Venice Venice

Starring:Nelly Alard, Suzanne Bertish, David Duchovny, Daphna Kastner, Elizabeth Kemp, John Landis, Suzanne Lanza, Melissa Leo, Zack Norman, Lisa Blake Richards, Robyn Rosenfeld, Diane Salinger
Studio: Fox Lorber
Product Type: DVD

Amazon.com

Rarely has The Merchant of Venice, one of Shakespeare's most complex plays, looked as ravishingly sumptuous as in this adaptation, directed by Michael Radford (Il Postino). In a decadent version of renaissance Venice, a young nobleman named Bassanio (Joseph Fiennes, Shakespeare in Love) seeks to woo the lovely Portia (newcomer Lynn Collins), but lacks the money to travel to her estate. He seeks support from his friend, the merchant Antonio (Jeremy Irons, Reversal of Fortune); Antonio's fortune is tied up in sea ventures, so the merchant offers to borrow money from a Jewish moneylender, Shylock (Al Pacino, Dog Day Afternoon). But Shylock holds a grudge against Antonio, who has routinely treated the Jew with contempt, and demands that if the debt is not repaid in three months, the price will be a pound of Antonio's flesh.

The Merchant of Venice is famous as a "problem play"--the gritty matters of moneylending and anti-Semitism sit uncomfortably beside the fairy tale elements of Portia and Bassanio's romance, and some twists of the plot can seem arbitrary or even cruel. The strength of Radford's intelligent and passionate interpretation is that he and the excellent cast invest the play's opposing facets with full emotional weight, thus making every question the play raises acute and inescapable. Irons is particularly compelling; kindness and blind prejudice sit side by side in his breast, rendering the clashes in his character as vivid as those in the play itself. --Bret Fetzer

Customer Reviews:

The Quality of Mercy Is Not Strained..........2007-06-06

Like most of Shakespeare's plays, there is more than one story at work here, and if your only familiarity with Shakespeare's "Merchant of Venice" is your last high-school production you probably think it's all about Portia and her romance with Bassanio. This storyline is usually the most popular with teenagers and it does play an important role in pushing the action forward, but it is not the meat of Michael Radford's movie. Instead, this version focuses brilliantly on the conflict between Shylock and Antonio.

It is difficult to imagine a more complex and dark story arc than the one about the clash between these two. Is Antonio the hero? Or is it Shylock? Or is this a contest between villains? One, Shylock, a much despised and downtrodden man, the victim of a lifetime of anti-Semitism, essentially loses his soul and relishes what he sees as his one chance for revenge upon his oppressors in Christian theocratic Venice too much. The other, Antonio, seems like the perfect example of clean and virtuous Christian nobility - a status he has used to routinely degrade and humiliate Shylock while freely making use of his services as a moneylender when it served his interests to do so.

Most productions are unable to capture the depth of these characters, but Al Pacino and Jeremy Irons are superb. Pacino is tormented and angry and is probably not someone you would want to socialize with, but still you can feel the essential craving for justice that underlies it - a justice he deserves. Irons' Antonio would probably make a wonderful dinner companion - handsome, witty, and cultured - and yet there is superciliousness and a hypocritical streak in him that cannot be ignored.

By the time the trial is over, and Portia's legal arguments have spared Antonio and denied Shylock his pound of flesh, the audience is so deeply involved with both characters that no outcome would be completely happy. Perhaps that is why Shakespeare let the romantic storyline play on, to lighten the gloom with some comic relief and a more pleasing finale.

This may not be a version of the play that will appeal youngsters, but it should keep an adult at the edge of his/her seat, and leave them with a much greater appreciation of how REALLY GOOD Shakespeare was as a writer.

Terrible.......2007-06-03

Leaves out important lines. Alters the characters in senseless ways. Ultimately, just not entertaining. The Great Al Pacino's accent is so bad, it is hard to escape the feeling he is mangling it on purpose. Get any of the Kenneth Branagh movies instead.

Great visuals, awful acting.......2007-05-17

I must disagree with those who think that the acting in this version of Shakespeare's Merchant of Venice is 'impeccable' 'stunning' and so on. Actually, the acting is just awful. It is the sort of verbal acting you see in the worst amateur, and regrettably, in most 'professional', productions of Shakespeare.

What you hear in this production is just words said without real understanding or motivation. You hear 'Shakespeare' when you should be hearing real people talking. Look away from the seductive and beautiful visual images of the film and you will hear what I am saying. None of the characters speak in a real way, including Al Pacino's Shylock. His is a mechanical way of talking and a totally unsympathetic characterisation of someone who has been subjected to the most appalling discrimination in a racist society.

Shakespeare can be real and not sound like 'Shakespeare'. The Director, Peter Brook, wrote a little book in the 60s or 70s called 'The Empty Space' which focusses on what he calls The Deadly Theatre. Shakespeare, he says, is particularly prone to deadly productions. This production of The Merchant of Venice is a prime example of The Deadly Theatre and it is a great shame that other reviewers can not see that very basic fact.

It is an awful production disguised by stunning visual images.

Dazzling in Production.......2007-05-11

My Profile: 43 yo (and hopefully getting better). No qualifications whatsoever as movie o literary critic

As one of my favorite plays, the production is impeccable and sometimes I cannot espape seeing those canaletto's painting coming to life.. this is impeccable in photography and production.. yet it still does not outperform those BBC productions I saw in the late 70's.. one aspect that I do not give the 5 stars.. the homosexual intensity displayed here is just too unbearable..was it part of the idea to show this out-of-the-closet expressions as part of the new version??

Three caskets, two rings, and one pound of flesh.......2007-04-20

*** This comment may contain spoilers ***

Before I watched the Michael Radford's movie, I read the play "The Merchant of Venice". I did not find the play one of Shakespeare's best - I much prefer his tragedies and historical chronics. Perhaps whatever was funny and comical four hundreds years ago does not seem this way now.

"Merchant of Venice" is based on three different stories - one is the story of three caskets - a girl should marry a man who would solve the riddle of three caskets, the gold, the silver, and the lead one (very weak premises - with many suitors, the secret of the caskets should have been solved in the first day); the next - the story of the merchant who loans the money for his friend from a rich Jewish moneylender and signs the contract that he would give a pound of his own flesh if the debt is not repaid in time (the most interesting and controversial one), and the last one - the story of the rings. While I think that the play is enjoyable, it's got too many holes in the plot to be called an outstanding Shakespeare's work. What is truly outstanding - Shylock's character. He is in the same category as Lear, Yago, and Othello. I am sure that Shakespeare did not write an anti -Semitic play but he described the anti-Semitic views that reigned in the society during his times. He treated Shylock as a human being and with the compassion, which he expressed in the famous Shylock's monologues:

"Shylock: He hath disgraced me, and hindered me half a million, laughed at my losses, mocked at my gains, scorned my nation, thwarted my bargains, cooled my friends, heated mine enemies; and what's his reason? I am a Jew."

"Shylock: I am a Jew. Hath not a Jew eyes? hath not a Jew hands, organs, dimensions, senses, affections, passions? fed with the same food, hurt with the same weapons, subject to the same diseases, healed by the same means, warmed and cooled by the same winter and summer, as a Christian is? If you prick us, do we not bleed? if you tickle us, do we not laugh? if you poison us, do we not die? and if you wrong us, shall we not revenge? If we are like you in the rest, we will resemble you in that."

By refusing to show the mercy, Shylock orchestrated his own downfall. It is unspeakable that he was spat on by a seemingly decent man but demanding that man's flesh is equally unspeakable. I think that's the reason Shylock was outsmarted at the court and had to lose his case because, technically, Portia's reasons were weak - if Shylock was entitled to the pound of flesh, he was also entitled to the blood that comes with it. To argue that would be the same as to say that one buys an apple but refuses to take the seeds in it or to rent a room but without air in it. What was different in the play comparing to the movie, in the play, we don't see Shylock after the trial - whatever happened to him is behind the scene. In the film, he's got a long shot - after he had to leave his house and convert to Christianity, he became a real pariah - Christians don't want him because he did not become a Christian by his good will and Jews don't want him because he betrayed the faith of his ancestors. And don't forget that his own flesh and blood, his beloved daughter Jessica betrayed and robbed him. The look at Shylock's (Al Pachino's) face in the end of the film is one of the reasons to see it. It is a nice looking movie with one compelling performance (Pachino) and one surprisingly pleasant performance - Lynn Collins who looked like a young Cate Blanchette and delivered her line convincingly. I liked her intelligent, gentle, and full of life Portia. The celebrated Venice known as "serenissima" looked mostly dark and dangerous which I think was rather appropriate because of the disturbing scenes that took place in the city.

3.5/5

Average customer rating:

Death in Venice
Death In Venice
Beautiful, but boring
Superb!
Beauty Found and Lost in Venice: Mann + Mahler +Visconti = a Masterpiece

Death in Venice
Starring: Dirk Bogarde , Romolo Valli , Mark Burns , Nora Ricci , and Marisa Berenson
Director: Luchino Visconti
Manufacturer: Warner Home Video
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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

General | Drama | Genres | DVD | Video

Period Piece | Drama | Genres | DVD | Video

Gay & Lesbian | Drama | Genres | DVD | Video

General | Foreign & International | Stores | DVD | Video

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

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

The Leopard - Criterion Collection
La Dolce Vita (2-Disc Collector's Edition)
Blow Up
Victim (Ws B&W)
1900 (Special Collector's Edition)

ASIN: B0000WN118
Release Date: 2004-02-17

Amazon.com

Luchino Visconti's adaptation of the Thomas Mann novel is the very definition of sumptuous: the costumes and sets, the special geography of Venice, and the breathtaking cinematography combine to form a heady experience. At the center of this gorgeousness is Aschenbach (Dirk Bogarde in a meticulous performance), a controlled intellectual who unexpectedly finds himself obsessed by the vision of a 14-year-old boy while on a convalescent vacation in 1911. Visconti has turned Aschenbach into a composer, which accounts for the lush excerpts from Mahler on the soundtrack (Bogarde is meant to look like Mahler, too). Even if it tends to hit the nail on the head a little too forcefully, and even if Visconti can test one's patience with lingering looks at crowds at the beach and hotel dining rooms, Death in Venice creates a lushness rare in movies. For some viewers, that will be enough. --Robert Horton

Description

Abroad on a rest holiday, composer Gustav Aschenbach (Dick Bogarde) is to all the world reserved and civilized. But when he glimpses someone who inspires him to give way to a secret passion, it foreshadows his doom. Director Luchino Visconti (Rocco and His Brothers, The Damned) transforms Thomas Mann's classic novel into "a masterwork of power and beauty" (William Wolf, Cue). Like Aschenbach, Visconti is an artist obsessed: his movies are awash in mood, period detail and seething emotions beneath placid surfaces. Earning its maker a Cannes Film Festival Special 25th Anniversary Prize, Death in Venice - with a soundtrack feast of Gustav Mahler music and a haunting Bogarde performance-is Visconti at his best.

Customer Reviews:

Death in Venice.......2007-07-03

Luchino's resplendent adaptation of Thomas Mann's novella is a sumptuous feast for the eyes, with its meticulous period detail, lavish costumes, and decorative sets. Yet the themes of death and decay are ever-present, manifested in a mysterious plague sweeping the ancient city that hotel staff attempt to hush up. Bogarde was never better playing the obsessive, uptight Aschenbach, closely modeled after Gustav Mahler, whose lilting music suffuses every frame. A heady meditation on art and passion, "Death in Venice" is a trip well worth taking.

Death In Venice.......2007-02-14

A very unique movie -- Dirk Bogarde was an extraordinary actor. Visconti was a very unusual director -- the movie was visually magnificent, but I did find the pace a little too slow even though I know that was the idea. It's an amazing story. Silvana Mangano was so beautiful and a wonderful actress.

Beautiful, but boring.......2007-02-13

This is a beautifully shot yet slowing-moving movie based on the much better Thomas Mann novella. The best part of the film is the cinematography and settings in Venice. The actors are fine--despite occasional overwrought yelling and screaming--but aren't given much to do. The plot concerns a composer who falls in love with the adolescent Tadzio, who looks like a cross between a Greek god and David Bowie in his Ziggy Stardust years. The film's major fault is its extreme slow pace. The camera moves about lazily and long stretches pass when no one speaks. From time to time, we are given flashbacks of Aushenbach's life in Germany, but they are mere flickers of memory and not fleshed out at all. What we see mostly are shots of Aushenbach walking around Venice in a feverish daze. Again and again we see him look longingly at Tadzio, and we can, to some extent, feel his pain: for, despite the obvious homoerotic context, his is the universal problem of unrequited love. That Aushenbach never even speaks with Tadzio is all part of the tragedy. Still, the director doesn't give the film any energy in the way others have when confronted with similar material (i.e., Kubrick's or Lynne's Lolita adaptations). Death in Venice is like a gorgeous oil painting visually, but when it comes to its drama, it is disappointing.

Superb!.......2007-01-10

A classic! Not only is the cinematography superb, the acting and the dramatisation of the Thomas Mann novel---wonderful.

Beauty Found and Lost in Venice: Mann + Mahler +Visconti = a Masterpiece.......2006-12-18

I first saw "Death in Venice" (1971) about 15 years ago, found it profoundly moving and often thought about it. Watching it again few days ago, I realized that it is close to the top of the great works of cinema. With hardly any dialog it captivates a viewer with the beautiful cinematography, the fine acting, and, above all, the Mahler's music without which the movie simply could not exist.

"Death in Venice" is a stunning Luchino Visconti's adaptation of the Thomas Mann novella about a famous composer (in the novella he was a writer but making him a composer in a movie was a great idea that works admirably) Gustav von Aschenbach (loosely based on Gustav Mahler) who travels to Venice in the summer of 1911 to recover from personal losses and professional failures. His search for beauty and perfection seems to be completed when he sees a boy of incredible divine beauty. Ashenbach (Dirk Bogard) follows the boy everywhere never trying to approach him. The boy, Tadzio, belonged to very rare creatures that own an enigmatic and inconceivable power which captivates you, enchants you, conquers you and makes you its prisoner. Ashenbach became one of the prisoners of Tadzio spellbinding charms. He became addicted to him; he fell in love with him. Was it bless or curse for him? I think both. He died from unreachable, impossible yet beautiful love which object was perfection itself. The last image Ashenbach's eyes captured was that of the boy's silhouette surrounded by the sea and golden sun light. Nothing could compare to the beauty and charm of the scene and to take it with you to the grave is the death one can only dream about. If he could, Ashenbach probably would've said, "I was able to witness one of the faces of perfection, I could not bear it but I was chosen to learn that it exists here, in this world and I can die in peace now because it did happen to me."

Unforgettable music, Gustav Mahler's haunting adagietto of his Fifth Symphony found perfect use in a perfect movie. It reflects every emotion of a main character - it sobs, it longs, it begs for hope, and it summarizes the idea that once you are blessed to encounter beauty you are condemned to die. I may come up with hundreds movies that use classical music to perfection but nothing will ever compare to "Death in Venice". I dare say that Mahler's music IS its main character - it would change and sound differently depending on what was happening on the screen. It sounded triumphantly when Ashenbach returned back to Venice, to what he thought would be his happiness but turned to be his death. It sounded gloomy when he first entered Venice from the sea. You can hear so many different feelings in it - tenderness and adoration, confusion and self-loathing, worship and melancholy, but always - LOVE that gives the purest happiness and breaks the hearts (literally). The movie for a viewer is similar to what the boy was for the aging composer/writer/Artist. We are enchanted and captivated by its power and beauty as much as Achenbach was by the boy's mysterious charm.

Average customer rating:

Othello
Eccentric Masterpiece
Welles's genius in evidence, but not Shakespeare's
A must for fans of Orson Welles. For lovers of Shakespeare--ehh, not so much.

Orson Welles' Othello

Manufacturer: MVCI
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Classics | Genres | DVD | Video

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

Macbeth (Fully Restored Version)
Falstaff Chimes At Midnight [Import]
Othello
The Orson Welles Collection (The Stranger/ King Lear/ David and Goliath/ The Trial)
William Shakespeare: Othello

ASIN: B000ALAT64

Product Description

Originally titled, "The Tragedy of Othello: The Moor of Venice" this is Orson Welles' magnificent screening of Shakespeare's immortal tragedy. ++++ DVD FEATURES: This officially licensed South Korean release is All-Region NTSC Code 0 (plays worldwide); provides 4:3 Full Screen display (in the ORIGINAL Black and White) with Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo Sound in ENGLISH with optional (removable) English and Korean subtitles. It also includes the "Restoring Othello" feature with the film's owner, producers, mixers, orchestral conductor, sound editor, etc. DVD packaging includes some written material in Korean.

Customer Reviews:

Othello.......2007-01-20

Excellent acting with Orson Wells as Othello. The Lawrence Olivier version is impossible to find. There are newer films of Othello such as the Lawrence Fishburn one but I cannot use them in my school classroom because they are rated R and the Orson Wells version is approved by the school district. My students found the film noir version interesting with the stark black and white and odd camera angles that increased tension in the viewer to match the tension in the play.

Eccentric Masterpiece.......2006-12-15

Controversial and weird, this eccentric masterpiece adds a dimension to Othello present in no other film version: the frenzied mindlessness of evil. Welles' fast cutting, shortening of the play, plus the incredible performance of the legendary Dublin stage actor Michael Macliammor all add to this effect.

Welles himself portrays a stuttering, flubbering and blustery Othello. Yes, it looks a little canned -- see his similar walk through his relatively poor Macbeth. Here, however, it simply works in context, egged on by the extraordinary Macliammor (who in real life tutored boy Welles when he escaped to Dublin before his Mercury Theatre days). So Orson here, among a lot else, returns the compliment, resulting in one of the most fascinating stabs at Shakespeare caught on film in century 20. Some are troubled by Maclaimmor's face as a uniform mask of evil. But this simply shows how the performance is registering on a subconscious level. Also, both the performances and direction owe a lot to the silent film era and early German film expressionism, heavy influences on Welles who is too often held up (and then roughly put down) as boy genius gone bad.

No, evil is not very interesting at all, finally. Those who have yet to face that bald fact out of life itself may balk at this production. There are also controversies over whether Welles ever really "finished" it (the fact is he "finished" quite little in his life), and about this restoration by his daughter Beatrice, recently slandered in a new Welles bio. I vote for Beatrice. The new soundtrack and music are simply necessary to make this film palatable, and the images are dazzlingly restored. Truth is, Welles goes in and out of vogue and not even viewable versions (much less scholar-certified definitive versions) of all his works are yet, to this date, available. Would the naysayers be happier if Beatrice Welles just collected royalties and went on a Paris Hilton ego trip? What some segments of the public these days seem to expect to be handed to them, duty free, is almost as appalling and parasitic as Macliammor's Iago.

Everything here works up to the horrific finale and the inspired final frames. This is an Othello you will never forget, even if you only see it once. Sure, one needs to see other great Othellos if you can find them (Olivier's differently eccentic version is scarce as hen's teeth). But this grand and bold experiment will teach you a lot about both the play and its horrific, eternal subject matter -- what the American writer Louis Auchincloss called "motiveless malignancy." Next to Macliammor's Iago, Olivier's Richard III looks like an upstanding worthy fellow.

Welles's genius in evidence, but not Shakespeare's.......2006-04-29

Orson Welles spent four years putting together this movie. Always out of money, filming off the land all over Europe and Africa, it's a miracle the thing ever got made. It's a marvel of editing: within a 5-second scene, there may be a difference of two years and a thousand miles shown. He hated the voices of some of the major actors and redubbed them - poorly, so that words and lips aren't synchronized. He employs fast cutting and other Wellesian visual techniques, but he took great liberties with the Bard. In pieces the movie has high points - the Turkish bath scene, for example - but as a whole it's disappointing. Welles spent so much time filming and editing that he forgot it eventually was going to be shown to an audience. It's a movie only Welles could appreciate. (Presumed lost for 35 years, a copy finally turned up in New Jersey in 1992.)

A must for fans of Orson Welles. For lovers of Shakespeare--ehh, not so much........2006-02-18

Visually stunning in many scenes, this is a fascinating example of Orson Welles cinematic genius and a confusing and frustrating rendition of Shakespeare's Othello.

If Welles had had the time and money to complete the film, it is possible that it could have been as great as many of Welles' idolaters say it is (and it isn't).

Made in the early 1950s, Othello was filmed in the European fashion, which meant that the dialogue was to be dubbed in later. Consequently, the dialogue is often at odds with the action on the screen. Welles' Othello seems emotionally subdued in one scene, yet his voice rages with passion. Robert Coote, who portrayed the dupe Roderigo, evidently wasn't available when it came time to dub his scenes so we are treated to Welles' effeminate falsetto coming out of Coote's mouth. Hilton Edwards' Brabantio mouths his lines like a fugitive from an Italian 1950's Son Of Hercules epic.

In one particular instance, Welles made a true virtue of necessity. According to one account, the costumes were unavailable for the scene of Roderigo's attempt on Cassio's life so Welles set the scene in a Turkish bath. It's a great scene.

The acting is somewhat spotty. Welles brings a lot of smoldering emotion to his role. However, he tends to stalk through several scenes as if auditioning for a remake of Dracula.

Micheál MacLiammóir seemed to interpret the malevolent Iago's primary motivation as constipation. His facial expression never changes and he moves from scene to scene as if he had a stick up his backside.

Fay Compton's Emilia is refreshing. She offers the one consistently good performance throughout. Too bad her screen time is only about six minutes total. It's an absolute relief to watch her and her speech on the nature of men and women is one of the few that doesn't suffer from the dubbing.

Welles ran out of money and he may have lost interest in the film as well. So, we don't know what his final cut would have looked like. However, his style in Othello seems heavily influenced by Sergei Eisenstein's Ivan The Terrible and Alexander Nevsky. Lots of dark, people running in and out of shadows, huge vaulted chambers, faces either cloaked or creased by shadows, odd camera angles. Very moody.

Lots of jarring jump cuts, too. I don't know if this was Welles' plan or, like the soundtrack, just using what the present day restorers had to work with.

All in all, this is probably a must for all true fans of Orson Welles (and Fay Compton) but a mild curiosity for lovers of Shakespeare.

Porn Star - The Legend of Ron Jeremy (Uncut & Unrated Edition)

Average customer rating:

A look at a man that somehow has become a cult american Icon.
Humanizing a Legend
The Woody Allen of Porn ???
Should have been a lot more
Skin Deep

Porn Star - The Legend of Ron Jeremy (Uncut & Unrated Edition)
Starring: Ron Jeremy , William Margold , Al Goldstein , Al Lewis (III) , and Seymore Butts
Director: Scott J. Gill
Manufacturer: New Video Group
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Comedy | Genres | DVD | Video

Biography | Documentary | Genres | DVD | Video

General | Documentary | Genres | DVD | Video

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

Being Ron Jeremy
The Secret Lives of Adult Stars
Rated X - A Journey Through Porn
Sex - The Annabel Chong Story
Thinking XXX (Extended Cut)

ASIN: B00007JZXS
Release Date: 2003-03-25

Amazon.com

Anyone who fantasizes about becoming a porn star should see Porn Star: The Legend of Ron Jeremy, a cheerful documentary that paints a sympathetic but clear-eyed portrait of the most successful male porn star of all time. Through remarkably frank interviews with the man himself and a variety of friends and associates (including actresses, rival actors, and directors; porn moguls like Larry Flynt and Al Goldstein; and, most surprisingly, Jeremy's own family), Ron Jeremy emerges as a likeable but self-obsessed guy whose insatiable drive for fame and success is also a struggle to overcome loneliness and a lack of self-worth. Not that anyone's going to feel too sorry for a man who gets paid to have sex, but Jeremy's honesty and sense of humor deserve some respect. And despite all the flesh on display, Porn Star is more matter-of-fact than titillating, taking in its subject with a sociological distance. --Bret Fetzer

Description

(Full-length, unrated version) The film that was a theatrical phenomenon across the nation, PORN STAR: THE LEGEND OF RON JEREMY offers audiences a penetrating look inside the world of Ron Jeremy, America's most unlikely sex star and hero to millions.

Wit

Customer Reviews:

A look at a man that somehow has become a cult american Icon........2007-02-16

Most mainsteam americans have at least heard the name Ron Jeremy, and many of those will admit to seeing his work...and the rest are lying. An unlikely icon he is. A masters education in special educations, average looks (to start), also a decent actor, and he makes his name in Pornographic films. To top it off, as his career went on, he gets hairier and fatter, yet the work keeps coming in. Luckily for him despite the odds, he came "equipted" for the job from birth. This film is a quick glimps inside his life. He the man most guys wishes they could be, a great representation of an average american man, and as the film says, give anybody hope to go out with anybody, and that is his ticket to stardom. enjoyable film, check it out.

Humanizing a Legend.......2006-12-06

I've seen Ron Jeremey in porn since his waist was 32 inches. Starting with Suzy Superstar in the late 70's where he was studly to today's performances that aside from his phenomenal penile performances, usually amount to freak shows.

I have to say it does appeal to my purient interest to see a 50 something guy, with a 40+ waist putting it to a young 20 year old. Reminds me of the story of Grendel and Beuwolf. Jeremy being the hairy Troll of course.

Don't get me wrong, I have the same body hair and underwent the same metamorphosis as Jeremy, but thankfully my waist has stabized at +- 36. LOL. But I do look in the mirror and wonder at how the stud I once was has disappeared beneath the sweater of back and shoulder hair.

Ron Jeremy has always been a hero of mine. I fell in love with his performances, one in particular in "Snatchbuckler!"where he played a Captain Jack pirate character, Shadbelly, long before Johnny Depp began acting. His dialog was a plethora or ARRGGs! and creative salty langurage, as he gleefully impaled many a british lady prisoner on his massive "rudder post". Great stuff.

This movie, while humanizing Jeremy, also shows his emotional frailty, and other things, like his apparent narcolepsy. It hardly endeared him ot me to watch as he drove recklessly down the highway and shoulder while fighting to stay awake. I'm glad I don't live and drive in L.A.
That aside, the movie is a hoot. I plan to purchase the uncut, unrated version just for the titillating scenes of Jeremy with the latest female porn flavors of the day.
There will be no other Jeremy's simply because he is probably the only one that doesn't drink or do drugs. North and Byron may join him on the pedestal eventually, but Jeremy will be on the top step.

The Woody Allen of Porn ???.......2006-05-17

This film is unbelievable...

For many, Ron Jeremy is the ultimately identifiable yet most unlikely male porn star... after watching this film you'll be even more amazed as he's so... neurotic and Jewish.

The film offers a behind the scenes look at not only the porn industry, but Ron Jeremy himself... who despite being a superstar seems more like a guy who just wants to be accepted and loved (especially by the mainstream film industry who will barely give him a part now and then in a small flasher film.) - - I dare say that some of the scenes in this film will stick with you a long time - - and you'll definitely never look at a dirty movie the same way as before !

Should have been a lot more.......2005-12-18

Ron Jeremy is one of, if not the least, likely people to be a porn star. Ron is dying to break into mainstream movies. Ron is just your average, nice guy.

Throughout the film these three facts are somewhat repeated ENDLESSLY but through various friends, family, admirers and co-workers.

Its an entertaining, but short documentary that barely scratches the surface of what people really want to know about the world of porn. We learn all about Ron's amazing "talents" and his former loves...but the rest of the DVD is Ron trying to understand why no one from Hollywood will hire him.Yea, the AIDS test is scary....and should be....but that's really all there is on the serious side. The rest is Ron being a class clown. Fun and entertaining to watch...but what ISN'T said would be a heck of a lot more interesting.

Skin Deep.......2005-12-18

Ron Jeremy was not always the fat, slightly slovenly looking man he is today. When he entered the pornography business in the late 1970s he was reasonably if not uniquely attractive, determined to make a name for himself on stage and screen as a serious actor, and he saw pornography as a way to pay the bills and make contacts in the film industry.

The idea was not quite as far-out as it might seem. At the time, pornography was a big screen venue and films came with plots, dialogue, and reasonable budgets. As it happened, Jeremy had what it took to be a porn star and then some: a nine and three-quarters inch endowment and the amazing ability to control it on cue. But he failed to recognize a well-established show business fact that not even such legendary (and comparatively discreet) performers as Gypsy Rose Lee could overcome. Once a stripper, always a stripper. Once a porn star, always a porn star.

Twenty years after he made his adult film debut Ron Jeremy is still a porn star, only these days he is a chunky, sloppy one who commands a following largely due to his unlikely appearance and quasi-comic persona and who continues the career thanks to that near-inhuman control. And even as he takes a monthly AIDS test, scrambles for extra and bit work in mainstream film, and makes one porn flick after another he continues to dream of a "legitimate" acting career that will never come.

In theory, it is the stuff of both great comedy and great tragedy, but this fairly short documentary is neither; it has a touch of pathos, a touch of humor, but it never goes far enough in its exploration of Jeremy as a human being. I did laugh a little and I did feel a bit sorry for him, but the big questions were never asked and the big issues were never more than indicated. In the end, I feel like I met Jeremy at a party in passing--and when he left the room I knew little more about him than I did when he first came in.

GFT, Amazon Reviewer
In Memory of James & Shamsi Hyre, killed in Hurricane Katrina
29 August 2005

The Merchant of Venice / Trevor Nunn, Royal National Theatre

Average customer rating:

Antonio should forget it . . .
A Merchant to See
A Powerful Portrayal of a Sad Production
I gave it five stars but...
riveting performances - Shakespeare at his best!

The Merchant of Venice / Trevor Nunn, Royal National Theatre
Starring: David Bamber , Peter De Jersey , Mark Umbers , Alexander Hanson , and Jack James (III)
Director: Chris Hunt , and Trevor Nunn
Manufacturer: Image Entertainment
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Drama | Genres | DVD | Video

Period Piece | Drama | Genres | DVD | Video

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

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

William Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice
William Shakespeare: Othello
Macbeth / McKellen, Dench (Thames Shakespeare Collection)
Twelfth Night
King Lear

ASIN: B0001UZZM2
Release Date: 2004-05-04

Amazon.com

The often volatile character of Shylock, a Jewish moneylender, is powerfully realized in Trevor Nunn's stylish film of Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice, which uses theatrical sets but is shot as a movie. Shylock (played with fierce commitment by Henry Goodman) loans money to a man he despises, the merchant Antonio (David Bramber), only if a pound of Antonio's flesh will be due upon default. Antonio borrows the money so that his friend Bessanio (Alexander Hanson) can travel to woo the woman he loves, Portia (Derbhle Crotty), whose freedom to marry is bound up in a fairy-tale decree of her father's. The play's mixture of tragedy and comedy often baffles contemporary audiences; Nunn attempts to solve this problem by treating almost everything as seriously as possible. While his approach serves Shylock well, the play's conclusion--in which Portia tests her husband's commitment--could use a lighter touch. --Bret Fetzer

Description

William Shakespeare's controversial classic comes to bristling life in this riveting production from theater legend Trevor Nunn. Relocated to Europe between the two world wars, the story follows the misadventures of young heiress Portia, who must don the disguise of a male lawyer to save the life of her love, and the financially obsessed Shylock (Notting Hill's Henry Goodman), determined to literally collect a pound of flesh in court. Trevor Nunn directed the landmark revival of Rodgers & Hammerstein's Oklahoma! with Hugh Jackman as well as groundbreaking versions of Nicholas Nickleby, Othello, and Porgy & Bess. Originally presented to tremendous acclaim at the Royal National Theatre in June, 1999. Awards include: Olivier Awards - Best Actor (Henry Goodman) / Critics' Circle Theatre Awards - Best Actor (Henry Goodman)

Customer Reviews:

Antonio should forget it . . ........2006-02-21

This is a bleak, dismal version of what is admittedly a problem play. Antonio is clinically depressed, Basanio is boring, Portia couldn't win a case in traffic court.

Try Al Pacino's version. MUCH better.

A Merchant to See.......2005-09-29

If you are a fan of The Merchant of Venice but were disappointed by Al Pacino's Shylock this DVD may be for you. Henry Goodman brings a grounded and passionate honesty to the role that Pacino sorely lacked. Although, I was not impressed by David Bamber as Antonio (boring) or Derbhle Crotty as Portia (lacking any real substance; Raymond Coulthard as the Prince of Arragon is historical and steals his scene. The show worked better on stage than it does as a filmed version but it is still well worth a viewing.

A Powerful Portrayal of a Sad Production.......2005-04-28

The works of William Shakespeare are rightly hailed as the pearls of English literature. Alas, in any collection of pearls there is one that is misshapen. This is that one.

The story centers around a man who must borrow a sum of money from a Jew for the sake of a friend. Instead of charging interest, the Jew demands a pound of flesh if his bond is forfeited. This has often been played in such a manner as to depict jewry in general and Shylock (the Jew) in particular as evil money grubbing people who wish nothing so much as the painful demise of Christians. There are other subplots but this is the crux of the story which reaches a climax when the pound of flesh is demanded.

The story is blantantly anti-Semetic. This production, however, goes some distance in redeeming it. The cruelty and discrimination which plagued Shylock's people are made evident in this production. It is easy to see how, in his torment, Shylock is driven towards revenge. So too are many of the "Christians" depicted in a less than flattering light. Both sides of the story are so driven by their respective hatreds and predjudices that it is difficult to have much sympathy for either. In the end it is the women, another group mistreated by the age, that manage to temper harsh justice with some degree of mercy.

This production is magnificent, though non traditional. It is set in Europe at about the time of the Great Depression. Taking Shakespeare out of its normal temporal bounds is done fairly often but does not always work well. In this case it does. The sets are approached in a minimalist manner but are adequate to the task. It has the feel of a stage production while still being clearly produced for the cinema. It is done with understated elegance.

So too is the acting of the highest caliber. Each of the principle parts is portrayed with a passion which almost makes up for the unlikeability of the characters.

This production is at time painful to watch because it is so good. It highlights some of the worst features of men but does so in an engaging manner.

I gave it five stars but..........2005-03-02

I can't decide if I love or hate this production. The acting is amazing, don't get me wrong. The sets are amazing. In reality, this play was done in a theatre resembling a stadium with the stage running down the middle of the auditorium, the wings on either side, and the audience on the left and right of the stage. That's why it looks so complex that you'd think, "how could they have done this onstage." The walls were built in later, I guess. But, here's where I can't decide whether I hate it or love it. This is one of Shakespeare's most controversial plays. It's probably his most controversial. Why? Because the Anti-Semitic content is more evident than it will ever be in Mel Gibson's "The Passion of the Christ." And I mean no offense by this remark. I'm not saying that "The Passion of the Christ" isn't anti-semitic or that the Jews killed Jesus. I condemn anti-setism but I haven't seen that movie so therefore, I just don't get it entirely. I should know. I'm half-Jewish.

When I first read the play, I'm ashamed to say that this was my reaction. My first image of Shylock was a hunched-over, grumpy, little old man in [...]long robes and a long beard. His eyes were very leering (in my head) and he was much like those grumpy men you see in cartoons. I think he had a cane. In his last scene, I envisioned him shuffling off. I smiled. I thought he was a villain. So I was happy at the end when all was resolved. But then I did some more research on this play. I had only read it once before. They make him convert to Christianity!? That's an extremely anti-semitic act. Around the time that "The Passion of the Christ" was booming at the box office, I heard that a film adaptation of the play would be released the following year starring Al Pacino as Shylock, I thought, "God, hasn't the movie industry dealt with enough controversy." It didn't cause as big a stir as I anticipated.

Now, about this version. Trevor Nunn gives not an evil and plotting Shylock but a bitter and angry Shylock, a complex Shylock. Nunn is a master at shattering stereotypes. He presents with a Shylock who has dealt with years of anti-semititic behavior (for lack of a better word) directed towards him and his race. So we see his motivations. Also, we feel more for him when we see him in his yamurlke or setting up the lamp outside his house or conversing with his daughter, Jessica in Yiddish or singing with her in Hebrew (I can only wonder what that song meant but I like to think it's a song about happier times). Then, just as he is about to cut the pound of flesh from Antonio, his friend, Tubal, starts to leave the courtroom and gives Shylock a look that for me says, "This race has been through so much crap. Why do you want to make it worse for us, Shylock? Is it worth it?" It's moments like that that make this production so powerful and controversial for me. The sight of Shylock ripping off his traditional garments is chilling as is his exit of the courtroom. Everything's in silence. The ending also has its share of stereotypes. Basically, if you do the play and you do it so that Shylock looks like the villain, it's a happy ending for fans of anti-semitic entertainment because everyone's all happy, including Shylock's daughter. Instead, Nunn gives us an ending of uncertainty. Jessica backs away from the group. Portia notices that something is wrong and starts to converse about the coming of the day. For the first time in this production, it seems like a gloomy day is on the horizon. Meanwhile, Jessica breaks into that same Hebrew song. She is on the verge of tears. The film ends as thunder rumbles in the heavens as if to symbolize uncertainty.

I didn't get that ending at first. I thought Jessica was mourning for her father or asking forgiveness from her race. However, Nunn's interpretation is that by singing this song, she's saying, "You may have broken a Jewish man but his daughter's still around and she won't take the crap he had to take every day of his life." It's a haunting ending. The characters seem to be reminded of their sins.

All in all, as I write this review, I've decided that this production is powerful, not anti-Semitic. Nunn has given us a version of the play that should be considered the definitive production of the play. And now for the performances.

Henry Goodman deserved his Olivier for the part of Shylock. Had the production been brought to Broadway, he would have certainly won the Tony. He steals the show. Derbhle Crotty is a sassy and sexy Portia and looks just like she's been picked out of an old 30s [...]photo albumthis production being set in the 30s. Those were my two favorite performances. I particularly liked Nerissa's singing voice and I think she looks like Imelda Staunton a.k.a. the lady who played Vera Drake. Finally, while this production is powerful, it is funny, especially when the two princes are onstage. (Arragon does a flamenco dance. It's pointless but it helps define his character.)So, get this DVD and decide for yourself if you love it or hate it. And log on to the PBS website. They've got some stuff on this production 'cause it was on Masterpiece Theatre.

riveting performances - Shakespeare at his best!.......2004-09-13

This Royal National Threatre production is an excellent presentation of one of Shakespeare's most controversial plays. I was riveted for the whole performance, which is what a good production of Shakespeare should do. Although it does not have the same production values as a Branagh production (it is more of a stage production on film), the acting and direction are suberb. Henry Goodman as Shylock delivers an especially strong performance and won an award for it. The setting in the pre-War period really works, unlike many other transpositions of Shakespeare I have seen, and the sets, with its use of contemporary art, though minimal, also work. I highly recommend this DVD.

World Class Trains: The Venice Simplon Orient Express

Average customer rating:

Wonderful taste of Europe.
Solid Train Video

World Class Trains: The Venice Simplon Orient Express
Starring: World Class Trains
Manufacturer: Eagle Vision USA
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Documentary | Genres | DVD | Video

Science & Technology | Documentary | Genres | DVD | Video

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

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

( W ) | Titles | Features | DVD | Video

4-for-3 All DVDs | 4-for-3 DVD | Stores | DVD | Video
Similar Items:

The Northern Belle: British Orient Express
The American Orient Express
The Blue Train of South Africa
The World Class Trains: Train-De-Luxe Rail Safari
Al Andalus Express

ASIN: B00014NF20
Release Date: 2004-02-17

Customer Reviews:

Wonderful taste of Europe. .......2006-01-31

Fantastic camera shots and narration; it certainly makes you want to take this trip! Clearly shows how trains are truly the best and most relaxing way to travel.

Solid Train Video.......2005-08-30

This one was done right. This series is a bit inconsistent (the polar express is really bland) and others are good but the production was a bit hasty and seemed not so well planned.

However this London to Venice video was very well done. The scenery was solid. The train interior and the shots of the cities travelled to were good. And the clips of Venice were overwhelmingly beautiful, a few were better than I'd even seen in non-train films. This one is a must have for train buffs.

Because people don't know of this series, it gets short shrift. The competitor "Travel The World By Train" series is way more consistent and better organized on average, but the price of the other series is way, way higher. In this series, even if one gets an average or not-so-hot one, it's only a few bucks. The other series is prohibitively expensive and sometimes not always available.

This video was one of the best values in train-oriented multimedia I've yet encountered.

Bizet - Les Pecheurs de Perles / Massis, Grassi, Nakajima, De Donato, Viotti, Venice Opera

Average customer rating:

Absolute junk! poor Bizet
A BEAUTIFUL EVENING FOR EYE AND EAR
Good opera, adequate perfprmance
These Pearles are worth fishing for
Visuals add to this adequate performance

Bizet - Les Pecheurs de Perles / Massis, Grassi, Nakajima, De Donato, Viotti, Venice Opera
Starring: Annick Massis (Cast) , Yasu Nakajima , Luca Grassi , Luigi Di Donato , and Tiziano Mancini (Director)
Director: Marcello Viotti
Manufacturer: Dynamic Italy
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

General | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Music Video & Concerts | Genres | DVD | Video

( B ) | Titles | Features | DVD | Video

Bellini - I Puritani / Gruberova, Bros, Alvarez, Orfila, Gorny, Madrid, Pierotti, Haider, Barcelona Opera
Verdi - Il Corsaro / Bruson, Michailov, Sburlati, Damato, Palumbo, Parma Opera
Rossini - Il Turco in Italia / Bartoli, Raimondi, Macias, Rumetz, Schmid, Welser-Most, Zurich Opera
Massenet - Thais / Mei, Pertusi, Joyner, Fel, Viotti, Venice Opera
Rossini - Le Comte Ory / Massis · Laho · Montague · Shaulis · Tézier · Davis · Jérôme Savary · Glyndebourne Festival Opera

ASIN: B0007VY5IU
Release Date: 2005-03-29

Customer Reviews:

Absolute junk! poor Bizet.......2007-06-07

Where the hell did they find this tenor? To think I have a domingo recording of this and I just watched this junk! If you don't believe me watch it and count how many time N