Reviews (59)

Elegant and Powerful Communist Propaganda
This movie is a visual feast. The Chinese government spared no expense in creating it; all-star director Yimou Zhang apparently had everything at his disposal: a super star (Jet Li), an excellent supporting cast, unlimited costume expenses, and the full array of Hollywood digital imagery. More than just action and elegant Chinese cultural imagery, this film is a bold statement to the world: China is once again its cultural center.

Unfortunately, money does not always buy happiness. Despite the beautiful imagery, the story is brazenly unoriginal, taking its principle technique from Kurasawa's 1950 breakout film Rashomon, and much of its wuxia energy from Ang Lee's Taiwanese sensation of 2000, Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon. To the simple-minded, I think it fails as an action picture, and to the sophisticated, its moral push is far from certainly digestible. Neither do any of the actors succeed in endearing themselves to us. Its greatest strength is its beautiful imagery.

I recently watched Alexander Nevsky, the famous Soviet propaganda film. Viewed today, its intent is obvious and clumsily applied. I watched Ying Xiong, or "Hero", well into the second hour before I realized that I was watching a modern version of that same old communist template. What are the messages here?
A) Look Out: China is bigger than life and is ready to take its rightful place as the center of the world.
B) All under Heaven: union is not bad, it is in fact noble and unselfish, supporting the common good (Cantonese Hong Kong and Mandarin Taiwan take note).
C) The National Government is working for the common good: "They call me a tyrant", the emperor says scornfully, as he laments the fact they ignore the burdens he must bear for their own good.
The film tries to appeal to the values of common decency in order to support these latter two points: killing is wrong, selfish grudges are wrong, excessive resentment is wrong, etc. It seems to accept and mildly promote individualism, although not allowing it to trump collectivism.

I admit that even as an American, I cannot quickly digest these complex moral questions and make an immediate assessment as to their worthiness. For a Chinese person, I assume this film has been even more powerful. The pride evoked from its bold nationalist statement may further push them towards accord. Hence its value as propaganda has probably been quite strong. I think that ultimately the value of this film as a classic will be decided by the prevalent answer to these moral questions, and my suspicion is that history will not look favorably on the direction in which it pushes viewers to think.

An intimate epic
"Hero" is a very ambitious film, attempting to combine quiet introspective philosophy with visually stunning action and pageantry. It is like an intimate epic. The scope is grand to say the least, with full armies on the march as well as intense and magical personal duels, all of which serves as decoration to the Buddhist philosophy being put forward.

It is very beautiful, and this is probably the first thing to be noticed. The various elements, actors, scenery and colors all combine to create a visual splendor. It is a very painterly movie, a feast for the eyes. Specifically, color is used to create moods and to differentiate the various storylines. If the visuals are painterly, then the Martial Arts are dancerly, along the same line as "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon," to which inevitable comparisons must be drawn. The actors are equally beautiful as well, and "Hero, truly a feast for the eyes, could probably be enjoyed in this manner, without any dialog.

Storywise, it is a variation on the familiar "Rashomon" theme of "what is the truth?" The same story is told and re-told, each time moving closer to the purity of truth, and with truth comes enlightenment. This is an intimate tale, a quiet verbal duel between an Emperor, so fearsome and lonely than no human can approach within one hundred paces of him, and a nameless subject, who might just be a true hero. Between them, a story is told of epic engagements, artists and warriors, and what is actually worth fighting and dying for.

I won't spoil too much of the story, as part of "Hero's" strength and insight lies in discovery. That is not to say that it is full of surprises and twist endings, but rather that, like all Buddhist insight, the answer of the movies riddle lies as much in the viewer as in the actors.

rebuttal to JUSTAREADER & Other Naysayers
Western movie studios like to spoonfeed the story to the audience and have an ending that provides closure. Asian movies tend to be more ambigious & leave the conclusion more open-ended to allow the audience to walk away "thinking" about the consequences of the actions of the movie characters.

The wire kung fu is meant to be an expression of the inner turmoils that play within the character's heart and mind. Suspending your belief in reality would have to take place to accept the incredibly artistic fight scenes in this movie or just about every other action movie ever made like Spiderman or ID4. At least enjoy the beautiful camera work and use of colors in this movie instead of thinking about "too many pretentious but self-indulgent thought-to-be poetically beautified scenes".

The "peking opera styled slow talking dialogue" is used effectively in my opinion. JUSTAREADER may not be a fan of this type of dialog but everybody has their own opinion.

Zhang Yimou used the story of the Qin Emperor only as an outlet much like Passions of the Christ. Many will not agree with the portrayal of the Qin Emperor in Hero or the portrayal of Christ in Passions but it made its point.

I agree that the Qin Emperor is not as "benevolent" as Hero suggests but this is a fictional story meant to convey the conflicts of the characters - the sacrifices made for self and country and the eternal question "does the ends justify the means"?

Boring movies don't move the audience and just passes 2 hours of their lives. It's the reaction I get after attempting to watch Dreamcatcher, Road Trip, or Day After Tommorrow.

Great movies provoke a reaction from the audience. This is a great movie with great visuals and cinematography. It got a reaction out of the "love it" and "hate it" camp! It wasn't a simple "love it" or "hate it" review.

Some of the best movies and music are derivatives of others. Example: Led Zeppelin and Aerosmith just borrowed from the blues and garage rock; Hero borrows from Rashomon; the list can go on and on forever. So to call Hero an unoriginal movie is an oxymoron because every movie copies from earlier movies.

Not all westerners are "simple-minded". People who just want simple Kung Fu movie or action movie with no plot will be bored to death and will find the movie "too complicated for westerners." For those of us who want something more than movies like Garfield or Starsky & Hutch will more than likely enjoy Hero.

Must see
This is a truly beautiful film. I own the import version and this film delivers on all scores. Maggie Cheung and Tony Leung give outstanding performances as the two lovers Flying Snow and Broken Sword. Jet Li is fantastic as Nameless.
If you love Hong Kong cinema this is a must see

too poetically unfocused, too complicated for the westerners
this is a very dark but also very pretentiously directed and performed swordsmanship movie. the chinese philosophy would put off mucho western viewers, 'cause the values in the orient and what we got in the west are totally different, i.e., the ends justify the means, or the means justify the ends. to not to assassin a tyrant and allow him a great opportunity to conquer all the other small feudal warlords and unify the whole china, in a larger vision, might save more peoples' lives than letting all the warlords killing each other and their subjects year after year....so what's the choice of the way-too-deep philosophic assassin in the last second and to face a doomed consequence? the director has tried too hard to express his own montage philosophy, his own interpretation of what should be done and only by himself in such genre to surpass the crappy oscar winning crouching tiger had achieved only one thing: a somehow and somewhat boring staged show instead of an exciting movie, with too many slow motion scenes, too many wired suspension, too many pretentious but self-indulgent thought-to-be poetically beautified scenes, with a too narrow minded and one-sided chinese philosophy delivered in a peking opera styled slow talking dialogue to grandize the butchering tyrant of all time in ancient china who later became the only role model of the modern time chairman mao, conquered all the warlords and took the advantage of generalismo chiang kai-shek's enduring war against the invading japanese of the world war II, and later the pathetic and horrible cultrual revolution in china, the rude-awakening of the chinese holocaust.
this is somewhat a mediocre and even a quite lousy film made and should not be made by the legendary chang yi-mou. ... Read more

Description

One of the most influential films in the history of political cinema, Gillo Pontecorvo’s The Battle of Algiers focuses on the harrowing events of 1957, a key year in Algeria’s struggle for independence from France. Shot in the streets of Algiers in documentary style, the film vividly recreates the tumultuous Algerian uprising against the occupying French in the 1950s. As violence escalates on both sides, the French torture prisoners for information and the Algerians resort to terrorism in their quest for independence. Children shoot soldiers at point-blank range, women plant bombs in cafés. The French win the battle, but ultimately lose the war as the Algerian people demonstrate that they will no longer be suppressed. The Criterion Collection is proud present Gillo Pontecorvo’s tour de force—a film with astonishing relevance today. ... Read more

Reviews (40)

VERY POWERFUL CAUTIONARY TALE
I finally got around to seeing this 1967 film, depicting the French occupation of colonial Algiers in the 1950s, which eventually led to the independence of this Muslim nation. It is well worth watching in order to learn lessons about the Iraq aftermath, although one should not make too many connections. The biggest difference is that the French wanted to stay and maintain the country as a colony, whereas the U.S. cannot wait to get the heck out of Iraq as soon as it is semi-secure. This film is black-and-white with sub-titles. It is very revealing in its descriptions of how terrorists (or freedom fighters) fight guerrilla war, and it is the last straw (after Diem bien Phu) for French militarism. Read Camus to get a perspective on their mindset at the time. The film ends with the French having destroyed the cell responsible for a series of bombings, but in its denoument shows that a few years later an uprising occurred, out of nowhere really, that finally left the French with the conclusion that they did not have the stomach for colonialization. This story should be studied in light of French failures in Syria, Lebanon, its Foreign Legion's wars (plus Belgium's failure in the Congo), and the determination of this study is that the French have contributed mightily to destabilization of the Middle East, a little known fact in today's discourse.

STEVEN TRAVERS
AUTHOR OF "BARRY BONDS: BASEBALL'S SUPERMAN"
...

Realisitc reenactment of a time and place steeped in blood
This is the story of the Algerian struggle for independence from the French between 1954 and 1957. As the Algerians finally achieved independence in 1962, the government was quite willing to allow the Italian filmmakers to shoot the film in 1965 in the very areas of former battle, especially since it is sympathetic to the fight for freedom. Released in the U.S. in 1967, it has the look and feel of documentary, scenes shot with hand-held cameras, the black and white film purposefully scratchy. It looks so real that there is a disclaimer at the beginning asserting that it is not a documentary and there was absolutely no newsreel footage used.

All the actors are unknowns, chosen for their authenticity. There are a lot of close-ups of faces, and the fact that these were real Algerians, with recent memories of the turmoil in their country, certainly comes through. This is not simply a patriotic paean to the freedom fighters however. There is terror and loss of life on both sides. There is one scene where three Algerian women, disguised as French, place bombs around the city. Innocent lives are lost and the tragedy is not lessened because the women are fighting for a cause. Wisely, the filmmakers are willing to look at the tragedy without sparing the horror on both sides of the equation.

The characters were only developed in relation to the battle. I therefore identified with them as a general principle and did not get to experience them as individuals. This was the screenwriter's intent of course. But it didn't keep my mind glued to the story and I found myself fighting off the desire to doze off as I had to be engaged in reading the English subtitles for the French and Arabic dialogue. There was one incident after another of bombing, retaliation and torture. This was certainly not a fun film to watch, which I viewed at Lillian Vernon Center for International Studies in New York where the room was overheated and the hard metal chair uncomfortable. It lasted for 117 minutes, which seemed just a little too long to make its point.

"The Battle of Algiers" is the story of the bloody beginnings of the birth of a nation. Unfortunately, though, the blood bath has continued. Algeria has been engaged in civil wars almost from its inception. And there is still no peace there today.

Ground-breaking film is a must-see
I'll review the actual film instead of rambling on about the politics. The Battle of Algiers is a ground-breaking, must-see film. If you have seen recent films like "Traffic" and "City of God (Cidade de Deus)", then you must see this film, for it pioneered the documentary-style utilized by those other films that puts the grit and gravel under your feet while you watch it. The film does not purport to be a documentary, but rather than the clean, sweeping, over-directed camera shots you may be used to, the camera is usually on the ground, following the characters from their point of view. The action is brutally realistic (for its time). And the film-maker is certainly sympathetic with the plight of the Algerians in their struggle against the French; you will be too, if you do not share the naive view that colonialism is somehow there to "protect" the colonized population. Nevertheless, the filmmaker shows some of the atrocities committed in the name of Algerian independence, such as cafe bombings that killed dozens of innocent people. He doesn't sugarcoat these scenes, and he leaves it up to the audience to decide whether this kind of action can ever be justified (I certainly don't think so).

This film is even more relevent today, as another Arab nation undergoes colonization once again by the West. Watch this film, and you will understand a lot more about the contemporary situation in the Middle East.

Excellent documentary-like...
...about a FEW Algerians making believe they were fighting for independence, since the state of slavery in which they reduced ALL Algerians: slavery being both religious and communist -not so many people did find it strange neither wondered why- that Moscow, although very much opposed to religions, was ALWAYS very sympathetic towards islamism, provided it didn't show itself in USSR). Most of the Algerian people were not really conscious they were victims of colonialism: lot of them got into fight during 1st & 2nd World War, and "Les Tirailleurs Algériens" (Algerian Shooters Corps) were some of the most famous Corps, sharing renown with Senegalese for their bravery and dedication. But, of course, as everyone (with open eyes) have seen during the second half of 20th century in the biggest part of Africa, and some places around the world, it so much better to be slaughtered, martyred (and, for the survivors, to be driven back to the dark ages) by people the same skin-color, than to be protected and educated by people with a fairer skin. As well, a little known fact was, that de Gaulle, who got elected in 1958 (part of the reason being he was pro-French Algeria), had to give up in 1962 (at this time, the few remaining members of FLN could only operate from Tunisia and Morocco). That was not so long after oil was discovered in Sahara: since US oil companies did consider any newly discovered oil wells should be their own to operate, de Gaulle got an ultimatum from US government: either to give up, either to see the US adding their support to the one by USSR, which was not effective enough. Which was the main reason why de Gaulle got rid of the SHAPE and US bases in France (those who were the most sorry were the French people getting work from that presence), and maybe that was one of the reasons why Giscard d'Estaing (10 years later) gave support to Ayatollah Khomeiny (although he was not very much thanked for this by the beneficiary) against the Shah of Iran, who was, until he got in hospital, the US favorite.
I'd like very much to see a sequel to this movie, prefaced by Pontecorvo presenting his apologies for the somewhat biased making of this one (all the way more dangerous, since a very well-made one and apparently sincere: but when you know that apparent sincerity was -and still is- one of the communists' weapon of choice.....). Maybe at the time of this film release, it was fashionable to present the fight initiated by a few thugs making believe it was the legitimate fight by a nation for it's freedom, but, after half a century, when you look at what happened (and is still happening) in this country, there is only one thing anyone can be sure of : Gillio Pontecorvo's moral integrity and intellectual honesty is very much to be doubted; if not, he would have to be one of the most gullible and dumb fools to be put in the Guiness' Book of Records (which I don't think he is).

Emotionally revolutionizing
This documentary style film captures the strife and struggle that took place during this heartbreaking war. The film profoundly displays the malicious persecution and torture they succumbed to. The Algerians want independance and the french supremacists want to control. This documentary follows the uprising of the F.L.P. showing hard truths about war and terrorism. I applaud the making of this movie (Gillo Pontecorvo), standing up for freedom and liberation during such a dangerous and destructive era. Watching this movie made me cherish my freedom and reminds me to feel passionate about the things I care about the most. ... Read more

Description

Catherine Breillat's controversial first film centers around the sexual awakening of a young girl on summer vacation. ... Read more

Reviews (9)

Discovering Hiram Keller
I give this film 4 stars for its bold character. It confronts issues of sexuality head on. The pubic phase of a young girl's life is in lugubrious presentation here. Yet, even with all the nudity and sexuality, what I remember most about this film occured in the first 15 minutes when the real young girl spoke these three words: "I hate people" It chilled me to the bone.

My initial interest in the film came from my curiosity about the film career of Hiram Keller, who had recently died in Atlanta, GA, his place of birth as well. I am puzzled at his reticent presence in the film. "The Face", as he was called did not enjoy much of a career but he certainly got a great start.

It's a film to watch for you will certainly leave with an impression for better or for worse.

Entertaining and sexy
Acting on a whim, I rented this DVD from my local video store. It's a delightfully decadent little French trifle, if you can get over the salaciousness of the story. Although I would never rank Breillat high on my list of French directors, she sure can spin a good yarn. The plot is about a fourteen-year-old girl who discovers her sexuality is more of a burden than a blessing. This is a better film all around than "Romance", and I highly recommend it.

POSSIBLY THE WORST MOVIE EVER
First of all this movie's origional content is from the 70's and has terrible resouloution. The movie it self is in french with subtitles. This movie is very disgusting and the sex is so gross it makes you want to turn it off and never watch it again! I think I am permanently scared from theses images I cant get out of my head. DONT WASTE YOUR MONEY ON THIS MOVIE!!!!!

A fine student film
Perhaps Catherine Breillat was well into her career when she made this film and the title is not appropriate, I don't know, as I don't follow careers, I watch movies. This movie strikes me as pretty much a student film with sparkles of brilliance. Catherine Breillat deliberately juxtapositions scenes that should be erotic to disgusting, like breaking apart a worm and placing its pieces onto the star's pubic hair while she is tied. This technique is played out so much that "A Real Young Girl" could be used for a curing film like those poor Alex in "A Clockwork Orange" was forced to watch to cure him from his urges. A fine film for anyone following Breillat's career. Otherwise, jump right to Breillat's "Romance", which is an exceptional piece of filmwork and the single most organic representation of life I have ever experienced captured to celluloid.

Quite disturbing and replusing film
Probably one of the worst films I've ever seen. Not that it was absolutely awful, it's just that it was actually quite disgusting. The sexual parts are not so disturbing as are the symbolic parts (i.e., chicken heads being sliced off, etc.) The film is reminiscent of the French New Wave, perhaps it even was classified as such. Then again, I have never see a New Wave film as repulsive. All-in-all, not a film for the light-hearted. Also, the title "A Real Young Girl" doesn't really have bearing on the main girl character. The girl in the movie actually looks like she's in her 20's. ... Read more

Amazon.com

Fill a bowl with alpine strawberries, break out the Château Lafite (1899, of course), and bask in this benchmark 1981 British miniseries based on Evelyn Waugh's classic novel. Adapted for the screen by John Mortimer (Rumpole of the Bailey), this impeccable, nearly 11-hour production mesmerized American viewers during the course of its PBS run in 1982. In his breakthrough role, Jeremy Irons stars as Charles Ryder, a disillusioned Army captain who is moved to reflect on his "languid days" in the "enchanted castle" that was Brideshead, home of the aristocratic Marchmain family, whose acquaintance Charles made in the company of an Oxford classmate, the charming wild child Sebastian. Anthony Andrews costars as the doomed Sebastian, whose beauty is "arresting" and "whose eccentricities and behavior seemed to know no bounds." The "entitled and enchanted" Sebastian takes Charles under his wing ("Charles, what a lot you have to learn"), but vows early on that he is "not going to let [Charles] get mixed up with [his] family." But mixed up Charles gets. He becomes a friend and confidante, not to mention a lover, to Sebastian's sister Julia (Diana Quick). Meanwhile, the self-destructive Sebastian's life spirals out of control. Brideshead Revisited boasts a distinguished ensemble, including Laurence Olivier in his Emmy Award-winning role as the exiled Lord Marchmain, Claire Bloom as Lady Marchmain, and the magnificent John Gielgud as Charles's estranged father. Grand locations and a haunting musical score make this a memorable revisit of an irretrievable bygone era. For those who scheduled their weeks around the original Monday-night broadcasts or those visiting Brideshead for the first time, this boxed set release will be, as Charles rhapsodizes at one point while strolling the castle grounds, "very near to heaven." --Donald Liebenson ... Read more

Reviews (41)

Great TV drama
This is a beautiful television production. Nothing I have seen captures so well the manners, dress, language and attitudes of upper and upper-middle class Britain in the twenties and thirties.

The acting is superb, the script even better. Based on the novel by Evelyn Waugh, John Mortimer's dialogue wastes not a word and uses pauses and silences to extraordinary effect.

As a portrayal of a family and its entourage this 11-part series bears comparison with the very best, even perhaps the Godfathers I and II, and with top notch photography to portray the stunning sets - on an art deco-drenched QEII, at Oxford, Castle Howard and at a Venice Palazzo - this could be the ultimate TV production of all time.

But perfect as it is technically, Brideshead has, for me at least, a couple of problems. The first is, the sheer improbability of the main plot. Essentially, the central figure and narrator, initially rather boring Charles, makes friends with dashing Lord Sebastien Flyte at Oxford (after the latter vomits through Charles' window), and finds himself immediately taken into the bosum of Flyte's highly aristocratic family; ultimately Sebastien's ravishing sister Julia falls in love with him and he comes very near to inheriting the family estate. The Flyte/Marchmain family is portrayed as charming, but also deeply and somewhat offensively dismissive of anyone they consider beneath them: Julia becomes quite vicious about her husband Rex, once she has tired of him. Lord Marchmain, a rather feckless former alcoholic and wife-hater, at one point muses on Neville Chamberlain who at that moment was doing his best to avoid world war "knew him. Mediocre fellow". I just can't believe that this family would have given tuppence for Charles, a mere middle-class architectural painter, far less virtually adopted him.

The second problem is that Charles is not even very likeable. He drifts through the film looking bored or worried and acting self-righteously. He cheats on his wife and generally bad mouths her, prefers to consort with his lover than go see his two year-old child who he's never actually seen due to a long trip abroad, and does little to actually help his dear friend Sebastien (who has descended into alcoholism) except frequently tell us morosely and self-indulgently how much he loved him and what a sacred love it was.

The cause of these problems surely goes back to Waugh himself and the original novel, which was part autobiography, part wish-fulfilment. Waugh was partly Charles, and like Charles, Waugh wasn't always lovable. The upper classes were Waugh's favorite subject, his bread and butter, and his vice. He was irresistibly drawn to them and wanted them to love him and confide in him too. Sometimes they did, because he was a brilliant society novelist, not just a good architectural painter. But not quite as much as everybody, from servants to Lord and Lady Marchmain, appears to love Charles.

However, I think this only makes the whole production more interesting. And such is the charm of the brilliant cast, which includes Jeremy Irons in the lead along with Olivier and Gielgud in majestic supporting roles, I suspect many people will consider my low opinion of the characters quite misplaced.

Well, it's about time!
Well, it's about time. One of the best (in my opinion, the best) of the British mini-series has finally made it to DVD. Although not perfect, the transfer is very good indeed, and a vast improvement over my ancient tapes.

My only (minor) complaints involve the sound, which is occasionally a little muddy; and now and again the dialogue seems ever so slightly out of sync with the actors. Also, there is no close captioning or English subtitles.

But forget that and think of what we're getting: an excellent adaptation of Waugh's fine novel; first-rate performances (keep a special eye out for John Gielgud, who gives what must be one of the funniest performances ever put on screen); glorious location sets and period costumes which can be appreciated fully now that their colors can be seen.

There are a few extras on the disc, and a small booklet with some interesting information. But it's the show that's the thing here, and it gets the treatment it deserves. Highly recommended.

British drama at its best
This must be one of the alltime classics of British drama. Saw it on TV when it was aired, bought the VHS and when released on DVD, bought it on DVD. Well, that must be saying something. It is one of my favourites. I think this must be one of those productions where you can say in hindsight that you would have done it in exactly the same way. I do not have higher praise to give. Shame the DVD release does not give extras and is really badly done. One would have thought that a high profile production like this deserved a better fate.

Et In Arcadia Ego
Brideshead revisited, Evelyn Waugh's portrait of a world trying to come to terms with the obliteration of what for its inhabitants were absolute certainties, by war and its aftermath represents a mountain of almost Himalayan proportions for any would-be adaptor, so much so that it's surprising that anyone was ever mad enough to try. Luckily for us though John Mortimer (more widely celebrated for "Rumpole of the Bailey") was indeed mad enough to give it a go. What he came up with has over the intervening years come to be seen as one of the finest adapted screen plays ever set before the viewing public.

Remaining remarkably faithful to the spirit of the book, Brideshead Revisited is told from the prospective of the painter Charles Ryder (Jeremy Irons). From a decidedly upper middle class background, when we first meet our narrator, Charles is an officer in the British army at the outbreak of World War 2 whose general disillusionment is exceeded only by his distaste for army life. From this present we are taken back twenty years by Charles' reminisces to his first term at Oxford University at the beginning of the 1920's and to his developing relationship with the aristocratic and charmingly dissolute Sebastian Flyte (Anthony Andrews). Supported by a truly superb cast of characters including, Jane Asher, Diana Quick, Clair Bloom, Nikolas Grace, Sir John Gielgud and in what was to be his final performance Sir Laurence Olivier. The acting is just what you would expect from such an accomplished bunch, as close to perfection as can ever be obtained.

As absorbing as the story is, it is almost overshadowed by other aspects of this production. Shot on location at Castle Howard, Yorkshire (the home of the then chairman of the BBC George Howard, even though this production was made by the BBC's rival Granada Television), Oxford, Venice and aboard the cruise ship the Queen Elizabeth II. The location filming has a beauty that at times can be truly breathtaking, with a lushness and sensuality that is a perfect foil for the decadence of the Sebastian and his circle.

Just as in Waugh's original text, the whole atmosphere of the piece is redolent with nostalgia. This takes two forms, the most prominent from the beginning is Charles' nostalgia for his youth and idealism, his feeling that his life could be what he wanted it to be, the friends he knew, his time with the Flyte family and his love for Lady Julia. Secondly and perhaps most importantly is nostalgia for the world of the Victorian and Edwardian upper classes with its certainties and its view of Britain as the centre of the greatest Empire that the world had ever known. Post World War 1, it was rare to find an aristocratic British family who had not suffered the loss of a Father, Son or Brother in the trenches and this longing for a world which was as "irrecoverable as Lyonnesse" was all too real for many people of all classes and backgrounds.

In this story of the rise and to a certain extent destruction of a single man, Waugh has given us a metaphor not only for the British aristocracy, but for the wealthy and socially mobile wherever and whenever they may be. I remember once discussing the novel with my Father and he expressed the opinion that while Waugh may not have loved the aristocracy as such, he certainly loved the life of an aristocrat. In many way's Brideshead Revisited reminds me of Edward Elgars' Cello Concerto, possessing the same kind of painful beauty combined with the most agonising sense of grief and heartache, but in the final analysis it is this love that colours both the book and this adaptation, rendering it as sublime as the memory of a summers afternoon and just as unattainable.

An intriguing mini-series
I came across this mini-series completely by accident. The episode descriptions sounded interesting, and I am a fan of British period drama, so I decided to give it a try. I was really suprised at how much effort went into it--after taking a peek at a few chapters of the novel, I found that it's an almost word for word adaptation. The characters are all well developed and fascinating, but none is more intriguing than the tragic Sebastian. In addition to the story, the scenery and the performances given by all involved make this mini-series one to remember. ... Read more

Description

What starts out as a weekly anonymous tryst between a divorced man and a married woman turns into a searing portrait of loneliness and emotional need. Directed by Patrice Chereau (Queen Margot), INTIMACY won the Golden Bear for Best Film at the 2001 Berlin Film Festival where lead actress Kerry Fox also won the Best Actress Award. Based on Hanif Kureishi’s controversial novel, INTIMACY was selected to play at the Sundance and New York Film Festivals. DVD extras include the original theatrical trailer and cast and filmmaker bios. ... Read more

Reviews (16)

When the center doesn't hold
This amazing movie is a look at the ways that a man, the protagonist Jay (Mark Rylance) once-married, and a once fairly conventional husband and dad, can utterly fall apart in divorce, the heartbreaking ways he might try to put a life back together, and the ache for connection and communion that can't necessarily be soothed - within or without "happy" marriages.

By now the plot and the fact of its depiction of acts of sexual intercourse are well-known. There is a woman, Claire. She shows up at Jay's door, Wednesdays at 2 PM. We don't know anything about her at first - just that once she's in his apartment, her clothes (and his) come off. The five to ten minutes of intense once-weekly sex on Jay's apartment floor is no less important for being quick and wordless; it is a sort of a pact between the couple, and their shared illness, really. But it can't, ultimately, do the trick, and the film succeeds - unmoralistically - in showing us how and why. The urge to find either oblivion or ecstasy - whether via alcohol or sex or other means - fuels the couple. There are amazing surprises along the way, via a script that is utterly believable and natural.

In fact, every aspect of the protagonist Jay's life is in fact shown harshly, "graphically," whether it is his hectic job tending bar, his messy, depressing apartment (further evidence that he has lost his moorings), his several friends, or his frantic travels through London. (The camera chases him, and he is chasing her). We're by turns frustrated, confused, and focused. One's attention never wanders during this story.

Children (Jay's and Claire's) are used well in this film. They can tell the truth, and they do. They use the word "love" - and the adults in this movie really can't. In several scenes Jay is at his ex-wife's apartment, bathing his beautiful little sons. He lies on what was the marriage bed and makes a sort of sad and frantic fetish of his ex-wife's underwear, and is interrupted by his son, who needs his help. We are never asked to be voyeurs, but witnesses to a lot of sadness, distress - and the difficulty, really, of the attainment of happiness.

This is an astonishing film about broken hearts - and what people might do to try to mend them.

A Limp Mess
Helmed by French auteur Patrice Chéreau, who directed the vastly superior "Queen Margot," the Birtish film "Intimacy" is a limp mess. A man and woman carry on an illicit affair - they meet at his house Wednesday afternoons for sex. They know nothing about each other, not even names. Eventually, the man (Jay, played by Mark Rylance) finds himself wanting to know more about the woman (Claire, played by Kerry Fox), and he begins following her after their trysts. What he finds out about her throws their relationship into question.

"Intimacy" gained attention and notoriety for its explicit sex scenes (the R-rated version is also available, and these scenes are edited a great deal). The sex scenes are among the most graphic ever seen in a mainstream movie, including a rather shocking scene where Fox fellates Rylance (everything is shown). Ultimately, however, the sex scenes are quite un-sexy as the characters are so distant from each other. A movie called "Intimacy" that lacks any intimacy whatsoever? Sounds like an elaborate joke to me.

Aside from the explicitness of the sex scenes, the movie offers nothing new. The characters are not well-delineated, and the conflicts are ill-defined. On the plus side, Mark Rylance ("Angels & Insects") and Kerry Fox ("Shallow Grave") give good performances; however, it's rather disconcerting seeing such talented actors engaging in graphic sex scenes in a tepid movie. Both actors have impressive backgrounds in the theater, and Rylance has acted extensively in Shakespearian productions at the Globe Theatre. Shaking his spear indeed!

Extras: The DVD includes minimal extras: a photo gallery, brief bios of the actors, and the trailer. A director commentary would be much appreciated, or even a commentary from the actors. I'd love to hear what filming the explicit sex scenes was like!

NOT VERY INTIMATE.....
Like other reviewers, I was disappointed in "Intimacy". I found that the film had very little to say in terms of why the two main characters (Mark Rylance and Kerry Fox) carried on such an unpleasant sexual relationship. Their weekly meetings in Rylance's grungy apartment for sex obviously indicated they each had deeper more emotional needs. But neither find what they are looking for. They are both frustrated, unhappy people with unfulfilling lives and blunt, crude sex grants them the temporary escape valve. However, it's obvious that the sex isn't really fulfilling either one of their needs. Rylance and Fox are good actors and Marianne Faithful is good as one of Fox's friends. But neither Fox nor Rylance is terribly attractive so their nude sex scenes aren't that interesting which makes the sadness and desperation of their acts even more downbeat. I agree the film is more explicit than most but without a good story and at least a positive note or two I can't really recommend it. If the film's intent is to show that an empty sexual relationship gets you nowhere, then it succeeds very well on that premise.

Mark Rylance in all his glory. James Bond for 2008?
Some films from England, France, Italy and Germany are allowed to have such freedom and liberties to filming nude scenes whether they are in the natural state or erotic. Very few American actors in American films will allow themselves to be seen in a natural state. Most American actors wear a willie stocking or a clamshell or prefer a body double. But those actors that agree in their contract to full frontal nudity know they will get more pay and a very handsome paycheck at that. Some have reached success very quickly. It could make a film successful too. (...). Mark Rylance is not afraid to show his erotic side in this very adult film. This unrated DVD version pushes the red line of sex and nudity on screen and yet it is still simulated sex. The nudity is more shocking as the actor allows his uncut member to be seen in various stages. I have also seen Mark Rylance in Angels & Insects were his performance is more tender and soft. (...`).

Sex and the City
For a while, this arty movie about sexual encounters between two strangers in London is actually quite intriging and unsettling. Unfortunately, after the first half hour the plot starts repeating its premise with little further development and moving at a slow, ungaging pace.

"Intimacy" tries to deliver some food for thought about loneliness and despair in the modern world, focusing the relationship (or lack of it?) between a divorced man and a married woman that get intimate before they even manage to know each other properly. It`s an interesting idea, even if not completely original, but it could work better here.

The movie has some good elements: the acting is consistent (Mark Rylance is excellent), the soundtrack captivating, the photography well-crafted and the direction is moody and atmospheric enough. However, the character development isn`t that great, and the story loses its point halfway through, turning this project into a curious yet semi-failed picture. The sex scenes, which generated some controversy, aren`t really that strong or offensive, and director Patrice Chéreau portrays those moments with a sense of style and cleverness (an harsher perspective was done in Catherine Breillat`s ridiculous "Romance").
"Intimacy" has some guts and ideas, still it soon loses its strenght, approaching a bland and tepid development on its second half that fails to seduce.
Another case of "and all it could have been". ... Read more

Amazon.com

Divorce Italian Style is a comedy milestone--a brilliant, biting satire that was originally conceived as a drama; directed with nonstop inventiveness by a filmmaker who had never done comedy; and featuring an actor who, though not even among the first dozen players considered, cemented his international stardom with this performance. The movie also marked a breakthrough for foreign film in America, winning popular as well art-house success, Academy Award nominations for director Pietro Germi and star Marcello Mastroianni, and--the first of only a few foreign-language films to do so--the Oscar itself for Original Screenplay.

On the sun-blasted island of Sicily, Baron Ferdinand "Fefè" Cefalù (Mastroianni) breaks out of his heat- and boredom-induced stupor long enough to be smitten with mad passion for his 16-year-old cousin Angela (Stefania Sandrelli). But he's married--to Rosalia (Daniela Rocca), she of the unfortunate mustache--and the Italian Penal Code gives him no way out... except, of course, for catching his wife in adultery and availing himself of the patriarchal license to commit a "crime of honor." So Fefè searches for a way to fling Rosalia into the arms of another man.

Mastroianni's Fefè is an indelible masterpiece, visually and behaviorally: a portrait in painterly chiaroscuro, with brilliantined hair, eternally drooping eyelids, a cigarette holder angled in perpetual salute, and a manic, conspiratorial slouch, like Groucho Marx on painkillers. Germi's direction hustles the film along with bold, mobile camerawork, stream-of-consciousness lurches into fantasy and flashback, Fefè's feverish voiceover commentary, and a wonderfully propulsive music score by the late Carlo Rustichelli. --Richard T. Jameson ... Read more

Reviews (11)

High-Styled Hijinks!
Pietro Germi's companion piece to his earlier "Seduced and Abandoned," this comedy comes so close to tragedy it takes your breath away. Only the director's insight into theocracy and Italian mores keeps "Divorce Italian Style" from succumbing to the darkness that lurks inside this material. Although Marcello Mastroianni and Stefania Sandrelli are the big names, in star-making performances, the picture is really held together by Daniela Rocca's tricky and subtle work as the dutiful wife who must be murdered to have a happy ending. This was very daring stuff in the 1960s, and Criterion's jaunty DVD transfer does it full justice (don't miss the nifty interview supplement). Germi's satirical epilogue will remind you of the one in "All About Eve," it's that good.

When Love Withers in Brilliant Comedy...
A flower's life span is nothing compared to humans, yet flowers go through similar developmental stages.The most memorable part of a flower's growth is the blossoming progress where it goes from being a small bud until it dwindles to the ground in a rapid withering phase.Occasionally, love uses the life span of a flower as a symbol for the affectionate spell under which two individuals bond.When the flower withers, the relationship turns numb, which is the case with Ferdinando "Fefé" Cefalú (Marcello Mastroianni).Fefé merely stays with his wife Rosalia (Daniela Rocca), as societal restrictions are enforced by the Catholic Church, family, and public, which forces people to remain married until death do they part.In the light of this notion, the audience will truly experience a socially important comedy, which plays with the ideas of divorce through more hideous plots such as murder, deceit, and other troublemaking.

The film opens on a moving train as Fefé exits the public toilet while he bumps into two Sicilian police officers.Quickly Fefé leaves them behind, as he slowly makes his way through gentle zigzagging around other passengers to the dining car.Seated while ordering roast beef and two potatoes, Fefé continues to gaze upon the passing Sicilian countryside, which does not seem to have changed much since the Roman Empire.This is a familiar place for Fefé who begins to disclose an amusing tale of why he is on his way home, as he recollects in homesick manner his hometown Agramonte. This opening has several suggestive nods towards Fefé's character, his family and what is important in Agramonte, which will be comically and profoundly illustrated as the story unfolds.

In the introduction by Fefé the audience learns through his words, the camera, and the actions of the characters that societal progress does not seem to be high on the agenda.Instead the audience learns about how politics and the Catholic Church seem to be intertwined in this small town.The slow progress has generated some very rigid guidelines, which no one seems willing to challenge.In this societal stalemate the men only seem to pay attention and gossip about one thing - women.This is essential information, as it depicts the boredom that helps the withering of the flowers.

The story goes into great detail to depict Fefé's monotonous life.He is unemployed due to social status because he is a Baron, which means that he often sleeps in.Whenever he does not sleep his exceedingly caring and nurturing Rosalia tends to his needs while it actually seems as if she is only annoying him.There is a wonderful scene where Fefé escapes everyone to read in peace and enjoy the soothingbreeze from a small fan in his study while Rosalia enters with coffee and turns off the fan.Fefé turns the fan on again while Rosalia turns it off with a smile, as she serves him the coffee.This scene oozes of tension between the two while Fefé keeps his cool and Rosalia tries her best to be a good wife. Yet, it offers him an opportunity to begin to imagine different methods of how he could kill her.

In between Fefé's annoyance and boredom he discovers the stunning teen Angela (Stefania Sandrelli) whom infatuates him with a brief look at mass.Fefé begins to think about Angela while he sneaks to the bathroom to steal a peak at the youthful girl through the window.Eventually, Angela expresses her mutual desire for Fefé, but they have to be careful so they do not cause a scandal, or worse.This provides an opportunity for Fefé to begin to actually think of how to get rid off Rosalia, which turns out to be a comically ugly event as he cannot divorce her by law.

The audience will feel empathy for Rosalia who tries to be a good wife, but Fefé does not allow it by being distant.Simultaneously, one cannot help to feel understanding for Fefé who now begins to study the law and how he possibly could get away with murder.It is a sad thought, even though the presentation of the topic is jovial, that the people are ready to commit the worst possible act in the name of love.Yet, it is also here where the film's strength lays, as it delivers a funny depiction of how a passé society can squelch life and frown upon societal progress, which was a big deal in the 1960s.A notion arises in regards to progress--should one have the freedom to find their own blossoming flower?

Divorce Italian Style offers a well-written and genuine comedy with deliberate intentions for the audience to ponder regarding the society and the social restrictions that govern the unhappy.The cast does a marvelous job in portraying the different characters.For example, Daniela Rocca's illustration of Rosalia provides authentic view of a woman who seeks love form her husband, but does not receive it.In addition, Marcello Mastroianni does a brilliant job through his dual performance in the film by also being in the Fellini's La Dolce Vita, which is shown in the film.However, Mastroianni's visual persona suggests his infatuation with beautiful women that can be explored if one views La Dolce Vita.Lastly, the camera work, mise-en-scene, and the framing of each scene enhance the complete ideas, as they transcends the expectations of the film.

That's it, I want a divorce!
Just so you know, divorce is now permitted in Italy. But in 1962, the only way you could get a divorce was by... well, "Divorce Italian Style," a ka bumping off your adulterous spouse. This delightfully warped black comedy focuses on that very idea -- a disgruntled husband who goes to absurd lengths to get a "divorce."

Ferdinando Cefalú (Marcello Mastroianni) is a middle-aged Sicialian noble who is displeased with his life, and his adoring wife Rosalia (Daniela Rocca). In true midlife-crisis fashion, he falls for his angelic-looking cousin Angela (Stefania Sandrelli), but he can't get a divorce. Divorce isn't allowed in Italy at this time, so Ferdinando is left stewing over his problems, fantasizing about murdering Rosalia.

But then he hears about an odd law: if an adulterous spouse is caught in flagrante, then the wronged spouse can kill the adulterer and get off with a light prison sentence. So Ferdinando starts desperately searching for a potential lover for Rosalia, but she remains faithful. Then he locates an ex-boyfriend of hers, hoping to rekindle the old flame. But nothing goes quite according to plan...

Yes, it's a bit sick. But in such a funny way that it really doesn't offend. At a certain point it becomes less about Ferdinando trying to murder his wife, as it is an increasingly overwrought attempt to get her to commit adultery. Not to mention a spoof on traditional views on "family honor," where it is more shocking to NOT kill your adulterous spouse than it is to do so.

Ferdinando carefully straddles the line between being slime and being a funny character -- his surreal murder fantasies are hilarious, such as when he shoves Rosalia into a vat of soap. And in keeping with the spoof atmosphere, the romance is overemotional, the fighting is overwrought, and the contrived adultery/murder scheme is absurd. The final scene is the final tragicomic flourish, hinting at future disaster that Ferdinando deserves.

Pietro Germi at first seems to be making an offensive movie, but viewing it with a sense of humor shows that he's poking fun, and making wry social observations. He was also not above plugging Mastroianni's other movies -- one scene has a priest denouncing "La Dolce Vita," followed by crowds rushing to see it. Ferdinando's future brother-in-law ogles the beautiful Anita Eckberg, then hastily tells his fiancee that Eckberg is pretty, but "she has no soul."

The immortal Mastroianni injects just enough humanity into Ferdinando to keep us from loathing him -- in the middle of a midlife crisis, he seems increasingly confused as the movie goes on. Daniela Rocca sits on the fence between being devoted and annoying, while Sandrelli plays a girl who acts like an angel, but definitely isn't.

Thankfully Italian spouses no longer have to bump each other off to get a "divorce," but "Divorce Italian Style" remains a classic black comedy/social satire.

Amusing
Charming story indeed.Baron Pepe Cerafulu gets bored with his wife's over nuturing and nagging ways.Oh how he yearns for his teenage cousin, Angelina.Baron does give us some amusing facial gestures.

His schemes to arrange for this divorce are kind of far fetched.They will certainly have you chuckling especially when the tape recorder fails to catch his wife in the act. Carmello is quite charming in his role as the painter.

The Black and White Cinematography works well depicting Italy several decades ago.The subtitles are a little out of synch but otherwise this old movie is certainly a goodie.

The Film Is Great, The DVD Is Not
Divorce, Italian Style is a superb movie from the 1960's genre.The story is highly entertaining and the characters are witty, especially Marcello Mastroianni, whose dry, cynical humour is an absolute pleasure.However, the DVD from Hen's Tooth could certainly be better.The excessive scratches do take away from some stunning black and white cinematography, but the film itself more than makes up for it.The film is definitely worthy a spot in the Italian film aficionados' collection, but wait for a new DVD version. ... Read more

Amazon.com

Leading off the set of four Akira Kurosawa classics is Seven Samurai (1954), unanimously hailed as one of the greatest masterpieces in the history of the motion picture. It was the inspiration for countless films modeled after its basic premise, but has never been surpassed in terms of sheer power of emotion, kinetic energy, and dynamic character development. The story is set in the 1600s, when the residents of a small Japanese village seek protection against repeated attacks by a band of marauding thieves and hire seven unemployed "ronin" (masterless samurai), including a boastful swordsman (Toshiro Mifune), who is actually a farmer's son desperately seeking glory and acceptance. The climactic battle remains one of the most breathtaking sequences ever filmed and one of Kurosawa's crowning cinematic achievements.

In another of the many Kurosawa-Mifune collaborations, The Hidden Fortress (1958) tells the story of a warrior and a princess trying against all odds to return to their homeland with their fortune. Along the way, they are simultaneously assisted and thwarted by two itinerant and not-too-bright farmers with their own designs on the treasure. Frequently cited for its thematic influences on Star Wars, The Hidden Fortress combines an epic tale of struggle and honor with modern comic sensibilities.

The partly comic Yojimbo (1961) was inspired by the American Western genre. Mifune plays a drifting samurai for hire who plays both ends against the middle with two warring factions, surviving on his wits and his ability to outrun his own bad luck. Yojimbo is striking for its unorthodox treatment of violence and morality, reserving judgment on the actions of its main character and instead presenting an entertaining tale with humor and much visual excitement. One of the inspirations for the spaghetti Westerns of director Sergio Leone and the 1996 Bruce Willis vehicle Last Man Standing, this film offers insight into a director who influenced American films even as he was influenced by them. The 1963 sequel, Sanjuro, is more lighthearted and less cynical, a rousing adventure with Mifune becoming an unlikely big brother to a troupe of nine naive samurai. It isn't the subtlest of Kurosawa's films, but it's one of his most entertaining. ... Read more

Reviews (12)

Must-buy for anyone even interested in Kurosawa...
I bought this as a "blind buy" at Best Buy. I had never seen any of the 4 films and had about 100 dollars in my pocket. I had been wanting to see "Seven Samurai" for the longest time but could never find it. I saw that my local Best Buy actually had a few copies and immediately picked it up. I was sure I was going to buy it when someone who worked there asked me if I had seen the box set. So he pointed me to the box set and I bought it without a second thought.

When I put in "Seven Samurai" I had never seen a Kurosawa film and 3 and a half hours later I had a new favorite film and new favorite director. The other three films, "The Hidden Fortress," "Yojimbo," and "Sanjuro" were equally amazing, most notably "Yojimbo." These films were so great that two days after buying it I bought Rashomon. I would recommend this to anyone with 80 dollars lying around and even a slight interest in seeing a Kurosawa film. You will not regret it.

It's no newborn, but it's a bundle of joy!
While I certainly can't fully recommend this set to those who already own most or all of the DVDs included within, I can recommend it to those who don't. And I do so, wholeheartedly. Not only does it look great sitting on a shelf, but the four DVDs inside are all absolute classics (all the DVDs are the exact ones released already, individually, by Criterion). Seven Samurai is, I believe, one of the greatest films ever made (perhaps THE greatest as my Listmania List suggests). Yojimbo is simply excellent as well. It's funny, phenomenally shot, terrifically acted, and contains a brilliant climax. Mifune is the ultimate screen bad @$$ in Yojimbo, and while Sanjuro isn't quite as good, it's a ton of fun just seeing Mifune reprise the role. Then there's The Hidden Fortress, the film that inspired R2-D2 and C-3PO in Star Wars. The Hidden Fortress is a superior film to the original Star Wars with excellent cinematography, adventure, and a tremendous spear battle set piece. This is a wonderful set and well worth every cent, especially if you don't own any of the Criterion releases of these films already. I personally owned all four of them prior to getting this set, and that didn't stop me. Then again, I'm what you call a Kurosawa fanatic so...just pray for me as you buy this set. :-)

Tony the Tiger would say, GRRRREAT!!!!
Awesome films by Kurosawa! It would have been nice if they were all digitally remastered with color added, but you'll have to settle for black & white which isn't too bad.

4 Timeless works of art
Akira Kurosawa usually makes it into the top 5 directors of all time on most people's lists. He set the standard for epic battle scenes and the telling of a great epic story. He is sited by many directors as their greatest influence (including George Lucas, and Steven Spielberg to name a few). Kurosawa was trained in the samurai genre with some of the early great Japanese directors. These 4 samurai films show Kurosawa at the height of perfection. A couple of these stories went on to inspire "The Magnificent Seven" and "Star Wars". With the addition of the recent Tom Cruise flick, where one can clearly see the Kurosawa foundation at work, the samurai genre is still as timeless as "Shakespeare". If we were to continue with the same analogy then Kurosawa would be considered by most to be Shakespeare himself. This DVD set is worth every penny, you will watch these films many times over.

Four classic films
Action movies like Akira Kurosawa's are a rarity. They have stories, and the action revolves around that; there's nothing used for shock, but they manage to hit you in the gut anyway. Each film in this collection of "Samurai Classics" is vivid, compelling, often humorous and stars the fantastic Toshiro Mifune.

"Seven Samurai" is the now-classic tale of an impoverished country village, which is regularly pillaged by bandits. Desperate to protect themselves, the villagers send out some young men to hire samurai to help them. What they get is a ragtag but willing band, led by a weary veteran and including an eager-puppy teen, a seeming nutcase (the predecessor of Captain Jack Sparrow?), and basically anyone who will fight for a square meal.

"Hidden Fortress" was one of the shaping influences on George Lucas's "Star Wars." In it, a general (Toshiro Mifune) and a princess are attempting to sneak across a border. The problem is, they are being helped by a pair of greedy, not-too-bright farmers (Kamatari Fujiawara and Minoru Chiaki), who bumble as often as they assist.

"Yojimbo" was an adaptation of Dashiell Hammett's "Red Harvest," the story of a detective who cleans up a city. This darkly humorous film introduces a wandering samurai-for-hire (Toshiro Mifune again), who stumbles onto a war between two clans. He's smarter than just about everyone else in the film, and so he begins playing both sides, deftly avoiding disaster as he deals with the clan war in his own way.

"Sanjuro" is probably the lightest of all Kurosawa's movies. The scruffy, wily hero of "Yojimbo" (Toshiro Mifune yet again) returns, this time taking nine naive, inept young noblemen under his wing. They have to somehow rescue the Chamberlain, his wife and young daughter from the Superintendent -- assuming that "Sanjuro's" army of nine doesn't botch it all up.

Kurosawa's filmmaking is not flawless. For example, when people are cut down in battle they have a tendency not to bleed (or they bleed too much). However, for form it can't be beaten. Battle scenes have a flash-bang intensity, or the slow, building pressure of duels. There's also early slow-motion effects, as demonstrated in "Seven Samurai" during a one-on-one fight.

Kurosawa was a lover of American cowboy flicks, and at times this shows, especially in the rugged hero of "Yojimbo" and "Sanjuro," who acts like a medieval Japanese gunslinger (he even has the piercing eyes for it). But first and foremost, these are stories -- no more and no less. Kurosawa's storytelling ability is laced with drama, humor, and all this without meandering or preaching.

For any rabid cinephile, Kurosawa's films are a must. Epic action movies with plenty of swords, mayhem and grizzled heroes don't come any better than these. ... Read more

Amazon.com

When local wag Jackie O'Shea (Ian Bannen) discovers that one of his neighbors in the village of Tulaigh Mohr is a lottery winner he sees a chance to share in the wealth. Things get complicated when Jackie and his pal Michael O'Sullivan (David Kelly) discover that the winner, Ned Devine, died of shock at the very moment he learned of becoming a millionaire. Undaunted, Jackie and Michael dispose of the lucky stiff and hatch a plot to impersonate him and claim the prize. Soon the whole village is involved and the plot rapidly thickens.

This film has been compared to The Full Monty, but it lacks the vein of desperation that added depth to that film. Instead, Waking Ned Devine is closer in tone to classic British comedies like Whisky Galore!, with its cast of eccentrics gleefully conspiring to outwit the authorities. Those with a low tolerance for twinkly eyed Irish charm might be tempted to steer clear, although the movie is saved, for the most part, by its central performances. Bannen is superb as an old man who is clearly hungry for any excitement he can drum up and David Kelly is remarkable as his scrawny sidekick. Kelly has had a long career as a character actor in film and television, but here he has a chance to really let loose.His naked motorcycle ride is a marvelous set piece and in all of his other scenes his twitchy, perfectly timed performance quite simply steals the movie. --Simon Leake ... Read more

Reviews (137)

ROFLMAO funny!
A not-to-be-missed movie about the collusion of the residents of a remote Irish village into getting the national lottery money to divide among themselves. Trouble is that the holder of the winning ticket died of shock with the winning ticket in his hand when he heard his numbers called off, so someone must pose in his place when the detective comes to verify the ID of the winner. Things get stickier and more problematic as layer upon layer of inventive Irish complications are added to the stew. The most memorable scene is probably the skinny old guy who plays the imposter, stark naked except for a helmet and boots, racing into town on a motorcycle to meet up with the lottery man to verify his bogus identity.
My favorite story about this movie has passed into family lore. I told my somewhat deaf mother she would surely enjoy it, and she persisted in mis-hearing me when I gave her the title. Ever since, in our family, it's Making God Divine or, her next best guess, Waking Teddy Klein. I finally told her to go to the video store and ask for either of those, that surely the guy behind the information desk would know what she was talking about...and he did.

Jackie and Michael try to cash in a winning lottery ticket
A charming comedy about a pair of lifelong friends, Jackie O'Shea (Ian Bannen) and Michael O'Sullivan (David Kelly), who are presented with the opportunity of a lifetime when they discover Ned Devine has died, clutching the winning ticket frm the Irish lottery in his hand. This means enlisting everybody in town to join the grand conspiracy and to share in the pot of gold. Meanwhile, in what we think is an unrelated subplot, Pig Finn (James Nesbitt) is trying to convince Maggie (Susan Lynch) to marry him and to learn if her son is his own. "Waking Ned Devine" ends up being more about friendship than greed, with the high point coming when Jackie eulogizes his friend Michael when they bury old Ned under Michael's name to fool the Lottery Official. Yes, there is a bit of fantasy here since the Lottery Office could not be so easily fooled, but what is wrong with a harmless suspension of disbelief? Filmed in beautiful locations on the Isle of Man, "Waking Ned Devine" is a gentle reminder than you can have a nice little film with good actors and a fine script that does not cost a whole lot of money.

Bit O' Irish Fun
Waking Ned Devine is a wonderful, hilarious movie that focuses on the antics of two old (but not down) men who hatch a brilliant but very risky scheme that if it works, will bring wealth to their small Irish town, but if it fails will land them in jail for fraud. The performances by all are so good, you are drawn into the movie and in love with all the characters from the start.

A subplot of romance between a beautiful single mother and an earnest (but smelly) pig farmer adds to the general warmth of the movie. The end scene is one of the most well-executed ones I have ever seen. It is a real show stopper. My brother and mother watch this movie over and over.

A PLEASANT SURPRISE
MY BROTHER HAD MENTIONED THIS MOVIE SEVERAL TIMES, AND AS I SOMEWHAT DEPEND ON RECOMMENDATIONS OF OTHERS BEFORE SITTING DOWN LONG ENOUGH TO BE ENTERTAINED, I DECIDED TO RENT "WAKING NED DEVINE" AT FIRST, IT WAS A CHUCKLE, THEN AT SOME POINT IT TURNED INTO FULL BLOWN LAUGHTER. A SWEET MOVIE, GREAT ACTORS!!
I LOVE IT ENOUGH TO BUY IT...

It's a Sleeper but it won't make You Sleepy
If hope you see this without knowing ANYthing about the movie except what I write here. Because I won't tell you anything about it. YOU are fortunate, more so than I, because you haven't seen this yet.

This is a sleeper movie, one that is far better than the public generally knows.

Be ready to enjoy a symphony of acting. If you don't like foreign films (I didn't) this may very well be the first you enjoy (and then see Run Lola Run, one that is 100% different from this but another foreign movie for people who don't think they like foreign movies). ... Read more

Description

The swashbuckling classic comes to rip-roaring life in this lavishproduction, filled with breathless romance and derring-do! In the eyes of high society, SirPercy Blakeney (Brideshead Revisited's Anthony Andrews) is a typical fop, surroundedby adoring ladies and clueless gentry. However, he is also a master of disguise and bearsan infamous secret identity: the Scarlet Pimpernel, dashing and fearless rescuer of victimsof the French Revolution! Sir Percy also falls head over heels for the beautiful Marguerite(Somewhere in Time's Jane Seymour), who is also wooed by the villainous PaulChauvelin (The Lord of the Rings' Sir Ian McKellan), Robespierre's Chief Agent for theCommittee of National Security. Suave, stylish, and utterly irresistible, this dazzlingadventure is sure to capture your heart! ... Read more

Reviews (161)

Better Each Time
It's the type of movie that I always expect to be entertaining, but not really 'great.' And every time I see it I find myself wrong. This is THE BEST adaptation of the Pimpernel. Other films have gotten some elements right but not others; this one bags them all (except that I still prefer the most recent version's interpretation of Robespierre, he's priceless). Anthony Andrews is the definitive Sir Percy: hilarious at parties, charismatic in battle, irresistable in love, and unrecognizable in every disguise. Jane Seymour is perfectly lovestruck and intense, and Ian McKellan as Chauvelin shows a man being eaten alive by jealousy. All the portrayals are larger-than-life, but suitably so, for the film has no place for realism. Scenes swing from very funny to almost painfully tense to heart-stoppingly romantic. This production hits every note right (although I wish someone would assasinate that hateful blond child). Not to be missed, definately. So why can't I buy it, I've been trying for a year now? Let's hurry up the DVD.

Sink me! But it's demmed brilliant!
Hopefully "The Scarlet Pimpernel" will someday make its way back to the big screen, but in the meantime this television version holds the place as probably the best one to date. First and foremost, the script never has a dull moment, as it's jam-packed full of romance, intrigue, suspense, and adventure. The action continuously bounces back and forth between England and revolutionary France, where the mysterious Scarlet Pimpernel is saving innocent lives from the cruel blade of Madame Guillotine. Anthony Andrews, as foppish Sir Percy Blakeney, an English aristocrat with a big secret, never fails to deliver. His droll, dry delivery of Percy's lines contrasts brilliantly with his dashing Pimpernel persona. Jane Seymour is a perfectly lovely Marguerite, entirely believeable as a spirited French actress caught between her loyalties. And Sir Ian McKellen is delightfully menacing as Citizen Paul Chauvelin, an agent of the French Republic and Marguerite's spurned lover. The plot is fast-paced, and every scene is as well done as the one before. It is truly a classic to be treasured. Unfortunately, the DVD is only a basic transfer and has no bonus material, but at least it's finally getting its due!

Great Movie, Horrible DVD
When the first second of the first scene shows you little cubes instead of people's heads, the walls, and the torches, you might think the DVD transfer has some problems. When not even the letters in the credits stay stable, you begin to wonder whether you wouldn't be better off buying an old VHS copy and turning it into a tiny-sized Divx file. ARRRRGH!

Which breaks my heart, because this version of The Scarlet Pimpernel is one of my all-time top ten movies. I'd be rating this with one star if the movie wasn't five-star. Too bad I can't actually see it!

Sink me! I'm renting it, and now I've ordered my own copy!
I've watched this movie five times in one weekend, and yet I still want to see it again. The copy currently in my DVD player is one that I'm renting. But I love this movie so much that I've ordered my own copy to add to our home library. Anthony Andrews is the best Sir Percy Blakeney/Scarlet Pimpernel that I've ever seen. I wish there was some way they could make sequels with the same cast members all looking as they did when this 1982 movie was released.

Sink me! Indeed
I took a chance and purchased this dvd purely based on your reviews. I must say that I am simply enamored by this movie. Yes, it differs to the book but it is certainly forgivable. One simply has to understand that it is based on two of Baroness Orczy books and then it all falls into place.

Now, for the movie. Anthony Andrews as the foppish/valiant Sir Percy was excellent. I thought he delivered an exceptional performance. I could not find any fault in his performance especially since the book Percy is so inane and a complete idiot...well, at least, his alter ego in any case. At times, it is so amusing to watch him, especially when he tries to undo Chauvelin. **smiles** I cannot say enough about his performance. When he is also conflicted by his love for Maguerite and his cold treatment of her, it is also beautifully done. His expressions are so real. His concern for the families of the aristos adds such a beautiful side to his character as well. You can actually see that he cares.

Jane Seymour as Maguerite was wonderful as well. The chemistry between her and Anthony Andrews was superb. They conveyed so much fire simply by a glance.

Ian Mckellan was also good. I must admit that when I realized he would play the villian that did not sit well with me (I love him as Gandalf but he really looks different out of the wizard's costume), however, it worked out well.

In conclusion, I thought this was a splendid movie. The sets, the music, the dances, etc were all engaging. There was never a dull moment. I actually ordered the film for my mum since I figure she would love it as well. Though I have never seen any of the other versions, I cannot imagine another one uprooting the love I feel for this one. It would be demmed near impossible. ... Read more

Reviews (89)

Great Historical Film
...He is correct in saying the film is great for history buffs and that is what I am (BA-Hist). This film depicts history. It is an inside look at Nazi Germany. Turn off the lights when you watch it and you will think you have a front row seat at a Nuremburg rally. It may have been produced as propaganda but what it is now is nothing short of historical documentation, regardless of how the images were woven together.

It has great footage and shows all of the regular Nazi Nuts and ones you have never seen or heard before. I loved being able to listen to them in German with subtitles instead of having a narrator. You can have that too. I bought the Special Edition DVD. The quality of this black and white film is the best I have ever seen. Special features include English subtitles and voice-over narration (all optional).

Leni did not hire Industrial Light and Magic to insert millions of regimented Nazi followers. They are the real thing. The Nazi movement clearly stirred nationalistic fervor. You cannot deny the images. They speak for themselves. The German people were caught up in a movement of incredible proportions and this movie shows you what it was like in the early years of the Third Reich. Germans killed millions and millions of Germans died in WW II. This movie will give you a very good idea of what the Allied forces were fighting against.

A most valuable historical record
It's easy to see how this now famous (or infamous) 1934 film by Leni Riefenstal could have helped reinforce Hitler's already dizzying domination of the German psyche. For our own time, it helps reveal the human complexity of the Nazi phenomenon - so much more than just a march of crazed fanatics, as it's often stereotyped today. Triumph of the Will is particularly relevant to current politics - the Austrian controversy, as well as the continued importance of various dictators who still garner so much of the media spotlight.

Sadly, the near-sightedness of the Nazi mentality and its contradictory nature were already glaringly apparent at the time the movie was shot. Hitler's frenzied admonitions to value "peace" but at the same time to cultivate "courage", bristle with contradiction and hypocrisy. Brief allusions to racial purity and clear-cut moral rectitude are darkly ominous, as are the reiterated pledges of allegiance to Hitler , the man. It's instructive to compare Nazi rhetoric with much of today's political hype. Though, as many others have pointed out, nobody else has done it with quite the same elan. Sad to think that had they watched their own film with a more discerning eye, they might have seen what we see.

From an artistic standpoint, I can appreciate why it's cited as one of the most accomplished of all propagandist vehicles. Nazi shortcomings notwithstanding, the film is stunning. Riefenstahl's contribution is self-evident - even if she didn't direct the action herself, she captured and organized it admirably. But for all that, it is still the action which is most spellbinding. The gripping facial expressions, the charismatic speeches, the thundering shouts of allegiance, the enormous scale and choreography - all of this actually took place! Combine that with historical perspective - knowing what all of it would lead to - and the movie acquires a distincively haunting quality.

I not only recommend this film to others, I strongly advise it. It captures the very essence of social fanaticism. Many will instinctively feel its primitive appeal, and then, after putting it into perspective, recognize its inherent madness. Watching this movie, appreciating the feelings it evokes and reflecting on what it all means, will make the viewer a better person.

This Special Edition is good as it gets.
The Synapse DVD Special Edition surpassed all expectations. I had Triumph of the Will on video prior to obtaining this DVD and the video's visual and audio quality was poor. By contrast, this DVD is visually very crisp and sharp and the audio quality is fine The DVD appears to be produced from an excellent original film print. I've seen another DVD of TOTW produced by different company, and its quality was the same as the video version :substandard. Make sure you get the Synapse version. This Special Edition is good as it gets.

A GREAT LOOK AT WHAT MODERN USA HAS BECOME
THIS FILM GIVES A GREAT INSIDE LOOK AT HOW THE NOW MODERN USA OPERATES IN ITS POLITICS UNDER GEORGE W BUSH. WHO IS ALOMOST A CLONE OF HITLER. I RECCOMEND THIS FILM TO ANY BUSH SUPPORTER JUST FOR THEM TO SEE HOW ALIKE BUSH AND HITLER REALLY ARE.

An Influential Masterpiece of Cinematic Propaganda
Riefenstahl's documentary made for Adolf Hitler and the NAZI party in the early 1930's. The documentary primarily covers the Nuremburg rallies and the activities that surrounded these events. Again, this is a propaganda film and was designed to stir popular sentiment and political empathy for the infamous political party.

If one understands the socio-political climate of Germany in the late 1920s and early 1930s, one can clearly see what sentiments the film seeks to evoke and hence recognize its significance and brilliant execution. For example, Germany was in a state of shambles because of the global economic depression and many Germans feared an inevitable collapse to anarchy or Bolshevism. The opening scene starts with a Wagnerian piece and shows Hitler in a plane peering down from high above the clouds as he arrives for the rally. The scene sought to reassure a worried public that The Fuhrer was omnipotent, omniscient, and was coming down from the heavens to save a troubled nation in a godlike fashion. When he arrives at the stadium, Hitler is shown walking with his SA escort out of the crowd and towards the podium instead from behind the podium to look down at the crowd; this was to instill the notion that Hitler wasn't just another Berlin bureaucrat from the old failed Weimar Republic coming to talk down to a broken people; it was done to evoke the sense that he was a man of the people for the peole: selflessly arising out of a worried crowd of fellow Germans to lead them to a better and safer future. This particular scene was so influential in film that George Lucas adapted it (and many other scenes) for the closing scene to the original Star Wars when Luke, Han, and Chewy are decorated by Lea. Other scenes of happy German blonde and blue-eyed youths or common laborers performing paramilitary/social tasks were intended to evoke a proud sense of unity, purpose, and safety amongst all true German "volk" in these troubled times. In the background, the narrative voice recites how all German women should should bear many children for the Fatherland; how men should unite for the Fatherland and not Godless Bolshevism; how youths should work to better their nation; etc., etc.

The mass communication techniques of Riefenstahl and Goebbels are still used today by virtually every modern government and media firm. This film is important not only as a histiorical tool in understanding the rise of Nazism and the dynamics of facism, it is a very important landmark in the development of film, mass entertainment and mass communication in general. I strongly believe that every person who seeks to better understand their world and media see this film at least once and study it. ... Read more