Therese Raquin (1981) Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)I keeping echoing over and over....I watched this presentation because I aspire to see every possible iota of work available by the outstanding actor, Alan Rickman.
Each time I view Rickman's work solely for that reason, I am rewarded with an outstanding piece of entertainment I would have otherwise missed. This Masterpiece Theater presentation of Emile Zola's acclaimed novel,'Therese Raquin', is one more gem in that growing list of eclectic, but always exceedingly high-quality, films that make up the body of Rickman's work.
This tragic drama of a simple household populated by complex characters quietly unfolds in a sparsely stated manner, completely divergent from the shocking passion and emotional turbulence bubbling and smoldering under the surface of this story of illicit love, its requisite deceit, and the tragic explosion of events which are born of its temptations.
Kate Nelligan (The Cider House Rules) in the title role reminded me of Tiny Louise in what I believe was Tina's debut role as another dallying daughter-in-law, Robert Ryan's in her case, Griselda, simmering with adulterous lust for Aldo Ray in 'God's Little Acre'. Brian Cox, as Laurent, Therese's passionate lover, bears little resemblance to his recurring role of Ward Abbott in the recent 'Bourne' films or even his smaller role as Doug Durwin in 'Minus Man'. Simply said, his Laurent is 'deadly sexual'. Kenneth Cranham was seemingly perfectly cast as Camille, Therese's doomed cuckold, and certainly far removed from the villainous hitman, Gibson, in Britain's 2001 film, 'Shiner'. English actress, Mona Washbourne, shines herself in her role as Madame Raquin, with whom Camille, her son, and his wife Therese reside, and over whose literal head Therese and Laurent shockingly cavort sexually, while in truth nothing about Therese goes over her mother-in-law's head, either before or after she becomes a helpless invalid left to the care of Therese.
Alan Rickman (Vidal) in his role as artist/friend is resplendent in curls and could be my friend any day. Alan always makes the most of his role, no matter how small. Vidal is absolutely no exception, showing all the talent, charm, and creativity Alan's dedicated fans would swoon over in the years following this early TV role.

Rickman fans must watch this early work of Alan to be able to truthfully say they 'could see his talent unfolding even then'. Lovers of drama and tragedy, love and lust, and a simple time-old story very well told will love this TV series dubbed by the "DAILY EXPRESS" to be 'One of the best serials ever seen on TV....electrifying'. They were not exaggerating by even one volt.

Click Here to see more reviews about: Therese Raquin (1981)

Click here for more information about Therese Raquin (1981)

Read More...

Ninth Gate (D Theater High Definition Video) (2000) Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)I approached this DVD with caution, never having seen the film before and noting its three-star review here, but I came away incredibly satisfied.

I partially blame the trailers for this film for the disappointment expressed in some of these reviews (the rest of the blame rests simply on the closed minds of today's moviegoers). When I first saw the trailer I expected a terrifying occult film filled with demons and supernatural happenings. That would've been an easier film to make. What I saw, however, was so much better.

This is a slow-paced film, which moves along quietly, gracefully, and keeps you glued to the screen for its entirety. Cast performances are all wonderful, especially Depp, of course, who continues to choose the most interesting projects in film today. There are no grotesque demons and very few special effects. Polanski's subtle touch creates images that etch themselves in your mind nonetheless. One example is the wheelchair-bound Baroness careening across the room to burst into her office (don't want to spoil any more). Suffice it to say that certain images in this film are as terrifyingly memorable as Kubrick's twins in THE SHINING, for example.

Although this film is not a "horror" film by any standards, I found myself genuinely scared throughout. Evil is always just around the corner. You never doubt its existence and you're terrified of the moment when it may reveal itself.

Click Here to see more reviews about: Ninth Gate (D Theater High Definition Video) (2000)

Click here for more information about Ninth Gate (D Theater High Definition Video) (2000)

Read More...

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (Extended Version with 7 Minutes of Footage Not Shown in Theaters) (2001) Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)I have to admit, I was ready to hate this movie. Having been a long-term fan of the Harry Potter books, a less-than-faithful adaptation could have spoiled it all for me. As it turns out, my fears were unfounded.
Okay, some viewers will nitpick over discrepencies in characters' appearances, but all the IMPORTANT stuff is here. The relationships between the characters are spot-on. The film also successfully convinces us that the magical goings-on are part of the protagonists' everyday lives, whilst at the same time instilling a sense of wonder in the audience. This difficult balance is one of the main reasons the books are so successful.
Some of the child actors are a little wooden at times, but generally the all-British cast is excellent. The rich characters of Rowling's books have translated perfectly. Robbie Coltrane IS Hagrid. Emma Watson (Hermione) and Rupert Grint (Ron) have immense fun delivering most of the film's best lines. Dan Radcliffe does well in the difficult task of communicating Harry's thoughts, when the audience is unable to see them written down. Deserved mention, too, for Maggie Smith's McGonagall, Alan Rickman's Snape and Tom Felton's nasty-yet-vulnerable Draco Malfoy.
The quality of the production is excellent. The sets and costumes are fabulous, and the attention to detail is breathtaking. The effects are superb, obvious highlights being Harry's invisibility cloak, and the Quidditch match (an adrenaline-pumping spectacle right up there with anything Star Wars has to offer).
In between the showpieces, director Chris Columbus remembers to let his audience take a breather with quieter moments. Harry staring out of his bedroom window, and he and Ron opening their presents on Christmas morning, are endearingly down-to-earth. And the scenes of Harry in front of the Mirror of Erised brought a tear to my eye (If you've read the book, you'll know why).
That's not to say the movie is without its faults. In an attempt to please purists, ALL the subplots have been included (though pared down a great deal), when omitting a few entirely may have helped the pacing of the film. The opening half-hour may be difficult to grasp for those who are unfamiliar with the book. A few of the magical artefacts seem rather more mechanical than mystical.
But these are all small niggles, really. The bottom line is that 152 minutes fly by as if it were half an hour. The only wish you have is that it were longer, and there can be no better sign of a good film than that.

Click Here to see more reviews about: Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (Extended Version with 7 Minutes of Footage Not Shown in Theaters) (2001)

Click here for more information about Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (Extended Version with 7 Minutes of Footage Not Shown in Theaters) (2001)

Read More...

Beckett on Film DVD Set (2003) Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)First let me say I've been waiting my whole adult life for this collection. I've spent 30 years trying to collect audio and video recordings of Beckett's work, and suddenly here are all the theatre peices in one beautiful package. The chance that you will ever find another film version of most of these works, or ever have a chance to see them on stage, is almost nil. If you love Waiting for Godot and Endgame, you will not regret the money spent on this. Unlike most plays and almost all movies, these are peices to be seen again and again, over a lifetime, letting the beauty and subtlety of Beckett's language slowly soak into your being.
That being said, I was disappointed with only one peice: Endgame. With Michael Gambon as one of the leads, I expected the most from this play. But I'm afraid he was badly misdirected in this. He simply enjoys his dispair too much. He enjoys being a selfish, cruel master and his "Perhaps I could go on..." speech (one of Beckett's greatest)loses all its power. Gambon delivers this with hardly a pause, rambling on with the same puckish tone as the rest of his performance. (I thought maybe I was just too used to an earlier film version directed by Beckett, so I went back to the script to check this. After almost every phrase in the speech, Beckett has written (Pause). Without these pauses to let the anguish of the words sink into our minds, the speech carries no more weight than the rest of the text. Well, probably much more than you wanted to know.)
Short Review: BUY THIS NOW! You'll be watching these films again and again as long as you own a DVD player.

Click Here to see more reviews about: Beckett on Film DVD Set (2003)

2003 PEABODY AWARD WINNER!
This acclaimed film project includes all 19 plays of Samuel Beckett, considered the most significant Irish playwright of the 20th century. Many of these outstanding filmed productions have received critical acclaim at prestigious international film festivals around the world including New York, Toronto and Venice. Beckett on Film has brought together some of the most noted directors of our day including: Atom Egoyan, Damien Hirst, Neil Jordan, Conor McPherson, Damien O'Donnell, David Mamet, Anthony Minghella, Karel Reisz and Patricia Rozema. A list of distinguished actors including exceptional performances by Michael Gambon, the late Sir John Gielgud, John Hurt, Jeremy Irons, Julianne Moore, Harold Pinter, Alan Rickman and Kirsten Scott-Thomas.
THIS 4 DVD 19 Play Set includes:Waiting for Godot (running time: 2 hours)Not I (running time: 14 minutes) Rough for Theatre I (running time: 20 minutes) Ohio Impromptu (running time: 12 minutes) Krapp's Last Tape (running time: 58 minutes) What Where (running time: 12 minutes) Footfalls (running time: 28 minutes) Come and Go (running time: 8 minutes) Act Without Words I (running time: 16 minutes) Happy Days (running time: 1 hour 19 minutes) Catastrophe (running time: 7 minutes) Rough for Theatre II (running time: 30 minutes) Breath (running time: 45 seconds) That Time (running time: 20 minutes) Endgame (running time: 1 hour 24 minutes) Act Without Words II (running time: 11 minutes) A Piece of Monologue (running time: 20 minutes) Play (running time: 16 minutes) Rockaby (running time: 14 minutes) Plus a 52 minute Documentary on the making of the Beckett on Film Project
Features*Widescreen*Dolby Digital*Color and Black & White

Get 10% OFF

Click here for more information about Beckett on Film DVD Set (2003)

Read More...

An Awfully Big Adventure (1995) Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)This is an excellent film, moving, sad, even tragic. It is NOT a "warm hearted comedy," as it says on the back of the DVD. And it certainly is not "hilarious". The blurb on the cover is quite possibly the most misleading I have ever come across. Despite that, it is a lovely film. It is a solid, serious British drama, with an excellent all round cast. The humour where present is decidedly low key. Its predominant mood is one of sadness and loss, there is warmth to be sure, but certainly not what is projected on the cover or in the trailer. One wonders why the publicists chose to so misrepresent such a fine film. Was it because they were worried its serious and even dark nature would put off the popcorn munchers? Perhaps it would have been better if they had. Then we wouldn't have been saddled with so many negative reviews from viewers who naturally felt short-changed. Then again, this is not a movie that American audiences would readily take to.
Set in 1947, it tells the story of a 16 year old girl, Stella (Georgina Cates), abandoned at birth by a wayward mother and brought up by her aunt and uncle, who aspires to join the Theatre. Into this milieu she willingly plunges herself. She encounters sordid seedy characters. She takes on menial tasks without pay. She embraces all with a gushing eager naivete. She falls for the stage director (Hugh Grant) who in her young innocence she doesn't realise actually has a preference for boys. She then latches on to an aging Lothario (Alan Rickman) who does appreciate young girls. In this darkness in which she finds herself, past and present intersect. The absent mother she faithfully places a call to everyday, the same mother who gave her away years ago, becomes the silent confidant of her hopes and fears. The aging Rickman character constantly pines for his own past even as he happily deflowers the young girl. The stage director's sordid history of seducing and then spurning young men finally comes to a head. All combine to create an air of loss and decay. A nice touch was the use of a lone flute playing "The Last Rose Of Summer" whenever the Rickman character thinks back to his lost love. If you know the song, it perfectly encapsulates the mood of this movie. And yes there is a twist at the end, but if you have been paying attention, it won't come as too much of a shock. Although the prudes and the self-righteous will as usual recoil in moral outrage.
New Line Entertainment has given us a fine if bare-bones DVD. The film is transferred in it's original theatrical aspect ratio of 1.85:1 (enhanced for widescreen TV). Picure quality is good, clean and clear with natural warm colors. Black levels are just right. Audio includes the original stereo plus both DTS and Dolby 5.1 remixes. Excellent presentation. There are even optional English subtitles for people who can't get round the British accents. Thank goodness not everybody makes sanitized, Hollywood dross.

Click Here to see more reviews about: An Awfully Big Adventure (1995)

Hugh Grant and Alan Rickman star in director Mike Newell's (Four Weddings And A Funeral) engaging comedy about a star-struck young girl lured into the grown-up world of the theater. From a crush on the company's heartless director to her first sexual encounter with the show's biggest star, young Stella Bradshaw quickly discovers what it takes to make it in the theater.
An intriguing blend of comedy and passion this provocative story is a hilarious look at what really goes on when the lights go down.

Get 35% OFF

Click here for more information about An Awfully Big Adventure (1995)

Read More...