The Embalmer [2002] (REGION 1) (NTSC)
Average customer rating: 4 out of 5 stars
  • Interesting and stylish, filled with obsessive sexual neediness and featuring a ruthless tug-of-war over the clueless Valerio
The Embalmer [2002] (REGION 1) (NTSC)
Starring: Ernesto Mahieux , Valerio Foglia Manzillo , Elisabetta Rocchetti , Lina Bernardi , and Pietro Biondi
Director: Matteo Garrone
Manufacturer: First Run Features
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

All Drama All Drama | Drama | Categories | DVD | Video
All Crime, Thrillers & Mystery All Crime, Thrillers & Mystery | Crime, Thrillers & Mystery | Categories | DVD | Video
Thrillers Thrillers | Crime, Thrillers & Mystery | Categories | DVD | Video
Italian Italian | World Cinema | Categories | DVD | Video
All Gay & Lesbian All Gay & Lesbian | Gay & Lesbian | Categories | DVD | Video
All Children's DVD All Children's DVD | Children's DVD | Categories | DVD | Video
Region 1 Region 1 | Special Features | DVD | Video
DVD DVD | Format (binding_browse-bin) | Refinements | DVD | Video
Similar Items:
  1. Without Conscience [2004] (REGION 1) (NTSC) Without Conscience [2004] (REGION 1) (NTSC)
  2. Times Have Been Better [2007] (REGION 1) (NTSC) Times Have Been Better [2007] (REGION 1) (NTSC)
  3. One to Another [2006] (REGION 1) (NTSC) One to Another [2006] (REGION 1) (NTSC)

ASIN: B0001US7SG
Release Date: 2004-05-18
The Embalmer [2002] (REGION 1) (NTSC)

Customer Reviews:

4 out of 5 stars Interesting and stylish, filled with obsessive sexual neediness and featuring a ruthless tug-of-war over the clueless Valerio.......2007-06-03

For those who enjoy creepy psycho-sexual thrillers which feature determined dwarves who are taxidermists, sultry, sulky and equally determined Italian temptresses, and tall, handsome and dumb apprentice taxidermists, The Embalmer (L'Imbalsamatore) might be the movie for you. "It's a shrew," says Peppino Profeta (Ernesto Mahieux) to Valerio (Valerio Foglia Manzillo), showing a tiny little animal perfectly mounted on a bit of wood. "Very rare! Imagine, my cat caught this, and what a battle to yank it out of its mouth!" It's not long before Valerio, who is far too dense to appreciate a metaphor, will be the object of a nasty and deadly tug-of-war between Peppino and that determined cat Deborah (Elisabetha Rochetti).

Peppino is a very small (think of a thin and younger Danny De Vito), lonely man who has great charm and a sly, determined will to win what he wants and to keep it when he thinks he's won it. Valerio, a tall young man he meets at a zoo, is what he wants. Valerio is as good-natured and gullible as a puppy, and just as liable to roll over for the first person who wants to rub his stomach. Deborah is a woman who knows what she wants, is just as determined and manipulative as Peppino in getting it, and just as willing to rub the puppy's stomach. Peppino disguises his objective by arranging parties with easy women, but it's clear he prefers to watch Valerio rather than the females. Deborah is too experienced not to know what Peppino wants even if Valerio seems a bit dense about things. One would think Valerio would find himself in the best of all possible worlds. However, he's too naive to simply accept the blessings of circumstance and too easily influenced by the almost ruthless neediness and guilt both Peppino and Deborah use on him. As the story moves along, we learn that Peppino is in debt to the mafia and keeps in their good graces by opening corpses to insert packages of drugs for delivery. He knows that sideline can't be maintained forever. And Deborah, not only using her sexual skills on Valerio to keep him close-by, also announces to him that she's pregnant. This obsessive, bizarre contest over Valerio ends when he takes some decisive steps that involve gunshots and sinking cars.

Is this movie a minor masterpiece that dwells on neediness and sexual manipulation? Well, no. But it certainly is a stylish and intriguing film, even with an ending that dissolves into loony violence and a certain nihilistic artiness. The story is interesting, the direction has style and the director keeps things moving. The film features an underlying and growing uneasiness, especially as Peppino's obsessions grow and Deborah's clutching anger becomes clear. The best thing about the movie, however, is Ernesto Mahieux. The actor is probably no taller than 5 feet. Acting against the more-than-six-feet-tall Valerio Foglia Manzillo, Mahieux must project charm and sincerity. But then Mahieux must also show us Peppino's subtle and then not-so subtle intentions and his growing insecurity, neediness and desperation. It's quite a performance, and every bit believable.

The DVD has a fine picture and audio transfer. There are two or three inconsequential extras.

Art Made Easy For Kids
Average customer rating: Not rated
    Art Made Easy For Kids

    Manufacturer: Quantum Leap
    ProductGroup: DVD
    Binding: DVD

    Educational Educational | Children's DVD | Categories | DVD | Video | Characters & Series | Discovery Channel | Eyewitness | National Geographic
    All Children's DVD All Children's DVD | Children's DVD | Categories | DVD | Video
    Art & Antiques Art & Antiques | Documentary | Categories | DVD | Video
    Instructional Instructional | Documentary | Categories | DVD | Video
    DVD DVD | Format (binding_browse-bin) | Refinements | DVD | Video
    Similar Items:
    1. Arts And Crafts For Kids - Key Stage 1&2 - Around The Globe Arts And Crafts For Kids - Key Stage 1&2 - Around The Globe

    ASIN: B0002XOZ7E
    Release Date: 2004-11-22
    Art Made Easy For Kids

    Man's Favourite Sport? [1963]
    Average customer rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    • Delightfull trip down memory lane
    Man's Favourite Sport? [1963]
    Starring: Rock Hudson , Paula Prentiss , Maria Perschy , Charlene Holt , and John McGiver
    Director: Howard Hawks
    Manufacturer: Universal Pictures UK
    ProductGroup: DVD
    Binding: DVD

    All Classics All Classics | Classics | Categories | DVD | Video
    Comedy Comedy | Classics | Categories | DVD | Video
    All Comedy All Comedy | Comedy | Categories | DVD | Video
    DVDs from £4.97 DVDs from £4.97 | From £4.97 | By Price | DVD Bargains | Special Features | DVD | Video
    DVD DVD | Format (binding_browse-bin) | Refinements | DVD | Video
    Similar Items:
    1. Come September [1961] Come September [1961]
    2. Walk, Don't Run [1966] Walk, Don't Run [1966]
    3. Lover Come Back [1961] Lover Come Back [1961]
    4. Strange Bedfellows [1965] (REGION 1) (NTSC) Strange Bedfellows [1965] (REGION 1) (NTSC)
    5. People Will Talk [1951] People Will Talk [1951]

    ASIN: B000E5KP9W
    Release Date: 2006-02-06
    Man's Favourite Sport? [1963]

    Customer Reviews:

    5 out of 5 stars Delightfull trip down memory lane.......2006-01-27

    I grew up seeing many of the comedies of the 50's and 60's and really enjoyed them. This movie had got to be about the best comedy ever done by Mr. Rock Hudson. This time not with Doris Day, but with an excellent and sparkling Paula Prentiss. I still watch it reguraly and cannot help myself laughing out loud! Especially Mr. Hudsons adventures as a would be fisher man are simply unforgettable. This is really a must have seen for all lovers of 50's and 60's comedies.

    DVD:

    1. The FBI Story [1959] (REGION 1) (NTSC)
    2. The Giant of Marathon [1959] (REGION 1) (NTSC)
    3. The Hallelujah Trail [1965] (REGION 1) (NTSC)
    4. The Happiest Millionaire [1967] (REGION 1) (NTSC)
    5. The Hound of the Baskervilles [1959] (REGION 1) (NTSC)
    6. The Incredible Petrified World [1960] (NTSC)
    7. The Mummy - Quest For The Lost Scrolls
    8. The One and Only, Genuine, Original Family Band [1968] (REGION 1) (NTSC)
    9. The Pied Piper of Hamelin [1957] (NTSC)
    10. The Story of Vernon and Irene Castle [1939] (REGION 1) (NTSC)

    DVD List

    DVD