Jenny Agutter

Average customer rating:

lots of color
Enjoyable, but not quite what I expected.
Cover Appears Promising, But No Substance.
One of my favorite period pieces!
The Buccaneers

The Buccaneers
Starring: Carla Gugino , Mira Sorvino , Alison Elliott , Rya Kihlstedt , and Gwen Humble
Director: Philip Saville
Manufacturer: BBC Warner
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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( B ) | Titles | Features | DVD | Video

North & South
Middlemarch
Our Mutual Friend
Under the Greenwood Tree
The Moonstone

ASIN: B000E0ODZE
Release Date: 2006-04-18

Amazon.com

As four young American women find their way through the labyrinthine social world of 1870s England, their fortunes rise--and sometimes, with brutal abruptness, fall. Based on Edith Wharton's unfinished novel, The Buccaneers, this lavish BBC production follows Nan and Virginia St. George (Carla Gugino, Spy Kids, and Alison Elliott, The Spitfire Grill), two American sisters who follow their friend Conchita Closson (Mira Sorvino, Mighty Aphrodite), a Brazilian bad girl who marries a dissolute British lord, to England in search of aristocratic husbands--partly due to the influence of their canny governess, Laura Testvalley (Cherie Lunghi, Excalibur). The Buccaneers has a good dose of the delicious satirical wit to be found in many BBC dramas, but tempered by the presence of the naive American girls, who find themselves trapped by the very things they thought they wanted. Though mocked by some critics for its heaving bosoms and towering hairdos, the five-part series stealthily paints a sometimes devastating portrait of women's lives. When Idina Hatton (Jenny Agutter, Logan's Run), the older lover of the aimless Lord Seadown (Mark Tandy, Shackleton), learns that Seadown is going to marry the young and lovely Virginia, it's a heartbreaking moment, yet one that isn't overdone. The Buccaneers is full of such gracefulness--Wharton observes the fickle turns of life in society with a judicious eye, empathizing with the pain but never losing sight of the hard realities of money and marriage. In a strong cast, Gugino particularly shines; with her round, rosy cheeks and expressive eyes, she makes a smart yet vulnerable heroine. --Bret Fetzer

Description

Deemed nouveau riche and shunned by elitist New York society, sisters Nan and Virginia St. George, along with their friends Lizzy Elmsworth and Conchita Closson (Academy Award winner Mira Sorvino), try their luck in London. The girls' New World spontaneity and impertinence constitute nothing less than a social invasion of Old World society and they soon find themselves courted by a coterie of fascinated admirers. But as the old and new worlds come to clash, something has to give.

Customer Reviews:

lots of color.......2007-05-12

I loved this mini,lots of color,pretty people.I hated thats not everyone ended up happy,but I guess thats life.I would highly recommend this movie for anyone that enjoys period pieces.Its definately a girly movie.Infact I will watch it again and again.Sooooo buy it and enjoy it.

Enjoyable, but not quite what I expected........2007-05-09

I enjoyed this DVD, but it wasn't the greatest. I don't know what I had expected, but it didn't quite cut it. I enjoy period pieces and this is definitely that...but I didn't quite get some of it. What was with all the smoking? It caught me off guard.

If this DVD can be found at your local library, I'd check it out - not buy it.

Cover Appears Promising, But No Substance........2007-04-06

This film's attractive cover is deceptive, as this film is completely disappointing. Without the class of "Pride & Prejudice", "North & South", or " Wives & Daughters", and without adventure.

Portrays older adults as immoral or stupid. Therefore, may be entertaining to the MTV generation, for all the wrong reasons. Emptiness in the like of: "Troy", "Tristan and Isolde", "Tess", and "Sex in the City". None of the values of the period; without good story, without values, without admirable characters, without true romance, without heart, without mind, that is not even mindlessly entertaining.

For anyone with depth this is painful to watch. Hit yourself in the head with a broom handle for the same experience and save your money.

One of my favorite period pieces!.......2007-04-05

This has it all, great acting, screenplay, and the costumes are absolutely fabulous! The storyline is wonderful and follows true to the author. A wonderful romantic movie about Americans living the Victorian lifestyle in England.

The Buccaneers.......2007-03-12

If you love historical romance, you'll like this movie. It's about several naive young girls coming out and the problems they encounter on their quest for love. The story follows them and their relationships as they grow into young women and settle into the lives they've chose.

Average customer rating:

The best Werewolf
Excellent film, and not just for special effects
Darkly funny; you'll howl with laughter *wince*
A masterpiece
VERY INTERESTING

An American Werewolf in London
Starring: Jenny Agutter , Sean Baker , Joe Belcher , Michele Brisigotti , and Anne-Marie Davies
Manufacturer: Universal Studios
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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( A ) | Titles | Features | DVD | Video

An American Werewolf in Paris
The Howling (Special Edition)
Dog Soldiers
Silver Bullet (1985) (Ws Sub)
Fright Night

ASIN: B00005LC4E
Release Date: 2001-09-18

Amazon.com

Remember back in the early 1980s when special-effects makeup artists were tripping over themselves to create the next big effect? The Howling boasted a fantastic werewolf transformation scene courtesy of makeup wizard Rob Bottin. Then along came Bottin's mentor, Rick Baker, with his own spectacular effects in this popular horror comedy directed by John Landis. An American Werewolf in London is more of a makeup showcase than a truly satisfying movie, but the film is effectively moody when David Naughton discovers that a wolf attack has turned him into a bloodthirsty lycanthrope. Jenny Agutter plays his love interest (watch out, he bites!), and who can forget Griffin Dunne as Naughton's best friend, an undead corpse who progressively rots away as the plot unfolds? All things considered, it's easy to see why An American Werewolf in London became a modern horror favorite. --Jeff Shannon

Customer Reviews:

The best Werewolf.......2007-05-13

For a longtime this was my favourite film of all time, its not anymore, but it is still a genuine classic film, that deserves a place amongst the greatest horror films ever made.

The reasons for this are threefold:
Firstly the special effects by Rick Baker are amazing. Remember this was made 25 years ago, there was no digital effects then, what you see on the screen was either done with make-up or animatronic puppets. Rick Baker won an Oscar for his work on this film in 1982.

Secondly the blend of horror and comedy. If you watch the extras you will hear the director Jon Landis state that the film is not a comedy, although he admits it is funny. Some of the scenes are very funny and this comedy, sometimes black comedy works really well against the horror in the rest of the film. The horror in this film is brilliantly done with the double nightmare sequence being a particular favourite of mine.

Thirdly of course its a love story. The ending to the film is ultimately all about the love story, but once again John Landis confuses our emotions by immediately playing The Marcels great version of Blue Moon over the end credits.

The scene in the Slaughtered Lamb is a direct reference to the multitude of classic Hammer Films that featured a Pub that went silent went our hero entered it. You will spot quite a few well known faces in the Slaughtered Lamb including a fresh-faced looking Rik Mayall.

The extras on this edition are pretty good, with both Rick Baker and Jon Landis having some interesting things to say. Perhaps the most surprising was that Jon Landis wrote the script for this film in 1969. There's also some fascinating stuff on how Rick Baker created the amazing special effects.

Beware of the moon.

Excellent film, and not just for special effects.......2007-03-24

When people talk about this film, many speak of the classic transformation scene. Yes, it was an amazing achievement of special effects. Don't let that distract you, however, from the fact that this was a highly intelligent take on the werewolf genre. David Naughton is excellent as the american student come werewolf, and Griffin Dunne almost steals the movie as the gradually decomposing, but generally pleasant, corpse who continually reappears to his friend. There are classic campy jokes (e.g., when David tries to get arrested as a form of protecting others from his werewolf alter ego) as well as real drama, and an excellent supporting cast. Stay off the moors!

Darkly funny; you'll howl with laughter *wince*.......2007-03-11

OK, I couldn't resist that pun . . .

That said, I have loved this movie for years. Two American boys are hiking across England when they end up at a mysterious inn on a full moon night. Despite warnings, they decide to keep going and get lost on the moors. One is horribly killed (this is a gory, gruesome movie - not for the faint-hearted!) and the other . . . survives. Once he awakens from his coma, he moves in with his sexy nurse and begins to see the badly decomposing corpse of his friend following him around, telling him to kill himself before it is too late. As the bodies pile up, the corpses following him around become quite a group (this is the darkly funny part - I love the dead people - yeah, I'm a sick ******)

Like all traditional werewolf movies, this one ends badly (as in sadly); I always feel SO sorry for werewolves - they have a terrible lot in life. But it is a true classic of the werewolf genre, one I highly recommend to anyone who loves horror, werewolves, monster movies and dark humor.

A masterpiece.......2007-02-12

All these years later and it still holds up to this day. John Landis crafted a comedic and horiffic classic with An American Werewolf in London in 1981, forever changing the way werewolf movies, and possibly horror movies in general, are made. The story, if you don't know it by now, finds an American student (David Naughton) surviving a werewolf attack in England. Things get much worse though when he starts seeing his dead friend (Griffin Dunne) informing him to kill himself before the next full moon. Loaded with sharp humor, incredible script work and directing (Landis has never done better), and superb makeup effects by industry legend Rick Baker (many of which still hold up today), An American Werewolf in London is an all time classic that deserves it's legendary status. With a great assortment of DVD extras, and at this cheap price, picking this up is a steal, and it's a crime if you're a horror fan and it's not already part of your collection.

VERY INTERESTING.......2007-02-09

From the beginning to the end was excellent. The music played throughout the movie wasnt scary but funny in a scary twisted way. I think it is a great movie

Average customer rating:

Logan's Run
Starring: Michael York , Richard Jordan , Jenny Agutter , Roscoe Lee Browne , and Farrah Fawcett
Director: Michael Anderson , and Ronald Saland
Manufacturer: Warner Home Video
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

Crime | Action & Adventure | Genres | DVD | Video

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( L ) | Titles | Features | DVD | Video

Soylent Green
The Omega Man
The Andromeda Strain
Westworld
Silent Running

ASIN: B00004VVNB
Release Date: 2004-06-01

Amazon.com

If you can stifle the urge to laugh at its pastel unisex costumes and futuristic shopping-mall décor, this extravagant science fiction film from 1976 is still visually fascinating and provocatively entertaining. Set in the year 2274, when ecological disaster has driven civilization to the protection of domed cities, the story revolves around a society that holds a ceremonial death ritual for all citizens who reach the age of 30. In a diseaseless city where free sex is encouraged and old age is virtually unknown, Logan (Michael York) is a "sandman," one who enforces this radical method of population control (but he's about to turn 30 and he doesn't want to die). Escaping from the domed city via a network of underground passages, Logan is joined by another "runner" named Jessica (Jenny Agutter), while his former sandman partner (Richard Jordan) is determined to terminate Logan's rebellion. Using a variety of splendid matte paintings and miniatures, Logan's Run earned a special Oscar for visual effects (images of a long-abandoned Washington, D.C., are particularly impressive), and in addition to fine performances by Jordan and Peter Ustinov, the film features '70s poster babe Farrah Fawcett in a cheesy supporting role. Jerry Goldsmith's semi-electronic score is still one of the prolific composer's best, and Logan's Run remains an interesting example of '70s sci-fi that preceded Star Wars by less than a year. --Jeff Shannon

Average customer rating:

Walkabout - Criterion Collection
Starring: Jenny Agutter , Luc Roeg , David Gulpilil , John Meillon , and Robert McDarra
Director: Nicolas Roeg
Manufacturer: Criterion
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Drama | Genres | DVD | Video

Drama | Criterion Collection | Stores | DVD | Video

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( W ) | Titles | Features | DVD | Video
Similar Items:

Rabbit-Proof Fence
Picnic at Hanging Rock - Criterion Collection
The Last Wave - Criterion Collection
Equus
The Man Who Fell to Earth - Criterion Collection

ASIN: 0780020847
Release Date: 1998-05-06

Amazon.com

Very few films achieve a kind of subliminal greatness with cross-cultural impact, but Walkabout is one of those films--a visual tone poem that functions more as an allegory than a conventionally plotted adventure. Considered a cult favorite for years, Nicolas Roeg's 1971 film--about two British children who are rescued in the Australian outback by a young aborigine--was originally released in the U.S. with an R rating, edited from its European length of 100 minutes. In 1997, the film was fully restored to its director's cut, and in its remastered video and DVD release, it's now wisely unrated (as Roeg had always intended) but still suitable for viewers of all ages. For parents this is a rare opportunity to treat well-supervised children (ages 5 and over) to an adventure that won't insult their intelligence, presenting scenes of frontal nudity and the hunting of animals in a context that invites valuable discussion and introspection. Through exquisite cinematography and a story of subtle human complexity, the film continues to resonate on many thematic and artistic levels. Roeg had always intended it to be a cautionary morality tale, in which the limitations and restrictions of civilization become painfully clear when the two children (played by Jenny Agutter and Roeg's young son, Lucien John) cannot survive without the aborigine's assistance. They become primitives themselves, if only temporarily, while the young aborigine proves ultimately and tragically unable to join the "family" of civilization. With its story of two worlds colliding, Walkabout now seems like a film for the ages, hypnotic and open to several compelling levels of interpretation. In addition to presenting the film in its original 1.77:1 aspect ratio, the Criterion Collection DVD of Walkabout includes a variety of bonus features, including a full-length commentary by Nicolas Roeg and Jenny Agutter, original theatrical trailers, and an essay by critic Roger Ebert. --Jeff Shannon

Description

Nicolas Roeg's mystical masterpiece chronicles the physical, spiritual, and emotional journey of a sister and brother abandoned in the harsh Australian outback. Joining an Aborigine boy on his walkabout-a tribal initiation into manhood-these modern children pass from innocence into experience as they are thrust from the comforts of civilization into the savagery of the natural world.

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Silas Marner, The Weaver of Raveloe
Starring: Ben Kingsley , Jenny Agutter , Patrick Ryecart , Freddie Jones , and Jonathan Coy
Director: Giles Foster
Manufacturer: BBC Warner
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Drama | Genres | DVD | Video

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( S ) | Titles | Features | DVD | Video

Adam Bede
Dombey and Son
Jane Eyre (Masterpiece Theatre, 2006)
Under the Greenwood Tree
The Mill on the Floss

ASIN: B000M2E322
Release Date: 2007-04-17

Amazon.com

Silas Marner, a member of a strict religious community, is wrongly accused of theft and has no choice but to move to a faraway village. For 15 years he lives alone, hoarding the money he makes from his weaving and gaining a reputation as a recluse, a miser, and perhaps even a witch. Marner's life changes dramatically one Christmas season, when his gold is stolen and a mysterious woman dies in the woods outside his cottage. She leaves behind a child that Marner, to the surprise of the other villagers, takes into his home to raise as his daughter. The arrival of the infant, whom he names Eppie after his mother, transforms Marner. His bitterness evaporates; he no longer cares about his lost money; and he commits himself completely to his adopted child, who grows up into a loving and beautiful daughter. But Marner's happiness may be threatened, because Eppie is really the daughter of the local squire, who was secretly married to the woman whose body Marner discovered. Remarried, but childless, the squire decides he wants to claim Eppie as his own.

Ben Kingsley gives a subtle and moving performance as the simple weaver, and a strong cast gives him ample support in this 1985 BBC adaptation of George Eliot's novel. Silas Marner is not particularly complex--it's certainly a more modest undertaking than Eliot's most famous novel, Middlemarch--but this sentimental Victorian tale, filled with historical detail, potential tragedy, heartless villains, and the redeeming power of childhood, makes for a very satisfying film. --Simon Leake

Description

Silas Marner was a man who had everything - until he lost it all. Falsely accused of theft and driven out of his town, Silas starts life anew. One day, upon arriving home, he discovers a foundling child asleep on the hearth. Could this young girl be the redemption to love and happiness that Silas has been looking for?

Average customer rating:

Equus
Starring: Richard Burton , Peter Firth , Colin Blakely , Joan Plowright , and Harry Andrews
Director: Sidney Lumet
Manufacturer: MGM (Video & DVD)
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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Mystery | Mystery & Suspense | Genres | DVD | Video

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( E ) | Titles | Features | DVD | Video

Equus (Penguin Plays)
Walkabout - Criterion Collection
Equus
Shortbus (Unrated Edition)
Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (Two-Disc Special Edition)

ASIN: B00007KQA2
Release Date: 2003-03-04

Amazon.com

A film adaptation of the famous play by Peter Shaffer, Equus stars Richard Burton (Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, 1984) as Martin Dysart, a psychiatrist who takes on an unusual case: a young stable boy (Peter Firth, The Hunt for Red October) who, in a frenzy, has blinded six horses. Their sessions reveal that the boy has a quasi-religious fetish for horses and he rides them in the dead of night, experiencing an ecstasy unlike anything Dysart has ever known. Dysart begins to question: Is the pursuit of normalcy worth the loss of individual passions? Equus features a lot of hokum--its therapy scenes are absurd crescendos of revelation and insights. But its central question has substance, the direction is energetic, and the performances are powerful; Burton, handsome and haggard, brings a complex self-loathing to his role. Also featuring Jenny Agutter (Logan's Run) and Joan Plowright (Enchanted April). --Bret Fetzer

Description

This Oscar®-nominated* adaptation of Peter Shaffer's Tony Award-winning play erupts on the screen with the same power and passion as the stage original. Richard Burton gives "one of his best performances ever" (Boxoffice) in this "elegant and provocative" (Newsweek) tale ofmyth and madness. What would drive Alan Strang (Peter Firth), a troubled adolescent stable boy, to blind six horses with a metal spike? Psychiatrist Martin Dysart (Burton) investigates these unspeakable acts and delves deep into Alan's psyche, confronting the mysteries of sexual passion and madnessas well as the dark demons buried within his own soul. *1977: Actor (Burton),Supporting Actor (Firth), Adapted Screenplay

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The Eagle Has Landed
Starring: Michael Caine , Donald Sutherland , Robert Duvall , Jenny Agutter , and Donald Pleasence
Director: John Sturges
Manufacturer: Lions Gate
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Action & Adventure | Genres | DVD | Video

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( E ) | Titles | Features | DVD | Video

The Day of the Jackal
The Odessa File
Where Eagles Dare
The Counterfeit Traitor
The Spy Who Came in from the Cold

ASIN: B00005QCVP
Release Date: 2001-08-14

Amazon.com

This 1976 adventure story set in World War II concerns a Nazi plot to kidnap Churchill from his retreat--or murder him if need be. The large, great cast and a director, John Sturges, who's been down this road of ensemble action before (The Magnificent Seven, The Great Escape) make this project exciting if not as memorable as Sturges's more famous works. The weak ending doesn't help. -- Tom Keogh

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"Star" with Julie Andrews review
Like sitting through a three hour fashion show with a bunch of old ladies
WONDERFUL
FAST FORWARD IN HAND...
Andrews valiantly attempts Gertie Lawrence

Star!
Starring: Julie Andrews , Richard Crenna , Michael Craig , Daniel Massey , and Robert Reed
Director: Robert Wise
Manufacturer: 20th Century Fox
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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4-for-3 Drama | 4-for-3 DVD | Stores | DVD | Video

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( S ) | Titles | Features | DVD | Video

Darling Lili
Thoroughly Modern Millie
Call Me Madam
The Americanization of Emily
Victor/Victoria

ASIN: B0001FR54I
Release Date: 2004-04-20

Amazon.com

For Julie Andrews fans, Star! will be something more than just a legendary albatross around Old Hollywood's neck--after all, Julie is onscreen virtually every minute of this film, singing and dancing and flouncing around in an endless parade of over-the-top costumes. Seeing her tackle a variety of Noel Coward tunes and a nicely understated "Someone to Watch Over Me" is pleasant, but it's easy to see why this three-hour musical failed to click with 1968 audiences. A biopic of the celebrated stage star Gertrude Lawrence (puckish Daniel Massey plays Coward, Lawrence's childhood chum), the movie staggers around between the big production numbers. Its social message--independent Lawrence just needed a man to boss her around--was just as grating in the age of The Graduate as it is now. "Isn't this kind of thing a little out of date?" someone asks the aging Lawrence; Star! provides its own answer. --Robert Horton

Description

Julie Andrews stars as British stage legend Gertrude Lawrence, a glamorous, flamboyant and charismatic personality - A woman who is both "maddening and infuriating" and "probably the most beautiful and entrancing creature ever to walk onto a stage." Robert Wise's lavish musical recalls the golden era of musical theatre, from 1912 to 1940. Lawrence rise from irrepressible chorus girl in English music halls to become the toast of two continents. Her lifelong friend Noel Coward (Daniel Massey) provides witty commentary as Gertie finds company in a number of suitors, in search of a love to equal that of an audience.

Customer Reviews:

"Star" with Julie Andrews review.......2007-02-11

I think this, along with "Victor. Victoria" are her best movies - both having shown her amazing versatility and personality. Terrific musical, songs, lots of wonderful dancing and a thoroughly enjoyanble film. It's a real treat.

Like sitting through a three hour fashion show with a bunch of old ladies.......2006-10-06

I was 15 when Star! was released and was keen to see it. I saw it on a dreary grey day during Christmas vacation. A friend of mine and I actually saw "Chitty Chitty Bang Bang" first (!) and then ran across the street to see "Star!" So there we were, two 15 year old boys surrounded by about fifty old ladies in an enormous movie palace. I felt impending doom. I didn't know who Gertrude Lawrence was and I didn't when it was over, either. I still don't. And isn't so much that Julie is miscast, but that so little information is actually imparted aside from telling us she rather charmingly spent too much money and occasionally was a bit charmingly impatient with some people. That's really about it. You won't see her friend Beatrice Lillie, whom in her original review Pauline Kael said that Julie Andrews might have been able to play the life story of instead. I'm not so sure about that either, but it would have been a lot more fun.

I still to this day wonder what on earth they were thinking when they decided to make a movie about Gertrude Lawrence in the first place. Frankly, a movie about Fanny Brice was pushing it, because by 1968 who past the age of radio knew who she was either, but "Funny Girl" rode a very rocky road on the way to Broadway but by the time it was made into a film, it was, by and large, pretty good. But "Star!" didn't have that luxury, and it bore down like a ton of bricks on Julie Andrews to create a character virtually out of thin air. It tries to suggest a documentary that is being made while she is still alive (so she doesn't die during the run of The King and I and make for a sad ending -- though at least it would have had an ending, because as it is, it doesn't, not really). But the movie is not a documentary, and it isn't a drama, and it isn't a comedy, and it isn't a book musical. It's none of the above and yet it still manages to be conventional. There's lots and lots of music, recorded as if to be played by a rather nice Victrola. I never liked the brassy, abrasive arrangements. It doesn't sound much better on your DVD than the old Fox LP. And Julie is at times not in her best voice, but try listening to Gertrude sometime sing the same things. She must have been electrifying in person because her voice is high, very, very high, yet not hitting those notes dead center by any means.

She's best with Daniel Massey as Noel Coward but those scenes are pretty much the same, over and over. Noel, who you'd think would be fun, comes off as a scolding auntie. And he hated the movie, by the way.

And yet the film looks like a lot of money was spent. It is up on the screen. The clothes are beautiful, the sets are at times very impressive. The mural in her apartment when she is talking on the phone is much more interesting than the scene itself.

Thinking I had judged it unkindly at 15, about 18 years later I saw Saul Chaplin host the screening of the film at the long-closed Vagabond Theatre in Los Angeles (a dump). This was before it was even issued on VHS, and showed up on late night movies in its very truncated Those Were the Happy Times version (don't ask). So if you want to complain about incomplete, for probably 20 years or more, this is all we had of "Star!" Mr. Chaplin still championed the film as a masterpiece and said in 1968 the ungrateful masses wanted to see movies like Bonnie and Clyde and The Graduate instead. Well, yes, they did and they still do. I ended up being just as frustrated with the film at 33 as I was when I was 15.

Then around the year 2000, I met Robert Wise. What a warm and kind person he was. He still loved Star!, calling it "A marvelous film. I never understood why it had so little success." He was still disappointed, 32 years later. I must say, I am fascinated by the film, as I am fascinated by "Cleopatra," which no one liked but unlike "Star!", lots of people did go to see what all the fuss was about. But there wasn't much fuss over "Star!"

Now, when I do watch parts of it (which is about all I can manage) I am always transported back to that gloomy 1968 winter day. As my friend and I left the dusty old United Artists Theatre, exhausted and hungry, I said "I feel like I just sat through a three hour fashion show with a bunch of old ladies." I still hold to that sentiment.

WONDERFUL.......2006-06-24

I DON'T CARE WHAT ANYONE SAYS THIS MOVIE IS A HIT. WITH A STRUGLING WOMAN(JULIE ANDREWS) TRING TO UNDERSTAND THAT SHE DOES NOT HAVE TO BE THE BEST TO BE THE BEST. ILL ADMIT SOME TIMES IN THE MOVIE YOU MIGHT FEEL SAD BHUT THAT ONLY LASTS A SEC. I LOVE TO WATCH ALL THE SOMGS OVER AND OVER AGAIN! I LOVE THESE SONGS THE MOST: PICADILLY, PHISITION, THE SAGA OF JENNY, AND BURLINGTON BURTIE. BUT JULIE SINGS MANY OTHER SONGS WHICH I JUST ADORE. JULIE WEARS OVER 200 OUTFITS ON THE MOVIVE AND EVERYONE IS MAGNIFICENT. JUKLIE IS WONDERFUL!

FAST FORWARD IN HAND..........2005-12-03

On the tails of Streisand's "Funny Girl" came Julie Andrews' STAR, the so-calld "biopic" musical of English songstress and stage star Gertrude Lawrence. A dismal box-office failure, the story line is just plain boring, but the musical numbers with Andrews at her multi-octave finest holds up well some 35 or so years later. The costumes are glorious, the sets dazzle and the entire film is worth sitting through if only for Andrew's rendition of Lawrence's rousing "Saga of Jenny". Zip through the dialogue and go right to the production numbers. You'll be glad you did.

Andrews valiantly attempts Gertie Lawrence.......2005-10-01

STAR! remains Julie Andrews' most ambitious movie, and one which displays her versatility as an actress as well as her musicality as a performer. Directed by Robert Wise, this 3-hour epic was tipped as Julie's greatest film. Instead it became a huge bomb which (coupled with DARLING LILI) set in motion Andrews' box-office decline.

However harsh the criticism, STAR! remains an enjoyable film experience and has a very large and devoted legion of fans. The movie recounts the life of legendary British stage star Gertrude Lawrence. As the movie opens, Gertie is viewing a documentary of her life, and begins to reminisce about her sucesses in the theatre, her romances and failures.

From the tenemants of Clapham to the footlights of London's Charlot Revue and her career-making Broadway debut, STAR! explores it all. Julie Andrews looks stunning in a cavalcade of Donald Brooks costumes. Choreographer Michael Kidd recreates several elaborate musical numbers that the real Lawrence was famous for (including "The Physician" from NYMPH ERRANT, "The Saga of Jenny" from LADY IN THE DARK and "Limehouse Blues" from the Charlot Revue). There are also fine re-creations from prime Lawrence vehicles OH KAY! and PRIVATE LIVES.

If Andrews isn't well-suited to Gertie Lawrence, she gives the audience a good time anyway (at this point in her career, Andrews wasn't yet fully-equipped as an actress to deliver all that Lawrence was). In reality Gertie Lawrence was a paradox of conflicting emotions, capable of the extremes of love and hate. Richard Aldrich's book "Life as Mrs A." (published after her death) paints a sickly-sweet portrait of a woman who was renowned as being a very self-centered and egocentric person. After the book was published, most of Gertie's friends admitted that Aldrich must have written the book while wearing rose-coloured glasses. Lawrence was an incantory presence on stage but her private life was never anything but a shambles.

Surrounding Andrews is a solid cast including Daniel Massey as Gertie's beloved best friend Noel Coward (Massey was Coward's Godson in real life), Michael Craig plays Sir Anthony Spencer (an amalgam of several men in Gertie's life). Richard Crenna plays Richard Aldrich. The film also features prime turns from Beryl Reid, Robert Reed, Bruce Forsyth, Alan Oppenheimer, Elizabeth St. Clair, Garrett Lewis, Don Crichton and Jenny Agutter.

The DVD presents the film in pleasing 16:9 anamorphic (including the Overture). The dual-layer double-sided disc includes an audio commentary by Robert Wise with select cast and crew, various trailers, Julie Andrews/Daniel Massey screentests and a reunion featurette.

A classic gem worthy of rediscovery.

Average customer rating:

Masterpiece Victorian Railway Story
What a wonderful family movie!
A Wonderful Family Film
After their father mysteriously disappears...
This Movie Is A Gem!!!(And It Took Me Back To More Simple Times)

Masterpiece Theatre: Railway Children
Starring: Jack Blumenau , Clare Thomas , Jemima Rooper , Jenny Agutter , and Michael Kitchen
Director: Catherine Morshead
Manufacturer: Wgbh Boston
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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WGBH Boston | Television | Genres | DVD | Video

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( M ) | Titles | Features | DVD | Video

Pollyanna
The Railway Children
Masterpiece Theatre: Carrie's War
Five Children and It/The Return of It
The Treasure Seekers

ASIN: B00006HAZH
Release Date: 2002-10-01

Amazon.com

Jenny Agutter stars as the mother in this Masterpiece Theater remake of the beloved 1970 Lionel Jeffries film of the same name, in which she played the oldest daughter. This time that role is played by Jemima Rooper, whose face perfectly captures the conflict between her girlhood of railway adventures and her adulthood, in which she comes to understand far more about the disappearance of her father than her younger siblings do. This early 20th-century story based on Edith Nesbit's novel is set in motion when the children's father is taken off in the night from their London home and the family moves to the country in reduced circumstances. The trio take to waving at passing trains for amusement and wind up preventing a derailment, reuniting a Russian prison escapee with his family, and rescuing a schoolboy injured in a tunnel. A couple of their heroics are accomplished with the assistance of a jovial-looking gentleman (Richard Attenborough), who waves to them from the rear car. He turns out to be the owner of the railroad and helps Rooper's character clear her father of a false treason conviction. Agutter does well as the proper British mum with a heart, but this is clearly Rooper's picture. The movie itself is 97 minutes with a few minutes tacked on at the beginning and end for Russell Baker's customary commentary and historical context. --Kimberly Heinrichs

Description

Set at the turn of the 20th century, three Edwardian children and their mother move to a country house in Yorkshire after their father is mysteriously taken away by the police. However, their mother refuses to inform the children of the circumstances surrounding their father's disappearance. The children become fascinated by a nearby railroad, and they faithfully wave to passengers daily. Their kindness helps them make friends with some important travelers, one old gentleman in particular. Can he help solve the mystery of their missing father? Special DVD features include: Cast list; Masterpiece Theatre poster gallery; access to The Railway Children Web site featuring essays, an interview with leading actress Jenny Agutter, biographies and photos of Golden Age authors, and more; scene selection; English audiotrack; and closed captions. On one DVD5 disc. Region coding: All regions. Audio: Dolby stereo. Screen format: Widescreen (Anamorphic)

Customer Reviews:

Masterpiece Victorian Railway Story.......2007-06-08

Years ago we use to see Masterpiece Theater movies and they were excellent dramatic movies. This is one such movie. A little more lighthearted than some, but still the somberness of well off children becoming poor, a father mysteriously is gone one night not to return, and moving to a large but dusty and possibly rat infested house, is not exactly light. Their adventures around the railroad and interesting people they meet make it a treat.

This has a good story, is very well acted, with superb sets and costumes, and decent music. Agutter and Attenborough definitely are pluses. Very interesting intro and summary of the story and even some background on the author at the end. One of the reasons I enjoyed Masterpiece Theater movies. Good quality productions and the DVD is great. I recommend it for the whole family

What a wonderful family movie!.......2007-05-26

This movie, Railway Children, is based on the book by E. Nesbit. It is reasonably faithful to the book. The characters are delightful. The scenery is gorgeous. It is a trip back to the time when manners (and morals) were as natural as breathing. My daughters adore it.

A Wonderful Family Film.......2007-03-06

This a very charming movie set in the turn of 20th the Century.
I have seen both versions and in my option they are both very fine movies that the whole family can watch.
I have to agree with one of the reviews, the brief commentary at the beginning and the end of the movie
is in my view detrimental to the production. I really dont understand why the writers did that.
Other then then the commentary the movie is very fine.
The acting is wonderful, the settings and costumes are beautiful.
This movie is worth while adding to your DVD library.
Especially if you are looking for family movies.

After their father mysteriously disappears..........2007-02-19

... a family is reduced in income and stature. They move to the country near a rail line. There the children learn more of life and people then they would have in their previous pampered environment. Many of their neighbors also learn a few things about sacrifice and friendship. Meantime the children, while worried as to the disappearance of their father, they begin waving to passing trains and this leads to many adventures.

Jenny Agutter played Bobbie Waterbury in the 1970 version. In this version she plays "mother".

Even though the story is transparent, the execution is excellent. The acting is superb and the consumes, even the train fit period of the story. I may have been stretch to believe in a philanthropic railroad tycoon.

This Movie Is A Gem!!!(And It Took Me Back To More Simple Times).......2005-10-19

I loved the original version of this move and was delighted to see that Jenny Agutter has a part in this remake. She is one very underrated actress who sadly we do not see enough of in films these days.The story concerns some young children who move to the country after their father is accused of a crime he did not commit. Then the children embark on a series of adventures in their small village. This movie is touching, funny and full of the charms of yesteryear.

Average customer rating:

This made my friend very happy!
tries to be "gone with the wind",it's almost as long,thats as close as they got!!!!!!!
"bore with a lot of wind" is what they should call it
Civil War Epic

Beulah Land [Region 99]
Starring: Lesley Ann Warren , Michael Sarrazin , Eddie Albert , Hope Lange , and Paul Rudd (II)
Director: Virgil W. Vogel , and Harry Falk
Manufacturer: Sony
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Drama | Genres | DVD | Video

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( B ) | Titles | Features | DVD | Video

The Blue and the Gray (The Complete Miniseries) [Region 99]
North and South - The Complete Collection
The Blue and the Gray - Recut
Sally Hemings: An American Scandal
Oldest Living Confederate Widow Tells All

ASIN: B0009P42U0
Release Date: 2005-07-26

Customer Reviews:

This made my friend very happy!.......2007-01-10

I got this for my friend for her birthday she loves this mini series she spoke if it many times she and her mother used to watch it together when she was a little girl she lost her mother to cancer when she was 14 And Beulah Land always made her feel happy and she woud remember the good times they had together.

She had a vhs copy of Beula Land and it broke after many years she then TVO it she did not know that it came on DVD, so when I gave it to her she was thrilled she kept saying no way no way! thank you thank you!
and she turned red and cried she was very pleased with it.

Thank You

tries to be "gone with the wind",it's almost as long,thats as close as they got!!!!!!!.......2006-05-06

my wife got this sad movie as a gift from a girl at work,and oh my!!!!,does it ever stink. plays like a soap opera,and not a good one. just the pits.

"bore with a lot of wind" is what they should call it.......2006-02-22

my wife bought this because she remembered it from her youth and though she liked it. wow was she wrong this is just a long drawen out soap with the barest of stories and way to much huffing and panting from the cast as it turns into "dallas" in the civil war. my wife can't believe she ever liked this junk!!

Civil War Epic.......2005-07-25

Persons who collect good Civil War fiction will love this one.
See a younger Don Johnson here in a major role too for the fans of DJ.
Similiar to the old favorites GONE WITH THE WIND...NORTH & SOUTH...THE BLUE AND THE GRAY. If you enjoyed or own any of those DVD's you won't want to miss adding this mini series to your collection of fine, fictional Civil War drama.

I have long awaited this to come out on DVD. I have tired of and no longer use VHS tapes on my large screen DVD. I cannot tell you just yet about the screen quality of the DVD as mine has not yet arrived at this writing.

The story line is great and the actors all have done a fine job in this story and best of all, the price is great for a great movie.

Actress:

Actress

Actress