Bambi (2-Disc Special Edition) (Platinum Edition)

Amazon.com essential video

It always comes up when people are comparing their most traumatic movie experiences: "the death of Bambi's mother," a recollection that can bring a shudder to even the most jaded filmgoer. That primal separation (which is no less stunning for happening off-screen) is the centerpiece of Bambi, Walt Disney's 1942 animated classic, but it is by no means the only bold stroke in the film. In its swift but somehow leisurely 69 minutes, Bambi covers a year in the life of a young deer. But in a bigger way, it measures the life cycle itself, from birth to adulthood, from childhood's freedom to grown-up responsibility. All of this is rendered in cheeky, fleet-footed style--the movie doesn't lecture, or make you feel you're being fed something that's good for you. The animation is miraculous, a lush forest in which nature is a constantly unfolding miracle (even in a spectacular fire, or those dark moments when "man was in the forest"). There are probably easier animals to draw than a young deer, and the Disney animators set themselves a challenge with Bambi's wobbly glide across an ice-covered lake, his spindly legs akimbo; but the sequence is effortless and charming. If Bambi himself is just a bit dull--such is the fate of an Everydeer--his rabbit sidekick Thumper and a skunk named Flower more than make up for it. Many of the early Disney features have their share of lyrical moments and universal truths, but Bambi is so simple, so pure, it's almost transparent. You might borrow a phrase from Thumper and say it's downright twitterpated. --Robert Horton

Description

The forest comes alive with BAMBI, the critically acclaimed coming-of-age story that has thrilled and entertained generations of fans. Now digitally restored with state-of-the-art technology, BAMBI sparkles in this new Special Edition. This grand adventure is full of humor, heart, and the most beloved characters of all time -- Bambi, the wide-eyed fawn, his playful pal Thumper, the lovable skunk Flower, and wise Friend Owl. Featuring breathtakingly beautiful artwork and Academy Award(R)- nominated music (1942, Best Scoring Of A Dramatic Or Comedy Picture and Best Song, "Love Is A Song") Bambi's story unfolds from season to season as the young prince of the forest learns valuable lessons about friendship, love, and the miracle of life. Everyone will be "twitterpated" by this endearing classic tale of BAMBI, one of Walt Disney's greatest triumphs and a film experience you'll never forget.

Customer Reviews:

Movie review.......2007-08-10

I don't know what to say, except for the amazing bonus content and mini-games. The picture is so clean, you don't even remember how the original version looked.

Bambi DVD.......2007-08-10

This Bambi DVD arrived in a timely fashion.

There was a slight problem with the rest of the order. I ordered Sleeping Beauty; instead I got a 2nd copy of Sleeping Beauty. I sent it back and weeks later the distributor send a postage paid envelope to return the DVD. I had sent this back much sooner than that and the item ended up costing me more.

A truly sacred film better than ever........2007-07-05

Ok im not really a kid Im just in disguise. Ok I loved bambie as a little kid I grew up on one of these disney movies and finally they came out with a special edition dvd which made the grapics better than before. They show the before and after image of the cover and some games. Im too old for this movie so I wanted to buy this for my little sister and she loved it I watched the movie with her and it took me back to my childhood years. And also I was scratching my head when they were releasing a sequel to bambie I found no interest in that and I think they should have left the first one alone bambie came out in 1942 jeez.

A truly sacred film better than ever........2007-07-05

BAMBI: EL AMOR A LA NATURALEZA.......2007-06-30

Uno de mis clasicos favoritos, nos muestra cuanto debemos proteger y cuidar la belleza de nuestra naturaleza, la flora, la fauna y la ecologia en general; aqui no hay animales malos , el unico criminal y depredador, que mata y destruye es el hombre mismo, mostrandose sobre todo en la inolvidablemente triste escena de la muerte de la madre de Bambi (nunca dejo de llorar cuando veo esta escena, y eso que soy muy hombre, conste); peliculas como esta me hacen ver cuan sensible debo ser hacia la creacion de Dios, cuanto debemos amar a nuestro mundo y cuanto debemos crear conciencia en salvar este mundo tan bello en que vivimos... ¡UNA PRECIOSA JOYA DE DISNEY!!!

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NORMAN VS LEATHERFACE!
NOT Anamorphic Widescreen
A True Classic
an unusual masterpiece
Psycho

Psycho (Collector's Edition)
Starring: Frank Albertson , John Anderson , Martin Balsam , George Eldredge , and Sam Flint
Manufacturer: Universal Studios
ProductGroup: DVD
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ASIN: 0783225849
Release Date: 1998-05-27

Amazon.com

At last--a great American movie available on video for the first time in its original aspect ratio. For all the slasher pictures that have ripped off Psycho (and particularly its classic set piece, the "shower scene"), nothing has ever matched the impact of the real thing. More than just a first-rate shocker full of thrills and suspense, Psycho is also an engrossing character study in which director Alfred Hitchcock skillfully seduces you into identifying with the main characters--then pulls the rug (or the bathmat) out from under you. Anthony Perkins is unforgettable as Norman Bates, the mama's boy proprietor of the Bates Motel; and so is Janet Leigh as Marion Crane, who makes an impulsive decision and becomes a fugitive from the law, hiding out at Norman's roadside inn for one fateful night. Psycho gets the masterpiece treatment it deserves on DVD, with extras including newsreel footage surrounding the making and release of the movie; an archive of production stills; the special trailer in which Hitchcock (acting as one of the original Universal Studio tour guides) himself leads viewers around the Bates place; credit designer Saul Bass's original "shower scene" story boards; posters and advertising materials for the movie's William Castle-like publicity campaign (No One Will Be Seated After the Feature Begins!); and a 90-minute documentary on the making of the film! What more could any movie fan possibly want? --Jim Emerson

Customer Reviews:

NORMAN VS LEATHERFACE!.......2007-08-21

My caption comes from the fact that both "Psycho" and "The Texas Chainsaw Masacre" were loosely based on the same killer Ed Gein. These are completely different films of course, but I find it interesting none the less. I have seen "Pyscho" so many times that it's not something I watch often now. The movie is still brilliant and what made me want to see it recently was the fact that I finally built my home theater. I wasn't born when "Pshcho" was released in theaters and after 20 years of dreaming of having a home theater(long before they seemed possible)my vision has come true! The screen I have been viewing the movies I've reviewed is 150 inches which is a little over 10 feet long by little over 7 feet high. It was almost like watching it for the first time! I saw little things I never noticed thoughout the film and the score never sounded so good. If you have never seen this movie, you have missed one of the most copied films ever! The version I'm reviewing is in the Alfred Hitchcock Masterpiece collection box set. Four reasons to buy this movie...It's Hitchcock, Perkins gives the performance of his career, it's one of the best horror/thrillers ever made and the DVD transfer is excellent!

NOT Anamorphic Widescreen.......2007-07-19

Need I say more? This 5-star movie on the Universal DVD is shown in "widescreen" format, but framed within a 4:3 viewing ratio. Which means you get black bars on the top and bottom, AND left and right. Which doesn't look like what you expect to see with any other movie on your widescreen TV. Do you get it? So, my conclusion is that Universal Home Video has really screwed up on the Hitchcock films they control. From the botched "restoration" on Rear Window (it's too fuzzy), to the goofy foley effects re-recorded for Vertigo, and now this insult to movie buffs (similar to BBC video's that keep their widescreen content firmly fixed in the 4:3 frame).

Paramount, on the other hand, got it right with their latest issue of "To Catch A Thief" with a clean sharp print, preserving the original VistaVision aspect ratio of 1.85:1 (as anamorphic widescreen).

I don't know why so many of the classic Hitchcock films are getting such bad treatment, with films such as "Notorious" and "Spellbound" remaining currently unavailable (check out the used prices to see how valuable these films really are). What I have seen from Criterion are only partially restored, and not digitized and cleaned up as current restoration efforts can accomplish.

I'm passing on any more Hitchcock DVD's from Universal, unless I have some confidence that the re-issues are done with some real attention to the quality of the release, as Paramount has done with their later releases.

A True Classic.......2007-07-07

It's well worth it NOT to learn anything at all about the plot of this movie before you watch it. Part of the fantastic thrill of watching the tale unwind is learning the ins and outs of what is going on. You probably already know the keynote situation - a knife in a shower scene - but luckily that comes early on, so you don't spend half the movie wondering what it is all about.

Many aspects make this movie spectacular and worthy of the #18 AFI top movie rating. The black and white filming makes every shadow and corner suspect. It's not a movie about gore and blood - in fact many scenes deliberately scare you without showing you what actually is going on. Your imagination supplies the activity. It's more a movie about nerves - about wondering what is going to happen, worrying about consequences.

You can tell how amazing a movie is when, many decades later, a new director works to make a scene-by-scene reproduction of the movie with modern actors, just to help bring the story to a new generation. Viggo Mortensen fans are familiar with this one.

Highly recommended.

an unusual masterpiece.......2007-07-06

By far Hitchcock's most twisted film, psycho twists plot, twists characters, and twists gender as no film ever had done.. Hitchcock was probably the best director at making technical breakthroughs and also in making those breakthroughs enjoyable for the audiece without any threads showing.. This is especially evident in psycho.. but also in other films like Vertigo with its famous vertigo camera effect that would later be copyed by several directors..
Psycho was a great success for Hitchcock and perhaps his last absolute masterpiece (though i would argue that the birds and Marnie were truly great masterpieces - and two of my favorites..) Anthony Perkins was truly made to play Norman bates.. although his career suffered afterwards as he would always be remembered as norman bates and he couldn't get the casting he deserved..
interestingly Hitchcock was extremely popular with the french new wave directors.. and psycho was kind of their bible in film - how to break the rules in effective ways..

Psycho.......2007-06-28

Made at the peak of his career in 1960, "Psycho" was suspense master Hitchcock's last and most famous black-and-white picture--and a film that inaugurated the sub-genre of slasher movie. By the standards of today's gore-fests, it's a fairly restrained murder mystery, but disturbing nonetheless, achieving its chills more by what is withheld than shown. Hitchcock knows just how to heighten our dread of who or what might be at the top of the stairs, or beyond that shower curtain. The terrifying "Psycho" stands above most any psychological thriller made since.

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For My Husband
Every Which way but Loose
Every Which Way But Loose
Classic
Clint ventures into slapstick

Every Which Way but Loose
Starring: Clint Eastwood , Sondra Locke , Geoffrey Lewis , Beverly D'Angelo , and Walter Barnes
Director: James Fargo
Manufacturer: Warner Home Video
ProductGroup: DVD
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ASIN: B000060MWP
Release Date: 2002-05-07

Amazon.com

Clint Eastwood's 1978 comedy introduces Filo Beddoe, a truck driver and mechanic whose daily life is an absurd grind. He's constantly coming up short on money, love, and anything else to help him get through the day, while also saddled with a loony mother (deliciously played by Ruth Gordon), a best friend (Geoffrey Lewis) who's not too swift on the uptake, and an orangutan named Clyde who fights almost as well as Clint. While moonlighting as a bare-knuckle fighter, Clint finally meets the girl of his dreams (Sondra Locke), a snooty country singer who rebuffs him even as he pursues her, trailed by bikers and brawlers. It's Eastwood's magnetism and charm that make this more than a mere string of comic sketches, and things move along quickly enough to be entertaining, if a little thin. Clyde is a natural scene-stealer, but it's Ruth Gordon's crazy, cranky old coot who steals the movie. --Robert Lane

Description

Eastwood plays a hard-drinking trucker with a pet orangutan chasing the love of his life to Colorado.

DVD Features:
Production Notes
Theatrical Trailer

Customer Reviews:

For My Husband.......2007-06-14

I bought this for my Husband and he loves it.

Every Which way but Loose.......2007-03-12

The Dvd movie " Every which way but loose very very fuuny it make me big laugh!!!!! it was very good!! Enjoy!!!

Thank you James Johnson

Every Which Way But Loose.......2007-01-19

DVD was brand new in great shape very pleased with my purchase

Classic.......2007-01-16

This is just your basic old classic movie. we enjoyed it when it first came out and had it taped on a old vcr tape and wanted it in dvd. Still enjoy it.

Clint ventures into slapstick.......2007-01-15

I recommend this movie for anyone needing a good laugh. Real "3 Stooges"-style slapstick comedy-a rare departure for Eastwood, whose recent films have gone too far into "serious". Also great for country music fans-cameos from several major stars, and a surprisingly good musical performance by co-star Sondra Locke. This one is pure entertainment, so suspend your "critical" faculties and enjoy!!!

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A forgotten classic
Shoot to kill
Solid adventure thriller with a twist
Why doesn't everyone know about this movie
Exellent chase movie....

Shoot to Kill
Starring: Sidney Poitier , Tom Berenger , Kirstie Alley , Clancy Brown , and Richard Masur
Director: Roger Spottiswoode
Manufacturer: Walt Disney Video
ProductGroup: DVD
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ASIN: B00008L3UQ
Release Date: 2003-09-30

Description

Sidney Poitier, one of film's most distinguished and acclaimed actors, returns to the screen after a decade-long absence in this must-see, action-filled thriller. When a cunning murderer vanishes into the rugged mountains of the Pacific Northwest, pursuing FBI agent Warren Stantin (Poitier) must exchange familiar city streets for unknown wilderness trails. Completely out of his element, Stantin is forced to enlist the aid of expert tracker Jonathan Knox (PLATOON'S Tom Berenger). It's a turbulent yet vital relationship they must maintain in order to survive ... and one that becomes increasingly desperate when Knox's girlfriend Sarah (Kirstie Alley) becomes the killer's latest hostage.

Customer Reviews:

A forgotten classic.......2007-08-05

I just saw this movie after a very long time, and all I can say is:
Go out and find it, or order it on Amazon..It is GREAT!
The Movie starts out as a Jewel thief robbing a wealthy couple, and getting away with the wife as a hostage.
Sydney Poitier plays the detective in the case, who with a mountain man
must follow him up into the mountains where he fled to catch him.
The criminal has joined a party of hikers though, and they must reach him before he kills them all- Kirstie Alley plays the guide to the hikers, and she is also the mountain man's girlfriend.
The adventure starts out in the wilderness, and ends up in the city...
it will definately keep you on the edge of your seat.

Shoot to kill .......2007-07-07

This is a unreal picture . Really nice country too . Pretty . Also , a movie to keep you on the edge of your seats . It's a wonder how , the fbi and a country man , can work together and how much the are alike and dis a like ,But they are. Great movie here !!

Solid adventure thriller with a twist.......2007-06-20

Kirstie Alley obviously never learns from her mistakes, because Shoot to Kill sees her held at gunpoint by a psycho in exactly the same part of the Vancouver Ice Rink as she was in Runaway. The film has lost some of its lustre with the passage of time and viewing on the small screen, but it's still an enjoyable enough adventure/thriller hybrid with a neat premise - city cop Sidney Poitier and outdoorsman Tom Berenger have to track a psychotic killer who has tagged onto a mountain fishing trip to sneak across the Candian border. Main problem: since he's managed to avoid showing his face and the unhappy campers ranks are filled with stalwarts of movie villainy, including Andy `Scorpio' Robinson from Dirty Harry and Clancy `The Kurgan' Brown from Highlander, neither they nor we know which one is the killer (although there is a pretty big giveaway). Nothing unexpected happens and the ending doesn't gain any points for credibility, but it's entertaining enough stuff with a good score from John Scott that adapts itself well to city and mountain milieus.

No extras at all, but the disc offers a decent 2.35:1 widescreen transfer.

Why doesn't everyone know about this movie.......2007-03-27

How has this movie escaped every one's attention all these years. Sidney Poitier( looking 40's really 61!!!!!!) jumps, runs slides,swings,shoots,punches,swims,and ACTS,ACTS,ACTS!!!!!!! This is what is called a think man's action movie. Tom Berenger is great as always and Kirstie Alley makes a great heroine. Along with the non stop action you get one of Mr.Poitier's best performances as an middle-aged F.B.I. man chasing a thief and killer in unknown woods.
one of the best!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Exellent chase movie...........2007-02-25

Shoot to Kill is one of Sidney Poitier's more interesting movies during the last part of his career. In this movie, he played an aging, city-grown FBI agent on a trail of a wicked murderer and kidnapper played by Claney Brown who flee into the deep wilderness with his victim. Aiding him is a mountain man played by Tom Berenger who have a special interest in this case since the latest kidnapped victim happened to be his girlfriend played by Kristie Alley.

The movie proves to be highly entertaining, well acted and well scripted. Interestingly, Poitier and Berenger played off each other pretty well as mutual respect grows between them as they chased after Brown and Alley. Brown proves to be quite good and I have to admit that Alley wasn't too bad either.

The movie maintained a good even pace and keep the audience wondering about the possible outcome. There are several interesting and funny scenes as describes previously by another reviewer. The movie take a perception of a "fish out of the water" concept. I have to admit that Sideny Poitier is NOT someone I would thought would be in a movie about being in wilderness. Poiter portrayed his wilderness unease quite well. Overall, I hate to think that this movie might be considered to be "overlook" by Sidney Poitier fans. Berenger gave one of his better performances in a "non-historical" role (he's quite good in playing Longstreet and Theodore Reoosevelt in these TNT shows).

The DVD of this movie is your basic stripped down verison. There's no extras to speak off althought the wide-screen 16:9 image proves to be pretty good and sounds were clear and easy to listen. Bit disappointing that it was given such a cheap treatment.

Overall, a highly entertaining movie that can endured repeated viewings by most fans of Poitier or Berenger. Its a movie that deserves to be seen.

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You go, Barbara!
An Essential Screen Comedy
An obvious classic
Ahead of it's time
A Great Comedy; Ties With the Best Final Lines Since "Some Like It Hot"

The Lady Eve - Criterion Collection
Starring: Barbara Stanwyck , Henry Fonda , Charles Coburn , Eugene Pallette , and William Demarest
Director: Preston Sturges
Manufacturer: Criterion
ProductGroup: DVD
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ASIN: B00005JH9B
Release Date: 2001-10-16

Amazon.com essential video

In 1941, Barbara Stanwyck was offered two screwball roles equally suited to her tart intelligence, deft comic timing, and undeniable sex appeal, and it's a photo finish as to which was funnier--showgirl-on-the-lam Sugarpuss O'Shea, the title character in Howard Hawks's Ball of Fire, or con artist Jean Harrington a.k.a. Lady Eve Sidwich, the delirious fulcrum for this classic Preston Sturges comedy. Under Sturges's typically antic microscope, the collision between the gold-digging Harrington and the very rich, very hapless brewery-heir-turned-herpetologist Charles Pike (a wonderfully callow, guileless Henry Fonda) yields ample opportunity for the writer-director to skewer issues of class and sex; as always, Sturges is bold in pushing the censors' envelope, capturing a palpable erotic heat between the canny Jean and the literally feverish Charlie, who, after a year up the Amazon, is instantly smitten by the mere sight of her shapely ankles (in hindsight, a precursor to her subsequent effect in Double Indemnity). To give away the plot machinations driving the farce would spoil the fun, beyond confirming impersonations, mixed signals, and misunderstandings as the turns in a consistently rollicking ride that makes good use of Charles Coburn and screwball character veterans Eugene Pallette, William Demarest, and Eric Blore. --Sam Sutherland

Description

A conniving father and daughter meet up with the heir to a brewery fortune-a wealthy but naïve snake enthusiast-and attempt to bamboozle him at a cruise ship card table. Their plan is quickly abandoned when the daughter falls in love with their prey. But when the heir gets wise to her gold-digging ways, she must plot to re-conquer his heart. One of Sturges' most clever and beloved romantic comedies, The Lady Eve balances broad slapstick and sophisticated sexiness with perfect grace.

Customer Reviews:

You go, Barbara!.......2007-08-16

This is a classic comedy. Barbara is funny with impecable timing as is Henry Fonda. This comedy may seem out of character for both of them if you view their later film endeavors. But they make it work wonderfully with a tremendous support cast. Classic-you have to have it!

An Essential Screen Comedy.......2007-07-26

This is one of the greatest of the classic Hollywood comedies. Barbara Stanwyk is quite hilarious, and Fonda an excellent comic foil.

An obvious classic.......2007-07-05

The Lady Eve and Palm Beach Story are the best of the Sturges movies. The Lady Eve is smart, sophisiticated and uproariously funny. Sturges was at the peak of his creativity and had not yet gone into the realm of the broad comedy with excessive slapstick that happened shortly after this movie. Eveis glorious. Stanwyck and Fonda have never been better.

Ahead of it's time.......2007-02-12

You know, most of the time if you watch a screwball comedy from back in the day you go into it expecting unrealistic dialog and somewhat predictable plot twists. Many of the best classic movies are classics only because of the chemistry of the stars.

That's not the case at all with this movie. As a screenwriter, Preston Sturges (who also directed) was way ahead of his time. You still have the snappy, quick dialog between characters. Barbara Stanwyck seems to speak 1000 words per minute. But the dialog never seems forced. You never feel like the characters are only speaking to set up the next joke.

The plot is what you'd expect from a romantic comedy--Stanwyck is a gold digger who's out to swindle a naive, rich man--Henry Fonda. But she ends up falling for him, just as he realizes her game. In a typical movie you'd expect her to attempt and win him back right away through a series of funny, unsuccessful acts--but that's not what happens here. Instead the plot takes a turn towards black comedy for a bit before Fonda and Stanwyck ultimately get together.

The twists are pretty unpredictable and the second half of the movie is really where you find all the laughs, with the first 30 minutes setting things up. If you like movies like "Bringing Up Baby" or "His Girl Friday," then you'll love this.

A Great Comedy; Ties With the Best Final Lines Since "Some Like It Hot".......2006-11-06

"The Lady Eve" is a film that holds a place on The American Film Institute's Top 100 Comedies (#55) and is directed by the legendary Preston Sturges. I found the movie at a library and I figured: A. It's got Henry Fonda and Barbara Stanwyck. B. It's directed by Preston Sturges. C. It's in the Criterion Collection. D. It's free. After viewing it, I think it's justifiably a legendary comedy. It's definitely a movie with a frequently used idea, but it's so charming and funny...It's kind of hard to resist. The movie stars Henry Fonda as Charles Pike, an brewery heir, who is boarding an Ocean liner after having finished a snake-hunting expedition in South America. Also aboard this liner is Jean Harrington (Barbara Stanwyck, 'Double Indemnity'), a con-woman who travels with her father Colonel Harrington (Charles Coburn). Both are looking for rich people to rip off via card games and Jean quickly sets her sighs on Charles. After a wonderful scene, in which Jean watches Charles in the crowded dining area turning down every proposal or trick from the girls that walk by, she gets his attention by tripping him. The movie (it's only 90 minutes) gets to the point quickly. Jean's original plan is to get some money out of Charles, but finds herself falling in love with him. This falling occurs in a great, unbroken shot in which Jean toys with Charles' hair. In a lesser film they would've walked around, flirting, and then she would've returned to see her father and announced "I'm in love!" The movie takes a strange turn, when Charles finds out who Jean and her father are; He quickly severs contact with her, which makes her quite angry. Her anger doesn't last long and when she winds up in the same town that Charles lives in, she formulates a plan with the help of a con-man friend Sir Alfred McGlennan Keith (Eric Blore). She poses as Lady Eve Sidwich and attends a party at Charles' house. Charles is quickly struck by how much the Lady Eve resembles Jean ("It's the same dame!" his valet Muggsay (William Demarest) will tell him frequently throughout the film), but he soon finds himself falling for Eve as well. Now, this movie is pretty predictable for the most part. I knew what was going to happen mid-way through the film, but that doesn't matter. It's not what's happening, it's what is happening as that other stuff is happening. The movie has some great one-liners and scene-stealing performances, notably by Demarest as Muggsay who all-but steals every scene he is in. The movie final three lines (spoken by Jean, Charles, and Muggsay) are really great. I think they rank right up there with the closing lines of "Some Like It Hot." Movies like this don't come around much anymore, it's a rarity when a film flows this well. It's a great romantic-comedy, period.

GRADE: A-

Jezebel (Restored and Remastered Edition)

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Bette Davis in one of her classic early roles
Jezebel
A DAZZLING ROMANTIC MELODRAMA
Resstored very nicely.
Jezebel, wonderful!

Jezebel (Restored and Remastered Edition)
Starring: Bette Davis , Henry Fonda , George Brent , Margaret Lindsay , and Donald Crisp
Director: William Wyler , Lloyd French , and Tex Avery
Manufacturer: Warner Home Video
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ASIN: B000EU1Q1I
Release Date: 2006-05-30

Amazon.com essential video

Bette Davis didn't get to play Scarlett O'Hara in Gone with the Wind, but she did get to play a troublesome Southern belle in William Wyler's 1938 Jezebel. Davis's character, a coquette fond of stirring up rivalries among the men, goes too far and loses her fiancé (Henry Fonda), but she finds atonement when she cares for him during illness. This handsome melodrama by Wyler (who later directed Davis in The Little Foxes) is fully absorbing (John Huston contributed to the script), and Davis's carefully constructed performance does make one draw instant comparisons with Vivien Leigh in Gone with the Wind. The DVD release has the theatrical trailer, closed captioning, optional Spanish soundtrack, and optional subtitles in English, Spanish, and French. --Tom Keogh

Description

Bette Davis plays a self-involved southern belle whose neurotic attempts to mold her fiance (Henry Fonda) to her own designs eventually bring about her tragic downfall. Co-stars George Brent and Fay Bainter. Year: 1938 Director: William Wyler Starring: Bette Davis, Henry Fonda, George Brent

Customer Reviews:

Bette Davis in one of her classic early roles.......2007-07-09

"Jezebel" was a treat, a rich southern gothic laced with wonderful scenery, interesting situations, and complex characters. The slaves were portrayed as being a bit more content and happy with their lot in life than was likely the case in reality, but everything else still feels fresh and bracing almost seventy years after the movie was produced.

And without getting too specific for newcomers to the film, here's something interesting to think about: Did Bette Davis' character REALLY repent at the end, or is her sudden, and apparently selfless, change of heart really just a last-ditch scheme to give herself a final chance to win her beloved back? It probably isn't, and she probably DID genuinely grow as a person, but still- as I said- it's fun to momentarily consider the other scenario.

The Warner Brothers DVD I watched featured a crisp picture and good sound, as well as a variety of those "a night at the movies" special features, including a newsreel, cartoons, trailers, etc. All in all, a fun package. But it's the movie you'll remember.

Jezebel.......2007-06-20

"Jezebel" was Davis's consolation prize for not landing the part of Scarlett O'Hara. Inevitably compared to "Gone With the Wind" (released one year later), this lavish melodrama stands on its own, thanks to Wyler's expert direction and his camera's loving attention to Warners' biggest female star. Davis, who nabbed her second best actress Oscar for this, is superb and looks glorious, while Fonda is suitably restrained as Pres. Don't miss the famous scene at the ball.

A DAZZLING ROMANTIC MELODRAMA.......2007-06-09

JUST GET THIS NEWLY RESTORED AND REMASTERED DVD TO WATCH BETTE DAVIS GIVE A FIERY PERFORMANCE THAT WON THE 1938 BEST ACTRESS ACADEMY AWARD. DAVIS PLAYS JULIE, A NEW ORLEANS SOUTHERN BELLE ROLE WHOSE CONSTANT ATTEMPTS TO GOAD FIANCE PRES DILLARD (HENRY FONDA) TO JEALOUSLY BACKFIRE. ANGRY AND DISGACED, PRES BREAKS THEIR ENGAGEMENT AND LEAVES TOWN. JULIE ENDURES A YEAR OF REMORE UNTIL PRES COMES HOME - MARRIED. THEN HER VENGEANCE EXPLODES. THE SUMPTUOUS SETS AND CONTUMES, FAY BAINTER'S OSCAR WINNING PERFORMANCE AND WILLIAM WYLER'S VIVID DIRECTION ADD TO A GREAT CINEMA EXPERIENCE. FINALLY THE FILM'S GREATEST STRENGTH IS DAVIS, WHOSE TITANIC TALENT HAS NEVER BEEN BETTER DISPLAYED THAN IN 'JEZEBEL'.

Resstored very nicely........2007-05-07

The color is much better than I expected. It is a keeper.

Jezebel, wonderful!.......2007-04-11

I recently bought and watched this the day I got it in the mail! It was fabulous!!!!! Bette Davis was superb and you can clearly see why she received an Oscar for this movie. If you love old movies, this is a definite must watch!!!!

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the power of a word
Great F**king Documentary!
F**K is my favorite word!
What Did You Say?
F*ck Yeah!

F**K - A Documentary
Starring: Timothy Jay , Evan Seinfeld , Steven Bochco , Drew Carey , and Justin Timberlake
Director: Steve Anderson (IX)
Manufacturer: Velocity / Thinkfilm
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ASIN: B000KB488Y
Release Date: 2007-02-13

Description

F**K explores how this one syllable word has completely permeated the English language, yet is still widely held to be obscene. Through film and television clips, original animation, and the insight of scholars, linguists, comedians, actors, and writers including Pat Boone, Drew Carey, Billy Connolly, Janeane Garofolo, Ron Jeremy, Miss Manners, Bill Maher, Alanis Morrisette, Kevin Smith, the late Hunter S. Thompson and many more, F**K examines the colorful history of its namesake. Even people who do "it" for a living are interviewed, as we discover what it is about this word that both unites and divides English speaking people.

Customer Reviews:

the power of a word.......2007-08-05

The focus of this documentary is utterly admirable--90 minutes examining a single word of the English language. And why not? Certainly, words have histories, and they evolve over time in their usages and halos of meaning. And this word, certainly, carries with it a lot of baggage, since it seems to be one of the most outlawed or undesired of words among certain circles. Hence, making it a word that could very much make a worthwhile 90+ minute focus.

And there is a grand array of personalities here--from comedians to musicians to pornstars to pundits. Ice-T offering ideas along with Sam Donaldson and Tera Patrick. There does seem to be a bit of a bend or skew behind this film, with its almost flippant appearances of f*ck in the face of those who greatly discourage its use, but this seems only natural considering the subject matter--if one is going to investigate such a word thoroughly, one certainly must drop one's own Puritanical senses, if one ever had these in the first place. Certainly, this movie is done with a sense of humor, an almost Penn-and-Teller-esque attitude of "Why is this such a big deal?" and though I find the arguments against the use of swear words by others to be rather tyrranical and just plain inconsiderate, I have hope in the world that there are those who can offer those arguments and NOT look like total morons, unlike Pat Boone, Alan Keyes and the others who just sound like repressed fuddy-duddies...

...although, I must admit that I found Sam Donaldson quite silly as well, for while he was a proponent of f*ck as a form of expression, it seemed that he was a little reluctant about using it himself.

Possibly, the attitude of this film as a whole is to present the wide world of expression, how a word as old as 500-600 years (there is evidence of its use in a 15th century poem, though Shakespeare never used it, thus making this maybe the ONLY word in the English language that Shakespeare never used) has become multifaceted especially in the 20th century as well as so controversial and illegal, if certain powers were to have their way (and do, kind of). Even some of the proponents, like Sam Donaldson, seem a little too militaristic about the need to use it, while figures like Ice-T and Billy Connolly come across as some of the most thoughtful. Of course, the comedic co-champions of language, Lenny Bruce and George Carlin, are centerpieces of this film, and while Bruce is maybe overly idolized, the essence of their work is clear--words are merely expressions of our thoughts, and the act of restricting (or even being overly permissive about) language with the idea that language leads to thought and not vice versa comes across as an essential flaw here, and possibly this is where the playfulness of the film becomes important. With its casual use of f*ck and documenting its use as outdoing other such f*ck masterpieces as Scarface and Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back, perhaps this film is telling us in the end that language itself (not just the 'bad words,' but all of language) is a casual and imprecise mode of faulty expression, and that the need for such a movie as this and its ability to focus on a single word, is to both celebrate and laugh a bit at how much language affects us and brings us together to swap ideas, even when we come down on different sides of all the fences between us.

As a teacher of high school English, I do wish this were a film that would easily get onto any class syllabus, because it invites discussion and ideas rather than platitudes and prejudice. If there can be such strong emotion and discussion over one word, then many people could learn just how intricate EVERY word in our language is, and how difficult yet necessary it is to use this flawed form of comunication as a conduit towards communication and understanding.

Great F**king Documentary!.......2007-08-03

A terrifically entertaining documentary, F**K explores and exploits the granddaddy of all swear words in nearby every respect possible. While being unabashedly foul-mouthed, this documentary examines the sides of both the offenders and the offended, the histories and the myths, and the politics and hypocricies of the F-Word.

With tremendously funny animation from Bill Plympton, hilarious and well-juxtaposed interviews, and a subversive tone too pointed to miss, F**K is a truly original, on-target piece of work that demands to be f**king seen.

F**K is my favorite word! .......2007-07-10

i saw a preview of this movie, and had to rent it. now i have to buy it. i love the word. i am not in the slightest bit offended by it. and this movie about the word is just a crack up. definately worth at least a rent!

What Did You Say?.......2007-05-30

"F**K: A Documentary"

What Did You Say?

Amos Lassen and Cinema Pride

Probably the last thing any of us ever expected to see a movie about is the word "f**k". Well, here it is and it stars among others Pat Boone, Ben Bradlee, and Drew Carey. Sam Donaldson, Janeane Gorafalo, Ron Jeremy, Alanis Morisette, Hunter S. Thompson and many others. They al come together to discuss the word. Steve Anderson gives us a documentary of interviews, archival footage, man-on-the-streets, animation and what have you so that we can better understand and use the word "f**k". (I thought I did pretty good but boy, did I learn a lot).
It seems as if everyone is in this movie--a penetrating critique that either enriches or infects civilization as we know it. Anderson sets out to discover where the word comes from, why it is considered offensive and if there is any possible benefit to be gained from it. The history of the word is amazing in its theory.
"F**K" is one of those words that can have a lot of or be devoid of meaning. It is the mother of all curse words, the one our parents told us we should never use. Anderson gives us short chapters which examine and reexamine the word. Myths are debunked and things that we thought we knew about the word seem not to be true after all.
The movie is profound and silly at the same time. Let's face it--it is probably the most used word in our language today. It offends and empowers and it is central to the idea of free speech. It can mean so much or so little and so much depends upon inflection.
Here is the one word that you can still not say in front of your parents and many agree that it is the most offensive word in our language (but they use it anyway).
Anderson does not use sensationalism. It does lean in the direction that the word is no big deal but it does give a variety of opinions about its use. Anderson interviews everybody--linguists, professors, laymen etc and everyone has an opinion. There is no question to the versatility of the word and we see that there is really never a situation in which you cannot use it.
This is a light-hearted look at popular culture based upon one word and it worth looking at.

F*ck Yeah!.......2007-05-04

If you wish to laugh repeatedly, and also wish to learn a little about the origin and evolution of the most commonly used cuss word, then rent this movie. It documents quite thoroughly the right-wing's attack against the use of profane language, and even allows many of them to respond with their justifications for condemning mere human language, a basic right protected under the 1st Amendment. (Not as THEY interpret it, of course!)

Though the Right is represented here, this is definitely a movie only the more liberal-minded will truly enjoy, for it is quite "profane" and harsh toward conservatives who wish to legislate their brand of morality in the U.S., especially in its exploration of the Lenny Bruce trials and George Carlin's "seven dirty words." So, in other words, it's quite biased, but so what? The Right cares not for the equal representation of ideas, so disregard the ignoramus that gave this movie one star because it was unfair to the Right (boo hoo!).

If the prospect of living in a BushWorld frightens you, then rent this movie. John Ashcroft, the former Attorney General under W, is perfectly illustrative of the world social conservatives want: when he was giving a press conference, he covered up the Venus deMilos' breast becuase it made him uncomfortable. A great work of art, censored because it made an uptight prig uncomfortable. Next they'd start censoring Shakespeare, Milton, Chaucer, etc.

Haven't these people read the Old Testament? There's much worse to be found there: justification for the raping of women, justification for the selling of young girls into slavery, justification of slavery, stoning the unruly child to death and on and on and on, massive genocide and justifications for.

Maybe we should censor, or ban, the Bible next...

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PBS Series, Great Drama
VIOLET AND VITA AND HAROLD AND DENYS
Portrait of a Marriage
A Woman Hard To Like
Great

Portrait of a Marriage
Starring: Janet McTeer , David Haig , Cathryn Harrison , Diana Fairfax , and Peter Birch
Director: Stephen Whittaker
Manufacturer: Acorn Media
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: B000F4RHBQ
Release Date: 2006-05-30

Amazon.com

Portrait of a Marriage opens with deceptive calm-- a husband and wife working in a garden look up at planes flying overhead. But the planes are off to bomb Germany and moments later a phone call thrusts the wife--poet and novelist Vita Sackville-West (Janet McTeer, Tumbleweeds)--into a bittersweet reverie from the previous war. Five years into her marriage with Harold Nicolson (David Haig, Two Weeks Notice), Harold confesses his affairs with men--but swears his only true passion is Vita. She accepts this, but when her childhood friend Violet Keppel (Cathryn Harrison, Clarissa) arrives, the two women begin an affair. Soon Vita and Violet find themselves deeply enmeshed, traveling through the gay demimonde of Paris with Vita in men's clothes. The affair becomes all-consuming and starts tearing at Vita and Harold's marriage and the lives of their two children. Portrait of a Marriage practically bursts with revealing psychological details and startlingly steamy sex scenes--as Vita and Violet's relationship grows more carnal, so does the miniseries. But there's nothing casual or exploitive about it; the sex deepens the hold the women have on each other's hearts and leads to emotional pyrotechnics. The tension constantly thickens, made all the more complex because Vita and Harold genuinely love each other, regardless of their sexual longings. The vivid and meticulous recreation of the period frames the superb performances by McTeer, Harrison, and Haig. This four-episode miniseries from 1990, based on the biography by Vita and Harold's son Nigel, is yet another example of the BBC's mastery of literary adaptations. --Bret Fetzer

Description

From the BBC, Janet McTeer stars as Vita Sackville-West in the classic Masterpiece Theatre drama

British aristocrat and writer Vita Sackville-West and diplomat Harold Nicolson married in 1913, and their love endured and deepened over the course of their 50 years together. Each, however, was knowingly and repeatedly unfaithful to the other, Vita most famously with fellow writer Virginia Woolf. But only one affair threatened their union: Vita's tempestuous liaison with her childhood friend Violet Keppel. This BBC drama is the story of that affair based on the extraordinary literary biography by Nigel Nicolson, Vita and Harold's son.

Award-winning actress Janet McTeer (Tumbleweeds, Carrington) stars as Vita with David Haig (Two Weeks Notice) as Harold, and Cathryn Harrison (Clarissa) as Violet.

Customer Reviews:

PBS Series, Great Drama.......2007-08-17

If you enjoy period dramas or bios, check this one out..also a true story written by the couple's son, Nigel

VIOLET AND VITA AND HAROLD AND DENYS.......2007-07-25

This is a superb BBC production. High production values. It's a TV luxury. Based on Vita's memoire of her love affair with Violet Keppel Trefusis which can be found in Nigel Nicolson's 'Portrait of a Marriage' as well as Violet's letters and Vita's biography, it is intelligently scripted by Penelope Mortimer and acted excellently by a high calibre cast. The drama is gut wrenchingly effective in parts. There is a violent scene between Vita and Violet that made me want to jump into the TV and put an end to it. Of note for me is the acting of Cathryn Harrison especially in the first 2 episodes; she is a perfect Violet awesomely in love with Vita. The blood from Violet's face would drain when she caught sight of Vita; she wanted to give all of herself to Vita. Cathryn transmits this intensity of feeling with great skill - this is marvelous acting (watch for her reactions especially in the love scenes). Peter Birch/Denys Trefusis also has a similar quality. I wish we could see Cathryn more on the screen nowadays but she appears to have given up TV and film. Only David Haig as Harold grates because the direction has him play the part too passively as a kind of neutered man- still we get the point of the dynamics. Janet McTeer is excellent and conveys the idea of Vita's so called dual nature well.

In the final 2 episodes disenchantment sets in as it did in real life and the story ends in Amiens, France (early 1920) in a fevered destructive climax. At the end the sheen has come off all the characters. I no longer cared much about Vita and Harold but was concerned about Violet especially and Denys who are left with a ruined future - we are not told what happened to them. The DVD includes a short note about Vita but nothing about the others.

The post script is that Vita and Violet continued their relationship as far as they could until Spring 1921. Denys Trefusis sought a formal separation which would have brought the whole affair into the public domain (he was penniless and would need alimony I suppose but he was also seething from humiliation). Lawyers and matriarchs came onto the scene and Vita agreed, through lawyers, to give Violet up. Violet became bereft, lost and declassee or ostracised from high society - a great humiliation for her mother, the rich grande dame Alice Keppel (Edward VII's discreet, clever mistress). She was confined and banned from contacting Vita. Violet and Denys eventually reached an agreement and went to live in Paris - the spoiled marriage turned into a fragile companionship funded by Mrs Keppel. Denys introduced the lonely Violet to the high priestess of arts and music, Princess Polignac and that love affair was tolerated because of its discretion. This enabled the brilliantly intelligent Violet (we don't see much of this in the TV series) to become classee in Paris's high society and in Florence where she inherited her parents' villa. She never married again but, after poor Denys died of consumption, she went back to her flirting girlish ways -even as a grande dame in Paris and Florence -and had many a male suitor as she did before she met Vita. Not many in France and Italy knew about her true past. There must have been a buried sadness - she knew that her ideal of love had failed; she lived the artificial facile life, albeit with an ironic eye, she had once so hated and became quite eccentric. But she lived in her beloved France. Her heart was French, she said. She once prophesied that her life would be one of waste. Maybe it was but she gave a lot of pleasure to her many friends. She wrote published books. And I take my hat off to her for getting through it all.

Vita and Harold lived in companionship and never had intimate relations again. Vita continued to have affairs and wrecked a couple of marriages on the way but managed to have an enduring mostly platonic, passionate friendship with Virginia Woolf. There is evidence that Violet and Vita felt the flame again in their middle age but desisted. The friendship was worn down by disappointment - both represented fallen ideals and wasted potential. Harold had his liaisons but they were never grand affairs. Vita became quite reclusive at Sissinghurst and her biography politely implies she may have liked the alcohol a bit too much in older age. She was ambivalent towards her children. She and Harold lived apart most of the time but their affectionate companionship endured to the end and Harold - a man of real substance with a raft of books to his name as does Vita - was left desolate when Vita died in 1962. The beautiful garden at Sissinghurst is the best portrait of their marriage. Violet was the last to leave this earth in 1972 -

"My heart was more disgraceful, more alone
And more courageous than the world has known,
O passer by my heart was like your own."

Shortly after Nigel Nicolson's book was published. London (and Paris and Florence for the 1st time) was aghast all over again. And now, here we are. Buy this DVD. It's honestly one of the best BBC dramas ever. Then, if still interested, buy the biographies by Glendinning and Souhami.

Portrait of a Marriage.......2007-07-05

First saw this on Masterpiece Theater with Alistair Cooke. Excellent autobiography and story of a gay woman poet/writer, Vita Sackville-West, living in the WWI era 1920's and 30's, gay life in Paris! What you did in those days was marry and hide your homosexuality and lesbianism. Sackville-West and her diplomat homosexual husband do just that. But, as women, sex does not come without love as emotions, passions, and trust broil to a fantastic climax. Most intriguing!! Personnel favorite of all time.

A Woman Hard To Like.......2007-06-23

It all sounds terribly thrilling at first: a marriage between two homosexuals of opposite sexes, enjoying married life while engaging in same-sex affairs. It's almost too good to be true, which is exactly what is shown in this engrossing dramatization. The acting is flawless, but the characters seem hardly attractive. Vita Sackville-West plays a terribly selfish, destructive person who talks a good game of devotion to husband and children, but loses herself so much in her passing lusts that she not only can't see why she should spend Christmas with her family, but can't see why the British should defeat Hitler. She's giddy with her new-found sexual liberation but becomes a stranger to reason and, finally, almost wholly unsympathetic. Her horsey bad looks and fabulous wealth evidently made her irresistible to some, but as acted this is a woman who verges on the detestable. Husband Harold is oddly weak and ordinary. Vita's girlfriend seems merely vulgar.

Great.......2007-05-08

This is one of the best films I've seen in a long time. They did an excellent job distilling the long and detailed book to bring out the crucial themes--Vita as a person with two different natures, the complex relationship between Vita and Harold, his diplomacy in their relationship, the deep resistance to lesbianism in this era, Violet's complex personality. The acting was tremendous--utterly believable. High production standards. I'm watching for the second time and enjoying as much as the first.

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This Version of Martin Chuzzlewit
Very entertaining. No DVD closed captioning
I was surprised by how good this was
An adaptation the way it should be done!
The Bite of Real Dickens

Martin Chuzzlewit
Starring: Lex Neale , Graham Rees , Janet Lees-Price , Peter Wingfield , and Elizabeth Spriggs
Director: Pedr James
Manufacturer: BBC Home Video
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: B0009PVZL4
Release Date: 2005-09-06

Amazon.com

Greed, selfishness, and hypocrisy drive another rollicking story from Charles Dickens. Martin Chuzzlewit features two Martin Chuzzlewits: An elderly and extremely wealthy one (the magnificent Paul Scofield, A Man for All Seasons), who loathes the sleazy, grasping relatives that hope to profit from his death; and his grandson (Ben Walden), a well-intentioned but self-absorbed young man who has fallen in love with his grandfather's ward, Mary Graham (Pauline Turner)--and because the elder Martin disapproves, the younger Martin has been disowned. In the gap between these two are a host of schemers, crooks, and even one or two good people--but at the center of it all is the pompous and oily Seth Pecksniff (Tom Wilkinson, In the Bedroom, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind), whose manipulations and lechery make him one of Dicken's most memorable villains. Whirling in his orbit are the goodhearted but ineffectual Tom Pinch (Philip Franks); the brutish Jonas Chuzzlewit (Keith Allen); Pecksniff's daughters, the "volatile hummingbird" Mercy (Julia Sawalha, Absolutely Fabulous) and the bitter, overlooked Charity (Emma Chambers, The Vicar of Dibley); and a host of other vivid Dickensian creations, all given juice and vitality by dozens of outstanding British actors, anchored by Scofield's magisterial presence. Because of his characters' outsized personalities and his plots' wild reversals of fortune, Dickens is ideally suited to dramatization, and Martin Chuzzlewit takes full advantage of his strengths. Lurid events like murder and blackmail contrast with rich psychological portraits, making Martin Chuzzlewit an opulent narrative feast. --Bret Fetzer

Description

Martin Chuzzlewit is an old man with a large fortune and an even larger set of family and friends. A portrait of greed and selfishness, this magnificent adaptation of Dickens' comic masterpiece features an all-star cast.

Customer Reviews:

This Version of Martin Chuzzlewit.......2007-07-12

This Version of Martin Chuzzlewit is the best ever. Worth purchasing and viewing about once a year.

Very entertaining. No DVD closed captioning.......2007-01-27

This was very well done. Kept a good pace, kept me captivated. Very entertaining story with some humor.

I did find it hard to follow the dialog with the various dialects of the characters, so I wanted to use subtitle. Alas! Subtitles are not enabled on DVDs in this series (BBC white covers). I switched from viewing the DVD via the component connection to viewing via the coax "VCR" connection. That allowed me to take advantage of the television's closed captioning capabilities. However, I had to sacrifice picture quality.

I was surprised by how good this was.......2007-01-09

I am surprised that this was never recommended to me! It also surprised me with how long it was, not a rushed 2 hour version but one that takes its time to develop the storyline and characters. Highly Recomended!

An adaptation the way it should be done!.......2007-01-03

I bought this as a Christmas gift for my Mother, but I hadn't realized how much I would also enjoy it. I saw this adaptation when it first came out and I was still a child, but seeing it again as an adult, I really can appreciate more of its humor and subtlety. Beyond this, since I read the original fairly recently, I can also say that it is very faithful to the book- in fact, the only problem that I had with any of it was that very little of the American scenes were included, and despite being an American myself, I thought that these were really one of the best parts of the book. However, the excellent performances (such as of Pecksniff, Jonas Chuzzlewit and Mr. Pinch) somewhat made up for this deficiency.

On the whole, I would say that this is an excellent adaptation and I highly recommend it.

The Bite of Real Dickens.......2006-09-21

In his commemorative book for the 1st 20 years of Masterpiece Theatre, Alistair Cooke commented that those who name "Great Expectaions" or "Tale of Two Cities" as their favorite Dickens novel are showing by their choice that they don't really care for Dickens. Often these more conventional, less eccentric novels are the ones most dramatized, and the public doesn't really get to know the crazy, dark, labrynthian world Dickens was capable of creating in his "big novels"--like "Old Curiosity Shop", "Little Dorrit", "Dombey & Son", "Our Mutual Friend", and "Martin Chuzzlewit". It takes patience to read them, and great patience to render them faithfully on screen. I think that this performance does a remarkably good job of bringing the novel to life.

I had read the book beforehand, so had an idea of how the dramatization SHOULD be done, and was surprised and pleased to see it succeed so well in many ways.

Pete Postlethwaite as Tigg Montague was (in my opinion) TRUE Dickens--eccentric in looks, manner, speech and not softened or blunted in any way. He conveyed the brash pungency of the character, as if an illustration by "Phiz" had come to life. Jonas Chuzzlewit is subtly depicted by Keith Allen.

**SPOILER FOLLOWS**

Oddly, this story reaches its excellent heights in death scenes. I think that's true in both novel and dramatizaton. The death of Anthony Chuzzlewit, a pivotal point in the novel, is almost frightening. And Jonas' suicide, short and sharp.

What characterizes Dickens is the interspersion of sharp, comic elements against dark social commentary. Sairy Gamp is wonderful, with her stuffed-up monologuing. I also liked Mary Graham, who was portrayed by Pauline Turner, not as an overtly beautiful girl, but as one with great sweetnes and warmth. One can easily understand people loving her, as everyone in the novel seems to do.

My ideal of Dickens dramatization was the long-ago Trevor Nunn production of Nicholas Nickleby, which starred Roger Rees. I always find it helpful in a review to know what the reviewer considers good, so this is my standard.

In any case, I'd highly recommend that you see this drama, if you appreciate what I'd call the "bite of Dickens".

Average customer rating:

I don't understand why this series has any stars (???)
Intelligent Viewing
More entertainment than history, but very good nonetheless
Grand Historical Epic
A splendid mini-series!

Lord Mountbatten - The Last Viceroy
Starring: Janet Suzman , Michael Byrne , Owen Holder , Nicol Williamson , and Malcolm Terris
Director: Tom Clegg
Manufacturer: Acorn Media
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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