Love on the Run

Starring:Jean-Pierre LÃ©aud, Marie-France Pisier, Claude Jade, Dani (II), DorothÃ©e, Daniel Mesguich, Julien Bertheau, Jean-Pierre Ducos, Marie Henriau, Rosy Varte, Pierre Dios, Alain Ollivier, Julien Dubois, Monique Dury, Emmanuel Clot, Christian Lentretien, Roland ThÃ©not, Alexandre Janssen, Chantal Zaugg, AndrÃ© Dussollier
Director: FranÃ§ois Truffaut
Studio: Fox Lorber
Product Type: DVD

Amazon.com

Directed with consummate skill by Terence Young, the second James Bond spy thriller is considered by many fans to be the best of them all. Certainly Sean Connery was never better as the dashing Agent 007, whose latest mission takes him to Istanbul to retrieve a top-secret Russian decoding machine. His efforts are thwarted when he gets romantically distracted by a sexy Russian double agent (Daniela Bianchi), and is tracked by a lovely assassin (Lotte Lenya) with switchblade shoes, and by a crazed killer (Robert Shaw), who clashes with Bond during the film's dazzling climax aboard the Orient Express. From Russia with Love is classic James Bond, before the gadgets, pyrotechnics, and Roger Moore steered the movies away from the more realistic tone of the books by Ian Fleming. --Jeff Shannon

Customer Reviews:

One of the best 007 movies!.......2007-06-28

Along with Goldfinger, this is probably the best of the early James Bond films. Sean Connery was excellent in it. The story and the cast is great. The fight scene on the train between Connery and Shaw is worth the price alone! A face paced, well thought out and entertaining film.

From Russia With Love.......2007-06-27

This stylish second entry in the Bond franchise features a less cold-blooded, more dashing 007, played to the hilt with campy savoir faire by the ever-classy Connery. Young streamlines the action, too, and in the absence of fancy gadgets (those came later), gave audiences thrilling, well-orchestrated chases and clashes, culminating in a heart-racing death match between Connery and deadly, dyed-blond assassin Shaw aboard the Orient Express. The kittenishly seductive Romanova is fetching as Bond's dicey love interest, but German chanteuse Lenya has the most fun springing poisonous blades from her shoes. Racy, exhilarating, and loads of fun, "Love" breathes flashy new life into Ian Fleming's classic novel.

The Bond movie that started a craze.......2007-06-27

From Russia With Love set the stage for all the James Bond movies that followed. With an excellent startup from Dr. No, James Bond gets into full swing battling SPECTRE up and down Europe, and has one of the best Bond fights on the Orient Express. Beautiful women, tough bad guys and just the right amount of Bond toys make it one of the best James Bond movies of them all!

An excellent addition to the Bond franchise........2007-06-16

Brimming with tension, suspense, and understated cool, From Russia with Love is one of the very best movies in the entire James Bond series. The plot, which revolves around the criminal organization SPECTRE and its attempt to steal a Soviet codemaking machine by manipulating and ultimatley murdering a certain British secret agent (guess which one), is clever and engrossing. Part of the movie's charm comes from simply watching SPECTRE's plan unfold. The film is also incredibly atmospheric: Bond travels to a lush, decedant Istanbul before heading back west on a train trip that hangs heavy with mystery and paranoia.

Sean Connery is, of course, incredible. To put it plainly, the guy simply IS James Bond. He's in complete command of the character, playing his role with absolute confidence, brimming with wit, charm, and ruthless intelligence. Connery's Bond is mesmerizing, his performance a masterpiece. The rest of the cast is fantastic as well: Lotte Lenya is unforgettable as the brutal Colonel Rosa Kleb, playing her part with relentless authority and barely subdued insanity. Ditto for Robert Shaw, whose portrayal of ruthless assassain Donald "Red" Grant is fiery and intense. Shaw turns his charater into an omen, a source of constantly escalating tension and nervous energy. Pedro Armendariz is superb as the exuberant, friendly, and loveable Kerim Bey, who befriends and assists Bond in Istanbul. The film also contains the first appearance of Desmond Llewelyn as Q, one of the series' most beloved characters (he'd appear in every subsequent Bond film until 1999's The World is Not Enough).

Throw in John Berry's tension-filled soundtrack and some of the sharpest one-liners ever found in a Bond film and you've got an absolute classic, and one of the finest entries in an excellent series.

One of the best of the entire series.......2007-04-08

A favorite of many Bond fans and filmmakers alike is this second entry into the EON Bond film canon (a separate production company had produced Fleming's CASINO ROYALE for American television CBS in the 1950s). Alongside 1969s ON HER MAJESTY'S SECRET SERVICE as one of the more faithful movie adaptations of the Fleming book this movie is disliked by some for its slower pace and less fantastical plot and adored by others for precisely the same reasons.
I suppose it all depends on what you are looking for in a Bond movie. For it was not until the next entry in the series in 1964s GOLDFINGER that the movies budgets ballooned and took on the more recognizable Bond-movie shape of fantastic world domination plots, cartoonish action and over-the-top villains. Here, we have a more quiet down-to-earth plot involving extortion and revenge, but its carefully woven plot makes the movie just as thrilling and the action just as compelling.
There are some deviations from the plot of the Fleming novel, but nothing that detracts too seriously from what is the most important element here - the story and characterization. For example in the book Flemings villains was the real-life Soviet agency SMERSH, which is changed to the fictional private organization SPECTRE (which Fleming created along with Kevin McClory for a failed movie script after he had written the novel on which this movie is based.) No doubt the filmmakers decided to change the villain for political reasons as well as to develop the recurring villain mentioned in passing in the first of the EON movies (1962s DR. NO).
The plot concerns SPECTRE's attempts to use British intelligence to steal a valuable Soviet decoder, blackmail British intelligence and murder British agent James Bond in revenge for the loss of their agent Dr. No.
In order to pull off this audacious scheme, SPECTRE's Col. Rosa Klebb (brilliantly played by Lotte Lenya) enlists the aid of Russian clerk Tatiana Romanova who believes that she is working for the KGB. Romanova is chosen for her beauty as a lure for James Bond and the Lektor decoder as a lure for 007 and British intelligence. Indeed the ploy works to perfection as we witness later the disinterest of 007 change to amiable interest after being shown a picture of Romanova.
Following the traditional gunbarrel sequence we are given our first true precredits sequence. In the first movie the gunbarrel went straight into the credits sequence, but here we are treated to a mini-adventure in what would become a standard trademark for the series. James Bond is on the hunt, or is he the hunted? Stalking around a garden in the middle of the night when all of a sudden Bond is set upon by a giant man (played to perfection by the always excellent Robert Shaw.) Who then pulls a wire from his watch and garrotes the British agent. The sequence serves as a foreshadowing of a scene towards the end of the movie and is also the first instance in which the audience is tricked into believing that 007 has been killed. In the future 007 movies 1967s YOU ONLY LIVE TWICE and the rogue movie 1983s NEVER SAY NEVER AGAIN this ploy would also be used. Sure enough following the death of "James Bond" the lights go up revealing a big estate house (actually a house on the backlot of Pinewood Studios) and it is revealed as a SPECTRE training session with a man posing as 007.
Shaw is excellent as Red Grant. Even today over 40 years later he regularly tops the list among Bond fans as a favorite villain. He plays the role with understated deliberate menace and the fight scene on the orient express (which is usually cut down for television) is brutal and frenetic. Similar scenes of fighting on a train have been repeated in later Bond movies but none have quite matched this one.
Other elements that would become a series trademark also make their first appearances in this picture. We have the introduction of a real bona fide gadget and the first screen appearance of the actor who would become famous for introducing James Bond to all manner of incredible gizmos while in real-life being the most un-mechanically minded of people - the late Desmond Llewelyn.
Here Bond is equipped with a briefcase with such hidden qualities as a knife that protrudes out of the side, coinage for bribing enemy agents and a innocent looking bottle of talc that is actually tear gas for disabling prying eyes who open the case the wrong way. Of course all of these help save 007 later on in the movie (strange how he always seems to have just what he needs for any eventuality).
Overall then we have a taut, well-crafted James Bond movie with standout performances from all the principal actors. Of particular note is the Mexican actor Pedro Armendáriz who plays the Turkish British agent Kerim Bey. There seems to be a genuine friendship between Bond and this amiable rogue, a chemistry similar to that between Bond and Columbo in the 1981 movie FOR YOUR EYES ONLY.
With a travelogue feel that was a feature of the early movies, this was after all before the holiday shows and Discovery Channel documentaries on different areas of the world. And some compelling action (though on a smaller scale than later scenes the fight between Bond and Klebb with the latter wielding a poisoned tipped shoe is white knuckle stuff). This is a movie that should be on everyone's must-see list.

Average customer rating:

Better every time.
contained crazyness
Great Indie film!
"You're calling me a bully? Here's a bully for you!"
Good movie

Bottle Rocket
Starring: Luke Wilson , Owen Wilson , Ned Dowd , Shea Fowler , and Haley Miller
Director: Wes Anderson
Manufacturer: Sony Pictures
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ASIN: 0767821408
Release Date: 1998-12-22

Amazon.com

This quietly daffy comedy should have been an indie hit, but ended up ignored by audiences. Too bad; it's a wonderfully sustained caper movie about friends whose career choice is all wrong. Low-key Anthony (Luke Wilson) and high-strung Dignan (Owen C. Wilson--the two actors are brothers) are brought into a life of crime by Dignan's ambition to be a small-time thief. After a few amusingly laid-back trial burglaries, they (and a third buddy) find themselves over their heads when they hook up with an experienced crime boss (James Caan). Because this movie is so relentlessly deadpan, you really have to be dialed in to its brand of humor--but once there, Bottle Rocket shoots off plenty of sparks. Above all, Owen Wilson's portrayal of Dignan is a terrifically original comic creation; Dignan is so sincerely focused on his goals that he can't see how completely absurd his ideas are. Owen Wilson, who went on to supply similarly knuckle-headed performances in Armageddon and Permanent Midnight, wrote the screenplay with director Wes Anderson. --Robert Horton

Customer Reviews:

Better every time........2007-06-27

I love Owen and Luke. Every time I watch this movie I enjoy it more and more. I am so glad that I was able to find it.

contained crazyness.......2007-04-15

Definit own if you have any luke or owen wilson films. Two middle class guys with a crazy outlook on life - that need something to do. luke commits himself to a mental hospital - at like 20 because he needs a break from life . . . then him and his friends rob a book store because they didnt want to live a normal life and wanted to gain street credit with this stunt - to get in this gang later - and make crime money. it all gets screwed up - check out punk drunk love ..
xoxo

Great Indie film!.......2007-04-15

This film is probably starting to make its way to mainstream with the commercial success of the Wilson brothers, Luke and Owen.
This film is perhaps one of the best independent films I have ever seen. Owen Wilson and Wes Anderson (who co-wrote with Owen W. and directed the film) paired on several films of less-than-popular stature. All of them are quirky at worst and extremely entertaining at best. As a note, I would recommend all of them as spectacular, with slight hesitation on "The Royal Tannenbaums".
This film in particular was a showcase of how good writing can make up for subpar acting. The actors in this movie were not great, but the story, the words, they were fantastic. Basically, a guy gets bored with life and wants some adventure and he drags his buddies along as he attempts to become a criminal. Things don't go as planned, but the results are very funny.
I am not a huge fan of big hollywood type films, so I have lost interest in most of the films of the Wilson brothers, but this one shows brilliance when they were unknown.
A very intelligent, funny film. It is not a slapstick comedy, so don't rent it if you are expecting "Tommy Boy" or "Happy Gilmore". If you like quirky comedies, comedies that make you think, in the vein of "Waiting for Guffman", "Drop Dead Gorgeous", "A Mighty Wind" or "Rushmore", then this is a perfect fit for you; buy it. If you want a 3 Stooges type comedy, you can look elsewhere; this one is more low key.

"You're calling me a bully? Here's a bully for you!".......2007-04-05

Even though he's only made four movies, Wes Anderson is one of the most talented, interesting, and quirky directors in the business. He's still young, but with only four films under his belt he's already become a synonym for a very distinct type of filmmaking, e.g. "That movie was kind of Wes Andersonish." Having seen the final three films of the Anderson canon (RUSHMORE, THE ROYAL TENEBAUMS, and THE LIFE AQUATIC WITH STEVE ZISSOU), I finally had the opportunity to see Anderson's debut feature, BOTTLE ROCKET. The movie begins rather slowly, but by the end I was laughing my head off and decided BOTTLE ROCKET was my second favorite film next to THE LIFE AQUATIC WITH STEVE ZISSOU.

The movie was released early in 1996 and though not as technically strong as Anderson's later pictures, it illustrates the genius of filmmaking that he is. In addition to being Anderson's major directorial debut, the movie is also known as the film that catapulted the Wilson brothers, Owen and Luke, into superstardom. Luke Wilson portrays Anthony Adams, a young man who is struggling with his identity and purpose in life. After taking time to recuperate at a voluntary mental hospital, Anthony returns home and meets up with his childhood friend, Dignan (Owen Wilson). Anthony is looking forward to settling down and getting on with life while Dignan has bigger plans for both of them. Dignan wants Anthony to enjoy life, too, but through a totally different means than he imagines: a life of pleasure gained from committing crime. At first, Anthony isn't willing to join Dignan's wild scheme, but Dignan is persistent and breaks through Anthony's reluctance and gets him to join him on a crime spree to impress Dignan's former boss, Mr. Henry, a supposed local crime lord. Dignan also gets another friend, Bob Mapplethorpe (Robert Musgrave) to join the scheme. While Dignan goes about planning the caper, Bob tries to fend off his bully brother John, aka "Future Man" (Andrew Wilson--the overlooked Wilson brother) and Anthony falls in love with a Latino motel housekeeper named Inez (Lumi Cavazos).
The film leads up to the caper itself, an event that is both hilarious and heartbreaking.

All of the actors do a great job. I particularly liked Andrew Wilson (whose real childhood nickname was Future Man because he was seen as being so serious and looking to the future) and Kumar Pallana who portrays Kumar, a supposed expert safe-cracker that Dignan adds to his crime team.

Not everyone is going to enjoy watching BOTTLE ROCKET. The movie has a very odd pacing, even for a Wes Anderson film. It's evident that both the director and cast were adjusting to making a major picture. Also, since this is a Wes Anderson picture, not everyone is going to like, enjoy, or even understand the humor. There are no cheap gags or easy jokes. Instead, the comedy can best be described as intellectual-situational. In short, it's kind-of Wes Andersonish. A must-see for fans of Wes Anderson or any of the Wilson brothers as well as anyone who likes quirky dramatic-comedies.

Good movie.......2007-01-23

I liked this movie. I wished there was audio commentary. If there is a Criterion Collection available I'd get it. But I have to settle for this one...

Average customer rating:

Paul Hogan, the one and only... Crocodile Dundee!
cool
Paul Hogan is a joy to watch
Part 2 just as good as Dundee 1
How one can use sheer human ingenuity to outsmart...to survive in the outbacks as well as in the concrete jungle!

Crocodile Dundee II
Starring: Paul Hogan , Linda Kozlowski , John Meillon , Ernie Dingo , and Steve Rackman
Director: John Cornell
Manufacturer: Paramount
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ASIN: B00005N5SB
Release Date: 2001-09-18

Amazon.com

The 1988 follow-up to Paul Hogan's international hit "Crocodile" Dundee is less interesting and more formulaic than the first film, while a silly suspense element about a retaliatory drug kingpin has an air of contrivance. The story reverses the course of "Crocodile" Dundee, this time beginning in New York City and switching to the rugged bush country of Australia, where Dundee and his companion (Linda Kozlowski) run into trouble with the aforementioned villain. Hogan's natural charm keeps the movie afloat and easy to stick with, but the production lacks all the freshness and surprise of its predecessor. --Tom Keogh

Customer Reviews:

Paul Hogan, the one and only... Crocodile Dundee!.......2007-04-15

Crocodile Dundee II continues its recipe for making great movies! All the ingredients are there; adventure, action, romance, and great comedy.

Our modern day Tarzan is now a bit more mature and the story, while still very funny, carries a stronger message. Mick Dundee, played by Paul Hogan, is still in New York City with journalist Sue Charlton, who is played by Linda Kozlowski. Sue's ex-husband who is also a journalist, opens the movie covering a case in South America, where he gets involved on a story that exposes him to real danger. He is shooting the bad guys when he witnesses a murder.

Mr. Tanner sends the film to Sue but she is not home to get it, Mick Dundee does. The bad guys visit New York City to retrieve the package, taking Sue hostage. They soon realize she knows nothing about the situation, she did not get the phone message Mr. Tanner left for her, and she does not have the package.

Rico, the drug dealer played by Hechter Ubarry, is the type of villain that will do whatever it takes to achieve power and wealth, and knows the pictures would not only compromise his plans, but they would prove how corrupt his organization is.

Mick Dundee is able to save his lady from the kidnappers thanks to the help of a gang. Very funny moments are seen as he "bonds" with this group, which soon find themselves captivated by the Australian. As the film progresses, Mick realizes that he is out of his element and that if he is to have a chance at avoiding the danger represented by the drug-dealers, he must travel back to Australia, where "he can see them coming."

Back at home in Australia is where the real fun begins as we now see the bad guys in trouble. One by one, in some of the best moments of this film, we see them succumb to Mick Dundee. One of the best scenes has an aborigine poking at one of the captured villains and Sue asks what he just said to one of Mick's friends, only to hear that... "he is asking whether we can eat them." Of course, the villains faint at the realization that they are no longer in control.

A superb sequel to one of the best characters created... the one and only... Crocodile Dundee!

cool.......2007-04-05

Great shape when it arrived and arrived the next day even though it wasnt supposed to arrive for two days...I was very satisfied with amazon and my purchase!!

Paul Hogan is a joy to watch.......2007-03-14

I am a total Paul Hogan Fan! I like him in everything he has done. Crocodile Dundee II takes his character a bit farther than the first movie. The first movie is a marvelous Love Story, this one shows some of his history. Love this movie.
RL

Part 2 just as good as Dundee 1.......2007-01-04

IF you enjoyed the comedy and romance of Crocodile Dundee, then you'll enjoy Part 2 of their story. Good suspense and comedy galore!! DVD arrived promtly with no delivery delays. Seller is trustworthy. Also ordered more DVD's from same company...same results. RPITA, Brick, N.J.

How one can use sheer human ingenuity to outsmart...to survive in the outbacks as well as in the concrete jungle!.......2006-07-23

I have watched all the three Crocodile Dundee movies in the theatre as well as their re-runs on cable TV at home:

- Crocodile Dundee I;
- Crocodile Dundee II;
- Crocodile Dundee in Los Angeles:

I am very impressed by the hilarious antics of Mike Dundee (Paul Hogan). I also like his down-to-earth character.

What I have enjoyed most in watching the three movies is that, I have learned that one can use sheer human ingenuity & creativity to overcome obstacles, no matter how intimidating they are...some life-threatening ones, too!

Just watch how Mike Dundee (sometimes with his side-kick) out-thinking all the predators &/or bad guys in all three movies...in the treacherous hot outbacks of Australia & the mean streets of New York...[When a mugger poked a small knife in front of his face, Mike took out his jungle knife & said: "That's not a knife. This is a knife!"] & the mercilessly cold concrete jungle of Los Angeles.

On the whole, I have enjoyed watching again all the three movies, each with its own engaging story & romantic notion of adventure.

As a strategy consultant/success coach on life (survival) skills, I have added these three movies to my resource repertoire.

Average customer rating:

A beautiful love-story in a time of an epidemic in the Provence!
The Horseman on the Roof
Martinez and Binoche never looked better fleeing War and the 1829 Asiatic Cholera Pandemic!
Great Romantic Adventure
Give yourself an evening far, far away from 2007

The Horseman on the Roof
Starring: Juliette Binoche , Olivier Martinez , Pierre Arditi , François Cluzet , and Jean Yanne
Director: Jean-Paul Rappeneau
Manufacturer: Miramax
ProductGroup: DVD
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ASIN: B00008979K
Release Date: 2003-06-03

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Olivier Martinez (Unfaithful, The Chambermaid) plays Angelo, an exceptionally gallant, Italian soldier-in-exile hiding out from his Austrian enemies in rural France, where a cholera epidemic is sweeping the countryside. Helped in a tough spot by a countess (Juliette Binoche), Angelo swears his unyielding protection to her as she searches for her missing husband. The nobler virtues hold sway as Martinez suppresses his own deepening love and desire for the lady, an admirable posture that has ironic consequences when the countess herself becomes deathly ill. Jean-Paul Rappeneau, maker of the ornamental but empty Cyrano de Bergerac, directs this adventure-romance to a nice pitch of vitality and high drama. The two leads establish a great chemistry (they became offscreen lovers and parents), like watching a pair of thoroughbreds running in the same race. --Tom Keogh

Description

Academy Award(R)-winner Juliette Binoche (Best Supporting Actress, THE ENGLISH PATIENT, 1996) highlights this rousing, passionate adventure! In a world ravaged by revolution and violence, two strangers -- a handsome renegade (Oliver Martinez, UNFAITHFUL) and a beautiful countess (Binoche) -- find their only chance for survival in each other! Together they undertake a perilous cross-country journey where they will also discover unmatched danger, excitement ... and passion! Universally praised by critics and moviegoers, THE HORSEMAN ON THE ROOF is another extraordinary film from the creators of the Academy Award(R)-winning CYRANO DE BERGERAC (Best Costume Design, 1990)!

Customer Reviews:

A beautiful love-story in a time of an epidemic in the Provence! .......2007-05-16

This movie (directed by Rappeneau) is actually the adaptation of a novel by Jean Giono who alost always based the stories of his novels in the South of France, in the Provence. Olivier Martinez is Angelo, a young Italian Captain/horserider of the army (sorry don't know the grade in American English, he is a 'hussard'). He has to escape to France because he is chased by Austrian assassins and conspirators. Once there,in the South of France, he discovers that there is a serious epidemic of cholera. He has to deal with crazy local people but he also tries to help them. One day, he takes refuge in the house of Pauline De Theus (beautiful Juliette Binoche)...
This is the beginning of their story which is a very moving love story, even if their love must remain a platonic one. You can feel the power of their love in the looks between the actors, in their interactions and some of their arguments and there is one fine example of the power of Angelo's love for Pauline at the end of the movie; I will let you find out. Only the deepest love can do that.
I Love Olivier Martinez's part, Angelo is a wonderful character, you can't help being drawn to him, the actor brings the character to life to the perfection(I think it is one of his best parts). The actor is very charismatic!As for Juliette Binoche, she is glowing in the part of Pauline.
THe landscapes and the photography are fantastic and this movie also shows us how people react in a time of an epidemic, how fear can make them act wildly. Give yourself a treat. It's one of the best French period movie I've ever seen.

The Horseman on the Roof.......2007-05-12

The scenery in this film is beautiful. Good story line.

Martinez and Binoche never looked better fleeing War and the 1829 Asiatic Cholera Pandemic!.......2007-05-10

In 1829 the second pandemic of Asiatic Cholera began spreading through Europe.As our story opens in July 1833,not only is the epidemic spreading,but Austria has invaded Italy and Italian patriots have flown to France.This is the backdrop of the story of fleeing Italian Colonel Angelo (Olivier Martinez) and his chance meeting with the Marquess de Theus (Juliette Binoche).This meeting, though,does not occur until the second hour of this Jean-Paul Rappeneau directed period piece.We watch Angelo fight his way through cholera,hysterical townspeople,French police,Austrian soldiers and Italian stoolpidgeons, and each time he escapes miraculously unscathed looking better each time,no worse for the wear.By the time Angelo meets the Marquss,who is held up in her Aunt's manorhouse, the viewer has already been challenged to just keep up with Angelo,whom nothing sticks to him, havingmore narrow escapes than Indiana Jones in all three RAIDERS flicks.I have wanted to like this film over the years,but it is so mind-numbingly ridiculous that one has got to call a spade a spade and just say,"This film stinks like the plague!".

Apart from some of the finest cinematography that a film could offer, watching eye candy actors Binoche and Martinez in an extremely dull script that has possibly the most truncated ending ever remembered by this reviewer,is simply not enough to save this film from being consumed by the crows that peck at the dead bodies of cholera victims.In fact, the crows and the cat are far more interesting than Binoche and Martinez! How many times did Rappeneau direct Martinez to toss his brunette locks???

This film is truly one of the most inane pieces of dribble that I have ever seen.The continuity errors alone are staggering as Martinez and Binoche are continually made even more pretty despite all that they endure.In one seen early on,Martinez is kicked and beaten and bloodied by townspeople,only to be dragged away blood-free!The next scene he is totally cleaned up (though no one has helped him) with only a forehead scar that is gone within hours-no swelling or bruising.You can almost hear,"CUT!!...MAKE-UP!!" Naturally,Binoche gets cholera near the fim's conclusion, and Martinez strips her naked and rubs her down.She survives,though every man Martinez tries to save dies.He never has to strip the men further than the waist!!! Rappeneau seemed more intent on keeping his principle stars beautiful,sensual and pouty-lipped,then tell a story of any real substance.Only the most hopeless romantic would dare not see through this farce! Martinez and Binoche NEVER become their characters and the viewer is always aware that two gorgeous actors are attempting to play their roles.

The ending is unforgiveable and completely unsatisfying and unsubstantiated after 120 minutes of enduring Rappeneau's rant.Did the editor lose part of the film and Rappeneau just say LET'S GO WITH WHAT WE'VE GOT in French? MON DIEU!!!

CYRANO de BERGERAC was so good! What happened Jean-Paul?

Great Romantic Adventure.......2007-02-15

I loved this film the first time I saw it over 10 years ago, which is why I purchased it on DVD. It's full of action, romance, and dignity. It's easy to see why it's been a popular story in France for many years. Terrific on-screen chemistry between lead actors Juliette Binoche and Olivier Martinez.

Give yourself an evening far, far away from 2007.......2007-01-14

Ah, how purely romantic! A dashing young Italian colonel, driven by patriotism (like my Italian grandfather, who emigrated from Trieste to England so as not to have to join the Austrian army - though the movie's time is before that great phrase "Italia irredenta"). A lovely young French noblewoman, caught up in the chaos of a cholera epidemic and who does not know if her aged husband is alive or dead. Chivalry, adventures, escapes at full gallop, pistol-shots, fights, betrayals, devotion. And above all, the heart-achingly beautiful landscapes of southern France, often with the snowy Savoy Alps in the background.

The colonel in his sacred, if somewhat rigid, honor, so bravely resisting all temptations, and the beautiful lady forgiving him for doing so...Finally, that versatile reviewer "Anonymous" has a great saying: "The ending is like a drop of honey on the tip of the tongue."

All the wonderful scenes of the early 19c towns and people and life...the splendid horses...and the cat! I want to know what happened to the cat!

By all means see this movie when you need to get away from our often rough and ugly world. Not that all was roses, back then...far from it. But the contrast is soul-soothing.

Average customer rating:

Don't ask for the "buckwheat" pancakes...
Love it, Love it, Love it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Below the Radar
An Entertaining Action-Suspense Film
Give it a name...why doncha?

Things to Do in Denver When You're Dead
Starring: Andy Garcia , Christopher Lloyd , William Forsythe , Bill Nunn , and Treat Williams
Director: Gary Fleder
Manufacturer: Walt Disney Video
ProductGroup: DVD
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ASIN: B00000IQC9
Release Date: 1999-06-29

Amazon.com

After a foolproof scam turns sour, Jimmy the Saint (a soulful but miscast Andy Garcia, who mainly acts with his hair) and his hard-bitten crew must put their various sordid affairs in order before facing their final bloody curtain call. It's not nearly as clever as it thinks it is, but this terminally wise-ass (and extremely violent) caper flick is still one of the better post-Tarantino crime opuses, with some sharp dialogue, a scenery-chewing Christopher Walken (as a paraplegic archcriminal), and unhinged performances by Treat Williams and the obsequious Steve Buscemi that must be seen to be (dis)believed. Neophyte scripter Scott Rosenberg would later pen hipper-than-thou scripts for Beautiful Girls, Con Air, and Armageddon, while director Gary Fleder moved on to the somewhat more reputable Kiss the Girls. The tongue-twisting title is from a Warren Zevon song. --Andrew Wright

Description

Sexy Andy Garcia (WHEN A MAN LOVES A WOMAN) heads an outstanding all-star cast in this riveting and highly original thriller! When a powerful mob boss (Christopher Walken -- PULP FICTION) gives ex-gangster Jimmy the Saint (Garcia) one last job, it's an offer he can't refuse! But when someone gets killed, Jimmy and his partners are marked for death, leaving Jimmy just 48 hours to put things right for his buddies and the woman of his dreams (beautiful Gabrielle Anwar -- SCENT OF A WOMAN)! Acclaimed by critics nationwide, THINGS TO DO IN DENVER WHEN YOU'RE DEAD delivers sensational edge-of-your-seat entertainment!

Customer Reviews:

Don't ask for the "buckwheat" pancakes..........2007-06-16

See the movie, and you'll understand the reference. An often overlooked movie that has a lot of special acting roles. A MUST see for any one who likes crime/gang/ action/drama/love movies. Wonderful work by A Garcia, and Chris Walken is memorably evil as the "Man with the Plan". All around great flick - you'll be quoting lines from this one for a while, and Gabrielle Anwar - wow! "Boat Drinks" for all!

Love it, Love it, Love it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!.......2007-06-08

Bought this movie after renting it. Can't say enough good things about it. My favorite actor (Andy Garcia) is in it. Highly recommend this movie to all the true Andy Garcia fans out there! Interesting language and twists during the entire movie. I watch it over and over again. Never get tired of it. Once you've seen it, you'll want to own it.

Below the Radar.......2007-03-08

Many people have never seen or heard of this movie, but it's great with a killer cast.

An Entertaining Action-Suspense Film.......2006-10-18

First of all, there are many similarities between this film and others of the same genre. Does this make it a bad film? No! The entertainment industry is full of films borrowing from each other. However, the question is: Is the film entertaining? Yes! The only thing I found annoying with the film was the character of Jack Warden [a talented actor] His part as the narrator in the film could have been left out. Since it wasn't, I'll live with it. The film follows a very predictable script: There is nothing new here, including the dialogue. But the film succeeds in that it does what it is meant to do: Entertain. This film is not for everyone, so if you're not sure about it, rent it first.

The film centers around a mob boss known only as 'The man with the plan' (Christopher Walken). He hires 'Jimmy the Saint' (Andy Garcia) to do a one last job for him. Jimmy has long left this former profession, but does it as a favor to Walken. Seems Walken's boy has problems: he likes little girls. Jimmy in now running a center for terminally ill patients to film their last words. However, he decides to do this one last job for old time sakes. Gathering a crew for this one last job, he makes the mistake of allowing a psychotic to be on the crew of this one last job.

Enter 'Critical Bill' (Treat Williams) who portrays the psychotic and demented member of the crew, whose error on the job causes all the members of the crew to be marked for death by Walken. A professional hitman known only as Mr. Shhh (Steve Buscemi) is sent to kill them all. The character portrayed by Treat Williams I found to be the most interesting. He is funny and sick at the same time. Rounding out the rest of the crew is Franchise (William Forsythe) Pieces (Christopher Lloyd). He is called this because of his leprosy which is making him fall to pieces [literally]. They must all now await their fate. Will they live? Will they be able to make amends? I'll leave this to the viewer. However, I must write that this film will not appeal to all audiences. Recommended with caution. Rent it first. [Stars; 3.5]

Give it a name...why doncha?.......2006-10-02

In spite of some flashy, occasionally overused language (e.g., "give it a name" meaning tell it like it is), this is a better than average crime film that manages to simultaneously make some fun of crime films. For example, the "mob boss" is called, I kid you not, The Man with the Plan. One character's monicker is, another real thing not made up (i.e., I myself am not making this up), Critical Bill. And like that.

So what we got here is a somewhat formulaic plot. OK, more than somewhat. The crime, the, you know, doesn't go as planned kinda thing, the repercussions, etc. But you also have something very unexpected and that is a romance that's not stupid or schlocky, but that actually makes you feel something. The main character, played by Andy Garcia--Jimmy the Saint--falls hard for the lead female (Gabrielle Anwar, she of "Scent of a Woman" fame) and the ensuing romance is truly heartfelt. Hmmmm.. a different spin on a crime film. Yes it is.

Even though the characters are kinda stock ones, it's still fun to watch them go through their paces 'cause they're good at it--Christopher Lloyd, Treat Williams (anybody ever figure out how he got that first name?), Christopher Walken, Jack Warden, William Forsythe, and to top it off, the great Steve Buscemi as contract killer (get this) "Mr. Shush". (Now that's what I call giving it a name).

So the quirkiness, the pure romance, and the acting chops all save this from being another completely humdrum entry in the post-Tarantino crime film glut. Much better than you might think...

Average customer rating:

A VERY Good movie!
The Getaway - A great action flick!
Getaway 1972 vs. Getaway 1994!!
The Getaway, The Remake
wHY IS IT BAGGED BY CRITICS??

The Getaway
Starring: Alec Baldwin , Kim Basinger , Michael Madsen , James Woods , and David Morse
Director: Roger Donaldson
Manufacturer: Universal Studios
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: 0783226993
Release Date: 1998-05-27

Amazon.com

"This is going to be the last big score, I promise." Famous last words--uttered by crack thief Doc McCoy to his wife--that set forth a whirlpool of deception and violence in Roger Donaldson's 1994 remake of The Getaway. Bailed out of a Mexican jail by shady businessman Jack Benyon (James Woods) in order to hit an Arizona dog track for him, Doc (Alec Baldwin) and Carol (Kim Basinger) flee for south of the border when the robbery goes wrong, with the million-dollar loot in tow. Following close behind are Benyon's men and Doc's double-crossing partner Rudy (Michael Madsen).

The updated version shares not only the original film's plot, but also the added twist of having husband and wife Baldwin and Basinger step into the roles of the first real-life couple to make the film, Steve McQueen and Ali McGraw. This time, however, the woman's role has been given a tougher '90s edge, with Basinger pulling almost as many punches and firing as many shots as Baldwin, compared to McGraw, who followed McQueen around in wide-eyed, silent terror.

The Getaway maintains the same deliberate, neo-noir pace that made the first film taut, creating a claustrophobic atmosphere in the wide-open, desolate Southwestern landscapes. The scorching sun and heat only add to the strain, making it virtually impossible for anyone to find a dark corner or alleyway to hide in. The car chases and shoot-out finale are charged, though a secondary plot line, between Rudy and the woman he kidnaps and seduces (Jennifer Tilly), comes across as unnecessarily and incongruously brutal. --Natasha Senjanovic

Customer Reviews:

A VERY Good movie!.......2007-05-08

I have never seen the original, but from what I have read it does not compare to this one. Kim and Jennifer are HOT!!! in this movie...especially Kim. This is when Kim was very good looking and the scene of her with her clothes off was worth the price of the DVD. I own this movie and must have watched it about 5 times or more and I never get tired of it. I gave it 4 stars cause I think they should have shown more shots of Jennifer naked. In my opinion this is the one that should be on HD...not the original one.

The Getaway - A great action flick!.......2007-05-03

While "The Getaway" has been widely perceived as a flop of a remake, I've always considered this movie to be one of the better and more intriguing actions flicks of the 90's. The action in this movie is pretty much non stop and only slows down for some intriguing, if not gratuitous, love scenes between the film's two main stars, Alec Baldwin and the ever beautiful Kim Basinger. The film is further enhanced with well played out performances by Michael Madsen, Jennifer Tilly, James Woods and several other bit players.

Although this film was a remake and "generally" followed along the same lines as the original movie, one can definitely say that director Roger Donaldson made this movie his own. Given other film credits such as "No Way Out" and "The Bounty," I'd definitely put this film amongst his best list. The score for the film plays into the film rather seamlessly.

The Premise:

Master criminal Doc McCoy (Alec Baldwin) and his wife, Carol (Kim Basinger) find themselves in the position of having to do "one" last job after Carol negotiates Doc's way out of a Mexican prison. What follows is no less than an exceptional action flick with all the usual tricks; gun battles, betrayal, car chases and a memorable performance by Jennifer Tilly playing a sexy twit.

Overall, this film delivers both drama and action quite well and it effortlessly pushes from scene to scene leading up to an excellent finale. I would highly recommend this film to any and all. {ssintrepid}

Special Features:
None

Getaway 1972 vs. Getaway 1994!!.......2007-04-16

Both Getaway movies have the same screenplay writen by Walter Hill, both have the slow-mo action and basically they are the same, BUT here are the differences:

Getaway 1972:

* Steve McQueen is WAY COOLER than Alec Bladwin.
* Rudy and his girl are more evil here.
* The car chase scene is at midnight.
* There is no STUPID dog race scene, only a bank robbery scene.
* The characters here are more quiet.
* The first getaway scene is COOLER and EXPLOSIVE!
* The train scene here is a CLASSIC.
* The slap scene is more intense here.
* The jail scenes here are longer.

Getaway 1994:
* There are more emotional scenes in this one.
* Kim Basinger's character is tougher and hotter!
* There are MORE celebrities here than in the original.
* The car chase scene was longer.
* There are sex scenes in this one.
* There is more blood and foul language here than in the original.
* They added one made-up action scene in the begining.
* There is a one to one fight between Rudy and Doc.

In my opinion the Getaway 1972 is better because SteveMcQueen is SOO COOL! you can watch the 1994 remake if you want to but that one is more like a normal action movie than a CLASSIC action movie.

Adios.

The Getaway, The Remake.......2007-04-04

I thought the movie was as good as Steve McQueen's movie,which was also
excellent.

wHY IS IT BAGGED BY CRITICS??.......2006-09-20

Ive seen this remake 2 or three times, same number of times as original, the original is no dispute a great McQueen crime action adventure, but yes, this remake I feel with the noir fence-wash rinse is a great night in, why do professional critics like Maltin seem to have it up with Attack of the Killer Tomatoes??

the action is great,start to finish, all three main characters make a fair fist of stepping into McQueen, McGraw and Al Lettieri's shoes, Bassingers character as the Amazon ed points out is a lot more hands on than McGraw, shes much more of a true Bonnie and Clyde gangsters moll instead of mcGraws passive passenger "I'll just maybe dosome of the driving , you'll have to shoot everybody yourself " approach.
Which is kinduv cool, frankly.

She knows better than to have a go when Doc slaps her around in one scene, which may be more about she feels actual guilt for what she has done ( for him, mind you) rather than she hasnt got the stones to try to defend herself.
Certainly she has no problem later first blowing David Morse's kneecap out with a .45, and then blowing the rest of him away after it. YaY girlpower, huh?
She is in the thick of the gunbattle.

the final rootin-tootin confrontation at the hotel is a screamer, as was the original, Baldwins face when he thinks Madsen has won and will kill him is about right underplayed.
Some criticise the scenes with Meg Tilly and her unfortunate veterinarian husband and his fate, ok, the show is of course one for after the kids are in bed. I dont personally find it gratuitous, is an eye-opener and more Noir, sure.

My sole disappointment was the writing out of the confrontation between McQueen and two Texas rangers outside a hamburger shop in the original , where McQueen hastily goes next door and arms himself by robbing a gunstore , then bails these cops up, disarms them without having to harm them, and shoots up their patrol car, before blowing town.
The Baldwin movie has no mention of this memorable scene.

Original was a tough act to follow, sure, but this stands alone well, is a good night in is totally above average popcorn entertainment, I like it, recommended if you can take a kind of commercial/Noir split which I think works.

Average customer rating:

An action-filled dialogue-deficient movie
A popcorn movie
Just okay
Action-Packed
????????????

Torque (Widescreen Edition)
Starring: John Ashker , Max Beesley , Dane Cook , Ice Cube , and John Doe
Director: Joseph Kahn
Manufacturer: Warner Home Video
ProductGroup: DVD
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ASIN: B0001MMGUO
Release Date: 2004-05-18

Amazon.com

A lot has changed in the biker-movie genre since Hell's Angels on Wheels, and Torque may be the new benchmark of feverish chopper action. Martin Henderson plays Cary, a speed king and relatively civilized outlaw with a knack for annoying everyone, including drug smugglers, the FBI, an ex-girlfriend, and, worst of all, biker gang leader Trey (Ice Cube), who thinks Cary killed his brother. On the run from everyone, Cary survives by playing all sides against one another. But the story is less important than the frantic, over-the-top, tongue-in-cheek action surrounding it. The Fast and the Furious producer Neal H. Moritz is responsible for this crazy, violent, yet appealingly sardonic cowboys-on-wheels piece. --Tom Keogh

Description

High-Speed Action Adventure. Biker Cary Ford (Martin Henderson) returns to his hometown to reunite with his girlfriend (Monet Mazur). Once home, Ford is framed for a murder he didn't commit, targeted for revenge by the victim's brother (Ice Cube) and pursued by the FBI as he tries to clear his name and outrace his enemies.

Customer Reviews:

An action-filled dialogue-deficient movie.......2007-03-14

I realize that this is one of those man movies that was never meant to make any sense and whose target demographic is fourteen-year-old boys. However, my canary in the coal mine in these situations is my husband. If he finds one of these films unwatchable, then it truly is bad, and not just so bad it is good. This was the case with "Torque". I tried to appreciate the stunts and the occasional humor that did work such as the truck from "Duel" still chasing Dennis Weaver after all these years, but it just can't compensate for a lame plot and dialogue that sounds like it was written by the reincarnation of Ed Wood. I think a somewhat rearranged quote from "Billy Madison", another silly man's movie that I actually enjoy if I'm in the mood for it, is most appropriate at this point: "At no point in your rambling, incoherent (movie) were you even close to anything that could be considered a rational thought. Everyone in this room is now dumber for having (watched) it. I award you no points, and may God have mercy on your soul."

A popcorn movie.......2006-11-17

I can see by the other reviews a lot of people are taking this movie way to seriously as a hardcore biker flick. It's just meant to be a fun movie with fast bikes. You can tell the directors are having fun with the movie by little things they throw in. Early in the movie you will see the car from the movie Duel being chased by the truck from the movie Duel which almost runs the bikers off the road. Also at the start of the movie when the street sign spins around it says "Cars Suck". Ice Cube plays the same sort of character he plays in almost every movie he does "angry gangster". The stunts are over the top, but they look cool! Hey it's just a movie sit back eat the popcorn and take it as such.

Just okay.......2006-08-29

There were parts of this movie I found entertaining, but it's not something I would watch over and over again. Myself a biker, I can appreciate the "rush" they tried to give over and over again with the bike chases and stunts, but most of the stunts were so physically impossible that it ruined whatever credibility they could have had. (Yes, it is impossible to do a stoppie and simultaneously swing the bike around so the rear wheel, which is in the air, whacks someone next to you in the head then continue to ride at 160mph).

I agree this falls into the category of "Biker Boyz," if you liked that movie, you will probably like this one. But it isn't an improvement, and it's really missing originality when it comes to the plot. The acting isn't that bad, but when you don't have great dialogue to work with, there's only so much you can do to make it not look cheesy.

And yes, this movie does include the so-infamous-it's-almost-cliché line "I live my life one quarter-mile at a time."

Action-Packed.......2006-07-26

Ice-Cube was great, as usual. The product placement was obscene (the fight between Shane and China when one was standing in front of a large Mountain Dew sign and the other in front of a large Pepsi sign). There were some visuals and effects worth watching and as stupid as the movie is in places, its stupidity changes tempo nicely and is really short. If its more than $5, pass on it.

????????????.......2006-07-03

There isn't a clear storyline. I felt ilke i had to solve a puzzle while watching this movie. I give it 1 star because at least the stuntmen\stuntwomen in this movie did their job well.

Average customer rating:

Reunion In France
Joan Crawford was ashamed of this film
Glossy but insubstantial Crawford vehicle
From Spoiled Mistress To Heroine of the Resistance
Charming and glamourous, fun and cozy

Reunion in France
Starring: John Wayne , and Joan Crawford
Director: Jules Dassin
Manufacturer: Warner Home Video
ProductGroup: DVD
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ASIN: B000O179JK
Release Date: 2007-05-22

Amazon.com

The lone pairing of Joan Crawford and John Wayne is reason enough for being curious about Reunion in France, a flagrantly preposterous World War II melodrama with a surprisingly distinguished roster of contributors--from producer Joseph L. Mankiewicz, co-screenwriter Marc Connelly, and director Jules Dassin to such stalwart character actors as Philip Dorn, John Carradine, Reginald Owen, Henry Daniell, Albert Bassermann, Howard Da Silva, and unbilled bit player Ava Gardner. It's a Crawford vehicle all the way (her next-to-last at MGM), with her as a heedless French fashionista in love with ultra-swank, wealthy industrial designer Dorn. While on a trip, Crawford finds herself under German bombs and, after suffering in the company of other, much less stylishly costumed refugees, makes her way back to Paris. There she's shocked to discover Dorn still enjoying his upper-crust lifestyle: he's lent his skills and factories to the Nazi war machine, and Crawford--appalled and suddenly penniless--seeks gainful employment and moral rearmament with her favorite modiste.

Wayne enters the picture a couple of reels in, an American flyboy who signed on with the RAF, crashed in France, and made his way to Paris. Inveigling himself into Crawford's arms under the eyes of a Gestapo agent, he enjoys her reluctant protection for a good deal longer than credibility can bear. People who know such things have recorded that, in reality, Crawford made any number of heavy passes at her costar, but there was no chemistry between them offscreen or on. The one scene in the film with any sting features veteran German actor Ernst Deutsch (the future Baron Kurtz of The Third Man, billed as Ernest Dorian in his Hollywood years) as a Nazi officer tormented by the knowledge that he is loathed by the people whose nation he occupies. --Richard T. Jameson

Description

A Frenchwoman believes that her fiance is a Nazi collaborator.

Customer Reviews:

Reunion In France.......2007-05-31

Reunion in France
The Movie
Basically it's the occupation of France with John Wayne in it. It on par with his B pictures it's not very well paced nor is it very interesting to watch. I personally think this may have been and attempt to squash the dukes guilt at not being able to serve in WWII. He is the only bright spot on this horrible movie.

The Video
In need of a restoration, it has some grain issues and focus problems. It is in black and white full frame and shows its age.

The Audio
1.0 mono no extra treatment here

The Extras
We Do It Because
A look at the customs of manners and there origins they came from. This feature is actually better than the movie.

War Dogs
Here a cartoon about dogs in boot camp and there training just a propaganda film for our side I had not seen this one before but did enjoy it.

Joan Crawford was ashamed of this film.......2007-04-17

There are so many good Crawford titles yet to be released on DVD that you have to wonder why they are releasing this trash which Crawford herself hated. She said that if she was ever to suffer for her past sins, this is the movie that would be shown to her over and over again. She also found John Wayne to be miscast.

Also to be released on DVD around the same time as "Reunion in France" is another of Crawford's worst films "Trog". Seriously, who decides these releases? What fans want most of all are the unreleased Crawford classics such as "Story of Esther Costello", "A Woman's Face', "Strange Cargo" and "Susan and God". Besides the DVD releases of "Baby Jane", "Grand Hotel" and "Mildred Pierce" some years back, the DVD releases for Crawford so far have been dismal and look set to continue.

Warner Bros and MGM take note: please release the better films from Crawford's catalogue and stop wasting time with films like "Reunion in France" and "Trog".

Glossy but insubstantial Crawford vehicle.......2007-03-14

Women's-magazine-style romantic melodrama was the first major production for director Jules Dassin -- who was promptly demoted back to the MGM "B" department when the picture tanked at the box office.
Joan Crawford stars as Frenchwoman Michele de la Becque, who comes to believe that her fiancé, wealthy munitions manufacturer Robert Cortot (Philip Dorn) is a Nazi collaborator. When her suspicions are apparently corroborated, Michelle falls in love with Pat Talbot (John Wayne), a downed American aviator stranded in occupied Paris. Only then does Michelle discover that she's been all wrong about Cortot -- but what to do about Talbot, who has been marked for death by the Gestapo? Ava Gardner has a tiny role as a Parisian shopgirl.

From Spoiled Mistress To Heroine of the Resistance.......2005-09-27

The conventional wisdom about this movie (and its followup, ABOVE SUSPICION, which pairs Crawford in Europe with Fred McMurray) is that they were deliberately bad features planned by the moguls to force Crawford out of pictures. But neither film deserves its bad reputation. Indeed in hindsight I find them fully as interesting as any other of Crawford's MGM vehicles, and by no means do they seem cheap or ill-thought-out.

Well, it's kind of silly having Crawford playing the richest girl in France, in a movie when everyone else is playing up the French accent so much so that at times you can't understand what they're saying, and meanwhile she, Joan, doesn't even try. Why should she? She's Joan Crawford. The only time she tries to go French is when she carefully pronounces the name of her fiance: "Row-bear." Outside of that, she uses her regular, broad American accent with its weird dips and slurs, the voice we know from a hundred movies. When the picture begins she's sitting, bored silly, on the dias during some kind of fundraiser honoring those who made the Maginot Line possible in May 1940--the night it broke. She rushes home to dismiss the modistes who have been waiting for her for two and a half hours, for she is off to Biarritz for a holiday. Well, by the time she crawls back, having been bombed and brutalized, Paris has fallen to the Nazis and it's a new day of deprivation for the glamorous Michelle de la Beck, and "Row-bear" her boyfriend (Philip Dorn) is looking strangely like a collaborator.

Michelle's million franc mansion has been commandeered by Vichy forces, and she is told to sleep in this crummy little concierge studio, a room with a door on the street that doesn't lock. It's filthy, grim, and dangerous, for any Nazi could come in at any time. She takes a job at the couturiere she used to patronize--sort of a left-wing Coco Chanel, very chic but no threat to Joan in the looks department. German women are buying up all the gowns in the shop, big heavy Walkure style creatures who look like pigs suckling at a trough. Then John Wayne (as "Pat") escapes from a POW camp and stumbles, sick, nearly hallucinating, into Joan's arms and she has to shield him the Gestapo. John Wayne looks hot in this movie! He could put his boots under my divan any old time. She moves him right into her apartment with only a cursory thought to propriety, it's sort of refreshing. People in World War II, even Hollywood people, must have thought that they had entered into a new world which would be totally given over to the fight against Fascism, and that all other considerations were secondary to this mission. Jules Dassin, the director, embodies this pulpy material with real conviction and some wise-ass camera setups--real wit, real grit, and two fantastic, out of this world stars.

Charming and glamourous, fun and cozy.......2004-09-28

Those nasty Nazis will never triumph because they have no fashion sense, no sense of humour and are utterly mystified by the workings of the female mind. Oh, I love this film and so does everyone to whom I've lent it.

Joan Crawford represents the spoiled darling that was France, now ready to join the Resistance and fight for freedom. (Don't worry, those oblivious Nazis actually FETCH HER ENTIRE COUTURE WARDROBE to the modest digs she occupies when they have taken over the lion's share of her house.)

The two who take away the film, though, are Henry Daniell and John Carradine, both playing Nazi officers. The former, who has been wounded by the bite of an enemy dog, is in charge of Joan's house when it is commandeered. He is captivated by Joan, who lets him back her up against the wall and KISS HER ON THE LIPS so that John Wayne can make his getaway. John Carradine is the head of the Gestapo in Paris, and he is so sinister, sombre and sexless that you may find yourself fretting that Joan might have a little trouble with him. Don't. She will triumph at the end.

My favourite scene is in a nightclub. There is an African-American jazz band playing and the singer is belting out "I'll be glad when you're dead, you rascals, you! I'll be glad when you're dead, and Adolf, too!" The smiling, finger-tapping Nazi couples just lap it up. They don't know English, I suppose. (What makes this even weirder is that the whole movie is in nothing BUT English. But don't worry about it.)

A joy from start to finish. Please watch and enjoy. This is right up there with _Adventures of Tartu_ with Robert Donat!

Average customer rating:

"Into the Night"
Into the Night
It's been forgotten for a reason.
I loved this movie
enjoyable film

Into the Night
Starring: Michelle Pfeiffer , Jeff Goldblum , Stacey Pickren , Carmen Argenziano , and Dan Aykroyd
Manufacturer: Universal Studios
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: B00005JM8W
Release Date: 2003-09-02

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While caught up in the scandal resulting from the accident on the set of The Twilight Zone movie that killed actor Vic Morrow and two children, director John Landis (An American Werewolf in London) made this manic nighttime L.A. thriller with rising stars Jeff Goldblum and Michelle Pfeiffer. Goldblum plays an office worker with a dead-end job, an unfaithful wife, and a bad, bad case of insomnia. Unable to sleep, his midnight wanderings take him to the L.A. airport, where beautiful jewel smuggler Pfeiffer literally lands on his car. Fleeing Iranian terrorists (one is played by Landis), the two hit the road, and their adventures lead them to murder, mayhem, one scary hit man (David Bowie in a lurid, terrific cameo), and, of course, romance. Perhaps because of--or in spite of--the turmoil going on in his life, Landis fashioned a film unlike any of his previous (or later) safe Hollywood products; this is inventive, darkly comic, sincerely romantic, and L.A.-style sultry all the way. Landis's greatest success is perhaps in the mood of the film: he manages to convey that weary, dreamlike insomnia feeling of adrenaline bordering on exhaustion. Goldblum is at his deadpan best and, despite a bad haircut and '80s wardrobe, Pfeiffer shows the spark and beauty that would later make her a star. In support of Landis during his time of trouble, numerous directors, including David Cronenberg, Paul Mazursky, Don Siegel, Jonathan Demme, Lawrence Kasdan, and Jim Henson, made cameo appearances. --Mark Englehart

Product Description

When two strangers stumble into international intrigue in the middle of a Los Angeles night, anything can happen and does, in this zany comedy directed by John Landis.

Ed Orkin (Jeff Goldblum) is an insomniac with a cheating wife and a dull job. His chances for excitement look hopeless until a mysterious blond named Diana (Michelle Pfeiffer) drops onto the hood of his car. Now it s Ed s turn for some adventure and romance as Diana leads him on a merry and murderous chase where the payoff could be dollars or death.

The outstanding cast includes David Bowie, Vera Miles, Dan Aykroyd and a host of Hollywood s hottest directors in cameos. It s a night on the town you ll never live down.

System Requirements:

Jeff Goldblum, Michelle Pfeiffer, Richard Farnsworth

Directed by John Landis

Running time: 1 Hour 55 Minutes

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