Carmen Miranda

Average customer rating:

A fun, family-friendly movie!
Pure Fun!
Good Movie
NUN TOO GOOD
excellent

Sister Act
Starring: Whoopi Goldberg , Maggie Smith , Kathy Najimy , Wendy Makkena , and Mary Wickes
Director: Emile Ardolino
Manufacturer: Touchstone / Disney
ProductGroup: DVD
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( S ) | Titles | Features | DVD | Video

Sister Act 2: Back in the Habit
Ghost (Special Collector's Edition)
Sister Act: Music From The Original Motion Picture Soundtrack
Mrs. Doubtfire
The First Wives Club

ASIN: B00005KAQP
Release Date: 2001-11-06

Amazon.com

Whoopi Goldberg plays a Reno lounge singer who hides out as a nun when her villainous boyfriend (Harvey Keitel) goes gunning for her. Maggie Smith is the mother superior who has to cope with Whoopi's unorthodox behavior, but the cute script turns the tables and shows how the latter energizes the stodgy convent with song and attitude. A real crowd-pleaser and a perfect vehicle for Goldberg, this is a happy experience all around. --Tom Keogh

Description

Relive all the fun, laughter, and irresistible music of SISTER ACT -- the inspired comedy hit that packed pews everywhere! Whoopi Goldberg stars as a sassy, low-rent lounge singer forced to hide out from the mob in the last place on earth anyone would look for her -- a convent. While she's there, her irreverent behavior attracts a flock of faithful followers and turns the nuns' tone-deaf choir into a soulful chorus of swingin', singin' sisters. But when the group earns rave reviews, her sudden celebrity jeopardizes her hidden identity. Harvey Keitel and Kathy Najimy join a heavenly cast in this habit-forming comedy bursting with '60s Motown hits.

Customer Reviews:

A fun, family-friendly movie!.......2007-06-17

If you're looking for a fun, family-friendly movie to watch on a lazy Sunday, this is it. Whoopi Goldberg was made for this movie with her great acting and quirky lines.

So what's this movie about? A lounge singer named Delores has to go into hiding when her (ex)boyfriend comes after her after shooting someone in front of her eyes. Delores must become the complete opposite of what she is. She must disguise herself as a nun. While dealing with the extremely early wakeup times, the crazy nuns, and not being able to do things she's used to doing, she finds herself as the leader of the church's choir. She ends up turning the once awful choir into a spectacle (even the pope has to see it for himself!). This movie shows Ms. Goldberg having to cope with her life as a nun while staying away from the man who is trying to kill her.

So what's to like about this movie? It's just a fun, little movie to watch that'll pass a couple of hours leaving you entertained. I wasn't expecting much going into it because it's not meant to be an Oscar-worthy film but you'll be really surprised that the storyline is actually decent and original. The nuns are funny and kids will get a kick out of them.

What's not to like? Not much. As I said above, it's not supposed to be a ground-breaking movie so don't expect much out of it.

Be sure to watch this movie (along with the sequel) and add it to your movie collection!

Pure Fun!.......2007-02-09

This movie is Fun, Fun, FUN! The music is irresistible and it delivers laughs every minute. The story follows a low-rent casino singer, Deloris Van Cartier (Whoopi), who witnesses her mobster boyfriend, Vince LaRocca (Harvey Keitel) muder an employee. She goes straight to the police, who hide her from Vince in a convent while preparing for his trial. The Mother Superior (Maggie Smith), puts up with Deloris's unorthodox behavior long enough for her to turn the convent's chior into a swinging, soulfull hit. But when the group gets rave reviews, Vince and his goons go hunting for Deloris. Will they find her?
This movie is purely halarious! Whoopi and Maggie Smith are brilliant, and all of the acting is awesome! The music is toe-tapping (you must buy the soundtrack), and the story is fun! You must watch this movie!

Good Movie.......2007-01-18

I love to see Whoopi in some good movies. This is a clean and funny movie and it is a movie that families can watch and not have to worry about it being bad. I like this movie very much. Thanks

NUN TOO GOOD.......2006-12-17

This past November, I was in Reno, Nevada. Mrs. Van Owen, the shuttle driver who picked me up at the airport (women are always picking me up) pointed out the Saint Thomas Aquinas Cathedral as she was pulling into my hotel's parking lot, and she said, "That's the church they used in the movie SISTER ACT." Had it been ANY other church, I would have thought, Great, now how much do the video poker machines pay out on four deuces here? But it just so happens that when I was in Reno on August 12, 2001, Jesus sent me to the Saint Thomas Aquinas Cathedral (although I'm not Catholic) where I was the only White person to be found in the pews, and where I observed a Catholic mass delivered entirely in Spanish. (The only Spanish I know is "Si", "No", and some words that Ricky Garcia called me in junior high school.) I kept thinking, Nice music, Lord, but why did You send me here? It wasn't until the mass ended and I exited the church, that He revealed His purpose: On the steps of that very cathedral, Jesus, with a "miraclette", answered an important and troubling question that I'd been praying about for an entire month. (That's a story for another review.) So when my shuttle driver mentioned that particular church being used in the movie SISTER ACT, I determined to rent the 1992, WHOOPI GOLDBERG vehicle upon my return to Airheadzona. I'm back and I did.

Now, I grew tired of Goldberg's sassy, mononote thing a long time ago ("You want me to do WHAT?! Uh-uh. You got the WRONG woman, fool!"), so I wasn't expecting much, and my expectations were met but not exceeded. I knew this thing was going to be nun too good when I saw Harvey Keitel mentioned in the opening credits. (I have a rule of thumb: "Avoid EVERYTHING with Harvey Keitel in it." But since there's an exception to almost every rule, I'll add, "except maybe TAXI DRIVER.")

SISTER ACT's bad habits started immediately: It opens with a scene at "Saint Anne's Academy in 1968" (with the Saint Thomas Aquinas Cathedral playing the part of Saint Anne's Academy in one brief shot. Boo! I rented THIS movie for THAT?) Here we find Deloris Van Cartier (later played by Goldberg) as a youngster being asked by a nun to name the apostles. She gives a "Fabulous" (but incorrect) answer. Cut to Van Cartier many years later performing as the leader in a girl group retro act at a Reno lounge, and showing great unhappiness at being ignored by the nearby boozers and gamblers. Is it really unusual for free entertainment on a casino floor to go scarcely noticed? Would this REALLY upset a longtime lounge singer? Wouldn't she be used to the lack of attention while on stage by now? It would be the norm; just another day, just another paycheck. We've got nonsense right out of the chute, I thought.

The two-bit Reno nightclub singer, Van Cartier, accidentally witnesses her boyfriend, Vince LaRocca, orchestrate a young man's murder. (HARVEY KEITEL plays the evidently sight-challenged mobster. He couldn't find a more attractive two-bit nightclub singer in all of Reno? Please!) Now Van Cartier is (a soon-to-be nun) on the run.

Until LaRocca's murder charge comes up for trial, Lieutenant Eddie Souther (BILL NUNN, who must have gotten the part based only on his last name) places Van Cartier in a convent under the Witness Protection Program. The hulking Nunn is horribly miscast and gives a downright embarrassing performance as a lawman. Trying to pass this guy off as a street-hardened, high-ranking law enforcement officer is like trying to pass off Garfield the cat as a police dog! Nunn plays most scenes with this goofy "oh-you-kid" grin. (Sit down Lieutentant before you hurt yourself!)

Meanwhile, gangster LaRocca - awaiting his murder trial, yet incredibly free to roam the city (What? Did he have a "Get Out Of Jail" card tucked into his "violin case"?) - and his two unintimidating, geriatric hitmen, are trying to locate Van Cartier to enunciate with gunfire their displeasure at her willingness to testify.

In the convent, Van Cartier's life is adhering to the typical Hollywood formula - "the outcast finds her niche and makes good" paint-by-numbers kit. You know the gig! And we're treated to all the usual: Tough and/or cool street people in ridiculously exaggerated "tough and/or cool street people" costumes (how about just T-shirts and jeans, folks? You know, like REAL people on the street wear?); the gag where three guys simultaneously rush through a small opening and momentarily get stuck a la The Three Stooges (Har!-Har!-Har!); and of course, the obligatory and ubiquitous bit where the guys take it in the "family jewels" while the heroine makes good her escape. (The nutcracker shtick ceased to be fresh and funny about 1976, but they're still feeding it to us regularly because, you know, there's little genuine writing talent in Tinsel Town. Or haven't you noticed?) There are about 101 additional problems with this act, Sisters and Brothers, but there's no point in listing them all; it's not like you're going to pay attention to anything I say anyway. (The nuns fly to Reno to rescue Van Cartier because... uhm... there was no way to telephone Reno Law Enforcement? That's just a guess on my part. "Ain't nun of ya in the habit of keeping any spare change around, pray tell?")

I did enjoy the clever musical arrangements, and Goldberg's prayer before supper at the convent was appropriately inappropriate. But I loved Mary Wickes in the minor role of Sister Mary Lazarus, the ancient but tough-as-General MacArthur nun. I thought she had the best lines in the movie. ("I liked my convent in Vancouver, out in the woods. It wasn't all modern like some of these newfangled convents. We didn't have electricity - cold water, bare feet - THOSE were nuns!...it was hell on earth; I loved it! This place is a Hilton.") You go, Sister! Discipline those Pillsbury Dough Boy-soft troops!

Still, I can think of better uses for my time than watching SISTER ACT. (Sleeping, eating, reading, and writing a negative review of SISTER ACT all come immediately to mind.) Hey, I love a fun, stupid comedy (e.g., The Pink Panther Strikes Again or Monty Python And The Holy Grail), but because it actually asks us to accept as plausible its preposterous scenario, SISTER ACT is dumber than a lobotomized moron with paralyzed vocal cords. Making it, of course, the ideal movie for postliterate America. Whoopi!

(I hear what you're thinking: Why is he always knocking America? But I'm not! I'm always criticizing America, and there's a difference: 2 more syllables and 3 more letters!)

excellent.......2006-11-06

I enjoyed the action and the music. I enjoyed watching this movie. and it is wonderful to watch over and over again.

Average customer rating:

Martin Lawrence done it again.......funny!
Martin rulezzz
Rip Off
Dat's my boy! Martin is Brilliant!!!
TERRIBLE!

Blue Streak
Starring: Martin Lawrence , Luke Wilson , Peter Greene , Dave Chappelle , and Nicole Ari Parker
Director: Les Mayfield
Manufacturer: Sony Pictures
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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( B ) | Titles | Features | DVD | Video

National Security [Region 99]
Nothing to Lose
What's the Worst That Could Happen? (Special Edition)
Money Talks
Big Momma's House (Special Edition)

ASIN: B00003GPFT
Release Date: 2000-02-08

Amazon.com

Martin Lawrence can certainly talk a blue streak (witness his concert film, You So Crazy), but he tones it down to PG-13 for this by-the-book action comedy. Lawrence stars as Logan, a bank robber and jewel thief (nice role model we're supposed to cheer for) who, just before he is arrested, manages to stash the $20 million diamond he has just heisted at a construction site. When he is released from prison two years later, he returns to the scene of the crime only to find that the completed building houses a police station. To get inside and retrieve the precious gem he secures a fake ID and passes himself off as LAPD's newest, and most unorthodox, detective. As he demonstrated on his TV series, Lawrence has a knack for characterization second to Eddie Murphy. But he's no Beverly Hills Cop. Indulgent sequences where Martin has seemingly been given free reign to ad-lib are the film's weakest. Early on, Logan cases the police station outlandishly disguised as a snaggle-toothed, Geri-curled pizza deliveryman. You'd think the last thing his character would want to do is call attention to himself. Lawrence is at his best in the scenes in which, thanks to all those years of breaking and entering, his formerly lawless character proves to be a natural at cracking burglary cases. Logan is paired with the requisite white partner, Carlson (Luke Wilson), a buttoned-up rookie. Departing from the Lethal Weapon, buddy-movie playbook, they are not antagonists; theirs is more a teacher-mentor relationship. "Don't we need a warrant to do that?" Carlson asks Logan at one point. "We don't even need a key," Logan responds, picking a lock. There is little in Blue that is remotely fresh, but Lawrence fans, who watched him play it straight opposite Murphy in Life, will relish the opportunity to see him get down with his bad self. --Donald Liebenson

Customer Reviews:

Martin Lawrence done it again.......funny!.......2007-05-06

What can i say...Martin Lawrence is just one funny guy and is a joy to watch him being silly which is what he does best. Blue Streak has his signiture all over it after i seen it today. *spoiler* i have to admit that the bank robbery at the beginning is not believeble or just plain stupid. If a crook is going to double cross his partners in crime, DON'T DO IT DURING THE CRIME!!!! Like this guy shot his partner up on the roof with a gun while Martin was still in the process of stealing the diamond. Doesn't he think the sound might cause some suspicion? And when the body landed on the cop car, that guy was still trying to get the diamond with the police aftering both of them at his point...just stupid. They can learn a few things on double crossing from the 'The Italian Job' movie. But then again, this is more comedy then thriller so i let that part go but still an entertaining funny movie to watch...check it out!

Martin rulezzz.......2007-01-27

This film is a very funny film and if you like Martin Lauwrence it really worth watching.

This certainly is one of the funniest Martin's movies, it really is a quality film which will make you snigger with its diverse cop/robber characteristics. this is one of those films where you could certainly watch it again just for laughs.

This movie will make you laugh and relax at the same time. Nice watch.

Rip Off.......2007-01-22

There was no dvd in the case when it arrived, even though the packaging had not been tampered with. i want a refund.

Dat's my boy! Martin is Brilliant!!!.......2006-07-10

Awesome movie! This one really shines! I love the pair up with Martin and Luke Wilson. A great matchup. This is one of my favorite movies to put up on my 55 Inch HD Wide Screen, with the surround sound system pumpin'!!! I love the special features, and all the music videos. This movie rocks! I'll edit this later, but for now, it rocks!!!

TERRIBLE!.......2006-04-11

This movie SUX! Martin Lawerence isn't funny at all, all he does is make vulgar jokes and shout profanity constantly! The movie has no funny parts at all and pushes the PG-13 rating to it's limits. It stinks, don't rent or buy this movie!

Average customer rating:

Once again, Fox blows it
Gangs of New York
A perfect example
Disappointing transfer
Fabulous Busby Berkely musical

The Gang's All Here
Starring: Alice Faye , Carmen Miranda , Phil Baker , Benny Goodman , and Benny Goodman Orchestra
Director: Busby Berkeley
Manufacturer: 20th Century Fox
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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That Night in Rio
Week-End in Havana
Down Argentine Way
Best Foot Forward
Lillian Russell

ASIN: B000K7VHN2
Release Date: 2007-02-20

Amazon.com

Here's one of Hollywood's great excursions into surrealism: The Gang's All Here, the legendarily over-the-top wartime musical. Director Busby Berkeley threw every demented idea that every swirled out of his teeming brain into this madcap affair, and decades later the film was still wowing 'em as a campy jaw-dropper.

The plot is the nonsensical stuff of homefront musicals, with chorus girl Alice Faye waiting for soldier boy James Ellison to return from the war, little knowing he is engaged to another woman. But the real point here is the crazy production design and the flabbergasting numbers--most famously, Carmen Miranda's "The Lady in the Tutti-Frutti Hat," which includes a chorus line of women dancing while holding giant bananas over their heads. It might have been dreamed up by Salvador Dali after an acid trip. Alice gets her due with the equally crazy "Polka-Dot Polka," and Benny Goodman and his orchestra are also around. So are such reliable second bananas (you should excuse the expression) as Edward Everett Horton and high-kicking Charlotte Greenwood.

The DVD extras include a 20-minute documentary on Berkeley's peculiar art, plus a charming 25-promotional film featuring Alice Faye reminiscing about her old pictures and extolling the virtues of physical fitness (made for the Pfizer drug company while Faye was their spokesperson). A deleted comedy scene and two episodes from the long-running radio show Faye did with husband Phil Harris are also included. The print itself is a source of controversy; the colors lack the "pop" of the original Technicolor, and the film looks dimmer and vaguer than its original glory. Here's hoping a cleaner, fuller version will emerge. --Robert Horton

Description

Her girl-next-door looks combined with a sultry singing voice made Alice Faye one of Hollywood's biggest stars in the Golden Age of Cinema. Eadie Allen (Alice Faye) is a chorus girl who dreams of becoming a star. While working at a New York nightclub, she meets Sergeant Andy Mason (James Ellison); they fall in love but he is shipped off to war. As Eadie becomes the headliner at the nightclub, Andy comes home a war hero. But complications arise when Eadie finds out Andy is unofficially engaged to another woman. It's up to Eadie's friend and nightclub co-star Dorita (Carmen Miranda) to set things straight. The Gang's All Here is filled with leggy chorus dancers and lavish musical production numbers including Faye's flashy neon finale "The Polka Dot Polka."

Customer Reviews:

Once again, Fox blows it.......2007-05-14

After years of waiting for this DVD, we're given a poor transfer, just like with "Oklahoma." What is wrong with Fox? Be prepared to really jack up the color on your monitor if you want to watch this film. In the restoration featurette, you can clearly see that the 94 transfer is better - couldn't Fox see that?! Wake up, people! What a bummer...

Gangs of New York.......2007-04-28

I suppose I will be kicked out of the international brotherhood of camp fans, but I have to say it, THE GANG'S ALL HERE is far from being the ne plus ultra of Busby Berkeley extravagance, or even fun. It had its vogue in the 1960s, when it played in a midtown New York movie theater for four months to sellout crowds, and it has its admirers today, but for me, I can take it or leave it.

That is, except for Alice Faye who looks beautiful in nearly every closeup and who sings a couple of wonderful songs, especially "A Journey to a Star," in that low husky, actually freakish voice of hers. What was going on behind the scenes I wonder? Why did she quit making musicals after completing this? It was a national tragedy! Was it she was weary of uphill sledding having to play opposite such goodlooking nothings as James Ellison, who plays Andy Mason here as though he had never seen a girl or even walked on a floor before. There's an extended bit of business in which Alice Faye and Sheila Ryan, playing her rich girl rival, keep swiping back and forth a glamor photo of Andy, and putting it proudly in their own bedrooms. Well, James Ellison does better acting in the photo than he does in the actual rest of the picture. And Sheila Ryan is like Ann Miller without the personality.

The movie may be slightly overstuffed, and I could have done without Phil Baker (as himself, and that means, as "who"?) and also Benny Goodman, he's great but he leaves no lasting impression in the movie. It's hard to believe that Greenwood, Miranda, and Faye all mixed up together could produce such a blah result, but they are given nothing to do together and Greenwood, in particular, looks squelched trying to play an impossible part where she hardly gets to kick up her heels in her signature high splits but once or twice. The "Apash" dance she performs is just awful; it's supposed to be funny, true, but the Apaches should have sued for defamation. The problem with the movie is the two incredibly stupid plots (or three, I guess). Edward Everett Horton trying to conceal from his wife his interest in Carmen Miranda--right. James Ellison forgetting that he's engaged, no matter how ritualistically, to Sheila Ryan, when he meets and woos Alice Faye. No matter how they try to explain it, he still comes off as a dirtbag--or a cad, to use 40s Fox terms. And the horrid story of show business in the blood of Charlotte Greenwood and her daughter, it's more gruesome than you can possibly imagine.

Some fans say, well, the plot is just an excuse for those elaborate, Freudian, nutty surreal Berkeley numbers. And they are pretty great (except in the new transfer nearly every number looks blah and bleak). The Polka Dot Dance is crazy, isn't it. Alice Faye stands in front of a ballroom filled with waltzing pairs of little kids, and claims that the polka as a dance is dead, but the polka dot will never die.

A perfect example.......2007-03-25

THE GANGS ALL HERE is a perfect example of a 1st Class musical film of the 40's. Busby Berkley pulled all the stops out when he directed this classic. The extras this DVD is a great insight into the making of these wonderful films.
I must congratulate UCLA film archives for resurrecting films such as these, to show this generation how it was all done.

Disappointing transfer.......2007-03-15

I reluctantly agree with the early comments about the poor quality of the transfer. I own the laserdisk version of this film; it is an extraordinary record of 1940's Technicolor: bright and vibrant. The DVD is a pale comparison.

Amazingly, the DVD has a side by side comparison of a 1994 version of the film, and the current, "restored" version. This is where the "before" is miles better than the "after." It looks as though Fox considers getting rid of some specks here and there as representing a full restoration. At Warner, the efforts with Gone With The Wind, Singing in the Rain, Wizard of Oz, etc. have shown that it is possible to get a sharp, clear, colorful result that is arguably better than the original prints. Perhaps this film does not rate as much restorative an effort, but it would have been nice to see, at the very least, as nice a transfer as the earlier laser.

Fabulous Busby Berkely musical.......2007-03-14

This musical is surreal from start to finish..it has the most lurid colors you'll ever see in a musical. Alas, the DVD transfer is not good, keep those copies you made from the Fox Movie channel!

However, if you adjust the color on your set to high, and fool with the HUE button, and the Brightness button, you will have the return of the colorful magic of this wild and crazy film.

Miranda and Faye are drenched in pastels and sing songs that are beyond the realm of fantasy when the color is added..Also, Charlotte Greenwood, with those swinging long legs is on hand to dance by the pool with a young dancer and it's almost like a merrie melodie..so cartoonish, but they are people!

Busby Berkely was known for making humans do the inhuman, and he does it here all the time, and so you have an uncommon film of stars immersing themselves into this tutti frutti technicolor bath with wild abandon.

Also, notice that camera rock and roll, unintentionally I am sure, as it pans all over the place, sometimes with no point of view or even good focus. In the opening the camera cannot stay still..Berkely often took over the camera, and it seems that here there was squabbling going on between him and the cinematograher.

This is also Alice Faye's last film for Fox, until that camp State Fair of 1962 with Ann-Margaret. It is a hell of send off, but the confusion, the color, the shots that needed to be re shot and are not, make it allunique in all of cinema musical history.

Remember, keep your tapes, but work with the color, hue and brightness, and watch the film as it was made, IN COLOR times a million.

Average customer rating:

Rhumba, romance, and chintzy painted backdrops
WEEK-END IN HAVANA
Week End in Havana
HAPPY HOLLYWOOD MUSICAL
It's Just A Fun Film And There's Nothing Wrong With That!

Week-End in Havana
Starring: Alice Faye , Carmen Miranda , John Payne , Cesar Romero , and Cobina Wright
Director: Walter Lang
Manufacturer: 20th Century Fox
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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( W ) | Titles | Features | DVD | Video

Pin-Up Girl
Down Argentine Way
Betty Grable Collection, Vol. 1 (My Blue Heaven / The Dolly Sisters / Moon Over Miami / Down Argentine Way)
Daddy Long Legs
The Alice Faye Collection (That Night in Rio / Lillian Russell / On the Avenue / The Gang's All Here)

ASIN: B000BZISUI
Release Date: 2006-02-21

Description

A salesgirl (Alice Faye) threatens to cause trouble when cruise ship runs aground and vacation is ruined. As compensation, she soon gets a free first class Havana holiday with the ship owner's future son-in-law (John Payne) as wall as some unexpected attention from a conniving gambler (Cesar Romero) and his girlfriend (Carmen Miranda).

Customer Reviews:

Rhumba, romance, and chintzy painted backdrops.......2007-02-17

All Alice Faye has to do is sing in her gorgeous full contralto (that is almost a baritone) and you immediately can see why she was 20th-Century Fox's biggest star during the war years: here she transforms a dull song like "Rhumba and Romance" into a little masterpiece while dancing with Cesar Romero and really kicking back. While skimpy, the plot of this very typical Fox musical is fairly efficient: Faye, a Macy's shopgirl, is the last holdout to sign off for liability when her cruise ship runs aground on a sand bar, so an executive of the cruise line (John Payne) has to squire her around Havana to make sure she has a good time. Along the way they run into an incompetent gigolo (Romero) and his spitfire girlfriend (Carmen Miranda, of course, since Brazil and Cuba were considered pretty interchangeable in the minds of 40s America). The costumes by Gwen Wakeling are quite eyecatching, and the lovedly and unusual model Cobana Wright, Jr., plays Faye's rival, and John Payne is at least very handsome; unfortunately the sets and backdrops are pretty chintzy,as was often per usual with Fox, and the songs by Mack Gordon are instantly forgettable. The only thing to really lift this above mediocrity is Faye, who is not much of an actress (though she does have fun with a New York accent), but who sings like a dream.

WEEK-END IN HAVANA.......2007-01-11

THIS MOVIE TAKES ME TO A TIME BEFORE I WAS. ITS A PIECE OF HISTORY AND A LEARNING TOOL.

Week End in Havana.......2006-11-10

Excellent reproduction on DVD - colour is great. Reasonable story line and acting

HAPPY HOLLYWOOD MUSICAL.......2006-09-15

This movie takes you back to the days when Hollywood made Big Bright Splashy Wonderful Musicals! I doubt if these types of films could even be made today because of the costs of creating these colorful huge sets! Yes its a little corny but whats wrong with that? A more innocent time (dont we wish we were still innocent? )when kissing was considered Fantastic!

It's Just A Fun Film And There's Nothing Wrong With That!.......2006-06-17

No WEEKEND IN HAVANA is not one of Hollywood's greatest efforts. And no, this Twentieth Century Fox release can't be compared to the musicals of MGM that were released at the same time. Still, it's one of those time period films that you can't help but enjoy.

John Payne is Jay Williams, a cruise ship executive, soon to be married and engaged to the boss' daughter (Terry McCracken played by Cobina Wright). Days before the wedding one of the company's cruise ships malfunctions and Jay is sent to placate the customers. He's able to make everyone happy except Nan Spencer, the Macy's salesgirl who has saved every last penny for the trip. To make her happy, he arranges for a trip to Havana and surprise: the two fall in love! Of course there are a number of twists and turns but we know they'll get together and we don't feel all that sorry for the boss' daughter. early in the story we know we're not supposed to like her. Viewers meet the hot Cuban singer/dancer Rosita Rivas performed by Carmen Miranda in all her glory and the lovable cad Monte Blanca played by Cesar Romero.

Part of the reason I love this film is it's just fun. The plot line is not complicated and we believe that a story that could easily be tawdry is innocent. The musical numbers may not be as well constructed as rival MGM would have done with the same story, but they still have an irresistible quality. Since most viewers will probably purchase the DVD to enjoy and not to over analyze, a corny story that can at times be a bit zany with musical numbers that are just enjoyable is great entertainment and WEEKEND IN HAVANA will be at home in any such collection.

Average customer rating:

May I introduce Carmen Miranda......
Everything about this little demon was larger than life...
Not Too Sophisticated, But A Lot Of Fun
very happy pensioner
Evita is not in sight

Down Argentine Way
Starring: Don Ameche , Betty Grable , Carmen Miranda , Charlotte Greenwood , and J. Carrol Naish
Director: Irving Cummings
Manufacturer: 20th Century Fox
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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( D ) | Titles | Features | DVD | Video

Moon Over Miami
Week-End in Havana
The Dolly Sisters
That Night in Rio
The Gang's All Here

ASIN: B000EXDSA2
Release Date: 2006-06-13

Description

Betty Grable and Don Ameche fall in love but their fathers intervene. Includes classic performances by Carmen Miranda.

Customer Reviews:

May I introduce Carmen Miranda.............2007-06-01

DOWN ARGENTINE WAY has a simplistic and forgettable plot (Betty Grable is a wealthy young heiress with a penchant for raising and purchasing horses, and ends up in Latin America, falling for suave Don Ameche, yadda, yadda, yadda.). What makes this stand out is the musical numbers, and, of course, the entrance of Carmen Miranda with some of her most popular music (including "South American Way"). Though, this was Carmen Miranda's introduction and debut on the silver screen, in the United States, it wasn't her first film. Miranda made several films in her adoptive country of Brazil (she was born in Portugal). Though, she is charming here, I find it poignant to watch. Carmen Miranda's life was not joyful, though, it was hard to believe for many because she put a brave face on in the public eye and exuded a (rather forced) atmosphere of joy whenever she made an entrance in a film. Still worth a look! It's bubbly fun and Miranda does make you forget "in the South American way."

Everything about this little demon was larger than life..........2006-12-27

Carmen Miranda, known as "The Brazilian Bombshell", was the original Chica Chica Bum Chic gal of forties musicals - a large swash of Rousseau on the movie screens, a festive explosion of outrageous razzmatazz that may not have added much to culture but did add a lot to one's enjoyment of it...

Everything about this happy demon (except her height) was larger than life: her behavior; her struggles with the English language as it tripped its way into her head and out through her mouth in accents thick and hilarious; her eyes as they shrank into slits and lost themselves behind her cheeks rising and swelling through the effort required to pronounce her tongue-twisting lyrics at rapid speed; the continual motion of eyes, mouth, shoulders, hips, arms, hands, fingers and feet, the latter supported by elevated platforms that heightened her appeal, and the ever more extravagant gowns that have inspired nightclub performers ever since - garlands of sequins, bowers of living blooms around her hips and breasts, and orchards of fruit growing out of her turbans...

The total effect was that of some medieval fertility ritual goddess whose presence was a promise of fruitfulness...

Not Too Sophisticated, But A Lot Of Fun.......2006-12-02

DOWN ARGENTINE WAY is a fun movie, plain and simple. It's a lighthearted Romeo and Juliet-esque story with a not so tragic ending. Betty Grable stars as Glenda Crawford, the fun loving daughter of a well to do industrialist. She spends most of her days looking at horses and chumming around with her amusing Aunt Binne (Charlotte Greenwood). She meets Ricardo Quintana, the son of a horse breeder from Argentina. She falls in love with him and hopes to buy a horse from him, but the deal falls through when Ricardo realizes that she is the daughter of his father's enemy. He snubs her, she doesn't understand why, so she and Aunt Binnie travel to Argentina so that she can slap his face. Of course she slaps his face, and the film progresses as one would expect--the two fall in love and all ends happily. While the basic plotline is predictable, it's fun to see just how the film will be resolved.

Of course most people who buy this film are not all that interested in the story, and will overlook its flaws: bad Spanish accents, what would be considered derogatory stereotypes if the film were made today and a few confusing characters. The singing and dancing numbers are what musical lovers enjoy, and this has some great moments. For one, we see Carmen Miranda starring as Carmen Miranda. How the Brazilian Bombshell ends up in Argentina we never know, but she's at a nightclub and she's the city's main entertainment attraction and it's fun to watch. We also see the Nicholas Brothers dance a tap number that doesn't seem all that Latino in flavor, but it's the Nicholas Brothers so we really don't care, we are just amazed at how they can move as they do. There's also a great number involving Aunt Binne. She and her escort arrive at a street festival and everyone in the festival seems pleased that this well to do WASP from New York decides to sing a song about courting a senorita. Charlotte Greenwood's moves are comical and skillful and it's the sort of scene you watch over and over. Betty Grable and Don Ameche hold their own as the stars, and their musical and dance numbers are good too.

In the end, DOWN ARGENTINE WAY is an enjoyable movie with great musical numbers that make it worth the price alone.

very happy pensioner.......2006-11-05

I purchased this item for my 81 year old mum. She is thrilled to bits with it as it has brought back so many memories. I was more than happy with the service i recieved the speed of my order and the packaging.

Evita is not in sight.......2006-08-29

They do't make musicals like this anymore. Well,they don't really make musicals anymore, do they? They used to make them, made them well and they came out like "Down Argentine Way." The plot is just enough to keep your interest but the music is bright,costumes lavish and not a few laughts. The major players- Betty Grable and Don Ameche- are as engaging as usual.Carmen Miranda makes her US film debut and sings, dances and mispronounces her way to stardom. The 20th Century Fox role players appear (Charlotte Greenwood, J. Carrol Naish, Henry Stephenson)and add to the fun.

Average customer rating:

That Night in Rio
Overdone but entertaining
THAT NIGHT IN RIO (1941)

That Night in Rio
Starring: Alice Faye , Don Ameche , Carmen Miranda , S.Z. Sakall , and J. Carrol Naish
Director: Irving Cummings
Manufacturer: 20th Century Fox
ProductGroup: DVD
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The Gang's All Here
Down Argentine Way
Week-End in Havana
Lillian Russell
Moon Over Miami

ASIN: B000K7VHNM
Release Date: 2007-02-20

Amazon.com

"It don't make sense, the chica chica boom chic. But it's immense, the chica chica boom chic." Let us pause to ponder the immortal wisdom of these words, sung by Carmen Miranda in That Night in Rio, and then move swiftly on to effortless enjoyment of this splashy nonsense. Here we are in Rio--well, the Fox backlot--for an absurd tale of mistaken identity and romantic trading-off. Nightclub performer Don Ameche looks exactly like a famous South American airline magnate (also played by Ameche, natch), and so doubles for him during a lavish party when the Baron is away on delicate business. Alice Faye, still the top female star at Fox at this time, takes a supporting role, slightly miscast, as the Baroness. Faye always had the down-on-the-farm appeal expressed in her all-American face, but the form-fitting gold gown she wears during the party gives evidence of another kind of appeal; she's drop-dead sexy here.

The songs by Mack Gordon and Harry Warren are not copious, but Carmen Miranda has a couple of signature numbers and Faye sings "They Met in Rio." The plot had been adapted once before, as Folies Bergere, and would later surface as On the Riviera, with Danny Kaye. Extras include an informative 14-minute documentary about Alice Faye's life after quitting movies in 1945 (her two daughters contribute) and a deleted scene that has Faye and Ameche doing--you guessed it--"The Chica Chica Boom Chic." --Robert Horton

Description

Her girl-next-door looks combined with a sultry singing voice made Alice Faye one of Hollywood's biggest stars in the Golden Age of Cinema. Don Ameche and Alice Faye pair up as husband and wife, Baron and Baroness Duarte and head to South America in this musical classic. In order to avoid some financial problems, the Baron switches places with impersonator Larry Martin "Direto da Broadway" (also Ameche). When Martin's affections for the Baroness are too kind and romantic, both the Baroness and Martin's girlfriend Carmen (Carmen Miranda) realize their men are up to something. Filmed in brilliant Technicolor(r), That Night in Rio is a delightful comedy filled with rousing musical numbers including Faye's passionate and romantic, "They Met in Rio."

Customer Reviews:

That Night in Rio.......2007-05-12

This is a comedic musical and a lot of fun if you enjoy the actors or musicals. It is funny and entertaining

Overdone but entertaining.......2006-11-11

"That Night in Rio" was a remake of the 1935 "Folies Bergere", with Ann Sothern, Maurice Chevalier and Merle Oberon. It was made yet again in 1951 with Danny Kaye, Gene Tierney and Corinne Calvert as "On the Riviera".

The plot is simple. Don Ameche plays night club entertainer Larry Martin who is employed to imitate Baron Duarte (a dual role) by some bankers. In doing so, he must deal with the Baron's wife, Alice Faye, but keep at bay his fiery girlfriend Carmen Miranda. Complications ensue with Faye unsure who made love to her on "That Night in Rio" and the film was carefully watched by the Censors to ensure that adultery was not implied in any way.

Although the film is set in Rio de Janeiro, it looks much more like a night club in New York. There really is nothing to link the film to South America except Carmen Miranda and the accents of some of the actors. Released, in 1941, the film benefits from some excellent numbers from Carmen Miranda and an entertaining dual performance from Don Ameche. Irving Cummings was often a director with a heavy touch and the farce moves quickly but maybe not quite quick enough. There is something a bit heavy and clumsy about the film and it maybe because Alice Faye is miscast as a baroness, serious and subdued much of the time. Her role is really a supporting one. When she plays with Don Ameche she has a twinkle but the rest of the time, she is not very good. Her appearance looks heavy too, not helped by the Travis Banton clothes which are fussy and overdone. She only has 2 songs too but one of them in particular, "They met in Rio", suits her deep delivery perfectly. Filmed with the normal loving close up of her face, slightly tilted up, she sounds superb.

Carmen Miranda sings two of her most famous numbers "I yi yi yi yi" and "Cae Cae" back to back. Her contract stipulated that the camera must not cut away from her when she sang so we watch her just as if she was live in a nightclub. She looks great. Her English was improving rapidly by now too and she has some funny lines which she mangles hilariously. She really steals the film. Alice Faye was on record as saying, affectionately, that when Miranda was on, you might as well go home because there was no way you could compete.

The film was a box office smash in 1941. The colour and costumes in particular were a tonic to the public. The DVD print is excellent but the colour is odd with dark hues which can be almost completely overcome by fiddling with the adjustments on your TV - colour/brightness/hue. The package includes the second half of a documentary on Faye in which her daughters appear and a deleted number which lasts until after the take has finished. You see Faye's mood change rapidly as she moves off camera which is amusing. The theatrical trailer included shows the technicolour deterioration which occurs without restoration - all browns and blues. There is also a set of stills on the set which show some candid shots of the cast and director.

This is the first time the film has been commercially available and as part of the Alice Faye collection, it is good value.

THAT NIGHT IN RIO (1941) .......2006-04-27

aka Aquella Noche en R?o
(Comedy, Technicolor, 1 hr 30 min)
20th. Century Fox - U.S.A.

DIRECTOR: Irving Cummings

CAST:
Alice Faye (Baroness Cecilia Duarte), Don Ameche (As: Larry Martin & Baron Manuel Duarte), Carmen Miranda, S.Z. Sakall, J. Carrol Naish, Curt Bois, Leonid Kinskey, Frank Puglia, Lillian Porter, Maria Montez (As: Inez)

COMMENTS:
A splashy, well-produced remake of FOLIES BERGERE (1935), THAT NIGHT IN RIO stars Don Ameche in a dual role as entertainer Larry Martin and Baron Duarte, a wealthy businessman of whom the look-alike performer does an excellent impression.

The setting has been changed from Paris to Rio de Janeiro and there are new songs, but the plot is a virtual duplicate of the original.

With the airline that he owns in deep financial trouble, Duarte slips out of the country to try to make the needed arrangements to save his business. While he's gone, Larry is enlisted to masquerade as the baron so his enemies, most notably Machado (J. Carrol Naish), don't get wind of his absence.

Hilarity follows--particularly in the scene in which Larry has to bluff his way through a conversation in French (a language the baron speaks but the entertainer doesn't)--as Larry carries off the charade, though it doesn't take the baroness (Alice Faye) long to figure out that this guy isn't her husband.(He's entirely too nice and too romantic.)

After his return, the baron realizes that he will have to become a better husband if he is to live up to his wife's new, heightened expectations. Meanwhile, Larry's jealous girl friend, Carmen (Carmen Miranda), forgives the performer for what she considers to have been his grave indiscretion in the whole affair.

The sixth and final pairing for Faye and Ameche, who made a successful series of movies for Fox, THAT NIGHT IN RIO was Miranda's second US movie.

In her role of Inez the chorus girl, Maria has the chance of showing her Latin temper. Inez is the ex friend of Baron Duarte (Ameche), in scene when both are talking Miranda confuses Baron Duarte with her boyfriend Larry Martin creating a funny jealous scene for Miranda.

This was the first appearance of Montez in Technicolor showing her beautiful and natural red hair.

On LIFE magazine and other media, Maria had the same kind publicity they gave to Carmen Miranda and Alice Faye.

The Three Caballeros (Disney Gold Classic Collection)

Average customer rating:

Love the movie, hate the censorship
Classic donald at his best
Curious Mix of Walt Disney Animation
Love the movie, hate the DVD!
Disney Does Latin America, for better or worse

The Three Caballeros (Disney Gold Classic Collection)
Starring: Aurora Miranda , Carmen Molina , Dora Luz , Sterling Holloway , and Clarence Nash
Director: Norman Ferguson
Manufacturer: Walt Disney Video
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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Similar Items:

Saludos Amigos (Disney Gold Classic Collection)
Fun and Fancy Free (Disney Gold Classic Collection)
Melody Time (Disney Gold Classic Collection)
The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad (Disney Gold Classic Collection)
Make Mine Music (Disney Gold Classic Collection)

ASIN: B00004R995
Release Date: 2000-05-02

Amazon.com

As a Disney oddity, they don't get much odder than Three Caballeros. Donald Duck receives a birthday package from South America, and the film proceeds to unravel like some peyote-induced hallucination. It starts out reminiscent of other Disney films, where shorts are cobbled together, such as "Make Mine Music" or "Fun and Fancy Free." The film has vignettes such as "The Cold-Blooded Penguin" and "The Flying Guachito." After them it careens straight into part-travelogue, part-stream-of-consciousness animation. Not helping out much are Donald's "friends," Joe Carioca (a parrot) and Panchito (a rooster). They spend most of the rest of the film watching Donald chase skirt. That's right, Donald Duck is a wolf in this movie, and he chases every live-action señorita who bustles across the screen. Although some will say otherwise, Caballeros is for die-hard Disney, Donald, or psychedelia fans only. --Keith Simanton

Description

The ever-popular and excitable Donald Duck stars in one of his greatest adventures -- a dazzling blend of live action and classic Disney animation bursting with south of the border sights and sounds! When Donald receives a magical collection of gifts from his Latin American friends, they become his passport to a fantastic musical journey with Joe Carioca and Panchito, the charro rooster. With these experts to guide him, Donald hops, skips, and jumps his way through every splash of local color -- each stop full of surprises and sensational songs!

Customer Reviews:

Love the movie, hate the censorship.......2007-03-01

I am a HUGE fan of this movie, but this DVD (as well as the Saludos Amigos, Melody Time, and Make Mine Music DVDs) seriously panders to the soccer-mom crowd. Smoking (from Goofy in Saludos, and an innocent bystander in Caballeros) is "digitally altered" (i.e. censored), while Jose Carioca (who is in both movies) still HAS his cigar!

If Disney had wanted to censor smoking, they should have "digitally altered" Jose Carioca's cigar! I wouldn't be complaining about it if they'd been equal-opportunity butchers (and even then I'd be complaining).

Please Disney, since you're putting the Three Caballeros into the place once occupied by El Rio Del Tiempo, PLEASE re-release this on DVD and PLEASE kill the butchering!!

BJ

Classic donald at his best.......2007-02-13

This Disney movie was the 9th animated feature to be released by since Snow White. This ancient movie was first released way back in 1944. This year marks the 63 anniversary of this movie was first released in reel format and was later in the late 1990s or early 2000s was reformatted into VHS format. A word of warning even though this movie got a G rating I do not recommend it to any one under the age of 7. If you are 7 to ten years of age this movie should be fine for you. The reasons why I don't recommend this too any under seven is cause it has some parts with mild cartoon violence and there are also are several parts when character of Josa is seen using a cigar and is holding in his hand or mouth and occasional seen puffing on . In addition there is also a part mid way through the movie with a short brief use of Voodoo magic when Donald and Hosa have to say and incantation then put one of there fingers in there mouth blow to make themselves grow bigger so they can get access to the rest of Donald's other birthday presents. For those of you that like Disney movies but think this movie is to light and not intense and dark enough and want more adventure and action and your 11 years old or older I recommend Sleeping Beauty, Sword and the Stone and The Black Cauldron. For kids thirteen and older I recommend Pirates of The Caribbean Curse of the black Pearl and Dead Mans Chest.

Curious Mix of Walt Disney Animation.......2006-10-13

THE THREE CABALLEROS is a curious mix of Walt Disney's animation. Some of the film is traditional and familiar of the Walt Disney genre of the time. Donald Duck is the center figure in this Latin American travelogue with a mixture of animation and live action. "The Cold-Blooded Penguin" sequence come off best. I love the DVD. It is vivid. You can even see the original brush strokes!

Love the movie, hate the DVD!.......2006-06-10

This was one of my favorites as a kid. I was really disappointed with this DVD. You can see the film grains, especially in the live action/animated scenes. Also, I don't remember the film entirely, but it seems like they left ALOT of stuff out that was in the original movie. Its weird that they would NOT take the time to perform a restoration of some sort when transferring from VHS to DVD.

Disney Does Latin America, for better or worse.......2006-05-28

Although Disney originally released this feature (and "Saludos Amigos") in the 1940s to improve relations with Latin American countries, I think it's a bit more effective as an introduction to Latin music, art and dance. Carmen Molina does a beautiful rendition of "You Belong to My Heart" (although "Solamente Una Vez" sounds much better), as does the singer of "Bahia". The genius of "Caballeros" is the animation, although the integration of animation and film looks shoddy to our "Finding Nemo"-accustomed eyes, it was pretty cutting edge at the time of its release. Also, it's almost as though the color palettes in the animation were used to reflect Latin American art and textiles: vibrant golds, orange-reds and verdant greens. I don't think you need to be in an altered state to enjoy the hap-hazard animation - just enjoy the detail and coloring. This would be a 5-star review if Disney animators had done better research - there's several spelling errors on the maps shown in the film (i.e. "Valpraiso" instead of Valparaiso). I guess Disney didn't figure that any Latinos would actually pay money to see this film back then. I heard people complain about Donald Duck's blatant womanizing in this film, but I saw this as a kid and never really picked up on that.{Who can blame him around us Latin women ;>)} Apart from that, this is an enjoyable film for kids & adults and a nice way to get a taste of classic Latin ballads, dancing and a little art too.

Average customer rating:

haunting docu-fantasy--masterfully done!
Lacks bunches of ap-PEEL
Interesting, but misses a key point
Great, but very sad.
An Extraordinary Talent!

Carmen Miranda - Bananas Is My Business
Starring: Cynthia Adler , Eric Barreto , Mario Cunha , Alice Faye , and Aurora Miranda
Manufacturer: Fox Lorber
ProductGroup: DVD
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Copacabana
Week-End in Havana
Down Argentine Way
Brazilian Bombshell: 25 Hits (1939-1947)
That Night in Rio

ASIN: 1572522720
Release Date: 1998-08-12

Amazon.com

Few people know that movie star and gay icon Carmen Miranda was actually born in Portugal but moved to Rio de Janeiro as a girl in 1909. She was a determined, self-perpetuated creation--a master at promoting her public self, which "she wore like a mask that could not be penetrated." That she ultimately became the richest woman in America at one point in her career was a testament to her sheer will to succeed in show business. Carmen Miranda: Bananas Is My Business is a hit-and-miss, sometimes shabbily done "proto-documentary" about her childhood and stardom, enacted with the sort of faux seriousness that is at times embarrassingly inane. The real people in the film, including her cousin, actors Cesar Romero, Rita Moreno, and Alice Faye (who says simply, "She had magic"), and boyfriends from her youth ("She had eyes like the headlights on a car," rues one) paint a portrait of a woman who, though effervescent on the surface, was haunted by criticism from home after she became "Americanized" and who endured a cold, loveless, physically abusive marriage. Miranda emerges as a Hollywood victim, for although she had everything she wanted, she was never given the studio's blessing to escape from her image to pursue her true musical talent. Sleeping pills, depression, and electroshock therapy followed, further indicating an underlying misery despite Miranda's gleeful public expression that "bananas is my business." Yet she never despised her famous alter ego--a Latin spitfire bombshell who wore a fruit basket on her head. Her death by a heart attack, which followed a collapse while dancing with Jimmy Durante, is unfortunately mismanaged in the film by director Helena Solberg. Miranda, who is still remembered by millions, hardly merits a bad reenactment of her lonely demise. It's a shame this intriguing documentary (that is, when it sticks to the film clips and archival footage) feels compelled to inject such speculative contrivances, because Miranda's life was fascinating of its own accord. --Paula Nechak

Customer Reviews:

haunting docu-fantasy--masterfully done!.......2004-10-28

I first saw this film when it was broadcast on the independent film show, P.O.V. (Point of View), on PBS back in 1995. I knew about as much about Carmen Miranda as the average Yanqui. (Even though I like to think I transcend this national limitation with my inherited sense of Latina soul by way of my Venezuelan father's DNA.) I wanted to know more about "The Lady with the Tutti Frutti Hat," this icon who represented so many things to so many people. To her people of Brazil, she was their Carmen, that young, vivacious and drop-dead gorgeous singer of sambas, forros and Brazilian popular music (Musica Popular do Brasil) in the 1940s. To the North American public, she was the Latin bombshell with a flare for flashy, bold and colorful "traditional" costumes, who emerged as part of "tropical" dance numbers in several popular, Hollywood musicals. It didn't matter to many what language she was singing in, nor the content of her songs. It was pure, exotic fluff to entertain and distract us from our troubles. That was what we were lead to believe, anyway.

The story behind Carmen Miranda, the young Brazilian woman, born in Portugal to Portuguese parents, is finally revealed in Helena Solberg's compelling, cautionary film, that is disclosed to us through an innovative and engaging series of archived films, fantasy re-enactments and personal accounts of people who knew the woman behind the bananas. Let me tell you, here and now, bananas weren't the ONLY thing that were her business. Don't let the song fool you! ("Bananas Is My Business") Carmen Miranda was actually born Maria de Carmen, to Portuguese parents who immigrated with their young, two-year old daughter to Brazil. Maria was a gorgeous, outgoing, green-eyed ("like the headlights of a car," according to a Brazilian journalist) hatmaker at a men's boutique, when her enchanted voice was first heard. Maria used to sing to herself, to while away the hours. The numbers of customers surged when Maria was around. They were immediately enchanted and attracted to the beautiful young woman. A few years later, her first test record for the RCA studio, became a hit record in Rio de Janeiro. Once she had built a name for herself, she was performing at a nightclub one night and an American producer from Hollywood happened to see her sing. The rest is history.....

The film unapologetically presents the duality of Carmen's experiences in Hollywood and showbusiness in the United States. Though, she had given herself the name Carmen Miranda, when she began her journey of self discovery before she even became a popular singer, her overall makeover and appearance in the public eye was severely altered by Hollywood's hand. She was presented as a goodwill ambassador, representing the cultures of South America to the United States, not only as a means of social outreach, but as a tool of political and economic advancement. This beautiful woman gradually began to resemble the clownish, over-the-top persona carved out for her. She was never given successful, "serious" roles as a Latina in U.S. showbusiness. Instead, she was presented as the exotic icing, while other Non-Latin actors took the cake.

When she finally succumbed to a heart attack at the young age of fourty-six, the numerous sleeping and caffeine pills she had taken to become addicted to, along with an abusive and disrespectful marriage to American David Sebastian, finally took their toll. Nonetheless, her legacy lives on as a beautiful, talented and vivacious film legend who can never be replaced in our hearts. It is my hope that people see this film to get a glimpse at the woman behind the fruit basket.

Lacks bunches of ap-PEEL.......2004-09-25

This was a very odd documentary. Normally, I enjoy this forum of film. I enjoy learning about a person or events that I normally would never learn about. I love learning about famous people that to the normal eye would have a normal life, but behind the scenes it was nothing but trials and tribulations. The only issue I have is that sometimes it is hard to create a good documentary, or just another episode of E! True Hollywood Stories. That is exactly the line that Carmen Miranda: Bananas is my Business crosses.

This film goes from decent documentary into a slime fest for the "bombshell" beauty. The problem with this film is that the filmmaker takes too many assumptions with Carmen. For example, there are some scenes that were not captured on film when Carmen was alive, so the director chose to go ahead and place an actress (or in this very odd case and ACTOR) in a reenacting role of Carmen. There were several moments of this film where it would skip from filmed Carmen, to this actor Carmen and the director would take certain risks.

These risks should not be taken when creating a documentary. Why? Because again you are crossing a line. You are taking a documentary, one that lives in the world of fiction, and throw in areas of non-fiction. This cannot happen. You cannot jump genres. How is your audience to believe you? After watching some truths from the taped Carmen from her films, I had trouble jumping from one to the other. I couldn't keep track on what the director wanted to show as "real" and what was dramatized. That is definitely no way to create a story. For example, we open this film to Carmen walking around in her bath robe and suddenly falls, we witness the mirror that Carmen is carrying shatter in front of her. Now I know that the director was trying to show that a beauty, concerned most about her appearance, had a mirror (the sheer instrument of vanity) break in front of her. BUT THIS NEVER HAPPENED. I had to remind myself that the director was taking a chance here, causing my stomach to go down south. Can directors of documentaries take these chances?

Can they dabble the line between fiction and non-fiction while trying to tell a "true" story? My answer friends, is NO. But again, all I am is a mere critic, no director of documentaries.

Grade: ** out of *****

Interesting, but misses a key point.......2003-02-26

This documentary is more about the director and her feelings about Carmen Miranda than Carmen. In the end, I find she does no more service to her than Hollywood did. What she fails to note is Miranda was just great and joyous in those old Fox films. How many other foreign actresses could do a full-length number like Cae Cae with her Banda de Lua? It's authentic and fun and clearly Miranda is enjoying herself.
The old clips are fun but I wanted to know more about Carmen Miranda and less about the director. If there were more things available about Carmen, this would be a fine experiment.

Great, but very sad........2002-07-22

This was a great documentary! I just discovered Carmen through the Fox Movie Channel. This film covers her whole life. She was really a great talent and she did not deserve to be treated that way by hollywood. Maybe if she was a star of today she would have been more respected.

An Extraordinary Talent!.......2000-10-12

Helena Solberg takes Carmen Miranda fans where they've never gone before. This video is the most in depth bio I have ever seen on the "Little Girl" from Brazil. Not only does it delve into Miranda's life, but it goes into detail the abuse she took from the movie industry. Hollywood stereotyped Carmen to the point that it was impossible for her to find roles other than the "Rosita" and "Carmelta" characters she portrayed, and her native Brasil deemed her too "Americanized", almost to the point of disowning her. She was definitely a woman without a country."Bananas" also shows some of Miranda's classic numbers from the camp 20th Century Fox musicals. All in all, "Bananas Is My Business" is a detailed account of the life of this extraordinary talent....a "must see" for any Miranda fan.

Average customer rating:

Love the movie, hate the censorship
Classic donald at his best
Curious Mix of Walt Disney Animation
Love the movie, hate the DVD!
Disney Does Latin America, for better or worse

Three Caballeros
Starring: Aurora Miranda , Carmen Molina , Dora Luz , Sterling Holloway , and Clarence Nash
Director: Norman Ferguson
Manufacturer: Walt Disney Video
ProductGroup: Video
Binding: VHS Tape

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Saludos Amigos (Disney Gold Classic Collection)
Fun and Fancy Free (Disney Gold Classic Collection)
Melody Time (Disney Gold Classic Collection)
The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad (Disney Gold Classic Collection)
Make Mine Music (Disney Gold Classic Collection)

ASIN: 6300274608
Release Date: 1995-04-14

Amazon.com

Customer Reviews:

Love the movie, hate the censorship.......2007-03-01

Classic donald at his best.......2007-02-13

Curious Mix of Walt Disney Animation.......2006-10-13

Love the movie, hate the DVD!.......2006-06-10

Disney Does Latin America, for better or worse.......2006-05-28

Average customer rating:

Racism and 1940's Hollywood
It's All Wonderful...If You're a Welles Fan
Lost Piece of Welles Brilliance
Well.....
Excellent for Welles Fans

It's All True
Starring: Francisca Moreira Da Silva , Manuel 'Preto' Pereira Da Silva , Jeronimo André De Souza , Miguel Ferrer , and Raimundo 'Tata' Correia Lima
Director: Orson Welles , Bill Krohn , Myron Meisel , and Richard Wilson
Manufacturer: Paramount
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Documentary | Genres | DVD | Video

DVDs Under $7.49 | Today's Deals in DVD | Special Features | DVD | Video

( I ) | Titles | Features | DVD | Video

Around the World with Orson Welles
Falstaff Chimes At Midnight [Import]
Macbeth (Fully Restored Version)
F for Fake - Criterion Collection
The Complete Mr. Arkadin (aka Confidential Report) - Criterion Collection

ASIN: B00062IDGU
Release Date: 2004-11-30

Amazon.com essential video

In 1942, Orson Welles was at the top of his game in Hollywood and had, as far as he was concerned, a great future ahead of him. Then Nelson Rockefeller asked him to go