Vernon, Florida

Starring:Joe Payne, Snake Reynolds, Claude Register, George Harris (VI), Henry Shipes, Albert Bitterling, Howard Pettis, Roscoe Collins
Director: Errol Morris
Studio: MGM (Video & DVD)
Product Type: DVD

Editorial Review:
Amazon.com
The ordinary denizens of a small Southern town become natural subjects for filmmaker Errol Morris in Vernon, Florida, a hypnotically bizarre character study. Based on the evidence of the film, this small humid town in the panhandle is home to a disproportionately high percentage of oddballs. (On the other hand, Morris's other work suggests that poking a camera anywhere uncovers a common vein of weirdness.) Some of the material comes across as sideways homespun wisdom: when a man gazes across a swamp and marvels at how much water is out there, he adds, "And that's just the top of it." Hard to argue with that. Then there's the jar of sand the contents of which, its owners swear, has been growing in volume over the years. And a hunter's descriptions of the near-orgasmic highs and lows of turkey hunting is a monologue that would have impressed Faulkner or Thomas Wolfe. It has always been an open question whether Morris's blank-eyed camera is encouraging the viewer to laugh at his subjects or simply presenting the world as it is. You'll laugh, and more likely be astonished. --Robert Horton

The Errol Morris DVD Collection (Gates of Heaven/The Thin Blue Line/Vernon, Florida)
Average customer rating:

Dare to Change Your Views

One of the great documentary filmmakers

About freakin' time!

The Errol Morris DVD Collection (Gates of Heaven/The Thin Blue Line/Vernon, Florida)
Starring: Joe Payne , Snake Reynolds , Claude Register , Howard Pettis , and George Harris (VI)
Director: Errol Morris
Manufacturer: MGM (Video & DVD)
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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Amazon.com

These are the three films that first made Errol Morris's name as a documentary filmmaker, defining a unique artist with an unsparing eye for the truth--the truth of human behavior or legal authority. His first feature, 1978's Gates of Heaven, is a wildly funny and surprisingly moving look at pet cemeteries, and the people who invest an extraordinary degree of emotion in their little darlings. Already Morris is locked into his straight-on camera style, which allows his subjects to soliloquize at length about their most obsessive notions.

Listen to our interview with Errol Morris.

Vernon, Florida (1981) is very much of a piece with Gates, as Morris travels to a small town in Florida's panhandle and allows the oddball denizens to babble on about anything. It has always been an open question whether Morris's blank stare encourages laughter at the expense of his subjects or simply wide-eyed wonder that folks like this carry on in the world, but Vernon viewers will likely be both amused and astonished.

The Thin Blue Line is like In Cold Blood in the sense that it examines a real-life murder case, but it goes much further than reportage: Morris's investigations actually helped alter the judgments in the Texas case, especially affecting the conviction of a hitchhiker named Randall Adams. And the movie is a work of art: a hypnotic bad dream with surreal images and a lulling rhythmic movement (enhanced by Philip Glass's music). It's the kind of movie that might have taken place in Adams's mind as he sat on Death Row, replaying the events that made his life go wrong. --Robert Horton

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Documentaries
Documentary Essentials

Description

The Thin Blue Line On November 28, 1976, when drifter Randall Dale Adams was picked up by teenage runaway David Harris, his fate was sealed. That night, a police officer was shot in cold blood. And though all the facts pointed to Harris, a sociopath with a lengthy rap sheet, Adams was convicted of capital murder. Was Adams guilty? And if not, does Morris unlock the secrets of this baffling case?
Vernon, Florida For the inhabitants of this Southern town, there's no place like home... for the rest of us, there's no place like Vernon, Florida! From the passionate turkey-hunter to the peculiar pet collector, each member of this motley crew has a story to tell. And in the masterful hands of Morris, their obsessions and eccentricities reveal the heart and soul of an unabashedly unique slice of the American pie.
Gates Of Heaven When financial hardship forces California's Foothill Pet Cemetery to close its pearly gates, its dearly departed loved ones are relocated to the nearby Bubbling Well Pet Memorial Park. During this tense transition, filmmaker Morris meets a collection of eccentric cemetery operators and anguished animal-lovers and elicits a meditation on love and loneliness that's "strange, chilling [and] appallingly funny" (Newsweek).

Customer Reviews:

Dare to Change Your Views.......2005-12-28

Great documentaries change your views.

In law school, I watched 'The Thin Blue Line' in one of my first classes on capital punishment jurisprudence. It changed my views, as it demonstrates how our justice system can "do it's job" and still get it completely and tragically wrong. Although I am not a fan of Philip Glass, I do have to admit that even the soundtrack urges the viewers contemplation of the material.

I am very much looking forward to the previously unavailable 'Gates of Heaven' (because I am a pet person) and 'Vernon, Florida' (because I escaped from a small Florida town after high school).

One of the great documentary filmmakers.......2005-09-19

Errol Morris has a real knack for getting people to just talk, and talk, and talk for long periods of time. And the things that come out of people's mouths is remarkable. Gates of Heaven is one of my favorite movies of all time. It's funny but also thought provoking in its humor. The Thin Blue Line is quite convincing, and is so convincing that the film helped exonerate a man convicted for murder in Texas. Vernon, FL is interesting, but doesn't quite measure up to the previous two films in my opinion. In any event, this collection is well worth a look.

About freakin' time!.......2005-08-02

I have waited for these films to finally be released on DVD, and was rewarded with three at once. There's not a lot to say about "Gates of Heaven" or "Vernon, Florida" other than they showcase Morris' curiosity and fascination with finding wonder in the mundane. Morris just plants his camera and listens as people go off on tangents that are seemingly unrelated to the subject of the documentary but are mini-films unto themselves (e.g. the elderly woman in "Gates of Heaven" who briefly touches on the pet cemetary being rlocated and then goes into this long monologue about her grandson, his failed relationships and her heartbreak at his never coming to visit).

"Thin Blue Line" is to documentary what "In Cold Blood" was to non-fiction writing. Morris uses re-enactments along with his interviews to tell the story of a murdered policeman and the man arrested for the crime. Morris' investigative work led to the convicted man's release and the conviction of the real killer.

This is some of the best documentary work ever filmed.

Average customer rating:

Huge Audio Problem
you just have to be there
Funny
An Amazing Slice of Americana
Could be better

Vernon, Florida
Starring: Joe Payne , Snake Reynolds , Claude Register , Howard Pettis , and George Harris (VI)
Director: Errol Morris
Manufacturer: MGM (Video & DVD)
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Documentary | Genres | DVD | Video

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

( V ) | Titles | Features | DVD | Video
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Gates of Heaven
Fast, Cheap & Out of Control
Errol Morris' First Person - The Complete Series
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The Thin Blue Line

ASIN: B00094AS5Y
Release Date: 2005-07-26

Amazon.com

The ordinary denizens of a small Southern town become natural subjects for filmmaker Errol Morris in Vernon, Florida, a hypnotically bizarre character study. Based on the evidence of the film, this small humid town in the panhandle is home to a disproportionately high percentage of oddballs. (On the other hand, Morris's other work suggests that poking a camera anywhere uncovers a common vein of weirdness.) Some of the material comes across as sideways homespun wisdom: when a man gazes across a swamp and marvels at how much water is out there, he adds, "And that's just the top of it." Hard to argue with that. Then there's the jar of sand the contents of which, its owners swear, has been growing in volume over the years. And a hunter's descriptions of the near-orgasmic highs and lows of turkey hunting is a monologue that would have impressed Faulkner or Thomas Wolfe. It has always been an open question whether Morris's blank-eyed camera is encouraging the viewer to laugh at his subjects or simply presenting the world as it is. You'll laugh, and more likely be astonished. --Robert Horton

Description

Fire up the pickup and head down to this backwater town with "one of America's strangest and most brilliant documentary filmmakers" (Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times)! OscarÂ(r)-winning*director Errol Morris (The Thin Blue Line) presents a pastiche of fascinating interviews with the weird and wonderful people of Vernon, Florida, in this "amusing portrait" (Variety) of oddball Americana! For the inhabitants of this Southern town, there's no place like home for the rest of us, there's no place like Vernon, Florida! From the passionate turkey-hunter to the peculiar pet collector, each member of this motley crew has a story to tell. And in the masterful hands of Morris, their obsessions and eccentricities reveal the heart and soul of an unabashedly unique slice of the American pie! *2003: Documentary Feature, Fog of War (with Michael Williams)

Customer Reviews:

Huge Audio Problem.......2007-04-06

You have the turn the volume up on your TV extremely high to hear this movie, even then it's difficult to understand what they're saying. Also, at certain times (like when a truck is rushing past) you're treated with a full-blast of sound, shattering yer stinkin' eardrums.

It's a shame, because it's a great movie marred by a technical isse.

you just have to be there.......2007-01-09

If you've been to this part of the country, you will get this movie. If you've been anywhere like it, you'll get this movie. If you haven't, you won't. It's almost 30 years old, but this movie is timeless in its depiction of how people really live in 'fly-over country'.

Funny.......2006-12-30

This movie cracked us up. I'm from a small town, my husband a large city and we both though it was funny although I think I related better to the Southern flavor.

An Amazing Slice of Americana.......2006-09-06

This is just a remarkable film! It's hard to believe these people are for real, but they obviously are! You'd swear half of them are being played by Jonathan Winters, but they are as they appear - "quirky" and "eccentric" just don't cut it as appropriate adjectives to describe the townsfolks of Vernon. It must be seen to be believe!

Could be better.......2006-01-28

This movie is okay, but does not feel complete. The people in this one are not expressed enough in the movie, and I felt at the end that this played out more like a long trailer for a movie instead of a completed one. Morris had a good idea here, but it seemed too brief and desultory throughout. It's worth watching, but it leaves you wanting more depth and length. Possibly Morris at the time this was made had not totally developed his documentary style, it does play like a sort of practice film compared to other works such as Gates of Heaven and the First Person series.

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