Editorial Review

This 1982 effort at adapting John Steinbeck's Read more

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Reviews (71)

My favorite movie - Cannery Row
Great movie (Cannery Row)!Would like to see the original on DVD.
Ignore the Editorial Review
Tom Keogh's Editorial Review of this delightful move does it a huge injustice, and if you take his word for it, does you one as well. That isn't to say the movie is for everyone. But if, for example, you, like me, are a fan of Northern Exposure, you'll feel right at home with these quirky, loveable, soulful characters. This is Steinbeck light, Steinbeck with a wink. It's part nostalgic remembrance of northern California before its gentrification, part romance, part surreal comedy. This is NOT the dark and brooding Grapes of Wrath, John Ford's masterpiece. It's less a meal than an appetizer that leavesyou wanting more. Nick Nolte and Debra Winger are young and wonderful, but the whole cast is superb.
alternative view
Screw the movie...the sound track is great...my kind of Jazz.well, I liked the movie, but I went out trying to find the sound track.When there's money to be made, there's gotta be a reason it's not on DVD and CD. ... Read more

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Editorial Review

Barbra Streisand made her directorial debut with this 1983 adaptation of the Isaac Bashevis Singer story about a young Eastern European woman (Streisand) who disguises herself as a male at the turn of the century in order to get an education. Except for an excessive musical score with too many songs and Streisand's tiresome tendency to play characters who suppress their beauty, the film is crisp and engaging, and the gender-bending love story complications are fun, if gimmicky. Streisand gives a smart, vulnerable performance and gets fresh work from costars Mandy Patinkin and Amy Irving.Read more

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Reviews (85)

Yentl DVD playable in the us
I cannot imagine why this is not on a DVD, version that can be played on any DVD in the USA.I have been seeking one for two years now.

I NEED THIS MOVIE TO BE RELEASED!!!!!
I totally GOT this movie!!I LOVE LOVE Barbra Streisand, and I have seen ALL her Movies.Yentl is one of my all time favorites!
How could anyone give this film anything but 5 stars?
This is one of my favorite movies. It is a very interesting and moving picture and also very funny in some parts (Anshel's first night of wedded bliss with Hadass comes to mind.) Barbra Streisand was so talented in "Yentl." But I think Mandy Patinkin was just as entertaining, maybe more because the character of Avigdor was so multifaceted. They worked so well together. I don't understand how a classic like this is not on DVD? How could anyone give this film anything but 5 stars? ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Drama    2. Movie    3. Musicals   

Editorial Review

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Reviews (43)

Get Thee To DVD At Once!
DVD please? I saw this movie when it aired on A&E, and it captivated me as a child, and still does as an adult. The theme song is great, and I still find myself listening to it!!! I became a fan of Sandra Dee's after I saw her in "Gidget" and "Imitation Of Life" and I thought her performance was so real and heart-wrenching. Constance Ford, as her bitchy,controlling mother Helen, gives a strong portrayal of a bitter, frigid, unhappy woman who takes her anguish out on everyone around her, even her daughter. (She really gives Mommie Dearest a run for her money). The scene where she forces Molly to submit to a pelvic exam after she and lover-boy Johnny (the late Troy Donahue) have an accident on the beach (the boat capsizes) is horrible and makes the viewer grimace. The fact that the doctor was old and gross looking, and began to unbutton Molly's blouse without her consent, as she screamed, "Oh please, no, I want my father! I've been a good girl! I haven't done anything wrong!!" makes it uncomfortable, but it also makes you despise Ford's character, as I'm sure that was the intention. Richard Egan as Molly's father Ken, is so handsome and gentle at times (he was equally effective in Walt Disney's "Pollyanna" as Dr. Chilton) is a man who is trapped in a loveless marriage who finds and falls in love again with Dorothy McGuire, as Sylvia, his first love, who also happens to be the mother of Molly's boyfriend, Johnny!!! One of Egan's best lines is as he and Helen are having an explosive argument. Ken finishes off his end by saying, "Why must you insist on making sex itself a filthy word!" Arthur Kennedy, as Johnny's drunken father Bart was one of the actor's best later performances. The conflict between the two couples and the predicament that follows (Molly becomes pregnant by Johnny) was considered racy for its day, but considering how little is shown, you have to wonder what all the fuss was about!!! (Although the "King Kong" reference could bear some debate on that subject). The argument between Molly and her mother at the beginning of the movie, sums up the times and also, in a way, the relationships between mothers and daughters. Molly: "Daddy, do I have to?" Ken: "Do you have to what?" Molly: "Wear this middy blouse to shore like a twelve-year-old! And she says I have to wear this armor-padded bra to flattenme out and a girdle! This thing even hurts, and I couldn't squeeze into this girdle with dynamite!"
How do we make it happen !
Who has the rights to this film-for what reason is it not allowed to be offered as an DVD ??
Like a good novel and is on DVD
This is a fine film, satisfying like a good novel. A bit like Peyton Place in its own way, except that the focus is on two couples and their offspring rather than a whole community. Good news - it is available on DVD from www.thesmallscreen.org.Happy watching. ... Read more

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Reviews (22)

Where is the DVD?
I love this movie and the only thing I could wish for now is for it to come out on DVD.Anyone have a clue when that might happen?

HEART WRENCHING
Grab the tissues, because you'll need several as you sympathazie with two lovers who can never have each other.

Tearfultale of love!

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Reviews (67)

Release Angus on DVD
C'mon when are these people going to wise up and release this fantastic movie on DVD.
Angus: A great movie! Needs a DVD release!
"Angus" is a movie about a shy 14 year old who doesn't fit in. He is humiliated and picked on by others at school, and spends most of his time hanging out with his friend, another outsider named Troy, and his grandfather, and dreaming of being with the school's hottest cheerleader, Melissa Lefevre. One day, his dreams come true, somewhat, when he is chosen to dance with Melissa at the Winter Ball. However, the set up was planned by Melissa's boyfriend, and Angus' arch nemesis, Rick Sanford. Angus decides to finally stand up to Rick, and lets him know that he prefers to be different.
"Superman is not brave..."
ok, so yeah. This movie is like.... awesome! I was in florida on vacation when my mother first saw it and she told me on the phone that I had to see it because all she thought while watching the movie was that it was my life. honestly, anyone who has ever been the pet whipping boy of their school should see this movie. hell, anyone wh ever bullied someone because they were different should see it, they may learn a lesson from it. from the beginning it grabs your attention and holds it all the way through the end. I really wish they would hurry up with the dvd release of it. the soundtrack is phenominal. I still get funny looks when people are looking through my cd case and find the CD with a blowup doll on it. lol. one song that I l;oved in the film, however is not one the soundtrack. for any of you looking for this song it's by peter gabriel and it's called the washing of the water. but aside from the soundtrack. WATCH THIS MOVIE. especially if you haven't yet grasped the concept that "there is no normal" ... Read more

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Reviews (17)

The Only Film that Ever Put me to Sleep
I must have seen at least 2000 films in my 44 years on this Earth.This is the only movie that ever put me to sleep in the theater.
the dead
Joyce wrote this short story as part of a collection while he was living in Paris during the period 1904 and 1914.He had great difficulty in getting the collection published and his poem "Gas from a Burner" is worth studying in this context.
Meditative and poetic Hibernian elegy
" Better pass boldly into thatother world in the full glory of some passion ,than fade and wither dismally from age " Read more

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Reviews (29)

Imitation of Laff
A lot of people love this movie and so do I--but probably not for the same reason. Not for nothing was this the last gasp of the Ross Hunter tearjerkers in the "Imitation of Life"/"Back Street" mode. By the mid-Sixties, this type of hokum was far more comic than melodramatic--just look at the ridiculous casting, which includes a 40-something Lana Turner (who'd just played Sandra Dee's mother/stepmother in her last few pictures) as a young bride. . . having her first child! Surrounding her with inappropriate actors like bland John Forstyhe (as her middle-aged ambitious "young" husband) and veteran Constance Bennett (who somehow looks more like Lana's younger sister than her mother-in-law) didn't help realism. Cheesy production values and anacronisms (all the women are dressed in the height of Sixties middlebrow fashions--in scenes taking place thirty years earlier!) just add to the fun. A real howl, especially when an Oscar-hungry Turner goes to pot in the final reels. You'll cry alright--with laughter.

One of the Greats!
If you're looking for a rainy afternoon or late night tearjerker, bursting at the seams with impeccable style, glamour and delicious disaster, this is your film. Only Lana Turner can deliver such wistful heartbreak in the finest gowns and jewels one instant, and next be the tragic victim of misfortune, suffering as only those who fall from on high can know.To call it melodrama would be an insult, this is classic cinema, with Hollywood royalty.

5 StarsPLUS
One of the best pictures ever produced. suspensful,thriller
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Reviews (37)

Please put this on DVD
This movie is so bad it's good. And I don't mean Gone With the Wind good.More like Showgirls.Sleazy, preposterous, but a heck of a lot of fun.Don't take it seriously.Enjoy it for what it is, trashy, stupid, fun.

This Movie is Low-grade Porn.
I purchased the movie only because I was captivated by the cover's depiction of interracial couples.The story line is slow and wonders-a-long without any hint of a plot, but I found the historical setting to be splendid.The depiction of plantation life in Antebellum Louisiana or rather Southern Society in general is intriguing if not entertaining, but can hardly be called accurate.When viewing this film keep in mind that it is merely for entertainment purposes and NOT historical documentation.I gave this film 5 stars for the historical setting, because I felt the period was depicted quite well and had believable characters, even though Southern Society was somewhat exaggerated in its depiction.

A delightful comedy for all ages
Veteran actor James Mason's "straight man Maxwell" to Ken Norton's "boiled man Mede" is a highlight of one of the most entertaining comedies of the past few decades.
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Editorial Review

This video is the sequel to the beloved children's book and video Read more

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Reviews (114)

Almost as wonderful as the first!
I love this movie almost as much as I love the first one! While not entirely true to the books, it does at least pull most of it stories from the books in one form or another. Whether or not the stories are pure L.M. Montgomery, this movie is true Anne. It's worth all five hours to get to the ending!

Endearing Sequel
This is an impressive sequel and a very good looking follow-up to ANNE OF THE GREEN GABLES. It is great to see Megan Follows as Anne Shirley once again. Megan Follows is just perfect in this role. Anne Shirley is now a bit older, has become a teacher and is quite involved in a society away from her rural settings. This gradual progression of characters and story from this original is very welcome and enjoyable. It is very endearing in many ways as was the original
the engaging movie
thismovie isawounderfulstoryofanne. I hopeyouwillmakeafourthmovie!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! ... Read more

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Editorial Review

Franco Zeffirelli's 1968 adaptation of Shakespeare's Read more

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Reviews (200)

Nearly 40 years old, now, the film still works...
You can even get a flash of Olivia Hussey's breast in the bedroom scene if you look closely, and she was only 15 at the time of filming, so this version of the ancient play was controversial in its day. It has passion, style, great supporting actors, and is true to its source as well. While the more recent version with Leonardo DiCaprio has some good moments, too, this one is the high water mark of "Romeo and Juliet" on film. I will never forget seeing this at the base theater at Fort Knox, Kentucky, after spending a month in Vietnam, facing almost another year in the Army. When the movie ended, one soldier in front of me said to his buddy, "They think they've got troubles? Try being in the damn Army!"Well, R and J did have life-ending troubles, but their falling in love, as instant as it was, achieves believability and really tugs at the hearts of the audience. This movie was a fine accomplishment, and its soundtrack album was also a big seller on LP in the late '60's. That Shakespeare fellow did his writin' before movies were invented, I think, yet his stuff adapts really well to the screen. For my taste, a Shakespeare movie almost always beats seeing his plays on stage.

This Pinnacle Film Captures the Pure Essence of the Play
There have been many screen adaptations of Romeo and Juliet over the years.Some of them played by some of Hollywood's top actors and actresses.There was even the Romeo and Juliet last done by Leonardo DiCaprio and Claire Danes, which to my mind is simply Romeo and Juliet on steroids.
Brings back my teen years in the theater.
First saw this movie as a 14 or 15 year-old teen.Loved the film!It is one of those seminal movie moments of my youth.I think it is the definitive film version of 'Romeo and Juliet.'Never saw DiCaprio's version and have no real desire to.The DVD was of excellent quality, considering the original film was shot in 1968. My teen daughter watched it with me, and did have some trouble following the Shakespearean dialog, but she could still follow the storyline. (I think we had more exposure to the classics in the Baby Boomer Gen than do kids today.) Nonetheless, we both enjoyed the experience and the DVD was delivered in Amazon's usual timely manner. The angry Prince's final words to the feuding families, "All are punish-ed. ALL ARE PUNISH-ED!" stands as an electric moment in the film.The performances by all are terrific.Enjoy! ... Read more

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Editorial Review

The wonderful Leslie Caron stars in this Oscar-winning musical fable with a touch of the bizarre. Caron plays Lili, a recently orphaned waif hopelessly in love with a carnival magician. Mel Ferrer plays Paul, a gruff puppeteer who can express his softer side only through his puppets. Sound weird? It is. Caron's performance is lovely. She is, as always, a graceful dancer, but she is also able to pull off the much more difficult task of making Lili pure and innocent without being icky--shetalks to Paul's puppets with complete conviction. (The puppets, by the way, are incredibly creepy.) Younger viewers will take Read more

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Reviews (37)

Wonderful!
I could tell you all about this wonderful movie, but other reviewers have done such a great job.Just let me add one tidbit--the end contains what is probably the most hilarious screen kiss in history (although I'm sure it was meant to seem passionate).

Give That Girl A Contract
How hard can it be to find a film with elements of homelessness, unemployment, despair, suicidal thoughts, thievery, feigned affection, disability and self-pity? Not very hard you say. But in a G-rated film barely eighty minutes long?
Career High for Caron, Ferrer, and -- Zsa Zsa
Charles Walters is another, like George Sidney, another incredibly talented director whose 1950s work has been for too long overshadowed by his MGM competitors Cukor, Donen and Minnelli.Walters isn't nearly as flashy as these guys, but where it counts, he's got it all, and as a choreographer, he can design dance films in a way that eluded these other non-dancers.LILI isn't a musical per se, though years later it inspired the memorable Bob Merrill score for CARNIVAL, but it has more than enough music to qualify it as the kind of picture you leave the theater whistling the tunes from.And in Leslie Caron they found the right blend of wistfulness and innocence; even her mouth looks bruised, but her eyes light up whenever she sees her darling puppets.
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Reviews (35)

Girl meets Guy
A love story like no other. The girl and boy meet, and its magic!
One can only hope...
Sometimes there are movies that are corny and pointless , this might be that movie BUT I have to say it's my GULITY PLEASURE, as much of the 80's was about the good girl with the bad guy or the poor girl with the rich guy, I love 80's films they are nostalgic, or maybe more like a fresh of breath air, no gimmicks, no special effects and might not be corny or pointless after all. So one can only hope of a DVD Release soon!

Why isn't this on DVD?
I love, love, love this movie.It is a wonderful star-crossed lovers story, with some terrific secondary characters (D.B. Sweeney with the pack of cigarettes rolled up in his sleeve makes me laugh every time, as does the Mapmaker's "Radcliffe-Radish" explanation).But WHY hasn't this been released on DVD?If "Tuff Turf" is on DVD, "Fire With Fire" absolutely should be too. ... Read more

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Editorial Review

When you are in the mood for a pleasant little romance, this should fit the bill. Amy Irving and Richard Dreyfuss are young pianists vying for the same prize. Surprise, surprise, they fall in love. We then must wait, with (nearly) breathless anticipation, to see if she will throw the contest to ensure his love. It is all a bit starry-eyed, but not overly gooey. The concert footage is handled with class, and there are some fine supporting performances from Sam Wanamaker and Lee Remick. It is also a lot of fun to see Dreyfuss and Irving as such fresh-faced innocents. Read more

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Reviews (25)

Release on DVD already!!!
A very enjoyable film for all, but particulary if you are a musician.My VHS copy is fading fast.Would buy it on DVD in a heartbeat.PLEASE re-release on DVD soon.

Please suggest releasing on DVD
This is one of Dreyfus' best.
Time for DVD Please !!!
Just a short review of amovie I would immediately buy if released on DVD.I saw this movie with a group of piano students about 25 years ago, and it seemed to embody much of the angst, joys, and politics of this type of competition.Although somewhat trite, the movie provided a themefor a group of college aged music students to identify with.I check about once a year to see if this movie is available on DVD, and alas---not yet. I will keep checking in hopes that the studios will see this little gem for what it is! ... Read more

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Editorial Review

David O. Selznick wanted Read more

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Reviews (629)

Forget PC Culture for a Few Hours and Just Enjoy the Movie!
I still remember the first time I read "Gone with the Wind".I was in my native Georgia, in high school, and spent a weekend in bed with the book.Once I started reading it, I could not put it down.Margaret Mitchell's characters were sparkling with vitality and a contagious energy that made you feel as though they were your own neighbors and family!
Oh, those poor racists lost their slaves, how sad!
(1) Scarlett O'Hara is the least likable "heroine" I've ever seen. She has no redeeming qualities.
Long and laborious, and so very stupid... how is this a classic?
This is another of those movies I wonder "HOW is this a classic?". Maybe the book was a lot better than the movie! I was watching this, not expecting much, but expecting to earn my respect, the way "Scarface" or "Casablanca", movies I don't like but have earned my respect as classic movies.
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Reviews (7)

Is there a doctor in this movie?
Yeah, lots of them. There's Frank Sinatra, Dr. Boone. A great pal & party animal. He's becoming a doctor because his daddy is a rich one. Not with my kid. There's Lee Marvin, Dr. Brundage, plannig his lucrative career. Patients are a necessary evil to be dealt with. Then there is another aspiring doctor, Lucas Marsh played by Robert Mitchum. He is the best of them plus he's really built. But he is poor & doesn't have enough money to finish med school. Along comes "plain jane" nurse Kristina, played by Olivia de Havilland. She lives with her parents, doesn't get out much & is turning into a spinster. But she has saved her$$$. Lucas romances her, she falls in love & they marry. His $$$ problems are solved & he has a wife he doesn't love. Lucas is a great doctor & I wouldn't mind being his patient. His people skills however, are lacking. He only has time in his life for medicine. As a result he alienates those around him, most notably his wife. He has impossibly high standards that no one can reach including himself. He is not god. Lots of familiar faces inclusing Harry Morgan playing Kris' idiot father, Brodrick Crawford as the pricipaled patho- logist &, several others.
Lush Ode to the Hippocratic Oath & True Love
"Not as a Stranger" was an unexpected pleasure once I got past the shock of seeing Robert Mitchum, Frank Sinatra, and Lee Marvin (or his twin)as medical students staring down from tiered seating at a lecturing doctor.Oh, my, I thought, that is NOT a town in which to get sick!I was reeling from mis-casting shock for a number of minutes into the movie, but then Hollywood starting luring me into enjoyment of the performances of these actors cast against type.Bob Mitchum, the penniless son of a hopeless alcoholic (a very WELL-cast Lon Chaney, Jr., alas, in a sad role)wants to be a doctor more than any of his fellow colleagues, many of whom dream of big future salaries and big old 50's cars, in order to set the world right. This strikes me as a realistic characteristic of a child of an alcoholic, who's had chaos thrust upon him and wants to put it back in its place.The fact that Bob Mitchum doesn't look like any doctor most folks would imagine actually starts working for him--he does look Proletarian, he does look like someone who's had a rough time heretofore, and he definitely looks like someone with the physical strength to stand up to a doctor's rigorous career demands.Moreover, Frank Sinatra plays the indulged but basically good-hearted son of a rich man who is in med school to score money afterwards convincingly; he WAS a good actor and I came to enjoy his presence in the role.There is A LOT of information in the film about what a good doctor should know and how difficult the job is; done correctly, medical practice is a, don't laugh, noble calling and the film promotes this view.It also, however, acknowledges the presence of greed and mediocrity among medical men and hospital administrators, so there is a sensible balance between ideal and real.Now, as to the true love aspect, Olivia DeHaviland does a wonderful job as the Swedish-American nurse who loves and supports (and I do mean financially as well as emotionally)Bob Mitchum's young doctor.This is another one of those films in which the luminous, beautifully put-together Ms. DeHaviland is supposed to be, cough! cough!, plain--homely, declasse, etc.Yes, her platinum blonde hair is pulled tight enough to break and the make-up is laid on very sparingly, but for heavens sake why did Hollywood think this woman wasn't a raving beauty? I think perhaps the sincerity with which she played gentle women of character and responsibility is partly to blame for her being cast as un-glamorous.It apparently was as hard to reconcile "good" with "sexy" in olden Hollywood as it is now, sigh...Anyway, the nurse sincerely loves her doctor despite her growing awareness that he considers her more of a convenience than anything else, and for me the romantic tension was not so much in the doctor cheating with the horsy rich vavoom girl as in wondering if the fool man would ever realize what he has at home.Watch this beautifully shot, lush, 50's drama and find out.And enjoy all those character actors and actresses, such as Harry Morgan playing a flat-affected Swede with a wonderful poker face.

One of the first of the medical reality movies
Although many of the scenes in this epic would be judged "hokey" by modern standards, "Not As a Stranger" was one of the first films to give viewers a factual look inside the medical profession and challenge the god-like nature of physicians.Mitchum plays a young man with many personal "issues," who tries to work them out by driving himself to become a stellar doctor.Sinatra plays an uncharacteristically "second banana" role as a stalwart physician-friend to Mitchum and DeHavilland.Broderick Crawford is the demanding and idealistic medical school professor who inspires Mitchum, Bickford is the long-suffering and self-sacrificing family doctor whose practice Mitchum joins, and DeHavilland and Grahame are the two women in his life.DeHavilland represents many doctors' wives through the decades, who were chosen as spouses because of the stability and respectability they offered... not because of love.The anguish this causes DeHavilland in the film is poignantly representative of many other real-life women in her position.Gloria Grahame is also another stereotype of the 1950s, playing a rich, bored, depressed widow who acts out on her pain with sexual promiscuity (which is only referenced in a veiled fashion in this movie).In the end, Mitchum fails himself and his friend and mentor, Bickford, by failing to save Bickford's life when he has a medical crisis of his own.The shattering effect this event has on Mitchum is emphasized by the fact that the only person he can turn to in his grief is his wife, DeHavilland, whom he does not love and who does not love him. ... Read more

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Reviews (10)

Linda Darnell was a beauty
and a good actress.I saw this movie years ago on a Sunday afternoon when I was a kid and loved it.Ms. Darnell was so stunning, and the story wasen't too corny.She played a simple farm girl who had big ambitions.If you can look past the men swaggering, calling each other out and the laughable "Come here wench!" dialogue, it's really kind of a modern woman wanting more for herself than what men think she should have and be happy with.George Sanders is at his sarcastic, snippy and sleazy best, as the king.Wish this was on DVD.Enjoy!

MAKE SURE YOU READ THE BOOK!
I recently finished the 1944 book, giving it a 5-star rating.I was intrigued when I discovered the movie.It is roughly edited and the plot is very choppy.I was glad that I had read the book prior to its viewing. There are too many characters with little to no background explanation or development(and they all look alike).The storyline is abbreviated (leaving out major segments of the book and its plot development), but you do get some idea of the culture of King Charles II's court and times, and Amber's "Me 1st attitude" and total self-absorption. Not worth the buy, but rental an option for a rainy day.

great movie
If you like the older movies you will love this one. Good acting, good story line & great actors. scenes are beautiful ... Read more

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Editorial Review

When Samuel (Lukas Haas), a young Amish boy traveling with his mother Rachel (Kelly McGillis), witnesses the murder of a police officer in a public restroom, he and his mother become the temporary wards of John Book (Harrison Ford), a detective who's been assigned to solve the crime. After suspect lineups and mug-shot books yield nothing, Samuel, in the most memorable scene of the film, recognizes the murderer as a narcotics agent whose picture he sees in the precinct. Once Book realizes that the police chief is in on it, too, he whisks Samuel and Rachel back home to Amish country, where he himself goes into hiding as a plain Amish man. The juxtaposition between the life of the Amish and the violence of inner-city police corruption work surprisingly well for the story, and Kelly McGillis as the falling in love widow gives an almost perfect performance. Directed by Peter Weir, the film is extremely successful in drawing the viewer into its world and, accordingly, is immensely entertaining. The only thing that mars its polish is the one-dimensional, almost cartoonish handling of the upper-echelon police corruption--a subtler, more realistic treatment of this aspect of the story would have rendered the film near perfect. Read more

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Reviews (95)

Yes, A great movie, but...
Yes, this is a classic movie, but get the newer, "Special Collector's Edition". You can find it on by searching Amazon for (ASIN):
Fast delivery, great quality!!!
The DVD arrived in perfect condition, and exactly when I was told it would arrive.Great transaction experience!

Witness (Special Collector's Edition)
I have always loved this film!However, the uncut version has some completely unnecessary nudity that doesn't enhance the movie, but does restrict who can watch it.It's a shame. ... Read more

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Editorial Review

The script for this movie was written by outrageous poet-author-alcoholic Charles Bukowski. But director Barbet Schroeder makes it into an oddly amusing story of a pugnacious drunk writer (Mickey Rourke) based on Bukowski himself. Rourke spends almost all of his time at the bar, struggling with sobriety (he's against it) and, occasionally, having fistfights with the bartender (Frank Stallone). He meets another souse, a formerly attractive woman (Faye Dunaway), and gets involved with her, which means they drink copious amounts of liquor and try to have sex. Not much happens beyond that, yet this film is strangely entertaining, for all of its bottom-of-the-barrel humanity. Maybe that's the secret: "Oh, the humanity...." Read more

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Reviews (63)

Rourke could've been more subtle
I was in a Bukowski phase when I purchased and watched this movie, which I found disappointing. I liked the storyline, but thought Mickey Rourke overacted. Faye Dunaway had her role pegged, though.
A staggering good time
Who but Mickey Rourke could adequately portray a character based on the supremely inimitable Charles Bukowski? In a film that is both dingy and bright, Rourke staggers from the screen a pickled genius and gives a stellar performance as the hard-drinking, alley-brawling, pickup line-snarling Henry.
I should own this movie
But I don't because only rubes and collector freaks own movies. I never understood why people buy movies. How many times must you watch a movie to make up what it would cost to rent it? Something like 10-15 times, or less, depending on where you rent.
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Subjects:  1. Comedies    2. Drama    3. Feature Film-drama    4. Movie   

Features

• Color
• Dolby
• NTSC

Reviews (12)