Cecilia & Bryn at Glyndebourne

Starring:Cecilia Bartoli, Bryn Terfel, Myung-Whun Chung
Director: Brian Large
Studio: Opus Arte
Product Type: DVD

Editorial Review:
Amazon.com
No second names are needed in the title to tell music lovers who is singing in this gala recital. The original, audio-only Cecilia & Bryn: Duets, issued in 1999, had opera-lovers around the world echoing one Amazon.com customer's remark: "After listening to this album, all I could say was 'I want more.'" Here it is: a live performance with the same conductor, an even better orchestra, and a video dimension that brings out the singers' considerable acting skills. There is some duplication of the CD's contents: "La ci darem," "Dunque io son," and the "Pa-pa-pa-papagena" duet from The Magic Flute, as well as the opening numbers of The Marriage of Figaro. But the video cameras, the singers' gestures, and their facial expressions make the duplication worthwhile.

Cecilia Bartoli is most at home in mezzo-soprano material, where her tone is particularly rich and natural, her style exactly what the music requires. But she also slips easily into the soprano roles of Zerlina, Papagena, and Susanna. She takes a tantalizing step into promising, relatively unfamiliar territory with an aria from Haydn's L'anima del filosofo. Bryn Terfel shows a significant comic flair in the "catalog aria" from Don Giovanni and a heroic dimension in an aria from Judas Maccabeus--in either style, displaying a voice that is pure gold.

Amazon.com

Shut Up & Sing finds two-time Academy Award winner Barbara Kopple (American Dream) and co-director Cecilia Peck following the lives and career developments of the Dixie Chicks in the wake of singer Natalie Maines' denunciation of the Iraq war and President Bush in 2003. The film returns to the pivotal moment in which Maines, speaking to a London audience, raised opposition to America's invasion of Iraq, resulting in a backlash in America. The Chicks, as one sees, have had little peace of mind since then, banned from country music stations, picketed at concerts, and targeted by death threats. Maines, Martie Maguire, and Emily Robison respond to the extensive and sometimes scary criticism they've faced, though their latest music, including a song called "Not Ready to Make Nice," also speaks for itself. Kopple and Peck spend a lot of time with the band on a human level as well, in homes and dressing rooms and recording studios. The collective--and quite touching--portrait is of three women who wish only the best for one another and back each other's decisions all the way. This is essential viewing for fans of the gifted Kopple as well as the always-against-the-odds Dixie Chicks. --Tom Keogh

Description

(Documentary) "Just so you know, we're ashamed the president of the United States is from Texas." This film documents how those 15 words in 2003 took the Dixie Chicks from the peak of their popularity as the top-selling female recording artists of all time, through the days, months and years of mayhem that followed.

Customer Reviews:

a great film from documentarian Barbara Kopple............2007-07-03

This is a moving and very engaging look at the controversy that proceeded after lead singer Nataile Maines [of country trio The Dixie Chicks] made a desparaging comment against President George W. Bush, in between songs, to a British audience. She said, without batting an eye, that she was ashamed that he was from Texas (where the Dixie Chicks are from). This led to a 'landslide' [to paraphrase one of their songs] of antipathy and retaliation. Perhaps what was most shocking about this comment [for some people] was that the lead singer from a band that played country music [a genre that is popular particularly in the conservative states in the USA] would utter such an anti-Republican [and perhaps anti-American?] comment. When Maines said this, it was 2003. Bush's popularity was at an all-time high. Our latest war on Iraq, with the intention of locating weapons of mass destruction, was considered a national duty, in the eyes of many [particularly, those who had family and other loved ones who agreed to go into the Middle Eastern nation to defend our nation's honor]. This was before the gritty truth emerged some three years later. Many country radio stations refused to plays the Chicks' music, people boycotted and threw away their albums and there were multitudes of protests in front of [and inside] the performing arenas during [and prior to] their performances, as well as far more disturbing acts [or threatened acts] of livid rebellion against them.

Through footage of Maines and her fellow chicks, shot over the course of three years (2003-2006), Maines and her brood of chicks (Emily Robison and Martie Maguire) stuck together through the media speculation and overall nastiness that arose from one statement uttered in the United Kingdom, that erupted into a political and media spectacle. Barbara Kopple [Harlan County USA, American Dream] really captured these women in a very candid and honest light. You have to admire Natalie Maines for her brave fortitude and irrepresible spirit in the face of such hatred and nationalistic uproar, landing on her and her bandmates in such a relentlessly unbridled way. We also see how they took that energy and made it their fuel to write all of the songs on their latest album, TAKING THE LONG WAY. In fact, the song "Not Ready To Make Nice" draws from Natalie Maines' experience with the press, following her controversial statement. This is a great documentary about the state of freedom of speech in the United States (Post 9/11) and a very gutsy musician who unintentionally disrupted a nation, a political system and pop music as we know it, through simply speaking from her heart.

Must See!.......2007-06-27

An incredibly well made movie which really gets you thinking about what really happened and how the Chicks handled the situation and turned it around for themselves. Also great if you love their music. Have played it many times.. they are an inspiration and their team work pulls them through.

"Chicks"? .......2007-06-25

The Dixie Chicks, once an extremely popular CW band, got hate mail and death threats after dissing President Bush. Their music was boycotted by CW radio stations, their CDs were smashed and burned. Their intelligence, patriotism and musical talent were attacked. "Just shut up and sing!" I think the issue here is not freedom of speech or whether George W. Bush deserves criticism. Nor even whether entertainers should make political statements. In fact, only a year before Natalie Maines stated her opinion, Willie Nelson jibed in an overseas interview: "[Bush]is not from Texas and he ain't a cowboy, so let's stop trashin' Texans and cowboys!" Willie got a laugh at the time and some grumbles from the ultra-right. But CW stations continued playing his songs, and his concerts and albums are still popular. The difference between Willie Nelson and the Dixie Chicks is image. Willie is, after all, the outlaw and rebel whose outspoken "ornriness" endears him to bikers and truckers, cowboys and convicts. By naming themselves "chicks" -- cutesy, ditsy, fluffy little featherheads, sex-objects, "prey" -- the Dixie Chicks made it difficult for anyone to take them seriously. "Chicks" aren't smart enough to have political opinions; "chicks" should know their proper place! "Just shut up and sing!" But Natalie Maines dared to suggest "chicks" might also be eaglets. Their music, songs, voices are quite good, if one could get past the self-denigration of the band's insipid name. The film is worth watching, if only to see how female entertainers can go from being loved to being hated overnight for the crime of stating their opinion as their male counterparts do.

Dixie Chicks saying what they think .......2007-06-13

Living in France, I have been appreciating this band for a long time now. I have discovered them by random on the Internet and regreat that they are not known in France. Nobody here on TV or radio broadcast their songs, so the majority of the French people don't know their excistence. I think that because country music is a particular American music and that perhaps only fans of this kind of music in France must know them. Not being a particular fan of country music, I was delighted by their music and have listened it hundred of times in my car.
I think that if they would be known in France that they would sell a lot of CDS!
In short, I have become a big fan of the Dixie Chicks only by the Internet, having never heard about them in the French medias. I must say that what they said in public in England has nothing to do with the fact that I like very much their music.
For when next live concert dvd of the last album ?

You Go, Girls!.......2007-06-12

Saw this picture the same evening as THE U.S. VS. JOHN LENNON, and together that experience produced a feeling of deja ju all over again. It's a disgrace that so often the people running this country (or running their mouths about how it's being run) can't get the idea of free speech through their heads -- you'd think some of the uberpatriots on display here might pause long enough to actually absorb the principles on which America was founded. Koppel and Peck's documentary provides a fascinating chronicle of the Dixie Chicks/Bush flap, worthwhile to the ladies' fans and those of us unfamiliar with their music alike. They were only names in news stories to me before seeing this picture; I'm heading right out and picking up their CDs now -- the music is terrific! This picture, though often infuriating, is ultimately heartwarming in the best way, with a moral victory that's won by the courage of this band's convictions. A marvelous movie.

Average customer rating:

havoc
Havoc
Two stars at the most!
ooh, la, la, la bamba meets the 21 Jump Street episode wherein Johnny Depp in hair net and khakis says "Orale!" constantly
dvd review

Havoc (Unrated Version)
Starring: Anne Hathaway , Bijou Phillips , Shiri Appleby , Michael Biehn , and Joseph Gordon-Levitt
Director: Barbara Kopple
Manufacturer: New Line Home Video
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ASIN: B000BBOUUE
Release Date: 2005-11-29

Amazon.com

After making her name in The Princess Diaries, Anne Hathaway takes a radical detour with this edgy independent drama. As Allie, a wealthy gangsta wannabe, she makes no excuses for her delinquent behavior: "We're just teenagers and we're bored." When her Pacific Palisades posse, including pal Emily (Bully's Bijou Phillips), starts hanging out with a Latino gang (including Six Feet Under's Freddy Rodríguez), they learn what thug life is really about. Hathaway couldn't be more game: She swears, she fights--she disrobes (several times). Written and directed by Oscar winners Stephen Gaghan (Traffic) and Barbara Kopple (American Dream), Havoc plays like a B movie, in the vein of the superior crazy/beautiful, and was released straight to video. For Hathaway fans, it's a chance to see this young talent in a very different light, but for Gaghan and Kopple followers, this lurid morality tale is sure to come as a letdown. --Kathleen C. Fennessy

Description

A group of wealthy Los Angeles teenagers try to become part of the "gangsta" lifestyle but soon run into trouble when they come face to face with a real gang of Latino drug dealers.

Customer Reviews:

havoc.......2007-07-07

hi guys the movie havoc i myself liked the movie.i like anne hathaway and to be honest i dont mind her being nude in the movie.but anne can act the movie aint disney but anne is grown up and this is a movie that shows anne as an adult.the movie is gritty,it has drug use violence.and nudity anne can handle adult movies roles. so for the older anne hathaway fans who want to check out the adult anne check out the movie.so if you buy the film purchase the unrated version more bang for you buck plus more anne.duane

Havoc.......2007-07-05

Havoc was a pretty good movie. It depicts a fairly accurate picture between real thugs and fake ones. It also shows how teenagers curiosity can get them into serious trouble. Only problem with the movie is the directors inept ending.

Two stars at the most!.......2007-06-30

One night, rather bored and lazy, I happened across the film and decided to watch it. Later in the week, I watched it again. It wasn't because the movie was great (believe me, it wasn't), not because the acting was inspired (average at best, insipid at times), and certainly not because Anne Hathaway decided to appear topless (whopee-big-deal, another young actress willing to show her lack of common sense). No, I just couldn't figure out what I was missing that made some people rave about this movie. Guess what, I still don't get it. A previous reviewer said it was a "well-meaning movie." I guess that's true but unfortunately, it failed it whatever it was trying to mean.

The plot is curiously the opposite of Hathaway's movie The Princess Diaries (Special Edition). Here we see a rich & spoiled girl with disinterested parents trying to submerge herself into the Latino gang experience. I guess that must have been the attraction for Hathaway, making a film as far away as her squeaky-clean image as possible. Nothing wrong with that but she might have picked a movie that wouldn't have to have used her toplessness as their main marketing point. In other words, pick a movie that would be worth it.

Not that it didn't have its moments. One of the most interesting characters was the teen (sorry, can't remember his name) who was making a film about all the happenings with the "cool crowd". Some of his insights on the character of each person were actually quite good. His comment to Hathaway's character about being one of the loneliest people he knows really brought forth the whole point of the movie. But it was just too little, too late.

Overall, I would say pass on this movie. The plot is anemic, the acting not much better than a high school play, and all the stereotypes it plays off of just makes it all seem too contrived. Thumbs down and Ebert and Roper would say.

ooh, la, la, la bamba meets the 21 Jump Street episode wherein Johnny Depp in hair net and khakis says "Orale!" constantly.......2007-06-29

Ritchie Valens from the wrong side - the CHICANO side of LA meets a pretty privileged white chick and they fall madly in love and he writes a song about how precious his Lady in White is to him. The spirit of La Bamba permeates this film insofar as we are supposed to understand how Anne Hathaway genuinely "shares a moment" for her Ritchie Valens. I have no idea what the characters' names are in this movie but everyone is familiar. Laura San Giacomo is in it, Reese from Terminator is in it, boy from Third Rock From the Sun and busty loosey goosey teen is played again by no longer a teen Bijou Phillips. I thank them all for doing this public service announcement about treating thug life as a consumer product.

I feel so sorry for that young looking Hispanic actor who had to play the Ritchie Valens part in this movie complete with the big man walk. I think he even did that cigarette drag and unplug that shows you are tough. If the characters had been permitted to have a real romance, we would have been favored with close ups of tears standing in his eyes and the line in his cheek from biting down on his back teeth during moments of romantic misunderstanding. This movie also has the 40-something year old actor who played the surviving marine in Clear and Present Danger. Unfortunately, Esai Morales is too busy doing phone card commercials on Spanish television to participate in this amazing film.

Obviously, the Socs from Pacific Palisades can't take on Sabor Latino so I think a sequel/crossover is called for where the Socs bring in the Southies from Good Will Hunting.

p.s. Anne Hathaway raps or sings some gangsta moll song early in the movie. She does a lot of acting with her eyes in this movie resembling a pretty fit Liza Minnelli and is the main reason that this movie is not terrible. It's not too heavy or embarassing or violent to be "important" and therefore unwatchable. This movie is a needed postscript to Clueless and 90210 because it is effective in a way that typical rich kids are decadent and too fast for their own good movies such as Cruel Intentions can't get past nubile prettiness, expensive clothes and real estate for the audience to understand that their situation is terrible and wrong.

dvd review.......2007-05-13

I think this movie will wake up young kids and realize life is not all fun and games.

Average customer rating:

Have an open mind
ONe of the best films out there
Shaolin Soccer...
slightly disappointed
This movie is ridiculously funny!

Shaolin Soccer
Starring: Cecilia Cheung , Lam Tze Chung , Pu Ye Dong , Li Bin Hong , and Cao Hua
Manufacturer: Miramax
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Kung Fu Hustle (Widescreen Edition)
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ASIN: B000286RNY
Release Date: 2004-08-24

Amazon.com

Computer generated special effects have seldom been so giddy as in Shaolin Soccer, a gleeful fusion of kung fu and a classic Bad News Bears sports story. A former soccer star--whose "golden leg" was broken by a hired mob--assembles a team of former students of Shaolin martial arts, whose assorted skills (indicated by their nicknames, like Mighty Steel Leg and Iron Head) lend themselves to the swift interplay of the world's most popular game. Along the way, the team's leader (Hong Kong comic superstar Stephen Chow) meets a sticky bun baker (Vicki Zhao) whose kung fu is the equal of any of his teammates. Shaolin Soccer is supremely silly--in the final match, their opponents are called Team Evil--but that's part of the fun. American movies rarely achieve this perfect balance of the absurd and the sincere. A delight. --Bret Fetzer

Description

With tons of action, eye-popping special effects, and nonstop laughs, here's a hilarious martial arts comedy about a team of misfits who take their best shot at winning a championship! Sing is a skilled Shaolin kung fu devotee whose amazing "leg of steel" catches the eye of a soccer coach! Together they assemble a squad of Sing's former Shaolin brothers inspired by the big-money prize in a national soccer competition! Using an unlikely mix of martial arts and newfound soccer skills, it seems an unbeatable combination ... until they must face the dreaded Team Evil in the ultimate battle for the title!

Customer Reviews:

Have an open mind.......2007-03-25

If you have seen Kung Fu Hustle you'll probably enjoy Shaolin Soccer. It shows a light-hearted approach to spreading the Kung-Fu gospel to different walks of life. Its fun to watch and just enough special effects give it an amusing edge.

ONe of the best films out there.......2007-02-13

If you want a movie that is hilarious, unusual, heartwarming and inspiring all at once, buy this movie. This is a great add to any movie collection. Stephen Chow always manages to entertain us with his amazing imagination, characters and storylines while inspiring people with his uplifting message. WAtch this film.

Shaolin Soccer..........2007-02-04

A fun movie! I actually liked it! The Special Effects were also good! If you can get it cheap, do so and have fun watching it! Three stars!

slightly disappointed.......2007-01-13

i bought this movie after being blown away by the actor/director's masterpiece, Kung Fu Hustle.

while it contains similar humor elements and near-anime-type action, it's really not worth the buy, and you would be better served by purchasing Kung Fu Hustle which is much funnier and overall a better production. i probably watch Kung Fu Hustle once every couple of months, which is no small complement.

This movie is ridiculously funny!.......2006-12-14

Stephen Chow did an amazing job of creating a story involving real characters in not so real, but agreeable situations. He has given each character a personality of its own; just to create comedy, with a humor that is sometimes honest and others rough. It has some great comedy moments although, coming from the characters, very peculiar ones.

It basically all comes from the characters. You have different persons, united by one thing: Shaolin Kung-Fu. And then you have one man, with one passion: Soccer. This premise helps to create human emotions in the characters. They all have a past that, for some reason, want to forget. Except one of them, who could be living in the past, and still thinks in the goodness of Shaolin Kung-Fu. He believes in it so much, that he gives speeches to people about the qualities of his culture, and the improvement it could do in society. He is right, and sooner or later, she will remind these things to some people, and they will all remember. They will all be prepared to get together again.

What a good-hearted film this is, and how it is filmed, it's beyond imagination. You will find special effects from other world. In occasions, these will seem slow for you, and you will think they are not well managed or handled; but then you will watch. Watching will make you connect all the elements of the story, to make it one. In elements I include special effects, and say again: they couldn't be done better, especially in a movie like this one.

The entire cast did a wonderful job in their roles by giving their characters the personal development they need. They are not playing the most complex people in the world, but they still know what characters they're playing. Some of the scenes, such as the first time we see Mui making bread, are absolute genius; so funny that you can't help but to laugh. I felt Mui seemed like she should have been in more of the film, and I've read that a lot of her part got cut out of the American release, which is a shame. A number of people are saying the original is vastly superior to the edited U.S. version, but this version is so great that I would be mightily impressed if that were true.

The idea of this movie is ingenious, using the style of extravagant martial arts films in a soccer movie, and is done beautifully. You will probably find something you've seen before, I can't deny that. You will find the ending you expect, the situations you imagine, the resolutions you anticipate, or not. You'll have the old coach, the person with the dreams and the heart, the girl; it's just that you'll have them differently (you'll realize what I mean). This is another type of cliché, a very different one, so different that I would say it is not a cliché at all.

Average customer rating:

A multistory level story of healing to delight for the whole family
The woman is awesome...
Nonsense in Umbria
My House in Umbria
Cheers Maggie

My House in Umbria
Starring: Maggie Smith , Ronnie Barker , Chris Cooper , Benno Fürmann , and Giancarlo Giannini
Director: Richard Loncraine
Manufacturer: Hbo Home Video
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ASIN: B0000CE684
Release Date: 2003-11-25

Amazon.com

Falling neatly into the Enchanted April and Under the Tuscan Sun category, the made-for-HBO My House in Umbria boasts lovely Italian vistas and comforting Englishness. But it begins with a note of violence: on a train rolling through the sunny countryside, a terrorist bomb detonates, killing a handful of passengers. The strangers that survive recuperate at the villa of an eccentric but kindly romance novelist, also a survivor of the blast. She's played by Maggie Smith, who bustles through the role with a pleasing mix of gin and daffodils. Chris Cooper is an uptight American who comes to the villa to pick up his orphaned niece and bristles at the bohemian atmosphere. Director Richard Loncraine maintains the melancholy mood amidst the sun-dappled gardens of Umbria, but Smith really holds the film together with her authority and slightly tipsy humor. --Robert Horton

Description

Based on the acclaimed novel by William Trevor, My House in Umbria is a charming, evocative drama about a group of travelers in Italy who find solace and friendship after being thrown together by tragedy.

Customer Reviews:

A multistory level story of healing to delight for the whole family.......2007-06-08

This movie has wonderful, lovable characters that take you through joy, sadness, hope, challenge and especially teamwork with caring....setting is beautiful, Maggie Smith her gorgeous best.....it is the kind of story that could motivate some wonderful family discussions albeit with some difficult and some lovely themes and topics....I have given it to many people for gifts...one set of grandparents who have experienced a granddaughter muted by loss to another friend who consulted on the garden at my new house. A very highly recommended movie.

The woman is awesome..........2007-05-26

Maggie Smith lovers should not be without this HBO film. Age cannot hamper nor time diminish the beauty of this woman and her work. The story conveys the richness of rising above pain by giving as much love and understanding as one can in return. Supported by a superb cast, the film encompasses mystery, humor and pathos, not to mention the beauty of the landscape. Maggie rules!

Nonsense in Umbria.......2007-04-12

Maggie Smith is a wonderful actress and the Italian scenery is photographed to a luminous perfection, but the storyline of My House in Umbria is an exasperating mess. As the grande dame romance novelist with a dark past and a relentless imagination, our heroine makes a sloppy but sometimes piercingly insightful drunk: a complex and comprehensible character, a woman to be wary of. This marvelous mystery lady is even surrounded by a fine ensemble cast. But all these interesting actors are cast adrift in an unfinished plot hinting at complications it hasn't any idea what to do with. You're set on edge for some elusive explanation that they never get to. Just when you were convinced it didn't matter any more they toss you an extra clue or two, and then finally they expect you to be charmed by an off-camera change of heart in the cold American uncle who has never given the slightest indication of being thawed out by the warmth of either Italy or the lady of the house, such an unbelievable turn of events that you expect her to awaken from a dream so you can find out what really happened. Again and again I had to ask myself, Are these really the facts of the story? Or are we just muddling about in her imagination? And of the whole movie: Are we really expected to take this immense display of sentimentality at face value? Or is there an undercurrent here that would make sense of it all if they would just get to the point? Unfortunately these questions were never reasonably answered.

My House in Umbria.......2007-04-10

DVD would not play. DVD stuck and would not go forward.

Cheers Maggie.......2007-03-30

This is a classic Maggie Smith, with a very brave protrayal of her charachter. The plot moves about, but you slowly begin to realize that her character is narating to you and bringing the other characters to life.
Not that you would need help. If you are a Maggie Smith fan... and it's why I bought the movie.... you will not be disapointed. It's one of her best if you wan't a taste of Maggie.

Average customer rating:

Aguirre, the Wrath of God
Genius
Cinematic Marvel
A Great Film, Just an Incredibly Dull One as Well
An Experience.

Aguirre, the Wrath of God
Starring: Klaus Kinski , Helena Rojo , Del Negro , Ruy Guerra , and Peter Berling
Director: Werner Herzog
Manufacturer: Anchor Bay
ProductGroup: DVD
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ASIN: 6305972761
Release Date: 2000-10-24

Product Description

In the mid-16th century, after annihilating the Incan empire Gonzalo Pizarro (Allejandro Repulles) leads his army of conquistadors over the Andes into the heart of the most savage environment on Earth in search of the fabled City of Gold, El Dorado. As the soldiers battle starvation, Indians, the forces of nature , and each other, Don Lope de Aguirre (Klaus Kinski), The Wrath Of God, is consumed with visions of conquering all of South America and revolts, leading his own army down a treacherous river on a doomed quest into oblivion. Featuring a seething, controlled performance from Kinski, this masterpiece from director Werner Herzog is an unforgettable portrait of madness and power.

System Requirements:
Starring: Klaus Kinski, Helena Rojo, Ruy Guerra
Director: Werner Herzog
Producer: Werner Herzog
Running Time: 94 Min.

Format: DVD MOVIE

Amazon.com

Quite simply a great movie, one whose implacable portrait of ruthless greed and insane ambition becomes more pertinent every year. The astonishing Klaus Kinski plays Don Lope de Aguirre, a brutal conquistador who leads his soldiers into the Amazon jungle in an obsessive quest for gold. The story is of the expedition's relentless degeneration into brutality and despair, but the movie is much more than its plot. Director Werner Herzog strove, whenever possible, to replicate the historical circumstances of the conquistadors, and the sheer human effort of traveling through the dense mountains and valleys of Brazil in armor creates a palpable sense of struggle and derangement. This sense of reality, combined with Kinski's intensely furious performance, makes Aguirre, the Wrath of God a riveting film. Its unique emotional power is matched only by other Herzog-Kinski collaborations like Fitzcarraldo and Woyzek. --Bret Fetzer

Customer Reviews:

Aguirre, the Wrath of God.......2007-07-03

Lyrical and mesmerizing, this astonishing tale of megalomania and greed, told from the perspective of 16th-century monk Carvajal (Del Negro), is the ultimate Herzog-Kinski collaboration. Filmed on location in Peru under the very conditions it emulates, "Aguirre" has a dreamlike feel amplified by Thomas Mauch's exemplary cinematography and Popol Vuh's haunting score. Kinski truly savored the role of Aguirre, delivering a brilliantly intense, even frightening performance not far removed from his real-life persona. Fascinating for its hallucinatory opening and closing shots alone, "Aguirre" is a deranged journey to the heart of darkness you won't want to miss.

Genius.......2007-06-27

Werner Herzog has been called a madman, a dreamer and a maverick of cinema. An eccentric and driven filmmaker, his drive and eccentricity often crossed the border into obsession. Not surprisingly, his films have often been seen as explorations of the depths of obsession, and his masterpiece of masterpieces, Aguirre, the Wrath of God, is no exception.

Aguirre is a fairly accessible film, considering its pedigre, and one that eschews the temporally disjointed structures and arcane avant-garde-isms more typical of earlier German art cinema (including Herzog's own previous work). Instead, Herzog relies on simple narrative filmmaking to tell a story that is on one level a chronicle of a Quixotic yet doomed quest, on a second level, a meditation on the descent into madness and death, and on yet another level, a scathing rebuke of the cultural zeitgeist of Herzog's age.

Aguirre, the Wrath of God begins with one of the most visually stunning shots in cinematic history (and ends with another), as conquistadors under the command of Gonzalo Pizzaro (brother of the conqueror of the Inca), guided by Indian slaves, pick their way through the fog down an impossibly steep mountain terrace toward the jungle below. Soon, a small force leaves this main body to scout down a river in the search of the fabled city of El Dorado.

The rest of the film follows the course of this scouting party as it floats to its inevitable doom, done in by starvation, disease, the decidedly unfriendly attentions of the natives, and, most of all, by the madness and boundless ambition of the expedition's second-in-command, Don Lope de Aguirre (the incomparable Klaus Kinski).

In telling this story, Herzog makes use of a minimalistic cinematic style in which both dialogue and action are sparsely distributed. Instead, the plot unfolds primarily through a series of visual metaphors - the descent into the jungle, the river, a fully rigged sailing vessel somehow stranded in the forest canopy - which, combined with the brilliant soundtrack by ambient music pioneers Popol Vuh, help to create the trancelike dreamscapes for which Herzog is justifiably famous.

One of the highlights of Aguirre, the Wrath of God is the simply stunning cinematography of Thomas Mauch. The fluid, languid movements of Mauch's camera mirrors to the agonizingly slow progress of the expedition (shown to particularly brilliant effect in the film's opening shots), and serves to lend an epic sensibility to a film that clocks in at a spare 94 minutes. The supersaturated colors of the jungle backgrounds become at once beautiful and suffocating - a choking, endless emerald sea, swallowing all human presence and endeavor, rendering them futile and meaningless.

Special attention should also be paid to the Klaus Kinski's performance in the title role, which is not only magnificent, but must be counted among the greatest performances in film history. For a lesser actor, the sparseness of dialogue and plotting in Herzog's largely improvised script could have presented an insurmountable obstacle, but in the hands of a master like Kinski, that very lack of dialogue and action becomes an opportunity to fill the empty space with the edges of a character created from the fragments of gesture. Kinski renders the madness of Aguirre all the more frightening by cloaking it in mystery and only allowing us to view glimpses of the beast within. Instead, we are left to intuit his insanity from subtle cues of movement and expression: his curiously bent walk; the inhuman detachment he shows in the face of the suffering and fear of his men; the way he simply materializes in front of the camera, drifting in like fog (a feat he contrived through a contorted sort of pirouette); the calculating silence into which he frequently falls. That his madness is only hinted at makes the unnervingly whispered moments of rage even more terrifying.

On the surface, Aguirre is an exploration of the romance of the Impossible Dream, yet another sign of his obsession with obsessions, perhaps the central concern of Herzog's art. On a deeper level, it is perhaps best understood as a blistering critique of the 1960s counterculture. The Enlightenment conceit of the 'noble savage' which the hippie movement adopted as its central tenet is ruthlessly dissected, and the hollowness made manifest by the Summer of Love, Altamont and the Manson Family is given concrete expression in the form of the Indians. These, far from being the peaceful sages of hippie lore, appear in Aguirre as faceless demons of fear, invisible except for their handiwork, which is no less than death itself.

Herzog's Jungle, his emblem of Nature, reinforces this critique: Herzog's Jungle is not the counterculture's garden of delights, it is Conrad's Heart of Darkness. Here, the hippies' peaceful paradise is consumed by Kipling's 'nature, red in tooth and claw.' Though the Jungle teems with life and beauty, it is in the end a cradle of madness, and the triumph of the Jungle is a meditation on the triumph of Death.

But it is in the character of Aguirre himself that Herzog's critique of the counterculture achieves its most complete form, for Don Lope de Aguirre can be fruitfully read as the film's hippie stand-in (he conveniently even sports long hair). It is Aguirre, conquistador, and ex officio, agent of civilization, who descends into the Jungle (and into madness), stripping away the last vestigial remnants of his own civilized veneer in his pursuit of the Impossible Dream of El Dorado. What emerges is, in a sense, the Natural Man. But the Natural Man is not a man at peace and harmony with other men and nature, but a man reduced to a state of madness and endless, unquenchable desire. In Aguirre, the great lie of the Enlightenment and counterculture is made manifest: divorced from any civilized impulse, he is only a savage, vicious, ruthless and subject only to his own impulses and wishes. Instead of Rousseau's Noble Savage, the Natural Man stands revealed as nothing more (or less) than Hobbes' Leviathan.

Cinematic Marvel.......2007-05-24

There are some movies that reach you in ways most others don't. "Aguirre. the Wrath of God" is one of those movies. The plot and acting are certainly interesting but the amazing thing about the movie is how it was ever made in the first place. The opening scene of an endless line of soldiers, porters, animals, etc coming single-file down a mountain path is, initially, secondary to the sheer beauty of the scenery. As the camera stays focussed on that shot, we gradually change our focus to the long line of people trekking along steep inclines and narrow paths. How on earth did anyone get all of these people up there to shoot this scene in the first place? I learned from watching "Fitzcaraldo" that Werner Herzog is a director not afraid to shoot long takes on any given scene he deems worthwhile. This opening shot is emblematic of what Makes "Aguirre" such a marvelous film. The combination of stunning scenery, cinematography, and pristine locations makes watching this tale of MacBeth in the New World such an adventure.

As the story unfolds, the conquistadores come to the river that they will travel to find their quest; the city of gold. Herzog gives us another one of his extended scenes of the churning white-water rapids in this forboding river. As the shot continues, it becomes slightly out of focus with the effect of making its' chaotic appearance all the more menacing. In another one of those "how did he do that?" sequences, we follow four rafts down a slightly less challenging stretch of the river. This film looked dangerous to be a part of. Even as the river widens into a slow-moving flood plain, we are still amazed at the limitations that the actors and crew members must be contending with to put this movie together.

As for the plot and the acting, it evolves into a tale of intrigue with the main culprit being Klaus Kinski as Aguirre. His quest for fortune and fame leads him to abandon all moral and logical sense with the sole purpose to become ruler of his corner of the world. The contrast between man's immorality and nature's purity serves to enhance our awareness of both.

The expedition descends deeper into depravity and greed to where we realize that there will be no happy ending. Thus, when the movie does come to a close, it is not with a bang but with a whimper and appropriately so. Nature has been violated but man has been subdued.

A Great Film, Just an Incredibly Dull One as Well.......2007-03-15

"Aguirre, The Wrath of God" is a movie I discovered in Roger Ebert's "The Great Movies" and have wanted to see for a long while. The film is directed by legendary German director Werner Herzog, whose work I've only recently been introduced to. I've seen only one other film by the man and that film was "Stroszek" which appeared in Ebert's "The Great Movies II."
When I review a film, I usually base my star rating on the entertainment value. There are a lot of great movies that aren't very entertaining. I liked "Stroszek" but I noticed that Herzog has a slow, pacing style that is similar to Kubrick. In this film, he has a plot that could make a suspense/action film. Instead, it's a slow paced film about madness, greed, and other things. It's easy to see why the film is considered a great film. It is great. Beautifully shot, with terrific performances, and definite directorial brilliance. The movie's entertainment value is low, it moves at about the same pace as "2001: A Space Odyssey" even though it contains a lot more dialogue. The movie was the first pairing of director Herzog with actor Klaus Kinski, a relationship that is just as famous as the films they did together. Movie lore states that Herzog threatened to kill Kinski, while brandishing a gun at him. Kinski claims in his autobiography that he was the only one onset with a gun. Am I the only one who thinks the image of Germans threatening to kill each other is funny? First of all, the movie is about Spanish conquistadors which makes the fact that the film is in German a bit strange. But that doesn't matter. The movie is about Gonzalo Pizarro's doomed expedition to find the city of El Dorado. The movie's oft mentioned opening shot is one of the most beautiful I've seen in cinema. It shows a long line of people walking down a steep mountaintop to a valley down below. The plot begins when Pizarro stops and, realizing that El Dorado might not exist after all, sends a much smaller party to explore farther upriver. The party is led by a guy named Don Pedro de Ursua, while Aguirre (Kinski) is second-in-command. Several more key players, including Aguirre's daughter Inez, a priest named Gaspar de Carvajal, and Ursua's wife are also there but I'm not going to get much into the plot so bear with me. Even though Aguirre holds the rank of second-in-command through most of the film, he's running things throughout. When a raft gets stuck in the water, he declines to send someone to save them, and so forth. Out of all the wonderful shots in the film (and there's a lot) my favorite is the haunting final shot, which I won't reveal here. I've never seen a film with Kinski and didn't even see Kinski until I saw this film. The man fits the role so perfectly. He's got a face that looks like it was chiseled by a 14th century sculptor, with wide lips that when curled back make him look evil and deranged. From what I've read on Kinski, it seems that he's almost playing himself while playing Aguirre. I'm glad I saw this film, but I don't see myself watching it again. I acknowledge that it is a great film, a haunting film even, but it's only going to click with movie buffs on just how good it is. I have been wrong before though. I've liked films much more once I grew familiar with the work and this film definitely has the Herzog stamp on it. It's a good film, where theme is more important than plot. It moves slowly, isn't extraordinarily entertaining, but it is great.

ENTERTAINMENT: C+
CINEMATOGRAPHY: A
DIRECTION: A
ACTING: A
DIALOGUE: B+
GRADE: B-

An Experience. .......2007-02-24

I never knew much about this movie until the other day when I was reading some Top 100 Lists put out by famous critics. It was even more impressive than advertised. from moment one. The opening is absolutely captivated as it thrusts you back into the timeframe the director wishes to recreate. Intensity, intensity, and more intensity is the best way to describe this film. Every time Kinski is onscreen it's impossible to notice anyone else. He absorbs our attention immediately. The peripherals--like the score, the Incan flute music, and even the cluck clucking of Aguirre's right hand man--increase the tension which is only somewhat relieved in the final sequence. Viewers know exactly what is coming but that does not diminish its power and our amazement. This one belongs in everyone's Top 100.

Average customer rating:

very bad
Pretty bad
sandler gets serious
I'll never forgive my girlfriend...
Wonderful movie...but

Spanglish
Starring: Adam Sandler , Téa Leoni , Paz Vega , Cloris Leachman , and Shelbie Bruce
Director: James L. Brooks
Manufacturer: Sony Pictures
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: B0007OCG56
Release Date: 2005-04-05

Amazon.com

Anyone familiar with writer/director James L. Brooks (Broadcast News, As Good As It Gets) knows the man has a real feel for interesting women and a disarming way with a one-liner. The main women in Spanglish are Deborah Clasky (Téa Leoni), a moneyed SoCal mom, and non-English speaking Flor Moreno (Paz Vega), the beautiful Latina whom Deborah hires as a housekeeper. The one-liners, some of them amusing, are everywhere. Brooks provides an intriguing set-up for the two women to butt heads--Deborah's pudgy daughter Bernice (Sarah Steele) needs the affection at which Flor excels, while Flor's clever, bi-lingual daughter Cristina (Shelbie Bruce) is enamored of the financial advantages Deborah can provide--then proceeds to make Deborah so hatefully ignorant you can't imagine why her neuroses are the main thrust of the film. And Deborah's celebrated chef husband John (Adam Sandler, way over his head) is such a perfect parent he doesn't seem human--what happened to the Brooks who had Terms of Endearment mom Debra Winger turn to her scowling little boy and grunt "Don't make me hit you in the street"? Cloris Leachman has a nifty supporting role as Deborah's boozy, ex-jazz singer mother, but it's only one offbeat chord in an earnest film that hits all the wrong notes. --Steve Wiecking

Description

John Clasky (Adam Sandler) is a devoted dad whose skills as a chef have afforded his family (T=E9a Leoni, Cloris Leachman) a very upscale life, including a summer home in Malibu and a breathtaking new housekeeper, Flor (Paz Vega), who has recently immigrated to L.A. from Mexico, and is trying to find a better life for her remarkable daughter, Cristina (Shelbie Bruce), who is rapidly embracing the American way of life. When Flor and Cristina move in with the Claskys for the summer, Flor has to fight for her daughter's soul as she discovers that life in a new country is perilous...especially when you're being embraced by an affluent, eccentric American family.

Customer Reviews:

very bad.......2007-06-09

I want 2hrs of my life back. From now on I will wade through the fan-club reviews to read the more accurate reviews to weed out crappy movies.

Pretty bad.......2007-05-16

I purchased this on someone's advice - to see Cloris Leachman. Turns out she had a very small part. This is a movie strictly for Adam Sandler's diehard fans. Even he's not at his best here. The writing was one cliche after another. Bored, I found myself wondering how much exercise Tea Leoni has to do to get that body.

sandler gets serious.......2007-01-25

Adam Sandler in a serious role? Yes, after a fashion. As the most famous chef in America, husband, and father, he plays John Clasky, and is married to Deborah, a suburban housewife who raises the bar for what it means to be a type-A control freak. When we meet her mother Evelyn we understand why.This Los Angeles family is very wealthy and profoundly dysfunctional. Enter Flor, a Mexican housekeeper who has a teenage daughter Cristina who is the same age as the Clasky's daughter Bernice. Since her mom does not speak English, Cristina narrates the film for us. You can imagine the sub-plots of this "blended" family, but in the end Flor is a source of humanity, warmth, and normalcy for everyone.

I'll never forgive my girlfriend..........2007-01-24

...for dragging me to this estrogen-drowned disaster of a movie. Truly, this is one of the top three worst films I've ever seen. I am convinced that Adam Sandler must have been blackmailed somehow for him to appear in this dreck.

Begin with the oh-so-heartwrenching story of a single mother forced to flee her native land in search of a better future for her daughter. Of course, the daughter will end up attending Princeton and her entrance essay is the premise of the storytelling in this movie. Shaking your head in bewilderment? It gets worse.

The dysfunctional family that the mother finds work with is possessed of a shrew of a father (the soft, unimposing and backbone-free Sandler) who is dominated by his overacting, speed freak-like, obsessive wife (Leoni), and round it out with a live-in, late-stage alcoholic mother-in-law (who of course, acts as a moral compass thanks to the wisdom gained by decades of squandering her life in a booze-soaked haze. Please!) and a few damaged, utterly unbelievable caricatures of kids. Viola, enough ammo for "drama" to make any menopausal woman salivate in anticipation of the impending deluge of emotional excess that comes with such movies.

The problem is, there is not one scene in the movie where the characters earn your empathy. If there was ever a point where the viewer was meant to wonder what was going to happen next, or what course of action a character might take, I missed it. I believe it would be impossible to find a point in the movie that was not spelled out and spoon-fed to the viewer in the most plain and predictable terms.

Another problem I have with this picture is the off-target promotion it received. It is not a comedy. I don't know what it is in terms of genre. Suicide-accelerant maybe? Since there are so many who love this movie, I'm sure that my review won't stop you if you want to see it. However, if your wife/girlfriend suggests you watch this movie, I urge you to spare yourself the agony you are sure to endure if you sit through this one. Amazon should implement an option for rating zero stars, just for movies such as this.

(I originally posted a version of this review on another website)

Wonderful movie...but.......2007-01-23

..I don't understand all the comments about how the husband is "too perfect to be believable". He's not perfect, he's weak. He allows himself to be walked over, and is so anxious to keep the peace that he does not defend his daughter or the employees. This type of weakness is a serious flaw, in my opinion, because it causes others to believe that he is giving tacit approval; he's more scared of his wife than protective of his daugher. I still like the husband, but I guess I am commenting on the other reviewer's comments, which I frankly don't understand. I had no idea that Adam Sandler and Tea Leoni were such good actors. Thumbs up for an absorbing movie!

Average customer rating:

tango afficionados only
You can turn them off
Technical screwup makes this a disappointment
Tango Excellence
a disappointment

Tango
Starring: Miguel Ángel Solá , Cecilia Narova , Mía Maestro , Juan Carlos Copes , and Carlos Rivarola
Director: Carlos Saura
Manufacturer: Sony Pictures
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: 0767835174
Release Date: 1999-08-03

Customer Reviews:

tango afficionados only.......2007-05-07

Wonderful and soulful. Very artistic and great sense of the real tang of Argentina. A must have for would be dancers of the tango. In Spanish with subtitles however.

You can turn them off.......2007-04-11

There is a way to turn off the subtitles...it makes the movie much more watchable trust me. We watched it in my college spanish class and it took us an entire day but you are able to turn them off, you just really have to play with the dvd remote you have, once the movie has already started...it won't work if you try to turn it off in the menu, don't ask me why, because that would actually make sense haha...but it IS possible to turn them off, try and then watch it, trust me it's better!

Technical screwup makes this a disappointment.......2007-04-11

Do not under any circumstances buy this DVD. This could have been a very interesting and beautiful film. It's beautifully photographed. The choreography is beautiful and the dancing is excellent. It's visually delightful. BUT, like many other viewers I was perplexed and mightily annoyed by the persistence of the director's commentary running through the entire film. What's up with that? I noticed that in the option for the director's commentary audio track was set ON by default, so I turned the option off, but then when I started the movie up the director's commentary track came on anyway! There is no way to turn it off. I think this is pretty clearly a technical screwup on the part of whoever did the DVD programming. They mistakenly made the director's-commentary-track option always on instead of making it a settable/resettable option which is normal for DVDs. And apparently they never tested the DVD before it was mass-produced, so this unfortunate error ended up being duplicated on zillions of copies of this film. It's a real shame because this mistake has totally ruined what would otherwise have been an extremely interesting movie.

Tango Excellence.......2007-03-19

Well conceived, directed and acted! Tango was inserted into this story seamlessly and beautifully. The story itself was excellent and had several fascinating twists. As for the dancing, all that can be said is "FABULOUS". Music and dance in this film is top notch. For me the final determination of a film is whether it can be watched more than once. Truthfully, this will be one of my favorites for all times.

a disappointment.......2007-01-10

This DVD was a complete disappointment. The cover says that this is "Flamboyant. Colorful. Sensual." There was no plot, or story. The whole DVD was a narrator talking about the film. Very boring, possibly the most boring DVD ever made. We've watched a few of Carolos Saura's flamenco videos and loved them. Perhaps there was a film with a plot, but this DVD is just narrative. Terrible.

Average customer rating:

Great Concept But Fails In The End
Simply stunning!
Rooting for the Bad Guy
Another richly appointed costuming and set department.
a beautiful myth

The Promise
Starring: Dong-Kun Jang , Hiroyuki Sanada , Cecilia Cheung , Nicholas Tse , and Ye Liu
Director: Kaige Chen
Manufacturer: Warner Home Video
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: B000JVSUXO
Release Date: 2006-12-19

Amazon.com

The Promise came to American shores with endless hype about its visual splendor--and for once, the hype is deserved. Lush and luminous, almost every shot will make you want to weep from its sheer loveliness. A starving young orphan girl named Qingcheng is offered a deal by a capricious goddess: The girl will be staggeringly beautiful and have all the wealth, delicious food, and fabulous clothing she could ask for--but every man she ever loves will die. Thus begins a twisty tale in which a fleet-footed slave (Korean actor Dong-Kun Jang) and a mighty general (Japanese actor Hiroyuki Sanada, The White Countess) compete for the love of the adult Qingcheng (Hong Kong beauty Cecilia Cheung), while a vengeful usurper (Hong Kong star Nicholas Tse, Time and Tide) seeks to destroy them all. Like many of the classics of Hong Kong fantasy--such as A Chinese Ghost Story, Swordsman II, and Green Snake--The Promise combines the epic storylines of Chinese mythology with the headlong momentum and energetic editing of kung-fu action movies. The result can sometimes seem absurd to American audiences--though these same audiences will happily swallow the absurdities of American science fiction, simply because they're familiar with the conventions of the genre. Viewers who embrace the conventions of Hong Kong fantasy will find The Promise engaging and emotionally rich...and there's just no denying the gorgeousness. Compared with the sterile spectacle of the later Star Wars movies or the clumsy, labored Matrix sequels, The Promise bursts with human warmth, dynamic storytelling, and elegant design. More Western audiences should open themselves to its pleasures. --Bret Fetzer

Description

A new epic fantasy set in China's mythical past, "The Promise" is a visually stunning tale of passion that unfolds against a backdrop of war as a beautiful and mysterious princess becomes the object of affection for three very different men - a powerful Duke, a brave general and a lowly slave. As passions spark and egos clash, lives will be ruined and lovers spurned and no one will ever be the same.

Customer Reviews:

Great Concept But Fails In The End.......2007-05-29

In the beginning a starving young girl named Qingcheng is seen prying food out of the hands of dead soldiers in a forest. While running home to share her bread with her mother she drops it in a lake. As she starts to cry the bread is brought back to her by a goddess and she tells Qingcheng to eat the bread but she will not eat because she is saving it for her sick mother. The goddess tells Qingcheng that her mother is dead and then offers her a choice of riches and beauty but all men she falls in love for will die unless she can turn back time and undo what she has just done. She's a little girl with nowhere to go and no food so of course this deal is too tempting to pass up and she accepts. A while later during a battle of a 3000 man army defeating 20,000 barbarians a slave named Kunlun with a speedy gift is discovered while trying to outrun the barbarians.

Kunlun's ability impresses general Guangming also known as "Master of the Crimson Armor" and is taken in as a slave by the general. The general has been informed that the King is being attacked by Duke Wuhuan from the north but before he can get there he is attacked by Wuhuan's assassin Snow Wolf, the general is saved by Kunlan but receives a bad wound trying to defend himself. The general can't make the journey to protect the king and sends Kunlun with his crimson armor instead. The general tells Kunlun that the king will be the only one without a weapon. Kunlun goes to protect the king and when he arrives at the palace sees a man with a sword about to kill a beautiful woman and kills him before he can get to the woman and then flees with her. Kunlun eventually is cornered by Wuhuan's men and is told if he jumps into the waterfall behind him the princess will live but before he jumps he promises the princess he will never let her die.

This is one movie that had the money, a cool plot, and even had a good cast to support it. I think the first mistake was the director went crazy with his budget and though I do realize this is a fantasy movie but there is just too much. There was too much CGI and it was done ridiculously bad, there were fight scenes but they were bad fight scenes. The fights were awfully choreographed like the director got his child to choreograph the scenes for him. You could barely see anything when there was a fight because there was a weird cinematography that was used during the scenes, it will remind you of the type in "Warriors of Virtue" used in a bad way. The story goes everywhere before it ends, the princess's character is written poorly. She's supposed to be in deep love but how does fall in love with a guy she just met and then fall in love with another guy.

The thing with "The Promise" is not the back-story because it is interesting but the way it develops is crazy its too slow and makes feelings unrealistic. How can you truly believe that the princess is in love when she just met the guy and even worse isn't even the guy that she thinks saved her. Despite a bad script the actors keep you interested in the film until the end. The settings are undoubtedly beautiful, which is noticed right from the beginning, but the CGI should have been scrapped and done with more taste. The fights which were suppose to be a big part of this film could have helped give this film more interest and life but that fails. All you will be watching this film for is its gorgeous settings.

Simply stunning!.......2007-05-29

I just saw this on dvd and have to say that it is simply stunning. I sat through it entirely mesmerized the whole time. The visuals are incredibly beautiful, the story was very engaging, and there's tons of action. Some of the scenes can seem somewhat silly, but as long as you realize that this is a fantasy film and let yourself be immersed in this fantasy world, you will enjoy it. I have the 103 min version, which I understand was shortened from the original 121 min version to make the story easier to understand. I sort of wished I had the longer version as I was sad the movie ended so soon.

Rooting for the Bad Guy.......2007-05-11

Chen Kaige acted in "The Last Emperor" and directed "Farewell, My Concubine" that was nominated for the Best Foreign Language Film in 1993. My understanding is that this film made a lot of money in China; but for me it translates less well into our Western mindset. I enjoyed the fantasy part with the goddess giving Quingcheng a magic pact that she would be wealthy, but not have true love. Cecilia Cheung won Best Actress from the Hong Kong Film Awards for this film. She does a credible job as the woman who wants the one thing she cannot have, love. I saw Jang Dong-gun in the Korean film "The Coast Guard." As the slave Kunlun, he has giant puppy dog eyes for the lovely Quingcheng. His ability to run at the speed of lightning that comes from his childhood citizenship in the Land of Snow reminded me of watching an old Road Runner cartoon. After the death of his master, he agrees to be the slave of General Guangming. Hiroyuki Sanada who plays the general was in "The Last Samurai" that starred Tom Cruise. I couldn't quite guess what the attraction was that drew Quingcheng to him, but he fills the bravado of the character with excellence. I saw Nicholas Tse in a DVD that may no longer be available called "Gen X-Cops." While that wasn't the best of films, as the evil nemesis Wuhuan, he does a great job. Costumes and scene design are excellent and give the film an amazing look. Hollywood has been slow to adopt the emphasis on the visual that is now frequently seen in Asian cinema. The Golden Globes nominated this film as Best Foreign Language Film in 2005. For me, it didn't play quite as well. It was certainly an epic journey filled with action and romance, but by the end of the film I wasn't all that connected to the characters. I think I most enjoyed Nicholas Tse's nefarious Wuhuan; so you know a film didn't work when you're rooting for the bad guy. It is still worth seeing given that expectations are not too high. Enjoy!

Another richly appointed costuming and set department........2007-05-01

The story, very basically, is that a girl meets up with a spirit or goddess, not sure which, but that she will have wealth, but she will never know love, and that any man she does love will leave or die. Enter the handsome bad guy in the movie, and the good looking hero. There's several story lines going on. There's a captain who falls in love with her (lust more like), the servant who actually saved her in the first place who truly loves her, and the good looking bad guy who wants to possess her as a trophy. The servant type hero character is actually the last of a village the handsome bad guy wiped out, and so, he finds out that he has special abilities too.

There are parts of this movie that movie a bit slowly, but the sets, the dialogue, the story itself and the beautiful costuming come together to make this a movie worth seeing. Good luck finding it at rental stores, but if you like Asian Fantasy movies with vivid colours, moving storylines, action, adventure and richly made costumes, then you should make the effort to see this one.

a beautiful myth.......2007-04-14

I really liked this film. The cinematography, editing, and music make it a joy to watch. It's a great story about a love triangle, loyalty, regret, and self-sacrifice. The hero, the slave, is especially endearing.

Average customer rating:

Family treasure
A Woman Called Moses
Historical Information
Poor Quality DVD
It should be illegal to sell such a poor quality DVD

A Woman Called Moses
Starring: Cicely Tyson , Orson Welles , Will Geer , Robert Hooks , and James Wainwright
Director: Paul Wendkos
Manufacturer: Xenon
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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

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ASIN: B0000560W6
Release Date: 2001-02-03

Customer Reviews:

Family treasure.......2007-04-13

Thank you for the chance to own this collectable movie!!
You're number 1 with me and my family.
Leroy Guillory

A Woman Called Moses.......2006-03-21

This was a good movie the kids and myself really enjoyed it.

Historical Information.......2006-01-16

This is a great movie with important historical value. I would highly recommend this movie to purchase.

Poor Quality DVD.......2005-02-22

The quality of this DVD is very poor. I would not recommend purchasing this item.

It should be illegal to sell such a poor quality DVD.......2002-06-03

An excellant A+++ performance by Ms. Tyson which was ruined by the worst quality DVD I have every seen. 50% of the scenes were so black as to been unable to distinguish the characters ( it was like trying to watch radio) and the other 50% were washed out, full of glare, and unfocused. This was truly a diaster. My advice DON'T WASTE YOUR MONEY ON THIS DVD... WAIT FOR A BETTER TRANSFER

Average customer rating:

Wall Street (20th Anniversary Edition)
Starring: Frank Adonis , Thomas Anderson , James Bulleit , John Capodice , and Jean de Baer
Director: Oliver Stone
Manufacturer: 20th Century Fox
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Drama | Genres | DVD | Video

General | Kids & Family | Genres | DVD | Video

Drama | Kids & Family | Genres | DVD | Video

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

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ASIN: B000RW3VD4
Release Date: 2007-09-18

Description

In this riveting, behind-the-scenes look at big business in the 1980's, an ambitious young broker (Charlie Sheen) is lured into the illegal, lucrative world of corporate espionage when he is seduced by the power, status and financial wizardry of Wall Street legend Gordon Gekko (Michael Douglas). But he soon discovers that the pursuit of overnight riches comes at a price that's too high to pay.

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