Description

In Out of the Ashes, one woman is forced to choose between two horrifying acts of evil, and ultimately finds the courage to make the right choice.Based on actual events that occurred during World War II that chronicles the life of Dr. Gisella Perl, a woman who lost her entire family and was forced to start life over in America. ... Read more

Reviews (3)

Powerful
This is a not-to-be-missed movie. Exceptionally moving and powerful. Lahti is extraordinarily wonderful in her portrayal of Dr. Perl. Ultimately, this is a movie about life, hope, atonement, and courage.

A Dark and Moving Moment of History and Consequences
OUT OF THE ASHES was released last year as a film for television and fortunately it is now available on DVD for extended audience exposure. Directed by Joseph Sargent and based on the autobiography of Dr. Gisella Perl, this film is about the survival of a physician (Dr. Perl) so compassionate in her dedication to her fellow inmates at Auschwitz that, knowing pregnant Jews were among the first to be cremated in the Nazi ovens, knowingly performed numerous abortions and in doing so saved the lives of countless women. As if her rigors of survival in the concentration camps and her loss of her family to the Nazis weren't enough, she immigrated to the United States for refuge, served in menial medical tasks until she was able to take and pass her exams for medical licensure only to face a panel of folk who declare her a criminal for her role in the concentration camps and make every attempt to prevent her from practicing medicine in the USA. How she survives all of this constitutes the message of this powerful film, but to divulge the ending would diminish the impact for the new viewer. As Dr. Perl, Christine Lahti (one of our most underused and finest actresses) gives a wholly credible, sensitive portrayal: her character remains etched on our minds long after the film is finished. Also in this excellent cast are Richard Crenna, Bruce Davidson, and Beau Bridges among many others in small but pungent roles. Highly recommended.

Christine Lathi Gives A Moving and Powerful Performance
This made-for-tv movie by Showtime is based on the autobiography of Dr. Gisella Perl, a Holocaust Survivor who lost her husband, her son, and along with her entire family when they were deported to Auschwitz from Hungary in 1944. Ms. Lahti give a powerful pand moving erformance portraying Dr. Perl who risked her life to secretly perform abortions on expectant mothers to save them from being sent to the gas chambers at Auschwitz only to have her actions questioned later on when she is attempting to gain citizenship and be able to practice medicine in America. Ms. Lahti turns in an outstanding performance and this is one movie not to be missed. ... Read more

Description

Sexy Hugh Grant (TWO WEEKS NOTICE, ABOUT A BOY) and seductive Elizabeth Hurley (BEDAZZLED, AUSTIN POWERS) join forces with international stars Lizzy McInnerny and Valentine Pelka to electrify this haunting story of mystery and imagination! While visiting friends at a secluded estate, an extraordinary woman envisions a terrifying beast that turns into a human creation! From that moment on, she is powerless to stop the relentless torment of her sinister brainchild ... a living nightmare that threatens to destroy all that she loves! A thrilling, powerful motion picture of unending intrigue, ROWING WITH THE WIND should not be missed! ... Read more

Reviews (10)

Not entirely without redeeming features
Well, there's no getting around the fact that the film has no apparent point. Why is the filmmaker telling this story? What is the point of the monster? What, ultimately, are we supposed to get out of watching this? We will never know.

That being said, I do have to put in a good work for Hugh Grant. He's always been underrated as an actor (partially his own fault, for playing all those ridiculous floppy-haired roles, and he's always been very good in roles he seems to be a bizarre choice for (Chopin, anyone?). The same is true here. Apparently Grant was cast because the writer-director was struck by his resemblance to Byron -- yet, he doesn't resemble Byron at all, and the ridiculous blond hair he gets halfway through the movie doesn't bring him any closer. What he does manage to do is give Byron some depth and some sort of line of growth. He's utterly shallow and unintentionally funny, at the beginning of the film, but by the end he has understanding and a certain amount of wisdom. The other thing Grant succeeds in doing, which no actor before has ever succeeded in doing, is making Byron human. He doesn't just sneer caddishly; he displays at least a bit of layered emotion (although admittedly not much, and Grant gives the part more than the writing offers).

That being said, Grant is pretty much all the film has going for it. Gasp! at the size of the women's bonnets. Titter! at the almost completely one-dimensional portrayal of Shelley. Wonder! why the monster has to pause after every word. Roll your eyes! at the movie's determination to substitute previous fictional versions of incidents for what actually happens. And most of all, Recoil in horror! from Elizabeth Hurley's massive caterpillar eyebrows. Wow, did she ever change substantially once she shoved herself into that Versace dress and got famous.

After all this, I still would absolutely rather sit through this than through the repellently inaccurate "Haunted Summer." That movie is a disgrace to fact and to those who are interested in the Romantics.

Strange and haunting, with superb acting and cinematography.
A haunting, dreamlike film, occasionally powerful and moving, though more often dark and strange, "Rowing With the Wind" looks at the lives of the 19th century British poets George Gordon, Lord Byron and Percy Bysshe Shelley; and Shelley's wife, Mary, who became even more famous than her husband with the writing of Frankenstein.

The film looks at these writers' ideas only very generally, preferring to dwell somberly and with a majestic use of music (especially Ralph Vaughn Williams' "Fantasia on a Theme by Thomas Tallis"), scenery, and sets (stark castles, Venetian palaces) on the chaos of their personal relationships and the pain of their lives. In doing so, it suggests a monstrous reason for their many tragedies, but don't come to this film expecting a horror movie--the device is more metaphor than monster.

Hugh Grant proves once again that he is more deserving of reputation as an actor than a bad boy--though he does play Byron as a sort of ultimate bad boy--and the rest of cast is effective as well.

Hisotrically Inaccurate But Highly Entertaining
There are three movies that focus on the life and times of Mary Shelley which I have seen to date. They are Rowing With The Wind, Haunted Summer, and Gothic. Of these, only Haunted Summer comes close to being truly accuate to what really happened. Nevertheless, despite the many innacuracies in this particular film, such as Dr Polidori dying in Switzerland five years earlier than he really did and in the wrong country, this is a very enjoyable piece of work. I've always loved the story of "the Romantics", and this film endevours to tell the story of Mary Shelley from the time she leaves England with Percey and Claire to events after Byron's death. While it was important to me to know the truth about everything that really happened, my vivid imagination enjoys films like this that take liberty with the truth, which is also why I enjoyed Gothic. However, Haunted Summer was equally enjoyable, which I suppose means that in the case of our Romantic heroes, their story as it really happened suffices as sheer entertainment. I gave this film four stars, denying it a fifth soley because of the historical innacuracies.

I actually enjoyed it.
I bought this DVD out of sheer curiosity. The write-up on its cover shamelessly and ridiculously exploits the "Sexy Hugh Grant and seductive Elizabeth Hurley" thing, attempting to ride the coattails of their later fame more than fifteen years after it was filmed. It cheapens the movie, in my opinion, and was half the reason I popped it into the DVD player not really expecting much. I was truly surprised, though, to find myself enjoying the humor and, most of all, intrigued and even moved by the story.

Don't get me wrong; it's definitely not factually accurate, and it is a perfect example of what Hugh Grant hilariously refers to as "Euro-pudding." However, it has its certain charms. Actually, I have found myself rewatching it on a few occasions because, as someone with some basic familiarity with literature of that era, the story stuck with me much more than I would have expected. I had to read up on Byron and the Shelleys, and then I rewatched it so it would make a little more sense to me, and what I really came to appreciate had less to do with factual depiction of events (and seriously, it's a movie about a fictional monster wreaking havoc on the life of its creator, so I wasn't expecting fact) but more to do with a very personal look at some larger-than-life characters. As someone below mentioned, Hugh Grant gives Byron an unexpected humanity, and Mary Shelley's sadness seeps through the self-appointed drama of the film to touch any viewer who has the slightest sympathy for the very tragic life she lived. It is an interesting concept to use her greatest achievement, Frankenstein, as a symbol of the misery she endured. She believes in the movie that she has brought life to imagination and ruined the lives of everyone she loves, but the omniscient viewer is haunted more by the idea that the horrors of her imagination were driven by the very real tragedies of her life.

My perspective on Rowing With the Wind boils down to that, a sympathy for these incredibly talented and incredibly sad people, and an appreciation for a film that in some way succeeds in humanizing their experience at the most tumultuous time of their lives. It is crazy - and probably intentionally so, as you are inside the reflections of a woman who was no stranger to psychological suffering. My advice is to take it with a grain of salt and maybe you will also be pleasantly surprised.

I thought it was good.....mysterious....
I didn't watch from beginning to end...rather came in after it began and no telling how much I missed....yet I liked it enough to scout out what it was. The monster made it somewhat spooky and mysterious and that grabbed my attention. Guess I don't know why so many don't like it.....I'd like to see it in its entirety, not for Hugh Grant...but to better understand the story. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

A pleasant surprise !
I'm a long time fan of Horatio Hornblower books, and when I've read about TV film based on Forester's novels I was worry that TV production cannot bring Hornblower times to life... I cannot be mistaken more. Quality of production is superb, acting is very good. Some Forester's fans may don't like some changes in story, but I've found them acceptable. As for DVD - image quality is medicore, sometimes there are visible artifacts, but the sound is good (or very good). If you feel exitement when you see frigate under full sails it's a must buy for you ! ... Read more