Sesame Street - Three Bears and a New Baby

Product Description

NA

Format: DVD MOVIE

Customer Reviews:

Great Video for Pregnant Parents.......2007-08-08

This is a great video for parents who are expecting another baby. My second child is almost 9 months old and my oldest still likes to watch it and talk about when the baby was born and how she went to the hospital and held the baby just like Baby Bear. I liked that it doesn't stop at the birth of the baby but goes on to show big brother coping with having a new baby in the house.

Cute movie.......2007-07-18

Movie is cute, my son is only 19 months and the concept is over his head!

We love it!!!.......2006-03-20

My 18 month old loves watching this video and it explains the emotions that a child goes through when a new sibling arrives very well. There is even a few tips for parents included in the package.

Great video.......2005-08-12

Our son was 2 1/2 when we got this DVD for him. He loved it, and at 4 1/2 still does. What is so great about it is that Baby Bear puts words to how older siblings may be feeling about their new baby. I read an earlier review on Amazon where someone said that all Baby Bear does is complain, but kids don't always have the words to express their emotions, so this is a wonderful springboard for discussion and easy for kids to relate to. All works out well in the end. I would HIGHLY recommend this!

There is nothing I hate more than this video.......2005-07-04

If you are having a second child, do not buy or rent this movie!

It is just 50 minutes of Baby Bear complaining the entire time about the changes a baby will bring to the family. He finds one thing after another he doesn't like, from not having lap space on Mama Bears lap, to being ignored, to being woken up in the middle of the night. There is also lots of panic when the baby is ready to arrive, and general stress over the situation.

I had to mute almost the entire thing and make up my own dialogue for my 2 year old son, explaining the 3 bears are happy about the arrival of the baby, just like we were.

Baby Bear is just one wee little wreck in this whole video and it is complete hell to watch.

Good luck with your new baby.

Average customer rating:

The movie has charm...but how well you like it may depend on how well you like the Ritz Brothers
Good Story. Good Songs. Realism & Fun.
Better than the Cover. Realism Too.
Good Comedy
TRIVIA CORRECTION

The Three Musketeers (1939)
Starring: Don Ameche , Gloria Stuart , Ritz Brothers , and John Carradine
Manufacturer: 20th Century Fox
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: B000O78KZQ
Release Date: 2007-06-12

Amazon.com

Based on Alexander Dumas's classic tale, The Three Musketeers, this musical comedy shares characters and some plot but is ultimately a slapstick spoof on the original. D'Artagnan (Don Ameche) sings his way through the film while The Ritz Brothers, three chefs at a French Inn, impersonate the real Musketeers, accidentally insinuating themselves into a confusing roil between French and British royalty. As the four unlikely men happen to discover that the French queen (Gloria Stuart) has endured an affair with a British Duke, D'Artagan and his three cohorts aim to save her humiliation by stealing back a brooch that she bequeathed to the Duke in a fit of passion. Love between D'Artagnan and the queen's lady in waiting, Lady Constance (Pauline Moore) adds sex appeal. This romance substantiates the film when D'Artagnan serenades Lady Constance, who is captive high in a castle tower. The Ritz Brothers' physical comedy peaks while they sword fight, clank wine goblets together in cheers, or bumble in and out of carriages or castles. More like a story of four musketeers, this funny tale boasts corny one-liners, such as "No noose is good noose." The Three Musketeers essentially sets the stage for these comedians to sing and dance, making it a cheerful jaunt into a realm of imagined chivalry. --Trinie Dalton

Description

Singing his way into Paris, D'Artagnan (Don Ameche) joins up with three men he believes to be the King's Musketeers, but they are merely impostors who have borrowed the uniforms from their true owners. The quartet soon becomes embroiled in a political plot and D'Artagnan is sent by the Queen (Gloria Stuart) to reclaim her valuable jewel. Before completing his appointed task, he manages a swift romance with Lady Constance (Pauline Moore), some rousing musical numbers and a series of spectacular wild adventures.

Customer Reviews:

The movie has charm...but how well you like it may depend on how well you like the Ritz Brothers.......2007-07-12

Darryl Zanuck does to The Three Musketeers what Mr. Joyboy does to the loved ones at Whispering Glades Mortuary. They sure look well groomed and well cared for, but I wouldn't want to embrace them enthusiastically. They're just a little...well, stiff. The story goes that Zanuck in 1939 thought the time was right for a movie full of laughs, slapstick and songs, all done on the cheap but looking good. What else could have come to Zanuck's mind than Dumas' The Three Musketeers, especially since there were no rights to pay for. There's still the skeleton of the story. The Queen of France (Gloria Stuart) has given an emerald brooch to the Duke of Buckingham as a remembrance token. Cardinal Richelieu (Miles Mander) discovers this and sets up a nasty surprise for her which will ensure his power over the King. But that young man from Gascony who is eager to become a King's Musketeer, D'Artagnan (Don Ameche), learns of the plot while falling in love with one of the Queen's attendants, Lady Constance (Pauline Moore). He enlists the three Musketeers he was going to duel with and off they go to retrieve the brooch, save the Queen, foil the Cardinal's plan and frustrate the Cardinal's beautiful agent, Lady de Winter (Binnie Barnes).

However, the real three musketeers are given about three minutes of screen time. Taking their place in mistaken identity are three lackeys...the Ritz Brothers. Although Don Ameche makes a likable enough fighting and singing D'Artagnan, this Three Musketeers lives or dies on how funny you think the Ritz Brothers are. They were big stuff in the Thirties, but faded fast in the early Forties. They were loud, anarchic and could do some fine precision dancing. In this film, their stomping routine with metal plates strapped fore and aft is first rate. Since the movie only lasts about 72 minutes, there's a lot of the Ritz Brothers.

Ameche is assured, pleasant and, as he was throughout most of his career, bland. He was a popular leading man in the Thirties and Forties, but never quite found a firm grasp on top stardom. Everyone liked him, he went home at 5 p.m. to his wife and kids, didn't drink and he always knew his lines. By the time the Fifties were underway he was doing a lot of television and had a success on Broadway as the lead in Cole Porter's Silk Stockings. He was largely forgotten until, improbably, he hit stardom in the movies one more time. With Trading Places in 1983, Cocoon in 1985 and Things Change in 1988, Ameche, now as an older star character actor, was on top again. He stayed there until his death in 1993 at age 85. It's a nice story.

Ameche is both blessed and cursed in the movie. He's blessed because he has a chance to show what a skilled singer he is, from the Musketeers' march to an odd traveling song to his declaration of love for Lady Constance. He's cursed because these are some of the most mundane songs imaginable. Here's Ameche singing with his head through a hole in a wooden door to Constance:

And if my song could make you say you love me,
Then heaven would be bright above me.
With words and music straight from my heart,
My song would tell my love for you, my lady.

While he's singing this song, Pauline Moore as Constance looks as if d'Artagnan must have had too much garlic on his escargots. It's an awkwardly acted and staged scene.

But here's a toast to Lady de Winter, a spy to die for. And she'll help you. de Winter is one of the great characters in the book and she usually steals the scenes she has in the many movie versions. Lana Turner and Faye Dunaway were memorably murderous and stunningly beautiful as Milady. With Lady de Winter's fondness for causing others to die and with her cool delight in using men's lust to achieve her ends, one can only assume that she never had enough love as a child. Binnie Barnes plays her and does a great job. Barnes is blond and beautiful, and her de Winter would just as soon skewer D'Artagnan as make love to him. Binnie Barnes said once, "I'm no Sarah Bernhardt. One picture is just like another to me as long as I don't have to be a sweet woman."

How well you enjoy this movie probably depends on how well you enjoy the Ritz Brothers. The movie is dated, the humor is broad, the songs aren't very good. Still, The Three Musketeers has a lot of good natured charm. The DVD transfer is just fine. There are a couple of inconsequential and very short extras that feature the brothers.

Good Story. Good Songs. Realism & Fun........2007-04-25

Realistic-adventure and slapstick-comedy normally do not mix, but here they do, because there is a good story, and the film is carefully balanced so the realism brings you right back to the story after limited comedy.

This film has a fitting hero, sword fights, a couple very good songs, a little romance, and surprisingly, some good comedy.

The Ritz brothers sometimes give that silly, cross-eyed, look, that Martin Short can do, that looks so silly, you just want to slap them for looking so silly This is a fun and lively film, yet with realism that makes you wonder, if it did not really happen that way. An excellent, charming, film.

Another great version of "The Three Musketeers" that you have never heard of is "At Sword's Point- 1952" with Alan Hale Jr., Cornell Wilde, and Maureen O'Hara.

Better than the Cover. Realism Too........2006-08-19

The Ritz brothers are shown in Musketeer costume on the cover, but they do not play Musketeers in the film (they play assistant cooks in a tavern). Realistic-adventure and slapstick-comedy normally do not mix, but here they do, because there is a good story, and the film is carefully balanced so the realism brings you right back to the story after limited comedy.

This film has a fitting hero, sword fights, a couple very good songs, a little romance, and surprisingly, some good comedy.

The Ritz brothers sometimes give that silly, cross-eyed, look, that Martin Short can do, that looks so silly, you just want to slap them for looking so silly This is a fun and lively film, yet with realism that makes you wonder, if it did not really happen that way. An excellent, charming, film. They should put this on DVD, with a different cover picture, without a picture of the Ritz brothers on the cover, (though they are good in the film).

Another great version of "The Three Musketeers" that you have never heard of is "At Sword's Point- 1952" with Alan Hale Jr., Cornell Wilde, and Maureen O'Hara.

Good Comedy.......2001-03-05

This is really a spoof of The Three Musketeers.The Ritz Brothers are not my cup of tea.This version only follows the first half of the novel.The Ritz Brothers played lackeys.Douglas Dumbrille,Russell Hicks and John King played the Athos,Porthos and Aramis.Don Ameche did a good job as D'Artagnan.Binnie Barnes,Lionel Atwill and Miles Mander excellent in their parts Milady,Rochefort and Cardinal Richelieu.Gloria Stuart,Joseph Schildkraut,Lester Matthews ,Pauline Moore,John Carradine good in their supporting roles as Queen Anne,King Louis,Constance and Naveau Bernajoux the Cardinal's spy.Is this a faithful adaptation? No,but a good one.Alot of this version was copied from the 1935 version.The D'Artagnan abduction scene an example.Note to those who love this version Miles Mander who played Cardinal Richelieu in this version played King Louis in the more serious 1935 version.The Musketeers in this version like the 1935 were getting a little long in the tooth but the performances were good.If you really enjoyed this comical take on the classic then you would probably like the Disney 1993 version (which copied from the 1935 and 1939 versions) and two Mexican versions one with Cantinflas 1942 (not dubbed in English) and Tin Tan's 1957 version which plays on the Nostalgia Channel and is dubbed in English.The funny thing about Tin Tan's version is the costumery looks just like that of the 1948 Gene Kelly version and Milady de Winter looks like a redheaded Janet Leigh.So if you like spoofs of classics you will like this.

TRIVIA CORRECTION.......2000-01-15

Gloria Stuart, the old-lady version of Kate Winslet's character in "Titanic," plays Queen Anne in this picture. In my previous review, I had written that she plays the adorable Constance.

Average customer rating:

The Whole Of This Film Is Not Greater Than The Sum Of Its Parts
Beautiful and Stunning
Convincing Acting, but Poor Plot Progression
A Powerful, Moving Film.
Misalliances

Three Dancing Slaves
Starring: Nicolas Cazalé , Stéphane Rideau , Thomas Dumerchez , Salim Kechiouche , and Bruno Lochet
Director: Gaël Morel
Manufacturer: Tla
ProductGroup: DVD
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ASIN: B000BR9RQK
Release Date: 2005-12-13

Description

This explosive film from Gaël Morel, award winning French writer-director (Full Speed, Under Another Sky) and actor (Wild Reeds), is a harrowing, intense drama of destruction, rebellion, redemption and love. Set against the backdrop of a sultry countryside near the French Alps, three motherless brothers collectively face the challenges of adulthood. There is Marc (Nicolas Cazale), a burgeoning criminal; Christophe (Stephane Rideau, Come Undone), who is trying to re-start his life after prison; and Olivier (Thomas Dumarchez), a capoeira fighter in love. As the young brothers wrestle with their transitions into manhood, they must each escape the tyrannical rule of their father to carve out their own places in life. Stunning cinematography and powerful performances help make Three Dancing Slaves an erotic, breathtaking film about family and the struggle of making your mark on the world around you.

Customer Reviews:

The Whole Of This Film Is Not Greater Than The Sum Of Its Parts.......2006-06-03

I'm always sure I lose much of a movie with subtitles so I'll blame myself for not being wild about this one, in French with English subtitles; but all the fault cannot be mine. THREE DANCING SLAVES directed by Gael Morel is set in a small town in France where three young brothers, Marc, Christophe and Olivier, are trying to put their lives together after the death of their mother. They argue constantly with their father and often with each other. The angst-ridden Marc gets into real trouble over a soured drug transaction; Christophe gets a dreary job in a meat plant after getting out of prison; and Olivier, the seventeen-year-old, is trying to find himself.

Some of the landscape photography is gorgeous, and the acting by these three young men is certainly acceptable. There is a tremendously moving scene where Marc and Olivier secretly scatter their mother's ashes. The film never quite comes together, however, and some of the footage is completely inexplicable. For example, why does Marc need to shave his pubic area? Additionally although these three young men play brothers, they look nothing like each other. The film ultimately leaves the viewer with more questions than answers.

Beautiful and Stunning.......2006-04-04

This movie was not only thought provoking and visually stunning at times, but brought me back to my boarding school days. (I went to an all boys boarding school.) Some people call what young "boys" do together homo erotic, I just call it what it is, young boys being boys. That element pays itself out in this film. I found that refreshing and stimulating to watch.

Convincing Acting, but Poor Plot Progression.......2006-03-09

This movie exhibited wonderful filmography, surprisingly convincing performances and gorgeous young men. Where this film was lacking tremendously was the plot. Even though it had so much potential, it's execution was haphazard, and too much time was spent on unnecessary scenes, so toward the end it felt rushed, and the relationship between Olivier (Thomas Dumerchez) and Hicham (Salim Kechiouche) if it were developed more deeply, would have made for a wonderful film. Finally, the ending left me lacking as if it would continue next week. In other words, the entire film felt like an episode in a larger series. It felt unresolved; unfinished. And the extended Soliloquy, conveyed in the form of letters written to Christophe (I believe) certainly did not make up for a proper ending. That really frustrated me.

A Powerful, Moving Film........2006-02-04

"Three Dancing Slaves," staring Nicoilas Cazalé, Stéphane Rideau, and Thomas Dumerchez, was co-written and directed by Gaël Morel. Three good-looking motherless Algerian boys face adulthood in the French Alps, trying to escape the tyranny of their father. This is an extremely powerful, erotic, disturbing film, beautifully photographed. There is only one woman, at the very end, but it is not particularly gay, although homoerotic. However the youngest son does have a male lover. The characters are clearly drawn, as they pull, both apart and together. This story is told as much with the camera as it is with the script. In French, with extremely clear English subtitles for the sparce dialogue.

Misalliances.......2006-01-17

Gaël Morel (Wild Reeds, Under Another Sky, Full Speed) seems to continue to test cinematic minefields and while not every film is a success, they each indicate that there is a reservoir of talent in this writer/actor/director that will eventually galvanize into to a significant voice. This much maligned little tale 'Le Clan' (oddly but in the end appropriately titled in English 'Three Dancing Slaves') has more going for it than most audiences acknowledge: for all its weakness there are some very sensitive moments about father/son relationships, filial love, romantic love, racism, bigotry, and the ever-growing dysfunctional family problem.

Three brothers live with their recently widowed father in a small town near the Alps in France. Marc (Nicolas Cazalé) is a rebellious youth, into drugs and petty crime and at constant contention with his overbearing father (Bruno Lochet); Christophe (Stéphane Rideau) is recently released from prison and is trying to live straight by starting from the bottom in a pork factory and working his way to the top; Olivier (Thomas Dumerchez) is the youngest and though tattooed and quasi-rebellious is the sensitive one whose gender issues are just beginning to focus. The film is told in three versions, one by each brother, and from these segments we paste together a family disrupted and needy. Marc fights and performs dangerous deeds, Christophe struggles to re-create his broken life, and Olivier finds love and passion with Hicham (Salim Kechiouche), Marc's friend, who is North African and repeatedly dances the capoeira, a slave dance, for his own expression and his need to connect with Olivier. Despite the differences in these young men there are repeated encounters that signify their bonding. One quiet scene shows the father awake, sitting and watching the troubled sons asleep, naked, entwined in each other's bodies: it should be clipped for a still shot as it is very beautiful.

There really is little resolution of an overall story; these three short stories simply end in their own fashion and the interlocking meaning is left to the viewer. Each brother is a 'slave' in his own manner. Yes, there are moments of violence, a pitiful animal abuse scene, and gaps in dialogue that bump the film around in a clumsy fashion, but look for the little moments of visual beauty and the movie takes on different meaning. In French with English subtitles. Grady Harp, January 06

Average customer rating:

Rather Wrong
Superb acting
Beautiful play ruined by Kino
terrible sound, decent performance
A very significant record of a great production

Three Sisters
Starring: Alan Adams , Alan Bates , David Belcher , Mary Griffiths (II) , and Daphne Heard
Director: Sichel, John
Manufacturer: Kino Video
ProductGroup: DVD
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ASIN: B00009MEJH
Release Date: 2003-07-22

Customer Reviews:

Rather Wrong.......2007-05-06

Pompous Olivier doesn't deliver the minalism. Chekhov and the British are incompatible. If you're looking for some other pithless interpretations with Olivier, check out his lackluster Hamlet.

Superb acting .......2005-03-23

These classically trained British stage actors are superb. When they are gone (and some, e.g. Olivier, already have) we will not see their like again. This is an invaluable record of the glory of British acting. I agree with another reviewer's comment that the sound is bad, but if you boost your system's treble to the max and decrease the bass to lowest, the sound is not too bad.

Beautiful play ruined by Kino.......2005-03-06

This is a beautiful play, excellently acted in a very interesting production. For the price, however, one would expect decent sound if not great sound. But, the entire production is destroyed by the horrible sound - surely the worst of any DVD I have ever purchased. DO NOT WASTE YOUR MONEY! At the very least, Kino could have added English subtitles to make up for the poor sound, assuming that the source was not good and therefore they could make few if any improvements. More respect for the consumer is needed, especially for the price. Save your money and buy the Broadway Theater Archive version.

terrible sound, decent performance.......2003-12-31

Terrible sound quality is obvious - you'd better have book with you while watching. Despite great names, there are no great performances - except, probably, Natasha. Decent rendition of the great Chekhov's play, but I definitely prefer taped Broadway 1965 (?) performance. BTW revolutionary "International" at the very end is, mildly put, not a good idea.

A very significant record of a great production.......2003-12-18

The other two reviews of this DVD seeem to me to have missed the point somewhat. Yes, on a purely technical level The Three Sisters print is certainly inferior. What must be remembered is that it is an archival print of a low-budget film that succeeds through its wonderful performances and vibrant authenticity. The film captures some wonderful performances by some wonderful actors, and was very obviously devised primarily as a means of preserving the original theatrical production whilst intelligently incorporating elements of cinema. Where else are you going to see Alan Bates, Derek Jacobi, Joan Plowright AND Laurence Olivier in the one cast?! Fascinating and magnificent.

Average customer rating:

AMERICAN MOVIES WILL NEVER BE THIS GOOD
Mediocre DVD, but an emotional and beautiful movie
A beautiful film that praises the simple life
Far beyond the tears!
good movie but....

Three Brothers
Starring: Philippe Noiret , Michele Placido , Vittorio Mezzogiorno , Andréa Ferréol , and Maddalena Crippa
Director: Francesco Rosi
Manufacturer: Facets
ProductGroup: DVD
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ASIN: B000067IXK
Release Date: 2002-07-16

Customer Reviews:

AMERICAN MOVIES WILL NEVER BE THIS GOOD.......2006-12-27

I luckily discovered a copy of this excellent film in a discount bin in Mexico, with Spanish subtitles. The DVD compression is excellent and represents the full vision. The Spanish subtitles faithfully and fully follow the dialogue, which is poignant and profound and powerful.

We should be so lucky one day to produce a culture capable of producing a film such as this one, full of the parallax of multiple viewpoints of life, as full as James Joyce`s Ulysses or Kurasawa`s Roshamon in its multiple parallax, each viewpoint presented with its own validation and reality, across several generations. Especially moving are the recollections of the old man, and amazing flashbacks to his youth, and how the farm has fallen from wartime with its barnful of cattle to the present barnful of doves, as the sons have left and no one cares for the farm.

Amazing display of all classes of life in Italy of the time, from the judge to the terrorist brothers, with an intellectual dissection of each. It is a special joy to see Noiret as a younger man in his prime and free to perform without the restrictions of the British director of Il Postino later in his remarkable career.

This movie is one of those which build on you intensely, until the final image which rips your heart away and which feels like it comes way to soon. You want to see more, especially in sincere concern for the well being of the free-spirited grand-daughter. Or perhaps our post-Jocko generation unfailingly reads the wrong message into even a fully clothed adult sharing a bed with a child. Nevertheless, this movie permits a symbolic reading as well as the superficially visual. Notice the grand-daughter's early play with the pigeons, like the young Virgin MAry and the dove, her play unclothed in the dry corn in a garret above the bedroom where the grandmother lies in state, her spirit rising with the keening prayer to join the reborn girl above, her discovery of the egg, etc., her accompanying hand in hand of the grandfather, etc., and we see her take on the role of the grandmother, across the generations. Please watch this carefully and thoughtfully. Think it over. I realize our domestic films do not permit this kind of reflection anymore, but watch this again.

From the first moments you realize you are watching safely and securely a superior film which will not fail you on any level, which will fulfill any critical criteria and carry you away in its message and action. Do not fail to see it. It does withstand and reward repeated viewing.

I can show you the discount bin where I discovered it. Or here on the mighty amazon with unfortunately English subtitles for which I can give no comment nor guarantee as I have not seen them.

Mediocre DVD, but an emotional and beautiful movie.......2006-05-09

This is a fairly poor DVD reproduction of a beautiful, sad and melancholic movie about life, death, and much else. Three brothers are summoned to their old house in the countryside of Southern Italy when their father announces the death of their mother (whom, we implicitly learn, has long been sick).

The brothers are very different from each other, but all appear to be very decent men struggling to remain loyal to what they believe in, and to endure the very different hardships of their lives. Noiret is the oldest one, a determined but sensitive judge in a period in Italian history where being judge meant risking your life daily because of terrorism. Mezzogiorno is maybe the saddest character, without a woman, without a family, except the "large" one of the juvenile detention center where he tries to help poor hopeless youngsters to escape a world of violence and crime. Placido is the youngest brother, an angry blue-collar worker facing a divorce and trouble on the job because of his political activism.

While we learn about the brothers (and about Italy in those years), we follow the old father (a truly beautiful and sad figure) and the young daughter of the factory worker while they help each other to live through a moment that for the old man represents maybe the end of his life, and for the young lady represents maybe the first acquaintance with death.

There is one short sequence that I found absolutely stunning is its simplicity and emotional charge: the old father is laying on his bed, and remembers of a day, just after his marriage, on the beach. His young wife is playing with the sand, and suddenly realizes she has lost her wedding ring. She is desperate, can't find the ring, and calls her husband to help. After helping her for a minute, he goes off to a farm nearby, comes back with a sieve, reassures his wife with tender words that they won't leave until they have found the ring. After a few seconds the ring emerges from the sieve, and he delicately puts the ring back in his wife's finger, and they tenderly kiss. There is so much love and tenderress in this sequence that it really makes you wish it's a memory of yours! It is one of the most touching scenes I have ever seen.

This really is a wonderful movie, to be watched maybe by yourself in a moody and rainy day. The sound and the video quality are poor, but not poor enough to spoil the movie, and all the emotions will reach you unspoiled, grainy or not grainy images...

A beautiful film that praises the simple life.......2005-11-21

It's hard to think of a more beautiful and poignant movie. Three brothers who have lived separate lives in different Italian cities come home to their father's farm for their mother's funeral. Contrasted with the urban rat race of the brothers' lives is the simple idyllic life of the father (played exquisitely by 89-year-old Charles Vanel).

The brothers arrive with all the anxieties and fears of living life in the big city: one brother is a judge fearful of terrorist persecution; another is a teacher at a school for delinquints who sees himself saving the world; and the third is a factory worker who won't be pushed around by the bureaucracy and whose marriage is failing.

This third brother brings his young daughter with him, and only she and Vanel appreciate the simple, saner way of life on the farm. Every scene is packed with emotion, and those scenes with Vanel, especially the two in which he remembers his deceased wife, are utterly beautiful. Watching this movie is a very moving experience, wise and lyrical, not soon to be forgotten. Excellent in every way.

Far beyond the tears!.......2005-05-18

This is an admirable Italian artwork and one the most mature films of this decade.
Three brothers, have decided to establish his own life and certainly the expected brotherhood simply doesn't exist. Due their father's death, they coincide in the Funeral and far beyond the grief and pain, this encounter will allow them to rejoin and somehow to contrast the ineffable differences and standpoints.
Powerful and superb film!

good movie but...........2003-11-18

Hands down the worst transfer to dvd I've ever seen. If you know Italian you'll still have the subs on because the sound is totally messed up. Dialogue comes in ever so faintly through the front left speaker instead of the center (and all the speakers are providing hiss. 5.0 surround hiss sound. and the image appears to be transfered from a video source instead of original elements. Result: video burps and vibrating black bars. Ridiculous. Normally I fall back and say: hey, at least it's available at all...but in this case I won't. This is very unpleasant viewing experience.

Average customer rating:

This is a great Hyacinth collection
An absolute tour de force!
very disappointed . . . to say the least
Extraordinary Work By Alan Bennett And Patricia Routledge
Great performances.

Patricia Routledge in Three Portraits
Starring: Patricia Routledge
Manufacturer: BBC Warner
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: B0000TG8VQ
Release Date: 2004-02-03

Description

Poignant, funny, warm, tragic - the acclaimed monologues of Alan Bennett (The Madness of King George) crackle with wry observations, knowing irony and tender understanding. In superb performances, Patricia Routledge reaches beneath the surface to reveal unexpected secrets. In these compelling stories, what is left unsaid is almost as important as the most intimate revelation.

Customer Reviews:

This is a great Hyacinth collection.......2006-11-06

I have admired the acting of Patricia Routledge for many years. Her portrayal of Hyacinth Bucket is another amazing aspect of her abilities as a great performer. We all know a Hyacinth who puts on the airs and aims for everything to be socially successful and by the book. But my heart has always been captured by her sister Daisy. Hyacinth is horrified by everything about Daisy, but Daisy is the good hearted, down to earth, and honest person who is not caught up in trying to act like something she is not. Great characters in a great series full of many laughs. I love it.

An absolute tour de force!.......2006-06-22

I already was familiar with Routledge from her television roles as Hyacinth Bucket and Hetty Wainthrope, but I hadn't realized what a great actress she was until I saw the three one-woman shows in this set. Absolutely incredible! I can understand how some might find it slow. There isn't any "action" or fast clip editing ... just profound character development which showcased the talent of both Routledge and playwright Alan Bennett.

I was greatly moved by all three portraits. My only disappointment was with a fourth "bonus" performance put on as an DVD extra. The writing and acting were both sensational, but I just didn't like the character Routledge played. But other than that, this was one of the best DVD performances I've ever watched.

very disappointed . . . to say the least.......2006-01-07

I am a fan of Patricia Routledge but have to say that I was very disappointed in Three Portraits. I had our book club over to review the DVD today and three of the five fell asleep in the middle -- and I was one of them. ZZZZZZZZZZZ! I was not a fan of the one-woman performance. I like her interaction with other actors much better.

Extraordinary Work By Alan Bennett And Patricia Routledge.......2005-08-18

"I can't say the service was up to scratch. It smacked of the conveyor belt. In fact, I wrote to the crematorium. I said I thought the hallmark of a ceremony of that nature was reverence, whereas the word that kept coming to my mind was 'brisk.' Moreover, I added, grief-stricken people do not expect to emerge from the chapel of rest to find grown men skulking in the rhododendron with tab ends in their mouths. If the hearse drivers must smoke, then facilities should be provided. I'd heard good things about this crematorium but I hoped that they would agree with me that on this occasion it had let itself down." And with that, Miss Ruddock, a lonely middle-aged woman, has written another of her many letters. Soon, her letters will change her life, and not for the better.

This is one of three, 30-minute monologues written by Alan Bennett for Patricia Routledge. They are part of a series of monologues Bennett wrote for the BBC under the title Talking Heads and Talking Heads II. This excerpt is from A Lady of Letters. Another on this disc is A Woman of No Importance, where Miss Schofield is late to lunch and visits her doctor. The third is Miss Fozzard Finds Her Feet. Miss Fozzard works in a department store and finds her life changed when her brother has a stroke. It changes even more when she visits a chiropodist.

In my view, Bennett is one of Britain's great playwrights to emerge in the second half of the twentieth century. His Talking Heads series may seem like an interminable idea...actors playing characters who relate their stories while talking to the camera for thirty minutes each. In fact, these stories are engrossing. If you enjoy writing that can be funny and tragic at the same time, give these a try. Bennett's characters most often are people wrapped up in their own lives, sometimes complacent, constrained by what they believe is proper behavior, often oblivious to what others think of them or how conditions are changing around them. They are people you might not like at first, or may feel pity for, but who, as they tell their stories, become touching and often sad.

Bennett's stories wouldn't work, however, unless he had extraordinary actors to use. Patricia Routledge probably is best known in the United States as Hyacinth Bucket and Hetty Wainthropp on television. She's a versatile actress who has won just about every award there is in Britain. She does a wonderful job of letting us know each of these different women. Miss Schofield comes close to heartbreaking as she keeps her illlusions. Miss Ruddock is exasperating and then almost tragic. Miss Fozzard fares the best, but is unsettled. "I've never had the knack of making things happen," she says. "I thought things happened or they didn't. Which is to say, they didn't. Only now they have. Sort of."

The three monologues were recorded over a span of more than ten years. The color looks good and the pictures are crisp. As extras there is a short television play by Bennett from 1982 with Routledge and a BBC interview featuring both Bennett and Routledge.

Great performances........2005-03-17

Many of my of you state side will no doubt recognise Miss Routledge form "Kepping up Appearances" in which she played the social climbing Hyacinth Bucket "Bouquet". These poignant and touching monologues demonstrate the range of her acting skill.
Originally shown as part of a series called, "Talking Heads" and "Talking Heads 2", they are enthralling works.
I would recommend you see all these works featuring other actors such as the late Thora Hird, Penelope Wilton and Julie Walters. The plays were considered so good and important, they now feature on the national school circulum in England for English studies.

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Just plain bad
Three Blind Mice **SPOILER**
Movie Seems Diffrent...
Movie Seems Diffrent...
Confusing and Messy Thriller Just Doesn't Work

Three Blind Mice
Starring: Edward Furlong , Emilia Fox , Chiwetel Ejiofor , Sara Stewart , and Gary Connery
Director: Mathias Ledoux
Manufacturer: First Look Pictures
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: B0000C504B
Release Date: 2003-11-04

Description

Thomas, a computer programmer, enjoys visiting webcam sites on the internet. One of his favorite sites is that of Cathy, a girl with whom he has developed a friendship, and fallen in love. But while the two are chatting, an intruder enters her room. Thomas has her website address - nothing more - and can only watch in horror as Cathy is brutally murdered. As the only witness, Thomas also becomes a suspect until he and the beautiful detective assigned to the case, Claire, begin to fall in love. In order to draw out the true killer, they start their own website using Claire as bait. But are they setting themselves up to be the next victims and risking a chance at a relationship beyond the computer screen and key pad?

Customer Reviews:

Just plain bad.......2005-01-21

Two things struck me about this film:

1. Ledoux clearly didn't bother doing his research into computer experts. Or people who didn't just buy a ready made PC from a chain store for that matter. Maybe he decided all the experts should use XP so 85% of the viewing world could relate to the computers but, damn, how many hackers/programmers would be using that ghastly piece of over priced bloatware commonly known as Outlook? So, the characterisation was bad with only stereotypes.

2. Is it just me or did it look like a cheap version of an English cop drama? We already know the characters are clichés, but so is the plot and dialogue. BTW, I like British cop dramas, well, Murder City at least. But TBM looked like it had a smaller budget than those shows. Ledoux could've at least overcome the look by spending money on a writer who'd graduated high school.

Don't watch this unless it's on TV and there is absolutely nothing else to do.

Three Blind Mice **SPOILER**.......2004-08-06

I agree with Dustin B - shame not to see Edward Furlong in T3 - this movie had so much potential (in the realm of Hitchcock) but went wrong in so many ways - it insulted the audience several times (old-fashioned cops and a hacker with a knack for buggin whose place is broken into and he doesn't check for bugs or wonder why someone was even there?) The ending fight was pretty lame tho the twist wasn't too bad - the older actors weren't very good - too stereotypical and one dimensional. It had the strangest clash of a 1940's/2004 that didnt mix. And yes, Furlong did seem too tired too much of the time (there were actual scenes where it looked like he had a good night's sleep). If you want to see something not so technical but along the same lines - rent 8mm

Movie Seems Diffrent..........2004-05-29

The actors in this movie did a great job; what
made this movie lose potential was the ending
(Which I will not reveal).

Here's how the storyline goes.
A young adult named Thomas visits a Web Cam Site
and falls in love with a nice looking lady. He
develops a habbit of watching her on his screen.
One day he logs on to her site and can't access it.
He then proceeds to "gain access" to it. He views
his "internet girl" as usual. Two seconds later
Thomas sees his lady get slaughtered.
The Police can not seem to help since the killer is
masked and Thomas viewed remotely. But then a beautiful
police officer named Claire gets involved. Afterward,
Thomas and Claire set up their own web cam hoping to
attract the killer. Things really started to really start
to get interesting. The movie was great until the ending.

Movie Seems Diffrent..........2004-05-29

The actors in this movie did a great job; what
made this movie lose potential was the ending
(Which I will not reveal).

Here's how the storyline goes.
A young adult named Thomas visits a Web Cam Site
and falls in love with a nice looking lady. He
develops a habbit of watching her on his screen.
One day he logs on to her site and can't access it.
He then proceeds to "gain access" to it. He views
his "internet girl" as usual. Two seconds later
Thomas sees his lady get slaughtered.
The Police can not seem to help since the killer is
masked and Thomas viewed remotely. But then a beautiful
police officer named Claire gets involved. Afterward,
Thomas and Claire set up their own web cam hoping to attract the killer. Things really started to really start to get interesting. The movie was great until the ending.

Confusing and Messy Thriller Just Doesn't Work.......2004-01-23

Edward Furlong stars in this British/French thriller. Emilia Fox ("The Pianist"), Chiwetel Ejiofor ("Dirty Pretty Things") Elsa Zylberstein ("Mina Tannenbaum") also appear, and the director is Mathias Ledoux. Well, the stars' names are pretty impressive.

Edward Furlong is a compuer programmer Thomas living in London, and perhaps has too much curiosity. Now, he is visiting his favorite site run by 'Cathy' ... but two strangethings happen. One: the internet connection is suddenly disrupted; Two: After the connection is back, Thomas witnesses an unknown person in mask sneaking behind Cathy, and ... you know what happens next.

Yes, this is a kind of Hitchcock in the internet age, or at least it wants to be so. You expect something like 'cyber-cop'? Sorry, but as you see soon, its uninspired direction and impossible story makes it a text about 'How Not To Make a Thriller." You know, the London cops step in, but they even don't seem to know how the net works. They suspect that the most unlikely person in the world actually did it (how stupid) while they can locate the whereabout of Cathy in a day or two. That is because, one of the cops claims, they are too "old-fashioned."

Things get slightly better when a beautiful police officer Claire with knowledge about the website (Fox) enters the plot. She and her trusted partner (Ejiofor) investigate the case, and these good actors raise the film a notch higher. But the good news end here, as the story shows most unexpected (and unbelievable) development in the second half. I won't tell you about that. I only say that there are so many twists and turns, but none of them is surprising or thrilling. Why should intelligent Claire do THAT in front of a web-cam remains the greatest mystery of this thrill-less thriller.

I saw the director's previous film "En Face" (in French), which was clearly influenced by Alfred Hitchcock's films like "Rebecca." But that thrilling experience and stylish camera of the master were not to be seen then, and not now again.

Finally, to the fans of Edward Furlong. It is sad to see him doing this while he should be doing "T3" or something like "American History X." He is not good at all, and always looks too tired. I don't want to say it, but it is true.

Product Description

Special Feature: Option to play DVD with Gujarati Soundtrack, Anamorphic Widescreen , Dolby Digital 5.1 This is the tale of three brothers. Om, Jai, Jagadish. Om is a simple man with extraordinary abilities. Working for a music company, he has an unerring instinct for spotting talent, sometimes in the unlikeliest of places. Thanks to him, a lift-man and a taxi driver have become major singing sensations. Jai is ambitious and driven and obsessed with creating a fast car that will revolutionise the automobile industry. Recognising his brilliance, Om has taken massive loans from his company to send Jai abroad for further studies. Jagadish is a light-hearted youngster studying in college. When hes not fooling around with his pals, he is stuck to his computer. Jai receives a fabulous job offer from General Motors, but because he loves and respects Om so much, he reluctantly comes back to India. Om is happy and content that all the brothers are together. And then suddenly, without any warning, his entire life is shattered. In one day, Om loses what he loves most in the world - his brothers, his home, his job. Three brothers, three separate ways. Om Jai Jagadish is a story about life...about its moments of glory and times of despair... a story about tenacity, ambition and the ultimate triumph of the human spirit. Om Jai Jagadish is also a story about the powerful bonds of love that no force on earth can tear apart.. But above all, Om Jai Jagadish is a prayer - a prayer for togetherness.

Ally McBeal: The Complete Season Three [Region 2 Import]

Average customer rating:

Ally McBeal: The Complete Season Three [Region 2 Import]

Manufacturer: 20th Century Fox
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD