Reviews (39)

Anti-human allegory
Not everybody will be able to understand and enjoy Lars Von Trier's first film in his "Land of oportunities" trilogy, "Dogville". It is long, unusual, intelligent, sarcastic, strong, tense and even violent, among other things. I'll try to explain these adjectives in the following paragraphs.

"Dogville" is long. Very long. Almost three hours in length, divided in more than ten chapters, showing a young lady, Grace (Nicole Kidman, good as ever) reaching a small and self-centered mountain town, named Dogville. Grace, at first, stirs the sameness in Dogville's citizens' lives, trading shelter and food for a job as a housemaid in the many houses of the village; then, as time goes on, Grace will be the cause of great troubles and disagreement. The viewer must have patience, because the movie is long; it is not, however, boring. Von Trier takes his time and explores all the features he wanted to portrait in his film.

"Dogville" is unusual and intelligent. I'ts unusual because of the setting. The little town of Dogville is nothing but a stage. The many buildings (the houses, the church, the mine, and such) are marked by white paint in the floor of the stage, like a blueprint that we may open atop a table. And that's why the movie is also intelligent; as the buildings have no walls, the viewer is able to see everything that goes "on stage", even if the scene is focused only in one or two characters (but the characters act as if Dogville was a common town, with walls on their houses). This way, the viewer feels almost like in a theater. The viewers are part of the play: they have, somehow, in a distant manner, to interact with the characters on screen. The viewers themselves become citizens of Dogville.

"Dogville" is sarcastic, strong, tense and violent. For sarcasm, the title Von Trier self-imposed to his trilogy: America, land of oportunities. In fact, what happens on Dogville could happen anywhere in the world, for the story deals with selfishness, intollerance, distrust and prejudice, emotions prone to every human being. Von Trier shows that, if the United States want to be the new "center of the world", they will have to deal with their own "ghosts in the closet", before attempting to judge other societies. That's why this is a strong movie: it deals with things that most people are not ready to consider being part of their own self behaviour. It's easy to judge others, but it's hard to accept others judging us, or for us to judge ourselves. "Dogville" is tense and violent (and even ugly) because of how the characters act, and because, while watching the movie, we consider that we may not be so different from the characters at all.

"Dogville" is a very well constructed movie, with an excellent script, great (stereothyped) characters played by effective not-mainstream actors (Paul Bettany, Patricia Clarkson, Stellan Skarsgard, among others) and a provocative direction. One of the great movies of 2003.

Grade 9.4/10

A lot of bite to this movie
I'm glad to see this movie has finally made it on DVD and VHS in the States. It took a long time to do so. Lars von Trier follows up Dancer in the Dark, with an even darker view of small town life in America. In this case, we find a town quite literally at the end of the road, buried in a hollow somewhere in West Virginia, where the denizens are reduced to having to pick up the scraps left behind by others and live out a marginal existence. But, in its midst there is a dreamer, Tom, who at first appears to be the moral bellwether of the community. He tries to convince the community to take in a fugitive, evocatively played by Nicole Kidman, and finds that he has to make certain concessions in order to do so.

This film unfolds on stage in a highly theatrical telling, lending to the story the strong sense of a parable. Von Trier has assembled an impressive cast including old favorites Lauren Bacall and Ben Gazzara. The story builds slowly, with some fascinating twists and turns before reaching its shattering climax. It reminded me a lot of Shirley Jackson's classic story, The Lottery, but seems to owe more to the small town vision of Sinclair Lewis and Thornton Wilder.

I suppose some will be turned off by von Trier's disturbing view of small town life, but this film is masterfully handled, and shows what an accomplished director he is, drawing the most from his actors, in particular Nicole Kidman.

"Are you for us or against us?"
Every so often, a director appears who seems determined to antagonize and challenge his or her audiences. One such filmmaker would be Lars von Trier, the creator of such uncomfortable viewing experiences as "Breaking the Waves" (in which Emily Watson's character had conversations with God and played both roles) and "Dancer in the Dark" (featuring Bjork as a guileless, nearly blind factory worker who winds up on death row, thanks to bad luck and poor communication).

His "Dogville," a parable about how community spirit can either elevate or destroy people, is lengthy chronicle of Depression-era America that's played out entirely on a large, sparsely furnished soundstage. Nicole Kidman, Paul Bettany, Lauren Bacall and others play their scenes not on actual sets, but inside chalk-drawn rectangles meant to symbolize various locations. While Kidman's character Grace Margaret Mulligan talks about finding herself in "a beautiful little town in the midst of magnificent mountains," all the viewer can see is a bunch of scattered chairs, a few wooden arches and a blank white scrim that serves as the backdrop. Locations with such picturesque names as Raccoon Road and Elm Street have no raccoons and no elms to offer.

This is, obviously, at heart a theatrical piece that's heavily dependent on lighting, sound effects and, more than anything else, the passion of the performers to put it over. For many viewers, "Dogville" will be nothing more than a curiosity piece that quickly exhausts the patience; for others, it may be a mind-bending experiment in determining exactly where stagecraft and the art of film can intersect.

It could all have been insufferably pretentious -- and at times, it comes perilously close to being exactly that -- yet the movie does have its own bitter humor, a few vividly etched characters and a kind of offbeat flavor that's admittedly an acquired taste.

Unfolding in nine chapters (plus a prologue), "Dogville" is the story of Grace, a pale young woman who hides behind her dishwater-blonde hair and tries exceedingly hard to please everyone around her, often to her own disadvantage. She stumbles into Dogville (population: approximately 15) after escaping some gangsters and she hopes to find shelter in the backwoodsy hamlet, even though the inhabitants don't seem to have much of anything to spare.

Local philosopher and would-be intellectual Tom Edison (Bettany) takes an immediate interest in the soft-spoken stranger, but most of his fellow Dogvillians (including Patricia Clarkson as a prissy sort, Phillip Baker Hall as a sickly physician, Jeremy Davies as Tom's dopey buddy and Chloe Sevigny as a curly-haired cutie) cast a wary eye in Grace's direction, at least until she volunteers to help out around the place. Suddenly, everyone is quite fond of her -- and why not, when she's willing to work for free? -- and Grace finds herself laboring day and night for mostly thankless bosses. "There's an awful lot to do here in Dogville, considering no one needs help," Grace muses, as she scurries from task to task.

In von Trier's eyes, the residents of Dogville represent not just the stereotypical "ugly Americans," but the very ugliest America has to offer: On the average day, they're merely suspicious, hostile and greedy, but when something really gets them worked up, they're capable of every kind of abhorrent behavior, including the enslavement of the weak and sexual humiliation.

Despite the vaguely 1930s setting, "Dogville" is very clearly designed as a skewering of the jingoistic, anti-foreigner sentiments that swept certain corners of the U.S. in the months following the 9/11 attacks. In the story, the community's happiest times come, not coincidentally, around July 4; not long afterward, circumstances cause most of Grace's new "friends" to turn on her. Even the children Grace has taken care of resort to blackmail to get what they want, as the adults begin barking slogans like, "Are you for us, or against us?"

Kidman, in a performance as emotionally stark as any she's ever given, makes Grace's journey achingly real, even though everything around her is deliberately artificial. Initially, Kidman and von Trier had planned to collaborate on a trilogy of stories following Grace's misadventures, but Kidman has since pulled out of that project. Considering what the director puts her through in "Dogville," it's not hard to guess why she didn't sign up for more.

Priceless lesson.
All angles of Von Trier's genius bursting in this movie have been more or less thoroughly explained in the previous posts. I'd just like to add one thing that wasn't much talked about, yet I thing it was the crown jewel of this movie.

Yes, the movie is a brilliant study of characters and (dark) human nature, but more importantly it gives viewer a priceless lifetime lesson. It displays a battle between moral purity, youthful idealism and unaware-of intellectual arrogance on one hand and pure-and-simple concept of responsibility on the other. It is in fact this battle that squeezes and twists our stomach throughout the whole movie; it is this opposition which, in all its clarity, finally unveils itself in the final dialogue. Intellectual exchange of argument defines the "winner". And leaves the viewer contemplating, speechless in awe.

A masterpiece that raised the bar of cinematographic creativity on a brand new level.

Flawed Masterpiece from Von Trier
I don't want to repeat what a lot of the reviews have said. Yes, Von Trier has done an excellent job, the set was a brilliant choice to film on, and the acting is all excellent. I just wanted to point out a few flaws I felt the film had.

First, it did not have to be 180 minutes long. I understand the long time Von Trier took to introduce us to the town of Dogville, because it made everything that followed in the story more powerful because of the understanding we had for the village and it's characters. However, Von Trier proved his point again, and again, and again. I felt between the two and a half hour point and three hour point that a lot could have been cut. The story lost its fury and steam through that half hour. It felt like rambling, and it could have been condensed in the screenplay to still showcase everything the filmaker wanted to.

Next, one of the reviewers said that critics "pounced" on this film for being anti American and gave it bad reviews. They didn't. Most reivews of Dogville are positive, and those that aren't clearly state problems with the film, and not the anti Americanism in it.

Finally, I felt like Von Trier took all this time, three hours to be exact, to construct this pretty darn good cry out against humanity, and not America, and then after the powerful ending the credits just let me down. I felt like Von Trier took all that time creating this masterpiece, only to side swipe it with a cheap jab at America. Those who say it's not anti American need to review it again. The end credits play over homeless people to the tune of David Bowie's I'm Afraid of AMERICANS. HELLO, thats a big clue people! The film itself is not anit American I believe, but the end credits really let you know what Von Trier thinks. The end creidts also felt like they had no relation to the film. After watching the bare bones scenery, set to classical music, the glam rock Bowie tune did not fit at all. It was cheap, sloppy, and unfortunate that it degraded such a fine piece of cinema. Bad choice Von Trier. It quickly numbed the sting I felt after the actual film ended, instead of letting it stay.

Overall, see this film if you are curious about it. It is a mini masterpiece from Von Trier, but a flawed one at that. ... Read more

Reviews (470)

VERY funny and original
Yeah, the F-word is uttered about 500 times, the lead character is either drinking or smoking grass all the time, and the core plot was probably written on a couple bar napkins at 2:00 a.m. But this is a laugh-out-loud masterpiece, full of both subtle humor and farce/slapstick. To those who are tired of unfunny Hollywood comedies (does the name "Adam Sandler" mean anything to you?), this is a breath of fresh air. Marvelously inventive in its concept and presentation, with dialogue that almost demands that you watch the movies again. The fact that I came of age in the 60s and was a dedicated stoner for a number of years undoubtedly enhanced my appreciation of this flick. But anyone with a taste for over-the-top humor and quirky characters will love it. While Jeff Bridges was quite good, John Goodman's character is the most memorable in recent memory. BTW, after seeing this movie, you'll never be able to think of the drink "white russian" without laughing.

A very interesting movie..
You wouldn't expect anything lesser from the makers of Fargo and Raising Arizona, arguably two fantastic movies in their own right. The B L is a freaky comedy without any situational plot in particular but weirdly engaging in the theme and its treatment nevertheless.

It's about a man named Jeff Lebowski, who calls himself the Dude, and is described by the narrator as the laziest man in LA County. He lives only to go bowling, but is mistaken for a millionaire named the Big Lebowski, with funny consequences. The Dude is played by Jeff Bridges with a goatee, a potbelly, a ponytail and a pair of Bermuda shorts so large they may have been borrowed from his best friend and bowling teammate, Walter Sobchak (John Goodman). Their other teammate is Donny (Steve Buscemi), who may not be very bright, but it's hard be sure since he never is allowed to complete a sentence.

Los Angeles in this film is a zoo of peculiar characters. One of the funniest is a Latino bowler named Jesus (John Turturro), who is seen going door to door in his neighborhood on the sort of mission you read about, but never picture anyone actually performing. The Dude tends to have colorful hallucinations when he's socked in the jaw or pounded on the head, which happens often, and one of them involves a musical comedy sequence inspired by Busby Berkeley. (It includes the first point-of-view shot in history from inside a bowling ball.)

Some may complain The Big Lebowski rushes in all directions and never ends up anywhere. That isn't the film's flaw, but its style -- ala "Go" and "Swingers". The Dude, who smokes a lot of pot and guzzles White Russians made with half-and-half, starts every day filled with resolve, but his plans gradually dissolve into a haze of missed opportunities and missed intentions. Most people lead lives with a third act. The Dude lives days without evenings.

Definitely a light hearted allround enjoyable movie -- something that deserves more than 9 reviews at Amazon! (as of this writing)

gay
this movie really sucks hairy old fat balls. what kind of trashy filth is this? it dosen't even make sence.

Times like these call for a Big Lebowski.
While I haven't seen the latest Coen Brothers films, like Intolerable Cruelty (2003) or The Lady Killers (2004), I have seen all their movies since O Brother, Where Art Thou? (2000), and I can say I've never been disappointed, and that certainly holds true for The Big Lebowski (1998), the film, not received well by the critics, they made after their Oscar winning film Fargo (1996). While it may not have been a critical success, it is one of my favorite films, and one the rarely gathers dust on my shelf, as I've seen it a few times.

The film boasts quite a cast of actors including Jeff Bridges, John Goodman, Jullianne Moore, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Tara Reid, Ben Gazzara, Sam Elliot along with a few veterans of previous Coen brothers films like Steve Buscemi, John Tuturro, and Peter Stormere. So what is the film about? Well, I'll tell you...The film, which takes place in California in the early 90's, starts off with a little expository by a narrator known as The Stranger (Sam Elliot) giving us a little detail about the main character, Jeffery Lebowski aka The Dude, played by Bridges, who seems to have put on a bit of weight for the role, and sports long hair much like that he had when he was in the 1976 flopperino remake of King Kong. Anyway, the first thing you notice about The Dude is he is extremely laid back, very possibly a casualty of the California counterculture of the 60's and early 70's who seems perfectly content to take each day as it comes. While returning to his modest rental home one night, he finds two thuggish men waiting for him, one who soon acquaints The Dude's head with the inside of The Dude's toilet, while the other decides to despoil The Dude's living room rug in the manner of a unhousebroken dog. Seems these two men work for a smut peddler named Jackie Treehorn, and are looking to collect money owed to Mr. Treehorn by Jeffery Lebowski's wife, Bunny (Reid). Only thing is they got the wrong Jeffery Lebowski. Seeking reimbursement for his rug, The Dude visits the other Jeffery Lebowski, an older, well-to-do wheelchair bound man whose young trophy wife seems to have amassed quite a debt to a number of people, including Mr. Treehorn. This meeting sets into motion a complicated series of events including kidnapping which evolves into a mystery, a ransom request for one million dollars, a suitcase of dirty underwear, a stolen car, an altercation with nihilists, various beatings, guns, a bowling tournament, interpretive dance, a sexual liaison, a ferret, some drugs, painting in the nude, the removal of a toe, a wicky drug-induced dream sequence, copious amounts of profanity and even a death, all with The Dude right smack in the middle.

Jeff Bridges is wonderful as The Dude, a laid back individual with a self awareness few possess having to deal with harshness put upon him by circumstances just always a bit out of his control. He ends up basically going with the flow, finally stumbling on a moment of clarity as the mystery resolves itself. The funniest scenes usually involve The Dude, his friend and bowling teammate Walter Sobchek (Goodman), and fellow friend Donny (Buscemi) as their conversations, riddled with ludicrous tangents, usually devolve into heated debates and personal attacks, usually with Donny getting the worst of it. One of the things I like so much about this film is there is just so much going on, much of which may seem unrelated to the main plot, but I think it's purposeful, weaving an thick, intricate, colorful tapestry right before your eyes and definitely requires numerous viewings, just to soak it all up. There is definitely a beginning, a middle, and an end here, but the path between is very convoluted at times, but not confusing, if that makes sense. Normally I dislike dream sequences in films, as they often tend to be a mish mash of stylistic tripe, but the one in this film was truly enjoyable and laden with symbolism relating to the events preceding it, and even utilizes a song I consider to be a classic in that of Just Dropped In (To See What Condition My Condition Was In) by Kenny Rogers and the First Edition. It was funny, because the core of the story is based on a mystery, but I spent little time in trying to decipher it, as I was so intrigued with everything that was going on, the related and seemingly unrelated material. A word of warning, though, as I've mentioned before, there is a good amount of profanity throughout the film, so if you are easily offended, you might steer clear of this movie.

The film is offered in both wide screen and full screen format, and the picture quality is good, but not as good as I would have expected with such a recent release. Some scenes seemed a bit dark, and there was a slight fuzziness at times, but nothing very notable unless you are seated very close to the screen (I normally refrain from getting so picky, but I've seen this film a number of times). Special features are pretty slim, including a 30-minute interview with the Coen brothers on the making of the film, along with a teaser trailer and cast biographies. I didn't care for presentation much, as after putting the disc in your player, you are directed to pick a format, wide screen or full screen, and the movie would start playing, skipping entirely over the menu, presenting it only after completion of the film, or by pressing the menu button on the remote. This is most common on older or extremely cheap releases (this was originally released in 1998, and then again in 2003 with no enhancements or changes). If any film was ripe for an enhanced special edition re-release, this is it.

Cookieman108

The Coens at their best
I saw this when it came out and didn't get it. After Fargo, The Big L just seemed like a loser's mystery that never went anywhere. A year later my friends are cracking me up doing movie quotes and it helped me see it in a new light. The movie is hilarious! It's awkward at first because the Coens are messing with you, setting up expectations and constantly doing something else instead. Once you're in on the game, sit back, make a white russian, and let the funny happen. ... Read more

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Masterpiece or masquerade? Lars von Trier's digicam musical split the critics in two when it debuted at Cannes in 2000. There were those who saw it as a cynical shock-opera from a manipulative charlatan, others wept openly at its scenes of raw emotion and heart-rending intensity. There is, however, no in-between. Dancer in the Dark is that rarest of creatures, a film that dares to push viewers to the limits of their feelings.

In her first and most probably last screen performance (she has foresworn acting after her bruising on-set rows with von Trier), brittle Icelandic chanteuse Björk plays Selma, a Czech immigrant living in a folksy American small town with her young son, Gene. Selma is going blind and so will Gene if she does not arrange an important operation for him. To cover the expense, Selma works every hour she can, cheating on her eye tests so she can keep working at the local factory long after her vision has become too unreliable to work safely. She sublets a house from a local cop, Bill (David Morse), and his wife, Linda (Cara Seymour). When nearly bankrupt Bill asks Selma for a loan, she refuses, but he later returns and steals the money, which she demands back in a furious confrontation. In the ensuing melee, Bill is fatally shot and Selma is arrested and put on trial. Will justice prevail?

Von Trier's passionate, provocative film runs all our emotional resources dry with suspense, giving us occasional flashes into Selma's gold heart and mind with superb song-and-dance numbers she conjures to banish the nightmare (Björk also wrote the score). At some two-and-a-half hours, it's not for lightweights, but anyone bored with today's smug, "ironic" cinema will relish this as an astonishing assault on the senses and a stark reminder of von Trier's uncompromising talent. --Damon Wise ... Read more

Reviews (260)

Au contraire mon Frere!!...
I beg to differ with the opinion of the last reviewer! Dancer in the Dark is unlike most films you would see in regular "mainstream" cinema. The innocent character, Selma, played by Bjork, draws you straight into her story and keeps your attention. This is a wonderful story about a hard-working immigrant mother slaving her days to make a better life for her young son and daydreams mostly about musicals, which sometimes lands her in trouble. In her daydreaming, Selma has a tendency to create a musical of her own which is played out in the movie scenes as well. The diversity of the camera angles, and not using your typical still-cam, gives the viewer the perspective that you are watching Selma over her shoulder with all the trajedies, mishaps, and comedic times.

Bjork plays such a wonderful role and obviously has taken the character's personality to heart as she gives an absolute stunning performance. This film deserves much more credit than the last reviewer has given. With Bjork helping in the creation of the musical score any fan would appreciate this dramatic film.

If you are someone to pull apart a film piece by piece then maybe this film will not be for you. From an artistic point of view, there are some quirky points to the film...the flow of some dialog between some characters, the distorted camera scenes...but it all makes for a stunning performance. In essence, it all works together.

I wouldn't say it is a masterpiece, but it stil deserves 5 stars in ratings. Give the film a chance. Bjork will grow on you. Selma will grow on you and the film as well.

A complex & devastating work of art
There is so much pain going on in "Dancer in the Dark," it's almost impossible to begin to explain. But one thing that I can say is that it was one of the most original and nostalgic (in its fallback on being a musical) and devastating movies I've ever seen. Believe me, only the truly perceptive and seeking filmgoers will understand and appreciate the film's message.

However, one thing that was a little distracting (yet, also, I think it added to the rawness of film and its subject matter) was the shaky camera work close-ups. At times, you'll want to spring for the bottle of asprin to overcome an oncoming headache via watching the film, but restrain. Just finish the movie. If the headache is still there, then you've experienced "Dancer in the Dark."

The last 10 minutes of this movie is probably the most riveting, suspenseful and adrenaline-pumping movie sequence I've ever seen. Bjork's voice, facial expressions and inner emotion bleed through her body in a way that is both unsettling and undeniably powerful.

I must say that I'm no Bjork music fan, but the songs in the film did touch me. They were so radical, so inventive, so simple and bizarre, if you will, that it's almost impossible to not simply appreciate them for being so outlandish. But nonetheless, the movie is really about suffering.

You can draw many symbolisms to Selma's (Bjork) lonely, simple and heartbreaking character, one being almost christological. (that may be a stretch, but it's valid if you look closely at the film, what Selma's purpose was and how she was "wrongly" accused in a sense and then attempted to be put to death) Either way though, it still is a pretty amazing movie. I can't believe I wrote this much. Movies that make me want to write this much about them are truly unique. "Dancer in the Dark" is one of the precious few. Devastatingly powerful and unflinchingly raw. See it. (all of it)

A beautiful, utterly devastating movie.
Björk, an accomplished singer from Iceland who is best known for her progressive music, unusual style, and quirky personality, absolutely should have won Academy Awards for the her outstanding score and sublime performance in this phenomenally beautiful, yet utterly sad motion picture. Why she didn't is beyond my capacity for reason, and is a testament to a commercialized Hollywood that rarely bats an eye at outstanding independent filmmaking.
Working beside a knockout cast (including Joel Grey, Catherine Deneuve, David Morse, and Stellan Skarsgård), Björk plays Selma, a woman who copes with the increasing difficulties of her life through music. She suffers from a degenerative blindness, which causes her to lose her job - a significant loss, since she had been saving money to pay for an operation that would prevent the same blinding disease from befalling her son. All the while, the cruel world around her works against her undying selflessness, and, in the end, she unfairly pays the ultimate price.
Not since "West Side Story" has music been more of a compliment to a movie than it is in this musical. The music, arranged and composed by Björk (and performed with original, effective choreography), is almost a being in itself, popping in at a moments notice when Selma hears the slightest rhythm of a passing train, a metal press, or even the light scratching of a pencil on paper. It is through music that Selma finds her escape from an increasingly hostile world...and us along with her.
This movie, phenomenally written and directed by Lars von Trier, raises the soul and the spirit, then brings it crashing to the ground as we witness the martyrdom of one of the most stirring and decent characters in recent memory. Yet, despite the inevitable depression you may feel at the movie's end, you will feel fortunate to have even encountered a soul such as Selma in the first place.

Simply the best...
The first time I watched "Dancer in the Dark", I had already listened to a good portion of Bjork's music, primarily her "Post" album. However, I do not remember if I watched DITD because of her or if because my sister recommended it. Probably a combination of both. Either way, watching this movie was probably one of the most emotional events of my life. I have never ever seen a movie more intense or moving than DITD and I recommend this film to anyone who would like to really feel again for a character who truly is beautiful and fulfills the highest ideal of any human being.
Let me just say that while this movie is rated R, there is little if any profanity and no sexual content whatsoever. Rather, this film is probably rated for its extremely intense displays of violence. In the scene where Selma "kills" David Morse's character, there is a sense that Selma does not want to do what she is doing and you can sense this in her sobbings as she slams a large metal box over Morse's face.
The final scene at the gallows is without a doubt one of the most cringing and intense scenes in movie history, rivaled probably only by the end of Part 1 of the Green Mile.
DITD takes you places that you most likely would not voluntarily want to go in real life. Selma's sacrifice for her blind son is so beyond 'average American humanity'. Although Selma believes in communism (heaven forbid, so Anti-American!), her selfless actions prove that there are no real lines of separation in our world. The lines we believe are there are only imaginary.
I truly recommend DITD for Anybody; however, please be prepared; DITD could just change your 'vision' of things forever.

Compare to "the Passion of Joan of Arc"
Lars Von Trier must have seen The Passion of Joan of Arc and liked it so much that he decided to make a movie (or a trilogy of movies) that parallelled the same female martyrdom. If you have seen the Passion of Joan of Arc, then you have seen a real masterpiece, perhaps the best movie of all time. It's no wonder why Von Trier would want to copy it.

In both Carl Dreyer (ironically another Danish director from the 20s)'s film trying to take the material from another country's story (Jeanne d'Arc), the main character is put on interrogation for being criminal when she was in fact more saintly than her interrogators. Falconetti, like Bjork, the main character of Dancer in the Dark, decided never to act again after the traumatic experience.

Both Carl and Lars liked to purposefully film from a strange tortured angular way so as to thoroughly torment the viewer. Lars's camera holding technique was more painful to experience, because he sometimes shook the camera, as if it were a home video making me want to practically throw up at times. But in both films, the way that the camera is held, and the scenes are viewed give the viewer more reason to feel sympathy for the main character's plight, (in Bjork's case, that she was blind and poor and a single mother who needed to work to take care of her kid) ...(and in Falconetti's case, that she was imprisoned and humiliated for freeing her country of intruders.) Each character always seemed cornered out, or set aside from whatever reality they had to confront.

The depiction of Selma by Bjork was just as honest and heartfelt and raw and real and tormenting to experience as Falconetti's portrayal of Jeanne d'Arc. In both films, the acting is more as if the actors arent's actors but they just let the character of their story possess them and speak through them.

Also in both films, the music is incredibly powerful and moving and enhances the emotional situations that both women had to undergo and confront and overcome, even in martyrdom. In DITD, the music is modernly inspired electronic music composed by Bjork and sung by Bjork, and has beats made from normal sounds in the surroundings in the film, whereas in the Passion of Joan of Arc, the music score was only added to the silent movie 50 years afterwards, ...after the film was salvaged from its disappearance in a fire and found in the attic of a Norwegian insane asylum. The Passion of Joan of Arc's music was done by a modern composer as well (Richard Einhorn) and sung by a choir and a female quartet of singers called Anonymous 4.

I'm sure that other comparisons can be made, if one views both movies in the same night. My only complaint is that both movies leave you with the feeling that this sacrosaintly behavior from honest, defiant women who dare to step out of the lines and do what their heart, or their spirituality tells them to do, only get squashed in the end. It's a real depressing view of mankind and what devastation we are capable of.

Leave it to two Danes to critique American society (in Dancer in the Dark, and Dogville) or tell the story of a French saint who was slandered as a heretic (in the Passion of Joan of Arc.) Carl Dreyer got censored, his film was lost in a fire for 50 years and then found in an insane asylum, only to be restored and upgraded with a soundtrack that he never asked for but which made his film even more powerful. Perhaps Jeanne's spirit was playing tricks on the movie that tried to portray her plight, and that's why it (the film negatives) went up in flames (as did she, in the end) and were lost for 50 years only to be found in an insane asylum (coincidence? ...her interrogators accused her of lunacy and of conspiracy with the devil...like a crazy person, or a witch) and then when the negatives were found, they were treated like a treasure, just as Jeanne was only called a saint hundreds of years after her death.

Maybe Von Trier will be just as cursed by the stories he tries to tell, (he tries to talk about America when he's never even stepped foot here, and never probably will) only that his are ficticious stories, and DITD was brought to life only by a fierce force to be reckoned with...a practically pagan and mystical Icelandic woman who can believe wholeheartedly in her character, Selma, and in the apparent reality and gravity of her situation, just as the people of Iceland can seriously believe in elves and gnomes possessing rocks and mountains and rivers. (Icelandic people will build a road around a rock instead of destroying it, because they believe that the gnomes/elves would be disturbed or mad if they destroyed the rock or moved it.) I think that this belief in characters and in spirits is obvious in Bjork's way of acting and being Selma and being true to Selma's plight, ...just as true as Falconetti was to Jeanne d'Arc's plight. ... Read more

Amazon.com

With a cast composed entirely of dwarfs, Werner Herzog (Aguirre, the Wrath of God) tells a tale of asylum inmates taking over the asylum. The institution's governor is holed up in his own home with a rebel hostage to keep him company. As the inmates' wrangling for the release of their fellow captive comes to naught, all symbols of ordered society are mocked and brought to a shambles. Typewriters are smashed, flowers are set on fire, a dinner ceremony ends with the slapstick smashing of plates, a monkey is tied to a crucifix and paraded in solemn observance, chickens resort to cannibalism. All vestige of order is disrupted in Herzog's blackly humorous, fatalistic parable, leaving us with nothing but the mad, strident cackling of a dwarf. It's not just that the dwarfs are grotesques, but that we all are grotesques in this eerie little world, and it's only through Herzog's eye that we see this clearly. This deceptively simple story builds with amazing power from beginning to end, brutal and compassionate, uncompromising and mad. --Jim Gay ... Read more

Reviews (15)

MAD MAD MAD...MAD
I can't believe I hadn't seen or even heard about this insanely maniacal film for so many years. Although I've seen some of Herzog's later work with mixed reactions, EVEN DWARFS has made an undeniable and indelible mark on my brain. I thought it was going to be some stupid midget comedy (ala "Terror of Tiny Town"), but instead it's a raw, disturbing nightmare of a world gone mad....and every actor in it is a midget (or "little person"). Don't expect "Wizard of Oz" here, folks.... there are many stark images and an increasingly ominous mood throughout. Coupled with some scenes of mild animal abuse, you may want to keep your "little people" from watching this one. However, even with the sense of dread and psychosis, there is plenty of humor generated throughout from the cast of midgets who obviously gave their all. And Herzog's "real life" approach to filming makes his characters even more real -- they may look at the camera or react in real terror or laugh --- it's almost like Herzog has pulled us as viewers into his celluloid nightmare and we find ourselves reacting the same way as some of his cast are to the surrounding events. This is ultra-cinema.

Anchor Bay's DVD has a very enlightening commentary track by Herzog who clears up that the camel's knee ligaments were not severed for the film (the camel was not hurt in any way) and talks about how one of the midgets got run over and caught on fire during the shooting (he lived). He speaks about how stupid chickens are, too, and after you see the mouse scene with the stupid chicken walking back and forth a million times, you'll agree. Crazy actor Crispin Glover is also on the commentary track because apparently he was inspired by Herzog's film to make his own related upcoming "dwarfs" film (I can't wait).

EVEN DWARFS may not be for all tastes (if you find stuff like "Forrest Gump" entertaining - skip this one!). But, if you are MAD MAD MAD and like stuff like "Eraserhead" and "Gummo" - then check out these mad midgets. "Hehehehehehehheheehehehe"....

incredible film
werner herzog is a difficult director and he doesn't let the audience off easy. while a film like 'aguirre' is enjoyable on a surface level films like 'dwarves' require further thought. when i first saw this film i wasn't really into it but after listening to the commentary, seeing a few more of herzog's films and reading a book about him i appreciate what he is doing. the images and ideas that werner herzog commits to film are from a special place and anyone who has heard of the fantastic stories surrounding the production of a film like "fitzcaraldo" can see herzog's devotion to his art. in a profession filled with creativity and eccentricity herzog towers above all as a true oddity. this reputation has resulted in his ability to make films that are far from digestible for over 30 years. his talent and powerful personality make him worthy of attention and appreciation.

Genius
There is nothing I love more than a dwarf, after he has simply torn his world to pieces, laughing at a defecating camel for five minutes and then coughing because he laughed too hard.

Did you know? Werner Herzog promised that at the end of the film he would jump into some cactus to show that he understood the pain he was subjecting the cast to. He did this.

VERY strange indeed
This is a very, very, very bizarre film indeed, there is not much I can add to that, it is funny( but, should it be? ) and it's very different to anything out there, if you want to enjoy an easier film with more dwarves than you have ever seen, running riot then watch "Under The Rainbow" !
But it is a very interesting film to say the least.

bravo!!! 5 stars all the way
This one is a keeper . . . a warm, family movie for those cold wintery nights when your extended family is staying over for the holidays. This and a few 30 packs of Natural Ice Lights makes for great family fun. ... Read more

Amazon.com

The films of Werner Herzog are often marked by physically punishingcircumstances that test the endurance of the characters. InWoyzeck, based on the classic German expressionist play by GeorgBuchner, all the punishment is within. Klaus Kinski stars as Woyzeck, adisturbed soldier subjected to dubious scientific experiments andmaltreatment from his superiors. His only solace is his lover, Marie(Eva Mattes)--so when he begins to suspect her of infidelity, his jealousyswiftly turns murderous. The movie is shot with unusual simplicity, oftenin long sustained shots that demand focused, disciplined performances.Both of the main actors rose to the task; Mattes was awarded BestSupporting Actress at the Cannes Film Festival and Kinski creates aharrowing portrait of fragile desperation. It's a reminder that, thoughbest known for his volcanic frenzies, Kinski could vividly portray allsides of the human condition. --Bret Fetzer ... Read more

Description

Gena Rowlands plays a nervous actress on the brink of a breakdown as she prepares for the opening night of her Broadway play. The entire movie takes place in the few days prior to the opening and shows the backstage turmoil of a doomed production. Rowlands begins to fall apart when an adoring fan dies in an accident and she is forced to look hard at her life. Starring: Gena Rowlands, John Cassavetes, Joan Blondell, Ben Gazzara. ... Read more

Reviews (22)

All future generations shall see this movie
"The Book of Life" as most reviewers say here it's very thought provoking, and powerful film, and it's like a dream that in the rest of your life, you shall never forget, every human being on this planet should see it, the music, the camera work, the script, the acting, make this movie feel very real, i strongly recommend you to buy the DVD, not the VHS,on VHS the movie almost looses it's power, but in any format specially on DVD, it's still captivating, on amazon, now "The Unbeliveable Truth" another movie by our dear friend Hal Hartley has camed up, and as this movie it's one of his best movies, also i also strongly recommend you to buy the soundtrack, and if you loved this movie, or at least liked it, check out "Ghost in the Shell", "Henry Fool" or "Princess Mononoke".

Excellent New Years Eve Movie
This is a superb film by Hal Hartley. Part of a European project on views of the millenium, Hartley submits a film that only an American could make. It is very slick, due in part to his use of digital film. The music complements the scenes perfectly (and the soundtrack makes a great CD too!). The movie traces an introspective Jesus on New Years Eve trying to end the world (think of it as the old black and white The Horn Blows and Midnight redone for the 21st century). In presenting the story the movie is a travelogue for NYC- and has an excellent NY feel- from the hotel bar, to the times square music store, to the Russian restaurant (note that the lights say TRUTH and FAITH in Russian) and in the street. It is uniquely American (in the millenium film group) in that it plays off the city, the law, and the business deal to make its point.

This movie humanises Jesus, but at the same time avoids the intentional controversy around, say, a Last Temptation of Christ. In addition, the character of the devil is really a joy to watch. This movie will make you think.

The only weakness is a rather sappy ending. I suppose it is a tricky film to end, but I found all but the last 5 minutes on the staten island ferry to be wonderful, but those last five were really not worthy of the rest of the film.

beyond belief
Living in England, I doubted I would ever get to see this short, let along actually own it. This is a multiregional release, so us Limeys can purchase the DVD as well as you darned Yankees. The film itself is only an hour or so, but succeeds on every level - there's not an ounce of fat on it. A freewheeling take on millenial apocalypse, it stars Hartley veteran (and all round object of desire) as, appropiately, God versus Thomas Jay Ryan's delicious Satan. A superb supporting cast including PJ Harvey (a revelation) and Hartley's better half Miho Nikado help bolster this humorous and theologically inventive piece into the realms of pure cinematic joy. Thomas Jay Ryan's Satanic deliveries to camera are superb. His best film? Quite possibly. Go on, shoot me. Reccomended without hesitation to all.

touching and thoughtful
I bought this DVD a couple years ago. Being a PJ Harvey fan, I was curious to see her acting debut. Well, turned out to be her only role actually, as she hasn't acted since. She did a fine job, certainly didn't embarrass herself anyway. I was familiar with Hal Hartley, but hadn't seen anything by him prior to this movie. I've since seen 'Henry Fool' and enjoyed that. The same lead in that film plays Satan in this film and does a good job. He's quite amusing.

My initial reaction to this film was a little indifferent. Somewhat amusing and interesting, but not much beyond that. I've watched it several times since then, in bits and pieces mostly, and I enjoy it much more now.

I do share some of the complaints about the jerky camera motion, which gets annoying quickly for me. I like some of the other unique touches, like the microphone set-up throughout the movie in various locations for the Devil to pontificate from. It was a risky maneuver, but it works here.

I thought the last scene was quite touching, with Jesus on a barge, tossing the "book of life" into the water as he contemplates the fate of mankind. That speech makes me tear-up everytime!

For those interested in getting the DVD, just be aware that there are no extras on this disc. Maybe that's good news. I know sometimes I find the extras to be a burden as you feel obligated to watch all the extras. I strongly endorse the soundtrack (if you can find it). Lots of good stuff there.

If you are a fan of either Hartley or PJ Harvey for that matter, I see no reason why you shouldn't watch this movie. I really think it's worth owning too, if you are a big fan of either.

typical Hal Hartley
Martin Donovan (Trust) plays Jesus and Thomas Jay Ryan (Henry Fool) is the Devil as the clock ticks down on the last day of the world in Manhattan. Jesus agonizes over unlocking the seven seals of the apocalypse on his Apple laptop, verbally battles the Devil, and walks around NYC with Magdalene (PJ Harvey) on this most eventful of days.

This is a typical Hal Hartley film -- incredible premise, great actors, and creative but cheap production. I enjoyed the film even though the glaring lights and jerky camera got old -- at just over 60 minutes you don't have time to get too annoyed :-)

Extras are minimal -- credits and filmographies for Hartley and Donovan.

A worthwhile addition to Hartley's ouevre but as often happens with this talented director, one feels that the potential was greater than the execution. ... Read more

Reviews (14)

thoughtful treatment of the effects of war
This may be a minor film by Kurosawa, but anyone else would be thrilled to have made something so beautiful and thought-provoking. The film follows four children (the oldest is about to start college) who are visiting their grandmother in Nagasaki for the summer. They learn that their grandfather was killed (forty-five summers before) in the 1945 bombing of Nagasaki, and try to understand what that means for them now. Slowly, they come to understand both their grandmother and themselves better. This is a thoughtful treatment of the use of the atomic bomb, in large part because it manages to be profoundly anti-war without being hostile toward America. You will never forget the grandmother.

Grandma
I've always associated Akira Kurosawa with battle, Samurai battle. Yet, I find this Kurosawa film to be the strongest anti-war film I've seen (_Thin Red Line_ runs second).

Grandma stirs my repulsion for war and capitalism. Sachiko Murase, who plays Grandma, delivers one of the most powerful performances I've ever seen: dripping with 100% authenticity. Grandma frequently caused me to shed tears and I give her my Oscar for best actress.

Grandma lives simply. Yet her simplicity has been corroded, possessed by the ghosts of war, specifically the bombing of Nagasaki. She suffers loss, flashbacks, and mutation. She takes solace in Buddhism and non-violence, but "the eyes of the flash" always watch her. The "eyes of the flash" make it difficult for Grandma to live in the present moment.

Grandma, like a brave samurai, battles her own children to preserve her family's history and heritage. She utilizes not sword, bullet, or bomb, rather she leads by example and teaches via oral histories. Her children bow to the altar of American capitalism and the grandchildren idolitize American culture (daily clothing themselves in American t-shirts: M.I.T., New York Mets, USC Trojans, SMU, Brooklyn). Grandma assures that we viewers also not forget the horrors of the bombing of Nagasaki or the beauty of rural Japan.

Grandma displays shinigurai, before the eyes of family and filmviewers. Grandma has awareness of only "the eyes of the flash". Shinigurai means "being crazy to die", and Grandma leaps into the jaws of death, with no hesitation, as she battles the fierce eyes in the sky.

Does anybody know about the music?
In this movie there is one scene (if I^m not mistaken it is the visit to the place where they commemorate the victims of bombing) where you have either a requiem or a Stabat Mater.
Does anyone know about the composer?? Thank you.

A Summer in Nagasaki...
Four grandchildren are to spend the summer with their grandmother in Nagasaki as their parents are spending the summer vacationing in Hawaii. In Hawaii the parents are to meet their grandma's older brother, but she does not remember this brother as she had 11 or more siblings while growing up. In a letter the grandmother is invited to Hawaii, which excites the kids as they want to go to Hawaii. However, the grandmother is hesitant to leave, since the remembrance of her dead husband is coming up on August 9th. The kids learn through their stay in Nagasaki how their grandfather died from the atomic bomb that was dropped on Nagasaki on August 9th, 1945. This knowledge brings the kids closer to their grandmother as she begin to share her stories about her brothers, which offers the children some excitement. Rhapsody in August is a melancholic cinematic experience as Kurosawa tells the tragedy of a family that is divided between those who remember the war and those who have only heard of it. In addition, Kurosawa demonstrates his message with subtle clarity that the agony of the war is being forgotten as family values change toward wealth and prestige where love and care for one another takes a backseat. In the end, Rhapsody in August is a tragic film that is well balanced as it displays hope through love and affection, which offers a terrific cinematic experience.

DVD Review
Rhapsody in August is not a Kurosawa masterpiece, but still provides several stunning scenes that hold up to the best of the director's career. In the 15 Kurosawa films I've seen he hasn't ever made a bad film. Rhapsody is weak Kurosawa, but even in this (his second to last film) he still managed to create images that only he could make. An image and a colony of ants crawling on the flower and the final shot of an old woman struggling against windswept rain stand among the best of Kurosawa. The film's single most powerful sequence comes in stunning scene when children of ww2 visit a school yard to pay respects to their dead classmates. Kurosawa has them enter in the distance as today's children play and slowly approach a melted jungle gym monument, accompanied only by the sounds of the children at play. The moment is pure Kurosawa and intensely moving.

The film is uneven and oddly structured in scenes that shift the focus of the film in awkward ways. Really what hurts the film the most is the biazzare inclusion of Richard Gere. His prescence ruined the mood for the film. The film tends to shift tone too often from playful to satrical to emotional to commentating.
Rhapsody just doesn't stand up as strong in comparison to other works in the Kurosawa canon.
Film: 3 out of 5.

The MGM dvd is very sparse. Picture is very good in color and contrast. Sharpness is a little weak and some cuts seemed like the picture was a bit shakey. Twice I saw small dirt specks. Presented in 1:85:1 the picture is very good in keeping detail in dark scenes. Sound was extraordinary. I was very surprised to find a vivid and strong soundtrack. Just listen to the locus sounds and the music cues, the Japanese soundtrack packs a good punch. Subtitles are avaible, but most annoyingly Gere's English dialogue is subtitled. There aren't any extras other then an unsubitled Japanese Trailer. No booklet or insert!
DVD 3 out of 5. ... Read more

Amazon.com

Director John Waters broke new boundaries of bad taste with his hilariously trashy tale of suburban misadventure Polyester. His favorite leading lady, transvestite Divine, plays Francine Fishpaw, a dissatisfied suburban housefrau who longs for a little romance in her life because her husband and children drive her crazy. Salvation arrives in the form of Tod Tomorrow (Tab Hunter), a drive-in owner who sweeps Francine off her feet (a mean task, given Divine's girth). But he's not all he's cracked up to be.

Everyone in Desperate Living's Mortville has some horrible secret to hide. The mentally unstable Peggy Gravel (Mink Stole, in a superb display of overacting) and her 300-pound-plus maid Grizelda must take it on the lam after Grizelda smothers Peggy's husband under her elephantine buttocks. They find themselves in Mortville, a shanty fiefdom ruled by the grotesque Queen Carlotta (the incomparable Edith Massey). The evil queen delights in tormenting her subjects, but Peggy and Grizelda soon team up with a pair of lesbian outcasts, and a rebellion is in the air. Notable for the absence of Waters regular Divine, this movie pushes the rest of the cast to their over-the-top best. Nasty, shabby, gross, and hilarious, this is John Waters at his best. ... Read more

Reviews (27)

A great package
Having seen Pecker and loved it, I bought this set, and decided to watch "Desperate Living" first. I have seen some of the grossest films ever made, Evil Dead, Me, Myself and Irene, American Pie, Scary Movie, and There's Something about Mary. I thought these were some of the grossest films ever made. Nothing on this beautiful Earth was to prepare to survive the movie Desperat Living. It is the most vulgar, disgusting, horrible, ugly, profane, and just plain nastiest film I have ever been fortunate enough to see. It is very sick, but if you can look past that you will find tuns of humor that is shockingly funny. Pink Flamingos (another John Waters movie) is said to be leagues worse, but I have yet to see it. Polyester, the other title featured in the set is very funny as well. The guy with the foot-stomping fettish cracks me up so much. Buy this set only being farewarned that the term disgustingly funny earns new meaning.

POLYESTER?DESPERATE LIVING YUMMY
This is a real gag fest collection of John Waters cinema. I first viewed Divine in the notorious Pink Flamingos and was immediately addicted!!! This second collection features Polyester starring Tab Hunter(Todd Tommorrow as the lead), Edith Massey(Cuddles-Francine's former cleaning lady turned millionaire and best friend), Mink Stole(Sandy Sandstone?! the misstress) and Divine (as Francine Fishpaw-unhappy, loving,devoted mother and wife to an owner of a porno theatre).This insane light comedy is just a real riot and offers its audience the unique gift of odorama. That is a card that features numbers that you can scratch and sniff only when the corresponding numbers appear on the screen. The second film is Desperate Living which does not feature Divine but instead you get Mink Stole, Edith Massey and a cast of others who venture in the backwards town of Mortville...a town that could best be described as hell on Earth! Mink Stole stars as a demented woman driven to murder her husband during an fight. Well, it was actually her black overweight cleaning lady who did but that doesn't make a bit of a difference here. They both seek refuge deep in the woods where they end up in Mortville where all the inhabitants live mortified lives under the iron grip of the evil but pint sized Queen Carlota (Edith Massey)and her drones! This is a must have for all you Trash cimena fans! The disc includes interviews with surviving cast members and John Waters who is always a delight becuase unlike other directors always has something outrageously valuable to say.

"Dirty....Filthy....Dirty...."
...screams Mink Stole in the opening rant of this delicious double scoop of filth and decadence. And that line sums it up perfectly: this DVD set picks up where "Pink Flamingos/Female Trouble" leave off. "Desperate Living" was the only movie in John Waters' 70's trash trilogy I had never seen (because it was never available at any local video stores) and I was unsure as to whether he could pull off another camp/trash masterpiece without his "Elizabeth Taylor" (I am referring, of course to that wonderfully, hilariously vulgar creature known as Divine). Ten minutes into this disc, and that answer was a definite "yes!". Right from its opening moments, "Desperate" has the same sleazy feel as its predecessors, and the lines that come out of Mink Stole's mouth could make up an entire CD of laugh-til-you-drop sound bytes. Sheer brilliance! And the film just gets better as it goes along, when Mink and Jean Hill descend upon Mortville and Susan Lowe and Liz Renay ("I sleep in the room right next to you.....NAAA-keddd!") enter the picture. Their flashback sequences are among the funniest moments in the movie and the "dog food" scene made me laugh out loud--but the "squish" scene at the end of the wrestling match almost made me pee my pants, it was so riotously funny! Mary Vivian Pearce actually gives a somewhat touching performance here, as I felt sorry for Princess Coo Coo once ruthless Edith Massey as Queen Carlotta started putting her wicked plans into action. The lesbian bathroom bit was another memorable sequence (Pat Moran--kudos to you for a brief but deliciously creepy turn as the "bathroom pervert"--and to Van Smith for making her look that way). Susan Lowe as Mole delivered another gut-busting moment as she stood there proudly waving her newly-attached penis ("It never goes soft!!") but also made me wince as Muffy finished off the last "stitch" making Mole scream in agony. Aside from Princess Coo-Coo's fate at the end, the movie is a real camp classic that, like the rest of Waters' earlier work, definitely improves with repeated viewings. Watch it with friends and you will all be quoting from it for days--"Royal proclomation Number One--Kiss...my...ass!!". The commentary on this disc is a little disappointing because Waters' shares the time with cast member Liz Renay who spends way too much time raving about her own body and how much she loves her own boobs, but she can be forgiven because I'm sure this discussion must have brought back plenty of fun memories for her. Waters alone does the commentary on "Polyester", which brings Divine back to the forefront as suburban matriach Francine Fishpaw, who's life of suburban bliss is constantly threatened by one crisis after another. Several of the Dreamlanders appear in this one, but in minor roles (Mink Stole is sadly under-used) yet Divine manges to hold it all together, and the actors playing her teen-age children deliver funny performances, with Lulu's go-go girl-gone-bad antics being a definite highlight (she even has her own theme song). "Polyester" is John Waters' "transition" film--not as offensive to mainstream audiences as some of his earlier works, but still quirky enough so as not to alienate fans of those earlier works. It too, is filled with wickedly bad dialogue you'll be quoting daily ("Scrub down any interesting toilets lately?"). Together, these two films will provide hours of fun--put these on at your next party and see who goes running for cover--you'll find out who your REAL friends are. Buy this set together with "Pink Flamingos/Female Trouble" and you've got hours of fun!!

edith massey and those sets!
nuff has been said about polyester. as for desperate living; it ranks with female troubles. massey makes you forget divine (not an easy thing to do) and the visual look of the film stands with the look of both ulmer's the black cat and cocteau's blood of a poet. i genuflect to the waters of both female trouble and desperate living.

A classic
After having seen this movie for the grillionth time I still fall in love with it every time. You have to appreciate the campiness about it to "get" the film. The characters are over the top, the story line is filled with drama, and the ending is priceless. I absolutely recommend this movie to anyone who has not seen it. A++++ ... Read more

Description

In 1972, newly radicalized Hollywood star Jane Fonda joined forces with cinematic innovator Jean-Luc Godard and collaborator Jean-Pierre Gorin in an unholy revolutionary artistic alliance. Tout va bien tells the story of a wildcat strike at a sausage factory, as witnessed by an American reporter (Fonda) and her has-been New Wave film director husband (Yves Montand), culminating in a free-ranging assault on consumer capitalism and ineffective leftists. The Criterion Collection is proud to present this masterpiece of radical cinema, a caustic critique of society, marriage, and revolution in post-1968 France. ... Read more

Reviews (4)

an interesting look at the French labor movement
This review is for the Criterion Collection DVD edition of the film.

"Tout Va Bien," also known as "All Is Well" is a film by Jean-Luc Goddard which is a fictional account of the labor disputes and strikes by French workers in the late 60's and early 70's. It follows an American newscaster (Jane Fonda) and her French husband as they observe a strike at a sausage factory in France.

The film has some nice scenery including a cutaway view of an apartment. The movie has great acting by Jane Fonda and she does a good job with her part. The film does contain some sexual content. Thisincludes a scene involving a photograph of male genitalia which some viewers may consider objectionable. I saw no relevance to the plot and suggest that you not let children see this part of the film.

The special features are excellent. Besides an interview with director Jean-Luc Goddard and Jean-Pierre Gorin, the feature "Letter to Jane" is included.

This is a documentary about Jane Fonda's infamous (and traitorous in many people's opinions) trip to North Vietnam. It was made at a time comparable to now where political opinons were very polarized. This feature inspired to buy Jane Fonda's autobiography which just came out recently. Her admission of wrongdoing in a recent TV interview is also good. I'd like to see how things turn out on this issue.

The DVD also also has a 40 page booklet of essays which is larger than the standard liner notes normaly included.

This is an interesting film and the Jane Fonda sketch alone would make it worthwhile for many

Tout Va Bien
I am not interested in making political films but in making films politically'-Jean-Luc Godard

Tout Va Bien not only expresses thissentiment of form as message, it is literally about it. It's a story of France in 72, it's the story of Him and Her: Yves Montand and Jane Fonda. It's about the 2 or 3 Vietnams Godard and Gorin created in Paris, 4 years after 68 and 5 years after the death of Guevara. It's a theoretical work in a personal sense, more than anything it is about `becoming his/her own historian', Godard might have been inspired by Bretcht when he constructed his brilliant set to express The Factory where it all happens, but he was also inspired by Jerry Lewis. Financed by Gaumont and with 2 vedettes, Fonda and Montand, Godard and Gorin begin masterfully, with a montage of checks describing the expenses of making the film. In Godard's work, there is a powerful idea of distribution, production, `Man creates ideas' he would say more than thirty years later in `Eloge De L'Amour', the selling of ideas is key in all of Godard's post-`Weekend' work...From the breathtaking editing of `Histoire(s) Du Cinema' to the powerful introduction of `Notre Musique' consisting of video clips of war, Godard is obsessed with the idea of exploring history through means of transmission. Why should history be copyrighted? It is. History is owned by the channels that transmit it. Which brings up the conclusion of `Tout Va Bien', about each one becoming his/her own historian, about each one making his/her own Vietnam, about making films politically. The film, the story of a journalist and a filmmaker, each frustrated with the society that are serving, both aware that there are things to say in their areas, although they have not, and probably never will, acquire the language to say them. So, in a sense, `Tout Va Bien' is the bitter end of May 68, the feeling of solidarity and collective effort is disappearing, the politically aware bourgeois are too caught up in the futility of the rock n' roll theatrics of a revolutionary spirit that is more interested in the process of changing things than in actually making things different. In a sense, `Tout Va Bien' is one of the most self-conscious films ever made, from the voice over that begins the film: `What will you tell Jane Fonda and Yves Montand?' spoken by Fonda herself. In a way, the film expresses Godard's own inability to change the world by making films. By the end of `Tout Va Bien', the strike is over,Montand and Fonda have gone back to their bourgeois institutions of thought. Both have realized the falsity of their illusions to save the world ,they have not become their own historians, they speak the history of others

An Angry Political Film About Socioeconomic Injustice...
Tout Va Bien opens with a perspective on the economical politics of cinema, which depicts how they write checks for all the parties involved in the film.This is followed by how the story is generated, as the story eventually is simplified to him (Yves Montand) and her (Jane Fonda) in a society with strong political turbulence underneath the surface.Him, a has-been French New Wave director that now shoots commercials, does not want to sell himself to making dim-witted films.Her is his wife and a radio journalist who, like Him, has strong left-wing opinions.This opening presents what to expect from Jean-Luc Godard and Jean-Pierre Gorin, as it turns into a political statement in regards to failing society.

In retrospect, Tout Va Bien brings several interesting notions to the table.Initially, Godard and Gorin bring a visual representation of French society four years after the May 1968 upheaval, which fought for workers' rights and a more just society.However, through interpersonal disconnection the two filmmakers illustrate how these rights have begun to dwindle into nothingness in society.This happens as the bourgeois employs their entrepreneurship on the people of the society through maximizing their profits.Now, four years later, the bourgeois has trampled the society with rules, which has created an unfair balance between the socioeconomic classes.

Godard and Gorin further evolve their ideas on the silver screen through letting the audience visit an unlawful strike in a meat factory where the employees have captured the head of the company and locked him up in his office.The social and political dynamics of the factory are depicted through a cutaway set where the camera zooms out and the audience can see everything going on in every room of the factory.The cutaway allows the audience to see the greater picture of the situation.This later focuses on individuals who explain how they are harassed by supervisors when they need to go to bathroom.

During the illegal strike She (Jane Fonda) carries on interviewing the employees while being a hostage of the strikers.She and her husband side with the workers, as she plans on airing this material later.However, when she presents the material to her producers they stop her from airing it, which illustrates her naïve view of the bourgeois governed society.

Tout Va Bien is a very angry political film that openly depicts Gorin and Godar's contempt for society, as it neglects political equality and financial fairness.Nonetheless, they also show that they are a part of the great machine that keeps moving without consideration for the little people.These two directors show how they help turn the wheel of the great machine in the opening scene where they write checks for all involved in the film and employ big stars in the film such as Jane Fonda and Yves Montand.Nonetheless, the story goes on displaying an interesting farce of the socioeconomic injustice in society, which seems to squeeze many small people.

Despite what political affiliation a person possesses Tout Va Bien offers some insight into how power can be used and misused.People have different motivations and ambitions in life, and in the light of this, the audience should try to understand one another.The film can help build a bridge between people, as understanding and wisdom might help further the progress of the human race.In the end, Tout Va Bien offers an interesting cinematic experience that will leave a feeling of anger within regardless of political affiliation.

Perfect transfer of a difficult film
The transfer of TOUT VA BIEN is just about flawless.The film looks better than if it were a film released last week.The DVD has a documentary on the film and the clips in that show you how poor the film could have looked.

The extras are terrific as well.Another JLG film (the hour long LETTER TO JANE which is about Jane Fonda and the way TOUT VA BIEN should be marketed based on her trip to Viet Nam), an old interview with JLG, and another interview on the making of the film.

So, if you are a fan of the film, it is a must buy DVD.

BUT, the film itself is quite dated and difficult to watch.Like most of his middle period films (which I will admit to not being much of a fan of), it is almost exclusively interested in politics.Long stretches of the characters discussing philosophies.Back in 1972 these were probably interesting, today they aren't, except for in a historical perspective.

It does have some great moments though, the set is pretty incredible (modeled on the Jerry Lewis film THE LADIES' MAN) and the finale, with a very lengthy tracking shot set in a supermarket is up there with the traffic jam tracking shot in WEEKEND.But, all in all, it isn't one of JLG's best.

So, if you are a fan of the film, it is a must buy.For others, it may be just worth a rental. ... Read more

Amazon.com

Federico Fellini's 1984 And the Ship Sails On is one of the latemaster's most fanciful projects, while simultaneously striking one of themost somber notes in the director's filmography. The year is 1914, the eve ofWorld War I and the coming destruction of Europe's old, cultured aristocracy,an elite class mourned in many a film from Renoir's The Grand Illusionto Truffaut's The Green Room. A luxury liner sets sail from Italy,full of artists, a royal entourage, and one rhinoceros. The point of thevoyage is to scatter the ashes of a world-famous diva, but the exoticpassengers--blithely unaware of the imminent conflict--have many, more privateintrigues going on behind closed doors. Still, it is the self-containment andformality of these travelers, at once absurd and moving, that sticks with the viewer: the way the many singers, musicians, and conductors (and one plumparchduke) seem aware, in public, of embodying a privileged history. Fellini films all the action aboard an impressively lush and blatantly artificialset, with a painted sky, paper moon, and cellophane sea, all underscoring thedreamy, precious nature of this adventure. The camera itself becomes a kind of character via a determined journalist (Freddie Jones) who speaks to usdirectly, drawing the film into vaguely obscene disruptions of an otherwise serene formalism. --Tom Keogh ... Read more

Reviews (7)

a though provoking film
This review is for the Criterion Collection DVD edition of the film.

The film's original title is "E la nave va"

It follows the story of an ocean liner going into the Mediterrainian Sea to scatter the ashes of a famous singer near the island she grew up on. The film takes place just before the start of World War I. The assassination of Ferdinand is mentioned as just having happened partway through the film. They later take on Serbian passengers and the crew suspect them of being spies.

Unfortunately, there are no special features on this DVD.

The film has some interesting scenes. The beginning scene reminded me of the first scene in the 1997 version of Titanic witht he black and white slow silent footage of the ship.

Later the film seuges from black and white into color in a manner similar to a scene in Andrei Tarkovsky's Solaris which was released by the Criterion Collection on DVD exactly 1 day before the release of Steven Soderbergh's remake of Solaris.

The film has some some humorous scenes one of which is a man singing in a bass tune, causing a chicken to fall asleep.

This is a must for anyone interested in Italian cinema.

Not A La-Strada-Feeling. No Screen That Striked Me. Flat!
...I own this movie, and I have not watched it fully out. Every time I turn it on I feel that Fellini is trying to show us every detail, and for me they are not psychologically deep enough, no screen that captured my mind. This is totally not a La-Strada-like picture, please do not make the mistake as I buying this with the expectation from La Strada, you should watch it before you buy. And don't get me wrong, there are other good Fellini's films too like Satyricon.

A typical Fellini - beautiful as usual
excellent film. be sure to pay close attention to the scene where two older guys make "great" music with their bare hands and wine glasses...

Underrated Fellini film is a dazzler by all means
The problem with people who've watched past Fellini films expect the same cinematic effect from his later ones. There's a certain magic that exists in the first few Fellini films you've watched. He makes you create movies in your own mind through a flowing series of fantastic images. Fellini's films don't really say too much in contrast to Bergman or Bunuel or even his pupil Wertmuller save for his constant jabs with the aristocracy and organized religion. Most of his films are made to serve the purpose of essential cinema. One just has to watch and enjoy the scenery like does a painter's obra maestra. And that is where his genius in artistry lies. He's not like other colleagues of his who are burdened with social responsibility to weave images out of their moral consciousness. Such is the case of And The Ship Sails On. This is one movie that dazzles both the eye and ear. Sit back and relax and let yourself be glided through this experience in Felliniesque phantasmagoria. True enough, the Criterion version does not offer extras which may make one think twice about the price of the disk. But then, a Fellini DVD is worth more than a lot of others of the same price range. Enjoy!

What a great film
I really loved this movie-it's funny, moving, and completely inventive. This is my first impression after just watching it at face value, and NOT reading into it (in response to the previous reviewer). Maybe to some it's slow moving, but I found it very enjoyable and constantly entertaining. I really found nothing wrong with this film-it is an engaging look at a variety of characters and stories, and is very touching. You should buy this movie (or at least see it!). ... Read more

Reviews (83)

Wong Kar-Wai's Masterpiece
If you were to find a fault in Wong's film it would be the pace: slow, methodical, but inspite and because of that pace "In the Mood for Love" is an utterly engrossing tale; a tale of a man who suspects his wife of cheating and a women who suspects her husband of the same. As they secretly share their pains and suspiscions they fall in love, a love which, due to guilt and the society they live in, cannot blossom.

"In the Mood for Love" is a period piece, taking place in 1962 Hong Kong, and it captures the period wonderfully with small details like the snippets of Shanghainese speech and Nat King Cole's melodic voice floating in an American-style diner.

In this movie Wong Kar-Wai achieved brilliance on every level. Not only does he create a perfect mood with his methodical pace, dark yet beautiful camera work, but he tops it off with excellent performances by Tony Leung and Maggie Cheung and an enthralling soundtrack that ties it all together. I have been a fan of Wong Kar-wai for some time, but in all of his films I felt something was missing. Here he has captured it all. With "In the Mood for Love" Wong leaves the label "a good director" behind and becomes "a great director".

The DVD is full of fascinating extras: