Ready to Wear

Amazon.com

Robert Altman's much-anticipated broadside at the world of fashion is a disappointment. The film's crazy-quilt Nashville-like narrative structure and ensemble casting (Julia Roberts, Tim Robbins, Lauren Bacall, Marcello Mastroianni, Sophia Loren) are a thing to behold, but the story's many interlocking pieces lack overall depth and resonating emotion. There is a grand, satiric statement about fashion and society at the end of the film, and there are hints of an aging, nostalgic filmmaker's skepticism about our postmodern world of short-lived attachments and meanings. But watching this film is a long, long uphill climb, with a lot of thin air to endure before arriving at a destination. --Tom Keogh

Description

A glittering Hollywood all-star cast shines in Robert Altman's deliciously sexy comedy hit READY TO WEAR! At the world's hottest fashion show, there's been a murder. Now, everybody's a suspect -- including two guests who end up sharing much more than a hotel room! Add to the fun a hilariously inept TV reporter on the trail of her most shocking interview yet! They're all caught up in the year's biggest see-and-be-seen events -- where steamy scandals and spectacular supermodels turn up the heat in a riotous show of high-fashion hilarity.

Customer Reviews:

non-stop hoot.......2007-05-27

Watching this movie is an enjoyable and non-stop "hoot" (if that term is still used). It seems that everyone in Hollywood wanted a cameo appearance in this Robert Altman film, perhaps because it was filmed in Paris. It is true that a critic may find the plot senseless and incomplete, but I doubt very much if the filmakers intended to present a complete and thorough story. The intent was clearly a parady spoof of the Paris fashion industry and all of its multi-faced participants. In this regard READY TO WEAR is an outstanding success.

A Crazy Quilt.......2007-05-03

Why all the hate for FEADY TO WEAR? Like many of you, I was underwhelmed when it first came out but now thanks to constant showings on the Sundance Channel and all those channels in that narrow band of indie cable, it has been growing on me and now I can't stop watching it. Barbara Shulgasser's writing is wonderful, and if it has been chopped up like cole slaw by Altman's fitful direction, and by the generally improvisatory style embodied by Kim Basinger's steamrolling fashion reporter, it is still Altman who gives the picture its life, its joie de vivre. And the fantastic outfits are to die for, each one crazier than the last.

Sophia Loren is so over the top in this one role that retrospectively her entire career takes on a veneer of camp Carlo Ponti could never have intended. If she was Elton John her sunglasses couldn't get any vaster, like two TV screens perched on her nose, and her breasts bobbing like apples in the tub of her sausage cased cleavage deserve equal billing with Mastroianni, who perhaps overdoes his sad sack clown persona. Together they're not so much fun as you'd think, but she's great. Is there any black satin left in the world or was all of it used for her widows' wear!

My favorite, Anouk Aimee, gets all the drama parts. Why didn't Altman use Anouk Aimee more, she is simply the most striking and hawklike actress who ever lived! She and Rupert Everett as her avaricious son are playing out whole 3 decker Balzac novels with their back and forth, their mutual accusations of greed and contempt.

OK, there are some inanities to READY TO WEAR, and I'm never sure if Forest Whitaker isn't laughing up his sleeve or revealing new previously unknown dimensions to his private life, but all in all it is a movie for the ages, and my favorite by Altman (except for NASHVILLE and A WEDDING). Maybe its angle about fashion being stupid is itself pretty banal, but you know, I just don't care any more. If it's on, I'll watch it all the way through and I'll cry when it's over, just like Julia Roberts pretending her lost luggage hasn't yet been delivered to her closet.

Pure Dreck.......2007-02-03

When this movie came out I was too young to see it, so I rented it last night and let me tell you, this movie is so bad it should be banned. I'm in a state of disbelief that an actor of Julia Roberts' caliber would agree to be a part of such a piece of crap! The only redeeming scene in this movie is when Tim Robbins says "Je suis mort. Ou est je suis?" in French, which doesn't make any sense so it's hilarious. Other than that, this is 2 hours of some of the biggest stars in the fasion world, Hollywood and Europe making fools of themselves, getting naked, and speaking an atrocious script.

Perfect for a Buddhist Temple.......2006-05-27

Ok the title of my review may seem odd, but if you ever see this movie you will understand. I tried as a test of wills to watch this movie from beginning to end on at least 3 occassions and I found my self at some point or another contemplating the universe and life in general. I would then snap back to the real world and realize i had missed some half hour or so of the film. So if you are in need of sleep or want to contemplate the sound of one hand clapping this movie is for you

A wonderful evocation of Parisian fashionistas.......2003-04-27

This is one of my favourite films.

Many of the critics of this movie missed the point. This movie is not about plot or characters. Robert Altman does what movies are for; he takes us to another place.

What Altman does is give us a vivid impression of the incestuous whirl of the fashion world. His world is populated by both real designers (as ever spotting them is half the fun). and wonderful performances such as Richard E. Grant as a male Vivienne Westwood.

The movie also effectively transports us to Paris. And yes, Paris really is covered in "Dog Poop" (they were Paris jokes, not Poop jokes).

I think that many of the jokes about Paris, may have gone over the heads of US movie critics who have not set foot outside LA and New York.

One of the reviews of this movie described the fashion shows as "pointless". They were pointless in the same way a Monet is pointless; they were in the movie because they are beautiful.

Product Description

Netherlands released, PAL/Region 2 DVD: it WILL NOT play on standard US DVD player. You need multi-region PAL/NTSC DVD player to view it in USA/Canada. LANGUAGES: English (Dolby Digital 2.0), Dutch (Subtitles), WIDESCREEN (2.35:1), SYNOPSIS: This large, sprawling comedy directed by Robert Altman concerns a variety of romantic and personal intrigues that intersect against the backdrop of Paris's annual 'Pret-a-Porter' fashion extravaganza. With 31 principal characters and a number of cameos from well known models, designers, actors and actresses, there's far too much going on to describe the film in a limited space, but Julia Roberts and Tim Robbins get stuck in a hotel room together, Danny Aiello wears a dress, Sophia Loren and Marcello Mastroianni reignite their old passion (or at least try to), Stephen Rea humiliates a number of female journalists, Kim Basinger often looks dumbfounded, and Lyle Lovett plays a Texan (talk about imaginative casting!). Originally called Pret-a-Porter, this underwent a last-minute title change when the distributor discovered very few Americans understood what the French phrase means, with the English translation taking its place. SPECIAL FEATURES: Interactive Menu,

Charlie Rose with Robert Altman; Nicholas Hytner; Kati Marton (December 22, 1994)

Average customer rating:

Charlie Rose with Robert Altman; Nicholas Hytner; Kati Marton (December 22, 1994)

Manufacturer: Charlie Rose
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

( C ) | Titles | Features | DVD | Video

Description

First, director Robert Altman talks about his new film about the fashion industry, Ready To Wear. Then, stage-turned-film director Nicholas Hytner discusses his first film, The Madness of King George. Finally, journalist Kati Marton discusses her new book, A Death in Jerusalem, about the assassination by Jewish extremists of the first Arab-Israeli peacemaker.

Charlie Rose with Lauren Bacall (October 7, 1994)

Average customer rating:

Charlie Rose with Lauren Bacall (October 7, 1994)

Manufacturer: Charlie Rose
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

( C ) | Titles | Features | DVD | Video

Description

For the hour, actress and two-time Tony award winner Lauren Bacall talks about her marriage to Humphrey Bogart, her relationships, her upcoming role in the Robert Altman film Ready to Wear, and writing her new memoir, Now.

DVD:

DVD

DVD