The Woman in the Window (MGM Film Noir)

Amazon.com

Fritz Lang did his best work in Hollywood throughout the 1940s, and The Woman in the Window ranks among his best films from that period. Equally adept at crafting first-rate Westerns and melodramatic thrillers, Lang returned to the latter category for The Woman in the Window, a deliciously devious follow-up to 1944's Ministry of Fear and a near-perfect companion piece to Lang's 1945 follow-up, Scarlet Street. Adapted by producer/screenwriter Nunnally Johnson from J.H. Wallis's novel Once Off Guard, this briskly paced and brilliantly plotted thriller begins with a chance encounter between mild-mannered psychology professor Richard Wanley (Edward G. Robinson) and Alice Reed (Joan Bennett), the stylishly alluring subject of a portrait that Wanley has dreamily admired in a window near the men's club where he socializes with a savvy District Attorney (Raymond Massey) and a friendly physician (Edmund Breon). When Alice invites Wanley to her apartment for casual drinks and conversation, Wanley is forced to kill an intruder, and his subsequent cover-up leads to a nail-biting plot in which Wanley must feign innocence as he "innocently" participates in the D.A.'s investigation with a homicide detective.

Lang was an expert at turning the screws of suspense, and while Johnson's screenplay tempers its convenient coincidences with well-written characters, Robinson's increasing desperation is the engine that drives the plot. When a sleazy blackmailer (Dan Duryea) squeezes Wanley and Reed for every penny they've got, The Woman in the Window winds up to a fever pitch, with a "twist" ending that's either a cop-out or clever, depending on your tolerance for now-familiar surprises. As renowned critic Pauline Kael astutely noted, The Woman in the Window has "the logic and plausibility of a nightmare," and Lang surely enjoyed the superbly cast trio of Robinson, Bennett, and Duryea, for he invited them back for Scarlet Street just a few months later. And speaking of murder, check out the kid playing Robinson's son in one of the opening scenes: that's future real-life murder-conspiracy suspect Bobby (Robert) Blake (subsequently acquitted), at the innocent age of 10. --Jeff Shannon

Customer Reviews:

egr - woman in the window.......2007-09-13

This movie "Woman in the Window" was overlooked by many people during its release but is a great tasteful little film noir movie by my hero Edward G Robinson, whom I think is the greatest actor ever in Hollywood history
If you like EGR you have to get this DVD

Edward G. Robinson Classic.......2007-08-30

This is a different mystery with Edward G. Robinson and a great supporting cast. He plays such a mild mannered character, then finds himself over his head with trouble. Surprising twist at the end. I've been waiting a long time for this to be available on DVD.

Atmospheric suspense drama marred by shoddy conclusion.......2007-08-10

Great performances, especially by Bennett and Robinson, and adeptly directed by Fritz Lang; but in the end, worse than mediocre. Personally, I'll forgive a lot of flaws in a film if its last seven minutes are satisfying; conversely, even if the preceding 100 minutes were admirable, I'm likely to feel cheated if an ending is highly contrived. This movie concludes with a not-so-dizzying plot twist that tosses aside character development, story, and common sense to append a narrative cheat, precisely the same undramatic, logic-defying "surprise" ending used by umpteen amateurish authors before and since. For me, a repeat viewing did not increase the appeal of the "surprise" ending; on the contrary, it only served to highlight the film's fatally flawed internal logic. A disappointing movie, in spite of the remarkable starring performances. I recommend Scarlet Street instead: same cast playing similiar roles, same director commanding a similarly triangulated tale, and a shocking conclusion that you'll never forget.

edward g. robinson lovers here's a A+ pick.......2007-08-09

All you old film noir fans, here's a movie your'll enjoy. Edward G plays a physch professor who finds himself fixated on a portrait of a beautiful woman right next to his daily hangout with the guys.

This fixation becomes more than he can handle. Watch and see how.

I love the old movies when stars were stars...Bogart, Cagney, Grant, Hepburn, Tracy and on and on the list goes. If you're like me...you'll enjoy this one too.

A fine noir with a clever and -- the second time you see it -- satisfying twist.......2007-07-20

The Woman in the Window has an ending almost guaranteed to infuriate you the first time you see the movie, and, the second time, to leave you with an immensely satisfied smile.

"The man who kills in self defense, for instance, must not be judged by the same standards applied to a man who kills for gain." So says middle-aged and happily married Richard Wanley (Edward G. Robinson), professor of criminal psychology, to his class at Gotham College. Wanley is about to put his dictum to the test. When his wife and their two young children leave for a brief vacation, he dines at his club with two old friends, one a doctor and the other, Frank Lalor (Raymond Massey), the district attorney. Wanley bemoans his increasingly middle-aged life. "I hate this solidity," he says with a rueful smile, "this stodginess I'm beginning to feel. To me, it's the end of the brightness of life, the end of spirit and adventure." His two friends leave and he settles in, before returning to his empty home, with one last brandy and The Song of Songs. When he leaves the club late in the evening he stops, as he often has, and gazes at the portrait in the window of the gallery next door. The woman is lovely...beautiful, with a challenge in her eyes and a gaze that looks right at you. When a voice asks him for a light for her cigarette, the professor turns and is stunned to see that the voice belongs to the woman who posed for the portrait. Alice Reed (Joan Bennett) sometimes stops by the gallery to see the reaction of men when they look at her portrait. The two somehow wind up at a quiet bar, talk and then the professor escorts her to her apartment in a taxi. She invites him up and shows him sketches the artist made of her before painting her portrait. She seems genuinely friendly and honest and the professor apparently has no intention of becoming an adulterer. But when an angry man breaks into her apartment, slaps Alice Reed and attacks Professor Wanley, it's only a matter of seconds before the man is dead, stabbed by Wanley in the back with a pair of scissors handed him by Alice. Professor Wanley's life now begins to spin out of his control.

He decides to say nothing to the police. He leaves Alice and returns with his car. With her help he gets the body into the back seat and drives it to a deserted parkway, where he disposes of it in the underbrush. The man turns out to be a powerful businessman who had been seeing Alice regularly two or three times a week. The Professor's friend Lalor takes charge of the investigation and invites Wanley to accompany him, thinking the professor of criminology will be interested in how the case is slowly being built up to identify the murderer. Wanley keeps making little errors and mistakes...a ripped coat, a scratched wrist, a tire track in the mud, a slip of the tongue that seems to say Wanley knows more than he should. Lalor begins to look curiously at his old friend. And then the bodyguard (Dan Duryea) of the dead man turns up. He blackmails Alice, who must ask Wanley for help. This time Wanley reluctantly begins to think of murder.

The Woman in the Window is a fine noir. Some may think it's just the opening act for Fritz Lang's Scarlet Street, filmed the following year with the same three stars, Robinson, Bennett and Duryea. Scarlet Street is a classic, drenched in casual cruelty, loneliness and sadness. The Woman in the Window starts out as a classic noir. Professor Wanley is a man of good intentions whom we like and who finds himself moving in situations well beyond his capability. Joan Bennett's Alice Reed, however, is no Kitty March. Alice may be a kept woman, but she wants to do the right thing as long as she doesn't get in trouble. And she seems genuinely to like and even respect the Professor. Dan Duryea, of course, is a rotter, but he's at least straight forward here. He wants money; he doesn't seem to delight in hitting women. It makes for a movie which puts a premium on the skill of the actors to bring us along with them as events conspire against them. Few were better at this than Edward G. Robinson and, in my opinion, the under-appreciated Joan Bennett.

So we have a first class noir...and then Fritz Lang pulls the rug out from under us. To fully appreciate The Woman in the Window -- trust me -- you'll need to see it a second time. How about making that second time a double feature? Have some friends over and play Scarlet Street first, then The Woman in the Window. Keep them in that order. You'll have a great main course, and then a great desert.

The DVD transfer of this black-and-white film is first-rate. There are no extras.
Scarlet Street (Remastered Edition)

Average customer rating:

Good Buy
Disturbingly violent ...
For Frank Miller die-hard fans only
Incredible!
A true "Collector's Edition" DVD!!

Sin City
Starring: Robert Rodriguez , Frank Miller (II) , Jessica Alba , Devon Aoki , and Alexis Bledel
Manufacturer: Dimension
ProductGroup: DVD
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ASIN: B00005JNTX
Release Date: 2005-08-16

Amazon.com

Brutal and breathtaking, Sin City is Robert Rodriguez's stunningly realized vision of Frank Miller's pulpy comic books. In the first of three separate but loosely related stories, Marv (Mickey Rourke in heavy makeup) tries to track down the killers of a woman who ended up dead in his bed. In the second story, Dwight's (Clive Owen) attempt to defend a woman from a brutal abuser goes horribly wrong, and threatens to destroy the uneasy truce among the police, the mob, and the women of Old Town. Finally, an aging cop on his last day on the job (Bruce Willis) rescues a young girl from a kidnapper, but is himself thrown in jail. Years later, he has a chance to save her again.

Read our interview with Frank Miller.

Based on three of Miller's immensely popular and immensely gritty books (The Hard Goodbye, The Big Fat Kill, and That Yellow Bastard), Sin City is unquestionably the most faithful comic-book-based movie ever made. Each shot looks like a panel from its source material, and director Rodriguez (who refers to it as a "translation" rather than an adaptation) resigned from the Directors Guild so that Miller could share a directing credit. Like the books, it's almost entirely in stark black and white with some occasional bursts of color (a woman's red lips, a villain's yellow face). The backgrounds are entirely digitally generated, yet not self-consciously so, and perfectly capture Miller's gritty cityscape. And though most of Miller's copious nudity is absent, the violence is unrelentingly present. That may be the biggest obstacle to viewers who aren't already fans of the books and who may have been turned off by Kill Bill (whose director, Quentin Tarantino, helmed one scene of Sin City). In addition, it's a bleak, desperate world in which the heroes are killers, corruption rules, and the women are almost all prostitutes or strippers. But Miller's stories are riveting, and the huge cast--which also includes Jessica Alba, Jaime King, Brittany Murphy, Rosario Dawson, Benicio Del Toro, Elijah Wood, Nick Stahl, Michael Clarke Duncan, Devin Aoki, Carla Gugino, and Josh Hartnett--is just about perfect. (Only Bruce Willis and Michael Madsen, while very well-suited to their roles, seem hard to separate from their established screen personas.) In what Rodriguez hopes is the first of a series, Sin City is a spectacular achievement. --David Horiuchi

More Sin City at Amazon.com

The Graphic Novels and Books
Films by Robert Rodriguez
From Graphic Novel to Big Screen

The Soundtrack
Films by guest director Quentin Tarantino
Crime on DVD

Description

An amazing cast of big-screen favorites is directed by Robert Rodriguez (DESPERADO, FROM DUSK TILL DAWN), Frank Miller -- and special guest director Quentin Tarantino (KILL BILL 1 and 2, PULP FICTION) -- in an acclaimed and visually stunning hit that's the coolest movie of the year! Straight from the pages of Miller's hip series of "Sin City" graphic novels, Bruce Willis stars as a cop with a bum ticker and a vow to protect a sexy stripper (Jessica Alba -- FANTASTIC FOUR); Mickey Rourke (MAN ON FIRE) as an outcast misanthrope on a mission to avenge the death of his one true love (Jaime King -- PEARL HARBOR); and Clive Owen (KING ARTHUR) as Dwight, the clandestine love of Shellie (Brittany Murphy -- LITTLE BLACK BOOK), who spends his night defending Gail (Rosario Dawson -- THE DEVIL'S REJECTS) and her Old Town girls (Devon Aoki and Alexis Bledel) from a tough guy (Benicio Del Toro -- 21 GRAMS) with a penchant for violence. Also starring Elijah Wood, Nick Stahl, Michael Madsen, Carla Gugino, and Michael Clarke Duncan.

Customer Reviews:

Good Buy.......2007-09-15

The item I purchased was in perfect condition upon arrival. It was everything the description said it would be. Shipment of the item was very fast. I think I got it three days sooner than I was expecting it. Amazon always offer such a variety of products with really good deals. I'm very happy with the site and I shop here often.

Disturbingly violent ... .......2007-08-17

The innovative approach to the look of this film is the primary seduction. Studying the visual effects in isolation is reasonable and informative. Regarding the story itself, I found the form and portrayal of violence in the film to be disturbing. While characters are rendered by living actors (certainly some of my favorite), the violence inflicted by characters on each other in many cases is lethal with the film representing it as survivable. The effect is to create a struggle between a sense of realism and its creative suspension that leaves us with a film that is extremely uncomfortable to watch. Unless you are a fan of the graphic novel series from which the story was adapted, I cannot recommend this film.

For Frank Miller die-hard fans only.......2007-08-13

...the rest of us skip this movie. I'll admit the best thing about the movie is the way it looks. Rodriguez did an excellenct job in bring a comic book to life. However, some things need to stick to their original medium. I'm counting these illogical wrecks of mini-stories as those that fit in this catagory. After Micky Rourke's short (the best one, IMHO) I was ready for this movie to end. Clive Owens seemed miscasted, but Benico sort of saved the day on that story, but it was still riding on the so-so part. After that, I'm thinking surely that's the end...BUT NO. It keeps going and going, until I'm practically begging the DVD player, please no more. Then there's just one more bit, that I was so close to pulling my hair out, that I was relieved that it only lasted less than a minute. Oh, Thank God. If over the top violence is what gets you off, then this is the movie for you. If not, please, please avoid this movie.

Incredible!.......2007-08-06

This is what it looks like when you make a movie from a comic book/graphic novel. Period. Everything else is just crap compared to this, when it comes to making movies from comic books/graphic novels. Period.

A true "Collector's Edition" DVD!!.......2007-07-29

This is one extended edition dvd worth purchasing. Unlike other "double dips" that are marketed as special/collector's/limited/extended edition, this is a release that truly delivers. Not only does this dvd contain the extended edition of each story presented in the film, it also contains the original theatrical edition. The Marv and Hartigan storylines have the most material added to them, you can hardly notice the additions to the Dwight storyline. One of the bonus features explains the chronology of the events in the film, for those who were/are confused. If you don't own the movie, buy this edition. If your a fan buy this edition and sell your single disk release.

Average customer rating:

A Tim Curry Showcase
Finally saw Clue for the first time last night
256 5-Star Recommendations Should Mean Something
Clue
hilarious movie

Clue
Starring: Eileen Brennan , Tim Curry , Madeline Kahn , Christopher Lloyd , and Michael McKean
Director: Jonathan Lynn
Manufacturer: Paramount
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: 6305882649
Release Date: 2000-06-27

Amazon.com

Undoubtedly the first movie in history to have played in theaters with three different endings (depending on which theater you attended), Clue is a silly whodunit based on the familiar board game featuring Colonel Mustard, Mrs. Peacock, and all the other usual suspects. A broadly comic cast play the sundry suspects gathered in a mansion to solve a murder, knowing that one of their numbers is the culprit. Michael McKean, Eileen Brennan, and Tim Curry are the best of the bunch, and the film is as lightweight an experience as a round of the game itself. Directed by Jonathan Lynn (My Cousin Vinny). The video release contains all three endings. --Tom Keogh

Customer Reviews:

A Tim Curry Showcase.......2007-09-04

The classic board game comes to life in this film. A bunch of characters have been summoned to a strange mansion where they are given aliases. Eventually they meet a strange character named Mr. Body. When he is mysteriously killed the fun really begins. Who killed Mr. Body? The characters don't know and they all suspect each other. The police are on the way and everyone could be guilty. The only hope is to solve the murder before the police arrive.

Despite the strong cast this movie really showcases Tim Curry the most. The film was originally released in three versions, each with a different ending. On this disk you can choose to watch the theatrical release with a random ending or you can watch the video release that includes all three endings back to back. Other than that, there are no real features other than the basics (chapter menu, subtitles, etc). The story works well and moves at a madcap pace obviously inspired by movies such as Murder By Death and The Cheap Detective while still managing to make the plot and action true to the board game. A good choice if you are looking for a zany comedy. Check it out.

Finally saw Clue for the first time last night.......2007-08-17

Even though I was only on this planet one year before Clue was released you would think I would have watched this little gem by now. I loved all the characters (especially Tim Currey) and the murder/mystery aspect made it even more enjoyable. I saw it for free, but now I just ordered my copy here. I suggest you do the same, if you weren't smart enough to already do so years ago. Prepare to sit back, relax and laugh of course!

256 5-Star Recommendations Should Mean Something.......2007-08-02

It means you should see this film, that is if you haven't already. There are few movies which I would give a 5-star rating to and this is one of them. The movie is only 90 minutes in length and very easy to sit through. It has a nice mix of both verbal and physical comedy. It takes multiple viewings to catch all that's going on. But, it isn't like you have to sit and concentrate or you will miss something, totally the opposite. This is a fun movie. Just put it on and relax.

The basic synopsis is: guests are invited to a isolated country mansion for dinner. They are confronted with the fact that they have something in common, they are all being blackmailed. Locked in the house with the blackmailer, murder (and comedy) ensues. There are 3 endings to the movie which you can program to either play one after the other or just one at random.

The only disappointing thing to the DVD is the lack of extras. I was hoping for a 20-year anniversary edition filled with extras, but alas.

Clue.......2007-07-03

Another great classic! You can't go wrong buying this movie. It's still good and funny no matter how many times you've seen it.

hilarious movie.......2007-06-02

This is one of my favorite movies and has been since I was a little kid. I'm not sure it would hold up to most people's tastes, but it makes me laugh every time. Some of the best movie quotes made into inside jokes. Playing the game when I was little only made some of the references more amusing.

One of the best parts is the end - there are three! You can watch one randomly or all three. Something I wish would happen more often with silly movies made nowadays.

Average customer rating:

Friendship redefined
Intense and disturbing....
You can't make a good movie with a bad book
JUDI AND CATE MAKE A GREAT TEAM
What's hotter than an old dike...

Notes on a Scandal
Starring: Judi Dench , Cate Blanchett , Tom Georgeson , Michael Maloney , and Joanna Scanlan
Director: Richard Eyre
Manufacturer: 20th Century Fox
ProductGroup: DVD
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ASIN: B000NIVJFY
Release Date: 2007-04-17

Amazon.com

Gold stars to all for this taut psychological thriller based on Zoe Heller's novel that that gets more insidiously twisted as it unfolds. Oscar-nominated for her chilling performance, Dame Judi Dench gives a master class as schoolteacher Barbara Covett, a frumpy, friendless, and flinty spinster who lives with her cat. A formidable presence, Barbara is standoffish with colleagues and not one for students to trifle with (not that they'd dare). Cate Blanchett, also an Oscar nominee and winner of several critics society awards for her impassioned performance, costars as Sheba Hart, the new, overwhelmed art teacher who first becomes enthrall to Barbara after she steps in to help Sheba discipline unruly students. Barbara cultivates a friendship, and insinuates herself into Sheba's chaotic life, which includes her older husband (Bill Nighy), teenage daughter, and a son with Down's syndrome. Then, Barbara catches the reckless Sheba in a compromising position with a 15-year-old student (Andrew Simpson). Seizing her opportunity, the calculating Barbara does not turn her in. Rather, she wants to "help" her. "She's the one I've been waiting for," she writes in the journals she meticulously keeps, and which provide, in voiceover, her corrosive commentary. This all sounds very Fatal Attraction, but no boiling rabbits, please; we're British. Philip Glass's Oscar-nominated score accentuates the growing menace. Though there is little in these characters to admire, (one would think GLAAD would have something to say about the predatory turn Barbara's character takes), Notes on a Scandal is a compelling tour-de-force for its Grade-A cast. --Donald Liebenson

Notes on a Scandal Extras

Cate Blanchett and Judi Dench on their characters in the film

Beyond Notes on a Scandal

Book to Movie Adaptations
More Cate Blanchett Films
What Was She Thinking? Notes on a Scandal: A Novel

Stills from Notes on a Scandal

Description

Academy Award(r) winners Judi Dench and Cate Blanchett give wickedly entertaining, Oscar-nominated performances * ? one as a woman consumed by her colleague's guilty secret, the other, a victim to her own dark obsessions ? in this sexy, stylish thriller. Dench mesmerizes as Barbara Covett, a teacher who rules over her classroom with an iron fist, yet leads a desperate, solitary life outside it. That is, until she meets radiant new art teacher Sheba Hart (Blanchett). Although at first overjoyed with her newfound kindred spirit, when Barbara discovers that Sheba is having an affair with a teenage student, her jealously and rage spiral out of control.

Customer Reviews:

Friendship redefined.......2007-09-12

I was looking forward to this film for the sheer treat of having Judy Dench and Cate Blanchett act together. This film is interesting exploration on human relationships, desires and hurt humans are capable on inflicting to each other. We encouter Sheeba, new high school teacher who seems to have it all: she is married, beautiful and artistic with a possibility of starting a new teaching career after staying at home to raise her son. But then, we learn that her life is not a perfect one: she is married to an older man and the intensity of their relationship is wearing off with her. Her teenage daughter has typical teenage problems (boyfriend anyone?), while her son requires constant attention due to his Down Syndrome. In all that pressure, Sheeba succumbs to the seemingly worry free relationship with the high school student - young, handsome and amazingly manipulative. And as these events are unrevelling, Judy Dench's character seems to see an end to her loneliness. Under pretense to be a friend, comforting colleague on her slippery slope of self-destruction, she is naively plotting to lure Sheeba into relationshiop, only to find out that feelings are one sided. And that is here is all falls to pieces. I would say that while seemingly unremarkable, this is a true story of everyday people's lives. It is a true description of all of our transgressions and how easy it is for all of us to find justificaitons for our own actions. Also the moral of the story - if you are looking to confide to anyone, find a good psychotherapist, your friends and colleagues will find a way to "jump" you for all the petty reasons they can come up with should you be foolish enough to confide to them.

Intense and disturbing...........2007-08-22

My husband brought the DVD home with the warning that "Notes on a Scandal" was supposed to be an intense and disturbing film. Disturbing it was indeed, but not in the way I thought it would be. I assumed that a plot involving a teacher's "affair" with a teenage pupil would be overwhelmed by the unsavory aspect of that dangerous liaison. While events do turn upon the sordid, ill-fated dalliance, it is shown to be the unappealing result of mental aberration on the part of Cate Blanchett's character "Sheba." Sheba is drawn into the affair because she is basically undisciplined and used to living a free life, although she has tried to be a devoted mother to the best of her ability. But when boredom and unhappiness overwhelm her, she is bereft of resources.

The other dangerous relationship in the film is the emotional obsession that an older teacher, Babara Covett, magnificently played by Judi Dench, develops over Sheba. It reminded me of a saying of St Francis de Sales: "There are many virgins in hell, but there are no humble people in hell." With all the overemphasis on the physical, we forget that there are other sins besides those of the flesh, and that pride and covetousness can also lead a soul down the primrose path. Barbara's determination to monopolize Sheba's affections is in many ways as insidious and dangerous as any carnal misbehavior.

Barbara (Dench) is a dedicated teacher who with one word can restore order in a classroom. Her amazing competence and intellectual superiority lead her to despise the world. She is a misanthrope worthy of Scrooge, yet the witty and brilliant reflections as recorded in her secret diary are chillingly amusing. Unfortunately, she has a habit of forming inordinate attachments to other, younger women, attachments which she erroneously idealizes as being spiritual friendships. True friendship has little to do with it, however. Barbara resents Sheba's family and when Sheba puts her children first, only then does Barbara report Sheba's criminal actions.

"Notes on a Scandal" is a revealing glimpse into the souls of two women, each narcissistic and possessed by different brands of lust. Rarely has real love been so starkly contrasted with inordinate affections as in director Richard Eyre's modern yet timeless melodrama.

You can't make a good movie with a bad book.......2007-08-21

Well, I haven't read the book, but it's probably airport trash. Barbara "Covett"? Bathsheba "Hart"? Steven "CONnelly"? We're talking Joan Collins level, or a bodice ripper that Fabio is on the cover of. I'm amazed that two great actors would find anything to give of themselves to this exploitative, prurient stupidity. Only in terms of taboo breaking does this film have any impact. Cate Blanchett makes out with a 16 year old, and Judi Dench is a vampiric,creepy,aging lesbian. Both are teachers at an English high school and Dench lures the confused Blanchett into a bizarre relationship using her knowldge of Cate's teen tryst as leverage. I don't know if these actors are stretching their boundaries or naive, or both, but if you like a good train wreck, oh, baby, is this the right flick for you.

JUDI AND CATE MAKE A GREAT TEAM.......2007-08-20

This movie showcases the superb acting talents of Dame Judi Dench and Cate Blanchett. Ms. Dench is very creepy, very convincing as a chronically lonely, manipulative lesbian. I've seen better acting from Cate Blanchett but even her worst acting is better than what you can expect from most actresses. Bill Nighy also turns in a convincing performance as the cuckholded husband.

I did not find this movie shocking in its content or disturbing, although I cannot understand how a grown woman can find a spindly, scrawny boy sexually appealing. Ms. Dench's acting is what disturbed me. She reminds me of a spider in a web, patiently waiting to ensnare her prey. As a lonely, bitter spinster she successfully runs off every person she befriends with her "intensity". She is obsessive, possessive, grabbing, clawing, but her prey doesn't see it coming. If you appreciate great performances by great actresses, I highly recommend this movie. Dame Dench's performance is one you will not soon forget.

The only reason I gave this movie two stars is because I reserve five stars for movies that move me on an emotional and intellectual level, which this movie did not. I don't believe it was supposed to. Some movies are for entertainment purpose alone, and this is one. Nothing wrong with that. It will definitely entertain you.

What's hotter than an old dike..........2007-08-20

This film is one of those that deals with many so called taboos in our very puckered up butt cheek culture. Sex with minors and homosexuality. The movie was utterly believable and entertaining with stealer acting by dame Judi Dench who plays an old, doughtering lesbian that longs for companionship and possibly a bit more. She has her sights set on friend and colleague Cate Blanchett. There is a twisted love triangle...well kinda a trapezoid actually, anyway you get the idea, I love you, she lusts me, this person only likes this person as a friend sort of thing. The story is superbly written for the screen and the two main characters are fleshed out so well they are reminiscent of people you once knew or still know. The film don't go too far over the top and has lots of little plot twists that keep you glued to your little lazy boy wondering if this old lesbo is ever gonna score. I recommend this film for any fan of Dame Dench or adult themed movies. The only criticism I have for this film is the score was rather annoying at times when I rather thought the acting didn't need a music bed to come off dramatic.

Average customer rating:

A note about this film.
"This guy eats too much red meat!"
I eat Green Berets for breakfast and right now I'm very hungry!
A Classic with a Cause
arnold

Commando (Director's Cut)
Starring: Arnold Schwarzenegger , Rae Dawn Chong , Dan Hedaya , Vernon Wells , and James Olson
Director: Mark L. Lester
Manufacturer: 20th Century Fox
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ASIN: B000RW3VCK
Release Date: 2007-09-18

Customer Reviews:

A note about this film........2007-09-04

This film is frequently miscategorized as a fictionalized action film when it is, in reality, a highly accurate documentary where all of the events occur in real time. In order to truly enjoy this film, you must keep that in mind.

"This guy eats too much red meat!".......2007-09-04

COMMANDO (1985) marked the beginning of "Ahnold's" shift from stoic, badly acted adventure flicks with no dialogue to stoic, badly acted adventure flicks with dialogue.

COMMANDO gives us the Governator at his steroidal apotheosis. The unrelieved muscularity of his physique is unbelievable in this film. A human mountain, he plays John Matrix, a Rambo-like figure who is dragged out of retirement by the Colonel Trautman-like General Kirby after members of his ultra-secret unit are killed in a series of hits.

Although "Matrix" translates as "Womb" in Latin, the English word has an inorganic feel to it, and in fact COMMANDO presages and even exceeds THE TERMINATOR films in its gratutitous violence. Matrix is a killing machine. Fortunately for the story, he is also a sympathetic doting father to Jenny (Alyssa Milano at age ten), and he has a wicked sense of humor---the one-liners in COMMANDO are legendary.

Matrix's idyllic retirement comes to an abrupt end when a crummy South American dictator, once overthrown by Matrix, plots his return to power and kidnaps Jenny to ensure Matrix's cooperation in overthrowing his democratic successor. Matrix sets out with the twin goals of rescuing Jenny and wreaking hell on said South American dictator. Along the way, Matrix shanghaies Cindy (Rae Dawn Chong) into helping him.

The violence is cartoonish and hilarious. Matrix jumps out of flying jets, he rips bucket seats out of cars barehanded, he smashes those same cars into telephone poles without injury, he breaks other people's bones with abandon, he drives bulldozers into stores, kills bad guys by the dozen, creatively "redecorates" the Galleria Mall, and all through it, he mutters lines like, "I eat Green Berets for breakfast...and right now I'm very hungry!" and "Remember when I said I'd kill you last? I lied." shortly before dropping a bad guy off a cliff ("I let him go," Matrix explains to Cindy).

In the third reel the Bandido Osterreicher revenges Butch and Sundance by singlehandedly killing the entire army of a small South American country, in the process rescuing his daughter, eliminating the crummy South American dictator, and finishing off Bennett, a rogue member of his old unit who is impaled by a length of iron pipe (which then emits a ton of steam).

Forget logic. Forget reality. Essentially a live action cartoon, COMMANDO is a classic of the Beer Film genre of the mid-80's. Invite some buddies, crack open a few cold ones, ask She Who Must Be Obeyed to keep an eye on the hot dogs and chili, and kick back.

I eat Green Berets for breakfast and right now I'm very hungry!.......2007-08-31

If you think you've seen Commando before on DVD then you're gonna pass on this one, right?

WRONG!

This guilty pleasure is one of my all-time favorite testosterone pumping 80's Ahnuld action flicks chock full of some of the most memorable and hilariously over-the-top one-liners ever assembled in a single Schwarzenneger film with an exhaustive body count tally of 81 confirmed kills. Now it's finally getting the UNRATED Director's Cut treatment it deserves so we can see even more of the Governator at his macho 80's Republican finest.

The Commando Director's Cut DVD features the original 90-minute theatrical film plus an all-new 95-minute unrated version as envisioned by director Mark L. Lester restoring over five minutes of never-before-seen footage back into the film. Additional DVD special features include director audio commentary, deleted scenes, two behind-the-scenes featurettes, photo galleries and more.

Special Features:

Commando Director's Cut is presented in widescreen (1.85:1 aspect ratio) with English 5.1 Dolby Digital and Dolby Surround audio, Spanish Mono, French Stereo plus French and Spanish subtitles.
Bonus content includes:

* Seamlessly branched Director's Cut with never-before-seen footage
* Audio commentary by director Mark Lester (on theatrical version only)
* Deleted Scenes
* Pure Action featurette
* Let Off Some Steam featurette
* Photo galleries with over 150 images
- Creating Commando
- Domestic Bliss with John and Jenny
- Kill Arnold, Kill!
- Trashing the Galleria

Don't deprive yourself of some pleasure. Come on, Bennett... let's party!

A Classic with a Cause.......2007-08-17

This is the best film of all time, hands down!! Buy it, don't think about it. It could be the greatest investment you ever make.

arnold .......2007-08-13

I am so happy that commando
is comming out on dvd in
5,1 sound love this movie
thanks amazon

Average customer rating:

One of the best films now on Blu-Ray
The Man In the Grey Flannel Life
"We want to know everything..."

The Lives of Others [Blu-ray]
Starring: Ulrich Tukur , Volkmar Kleinert , Herbert Knaup , Martina Gedeck , and Ulrich Muehe
Director: Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck
Manufacturer: Sony Pictures
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: Blu-ray

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ASIN: B000P46QTA
Release Date: 2007-08-21

Amazon.com

Nominated for a Best Foreign Language Film Oscar, this is a first-rate thriller that, like Bertolucci's The Conformist and Coppola's The Conversation, opts for character development over car chases. The place is East Berlin, the year is 1984, and it all begins with a simple surveillance assignment: Capt. Gerd Wiesler (Ulrich Mühe in a restrained, yet deeply felt performance), a Stasi officer and a specialist in this kind of thing, has been assigned to keep an eye on Georg Dreyman (Sebastian Koch, Black Book), a respected playwright, and his actress girlfriend, Christa-Maria Sieland (Martina Gedeck, Mostly Martha). Though Dreyman is known to associate with the occasional dissident, like blacklisted director Albert Jerska (Volkmar Kleinert), his record is spotless. Everything changes when Wiesler discovers that Minister Hempf (Thomas Thieme) has an ulterior motive in spying on this seemingly upright citizen. In other words, it's personal, and Wiesler's sympathies shift from the government to its people--or at least to this one particular person. That would be risky enough, but then Wiesler uses his privileged position to affect a change in Dreyman's life. The God-like move he makes may be minor and untraceable, but it will have major consequences for all concerned, including Wiesler himself. Writer/director Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck starts with a simple premise that becomes more complicated and emotionally involving as his assured debut unfolds. Though three epilogues is, arguably, two too many, The Lives of Others is always elegant, never confusing. It's class with feeling. --Kathleen C. Fennessy

Beyond The Lives of Others

Films from Germany
Other Cold War Films

More Arthouse Selections

from Sony Pictures Classics

Stills from The Lives of Others (click for larger image)

Product Description

This critically-acclaimed, Oscar®-winning film (Best Foreign Language Film, 2006) is the erotic, emotionally-charged experience Lisa Schwarzbaum (Entertainment Weekly) calls "a nail-biter of a thriller!" Before the collapse of the Berlin Wall, East Germany's population was closely monitored by the State Secret Police (Stasi). Only a few citizens above suspicion, like renowned pro-Socialist playwright Georg Dreyman, were permitted to lead private lives. But when a corrupt government official falls for Georg's stunning actress-girlfriend, Christa, an ambitious Stasi policeman is ordered to bug the writer's apartment to gain incriminating evidence against the rival. Now, what the officer discovers is about to dramatically change their lives - as well as his - in this seductive political thriller Peter Travers (Rolling Stone) proclaims is "the best kind of movie: one you can't get out of your head."

Customer Reviews:

One of the best films now on Blu-Ray.......2007-09-14

The Lives of Others manages to tell the stories of its two main characters while showing the consequences of their decisions on those around them. Without ruining this compelling and important story I can tell you that there are moments of true human compassion and evil to be witnessed during its 2.20 min runtime, and that this film about a divided Germany speaks more about our current situation in this country than any other to come out in 2006. The Blu-Ray version looks very clean and has an exceptional German Language soundtrack. The deleted scenes help flesh out the characters and the filmmakers give us some insight into what drove them to tell this story now. This and Letters From Iwo-Jima are the two best films I have seen on the Blu-Ray format while it may not show off the player like other movies, it shows what film is capable of.

The Man In the Grey Flannel Life.......2007-08-11

Made on a shoestring budget of $2 million, The Lives of Others is the most suspenseful psychological thriller I've seen in a long time, ranking with Francis Ford Coppola's The Conversation and John Frankenheimer's The Manchurian Candidate. What's more, it presents one of the strongest pro-individual, anti-collectivist themes of any movie I've ever seen--all the more surprising because it hails from, of all places, Germany.

Its key lies in its title, which seems at first glance drippingly altruistic. The year, appropriately, is 1984, and Captain Gerd Wiesler (Ulrich Mühe) is in his twentieth year as an agent of East Germany's dreaded Ministry for State Security, commonly known as "Stasi." The "shield and sword" of the Socialist Unity Party, 100,000 Stasi agents and 200,000 paid informers hold the small Soviet satellite nation in a death grip, monitoring and controlling the lives of its 17 million citizens.

Captain Wiesler is a meticulous interrogator, ruthlessly wearing down suspects until they confess. An instructor at the Stasi academy, he trains future agents always to be on guard. "The best way to establish guilt or innocence is non-stop interrogation," he instructs his students. "The enemies of the state are arrogant. Remember that. "

A humorlessly menacing man, Wiesler leads a lonely, Spartan existence in an antiseptic, sparsely furnished apartment in a concrete high-rise that houses many fellow agents. One day at the academy, his former classmate and current boss, gregarious Lieutenant Colonel Grubitz (Ulrich Tukur), drops in with an assignment right up Wiesler's alley. One of their artists appears to be straying from the flock, and Wiesler has been assigned to watch him. However, the subject in question is no dissident, but the most celebrated playwright in East Germany, Georg Dreymann (Sebastian Koch)--a citizen so loyal to the Party that he believes his is "the greatest country on earth."

Later that evening, spying from a balcony seat with opera glasses, Wiesler detects the mark of subversiveness on Dreymann's face as he watches the actors onstage performing his play. As Georg beams with proprietary approval, rising to applaud, Wiesler quietly utters to himself a one-word indictment that seals the dramatist's fate: "Arrogant."

Georg lives with longtime companion Christa-Maria Sieland (Martina Gedeck)--a radiant brunette who is as celebrated an actress as Georg is a writer (and to whom Wiesler clearly takes a fancy). While they are out of their flat, Wiesler's technical team descends upon their home, bugging the place. "Operation Lazlo" is now in full swing, and Wiesler and his partner monitor their subjects around the clock from the apartment building's empty attic.

At first, the surveillance of Georg and Christa appears fruitless. At a dinner party they host, a hysterical theatrical colleague (Hans-Uwe Bauer), who's suffered detention and psychological torture at Berlin's infamous Hohenschönhausen prison, accuses another director of being a Stasi informer. Georg is quick to defend the man against the accusation.

Yet, through the course of his work, Wiesler makes some rather ugly discoveries about the investigation. He learns that it was ordered at the behest of national Culture Minister Bruno Hempf (Thomas Thieme), a porcine bureaucrat who's extorted sexual favors from Christa under the threat of blacklisting her. Wiesler also eventually finds his friend Grubitz's schmoozing to be a cover for vicious social climbing and discovers that Grubitz is complicit with Hempf's scheme to use Stasi as a cat's paw to eliminate Georg, his romantic rival.

Within Wiesler stirs a realization previously kept repressed: that his unquestioning faith in his country has enabled not his ideal of the perfect socialist state, but the hideous arrogance of avaricious thugs who run everything in the "workers' utopia."

Where once was the heel-clicking impersonality of a robot, a conscience begins to grow. Wiesler comes to view Georg and Christa and their circle of bohemian friends not as specimens under a microscope, but as real individuals, with hopes and dreams, loves and heartbreaks. Having grown a conscience, he soon also yearns for a heart, as he silently assesses the utter emptiness of his own life.

Swept up in his subjects' personal lives, Wiesler's detached spying turns into voyeurism. But it isn't a perverted voyeurism, because, for the first time, the lonely captain catches a glimpse into a world of beauty, poetry, and music that is alien to his two-dimensional existence. Sympathetic to the predicament of these enemies of the state, Wiesler begins covering for them, faking his reports, and remaining silent about Georg's gradual disillusionment with the DDR after an old director friend (Volkmar Kleinert) commits suicide.

He overhears an argument in which Georg confronts Christa with knowledge of her affair with Hempf. Christa--already insecure about her talent--explains that she fears being blacklisted if she breaks it off. Wiesler feels compelled to protect her: He accidentally-on-purpose runs into her in a bar, pretending to be a fan, and tells her that her performances have inspired him. "Many people love you for who you are," he says, sincerely. "You are even more yourself onstage than you are in real life."

Christa dismisses his compliment, telling Wiesler he can't really know her. "Did you know that I would sell myself for art?" she asks. "But you already have art," he counters. "That would be a bad deal; you're a great artist."

Though his simple compassion, he gives Christa the strength to believe in herself and renounce her extorted affair with Hempf. But in doing so, Wiesler unintentionally sets into motion a nail-biting series of events that leads inexorably both to tragedy and redemption.

The Lives of Others is a superb film, top-drawer in every regard. Cathartic and ennobling, it recalls Fahrenheit 451 and We the Living in its presentation of tragic heroes forced to examine their deepest-held yet deeply mistaken principles. Hagen Bogdanski's cinematography is compelling; through subtle differences in lighting he gives Silke Buhr's sets an additional dimension that places the characters in emotional context. Shot with tungsten-balanced film, Georg and Christa's incandescently-lit apartment radiates warmth; yet by capturing with daylight film the omnipresent, fluorescent-lit settings of the Stasi world, Bogdanski renders it cold and bloodless. Gabriel Yared's simple, haunting soundtrack is the perfect evocative counterpart for the action onscreen.

The acting is realistic, but never naturalistic. Martina Gedeck is a pleasure to watch, not merely because of her physical beauty, but for her impressive emotional range. Ulrich Tukur's capacity to turn on a dime from regular guy to cold-blooded manipulator is simply scary. And Sebastian Koch combines a physically imposing presence with a gentle, almost fatherly manner, reminding me of a younger Rutger Hauer.

But Ulrich Mühe steals the show as Wiesler. I have never seen an actor convey such a broad range of feelings within such narrow parameters. Where a Pacino or a Steiger would explode with ferocity, Mühe underplays, moving the audience with the sudden shift of an eyebrow, the drawing-in of a cheek muscle, or the quiet fall of a teardrop that betrays his sphinx-like façade.

Mühe began his acting career in communist East Germany. When government records were opened to the public after German reunification, he learned that his actress wife had been informing on him to the Stasi during the entire six years of their marriage. Clearly, he drew upon this reservoir of traumatic betrayal for this role.

The Lives of Others is flawlessly crafted, completely engaging the heart and mind. Most impressive is the fact that it's Henckel von Donnersmarck's feature film debut, released while he was still at the relatively young age of 32. In a recent interview, von Donnersmarck--who saw life behind the Iron Curtain first-hand when he visited family in East Germany as a child--spelled out his thoughts on communist repression as well as independent filmmaking:

"The [phrase] 'Independent film' makes sense to me only if it means that the director has full artistic control. How could a film be independent otherwise? ... I know that very well from East Germany: Until the Wall came down, the Dictatorship of the Proletariat had Final Cut on everything: novels, plays, films, even paintings. Make no mistake: hardly ever did they actually censor anything. But looking back at the art of those four decades, you can still feel the state in everything, and most of the art of that era is very impersonal and boring. Because the artists censored themselves, often without knowing it."

Imagine my surprise, then, when the PC crowd at the recent Academy Awards ceremony--who feted environmental scam-artist Al Gore for his global warming crock-umentary--also bestowed the Best Foreign Language Film award upon The Lives of Others, rather than upon heavily favored Pan's Labyrinth. (I think Lives deserved the nod for Best Motion Picture overall, but I'm not unhappy that the Academy gave that award to director Martin Scorsese's The Departed, a consolation prize for snubbing him so many years.)

This cinematic masterpiece is a cause for celebration. Rarely has a filmmaker burst on the scene in such total command of his material. As a directorial debut, The Lives of Others belongs in the same company as Orson Welles's Citizen Kane. I can only hope that Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck has a Touch of Evil yet to come.

"We want to know everything...".......2007-07-08

Early in this film, set in the waning years of Communist power, a minister in the East German government remarks that one thing he has learned is that people never change. "The Lives of Others" is a testament to that fact that they do. Gerd Wiesler (Ulrich Muhe), an officer of the Stasi, the German secret police, has been assigned to establish a watch over Georg Dreyman (Sebastian Koch), a successful playwright who may have anti-regime tendencies, and his beautiful companion Crista-Maria Sieland (Martina Gedeck), a talented actress who has aroused the sexual interest of the aforementioned minister. Wiesler, a master of observation and, up to now, totally committed to the East German state, becomes involved in the lives of the two he watches in secret, and gradually a change comes over him. How matters subsequently develop gives us a window into the complications of human personality, and the many unexpected ways we cope with extraordinary pressure.

A richly humane film, beautifully acted.

Average customer rating:

Error
5 stars for the movie, 1 star for the trick
Great movie but not the best Blu Ray quality.
Great Car Movie
GOOD MOVIE WITH A GOOD TRANSFER

Gone in 60 Seconds [Blu-ray]
Starring: Nicolas Cage , Christopher Eccleston , Frances Fisher , Lois Hall , and Angelina Jolie
Director: Dominic Sena
Manufacturer: Buena Vista Home Entertainment / Touchstone
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: Blu-ray

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ASIN: B000H7J9QM
Release Date: 2006-10-17

Description

Fasten your seat belts for the ride of your life as Jerry Bruckheimer's high-octane hit reaches a new gear in a revolutionary high-definition format. Nicolas Cage and Angelina Jolie go full throttle as they try to pull off the ultimate heist -- 50 exotic cars in 24 hours! The action revs up like never before on Blu-ray disc. Experience every jaw-dropping chase scene in stunning 1080p. Feel the screech of the tires and the roar of the engines presented in 5.1 48 kHz, 24-bit uncompressed audio. Enjoy GONE IN 60 SECONDS like never before -- with a pristine high-definition picture and theater-quality sound.

Customer Reviews:

Error.......2007-05-07

I had buy a HD Player But NO A BLUE RAY PLAYER then i couldn't see the movie great error

5 stars for the movie, 1 star for the trick.......2007-03-17

This is a great movie and I'm happy to see it on Blu-Ray, it just sucks how the studio chose to not release the new unrated cut that you can get now on DVD. Oh, wait... yeah the ol' double dip trick is coming. Be patient and wait for the better version to be released...or get it now on DVD and save some money in the process.

Great movie but not the best Blu Ray quality........2007-02-09

I have had the chance to watch several movies in BluRay and HD DVD. This movie stays to it's wonderful action and great story. Although if you are looking for a movie with an excellent picture this one is not it. Not having this movie on DVD helped make the purchase easier. I have always enjoyed the intense action and the excellent acting which don't always go together. Overall that is what makes this an excellent fun film to watch.

Now on the Blu Ray scale. In many Blu Ray movies you either get two things. A picture that is almost crystal clear with no distortion or a movie with grainy hd picture. I was disappointed when I made this my first blu ray movie. I almost began to think that this was a blu ray standard. Although after watching other movies I know better. I don't believe they spent as much time as they should have transferring this movie over to hd. That is generally the problem with some movies. And for the price of Blu Ray players and the Blue Ray Discs you should only have the best picture. So I only consider this a worthwhile investment for people who have either never seen the movie or have not bought the dvd version.

Great Car Movie.......2007-01-11

This is a good old fashioned, down and dirty car movie. They haven't made a film like this in years! Faced-paced, in-your-face, this movie has it all. Cars, story, cars, action, cars, chaces, cars, laughs and cars. Eat my dust! Get this one!

GOOD MOVIE WITH A GOOD TRANSFER.......2007-01-10

YES I KNOW MY OPION OF THIS MOVIE BEING GOOD ISN'T FELT ALL AROUND. IT WAS A PRETTY GOOD HIT BACK IN 2000 WHEN IT CAME OUT AND I WATCHED THE DVD PROBABLY 10 TIMES. THE BLU-RAY VERSION WAS EYE POPPING! THE VISUALS WERE CLEAR AND CRISP. I THOUGHT THE MOVIE VISUALLY WAS GREAT SOUND WAS OK NOT REALLY A BIG UPGRADE. THE COLORS WERE BRIGHT, BOLD, AND DETAILED EVEN DURING THE CHASE AS WELL. IF YOUR A FAN OF THE MOVIE AND HAVE A BLU-RAY PLAYER OF A PS3 THEN UPRGRADE. THE MOVIES ARE STILL A LITTLE PRICEY FOR BLU-RAY BUT THIS IS ONE TI9TLE THATS WORTH IT!!

Average customer rating:

Good Action
The Rock, rocks!!
The Rock starring Sean Connery and Nicolas Cage
unbelievable
5 stars for one line

The Rock
Starring: Sean Connery , Nicolas Cage , Ed Harris , John Spencer , and David Morse
Director: Michael Bay
Manufacturer: Walt Disney Video
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: 6304711891
Release Date: 1997-12-03

Amazon.com

Between his high-octane debut, Bad Boys, and 1998's wannabe blockbuster Armageddon, hotshot director Michael Bay forged his dubious reputation with this crowd-pleasing action extravaganza. In it a psychotically disgruntled war hero (Ed Harris) seizes the island prison of Alcatraz and threatens to wage chemical warfare against nearby San Francisco unless the government publicly recognizes the men who were killed under Harris's top-secret command. Nicolas Cage plays the biochemist who teams up with the only man ever to have escaped from Alcatraz (Sean Connery) in an attempt to foil Harris's terrorist scheme. As one might expect, what follows is an action-packed barrage of bullets, bodies, and climactic confrontations, replete with enough plot contrivances to give even the most jaded action fan cause for alarm. It's a load of hooey, but the cast is obviously having a grand old time, and there's enough wit to make the recycled action sequences tolerable. If you're ordering this movie on DVD, be careful with the volume knobs on your home-theater sound systems, because The Rock could cause partial hearing loss and structural damage to your home. --Jeff Shannon

Description

Hollywood superstar Sean Connery (FINDING FORRESTER) joins Academy Award(R)-winner Nicolas Cage (1995 Best Actor -- LEAVING LAS VEGAS) in the action-packed thriller of the year, THE ROCK! All of San Francisco is taken hostage when a vengeful general (Ed Harris -- A BEAUTIFUL MIND) seizes control of Alcatraz Island, threatening to launch missiles loaded with deadly poison gas! With time running out, only a young FBI chemical weapons expert (Cage) and a notorious federal prisoner (Connery) have the skills to penetrate the island fortress and defuse the lethal situation! Edge-of-your-seat suspense and unstoppable action explode off the screen in this must-see motion picture event!

Customer Reviews:

Good Action.......2007-08-26

Good action movie, very entertaining. However the story is not believable.

Corey Cotta, Author of All of Yesterdays Tomorrows.

The Rock, rocks!!.......2007-08-01

I love this movie! It came as a suprise to me because I'm not normally a big fan of the action genre. The story itself has levels deeper than the special effects and explosions. You care about the characters and what has and will happen in their lives. Okay, completely believeable, not so much, but that's the fun of the action genre!

The Rock starring Sean Connery and Nicolas Cage.......2007-07-30

Fast action and non stop drama takes a viewer inside the haunting hauls of an old Prison and a former life spent there. Sean Connery plays a man who the Government wanted to forget...in this fictional setting he is deemed as the only man to have escaped from Alcatraz. Now a group of angry serviceman, distraught over the treatment of men left behind on special ops missions, has hatched a plan to launch biological weapons from the newly acquired prison and attack the Bay area. Ed Harris plays the leader of this rogue group and the only thing the U.S. government can do to stop it is to get back into the prison...somehow, someway and with a lot of help from the top bio-chemist named Stanley Goodspeed, who is played by Nicolas Cage.

Exciting military style thriller with lots of action and many heart stopping moments, The Rock is great and should perhaps be deemed a classic when compared to other action movies of this kind. It never seems unrealistic and With Connery, Harris and Cage it has a great cast.

unbelievable.......2007-07-08

I read all these reviews about how good this move is, and I am told that this was so good and I finally watched it. I must say that it is horrible. Whether it be the horrid plot, the over acting, or the ungodly car chase with the camera that couldnt stay focused on one thing for more than half a second, there wasn't one thing good about this movie. I think it's about time for Sean Connery to find something else to do. Because he sure didn't add anything to this movie. The only movie I've seen hokier than this was the new Die Hard, but at least that had some good acting.

5 stars for one line.......2007-07-02

I don't like Nicholas cage at all. He is one of the most annoying obnoxious people of all time. I cannot stand his voice or anything else. so I am not talking about the follow up line to the coolest line in this movie or in many other movies.

Do you remember when the man Sean Connery said the following line : "Losers complain Winners Go %&$# the prom queen." That was the best line I have heard in a while. That was great. As far as cage's follow up line who cares. Sean Connery is the man.

I know that wasn't much of a reveiw but that was great.

Average customer rating:

South of the Border
Man On Fire
"Im a professional," thats what everyone keeps telling me,
Not great, but not bad
Top notch film starring Denzel Washington

Man on Fire
Starring: Denzel Washington , Dakota Fanning , Marc Anthony , Radha Mitchell , and Christopher Walken
Director: Tony Scott
Manufacturer: 20th Century Fox
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: B00005JN0W
Release Date: 2004-09-14

Product Description

Hard-drinking, burnt-out ex-CIA operative John Creasy (Washington) has given up on life--until his friend Rayburn (Oscar winner Christopher Walken) gets him a job as a bodyguard to nine-year-old Pita Ramos (Dakota Fanning). Bit by bit, Creasy begins to reclaim his soul, but when Pita is kidnapped, Creasy unleashes a firestorm of apocalyptic vengeance against everyone responsible.

Amazon.com

Style trumps substance in Man on Fire, a slick, brooding reunion of Crimson Tide star Denzel Washington and director Tony Scott. The ominous, crime-ridden setting is Mexico City, where a dour, alcoholic warrior with a mysterious Black Ops past (Washington) seeks redemption as the devoted bodyguard of a lovable 9-year-old girl (the precociously gifted Dakota Fanning), then responds with predictable fury when she is kidnapped. Prolific screenwriter Brian Helgeland (Mystic River, L.A. Confidential) sets a solid emotional foundation for Washington's tormented character, and Scott's stylistic excess compensates for a distended plot that's both repellently violent and viscerally absorbing. Among Scott's more distracting techniques is the use of free-roaming, comic-bookish subtitles... even when they're unnecessary! Adapted from a novel by A.J. Quinnell and previously filmed as a 1987 vehicle for Scott Glenn, Man on Fire is roughly on par with Scott's similar 1990 film Revenge, efficiently satisfying Washington's incendiary bloodlust under a heavy blanket of humid, doom-laden atmosphere. --Jeff Shannon

Customer Reviews:

South of the Border.......2007-09-02

This was a totally believable movie. Denzel Washington's character delivers violence of action while drinking himself to death.

Corey Cotta, Author of All of Yesterdays Tomorrows

Man On Fire.......2007-08-06

The butchered version you'll see on TV (even cable channels) leaves out information essential to the story. This is the only version to have.

"Im a professional," thats what everyone keeps telling me, .......2007-07-14

Man on Fire is one of Denzels greatest performances. He plays a character John Creasy with not much to live for until he gains a bodyguard job for a young girl who eventually is kidnapped. Once kidnapped you get to see John on a war path to take down anyone involved with the tragic event. The story is excellent and is complimented by a great cast of actors.
This definately recieves my seal of approval for a solid viewing experience.

Not great, but not bad.......2007-06-20

To my surprise, Tony Scott's remake of Man On Fire isn't the war crime I was expecting by a long shot. Horribly over-directed in places, true, but nowhere near as irritating as Domino, which is the closest ADDS filmmaking has come to projectile vomiting at the audience to date. It helps that Scott has a decent script and a good cast to keep his worst excesses in check, and it has to be said that some of the stylistic touches (such as the very active subtitling) are really pretty good. He's better at framing the surrounding scenes than some of the big moments, which are fairly tension and adrenaline-free for all their imagination, but he's prepared to get his hands far dirtier than you'd expect from a mainstream studio picture, and he even manages a couple of moments of emotional resonance as well. It's certainly much better than the dire original, which only had a good John Scott score (part of which turned up in Die Hard) going for it (aside from the film's change of location from Italy to Mexico, the song has changed from Someone to Watch Over Me - well, Ridley beat him to that one - to Linda Ronstadt's infinitely less relevant cover of Blue Bayou). Good to see Christopher Walken in a good guy role again, too.

Top notch film starring Denzel Washington.......2007-06-19

Man on Fire is one of the best crime drama films I have had the pleasure of viewing. Set in the heart of Mexico, the film tells a fantastic story that is backed up by great direction and cinematic appeal. With that said, you throw in top notch actors like Denzel Washington and Christopher Walken and it does more than make the grade.

Man on Fire centers on John Creasy, a burned out loner type whose only resolve in the present day is a bottle of liquor. Creasy meets up with an old friend (played by Walken) who turns him towards work as a bodyguard for a family's daughter in Mexico, a place where multiple ransom based kidnappings o

The Graphic Novels and Books	Films by Robert Rodriguez	From Graphic Novel to Big Screen
The Soundtrack	Films by guest director Quentin Tarantino	Crime on DVD