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After they first worked together on the 1966 film This Property Is Condemned, director Sydney Pollack and Robert Redford continued their long-lasting collaboration with this 1972 drama set during the mid-1800s, about one man's rugged effort to shed the burden of civilization and learn to survive in the wilderness of the Rocky Mountains.Will Geer is perfectly cast as the seasoned trapper who teaches Jeremiah Johnson (Redford) how to survive against harsh winters, close encounters with grizzly bears, and hostile Crow Indians. In the course of his adventure, Johnson marries the daughter of a Flathead Indian chief, forms a makeshift family, and ultimately assumes a mythic place in Rocky Mountain folklore.Shot entirely on location in Utah, the film boasts an abundance of breathtaking widescreen scenery, and the story (despite a PG rating) doesn't flinch from the brutality of the wilderness. In addition to the original theatrical trailer, remastered Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtrack, and informative production notes, the DVD also includes The Saga of Jeremiah Johnson, a promotional documentary on the making of the film. --Jeff Shannon ... Read more

Reviews (72)

Unforgettable Masterpiece From Director Sydney Pollack!
Robert Redford and Sydney Pollack, the Academy Award-winning director of Out of Africa team up (the 2nd of their 6 films together) for this powerful saga of a man whose determined search for contentment leads to back-breaking, even mind-breaking hardship, and to constant battle with hostile native Americans. This absolutely unforgettable and spectacularly beautiful, yet haunting adventure film captures both the epic scale of an unconquered Nature and the small, frustrating, hard scrabbling struggles of a lone man desperately trying to start a fire during a gale-force blizzard, cross a meadow knee-deep in snow or catch something, anything, to eat.

Filmed entirely on location in winter-time Utah, this movie captures on film Jeremiah Johnson's (Robert Redford) attempt in the mid 1800s to become a mountain man, seeking solitude in a wilderness whose purity he never questioned. This film is sure to find it's way into the private library of every connoisseur of superb movie making, and is one of those very rare films you can enjoy again and again! Masterpiece!

Robert Redford's personal favorite film role
I had the pleasure of seeing "Jeremiah Johnson" in the theatre soon after it first came out at Christmas 1972. On the big screen you could really appreciate the magnificent cinematography and the majestic scenery. It loses something when transferred to the small screen. So I recommend watching the letterboxed version on a larger screen TV(at least 27inches or larger.)It has fine direction by Sydney Pollack whom Robert Redford has worked with in more than a half dozen films. The movie takes place in Redford's own neck of the woods,the mountains of Utah.The late Will Geer,(the grandfather on the television series "The Walton's" back in the '70's),is very enjoyable as a bear trapping mountain man named Bear Claw. And,Delle Bolton is impressive in her movie debut as Jeremiah's young indian maiden bride named Swan. I don't believe I've seen Ms. Bolton in anything since this film.The film also has an atmospheric music score by John Rubinstein.

I haven't read the two books this movie is based on "Crow Killer" by Raymond W. Thorp and Robert Bunker and "Mountain Man" by Vardis Fisher and I hear the books are much more intense and graphic and if the screenplay had followed them more closely the film would have generated a more adult R rating instead of the family friendly PG rating that it has. Redford said in an interview back in the '80's that of all the films he has done that "Jeremiah Johnson" was his personal favorite.

I think that's really saying something considering all the fine films Mr. Redford has done.This is one of his best along with "Butch Cassidy and The Sundance Kid" from 1969, "The Sting",(the OscarTM winner for Best Picture of 1973),"The Great Waldo Pepper" from 1975,"Three Days of The Condor",(also directed by Sydney Pollack),"All The President's Men" from 1976,"Brubaker" from 1980, "Ordinary People"(which was his directorial debut and was the OscarTM winner for Best Picture of 1980 and he won Best Director honors),"The Natural" from 1984,"A River Runs Through It" from 1992,which Redford directed and was the narrator,"Quiz Show" nominated for Best Picture of 1994,(it didn't win), and "The Horse Whisperer" from 1998(which he both directed and starred in. Among Director Sydney Pollack's best are "The Way We Were" from 1973,"The Yakuza" from 1975,"Tootsie" from 1982 and "Out of Africa",the OscarTM winner for Best Picture of 1985,with Mr.Pollack winning Best Director honors). Robert Redford and Sydney Pollack are two of America's finest filmmakers.

"The day that you tarry is the day that you lose ..."
He was a big man, maybe even growing in physical stature with the growth of his myth; deadly with his Bowie knife and his gun alike. He'd been a fighter in the U.S.-Mexican war, but left the lowland's ways behind in favor of a mountain man's: the lonesome hunt, the wild outdoors, and the confrontation with nature rather than his fellow men. And he came to be known as "Crow Killer" and "Liver Eating Johns(t)on" when he took war to the Crow nation after they killed his wife.

Based on Raymond Thorp/Robert Bunker's "Crow Killer" and Vardis Fisher's "Mountain Man" and scripted by John Milius and Edward Anhalt - with input from frequent Redford/Pollack cooperator David Rayfiel - Sydney Pollack's and Robert Redford's 1972 movie loosely traces the mythical hunter's legend, opening with his arrival at the fort where he buys his first horse and gun. "Ride due west as the sun sets. Turn left at the Rocky Mountains," is a trader's goodnatured answer to Johnson's naive inquiry where to find "bear, beaver and other critters worth cash money when skinned." But soon he finds that his lowland skills no longer do him any good, almost starving in the freezing mountainous winter before being taken in by old "griz" hunter Bear Claw Chris Lapp (Will Geer in a stand-out role - his and Redford's deadpan exchanges alone make this movie worth its price).

Setting out on his own again the following year Johnson fares better, even gaining the respect of a Crow warrior prosaically named Paints His Shirt Red (Joaquin Martinez), the first person he encountered in the mountains. After assisting a settler's wife who had to watch her family massacred by Indians (Allyn Ann McLerie) and reluctantly agreeing to take charge of her son (Josh Albee) - a boy grown mute by the horrors he witnessed, whom he names Caleb - he comes across white hunter Del Gue (Stefan Gierasch), buried up to his head in sand by a band of Blackfeet. Revenging that act unwittingly leaves Johnson with a wife, in exchange for bestowing the Blackfeet's ponies and guns on Flathead chief Two-Tongues-Lebeaux (Richard Angarola): the chief's daughter Swan (Delle Bolton). Although neither embraces the match enthusiastically, over time Jeremiah and Swan learn to appreciate and, eventually, love each other. But then fate strikes: Against better judgment pressured into guiding a cavalry company through Crow burial ground, Johnson finds Swan and Caleb murdered upon his return. He sets out after the Crow who invaded his home ... and plants the seeds of his myth.

"Jeremiah Johnson" was Redford's and Pollack's second of seven collaborations after 1966's "This Property is Condemned." What most obviously characterizes this movie is the breathtaking manner in which its cinematography uses Utah's mountains (doubling for the story's actual Montana setting): despite studio budgetary limits shot entirely on location, the film had Redford acting as a virtual tour guide to the magnificent Wasatch, which he had recently made his home himself.

But the movie also shows enormous restraint, particularly given its violent underlying story. There's no blood-gushing "Braveheart"-style, no dramatic score; fights are mostly one-on-one, occurring as they would in real life - silently, with only the opponents' grunts being heard - and despite his fearsome epithet we never actually see Johnson eat a dead Crow warrior's liver. (Reportedly a script change on which Redford insisted: wisely so.) Similarly, Johnson's and Swan's relationship builds on small symbolic gestures, moving from his coarse attempts to teach her English and refusal to learn her language to conversations in Salish (Flathead); and from her submissive expectation of his exercising his marital rights on their wedding night (which rather repulses him) to later-exchanged tender glances and smiles: Thus, we only learn about their marriage's belated consummation when one morning Swan points to his beard in response to his question about her reddish cheeks. - Further, there's no dramatic conclusion; no final battle: as Johnson's myth begins to grow and he withdraws deeper and deeper into the mountains, he retraces his steps and meets in reverse order the people he encountered after his arrival: Del Gue, the settler now living in Caleb's mother's cabin, Bear Claw Chris Lapp; and finally Paints His Shirt Red who, although a Crow, created a monument in Johnson's honor and sends him off with a last salute, which Johnson reciprocates; ending the movie in an immortalizing freeze-frame shot - again, a feature insisted on by Redford, doubtlessly reminiscent of "Butch and Sundance" (and repeated one way or another in several subsequent movies).

Despite its languid pace and although just under two hours long, "Jeremiah Johnson" formally takes an epic approach, complete with overture, entr'acte and narrator (uncredited, but I think Willie Nelson), whose subtle voiceovers and brief songs provide key narrative bridges. While the latter match the movie's overall style and the overture at least corresponds with Johnson's mythical stature - albeit also setting up ultimately unfulfilled expectations of a dramatic finale - adding an entr'acte may have been a bit much, particularly in the middle of the ride through the Crow burial ground (incidentally a screenplay addition designed to give the Indians a reason to punish Johnson and not make them appear as mindless killers). In my view this breaks the dramatic tension rather than enhancing it; problematic insofar as virtually all that remains thereafter is Johnson's gradual withdrawal into the mountains and fights with the Crow. But no matter. This is a terrific movie, featuring great banter with Johnson's fellow hunters as well as some wonderfully delicate scenes with Swan, showcasing some of North America's most dramatically beautiful scenery, and growing on you more and more the more often you watch it.

And some say he's up there still ...

"The way that you wander is the way that you choose. The day that you tarry is the day that you lose. Sunshine or thunder, a man will always wonder where the fair wind blows ..."
(Lyrics, Jeremiah Johnson's theme.)

Jeremiah Johnson: a note on the theater
Just a note about this wonderful movie. I saw it when it first came out. JEREMIAH JOHNSON the title page screamed, "with Robert Redford" next in small fonts. A few years later I was back at the theater to watch it again. ROBERT REDFORD the title page screamed, "in Jeremiah Johnson" next in small fonts. This movie (and a few others) had introduced Robert Redford to the world.
This movie should be appreciated by every movie lover. Among other things, it demonstrates how words, if chosen carefully, can be memorable in their sparseness.

The best of any Mountain Man Movies
My very favorite Mountain Man movie. ... Read more

Reviews (44)

This movie is very intelligent
I liked the plot and the technical twists and turns of this thriller. Robert Redford plays a cia employee who reads books to find possible codes. He finds patterns and trys to break them or alert the Cia to there existence. He comes across something that causes his whole office or team to be wiped out leaving him as the only survivor, because he was out to lunch. How he goes about trying to survive is very intelligent and entertaining. There is a dry romance between he and Dunaway. He is on the run and time is not on hand so there scenes are quick and to the point. I liked the dialogue it was also dry and to the point. It sometimes took a few minutes for it to sink in. A highly intelligent film with good entertainment value. Worth watching.

4 Stars For "Condor"--One for the DVD!
Wire-rimmed glasses and a slight stubble of beard isn't enough to make Robert Redford completely convincing as a bookish CIA researcher, though he gives a terrific "movie star" performance (partially the result of co screenwriter David Rayfiel being brought in to customize some of Redford's dialouge).

Also, Director Sydney Pollack ("Tootsie") doesn't seem to have the feel for suspense-thriller pulp (the way someone like Peckinpah had), so "Three Days of the Condor" is a little too monotone and flat at times to be a completely successful representative of the genre.

No matter.

"Three Days of The Condor" had all the timing in the world going for it.

Released in 1975, just on the heels of Watergate and in the midst of the Church Committee hearings on CIA excesses, "Condor" became the only box office success of Paramount Pictures "Conspiracy Trilogy" (the others being "The Conversation" and Parallax View").

It's also worth noting the cinematography (done by the great Owen Roizman) is spectacular...the rainy Manhattan streets never looked so beautifully moody....and the score by Dave Grusin avoids all the usual thriller movie stabs and sting.

The transfer quality of the DVD is superb, but the special features are non existent (all that's included is the original theatrical trailer--hardly a "special feature" in today's DVD world).

"Three Days of the Condor" remains essentially a stylish artifact of mid-70's paranoia, and viewed today, in light of recent events, contains some really bizarre echoes.

The invisible government! Where?
Whenever I see this movie I always hear Roger Daltry's voice singing, 'can you see the real me?' Which is what a less loquacious Robert Redford tries to do after what may be one of the top ten movie opening scenes of all time, 70's, 80's, 90's or beyond.

Earlier reviews have fairly well constructed and described the plot but what's interesting is the unbelievability of it. Sydney Pollack keeps the heat on and the emotional cul de sacs plentiful as Redford tries to whittle down not so much the who killed all his coworkers but the why.

I believe alongside "Bullit," "French Connection," "Body Heat" and a few others, this is an essential movie both for it's time and our time. In light of Vietnam and Watergate, we just didn't blindly trust Uncle Sam anymore and were frequently reminded of the protest idiom, 'love your country; fear your government.' And for a captivating two hours, Redford is 'everyperson' ever profiled, searched, audited, traffic stopped, drafted and perhaps far worse. We didn't have to read George Orwell to know big brother was and is watching.

Cliff Robertson, a gifted actor denied his peak years because of pseudo-administration influence (do you remember 'Flowers for Algernon/Charley?), ironically plays the government role, as you would expect, brilliantly, and Max Von Sydow, is as always, superlative. I agree with some of the criticism of Faye Dunaway. She did better in other roles than she did here. It could have been Meryl Streep or Glenn Close as well, possibly better.

Essential movie if you want to know what you're talking about. Larry Scantlebury. 5 Stars.

Dated and Often Bizarre Thriller Amusing only to Old People
Like probably most people who were born well after Watergate broke, I became interested in seeing this film after seeing it lumped in numerous times with other paranoid conspiracy thrillers of the era, most notably Coppola's The Conversation and Pakula's The Parallax View. Those are two outstanding films, and Pollack's effort doesn't hold a candle to either. This movie is a disaster. Despite a dynamite opening act and a somewhat intriguing conclusion, together with a modicum of timeliness and poignancy with regard to real-world goings-on at the CIA, the vast majority of the film is spent slogging through dated fight choreography, awkward sex scenes, and some of the most atrocious dialogue ever committed to the silver screen. Faye Dunaway is particularly off-putting in a muted and emotionally confusing performance as a photographer who always blathers on about metaphorical pictures she keeps hidden away and only lets some people see.

Only Cliff Robertson and Max von Sydow escape unscathed from this silly, dated picture, resisting Redford's overacting and turning in fine performances (although Robertson's hair is perhaps the film's greatest mystery). To make matters worse, the soundtrack sounds like pornography, a perfectly awful mix of xylophone and smooth jazz.

For a much better time, please consider The Parallax View. If you have your heart set on Pollack, just watch The Firm, and you'll get the paranoia, the chasing and spying, and the pretty male lead, while what you sacrifice in political overtone you will gain in character development. I really thought I had something special when I took this home to watch it; it began with such promise. Truly it does not compare to the emotional wallop of Gene Hackman's Harry Caul, nor the mind-blowing psychadelic tension of Pakula's government coverups. Of this trio of would-be master Seventies spy storytellers, Sidney Pollack is the odd man out.

GREAT FILM, UNIMPRESIVE POLITICAL VIEWS
Robert Redford made a clunker called "The Way We Were" with Barbra Streisand that desperately tried to explain, apologize for, justify, glorify and approve of being an American Communist during McCarthyism, but just plain fails. He made the 1973 classic "Three Days of the Condor" (1973), with Cliff Robertson and Faye Dunnaway. He plays a CIA reader, a kind of pre-Tom Clancy research guy, a benign fellow among other benign CIA fellows, all of whom are murdered in a fuzzily explained hit by bad CIA fellows. After escaping, Redford tries to get to the bottom of it. Since he is a genius he has the intellectual tools to outwit his chasers. This is the film's highlight, revolving around the sexual tension between Redford and the redoubtable Faye, who he "kidnaps" in order to have a place to hide out, her apartment. The movie goes off the deep when the whole conspiracy turns out to be about the CIA's covert operations in the Middle East, where the U.S. apparently is planning the invasion (that never actually occurred) to take over OPEC. The message is that The Company murders innocents, the U.S. is a warmongering empire, and tool of capitalist greed. It is Redford's answer to Guatemala, Iran and Chile, where the people killed were generally Communists. Redford would rather show the CIA killing Chinese- and African-Americans and other non-threats.

STEVEN TRAVERS
AUTHOR OF "BARRY BONDS: BASEBALL'S SUPERMAN"
STWRITES@AOL.COM ... Read more

Description

The most acclaimed motion picture of 1985 stars Robert Redford and Meryl Streep in one of the screen’s great epic romances.Directed by Oscar winner Sydney Pollack, Out of Africa is the fascinating true story of Karen Blixen, a strong-willed woman who, with her philandering husband (Klaus Maria Brandauer), runs a coffee plantation in Kenya, circa 1914.To her astonishment, she soon discovers herself falling in love with the land, its people and a mysterious white hunter (Redford).The masterfully crafted, breathtakingly produced story of love and loss earned Oscars for Best Picture, Director, Screenplay (based on material from another medium), Cinematography, Original Score, Art Direction (Set Decoration) and Sound. ... Read more

Reviews (74)

Beyond this place there be dragons
"Out of Africa" stands out as one of the most spectacular movies ever made. At the 1985 Academy Awards this movie won seven Oscars including Best Director, Best Cinematography and Best Picture. It deserved all seven!

It is filled with romance, scenery, real-life struggles and the inevitability of fate. It is a journey into Africa and into love. The escape is in the hand of fate. This movie presents Africa as a paradise. The natural environment is harsh, yet unspoiled in this movie.

This is based on the true story of Danish writer Isak Dinesen/Karen Blixen (Meryl Streep) who left Denmark to marry German Klaus Maria Brandauer/Baron Bror Blixen (Klaus Maria Brandauer) and start a dairy in Kenya.

Some women do enjoy the security of a man looking after them, however Karen is different. She seems to desire companionship and offers her fortune in exchange for marriage. Her husband changes his mind about the dairy and instead they use her money on a risky venture to grow coffee. This is not a marriage based on an intense romance, in fact, Karen is marrying her lover's brother.

Soon after they arrive in Africa, it becomes apparent this is not a satisfying marriage for Karen. Not only is her husband unfaithful to her, he gives her syphilis. Disease is not the only threat, she also has to fight floods and fire. There are lions which apparently try to attack Karen and Denys although I thought that was pretty unlikely in the situation.

I didn't like the "hunter" aspects or when the two lions are killed, but if you watch at the end, I think even the lions forgive the hunter. When I've seen lions during the day they were normally napping in the shade. Apparently they had trouble getting the lions to act aggressive and there is information on the DVD explaining these details.

Karen finds acceptance in big game hunter Denys Finch Hatton (Robert Redford) who loves her ability to tell stories. He starts the stories and she completes them. I think he is impressed by her confidence and creativity. He sees who she really is. Her husband is obviously blind to this beautiful goddess he has taken to Africa.

She in turn is delighted by this interest and slowly allows him into her world. While Denys and Karen are a perfect match and as close to soul mates as possible, Denys is unsure of commitment and explains how a piece of paper won't make him love her more. Meryl Streep and Robert Redford have chemistry, chemistry and more chemistry in this movie! They mostly share a few kisses, yet their relationship is on such a deep level, I think it could survive if they just told each other stories.

What Karen seems to truly desire is a man who will sacrifice to be with her. She wants to be of value. Denys tells Karen she has confused "want" and "need." This is an excellent portrayal of the gender differences. Man wants to be free to come and go and woman wants security, love and commitment. She wants to be treated with respect.

Denys "wants" Karen and Karen seems to "need" Denys. The question is not whether he will realize this in time before he loses her, but whether or not fate will turn their lives into a tragedy or allow them to form a true relationship. As Karen says:

"When the gods want to punish you, they answer your prayers."

Karen seems the surrender to her fate and is able to experience a brief moment of ecstasy in her life even though she is wounded from the experience.

When you view this movie, there are various elements which hint at the ending, yet I didn't recognize them until viewing this the second time. This is a movie I watch every few years because I too once lived on a farm in Africa. It was not quite this romantic because I was still a child. This movie makes me terribly homesick because once we left Africa, we never went back. Africa seems a moment in time, maybe everyone should live there once. When I watch this movie I need a big box of tissues!

The best moment in the movie is when Farah asks Karen to build a very big fire so he will know where to find her. It is a moment so beautiful and poetic, I've not seen anything like it in any other movie. I appreciated this movie more now that I'm in my 30s and married than before when I was single and had just returned from Africa myself. This movie is contemplative and deals with complex issues.

Spectacular Scenery and Emotionally Satisfying.

One Of The Best Romantic Movies Ever Made!
This is undoubtedly one of the finest movies made over the last twenty years or so. Both Meryl Streep and Robert Redford are absolutely terrific in playing star-crossed lovers who are also intellectual soul mates in what has to be one of the greatest and yet saddest of all movie love affairs. This is a dramatization culled from the memoirs written by Isak Dinesen about her fateful decision to leave her comfortable but boring life in Scandinavia behind in favor of a much more dangerous and adventurous try at a new life as a married woman in Africa. Blowing her inheritance trying to support her philandering new husband's ill-advised business ventures, she falls in love with the land, the people, and the times. Indeed, out of Africa comes the experience of a young lifetime.

In fact, the topography of Africa provides the perfect background and the most splendid of opportunities for her to live her life on her own terms, out of the long and suffocating shadow of family and social convention. And the journey taken by Karen Blixen is a long, joyous, and eventful one, a trip that literally takes her breath away with its rich, varied, and enriching experiences. Yet all this adventure has its cost in pain and suffering, and her growth into a woman of substance who eventually finds her way into a dreamy intellectual played so well by Redford also fates her to become a woman bereft of that that means most to her; her lover, her farm, and her place in Africa itself.

This is a lovely film, one that capitalizes by using the dramatic and primitive backdrop of wild Africa in painting a period piece that is unparalleled in its graphic portrayal of life on the very edges of civilization in an epochal time of Africa's evolution to modernity. The cinematography alone is worth the price of the DVD, for anyone who loves nature will recognize Redford's steady hand in influencing the way the fragile yet exquisite sub-Saharan environment is depicted. I have seen the movie a number of times, and each time come away with a renewed sense of how fragile and wondrous the ecology of this part of Africa is. This is a wonderful movie I can heartily recommend. Enjoy

Avoid unless you thirst for empty drivel.
This is the worst film ever to win the best picture Oscar.
All the beautiful cinematography is wasted on a trite plot and tepid performances. When you start to probe further into the rationale of the characters and look for any real themes, the search turns up dust. Out of Africa is as empty as a blind man's sockets. It seems to have something there, but it lies.

To see the same type of film, but with real characters, interesting thematic elements and powerful direction, watch The English Patient.

God, I want my 3 hours back! AHHHHHHH! Die Stupid Movie!!!!!

Out of Africa - Film review
If you're a Sydney Pollack fan you'll sure enjoy this film. Out of Africa, besides the excellent performances of Meryl Streep and Robert Redford, will certainly get your attention with the astonishing landscapes of Africa.
The story is about the life of Karen Blixen, who gets married for convenience and moves to Africa where she starts running a plantation. Things start to go wrong when her husband starts being absent often and cheating on her. Karen, eventually, falls for a hunter, Dennis, but she demands more of the relationship than he is ready to offer. For Dennis his freedom is essential and in the end you're faced with the unexpected.
You can also count on an extraordinary soundtrack and photography, so it is a film that is really worth seeing!

Somewhat overrated star vehicle --- I just don't get it
I assumed that any film that rampaged through the Oscars the way this one did would be rewarding on so many levels. I must be missing something. What I saw was a beautifully filmed but rather ponderous vehicle to two mega-stars who circle around each other like glittering birds that do not want to muss their magnificent plumages. Emotionally, I have rarely found a "romantic" film to be so totally bereft of passion or emotion.

I feel this is largely due to Robert Redford playing Robert Redford pretending to be Finch-Hatton. He just seems to so totally out of place in this film, and I really could care less about his accent. He just never seems to be anything other than Robert Redford. In any case, his character, supposedly a free thinker who is more in touch with the Higher Truths that Nature offers, comes off as as a self-absorbed character who never met an emotion he couldn't throw a wall around. The relationship between Finch-Hatton & Blixen comes off as being so frigid & lifeless that I simply could not relate to it on any level.

Meanwhile, the film lumbers along through the Great War (with the producers assuming that viewers are all well acquainted with WWI in East Africa), treating us to great scenic shots. Yes indeed, the cinematography is great in this film. All the Brits saddle up, presumably to do battle with von Lettow-Vorbeck, and off they go. Then they saddle up, and off they go to someplace else. They spend a great deal of time going off to some distant spot or another. Eventually some people die, as they are wont to do, and then some more people die. One of them ends up being Robert Redford, which proves most inconvenient for the story line, and so the movie lumbers towards its end shortly thereafter.

This is not a terrible film by any means. I find the performance of Michael Kitchen (a fine actor who deserves more notice) as Berkeley Cole to be most noteworthy. Also, the cinematography is quite breath-taking and goes a long ways towards redeeming the movie as a whole. I also derived great amusement (not intended by the producers) of watching the not exactly diminutive Michael Gough play the (in real life) itty-bitty Hugh Cholmondeley, Lord Delamere. I laughed every time Delamere was in a scene.

Is it a good film? I suppose so. Is it a great film? I don't see how one can really say that. Is it the most overrated film to win a slew of Oscars? Hardly --- let's not forget "Titanic" and "Around the World in 80 Days," just to name a few. It is an OK film. I guess I was just disappointed because I went into it with higher expectations. ... Read more

Reviews (93)

Julia Ormond shines in role played by Hepburn!
Being a huge Audrey Hepburn fan, I NEVER thought I would find the remake as entertaining as the original. But was I ever wrong!

Julia Ormond's transformation to the luminously beautiful "woman of the world" Sabrina, is every bit as believable as Hepburn's earlier transformation. Ormond's chemistry with Harrison Ford is far more believable and charming, as Linus tries to distract Sabrina from her obsessive fascination with his younger brother, David, now engaged to the daughter of a business associate.

Harrison Ford gives his portrayal of Linus the needed humanity that Bogart's portrayal lacked. Linus, in Ford's capable hands, revealed the weight of being the older, more responsible brother, in whom the family fortune rested. Yet, Linus yearned to fall in love, and until Sabrina's return from Paris, and their mock courtship, he didn't believe it could ever happen. I really believed he was falling in love with Ormond's Sabrina.

Ford's Linus seemed genuinely heartbroken when he admitted the truth about the Paris trip to Sabrina. He watched with dismay, as her heart broke, to realize he'd been playing her for a fool during their romance. That's why their reunion in Paris, at the end, was so satisfying!

Greg Kinear's David was also more humane and less calculating, than William Holden's in the original version. I felt David's anger at his brother's deceptive romance of Sabrina. And so his punching Linus was a more realistic response.

I highly recommend this movie to all romantics! It also makes a great date film. A great update of an earlier classic, this film may well become a classic in its own right.

Enjoyable, more meaningful/romantic version than original
If you look through the reviews for this version and those for the old B&W, you'll see that there is a little debate going on about which is better. Really, both films have their merits. The original was cute and unpretentious, presenting a fragile Audrey Hepburn in some fashionable clothing (including that absurd gown she dragged through the tennis court scene). But this recent version has the benefit of having a much more appealing hero. Harrison Ford, though he is awkward in romantic roles, is still a far better choice than the clumsy and unattractive Humphrey Bogart. Ford plays the lead, Linus Larrabee, the oldest of two brothers and the responsible (even greedy) one. Greg Kinnear gives a brilliant performance as the younger brother, David, a playboy with only women on his mind. Caught between the two is Sabrina, even more brilliantly played by Julia Ormond. Unlike Hepburn, who presented a shy and awkward Sabrina, Ormond plays the role with not just shyness or insecurity, but an underlying gentleness that fleshes out the character, making her very real and very appealing. Each scene, she delivers just the right amount of insecurity combined with the right amount of emotion, and each line is delivered perfectly. Yet you are never aware that she is acting. The interactions between Kinnear and Ormond have tremendous "chemistry", more so than those she has with Ford. But between Julia and Greg, or rather their characters, there is so much honesty and quite frankly such superb acting that what you are witnessing is not some celebrity actors playing themselves playing a role, but two true actors who make it all look natural. (I know, something Hollywood typically doesn't appreciate.) Their scenes bring a passion and a reality to the film that is rather inspiring -- I'd like to see these two paired again, this time as the lovers and not those who end up "just friends". The storyline is played gently, more for comedy than drama. This film owes a lot to its predecessor, but I have to vote that this is the better, more charming, more emotional and more natural version. The cast of supporting characters is marvelous and expert, including Nancy Marchand as the Larrabee matriarch, John Wood as Sabrina's sensible father, Angie Dickinson and Richard Crenna as the Tysons of Tyson Electronics and a billion dollar merger if David marries their daughter, a physician played by Lauren Holly. Dana Ivey is Mack, Linus' secretary, who has all the funny lines ("We were up to our arms in your underwear drawer. It was like touching the Shroud of Turin.")All the supporting cast do a wonderful job of, well, supporting the stars. The pace never lags, the fun and the drama don't stop. The DVD version has excellent sound and color picture. This is a good investment if you want to see a film that is adult, gently dramatic, clever, and pure pleasure.

My Favorite Movie, Bar None
This movie is wonderful. It takes an already-good plot and updates it -- an Ever After for our classic Cinderella story. The new Sabrina is more self-sufficient, worldly, and her relationship with Linus is much more mature than the variety of relationships portrayed in any movies from Hollywood's Golden Era. It's not that the first Sabrina isn't a wonderful classic, but while that one was classic for its fairy-tale quality, and cute scenes that could never be truly be duplicated, this one meets the demands of an audience who today, wants proof that these are actually two people in love. With Ormond's character, we, the audience, understand and participate in her transition from teenage infatuation to mature love. There are no petty emotional mind-games here, as are so common in Bogart-era romantic comedies.

In addition, the actors themselves add considerably to the movie's success. Kinnear's David matures as well, from playboy to partner, and it is easy to see that his relationship with his brother has played no small part in the formation of his playboy image. Additionally, many of his lines are priceless. Ormond delivers a few ringers as well, including my favorite, when she refers to Linus as "the only living heart donor."

And all this is without speaking of the music. The soundtrack is excellent. The score is classy for its infusion of jazz, yet made passionate by John Williams' unmistakable orchestration. Sting also contributes a haunting ballad. It all fits beautifully into the movie.

Everytime I watch the new Sabrina, it makes me cry. And I'm not the crying type. I highly recommend it -- not as a remake, but on its own merit.

Enjoy it without comparing it to the original
In addition to this movie I've also seen the older one starring Audrey Hepburn and Humphrey Bogart, and I found that both can be enjoyed almost as two different kinds of films. Though not without its moments of drama, the Bogart/Hepburn film was lighter, more sparkling and witty, but also a little more shallow. In that movie, I couldn't understand the attraction between Bogart and Hepburn; they never seem to connect across their age gap.

In this remake of Sabrina, Julia Ormond gives a performance that's more mature and has more depth. Once she goes to Paris and grows up, she truly grows up (unlike Hepburn, who is loveable but too childlike). The love that develops between her character and Harrison Ford's is more believable; the movie takes more time and trouble to develop a plausible relationship between the grown up chaffeur's daughter and the billionaire without a social life. In addition to that, it also has witty dialogue and funny moments, just like the original.

Genuinely terrible remake of movie classic
This is a simply awful remake of the 1950s original with Audrey Hepburn, Humphrey Bogart and William Holden. Their roles are reprised by Julia Ormond, Harrison Ford and Greg Kinnear.

Of the three leads, Greg Kinnear (David Larrabee) does the best job. I think he is a very underrated actor, especially after his excellent work in "As Good As It Gets". He even slightly resembles a young William Holden.

Harrison Ford does an adequate but uninspired job as Linus. Actually both Ford and Bogart were both too at least 20 years old to play Linus, who is supposed to be the older brother, not the father. This detracts a little from the romance, which is supposed to be May-September, not May-Decenber in character, but in the original film, Bogarts sheer charisma carried the day. Harrison Ford has many talents, but romance isn't one of them. He's a good performer in action flicks like "Raiders of the Lost Ark" but he just has no chemistry here.

The worst of the pack is Julia Ormond, an otherwise fine British actress ("Smilla's Sense of Snow"). She is everything wrong for Sabrina -- I can only think they picked her for her smooth voice and accent, which do superficially resemble Ms. Hepburn's. But Julia Ormond is too old to play Sabrina (she was in her thirties when it was filmed and Sabrina is supposed to be about 20!) and doesn't come across as an ingenue. She is just plain painful in the early scenes, where the costume/makeup people went into overtime making her a frump with mounds of frizzy hair. Later, she is "transformed" with a short haircut but unlike Audrey Hepburn -- one woman who was utterly enchanting and beautiful with very very short hair, a hard look to carry off -- Julia looks just awful. It's an unflattering cut and served only to make her look even more mature, rather than sophisticated and charming.

Much of the delightful, sparkling dialogue has been chopped out, towards what end I can't imagine. Also, instead of going to Paris and training as a chef (a very acceptable modern profession for a woman!), they have decided to make Sabrina a Vogue fashion photographer (despite no previous interest or background in photography OR fashion). Frankly, I think the writers were getting "Sabrina" mixed up with Audrey Hepburn's other great classic "Funny Face", where she plays a frump-become-fashion-model. There is no other believable explanation! This also ruins her Paris experience, which was handled so delightfully in the original. If that isn't bad enough, they have innocent little Sabrina having a love affair, a point which terribly muddles the whole idea that she is a naive virgin pining for David. OK, frankly, not many girls stay virgins that long these days, but Sabrina had a reason for doing so and the additional lover (who is quite attractive) really skews the storyline off course.

As a fashion buff, one of the great charms of the original film is the utterly exquisite, iconic fashions wore by Audrey Hepburn, who was not only one of the most beautiful actresses of her day but one of the most stylish women ever, period. (Both Edith Head and Herbert Givenchy designed her costumes.) Every outfit she wore in the original film is an absolute style classic. Some, like the dress she wears to the Larrabee's party after returning from Paris -- a white, strapless gown with black embroidery and a long swishy train -- are so absolutely breathtaking that the hairs on the back of your neck go up when you see her.

In contrast, the remake "Sabrina" has some of the lamest, plainest costumes I have ever seen. In the identical scene (the party), Sabrina wears a drab, dark green evening dress. Not that Julia Ormond isn't attractive, but there is nothing dramatic or stunning about her appearance that would make every head turn when she enters...it's even more lame when other characters, like Mrs. Larrabee (the late Nancy Marchand, in her last role) make comments about how ravishing she is.

Actually, while the filmmakers were "updating" Sabrina to be politically correct, I wonder why they didn't consider making Sabrina and her chaffeur father African American or Hispanic? Certainly that would reflect the reality in the 90s of what ethnic background servants to the very rich are likely to come from. (How often do you see a British chaffeur, really? Almost never! and why would Sabrina, who was raised in the US have a British accent anyways?) I think an interraccial romance would emphasize the cultural/economic differences between the Larrabees and the Fairchilds in a way that modern audiences could truly understand. BTW: I think Hallie Berry or Jennifer Lopez might have done very well in that kind of remake, and they each have a "star" quality that Ms.Ormond utterly lacks. Well, just my two cents.

At any rate, this is a lifeless, tired and completely unnecessary remake. Do yourself a BIG favor and rent the original with Hepburn and Bogart and try to forget that this bloated remake was ever made. ... Read more

Reviews (51)

Babs is a great actress
These scenes are so well written - credit to the genius of arthur laurents - that any one of them could be taken out of context and make a great scene for an acting student.

The movie is shot beautifully and the score is a classic. (If a little repetitive at times)

The main reason to see this movie is for the great acting of Streisand and Redford. They are incredible.

Barbara has so many great moments in this - probably the "phone scene" is her best but so hard to choose. She is just great in this movie.

Redford is perfect - saying much more when he is silent than any actor does with dialogue.

The ending scene is a classic of american cinema - so sad and perfect. The most classic goodbye scene since CASABLANCA.

The documentary on this DVD is awesome. The interviews with Barbra, Pollack, the Bergmans, Hamlisch are great. The only disapointment is no Redford. The deleted scenes in this documentary are great and worth seeing.

I highly recommend this DVD.

DVD is Well Done - Looks & Sounds Better Than Ever
Finally! THE WAY WE WERE in widescreen! I think it really makes a difference. I've only seen pan and scan versions on video. It is especially noticeable in the opening credits where names/credits appear on one side of the screen and action takes place on the other side. For the first time we get to see Katie at her typewriter and Katie talking to her teacher.

The rest of the dvd is done just as well. The picture and sound are pristine. The menu screens are classy and easy to use. The bonus trailers from FOR PETE'S SAKE and Streisand's later films are fun to see.

The hour-long documentary featuring interviews with Sydney Pollack and Streisand is very revealing. Pollack seems humble and grateful about the film. Streisand is relaxed and beautiful - again, reflective and humble about the experience as Pollack is. There is even a segment with Marvin Hamlisch on piano playing the different versions of THE WAY WE WERE theme. And Alan & Marilyn Bergman are a hilarious couple!

Sydney Pollack's comments on the extra audio channel are interesting as well. I haven't gotten through the whole movie yet, but so far so good!

The dvd is definitely a must-have for Streisand fans. But even fans of this classic romance will find much to like about the dvd as well.

A classic! A tearjerker! Two treats in one!
I've seen this movie many, many times. I can be brought to tears by watching JUST the last scene. This movie is a true visceral experience.

Characters that could have been stereotyped are incredibly complex and true. And that's a big part of the story. We go through life and label people, yet we just don't know what might truly lie beneath.

Katie and Hubble see what lies beneath. How we don't know. Two soul mates who come into each other's lives but cannot stay. I know all of this sounds sentimental but this is a truly sentimental favorite.

Watch this movie!!

"Katie, it was never uncomplicated."
As stated many times before, THE WAY WE WERE is one of only a handful of romantic blockbusters to actually feature an intelligent script and complex characters. Writer Arthur Luarents' based his screenplay (and subsequent novel) on girl he knew in college, who fought for liberal (and sometimes communist) causes. The film was a surprise box office smash when originally released, and became the fifth-highest grossing film of 1973 and an instant classic. Katie Morosky is a character that Barbra Streisand born play, and she delivers on all accounts. Fierce and determined, yet vulnerable and self-conscious, Katie is a tricky character and Streisand inhabits her so deeply that she seems nothing less than completely believable. Justifiably nominated for a Best Actress Oscar, she was unfortunately robbed of the award.

Redford, who actually turned down the role twice before director and friend Sydney Pollack talked him into taking the part, displays some of the best reflective acting ever seen on the big screen and definitely deserved a nomination as well (he was, however, nominated for Best Actor that year for his light comedic performance in THE STING). The film's enduring popular success with the mass audience is due to the magnetic chemistry between Streisand and Redford and the gorgeous visuals and strong directorial hand supplied by Pollack, however it is the complexity of the romance with politics and the strong characterizations by both leads that continues to make THE WAY WE WERE the best love story for adults.

About the DVD: The picture quality is beautiful, quite possibly the best the film has ever looked. The sound quality is also vastly improved. Pollack's commentary track is interesting, but the 60-minute documentary is the best extra on the disc. Featuring insightful interviews from Pollack, Streisand, and Laurents (as well as composer Marvin Hamlisch and lyricists Alan and Marilyn Bergman) the documentary is well-produced and entertaining, and it was great to finally see those much-debated deleted scenes.

For such a great film, the dvd should have been much more!
I, like many thousands of others love this movie and could watch it over and over again. What should have been a 25th Aniversary spectacular is a very lack luster. My major complaint is with the 60 minute documentary.
1.Great, we get to see some scenes that were cut that really SHOULD have been put in the film in the first place. How about the rest of the cut scenes? Legend has it that there is much more.
2.Barbara's commentary is good but I really think she could have added a lot more. What about the screen play she supposedly was interested in that was, in essence, a part two of this movie entitled "the way we are"?
3.Redford is absent on the disc because of "scheduling" problems? Or so I have heard....Gee, nobody could have waited even to get 3-4 minutes of commentary from him? Something isnt right.

I also dont think the transfer of this movie came out too well. Not exactly great quality for such an icon. ... Read more

Reviews (32)

gloom, despair, agony, bleak, depressing...I LOVE IT !
Jane Fonda left her fluff pieces behind her and became a REAL actress after her Oscar-nominated performance here as Gloria, the bitter and hopeless woman who joins a grueling dance marathon (a craze of the Depression '30s) with Michael Sarrazin as her partner. She leaves nothing behind and throws herself into this bleak role taking huge risks that 'STAR' actresses don't do anymore. The film also put Sydney Pollack on the map as a director to be reckoned with. Finding an audience for this film may be tough because of its unrelenting gloom, but if you watch it and don't find yourself thinking about it for weeks after you have seen it, you don't know what movies are about. The message here is that there are no winners in life....only survivors. These are the kinds of films I favor (bleak and depressing) as that is what real life is about....it's a struggle. If you're looking for a diversion from real life, don't come here. The film also contains an Oscar-winning turn by Gig Young as the dance marathon's promoter and emcee and an Oscar-nominated performance by Susannah York as a Garboesque wannabe actress looking for a break. Horses is more a disaster film than anything else. No ship hits an iceberg and no building catches fire, but everyone involved experiences disaster. Don't pass this up.

A MASTERPIECE RESTORED
I was overjoyed to receive a gift of the reissue of this video in 1995, that is until I watched it in all its "pan & scan" desecration. It is truly a joy to watch this DVD (VHS is now available in widescreen as well) in the right format with all the extras. But all that aside, this is a towering, neglected masterpiece of American cinema that virtually put director Sydney Pollack on the map and established Jane Fonda as the premier American actress of the Sixties and Seventies. Who else could have captured the tragic essence of the bitter, beaten Gloria but Fonda? Watch her especially in the final elimination round as she desperately (and literally) carries her ailing partner around the floor in a final attempt to win the big prize and (symbolically) maybe give life one more try. Fonda never sentimalizes this great character as a lesser actress would have been tempted to; no simple answers or easy forgiveness will do for Gloria--she is too important to be trivialized. Red Buttons, Susannah York, and Gig Young are also superb in supporting roles; the cinematography and music also deserve kudos. If you haven't seen it, do not miss this American classic and one of the century's greatest actresses just entering her prime. How we do miss Jane.

An Awful Movie
They Shoot Horses, Don't They? is an awful film. It is about as interesting as watching water boil. It is also unhistorical in that the 1930's are depicted as a time of prosperity even though in real life that was the decade of the Great Depression.

There is no real depth to the plot. Nor is there anything exceptional about either the direction, photography or the soundtrack. Jane Fonda is badly miscast in this role and she delivers her lines poorly. None of the performances in this movie are especially good.

In sum, this is a movie to avoid.

Possibly the worst movie of all time!
The only movies that may be worse would be Accidental Tourist or maybe Blair Witch Project. It's tough to pin down what exactly made this movie so bad. Thats probably because every facet of it STUNK SO BAD! All I know is that I wasted 2 hours of my life of this tripe, 2 hours that I'll never get back. Go ahead and rate my review as unhelpful if you must, but DON'T SPEND MONEY ON THIS FILM!

Jane Fonda's Performance was Overlooked!
Horace McCoy's depression era play, They Shoot Horses, Don't They? is tragically brought to life through the performances of an ensemble cast. Jane Fonda delivers her greatest performance, as Gloria, a loner trying to cope with an everyday painful existence.
Be prepared for a shocking ending, if that's possible. There arises a glimmer of hope that life is better.
Sydney Pollack directs a masterpiece in the exploration of the human condition under the throngs of depression. The utter despair, agony, and suffering of each character is felt, heard, seen, and endured by the viewer. It becomes so intense that you want to scream, "Enough, I can't watch any more." There's no need to scream out. Horace McCoy solves the problem for the viewer, and for Gloria. ... Read more

Reviews (50)

Highly Entertaining--Great Acting
Okay, so Tom Cruise gets a job at a Memphis law firm, right? We've all read the book or seen the movie, so how does one recommend this to one uninitiated?

Cruise puts in a solid performance, again playing his guy-who-doesn't-catch-on-for-a-while character he does so well. Sydney Pollack is a great mainstream director, and he pushes all the buttons, as well as giving us a great cast including Gene Hackman, Holly Hunter, Ed Harris, Jeanne Tripplehorn, David Straithairn, Gary Busey, Hal Holbrook, and Wilford Brimley.

Top-notch acting all around, with especially good turns by Brimley and Hunter, playing against type. Hackman is always good to watch and he does a terrific job of making Avery Tolar a likeable guy in spite of his faults. I suppose the most amazing job was done by David Straithairn, who, with less than ten minutes of screen time, paints an indelible portrait of Ray McDeere, Cruise's convict brother. He is the most likeable character in the film.

The plot is the standard rising-above-conflict stuff. Watch this movie (again) for the performances, or for the fine score from Dave Grusin and try to ignore the changes from the book (which I think were justified in making the ending more cinematic and Hollywood).

Con-Firm Your Plans
The Firm, was the first John Grisham novel, adapted for the big screen. While I must confess, I never have read the book, I think the film is a solid "bubble gum" pot boiler that works very well.

Mitch McDeere, (Tom Cruise) is a young and hungry Harvard Law student, who turns down offers at the top law firms to take a position at a small but wealthy Memphis firm. Mitch grew up on the wrong side of the tracks. He is so taken with his mentor Avery Tolar, (Gene Hackman) his own ambition, and greed, he ignores his wife Abby's (Jeanne Tripplehorn) initial misgivings about the suspicious practices of his new employers. It's only when two of his fellow lawyers die in a mysterious accident that Mitch begins to share her apprehensions. He then launches an investigation into the true nature of the firm and discovers that it is a front for a complex and sinister web of organized crime, that goes to very top of the firm and even includes head Oliver Lambert (Hal Holbrook).

Directed by Sydney Pollack, the film benefits moreso from its all star cast, than it may have otherwise. Cruise proves that he can hold his own with Hackman for sure. Despite the fact that Cruise and Tripplehorn seem sparkless as a married couple, she too, is great in her scenes with Hackman. Pollack knows what works and keeps things at a brisk pace. His skills are evident as he juggles many different subplots that come together in the end nicely. One final comment on the film: Composer Dave Crusin's atypical music score adds just the right touch in setting the scene and giving the movie some flavor.

I don't know what it is about most of the John Grisham legal thrillers, but like most of them, the DVD of The Firm lacks any substantial extras. All you get here are two theatrical trailers--nothing more. A commentary track or a few deleted scenes would have put this product over the top.

The Firm doesn't have as much of a soapbox element as other Grisham stories do..that's ok. It's all for fun. No extras aside--Recommended

NOTHING IS WHAT IT SEEMS
With superb acting fome the always good Tom Cruise,Ed Harris,
Gene Hackman,Holly Hunter,e.t.c.I really liked this movie it was
really entertaining and even funny,well when Gary Busey is on
screen as a sleazy P.I with a magnum under his desk shootin at
2 assasin like guys.The movie is all around good and worth a
watch.Don't want to give to much away so rent it,buy it,what ever
just watch it.

Excellent
I first saw 'The Firm' just because it sounded interesting. What I didn't know, though, was that I was in for quite a treat! I enjoyed every minute of this intense thriller, from the beginning until the surprise ending (though I'm tempted to tell what happens, I'll let you find out for yourself!). I tell a bit of the story here, so it is possible they may be regarded as **SPOILERS**, so if you don't want to know anything about the movie, STOP READING.

Tom Cruise shows off one of his best performances as Mitch McDeere, the formally poor boy who goes off to Harvard Law School and graduates cume laude. He goes to many prestigious firms, all of whom want him real bad. One firm, though, Bendini, Lambert, and Locke, strikes his interest. In return for joining, he gets $100,000 per year, and a shiny new Mercedes. He accepts, and he and his wife, Abby (Jeanne Tripplehorn), fly to Memphis, where they get a nice house, with most of it payed for by the firm. The story unfolds, and through the course of events, Mitch learns the dark truth about his firm. . .

The acting is superb in this film. Tom Cruise's performance reminds me of his in 'A Few Good Men'; strong and realistic. Jeanne Tripplehorn is a pleasure to watch as his wife Abby. Gene Hackman plays a surprisingly sympathetic role as a partner in the firm. Holly Hunter (who received an Oscar-nomination for her role) is almost humorous as a southern-twanged secretary-turned victim-turned accomplice. Ed Harris brings his usual fine acting style as an FBI agent, and veteran actor Hal Holbrook plays a grandfatherly lawyer more evil than his attitude would imply. Sydney Pollack's directing is radiant, and the single piano score by Dave Grusin can be both calm and content, then become fast and furious.

In conclusion, 'The Firm' is a fun, fresh thriller, and it should be enjoyed for years to come.

A Firmly Gripping Thriller !
In this screen adaption of one of John Grisham's most thrilling legal novels, Tom Cruise plays a graduating Harvard law student that is recruited by many of the nation's top law firms. He ends up choosing a firm based in Memphis, where he takes his school-teacher wife and shaggy dog to a seemingly perfect life ahead of them both. The trouble begins when Cruise gets suspicious about a murder that has occurred to one of the firm's lawyers. The action then begins there where Crusie enters a world of glitz, money, and not to mention murder in this thrilling film. With the firm hot on his heels in pursuit to silence him, Cruise exposes the truth about the firm's dirty secrets that are sure to be a shocker. ... Read more

Reviews (59)

What y'all really want is some gross, caricature of a woman!
In 1982, Dustin Hoffman played one of his most memorable roles as Michael Dorsey in the hilarious comedy, "Tootsie". As an out-of-work actor, Michael teaches acting classes because no director will hire him due to his somewhat peremptory attitude, or so says his agent George Fields (Sydney Pollack, who also directed the film). Frustrated with being undesirable and wanting to prove himself, Michael dons a dress and high heels so that he can apply for a female role in a television soap opera. Calling himself Dorothy Michaels, the soap opera director, Ron (Dabney Coleman), thinks that Dorothy is too ugly for the part, but Dorothy's dominance earns 'her' the right to a screen test and 'she' gets hired! As the film progresses, Michael's pretense as a woman earns him the stardom and recognition that he longed for. However, it also gets him into trouble not only with a woman that he's dating, Sandy (Teri Garr), but also with two of the regular stars from the soap opera, Julie (Jessica Lange) and John Van Horn (George Gaynes).

With an excellent script, superb acting and a hilarious story, it was completely unsurprising that "Tootsie" earned 10 Oscar nominations, including nominations for Best Picture, Best Director (Syndey Pollack), Best Cinematography and Best Screenplay. Dustin Hoffman was nominated for Best Actor and both Teri Garr and Jessica Lange were nominated for Best Supporting Actress. Of all the Oscar nominations, only Jessica Lange won the Oscar. Dustin Hoffman won the Golden Globe for Best Actor, as did Jessica Lange for Best Supporting Actress. The number of Oscar nominations that the film earned demonstrated the many strengths of the film, not to mention that the film will keep you laughing and fully engaged!

Other very memorable characters in the film include Julie's father Les (Charles Durning), Michael's roommate Jeff (Bill Murray), soap opera producer Rita (Doris Belack) and soap opera nurse April (a young Geena Davis).

If you enjoy films such as "Some Like It Hot" (1959) and "Mrs. Doubtfire" (1993), you will more than likely enjoy "Tootsie" equally as well. I rate "Tootsie" with a resounding 5 out of 5 stars and am very pleased to own it on DVD.

We Are Large...We Contain Multitudes
When I first saw this film more than 20 years, I really did not fully appreciate then what director Sydney Pollack, his cast, and his crew had achieved. To be sure, I found the humor hilarious, the cross-dressing and gender-bending clever, and all of the performances first-rate. I have the same opinion today. However, in ways and to an extent no previous film had done, Tootsie makes certain assertions which have serious implications, then and now. For example, that at least some men can more fully develop their masculinity by recognizing their femininity, as indeed Michael Dorsey/Dorothy Michaels (Dustin Hoffman) does. And the same is also true of at least some women. Moreover, this film effectively demonstrates how difficult it can often be to gain and then sustain another's complete trust. To salvage his acting career, Michael repositions himself as Dorothy so he will be hired to play a character in a soap opera. As Dorothy, he establishes an especially close relationship with another cast member, Julie (Jessica Lange), and falls in love with her while continuing to deceive her. Later, her widower father Les (Charles Durning) falls in love with Dorothy and thus becomes another unwitting victim of Michael's deceit. The eventual happy ending does not include Les.

Shakespeare never devised for his Italian comedies a plot as complicated as the one Larry Gelbart and Murray Schisgal provided for Tootsie. Under Pollack's direction, all of the cast members provide brilliant performances, notably Bill Murray as Michael's friend Jeff and George Gaynes as John Van Horn, another cast member. Jessica Lange was selected to receive an Academy Award as best actress and deserved it. Much of this film is hilarious, it is always entertaining, but as I indicated previously, having seen it again recently, I find it much bolder and more thought-provoking now than I did 21 years ago. To some, perhaps, its serious implications may even seem threatening.

A Nearly Perfect American Comedy
I heard a story that Dustin Hoffman was considering doing this movie, but that he waited until he had been made up to see if he made a convincing enough woman before agreeing. I don't know how true this story is, or even how convincing he is as a woman, but thank goodness this movie was made.

I can't think of another movie more perfectly cast except.... maybe... Casablanca? Jessica Lange is perfect as the beautiful soap actress and love interest. Charles Durning is perfect as the sweet older man who falls in love with Dustin's "Dorothy". Terri Garr is perfect as the insecure female friend who loses the role on the soap to "Dorothy". Bill Murray is great in his few scenes - this is one of the first movies where we actually got to see him "act". Dabney Coleman is perfect as the arrogant director of the soap who cheats on poor Jessica. Director Sydney Pollack wisely casts himself perfectly as Dustin's exasperated agent. (The scene early on where he informs Dustin that NO ONE will hire him because he's too "difficult" is fantastic.) Lastly, Dustin Hoffman is perfect as the actor who becomes a better man by pretending to be a woman.

The film is full of situations that turn your expectations sideways - I'd give examples, but that would ruin your enjoyment if you haven't seen it yet! Trust me - just watch this movie - but only if you want to be entertained!

FUNNY. AND MEANINGFUL.
What a tightly scripted, beautifully acted, finely paced comedy! Having seen it a long time ago, I felt it must've been very much like an older version of Mrs Doubtfire, but this marvellous film has a lot more going for it than the female impersonation angle.

When a failing actor cross dresses to get a job, he also discovers the inconveniences of being a "woman of the 80s". Throughout the film, there's always a pleasing sense of cynical humor (e.g., "I dont believe in hell. I believe in unemployment, but not in hell") and Hoffman is topnotch in his role.

The from Morricone has a somewhat grating refrain of Stephen Bishop's "It might be you" but I guess it perfectly serves its purpose, providing the touching backdrop to the actor's increasing awareness of the strength of feminine qualities -- the touch of the baby to his cheek, the poignant sight of Julie's skirt swishing in the kitchen, the offering to Dorothy of her chocolate-covered finger to suck, etc.

I can see that Hoffman must have committed to this movie bigtime, and I notice that there's a book that describes the making of this film but is currently out of print. Perhaps something to this effect would have been great to include on the DVD itself, which is incidentally quite lousy for such a classic film.

At any rate, it's a great addition to any movie collection.

Dustin Hoffman is the best!
Dustin Hoffman is a fantastic character actor, one of the all time greats. He is superb in this movie. He is an actor who can't get a job as a man but through circumstances, ends up getting a woman's part in a soap opera. The cast thinks he is a woman and it really was funny watching Hoffman try to keep them from learning he was a man. This movie was really funny and yet it had a lot of drama and humanity included.

I found his portrayal of a woman more interesting and likable than that of the male character, in fact, there were times that I would get so wrapped up in the character, Dorothy, that I would forget that he was a man acting as a woman. The cast, Jessica Lange, Teri Garr, Dabney Coleman, Bill Murray, Charles Durney, Geena Davis, were all great.

This is one of those movies that will be remembered for years to come! Enjoy! ... Read more

Reviews (12)

Terrific acting and issues which remain relevant today
Sally Field is an earnest but ambitious newspaper reporter who skirts the boundaries of journalism ethics - a term not yet regarded as an oxymoron when this movie came out in the early 80s - and Paul Newman is the unfairly indicted son of a south Florida mobster. Field chases her story with unintended tragic consequences and sparks fly between her and Newman, in more ways than one.

The real strength of the movie is in the fine acting. Newman and Field are in top form but it is the supporting roles which catch your attention. The then little known character actor Wilford Brimley shows up in the third reel as a down-home U.S. prosecutor and walks off with the movie. "At the end of today two things are gonna be true that ain't true now. One is we're going to know what in the good Christ has been going on down here, and two is I'm going to have somebody's ass in my briefcase." "Wonderful thing, subpeenees." Bob Balaban is also vivid as an overzealous prosecutor whose ruse sets the plot in motion.

If you like this one, you may also like "Independence Day." Not the recent studio blockbuster starring Will Smith but a "small" movie from the early 80s featuring tight writing and a terrific ensemble cast, with Kathleen Quinlan and David Keith in the leading parts and Dianne Wiest in an unforgettable supporting role.

Good performances...ethics be damned
The issue of leaking information to the press has been around for years, and this film does its best to illustrate how badly it can backfire when the sources aren't properly checked and re-checked.

Having said that, and being a journalist myself, I just want to shoot Sally Field for her gross violations of journalist ethics. Getting involved with the subject? No how, no way. It just isn't done. If you can accept this HUGE leap of journalistic and editorial faith, then the rest of the movie is a breeze.

Aside from Newman, I think the best performance in the movie is one of the briefest...Wilford Brimley as the U.S. Attorney who gets to the bottom of the mess. It's just a pleasure to watch him go through the paces of tearing Bob Balaban's little vendetta all to pieces, and to experience his grudging approval to let Newman walk.

"You got your selves."
Elliott Rosen is an obsessive prosecutor who is desperate to get some inside info on the "mob." He steps in to a moral grey area in his pursuit. Knowing that Michael Colin Gallagher (Paul Newman) is innocent of any crime he plans to push him into finding out who did it. The plan is simple he will leak the false fact out, through reporter Megan Carter (Sally Field), that Gallagher is being investigated. This information has a negative impact on Gallagher's business. Further pursuit leads to a death of the innocent. Naturally the paper that prints this has no intention of retracting. Gallagher finds a unique solution. See if you can spot it.

This movie does not make an immediate impact on you with the exception of Brimley's final confrontation speech. However repeated viewing brings out the subtleties that will make this one of your favorite movies for years to come.

The dangers of the public spotlight
Not quite a star-studded flick, but chock full of subtly forceful personalities. Paul Newman plays Gallagher, a crusty but otherwise legit Florida-based liquor wholesaler whose life is turned upside-down when the Miami Standard fingers him as a possible material witness. Under current laws regarding libel, Newman can always sue the paper for libel. However, the law sets a higher standard of wrongdoing to be proven when the victim is a public-figure. (The distinction was meant to prevent public officials from using libel laws to block any criticism of their actions - most notably in the case of southern police officials during the early civil-rights years; unfortunately for Gallagher, the laws have been expanded to cover any figure in the public eye, whether he's there by choice or despite it.) Because the Standard acts without malice, and only reports what's been leaked to it by a shifty DoJ official (Bob Balaban), the fact that the story itself is actually incorrect is irrelevant. While DoJ hopes to pressure Gallagher to turn state's evidence, or somehow lead them to somebody who can, the newspaper hopes Gallagher will come forward and give his own spin. (Exaggeration is an often-used media tactic - one hoped to pressure a story's subject to reflexively come forward and give a story that, while less spectacular, is nonetheless worse off now that it's been confirmed.) While Gallagher comes forward, and hooks up with Sally Field as the Standard's ace reporter, he soon finds another way to wreak havoc - by turning his enemies against each other.

There's something satisfying about the deceptive ease with which Gallagher turns the media against itself, but the resolution is unsatisfying. Wilford Brimley plays the Assistant Attorney General who gets everybody honest by threatening to make people talk under oath. (We get the point, people have no problem saying anything as long as they don't have to stand by it.) The last scene is essentially Brimley's one-man show, one that upstages Sally Fields's character's turn-about: rather than disclose Gallagher as the source of her latest story, she's willing to take the fall for him. Her logic is impeccable - somebody is going to take the blame and the fall no matter what. Why not her? If anything, the film disappoints in underplaying the attraction between the two, which only makes you wonder whether her denouement is one of journalistic integrity or love. Instead, we cheer that Brimley will get to tell the media what he thinks (and nobody in this room is going to like what I have to say, he warns) and the way he exacts retribution (you're no White House appointee, he tells Balaban's character. "The one who hired you, is me." Start packing).

REVENGE WITHOUT BULLETS
When you watch the theatrical trailer of ABSENCE OF MALICE, you are lead to think that this movie describes Paul Newman's revenge and will contain a lot of violent scenes. This is not true. In fact, has a trailer ever described accurately a movie ?

ABSENCE OF MALICE is, in the first place, an "actor" movie, with two stars of 1981 : Paul Newman and Sally Field. The secondary roles are also well written and interesting. The movie belongs to the category of moral movies and tries to defend these two ideas :

- Things and people are not always what or who they seem to be.

- The newspapers should have the duty to verify their sources before printing anything.

The treatment of the subject is well done, the screenplay being sometimes too weak. But Sydney Pollack, with this material, was able to present a conventional but still watchable movie.

A DVD zone moral education ... Read more

Reviews (29)

Swim Into the Twilight Zone...
It really is amazing how unknown this movie still is. If you are unfamiliar with it, you are in for a real experience. It is based on a classic short story by John Cheever, and it works like an extended, lost episode of the old "Twilight Zone" television series. A middle-aged suburban man (Burt Lancaster) decides to swim across his wealthy Connecticut county, through all the swimming pools of his neighbors back to his own home. As he makes his journey you gradually become aware that he is not all that he seems. Dark secrets keep getting revealed and it soon becomes apparent that we are witnessing a telescoping of the man's entire adult life into a few afternoon hours of an early autumn day. The film becomes a powerful allegory about disillusionment and tragedy, without being the least heavy-handed about it. Like Cheever's other great short story "The Enormous Radio", "The Swimmer" can be interpreted as a religious parable about the self-deception of fallen humanity. The comeuppance Lancaster receives is almost too intense to watch. This is a genuinely shattering movie that will stay with you.

The minority opinion, based on incomplete data
After scanning the editorial and customer reviews here, I prepare to duck from the rotten tomatoes about to be thrown at me.

I've seen this film twice or, rather, tried to watch it twice. At age 20-25, I tried watching it, and found it to be a tedious exhibition of meaningless repetition. I fell asleep before I could get to the allegedly startling ending that gives it all meaning.

A few months back, after hearing about the film-redeeming ending, I tried again. Thirty minutes in, I was dozing off again. This is the only movie that ever did this to me. I decided to give it some chance, and skipped to the ending, to see what all the fuss is about. The ending seemed to be a non-sequitir, and shed no meaning, for me, on the beginning of the movie.

Of course, this means that I've never watched the entire film. But, I am a Burt Lancaster fan, and a very patient movie-viewer. For a film to twice fail to capture my interest, that's bad enough, for me, to write a review such as this. I give it three stars only because I know it is well-made and widely admired, but it will not grab everyone's interest.

Unforgettable after...25 years
I first watched this film..in another language when I was a kid. How best to illustrate the impact it had on me? After 25 years I still remembered the story of it. Of a man swimming home and of the last scene where he coming home to find an empty, isolated house.

Flash back to the present. I found this movie by accident in the library. Wondering if it's the same one stuck in my mind for so long so I checked it out. The impact of watching it this time was still there (just a bit less since I already know the ending).

All in all it's really worth seeing. It left an unforgettably emotional impact on me..as a 10-year-old child. That's how best I could put it to say how good the movie is.

challenging aesthetics
an unforgettable film.
it defies all explanation and remains a hidden classic art film.
comparisons to the twilight zone seem to do it little justice, not that i am knocking the twilight zone at all.
but perry's film is far more complex and multi latered than that.
and lancaster;
the older he got the more risks he took and this is a brauva performance.
we see his world slowly decaying. we know whats coming, yet you will probabaly still walk away mumbling incoherently to yourself for a few hours afterwords.
but,if you're looking for a fast paced film, look elsewhere. this film challenges you and from what ive seen of some of the reivews it was a bit too challenging for some (right-o new jersey?), but if you are prepared to reconsider your views on what film is and isnt, then be prepared to be walloped.

Frank Perry's masterpiece
This film is unique in all the american filmography. You may exhibit several examples about the question of the loneliness , like Sunset boulevard, Midnight cowboy, the naked kiss or even Butterfield 8. These films are worthy. But no film before and even thirty six years (with the exceptions of Paris Texas and American beauty) had approached the question in just so brutally dramatic, showing the naked soul of a mature man in a suden decadence.
Perry had the Midas touch when the story goes through all the swimming pool of Kentucky.
An intimate portrayal,a collage that describes like a few, the roughness, the cruelty the indifference of the human condition around a man who lost his center, his eaning for living, and surviving just by feeding his memories.
His ancient friends, his old love affairs , show us with no mercy the unboreble loneliness of this man who was once and now he's just a post card human, a colection piece , a lost specimen
from an old tale.
Lancaster gives us an unforgettable performing. I{m absolutely sure that the character of Lancaster in Atlantic city, was so easy to Burt, due he applied the emotive memory, apart his notable skills.
The swimmer is a cult movie. It's a acid view about a society who doesn't accept the failure, which runs from a lonely man who doesn't have to say excepts his memories.
Do you remember the sequence when he tries to get into the swimming pool in which he must to clean his feet before to get in? . The metaphor is so absorbing and fascinating that you can not forget easily. And the ending is very close to a horror film.
Please, don't forget this ending and try to tie with the end of 21 grams.
Momma dearest was made several years after. But in my particular opinion. Frank Perry will be remembered by this unvaluable gem of the best artistic expression american cinema. ... Read more

Reviews (17)

Surprisingly insightful, lots of fun to watch
It's hard to like Sonny and Hallie when we first meet them. He's a tipsy has-been cowboy, unsuccessfully living off past fame, and she is an aggressive journalist out for a story and thus a little fame for herself. But then, enter a champion race horse in need of rescuing, and Sonny (Redford) becomes the heroic cavalry, kidnapping the horse and riding off into the Las Vegas night, possibly to rescue himself at the same time. Hallie(Fonda)follows and not surprisingly, but perhaps too quickly, the prickly relationship between these two turns to romance. Perhaps for a few days, during the escapades as Redford sneaks the racehorse across some lovely countryside enroute t