Romance And Cigarettes [2005]

Customer Reviews:

another winner from the coens.......2007-04-10

Quirky as THE BIG LEBOWSKI and musical like O BROTHER WHERE ART THOU this is another gem from the coens. The plot is simple and I do not wish to reveal it so ultimately this is a musical drama about love and what goes wrong when it goes wrong- arguments, fights, rivalries , and all done via a funny heartfelt script and excellent soundtrack. I could waffle on about postmodernist freudian subtexts and chaucerian boondoggling but why bother , id be lying, this is a funny entertaining film worth watching as it is novel endearing quintessential COEN BROS

absorbing - and very odd!.......2007-02-13

This is a very watchable film in the Dennis Potter 'Pennies from Heaven' mould - that is, a pretty down-to-earth plot (blue-collar man cheats on wife, she is angry, he eventually detaches himself from his younger mistress, it all ends sadly) punctuated by dance routines and singalong classics with the actors singing with the tracks. The musical bits are amusing and intriguing, with incongruous choreography (a group of firemen, policemen, local labourers), and the performances are all excellent. I don't know why Aida Turturro (Janice Soprano in another incarnation) is cast as James Gandolfini's (Tony S. ditto) daughter - that just doesn't work. But Gandolfini is good as the fairly bone-headed but bewildered and in the end sympathetic hero, Susan Sarandon is very feisty as his wife and Kate Winslet puts in a bravura turn as the very foul-mouthed, ginger-haired mistress ; Elaine Stritch has a marvellous cameo as the mother from hell. The film ends surprisingly with considerable pathos, but mostly it is brassy and loud and sometimes just a bit hard to follow. After ten minutes I was for ejecting the DVD and watching something else, but it gets to you and is, in the end, worth a look. It is certainly something different.

Definitely different.......2007-02-05

Just watched it and can't decide what I thought...

The question that immediately sprung to mind was why on earth did any of these fine actors sign on for this movie and more importantly, how did they manage to do those scenes without laughing?

It was funny in places and excruciating in others - all I can say is that it is definitely different!!!

A must for your collection.......2006-07-16

I'm great fan of the Coen Brothers and specially Big Lebowsky so the expectations were high. Despite the bad critics, Romance & Cigarettes wasn't a disappointment at all. Quite the opposite, I loved it from the moment that Gandolfini kicks off "Lonely as a man without love". Fantastic direction from Turturro. Can't wait to see it again and keep it next to the other masterpieces from the Coen's.

Moulin Rouge for the blue collar slob.......2006-07-13

I was lucky enough to catch this film on its re-release. Lucky I say as it hardly took the world by storm and screened on one of my five local cinemas for only one week. This by no means did it justice. Perhaps it suffered a crisis of identity, not being as flambouyant and garish as Moulin Rouge, but this was exactly what appealed to me about it. It did appear grimey and rugged but that added to its charm and that atmosphere translated to the characters perfectly. It brought across the rather alternative poetry of the working class suburb and contains many moments that had me in stitches, including one particular scene with Chritopher Walken to rival his best ever work.

Romance and Cigarettes [2005] (REGION 1) (NTSC)

Average customer rating:

Romance and Cigarettes [2005] (REGION 1) (NTSC)
Starring: Katherine Borowitz , Steve Buscemi , Mary Bond Davis , James Gandolfini , and Cady Huffman
Director: John Turturro
Manufacturer: Sony Pictures
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

Musicals | Soundtracks | Styles | Music

All Comedy | Comedy | Categories | DVD | Video

Musicals | Classics | Categories | DVD | Video

Region 1 | Special Features | DVD | Video

DVD | Format (binding_browse-bin) | Refinements | DVD | Video
ASIN: B0010DM3R4
Release Date: 2008-02-12

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