Arts Movie Reviews

Family movie reviews for "Arts" sorted by average review score:

Ellen DeGeneres - Here and Now

Released in DVD by Warner Home Video (25 November, 2003)

MPAA Rating: R (Restricted)

Director: Joel Gallen

Average review score:

Sure To Make You Procrastinate!!!

I went to see this BRILLIANT act by Ellen DeGeneres live Apirl 16, 2003 at GW's Lisner Auditorium in Washington D.C. And let me just say that it was the most hilarious thing. I had a blast! The rhythm, the timing, the pauses! EVERYTHING! Pure genius! How does she do it? Just how does she do it? I also watched this show on HBO and demanded that my aunt watch it too and she loved it! Ellen had us laughing until we were choking to death!!! I can not even wait until the release of this classic on DVD! I own it on tape now and it's just about ruined from me looking at it so much. I just about know everything that she says verbatim! I have a little bit of a problem.

funniest lady in town!...ANY town!

I saw Here and Now on HBO and I laughed almost constantly! Her humor is clean and free of foul language ...a lost art by most of today's comedians. She is relevant and timely and will make you laugh about things I guarantee never occured to you. This would make an excellent Christmas present...it is going on my wish list right now!

Get My Sandwich!

This HBO comedy special, Ellen Here and Now, is the funniest comedy show ever. We quote things out of it daily in our household. We watched it quite a bit on HBO and now anticipate the release of the show on DVD to add to our collection. She is brilliant, beautiful and seriously funny...everyone in my "straight" household adores her. She is the greatest! Buy this and you will watch it over and over again. A great gift and a great show to throw in when you have friends over who need a good laugh...and I mean GOOD LAUGH! We love you Ellen Girl!

Ellen DeGeneres - The Beginning

Released in DVD by Hbo Studios (07 August, 2001)

MPAA Rating: NR (Not Rated)

Director: Joel Gallen

This post-coming-out performance fully acknowledges Ellen DeGeneres's status as America's most famous lesbian, but it is nevertheless imbued with a sense of fun. For instance, rather than describe the experience of closet-exiting on her self-titled situation comedy in the late 1990s, she performs an amusing "interpretive dance." She uses her trademark goofiness to ruminate on the necessity of directions on shampoo bottles, ant road rage, and the possible nightmarish consequences of buying cheese. While the performance is not orientation-specific, the comedienne spends a fair amount of time on sex-related issues, including jokes about blow-up dolls and people who videotape their relations. She does venture into the political with an appeal for same-sex marriage and a monologue on meeting God, who turns out to be a middle-aged black woman. None of this fazes her clearly supportive audience at New York's Beacon Theatre who get to ask her questions at the end à la Carol Burnett. The best moment of the 65-minute performance for HBO comes at the end, when DeGeneres accidentally exhibits some gender confusion with a young audience member, who then pays her moving tribute as a role model. --Kimberly Heinrichs

Average review score:

A comedy before it's anything lesbian

Don't be so hasty...
I've had many guests who were itching to watch this, only to be diappointed because they expected a big dose of homosexual humor. While this act does touch on everything from coming out to sex toys, there is about as much discussion of animals as there is of sex. And that is quite a bit.

What this special brings to mind is, though many may argue, that we knew Ellen was a comedian long before we knew she was a lesbian. We're not let down in terms of gay material, especially by the opener, but Ellen pounds home the reality that she's a comedian first. All in all, she's at the top of her game, showing off the versatility of her impeccable wit. As long as you're not determined to watch an hour and a half of "What do you call a lesbian...?" jokes, "The Beginning" will either make you realize that you love Ellen or that you still love Ellen.

As far as chosing between the VHS and DVD, the special features just aren't there, so VHS wins out here.

Bottom Line
Cuddles: **
Tissues:
Hotness: ***
Laughs: ****
Quality: ***
Rent unless you're partial to owning standup.

Terrific concert not done justice by HBO

I was in the audience at the Beacon Theater when this was taped. I haven't purchased the DVD yet, but probably will. The evening was wonderful and funny and joyous and everything you'd expect from Ellen. There was also a slight sense that something was a little off. I wondered was it the cameras? The media scrutiny? Now, in hindsight, was it personal? Anyway, from the second I got to the theater, where I started an ovation for her mom, all the way to the question & answer section at the end, the evening was magical. I watched the special on HBO, and somehow in the editing and selection, the concert lost a little of the magic. I understand when other reviews comment on her timing and such. But I truly think that fault lies with the director and the editor. Anyway, the recording is an excellent document, if not a perfect one. This was Ellen's triumphant return, because yes, we really do love and admire her. Now if only she could find material that truly lives up to her remarkable talents.

Too funny!

... Ellen is hilarious! She has this unique style. Her facial expressions are half of the joke. She looks like she's uncomfortable on stage but that's all an act. When she's on stage she owns it. The part at the end when she mistakes a woman for a man is the funniest part! ... When the audience got to ask her questions that's all they wanted to talk about. Get over it already! Other gay celebrities aren't treated that way. Just let the woman be funny. She's excellent at it!

An Enemy of the People (Broadway Theatre Archive)

Released in DVD by Kultur (28 May, 2002)

MPAA Rating: NR (Not Rated)

Director: Paul Bogart

Fire and passion infuse Arthur Miller’s earnest adaptation of master playwright Henrik Ibsen’s An Enemy of the People. A small town in Norway is just seeing its first hint of prosperity, thanks to the burgeoning popularity of its healing springs. But Dr. Thomas Stockman discovers that the springs are polluted so badly that they will poison the town’s first big wave of tourists. Shutting down the springs for renovation will cripple the town; keeping them open could spread an epidemic across Europe. It seems like a simple black-and-white situation, but it soon spirals out of control. No character is safe from Ibsen’s scourge--the motivations of wealthy conservatives, the liberal press, and even the Doctor himself are mercilessly laid bare. The play has obvious resonance with current political issues and is performed with such feeling and skill that it is sure to spark discussion, if not an argument or two. Though certainly satisfying for adults, anyone with children who are beginning to become politically aware should make this one a must-see. --Ali Davis

Average review score:

'Enemy' plays like extension of TV's golden age

"Television's Golden Age," the 1950s, gets that moniker because the best of that decade's live drama anthologies -- such as "Playhouse 90," "Studio One" and "Kraft Television Theater," featured innovative plays that made insightful comments about contemporary life.

Though "Enemy of the People" aired on National Educational Television (the precursor of PBS) in 1966, Arthur Miller's adaptation of the Ibsen classic feels like an extension of the "golden" era.

In the Norway of the 1880s, an idealistic doctor (James Daly of "Medical Center") discovers that water from a new spring is contaminated with deadly bacteria. Because the spring is expected to bring a solid tourist trade to this small town, his repeated attempts to convince the town's officials and citizens are met with hostility -- most notably by the mayor, who happens to be the doctor's brother (Philip Bosco).

The acting here is uniformly excellent, delivered in normal theatrical style. Daly is ideal in the lead role, never sounding a false note. Kate Reid is solid as his concerned wife, though sometimes encumbered by wild motivational swings in her character, as written.

Bosco is appropriately maddening as the doctor's brother, though viewers may be somewhat amused by his stage mustache, which becomes skewed during one sequence.

A number of very good actors from the period inexplicably go unbilled on the box, and are even absent from the IMDB entry. Among them are George Voskovec as the doctor's scheming father-in-law; James Olson as an unscrupulous newspaper editor; and William Prince as the battle-scarred publisher of the newspaper. Tim Daly, best known for his role on "Wings," plays one of the doctor's young sons; he is the real life son of the late James Daly.

Rue McLanahan appears in a bit role.

In what might have been rather startling for TV viewers of the mid-'60s, the mild profanity of Miller's adaptation is kept intact.

The play was shot on black-and-white videotape, and the print that was used for this DVD is very good. It's always so much better to see the straight video from this period, rather than a kinescoped copy.

"An Enemy of the People" will be rewarding viewing for any lover of classic television.

Electric Light Orchestra: "Out of the Blue" Tour Live at Wembley + Discovery

Released in DVD by Image Entertainment (19 January, 1999)

MPAA Rating: NR (Not Rated)

Average review score:

Purchase "Zoom Tour Live" Instead

While I haven't seen the Wembley show on DVD, I know from the VHS version that the sound is not up to DVD standards, and the video effects look like something from a local cable show (can you say "Wayne's World").

Zoom Tour Live however is incredible!! The lineup may not be the same as Wembley, but with Jeff Lynne at the helm, it is still a show to remember. The songs are fresher, the sound quality incredible, and the cello players are BABES :)

If you want to live in the 70's, and like bell-bottoms and the classic "hamburger" stage, but Wembley... but make sure you buy Zoom as well.

ELO A long time ago

if you like concerts from the 1980s this is a good dvd look great

For the True ELO fan

I agree with pretty much what everyone else has already said. For the true ELO, this is a must. BUT, you will be screaming though "Rockeria". The video "effects" during this song were beyond distracting and completely unwatchable. I had to turn my head. Only a hit of acid could probably save it, because I think whoever was doing the effects was on some!! They almost blew "Mr. Blue Sky" with the same horrible effects. With that said, the video gets 4 stars. I would also recommend the "ZOOM" DVD. The songs are very tight, the audio and video are great. Highly recommended.

Elisabeth Schwarzkopf - A Self-Portrait

Released in DVD by Emi Distribution (19 November, 2002)

MPAA Rating: NR (Not Rated)

Starring: Elisabeth Schwarzkopf

Elisabeth Schwarzkopf had one of the great voices of the 20th century, not particularly powerful but beautiful and superbly trained. She used it with a high level of intelligence and an exemplary sense of the value of the words she was singing. That voice, its development and its strengths (many) and weaknesses (few) are the subject of this fine documentary, narrated by Schwarzkopf. It is not a complete biography, but the voice is well displayed in film clips from throughout her career, beginning with the Nazi years in Berlin where she sang La Bohème and Carmen in German.

Later, she is shown briefly in more characteristic roles--aristocratic women in Don Giovanni, The Marriage of Figaro, and Der Rosenkavalier. Particularly gratifying is an uncut performance of "Porgi, Amor" from Figaro, But some of the best moments are devoted to lieder, the musical form for which she was born. She is shown testing the acoustics at Versailles before a recital there, performing with pianist Gerald Moore and conducting a master class in which she stresses the importance of the words. --Joe McLellan

Average review score:

Most disappointing

The definitive voice of Lieder and Mozart Opera is much-maligned by this inadequate presentation of her life

To start with the opening shot of this quasi-documentary is of uninformative, cheesy to say the least, shot of a flower and bee. What follows is a much too short film, lacking in available archive footage. I was left knowing very little more about Miss Schwarzkopf's extra-ordinairy life. Apart from that there were cringing moments when eg the Wienerwald song was played instrumentally with footage of unknown people dancing the waltz out of rhythm of the song. And to top it all, a most delightful recording of Schwarzkopf singing the very same song does exist!

Perhaps further research in the subject matter would have helped the director to do this wonderful singer's life and accomplishments justice and produce a true celebration of her art?

A wonderful overview of an extraordinary soprano

This DVD gives you a unique opportunity to see Mrs Elizabeth Schwarzkopf in some of her best live performances as an opera singer and a Lieder interpreter. I have always been curious about how she could look on scene, given that I am of her more fervent admirers. My veneration for Mrs Schwarzkopf began when I first heard her singing the role of Donna Elvira in the Giulini's version of Don Giovanni, and it grew bigger when I saw for the first time a photograph of her and I learned that she was not only an excellent soprano but also an amazingly attractive woman. This rare combination of talent and beauty was particularly unusual in the 1950's, and even today there are few exceptions, such as Renee Fleming and Angela Gheorghiu.

In less than an hour the film gives a quick account of Mrs Scharzkopf's career, narrated by herself, since her very beginnings in Berlin until her retirement in Zurich giving master classes. Then you will see her singing at the Deutsche Oper, during the nazi regime, singing La Boheme and Carmen, at the time when she was a coloratura soprano, as well as the dramatic bombardment of Berlin, which she fortunately missed due to a tuberculosis that obliged her to leave the city. Then we will find her in Viena, when she became worldly famous in the roles of Donna Elvira, Countess Rossina and the Marschallin, after her marriage with Walter Legge and her transformation into a lyrical soprano. The third part of the documentary shows her singing Lieder songs, which happened to be her favourites and used to predominate during her recitals. Finally, we can see her giving song lessons in Zurich, at a time when she surely was in her 70's but her face still reveals how beautiful she was. What most impressed me is the last part of the film when we can hear her speaking but she does not dare to show herself before the cameras, surely because she does not want her admirers to see her too old.There are only two things that I regret from this film. The first one is that is too short: the film lasts less than un hour - and the second one is that it does not contain further filmed material of her opera performances.