Reviews (93)

"You Just Keep Thinking, Butch...!"
This film truly deserves the description of being a "Classic." Paul Newman and Robert Redford (in the company of Director George Roy Hill and a particularly appealing Katharine Ross), take the history of the bloodthirsty "Hole-in-the-Wall Gang," and turn it into an affectionate cinematic portrayal of male bonding and cultural change.

Taking place at the end of the 19th century, Butch and Sundance are, as veteran actor Jeff Corey, playing a sympathetic sheriff and accidental existentialist, snarls, "two-bit outlaws on the dodge!" They spend much of the movie dodging a posse hired to hunt them down and kill them in the wake of a series of amusing train robberies. The location shooting of their escape is breathtakingly beautiful.

Ultimately, they have to flee the closing frontier, and end up in Bolivia, which is portrayed as a kind of low-rent version of the Old West. Their trip to South America is an intermezzo, done in sepia tint, focusing on their stay in New York, which, with its (relatively) modern conveniences, underscores how anachronistic their lifestyle has become.

Their inability to rob banks in Bolivia without using Spanish-language crib sheets is both hilarious and touching, a kind of paradigm of cultural and technological dislocation.

In keeping with its 1969 release date, the film has a strong antiestablishment cant to it: Authority is faceless, unyielding, and, mostly, inept. It is telling that Butch and Sundance kill no one until they "go straight" as payroll guards. Their criminal lifestyle is romanticized as a kind of "On The Road" on horseback. That this doesn't offend the audience is a measure of how fine this movie is. The warmth and humor overcome both the moral relativity of the characters and their sad ending.

Newman and Redford are wonderful together as the affable outlaws. Newman's Butch is a charming, flaky visionary who is trying desperately to cling to the past. When confronted with the new alarms and teller's cages at a favorite bank, he dismisses the guard's explanation of, "People kept robbing us" with a wistful, "It's a small price to pay for beauty."

As Butch says: "The future's all yours, you lousy bicycles!" In a sense: the Western Outlaw was succeeded by "Public Enemy Number One" when cars succeeded horses, and train and bank robberies became Federal crimes. "Your times is over!," Jeff Corey insists, and he's right.

Redford plays Sundance as the stylish straight man, never quite falling prey to Butch's dreams, but never able to dismiss them utterly: "You just keep thinking, Butch, that's what you're best at!" The onscreen chemistry between Newman and Redford is so palpable that although they only made two films together ("The Sting" in 1973 is a modernized version of "Butch & Sundance"), they can easily be considered one of the finest comedy duos ever, anywhere. The dialogue between them is banter between two very good, very old, very comfortable, friends. Maybe there was a script involved, too.

"Butch and Sundance" may be short on facts, but it speaks a kind of truth for which facts are not needed.

Newman & Redford's First Film Together
Paul Newman and Robert Redford are two of the biggest movie stars of all time. They are also the best of friends and that friendship shines through on their first film together, Butch Cassidy & The Sundance Kid. The film is set in the old west, but it has a definite 60's feel to it. Butch and Sundance are anti-heroes who defy the "establishment" by robbing trains. Finally the train company gets fed up and sends an elite team of bounty hunters to track them down. This inspires the film's classic catchphrase, "who are those guys" as Butch & Sundance can't shake their pursuers. The film has a light comical side to it as Mr. Newman is at his charming best as Butch and Mr. Redford elicits laughs as the uptight Sundance. Katherine Ross provides a pretty diversion as Sundance's beautiful schoolteacher girlfriend, Etta Place. Mr. Newman & Mr. Redford are instantly likable in the lead roles and you can feel their real affinity for one another come through in the film. The movie was a major box office hit and won and William Goldman won an Oscar for his crisp and witty script and But Bacarach and Hal David won an Oscar for the film's theme song "Raindrops Keep Fallin' On My Head" which B.J. Thomas took to number one in late 1969.

Style and Substance
I remember seeing this movie at the cinema as a kid (many years ago)and being knocked out by how COOL Redford and Sundance were. You know the scene in Blues Brothers, the doorway of the transient mens refuge and the rocket launcher, and they just get up, brush themsleves off, music resumes and go on as if nothing happened. That cool. And so when they get to the stage of being concerned "who ARE those guys" we have substance for the actions they take afterwards. Now watching this movie on DVD with my kids, they didn't get enraptured as I did at their age. As you might guess, not enough action for their generation - and yet, when there is action, it plays with as much emotion as the best of hollywood today. A tremendous cast delivering a tremendous performance, this will always be one of my favorite movies.

Sticks pretty well to historical fact
For one when Butch and sundance are being chased up the mountain by the posse Butch mentions Joe LaFors (sp?). I checked a while ago. LaFors really existed as a lawman at the time. But Etta Place (Kathryn Ross)though she really existed was actually not a school teacher. More likely she was a prostitute.

Butch & the Kid
Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid is one of the best movies (if not the best!!!) I have ever seen. The action, the interplay and the chemistry between the 2 leading stars (Newman, Redford) is like "poetry in motion". The action is non-stop, as well as the comedy, especially of Newman. Even though there is quite a bit of violence throughout the movie, I would recommend that everyone buy the video!!! ... Read more

Reviews (84)

Perhaps the funniest sports comedy of all time
This is simply a hilarious movie about a hockey team fighting for its very survival in Charlestown, West Virginia. The style of hockey portrayed in the movie is Don Cherry-style "Old Time Hockey" - Sweethearts who don't like violence in sports should check out another video.
Although Paul Newman stars, it is the no-name actors (minor league hockey players in real life) who play the Hanson brothers who steal the show.
Life eventually imitated art: A couple of years after this movie came out, the Boston Bruins went into the stands to beat up fans in New York's Madison Square Garden, and, a few years later, the Montreal Canadians and Philadelphia Flyers had a huge brawl before the game even started - just like in this movie.

One of the funniest films ever!
Like USED CARS, this movie is bawdy, rude, over the top, politically incorrect, profane, gratuitous, and loving every minute of it! Newman plays the captain of a bush-league hockey team that's going down the tubes. For most of the players, it's either hockey or an assembly-line job, so Newman decides to bring in the fans with violence. He succeeds, thanks to some brilliant manipulation and a trio of hockey-playing idiot savants (mostly idiot) named the Hanson Brothers. This is one of the funniest movies I've ever seen. The first scene where the Hanson's get off the bench (heck, EVERY scene with the Hansons) is a classic and will make you laugh until you need surgery! The DVD isn't much better than the VHS, unfortunately, as far as picture quality or features go. There are some alternate language tracks (if you're a big fan of Newman in French), but no director's commentary, etc. SEE THIS MOVIE! Every performance is hilarious and perfectly-cast. George Roy Hill (who also directed Newman in the classics BUTCH CASSIDY and THE STING) seems to just bring out Newman's best no matter what the genre. Also Strother Martin (of COOL HAND LUKE, "failure to communicate") fame, is in this and is totally hilarious!

HAT TRICK.
Many were amazed that SLAP SHOT was written by a woman when it was released in 1977. More amazing was that Nancy Dowd's original screenplay was robbed of an Oscar nomination in 1977. Dowd got the feel of the game and the players as perfect as the paint on the blue lines (her brother Ned Dowd plays the infamous Oggie Ogelthorpe in a nano-second cameo that has reverbs throughout the film). George Roy Hill works his A-list players, Newman, Strother Martin and the now heralded Hanson Brothers, into sports (not just sports films) legends. SLAP SHOT is a winner.

Baldwin needs to be a little more observant!
Um, did you perhaps fail to notice that this is an R rated movie? That usually means that there is a fair amount of coarse language, expletives, violence, nudity, etc. Just what made you think that this was a movie for children? Anyway, it's a great movie and being a *huge* Paul Newman fan, I really enjoyed seeing him in this very amusing comedy role.

Baldwin you are clueless
As a hockey player and hockey coach I can tell you one thing, you are not a hockey dad. This movie is definately one of the most hilarious sports movies ever. Don't even bother with any other hockey movie, except maybe Youngblood, because those other movies, especially Mighty Ducks (puke) is not hockey, flying V my behind (did we forget about offsides?).
The Hanson brothers were everyone's heroes. While we all wished to be Gretzky or Orr, we all wanted to be the Hansons. They are some of the best caricatures of hockey players in the 1970s. Hockey was a brutal, lawless game that while some had skating skills, most had fighting skills. It was fun growing up in the 70's and early 80's playing hockey as a kid. While playing high school and college was not quite like this movie, go see a junior game or a USHL game and this is what you'll see, albeit a bit more toned down.
Mighty Ducks - please. Give me Reg Dunlop, Killer Carlson and the Hansons - which being from Minnesota gives me pleasure seeing some hometown skaters. Enjoy the movie, enjoy the hits and the humor. ... Read more

Amazon.com

Julie Andrews is at her peak of adorability in this enjoyable (and surprisingly sarcastic) spoof of the 1920s. It has every trick: occasional silent-movie intertitles, flapper lingo ("Oh, banana oil"), and a laughable plot about women being sold into white slavery by the scheming manageress (splendid Beatrice Lillie) of a Hotel for Ladies, aided by a cabal of wicked Chinese. (The stereotypes are bearable only if you remember this is a spoof of silent movie melodrama.) Even with able support from Mary Tyler Moore and James Fox, this is Julie's show; she plays to the camera with the collusion of director George Roy Hill, who's clearly smitten with her silly streak. The movie has an annoying tendency to spend time on musical numbers--a Jewish wedding, a vaudeville act--that don't serve the plot. A future Broadway musical would create a new score, except for the delightfully catchy title tune. --Robert Horton ... Read more

Reviews (50)

A Silly & Lighthearted Musical Comedy Spoof
Several years before George Roy Hill directed "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid" (1969), "The Sting" (1973), "The Great Waldo Pepper" (1975) and "The World According to Garp" (1982), he directed a lesser-known, lighthearted musical comedy with an all-star cast in 1967 called "Thoroughly Modern Millie". The film is about a single woman named Millie Dillmount (Julie Andrews) living in NYC in the early 1920's in a hotel for "young single women". The hotel is managed by an older and strange woman named Mrs. Meers (Beatrice Lillie). Millie's goal is to find a secretarial job to work for a single man that she will be able to marry. When Millie's neighbor across the hall in the hotel seemingly moves out unannounced, another young single woman appears to take her place: Miss Dorothy (Mary Tyler Moore). Claiming that she is an orphan, Miss Dorothy quickly gains unwanted notice from Mrs. Meers, who is involved in some unsavory practices with her two Asian assistants (Jack Soo & Paul Marita). Shortly thereafter, Millie and Miss Dorothy meet a single and seemingly happy-go-lucky gentleman named Jimmy (James Fox), who takes a liking to Millie; but Millie has her eye on her new boss, Trevor Graydon (John Gavin). Eventually, Jimmy introduces Millie and Miss Dorothy to a dear friend of his, a wealthy woman who loves to enjoy life named Muzzy (Carol Channing).

Not taking itself too seriously, "Thoroughly Modern Millie" does have several funny moments that include a bit of slapstick humor. The acting is not serious, but enjoyable since the film is intended to be lighthearted and a spoof. As for the songs, my rating (out of 5 stars) for each one in the film is listed below.

* "Thoroughly Modern Millie" (4.5, sung by Julie Andrews). Good opener.
* "Jimmy" (4, sung by Julie Andrews). A fun song.
* "Tapioca" (3.5, sung by Julie Andrews). A silly song.
* "Jazz Baby" (4, sung by Carol Channing). One of Carol Channings two songs.
* "Jewish Wedding Song" (3.5, sung by Julie Andrews). Seemed out of place and doesn't contribute to the plot.
* "Poor Butterfly" (3.5, sung by Julie Andrews). Okay.
* "Baby Face" (3.5, sung by Julie Andrews). A more well-known song.
* "Do It Again" (3.5, sung by Carol Channing). A silly song for Carol Channing.

Overall, I rate "Thoroughly Modern Millie" with 4 out of 5 stars. Fans of Julie Andrews or Carol Channing will more than likely enjoy this film a lot.

A 5 star Musical - really a must see!
I'm giving this 5 stars when compared to other filmed musicals.

Millie is very thoroughly modern in this wacky off beat musical that was an anathma: it was a film musical before it was a stage musical!

The star of the show is supposed to be Julie Andrews, but truth be told, it gets stolen away from her by a very proper and well-to-do Mary Tyler Moore. Add to these two fine actresses, the inimitable Carol Channing (razz-berries!), and an evil Beatrice Lillie and you have a knee-slappingly funny musical.

The plot is silly and the filming keeps up with it. Set in the 1920's, someone is kidnapping young "independent" women and selling them into white slavery. Julie Andrews and MTM are new women in town and looking for office work and husbands. They get caught up in this silly plot and attempt to foil the kidnappers.

Occasionally, the film does the actresses thinking by use of "silent film" dialogue cards. The whole bit with Julie Andrews attempting to flatten out her bust (as was the fashion)is hilarious.

You'll love the title song as well as the others, but my favorite bits are the tap dancing in the elevator and the squeaky wheel on Beatrice Lillie's laundry cart.

Check this out for sure!

My, Oh my
This film is well interesting. Julie Andrews played the role the best she could, however I don't think it is close to her at her best...(Her best was Sound of Music, by far). Yet, she did excellent and as always her voice is lovely.

I thought Mary Tyler Moore did a fine job as Miss Dorothy. The trouble with the movie comes with Carol Channing. She played this role so annoyingly I almost wanted Mrs. Meers to knock her over the head when they were fighting, I mean how did this girl make it? She can't sing, can't dance and can't act...a triple blow.

Also James Fox was a mess. There was absolutely no chemistry between him and Julie. (Don't watch Sound of Music before this movie because after watching Julie and Chris Plummer you won't be able to believe that Millie and Jimmy are in love.)

Another thing that bothered me was there was a lot of mind singing, so the thoughts were sung in the background while things happened. The opening number was great, yet it would have been even better if it was a big number sung by everyone.

I guess the reason I am hard on this movie is because the new stage production is a million times better. The Muzzy we saw was African American and totally right for the role...inspiring not obnoxtious. Millie and Jimmy were convincing and the new and improved songs were not my favorite, but pretty good. There were showstopping numbers and it was never boring. So see the new TMM!

One of my favorite films
When I was very young, I saw this movie on television when it was aired very late at night. It was way past my bedtime and had missed the beginning, but I was drawn in by the campiness of this movie and had to watch the whole thing. The next morning I had to go to school (college) and I was remarking to a classmate of mine about this really funny film that was so sixties about the twenties. He made an audible gasp, this was before the phrase "Drama Queen," which he was and still is, and asked me about certain parts of the film. He hadn't seen it in years and told me the title. Well, at that point I had to find this movie on tape, I'm embarrased to say laser disc hadn't been invented yet. I found a used vhs copy and played the thing to death. I recieved the laser disc copy as a birthday gift, the transfer isn't much to brag about but the introduction and intermission had been restored as it is still. I bought the dvd version not too long ago and the picture is cleaner but like a reviwer stated before me, the picture seems a bit grainy, this is due to the dvd's higher resolution. I think this print is as good as it's gonna get, this movie is 35 plus years old now and for it's age, it's not bad. The slapstick, the silent-movie cards placed at Julie Andrews thoughts, my favorite is her complaining about her full fronts ruining the line of her beads, and the overall sixties interpreting the twenties. Look at the makeup and hairstyles of the extras. Mary Tyler Moore as an airhead and virgin is a delightful step out of character and Carol Channing looking like she had a ball. The great Beatrice Lilly and her henchmen Jack Soo and Pat Morita spewing fake Chinese "Oh, Pook!" Opium Dens and fireworks, it's all here beautifully choreographed and scored, fun!!!

Good Transfer, Bare Bones...
I'm happy to finally see TMM on DVD, but was disappointed at the lack of extras. It would have been nice to include anecdotes from Julie Andrews, Mary Tyler Moore, et. al. Also, a 5.1 remix would have been preferable over the Dolby Digital (2 channel surround) one. Otherwise, no real complaints here; the remastering job is superb. Recommended. ... Read more

Description

An American teenager living in Paris meets and falls in love with a French teenager. Encouraged by an old con man, the two decide to elope. ... Read more

Reviews (38)

For All Nerdy Teen Romantics
I love this movie. I love everything about the movie. The photography of the European cities is marvelous. I've got to visit Venice, Verona, and Paris someday just because of this movie. Also, the score is wonderful and definately deserved its Oscar. The best thing about the movie is the characters. Laurence Olivier as Julius is hilarious. The two leads are also marvelous. Theolonius Bernard as Daniel is great, and I immediately fell in love with Diane Lane as Lauren when I watched it. I've got to say that I am a lot like these teens. I am a huge nerd, and I am a big romantic. I really identified with the characters. The story of this movie is great. The lives of Daniel and Lauren and the reasons for their coming together are captured brilliantly. There are a lot of funny moments and a lot of poignant moments. First love is studied well. Any romantic should watch this and teens should be forced to watch it.

No romance is ever "leetle." This one is "beeg."
A very young (13-ish) couple pursue their dream of kissing beneath the Bridge of Sighs, in Venice, like the 19th century Brownings. As they pursue this dream, they themselves are pursued by the girl's slightly confused and flustered parents. Laurence Olivier, as the young couple's ill-informed yet good-hearted chaperone-along-for-the-ride, is resourceful and fun in every scene. This movie is fantastic.

Diane Lane is elegant but not snobby, as the girl, in a role that marked the first film in her quirky, interesting career. The boy was a bit of a hothead -- he may have put some audiences off, which could explain why he wasn't in more films. Anyway, every single scene is beautifully shot, with innovative camera work and breathtaking French and Italian scenery. It's a great little love story, very high on the list of my favorites. If you enjoy this, let me also recommend "Somewhere in Time," starring Jane Seymour and Christopher Reeve, and, for different reasons, "Beautiful Girls," starring Natalie Portman and Timothy Hutton. This is a very, very good movie. Two thumbs up.

A beautiful gem of a movie
I was sorry to have missed this when it came out (in 1979 when I was 18), then forgot about it for many years. The other day I saw a picture of Diane Lane, and remembered this movie, and decided it would be a good family film that my wife and 2 oldest kids (girl 12, boy 15) would enjoy.

It was indeed. I don't have much to add to the glowing reviews others have already given it here; I'll just note that

1) There are so many subtle grace notes that repeated viewings will be well repaid
2) It is not suitable for 10 and under, due to sexual references
3) I wish even more now that I'd seen "A Little Romance" when it came out, its existence in my memory would have enriched my life for the past 24 years

What really makes the movie a classic is bullseye performers by ALL the actors. The hardest kind of character for an actor to play is an extremely intelligent one, only very intelligent actors can do it, and the two leads are up to it. (Too bad the scriptwriter uses the word "etymological" once when he means "ontological", it is the kind of mistake Lauren would never have made, but this is the tiniest possible blemish, and no movie this rich can avoid having a handful of forgivable glitches).

First love made to last
Set in France and Italy and deluged with picturesque scenery, and with Laurence Olivier playing a fairy (ahem) godfather, this charming love story is made to last forever. This is Diane Lane's debut movie (the young girl who falls in love with a Frenchman). Combined with Sally Kellerman's wonderful role as the off-the-wall mom, this little romance turns into a film for the ages.
Watch it, weep, and smile. Have some chocolate and go to bed with a lover.

Bingo!
Just a beautiful movie. Every scene is its own little masterpiece. I have tried, via the useful technology of DVD, to catch only a scene or two over morning coffee. Twice now, I have ended up watching the rest of the movie. If you are uncomfortable getting misty-eyed in front of others, watch this movie alone. There are few works that I can think of that are as thrilling as this movie. ... 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 (36)

PRETTY DARN FUNNY...
This is definitely one of the better Chevy Chase vehicles, as it does not go too far off the beaten path and is handled with a lighter touch than many of his other films. It is funny, wry, and deftly humorous.

The plot is simple. A sportswriter from New York, Andy Farmer (Chevy Chase), and his wife, Elizabeth (Madolyn Smith-Osborne), decide to move to the country so that he can write his great American novel. They move to rural Redbud, Vermont, and instead of a bucolic, pastoral setting with friendly, kindly, country folk, they find snakes, a postman who maniacally drinks and drives, a sheriff who can't drive a car, a corpse in their back yard, and a whole slew of the weirder than weird.

Instead of writing the great American novel, Andy only manages to turn out some useless drivel, while Elizabeth turns out a charming children's book. This causes great friction between the two, and it looks as if their sojourn in the country, as well as their marriage, is to be a brief one. They decide to move back to New York and inveigle the entire town of Redbud to assist them in selling their house, by turning the town and its environs into a warm and cozy setting out of a Norman Rockwell painting. What happens next is quite funny.

Just about every one in the film is a little wacky, with the exception of Andy's wife, Elizabeth, who is the one sane, grounded character. Madolyn Smith-Osborne gives an excellent performance as the wife. She is a perfect comedic foil. Chevy Chase as Andy is well...Chevy Chase and, as always, funny. The supporting cast is likewise excellent and contribute to the many humorous moments in the film. All in all, this is an enjoyable comedy that is fun for the whole family.

Typical Chevy Chase Comedy Fare.
Funny Farm was an average Chevy Chase film. Very funny and goofy, with a no-rules screenplay and a stupid plot which grows onto to you, and makes you get used to it. Funny Farm isn't a National Lampoons kind of movie, this one is acceptable for kids and adults...who both should find something amusing about it. Personally, I think that if you don't rent it, then you're missing the fun, because Tv edits out too many funny parts [like the scene where he drops his wife threw the door]. Overall, Funny Farm is worth the time to watch, and is a winner for hard-core Chevy Chase fans.

Funny Farm A Great Laugh Anytime
Funny Farm is...well.. funny! I remember when it came out in the theatres it got about 2 or 3 stars. However if you like romantic comedy set in the backwoods this film will have your sides aching from laughter. The premise is rather simple. A big town guy turns to a small town in search of a better life. The only problem is that everything goes wrong. The movers cant find the house. No one will give directions. There are a pair of sign stealers that appear all throughout the movie. Of course our heroine Andy needs to see that sign that they just took (Look! No bullet holes!) There is a scene in a diner and a Sheriff that has you wondering about small town law enforcement. The whole thing ends up at Christmas with beautiful decorations and even more hilarity as our stars come back to Earth. Chevy and Madeline play off one another well in this funny movie. Just when you think things are straightening out for the couple, something else falls apart. Its another movie that is no Oscar winner but its one I watch over and over. I couldnt have a collection of movies without Funny Farm. Dont miss it.

FUNNY...AND VASTLY UNDERRATED MOVIE
This movie doesn't get a lot of love but through repeated showings on the Comedy channel I have grown to really appreciate it. Chevy Chase is a big city sports writer who decides to give up city live and move to the quaint New England town of Redbud, Vermont to write a crime novel. He's accompanied by his wife played by Madolyn Smith.

Well in classic Murphy's law, everything that can go wrong, does go wrong. They get to their new house and find that their furniture is late arriving, they have no phone, their mailman is a nut who tosses the mail out as he speeds by, and they have a body buried on their property.

Chase tries to acclimate himself to the new townfolk by filling in in a fishing contest...promptly hooking one of his partners in the neck with the fishing hook. In an attempt to remove the hook Chase punches the hapless man to try and knock him out. This prompts one of the other men to say, "you're not knocking him out, you're just beating the Sh*t out of him!"

Throughout, Chase battles the crazed mailman as well as the rest of the nutty townfolk who are like demented members of Hooterville.

Later they decide and sell their dreamhouse and offer to pay the townspeople to act normal for just one day to impress the prospective buyers. They put on a show right out of a Norman Rockwell painting as its now during the Christmas season. funny stuff.

Chase is at his finest as the put upon writer, becoming slightly more crazed himself with everyday he spends in redbud. The townspeople are tremendous.

Pick this one up

my favorite movie of all time
This is just plain good entertainment. I never get tired of it. I love the town of REDBUD. Too many classic scenes to mention. Okay I'll mention one. "gotta love the mailman". They don't make movies like this anymore that you can share with your whole family and laugh. ... Read more

Description

In this splendid film adaption of John Irving's bestseller, Robin Williams plays the role of T.S. Garp, a complex and unpredictable writer at odds with a violent and cruel world. "The World According to Garp" earned two Oscar nominations for Best Supporting Actor, John Lithgow, and Best Supporting Actress, Glenn Close. ... Read more

Reviews (49)

I loved it!!Superb!!!!
This was one of those movies that makes you just stop and think about life. Garp, played excellently by Robin Williams, is a writer who's life is chock full of the trials and tribulations of love, death, adultory, and married life. Glenn Close (in her film debut) plays Garp's mother, a nuerotic -and often very annoying- nurse. John Lithgow is great as the transsexual ex-fotball player. the casting in this movie was spctacular. They couldn't have picked any better person for any role in the film. It was adapted by the magnificent novel by John Irving, whice I also loved. Overall,this masterpiece clearly earnes it's five stars.

A Sterling Cast All Around
As a long time Robin Williams fan, I fully expected to love his performance as the title character in this one-of-a-kind movie, based on the almost-impossible-to-read book by John Irving. Williams is grand here - far better than he was in "Good Will Hunting" for which he received an Academy Award. But the best part of the movie rests in the supporting performances from Glenn Close as Jenny (Garp's mom) and John Lithgow as the transexual Roberta. Both were Oscar nominated - deservedly so - for their rich, uncompromising performances, that transcend stereotypes and involve the audience every step of the way. Mary Beth Hurt as Garp's wife, hits her notes well, especially in the heart-wrenching scenes of marital infidelity that ultimately cost her dearly. Aside from these terrific characterizations, the movie boasts a number of unforgettable lines...."Garp bit Bonky" is a classic (when Williams bites a neighbor's dog), and who can ever forget the car coasting accident when Garp arrives home early (and stealthily) only to back into a car holding his wife and her lover (who pays dearly for being in the wrong place at the wrong time.) Uniquely enjoyable, and uniformly rich in every way, this is a better movie than "Cider House Rules" or "Hotel New Hampshire" - Irving's other two big screen adaptations. Should be in every serious DVD collector's short list of Must-haves!

Riyach
I saw this movie by mistake when I was ten years old. I did not truely understand it. My parents didnt care because it featured Robin Williams, you know Mork. They had no idea of all the sexual content, bewilderment followed and 15 years later were almost forgotten, until I read the book in college. I felt affected by this movie then and when I viewed it recenly, the same feelings were conjured up. I highly recommend this film, its tragic, funny and at times you will laugh at times that seem very very inappropriate. The characters are rich and off-wall.

Read the Book
I think about ten percent of the book actually made it into the movie. Not sure why the filmmakers bothered. Glen Close, John Lithgow and Robin Williams all do fine with what very little they're given. Hence the 2 stars. Close's 1st role. No real reason to recommend this.

One of the Best Movies of All Time!
This is one of the best movies of all time. It's creativity and intelligence say a lot about the human race, even though often wayward, contains love in the places you least expect it to be.
Robin Williams is magnificent in this film. It is a little odd, but you leave the film with a lot of love and appreciation for the human race and a lot of sadness about the human race's shortcomings. The movie comes from a brilliant John Irving novel!

Jeffrey McAndrew
author of "Our Brown-Eyed Boy" ... Read more

Amazon.com

Winner of seven Academy Awards including Best Picture, Director, and Screenplay, this critical and box-office hit from 1973 provided a perfect reunion for director George Roy Hill and stars Paul Newman and Robert Redford, who previously delighted audiences with Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. Set in 1936, the movie's about a pair of Chicago con artists (Newman and Redford) who find themselves in a high-stakes game against the master of all cheating mobsters (Robert Shaw) when they set out to avenge the murder of a mutual friend and partner. Using a bogus bookie joint as a front for their con of all cons, the two feel the heat from the Chicago Mob on one side and encroaching police on the other. But in a plot that contains more twists than a treacherous mountain road, the ultimate scam is pulled off with consummate style and panache. It's an added bonus that Newman and Redford were box-office kings at the top of their game, and while Shaw broods intensely as the Runyonesque villain, The Sting is further blessed by a host of great supporting players including Dana Elcar, Eileen Brennan, Ray Walston, Charles Durning, and Harold Gould. Thanks to the flavorful music score by Marvin Hamlisch, this was also the movie that sparked a nationwide revival of Scott Joplin's ragtime jazz, which is featured prominently on the soundtrack. One of the most entertaining movies of the early 1970s, The Sting is a welcome throwback to Hollywood's golden age of the '30s that hasn't lost any of its popular charm. --Jeff Shannon ... Read more

Reviews (119)

An great comedy thriller classic.
When an ambitious Small Time Crook (Two Time Oscar-Winner:Robert Redford) steals $10,000 with his old age partner from an dangerous criminal (Robert Shaw), later on that day, The Crook discover his crime partner has been murder by the crime lord. Then The Crook meets his dead friend ex-partner a Veteran Con-Man (Three Time Oscar-Winner:Paul Newman), who seek revenge on the crime lord.

Entertaining comedy is directed by George Roy Hill (Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, Slap Shot) and Written by David S. Ward (The Program). Winner of Seven Academy Awards for Best Picture, Best Director, Best Art Direction/Set Decoration, Best Costume Design, Best Film Editing, Best Score and Best Original Screenplay. The Film recieve Three Oscar Nominations, Including:Best Actor:-Robert Redford, Best Cinematography and Best Sound. The Sting has the Greatest Double Crossing in a Movie History, Complete with an Surprise Ending. Great Fun. Better to Wait for the Special Edition DVD in a Widescreen Version, which it will be 30 Years, Next Year. Grade:A.

The Quintessential Caper Flick
"The Sting" is an extremely well written story by David Ward ("Major League", "Sleepless in Seattle") and David Maurer about some smalltime grifters who attempt to swindle a mob boss. The film was nominated for ten Academy Awards in 1974 and won seven Oscars including Best Picture and Best Director. It reunited director George Roy Hill, Robert Redford and Paul Newman four years after their blockbuster, "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid". Strangely, although Butch and Sundance made it to number 50 on AFI's top 100 of the century, this film did not make that list. This is even more surprising since "Butch" did not win the Oscar for Best Picture in 1970 ("Midnight Cowboy" won it that year).

While I think "Butch" is funnier and more exciting, this film is more intriguing with interesting character studies and some unpredictable plot twists. Hill does a superb job of weaving the elements of the caper together and giving it a depression era feeling. The humor is more ironic than hilarious, but it fits the story well. The period props, locations, and sets are excellent, and the costumes are perfect. The costumes were done by the legendary Edith Head, who designed costumes for over 400 films in her 50-year career. She won an Oscar for best Costume Design for this film, which was one of eight she won in that category in a career marked by an astounding 34 Oscar nominations. The music by Scott Joplin and Marvin Hamlisch is also fabulous, bestowing an early twentieth century flavor on the film, and giving Hamlisch one of three Oscars he won that year (the other two were for "The Way We Were" also starring Redford).

Where "Butch" was probably a little more Newman's film, this film clearly belonged to Redford. Redford, who was nominated for best actor for the role, is marvelous in the lead, giving his character a charming, lighthearted personality to go along with his scheming intellect. Newman plays almost a supporting role as the veteran conman Henry Gondorff, who assembles the team for the caper and oversees its execution. Despite the smaller part, Newman gives an electrifying performance with his conniving tough guy portrayal. Robert Shaw ("From Russia With Love", "A Man For All Seasons", "Jaws") is also terrific as mob boss Doyle Lonnegan. Charles Durning ("The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas"), Ray Walston (TV's "My Favorite Martian") and Eileen Brennan ("Private Benjamin") round out a splendid supporting cast with fantastic character portrayals.

This film is entertaining and fun with a tight plot and wonderful period renderings. I rated it a 10/10. If you have never seen it, you are in for a treat.

THIS ONE REALLY STINGS!
"The Sting" is a classic throwback to Hollywood's golden age: a fish out of water tale about a couple of con artists (Paul Newman and Robert Redford) who seemingly meet their match in a cheating mobster (Robert Shaw). As the police close in from one end and the Mafia from the other, the stakes become higher, the comedy more hilarious and the ultimate con, more rewarding. The supporting cast is a potpourri of stellar characters including Dana Elcar, Eileen Brennan, Ray Walston, Charles Durning, and Harold Gould. Marvin Hamlisch provides a sophisticated score buttressed by Scott Joplin's ragtime jazz.

It is disheartening to see an Oscar wining Best Picture get so shabby a treatment on DVD. For starters, the film is presented in a full frame, pan and scan version only. The shortcomings of this format are that you are not seeing the film in a version director, George Roy Hill would have approved of. But apart from Universal's glaringly obvious oversight, the print quality of "The Sting" suffers from a poorly balanced color spectrum, age related artifacts, edge enhancement, shimmering of fine details and pixelization. Flesh tones are often weak and pasty. Blacks are rarely solid or deep. Fine grain can be excessive in spots. The audio is poorly mixed, sounding strident and tinny. There are no extra features.

Redford and Newman at it again
I just rented this DVD and watched the whole thing, but I've seen this movie several times before.

Johnny Hooker (Robert Redford) is a con artist who unknowingly swindles a lackey of crime boss Doyle Lonnegan (Robert Shaw). After Hooker's partner in the crime is killed, Hooker vows revenge against Lonnegan and seeks Henry Gondorff (Paul Newman), one of the best cons in the game to help in the big Sting. Hooker would love to do more than just hit Lonnegan for a lot of money, but "doesn't know enough about killin' to kill him."

It's not easy separating a crime boss from his money, especially when he owns half the politicians and police. They have to take him without him even knowing he was taken. What follows is an exciting deception, carried out with professionalism and ingenuity.

I don't think the chemistry between Newman and Redford is quite as good as Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, but it's still pretty darn good. Lines like this:

Redford (first seeing his arch-enemy): "He's not as tough as he thinks."
Newman: "Neither are we"

The story is classic. You don't exactly know who's who, and you wonder how they're going to pull it off in the end. Scott Joplin's ragtime music, although somewhat anachronistic, is effective at keeping the movie somewhat lighthearted. There are a couple of instances of swearing and a stripper with pasties on, which gives it a PG rating.

The reason for four stars is the fact that the DVD has NO EXTRAS, and the only option is the full screen version, no widescreen. A movie as good as this deserves better, which is unfortunate.

Overall, this is a great movie with great cinematography (transition wipe effects and some tracking shots) and phenomenal acting. Enjoy.

Widescreen?
I love the film, but why is this not available in Widescreen on DVD? There's been a Widescreen VHS, and I've seen it in Widescreen on Turner Classic Movies. I know it was shot in Widescreen, so how about it, Universal? ... Read more

Amazon.com essential video

The World of Henry Orient would be a classic, if only more people knew about it. Here are the adventures of two prep-school Manhattan girls, memorably played by Merrie Spaeth and Tippy Walker, who decide to dedicate a brief but crucial moment in their lives to the adoration of one Henry Orient (Peter Sellers). Orient is a concert pianist--with curiously uncertain accent--more renowned for his mistresses than his playing. (Although Sellers is onscreen for less than half the picture, he sketches one of his comic gems.) The movie has a wonderful J.D. Salinger flavor of early-'60s New York privilege, with a keen sense of the secret lives adolescents can construct for themselves. Director George Roy Hill brings an occasional burst of New Wave style but otherwise steers the movie into the tone described by one of the girls: "I feel awfully happy in a sort of sad way." --Robert Horton ... Read more

Amazon.com

George Roy Hill (Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid) directed this adaptation of James Michener's novel about the history of the 50th state. Max von Sydow plays a zealous missionary with a Calvinist bent, intent on enlightening the natives even as his wife (Julie Andrews) is romanced by the dashing Richard Harris. The film is both a glossy vision of Hawaii in the early 19th century and a sometimes-brutal drama full of death, a rough childbirth, stormy weather, etc. Hill's blunt editing, meant to emphasize the more terrifying aspects of the natural order of life, makes the film look particularly dated and mannered today. This is best appreciated for its cast, all of whom were making inroads in Hollywood at the time. --Tom Keogh ... Read more

Reviews (20)

A waste of a great story
This movie sucks.It's miscast, skin-crawlingly overacted, and just damned boring.I fell asleep 2 or 3 times trying to get through it.The only reason I didn't give up was because of how much I enjoyed the Michener book.Max Von Sydow was a disaster as Reverend Abner Hale, as was Richard Harris in the role of Captain Hoxworth.They're both great actors and I've liked them very much in other roles.But these guys ruined "Hawaii".

A waste of a great story.A waste of time and money.Don't buy this.

Surprise Appearance in "Hawaii"
During the ship voyage sequence, look closely at the extras playing the passengers.One of them is a very young Bette Midler in what is probably her film debut.

Hawaii Disappoinrment
I have been waiting for many years for the DVD.I read a review which indicated the length was 161 vs. 189 minutes the original roadshow version.I saw the film in it's original version.It isa beautiful film.It had 6 track stereo sound and was in 70 MM.The laserdisc set released a while back contains the complete uncut film.Additionally, it contains the original stereo soundtrack which accentuates the Elmer Bernstein score, one of his best.
Maybe one day MGM will get it right.

MGM IS SOLD
Sadly the original versions of this film on VHS and Laserdisc have been discarded to bring the viewing public a truncated version of Hill's HAWAII.Even minus the Overture, Intermission, and Exit musics. . .there have to be extreme edits in this version.I could argue that the mere fact that this fine film is finally available on DVD--is a plus argument--but with severe edits--it simply is not worth a buy.Hopefully a full version of this epic might finally be made available under the new owners of MGM.But my gut feeling is that we will not see the complete version until it emerges 5 years from now as a budget item in mono sound and as a standard screen sized item.Such is the respect, and business acumen of dummies.

Unappreciated epic, finally on DVD
The DVD of George Roy Hill's "Hawaii" is long overdue. It tackles a subject that has always bothered me; that the good, well-intentioned fundamentalist Christians would invade native territory. Those simple natives never died of anything but age until the white man invaded their simple territory. The DVD is fine, with rich colors brought out of the magnificent panoramas (quite washed out on the VHS). An informative extra is about the making of the film, and you can compare the color restoration. That, and the theatrical trailer, are the only extras. A wonderful widescreen transfer gives justice to Russell Harlan's cinematography. "Hawaii" was nominated for 7 Oscars, and definitely should've won for Elmer Bernstein's great score. Cinematography, too (since it lost to "A Man For All Seasons", which was really just a filmed play.) Interesting was the nomination of Jocelyn Lagarde as Malama; she was certainly a strong character, and was quite good; she learned the whole script phonetically, since she knew no English. The acting was very good. Max von Sydow, fresh off his performance as Jesus in "The Greatest Story Ever Told"was solid. Julie Andrews was best of all, really carrying this film. Everyone forgets that her first film was "The Americanization of Emily", and it's later that she gave the candy-coated performances for which she's best known.She is really a stabilizing factor in the goings-on, and her discovery of this new, magic land is much more profound. There's a wonderful insight here, much overlooked. She also gets a very brief moment to sing, but the song is only minimally presented; still, "My Wishing Doll" was nominated for Best Song. (I remember Jackie de Shannon singing it at the Oscars back then). I'd like to hear the whole song sometime. Heather Menzies, who played one of the von Trapp children, has a small role as her little sister. A lot of things could be cut, but overall, this is a fine film. It has power and conviction, and Mischner approved.It's interesting to note that there's a spiritual touch to the beliefs of the native Hawaiians that belies the Christian ethic. When Malama (the Ali'i nui) dies, a terrific storm happens, as predicted, though von Sydow's character thinks it's just superstition. He is regularly taken over by these people, something that Jerusha (Andrews) knew all along. It is a fine film, and one that I'm glad to have in my collection. ... Read more

Reviews (12)

Great Waldo Pepper - a must see
This movie is a winner. For History buffs, it will take you down "memory lane" or show you how it was during the great

barnstorming era. Robert Redford is the Great Waldo Pepper, a World War I "flying ace," who never saw combat because of his value as an instructor, thus he missed the actual fighting. He yearns for the chance to use his skills in combat against Germany's ace, von Kessler. Coincidently, Kessler is in America and it so happens he flys action scenes for a movie company, based on his life as a fighter pilot. Pepper befriends Kessler on the movie set and both face each other in "actual combat." The finale is not only thrilling, but touching.
Buy it, see it, enjoy it.

A Classic Reford Film!
I Don't often give movies a five star rating but this one really deserved it. Robert Redford did an excellent job as a World War I flying ace being forced to adapt to a civilian life style after the war and at the same time watch the world, as he knew it, slip away.

This happens to many of us as we grow older and the world around begins to change. Like Reford in The Great Waldo Pepper you try and grasp onto what your most familiar with. The world and it's changes leave you behind. What do you do? In this well made, well filmed and well acted movie you will find out about the life and dreams of one man placed where there is no return.

The Great Waldo Pepper Has some of the most beautiful flying scenes that you will see anywhere. It turns back the pages of time and gives you a little glimpse of what flying was all about in its infancy. My suggestion: Buy it.

I Know What It's Like
Growing up this was significant to me, because I had already seen Jeremiah Johnson and other countless Redford films. Also recently, I moved to Elgin, Texas, just 2 miles from where Redford's airplane was filmed flying through the center of a historical small town! The pictures and newspaper articles are in the town's railroad depot museum. The town hasn't changed much since then and is very historical to this day.

The word "great" also describes the movie
This movie has special significance for me because I first saw it as a teenager. Yet it holds up as a great movie for me 28 years after it was made (unlike some others I could name).

I like Robert Redford in almost anything, and he's at his best here as a barnstorming pilot in the 1920s who pretends to have seen more action in World War One than he did. He made me feel for the character when he said, "It should have been me" after rival flyer Axel Olsen exposed him as a "four-flusher" for claiming he was a key figure in a famous battle.

Pepper finally gets his chance to go up against the German World War One ace Ernst Kessler (perhaps loosely based on the real German ace Ernst Udet) as a stunt pilot in a movie crew.

The dialogue scenes between Pepper and Kessler leading up to the climactic dogfight are the best part of the movie, even though Kessler's lines seemed to be written more in the interest of serving the plot than in serving the character.

The idea that Kessler was a man who only felt at home in the air, for whom nothing worked out well on the ground, resonated with me, as it did with Pepper, who felt the same way.

In closing, I'd like to mention the beginning of the movie when Waldo Pepper lands at a small town in Iowa to offer airplane rides. He promises a free ride at the end of the day to a boy named Scooter if he will tote a 5-gallon gas can back and forth from the filling station to keep Pepper's plane fueled.

The song that plays over the opening credits during this sequence has stuck with me for 28 years. I heard it again in 1992 while attending a boot camp graduation ceremony at the Great Lakes Naval Recruit Training Command and remembered it from the movie. I don't know the name of it, but I love that song.

Anyway, at the end of the day Scooter asks for his free ride and Pepper says he only promised that to get him to haul gas. He never takes kids for rides. Whether the character is kidding or not isn't clear, but it certainly seems that Scooter (and his dog) get the best ride of the day.

That sequence establishes Pepper as a decent, if somewhat slippery character and gets the movie off to a good start.

The Great Waldo Pepper
This is a moving tale of a daredevil hero ace from aviation's early days who can't accept changes in the field during the post-War period. Beyond that, Redford's Waldo Pepper is a tragic hero of mythic proportions, determined to fly too close to the sun. The bi-plane sequences are breathtaking, and George Roy Hill's direction is what you'd expect from the maker of "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid" and "The Sting." Unfortunately, Goodtimes Video's policy is to release films "enhanced to fit your TV screen" and the power of this film's visual majesty is severely diminished. It's another case of a distributor who just doesn't get it. (Memo to Goodtimes Video: America has big screen TVs now.) ... Read more

Description

No one will believe Billy Pilgrim (Michael Sacks) when he says he has come "unstuck in time," reliving in aimless order all the events in his life.Living in seclusion in llium, New York, the timid widower is typing out a letter to the local paper about his time treks when suddenly, he is trapped behind German lines in wintry World War II Belgium.Next he is in his wedding bed with his wealthy weighty bride Valencia (Sharon Gans).Interspersed with his leapfrog adventures in time, Billy also finds himself being transported to and from the distant planet Tralfamadore, whose invisible inhabitants enclose him in a glass dome furnished with Sears Roebuck furniture and a kittenish Hollywood starlet (Valerie Perrine), to whom Billy is expected to make love.This big-budget production of Kurt Vonnegut's best-selling, semi-autographical novel, was shot in Czechoslovakia, Minnesota, and the Universial Studios sound stages, under a shroud of secrecy, with no publicist and little information provided to the press.The devout "Vonnegut cult" of college students feared that the complex, highly-stylizwd 1969 novel would defy screen adaptation.Critics differed on the bizarre, dreamlike film, but none could argue with the movie's message that the world is a collection of moments, "and if we're going to survive, it's up to us to concentrate on the good moments and ignore the bad." ... 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