Mystic River (Widescreen Edition)

Amazon.com

Superior acting, writing, and direction are on impressive display in the critically acclaimed Mystic River, Clint Eastwood's 24th directorial outing and one of the finest films of 2003. Sharply adapted by L.A. Confidential Oscar-winner Brian Helgeland from the novel by Dennis Lehane, this chilling mystery revolves around three boyhood friends in working-class Boston--played as adults by Tim Robbins, Sean Penn, and Kevin Bacon--drawn together by a crime from the past and a murder (of the Penn character's 19-year-old daughter) in the present. These dual tragedies arouse a vicious cycle of suspicion, guilt, and repressed anxieties, primed to explode with devastating and unpredictable results. Eastwood is perfectly in tune with this brooding material, giving his flawless cast (including Laura Linney, Marcia Gay Harden and Laurence Fishburne) ample opportunity to plumb the depths of a resonant human tragedy, leading to an ambiguous ending that qualifies Mystic River for contemporary classic status. --Jeff Shannon

Description

Drama. Mystic River tells the story of three men whose dark, interwoven history forces them to come to terms with a brutal murder on the mean streets of Boston.

Customer Reviews:

Deep.......2007-08-20

I should rate it five stars I just can't do it. I think it is because this film is so tragic. I mean that in a good way of course, the story is just riveting! I think Tim Robbins turned in the best job of his career here, well he also did good in that Shawshank film and that was also based on a book. Well enough of that and back to Mystic River, a movie that has a lot of misunderstandings between the people in the movie. I do not care for Sean Penn but anything he does is good, the best was probably though when he was in Fast times at Ridgemont high. I do not mean a pun with the word high so stop snickering!

Sean Penn at his best!.......2007-08-09

I really didn't like Mystic River very much because I thought it moved too slow. But I had to give it "a big thumps up," because the performances; while subtle, were believeable and on target. I thought Penn's "Dead Man Walking," performance better showcased the full range of his talent. In any event, while I didn't care much for the movie, I have to admit it was well made.

Engrossing Movie.......2007-07-06

It continually amazes me how people can look at the same thing and have such wide-ranging opinions of its worth. I found this film to my liking, although I didn't cotton to the ending. In order to enjoy this movie, one must have an attention span longer than 10 seconds, and one must enjoy drama that doesn't involve shooting and exploding and car chases and action that is unrealistic/absurd. The story is realistic, and the acting is superb. I love stuff that makes sense and is not in la la land.

Good but boring.......2007-07-01

Clint Eastwood makes boring movies. I don't know what else to say. It may just be that the cinemotography itself is dark so you fall asleep. It was a good film, with the acting saving it and though I never read the book, I heard it was like the book. Sean Penn deserved the Oscar but why this film got a Best Picture Nom. is beyond me. Eastwood is the golden child of the Academy and it is starting to get me mad

very emotional, driven by great performances..........2007-06-09

Sean Penn, without a doubt, is the heart and soul of this movie... Mystic River is one of the very best of Clint Eastwood's pictures and it features highly charged emotions in a great screenplay that flows beautifully despite the length of the film... It all comes back to childhood this is something (I think) we should all know - and something the characters in this movie discover as they fumble around trying to right the wrongs of the world.. Tim robbins' character (i try to be careful not to give away plot elements) is torn inside from a childhood experience and sees the world as a place where vampires roam and suck the blood of the innocent - something he takes upon himself to venge against.. Sean Penn's character is intent on finding justice himself following the death of his daughter.. and kevin bacon (who is a cop) is obviously trying to make up for the wrongs of the world - all three try and fail - because at heart they are children (like we all are) born to suffer in an unjust world.. Mystic river will make you cry if you truly let it break through your personal barriers.. Though i am not normally a fan of such movies (i generally find them predictable) 'mystic river', despite its rehashed dramatic techniques, works out - highly recommended..

Average customer rating:

Soooo funny!
Just plain slap stick funny
I Love you to Death
Poorlydescribed
I love you to death.

I Love You to Death
Starring: John Billingsley (II) , Michael Chieffo , James Gammon , Heather Graham , and William Hurt
Manufacturer: Sony Pictures
ProductGroup: DVD
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ASIN: B00009QUH5
Release Date: 2003-07-29

Amazon.com

This spotty black comedy from Lawrence Kasdan (The Big Chill)--based on a true story--stars Kevin Kline as a womanizing pizzeria owner whose mousy wife (Tracey Ullman) tries multiple ways of murdering him with the aid of sundry friends and hired hands. The film never picks up the necessary momentum or develops the necessary tone to drive it, and one is left picking and choosing which of the performers is at least adequately entertaining. Kline is good but perhaps a bit too theatrical, and Joan Plowright is hilarious as his mother-in-law. The funniest joke in the whole thing belongs to William Hurt and Keanu Reeves as deeply-stoned, would-be-killers who emerge from a taxi and look as if they can't remember what planet they're on. --Tom Keogh

Description

Joey works with Rosalie in their pizza parlor. She is convinced that he works all of the time for them and her world dissolves when she finds that he has been fooling around for years. So she, her mother and her best friend decide to kill him. Hopelessly incompetent as killers, they hire incompetent professionals as they beat, poison, and shoot Joey who remains oblivious to their attempts. An ensemble cast starring Academy Award® winner Kevin Kline,Tracey Ullman, Academy Award® winner Joan Plowright, River Phoenix, Academy Award® winner William Hurt, and Keanu Reeves.

Customer Reviews:

Soooo funny!.......2007-08-15

First of all, I love Kevin Kline; I think he is a brilliant actor and I really enjoy nearly everything he's ever done. Put him together with a wonderful cast that includes Joan Plowright and Tracey Ullman, and wow...this is just laughing-so-hard-there's-tears-rolling-down-your-face funny. Joan Plowright is probably my favorite character but the two stoners are very close. Keanu Reeves plays his very best role here; maybe because he doesn't have to work very hard? River Phoenix is part of the cast too, but I could take or leave his character. Sorry, Phoenix fans; I know he's dead, and that is a tragedy, but his part just isn't very interesting in this film. However, one of my favorite parts is when the mother (Plowright) spends time choosing the music to put on the record player to mask the sound of the gunshot. She doesn't want her daughter (Ullman) to put on Madonna. "Rosalie, you know I love Johnny Mathis!" Interesting to note that Heather Graham and Victoria Jackson both have bit parts in the film. Overall, a very silly film, and that's just the way I like it.

Just plain slap stick funny.......2007-08-06

Just a funny movie to watch when you want to be intertained and not have to think.

I Love you to Death.......2007-02-07

The movie title says it all, Kevin Kline as the philandering husband, Tracey Ullman as the long suffering wife and Joan Plowright as the suspicious Mother in Law combine to make it one of those classic comedies that you can watch over and over. Definitely a keeper.

Poorlydescribed.......2006-07-05

I have seen the movie before and loved it. When purchesed on line I was not told that it would only play on a region 2 DVD player and was consequently useless for me. Return was so complicated that it was not worth the trouble. Will see to it that anything I can purchase elsewhere will not be purchased on Amazon.

Rick

I love you to death........2006-06-16

Saw the last 40 minutes of this movie and i loved it.Rated R for some sexual content,brief nudity,and some strong violence.

Average customer rating:

Doesn't Come Close to "OZ" ...but
Doing Hard Time
Unrealistic, but worth a look ;>)
Pretty Boy Boris Visits Oz
An "OZ" rehash movie - but a very good one!

Doing Hard Time
Starring: Boris Kodjoe , Michael K. Williams , Sticky Fingaz , Reagan Gomez-Preston , and Jazsmin Lewis
Director: Preston A. Whitmore II
Manufacturer: Sony Pictures
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ASIN: B00061I28U
Release Date: 2004-11-23

Customer Reviews:

Doesn't Come Close to "OZ" ...but.......2007-04-09

OZ, in the opinion of someone I know who was in prison, was closer to reality than most of these American-made prison flicks which are so afraid of REALITY and sex, and usually brush over or totally leave out the one thing that is VERY IMPORTANT to every man in jail.

I've been told there is so much sex in prison, men get more of it there than they get in real life. Funny how hetero males "transfer" so quickly behind bars and suddenly don't find male/male sex so "disgusting."

I liked this movie, regardless, but I'm a reality freak. Give me ALL of it and tell it to the young so they'll know what to expect. It might just keep them from breaking the law.

The acting here isn't anything special, but Boris Kodjoe proves that he SHOULD take more acting lessons, perhaps he can cross over and become as big as Denzel Washington. There aren't many black "matinee idol" types gracing the screen these days. In America, they'd rather put Flava Flav in a big movie than someone like Boris Kodjoe.

Doing Hard Time.......2006-07-10

Really good movie Starring Boris Kudjoe. Impressive preformace for Kudjoe going outside the box doing a film about a professional brotha taking the law into his own hands after the death of his son. Wow I really enjoyed Mike Williams from the show, The Wire (HBO). The movie Doing Hard time was a good drama which should have gone to the theatres. I am glad I saw and brought the movie. I recommend this as a must see.

Unrealistic, but worth a look ;>).......2005-03-01

The only thing that made this movie "credible" was the acting from the dude with the cornrows from "The Wire" -series by Hbo-.
He plays that H-mo thug on that show, although he is constantly typecasted as a "knuckle-head-grimy individual" he does it superb,he kept this movie gangsta when it was "soft".

Story goes like this,Boris Kodjo loses his son in a gangwar crossfire and Kodjo's character "Michael Mitchell" starts to lose it sort of mentally and just can't cope. He eventually loses his wife too when she can no longer deal with his constant drinking and giving up on life mentality as a result of his son's death. There is a a supposedly "dramatic" scene where he is ying in a bubble filled bathtub crying and drinking himself into a "stupor" ala a bottle of jack Daniels..but the scene looks more like he was awaiting his wife to come and join him in the tub and get busy...and Boris (sorry to say)
CAN'T ACT his way out of a paperbag! I mean the crying scenes looked like he was laughing, no tears, oh god!
People like him fall into the "Lucky" territory,
you have no talent but just got "lucky" and it never hurts to
get by on looks neither.

He then plans his revenge on doing research on how to make a "paper machaey" gun???? that blows fire when you attach a rubberband to it??? like a sling-shot...I'm sorry I didn't get that part..they got too "MacGuyer" right there.
He gets pulled over one day for drunk driving,gives the cop a WICKED beatdown with an 8-ball in a sock...then sent to jail....the SAME jail that the gangbangers responsible for his son's death are at. And then the movie turns into "Bad Boys"...the Sean Penn version...you know the rest.

Anyways Boris Kodjo co-produced this movie so that's why he's on the cover art to lure the chicks in...but he is honestly bearly in the movie until towards the end (he was apparently too busy calling the shots as co-producer)ALOT of the time was taken up with the gangbangers he was after with them doing some drug deals with "Dirty" played by Sticky fingers from the rap group onyx, the movie was turning into "OZ" for about 1 hour of the film and made you forget about the original plot of revenge..I was getting so deep involved in the subplot of "who is trying to get dis money" or "you workin' for me now!" dialogue that when the real plot came back I lost interest.

There are ALOT of men's butt nudity scenes in the film including kodjo's, the ladies'll like that one.
Overall the movie is worth a look though even though it's
predictable and poorly acted by Kodjo.

Pretty Boy Boris Visits Oz.......2005-02-28

I was at first intrigued at the possibility of Boris Kodjoe showing some diversity as a tough guy in this role, however after viewing the first few minutes I came to the conclusion that Mr. Kodjoe is lacking in acting ability.

If you are looking for a low budget Oz replacement then you will enjoy this film. Their are many shots that will satisfy the ladies, but overall the movie is predictable in it's genre.

Of course a few turn in some pretty good performances, but otherwise I suggest renting or buying the season of Oz because the plot and storylines are better.

An "OZ" rehash movie - but a very good one!.......2004-12-13

One of the recurring motion picture subjects that resurfaces yearly (at least) is the inside prison movie. The public's curiosity about what happens behind locked bars is endless. The long running HBO series OZ added to the numbers of that audience and that seems to be what spawned DOING HARD TIME.

Director Preston A. Whitmore II understands this genre of films and has taken a rather simple story and told it well. Strapping young Boris Kodjoe is devastated when his young son is accidentally killed during a drug deal between two thugs who are arrested and jailed for drug crimes but not for the killing of Kodjoe's son. Revenge blooms during Kodjoe's growing escape through alcohol and on one drunken night he assaults a police officer and gains his goal of arrest and jail time in the same prison where the perpetrators are doing hard time.

How this revenge ultimately plays out is the gist of the film. In the prison we meet all the usual prisoner types and they are actually well crafted and acted by a crew that includes Michael K. Williams, Sticky Fingaz, William L. Johnson, etc and the other side of the bars by Steven Bauer, Giancarlo Esposito and Jazmin Lewis. Not a great or an important film, but a tightly directed and convincingly portrayed prison flick. Grady Harp, December 2004

Mystic River (Three-Disc Collector's Edition)

Average customer rating:

Deep
Sean Penn at his best!
Engrossing Movie
Good but boring
very emotional, driven by great performances...

Mystic River (Three-Disc Collector's Edition)
Starring: Sean Penn , Tim Robbins , Kevin Bacon , Laurence Fishburne , and Marcia Gay Harden
Director: Clint Eastwood
Manufacturer: Warner Home Video
ProductGroup: DVD
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ASIN: B0001ZX0PG
Release Date: 2004-06-08

Amazon.com

Description

Drama. Mystic River tells the story of three men whose dark, interwoven history forces them to come to terms with a brutal murder on the mean streets of Boston.

DVD Features:
Audio Commentary:Commentary by Tim Robbins and Kevin Bacon
Documentaries:"Beneath the Surface": Documentary including Clint Eastwood's elaboration on why he made the film, interviews with the cast, and journey back to the steets of Boston with author Dennis Lehane. "From Page to Screen", Bravo special.
Interviews:Selections from the Charlie Rose Show including segments with Clint Eastwood, Tim Robbins and Kevin Bacon.
Theatrical Trailer:Pre-sale date is 4/2/04

Customer Reviews:

Deep.......2007-08-20

Sean Penn at his best!.......2007-08-09

Engrossing Movie.......2007-07-06

Good but boring.......2007-07-01

very emotional, driven by great performances..........2007-06-09

Average customer rating:

Deep
Sean Penn at his best!
Engrossing Movie
Good but boring
very emotional, driven by great performances...

Mystic River (Full Screen Edition)
Starring: Sean Penn , Tim Robbins , Kevin Bacon , Laurence Fishburne , and Marcia Gay Harden
Director: Clint Eastwood
Manufacturer: Warner Home Video
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: B0001ZX0OM
Release Date: 2004-06-08

Amazon.com

Description

Drama. Mystic River tells the story of three men whose dark, interwoven history forces them to come to terms with a brutal murder on the mean streets of Boston.

Customer Reviews:

Deep.......2007-08-20

Sean Penn at his best!.......2007-08-09

Engrossing Movie.......2007-07-06

Good but boring.......2007-07-01

very emotional, driven by great performances..........2007-06-09

Average customer rating:

Buyer beware! (Please read my review)
Atmospheric but tepid
Waterlogged
Powerful film that should be avoided by small minded idiots with ADD
A Promise Not Kept

The River King
Starring: Liam Cyr , Colin Rogers (III) , Edward Burns , John Kapelos , and Bruce Murphy (IV)
Director: Nick Willing
Manufacturer: First Look Pictures
ProductGroup: DVD
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ASIN: B000BPK2KC
Release Date: 2006-01-24

Product Description

Detective Abel Grey (Edward Burns) is called to investigate the death of a prep shcool student in the nearby river. Initially ruled as a suicide, Grey suspects that the death was a hazing incident gone toofar and solicits the help of a sypathetic and smitten teacher (Jennifer Ehle) to uncover the truth. Through a series of mysteriously placed clues, he is led on a path to not only uncover the answers to the student death, but also with how own personal demons stemming from the suicide of his older brother years earlier.

Customer Reviews:

Buyer beware! (Please read my review).......2007-07-16

The reason that I indicated "please read my review" is that generally customers disregard 1 star review. But I couldn't give something more in order to make it convincible. In fact if I had the opportunity I would have given 0 starts...
The film is EXXXTTTTREEEEEEMMMLLLYYYYY DULL AND SLOW! It is a type of film that will make you ask yourself "so whatt??" in the end. In fact you start to ask this to yourself even in the middle of the film.
Just a note to bear in mind: If you come across with the trailer of the movie by chance, you need to know that it doesn't reflect the actual synopsis of the film. It reflects as if this movie is a creepy horror film. It is not. It would be in the drama category I think. I saw the trailer in the DVD of Half Light, which is a product of the same movie company. BTW, Half Light altough not perfect, was far much better.

Atmospheric but tepid.......2007-01-15

The River King is a passable evening's entertainment that merits a repeat viewing, provided your expectations are limited to one or more of the following: a "New England-y" movie with lots of New England-type (in reality, Halifax) snow scenes; remote, elite prep school movies and/or hazing films; murder mystery with vague sense of unease/discord.

Good acting will, however, be in short supply (that's right, I'm here speaking of...well, everyone except the British guy aka Julian Rhind-Hutt). Ditto on contiguous, well-integrated narrative lines and quality sound production (maybe it was the mics, but everyone sounds like they were recorded with a ten-dollar Radio Shack tape recorder).

I've not read The River King, but I have read two or three other Hoffman novels. She is not, for me, the best of contemporary writers, but she comes up with interesting stories with strong senses of place/setting (usually New England) and her polished style is rich in metaphor
and a northern (Anglo) version of magical-realism. Having read other of her works (and seen the very silly but fairly entertaining Practical Magic), I can say that her work appears difficult to translate to film. Here, for example, the tadpoles trope (which screams "Hoffman magical realism alert") was quite foolishly played with an emphasis on the realism rather than the magic.

Yet despite the expected pitfalls of Hoffman adaptation, the filmmakers could have done a better job with this project, perhaps by excising the face-in-the-photographs theme, which misleadingly promises a supernatural storyline. The only ghosts in this movie are psychological.

Ed Burns looks too much like Sean Hayes ("Will & Grace")for me to take him seriously as a self-contained, troubled cop. Plus, his reading of some of his lines causes me to seriously question how he ever made it big in movies. British actor Jamie King plays bad boyfriend Harry, and his lousy American accent mirrors his acting skills. Quebec-born Rachelle LeFevre is passable as the grieving best friend Carlin, and her lovely mane of red-gold curls distracts us enough that we don't really notice any faltering steps.

Half British-half American Jennifer Ehle pulls out the rusty American accent of her youth (it has been asserted she can slip in and out of equally perfect Yank and Brit accents at will), although Yank is in fact a misnomer; she "cayn't" help but speak in an odd corruption of her native North Carolinian twang.

The score is solid and offers and appropriate feeling of discord, with the best work--on what sounds like a mandolin or dulcimer--over the credits.

If you are interested primarily in "atmosphere" of the sort that suggests everyone is hiding a secret, and if you can tolerate uneven acting and a few poor accents, by all means, pick up the River King. Mostly, you will enjoy this provided your expectations are not high, especially due to the big-name actors.

I've watched it twice now and will likely pop it in again on a rainy Sunday when I am avoiding housework. Here's hoping you can find an equally good use for it.

Waterlogged.......2007-01-15

A murder mystery at an elite school, wrapped in the silent chill of a snowy winter. Why not? Well, "The River King" shows that a movie needs a coherent plot as well as a unique style, but it belly flops painfully with its uninspiring acting, meandering storyline, and an ending that completely bombs.

Student Gus Pierce (Thomas Gibson) is found frozen in the river. Cop Abel Grey (Edward Burns) investigates the elite prep school that Gus attended, trying to find out if it was an accident, suicide, or murder -- any of them is possible, since Gus was quite angry. Abel also finds time to romance a teacher at the school (Jennifer Ehle).

But the mystery of Gus's death is that no one seems to care -- his classmates despised him, and the police drop the case without warning, despite signs of foul play. But with his personal demons emerging, Abel continues investigating the case, suspecting it of being a hazing gone wrong -- and discovers that he may have been wrong all along.

But if you must adjust a book's plot for a movie, then at least it should make sense. And for seventy-five percent of "River King," the plot seems like a straightforward murder mystery, framed in beautiful New England houses, snow, icy rivers and sleeping trees. Okay, the actual investigations could be covered in fifteen minutes rather than an hour, but it's all right.

Then... it all comes apart. Burns and Ehle's relationship feels thrown in (does obsession let you have breaks for romance?). Director Nick Willing and writer David Kane try to make this a jack-of-all-trades film, with the token romance, ghost stories, murder mystery, and a creepy philosophical high school club. Most of these subplots are touched on just long enough to make them seem bizarre, but not enough to make them a part of the movie.

And the finale makes no sense -- after dozens of clues, sinister coverups, and glaringly obvious murder, Willing and Kane decide to throw a "shocking twist" into the finale. Except it's not a twist -- suddenly the whole lone-wolf murder mystery becomes a catalyst for Abel's family problems. It's a MASSIVE anticlimax that feels like a sandbag whack in the face. Viewers are left with nothing. At all.

Burns does what he can with his role, even though Abel is somnolent at best. The only scenes where he gets to show what he can do is when Abel is angry. And he has zero chemistry with Jennifer Ehle, who does a nice job despite a paper-thin character and bad wig. Rachelle Lefevre is the only actress who gets to play a character of any dimensions -- the slightly off galpal of Gus'.

"The River King" had so much promise, but it bogs down in its glacial plot and absurdist ending. Even Ehle and Burns can't save this soggy, cold little mess.

Powerful film that should be avoided by small minded idiots with ADD.......2007-01-05

Gorgeously brooding cinematography, brilliant and perfectly chosen cast and a deeply emotive score characterize this melancholy reflection on the death of a young man and the ripples it has on the lives of a cop, a teacher and a close friend. Easily one of the best films of 2005 that sadly fell under the radar. This is one of those rare gems that real film lovers will discover in the years to come and hold up as an example of what a great movie can really be.

Sadly now you're stuck with reviews on Amazon.com from 3 camps:

1) The book purists who decry any derivation from the original source material and refuse to look at the film apart from the novel (a complaint that's understood but unjustified and unfair when judging a film on its own merits);

2) Moronic, tasteless idiots (usually younger viewers but not necessarily) who lack a brain, a heart and any measure of patience for anything that doesn't involve slick antiheroes, fast-paced violence and debasing sex;

3) Fans of the material who like what they've seen but struggle to properly synopsize or understand it due to the film's subtleties and metaphoric nature. I'll put myself in this latter category as I think the film is best experienced than read about, but as there are so many dim-witted responses to this film, I might as well try my own dim-witted attempt to explain what is so incredible about this picture.

I won't go into the plot, save to say that it begins with the discovery of a body in a river and the investigation by an honest police officer (played by Burns) who starts to see evidence that more is involved than an accident.

The three leads are very real, tragic characters that belong to the town's icy wasteland which has become infused with the mysterious death that in each of their lives takes on almost mythological proportions.

Burns is absolutely perfect in the role of a cop whose grief for his long dead brother is triggered by the investigation and possible cover-up. Unspoken and stoic, the grief is all in his achingly haunted eyes; like the small town blanketed in winter the character is frozen by sorrow, unable to move forward in his life.

Burns is joined by the ever wonderful Jennifer Ehle (Pride & Prejudice), a teacher in the school where the boy attended, who in her own way becomes obsessed by the tragedy of the case. Unlike Burns, Ehle is frozen not by the past, but by the future -- engaged to a man that is utterly void and cold -- yet unable to see a way out for herself.

Lastly there is the dead boy's friend played by Rachelle Lefevre, a young woman traumatized by the possibility that her friend may have committed suicide due to a fight she had with him shortly prior to his death. Unable to cope with the part she may have played, she becomes a stark figure of grief stuck in the icy landscape of a terrible moment.

Part of what makes this film so powerful and refreshing is it's deft use of music, camera and subtle metaphoric elements to create a deeply moody palette that approaches myth, yet remains utterly real and hauntingly reflective without falling into the cliched supernatural thriller mold. Likewise, while utilizing some of the trappings of mystery and cop films, it never descends into the cliche of the violent police film, nor the mystery movie that presents twists just for the sake of fooling the audience.

This film works at a much higher level than all of that. Yet despite its metaphysical elements, it's never pretentious or ungrounded in real life, even if at times that reality is heightened. There is a rare emotive quality here that weaves a spell akin to what great literature is able to achieve, creating genuine mystery and keeping the reality of the plot from ever feeling altogether depressing (which some feel while reading a newspaper for example.) It's aptly named The River King as there are layers of depth that will have you returning to the film and even picking up the original novel by Alice Hoffman. Sadly, the only thing lacking is any kind of extras on the DVD (save the trailer which is terribly cut to make the film look like something else.) A future release with director's and actors' commentary, an interview with Alice Hoffman, deleted scenes and other added bonuses would be great! That said, the 16x9 transfer is incredibly life-like and detailed. The 5.1 sound makes good use of the surrounds where appropriate to create and sustain the film's stark atmosphere.

Without revealing anything, I think where some people find themselves disappointed in the film (apart from the simpleminded buffoons who demand Hollywood cliches and can't handle something different) is that the River King takes the viewer on a journey that shows us glimpses of an elusive heightened sense of reality, but brings us back to the surface of the real world. And it is a grievous world. And yet as in the image of spring and the flowing water, lives become unthawed, and the story is redeemed from being too unremittingly grim. Not every mystery is solved, and not everything is perfectly tied up. Nor should it be. That's not how life is. And the river keeps its own secrets.

If nothing else I've said makes any sense, trust me when I say this: If you appreciate a movie that actually makes you feel something, and doesn't have to provide pat answers and false thrills, pick up The River King.

A Promise Not Kept.......2006-08-25

This is a thoughtful, well-made film but its problem is that the ending leaves the viewer disappointed and let-down. It poses a number of interesting, possible answers to the death of a young man, yet the "truth" of that death leaves both the viewer and the hero of the story feeling that we have wasted our time in trying to make sense of it. This film has the saving grace of Jennifer Ehle, whose beauty and grace shine far beyond her role. There is something magical about this actress and the film is worth seeing if only to watch her. Another of her films, "Possession," is similarly lit by her performance.

Average customer rating:

Starting Again
Starring: Denis Arndt , Jay Brazeau , Lossen Chambers , Ken Kramer , and Dorothy Lyman
Director: Oz Scott
Manufacturer: Direct Source Label
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: B000EPFCYK
Release Date: 2006-04-11

El Rio Y La Muerte (The River & Death) [NTSC/REGION 1 & 4 DVD. Import-Latin America]

Average customer rating:

El Rio Y La Muerte (The River & Death) [NTSC/REGION 1 & 4 DVD. Import-Latin America]
Director: Luis Buñuel
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

Luis Bunuel 2-Disc Collector's Edition (Gran Casino / The Young Ones)

ASIN: B000UH8FDC

Product Description

A small town by the shore of a deep, dark river is ruled by death. Its people live by a code of honor that encourages them to take revenge for any form of insult, no matter how insignificant. A seemingly never ending blood feud ravages the town, as the men, one by one, kill each other, proudly, fiercely, accepting their fate and sense of mission. Vengeance is considered not so much a crime as an act of courage. If a murderer manages to escape without being killed in return, he's left with no option but to cross the river and to live on the desolate, opposite shore, banished from the town and away from his loved ones. The victim is also taken across the river inside his coffin and buried in a distant cemetery. Few are those who speak against this violence and they can do little to prevent it. Gerardo, a young man of modern thought who studied medicine in the closest big city, must at last return to his hometown and try to put an end to this delirious, anachronistic, macho gun culture.

Conspiracy Files: Princess Diana - A Plot at the Palace

Average customer rating:

Not So Bad!
Don't waste your money

Conspiracy Files: Princess Diana - A Plot at the Palace
Starring: Princess Diana
Manufacturer: Columbia River Ent.
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: B000A2GEUS
Release Date: 2005-09-13

Customer Reviews:

Not So Bad!.......2006-08-09

Actually this DVD is quite interesting! The Picture and sound aren't so bad and while i'd heard alot of this before, there were some new ideas, and a summation of the old ones. This 2005 look into the conspiracy proves the controversy surrounding her tragic death continues unabated! Speculation about her death has recieved new impetus from a new coroner's investigation and the disclosure that Lady Diana suspected a plot before her death! The CD examines whether Diana was pushed towards a divorce by a conspiracy feuked by a jealous Buckingham Palace, & whether the royals played a hand. 5 stars for the info, 3 stars for the budget packaging.

Don't waste your money.......2006-04-25

I didn't hold much hope for this DVD when I ordered it but decided to try it out anyway, that was a mistake.
Amazon gives a 2005 release date, the packaging says 2004 but the program itself originally aired (somewhere) in 1996 so don't expect any murder stuff.
The video quality is terrible, maybe worse than if you had taped it yourself from TV at the worst possible recording speed with a worn out tape. I found that so distracting I had trouble paying attention.
You get several "talking heads" that you may recognize (most of the time they aren't identified)but there is no captioning or subtitling, hard of hearing?- you're in trouble. You won't learn anything beyond these people's opinions, no evidence presented to back anything up.
The video bits you see?, same old, old stuff- almost nothing you haven't seen a dozen times before at better quality in many other DVD's/tapes.
The main value here is in using the disc as a drink coaster and the DVD case for storing some better program. Definitely not worth the money, maybe not even if you can find it at some local garage sale for 50 cents.

Average customer rating:

The villain from Jet Li's Shaolin Temple and Martial Arts of Shaolin gets a leading role!
Good Mainland pic

Yellow River Fighter
Starring: Cheng-Hui Yu , and Hu Jian Qiang
Director: Xinyan Zhang
Manufacturer: World Video
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Action & Adventure | Genres | DVD | Video

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ASIN: B00007184Q
Release Date: 2002-09-17

Customer Reviews:

The villain from Jet Li's Shaolin Temple and Martial Arts of Shaolin gets a leading role!.......2007-07-17

This movie has the same director, actors, and action directors as Jet Li's Shaolin Temple movies. Jet Li not being in the movie is not a bad thing, because Yue Sing-wai is a perfect choice for the lead role. I don't know how old he is during the time of this movie, but I would say at least 40. His facial features and sword skills give him the perfect look for this role, but his acting is much better than I expected. I don't think he had any other lead roles, so cherish this movie.

Around 1000 years ago, China was always a war with itself. Yue Sing-wai plays swordsman Ma Yi. After he watches his daughter die during a raid on his village, he starts to drink his life away hoping to ease his pain. Because he saved a king at the start of the movie, the king wants to give him a big reward. After being poisoned, Ma Yi is left partially blind. He has no wish to live, but decides to accompany the king, not because he wants the riches he is offered, but because it is the king's wish. There is not just 1 king, but 3 are vying for the position. The good king decides to send a challenge to the evil king (played by Gai Chun-wa), the same guy who killed Ma Yi's daughter. Nobody in the king's army will take the challenge, so Ma Yi volunteers. It goes very badly, and Ma Yi barely escapes alive. But, he gets his revenge on the man who killed his daughter. When Ma Yi returns, he is offered a high ranking position, but that just isn't Ma Yi's thing. He looks to lead a happy life and the king agrees to give him his own sword school. But with war always going on, Ma Yi can't just sit idle at his school. I will leave the last 30 minutes for you the viewer to find out what happens. It is cruel and bloody and there is a great twist that happens towards the end.

The action is about as good as it gets. This is without a doubt one of the top 20 best sword fighting movies ever. Yue Sing-wai is probably the greatest sword fighter I have ever seen on screen.

The location shots also have to me mentioned. The sets and outdoor locations are absolutely stunning. It all feels real, especially when men are fighting on an iced river.

4.5/5

The DVD from World Video has good picture quality. This a dark movie for the most part, and the English dubbing kind of ruins that. Sound quality is good, but I would have liked to have heard the original language.

Good Mainland pic.......2003-11-25

This film was made by several people envolved
with Jet Li's Shaolin Temple trilogy and it
will be fairly easy to pick out some faces (sorry,
don't have the names at my fingertips).
The story is about a swordsman who's village is
caught between warring feudal lords (I believe there
are three groups, all plotting to wipe each other
out). Our swordsman is more or less non-partisan until
his wife and daughter are killed. Ironically,
all the warlords want him to join their forces on

account of his indredible skills, but are willing to
resort to any means if he won't join them.
The tone od the story is somewhat downbeat, and there
are no surprises in terms of plot, but the action is
pletiful and we see some great drunken sword!
World Video's version of this is widescreen (1.8.5)
and offers english dub or cantonese (but no subs!!!!!).
This movie was filmed with a pretty serious budget and we
can tell on account of the large armies and elaborate
costums. The print is sharp and well preserved.
Worth checking out!

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