.

Debra Winger, in one of the rare times she doesn't play the dying tragedienne, delivers an excellent performance as Alex, a woman trying to exist within the male-dominated world of government intelligence. She is the only one who truly holds this movie together. Catherine Russell brings a chilling, glacial quality to the role of Theresa/Rennie, the black widow of the title. The cast also features Diane Ladd, Sami Frey, Nicol Williamson, Dennis Hopper, James Hong, and Mary Woronov.

Black Widow DVD.......2007-01-03

This is an almost classic movie. However, its not for everyone. This one was used as a gift.

A Two Person Noir.......2005-06-26

You can just about forget everyone else in this film other than Debra Winger and Theresa Russell. This sexy film is basically a two person film noir shot in bright colors, some of it in Hawaii. It is filled with excitement and seduction. Both the leads are wonderful to watch, their chemistry magnificent in this Bob Rafelson (Man Trouble, Five Easy Pieces) film.

Debra Winger is Alex Barnes, bogged down in a government desk job dealing with statistics. But when she sees a pattern of deaths that lead to Theresa Russell, a dangerously beautiful woman with ice in her veins, she becomes obsessed with catching a killer. Theresa Russell, who has used more names than Jason Bourne, is just as smart as she is sexy, and almost the entire film is one long seduction scene as Russell spins her web around Alex.

It seems a lot of rich men have suddenly died on Russell and Alex knows why. She is what is called a Black Widow, a woman who mates and then kills. No one has found any evidence to prove it, however, and Alex's attempt to catch her at it becomes murky as a seduction begins to take place.

The locations and the stars are beautiful and as Winger and Russell circle each other in this game with deadly stakes you can't take your eyes off them. Winger's Alex is smart and determined, but vulnerable, and Russell gives a flawless and sexy performance as a smart and icy beauty with a heart full of venom.

The electricity between the two characters jumps off the screen. The pool scene where they first meet gives us an indication of what is to come as Alex attempts to get close to Russell, with some unexpected twists. The formost of these is a scene when Alex gives Russell a Black Widow pendant, a spider who mates and kills its lover. Russell's response plays with the fragile but determined Alex as she begins to doubt herself.

You don't want to miss this one. It's gorgeous to look at and has two riveting performances from Winger and Russell. You can't find a better one than this.

Average customer rating:

Linda is the perfect fem fatale
Great, great movie
Not Body Heat
The Last Seduction Review
Why the LAST Seduction?

The Last Seduction
Starring: Linda Fiorentino , Bill Pullman , Michael Raysses , Zack Phifer , and Peter Berg
Director: John Dahl
Manufacturer: Lions Gate
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Drama | Genres | DVD | Video

Neo-Noir | Mystery & Suspense | Genres | DVD | Video

General | Mystery & Suspense | Genres | DVD | Video

4-for-3 All DVDs | 4-for-3 DVD | Stores | DVD | Video

DVDs Under $9.99 | Today's Deals in DVD | Special Features | DVD | Video

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

Jade
White Palace
Red Rock West
Two Moon Junction
Uncovered

ASIN: B00006L91I
Release Date: 2002-11-19

Product Description

Bridget Gregory (Linda Fiorentino) seems to have it all: beauty, intelligence and a marriage to Clay, a wealthy physician (Bill Pullman). But everything isn't enough for Bridget, who persuades her husband to make dirty deals on prescription drugs and then runs with the profit. Now incognito in a mid-American small town. Bridget draws a naive local, Mike Swale (Peter Berg) into a smoldering affair.

Passion, greed and revenge forge a desperate triangle between the three as Bridget draws her unknowing victims deeper into her deadly web of deceit.

System Requirements:

Running Time: 110 Min

Format: DVD MOVIE

Amazon.com

Whew. Linda Fiorentino is like a home-grown apocalyptic nightmare as the sizzling, sexy dame who thinks "sharing" is a dirty word. Fiorentino, a master of the double-cross, hooks up with naive Peter Berg, a nice guy desperate for a little adventure. There are endless twists to this cleverly vicious story, but the real draw is Fiorentino, whose performance is brilliant. She is the Everywoman you never want to meet: cool as ice, passionate, tough, self-satisfied, smart, and amoral. Bill Pullman is a surprise as a Machiavellian doctor who is almost her match. Definitely not a date flick, as this represents one vicious battle in the sexual wars. --Rochelle O'Gorman

Customer Reviews:

Linda is the perfect fem fatale.......2007-02-01

Well done double, triple and quad-triple crossing film. A little slow, but all the actors were convincing in their parts, good twist at the end and you probably already know who gets away with it, but I enjoyed it. Linda should do more movies, she's a young Siguorney Weaver type, slim, smart and sexy. Enjoy!

Great, great movie.......2007-01-31

Perhaps I love this movie so much simply beacuse I just now happened upon it. I hadn't heard of it, and now I see that it came out in 2002. Wow, where was I?

This is one twisted chick in one twisted film. The thing that obviously attracts us to the female character is her beauty, and brains. No one could be this evil and still have men chasing her without "something." And the "something" is that she's sexy as can be--a real knock-out.

The scene in the bar where she checks out Berg's equipment under the table can't be beat. A sort of outdoing of "Sally Met Harry" for 2002. Berg plays it cool, and the great "secret" of his life is finally revealed toward the end of the movie.

If you enjoy movies where you don't know how things are going to turn out, check out THE LAST SEDUCTION as it will fill all your needs.

Not Body Heat.......2006-12-29

The Last Seduction, a descriptive title, aptly predicting the plot line of this "thriller," weakens the prelude to a grafter-mission-impossible. Surly the producer might have conjured a jazzier title.

Linda Florentino is pretty with clothes on or off, one of those tall slim Hollywood gals with augmented lips. She talks tough and dirty, outdoing her men toys in the saddle, so if the viewer wants some steamy stuff, okay, ya got it. The problem: the plot is unbelievable. A good thriller, take Body Heat for example, gives you the steamy romance and a plot device that doesn't intrude. If the mechanics of the swindle are forced, well, we have only Florentino's next hot scene to look forward too.

Weirdly, Bill Pullman, the smarmy medical student turned pill pusher, Fiorentino's hubby, shines up the plot, keeping it "real" when he is on the screen, which is not often. A little humor goes a long way in a tragedy. Just ask William Shakespeare.

The Last Seduction Review.......2006-08-30

Decent movie from the 90s. Some nudity. Lackluster conclusion.

Why the LAST Seduction?.......2006-08-14

This broad is a pro with no moral sense. A manipulator with no heart or conscience. Except for the murder aspect I'd say I see her in action in my social settings every day. Good movie about a particular type of woman.

Average customer rating:

The Postman Always Rings Twice
a very sexy example of the film noir genre, at its best.....
Tale of Obsession
One ofthe best of its kind
in the time of film noir

The Postman Always Rings Twice
Starring: Lana Turner , John Garfield , Cecil Kellaway , Hume Cronyn , and Leon Ames
Director: Tay Garnett , and David Heeley
Manufacturer: Warner Home Video
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Drama | Genres | DVD | Video

Film Noir | Mystery & Suspense | Genres | DVD | Video

Classics | Mystery & Suspense | Genres | DVD | Video

Drama | Kids & Family | Genres | DVD | Video

DVDs Under $14.99 | Today's Deals in DVD | Special Features | DVD | Video

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

Double Indemnity (Universal Legacy Series)
Laura (Fox Film Noir)
The Postman Always Rings Twice
Sunset Boulevard (Special Collector's Edition)
This Gun For Hire (Universal Noir Collection)

ASIN: B0000EYUCU
Release Date: 2004-01-06

Amazon.com essential video

Even under the heavy censorship of 1946 Hollywood, Lana Turner and John Garfield's libidinous desires burn up the screen in Tay Garnett's adaptation of James M. Cain's torrid crime melodrama. Platinum blond Turner is Cora, a restless sexpot stuck in a roadside diner married to mundane middle-aged fry cook Nick Smith (Cecil Kellaway) when handsome drifter Frank (Garfield) blows her way. It's lust at first sight, a rapacious desire that neither can break off, and before long they're plotting his demise--but in the wicked world of Cain nothing is that easy. Garnett's visual approach is subdued compared to the more expressionistic film noir of the period, but he's at no loss when he films the luminous Turner in her milky-white wardrobe. She radiates repressed sexuality and uncontrollable passion while Garfield's smart-talking loner Frank mixes street-smart swagger and scrappy toughness with vulnerability and sincere intensity. Costar Hume Cronyn cuts a cold, calculating figure as their conniving lawyer, a chilly character that only increases our feelings for the murderous couple, victims of an all consuming amour fou that drives their passions to extremes. --Sean Axmaker

Description

Adapted from James M. Cain's story, the film relolves around the destructive relationship of two lovers whose troubles mount after they do away with her husband.

Customer Reviews:

The Postman Always Rings Twice.......2007-06-25

Tay Garnett's sizzling "Postman," adapted from the pulp novel by James M. Cain, concerns fate, temptation, and the kind of irrational urges that drive people to murder. A gorgeous Lana Turner bewitches as the femme fatale, and enigmatic, underrated actor John Garfield plays the regular Joe who falls into her clutches. Garnett's direction is solid and tantalizingly suggestive, as when Frank spots a lipstick rolling across the floor moments before he lays eyes on Cora. Garnett's "Postman" delivers the goods.

a very sexy example of the film noir genre, at its best............2007-05-20

Cora (Lana Turner) is a very beautiful and frustrated woman, married to middle aged fry cook, Nick (Cecil Kellaway), residing with him in a small town that seems way too small for her tastes. Enter Frank (John Garfield), a handsome loner, who arrives at their door, one day. Cora and Frank are instantly drawn to each other, of course. The problem that stands in their way is her husband. What a pesky problem! Together, the two plot to murder Nick, so they can be together. Of course, this does not go according to plan.

This grizzly, sexually charged story said so much with so little (back at a time when even depicting "so little" granted you a firm rap on the knuckles from the MPAA censorship board). Lana Turner glows in a series of white ensembles that she clearly fills out quite pleasingly. What's more, no one ever made lipstick look so sexy before. In fact, Lana Turner's character made lipstick even more popular, after this film came out! Just a little trivia. The acting is wonderful, the plot is engrossing and there is a delicious feeling of dark forboding from this film, one of the best example of sexy film noir (literally, "black film") stories ever! This puts the murder mysteries of today to shame.

Tale of Obsession.......2007-04-19

*** This comment may contain spoilers ***

James Cain's tale of lust, murder, and retribution has attracted the filmmakers in different countries in different times. It's been adapted in France in 1939 by Pierre Chenal as "Le Dernier tournant" aka "The Last Turn" with great Michel Simon as a husband who was an obstacle for his young wife's and her lover's happiness. Luchino Visconti told the story in his "Ossessione" (1943) aka Obsession (how appropriate). The novel was also adapted in 1998 by the Hungarian director György Fehér in the movie Szenvedély (1998)aka "Passion". Hollywood has made two films based on Cain's novel of passionate obsession; both are titled "The Postman Always Rings Twice" - in 1946 by Tay Garnett with Lana Turner in her star making role as Cora Smith and John Garfield as Frank Chambers, a drifter who looked for a job but found something completely different and in 1981 by Bob Rafelson with Jack Nicholson and Jessica Lange. I've seen later movie many years ago and all I remember well is the very hot scene between Nicholson and Lange. The earlier film that I saw few weeks ago for the first tine is different. Turner and Garfield are sizzling and although there is no single sex scene between them, the movie is genuinely sexy and perfect in creating the atmosphere of obsession and desperate desire to change the lives no matter what the price would be.
4.5/5

One ofthe best of its kind.......2007-02-25

This is one of the best film noir that was evr made. The plot is captivating, the atmosphere unique and you can feel the sensuality and tension that Lan turner and John Garfield give out. The story is very well known- a hitchaker that stops at a restasurant, falls in love with the owner's wife and they plot to kill him. Extremely well acted and with an also excellent directing and photography this is a must.
Enjoy it.

in the time of film noir.......2007-02-25

I admit to being a film noir fan of long standing. Maybe it was the fact of growing up in the time of black and white television and watching all those late night movies which were freely available at the time. Maybe it was that tight, if improbable, dialogue, the relatively simple plots and the dramatic effect of the shadows of black and white photography on mood. In any case, the Postman Always Rings Twice fits nicely into that mix. The plot line is fairly simple- unhappy California housewife, older uncaring husband and a younger man at the door who turns out to be handy with a wretch- all the ingredients for a murder. Hey, isn't this the plot for Double Indemnity. Oh well, you get the point. Of course, as always the guilty parties will have to face justice. You know this is a modern morality play, after all. In any case one should like Double Indemnity by the same author, James M. Cain, read the book to get a better feel for the language, the steamier sexual tension and better insight into the motivations of the parties. This movie was remade in color in the 1980's and is probably truer to Cain's wicked designs but this is the definitive Postman.

Average customer rating:

Underrated; Haven't Seen the Original Though
Steamy and deffinately not for the faint hearted
PAN & SCAN MARGINALIZES THE PRESENTATION
A movie about fate and lust...
GOING POSTAL

The Postman Always Rings Twice
Starring: Jack Nicholson , Jessica Lange , John Colicos , Michael Lerner , and John P. Ryan
Director: Bob Rafelson
Manufacturer: Warner Home Video
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Drama | Genres | DVD | Video

Crime & Criminals | Drama | Genres | DVD | Video

Murder & Mayhem | Drama | Genres | DVD | Video

Suspense | Mystery & Suspense | Genres | DVD | Video

Mystery | Mystery & Suspense | Genres | DVD | Video

General | Mystery & Suspense | Genres | DVD | Video

4-for-3 Drama | 4-for-3 DVD | Stores | DVD | Video

4-for-3 All DVDs | 4-for-3 DVD | Stores | DVD | Video

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

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

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

Body Heat (Deluxe Edition)
Chinatown
Carnal Knowledge
The Postman Always Rings Twice
Five Easy Pieces

ASIN: 079073219X
Release Date: 1997-08-20

Amazon.com

In The Postman Always Rings Twice Jack Nicholson teamed up again with his Five Easy Pieces and King of Marvin Gardens director Bob Rafelson for this 1981 version of James M. Cain's hardboiled novel of lust and murder. This version takes a much grittier (and sexually explicit) approach to the material than the slick 1946 MGM version starring John Garfield and Lana Turner. Nicholson plays Frank Chambers, a drifter who happens upon a roadside diner run by Cora Papadakis (Jessica Lange) and her swarthy Greek husband, Nick (John Colicos). Sparks fly, and before you can say l'amour fou, Frank and Cora are making the beast with two backs on the kitchen table. One thing leads to another and they conspire to murder Nick. The movie is still a little too cold and distant to fully convey a hot-blooded passion that leads to murder, but it is a strangely haunting and disturbing film nevertheless. The screenplay is by David Mamet, the photography is by the great Sven Nykvist (Ingmar Bergman's cinematographer), and watch for Anjelica Huston in a supporting role. --Jim Emerson

Customer Reviews:

Underrated; Haven't Seen the Original Though.......2006-09-17

Director Bob Rafelson reunited with his "Five Easy Pieces" star Jack Nicholson on this film, which also stars Jessica Lange, Anjelica Huston, and briefly Christopher Lloyd (also reunited with Nicholson from "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest"). When Rafelson set out to make this film (which had already been adapted from the novel into a 1946 film starring Lana Turner), he wanted to take a detour from the original. In 1946, you weren't really allowed to show sex so the film had destroyed the whole vision of the novel. So, Rafelson has been adamant about not calling this a remake. I've never seen the original or read the book, so this is my first exposure to the material. Having said that, there's something about this film that's kind of funny...There is no postman. When we meet drifter Frank Chambers (Nicholson), he just scammed a restuarant owner named Nick (John Colicos) out of a free meal. About to leave, Nick offers him a job and Frank accepts. Problem is, Frank can't contain his feelings for Nick's wife Cora (the beautiful Jessica Lange). After Nick and Cora begin having an affair, Cora tells Nick that the only way they continue is if Nick is killed. After a failed attempt, they cool off for awhile...But eventually realize that it's something that must be done. The first hour of the film is spectacular, it sags a little in the second hour (causing me to almost give it 4 stars). But the performances are so good and the ending is so beautifully done (some complain it's abrupt, but it works to suit Nicholson's character). I don't know how this film is compared to the book and movie that inspired it, but it's a great movie. For people just looking for nudity, this isn't your movie. The sex scenes are pretty graphic, but the only nudity is Anjelica Huston side-boob.

GRADE: A-

Steamy and deffinately not for the faint hearted.......2006-07-03

Quite a different interpretantion in comparison with the version with Lana Turner. This is deffinately for people who are not conservative when it comes to sex, hate, disloyalty, etc. The performances are excellent. Jack Nicholson has always been my favourite actor and here he is his old evil self. Jessica Lange is very sensual and acts her part well. A very satisfying film when it comes to substance and something more than just sensation. Highly recommended for the serious movie fan.

PAN & SCAN MARGINALIZES THE PRESENTATION.......2006-02-26

Unfortunately, the image is cropped to full screen. Ironically, the trailer included on the disc is in 16X9!

A movie about fate and lust..........2006-02-01

Jessica Lange and Jack Nicholson star in a very dark tale of two lovers who sought freedom from their grim, quietly desperate lives in each other's arms. Unfortunately, their quest to remain together leads to the destruction of several lives, and quite possibly their own. The movie is primarily set in a rural area, where Lange's character works at a small roadside diner owned by her husband, a Greek immigrant. One of the most important elements of the film is that it never really demonizes the antagonists, and this is true with respect to the husband character - he has his faults, but he doesnt appear to be overly domineering or abusive. In any event, as fate would have it, one day a drifter appears at the diner, Nicholson's character, and soon he and Lange are making love on her kitchen work table, in one of several extremely graphic sex scenes which are peppered throughout the movie. Now, only Lange's husband stands in the way, and Nicholson and Lange decide to get rid of him. The rest of the movie depicts their attempts on the husband's life and the consequences of their actions, without judgment from the filmmakers, as the story moves to its ultimate, and ultimately shocking, conclusion.

The movie does drag at points, and some of the characters seem unnecessary, but the point is never lost on the audience - both fate and lust, while they draw two people together magnetically, can spell disaster.

GOING POSTAL.......2006-01-21

Director Bob Rafelson reportedly wanted to do this remake of the 1946 classic (in 1981) because he wanted to present a steamier, sexier version. Casting Jack Nicholson and Jessica Lange in the leading roles, Rafelson indeed upped the thermometer in this tale of lust and murder. He plays a drifter who cons his way into a job at a remote tavern, where he finds himself attracted to the older owner's lusty young wife, Cora. Of course, once they become attached, Cora wants hubby Nick (the late John Colicos) out of the way permanently and so they conspire to kill him---twice, when the first attempt fails.
I had a hard time feeling any empathy with either Nicholson or Lange. Colicos seems to be an allright husband, and since there's no background as to why Cora married him, it's hard to understand why she chooses murder instead of just leaving him. He's not an abusive husband; he seems affectionate, and although they aren't wealthy, they seem to have a good life. So when the murder occurs, most sympathy goes to Colicos.
Nicholson and Lange are top notch as always, but their inevitable tragic end seems more deserving than tragic. Not a great movie, but well done nonetheless.

Average customer rating:

Slaughetered
Boro lost erotic masterpiece
Three Women, A Rabbit & A Dog... Disappointing Film... Excellent DVD transfer from Severin
A MASTERPIECE OF EUROTICA!
Immoral Stories

Immoral Women
Starring: Marina Pierro , Gaëlle Legrand , Pascale Christophe , François Guétary , and Jean-Claude Dreyfus
Director: Walerian Borowczyk
Manufacturer: Severin
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Horror | Genres | DVD | Video

DVDs Under $14.99 | Today's Deals in DVD | Special Features | DVD | Video

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

Private Collections
Justine & Juliette
Perversion Story
Macumba Sexual
The Sexual Story of O

ASIN: B000KHX7J4
Release Date: 2007-01-30

Description

From The Infamous Director Of IMMORAL TALES and THE BEAST
Now Uncut And Uncensored For The First Time Ever In America

Some have hailed him as a genius of joyous erotica, while others have condemned him as a monster of pornographic depravity. But in this controversial three-part feature by writer/director Walerian Borowczyk, women are mysterious and degenerate creatures who hunger for both extremes. In the first tale, Marina Pierro (of BEHIND CONVENT WALLS) stars as the muse whose rampant lusts enflamed the artists and clergy of ancient Rome. Then GaÃ«lle Legrand is a blossoming teen in 18th century France whose unnatural desire for her pet bunny leads to an act of depraved passion. Finally, a luscious young wife (former Disney child star Pascale Christophe) is abducted and raped before finding the ultimate ecstasy with her four-legged savior.

Severin Films is proud to present this notorious erotic epic - also known as THREE IMMORAL WOMEN and HEROINES OF EVIL - transferred from its original European negative materials with all of its scenes of daring sexuality now fully restored.

Customer Reviews:

Slaughetered.......2007-05-11

I was not able to find the uncut runtime for the "Immoral Women" anywhere, but anyone who is familiar with cinema can easilly understand this movie is censored. There are some scenes only a few frames long. Some scenes without beginning or end, scenes jumping to unrelated scenes because of the censored parts. I felt like watching the R or even PG-13 (except a few frames) version. Really very funny editing.
This film has nothing ofending as it is. I hope someone prints the UNrated version instead of this not rated version.
This movie isnt worth over 15$ as it is. Because it isnt anywhere near complete.
Note to the studio; generally movie collectioners buy this genre, and they are completionists. So selling an uncomplete version for almost 30$ is absurd. This movie as it is has no value for any collectioner. And i really feel bad because i should have known that your "not rated" is a cover-up for this crippled version.

Boro lost erotic masterpiece.......2007-02-17

Jaw dropping piece of erotica and excellent dvd presentation from Severin.

Three Women, A Rabbit & A Dog... Disappointing Film... Excellent DVD transfer from Severin.......2007-02-16

"Les Héroïnes du Mal" (Heroines of Evil) is the original title of this film by Walerian Borowczyk. The film occupies that grey-zone between Arthouse and Softporn. Its theme is of wronged women seeking revenge. However audiences will invariably fixate on Borowczyk's fascination with bestiality. There are three separate stories, lasting roughly 40 minutes each. The first is titled "Margherita" and is set in Renaissance Rome. Poor baker's daughter, Margherita, uses her beauty to bed and kill the rich and powerful men who lust after her. The second, titled "Marceline," is about a young girl who enjoys sexual romps with her pet rabbit. When her repressive and somewhat nutty parents have the rabbit killed and cooked for dinner, she goes berserk, gets the local black butcher to deflower her in the slaughterhouse and then returns home to slice her parents' throats. The third story titled "Marie" is about a young woman who is kidnapped, held for ransom and raped by her captor while her ineffectual husband bumbles around. She is saved by her heroic pet dog who gives her useless husband a bite in the balls for good measure before claiming his reward from the grateful victim.

Needless to say if bestiality offends you, stay away. Personally I didn't find it offensive. However I did find it boring - I actually nodded off halfway through and that is a bad sign for any film. I watched it again on a separate occasion to give it the benefit of the doubt before coming to any conclusion. Parts of it were erotic and production values were generally high. Photography especially was very good. Everything is in soft-focus and filmed under soft lighting. The women are lovely and they are beautifully attired - or not, as the case may be. The film relies on a refreshing Renaissance-style music score, giving it a certain touch of class. However it just didn't come together. The high-art style of erotica, the beautiful photography and the deliberate silliness and implausibility in the screenwriting and plot didn't mesh. The post-production dubbing with poor lip-synching (even in the original French track) didn't help. Well, at least for me. Some viewers might very well enjoy it - as several reviews here attest. It might very well fascinate Americans unfamiliar with the topic and who find the very idea "jaw-dropping" and "ground-breaking".

The sex is not explicit. Neither is there much of it. But it is well done and pretty to look at. The film would garner an NC-17 solely due to the implied bestiality - the closest it actually gets to the real stuff is the little bunny rabbit nibbling on Marceline's luxuriant bush while she writhes in pleasure (a rather cute scene, beautifully photographed) - the dog's high point is biting the husband's balls; we never get to see it having its way with the wife.

Severin of course doesn't disappoint with its lovely and quite flawless transfer of this 1979 film. Colours are mostly pastel-hued but always true and pleasing to the eye. Black level is perfect. The film is presented in its original 1.66:1 aspect ratio, pillarboxed into an anamorphic frame (enhanced for widescreen TV). The original French 2.0 Mono track is provided, along with an alternate English 2.0 Mono dub. The sound has good presence and dialogue is clear throughout. Optional English subtitles are also provided. The only Extras are the original theatrical trailer and a biography of Walerian Borowczyk.

A MASTERPIECE OF EUROTICA!.......2007-02-14

in some ways even superior to 'immoral tales'. a seminal title for fans of the genre, and a great dvd to boot.

Immoral Stories.......2007-02-13

This is a film involving three stories about three women over three different periods in history.
The first, with Marina Pierro is set in the Renaissance in Rome where she is the baker's daughter who sleeps with an artist. She double-crosses men in order to rake in some of the money that's flowing into the Papal coffers.
The second story is about a girl who has an un-natural relationship with her rabbit, and then looses her virginity to a black man as he has her pressed up against a number of sheep in a pen in a slaughter-house. Not very tasteful.
The third story hints at a woman having a close relationship with a dog that protects her from a number of men. Also distasteful.

Average customer rating:

yes, a great film
Unappreciated Film Noir With A Difference
"The richest guy in America presents the coolest guy in America"
A face only a stepmother could hate (recommended)
A great film noir classic

Angel Face
Starring: Robert Mitchum , Jean Simmons , Mona Freeman , Herbert Marshall , and Leon Ames
Director: Otto Preminger
Manufacturer: Turner Home Ent
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Drama | Genres | DVD | Video

Crime & Criminals | Drama | Genres | DVD | Video

Classics | Drama | Genres | DVD | Video

DVDs Under $9.99 | Today's Deals in DVD | Special Features | DVD | Video

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

Macao
Naked City - Criterion Collection
The Heiress (Universal Cinema Classics)
I Wake Up Screaming (Fox Film Noir)
Fallen Angel (Fox Film Noir)

ASIN: B000JLTREK
Release Date: 2007-01-23

Amazon.com

Robert Mitchum was already a dab hand at film noir when he stepped into the delicious trap of Angel Face, Otto Preminger's 1952 addition to the genre. Here Mitchum plays an amazingly seducible guy who falls under the spell of spoiled rich girl Jean Simmons; a former race-car driver, he'd like to open his own sports-car garage, and her money would come in awfully handy. But she's got a few quirks to work out first, including her hostility for her stepmother, who doesn't stand a chance against this poker-faced vixen. True to its title, the film has an absolutely deadpan approach to this material, as Preminger's calm style recalls more the clinical courtroom proceedings of Anatomy of a Murder than the perverse lushness of Laura. Mitchum's in absolutely top form, and Jean Simmons has just right amount of intensity behind her porcelain beauty. The supporting cast is led by Herbert Marshall, as Simmons' father, a writer who's been sponging off his wife for years, and Leon Ames does a skillful turn as a crafty lawyer. The ending is as pre-ordained as can be, and the film moves toward its sinister conclusion without turning its head to explore other options. But that's why we love film noir. --Robert Horton

Description

Otto Preminger, who showed how to mix a beautiful woman with murder in the landmark Laura, directs this tale of a passion gone haywire. Frank's a regular guy with a steady girl and a dream of owning his own garage when he crosses paths with Diane. She wants him. Or does she want a fall guy to blame when Diane's stepmother plunges off a high cliff and leaves her fortune to Diane? Alibis, betrayals, courtroom thrills and the fire of a woman too dangerous to trust and too alluring to resist make Angel Face a film-noir classic.

Customer Reviews:

yes, a great film.......2007-05-16

After reading the comments by those here, I placed the film in my "Wish List" here on Amazon. Last night on Turner Classic Movies they showed this movie. It was really wonderful. I enjoyed the whole cast and I agree that Robert Mitchum and Jean Simmons were perfect in these roles. While her deadly deed plays out, she sits there emotionless with cold eyes and porcelain beauty. It was somewhat chilly. Simmons usually played the sweet wife or love roles in movies. I loved seeing her in a completely different role. I definitely recommend this movie. And what a surprise ending! OMG!

Unappreciated Film Noir With A Difference.......2007-04-09

Angel Face was directed in 1952 by: Otto Preminger (Laura, 1944; Anatomy Of A Murder, 1959). Otto Preminger's `Laura' is now rightly regarded as one of great film noir masterpieces, however he made some less appreciated noirs like Fallen Angel (1945); Whirlpool (1949); Where The Sidewalk Ends (1950) and this film Angel Face. Upon it's release critics and public alike had seen perhaps far too many of this type of film hence the negative reviews. However I feel that this film is deserving of some rehabilitation. The theme is a familiar one of the Femme Fatale attempting to get some chump to assist in a murder. Angel Face is slightly different in that the Femme Fatale's (performed by Jean Simmons (Great Expectations, 1946; Hamlet, 1948; The Black Narcissus, 1947)) motivation is not the standard killing for money but for love. This makes it similar to the Ellen Berent character played by Gene Tierney in `Leave Her To Heaven' (1946, John M. Stahl). Generally in noir's guys kill for the girl and girls for the money. Robert Mitchum (Out Of The Past, 1947; Crossfire, 1947; Night Of The Hunter, 1955) gives a wonderful performance of a guy who is not so stupid as to get suck into her trap. He also has some great dialogue that one wish's they could always have at hand to deliver in those situations. Along with Humphrey Bogart and Burt Lancaster, Mitchum has to rank as one of the great noir actors. Cinematography was by Harry Stradling (A Streetcar Named Desire, 1951; Johnny Guitar, 1954; A Face In The Crowd, 1957)

This DVD comes with a wonderful audio commentary by Eddie Muller and is well worth a listen. In 1964 Jean-Luc Godard placed this film at no. 8 in his list of the greatest American films of the sound era. That alone should be good enough reason to investigate this film. It also has one of the great endings.

"The richest guy in America presents the coolest guy in America".......2007-04-03

The title of this piece is a paraphrase of an observation offered by the man on the commentary track. This is an RKO picture, a Howard Hughes production--there are details about that statement that make the commentary track well worth hearing. It stars Robert Mitchum. I had never quite formulated that particular thought, but having heard it, I immediately realized it was perfectly true: Robert Mitchum WAS the coolest guy in America.

He was so cool that on screen he could act like a perfect chump from first frame to last and still seem cool. He was so cool that in an America where Lucy and Ricky could not share a bed, he could get busted for possession of marijuana, take all the heat and all the publicity without whimper or complaint, then go right on being as big a movie star as ever, and still the coolest guy in sight.

The previous Amazon reviews have been impressively sound in describing this picture. I have nothing to add beyond endorsing their high ratings. This is an unpretentious little noirish film. It boasts a fine cast from Jean Simmons in an uncharacteristic role, to Herbert Marshall in a characteristic one, to Kenneth Tobey and Mona Freeman in fine supporting performances. Otto Preminger was a wonderfully skilled (if wholly obnoxious) director. This movie works, satisfying in ways that some more famous films do not.

This DVD of "Angel Face" offers a good film, a good print and not much in the way of bells and whistles beyond a useful (for once) commentary. You won't go wrong with it.

Five appropriately cool stars.

A face only a stepmother could hate (recommended).......2007-02-25

Ambulance driver Frank Jessup (Robert Mitchum) who aspires to own a high-performance car garage meets beautiful antisocial femme fatale Diane Tremayne (Jean Simons) in the house of questionable suicide-attempt victim Catherine Tremayne (Barbara O'Neil). Diane's relentless pursuit of Frank leads to spellbinding danger for anyone coming between her and her obsessive emotional attachments.

Mitchum is great in every film I've seen. In ANGEL FACE he plays the level-headed voice of reason battling an emotional vortex of compulsive admiration. Baring a strong resemblance to Audrey Hepburn, Jene Simmons has a slight stature and attractive girl-next-door appearance. This made me quite unprepared for the diabolical plotting and tormented conscience she so artfully portrayed. She crys; she lies; she is cold, calculated, and dangerous. With so many facets of her personality, you don't know what to expect when coming face to face with her. I first saw Simmons in ELMER GANTRY (1960) as a Bible thumping revivalist. Based on the title, her 1952 role is perhaps an appropriate prelude to that later role. You will think twice before trusting another beauty after ANGEL FACE -- highly recommended!

Movie quote: "You don't hate me, really. You couldn't hate anybody that loves you as much as I do."

A great film noir classic.......2007-02-13

An excellent film. Very little known until now but, I would say, is one of the best films in its genre. Simmons is a perfect femme fatale here. It is also a film full of misogynist quips: "The only bad thing about America is that women get spoiled"; or "...even a woman can do it". Yeah, it's gonna be a lot of fun for your feminist friends.

It's a fine movie to watch, easy to follow plot, no complications, it's fast. goes to the point and it's a thriller; in only 90 minutes approx; it goes in a blink of an eye. I wish they made all like this one.

The end is one of a kind, don't miss it.

Average customer rating:

It's not a movie, it's not a documental, it's in the middle, what makes it strange
Denise Richards Strikes out
Boring. slow
A Tedious Affair
Eh...

The Life (Unrated Edition)
Starring: Daryl Hannah , Denise Richards , Joaquim de Almeida , María Jiménez , and Pierre Woodman
Director: María Lidón
Manufacturer: Universal Studios
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Drama | Genres | DVD | Video

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

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

This Girl's Life (Unrated Version)
When Will I Be Loved
Easy
Havoc (Unrated Version)
Who's Your Daddy (Unrated Widescreen)

ASIN: B0006H31N0
Release Date: 2005-02-08

Description

A graduate student (Denise Richards) in need of money is coaxed by her prostitute neighbor (Daryl Hannah) to enter the world's oldest profession. Based on a best selling novel, their story is interwoven with stunning interviews with working prostitutes, from the highest paid call girls to the truck stop hookers. Often touching, sometimes shocking and always entertaining, this film will impact your view of the people who serve society's most basic urges.

Customer Reviews:

It's not a movie, it's not a documental, it's in the middle, what makes it strange.......2007-05-25

Honestly I would give it about three and a half stars. I got the movie thinking about a drama, the plot according to what I had seen sounded interesting. Well, I was waiting for a drama movie, mostly fiction, and it is about two thirds documentary and a third of drama, and usually it has to be a really great person who puts two so different things on a same movie and it ends up being great... and this is not the case.

For the documentary part: Realistic interviews, variety of topic, very shallow on each topic though. Superficially informative.

As for the drama attempt: The idea of the plot is interesting, the execution of it is poor, but well, complex plots are not easy to get in 30 minutes, that is actually more of what this director gives to the plot itself. Besides, the dramatic scenes are pathetically SLOW.

Great soundtrack. I would like to have those songs, but most of them I had never heard them before, and I don't know the names or so, and Amazon doesn't have it either.

Denise Richards Strikes out.......2007-02-10

A bad movie. Not even if Denise had been nude, it still would have been bad.

Boring. slow.......2007-01-15

I bought basically, because I love Denisee Richards and Daryl Hanna, plus I like also Valerie Tasso, besides I am a fan of Pierre Woodman, they all appear on the film, among some well know adult stars like Dora Venter, Rita Faltoyano. But really the film is not good at all, it is slow, the elements don't match. It is sometimes hard to follow. It is really not worth buying it.

A Tedious Affair.......2006-10-09

Persons looking for gratuitous titillation from bombshells Denise Richards or Daryl Hannah will be disappointed. Those looking for a story line will similarly be disappointed. In fact, anyone seeking any entertainment at all will not find much of worth in here. All is not lost, though. Persons looking for short interviews from people in the sex industry might find something of interest.

Ostensibly, this is the story of two women. Denise Richards plays a doctoral student who trying to get through school. Daryl Hannah plays an older woman in her apartment building with no visible means of support. When Richards has a hard time making her rent payments, she asks Hannah how she pays the bills. Her answer is simple. She's a hooker and she offers to help Richards into the business. She does with mixed results. That's virtually the entire story line but I would be surprised if it is even a quarter of the film.

Most of the film is taken up with short interviews of people in the sex business. Some are truck stop hookers; some are high priced call girls. Some are pimps and madams. Some are customers. Few of them speak English and the interviews are subtitled. There seems to be some unity of theme with the interviews. Similar questions are asked of various people within the same segment. These segments have nothing to do with the story line. They are merely interspersed throughout.

Its all kind of sad. One gets the impression that a truly fascinating documentary could have been made. One also suspects that a really fine movie could have been made. This is neither.

Eh..........2006-09-09

Calling "The Life" a movie would be inaccurate. It's not there to be enjoyed or to entertain; And it's more like a documentary with a pointless storyline involving Denise Richards and Daryl Hannah. The only reason I rented this movie was because Richards and Hannah were on the cover and it has a tagline that says "What's your pleasure?" Well, Richards and Hannah is a good start. I rented it and only when I got home did I realize that it's got a pitiful storyline interwoven with interviews. The movie is a little over 70 minutes. This is a rough estimate, but about 55 minutes is interviews...The storyline is barely there, the filmmakers have thrown the two actresses on the cover to get people to do exactly what I did. Grab the movie. They would've been better off editing out all of Richards and Hannah's stuff, because basically it's about A graduate student (Richards) who's neighbor is a prostitute (Hannah). Her grant is running out and she needs to make money, so she (kinda) takes up the world's oldest profession. There is almost no character development and you feel nothing for any of these characters. The interviews (which claim that the people aren't actors, but their dialogue sounds very scripted) don't really do what the filmmakers want. They don't leave you mortified and haunted, they basically tell you what you were already aware of and they don't speak that graphically. It's the final scene, where each prostitute reveals where they see themselves in a few years. It's a sad to see that some of these people have dug themselves so deep into this profession that they're not even sure how to dig themselves out. If you want to see a pseudo-documentary on prostitution, then you mihgt like this. If that doesn't strike your fancy, don't bother.

GRADE: B

Average customer rating:

Beautiful, poignant and hilarious
Three People Beyond Words: Communication!
interesting, thought provoking film
Very Impressive ...
Great movie with many lessons

The Cuckoo
Starring: Anni-Kristiina Juuso , Ville Haapasalo , Viktor Bychkov , Aleksei Kashnikov , and Aleksei Panzheyev
Director: Aleksandr Rogozhkin
Manufacturer: Sony Pictures
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Art House & International | Genres | DVD | Video

General | Comedy | Genres | DVD | Video

Black Comedy | Comedy | Genres | DVD | Video

Comedy | Military & War | Genres | DVD | Video

Anti-War Films | Military & War | Genres | DVD | Video

General | Foreign & International | Stores | DVD | Video

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

The Man Without a Past
The Return
Prisoner of the Mountains
East-West
Burnt by the Sun

ASIN: B0000DGKI7
Release Date: 2003-12-02

Customer Reviews:

Beautiful, poignant and hilarious.......2007-06-22

The first 15 minutes of the movie when nothing was happening except for Veikko trying to free himself, we both throught that it was a boring and colorless movie. The rest of it we were literally falling off the sofa, so funny it was. The sheer premise of putting 3 people with different languages and different agendas in the same setting was beautifully explored here. The scene where Anni tries to bring Veikko back to life is rather eerie, but so gorgeously shot! I recommend this film to anyone who is sick and tired of Hollywood blockbusters made for the cheap audience. This movie is rich in spirit and will leave you smiling for a long time

Three People Beyond Words: Communication!.......2007-06-18

THE CUCKOO (Kukushka) is a small miracle of a film. It is not only a unique story but one that draws us into the individual lives of three strangers from different languages and backgrounds who bond in time of war because of their mutual isolation. It is at once charming, gently humorous, and deeply touching.

Taking place during WW II during the little known Russo-Finnish War, the setting is Lapland. We first encounter a Finnish student/soldier Veikko (Ville Haapasalo) being chained by the Russians to a rock in a German SS uniform as punishment for his disillusionment in the war effort, thinking that he will be killed as the enemy. In another area some Russian soldiers are transporting a Russian poet/soldier Ivan (Viktor Bychkov) condemned for his anti-Communist stance: the jeep transporting Ivan is bombed, killing the soldiers except for Ivan. Along comes a little Lapp girl Anni (Anni-Kristiina Juuso), finds the severely injured Ivan, drags him to her hut and nurses him back to health. Meanwhile Veikko ingeniously frees himself from his rock and wanders into the presence of Anni. Veikko speaks Finnish, Ivan speaks Russian and Anni (aka 'Cuckoo') speaks Sami and the three cannot understand each other's language or customs. Ivan sees Veikko as a fascist and wants to destroy him; Veikko never wanted to be in the war anyway so he pacifies Ivan; Anni is more concerned with basic physical needs (her husband has been gone four years, conscripted by the armed forces for a war she doesn't understand and she is hungry for the presence of a man in her bed!). The story explains the manner in which these three people intertwine their lives and beliefs and overcome the barriers of language to form a trio of true universal family. The war ends and the three 'bodies' separate, leaving behind indelible evidence of their transforming experiences.

Writer/director Aleksandr Rogozhkin has created a masterpiece, a film brimming with beauty of visuals, of warmly humorous exchanges of dialog understood only by each speaker, of survival and of the mystery of life beyond. The acting is superb, the cinematography is breathtaking, and the message is deeply moving. In the field of strong anti-war statements, THE CUCKOO is the most sincere. A brilliant achievement! Grady Harp, June 07

interesting, thought provoking film.......2005-12-15

The previews for this film caught my attention, so I rented it as soon as it came out. It was a very interesting and thought provoking film. How would three people with different languages and different cultures interact, especially if two of them are enemies? This film explores that question. The performances were outstanding, and the film was beautifully and artisticly done. Much of it was very funny, as the audience is let in on both what WAS being said and what was THOUGHT to be being said. One example of this is Ivan being called Gerlost as if that is his name because he is always telling Veiko to get lost. Even people who speak the same language have a hard time communicating. While this film is rated PG-13, parents of older teens ought to preview it separately so as to make an informed decision as to whether they want their older teens to see it (I wouldn't). This is because of some issues of religion and morality (to say more would give to many plot spoilers).

Very Impressive ..........2005-08-19

A very simple happenstance movie about a frustrated Russian soldier, a reluctant Finn soldier and a pastoral Sami woman. There are just the three characters in the movie and all of them speak different languages (Russian, Finnish and Sami). The Finn soldier (Veikko played by Ville Haapasalo) is a sniper (Cuckoo in military jargon) who is chained to his position in a remote outpost. His die-hard and innovative attempts to get rid of the shackles whilst complaining about the war, are simply hilarious (the actor's silent facial expressions are most impressive). The Russian soldier/prisoner (Ivan) is stranded in a foreign land and is ever suspicious. The pastoral Sami woman (Anni played by Anni-Kristiina Juuso)steals the show with her top-notch acting. Her bucolic lifestyle and simple outlook towards life is thought provoking. None of the characters in the movie can speak or understand each other's language and their interactions (mostly miscommunications) are simply hilarious.
In one of the scenes, Ivan cooks mushrooms for dinner. Anni thinks mushrooms will give Ivan a bad stomach. She prepares an infusion and (kindly) offers it to Ivan, who gladly drinks appreciating the wonderful taste. The infusion is in fact a potent laxative that takes immediate affect.

All in all a wonderful movie from Russia that reaffirms the beauty of life and the futility of war. It is also a movie about making connections by letting go of fear, suspicion and predisposed biases.

Solid performances by Anni-Kristiina Juuso & Ville Haapasalo.

Great movie with many lessons.......2005-07-29

I stumbled upon this movie on cable and am glad I did. Other reviews identify that this movie is about three people, each speaking different languages, who meet and interact. I believe, though, that this movie really portrays the dynamics of communciations on many levels. It is striking that these three people never learn each other's language but instead hold conversations based on what each one ASSUMES is being disussed.

I've likened this movie's theme to the problems I've observed (and experienced) in the communications between technical people and executives, women and men, parents and children --you name it. We make the conversation fit what we understand (and want) the purpose to be rather than really make an effort to understand what the other person is actually saying. That really IS deep.

Throw in the subtle humor and the beautiful scenery and you'll find this is a movie that makes one laugh and think- and is certainly worth watching!

DVD:

DVD

DVD

DVD

The Hunted (Widescreen Edition)

Home

Grim

DVD: The Dreams of Sparrows

Bob Luman - At ''Town Hall Party''