Reviews (52)

John in L.A.
I have been waiting for someone to put Quadrophenia to disc for YEARS! Finally someone (Rhino) did. The movies is still awesome. Unfortunately, the producers of the DVD fell way short. They attempted to "restore" the film. They did a lousy, cheapy job of it. Using a device called a Rank to enhance/color correct the film, it failed miserably. The Rank is good but you cannot stop there, you must DRS (Digital Restoration System)the film to remove dirt and scratches. Merely using the Rank is the poor man's way out. The disc allows you to see a split screen of the old and new. The old looks better most of the time! You can tell they didn't "restore" the film by looking at the very first shot of the movie, when Jimmy is on the cliffs. There are more scratches on the film than on my old Quadrophenia vinyl LP from 1979! Truly hideous and disappointing. They should have fixed this.
The sound is equally weak. First off, in the professional world, they don't use Protools for mastering audio, especially 5.1 audio (more shocking that they even admitted it right there on the disc). Another lame attempt to consumers into thinking they "restored" it. When you switch from original stereo to 5.1, it sounds like you gust turned the volume up a few notches, sot to mention all of the pops and cracks that are still present in the sound. Obviously they must have had poor elements, or would/couldn't attain original source audio.
The menus are also weak. Here was a chance to do something really creative, but all they did was pulled some images from the film, made them different colors and threw them onto the screen. Unfortunately, they did biography menus too that were all static and boring as well. The WORST was the "pop up video" feature. Almost always worthless trivia having nothing to do with the film! They could have hit a home run with this feature, but they didn't even make it off home plate. Rhino has also included a photo-gallery of old press photos, and continuity pictures. This also could have been cool but they are so small and poorly digitized onto the disc, that they aren't worth looking at. The producers should have cleaned them up and enhanced them or not included them at all. By far the best thing they did was to get the director to do a commentary. It was great. Worth the price of the disc just for this. But I have to ask: weren't there any other actors in the film? Perhaps some of them could have participated on the commentary track, I know that most of them are available.
The bottom line is that the film is always going to be great and the DVD version blows the old VHS away, but the people at Rhino fell asleep on this one (though I still bought two).

Brilliant look at the brink between adolescence & adulthood
This film deserves to be in the pantheon of classic teen angst films (though it will really speak to adults reflecting on their years more so than it will for teens). I think it's the best film I've ever seen in that genre (and is based on probably the best album that ever covered such ground). There is real grit to the film, real emotion and pathos (but also a teriffic sense of humor). The cast is also outstanding (why Phil Daniels didn't become a big star is anybody's guess). But add to this the knockout soundtrack (from the "Quadrophenia" LP and other radio hits of the 60s), and you practically have a perfect film (I'm always hesitant to say anything is truly perfect). But I wouldn't change anything here. It is an unqualified success.

It helps to understand the milieu of the film, so read up here on the mods and rockers so that you understand the time and place. But then hang on for a long, LOUD ride! This movie just knocks me out! I wish I had seen it when I was a teenager. Better late than never!...

Don't miss it! And I will say this movie was much better the second time around (especially at a theatre). The film is so loaded with atmosphere and cultural references that you can't possibly take it all in in one sitting.

An unforgettable teen angst classic
When "Quadrophenia" first came out in 1979, I think most people were expecting a "Tommy"-like rock opera, with music by The Who blasting from the speakers and Roger Daltry playing pinball adorned in a mask. Much to most people's surprise, "Quadrophenia" is a story about teen angst in England, with background music by The Who. The story is the key, and "Quadrophenia" details the historic Mod/Rocker riots of the 1960s. The riots were fueled by teen rebellion, rock music and a youthful generation seeking its identity.

The beauty of "Quadrophenia" is the film's themes of youths trying to find their place in the world is timeless and internationally identifiable. You don't have to be a British lad to love this story. Several scenes are so emotionally harrowing as to be disturbing. The protagonist Jimmy Michael Cooper (brilliantly played by Phil Daniels) begins to self destruct as the movie progresses. He loses his home, his job, his girlfriend and eventually his identity in a haze of drugs and misguided motivation. The scene where he begs his ex-girlfriend to explain herself, to which she answers "It was just a giggle" will bring a tear to most eyes. It is the saddest form of rejection and as emotionally truthful a scene one is most likely to see.

I think many teenagers eventually go through a process similar to what is seen in "Quadrophenia." One's identity when growing up is always related to the music, the parties, the mode of dress and the friends one chooses. The world is seemingly yours. As the Mods begin their march in Brighton, chanting, screaming, arms wrapped around one another, they are a force. They can change the world. So when the world rudely interrupts the dream, as the police break up the riots, as people move on to the next day, one uncomfortably realizes it really was all just a "giggle."

This is the sad quandry Jimmy Michael Cooper must confront. When watching "Quadrophenia," specifically the final scene where he rides the stolen scooter along the cliffs of Brighton, you're never sure what choice Cooper is going to make.

The Mods most certainly fueled the eventual punk movement, and I think many people who love this film came from that 1980s generation. The clothes and the hairstyles (including Sting, in an early role as the coolest Mod) are identifiable to the punk generation. What Jimmy Michael Cooper eventually confronts is similar to the conflicts of the punk generation (or any teen generation for that matter). Sadly, the movement must be left behind and we must ask ourselves what the meaning of it all was. To reach maturity, many of us must travel the same path of Jimmy Michael Cooper - and he's faced with some difficult choices.

The Who produced this film, and they must be applauded (as should director Franc Roddam) for creating a classic work about teen rebellion. The music of The Who, including "The Real Me," "Love Reign O'er Me," "Bell Boy," and "I Am the Sea" has been expertly used throughout. "Quadrophenia" is a great film not just because it details British teen angst, but timeless, international teen angst.

Corrections
Michael Gillis here with a small request. Having already written a review fof Quad sp edition, i would like to point out that my review is featured twice. I did some grammer changes after I submitted my review thinking the changes would become automatic, instead a second review appeared with the changes in place. Could you please remove the first review as it is now irrelevant. Thank you kindly. Michael Gillis.

what is special about this special edition
Quadrophenia is not so much an account of mod (or modernisim as it was originally known). It is much more of a conceptual piece centering itself around the experiences of Jimmy Cooper, a multi faceted personality, with the mod aspects giving a base to his predicaments. It was a story developed by Pete Townshend in the 70's with the 60's mod movement in mind. This is further developed by director Franc Roddam's use of a contempory setting. Some people have criticised the film for not being firmly rooted in the 60's, but I think the crossover works well, allowing the mix to sit in with the overall themes of the film. By using this approach the film can also unite people form different generations. I think this is important. And now to the film.

Quadrophenia opens where it closes, above the clifftops of brighton. From here we are transported back to sheppards bush where we are introduced to Jimmy Cooper(played by Phil Daniels). We see the surface side to his charachter as he enters the goldhawk club, well dressed and self assured. A true Mod. As the film continues though we see him repond differently to various situations, be it his home life, at work, with his friends or when chasing his dreamgirl Steph ( played by Leslie Ash.). He is basically dissatisfied and in search of what's elusive. It is during the second half of the film we see this becoming more obvious. Set in Brighton on a bank holiday weekend Jimmy and his friends join together with an army of mods, for a weekend of dressing, dancing, pills and punchups. It is when Jimmy gets evicted from the dance for jumping of a balcony he begins to drift away from the numbers. For me this is where Quadrophenia begins to apply its poetic quality. Jimmy wanders the beach at night until dawn by which point the dancing has ended and the majority of mods are re-congregating at the beach front cafe for a quick egg sandwich and the days itinerary. It is here Jimmy reconnects and the day unfolds.

Heading for Brighton peer, with Jimmy in centrefield, the mods unite with their chants of glory not only atracting media glare but also the attention of their stylistic opposites, the rockers. A huge battle erupts and the beach is invaded by mods and rockers at war with each other with not even the sea being able to separate them. It is Jimmy's role in all of this that is the most significant. Having joined up with Steph, he becomes euphoric, reinacting the violence for her. " I was there". For Jimmy it in this moment that everything becomes crystalised. He is a mod, he is part of the action and now Steph is by his side.This is further enhanced by the film's most famous scene when Jimmy and Steph enter an alleyway and have sex together.Quadrophenia is a doccument of a time and place that for the most part no longer exists. The film plays an important role in allowing us to visit that place. In saying this I think the real relevance of the film lies in its exploration of youthful themes. Jimmy Cooper is a complex character but he is no more complex than any person in search of a real identity or an ideal place. It is for this reason I think it Quadrophenia will be relevant to future generations, to Identify with and to enjoy. Quadrophenia is a wonderfully youthful cinematic composition.

EXTRAS

UPPERS; There are quite a few interesting things contained on this special edition of Quadrophenia.
The US trailer is good ( except for the dialogue)
An interwiew with Sting is also interesting ( Pity it wasn't Phil Daniels though)
The directors commentary and archival photo's were of real interest to me. Nice one.
Also the trip form London to Brighton was great fun as was the 'Are you a mod or a rocker quiz"
Finally the Restoration which on the whole was good though a little dark visually in certain places.

DOWNERS: This is a big disappointment. Has anyone even noticed there are 4 sucessive scenes missing from the US print. Wake up.
The scenes in question take place from where Jimmy exits the cafe after talking to Kev through to the start of the party at Kitchener road. Consult your English or Australian standard edition, they are all present. I would assume this had something to do with the original US cinema print but for me this is the major upset for after all, 'I am one of the faces'.

Reviewed by Michael Gillis. ... Read more

Reviews (13)

A TRUE mounaineering film climbed by BEST friends
I am sorry that some critics have panned this movie. I defy them to find a more realistic mixture of mountaineering, struggle, adversity and a heart-opening friendship. Go climb a mountain, sometime. The quote the scientist uses to express to his wife why and how he feels compelled to climb is first rate. The lawyer's character goes from selfishness and impulsiveness to an actual life altering experience by making a decision most friends would dread. The billionaire and his team, the big wall rock climbing scenes and avalanche are visually second to none. Only in the movie, "Alive," did I feel that I was actually there. The scenery, lack of special effects, had me use this movie as a reference standard to any other outdoor film. The Chris o'Donnell movie didn't look cold, or have believable bitter conditions. Bottom line; I felt I was there in this film. The story line flowed to the point of, "I've been there and had those conversations." I couldn't believe how long it took to get to DVD format. I even emailed Paramount requesting them to do so.
Finally, the porter situations made them human, not just extras. The death scene of Takate and Dallas where highly emotioal and charged. I have had the opportunity to show this movie to others and everyone of them said,"wow." By the way, try to find a musical score even remotely applicable to a story line as this intense music and film creates. Breathtaking scenery, Pakastani buses, culture and the drive to succeed to the top. Remember, it took the US to have two climbers summet this dangerous mountain - and it happened only 26 years ago. One out of three have died trying. See this DVD, it's definately in my top 5.

It contains a good deal of truth about people and climbers.
This movie is about two friends who are dedicated (not to say compulsive) mountain climbers. It is based loosely on Lou Reichart and Jim Whitacker who were among the first four Americans to climb K2-probably the world's most difficult mountain. The story is woven around the contrast and conflict between the two friends, one apparently being primarily self-oriented and the other believing in the importance of interpersonal responsibility. The climbing is a useful vehicle because it makes plausible that a close relationship between two such dissimilar people could exist. The mentality and mechanics of big mountain climbing are well depicted as the film moves to a resolution of its central issue. The acting is competent and the depiction of the mountain climbing is excellent. This movie is better than the obscurity into which it has sunken. I suspect that it is because most people are simply unable to empathize with the motivation that would drive climbers to deliberately put themselves in a situation in which they have a 30% chance of dying.

Raymond J. Barry is terrific in this flick
The climbing sequences, especially the one where all of them are having a break while hanging underneath a clift are enough to make you feel vertigo, and one thing that really makes the film feel authentic is in the cold weather, you can see their breath, so you know it WAS cold when they filmed it. This movie is worth seeing also for another thing - Raymond J. Barry. What a stud! When climbing the mountain you see him in skin-tight jeans, and the size of his thighs and glutes are amazing for a 50 year old man. The cameraman must have recognized this because you see Mr. Barry's glutes and hamstrings in almost every scene. What a body! He shames men half his age. Still, it is a little unbelievable for his character to have the body of a bodybuilder, but who cares? Oh, Michael Biehn is pretty good too. But as good as the film is, I still have no desire to ever climb a mountain!

The quality is really bad
The story is ok but the quality of the DVD is really bad. Don't waste money for the DVD version

Open Your Heart To The Mountain
This movie changed my life (is that a bit over the top?!)!

The story is loosely based on the first American ascent of K2. This is the second highest mountain on earth and arguably the most difficult to conquer. It clearly has been one of the most dangerous of all the earth's great peaks. By the end of the last century, fully 13% of all who summitted died during the descent--that's compared to only 3% on Everest and almost double that of any other 8000+ meter peak (there are 14 total). In addition, there is only one instance of a climber having reached the summit more than once, whereas Everest had seen 299 repeats by the end of 1999.

The movie's main characters are a lawyer (Taylor) and his not as technically adept (but very close) climbing buddy who's a biophysicist ("H"--for Harold). Taylor and H have the most extraordinary friendship that withstands little spats, but connects on a deep level. Though H is not as talented a climber, he's every bit as sharp, making important contributions in various ways. However, he's never been in the "death zone" (approx. 25,000+ feet) before, and Taylor has...

While the climbing sequences aren't necessarily technically precise, they are certainly among the very best that have ever been filmed for a "hollywood"-style movie. It's a shame that (according to other reviews) this is not letterbox--I don't know how the movie could survive without some of the incredible scenes of panorama and expanse, from the initial big wall climbing to the ridge camp with sprawling glacier below to the summit moments. I saw this movie 5+ times on the big screen and--wow!

Two scenes in particular are powerful. In one, H has to "sell" his wife on his taking another trip, after making a promise to spend time at home with her and their toddler son. During this scene he finds himself making another promise anew--that he'll come back--for she knows of the mountain's deadly nature. The tension in making a promise after having broken others really spills onto the screen, but you believe that he's sincere. It is this scene where he tries with inadequate and searching though profound words, to describe what it means to him to be able to stand on the top of a mountain that has challenged him to give all that he's got. Amazing!

The other scene of note occurs high on the mountain in a tragic moment of realization for the two friends. I can't imagine a more poignant moment in all of film history--faced with consequences of actions set in motion in a distant place seemingly removed from time, and helpless to change their outcome; a soul-searching sorrowing and lamenting, and in the same moment the most altruistic and lofty of sentiments--it rips a soul apart, if one is open to it's deeper message.

On the basis of this movie, I started actively climbing; not to do what they did, nor to find some extreme way to express myself physically. I somehow related to the ideas presented, that solace and the development of inner strength through exposure to the challenges and sublimity of the mountains would yield in me a better soul--one that could soar in this world of limitations.

One final note. I spoke with the author of "The Last Step", Rick Ridgeway--one of the first four Americans to summit in 1978 (the expedition upon which this movie was based). He was making a presentation at an REI flagship store in Denver and afterwards I asked him about this movie. He laughed, and said that he had been at the premier with the Japanese investors who underwrote the movie. He did mention that a scene where four climbers are lined up side by side on an ice wall with picks and crampons stabbing and crunching, and Pink Floyd-like rock music in the background beating, was "not like it is at all!" I guess Hollywood will always need to take some license... ... Read more

Reviews (76)

A well done movie.
Many people criticize the lack of historical accuracy in this production, and understandably so. However, if you do not take a historical viewpoint and view the movie as you would view any other romance-tear jerker, you would realize that it is well done and the actors and actresses have done a superb job. It seems that by now people would realize that the last place you should go to for historical accuracy is a made for t.v. movie. Reading other reviews, I become slightly annoyed with other's disgust with Cleopatra. Their main argument was that, hisorically speaking, the movie was extremely off base and the characters were poorly portrayed. I would ask anyone watching this movie to keep in mind that the producers, directors, and actors who participated in this production were targeting a general audience. Unfortunately, the general audience is composed of people who merely want to be entertained, not educated. This movie accomplishes it's purpose, to entertain, which makes me believe that it is worthwhile. Congratulations to Billy Zane and Timothy Dalton for a job well done in portraying two of Rome's most famous characters: Marc Antony and Julius Caesar. Leonor Varela, while her Cleopatra was not the one whom I have come to know and love so well from history books and biographies, seems to have taken a lot of grief for her performance. I believe that she suffered from poorly written dialogue (the writers disregarded the real Cleopatra's intelligence and wit) and carried her part well. In short, I award this movie four stars. I enjoyed it thoroughly and would like to see the actors and actresses receive more credit for their performances, as they all did excellent jobs.

An epic of grand scale!
This movie was amazing, especially for being made for TV. Great, wonderful, awesome... all of the above.

Thrilling drama
Dramas based on history, usually are not historically accurate. This movie is not less historically accurate that Shakespeare's Julius Caesar or Anthony and Cleopatra.
The fact is that it is a thrilling drama, with steamy romance, gripping action and intrigue.
It is probably true from the evidence that Cleopatra was not an extremely beautiful woman, which leads some to fault the casting of the gorgeous Leonora Varela.
But it is totally unfair to fault Leonora as an actress. She is a fantastic actress, and it is great to watch her Cleopatra. Indeed, who could not fall in love with Leonora Varela's Cleopatra? So what if she is not Elizabeth Taylor (she is rather more beautiful than Elizabeth Taylor)

The truth is that Cleopatra in reality was, no doubt, an unscrupulous, and scheming woman, and if anything the casting of the lovely Leonora, in her very sensually charged portrayal of this role, makes me more sympathetic to her character.
I hope to see much more of Leonora, she'd make a great Osnat, the wife of the Yosef, the Hebrew who rose to become Prince of Egypt, Queen Esther of the Purim story, or Pocahontas.

Timothy Dalton as always, was his grand self and added the required force to the role of Julius Caesar, and Billy Zane knew how to do a great Mark Anthony.

I thought some particularly memorable scenes are where Cleopatra shows some skill with weapons in defending herself from would-be-assassins, the portrayal of the Roman Senate, the rally after Caesar's assasination where Mark Anthony swears revenge against Caesar's murderers and enflames the crowd against Brutus , Cassius and company , and the recreation of Alexandria.
Octavian is well displayed as a scheming, power-player, and whoever had the idea of him presenting Brutus' head to Mark Anthony in a basket.

And a nice role played by Kassandra Voyagis as Cleopatra's short lived sister Arsinoe. I was sad to see her go like that, and it certainly showed Cleopatra's cruel side.

Best "Cleo" Yet
This is the best Cleo on the market. Exotic sets & scenery, steamy love scenes. The script is sameoldsameold, but what can you do with this story? The beauty in the title role sends Liz back to Beverly Hills, & the acting level of these two stars is about even.

One Awesome Movie
I orginally saw this movie on tv but I missed a lot of it. I was really interested in seeing the entire movie so I bought the DVD. Trust me it was worth it. I love the costumes that they used in the movie and Leonor Varela isa great actress. She was perfect for the role as Cleopatra. I recommend this movie to everyone. ... Read more

Description

Ten of the world's greatest directors produce one unforgettable film in this sumptuous visual and musical feast based on the most famous arias in the history of opera. Erotic, violent, thought-provoking, funny, and moving, this critically-hailed milestone features the electrifyingly erotic film debut of Briget Fonda, a revealing appearance by supermodel Elizabeth Hurley (Austin Powers), and unforgettable performances from John Hurt (Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone), Tilda Swinton (The Deep End), Beverly D'Angelo (Vacation), Theresa Russell (Wild Things), and many more! Segments directed by Robert Altman (Gosford Park), Bruce Beresford (Double Jeopardy), Bill Bryden, Jean-Luc Godard (Contempt), Derek Jarman (Edward II), Franc Roddam (Quadrophenia), Nicolas Roeg (Performance), Ken Russell (Tommy), Charles Sturridge (Longitude), Julien Temple (The Filth and the Fury). ... Read more

Reviews (10)

Liz Hurley's first important role in a movie
This movie provided Liz Hurley with her big break. Soon after this, Dennis Potter snapped her up for the lead role in the BBC adaptation of Christabel Bielenberg's 'The Past is Myself'. She became Hugh Grant's girlfriend and the rest is history. She transformed herself physically during her twenties, which is why some viewers have had problems identifying the occasionally nude actress that appears here as the very slim Liz Hurley they now know.

For me, 'Aria' was the classical music community's response to the rise of MTV and the pop video. Directors like Ken Russell and Nick Roeg wanted to show us that opera could be equally colourful and sexy, even if you couldn't dance to it. And they proved their case, to my mind.

But like a pop video, you wouldn't want to watch this too often. There's no substantive connection between each of the videos, so you end up feeling much the same as you would after a 90-minute immersion in MTV.

A Visual and audial smorgasbord
I have loved this movie for years. Granted, it may be for deep film buffs, but it is powerful.

Each vignette offers a top director's interpretation of a provocative aria. Opera lovers know how emotionally provocative the music can be; and that raw emotion is shown by each director.

The love story is one of the most romantic and tragic stories I have ever seen--the images are still in my mind 10 years after first seeing it. I had enjoyed a light introduction to opera before this movie, but after feeling the raw emotions this film created in me, I bought a few opera CDs based simply on first hearing the arias in this movie. There is even some VERY funny stuff is one scene.

So, in summary, the music, images, and emotions from this movies were all so intense, they've stayed with me for years. If you can take the intensity, do not miss out on this powerful movie that can be both sublime and intense at the same time.

The movie that started me on opera
I first saw Aria in the theater back in high school (about 3 million years ago) and only because I wanted to impress a girl way more artistic than myself.

It worked, but not in a way I'd expected. The movie, a series of vignettes, runs the whole emotional spectrum. In my younger days, we were blown away by the Wagner/Roddam piece starring a young Fonda, so loving and jarring at the same time. These days I find all the music beautiful, but one or two of the vignettes boring. The entire movie is beautifully shot and all deserves to be watched at least once.

After having done that you'll find continual enjoyment watching Sturridge, Beresford, Roddam, Jarman, and Bryden's interpretations.

Who knows, you might fall in love with opera too.

Great the first time, tends average, not for everyone
This movie was great the first time, on the big screen. The music and the images shock you, and make you squirm and react to this movie. It's an artistic roller coaster ride.

I've found since, however, that this shocking quality doesn't preserve especially well. My favorite way of watching this movie these days, is to turn the music on, while I'm doing stuff around the house, occassionally looking at the images.

It's artistry, it doesn't hold up under critical thinking.

Who will like this movie? Despite (or perhaps because of) the billing of mature content, I think that this is a good film for teenage viewers with a liking for art films. One must be able to appreciate both the variety and intensity of the images, and be able to forgive the story. Not a problem in an action movie, but for an "art film", it shows it's high concept roots.

Maybe a gift for an opera lover, or an "art film" buff.

A Most Incredible Experience
Aria is 90 minutes of pure wonderment -- I'm not certain what demographic this project was aimed at, but I definitely fall into it. You have to love opera style music yet not be so attached to the operas themselves that the re-presentation of the music offends. You have to enjoy video that your average couch potato won't get, no matter how many mind altering drugs he takes.

To really enjoy Aria, you have to check your expectations at the door and accept it for what it is -- a set of brilliant visual explorations fueled by some of the most incredible music ever written. With any other attitude, you're far more likely to find this a miserable experience. Too vulgar, too highbrow, too bizarre, too surreal, too whatever.

Some pieces tell a solid story, ranging from humorous to tragic. Others lack story line and speak to a different level of consciousness. Pathos. Humor. Death. Life. Celebration. Brilliance. Aria cleanses windows of perception, like a good wine between courses of a meal. On the other hand, it's a main course, in and of itself.

This is not fodder for young children, and most teens won't have the patience for it either. If you thought "Dude, Where's My Car?" was a brilliant movie, perhaps you'd better pass on this one as well. I only wish that more Wagner had been included ... perhaps an Aria II consisting solely of Wagner arias?

(If you'd like to discuss this movie or review in more depth, click on the "about me" link above and drop me an email. Thanks!) ... Read more

Reviews (36)

Moby Dick
Obsessed Captain Ahab scoures the sea in search of Moby Dick, the white whale that took his leg. Through the duration of his personal hunt, Ahab acknowledges nary a thought of responsibility or regard to his ship and crew. Directed by Franc Roddam (who also adapted Melville's novel for this screen version) rearranges many of the sequences of events from the book, and even mixes up the dialougue between the characters in some spots. Nevertheless, despite these odd changes, Roddam's effort is an entertaining piece of work. Patrick Stewart is simply remarkable in his portrayal of Ahab. Ted Levine, Henry Thomas, and Hugh Keays-Byrne also turn in fine performances. Originally aired on USA Network as a three-hour miniseries. The DVD version of this movie comes in at 145 minutes. The first VHS edition had a running length of 120 minutes and was later re-released at 145 minutes. Gregory Peck, who played Captain Ahab in John Huston's 1956 film version of the novel won a Golden Globe Award here for his cameo role as Father Mapple.

Moby Dick
The obsessed Captain Ahab travels the sea in relentless search of Moby Dick, the white whale that took his leg. Through the duration of his personal hunt, Ahab acknowledges nary a thought of responsibility or regard to his ship and crew. Directed by Franc Roddam (who also adapted the script from Melville's novel), this newest screen treatment of Moby Dick rearranges many of the sequences of events from the book, and even mixes up the dialougue between characters in some spots. Nevertheless, despite these odd changes, Roddam's effort is an entertaining piece of work. Patrick Stewart is simply remarkable in his portrayal of Ahab. Ted Levine, Henry Thomas, and Hugh Keays-Byrne also turn in fine performances. Originally aired on USA Network as a three-hour miniseries. The DVD version of this movie comes in at 145 minutes. The first VHS edition had a running length of 120 minutes and was later re-released at 145 minutes. Gregory Peck, who played Captain Ahab in John Huston's 1956 film version of the novel, won a Golden Globe Award here for his cameo role as Father Mapple

TERRIBLE MOVIE
What a waste of 2 hours. Nothing gets accomplished at all! You watch some terrible graphics, watch everyone die, and they didn't even kill the freaking WHALE!

That made me mad.
This film accomplishes nothing.
There is no point at all to this movie.
Don't waste your time, money, and energy.
Leave, quickly!

Awful, Melville rotates more rapidly.
The tragedy of this film is that, as Patrick Stewart intones in the supplementary material, the vast majority of those seeing it will never read the book. Stewart implies that that is a good thing, and if the film were an artistically and factually valid adaptation of the novel, that would be true. However, it isn't. Why anyone would be motivated to read the novel by seeing this film is beyond me.

There isn't space to go into all the deliberate errors and distortions, but a few will suffice to demonstrate the damage done to Melville's masterpiece.

Ishmael had been a teacher, true, but he had also had three previous voyages as a seaman on merchant vessels, which Capt. Peleg treats with scorn as being completely unlike service on a whaling vessel. The point is, Ishmael is definitely not the green neophyte protrayed in the film.

Peleg was a Quaker, as were most of the Nantucket whaling captains, although it is not clear in the novel if Ahab is also a Quaker. However, Peleg, who is clearly identified as a Quaker, uses "thee" and "thou" as second person singular in his conversation with Ishmael, not "ye", as in the film. This may seem a minor point, but it was a major issue for Quakers, many of whom had been martyred for their faith in earlier times. One of the many ironies noted by Melville in his novel is that men who would not raise a hand against another man even in self-defense were engaged in the horrible, brutal, bloody, terribly dangerous business of killing sperm whales for their oil, a point the movie misses entirely.

Melville describes a mutiny on the ship Town-Ho, but while Starbuck contemplates shooting Ahab with a musket, after wrestling with his conscience he backs away from murder, and never openly threatens Ahab. Although Melville does not say so, there is evidence in the novel to suggest that Starbuck is a Quaker, which of course would heighten Starbuck's dilemma.

There were no fights among the crew of the Pequod.

No one deserted the Pequod.

Why put Fedallah in the film, if you're going to leave out his prophecy and death? Also, he was a Parsee and Ahab's boat crew were Filipino ("Manilla-men"), not Chinese.

These distortions wouldn't be so bad if they didn't serve to turn the film into a sort of young person's adventure story. The novel deserves better, something made for adults, on the order of Master and Commander.

Melville is no doubt now rotating even more rapidly in his grave than he was in 1956, when the first film version was made.

Philosophical, wonderful movie!
This movie is superb. I would compare it with "Farewell my Concubine", "Dracula" , and "Titus" in its level of artistic cohesiveness. Highly recommended if you enjoy movies that combine story telling with philosophy. ... Read more

Amazon.com

The chemistry between Leonor Varela, who stars as the bewitching queen Cleopatra, and Billy Zane, as the steadfast Marc Antony, is undeniable. Their love scene is one of the steamiest to hit network television. However, once you move beyond this couple's sexual energy, the movie tends to droop, leaning toward the lackluster.

The tale of Cleopatra has hit the screen in many guises, but none have succeeded as well as Cecil B. DeMille's 1934 film. Here, director Franc Roddam tries once again to tell the story of the exotic queen who won the hearts of both Julius Caesar (Timothy Dalton) and Antony, while reigning over a troubled country. But how do you tell such an epic in a mere 140 minutes? Obviously, much is left out, making this film more worthwhile as a pleasant diversion than a real history lesson. The sets are quite remarkable for a TV movie, but unfortunately, the acting and dialogue leave something to be desired. Cleopatra comes across as a bratty child rather than an intelligent and manipulative seductress. Surely this tremendous queen had more going on in her life than her romances with Romans, but you wouldn't know it from this movie. Zane is the best part of the film, although his constant do-good boyishness can grate. Dalton is adequate as Caesar, although he seems to have a hard time taking the role seriously. Yet, for all its flaws, the action moves swiftly and while the battle scenes may leave you cringing with embarrassment for the director, the rest of this carefully staged piece is beautiful to look at. If you really want to know about the Queen of the Nile, though, you may be better off with A&E's Biography: Cleopatra or the Intimate Portrait: Cleopatra. --Jenny Brown ... Read more

Reviews (76)

A well done movie.
Many people criticize the lack of historical accuracy in this production, and understandably so. However, if you do not take a historical viewpoint and view the movie as you would view any other romance-tear jerker, you would realize that it is well done and the actors and actresses have done a superb job. It seems that by now people would realize that the last place you should go to for historical accuracy is a made for t.v. movie. Reading other reviews, I become slightly annoyed with other's disgust with Cleopatra. Their main argument was that, hisorically speaking, the movie was extremely off base and the characters were poorly portrayed. I would ask anyone watching this movie to keep in mind that the producers, directors, and actors who participated in this production were targeting a general audience. Unfortunately, the general audience is composed of people who merely want to be entertained, not educated. This movie accomplishes it's purpose, to entertain, which makes me believe that it is worthwhile. Congratulations to Billy Zane and Timothy Dalton for a job well done in portraying two of Rome's most famous characters: Marc Antony and Julius Caesar. Leonor Varela, while her Cleopatra was not the one whom I have come to know and love so well from history books and biographies, seems to have taken a lot of grief for her performance. I believe that she suffered from poorly written dialogue (the writers disregarded the real Cleopatra's intelligence and wit) and carried her part well. In short, I award this movie four stars. I enjoyed it thoroughly and would like to see the actors and actresses receive more credit for their performances, as they all did excellent jobs.

An epic of grand scale!
This movie was amazing, especially for being made for TV. Great, wonderful, awesome... all of the above.

Thrilling drama
Dramas based on history, usually are not historically accurate. This movie is not less historically accurate that Shakespeare's Julius Caesar or Anthony and Cleopatra.
The fact is that it is a thrilling drama, with steamy romance, gripping action and intrigue.
It is probably true from the evidence that Cleopatra was not an extremely beautiful woman, which leads some to fault the casting of the gorgeous Leonora Varela.
But it is totally unfair to fault Leonora as an actress. She is a fantastic actress, and it is great to watch her Cleopatra. Indeed, who could not fall in love with Leonora Varela's Cleopatra? So what if she is not Elizabeth Taylor (she is rather more beautiful than Elizabeth Taylor)

The truth is that Cleopatra in reality was, no doubt, an unscrupulous, and scheming woman, and if anything the casting of the lovely Leonora, in her very sensually charged portrayal of this role, makes me more sympathetic to her character.
I hope to see much more of Leonora, she'd make a great Osnat, the wife of the Yosef, the Hebrew who rose to become Prince of Egypt, Queen Esther of the Purim story, or Pocahontas.

Timothy Dalton as always, was his grand self and added the required force to the role of Julius Caesar, and Billy Zane knew how to do a great Mark Anthony.

I thought some particularly memorable scenes are where Cleopatra shows some skill with weapons in defending herself from would-be-assassins, the portrayal of the Roman Senate, the rally after Caesar's assasination where Mark Anthony swears revenge against Caesar's murderers and enflames the crowd against Brutus , Cassius and company , and the recreation of Alexandria.
Octavian is well displayed as a scheming, power-player, and whoever had the idea of him presenting Brutus' head to Mark Anthony in a basket.

And a nice role played by Kassandra Voyagis as Cleopatra's short lived sister Arsinoe. I was sad to see her go like that, and it certainly showed Cleopatra's cruel side.

Best "Cleo" Yet
This is the best Cleo on the market. Exotic sets & scenery, steamy love scenes. The script is sameoldsameold, but what can you do with this story? The beauty in the title role sends Liz back to Beverly Hills, & the acting level of these two stars is about even.

One Awesome Movie
I orginally saw this movie on tv but I missed a lot of it. I was really interested in seeing the entire movie so I bought the DVD. Trust me it was worth it. I love the costumes that they used in the movie and Leonor Varela isa great actress. She was perfect for the role as Cleopatra. I recommend this movie to everyone. ... Read more

Description

The year is 1964 and Carolina Military Institute has admitted, for the first time, a young black man into its freshman class. Will McClean (Keith) is asked to protect him from The Ten - a secret society of cadets dedicated to eliminating from the school those it deems "unfit." ... Read more

Reviews (14)

Saw the movie, THEN read the book
I saw the movie before I read the book. This is a typical adaptation of a long novel. Yes, the novel was better, but the novel was DIFFERENT! A similar situation occurs with The Caine Mutiny as well as The Godfather. Written stories allow you to explore aspects of character and situation that just can't be effectively portrayed in film. In film, you can't have the character's thoughts effectively presented. The film concentrated on the relationship between Will and Pearce, while the book actually had two plots-Will and Pearce and Will and Annie Kate. Instead of comparing book and film, treat each as seperate entities and enjoy them independently. In this case, the movie was enjoyable.

This movie could have been better
I have seen this movie about 6 times and have read the book a million times and I know good enough to see that this could have been a even greater movie. Pat Conroy seems very disappointed that the movie did not turn out as good as he thought it was going to be.

Wrong lead
Michael Biehn should've been the lead as the director originally wanted. It was okay, but it would've been better.

EXCELENT
THIS IS ONE OF THE BEST MOVIES I'VE EVER SEEN. SO TRUE TO LIFE.
ACTING IS SUPERB. FIVE STAR ALL THE WAY.

Almost had it, but stumbles badly in the stretch
No movie under six hours could have captured anywhere near the complexity and subplots of Pat Conroy's novel about life in a military academy. For that I was very forgiving about what what cut out, even painfully so. We see no flashbacks of the main characters first three years, there was almost nothing about his passion for basketball, and the love story could have been a movie in itself.

But things had to go, and rather than treat them badly, I have no resentment for what they left out. The movie does concentrate on some important things however, and for awhile, does it well. We see the often cruel treatment upperclassmen give underclassmen, and can see the reasoning why this seems to be necessary. It is the overriding theme of the book, and shows the givers and takers of the harrassment very well.

It also does tackle one of the important subplots, which is the treatment of the first black recruit to the academy. The way the recruit was treated is shown in all of it's frightening detail. David Keith, as the assigned mentor to the recruit, does his job perfectly here by not showing too much sympathy.

But then it all crashes down by trying to come up with a clean, Hollywood, more upbeat ending. The worst sin is the handling of the Pignatello character to make it much less tragic. To leave out what happens after the court martial is to take away one of the dramatic points of the story. With that said, the ending was also much too neat. The way it is handled fails to illustrate the parallel love-hate relationship the main character has with the academy.

This was far too personal a story to be glossed over like this, and I wish Pat Conroy had had more pull to get it done right. He should have chosen the Larry McMurtry route and got the story filmed as a mini-series. ... Read more

Description

Ten great directors, one unforgettable film. Imagine that ten of the world's most well-known, highly regarded filmmakers were given a free hand to make real any vision. "Aria" is that history-making film. Sexy, violent, thought-provoking and funny, here is the movie critics raved about, audiences flocked to see, and no one could stop talking about. Includes Bridget Fonda's electrifyingly erotic film debut and a revealing, breathtaking performance by supermodel Elizabeth Hurley. Segments directed by Robert Altman, Bruce Beresford, Bill Bryden, Jean-Luc Godard, Derek Jarman, Franc Roddam, Nicolas Roeg, Ken Russell, Charles Sturridge, Julien Temple. ... Read more