In Berlin

Starring:Neil Young
Studio: Rhino / Wea
Product Type: DVD

Editorial Review:
Amazon.com
Neil Young has never been one to eschew change, and this 1983 concert certainly found him in a transitional mode. Recently signed to Geffen Records (who would later sue him for producing work they deemed insufficiently commercial), he had released Trans, an album that, with its computerized tracks and electronically altered vocals, remains one of the oddest (and more underrated) in his entire catalog. He was also touring with a band drawn from virtually all phases of his career, with bassist Bruce Palmer (from the Buffalo Springfield), drummer Ralph Molina (from Crazy Horse), guitarist Nils Lofgren (a longtime Young henchman before he joined Bruce Springsteen's group), steel guitarist/keyboardist Ben Keith (a Young accompanist to this very day), and others.

Amazon.com

The Wall (Live in Berlin) seemed uninspired and gimmicky in 1990 but looks and sounds terrifically compelling on DVD, thanks to its vivid image quality and greatly improved audio mixes. The freshly mineswept Potsdamer platz--a once-thriving plaza destroyed by Allied bombing in 1943--proved the perfect place to mark the opening of the Berlin Wall with an all-star production of Pink Floyd's magnum opus: a Wall for a wall. An unlikely assemblage of musicians augments Roger Waters's impressive house band (led by guitarist Rick DiFonzo and organ wizard Nick Glennie-Smith), with everyone from the Scorpions to Joni Mitchell to the Military Orchestra of the Soviet Army getting in on the rock-opera action. Cyndi Lauper, Bryan Adams, James Galway, Thomas Dolby, and Albert Finney all turn in tasty cameos, while Sinead O'Connor looks unaccountably aloof in "Mother." The documentary is thorough and juicy, and producer Tony Hollingsworth offers an above-par essay in the booklet. --Michael Mikesell

Customer Reviews:

Awesome.......2007-06-27

I saw part of this late one night while half asleep and searched for more than a year to find it. Highly reccomend to anyone who is a Floyd fan. Or a fan of Rock Opera's.

Great Cover to a great album.......2007-06-08

This is a great DVD.
It becomes greater once you read the album notes.
One can only imagine the feeling that those who attemped the concert felt considering it was done after the Berlin Wall was torn down.

Much better than I expected.......2007-06-07

I love Pink Floyd/Roger Waters stuff (In The Flesh Live is my favorite concert DVD) but I'd avoided this for years because, frankly, I didn't want to see The Wall done by a bunch of people not even remotely connected to Roger Waters' music (Scorpions, Jerry Hall, Cyndi Lauper, etc). Finally I gave in and what a surprise! Not only is the stage show an unbelievable spectacle to behold but the music and performers are great. Van Morrison, Scorpions, Cyndi Lauper, Ute Lemper, Bryan Adams, Paul Carrack, Sinead O'Connor,etc., all do really good jobs with the songs they are given. The only two performances that I didn't care for were Joni Mitchell (Goodbye Blue Sky) and Jerry Hall (Are All These Your Guitars?). Joni Mitchell's voice is very good but she embellishes a little too much for my taste and Jerry Hall's speaking part was a bit too over the top. Other than that, my only disappointment is that this is in (it's original) fullscreen version. An anamorphic 16x9 presentation (it is cropped however from the fullscreen) does exist on The Wall: Live In Berlin (Special Edition) but this disc is either a) a non-Region 1 disc or b) no longer unavailable. The 5.1 sound was very good but lacked a bit in the low end. Overall, the concert is spectacular, the performers are really good, the audio is great, and the video is average. The documentary is worth watching, too. I was completely overwhelmed with how good this concert really was and only regret not having gotten the disc sooner.

Just as I remember it........2007-05-24

Just as I remember it. The concert was great but the special features were unbelievable. Worth way more than I paid for it.

"Classic".......2007-05-11

This title is a must have for any pink floyd fan. Worth every penny. This concert is a must see since it was the rarest of all pink floyd concerts."At least in my book".

Average customer rating:

The Anti-James Bond Returns
Worth Digging For
Cold war driven Caine classic
funeral in Berlin
Harry Palmer: The Spy Who Went Into the Cold

Funeral in Berlin
Starring: Michael Caine , Paul Hubschmid , Oskar Homolka , Eva Renzi , and Guy Doleman
Director: Guy Hamilton
Manufacturer: Paramount
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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Billion Dollar Brain
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ASIN: B00005KHK1
Release Date: 2001-08-14

Customer Reviews:

The Anti-James Bond Returns.......2007-04-21

In 1966's "Funeral in Berlin", his second outing as British anti-hero spy Harry Palmer, Michael Caine is in complete command of both his character and the movie. Len Deighton's novel of the Cold War in Berlin is brought to gritty life in a city newly divided by a wall and fought over by the Russians, the West, and the Germans themselves. The plot twists and turns, the dialogue is crisp, and the acting is understated but very solid.

Harry Palmer is asked to assess the proffered defection of a Russian KBG Colonel named Stok, who regards Palmer as both adversary and comrade-in-arms in the spy business. Their dialogue is a masterpiece of Cold War cynicism. Stok asks Palmer to use a German network with an unusually good record for spiriting people out of East Germany; this choice will have fateful consequences. Palmer also comes into contact with an old friend who owes his freedom to Harry but may have ulterior motives for a deal. Finally, Palmer becomes the object of desire for a beautiful woman who not surprisingly turns out to have an agenda of her own. The whole makes for a complicated plot and a cheerfully cynical but entertaining look at the spy business of the early 1960's.

This movie is highly recommended to fans of Michael Caine, who excells in his role as working class spy Harry Palmer. This movie will also appeal to fans of Len Deighton's novels; this is a better than average adaptation.

Worth Digging For.......2007-01-24

"Funeral in Berlin" is second in a series of movies, made from Len Deighton's books, starring Michael Caine. Like the others, it's produced by Harry Saltsman, playing hookey from his better-known James Bond 007 series. It's directed by Guy Hamilton, also playing hookey from James Bond. The Scottish Sean Connery has said that Hamilton, also a Scot, was his favorite among the 007 directors: they shared that sly sense of humor, and, indeed, it's to be enjoyed in "Funeral in Berlin" as well.

The cold war plot concerns a powerful Russian Colonel, who's signaled London that he wishes to defect, and, has, as a theater of operations, divided, crawling-with-spies Berlin. So there Michael Caine's character, Harry Palmer, is sent, right back to the scene of his World War II crimes, where he had served in the Quartermasters' Corps. Right back to his former associates in those shady enterprises: they have all grown rich, while the British have forced him into spying to stay out of jail. Palmer, naturally, has had previous dealings with Colonel Stok, and does not believe for a moment that the shrewd Russian actually intends to defect; but he can't make London see his point of view. So off he goes, to call again on his former associates. He'll also find himself dealing with Mossad, the Israeli Secret Service; they too are interested in these proceedings. They will set one of their own as Samantha Steel, fashion model, to quickly find Palmer irresistible and then monitor his activities.

"Funeral" is well cast. As "Colonel Stok," Oskar Homulka is reliably Oskar Homulka. Paul Hubschmid does well as "Johnny Vulkan." Guy Doleman ably reprises his role as "Ross" from "Ipcress." Caine, of course, was at the height of his powers, and his looks. Eva Renzi, German-born, is qualified to play "Samantha," Palmer's love interest, although, as is typical of Saltsman's casting of females, she hadn't much of a career otherwise. (Nor did she have a long career, as she recently died, rather young, having been married to one of her co-stars from this movie.)

The movie is quite entertaining, and it moves fast. The plot has lots of surprises, the color photography's excellent, catching the ambiance of an anxious Berlin. Unfortunately, "Funeral" is out of print, and hard to find. If you want it, you'll have to dig for it.

Cold war driven Caine classic.......2007-01-13

Michael Caine playing ex-thief and reluctant operative for British intelligence, the Cockneyed Harry Palmer, once again becomes immersed in a convoluted caper in the 1966 production of "Funeral in Berlin". He's been ordered by his boss Colonel Ross played by Guy Doleman to orchestrate the defection of a high ranking Russian KGB Colonel Stok played by bushy browed Oscar Homolka from East Berlin.

Upon arrival in Berlin, Caine makes contact with an old criminal acquaintance Johnny Vulkan played by Paul Hubschmid. He is supposed to aid in the defection which will be accomplished in the guise of a funeral. Colonel Ross hasn't let on that Vulkan is actually a Nazi war criminal who had absconded with two million dollars stolen from Jews caught up in the Holocaust. Vulkan is being pursued by Israeli agents including an attractive spy Eva Renzi, playing Samantha Steel who seduces Caine as part of the scheme.

Palmer despite being in the dark manages to push all the right buttons in this intricate operation ultimately winning the approval of his demanding and uncompromising boss, Colonel Ross.

Director Guy Hamilton made excellent use of diverse German settings to shoot this fast paced thriller, focusing on the contrast of the chic, newly modernized rebuilt Berlin and sections still devastated by the horrors of the war.

funeral in Berlin.......2005-10-18

This movie is available by Paramount in Italy. It's Region 2 and the price is very reasonable. Euros 24 English language and subtitles. Giuliano Fournier

Harry Palmer: The Spy Who Went Into the Cold .......2005-09-02

Each of these films is a self-contained story but having seen the previous entries does give the central character more depth. "The Ipcress File" introduced Len Deighton's spy with no name as "Harry Palmer" -- a gritty, workaday operative for the British Secret Service -- the polar opposite from James Bond.

(This is even more interesting when you realize the producer of the two series is Harry Saltzman. And the director here is Guy Hamilton who helmed "Goldfinger".)

Michael Caine returns in this excellent second installment of the "Harry Palmer" series. The scene is Berlin in the early 1960s at the height of the Cold War. The Berlin Wall was a recent division. The tension between the US and the CCCP caused global anxiety. To see this film is to get something of a feel for the place and the time. The espionage here is thick and the tension is palpable. A series of double crosses lands Palmer in serious trouble. Whereas "Ipcress" had psychological underpinnings, "Funeral" is more personal and more down to earth. A story well told.

And yes, film makers once again take liberties with Deighton's fine books. The author's novel is richer in detail, movement across Europe and character development. Think of this as an abridgement -- a very good abridgement. Otherwise the film would be four hours long.

I wish the producers could have retained John Barry for the score but Konrad Elfers does a fine job and I'm happy to have a CD of his score. The visual framing favored by Sidney J. Furie for "Ipcress" was brilliant. Apparently the producer didn't care for it so Guy Hamilton's "Funeral" lacks those compositions but cinematographer Otto Heller, who worked on "Ipcress" as well, does a very good job here and manages to inject some visual flair now and then that ties the two films together.

The Paramount DVD is worlds better than the previously available VHS. Finally, the original widescreen aspect ratio -- 2:35:1 -- is retained and we no longer have to deal with truncated and/or pan & scan images that result in the dreaded "talking noses syndrome" or distracting cross cuts.

The original release was mono and that's what we have here. Although both "Ipcress" and "Funeral" would benefit from a 5.1 remix the mono sound here is quite good.

Extras? At the premium price Paramount set for this release you would have thought there would be extras. Sorry, no extras. Just be glad we have the film, which brings us to the next topic.

Available once more! Paramount had let this one go out of print ... in the US. This marked up the private seller price ripping off fans trying to find a copy. It was cheaper to buy a region-free player and order a copy from Amazon UK than it was to ferret out a used copy at that popular auction website. But relax, it's back in print.

"Funeral in Berlin" is a keeper.

Michael Caine as Harry Palmer returns in the next installment, Ken Russel's film: "The Billion Dollar Brain".

PS: If you want an even darker, noir-like film set in the same time and place, Richard Burton as "The Spy Who Came in from the Cold" is depressing and absolutely brilliant.

PPS: "The Quiller Memorandum", a fine cold war spy film, is now available on DVD.

Average customer rating:

Neil is young & that's attractive to see on this dvd.
he said it's old but it's good
Long May He Run
Living Rock Genius Legend
Working new boundaries

In Berlin
Starring: Neil Young
Manufacturer: Rhino / Wea
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

Folk Rock | Rock | Styles | Music

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Neil Young - Red Rocks Live / Friends + Relatives (DVD)
Neil Young - Silver & Gold
Neil Young - Heart of Gold
Live at Massey Hall (CD/DVD)
Neil Young: Under Review 1966-1975

ASIN: B000059LGH
Release Date: 2001-03-27

Amazon.com

Neil Young has never been one to eschew change, and this 1983 concert certainly found him in a transitional mode. Recently signed to Geffen Records (who would later sue him for producing work they deemed insufficiently commercial), he had released Trans, an album that, with its computerized tracks and electronically altered vocals, remains one of the oddest (and more underrated) in his entire catalog. He was also touring with a band drawn from virtually all phases of his career, with bassist Bruce Palmer (from the Buffalo Springfield), drummer Ralph Molina (from Crazy Horse), guitarist Nils Lofgren (a longtime Young henchman before he joined Bruce Springsteen's group), steel guitarist/keyboardist Ben Keith (a Young accompanist to this very day), and others.

Directed by Michael Lindsay-Hogg (whose many other credits include the Rolling Stones' Rock and Roll Circus), the concert itself is also an eclectic mix, with classic rockers ("Cinnamon Girl," "Like a Hurricane," a rousing "Hey Hey My My") balanced by three Trans selections and a mostly acoustic interlude featuring "Old Man," "The Needle and the Damage Done," and "After the Goldrush." There's even a brand new (at the time, at least) tune named after the host city. The German audience eats up every second of it, and despite the lack of bonus features, Young fans are likely to enjoy this DVD as well. And with good reason: Neil Young in Berlin is undoubtedly one of the more interesting documents from a fascinating musical life. --Sam Graham

Product Description

This DVD captures the last show of Young's European tour. The Berlin show features the Trans Band, comprising Ralph Molina, Ben Keith, Joe Lala, Bruce Palmer, and Nils Lofgren, and consists of ten songs, including the classics "Old Man" and "The Needle and the Damage Done." Other songs performed include: Cinnamon Girl * Hey, Hey, My, My * Computer Age * Little Thing Called Love * After the Gold Rush * Transformer Man * Sample and Hold * Hurricane Berlin. ?

Customer Reviews:

Neil is young & that's attractive to see on this dvd........2007-06-25

It's a pretty good dvd, and his songs 'Hurricane' & followed by 'Hey, hey, my, my,', these 2 really rock good. Thye bonus track called Berlin is ok, and the opener 'Cinnamon Girl' is good enuf to be called cool. I recommend to buy this id u want to see Neil in the early 1980's, cuz he's young in this video. Recommended.

he said it's old but it's good.......2007-04-09

I've never before seen Neil live, but now I understand what is the attraction. He's high energy. I kinda' already knew that, but to see him perform is very worthy of the time spent. Also I've never been a die-hard Springsteen fan, so when I saw Nils Lofgren on stage it puzzled me at first, but he immediately earned my respect. I actually came away from this video quite a bit impressed with him. He never used a guitar pick. That's a virtue all to itself. The video: It's old but it's good. Turn-it-up.

Long May He Run.......2007-03-23

People either like Neil or hate him. With that having been said, if you like Neil, buy this video..You will not be disappointed.

Living Rock Genius Legend.......2007-03-11

I overlooked Berlin for a couple of years because I thought it was more of the same sounds. One day I got a hankerin for wanting to see a performance of "Old Man", a staple tune for me at age 16 in Rome, NY in 1973. When I bought Berlin, and opened the case, I got a real surprise. The surprise was that Neil also performed "Like a Huricane," which was not listed on the outside of the case. Neil also did some Geffen Years stuff like Transformer Man very well. Now if we could just get some footage with Southern Man .....

Oh yes, Old Man was awesomely performed by Neil as well.

Mark in Tucson, 3-11-07

Working new boundaries.......2006-07-28

Back in 1983, one of the first releases oriented to the emergent video market, a way to bring to distant consumers and fans musical performances otherwise limited to the lucky public present at them, Neil Young's "Berlin" reflected the sharp and original sensitivity of an artist that not merely perceives as also suggests and elaborates response to great impacts brought to all living people, meaning the outspread of personal computers and the imminent fall of the communism. Surrounded by a band carefully picked among his former gatherings (Buffalo Springfield's bassist Bruce Palmer, Crazy Horse's drummer Ralph Molina, post CSNY mate Nils Lofgren, Stray Gators" Ben Keith and Stills-Young Band percussionist Joe Lala) Neil performs a tight set (one hour long) where we have one of the few opportunities to watch his songs devoted to this concern ("Computer age", "Transformer man", "Sample and hold") how to surpass the artificiality and coldness of computerized tools and bring them to life. There, in the land of Kraftwerk, the kings of the rhythm machines, at one of the extreme borders of the so called occidental world, and using heavily devices as Vocoders that transformed voices and instruments beyond the human extent, the artist is able to superimpose those "obstacles" with warmth, lyrism and open emotions. Sure it helps having great performances of some of his hits as "Cinnamon girl", "Hurricane" and "After the gold rush". The movie is perfectly captured by director Michael Lindsay-Hogg and the picture is very sharp. The sound was excellent at the time but this version suffers from not being newly remixed. It sounds as if it was pushed a little too hard in the equalization, but is not a problem at all. I only expected more from this great video, as well as having "Weld" (Neil and Crazy Horse's 1990 spectacular show) released in the DVD format.

Astaire and Rogers - Partners in Ryhthm (Includes 1 DVD Plus CD of Songs From the Original Movie Soundtracks

Average customer rating:

Astaire and Rogers - Partners in Ryhthm (Includes 1 DVD Plus CD of Songs From the Original Movie Soundtracks
Starring: Irving Berlin , Jerome Kern , George Gershwin , Hermes Pan , and George Stevens
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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Featuring clips from all 10 films which Fred Astaire & Ginger Rogers made together from 1933 to 1949. Includes candid photos and behind-the-scenes tidbits.

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this is not pink floyd

The Wall Live in Berlin Pink Floyd

Manufacturer: Import DVDS
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

Dark Side Of The Moon
Live at Massey Hall (CD/DVD)
The Wall (Deluxe Packaging Digitally Remastered)

ASIN: B000NWV6SA

Product Description

Rare Pink Floyd Live the Wall DVD Import. Playlist includes 1. In The Flesh 2. The Thin Ice 3. Another Brick In The Wall (Part I) 4. Happiest Days of Our Lives 5. Another Brick In The Wall (Part II) 6. Mother 7. Goodbye Blue Sky 8. Empty Spaces 9. Young Lu 10. One Of My Turns 11. Don't Leave Me Now 12. Another Brick in the Wall (Part III) 13. Goodbye Cruel World 14. Hey You 15. Is There Anybody Out There? 16. Nobody Home 17. Vera 18. Bring the Boys Back Home 19. Comfortably Numb 20. In The Flesh 21. Run Like Hell 22. Waiting For The Worms 23. Stop 24. The Trial 25. The Tide is Turning (After Live Aid)

Customer Reviews:

this is not pink floyd.......2007-05-29

this is nbot a pink floyd concert .. this is only roger water at the wall in berlin and you can find it at 9.99 in walmart or any other place this guy is selling if the concert was pink floyd but is not is only roger water .. please don't buy the disc for him his a lier ...

Average customer rating:

Live in Berlin
Starring: James Last
Manufacturer: Eagle Vision USA
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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Description

One of the most successful music artists of all-time, James Last has been recording and releasing albums since 1965. His orchestral renditions of popular music has been featured on nearly 200 albums, selling over 100 million albums worldwide.

"Live In Berlin" was filmed in 1982 at the Waldbuhne in Berlin and features a number of familiar favorites, including "Games That Lovers Play", "Knock On Wood" and "The Long And Winding Road".

Customer Reviews:

Early Examples of That Sparkling Lubitsch Touch.......2007-05-10

Strange thing about silent films -- to modern audiences, many seem as dated as a Hittite epic, while others are fresh as the day they were lensed. THE OYSTER PRINCESS, on delightful display here, is one of the latter. No wonder Hollywood couldn't wait to get the benefit of Lubitsch's sparkling comedy style -- much of this picture's laugh-out-loud funny. A dumpling of a comedienne, Ossi Oswalda's captivating in both pictures, but she's a particular hoot as the Oyster King's daughter, in a frenzy for a husband. The set and costume design are fascinating, the actors personable, the jokes good -- what's not to love? I DON'T WANT TO BE A MAN isn't quite up to that high standard -- a little slower -- but the sexual politics are fascinating, as are the glimpses of actual Berlin locations. Excellent restoration (thanks, Kino, for bringing us this series). Big fun!

About time we had some German comedy!.......2006-12-24

After many fine releases of German silent films, many in the Expressionist genre and generally serious dramas by famous directors like Fritz Lang, Murnau and Pabst, it's very refreshing to see some comedy from another legendary director from Germany, namely Ernst Lubitsch. This new release by KINO Video of the "Lubitsch in Berlin" series showcases a cross-section of Lubitsch's work from the years 1919 to 1921, before he became well-known in the US, to where he later emigrated. This DVD showcases two of Lubitsch's early comedy work, and it's worth noting that he was co-writer of many such comedies as well as director. Seeing these comedies today, it becomes quite obvious that Lubitsch was ahead of his time and stood apart from his German contemporaries where comedic styles are concerned. These two comedies have been described as `absurdist comedy' and in "The Oyster Princess" this is particularly evident in the way that everyday things are exaggerated to the extreme, often when least expected, while still keeping to a plot and keeping up a good level of sophistication. The style of humour is very different from American slapstick and comedy most of us are familiar with, but I'm sure there are plenty of scenes that will still get some laughs and smiles from everyone. Failing that, then the star of both comedies, Ossi Oswalda, cannot fail to enthral and delight an audience. Called `the German Mary Pickford' Oswalda certainly has the same vibrant and expressive nature, but perhaps with less of the Pickford `sweetness' about her. In any case, Ossi Oswalda is irresistibly entertaining throughout both of these short but busy comedies, and her supporting cast in "The Oyster Princess" is also very effective and enjoyable to watch. I was also impressed by the particularly good orchestral score which suited "The Oyster Princess" perfectly, and the simple plot of an oyster-farmer millionaire finding a suitable marriage mate for his spoilt daughter has a nice twist at the end. The second, shorter comedy, "I Don't Want to Be a Man" has a traditional piano score, and may be less `absurd' than "The Oyster Princess" but is still very effective as Ossi decides to spend a night out on the town dressed as a man, only to find that she'd rather be a young lady after all. Picture quality is also very good and both films are simply great fun to watch, as well as filling an important gap in the history of German silent films.

Visually wild, madcap comedies from a pre-subtlety Lubitsch.......2006-12-23

The comedies in Kino's "Lubitsch in Berlin" set are more funny-strange than funny haha, but the strange is so unique and striking that you may not mind that the humor tends to be on the goofy level of The Monkees tv show. The mature Lubitsch style is so consistently smooth and sophisticated that you'd never guess the same hand had been behind these wild, chaotic, lavishly cartoonish films, which look more like something made by a Tashlin or Jerry Lewis let utterly loose than a wry, sophisticated comedy of manners like Heaven Can Wait or Ninotchka.

The earliest films in the set are the pair of short features on this disc starring one Ossi Oswalda, apparently known as the German Mary Pickford, though her knockdown comedic persona suggests Mabel Normand or other gals who blended right in with the boys at Keystone, and her rounded figure is somewhere west of Mabel and east of Fatty. The tone of the comedy is very much like Keystone or other American film comedy of the time-- aimed at mischievous 12-year-old boys of all ages, with comics going through the motions of dramatic situations, but not really investing any dramatic weight in sex, marriage, money, class or anything else grownup. But it's Keystone with sets by Max Reinhardt's theater, a level of rococo visual elaborateness utterly unlike any American film comedy.

In The Oyster Princess Oswalda's a spoiled American brat first seen smashing all the furniture in the room with great gusto. Her indulgent tycoon papa decides that what she needs is a titled European husband, and so they are led to a candidate in an impoverished prince living in a coldwater flat in New York. (The irony is that Lubitsch would shortly become professionally involved with an actress, Pola Negri, who was one of those who made marrying a prince standard silent diva behavior.)

The prince's valet is sent to check out the American heiress, but annoyed at his reception, eventually decides to play the part of prince himself. You can imagine this as the premise of a 30s Lubitsch comedy, sophisticated and delicately risque about sexual attraction across class lines, but that would be nothing like the slapstick romp that follows, which is more like letting a manic four-year-old loose in a mansion. There's a great deal of running around to relatively little comic end, though frequently it's quite beautiful when, say, masses of servants march in lockstep through the fanciful sets. This visual invention-- which again calls up comparisons to graphic artists (Seuss, Cliff Sterett's abstract Sunday comics for Polly And Her Pals) more than any other filmmaker-- makes The Oyster Princess far more of a treat than its goofy clowning would be in a plainer-shot comedy.

Less visually extravagant, but a little more realistic and solid, is the second shorter feature on the same DVD, I Don't Want To Be a Man. Ossi is bored and petulant, a very strict tutor has been sent to watch her, she dresses like a man to escape and go on the town, and winds up spending the evening at a jazz club with her tutor.

There's a germ of a Victor/Victoria-type comedy here, but it's somewhat flubbed by the fact that it's so hard to read the sexual politics in the attraction between the "male" Ossi and her tutor. I Don't Want To Be a Man shows Lubitsch coming closer to the real world, but as would have been the case if Keystone had tried to adapt Edith Wharton, say, he doesn't yet know what to do with it. And, most crucially, he doesn't yet have the actress capable of being more, dramatically and sexually, than a hyperactive tomboy. With his next film, the preposterous and Count Floyd-worthy Eyes of the Mummy ("What do you mean there's no mummy in it?"), he would meet that actress-- Pola Negri.

Great Early Lubitsch Double Feature........2006-12-10

As disappointed as I was in the dramatic titles in Kino's LUBITSCH IN BERLIN series, this comic double feature more than makes up for it. It clearly shows that Lubitsch's true talent lay in comedy not dramatic spectacle and these movies serve as a blueprint for his later career in Hollywood. THE OYSTER PRINCESS (1919) is an outrageous farce about an overly pampered American tycoon ("I am not impressed" is his favorite reply) who tries to find a prince to marry his spoiled and impetuous daughter. I DON'T WANT TO BE A MAN (1920) is an early version of VICTOR/VICTORIA as a young woman dressed as a man has her guardian fall in love with her. Both films give Lubitsch the opportunity to score satirical points taking on such targets as the American nouveau riche, impoverished aristocrats, and male and female stereotypes. Both films also feature German silent comedienne Ossi Oswalda who looks like Mary Pickford but behaves like Mabel Normand. She is an absolute delight especially in MAN as she challenges the roles men and women are assigned by society. The pictures are crisp black and white transfers with incredibly witty intertitles which clearly show that Germans do (or did) have a sense of humor. The musical accompaniment by Aljoscha Zimmerman (PRINCESS) and Neil Brand (MAN) complements both films perfectly. My only criticism of this disc is that the movies are too short (PRINCESS is 64 min while MAN is only 48) whereas the dramatic ones in this series seem to go on forever. Proof once again that comedy was Lubitsch's true forte. This DVD (along with THE WILDCAT which is positively outrageous) belongs on your shelf as a perfect example that slapstick can be sophisticated and that other countries beside America could produce excellent silent comic fare.

Average customer rating:

"What do you mean...
Worser than "Trash"! A waste of time!
twisted fun
A Talented Mess
We're young, we're beautiful, and we're miserable!

Women in Revolt
Starring: Candy Darling , Jackie Curtis , Holly Woodlawn , Jonathan Kramer , and Michael Sklar
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ProductGroup: DVD
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Release Date: 2005-12-13

Description

Take a walk on the wild side with three girls from different walks of life -- and they've all got man problems! High-society dame Candy, frigid middle-class matron Jackie, and gutter nymphomaniac Holly are inspired by the fashionable Women's Lib movement to get organized as PIG (Politically Involved Girls) and give up men. However, their attempts to go lesbian and build new careers only lead to exploitation and abandonment in this outrageous, gender-bending cult comedy from director Paul Morrissey.

Customer Reviews:

"What do you mean..........2007-03-08

Come down off my trapeze and get into the sawdust? That's just Circus talk!!"

- Candy Darling

Worser than "Trash"! A waste of time!.......2006-04-04

As a big fan of Paul Morrissey's great movies "Flesh for Frankenstein" and "Blood for Dracula", I couldn't believe how worse "Trash" is compared to them. "Women in revolt" is even more terrible than "Trash". The bad plot and the poor acting are giving me stomach cramps. this movie is a complete waste of precious time! So avoid it immediately!

twisted fun.......2006-01-04

It amazes me how a 30 year old movie can still shock you. Drag Queens making out with "straight" guys? way ahead of its time.
the movie is hilarious and dark at the same time. Candy Darling looks flawless, Holly Woodlawn looks scary and Jackie Curtis is just a mess.DP work is a bit mediocre ( thanks to the mastermind of this project: Warhol himself) and editing could be better. Seeing Holly Woodlawn molesting beautiful Jane Forth is priceless though!
Overall a movie about an era and a scene long gone but very much missed....

A Talented Mess.......2004-02-03

This is such a miserable mess. And I really wanted to like it since I regularly watch the other Paul Morrisey flicks like "Trash," "Heat" and "Flesh." About the only fascinating angle to this jumbled work is to see it as a snapshot of a vanished era when Candy Darling and Jackie Curtis and all the others are frozen on film at their peaks. If John Waters had taken control of this movie, it would have become a genuine underground classic that you could enjoy even today--like Water's "Mondo Trasho" and of course, "Pink Flamingos." But no one appears to know anything about camera angles, or editing, or script writing. I know, I know, some find this the charm of Morrisey's work with Warhol's gang--their ad libbing and their natural qualities. In some scenes, you see the elbows of others on the set but the camera never shows them. Towards the end, you see Holly Woodlawn stumbling along the Bowery as an alcoholic. In last week's, NY Post, Page Six noted that Woodlawn was in an alcoholic coma, a tragic turn-of-event for one of the Warhol gang's most likeable personalities.

We're young, we're beautiful, and we're miserable!.......2003-03-20

Paul Morrisey's Women in Revolt, while a satire of Women's Liberation in the early 1970s, is really an homage to classic movie cinema of the 1930s, 40s, and 60s. In it, Morrisey alludes to the popular "woman's picture" or, "weepies" of those eras by presenting us with the story of three career girls -- a set up that is most reminiscent of How to Marry a Millionare.
Candy, the beautiful and more aloof one of the trio, has her head in the clouds and aspires to become an actress. It is Candy who makes allusions to old time movies and stars by quoting such campy lines such as "I want to live" from Susan Hayward's movie, and the above. Her scene when she auditions for the movie agent is so reminscent of Lana Turner's audition with the agent in Imitation of Life (the set is so similar, right down to the swinging door!)
In real life, Candy Darling was obsessed with old movies and old movie stars. Her mother was a big fan of them and Candy used to entertain her by impersonating Joan Crawford or Garbo and dressing in drag. Candy is also the more convincing woman when compares to Jackie Curtis.
Curtis, a school teacher and a repressed lesbian, is also fighting for women's rights. But she, too, is a character grouneded in cinema. A "working woman" or "career girl," she is single, beautiful, and a survivor. But Jackie's character is annoying: she gets upset at her houseboy for no apparent reasons and is very cruel to him, at one time throwing matches at his naked body. Still, Curtis is a fantastic performer to watch. He is so alive and funny, having starred and written many off broadway plays. It is ineresting to note that the only reason Curtis started dressing in drag was because he wanted to become a star and knew that Andy Warhol was intrigues by transvestites. Holly Woodlawn, however, just knew how to lie.
When he was preparing to shoot Trash, Morrisey says that he cast Holly without even meeting her. Having read a story in a magazine in which Woodlwan described herself as a Warhol Superstar (without officially being one), he was curious and cast the talented Woodlawn. Unlike her perfomance in Trash, which was brilliant and funny, Woodlwan is reduced to a supporting role that leaves her with less screen time. In her memoir, Woodlawn wrote that she felt intimidated by Darling and Curtis who just dominated every scene and thus she handed the movie over to them. This is a shame because I was really impressed by Holly's acting in Trash and in this movie, she plays a kept women who simply screams and has sex with many men.
Overall, Paul Morrisey's Women in Revolt is a gem. If you like old movies and obscure cult films, you might be able to recognize the allusions to old Hollywood in the film. If not, that is okay too because this is really a good movie. It is funny, interesting, and good.
My only regret is that Image Video does not issue a commentary for this film. There are so many stories on the making of and background of this movie. I would love to have insight into the actress' private life. Someone at Image should hurry up and get Holly Woodlawn (the only surving actress of the trio) and Paul Morrisey's commentary on this important film! The same should be done with Trash because all three of the main characters are still alive.
Still, a good movie to add to your cult collection.

Pie in the Sky - The Brigid Berlin Story

Average customer rating:

One Kooky Lady....
One of the best documentaries I have ever seen
Interesting but poorly focused
Wonderful and Fun!
Fantastic!

Pie in the Sky - The Brigid Berlin Story
Starring: Brigid Berlin , Taylor Mead , Paul Morrissey , Larry Rivers , and Patricia Hearst
Director: Shelly Dunn Fremont , and Vincent Fremont
Manufacturer: New Video Group
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

Biography | Documentary | Genres | DVD | Video

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Ciao Manhattan (Ws Dol)
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ASIN: B00005QBYU
Release Date: 2001-11-20

Amazon.com

In this intimately etched portrait of the former Andy Warhol insider, director John Waters calls Brigid Berlin "My favorite Warhol star." It's easy to see why. She rebelled against her blue-blood upbringing to hang with the misfits and artists who populated Warhol's Factory in the 1960s. Hilariously and harrowingly candid about her strained relationship with her estranged family, her tempestuous friendship with Warhol, and her lifelong struggle with her weight, Berlin, now in her 60s, remains an indomitable force. As she proclaims, "I didn't ask to be born. This is what they got, so this is what they got to contend with." --Donald Liebenson

Description

Brigid Berlin's story takes us on a journey through the life of a blueblood socialite turned Andy Warhol bad-girl. Friends and admirers such as John Waters and Patricia Hearst, as well as Berlin herself, tell the story of a high society girl who rebelled

Customer Reviews:

One Kooky Lady...........2004-04-28

Like just about everyone associated with Andy Warhol, Brigid Berlin is absolutely bonkers! Having always been fascinated by Andy and his entourage, I was well aware of Brigid Berlin, his star of many of his underground films, the most famous of which was probably "Chelsea Girls." This film is an engaging look at one of the Factory's survivors, of whom there aren't many. That Miss Berlin came from a family of such prestigious roots, her father was William Randolph Hearsts top assistant, and mother Honey a societal doyenne, only make this film all the more fascinating. From the early circa 1940 Berlin home movies, where the rebellion of the then very young Brigid was very evident....to her later taped conversations with her extremely irritated and increasingly embarressed mother, the viewer feels like a voyeur, only with Miss Berlins approval. That her family was horrified at their not -so- little girl turning into one of Andy Warhols "Superstars", with all the drugs, sex, and decadence that accompanied that dubious distinction, is not very surprising. What is surprising is Miss Berlin's unapologetic attitude, then and now. Her feistiness and continued irritation at the very memory of her parents attempts to turn her into a debutant, all to no avail, is very amusing. There are also great vintage clips from the Warhol years, where the very clever and witty Brigid has no problem defying even the great God Warhol, who considered Brigid a life-long confidant. Brigid was herself very creative, and, though not exactly an artist technically, conjured up art through her writings, recordings, photos, and her trademark scrapbooks. She was typical of those Warhol liked to surround himself with, outrageous people consistently fresh with ideas with which to inspire himself. Always obsessive-compulsive, mainly with her lifelong food binging, the present day Brigid allows us into her meticulously kept and fastidiously organized Manhattan apartment, which is somewhat contradictory in keeping with her wild reputation. She roams the streets of New York like a well groomed bag lady, constantly battles her notorious weight problem, and recounts memories from the past with humor, occasional sadness, and, little nostalgia. She has been aggressively rejecting her lineage since birth, and will probably go out kicking and screaming. If you're looking for a bio of Warhol, this film is much more than that. It's a close-up look at one of his most famous associates and friends. The girl who went from being an early member of his entourage, to instant stardom in the Warhol "superstar" pantheon, where the emphasis was on the effortlessness of it all, to being finally, in the 1970's and 1980's, his receptionist at the new "Factory." A very entertaining look at a lady who defines the word "eccentric."

One of the best documentaries I have ever seen.......2004-01-17

I loved the portrait of this amazing woman. She was very intelligent and very crazed and more than anything, hugely fascinating. One thing I loved so much was that it touched on so many faces of this New York rebel......from her childhood to her parents social status to BB's own expression as an artist and a hugely compulsive cleaner. It covers her genuine friendship with Warhol and sheds a very compassionate light on the emotions of an overeater.
Wonderful documentary that will leave you with a smile on your face. When everyone tries so hard to be one, she is a true eccentric.

Interesting but poorly focused.......2003-07-20

I liked this movie, but felt it was overlong and dwelt too much on Berlin's present-day family problems and eating disorder. It's fine to establish that these exist, but devoting so much time to them was a waste. Much more intersting was Berlin's privileged childhood, her time in Andy Warhol's Factory, and her own artistic endeavors. I knew nothing of the latter and would have much preferred to see more of that and less of Berlin obsessing over food or her mother.

Wonderful and Fun!.......2001-11-17

You may know a little or a lot about Warhol and The Factory. Personally, as much as I admire much of Warhol's art, I found his films and his entourage to be a little disconcerting. Sleeze. Narcotics. Hopelessness and boredom. Trashy. Brigid Berlin, as it turns out, was set apart from classic Warhol-like apathy. She was a more purposeful part of the group, and a legitimate artist on her own. This film gives us nice insight into a privileged but troubled childhood, a supreme eating disorder which (I bet) a lot more of us can recognize than not, and an ongoing struggle to walk, to maintain balance on a narrow rail from which either side threatens chaos or despair. Ms. Berlin still has a few things to say. Most interesting of all, this is not a tragedy. This is a story of what happens when the young ultra-hip grow up. (The scene that turns out to be a parody of Warhol's Chelsea Girls is really top-notch comedy.) A wonderful, flawless, brilliant documentary!

Fantastic!.......2001-11-14

I fell in love with this film when I first viewed it.
It is without question one of the best documentary films that I have ever seen. The insight into the early workings of the Warhol factory and the fasinating cast of characters therin will captivate even the most casual of Warhol fans.
Brigid Berlin, a close confident of Andy Warhol, and the brilliant telling of her life story, provides a perspective that until now anyone with an interest in art could only have hoped for. Remember the directorial team of Vincent Fremont and Shelly Dunn Fremont, this is the first of what promises to be only the start of an illustrious filmmaking career.

Average customer rating:

a remarkable story that really happened
Snooze and Lose

Judgment in Berlin
Starring: Martin Sheen , Heinz Hoenig , Jutta Speidel , Sam Wanamaker , and Max Gail
Director: Leo Penn
Manufacturer: Fox Home Entertainment
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: B00013RC7U
Release Date: 2004-02-03

Customer Reviews:

a remarkable story that really happened.......2006-05-25

Based on a book with the same name, this film tells an unusual story that really happened.

Until 1991 Berlin was formally under 4-power Allied military occupation. In the later years of the Cold War no one really paid much attention to that: The Soviet Zone, East Berlin, was the capital of the German Democratic Republic. West Berlin was essentially a part of West Germany with the French, British and U.S. zones combined as single municipality.

Then a hijacked airliner--taken over by nice people fleeing Communist subjugation--landed at Tempelhof Airport in West Berlin.

Nice hijackers are still hijackers and the commies demanded their return. Suddenly West Berlin was an allied military zone again. Neither the West German nor the West Berlin governments would touch the issue. The Germans reminded all that the occupation was technically still in effect. Since Tempelhof was in the U.S. Zone, it was for the United States to handle the case.

And that is what this movie is about. The U.S. set up a unique court in the American Zone of Allied Occupied Berlin. The judge--played by Martin Sheen--was a federal judge from New Jersey. The fascinating part of the story is how remarkably complex it was to set up that court and adjudicate the case.

The made-for-television Judgement in Berlin was filmed where it happened. It is no work of art but the story is an extraordinary and true legal tale.

Snooze and Lose.......2000-03-25

Don't be fooled by actors like "Martin Sheen"! and "Sean Penn"! Sean Penn has a small dorkey part where he talks with a lame German accent. Martin Sheen is OK but this really is no better than a low budget movie of the week. I watched the clock more than the film.

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