The Chaplin Collection, Vol. 1 (Modern Times / The Great Dictator / The Gold Rush / Limelight)

Amazon.com essential video

Charles Spencer Chaplin, the London ragamuffin who became the most popular man of his era, gets his proper due with this deluxe package of four classics. Each two-disc set begins with an excellent new digital transfer of the picture and remastered sound. The Gold Rush, Chaplin's 1925 masterpiece, puts the Little Tramp into the snowy Yukon; it includes such celebrated sequences as the "Dance of the Rolls" and Chaplin's uncanny metamorphosis into a large chicken. Both the original silent version and Chaplin's re-edited 1942 release (for which he added his own musical score and narration) are included. A documentary on "Chaplin Today" looks at the film through the eyes of Burkina Faso director Idrissa Ouedraogo. Modern Times (1936) is Chaplin's peerless take on the machine age; his ballet on the assembly line remains one of the great images of modern man driven mad by mechanization. The DVD extras include a couple of (somewhat extraneous) vintage promotional films about the wonderful world of mass production, the famous Chaplin composition "Smile" performed by Liberace (huh?), and penetrating comments on the film by the Belgian filmmakers Luc and Jean-Pierre Dardenne.

The Great Dictator is Chaplin's comic undressing of Hitler, boldly released in 1940. An absorbing documentary, "The Tramp and the Dictator," details production of the film, and color footage shot on the set provides fascinating behind-the-scenes material. Limelight (1952), in which he plays a fading vaudevillian, is Chaplin's magnificent elegy on his own career. Extras include a deleted scene, the entire Oscar-winning score, and Bernardo Bertolucci on the film's emotional impact: "I don't cry often, but here my tears flow." Each film has a loving introduction by Chaplin biographer David Robinson--but newcomers to Chaplin should watch the movies first, as the extras give away endings and the best jokes. --Robert Horton

Customer Reviews:

A GREAT ARTIST BEFORE HIS TIME!.......2007-08-18

Charlie Chaplin was a true Genius of His time. He was superb in all his silent films. They each carried volumes of subliminal meassages of wit and reality. He was excellent in the Great Dictator and Modern Times. Charlie Chaplin was a Leader and he set the stage for all that came after him. He is an Iconic figure of Hollywood. These collections are very well preserved for all time. This is a must for all collectors of pantomine and great classic comedy.

The works of a genius who had life-long creative control.......2007-07-21

Although working conditions and terms don't create genius, it sure can inhibit and even destroy its expression. Buster Keaton and his experience at MGM are Exhibit A of that scenario. Chaplin, however, was in complete creative control of almost his entire career. After his early Keystone shorts, Chaplin never again starred in someone else's film production. In short, nobody could ever say "no" to his creative ideas and make it stick. Thus we can look at the films in this collection and lay any blame or applause entirely at the feet of Charles Chaplin, and that circumstance is as unique as Chaplin the artist himself.

It's very hard to describe this excellent set in the context of Chaplin's genius and his evolution as a film maker, because the films are separated from one another by quite large time intervals and interim films that are in volume two, with the exception of Modern Times and The Great Dictator which were sequential projects. "The Gold Rush" shows Chaplin's talent at comedy and pathos set in the heart of the silent era (1925) after he had already had some success making silent feature films. "Modern Times" is perhaps the best film he ever made, again a silent picture, long after silent films had gone out of vogue in Hollywood (1936). If anything, as time passes, Modern Times just becomes more and more relevant. "The Great Dictator" (1940) is Chaplin's first talking picture, and today, given the benefit of the knowledge of what was really going on in Germany during this time, the film almost seems in bad taste. However, even Chaplin admitted that if he had really known the extent of what was happening in Europe at the time he probably would not have made the film. Still, Chaplin turns in a fine performance in a great film where the best parts still involve Chaplin's gift of pantomime. Finally, there is Limelight (1952), which is a very sentimental film that has Chaplin perhaps looking back on his own career and showing what he was truly afraid of having happen - that he would someday be seen as a relic of the past and that only when people were told "who he used to be" would he be appreciated or for that matter even welcome. Thus it is really necessary to watch the films in volume 2 to fill in the blanks between the four movies in this collection and get a true picture of Chaplin the artist. Highly recommended.

great films and a great collection.......2006-12-30

What can i say, If you are a fan of Chaplin, then you cannot go without this collection. for every film you get a whole second DVD with extras. Every film is remastered, and although some are in black and white, still look amazing.

The chaplin masterpiece collection.......2006-12-15

In my view every chaplin movie is good, and if your a chaplin fan like I am then you will love this lovely collection.

You can't do the impossible..........2006-08-05

Although this set tries to do the impossible, it cannot. But it is a very good collection of Chaplin films.

So, to start with, let me cover what is great in this set.

First, the films are as clearly presented as possible, with great sound, pretty good mastering, and good clarity of image. The speed of projection, a subjective topic at best, is quite carefully handled, and seems to be quite good for the most part. (This only affects the silent Gold Rush, btw.)

The restoration of the original silent Gold Rush is excellent, and a welcome addition to the canon. I don't bother arguing over which version is better, silent or sound, because they both exist in our world and such arguments end up amounting to mere preferences.

Which brings me to the first impossibility. It is IMPOSSIBLE to present a "definitive" version of most any Chaplin film, due to the cuts and changes he made in them over the years, and the variation in the editions originally issued. In addition, there are some bits from the original release which simply don't exist in a quality comparable to the quality of the current versions, and which could not be edited in without comprimising the quality.

The Chaplin family made a decision, and stuck to it. They decided to issue the films in the final approved versions, with cuts intact. They also decided to include all cuts as additional material, so that we don't lose what was taken out. I'm not sure how I feel about this, but sometimes a decision must simply be made and stuck with, and the Chaplin family went with this. Not everybody will be satisfied, but the choice has been made.

The additional materials are often good, but equally often pointless. The good stuff includes the Great Dictator documentary, lots of home movies and still, and various sequences from older films that are relevent to the title. The bad stuff includes the truly boring "Chaplin Today" documentaries, which are a great example of material trying to prove a point but instead shooting itself in the foot. I regard these documentaries as another example of doing the impossible - by trying to argue that Chaplin is relevent today (and I think he is), the directors end up proving otherwise. Some things can't be won through argument, but only through experience.

One troubling aspect of this set is that, instead of tranferring the movies fresh from film to NTSC video, the films were transferred from film to PAL video, and then converted. This changes film speed a bit, and introduces unavoidable artifacts and degrades the video quality. While not as bad as the HORRENDOUS "Phantom of the Opera" fiasco, it's a shame that we cannot see these films in their top quality without getting imported dvds from overseas in the original PAL format.

That all said, we have here four (or five) Chaplin films in possibly the best quality possible in a neat package with lots of goodies. There are plenty of quibbles with this set and it's companion, but the fact is that this is as good as it might ever get, until an even better format comes along. The films are wonderful, and it's nice to have a good edition of them again.

Average customer rating:

An excellent action - light comedy Western
Fun to Watch
How to support your local sheriff
Great Movie!
An affectionate, wry Western spoof, with fine jobs by all the players

Support Your Local Sheriff
Starring: James Garner , Joan Hackett , Walter Brennan , Harry Morgan , and Jack Elam
Director: Burt Kennedy
Manufacturer: MGM (Video & DVD)
ProductGroup: DVD
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ASIN: B000056H2F
Release Date: 2001-03-20

Amazon.com

While hardly the first Western spoof to ride out of Hollywood, Support Your Local Sheriff is easily one of the best. James Garner plays the confident, cool-headed cowboy who strolls into a wild gold rush town on the way to Australia and takes the job as sheriff. Like a parody of My Darling Clementine by way of Rio Bravo, he arrests the hotheaded but hopelessly confused son (Bruce Dern) of a ruthless ranching magnate (Walter Brennan). Stuck with a half-built jail (where he keeps his prisoner penned up with pure psychology and a few spatters of red paint), a rummy sidekick (google-eyed Jack Elam in one of his first comic turns), and a disaster-prone tomboy (Joan Hackett), he takes on a succession of gunfighters with increasing exasperation. "Sure is a childish way for a grown man to make a living," he laments before chasing one gunman out of Dodge by pelting him with rocks. Directed with laconic ease by veteran Western director Burt Kennedy, it's a clever spoof of familiar conventions in a lighthearted vein, more understated and affectionate than Mel Brooks's outrageous farce Blazing Saddles. It inspired a slew of imitators, including a decade of silly Disney Westerns that sank the genre in slapstick shenanigans, and was followed in 1971 by Kennedy's pseudosequel Support Your Local Gunfighter, which reteamed Garner and Elam in a more mercenary story of con artists and gunslingers. --Sean Axmaker

Description

Armed with a wry sense of humor and a straight-shooting sidearm, James Garner (Maverick, My Fellow Americans) fights for peace, justice and fun in this outrageous, irreverent and "very funny" (Los Angeles Times) farce co-starring Joan Hackett, Walter Brennan, Harry Morgan and Jack Elam. Support Your Local Sheriff is "sheer entertainment from start to finish" (Boxoffice)! On his way to Australia, frontier opportunist Jason McCullough (Garner) stumbles into a small gold-rush town and decides to earn a little extra pocket money by accepting a temporary assignment as its sheriff. Happily applying himself to his new position, McCullough manages to turn the town derelict (Elam) into his deputy, outsmart the dreaded Danby clan (led by Brennan in a hilarious comic performance), and fend off the lusty advances of the mayor's daughter (Hackett) all without breaking a sweat or dirtying his shiny black boots!

Customer Reviews:

An excellent action - light comedy Western.......2007-09-14

This superb light-comedy-action-Western is a perfect vehicle for the kind of role James Garner did better than anyone else; the handsome, slightly dangerous (to bad guys), rascal who never gets too attached to anything. However, he is often captured by the leading lady at the end of the film after putting up mild resistance along the way.

In this film, Garner plays Jason McCullough, a stranger drawn to a gold rush town. Ostensibly he is on his way to Australia (he has been on his way there for years). However, the boom has caused prices to rise, so he needs an income while he tries to find a stake to claim. The town is so tough and dangerous that they haven't been able to keep a sheriff. McCullough takes the job and sets out to clean up the town.

The one dangerous part of the town is the Danby clan. One son, Joe (Bruce Dern), killed a man in the local bar and when McCullough gets the job he sets about arresting Joe. One local who helps him, Jake (Jack Elam), gets deputized mostly against his will. Joe is put in the local jail, but the cell bars have not yet arrived. This leads to a few of the more delightful scenes in the film.

Pa Danby (Walter Brennan) owns a huge block of land that also controls the only road in and out of the town. He has gotten rich by charging the miners a 20% royalty to travel over his land. He and his three sons have pretty much done as they pleased and have everyone terrified. McCullough confuses them because he won't scare. Again, more funny stuff follows.

Mayor Olly Perkins is played by the redoubtable Harry Morgan and it is his daughter, Prudy (Joan Hackett), who is instantly attracted to McCullough (and he to her). However, she is quite eccentric (and the richest woman in the territory) and this leads to other comedic opportunities.

The energy of the film is high, it still holds together after more than 35 years, and Garner is as charming as he as ever been on screen.

Excellent comedy that is family safe.

Fun to Watch.......2007-09-04

This is a clever film, even after more than one viewing.

James Garner turns in his usual easy-going and likable performance. No surprise there. But the supporting cast is equally enjoyable to watch.

I was impressed by the care taken with the frontier town set: clean, nicely painted signs for cafes, rooming houses, blacksmiths and other storefronts, including prices and hours; lots of of townsfolk criss-crossing the main drag--almost like a street in busy New York City; dogs running haphazardly in the background. I can believe that this is a frontier boom town, serious about doing business and eager to become a small city.

Bruce Dern plays an oafish bully--son of the area's big-shot land owner--who is just witless enough to be manipulated by Sheriff Garner's three-steps-ahead ploys. I can almost find it credible that Dern's blockhead cowboy would supervise himself in the new unfinished jail house, a jail house still awaiting delivery of a steel door and bars for the windows.

Walter Brennan's acting performance is so good that I was inspired to look up his biography and discovered a high degree of education, acting training and many awards over a long career. I didn't know this when I last saw him on the screen forty years ago, when I was a kid. Brennan's character is so authentic that it seems a real 19th Century rancher baron has accidentally stumbled into a movie in the process of being filmed. And even though he plays the intimidating bad guy who's going to cause you a lot of trouble, his character is not a one-dimensional cardboard cut-out. He has moments--even with James Garner--where he's confused and thoughtful about why his Son, the Moron, is languishing in a jail without bars. It would be so easy to go sour with that gag but it's really amusing.

I think this film could qualify as a satire, but I never had the feeling that the filmmakers were pretentious enough to see it that way. Their goal seems to have been to deliver a wagonful of laughs and they have succeeded.

How to support your local sheriff.......2007-01-11

It was a gift for my brother who is a huge old movie buff - he has already watched it a few times since Christmas and calls me everytime laughing about something he has seen.

Great Movie!.......2006-07-03

Support Your Local Sheriff is one of those great comedic efforts written back when the viewing public was intelligent enough to "get it". The characters and the writing is first rate. Casting should have won an Oscar! Humour from beginning to end with subtle and obvious one liners throughout.
5 stars barely is enough. Should be 10 STARS!

An affectionate, wry Western spoof, with fine jobs by all the players.......2006-05-28

Jack Elam, with his one askew eye, was a guy who could watch two tennis matches at the same time without moving his head. As Jake, he's one of the reasons Support Your Local Sheriff! is as funny a Western spoof as it is. The other reasons include James Garner as Jason McCullough, Walter Brennan as Pa Danby, Joan Hackett as Prudy Perkins, Harry Morgan as Mayor Olly Perkins and Bruce Dern as Joe Danby.

McCullough drifts into the raw-boned, wide-open, gold rush town of Callender, Colorado, on his way, eventually, to Australia. He winds up taking the temporary job of sheriff, one in a long line of temporary office holders. Mayor Olly Perkins, who hires him, isn't exactly forthright about the short life spans of the previous sheriffs. McCullough comes up against the Danby clan, led by the mean old reprobate Pa Danby, when he arrests young Joe Danby for murder. And while Jason is staying at the mayor's home, he happens to fall for the mayor's daughter, Prudy, a young woman who seems to fall effortlessly into disasters. Providing back protection for McCullough is his deputy, Jake, who the day before was shoveling horse manure for a living.

Burt Kennedy was a longtime director of Westerns; he knows all the cliches and uses them with glee. What makes the movie work so well is the skill with which his actors do their jobs. Garner plays McCullough with laid-back cool, a wry man not to be rushed and, incidentally, very fast with a gun. Joan Hackett was a first-rate actress, and here she's not afraid to play a tomboy who always seems to put her worst foot forward. She's may fall face first in the mud but she comes up swinging. One of her best performances is in Will Penny. Walter Brennan just about steals the movie; it's a neck-and-neck tie between him and Garner. Brennan was a versatile, skilled actor who earned his three best supporting Academy Awards. He could play the home-spun preacher, the vicious outlaw, the hopping old coot. Here he's the fit-to-be-tied, rough-edged patriarch of a family of dim-witted sons. It's a nice performance. If you want to see just how good an actor Brennan was in his prime, watch him as Judge Roy Bean in The Westerner or as Old Man Clanton in My Darling Clementine. In another case of actorly theft, he effortlessly steals The Westerner from Gary Cooper. Bruce Dern as the remarkably stupid and dangerous youngest Danby adds to his list of off-center and funny portrayals.

Support Your Local Sheriff! is a well-crafted, affectionate spoof of Western cliches. It works so well, in my opinion, because it doesn't take itself seriously and because of some first-rate performances by any number of solid actors. The major drawback for me is the musical score. The movie is funny enough on its own that it doesn't need to have the music grab your lapels and tell you to laugh at a scene. The score does this over and over. The DVD is bare bones and, to my eye, looks fine.

Average customer rating:

Average James Stewart/Anthony Mann western
Best of enemies
A good standard Western with pace and period feeling...
Hardbitten Stewart/Mann Western
A colorful movie of the determination of a people.

Bend Of The River
Starring: James Stewart , Arthur Kennedy , Julie Adams , Rock Hudson , and Lori Nelson
Director: Anthony Mann
Manufacturer: Universal Studios
ProductGroup: DVD
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ASIN: B00008CMRL
Release Date: 2003-05-06

Amazon.com

Besides being a terrific movie in its own right--and the second entry in a remarkable eight-film series teaming director Anthony Mann and star James Stewart--Bend of the River is also fascinating as a variation on one of the greatest Westerns. With or without anyone else's knowledge, screenwriter Borden Chase reworked scenes, character configurations, and much of the structure of Red River, the screenplay of which he had cowritten (from his own novel) for director Howard Hawks six years earlier. Seeing what Hawks and Mann did with some of the same scenes--a spooky night skirmish with Indians, for instance--makes for a compelling lesson in the transformative power of directorial style.

Instead of Texas and the Chisholm Trail, Bend of the River is set in the Oregon river country, with a wagon train substituting for an epic cattle drive. Wagonmaster Stewart, a man with a secret past he's determined to redeem, rescues another, not-so-ex-renegade (Arthur Kennedy) from a lynching. Stewart finds Kennedy a powerful ally in a fight but ultimately has to face him as a mortal enemy--and to revert to his old savage ways in order to save his adopted community. Along the trail, they are variously companioned and/or menaced by the likes of slick gambler Rock Hudson (compare the Cherry Valance part in Red River) and hard cases Harry (then Henry) Morgan, Royal Dano, and Jack Lambert. There's knockout scenery, as usual with Mann, and fight-to-the-death action as bracing as a plunge into an icy river. --Richard T. Jameson

Customer Reviews:

Average James Stewart/Anthony Mann western.......2007-03-20

This is a decent western but it doesn't pack any surprises.

There is lots of nice location scenery spoilt by all-too-obvious studio work - but I guess this was the 50's.

The best Mann/Stewart western by far is The Man from Laramie.

Best of enemies.......2006-11-11

Bend of the River is in many ways Anthony Mann's `nicest' Western, but underneath the gorgeous Technicolor location work there's a darker side to Stewart's border raider desperate to reform and his relationship with friendly enemy Arthur Kennedy that threatens fireworks to come - and when they do, in the last 20 minutes, there's no problem in believing the depth of Stewart's rage or the relentlessness of his pursuit. Shot on many of the same locations as the even darker The Far Country, it's still terrific entertainment. Stepinfetchit's role is a little uncomfortable, but compared to the humiliation inflicted upon him in other pictures he's allowed a bit more dignity here than usual, closer to Hank Worden's Old Mose Harper in The Searchers than the racial stereotypes other directors expected.

As with Universal's DVD of Winchester '73, the print quality isn't always quite as good as it could be, but it's mostly an acceptable transfer.

A good standard Western with pace and period feeling..........2006-11-08

"Bend of the River" welcomes the fine blend of a passionate action with intense characterization that had become Mann's masterful specialty...

Stewart (in his second feature with Mann) is seen as a reluctant hero, stumbled, brutalized and confused, chasing a personal mission with severe determination, and giving life to the complex moral and psychological forces that drive Mann's heroes...

Vivid as a laconic quiet man driven by betrayal to violent rage, Stewart is a former raider on the Missouri-Kansas border, who guides a wagon train of settlers to Oregon... There he gets double-crossed by associates who try to turn aside necessary food and supplies to gold-rush activities...

Ingenious and malicious, Arthur Kennedy (very much in his element), is Stewart's former companion-in-crime whom Stewart saves from hanging, and helps him fight the Indians on the way to Oregon...

Adroit, insincere, and dishonest, Kennedy turns on Stewart stealing the settler's supplies for a handsome profit but is later dispatched by an irritated and enraged Stewart...

Kennedy has been preferred in Westerns as the more insidious kind of villain: friendly, smiling, charming and smooth-talking on the surface, weak and corrupt underneath... His specialty is the courteous type who befriends the hero and then turns out to be planning something illegal to his own advantage on the side...

Julie Adams is along the ride as a love interest getting short penitence in all the macho interplay...

Rock Hudson is cast as a soft gambling man from San Francisco, adept at cards as well as women, defender of a fair deal, ready to fight beside his friends...

Filmed against a breathtaking Technicolor panorama, with nice music that highlights the action, "Bend of the River" is a good standard Western with pace and period feeling, rolling along to its predictable happy ending, discarding any unwanted characters...

Hardbitten Stewart/Mann Western.......2006-10-30

Bend of The River was the second film in the wonderful collaboration between James Stewart and Anthony Mann. This film has all the hallmarks of the collaboration - great acting, literate script, and taut direction.

Stewart again plays an embittered man with a past, who with Arthur Kennedy leads a wagon trail of settlers from Missouri to Oregon. The two get the wagon train settled outside of Portland, but there's a need for supplies, and a gold mining camp wants its hands on the supplies as well. Add this to Kennedy's larcenous behavior and you have the making of a great Western.

Stewart, Kennedy, and a young Rock Hudson are all excellent, and Mann's direction keeps things moving, and moving in the right direction. The Stewart/Mann films featured characters that seemed real and consequences that seemd to fit the situation. Bend of The River is a great film for all Western movie lovers.

A colorful movie of the determination of a people........2006-08-18

A colorful movie of the determination of a determine people to
leave their homes for a new part of the country. THis determination is typical of the move west in this country with
a good storyline to boot.

Average customer rating:

Good movie ---but nothing like the book
White Fang
Delightful Surprise
White Fang
What does this have to do with Jack London's book?

White Fang [Region 2]
Starring: Klaus Maria Brandauer , Ethan Hawke , Seymour Cassel , Susan Hogan , and James Remar
Director: Randal Kleiser
Manufacturer: Walt Disney Video
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ASIN: B0000633U5
Release Date: 2002-04-23

Amazon.com

Ethan Hawke, fresh faced and full of determination, tackles the icy wilds and rowdy boom towns of Alaska in Disney's 1991 adaptation of Jack London's turn-of-the-century gold rush classic. Though somewhat tamed for young audiences, the story of a city kid who befriends a feral half-wolf/half-dog orphan while learning to survive the dangers of nature and man has its share of peril and rousing scenes of wilderness adventure. But the humans are upstaged by both the animals (the standoff between White Fang and a wild brown bear is a highlight) and the Alaskan landscape, from the snow-covered mountains and frozen lakes of winter to the rich green forests and whitecap rivers of summer. The scenes of dogfights and wild wolves hunting game are carefully shot to avoid bloodshed (the opening disclaimer takes pains to remind viewers that all such scenes have been simulated), but they may still be too intense for young children. Recommended for 9 and up. --Sean Axmaker

Description

Jack London's immortal tale of courage and survival comes to glorious life amid the breathtaking beauty of the great Alaskan frontier! Ethan Hawke (DEAD POETS SOCIETY) stars as a young man trying to fulfill his father's dying wish to find gold in the treacherous Yukon valley. His incredible journey begins when he meets a veteran gold miner (Klaus Maria Brandauer), who guides young Jack to his father's claim. Along the way, Jack discovers a kindred spirit who will change his life forever -- a magnificent wolf-dog named White Fang. From the taming of a wolf, to the taming of the wild, he must find the courage to conquer his fears and become a man in this spectacular outdoor adventure!

Customer Reviews:

Good movie ---but nothing like the book.......2007-05-31

I had read White Fang with my 8th graders recently and thought it might be good to compare with the movie. WOAH! Who is Jack? Where was Weedon Scott? Gray Beaver is actually kind of a nice guy in this movie. It was a good adventure movie, but if you are expecting it to be like the book, think again. It WAS good to show the students that movies aren't always accurate to the book, and that was a good lesson to teach. I would have liked this production to be truer to the novel, but not a bad movie to enjoy with the family.

White Fang.......2007-05-12

A very well orchastrated and touching sequel to that age old classic "Call of the Wild." I loved the book and the old movie, and this has proven to be a classic in the making to match it. The actors were believable and had you right in the midst of their struggles, clashes, and victories. Heart tugging and a tear jerker at times. It is definitely a keeper and well worth to add to ones library of films.

Delightful Surprise.......2007-04-29

I own this movie. First saw it on satellite because I love Jack London and the TIVO caught this because it is based on his novel. Even though it is different from the novel it captures the spirit of his story and as Ebert says, it is great entertainment in its own right. Anyone who loves canines is going to love this movie. Even some people I know who don't love canines, still loved the movie.

I liked it so much I bought the DVD. Excellent story, excellent soundtrack (the music is beautiful), excellent cinematography, excellent acting by both man and beast. Four stars because as like another previous reviewer, to release a movie as beautiful as this one in pan and scan instead of widescreen is a crime. Why Disney? This movie deserved widescreen. This movie is quality, maybe the best Disney live action movie, surely the best Disney live action movie I have ever seen. Good for repeated viewing at my house and well worth the purchase.

White Fang.......2007-01-11

I was very pleased. Will order other movies.

Thanks,
Diana Myers

What does this have to do with Jack London's book?.......2007-01-09

I love Jack London's books and have since childhood, so it's hard for me to understand why Disney would take a classic book title and make up a new story to go under it. I re-read WHITE FANG two months ago and there is precious little in this movie that was in the book. Jack London did not write kiddie books (nor did Anna Sewell, for that matter) and I understand how difficult it would be to adapt his works to the screen and get a family rating. Even so, people who read and loved the book and expect to see an adaptation of the original classic might well be terribly disappointed. If it's a good film and a good original script, then it should be allowed its own title and the Disney writers should get the credit for the story.

Average customer rating:

Great Chaplin
The Gold Rush
The Gold Rush (2 Disc Special Edition)
Rushing for Gold
The Little Fellow is simply superb!

The Gold Rush (2 Disc Special Edition)
Starring: Sam Allen , Henry Bergman , W.S. Dobson , John Eagown , and Georgia Hale
Manufacturer: Warner Home Video
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ASIN: B000096IBF
Release Date: 2003-07-01

Amazon.com essential video

After the box-office failure of his first dramatic film, A Woman of Paris, Charlie Chaplin brooded over his ensuing comedy. "The next film must be an epic!" he recalled in his autobiography. "The greatest!" He found inspiration, paradoxically, in stories of the backbreaking Alaskan gold rush and the cannibalistic Donner Party. These tales of tragedy and endurance provided Chaplin with a rich vein of comic possibilities. The Little Tramp finds himself in the Yukon, along with a swarm of prospectors heading over Chilkoot Pass (an amazing sight restaged by Chaplin in his opening scenes, filmed in the snowy Sierra Nevadas). When the Tramp is trapped in a mountain cabin with two other fortune hunters, Chaplin stages a veritable ballet of starvation, culminating in the cooking of a leathery boot. Back in town, the Tramp is smitten by a dance-hall girl (Georgia Hale), but it seems impossible that she could ever notice him. The Gold Rush is one of Chaplin's simplest, loveliest features; and despite its high comedy, it never strays far from Chaplin's keen grasp of loneliness. In 1942, Chaplin reedited the film and added music and his own narration for a successful rerelease. --Robert Horton

Description

A lone prospector ventures into Alaska looking for gold. He gets mixed up with some burly characters and falls in love with the beautiful Georgia. He tries to win her heart with his singular charm.

Customer Reviews:

Great Chaplin.......2007-09-12

I was stunned, in the negative, the first time I saw this film with the 1942 narration. As another reviewer commented, I totally prefer the original longer version. One may argue editing decisions but a voice-over to substitute for title cards showed me that even Chaplin could make a very wrong-headed decision.
There is a contemporary news show (maybe on FOX?) which has a segment where people read political cartoons using character voices. The practice doesn't come near the humor that can be experienced by our own reading in our minds. The same result happens with the Chaplin narration vs. our reading the title cards.
Luckily the original version of "The Gold Rush" is included here.

The Gold Rush.......2007-06-20

This brilliant Klondike comedy follows the antics of Chaplin's Little Tramp character through the trials and tribulations of frenzied fortune hunting in the Alaskan wilderness. In addition to the famous boiled-boot sequence, the visual gags are plentiful and hilarious, especially concerning the three prospectors' impending starvation (just watch Big Jim chase Chaplin around with an axe). But it's the bittersweet love story involving Hale's contemptuous saloon girl that makes "The Gold Rush" quintessentially Chaplinesque.

The Gold Rush (2 Disc Special Edition).......2007-03-10

A classic that captures the essence of survival in the far north softened by the humor of Charlie Chaplin's character of "The Tramp."

Rushing for Gold.......2007-02-19

"I'm going away, and when I return I shall come back!" - Charlie Chaplin, Gold Rush

I hadn't watched any Chaplin since I was a child, and a couple years back I rented a DVD with his *very* early material, and I was sorely disappointed. But Gold Rush is really good, surprisingly funny. I was in stitches at his physical comedy, like when two big men fight over a loaded shotgun, and the gun keeps pointing at Charlie ("the Little Fellow") no matter where he tries to flee to in the room.

The Little Fellow is simply superb!.......2007-01-02

If any single figure can fairly be said to symbolize the glory years of the silent films--the cinema's truly international epoch--it is Charles Chaplin's indomitable tramp... The Little Fellow, as millions came to call him, was at once tatty and debonair, brow-beaten and irrepressibly optimistic--and he was, without question, the best-loved international star in all of film history...

His coat was too small, his pants too large, his mustache patently false--and the resultant silhouette instantly recognizable wherever movies were shown... Charlie Chaplin's tramp spoke to all walks of life--and never more eloquently than in such silent films as "The Kid," and "The Gold Rush."

"The Gold Rush" is superb... It deals with Charlie's adventures to win the affection of a local dance-hall girl, and his hilarious efforts to avoid being eaten by bears and by prospectors who are bigger and hungrier than he...

The most memorable scene is one in which he dines on an old shoe... Chaplin's exquisite grace, turned the boiled shoe into a gourmet feast: he carves it carefully, smacks his lips in anticipation, and then eats it with gusto and appreciation, sucking the nails as if they contained the most juices and twirling the laces around his fork as if they were spaghetti...

Puccini - La Fanciulla del West / Daniels, Domingo, Milnes, Croft, Laciura, Fitch, Slatkin, Metropolitan Opera

Average customer rating:

SOLID GOLD
The Italian View of the Wild West, What Fun!
One of the best Puccini productions i've seen!
By far the best of Fanciulla Del West
The best Fanciulla on dvd.

Puccini - La Fanciulla del West / Daniels, Domingo, Milnes, Croft, Laciura, Fitch, Slatkin, Metropolitan Opera
Starring: Barbara Daniels , Placido Domingo , Sherrill Milnes , Leonard Slatkin , and Dwayne Croft
Manufacturer: Deutsche Grammophon
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: B000787X0A
Release Date: 2005-08-09

Customer Reviews:

SOLID GOLD.......2007-07-08

This is one of the best productions I've seen or heard! Aside from being serious opera, it's more entertainment than you can shake a stick at. This story about life in the wild west during gold rush days is so good and Puccini's music complements it so perfectly that it picks you up at one end, takes you straight ahead on a passionate operatic joyride that you'll never forget, then drops you off, breathless and marveling, at the other end. This is not opera you have to struggle through, but it is opera to contend with. It's serious--at times quite intense--but also has just the right touch of lighthearted whimsy and naturalness. The western theme is handled very effectively and it only took me a few minutes to get used to cowboys singing in Italian. Puccini kept returning to American themes in his operas. There is the American in "Madama Butterfly" and the final act of "Manon Lescaut" set in Louisiana, but in "La Fanciulla del West" Puccini's interest in America is given full reign, to wonderful effect.

Everything about this production works: the sets, the costumes, the direction, the audio-visual quality of the recording. Leonard Statkin conducts with verve and a sure ear for Puccinian dramaturgy ("La Fanciulla del West" is probably the most succesfully dramatic libretto Puccini composed for, with the possible exception of the three stories of "Il Trittico"). Slatkin also stays out of the way of the singers, who are nothing short of miraculous. (I know it sounds like I'm gushing--that's because I am; I just watched this thing and it blew me away!) The performers are great starting with the chorus and building all the way up to the leading soprano and tenor. Sherrill Milnes plays a solid and memorable Rance. Placido Domingo starts out a bit stiffly but man oh man by the time he warms up he delivers one the best performances of his life; even on DVD you can tell his voice fills the ENTIRE house. But the star here is Barbara Daniels as Minnie. My God, can this woman sing! And act, too! It is truly as well rounded a performance as you are ever likely to see on the operatic stage. She BECOMES Minnie. It's not often you get the swoosh effect on your speakers or headphones at home, where you can hear a singers voice rushing past you, but she does it here more than once if you have speakers or headphones sensitive enough to transmit it. The recording is sterling and perfectly balanced between pit and stage. And it looks great! This production ranks right up there with Herbert von Karajan's "Il Trovatore" of May 1, 1978, as one of the best nights at the opera currently available on DVD. You haven't done Puccini justice if all you've heard is "Madama Butterfly" or "La Boheme." In my opinion, "La Fanciulla del West" blows those two away. Enjoy!!!

The Italian View of the Wild West, What Fun!.......2006-06-26

I was so glad that the story had a happy ending, just like a proper myth ought to do. I would have to watch the opera again to give a critical account. First pass, I just fell into the story, I liked Millie as well as any of her admirers, and Dick (Placado) strutted and was the handsome and flawed hero who redeems himself through love. Daniels, Domingo and Milnes voices had the contrast and drama called for. Milnes does a great bad guy presentation. What a privilege to be able to have these great performances to enjoy at our pleasure in our homes. A blessing!

One of the best Puccini productions i've seen!.......2006-05-21

As a collector of opera dvds--i have more than 60--i've become rather dulled with regards to most opera productions. In short, it takes a lot to move me. That said, this production is truly one of the most moving, vital and impressive productions of a Puccini opera I have ever seen. Puccini operas are not easy to stage, especially this one, which requires first rate musicians, singers, supporting cast, etc. as well as a perceptive director who can capture all the subtleties and surmount the logistical problems posed by this opera. And boy it does! Especially captivating is the second act, which has an almost cinematic sense to it, as well as gripping drama and action.
As for the singers, they are some of the best i've heard to sing fanciulla! The MET orchestra and chorus are stellar of course, as are the supporting roles. Barbara Daniels has a big, round voice, which is both beautiful and powerful. Her acting is believable and she certainly looks the part. Domingo proves that even in 1992 he could sing the demanding role of Dick Johnson with both credibility and intensity. Milnes projects both the jealousy and honor of this untraditional "villain" especially well. He is not evil, nor is he virtuous.
Now a word on the opera itself. It is Puccini's most daring work, which endears itself through its unconventional melodies and a miraculous sort of genuineness. This production projects the "western" spirit of this opera, which I believe is the crux of the work. The melodies characterize this spirit, as do the magnificent sets and singers. I warn though....this is not quite the same Puccini most are accustomed to, so if you are looking for another Boheme, this is not it. It is, however, equally moving, if not more so. There is no cheesy, drawn out death scene--in fact, no one dies. What there is, however, is heart-wrenching nostalgia and intensly human jealousy, sympathy, and tragedy.

By far the best of Fanciulla Del West.......2005-09-25

This production, which for a long time has not been released on DVD, finally introduced a definiative production of this opera. Fanciulla del West, often maligned by critics, is a truly magical work when performed in the right idiom. there is nothing subtle here, this is Spaghetti Western Opera, and has a similar effect, it is moving, simple and Compelling to the the part of all of us that enjoyed reading comics and watching Clint Eastwood. in addition Puccini obviously lavished real care on the score, which comes at the audience in waves. Emotion erupts in the orchestra, starting with general sentiment and bursting forth in melodramatic swings. This is best evidenced in Rance's "Minne Dalla mia Casa" which starts with the Brass, playing simple open chords, the very heart of Rance's melancholy, growing to passionate ardor, and then sinking right back again, representing Rances unfufilled passion.
The singers here are near perfect, (the cast recorded the Opera in 1978 wonderfully)
Milnes is a menacing rance, he is brooding, and oozes Machismo and roughness. He looks just as you would imagine Jack Rance. Although this production takes place after his vocal surgery, which began a long decline in his singing, he sounds perfect here. The bit of extra strain and darker tone adds to the charachter and is not bothersome enough to ruin the line of the music.
Domingo, sings the same Ramirez which is recorded 3 times on DVD. It is a subtle, well acted and vocally declamatory. The role suits his ringing, baritonal voice well. Watch him dance with Minnie, he is truly in love. He steals the shows in the final act, where his aria brings down the house.
Barbara Daniels, real completes the show. She can truly handle the heft of Minnie, her voice is the complete ideal. Her top is blooming and glorious. As if this werent satisfying enough, she also looks a hot minnie. Her portrayal is concentrated and, occasionaly, frighteningly intense.
Special mention should be made for Anthony Laciura who portrays Nick. Laciura has been the met's premiere Comprimaro for many years, and this shows why. Not only does his voice have bloom and projection, but he creates a character, (something that almost no charachter-tenors can do) From his hillarious hygene issues to his honest care of minnie, he adds credibility to the drama.

The best Fanciulla on dvd........2005-09-11

What a wonderful production. Finally available on dvd. It surpasses both the Covent Garden and the La Scala productions. Barbara Daniels is wonderful as Minni, expressing an innocence and a vulnerability that makes her performance believable. Domingo is great as always. (What an actor) And Milnes portrayal is dark and menacing and sexy! The best production out there!!!

Average customer rating:

A GOLD Diggers life
Very entertaining

The Gold Rush (DVD)
Starring: John Lithgow
Manufacturer: Boettcher
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: 1883691087
Release Date: 2003-06-01

Description

Created by a five-time Emmy-winning filmmaker, "The Gold Rush" is a deeply moving documentary about the great quest for gold in frontier California. This award-winning program traces the epic saga of the bold adventurers who profoundly changed a young nation and redefined the American dream.

Narrated by John Lithgow, the film provides a comprehensive overview of the Gold Rush, including: gold discovery, the journey west, quick fortunes, winners and losers, frontier women, the collision of cultures, environment destruction, the birth of San Francisco, long-term impact, and much more.

Customer Reviews:

A GOLD Diggers life.......2005-11-09

The title of this documentary is The Gold Rush narrated by John Lithgow, and the director was Tim Boettcher.
60 min.

This movie is an interesting, factual, and well paced documentary with all the information on the rush for gold in California during the1800s and 1900s. It tells about how people made their fortune and how some people didn't just strike it rich by digging for gold, some people made money selling the supplies, some by selling and making food, and some by giving people places to stay (hotels/motels),

There were parts in the movie where they told about the Chinese workers who bought houses from people for 25 to 50 dollar's. Then they would pull up the floorboards and take the gold that had fallen out of the digger's pockets and went between the floorboards, and then the Chinese would sell the wood and make from 300 to 500 dollars.

It told about the inventions that crazy people made like jeans that had magnets on them so when you rolled down a hill there would be gold stuck on your pants. It told about Armor who started a meat story and now has a huge meat business called Armors Meats. It told about Studebaker who sold supplies, mainly wheelbarrows. Now Studebakers is the place to go for wheelbarrows the person to buy from. The movie goes on with much more interesting and strange facts about the gold rush.

What this movie didn't show was how the workers dug for gold, it didn't tell how they panned for gold and how they used there shovels to find the gold, and it didn't tell what they did with the gold after they moved away. There was no broad count, there were no workers mentioned to strike it rich by digging, it only told about the people who got rich by doing other things than digging.

There is a scene in this documentary that told about the first person to find gold in California. It told about Marshall and how he was building a saw mill and he saw some gold nuggets on the ground and then more and more, but he didn't want to tell anyone except the leader of the fort, John Sutter. They tried as hard as they could to keep it a secret. But the information got out and that is how the gold rush really started.

I would give this documentary **** (four stars) for its information and understanding of the history, and I would give this documentary *** (three stars) for how interesting and amusing/dramatic it was. So in all I would give this documentary *** ½ (three and a half stars).

Very entertaining.......2004-11-14

I laughed out loud in some spots--this was a fast-paced and fun production. Plus I've taught this subject for years, and this is a very accurate telling of the story.

Average customer rating:

The DUKE is great, but the rest are second-rate...

In Old California
Starring: John Wayne , Binnie Barnes , Albert Dekker , Helen Parrish , and Patsy Kelly
Director: William C. McGann
Manufacturer: Republic Pictures
ProductGroup: DVD
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ASIN: 0782011179
Release Date: 2000-05-16

Amazon.com

Picture, if you will, a regulation old-time Western saloon, teeming with colorful frontier types and about to be knocked into kindling by a galoot with a fearsome toothache. At this moment, through the swinging doors appears a pilgrim from the East--Boston, to be precise--outfitted with top hat, frock coat, a courtly manner, and a medical bag filled with the miracles of modern (i.e., 1849) pharmacology. He will cure the ruffian's toothache. He is a druggist. He is also John Wayne.

In Old California qualifies as one of Duke's quirkier assignments during his indentured servitude at Republic Pictures, and he makes a game stab at the sort of arch light-comedy heroism more typically left to his Reap the Wild Wind costar Ray Milland. Unfortunately, he has to do so without discernible assistance from director William McGann. Moreover, the script, which is incoherent even by Republic standards, absentmindedly omits any prospect for menace till half the running time has elapsed. Saloon songstress Binnie Barnes may or may not be kept by her employer, the loutish empire builder Albert Dekker, who resents her attraction to Wayne almost as much as he wants to hog California for himself. Fortunately, the gold rush comes along to provide opportunity for civic hysteria, an outbreak of fever, several varieties of unlikely heroism, and a climactic shootout of surpassing silliness. Edgar Kennedy and Patsy Kelly handle the comic relief... but where does it begin? --Richard T. Jameson

Customer Reviews:

The DUKE is great, but the rest are second-rate..........2001-06-16

In one of The DUKE's more off-beat roles, he plays a Gold Rush era
druggist in this picture. Turns out John Wayne's father was a
druggist, which is why DUKE wanted to play the role.

Although he
does engage in some gunplay, for the most part, DUKE is not the center
of action in this one. Rather, he's more or less a gentle man of
science who tries to bring much needed medicines to Sacremento. In the
process of following his dream, and the attentions of saloon girl
Lacey Miller, he incurs the wrath of local bad guy and town boss Britt
Dawson and his brother.

Eventually, DUKE has to choose between two
girls, clear his name of selling poisoned medicines, have it out with
the Dawsons, and save a gold mining camp from typhoid fever. All in a
day's work for The DUKE!

Unfortunately, this 1942 effort is not
exactly a classic DUKE movie. Rather, it plays more like some of the
non-descript "B" westerns DUKE made between 1930's "The
Big Trail", and 1939's "Stagecoach".

Most of the
cast is forgettable, save DUKE and Patsy Kelly. Kelly played comedic
roles similar to those played by Mary Wickes, and she stands out better
than the bland villains in the film. Her comedic love interest is
okay, though somewhat William Frawley-ish.

As for the DVD, the
transfer is fair at best. The print is pretty well-worn, and even
identifies itself as being a re-release print in the opening
credits!

While DUKE's part is pretty interesting, unless you are a
DUKE or Kelly completist, you could probably pass this one up.

Average customer rating:

The truth is never easy to accept.

Homoerotics Ignored; Otherwise Diverse

American Experience - The Gold Rush
Starring: Michael Murphy , and Isabel Allende
Director: Randall MacLowry
Manufacturer: PBS (Direct)
ProductGroup: DVD
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The Gold Rush (DVD)

American Experience: John Brown's Holy War

American Experience - The Way West: How the West Was Lost & Won, 1845-1893

ASIN: B000JLQPZY
Release Date: 2006-11-21

Description

At the end of 1853, San Francisco was a city on the fast track. A few years earlier, the seaside town had been a sleepy village of just 800 people. But the sight of gold in the waters of the American River set the stage for an event that would forever change a city, a fledgling state, and the nation. Incorporating rare and exquisite daguerreotypes and original recreations, this film offers a vivid portrait of a seminal event in America's history.

Customer Reviews:

The truth is never easy to accept........2007-04-04

After viewing this documentary about the west, one has to wonder: are all white americans evil? No! But one has to be honest enough to acknowledge the fact that prejudice toward any human being who was not white existed and flourished by the DOMINANT WHITE CLASS. This is a sad but true statement, after buying and viewing this DVD...and... Ken Burns DVD: the West, and The Way West DVD by Ric Burns. All three DVDs have the common thread of inhumane treatment to non white people by the Anglo American. This is fact!
If you do not want to find the truth, don't buy it...or for that matter,any of the other DVDs I've mentioned. However, such facts leads us to understanding ourselves to then ask what do we need to do to improve.
I highly reccommend this DVD to see what the WEST was like living during those times for it makes us understand that life has never been easy but easier through education by being HONEST to view this DVD.

Homoerotics Ignored; Otherwise Diverse.......2007-01-13

Like the American Experience series overall, this was a strong work about the gold rush. At two hours, I felt it ran a bit long. Then again, maybe as a one-hour special, it would have been too short.

Too often, documentaries do not have diverse interviewees. This work bucked that trend. It included men and women. One interviewee was South American author Isabel Allende. I knew her as a writer, but did not know she had such an interest in history.

The work is very gender-inclusive. It does state that 90% of gold rushers were male, However, it tried to speak of the women who also went on the adventure. It spoke of how skills that women had on the East Coast were devalued there but appreciated in California. Further, men appreciated women's singing, conversation, and simple proximity.

The American Experience continues its bold attention to the country's ugly racist past. The work starts by saying men of various nationalities and races went to California. Still, it then speaks of how the native-born quickly found ways to keep others out. The work not only speaks of racism, but specifically spells out how this hurt Native Americans, Latinos, and the Chinese, specifically. The narrator stated that California declared itself an American state before the United States Congress did so. I heard the Californian Constitution was written both in English and Spanish, but that isn't mentioned, or corroborated, here.

I do feel the work was cowardly in its sexual orientation politic. Many say that San Francisco's prominence as a gay Mecca may have been caused by the Gold Rush. Men far outnumbered women, and yet this documentary never stated whether these men got personal with each other. The work mentions that men danced with each other as couples, but a bigoted viewer could interpret that to mean they quickly separated once the music stopped. The documentary emphasizes that "Men did in California what they wouldn't do back home." But the work never mentions that same-sex sexual activities may have been an example of that. There are numerous gay studies scholars on the West Coast who could have elaborated on those issues in this work. For shame!

Again, a bit too long, but I do recommend that others see it.

Average customer rating:

Needs subtitles
Nice idea, terrible execution...
Worthless Western
cold truth
Good but could have been much more.

The Claim
Starring: Peter Mullan , Milla Jovovich , Wes Bentley , Nastassja Kinski , and Sarah Polley
Director: Michael Winterbottom
Manufacturer: MGM (Video & DVD)
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ASIN: B00005AX6G
Release Date: 2001-06-26

Amazon.com

Thomas Hardy's The Mayor of Casterbridge has been transplanted to the edge of the American frontier in this vivid drama that didn't receive the theatrical exposure it deserved. Although top young actors adorn the movie's ads, the central character--Daniel Dillon, a man who runs the gold rush town of Kingdom Come--is played by little-known Peter Mullen. In the dead of winter in 1849, three people arrive in town, changing irrevocably Dillon's life. One is Donald Dalglish (Wes Bentley), the clear-thinking leader of a railroad prospect crew who will determine where the railroad line--and a new line of wealth--will be built. The others are a mother and daughter (Nastassja Kinski, Sarah Polley) who have a past connection to Dillon and the knowledge of how he became rich. As events unfold--in pure Hardy fashion--Dillon finds himself facing a crossroads, with one path leading to redemption. The cast is uniformly brilliant, but special praise must go to Mullen, who carries the film's dramatic weight, and to Bentley, who is so composed in a role completely dissimilar to his breakthrough work in American Beauty. Director Michael Winterbottom (who adapted another Hardy piece with his film Jude) and cinematographer Alwin H. Kuchler have fashioned their film after Robert Altman's landmark McCabe and Mrs. Miller in the natural, earthy feel of a frontier town. The film opened in 2000 and deservedly appeared on a few top 10 lists, then was rereleased the following year. --Doug Thomas

Description

Against the dramatic backdrop of the rugged Sierra Nevada mountains, The Claim's richly textured story of love, betrayal, loss and redemption unfolds. This "beautifully acted" (Premiere) tale strikes pure gold with an all-star cast featuring Wes Bentley (American Beauty), MillaJovovich (The Fifth Element), Peter Mullan (Miss Julie), Sarah Polley (Go) andNastassja Kinski (Tess) and is "one of the best movies in recent memory" (Elle). It's 1869 and Daniel Dillon (Mullan) has made a fortune off his claim to gold-rich property in California. He knows that if his prosperity is to continue, he must convince a railroad planner (Bentley) to connect the new line through his town. But the plans to bring the train are derailed when, on a cold, wintry day, a mother (Kinski) and daughter (Polley) mysteriously arrive, revealing a shocking connection to Dillon one that could devastate his town, his life and his empire.

Customer Reviews:

Needs subtitles.......2007-07-29

I got this DVD because of the great reviewers comments on the cover. My problem was that I could not understand what many of the actors were saying. There were no English subtitles available so I tried French, which I do read a little. This kept me so busy, translating, though, that I gave up after about 40 minutes.

I think that if it had looked more interesting I might have kept at it, but it didn't. The director was going for "bleak" it seems and he got it. Sarah Polley who seemed to be a lead actor in the beginning was so pale and her voice was so blah that I had a hard time watching her. The young male lead was equally uninteresting. The older man (Peter Mullan?) and Mila Jovavich were much livelier, but it still wasn't enough for me. The scenery was beautiful, but as another reviewer wrote, you could get that in The National Geographic. When a particularly spectacular snowy scene was shown, the music amped up as if to tell you that this was really a spectacular scene! The scenes in the bar and brothel were repetitions of many other Old West films. All of this was done sooo much better in McCabe and Mrs. Miler!

The plot sounds interesting which makes sense since it's based on a novel by Thomas Hardy. Maybe if your hearing is better than mine or if you can lipread, read Spanish or French subtitles, you'll enjoy it. Maybe not.

Nice idea, terrible execution..........2007-07-01

I had at least decent hopes for this film considering Milla Jovovich is in it. I love her albums and her singing in this movie is wonderful. Unfortunately her performance can't even help the lackluster performances of the other actors and the lack of atmosphere in the movie. This was a great idea but just so poorly executed. I was so bored I couldn't even finish watching it. The plot has some interesting twists and turns and I think that had there been some changes in the cast and the director this could have been a great film.

Worthless Western.......2007-04-20

The Claim purports to be an adaptation of Thomas Hardy's classic novel, The Mayor of Casterbridge transplanted to the Old West. The producers clearly wanted The Claim to be accepted as a literate Western and it is clear that the critics fell for it. However, as anyone who has read the original Hardy novel can tell you, the movie fails as a Hardy adaptation. Meanwhile, any fan of movie westerns can tell you that The Claim is a failure in that department as well.

The Claim begins in 1869 where Daniel Dillon (Peter Mullan) lords supreme over his company town. His gold mining company is a topflight operation. Dillon is easily one of the most admired men in California, if not in the nation. However, Dillon is not a terribly happy man. Deep down, he broods over a dark secret that, if exposed, could lead to the destruction of his reputation.

You see, the gold claim was originally made by another man, but Dillon sold his wife and daughter to the original claimant in exchange for the claim. The prospector thereupon took both wife and child to Boston and raised the family there. Meanwhile, Dillon ruthlessly exploited the gold claim to become one of the richest men in all of California. Needless to say, if it became public knowldege that Dillon's success was based on the sale of human beings, that would be nothing short of disastrous.

Matters are brought to a head when his wife (Nastassja Kinski), daughter (Milla Jovovich) and his wife's subsequent daughter with the other man (Sarah Polley) show up in town and request that he take them in as his family. Just when you think that things are going to get interesting, the rug is pulled out from the audience's feet when it is revealed that Dillon conveniently never married after making his dirty deal. This enabled him to marry his ex-wife without never having to publically admit that they were previously married or what happened to that union. This effectively removed all dramatic tension and helped make The Claim a colossal bore.

cold truth.......2006-11-05

This is the West as I imagine it actually was, rough, unrefined, and brutal. Similar in tone to DAYS OF HEAVEN, another bit of American history, THE CLAIM is told in unsentimental bleak fact; nobody is spared, and there are no real winners except the railroad.

Daniel Dillon arrives in the wilds of Northern California during the gold rush with his wife and infant daughter in hopes of making a fortune in the gold fields. They arrive at a claim shack, cold, hungry, and out of hope and are taken in by the claimer, and in short order, Dillon unsentimentally sells his family to the lonely miner for the claim. The wife, Elena, aware that she has little say, goes with her new master, but does not close the door on Dillon.

Years later, we find that Dillon has made a go of things with his claim; he has built a town called Kingdom Come, wrested out of the mountains virtually by himself, a rough-and-ready place without amenities beyond the ubiquitous saloon and whorehouse to supply the miners. A survey crew appears; negotiations are begun to possibly bring the newly-constructed railroad through Kingdom Come and establish Dillon as the baron he envisions himself to be. The survey crew brings with it, however, a nasty shock for him; his erstwhile wife and now-grown daughter - who is unaw