In the Loop (2010)

"War is unforeseeable." It was an off-the-cuff comment by British government official, Simon Foster that brought down the wrath of the Prime Minister's chief enforcer and attack dog, Malcolm Tucker. In trying to dig his way out, Simon is then caught in another off-the-cuff interview talking about "climbing the mountain of conflict." In the meantime, US government official, Karen Clarke and General George Miller are hoping to short circuit mounting pressure for war on the US side. Thinking they've identified a like-minded Brit, they invite Simon to Washington to attend some conferences. Simon is sick of the know-it-all attitude of long-time staffer, Judy, so he takes the new hire, Toby. When Toby leeks details about the secret war committee meeting to CNN, the whole fiasco becomes a media feeding frenzy. Malcolm is less than pleased. He doesn't like to "learn anything about a British government official on TV unless they've died." And if words could kill, Simon would die a very brutal death, indeed.

If rough language offends you, do NOT go to In the Loop... consider yourself warned! For those who enjoy scathingly funny, take-no-prisoners dialog, In the Loop is high art. While the style of In the Loop is decidedly British, I believe American audiences, for the most part, will get on board with this one. Some of the accents are a bit difficult, but not impossible. It is impossible, however, to catch every line because of the unrelenting, rapid-fire pace of the dialogue. But in the end, most will catch more than enough to enjoy this film.

As I left the theatre, I overheard several conversations about wanting to stay and watch it again. This is an intensely funny movie... assuming it's your kind of humor... and you'll come away wanting to remember some of your favorite lines. But the filmmakers don't give you enough time to process one laugh line before firing the next one. This one will be on my want-to-own DVD list.

"In the Loop" is blisteringly profane (a full 10 on the "Deadwood" scale), but in a smart way; it received an Oscar nomination for best adapted screenplay. In a scenario that is probably closer to the truth than anyone would ever admit, an unfortunate British undersecretary answers a fairly bland question about the possibility of Mideast war during a radio interview. An awkward response to that unexpected query triggers a storm of political shenanigans in London and D.C. Hilarity ensues. James Gandolfini is the only name actor (for U.S. audiences), and his not-that-hawkish general is a delight to watch. Peter Capaldi plays the British prime minister's hatchet man with fire and brimstone that is awe inspiring. His f-bomb laden verbal attacks on... well, pretty much anyone within 100 yards, are jazz riffs of obscenity. Classic stuff, smart, razor sharp. Don't miss the deleted scenes; they're as funny as the best bits of the regular feature. If you love satire, you'll love this.

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If you liked The Office, Spinal Tap and Dr. Strangelove and you also don't mind the very frequent but highly effective use of swearing then this is a must-see movie.

To paraphrase one of the many rants from the British spin doctor, if you don't watch this movie "I'm going to tear out your shinbone, split it in two and stab you to f*****g death with it!"

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This is the smartest, funniest movie I've seen in ages. It is filled with a multitude of quotable one-liners that me & my friends will be using over & over again. Moreover, it ran for SIX MONTHS here in the Bay Area. It is destined to become a rep-house institution for the next decade and the DVD will become a cult-fave for many.

All I do is work and watch movies, basically, and this is the best film I have seen in years.

Here's my fave quote: "Why don't you take your cheese, and your backlog of Mojo, and your eighth of dope and ____ off!"

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This is a movie that some people really dislike. It contains a surfeit of vulgar and profane language largely from the character of the British prime minister's director of communications brilliantly played by Peter Capaldi. Also, it is satire, which is disliked by many people. The great American playwright George S. Kaufman once said that "Satire is what closes on Saturday night." The subject is a series of meetings in London and in Washington between U.S. and U.K. high government officials concerning the possibility of an impending war, presumably somewhere in the Middle-East.

Most of the actors in this film are new to me. Some of the actors playing the parts of Americans may well be British actors. These days, actors on both side of the pond can provide either American or British accents nearly perfectly. One actor, definitely American, is James Gandolfini, playing an American General who reputedly uses a live hand grenade as a paper weight.

The superbly written film portrays these officials who, in their attempts to avoid the outbreak of a new war, only manage to move both countries closer and closer to it. The cast and director of this fine film acquit themselves admirably. The opening credits state that part of the funding for this film was provided by the U.K. Film Council, an organization that has since been abolished in order to reduce government spending.

The film adroitly demonstrates the failure of human beings to communicate. To quote T.S. Eliot from one of his plays: "Men tighten the knot of confusion into perfect misunderstanding."

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CJ7 (+ BD Live) (2008)

I like Asian films, don't get me wrong. Nearly all of them, I have, are horror movies, unfortunately. What in the world would possess me to pick up CJ7? Well, someone very dear to me asked me if I had seen it. Seeing as I hadn't, I said no. Then, they went on to tell me what it was about. A movie about a man who desperately struggles to keep his son fed, clothed, and educated despite his struggle to stay employed. When his son asks for a toy that he can't afford, he sets out to find a suitable substitute that's cheaper(i.e. that doesn't cost anything). He returns from the garbage with CJ7, who is no more than a green ball at first. When his son activates this new ball, his son discovers that his new toy is much more than a toy but a magical solution to his family's struggles. Needless to say, I still wasn't sold on it so they went and rented it out. We watched it and, I got to admit, it is one of the best Asian films I've seen in awhile. I ended up purchasing it for my very own. It is one of the most hilarious, imaginative, and smart films to come out in quite a long time. Definitely one I'd recommend for families to watch.

However, be forwarned-parents, there are a few scenes that you might want to see first before letting your kids watch that involve..um, how can we say this...poo. They're not that offensive, mind you. In fact, they are downright funny. Yet, in all fairness, you might want to scope the scenes out before letting them watch. Chow's movies, as you may have seen before with Kung Fu Hustle, are not immediately for everyone.

DVD features include: "The Story of CJ7 " A behind the scenes look at the making of the film, Anatomy of a Scene" an in-depth look at how a scene with the adorable "CJ7" was shot, "How to Bully a Bully" A lesson on how to stand your own ground against the school bully, "Make Your Own Giant Lollipop" A how-to on making your very own lollipop prop,"The Making of CJ7" International Television Special A more technical behind the scenes look at the making of the film and visual effects, CJ7 Mission Control Game See how far you can launch "CJ7" into space!, CJ7 Profiles Learn more about your favorite CJ7 characters!, and Cast and Crew commentary.

CJ7 is, literally, the star of the movie. He's Asian's version of ET. Again, I highly recommend this movie to all. It's an endearing tale that families will love for years to come.

i already imported this from hong kong and it is a great transfer, actually looks better than it did at the theater i saw it at.

if you like any of stephen chow's other movies (shaolin soccer, kung foo hustle) you will like this one as well. some of the same actors, the same goofy style of acting and over the top theatrics. but this time there is an alien and a nice story. think of a chinese version of E.T. sort of. the part of the little boy in the movie is actually played by a girl and she does a great job.

do yourself a favor and at least rent it, it shouldn't be missed (besides its only 87 minutes long). when i went to the theater, there were only 6 other people in there with me. it really deserved better publicity than it got.

by far it was the best movie the first 6 months of this year until the summer blockbusters started coming out.

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This amusing Chinese import appeals at many levels. Dicky (the boy's name in the subtitles, at least) lives with his widowed father. The father struggles to make ends meet, while sending Dicky to the best school that he can afford, determined that Dicky will have all the chances in life that the father never had. Dicky struggles too. Poverty makes him odd kid out at school, and small size makes him an easy target for the school bullies. Almost everything more than essentials in Dicky's life comes from his father's knack for salvage including an odd little toy ...

It would be easy to say too much about this charming movie's plot, especially if you've seen *Batteries Not Included. I leave it to you to watch this self-consciously cute story unfold, all the way to the smiles-all-around ending. The movie's style seems heavy handed, by western standards. Acting and character stereotypes come across as blunt instruments, and the "flying warriors" idiom makes an improbable appearance in the schoolyard. A few things might grate on Western sensibilities, too, like what constitutes good parenting although generally kid safe, a few scenes might not work for very young or very skittish children. If you can take it in its own terms and ignore a bit of saccharine, you'll find some charming fun in this one.

-wiredweird

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I stumbled across this movie as a pay-per-view rental while looking for something for my family to watch on a Friday night. My kids were a little put off by the notion of subtitles, but that concern was gone within the first 90 seconds of the movie. I went into the movie with no preconceptions (never heard of Stephen Chow) and was pleasantly surprised by the movie. I laughed so hard I cried, and I just plain cried. It is the little details in this movie that are surprising, funny, and touching. Just see it, with an open mind. Your kids have to be at least old enough to read the subtitles, and probably should be a bit older to really get the most out of the movie. It is NOT primarily about the cute little character, CJ7. It is more about the relationships between Dicky and his father and classmates, and how they are affected by what happens after CJ7 arrives. I am here to buy many copies for friends.

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This is a fabulous movie for Dad's to watch with their kids. But make sure you do not buy the version with subtitles. The English version is so much better.

I give it the maximum number of stars.

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Twilight's Last Gleaming (1977)

There are some political thrillers that become "classics" ("The Manchurian Candidate," "Seven Days in May," and "Fail Safe," for example) while others fade into obscurity. "Twilight's Last Gleaming," unfortunately, falls into the latter category, although it deserves wider recognition and viewership.

Burt Lancaster portrays a looney general determined to right a wrong committed by the U.S. government: reveal the real reason behind the War in Vietnam and America's cover-up of this vital information. Commanding three fellow "terrorists" (Burt Young, Paul Winfield, and William Smith), Lancaster takes over a missile silo with the intention of launching it if the government doesn't "fess up" to the American public.

Richard Widmark also portrays a general that must thwart Lancaster's efforts. Charles Dunning is a beleagured President that must decide whether it is essential for the country's future if the information is revealed. His Cabinet is made up of familiar character actors Gerald S. O'Loughlin, Leif Ericson, William Marshall, Charles McGraw, Simon Scott, Joseph Cotten, and Melvin Douglas.

The tension is high in this superior thriller, aided by a stunning Jerry Goldsmith score, split-screen camerawork, and tight direction from Robert Aldrich.

The shocking ending makes this a film deserving of discovery.

I haven't seen this movie since it came out over 30 years ago, but not from lack of trying. There are either legal issues preventing it's re-release or else, as this film itself wants to convince, the powers that be do not want anyone to see it.

Robert Aldrich had already made his great moral parable about the insanity of the Vietnam War with Ulzana's Raid (1972) and now, five years later, he was to team up with Burt Lancaster once again for a full frontal assault. The Lancaster-Aldrich team is right up there with the great actor-director teams of American cinema: Deniro-Scorsese, Lemon-Wilder, Dietrich-Von Sternberg, Scott-Boetticher. This time they add Richard Widmark as Lancaster's nemesis and then get some of the best character actors of the era to contribute some of their finest performances Roscoe Lee Browne, Joseph Cotten, Melvyn Douglas, Richard Jaeckel, Paul Winfield, a very young Burt Young, and especially noteworthy Charles Durning in what might be his best role as that of the very human President Stevens.

The story is totally improbable, the momentum unstoppable and the action breathtaking with the finest use of split screen ever seen in a Hollywoood movie (a technique Aldrich employed to good effect in The Longest Yard a few years earlier.)

I won't say this a a great movie, or even a good movie. I will say this is an important movie to see, made by America's greatest anarchist action filmmaker, and should not be missed, even though it's not possible to find. Call your congressman.

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I saw this picture with my father in the theater. Now I could kick myself for not buying it on video. This picture was probably lumped in with male/ testosterone action flicks and over looked by the public at the box office. The movie is a cat and mouse thriller with Burt Lancaster grabbing the White Houses' attention by controlling a missle silo/bunker complex. As a former Air Force General with high security clearance, he knows how to complete the mission. The film is a study on why a decorated General threatens to start WW III.

On the opposite side of the fence lies the President, played by Charles Durning whose aim is to stop him. The supporting actors are outstanding on all accounts, Richard Widmark, Paul Winfield, Burt Young, Melvin Douglas, to name a few. The actors making up the presidents cabinet are outstanding. The cabinet/advisors must decide is the General a mad man or can he pull off his threat of missle launch. What is his agenda?

The suspense builds thru the picture, can a missle launch be aborted by negotiation, stealth, or brute force. The ending is a shocker, uncompromising, a statement on what happens in a political chess match. The military advisor tells the president, the buck stops here.... you are responsible, even for past transgressions from a previous presidency.

WOULD SOME STUDIO PLEASE RELEASE THIS FILM ON DVD. THOSE IN THE KNOW ARE WAITING.

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I must be one of the few that thoroughly enjoyed this film from 1977. Burt Lancaster leads a team of disgruntled vets (Burt Young, Paul Winfield, and William Smith) on an assault on a missile silo, overcoming the personnel and, eventually, obtaining launch control. With his hands on the trigger of a Titan missile, former (and slightly deranged) General Dell (Lancaster) wants the President (Charles Durning) and his Cabinet to issue a statement admitting negligence in the involvement in the Viet Nam conflict. Such release would be devastating to the nation; thus Durning and company try to devise a plan to satisfy Dell, protect the integrity of the government, and not start a nuclear war.

A tense game of cat-and-mouse erupts between Lancaster, Durning, and Richard Widmark as the general in charge of "taking" Lancaster and friends.

Great performances from the principals abound; the film also features several veteran character actors in small supporting roles: Joseph Cotten, Leif Ericson, Charles McGraw, and William Marshall.

An effective Jerry Goldsmith score adds immensely to the unfolding drama.

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I don't believe it!!! Been waiting for this one for a long, long time.

A fascinating thriller starring Burt Lancaster as renegade General Lawrence Dell who escapes from a military prison and hijacks an ICBM silo with three compatriots played by Burt Young, Paul Winfield and William Smith. Their demands: 10 million dollars, Air Force One, and a hostage, the President.

An exciting political thriller from start to finish. This is a movie you can't miss. Richard Widmark and Charles Durning are just a few others in this stellar cast with great performances all around.

This is the movies first release on DVD and Blu-ray in the United States so hopefully it will be a good transfer. Previous versions have been released in Brazil but quality was equivalent to a VHS tape.

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Obsession (1976)

After attending a showing of Hitchcock's classic "Vertigo" director Brian De Palma and writer Paul Schrader were inspired to come up with a film of their own mirroring Hitchcock's classic film but taking it one step further. Schrader wrote a script that had three parallel stories running simultaneously; one set in the past, one set in the present and one set in the future. Forced to trim the film, De Palma cut the future sequence at the suggestions of composer Bernard Herrmann and retitled "Deja Vu" to "Obsession".

A clever, well constructed romantic thriller "Obsession" remains one of De Palma's most fascinating films and while some of the plot twists and themes were borrowed from "Vertigo", De Palma takes them a step further here.

Recently released in the UK on a no region Blu-ray the film looks much improved by comparison although this is never going to be a demo quality Blu-ray; De Palma and Vilmos Zsigmond chose to shoot the film in soft focus with lots of difusion filters as part of the lighting scheme. As a result while the film does, indeed, look lovely, it's not going to feature the strong deteail that you might seen with a more contemporary film. De Palma and Zsigmond were going for creating a layered textured look and they largely succed with the film. "Obsession" has received a nice restoration at the hands of Arrow Films (or, perhaps, it's Sony who did the work for them--I'm not quite sure). Either way, the film looks exceptionally good for its age.

Arrow films has done a terrific job with the film using a high bit rate transfer on a dual layered disc to try and capture as much of the natural look of the film as possible; "Obsession" has always been somewhat grainy to begin with and Arrow films stays true to the original look of the film.

The audio sounds quite nice with a new 5.1 mix

The special features are quite nice as well. We get a 35 minute documentary on the making of the film featuring De Palma, Zsigmond, Cliff Robertson, Geneviene Bujold and editor Paul Hirsch discussing the making of the film. Paul Hirsch relates a story about a very frail Bernard Herrmann weeping after seeing a screening of the finished film. He was weeping because he couldn't recall writing the main theme for the film although he recognized it as his own. MIA is writer Paul Schrader presumely because he is still unhappy about the changes that De Palma made to his screenplay by dropping the last third of the story set in the future. De Palma was wise in cutting the last section of the original script because it would have stretched the credability of the story even further.

We also get the original trailer and two De Palma shorts from De Palma's personal collection--"Woton's Wake" made in 1962 and the documentary short "The Responsive Eye" from 1966. Both are fascinating glimpses into De Palma's early technique.

We also get a replica of Paul Schrader's original script (which differs from the finished shooting script)AND a critical essay on the film itself. It is housed ina slip case with the Blu-ray and there are replicas of the original posters as well as a new (ugly)commissioned fold out poster included as well.

I'd order it via amazon's UK site as it is less expensive.

Arrow has done an outstanding job of putting together the Blu-ray.

DiPalma's riff on Vertigo? No! Obsession stems from the passion of a true devotee, not an imitator. As in Vertigo, there is so much more than meets the eye with repeated screenings. DiPalma has suffered the slings and arrows of critics and sketch comedians for his Hitchcock obsession; Obsession is sometimes put-down as little more than a spin on Vertigo. Look again! DiPalma's mastery of the medium is evident in every sequence. Though Carrie, The Untouchables, Blow-Out and Scarface garner more praise in his body of work, this may be my favorite DiPalma; it holds one of Bernard Herrmann's most intense, evocative scores. High marks to Arrow Video for making this available.

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Some great Blu-Ray discs have been premiering overseas, and many of them don't require region-free players to enjoy, either. At the top of the recent list is Arrow Video's tremendous Blu-Ray package of Brian DePalma's 1976 "Vertigo" homage OBSESSION.

"Obsession" stars Cliff Robertson as a New Orleans real estate developer whose wife and daughter are killed in a kidnapping plot; decades later, he runs into Genevieve Bujold in Paris, who's the splitting image of his late wife. Is he going mad? Seeing double? Or is there a conspiracy plot at the center of DePalma and Paul Schrader's screenplay?

Despite its obvious, and intentional, similarities to "Vertigo," "Obsession" isn't a great movie, with a somewhat icky story by Schrader and DePalma making for one of those films they could've only made in the `70s (and still netted a PG rating, no less!). Though Bujold is appealing, and John Lithgow serves up sufficiently slimy "good o'l boy" charm, Robertson's character often registers blankly at the events going on around him he's certainly no Jimmy Stewart-everyman, at least and the film's outcome strains credibility.

That said, there's still much to savor in DePalma's low-budget film, which was independently produced and later picked up by Columbia Pictures (who insisted that filters be used to suggest the movie's love sequence was a dream and with good reason given the film's ending). Bernard Hermann's score is simply breathtaking a flowing, mysterious, gorgeous work that ranks with his best and Vilmos Zsigmond's cinematography is likewise memorable, utilizing the full Panavision frame as so many of DePalma's early works do. As a result of their efforts, the picture feels like a much more polished, elaborate production than it really was.

Arrow's UK Blu-Ray offering of "Obsession" is region-free and comes highly recommended for any fan of the film. Though the disc defaults to its original mono track upon playback, you'll want to access the full-bodied, remixed 5.1 DTS Master Audio soundtrack that spectacularly reproduces Herrmann's brilliant score. The 1080p transfer boasts a natural (DNR-free) image, though with so much of the film's cinematography being soft and/or filtered, there's little surprise that the print still looks a bit dirty at times. Supplements, meanwhile, include Laurent Bouzereau's documentary produced for Sony's old DVD release (which include some moving anecdotes about Herrmann's work on the film), the trailer, and a pair of early DePalma shorts, "Woton's Wake" and "The Responsive Eye." A reversible cover sleeve, meanwhile, houses international artwork for the film, while an extensive booklet features Schrader's entire first draft screenplay (under the original title "Deja Vu") with commentary from critic Brad Stevens that seems to completely misinterpret the meaning of the film's ending.

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After years of enduring the unimpressive DVD transfer for OBSESSION, one of De Palma's most impressive films, Arrow has finally released this spectacular Blu-Ray release. This transfer finally does justice to Zsigmond's hazy cinematography, which was too washed-out and dull on previous releases.

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This is not a new film. For its time it was done satisfactorily. I enjoyed it more when I watched it several years ago. Today, I see there was room for improvement in the script. The cast was good and the background music is similar to that in Vertigo, which I liked very much.

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Run for Cover (1955)

Jimmy Cagney starred in three Westerns during his long acting career---OKLAHOMA KID, TRIBUTE TO A BAD MAN, and RUN FOR COVER. Of these RUN FOR COVER is his best outing as a cowboy. This handsomely-produced, Nicholas Ray-directed film also stars John Derek, with a solid cast of recognizable Western "regulars." The film is shot in spectacular Technicolor, with a solid and tight plot, fine acting, and great production values.

Olive Films has been releasing quality issues of a number of classic 1950s Westerns licensed from Paramount Pictures. In this series are DENVER & RIO GRANDE, SILVER CITY, THE JAYHAWKERS, PONY EXPRESS, THE HANGMAN, and THE NIGHT OF THE GRIZZLY, all of which repay re-viewing. Let's hope Olive will continue this series with such fine films as WARPATH (also with O'Brien, and directed by Bryon Haskin) and FLAMING FEATHER (with Sterling Hayden), and other other films with Charlton Heston, Alan Ladd and John Payne.

In the meantime, this film is highly recommended--it's first class Western entertainment. Thanks Olive!

Olive films Blue Ray of the 1955 Paramount film in Technicolor and Vistavision is an eye popper. Tightly written with contributions by Irving Ravetch and Harriet Frank who have had a hand in some of the best adapted screenplays ever written. I'm talking about THE LONG HOT SUMMER, THE SOUND AND THE FURY, HUD, HOMBRE THE REIVERS,NORMA RAE, MURPHY'S ROMANCE and THE COWBOYS. The director is something of a legend himself. Nicholas Ray who made this gem between JOHNNY GUITAR & REBEL WITHOUT A CAUSE. Cagney gets more than able support from Viveca Lindfors, John Derek & Ernest Borgnine. The tale of an ex-con (cagney) who almost get lynched and ends up sheriff over his former tormentors is riveting. Along with the Tashlin-Lewis Olive releases I purchased recently I now feel secure that there is an alternative for classic film lovers who don't want to be reduced to MOD-R.

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This is just a simple story western!! It is most enjoyable and Mr.Cagney is fabulous as always!! He is a bit more

restrained in this one but its always a joy to watch this Guy!! He was truely one of Our Nations Great Artists!! If U

enjoy Westerns..U will enjoy this as well!! Good Back Up cast of excellent Actors make this work!! ENJOY!!!

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After a long hiatus from doing western films, James Cagney made this film in New Mexico. The film is gorgeous especially on blu-ray. The story is about a mature gunfighter that comes to small ranch and is looking to settle down after having a troubled past. He is confronted by a boneheaded youngman who is played by a young John Derek. He spends the rest of the film trying to save the kid from himself. This is good saddle drama.

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Interesting to see Cagney play a good guy, and the relationship with Lindfors is nicely developed. The same is not as true with Derek's character; it's all too obvious that he and Cagney have to wind up as the antagonists, and the redemption at the end is a little abrupt. TRIBUTE TO A BAD MAN is the better Cagney Western.

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Saturday Night Fever / Grease (2013)

I couldn't believe that two of my favorite movies were included in one package and for the best out there.

If you like John Travolta and you like musicals, you'll love these two movies. The music is a blast from the past and really good to listen and remember times past.

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The Doctor & Stella - Blu-ray Double Feature

These movies both showed real life and it's ups and downs, I especially like the doctor giving his students a taste of what it is like to be a patient

good upgrade from standard dvd and very good value for money. hopefully we see more from the Touchstone back catalogue released on Bluray by Mill Creek...

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Mill Creek does it again, this time with two dramas, BOTH of these are rated PG-13

Both are in thier original widescreen ratios, and have optional english captions.

The PQ and AQ are great with this release.

The Doctor stars William Hurt, Elizabeth Perkins, and Alan Arkin.

Stella stars Bette Midler, and John Goodman.

Mill Creek is really releasing some stellar products lately!

Recommended!

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Léon Morin, Priest (The Criterion Collection) (1961)

Belmando is at his best in this beautiful movie as a young priest who faces women with all kinds of troubles in his parish. This is classic Melville with Henri Decae's excellent camera work. A rare gem of it's own kind.

Jean-Pierre Melville will be known by many as an "Auteur" filmmaker.

One of the few men who were a major influence on Nouvelle Vague (French New Wave), Melville was known for films that were tragic, minimalist film noir. From films such as "Les Enfants terribles" (1950), Bob Le Flambeur (1955), "Le Doulos" (1962), "Le Samorai" (1967) and "Le Circle Rouge" (1969), there was a time when he wanted to escape from it.

To no longer be known as an "Auteur maudit" and when given the opportunity to make a big-budget film, he went for it!

In 1961, he had his chance with "Léon Morin, Priest". The film is an adaptation of Beatrix Beck's 1952 novel and it would be the film that gave Melville the chance to have the money to film expensive shots and yet incorporating style from the New Wave. Attracting audiences were the inclusion of popular talents Jean-Paul Belondo ("Two Women", "Breathless", "A Woman is a Woman", "Le Doulos") and Emmanuelle Riva ("Hiroshima Mon Amour", "Kapo") but also to earn Melville a different type of recognition for his film that he had never had before.

The film would receive rave reviews from the right because of its Catholic/religious theme (note: Melville was an atheist) and receive rave reviews from religious to non-religious film critics. But it also helped that Beck's original novel was highly popular and you had a popular filmmaker such as Melville and his name attached to it.

VIDEO:

"Léon Morin, Priest" is presented in black and white 1080p High Definition (1:66:1 aspect ratio). Previously, the film was only available via DVD through the BFI (British Film Institute). The biggest difference in HD is that there is more detail and clarity. Especially outdoors where Barny is walking around town. You can make out buildings in the distance much more clearly, especially the cobblestone road and overall environment much more.

The contrast of the film is actually quite magnificent with blacks levels which are nice and deep. White and grays that look very good but most of all, none of the blurry type of imaging that was seen on the BFI DVD. You can see the faces in the distance. You can see the strands of hair of the female employees at Barny's job, the picture quality definitely looks very good in HD and there is no doubt that this is the best looking version of "Léon Morin, Priest" by far!

Cinematography by Henri Decae ("The 400 Blows", "Elevator to the Gallows", "Le Samourai") is fantastic and because of the bigger budget, it allowed for more creativity from Melville and Decae for the various shots included in the film, especially the crane shot as we see Barny going up the stairs to visit the priest.

According to the Criterion Collection, this high-definition digital transfer was created on a Spirit 4K Datacine from a 35 mm fine-grain master positive. Thousands of instances of dirt, debris, scratches, splices, warps, jitter and flicker were manually removed using MTI's DRS system and Pixel Farm's PFClean system, while Digital Vision's DVNR system was used for small dirt, grain and noise reduction.

AUDIO & SUBTITLES:

"Léon Morin, Priest" is presented in lossless LPCM monaural. The dialogue is very clear coming through the center channel. I personally chose to watch the film with stereo on all channels set on my receiver for a more immersive soundscape but testing the monaural lossless soundtrack, dialogue is quite clear, especially the music by Martial Solal.

According to the Criterion Collection, "Léon Morin, Priest" was remastered at 24-bit from 35 mm optical track print. Clicks, thumps, hiss and hum were manually removed using Pro Tools HD. Crackle was attenuated using AudioCube's integrated workstation.

SPECIAL FEATURES:

"Léon Morin, Priest The Criterion Collection #572' on Blu-ray comes with the following special features:

Jean-Pierre Melville and Jean-Paul Belmondo (4:45) A French television interview excerpt from JHT 19HI5, Sept. 1961 with director Jean-Pierre Melville and actor Jean-Paul Belmondo. Belmondo talks about being cast as the priest and Belmondo talks about the film.

Selected-scene commentary by film scholar Ginette Vincendeau Ginette Vinecendeau talks about Melville's larger budget, how the film was quite risky at the time, how the Catholics loved the film and how the film did well during debut.

Deleted Scenes Melville's original film was over 3 hours long but he ended up trimming quite a bit from the film. Of those deleted scenes, two are featured on this Blu-ray release.

Original theatrical trailer (3:10) The original theatrical trailer for ""Léon Morin, Priest".

EXTRAS:

"Léon Morin, Priest The Criterion Collection #572' comes with a 30-page booklet which includes the following essays "Life During Wartime" by Gary Indiana and "Melville on Leon Morin, Priest" (from Rui Nogueira's "Melville on Melville").

JUDGMENT CALL:

Poetic, risky and intelligent. "Léon Morin, Priest" is a film that Melville had wanted to create for nearly a decade. A film that would separate him from his other fellow filmmakers who were known as "auteur maudit".

And although not a noir film which many tend to associate with Jean-Pierre Melville, the film's efficacy is due to how Melville was able to bring his French New Wave style to a bigger budget picture but also bring in two popular talents, the priest Jean-Paul Belmondo and the main actress Emanuelle Rivera.

Belmondo who was the hot actor at the time, especially for the films "Breathless", "Two Women" and "A Woman is a Woman", was skeptical himself about playing the role of a priest. But through the direction of Melville, Belmondo transforms himself to the man of faith and showing that the actor can play more than bad boy roles.

With Rivera, playing the main role of Barny is quite intriguing because she looks so wholesome.

But once you start to hear the thoughts in her mind, her attraction to her boss Sabine and then her attraction to the priest, you can sense the sexual frustration through her performance.

In one scene, Léon Morin, who knows that Barny is trying to flirt with him, tells her to find a husband. Her response is why need a husband when she can do it with a stick. He responds to her by concern of how dangerous it is but she responds that she is not "fragile".

One thing that Melville made sure not to do is focus too much on the religion. We know through the conversations of Barny with the priest, that she has problems not only with the Catholicism but that there is a sense of pessimism within her. She wants to provoke the priest, to see him anger but he does not.

She goes to see him a good number of times but each time she goes to provoke him, he is prepared to answer her questions about religion, to show that even though he is a priest, he is not perfect. And its the fact that he is no honest to her but to everyone else and even if one wants to provoke him, he does not push them away. He is interested in talking with them, discussing whatever issue they may have and showing them that there is light at the end of the tunnel.

While some may feel the film is pro-Catholicism and its goal is to push people towards the religion, Melville is the first to say that this is not a religious film. And while the film is very much loved by Catholics at the time, the film is primarily about forbidden love and a good illustration of how faith can change a person's life.

Because of Melville's involvement, the film is presented ala Mis-en-scene. Shots are done in location and at a studio setting but the efficacy "Léon Morin, Priest" is its cinematography and editing combined with a storyline that is intellectual which lends to a poetic feel through its imagery.

As for the Blu-ray release, "Léon Morin, Priest" does not have a plethora of special features that Criterion Collection is known for but you do get a classic interview with Melville and Belmondo about the film. And for those who have a hard time of picturing Belmondo as a priest, Melville does answer the question of why he was cast. We also get a pretty good selected scene commentary by Ginette Vincendeau who does have a good amount of things to say about Melville and two deleted scenes and the original theatrical trailer plus the booklet.

While its easy to recommend this to Melville viewers and those who enjoy films that are intellectual and enjoyable, those who are stuck with the thought of enjoying noir-ish Melville may find "Léon Morin, Priest" and its focus on conversations of faith and its theme of forbidden love to not be their cup of tea as it lacks any gunshots or any gangster-type characters. In other words, a very different Melville type of film and while it may appease theologists, cineaste who appreciate intellectual cinema, "Léon Morin, Priest" is not for everyone.

Personally, I love the fact that Melville wanted to distinguish himself from his fellow filmmakers and do something different. It's unfortunate that we may not see the full three hour and 13 minute cut of "Léon Morin, Priest"

that Melville had originally shot, because watching the two deleted scenes, we get to see more of the thought process of Barny, especially in regards of what was happening in her village during German occupation. Still, I'm grateful for the Criterion Collection for releasing a Melville film on Blu-ray and DVD.

Overall, "Léon Morin, Priest" will no doubt attract those who love films with intelligent conversation such as Eric Rohmer's "My Night at Maud's", not necessarily pedantic but clever and enjoyable.

The performances by Jean-Paul Belmondo and Emmanuelle Riva are wonderful and the direction and cinematography were tastefully done, poetic and pleasing to watch.

Buy Léon Morin, Priest (The Criterion Collection) (1961) Now

The Second World War profoundly affected so many millions of lives in so many places around the globe, that it has provided an inexhaustible supply of stories over the years. Jean-Pierre Melville's LEON MORIN, PRIEST, based on an autobiographical novel by Beatrix Beck, presents one woman's account of life in occupied France and her relationship with a local priest in her village. Under Melville's astute direction, the film shows us a unique facet in the endless World War II mosaic.

Widely regarded as the father of the French New Wave in the 1960's, Jean-Pierre Melville (LE SAMOURAI, ARMY OF SHADOWS) was a master producer and director whose influence on his filmmaking progeny Truffaut, Godard, Resnais, Rohmer, etc. was profound. Born Jean-Pierre Grumbach to a Jewish family, he became obsessed with film at an early age. His own moviemaking explorations were interrupted, however, by induction into the French army in the late 1930's. With the Nazi invasion of France in 1940, he changed his name to Melville and joined the underground French resistance, eventually taking part in the Allied liberation of Europe.

Heavily influenced by American culture and movies, Melville started his own production company after the war. The films he turned out in the fifties (BOB LE FLAMBEUR) provided a clear stylistic break from the work of classic French directors like Jean Renoir and Rene Clair. After a few box office flops, though, Melville decided to tackle more commercial fare. Working with producer Carlo Ponti, he took on the relatively big-budget adaptation of Beck's bestselling book.

Set in an occupied village mostly during the war years, LEON MORIN, PRIEST centers on the relationship between single mother, Barny (Emmanuelle Riva) and Leon Morin (Jean-Paul Belmondo). Barny initially ventures into the confessional of the local Catholic church intent on mocking a cleric and his tenets. But she doesn't count on her chosen priest being the challenging and charismatic Morin. By casting magnetic New Wave actors Riva (HIROSHIMA MON AMOUR) and Belmondo (BREATHLESS), Melville smartly gives his film a will they/won't they frisson which sparks the religious and spiritual dialogues the characters engage in. Barny isn't the only single woman in the village to find the ascetic priest alluring, and the supporting cast, playing characters with varying allegiances, is as consistently compelling as the two leads.

Though Melville clearly knows the world he depicts, he chooses to keep the elements of the Nazi occupation largely in the background. The invading German forces are always felt, and the ramifications of their presence are inescapable, but the director chooses to focus more on the unrequited love story, making it the center of the film. These are complex, fascinating characters, and Melville brings out the multi-dimensions of their lives and dilemmas. For anyone with an interest in cinema, LEON MORIN, PRIEST is essential viewing.

Read Best Reviews of Léon Morin, Priest (The Criterion Collection) (1961) Here

This will apparently be the first review of this Russian-inspired Atrium DVD of one of the three greatest religious movies I have seen, the other two being MONSIEUR VINCENT, and THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO ST. MATTHEW. An Editorial Review, two consumer reviews of the Criterion version, both useless, and an endless vituperative series of COMMENTS, mostly by correspondents who have NOT seen the film, are all the prospective buyer has to go on. One reviewer waxes enthusiastic (5-stars) without exactly saying why; the other savages Melville's mid-period masterpiece because he got bored, gave up, and thought that Jean-Paul Belmondo was too much of a hoodlum to play the role of a priest. Well, let me tell him and you that his casting in this part is inspirational (as of all the other parts), and his performance is one of the most rivettingly charismatic in the entire annals of the cinema. By the same misguided reasoning, he should never have played STAVITSKY, or the sight-impaired student in TWO WOMEN either, in both of which he was superb. The movie, set in a small town in wartime France, pits the young priest working out of a run-down parish against a range of randy females who seek his services for purposes other than pure religion. With the patience and self-control of a saint, the wit of a Moliere, and a profound personal philosophy based on true (asexual) love for his fellow-man-and woman as expounded with brilliant insightful dialogue drawn from scriptures and religious writings, Belmondo and his director lead us on an odyssey that could serve as a modern rendering of The Last Temptation of Christ. The main female role is taken by Emmanuelle Riva, as sadly incandescent as in HIROSHIMA MON AMOUR, the one female parishioner to whom he comes closest and the one most likely to divert him from his true purpose. There are some interesting, amusing, and heart-rending side-plots involving the various ladies who work at the same boring office in the town, that reveal something of the tensions and dangers of life in France under Nazi occupation. The battle between the two principle protagonists -abstinence versus temptation and belief versus atheism - takes place through words, thoughts and ideas. It is what you expect from a film based upon a Prix Goncourt-winning novel, THE PASSIONATE HEART. Anyone lacking the intellectual apparatus for this artistic approach will very likely get bored, quit, and write a damning review. For the rest, it is potentially one of the most provocative, moving and spiritual experiences that they will ever see on celluloid, and the ending when it comes is like the aftermath of an explosion. I am glad to report that this version, much less expensive than the Criterion product when I bought it, has English subtitles and looks quite beautiful in its cool black-and-white tones. As someone who knows Melville's work quite thoroughly, I did not mind the absence of extras. You "pays" your money and you "takes" your choice. We all should live within our means!

Want Léon Morin, Priest (The Criterion Collection) (1961) Discount?

John-Pierre Melville's 1961 exploration of the friction between faith and desire stars John-Paul Belmondo in a cassock. There's something very cool -certainly intentional -about Belmondo's look that only further fuels the sexual tension he evokes among the women encounters on his life's path. But there are many factors at work here beyond the repressed sexuality inherent in a vow of celibacy. Looming over everything are the shifting values of a post war France recovering from the war. There's an aura of ambiguity and uncertainty in the world of this story, themes to which Melville would return and to which he was personally attracted.

Belmondo's priest is the spiritual guardian of a small French village during the Nazi occupation. He believes that anyone can be saved. So when he encounters Barny (Emmanuella Riva), a sexually frustrated widow and communist militant who barges into his church and tears his religion apart, he reacts with compassion. Thus an unexpected relationship is begun that is the core of the film's dramatic tensions and pleasures.

A Jewish atheist, director Melville surprises us with a movie seemingly filled with religion. But a closer look reveals only the frightening distortions created between lonely people caught in prisons of their newly discovered existential freedom. Or, in other words, the paradoxical dilemma of the traps imposed by our free-will choices.

Melville once glibly said the main idea of the film was none of the kind, but only to "show this amorous priest who likes to excite girls but doesn't sleep with them." But I think Melville knew better. One thing's for sure: It's impossible to imagine this film with a star other than Belmondo. His rumpled charisma and physicality, even in a liturgical frock, are astonishing. That face!

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The Quick and the Dead (1995)

I am not Sharon Stone's biggest fan and I did not expect to like this movie when I saw it, but now I find myself watching it every time it is on tv. Gene Hackman is great as the sadistic John Herod, he is even meaner than in Unforgiven. Russell Crowe gives a good performance as Cort, and Crowe is finally getting the attention that he deserves as a serious actor. Sharon Stone's role does not demand all that much of her and she does what is expected of her. Leonardo DiCaprio exudes the appropriate amount of cockiness as the young upstart gunslinger. There are some good minor roles in the film, including Lance Henriksen as Ace and Keith David as Cantrell, the man secretly hired by the oppressed townfolk to take out Herod. The most dramatic moment in the film comes when he faces Herod and the townspeople bend their heads in prayer for salvation only to be disappointed as Cantrell comes to a brutal end. Some of the other reviewers found the camera angles annoying and certain scenes unrealistic. Well, this movie doesn't strive for realism. It is part send off of spaghetti westerns and part live action adult cartoon. If you see the movie in this spirit, you cannot help but like it.

In 1995, then-blossoming director Sam Raimi (who went on to direct the "Spider-Man" and "The Evil Dead" films) and writer Simon Moore ("Traffic") worked on their first Western. Joined by composer Alan Silvestri ("G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra", "Beowulf", "Night at the Museum" and "The Mummy" films) and cinematographer Dante Spinotti ("X-Men: The Last Stand", "The Family Man" and "Red Dragon"), the crew set out to create a unique western that has never been done before.

"The Quick and the Dead" featured an all-star cast which included the sexy Sharon Stone ("Basic Instinct", "Sliver", "Bobby" and "Catwoman"), the legendary actor Gene Hackman ("Unforgiven", "Crimson Tide", "The Replacements", "Heist", "Behind Enemy Lines" and "Runaway Jury") and two actors that would become popular a few years after the release of this film, Russel Crowe ("Gladiator", "A Beautiful Mind", "Cinderella Man", "American Gangster") and Leonardo DiCaprio ("Titanic", "The Departed", "Bood Diamond", "Gangs of New York").

VIDEO & AUDIO:

"The Quick and the Dead" receives its first HD release on Blu-ray. Featured in 1080p High Definition (1:85:1), the film for the most part captures that Western feel and at times, the picture quality showcases the grit of the West. From Sharon Stone's blue eyes to gold in the the teeth of some of the people in the town, there are times that the picture quality looks very good especially since this is a 15-year-old film.

But there are times when the picture quality just looks bad. In one scene during a discussion between Ellen and Cort and when it focuses on her, the film looks as if the the low light added so much noise around the film. Fortunately, this segment is short. The other thing is that the film in high definition also does make certain CG segments a bit unreal (ie. a tremendous hole in the middle of one's head).

But for the most part, the film does look good for a film back in 1995. And happy to know that Sony has decided not to use DNR (digital noise reduction) and kept the grain intact.

As for the audio, "The Quick and the Dead" sounds awesome. The lossless audio really takes advantage of the surround channels. I was pretty impressed because it's one thing to get the clear dialogue and the gun shots from the front and center channels (and gun shots zipping through the surround channels) but there a good amount of scenes that really utilize the surround channels and some of those booms are not just short, some actually linger. I also noticed a bit of LFE, so for the most part, the audio for "The Quick and the Dead" was pretty solid. Not reference quality but for a 1995 film, it sounds great.

Subtitles are in English, English SDH and French.

SPECIAL FEATURES:

"The Quick and the Dead" comes with only one special feature (aside from the trailers) and that is the film is presented in movieIQ. For those with Blu-ray players that are BD-Live enabled, you can watch the film while a panel on the side can be accessed via your remote with information about the cast, crew, music and production.

JUDGMENT CALL:

"The Quick and the Dead" is by no means the greatest Western, nor is it the best. But what it does well is trying to accomplish something different by capturing the look and feel of a spaghetti Western, but also making the protagonist a female surrounded by an interesting group of characters.

Sharon Stone is absolutely beautiful in this film and the film wasn't created that long after "Basic Instinct". She was one of America's top, sexiest female leads and it was interesting to see her in a film that captures that beauty and sexiness but also has a hint of danger around her. I suppose its up to the viewer if she was a win or fail for the film but for the most part, the concept of a female protagonist was definitely enjoyable to see in this film. It's also important to note that this was the first film that Sharon Stone co-produced.

As for the other talent, Gene Hackman is just solid in any Western. The film was made a few years after his Academy Award winning appearance in the classic Western "Unforgiven" and he seemed as a natural playing the antagonist in "The Quick and the Dead". As for Russell Crowe, he was still an unknown in the US despite being popular in Australia and Asia (especially in Japan for his other 1995 film "No Way Back") and Leonardo DiCaprio was starting to emerge after his Academy Award nominated performance in the 1993 film "What's Eating Gilbert Grape?" and plays a young man quick with his gun but all he has wanted was respect from his outlaw father John Herod.

The film also had interesting behind-the-scenes information (probably why there are no special features included on the Blu-ray) in regard to Sharon Stone starring in the film only if Sam Raimi directed and writer Simon Moore being fired and then rehired to fix a script written by writer Tom Sayles but instead of fixing it, omitted Sayles work completely and gave him his own rewrite. It's important to note that Sony at the time was against Russell Crowe and Leonardo DiCaprio to be in the film that Sharon Stone was the one who fought for Crowe to be in the film and because of Sony not wanting DiCaprio for the film, Stone paid him out of her own pocket.

If anything, I felt that Raimi did a fine job with this film because no matter what was going to happen, there would be viewers that don't necessarily have female gunslingers in their minds as the main protagonist. Sure, the gunfights may be cliche and the screenplay may not be deep and engaging, but "The Quick and the Dead" was not a film I was expecting to be the next "Unforgiven" nor was I expecting anything remotely close to a Clint Eastwood or John Wayne film either.

Overall, "The Quick and the Dead" was a wild, fun and entertaining film that may not have been a financial success in the box office nor was it a film that received many positive responses from the critics, but it was one of those films that people didn't take seriously and wanted a Western popcorn flick to enjoy and be entertained. For those who want to see a different kind of Western on Blu-ray, you may want to give this film a chance.

Buy The Quick and the Dead (1995) Now

The Quick and the Dead has long been derided as a Sharon Stone star vehicle that flopped. However, there is much more to this film than meets the eye. Featuring an ensemble cast that includes, Stone, Gene Hackman, Russell Crowe, Leonardo DiCaprio, Gary Sinise, Keith David, and Lance Henricksen, this film is a refreshing change from past takes on the western.

Stone plays a quiet and beautiful gunslinger, come out of the dusty plains to the town of Redemption, seeking revenge for the murder of her sheriff father years ago by the town dictator John Herrod, a dark and malevolent old gunfighter intent on maintaining his stranglehold on the frightened populace by staging a quick draw contest, the better to publically eliminate any opposition to his rule, and to squash any hope of salvation. Drawn into this dark contest are Herrod's former partner turned preacher Cort, a man whose tortured soul still seeks it's own salvation, and who Herrod seeks to pull back to Hell. Herrord's son, The Kid, enrolls in the contest as a way to seek fame and glory, and to prove himself to a aloof and uncaring father. Thrown into the mix are a number of colorful characters come to town to seek their own fortunes and the fireworks ensue. There is strong symbolism throughout this film, shades of death and rebirth, powerful archetypal figures in the charaters of Herrod, the powerful demonic ruler of the underworld, and Cort, the misguided but eventual redeemer and saviour.

This film boasts a strong and talented cast that give some wonderfully enjoyable performances. Sam Raimi does an incredible job once again of producing a stylishly directed tale of loss, redemtion, salvation, and revenge in this telling of the western as mdoern myth.

Read Best Reviews of The Quick and the Dead (1995) Here

If you are going to review a Blu-Ray movie, please describe the audio/video quality.

I really like this movie, and am entertained every time I watch it. This is the first time I have seen it on Blu-Ray.

At first I was disappointed, because the first scenes had grain, and I thought "here's another Blu-Ray movie with bad video quality". But then it got better a lot better. Most of the movie had excellent video quality, with great detail. But, there were a couple of scenes that had grain. I don't know if it was a different camera, or what. But 99% of the movie was grain free and excellent.

The Dolby 5.1 TrueHD audio was also great.

Want The Quick and the Dead (1995) Discount?

The Quick And The Dead

[Superbit Version]

(8.5/10)

Back in 1995, director Sam Raimi was at a bit of a crossroads.

After his accomplishments through the Evil Dead series, yet

not yet to his A Simple Plan/Spider-Man level, he made

this fast paced Western that in alot of way feels like both

time periods of himself. However, this Western plays differently

than most revenge types, with a secret woman (played

amazingly well by Sharon Stone) joining in a town's shoot-out

competition with the intent of seeking revenge on the town's leader (played by Gene Hackman, just on the over-the-top edge). Along the way, we meet alot of the town's faces, including future stars Leonardo DiCaprio and Russell Crowe, as well as character classics as Tobin Bell & Lance Henriksen just to name a few. Simply put, this is a great cast for a movie with the then "Evil Dead" guy. But it works. Well.

While considering 90's Westerns like The Unforgiven & Dances With Wolves to be more classy & important than this flix, it definitely holds it's own, fitting perfectly with say Tombstone or Silverado. Yet this flix probably gets less attention than any of them, and it shouldn't. If you missed Sam's classic camera-in-your-face angles, or his quick as lightning cuts, he didn't lose them here. The showdowns are intense, visual, and the audio mix superb. And though Stone lost what little credibility a long time ago, this movie showed she could be taken seriously as an actress, fully dressed even!

Many have seen this play over the years on cable, but

the true way to see it is on this Superbit version. While this

release was done back in 2003, it's picture and DTS audio is

miles ahead of it's inferior single-layered original disc. Colors

bright & rusty, sound full of body, and bit rate always at

the fullest. I guess my only complaint is that they really didn't

try to remaster the actual print first due to a few, a few, blemishes on the print here and there that the high bit rate only brings out more. But believe me, for now I can say I've never seen this movie this good.

Downside is that this movie has alot of deleted scenes including a romance between Stone & Crowe & a wedding with Bruce Campbell as the minister! Too bad cause the Superbit, nor the regular, has them & International cuts only included the romance in the movie. So, I'd probably buy it again for a Raimi Director Cut, which after seeing the movie, you'd probably agree.

A good, fast-paced, 90's style Western that doesn't ever slow down. Featuring a female hero that you could actually believe in, as well as a cast that looks like they're in good hands with a director that finally got to do a Western with a little visual flair. A good movie that deserves to be seen & in your collection.

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The French Connection (1971)

(NOTE: For updated info on the new 2012 blu-ray release, check out the second half of this review below)

"The French Connection" is a fantastic time capsule of a film; a solid crime drama enhanced tremendously by great performances, crackling dialogue, terrific stunt work and wonderful location shooting in and around NYC that captures The Big Apple during its 1970's heyday as a scummy, gritty cesspool of a town. It's a fine example of 1970's American cinema, a classic of its type and a must-see, if not a must-own, for fans of crime dramas and police procedurals. Without question, a five star film (out of five).

Regarding specifically the 2009 2-disc blu-ray release, Director William Friedkin has apparently decided that the gritty, documentary-like feel to the original cinematography of his film was not gritty and documentary-like enough; instead of taking advantage of the latest technological advances to clean up or restore an original master of this classic film, director Friedkin decided that he would revisit his 39-year-old masterpiece so as to make it look decidedly worse. Using various digital filters, he has amped up the noise and graininess, distorted and smeared the color scheme with a bizarre "pastel" look, and blown out the contrast, all to give "The French Connection" an (intentionally) worn-out, distorted look that really does change the visuals of the film.

Unfortunately, rather than giving the film a more "cinéma vérité;" feel (as was the director's intention), this inexplicable digital makeover adds absolutely nothing to the film's impact save for scads of fake film grain, alternately faded and dull hues and crappier contrast. I am by no means a film purist, but the fact is this visual overhaul is pointless, gimmicky and (most problematic) extremely distracting. The added grain will astonish you during certain parts of the film... and not in a good way. People with large televisions especially be warned.

"The French Connection" was originally shot by legendary film cinematographer Owen Roizman (whose cinematography resume includes such film greats like "Network", "The Taking of Pelham 123" and "The Exorcist"). The following comment is what Mr. Roizman had to say on the matter of the film's "new" look after viewing it:

"Billy (director William Friedkin) for some reason decided to do this on his own. I wasn't consulted. I was appalled by it. I don't know what Billy (director William Friedkin) was thinking. It's not the film that I shot, and I certainly want to wash my hands of having had anything to do with this transfer, which I feel is atrocious."

I sympathize with you, Mr. Roizman.

As a side note, I personally think this trend of technologically "fixing" older films is crap, directors cut or no director's cut. Imagine if Stanley Kubrick revisited Dr. Strangelove in order to add improved nuclear missile effects via CGI; or if Kubrick digitally altered "2001: A Space Odyssey" in order to digitally "improve" Dr. David Bowman's trip through time and space; or if Martin Scorsese added new CGI blood effects to "Mean Streets" and "Taxi Driver"? What if an elderly Picasso decided to round up his earlier cubist paintings and touch them up, in order to "correct" the technical imperfections of his youth? Where does it end?

Perhaps Mr. Friedkin's decision to experiment with the film's original cinematography wouldn't be much of an issue if the original version of the film was included alongside the digitally-altered version, but alas, that is not the case with this blu-ray release. Unfortunately, Mr. Friedkin has stated that this new, digitally-altered version of "The French Connection" is how he hopes this classic film will be presented in all future home video releases from here on end (we'll see about that). My belief is that if this trend must continue, then I do think that there is an obligation for the original, unaltered film to be available to the public as well, for reasons of both history and personal aesthetics.

Admittedly, the special features of the Blu-Ray release are impressive (although most are recycled from the earlier 5-Star Collection DVD), but when the main film is presented as such, what does it matter? I infinitely prefer the 2001 Five-Star Collection 2-disc DVD set, and wholeheartedly recommend it over this Blu-Ray. The remastering on the THX-approved 2001 DVD is terrific (looking especially good upconverted via 1080p), the original cinematography is preserved, the 5.1 Dolby Digital sounds great, and its got hours of extras (as mentioned earlier, its got virtually all of the extras found on the Blu-Ray incarnation). As another alternative, if you can live without most of the extras, the 2005 single-disc DVD release has the same mastering as the 2001 Five-Star Collection 2-disc DVD set, is currently still in circulation, and can be bought brand new for around $7.00.

In all, the 2009 Blu-Ray release is a two-star (**) affair at best; if you must check out this Blu-Ray, rent before you buy.

Perhaps its time for Mr. Friedkin to make a new film rather than waste time tinkering on his old ones (or, judging by his last film "Bug", maybe not).

8/8/12 UPDATE: Predictably, 20th Century Fox went back to the drawing board and whipped up a new transfer for an all-new blu-ray release that was originally a Best Buy exclusive, but is finally available for purchase on Amazon.com. It is being hailed as a director-approved cut (just as the last blu-ray release was), but this time it was remastered under both Freidkin and Roizman's supervision (who have apparently have made up with each other since the last Blu-Ray release).

So, how does this blu-ray stack up with the earlier release? Overall, this new transfer is mostly terrific, and completely blows the old blu-ray release out of the water. Colors look natural again (if a little over-saturated at times). Contrast is great, although blacks can be a bit crushing at times. Grain and noise is present, but far less so than the previous release. Sharpness has been increased. Overall, the film looks great, especially when compared to the last release. As far as audio is concerned, it is the same as the earlier disc.

There are a couple caveats, however. First, the film has been given a blue/teal tint that is fairly noticeable in some scenes, but not in all. While this has bothered some critics, when I compared this disc to the Five-Star DVD release, it really isn't as bad as some have made it out to be, and is nowhere near as distracting as other teal-ified blu-ray releases, such as "Aliens" or the 2012 blu-ray release of "Total Recall". In fact, the Five Star 2-disc DVD set (which still looks great, I must say) exhibits a fairly blue color scheme for much of the film, although it is not as pronounced as the "Signature Series" blu-ray release. Why they won't simply release the film as it looked in theaters, with its original color timing, is beyond me.

Second, there are less extras on this disc, the most egregious omission being the removal of the excellent one-hour BBC documentary "Poughkeepsie Shuffle", so as to consolidate the film and remaining extras on to one Blu-Ray disc. It is a great documentary that is totally worth owning for fans, and is a real shame that it's been left behind. Fans will want to hang onto their old 2-disc Blu-Ray or Five Star 2-disc DVD set for that neat extra. Fortunately, the "Signature Series" blu-ray release does retain many of the great extras found on the earlier releases, and overall should satisfy most fans.

Final Note: For super-fans, none of the blu-ray releases come with the original theatrical trailer for The French Connection (although The French Connection II blu-ray release did include its original theatrical trailer...go figure); however, the Five Star DVD set does indeed include the theatrical trailer.

So there you have it, folks. The new blu-ray release, while not perfect, is totally worth the upgrade for the improved picture quality, and is a four-star (****) release.

For casual fans, the 2012 "Signature Series" blu-ray release is far and away the preferred release to own. In the end, it is hardcore fans who get the shortest end of the stick (as per usual); if one wishes to have the most complete "French Collection" experience, one must invest in both blu-ray sets and the Five Star DVD. Adieu, friends!

The Tuminaro Case. That is what the law enforcement community calls "the French Connection" case of 1968. Two rough-and-tumble NYPD Narcotics detectives named Eddie Egan and Sonny Grosso stumbled on a heroin-smuggling ring which spanned the Atlantic and linked the New York Mafia with a French mob operating out of Marsailles, which, if you are not familiar with it, is a great port city in the Mediterranean famous for, among other things, being a stop on the great heroin pipeline between Turkey, Siciily, Corsica, Continental Europe, and the Big Apple. This discovery was the birth of the understanding that the heroin trade was big international business, being conducted on a breathtaking scale, and the efforts of local cops and a few federal agents to stop it by busting junkies and street dealers was as ludicrous as handing out speeding tickets at the Indy 500.

In the end, somewhere between 100 300 kilos of pure heroin were seized, the ring was smashed, two cops sprung to fame by making the big case ("Went through The Door", in NYPD Narc lexicon), and the soon-to-be legendary NYPD Special Investigations Unit was created. But at what cost, and to what end?

This is what the film version of "The French Connection" examines, changing the names of the players (to Popeye Doyle, played by the great Gene Hackman, and Cloudy Russo, played by the criminally underrated Roy Schieder, respectively) but leaving the basic facts of the story intact. Very few movies have attempted to show the methodology and mind-set of Narc detectives without either glamorizing them or apologizing for them; "TFC" does neither. Doyle is a truly disgusting human being, but a [darn] good cop. He has the ego, the spleen, the recklessness, and the obsessive won't-let-go mentality of a pit bull, which more or less typefied the Narcs of the pre-Knapp Comission years. If you want a cop like Doyle off your case, you pretty much have to kill him. And if you try, don't miss.

The SIU, an elite branch of the Narcotics Division, was born during this investigation. No police unit in history probably bagged more hard drugs, busted more big-name dealers, or wrought such havoc with the drug trade in the Big Apple. On the other hand, no police unit in history ever broke so many laws doing it:

the tactics used by Doyle and Russo in "TFC" became standard procedure for the SIU: Illegal wiretaps. Shakedowns. Theft of money. Distribution of heroin to informants. Perjury. Extortion. Entrapment. You name it, they did it, and operated with virtually no supervision for about ten years before another famous cop, Bob Leuici, who got his own movie ("Prince of the City") brought down the house by exposing its inherent corruption. About seventy detectives served in SUI and of them, more than fifty ended up being indicted, and most went to prison. A number killed themselves. In a moment of true irony, several SIU detectives were fingered in the theft of 300 pounds of heroin from the police evidence lockup. The heroin in question was the evidence seized by Egan and Grosso in the Tuminaro Case. So in the end, it was largely for nothing. The H hit the street anyway.

I read some review of this film which question its morality, its supposed affirmantion of the 'war on drugs' and even liken "Connection" to the Nazi propiganda film "Triumph of the Will" because it seems to endorse the ends-justifying-tactics of Doyle and Russo. These people are missing the point entirely. The French Connection is not politicized fiction, like "Blow." It is a real case, the detectives were real people, and these were the real methods they used to crack it. The scene where Hackman chases his would-be assassin all across New York, endangering the lives of about 100 people in the process, says more than any dialogue could about his personality. In other words, this movie isn't about the drug trade, it's about the cops who fight it.

"TFC" is NOT an endorsement of the war on drugs; it simply lays out what happened here in a dramatized fashion. Like all great movies, it does not tell the viewer what to think but allows him/her to come to his own conclusion. And by the way, the movie most certainly DOES imply that the drug war, or at least this particular battle in it, was futile. The 'what happened to them' blurbs at the end of the film demonstrate this in no uncertain terms.

Looking back I see this is not a proper review of the film but more of a rant. ...

I'm through venting. Sorry. I'll make up for it with this: "The French Connection" is a great crime drama, brilliantly acted, superbly directed, and deserves every bit of its reputation as one of the greatest films of all time. I'm going to buy it on DVD today.

Buy The French Connection (1971) Now

Even though there's nothing to say about this now 35-year-old masterpiece that hasn't been said by someone somewhere, I can't resist offering my opinion on the greatest cop movie ever made and, in all likelihood, one of the 10 best films ever made.

How can a film be better than this one? It deservedly won five Oscars including best picture, best actor (Gene Hackman), its script and editing. Film editing is probably the most common downfall of a movie that is the least understood by the average filmgoer. aside from inane scriptwriting, it is editing that either turns individual scenes into something larger that its parts or robs those scenes of their vigor and value by misplacing them in the overall sequence of events.

There are so many good things going on in this film -the action, ultra-intelligent script based on a real life incident, the acting, the locations, the searing score using knife sharp high strings and bellowing lower strings, and William Friedkin's monumental direction that included the unplanned train chase scene that is now considered the greatest chase in film ("We didn't ask anyone for a permit," Friedkin said. "We just did it.") -that it is somewhat foolhardy to identify one element as the key to this masterpiece. Still, I believe the editing is what transforms "French Connection" from five stars to masterpiece.

I first saw this movie in 1971 during a matinee at an old big city theatre, now bulldozed, the kind of theatre that used to exist before malls took over the industry. While the chase scene was just as riveting then as now on the big screen, it was an earlier scene that more captivated me.

In the second scene, Hackman and Scheider go to a drinking establishment where a Supremes-like trio is singing. The reality and scope of this scene far more overwhelmed me on the big screen than any other. It also happens to be the scene where the two cops first identify bad guy Tony LoBianco -who followed his success in this film with a lot of appearances on the 1970s CBS cop show "Kojak" -as an emerging kingpin throwing around money with some druggie hotshots.

It probably isn't possible to explain to today's moviegoers what a drug kingpin was circa 1971. Drugs are so ingrained in our culture now, with kids regularly taking them to and selling them in school, that the profundity of such a scene in a film can no longer have the same meaning three and one-half decades later.

The final scene, in the decrepit buildings on Riker's Island, is another ultrarealistic scene that puts the viewer at the scene of the crime and the ongoing melodrama. That inconclusive ending was true and commonplace for its period, a time when the "antihero" film was emerging. The popular cop films from the "Dirty Harry" series, as well as Charles Bronson's "Death Wish" films, were clearly influenced by the antihero aspects of the "The French Connection" cops and their futility.

A cast note: Marcel Bozzuffi, the hitman character known as Pierre Nicoli in the film, played a different type of killer two years earlier in the remarkable 1969 French film "Z", a political thriller with much of "The French Connection"'s sizzling energy. And like this film, "Z" was also based on true events. Check this out next time you're in the mood for one of the better films of that era.

Far from being a timepiece, this film is just as contemporary today as it was when it came out -a time when there was no Internet, cell phones or cable television, there was only one American telephone company and gas cost about 30 cents a gallon. This film will always be among the handful of critics' short A-list movies and I'll continue to watch it at every opportunity. I suggest you take a look if you've never seen it. There will never be another quite like it.

Read Best Reviews of The French Connection (1971) Here

(NOTE: For updated info on the new 2012 blu-ray release, check out the second half of this review below)

"The French Connection" is a fantastic time capsule of a film; a solid crime drama enhanced tremendously by great performances, terrific stunt work and wonderful location shooting in and around NYC that captures The Big Apple during its 1970's heyday as a scummy, gritty cesspool of a town. It's a fine example of 1970's American cinema, a classic of its type and a must-see, if not a must-own, for fans of crime dramas and police procedurals. Without question, a five star film (out of five).

Regarding specifically the 2009 2-disc blu-ray release, Director William Friedkin has apparently decided that the gritty, documentary-like feel to the original cinematography of his film was not gritty and documentary-like enough; instead of taking advantage of the latest technological advances to clean up or restore an original master of this classic film, director Friedkin decided that he would revisit his 39-year-old masterpiece so as to make it look decidedly worse. Using various digital filters, he has amped up the noise and graininess, distorted and smeared the color scheme with a bizarre "pastel" look, and blown out the contrast, all to give "The French Connection" an (intentionally) worn-out, distorted look that really does change the visuals of the film.

Unfortunately, rather than giving the film a more "cinéma vérité;" feel (as was the director's intention), this inexplicable digital makeover adds absolutely nothing to the film's impact save for scads of fake film grain, alternately faded and dull hues and crappier contrast. I am by no means a film purist, but the fact is this visual overhaul is pointless, gimmicky and (most problematic) extremely distracting. The added grain will astonish you during certain parts of the film... and not in a good way. People with large televisions especially be warned.

"The French Connection" was originally shot by legendary film cinematographer Owen Roizman (whose cinematography resume includes such film greats like "Network", "The Taking of Pelham 123" and "The Exorcist"). The following comment is what Mr. Roizman had to say on the matter of the film's "new" look after viewing it:

"Billy (director William Friedkin) for some reason decided to do this on his own. I wasn't consulted. I was appalled by it. I don't know what Billy (director William Friedkin) was thinking. It's not the film that I shot, and I certainly want to wash my hands of having had anything to do with this transfer, which I feel is atrocious."

I sympathize with you, Mr. Roizman.

As a side note, I personally think this trend of technologically "fixing" older films is crap, directors cut or no director's cut. Imagine if Stanley Kubrick revisited Dr. Strangelove in order to add improved nuclear missile effects via CGI; or if Kubrick digitally altered "2001: A Space Odyssey" in order to digitally "improve" Dr. David Bowman's trip through time and space; or if Martin Scorsese added new CGI blood effects to "Mean Streets" and "Taxi Driver"? What if an elderly Picasso decided to round up his earlier cubist paintings and touch them up, in order to "correct" the technical imperfections of his youth? Where does it end?

Perhaps Mr. Friedkin's decision to experiment with the film's original cinematography wouldn't be much of an issue if the original version of the film was included alongside the digitally-altered version, but alas, that is not the case with this blu-ray release. Unfortunately, Mr. Friedkin has stated that this new, digitally-altered version of "The French Connection" is how he hopes this classic film will be presented in all future home video releases from here on end (we'll see about that). My belief is that if this trend must continue, then I do think that there is an obligation for the original, unaltered film to be available to the public as well, for reasons of both history and personal aesthetics.

Admittedly, the special features of the Blu-Ray release are impressive (although most are recycled from the earlier 5-Star Collection DVD), but when the main film is presented as such, what does it matter? I infinitely prefer the 2001 Five-Star Collection 2-disc DVD set, and wholeheartedly recommend it over this Blu-Ray. The remastering on the THX-approved 2001 DVD is terrific (looking especially good upconverted via 1080p), the original cinematography is preserved, the 5.1 Dolby Digital sounds great, and its got hours of extras (as mentioned earlier, its got virtually all of the extras found on the Blu-Ray incarnation). As another alternative, if you can live without most of the extras, the 2005 single-disc DVD release has the same mastering as the 2001 Five-Star Collection 2-disc DVD set, is currently still in circulation, and can be bought brand new for around $7.00.

If you must check out this Blu-Ray, rent before you buy.

Perhaps its time for Mr. Friedkin to make a new film rather than waste time tinkering on his old ones (or, judging by his last film "Bug", maybe not).

8/8/12 UPDATE: Predictably, 20th Century Fox went back to the drawing board and whipped up a new transfer for an all-new blu-ray release, initially a Best buy exclusive, it has at last arrived on Amazon. It is being hailed as a director-approved cut (just as the last blu-ray release was), but this time it was remastered under both Freidkin and Roizman's supervision (who have apparently have made up with each other since the last Blu-Ray release).

So, how does this blu-ray stack up with the earlier release? Overall, this new transfer is mostly terrific, and completely blows the old blu-ray release out of the water. Colors look natural again (if a little over-saturated at times). Contrast is great, although blacks can be a bit crushing at times. Grain and noise is present, but far less so than the previous release. Sharpness has been increased. Overall, the film looks great, especially when compared to the last release. As far as audio is concerned, it is the same as the earlier disc.

There are a couple caveats, however. First, the film has been given a blue/teal tint that is fairly noticeable in some scenes, but not in all. While this has bothered some critics, when I compared this disc to the Five-Star DVD release, it really isn't as bad as some have made it out to be, and is nowhere near as distracting as other teal-ified blu-ray releases, such as "Aliens" or the 2012 blu-ray release of "Total Recall". In fact, the Five Star 2-disc DVD set (which still looks great, I must say) exhibits a fairly blue color scheme for much of the film, although it is not as pronounced as the "Signature Series" blu-ray release. Why they won't simply release the film as it looked in theaters, with its original color timing, is beyond me.

Second, there are less extras on this disc, the most egregious omission being the removal of the excellent one-hour BBC documentary "Poughkeepsie Shuffle", so as to consolidate the film and remaining extras on to one Blu-Ray disc. It is a great documentary that is totally worth owning for fans, and is a real shame that it's been left behind. Fans will want to hang onto their old 2-disc Blu-Ray or Five Star 2-disc DVD set for that neat extra. Fortunately, the "Signature Series" blu-ray release does retain many of the great extras found on the earlier releases, and overall should satisfy most fans.

Final Note: For super-fans, none of the blu-ray releases come with the original theatrical trailer for The French Connection (although The French Connection II blu-ray release did include its original theatrical trailer...go figure); however, the Five Star DVD set does indeed include the theatrical trailer.

So there you have it, folks. The new blu-ray release, while not perfect, is totally worth the upgrade for the improved picture quality, and is a four star release. For casual fans, the 2012 "Signature Series" blu-ray release is far and away the preferred release to own. In the end, it is hardcore fans who get the shortest end of the stick (as per usual); if one wishes to have the most complete "French Collection" experience, one must invest in both blu-ray sets and the Five Star DVD. Adieu, friends!

Want The French Connection (1971) Discount?

I can't tell you how much I am looking forward to the DVD-release of this terrific film. Anyone who appreciates gritty, police dramas such as Hill Street Blues and NYPD can thank director William Friedkin, who set the standard with this movie. Two years later the same director made the stuffy Academy members start taking the Horror genre seriously with his release of The Exorcist. And Friedkin was way ahead of his time with the 1970 gaythemed The Boys in the Band. The man is quite a trendsetter, not to mention a damn fine director.

Gene Hackman, one of the finest, most versatile actors around, gives the performance of his career as the impulsive, almost maniacal, Popeye Doyle. Hackman's "balls-out" performance earned him the Academy Award for best actor. Incidentally, it is the tenacity of his character which adds to the rush of the famous car/el-train chase. No one is going to take a pop at this guy and just slink away!

And what about the chase-scene? Some, including myself, feel that this is the best one ever on film. Others say it was done better in The Road Warrior; or Bullitt; or Raiders of the Lost Ark; or The Seven-Ups. ( Ronin is mentioned also, but I have never seen it.) These movies all had great chases, but they were shot either in the desert (Road Warrior and Raiders) or largely in the open road (Bullitt and Seven-Ups). In The French Connection, however, the pursuit takes place in a crowded Brooklyn commuter hub. And appropriately so, as the film is all about the grit of the big city. Working within this challenging setting, editor Jerry Greenberg does a tremendous job of maintaining the continuity of a rather lengthy sequence of high-speed events.

There is more that can be said about this great movie, but I'll leave it at this: Unlike a previous reviewer, I have no trouble discerning how this film earned its five Oscars.

Lars and the Real Girl (2007)

Were anyone to suggest that a 'romance' between a guy and a blowup doll could become one of the more sensitive films of the year, it would be cause for derision that is, before viewing LARS AND THE REAL GIRL. The improbable story was written by Nancy Oliver (the writer of many episodes of the TV series 'Six Feet Under') and directed by Craig Gillespie who gathered a particularly strong cast of actors to present this examination of compassion and love for an emotionally injured young man by small town folks, reminding us that caring for each other is still a highly regarded value.

Lars Lindstrom (Ryan Gosling) survived a tough childhood only to become a loner terrified of emotional and tactile contact. He lives in the garage of his deceased parents' home while his brother Gus (Paul Schneider) and pregnant sister-in-law Karin (Emily Mortimer) live in the main house. Despite Karin's pleadings to be part of the family, Lars prefers to keep to himself. At his job his co-workers include Margo (Kelli Garner), who is more than a little attracted to the quiet and strangely distant Lars, and a fellow who finds ' life-size love dolls' on the internet. Lars orders one of the dolls and when 'Bianca' arrives, Lars finally has a girlfriend to share his loneliness. He introduces Bianca to Gus and Karin who find the situation strange, but at the same time see the happiness in Lars that has been missing. They encourage Lars and Bianca to see a doctor Dagmar (Patricia Clarkson) who plays along with the concept that Lars finds Bianca real, and encourages Gus and Karin to be supportive. As it ends up the entire little town accepts Bianca and she is introduced to doing good deeds and be a vital part of the town, all through the kindness of people who love the 'delusional' Lars and care only for his happiness. How Lars gradually finds his way into the real world and copes with the understanding of his need for Bianca, the story comes to a tender ending, one that never for a moment feels like a sellout but maintains the dignity of all of the characters in the story.

This is a fine and thoughtful exploration of the needs we all have for understanding, compassion, and acceptance, and while there are some very humorous moments in this well-written story, the overall message is one of gentle love. Ryan Gosling is so fine an actor that he makes this rather complex character understandable and gains our empathy. The supporting cast is equally excellent especially Patricia Clarkson, Emily Mortimer and Paul Schneider. Highly recommended viewing, this is a DVD many will want to own for repeated viewings. Grady Harp, April 08

Lars lives in one of the snowed-in Northern states; his town could be next to Lake Wobegone. He's painfully shy, in an utterly literal sense of the term he won't even visit his brother and sister in law in the house adjacent to where he lives. Maybe it's no suprise that he orders a customized, anatomically detailed love doll.

The surprise is that it comes to life for him. Everyone else sees a slightly creepy adult toy, but he brings "Bianca" everywhere to dinner with his brother and sister in law, to a Christmas party with his co-workers, even to church. He concocts an elaborate fantasy about why she says so little, why she needs a wheelchair, even why she needs to borrow clothing. A psychologist tries to address his delusion but, while it works itself out, recommends humoring him. And so, the entire community does. If they're going to treat her as real, they're going to do it right.

Therein lies the quirky charm of this movie an entire town rallying around one of their own, playing their part in his odd drama. If that's what's best for him and there's no harm in it, they'll do it. A few balk, of course, but only a few and not for long. They accept Bianca fully into their community, sometimes to Lars's dismay.

The happy ending (happy enough) makes this into a movie about redemption, but that over-simplifies this complex film. The premise looks like some modern-day fairy tale. Once set in motion, the movie carries itself forward with understated kindness, maybe even nostalgia for a small-town closeness, whether that closeness ever existed or not.

-wiredweird

Buy Lars and the Real Girl (2007) Now

(4.5 *'s) Lars Lindstrom has all the foibles one sometimes associates with a ventriloquist. Socially inept and insecure, every encounter with even loved ones is full of awkwardness and fumbling. He has difficulty expressing himself and relating to others. At home he lives in the mother-in-law house (or garage as they say) next to his brother Gus (Paul Schneider) and sister-in-law Karen (Emily Mortimer). One night a well-meaning Karen tackles him on the driveway to get him to stay for dinner. Needless to say he is almost traumatized by her good intentions. Work is as pedestrian as it gets: He works in a cubicle doing work on the computer for an unknown company. Co-worker Marla (Kelli Gardner) shows an interest in him, but even her overtures leave him flummoxed. Another co-coworker is friendly, but offers him his favorite porn. That is until he introduces him to his latest offering from "Real Doll.dot.com". Anatomically correct, the life-size doll gives Lars an idea.

Coming home to dinner once again, Lars is beaming about his new girlfriend. Gus and Karen are also beaming, truly enthusiastic and proud. Until they meet Bianca, the "real doll" who is seated with a conversing Lars. Lars is transformed. His speech is confident; his cheeks are reddened; and his outlook is happy. First comes shock; then comes acceptance. Not quite knowing what to do, Lars is so believable that they start to believe it too. They have him see a therapist (Patricia Clarkson), the general practitioner in their small Northern Wisconsin town, and the pastor gathers his flock together. Everyone starts to make jokes, but eventually they go along with someone who is truly delusional. Bianca starts to become real.

Billed as a comedy, `Lars and the Real Girl' is too often sad to be funny. Though profound and heartwarming, the laughs are often embarrassing because the situations of the protagonist are awkward. They elicit our sympathy. This isn't to say the film isn't a gem because it is. In spite of all temptations to pigeon hole this movie as cheesy or a screwball comedy, all the right components come together to make `Lars and the Real Girl' a wonderful little film and truly one of the best of the year. Without serendipity, this movie could have easily been a disaster.

(The extras are short but sweet: "The Real Story of Lars and the Real Girl" (10:11) is worthy for the "real" affection the cast has for the film with reflections by Oscar nominated screenwriter, Nancy Oliver, and a specially articulate director (Craig Gillespie). 'A Real Leading Lady' (5:55) features Ryan Gosling ad libbing facetiously with his co-star Bianca about making the film. The deleted "Bathtub" scene is impossibly short, clocking in less than a minute--but the written explanation by the director is insightful. The rest are trailers.)

Read Best Reviews of Lars and the Real Girl (2007) Here

Lars is a quiet and introverted kind of guy. He goes to work every day then he comes home to the garage apartment he lives in, adjacent to the house he grew up in and is now owned by his brother and sister-in-law.

As his pregnant sister-in-law's due date gets closer, Lars seems to emotionally and physically withdraw from his family and co-workers. Preferring to remain in the comforting small walls of his garage apartment, he starts garnering the concern of his sister-in-law. She fears he is too lonely and when all her attempts to include him and spend more time with him fail it seems all hope is lost. That is till he shows up to dinner one night asking if he can bring his new girlfriend. The excitement and relief Lars' family feels is short lived when his girlfriend ends up being an anatomically correct love doll he has named Bianca.

At the recommendation and guidance of their small town doctor/psychiatrist, Lars' family goes along with his delusion, and then manages to convince the entire town to do the same.

This movie had me laughing out loud and sobbing big ugly tears, I was charmed completely. The situations involving Bianca were equal parts hilarious and heartbreaking. I have never wanted to hug a movie character more than I have wanted to hug Lars; my heart went out to him completely.

I have a friend who hated this movie for the exact same reasons I enjoyed it so much. I loved the fact that the entire town rallied to welcome Bianca, even though they thought it was nuts, just to help a member of the community. I loved all the zany adventures Bianca went on, and I loved the town they lived in. I loved the fact that it was far fetched, but mostly I loved it because that's how a town SHOULD behave. People should go out of there way and do things to help someone in need once in awhile.

With the help of the community, a wonderful doctor, his family and most importantly, Bianca, Lars heals. It's an emotional road to get there, but well worth the journey.

Cherise Everhard, July 2008

Want Lars and the Real Girl (2007) Discount?

Those are my people! That's my home land! Every face looks like one of my family, including Lars, who looks like a goofier me at the same age. The houses, the furniture, the downtown shops, the costumes, the church, the lake it's all museum-quality Upper Midwest. Minnesota to me, since that's where I'm from. Only the accents and the dialogue in general don't sound Minnesotan, and I kinda wonder why not.

Given that we're all Scandihoovians together here, I can make some sense out of this film by thinking of it as a Hans Christian Andersen tale, a lot like The Little Mermaid or The Faithful Tin Soldier. Bittersweet, artificial and witty, and solidly moralistic at the core. Otherwise, the improbability of the family's and town's response to Lars's delusion (that's the heart of the plot) would seem too improbable to accept, even on theatrical terms of "willing suspension of disbelief." I mean, we're a well-meaning folk, we Minnesotans, and we make trying to be nice the local interpretation of the Golden Rule, but we aren't THAT nice!

Ryan Gosling should get an Oscar for making an impossible role almost fully believable. Of course, Bianca should be a shoo-in for Best Supporting Actress.

In the end, it's "awful heart-warming", as my Uncle Einar would say, noncommittally.

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