Customer Reviews:
Drive-in Heaven.......2007-11-02
Ever wanted to be a character in Grease or Happy Days? Ever wished you could go to a drive-in movie like in the opening titles of The Flintstones but were prevented from doing so by not growing up in the fifties in some American backwater? Yearn no more! Buy this collection, set up the DVD player in the garden on a balmy summer's night and you're away...
These films are fantastic, in every sense of the word. They're not GREAT films, but their evocation of time and place is unsurpassed. Some have been remade but never bettered (The Thing, Invasion of the Body Snatchers), some have been sung about in the Rocky Horror (Picture) Show (Tarantuala, It Came from Outer Space)...and the fifties wouldn't have been the fifties without The Creature from the Black Lagoon!
Pop that corn, make yourself an ice cream soda, sit back and enjoy...
Customer Reviews:
It converted me to Leonard Cohen, anyway..........2008-01-09
I bought this as a Christmas present for my wife, a longterm Cohen fan, and I watched it with her, expecting to kind of enjoy it, but to my surprise I had a great time. I had distantly respected his stuff for a long time, but something about this movie made me love it.
The meat of this movie is not, unfortunately, to be found in the performances by the many guest artists covering Mr. Cohen's songs. There are, frankly, very few gold stars to be handed out. Nick Cave does a bang-up job as perhaps the only person herein who's had a weirder life than Leonard Cohen, even if Mr. Cave is starting to look and sound eerily like Neil Diamond. Teddy Thompson understands the idiom better than some people, although I couldn't help wishing that his dad were in this movie instead of him. Martha Wainwright does a lovely, slightly unhinged rendition of 'The Traitor'. The finest, most spine-chilling performance of all is, IMHO, Julie Christensen and Perla Batalla's fragile and dignified version of Cohen's hypocrisy-kicking anthem, 'Anthem'. It brought a tear to my eye, anyway. (And a nice move by the filmmakers: when Batalla sings the line about 'the killers in high places say their prayers out loud', they bring up on the soundtrack a rousing cheer from the audience.)
The really good stuff is Cohen reminiscing about his long life as a poet and musician, accompanied by some priceless vintage Canadian home movie footage. He comes across as both pontifical and dry, which is a neat trick that perhaps only the old can pull off. I especially liked his reading of his baffled and excessively self-deprecating foreword to the recent Chinese translation of his notoriously extravagant second novel 'Beautiful Losers'. It's the spectacle of a wise old man finding his younger self both irresistibly funny and also, sort of, heartbreaking.
Unfortunately the film also has troughs. Not the lowest is Rufus Wainwright's camp-as-all-get-out vaudeville turn on 'Everybody Knows', which if I never hear it again it's still one time too many. (I don't like Rufus Wainwright's voice, but must admit that elsewhere in the film he does a nice job of 'Chelsea Hotel', actually bothering to sing most of the consonants.) The guy in the Handsome Family suffers from the delusion that he can sing like Leonard Cohen, which of course nobody can, and which maybe isn't even something worth aspiring to do. And, as other reviewers have noted, there's a particularly annoying strain of U2-related drivel, with Bono and his guitar player spouting boilerplate about what an amazing guy Leonard is, as if we hadn't gathered that by now. Worst of all, the final performance is the man himself singing the marvellously droll 'Tower of Song', backed by - aaaak! - U2 in their entirety, replete with pointlessly simple-minded guitar solo and the usual groaning from the Bonomeister. To do him credit, Mr. Cohen rides the performance out with an expression of serene disdain on his face. Or maybe I was projecting. At any rate, file under 'Not as good as the original version'.
So now I am a fully-fledged Leonard Cohen fan, and this film has something to do with it. But I wish nobody had thought to involve U2.
Shedding some light on the mysterious Mr Cohen.......2007-12-21
This film is part concert tribute, part documentary tribute to Leonard Cohen. What is undeinable about it is director Lian Lunson's enthusiasm for her subject: the word and music of Leonard Cohen, and the man himself. The words and music are given admirable voice by various performers: Teddy Thompson, the Wainwrights, Perla Batalla, Beth Orton to name but a few. Each performer brings gives their own take on the song in question (you'll either like it or not, but the same could be said about any Leonard Cohen cover version). What Lunson does very well is give a flavour of Leonard Cohen the man. Here, the documentary does not seek to be comprehensive or didactic: it merely reflects the various facets of Leonard Cohen. Indeed, this is the film's strength: Lunson seems to have take her cue from Leonard Cohen himself, and has not tried to 'pigeon hole' him into this or that category.
The result is a more fluid film, which captures the mecurial nature of the Leonard Cohen. If it seems like at the end, there are still loose ends to tie up, that's because there are, because - thankfully - Leonard Cohen is still giving us great poetry and songs. SOme other reviewers have taken issue with the contributions of U2 and others. I think their contributions are fine, and what is undeniable about them, particularly Bono, is their enhtusiasm for Leonard Cohen and his songs. It's refreshing to see Bono be humbled (as he himself admits he is) by Leonard Cohen. It's great to hear the likes of Edge admit that U2 owes a debt of gratitude to Cohen, without whom, it seems, there would have been no U2. And that's where this film succeeds in pointing out that a lot of the bands beloved of younf people today were initially inspired by this poet from Montreal.
As for the DVD, there is a good director's commentary (from a quirkily cute Lian Lunson), a trailer, and Teddy Thompson rehearsing "Tonight will be fine" in black and white. For those new to Leonard Cohen, this is a great initiation. For those who know his work, this will be a refreshing look at that work, and will give an abiding flavour of one of the most important voices (musically and poetically) of the 20th Century.
surprisingly uplifting ...........2007-07-30
Whether a Leonard Cohen fan or not, you'll love this beautiful DVD.
Mr Cohen is so obviously accomplished in his use of language and yet his conversation on this DVD shows him to be an humble poet. The artists' comments are not sycophantic, and their interpretive renditions are warmly appreciated by the Poet and audience. Real quality sound, too.
could've been better.......2007-05-22
The overall result is very good,it gives a good insight Leonard Cohen.I bought this on the strength that the CD was so good,and i am a huge fan of the Thompson / Wainwright clans.It could have shown more of the performances of the artists,but the really big disapointment was the lack of Teddy Thompson-The Future,the best track on the CD without a doubt but missing from the DVD. WHY?
Leonard Cohen - I'm Your Man.......2007-05-08
This is sheer pleasure, with marvellous performances from superb singers - Nick Cave, Jarvis Cocker, Rufus and Martha Wainwirght, everybody. I went to the film, came dancing out at the end, bought the CD, bought more for my friends, and found myself purchasing a multiregion DVD player in order to enjoy the film all over again. Darlings, buy ten of each because you'll want to give it to EVERYBODY!
Amazon.co.uk Review
Carousel - Spectacular staging dots this widescreen deluxe Rodgers and Hammerstein musical as Gordon MacRae brings a blustery energy to the lead role of Billy Bigelow, a drifter and ne'er-do-well carnival 'barker'. The troubled soul finally settles down with a good woman (Shirley Jones) but then gets stabbed to death while committing a robbery. Many years later, an angel offers the roustabout the chance to return to earth for just one day to makes things right for his unhappy wife and the daughter he never had the chance to meet. Based on the French play "Lilion" by Ferene Molnar, Carousel ranks among the better Rodgers and Hammerstein musicals, making it a classic by any standard. To boot, the film's tale of love between Bigelow and wife Julie rivals that of any other 1950s musical. Songs from the outstanding score include 'If I Loved You', 'June Is Busting Out All Over', and 'You'll Never Walk Alone'.
The King and I - In 1955 this lavish production of Rodgers and Hammerstein's Broadway hit "The King and I", starring Yul Brynner as the King of Siam and Deborah Kerr as the governess sent to look after his children, was the most expensive film ever mounted by 20th Century Fox. The 40 sets in ripe decors by Walter M Scott and Paul S Fox included a ballroom of black marble with jade and silk tapestries and a banqueting scene with a table that gives the impression of stretching to infinity. The costumes by Irene Sharaff, notably the hoop ballroom gown for Deborah Kerr and those for the ballet "The Small House of Uncle Thomas", dazzle the eye in their delineation of Western manners and Oriental splendour. Brynner remains impressive as the King but his pidgin dialogue, inherited from Hammerstein's book, with the dropping of the definite article takes some adjustment. Alfred Newman put his unique stamp on the music: the Overture offers an example of his luminous divided string sound, the climactic ballroom scene a full bodied orchestral reprise of "Shall We Dance?" as the camera pulls away to a high angle producing an exultant visual finish to this celebrated polka.
Oklahoma - The hit Broadway musical from the 1940s gets a lavish if not always exciting workout in this 1955 film version directed by old lion Fred Zinnemann (High Noon). Gordon MacRae brings his sterling voice to the role of cowboy Curly and Shirley Jones plays Laurie, the object of his affection. The Rodgers and Hammerstein score includes "The Surrey with the Fringe on Top", "Oh, What a Beautiful Mornin'" and "People Will Say We're in Love", and Agnes DeMille provides the buoyant choreography. Among the supporting cast, Gloria Grahame is memorable as Ado Annie, the "girl who cain't say no", and Rod Steiger overdoes it as the villainous Jud. --Tom Keogh
The Sound of Music - The most widely seen movie produced by a Hollywood studio, The Sound of Music grows fresher with each viewing. Though it was planned meticulously in pre-production (save for the scene where Maria and the children take a dipping in an Austrian lake that nearly cost a life), on each viewing one is struck anew by the spontaneous almost improvisatory air of the acting, notably of Julie Andrews under Robert Wise's direction. There are also the little human touches he brings to, for instance, the scene where Maria leads the children to the hills, over bridges and along tow paths where the smallest boy trips up and momentarily gets left behind: it creates a feeling that most of us have encountered. From the opening pre-credit sequence of muted excitement as the camera roves over the Austrian Alps (photographed in magnificent colour), where little phrases from the wind instruments on the soundtrack are flung as if on the breeze, foreshadowing the title song to follow, the production never puts a foot wrong.
South Pacific - The dazzling Rodgers and Hammerstein musical, brought to lush life by the director of the original stage version, Joshua Logan. Set on a remote island during the Second World War, South Pacific tracks two parallel romances: one between a Navy nurse (Mitzi Gaynor) "as corny as Kansas in August" and a wealthy French plantation owner (Rossano Brazzi), the other between a young American officer (John Kerr) and a native girl (France Nuyen). The theme of interracial love was still daring in 1958, and so was director Logan's decision to overlay emotional moments with tinted filters--a technique that misfires as often as it hits. The comic relief tends to fall flat and an overly spunky Mitzi Gaynor is a poor substitute for the stage original's Mary Martin. But the location scenery on the Hawaiian island of Kauai is gorgeous and the songs are among the finest in the American musical catalogue: "Some Enchanted Evening", "Younger than Springtime", "I'm Gonna Wash That Man Right Outta My Hair", "This Nearly Was Mine". That's Juanita Hall as the sly native trader Bloody Mary, singing the haunting tune that launched a thousand tiki bars, "Bali H'ai". The movie is based on stories from James Michener's book "Tales from the South Pacific". --Robert Horton, Amazon.com
State Fair - Good old-fashioned hometown pride is on display in lavish Technicolor in this remake of the 1933 film, the only Rodgers and Hammerstein musical written directly for the silver screen. When the Frake family travels to the fair, Ma and Pa (Charles Winninger and Fay Bainter) enter contests while daughter Margy (Jeanne Crain) and son Wayne (Dick Haymes) both fall in love for the first time. State Fair is attractively photographed and energised by the vibrant performances of the talented lead actors and actresses, but the high point of the film is the colourful hoopla and hullabaloo of the fair itself, a bustling nexus of strange, wonderful, and hilarious characters brought to life by the fine supporting cast. Songs from the Academy Award-nominated score include 'It's a Grand Night for Singing', 'That's For Me', and the Oscar-winning 'It Might As Well Be Spring'.
Customer Reviews:
DANCE, SING AND FEEL THE MUSIC.......2006-04-05
WOW! A classic boxset with so many extras, words fail me.
Every song on this set is perfect and shows what masters of song and dance Rogers and Hammerstein truly where.
Buy this and be englufed by the extras alone.
A perfect pressie for those musical children, let them see what true class is.
Customer Reviews:
Excellent Hitchcock.......2007-11-13
North by Northwest is one of Hitchcock's great thrillers. Cary Grant and Eva Marie Saint star. The mistaken identity plot plays well to Grants strengths as the man confused by the insistence of others that he is George Kaplan, the mysterious spy. The balance between thriller and comedy is very well judged. The look of this movie is the key to its success along with the many set pieces. The frantic struggle of Grant against the hood's attempts to pour a bottle of scotch down his throat conveys real violence and panic.
I Confess is better remembered for its star, Montgomery Clift, than as one of Hitchcock's great movies but it is still powerful stuff. The theme is a strong one that has been copied and adapted elsewhere. Clift's character has to wrestle with his conscience after a murderer reveals his crimes in the confessional. This could, in less experienced hands turn this into more of a melodrama
The Wrong Man - is based on the book The True Story of Christopher Emmanuel Balestrero by Maxwell Anderson. Henry Fonda is fantastic alongside and excellent Vera Miles never stooping to melodrama this is powerful stuff. Fonda clam insistence on his innocence with a certain lack of emotion, the bulk of which is focussed on Miles, is compelling.
I am a fan of Stage Fright for its atmosphere and tensions. It explores the common Hitchockian theme of the wanted man trying to prove his innocence. Eve Gill (Jane Wyman), an aspiring young actress, shelters a fellow acting student, Jonathan Cooper (Richard Todd), from the police. He is suspected of murdering the husband of his mistress, Charlotte Inwood (Marlene Dietrich who plays the dangerous seductress that she so often played), he claims that he became implicated only when he tried to help Charlotte destroy the evidence. This movie has lots of classic Hitchcock's twists and turns and the level of suspense and tension is kept high throughout.
Dial M for Murder - Grace Kelly, Ray Milland and Robert Cummings. Filmed pretty much on the single set with a few, dialogue free shots, outside the apartment and the dinner scene where the alibi is being established. This is a neat adaptation the stage play of the same title by Frederick Knot. The play premiered in 1952 as a BBC television play before being performed on the stage in the same year. Hitchcock knew and awful lot about claustrophobic sets, as also used in The Rope, and he makes a virtue out of the confined set as the key to the police understanding of the death is the limitations on access to the apartment. Milland is inspired casting as usual for Hitchcock who only experienced difficulties with "stars" later in his career with the difficulty Torn Curtain (which Andrews and Newman spoiled) and on one other occasion where he miscast Doris Day in his remake of The Man Who Knew Too Much
Strangers on a Train - Tennis player Guy Haines (Farley Granger) wants to divorce his unfaithful wife, Miriam (Rogers), in order to marry, Anne Morton (Ruth Roman). Guy meets the unstable and psychopathic Bruno Antony (Robert Walker) on a train and Bruno tells Guy about his idea to exchange murders: Bruno would kill Miriam if Guy kills Bruno's father. Guy does not take Bruno seriously Bruno murders Miriam. This plays, again, on one of Hitchcock's favorite themes of the innocent man who unwittingly gets caught up on a murder and can not go to the police without further implicating himself. Patricia Hitchcock (Alfred's daughter) plays Anne Morton's sister superbly acting as both some comedic counterpoint to the tense drama and as the stimulus to the veil of normality being briefly lifted from Bruno's public persona. The fact that she wears glasses and therefore looks similar to the murdered Miriam draws her to Bruno's attention triggering an iconic scene in the movie. The glasses play a part in another iconic scene during the murder itself and Bruno's desperate attempts to retrieve Guy's cigarette lighter from a drain is compelling. Leo G Carroll is brilliant as Anne's father. He appeared in several other Hitchcock movies, including Spellbound and North By Northwest. His great strength is the relaxed authority that he brings to the role which is required here as he is playing a senator. My only gripe with this movie is the ending. I know they grappled with how to end it and still hadn't resolved this until well into shooting the movie but to contemporary eyes a policeman carelessly shooting into a carousel with women and children onboard seems wrong. No thought is given to the poor carousel operator who is shot.
You can't beat the Master.......2005-05-14
Without a doupt one of the best boxsets I have ever bought. It features:
"North by Northwest" which is still recognised as Hitchcock's greatest thriller. Cary Grant and Eva Marie Saint star. The picture quality on the DVD is amazingly perfect, when you consider the film is over 40 years old. It is presented in 1.85:1 widescreen (colour) and has a new remastered surround soundtrack. Special features include a fantastic 40 minute documentary on the making of "North by Northwest" as well as an audio commentary by Ernest Lehman (who wrote the screen play), a music-only audio track, production stills, a trailer and a TV advert. Overall this is the perfect DVD! 10/10
"I Confess" is not one of Hitchcocks most well remembered movies but it is still watchable. Montgomery Clift and Anne Baxter star. The picture quality (black and white) is above adverage and is presented in full frame with a mono soundtrack. As for the special features there is a 20 minute making of as well as a trailer and footage of the Gala Canadian Premiere for "I Confess". This is my least favorite Hitchcock film in the boxset. 6/10
"The Wrong Man" again is not one of Hitch's most remembered movies but I loved every minute of this thriller based on a true story. Henry Fonda and a fantasic Vera Miles star. Picture quality (black and white) is very good and is 1.85:1 anamorphic widescreen with a mono soundtrack. However the DVD is quite skimpy on special features with only a trailer and a 20 minute making of. Dispite a lack of special features I enjoyed this film but it's not to everyones taste. 8/10
"Stage Fright" is a good movie. There is nothing amazing about it but then its not a terrible film either. However the I found the film slighty more amusing than other Hitchcock movies. Marlene Dietrich and Jane Wyman star with Micheal Wilding and Richard Todd. Full frame (black and white) and a adverage picture quality with a mono soundtrack. Yet again a DVD thats extras dont match up to the rest with just a 20 minute making of and a standard trailer. More amusing than suspenseful but I enjoyed the film but it's not greatness (watch out at the end for Ballard Berkley in a small role). 7/10
"Dial M for Murder" is classic Hitchcock. Grace Kelly, Ray Milland and Robert Cummings star is a suspenseful masterpeice. Picture quality (colour) is amazing and is presented in 1.85:1 anamorphic widescreen with a mono soundtrack. Added extras are very good with the trailer 20 minute making of and a featurette giving a breif history on the 3D process (Dial M was first released in the cinema in 3D). Great film 8/10
"Strangers on a Train" is presented here on 2 disc special edition DVD, with both versions of the film intact, these are the Final release version and the Preview (or British) version. Farley Granger, Ruth Roman, Robert Walker and Patrica Hitchcock star in this wonderful Hitchcock thriller. Again the picture quality is great (black and white) and is full frame with a mono soundtrack. Disc 1 special features include an Audio Commentary on the Final release version and the trailer. While Disc 2 contains the Preview (British) version as well as a whole host of added extras that include, a 40 minute making of, "The Hitchcocks on Hitch" featurette, "The Victims P.O.V" featurette, "An appreciation by M. Night Shyamalan" director of Signs and The Village, and silent newsreel footage of Hitchcock himself. This is another of my favorites. 9/10
Overall this is a brilliant boxset full with the Master of Suspenses greatest work and I would advise anyone to buy this amazing package.
Customer Reviews:
Interesting.......2007-03-29
While I think the above review a little harsh, I must admit to being somewhat disappointed in the DVD. I have never studied Leonard Cohen's career and back catalogue, I just really like many of his songs that I know, and his demeanour of troubled, hardworking, but ultimately great songsmith is one that really appeals to me. I think the DVD has some good footage of Cohen, some good anecdotes, and I like some of the thoughts professed by artists paying tribute. I also like the Nick Cave performances, the Jarvis Cocker rendition, and a couple of the others are ok too. That said, other workings of his songs are overblown trite without any sensitivity to the originals, and with subtlety generally sacrificed to high pitched, female vocals ad infinitum. I saw the documentary in the cinema a few months back and really liked it alot, I don't know if I just got carried away with the parts that I enjoyed, or if the big screen and sound system really made such a massive difference. I certainly wouldn't reccommend this product unless you have a pretty impressive home cinema, or are a complete Cohen addict.
Worst I've ever seen.......2007-01-04
I saw this in the cinema last night and was looking forward to a documentary about Leonard Cohen, whose music I have loved for years. However, I was bitterly disappointed. If you take out all the appalling singing, the documentary part would account for less than 1/2 hour, and it didn't even give any new insights. But would have been fine and watchable, if a little sycophantic.
However, the singers that were picked to interpret Leonard Cohen's music, were frankly aweful (except Julie Christensen, Perla Batela and Jarvis Cocker). Leonard Cohen's songs are all quite long and when you are subjected to listen to screetching voices it becomes unbearable and the expression 'fast-forward to the good bits' comes to mind. I really tried very hard to find some quality and some merit in the singers, but was unable to. -- Just let the man sing his songs himself!!!
What shocked me most was the fact that people in the cinema clapped at the end of it. Not sure if it was out of joy or because the ordeal was over. My partner and I must have seen and heard a different film.
Please note: I do not object to other singers singing Cohen's songs per se, I just enjoy singers that can actually sing a lot more - like Anjani, Sharon Robinson, Perla Batela, Julie Christensen, Jennifer Warnes....they all sing his songs beautifully.
Amazon.co.uk Review
History will place an asterisk next to A.I. as the film Stanley Kubrick might have directed. But let the record also show that Kubrick--after developing this project for some 15 years--wanted Steven Spielberg to helm this astonishing sci-fi rendition of Pinocchio, claiming (with good reason) that it veered closer to Spielberg's kinder, gentler sensibilities. Spielberg inherited the project (based on the Brain Aldiss short story "Supertoys Last All Summer Long") after Kubrick's death in 1999, and the result is an astounding directorial hybrid. A flawed masterpiece of sorts, in which Spielberg's gift for wondrous enchantment often clashes (and sometimes melds) with Kubrick's harsher vision of humanity, the film spans near and distant futures with the fairy-tale adventures of an artificial boy named David (Haley Joel Osment), a marvel of cybernetic progress who wants only to be a real boy, loved by his mother in that happy place called home.
Echoes of Spielberg's Empire of the Sun are evident as young David, shunned by his trial parents and tossed into an unfriendly world, is joined by fellow "mecha" Gigolo Joe (played with a dancer's agility by Jude Law) in his quest for a mother-and-child reunion. Parallels to Pinocchio intensify as David reaches "the end of the world" (a Manhattan flooded by melted polar ice caps), and a far-future epilogue propels A.I. into even deeper realms of wonder, just as it pulls Spielberg back to his comfort zone of sweetness and soothing sentiment. Some may lament the diffusion of Kubrick's original vision, but this is Spielberg's A.I., a film of astonishing technical wizardry that spans the spectrum of human emotions and offers just enough Kubrick to suggest that humanity's future is anything but guaranteed. --Jeff Shannon, Amazon.com
On the DVD: A perfect movie for the digital age, A.I. finds a natural home on DVD. The purity of the picture, its carefully composed colour schemes and the multifarious sound effects are accorded the pin-point sharpness they deserve with the anamorphic 1.85:1 picture and Dolby 5.1 sound, as is John Williams's thoughtful music score. On the first disc there's a short yet revealing documentary, "Creating A.I.", but the meat of the extras appears on disc two. Here there are good, well-made featurettes on acting, set design, costumes, lighting, sound design, music and various aspects of the special effects: Stan Winston's remarkable robots (including Teddy, of course) and ILM's flawless CGI work. In addition there are storyboards, photographs and trailers. Finally, Steven Spielberg provides some rather sententious closing remarks ("I think that we have to be very careful about how we as a species use our genius"), but no director's commentary. --Mark Walker
Customer Reviews:
Success has many fathers.... and this great movie had four! .......2008-02-05
I loved this movie. It may be not as magnificent as other Spielberg and Kubrick works, but it is still a great moment of cinema. I watched it with a great emotion and I was afraid for the little hero (or rather two little heroes - let's not forget Teddy...) from the beginning to the end. It made me cry twice, no matter how much I tried not to. It really reached deep into my heart as no other movie managed to do in years... So, there is no other possibility - five stars.
I agree however that AI is clearly a patchwork of ideas rather than one project. It is because this story was worked in all successively by four very talented but very different men.
It began as a short story ("Supertoys last all summer") by Brian Aldiss, a great name of British SF, known mostly for his magnificent "Hothouse" novel. As most of SF writers from 60s and 70s Aldiss was very pesimistic and his writings are usually rather sad and gloomy. His mark is clearly visible in the movie.
The short story was rewritten in a scenario by another great name of SF, Ian Watson, who of course left his own personal inprint.
The person who had the idea of making a movie about a modern SF version of "Pinocchio" was the great Stanley Kubrick. He never realised it however and when he died, according to his last will, the project went to Steven Spielberg.
Spielberg inherited a very sad, depressing and dark tale of suffering and despair and he simply couldn't realise it like it was. He changed the story, mainly removing the "horrible bad ending" and replaced it with a kinder "not so happy end" which so many reviewers didn't like. Well, me for one I think he was right because ending AI differently would give a movie that only a really bad person (and by saying this I really mean "a sadistic sociopath") could like...
You probably already know what this story is about - a robot child, who was programmed to love his foster parents and who wants just to be their child, nothing else... but even that little will prove to be too much to ask... No other spoilers.
Haley Joel Osment gives here a performance as brilliant as the one he gave in "Sixth sense". Jude Law and William Hurt are good in second roles. A great "star" of this movie is Teddy, a little teddy-bear robot, once a very expensive and cool toy, now obsolescent and falling in pieces... The scenes in which he is fixing himself with a needle and some yarn will probably touch the coldest hearts.
This is NOT a movie for children! I strongly warn you against watching it with them, unless they are at least 12. Some of the scenes are very disturbing (like the execution of "strays", robots which were abandoned or chased away by the owners) and even after the little Spielberg touch, this movie is still terribly sad....
All in all, I believe you should watch this movie, at least once - you will not regret it. And you can also use AI as a medical test - if the final scene doesn't have any effect on you, you should see a doctor....
Near faultless........2008-01-20
Thoughtful sci-fi story about a robot boy (played by Haley Joel Osment) who wants to become a real boy like in the story Pinocchio so that the woman who purchased him (whom he considers his mother) will love him like she loves her real son. An intelligent sci-fi tear jerker from Steven Spielberg who as usual knows exactly what he is doing. A near faultless movie - ruined only by subplots involving Jude Law that don't go anywhere and a final scene that I felt could have been a bit better - that is emotionally satisfying and far superior to I, Robot (a film with a similar theme of whether robots should be treated like human beings). Spielberg went on to make the also excellent Minority Report the following year, so he was clearly on a roll. Very nearly 5 stars out of 5.
sad yet it makes you think.......2008-01-04
I don't think I've ever cried so much over a film. The film is about a robot/android named david who is created for a family who have lost their son. Unfortunatley things don't go well for the new family and they leave him behind. He goes on a journey to make himself human (much like ponichio, sorry, poor spelling). The film goes into what makes someone human? ethics, love and mostly loss. It's one of thoese films that you get if you feel like a good cry. It left me thinking afterwords. It's a good film but don't expect it to be a happy sunshine kinda film.
Absolute Pants........2007-11-01
I was expecting a lot from this film but in the end did not manage to watch the whole film through to the end as it bored me to death. I thought I would give it another go but after trying to watch it the second time I gave it away to a friend. To me it's a complete dud.
A MASTERPIECE .......2007-10-25
AI: Artificial Intelligence is an incredible film. The subject matter hits the very heart of the human condition and our destructive nature. By creating Artificial Intelligence we believe that we created servants to humanity, when what we created was a race. And in creating an artificial being who can love to fill gaps in our lives, we have created the very thing that the society in the film have forgotten to use, or to have. Not only does the film ask the question, 'what is love?' but it shows a society that has forgotten how to function with it. As Haley Joel Osments character - David - progresses through the film in search of the key to bring him love, we see a society that has pushed love away. Awash with corruption, quick fixes and bitter pastimes (the arena's where the 'mecha'(Artificial beings) are routinely destroyed by techno phobic humans, with no compassion for the race that humanity is responsible for creating). Gigolo Joe - Played excellently by Jude Law - plays David's inadvertent guide who is on the run after being framed for a murder committed by a human. Provoked by self preservation and meeting David Joe begins to show subtle signs that he is evolving beyond his basic functions. Ultimately the human society in this film destroys itself as global warming comes to fruition. But the mecha race evolves beyond what it was. Is this because the mecha that were created held onto that which humans readily throw away or attempt to do without? SPOILER: It should be noted that the race of beings at the end of the film are evolved mecha's not aliens. The film is full of pain and beauty. 'AI: Artificial Intelligence' shows a possible reality as well as the darker and idealistic sides of the human condition. Science fiction and storytelling of the highest order. And yes - it is written as a fable or a story tale. A work of fiction containing an important human truth. 'Will we understand and nurture life of a different order that we create?'
Customer Reviews:
Oh dear.......2007-03-15
Someone is shot and throughout a car journey the story is slowly pieced together from different peoples points of view...a great concept for a movie which is sadly not pulled off at all in this film. Although the storyline is there you can't believe it becasue the actors lack the ability to convince you of the troubles on their minds. You could quite easily get distracted by something else whilst watching this film, ironing for example. I picked it up for just a quid in the supermarket and even that wasn't money well spent.
DVD Review:
- Conan the Destroyer [1984] (REGION 1) (NTSC)
- Doom/Serenity [2005]
- Dr. Dolittle [1998] (REGION 1) (NTSC)
- Dream of a Warrior [2002]
- Edward Scissorhands [1991] (REGION 1) (NTSC)
- Elizabeth: The Golden Age [2007] (REGION 1) (NTSC)
- Emmanuelle's Intimate Encounters [2000] (REGION 1) (NTSC)
- Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind [HD DVD] [2004] [US Import]
- Fantastic Planet [1973] (REGION 1) (NTSC)
- Farscape 3.2 [1999]
DVD Review List
DVD Review
All Science Fiction & Fantasy
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Science Fiction & Fantasy
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Categories
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DVD
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Video
![Forbidden Planet - 50th Anniversary 2 Disc Special Edition [1956]](http://images-eu.amazon.com/images/P/B000O3HFYM.01.THUMBZZZ.jpg)
Forbidden Planet - 50th Anniversary 2 Disc Special Edition [1956]
![Ray Harryhausen Collection : 20 Million Miles to Earth / Earth Vs. The Flying Saucers / It Came From Beneath The Sea [1955]](http://images-eu.amazon.com/images/P/B0012OTRR0.01.THUMBZZZ.jpg)
Ray Harryhausen Collection : 20 Million Miles to Earth / Earth Vs. The Flying Saucers / It Came From Beneath The Sea [1955]
![The Day The Earth Stood Still [1951]](http://images-eu.amazon.com/images/P/B0007P8KVY.01.THUMBZZZ.jpg)
The Day The Earth Stood Still [1951]
Invaders
![When Worlds Collide Dvd [1951]](http://images-eu.amazon.com/images/P/B00005UPO0.01.THUMBZZZ.jpg)
When Worlds Collide Dvd [1951]
![Leonard Cohen - I'm Your Man [2006]](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/31hvuUcgbYL.jpg)
![Ladies And Gentlemen... Mr Leonard Cohen [1965]](http://images-eu.amazon.com/images/P/B000051WCE.01.THUMBZZZ.jpg)
![Musical Classics 3-Disc Set: Calamity Jane, Seven Brides For Seven Brothers and My Fair Lady [1953]](http://images-eu.amazon.com/images/P/B000WBZZ2K.01.THUMBZZZ.jpg)
![Alfred Hitchcock Box Set (Rebecca/Notorious/Spellbound/The Paradine Case) [1940]](http://images-eu.amazon.com/images/P/B000BTJ3ZS.01.THUMBZZZ.jpg)
![The Early Hitchcock Collection [1929]](http://images-eu.amazon.com/images/P/B000KRMZMY.01.THUMBZZZ.jpg)
![Suspicion [1941]](http://images-eu.amazon.com/images/P/B000PMGRDC.01.THUMBZZZ.jpg)
![Role of a Lifetime [2001] (REGION 1) (NTSC)](http://images-eu.amazon.com/images/P/B0002PUGUW.01.THUMBZZZ.jpg)
![What Girls Learn [2001] (REGION 1) (NTSC)](http://images-eu.amazon.com/images/P/B0000897B6.01.THUMBZZZ.jpg)
![Mail To The Chief [2000]](http://images-eu.amazon.com/images/P/B0001NIYFE.01.THUMBZZZ.jpg)
![A Knight In Camelot [2002]](http://images-eu.amazon.com/images/P/B0001NIY3Q.01.THUMBZZZ.jpg)
![Tall Tale - The Unbelievable Adventure [1995]](http://images-eu.amazon.com/images/P/B0001GNJQU.01.THUMBZZZ.jpg)
![Renee Fleming And Bryn Terfel - Under The Stars [2003]](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/21N1RWAZNFL.jpg)
![Renee Fleming [2002]](http://images-eu.amazon.com/images/P/B00006LJAR.01.THUMBZZZ.jpg)
![Cecilia And Bryn At Glyndebourne - Arias And Duets [1999]](http://images-eu.amazon.com/images/P/B000068TPJ.01.THUMBZZZ.jpg)
![Bryn Terfel - Don Giovanni - Mozart [2000] (NTSC)](http://images-eu.amazon.com/images/P/B000787WZG.01.THUMBZZZ.jpg)
![Leonard Cohen: I'm Your Man [2006] (REGION 1) (NTSC)](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/21NVgS4kq8L.jpg)
![A.I.: Artificial Intelligence [2001] (REGION 1) (NTSC)](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/21QFA4ABNAL.jpg)
![Bicentennial Man [1999]](http://images-eu.amazon.com/images/P/B000EBOZTW.01.THUMBZZZ.jpg)
![Minority Report - Single Disc Edition [2002]](http://images-eu.amazon.com/images/P/B0000DK4QJ.01.THUMBZZZ.jpg)
![I Robot - Single Disc Edition [2004]](http://images-eu.amazon.com/images/P/B0002X4T48.01.THUMBZZZ.jpg)
![The Sixth Sense - 2 Disc Collector's Edition [1999]](http://images-eu.amazon.com/images/P/B00006FI59.01.THUMBZZZ.jpg)
![The Time Machine [2002]](http://images-eu.amazon.com/images/P/B000062V97.01.THUMBZZZ.jpg)
![Calamity Jane [1953]](http://images-eu.amazon.com/images/P/B000092WDB.01.THUMBZZZ.jpg)
![West Side Story (Special Edition) [1961]](http://images-eu.amazon.com/images/P/B0000BZNDA.01.THUMBZZZ.jpg)
![High Society [1956]](http://images-eu.amazon.com/images/P/B000092WD7.01.THUMBZZZ.jpg)
![Guys And Dolls [1955]](http://images-eu.amazon.com/images/P/B00005KIT8.01.THUMBZZZ.jpg)
![The Fred And Ginger Collection [1935]](http://images-eu.amazon.com/images/P/B0000SVWM2.01.THUMBZZZ.jpg)
