Reviews (163)

A strange and wonderful gem of a motion picture.
Curtis Hanson's follow-up to his brilliant 'LA Confidential' is equally amazing but in a completely different way. 'Wonder Boys' is a wonderfully skewed comedy, with characters who zig and zag across the screen, weaving in through each others lives, and ultimately finding salvation in each other. Michael Douglas gives his second-great performance of 2000 (the other being in 'Traffic') as Professor Grady Tripp, a chronic pot-smoking, english teacher/author who has had great success in the past with his first novel. Problem is, he can't seem to finish his follow-up and he's been trying for years. He is having an affair with a married chancellor at his school (Frances McDormand in HER sceond great performance of the year, the other being in 'Almost Famous'). His barely-in-the-closet editor (the incredible Robert Downey Jr.) is breathing down his throat and a student of his (Katie Holmes) is trying to get in his pants. Not only that he has the chancellor's dead dog in his trunk, thanks to a mishap with a bewildered, mysterious student of his (Tobey Maguire at his usual excellence) and the car he's driving may or may not be stolen. Over the course of one hellish weekend, Grady Tripp will find out what it means to be in charge of one's own life and the way making a simple choice can change things for the better. The movie rides smoothly from start to finish thanks to great, assured direction by Hanson and smooth screenwriting by Steve Kloves (from the novel by Michael Chabon). It's a truly amazing film, whose character's are so well developed and layered that we never know what to expect of them at any given moment. In fact, anywhere you think this movie might be going at any given time, you will more then likely be wrong. It's surprising and heart-felt, as funny as it is involving, as moving as it is intelligent. And you won't find a better performance then Douglas's in any film this year. It's a true stand-out role for him, a break from his normal obsessive, hard-headed monsters. And he is brilliant. And so is Tobey Maguire, who continues to dazzle with every film. One of the best films of 2000.

EXCELLENT! (as God said, and I think rightly..)
I enjoyed this movie immensely. I'd put it right up there with 'American Beauty', 'Magnolia', and 'Being John Malkovich' as one of my favourite films of recent years. I particularly enjoyed Michael Douglas's performance (yes, I was surprised too) as Grady Tripp (pot-smoking college english professor, dubious literary mentor, and flailing, aging author of the critically aclaimed 7-years-gone novel 'Arsonists Daughter'...)

I really enjoyed the down-beat oddities and subtleties of the film and it's cast of strange but endearing characters (yes, yes, THERE you go!) Frances MacDormand's character (The Chancellor) is the only one who you might be able to call something that resembles a "normal" person, but even SHE, underneith her guise of normalcy, is a pregnant-out-of-wedlock habitual gardener! It gets no better I'm afraid. Robert Downey Jr plays Grady's gay book editor who has a penchant for transvestites and certain relaxing pharmacuticals (Terry Crabtree) to great (and oddly touching) comedic effect. Tobey Maguire plays Grady's morose young student/protege (who lays claim to the uncanny ability of being able to list hundreds of movie suicides in alphabetical order..) I'm Sorry 9-to-5ers. Abandon hope all ye who enter here, It gets no more mundane or ordinary than that. Oh well. But, to be honest, this sort of off-the-wall character development only served to make me even more enamored of the film. Speaking intimately as a very weird person (and speaking FOR MY PEOPLE) I desparately want to see more space-cadets and freaks and kooky-spooks casually represented in feature films. It's all about equality really. We don't all live in caves y'know. We're everywhere amongst you! We shop at your supermarkets! (albeit at strange hours..) We attend your schools! We even write movie reviews for enormous websites you visit late at night! Freakitude is not so uncommon a phenomena.. and my people DEMAND SCREENTIME ... And in 'Wonder Boys' they certainly get it. Kudos to whoever it was that wrote it that way. This film allows itself to positively WALLOW in human quirkiness.

The movie also features a fantastic soundtrack (ALWAYS a bonus..)

Best line?

"You're mad at me.. You're mad because I shot your girlfriends dog."

HIGHLY recommended! :o)

Offbeat ecletic mix of comedy and pathos
Adapted from the novel by Michael Chabon, this offbeat dark comedic drama is set at a college in Pittsburgh, a shabby city of bleak weather and aging buildings. Michael Douglas is cast in the role of Grady Tripp, a college professor long past his prime who lives in haze of marijuana and failing marriages. He's gained weight for this role and his face is lined and drooping, capturing the essence of the character so well that he was able to submerge his movie star image. Tripp is a former "wonder boy" who had been acclaimed for his first novel seven years before. Unfortunately, even though he has written more than 2000 pages on his second novel, he can't seem to bring it to completion even though his New York agent, Terry Crabtree, played by Robert Downey Jr. will be in town for the writer's weekend set up at the college.

Tobey Maguire, the rising young actor who made a name for himself in "The Cedar House Rules" is cast as James Leer, a brilliant and troubled young writer from Tripp's class. And Frances McDormand is cast as the Chancellor of the college who's having an affair with Trip. Katie Holmes plays a student who is interested in Tripp for more than his teaching ability. Other characters fade in and out of the scenes, adding interest and contributing to an eclectic mix and which somehow all add to the cohesive whole. There's a transvestite as well as a professor affixed on Marilyn Monroe as well as a black man in a pompadour hairdo and his waitress wife. And, in addition to the people, there's a vintage car and an old manual typewriter and an electric selectric. There's also a dead dog.

All this is put together in a mix that gently pokes fun at it all, played for pathos and humanity instead of slapstick. And it is all slightly off focus in the marijuana haze created by the professor. I did find it a bit slow and I sometimes dozed off. But the beauty of video is that could wake up and replay the few frames I missed. I was always rewarded because of the subtleties of dialog and nuances of the acting and of the fine direction by Curtis Hanson, whose last film was L.A. Confidential. I recommend this video although it is not for everyone. It's quirky and offbeat and the pace is slow and hazy. But I personally thought it was really good.

Best Michael Douglas role ever
A bit of bad luck at the box office prevented this movie from getting the hype it so richly deserves. Good luck finding roles into which Michael Douglas, Frances McDormand, Tobey Maguire, and Robert Downey, Jr., slip into as effortlessly and brilliantly as they do the ones in this film. With a script that neatly repackages Michael Chabon's excellent novel for the screen, Steve Kloves (lately the screenwriter for the Harry Potter series) shows where he mastered the craft of adaptation. And director Curtis Hanson follows up the tour-de-force of L.A. Confidential with this funnier, more bizarre, and ultimately more enjoyable effort.

On one level, the movie plays out like a drug-induced dream sequence; it's almost implausible that so much would happen during a single weekend. Michael Douglas loses his wife, discovers his girlfriend (McDormand) is pregnant, flees the university at which he and his girlfriend work with his darkest and most troubled student after that student kills his girlfriend's husband's dog and steals Marilyn Monroe's wedding coat, exposes that student to pot and his literary agent of ambiguous sexuality, has his car stolen, loses a 2,000 page manuscript...

Did I mention that his girlfriend is the chancellor and her husband is the chair of the department that employs Douglas?

Yet all these events--and many more--feel very real during the movie. And not in the dreamlike way that anything makes sense while you're sleeping: this movie has the feel of truth. Other reviewers have complained that it's too weird, that each character's eccentricities pile on those of the others until it passes a level of acceptability. But people have quirks; some people are pathological liars, some people just like one kind of shoe, some people can only write in a pink bathrobe. In life we take these quirks for granted in the people we know and love; in Wonder Boys a group of people are thrown together, quirks and all, by fate and common interest and the confines of a very realistic university life. The interplay of their quirks, and the way that people who come to them with sympathetic eyes quickly rally to support one another, makes for a movie that engages, entertains, and provokes thought. If that's not what you look for in a movie, look elsewhere. If it is, prepare to add a new movie to your all-time favorites list.

THE CHOICES WE MAKE IN LOVE & LIFE..
This film is of that quirky, self-aware cadre that makes people easily dismiss it as pretentious, or worse, pointless. But I believe those who ascribe such notions to the movie have clearly missed the plot's subtle nuances, and the humorous undercurrent that permeates the entire theme.

Wonder Boys has that charming yet simple elegance that draws on its real but clumsy characters -- all pretty painstakingly drawn out as we almost live their fumbling lives. Professor Tripp (Douglas) in particular was very credible as just about anyone among us. James Leer's (McGuire) obsession with celebrity suicides is made light of and overcast by his pathological lying. Holmes is appropriately cast to tantalize.

Plus, the score is something to cherish thanks in no small measure to Bob Dylan's superb "Things have changed".

A good chuckle comedy with a wistful look at midlife, decisions to be made or avoided. Recommended for the discerning viewer. ... Read more

Reviews (106)

good boys gone bad & anarchy at it's best
I can't believe the 1963 version got better reviews in this venue than the 1990 version. The 1990 cinematography, filming location, color photography, acting, music were all better by far. And since when does a movie have to match the book to be considered better? One only has to look at the 1938 Wizard of Oz and the 1985 Return to Oz to see that the converse is true. While both movies were well done in their own fashion, the Judy Garland older version is by far a more lovable movie even though many features did not match Frank Baum's original story.

I was perfectly bored with the 1960's Lord of the Flies & never did finish that earlier movie. While I liked the 1990 version enough to buy the DVD for the superior wide screen and crystal clear sound.

The lead characters Balthazar Getty (Ralph), Chris Furrh (Jack Merridew), Danuel Pipoly (Piggy) all gave perfectly believable performances. Especially Getty's portrayal of dismay when the helecopter pilot finds him in the end, and Furrh's portrayal of a bully, and Pipoly's naivite and amazement at his new surroundings.

The main themes of "good boys gone bad" and "anarchy at it's best" are still alive bringing the story into the 1990's.
Of course nothing can come close to matching the characters that I dreamed & imagined when I first read the novel in my boyhood so many years ago, so why even attempt to match "everyone's version". Which I believe in the end explains so many negative reviews.

I'm almost sure the Director & Producer were not planning on a "blockbuster movie" & this by it's very nature limits the time & attention that can be spent on a movie.

So I believe if you want a movie to match a novel perfectly then you maybe should film it yourself & see how hard that really is & how perfectly dry & boring that might be!

That's my "two cents" anyways.

Amazing!
I first saw this movie about a month ago on tv. As soon as I saw it, I fell in love with it. I cried when Simon was killed, and was shocked when Piggy was. The best part about this movie though, is Balthazar Getty who played Ralph. He's gorgeous, talented, and just truly amazing. I was in awe of him the whole time. I bought this movie on DVD a few days after I saw it. I've watched it countless times, and have made all my friends who came over watch it. lol I'm just like that I guess. I recommend this to anyone. And I don't get why a lot of people hated this movie. It was brilliant! And about the swearing, everybody does it ya know! My brother started swearing when he was 8. In my opinion, there's nothing wrong with some swearing. I have read some of the book, and although it doesn't seem much like the movie, so what? Why should we go comparing books to movies when we know their never going to be exactly the same?

This Movie Bugged Me To Death-
The movie of Lord Of The Flies was a cheap interpretation of the novel by William Golding. Harry Hook's idea on what some pieces of the novel were that some had no significance. When in fact they had other meanings and which showed a completely different story. I believe that when they created the movie he number one didn't know about what had made this book so famous, number two he didn't read the book, and number three he didn't know about the symbolism.
The novel was on one side is about how they group of Boys get stuck on a deserted island and separate each other; on the other hand though the island they were stuck on was a symbol for the world and how the evil was taking over the world. In the movie it only showed the Boys getting stuck on the island, they also took some parts out to show that better and less of the symbolism. In doing this they destroyed the part of the novel that was great, and changed the story line.
Despite destroying the storyline, the actors did an OK job and could have done better. These kids come from a military school then as soon they're on the island they start cursing, then showing a rapid change to evil. In some emotional points in the movie they showed very little emotion, or were very serious. For instance they before they find the an accordion from no where they were both crying about the killing of Simon, Ralph did not show a lot of emotion in his crying.

A MOCKERY OF A CLASSIC BOOK
Okay, Lord of the Flies is one one the finest books the world has ever known. The 1963 version of the book is mediocre, at best. The 1990 version is an even bigger let down. The fact that the kids who crash on the island are military school cadets defeats the entire purpose of the book. In Golding's novel, the cast away boys have to create their own society to survive. In the 1990 film, there is already a military chain of command set up. Stale acting and plot holes abound this movie as well. And what is it with the $#&*ing curse words? These kids speak like they have just stepped out of a Quentin Tarantino film! The swearing in this movie is out of place and completely uneccesary. Lord of the Flies (1990) is way too different from the novel, and it didn't have to be. This film's only saving grace is its superb cinematography. Until there is a good film version of this book, My opinion is that Golding's novel is only effective as a novel, not as a screenplay. Get no names like Harry Hooke (No offense Harry) out of the director's chair and replace him with someone Steven Spielberg or Martin Scorsese. Maybe the creative touch of these masters could effectively bring this classic to the screen.

do i love it ore hate it that is the ?.
I love this movie.I read the novel and than i bot it.The first time i sean the movie 1990 verson was on tv.Know i got it on dvd.I read the book for my book report I read the part ware Piggy gets hite by the stone my 7th grade teacher said.WOW!.I wont to get the orijanol movie on dvd so i can see the commitary.The origanol black and white theakle trailr.The best drama movie ive aver seen. ... Read more

Reviews (87)

I can't give you anything but love, Baby!
Number 19 on AFI's Top 100 Comedies?? Are you joking? This is the best screwball comedy in the history of film. The dialogue is amazingly fast; the movie demands multiple viewings to get all of the jokes. Of course, Cary Grant and Katherine Hepburn are very nice to look at and play their parts perfectly (Hepburn's voice and LAUGH did annoy me the first time I watched it, but she grows on you). The supporting characters are hilarious - they're all old pros, and you can tell. Walter Catlett, who taught Hepburn slapstick timing, especially stands out as Constable Slocum.

Buy or rent this movie to experience the perfect screwball comedy.

MADCAP SCREWBALL COMEDY...
This is a terrific, old fashioned, madcap, screwball comedy. Deftly directed by Howard Hawkes, the pace is frenetic from the get-go and never lets up. Starring Cary Grant, as a straight-laced paleontologist, and Katherine Hepburn, as an impulsive and beautiful heiress, this film is simply about as good as comedy gets.

The plot itself is simple. David Huxley (Cary Grant), a noted paleontologist, is trying to get a philanthropical grant of money for his museum from a wealthy donor. In his quest for this charitable gift, he runs into Susan (Katherine Hepburn), who, unbeknownst to him, is the niece and prospective heiress to his potential philanthropist's fortune. Once David meets up with this madcap heiress, his life will never be the same.

The film is noted for its highly improbable situations, its rat-a-tat-tat, stacatto delivery of lines, its frenetic pacing, and impeccable comedic timing. Toss in a missing dinosaur bone, a little dog with a fondness for such, a domesticated leopard (if there is such a thing), a not so tame leopard, a great cast and script, and voila, one ends up with a great film!

Cary Grant is marvelous as David Huxley, the straight-laced, befuddled man of science who is drawn into improbable situations by Susan. Katherine Hepburn is sensational as Susan, the airhead heiress whose hair-brained ideas just lead to trouble. Of course, Susan falls for David, and the games begin. In addition to Cary Grant and Katherine Hepburn, the film has notable performances by Charles Ruggles, as big game hunter Major Applegate, Barry Fitzgerald as the hapless hired hand, Mr. Gogarty, and Walter Catlett, as Slocum, the criminally stupid town constable.

It is with good reason that this film made The Entertainment Weekly list of the 100 best comedies ever made. It is an assessment with which I heartily concur. This is a superlative, vintage film that is well worth having in one's personal collection. Bravo!

5 stars for the movie, but 0 for its absence on DVD
No plot review here--- it's been adequately done by plenty of viewers before me--- but just an urgent plea to the studio to PLEASE release this on DVD! This is THE classic screwball comedy, and how much better can it get than this? Cary Grant (with whom I fell in love at age 10 and never stopped), Katharine Hepburn (I just wanted to BE her since I was 10), and a couple of leopards, orchestrated into a symphony of hilarity by Howard Hawks. Nothing short of wonderful (bested, in my opinion, ONLY by The Philadelphia Story). So please please PLEASE let us have this timeless classic on DVD. And soon!

Review of Baby
Bringing Up Baby was a very funny movie. Hepburn and Grant did an excellent job. Hepburn plays the funny 'blonde' and Grant is just at his wits end with her. Watch this movie.

I can't give you anything but love, baby...
Wonderful, Wonderful, Wonderful! Cary Grant and Katharine Hepburn team up in this delightful screwball comedy. The dialogue and comic timing are perfect. I can't remember any other movie that I have seen with as many hilarious circumstances as this film. It is truly a great classic. Watch as David (Grant) and Susan (Hepburn) team up while searching for a leopard, a dog and an intercostal clavical (Dinosaur bone) in Connecticut. This fim is one of my all-time favorites. I recommend it to anyone and everyone. Don't miss it! ... Read more

Reviews (168)

Get off my case....................!!
A classic line from Brad Hamilton (Judge Reinhold) as well as "Doesn't anyone know how to knock around here?" or "Sir, if you don't (be quiet), I'm gonna kick 100%...!" As entertaining as Penn was, I think Reinhold did the best acting job in the enitre movie. Directors were som impressed by his work that he started in Beverly Hills Cop's 1 and 2, two of the biggest box-office hits of the 80's. Anthony Edwards (Gilbert on Revenge of the Nerds) did a great job as a stoner bud as well as Harold (Scott Thompson, Copeland on Police Academy), Jefferson, Rat (Police Academy 4), Stacy, DeMone, Linda (Phoebe Cates) and many others.

This movie was based on Clairemont High School in San Diego. I have a friend who graduated from Clairemont High in '82 who constantly tells me stories about incidents that actually happened in the movie as well as at the high school. He remembers when some guy ordered a pizza in history class. The teachers name was Mr. Crocker (not Mr. Hand). BTW, the screen names, including the teachers, are not the actual names of the ones who revolved around the high school. However, the personalities in the movie are very similar to the one's in real life. As for the mall, that was supposed to imitate Unviserstiy Town Center in San Diego. I was told that that was where every teenager wanted to work during that time.

Great movie of a semi-true story!!!

"Why don't you get a job, Spicoli?" "What for?"
Slice of life of Southern California kids dated with great early '80's tunes. Stacy Hamilton (Jennifer Jason Leigh) and Mark Ratner (Brian Backer) are interested in the fair sex, but their more experienced friends Linda Barrett (Phoebe Cates) and Mike Damone (Robert Romanus) give them hopelessly bad advice. Great performances all around, but the scene-stealers are surfer pothead Jeff Spicoli (Sean Penn), who thinks nothing of having a pizza ordered in to his history class, Stacey's older brother Brad (Judge Reinhold), who has bum luck with women and jobs, and history teacher Mr. Hand (Ray Walston), who has all the patience of a boiling tea kettle. Unfortunatly, extra scenes that appear on Comedy Central among other stations are not included here, as director Heckerling is not particularly fond of them. Look for Nicholas Cage, Anthony Edwards, and Eric Stoltz as Spicoli's fellow stoners, and Forest Whittaker as Ridgemont's football hero. Bruce Springsteen's younger sister Pamela appears briefly as a cheerleader.

The background of Fast Times...
The film itself is a classic, from the soundtrack (which features recently broken-up members of The Eagles), Stevie Nicks, and Jackson Browne. Cameron Crowe wrote the true story of teenagers in late 70s San Diego (Clairemont High) from his own perspective, originally written for Rolling Stone magazine. Because he looked so young at the time, he was able to go to school and fit in. Even though Crowe changed the city to the LA area (the movie also takes place in LA), the Clairemont High schoolers were upset with a lot of it. "Rat" is now the writer of some of the "Dummies" books.

The film itself is an essential 80s comedy classic, a lot of subjects bold at the time, a lot of new talent to move on to bigger paychecks (Forest Whittaker, Sean Penn, Nicolas Cage).
Cameron Crowe should make a film about the story behind making "Fast Times" as a sequel to "Almost Famous".

I think it would be great if Crowe and Heckerling did a commentary with the original cast members as well as the Clairemont High students to give added perspective on the fact and fiction of it all. I think people would want to know if these people really existed, and what happened to them.

movie
This movie has no real point to it. But its fun watching different teens in the same school and follow their lives as they try to be as cool as they can be. I wish Sean Penn got more scenes because he made this movie a definate classic.

Greatest teen comedy ever made
OK, "greatest teen comedy ever made" really isn't setting the bar all that high, but this really is a wonderful film. I almost docked it a star for being at least partially responsible for a lot of copycat garbage that followed, but that would be punishing it unfairly. It deserved the tons of money it made.

Many of the other reviews on this site have rehashed the plot(s) and the fact that it introduced an amazing array of acting talent to the world. What I think is most impressive however, is the honesty and poignancy this film delivers while being hysterically funny. The relationship between Brad and his sister is incredibly touching. The characters are real, three-dimensional people (yes even Spicoli; I knew someone almost exactly like him in school and I'll bet you did too). It is beautifully written, directed, and acted. It is also one of the most quote-worthy films this side of Tarantino ("All I need are some tasty waves, a cool buzz, and I'm fine").

On a final note, I disagree with the Amazon reviewer's assessment that Cameron Crowe is an overrated director. "Say Anything" is probably the best teen movie made since this one, and "Almost Famous" is a stone cold masterpiece, IMHO. ... Read more

Amazon.com

Ever since the late '70s when the Australian New Wave was in full surge, DownUnder directors have delivered movies that often hit you like news from another planet. Offbeat characters, weird narrative twists, and a tartmixture of laughs and catastrophe--this is the juice that fuels such flicks as Proof, The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert, Strictly Ballroom, Heavenly Creatures, and most certainly Muriel's Wedding. Directed by P.J.Hogan (who would go on to helm the Hollywood hit My Best Friend's Wedding),this little gem follows tradition by featuring an authentic misfit: Muriel(Toni Collette), a great overweight horse of a girl obsessed with gettingmarried and the music of ABBA. Appropriately, we first meet Muriel at awedding, all trussed up in a leopardskin number she's boosted for theoccasion. When her snotty peers insist that she give up the bridal bouquet tosomeone who might actually get hitched, when one of the guests turns out to be a clerk in the very store where Muriel ripped off her outfit--you gottalaugh, she's such an unmitigated mess. A loser, her philandering politician father (Bill Hunter) calls her--along with his doormat wife and his othercouch-potato offspring. But this movie's no exercise in geek-bashing. AsMuriel takes up with feisty Rhonda (Rachel Griffiths) and moves from PorpoiseSpit to the big city, her good-hearted grin and zest for life draw us indespite hilarious gaffes and mishaps. (Making out with a boy for the firsttime, Muriel suddenly finds herself awash in styrofoam: the oaf has unzippedthe beanbag chair instead of her skin-tight leather pants.) Muriel's Wedding covers territory Hollywood would banish from a comedy--Rhonda's cancer, thesuicide of Muriel's mother, a marriage of convenience to an arrogantathlete--yet, like its heroine, it never loses its sense of humor, its will to move on to whatever good thing might happen next. Everyone in theidiosyncratic cast is terrific, but it's Toni Collette's Dancing Queen whomakes Muriel's Wedding a cinematic celebration you won't forget. --KathleenMurphy ... Read more

Reviews (102)

One of the finest movies I've ever seen
Muriel Heslop is a young woman who dreams of getting married and moving far away from her boring life in Porpoise Spit, Australia. Unfortunately, even after her dreams do come true (and changes her name to Mariel), she discovers that while she has gained everything she has desired, she has also alienated herself from her family and her best friend Rhonda, and by the end of the film goes back to being good-ol' Muriel Heslop.

The performances in this film were excellent, especially Toni Collette in the lead (who gained a few pounds for her role), and future Oscar nominee Rachel Griffiths as Rhonda, a woman suddenly sticken with a potentially fatal illness.

Despite it's seemingly simple plot, it's a suprisingly rich and complex story. It's about a family on the verge of insanity, the value of friendship, and is a fable with a positive message: Be yourself, and you will like yourself for it.

Whether you like comedy or drama, you'll absolutely fall in love with this movie.

Unconventional comedy
This is one of those comedies that will make you laugh hysterically and then shut the audience up with a sudden tragedy. The story follows Muriel (Collette), an overweight ugly duckling who is ridiculed by her friends and her father but finds solace in ABBA songs and best friend Griffiths. Moving from her home town of Porpoise Spit she begins to find a new life for herself.

Fortunately this rites-of-passage drama doesn't lay it on heavy with the sentimentality. This brings about a conclusion that's nothing short of depressing but still poignant. The comedy is wonderfully crass, especially from Muriel's friends from Porpoise Spit and the sheer gaudiness of the whole movie is beautifully carried by all concerned. When Muriel's bridesmaids waddle up the aisle to an ABBA song, or Collette and Griffiths jubilently belt out tunes at a karaoke bar, you'll be laughing.

Given this, it's rare to find such comedy that will bring you crashing down to earth with suicide, cancer and an unhappy arranged marriage. This is one of those movies that will never make you cry; it will make you sympathise with its characters. It's certainly a great gift of Hogan's that he manages to pull both genres off so well at the same time.

But this wouldn't be half as good if it wasn't for Collette and Griffiths' magnificently crazy, emotional performances. 'Muriel's Wedding' should also be cheered for the fact that it doesn't succumb to typical Hollywood glitz and glamour. Muriel remains overweight throughout the whole movie, there's no 'Pygmalion'-like twist, it's the person that changes and perhaps that's what the movie is about. Completely unmissable.

Porpoise Spit Sheila's Move It On Over To Big City Sidney!
Australian writer/director P.J. Hogan's modern masterpiece, "Muriel's Wedding" serves up wedding cake with wheelchairs, confetti with cancer, ABBA with ardor, sweetness with stealing, and more importantly friends with foes in this one of a kind black comedy.

"Muriel's Wedding" not only launched P.J. Hogan's directing and writing career but gave a leg up to Toni Collette who agreed to pack on 30 lbs. for the once in a lifetime role of Muriel Heslop, citizen of small town Porpoise Spit, Australia. Rachel Griffiths from "Six Feet Under" also got her first shot playing Muriel's friend, wild child and general black sheep of Porpoise Spit, Rhonda Epinstalk. Rhonda and Muriel escape the small town and small people of Porpoise Spit for the big city lights and acceptance of Sidney, Australia.

A low self-esteemed wedding obsessed wannabe, Muriel lies, cheats and steals her way to her ultimate goal. Getting HITCHED! At least that's what Muriel thinks she desires, but all she wants is to truly be accepted by friends, family and her WHOLE world. Muriel's whole existence is based on "Why Can't It Be Me? Why Can't I Be The One?"

Muriel's parents, Bill and Betty Heslop, played by Aussie actors Bill Hunter and Jeanie Drynan both turn in excellent and believable performances. Especially Jeanie Drynan as the put upon mother who unconditionally loves her children and only wants to think the best of them.

Also featured are four judgemental and witchy women who are Muriel and Rhonda's former high school classmates. Some of the greatest comedy scenes take place between the six gals and are hilarious!

The film ALSO has a GREAT 70's soundtrack with the likes of:

Sugar Baby Love by The Rubettes
We've Only Just Begun by The Carpenters
Tide Is High by Blondie
Waterloo by ABBA
I Go to Rio by Peter Allen
I Just Don't Know What to Do With Myself by Dusty Springfield
Dancing Queen by ABBA
I Do, I Do, I Do, I Do, I Do by ABBA
and Happy Together by The Turtles

I highly recommend this film not just as a "chick flick" but a great and terrific movie that examines not only the comedic side of life but of true friendship, love and death...

Happy Watching And Go Porpoise Spit High!

Good Movie
Toni Collette plays an awkward, clumsy woman named Muriel who fantasizes about getting married and listens to ABBA. Living in Porpoise Spit, she has no life of her own. She, as well as her family, are mentally abused by the father, a philandering politician who will do anything to gain popularity. The group of women that she hangs around with, don't want her around because she doesn't live up to their standards--beautiful and stupid. While on vacation, she meets with a high school friend, Rhonda.
Before her performance in "Six Feet Under", Rachel Griffiths plays Rhonda, a high school friend of Muriel's who is transformed into a swan. The popular quartet accepts her but she rejects them because of their cruel treatment of her in high school. She and Muriel move to Sidney, and Muriel starts anew. But when Rhonda is hit with cancer, Muriel goes back into her dreams of being a bride. Muriel does marry but for the wrong reasons. Muriel is forced to confront herself, her family, and the people in her life that hurt her emotionally.
This movie deals with acceptance and Muriel had to accept that there were some things you could and couldn't change.

My favorite movie
*..*
I watched this wonderful movie about a year after it originally came out. I connected with the (very real lives of the) characters.

The story of a woman who discover the shollow ways of the people around her, Muriel's Wedding is one of those rare movies with deep messages.

Anyone who's ever had any kind of self issues will compeletely love it. Check it out. ... Read more

Amazon.com

A Japanese auto company is persuaded to take over an abandoned factory--and abandoned U.S. workforce--in a small rust-belt town in Middle America. Alas, this wonderful idea for a culture-clash comedy goes pretty much to waste in Gung Ho. Michael Keaton gives his most relentlessly obnoxious performance as the fast-talking shop foreman who never stops BS'ing his Japanese employers, his work buddies (George Wendt and John Turturro among them), his girlfriend (Mimi Rogers), and himself. There's a trumped-up crisis in every reel, and a great deal of double talk about whether the Japanese are workaholic freaks or the new, true inheritors of the old American get-up-and-go. Director Ron Howard and screenwriters Lowell Ganz and Babaloo Mandel had made the enchanting comedy-fantasy-romance Splash only a couple of years before; they probably thought they were concocting a Frank Capra-style fable here, but, far from having a beautiful mind, this movie is strictly sitcom mentality from top to bottom. --Richard T. Jameson ... Read more

Reviews (21)

Great Movie
A great comedy and a fun movie to watch. This movie shows how the clashing of two cultures can lead to some very funny moments. Michael Keaton gives an outstanding performance helped by a teriffic supporting cast. The American and Japanese auto workers learn to get along and put aside their differences to help each other. This movie is all about working as a team and getting the job done right. A comment to the last reviewer:If you want to see reality I suggest you do not watch movies. Cinema is fiction and the director's interpretation of reality. This is a great movie and does not disrespect the japanese in any way.

Working Class Man
This movie was released in Australia as 'Working Class Man' and I believe that it even had the Jimmy Barnes hit dubbed into the sound track at the end of the movie.

Thoroughly enjoyed the movie and encourage anyone who has not seen it to have a look and judge for themselves.

From an Australian point of view, still too American, perhaps some fun made of the Japanese, but like I said, judge for yourselves.

A fun movie
This is a guilty pleasure. Unfortunately, like many Paramount transfers, this is too soft and not vibrant; a real dissapointment (sometimes I would swear it is also out of focus...but that may be in the original masters).

Gung Ho
This is one of my favorite movies. I think, while a comedy, it really does hit the head of the nail about the mentality of auto industry. It is very original and the story is interesting enough that the movie flies by. Check it out.

A fun movie about a tough time in America
This movie gives a glimpse of how America came to terms with its economic fallibility. In a way, it was prophetic becuase so many American companies have partnered with Japanese companies in just this manner, and had the same kinds of growing pains. Ron Howard gave a touchy subject his magic, and Gung Ho! is a hilarious and delightful story.

Some people find the movie a simplistic version of an American-Japanese culture clash. Don't be such a fuddy-duddy! Good comedies don't portray reality, but they make us THINK about reality, which is much more important. In that aspect, Ron Howard and his talented cast did a great job. ... Read more

Reviews (41)

Seminal post-mod UK thriller.
Mike Hodges' Get Carter is a bleak and bitter revenge thriller that has been little seen in the U.S since it's release in 1971. It's humourless tone and grim conclusion prevent it from being embraced by larger audiences, but for the more demanding viewer these are the very features that make it such a memorable delight. Michael Caine gives a solid performance as the title character Jack Carter, a London-based criminal out to seek revenge for the murder of his brother in Newcastle. The film should be applauded for not softening the Carter character in an attempt to make him more appetizing to the viewer. We may think Carter is cool but there is little here on display for us to ever mistake him for a hero.
Apart from it's startling realism, other memorable aspects of the film are composer Roy Budd's proto-Acid Jazz score and the flamboyant post-hippie threads sported by Caine and co. A film so good that you are almost willing to forgive Caine for the many terrible films he has appeared in since.
The disc contains some wonderfully dated theatrical trailers and an audio commentary from Caine, Hodges and the cinematographer.

Caine Has Never Been Better!
For those of you used to seeing Michael Caine from his films in the late 70s through the 90s, be prepared for a surprise. Even Caine has admitted he often chose his films only for the money. But Get Carter (1971) was before all that. Get Carter is the story of a hired killer's return from London to his hometown, a gritty town in England, to investigate and avenge the death of his brother. This is no travelogue; there are no picturesque views of jolly olde England/London in Get Carter. Much of the story was later virtually lifted by The Limey, another great film, in which Caine would also have been perfect. But here, unlike Terence Stamp in The Limey, Caine plays Carter as an ice cold, cruel, brutal ruthless sociopath. You root for Carter, but he doesn't make it easy. Caine has never acted better or looked cooler. Each of the smaller supporting parts are brilliantly played by unknown English charactor actors. The dialogue is dead-on, and the score, by Roy Budd, is unforgettable. Mike Hodges in his directorial debut, shows us the real underbelly of pornographers, hoods and small-time criminals in a gritty working class English town. Neither Hodges nor Caine were ever better. Get Carter is now being remade starring, of all people, Stallone, with Caine playing a bit part, and the setting changed to the USA. Skip it, and order a copy of Get Cater immediately, the day it's out on DVD.

Mike Hodges lean, mean anti-hero epic.
This is the film where young, cool-head cockney actor Michael Caine "made his bones" by mercilously breaking some. Jack Carter is Limey-Mafia enforcer out for vengeance in a grim noir film that cuts no slack on the so-called "glamour of evil". Not a single character in the fine ensmeble cast is spared "poena damni" as either a loser or(brutally killed)lost soul. This is Mike Hodges'(CROUPIER)existential epic about bottom-feeders of British low-life gangster demi-monde. The movie works because Caine is consummate,unapologetic anti-hero who takes us on his cheap sex; cheaper-drugs; rife with punk-thug violence,odyssey. His unholy grail is "'I the Jury!'" JUSTICE"...and its ultimate cost in his own dehumanization. Jack Carter's violent journey to oblivion is "proof" of poet Blake's dictum:THEY BECOME LIKE THAT WHICH THEY BEHOLD...YET AMAZING IN STENGTH or HOWLING IN DREAD AND PAIN.

Before PM amorality became fashionable, GET CARTER presented cinematic view-to-a-kill about how a brave man...who perhaps could have been honorable and heroic. Caine shows how easy it is to sell one's soul for a moment of what the world calls TRIUMPH. This isn't a pleasant movie to watch. But--unlike the bogus remake with Sly Stalone--Caine asks no sympathy for Jack Carter. With jolting portrayal of remorselessness in evil,he redeems a film "about an irredeemable man". Entertaining, no.Illuminating? Yes...(4 & 1/2 stars)

Get this
The grimmest, bleakest, and most often misquoted Caine film of the lot gets a look-in for its peerless use of locations as much as for its set pieces, although they are fantastic - Caine answering door naked with shotgun as drum majorettes march past, Caine making final delirious despatch with aid of seaside slag tipper, and of course the scene that's now forever to be known as "the out-of-shape bloke". Nowadays Old Maurice lives out his dotage on a cheeky chappie rough diamond reputation, but here's a good example of a man who's nothing but coal.

An overlooked classic
"Get Carter" is one of the original, and definitely one of the best, modern gangster films. There would be no "The Long Good Friday", "Lock, Stock & Two Smoking Barrels" or "Snatch" without this movie. Michael Caine as Jack Carter is the first bad guy in film history that you want to root for, but feel bad because he's such an evil person. The dialogue is razor-sharp, the sets and cinematography are as dreary as the Northern England location, and the last 30 minutes of the movie, especially the ending, will leave you with the need to stand in the sun for a long time. You'll understand why after you watch it. And, most importantly, AVOID THE REMAKE AT ALL COSTS! ... Read more

Reviews (12)

John Wayne, Stewart Granger & co. shine in Alaskan adventure
The tremendously entertaining "North to Alaska" is easily John Wayne's most light hearted and fun filled movie and is wonderful viewing for all ages !!

Henry Hathaway's lively film is loosely based on the play "Birthday Gift" by Ladislas Fodor and Hathaway shows a wonderful hand in the romantic, comic nature of this film.

Confirmed bachelor Wayne and love lorn Grainger strike it rich in Nome, Alaska at the turn of the century and there begins all there problems. Wayne returns to Seattle to bring back Grainger's fiance, finds she has married another man, and ends up in a dance hall and brings back to Nome the glamorous Capucine (she was a knock out in her day !) for Grainger, but the big Duke falls for her womanly charms himself ! Songster Fabian is loads of fun as Grainger's overly amorous kid brother, Billy...and noted funnyman Ernie Kovacs is slick conman Frankie Cannon...eager to get his hands on anyone's fortune. And Johnny Horton's resonant voice sings the title track to the movie !

Henry Hathaway often got the best out of the Duke on screen, and if you never thought screen tough guy John Wayne could be funny...see this film...the honeymoon cabin sequence with cunning Grainger and reluctant Capucine stirring up trouble with an irate Wayne listening is simply priceless !

Watch closely during the all out brawl in the snow and the mud at the conclusion of the film where Wayne cops a hit on the jaw, falls backwards, and his toupee flies off !

Fun, action & romance..."North to Alaska" has got it all !

The Duke......
It's the Duke. What more can I say. John Wayne was one of the most wonderful actors that ever existed. North to Alaska has incredible scenery, memorable music and quite an interesting cast. The fight scenes are hilarious. The romance is so French and refreshing. There truly is something for everyone in this movie. As was said in "Rio Lobo" with John Wayne, he's just so comfortable.

John Wayne Strikes Movie Gold!
They must have had a blast making this movie, set in the snowy mountains of Alaska during its exciting boomtown days. Complete with romance, hilarity AND and some really fabulous fist fights, North to Alaska is definitely one of John Wayne's best.

Claim jumpers, love triangles and power plays keep best friends Granger and Wayne on their toes, and almost at each other's throats, and right smack in the middle of it all is a delectable French lady named Capucine. Her cap is set for Wayne, but she soon finds out he's one of the most mule-headed men in Alaska!

Capucine really shines in her comically romantic role. As she employs all of her feminine wiles you will actually find yourself rooting for her! Granger and Wayne are fabulously paired up in this movie as partners, especially since they are exact opposites. This film has it all - love, laughs and lots of exciting action. A definite gold mine.

We Go North - the rush is on!!
Great fun here in gold rush fevered Nome sees John Wayne as his inimitable self playing (suprise suprise) himself aka Sam McCord the man's man in gold country. A gentle comic tale sees him return to Seattle and bring back a girl for his lovesick partner played superbly by Stewart Granger. He begins to regret this trip, and task after the initial maiden he is sent to fetch has unexpectantly married whilst Granger was away panning for Gold, and he must quickly find a replacement. Add in some claim jumpers, a romantic subplot, a greedy villian and the ever present sandpaper like comic tension between the main characters, and the end result is a real treat. With an excellent supporting cast, great scenery and nothing too serious to get excited about, this is quality family viewing. The location alone precludes the usual Wayne western formula, but the action and laughs come thick and fast. A great classic. Enjoy

My favorite John Wayne film!
"North To Alaska" caught my attention when I first heard the title song by Johnny Horton. I decided to watch this film, considering I like John Wayne and his movies. There's a lot of what anyone who enjoys a western comedy; John Wayne, of course, a humorous good-natured storyline, funny antics, and fisticuffs. There aren't many gunfights, just fistfights, with sucker punches here and there. Wayne is Sam McCord and is sent by his partner George Pratt (Stewart Granger) to Seattle to bring back his love, Jenny. However, she has married someone else. Sticking around Seattle, he finds a dance hall girl named "Angel", played by French model-actress Capucine. Can George accept her in place of Jenny? Find out for yourself. If you're a John Wayne fan, it's a must! ... Read more

Reviews (17)

600 gangs - 70,000 members
1988's Colors was the film that opened the Hollywood floodgate that unleashed dozens of films that attempted to capture the "reality" of life on the bottom of the food chain. The plot is simple: Sean Penn and Robert Duvall are two LA Police Department officers who try to stem the flow of violence and drugs on their beat. Duvall is an older and wiser cop on the verge of retirement who realizes how futile his job is. Penn is Danny "Pacman" McGavin, a young cop who believes that to destroy the gangs, you have to fight fire with fire. The rest of the film is director Dennis Hopper's attempt at calling attention to the urban warfare of Los Angeles. Hopper gained the trust of the local gangs and worked with them effectively; the Watts location perhaps being the most effective "character" in the film. Sean Penn is great; his aggression and dedication can't help but earn respect. Surprisingly, Hopper doesn't give Penn a believable racist edge. Instead, he throws in an utterly contrived "romance" with hispanic Maria Conchita Alonso. I felt this was a total cop-out (no pun intended).

Haskell Wexler's cinematography is excellent, though Herbie Hancock's music certainly makes it clear this film was made in the 80's. Dennis Hopper doesn't shy away from graphic violence, but he doesn't lose his grip on reality. Colors was very controversial back in the day, as people protested what they saw as the films glamorous depiction of gangs. In some ways, their warnings have proven prophetic: since Colors, the gangbang lifestyle has gone on to popularization in several movies straight through MTV. And now, even Whites have soaked up the dysfunctional world of the ghetto. Yes, the anti-gang message is there, but children do not respond to messages, they respond to images: Slick crimes and the power of brotherhood. In the end, Colors committs utter resignation to gang violence. The film makes it clear that in our current social environment, all society can do to limit the "gangsta" influence is to isolate it and let it kill itself off.

Stylish But It Could Use More Substance
Hailed by critics as one of the more important films of the 80s, "Colors" nonetheless is a fairly straightforward tragedy--there's no other direction for the story to take. Robert Duvall plays a veteran police officer working L.A.'s mean streets; hothead Sean Penn joins his CRASH anti-gang unit, predictably testing the elder partner's patience and reserve as he just tries to keep the peace and make it through that final year to retirement. Both actors bring more depth to their cliched roles than might be expected, playing off each other surprisingly well, even in moments where they are given little more to do than react. But "Colors" offers no real answers to anything. The cops are presented mostly as well-armed zookeepers, while the gang members, blessed with youth and health but not much brains, run violently about, making the story mostly a series of aimless confrontations. Art imitating life? Maybe. But careful audiences might feel they've been bamboozled, despite director Dennis Hopper's rather lofty take on it. With some scenes that are genuinely tragic and gripping--the shooting of an unarmed suspect and the movie's final scene, to name two--and a romantic subplot that deserved more time--Maria Conchita Alonso seems to just get warmed up as a bad girl flirting with the notion of being good--"Colors" seems to have more going for it than it really does. Watch it mainly for the performances and the suggestion of complexity.

A good film exploring gangs
I liked COLORS alot because it's a gritty, but realistic police drama. I grew up in bad urban streets, so I know how bad things can get. I also like the film because it explored the dangerous lives the Crypts and Bloods, who wear blue and red, naturally. There is still a bloody gang war between them, but COLORS wisely tells us they're bad background and potray them as human beings like us, and not vicious animals arrested by the police we see on TV.

Anyway, Dennis Hopper awkardly, but fantastically directed this film with Robert Duvall as a veteran cop and his young, headstrong apprentice Sean Penn, as they lead a Los Angeles gang unit against the petty crime in the streets fueled by the two rival gangs. But the boiled relationship with Duvall's calm manner and Penn's hair-trigger temper won't get them very far to survive in Watt's mean streets. That problem leads to a sad climax.

COLORS is a bit dated now when compared to more brutal, but nearly worthless gang movies nowadays. But it helped paved the way more better ones like BOYZ N THE HOOD and MENACE II SOCIETY. The film is different from both of those movies because it gives us a picturesque view of both the urban gang life and the police life.

Sup' Blood
Colors, a realistic account of the irreversible damage done to the city of Los Angeles by gang violence. Robert Duvall is partnered with trigger-happy PAC MAN(Sean Penn) and together the two deliver an action-packed adventure you'll never forget!

GOOD ACTIONER ABOUT INNER CITY GANGS
A VETERAN POLICE OFFICER [ROBERT DUVALL] IS FORCED TO WORK WITH A YOUNG KNOW IT ALL COP [SEAN PENN] IN L.A.'S CRASH UNIT. HOWEVER, THEY ARE CAUGHT UP IN A DEADLY GANG WAR. AS TIME PASSES, THEY BEGIN TO RELIZE THAT THE ONLY WAY THEY WILL STAY ALIVE IS IF THEY COME TOGETHER. VERY GOOD MOVIE THAT DEPICTS WHAT IS HAPPENING TOO MUCH AMONG GHETTO AFRICAN AMERICAN YOUTH. VERY GOOD PERFORMANCES BY THE LEADING STARS. ONLY THING THIS MOVIE COULD'VE WENT WITHOUT IS THE ROMANTIC SUBPLOT BETWEEN SEAN PENN AND MARIA CONCHITA ALONSO. BUT OTHER THAN THAT, A FANTASTIC ACTION MOVIE ABOUT STREET GANGS. ... Read more

Reviews (36)

SLAUGHTERHOUSE FIVE
I watch A LOT of movies and even review movies online as a hobby. This film is my very favorite movie of all time (and after 46 years of living, that says a lot). Vonnegut to me, uses Billy Pilgrim as a virginal character (although in the film he does produce two children with his wife). He is like an innocent who goes through world war II and tries to avoid doing harm. As a result of a misunderstanding while a prisoner of war, he makes a lifelong enemy. We see Pilgrim's life process..his ups and downs, and his otherworldly adventures and in this movie, we are shown a new way of experiencing life...as the Tralfamadorians say..the secret to living in a crazy world is to concentrate on the good times and ignore the bad. If I only had one movie to watch on a desert island..it would be this one. Two thumbs and five stars all the way!

"Could we have the 'night canopy', please?"
George Roy Hill's vastly underrated and often misunderstood 1972 sci-fi classic is available on DVD at last (or once again...I have never personally seen an available copy of the purported first DVD release-it must have gone out of print rather quickly). Hill does an admirable job with Kurt Vonnegut Jr.'s "unfilmable" story about Billy Pilgrim, a quiet and somewhat milquetoast Everyman (Michael Sachs) who has become "unstuck in time"; living/reliving random moments of his life in a kind of eternal "shuffle play". Without giving too much away, I'll just tell you that UFO's, WW 2, a sexy B-movie queen (played by Valerie Perrine-oh my!), suburban Americana, Zen philosophy, time travel, the End Of The Universe and intergalactic zoos all enter the mix, and believe it or not, it all makes perfect sense. In the hands of a lesser director, this type of risky book-to-film could have been a real mess (a la the most recent Vonnegut-to-screen "Breakfast Of Champions"). Hill manages to pull it off with the same class and finesse he would later apply to the equally 'unfilmable' John Irving story "The World According To Garp" (F.Y.I.-Hill's resume also includes "Butch Cassidy", "The Sting", "Slapshot" and "A Little Romance"!). The 2004 DVD transfer features a crisp widescreen picture and passable mono audio (no "extras", but I would suggest reading the book as an "extra"!) A must-have for fans of cerebral sci-fi.

our mind
I think this movie depicts how our minds go back and forth to our memories. As you can see Billy Pligrima unstuck on time and he lives now but at the same time he lives with past, present, and perhaps the future as well. It well written and made out as a movie. It is a post modern approach to the viewers of up coming generation. It is a great movie but you might read the book first and watch the film.

Misses A Point of the Novel
In my opinion, one of the most heart-breaking aspects of the novel upon which this film was based was the possibility that Billy Pilgrim had to fantasize the Trafalmadorians to hide from the fact the people are RESPONSIBLE for their own actions. I thought the film presented the Trafalmadorians as real, without looking into the possibility that people might be responsible for the horrors they create. I think the best film adaptation of a Vonnegut novel is "MOTHER NIGHT."

Billy...The war is over !!!
My all time favorite movie , read the book in 1973 and then saw the film on a late nite broadcast in the late 70's...When I got my first Video recorder this was one of the first films I bought....I have been looking to buy this on DVD for a long time and now I have it...The movie is well written and filmed , the music is outstanding and the acting is top notch...The German scenes of camps and halftracks and uniforms are right on the money...The story is a killer , time travel and insanity and fatherhood and anti-war themes run rampant....Dresden and the Feb. 1945 bombing are the central theme though and the storyline of this event is the thread that holds the movie together...Buy this movie and enjoy it many times....You need to view it at least a dozen times to catch all the plots and the dialouge and the great direction that was put into this story... ... Read more

Reviews (26)

An uneven guilty pleasure
I don't know why I am such a sucker for this film. It is too long, uneven, very slow in parts and certainly doesn't provide a happy ending. But it is one of the most honest yet entertaining westerns I have ever seen. The qimmick of using the Keach brothers as Frank and Jesse James and the Carradine brothers as the three members of the Younger family (plus throwing in the Quaid brothers for good measure)works wonderfully well. Always picturesque, frequently violent and bloody, this film evokes the unstable time just after the Civil War when the James and Younger gang were at their height. A terrific contrast is drawn between the James men, who are depicted as dedicated homebodies when not at "work", and the Youngers who are depicted as boisterous hell-raisers. Pamela Reed as Belle Starr is a standout in an already excellent cast. When Cole Younger and her husband square off for a knife fight she just smiles and declares "You boys sure do keep me entertained." The same could be said for this film. It is by far the best Jesse James film ever made, and with its sound track by Rye Cooder, a pleasant experience to revisit every year or so.

Walter Hill's best film -- an unsung classic
Just as the 80s were beginning and the Western was about to take a sad, decade long sleep, Walter Hill, fresh from his unexpected success with the gang film "The Warriors," turned out this unique and utterly remarkable Western about the James-Younger gang. Using real-life brothers to play the outlaw kin (two Keaches, three Carradines, two Quaids, two Guests), Hill crafts an intense character study that plays like a collaboration between Western great John Ford ("Stagecoach") and Japanese master Akira Kurosawa ("Yojimbo", a film Walter Hill later remade as "Last Man Standing").

"The Long Riders" is close to plotless, but it paints a fascinating picture of the gang and the family and community ties that keep them together (the Ford influence right there...community was his great theme) while delving into the nuances of each character (this is where the fraternal casting really helps out). And Hill acheives all this depth in only 100 minutes! The action sequences are the best in a Western since Sam Peckinpah; the Northfield robbery is particularly striking and brutal.

Aside from Hill and all the great actors, cinematography Ric Waite and composer Ry Cooder deserve special mention for the film's success. Waite creates an authentic "period" look with his deep, glowing photography; the DVD transfer captures this perfectly for the first time. Cooder's score is completely against the grain for the time: small, intimate, and filled with forgotten folk tunes that help paint a picture of a united, family-built community. It is almost a companion piece for David Mansfield's equally intimate score for "Heaven's Gate," released the same year as "The Long Riders."

The DVD has no extras except for a trailer, but the film is so wonderful and so rewards repeat viewings that you should grab a copy of it right away. Believe me, you'll be stunned by this piece of film art.

"I ain't aiming to do nothing...I'm doing it!"

Long Riders Is Long On Music, But Not On Plot
I saw this movie for the first time a couple of days ago. What hit me about the movie was the amount of music played in the movie. The movie is fair. Not a movie you would want to repeat several times in your lifetime. Maybe watch once and then move on. The cinematography is fine. It seemed to lack grit. I found it difficult to believe David Carradine as Cole Younger. Frank Keach was good as Jesse James, but brother Stacy Keach was passable as Frank James. I think a better rendition of the story of Jesse James and the Younger brothers was in the movie "The Great Northfield Minnesota Raid" made in 1972 as a television film (I believe). Cliff Robertson as Cole Younger and Robert Duvall as Jesse James seemed to be better renditions. The Long Riders is well made, but it seems to be missing something. Just rent it.....and if you really like the movie.....definitely buy it. Investigate the 1972 version with Duvall. Passable to good acting in the Long Riders.

the james and youngers ride again
This is the Western that out Peckinpahs Pekinpah! A gritty and bloody look at the greatest band of outlaws in American history with perfect casting and Walter Hill makes it look authentic and legendary all at once. Long Riders is a wonderful movie that hits the target and then some. It's a real Western gem.

cooler than cool
Some will get it and some won't, but Long Riders is "it"!
Great cast, great direction, and a script that blends history and myth with style.
Great photography and a great soundtrack to boot!
Plus great action, and Western mystique galore.
They don't come much cooler than Long Riders.
A classic. ... Read more

Description

DEAD OF NIGHT A group of strangers is mysteriously gatheredat a country estate where each reveals a chilling tale of thesupernatural. First, a racer survives a brush with death only to receiveterrifying premonitions from beyond the grave. Then a teen's innocentgame of hide-and-seek leads to an encounter with the macabre. Next, ayoung couple purchases an antique mirror that unleashes a horrific powerfrom its past. In a lighter vein, two competitive golfers play forstakes that may haunt the winner forever. Finally, a renownedventriloquist descends into an abyss of madness and murder when hisdummy develops a mind of its own. But even after these frightening talesare told, does one final nightmare await them all? Britain's venerableEaling Studios brought together four brilliant directors -CharlesCrichton (THE LAVENDER HILL MOB), Basil Dearden (THE MIND BENDERS),Alberto Cavalcanti (NICHOLAS NICKLEBY) and Robert Hamer (KIND HEARTS AND CORONETS) to create this classic chiller that remains one of the mostinfluential horror films ever made. This is the uncut and complete UKversion of DEAD OF NIGHT, now newly restored from original archivalmaterials for the first time in decades.

THE QUEEN OF SPADES "Unusual And Macabre!" ~ Leonard Maltin's Movie &Video Guide A gambling craze is sweeping 19th century St. Petersburg,yet a dashing Russian army captain (Anton Walbrook of THE RED SHOES) istoo impoverished to participate. But when he learns that an agingcountess (an award-winning performance by Dame Edith Evans of TOM JONES)may hold the ultimate key to gaming riches, the desperate young officerwill stop at nothing to steal the sinister secret for himself. Whenfortunes are won and lost with the turn of a card, will one man wagerhis very soul on a final twist of fate? Yvonne Mitchell (DEMONS OF THEMIND) co-stars in this brilliant British chiller directed by ThoroldDickinson (GASLIGHT), featuring extraordinary cinematography by OttoHeller (PEEPING TOM, THE IPCRESS FILE) and based on the celebrated shortstory by Russian poet Alexander Pushkin. Includes AN 8-page Collector's Booklet. ... Read more

Reviews (8)

ACTUALLY TRULY SCARY
One of the all-time great scare anthologies, DEAD OF NIGHT (Anchor Bay) is a classic collection of freaky supernatural stories told by strangers at a remote estate. The topper is Sir Michael Redgrave as a renowned ventriloquist who tells his tale of madness and murder when his dummy exhibits a mind of his own. The uncut, restored UK version is coupled with the wonderfully macabre QUEEN OF SPADES.

THANK YOU, ANCHOR BAY, FOR THESE MASTERPIECES!
About ten years ago, I screened THE QUEEN OF SPADES at New York's Museum of Modern Art film library. I had heard that they had, in their collection, an old 16 mm print of this almost-lost treasure. I sat with a Russian stage/film director friend, as well as actress Rosemary Harris (late of Aunt May in SPIDERMAN); the three of us were transfixed as we discovered, and Rosie re-discovered (she had seen the premiere in England), this astonishing piece of film alchemy.

Anton Walbrook's talent, like Vivien Leigh's, was ineffable. His choices, as an actor, are so outlandish sometimes that you think he will never pull off the moment - then he stops right at the edge and leaves you gasping at the utter uniqueness and danger of his choice. Dame Edith Evans, in her film debut, playing a woman forty years her senior, is all remarkable, twisted, bitter, frightened restraint. (Rosie mentioned that Edith Evan's key moment of reaction, in the film, had so frightened the audience at the time that everyone screamed out loud. Not difficult to understand, even today...)

The lighting and camera direction are at once solid and ethereal; dreamy like Cocteau's LA BELLE ET LA BETE, and brutally unforgiving like Welles' CITIZEN KANE.

Much has been said about DEAD OF NIGHT and deservedly so. This genuinely is the grandfather of all psychological horror films. What seems so innocuous, almost gentle at first, develops into a disturbingly laden freight train barrelling straight towards you. There will be no way to escape. You will be knocked squarely off your tracks. Completely and utterly disorienting. Warning: do not watch this film alone at night. Don't even watch this film alone on a sunny day.

The picture and sound on each are very good and rich. The liner notes and artwork accompanying the DVD are of great interest, and are a wonderful starting-off point for the viewer.

Would that more DVD-producing companies were like Anchor Bay. Could they be poised to take over the position that Criterion, up until recently (with misleading claims of restoration and a chronicity of poor quality releases), enjoyed? One can only hope.

Must have
I won't say much about DEAD OF NIGHT, as any one who will be buying this set knows how extraordinary & ahead of it's time that film is. Needless to say, the Michael Redgrave segment is the best of a good bunch, with even the 'lighter' stories offering excellent viewing.
It's the QUEEN OF SPADES that proved the surprise to me - I had never seen this film, relagating it to 'second fiddle' after DEAD OF NIGHT, when it does in fact hold it's own remarkably well.
Slow moving, but to it's benefit, the story see's Anton Walbrook, a German engineer in the Russian army, envious of the wealth & title that are automatically bestowed upon his comrades. After learning that a Russian noblewoman posesses the secret of winning at cards, he manipulates her lady-in-waiting to gain access to this secret. things go slightly awray and although he gains the secret, the aged noblewoman dies of fright.
This part of the story takes up most of the film, with the 'haunting' of the engineer forming the final act.
Although lacking any actual 'horror', this film has a definate atmosphere of unease and of meddling with things that should be left alone. Superb performances again, with the key being the utter conviction of the cast.
A film like this could not be made today, which makes it all the more important that productions like this and DEAD OF NIGHT should be cherished by fans of what the term 'horror film' really means as opposed to what it was eventually twisted into in the '80's & '90's.

SUPERB DOUBLE BILL....
Fantastic pairing of two vintage British chillers and an immediate collector's item. Bravo Anchor Bay. 1.) 1946's "Dead Of Night" is an early anthology of supernatural tales told by a group of strangers at a country house to another stranger who has seen them all before----in a nightmare. Excellent cast, good exposition of stories that have been mimicked many times since but never this well. Best: the "Haunted Mirror" sequence and the final horror tale of Hugo the dummy with a brilliant performance by (Sir) Michael Redgrave as the tormented ventriloquist. This sequence features Elisabeth Welch, the singer later to be seen in the bizarre finale of Derek Jarman's equally bizarre "The Tempest". Good print, sometimes tinny sound but not that bad---it's really OK. Weakest sequence is the golfer's story that had been excised from previous prints. Still, it's interesting to see the adult aspects in this sequence not seen in American films of the time. And, in some of the other sequences, to hear "hell" used as a swear word so many times--- also taboo in 40's American films. 2.) 1949's "Queen of Spades"---a film I had never seen before. Based on Alexander Pushkin's famous story, it tells of a Russian military officer in the 1800's who becomes obsessed with learning the "secret" of winning at Faro, a popular card game sweeping Europe at the time. He obtains a mysterious book on the occult that tells of a famous Countess who learned the secret but sold her soul to the devil in the process. The story is true so he tracks her down to learn her "secret" and finds her an aged, embittered but wealthy recluse with a pretty ward she's devoutly protective of. He surreptitiously woos the girl to get to the Countess with tragic results. He accidently scares the old lady to death when she won't talk. But her ghost comes back...with an offer he can't refuse. The details of this film---both in story content and visuals---are mesmerizing. It's darkly Gothic and creepy. The period setting is beautifully realized on film. Anton Walbrook and (Dame) Edith Evans are wonderful as the soldier and the Countess as are the rest of the cast. Brilliantly directed by Thorold Dickinson, this is a must see. A rare and unusual film for purists. Don't miss out on this worthy double bill DVD. Both films are classics to be sure but "Queen of Spades" is really something special.

Beware THE QUEEN OF SPADES!
I first saw this film on a PBS series CINEMATIC EYE over 20 years ago and have never forgotten it nor had the chance to see it again. Until now. This marvelously macabre film is based on a short story by Alexander Pushkin which is the same one used by Tchaikovsky for his opera of the same name. It stars Anton Walbrook (THE RED SHOES) and Dame Edith Evans in what marked her film debut at the age of 61. The story of a man who is obssessed with the secret of winning at cards and the woman who posseses that secret is turned into a tour de force by producer Anatole De Grunwald and director Thorold Dickinson. The movie is full of baroque chiaroscuro lighting and bizarre camera angles and looks like a cross between the films of Val Lewton and Orson Welles with a little Fritz Lang thrown in for good measure. The acting by Walbrook, Evans, and a cast of British stalwarts ranges from flamboyant to quietly repressed and suits the material perfectly. If you appreciate the old style of moviemaking where what you don't see will thrill you and all the filmmaking elements are combined to produce a delirious whole then this is the movie for you. It's a cliche' but they just don't make movies like this anymore. Couple it with DEAD OF NIGHT which is one of the truly legendary films of psychological horror (and has plenty of reviews elsewhere) at one low price and you simply can't go wrong. Thanks to Anchor Bay for making this incredible package available. Both films have superb video transfers. The audio on DEAD OF NIGHT has never been ideal but this is the best it has ever sounded. And remember the next time you play cards, "BEWARE THE QUEEN OF SPADES"! ... Read more

Description

An infant raised to manhood among savage apes, living by his wits and the law of the jungle, returns to society to claim his inheritance of humanity and privilege. This collision of "wild" and "civilized" worlds is the extraordinary saga of Tarzan, chronicled in Edgar Rice Burroughs' popular book series. Starring:Christopher Lambert, Andie MacDowell, Ian Holm ... Read more

Reviews (32)

Greystoke - The Legend of Tarzan, Lord of the Apes
I felt the film gave an adequate portrail of the book written by E.R. Boroughs. Christopher Lambert depicted Tarzan as one would imagine a human growing up in the jungle. His french accent gave credence to the original story where Tarzan, was taught the spoken language of French by Lt. D'Arnut. The scene with the ape attacking and killing his family is not romanticised - It appears as a wild animal jealously defending his territory against intruders. Tarzan's relationship with the apes that raised him is touching and the jungle scenes are fantastic. As well as are Christopher Lambert's portrail of Tarzan's difficulties adapting to the restrictions of "civilized" society. The film takes a number of "artistic licenses" in numerous places - which is a shame as the original story would be easily depicted in flim. The acting was very good and the sets fantastic! Overall the film would be worth viewing as the story moves fast enough to keep your interest, and it [film] will make you re-think who is really the savage beasts - man or animal (who is living by the most basic laws of nature - driven by survival and not greed)?

AT LONG LAST!!!!! But What About The Special Features?
GREYSTOKE is without a doubt the best Tarzan movie ever made (though I must admit, the Disney version came pretty close). Not only is it the most loyal to Edgar Rice Burrough's original novel, but it's the only adaptation to contain real drama. GREYSTOKE has an epic scope and musical score, and a cast of fine actors, including Sir Ian Holm, Sir Ralph Richardson, Andie MacDowell (though she was dubbed over by Glenn Close), and Christopher Lambert in his very first movie, and what a way to start! With his eyes alone, he expresses an emotion that many actors can't even muster with their e