The Last House on the Left

Amazon.com

Future Nightmare creator and Scream weaver Wes Craven's film debut is a primitive little production that rises above its cut-rate production values and hazy, grainy patina via its grimly affecting portrait of human evil infiltrating a middle-class household. The story is adapted from Ingmar Bergman's The Virgin Spring, but the film has more in common with Sam Peckinpah's Straw Dogs as it charts the descent of a harmless married couple into methodical killers. A quartet of criminals--a distorted version of the nuclear family--kidnaps a pair of teenage girls and proceeds to ravage, rape, torture, and finally brutally murder them in the woods, unwittingly within walking distance of their rural home. The killers take refuge in the girls' own home, but when the parents discover just who they are and what they've done, they plot violent retribution.

Along with George Romero's Night of the Living Dead and Tobe Hooper's Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Craven helped redefine American horror with this debut--all three movies portray modern society crumbling into madness and horror. But, unlike his fellow directors, Craven gives his film an uncomfortable verisimilitude, setting it squarely in the heartland of modern America. While at times it's awkward and inconsistent, with distracting comic interludes, his handling of the brutal horror scenes is unsettling, and the death of the daughter is an unexpectedly quiet and lyrical moment. --Sean Axmaker

Description

Bold, powerful and starkly realistic, this chilling cinematic debut of horror master Wes Craven (Scream) is a shocking journey into the heart of evil. Written and directed with almost unbearable dramatic tension (Chicago Sun-Times), The Last House on the Left will make you deadbolt your doors and frantically mutter: It's only a movie it's only a movie it's only a movie! Easy-going Mari Collingwood and her fun-loving friend Phyllis are on their way to a Bloodlust concert to celebrate Mari's 17th birthday when three escaped convicts kidnap and torture them. But Mari and Phyllis are fighters, and although they are drugged and beaten into unconsciousness, stuffed into a car trunk and driven into the woods for even more brutality, they are still alive...but for how long?

Customer Reviews:

Not for the faint of heart, but a good film nonetheless.......2007-09-07

Last House on the Left is exploitative. That's one way to put it. It's a bit informative, definitely shocking, and definitely one that needs to be watched.

The movie itself takes a backseat to the content in a couple of its scenes. It's hard to give an accurate review of this movie while still withholding much of what makes this movie a must see.

It's definitely shocking and definitely exploitative to a certian degree, but what really makes this movie is the questions you're left with at the end. It's an intelligent (if that's even the right choice of wording) 70's exploitation flick. The exploitation isn't there to arouse, it's there to cringe, disgust, and move to viewers to an uncomfortable feeling. Most people don't consider this movie to be a masterpiece, or even a good movie. While no masterpiece, the acting is wooden at times, the direction is a little lagging, and the comedy is forced, this is one of the better movies of the wildly entertaining cinema heaven known as trhe 70's.

Last House on the Left packs a whollop that no movies today, not Irreversible or Baise-Moi can ever grasp. And one that I Spit On Your Grave (Millennium Edition) can't certainly get. It's different. It's thought provoking. It's shocking and downright terror inducing, but it's viseral yet intellectual, and dangerously effective. An exploitation with a conscience.

Now, the DVD features a commentary with Wes Craven and Sean Cunnigham. It also includes a 30 minute "Making Of" feauturette's that nearly as must see as the movie itself, and a number of never-before-seen scenes.

Definitely recommeded.

Maybe...........2007-09-05

When I bought this film at my local fye, being a Wes Craven fan, I was instantly interested. But when I read the case, I was kinda leery. I didn't pay that close attention to it... until the end. I have no compassion for rapists, pedophiles and killers, so the conclusion was perfect revenge fantasy for me. In the beginning, I may have judged it too harshly. I also liked I Spit on your Grave, oddly enough, though it too was very disturbing, but by today's standards, both are rather tame-Eye for an Eye with Sally Field was alot more graphic than this, to me. I like various genres-good vs.evil, cartoon, revenge, but I generally won't watch anything that glorifies rape and torture-but these films cover the coping of these savage, sometimes unforgivable actions and the consequences of them, so to speak. I'm not an advocate for taking justice into your own hands, but what about when justice fails, what do you do then? I don't love this film, but I don't hate it either, hence the rating.

Classic porror at its gory best..........2007-08-17

I saw this movie years ago and was totally scared. This time around (I guess nothing haunts me now) I enjoyed the thrill ride, so I must be sick! The movie begins by saying that the events are based on real facts. whether or not that's true, it got me sitting on the edge of my seat. Two friends, fun-loving Phyllis and Mari are on the way to a rock concert. They decide to pick up some pot (bad mistake) and get themselves kidnaped by a couple of escape convicts, a crazy "animal like" woman and the drug-addict son of one of the convicts. They rape, drug and torture these teens. Mari's parents decide to seek revenge on the group. There was plenty of gore---one girl gets stabbed and her guts are pulled out and there's a chainsaw. My favorite part was the revenge scene where Mari's mother bites off something belonging to one of the convicts. There was a little comedy---when the police were trying to investigate, they performed like the Keystone Cops adding a break to a very gory classic 70s horror film. The acting was pretty bad (thus the 3 stars), but this is a low budget film. Overall, very entertaining!

gory.......2007-08-13

take this movie for what it is. a slasher flick that gives you a lot of gore and very little plot. it can't be called a classic but it is not that bad.

Live-the-movie-review.......2007-07-31

Hey everybody, Howard Tuttleman came up with an idea he calls, live the movie reviews where you basically are the main character. So Here goes. I found this movie at Bloackbuster in the horror section so I decided to give it a try. Here goes:

Ok. The first character in this movie is an old man delivering the mail. Please tell me this isn't the main character. This is going to be the most boring review ever!! Okay old man is gone and is replaced with.... a hot chick in the shower!!! Alright. The girl and parent's are now talking. Who is the main character in this movie anyway!!!???

Shi*. I think it's the hot girl who was in the shower. But that means...I have to be a girl in this review!!! But the Patriarch(yours truly) is a dude! Well here goes. I, Mary Collinwood,am still arguing with my parents.It looks like I'm going to a concert tonight. Alright. Now I'm hanging out with another hot girl in the woods. Now I'm beginning to like being in this movie. We could be lesbians and in that case i'll get to make out with the other girl. Now there is a happy folk song playing, maybe this was misplaced in the horror section after all.

Okay the other chick and I are riding in the car, she's driving. What's this? Some mentally ill convicts have escaped and are in the area where the concert we're going to! This is scary, maybe we shouldn't go after all.

The convicts are now talking in their apartment, but I'm not there so I don't know this.

Alright back to me. We're getting ice cream. I just shouted out "nuts!" Now we're looking to score some dope. How about this creepy looking guy standing outside his apartment for no reason. He says he's got some good stuff. Let's go in and get it!

Well there are convicts and they are just chillin. Oh shi*. They just slammed the door behind us. Meanwhile, my parents are decorating for my birthday party, but unless I can do astral projection, I have no way of knowing this!! Well, the convicts are tormenting us. One of them just pulled a knife out and is mooing at my friend. I hope this is just a movie after all. My friend is getting the brunt of the torment and now the guy is unbuttoned her shirt. One of the convicts is a girl and she likes my friend too. She's got her arms around her. Oh crap the guy just slugged my friend in the stomach and is raping her. This is horrible what am I gonna do?

Well, it looks like I've been knocked out. I'm coming too and crap, I'm in a trunk. Why would someone write me into this movie. Ok trunk opens. My friend bites the crap out of a convicts hand. Smart move. Make the psychos angry.

They're dragging us into the woods now. This movie doesn't have a happy ending does it? They want to torment us some more. Why I didn't do anything to them! They tell my friend to pee in her pants. What is wrong with these people. She hesitates so one of the creeps cuts me. She give in and pees her pants. Are they going to make me pee my pants? Nope. They just want the other girl to punch me. Thanks a lot guys. Well, she slugs me in the stomach and apologizes. Thanks friend. Now the little creep wants us to make it with each other. Finally things get good. I wanted this is happen from the beginning. I pretend not to like it though.

Now that the fun's over we try to escape. We take separate paths though. Well it looks like they caught up with me. I ask if my friend got away and they show me her arm which they chopped off. Looks like my friend didn't have a happy ending. But I'm the protagonist, nothing can happen to me, mwa ha ha! Or can it, the dude's carving his name into my chest. Ouch. Alright he's raping me now that my friend is dead. I may make it out of this alive, but I am going to be in therapy for the rest of my life. When
it's over I toss my cookies and take a dip in a pond because I feel dirty. And what the hell, dude just shot me! And then he shoots me again. I'm dead. What the hell!!! The movies only halfway over, how can I be dead, I'm the fricking main character. No continues, no extra lives, it's over. Thanks a lot Last house on the left.

Legally Blonde / Legally Blonde 2 - Red, White and Blonde

Average customer rating:

I love Reese Witherspoon - she does great comedy!
DVD review
SOMETIMES LESS IS MORE...

Legally Blonde / Legally Blonde 2 - Red, White and Blonde
Starring: Reese Witherspoon , Sally Field , Regina King , Jennifer Coolidge , and Bruce McGill
Director: Charles Herman-Wurmfeld , and Robert Luketic
Manufacturer: MGM (Video & DVD)
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: 6302077818
Release Date: 2006-01-31

Description

Disc 1: LEGALLY BLONDE Disc 2: LEGALLY BLONDE 2: RED, WHITE, & BLONDE

Customer Reviews:

I love Reese Witherspoon - she does great comedy!.......2007-05-07

What fun movies and packed together like this! It's a great escape with a wonderfully funny gal! Reese pulls off Elle wonderfully! And keeps Elle's innocence and positive attitude throughout both movies! The movies are so upbeat that at the end - nothing can ruin your day after viewing them!

DVD review.......2007-03-20

I really enjoy both these movies. I am very disappointed in MGM as they say the first movie has special features, yet none are available on ANY DVD that I have seen. The cover of the DVD shows special features are with the DVD, such as deleted scenes, etc., yet the original movie only has commentary with it as its "special feature". The second movie does have some of the features listed.
The two movies are very entertaining and just fun to watch.

SOMETIMES LESS IS MORE..........2006-06-12

Legally Blonde ****

When I first saw this movie with my teenage son, I admit that my expectations were not particularly high. Was I ever pleasantly surprised by this delightfully funny comedy! Reese Witherspoon does a star turn as the not so dumb, California airhead blonde, Ellie Woods, who is dumped by her college sweetheart, Warner, before graduation, instead of getting the anticipated and expected marriage proposal. It appears that he has political aspirations and an ostensibly dumb and flamboyant blonde is not what he envisions having for a wife.

Seeking to prove herself worthy and knowing that he is planning on attending Harvard Law School, Ellie, a fashion major, also seeks admission with dogged determination and studies her charming buns off in order to do well on the LSAT, the Law School Admission Test. Her high LSAT scores, coupled with her hilarious admission video, and her perfect college grade point average, albeit in Fashion, get her through the portals of Harvard Law School, and the games begin in earnest.

What happens to her at Harvard is hilarious, as Ellie tries to get her former sweetheart back. She discovers, instead, something about herself that ultimately makes others sit up and take notice of her in a positive way. Reese Witherspoon is delightfully funny doing a comic turn and will have the viewer laughing almost immediately, while rooting for her. The supporting cast is likewise enjoyable. This is a funny, wacky comedy that is never mean spirited and is, instead, surprisingly uplifting.

Legally Blonde 2: Red, White, and Blonde **

There ought to be be a law against bad sequels, and this one is bad, despite the comedic deftness of Reese Witherspoon. Not even she can save a screenplay that is this bad. It lacks the snappy dialogue and clever madcap situations that elevated the prequel into the ranks of successful screwball comedies. This sequel simply tanks, in spite of Ms. Witherspoon's ever present, personal winsomeness. Despite her, this film falls flatter than a pancake, which is a shame, since the original Legally Blonde movie had been so charmingly funny.

Unfortunately, this film is quite disappointing and simply not in the same league, despite the casting of the original star and some of the original supporting cast. Not even the addition of Sally Fields and Robert Newhart elevates this drivel to a film worth watching.

Average customer rating:

Quality Video
Live at the Metro
Diabolical
Five Stars
Not just for Blind Melon fans

Live at the Metro, September 27, 1995
Starring: Blind Melon
Manufacturer: Capitol
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: B000B19E8W
Release Date: 2005-09-27

Customer Reviews:

Quality Video.......2007-05-13

This is a must have for any Blind Melon fan. I highly suggest this video.

Live at the Metro.......2007-01-15

It was a christmas gift and the receiver love it. It came on time and saved me time to enjoy the Holidays.

Diabolical.......2007-01-04

What a terrible DVD. I'm no pessimist, this was recorded horribly. Either Shannon Hoon's voice is awful or the recording was. I suspect it was the latter. I will admit, I'm not a hardcore Blind Melon fan, but I'd downloaded some of their songs like mouth full of cavities et al..and was very impressed. I read the previous reviews and took the gamble of buying the DVD. What a mistake. I also bought Alice in Chains Unplugged which is excellent. If you want to see a grown man wearing makeup and flaling his hands like an octopus while shreeking to the crowd buy this. Otherwise save your money.

Five Stars.......2006-06-27

I always want to see Blind Melon in a Dvd and i think that is a real good Recital, whit the bonus tracks in Much Music. The songs are very nice, the sound is the worst thing but is not a problem. Well, if you are a Blind Melon fan, you have to buy this dvd.

Not just for Blind Melon fans.......2006-02-23

Although this is a must have for every Blind Melon fan, It is a great DVD for rock fans to own. The music is great, the concert is excellent. The Bonus material includes 3 tracks recorded live on muchMusic. You might have gotten a little taste from the metro concert if you've seen Blind melon's Letters from a porcupine DVD, where some footage of this concert is shown. Bottom line: If you like blind melon or similar bands like pearl jam, stone temple pilots or alice in chains, I definitely recommend this DVD!

Average customer rating:

Underrated Action Flick!
Well Worth What I Paid
The Johnny Appleseed of Handguns
Boring and predictable action flick
unbelievable action

Metro
Starring: Eddie Murphy , Kim Miyori , Art Evans , James Carpenter (III) , and Michael Rapaport
Director: Thomas Carter (II)
Manufacturer: Walt Disney Video
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: 6304806450
Release Date: 1998-03-25

Amazon.com

Another Eddie Murphy action vehicle that pales in comparison to hits like Beverly Hills Cop, this standard cop movie fare still manages to be engaging on the strength of Murphy's ease in front of a camera. Murphy plays an unorthodox hostage negotiator for the San Francisco Police Department on the trail of the criminal who killed his partner. Paired up with a bright new trainee played by Michael Rapaport (Beautiful Girls, Mighty Aphrodite), Murphy uses both his skills and his anger to hunt down the killer. A competent action movie, there are some standout moments such as a car chase culminating in a cable car shoot-out on the streets of San Francisco, and Michael Wincott's (The Crow) frightening performance as the villain. Metro offers up a standard action vehicle for Murphy to showcase his charm, as well as a moderate entertainment with some memorable moments. --Robert Lane

Description

Megastar Eddie Murphy (THE NUTTY PROFESSOR, BEVERLY HILLS COP series) teams with Michael Rapaport (BEAUTIFUL GIRLS) and Michael Wincott (THE CROW) in this wildly entertaining, action-packed hit! Murphy plays Scott Roper, a fast-talking, wisecracking, on-the-edge hostage negotiator whose offbeat-but-winning style has made him San Francisco's top mediator! Roper will say ... and do ... absolutely anything to get his man. But when he comes face to face with a psychotic killer who's playing a lethal game of cat and mouse, he's finally met his match! Don't miss the excitement as the always amusing Murphy packs METRO with outrageous action that has critics and audiences cheering!

Customer Reviews:

Underrated Action Flick!.......2005-05-01

I can't believe some of these reviews. Eddie Murphy gave a great performance in this one, as did everyone else. Metro is the story of how a big-shot detective, Scott Roper (Eddie Murphy) cracks a hard case. Now, the convict has actually broken out and taken someone dear to Roper hostage. It's up to Roper to retrieve not only the stolen goods, but now to rescue his girlfriend and put an end to all this chaos. This is a well-played Murphy role and should be seen at least once.

Well Worth What I Paid.......2004-07-07

This not Murphy's best movie. However, it is a very good movie. Not predictable as some believe. The bad guy, Michael Rappaport, is especially well known from other similar roles. So do expect some nasty treatment to people. I for one kept expecting his partner or girlfriend to be killed. I wasn't exactly on the edge of my seat, but you will have to wait till the end to see if they survive. The rest the cast does a good job of support.

I paid about half of what Amazon is selling this movie for so I don't feel cheated at all. I bought this for little more than the price of a rental so I went in with few expectations. With Eddie Murphy in it I figured I wasn't taking much of a chance. I was glad to see I was right. There are several other recognizable people in the cast. Picture and sound quality was excellent. The directing, sets, and music are all as good as you will see in most movies. I imagine if it had just a little better story with more Murphy comedic antics it might have been a hit. This is pretty much a serious role. I bought it thinking I would probably watch it once and give it away, but I ended up sticking it on my shelf for future reviewings.

The Johnny Appleseed of Handguns.......2003-10-25

This film is lackluster and often unintentionally comical. Eddie Murphy is the Johnny Appleseed of handguns is this film. He uses a clip, tosses the weapon, uses a clip, tosses the weapon over and over and over again. San Francisco PD could solve their armed street crime problem easily if they would just get Murphy off the streets. He litters the streets with enough guns to arm a small army. Too much gun play, not enough consideration for a quality script. Give this picture a miss.

Boring and predictable action flick.......2003-10-05

This is the kind of boring, by-the-numbers kind of movie that you find yourself forgetting even as you are watching it. Eddie Murphy hasn't made any good movies in years (unless you count his voiceover in Shrek) and is still living off his reputation from Saturday Night Live and 48 Hours and those were a LONG time ago.

Basically, a "This Time It's Personal!" thriller about a hostage negotiator who turns homicide detective -- breaking all the ...uh...rules, pissing off his boss, etc. -- when his partner is killed by a master jewel thief (Michael Wincott). There is a hint of something interesting (maybe in an earlier draft of the script?) when the jewel thief is initially introduced as a kind of gentleman crook,a mild-mannered jazz buff and for about five minutes you think that maybe something clever and sophisticated will develop here. But the thief quickly metamorphized into a psychotic killer who stages his theft as an ordinary smash-and-grab event with lots of carnage and hostages taken. (Think about how STUPID this is, to draw this kind of attention to your crime and how it just about ensures you will not make a clean getaway and that the police will pursue you endlessly.)

After the thief is captured, he makes an improbable escape and goes after Murphy's beautiful girlfriend, although there is not the slightest way he could have known who Murphy was dating, let alone where she lived. A dumb, silly plot device and one that has been used and used and used, especially on TV, so it's REALLY tired in a big budget film.

Similarly, hints that Murphy's character has a gambling problem and money problems are presented and then disappear as if they also belonged to earlier (and better) drafts of the script.

Trust me, you will forget this one even before your VCR finishes rewinding. A COMPLETE waste of an otherwise talented cast. You won't miss missing this one.

unbelievable action.......2001-10-15

a lot of people including the critics did not like this movie and i can't understand why. there is lots of action in the movie including a very good car chase down san francisco. i don't understand why this movie gets so much hype. when you get an eddie murphy movie you know it is going to be good. and metro to me was no exception. why lots of people don't think the same i don't know. if you are an eddie murphy fan check this one out you will not be sorry. don't listen to people who say this is a bad movie because it is very good. rated r for violence and strong language. there were more f words in here than in beverly hills cop.

Average customer rating:

MORE PEOPLE LIVING THIS LIFESTYLE EVERYDAY.
a million stories in the naked city
Would You Be My (Stacy) Valentine?

Girl Next Door
Starring: Stacy Valentine , Jack Gallagher (IV) , Dennis Wood , Stephanie Swift , and Cindy Terry
Director: Christine Fugate
Manufacturer: Indican
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: B000BKXAGA
Release Date: 2006-06-01

Product Description

An intimate and humanizing look into the rise to fame of adult film superstar Stacy Valentine. The wheels were set in motion when Stacy's then-husband, to satisfy his own sexual fantasy, urged his Oklahoma housewife, Stacy Baker, to submit her photograph to Gallery Magazine's amateur pictorial competition, voyeuristically named, "The Girl Next Door." Easily winning this contest, Stacy was soon gracing the cover of Hustler magazine and accepting offers to perform in X-rated films. The Girl Next Door is the conflicting story between Stacy Baker and the world of pornography, and Stacy Valentine and her desire for true love. Stacy allows us to experience the exotic world of pornography through the eyes of a former housewife from Oklahoma.

Customer Reviews:

MORE PEOPLE LIVING THIS LIFESTYLE EVERYDAY. .......2007-01-19

SAD MOVIE, BUT VERY IMFORMATIVE. LONLINESS. BEING A PRON STAR... YOU LOSE SEX AS A WAY TO CONNECT FEEL: LOVE,SECURITY,TRUST. NOT WORTH THE TRADE.

a million stories in the naked city.......2006-12-03

Stacy is a nice girl. i felt compassion for her as i watched the emotional rollercoaster she clung to ever since she was a little girl.
as this documentary proceeded i started to have an unsettling feeling in my stomach that this was going to turn into one of those unhappy endings where another adult actress takes their life or murdered or some other horrible outcome.
thankfully Stacy survived and retired from 'the business' and is now a talent scout for Penthouse magazine.
one of the central story arcs of her life as revealed in this documentary is her relationship with a man who also works in the adult film world.
i was rooting for them to live happily ever after but after one too many break-ups they call it quits for good.
the examination of how and why their relationship was not to be is sad but enlightening-enabling Stacy to look into herself for the answer.
i'm hoping Stacy is now a happier and less-lonely person.

Would You Be My (Stacy) Valentine?.......2006-03-01

Documentaries -- especially those in the caliber of late night 'Showtime' or 'HBO' infotainment (or 'skinertainment,' as I've heard it called) tend to suffer from one serious shortcoming: it's near impossible to take anyone serious, especially when it comes to having frank and open conversations ON CAMERA relative to the one of the world's most intimate acts: sex ... which does rank just behind love, yes.

However, GIRL NEXT DOOR manages to wiggle around (pun intended) this gray area throughout about 60-70% of the time by concentrating on the life of porn star (legend!) Stacy Valentine, who, quite frankly, is strikingly beautiful with or without clothes, for that matter. The best moments of this exploration of Stacy Baker's life (her real name) deal with Stacy discovering her passion for sex, her passion for working in the sex industry, and her passion for entertaining others. She speaks frankly to the camera in some wonderful moments that give the viewer a look at the psychology many women in the adult film industry must confront ... whether it be overly adoring fans, manufacturing (through plastic surgery) a better body (Stacy, you looked fine BEFORE the implants), and maintaining a positive self-image despite being secretly loved by hundreds of thousands of fans ... and still feeling quite empty. In these moments, you get to know Stacy Baker, not Stacy Valentine, and, call me old-fashioned, but that's the woman any man (or woman) could easily fall head over heels for. Stacy Valentine, on the other hand, steps comfortably into the world of adult business, and it became very hard to distinguish her from any of the other actors and actresses briefly covered in the film.

Also, there are moments in the documentary exploring the life of Stacy Valentine that, clearly, had to have been staged for the purposes of the narrative that explores her brief career on top (yes, pun intended, too). In what appeared to be a largely single camera production, Stacy Valentine walks in and out of scenes that clearly had to be set up for the purposes of pushing the story forward. In moments of desperation, Stacy Valentine lies in the bed pondering the meaning of certain events in her life, and, though I don't doubt Stacy Baker dealt very personally with some of these difficult subjects, they didn't feel quite real. That's a shortcoming that follows many smaller documentaries around, so it's an easy gimme, but I thought it worth mentioning.

Be warned: this film isn't necessarily about titillation, though there are moments I'm sure the most involved viewer will be captivated. This isn't a soft core flick about the life of being a porn star. There are moments of seriousness of the dangers of the work, scenes of honest reflection about facing some of life's unique challenges, even a teary moments between Stacy and her mother chatting about the inevitability of death. For those of you seeking a skin flick, I'm sure Stacy Valentine's library can be found elsewhere (69 of them, to be precise). I don't say that to scare anyone off; I purchased the film based on some recommendations of documentary buffs (I guess there's a pun intended there, too), and, on that level, I found enough to enjoy. I'm no prude; I said she's striking, didn't I? I was pleasantly surprised with this small production, and, if you approach with an open mind, I think you will be, too.

If you want to know about Stacy Baker -- the person smart enough and definitely beautiful enough and saavy enough to become an adult screen legend -- then this is for you.

Zazie dans le metro (Zazie dans le métro) [ NON-USA FORMAT, PAL, Reg.4 Import - Australia ]

Average customer rating:

One of the wittiest movies I've ever seen

Zazie dans le metro (Zazie dans le métro) [ NON-USA FORMAT, PAL, Reg.4 Import - Australia ]
Director: Louis Malle
Manufacturer: AV Channel
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: B000GBN2IK

Product Description

Australia released, PAL/Region 4 DVD: it WILL NOT play on standard US DVD player. You need multi-region PAL/NTSC DVD player to view it in USA/Canada. LANGUAGES: French (Dolby Digital 2.0), English (Subtitles), SYNOPSIS: The lighthearted comedy Zazie Dans Le Metro, an early directorial effort from Louis Malle, stars Catherine Demongeot as a 12-year-old girl named Zazie. Zazie is forced to travel to Paris when her mother wants to rendezvous with her lover. Zazie is left in the care of Uncle Gabriel (Philippe Noiret), an eccentric transvestite. Both with him, and on her own, Zazie meets a variety of unusual city dwellers, and gets into a series of misadventures that reach their greatest level of wackiness during a café food fight. The film is based on a novel by the distinguished French author Raymond Queneau. SPECIAL FEATURES: Interactive Menu,

Customer Reviews:

One of the wittiest movies I've ever seen.......2007-02-08

An absolute delight, this is one of the wittiest, zaniest movies I've seen in a long lifetime. It can be enjoyed equally well by adults and children, and it keeps you laughing through cleverness and elegance, not through crudities or childish humor. Yes, to view it you'll need (unless you're in Region 4) an all-region DVD player; but even in the USA these can easily be obtained and, without one, you're missing a lot of good movies that are aimed at non-North American markets.

Le Dernier Metro / The Last Metro (Region 1 DVD)

Average customer rating:

Le Dernier Metro / The Last Metro (Region 1 DVD)

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ASIN: B000CO6K1C

Product Description

Region 1 DVD - Paris, 1942. Lucas Steiner is a Jew and was compelled to leave the country. His wife Marion, an actress, directs the theater for him. She tries to keep the theater alive with a new play, and hires Bernard Granger for the leading role. But Lucas is actually hiding in the basement... A film about art and life.

Average customer rating:

I Just Had to Look
A corrosive antimilitarist satire
Not what you expected
Beyond Lennon
Too much work watching this

How I Won the War [Region 2]
Starring: Michael Crawford , John Lennon , Roy Kinnear , Lee Montague , and Jack MacGowran
Director: Richard Lester
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: B00029RDWC

Customer Reviews:

I Just Had to Look.......2006-11-15

"I saw a film today, oh boy
The English Army had just won the war
A crowd of people turned away
But I just had to look
Having read the book."

John Lennon sung that in his song "A Day in the Life", featuring on the Beatles album "Sargeant Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band", in 1967. That same year he also co-starred with Michael Crawford in the film "How I Won the War", based on the book of the same name. It's a comedy of sorts. Don't think it works as well, as it's a bit rapid fire with a fragmented and out-of-order plot, but I do think it holds together better than, say, the "Magical Mystery Tour" film.

An enthusiastic grammar school fellow named Goodbody (Michael Crawford) has joined the British army, has been appointed Corporal, and given a troop of men to lead against the Germans, including a certain Liverpool lad by the name of Gripweed (John Lennon), a young man who can go from being happy-go-lucky to rather intimidating, given the situation. Goodbody's platoon troop across the sands of Spain, while encountering mutiny, mines and madness along the way. How did Goodbody win the war?

The answer, though it makes a point, didn't really grab me that much. Kind of goes for the rest of the film, actually. There's too much satire in it to be a light hearted sillyness, yet the constant sillyness takes the punch out of the satire. It's not that there isn't some thoughtful stuff in the guise of sillyness, there's definitely a few lines that really got me thinking, but like I said, it's pretty rapid fire, so it's hard to make sense of what is happening. There was something going on between Goodbody and his platoon, some sort of relationship that was significant, but I couldn't tell you what it was exactly. Don't think it was a good relationship though. John Lennon played an interesting character, I think, a bit geekier than you'd expect him to be. He doesn't get a whole stack of lines, though. It's interesting seeing a younger Michael Crawford too, and I thought the Spanish location was pretty cool.

If you're after some 1960s sillyness with a Beatle, check out "The Magic Christian" instead, starring Peter Sellers and Ringo. "How I Won The War" takes a bit more patience and concentration. It's not neccesarily a bad film, it's just pretty difficult. Three and half stars.

A corrosive antimilitarist satire.......2006-08-30

" Absurd " humour against the absurd of war. Director Richard Lester dismounts the british establisment, the cynical lies and fabricated interests hidden under the smoke curtain of the patrotism, the military discipline, the stereotypes of epics and the delirious glorification and manipulative vision that some films do of war with his juvenile and iconoclast spirit and sardonic comicity. Lester uses techniques of strangeness to accentuate the grotesque side of war and the sentiment of alienation in which seems to move all the time the characters: the movie is conceived as a long chain of satirical vignettes or synthetic thought-provokative gags whithin a flashback narration conducted by the leutenant Goodbody ( a splendid Michael Crawford ), responsible of one of the worst units of the army. Likewise, the frenetic dialogues ( in the army the members of the high command speak loud and fast to their subordinates and don't wait that soldiers think, this is, Lester makes a caricature of the militaries' rules and their tics ) are recordered in a very deliberated artificial way provoking the effect as if we were listening the thoughts of the characters or their words didn't belong to them ( this very interesting narrative resort we can already find with a similar intention in the Fleischer brothers' " talkartoons " ). John Lennon leaves this time the rest of the Beatles to join to the disastrous unit leaded by Michael Crawford, in the role of a completely incompetent leutenant, in this tragic-comic antiwarlike movie.

Not what you expected.......2006-07-06

If you are looking for the typical Beatles movie you will be disappointed with this one. It has some funny moments but this is a war movie, war is not funny. John Lennon is excellent in this film and the movie was put together well. It takes some thinking to understand some moments, so if you are not into thinking about your movies don't watch it. But if you want to watch a war movie that has great actors and director and an interesting plot then this is one for you.

Beyond Lennon.......2006-03-22

Richard Lester's HOW I WON THE WAR has always been a controversial film simply because of all the publicity that Beatle John Lennon would be appearing in it. Put simply, John Lennon really just appears in it as one of several British soldiers under the command of the narrow minded and naïve Michael Crawford during this WWII anti war film. Michael Crawford is the main character of this film. It is Crawford that undergoes a transition in this film from his military experience and he is the central focus of all the bizarre events that occur. John Lennon's character really gets no focus at all. The publicity around Lennon distorted the impression of this film for almost all time. That is unfortunate. Richard Lester's film is not bad but it is not for all tastes.

Too much work watching this.......2005-05-04

Evidently this is supposed to be some sort of black comedy. Unless you like keystone cops, there is not much comedy; it is more of a surrealistic missing of the mark.

Michael Crawford "A funny thing happened on the way to the Forum" (1966), is supposed to be some sort of inept WWII officer. This film is full of colorful characters (painted red, blue and whatever).

There are a lot of noisy overlapping claptrap and gobbledygook statements. It is unique enough not to be anything. The only thing missing are the Muppets.

You would be much better off watching "What Did You Do in the War, Daddy?" (1966) It has a moral and redeeming social value.

Average customer rating:

This is a tough one to review!!!
Well-acted film, but don't expect to enjoy it
Simply a masterpiece...
Strindberg's Old Stage Drama Looks Exactly Old Stage Drama
0 stars.

MISS JULIE (DVD)

Manufacturer: Metro Goldwyn Mayer Home Entertainment
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: 0792845455

Amazon.com

On Midsummer's Eve, in Northern Sweden, noblewoman Miss Julie stays home, perhaps due to the failure of her engagement to a callous man. Instead, she takes part in the servants' wild outdoor dances--but her eye is on her father's footman, John, who is engaged to the cook, Christine. As the exhausted Christine falls asleep in a chair, John and Miss Julie begin a struggle of power and sex in which their social roles are both a weapon and a weakness. Like most of Mike Figgis's films (Leaving Las Vegas, Internal Affairs), Miss Julie is very pretty to look at and the actors (Saffron Burrows and Peter Mullan) are excellent. The movie is adapted from the August Strindberg play of the same name; the theatrical dialogue and speeches don't play all that well in film, but are well-executed, and Figgis finds ways to keep the movie visually engaged: Burrows's height (or Mullan's lack of it) is a visual metaphor for their class standings; at one point Miss Julie cries, and her tears clean a streak in the dust on her face, making her look both clownish and pitiful; the screen splits in two, showing two perspectives of the same scene for a brief time. When the servants return from their drunken revels, John and Miss Julie are forced to hide lest they start rumors, and the servants stagger around the kitchen, singing, grabbing each other, searching thirstily for more wine--the effect is eerie. A strong adaptation of a theater classic. --Bret Fetzer

Description

Saffron Burrows (Deep Blue Sea) and Peter Mullan (Trainspotting) deliver riveting performances (Newsday) in this tale of desire, passion and betrayal that pits upper class against lower class in a 'superbly staged battle between the sexes (Detour). With a script basedon August Strindberg's famous play and written for the screen by Helen Cooper, Miss Julie director Mike Figgis (Leaving Las Vegas) presents a taut and intimate story, holding you with the intensity of his vision and his mastery of nuance (Los Angeles Times) from beginning to end. On a late 19th-century estate, a celebration of wine and beer lets loose inhibitions and innerpassions. Jean (Mullan), the Count's footman, takes the advances of the Count's daughter (Burrows) too far with a scandalous encounter in the kitchen. And over one night, it becomes clear that these two lost souls desperately need each other in order to escape the confinesand trappingsof their lives. But can a servant support a noblewoman, who, without her father's money, is no more privileged than he?

Customer Reviews:

This is a tough one to review!!!.......2007-01-06

Some movies baffle me.I want to like them,but something just won't let me embrace the entire work.MISS JULIE is one such film.While I found the actors outstanding in their performances, I was intensely aware that this was adapted from a play.It felt exactly like a play that maybe I would have enjoyed more sitting in a live theatre,able to sense the energy of other people.For me,some plays just simply do not adapt well to the screen.While I admired the unique camera work and Mike Figgis' attempt to film this work SOMETHING just did not work.Maybe in the hands of another director or opening up the film from that claustrophobic kitchen would make MISS JULIE more interesting to be viewed on a screen;but until that happens I feel that MISS JULIE needs to remain a play.
Also,some of the dialogue gets so low that it practically becomes inaudible.I was constantly rewinding in order not to miss anything.That's frustrating!

Well-acted film, but don't expect to enjoy it.......2005-05-26

Don't expect this film about one night of sexual relationship between a count's daughter and her footman to be a light-hearted French-style romp. It is, instead, a highly depressing film about a deeply self-destructive woman and a ruthless, heartless man. Throughout the film, each relentlessly attempts to dominate and ultimately destroy the other. True, there's some well-worded dialog about class and gender relations, that's highly radical for the 1880s, when I believe the original play was written. The strong overtones of sadism are probably original. Although I suspect the four-letter words and other explicit references were inserted in the modern film script.

But the characters-particularly Miss Julie-are so utterly irrational, that I couldn't help spending the film saying "Geez, guys, just quit drinking, get some sleep, and things will look better in the morning." At one point, when Miss Julie proposes a suicide pact, the footman replies, "I'd rather open a hotel."

No kidding.

Simply a masterpiece..........2004-07-10

It's movies like this that restore one's faith in the movie business. Sure, this movie is based on a play and some may find it stagey or theatrical, but it is, nonetheless, as powerful a movie experience as this particular reviewer has ever had.

Saffron Burrows brings quite a bit to the table here: the depth of her concentration and commitment to the role of Miss Julie is transcendent and breathtaking. She captures one's attention so completely that there is no hope for release until the performance's end. Her beauty and skill as an actress are unsurpassed in modern times and it baffles me to no end that she is not more widely recognized and celebrated. Peter Mullar in the role of Jean is superb and deserves more recognition.

Figgis' Miss Julie is a more faithful telling of Strindberg's play than the more 'cinematic' Sjoberg version of 1950. Where Figgis employs economy, Sjoberg lengthened with unnecessary flashbacks, dampening much of the power of the original play. Months after watching Miss Julie I find myself still mesmerized and enraptured by its web.

Congratulations to Mike Figgis and all persons involved in the project. It is only unfortunate that more people will not see Miss Julie. It deserves and is worthy of your attention.

Note to Saffron: you are brilliant and inspire me to take my work to a higher level.

Strindberg's Old Stage Drama Looks Exactly Old Stage Drama.......2003-09-11

The original drama "Miss Julie" (sometimes spelled "Miss Julia") is written by Swedish writer August Strindberg in 1888. Because of its contents, it had been banned in his native country for 25 years, but looking back from now, the sexual nature looks nothing special now. But somehow director Mike Figgis thought of pretty faithfiul adaptation of this one-act drama.

There are three characters -- Jean, Julie, Chiristine -- but basically the drama belongs to the servant Jean (Peter Mullan) and Miss Julie, rich count's rather spolied daughter, played by director's muse Saffron Burrows. On Midsummer's Eve, uninhibited by class consciousness, Miss Julie taunts Jean, who at first endures the insult. Then, slowly the fierce battle of will leads them into seduction and contemplation of living together, or the rigid mores of society they live in.

The talky nature of the film is regrettable, but understandable. It is a filmed stage drama, and that's not to be blamed. The problem is this; one, many of us today no longer feel bound by the same sexual codes as they experience. The values they talk about are, if not totally, almost dead. The film fails to answer this question -- they suffer, but why should we care?

But the bigger trouble is this; director Figgis is so intent on denying that the original material is made for stage, that he uses too many irritatingly flashy cameraworks like split screen. And by showing too many of them, and the sexual nature of the drama more explicitly, the film is deprived of the subtle nuance which the original drama has. What is the point of blantantly showing the poor dead bird itself anyway when what the drama wants to show lies in different place?

Acting is good, I admit, but I cannot help thinking that Peter Mullan is miscast. The original drama clearly says Jean is 30 year-old (while Miss Julie is 25). They act well, trying to generate the intensity between the sex, which I find sadly missing. What if Daniel Day-Lewis did the same role -- I was thinking about that all through this extremely depressing film.

0 stars........2003-06-07

Boring, boring, boring. Set piece of a flawed, and overindulgent strindberg play, could have been more bearable had this been a play, but in the movies, too sub par actors, no real plot...no way man. Alright, strindberg was known for his sadist relationships with women, as well as his little, oh shall we call it inferiority complex, with upper classes. (Dad an aspiring aristocrat, but a failed bussiness man, mom proletarian and dies very young) He married a baroness, then deserted her, then never, according to his own admission, managed a loving relationship, without the power, submission, et al. with a woman. Now imagine all that transcribed into endless dialogs between countess ( mike figes girlfriend managing a huge fiasco of wooden (over)-acting and stunned grimaces) and her dad's servant: I like you, i am above you class-wise, i like you too, i want the power you got, i am more clever/older than you i ll dominate you, no you wont, blah, blah, blah.

Gladly i watched it on cable and had some work to do so essentially i heard most of it, well to be honest, after an hour or so, i put some music on the pc, coulndt be bothered anymore.

So, it all boils down to, if you are the arty type with aspirations and in need of dinner time conversations then by all means watch, and have another pointless discussion on nothing, if not, watch a decent movie, with some plot, characters, depth, and not some re-vamped failure of meaningless drama.

Product Description

This busy metropolis nurtures millions of people, some of whom earn a lot, some don't, but all work very hard and for very long hours. Although modern technology attempts to make this world an easier place to live in, our relationships with each other are getting more strained and we keep drifting apart. What happens when true love forgoes inroads in a heartless world of materialism? What is the fate of their entangled love stories in an urban landscape accustomed to breaking hearts, daring commitments and forcing choices? Life is a Metro is journey across three stories entangled with one another, joined by a commom yet complex thread of love.

Customer Reviews:

Everyone Wants to be found.......2007-08-14

Vowing not to watch a hindi film in a cinema after my last few debacles in so called `biggies' until and unless something exceptional came about. Somehow call it the real 'cinetic instincts' I had my eyes set on Metro since I got to know the that the film was shot in Bombay (as they say, "you can leave Bombay, but Bombay never leaves you". I choose to still call it Bombay and not Mumbai) and its theme and its reviving music were convincing enough reasons to go ahead.

In last few months there've been a handful of hindi films with a multi-layer narrative, so nothing new there but here the director (Anurag Basu) initiates by smoothly shaping the connection between his different stories/characters right at the start, making it easier to go further rather than get confused, which can easily happen with this genre if there is no control over the script.

An ensemble of imperfect characters/stories in the city of Bombay where loneliness and selfishness demand more importance than love and sensitivity and all this in the name of ambitions. This film takes us to the tagline from the film 'Lost in Translation' - "Everyone Wants to be found". So the characters of this film in the quest of being found, either ends up making wrong choices (Kangana-Kay Kay) or good-choice-tuned-sour-over-the years (Shilpa-Kay Kay) or one-side love (Sharman-Kangana or Shiney-Shilpa) or a later-in-life-realisation (Dharmendra-Nafisa Ali) or not-identifying-the-one-next-to you (Irrfan-Konkona).

Don't remember in a recent time when Bombay looked at its natural best in a film as it did in this one (superbly shot by Bobby Singh). The real side of Bombay by the day and night, on the roads, by the bus stops, in the bus, on the railway stations, in the trains and all this delightfully drenched in the ever famed rains of Bombay, that creates an atmosphere which is romantic, magical and at the same time melancholic.

Character development is director's job and the delivery (thru acting) is actor's job. Every actor here delivers his/her part well, particularly Irrfan & KoKo (you come to know why these two are considered the talented/gifted actors around in their own right. One feels wanting more for the scenes where each of them are present or both of them together), Sharman (one more feather after RDB), Kay Kay (effortless), Shilpa (she is come a long way, but still not there yet, unfortunately for this tall beauty, her BB fame in UK cannot put her a notch above in acting), Shiney (sadly wasted and his track with Shilpa was unclear and underdeveloped as his character), Dharmendra & Nafisa Ali (the surprise couple-cute oldies), Kangana (whats with her dialogue delivery and showing off her legs and those blank cold looks on her face?!)

The music by Pritam and his band in black are placed in the film uniquely without disturbing the flow of the film and stretching it in length. Although it looks a little unrealistic after a while, still the music and lyrics make up for that oddity. `Rishtey', `In Dino', `Alvida' ,`O Meri Jaan', are my favourites in that order.

There are some wonderful dialogues by Sanjeev Dutta dialogues that depict precisely characters' inner world. As in when Shilpa asks Shiney "Did you leave your wife or she left you?" he replies with "Love left us" (skilfully shot this). Or Shilpa's voiceover explaining the distance between her and Kay Kay "Now even our silence fights with each other." Or Dharmendra telling, "The Search never ends.. Time does!" or some comical ones with some depth mouthed by Irrfan to KoKo after he asked her to shout out her frustrations on a terrace top "Your servicing is done" or Sharman declaring "I'm here for a race, not for a morning walk" and so on and so forth.

Basu cleverly balances two tracks with happy ending out of the four. But at the same time not enforcing any judgements about any of his characters. At the end there is something distinctly honest about this film that reaches its audience, making him/her only feel glad about watching it!

DVD:

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