Angela's Ashes

Starring:Robert Carlyle, Emily Watson, Andrew Bennett, Joe Breen, Oisin Carney Daly, Sean Carney Daly, Liam Carney, Aaron Geraghty, Peter Halpin, Blaithnaid Howe, Michael Legge (II), Eanna MacLiam, Ronnie Masterson, Pauline McLynn, Devon Murray, Shane Murray-Corcoran, Tim O'Brien (IV), Ciaran Owens, Shane Smith (III)
Studio: Paramount Home Video
Product Type: DVD

Editorial Review:
Amazon.com
Because Frank McCourt's bestselling, Pulitzer Prize-winning memoir Angela's Ashes was dearly embraced by millions of readers, it was perhaps inevitable that Alan Parker's film version would prove somewhat disappointing. McCourt's book is blessed with subtleties of language and detailed observation that do not easily lend themselves to screen interpretation, and Parker's film suffers from an overly literal, reverently somber approach that lacks the cumulative emotions of McCourt's account of impoverished youth in Ireland. And where McCourt was able to leaven his family's suffering with tenacious humor and fighting Irish spirit, Parker's film provides precious little uplift in the course of 145 minutes.

Amazon.com

Because Frank McCourt's bestselling, Pulitzer Prize-winning memoir Angela's Ashes was dearly embraced by millions of readers, it was perhaps inevitable that Alan Parker's film version would prove somewhat disappointing. McCourt's book is blessed with subtleties of language and detailed observation that do not easily lend themselves to screen interpretation, and Parker's film suffers from an overly literal, reverently somber approach that lacks the cumulative emotions of McCourt's account of impoverished youth in Ireland. And where McCourt was able to leaven his family's suffering with tenacious humor and fighting Irish spirit, Parker's film provides precious little uplift in the course of 145 minutes.

Customer Reviews:

A West Briton's Irish minstrel show.......2007-04-30

Frank McCourt announces the hate-filled theme of his malevolent Bildungsroman in his first paragraph: "Worse than the ordinary miserable childhood is the miserable Irish childhood, and worse yet is the miserable Irish Catholic childhood." I haven't read the book, but this movie is just one shovelful of muck after another thrown upon unrecognizable and unbelievable caricatures of the Catholic Church and the Irish people. Not content with slandering the Faith and the Fatherland, McCourt is a man of such baseness that he even puts his own dead parents at the front of his firing squad of degradation. Even if his father's alcoholism and his mother's prostitution were true, it takes a man of extremely vile character to tell the whole world about it. But that's what Frank McCourt is and that's what the real message of this movie is: utter materialism. Faith, patriotism, morality are things to be scorned, and if you can make a buck by spitting on your own parents, go for it. In that, he is an evangelist of the American Spirit and the New Ireland where shameless mercenaries conduct "Angela's Ashes" tours through Limerick, making a living by running down their own city and their own people.

Thankfully, at least one man has written a counterpoint (Gerard Hannan's "Ashes" Ashes (Pennance Trilogy, 1)), detailing a happy childhood in a quite different Limerick than the one McCourt describes. And some quite cursory internet searches will reveal that McCourt's book is a package of stinking lies; lies about the extent of Limerick's misery, lies about actual people- living and dead-, and lies about the extent of the poverty in his own overweight childhood in the elite boy scout troop of the city. When people confront him about this, the self-important McCourt mocks them as "begrudgers" and compares himself to James Joyce and John Synge. But what do facts matter when the lies you tell tickle the ears of the secular, leftist elite of media and university? Gerard Hannan could write like Shakespeare, but he would never get a major American book deal or an honorary degree from the University of Limerick.

In America, White people used to put on things called "minstrel shows", where they would wear black makeup on their faces and mock Black people by exaggerating their most demeaning stereotypes. Black people were rightfully offended and public sentiment eventually forced an end to the spectacle. With "Angela's Ashes", an Irishman wrote a derogatory book about his own people, which was turned into a movie where an English actress and a Scottish actor exaggerate the most demeaning stereotypes about the Irish. And warped Irish and Irish Americans put the book and movie on their shelves as some sort of point of pride. "Eirean abu" has given way to "Nostalgie de la Boue" and our people can't seem to wallow in it enough.

Angela's Ashes - Movie.......2007-03-27

The movie was good, but I think I would have appreciated it more if I hadn't read the book so close to watching the movie.

Not bad. Not too good........2006-10-04

Angela's Ashes is one of the best books I have ever read. I would have given this film atleast FOUR stars had I not read the book first. It is not a bad movie but I don't think the characters chosen to play a few crucial roles were too good. However, I must give credit to the fact that most situations described within the book are covered (with much haste). I didn't quite the get the feel of the film belonging to Ireland. The movie lacked much of the begging for basic food items and it also lacked the unbothered air of foolishness around Frank's father.

One major reason I give the film three stars and the book five is that I laughed out loud around 14 times while reading the book while around 2times while watching it.

To people who dislike reading books, this movie is for you.
For fans of the book and movie, Sorry - It didn't work for me.

Beyond the beyonds.

A Film Totally True To The Book....And A Beautiful DVD .......2006-04-15

Frank McCourt's best-selling book is so good, and this movie is so true to it, that if you liked one, you'll like this because rarely has film been so close to a book. It's amazing, given what normally is the case.
Even though the film brought no surprises, I still thought it was fascinating because of the fantastic cinematography in here and the great job done by the actors. The muted colors in this film are beautiful and the lighting is superb. Then again, it's hard to go wrong with a nighttime streetlight-lit shot of cobblestone streets. The directing talents of Alan Parker were never more evident than here. He should do more movies.
The book, "Angela's Ashes," is a biography of McCourt and his extremely poor Irish family. All three boys who play McCourt at various times in his development are excellent here. The whole cast is excellent, for that matter, led by "Angela" (Emily Watson) and husband Malachy (Robert Caryle). Two sadder-looking faces, you never did see, and a more rainy, dreary town (Limerick) you never did see....so if you're looking a happy, uplifting story, pass this one by. However, if you want a film totally true to a great book, wonderfully photographed film and one acted well ....and with some unique humor to it, check this out.
I don't want to leave out the humor, the key ingredient in McCourt's otherwise- depressing days of growing up. Humor and dire poverty never went together so well as McCourt made it sound through his book and the filmmakers did through this movie.

Frank McCourt's life.......2006-03-20

This story stayed with me for very long time. I couldn't wait to get his next book "Tis".

Average customer rating:

A West Briton's Irish minstrel show
Angela's Ashes - Movie
Not bad. Not too good.
A Film Totally True To The Book....And A Beautiful DVD
Frank McCourt's life

Angela's Ashes
Starring: Andrew Bennett , Joe Breen , Robert Carlyle , Oisin Carney Daly , and Sean Carney Daly
Manufacturer: Paramount
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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

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Similar Items:

The McCourts of New York
'Tis: A Memoir
ANGELAS ASHES
Michael Collins
Bloody Sunday

ASIN: 6305872058
Release Date: 2000-07-18

Amazon.com

Customer Reviews:

A West Briton's Irish minstrel show.......2007-04-30

Angela's Ashes - Movie.......2007-03-27

The movie was good, but I think I would have appreciated it more if I hadn't read the book so close to watching the movie.

Not bad. Not too good........2006-10-04

A Film Totally True To The Book....And A Beautiful DVD .......2006-04-15

Frank McCourt's life.......2006-03-20

This story stayed with me for very long time. I couldn't wait to get his next book "Tis".

Charlie Rose with Frank McCourt; Hugh Downs (September 21, 1999)

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Charlie Rose with Frank McCourt; Hugh Downs (September 21, 1999)

Manufacturer: Charlie Rose
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

( C ) | Titles | Features | DVD | Video

Description

A dialogue with Frank McCourt, the Pulitzer Prize-winning Irish author of Angela's Ashes, about the second part of his memoirs, 'Tis. Also, journalist Hugh Downs of ABC News reflects on his career as he plans to retire in the upcoming week. The 20/20 reporter looks back at some of his most memorable profiles on the show and talks about his relationship with Barbara Walters.

60 Minutes - Frank McCourt (September 19, 1999)

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60 Minutes - Frank McCourt (September 19, 1999)

Manufacturer: CBS
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

The McCourts of New York
The McCourts of Limerick
Angela's Ashes
Tis Unabridged: A Memoir
ANGELAS ASHES

ASIN: B000FOT9XK
Release Date: 2006-06-15

Description

One of the most gifted and popular storytellers of his time, Frank McCourt, revisits Limerick, Ireland, the inspiration for his Pulitzer Prize-winning memoir, Angela's Ashes. He talks with Ed Bradley about his childhood and growing up in poverty.

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Charlie Rose (December 3, 1999)

Manufacturer: Charlie Rose Inc.
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

( C ) | Titles | Features | DVD | Video

Description

A rebroadcasted interview with Mike Myers, star of Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me, in which he plays multiple characters. Myers discusses the origins of the character Austin Powers and his childhood in Canada.This segment originally aired June 8, 1999.||Then, a rebroadcast of an interview with Frank McCourt, the Pulitzer Prize-winning Irish author of Angela's Ashes, about the second part of his memoirs, 'Tis. This segment originally appeared September 21, 1999.

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Alan Parker adapts Frank McCourt's memoirs

Angela's Ashes [Region 2]

ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Drama | Genres | DVD | Video

( A ) | Titles | Features | DVD | Video

ANGELAS ASHES
'Tis: A Memoir
The McCourts of New York
Angela's Ashes
Teacher Man: A Memoir

ASIN: B00004TLAV

Customer Reviews:

Alan Parker adapts Frank McCourt's memoirs.......2005-12-15

It took a while for me to get interested in "Angela's Ashes," and I was surprised to realize that the problem with the early part of Alan Parker's film was that the music was laying it on too thick. This is a surprise, of course, because the music is by John Williams. A narrator's voice tells us that there is nothing quite as bad as being raised in a poor Irish Catholic neighborhood and the music tries to nudge us in that direction. But seeing as how the words were enough to have me thinking of all the other cinematic examples of the lives of the poor in Ireland, the music was just a bother.

The movie is based on Frank McCourt's Pulitzer Prize winning memoir and knowing that is important because despite everything that happens in this film--or, more properly, because of it--young Frank is going to make it back to America and become a success. The film begins with the irony of an Irish family on a ship passing the Statue of Liberty going east as the McCourt's leave New York City to return to Limmerick. Malachy McCourt (Robert Carlyle) will have no more luck there finding a job to support his wife, Angela (Emily Watson) and four boys, but at least there is a family that can provide some support and a dole that will pay 13 shillings a week (5 for the rent, the rest to feed the family). However, unemployment is not the only constant in the McCourt family. There are deaths and births, whipping from the teachers at the school and the drunken singing of Malachy, all of which become part of the cycle of Frank's life.

"Angela's Ashes" is a story about poignant poverty, where the humor of the situations tries to win out in the end. Clearly Frank loves both his parents despite the "shame" they bring upon the family, his mother because she will beg for the scraps from the priests' table and his father because he will drink away not only his wages but the money sent for a new baby. I have to admit to some disappointment that there is not a point where Frank turns on his father (the way he does on his mother at one point), because what limited value the man might have had does not make it to the screen. But then Frank never seems to connect the survival of his family to the shame his mother endures, both private and public.

The movie covers three main stages in Frank's life and there are a trio of young actors who capture each stage and their respective crucibles. For Young Frank (Joe Breen) it is his first Holy Communion and the onslaught of confessions that it engenders. Middle Frank (Ciaran Owens) faces a serious illness that does not succeed in killing him but does force him to be humiliated by going back a grade. Then there is Older Frank (Michael Legge), who bears the grave responsibility for sending a young woman's soul to hell and is working as one of Satan's emissaries on Earth, writing threatening letters to those who are behind in their payments to the local moneylender.

But for each crucible there is a corresponding minor miracle. My favorite is when Frank is ordered to write an essay on what would have happened if Jesus had been born in Limmerick, but the most significant one comes when for once in his life, a death becomes a blessing for Frank McCourt and every poor soul he knows in the lane. There are certainly moments of warm humor in this film, as there are moments of pathos, but somehow not quite as many as I would expect given the director and his source material. However, I am having an urge to track down my wife's copy of McCourt's book and am in "litigious anticipation" of reading it for myself and proving my grand suspicion that all of the limitations of the film version of "Angela's Ashes" are in the adaptation and not the original material.

Charlie Rose with Dan Rather & Patrick Cole; Frank McCourt; Shawn Colvin (June 2, 1997)

Average customer rating:

Charlie Rose with Dan Rather & Patrick Cole; Frank McCourt; Shawn Colvin (June 2, 1997)

Manufacturer: Charlie Rose
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

( C ) | Titles | Features | DVD | Video

Description

Charlie talks to Dan Rather of CBS News and Patrick Cole of Time magazine about Timothy McVeigh's guilty verdict. Next, author Frank McCourt talks about his childhood in Ireland and his book, Angela's Ashes that was inspired by his experience. Finally, singer Shawn Colvin discusses the challenge of marketing her new album, A Few Small Repairs, and her hit single, Sunny Came Home.

Charlie Rose with Peter Beinart; Jeffrey Toobin; Emily Watson (January 18, 2000)

Average customer rating:

Charlie Rose with Peter Beinart; Jeffrey Toobin; Emily Watson (January 18, 2000)

Manufacturer: Charlie Rose
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

( C ) | Titles | Features | DVD | Video

Description

Peter Beinart, a former intern and now the new editor of The New Republic, on the political season and the political magazine now under his run. Later, a conversation with writer Jeffrey Toobin of The New Yorker, who looks back at the Clinton impeachment affair in his new book, A Vast Conspiracy. Finally, actress Emily Watson on the new film adaptation of the Frank McCourt best-seller, Angela's Ashes, in which she stars.

Average customer rating:

Alan Parker adapts Frank McCourt's memoirs

Angela's Ashes [Region 2]

ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Drama | Genres | DVD | Video

( A ) | Titles | Features | DVD | Video

ANGELAS ASHES
'Tis: A Memoir
The McCourts of New York
Angela's Ashes
Teacher Man: A Memoir

ASIN: B00004Y3LO

Customer Reviews:

Alan Parker adapts Frank McCourt's memoirs.......2005-12-15

Charlie Rose with Chris Martin & Joe Levy; Frank McCourt & Calvin Trillin; Ala Bashir (May 5, 2006)

Average customer rating:

Charlie Rose with Chris Martin & Joe Levy; Frank McCourt & Calvin Trillin; Ala Bashir (May 5, 2006)

Manufacturer: "Charlie Rose, Inc."
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

( C ) | Titles | Features | DVD | Video

Description

Coldplay lead singer Chris Martin talks to guest host Joe Levy, executive editor of Rolling Stone, about the success of the band and their latest album, X&Y. Guest host Calvin Trillin talks to Frank McCourt, author of Teacher Man. Finally, an interview with Ala Bashir, Saddam Hussein's former physician. He talks about his role in the Hussein Administration, his work an artist and his book, The Insider: Trapped in Saddam's Brutal Regime.

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