Grand Hotel

Starring:John Barrymore, Lionel Barrymore, Wallace Beery, Frank Conroy, Joan Crawford, Herbert Evans, Greta Garbo, Ferdinand Gottschalk, Jean Hersholt, Murray Kinnell, Tully Marshall, Edwin Maxwell, Sam McDaniel, Robert McWade, Rafaela Ottiano, Purnell Pratt, Rolfe Sedan, Lewis Stone, Morgan Wallace
Studio: Warner Home Video
Product Type: DVD

Amazon.com essential video

This Academy Award winner for Best Picture is a sweeping soap opera about the guests at the Grand Hotel. Several plots intertwine, but mostly it's about Stars! Stars! Stars! Greta Garbo, Joan Crawford, Wallace Beery, and both Barrymore brothers head up the cast. Garbo is luminous as Grusinskaya, the neurotic and famous-but-slipping dancer and, yes, she "vonts to be alone." John Barrymore is a cat burglar with blue blood and a heart of gold, and Lionel Barrymore happily caroms off him as Mr. Kringelein, a dying man who wants to live out the time he has left with the rich. Joan Crawford is perhaps the biggest surprise of the movie: as Flaemmchen, a young career girl trying to decide between secretary and tart, she is uncharacteristically funny, vivacious, and downright bubbly. Along the way we discover that money, fame, and titles don't guarantee happiness, and being a jewel thief doesn't necessarily make you a bad person. The nicest touch is the hint that other, minor plots swirl around the edges of the film, suggesting that we've only seen a small chapter of the hotel's story. Grand Hotel is a great deal of fun and an excellent chance to see some famous faces in their prime. --Ali Davis

Description

In this great screen drama, the glitz and glitter of Berlin's opulent Grand Hotel comes alive with its star-studded guests and employees: Greta Garbo, John Barrymore, Joan Crawford, Wallace Beery and Lionel Barrymore. Year: 1932

DVD Features:
Documentary:New making-of documentary Checking Out: Grand Hotel
Featurette:Vitaphone musical short Nothing Ever Happens
Newsreel:Premiere newsreel
Other:Just a Word of Warning theatre announcement
Scene Access
Theatrical Trailer:Trailers of this and the 1945 remake Weekend at the Waldorf

Customer Reviews:

A good sophisticated drama in the early talkie era.......2007-05-28

This film doesn't seem that remarkable by today's standards, but in 1932 it was quite innovative. MGM used an all-star cast in a bracelet of intertwining stories that involved them all. The ballerina (Garbo) misses Russia, feels life is empty and pointless, and is saved from killing herself by the Baron (John Barrymore) who had been planning to steal her jewels to pay a large debt to some shady people that he owes. The stenographer (Joan Crawford) has set her sights on the Baron believing him to be rich, while she is being eyed by her employer, a wealthy industrialist (Wallace Beery) who is the former employer of a dying man (Lionel Barrymore) who intends to spend his life savings experiencing what he has been missing out on all these years, who in turn is befriended by the Baron. The only character who exists in isolation is Garbo's, who has a relationship with the Baron but noone else.

This is the only film to ever win the Best Picture Oscar and be nominated for no other awards. This is not because the picture is a poor one. Instead it is probably because there are so many subplots and so many players that it is hard to zero in on any one of them and say a particular link in the chain is outstanding compared to the others and therefore deserves an award. However, altogether, the actors and subplots form an entertaining film. Since this film was such a commercial success the entire formula was reused in "Dinner at Eight" the following year, and even used part of the cast from this film - John Barrymore, Lionel Barrymore, and Wallace Beery. Oddly enough that film was superior to "Grand Hotel" in many ways, but didn't receive any Oscar nominations.

Finally, much has been said about Greta Garbo's over-the-top performance in this one. I have to admit, if this was my introduction to Garbo I would be asking myself what is the big deal about her supposed great reputation. She's practically playing Ophelia at certain points in the film. However, if you think about it, Garbo's portrayal is an appropriate one considering her character's circumstances. She was a ballerina in Czarist Russia who has the world ripped out from underneath her as a result of the Russian Revolution. Now, late in her career, she is surrounded by sycophants and isn't even missed when she runs out on a performance. The little documentary that comes with the DVD does a good job of explaining more about Garbo and her performance. There's no commentary track on this DVD. Instead there is a comedy short that parodies "Grand Hotel" plus some theatrical trailers and movietone extras talking about the premiere of Grand Hotel in addition to the mini-documentary I already mentioned.

Grand Old Film Seems Fresh.......2007-04-26

This film holds up quite well after nearly 75 years, and after watching the first 1/2 hour, you'll know why: timeless acting, a literate sceenplay and beautiful b/w cinematography. The ensemble acting is terrific with many great nuanced performances, with no one performance *stealing* the film but gaining poignancy from playing off one another. The screenplay seems to have been written by someone who has known life, especially life among the rich and famous, and the film has enough depictions of the suffering rich to make F.Scott Fitzgerald proud. There are many famous lines which you will recognize, including the famous, *I vant to be alone* by Greta Garbo.

This is one of my favorite golden age films, and you can't say you know films without seeing it at least once.

DVD Grand Hotel.......2007-01-12

Our grandson appeared in a local production of Grand Hotel. He was so pleased to receive the DVD with the original cast. Arrived promptly and in perfect condtion.

Power of Beautiful, Influential Film Has Been Obscured By Passing Years.......2006-07-25

Published in 1921, Vicki Baum's German-language novel MENSCHEN IM HOTEL was an international bestseller. MGM purchased the rights and employed William A. Drake to adapt the novel to the stage. Titled GRAND HOTEL, it proved a great success on the Broadway stage, and with its fame as both novel and play the studio made the property the focus of its powerful array of contract talent. It was smash with both critics and audiences and won the Academy Award as Best Picture of 1932.

Although the 1930s was notable for social dramas, audiences of the Great Depression wanted an escape from the hardship of their lives, and no expense was spared to create the glittering and very high-gloss image moviegoers craved. Designed by legendary art director Cedric Gibbons, who mixed Deco and Moderne styles to tremendous effect, each set was built specifically for the film and no detail was overlooked; Adrian's costumes were also meticulous in their combination of high-fashion and romance. No detail was overlooked, and in terms of production values alone few films before or after have bested GRAND HOTEL.

But if GRAND HOTEL is distinctly of its era in terms of visual style, it is also distinctly of its era in terms of performance, and it is here that we run into a bit of trouble. Most actors of the silent era relied on a mannered performance style that compensated for the lack of sound. The arrival of sound forced them to invent a new performance style, and some proved more adaptable than others. In many respects, GRAND HOTEL is a study of the struggle to invent this new way of acting; some of the performers are excessively large, some are in transition between silent and sound modes, and some are distinctly modern in their approach.

In terms of story, GRAND HOTEL presents several overlapping and interweaving plotlines. Celebrated ballerina Grusinskaya (Garbo) is performing in Berlin--and is a deep depression that threatens her career. Baron von Geigern (John Barrymore) is in desperate need of money--and has agreed to steal Grusinskaya's famous pearls. When Grusinskaya's suicide attempt collides with the Baron's intended theft, romance is result. At the same time, industrialist Preysing (Wallace Beery) has arrived at the hotel in an effort to conclude a important business deal and has hired a stenographer named Flaemmchen (Joan Crawford) to assist him--but Preysing is unaware that company accountant Kringelein (Lionel Barrymore) has been diagnoised with a terminal illness and has taken rooms at the hotel, determined to enjoy himself before he dies. These characters, along with Grusinskaya's maid (Rafaela Ottiano), the hotel doctor (Lewis Stone), and various hotel employees (including Jean Hersholt) collide repeatedly over the course of a few days--and none will emerge entirely unscathed from their encounters.

John Barrymore was noted for his larger-than-life performances on the stage, and he brought that same quality to many silent films; less fortunately, he also carried into the sound era, and his performance reads as excessively large. Although Garbo was a great star in the silent era, she quickly adapted to the new demands of sound in such films as ANNA CHRISTIE--but when faced with Barrymore's over-the-top performance she responds in kind, and the result is visually beautifully but incredibly mannered, and their scenes are not greatly aided by their dialogue, which is itself very much in "the grand manner." Although they are indeed fascinating, their performances are distinctly out of synch with the rest of the film, where a more natural style of acting is the norm.

While Wallace Beery and Lewis Stone are quite good, and while Lionel Barrymore is unexpectedly effective (and much less mannered than his brother John), it is really Joan Crawford that points the way toward the new acting style. Crawford herself had worked in silents, and scored notable successes in such films as OUR DANCING DAUGHTERS, but she has made an easy leap to the sound era and never overplays her hand; Flaemmchen is among the best of her early performances, and Crawford herself thought it among the best of her overall career. She wasn't wrong.

With the acting styles all over the map, GRAND HOTEL requires a modern viewer to make constant mental shifts; consequently, the film sometimes feels more than a little uphill. Even so, there are plenty of compensations: Garbo at the height of her beauty; Lionel Barrymore's multi-layered performance; a Crawford classic; and always, always the lush look and feel of the movie. Although I think it will most appeal to film buffs, there is no denying the thing has power, even though that power has become somewhat obscured by the passing years.

Both print and sound are excellent, and although there are only a few bonuses--and very short ones at that--the "making of" documentary is excellent and the footage of the premiere is nothing short of fascinating. Recommended for film buffs, especially those strong on 1930s film.

GFT, Amazon Reviewer

star-studded movie masterpiece.......2005-10-04

Suggested by Vicki Baum's book "Menschem im Hotel" and the Broadway play by William A. Drake, GRAND HOTEL remains to this day one of M-G-M's most delightful and lavish films. With a hand-picked cast from it's peerless roster of stars and top direction from Edmund Goulding, the film still casts a powerful spell today.

The setting is Berlin's Grand Hotel in the 1930s. Staying at the luxurious hotel is penniless Baron von Guigern (John Barrymore), ruthless magnate General Preysing (Wallace Beery), ambitious stenographer Miss Flaemmchen (Joan Crawford), fragile prima ballerina Grusinskaya (Greta Garbo) and Otto Kringelein (Lionel Barrymore) a dying man on his last fling. It's fascinating to watch these characters and their stories merge and intertwine.

The performances are sublime. Garbo is perfect for the remote and disillusioned Grusinskaya, suddenly woken back to life when she falls in love with the Baron. Lionel Barrymore is heartbreaking as gentle Otto. Joan Crawford is a hoot as the stenographer with Hollywood dreams and a shady past. The chemistry between Garbo and John Barrymore fairly crackles and their scenes together are some of the best in the entire picture.

It's here that Garbo first uttered those five little words which would define her for the rest of her life - "I want to be alone". The cast also includes Lewis Stone as the Doctor and Jean Hersholt as the desk-clerk.

The DVD contains some great bonuses like a new Making-of documentary, footage from the lavish premiere and a rare Vitaphone musical short "Nothing Ever Happens" which is an hilarious parody of GRAND HOTEL.

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

Average customer rating:

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

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

General | Classics | Genres | DVD | Video

Signature Collections | Classics | Genres | DVD | Video

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Classics | Drama | Genres | DVD | Video

( G ) | Titles | Features | DVD | Video

Drama | Boxed Sets | Stores | DVD | Video

Classics | Boxed Sets | Stores | DVD | Video

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

ASIN: B0009S4IJM
Release Date: 2005-09-06

Amazon.com

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

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

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

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

Description

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

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

Customer Reviews:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Average customer rating:

A good sophisticated drama in the early talkie era
Grand Old Film Seems Fresh
DVD Grand Hotel
Power of Beautiful, Influential Film Has Been Obscured By Passing Years
star-studded movie masterpiece

Grand Hotel (Keepcase)
Starring: John Barrymore , Lionel Barrymore , Wallace Beery , Frank Conroy , and Joan Crawford
Manufacturer: Warner Home Video
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Drama | Genres | DVD | Video

Classics | Drama | Genres | DVD | Video

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

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

The Great Ziegfeld
The Broadway Melody (Special Edition)
Cimarron
The Life of Emile Zola (Special Edition)
Dinner at Eight

ASIN: B0009S4IKQ
Release Date: 2005-09-06

Amazon.com essential video

Description

Customer Reviews:

A good sophisticated drama in the early talkie era.......2007-05-28

Grand Old Film Seems Fresh.......2007-04-26

DVD Grand Hotel.......2007-01-12

Our grandson appeared in a local production of Grand Hotel. He was so pleased to receive the DVD with the original cast. Arrived promptly and in perfect condtion.

Power of Beautiful, Influential Film Has Been Obscured By Passing Years.......2006-07-25

star-studded movie masterpiece.......2005-10-04

Average customer rating:

Great way to start your collection of Best Pictures
Eighteen of the best movies of all time
Best Picture Oscar Collection - fantastic present
good deal but not in collectible condition
This is a great deal; looks like they fixed the problems,,,

Best Picture Oscar Collection (18-Pack)

Manufacturer: Warner Home Video
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Classics | Genres | DVD | Video

General | Drama | Genres | DVD | Video

( B ) | Titles | Features | DVD | Video

Special Editions | Fully Loaded DVDs | Features | DVD | Video

Drama | Boxed Sets | Stores | DVD | Video

Classics | Boxed Sets | Stores | DVD | Video

Studio Classics - Best Picture Collection (Sunrise / How Green Was My Valley / Gentleman's Agreement / All About Eve)
Classic Comedies Collection (Bringing Up Baby / The Philadelphia Story Two-Disc Special Edition / Dinner at Eight / Libeled Lady / Stage Door / To Be or Not to Be)
From Here to Eternity
The Alfred Hitchcock Signature Collection (Strangers on a Train Two-Disc Edition / North by Northwest / Dial M for Murder / Foreign Correspondent / Suspicion / The Wrong Man / Stage Fright / I Confess / Mr. and Mrs. Smith)
Lawrence of Arabia (Limited Edition)

ASIN: B0007KXRZI
Release Date: 2005-02-08

Customer Reviews:

Great way to start your collection of Best Pictures.......2007-02-03

This is the set of 18 Best Picture winners on DVD that Warner Home Video controlled the rights to as of Feb. 2005, and spans the time period 1929-1992. Some of them hold up over time, and others were given the award because of technical achievements that no longer seem important. I'll go through each one and give my opinion:

Broadway Melody of 1929 - This was the first "talkie" to win the award. The screenplay is a mediocre love story, but the song and dance numbers are good. There's even a musical number in Technicolor - "Wedding of the Painted Doll".

Grand Hotel - Won in 1932 and contained a great ensemble cast about the personal lives of guests in a fancy Berlin hotel. This is a great one that still is worthy viewing today.

Mutiny on the Bounty (1935) - Probably the best of all the pictures about the famous mutiny. Still good viewing today. An odd aside - all of the nominees for best actor that did not win were from this film - Clark Gable, Franchot Tone, and Charles Laughton.

The Great Ziegfield (1936) - After the Hays code was fully in effect, the personal aspects of Ziegfield's life had to be modified for the screen. Still, a great movie with a great performance by William Powell as the famous showman.

The Life of Emile Zola (1937) - One of those period pieces that just didn't grab me. It is a very skillfully done film, very artistic, and Paul Muni gives a tremendous performance in the title role. It's hard to believe the articulate and gentile Emile Zola is being portrayed by the same actor who was equally convincing in "Scarface".

Gone with the Wind (1939) - This movie charts the life of a Southern belle who always wanted what she didn't have and took for granted what she did have as she lives through the Civil War and reconstruction. It is the most popular film of all time and probably the biggest money-maker if you factor in inflation. It was shown in movie theatres until it made its TV debut in 1976.

Mrs. Miniver (1942) - This is a good film, and it has great acting, but it is one of those films that probably won because of the times. It depicts how the British coped while under seige during World War II as experienced by one British family headed by Mrs. Miniver.

Casablanca (1943) - This one probably won because of the wartime theme, but it is a great piece of moviemaking that just gets better with time. The chemistry between Ingrid Bergman and Humphrey Bogart just oozes off the screen. It's more what's not said than what is in this film. The fact that Bogart didn't win best actor was one of the great injustices of all time.

An American in Paris (1951) - Of course the point of this film not the plot, it is Gene Kelly's dancing, which is fabulous as always. It inspired the quickly thrown together and even more popular "Singin In the Rain".

Around the World in 80 Days (1956) - A fun adventure, David Niven is great, and how they got all of those stars to play bit parts I'll never know. However, it really doesn't hold up as a great movie 50 years after the fact.

Gigi (1958) - The academy award winner in the year of my birth just does not inspire today. There are a couple of good songs, but not many. Plus the screenplay is antiquated and outright campy by today's standards.

Ben-Hur (1959) - One of those great Bible-era epics of the 50's. Even though it is a story on a large scale, it is all of the small scale stories going on that make it great - revenge, love, loyalty, loss.

My Fair Lady (1964) - One of the great musicals starring Rex Harrison in one of his greatest and most amusing roles. Nobody did stuffy British low-key comedy like Rex. He was robbed when it came to best actor, but fortunately the Academy rectified the situation a few years later.

One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975) - Jack Nicholson is a rebel confined to a mental institution. When he doesn't conform, the evil nurse Ratchett has him lobotimized. A great film that will stir emotions even today.

Chariots of Fire (1981) - I personally love this film about the 1924 Olympic games and the conflict between God, country, and conscience seen through the eyes of two men - one a Christian who wants to be a missionary, the other Jewish who wants to be an insider in British society. It's a love it or hate it kind of film - either you find the internal struggles of these men compelling, or you'll find it torture to sit through.

Amadeus (1984) - Another of the modern era Oscars where you either love the message and love the film, or it puts you to sleep. I really loved this one too, partly because Mozart has always interested me, and partly because Salieri was such a ridiculous creature thinking he could best God by destroying Mozart. Didn't he ever realize that the fact that he recognized Mozart's talent before everyone else did was a talent in itself? If you can't build Microsoft yourself, then the next best thing was to have bought stock in it in 1975.

Driving Miss Daisy (1989) - The story of a wealthy elderly woman and her driver from 1948 up to the mid-70's. In spite of the difference in their races and the place - Georgia - they have much in common and slowly become friends. She is Jewish and he is Black in a time and place that wasn't ordinarily welcoming to either group of people. This is a sentimental favorite of mine, plus there's some good comic one-liners in it too.

Unforgiven (1992) - A different kind of Western in which Clint Eastwood wins his first award for Best Director. Eastwood is out to avenge the scarring of a prostitute in return for money when the justice the sheriff metes out on the offending cowboy is just not satisfactory to the prostitute or her friends. Eastwood plays an ex-criminal widower trying to make a go of farming when this assignment lands in his lap. In the end, he doesn't have a hard time finding his "inner killer". A really great film. Who'd have thought in 1965 that Ramrod Rowdy Yates had it in him?

This package is a good value at eleven dollars per Oscar winner, especially when you consider one of those Oscar winners is Gone with the Wind. Plus it has a good sampling of Oscar winners from all genres up to 1992. Depending on how you feel about the more modern Oscar winners (post 1965) that are usually slower, more thoughtful films, you may or may not feel the same. To me the only real dud is Gigi.

Also note that if you buy this set, "Studio Classics Best Picture Collection", and the new "Best Picture Collection", you'll have 29 of the soon to be 79 best picture winners. Not a bad start on your collection.

My only real complaints are that there have been four changes that should be incorporated into the pack to really make it complete as of Spring 2007 based on what is available, although it might require a price increase.
1. Ben-Hur is now available in a 4 disc special edition that includes the silent version of the film.
2. Cimarron, Best Picture 1930-1931, was released on DVD in 2006 by Warner Home Video and should be included.
3. After this pack was released "Million Dollar Baby" and "The Departed" won Best Picture for 2004 and 2006, respectively. These films are not included.
I'm really just pointing out minor flaws because, compared to all of the other studios, Warners has done the best job of putting all of the Best Picture winners they control into one attractively priced package.

Eighteen of the best movies of all time.......2005-09-26

This set contains 18 Best Picture winners from the Warner Video library. A few of them are fairly basic, with limited extras (Broadway Melody, Grand Hotel), while others are multi-disc deluxe editions (Gone with the Wind, Ben Hur). If you're looking to get your collection off to a start, with some of the all-time classics, I haven't seen a better boxed set than this one.

Best Picture Oscar Collection - fantastic present.......2005-09-21

This made my father very happy - has all the golden favourites and is great value.

good deal but not in collectible condition.......2005-06-11

It's a bunch of oscar winning movies from warner brothers with a great discount. but collectors beware of this set :

1. First of all, most of the items are not sealed. many of them looks like new, but some are not brand new, at least look like used!
2. I talked with 3 persons who purchased this item. all of them had complains about ruptures at the edge of some boxes which had caused with a blade or a sharp instrument.
3. there is not a huge outer box. only a wrap around all items.

after those negative points, lets say that, all of the DVDs are the best releases of each item. my word is, it's a good deal but don't expect to receive all of them in collectible condition! I don't want to blame warner but it seems that some of these DVDs are clean returned to market items!

This is a great deal; looks like they fixed the problems,,,.......2005-05-28

I purchased this set when the price was $140. However, I did not get Casablanca or Cuckoo's net SE's, but after I contacted AMAZON twice and waited for a while, they corrected the problem to my full satisfaction! I have never been happier with their service!

But, this is a great set because it has 18 of the best picture winners.

It has some of the best ones, and all the discs are the top of the line editions! way to go!!!

Now, if they could opnly get the last three best picture winners on DVD, I'd have them all!

Great Hotels Season 2 - Episode 27: Grand Wailea Resort & Spa

Average customer rating:

Great Hotels Season 2-Episode 27: Grand Wailea Resort & Spa

Great Hotels Season 2 - Episode 27: Grand Wailea Resort & Spa

Manufacturer: Discovery Channel
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

Description

Take a lively armchair visit to some of the exceptional resort hotels throughout the United States. Along the way, host Samantha Brown will experience, first-hand, why these hotel destinations are so popular, appealing unique and memorable. Each episode presents an entertaining "story" of up to two different hotel destinations, complete with encounters and eccentricities that creatively show and tell what makes each hotel truly a great experience. Episode 27: Samantha is headed to a mega-resort on the island of Maui in Hawaii. Overlooking Wailea Beach, voted one of America's "best" beaches by the infamous Dr. Beach, the Grand Wailea Resort Hotel & Spa has enough "exotic paradise" for the romantic in all of us and enough "ultimate fun" for kids of all ages. So where does Samantha kick off her stay...THE POOL! With no less than nine free-form pools connected by seven kid-tested water slides. Grand Wailea has something else that a lot of other resorts don't have...a water elevator! But the fun isn't geared just for kids! So what's Samantha's favorite resort adventure? Eating, of course. She makes a reservation at Kincha, and dines in an incredible Japanese setting right in the center of the property.

Customer Reviews:

Great Hotels Season 2-Episode 27: Grand Wailea Resort & Spa.......2007-05-14

Absolutely wonderful! It makes you feel like you're right there with Samantha Brown. I would recommend it to anyone who loves to travel and loves Maui.

Average customer rating:

A good sophisticated drama in the early talkie era
Grand Old Film Seems Fresh
DVD Grand Hotel
Power of Beautiful, Influential Film Has Been Obscured By Passing Years
star-studded movie masterpiece

Grand Hotel [Region 2]

ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Drama | Genres | DVD | Video

( G ) | Titles | Features | DVD | Video

The Great Ziegfeld
The Broadway Melody (Special Edition)
Cimarron
The Life of Emile Zola (Special Edition)
Dinner at Eight

ASIN: B00012SYX2

Amazon.com essential video

Customer Reviews:

A good sophisticated drama in the early talkie era.......2007-05-28

Grand Old Film Seems Fresh.......2007-04-26

DVD Grand Hotel.......2007-01-12

Our grandson appeared in a local production of Grand Hotel. He was so pleased to receive the DVD with the original cast. Arrived promptly and in perfect condtion.

Power of Beautiful, Influential Film Has Been Obscured By Passing Years.......2006-07-25

star-studded movie masterpiece.......2005-10-04

Grand Hotel / Mutiny On The Bounty (Two-Pack)

Average customer rating:

Grand Hotel / Mutiny On The Bounty (Two-Pack)
Starring: Warner 2pak
Manufacturer: Warner Home Video
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Drama | Genres | DVD | Video

( G ) | Titles | Features | DVD | Video

The Broadway Melody (Special Edition)
The Best Years of Our Lives
Mrs. Miniver
The Lost Weekend
Cimarron

ASIN: B0002QO3A0
Release Date: 2004-10-12

Great Hotels Season 3 - Episode 5: Disney's Grand Californian Hotel

Average customer rating:

Great Hotels Season 3 - Episode 5: Disney's Grand Californian Hotel

ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

( G ) | Titles | Features | DVD | Video

Average customer rating:

Grand Hotel/Mutiny on the Bounty

Manufacturer: Warner Home Video
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Drama | Genres | DVD | Video

( G ) | Titles | Features | DVD | Video

Great Hotels Season 1 - Episode 22: Disney's Grand Floridian - Orlando

Average customer rating:

Great Hotels Season 1 - Episode 22: Disney's Grand Floridian - Orlando

Manufacturer: Travel Channel
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

DVD:

DVD

DVD

DVD

Dodgeball - A True Underdog Story (Widescreen Edition)

Tadpole

Friends - Series 10 - Vol. 4 [1995]

DVD: A Star is Born

Die unendliche Geschichte 1: Die Spukstadt/Das Dorf der Winz