Amazon.com

The hugely ambitious Beckett on Film project gathered together 19different directors to turn the 19 stage works written by Samuel Beckettinto films. The range is vast--from the 45-second Breath to the twohours of his most famous play, Waiting for Godot--but all the worksreflect Beckett's penetrating obsessions with memory, regret, and thesimple, excruciating experience of being. Not every film succeeds--likeall great theater, Beckett's plays demand interaction with a live audienceto express their full intent--and though scholars tout Beckett's everyword as genius, several works are slight (Catastrophe, OhioImpromptu, or What Where will leave many viewers unimpressed).But all the plays feature Beckett's uniquely distilled language; thegreatest of them--including Waiting for Godot (in which two trampspass the time while they wait for someone who may never come),Endgame (in which a blind man and his lame servant bicker and jokeas the world declines), and Play (in which a love triangle isbitterly recalled by two women and a man in urns)--are astonishing in boththeir potent humor and piercing grief.

Though Beckett's stature drew in animpressive array of directors (including Anthony Minghella, PatriciaRozema, and Neil Jordan) and actors (including Jeremy Irons, JulianneMoore, Alan Rickman, Kristin Scott-Thomas, Michael Gambon, and JohnGielgud), some of the finest work comes from relative unknowns. But thegem of the collection is Krapp's Last Tape, about an old manrevisiting his life through recordings he has made throughout his years.It's the perfect marriage of text, actor (the incomparable John Hurt), anddirector (Atom Egoyan, The Sweet Hereafter); in their hands, theplay spins from deeply funny to deeply sad, all with only the slightestdim of the light in Hurt's eyes. --Bret Fetzer ... Read more

Reviews (5)

Worth a look.
2 stars is misleading. I would recommend this to anyone interested in Becket. To see a directors interpretation of his work provided invaluable insights into both the works themselves, and the process of directing film.
That being said, I was not amazed. The potential of a four disk DVD and large booklet, exclusively Becket, was unlimited. The product was a half-dozen enjoyable plays, and not even a documentary on Becket. In their great humility, they made a documentary, about themselves, making the DVD you are about to purchase. Great.

Who Put the Film in the Beckett on Film Project?
Directors working on stage-to-screen adaptations find themselves torn between dual obligations to both the original work and the new medium. In the case of creating a collection of films meant to highlight the playwright's vision, questions raised by these obligations become even more controversial: should they remain true to the text, even if elements of the play don't work well on film? Dare they change those elements to better fit their new mode of expression? And in the case of Beckett, what percentage of the collections' earnings should go towards manic-depressive treatment centers? Of course, total objectivity in stage-to-screen adaptation remains a pipe dream. But we have to remember that even a theatric production has a director, who-while possibly faced with less decisions than a film director-invariably must makes choices leading to his own personal interpretation of the play. Ultimately, every production of a play, be it for DVD or Broadway, interprets rather than mirrors the original work. Therefore, the Beckett on Film Project should not be regarded as an unbiased representation, but rather an ambitious interpretation of one of the greatest playwrights of the twentieth century. And in this regard, with few exceptions, the Beckett on Film Project shines with commendable effectiveness.

I wish to illustrate a few interpretive anomalies in the collection, to give you an idea of both the kinds of adaptive problems these directors had to face and some of their solutions. Consider "Act Without Words II," a short and dialogue-free play in which two characters mime their different daily routines against a narrow backdrop "violently lit in its entire length, [with] the rest of the stage in darkness." Director Edna Hughes chose to divide this backdrop into three film frames and to add a movie reel-like quality to the video. This constant reminder that we are watching a film is the same sort of self-referential metatextuality we find in many of Beckett's plays. Hughes' interpretive decision regarding the background also reinforces the repetitive theme of the play. That is to say, these characters' routines will go on and on, day after day, just as this very movie is being filmed-one frame after another. Hughes' use of a freeze-frame effect also highlights the technological superiority that film holds over its older cousin, theatre. The play calls for a "Frieze effect," but only on film can this be accomplished literally; in theatre it must be acted out. These changes by Hughes show intelligence in both his reading and adapting of the play to screen. Now, for something of a contrary example, consider one of Beckett's most famous short plays, "Play," in which three characters, trapped in urns, are forced to perpetually retell the story of the love triangle between them. The inquisitor: a lone spotlight that dictates which one of the three urns speaks, when, and for how long. But director Anthony Minghella's version gets rid of the light altogether, in favor of a loud and sometimes shaky camera, whose stronger presence is meant to take the light's place as these characters' inquisitor. Minghella's technique here ultimately falls somewhere between failure and success. The audible clicks and zooms of the camera do, for a time, give the viewer a feeling of submersion within the scene; since the camera now questions these characters, and we as viewers share the camera's gaze, the film achieves an interesting effect that draws us into the world of the story. But the camera cuts between the three urns so many times that the sense of a "unique inquisitor," as Beckett requests, soon dissipates. Not that the adaptation adds nothing to the play; once or twice, the camera pans around to give a broad scene of the background, a dark, foggy, and graveyard-like field littered with many more people in urns. While this background reduces the ambiguity of setting present in the original play, it does so perhaps necessarily, and in addition, clearly suggests that these characters' situations are in fact meant to be symbolic of some greater human condition. Ultimately, we recognize a tradeoff for every one of these questions of adaptation, but by and large, as these two examples illustrate, the gain outweighs the loss in the Beckett on Film Project. Or, put simply: the directors and actors earn their paychecks.

Now keep in mind that despite the interpretive decisions I just described, the main thrust of this collection remains Beckett's. What does that mean? It means that these plays glimmer and shine with a bleak despair. The most dramatic moments are often the most comedic, and the only happy characters-well, forget about happy characters (after all, "Nothing is funnier than unhappiness," as Nell from Endgame tells us). But, dismal as they can be, Beckett's plays always manage to match their gloom in originality, creativity, and importance. They pose critical questions about what it means to exist as a human being. Do we simply spend our days idly, waiting-for Godot or anything else? Do we bury ourselves in the desert when we say "I do"? Can our condition be reduced to the emblem of a solitary finch, living in a draped cage with a dead mate and only a cuttle-bone to eat, in a darkened room stalked by a black cat whose own life depends on a suicidal man standing at a window? Whether or not you agree, you cannot help but ask, once Beckett has shown you the shadowy corners of his imagination. And keep in mind his influence on theatre and even art in general. Often touted as odd and sometimes inaccessible, but always brilliant, Beckett's plays deserve our attention, whether or not we choose to buy the Beckett on Film collection. What these productions add to Beckett's vision is an important sense of a modern moment. How have the technological advances made since Beckett's death affected what it means to be Beckettian? And how do the questions his work poses affect you? It's worth your time to find out.

Mixed bag
Those who are familiar with the original productions will find this collection both exhilarating and frustrating. The more faithful the directors are to Beckett's vision, the more successful the adaptation to film. Come and Go is perhaps the purest of them, and also the most chilling. Other effective adaptations include Krapp's Last Tape, Rough for Theatre II, Act Without Words II, A Piece of Monologue, and Play (Minghella's truly -cinematic- adaptation probably deserves the highest marks). I'm ambivalent about many others, not least Ohio Impromptu and Catastrophe.

Unfortunately the longer plays (Godot, Happy Days, and Endgame) suffer from the directors' mistaken impression that Beckett's characters must be decrepit, disgusting, and/or humorless. Quite the contrary, there is levity and compassion to be found in Beckett's work, and without it his meditations become intolerable rather than incisive. Godot has its moments, but it's not nearly as effective (or funny) as any number of previous productions.

Pacing is also a significant issue here. Beckett's plays (excepting Not I and Play) demand a very slow reading, with an abundance of silence. Many of these adaptations simply plow through the texts with no apparent consideration of heft or nuance; Rockaby is probably the most egregious example. Other directorial liberties make Not I and What Where wholly unacceptable; these simply cannot be considered Beckett's work.

Happily, more Beckett productions are becoming available on DVD. You can purchase Happy Days with Irene Worth's excellent performance on this very site, three plays (Eh Joe, Footfalls, Rockaby) starring Beckett's favorite actress Billie Whitelaw, and a DVD of Beckett Directs Beckett (the three long plays) hopefully in the near future.

Excellent, with one exception.
First let me say I've been waiting my whole adult life for this collection. I've spent 30 years trying to collect audio and video recordings of Beckett's work, and suddenly here are all the theatre peices in one beautiful package. The chance that you will ever find another film version of most of these works, or ever have a chance to see them on stage, is almost nil. If you love Waiting for Godot and Endgame, you will not regret the money spent on this. Unlike most plays and almost all movies, these are peices to be seen again and again, over a lifetime, letting the beauty and subtlety of Beckett's language slowly soak into your being.

That being said, I was disappointed with only one peice: Endgame. With Michael Gambon as one of the leads, I expected the most from this play. But I'm afraid he was badly misdirected in this. He simply enjoys his dispair too much. He enjoys being a selfish, cruel master and his "Perhaps I could go on..." speech (one of Beckett's greatest)loses all its power. Gambon delivers this with hardly a pause, rambling on with the same puckish tone as the rest of his performance. (I thought maybe I was just too used to an earlier film version directed by Beckett, so I went back to the script to check this. After almost every phrase in the speech, Beckett has written (Pause). Without these pauses to let the anguish of the words sink into our minds, the speech carries no more weight than the rest of the text. Well, probably much more than you wanted to know.)

Short Review: BUY THIS NOW! You'll be watching these films again and again as long as you own a DVD player.

The Artist of the Century
Curious that DVD Basen, the wonderful Danish web-compendium of dvd reviews from all over the world, has yet to register a word on BECKETT ON FILM, by any measure the dvd release of the year. These film renditions of Samuel Beckett's nineteen works for the stage (which is not the same as his "complete dramatic works," which would include radio plays and scripts for television), are, for the most part, thrillingly successful. The plays fall into two types. WAITING FOR GODOT, ENDGAME, KRAPP'S LAST TAPE, and HAPPY DAYS, however revolutionary in their time, still more or less conform to the conventional understanding of what a play is, ie: they contain recognizable characters and the shortest is an hour long. Despite the filmmakers' protests to make true movies of these plays, as opposed to "filmed plays," each of their single-locale settings make the theatrical origins of each work inescapable. Having said that, they are the best "filmed plays" this viewer has ever seen. Most of the remaining plays, particularly the late plays, are very short (under 15 minutes), and as Alan Rickman remarks, seem more like installations or "performance art," then full-fledged plays. What makes these works among the greatest plays ever written is precisely their inability to be transfered to another medium. With one exception, each of these little films, even the most brilliant of them (I'm thinking of the mind-blowing PLAY), must somehow compromise itself as a play in order to make the transition to film. The exception is OHIO IMPROMPTU. The intensity of this two character, ten minute piece perhaps reaches the full measure of its power as a film. Beckett's stage directions specify that its two actors be as alike as possible. On film, they can be exactly alike, by virtue of being played by the same actor, namely Jeremy Irons, who has famously played twins before. Despite the actor's disavowal, the characters of Reader and Listener can't help but conjure the image of DEAD RINGERS' Elliot commiserating with his twin brother Beverly aeons from hence in their own personal purgatory. Irons' performance is impeccable and affecting, although the Beckett purist might wish there were a little less of it. The performances throughout the plays are deliriously good, with the sad exception of the beautiful FOOTFALLS, which suffers from an overly mannered delivery on the part of its two actresess. One can only feel sorry for the director saddled with the relentlessly uncinematic THAT TIME. But BECKETT ON FILM is mostly a box of treasure, and a gift to the world. ... Read more

Reviews (51)

Desrves more than 5 stars!
This video was recored live in Central Park on September 19, 1981. I think it deserves more than 5 stars. I think is the greatest video that ever was. Simon and Garfunkel sing infront of 500,000 people. It contains 2 extra songs that were cut from the album; The late great Johnny Ace, and Late in the evening(reprise). Durring The Late Great Johnny Ace, a duranged fan jumps on stage after Paul sings about John Lennon being shot. Paul gets real scared and the bouncer comes and grabs the kid and takes him away. The highlight of the evening I think is when Paul sang 50 Ways to Leave Your Lover. Art sings an OK version of Bridge over troubled water. Paul and Art play with an amazing backing band too. Also much of the dialogue that was cut from the record, is restored on the tape. Things such as intro's of songs, Paul introduces the band, and Paul had a speech about fireworks. I think it is great and you should buy it. You can't be considered a Simon and Garfunkel fan without it.

Simon and Garfunkel - The Concert in Central Park-superb
This dvd is much more than entertainment.this dvd presents simon and garfunkels life works in just under 1 and a half hours.The picture quality is not superb dvd quality but considering it was filmed and recorded in 1981 the best job in mixing it has been achieved. There are some great renditions of the classics such as mrs robinson,scarbourough fair,feelin groovy,sounds of silence and the boxer. The camera work and sound is spectacular and you really get a sense of what the atmosphere must have been like for the audience in this historic event. a spectacular performance by 2 elite singer/songwriters.All though there are no special features this is a must have for simon and garfunkel fans or fans of th 60's. Many peopel and even Art himself suggest that this was not his best performance but i beleieve he is exceptional and it is shown when singing such songs as scarbourough fair and bridge over trouble water in particular.

Simon and Garfunkle - Revisited.
I was happy to see Simon and Garfunkle in concert on their recent "Old Friends" tour, and was more than pleased by the performance of two men who, by all rights, should've been retired and not in the best of vocal form. The afterglow of the Philadelphia show led me to acquire this DVD from the 1981 Central Park reunion show. Since most of the songs from the current tour are reflected by the Central Park set list, it was worth it for me.

This DVD is actually better than I originally remember from watching it on TV. Maybe I was just too wrapped up in my new wave years (I was a junior in college at the time the album was released), but both men were in strong form vocally. It also meant that, as a greatest hits sort of show, all the bases are essentially covered. Even the Paul Simon solo material comes across as well matched (in particular, "American Tune" which rings truer in the post 9/11 world as it did back then). The instrumentation is a bit dated, Richard Tee's keyboards especially, but that's more the fault of the times than of performance.

And the performances here are superb. Oddly, the one major musical flub from the disc is "The Late Great Johnny Ace." It was Simon's tribute to John Lennon and is when a fan charges the stage, distracting Simon from the microphone. Art Garfunkle is relegated to only one solo hit here, and naturally it's "A Heart In New York." Just as "counting the cars on the New Jersey Turnpike" gets a huge outburst of applause (it did here in Philly, too), "Heart" brings the crowd to express itself with exuberence.

On the other hand, when Art begins to sing "Bridge Over Troubled Water," it's hard not to notice that he can still sound like the folk singing choirboy of the sixties, and even more so for "The Sound of Silence." Despite all the infighting, back biting and legendary arguments that Simon and Garfunkle have shared over their career, there is no denying that - as a duo - they created magic. After 20 years, I'm glad "The Concert In Central Park" is in my DVD library.

There are a few minuses: A serious lack of extra features. Jamming two songs into one chapter, and not just once but six times. Crappy liner notes/graphics. The fact that you can still sense the personal tension between Art and Paul. (They were supposed to produce an album entitled "Think Too Much" together after the tour, the resulting album was Paul's "Hearts and Bones.")

PS: I eagerly await the inevitable "Old Friends" concert CD and DVD, and would also recommend Paul Simon's "Concert In The Park" from 1991.

Great concert - but there's still a significant cut
All of the reviews say it all. Except - in my hazy memory of watching the concert on TV I recall a song called "Citizen of the planet" being performed, which I now find out is a "new release" from S&G. Can anyone remember this song being performed in the Central Park concert?

To Correct Some Misconceptions
The other 4 and 5 star reviews speak for themselves. I'd like to correct a few misconceptions about this DVD, though. Anyone who thinks that "The Late Great Johnny Ace" in not included on the DVD has not watched it all the way through. Although not listed on the tacklist, it comes on right after "A Heart In New York". Another criticism was over the inclusion of seven Paul Simon solo tunes. Paul Simon wrote almost all of S&G's material. In my book, any Paul Simon song that Art sings on is a S&G song. By that standard, there are only two Paul Simon solo songs. Plus Art sings solo on two S&G songs and his own "A Heart In New York". So I think it evens out pretty well. ... Read more

Amazon.com

Unavailable at all for nearly three decades, then issued in a VHS edition in 1996, the Rolling Stones' legendary Rock and Roll Circus finally gets the full treatment with this DVD release documenting the 1968 event. The Stones were reportedly unhappy with their performance (hence the long delay), and it isn't their finest moment; performing "Jumping Jack Flash" and a variety of songs from their then-new Beggars Banquet album, Keith Richards is game, but Jagger's preening (especially on "Sympathy for the Devil") is over the top, and guitarist Brian Jones looks dissolute and well on his way to his death the following year. A certain weirdness permeates some of the other musical acts as well: Jethro Tull lip-syncs unconvincingly, Taj Mahal and band were obliged to perform before the circus set was completed and the audience had arrived, and John Lennon's outing with impromptu supergroup the Dirty Mac (with Richards, Eric Clapton, and drummer Mitch Mitchell) is hampered by Yoko Ono's caterwauling, although their version of the Beatles' "Yer Blues" is cool. Still, the Who are brilliant, Marianne Faithfull is beautiful, the various circus acts are fun, and the crowd clearly loves it.

The DVD comes with some fascinating bonus features, including three extra songs by Mahal, some lovely classical piano by Julius Katchen, and a "quad split-screen" version of "Yer Blues." Best of all are a new interview with the Who's Pete Townshend and the various commentary tracks added for the DVD--especially those by Tull's Ian Anderson, director Michael Lindsay-Hogg, and Stones Jagger, Richards, and Bill Wyman (who dryly attributes Jagger's reluctance to issue the show to his dissatisfaction with his own performance, not the band's). Flaws notwithstanding, this is a treat. --Sam Graham ... Read more

Reviews (23)

Worth seeing just for The Who
This tape is worth buying just for The Who's performance of "A Quick One While He's Away", which has got to be one of the greatest live performances of a single rock song ever. Unfortunately, it's followed by Yoko Ono's impersonation of a rusty fence as well as a poor performance by the Stones. "Jumpin' Jack Flash" sounds like it's being played in slow motion, and on "Sympathy for the Devil", an obviously full-of-himself Mick Jagger seems to be more interested in mugging for the cameras then he does in actually performing the song. I've always thought the Stones were one of the most overrated live acts in rock; and after watching them follow the Who here, it's easy to see why Jagger did not want to release the tapes.

Anyway, besides The Who, there also some good performances by Jethro Tull(although I've read that their performance of "A Song for Jeffrey" is not entirely live?) and The Dirty Mac(John Lennon, Eric Clapton, Keith Richards & Mitch Mitchell deliver a fine performance of "Yer Blues" before being joined by Yoko Ono and violin player Ivry Gitlis; it's amusing to watch Gitlis smirk as Yoko screeches over the top of their jamming). Marianne Faithful and Taj Mahal also perform, but frankly I found them both to be forgettable.

Aside from the performances, I think this tape is interesting as a snapshot of the time(December, 1968). You get to see a number of rock legends in their prime, and even though not all of them deliver great performances, it's still fascinating to watch.

Not Much Of A Circus For The Stones
What suprises the most is the lackluster performance of the Stones in "Rock and Roll Circus." Far more interesting is Jethro Tull's performance with Ian Anderson prefiguring the grunge look by 25 years in his long overcoat, wild hair and beard. Tull's unique jazz/blue/celtic/rock fusion has held up quite well over the years. Taj Mahal's earthy performance with his electric blues band is riveting, but future heroin causality Jesse "Ed" Davis looks pallid despite his sizzling slide and lead guitar. The Who rule the "Rock and Roll Circus" with an inspired rendition of "A Quick One" complete with a turbo charged performance by Keith Moon where he mugs it up and breaks (by my count) five or six sets of drumsticks. The Stones hit the stage to close the show and it's jarring to see a lackluster perfomance from the world's greatest rock and roll band. They all look fatigued and Brian Jones looks like he's just waiting for someone to write his obituary. This was a very bad time in Rolling Stones land. It turned out to be Brian's last performance in public with the Stones.

For over twenty years the Stones kept "Rock and Roll Circus" from being seen, apparently Mick Jagger was incensed that the Who's inspired anarchy eclipsed the Stones performance....the Who and nearly everyone else managed to outshine the phoned in performance by the Stones, except for Keith, who's rowdy guitar antics can't breathe life into the band. The following year I saw the revitalized Stones touring with Mick Taylor replacing the deceased Brian Jones on guitar. The Stones made it through the dark days of "Rock and Roll Circus" and managed to outlast the Who as the most enduring sixties band, but this performance was a pretty somber affair for the boys. My final reaction to the film was how many of the talented musicians in "Rock and Roll Circus" would be claimed tragically over the next few years. It is still hard for me to watch John Lennon's dazzling energy and often absurd brillance in the film and not shed a tear for his senseless death.

Rock and Roll Circus
As somone who wasn't born when this was filmed it was interesting seeing them and the other 60s artists as they were at that time.

Enjoyed Dirty Mac the most (would have preferred it if they left Yoko's wailing out of the second track). The Who were good. The Stones were ok.

One for the collector.

Good music, but you'll wear out the FF skipping the "circus"
Like so many legendary rock rumors, this show has a hard time living up to the expectations that have built up in its absence. You can now view it to see our Sixties heroes, young and smooth and clear-eyed, in this souvenir of Swinging London in 1968. For that alone this show is worth the purchase price.

The best bits of this are also the funniest. Tony Iommi, the future Black Sabbath guitar god, appears in the Jethro Tull lineup, in a floppy white hippie hat, miming on his Strat to Mick Abraham's dobro part in "Song for Jeffrey". He looks like he's gonna die of mortification. Ian Anderson looks spotty, woolly and ramshackle, and sings in a slurry delta blues accent. His vocal and flute are allegedly the only "live" part on this performance of that song.

The next best thing is The Who, powering through the long story-song A Quick One. I was disappointed that the video had no extra tracks from them, as I have seen photos of them in different costume from the Circus, playing what must have been a different song. Maybe for the DVD...

The Stones are okay, not thrilling, but not so poor that it warranted shelving the projected for nearly thirty years. Brian Jones looks dead on his feet, but everyone else seems fine. Keef, ironically enough, is the liveliest one of the lot, by the time the marathon show ended taping.

The circus bits are piffle, and the other performers are filler, though The Dirty Mac is worth watching at least once. Yoko Ono is...oh, I should just leave the fish in the barrel alone, I guess. Avant garde didn't get much more avant than it was in the Sixties. Short verdict: buy it, and enjoy the way they were, if not always they way they did it.

Truly amazing film for fans of Who, John Lennon, Jethro Tull
This film is more for fans of the Who, Lennon, Tull or for lovers of the swinging sixties than it is for the Stones. The Stones performance was somewhat lackluster, they seem tired and stoned!

BUT this film really caught me by surprise and is one of my favorite in my entire collection... I bought it to see the Stones only to find out that it contained a performance of "Yer Blues" by John Lennon, Eric Clapton, Keith Richards and Mitch Mitchell (Jimi Hendrix Experience)!!! The interview of John Lennon by Mick Jagger is very interesting -- John is sarcastic as ever.

Also, the song by the Who (A Quick One) is fantastic and captures the truly live feel and charisma of the Who complete with a typically clumsy and aggressive Townsend slamming his arm into a boom mike while doing a windmill on the guitar!!!

Jethro Tull hams it up as a psycho hillbilly freak... fans of his will love "Song for Jeffery".

Taj Mahal turns in a great, soulful performance of "Ain't That a lot of Love".

One thing that was kind of sad is that so many of the talented people on this film are now dead. Just about every band represented here had one or two members who died from heroin or some other drug. But that does make the tape that much more poignant.

The tape does have a few dull moments, the most painful being Yoko Onos "performance" with the supergroup I mentioned above in a separate jam called "Whole Lotta Yoko". You can't fast forward because the underlying jam is so compelling, so you just sit there and suffer.

If you like any of the bands mentioned herein, this film is a must see!!! ... Read more

Amazon.com

Since many movie depictions of famous figures are cringe-worthy, it is pleasant to report that Two of Us creates a smart, informed, and intimate portrait of two music gods. This made-for-TV feature is a fictional speculation about a day in 1976 when Paul McCartney popped into John Lennon's New York apartment by surprise. With Yoko away on business, it's just the two giants spending a day together--bickering, goofing, toking, and eventually coming to a bittersweet reconciliation. There are awkward TV-movie moments, and some psychobabble, but the film respects its characters too much to round them off into simpletons. Director Michael Lindsay-Hogg made Let It Be, so he could draw on first-hand experience, and Jared Harris and Aidan Quinn are totally committed to their roles. For an even better speculative Beatles film, check out The Hours and Times, a superb study of Lennon and Beatles manager Brian Epstein. --Robert Horton ... Read more

Reviews (11)

A DAY IN THE LIFE ... A GREAT TRIP !
This movie will touch the hearts of any Beatles fan. The two actors who portray Lennon & McCartney really nailed down the personaltities, if not, on some occasions ... their appearance. Going back to '76 .. a time when there was still that possibility of the Beatles getting back together .. we still had John, we still had George. This infamous meeting has been mentioned in books .. All throughout the '70s .. we never even saw a picture of John & Paul together! This movie is a real treat .. it's like taking that trip back in time & never wanting it to end. You want to go back & spend another day with your heroes ... you want history to be changed .. you want to GET BACK to where you once belonged!!! HIGHLY RECOMMENDED! It really feels like you are witnessing John & Paul together again in a chance meeting in '76.

OUTSTANDING
This movie is exceptional in every way. The actors are completely committed, and I fully believed I was watching Lennon and McCartney interact. Furthermore--and something people have yet to mention--the screenplay is loaded with details of these two men from the period in which the movie takes place and written with a palpable warmth and love for John and Paul without being syrupry, cliched, or sentimental. As a die hard Beatles fan who has read more than 40 books on these two geniuses, this was the movie I had always wanted to see. The experience stayed with me for days. I waited for a long time to see the release of this film on DVD.

Inspired movie making
Michael Linsey-Hogg, the director of Let It Be, weaves fact and fiction into a compelling movie about two of the greatest personalities of our generation.

McCartney comes off a bit too warm in this but its hard to see that as a flaw. Reputed to be a 'cool' person at the best of times perhaps we see through to the real Paul. Lennon on the other hand is accurately portrayed from the clowning to the acid wit he was so well known for.

While the actors don't physically resemble John and Paul that well they certainly come across as them if you just squint your eyes and pretend a little.

Best moments in the movie:

McCartney in a heartfelt moment telling John how during the break up of the Beatles he felt as though he was losing his best friend. Lennons acid response. "We were never that close mate".

A scene in Central Park with the two of them in disguise. Reminiscent of A Hard Days Night is the exchange between them and two mounted police. We laughed out loud at this one and the scene just felt right.

A scene in a restaurant when an elderly couple finally get there nerve up to approach John. They make the gaffe of requesting that he sing a few bars of Yesterday (Pauls song). Lennons response again had us laughing out loud and again it felt as though it really was John saying it.

The best moment of all is one with John and Paul on the roof of the Dakota. I won't attempt to describe this one but it brought tears to my eyes and confirmed to me that the chemistry between John and Paul was truly magic.

This movie brings back a little of the joy the Beatles brought to the world way back when. A celebration of John and Paul and the real world magic of Beatle music.

Fooled me!
When I first heard about this film, I thought, "Harris and Quinn?" How will they pull it off? For one thing, there was the item of physical non-resemblance. But with the addition of a little nose putty, I was suprised to be able to see Lennon quite easily in Harris. Quinn's physical resemblance to McCartney is even more remote (you can add putty to a nose but you can't perform rhinoplastic reduction with makeup!), but factor in the clothes and hair and he comes closer. But it's the body language and speech which make him convincing. I didn't notice in the credits if there was a vocal coach, but if there was, he/she knows his/her stuff. If the actors developed their own accents and cadences, that's even more to their credit. They obviously studied these men assiduously. In some scenes I found myself feeling horribly sentimental, being of a "certain age." The picture is nicely staged, paced, and photographed. Entertaining start to finish.

JARED HARRIS IS FIRST-RATE AS JOHN LENNON!
A must-see for all Beatles fans. This film is worth seeing alone for Jared Harris' outstanding portrayal of John Lennon. It doesn't matter that Harris doesn't exactly resemble Lennon; his mannerisms, expressions, posture, accent and attitude are pure Lennon. Best scene: Lennon in a local cafe verbally sparring with a stuttering fan as to whether Paul McCartney & Wings' "Silly Love Songs" is worthy of #1 status in America. ... Read more

Reviews (10)

Good movie, bad DVD
This little gem of a movie is one of those rare movies for grownups. The characters are real, imperfect people, not cardboard cutouts.

Unfortunately, the full-frame DVD doesn't do the movie justice. The sound is horrible, the picture is not especially good, and there are no extras whatsoever. Too bad. This movie deserves an audience, but this DVD will not help it get one.

Still a great movie, inspite of the DVD edition
I was totally frustrated sharing one of my all time favorites with my husband and not being able to hear the dialog that makes this movie so unique. This movie has a depth, rich use of language, passionate characters, a plot and the classic American happy ending. I still learn something every time I watch it, but was surprised to find it in the Comedy section. And I love that I still cry when the deaf girl explains why she stole the piece. Great Art moves you. And for art lovers who want the real Henry Moore experience, go to the Art Gallery of Ontario, in Toronto.

Good Movie, Bad DVD
This is a really good film for people who appreciate subtlety and somewhat offbeat character development. This will not impress people who tend to gravitate more towards action or overt drama. Malkovich and MacDowell turn in understated, nicely done performances as the films antiheroes, and they accomplish the somewhat difficult task of making us feel for these self-involved characters. All the other characters are played well and the different plots mesh nicely.

The only complaint I have is with the DVD itself. The audio was abysmal on my system, and I am not really the pickiest of audiophiles. In fact, this is the only time that I've been disappointed in or even noticed a DVD's lack of sound quality. My player has a special feature that brings dialogue to the center speaker, and for some reason it would not work with this DVD. The dialogue was difficult to understand throughout, and I often had to adjust the volume and replay bits of scenes to figure out what had been said. Also, there are zero special features on this DVD... no trailers, no commentary, nada.

I would wait for a better transfer rather than buying this DVD version of the film. It's definitely worth a rent, however, for those who can appreciate what it has to offer.

Loved This Movie. John Malkovich is great.
I became interested in this movie, because I always thought that John Malkovich was a great actor in everything. Especially in In The Line Of Fire. I became curious of this movie when I heard it was a comedy. I rented it last night and thought it was great. I just placed an order for the dvd. There is just the right amount of humor. Both John Malkovich and Andie Macdowell are great together in this. I only gave it four stars because I think there could have been a little less scenes with the deaf and mute maid. However, I did think she was good in it. There was also a part of the story that they could have done without, and they didn't bring any closer to it. But, I highly recommend this movie. Especially if you are fans of John Malkovich and Andie Macdowell. It was nice to see John Malkovich as a nice guy, with some short comings though. He had great humor. I would definitly like to see him play this type of character again.

A fun movie to see! Especially Andie.
I loved this movie! It's a lot of fun to watch and very entertaining. The plot was a little confusing but i'm a huge Andie MacDowell fan, so i was occupied by her charm in this movie. It has a lot of cute jokes and even non jokes were still funny by the expressions on the actors faces. It was a very cute movie to watch. For all Andie fans, this is a great on to see. She's stunning in it. So i highly recommend it, just for the joy of Andie and a cute fun movie to watch! ... Read more

Reviews (11)

Interesting for the nostalgics...
I enjoyed the ouverture which is leveraging the orchestra power with the classic midley of Quadrophenia. I would rate the picture quality as well as the sound between 3.5 and 4.0.

It was great to see and hear Entwistle on The Real Me -- he haven't lost anything of its dexterity on a bass guitar. Pete Townshend is featured on Who Are You and I wish Entwistle would have also be part of that play which is one of the album best song...

A good DVD to add to your collection...

Won't get fooled again
The concert was clearly excellent, with Daltrey enjoying himself, but this DVD is a very poor record of it. The sound is simply the worst that I have ever heard on a sell through DVD. It sounded so bad that at first I thought my DVD player was faulty, but it sounded equally terrible in two other machines. At times the soundtrack is plainly out of sync with the visuals. Given the long string of technical credits at the end it is all the more surprising that something this bad got pressed up and sold. Worth having as a curiosity to sit alongside the bootlegs, but only if the price is as low as the quality.

No Alice Cooper track!
This may not interest too many people, but since the DVD is listed under "Alice Cooper", and since he performed the song "I'm A Boy" at THIS concert, I went and bought it. BUT THEY CUT THE TRACK OUT! There's no, repeat NO, Alice Cooper track on this DVD! So buy it for any other reason than I did! Or look for a VHS copy of the whole concert or the 2-CD-set.

This is the man
I've given the CD a poor review, but the DVD is just the opposite. The filmed production was a concert I wish I'd attended, and I haven't had the DVD technical glitches experienced by others. I do think the concert might have been videotaped rather than filmed, and that would account for the less crisp visuals. When it comes to the star, that physical presence of Daltrey wins me over where the CD performance does not. Not only is his voice in high gear, though occasionally drowned out by the orchestra, Daltrey is very energized. The guest stars are more in the background than they are on the CD (one reason the CD is so annoying). Moreover, Daltrey starts off very formal as he first takes the stage, but slowly more of the famed body is revealed until by the climax of Won't Be Fooled Again you believe it's the Daltrey of old. Here's a man who was definitely forced to give up his #1 career - by Townshend's 80s WHO retirement - far in advance of his interest or his abilities. Nice affectionate moments with Daltrey and Entwistle and then Daltrey and Townshend (whose own appearance had initially been reluctant; presumably Daltrey had threatened him, but you can't tell that here). If you're a fan of the WHO, you should have this DVD. If you're a fan of Daltrey specifically, you must have this DVD in your collection. And you can envy all those people who had great seats, especially those in the front row.

Performance 5...Presentation 1
This is like a bad dream...on the shelf is a DVD of a concert only a lucky few got to attend..classic music of my generation ..and treated with very cool approaches which allmost all succeed..NOW FOR THE BAD NEWS..Platinum has rushed it into the marketplace without viewing the darned thing..there are MANY digital artifacts (I don't know the technical terms for glitches in the picture) which are distracting. I must add that it plays differently on my two DVD players..maybe one is able to read it better? BOTTOM LINE...I still watch it more than most of my 100+ discs..so why can't they take the time to make them right? ... Read more

Reviews (2)

Forgotten Glenda Jackson Film Worth Seeing
Glenda Jackson, Sandy Dennis and Geraldine Page are all excellent in this little seen film from the 70's. The script and the acting are very good. The main problem is that this DVD transfer is terrible. Poor picture and sound. If you've never seen the film, I recommend it. If you have seen it, skip this DVD and hope they come out with a better quality DVD in the future.

Nuns on the take
Imagine a convent as Watergate and Glenda Jackson as Richard Nixon. Nasty Habits is a parody of Watergate that Lampoons everyone from Sandy Dennis as the John Dean character to Melina Mecouri as Henry Kissenger. It has however been called a "one line movie" (You won't have Alexandra to kick around anymore). But I think you have to appreciate it for what it is, a thinly disguised political lampoon of a time that wasn't that funny. I highly recommend it if you're a democrat.... ... Read more

Amazon.com

The director Michael Lindsay-Hogg has a name that sounds British despite the fact that he is a New Yorker by birth. Maybe that association derives from the fact that he's primarily helmed television films--segments of Brideshead Revisited, for example, as well as a pile of music videos for English bands like the Who and the Rolling Stones. One of his few ventures into feature filmmaking (another was the little-seen Frankie Starlight) is the 1990 film The Object of Beauty, which also looks, sounds, and feels British in sensibility. The film is set in a tony London hotel, the weather is England-dreary, and the clothes (when the actors are wearing them) are tweedish and woolly in appearance. And the story is essentially repressed and internal save for the brash American performances of John Malkovich and Andie MacDowell, who play a couple living way above their limited financial means. When Jake (Malkovich) bottoms out in a business deal, he urges Tina (MacDowell) to sell her little Henry Moore sculpture, an object of great beauty. Such beauty, in fact, that a young mute hotel maid decides to steal it for her own. The actress Rudi Davies, who plays the maid, steals more than the Moore, however. She sneaks the film out from under Malkovich and MacDowell, who was just coming off of her sex, lies, and videotape acclaim, and who is quite good here as well. The Object of Beauty is too subtle in its message--Jake and Tina lose their last monetary chance and in penury begin to discover who they are as people--to let us care about such a pouty pair, and the "hilarious mix-ups and mayhem" that the film promises are, in actuality, tame and trite. --Paula Nechak ... Read more

Reviews (10)

Good movie, bad DVD
This little gem of a movie is one of those rare movies for grownups. The characters are real, imperfect people, not cardboard cutouts.

Unfortunately, the full-frame DVD doesn't do the movie justice. The sound is horrible, the picture is not especially good, and there are no extras whatsoever. Too bad. This movie deserves an audience, but this DVD will not help it get one.

Still a great movie, inspite of the DVD edition
I was totally frustrated sharing one of my all time favorites with my husband and not being able to hear the dialog that makes this movie so unique. This movie has a depth, rich use of language, passionate characters, a plot and the classic American happy ending. I still learn something every time I watch it, but was surprised to find it in the Comedy section. And I love that I still cry when the deaf girl explains why she stole the piece. Great Art moves you. And for art lovers who want the real Henry Moore experience, go to the Art Gallery of Ontario, in Toronto.

Good Movie, Bad DVD
This is a really good film for people who appreciate subtlety and somewhat offbeat character development. This will not impress people who tend to gravitate more towards action or overt drama. Malkovich and MacDowell turn in understated, nicely done performances as the films antiheroes, and they accomplish the somewhat difficult task of making us feel for these self-involved characters. All the other characters are played well and the different plots mesh nicely.

The only complaint I have is with the DVD itself. The audio was abysmal on my system, and I am not really the pickiest of audiophiles. In fact, this is the only time that I've been disappointed in or even noticed a DVD's lack of sound quality. My player has a special feature that brings dialogue to the center speaker, and for some reason it would not work with this DVD. The dialogue was difficult to understand throughout, and I often had to adjust the volume and replay bits of scenes to figure out what had been said. Also, there are zero special features on this DVD... no trailers, no commentary, nada.

I would wait for a better transfer rather than buying this DVD version of the film. It's definitely worth a rent, however, for those who can appreciate what it has to offer.

Loved This Movie. John Malkovich is great.
I became interested in this movie, because I always thought that John Malkovich was a great actor in everything. Especially in In The Line Of Fire. I became curious of this movie when I heard it was a comedy. I rented it last night and thought it was great. I just placed an order for the dvd. There is just the right amount of humor. Both John Malkovich and Andie Macdowell are great together in this. I only gave it four stars because I think there could have been a little less scenes with the deaf and mute maid. However, I did think she was good in it. There was also a part of the story that they could have done without, and they didn't bring any closer to it. But, I highly recommend this movie. Especially if you are fans of John Malkovich and Andie Macdowell. It was nice to see John Malkovich as a nice guy, with some short comings though. He had great humor. I would definitly like to see him play this type of character again.

A fun movie to see! Especially Andie.
I loved this movie! It's a lot of fun to watch and very entertaining. The plot was a little confusing but i'm a huge Andie MacDowell fan, so i was occupied by her charm in this movie. It has a lot of cute jokes and even non jokes were still funny by the expressions on the actors faces. It was a very cute movie to watch. For all Andie fans, this is a great on to see. She's stunning in it. So i highly recommend it, just for the joy of Andie and a cute fun movie to watch! ... Read more

Product Description

A highlight of the film (other than the music) is a performance of the group on the roof of their Apple Corps headquarters on Saville Row on January 30, 1969 which turned out to be their last together. The police interrupting the performance and the shots of the crowds on the street and nearby rooftops are oft-repeated elements still in use in music video and concert films today. ... Read more

Reviews (46)

The long and winding road
I hope that this film gets released on dvd soon, as it is one of my favorites. Let it be is special because it shows the Beatles in their most un-polished best, Paul teaching the rest of the band the chords to "Maxwell's silver hammer" is reason enough to get this movie, also you get to see the break-up of the best band that ever existed, but with all the fighting and snickering going on in the movie, there are times while they are jamming, that you can see that they truly loved each other, and in the deplorable conditions of that studio, they could still create magic.

The Beatles at their finest?
I have seen this film many times, and many times I have found it disheartening.

Always innovative, the Beatles set out to create a "live" documentary showing them live in the studio recording. The results are somewhat disasterous as we see the group literally falling apart before our eyes. Both George Harrison and Ringo Starr had walked out during the filming. One scene showing Harrison and McCartney bickering over a guitar riff shows the tension the group was feeling at the time. The fact that Abbey Road even got recorded is short of a miracle.

The remainder of the film however, shows how creative and talented the Beatles truly were and it's for this reason this film must be in any Beatle's fan collection. Sadly, the original mixes of most of this music have yet to see the light of day short of bootlegs and the very rare issue of Get Back in Russia. That this was their last released album only contributes to a cardboard tombstone to a group that surely deserved better approach on this project.

If you can overlook the fact that the Beatles were already broken up when this was released, it should be good viewing to catch a glimpse of them at their finest hour. Oddly enough, few groups were to follow suit with their own documentaries, and probably should have. This film once again set new standards and is well worth a view.

The Breakup isn't as evident as some might think
I must say, Amazon does not yet have this on DVD but I ordered the English version on DVD that plays in my American DVD player from some company in Russia, the only drawback is that it isn't tracked, you have to sort of fast-forward like a VHS tape. However, I am still glad that I bought it. Yes, there are arguments and the ever-present Yoko (Yucko as I like to call her) but there are some wonderful scenes of the group jamming together, smiling, laughing and just having fun! The tension is at times visible but not overwhelming. Of course, we do see the downside, each one of The Beatles are more individuals at this point, they look different from each other and have distinctly different music styles. Some may be mad at me for this but Paul did seem as though he was trying to take over. However, I will admit that Ringo and George didn't want the decision-making responsibilities and John was falling further into the Yoko-void and losing interest in other things he once cared about.

But as I said, there are some great scenes. For example, the rooftop concert at the end. John and Paul are smiling at each other, joking around and fooling around with some of the songs. Everyone truly looks as if they're enjoying themselves. Even right up to the end The Beatles still had their magic, no fights could ever take away the fact that as musicians, they gelled like no other group ever has before or since! Their coming together for songs like "Don't Let Me Down" "Let it Be" "The Long and Winding Road" "I've Got a Feeling" "Get Back" and John and Paul singing together for "Two of Us" shows that there was still cohesion, combined creativity and joy in the making of their music!

I think this film, along with "A Hard Days Night" "Help!" "Magical Mystery Tour" and "Yellow Submarine" (even though the characters' voices were not their own) are MUST HAVES for anyone who truly likes The Beatles and can appreciate them for being the greatest group of musicians who ever lived!

Paul, if you're reading this...
This film is of tremendous historical value, and quite entertaining as well. The rooftop concert is so much fun, and is The Beatles last live performance! Paul, if you are reading this, please do all of us fans a favor. As a bonus to the Let It Be release, why not show the entire rooftop concert without the edits of crowd reactions, just as the studio versions were shown in their entirety? It's the last Beatle performance, and deserves to be shown complete. Give the greatest band in history their due.

the reason they should re relses let it be on dvd
this concert needs lots of improvement on quality and sound and it shows how the band worked together and went there seprat ways
i hope it happens soon im so exictied ... Read more