The Lottery

Starring:Daniels, Cortese, Russell
Studio: Platinum Disc
Product Type: DVD

Average customer rating:

Like Ballykissangel?
truly Hilarious!
Great Movie!
Masterful
refreshung, very funny

Waking Ned Devine
Starring: Ian Bannen , David Kelly , Fionnula Flanagan , Susan Lynch , and James Nesbitt
Director: Kirk Jones (III)
Manufacturer: 20th Century Fox
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: B00000ILEC
Release Date: 1999-06-01

Amazon.com

When local wag Jackie O'Shea (Ian Bannen) discovers that one of his neighbors in the village of Tulaigh Mohr is a lottery winner he sees a chance to share in the wealth. Things get complicated when Jackie and his pal Michael O'Sullivan (David Kelly) discover that the winner, Ned Devine, died of shock at the very moment he learned of becoming a millionaire. Undaunted, Jackie and Michael dispose of the lucky stiff and hatch a plot to impersonate him and claim the prize. Soon the whole village is involved and the plot rapidly thickens.

This film has been compared to The Full Monty, but it lacks the vein of desperation that added depth to that film. Instead, Waking Ned Devine is closer in tone to classic British comedies like Whisky Galore!, with its cast of eccentrics gleefully conspiring to outwit the authorities. Those with a low tolerance for twinkly eyed Irish charm might be tempted to steer clear, although the movie is saved, for the most part, by its central performances. Bannen is superb as an old man who is clearly hungry for any excitement he can drum up and David Kelly is remarkable as his scrawny sidekick. Kelly has had a long career as a character actor in film and television, but here he has a chance to really let loose. His naked motorcycle ride is a marvelous set piece and in all of his other scenes his twitchy, perfectly timed performance quite simply steals the movie. --Simon Leake

Description

When Ned Devine dies from shock after winning the lottery, two longtime friends, Micheal and Jackie, discover the body and agree Ned would want them to benefit from his good luck. They embark upon an outrageous scheme to claim the ticket but first they have to get all the townsfolk to go along with their plan!

Customer Reviews:

Like Ballykissangel?.......2007-07-04

I just got done watching this movie. It is a hoot!

If you enjoyed the series Ballykissangel, you will enjoy this movie.

It moves very fast and you will wish it lasted longer.

truly Hilarious!.......2007-06-27

This is a refreshingly funny movie! I don't watch movies more than once EXCEPT for this one!! Get it! You'll LOVE IT!

Great Movie!.......2007-06-08

"Charming" Irish movie with very good acting and beautiful imagery. Clever concept and entertaining from beginning to end. Seems to give an accurate portrayal of small-town Irish living. I loved the actors! The music is wonderful too.

Masterful.......2007-04-26

If you ever wanted to visit a small one street village in Ireland and get a peek into the characters that live there, this is the movie for you. If you have ever lived in Ireland and miss home, than this is the movie for you!!!!

refreshung, very funny.......2007-03-19

We seldom, if ever, go to the movies any more. Not willing to pay so much for so much garbage. We are older and Irish so we appreciate the personalities and the humor of this movie. Also just loved the scenery. Having been to Ireland many years ago, it brought back memories of the beautiful countryside, the simplicity of life there etc. Our son had seen the movie and recommended it.

Average customer rating:

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

Next Friday (New Line Platinum Series)
Starring: Ice Cube , Tamala Jones , Justin Pierce , Mike Epps , and Don 'D.C.' Curry
Director: Steve Carr (III)
Manufacturer: New Line Home Video
ProductGroup: DVD
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ASIN: 0780631234
Release Date: 2004-06-01

Amazon.com

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

Customer Reviews:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Average customer rating:

Corny is Refreshing
Great movie
Heartwarming Love story
no title
Chick Flick, but good movie for guys too

It Could Happen to You
Starring: Nicolas Cage , Bridget Fonda , Rosie Perez , Wendell Pierce , and Isaac Hayes
Director: Andrew Bergman
Manufacturer: Sony Pictures
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ASIN: 0767810856
Release Date: 1998-08-25

Amazon.com

Inspired by an actual incident, this unassuming, wonderfully good-natured romantic comedy tells the story of a New York City street cop named Charlie (Nicolas Cage) who makes a promise to a coffee-shop waitress named Yvonne (Bridget Fonda) that will change both their lives. One day after coffee, Charlie is embarrassed to discover he doesn't have money for a tip, so he tells Yvonne that he'll share half of his winnings if the lottery ticket he's holding comes up a winner. Sure enough, he wins the jackpot--a whopping $4 million payoff--and Charlie's wife, Muriel (Rosie Perez), goes ballistic when he tells her about his deal with Yvonne. From this point, It Could Happen to You follows Charlie's dilemma as he is forced to decide the proper course of action, and director Andrew Bergman smoothly incorporates a gentle love story into this amusing crisis of conscience. Fonda and Cage have an easygoing chemistry that adds a pleasant touch to the movie's fairy-tale plot, and the story's kindhearted sentiment is never so thick that it becomes sticky-sweet or artificial. As feel-good comedies go, this one's a class act. --Jeff Shannon

Customer Reviews:

Corny is Refreshing.......2007-06-15

I love this "feel good" movie. It is corny , but I like romantic comedies that are like this. Rock Hudson, Cary Grant, and Tom Hanks all made some of these. No blood , no horror, no amazing technology, just relax and enjoy a movie that makes you feel good about people and romance.
Good and basic escapism.

Great movie.......2007-05-09

Being a former law enforcment officer I can relate to how it is most difficult to balance the job and the home life. It is often times too hard to find happiness in this line of work and all someone really needs is to be loved and to have support. This is a great title to add to anyones collection, also a good date movie.

Heartwarming Love story.......2006-08-14

If I could make one change to this movie, it would be near the end when Angel (Isaac Hayes) tells what happened to each of the characters...I would have added a brief cameo of Muriel (played brilliantly by Rosie Perez) getting her just desserts...I would show Muriel, working in a nail salon, with a bitter look on her face, slamming things around, with a rude customer barking orders at her. Other than that, great movie!

no title.......2006-05-05

What a disappointment! I remember Siskel and Ebert raving over this romantic comedy. Romantic, maybe, but comedy - never. Very predictable plot from beginning to end. And Rosie Perez was truly offensive. A few times I couldn't understand what she was saying. There is no way I could buy that she and Cage's character were attracted to each other. Maybe critics liked this movie because it had no sex, violence, or rough language. Although Cage does get shot in one hold-up scene. It was just that you knew what was going to happen every step of the way. I am beginning to Like Cage more and more as he ages. [ spoiler] I was really disappointed at the end to find out that the real people whom this story is based on were always happily married to their original partners. Either they shouldn't have changed it so much or they shouldn't have let us know about the real story it was based on.[end of spoiler] But Fonda and Cage were very engaging together.

Chick Flick, but good movie for guys too.......2006-03-20

Light-hearted rendition of the true-to-life story of a police officer who was forced by his conscience to share his lottery winnings with a waitress, fulfilling a promise he made when he was otherwise unable to leave a tip. Presents the ways in which sudden prosperity changes people, for the better or worse. A little sappy in order to please the ladies; a little action and a good story so as to please everyone - even us 'macho guys'.

Average customer rating:

Sweet Movie Based on a True Story
29th Sreet
This movie is a classic
Some real New Yorkers in Carolina
Great Movie ... They're Right - Goodfellas and It's a Wonderful Life.

29th Street
Starring: Danny Aiello , Anthony LaPaglia , Lainie Kazan , Frank Pesce , and Robert Forster
Director: George Gallo
Manufacturer: Starz / Anchor Bay
ProductGroup: DVD
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ASIN: B00076ONV4
Release Date: 2005-03-22

Description

Anthony LaPaglia of WITHOUT A TRACE stars as Frank Pesce, the $6.2 million winner of the first New York State Lottery. Unfortunately, Frank is also a full-time dreamer cursed with a lifetime of great luck, a bickering Italian-American family, and a love-hate relationship with his loser gambler father, Frank Sr. (Oscar® nominee Danny Aiello of DO THE RIGHT THING and MOONSTRUCK). But when Frank Jr. makes a deal with local mobsters, will his lottery prize be his unluckiest break ever? Fuhgeddaboutit! The biggest jackpot of all may be waiting for Frank and his father among the good guys, bad guys and wiseguys of 29th STREET. Lainie Kazan (MY BIG FAT GREEK WEDDING), Oscar® nominee Robert Forster (JACKIE BROWN), Tony Sirico (Paulie Walnuts of THE SOPRANOS) and Frank Pesce himself co-star in this acclaimed comedy written and directed by George Gallo, the screenwriter of MIDNIGHT RUN.

Customer Reviews:

Sweet Movie Based on a True Story .......2007-01-14

29th Street is a sweet movie that is great to watch during the holidays since so much of it is set at Christmas time and it has a nice message. If it wasn't for the very raw language this could almost be a family film but then if the language was cleaned up it would not be a realistic story of this man and his life. This is one of the handful of movies where the real life hero plays a smaller part in the film (in this case Frank plays his policeman brother). The characters argue, curse and shout but their love for each other shines through painting an endearing picture of blue collar New Yorkers in the 1970's. A film that deserves to be more well known than it is.

29th Sreet.......2006-12-22

Watched this movie last night and loved it. Great movie about a down to earth Italian family living in New York. laughed all the way through it. Does have a little "swear words" in it but comparied to TV nowdays It's nothing, besides you are laughing so much you hardly notice. Rent or buy. great movie.

This movie is a classic.......2006-07-18

This movie is your classic comedy / drama about the old time Italian families. Lots of yelling, laughing and arguing. The story is great and the casting is perfect. I just can't believe it took this long for this movie to come out on DVD. I'll actually be buying another copy in December to give as a gift.

Some real New Yorkers in Carolina.......2006-07-04

I'm from Queens, New York too, as well as Brooklyn, and I really enjoyed this movie. I grew up near 21st Street, but never went to 29th Street, so I don't recognize any of the buildings. I wouldn't anyway, considering that the movie was shot in North Carolina.

One of the things I like best about this movie is the way the New York family relates to each other, the way they argue. It had me rolling. It reminded me of the way my wife got along with her father when he was alive. They were at each other constantly but they still loved each other.

You couldn't say anything to my father in law without getting into an argument. If you said the weather was hot, he'd jump at you "You're always complaining about the weather". If you said you just had a nice day he'd jump at you with "You never do anything". He was just like the family in this movie. He didn't mean any harm, but he just jumped all over everyone. The only thing it was safe to say to him was "How are you feeling?" Just say that, and shut up. You'll be fine.

This movie reminds me a bit of O. Henry. People make sacrifices for each other.

The one complaint I have is that it is absurd to offer only $10,000 for a lottery ticket that is a "finalist", with a 1 in 50 chance of earning six million dollars. Just do a little math. Divide six million dollars by 50 to see what the ticket is worth before the drawing. That's over $100,000. How can anyone have the nerve to just offer one tenth of what it's worth? And how can anyone be dumb enough to accept such a ripoff? Then again, maybe the six million is paid over a lifetime, and the present lump sum value would be a lot less. But still, $10,000 is chickenfeed when compared to a life-changing number like six million.

I wonder what in this movie is true and what is fiction.

Great Movie ... They're Right - Goodfellas and It's a Wonderful Life........2006-06-30

Great Movie ... Especially if you are Italian, A New Yorker, A Gambler, A Dreamer and you Love Life.

I've had the VHS version since 1992, Full Screen - Closed Caption.
I just purchased the DVD, Wide Screen - Closed Caption BUT
I can't seen to get the captions to display.

I've tried 3 different players and TV's.
Yes, I have everything turned on, other DVDs work fine.

Could I just have a bad DVD or are others having the same problem?

Average customer rating:

Wonderful!
Uptown Saturday Night
Uptown Saturday Night
"I get mean when you mess with my green!"
Great Film...

Uptown Saturday Night
Starring: Harry Belafonte , Jophery C. Brown , Roscoe Lee Browne , Rosalind Cash , and Lee Chamberlin
Manufacturer: Warner Home Video
ProductGroup: DVD
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ASIN: B0000TWMQ6
Release Date: 2004-01-13

Amazon.com essential video

The first in a trio of very broad comedies from director Sidney Poitier features Poitier and Bill Cosby as two small-time hustlers always looking for an angle. During a robbery at a swanky nightclub, they are relieved of their wallets, only to find later that one of them had a lottery ticket that came up a winner. The chase is on as they scour the city to find their prize, along the way running up against Harry Belafonte as a sly and suave mob kingpin (with a nod to Don Corleone) with his eye on the ticket as well. Heavily influenced by the screwball comedies of the 1940s but with the thoroughly modern air of 1970s black culture, Uptown Saturday Night is a breezy affair with some old pros at the helm. --Robert Lane

Description

Two small time hustlers loose a winning lottery ticket in a robbery. They scour the city and battle thugs to retrieve it.

DVD Features:
Featurette:Dynamite Duo: A Retrospective
Theatrical Trailer

Customer Reviews:

Wonderful!.......2007-01-12

I grew up watching this movie and it reminded me of the good old days. I am now able to share this with my children. Good old fashion fun. Buy this movie, you won't be disappointed.

Uptown Saturday Night.......2006-11-10

This movie is great. Action and funny all at the same time. Even though its a little lengthy it keeps your attention to the end.

Uptown Saturday Night.......2006-08-29

I love this movie...I have it on VHS and I need to upgrade fast. I have played it over and over and I still cannot get enough. So Hilarious...Looking For A Change...Need Spice In Your Life...Head Uptown Saturday Night...

"I get mean when you mess with my green!".......2006-01-12

After Sidney Poitier proved himself time and again as one of the more accomplished actors of his time in such dramatic films as A Raisin in the Sun (1961), In the Heat of the Night (1967), and Guess Who's Coming to Dinner (1967), he tried his hand at comedies, which he not only directed, but also starred in with funny man Bill Cosby, who, at the time, established himself in television series like "I Spy", "The Bill Cosby Show", and "Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids". The result was a trio of films, this one titled Uptown Saturday Night (1974) being the first (and most popular), with Let's Do It Again (1975) and A Piece of the Action (1977) to follow. Also appearing is singer Harry Belafonte (Island in the Sun), Rosalind Cash (The Omega Man), Roscoe Lee Browne (Topaz, Super Fly T.N.T.), Paula Kelly (Soylent Green), Harold Nicholas (The Five Heartbeats), Calvin Lockhart (Let's Do It Again), Flip Wilson ("Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In"), and the late, great Richard Pryor (Car Wash, Silver Streak), in a small role as private detective Sharp Eye Washington, a part Bill Cosby was originally interested in playing.

Sidney Poitier and Bill Cosby are Steve Jackson and Wardell Franklin, respectively, a pair of working class stiffs (Steve works in a mill, while Wardell drives a cab), looking to get a piece of the action...er, wait, that's the title of their third film...anyway, one night, the two men decide to visit an `after hours' club, essentially an exclusive nightclub featuring illegal gambling, called Zenobia's. The place is jumping, full of fly guys, foxy mamas, and hot, funky music...and gambling. Just as the pair hits it big on the dice table, a gang of masked gunmen raid the joint, robbing the place blind. The next day Steve discovers he's won $50,000 dollars in the lottery, but guess what? The winning ticket was in his wallet, which was taken during the heist. Steve and Wardell hit the streets in an effort to find the persons responsible for the robbery, and hopefully, recover the winning ticket, and exercise which has them come into contact with all sorts of underworld types, including a pint-sized karate expert named Little Seymour (Nicholas), a smooth hustler named Silky Slim who's looking to make a name for himself, and an established crime kingpin named Geechie Dan Beauford (Belafonte). Eventually Steve and Wardell do find out who was responsible fir hitting Zenobia's, and concoct a crazy scheme involving setting the crooks up to steal non-existent diamonds, all in an effort not only recover Steve's wallet (with the winning ticket), but also to jam up the gangsters with whom the pair are now in hot water with, culminating in an outlandish finale at a church picnic.

While Uptown Saturday Night was the most popular of the trio of comedies Poitier and Cosby did in the 1970s, I always thought their second feature, Let's Do It Again (1975), was actually the funniest of the three. That's not to say the other two aren't funny, as they most certainly are, but the second always seemed to stand out as the best, in my opinion. This film works for a number of reason...the story is relatively solid, the script sharp, the direction highly professional, the cast exceptionally talented (the writer states he originally wrote the film with Redd Foxx and Richard Pryor in mind to play the leads, but Poitier and Cosby were chosen instead because of their ability to generate box office sales), and finally just by the fact the filmmakers allowed enough leeway for Cosby to do a lot of what he does best, and that is improvise, as shown in some of the funniest scenes in the film, of which there are many. Watch as Cosby takes it over the top near the beginning, during the gambling sequence where he's actually winning as a female patron has the hot hand with the dice...and then there's the bit where Cosby and Poitier's characters are trying to act all tough as they enter a bar known to be a hangout for a criminal which they got a tip on...this is followed up by Cosby producing the most cockamamie line of BS as the pair find themselves in over their heads. In this particular scene, the writer mentioned in a featurette on the DVD that the boys were supposed to run out of the bar when it appeared they were going to get the beating, but then the scene was changed to allow Cosby to try and schmooze his way out of the sticky situation to no avail as the pair eventually get the beating in a hilarious fight sequence. Also, I think Bill Cosby's ratty beard should have gotten its own credit in the film, as it was almost a character unto itself...and who knew Sidney Poitier could pull off a comic role as well as he does? Sure, most of the time he was more or less the straight man, setting Cosby up, but still, he had his moments. I guess an excellent actor can perform well in any genre, given the material is there. I'll tell you what, had I not seen Harry Belafonte credited as playing the character of Geechie Dan Beauford, a comical representation of Marlon Brando's portrayal of Don Vito Corleone, I wouldn't have recognized him at all. And then there's Flip Wilson, as `The Reverend'...he's got some great lines, the best being while he's preaching to his congregation..."Friends, we need more romance and less hot pants!" Richard Pryor also has a small, but funny, role as a nervous private eye Poitier and Cosby's characters seek out to help recover the wallet. He's got a couple of great lines with regards to how African American private eyes are portrayed on screen versus reality. All in all, this is a solidly funny film, with a lot of crazy characters, quotable lines, and funky 1970s fashions and hairstyles (check out Bill Cosby's afro, complete with a part down the middle).

The anamorphic widescreen (1.85:1), looks very good here, given the age of the film. It doesn't leap out at you, but probably looks as good as when it was originally released. As far as the Dolby Digital mono audio, I have no complaints. In terms of extras, there are a few, including an audio commentary track featuring Dr. Todd Boyd, USC professor of cinema and television and author, a short featurette titled The Lowdown on Uptown: A Retrospective (7:06), and a theatrical trailer. If you liked this film, I would suggest checking out the two films that followed, Let's Do It Again (1975) and A Piece of the Action (1977). The movies aren't actually sequels, so the order in which you watch them isn't really important.

Cookieman108

By the way, as I write this, I noticed Warner Home Video, the studio that owns the film, is planning on re-releasing this movie onto DVD as a double feature with A Piece of the Action (1977), at a very attractive price. If you're interested, it might be worth it to look for that release rather than buy this stand alone version.

Great Film..........2005-12-11

I'm writing this on the day Richard Pryor met the maker. Though he plays a small part in this film, he's hysterical for all of his five minutes.

Sidney and Bill are in a nightclub when it gets robbed and the robbers take everyone's wallets. It turns out that one of the two had a winning lottery ticket in his and the chase is on to get the wallet/ticket back. They even eventually go to a private detective (pryor) who is so shady that he is packing his things to leave town just as they come by. The scene is awesome. The outtakes of this scene are great too as you can't keep Sidney and Bill from cracking up while Richard is trying to split.

Wonderful movie. It gets four stars for its genre, but just three as an all-time film. I got generous, which is very unlike me. But, seeing all these great personalities together in one film is a heck of an experience. Two things are massive standouts: One, Harry Belafonte playing Mr. Gitchie-Dan in his best Don Corleone impression is totally fun and cool. Second, you will marvel at con man Bill Cosby. From his outrageous clothes, apple-jack hat, crazy beard to an unbelievable penchant for telling the most elaborate lies you've ever heard. This is the film that made me like Bill Cosby.

They say it comes in threes. In 2005, it was Superman, then Mr. Miyagi, now Richard Pryor. Well, at least Heaven is safe from evil-doers, Moses gets to learn karate and God is laughing his ass off. That's for sure.

Average customer rating:

Happy to have used it in my Intro. to Writing class at college
Comes across as either a soap opera or a movie on Lifetime
Excellent in an unintended way
Not Like The Movie I Saw In School!

The Lottery
Starring: Keri Russell , William Daniels , and Dan Cortese
Director: Daniel Sackheim
Manufacturer: Platinum Disc
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: B0000UHFBC
Release Date: 2003-02-04

Customer Reviews:

Happy to have used it in my Intro. to Writing class at college.......2007-01-09

I coupled the DVD up with Jackson's short story. I had the class read the story in class--which is always interesting to see the reactions. The next week I played the movie much to their delight. I had viewed it first and wondered how the class would react. It's exactly what a made-for-tv movie would expect to be--set in the 90's it includes action,romance and simple dialogue. It was a different take on the story with only some references to the original story but interestingly enough it held all of my student's attention. So much so, they were yelling at the screen. But, I feel that if I they had not been introduced to the story in print firs they may not have had that same passion for the movie. To paraphrase the student's take on the movie, a majority of them said they thought it was "cheesy" at first but then they got really into it.
I ended this lesson with having them compare and contrast certain aspects of the movie with the short story.

Comes across as either a soap opera or a movie on Lifetime.......2005-11-01

My suggestion is that you read the short story because it is more effective at telling a "horror" story than this movie can possibly depict. This film just does not capture the eeriness that Shirley Jackson's work tried to show.

Sometimes filmmakers try overly hard to "modernize" a novel (or in this case, short story) and, in doing so, take out the power of the work. This film does just that, coming across more as a cheap B-movie than creating any type of creepiness. Not only this, but the acting and story are really hollow and wooden, coming across as something you might find at 8 or 9 on Lifetime. It just seems like some type of soap opera fluff, with amateurish actors.

Another problem with the film is that, unlike the short story, there is too much information given, which seems to plague most of today's horror movies. Sometimes what is left to the imagination creates much more suspense, but with the constant "flashbacks" we can only guess what is going to happen in the small town of New Hope, where our protagonist goes in search of answers to his mother's death. What we don't know, the subtle information that is lacking makes a story keeps its suspense intact. This movie seemingly gives it away within the first 10 minutes of the film, whereas in the short story you are kind of hit all of the sudden when it dawns on you what "the lottery" really is. A better imagination might have helped this film, but I guess that can't be expected with most films that are "adapted" to meet a work of fiction.

If there is anything that is redeeming it is the last half hour of the film. This is the only part that really identifies with Shirley Jackson's short story, and some of the parallels are drawn here. Otherwise, it is mediocre at best.

Excellent in an unintended way.......2005-05-20

I gave this movie a high rating not for its intended qualities, but as an illustrator of what happens to a (formally)simple story when it meets audience expectations of what a popular film must do. I teach a university literature course in which we read literature texts and then view their adaptations. We read and discuss "The Lottery" and then discuss some of the common, expected features of a hollywood blockbuster: hunky main man, sexy,muscular, yet accessible, an attractive female; a smirking villain; a quest; difficulties in both the romance and the quest; a chase scene, an exploding car, violent physical conflict, etc etc. Even the soundtrack smacks you in the face with its sheer obviousness.
Although the movies has its shortcomings, I try to not be evaluative or judgmental. I only ask my students to see how audience expectations shape an adaptation. You couldn't ask for a better pairing than the short story and the movie of The Lottery.

Not Like The Movie I Saw In School! .......2004-10-19

This made-for-TV movie, while of necessity having a story woven around Ms. Jackson's original short story (I guess in order to justify its 90-minute length), fell short in more than one way. The events leading up to Jason's trip to Maine and the town his dying father wished to have his ashes scattered in were less than convincing, as was the ending of the movie. We have Jason, the would-be hero, Felice, the fair damsel, the evil mayor who seemed to exercise God-like control over all the village's inhabitants (he forbade young Henry Watkins to go to a ball game the day of the lottery, and also persuaded Felice not to leave town with Jason on the eve of the lottery-though how he got into her home, much less her bedroom as she was packing is never really explained), the snotty sheriff's deputy and the villagers themselves. The only part of the movie worth watching was the lottery itself, although even that didn't follow the short story as well as I would have liked. The movie I saw in school was only about 40 minutes long, followed Ms. Jackson's story line exactly and was frightening to the point that I distinctly remember my blood running cold even though I was only in the seventh grade when I saw it. This TV fluff didn't really do justice to the horror I remember as a kid seeing that the woman who drew the marked ballot was about to be stoned to death so the corn would give a good harvest. The premise of the TV movie was that the stoning was a talisman against unemployment, crime, illiteracy and other social ills. Jason winds up in the state mental institution upon discovering the horrid truth of New Hope and its annual rite when he tries to report the stoning of Felice's mother. His father had wound up there for life for the same reason: his own wife was a victim of the rite and he consequently was banished from the village when he tried to save her. That Jason's father, then Jason himself winds up in the mental ward speaks of a conspiracy too large for credibility, in my view. I guess even a good storyteller isn't immune to the forces of political correctness.

Boudu Saved from Drowning - Criterion Collection

Average customer rating:

Civilization and Its Discontents
Hilarious.
a very nice film
Sophisticated And Warm, An Excellent Comedy By Jean Renoir
The Dionysian anarchy !

Boudu Saved from Drowning - Criterion Collection
Starring: Michel Simon , Marcelle Hainia , Sévérine Lerczinska , Jean Gehret , and Max Dalban
Director: Jean Renoir
Manufacturer: Criterion
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: B0009WIE2K
Release Date: 2005-08-23

Amazon.com essential video

Long before there were hippies, there was, sublimely, Boudu. In 1932 director Jean Renoir and French star Michel Simon, fresh from their early-sound triumph La Chienne, decided to re-team in adapting a stage farce about a derelict rescued from the river by a bookseller and groomed for bourgeois society. The bookseller's idea proves to be disastrous, though working through all the possibilities for disruption and catastrophe is a slow-gathering and hilarious process. Simon always seemed as much force of nature as mere actor, and his and Renoir's inspiration is to make Boudu the vagabond not a satyr or opportunist or noble savage or de facto sociopolitical anarchist, but simply an oversized manchild with no more guile or conscious agenda than the shaggy dog whose sudden defection led him to throw himself into the Seine. If his insistence on leaving a downy-soft bed to sleep in the hall happens to block the door to the maid's room, where his benefactor Lestingois is wont to sneak after the wife's asleep, well, Boudu doesn't really plan it that way. And if he leaves a wet lugie between the pages of a first-edition Balzac, well, they asked him not to spit on the floor, after all!

We can see that the original farce (by René Fauchois) was probably pretty funny to begin with, but Renoir makes of it much, much more. Boudu Saved from Drowning--arguably the first French New Wave film, nearly 30 years before there was a New Wave--is one of those cardinal works in which we can see, and experience anew, a great filmmaker inventing the cinema. Without jettisoning the formal qualities of the theatrical farce, Renoir opens his film to light, fresh air, and the teeming multifariousness of Parisian street life; the denizens of the city become unwitting extras in the movie as Boudu first shambles, then prances, among them. The deep-focus camerawork is exhilarating, but even the gregarious roughness of the production feels right, indeed essential. "I believe that perfection is even dangerous," Renoir remarked of his own movie. "If a film is perfect, the public has nothing to add.... The audience should always be trying to finish a picture, ... fill in the holes which we didn't fill." Collaborating on Boudu is a glorious experience. --Richard T. Jameson

Description

After well-to-do bookseller Edouard Lestingois (Charles Granval) rescues a tramp from a suicidal plunge into the Seine, his family adopts the bum and dedicates itself to reforming him. The irrepressible Boudu (Michel Simon) shows his gratitude by shaking the household to its foundations, challenging the hidebound principles of his hosts and seducing them with his anarchic charm. With Boudu Saved from Drowning, legendary director Jean Renoir takes advantage of a host of Parisian locations and a brilliant performance by Simon to create an effervescent satire of bourgeois complacency.

Customer Reviews:

Civilization and Its Discontents.......2007-06-09

In BOUDU Renoir's satire is never cruel; he shows affection for all of his silly characters--and NO ONE escapes a ribbing.

Boudu is pure id (imagine Walt Whitman on a three-day bender), but he has no real malice toward anyone. Lestingois is driven by a sincere and utterly self-serving sense of compassion. He thinks he can bring this wild animal into his house and groom and curry him until he personifies the bookseller's own generosity. And he thinks he can do this without any noticeable disruption in his own carefully ordered universe. Boudu consents to apply polish to his shoes, yes; then he wipes the excess fresh polish off with the aid of a white bedspread. At every turn, china shop meets bull. It's lovely.

Hilarious........2006-10-12

I'm not into a lot of analysis and social commentary like many of the reviewers of this film seem to be. And I have nothing against the bourgeoisie--average middle class people make the world go round (and I bet that most people who review films on Amazon are very middle-class, enjoying the comforts of 21st century America--which are considerably more than the comforts of 1930's France.) I can see that if there was a real Boudu, I would not want him in my house for very long, if at all (the man spits in books! He uses clean bed quilts to wipe his dirty feet!) However, all social commentary aside, this is one of the funniest movies ever. Michel Simon is a comic genius. The physical things he does, the way he talks just continually crack you up--he would be funny in a moview by himself. But it's even funnier here to watch him react with the other people in the movie, who are all really good actors and excellent straight men (and women). If you just want to laugh and laugh, watch this.

a very nice film.......2006-03-13

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

"Boudu saved from drowning" known in France as "Boudu sauvé des eaux" is a comedy about a Parisian bookseller who rescues a homeless man from a suicide attempt. He takes him in but his poor manners bother those around him.

The film is directed by Jean Renoir known for many other great classic French films. The film has some great scenes of 1930's Paris and good acting.

The DVD has plenty of extra features also.
There is an old introduction to the film by Jean Renoir, an interactive map of 1930's Paris specializing in the film's locations, a new interview with filmmaker Jean-Pierre Gorin, scenes from a program featuring Jean Renoir and Michel Simon, and a video conversation between film director Eric Rohmer and movie critic Jean Douchet

The interactive map feature was very well done and shows how the filming locations appear today.

Overall, this is a very fine movie and I recommend it.

Sophisticated And Warm, An Excellent Comedy By Jean Renoir.......2005-09-30

Turning off the water in the sink is as alien an idea to Boudu as not spitting on the dining room rug. Watching him try to clean bootblack from his hands is to watch the destruction of a kitchen. He's as oblivious to others as a strong wind blowing through a garden. One critic said the character of Boudu was like a ball in a pinball machine. Boudu (Michel Simon) is a scruffy tramp who jumps off a bridge in Paris when he loses his dog. Edouard Lestingois (Charles Granval) is a chubby, middle-aged bookseller, very much a member of the bourgeoisie, who rushes out of his shop, leaps into the river, saves Boudu and takes him into his home. Lestingois has a wife who is proper and cool. He employs a maid who is lusty and accommodating. Boudu will change their lives.

Boudu is an anarchic force of nature, stuffing his sardine dinner into his mouth with his hands and spitting his wine onto the floor. For Lestingois, who at first is pleased with himself for his heroism and with taking in such a specimen of the lower class, life becomes complicated and frustrating. He enjoys his trysts with the maid, Anne-Marie, but he recognizes he's getting a bit old. "She's charming," he says, "but last night I fell asleep before I could join her. No doubt about it, I'm growing old. My pipes are weary, and soon some shepherd will lure her with his youthful flute." Boudu, however, soon wearies of sleeping in a bed and takes to sleeping in the hall, next to Anne-Marie's door. "I get bored all alone in my room," Anne Marie tells Lestingois. "I'm not exactly jumping for joy in my room, either," he says. "Are you sorry you saved him?" she asks. "At night, I am."

Madame Lestingois, however, once Boudu is convinced to get a haircut and wear a proper suit, may not be quite the piece of ice she appears to be. When Boudu has the opportunity to closely inspect a small birthmark on Madame Lestingois' chest, well, it's not long before Madame Lestingois hears trumpets playing.

Boudu remains the same, wrapped up in his own world and with his own behavior, refusing a favor, turning back an innocent inquiry, tickling the bottom of Anne Marie, enjoying Madame Lestingois, making himself obliviously at home with Edouard Lestingois. He's a natural force that can't be controlled and, for some, barely endured. By the end of the movie it appears, however, that a lottery ticket and the prospect of lustful marriage to Anne Marie may finally tame Boudu. "For once, both modern morals and the laws of nature are satisfied," says a member of the wedding party. Fortunately, a lily floating on the river and a bad sense of balance bring Boudu back the life he had. He may have been saved from drowning at the start of the movie, but he's saved from bourgeois respectability at the end.

This is a marvelously sophisticated and warm comedy. Everybody has their foibles exposed and no one really gets hurt. Michel Simon as Boudu is simply unique. "I watch Boudu often," says Jean Renoir in a filmed introduction to the movie, "not because I revel in contemplation of my past work, but simply because of Michel Simon." Charles Granval as Lestingois is just about as good.

The Criterion DVD presentation is first rate. There are several extras which are interesting and informative, including an interview made 35 years later with Renoir and Simon discussing the movie.

The Dionysian anarchy !.......2005-09-08

After a suicide attempt, a beggar (Michel Simon) is saved from the waters by an antiquarian bestseller. The rest runs for you because the only fact to intend describe it it would break the magic spell.
A tour de force film, in the same line of Rene Clair' s Paris belongs us.
A magisterial masterpiece.

Average customer rating:

Great Film, Awful transfer
Love From a Stranger

Love From a Stranger
Starring: Jean Cadell , Donald Calthrop , Binnie Hale , Ann Harding , and Joan Hickson
Director: Rowland V. Lee
Manufacturer: Alpha Video
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ASIN: B0001ZMWT6
Release Date: 2004-05-25

Customer Reviews:

Great Film, Awful transfer.......2005-06-24

I'm reviewing the Alpha DVD Edition of this film, the three stars I gave the product are due to the bad quality of the transfer, because I'd given the film alone, four and half stars. With Alpha's DVD Editions, you either have the luck of getting decent copies (sometimes even very good ones like "The Strange Love of Martha Ivers") or awful ones, like this one in particular.

The film is based upon a Play of an Agatha Christie Story and is superbly directed by Rowland V.Lee, with an almost complete English Cast, except for Ms. Harding. The plot is quite simple and suspenseful: a working girl wins a huge amount of money in the Lottery and meets a mysterious, attractive man.

It was filmed in 1937, when the leading actress' stardom (Ann Harding) had already waned in the United States (after being one of the Top Stars during the Early Sound Era). Nonetheless, her acting ability and talent are obvious as well as her charm and grace. Basil Rathbone is excellent too as the mysterious man who arrives into her life, giving a skilled performance.

The rest of the supporting cast is very good too and the sets and the film's atmosphere give the proper background to this entertaining story. In spite of the bad quality of the transfer, I could enjoy the film's plot completely, because it's so absorbing and well paced, that you forget about the "technical flaws" of the copy.

If you liked Robert Montgomery's "Night Must Fall", this one's for you. 'Til now Alpha's is the only DVD Edition available of this film.

Love From a Stranger.......2004-09-13

LOVE FROM A STRANGER is based on the Frank Vosper play of Agatha Christie's short story "Philomel Cottage." Indeed, it feels a little stage bound and static. The plot is simple enough. Working girl Ann Harding wins the lottery, throws her fiance over for Basil Rathbone, and they move to a secluded cottage in the country, where....
But that would be telling, and one doesn't do that with Agatha Christie. It's enough to say that young Ann might have been better off if she had patched things up with her intended before marrying stranger Rathbone.
There are a few items you'll have to endure before you get to the rewarding ending. The transfer print this dvd was taken from was in pretty rough shape, and I couldn't say for sure that it contains one unblemished frame. There's also a lot of background noise on the soundtrack. Rathbone's character travels the steepest arc I recall ever seeing. If you don't buy into it (I did) I can imagine his acting would be enough for someone to turn this one off.
LOVE FROM A STRANGER is worth sticking with to the end. I thought I'd figured it out and the movie still managed to throw in a surprise or two that caught me unawares. A perfect movie for a rainy, Sunday afternoon.
LOVE FROM A STRANGER is based on the Frank Vosper play of Agatha Christie's short story "Philomel Cottage." Indeed, it feels a little stage bound and static. The plot is simple enough. Working girl Ann Harding wins the lottery, throws her fiance over for Basil Rathbone, and they move to a secluded cottage in the country, where....
But that would be telling, and one doesn't do that with Agatha Christie. It's enough to say that young Ann might have been better off if she had patched things up with her intended before marrying stranger Rathbone.
There are a few items you'll have to endure before you get to the rewarding ending. The transfer print this dvd was taken from was in pretty rough shape, and I couldn't say for sure that it contains one unblemished frame. There's also a lot of background noise on the soundtrack. Rathbone's character travels the steepest arc I recall ever seeing. If you don't buy into it (I did) I can imagine his acting would be enough for someone to turn this one off.
LOVE FROM A STRANGER is worth sticking with to the end. I thought I'd figured it out and the movie still managed to throw in a surprise or two that caught me unawares. A perfect movie for a rainy, Sunday afternoon.

Average customer rating:

worth the money
Go For Broke
I THINK THIS IS GREAT!
not too bad...

Go For Broke
Starring: Bobby Brown , Brendan Connor (II) , Michael A. Goorjian , Garry Guerrier , and Tanya Hubbard
Manufacturer: Lions Gate
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ASIN: B00007G1U0
Release Date: 2003-01-21

Customer Reviews:

worth the money.......2006-07-15

I thought the movie was going to boring and have a lot of bad actors from the cover but it's a good movie funny and entertaining.something you could watch a second time and still be interested in watching ,you will enjoy this movie.

Go For Broke.......2005-03-08

This is a good movie. I got some laughs out of this one.

I THINK THIS IS GREAT!.......2003-10-09

I LIKED THE MOVIE IT WAS CUTE!
SUPPORT BLACK MOVIES!
THEY GOT AWAY WITH THE PLAN!
5 STARS*****

not too bad..........2003-01-31

I actually rented this movie, and from seeing who was in the movie caught my curiousity. Now i have seen other movies on curiousity as well and many i have regretted. But, this one wasn't bad at all. It takes a couple of spoofs on "Pulp Fiction"
and has the same feel, but with a ghetto twist on it. And at times the story is very unbelievable, where you would probably say they should have done this with that character instead of what the director, and screenwriter did with some of the characters. But, what do you expect for a straight to video release. 9 times out of 10 these end up being the best movies. So i try t keep an open mind and give new, unheard movies a chance. You may never know.

Average customer rating:

NOT AS GREAT AS EVERYONE SAYS!
Light-hearted, sweet, clever and funny; an early sound musical by René Clair
Le Million
A Majestic Musical
The love of money is the root of all evil

Le Million - Criterion Collection
Starring: Annabella , René Lefèvre , Jean-Louis Allibert , Paul Ollivier , and Constantin Siroesco
Director: René Clair
Manufacturer: Criterion
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ASIN: 0780023099
Release Date: 2000-05-16

Amazon.com

Welcome back one of the treasures of international cinema. In 1929-30, when Hollywood was stymied by the arrival of talkies, a Frenchman named René Clair set about reinventing the movies for the world of sound. Rather than enslave his camera--and imagination--to a microphone in a potted palm, Clair embraced sound as a liberating new dimension of the motion picture. His effervescent comedy-musical-romance Le Million doesn't just feature a witty commingling of dialogue and song--it's a jeu d'esprit in which every movement, every cut, every sound effect (or absence thereof) contributes to a lilting rhythm.

The plot is precisely as airy and as farcically complicated as it needs to be. Suffice it to say that there's this threadbare jacket with a winning lottery ticket in the pocket. It becomes separated from its starving-artist owner and leads him and numerous others a merry chase over the roofs of Paris, through the urban underworld, and onto the very stage of the Opera. You'll wonder more than once whether the Marx Brothers were taking notes.

For no good reason whatsoever, Le Million remained out of circulation for decades, except for a few bleary dupe videos. Now we have a crystal-clear DVD that does full justice to Lazare Meerson's ethereal settings, Georges Périnal's luminous camerawork, the enchanting beauty of leading lady Annabella, and René Clair's world-class comedy masterpiece. There shall be dancing in the streets. --Richard T. Jameson

Description

An impoverished artist discovers he has purchased a winning lottery ticket at the very moment his creditors come to collect. The only problem is, the ticket is in the pocket of his coat. . . which he left at his girlfriend's apartment. . . who gave the coat to a man hiding from the police. . . who sells the coat to an opera singer who uses it during a performance. By turns charming and inventive, René Clair's lyrical masterpiece had a profound impact on not only the Marx Brothers and Charlie Chaplin, but on the American Musical as a whole.

Customer Reviews:

NOT AS GREAT AS EVERYONE SAYS!.......2007-03-12

I rented this movie thinking it would be awesome, from all the rave reviews it got on Amazon. But it's really just a pretty average comedy. It's about this starving artist who can't pay his bills, and then all of a sudden he wins a lottrey and wins a 1,000,000 florets (francs?) But his girlfriend gave away the jacket his lottery ticket is in. and the whole rest of the movie is about them trying to get the ticket back. And there are songs that are okay and some okay opera numbers. There's nothing wrong with the movie, it's just not that great. There are a lot of better early foreign movies you can see. GASPARONE with Johannes Heesters and Marika Rokk was great. This DVD is not worth the money, as the print could've been better, and I expected better from Criterion.

P.S. Don't turn on the subtitles while watching this movie, even if you don't understand French. it makes the movie much more enjoyable, because the translated script isn't very good.

Light-hearted, sweet, clever and funny; an early sound musical by René Clair.......2006-08-15

Seventy-five years old, and René Clair's Le Million remains one of the most delightful, ebullient and amusing of movies. It's even more interesting if you take the time to read the insert in the Criterion case before you watch the film.

Michel (René Lefevre), a poor artist, shares a garret with his best friend, Prosper. Michel's girl friend, Beatrice (Annabella), lives across the hall. Then Michel discovers he has won the lottery with a prize of one million Dutch florins. But where did he put the ticket? Ah, yes, in the pocket of his coat. But he gave the old coat to Beatrice to mend. And when she saw Michel sitting very close to his model, Vanda, she angrily gave the coat away to a poor man who appeared in her room with a story about being chased. And the poor man, Grandpa Tulip, turns out to be a ringleader of a group of thieves. When he gets back to his store, where he sells all the stolen goods he receives, he tosses the old coat on a pile of clothing. And just then tenor Sopranelli enters the store looking for an old coat as part of his costume for an opera concert he's giving that night at the Opera Lyrique. "A great artist," he points out, "must pay attention to the slightest details." Soon everyone is after the coat, including all of Michel's creditors. And all this frenetic comedy is played out with songs. Le Million was one of the first, if not the first, musical comedies of the sound era.

The music pervades the movie, jaunty, romantic and light hearted, from fragments the characters' consciences sing to themselves to the long and sweet opera scene to the joyous opening and closing. Even the thieves have a song...

"We are the foot soldiers of inequality.
We take back the spoils of social injustice.
And under the watchful eye of the police...
...the watchful eye of the police...
We redistribute wealth and private property."

To which the police reply...

"We are the foot soldiers of legality.
No bandit can escape the police.
Our arm upholds the scale of justice
In the name of public virtue and private property."

The movie is full of marvelous and inventive sequences. The opening of the film takes us over the roof tops of Paris to a lit skylight, where two elderly men are clambering up to look in. They raise the skylight and the sound of happy song comes up to us. They're spotted, and the dancing crowd asks if they'd like some champagne. They'll be told the story of why everyone is dancing, and they...and we...are informed that the story, of course, has a happy ending. I was charmed starting right then.

A major sequence takes place back stage at the Opera Lyrique. Everyone who has learned of the ticket in the coat has converged here. At one point there is a mad chase for the coat that morphs into a football match complete with crowd cheers and an umpire's whistle. Another time there are fast comings and goings into closets, rooms, hallways and behind the scenery as the curtain goes up. And when the curtain goes up, Sopranelli and a bulky, middle-aged diva wearing a blonde wig with pigtails down to her hips begin to sing a ponderously romantic song. Behind an artificial bush Michel and Beatrice are trapped. And as the singing continues, the camera turns the scenery into a magic, artificial forest where it would be impossible for two lovers not to embrace. They turn the elephantine song into a tableaux with falling artificial leaves as they make the lyrics become real. It's one of the most inventive and sweetest scenes you'll ever hope to see. Throughout the movie are chases up and down stairs and in and out of rooms, with doors locked and opened, and improbable hiding places discovered. Critics have made a good case of how this film influenced Chaplin and the Marx Brothers, as well as Rodgers and Hart's and Rouben Mamoulian's Love Me Tonight.

Film analysis aside, you'd have to be a terminal grump to watch this movie without a smile on your face.

The Criterion picture looks very good, especially considering age and probable condition of the source print. The only significant extra is a short film interview with René Clair made in 1959 when he discussed his views on sound in motion pictures.

Le Million.......2005-09-06

At the dawn of sound, director René Clair brought us this delicious farcical concoction, imbued with a spirited, joyously romantic flavor only the French can produce. It is unalloyed fun to watch the cast of kooks-able performers all-run circles around each other while occasionally bursting into song. The sequence in which Michel and Company make a grab for the coat during a stage performance of "La Boheme," is a highlight. Fresh and timeless.

A Majestic Musical.......2004-10-30

One of the most majestic compositions of comedy and musical ever shown in a film. Absolutely hilarious even for today's standards. An explosive plot that builds suspense and romance until the films climatic end. A certain classic!

The love of money is the root of all evil.......2004-05-24

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

This movie, one of the very first sound films made in France remains a comic classic today and the Biblical message of the film is often overlooked. In the film, a man who is in debt has the winning lottery ticket for 1,000,000 francs. Unfortunately the jacket he left the ticket in goes missing and he goes to great lengths to reacquire the jacket. Later word gets out about it and others are trying to take the jacket also. There is a man brandishing a gun who takes the jacket by force also. This film shows that money has the power to corrupt people greatly.

"For the love of money is the root of all evil" 1 Timothy 6:10

The DVD has improved subtitles and also has a production photo gallery and an interview with director René Clair.

DVD:

DVD

DVD

DVD

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