Amazon.co.uk Review
Harrowing thriller about a hotwired ex-soldier (co-scripter Paddy Considine from Cinderella Man) who returns to his sleepy Midlands hometown to dole out merciless revenge upon the booze and drug-sodden hoodlums who abused his mentally handicapped younger brother (the astonishing Toby Kebbel). Director Shane Meadows (Once Upon a Time in the Midlands) doesn't shy away from delivering scenes of gripping suspense and violence, but the end result hews closer to an ambiguous meditation on the nature and effect of vengeance a la Sam Peckinpah's Straw Dogs than a Death Wish-style grindhouse effort. Taut and thought-provoking, Dead Man's Shoes is a must-see for indie film aficionados with a taste for the grittiest of fare. The DVD includes some rollicking commentary by Meadows, Considine, and producer Mark Herbert; an intriguing and heartfelt featurette on Meadows and his own violent past as a teenage skinhead in 1980s England, from which he drew inspiration for this film; and an alternate (and somewhat less satisfying) final scene. -- Paul Gaita
Customer Reviews:
Fantastic Intense Workout .......2008-02-08
I just ordered this DVD last week and received it a few days later (thanks Amazon) and got to try it out later that day. I am fairly fit and used to do boxing quite a lot and have to say Liam and Nells workout is pretty intense and will make you sweat an awful lot.
The workout is solid and the music is absolutely brilliant, very pumping and energetic. I would recommend this to anyone, no matter what your level of fitness. 10/10
Hard work but soooo boring .......2008-02-07
I own a lot of fitness dvds because I do at least one a day as well as other exercise and like to vary it as much as possible. This was one of my most recent purchases and after 2 attempts, I will be selling it on. The only reason I have given it any stars at all, is because if you could pesevere with it, I can imagine you would see results quite quickly. However, the factors that would stop me from being able to continue using this dvd are the instructor (horrible voice, unmotivating) and the sheer monotony of all the moves - its just basically jogging on the spot, whilst moving your arms around to boring music with the odd lunge thrown in - I don't need a dvd to show me how to do that. I honestly don't know how this dvd has got such good reviews....on the plus point the abs section is quite good, but on the whole, if you like to enjoy your workout, then I would not recommend this dvd
OMG It hurts but is worth it!.......2008-02-06
This is an excellent addition to my Nell McAndrew collection. Really challenging, and does exactly what it says on the packet. If you have not got any of Nells other fitness DVDs I would suggest you start with ultimate challenge as it is structured better and has a longer toning section.
I love this as it only takes an hour and the music is great. Really motivates you to do more. I love the chap who takes the class, and this dvd will appeal to men as well as women. Lots of simple, effective movement that fits into a tiny space. I have tried a lot of celeb dvds and this is the closest to a real class. I really like the people who perform the class as well as they have been in almost all the dvds and the oldest is 47.
If you want a challenging, funky fitness DVD that really works then this is the one for you.
good dvd.......2008-01-29
Im a big fan of working out but found that alot of celeb dvds dont work me hard enough. However this dvd definatly got me into a sweat and the next day I was alittle achey as It got me to use muscles I dont always use when ding a gym workout. Its great for when I cant get to the gym and is handy being an hour long.
Same workout as Ultimate Challenge with different music! Don't bother!.......2008-01-27
If you already have Ultimate Challenge,don't waste your money buying this. You could just change the music, change the background and you would be doing the same workout! Even the instructor's commands and mannerisms are exactly the same in the same places! I found the music far worse - in Ultimate Challenge it was really good and motivating, here it is just repetative and boring. It involves the usual running on the spot for cardio, which is hard work, yet really tedious after a while. That is why I got bored with Ultimate Challenge!The only diference with this DVD is it is slightly shorter (1hr) and there are sets of lunges instead of squats. The "core" section involves the same sit-ups ,a quick plank and some back extensions - there is no real " core" work as you might expect in the sense of pilates exercises. Sadly, this DVD seems to have been brought out to make some extra money without revamping the workout. What a disappointment.
Those who have never done Nell's workouts before may enjoy this if you have nothing to compare it to. It is a great workout for fitness, but not if you are looking for something new and different to her last DVD.
Customer Reviews:
9/10. The Shane Meadows Collection.......2008-02-01
Dubbed the `Scorcese of the Midlands', Shane Meadows is one of the UK's brightest modern filmmaking talents. This fantastic four-disk set includes all Meadows' full-length film work bar `Once Upon A Time in the Midlands', a critical and commercial failure that the director has since distanced himself from. The four films are unified by their stark Midlands settings, non-professional actors and a liberal use of improvisation - harking back to kitchen sink dramas of the British New Wave in the 1960s. But while Meadows belongs to a similar tradition to Ken Loach and Mike Leigh, he is also arguably closer to his subjects, having the empirical eye of a man who has lived the life firsthand. Moreover, the raw approach to filmmaking, coupled with the director's handpicked indie, pop and reggae soundtracks, makes it easy to see why the Scorcese comparison persists.
Shane Meadows's first movie set the template for his more accomplished later work. Bob Hoskins excepting, `Twenty Four Seven' features a cast of non-professionals and a typically tragic-comic approach to realist drama. As someone who viewed Meadows's later work first however, Twenty Four Seven seems really quite amateurish. While it is lovingly photographed in black and white by cinematographer Ashley Rowe, it is Meadows's weakest work in terms of plot and character development. I was quite surprised by how weak this film was given that it made the directors' name and became the launchpad for his career. There's simply not enough depth to the characters to be moved by the consequences of their actions. Furthermore, Meadows' use of a comtemporary indie soundtrack - another hallmark of his filmmaking - has never been lazier than here. A whole sequence of the film, dedicated to the supposed bonding of the key characters in the film on a trip to Wales, is a perfunctary montage of lame visual jokes set to The Charlatans.
Like Shane Meadows' later `This is England', `A Room For Romeo Brass' is a coming of age drama revolving around friends growing up in the working class Midlands. Both films feature friendships tested by the divisive arrival of an influential older figure. The protagonists in both films seek friendship to escape disappointment or disenfranchisement from family life. While the latter film places this scenario in the context of class conflict in Thatcher's Britain and the rise of the skinhead movement, the thematic concerns of `Romeo Brass' are less contemporaneous. Its outsider comes in the surreal shape of Morel (played by the brilliant Paddy Considine), a small-town oddball who takes an instant and ultimately obsessive interest in the eponymous character's sister. Considine is always fascinating to watch (from Meadows' own `Dead Man's Shoes' to Pawel Pawlikowski's `My Summer of Love') and he is by turns hilarious and terrifying here as the volatile Morel. However, for all Considine's brilliance on screen there is something lacking in this film's purpose. Whereas This is England's small-scale drama manages to address wider social decline in a specific historical context, A Room For Romeo Brass` concerns are perhaps not broad enough. It is certainly not the first film about an obsessive and intimidating individual insinuating himself into family life (cinema is rife with them, from the great to the really poor). Once you take that out of the equation, there is not a great deal else to capture the imagination.
Arguably Shane Meadow's most accomplished film to date, `Dead Man's Shoes' combines the director's normal witty observance of small-town Midlands life with that of a classic revenge movie. It stars co-writer and Meadows regular Paddy Considine as Richard, an ex-soldier returning to his hometown to avenge his brother's bullying at the hands of some drug-dealing townie low-lifes. Richard's mildly mentally handicapped younger brother is played so convincingly by relative newcomer Toby Kebbel that he threatens to outshine even the brilliant Considine. Some of the low-key scenes of the two together talking are probably the best pieces of ensemble acting in any Meadows film, while the more typically improvised gang of tawdry, small-town drug-dealers are both hilariously and horribly believable.
What marks Dead Man's Shoes out in comparison to Meadows' previous films is that there is a real twist - a sting in the tail. This leads to a climatic but ultimately ambiguous ending which flips the revenge movie formula on its head. Is Richard's act of revenge more an act of atonement for his own failures as a brother, his own guilt about failing to protect him? Or does this act of atonement extend to the soldier's private shame in having a disabled brother? And at what cost is this act of revenge on Richard himself? "Now I'm the monster", he reflects, managing to get the balance right between menace and remorse in a way that marks him out as one of the best actors of his generation.
While belonging to a British cinematic tradition - social realism with a twist of surreal humour - that owes much to the work of the Mike Leigh and Ken Loach, `This is England' is a classic rites of passage drama with roots that can be traced back to Trauffaut's `Les Quatre Cents Coups'. You have to have lived in Thatcher's Britain to fully appreciate the attention to detail put into recreating the mood of the times here. The credit sequence - a montage of contemporaneous news footage - sets the scene: royal weddings, the Fawklands war, the miners' strikes and class conflict. For all the verisimilitude, though, it's the honesty and intensity of the performances that carry this film. Meadows looks at the skinhead movement with the sympathetic eye of someone who experienced it first hand. He does not seek to demonise those involved, but to show how what began as a fashion with roots - paradoxically - in black culture, became politicised at a time of class strife and high unemployment.
Meadows uses a ska soundtrack to demonstrate the contradiction at the heart of the skinheads, that the music they loved was directly influenced by reggae imported to the UK by Carribbean immigration. The director's use of contemporaneous music not only sets a sense of time and place, but also brings a tangible voice to the emotional turmoil of his characters. At times this can be a little too literal, especially in the final sequence when we are treated to some of Morrissey's finest lyrics: "See, the luck I've had / Can make a good man turn bad". It's a shame that they couldn't use the original Smiths song, for the singer in the cover version is a pale imitation of Morrissey. All in all, though, this a great value box-set from one of the UK's best modern filmmakers.
Great Films but... Be Warned.......2007-09-05
For this box set, they've simply inlcuded Disc 1 from the 2 DVD set of "This Is England" so you wont get the extras from disc 2. The disc is even labelled 'Disc One', they could have at least relabelled the disc for this box set (or included disc 2 as well).
If you havent seen any of these films though, this is a great buy. Shane Meadows is one of the best film makers in the UK. His films have a lightness of touch and humanity which is a joy to behold.
Satisfying but incomplete over view of a talented film makers career so far.......2007-08-07
Shane Meadows is the new Ken Loach, Mike Leigh , Alan Clark...delete as appropriate , or not as the case may be. Whether you do agree with any of the following its hard to deny that Meadows has carved out a niche for himself with his docu-drama type approach to film making and his empathy with working class characters . Meadows , though is probably more empirically sympathetic to these characters and is closer in nature to them than any of the above film makers. That means they have a real frisson of veracity and a tarnished cadence of truth . Mainly though they are by turns funny , moving , shocking or just entertaining .It's not a bad mix anyway you look at it.
This collection unfortunately misses out "Once Upon A Time In The Midlands" for some reason. It's the weakest film Meadows has made , but it's still worth a viewing and it would have been nice for anal completist reasons to have it included here .
Meadows first film "Twenty Four Seven " (1997) is a tale of dragging inspiration from alienation as Alan Darcy (Bob Hoskins) tries to motivate the delinquent youths of a Midland town by forming a boxing club. Shot in grainy black and white with a cast of largely unknowns the film never descends into the sort of sickly sweet barely credible overcoming the odds tripe that Hollywood excels at , but instead subverts our expectations with an out of the blue tragedy that leads to a very moving coda that showcases how the challenges of making the world a better place often come at a price for the most altruistic .
A Room For Romeo Brass (1999) like Twenty Four seven was written by Meadows with collaborator Paul Fraser and is essentially a buddy movie the buddies being young Romeo Brass (Andrew Shim) and Gavin" Knock Knock" Wooley (Ben Marshall) .They are neighbours and inseparable but when shell suited older misfit Morrel (Paddy Considine) saves Romeo from a beating after Romeo had intervened on behalf of his limping friend a wedge is driven between the pair. Morell mutates from a gawky impressionable eccentric, humiliated by the two boys when they advise him how to impress Romeo's older sister Ladine ( Vicky McClure) to a hissing snide bully who threatens Knock Knock on a day out , causing him to withdraw from Romeo.
The return of Romeo's father Joe ( Frank Harper) exacerbates the situation as he threatens Morrel after his ministrations on Ladine and Romeo moves in with Morrel but a further attempted seduction of Ladine ends in humiliation for Morell who throws Romeo out leading to another violent confrontation which bonds the families again and re-unites the two former friends . With some wonderful naturalistic performances, a testimony to the director who is not adverse to actors improvising , and a compelling turn from Considine the film has a warm empathetic feel. Meadows it would seem is one of those film makers capable of avoiding cliché and gross sentiment in order for us to sympathise with his characters . This is his finest achievement in that regard.
Dead Mans Shoes (2004) was made after the rather light-hearted "Once Upon A Time In The Midlands" (2002) and is an entirely different proposition. It's a revenge movie , and a very unflinching one at that but it doesn't resort to over the top action or attempt to leaven it's impact with casual humour .This film is deadly serious and because its moral and aesthetic imperative is stripped to the bones unlike contemporary films like "Kill Bill" it achieves a gritty realism not seen since "Get Carter" .
The screenplay has paratrooper Richard (Paddy Considine who co-wrote the screenplay with Meadows)returning to his home town (The film was shot in Matlock Derbyshire) to avenge the tormentors of his mentally challenged brother Anthony ( Toby Kebbell) .The gang are big fish in a small pond and are led by the swaggering Sonny (Gary Stretch) but Richard using almost psychotic conviction and psychological warfare unsettles the gang and then starts to pick them off one by one. There is a twist at the conclusion which brings Richards frontier value revenge into harsh focus and though the denouement slightly defies credibility there is no doubt that this is a film with topical resonance and a tangible emotional kick.
The final film here is the recent This Is England(2006) a semi-autobiographical tale set in Grimsby in the early eighties just after the Falklands and the biting down of Thatcher's policies. Like many of his films it see's a young impressionable boy taken under the wing of older flawed men .This time its 13 year old Shaun ( Thomas Turgoose) ,a lad picked on because his dad had been killed in the Falklands and for his horrible flared jeans which make him look like "Keith Chegwins younger brother". A chance meeting with a gang of skinheads ,who prove to be sympathetic to his plight lead to him becoming one of the gang and as well as forming a bond with the groups charismatic leader Woody ( Joe Gilgun) he strikes up a tentative relationship with Smell ( Rosamund Hanson) a languorous girl-punk. However when violent and political Combo(Stephen Graham) a member of The National Front re-joins the gang after a period in jail the gang is torn apart and it's not long before virulent racism and brutality follow.
This Is England attempts to humanise Skinheads (The gang listen to a ska music and have a black member played by Meadows regular Andrew Shim) and while that is not entirely successful it does show that the gangs offered a surrogate family for alienated youths , something that still resounds with modern-day youth culture. Mostly though it is a superbly acted (Thurgoose is a revelation) rites of passage told with pragmatic conviction that convincingly juxtaposes it's political content with the personnel .
This is an excellent box -set with some worthy extras but I feel it would have been preferable to include everything Meadows has put his burgeoning name to including the unjustly maligned OUATITM and the shorts he made especially "Small Time". But for anyone wanting to investigate arguably the most essential film maker currently working in Britain (Danny Boyle would raise an objection here I think) or just to purchase a large chunk of his output in one hit, this does the job though I repeat , the market for a more definitive overview still remains to be exploited.
Amazon.co.uk Review
A great British crime comedy always worth another watch, Two Way Stretch is the one about the cosily imprisoned crooks who hatch a scheme to pull off a heist with a perfect alibi by breaking out of their nick, doing the job and then breaking back into the jug again to serve out their sentences. Peter Sellers, usually an eccentric support in these things, takes a rare lead as cocky mastermind Dodger Lane, confident enough to share the screen with performers who would be doing serious time if scene-stealing were an actual offence. The chief delight of the film, obvious inspiration for Blakey from On the Buses, is Lionel Jeffries' bristling, infuriated, hilariously humiliated warder Sidney Crout, forever fuming as Dodger gets away with some new scheme. Also in on the scam: Wilfrid Hyde White as a bogus clergyman of extreme unctuousness, David Lodge as the dim-witted muscle bloke, and Bernard Cribbins in the nice young man part.
The wayward plot finds room for cameos from such national institutions as Beryl Reid, Irene Handl and Liz Fraser. Director Robert Day, probably best known for the Hammer version of She, is nobody's idea of an auteur, but he puts this pacey little gem together perfectly. The British cinema has been turning out an unheralded series of wonderful caper comedies for decades, from The Lavender Hill Mob through A Fish Called Wanda to The Parole Officer; this effort--along with the follow-up The Wrong Arm of the Law--ranks among the best.
On the DVD: Two Way Stretch comes to disc in a nice print. The film is also available as part of the four-disc Peter Sellers Collection.--Kim Newman
Customer Reviews:
A great comic caper in a criminal transfer.......2007-12-07
Two-Way Stretch is the one where Peter Sellers, Bernard Cribbins and David Lodge break out of prison to commit a robbery, then break back in to provide themselves with the perfect alibi. Unfortunately, their plan and their luxury regime in prison is disrupted by sadistic new chief warder Lionel Jeffries, whose arrival inspires a reel or so of sendups of classic P.O.W. movies such as The Wooden Horse (with Jeffries ending up falling through the tunnel) and Danger Within (with Cribbins literally up faeces creek without a paddle).
The comic highlights may be the prison visitors sequence, with Liz Fraser's stocking tops providing ample diversion for assorted relatives to slip through sacks full of contraband to the inmates, and Beryl Reid's Ladies' League of Prison Reform inspection of the prison's rehabilitation classes, where plant pots hide dice and woodwork cabinets double as props for demonstrations of safe-cracking (straight out of Sergeant Bilko), but the film manages consistently funny throughout, a rarity for the star. Indeed, the film is so good-natured that it's a surprise to find mention of 'n**-n**s' in the script (this was 1962, after all).
With a great cast filled with familiar faces, the undisputed star of the show is Wilbur the carrier pigeon and his unique way of delivering messages. Sadly the print is rather flat and soft. No extras either.
Still Funny Even Today!.......2007-03-30
It is more than 45 years since I first saw this film on my local ABC Cinema. I enjoyed it tremendously then, and still do today. It remains one of the funniest films of the 50s/60s period, and the reason why is due to the wonderful cast. The story evolves around some jailbirds who plan to break out of prison in order to steal some jewels from a visiting arab prince. The plot intensifies when a new Prison Warden named Crout (the wonderful Lionel Jeffries) imposes a stricter regime making it almost impossible to carry out the breakout. And yet, the three prisoners, Peter Sellars, Bernard Cribbens, and David Lodge do actually succeed in doing just that! What happens next, well you will need to see it. Its very very funny at times.
The film is very entertaining, a laugh a minute. Enhanced by the presence of so many good character actors at that time, Irene Handl, Wilfred Hyde White, and the gorgeous Liz Frazer (she looks stunning in this film!). The final scenes on the train are absolutely hilarious. Ealing Studios were masters during those years in producing fine family comedy films which are still enjoyable today. If you have not seen this film, then do so. For those who are familiar with this film, it is definetly worth adding to your DVD collection. Good picture and sound.
One Of The Funniest Films That I Have Been Priviledged To See.......2007-03-20
This really very funny film was the obvious inspiration for the creation of Porridge it is so similar in many ways.
A cocky prisoner in the form of Dodger Lane, played by Peter Sellers is the forerunner to Norman Stanley Fletcher, a young thief Lennie, portrayed by Bernard Cribbins is of course Lennie Godber, they even share the same christian name and Jelly Knight is the equivelant of the various other characters such as Bunny Warren and Jock McClaran. Not forgetting of course Prison Officer Sidney Crout who is a dead ringer for the character of Mr Mackay.
A section of the film is even virtually identical to the ending of the Porridge film years later in that a group of prisoners find themselves on the outside and have to break back into jail.
Throw in Wilfred Hyde-White as the wonderfully named Soapy Stevens, organise a diamond raid while having the perfect alibi of being inside and just having one misshap after another and you have got the makings of a classic British film from a classic era.
The first time that I saw this was in 1996 via a Channel 4 transmission, my daughter had just been born and was playing up, I'd been up all night and was tired and was falling asleep when this film came on, not only did it wake me up but had me rolling on the floor in laughter, it cheered me up no end and I've never forgotten the effect that it had on me, I tracked down the video the very next day and was delighted when this DVD version appeared a few years later with vastly improved picture and sound.
The film is part of the legendary Ealing Comedy Classics and the success of this for me was the inspiration on my part to check out various others, there are some really decent ones but non are in the same league as Two Way Stretch, it is quite simply one of the funniest film that I have ever been privileged to see, and judging from my fellow reviewers maximum marks it seems as though many people think the same thing and we all can't be wrong, can we?
Sellers in Great Form.......2006-03-09
I can quite honestly say that this and The Wrong Arm of the Law are my favourite Sellers movies with Strangelove, Mouse that Roared and I'm Alright Jack not far behind. The comedy is excellent and it's so much better than anything that comes out now.
Single lines such as "stand by your plants!" just provoke chuckling if not outright laughter and from start to finish this film entertains and that includes the ending.
I also rate Lionel Jefferies in this movie as in Wrong Arm, he is just as good.
marvellous old british comedy.......2005-08-17
Brilliant black and white Peter Sellers film from 1960. For Liz Fraser fans it's a must. Liz plays the girlfriend of Sellers. She has plenty of great scenes throughout including the famous one where she and Irene Handl visit Sellers in prison.In order to distract the prison guards so Handl can supply the prisoners with contraband,Liz pretends she has a problem with her suspenders,having to hitch up her skirt to fix it. Needless to say,the sight of Liz flashing those great legs does the trick. Liz looks beautiful in it,but it's a great film even if you're not a Liz Fraser fan.
Customer Reviews:
Terry-Thomas.......2005-05-28
Hooray! Carlton-Browne is on DVD! Forget Sellers, always a bit irritating dodgy as an actor, and stick with Terry-Thomas, an actor far funnier...
The Peter Sellers? Collection.......2005-02-16
Hoffman and Two Way Stretch are two wonderful Sellers films, filled with dark wit and crazy fun respectively. However, Carlton-Browne and The Smallest Show only feature Sellers in minor roles! With Being There, Dr Strangelove, The Party and a wealth of other leading roles - why pick two minor roles? CB of the FO is a Terry-Thomas vehicle and the TSSOEarth does not stand out from a load of similar quaint 50s & 60s comedies. The DVD is worth buying for the first two (and it is lovingly presented in its boxset), but it just seems a bit of a waste.
At last! Peter Sellers' greatest moments on DVD!.......2001-11-08
This DVD contains four Peter Sellers films of what can be called "his British era". The all time classic "Two Way Stretch" is here, along with the very amusing "Carlton Browne of The FO", the moving "The Smallest Show On Earth" and "Hoffman", a film which is in the Top-10 of the Best, more underestimated films of film history! Especially the last is a true diamond, in which Sellers reveals another approach of acting from what is known in the public (but not his fanatic fans!).
Yet, it is very dissapointing that the production of the DVD fails to meet the expectations, as the DVD is nothing more than 4 films of Sellers thrown all together in the market...There are no extras, no trailers, no commentaries, no filmograpy, not even subtitles (which I find a terrible offense for the disabled or the non-native english viewers). If they'd just take a walk at the BFI, I'm absolutely sure they'd find some material...Why? No answer expected...
Whatever the goal of the production is, this is a DVD set with nice picture and sound and something no real fan of Pete Sellers or British's cinema should pass by...
Getting There..........2001-10-27
Four classics from the master of character comedy, the late great Peter Sellers...
Two-Way Stretch, is one of Sellers most fondly remembered british made capers. A very funny story played out by a cast on top form...classic.
The Smallest Show on Earth, a quaint, twee little comedy about a young couple who inherit a run down little cinema and it's very eccentric staff of whom Sellers plays the old drunken projectionist...british acting greats showing off their comedic skills...hhhmmm, nice.
Carlton Browne of the F.O., Sellers first film with the Boulting Brothers, all about international politics and british diplomacy surrounding some far flung colonial island somewhere on the planet...a fun little film.
Hoffman, A really dark "comic" performance from Sellers as a middle aged man who blackmails his pretty young secretary into staying with him for a while...so he can seduce her. It's tense and quite unerving in places, Sellers at first comes across as very cold and distant...but will you warm to him? - Will his secretary warm to him?
And will he reveal what he's really like? - An intriguing and very underated film worth seeing.
As a DVD set it's nicely presented, the lack of extras is dissapointing but hardly surprising with the age of some of the films. Picture quality is pretty good for their age, the sound is crisp and very clear, of course the price is pretty good for 4 films! Lets hope we get more Sellers movies on DVD...Enjoy!
Customer Reviews:
"Stunning battle scenes!".......2008-01-15
Oliver Stone's 'Alexander' is certainly not a perfect film, but I've never found it the total trainwreck its reputed to be. Especially in this extended "Revisited" edition, the film packs an impressive punch as it recreates an enormous amount of history with stunning battle scenes and interesting characters. As an HD DVD presentation, this one's almost sure to wow, thanks to a demo-worthy video transfer, a convincing audio mix, and more than ten worth hours of candid supplemental material (most of which is exclusive to this high definition release).
Customer Reviews:
So much improved.......2007-08-09
I always liked this film at the cinema even though it generaly got a lot of bad reviews. However it was always obvious that there were several things wrong with the first cut in regards to paceing and a feeling of it not quite being a complete film. This revised cut of the film really sorts out the problems and feels like a much more polished film and more like what you would expect from Oliver Stone. As someone quite intersted in Alexander as a historical figure outside the film it satisfies on most levels. While there are still problems with a bit of miscasting (Farel imo didn't make a deep enough Alexander), dodgy hair cuts and hammy lines that dont really get the blood pumping like other films as a historical epic this is now a very enjoyable film. The musical score is also a bit old fashioned. Overall a worthy edition to anyones DVD collection who likes their history.
Highly undervalued film........2007-03-08
Ignore the Colin Farrell tabloid backlash that surrounded the film and just take it as its own thing and you might enjoy it. Colin Farrell wears a big blonde wig. Get over it. Everybody speaks in an Irish accent. Is this any less realistic than everybody nattering away in American or English accents? Nope. Not really.
Alexander came out around the same time as other similar film such as King Arthur and Troy, yet was the only one in my eyes not to suffer the inevitable comparisons to Lord Of The Rings. Oliver Stone brings his typically manic style and subtlety, if you want to call it that, to Alexander that sets it apart right off the bat. Farrell is a fantastic presence - say what you will of his drunken antics in the newspapers, he's a fine actor - and the story is a belter. It's a long movie, but then it's a very ambitious one. Stone tries to tell the life story of one of the greatest leaders of all time, a man who charged into battles so massive that subtitles are required to tell you which part of it you're watching.
History buffs will get a lot out of this, as would anybody with enough patience to sit through the runtime and enough maturity to deal with the homosexual themes and big blonde wigs. It is very over the top, it does get a little hammy, but I admire the director's drive and his courage to tell such a huge story without compromise. It's unlike any movie he, or anybody else, has ever made. That alone gets my money.
Another Stone on the planet..........2006-08-27
First of all, and even though I am a huge fan of Oliver Stone, I really think that this film doesn't worth the massive advertissement... Anyhow, the battles and the photography are perfectly awesome and Oliver Stone always is original in his film making...
But please, do buy the double DVD with the making of by his son... THIS WORTHS the price...
Sean Stone is a f... brilliant and gifted young man... he filmed his father and the backstage of Alexander with humanity and a real "eye"... I think that he is going to do great films if noone compares him to his father...
Another Stone is still a good news... so Thank you Sean for your vision of the Oliver the Great...
UK DVD:
- Dirty Street Fighting: Self Defense System, Vol. 1 [2003] (REGION 1) (NTSC)
- Eazy Cookin: Low Carb, Vol. 2 (REGION 1) (NTSC)
- Enigma Secret [1979] (REGION 1) (NTSC)
- Firefly - The Complete Series [2003]
- Food Safari Breakfast [2003] (REGION 1) (NTSC)
- Gilad: Beginners Weight Loss & Toning Program (REGION 1) (NTSC)
- Gilad: Total Body Sculpt Workout, Vol. 1 [2007]
- Healing Yoga for Aches and Pains [2002] (REGION 1) (NTSC)
- Heart Study (REGION 1) (NTSC)
- Heavyweights [1995] (REGION 1) (NTSC)
UK DVD List
UK DVD
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![A Room For Romeo Brass [2000]](http://images-eu.amazon.com/images/P/B000056IFL.01.THUMBZZZ.jpg)
A Room For Romeo Brass [2000]
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Twenty Four Seven [1998]
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This Is England [2006]
Dead Man's Shoes
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Once Upon A Time In The Midlands [2002]
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