Death Wish 3

Description

Paul Kersey doesn't seek out violence. It just seems to find him. But when it does he's not about to back down! Charles Bronson brings out the heavy artillery in this gun-blazing, no-holds-barred thriller! Road-worn and battle-weary, Kersey longs to leave his fighting days behind him. Butwhen he arrives in New York to visit an old friend, he finds him brutally attacked and gasping for breath in a pool of blood! Now the silent avenger must wage war once more on the city's punks, thugsand hoodlums. But this time he's brought a small arsenal of guns, knivesand even a bazookato help him!

Customer Reviews:

GREAT film, but a terrible American DVD release.......2007-08-20

Death Wish 3 (1985.) The third film in the Death Wish series.

INTRODUCTION:
In 1974, the widely-loved (and widely controverisal) Death Wish, starring Charles Bronson, arrived in theatres. The film got a mixed reaction from moviegoers and critics alike. Seven years later, the sequel arrived, and got a mixed reaction. But how does the third installment fare?

OVERVIEW:
Death Wish was released in 1981. The film stars Charles Bronson and co-stars Ed Lauter and Alex Winter, among others Michael Winner directed it. The film's musical score is by Jimmy Page, and is basically "rearranged" versions of music he wrote for the previous films.

BASIC PLOT:
Paul Kersey (Bronson) has returned to his old home city of New York to visit an old Korean War buddy - only to find him dying in his apartment when he arrives following a vicious attack by a local gang. Being that Kersey carries a gun and he was at the scene of the crime when the police showed up, he was arrested. Although initially loathed by the crooked police chief (Lauter), he reluctantly agrees to free Kersey - as long as he agrees to be "up to his old tricks" in the middle of the gang warzone part of town where his buddy was murdered. Once out there, he meets some new friends, and shops by phone for what he needs to waste punks.

FILM OPINIONS:
Of all the Death Wish films, this is probably the one that gets the biggest mixed reaction. It's hated for its "doesn't take itself seriously" attitude and "over the top", almost parody-like action, as well as a paper-thin love story. But it's loved for the simple fact that there's more action and weaponry here than in any other Death Wish movie. And I think all this stuff together makes this what is arguably the series' best installment. The action scenes are awesome, and Lauter is great as the shady police chief. It's a radical departure from the last two films, but a change of pace is just what the franchise ordered.

DVD:
The Death Wish films got screwed for their DVD releases. Not only are all the films cropped and fullscreen, but most of them feature scenes that have been EDITED. This is most noticable in the rape scenes in the first and second film. For the first two films, import the Region 4 DVD that combines the first two films. For 3 and 4, import the Region 2 European DVDs. Or if you can find it, get the import Vigilante Collection that has all five films in widescreen. Just be sure you have a multi-region player first!

OVERALL:
Say what you will about this film, I love it. There's plenty of action here, and things never slow down. This is Death Wish done right, even if it is a bit wacky and over the top when compared to the other films. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED! Just don't be expecting the same thing as the first two films.

Good Fun.......2007-07-28

Plenty of people here have summarized what the film is about, so I won't. I'll try to add something original to the mix, so forgive me if I don't confine myself to describing the film's plot. The popularity of this film cannot be explained without a wider understanding of cultural conditions and sentiments at the time of its release. Death Wish was a bombshell, as it gave voice to how hundreds of thousands of people were feeling, sentiments people felt and may not have publicly expressed for fear of backlash from the PC movement. In a few sentences, the cultural circumstance referred to was a growing discontent with what was growingly considered to be misguided attempts to solve society's "problems." In the sixties the government gave itself the responsibility to "fix" many problems, from teenage pregnancy to poverty to drug use to discrimination to crime, with social "programs," judicial activism and new legislation. Ironically, ALL of these problems were already rapidly decreasing in the early sixties. Crime was HALF what it was in 1930, even if you don't control for the increase in the population!! Poverty was lessening each and every year. What happened after the social programs of the late sixties and the generation of the welfare state? Well, the crime rate literally exploded. So did teenage pregnancy. Poverty quadrupled. Another thing that happened was the rewriting of law to lessen the punishment of criminals to the result that even the criminals that were arrested and successfully prosecuted often ended right back out on the street in a matter of months to commit even more crimes. People were sick and tired of this crap. Some filmmakers new it, and tapped into this sentiment with wildly popular films like Death Wish, The Stone Killer, and Dirty Harry. An entire genre of "vendetta/revenge/let's take out the human garbage" films was born, and Charles Bronson, after Death Wish, was for a decade the most popular actor in the world. Bronson's presence is undeniable. The seventies threw up some wonderfully gritty films drenched in utter realism, and the Death Wish films are some of the greatest of all time. Death Wish 3 is a fun entry in the series. I'll never forget the teeth in the board!

This is the best movie of this series... I love it!.......2007-03-11

The video quality of this DVD is reason enough to give it 5 stars. They definately used good cameras to film this movie, and it shows in this DVD. So it's unusually good for an 80's movie. The only extras are trailers. And yes, I could watch this movie over and over, espically the last half hour. The scenes where someone tries to steal his car and his camera are priceless too.

My least favorite of the series.......2006-12-01

Of all the Death Wish movies, this one is my least favorite. Though Bronson's performance is fine and consistent as always, the other actors in this film are mostly not very good.

For one thing, there isn't much plot in this film. Its like a big excuse to have Bronson shoot people.

The bad guys in this film are 80's punks. Well, I used to be one of those back then and frankly, this movie portrays punks in a rediculous way. If anyone actually walked around looking as bad as these people do, they'd have been laughed out of the Village! Plus, they all look much too old to be acting like a bunch of teenage thugs, so instead of seeming threatening, they're like mentally challenged, homeless idiots. The leader of the gang, especially so. Its completely not believable, all the way down to the idea that these weirdos would actually be living in that horrible section of what I believe was Brooklyn in abandoned buildings. Its also rediculous that they would come into people's apartments on a regular basis and steal from them.

The cops are as unbelievable as the punks and the most annoying character of all was a little old lady with a super-annoying fake accent! She and everyone else kept referring to the gang as "creeps" and nobody says that in a more annoying voice than this old lady did. Between that voice and her stupid grimaces, I wished Bronson would have put her out of her misery along with the gang members.

Frankly, this movie is comical and rediculous. Tons of shooting but little plot or substance. I would have given it no stars if Bronson wasn't in it, but his performance is worth the 3 stars I gave this film.

Buy it used as cheap as you can. Its not worth full price.

"Who's Wildey?".......2006-11-01

They just don't make movies like this anymore.

The third entry of this excessively violent series has our
man Kersey on his way to visit his ol' buddy Charlie, who just
happens to live in an extremely seedy neighborhood overrun by
coked-out gang members with too much time on their hands. As soon
as Kersey gets off the bus he is bumped by a few gang members,
apparently this man attracts street trash like a magnet. Never
getting a moments peace, Kersey listens over the phone as
his old friend's insides are pulverized into mush.

Kersey apparently entered New York with his luckless buddy Murphy as
he steps into his murdered friend's apartment only to be
quickly apprehended by the local authorities. Enter the rights
violating police chief, whom gives Paul an ultimatum:
either help them clean up the streets or spend the rest of
his life behind bars. Of course he chooses the
former -- hell, heads need to roll for the death of Charlie.

Soon, Kersey is welcomed by a few of the warm-hearted,
victimized tenants that each have their own grievances
to share. Little time is spent fraternizing for Kersey has
an obligation to fill; to fill with bullets. One of the
most comical moments is when Kersey non-chalantly gets up
from a Jewish couples' dinner table to deal with a few
lowlifes attempting to steal his car. The dialogue is classic.
This overtly defying act gets the attention of the gang leader
who soon declares war on Kersey, the downtrodden tenants of the
rundown building and anyone casually walking home carrying a
bag full of groceries.

Our man actually manages to fit in a little romance
in between filling punks with lead. An aggressive lawyer quickly
becomes infatuated with Kersey soon after his release from
jail. She literally travels to the same crime-filled neighborhood
that Charlie died in so she could ask the infamous vigilante out to dinner.
Unfortunately she was unaware that it doesn't pay to know Paul Kersey, and she learns this lesson painfully. The romance seemed too forced and awkward and the director obviously seen fit to end it
abruptly. This loss however is no real heartache for our
desensitized hero for it took time out of his murderous schedule.

Soon after, a war breaks out as the streets are inundated
by gang members shooting civilians and cops as Keresy makes his
own giant holes in any fool even resembling a gangster. It truly
becomes an action parody in the latter parts of this film.

There are no bonus features worth mentioning. All we get
is the original theatrical trailer. Hopefully some time
in the near future we will see a Special Collector's Edition.

Average customer rating:

Think the worst and you'll be half right
review
Heartwarming
Christmas Snow

Christmas Snow
Starring: Helmond , Hart , and Caesar
Manufacturer: Platinum Disc
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: B0007CEXRM
Release Date: 2005-01-11

Customer Reviews:

Think the worst and you'll be half right.......2007-02-16

This "movie" is only 48 minutes long. Made in 1986, it was obviously a one-TV-hour show. See it only if you're a fan of one of the performers.

This gets my vote for the worst Christmas movie ever made and one of the worst movies ever made. The acting by Katherine Helmond is the phoniest I remember ever seeing. It's astounding to watch, it's so bad. You just keep gaping: how can anybody be that bad?

The little girl, Melissa Hart, is very cute. I hope she got the parts she deserves.

The story is the length of a short-short, so there's a lot of treading water in this show. The gratuitous nastiness to the woman customer who had traveled all the way across town in the snow was stunning. The fact that the little girl did not tell her adoptive mother about the footprints after they'd all been searching for the man all day is not credible.

Bottom line: if you buy this movie, you get what you deserve.

review.......2007-01-18

i purchased this as a gift so I am not able to offer a review.

Heartwarming.......2007-01-15

Nice heartwarming story to enjoy around Christmas time. This is an old movie that I enjoyed many years ago, and being a Cid Caesar fan, it's nice to have my own copy to share with family.

Christmas Snow.......2006-08-19

If you love old CHristmas movies that really touch your heart and get you in the Christmas mood then this is the movie for you. I love it.
Thank You
Mary D

Average customer rating:

Critters 3 (1991)
Good but not perfect
Critters are now under rated beasties.
Get rid of the Charlie character.
Could have been better!

Critters 3 - You Are What They Eat
Starring: John Calvin , Aimee Brooks , Christian Cousins , Joseph Cousins , and William Dennis Hunt
Director: Kristine Peterson
Manufacturer: New Line Home Video
ProductGroup: DVD
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ASIN: B000099T3S
Release Date: 2003-08-05

Description

Flesh-starved furballs invade an L.A.

Customer Reviews:

Critters 3 (1991).......2005-12-31

Director: Kristine Peterson
Cast: John Calvin, Aimee Brooks, Christian Cousins, Joseph Cousins, William Dennis Hunt, Nina Axelrod, Leonardo DiCaprio, Don Keith Opper.
Running Time: 86 minutes
Rated PG-13 for violence and mild language.

"Critters 3" starts on the open road as Clifford (John Calvin) his teenage daughter Annie (Aimee Brooks) & his young son Johnny are heading back home from a vacation. Suddenly the tyre on their van blows & they have to stop at a public rest area to fix it. While there Annie and Johnny meet a kid named Josh (Leonardo DiCaprio in his Hollywood debut) who in turn all run into Charlie McFadden (the films co-producer Don Keith Opper) from the previous two "Critters" films. Charlie tells them the story of the Krites and the town of Grovers Bend but they don't believe him, meanwhile back at the van a critter lays some eggs on it's underside, out of sight from everyone. Once Clifford has fixed the tyre the trio set off for their home, a run down urban tenement block in Los Angeles somewhere complete with Critter eggs along for the ride. Upon arrival the eggs hatch & the Critters head straight inside the tenement block quickly disposing of Frank (Geoffrey Blake), the caretaker. As the night draws on the few remaining residents, a fat woman named Rosalie (Diana Bellamy), a telephone repair woman Marsha (Katherine Cortez), an elderly couple Mr. (Bill Zuckert) & Mrs. Menges (Frances Bay) must come together with Clifford & his kids to fight the Critters. Josh also makes an appearance as his Stepfather (William Dennis Hunt) owns the building. But will the group be able to defeat the Critters & prevent themselves from becoming dinner?

Let's be honest, no one say to be shocked to discover this is a cheap little film that doesn't have too much going for it. The plot is the usual: people hunted by critters, this time in a building so it's like "Die Hard" with aliens. Sadly the action is poor, it's not really gorym and the critter attacks are always more funny than thrilling. There is no real excitement or tension and it's all a bit predictable The supposed comedy is nowhere near the one it aspires to (Joe Dante's "Gremlins") and really the funniest bit is how silly the whole thing is. Needless to say the acting is poor and some people can't even be mauled convincingly; however, it is interesting to see DiCaprio's debut, even if he looks about 9 years old! Overall, "Critters 3" is a ridiculous bit of dumb fun that is daft and slightly shoddy, not nearly living up to the previous two installments in the series. It may just pass the time but there are much better horror/comedies out there if you want them.

Good but not perfect.......2005-10-25

This one does not have a lot of action in it. A very low death count. Don Opper is a minor characters in this one only appearing at the very begining and very end of the film. Also appearing in this movie in his film debut is a tennage Lenodarno Di Caprio. He has a minor rule also.
Once again the krites apperance has changed. They do not look the same.

This one is more humorous. There is a gag in this similar to in gremlins where the krites our in a dark room but instead of watching Snow White there watching a demonstration on how to prepare chicken.

There are fewer subtitles in this than in the original for the krites. We she a new ability of the krites in this film. When I danger they can let off this loud wobbling cry that is so intense in puitch it can shatter glass. I thought the crystal that glowed when the krites where near by was cool.

I thought the part when charile charges the krite and grabes it and falls of the top of the roof was funny. The part when the krites are tearing up the old couples apartment and scarfying down one there beans. One off the krites chugs down some dish soap. The fire work krite gag was the funnest gag in the movie. If you like this one I recommend the others. If you want lots of action I recommend the first and the second only.

Critters are now under rated beasties........2005-02-25

A little under rated.The critters find they're way into an apartment building, wreck havoc, eat some jerks, attack some people, burp and fart up a storm, raid the kithen, and even oprea sing! Loads of fun, but could of had better actors and the awesome origenal Critters score. Then I'd give it 5/5. The script was pretty goofy too. And whats up with Charlie doing the Tarzan thing? Jeez. Still could have been much worse.

Get rid of the Charlie character........2005-02-15

They really should make another CRITTERS movie. With a proper budget, a good script and a dedicated director one solidly entertaining movie could reenergize the whole franchise and take it to a new level. The most important change that needs to be made is you have to get rid of the goofy Charlie character. He was in all four movies and sucked in all four movies. Also make the movies much darker, without so much story and you've got a hit.

As far a Part 3 goes some Krites invade a small apartment building and chase people all around but only kill two people. It's entertaining, but at the same time disappointing. The story goes nowhere, the direction is strictly by the numbers and of course you got the goofy dude showing up and slowing down the story. There is a lot of wasted potential here.

The one and only reason this movie is in my collection is because this is one of the earliest starring roles for Aimee Brooks, who is now legal and very sexy. If you don't believe me just watch MONSTER MAN.

Could have been better!.......2004-08-09

I thought this was an ok sequel but not as good as the first 2 films. I think there should not have been any more sequels after 2 because it ended really well. This one could have been a little better and the same thing goes for part 4. The only good part of 3 is when they show Charlie, the rest of the movie is kind of boring. I own all 4 of these films on dvd and even recommend this one to add to your collection.

Average customer rating:

If you love New York, you will love this movie
a really love this movie
A Realistic Teenage Love Story
It All Starts in Fat Donna's Bedroom
Worth seeing once...probably never again

Raising Victor Vargas
Starring: Victor Rasuk , Judy Marte , Melonie Diaz , Altagracia Guzman , and Silvestre Rasuk
Director: Peter Sollett
Manufacturer: Columbia TriStar
ProductGroup: DVD
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ASIN: B00008EY7D
Release Date: 2003-08-26

Amazon.com

Riding high on a wave of unanimous critical acclaim, Raising Victor Vargas emerged as one of the best independent films of 2003. It fits neatly into that most familiar of categories--the coming-of-age comedy--but transcends that label to become something altogether fresh and endearing, beginning with the awkward swagger of its title character, played by Victor Rasuk. He's a Dominican kid raised amidst the poverty of New York's Lower East Side, and his hormones--like those of any 16-year-old--are ablaze with unbridled lust. Under the vigilant eye of his grandmother (who's hilariously convinced the good-boy Victor is doomed to a life of sin), Victor manages to woo the defiant girl of his dreams (Judy Marte--like the rest of this fine cast, a non-professional actor), and director Peter Sollett (expanding his earlier short Five Feet High and Rising) guides them to a delicate place of genuine affection and mutual understanding. It's a summertime fantasy, of sorts, but so simple and sincere that it achieves a state of idealized realism. First love never looked better. --Jeff Shannon

Description

A Lower East Side teenager struggles to find some sanity while surrounded by an eccentric grandmother, a crazy new girlfriend and a longing younger brother.

Customer Reviews:

If you love New York, you will love this movie.......2006-11-04

This movie and the characters in it are so real. It describes exactly the grittiness, people and energy of the New York that I love. They are rude, in-your-face, and therefore incredibly fascinating to be with. Having lived there for 10 years, I felt like the characters are my neighbours and friends.

Some reviewers thought this is about poverty or limited resource or the rough life of an urban hispanic youth. I don't think you will feel that way if you ever tasted life in the Big Apple. This is about the incredible cauldron of human beings living densely on a small island. While I lived a life of relative affluence and privilege while in New York, I know many friends who live in the Lower East Side and in homes not very different from the one in the movie. But their lives are not improvished, or limited, and they don't feel that way themselves. They are incredibly interesting, romantic and full of sparkle and energy. I guess that is the reason why the Lower East Side is now becoming yuppiefied!

a really love this movie .......2006-02-10

A GREAT FILM
This is such a good film. Its realistic and really funny. Its a good comedy with a heart and the acting is great. I would recommend it to anybody.

Also Recommended: Girlfight, Requiem For A Dream

A Realistic Teenage Love Story.......2006-01-13

What you come to love most about this film is that it holds nothing back. It shows you what's on the teenage mind around that age and it doesn't water anything down. In Raising Victor Vargas you basically get to know two teenage guys Victor who has a cocky and arrogent swagger and his friend Harold who is really just along for the ride that is victor's life. What's interesting about the movie is that the girl Victor wants is constantly harassed all day every day by guys that want her and Victor becomes one of them. This movie becomes an addiction after the first time you watch it, you can't really explain every detail you just have to see it and you really can't give any of the film away because its a life and you watch a boy become a man. I love that Victor and Judy never have sex and to me it increases the amount of love showing that Victor finally learned what he was meant to be instead of the womanizer he was trying to be.

It All Starts in Fat Donna's Bedroom.......2005-12-02

Victor is a teenager living on the Lower East Side of Manhattan, trying to grow up and become a man, in spite of everything that is thrown his way. First of all, Grandma, his grandmother that is raising him and his brother and sister, is a real ball-breaker. She throws him out, only to be told it is illegal to put minors out on the streets in the USA. She thinks he is a horibble influence on his brother Nino, the grandmother's unabashed favorite. Nino is just reaching the age where he is spending literally hours in the bathroom with dirty magazines, and when Grandma walks in and sees him going to town, she blames it all on Victor. The fights between the siblings seem to real and relevant. The language used is vulgar and yet accurate. Everything that Victor is concerned about...the neighborhood not knowing he is sleeping with Fat Donna, his crush on Juicy Judy, is amusing and reminds one of being a teenager. There is much more depth to this movie than I would have expected, and Victor Rasuk, who plays Victor Vargas, is a force to be reckoned with.

Worth seeing once...probably never again.......2005-11-28

After all the fanfare I kept waiting for this movie to get good. There were some subtle subplots going on. It is mostly a tale of poverty and inner city coming of age. I don't feel I really took anything introspective away from this movie, and it wasn't artistic cinima. It had a few good laughs, lots of sibling rivalry drama, disfunctional teen love/infatuation, an overprotective grandmother caretaker who doesn't know what to do, etc.
Was it interesting? Not for everyone. Was it funny? A little. Was it inspirational or introspective? Not for me.

Average customer rating:

If you love New York, you will love this movie
a really love this movie
A Realistic Teenage Love Story
It All Starts in Fat Donna's Bedroom
Worth seeing once...probably never again

Raising Victor Vargas (Special Edition)
Starring: Victor Rasuk , Judy Marte , Melonie Diaz , Altagracia Guzman , and Silvestre Rasuk
Director: Peter Sollett
Manufacturer: Sony Pictures
ProductGroup: DVD
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ASIN: B0002HODEA
Release Date: 2004-08-24

Amazon.com

Customer Reviews:

If you love New York, you will love this movie.......2006-11-04

a really love this movie .......2006-02-10

A Realistic Teenage Love Story.......2006-01-13

It All Starts in Fat Donna's Bedroom.......2005-12-02

Worth seeing once...probably never again.......2005-11-28

Average customer rating:

a horrible comedy
murder and greed in Spain...not great, but pretty good
great Spanish thriller-comedy

La Comunidad
Starring: Carmen Maura , Eduardo AntuÃ±a , MarÃa Asquerino , and JesÃºs Bonilla
Director: Ãlex de la Iglesia
Manufacturer: Lolafilms Home Ent
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ASIN: B0002JP3F6
Release Date: 2005-01-11

Description

Una agente inmobiliaria con suerte... Un cadáver descompuesto... Una comunidad de vecinos codiciosos... 300 millones escondidos en el sótano... Algo huele a podrido en esta casa. Julia (Carmen Maura), una mujer de unos cuarenta años que trabaja como vendedora de pisos para una agencia inmobiliaria, encuentra 300 millones de pesetas escondidos en el apartamento de un muerto y no le queda más remedio que enfrentare a la ira de los miembros de una comunidad de vecinos muy particular, encabezada por un administrador sin escrúpulos. El humor negro deja paso al suspense, luego al terror y, finalmente, a la locura desencadenada.

Customer Reviews:

a horrible comedy.......2007-08-12

What people won't do for money.......

Carmen Maura plays a real estate agent who moves in for one place to the next, apartments that she should rent, but lives in. One day, the upstairs neighbor is found day, and while his dead body is carried away, his wallet drops. In it is a checkered map that leads to the discovery of several money bags. Neighbors discover this, and soon enough, they fight over them.

Good cast, good directing, but certainly not the comedy of the year. A very unoriginal script.

This movie IS a rather horrible comedy, close to a horror film in fact, but still quite enjoyable.

murder and greed in Spain...not great, but pretty good.......2005-07-23

Alex de la Iglesia has forged a career out of making films that depict extremes (in many cases), and for my money his best is Perdita Durango (aka Dance with the Devil) with Rosie Perez and, in a somewhat early role, Javier Bardem speaking pretty broken English but insanely great.

This film, La Comunidad, is kind of fun to watch and does, to some extent, capture some of the director's spirit of the extremes, but is not as intense or riveting or downright fun to watch as Perdita Durango. It does feature Carmen Maura and she is, hands down, the star of the show--in fact, she's really good. It's not that the other actors aren't as good as she is--all of them do a fine job. It's really that the script is just not as powerful as it might have been. It does hold your interest but doesn't really grab it.

The story finds our heroine, Julia (Maura), a real estate agent, "usurping" one of her primo apartments for her own use with Ricardo, her husband/boyfriend (which is it? I dunno), and subsequently stumbling across the dead body of a really old guy. Later, having found a "clue", she puts two and two together, returns to the apartment of the old dead guy (who's now been carted off for burial), and finds a huge amount of cash.

The title refers to all the people who live in the building who know about the cash but could never find it and who realize that this new "neighbor" has found it. The black comedy hijinks that ensue form the substance of the film.

One of the problems here is that there could have been a lot more sexual tension which would have done much to sharpen the edge of the film. But this component of the film just kind of fizzles. We also don't really see why Julia (Maura) is so attracted to her husband (or boyfriend; we're never really sure which one), Ricardo. Sexual tension is kind of toyed with in the film--Julia is definitely attracted to one of the neighbors--but never really taken advantage of, so to speak; the director teases us with it, then doesn't really follow up with it. This could have really made the film a whole lot punchier than it is.

The resolution is OK, but not great. There are a few pretty funny lines here and there and that helps. This is not really a bad film. It's just not as good as it definitely could have been.

great Spanish thriller-comedy.......2004-10-08

This is one of the best Spanish films over the last 5 years. It is funny and tense at the same time. All the characters are fun and Carmen Maura turns in another great performance. Based on the notion of a building's "community," (or bldg association) this film picks fun at the Spanish culture of nosy neighbors and apartment living. Director de la Iglesias also pays his respects to Hitchcock in a couple of scenes.

Average customer rating:

Teenage Wolfpack
Starring: Karin Baal , Horst Buchholz , Christian Doermer , Friedrich Joloff , and Stanislav Ledinek
Director: Georg Tressler
Manufacturer: Alpha Video
ProductGroup: DVD
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Wet Asphalt

ASIN: B000G8P240
Release Date: 2006-08-22

Average customer rating:

Where have all the homeless gone?
Interesting look at NYC's evolution
A beautiful, elegiac look at the real Alphabet City
Really engaging look at snapshots of a NY neighborhood
I wish 7th Street was my street

7th Street
Director: Josh Pais
Manufacturer: Paradise Acres Productions, LLC
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: B0000EI2MA
Release Date: 2003-10-20

Description

Get ready to dive into one of the most violent, drug-infested neighborhoods only to see it transform into the trendy, residential enclave it has become. Many of the old timers figured out how to survive the area when it was a ghetto - now the challenge for them is to see if they can survive gentrification.

7TH STREET draws the viewer into a neighborhood that most people were once too afraid to enter. An area that most people only heard rumors about: Alphabet City in NYC's East Village, once known as the drug capital of the East Coast.

The movie explores change in one of the most vital areas of NYC and the complexity of gentrification. Not only is this movie about one block in Manhattan - it's about neighborhoods and communities all over the world where progress sometimes comes at the expense of richness of character and diversity.

Viewers join in Pais' struggle as he sees his block transform and become a safe place for his newborn son and a trendy neighborhood for the new inhabitants at the expense of his street family. The people who were his role models as a child he now sees homeless in Tompkins Square Park or discovers them dead.

7TH STREET will undoubtedly pull your heartstrings and make you look with fresh eyes at the place you call home.

Customer Reviews:

Where have all the homeless gone?.......2007-01-19

7th Street: 5 out of 10: Nostalgia about ones childhood is a dangerous thing. It permeates 7th street where Josh Pais is clearly to close to the subject as he bemoans the loss of the crime ridden hellhole of his youth and worries about the gentrification of said block. (There are outdoor café's now and people are drinking lattés oh the horror the horror)

That said it is a fascinating documentary with a great group of people (especially Reno Thunder who was his mothers occasional boyfriend.) In fact this is quite the high production home movie with many interviews with family who often counteract Mr. Pais's thesis about the neighborhood change and when Mr. Thunder falls on hard times the change is so dramatic there are clearly more forces at work then the neighborhood cleaning itself up.

I wish we had spent even more time with Mr. Thunder after the change and less on Mr. Pais's childhood (especially the endless footage of his late mother and how she was at the center of an art revolution. She actually comes across as kind of a ...how does one put this nicely... party girl.) Mr. Pais's brother in a hilarious and all to short clip reminisces on his reaction of finding Marcel Marceau in his living room one morning. He clearly doesn't hold the neighborhood (or mimes) to his heart and seemed glad to escape.

There is a staged and telling scene at the end where an adult Mr. Pais and his friend play in a fire hydrant while yuppies look on disapprovingly, his point is lost in the fact he does look quite silly. There are some things from childhood we just let go.

Interesting look at NYC's evolution.......2004-08-18

Josh Pais paints a vivid picture of his East Village neighborhood over the span of several decades. He chronicles not only the lives of some of the colorful charaters that make the block truly a community but also looks at his own experience as a child growing up in the "ghetto" and his feelings at the prospect of raising his own son in a place the police tried to quarantine from the rest of the city.

A beautiful, elegiac look at the real Alphabet City.......2004-08-18

This is one of the most beautiful documentaries I have seen in a long time. Josh Pais does a masterful job of making the viewer fall in love with the residents of the East Village--and then showing how they have been completely disenfranchised by the young and hip new inhabitatants. Characters like Merlin (the sweet homeless man who greets everyone as they walk down the street), Reno (the lover of Josh Pais's mother) and Mickey (the charming con just struggling to get by) hook you in to the film from the first scene.

But what is most impressive about 7th Street is that it shows how what has happened to this small neighborhood is happening all over New York City. Working class citizens are constantly being uprooted by real esate agents who are looking for the next hot neighborhood.

Josh Pais directed this movie with both skill and passion, and it turned out beautifully.

Really engaging look at snapshots of a NY neighborhood.......2004-08-02

This was a moving documentary, showing the people behind the faces you walk by everyday. As a New Yorker, it is meaningful to see the history of one of the cities' neighborhoods so beautifully and purely portrayed. Pais hides nothing, and shows the neighborhood's wrinkles, scars, and beauty.

I wish 7th Street was my street.......2004-04-03

Josh Pais's 7TH STREET is a touching look at an area and a community that really had a distinct character to it. It evokes strong memories of a New York before the Gap and Starbucks, the New York of the 70's. This documentary is told in a very heartfelt way and is full of colorful characters. Absolutely worth repeat viewings. Saw it when it won the Audience Award at the 2003 Independent Film Festival of Boston.

Weill - Street Scene / Holmes, Staatsphilharmonie Rheinland-Pfalz

Average customer rating:

A Sad Story, A Magnificent Score
Gorgeous. Not your usual Weill.
ONE MAJOR FAULT
Germans do Weill proud

Weill - Street Scene / Holmes, Staatsphilharmonie Rheinland-Pfalz
Starring: Marc Embree , and Teri Hansen
Manufacturer: Image Entertainment
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: B00005B350
Release Date: 2001-05-01

Amazon.com

Kurt Weill's "Broadway opera" is an amazing mélange of show tunes, arias, jazz numbers, folk songs, and spirituals, a true musical melting pot that aptly underlines the rich variety of characters that populate the New York City tenement block in the 1930s that's the focus of this exceptionally vital and criminally undervalued work. This 1995 production originated at Houston Grand Opera, and as presented on disc, it's an exciting way to experience this most atypical composer's extraordinary musical-theater piece. The acting and singing of a formidably talented cast, including several excellent youngsters, couldn't be better, although occasionally their clear diction slips, making one wish for subtitles (it's sung in English, of course). James Holmes conducts with passion and precision, and the staging generously evokes a bygone era of American history, simultaneously looking rundown and part of a dreamscape worth longing for. The visual and audio presentation is exceptional. Shown in its original aspect ratio (16x9 enhanced) and heard in full-bodied Dolby 5.1, this is a Street Scene for the ages. --Kevin Filipski

Description

The masterpiece of Kurt Weill's Broadway career, "Street Scene" reveals the success with which he made himself at home in America's musical arena after fleeing Hitler's Germany. His "Broadway opera" draws on blues, jazz, Negro spirituals, jitterbug and even Rogers and Hammerstein tunes, yet its lean textures and subtle twists of melody are immediately identifiable as Kurt Weill. Based on Elmer Rice's play of the same name, with lyrics by Harlem poet Langston Hughes, "Street Scene" is a portrait of life in a New York tenement block in the 1930s. With roles for thirty principal players, the characters are working-class people from a multiplicity of ethnic backgrounds struggling to realize the "American Dream." James Holmes conducts the Staatsphilharmonie Rheinland-Pfalz.

Customer Reviews:

A Sad Story, A Magnificent Score.......2005-05-23

This is the filming of the great, sad Kurt Weill/Elmer Rice/Langston Hughes popular opera presented by the Houston Grand Opera, conducted by James Holmes. I'm not sure "popular opera" is the right term; maybe there isn't one. It's based on Rice's play "Street Scene," a look at the lives of neighbors living in a New York tenement sometime around the late 1920's or early 1930's. It was unsuccessful when it opened on Broadway and is rarely mounted. The Houston Grand Opera revived it as a full-throated opera with big voices, and the score is sung with power and appeal.

Street Scene tells the story of the Maurrant family and of the relationships and gossip and stair-step lives of their neighbors living in the tenement. Anna Maurrant is a tired woman who sees her life slowing slipping away into drudgery. Her husband loves her in his own inarticulate fashion, but is suspicious, silent, unable to show much affection or love. They have two children, a boy still in school and Rose, a young woman who dreams of a better life and is making plans to achieve it. She is beginning to fall in love with Sam Kaplan, a young student who lives nearby. Kaplan is something of a quiet misfit who reads and wants to move away from the tenements with Rose and become a lawyer. After the characters are established, the story line moves inexorably into tragedy. Mrs. Maurrant, desperate for love and tenderness, begins seeing another man. Her husband discovers them, and kills them both. He is arrested and taken away. Rose decides she must give up her dreams and stay to take care of her brother. Sam knows he must leave or he will lose everything he values. The neighbors gradually settle back down to their lives of gossip.

Weill and Hughes, in my opinion, created one of the great scores. It ranges from songs of hope to songs of loneliness, from jazz to jitterbug, from children's songs to songs of such sadness they'll make you cry. "Lonely House," Sam Kaplan's cry of despair, is heart wrenching. Other songs that I think are extraordinary are "I Loved Her, Too," "What Good Would the Moon Be?," "Somehow I Never Could Believe," "When a Woman Has a Baby."

The presentation is fairly static, a filming of the stage action with some cutting to close-ups and medium shots. The DVD picture looks very good, however, and so is the sound.

Gorgeous. Not your usual Weill........2003-10-14

For those of us used to the sarcastic and biting Kurt Weill of Dreigoschenopera, this lyric (though dramatic and dark) opera will come as a lovely surprise. The opera is based on Elmer Rice's play and movie of the same title, and is a faithful translation of it.

The production is lavish and lovely and beautifully mounted and cast. The music ranges from grand ensembles and production numbers, to jazz and broadway type show tunes. Houston does a first-rate job. Ths stage set is magnificently detailed. Costumes are authentic to period.

The opera features ensembles and solos, and the spoken word, and some fine up-beat dancing. Do give it a try!

ONE MAJOR FAULT.......2002-06-04

Elmer Rice's sad, moving play, STREET SCENE, is a perfect example of Art triumphing with inspiration from a tragic source. In this case, it was the economic depression in America in the 1930's. Rice's play takes the inhabitants of a crowded tenement building during one particular oppressively hot summer day in New York City and lets us see them as individuals : the gossipy women who lean out of their windows to watch everyone passing by; Sam and Rose, young and in love and frightened to death of what the future holds; Rose's father, Frank, who passionately loves his wife but knows she is having an affair; the black janitor, Henry, who lives in the apartment house with the white people, but has his own dreams as an outsider; Mrs. Buchanan and her nervous husband who are having a baby; Jenny, coming home from her graduation, et al. Kurt Weill turned the play into a serious musical that opened on Broadway in 1947 but ever since has been performed in opera houses around the world. It is, arguably, the greatest achievement of Weill's career in the United States.

This particular DVD is a film from Germany of the production from the Houston Grand Opera and it is very good. The acting is first rate, as is the singing, esp. that of Teri Hansen as 'Rose Maurrant' and Kip Wilborn as 'Sam Kaplan' who sings of life in the apartment house: "Funny you can be so lonely with all these folks around." Particular credit must be given to the director, Francesca Zambello, one of the very few directors working in the great opera houses of the world who values the scores she directs more than she values her own ego.

One fault in this DVD (and I think it is a major one) is the fact that there are no "extras,"no documentaries on the making of the opera, the play or the DVD; there are no subtitles (even American singers do not project and perform American English so that it is totally comprehensible) and only a perfunctory bio of the musical genius Kurt Weill. One word about the lyrics. They are by the great American poet, Langston Hughes, and they are superb. One of my favorite lyrics appears in Sam's lament "Lonely House:" Sam is an unhappy young man who, without money, realizes there is no way he can marry the woman he loves. He cries, "Unhook the stars and take them down." Beautiful.

Germans do Weill proud.......2001-06-29

I hesitated at first given the German origin of this DVD. Would they be able to get into the spirit of what is after all an American musical? What about accents? What about style? No need to worry. This isactually a joint production with the Houston Opera and many of the singers are English speaking. So what we have is an excellent production of Street Scene faithful to the spirit of the original. Except for the credits you wouldn't know it comes from Germany. The singers are uniformly good at both singing and acting. The ensemble acting is superb. No subtitles which makes it a little hard to grasp every word. And no extras. All in all a fine tribute to Kurt Weill just a year after his centenary. Now how about Mahagony and the Eternal Way?

Average customer rating:

If you crossbred Polanski's nightmarish 'The Tennant' with 'It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad, World'...
common wealth
Pretty bad
A rare dud from Alex De La Iglesia
A brilliant european film

Common Wealth
Starring: Carmen Maura , Terele Pavez , Emilio Gutiérrez Caba , Sancho Gracia , and Maria Asquerino
Director: Álex de la Iglesia
Manufacturer: Lolafilms Home Ent
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: B0002JELZO
Release Date: 2005-01-11

Description

A lucky real estate agent... A decomposed body... A building full of greedy neighbors...300 million hidden in the cellar... Something smells rotten in this house. Julia finds 300 million pesetas hidden in a dead man's house while selling an apartment. She's a 40-ish real estate agent (played by Carmen Maura) now forced to face the wrath of a very peculiar community (of neighbors), headed by an unscrupulous administrator. Black humor gives way to suspense, closely followed by horror that doesn't take long in coming to a head in undisguised pandemonium

Customer Reviews:

If you crossbred Polanski's nightmarish 'The Tennant' with 'It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad, World'..........2007-06-04

you might get something like Spanish director Alex De La Iglesia's 'Commonwealth,' a delightful black comedy of greed and paranoia with an infectiously likable performance by the always engaging Carmen Maura, a gem-filled array of ooky supporting character performances, snazzy production design with a crumbling claustrophobic old apartment building as the centerpiece and deftly handled comic action sequences - with a satisfying interplay of humor and creepiness running throughout. This is the kind of lightweight movie Hollywood wishes it could still make, but hasn't been able to carry off in decades.

There are plenty of great middle-aged actresses out there who could carry a whole film with ease (as Maura does here), but how often are they given the opportunity? (I am dreading any news of a US remake - probably with Julia Roberts or Nicole Kidman in the lead.) Maura is always charming, as her greed (and briefly, lust) battle it out with her common sense and survival instincts. We side with her Julia, even when she's doing things that are not strictly on the up and up. It's fun to watch her try to BS her way out of one tight spot after another (not without some skill - she is, after all, in sales), and we always know what Maura's character is thinking as she constantly plays right up to the edge for her shot at having her cake and (hopefully) living to eat it.

The director is a born filmmaker - a REAL filmmaker - who is criminally underappreciated in the US. He doesn't try to make "important" films, but his skill at crafting visually dazzling, frivolous and funny but dark-edged entertainments easily surpasses anything that I've seen coming out of the mediocrity mines of Hollywood for a long time. 'Commonwealth' may run into a bit of the same-old, wrapping itself up with an extended mechanical over-the-top comic-action chase sequence full of credibility stretching stunts - but even this is executed so beautifully that it can't be much of a letdown.

One of the things I always enjoy about De La Iglesia's films is his cinematic instinct for incorporating the sets and locations as participatory elements in the action. (See the pre-credits sequence of 'Day of the Beast' for a stunning example - if you can, that is, because that delightful and wickedly clever horror-comedy marvel is inexplicably unavailable in the US.) It is clear that De La Iglesia has learned a thing or two from Hitchcock, but Hitch might have picked up a couple of tricks from De La Iglesia if he were still around. There are a lot of very funny scenes with wonderful comic tension (Maura's near seduction by a way-too-smooth over-forty Cuban dance instructor sticks out in my memory - they both have more than sex on their minds), and these alternate with grisly, funny set pieces. (The moment I saw that nasty looking antique elevator in a De La Iglesia movie, I knew it would be put to evil use.)

I don't want to overhype this movie, because it isn't trying to change anyone's life - but it does provide value for your entertainment buck - and that's a lot more than can be said for most of the bloated exercises in overproduced tedium that have been stinking up the multiplexes for years. On it's modest terms 'Commonwealth' succeeds admirably. It doesn't take itself too seriously, it's solidly crafted and a lot of fun.

De La Iglesia also gives us yet another great credit sequence. I encourage (real) movie lovers to seek out this man's work. His films don't always work 100%, but they are always a gas to watch and genuinely cinematic in ways Hollywood films have long ceased to be. This one I found especially enjoyable - like a frosted cupcake with a surprise center that jumps out "OOGA BOOGA!" to startle you.

common wealth.......2007-01-19

carmen maura, without a doubt one of the best actresses of our times gives as amazing performance. this role earned her a goya award in spain(oscar) for best actress. the movie is funny and very almodovaresque with all its colorfull characters. a must see.

Pretty bad.......2006-11-06

After watching and enjoying Alex De Iglesia's "Crimen Ferpecto," I decided to check out some of his other films. This one was probably the worst of the bunch. "Common Wealth" is a fairly repetitive comedy about greed and duplicity that lacks the director's usual visual gusto. In the end he cranks it up for a finale that's heavy on stunts and physical comedy, but seems out of place with the rest of the film's tone.

A rare dud from Alex De La Iglesia.......2006-06-20

This is one of director Alex De La Iglesia's least provocative films. De La Iglesia, who is known for his subversive, wildly imaginative and unconventional movies, is saddled here with a tepid script that takes a familiar premise and adds little that is new or interesting to secnario. The plot basically revolves around a stash of money that a woman finds in an apartment building and how she tries to get that money out of the building while the scheming tenants try to stop her. If you like broad, over-the-top comedy, lots of boring exposition, and a lackluster attempt to tie up loose ends in a perfunctory finale, then this movie might be for you. Others need not apply.

A brilliant european film.......2006-05-31

If I hadn't been living in the US for quite a while now, I would have been puzzled by some American reviewers complaining about this movie as snail-paced, boring, predictable, etc. But that's right, fellas, don't waste your time with such superb, intricate, still very amusing European efforts. Stick with those unforgetable, all time classics such as Top Gun, Rambo, Lethal Weapon or the likes. They suit you.

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