Down to Earth

Amazon.com

Rita Hayworth really was a screen goddess in the late 1940s--so why not cast her as Terpsichore, the goddess of dance? That's the premise of this splashy Technicolor musical, which borrows some devices (and cast members) from Here Comes Mr. Jordan. Rita descends to earth to inject authenticity into a Broadway show about Terpsichore, posing as an actress and turning the head of impresario Larry Parks (then in the brief moment between his Jolson Story smash and his blacklisting). This leads to an overblown, pretentious out-of-town tryout, an amusing sequence that predicts the highbrow disaster in The Band Wagon. In general, this film is funnier than its reputation, although it doesn't add up to anything and the song score is tepid (with one delightfully weird number where Rita considers bigamy with Parks and dancer Marc Platt). And Rita? Very creamy looking in a series of lavish gowns--and hardly down to earth. --Robert Horton

Customer Reviews:

Rita is really Beautiful in this movie but the movie is so so .......2006-06-23

If you are a Rita fan this is a must see for you. The camera loves her, thats the treat here. The movie and songs aren't that good, the story is really empty and not interesting except for Rita. What a real Goddess she will always be to me!!!!

Heavenly Goddess Steps Down To Earth.......2006-04-23

After the success of "Gilda", Columbia put their superstar Rita Hayworth in this musical remake of "Here Comes Mr. Jordan". It did well at the box office, although in later years it has been panned by many as silly, far-fetched fare. I personally don't have a problem with it - it's not on par with Rita's earlier musicals, but it is very entertaining. The color is lush, and Hayworth is breathtakingly beautiful, and certainly suited to play the goddess of music and dance, Terpsichore (her singing voice is again dubbed by Anita Ellis), and Larry Parks is adorable as the young Broadway producer who wants so desperately to succeed. George Macready, who played Hayworth's evil spouse in "Gilda" again appears here in a similar role (with comedic undertones) - his office even seems to be the same as in the earlier film. It's also fun to see William Frawley in a small but memorable role.

Parks, sadly, had a short-lived career, as it was virtually destroyed by the McCarthy witch hunts. And the romance is touching and even a little tear-inducing. The term "Heavenly Goddess" certainly applies to the lovely Rita. Adele Jergens is also great as the original dancer in the show that Kitty/Terpischore replaces. Not the best Columbia musical, but an off-beat film, and worth watching simply because of the dance sequences, color cinematography and Rita at her most enticing.

Down to Eart 1947.......2006-04-15

Its heaven on earth in this delightful musical comedy sequel to enormously successful " Here Comes Mr. Jordan 1941" . Rita Heyworth (1918-1987) plays incredibly angelic muse , inceensed at the notion that a Broadway musical is going to portray her as a modern living sexpot . She sets off for Earth to set the record straight and the results are a "mousing" . in 1946 , Columbia knew it had all the makings of a blockbuster by reworkng the "Here Comes Mr.Jordan" theme along with teaming up some of the original cast members with Hollywood brightest star, Rita Heyworth . The proscts might have been too promising , as they enabled Hayworth?s agent at the William Morris Agency to renegotiate her already lucrative studio contract .in DOWN TO EARTH , Rita Heyworth?s talent are absolutly show-stopping and with the realese of this film , its easy to see why she earned the reputation as Silver screen?s one and only love goddes . Do you need a better recommendation ! . Super ultra-resolution transfer quality pictures . Recommended

She puts the ants in the dancer's pants.......2005-10-18

Danny Miller (Larry Parks) is producing a musical that uses the nine muses as its theme. Even thought the film is in 1947 it has a fifties feel to it.

The real Terpsichore (Rita Hayworth) is upset over being portrayed as a swinging man hungry goddess. She will recruits Mr. Jordan (Roland Culver) and his Messenger 7013 (Edward Everett Horton) to help her go to earth and correct Danny's pretrial of Terpsichore.

Will she succeed? If so at what cost?

The characters are based upon the ones in "Here comes Mister Jordan" (1941). They even tie Rita Hayworth's name in as Kitty Pendleton. The same director is Alexander Hall.

A Must For All Rita Hayworth Fans.......2005-08-10

Although this film often seems a little unreal at the beginning it developes into one of a number of marvelous Rita Hayworth dancing extravaganza's! Its not my favourite Rita film but has many many attributes and is quite individual in storyline and approach. I would definately recommend buying this film and for Rita Hayworth fans like me its a must. Beautifully presented and worth the small price! Go on treat yourself!

Average customer rating:

only in the 1980's :)
Fun film, but Vanna CAN NOT ACT
Wow! Much better than anticipated!

Goddess of Love
Starring: Vanna White , David Naughton , David Leisure , Amanda Bearse , and Philip Baker Hall
Director: Jim Drake (II)
Manufacturer: Trinity Home Ent
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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Charmed - The Complete Seventh Season

ASIN: B0001WTVES
Release Date: 2004-05-04

Customer Reviews:

only in the 1980's :).......2006-01-06

Goddess Of Love is the type of movie so fun, frivlous and campy, that you know it could've only been made in the 1980's.

While at the height of her Wheel of Fortune popularity, Vanna White was given the opportunity to star in a tv movie. In this, she plays Venus, who awakens from statue form when soon to be married Ted Beckman (David Naughton, An American Werewolf In London) places a wedding ring on her finger to prove a point to his playboy best friend (David Leisure from Empty Nest) that he is going to remain loyal to his fiance (Amanda Bearse, Married With Children).

The movie is absolute fluff, and that is the reason why it is so appealing. Vanna has minimal acting talent, but her charisma illuminates and makes every scene she's in fun. If you cannot handle campy 80's films, this is not the movie for you, but if you wanted to see Xanadu and Mannequin mixed into a blender in the vein of Earth Girls Are Easy (which also came out in 1988), you will adore this movie.

However, I do wonder what Phillip Baker Hall was doing here, he's actually a respected actor.

Fun film, but Vanna CAN NOT ACT.......2005-01-30

This could have been a really fun film if the role of Venus had been cast with someone who could act. Vanna White is a very attractive woman, but she has the emotional ability of a melting snowball. Her line readings were as flat as the western Kansas plains. It is no wonder that she was not cast in another "acting" role after this film.

Taking the basic idea of "One Touch of Venus" with a statue of Venus coming to life and causing havoc for the hero, there were some delightful touches. David Naughton as the hairdresser (barber in "One Touch---") was excellent and that had to be difficult in the scenes with Vanna as he got not one bit of support from her. He had to carry every bit of the story.

SPOILER: The viewer is very relieved at the end when the hero is united with his mortal wife to be and Venus leaves, mainly because Vanna has not generated any quality to make anyone root for her.

The special effects are excellent for a TV film from 1988. These and the good actors in all roles, except Venus, make this a nice viewing experience.

Vanna - stick to turning letters.

Wow! Much better than anticipated!.......2005-01-18

When I heard about this movie, I just assumed that is was a rip-off of "Mannequin." Well, I was right, but it is very entertaining indeed!

Vanna White plays Venus, Goddess of Love. After failing miserably at three attempts to seduce mortal men, her parents Zeus and Hera (played by John Rhys-Davies, from the TV series Sliders, and Betsy Palmer, Jason Voorhees' mother in Friday the 13th!!) turn her into a statue until the time comes for her to have one last chance at love. Jump to "Los Angeles--Someday" as the subtitle reads; Ted Beckman (played by David Naughton of American Werewolf in London) is getting ready to be married in a few days to his fiance Cathy (Married with Children's Amanda Bearse). His best friend Jimmy (Empty Nest's David Leisure) takes him out to a club for one last night out on the town and through a series of events, they begin talking about the wedding. Ted ends up slipping the ring on a mysterious statue of Venus that's sitting in the courtyard at the nightclub; but then he can't get it off. Well, it turns out that putting the ring on the statue's finger awakens Venus (Vanna White) and she believes that she is now betrothed to Ted and must take him back to Mt. Olympus with her. Chaos ensues as Ted struggles juggle many problems. He has to hide the secret of where the ring went to his fiance, fight off the advances of Venus who refuses to give the ring back, and also deal with the cops who are now looking for a missing statue. Throw a couple of thieves/burglars into the mix (one is played by Boogie Nights' Philip Baker Hall) and you have an over-the-top, funny, and cute movie.

The acting is all very convincing. Vanna White plays Venus with a sort of vacuousness that comes with not understanding the feelings and emotions of mortal love. Everyone seems to be having fun with their role, realizing this is just Made-for-TV fluff that is just meant to entertain on a rainy day. The special effects are VERY good for a 1988 TV movie. It looks really cool whenever Venus goes from being a statue to being human or vice versa. She also can conjure up thunder and lightning, and destroy things by shooting them with a lightning bolt. All this is done very well. One scene has Venus levitating in the air while lightning flashes on her over and over and you cannot see any wires. All in all, good job...and I'm picky about my special effects! :)

There are no special features on the DVD, just the original fullscreen presentation and a scene selection divided up into eight chapters.

If you are looking for a good fun time, pick this movie up, you won't be disappointed!!!

Average customer rating:

So great
Best Cartoon
Clouding the Waters a Bit
When Urd strikes... (..hard..)
Great continuation to Vol. 1!

Ah! My Goddess, Volume 2: Love Plus One
Starring: Kikuko Inoue , Masami Kikuchi , Yumi Tôma , Aya Hisakawa , and Yuriko Fuchizaki
Director: Hiroaki Gôda
Manufacturer: Anime Works
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: B000ASATK8
Release Date: 2005-11-29

Amazon.com

Based on a manga by Kosuke Fujishima, Ah My Goddess has been a fan favorite for years: the 2005 TV series was preceded by an OVA in 1993, the TV series Adventures of the Mini-Goddess in 1998, and a theatrical feature in 2000. It's hard for nerdy student Keiichi Morisato to live a semblance of a normal life with adoring Norse goddess Belldandy. It gets even harder when Keiichi's sister Megumi joins them at the Nekomi Institute of Technology: She's amazed to find her out-of-it brother living with a beautiful girl, and starts offering advice. Further complications arise when glitches in the celestial operating system cause Belldandy's older, wilder sister Urd to join the household. Meanwhile, deposed campus queen Sayoko Mishima and school Casanova Toshiyuki Aoshima are plotting to break up the happy, if unorthodox, home Keiichi and Belldandy have established. It all adds up to the mixture of slapstick and sentiment that Ah! My Goddess fans expect. (Rated 13 and older: risqué humor, brief nudity, cartoon violence, alcohol use) --Charles Solomon

Customer Reviews:

So great.......2006-06-04

I think the title of this volume - Love Plus One - truly explains its nature. Love means, undoubtedly, the relationship between Belldandy, a gentle innocent goddess from the heaven, and Keich, a stressed-out college student. So, then, what is ONE? In first episode, it is Keich's younger sister Megumy who became a freshman and moved from the region of Hokaido. In third episode, ONE is Urd, Belldandy's older sister who came down from the heaven to advance Belldandy and Keich relationship. Urd makes the series far more interesting and I think I am not alone on that point. In second and forth episode, ONE is Sayoko and Aoshima. Sayoko actually already appeared and even crashed once with Belldandy in the first volume but in this volume her frontline against Belldandy reveals its full power. Aoshima, the top playboy of the campus, joined to Sayoko, because yes... he wants Belldandy. These two people try to tear off the couple by all means like kidnapping, detention, and even torturing. And, their attempts make the series cheesy funny. In the fifth episode, nothing like real big happens. The Sayoko & Aoshima alliance still tried schemes against Belldandy and Keich but the episode itself is somewhat focusless. Oh, by the way, Sayoko officially lost her campus queen title to Belldandy in episode four. The increasing commune will be complete when the youngest sister of goddess, Skuld, joins in next volume. That means, Keich and Belldandy are not living together alone by themselves now. Keich did not make anything happen with Belldandy during the past alone times and now he got pushy Urd who is literally pushing his back to Belldandy's room to make something happen. I was always enchanted how they make this seemingly simple romantic love story frame in this funny way. So many movies are carpeted with affairs and exposed scenes but still quite boring. This one is very different. Beautiful songs and colorful pictures are a great treat for this series too.

Best Cartoon.......2006-03-14

I Thought the dvd was cute and very animated. It's probably the best dvd I ever gotten.

Clouding the Waters a Bit.......2006-01-01

For those of us who got used to the somewhat tamer pace of the first DVD, this one is quite a change. The moments with the principles alone are still worth their weight in gold, but they're also less frequent thanks to new cast members.
The relationship begins to make progress in spite of the principles obvious inexperience, thanks in part to the help of Megumi and Urd. Keiichi also gains a rival (sort of) and has to learn to stick up for both himself and his goddess. Along the way, tender moments are shared, and challenges are met and the relationship evolves (though somewhat glacially). Though this series has been dismissed as harem anime (which doesn't make sense since the ultimate pairing is not a question of who, but how) don't let that stop you. This series has a depth that other anime can only dream of.

When Urd strikes... (..hard..).......2005-12-13

Man, they made it all fun for how the introduced Urd and Megumi into the series. Heck, the producers did one better again than just simply adhering to the old manga.

Kinda funny how Urd got introduced this time, as did Megumi. It makes one wonder how Peorth and Skuld will come into all this. And 'any' fan of the AMG Movie should love the opening scene of episode 8. Seeing Heaven itself was just gorgeous as well, and the themes keep expanding for the better.

I just can't help but feel the melding of several formats of the AMG/OMG landscape are melded together very smoothly. I also see a tendancy not to stick to the manga too hardcore. The scene where Aoshima tries to get his way, it was made more part of the episode 7 story arc, rather than it's own story altogether, like the manga did. The 'sorta' made it feel rushed though in episode 10 with the race (lip service to the drivers Aoshima hired was a bit too low key for me.) Overall though, it all was mostly well done, especially in the romantic areas (and the messes Urd causes after her arrival.) One thing I did like (personally speaking..) was seeing the females seem more forward than they felt like from the manga. (Seeing Bell mad was a riot.. =^^= )

What is kinda strange/corny/ect.. and more, is when the goddesses make obvious use of their powers in public, especially during the campus 'queen' event at the start of episode 9 (which is wierd to do 'that' all as a prolouge to the episode.) It all kinda makes you wonder how ditzy the combined campus is, but then it all is more humorus to myself, than anything bad. Aoshima and Sayuka though get 'wierd' on top of this. Just more laughs there.

Can't wait till next month to see what the heck Mara starts doing. Worse when Skuld shows up, and goddess knows about the bug problem and all. Overall, I keep being enthraled as a fan of the series with this release. It makes me wonder though, again, how much the timeline of the manga will be changed to fit the story, rather than just adhering to the manga. If such, the placement of the Urn and all that severe mess comes to mind as plot drama.

And if anyone warns me in advance about this, I'll borrow some bombs from Skuld. In other words, for those that haven't seen the entire series yet, the coming volumes will be an honest treat.

Till next month then (or February more likely..) =^^=

Great continuation to Vol. 1!.......2005-12-07

What can ya say about Ah! My Goddess? It's happily infectious, upbeat while retaining deeper tones, and very well drawn. Rather than a lot of other downer anime out there, Goddess takes the road less traveled. No fatalistic theme that overrides the whole series, with Goddess there actually IS light at the end of the tunnel.

This's one of those series that makes ya reaffirm your belief in the simple magic of being alive, be it living with a cosmic angel or your own mundane friends. It'll help rekindle your sense of wonder and zest for life, and THAT is a beautiful thing.

Now if only I could figure out that number Keiichi misdialed. Urd's a fox! Grrr, very grrr.

Average customer rating:

Goddess of Love
Starring: Jennifer Bassey , Amanda Bearse , Jordana Capra , John Rhys-Davies , and James Edgecomb
Director: Jim Drake
Manufacturer: Trinity Home Ent
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: B000JMKJSW
Release Date: 2007-01-01

Average customer rating:

dazzling
An okay DVD
DVD just like the video
Celebrating the Love Goddesses of the Silver Screen!

The Love Goddesses
Starring: Carl King , Greta Garbo , Sessue Hayakawa , Lya De Putti , and Gloria Swanson
Director: Saul J. Turell
Manufacturer: Image Entertainment
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Documentary | Genres | DVD | Video

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Rudolph Valentino: The Great Lover - A Documentary

ASIN: 6305339996
Release Date: 1999-07-06

Description

The story of The Love Goddesses is itself a history of sex in the movies beginning with America still in the shadow of the Victorian era and the movie heroine bound by the same conventions as any young lady of society. This brilliant documentary chronicles the massive changes in women's film sexuality from the beginnings of the motion picture at the turn of the century to the newfound frankness of the 1960s with clips of more than 100 actresses.

Customer Reviews:

dazzling.......2005-09-15

This very fine DVD introduces you to the greatest names in the movies, from the very beginning up to the mid-sixties. Marlene Dietrich, Rudolph Valentino, Louise Brooks, Greta Garbo, Clark Gable, child-star Shirley Temple, Mae West, Walt Disney's Snow White, Rita Hayworth, Elizabeth Taylor, Marilyn Monroe, Gregory Peck, Sophia Loren and Brigitte Bardot, they're all in there. Among many others. And all shown in their finest, most characteristic & carefully chosen film-fragments.

Shown chronologically, this collection is kept together by a narrative explaining why the stars got so famous. By strongly reflecting them against the times they peaked in, we are told in many variations that the display of sex & nudity is on when the economy booms. And consequently is toned down in times of hardship. Such as during worldwar 2, when Lana Turner gathers fame as a friendly girl-next-door.

Truly, I've never experienced such an excellent selection. It surely makes this DVD an item to cherish -- to enjoy over and over again, while sipping a glass of very good wine.

An okay DVD.......2001-11-15

This DVD is dated. It looked as if it was made no later that 1960. Poor picture quality, and they could've featured more love goddesses.

DVD just like the video.......2001-08-19

While most DVDs add something special to the disc, this one has nothing new to add. Both the video and DVD have some entertaining clips of Theda Bara, Marlene Dietrich, Clara Bow, Pola Negri, Ingrid Bergman, Marilyn Monroe and others, but, unfortunately, the cuts between the Love Goddesses are obvious, as if the producers have done a quick job of putting all the actresses on a list and then splicing from one actress to another, without rhyme or reason. That's a shame because the subject is interesting. Still, if you love to watch some fascinating footage and will forgive the sudden shifts from one actress to another, you will enjoy "The Love Goddesses."

Celebrating the Love Goddesses of the Silver Screen!.......2001-06-07

This film, produced in 1965, is a wonderful collage of the many kinds of vamps, starlets, love goddesses, girls-next-door and sirens that have graced the silver screen since the turn of the century. See Theda Bara, Pola Negri, Lillian Gish, Gloria Swanson, Greta Garbo, Marlene Dietrich, Elizabeth Taylor, Ginger Rogers, Rita Hayworth and even the child star Shirley Temple put their own indelible brand of love on the screen. It examines how, over the course of sixty years, women's sexuality has evolved, and played itself out in different arenas in film. While some of the film clips are a little iffy, it is exceptionally well made. A pure joy to own if you are an admirer of any of the actresses presented, interested in women's studies, pre-code Hollywood or the history of sexuality in film.

Average customer rating:

Goddess of Love
Starring: Goddess of Love
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: B000BTJDBM

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