Heavenly Creatures

Amazon.com essential video

A starkly original film-going experience based on a true life story, this film from New Zealand director Peter Jackson (Dead Alive, The Frighteners) is a stirring drama that offers up the unexpected. The story concerns two girls, outcasts who become best friends, whose bizarre fantasy life becomes more intense as their bond becomes increasingly more obsessive. When the mother of one of the girls tries to intervene and split the girls apart, they kill her and stand trial for murder in what is to this day still a celebrated and controversial case. Kate Winslet (Titanic) and Melanie Lynskey create two sympathetic and yet uncomfortably eerie characters in riveting portrayals. Featuring some startling and unique moments of visual brilliance as well as a disturbing love story between the two girls, Heavenly Creatures is at once both unsettling and beautiful to behold. --Robert Lane

Description

Thrilling and provocative, HEAVENLY CREATURES is the highly acclaimed, true-life story of the shocking crime that stunned a nation! When circumstances bring together two bright and highly imaginative teenage schoolgirls, they quickly form an unwavering bond, creating a fantasy world that only they can share. But soon their parents, disturbed by the intensity of the friendship, threaten to keep them apart. In retaliation, the girls vow to stay together, devising a secret plan that leads to shocking consequences! With captivating performances and startlingly original visual effects, HEAVENLY CREATURES is gripping entertainment you won't soon forget!

Customer Reviews:

New Zealand's Most Shocking Murder Case, And The Teenaged Girls Who Carried It Out.......2007-09-05

The true-life tale told in Peter Jackson's often deceptively meandering Heavenly Creatures is one of lurid murder, and it possesses the ability to make a viewer recoil, not only because of the identity of the victim in the particularly heinous and cold blooded crime, but because of the identity of the killers. When I was in Christchurch, New Zealand this year, I happened to mention the Parker-Hulme murder, and the reactions I received from people my own age and younger showed that even fifty-three years after they occurred, the case still holds power over the collective memory of that normally peaceful nation. When I came home I watched Heavenly Creatures for the first time since high school, and found it probably even more troubling than I did years ago.

Before he was better known in the United States for making The Lord of the Rings, New Zealand native Peter Jackson shot this fantasy-heavy version of a killing he'd grown up hearing so much about. He cast Kate Winslett and Melanie Lynskey as Juliet Hulme and Pauline Parker, two slightly off-center girls whose unusual detachment from reality and somewhat disordered species of lesbianism set up a disturbing background for their premeditated crime. While the concept of adolescents who kill family members is less novel to us today than it was generations back, to enter into the minds and secret lives of Pauline and Juliet still makes for a unique sort of head trip. I also found the realization that Jackson shot nearly all of Heavenly Creatures on the actual sites of the events depicted generates a peculiar frisson in me every time I settle in to watch it. Jackson shot the tea shop scene in the actual restaurant in which Mrs. Parker had her last meal moments before her slaying, and as rumor has it, was set to shoot the death segment literally atop the actual ground on which the murder took place, but felt there was something too troubling in the act, so he re-located a short space away. In my opinion little details like these that only add to the creepy quality of Heavenly Creatures.

In a side note, Juliet Hulme went on in later life to become a best selling novelist---of murder/detective fiction, no less---and is still writing today under the pen name of Anne Perry.

Over long comedy/drama about 2 teenage girls with over.......2007-08-27

active imaginations. Or, put another way, two psyco bitches who have their heads stuck up their arse. Although well acted, it's way too long but, you'll see Peter Jackson's (pre-Lord of the Rings) handiwork in the clay figure world the girls create in their minds. Insane or Genius? It's always a close call.

Heavenly Creatures.......2007-07-12

An unsettling, thoroughly absorbing drama based on a real-life crime, "Creatures" is the magnificent brainchild of then-horror-movie director Jackson ("Lord of the Rings"), who brings sensitivity and sincere human feeling to this tragic story of love and murder. Winslet and Lynskey have an intense, wholly credible rapport, playing highly intelligent girls (one of whom, the brash Juliet, grew up to become mystery novelist Anne Perry!) whose fully enmeshed intimacy takes them farther and farther from reality. Beautifully photographed, splendidly acted, and imaginatively directed, "Creatures" burrows under your skin in a lasting way.

Heavenly movie?.......2007-07-10

I purchased this movie with great interest, as my maiden name WAS Pauline Parker like the title character and I had to see my namesake!!!
I thought the movie was very well done albeit odd. I would still recommend seeing it, if not just to see Kate Winslet when she was a little younger. Even then you can see what a fine actress she was becoming.

A chilling and disturbing true-crime film.......2007-05-18

Long before he found international success with THE LORD OF THE RINGS trilogy and a fabulous remake of KING KONG, Peter Jackson made the brilliant and unforgettable HEAVENLY CREATURES (1994, New Zealand). The source is the shocking and scary Parker-Hulme murder case in 1954 Christchurch that galvanized New Zealand. The case is less well known in the United States, and a gorgeous new letterboxed DVD has no bonus material (...)

I don't know how much plot to give away here, except to say that the film ends with a violent crime that is hinted at in the opening scene when teenagers Pauline Parker and Juliet Hulme (an auspicious film debut for both Kate Winslet and Melanie Lynskey) come running out of a forest covered in blood and saying someone is dead. We then flash back to 1952 and work our way forward to a 1954 finale. The movie was filmed in Panavision (by Alun Bollinger) in rich yellows and oranges as the two girls develop a deep friendship that includes kisses and baths together. The two are very different. Pauline is shy and inward, while Juliet is open and sophisticated. The daughter of a university professor, Juliet has been all over the world at age 15 and suffers from tuberculosis. Pauline is a quiet wallflower who has never left New Zealand.

The more their parents and teachers worry about their friendship, the more Juliet and Pauline retreat inside a fantasy world of claymation figures, gorgeous gardens, and Mario Lanza records. In that fantasy world, Juliet is nicknamed "Devora" and Pauline is called "Yvonne" or "Gina". I adore a musical number in the fantasy world, with the girls dancing to Mario singing "The Loveliest Night of the Year." (It is the real Lanza on real records throughout the film.) Yellows and oranges blend with scary blues on nighttime interiors. Writers Jackson and Frances Walsh got an Oscar nomination for their Original Screenplay. I like the way teen sex in the real world is juxtaposed against religion and murder in the fantasy world.

And I like the way colors contrast in wide screen (the pan/scan videocassette is a visual mess) and the way the real world of early 1950's Christchurch contrasts with the fantasy world of WETA design clay figures. The technical credits will be very familiar to anyone who has seen a LORD OF THE RINGS movie--editor Jamie Selkirk, costumer Ngila Dickson, writers Jackson and Walsh (husband and wife), production designer Grant Major, and others. It's a beautifully made movie.

The ending packs a shocking jolt, even when you can guess what will happen. HEAVENLY CREATURES deserves its "R" rating (for violence and sexual content). Juliet has to go to South Africa with Dad for her health (lung tuberculosis), which gets Pauline distraught and even suicidal. She has a frighteningly amoral solution--kill Mom. "It can be an accident," she rationalizes. "People die every day." So a crime will take place. End crawls say the girls were too young for the death penalty, so they were imprisoned until adulthood, then ordered never to see or write to one another again. That's a rough punishment for these two.

Fascinatingly, it was divulged that Juliet and Pauline were taking anti-depressant drugs that have long since been banned from the market. (I have mental illness myself and would love to know what the drugs were. I'm sure my doctors would like to know also.) And Juliet's story at least has a happy ending: she surfaced several decades later in Scotland, where she currently writes murder mysteries under the name "Anne Perry". I've read a couple of the novels, and they are outstanding. So I am glad she was not executed in 1954. I may be wrong, I'd have to check the web site. But I think Pauline moved to England and found religion as an adult.

What a movie HEAVENLY CREATURES is for mature adults who feel up to its bloodbath finale. It is flawlessly made, with gorgeous color and wide-screen, fascinating blendings of reality and fantasy that eventually become one for Juliet and Pauline. It is chilling stuff, a true-life crime case. It is fascinating to see the enormously talented Kate Winslet as a teenager at the start of a magnificent career; she was born an actress. And it is interesting to see what Peter Jackson was up to before LORD OF THE RINGS. The new DVD of CREATURES is the uncut 109 minute Director's Cut, never before seen in the United States. The original American version ran 99 minutes. I had also never seen the movie in Panavision since 1994 in a theater. It really needs to be experienced in wide-screen format. Seen uncut and in wide-screen in a night bedroom, I love CREATURES more than the cold LORD OF THE RINGS trilogy, if not more than the wondrous KING KONG. It is a must for the mature members of the Winslet and Jackson fan clubs.

Heavenly Creatures [ NON-USA FORMAT, PAL, Reg.2 Import - Netherlands ]

Average customer rating:

Come with me...

Heavenly Creatures [ NON-USA FORMAT, PAL, Reg.2 Import - Netherlands ]
Director: Peter Jackson
Manufacturer: RCV
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Art House & International | Genres | DVD | Video

General | Foreign & International | Stores | DVD | Video
ASIN: B000FT755Y

Product Description

Netherlands released, PAL/Region 2 DVD: it WILL NOT play on standard US DVD player. You need multi-region PAL/NTSC DVD player to view it in USA/Canada. LANGUAGES: English (Dolby Digital 5.1), Dutch (Subtitles), SYNOPSIS: After winning a cult following for several offbeat and darkly witty gore films, New Zealand director Peter Jackson abruptly shifted gears with this stylish, compelling, and ultimately disturbing tale of two teenage girls whose friendship begins to fuel an ultimately fatal obsession. Pauline (Melanie Lynskey) is a student in New Zealand who doesn't much care for her family or her classmates; she's a bit overweight and not especially gracious, but she quickly makes friends with Juliet (Kate Winslet), a pretty girl whose wealthy parents have relocated from England. Pauline and Juliet find they share the same tastes in art, literature, and music (especially the vocal stylings of Mario Lanza), and together they begin to construct an elaborate fantasy world named Borovnia, which exists first in stories and then in models made of clay. The more Pauline and Juliet dream of Borovnia, the more the two find themselves retreating into this fantastical world of art, adventure, and Gothic romance as they slowly drift away from reality. The girls' parents decide that perhaps they're spending too much time together, and try to bring them back into the real world, but this only feeds their continued obsession with Borovnia (and each other) and leads to a desperate and violent bid for freedom. Featuring excellent performances (especially by Kate Winslet) and imaginative production design and special effects, Heavenly Creatures skillfully allows the audience to see Pauline and Juliet both from their own fantastic perspective and how they seem to the rest of the world. Remarkably enough, Heavenly Creatures is based on a true story; in real life, Juliet grew up to become mystery novelist Anne Perry.
SPECIAL FEATURES: Trailer(s), Scene Access,

Customer Reviews:

Come with me..........2006-07-06

"How can these heavenly creatures be real?" asks one of the characters in of "Heavenly Creatures," the exquisite and horrifying docudrama of a shocking, real-life murder. Famed director Peter Jackson uses spectacular special effects and great actors to show us how these heavenly creatures became monsters.

In 1952, Pauline Parker (Melanie Lynskey) is a loner at her proper New Zealand school, until the day Juliet Hulme (Kate Winslet) arrives -- an intelligent, witty, daring girl who appeals to Pauline. Soon the two of them are nearly inseparable; even Juliet's four month stint in the hospital doesn't separate the girls through their letters and shared fantasies.

But soon their parents becomes concerned that their close friendship is "unhealthy." It is, just not in the way he thinks. The two girls' emotional attachment has turned incredibly intense: they barely think of anyone but each other, and the fantasy stories begin to seep into reality. Now Juliet is being sent to South Africa, and there is no telling when she will see Pauline again. Unless they do something about their parents so that they can stay together... such as murder.

Peter Jackson starts the movie by emphasizing what a beautiful, peaceful country (via a cheesy 1950s documentary) New Zealand is. But beauty is not everything -- fairy tales can become nightmares. Jackson doesn't just show the audience what the two girls did, but showed why they did it. Even then, he doesn't make excuses.

At first the movie seems almost whimsical, with fairy tale figures coming to life, beautiful woodlands, and hillsides transforming into blooming gardens. Nobody except Peter Jackson could have pulled off the idea of including living clay figurines or four-foot-wide butterflies. Somehow it not only works, but adds to the surreality of the story.

But as the girls go deeper into infatuated madness, Jackson warps the whimsical world around them. Settings get darker and more distorted, and the line between fantasy and reality is completely wiped out. The scripting keeps that creepiness going ("Our main idea for the day was to murder Mother"), as do Richard Taylor's handling of CGI and prosthetics. (How DID they do the zoom through a sand castle?)

But the movie really centers around Melanie Lynskey and Kate Winslet, and these two carry the movie beautifully. Lynskey can switch in an instant from sullenness to smiles, naive girl to murderous woman. And the luminous Kate Winslet plays the devil-may-care Juliet, whose vivacity and charm overrule any of Pauline's reservations. "It's everyone else who's bonkers!" she says gleefully when Pauline casts doubt on her own sanity.

The most terrifying horror is the real kind -- the kind that is in the human heart. With its brilliant direction and equally good acting, "Heavenly Creatures" is destined to be a modern classic.

Average customer rating:

Heavenly Creatures [Region 2]

ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Science Fiction & Fantasy | Genres | DVD | Video

( H ) | Titles | Features | DVD | Video
ASIN: B00004VY6C

Average customer rating:

"Come with me...."
Peter Jackson's captivating murder story with no villains
Be Warned...
Chilling, Beautiful, Impossible to Forget
Great movie, horrible DVD!

Heavenly Creatures
Starring: Jed Brophy , Pearl Carpenter , Lou Dobson , Moreen Eason , and Peter Elliott (III)
Manufacturer: Alliance Atlantis
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Drama | Genres | DVD | Video

DVDs Under $9.99 | Today's Deals in DVD | Special Features | DVD | Video

( H ) | Titles | Features | DVD | Video
Similar Items:

Walk the Line (Widescreen Edition)

ASIN: B000065KFV
Release Date: 2002-05-30

Product Description

Thrilling and provocative, Heavenly Creatures is the highly acclaimed, tru-life story of the shocking crime that stunned a nation! When circumstances bring together two bright and highly imaginitive teenage schoolgirls - they quickly form an unwavering bond - creating a fantasy world that only they can share. But soon their parents, disturbed by the intensity of the friendship, threaten to keep them apart. In retaliation, the girls vow to stay together, devising a secret plan that leads to shocking consequences! With captivating performances and startlingly original vidual effects, Heavenly Creatures is gripping entertainment you won't soon forget! -- Shawn R Davis

Customer Reviews:

"Come with me....".......2006-06-10

"How can these heavenly creatures be real?" asks one of the characters in of "Heavenly Creatures," the exquisite and horrifying docudrama of a shocking, real-life murder. Famed director Peter Jackson uses spectacular special effects and great actors to show us how these heavenly creatures became monsters.

In 1952, Pauline Parker (Melanie Lynskey) is a loner at her proper New Zealand school, until the day Juliet Hulme (Kate Winslet) arrives -- an intelligent, witty, daring girl who appeals to Pauline. Soon the two of them are nearly inseparable; even Juliet's four month stint in the hospital doesn't separate the girls through their letters and shared fantasies.

But soon their parents becomes concerned that their close friendship is "unhealthy." It is, just not in the way he thinks. The two girls' emotional attachment has turned incredibly intense: they barely think of anyone but each other, and the fantasy stories begin to seep into reality. Now Juliet is being sent to South Africa, and there is no telling when she will see Pauline again. Unless they do something about their parents so that they can stay together... such as murder.

Peter Jackson starts the movie by emphasizing what a beautiful, peaceful country (via a cheesy 1950s documentary) New Zealand is. But beauty is not everything -- fairy tales can become nightmares. Jackson doesn't just show the audience what the two girls did, but showed why they did it. Even then, he doesn't make excuses.

At first the movie seems almost whimsical, with fairy tale figures coming to life, beautiful woodlands, and hillsides transforming into blooming gardens. Nobody except Peter Jackson could have pulled off the idea of including living clay figurines or four-foot-wide butterflies. Somehow it not only works, but adds to the surreality of the story.

But as the girls go deeper into infatuated madness, Jackson warps the whimsical world around them. Settings get darker and more distorted, and the line between fantasy and reality is completely wiped out. The scripting keeps that creepiness going ("Our main idea for the day was to murder Mother"), as do Richard Taylor's handling of CGI and prosthetics. (How DID they do the zoom through a sand castle?)

But the movie really centers around Melanie Lynskey and Kate Winslet, and these two carry the movie beautifully. Lynskey can switch in an instant from sullenness to smiles, naive girl to murderous woman. And the luminous Kate Winslet plays the somewhat devil-may-care Juliet, whose vivacity and charm overrule any of Pauline's reservations. "It's everyone else who's bonkers!" she says gleefully when Pauline casts doubt on her own sanity.

The most terrifying horror is the real kind -- the kind that is in the human heart. With its brilliant direction and equally good acting, "Heavenly Creatures" is destined to be a modern classic.

Peter Jackson's captivating murder story with no villains.......2003-12-14

For those who wondered how the director of "Bad Taste" and "Brain Dead" got to direct "The Lord of the Rings," this 1994 film from director Peter Jackson supplies the answer. In 1954 two teenage girls brutally murdered one of the their mothers in what must be the most sensational murder in New Zealand history. "Heavenly Creatures" tells the strange story of these two girls and their unique relationship. If you think this is just a reality based splatter flick, then you are going to be much more than surprised and impressed by what Jackson has accomplished.

Pauline Rieper (Melanie Lynskey) is a simple and rather dull young girl who is totally dazzled when Juliet Hulme (Kate Winslet) enters her life. Juliet is impressed as well, because Pauline has a scar on her leg from an operation. Juliet declares that: "All the best people have had chest and bone disease! It's all frightfully romantic!" Eventually both the romance and the frightfullness of it all reaches a tragic conclusion. In their all consuming friendship Juliet and Pauline create a "Fourth World," better than heaven (because it has no Christians), inhabited by the clay figures they have fashioned to represents their friends and where the music of Mario Lanza, the greatest tenor on earth, is always in the air.

Jackson brings this fantasy world alive, which allows him to explore the pivotal theme of juxtaposition throughout the film. This comes into play most notably at the beginning and ending of "Heavenly Clouds." Jackson begins with a 1950s newsreel about Christchurch, New Zealand, which is interrupted by the appearance of the two screaming and bloodied girls, thereby symbolizing the way this sensational case shocked the nation. Even more effective is the film's conclusion, where the murder is inter-cut with what the girls think will happen if they do not find this way of saving themselves.

With any film based on historical events there are omissions, alterations, substitutions, and the like, and "Heavenly Creatures" is no different. On the plus side of the ledger Jackson attempted an almost morbid verisimilitude. Almost all of the locations used for filming were the real locations where events occurred, including the tea shop where Honora Parker ate her last meal, which was torn down a few days after the shooting ended. However, the cast and crew found the actual murder scene uncomfortable and moved further down the path. All of the journal voice-overs come directly from Pauline's diary, as are the characters in the girls' make-believe world. However, since the two filled up fifteen notebooks and hundreds of letters devoted to their fantasies, the movie actually underplays these elements.

However, having familiarized myself somewhat with the actual "facts" of the case, and the recollections of the woman one of the girls grew up to be, the key point of dispute is the motive. But if Jackson is guilty of becoming fixated on the idea that these two young girl committed a murder because they could not bear to be separated and have their fantasy world unravel, then he can be hardly faulted for finding that a fascinating interpretation of the evidence (the girls never testified or were examined in court, but Pauline's diary was seen as providing all the answers). More importantly, Jackson does not seem guilty of taking gratuitous liberties. Instead he is offering a valid interpretation of the evidence. For example, the murder sequence greatly reduces the number of blows, but the effect is still horrific where the sounds alone can force you to shut your eyes, so it seems trivial to complain about any inaccuracy given the scene's effectiveness.

From an artistic standpoint Jackson's interpretation is more than justified, especially at the end. In addition to the information we receive between the final scene and the closing credits that tells what happened to Pauline and Juliet, Marzio Lanza sings "You'll Never Walk Alone," which is as perfect a choice of a song to play at the end of a film as you will ever hear, forcefully underscoring the film's thesis. Jackson says this is "a murder story about love, a murder story with no villains," and it is hard to argue with this idea after watching his film.

"Heavenly Creatures" received an Oscar nomination for Best Writing, Screenplay Written Directly for the Screen for Jackson and Frances Walsh. The film won every award for which it was nominated in the New Zealand Film and TV Awards, including Best Actress for Lynskey and Best Foreign Performer for Winslet (both of whom were perfectly suited for those roles), and earned film festival awards in Venice and Toronto. This is a striking and unforgettable film, both creative and thoughtful. Those who are drawn to it because it was directed by Peter Jackson might be shocked by the subject matter, but they will not be disappointed with the results.

Be Warned..........2002-07-08

I bought this DVD assuming it featured the letterbox version of the film. Unfortunately, it is pan and scan--so be forewarned before you buy this DVD. I suggest waiting until the new version is released in September. I was especially disappointed because HEAVENLY CREATURES is so well directed, and it deserves to be seen in letterbox to really be appreciated. (The five-star rating refers to the film, not the DVD itself, btw.)

Chilling, Beautiful, Impossible to Forget.......2002-07-02

HEAVENLY CREATURES, directed by Peter Jackson of the new LORD OF THE RINGS movies, it is the true story of two mentally unstable young girls who eventually commit murder in their determination to stay together. Kate Winslet and Melanie Lynskey play two teenage girls growing up in New Zealand during the 1950's. Both are eccentric outcasts who spend their time talking of imaginary kingdoms and acting out elaborate fairy tales. Eventually, the girls become so attached to one another that their parents attempt to separate them...and they actually murder Lynskey's mother, thinking it will somehow help keep them together. A summary of the film's plot does not give an accurate impression of its brilliance, however; Jackson brings us inside the minds of the girls as they become increasingly more detached from reality. The result is a harrowing, flawlessly directed film (the scenes building up to the murder are both chilling and beautiful). While Jackson is currently receiving much attention for his admittedly wonderful handling of the commercially popular LORD OF THE RINGS movies, this little film (hardly seen by anyone but the critics) is well worth checking out--it's undoubtedly a better film than LORD OF THE RINGS and certainly much more emotionally powerful.

Great movie, horrible DVD!.......2002-06-25

Please, save yourself some aggravation and wait for Miramax to release an official Region One DVD! Peter Jackson's luscious cinematography, originally screened in 2.35:1, when cropped to 1.33:1 is enough to make you cry. Audio is poor two-channel stereo, and there are no extra features. I purchased this Canadian import over a year ago because I love the film, but I've watched it only once because of its inferior quality. Have patience!

Average customer rating:

Heavenly Creatures

Manufacturer: Buena Vista Home Entertainment
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Science Fiction & Fantasy | Genres | DVD | Video

( H ) | Titles | Features | DVD | Video
ASIN: B0001GNJNS

DVD:

DVD

DVD