Editorial Review

Roland Joffé (Read more

Features

• Closed-captioned
• Color
• Dolby
• NTSC

Reviews (197)

My Favorite Movie - Bar None!
Although the story surrounds the Spanish Jesuits building a mission in the South American wilderness, the real action takes place in the heart.
Must see movie
This movie has it all, great screenplay, actors, set, costumes, extras, direction and cinematography. Everything appears to be set in the correct time period. And does a very vivid job portraying of the Eighteenth Centaury in the Amazon Jungle.
Amazing.
This film is as close as it gets to perfection in the genre of historical fiction. DeNiro and Irons turn in two of the best peformances of their careers. The story, by Robert Bolt, is both complex and compelling. Few films engage the viewer on such a deep level and ask them to make a choice between the characters and their convictions. Is it right to take up arms to defend the innocent or is pacificism the only path for followers of Christ? Best film to ever take on this question. The scenery is majestic and the film's score is haunting. This is a sad, beautiful film that will rarely be equaled. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Drama    2. Feature Film-action/Adventure    3. Movie   

Editorial Review

This harrowing but rewarding 1984 drama concerns the real-life relationship between New York Times reporter Sidney Schanberg and his Cambodian assistant Dith Pran (Haing S. Ngor), the latter left at the mercy of the Khmer Rouge after Schanberg--who chose to stay after American evacuation but was booted out--failed to get him safe passage. Filmmaker Roland Joffé, previously a documentarist, made his feature debut with this account of Dith's rocky survival in the ensuing madness of the Khmer Rouge's genocidal campaign. The script spends some time with Schanberg's feelings of guilt after the fact, but most of the movie is a shattering re-creation of hell on Earth. The late Haing S. Ngor--a real-life doctor who had never acted before and who lived through the events depicted by Joffé--is outstanding, and he won a Best Supporting Actor Oscar. Oscars also went to cinematographer Chris Menges and editor Jim Clark. Read more

Features

• Closed-captioned
• Color
• HiFi Sound
• NTSC

Reviews (74)

A Great Film
It all started with John Malkovich. Me seeing the movie I mean, not the film itself. I was scanning through Malkovich's filmography and saw this film in their. I had heard of the film, but had no idea what it was about but I checked it out. Malkovich is close to top billing, but his role is really small...Having said that, this was an amazing film. Truly a work of art. The movie stars Sam Waterston ('Serial Mom') playing Sydney Schanberg, a New York Times columnist who heads to Cambodia on the brink of war. Bombs have been dropped, labor camps have been set up and Schanberg wants to write about all of it. When he gets there he meets Dith Pran (Haing S. Ngor, who won an Oscar for the role), who becomes his friend and interpreter. Malkovich plays Schanberg's photographer Al Rockoff; His role is brief, but he leaves his mark. After Schanberg's war entraps himself and his fellow journalists, Pran saves him from being executed but is himself placed in a labor camp. The script is based on a New York Times article by Schanberg called The Death and Life of Dith Pran. When I saw that, I figured this would be a rather depressing story. Truth is, the film is quite uplifting. The choice to use John Lennon's "Imagine" for the final scene was perfect. Anyway, back to the synopsis...Schanberg is back in New York, while Pran slaves at the labor camp. Schanberg has no idea whether Pran is alive or dead, but doesn't give up on the idea of one day reuniting with his friend. Most films that take place in this setting, I'm not a big fan of. I'm not saying I didn't like these films, but movies like The Constant Gardener and Beyond Borders are a bit like this movie. Although, for the record, this film is way better. Having said those last two things I was surprised that I liked this film. Whether you're a fan of these kinds of movies or not, you need to see this. It's an important and uplifting movie, that no one should not see.
To this day one of the greatest movies related to war ever made
The insanity of Pol Pot and his regime, Hell on Earth!
"The Killing Fields"
This is your special opportunity to witness the authentic killing fields in Phnom Penh when Khmer Rouge, a communist groupled by Pol Pot, took power in the capital of Cambodia on April 17th 1975. Not only does this film portray accurately the cruel intentions committed by the Ultra Communist Khmer Rouge Regime, but it also haunts you with the question on injustice as to why the prime minister of Cambodia would treat his people in this brutal way.
Read more

Subjects:  1. Drama    2. Feature Film-drama    3. Movie   

Editorial Review

In yet another example of Demi Moore's astonishing narcissism, this appalling adaptation of Nathaniel Hawthorne's Great American Novel becomes a teary, talk-show-worthy story of a woman rediscovering the erotic, of interrupted love, of a brave-but-beleaguered heroine's personal struggle against male stupidity. Never mind that this has little to do with Hawthorne's magnificent, protofeminist book, which is a million times more relevant today than this film could ever be. Director Roland Joffé (Read more

Features

• Closed-captioned
• Color
• NTSC

Reviews (86)

Not the book, but a decent romantic comedy...er...drama!
The first thing you have to do to get anything out of this movie at all is to forget the book. Completely. The movie so 'freely adapts' the book, that really all that remains of the book's plot is a ghost of a germ of an idea about a Puritan woman who gets pregnant by someone who is not her husband. That's about where the similarity ends. Secondly, you must be willing to approach this movie with something of a split perspective: on the one hand, it is a perfectly enjoyable story of romance; on the other, it has some really funny moments that were not intended to be funny at all. Like the love scene. It's both hot and hilarious at the same time. All that falling (catch the symbolism!) grain everywhere...goodness! Hope it didn't get anywhere...sensitive. Another hilarious scene is when Robert Duvall holds up baby Pearl screaming "THE DEVIL'S OWN CHILD!"And that dance he did with the deer carcass...kinda bloody but still funny as hell. Finally, realize that this movie is unabashedly a Demi-fest, as in see Demi look Defiant, see Demi look Witchy, see Demi look Sexy.... you get the idea. And sometimes you'll wonder if Gary Oldman wasn't having to hold back a chuckle or two himself.
Beautiful Looking Picture
The movie opens considerably in advance of the novel's first scene, and the script by Douglas Day Stewart delves deeply into early events only hinted at in Hawthorne's tale. Much of this background, despite being speculative, works, although it takes forever for the romance between Hester and Dimmesdale to get off the ground. Once we get through the scene with the two groping in a barn, things start moving. When the Puritan colonists of 17th century Boston discover that Hester, the wife of an absent English doctor, is pregnant by a man whose name she refuses to yield, she is thrown into prison until the child is born. Dimmesdale pleads with her to let him reveal the truth, but she extracts a pledge of silence from him. Her eventual punishment for fornication and adultery is to wear a scarlet "A" on her breast at all times to remind the townspeople of her sin. However, when her long-lost, presumed dead husband, Roger Chillingworth (Robert Duvall), arrives after a period spent as an Indian captive, his wife's public humiliation does little to sate his need for vengeance, a cause to which he devotes all his efforts. Credit should be given to the film makers for attempting to adapt a classic American novel for modern audiences.

Let us not forget.....
Good movie. Let us not forget John 8:7: "He who is without sin, among you, let him cast the first stone". I think the puritians forgot that!
Read more

Subjects:  1. Drama    2. Feature Film-drama    3. Movie   

Editorial Review

Despite the combined star power in front of and behind the camera, Read more

Features

• Closed-captioned
• Color
• HiFi Sound
• NTSC

Reviews (22)

Meledramatic and poor
As much as I like Paul Newman, this movie is very disappointing once you've seen the far-superior film "Day One".The portrayal of Oppenheimer and Groves is overly dramatic and totally unlike the behavior of real professional people.The movie dwells on romantic side stories instead of fleshing out the history and science of the Manhatten project.
Movie "Fat Man and Little Boy"
I gave this to my Husband for our Annivisary. After our recent visit to Sante Fe, New Mexico, visiting the 109 South Palace Place and going through Los Alamos he really got interested more in it. Good Movie to watch. Must get the Day after Trinity also if youwatch this one. It is also good.

A-Bomb
It turned the making of Atomic Bomb into a story. It give a okay look at it, without a lot of details. I would give it 3 stars, not five. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Drama    2. Feature Film-drama    3. Movie   

Features

• Closed-captioned
• Color
• NTSC

Reviews (134)

Super Mario movie!
This film is a blast! The action and FX are superb! Now i'll tell you about the characters. #1 Mario, Mario is good and perfect. #2 Luigi, no mustache, but that makes him look better. #3 Daisy, no Peach, but Daisy was always a cooler character in the games then Peach and now she is the damsel in distress. #4 Koopa, okay, they COMPLEATLY MESSED UP KOOPA!! He's supposed to be a dinosaur, but in this film he is a goofy looking guy with a weird looking head. #5 Toad, Toad from what i remember in this movie he's not a mushroom, he's a guy in the city who's turned into a Goomba but he's a good guy. #6 Yoshi, Yoshi is plain adorable! He's not a green dinosaur who leaps around and has a long tounge, he's a baby dinosaur who i'm guessing is a pet for Koopa. He's a hero cause he saved Daisy from Koppa's wife by using the "Yoshi Tounge" move on her. #7 Goomba, Goombas are these big, fat, lizard people that work for Koopa. But one Goomba is nice, Toad. #8 Bob-omb, Yes Bob-omb is in this movie, it is called "The Bomb" and it is just a wind up bomb that walks around and then blows up. There'sa lot more characters, but they really aren't old favorates from the Mario games. Overall, this film rocks! I recommend it!

One giant drug trip...
This movie was just one giant drug trip. If you ever find yourself in an altered state of mind, I highly recommend it.

An OK Flick, epic in my eyes, though...
It was summer, 1997.
Read more

Subjects:  1. Action / Adventure    2. Feature Film-action/Adventure    3. Movie   

Features

• Closed-captioned
• Color
• NTSC

Reviews (31)

Gerard Depardieu is Brilliant
Vatel, perhaps a weak title to a spectacular film; it recreates the excesses of the French court in its pre-off-with-their-heads-phase. In order to escape bankruptcy, the gout afflicted Viscount must entertain the King so sumptuously and so entreatingly, that the King may commission a war with Holland, thereby paying the Viscount's debts. To keep the King and his courtiers entertained, it was no small thing, so the entire countryside is enlisted in the feasts and entertainment. None will be paid unless the banquets are a success. Louis' entourage of Queen, mistresses, and waggish cavaliers run riot through the festivities. The fete is essentially an Olympic opening parade that goes on for three days in dazzling costume orchestrated by one great artist, the Viscount's steward, Vatel.
Visually Stunning
Roland Joffe's directorial career has been a roller coaster from the powerful debut "The Killing Fields" in 1984 to the critically acclaimed "The Mission" in 1986 to the Demi Moore box-office bomb "The Scarlet Letter" in 1995."Vatel" has apparently kept Joffe out of the director's chair for the last 5 years.Visually, it is stunning.If you love period pieces with spectacle, this is going to be great!The costumes are gorgeous and the sets exquisite.The banquet with fireworks and ice sculptures is visually stunning.Gerard Depardieu who is one of the most consistent working actors in the world and got his sole Oscar nomination in 1990 for Cyrano de Bergerac does a good job in his role.I found the picture was about courage.As Vatel, he stands up to the brother of Louis XIV who wants to use a kitchen boy for his sexual pleasure.Vatel seems to have a modern sense of outrage and protects the young lad, only to himself become the target of the brotherly affections.Vatel works for Prince De Conde played by Julian Glover from "Troy" while his lovely daughter Princesse De Conde played by Arielle Dombasle romps around lightheartedly.Julian Sands as Louis XIV who previously worked with Joffe in "The Killing Fields" plays the king with a balance of style and danger.Tim Roth plays the rather unsympathetic Marquis De Lauzun and hits on Uma Thurman.As the lady in waiting honored by the king's bed, Thurman is lovely and is one of the few along with Vatel to show a sense of ethics.Her role highlights the dependency of women of her day on pleasing men and her scene where she breaks down is heart-wrenching."Vatel" certainly is not a flawless film, but it is delivered with style and panache.The themes of courage and personal ethics make it a film about something important.Enjoy!

Not such a swell party
The biggest French box-office disaster in recent memory (it lost more money than Heaven's Gate, wiped out the massive profits of Asterix et Obelix Contre Cesar and nearly took Gaumont with it), this pretty much completes Roland Joffe's unbroken post-The Mission run of box-office and artistic failure. While not as bad as The Scarlet Letter, it's also not as much fun. Unfortunately, this is the kind of film Martha Stewart or Delia Smith might appreciate, but few others will. Read more

Subjects:  1. Drama    2. Feature Film-drama    3. Movie   

Features

• Closed-captioned
• Color
• NTSC

Reviews (23)

JOY is well-made, but offers nothing new
In Roland Joffe's CITY OF JOY, Patrick Swayze portrays an American surgeon who loses a young patient.Unable to accept this loss, he quits his job and travels to India on a journey of self-discovery.Shortly after arriving there, he is mugged.Luckily for him, a poor Indian man (Om Puri) finds Swayze and takes him to the "City of Joy" - a small medical center and haven for the poor and the ill.While Puri struggles to find work and provide for his family, Swayze finds himself becoming more and more fond of the "City" and its people.
Excellent
When you never suffered of hunger, cold or health; you would never if there is any country that has this problems. Believe me there is many countries that has no money at all for the very poor people.

Brilliant and Uplifting Film
I've always been a fan of Patrick Swayze, and this is his best role to date.Om Puri, another brilliant actor, went from Indian movie star to International Superstar beautifully acting out the part of a humble yet dignified Rickshaw driver.And any movie that has Om Puri starring in it is sure to be a classic.
Read more

Subjects:  1. Drama    2. Feature Film-drama    3. Movie   

Editorial Review

Overlooked and underrated, Read more

Features

• Closed-captioned
• Color
• Dolby
• NTSC

Reviews (19)

Gradually Becoming a Cult Movie
GOODBYE LOVER slipped by a lot of viewers when it was released in 1998 and it is only now while on DVD that the quality of this little tongue-in-cheek film noir is gaining steady popularity.And that is basically due to a superb cast of fine actors who obviously are enjoying every minute of the project.
THIS MOVIE KICKS A$$
Its to bad Don Johnson's part was so short because he was really good in this movie! Johnson plays Ben Dunmore, head of an ad agency, plays organ at church, and he is also older brother to Jake (Dermot Mulroney). Ben has been having an illicit affair with Jake's wife Saundra, but Jake doesn't know, or does he?
No One's Ever Been So Good At Being So Bad!
This is a little interesting tale of how a girl is madly in love with Jake... unfortunately being married to Jakes younger brother Ben.When Jake finds out, lie after lie and murder after murder is what becomes of this fairy tale twist.This movie is basically one man killing his brother, while the man ends up having another mistress of his own.While the wife is the one being investigated, killing off those who broke her heart.
Read more

Subjects:  1. Comedies    2. Feature Film-drama    3. Movie   

Features

• Closed-captioned
• Color
• Original recording reissued
• NTSC

Reviews (31)

Gerard Depardieu is Brilliant
Vatel, perhaps a weak title to a spectacular film; it recreates the excesses of the French court in its pre-off-with-their-heads-phase. In order to escape bankruptcy, the gout afflicted Viscount must entertain the King so sumptuously and so entreatingly, that the King may commission a war with Holland, thereby paying the Viscount's debts. To keep the King and his courtiers entertained, it was no small thing, so the entire countryside is enlisted in the feasts and entertainment. None will be paid unless the banquets are a success. Louis' entourage of Queen, mistresses, and waggish cavaliers run riot through the festivities. The fete is essentially an Olympic opening parade that goes on for three days in dazzling costume orchestrated by one great artist, the Viscount's steward, Vatel.
Visually Stunning
Roland Joffe's directorial career has been a roller coaster from the powerful debut "The Killing Fields" in 1984 to the critically acclaimed "The Mission" in 1986 to the Demi Moore box-office bomb "The Scarlet Letter" in 1995."Vatel" has apparently kept Joffe out of the director's chair for the last 5 years.Visually, it is stunning.If you love period pieces with spectacle, this is going to be great!The costumes are gorgeous and the sets exquisite.The banquet with fireworks and ice sculptures is visually stunning.Gerard Depardieu who is one of the most consistent working actors in the world and got his sole Oscar nomination in 1990 for Cyrano de Bergerac does a good job in his role.I found the picture was about courage.As Vatel, he stands up to the brother of Louis XIV who wants to use a kitchen boy for his sexual pleasure.Vatel seems to have a modern sense of outrage and protects the young lad, only to himself become the target of the brotherly affections.Vatel works for Prince De Conde played by Julian Glover from "Troy" while his lovely daughter Princesse De Conde played by Arielle Dombasle romps around lightheartedly.Julian Sands as Louis XIV who previously worked with Joffe in "The Killing Fields" plays the king with a balance of style and danger.Tim Roth plays the rather unsympathetic Marquis De Lauzun and hits on Uma Thurman.As the lady in waiting honored by the king's bed, Thurman is lovely and is one of the few along with Vatel to show a sense of ethics.Her role highlights the dependency of women of her day on pleasing men and her scene where she breaks down is heart-wrenching."Vatel" certainly is not a flawless film, but it is delivered with style and panache.The themes of courage and personal ethics make it a film about something important.Enjoy!

Not such a swell party
The biggest French box-office disaster in recent memory (it lost more money than Heaven's Gate, wiped out the massive profits of Asterix et Obelix Contre Cesar and nearly took Gaumont with it), this pretty much completes Roland Joffe's unbroken post-The Mission run of box-office and artistic failure. While not as bad as The Scarlet Letter, it's also not as much fun. Unfortunately, this is the kind of film Martha Stewart or Delia Smith might appreciate, but few others will. Read more

Subjects:  1. Drama    2. Feature Film-drama    3. Movie   

Editorial Review

Overlooked and underrated, Read more

Features

• Closed-captioned
• Color
• NTSC

Reviews (19)

Gradually Becoming a Cult Movie
GOODBYE LOVER slipped by a lot of viewers when it was released in 1998 and it is only now while on DVD that the quality of this little tongue-in-cheek film noir is gaining steady popularity.And that is basically due to a superb cast of fine actors who obviously are enjoying every minute of the project.
THIS MOVIE KICKS A$$
Its to bad Don Johnson's part was so short because he was really good in this movie! Johnson plays Ben Dunmore, head of an ad agency, plays organ at church, and he is also older brother to Jake (Dermot Mulroney). Ben has been having an illicit affair with Jake's wife Saundra, but Jake doesn't know, or does he?
No One's Ever Been So Good At Being So Bad!
This is a little interesting tale of how a girl is madly in love with Jake... unfortunately being married to Jakes younger brother Ben.When Jake finds out, lie after lie and murder after murder is what becomes of this fairy tale twist.This movie is basically one man killing his brother, while the man ends up having another mistress of his own.While the wife is the one being investigated, killing off those who broke her heart.
Read more

Subjects:  1. Comedies    2. Foreign Film - Spanish/Misc Sa    3. Movie   

Editorial Review

Roland Joffé (Read more

Features

• Closed-captioned
• Color
• Dolby
• NTSC

Reviews (197)

My Favorite Movie - Bar None!
Although the story surrounds the Spanish Jesuits building a mission in the South American wilderness, the real action takes place in the heart.
Must see movie
This movie has it all, great screenplay, actors, set, costumes, extras, direction and cinematography. Everything appears to be set in the correct time period. And does a very vivid job portraying of the Eighteenth Centaury in the Amazon Jungle.
Amazing.
This film is as close as it gets to perfection in the genre of historical fiction. DeNiro and Irons turn in two of the best peformances of their careers. The story, by Robert Bolt, is both complex and compelling. Few films engage the viewer on such a deep level and ask them to make a choice between the characters and their convictions. Is it right to take up arms to defend the innocent or is pacificism the only path for followers of Christ? Best film to ever take on this question. The scenery is majestic and the film's score is haunting. This is a sad, beautiful film that will rarely be equaled. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Drama    2. Foreign Film - Spanish/Misc Sa    3. Movie   

Features

• NTSC

Reviews (31)

Gerard Depardieu is Brilliant
Vatel, perhaps a weak title to a spectacular film; it recreates the excesses of the French court in its pre-off-with-their-heads-phase. In order to escape bankruptcy, the gout afflicted Viscount must entertain the King so sumptuously and so entreatingly, that the King may commission a war with Holland, thereby paying the Viscount's debts. To keep the King and his courtiers entertained, it was no small thing, so the entire countryside is enlisted in the feasts and entertainment. None will be paid unless the banquets are a success. Louis' entourage of Queen, mistresses, and waggish cavaliers run riot through the festivities. The fete is essentially an Olympic opening parade that goes on for three days in dazzling costume orchestrated by one great artist, the Viscount's steward, Vatel.
Visually Stunning
Roland Joffe's directorial career has been a roller coaster from the powerful debut "The Killing Fields" in 1984 to the critically acclaimed "The Mission" in 1986 to the Demi Moore box-office bomb "The Scarlet Letter" in 1995."Vatel" has apparently kept Joffe out of the director's chair for the last 5 years.Visually, it is stunning.If you love period pieces with spectacle, this is going to be great!The costumes are gorgeous and the sets exquisite.The banquet with fireworks and ice sculptures is visually stunning.Gerard Depardieu who is one of the most consistent working actors in the world and got his sole Oscar nomination in 1990 for Cyrano de Bergerac does a good job in his role.I found the picture was about courage.As Vatel, he stands up to the brother of Louis XIV who wants to use a kitchen boy for his sexual pleasure.Vatel seems to have a modern sense of outrage and protects the young lad, only to himself become the target of the brotherly affections.Vatel works for Prince De Conde played by Julian Glover from "Troy" while his lovely daughter Princesse De Conde played by Arielle Dombasle romps around lightheartedly.Julian Sands as Louis XIV who previously worked with Joffe in "The Killing Fields" plays the king with a balance of style and danger.Tim Roth plays the rather unsympathetic Marquis De Lauzun and hits on Uma Thurman.As the lady in waiting honored by the king's bed, Thurman is lovely and is one of the few along with Vatel to show a sense of ethics.Her role highlights the dependency of women of her day on pleasing men and her scene where she breaks down is heart-wrenching."Vatel" certainly is not a flawless film, but it is delivered with style and panache.The themes of courage and personal ethics make it a film about something important.Enjoy!

Not such a swell party
The biggest French box-office disaster in recent memory (it lost more money than Heaven's Gate, wiped out the massive profits of Asterix et Obelix Contre Cesar and nearly took Gaumont with it), this pretty much completes Roland Joffe's unbroken post-The Mission run of box-office and artistic failure. While not as bad as The Scarlet Letter, it's also not as much fun. Unfortunately, this is the kind of film Martha Stewart or Delia Smith might appreciate, but few others will. Read more