Anna Christie

Starring:Greta Garbo, Charles Bickford, George F. Marion, Marie Dressler, James T. Mack, Lee Phelps, Jack Baxley, William H. O'Brien, Theo Shall, Hans Junkermann, Salka Viertel, Leo White, Herman Bing
Director: Clarence Brown, Jacques Feyder
Studio: Warner Home Video
Product Type: DVD

Editorial Review:
Amazon.com essential video
It's one of the most highly anticipated entrances in movie history: Greta Garbo slinking into a sleazy waterfront bar and ordering whiskey. Well, "visky." A huge silent star, Garbo was speaking her first lines in her first talking picture, Anna Christie, and audiences were breathless with anticipation. As The New York Times put it, "The low enunciation of her initial lines, with a packed theater waiting expectantly to hear her first utterance, came somewhat as a surprise yesterday afternoon in the Capitol, for her delivery is almost masculine." Her sultry tones were nevertheless a hit, and anyway the Swedish accent fit the character.

Amazon.com

Granada Television and the PBS Mystery! series' Marple episodes continue to delight with such distinctive vitality, wit, and stylishness one may never again think of tea rooms in the English countryside as "quaint" settings. Geraldine McEwan (Vanity Fair) returns as Agatha Christie's Miss Jane Marple, elderly sleuth with a keenly discerning eye and sweet smile that takes the sting out of her blunt observations of friends and murder suspects alike. As with series 1, the quartet of mysteries in series 2, set shortly after World War II, are ensemble affairs filled out by such familiar faces as Timothy Dalton, Charles Dance, Greta Scacchi, Anthony Andrews, Patricia Hodge, and Imogen Stubbs. Rather than pound out a certain visual and tonal sameness over all four stories, each 90-minute episode seems to be approached as a stand-alone affair, giving writers, directors, and production teams a lot of leeway to give each story a unique stamp.

"Sleeping Murder" stars Sophia Myles as Gwenda Halliday, a young woman haunted by flashbacks of the memory of a killing she observed as a little girl in a stately British house. Problem is, Gwenda has only recently moved to Britain for the first time in her life, after growing up in India. Dawn French, Martin Kemp, and Geraldine Chaplin also star in the tale, which involves an old troupe of actors, a jewelry theft, and a very surprising conclusion. "By the Pricking of My Thumbs" concerns the disappearance of a doddering old woman who leaves behind a strange, spooky painting of a cottage in the woods, an unnerving figure lurking in the structure's window. Miss Marple is on the trail, but she allows the lonely, alcoholic wife (Scacchi) of a government investigator (Andrews) to take the lead—a boost to the younger woman's self-esteem.

The ambitious "The Moving Finger" is the most singular episode in sries 2, a cheeky--almost subversive--vision of a rosy, picture-postcard village whose tranquility is undone by a series of hateful letters mailed to individuals in the community. Miss Marple, observing the tragic effects of these missives on relationships and reputations, is practically in the background in this story, watching closely as a nihilistic young man (James D'Arcy) comes out of his cynical, alcohol-laced haze to investigate the source of so much misery. (Bonus: director Ken Russell appears as the local, red-cheeked vicar.) Finally, "The Sittaford Mystery" finds Timothy Dalton playing a likely prospect to become prime minister, until he's stabbed to death following a séance. Set in a rundown hotel during a severe winter storm, the episode co-stars James Murray, Rita Tushingham, and comic-actor-director Mel Smith, the latter as the late, great man's touchingly loyal, right-hand man. --Tom Keogh

Description

As seen on the PBS Mystery! series

Four all-new, full-length mysteries bring you a Miss Marple like no other. Geraldine McEwan (Vanity Fair, The Magdalene Sisters) returns as the spinster sleuth, as shrewd and sagacious as ever. Breathing new life into Agatha Christie's novels, these intricately plotted and thoroughly engaging whodunits feature the richly detailed settings, lush cinematography, and imaginative screenplays that won Series 1 overwhelming critical acclaim and an Emmy® nomination.

McEwan imbues Miss Marple with a kindly sparkle and sly wit that prove "irresistible," raves TV Guide. "Not your mother's Miss Marple," says the Associated Press. Sterling supporting casts that include Anthony Andrews, Michael Brandon, James D'Arcy, Geraldine Chaplin, Timothy Dalton, Frances de la Tour, Sophia Myles, Ken Russell, and Greta Scacchi further enrich this 21st century celebration of Agatha Christie's most beloved heroine.

Customer Reviews:

Valiant try - falls short of mediocre.......2007-06-24

There are a lot of brilliant actresses that have played Aunt Jane in movies and TV programs. Each brought their own personalities yet they still lined up with the character from the book. There have been many remakes of the stories. These two generally followed the books storyline with a few adoptions for the media. We al have favorites.

It is the duty of the industry to try and top the last version. Poetic license can also come into play.

Unfortunately some one rushed this series. Aunt Jane she is supposed to be a person of depth and the catalyst to have others come up with solutions has been replaced with a flighty char lady with no depth and a squeaky voice. The story lines have been stripped to the point that they are like reading a condensed book and you have to guess what when on in-between scenes.

Even if one did not know there was better this series is a waste of time as it has not entertainment value. Everything is spoon fed to you with no mystery. Answers to questions not asked pop out of the ether. And the sets are second rate.

This animal is just not watchable.

I tried again on "Sleeping Murder" and it has the same rushed problem and lacks character. The background music does not match. Much farther away from the written story than the Joan Hickson Aunt Jane version. Has a more of an old Perry mason TV program feel. They should not have changed the story so munch that they have to stench to make ends meet. Once again xxx makes a scrawny unrealistic Aunt Jane who makes great leaps of illogic.

I just can not believe that they finished the first series let alone produced a second series. Some one has a lot of money and time to through away.

This animal is just not watchable.

New production team and star in relentless pursuit of mediocrity.......2007-03-16

I find myself in general agreement with those who look askance at this new Miss Marple series.

The simple and painfully unavoidable fact is that the new writers do not respect Dame Aggie, and they show it in each limping episode. It is entirely conceivable that the originals might be tightened up or changed for the better--but not by these insensitive hacks, and not here. Every change, every decision made by the new team plainly distorts and weakens these time-tested stories.

The writers and producers of the old Margaret Rutherford series had no more respect for Christie's writing. And she, herself, made it clear what her reaction to that was. However, they had a true force of nature in Rutherford. That superannuated but true star created an entirely new and wonderful character whose only fault was that she shared her name with an Agatha Christie heroine.

Geraldine McEwan is no Margaret Rutherford. She is an oddly retiring Miss Marple who does little more than twinkle from the corner and becomes increasingly irrelevant in each episode.

These new productions are the work of anti-alchemists. They are converting gold to lead.

Better than series 1.......2007-03-12

Series 2 is slightly better than series 1. The actors seem to be enthsiastic in doing their roles, the wardrobe department has supplied costumes tha fit the body shapes of the acting people. On the negative side the programs continue to violate the Hollywood code of conduct by promoting the smoking of cigarettes amongst the public by showing characters smoking. It also has the inverted social structure. People who would be expected to be competent and gracious are not.

Two of the four programs have never been dramatized on video format in the 50 years since they were written. These are a must have for Christie video collectors.

Gift for my Mother.......2006-11-10

I bought this for my Mother. I have not seen it, but she watched it right away and just loved it.

ABSOLUTELY WONDERFUL NEW VERSION OF OUR BELOVED MISS MARPLE.......2006-10-22

I've been a Christie fan since childhood and loved the early movies in spite of Rutherford's handling of the character. I loved Joan Hickson's portrayal of Miss Marple and never thought anyone else could "be" Miss Marple for me. Therefore I expected to be disappointed with these new releases. I AM NOT DISAPPOINTED, I LOVE THIS NEW VERSION! After I cautiously viewed the first episode I came to fully appreciate Geraldine McEwan in the role. She is subtle, confident and highly adroit and I find her refreshing and wonderful. The stories themselves are entertaining and intriquing. Some reviewers complained that the scripts don't stick to the originals, but this is not an issue for me here. Christie's stories stay alive and fun even after having been done so often because they aren't always done the same way. Any tweaks to the storylines keep the material fresh and even improve it at times. I think it's fun to be surprised by my old favorites! Hooray for Geraldine McEwan! I hope to see many more Miss Marple stories with her in the title role!

Garbo - The Signature Collection (Anna Christie / Mata Hari / Grand Hotel / Queen Christina / Anna Karenina / Camille / Ninotchka / Garbo Silents)

Average customer rating:

at last.... here she is - in full splendour:-)
Garbo is the face!!! The face is the place!!!
Good work
WOW!!
where is volume 2 ????

Garbo - The Signature Collection (Anna Christie / Mata Hari / Grand Hotel / Queen Christina / Anna Karenina / Camille / Ninotchka / Garbo Silents)
Starring: Greta Garbo
Manufacturer: Warner Home Video
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Classics | Genres | DVD | Video

Signature Collections | Classics | Genres | DVD | Video

General | Drama | Genres | DVD | Video

Classics | Drama | Genres | DVD | Video

( G ) | Titles | Features | DVD | Video

Drama | Boxed Sets | Stores | DVD | Video

Classics | Boxed Sets | Stores | DVD | Video

Marlene Dietrich - The Glamour Collection (Morocco/ Blonde Venus/ The Devil Is a Woman/ Flame of New Orleans/ Golden Earrings)
Astaire & Rogers Collection, Vol. 1 (Top Hat / Swing Time / Follow the Fleet / Shall We Dance / The Barkleys of Broadway)
Carole Lombard - The Glamour Collection (Hands Across the Table/ Love Before Breakfast/ Man of the World/ The Princess Comes Across/ True Confession/ We're Not Dressing)
The Busby Berkeley Collection (Footlight Parade / Gold Diggers of 1933 / Dames / Gold Diggers of 1935 / 42nd Street)
The Val Lewton Horror Collection (Cat People / The Curse of the Cat People / I Walked with a Zombie / The Body Snatcher / Isle of the Dead / Bedlam / The Leopard Man / The Ghost Ship / The Seventh Victim / Shadows in the Dark)

ASIN: B0009S4IJM
Release Date: 2005-09-06

Amazon.com

Who was Greta Garbo? For a while the greatest of all movie stars, then a celebrated recluse, always "the mysterious lady," Garbo purred, "I want to be alone," and people took her at her word. Of course, the real Garbo is actually the "reel" Garbo, the silvery, suffering creature on the movie screen--the way the light caught her eyes, and the way she slithered around in silk. There are other Garbo films to be seen, but Garbo: The Signature Collection is the essential Garbo, the alpha and omega for fans and beginners. This 10-disc package collects seven of her MGM sound pictures, three silents, and the Turner Classic Movies documentary Garbo, which gives a good career overview and warm testimony from friends and relatives (although more critical perspective on her talent would have been welcome). Some extras and commentaries are mixed in.

The Garbo Silents disc features Flesh and the Devil, one of her sizzling box-office duets with John Gilbert; The Temptress, a wild number with Garbo as a man-killer who follows Antonio Moreno to the plains of Argentina; and The Mysterious Lady, a tight spy picture with Garbo as a Russian agent seducing the susceptible Conrad Nagel. When Garbo finally talked it was headline news, and if Anna Christie has aged a bit, the star's sultry enunciation of "Gimme a visky" retains its historic punch. (The disc includes a German-language version of the film shot at the same time.)

Mata Hari continues the exotic storytelling of Garbo's silent years, as she does an eye-popping turn as the famous German spy. Grand Hotel casts her as a tired, tired ballet dancer, in a star-studded MGM project that played on her public image as aloof and mysterious. The movie was a box-office smash and took the Best Picture Oscar for 1932, and still stands as a glittery gem of the studio system. Under the sympathetic direction of Rouben Mamoulian in Queen Christina, Garbo flourishes in a tale of a Swedish royal who escapes the grind by disguising herself as a boy. She insisted that John Gilbert--his career in tatters and his life near its end--be her leading man. Garbo rarely seemed more spot-on, and the film's final grand adoration of her is justifiably famous.

Anna Karenina is Garbo's second crack at the Tolstoy heroine, after the silent Love. It's a throbbing performance, even if the movie itself is one of those MGM productions that seems to doze under all its finery and respectability. Camille is scrumptious costume tragedy, with Robert Taylor as co-star and George Cukor as director. Finally, Ernst Lubitsch's Ninotchka (you know--"Garbo Laughs") is a bubbly comedy of frosty Sovietism meeting the champagne pleasures of Paris. Garbo retired two years, ending her reign but keeping the enigma intact. --Robert Horton

Description

Includes the best known films from a timeless and alluring actress of the 1920s and 1930s whose enigmatic beauty in a series of MGM silent films catapulted her to international movie stardom.

DVD Features:
Additional Scenes:THE DIVINE WOMAN: Surviving 9-Minute Excerpt of This Lost 1928 Silent
Alternate endings:Alternate Ending on The Temptress
Audio Commentary:Commentary on Flesh and the Devil by Garbo Author Barry Paris; The Temptress by Greta Garbo: A Cinematic Legacy Author Mark A. Vieira; Mysterious Lady by Film Historians Tony Maietta and Jeffrey Vance
Documentaries:TCM ARCHIVES: GARBO - New Feature-Length Documentary Exclusive to This Set!
Featurette:SETTLING THE SCORE - Goes Behind the Scenes of the TCM Young Film Composers Competition and the Scoring of Notable Silent Movies
Photo gallery:Garbo's Silent Years at MGM
Theatrical Trailer

Customer Reviews:

at last.... here she is - in full splendour:-).......2007-02-18

I`ve grown up with Garbo... Ever since I was a child, Swedish television has indeed appreciated her legacy and I`ve witnessed all the sound films mentioned here:

To my mind, what makes Garbo great is her wonderful sphinx face... and her melancholy, sad remarks... When called upon hysterics and outburts, she is painfully amateurish...

That goes for ANNA CHRISTIE, GRAND HOTEL, CONQUEST, AS YOU DESIRE ME.... In CAMILLE, NINOTCHKA and TWO-FACED WOMAN she shows us the actress, a girl who DID posseess nuances... method acting....

And never more so that in the silent FLESH AND THE DEVIL 1926.
In it she is a man-eater, a sultress, a she-devil and she she in only limited when call upon a confrontation scene with Lars Hanson`s sister...

The film has wonderful closeups of its three stars and the subject remains as fresh as it did in 1926. The scenes in the snow and how she seduces John Gilbert is quite good and I must say - FLESH AND THE DEVIL is still quite watchable even today.

To me the friendship between Gilbert and Hanson is a homosexual one and when Garbo falls through the ice - the men are seen embracing each other - and free of that devil Felicitas.

Their intense friendship fools no one in 2007, but 80 years ago it must have...

Garbo is only 21 in the film, but shows a mature display of acting and womanhood - no wonder the world fell for her and the same goes for the sound MATA HARI...

Garbo is the face!!! The face is the place!!!.......2007-01-27

Magnificent set with a lot of extras. The silent films have commentaries and this whole set is a great tribute to (THE FACE). Garbo is so magnetic on the screen. I was just so astounded by her beauty and her acting ability. I bought it because I saw The Temptress on TCM. After seeing it I had to see more. There is just something about Garbo that words cannot say. The TCM disc about her life was so good. It's hard to believe,however understandable, that she just walked away. What a loss to the screen. Barry Paris and Mark Veira have wonderful biographies available which explain her life story. I was just blown away like never before by the silents Temptress,Flesh and the Devil and Mysterious Lady. Camille is the story of Verdi's La Traviata. Anna Karenina is a period piece film of a Russian. Anna Christie is Garbo's first talkie. It takes 16 minutes before you hear the first ever line from her(Give me a Visky). Grand Hotel is loaded with stars such as the Barrymores and Joan Crawford in what may be her first movie. Mata Hari the spy and Ninotchka the Russian diplomat. You just can't get enough of Garbo and you will never get tired of watching her. Buy it before it goes out of print.

Good work.......2006-12-23

Although I really never "got" Garbo, little too much of a hick with an accent for my taste, these came out well. If you are a fan you'll like them.

WOW!!.......2006-11-10

There is no one that compares with Garbo on the screen today. She had a presence like no other. I am thoroughly enjoying this collection. Well worth the price.

where is volume 2 ????.......2006-09-08

Warner need to release Garbo V2 with her remaining catalog :
-susan lenox: her fall and rise
-inspiration
-romance
-the painted veil
-conquest
-as you desire me
-two faced woman
- silents: Wild Orchids, The Single Standard, The Kiss, A Woman of Affairs,The Torrent and Love

Come On,Warner!! Keep up the good work...

Average customer rating:

"I'm Not The Monster I Used To Be" ~ The Dissolution Of The Sacred
Not my favorite Hartley, but still worth seeing
best character I have seen...in a long...long...time!
One of the oddest films I've ever seen
Hartley's stunning epic

No Such Thing
Starring: Robert John Burke , Margrét Ákadóttir , Julie Anderson , Sarah Polley , and Anna Kristín Arngrímsdóttir
Director: Hal Hartley
Manufacturer: MGM (Video & DVD)
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Drama | Genres | DVD | Video

Suspense | Mystery & Suspense | Genres | DVD | Video

Mystery | Mystery & Suspense | Genres | DVD | Video

General | Mystery & Suspense | Genres | 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

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

Amateur
Simple Men
The Girl from Monday
The Book of Life
Henry Fool

ASIN: B000066JBR
Release Date: 2002-07-09

Amazon.com

Writer-director Hal Hartley (Henry Fool, The Book of Life) has loosened his usual arch style, but the results are no less distinctive. Sarah Polley (Go, The Sweet Hereafter) plays Beatrice, a naive young reporter who is sent by a huge media conglomerate to investigate the disappearance of a camera crew in Iceland. Eventually she finds an immortal but depressed and alcoholic monster (Robert John Burke) who wants nothing more than to die. Beatrice agrees to help him find the one man who can kill him, and she draws the monster out into an invasive media spotlight. No Such Thing is maybe too ambitious; the story tackles not just the media and world unrest, but even the history of mankind. Still, like most of Hartley's work, the movie remains uniquely engaging, a delicate mix of irony and sincerity. Also starring Helen Mirren (Gosford Park) and Julie Christie (Afterglow). --Bret Fetzer

Description

Good and evil, love and hate collide in this captivating adventure from award-winning director Hal Hartley. Starring Sarah Polley (The Claim), Robert John Burke (Robocop 3), Academy Award® nominee* Helen Mirren (Gosford Park) and Academy Award® winner** Julie Christie (Dr. Zhivago), No Such Thing is a provocative and deeply moving film thatwill change the way you look at the world. New York journalist Beatrice (Polley) travels to Iceland to find a monster (Burke) believed to have killed her fiancé. Once she meets the beast, he opens her eyes to the horror of his existencehe has witnessed history from the dawn of time. Moved to help him, Beatrice takes the monster to New York. But when a media firestorm erupts, Beatrice realizesher monster is more than he appears to be and the world may not be ready for the truth. *Supporting Actress, Gosford Park (2001); Supporting Actress, The Madness of King George (1994). **Actress, Darling (1965).

Customer Reviews:

"I'm Not The Monster I Used To Be" ~ The Dissolution Of The Sacred.......2007-05-02

According to Plutarch (CE 45-125) the great Goat-God "Pan is Dead," dying just as the Christian faith was taking hold in the Mediterranean world, a classic case of out with the old and in with the new. However what if Plutarch was wrong, what if Pan hadn't died but lived on through the centuries. What if this primal, rural deity remained in the shadows of history quietly observing the advancement of mankind through the ages. What would he think of seeing his beloved wilderness landscape slowly devoured and replaced by large, congested urban centers. Would he be forced into a nomadic existence forever looking for a place of solitude away from the ever curious world of men. If he was seen on occasion would he be revered as in old as a God, or despised and perceived as a monster? What if Pan really did exist?

Interesting premise don't you think? Well this is the situation and just some of the questions dealt with in Hal Hartley's amazing dark comedy `No Such Thing' (`01). OK, I admit the film doesn't actually refer to this horned and hairy monster as the legendary Pan but the resemblance is strong and there are definitely subtle implications in the script supporting this view. Anyway, a satyr-like creature is discovered alive and hiding out in a remote region of Iceland. He is isolated, depressed, alcoholic and suicidal. The monster laments, "I see extinction in everything around me." He's convinced that only dying can solve his problem. But he can't, he's immortal. This disenfranchised pagan deity now spends his time drinking and terrorizing a nearby village whenever his anger at mankind becomes too much to bear. All seems hopeless until Beatrice a young American journalist convinces him to accompany her back to the U.S.A., giving her the story of the century and providing him with his one and only chance for extinction.

`No Such Thing' is one of the most original, off-beat and quirky films you'll ever come across. Hartley's dialogue ranges from inventive to absurd, but always meaningful and layered. Robert John Burke is brilliant as the potty-mouthed Satyr and Sarah Polley is a perfect choice for the clueless Beatrice. If you're looking for something totally different from the everyday here it is!

Not my favorite Hartley, but still worth seeing.......2006-05-31

I would rate this in the mid- to low-range of Hartley films - but I still recommend it because even a sub-par HH is miles above most other directors' best efforts. It's one of those things where I see what he's trying to do (modern-day fairy tale, satirical allegory etc.) and in theory it should work, except it falls flat in the end because the plot ends up being somewhat forced and unoriginal.

However! Robert John Burke as the monster is hysterical and totally worth the price of admission (as it were). I love the whole concept of an angry, drunken, chain-smoking monster cursing up a storm and wishing he could commit suicide. Burke's performance is spot-on and not the slightest bit hokey, as the character so easily could have been in the hands of a lesser actor. And Polley, while I like her in general (she was great in Go), is sort of flat and wishy-washy throughout much of the film, except in those first scenes when she meets the monster. He injects some much-needed life into her line readings.

For HH fans, it's definitely worth it for Burke alone. For those new to Hartley, it's not the best introduction - for that, try Henry Fool instead.

best character I have seen...in a long...long...time!.......2006-04-04

You know, the new Star Wars movies did not have a character that could hold my interest, but the monster in this movie does. Mr. Burke, had to wear skin to play this part, but he played it with more than the skin, with his eyes, expressions, his voice. I have not seen a more unique character than this one. My favorite character in books is from 'Le Miserables', and from movies, this monster. Watch it you'll be surprised.

One of the oddest films I've ever seen.......2006-03-14

The main character, Beatrice, is a saint in the making.
Early in the film we learn that a monster has killed her 'fiance' Jim, and two other journalists, in Iceland. The fact that he was her fiance is our clue that she's still innocent, pure.
She volunteers to go and investigate, meets resistance because she's so young, but prevails.
We find out that her mother has recently died, and she has no other family. This establishes her as free of normal human connections, as a saint should be.
Setting out, she can't get a cab because of a bomb scare at the airport; she can't take the subway because of a nerve gas attack. She gets a ride in the back of a truck belonging to men who destroy things for a living - demolitions experts.
Her plane crashes into the ocean and she's the only survivor. She's rescued by a fishing boat and ends up in a hospital in Iceland, which was her destination.
You see, NOTHING can stop her.
It's pointed out to her that she has nothing - but she refuses money for the story of the plane crash, how the other passengers behaved, 'who was brave, who was a coward'. 'They were people', she tells her boss. And she's a saint, so she doesn't need money.
She's given a choice: have an agonizing operation or remain crippled. Of course she chooses the operation, so that she can carry out her mission.
During the surgery we see her doctor wincing and covering her ears in response to Beatrice's screams (covered by the soundtrack).
When she's up and about she dumps her walker for a cane, and as her doctor drives her north the next day, in search of the monster, she ditches the cane at a cafe along the road.
By the time the road runs out she's able to mount a horse and ride into the mountains. She's fully healed.
The residents of a village who've been paying tribute to the monster drug her and leave her unconscious, wrapped in a shroud, as an offering to the monster. He won't hurt her.
He proves to her that he killed her fiance; she cries but won't get angry at him.
In an act of saintly forgiveness, she brings him back to New York to search for Dr Artaud, the one man who can kill him (his wish is to die).
I won't go on. The movie is a fairy tale, religious allegory, and satire, rolled together.
The first time I saw it I turned the CD off in disgust. Then I couldn't stop thinking about it... I went back to it and saw what I'd missed... this film should become a cult classic.

Hartley's stunning epic.......2006-01-02

No Such Thing is my favorite of several favorite Hal Hartley films. I find Dante's Divine Comedy under the surface of this epic wherein Beatrice and the monster journey through the Inferno of contemporary America and climb up to Paradise and the divinity of pure love at the ending. It's a brilliant film: hilarious and tragic, dark, mythic, and deep.

Average customer rating:

Agatha Christie-A Life in Pictures
The secret life of Christie's

Agatha Christie - A Life in Pictures
Starring: Olivia Williams , Anna Massey , Raymond Coulthard , Stephen Boxer , and Anthony O'Donnell
Director: Richard Curson Smith
Manufacturer: Acorn Media
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Drama | Genres | DVD | Video

General | Documentary | Genres | DVD | Video

General | Television | Genres | DVD | Video

General | Mystery & Suspense | Genres | DVD | Video

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

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

Agatha Christie's Marple: Series 2
Agatha Christie's Poirot - Classic Crimes Collection
The Pale Horse - Agatha Christie
Agatha Christie Classic Mystery Collection
Mystery!: Inspector Lewis

ASIN: B0009WIEAM
Release Date: 2006-08-29

Amazon.com

Agatha Christie: A Life in Pictures is a more satisfying, and apparently more factually based, version of the events that transpired in Michael Apted's 1979 feature Agatha. In 1926, the renowned mystery author Agatha Christie, creator of fictional detectives Hercule Poirot and Miss Marple, disappeared for 11 days, prompting a nationwide hunt. When she was discovered, it was clear she had no memory of who or where she was, or what specifically happened to precipitate her crisis. The ingenious A Life in Pictures approaches these extraordinary events from two angles: first, as seen by the then-contemporary Christie (Olivia Williams), undergoing psychiatric care and confronting old fears and memories, and much later, in 1962, as an old woman (Anna Massey) interviewed on the 10th anniversary of Christie's hit play, The Mousetrap. This taut drama has an unnerving and spooky quality underscoring Christie's psychological distress. But what's most interesting is the story's growing portrait of a woman living two lives, one for the public and another for herself. There's some fun in here, too: a sequence in which Christie explains how she invented Poirot (inspired by Belgian refugees she knew during World War I) is charming and playful. --Tom Keogh

Description

The world's most famous mystery writer is somewhat of a mystery herself. This innovative BBC drama uses documented accounts and Christie's own words to probe the shadowy areas of her early life in a style as gripping and suspenseful as any Christie story. By exploring what really happened during her mysterious 11-day disappearance in 1926, it traces the events that shaped her career as the undisputed "Queen of Crime." Starring Olivia Williams (The Sixth Sense) as the young Christie with Anna Massey (Possession) as Christie in her later years. Also featuring Raymond Coulthard (Emma) and Anthony O'Donnell (Vera Drake).

Customer Reviews:

Agatha Christie-A Life in Pictures.......2007-03-13

This movie is very interesting for any Agatha Christie fan but would be enjoyable even for a person who knows nothing of Agatha C. or her work. The story is set in the years around WWI and is a glimpse of England in those years.

The secret life of Christie's.......2006-01-12

We get an insight from her childhood played by Bonnie Wright (Ginny Weasley in the Harry Potter Films), her flirtatious days, her first marriage, her 11 day disappearance, and her second marriage. No longer is she the woman of mystery. Or does this just bring up more mystery and speculation?

The mid-age Christ1e is played by Olivia Williams (Anna Crowe in "The Sixth Sense") and the aged Christie was played by Anna Massey (Lady Bailey in "Possession".)

This film is a must for Christie fans and the curios alike. It holds your attention and you find yourself speculating and getting ahead of the story. The only drawback is the sound byte formula where they focus on one person or item no linger than five minutes and then cut to something else. Along with this is the back and forth through time gimmick where you start in the present and go back to her mid-age psychiatrist, then her childhood, then her disappearance, then her old age then, mid-age psychiatrist, and so forth.

Handel - Rodelinda / Antonacci, Scholl, Streit, Chiummo, Winter, Stefanowicz, Christie, Glyndebourne Opera

Average customer rating:

Deeply moving, gorgeous production.
Truly enjoyable
Excelente
Silent Screen-Style Acting Does Not Distract from Handel's Spectacularly Beautiful Music
Not the best sound

Handel - Rodelinda / Antonacci, Scholl, Streit, Chiummo, Winter, Stefanowicz, Christie, Glyndebourne Opera
Starring: Anna Caterina Antonacci , Andreas Scholl , Kurt Streit , Umberto Chiummo , and William Christie
Manufacturer: Kultur Video
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

General | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Musicals & Performing Arts | Genres | DVD | Video

( H ) | Titles | Features | DVD | Video

Handel - Hercules / Shimell, DiDonato, Spence, Bohlin, Ernman, Kirkbride, Christie, Les Arts Florissants, Aix-en-Provence Opera
Handel - Serse / Rasmussen, Piau, Bayrakdarian, Bardon, Hallenberg, Peirone, Lippi, Rousset, Les Talens Lyriques, Dresden Opera
Rameau - Les Indes Galantes / Petibon, Croft, Hartelius, Agnew, Rivenq, Berg, Strehl, Christie, Les Arts Florissants, Paris Opera
Handel - Giulio Cesare / Connolly · Kirchschlager · De Niese · Dumaux · Bardon · Maltman · Ben Abdeslam · Ashworth · OAE · Christie · McVicar [Glyndebourne Opera 2005]
Lully - Persee / Novacek, Auvity, Lenormand, Whicher, Laquerre, Coulombe, Niquet, Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra, Toronto

ASIN: B000A3XYZA
Release Date: 2005-08-30

Description

Jean-Marie Villégier's stylish production of Rodelinda sets Handel's tale of royal exile and fidelity in the silent movie era. The composer's ravishing music is perfectly set off by the sophisticated glamour and visual daring that characterized the birth of cinema. With Anna Caterina Antonacci as Rodelinda, Kurt Streit as Grimoaldo, Umberto Chiummo as Garibaldo, Andreas Scholl as Bertarido. Glyndebourne Festival Opera..

"Jean-Marie Villégier's brilliant, unnerving production ... A great show - don't miss it" THE GUARDIAN

Customer Reviews:

Deeply moving, gorgeous production........2007-06-20

I have been an opera fan since I was very young. Watching and listening to Adreas Scholl sing the "Dove Sei" aria rates as one of the most moving experiences I have ever had watching an artist do what he does. Previously unfamiliar with this production, and indeed Handel and Rodelinda, I can now count this production as one of my all time favorites.

Truly enjoyable.......2007-05-26

I'm not closely familiar with many operas, but I have watched this DVD many times. Its considerable length contains a great many exquisitely beautiful songs. Handel is such a melodic composer; every singer in this opera delivers (extremely well) several wonderful pieces. The set is good; I am truly impressed by the portrayals of Rodelinda, Grimaoldo, Bertarido, Garibaldo, Edwige...all of them! Congratiulations to all involved, past and present.

Excelente.......2007-04-08

Rodelinda
Una ópera excelente, la pueta en escena soberbia, vale la pena ver la adaptación.
School como siempre un Bertadino sólido, algunos bacjes son del registro, o del cantante.
Anna Caterina Antonacci una Rodelinda maravillosa y Kurt Streit un villano "de lujo".
Totalmente recomendable

Silent Screen-Style Acting Does Not Distract from Handel's Spectacularly Beautiful Music.......2006-01-26

More than many opera seria, Handel's 1725 Italian opera, "Rodelinda", provides such a palpable story of jealousy, revenge and undying devotion that it is no wonder the opera itself has been given such widely diverse translations over the years. I was fortunate to experience two wonderful productions of "Rodelinda" just this past year. The first was Stephen Wadsworth's elaborate Metropolitan Opera production set on a beautiful 18th-century country estate, starring superstar soprano Renée Fleming in the title role and the extraordinary countertenor David Daniels as her husband Bertarido. The second also starred Daniels but with rising soprano Catherine Naglestad in David Alden's expressionistic film noir adaptation at the San Francisco Opera (first staged by Munich's Bavarian State Opera).

The 1998 Glyndebourne Festival production, directed by Jean-Marie Villegier and captured on this DVD, takes yet another creative path by setting the story in the black-and-white world of 1920's silent cinema. Completely different in execution and style, all three versions simply prove how the highly charged drama and soaring music translate easily in almost any period setting. Although Alden's production is more audacious and heavily symbolic, Villegier brings a relatively simplified approach to the storyline and encourages a highly stylized, silent screen type of acting from his cast. For the most part, it works, and the minimalist sets by Nicolas de Lajartre and Pascale Cazales provide an effective counterpoint. Costume designer Patrice Cauchetier, however, sometimes gets carried away with the fussy, anachronistic clothing she provides, which does little to enhance the performances.

Fortunately, the stellar cast is strong enough to transcend such stylizations and shortcomings. In the demanding title role that requires a strong enough voice to carry eight significant arias, veteran soprano Anna Caterina Antonacci is a fiery presence who conveys defiance with ease and feels at home with elaborately expressive vocal lines. Truth be told, her vibrato can be off-putting at times, and her regal demeanor works against the emotion of the more vulnerable passages, for example, during her extravagant rendition of the heartbreaking Act III aria, "Se 'l mio duol non e si forte," in which Rodelinda thinks her husband Bertarido is dead. However, Antonacci's passion and professionalism carry the day.

As Daniels has proven recently, Bertarido is one of the truly great roles for an accomplished countertenor. Luckily, Andreas Scholl has a beautiful, emotive voice and fluently handles the wide range of singing from the melancholy of "Dove sei, amato bene?" to the anger of "Vivi, tiranno!" with equal ease. Scholl is at his peak during his poignant Act II arias, "Con rauco mormorio" and "Scacciata dal suo nido", where his coloratura is particularly impressive. As an actor, however, he is not as charismatic a presence as Daniels (at least back in 1998 when Scholl was starting to emerge on the scene) and consequently tends toward a certain banality for a king who has been not only deposed but left for dead. All is forgiven, however, with the much anticipated duet between Antonacci and Scholl which ends Act II, the magnificent "le t'abbraccio", which does not disappoint.

The rest of the cast handles their roles with uncommon skill - tenor Kurt Streit as the impatient usurper Grimoaldo, baritone Umberto Chiummo as the dastardly henchman Garibaldo, countertenor Artur Stefanowicz as Bertarido's faithful sidekick Unulfo, and mezzo-soprano Louise Winter as Bertarido's sister Eduige. All sing magnificently in this production, and the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment complements the voices perfectly under the seasoned baton of William Christie. The one major drawback is the way the opera is filmed in overly dark shadows, especially at the beginning, and the alternating long and medium shots that seem unnecessarily busy at times. The visual edginess and restlessness tend to distract from the onstage drama when the focus should be on the beauty of the music. Regardless, this is a faithful record of a Handel masterwork wonderfully performed. The superb Baroque music speaks for itself.

Not the best sound.......2006-01-24

Two very good DVD recordings of Handel's great opera Rodelinda became available in 2005. One of them is from a 1998 performance at the Glyndebourne festival and the other from a 2003 performance at the Bavarian State Opera. I will call them, respectively, British and German, although both are truly international. For example, in the British version both kings are sung by Germans, while the German version features British singers in these major roles. The "British" conductor is native American (William Christie), and his "German" counterpart (Ivor Bolton) is British. The staging directors are French and American, respectively.
Much has been said by other reviewers about the British version, and I agree with most of these mostly favorable comments, especially in respect to the great art of Anna Caterina Antonacci and Andreas Scholl. I believe, however, that most of these reviewers have not been exposed to the German recording, which seems to be less popular. I have had a chance to experience both versions extensively on a state of the art video and stereo system.
I prefer the staging and filming of the British performance and the artistic presentation of some singers, especially Louise Winter and Kurt Streit. The more lyric quality overall of the singing may be attractive to some viewers of the British DVD. In my opinion, both techniques of presentation are acceptable. Subtitles provided in English, German, Italian, French, Spanish and Portuguese help in appreciating the dramatic plot.
I do have serious problems with the sound quality of the British rendition: Compared with the warm and vibrant sound of the German version, the sound produced by the British DVD is somewhat flat and muffled. The German but not the British version gives a feeling of being in the presence of a live performance. Apparently the German version was recorded by state of the art equipment and/or techniques.
In conclusion, no ideal video recording of Rodelinda is available today. The opera was performed more recently under the baton of William Christie at Glyndebourne and Paris. Judging from the raving reviews of these apparently unrecorded performances on the Internet, I am hopeful that one day I will be able to view a performance of Rodelinda on DVD that will satisfy me completely.

Average customer rating:

"Garbo talks." In essence, a Eugene O'Neil play.
o'neill was never better served on screen
A favorite Garbo movie
When she tells the truth, they all want her to 'beat it'...
"Garbo Talks!"

Anna Christie
Starring: Greta Garbo , Charles Bickford , George F. Marion , Marie Dressler , and James T. Mack
Director: Clarence Brown , and Jacques Feyder
Manufacturer: Warner Home Video
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Drama | Genres | DVD | Video

Classics | Drama | Genres | DVD | Video

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

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

Mata Hari
Queen Christina
Camille
Ninotchka
Anna Karenina (Cliffs Notes Version)

ASIN: B0009S4IK6
Release Date: 2005-09-06

Amazon.com essential video

It's one of the most highly anticipated entrances in movie history: Greta Garbo slinking into a sleazy waterfront bar and ordering whiskey. Well, "visky." A huge silent star, Garbo was speaking her first lines in her first talking picture, Anna Christie, and audiences were breathless with anticipation. As The New York Times put it, "The low enunciation of her initial lines, with a packed theater waiting expectantly to hear her first utterance, came somewhat as a surprise yesterday afternoon in the Capitol, for her delivery is almost masculine." Her sultry tones were nevertheless a hit, and anyway the Swedish accent fit the character.

Anna Christie is adapted from Eugene O'Neill's play, a piece of gloom about prostitute Anna returning to her seafaring father (George F. Marion) and falling for a sailor (Charles Bickford). The movie's fascination as a Garbo milestone and slice of early-sound Hollywood easily outstrip its actual value as a work of art, for it has not aged especially well. Under the direction of Garbo regular Clarence Brown, the dialogue tends to fall on long, dead pauses and creak with early-sound-era uncertainty. But the print for the DVD release looks very good, and despite her sometimes dodgy approach to English, it's still Garbo--odd, sexy, uncategorizable. The DVD also includes the German-language version, directed by Jacques Feyder, with Garbo and a German cast; the print quality is not as felicitous as the American version but it's an intriguing contrast, and Garbo looks slightly more comfortable in speaking. --Robert Horton

Description

Sixteen minutes or so into this adaptation of Eugene O'Neill's Pulitzer Prize play, 1930 audiences got what they were waiting for when Greta Garbo made her entrance and spoke on camera for the first time in her career: "Gimme a whiskey." Like Lon Chaney and Charlie Chaplin, the Swedish Sphinx had continued in Silents even though Talkies were the rage. Here she made her landmark transition to the new era, playing a former prostitute whose past may ruin her chance for happiness. A different director and cast join Garbo in a German-language version (Side B) filmed on the same soundstages immediately after the English version. She called it the better film, and many fans today agree. You decide!

Customer Reviews:

"Garbo talks." In essence, a Eugene O'Neil play........2007-05-25

This film is the great Eugene O'Neil in all his dark glory. Moody, dark, slow-paced, and bearing his intense psychology, it is not a film for all audiences or tastes. In addition to the great Garbo, is a magnificent perfomance by the silent film legend Marie Dressler. Before her death, she would make 3 classics with Wallace Beery, one of which was FDR's favorite film of all time: "Tugboat Annie." Her banter with Jean Harlow in "Dinner at Eight," was peerless and hysterical.
This film is a one of those "transition" pieces from the silent to the talking era, and as such, carries aspects of both periods.
Well worth seeing and having in one's collection.

o'neill was never better served on screen.......2007-03-25

garbo in her first talkie is marvelous in this adaptation of eugene o'neills pulitzer winning play, as a whore trying to reform. marie dressler is brilliant in a supporting performance as a washed-out drunk, and everyone else is letter-perfect. now the caveat: the technical shortcomings of early talkies are replete here, so you should stay away if stuff like that is what concerns you. as an added attraction, the dvd also includes the simultaneously filmed german language version of the movie with a different (save for garbo, of course) cast: quite a bit darker, tho not (for me) as accessible. and of course one can never forget the magic of hearing gg utter: "Gif me a visky, ginger ale on the side, and don' be stingy, baby."

A favorite Garbo movie.......2006-01-31

If it doesn't match the quality of 'Queen Christina' (my favorite Gabo movie) it does bring an eerie, melancholic, and oniric feeling to the viewer. It must be the excellent script based on Eugene O'Neill's play. It feels like watching a play too, even though there are so many exterior shots, all that fog and the small oppressive rooms contribute to the claustrophobia.

The characters, all of them, are superb. Garbo is just great. But it is a curious thing to flip the disc and view the German version, just to see (and judge) the difference. Completely different in tone. She looks more natural in the German -as if not acting at all-, and more histrionic in the US version.

For history aficionados it is also a little gem to enjoy, since you can see here immigrants from different parts of Europe meeting and contrasting each their own idiosyncrasies.

Whether you watch it as a documentary, a play, or a classic film it is a really enjoyable experience.

When she tells the truth, they all want her to 'beat it'..........2005-12-27

ANNA CHRISTIE is a wonderful film, beacause its stylistic clumsiness doesn't make in any less touching than it is. Garbo's performance is simultanousley ridiculous and terrific, her Anna being lost in the world a little bit less than Greta is lost in the English pronountiation. She swifts perfectly between radiant expressions of hope and innocence, and the sad knowledge of being 'doomed' by her past.

The shortest possible synopsis would be this: Anna Christie admits to her father and fiance-to-be that she 'was in the house'. 'Yes, in that kind of house'. And when they hear this, they all want her to 'beat it'. I wouldn't spoil much by revealing that there actually is a happy ending. It involves a very funny moment, when Anna is making an oath upon the catholic cross, and suddenly admits that she isn't catholic. Poor Matt's eyes at this very moment express all the anguish of pre-modern heterosexual man, who wanted his 'beloved' to be not only virgin, but also an eunuch.

Great fun--as long as you don't treat it too seriously.

Michal Oleszczyk, Tarnowskie Gory, Poland

"Garbo Talks!".......2005-06-09

"Garbo Talks" - that was the tagline when this movie opened in 1930. It was Greta Garbo's first talking picture after most movie studios were starting to make the big switch to sound pictures. "Anna Christie", if only for that one reason only, was a major motion picture event, yet somehow I feel the movie is dated and doesn't quite take as many chances as other movies from the time period.

Oh I know what many of you are thinking, hey what's wrong with you? How could a movie take too many chances when there was a production code in effect? My answer to you is the production code didn't come until 1933 this movie was made in 1930. Have you ever seen "Grand Hotel"? "Paid"? "Possessed (1931)"? All of those movies took chances. They showed images that were truly ahead of their time. They tackled issues head on. "Anna Christie" I think could have been a great movie but it just doesn't risk enough.

Garbo plays the title character a girl who hasn't seen her father, Chris (George F. Marion) in 15 years after he sent her to live with some relatives in St. Paul. Anna comes back to her father after being in the hospital and says she's sick. But her father doesn't exactly know what kind of life she has been leading while away. He think she was a nurse when in fact she was a prostitute.

Chris, a sailor, decides that Anna might enjoy life on the sea. Out in the fresh air her health might improve. Things go along fine until a violent storm brings Matt into their life after they rescue him out at sea. Matt (Charles Bickford) falls for Anna and after a while tells her he wants to marry her. And soon Anna must decide whether or not she should tell Matt and her father about her past life.

While reading this review the movie might sound pretty brave but wait until to you see it.

The movie is based on a play by Eugene O' Neil and was directed by Clarence Brown who had worked with Garbo on several other pictures including "Anna Karenina", "Romance" and "Devil in the Flesh". Brown though was a really great director. I'm not sure how well known he is to today's audience but with such films as "Wife vs Secretary" (With Clark Gable and Jean Harlow) and "Possessed" (Also with Gable and Joan Crawford) he proved his status as an "A" list director.

But "Anna Christie" is a different matter. The film's most powerful moments are in the climax. The rest of the movie just floats along. I wasn't involved in what was happening to these people. Garbo is fine though, she always had an amazing screen presence to her. Your eyes just tend to follow her, she had the true makings of a star. But you can't say that about everyone else in this. I found George F. Marion annoying. Was that accent real?

In a surprise role Marie Dressler plays a woman who was living with Chris before Anna arrives. It is a surprise because for those who don't know Dressler was something of a comic. She appeared with Charlie Chaplin in his first film in 1914, yes she's that old. And is probably best known for co-starring with Jean Harlow in that sparkling 1930s all-star comedy "Dinner at Eight". At one time believe it or not she was a top box-office draw. But in this movie she tries to play it straight. Sure she has a few mild attempts at comedy, but she not as broad as she usually is. And I think she pulls the role off quite nicely. One almost wonders what would have happen she if played more of these kinds of roles.

I hate to sound like I hate this movie. It is worth seeing. The final moments are strong, Garbo is good, the dialogue is so-so, and Brown pulls things together nicely. And despite whatever complaints I may have the movie was up for three Oscars, "Best Director" and Garbo was up for "Best Actress", her first nomination.

Bottom-line: Moderately entertaining Clarence Brown\Greta Garbo film take just doesn't take enough chances. Could have been a powerhouse of a movie instead is just average.

Average customer rating:

Billy Liar
JULIE CHRISTIE!
Funny and brilliant, like watching a juggler handle five balls at the same time
Living in Ambrosia
a film about a daydreamer

Billy Liar - Criterion Collection
Starring: Tom Courtenay , Wilfred Pickles , Mona Washbourne , Ethel Griffies , and Finlay Currie
Director: John Schlesinger
Manufacturer: Criterion
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Comedy | Genres | DVD | Video

General | Drama | Genres | DVD | Video

Classics | Drama | Genres | DVD | Video

Comedy | Kids & Family | Genres | DVD | Video

Drama | Criterion Collection | Stores | DVD | Video

Comedy | Criterion Collection | Stores | DVD | Video

Classics | Criterion Collection | Stores | DVD | Video

International | Criterion Collection | Stores | DVD | Video

All | Criterion Collection | Stores | DVD | Video

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

Saturday Night And Sunday Morning
The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner
Darling
Look Back in Anger
The Knack... and How to Get It

ASIN: B00005EBSB
Release Date: 2001-07-10

Description

Tom Courtenay gives a flawlessly nuanced performance as Billy Fisher, the underachieving undertaker's assistant whose constant daydreams and truth-deficient stories earn him the nickname "Billy Liar." Julie Christie is the handbag-swinging charmer whose free spirit just might inspire Billy to finally move out of his parents' house. Deftly veering from gritty realism to flamboyant fantasy, Billy Liar is a dazzling and uproarious classic.

Customer Reviews:

Billy Liar.......2007-06-27

Melding British kitchen-sink realism with fanciful sequences that dramatize Billy's reveries, director Schlesinger got his name on the map with this brilliant satire, partly inspired by James Thurber's classic story "The Secret Life of Walter Mitty." Courtenay is a marvel as Billy, the blue-collar drudge whose reliance on his inner life earns him a reputation as an unreliable dreamer. Mona Washbourne also excels as Alice, Billy's daffy, sympathetic mother.

JULIE CHRISTIE!.......2007-05-04

"Billy Liar," directed by Oscar winner John Schlesinger (Best Director, 'Midnight Cowboy') is billed as a comedy, but to me is much more of a tragedy with bits of comedy thrown in here and there. Presented by The Criterion Collection, "Billy Liar" is a little treasure of a film that is worth seeing for many reasons, but one big one...JULIE CHRISTIE.

Tom Courtenay gives an absolutely brilliant performance as Billy Fisher, an undertaker's assistant that lives with his parents and has two fiancees. Fisher longs for escape and constantly daydreams of being the leader of a country and of shooting people he doesn't like. He also has a problem with telling the truth and frequently finds himself in jams that he must lie to get out of. This earns him the nickname Billy Liar, but not until much later in the film. Christie plays Liz, a free-spirited woman who has so little screen time but makes a very big impression on the audience.

Any review you read of "Billy Liar" will mention how fantastic Julie Christie is. She's incredibly beautiful, incredibly talented, and steals the show. The movie is about 75% comedy and much of the first 3/4 of it play as a comedy, but I thought the last part of the film had a completely dramatic change of tone...Which, in my opinion, worked for the better. The end is especially tragic. "Billy Liar" is a fantastic film that few people have heard of that definitely needs to be seen by more people, I highly recommend it.
GRADE: A

Funny and brilliant, like watching a juggler handle five balls at the same time.......2006-03-21

Walter Mitty gone mad on the cutting edge, and set in England. Tom Courtenay is Billy, a perpetual liar; he's trapped in his own drab, stifling northern England surroundings, and his only escape is a fantasy world he's concocted. Where Mitty would just innocently imagine another time and place for himself, Billy involves everyone around him in his chronic lying. Sometimes the lies are connected with the fantasies (going to London to write TV scripts, for example), but usually they are just outright lies not connected to anything: he's engaged to two women at the same time, he lies to his boss and family about what he's up to, are just two examples. Mitty was henpecked by his wife; Billy by his whole world.

Courtenay is brilliant, and the intercutting of his fantasies with the real world is also excellently done. The message is universal: we all feel trapped at times and wish we could escape; we either do escape or somehow find a rational way to cope. For Billy, there's no way to do either. He almost escapes at the end with Julie Christie, who has a small role as a creature who CAN escape at will, but he chickens out. The acting, the script, even the photography, are all superb. Definitely worth a watch.

Living in Ambrosia.......2005-01-28

Sometime the prospect of reality is so burdensome, a retreat into fantasy affords the only opportunity for escape. Indeed, isn't this the domain of the artist? If so, is Billy really a liar? He's created an entire country in his mind called Ambrosia, and in order to provide for its existence he must maintain the fiction that is his "real" life. What is real for Billy? He's engaged to two girls, both of whom are representations of opposite poles of a dreary domestic existence. He's employed by a mortuary, controlled by two men, one who wants to modernize the industry by creating sleek new caskets made out of plastic and the other who longs for the formality and perhaps dignity of a time long since past. Billy lives in a working class town where all the old buildings are gradually being torn down and replaced by modern structures like supermarkets! Should Billy "grow-up" which actually means waking up (something Billy is loath to do) and accept his station in life? And give up Ambrosia!? Enter Liz (the alluring Julie Christie) who strides into town like a breath of fresh air evoking boundless possibilities. She can offer Billy an alternative: to venture out into the unknown. While Billy is brave and daring in his imaginary kingdom, when confronted by the frightening prospect of the unfamiliar and real, will he seize the opportunity or retreat back into Ambrosia?

a film about a daydreamer.......2004-08-01

This review is forthe Criterion Collection DVD edition of the film.

This film based on the Keith Waterhouse novel is a gem of British cinema.

The film is about a young man named William "Billy" Fisher. He has many daydreams about being the leader of a fictional country called Ambrosia. He has made several mistakes at his job and tells lies to avoid getting himself into trouble. He then needs to tell even bigger lies to cover his tracks and ends up being believed by nobody.

The film has good acting including an early starring role of Julie Christie. The film laso has some humorous scenes including a bagpipe marching band parading through a grocery store.

Th DVD also has special features which consist of a theatrical trailer, audio commentary by director John Schlesinger, actor Tom Courtenay, and actress Julie Christie.

This is another film that defined British comedy and should be seen by fans of the genre

Gluck - Iphigenie en Tauride / Juliette Galstian, Rodney Gilfry, Deon van der Walt, William Christie, Zurich Opera

Average customer rating:

Terrible production
Great musically, not as good visually

Gluck - Iphigenie en Tauride / Juliette Galstian, Rodney Gilfry, Deon van der Walt, William Christie, Zurich Opera
Starring: Anton Scharinger , Martina Jankova , and Anna Soranno
Manufacturer: Kultur Video
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

General | Classical | Styles | Music

( G ) | Titles | Features | DVD | Video

Strauss - Daphne
Handel - Hercules / Shimell, DiDonato, Spence, Bohlin, Ernman, Kirkbride, Christie, Les Arts Florissants, Aix-en-Provence Opera
Handel - Giulio Cesare / Connolly · Kirchschlager · De Niese · Dumaux · Bardon · Maltman · Ben Abdeslam · Ashworth · OAE · Christie · McVicar [Glyndebourne Opera 2005]
Delibes - Lakme / Joan Sutherland, Huguette Tourangeau, Henri Wilden, John Pringle, Richard Bonynge, Opera Australia
Gluck - Orphée et Eurydice / David Hobson, Amanda Thane, Miriam Gormley, Marco Guidarini, Opera Australia

ASIN: B000FII2DE
Release Date: 2006-06-27

Description

Iphigénie en Tauride is considered by many to be Gluck's greatest work and the culmination of his career. Boasting the finest libretto that Gluck ever set, Iphigénie en Tauride comes as close as possible to the complete realization of the composer's ideal of putting music at the service of poetry to achieve dramatic truth. Hugely demanding, it is one of opera's most intense and powerful experiences. Libretto by Nicolas-François Guillard. Conductor : William Christie. Director: Claus Guth. Sets and Costumes : Christian Schmidt. Iphigénie: Juliette Galstian. Oreste: Rodney Gilfry. Pylade: Deon van der Walt. Thoas: Anton Scharinger. Goddess Diana: Martina Jankova. Zurich Opera's Orchestra La Scintilla.

Customer Reviews:

Terrible production.......2007-01-03

This production is ludicrous. The tempi are wrong, the chorus is too small, but mostly the production is so bad as to make Sellars seem insightful. The concept of masks, etc, is annoying, distracting and utterly assinine.

Great musically, not as good visually.......2006-07-02

Iphigenie en Tauride is a great opera by a great composer, so it is nice to finally have a production available on DVD. Is this an ideal production? Probably not. I had never seen the work produced onstage before watching this, but based on my limited exposure to the opera, this DVD works beter on audio terms than on visual ones.

Gluck's operas come between Handel's and Mozart's, they form a bridge between baroque and classical. In the development of opera as an art form Gluck was a very important figure. He took opera seria and made it more direct, more visceral, more dramatic, trimming many of the frills associated with the genre so that the result is something compact, intensified, emotionally engaging(similar to what Verdi accomplished with bel canto). Iphigenie en Tauride might just be the epitome of this approach. Typical of opera seria, there isn't much action...most of the key events have already happened offstage, before the opera begins, leaving the characters to dwell on their personal crises and emotional conflicts that result from said events. Despite all this, Iphigenie is a swiftly paced opera, it doesn't crawl, it MOVES, and this is a result of Gluck's galvanized score, driving the characters and story toward the denouement in a minimal amount of time(the running time on this disc is under two hours) but with a high level of energy. Brilliant writing on the composer's part. No doubt Gluck played an influential role in the young Mozart's development in producing music that was equally mobile and consuming.

The audio portion of this disc is virtually flawless. All the singers are in fine voice. Juliette Galstian and Rodney Gilfry, the two leads, sing in a manner that is powerful, intensely dramatic, larger than life. They really pour themselves into the turmoil of their characters, as a result they dominate both the music and the viewer's attention. Zurich Opera's Orchestra La Scintilla, under the direction of William Christie, a specialist in this kind of music, gives a scintillating performance(appropriately enough for an orchestra bearing that name) that is not for the faint of heart, constantly pushing the drama forward. My only complaint with the sound is that there is some distortion at some points, usually when Galstian pushes the high notes with maximum force.

The visual portion doesn't fare nearly as well. By that, I don't mean to undermine the attractiveness of the singers, not by any means. Galstian is gorgeous, and the dashing Gilfry could easily pass for Brad Pitt's identical twin; it isn't hard to see why he is so popular in studly roles such as Don Giovanni and Billy Budd. No, my complaints rest with the production. I don't oppose modern productions as a rule, particularly when they are attached to more familiar works, but I have a problem when they serve no purpose other than to confuse the narrative and muddle the themes. The story takes place in ancient Greece, in fact it covers some of the same characters and events as Strauss' Elektra. Placing Iphigenie, Orestes and the rest in more contemporary dress, and having them flit about in surreal-looking drawing rooms fogs the viewer's understanding of what is actually going on. As for the giant-headed characters constantly shuffling around in the background, reenacting key events(usually of a violent nature) like some kind of mute Greek chorus...they are interesting to watch at first, even somewhat effective, but increased exposure reduces their impact to one of silliness. Overall, many of the backdrops are visually striking, they simply add nothing to the drama, if anything they make it more opaque.

Because of the wonderful music, and because this is the only version of the opera available on DVD, I give it a high recommendation. Regarding the production, however, seeing as how this was my first visual exposure to Iphigenie, I would have preferred a more traditional approach.

Average customer rating:

Are we at war with England?
Agatha Christies Pale Horse
delightful take on Christie
Bait and switch
Eerie and subtle

The Pale Horse - Agatha Christie
Starring: Colin Buchanan , Jayne Ashbourne , Hermione Norris , Leslie Phillips , and Michael Byrne
Director: Charles Beeson
Manufacturer: KOCH VISION
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

Suspense | Mystery & Suspense | Genres | DVD | Video

Mystery | Mystery & Suspense | Genres | DVD | Video

Detectives | Mystery & Suspense | Genres | DVD | Video

General | Mystery & Suspense | Genres | DVD | Video

General | Indie & Art House | Stores | DVD | Video

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

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

Agatha Christie's Poirot - Classic Crimes Collection
Agatha Christie's Seven Dials Mystery
Inspector Alleyn Mysteries, Set 2
Agatha Christie's Marple: Series 2
Agatha Christie Classic Mystery Collection

ASIN: B000BRBAAG
Release Date: 2006-01-10

Description

In Agatha Christie's deepest venture into the occult, writer Mark Easterbrook is accused of murdering a priest. As he sets out to prove his innocence, he discovers that a series of deaths, seemingly from natural causes, may be connected to witchcraft and a strange trio of sisters!

Customer Reviews:

Are we at war with England?.......2007-02-16

If we can rise above the transatlantic sniping, dispense with ad hominem finger-wagging over whose sense of syntax is lacking (on this site I've read as many contortions of the Queen's English from overseas as I have from the heartland), and put aside whether or not this version of 'The Pale Horse' ought to be called a movie, a television mystery-drama or Prince Albert in a can, I believe a crosscultural consensus can be reached.

Anyone who has read the book will agree that this interpretation takes license with the story. Its producers, while keeping the basic mystery intact, have chosen to alter some plot elements and retain others and, presumably as a way of tying in the setting with the period during which Christie's novel was published, tap the 1960s as a campy backdrop, all in an effort to make the whole affair hipper and more fun. The result is not in the same league with the BBC's top stock (the Roy Marsden P.D. James series, for instance, Alec Guinness's Smiley, or the playful adaptations of Christie's 'Seven Dials' or 'Evans'), but it is, if ultimately forgettable, eminently watchable. Some (myself included, granting it only a 2 1/2-star rating) may find TPH dull going-- the action is stilted, the dialog at times dim and the acting uneven-- but that's nothing to get up in arms about. After all, despite its flaws, it still prevails in quality, as do four out of five British productions, over the average American made-for-TV fare, not to mention the garbage coming out of Hollywood today.

Life is short. We're patriots and allies. Let's have a little more respect for each others' opinions, well-articulated or not.

Agatha Christies Pale Horse.......2007-01-12

One of the rare Christie stories that does not contain any of her 3 famous protagonists (Marple, Poirot, Tommy & Tuppence). However it is one of her most interesting tales. Well acted, it keeps you guessing all the way. An excellent translation of the original. A must for Christie fans.

delightful take on Christie.......2006-12-17

Having read all the other reviews, I have to agree with the British reviewers. The ones who are American, give me strength, seem to be illiterate. Nothing wrong with not liking a program, but basic English might be nice. I'm American, and I cringed while reading their attempt at an opinion.

Preposterous as the storyline is, the narrative still manages to intrigue, the characters are enjoyable if a couple are not always believable, and the keen sense of atmosphere make it a totally delightful take on the Christie mystery. I'm an Agatha Christie fan, and an avid reader of mysteries/detective stories, especially the British ones. I read The Pale Horse years ago, but don't recall the plot. So I came to this version, relatively fresh.

I'm also dedicated fan of Dalziel & Pascoe mystery series, so it was also a treat to see the delectable Detective Pascoe (Colin Buchanan) on the other side of the law, with the suitably fluffy hair of the 1960s to boot. The whole 60s-era -- memorabilia, clothes, music and other set decor-- was subtle and cleverly evoked throughout the story. When Mark Easterbrook (Buchanan) is hit on the head for the second (!) time, he staggers to his feet, and leans against a poster advertising Chuck Berry. Likewise, a Lolita movie poster decorates his studio. Hermia's clothes and fake eyelashes are a hoot, and totally in character of the aristocratic Bohemian wannabe.

All the actors were excellent, although the Chief Inspector's obtuseness was too like Inspector Japp of Poirot fame for comfort -- the actor playing the role did what he could with it. Andy Serkis of Lord of the Rings fame was a delight, and the two key female roles well played.

Altogether, a two-hour entertainment well worth the watching.

Adrienne Jones

Bait and switch.......2005-03-27

At what point does a screenplay's "artistic license" exceed limits where such can be attributed to an author like Agatha Christie? This 1996 TV movie (screenplay by Alma Cullen) is titled "Agatha Christie's The Pale Horse" and subtitled "Supernatural British Mystery Classic." Contrast these two opening scenes:

FROM CHRISTIE'S 1961 NOVEL: Mark Easterbrook witnesses a hair-pulling cat-fight between one Thomasina Tuckerton and another woman. A week later he comes across a newspaper notice that Tuckerton died of natural causes. Meanwhile Father Gorman visits another dying woman losing her hair. Walking home, he stops at a local café to jot down a list of names before he forgets them. His cassock having pocket holes, he slips the list into his shoe, leaves, and is promptly murdered on the way home. Coroner Jim Corrigan and Detective Inspector Lejeune hypothesize he was killed in attempts to find that overlooked list and/or eliminate confessional and incriminating evidence of some kind. Later Mark encounters old friend Jim Corrigan. Discussing the case and the list, they note the presence of Tuckerton's name. Thus begins Mark's self-involvement and collaboration with Corrigan and other friends in this increasingly baffling series of possibly interconnected deaths.

FROM THIS 1996 TV MOVIE: Mark and girlfriend are attending a showing of Macbeth. Mark leaves early and witnesses someone brutally attacking a priest with his "borrowed" bicycle wrench. He rushes to assist the priest who hands him a bloodied list and dies. Police arrive, later find Mark's bloodied tool nearby, and see Mark holding the list with blood on his hands. A smug, scowling, abrasive Chief Inspector Lejune, with an previously unknown (to Mark) assistant named Corrigan, promptly accuses Mark of the murder, swearing he will convict Mark and plotting his conviction throughout the film. Mark, released on bail, must proceed on an investigative effort to clear himself.

Christie's original novel is tightly-constructed, well-written, fast-paced and interesting, perfect material for a first-class film. What a pity it is still unfilmed! What was done here was to borrow a couple of ideas from one of her novels, change them as desired, change the environment and characters surrounding the ideas (keeping a few names for appearances), changed crime(s) and murderer(s), then marketed the result under Christie's name. Some would call this "bait and switch."

It is certainly the right of TV or movie producers to fabricate material whole-cloth for television productions. The results may even be entertaining and worthwhile. But impostures under the guise of a major author's work should be exposed for what they are. If these producers had wanted to be truthful, they should have given this not altogether bad film another name, say "The 3-Witch Mystery" subtitled "based on an idea from an Agatha Christie novel" and had a 2, maybe 2½-star film.

DVD picture quality and sound are fine.

Eerie and subtle.......2005-02-26

I AM American and a regular viewer of Mystery! and other such programs. Whether I'm a "wanna-be," as the reviewer from Sunnyvale implies or just an intelligent individual who likes subtleness in my programing, I enjoyed this DVD immensely. Colin Buchanan is attractive and sympathetic, and many minor roles are superbly cast. The director evokes a suitably "dark" atmosphere, playing up the occult plot. Yes, the motivation of the murderer is somewhat incredible, but that's the way Christie wrote it.

As a long-time fan of Agatha Christie, I enjoyed this opportunity to see some of her later work, without the "little Belgian" or Miss Marple. The film includes an amusingly "60's" cameo by Andy Serkis of Lord of the Rings fame (loved the Elvis Costello look).

Rameau - Les Boreades / Bonney, Agnew, Spence, Naouri, Panzarella, Degout, Rivenq, Christie, Les Arts Florissants, Paris Opera

Average customer rating:

Snow Job
Make it stop...pleeease!
A beautiful opera in a stunning modern performance
Visually stunning!
Simply Exquisite.

Rameau - Les Boreades / Bonney, Agnew, Spence, Naouri, Panzarella, Degout, Rivenq, Christie, Les Arts Florissants, Paris Opera
Starring: Barbara Bonney , Anna Maria Panzarella , Jaël Azzaretti , Paul Agnew , and Toby Spence
Director: Thomas Grimm
Manufacturer: BBC / Opus Arte
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

General | Classical | Styles | Music

All Classical Music Blowout | Classical Music Blowout | Stores | Music

Opera & Vocal | Classical Music Blowout | Stores | Music

General | Drama | Genres | DVD | Video

( R ) | Titles | Features | DVD | Video