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In Calle 54, Madrid-based filmmaker Fernando Trueba explores thewide and wonderful world of Latin jazz: a hybrid genre that fuses the clave, samba, flamenco, merengue, and other rhythmsfrom Africa, the Iberian peninsula, and the Americas. The film's Spanish titletakes its name from Sony Music Studios located on 54th Street in Manhattan, where a who's who of musicians were filmed and recorded. They range fromBrazilian bombshell keyboardist Eliane Elias and enigmatic Argentine tenor saxophonist Gato Barbieri, to the fiery rumba group Puntilla y Nueva Generacion. The music and musicians of Cuba and Puerto Rico dominate this documentary, and the most touching scene is the emotional father-and-son reunionof Cuban pianists Bebo and Chucho Valdés, who were separated by Fidel Castro's revolution. Sadly, the film features the last onscreen appearances by the late composer-arranger Chico O'Farrill and the legendary timbales masterTito Puente. Simply put, Calle 54 is a documentary that dances. --Eugene Holley Jr. ... Read more

Reviews (27)

Not just a Latin jazz film, but an awesome jazz movie!
If you are a fan of Latin jazz, or jazz music in general, you're going to have to make this a mandatory DVD to add to your collection. It is not so much a documentary as it is a showcase for the talent and creativity among Latin jazz musicians. The "documentary" portions are limited to quick glimpses of various musicians talking about their music, what it means to them, or why certain places offer so much inspiration.

But then we get to see the music, full-length performances that are beautifully shot and edited. If you enjoy the overall look of the performances on the "Sessions At West 54th" show, you will enjoy this as each of the liver performances were done in the same NYC studio.

There is so much great music to absorb, from Gato Barbieri's big band, to the late Tito Puente showing us why he was always a showmen right up until the end. Chucho Valdes goes to Cuba and talks about his father raising him with the music as a child. Later on, we see his father Bebo perform with a longtime friend. We then see a meeting between Bebo and Chucho, who haven't seen each other in years. When the perform together, you can see a father who loves his son so much, and a son who is very thankful for what his father has given to him. Eliane Elias is here with her trio, but sadly we don't get to hear her sing (or speak for that matter).

The best section of this DVD is where legendary Cuban conga player Patato plays with a group of musicians in front of two dancers, who proceed to tease each other with the music and their interpretive dance. You can sense the tension in the air through the dance, but in time they eventually get what they both want from each other, and everyone is happy.

"Calle 54" is reminiscent of older music films from the 60's, when artists were presented in this manner years before there was ever such a thing as a music video or pay-per-view concerts. The performances are top notch, and it's impossible not to tap your fingers or dance in your seat. This is the side of jazz Ken Burns' sadly overlooked, but one that is very important in jazz's rich history.

A music lover's dream movie
Director Fernando Trueba's eye for composition and passion for music yield a true sonic and visual feast for music fans. The movie features an awesome collection of the very best Latin Jazz musicians--Chucho Valdez, Michel Camilo, Tito Puente QEPD, among many others--each performing a terrific song with a truly outstanding dolby 5.1 soundtrack. The sound is absolutely gorgeous...as close to listening to a live performance as you will ever get. Included is a spellbinding performance by the sultry Brazilian pianist Eliane Elias that swept me off my feet. A must have for any Jazz or Latin music fan.

Incredible!
This is an incredible film. The music is fantastic. Do yourself a favor and get the DVD and not the VHS, or you will miss all the bonus stuff.
As a cuban musician brought up on this music, I highly recommend it!

Awesome - Simply awesome!
Wow. I heard about this when it was released for a short time in New York City, but never got a chance to see it. Now, I'm not the type that normally goes for "Artsy/Documentary films", but Tito Puente was in it, so when it was released on Pay-per-view shortly after my son was born, I figured I'd watch it while feeding my 4 day old son at Oh-dark-thirty in the morning. ;)

Wow. I was glued to the screen. I considered myself a fan of Latin Jazz and latin music in general, but I've never been treated to a dazzling display of talent such as the one that I saw and heard before my eyes. From the wonderful (And my all-time favorite song) Latin Jazz song 'From Within' performed by Michel Camilo, to the tour-de-force by Bebo Valdés, everything was awesome.

Of course, there are problems that I noticed right off the bat. It seems as if the songs were recorded seperately from the actual performances, so you see the artists perform a few things that you don't hear reflected in the sound (Look at Hilton Ruiz using his elbow on the piano that isn't heard in the music during Tito Puente's 'New Arrival' for example), which takes off a star from my rating.

As long as you come in as a music lover, you'll treasure this. If you're looking for a performance DVD, go elsewhere. Plain and simple. =)

This is for Latin JAZZ Lovers. Not for LATIN MUSIC FANS
I liked the DVD but I can't say I'll watch it again, ever!
It's too slow paced, too much narration. (Bein from the Caribean I didn't care for the spaniard's accent). It just lacked Heat! I honestly fell asleep watching it. Some parts I just pressed fastforward because it was just toooooo boooring!!!! Does not come close to Buena Vista's excitement. But if you like Latin JAZZ, then this is for you. The best part was seing the places where the performers grew up, going from streets in NY to Havana.
Maybe I'll watch it again when I'm 50 and suffering from a bad case of insomnia. ... Read more

Reviews (83)

This movie is deliciously German
I now love Tom Tykwer! He created 2 amazingly complex and believable characters and then spun them into a world so spellbinding and original that I don't even know where to start...

First of all the cinematography is breathtaking. I've been to the city of Wuppertal, but I NEVER saw it like this. The shots of the Schweberbahn were otherworldly. And the heartbreaking shots of Sissi in her yellow raincoat, the psychiatric hospital she lives in, Bodo's messed up life, etc.

Second of all the pacing. As with Run Lola Run, Tykwer creates an original pace unique to this movie. This one is much slower and calmer than Run Lola Run, but never lags or becomes dull. Tykwer creates a realer than real-life, postmodern esthetic--simultaneously drawing the viewer into a mesmerizingly believable, deliciously dark German fictional world and at the same time using all kinds of cool, surprising film techniques to create an itching sense of Verfremdung (aka alienation) and the uneasy awareness that you're watching a freaky posthuman fairy tale.

Third of all, although neither Sissi nor Bodo are the kind of people I normally hang out with, Tykwer made me love them. Hats off to him for creating characters who are so flawed and, in some ways, scary and at the same time making them endearing.

I can't wait to gluttonously feast on all the other Tykwer films I can get my hands on!

Better than Run Lola Run
Before I saw The Princess and the Warrior I had certain expectations because I had been a fan of director Tom Tykwer's masterpiece Run Lola Run. But this is a totally different bird. While Tykwer wrote The Princess and the Warrior with actress Franka Potente in mind, the film focuses on not only her character Sissy but also her set-up-by-fate love interest -- the troubled ex-military man Bodo (portrayed by Benno Furmann).

Set in the beautiful German town Wuppertal, The Princess and the Warrior tells the story of how Sissy, a nurse in a mental institution going through the motions of her life and living more for those around her than for herself, escapes her reality and tries to find love with a mysterious man named Bodo, a man who is so wrapped up in troubles of his own life and who is in so much pain over the loss of his wife that he cannot even begin to emotionally deal with Sissy's affections.

Without going into much more detail, this may sound like your average girl-meets-boy love story... but it's not. Like Tykwer's Heaven -- and even, in some ways, like Run Lola Run -- Tykwer's characters are written so that they appear to be destined to be together he always adds plot twists to make sure their relationship doesn't run smoothly, or even traditionally for that matter.

Sprechen Sie Deutsch?
Run Lola Run would be a hard act to follow, but German actress Franka Potente has out done herself again. She potrays a young nurse at a mental hospital, whose life is semi dull until she gets in an accident, and meets her soul mate. She then goes on a journey looking for her savior, hoping it will change her boring life. Together they struggle through many situations, while overcoming there own personal demons.

If you liked Run Lola Run, or just looking for a deep movie buy The Princess and the Warrior. I am a German major in college, and have watched many German movies, this is by far the best!

One of my favourite sentimental movies in the whole world.
This is an excellen movie from Tom Tykwer after the Run lola movie. Franka and Benno Fuermann are very good actors and make the watcher believe every part they play. The story is very deep and very great filmed. I love also the music. The main title is sung by skin (skunk anansie) and to hear at the end of the film, called "you can't find peace".

Not just another heist movie. [4.5+ stars]
Two individuals cross paths in a most unlikely manner: after Sissi, a psych ward nurse, gets struck down by a truck Bodo, a disturbed and violent man, runs to her safety and saves her life. From this point in time both of their lives become forever intertwined, although not always in a healthy and positive manner. While Bodo just wants to let events rest in the past Sissi becomes obsessed with him and won't leave him alone. She frequently ponders whether her rescue of Bodo was an act of fate or coincidence, and as the events of this film unravel the audience is also perplexed at the true meaning.

Meanwhile Bodo and his brother are planning a bank heist and desperately wish that Sissi would leave them both alone, even to the point of throwing her out in the middle of a rain storm. But Sissi is relentless to reach out to the disturbed Bobo and the demons that lay in his head.

There is little doubt that this is a dark and twisted film -- but at the same time it is entertaining and engrossing. The character development is finely executed resulting in a finely tuned film full of action, emotion, and depth. It's a shame that I never heard of this DVD only until recently. Why? It truly deserves more publicity and praise. Highly recommended. ... Read more

Reviews (68)

DVD's are supposed to contain MORE....
I adore this movie in a completely irrational, fan girl way. I know it's corny, I know that some people will hate it, and think it's stooopid. It fits the comic book style of punchy, fast action. Lori Petty quite effectively becomes the punk-girl she ought to be.

But like other reviewers, I am quite, quite disappointed in the DVD version of this film. From the trenches you hear grumblings that there was a lot of edited stuff that COULD HAVE been put on the DVD. Why don't DVD makers do more than reprint what we already have on video for us to (silly consumers we sometimes are) just rush out to buy anyway? The picture quality of the DVD is not significantly higher than that of the video-- the only real bonus is that you can do still pauses and get some cool screen shots for that conference paper presentation you're doing... There is nothing more than the video on this DVD. Not even any nifty "Making of Tank Girl" footage, or sketches of other rejected cartoon scenes, or whatever! Even an oldie/goodie Cherry 2000 has more than this one, and surely the DVD makers could have done better.

I'll just hope that Men In Black is correct, and someday, when we get the next alien form of media (I guess I'll have to buy the White album again) the next makers of whatever futuristic thing we'll all have to rush out and buy will heed this advice-- put more on your big media! There's no real reason for me to excercise my insane consumerism if you don't fill up my big old plate!

Great Movie NO extras
The movie itself is a 5 star, the "no extras" brings the rating down for the dvd. It is fact that they taped at least another half hour to an hour of footage that is not going to make the dvd, which is sad. (they even messed up and put pictures from these scenes in the trading card set) If you can get passed that Get the DVD!

Even if you are not familiar with the comic book, this is a female empowerment, "riot grrrl" movie. Tankie Fears NOTHING! If you like movies with female strong leads and a wacky sence of humor this is it! No tears for this one. This is like Boys on the side and Beaches for a younger minded audience without all that pesky death to veil your judgment.

When I went to the movies I did not think Lori Petty could pull off Tank Girl, but it was a nice surprise to watch her. Petty Captured Tank Girl by the Bullocks! Naomi Watts as Jet Girl and Malcolm McDowell as Kesslee were great in it as well. Don't let the critics feed you a line of bull on this one. INSTANT cult classic Just because there is no HUGE life lesson in this, it should not take away from this lighthearted movie. Sometimes all you want to do is press play and enjoy, not rattle your brain. If you have the mentality to like the bands on the soundtrack (Bjork, Hole, Joan Jett, L7, Portishead, Stomp, etc.) you will LOVE this movie..... stop reading and go get it!

PA-PA-PA-POW!

How Did I Miss Seeing This Before?
Ok, it's not "The Godfather" or anything. Nothing much went into the acting or such things. It's just another crappy mid-90's action movie. Or is it?

Not even close. "Tank Girl" is not about quality, it's about attitude, and Lori Petty has attitude to boot. Her constant puns and jokes could come off as annoying, like they do in the Batman movies, which have ended up aging about as well as milk, but Petty really pulls it off, with her Gwen Stefani style, dirty mouth, and a seemingly endless stream of energy.

Plot (not like it matters) is as follows: 2033, there's nothing but endless sand. There's even a shortage of water! All that's left is in the hands of a huge, evil corporation. So, as it has been and always will be, wherever there's power, there's protest. Tank girl and her friends are out to bring down the company, but a surprise attack forces Tank Girl alone to go up against all of her oppressors.

The style never ends. From the awesome soundtrack (including 2 Bjork songs, and Portishead's "Roads") to a very cool animated sequence, "Tank Girl" is sure to dazzle viewers who enjoy funny, campy, avant garde films. GO TANK GIRL!

this movie sucks how come yu people are giving it props!?
Tank Girl... see it. You wanna know why? Because this movie is so bad you'll laugh your ass off! It's about goat/kangaroo/retards trying to save something. A scene that will forever live in my mind is when they're done eating dinner they just start dancing in a circle for no damn reason. But watch this movie because after it you'll want to kill the director and pull you're eyes out.

ultimate cult flick
how do I do this justice? Only in my Fellini days did I watch films more than once. I've watched this one 5 times and I'm still laughing, still relishing the humor. It unfolds easily... but it keeps unfolding each time I watch it and hasn't grown stale. I just watched it again and it drove me here to urge you - this is the best stuff! No cliche goes unexploited. social mockery? don't even start. ... just a comic book really.
sure. Try it. Totally fun. ... Read more

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Brutal and breathtaking, Sin City is Robert Rodriguez's stunningly realized vision of Frank Miller's pulpy comic books. In the first of three separate but loosely related stories, Marv (Mickey Rourke in heavy makeup) tries to track down the killers of a woman who ended up dead in his bed. In the second story, Dwight's (Clive Owen) attempt to defend a woman from a brutal abuser goes horribly wrong, and threatens to destroy the uneasy truce among the police, the mob, and the women of Old Town. Finally, an aging cop on his last day on the job (Bruce Willis) rescues a young girl from a kidnapper, but is himself thrown in jail.Years later, he has a chance to save her again.

Based on three of Miller's immensely popular and immensely gritty books (The Hard Goodbye, The Big Fat Kill, and That Yellow Bastard), Sin City is unquestionably the most faithful comic-book-based movie ever made. Each shot looks like a panel from its source material, and director Rodriguez (who refers to it as a "translation" rather than an adaptation) resigned from the Directors Guild so that Miller could share a directing credit. Like the books, it's almost entirely in stark black and white with some occasional bursts of color (a woman's red lips, a villain's yellow face). The backgrounds are entirely digitally generated, yet not self-consciously so, and perfectly capture Miller's gritty cityscape. And though most of Miller's copious nudity is absent, the violence is unrelentingly present. That may be the biggest obstacle to viewers who aren't already fans of the books and who may have been turned off by Kill Bill (whose director, Quentin Tarantino, helmed one scene of Sin City). In addition, it's a bleak, desperate world in which the heroes are killers, corruption rules, and the women are almost all prostitutes or strippers. But Miller's stories are riveting, and the huge cast--which also includes Jessica Alba, Jaime King, Brittany Murphy, Rosario Dawson, Benicio Del Toro, Elijah Wood, Nick Stahl, Michael Clarke Duncan, Devin Aoki, Carla Gugino, and Josh Hartnett--is just about perfect. (Only Bruce Willis and Michael Madsen, while very well-suited to their roles, seem hard to separate from their established screen personas.) In what Rodriguez hopes is the first of a series, Sin City is a spectacular achievement.--David Horiuchi ... Read more

Reviews (143)

This is like the worst thing I've ever seen
Well, I'm sitting in the theater waiting for this to start and thinking about how great that last movie I saw was. It was The Pacifier btw and it rocked unlike this carp. Well, this thing starts and immediately something is wrong. I yell to the guy and tell him to turn up the color or something but he says that's how the movie is. WTFzzors? I just saw The Pacifier which was awesome in color and now I have to watch this carp trying to be a relic from the 1950s? If I wanted to watch a boring movie with bad dialogue in black and white, I'd rent Citizen Kane or Seven Samurai. I come to the movies to be entertained not to watch boring talk with no color. Pass this carp up. Go see The Pacifier with Vin Diesel instead. He's a much better actor than anyone in this movie.

Amazing Movie...
I could go on and on and tell you the 10 billion reasons why this is one of the best films i have ever watched, but everyone else has already done that. The fact is, this movie ROCKS, i could watch it time and time again and never get tired. So simply go out and see this movie and enjoy the visual masterpiece. The music is also amazing. SEE THIS FILM!

Miller's graphic novels become Rodriguez's film noir epic
"Sin City" is a black and white world, except when the blood is being sprayed around and then be prepared for lots of red or white or even yellow. Based on three of the first four "Sin City" graphic novels by Frank Miller ("The Hard Good-Bye," "The Big Fat Kill," and "That Yellow Bastard") and "The Customer Is Always Right" short-story from "Babe Wore Red" that was the test run for this project, this 2005 film sets the standard for what film noir will be in the 21st century and advances the cause of digital filmmaker even more than "Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow." That film was pure eye candy, but "Sin City" is much too gritty to be that sweet. You are going to wince at some of what happens in this film and you might even turn away once or twice as the over the top violence hits you in the gut as hard as it hits some of the characters in the side of the head. But chances are you are going to love this movie to death.

Frank Miller's "Sin City" is a world where the heroes can take a whole series of punches as well as deliver them, where justice has nothing to do with either mercy or the cops, and the system is crooked from top down to pretty near the bottom of the barrel. The dames are still worth dying for and some of them might even be goddesses, but others can defend themselves quite well, thank you. This is a world where protecting women is hard-wired into the psyches of guys like John Hartigan (Bruce Willis), Marv (Mickey Rourke), and Dwight (Clive Owen). If you fail to protect a dame, then somebody has to pay and in a way that will make the scum bucket think Hell is heaven when you finally let them go there. This movie is rated R for sustained strong stylized violence, nudity and sexual content including dialogue, but that is an R that is a lot closer to NC-17 than it is to PG-13.

Ang Lee tried to have parts of "The Hulk" look like a comic book, but that meant throwing several frames on the screen at the same time. But with "Sin City" director Robert Rodriguez knows that a comic book panel can be like a frame in a motion picture and visa-versa, so his solution was to embrace Miller's visual style and make him the co-director of the film (and give him a small role as a priest hearing his final confession). The "Sin City" were done largely in black and white, although sometimes white and black, and other times when the strategic addition of a single color as in the red of a woman's lips, the yellow of her hair, or the blue of her eyes. Sometimes the red is a cool looking car.

This is the bloodiest film noir of my experience, so it is a good thing that when there is a lot of blood is it just as likely to appear as bright white or neon yellow as globs of the red stuff. But it is also evokes more bursts of laughter at the audacious violence and the perfectly timed one-liners, most of which will never work uttered in Dirty Harry fashion out of the context of the film. This is film noir in the tradition of Mickey Spillane updated for the Quentin Tarantino generation.

The standout performance in "Sin City" is clearly Mickey Rourke as Marv, who is buried under so much makeup you keep assuring yourself that he is really in there somewhere. In keeping with the formula of the film Marv is both the most violent of the protagonists, giving taking somebody for a ride a whole new meaning, and the funniest, in both word and deed. Willis and Owen are both fine as the other two protagonists, but they are more the strong and silent types, neither as reflective nor as sardonic as Marv. Willis definitely has the world weary act honed down to perfection, but Owen seems a bit too mannered in his detachment in his story line and ends up finishing third in the hero sweepstakes. Elijah Wood as Kevin does not get to speak but still creeps you out as Frodo gone over to the Dark Side. Benicio Del Toro shows some nice comic timing as Jack Rafferty and Michael Madsen has not changed a bit as Bob, while Nick Stahl is scum of two different colors. Rutger Hauer, Powers Booth and Michael Clarke Duncan all take turns playing heavies and it becomes pretty clear Rodriguez could get just about anybody he wanted to do this movie.

Of the women of "Sin City" it is Devon Aoki as Miho who stands out although she never says a word (she does not have to). Jessica Alba's best moments as Nancy are silent, although there is a change in why that is the case as we go through the movie. Rosario Dawson has fun going over the top as Gail, Brittany Murphy goes slumming as Shellie, and Jaime King plays two sides of the same coin as Goldie and Wendy. Alexis Bledel is certainly trying to get as far away from Rory Gilmore as possible by playing Becky, but I am afraid she does not get far in that regard. Then again, if you have read Miller's graphic novels you will be impressed by how Rodriguez has brought the stark black and white images of Becky, Hartigan, the Yellow Bastard and the rest of them to life on the screen. This movie is going to make a ton of money, Miller is going to sell a lot of copies of the new editions of his "Sin City" graphic novels, and hopefully it will not be too long before we get the next cinematic installment, which should have Johnny Depp playing Wallace in the "To Hell and Back" segment.

Amazing experience in film
Genre: Action, Drama, Dark Comedy

Genre Grade: A

Final Grade: A

This was a spectacular movie with great achievements on all levels. Robert Rodriguez hasn't made a movie this good since From Dusk Till Dawn in 1996. However I think he has found an entirely new element and I hope he makes a sequel to this awesome flick soon.

I am not even going to comment on the amazing cinematography and style of this film because it's so obvious that it is top-notch. I will comment on the story though - a strong one that molds together to fit into a story that comes together in the end without ever confusing the audience as to what is going on and who is who. The dialogue seemed like it had been written by Tarantino himself, sticking to the classic, bold lines that make you grin and really root for the characters. Even Jessica Alba did a great job in her acting! I do wish Britney Murphy would have been in more of it, she is a great actress and so underrated, in my opinion. Bruce Willis, Clive Owen, Benicio del Toro, and Mickey Rourke all did a great job with their characters as well.

Great movie, but definitely one to keep kids away from. It is extremely gruesome (not so bad since it's in black and white) and it steps across new boundaries in mainstream film. Think Silence of the Lambs meets Se7en meets classic crime drama, and you got Sin City. Great movie!!

Oh, and I found out which part of the film Tarantino directed. It's about a 3-4 minute sequence and once I found out it was quite obvious that it was Tarantino who had directed it. If ye want to know, ask and it shall be known to ye.

Oscar worthy
Sin city may have to be the best movie I have seen this year. In short the movie levels onto standars such as Spiderman2 and superman. Though Sin city does tend to exeel these movies by one point. The acting. Mikey Rouke steals the show as Marv, the hulkishthug whose main purpose is to find the killers of the love of his life, and give them some street justice. His story is compelling and very, very, violent. Well I take that back the most violent story would have to be Bruce Willis who plays Hartigan , a violent ex cop who wants to protect a stripper from his past misadventure that has her also involved, in this story line you actually see a mans testicles ripped off............actually that was...........god .........burr. Anyway overall all the stories are downright violent. There is one more but I would not want to intrude like I did before..
Now as for dvd news Rodrigues is giving out a threatical release and an extended release.
Also he will bring in more Sin city movies from now on, and will be planning to release a new one 2008 or 9, so get ready.
Yours trully
film critique of the week. ... Read more

Amazon.com

In 1963 Elvis could still be energized by the music in his movies, and the production values hadn't yet descended to budget-crunching level. Thus the breezy pleasure of Fun in Acapulco, which sees the pelvis-swinger coming to life for a rousing "Bossa Nova Baby" and a clutch of faux-Mexican tunes. Nice scenery of the fabled resort, but the movie has a strange disconnect (which becomes weirdly fascinating if you keep track of it): Elvis himself is limited to standing and singing in front of rear-projection Mexican vistas, while his hard-working double bicycles down streets, strides across beaches, etc. The newly hot Ursula Andress keeps Elvis and his double company. Elvis's jobs are among his craziest movie gigs: he begins as a deckhand, is hired as a nightclub entertainer/lifeguard, but is revealed to be a trapeze artist in his former life. By the end, of course, he is also a cliff diver. --Robert Horton ... Read more

Reviews (8)

Bossa Nova Baby
Great songs and Elvis is looking wonderful! A fun movie for the whole family.

The BEST!
I am a big Elvis fan, and this movie is by far my favorite one! It has everything....catchy songs....Elvis chasing the girls....you name it!

If you are a fan and have not seen this movie, I highly recommend it!

funny entertainment
There was a valid reason for why Elvis was called the king of rock; he was on top and he reigned the entire time he was live, and now, even in death, he manages to sell more and more albums and be enjoyed by new generations.

This Elvis movie is a personal favorite of mine. The on-location filming makes it spectacular and Elvis is truly in top form in this delightful movie. You can watch it with the whole family, and, with the exception of one pretty gruesome fist fight scene, with young children as well.

Elvis sings a number of Spanish-tinged numbers and does a great performance at the El Troubadour of "Bossa Nova Baby."

The plot works well, and the story is fun if you can imagine Elvis Presley being a singer in Mexico in the early '60's.

The four Beatles acutally went to see this movie when the came over to the states early in their career.

Elvis does his own stunts in this film, but does not do the cliff diving scene. The cliff diving scene is really spectacular and really gives this film a unique dimension that many of his other films were missing due to tight budgets.

A great Elvis vehicle, you can enjoy it now, 40 years later (whewww...hard to believe it's that old now) and be transported back to a lovely time of innocence and fun.

Ursala Andress is a delight and had great on-screen chemistry with the king. I wish that she had made more appearances in Elvis movies as she was easily as good as Elvis as an actor.

Buy it for your collection so that you can watch it for years to come, and pass it along to the youngsters to let the next generation enjoy!!

Betty Jennings

Elvis and that Bossa Nova Baby beat.
"Fun In Acapulco" might look like it on-screen, but it wasn't fun in Acapulco for Elvis or Ursula Andress. Both of them were learning new languages. Ursula Andress was just learning English (reason for her voiced being dubbed in "Dr. No"), and Elvis had to learn Spanish because some of the songs he sang have Spanish lyrics. So it was hard work for them. You have to hear Elvis sing in Spanish. It's so different. Here, he plays a former circus performer who comes to Acapulco to get away from his past. He's hired as a lifeguard at a hotel, and sings for the guests at night. Being a lifeguard wasn't easy, because when he was in the circus, he was in the acrobats. On one swing he missed his partner who fell to the ground and resulted in a terrible accident. When a rival lifeguard learns about it, he challenges him to dive again since now Elvis' character is afraid of heights. He's finally able to gain back his courage, beats up the rival Alejandro Rey in a great fight scene, and climbs to the highest clif and makes the highest dive. He wins the heart of Ursula Andress, too. Great latin rhythm, latin love, and latin themed Elvis flick.

Elvis heads south of the border in Fun in Acapulco
This movie review is not written by me. This movie review is written by Elvis Presley. April Fools Day! Elvis Presley heads south of the border. And if you don't know what I mean by that. He heads down to Mexico.

Mike Windgren (Elvis Presley) was put off a circus act with his famkly until an accident happens. The act is broken up. Now Mike is Mexico, where he is fired as a boat hand.

He is fired when his boss's minor daughter accuses him of bring her to a place that his not where she suppose to be. That same night he meets Raoul Almeido (Larry Domasin). He is a child. He looks like a midget Elvis!

Raoul helps Mike find a job at a htel. He is take the place of a bad singer, when the person is sick. And his aslo a part-time lifeguard at the pool. Before he's hired he meets cliff driver and the only lifeguard Moreno (Alejandro Rey). He dives 136 feet off a cliff. You won't catch me doing that.

He aslo meets Moreno's girl named Margarita Dauphine. She is played by Ursula Address. The songs are all sung by Elvis Presely with Larry Domasin sing a song with him. The movie was directed by Richard Thrope (Jailhouse Rock). Viva Elvis! Viva Mexico! ... Read more

Amazon.com

After establishing his signature style with such moody classics as Cat People and I Walked with a Zombie, Jacques Tourneur returned to peak form with the first-rate supernatural thriller Curse of the Demon. It's a horror-noir set in England, adapted from the M.R. James story "Casting the Runes" and built around the ominous notion that black arts--particularly the use of ancient runic symbols--can summon a deadly beast from hell. Dana Andrews is the stubborn American skeptic, determined to debunk a genteel occultist (Niall MacGinnis) whose evil powers are ultimately incontestable. The briefly seen demon may be cheesy by latter-day standards, but its nightmarish appearance--and Tourneur's masterful use of subtle suggestion, threatening atmosphere, and eerie special effects--make Curse of the Demon one of the best horror films of the 1950s. This splendid DVD offers the longer British version Night of the Demon for film-buff comparison; it's essentially the same film with a few extended scenes. Both are highly recommended. --Jeff Shannon ... Read more

Reviews (61)

By the Pricking of my Thumbs Something Wicked this Way Comes
I am a sucker for old B&W horror films, and Jacques Tourneur was the best, rivalled only by maybe Mario Bava. Both men understood that shadow and light and the grey/silver play in between could set the mood as no colour film movie could. The black and white film could be lensed at such lower light settings, they achieve spooky shadows and the looming sense that something could be hiding in them as no modern colour film ever could.

And Night/Curse of the Demon is the genre at its best. This movie takes a premise that demons can be called forth and 'sicked' upon a person by the mere passing of a slip of paper of runic symbols - and proceeds to make believers of the audience. The only sour note in the wonderful production is the monotone perform by Dana Andrews who seems determined not to take the role serious. It is quite a shame it could not have had an actor with the deftness of Ian McShane give breath to the doubting thomas professor. Still, even Andrews lack luster performance cannot sink this marvellous film.

Andrews plays a parapsychologist who has come to England to debunk a witch-cult. Once he arrives, he finds the man who asked him to come has been killed under very mysterious circumstances. His niece is convinced he was killed by Carlson, the head of the witch, for she finds a reference in her uncle's diary saying Carlson passed him the slip of paper with runic symbols and then he found his diary had all the pages torn from them after a certain date - the date Carlson said something would come for him. Andrews is a confirmed doubter, but even his faith in logic is rattled has he comes face to face with people of the Auld Ways. He also have been passed a slip with the symbols and Carlson has informed him his time allotted nears - and his diary is found with all the pages torn from it.

It is horror films at their best, Jacques Tourneur the master showing how it was done. Be sure to keep an eye out for his I Walked with A Zombie - another masterpiece despite it stupid title.

One the great turning points in horror films
The distributor advertising this DVD as a "Double Feature" stretches the truth a bit. "Curse of the Demon" is merely the shortened American version of the British film "Night of the Demon." The American version runs thirteen minutes shorter and is by far the weaker cut of the film, if still a fine piece of work. It's a nice feature to have the complete American cut on this disk for the sake of comparison with the original, but this is hardly a "double feature." And there's no reason to watch the edited, shorter version when you have the superior British original of one of the seminal horror movies of all time on the same DVD.

"Night of the Demon" hit theaters in 1957 and marked a turning point in macabre cinema. Director Jacques Tourneur had made some important 1940s horror films ("Cat People," "Leopard Man," and "I Walked with a Zombie," as well as the film noir classic "Out of the Past") that moved against the grain of the gothic fantasies that Universal produced during the 1930s. With "Night of the Demon," Tourneur cemented the idea of the modern horror film, where the terrors of the gothic, demonic, and supernatural appear within the realm of the modern, everyday world -- the essentially rational setting of the contemporary times. The success of this film would eventually lead to such movies in the following decades as "Rosemary's Baby" and "The Exorcist," which took place in the recognizable contemporary world, where the invasion of supernatural forces seemed all the more ghastly.

The screenplay comes from the short story "Casting the Runes" by master Victorian ghost story writer M. R. James. (You can find this story in an excellent and currently in-print volume of the same name.) In the story, a professor and practitioner of the black arts, Karswell, has found a way to send demonic forces against his academic foes by passing them a slip of paper covered with magical runes. The movie expands the premise: Karswell (Niall MacGinnis, who played Zeus in "Jason and the Argonauts") leads a witchcraft circle and uses his rune-tracker to send a demon after his opponent, professor Harrington. After Harrington's death, his American friend, psychologist Holden (Dana Andrews), comes to America to learn more, but scoffs at the idea that anything supernatural could lurk behind Harrington's death. Unfortunately for Holden, Karswell feels threatened enough to decide to send his murdering monster after the American.

Tourneur brilliantly films the movie in a split style, dividing between realistic, bland daytime scenes, meant to have an almost documentary feel, and increasingly warped and bizarre nighttime scenes as the curse of the demon moves closer and closer to Holden and it becomes harder for him to deny the truth of what is occurring. The demon itself is a point of controversy among film students. Tourneur was famous for keeping his horrors hidden, and some people believe that he never planned to show the demon at all, but the producer forced him to shove it up front. The appearance early in the film of the full demon might have been an error (it would have worked better to save it for the finale), but its materialization at the end is pretty incredible and it's hard to believe that Tourneur wouldn't have wanted the ending any other way. This is (excuse the pun) one hell of a demon. Designed by Ken Adam (who would later create the sets for most of the James Bond films, as well as "Dr. Strangelove"), the monster looks like it leaped from the freakiest medieval woodcut representation of Hell. The special effects and sounds accompanying it are also eerie and disturbing.

Andrews is a bit stodgy in his part, but Niall MacGinnis makes up for it with his scene-stealing role as Karswell. MacGinnis is both a bumbling, whimsical British professor (complete with a doting and scolding mother), and a cold-blooded sorcerer -- often both in one scene. The ending of the film, involving the passing of the runes, is both funny and incredibly tense, leading to one of the most stunning climaxes in horror films. Peggy Cummins as the love interest is delightfully perky and intelligent, much more so than female leads in most horror films.

The only extra on the disk is the inclusion of the American cut. However, the film is in perfect condition, and is finally shown in the original aspect ration of 1:1.66 (a typical European screen format infrequently seen in the U.S.; it's halfway between the shape of a TV screen and the typical 1:1.85 that most American movies are shot in today). "Night of the Demon" is essential horror film viewing for anyone who wants to understand the development of the genre into its current form. (And I have to repeat it, that's one helluva demon!)

Good for the Era
I enjoyed this movie not because it was such a good horror film but because it was representative of the era, the time it was made. Predictable and not horrifying. It is a good addition to my film library. I'm glad these oldies are making it to DVD.

Why did I Laugh during a Horror Film?
I read some of the previous reviews of this film right here on Amazon. I read the reviews and I was excited about seeing the film. I had not seen the film before I read the reviews. I was very excited to see the film, I was.
My first comment is this matey, I think it was wise to show the demon at the beginning of the film, as so many of you have objected to. It was wise because otherwise I may not have made it to the end of the film when they showed the demon again. Yes, it looked fake, but it was effective.
The film starts out waaaaay too sloooow. So at least by showing the demon you know you may get more action.
My second comment goes a little something like this, I laughed my little clover leaves off during the seance. When the "medium" starts speaking in tongues and moaning like he is going downhill on a bike on a bumpy road. I don't mean to offend the fans of this movie, but that scene was too much camp, too funny, when the little child's voice started, I almost choked.

I got a bigger laugh though when the central character, Dana Andrews goes to Stonehenge, and my friend said "Oh he's at Stone hedge."
I had such a good time watching this film.
Let me see, I do have a good point of the film. During the doctor convention, it was kind of spooky, you know? There is a bunch of students sitting watching a doctor and his patient. The patient is comatose because he had once seen the demon. The doctor shoots the patient up with "amphetamines" (um hum we know what he pimping in that needle). The patient jumps up and runs into the audience, then runs and jumps out of a window to his death. Well it takes him 2 times to get out of the window, the first time he just runs into it and falls down.
Oh I did laugh again during the big finale, when the demon shows up again, picks up the "satanic cult leader" and starts smacking him around. Whew.
Do I recommend this movie? I don't know. I do know I had a good time watching it though.

One of the best
Without a doubt this is one of the best movies of all time.
I was on the edge through the whole movie. Great camera work,
great scenery with that dreary English landscape. Rent it, but it, you'll be glad you did. ... Read more

Reviews (86)

Great film about a bleak future
This review is for those (like me) who haven't read the book. There, now we can talk about just the movie. Oskar Werner stars as Montag, an unhappy man living in a monotonous futuristic society. Books are illegal, Big Brother-style screens are on every wall, emotions are out, and people take drugs to endure their bleak lives. Montag is a fireman whose job it is to find hidden books, burn them, and arrest the owners. One day he becomes curious about these books and sneaks a copy of David Copperfield home. His spaced-out wife (Julie Christie) turns him in to the authorities and he must run for his life. He runs to a free-thinker (also played by Christie) who is a book-lover.

Oskar Werner is wonderful as the sensitive, confused fireman who longs to really connect with people, ideas, and feelings. Christie shines in two very different roles: the glamorous but bored housewife and the brave ex-teacher who dares to read books. The music contributes to the intense and dangerous mood of this film. Its view of the future is frightening and sad, where paranoia the norm; but the ending is quite hopeful and touching. I recommend this movie to those who have not read the book; you are free to enjoy it without comparing it to the novel. The script, actors, and direction are all excellent.

blahh science fiction - but good drama and social comment
First of all - I did not read the book. - So I cant make that comparison. But I have seen the movie a number of times.
If you are interested in drama and symbolism - this film is replete - but if your interest is science fiction - you will be sorely disappointed. This is a very good film - very subtle - considering its content. Give it some patience and time - there is much more depth then its initial viewing might suggest. I was initially disappointed - for the acting by the main character seems bland, the sets seem trite and there is lack of grandeur and dynamic range for a science fiction film - but the film really shines in its understated drama and symbolism especially when dealing with choice, freedom, relationships, censorship and the forbidden fruit of knowledge. The music by Bernard Hermann is excellent - For the price and with a number of very good extras -the DVD is a steal. I personally I don't particularly like Truffaut,s work for its lack of in your face emotional drama- but I appreciate him more from seeing this film numerous times. The DVD is from a very good print. -The DVD is in mono but sounds good - no hiss.

Skill and High Art.
This is Fahrenheit the way it was meant to be. Truffaut is a master film maker. I also recommend "Two English Girls" and "Jules and Jim" as well. It's impossible not to think of the Heinrich Heine quote, "Where one burns books; one will soon burn people" while watching it. The inversion of a fire fighters who, rather than put out fires, start them was a very innovative idea on Bradbury's part. The main character is quite compelling and easily evokes our sympathy. This work is prescient and timeless. In today's talk show era, do books still not remain dangerous and subversive?

Beware the Four-eyed Snake of 451!
In Ray Bradbury's renowned novel FAHRENHEIT 451,the ubiquitous TV set is ONE-EYED SNAKE. This was our nation's foremost story teller's metaphor for SATAN himself. Poisonous pap of televison programing--as moronic narcotic--was Bradbury's ingeniously ironic reversal of Biblical Forbidden Fruit TEMPTATION. Books (Written Word,THE LOGOS) became singluar source of SIN. A near future, Government-issue-drug stupored, anti-child, PC society run by fascist oligarchs and policed by FIREMEN (licensed to burn books and Readers to death)was Bradbury's arch parody of the Culture of Death's Garden of Eden.

Francois Truffaut gamely tries to capture the suicidal listlessness...Unholy Spirit...of The 451 NATION. The anti-grace of Death is cinematically characterized by repeated sequences of autoeroticism(masturbation)by myriads of vacant-eyed,zombie-like citizens. That these lack erotic power(or even quality of the mildly perverse)conveys the pathetic depths to which a once-dynamic people has deprived itself of its own humanity.

Even "depravity" requires too much energy of this narcisscist culture embracing rank stupidity in the name of equality. IGNORANCE IS STRENGTH proclaimed Orwell in 984.CYRIL CCUSACK...who essays role of THOUGHT POLICEman in the Richard Burton-featured adaptation of 1984...is BEATTY, consummate GRAND INQUISITOR and high priest. Oscar Werner is superb as MONTAG his would-be acolyte successor. Thematic climax of the film consists of ritual burning of a hidden, forbidden LIBRARY;and martyrdom death of a woman who refuses to "live" life of non-being "distracted"...as T.S. Eliot observed...from distraction by DISTRACTION.

Julie Christie plays dual and pivotal roles. She is CLARISSE,the young heroine...in the novel, a 17 year old wunderkind...who initiates/converts Montag into the world of books and THE BOOK PEOPLE. [The Book People are remnant who flee 451 Society to memorize books. These persecuted enemies of the State become LIVING books, whose "leaves will one day be "for the healing of the nations." Julie Christie also plays LINDA. [In the novel she's named Mildred, Bradbury's allegorical personification of damned/damp "dust". She is Mordred anti-woman/Judas]. Linda betrays Montag(reports him to Beatty). He READS aloud an excerpt from a 19th century romantic novel and offends her child-hating friends. [One is ironically named Clara. Another...particularly repugnant...is named Mrs. Bowles: 30'ish;thrice-married/twelve abortions-so-far, narcisscist whose most recent husband blew his brains out.] Most damningly Montag's public READING of forbidden literature jeopardizes Linda's standing in THE(Virtual)TELEVISION FAMILY.[ Wall Screen 3D-TV conclaves comprising idiotic glamour show participation; and membership in "reality"-interactive serial-SOAP OPERAS ]

Unlike the novel--climaxing with nuclear annihilation of the 451 Nation--Truffaut's 451 ends with thematic ambiguity paralleling its principal filming technique. Sometimes photography is in the "wash-out" grey colors which frequently characterize Euopean movies. Sometimes it blazes with colors of killing flames; or nihilistically numbs with GESTAPO jet black uniforms of Firemen sealed with the scourge/flash of the Phoenix-rising-from- pyre flames in triumph. 1966 Critics apparently failed to appreciate(grasp?) Truffaut's cinematic metaphors(an APPLE is strategically eaten by Book People or initiates. The Forbidden Fruit is manifestly bidden to humanity's new Adam & Eves)...

It's said Ray Bradbury--over the past decade--previously submitted three scripts for a 451 update(and was tempted by offering Sean Connery as Beatty). But Hollywood Homies mangled 451 of intellectual impact with TERMINATOR-action ambience consigning subtlety or chance of religious/mythical metaphor to the flames. Another try is promised in 2005. NOW that Michael Moore has offended Mr. Bradbury by plagiarizing not only his greatest work's title but bastardizing its essence(which IS about Freedom:The Logos/Word(s)that sets one Free)in a puerile comprise of dreck and propaganda, one of America's few genuine literary geniuses has "cried havoc". Bradbury threatens to set loose the dogs of legal war on the Four-Eyed Snake.What the result will be, quien sabe? It's possible not only renewed study of a literary masterwork will ensue; but revived interest in a cult film...more or less consigned to cinematic dustbin...will acknowledge the reel FAHRENHEIT 451 as minor,but worthy achievement in its own right. Whatever Moore and his media lackies end-up calling "'Fahrenheit'9/11",irony of his effort at pirating a literary gem of political-religious mythology might well turn firey wrath on PC's pitiful Captain Beatty clone.(451 Stars!)

A dark future perhaps not so far
To have a book is verboten (forbidden). And those people who still read them, will be punished.
Thsi statement is the central nervous of that film. The sequence of a woman reading a comics without words is a cruel methapor of a world that reminds us to the book's burn in the Reichstag in the thirties.
Julie Christie, an extraordinary actress and a true icon of the sixties, steals the show. Oskar Werner as Montag is OK.
A film who'll disturb and will let you thinking.
A must for you to watch it.
The paper burns at 451 Farenheit degrees. ... Read more

Amazon.com

A lovely introduction to a 40-plus-years-old television tradition, This Is Coronation Street includes a highly entertaining, 75-minute documentary about Coronation Street, the long-running British drama, followed by the series' first five, black-and-white episodes out of 1960. The former gathers the show's creators, original stars, and other luminaries to discuss Coronation Street's deep and sustained impact on pop culture, its early and realistic reflections of northern English society, and the ways in which the series' penetration of class barriers set the stage for so-called kitchen sink dramas (e.g., Saturday Night and Sunday Morning) in British cinema.All very interesting, but seeing the first live-broadcast shows themselves is a real eye-opener. Written with remarkable fluidity and strengthened by textured dialogue and seamless performances, Coronation Street today looks not only like a prototype for London's nastier evening soap, Eastenders, but such gritty ensemble American programs from the '70s as Hill Street Blues. --Tom Keogh ... Read more

Reviews (1)

A rare treat for sociologists and soap opera lovers.
I think I once caught about 10 seconds of a "Coronation Street" episode on BBC America, and had I known it was the longest running TV serial in history, I would have paid closer attention. Look at the statistics. It was scheduled to run for 13 episodes in 1960 and is still going strong! In all, there have been (according to a bonus feature on my DVD copy) over 4,000 episodes, 35,000 characters, 55 marriages, 25 births, 82 deaths, 51 weddings, and 32 barmaids, all of which have been watched by 17,000,000 UK viewers. And one of the actors, William Roache, has been with the series since it began.

So what is the incredible draw this show seems to exert? As one viewer said during an interview, we love to watch people who are doing the same thing we are doing in homes just like ours. (Remember how popular "The Honeymooners" was?) Now that Acorn Media (bless 'em) has released a two-DVD set called "This Is Coronation Street" (AMP-6196), I had the chance to watch the first 5 black and white episodes and a 75 minute documentary about the history of this remarkable show.

When the fifth episode ended with the police at the door and looking for one of the younger characters, I have to admit I was angry that I could not see the sixth one and after that the seventh, right up to wherever they are now. The only actress I recognized was a daughter who just left her Polish husband and announces she is pregnant, which reunites them. (Her name is Anne Cunningham and I remembered her from an old "Avengers" episode and one from "Are You Being Served?"). The rest were unknown to me, and I found this a great advantage since I was able to see them as real people and not as actors whom I recognized from other roles.

First of all, I would recommend this as a Must to all sociology and British history majors since it accurately portrays life in northern England as it was in 1960 and as it changed down through the years. Obviously film and drama majors must watch to see how a writer can "get them where they live." Psychology majors will love to see the public's reaction to the jailing of one of the main characters. (If any of you has seen the bonus material on the 1967 "Forsyte Saga" tapes I so highly recommended a while ago, you will recall how the Brits reacted to the Rape Scene. Funny what people consider to be worth arguing about.)

As for the rest of us, lovers of good soap operas will adore not only the first five episodes but also the history of this show. In short, there are very few who will not love this Acorn Media set. Perhaps they will now issue a companion set about "East Enders." ... Read more

Reviews (87)

The Edge
Couldn't have been better. Anthony Hopkins, Alec Baldwin, and Elle McPherson star in an awesome film from director Lee Tamori, with a great moral, great lesson, great number of suspenseful scenes, and is just plain a great flick. Hopkins plays billionaire Charles Morse, who with his wife (McPherson) and photographer friend Robert Green (Baldwin) and his partner decide to take a trip to the wild backwoods of Alaska. When Morse, Green, and their friend are thrown into the wilderness after a plane crash in a lake in the middle of who knows where, the group of men must add up eachother's bravery and try to escape from the edge, and not "die of shame", as quoted by Hopkins, while being pursued by a goliath kodiak bear. YOU HAVE TO SEE THIS MOVIE. It's rated R, BUT IT'S WORTH SEEING!

A Beauty That Can Devour!
The Edge is a very much underrated film that sadly did not get the proper recognition it deserves, for it is an above average multi-layered movie that works very well on many levels, all equally well written and directed.
New Zealander Lee Tamahori, with the excellent Once We Were Warriors to his name,and writer David Mamet manage to make a movie that offers much more than its genre might suggests, both on the drama and thriller levels.
First there is the breathtaking Alaskan wilderness, spaces so vast they are equally inviting and menacing.A Napoleon general, lamenting the disaster that befell the French army once said: 'The vasteness of Russia devours us'. In the Edge you will too get the impression that the beauty of this untamed nature can also devour: break the bodies and souls of our heroes, Anthony Hopkins and Alec Baldwin, both offering their most underrated acting best.
Three men are lost in the middle of a wilderness after their plane crash.The hope for an early return/rescue is dashed by the misleading spaces and a huge and determined Kodiak bear.One man, played by Harry Perrineau gets to know first hand about this determination,leaving Hopkins and Baldwin, bewildered, and weary,to try and escape with their lives.
This is when the film really starts. It becomes a journey of incredible hardship that will strip both men of their 'social' selves and replace it with the need to survive that will take them to the 'Edge' of endurance on one hand, and the depths of their own souls on the other. The animosities, tension and grudges that laid hidden between the two men emerge as a powerful and consistent force that mark their relationship from then on.
David Mamet has managed to write the 'Edge' that any human being can face whether lost in an unforgiving wilderness or anywhere else for that matter.It is simply how human beings change,and how social niceties is slowly eroded when the need to survive becomes the single driving force. This is a fine piece of writing!
Of course there is the thriller angle in the film..the bear, the master and primary predator of its environment,chasing two men that have been stripped from all the power and control they once possessed and taken for granted.
The direction and cinematography of these scenes are of top quality.
So if you want to watch gorgeous scenery, be scared of this huge and beautiful animal,or witness the changes incredible circumstances that trigger in men, then the Edge is the film for you eyes and mind, a journey that can easily be revisited in the safety of your own home.

Mamet's Mutt
This movie is so hokey and predictable, I can't believe it was written by the same mind who gave us "Glengarry Glen Ross." I have so many problems with this film, but I'll just list the main ones: (1) unoriginal plot (disaster strikes on a trip into the wilderness. Only the 999th movie to give us that lame storyline.) (2) After the "PLANE CRASH!!!", when the big bear is killed, all of a sudden there is no more bear threat. it's like there were only two bears in that whole wilderness. With all the bleeding going on between those three guys, bears would have been having a festival with those nimrods. (3) Then, it was so implausible to me that Alec Baldwin's character, Bob, would try to kill Anthony Hopkins' character, Charles, who had singlehandedly killed a bear and saved their lives --- because he, Bob, was SECRETLY in love with Charles' wife, the beautiful supermodel back at the warm cozy hunting lodge! Wouldn't he at least have waited until he was a little bit closer to being found? (4) Later, when Bob is injured and bleeding badly, he fades out for a second and Charles says "Don't die on me, Bob!" Hello! Is that not the most hackneyed line in show business? and (5) my personal favorite: just when Bob is playing his deathbed scene --- cue the helicopter to appear through the mountain fog! They're saved! All is well! But, (6) Ooops! Bob just died while the helicopter was buzzing the mountainside! Then, when it mercifully fades to black, we see "The producers would like to thank 'BART THE BEAR' for his contribution to this motion picture. Puhleeeeeeze! Just a horrible, unoriginal film. The only redeeming features were two performances: First and foremost Anthony Hopkins. He made chicken salad out of you know what. And believe it or not, supermodel Elle Macpherson, in the small role of Charles' wife, is not bad. It was a revelation to be a supermodel come through with an understated performance with some nice depth even when she's not speaking; it was very nice. As far as the other actors, they were all right, but nothing great. Alec Baldwin did his usual grimacing, shouting and gnashing of teeth; nothing new from him. I stayed up until 3:30 in the morning watching this thing, waiting for it to become a good film. I kept telling myself "This is Mamet. Come on!" A total disappointment. At least the cinematography was good. And the music was quite good. But the rest of it: A big ole stinker. But I am giving it 2 stars, just because it's Mamet, and I'm sure if I know Hollywood, they probably made him put in some of that junk.

ANTHONY HOPKINS IS INCREDIBLE IN THIS MOVIE !
A man who possess many bilions dollars and a privats plane has not friend every people see his fortune an nothing other as this hunter qui speak to him, after a few minutes, he can discern than he is same at the other, but he possess a trump in his play, he has an instinct to be able to the survival at any problem witch can arrives without attain his force morale he will be bound to rescue his life, and the lifes of his real enemy
after a crash witch bring about the death of the pilot of the plane, and also later a young man who will be devoured by a GRIZZLY who can smell the blod at many miles around a wound the three men, thus, when they will be only two, the reals sentiments will appear time after time INCREASINGLY ! But who will be SURVIVOR at this reculiar fight for the life AGAINST the death ?

The rabbit is smoking a pipe.
A juggernaught of a film, THE EDGE delivers and then some. Extreemly well written, expertly lensed, wonderfully acted, mature, exciting, edge of your seat entertainment that moves like a hungry mankilling bear after a portly english thesbian. Fast. A great adventure tale that's grounded in reality, making it THE ultimate survival flick. THE EDGE also bennefits from a strong plot as well, a story thick with character development (another in the long string of superb HOPKINS performances) and edge of your seat cliffhangers. Oh, and a giant bear whose desire for dining on human flesh is insatiable. Great DVD viewing, there is a lack of extras on the disc but with a film this good all you need is the feature. ... Read more

Reviews (220)

A Beautiful and Haunting Debut
Julie Taymor, of Broadway's "Lion King" fame, creates a dazzling surreal anachronistic fantasy world with her feature film directorial debut. "Titus" (lately, "Titus Andronicus,") though thought to be Shakespeare's worst play, is a beautiful symphony of distruction, murder, deception, seduction, rape, and cannibalism...at least it becomes so under Taymor's careful direction. The choreographed opening scene of marching soldiers weary from battle in the middle of the collesium sets the tone for a very unlikely brilliant piece of film. Alongside armored soldiers on horseback, people ride down the street in automobiles of various periods. A jazz band accompanies the new young emperor's wedding night orgy. And two young Gothic barbarians in furs trade in their furs for leather and video games. This movie is beautiful, intelligent, and above all unexpected. You can't help but like Aaron the Moor, who prides himself on his villany. Even the queens young sons you can't help but find fascinating, despite their rape of Titus' young daughter Lavinia.

Anthony Hopkins, as always, is brilliant in the title role of Titus. A man dedicated to his country and his emperor and upholds duty above all else...even willing to risk his daughter's unhappiness by consenting to her marriage to the young corrupt emperor Saturninus. Saturninus however eventually marries Titus' captive Gothic queen, played with true sinister brutality by the unrepentantly sexy Jessica Lange. One of her sons you might even recognize from the movie "Velvet Goldmine." Saturninus is played by the always talented and sexually enigmatic Alan Cumming who seems to take great pleasure in imitating more politicians than you could shake a stick at. But hands down the show is stolen by Henry Lennix, playing the evil Aaron, the queens trusted friend and consort. Aaron never apologized for all the pain he has inflicted or his evil ways...he revels in them.

The ending is not unexpected considering most Shakespearian tragedies...but I won't ruin the finer points. Suffice it to say, my personal favorite scene involves the queens two sons, Lavinia, and some twigs put to some very interesting use...this scene sticks with you long after the movie has ended...as beautiful and haunting as it is horrifying.

Titus (2000) d: Taymor, Julie
Titus Andronicus is arguably the most complicated play ever penned by the great William Shakespeare. It is also one of the darkest and most violent plays, filled with shocking scenes, and obscene human behavior. Using the original old English, this movie mixes things up a little using outrageous situations, and brilliant visual touches of ancient Rome, fascist Italy, and a coke-a-cola post everything media assault. The new emperor played by Alan Eyes Wide Shut (1999) Cumming marries a vengeful queen (played by a sometimes topless Jessica Lange) who has two vicious punk rock sons who torment Roman warrior Titus (played by Anthony Hopkins). In scenes comparable to Silence of the Lambs (1991), Titus seems to lose his mind after his two sons are decapitated and his daughter is raped, she has her tongue cut out and her hands chopped off. Revenge soon follows in a cannibalistic dinner served to the guilty, 'a la Theatre of Blood (1973) with Vincent Price. The DVD contains many extras. A excellent film with something to offer both young and old alike. Not only is it hard to believe the depths the movie delves into, but even more incredible is that this epic picture by Julie (Lion King) Taymor is a directorial debut. Impressive first try..., we can't wait to see another.

I Gave it 4 Viewings
Ms Taymor, let me say at the outset, is a highly creative director. Loved the Broadway show (The Lion King). She's innovative, imaginative, extremely adept at visual imagery, etc. What she isn't is adept at interpreting The Bard. The DVD version had her meeting with a group of NYU students discussing the production and the play, in which she showed exactly how shallow her understanding of Shakespeare actually is. Her focus was entirely on her vision, rather than his text. That shows up, rampantly in the movie. It's all about her and her imagination, never centering on the text or the innner beauty of Shakespeare's most brutal play.

I'm not saying that all the bard's plays have to focus on the grand design of the poetry, the meter, the frangrant, redolent language, but at least lip service should be paid there. In this version, we get stuffed with so many Taymor pipe dream (and I do mean a loaded hookah!) visuals, that the language is submarined into oblivion. Even so consummate an actor as Anthony Hopkins (why isn't he Sir Anthony, by now? ..get off your keister, Queenie!) can't compete with the hyperactive Ms Taymor and her busycam. She's obviously aiming for the Art House crowd (of which I am a sometime member, but not in good standing here, obviously), but she misses even that mark. Most of the "innovative" interpolations, such as the young kid who provides the framing device, are entirely superfluous, thereby losing any actually artistic force they might have achieved. It's nothing but empty window dressing.

The performances are largely execrable, including Sir Tony, I hate to report. His version of the Brando mumble is ill suited to the title role. Jessica Lange gives a nadir plumbing performance in a career that features a few of them. She was a lot more convincing in King Kong, trust me. The rest of the Mad Max rejects were even worse.

The reason I gave this film four viewings before sending the DVD on to a friend, was I thought perhaps it was just me, and I was being too reactionary or cynical about this brave new look at what is actually, in a way, one of my favorite Shakespeare plays. Then, midway through viewing #5, I thought, "nah....this thing really is as bad as originally perceived."

Last I heard, "The Lion King" was still playing on Broadway. My suggestion is, buy tickets to that, next time you are in NYC. As for this Turkey, my advice is to rent it if you must. Otherwise, don't put yourself through the torture I did.

BEK

Brilliantly stylized; unique
Every once in a while, a movie comes along which you feel was made just for you. I can understand why a lot of people might not like this film, but for certain people I think it might be just what they were looking for.

Taymor's production, instead of trying to somehow mitigate the remorseless violence and moral vacuum which characterized the much-maligned play, intentionally plays it up. The garishness of the plot is complimented by the garishness of the anachronistic costumes, the elaborate staging and the delerious, overdramatic acting. It gets right to the heart of what a revenge drama is, and what value can be found in Andronicus just as a pure visceral experience. A lot of great performances, and the images are brilliant. My only complaint is, given the pacing of a modern film, it's difficult to hear and understand all of the dialogue sometimes, since none of it was 'updated' from the original Shakespearean. Given the stylized nature of everything else, maybe some of the dialogue should have been simplified.

Writing this now, comparisons to Kill Bill are inevitable, and, while it can't quite claim to reach that pedestal, and lacks the ultimatley morally redeeming value of the complete KB, I recommend it to fans of the KB pt. 1 as a similiar experience.

Taymor adapts vengeance and its consequences...
Titus is based on Shakespeare's Titus Andronicus, which is an extremely bloody and terrifying tale of vengeance and its consequences. The cinematic adaptation that Julie Taymor wrote is set in a Roman Empire-like environment with crossings of ancient and modern as the mise-en-scene displays cars as well as tanks with soldiers in ancient armor. This creates a link between then and now, which could suggest that the displayed horror is timeless and possible even today. Taymor creates exaggerations in this cinematic environment with brilliant cinematography, grand directing, and mise-en-scene that amplify the abstract atmosphere as it elevates the unnatural doings of Titus Andronicus (Anthony Hopkins), Tamora (Jessica Lange), and Saturninus (Alan Cumming) among others. The Shakespearian violence that Taymor presents serves as the means to an end as the story plunges into a dark realm that most do not wish to visit, but must contemplate as it could have devastating effects on all.

The film opens with a scene where a young Lucius is sitting at the kitchen table, with a brown paper bag over his head, eating dinner while sadistically tearing the heads of his warrior dolls while violently smashing the items on the table and pouring ketchup over the "killed" dolls. This is followed by an explosion where Lucius dives bawling to the floor for protection. Lucius is a clear resemblance of his father Titus in the opening shot. The rest of the film is a carnival of hideous acts and morbid behavior that alll falls around Titus with a domino effect trigged by one wrong decision. Despite the distressing elements of Titus, the film offers a brilliant cinematic experience that devours the audience as it supplies several subplots and themes, which the audience should ponder under the light of human compassion and the word "consequences". ... Read more

Album Description

Import only NTSC/Region 1 DVD. The touching story of a man (Tim Roth) who was born and raised on a ship. His only interactions with the outside world are through the ship's passengers. As he matures, he becomes an accomplished pianist, and eventually falls in love with a woman who threatens to tempt him into stepping off the ship for the very first time. Tornatore's fairytale is at once a tender and moving motion picture that gives Roth a chance to shine. Stars Tim Roth, Pruitt Taylor Vince, Clarence Williams III, Melanie Thierry, Bill Nunn, Peter Vaughan. Directed by Giuseppe Tornatore. Widescreen 2.35:1, 1989, 125 minutes. 2001. ... Read more

Reviews (82)

Music Of The Ocean
You probably know Tim Roth from playing bad guys, as in "Reservoir Dogs", "Pulp Fiction", "Planet of the Apes" --if you didn't notice, he was the bad ape--, or ,even, in "Vatel". Now, watching "The Legend of 1900", you'll be surprised seeing him playing the title role, 1900 -- yes, this is his name-- who is a very melacholic musician.

1900 was found in a ship when was still a baby. Adoped by one of the men who worked in it, he grew up watching people immigrate to America and being greeted by the Statue of Liberty. He is a natural born musician, so he can perfectly play piano, and it starts to call people's attention. So the film follows the life of this man who never leaves the ship. The story is told by one of his band mates.

The script is very fine, balacing some funny moments and some melancholics events. It is impossible to forget the impressive duel between 1900 and the father of the jazz. And Ennio Morricone's score is superb. The music that 1900 'composes' in the very moment a record is being recorded and he falls for a beautiful girl resonated in my mind for days. This piece is deeply touching. Giuseppe Tornatore is, as everybody knows, Italian and he directs the movie with the Italian approach, in other words, it will touch your heart and will make you cry many times.

There is no doubt that Tim Roth is the heart, soul and fingers of the film. Although he does not play piano, he just mimes, it is so good that one may think he is actually playing the songs. Other thing that is not impossible to avoid mentioning is his eyes. They are so deep and expressive. Most of his feelings are expressed by those melancholic pair of eyes. 1900 grabs your heart and, even though being so surreal, he looks so believable that you think you're watching a story very likely to have happened.

I recomend this movie for those who like Italian Cinema, and music as well. I don't think this is the kind of film for everyone, but, surely, it has its audience.

Incredibly well done!
I agree with some other reviews I've read above on how some people criticize this movie too easily. I don't think it's necessary to sit down and watch it with some preconcieved idea as to what to expect, rather than just let the movie and the soundtrack seduce you to it's full extent. I believe Guiseppe Tornatore and Ennio Morricone have put together a film that will be referred back to by many generations. It's one of those films that refuses to age in time. The brilliant performance by Tim Roth in an not-so-usual role brings to life 1900, a character so much within us all, representing what he has to say and do in this world through his magnificent piano-playing, ("A light that shines so bright yet for so little time"...taken from blade runner). I haven't the slightest intention of drawing any conclusion for the reviewer of this movie but if your not into great expectations, you'll probably wind up with more than that at the end of the film. My opinion is that the story didn't necessarily need to take place on an ocean liner, it could have been anywhere where 1900 felt safe and secluded from the bustle of the surrounding world but through his greatness as a pianist, he was always bound for fame and glory as well as his inevitablity. I feel it's important to get this point across to those who feel the need to compare this "insignificant" aspect with the movie "Titanic", yet I would have wished half the musical score in "Titanic" this film has. The main character leaves me with the sensation that he's subconsciously set out the task to leave a mark on this Earth while he's never literally set foot on dry ground and that all of us who have strived in our own lives can relate to easily yet again, he leaves an unfinished task to those who haven't. My advice, get the DVD, listen to the beautiful music and put your thoughts aside, the film will do the rest and you'll surely be wanting to see it more than once!

one of the greatest movies ever made w/o commercial minded
this is one of the most profound movies i've ever viewed. 'red violin' is good but not as good as this one. some of the other great movies that are always on my mind are: "the music teacher", 'somewhere in time'. i'd like to thank to those producers who could put this kind movie into production without putting the big denero boxoffice in mind. otherwise we would never have any chance to have such sublime and profound feelings and opportunity to learn that we do also have some passions revived by such great stories.

A mythical fable
This work of Giuseppe Tornatore is an original issue in the celluloid.
The story tells us about a child born in the middle of the ocean , (so forget about what's his birthplace), that lack of no land human being gives him that mythical character.
The script shows the process of growing up of this boy , who gradually became in the official pianist of that ship called Virginian, (another smart clue) .
The time comes for him , the piano and his intimate friend , the trumpeter are the only friends he has.
All the story is told in third person, before a seller of old musical instruments and musical scores; I mean a true dialogue between two categories of memories ; the emotional and the historical.
In that sense Tornatore signs his directorial prints on his favorite theme: the memory. That's the clever device of Cinema Paradiso.
But the pianist (in a brilliant performing of this underestimated actor of one million carats talent, Tim Rith), refuses in every decisve moment to leave his own country ship; he belongs to it. He was born there and a invisible link ties him: not even the only love , and mighty inspiration motive for his best composition is capable of make leaving his water home.
Beautiful , poetical and amazing tale with multiple laughable sequences, are surrounded by that duty fate of mixing with the ground land .
An unforgettable experience that will reward you from beginning to end.
Don't miss this one.

The Legend of 1900
This is undoubtedly the VERY BEST and MOST BEAUTIFUL movie I have ever seen. It is a movie that, after you have seen it, you can not forget. The story and characters, and music, haunt you, and Tim Roth is unbelievably fabulous. I can not understand why this movie, Tim Roth, and the soundtrack, di