Halfway House

Starring:Mary Woronov, Janet Tracy Keijser, Shawn Savage, Stephanie Leighs, Athena Demos, Monica Shere, Joseph Tatner, Michael Gaglio, Cleve Hall, Tomi X., Saye Yabandeh, M. Robert Todd, Ashley Fires, Arianna (II), Tawnya Johnson, Azia Sumatra
Director: Kenneth J. Hall
Studio: Skouras
Product Type: DVD

Product Description

A buxom beauty, undercover narcotics agent Cleo Jones is the principal operative in a covert scheme to eradicate an international drug trade. But she is pulled away from important business when a phony raid on her boyfriends ghetto halfway house puts the rehabilitation center in jeopardy. Cleo will soon discover the source of her domestic troubles: Mommy, a raunchy underworld eccentric with a collection of Amazonian women as sexual slaves. Former model Tamara Dobson made her feature film debut in this 1970s Blaxploitation cult classic. Title theme song by Joe Simon. Additional music by Carl Brandt and Brad Shapiro

System Requirements:
Starring: Tamara Dobson, et al. Edition Details: Region 1 encoding (for use in US and Canada only) Color, Closed-captioned, Widescreen, Special Edition Number of discs: 1

Format: DVD MOVIE

Amazon.com

Special agent Cleopatra Jones (Tamara Dobson), six feet two inches of sinewy fighting fury clad in layers of runway chic fashions in bright rainbow colors, strolls up a sand dune and orders the destruction of a Turkish poppy field. Thousands of miles away, an L.A. drug lord named Mommy (Shelley Winters hamming it up with garish wigs and lecherous leers) screeches as her life blood burns away and lures Cleopatra stateside to plot her demise. A product of the "blaxploitation" explosion of low-budget thrillers featuring black heroes in the 1970s, Cleopatra Jones may not be the best of the batch but revels in the most outrageous fashion sense. Cleo looks great in furs, pantsuits, ponchos, turbans--a new outfit every scene--and drives a sleek black Corvette with a personalized license plate: "CLEO." It's a shame that the producers dropped the exotic potential of a globetrotting super-agent for an L.A.-bound gangster film, which is entertaining in a comic-book way but rarely reaches the energetic levels of the gritty Pam Grier action pictures Coffy and Foxy Brown. Bernie Casey is a role model of dignity and action as a neighborhood activist, and a garishly overdressed Antonio Fargas delivers a suitably flamboyant performance as Mommy's pusher Doodlebug. The glamorous super-agent flew off to Hong Kong for the 1975 sequel, Cleopatra Jones and the Casino of Gold. --Sean Axmaker

Customer Reviews:

"Could Have Been Better".......2007-03-28

The movie was okay. If you like movies from the 70's, then this is another flick to add to your collection. Tamara Dobson is definitly
one tough sista.

RIGHT ON! SWEET SISTAH!.......2007-03-05

Simply one of the best, fun and campy, cult films of the 1970's. Even today 2007, this movie is alot of fun. Rest in peace Tamara Dobson, you were and always will be "a whole lotta woman!"

She Isn't Some Lame Wonder Woman.......2007-02-19

As bad as a man as Shaft is, he wouldn't play with Cleopatra Jones if he thought for one minute she was on her last nerve, and it was shredding fast.

Tamara Dobson portrays a special agent who is busting up a drug pipeline from Turkey to the United States that is operated by Mommy (Shelley Winters). I hope I don't ruin the ending for you, but keep in mind the movie isn't titled, Mommy.

I always found the film a parody of James Bond and the other tough white heroes back in the day who would gently set the lady aside before punching out the villains, with the hero capturing her heart in the end. Cleopatra Jones disarms the bad guys with her charm, but is also cooking up some knuckle sandwiches to take them out with when the time is right.

Dobson does a great job in a role that may have been nearly impossible to pull off well. Such over-the-top characters have to be difficult to portray - there is a fine line between acting well or making the character the buffoonish Rambo - but Dobson does a great job.

The DVD cover is a pretty poor updated version to the original artwork. The movie is from 1973, not 2003 and the artwork should make that point.

If you are looking for a movie that packs a punch, run quickly away from the usual suspects and get Cleopatra Jones.

Dreaming Big.......2007-01-12

This film brought back a lot of great memories for me. I enjoyed seeing Tamara Dobson on the screen playing the heroine that all teenage girls of the time enjoyed watching. She was smart, pretty with her own sense of style.

Cleopatra Jones.......2006-12-22

This DVD is awesome!!!

I recommend this DVD to anyone who likes action and 1970s blacksplotation movies. Eventhough this movie came out a few years before I was born, I enjoyed watching every moment of this DVD.

Average customer rating:

The mind is the most fragile organ of them all
spider
Took a lot of work to make it through this film.
I have mixed feelings
Mental illness at its best!

Spider
Starring: Ralph Fiennes , Miranda Richardson , Gabriel Byrne , Lynn Redgrave , and John Neville
Director: David Cronenberg
Manufacturer: Sony Pictures
ProductGroup: DVD
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eXistenZ
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Rabid

ASIN: B00000F4MA
Release Date: 2003-07-29

Amazon.com

Internal madness is hypnotically externalized in David Cronenberg's Spider, a disturbing portrait of schizophrenia. Adapted by Patrick McGrath from his celebrated novel, this no-frills production begins when "Spider" Cleg (Ralph Fiennes, in a daring, nearly nonverbal role) returns to his childhood neighborhood in London's dreary East End, where a traumatic event from his past percolates to the surface of his still-erratic consciousness. Released from a mental institution and left to fend for himself, he pursues elusive memories while staying in a halfway house run by a stern matron (Lynn Redgrave), unable to distinguish between past, present, and psychological fabrication. The distorting influence of Spider's mind is directly reflected in Cronenberg's cunning visual strategy, presenting a shifting "reality" that's deliberately untrustworthy, until the veracity of nearly every scene is called into question. With an impressive dual-role performance by Miranda Richardson, Spider falls prey to its own lugubrious rhythms, but like the acclaimed 1995 indie film Clean, Shaven, it's a compelling glimpse of mental illness, seen from the inside out. --Jeff Shannon

Description

A brilliant and powerful psychological thriller about a deeply disturbed boy, Spider, who `sees' his father brutally murder his mother and replace her with a prostitute. Convinced they plan to murder him next, Spider hatches an insane plan, which he carries through to tragic effect. Years later, his delusional account of his past begins to unravel and Spider spirals into fresh madness. Starring: Academy Award® Nominee Ralph Fiennes (Red Dragon,Schindler's List,The English Patient), Golden Globe Winner Miranda Richardson (Enchanted April, Damage), Gabriel Byrne (The Usual Suspects, Enemy of the State), Golden Globe Winner Lynn Redgrave (Shine, Gods and Monsters), Directed by award winning David Cronenberg (eXistenZ, Crash).

Customer Reviews:

The mind is the most fragile organ of them all.......2007-05-09

A simple, very simple film. A child loses his mother who is killed by his own father and replaced by another woman. He eventually kills this substitute as a vengeance but also as an act of justice for himself and maybe the mother he is remembering in his empty mind. He feels like a spider in the middle of its cobweb, but also like the very prey of the spider in that very centre of that very cobweb. He will be taken away to some mental hospital and will come back a long long time later and he will revisit the scene of his crime and he will start all over again just to revive his past and what he lost a long time ago, his mother who is probably still alive in his mind, his memory. And he will be taken away again, this time for good. Sad vision of these men who are the prey of the world and become vultures because they are punished for what they did instead of being understood or just even being prevented from running into a situation of this type. Killing is a catching disease for one and an incurable disease for two. Cronenberg is the bleakest pessimist of them all and there is no escape from his fatal fate, his lethal death, his morbid moribund sense of black dis-humor that makes you feel as if you had eaten some live eel or snake, head, tail and venom alike.

Dr Jacques COULARDEAU, University Paris Dauphine & University Paris 1 Pantheon Sorbonne

spider.......2007-05-08

this was a bit boring and in the end I made it to the end

Took a lot of work to make it through this film........2007-03-23

I had to watch this movie in two sittings, and almost fell asleep again the second time. It was incredibly twisted, and I didn't care about the characters. The performances are all good, and the actors are well known. I've enjoyed Miranda Richardson in everything I've seen her. It was nice to see Lynn Redgrave again, and I've always liked Gabriel Byrne. It took such a long time to figure out what was going on, and then the final "revelation" seemed to fall flat. Try explaining this movie to someone.

I have mixed feelings.......2007-01-08

I have mixed feelings about this movie. I work with people that are mentally ill and to me, this is not an accurate portral of schizophrenia or people that are mentally ill. This movie did bother me in that aspect. If you want to see a movie that is more of an accurate portral of schizophrenia, see "A Beautiful Mind". Other wise, the movie did come across as a good movie. The movie watchers didn't really know what was reality and what was fantasy. It did keep me guessing until the end of the movie.

Mental illness at its best!.......2006-11-10

Whether you are a fan of David Cronenberg's films or not, this intense mind-blower will give you an eerie sense of what it is like to be in the grip of schizophrenia. Fiennes is excellent as the main character, played with brutal realism.

Average customer rating:

Cthulhu's School For Girls
Waiting for Halfway House 2
Classic Camp
Lovecraft is rolling over in his grave, but he's too uptight anyway
Halfway decent

Halfway House
Starring: Mary Woronov , Janet Tracy Keijser , Shawn Savage , Stephanie Leighs , and Athena Demos
Director: Kenneth J. Hall
Manufacturer: Skouras
ProductGroup: DVD
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ASIN: B000994170
Release Date: 2005-08-23

Description

Young girls are disappearing around the Mary Magdalen Halfway House for Troubled Girls. Desperate to find her sister, Larissa Morgan (Janet Tracy Keijser) goes undercover to investigate the Catholic-run institution. Once inside, she meets a nasty nun, a peculiar priest, a homicidal handyman, and lots of bad girls with attitude. Larissa endures catfights, corporal punishment, and long, hot showers before she learns the ultimate secret of the Halfway House - a huge, one-eyed monster with tentacles and a taste for female flesh! Cult Queen Mary Moronov stars as Sister Cecelia. Writer/ Director Kenneth J. Hall (creator of the Puppet Master series) combines elements from 60s Lovecraft films, 70s women-in-prison exploitation, and 80s slasher flicks into one sexy and frighteningly funny film!

Customer Reviews:

Cthulhu's School For Girls.......2007-01-08

At Mary Madeleine's, a place for girls in trouble, there have been a number of mysterious disappearances. But when a young woman disappears near the house the police get involved in an investigation. The missing girls's sister goes in undercover. There she runs into the head Nun, Mary Woronov (in a major role for a recent change), and a priest with a spanking fetish. Although we get to see what happens to the missing girl right at the beginning of the film, our heroes have to work it out for themselves.

The Necronomicon, a horribly powerful book, has been stolen and is now in the house. It can open a doorway to the Great Old Ones who wish to rule our world destroy humanity. The justification for why someone would want to help these beings was actually quite well thought out. Who survives, who doesn't, and what happens to the thing in the gateway will have to be left to the viewer to discover.

This is a better film than I had expected. It was a pleasure to see Mary Woronov in a major role again (and not in extended cameos like in Frog-g-g). We get to see the horrible monster right at the start which is a little unusual (but helps build the plot). Although not quite a women's prison movie, it has many of the same elements including plenty of nudity, a shower scene, lesbians, tough chicks, and sex scenes. Add to that a pretty decent plot building upon the works of H.P. Lovecraft and you get a pretty interesting and entertaining little horror film. Check it out.

Waiting for Halfway House 2.......2006-09-05

This is a GREAT movie. This genre (campy, exploitation, horror) is usually disappointing but not this time. This one's got it all: evil nuns, hot naked chicks, spanking, creepy janitors, and over the top monsters. And the cast is perfect. There should be more movies like this...When is the sequel for Halfway House?

Classic Camp.......2006-08-06

A well-made B-movie with a bountiful supply of nudity,lesbianism, and monster molestation. If this appeals to you keep reading: quality of the actors ranges greatly. The basic plot centers around the disappearance of women and the main character played by Tracy Keijster investigating the disappearance of her sister. Catholics be warned: contains material that could be offensive. Lastly, don't go expecting original screenplays or ideas as the director stated that he wanted to take a potpurri of his favorite films/scenes and create an homage of sorts.

Lovecraft is rolling over in his grave, but he's too uptight anyway.......2006-03-11

This is the greatest film of 2006. Forget "Brokeback Mountain"; if you want artful depravity then buy this monumental film.

Halfway decent.......2005-09-26

The Halfway House is an appropriate title for this black comedy that never quite gets to comedy. Directions: Take one half 70's exploitation and one half 80's schlock horror and add one Adrienne Barbeau of Swamp Thing fame. Stir in some demon nuns, a giant rubber tentacle monster, and some amateur devil worshipers. Cook for 81 minutes with a cast of ridiculously hot and mostly topless teenage girls in black light. Top with no budget FX cheese, and Viola!

In short The Halfway House is about a boarding school that was the site of a massacre of nuns and a priest by one of the young girls back in 1959. 40 years later girls are disappearing one by one after a group of goofy Satan worshipers inadvertently release an evil long dormant in the Convent.

This movie is "almost" identical to Night of the Demons, except that its a bit more risqué. The acting is what you'd expect from this kind of movie, though some of the demons are kind of eerie. These kids really put for the effort here so kudos to that.

The gore, while there is some, is limited to a few gags such as decapitation and bloody gunshots in black light. The real carnage is reserved for the guys though; the gals just get a lot of blood thrown on them so it's not nearly as misogynistic as one might think.

So, if you like gratuitous nudity, tentacle monsters and demon nuns getting blown away by shotguns, this movie is for you. Night of the Demons fans will get a kick out of this one, but fans of mainstream garbage like The Grudge should definitely stay away.

Friday the 13th, Part V - A New Beginning

Average customer rating:

WHO IS IT?
i like it
A Good Movie
"Those c**** aren't going to wait all night"
really not that bad

Friday the 13th, Part V - A New Beginning
Starring: Anthony Barrile , Suzanne Bateman , Dominick Brascia , Todd Bryant , and Curtis Conaway
Director: Danny Steinmann
Manufacturer: Paramount
ProductGroup: DVD
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ASIN: B00005NG6D
Release Date: 2001-09-25

Description

Jason is back, hockey mask and all. And he's up to his old maniacal tricks in Friday The 13th, Part V: A New Beginning. This time he seems to have set his sights on the young patients at a secluded halfway house. And more than a few of his teen targets end up in half, in quarters...you name it, Jason does it.

Customer Reviews:

WHO IS IT?.......2007-05-11

THIS MOVIE WAS SOMETHING ELSE!TOMMY CAME OUT OF THE MENTAL HOSPITAL-AND WHAT HE WENT THROUGH ON JUST HIS FIRST DAY AT THE CAMP!A WOMAN NAMED ETHEL OWNED A FARM NEXT TO THE CAMP.SHE WAS FIESTY AND NASTY-BUT IN A FUNNY WAY.THIS MOVIE IS DIFFERENT-BUT STILL GREAT!ALL JASONS MOVIES ARE GREAT!JASON'S GREAT!

i like it.......2007-05-08

this is 1 of tha better friday the 13ths, i find it entertaining

A Good Movie.......2007-01-24

Like Halloween 3, people were disappointed that the famed killer doesn't make an appearance in the film, but people also forget that the original movie didn't have Jason in it either. Overall, I really do enjoy this movie and I found it really well reason. At the end of the film, they actually give a reason as to why all of the killing in the movie happened, and it is very similar to the reasons Mrs. Voorhees had in the original film. No, Jason is not in this movie, but it is still very interesting and good. However, if you are looking for Jason, you won't find it here.

"Those c**** aren't going to wait all night".......2007-01-10

Look people, the bottom line is- if you didn't know that it was the paramedic who was the killer then you better get a life right now. Let's look back at a few monumental murder scenes. Pete or Vinny, I'm not sure which one, died via a road flare shoved in his mouth because he wouldn't shut-up. Then, we see that kid who looks like Tom Cruise get his head fastened and squeezed to a tree with a leather strap, that was refreshing to watch because I always pretend it was the real Tom Cruise. And let's not forget that screeching hag and her retarded son who lived next to the funny farm who were the proud recipients of a meat clever to their heads. Phenominal movie.

really not that bad.......2006-11-19

if you dont know how this movie ends up don't read this review and just buy the movie its a surprise and its good. Tommy jarvis returns as an insane teenager going to a special asylum which of course is a camp. As it turns out the killer is an odd paramedic and for a jason imposter does a pretty good job but seems to ejoy killing people by blood loss trough the eyes. and has some hot chicks and a nice punky/goth chick but i go 4 those kinds so thts an opinion any way this one has THE best end of all the fridays

Average customer rating:

Snapshot of addiction: Two-weeks worth of junkies' fighting their demons
Phenomenal
Powerful and real
Powerful film on addiction and recovery
POWER

Never Get Outta the Boat
Starring: Lombardo Boyar , Darren E. Burrows , Thomas Jefferson Byrd , Nick Gillie (II) , and Devon Gummersall
Director: Paul Quinn
Manufacturer: Sony Pictures
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Acts of Worship
Clean and Sober
My Name Is Bill W
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I'm Dancing As Fast As I Can

ASIN: B0006IIKRG
Release Date: 2005-01-18

Customer Reviews:

Snapshot of addiction: Two-weeks worth of junkies' fighting their demons.......2005-09-21

A rambling vignette of a group of recovering ex-con addicts who seem hopelessly glued to their world of narco-narcissism. Imagine stepping into an inner city Drug Rehab Program for forty-something coke-heads and booze-brothers and following them through their daily travails. This is what watching this film is all about.

Superb performances and authentic dialogue are counterbalanced by the tedium of watching the day-to-day meanderings of dope fiends who do very little of a noteworthy nature other than get a girl friend pregnant and overdose on heroin. For its realism, this picture is without equal: it is superb. As a compelling drama, it falls flat thanks to a story that has just too few meaty nuggets to keep one's interest.

Phenomenal.......2005-07-13

"Never Get Outta The Boat" is probably the best film on drug/alcohol addiction I have seen to date. It certainly transcends "Requiem For A Dream", which I found neither shocking nor moving, and has something that "Traffic" lacks entirely.

The first few clips of the film show how each character fared in their career of addictions, which range from alcohol to crack to heroin, with very little exaggeration or downplay. We see degradation on every level--moral, physical, and sexual.

Cusack does a good job of showing the day to day activities of seriously addicted people trying to get clean, both the camaraderie and the insanity, the betrayals and the friendships which run with such powerful, raw emotion. We come to care about each character, however stubborn or obtuse they may seem. Recovery from addiction is shown precisely as it is: one day of struggle piled on the next, with a vague but definite promise of hope for a happy, or at least hopeful life, above it all. The only unrealistic part of this film are the scenes in which some of the characters attend meetings. N/A and A/A meetings are not ALWAYS that upbeat. They serve more as a framework for the plotline than anything real. Aside from this, I'd recommend this against most of the sensationalized garbage Hollywood churns out about this issue today.

Powerful and real.......2005-07-06

As a recovery counselor I found this movie incredibly realistic in it's portrayal of addiction. The characters are diversed but yet, as in real life, addiction hits everyone the same. The end speech is extremely moving. I use it in groups where I work and it touches everyone. I highly recommend Never Get Outta The Boat!

Powerful film on addiction and recovery .......2005-02-13

"Never Get Outta the Boat," directed by John Cusak, is the most powerful and realistic movie I've seen about the struggles of recovery from drug addiction. The characters are a colorful and compelling group of down-and-out addicts with no place left to go but "Recovery House." Events shift from one crisis to another-- the type of crises you'd typically expect among a group of hardcore addicts trying to get clean. What distinguishes this movie is it's authenticity. Each character is well developed and believable. The mood of the movie is reminiscent of Drugstore Cowboy. You really believe these guys (and a few gals in supporting roles) are hardened addicts who could relapse at any moment with dire consequences. I found myself saying "no, don't" out loud when one likeable but seemingly hopeless addict, who is also a rock star in rehab for the 23rd time, relapses yet again. If you want a vivid glimpse at the emotional roller-coaster and high-stakes of addicts struggling in early recovery, this is as honest and powerful account of the struggles, heartaches, and occasional victories addicts experience while battling their demons that I've ever come across. Much grittier and more realistic than the usual sanatized Hollywood treatment of this subject in fims such as "Clean and Sober," "28 Days," "When a Man Loves a Woman" and others.

POWER.......2005-01-13

Addicts struggling to overcome drug dependancy in a rehab center are reminded of the importance of their success when a housemate's relapse ends in tragedy.
for a recovering addict , this is a very interesting movie to watch, in the sense that in the end you will really appreciate your sobriety!

Average customer rating:

Gina Gershon had to ownsomeone money!
GINA AS LOVING MOTHER!
Excelent movie . Gina Gershon stole the show!
Gershon's best since ï¿½Boundï¿½!

Borderline
Starring: Gina Gershon , Michael Biehn , Sean Patrick Flanery , Natasha Napoli , and Daniela Napoli
Director: Evelyn Purcell
Manufacturer: Sony Pictures
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Lies & Whispers

ASIN: B00008R9M3
Release Date: 2003-05-06

Description

The ex-husband (who's won custody of the kids) of a prison shrink is murdered, causing her to become the prime suspect when the actual murderer is really her former patient. Gorgeous Gina Gershon sets off sparks in this erotically-charged thriller.

Customer Reviews:

Gina Gershon had to ownsomeone money!.......2006-06-02

Gina Gershon is one of the best actresses around now and usually makes really good choices of movies. This one wasn't a good choice. The acting, other than Gina, is horrid - although this isn't one of Gina's shining moments. The writing is so much worse than the acting - a 12 year old could have come up with better lines. The end teases a twist but then takes it away and just ends. There are a few too many loose ends that I would have liked to have seen tied up but we all can't have everything. If you're looking for a good Gina Gershon movieor a good thriller don't pick this one.

GINA AS LOVING MOTHER!.......2006-05-22

Gina Gershon is my favorite,modern day actress,who is to often given inferior scripts and roles where she usually is cast as a gorgeous, sexy,and (often dangerous)lady.While I certainly don't mind GINA "strutting her stuff",I do wish Hollywood would give her better roles.In "Lies and Whispers" she is smart,touching,and sexy,an oustanding performance,I wish she would be given more multi-dimensional roles.I think she would be GREAT in comedy,which when given the opportunity she delivers tart lines in the best Joan Blondell-Ann Sheridan tradition.

In "Boderline" she is a loving mother of two girls, but is caught in a nasty custody battle with ex-husband,and she has recurring nightmares,from her childhood,which has left her with terrible mental scars.When here ex-husband and his girlfriend are brutally murdered GINA is the number one (1) suspect and put under more mental pressure.GINAs' performance is what raises this film to a 4-star level.She handles her role with tenderness, warmth,and just the right amout of mental anguish.Please, Hollywood do justice to GINAs' talents and give her the roles she (and her fans) deserve.

The supporting cast includes Sean Patrick Flannery,Michael Biehn,and from the original "DAMN YANKEES",Rea Allen,as a symphatic friend of Ginas'is fine.

Excelent movie . Gina Gershon stole the show!.......2004-06-16

Gina Gershon has never been best. She makes the sixty % in this film. She deserves major opportunities and I expect this film adds the expected desire in future projects.
Sean Patrick Flannery is a young promise and makes a credible role.
The script works out with organical flow . There are innovative situations that keep your attention and hold to your seat. The increasing mistery slowly goes involving you to a satisfactory ending.
The direction is another positive point to remark.
A little gem that might become in a status cult movie . In my opinion this film got it!

Gershon's best since ï¿½Boundï¿½!.......2003-08-01

It's been a long time since ýBoundý, and a long time since Gina Gershon lived up to the potential she showed in that amazing film. Well ýBorderlineý may not be in quite the same class, but it is a smartly written and directed little film with a great central performance by Gershon. She's darkly sexy and enigmatic, but she's also very credible as a mom screwed over by the system. The film has lots of style, good music, and an ending that makes you rethink the whole movie. An entertaining and sexy thriller.

Average customer rating:

Sister Helen
Disgusting
recovery comes from those who care
I know what I am SUPPOSED to feel...
Well crafted documentary

Sister Helen
Starring: Paul La Greca
Director: Rebecca Cammisa , and Rob Fruchtman (II)
Manufacturer: New Video Group
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Drama | Genres | DVD | Video

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( S ) | Titles | Features | DVD | Video

It Was a Wonderful Life
Colors Straight Up
My Flesh and Blood
The First Year
I Am a Promise: The Children of Stanton Elementary School

ASIN: B00061QJKI
Release Date: 2004-12-28

Amazon.com

Sister Helen offers a candid look at an unconventional nun. Tough-talking Sister Helen Travis is a recovered alcoholic who reinvented herself at age 56, after the loss of her husband and sons, by joining the Benedictine order in 1986. Two years later, she opened a recovery center for men in the rat-infested South Bronx (literally--the tenants battle several during the course of the film). As Sister Helen explains, "I try to do for other people's sons what I didn't do for my own. It's a second chance." Daughter Mary helps out at the center, but life mostly revolves around men like Major, an alcoholic, and Robert, a crack addict. They're everything to her and she to them--mother, counselor, warden. Her rules are strict (no female visitors, regular urine tests, community service), but her love and support is boundless. Sister Helen is a worthy testament to an unforgettable character. --Kathleen C. Fennessy

Description

One of the most unanimously acclaimed documentaries in recent years and winner of the coveted Sundance Film Festival Directing Award, this emotionally compelling film is an inspirational and uplifting portrait of a truly colorful and most unusual New York character. Brash, foul-mouthed, and no-nonsense, Sister Helen Travis is not your typical saintly soul. A recovering alcoholic who lost her husband and sons to substance abuse, she single-handedly fights her own war on drugs as director of a halfway house for recovering addicts in NYC's South Bronx. Filmmakers Rob Fruchtman and Rebecca Cammisa put their fly-on-the-wall, cinema verité technique to expert use as they vividly capture the complex love/hate relationship between this tough-as-nails nun and the men who both fear her and rely on her to help them battle their own inner demons. Inspired by Sinatra's "my-way-or-the-highway" mantra, Sister Helen runs a tight ship in which everyone must obey her rules and the hand that writes them. For the residents who wish to permanently kick the habit, this sobering dose of tough love may be their last and only hope.

Customer Reviews:

Sister Helen.......2007-06-05

My SO grabbed this for me one night when we picked out movies for each other and considering my love for nuns and documentaries it was quite a good choice! Sister Helen was a nun living in the Bronx who ran a house to help recovering drug abusers. The film is a bit of biography about her life as an alcoholic, a mother, who turns into a tough loving nun as well as a story of a Catholic outreach program. Unfortunately, the DVD we picked up from the library was so scratched up it became a bit exasperating to watch the film but it is an intriguing documentary if you get the chance.

Disgusting.......2007-04-14

This is a disgusting "documentary". I was shocked and scandalized to see a woman consecrated to God using foul language and yelling obscentities.Also,I was amazed to see that the relationship between "Sister Helen" and the patients were almost a boyfriend/girlfriend type of relationship.They definitely did not have the normal relationship that sister has with those she is serving. I hated this documentary because it portrays religious sisters in such a poor light. I personally know Catholic sisters and I have NEVER EVER known one who would, or could(without being disciplined by superiors) behave in such a fould unmannerly way. There are many fine sisters who do amazing good work for society and the world at large. I think this film was designed to make them look bad, and I think it suceeded. While its true that not all religious are saints, it is also true that I have never met one that acted like she worked in a bar either. I only hope that anyone who watches this horrible film will also watch Malcolm Muggeridges "Something Beautiful For God". I think there is also a wonderful documentary called "Mother Teresa". I think the filmmakers definitely had an agenda in making this film, and I wonder that it was made since surely Sister's superiors would recognize how bad it would make them look.I do not recommend this trash to anyone.

recovery comes from those who care.......2007-03-12

I thought SISTER HELEN was the "Mother Theresa" of down and out addict, alcoholics, with the best example of " Tough Love " I've ever had the pleasure to witness. Yes, she was rough and raw, but her belief that "the parties over" said it all. Maybe A.A. is a softer gentler way, but Sister Helen provided sick unfortunates a place to stay and one on one guidance. You won't get that at any A.A. fellowship. See this story, you won't regret you did!! Anonymously Yours Louie G.

I know what I am SUPPOSED to feel..........2006-07-16

...but I don't.

It's clear that Sister Helen helped some people and that the clients we met in the film loved her.

However, as a recovering alcoholic who believes in AA, I was repelled by the anger, the screaming, and her use of guilt as a motivator. Even if the editing was unkind, she apparently subscribed to the school of browbeating and sarcasm--I don't.

I didn't see a woman I, personally, could like or support.

Well crafted documentary .......2006-06-06

Sister Helen (2002) won critical attention at Sundance for its fiery title protagonist, Sister Helen Travis, a sixty-nine year old Benedictine nun, who runs a transitional home for men seeking to stay clean and sober. Rebecca Camissa and Rob Fruchtman's documentary manages to capture in considerable detail the difficulties of running a facility for men who battle their demons.

What makes this documentary exceptional is that the founder, Sister Helen, has her own past with which she has to contend making her more than a `savior', but a fellow traveler who understands the trials the men face. Having lost her husband and two sons to the atrocities of drugs, alcohol, and in one case, murder, we can sympathize with Sister Helen's passion to assist others.

Her no-nonsense style will provoke viewers who believe that members of religious orders should avoid profanity, speak prettily, and invoke God in a particular pious way. Sister Helen reflects the world from which she came: hard-bitten, tough, and demanding. Her tough-love approach guides the men who would have her believe the various lies they tell from time to time but she remains committed to them no matter how often they falter.

Individuals who prefer their religious types similar to the folks in Sister Act and The Sound of Music would do well to avoid Sister Helen.

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West 47th Street
Director: Bill Lichenstein , and June Peoples
Manufacturer: Lichtenstein Creative Media
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