The Fighting Seabees

Description

All-American hero John Wayne takes a crew of construction workers and turns them into one of WWII's toughest fighting forces in this action-packed war classic. But first he has to convince the army brass to let his civilians bear arms, and then he's got to whip them into combat shape. Now Wayne is fighting for his life on a different battlefield when he's brought up on court-martial charges for leading his troops in an all-out assault against the Japanese. It's Wayne at his best, playing the kind of rough-and-tumble man of honor that made him a legend and Hollywood's biggest star. An entertaining combination of strong supporting performances by Daniel O'Keefe and ravishing, about-to-be superstar Susan Hayward.

Customer Reviews:

Three-and-a-half stars for this very fine John Wayne WWII pic, 50th anniversary at that........2006-06-15

John Wayne plays Wedge Donovan (a
character name he would use 19 yrs.,
later in 1963's Donovan's Reef), a
construction Engineering magnate who
ends up selling the US Navy on arming
civilian personnel in hot LZs! He does
get killed in here (like in 'The Cow-
boys' - **.5)but his movie was way bet-
ter! Enough referrences to'japs', 'mon-
kies', et, al and other racial epithe-
ts to turn off the 'politically stupid'
types. Well, that was the terms used at
the times. [to cross referrence, see J.
Garner's fine 'Grand Prix' movie to see
how attitudes changed by 1966!]

wayne shines in this grim war thriller made during the war.......2006-06-06

john wayne and susan hayward star in this great war movie about the seabees,the construction branch of the navy that was set up as world war II started. wayne is the leader of a construction gang sent to build airstrips and other things for the army and navy in the pacific as war starts out. not being soldiers they can't carry guns and must take cover when shooting starts(useing guns would get them shot as spies). well wayne doesn't like to hide so he pushes the navy to arm and train his men so they can build and fight when needed! this is of of his best early war movies and it even has a shocking twist at the end!! a must for wayne fans.

Great Chemistry.......2005-11-20

There is great chemistry between Susan Hayward and John Wayne! Even though he plays someone tough, you can feel the romance growing between John and Susan. Great piece of work!

Navy Heritage - US Navy Seabees.......2004-07-16

This movie has become a part of lore among the men and women of the finest combat contstruction organizations of the US military. It is a nice Hollywood adaptation of the creation of the US Navy Seabees. And who can forget the best character in the movie -- Natasha! It's not often that you see JW's character make the ultimate sacrifice. I watch this and see the beginning of some traditions and attitudes still in practice today. "With Compassion for Others, We Build - We Fight, for Peace with Freedom," from the Seabee Museum. Remember their montra: Seabee Can-Do.

Susan and the Duke........2003-07-03

This is probably only a 2 star movie, but I rounded up because susan Hayward was my fav actress of that era, and JW was my fav actor period.

Average customer rating:

another film ruined by shoddy DVD manufacturing
Sex Has Come Between Us! (3.5 Stars)
O as in Orgasm....even in Ohio .....
When Sex is All that Matters...
a light weight very bland and boring comedy

The OH in Ohio
Starring: Parker Posey , Danny DeVito , Winter Ave Zoli , Miranda Bailey , and Paul Rudd
Director: Billy Kent
Manufacturer: Hbo Home Video
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Comedy | Genres | DVD | Video

( O ) | Titles | Features | DVD | Video
Similar Items:

ASIN: B000I2JDEO
Release Date: 2006-12-05

Amazon.com

On the surface, Priscilla Chase (Parker Posey, Superman Returns) has it all: good job, stable marriage, attractive Cleveland abode. In truth, the smartly dressed ad exec is sexually unsatisfied. In fact, she's never experienced the "oh" of the title. Husband Jack (a scruffy Paul Rudd, The 40-Year-Old Virgin), high school bio teacher, has problems of his own. He's so unhappy with their lackluster sex life he's taken to drinking on the job. Priscilla sets out to overcome her dysfunction. That means trips to a therapist, a self-help guru (a blonde Liza Minnelli), and an adult toy shop (staffed by an unbilled Heather Graham). Eventually she finds a possible solution. All the while, Jack solicits advice from a smooth-talking colleague (Keith David in hilarious form) and spends time with precocious student Kristen (Mischa Barton, more construct than character). Then there's local celeb Wayne the Pool Guy (a ponytailed Danny DeVito), who fills an unexpected role in this passion play. Billy Kent's debut is pitched somewhere between Everything You Always Wanted to Know about Sex and an episode of Sex and the City. (The dialogue may be unbridled, but there's only a hint of flesh.) The main reason to see the film is simply for the star. From start to, um, finish, Posey is thoroughly charming, never overplaying the kind of role that could've been painful to watch in the hands of a lesser actress. --Kathleen C. Fennessy

Description

Priscilla Chase (Parker Posey) seems to have everything going for her - the perfect job, the perfect house, the perfect husband - except for in bed where sex has always left her a bit short of the finish line. When her husband leaves her to regain his manhood with a young student (Mischa Barton), Priscilla embarks on a wild journey that ultimately leads her to love in the most unlikely place.

DVD Features:
Deleted Scenes
Extended takes

Customer Reviews:

another film ruined by shoddy DVD manufacturing.......2007-03-22

This is a review of the OH IN OHIO DVD, rather than the film itself. It's also a warning.

I first rented OH IN OHIO from Netflix. The DVD kept skipping and stalling. I couldn't watch it all. I figured it was badly scratched. So I bought a new DVD from Amazon. It arrived looking pristine, still wrapped in celephone. I even played it on a different DVD player. Yet this DVD also SKIPPED AND STALLED!

My DVD player was even RUMBLING and GROANING when it tried to play this new DVD. And it's not the DVD player, because when I put in another DVD, it had no trouble.

Seems OH IN OHIO went through some pretty shoddy DVD manufacturing "quality control."

Why do SO MANY DVDs skip and stall? And if DVDs are so fragile, why don't CDs and CD-ROMs have this problem?

In the 1980s, VIDEO magazine published a theory that the studios were releasing poor quality VHS tapes because they didn't want consumers to build longterm libraries. That makes sense.

Remember, the studios never wanted to sell their movies, they only wanted to rent tapes to video stores. It was a series of court cases in the 1970s/80s concerning antitrust, restraint of trade, and fair use in copyright (such as the Sony Betamax case) that barred the studios from restricting the trade of independent video stores.

Yet the studios made a bundle when people built tape libraries. Another bundle now that people are replacing their fragile tapes with fragile DVDs.

I can see why the studios don't want to manufacture decent quality DVDs, lest consumers have permanent movies floating around for decades. Studios earn nothing on the sale of used DVDs. Better for them to manufacture fragile DVDs that won't last, so consumers will more easily replace their scratchy DVDs when the next format comes along.

I'm really tired of SO MANY DVDs skipping and stalling. I wish there was more consumer outrage against these crappy studio practices.

Based on what I could see of OH IN OHIO, Parkey Posey is pretty and delightful, although the film is fluffy and lightweight, unlike her darker 1990s comedies (i.e., HOUSE OF YES, CLOCKWATCHERS).

My one star is no slam on Posey, nor even on the film. It refers to the crappy DVD.

IMPORTANT: Google "DVD rot". You'll be surprised and disheartened by what you'll find.

Sex Has Come Between Us! (3.5 Stars).......2007-02-22

"The Oh in Ohio" is a self-assured slice of life that can touch viewers while disconcerting them all the while. Its comedic aspirations don't come to full fruition and its screenplay is a tad undercooked, but the actors overcome this with suave, easy charm.

Poking sly, understated fun at the overemphasis of sex in society, it is neither for the prudish nor for those who need slapstick to find humor. Sex may be the centrifugal force of the film, but this is no "40-Year Old Virgin," even though Paul Rudd plays similarly sympathetic characters in each.

Priscilla Chase, played by Parker Posey, is an ambitious, ditzy woman on the fast track to large-scale corporate success. However, to the dismay of her schoolteacher husband Jack, played by Rudd, she is the consummate cold fish. She may know the exact number of times they've had sex, but she has never had a single orgasm - ever - due to a "sexual dysfunction." Nor does she seem interested in doing so soon.

Things go up in smoke. She may have caused the problem, but Jack cannot get past the fact that the one woman he has not satisfied in bed is his wife of ten years. After moving to the garage and confiding in his friend and colleague Popovitch, played with cheeky delight by Keith David, he finally begins a full-fledged separation from Priscilla when she becomes overly addicted to a vaginal vibrator. He moves to the Manly Arms apartment complex - "Why settle for the mundane when you can be the king of your domain?" - and gives in to the advances of sophisticated 18-year old student Kristen, played perfectly by Mischa Barton, who lost her innocence long before he came along.

Priscilla is thus left to find her sexual identity. She pursues sex with random men, but she finds it unsatisfying. Sex with sex shop clerk Justine, played by Heather Graham, doesn't do the trick either. Wayne the Pool Guy, played with zest and warmth by Danny DeVito, however, puts an entirely new spin on things, awakening "parts of Cleveland" she never knew existed. In Wayne she finds

Liza Minelli is a hoot in her scene as an overzealous sex therapist, and Posey really brings it home when Jack finally gives Priscilla the satisfaction that was missing from their bedroom by merely calling her cell phone during, of all moments, an important board meeting. It's where the phone specifically is, of course, that matters.

"The Oh In Ohio" is equal parts raunchy and touching as it cloaks its characters in genuine humanity. Sex may come between them, but it's who they are, not what they are, that matters in the end.

O as in Orgasm....even in Ohio ............2007-02-12

You have to take this with a grain of salt. Full disclosure, I'm from Cleveland originally so I had a ball watching this satire. That's what it is -- don't take it for a comedy or a drama...it's a satire and a bit of a black comedy. Subtitled one woman's story is about to climax. About Parker Posey's sexual dysfunction, it's both naughty and nice. Danny DeVito is hilarious....the section of the movie where there's a slide into the pool is a good analogy for the theme which is about the quest for not only the big O but also personal fulfillment. Paul Rudd lets Parker take the lead, Mischa Barton is sweet and savvy and very sexy. And it proves that all is not perfect with the prettiest girl in Cleveland even when you marry her. Don't miss the hilarious and deleted scenes....completely mindless popcorn movie...for late night viewing instead of HSN....

When Sex is All that Matters..........2007-01-28

THE OH IN OHIO reminds us that late night suggestive sitcoms are still around only now they are becoming full length feature films: 20 minutes worth of idea becomes stretched beyond the elastic point in this silly and oh-so-pink little bit of fluff. First time director Billy Kent and writer Sarah Bird with assistance from Kent somehow managed to not only get producers to pay attention to their project but also attracted some good actors to try to pull it off. 'Money makes the world go around...'

The plot is minimal: Parker Posey plays successful business woman Priscilla Chase who is known for her beauty, is married to a Biology teacher Jack Chase (Paul Rudd) who is on the skids from depression over the fact that his machismo is daily challenged by the fact the Priscilla has never had an orgasm. This fact somehow demeans Jack who has always bragged about his triumphs in bed but his career and self-esteem are in a pit due to Priscilla's sexual dysfunction. Priscilla attends a sex therapy session for women hosted by none other than Liza Minnelli where she is encouraged to get to know her vagina. At the suggestion from Priscilla's friend Sherri (Miranda Bailey) concurrently with Jack's friend Coach Popovich (Keith David) and the counsel of a therapist, Priscilla buys a vibrator and the story from then on is how Priscilla's new-found satisfaction alters her life, pushes Jack into the arms of a student (Mischa Barton), and on and on with Priscilla finding outlets for her discovery with a sex toys salesgirl, a pool guy (Danny DeVito). Everything about Priscilla and Jack is changed and for the rest of what's left of the standup comedy routine viewers will have to decide if they care to watch the DVD.

About the only thing that pulls this together is Parker Posey, unafraid to take on a script that asks her to demean herself in the process. This is definitely one of those films to perhaps rent when the video store shelves are empty. Grady Harp, January 07

a light weight very bland and boring comedy.......2006-12-12

a quite regular movie, quite cliched screeplay and storyline. the problem of this movie is that you could see every turn's coming and know what's next. maybe a few half-hearted laughs and that' all, folks

Average customer rating:

Adrift in a French farce without a sense of humor
Well written and well acted.
A surprising look inside the nature of Love
A unique relationship between two extraordinary individuals
The Strange Course of True Love

Carrington
Starring: Emma Thompson , Jonathan Pryce , Steven Waddington , Samuel West , and Rufus Sewell
Director: Christopher Hampton
Manufacturer: MGM (Video & DVD)
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Art House & International | Genres | DVD | Video

General | Drama | Genres | DVD | Video

General | Foreign & International | Stores | DVD | Video

DVDs Under $9.99 | Today's Deals in DVD | Special Features | DVD | Video

( C ) | Titles | Features | DVD | Video
Similar Items:

ASIN: B00005R5GC
Release Date: 2001-12-26

Amazon.com

Life among the Bloomsbury group in post-Victorian England, as seen through the relationship between writer Lytton Strachey (Jonathan Pryce in a well-wrought, if mannered performance) and painter Dora Carrington (Emma Thompson). Carrington won't give herself to any of the men in her life (including her husband)--at least not emotionally. Instead, this woman has found her soulmate in Strachey, a homosexual who, in fact, has a crush on Carrington's husband. They try to maintain a friendship outside their various romantic liaisons but keep winding up with each other. Still, despite an intriguing performance by Pryce and a cooler, less accessible one by Thompson, this film never quite takes off. Once you get the point--that this is a love that will never be consummated--you begin to wonder if, in fact, there is a larger point to be had. There isn't. --Marshall Fine

Description

Written and directed by Academy AwardÂ(r) winner* Christopher Hampton (Dangerous Liaisons) and starring two-time Academy AwardÂ(r) winner** Emma Thompson (Sense and Sensibility) and Jonathan Pryce (Evita), Carrington is an "emotionally complex, moving" (Los Angeles Times) tale of lifelong love with unorthodox compromises, that is utterly enthralling entertainment! Amid the trendy, bohemian scene of London's famed Bloomsbury group, DoraCarrington (Thompson), a talented young artist, first meets bon vivant and writer Lytton Strachey (Pryce). The two creative souls are instantly attracted, although Strachey's desires clearly lie elsewhere. The unlikely pair joyously spends colorful days pursuing their artsand discovering that love works in mysterious ways. But their blissful existence hangs in the balance when Carrington brings home a lover and they suddenly find themselves caught within a bizarre love triangle. As conflicting passions heat to a boiling point, will true love triumph or will Carrington lose her one and onlysoul mate forever? *1988: Adapted Screenplay, Dangerous Liaisons **1995: Adapted Screenplay, Sense and Sensibility; 1992: Actress, Howard's End

Customer Reviews:

Adrift in a French farce without a sense of humor.......2007-09-03

This film, "Carrington," displays just about all the virtues and faults of the Merchant-Ivory/Masterpiece Theater genre. It is very earnest, very well acted and very pretty to look upon. It's sometimes quite intelligent. It is also very self-satisfied, very slow and very lacking in humor. It's sometimes very dull, too.

The virtues are just that, virtues. Cumulatively, they build up a lot of credit for this film. The faults, depending on a viewer's personal values, may be regarded as lying somewhere on a scale ranging from irrelevant to fatal. I lean to one extreme. My wife leans to the other.

It might even be argued that the self-satisfaction, the humorlessness are neither more nor less than accurate depictions of Dora Carrington, Lytton Strachey and that whole self-absorbed, sexually-perplexed, navel-gazing crowd of twits at Bloomsbury.

I prefer to regard the director-writer, the actors and the whole production as hopelessly gullible in taking their real life protagonists at their own value. The Woolfs, the Bells, Strachey and Carrington herself would, if given half a chance, express themselves as characters in a drama of high-flown aspirations and tragic consequences. I, on the other hand, tend to view them as puppets in a French farce, albeit one written by D. H. Lawrence.

This film, its settings, its characters and its mind-set bear only the most tenuous connection with the real, tangible world. As W.S. Gilbert might have put it, the film and all those in it yearn for Elysian fields, but ignore the fact that they "can't get'em and would only let'em out on building leases" if they had'em. "Carrington" would be well served by the presence of just such a character as Fitzgerald threw in to add a spice of reality to the slow-simmering gumbo of Gatsby and Daisy and Tom: Nick, the narrator, doubter and conscience--a pallid character, yes, but still a whiff of the tax paying, traffic light-bound workaday world.

As a film, "Carrington" is easy on the eye. Its story is interesting enough, although I can't imagine being drawn back to watch it of my own volition again at any time in the foreseeable future. But even as I question the worth of making the film, I can't deny the high level of skill lavished on it.

I think "Carrington" is a film worth seeing--once. That's good enough for four stars as far as I'm concerned.

Well written and well acted........2007-04-04

This is a beautifully morose story of painter Dora Carrington; her work, her life, and the love of her life, author Lytton Strachey, who also happens to be homosexual. It is set in World War One England, and it looks as though the film itself could be a work of art. Carrington is full of saturated green landscapes and poetic dialog. Though a bit of a "downer", still worth a box of Kleenex and a month's prescription of Prozac.

A surprising look inside the nature of Love.......2006-03-12

'Carrington' belongs to the category of films that are obscure and eccentric, released in small art houses and that most people have never heard of. What a pity. This film presents an alternative twist on the theme of love, interweaving the ever-changing and amorphous desires of people and giving an honest portrayal of the ambiguous sexuality many people feel.

Jonathan Pryce and Emma Thompson team up in an on-screen romance that is both tragic and fulfilling. Lytton Strachey, cold, wise, and homosexual meets promising painter Dora Carrington. She insists on being called by her surname and is even mistaken for a boy by Lytton when he first sees her. Carrington is still a virgin and repels advances by men all the time, and it's driving her boyfriend Mark insane. In desperation, Mark begs that Lytton "work on her a bit". The relationship between Carrington and Lytton is untainted by lust, something Carrington has always objected to. She denies Mark sex because she fears that he will become only sexually interested in her.

Carrington, however, falls undeniably in love with Lytton, which is a slight inconvience considering the fact that he is gay. Still, they begin living together and spend some of the happiest years of their life. A touching moment occurs when Lytton asks Carrington, "Why are you so good to me?" and she replies by showing him the pen wiper which has the words "Use Me" on it. But alas, it must end in tragedy. The parting shot (and sound) of the film is so poignant that it left tears in my eyes.

Emma Thompson carries this film entirely on her shoulders. If not for her performance, this film would not be half as enjoyable. Just watching this woman in front of the camera is absolutely fascinating. Combine that with the idiosyncratic Jonathan Pryce and a wonderful supporting cast and the mixture is very much appropriately off-beat and quirky.

Definitely recommended and a must-see for Emma thompson fans.

A unique relationship between two extraordinary individuals .......2006-02-22

It's an odd thing when a film is perfectly cast, painstakingly researched, extraordinarily well-written, and wonderfully acted, that still it should feel a bit lifeless, stolid and conventional, completely unlike the characters it's illuminating. Look-alike Jonathan Pryce as the homosexual Lytton Strachey and the always remarkable Emma Thompson as the passionately heterosexual (Dora) Carrington act their hearts out, bringing vividly and with complete believability to life one of the oddest couples in recent history, but while Christopher Hampton has made his reputation on excellent writing such as we see here, his direction is leaden, and the film is interesting more for the work of the actors and the real people they play, rather than from any great feat of filmmaking. Sadly, not many people saw the film in the theatres despite the achievements of the cast.

Dora Carrington, though a painter of note, was most famous for her life-long, rather self-abasing devotion to Lytton Strachey, the writer of a number of essays and criticisms, who later published a witty expose of four "Eminent Victorians," which was subersive and significant, both literarily and financially. But like many of the Bloomsbury set to which he and Carrington more or less belonged, he was arguably more remarkable for his eccentricity, wit, and whimsical personality than for a rather slender body of brilliant writing. Pryce's portrayal of him is delightfully unrestrained and flamboyant--when he and Ottoline dance at a party, they are a pair of absurdist clowns, having a marvelous time with no concern for anyone else`s opinion. Carrington was his devoted and loving but non-sexual partner (she once described herself as his pen-wiper, there to serve him, asking nothing in return), and between them, at first through her selflessness, then through his own recognition of the rarity of this devotion, there grows a love deeper than most marriages. Sexual passion is something they both choose to deal with independently, and surrounding themselves with lovers who somehow also manage to (mostly) rise above sexual jealousy, they live happily together almost from initial meeting to their deaths.

Her early life gave no clue that she would become such a committed non-conformist. After her graduation from the Slade School of Fine Art in London and the winning of a number of prizes, she was considered a painter of great promise, and became indeed, a quite prolific and interesting painter, but one who never even sought to show her work, despite much interest. Instead she painted to satisfy herself and others, and filled her homes with countless paintings (most famously her portrait of Lytton), especially portraits of friends and lovers, as well as covering every wall and piece of furniture with glorious scenes, delighting everyone who visited.

The two were introduced by Virginia Woolf's sister, Vanessa Bell (Janet McTeer), while Carrington was visiting her and, dressed in men's clothing with her hair shorn in a Dutch boy's bob, she was mistaken by Lytton for a boy--his dismay at learning that the "lovely boy" romping with Nessa's sons is a young woman is amusing. At first Carrington detested him, but they spent a great deal of time with Lady Ottoline (so brutally lampooned by D. H. Lawrence in "Women in Love," she is treated here with great affection). The up-and-coming painter Mark Gertler (played by Rufus Sewell with his usual vigor and intensity), has enlisted Lytton's help in his quest to seduce the reluctant virgin he has spent four years pursuing, so the two are much thrown together and soon discover that they are born soul mates, feeling a great ease and openness with one another.

Eventually they decided to live together, with Carrington doing all the work to transform their first small house into a magical realm, while Lytton supported them with his earnings from the sudden, unexpected success of "Eminent Victorians." They lived in perfect harmony, despite the fact that her physical passion for this man had to be diverted into relationships with other men. She married a man with whom Lytton was more in love than she, and though Rafe Partridge (Steven Waddington) did not requite Lytton's physical passion, he became a steady third in their lives with all three eventually owning their most famous home, Ham Spray House, together. Eventually a fourth was added to the family, when Rafe fell in love with another woman, Frances (Alex Kingston), who managed to fit herself into the household, too (after Carrington`s death, they married). Throughout their years together, both Lytton and Carrington had many lovers, most of whom remained constants in their lives. Several were with him when he died of a sudden and fatal illness, which devastated Carrington. Though stories of her un-witnessed end vary, due to the need of others to try to protect her reputation, what we see in the film is accurate in itself--what happened over the next couple of days is the time about which there are several accounts.

Carrington's generous and loyal nature endeared her to everyone she knew, and she and Lytton were a happy if unusual couple. Thompson plays her with intelligence and a sort of glowing health and energy that seduces us; she lights up the screen, and despite the boyish dress and early gracelessness, her face is as clear and lovely as the summer sky and she utterly convinces us of Carrington's irresistible charm--that many men desired and loved her is hardly surprising. Just as Lytton's fragile frame and effeminate gestures would, in one less brilliant and magnetic, become difficult to live with, his kindness and humor more than make up for any of the extra work others have to do in order to ensure his comfort and security. Even the extra manly Rafe is tolerant of Lytton's slightly silly ways. They all work hard--he is the delicate and difficult center of everyone's world, at least externally, but as we get deeper into the relationship, we see that without Carrington, he might very well have been lost to ill-health and a tendency to melancholia--she may appear to be the satellite revolving him, but a greater insight reveals that she is the solid rock upon whose stability he is entirely reliant.

The film does capture the feeling of camaraderie that the Bloomsbury artists shared, their refusal to participate in the horrors of World War I, their solidarity despite the constant intrigues and affairs, and gives us some insight into the process of making art, of being artists unafraid to live outside the constraints of society. But most of all, Hampton, Thompson, and Pryce seem to really understand this unique relationship that ran so deep--the two loved and understood one another to a degree rare in life, and they seemed to be aware of this great gift, treasuring it and keeping it strong. Between them there were no secrets, and while Carrington would have loved Lytton as a woman loves a man, she accepted that this wasn't possible, and poured all her passion for him into being his mother, his sister, his dearest friend, his truest companion. Lytton repaid her devotion equally, and allowed her to build around him a real family which supported and loved him, despite his naturally solitary nature.

The cast, the delightful décor of the homes Carrington made chiefly for Lytton`s comfort, the beauty of Carrington's paintings (please be sure to sit through the end titles, when her paintings are displayed side by side with the credits), are the principle reasons to watch this film which is worth owning, as you'll enjoy it more than once, especially if you're an artist yourself. Even if you're not, you may find yourself wanting to grab a brush and turn an old table into a work of art. Despite Hampton's flawed direction, these two people who fashioned a deeply meaningful relationship despite what most would consider built-in "limitations," are fully brought to life by Emma Thompson in the title role, with Jonathan Pryce firmly by her side, as solid and fascinating as Carrington and Lytton. On the cover of a biography of Carrington is a picture of the two together, outside of Ham Spray House; Thompson's glowing smile and Pryce's dandyish pose are perfect. So perfect are they, that only after I opened the book and read that it was a photo, not of the actors, but of Carrington and Lytton themselves, did I realize how perfectly captured they'd been. I think they would have been pleased to see themselves in this film.

The Strange Course of True Love.......2006-01-21

At first the temptation is to see the movie's focus on Carrington's life as a clever ploy to do a biography of her lover, the far more famous Lytton Strachey, but in the end, the movie is really about Carrington.

Like Lytton, she is emotionally unusual. She waits until her mid-twenties to lose her virginity, and when she does, she finds she is subject to the unbridled passions of every lover who comes her way. Only Lytton, who is openly homosexual, cherishes her the way she wants to be cherished, in ways that leave her free to live her own life.

He is her ultimate love. She is his ultimate love. Neither ever fully engage that romanace and yet being afar seems to keep their love for each other real and close.

Carrington is less a movie about an eccentric homosexual writer than it is a movie about a radical feminist who dares to be her own person. She wants to be in charge of her own life, not the object of some one else's passion. In the same way, she wants to paint and create a total living environment through which she can control her world, she wants emotional control over herself.

Lytton lets her do that, because his writing consumes him, and all his boyish lovers are transitory. The amazing decorative arts effects she paints throughout their houses are reminiscent of the Bloomsbury Group in general, but, in the movie, they represent her will be be in charge of her environment. She has no desire to display her work or sell it. She paints her lovers' images to retain them as she remembers them -- without demanding control over them. Only Lytton gives her the same space.

In Lytton's oddly removed love, she finds the one true love that lets her be. While both Lytton and Carrington take other lovers, their relationship is the steadfast calm that guides both of them through storm tempests of hot passion elsewhere.

In the end, the movie Carrington is about Carrington. Anything you take away from the film about Lytton Strachey is truly just background.

Average customer rating:

perfect example of booooring!
"Nothing can cure the soul like the senses" Oscar Wilde
Using the Body to Reach the Soul
Quirky French-Canadian romanticism
Thought-provoking Canadian masterpiece.

The Five Senses
Starring: Mary-Louise Parker , Gabrielle Rose , Philippe Volter , Daniel MacIvor , and Pascale Bussières
Director: Jeremy Podeswa
Manufacturer: New Line Home Video
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Comedy | Genres | DVD | Video

General | Drama | Genres | DVD | Video

DVDs Under $9.99 | Today's Deals in DVD | Special Features | DVD | Video

( F ) | Titles | Features | DVD | Video
Similar Items:

ASIN: B00003CXMJ
Release Date: 2001-01-23

Amazon.com

Though set in Toronto and directed by Canadian Jeremy Podeswa, The Five Senses evokes the emotional geography of Krzysztof Kieslowski's Trois Couleurs trilogy. Mightn't the senses do as well as colors to signal a chance-driven world where urban isolates miss and make connections in gloomy corridors and apartments, overcast parks, rainy streets, half-finished constructions? But Podeswa's almost aimless cutting among a clutch of apartment dwellers (each identified with smell, sight, taste, hearing, or touch) is more like a warm bath in easy solutions (or sad songs) than a bracing glimpse into the human condition. A masseuse named Seraph (Gabrielle Rose, The Sweet Hereafter's bus driver) ministers to a weeping boy unable to recall when he was last touched, but she can't reach out to her own daughter (Nadia Litz), a self-loathing teen with a taste for voyeurism. Down the hall, a music-loving ophthalmologist (Philippe Volter) sinks deeper into loneliness as he begins to go deaf. Upstairs, Rona (Mary-Louise Parker), who designs gorgeous but inedible cakes, is unable to quite trust the joyously sensual appetite of her Italian-chef boyfriend. Searching for true love by smell, Rona's bisexual friend Robert (Daniel MacIvor) discovers passing pleasure in a designer perfume with the power to conjure an unexpected liaison. If this were The Sweet Hereafter, the fate of the little girl who goes missing at the start of Podeswa's film might shadow these "sensualists" into radical transformation, perhaps even parole them from the prison of self. But The Five Senses never gets that far under the skin. Still, there is something pleasantly hypnotic, even liberating, about the way Podeswa drifts lightly over surfaces, never getting caught in the net of narrative. --Kathleen Murphy

Customer Reviews:

perfect example of booooring!.......2005-11-18

It really is! the characters are dull/snobby/generic yuppies! The story is lame as can be, with nothing ever really happening and no real emotion ever truly conveyed. Oh! And the humor is total mid-to-upper class make you throw-up phoney garbage! Avoid at all cost!

"Nothing can cure the soul like the senses" Oscar Wilde.......2004-12-18

THE FIVE SENSES is a film metaphor, a study of people all interconnected in a Canadian city whose characters are representative of the Five Senses; touch, smell, vision, hearing, taste.

TOUCH: Masseuse Ruth Seraph (Gabrielle Rose) is unable to connect with her young daughter Rachel (Nadia Litz) who wanders the world aimlessly disenchanted and is responsible for the disappearance of a young pre-school girl, the daughter of Anna Miller (Molly Parker), a patient of Ruth's, yet she is the sole source of 'touch' for a young desperate man who likely is an AIDS victim.

HEARING: In the same building is an ophthalmologist Dr. Jacob (Phillipe Volter), a devoted opera fan who is loosing his sense of hearing. TASTE: Also in the building live Rona (Mary-Louis Parker) who creates cakes that are beautiful but without taste. SMELL: Rona's bisexual friend Robert (Daniel MacIvor) seeks out previous lovers to see if he can identify with their particular smell. VISION: Rachel 's acquaintance Rupert (Brendan Fletcher) introduces her to voyeurism in the park, seeing men kiss, etc.

This type of matching the senses to characters seems a bit simplistic when put into writing, but the magic of how Director Jeremy Podeswa stirs this heady brew and makes it all weave together is the beauty of this film. The acting is superb, the story is intelligent and demanding, and the overall effect is a penetrating inspection of how we live our lives in relative isolation until destiny or a single event proves once again that we are one body of mankind. A very satisfying and edifying film. Grady Harp, December 2004

Using the Body to Reach the Soul.......2002-02-20

It seems that year after year, Canadian cimena becomes the more soulfull in the world. Films like Egoyan's "Exotica" and "Sweet Hereafter" have been aclaimed world wide, but this "The Five Senses" also deserve be praised.

Director-Writer Jeremy Podeswa was very fortunate when he created a metaphor for each sense and used each in the main characters. The metaphors are easy to be detected, but not easy to be understood. You have to pay attention to understand how the main characters deal with `their' specific sense and what it changes his/her life through the movie.

The cakemaker who cooks tasteless cakes; a doctor who is getting deaf; a masseuse who is losing the touch with her daugther who, by the way, is starting to `watch' people; and a bissexual man who can smell love. To make things worse --or should I say better-- there is a missing girl, who virtually connects every story -- and senses. If you think it may read very simple, go and check this film. Things here are much more complicated as the look. Using material tthings like cakes, perfumes et al. the filmmaker reach the `spiritual' level and abstract concepts like love, friendship and family.

The cast deliveries very fine. It is very easy to get involved with all these people and their problems. The best ones are Mary Louise Parker -- as the cook -- and Molly Parker as the mother of the missing girl. Their work is so hearfelt that it is impossible no to care about them.

This is a film for grown-ups. It deals with subtle subjects that touch deep in the audience hearts and souls. Kids looking for some explosions, fights and sex should stay away from this movie.

Quirky French-Canadian romanticism.......2001-12-27

To understand exactly what writer/director Jeremy Podeswa tries to accomplish with 'The Five Senses,' it's first necessary to know where the idea for this quirky little film originated. After reading Diane Ackerman's remarkable book, 'A Natural History of the Senses,' Podeswa began to ponder ways in which he could translate to film her theme of how modern day life has overstimulated the five human senses to the point where we no longer remember how to appreciate sensation in its purest form -- we've become detached from that which is truly worthwhile in life.

The resulting work embodies the five senses in five major characters who all live and work in the same apartment complex. Each has issues surrounding a particular sense -- one has a hobbled sense of taste while another has a heightened sense of smell, for instance. Around this central theme revolve ancillary stories about a lost little girl and a teenage voyeur who meets his match in a rebellious girl. What these side stories serve to do is to force the main characters to look beyond their own preconceived notions and begin to consider what the world looks like when all five of the senses are fully engaged and appreciated.

If it sounds like a pretentious art-house flick, well, to a degree it is. The plot is there more to facilitate the main theme than to tell a cohesive narrative and everything from the cinematography to the music fairly screams "award winner" (the film was nominated for 9 Genie Awards and won for Best Director). The whole concept of basing the premise of a movie on the five senses is fairly ambitious and I can't really fault the director if the end result seems somewhat forced and contrived at times.

So then, how does it look? The transfer is offered in both full screen and anamorphic widescreen versions with the latter presented in its original aspect ratio of 1.85:1. The film takes place in environments ranging from dimly-lit rooms with stark shadows to gray, overcast skies -- all of which are handled quite well. Colors are lush, where appropriate, and black levels are very solid allowing for fine shadow detail. It's a DVD from New Line Home Video, so the fact that the picture is near perfect should come as no surprise.

The audio for 'The Five Senses' is presented in English and French Dolby Digital 2.0 mixes. Since the movie is mostly dialogue-driven, don't expect much in the way of dynamic range from the soundtrack. The soundstage is firmly anchored front and center with only a few ambient effects and wisps of music floating to the surrounds. But, voices are always clear and even the faintest whisper in a lover's ear remains audible. Extras on the disc are limited to the theatrical trailer, a few cast and crew bios and filmographies, and a very sparse offering of DVD-ROM content.

I found 'The Five Senses' to be an engaging film -- but one that requires a fair amount of attention to detail. If I had not known going in what the basis for the movie was I would have been hopelessly lost. Performances are, for the most part, quite good and the cast is able to work within the constraints of their particular characters to tell the story. New Line's DVD offers their usual stellar audio and video presentation and is without flaw -- although a few extras would have been most appreciated.

Fans of modern Canadian cinema along the lines of Atom Egoyan's 'The Sweet Hereafter' or Don McKellar's 'Last Night' are sure to enjoy the dynamic character interactions and deft combination of drama, humor, and sexuality. If you're a member of that rare breed then I can recommend 'The Five Senses' without hesitation. For all others I would suggest a rental to be sure that this complicated, and slightly flawed, film is right for you.

Thought-provoking Canadian masterpiece........2001-08-28

"The Five Senses" is a profound film about what it means to be human, and about the loss of innocence and the yearning for touch, for comfort, for love. Set in Toronto, it follows the lives of around a dozen characters over a three-day period. The central theme is based on the exploration of the five senses and how these senses or lack of them influence our lives. The main premise is that a toddler has gone missing while under the care of a masseuse's alienated daughter.

The film follows the lives of the people who live in the same building as well as the people that are related to the missing child. Rona, the baker who turns out gorgeous cakes that have no taste and her Italian live-in boyfriend Roberto, an aspiring chef, represent taste. Richard, a French opthamalogist who is going deaf and Gail, a prostitute that he has hired to listen to music with him, explore sound and its absence. 16-year old Rachel is deeply alienated and confused. There are hints to sexual abuse when she was younger, she dropped out of school, and along with her newfound friend Rupert she explores voyeurism and gender roles, representing sight. Robert is a bisexual housecleaner who is desperate for "the right one," so much so that he meets with former lovers to sniff them, believing he has the ability to smell love. Ruth is a widowed masseuse and the mother of Rachel. She has the ability to use touch to soothe others but longs for comfort herself.

For me the most touching story was that of Richard. Having my life revolve around music I have often pondered what would happen if I began to lose my hearing. It is one of the most frightening things that I can think of. Richard makes lists of seemingly ordinary things (thunder, trains, birds) that he wants to listen to one last time in order to catalogue them in his mind. He even calls his daughter in order to tape her voice so he can listen to it again and again. He hires the prostitute Gail to listen to music with him, and with deep tenderness she helps him cope with his advancing hearing loss.

All of the stories are engaging and overlap occasionally. Some of the background details are left sketchy or occasionally absent, but the viewer is left with enough to piece together. This is a movie that requires thinking. It is not a Hollywood fairytale by any means; it is not wrapped neatly and tied with a bow. It is real life, things and people that we know instinctively. The cinematography is stark, with many shadows and cold lighting. It captures the feel of Toronto in fall perfectly, but also highlights the emotional and physical isolation of the characters in the film.

My favourite part in the film is when Rachel, returning home after crossdressing Rupert, finally gets a glimpse of the mysterious singer that was heard throughout the film. Ruth briefly mentioned this to Richard, saying that no one had ever seen her. But Rachel, after exploring gender roles and sexuality, peers through a crack and sees a beautiful man standing alone singing with the voice of an angel, showing that beauty is not confined to male or female but that it transcends gender. This singer is Daniel Taylor, one of my two favourite countertenors. His appearance is very brief but his voice and his music helps tie the film together, linking Richard and Rachel in their quest for beauty. Taylor is Canada's most famous countertenor and one of the best in the world. I actually rented this film just to see him in it and I wasn't disappointed.

Customer Reviews:

A Strange, Neurotic Noir Based On A Book By Cornell Woolrich.......2005-12-17

In Hollywood, directors get the credit. With The Chase, a strange, fascinating, neurotic noir, the credit should go to one of the masters of noir pulp fiction, the writer Cornell Woolrich. Like Phantom Lady, another Woolrich creation, the story centers around what might be struggling to get out of a person's head.

Woolrich wrote masterful pulp using his own name or the pseudonyms William Irish or George Hopley. He was a homosexual who loathed himself. He married a girl he idolized and saw the marriage annulled. Despite the money he made, he lived most of his life with his mother in decaying New York apartment buildings where his neighbors were lushes, prostitutes and drug addicts. At night, he'd troll the waterfront for anonymous sex partners. He became a deep alcoholic. And he turned out a stream of mystery novels and short stories that still are worth reading nearly 40 years after his death. Much of his material has been made into movies. If you like Hitchcock's Rear Window, you're watching a Cornell Woolrich short story. More often than not, the stories revolve around the black struggles that can happen inside a person's head. The Chase, based on Woolrich's The Black Path of Fear, is a noir worth watching.

One morning a down-and-out young man, Chuck Scott (Robert Cummings), finds a wallet on a Miami sidewalk. He finds the owner's name and address and delivers it to him. The owner, Eddie Roman (Steve Cochran), is a soft-spoken gangster with a penchant for hitting women, eliminating business competitors and for always being the man in control. His partner, Gino (Peter Lorre), who grew up with him, is just as ruthless and amoral, but not as psychopathic. Roman has been married three years to Lorna (Michelle Morgan), a beautiful, frightened woman who wants only to escape from him. Eddie Roman is amused by Chuck Scott's honesty and hires him as a chauffeur. Scott quickly learns two things. First, Roman has a car that is built so that from the back seat Roman can take over the accelerator. When he flips a switch he can move the car up to over 100 miles an hour. The driver can only steer and pray. The second thing Scott learns is that he is drawn to Lorna Roman.

It all comes together when Scott agrees to flee with Lorna to Havana. And then we descend into a dark swirl of murder, pay back, amnesia and fear. Half way through the movie we find ourselves in a paranoid dream of night-time Havana, of a horse-drawn carriage that rides off into a busy street, of a man glimpsed throwing a knife in a crowded bar, of a Cuban detective who casually uses a murder knife to spear a piece of melon from the table of a sobbing prostitute. Only later do we learn what is dream and what is real. If what was dream is frightening, what is real may turn out to be worse.

This really is an excellently developed story, and photographed with all the poorly lit streets and shadowy rooms a good noir needs. Cummings does a credible job as the uncertain but determined hero. Steve Cochran is first-rate as the menace. He's quiet, even thoughtful, but ready to do violent and unpredictable things in an instant. He has no intention of letting Lorna go. Lloyd Corrigan, a long time character actor, makes a memorable appearance as a businessman who won't sell his ships to Roman. He spends the rest of his life, which is brief, in Roman's wine cellar with a large dog. The music score is a strange dreamy underlay that suits the movie just fine.

This Alpha Video DVD, unfortunately, is barely watchable. The picture is soft, dark and full of scratches. The audio is not much better. There are no extras and only six chapter stops. This is an interesting, effective noir which deserves better treatment.

All roads lead to Havana.......2005-04-20

A seedy, disheveled, and unshaven man (we'll learn in a bit his name is Chuck Scott, a displaced WWII vet played by Robert Cummings) stands in front of a diner, longingly watching the fry cook flip pancakes and bacon. Before he can wipe the slaver off his lips a money-laden wallet drops at his feet. THE CHASE is filled with such moments of coincidence that reward neither scrutiny nor reflection, although they do their part to push the plot forward.
So, after breakfast Scott returns the wallet to its owner, Eddie Roman (Steve Cochran), a rich thug in a swank house attended by right-hand thug Gino (Peter Lorre). Our first view of Roman has him slapping a bloody lip onto a manicurist who accidentally poked him when he jerked his hand away. To its credit, this movie doesn't waste much time establishing core character traits. Roman, a character who finds it easier to esteem than emulate virtue, hires Scott on as his chauffeur. Oh, yeah, Roman's got this hot wife, Lorna (Michèle Morgan) who he keeps locked up and isolated, save for the nightly car rides to the seashore he allows her to take alone with the chauffeur. Lorna looks at the sea the same way Scott eyes pancakes and bacon, and sooner than you can say "I love you, Chuck" the chauffeur and the wife are booking tickets to Cuba.
What follows is both tense and extremely bizarre. The third act of THE CHASE has a big twist that had me shaking my head in disbelief. It doesn't help the story at all and it undermines our faith in everything that happened before. Too bad. The cast is competent, although Cochran doesn't have quite enough evil weight to pull out the tough crook routine, and Peter Lorre is underutilized. The transfer print is awful, scratchy and grainy and dulled out so badly that some night scenes are impossible to make out. Considering some of the weird stuff that happens towards the end of the movie this is a serious problem. With a few less gimmicks (ie, the accelerator pedal in the back of Roman's car, the better to emphasize his need to control, I guess), a few less unexplained coincidences, giving the Lorre character more to do - this one may have been very good. As it is, THE CHASE is an enjoyable and unexceptional little thriller.

An underated classic in desperate need of restoration!.......2004-08-19

The bizarre, dreamlike "The Chase" from 1946 was based loosely on Cornel Woolrich's novel _The Black Path of Fear_. Robert Cummings stars as Chuck Scott, a penniless WW2 veteran who happens to find a wallet filled with cash. But because he's a "sucker", he returns the wallet to it's owner, who happens to be Eddie Roman (Steve Cochran), a wealthy gangster. Eddie's right-hand man Gino (Peter Lorre) doesn't like or trust Chuck, but Eddie does, and he hires Chuck as his new chauffer. Chuck likes his new job but soon falls for Eddie's beautiful wife Lorna (Michèle Morgan), who desperately wants to escape her mean and violent husband. The next thing you know Lorna and Chuck have fled to Havana, Cuba, with Gino (and other henchmen) hot on their trail.

Several murders later, we find out that the whole thing's been a nightmare in the troubled mind of Chuck. By the end of the movie the viewer doesn't quite know what to believe, except that this is clearly the most bizarre film noir ever made! Be aware that it'll take multiple viewings to figure out everything that's going on in the plot. I can understand why some viewers might not enjoy this movie, but I love it more everytime I watch it. The acting was excellent, not just Robert Cummings and Michèle Morgan but also Steve Cochran and Peter Lorre, who always played villians to perfection. "The Chase" is unusually violent, even by 1940's film noir standards. There's two scenes where women get slapped or punched, one where a man gets killed by a big dog, one with a woman getting stabbed, two scenes of people getting shot, and one with a car getting destroyed (with two people inside) by a speeding train!

Please note that the 5-star rating is for the film, not the DVD!The Alpha DVD of "The Chase" is one of the worst quality DVDs they've ever released. The original print used for the DVD is badly damaged, with tons of scratches, various other age-related flaws, and some water damage. The sound quality is equally poor, with a terrible background "hiss" throughout the movie. VCI did their best to restore this classic for their Film Noir Double Feature DVD Vol. 2, and the picture quality is far better than the Alpha DVD. Although VCI wasn't able to fix the audio problems, I strongly suggest you purchase the VCI DVD instead of this unrestored version. We can only hope that a fully restored version will be available someday. Criterion Collection, perhaps?

A curiosity for Noir fans..........2003-11-25

"The Chase" is probably one of the strangest film noirs you're ever likely to see.

An out of work, but honest WWII veteran, Chuck Scott (Robert Cummings), happens upon a lost wallet. When he returns it to the wealthy owner, one Eddie Roman, Scott is given a job as chauffer by way of reward. But not all is as it seems with Scott's new benefactor. Roman is a vicious gangster, and a heartless control freak on top of that. When Roman's abused wife turns to the innocent Scott for help, they plan an escape to Havana. The vengeful Roman organizes some payback, and soon Scott is framed for murder. Along the way, there's a dream sequence that adds a real twist to the familiar plot.

"The Chase" has gotten the reputation for being somewhat of a cult classic, but I'm not sure how much of that following is truly deserved. The ultra-low budget and vague direction keep the film from reaching the lofty heights of "Out of the Past" or "Kiss of Death". The romance between Scott and Roman's wife is also a bit too pat, and leaves the viewer feeling somewhat dissatisfied.

Probably the most interesting element here is the remote-control device Roman has fitted in his car, which allows him to take control of the accelerator and brake pedal, making him the ultimate back-seat driver. The device is introduced in a truly suspenseful sequence that serves as the highlight of the film.

Robert Cummings, best known for the Hitchcock film "Sabatour" does do a very good job as the troubled Scott, and his fans will be pleased by his efforts in "The Chase". Peter Lorre is also in top form as Roman's evil aide de camp, while Steve Cochran's Eddie Roman is suitably chilling. Don Wilson, who plays a Roman henchman, will be recognizable to fans of the Jack Benny radio program; Wilson was Benny's announcer for years.

Description

Clinical psychologist Dr. Tony Hill (Robson Green) has an extraordinary understanding of the criminal mind. It enables him to empathize with both victim and murderer - and even to visualize the crimes. Working alongside Detective Inspector Carol Jordan (Hermione Norris), Dr. Hill helps the police profile and track down vicious killers in northern England. Tony persuades the police to reopen the case of his long-standing patient, serial-killer Maggie Thomas, in order to recover the bodies of her victims. Carol, however, believes that Tony made a mistake in bringing his pretty, young student Laura Webster along on the search. When Laura's best friend is kidnapped and murdered, loyalties begin to fray and Tony finds more than just his judgement called into question. DVD extras include: Trailer, Interviews with Robson Green, Hermione Norris, Val McDermid, Sandra Jobling, Phil Leach, Bios of Robson Green and Hermione Norris, About The Author, Behind the Scenes montage

Customer Reviews:

Stylish Terror.......2004-10-26

Except for a bit close to the end where the exposition gets murky, this is a superior entry in this series. With the trademark violence of this series represented in large part symbolically, Tony Hill (Robson Green's character) is faced with a killer on the loose, a patient who cannot remember where she buried the bodies of the children she killed five years before, and a troubled student.

Green gives another good performance of a seriously off kilter psychologist (he's totally competent as a psychologist, it's his personal life that needs some serious adjusting). Green's character usually seems on the edge of a meltdown, pulling back at the very last minute.

Lots of clever camera work and some nice music give this one a bit of Scott Ridley flavor at times.

Average customer rating:

Voices from the High School (2002)
Starring: Bret Steiner , Desirée Mann , Jessica Gowrie , Ben Serkin , and Jason Hobbs
Director: Bret Steiner , and Joe Gillis (II)
Manufacturer: Jowagi Productions
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Drama | Genres | DVD | Video

General | Documentary | Genres | DVD | Video

( V ) | Titles | Features | DVD | Video

Drama | Independently Distributed | Stores | DVD | Video

Independently Distributed | Indie & Art House | Stores | DVD | Video
ASIN: B00007M9FA
Release Date: 2002-12-12

Description

"Voices from the High School" takes a candid look at teenage life and the everyday struggles of high school students, capturing a frank and honest view into the frailty of our youth - from the innocence of a first kiss and petty gossip to the controversial issues of sexual exploration and the hard reality of teen suicide and abuse. Based on the Play by Peter Dee. DVD SPECIAL FEATURES: Deleted and Alternate Scenes, Director's Interview for "Voices", Short Film: "9 Items or Less" and Director's Interview for "9 Items"

Average customer rating:

love it
Meandering but likeable coming of age movie
One Of The Few
eYe-CaNDy FoR NoN THiNKeRS
Life as we only wish it was....

Wildflowers
Starring: Clea DuVall , Daryl Hannah , Tomas Arana , Eric Roberts , and Richard Hillman
Director: Melissa Painter
Manufacturer: Monarch Video
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Drama | Genres | DVD | Video

4-for-3 Drama | 4-for-3 DVD | Stores | DVD | Video

4-for-3 All DVDs | 4-for-3 DVD | Stores | DVD | Video

DVDs Under $7.49 | Today's Deals in DVD | Special Features | DVD | Video

All Deals | Today's Deals in DVD | Special Features | DVD | Video

( W ) | Titles | Features | DVD | Video
Similar Items:

ASIN: 6305979367
Release Date: 2000-09-26

Amazon.com

Rising young actress Clea Duvall stars in Wildflowers as Cally, a young woman who's grown up on a commune outside of San Francisco. Now 17, she finds herself drifting away from her father, who raised her alone after her mother abandoned them both. Cally sees Sabine (Daryl Hannah), a reckless artist, at a coffee shop and is instantly drawn to her restless energy, perhaps seeing in the Pre-Raphaelite beauty the wilder woman Cally wishes she could be. When Sabine accidentally leaves her journal behind one day, Cally uses it as an opening to enter Sabine's life and a friendship slowly develops--though Sabine resists growing close and is torn by unresolved feelings about a close friend who has just died. Bit by bit, Cally begins to piece together clues that suggest she and Sabine are closer than they had thought. Clea Duvall's broad, open face and natural presence effortlessly communicate both Cally's yearning infatuation with Sabine and her increasing alienation from the world she's always known. The supporting performances by Eric Roberts and Tomas Arana are carefully drawn, and the cinematography--especially scenes of the California seashore--are beautiful. Wildflowers slowly builds a compelling portrait of a young woman redefining herself. --Bret Fetzer

Customer Reviews:

love it.......2005-06-27

so pretty, and clea's performance is extrodinary. felt like a summer afternoon day at the beach. watch it!

Meandering but likeable coming of age movie.......2002-05-15

Wildflowers is about 17-year-old Cally's search for her past. She was raised on a commune by hippies in the 1960's (the movie is set in 1985), and now she lives with her father. She's been told little about her mother, except that she had to leave Cally and her father because she got in trouble for her political activities. Cally becomes convinced that the woman she meets in San Francisco (Daryl Hannah) is her mother, and she tries to become friends with the woman. As she learns more about the woman and her father, she also begins to understand herself better. The story is simple and straight forward, and the style and acting are extremely low-key. Although the movie is not great by any standards, it is fairly likeable. Look fast for a quick appearance by Blue's Traveller. Overall, a very average small-budget film.

One Of The Few.......2002-04-08

This movie is one of the few done about the Counterculture of the 60's that gives an accurate feeling both of some of the people of that era nearly 20 years later and of the era itself. Highly recommend it to anyone who wants to understand something of the 60's.

eYe-CaNDy FoR NoN THiNKeRS.......2002-03-03

Daryl Hannah and Clea Duvall were beautifully cast in a good intentioned story...but the script was lacking and predictable.
The shots were dreamily executed...so I'm giving it 3 stars. If Eric Roberts weren't in it and I had to think a little more, I'd have given it 4.5 stars. Eric Roberts TRUELY gives me the creeps!
Buy this used...or don't buy it at all.

Life as we only wish it was...........2002-02-14

I just saw this movie last night and was captivated enough to stay up until midnight on a weekday. It was visually beautiful, so much so that it's almost a fantasy. People live on boats, have gorgeous furniture and willowy, gauzy clothing, hang out in coffee shops, read poems in an eclectic bookstore and don't seem to have real jobs, responsibilities or school. Clea DuVall is excellent but as a 17 year-old you would think her dad might be more worried when she stays out all night and doesn't come home for days. No one else mentioned that Eric Roberts (who is gorgeous and about 20+yrs. older than her) has an intimate encounter w/her - did this bother anyone else but me? This is one of those movies you get lost in because it's so wonderfully unrealistic and you dream about life being that carefree and beautiful...then the dog barks, the phone rings, your kids start fighting, etc. Why can't we all sleep on the ocean beach, hike in beautiful deserted pastures in CA, sleep with gorgeous older men, have a fascinating hip mom to get drunk with? It kind of left me unsatisfied with my existence, but that's another story...

Average customer rating:

Very amateurish movie

Dischord
Starring: Lisa Dinkins , Alex McArthur , Richard Bakalyan , Michael DeLuise , and Dean Regan
Director: Mark Wilkinson
Manufacturer: Lifesize Home Entert
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Drama | Genres | DVD | Video

Crime & Criminals | Drama | Genres | DVD | Video

General | Horror | Genres | DVD | Video

Suspense | Mystery & Suspense | Genres | DVD | Video

Mystery | Mystery & Suspense | Genres | DVD | Video

Horror | Independently Distributed | Stores | DVD | Video

Independently Distributed | Indie & Art House | Stores | DVD | Video

( D ) | Titles | Features | DVD | Video
ASIN: B0002J599G
Release Date: 2004-10-19

Description

On a frozen Boston morning, Jimmy savagely beats his girlfriend to death and tosses her remains into a local river. At the height of her success, alternative rock violinist Gypsy retreats with Lucian, her musician husband, to Cape Cod. Seeking refuge in his past, Jimmy arrives in Cape Cod to stay with his brother, Lucian. A disturbing tale of obsession unfolds as the demented Jimmy finds himself madly in love with Gypsy, begging the question: What happens when music meets murder?

Customer Reviews:

Very amateurish movie.......2005-09-27

Implausible, poor screenplay, dull, badly acted with virtually nothing going for it - avoid.

Average customer rating:

The Lives of Lovers
Mild and laid-back movie about Barcelona couples

In the City
Starring: Mónica López , Eduard Fernández , María Pujalte , Alex Brendemühl , and Vicenta N'Dongo
Director: Cesc Gay
Manufacturer: Wolfe Video
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Art House & International | Genres | DVD | Video

General | Comedy | Genres | DVD | Video

General | Gay & Lesbian | Genres | DVD | Video

DVDs Under $14.99 | Today's Deals in DVD | Special Features | DVD | Video

( I ) | Titles | Features | DVD | Video

General | Foreign & International | Stores | DVD | Video

General | Indie & Art House | Stores | DVD | Video

ASIN: B0007NMK3U
Release Date: 2005-04-19

Description

The new film from the director of Nico & Danni. In The City is an ensemble story of a group of thirty-something friends in Barcelona who have many secrets. While single Sofia lives a fantasy life of romance and unconscious lies, Tomas is having a secret affair with one of his students. Married Irene finds herself attracted to her friend Silvia. Although the friends spend much time together, they maintain their secrets and often fail to connect. One day, however, when they come together for a meal, emotions spill over . . . Director Cesc Gay's idea