In Fashion (Broadway Theatre Archive)

Starring:Ken Jenkins, Kevin McCarthy, Donna Curtis, Charlotte Rae, Susan Kaslow, Max Wright, Daniel Davis, Pamela Hall, Patrick Tovatt
Director: Neil Smith (III)
Studio: Kultur Video
Product Type: DVD

Amazon.com essential video

This 1966 masterpiece by Michelangelo Antonioni (The Passenger) is set in the heady atmosphere of Swinging London, and stars David Hemmings as an unsmiling fashion photographer hooked on ephemeral meaning attached to anything: art, sex, work, relationships, drugs, events. When a real mystery falls into his lap, he probes the evidence for some reliable truth, but finds it hard to reckon with. Vanessa Redgrave plays an enigmatic woman whose desperation to cover something up only seems like one more phenomenon in Hemmings's disinterested purview. This is one of the key films of the decade, and still an unsettling and lasting experience. --Tom Keogh

Description

Taking photographs of a couple making love proves deadly when the photographer enlarges the image and discovers murder. The film and pictures are stolen from his studio and the body vanishes. In this elegant balance of deciet and trickery, the photographer must question the reality of what he has actually seen.

Customer Reviews:

Blow-Up.......2007-06-27

Antonioni's existential mystery scandalized some in the 1960s with its cool, casually erotic atmosphere of sex and drugs, but still made a sizeable dent at the box office. In addition to the film's central puzzle--was there a homicide or not?--Hemmings himself is a kind of cipher, playing a detached, unsmiling artist bored with his decadent life. With its mod flavorings and occasional surrealist touches--like a pantomime tennis game--"Blow-Up" is an intriguing, unconventional thriller that makes you question the nature of reality and illusion.

Red Sun.......2007-05-22

BLOW UP (1966) was Michelangelo Antonioni's second color film, and his first in English. Interestingly it was his first film that had a male protagonist. He is considered the master of abstract cinema, and this film continues in that vein. The cinematography was presented in very abstract ways, with most shots framed oddly, blocked by beams, banisters, photographic equipment, windows, and furniture. The camera made no effort to clear these objects in order for us to see the actors. Primary reds were the dominant colors, and in London that seemed easy, passing the double-decker buses and phone booths and pubs, all painted blood red. He painted one apartment building bright blue just for the contrast.

Swinging London of the Mods in the mid-60's seemed so wonderfully dated, captured in its spectacle. Those beehive hair-dos and mini-skirts, smoking that demon joint, the beginnings of the British invasion, that hard rock sound presented in the film by the Yardbirds, the first stages of long hair on men, and the casual way nudity and promiscuity is handled; all old hat to us now, but very brazen then.

I loved the way Antonioni gave us the skewed perspective of an unnamed photographer snapping candid shots of a young couple in the park, while the director shot him doing so; an overlapping sense of three perspectives. What the movie camera saw was not exactly what was snapped by the photographer. I loved the parallel of the photographer hopping over the low fence to hide in the bushes to shoot some shots, and then later discovering in exactly the same pose and framed shot, the sniper, the killer, behind the fence in the bushes. And of course the obvious parallels of the artist's abstract paintings, just so many random dots of color, until he capped the painting with some point of view, some detail that drew it all together -and the blow ups themselves, those photos of photos, with pixels blown up so large that they too look like abstract paintings to be interpreted.

Some have argued that the park represented Nature versus the pandemonium of the city, and yet what is a park? It is just an artificial large garden planted in the middle, or on the edge of a city, and it "represents" nature. We go there and have picnics or our lattes and imagine that we are off in the forest or field. This illusionary concept is important to Antonioni. Add to this the sense of each of us remaining strangers midst the teeming masses. The photographer and the mystery lady (David Hemmings and Vanessa Redgrave) both remain nameless. People seem to know them, but never refer to them by their name; very existential. It has been suggested that the director gave us several plot lines that were never meant to make sense, like the antique store scenes; and yet that would be a place that a photographer might haunt. His suggestions that his agent would bid on the store, that he might be a real estate speculator is never explored. Unlike a real photographer who asks permission to shoot a subject, Hemmings always shot secretly; even in the opening scenes, where he pretended to be homeless to shoot those old men in the shelter. Then there is the issue as to what was reality. Hemmings thinks he saw a corpse in the park when he visited it again, and yet he was not carrying his ever present camera. Why not? It seems to suggest that any of us alone witnessing something has no validity. We must find another human being to collaborate our find, to verify our conclusions.

Then the director gave us the "Merry Makers", the 8-10 Mimes that traveled around in an open jalopy, panhandling and performing, providing a prologue and epilogue. Their wordless game of tennis became the most "real" thing the photographer encountered, as he accepted their non-reality. As Antonioni made the character disappear in the grassy field, it made us wonder if any of the story had happened, or was it an allegory or dream. A complex and provoking film, it never fails to tantalize, a provoke attempts to make sense out of a senseless act.

Dangerous Power of Images in 'Swinging London'.......2007-04-18

"Blow Up" (1966) by Michelangelo Antonioni - is an artful, extremely well made meditation on the manipulation of images. The theme that first Antonioni's English-language film examines is reality vs. perception. We know that seeing is believing but can we always trust ourselves with what we see? Can we explain what we see? The film is as multi-layered as it is puzzling. It is very easy to admire this film and it is difficult to love it - it stimulates the mind but it does not do much for the feelings. The characters appear and disappear mysteriously, sometimes, literally in the thin air - after a while you don't care much what happens to them.

Antonioni was able to do what his hero could not - he captured the moment in time. His evidence of the most happening place in the world of the 1960s, the "Swinging London" with its cool music, a lot of beautiful girls exquisite like rare exotic flowers, parties, night clubs, Yardbirds performance, David Hemming in his white jeans looking like blond Paul McCartney, will not be destroyed and won't disappear like the pictures of the possible murder in the film did.

you might need to think.......2007-04-17

yes, this is a slow moving movie... and god forbid, you might need to think. This is a film, not a movie. People who like art house will enjoy this, if you prefer to be spoon fed, go rent one of the mainstream films.

i wish they had shrunk it.......2007-03-30

there are few more excruciating experiences than sitting thru a work of "art". this pretentious overblown (lame pun intended) tripe from 40 years ago is almost as painful to watch as "zabriskie point"; i daresay that i wouldrather sit thru "mchales navy joins the air force" than this! why would anybody take antonioni seriously? but even more irritating than the movie itself is the commentary track by some purported antonioni "scholar". david hemmings career is non-existent nowadays, and vanessa redgrave has managed to live this down (hey, if you can survive "camelot" you can survive anything). if this was swinging london in the 60s, im glad i was in new york!

Average customer rating:

I actually thought this movie was really good
So what's wrong with a little shallow nonsense?
SHALLOW NONSENSE
Yawn
what a garbage

Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen
Starring: Lindsay Lohan , Adam Garcia , Glenne Headly , Alison Pill , and Eli Marienthal
Director: Sara Sugarman
Manufacturer: Walt Disney Video
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: B00005JN0Z
Release Date: 2004-07-20

Amazon.com

Tucked into the middle of Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen is a charming sequence in which two girls from New Jersey (Linsay Lohan and Alison Pill) try to go to a rock concert in New York and have their illusions broken, then restored, and then broken, just a bit, again. Lola (Lohan) yearns for glory by playing the lead in the high school play and getting to meet the lead singer of a band called Sidarthur. Despite the spiteful efforts of a popular girl, Lola gets everything she wants without much of a struggle. Most of the movie takes place in a glitzy but flavorless high-school world with glossy teenagers dressed like a less discriminating Christina Aguilera. Pill (Pieces of April) shines in the thankless role of the geeky best friend. Also featuring Glenne Headley (Dick Tracy) and Carol Kane (Office Killer). --Bret Fetzer

Description

From the studio that brought you the smash hits FREAKY FRIDAY and THE PRINCESS DIARIES, CONFESSIONS OF A TEENAGE DRAMA QUEEN stars Lindsay Lohan (FREAKY FRIDAY) in a hip and hilarious coming-of-age comedy for the whole family! When the always dramatic Lola (Lohan) and her family move from the center of everything in New York City to the center of a cultural wasteland in suburban New Jersey, she feels her life is simply not worth living! But no matter who or what gets in the way, Lola won't give up on her life's ambition: to be a star! In a crowd-pleasing movie treat bursting with music, dance, and excitement, Lola's fun-filled adventure won't be glamorous or easy, but it might just show her that real life could exceed even her wildest dreams!

Customer Reviews:

I actually thought this movie was really good.......2007-06-30

This family comedy is about a 17-year-old girl named Lola Step who dreams of becoming an actress and a singer. She lives in New York City, the center of the universe. Then her mom makes her and her two little sisters move to New Jersey to a small town named Dell Wood. Lola calls it "Deadwood." Though she thinks her dreams are crushed, she does make a new best friend named Ella and they both bond over their mutual love for the band named Stu Aruthur. The popular girl in school is mean to Lola, and they both compete for the lead role in the school play. Lola wins, and she'll be playing Eliza Doolittle. Lola and Ella sneak out to a last Stu Arthur concert where they run into Stu Wolf who is very drunk. As they run in the rain in the streets of New York and follow Stu, they get in trouble with the police. But Lola's dad comes and rescues them. Then, Lola and Ella go the Stu Wolf afterparty and have a great time. They even see the popular girl there. But the next day at school, she pretends she never saw them. This makes Lola very sad and she cries. She even doesn't want to play Eliza Dolittle anymore. But Ella convinces her she should and tells her how much Lola has changed her and made her more confident. So Lola does play Eliza in the play after all, and she's amazing. She acts like the confident and talented actress she is and she also sings. At the after party, Stu Wolf shows up with Lola's necklace that she left behind at the party the other night and gives it back to her. The snotty girl falls into a pool, and Lola is sweet enough to help her up. It proves that she was lying all along, and Lola really did meet Stu Wolf. Then Stu Wolf asks Lola if she wants to dance, and Lola says yes. And they both dance to a very catchy pop song. It's the first time Lola discovers that absloute reality can be so much more fun than fantasy. And that her dreams finally came true. She's an actress, an singer, she meet her idol, and she's disovering herself. Lola is a great role model for girls: she's eccentric, confident, beautiful, talented, and smart and believes in her abilites and follows her dreams no matter how crazy or wild they seem to be. I love Lindsay in this movie, she's awesome. I love Disney movies-they are always happy.

So what's wrong with a little shallow nonsense?.......2007-04-15

If you're looking for the meaning of life, don't look here. But if you like to be entertained by talented young actors playing, and having fun while doing it, their parts ... do look here. Of course this is a silly little film, but it's bright and funny. Like it's "Freaky Friday" counterpart, there is just enough angst, just enough drama, just enough lesson, and a happy ending. Enjoy!

SHALLOW NONSENSE.......2007-03-10

Unless you'e a teenager and I am not, this movie is really little more than a vehicle for then-hot Lindsay Lohan to prove she could sing and capitalize on her girl next door persona effectively launched with FREAKY FRIDAY. But even talented Lohan can't save this one.
All of the characters are vapid, shallow and not entirely likeable. The story puts them in positions of stupidity involving Lohan's obsession with a rock star (nicely played by Adam Garcia). There's not a teen cliche missing, and only Carol Kane as the dotty Drama teacher made me laugh. A really pointless movie.

Yawn.......2007-02-19

After going to the theaters to watch Freaky Friday, and purchasing Mean Girls on DVD, and being pleased with both movies, I decided to give Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen a chance one day when they were giving it on Starz, and boy was I shocked to see that this movie wasn't good at all. The Main character Lola (Lohan), is a Hip NYC teenage girl, whom I couldn't relate to at all, After moving from NYC to the suburbs of New Jersey Lola is the New Girl, and all she does is strive for attention, and trying to compete with the popular girl, Carla (Megan Fox), who's character is just as unbearable as Lola's. Then there is Lola's new best friend, Ella (Alison Pill)who is shy and insecure about herself, and Lola's love interest, who I can't really remember, or barely see much of, but what I did find surprising is that he wasn't popular or a jock, he actually hung out with Lola and Ella. Most scenes in this movie are a total bore-fest, especially the one where Lola is telling Ella about how her father supposedly met her mother and how he "tragically died". We actually got to see a reenactment of the story, which they showed like some sort of really colorful, boppy, retarded looking cartoon, which made me cringe. The choreography was pretty lame, and Lola's wardrobe was pretty outrageous, which didn't bother me ,but they were the sort of things I would've never worn to school. This movie left me un-impressed.

what a garbage.......2007-01-28

I not fan of Linsay Lohan but also have nothing against her acting... didn't had... I bought this movie just to enjoy some nice movie, but i was SO wrong.. this movie is absolutely stupid... and very disappointing.

I just watched Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen, well there's 1 hour and 20 minutes of my life that I'll never get back! Truly Appalling. It didn't make sense. It didn't flow. It was totally unbelievable. It had terrible characters. It had a terrible script, and possibly worst of all they tried to make it into a musical type thing...very unwise!

Avoid at all costs if u favour your sanity, it's boring, predictable and badly written.

Average customer rating:

Laura Mars sees visions of murder.
Eyes of Laura Mars
The movie is as exotic as the name
Good Modern Urban Film
Great thriller with chic fashion and wonderful acting.....

Eyes of Laura Mars
Starring: Faye Dunaway , Tommy Lee Jones , Brad Dourif , Rene Auberjonois , and Raul Julia
Director: Irvin Kershner
Manufacturer: Sony Pictures
ProductGroup: DVD
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ASIN: 0767821610
Release Date: 2000-07-04

Customer Reviews:

Laura Mars sees visions of murder........2006-10-28

Side A is widescreen. Side B is Fullscreen.
Columbia Pictures presents Eyes of Laura Mars.
Faye Dunaway is "Laura Mars", a photographer of the unusual. Beautiful female models,in their sexy evening wear, posed in a fake scene of murder.
Laura has a new gallery book out "The Eyes of mars". A woman she had photographed, Elaine Cassell (Rose Gregorio) was murdered before the Art gallery's opening.
That night, Laura had a dream of the murder. The next morning, during a photo shoot at Columbus Circle, she had a vivid vision of someone watching her friend, Doris (Meg Mundy). She is worried. As she walks across the street, she suddenly stops. she has a vision of her friend being murdered. As she runs to her friend's apartment, the police have arrived and Doris is dead, just as Laura "saw" it.
She continues to have more visions.
Also in the cast: Rene Auberjonois, Raul Julia, Tommy Lee Jones, Brad Dourf, Frank Adonis.

Eyes of Laura Mars.......2006-08-29

Excellent movie from start to finish, surprised my girls by letting them watch it with me one night. They kept asking who the killer was boy, weren't they surprised!

The movie is as exotic as the name.......2006-07-15

Laura Mars (Faye Dunaway) is an artist with a unique vision. She stages crime scenes for her unique photography. She has quit an imagination. Or does she? Visiting her gallery is John Neville (Tommy Lee Jones) a police authority. He recognizes her pictures as unpublished actual crimes.

We must get to the bottom of this. And of course as with all mysteries it is the last person you would suspect. (Sure)

John Neville, whispering "It's terrifying."
Laura, "Yes."
John Neville:, whispering "It's beautiful."
Laura, "Yes."

Good Modern Urban Film.......2006-06-04

Looking back this film made its mark in its day. It seems less a definitive stylistic thriller today since the impact upon its initial release. However, it is a great look at the not to distant past. This was an "in" film, a film you had to see. What I like about it is the location photography, production design and a young Tommy Lee Jones. Times have sure changed right before our eyes.

Great thriller with chic fashion and wonderful acting............2006-04-30

I absolutely LOVE this movie, and I am also a fan of Faye Dunaway, who played the title character in this film. Her character (Laura Mars) is a fashion freelance photographer who has a "psychic" ability to see murders taking place from her mind even though she is never at those happenings in person, and whose photographic work is controversial. Tommy Lee Jones, who played Laura's police bodyguard (John Neville), was great as well. It is really shocking to also see a slight trace of nudity in it. Well, it's not considered a pornographic movie because there is not enough nudity in it. It's really amazing to see Faye using a camera in this movie (that's why her character is a photographer). This DVD is excellent. When you put this into your DVD player, you have the option of watching the movie in either widescreen or full screen (I prefer widescreen mostly; but then again, it doesn't hurt to see it in full screen once in a while). You also have the option of seeing the movie with Irvin Kershner's directorial commentary. He did a great job on his commentary, because it's almost like you're watching the movie with him. There is also a featurette called "Visions", which describes the making of the movie. And, there is also a photo gallery (with interesting photos) with the DVD producer describing how some of the things differ from the script and the finalized movie. Barbra Streisand had declined to play the title character in this movie, but did agree to sing the title theme from the movie, "Prisoner". Even though Barbra declined to star in the film, I strongly believe that she did a great job singing the "Prisoner" theme. The other music heard in the film is wonderful as well, with some well known disco grooves and some incidental instrumental music. I have the soundtrack album of this movie on LP, and I think it is so appalling that it has not become available on CD. I hope Columbia/Sony Music can get it issued sometime. Great movie....see it!!

Average customer rating:

Fellini's scenic trip through Rome......
Fellini in his prime.
Bravo, Maestro!,
Fellini's Rome --- A Commercial Collection of Stereotypes.
At the Top

Fellini's Roma
Starring: Alfredo Adami , Britta Barnes , Bireno , Ginette Marcelle Bron , and Pia De Doses
Manufacturer: MGM (Video & DVD)
ProductGroup: DVD
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ASIN: B000059H9B
Release Date: 2001-04-10

Amazon.com

Federico Fellini's 1972 ode to the city of Rome is far from a coherent narrative, but as a selection of images and sounds celebrating the famed Italian capital, it's dazzling and hugely enjoyable. Stylistically, it's a perfect bridge between the excesses of Satyricon and the nostalgia of Amarcord, and it showcases the true love that Fellini had for the Eternal City. Mixing autobiographical flashbacks with the travails of a present-day movie company making a film about the city (headed up by Fellini himself), Roma is an impressionistic tour de force, delivered via Fellini's unique cinematic vision. If you can't tolerate Fellini's larger-than-life approach, the sometimes-garish colors, or the circus atmosphere, you'll probably find Roma insufferable. But fans of Fellini will be in seventh heaven, especially during some of the wonderful set pieces--a music dance hall performance that's interrupted by bombing during World War II; a papal fashion show that's so surreal it must be seen to be believed; and a breathtaking sequence in which the film crew, tagging along with an archaeological dig, happens upon an ancient Roman catacomb and watches as the beautiful murals disintegrate before their eyes. Through it all, Fellini's passion for Rome (and moviemaking) shines through, especially in the film's climax, a dialogue-free sequence of motorcycles roaring through the city at night, a tour that ends at the magnificent Colosseum. At that marriage of past and present, Roma is about as perfect as cinema can get. --Mark Englehart

Description

Acclaimed director Federico Fellini (Fellini's Satyricon, La Dolce Vita, 8 1/2) brilliantly demonstrates why he is regarded as "the last of the great epic filmmakers," delivering "a thrilling personal memoir" (Newsweek) with this monumental and outlandish tribute to his beloved RomeThe Eternal City. This lavish autobiography, full of "lush fantasy sequences and monumental pageantry," (Los Angeles Times) begins with Fellini as a youngster living in the Italian countryside. In school he studies the eclectic but parochial history of ancient Rome and then is introduced as a young man to the real thingarriving in this strange new city on the outbreak of World War II. Here, through a series of "visually stunning" (Los Angeles Times) vignettes brimming with satire and spark, the filmmaker comes to grips with a "sprawling, boisterous, bursting-at-the-seams portrait of Rome" (Interview), reinterpreting with his inimitable style an Italian history full of "rich sensual imagery and extravagant perception" (Playboy).

Customer Reviews:

Fellini's scenic trip through Rome.............2007-06-24

For those of you unfamiliar with the works of the late, great Italian director, Federico Fellini, ROMA is one of those films that gives you a small view of the pacing and style of his filmmaking. It is at once gaudy, bawdy, scenic, lovely and horrifying. Sometimes these feelings are simultaneous and other times they are sequential. For me, Roma felt like a series of animated postcards, taking a glimpse at "contemporary" Rome (the Rome of the 1970s, when this film was shot) in contrast with the Rome of decades before (the age of El Deuce and the height of Fascist rule). We see boisterous scenes from street life, a "typical" evening in an outdoor restaurant, shots comparing the "free love" attitude of the late 1960s and early 1970s with brothels of the 1930s, and just incidental shots of a colorful array of characters interacting with each other. Some of the venues include a burlesque theater, movie house and even a cathedral, where the cardinal pays a visit and stays for a one-of-a-kind fashion show, featuring the latest styles for priests and nuns (you just have to see the habits for yourself, to believe that they exist on film. I am thinking Flying Nun meets Flying Squirrel.).

I was really intrigued by Fellini's use of spontaneity, incidental connectedness with his subjects, and backhanded humor. For me, the narration at the beginning made the film feel like we were watching it from the unseen "third person" that often tells a story from the perspective of a fly on the wall. Our narrator makes a brief on screen appearance, but, otherwise, his narration his minimal throughout the course of the story. That really opens up the atmosphere of the film and allows us to really have our own experience with the visceral animated portrait we are presented with. It ends as suddenly as it starts, and you feel as though you have just went on the strangest journey to the "eternal city," except you aren't sure what kind of acid trip you went on to get there! But, however strong the drug concoction, it is ultimately a beautiful and interchangeably odd ride.

Fellini in his prime........2007-05-13

What can I say? It's Fellini doing what he does best. As with other european movies, it's the antithesis of a Hollywood movie, which is to say that it's thought provoking and demanding of the viewer.

Bravo, Maestro!, .......2007-04-06

Beautiful and colorful Fellini's Roma (1972) is a very enjoyable film with a subtle message and a lot of heart. The magnificent Eternal City, one of the most famous cities in the world is deservingly the main character of this very personal for its creator, Maestro Fellini, film that can be described as a montage of unrelated scenes.

"Roma" consists of three parts. In the beginning, young Federico, the student in his native Rimini, learns about Rome from movies, plays, works of art, and from school history lessons. Then, as a young man, he arrives to Eternal City, strange, loud, and confusing on the outbreak of World War II. The third part takes us to the beginning of 70th when Fellini, the famous master is creating a visually unforgettable, full of life and history portrait of Rome consisting of several vignettes that take us back and forth in time and director's memory.

I think the reason I enjoyed "Roma" is that its vignettes have so much heart and love, irony , and interest to the master's favorite city, its past and present, to its streets, palaces, and cathedrals, and to its people, their laughs, smiles, and tears. Some of the stories are amusing (variety show, first Federico's dinner in one of the outside restaurants where everybody knows everybody) while some are very emotional.

A powerful scene takes place in an underground tunnel where subway construction workers discovered an ancient palace filled with beautiful frescoes of Ancint Rome period that later slowly fade out and disappear before our eyes taking with them a mystery of times long gone.

I loved the fashion show of nuns and priests; I liked the sequence with the prostitutes on display - both are typical Fellini's surreal scenes, funny and sad in the same time.

"Roma" is one of the best documentary style movies that I have seen. The main character in all its stories is Rome and that's the only character we need here.

Gracie Federico!

4.5/5

Fellini's Rome --- A Commercial Collection of Stereotypes. .......2006-09-19

There is a lot of traffic in Rome.
Especially on the "raccordo annulare", where accidents
are also frequent.
The traffic is noisy and dirty, especially when it rains.
Romans swear when they drive and also when they don't.

There are many American tourists in Rome,
especially around the fountains in the piazzas,
where they cluster and sing American songs.
Italian men hit on women tourists, who resist their advances.

"Se vedi gente che lavora, allora non e` Roma".
Romans do not work.
No, some of them do, and, in fact, morning till night.

But Rome is not what it used to be.
Everybody knew each other and was polite,
while now everybody is rushed and rude.
Besides, the free love of today has substituted
the brothels of yesterday.
Yes, some of the brothels were chic, while others less so.

Rome was bombed in the Second World War. In fact,
bombing would sometimes interrupt a theatrical
performance. The public then proceeded to the
shelter, where flirting and lovemaking would ensue.

The Roman aristocracy is close to the Papal Court.
They run parties together, even fashion shows.
Cardinals complain that outsiders try to teach the Pope
how to rule the Church.

And, yes! Motoryclists can and do go around the
Colosseum, providing a tasteless final sequence.

One leaves the cinema with a heavy sense of wasted time.

Does Fellini really have nothing at all to say
about the Eternal City? After all his years there?
Nothing except the
standard collection of stereotypes
about Italians, stereotypes that occur in every
scurrilous joke, that are met on the pages of every trashy guide?

It is true that there are a few nice sequences, especially
the often mentioned one of the destruction of the frescoes.

And then, the great Anna Magnani appears for about 10 seconds to tell Fellini she won't talk to him.

That is perhaps also a scene worth watching.

But the rest is commercial cinema.

"Vai a dormi', Federico".

At the Top.......2006-08-25

Fellinis's Roma is the director's fanciful excursion into auto-biographical self-indulgence on a magical higher level. Filmed after his psychedelic "Satyricon", Fellini extends his series of dream-inspired visual classics. Make no mistake, at age 50, Fellini still had it. "Fellini Roma" is a plotless, visceral delight. It is perfect. From scenes of the Rome subway to Musolini's Fascist dynasty, "Fellinis Roma" encompases scenes from the director's life in 1931 up until the hippie onslaught around 1972. It doesn't make sense. It isn't supposed to. It's great art. It's eye candy. I'm going to put on the DVD again.

Average customer rating:

The cast is totally wrong
Surprisingly cool "experimental" horror art film - a real cinematic find
Kiss me, Kill me
A creepily atmospheric Italian horror film
Pretty nice ARTSY-FARTSY little flick

Baba Yaga
Starring: Carroll Baker , George Eastman , Isabelle De Funès , Ely Galleani , and Daniela Balzaretti
Director: Corrado Farina
Manufacturer: Blue Underground
ProductGroup: DVD
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ASIN: B000092T66
Release Date: 2003-05-27

Description

Legendary sex symbol Carroll Baker (BABY DOLL, THE SWEET BODY OF DEBORAH) stars as a mysterious sorceress with an undying hunger for sensual ecstasy and unspeakable torture. But when she casts a spell over a beautiful young fashion photographer (the gorgeous Isabelle De Funés), Milan's most luscious models are sucked into a nightmare world of lesbian seduction and shocking sadism. Are these carnal crimes the result of one woman's forbidden fantasies or is this the depraved curse of the devil witch known as BABA YAGA?

George Eastman (THE GRIM REAPER) co-stars in this provocative EuroShocker (also known as DEVIL WITCH and KISS ME KILL ME) written and directed by Corrado Farina and based on the notorious S&M comic Valentina by Guido Crepax. Blue Underground is now proud to present BABA YAGA restored from pristine vault materials and packed with eye-popping Extras, including never-before-seen erotic outtakes from the Italian Censors archives as well as the director's own private collection.

Customer Reviews:

The cast is totally wrong.......2005-12-23

If you are looking for Kiss Me Kill Me with Stella Stevens and Bruce Boxleitner, this is NOT IT. Both Blockbuster and Amazon have the wrong cast for this movie version. This KMKM is an Italian Fetish movie, not exactly what I was looking for. The KMKM version starring Boxleitner and Stevens has never been made into a retail version.

Surprisingly cool "experimental" horror art film - a real cinematic find.......2005-12-22

This is not your typical horror movie by any stretch of the imagination. It is more likely to appeal to fans of Fellini's more extravagant works, of Antonioni or Nic Roeg. Plot involves a stylish young fashion photographer who attracts the attention of a creepily stylish witch (Carroll Baker looking like a beautiful reanimated corpse). Yes, the key word is STYLE. Director Corrado Farina is a director of the first order. His camera savors every image, intercut in a myriad of textures to create a fluid montage of erotic and disturbing imagery. Horror fans might find this an interesting curiosity but film lovers should appreciate it on a much higher level. Like Donald Cammell-Nic Roeg's "Performance" this film exploits the nature of cinema masterfully, transcending its purported genre. Its use of solarized desaturated stills predates the famous "Aha" video by two decades, and much more artfully. Farina sensuously assaults you with his imagery, moving from pop to Goth to pure art in the wink of an eye. If any of this sounds even vaguely tempting, dig up a copy and treat yourself to a slice of cinematic heaven. Sadly, like the equally brilliant and iconoclastic Donald Cammell, Farina seems to have been grossly under-appreciated in his time, yielding only a few films as his legacy.

Kiss me, Kill me.......2005-08-09

While the movie was good. It wasn't the edition I was looking for.

A creepily atmospheric Italian horror film.......2005-07-11

Italian horror movies invariably seem to have a special look, sound, and feeling of baroque creepiness that make them successful. I'm not so sure that Kiss Me, Kill Me (aka Baba Yaga, aka The Devil Witch aka Black Magic) is really that great of a movie, but its dark atmosphere makes it satisfyingly effective. Based to some degree on a dark comic strip, the movie's noticeably surreal quality is greatly enhanced by a haunting musical score as well as the use of grainy black and white pictures of events unfolding at certain critical times. Isabelle De Funes plays Valentina Rosselli, a photographer living in Milan. On her way home one night, she encounters a very strange lady who calls herself Baba Yaga (played by Carroll Baker). This stranger tells Valentina their meeting was predestined, and she quickly insinuates herself into the life of our protagonist. Baba Yaga, we quickly learn, is some type of witch, and she certainly looks the part in costume as well as appearance; her pasty complexion and almost-white eyebrows standing out in contrast to her red lipstick-coated mouth does make quite an impression. Valentina tries to go about her work, which involves photographing semi-nude women, but Baba Yaga gradually puts her under her spell. She has strange dreams; quite unusual things begin to happen when she takes pictures with a camera that Baba Yaga has fondled; a strange doll Baba Yaga gives her begins to seem like something more than a normal doll. The tension and suspense is carried along quite nicely throughout, but the conclusion falls a little short of making this film an unqualified success.

This is a movie best suited for adults because it does contain a fair bit of nudity, but the sex, violence, and gore is actually rather limited. Gory and erotic are not words I would use to characterize this film at all. In fact, there is essentially no blood to speak of, and the one scene of violence is not as extreme as it might first appear. Kiss Me, Kill Me generates its horror from the atmosphere it creates, and in this endeavor it is largely successful. In one very nice scene, Valentina watches an old silent movie about a golem, but the golem connection to the doll Valentina is given may be lost on some viewers lacking a foundation in old-fashioned horror. Still, though, the doll in and of itself is creepy enough to be effective. If you don't have an interest in horror at all, there is a good chance you won't enjoy Kiss Me, Kill Me. For horror aficionados, the movie stands ready to help meet your daily requirement of creepiness, but your rations of blood and gore must be obtained elsewhere.

Pretty nice ARTSY-FARTSY little flick.......2005-03-31

If you just wanna see a pretty cool little flick, then I recommend this movie. If you get this movie expecting to see a horror flick, then you will be disappointed. This movie is just plain hip. The acting in the film is pretty good, as well. And of course, this Euro-flick delivers a good bit of nudity for all you spankers out there.
The movie is based on an old Italian comic book about a photographer who has a weird spell put on her by a woman named Baba Yaga, a sort of voodoo gypsy. It's not much more than that, but it's still pretty hip by today's standards. The DVD offers a good bit of extras, too. Recommended.

Average customer rating:

How to succeed in Urban Fashion
This was a good start.
This Film Is Crazy!!!!

How To Succeed in Urban Fashion

Manufacturer: CustomFlix
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Documentary | Genres | DVD | Video

( H ) | Titles | Features | DVD | Video

The Fashion Designer Survival Guide: An Insider's Look at Starting and Running Your Own Fashion Business
Seamless
Black Cat (1993)
Classic Clothing Design & Designer Films DVD: 1940s 1950s Womens & Mens Clothing Design Style, Trends & Fashion Designers History Including Popular Fashion, Western & Cowgirl Clothing, Retro Accessories, & Merchandizing And Marketing
Yves Saint Laurent - His Life and Times/5 Avenue Marceau 75116 Paris

ASIN: B000M9BQ66
Release Date: 2006-12-28

Description

If you want to break into the garment game, much like the entertainment biz, you'll need to know how to play the game. "How To Succeed in Urban Fashion" breaks the industry down in this eye-opening and essential how-to documentary. You'll get tips, tricks and the insider track straight from some of today's leading designers, sales and marketing directors and apparel company owners. From marketing and manufacturing to distribution, choosing the right product mix, brand image and more, this is Urban Fashion biz 101 like you won't get on reality TV or in fashion design school. Before you print up that graphic tee and step out on New York's Fashion Ave- buy and study this DVD first...your ultimate guide to urban fashion success.

Customer Reviews:

How to succeed in Urban Fashion.......2007-02-17

No real insights to people who already have a bit of a clue how the streetwear business is running. Only interesting thing to me was to the faces behind some well known streetwear brands. but again, what they told me was nothing I didn't know before or you wouldn't know just by having common sense.

This was a good start........2007-02-02

After anticipating this dvd for almost a year, I was pleased with the information that was passed on. I'm an upstart designer [...] and there were a lot of jewels in the dvd that helped me. I wish there was a little bit more detailed information on the dvd. But in all this was a good start. Now I want to see pt. 2. Let's hope that we won't encounter long delays with pt. 2. :-)

This Film Is Crazy!!!!.......2007-01-19

I never really had much interest in fashion until a buddy of tried starting his own label. He encountered many hardships, so it would have been nice if a film like this had been around when he was trying to get his stuff out. Learn upfront from industry Vets on how they got started and how much time, effort, and sweat it takes to be recognized. LRG, Triple Five Soul, Akademiks, Azzure, 10Deep, and many others give you a nice insight into the scene. From exposure at Magic in Vegas to Urban Magazines displays in Vibe and King, this video hits it all. Well worth the money, you won't be disappointed.

Average customer rating:

A total misdirection by James Ivory. 125 minutes of dull,dull,dull!!!
Quintessential New York
A Subtle, Dry Masterpiece
Bad decisions all around
The Artist's Life of the '80s

Slaves of New York
Starring: Bernadette Peters , Chris Sarandon , Mary Beth Hurt , Madeleine Potter , and Adam Coleman Howard
Director: James Ivory
Manufacturer: Sony Pictures
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Comedy | Genres | DVD | Video

General | Drama | Genres | DVD | Video

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

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

Slaves of New York
Basquiat
Slaves of New York (Bloomsbury Classic Reads)
Bernadette Peters in Concert
Jefferson in Paris

ASIN: B0009P42UA
Release Date: 2005-07-26

Customer Reviews:

A total misdirection by James Ivory. 125 minutes of dull,dull,dull!!!.......2007-06-29

This film with it's enormous cast of talented actors portraying and poking fun at the Bohemian life of artists and their world in 1980's New York City is a totally not-funny, misdirected dull and completely annoying piece of pretentious story telling. It is a total waste of 125 minutes of life.Perhaps in the hands of Robert Altman, this film might have moved cleverly,but James Ivory is totally out of his or any element trying to make this film breathe with any form of artistic life or sensibility.This film fails as a comedy, a drama AND as a stinging indictment on the artistic world and it's view on relationships . The sight gags fall flat. The characters go no where as they drift along from person to person and place to place in the concrete jungle where life is cold and heartless for the starving artist.Even Eleanor,(Peters), in her attempt to get a life and have a fulfilling relationship is bogged down and unsympathetic in it's portrayal. This film has no soul whatsoever and trying to find anyone with which this artist/musician could identify was impossible. Bernadette Peters' genius is wasted. Actors such as Chris Sarandon,Stanley Tucci,Mercedes Ruehl and Steve Buscemi are total throwaways in this avant-garde portrayal of social climbers and pretentious self-seekers in New York.We are left with one conclusion: relationships probably are not ever going to be what you want or need them to be! Sorry...but I don't agree with that conclusion no matter how great or bad a film is.I understand what Tama Janowitz the author is attempting to convey, but James Ivory did not do it for her material in my opinion.Her work is hip and intellectual. This film is not.

SEX IN THE CITY ,COMPANY and even RENT are far more effective and interesting in portraying the craziness and supposed cold-fishiness of New York.

Quintessential New York.......2005-10-11

If you dog it, you've obviously never dared to live it. This movie is true poetic genius on all fronts.
One of my all time favorite films.

A Subtle, Dry Masterpiece.......2005-09-09

I first saw Slaves of New York when it was originally released quite some time after reading the book. I was drawn into the world of the 80's NYC Art Scene. The film is a bit austere, but I think that helps viewer's relate to Eleanor's (Bernadette Peters)struggle in life as an outsider-that she never gets the joke. Bernadette gives a rich and nuanced performance as Eleanor. She is the reason for seeing the film. She vacillates between giddy joy, depression, heartbreak, and triumph. Her introverted Eleanor is a joy to watch.
The colorful peripheral characters add spice and contrast, but it is Eleanor's story of finding her identity in an environment where everything is a facade.

This film is definitely not for everyone. Many talented people worked on this film and I found it charming on so many levels. It is definately unlike anything you have ever seen. If you love anything about the 80's culture, fashion, or pop world this is a must see. The fashion alone is a hoot. There are several priceless scenes.

Bad decisions all around.......2005-08-18

Hopelessly stiff in some parts, and unfunny in others, "Slaves of New York" doesn't have any center. James Ivory was perhaps a poor choice as a director; there is a restrained quality to the movie and nothing seems spontaneous. Ivory seemed to be trying for his own Altmanesque collage; the truth is, Altman should have been the one to direct this in the first place.

The casting isn't much better: Bernadette Peters does what she can with the role of Eleanor but she's too old for the part. Mercedes Ruehl is barely believable as an East Village bohemian; she looks as though she's playacting. Adam Coleman Howard is more whiny than anything as Stash and Nick Corri's character, while likeable, lacks the bite of the character in the original stories.

The one scene that really stands out is the three cross dressers lip synching to the Supremes' "Love is Like an Itchin' in my Heart" on the street at 6 a.m. That's a fantastic moment and one that really gives the movie any life, and will perhaps be the ticket to the movie not being forgotten entirely.

The extras are bittersweet. The late Ismail Merchant is interviewed, looking fit and healthy, and an unsmiling Tama Janowitz discusses the transition from book to film. Bernadette Peters looks exactly the same as she always has.

The Artist's Life of the '80s.......2003-09-05

I have to admit. This is the movie that made me want to drop everything and move to NYC to become an artist/writer/hat designer/club kid. Of course, I was 16 when I first saw it and wasn't going to be leaving my Colorado suburban abode anytime soon. But it still inspired me to one day visit NYC and run into the same characters in this movie. Not only is the story entertaining, but the movie style is indeed unique.

My only request: PLEASE MAKE THIS AVAILABLE ON DVD!
I would love to see bonus DVD material including a documentary on NYC in the '80s and commentary with the director and Bernadette Peters. Maybe Criterion will take this one on.

Product Description

A private detective is hired to catch a serial killer who makes immigrant garment workers his victims.

System Requirements:

Running Time 86 Mins

Format: DVD MOVIE

Customer Reviews:

DEAD MOVIE.......2006-11-17

Shame on talented actors like Maura Tierney and Jerry Orbach for their involvement in this laughably bad mystery movie. Uninspired direction with a trite and convoluted script combine with terrible acting to make a movie that has little to recommend it. "Star"/co-writer John Romo is one of the worst leading men to come around the bend in some time, and this is his only film, and I can see why. He plays a private investigator who finds himself looking into the murders of several lingerie models whose underwear was designed by Tierney, who also works in a local factory run by Orbach. Dennis Christopher shows up as a seedy illegal alien investigator; and June Lockhart and Lyle Waggoner lend their names to supporting roles as Tierney's estranged parents. The movie professes to make some statement on the poor treatment of immigrants but it's so shoddily included, it makes no statement at all.
Little heard of movie; I can see why!

Mystique Magazine: A Day in the Life Featuring Aria Giovanni

Average customer rating:

ARIA GIOVANNI

Mystique Magazine: A Day in the Life Featuring Aria Giovanni
Starring: Aria Giovanni
Manufacturer: Image Entertainment
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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

( M ) | Titles | Features | DVD | Video

Aria Giovanni
Aria and Friends
Aria's Secret Desires
Veronika
Penthouse: Aria's House of Ecstasy

ASIN: B0002EJ7J4
Release Date: 2004-08-03

Description

One of the most sought-after models in the world lets you into her life for the first time. In this exclusive DVD, you'll tour her home, take a shower with her, watch her at ballet class and follow her to a sexy photo shoot with her best friend, the very hot Holly Randall. Get to know the private Aria behind the photos in this -- the ultimate DVD for every Aria fan!

Customer Reviews:

ARIA GIOVANNI .......2005-05-03

Aria is a natural sweetheart , like a normal girl you dated in high school. She's incredibly hot , but what makes her more so is she has morals and values. Part of her beauty is that she is a complete package. Her looks are mirrored by her centered personality , accented with that sweet smile. With interests that we all have , wine , food and sex. Can life get any better , I suspect only with Aria................Definately a must own for , well of the legal age...........La32799@hotmail.com

Average customer rating:

Shattered Image
Starring: Kevin Brophy , Kendall Carly Browne , Donald Burton , Bo Derek , and Sully Diaz
Director: Jack Scalia , and Fritz Kiersch
Manufacturer: Castaway Nw UK
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Drama | Genres | DVD | Video

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

( S ) | Titles | Features | DVD | Video
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Woman of Desire
Double Cross
The Nurse
Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C. - Second Season
Loaded Guns

ASIN: B000MV90E4
Release Date: 2007-06-05

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