Heaven & Earth - Oliver Stone Collection

Description

"Tommy Lee Jones burns through the screen like white phosphorous" (Newhouse News Service) in Oliver Stone's powerful Vietnam saga of a man who fought, a woman who endured...and a love enmeshed in a war's brutality.

Customer Reviews:

This is not a war movie---this is not the third movie in a trilogy.......2006-01-10

This film was recommended to me by amazon.com because of my previous purchases of movies concerning the Vietnam War. Every previous film that I have purchased gave the view of the war from the perspective of the American men who fought there. This is the first film that I have seen that truly showed the side of the story from a Vietnamese viewpoint.

It is a gut wrenching saga of one young girl who grows into womenhood in a war torn country. In the beginning of the film little is mentioned by how much harm the French caused in Vietnam. Very little is said about the harm that the Chinese and Japanese caused either. But both are mentioned in the film.

This young girl lives in a village that has stood for 1000's of years and has been victimized by so many wars. Her village is then torn between supporting the Viet Cong and the South Vietnamese and American governments and their troops. Her village is torn apart as well as her family.

Not to go to far into the plot or divulge to much information, I can only say that this movie touched my heart like no other. I would have to rate it right up there with some of the best films I have ever seen. It is well worth the effort to purchase and view. I will see this film over and over.

Thank you, amazon.com, for recommending this film to me.

Life in Vietnam .......2005-05-30

This movie follows one girl's life before and after the Vietnam War. This movie is both beautiful and sad. You watch as this simple farm girl has many hardships and adversities she must overcome. You get drawn into this movie you start fighting for the character to survive. You want her to overcome all obstacles. I truly enjoyed watching this movie. It made me remember how lucky I am and how unlucky I could be.

Vietnam in purgatory.......2004-06-21

A wonderful movie about how the war affected the Vietnamese people and their ideals. The movie starts with a sweeping panorama of the idyllic and simple countryside where we see hard working people, tilling the land and surviving as they had for thousands of years. Suddenly, their lives are transformed into a nightmare by the occupation of US and French troops, and later by the vicious and murderous Viet Cong. The brutality is a little too graphic for my tastes, especially the torture scenes involving Lee Ly Hayslip (played by Hiep Thi Le), and her VC captors. She experiences rape and humiliation, and barely escapes death as her village is burned to the ground.
She escapes to Saigon, becomes pregnant by her employer, and is sent into the streets by his wife. She turns to prostitution, and finally marries GI Steve Butler (Tommy Lee Jones), who transports her to America, where she experiences a new kind of prejudice. She gets a job, and her husband slowly turns insane, carrying wartime nightmares into real life. Unable to stay with him, she leaves him, and he commits suicide. She returns to her native village, introduces her son to his real father. Then, she reunites with her family who tell her the horrors they endured during her absence. She is now a rich entrepeneur and her parents accept her change. She sees how heaven and earth moved for her as she experiences two worlds that merge simultaneously.
Great acting, wonderful scenery and camera angles. An inspring and thought provoking movie based on the book.

WHO'S THE "COMMUNIST"?.......2004-02-21

"Heaven and Earth" is a lesser known sibling of other Vietnam-centric epics from Oliver Stone -- "Platoon" and "Born on the 4th of July". It is as brilliant a testament of Vietnam's devastatation as any of the others from Stone, but there is a reason why this film remains no more than a blip on international radars.

The movie begins with the same stunning cinematography that you expect from Richardson, and pulls you in immediately. We follow the simple lives of Vietnamese rural folk (surrounding by idyllic fields, mountains, and a deliciously ordinary every-day life between the "Heaven & Earth"). But this song and dance is jerked 20 minutes into the movie by the Viet Cong (VC) and other "bad bad" people on either side of the war -- the rebels on one side, and the US-aided forces on the other. Stone leaves no stone unturned, no gruesome detail uncaught on tape, no rape missed -- it's gruesome to watch, and more so for some viewers because it requires you to think.

But that's where the good stuff ends.

The movie is loooong. Nearly 2.5 hours of mindbending mayhem, with a whole barrage of twists and turns. Our simple village girl from Vietnam escapes with Tommy Lee Jones, but finds that US has communist contours of its own, where her overweight sister in law forces her to eat a lot of meat and food, where her husband's friend gratuitously talks about his "fetish" for "Oriental women" too, her husband is an arms dealer and a wife-beater, etc etc.

The movie is full of platitudes. Sappy stuff like "Different skin, same suffering." The theme of war-time atrocities on the innocent, the futility of war, are all very well but nothing new. This was supposedly the Vietnamese perspective, the ordinary person's perspective etc...but an hour into the movie it becomes difficult to care without much happening.

The movie has a whiny, annoying actress for a protagonist. She simply does not measure up to the rigor and depth of the role, and surely seems like a sour spouse for Lee Jones.

But the worst possible thing about the movie is it ending -- it beats you over the head with the point. For the most part fans of thrillers aren't dumb, although it seems the director doesnt realize that.

A worthy rental for sure, but not a movie I could watch more than once.

A Vision of Vietnam.......2003-06-09

I thought the movie was highly enjoyable and overall entertaining. But, there were a lot of themes, and they were all mashed into one, so it wasnýt quite clear what the movie was trying to get across. There was Le Ly against her own human nature, her religion, and her needs. And throughout the movie it would focus on one of those ideas, but it would never really be resolved and therefore it was left just floating around. For example, Le Ly against her religion. She couldnýt leave her husband Steve to just be self destructive, and suicidal but if she helped him, sheýd be going against her Buddhist ideals because she volunteered to give up her religion for him. But, if she didnýt her karma would be off balance and she would never reach any type of peace within herself. The movie never really resolved that conflict, even with Steveýs suicide. Was she really ready to give up her faith for him? After he died that theme was sort of just left out to dry.
Another thing I was confused about was why Tommy Lee Jones was made out to be the main character of the movie, and the entire thing was supposed to be him or something. In fact, the back of the movie box said he, ýlead the cast,ý but, there was no leading of the cast by Jones. He was good in the role he was supposed to play; he was creepy and dangerous yet somehow he had a redeeming quality to him that made you feel sorry for him. But he was in the movie for a total of maybe thirty minutes and then he died. Yes, he was a big character and was important to the story, but his acting didnýt ýburn through the screen like white phosphorus.ý
I thought the movie was very realistic. It was based on a true story, so it was very factual and accurate in its representations of events. I think that it tried to take the viewer from one part of history to the present, and to portray what life is like in Vietnam for the people living there. There was no holding back in the scenes, and there was no sugar coating of events. Le Ly was brutally raped by a fellow villager, her entire village was burned down, people she loved were tortured, even she was tortured, and her husband even held a loaded gun to head, ready to pull the trigger.
The visions of Vietnam that Stone presented the viewer were absolutely amazing. It is a more beautiful country than I ever thought, and the cinematography was excellent. One scene that stuck out to me was when Le Ly and her mother were working as servants and Le Ly fell in love with the house head. This scene stuck out to me especially because of the colors. The house itself was very white and beautiful, and the way that the cameras caught the angles of the sunlight was really dazzling.
The movie definitely held my interest. It never dragged and it was really interesting the way Stone took us, the viewers, into all the aspects of the life of Le Ly. I hate to use this cliché, but it really was a ýroller coasterý of emotions. I cried in some parts, laughed in other parts, was touched, was inspired, and was hurt right along with Le Ly. I really enjoyed watching the movie, beginning to end.

The Ultimate Oliver Stone Collection (Salvador / Platoon / Wall Street / Talk Radio / Born on the Fourth of July / JFK Director's Cut / The Doors / Heaven and Earth / Natural Born Killers / Nixon / U-Turn / Any Given Sunday Director's Cut)

Average customer rating:

One of my favorite director's; far from ultimate box set
COLLECTION ALMOST PERFECT
1600 MINUTES OF GREAT MOVIES !!!!!!!!
Not a Good Deal!
One technical quibble

The Ultimate Oliver Stone Collection (Salvador / Platoon / Wall Street / Talk Radio / Born on the Fourth of July / JFK Director's Cut / The Doors / Heaven and Earth / Natural Born Killers / Nixon / U-Turn / Any Given Sunday Director's Cut)
Starring: Val Kilmer , and Woody Harrellson
Manufacturer: Warner Home Video
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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Drama | Boxed Sets | Stores | DVD | Video

( U ) | Titles | Features | DVD | Video
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ASIN: B0002ZSKMS
Release Date: 2004-10-19

Amazon.com

This 14-disc set is at least the third massive DVD collection with the Oliver Stone moniker. New to this set are two documentaries that aired on HBO: Looking for Fidel (2004), Stone's second film shadowing the Cuban leader, focusing on the regime's iron-fisted defector policy. Persona Non Grata (2003) is an examination of Palestinian conflict. Both of the films have a constantly moving camera, giving us a you-are-there feel to the subjects including Stone, who is seen often. His warts and all interviews are certainly a different type than the usual newsmagazines and are especially interesting in Non Grata since we've seen too many cut-and-dried interviews with these players over the years.

The main theatrical films on single discs have been released before although several of them have been released previously with more content and bonus discs, creating a debate on how "ultimate" this collection is. Otherwise, all his films are here, from his Vietnam trilogy (Platoon, Born on the Fourth of July, Heaven & Earth), his iconic pop culture films (The Doors, Wall Street, Any Given Sunday), experimental films (Natural Born Killers, U-Turn, Talk Radio), and political operas (JFK, Nixon, Salvador), plus the documentary Oliver Stone's America. --Doug Thomas

Description

The Ultimate Oliver Stone Collection includes twelve of this legendary filmmaker's best films. This collection contains 14 discs filled with hours of commentary and bonus features. Also included is a bonus disc made exclusively for this collection. The collection contains: Born on the 4th of July, The Doors, JFK (Director's Cut), Platoon, Salvador, Talk Radio, Wall Street, Any Given Sunday (Director's Cut), Heaven and Earth, Natural Born Killers, Nixon, Oliver Stone's America, U-Turn, AND the Ultimate Oliver Stone Bonus Disc.

Customer Reviews:

One of my favorite director's; far from ultimate box set.......2007-08-11

I'll keep this short and sweet, as most of you have already touched on this before me. None of the 2 disc sets include their second disc. That means collectors like me basically had to repurchase the DVDs if they wanted any supplemental material included with their fave flicks. I found this to be a bit of a money waster, and basically an expensive way to purchase the Stone documentaries, that as far as I know, can only be found here. I'd have rather just paid 20 bucks for them on a seperate DVD, however.

I do have a question for owners of this set:

Have any of you ever experienced small purple and green bars on both sides of the image during the entire playback of JFK? I'm trying to find out if it's just my disc, or if this is a common issue with the set.

COLLECTION ALMOST PERFECT.......2006-10-26

This filmmaking collection is almost perfect, but not quite superior to, the previous Oliver Stone collection that was released. All of his directorial efforts starting with Salvador are included, and they are packaged similar to the way television series dvd sets are packaged (like Grey's Anatomy and Lost), with two overlapping discs per side of the package. Platoon is the special edition that was released by MGM/UA many years back, it is not the most recent special edition. Salvador, Wall Street, and Talk Radio are all the single disc special editions that are available separately. Born On The Fourth of July is the remastered version that was released not too long ago (picture is vastly improved with more natural hues and tones). The Doors, JFK, Nixon, and Any Given Sunday are separately available as two-disc editions and only the first discs of each (basically only the movie) are available in this set. Heaven and Earth and U-Turn are the same as what is available separately, and finally Natural Born Killers is the RATED version of the film, not the Unrated released by Trimark. The picture is much better than the Trimark Unrated release of the film but it is missing up to three minutes of footage needed to achieve an R rating. The NBK disc does include deleted scenes, commentary, and a theatrical trailer. I'm not sure why Warner Bros doesn't release the Unrated version since it does with all of its other films (except for Eyes Wide Shut, I suppose) but whatever. The extra disc on this set includes Stone's recent documentaries Persona Non Grata and Looking For Fidel. It does not included Comandante which is still not available in this country (you can get a Region 2 copy on Amazon.co.uk but you'll need a region free player to play it). There is also a little blurb about Alexander included. Oh, and the documentary Oliver Stone's America is also included including the full version of his student film Last Year In Vietnam. So, all in all this is a great buy. If you really end up wanting the two-disc editions of some of the films after you watch them, you can always buy them later. If you buy this, Alexander (either or both versions), and his upcoming World Trade Center, you will own almost all of Oliver Stone's directorial efforts for a pretty cheap price all things considered. Enjoy!

1600 MINUTES OF GREAT MOVIES !!!!!!!!.......2006-10-01

Are you kidding me ???Where can you get 13 GREAT movies and EXTRAS for this price?? I cant believe people that find fault with a set containing so much for so little!!!!Each of these movies is highly entertaining in its own way. A diversified group of films you'll never find in a single collection!!!!I cant believe this doesnt cost$150 or more!!!

Not a Good Deal!.......2005-06-14

This DVD set consists of one outer and two inner Boxes, each has 4 glassy DVD case, 3 double, 1 single. DVDs are not indipendent in this set, so if you want to buy it used, beware of the condition of the box. some movies like "THE DOORS" and "Nixon" are originnaly two discs editions but only first discs are included in this dvd set and worse is, there is a word "disc 1" printed of them which indicates that these are the first DVDs of a 2 disc set and that makes you feel there is something crude about this box set! and there is something really crude!
the quality of boxes and print is low. outer box could easily be damaged or worn and it's very loose. it's not a good deal, specially at the price of 116 dollars!

One technical quibble.......2005-04-06

All great movies, but I couldn't help but notice that every time I try to eject the JFK Director's Cut DVD, the disc pops out of the DVD player and then makes an unexpected move back and to the left.

Average customer rating:

Good enough for rock and roll...
The Poor Collection of a Great Film Maker
Do I need to comment on my rating?
This is great
great collection!

Oliver Stone 10 Feature Collection
Starring: Oliver Stone , Wall Street , and Talk Radio
Manufacturer: Warner Home Video
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Drama | Genres | DVD | Video

( O ) | Titles | Features | DVD | Video

Drama | Boxed Sets | Stores | DVD | Video

Amazon.com

While this monumental retrospective of Oliver Stone's directorial career doesn't include Salvador or Platoon--Stone's early, acknowledged masterpieces of history and remembrance--it certainly sheds light on the more controversial arc of his work ever since.

Beginning with 1987's Wall Street, Stone's barbed tragedy about corporate raiders and blinding greed during the Reagan years, this cinematic 10-pack represents a curious odyssey of generational touchstones, outright obsessions, and feverish experimentation. The minor, 1988 Talk Radio, for instance, introduced Stone's then-evolving critique of inflamed media in a society of hapless onlookers. But it was 1994's Natural Born Killers that exploded the theme in a wildly ambitious farce concerning two lovers who defy manufactured perceptions by becoming notorious murderers. Killers pushes the limits of screen violence, visual literacy, and the mixed-media technique (juggling film stocks, incorporating video, etc.) that Stone introduced in JFK. If the result is cold and forced, it's also brazen.

Most significant is the way this collection underscores Stone's drive to fuse historical drama with lingering emotions about the past. Stone, a Vietnam War veteran, revisits that haunting debacle here in the masterful Born on the Fourth of July and the moving Heaven & Earth. Yet some of his most famous efforts still draw heaps of scorn for narrative hubris and factual recklessness. (Does anyone really believe John F. Kennedy was assassinated during a Lyndon Johnson coup d'état?) But time is on Stone's side. Eventually, JFK, The Doors, and Nixon will be seen not as a failed objective history, but as the experience of a tumultuous era in the imagination of a man who lived through it all and can't shake it off.

The collection concludes with the flawed contemporary noir U Turn and the unexpectedly entertaining football saga Any Given Sunday. Stone bided his time following this extraordinary body of work, until the humanitarian relief drama Beyond Borders (not included) found the director on familiar footing. As Stone's legacy continues to grow, there is a remarkable career here to revisit with these 10 films. --Tom Keogh

Description

The Oliver Stone Collection 10-Movie Giftset includes Extra Special Features on most Titles: Any Given Sunday Special Edition Director's Cut (2 discs):Behind-the-scenes DocumentaryFull Contact: The Making of Any Given Sunday2 Feature-Length Audio Commentaries by Oliver Stone and Jamie FoxOver a Dozen Deleted/Extended Scenes3 Music Vides Featuring Jamie Foxx and LL Cool J Jamie Foxx Audition Tape and Screen Tests Instant Replay Feature Allowing Direct Access to Game Action Scenes Gag Reel, Football Outtake Montage and Much More Also Includes Enhanced Features for DVD-Rom. JFK Special Edition Director's Cut (2 discs):17 Minutes of Footage Not Seen in North American TheatersNew Digital Transfer in Remixed Dolby 5.1 SurroundReissued in Dual-Layer Format Allowing Uninterrupted PlaybackFeature-Length Audio Commentary by StoneDeleted/Extended ScenesInterview with Fletcher ProutyVisual CommentaryMultimedia EssayAlso Includes Enhanced Features for DVD-Rom. The Doors (2 discs):Expanded Double-Disc EditionDocumentary The Road of ExcessDirector CommentaryFeaturetteAdditional Scenes. Natural Born Killers:New Digital Transfer in Remixed Dolby 5.1 SurroundDocumentary Chaos Rising: The Storm Around Natural Born KillersFeature-Length Audio Commentary by StoneDeleted Scenes and Alternate EndingOriginal Theatrical Trailer. Wall Street: Director CommentaryCharlie Rose Interview. Heaven and Earth: New Digital Transfer in Remixed Dolby 5.1 SurroundFeature-Length Audio Commentary by StoneDeleted ScenesOriginal Theatrical Trailer. Nixon: (2 discs) Expanded Double-Disc Edition with Deleted Scenes Reinserted into the FeatureDirector Commentary. Talk Radio: Prod

Customer Reviews:

Good enough for rock and roll..........2004-08-31

... ok.. i admit that i don't own this collection...and i haven't watched all of them as they are in this collection or seen any of the new features.. but i've seen Most of the movies in the collection.. and they are Mostly Kick-a$$ -- more than anything.. it seemed like a couple of the people that left reviews were being Down on the DOORS movie.. and for that.. i say 5 stars!!!!! cause that movie was cool enough to give all the rest of his movies 5 stars...

The Poor Collection of a Great Film Maker.......2003-06-17

I'm not sure who this collection is for. Die hard Stone fans (like me) already own his classics on DVD. And those new to Stone probably won't spend [this much].

But just in case we needed it, it's here. But who put this collection together? It's got the greats like 'JFK' 'Born On the Forth of July' and 'Wallstreet' but it also has Stone's follies such as 'U Turn' 'Heaven and Earth' 'Talk Radio' 'The Doors' and 'Any Given Sunday.' I believe Roger Ebert explained that when a man puts out gold five days a week he's entitled to put out lead on the weekend.

Why are we reliving the horrors that even the most hardened Stone fan (like me) couldn't stand? This is clearly an attempt to get fools to spend [this much] by mixing classic films in with bad ones.

Stone began his career as a sci-fi screen writer (remember 'Conan the Barbarian') who did some part time directing (remember 'The Hand') His first hit came with 'Scareface' in 1983. By 1986 he had two Oscars under his belt and was the hottest director in Hollywood. Just when you thought things couldn't get any better, they did. Unlike most directors his films just got better and better.

But with his last film in 1999 and his last good film in 1995 Stone is not exactly a big name today.

Stone was the defining director of the late 80s and early 90s. Not only was his directing great but his films gave us a hard look at modern America. No one can take that away from him.

Here's the real lowdown.
Platoon
Wallstreet
Born on the Forth of July
JFK
Natural Born Killers
Nixon

Do I need to comment on my rating?.......2002-08-25

Very good looking and full with excellent extras Set. If you like Oliver Stone's work you'll be very pleased with this Collection. You'll forget how much you paid for it, this set deserves it's own room in your house... Stankey Kubrick's and Best of Hitchcock Collections are excellent sets also.

This is great.......2001-12-29

This is a great collection. The Oliver Stone Collection it is extremely wonderful. I watched all of them. They all have great quality. I love Wall Street, Natural Born Killers, Nixon, and Any Given Sunday.

great collection!.......2001-10-21

This is a great collection of Oliver Stone's films. Born on the Fourth of July is truly amazing. The Doors is extremely entertaining. Natural Born Killers is absolutely insane. Any Given Sunday was definately edge of your seat. JFK and Nixon is totally interesting. But I was dissapointed in a lot of things. U-Turn and Talk Radio should not have been in the collection. They are good movies but do not deserve to be in a collection. I am mostly dissapointed that the one of the greatest war movies ever, Platoon, did not make collection. What were they thinking? It is brillantly acted, has a great story, and is captivating. Not to mention it won best picture. This is one of if not the best Oliver Stone picture he ever made. But all around, the collection is great. It is worth the money and the sound and picture quality is excellent.

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