Arts Movie Reviews

Julia Sweeney's one-woman show about the time in her life when both she and her brother were dealing with cancer has been filmed and is now on DVD. GOD SAID, HA! does not hide the fact that Julia Sweeney is performing a one-woman show. She stands on a stage and delivers the monologue as the audience watches and laughs.

Julia Sweeney is best known as the asexual character "Pat" from Saturday Night Live. In monologue-mode here, Sweeney is much softer and sweeter than I imagined her to be after watching SNL. She's basically a nice Catholic girl and the stories she tells about her family are engaging and charming. Her manner of delivery is very matter-of-fact and a bit "stagey". But don't be turned off by that. The story she's telling has a payoff, and her message is honest and true.

GOD SAID, HA! will not rock your world. But it is a slice of Julia Sweeney's life - both comedic and sad.

Julia Sweeney's God Said Ha! is a marvel of a book. The book is about Sweeney's life, and her struggles. One minte it's funny, the next is heartbreaking and touching. The real beauty of the book, and Sweeney's wonderful writing, is that the book can be heartbreaking AND funny at the same time. The book deals with her brother Michael's bout of cancer. He moved in and she took care of him, while maintaining her sucessful career. Then, in a horrib;e twist of fate, Julia learns that she has cervical cancer. The same kind of cancer that claimed the life of Sweeney's SNL peer Gilda Radner. Luckily, Julia survived. The book also touches on her parents, who are told about in a truly hysterical way. How many parents are like this?. The book is a swift read. It's very easy to get into and read in almost one sitting. I actually got to meet Ms. Sweeney on a few ocassions. My family babysat her niece and nephew. She came to my house as well. We were also lucky enough to be invited to the premiere of her 'Pat' movie, as well as a reading from the book by Sweeney herself. She is a sweet, lovely person. This book is sweet as well. A good read. Trust me.

Since I've had cancer, lots of people give me books on the topic. It's not often I actually read one all the way through, and the only one I really LOVED was "Bald in the Land of Big Hair" by Joni Rodgers, because it's really hilarious and not about cancer so much as it's about the rollercoaster of life. This book is a close second to "Bald" -- funny and able to be really cool about life and death issues. I couldn't stand that Pat skit on SNL, but Julia is a wonderful writer!

I'm always sure I've seen this move enough, but I got caught up in it again this past weekend. Too bad it's gotten the reputation as a chick flick, because I think its pretty universal. The war is a background to the human story that rises above mere soap opera. Gable is perfect as Rhett Butler, Vivian Leigh was brilliant as Scarlett and Olivia DeHavilland never strikes a false note. Leslie Howard on the other hand seems miscast and I always hope that he'll be replaced before I view it again.

The Gone With the Wind DVD is somewhat of a disappointment. With a very good making of documentary already produced, I was very disappointed that it didn't make its way onto this DVD. I suppose once they sell the tar out of this one, we'll get a special collectors edition that we can buy all over again. Next time I hope we can have some commentary by film scholars. There is so much to tell us about this great film. There is a Deluxe Box set available, but it has nothing but play pretties. I long for substance.

GWTW is one of my all time favorite movies hands down. So why only four stars instead of five? I agree 100% with the complaint of other reviewers that TNT's fantastic "Making Gone With The Wind" documentary was not included on the DVD as a special feature as well the equally exceptional TNT biographies about Vivien Leigh and Clark Gable. It is quite possible that just like they did with films such as Casabanca and Yankee Doodle Dandy, Warner Brothers will re-issue GWTW on DVD as a two disc special edition; perhaps next year to coincide with the 65th anniversary of the film's theatrical release. I for one will be keeping my fingers crossed.

How fortunate we are to be able to view this incredibly wonderful film, the way it was seen in 1939. Even more than that to have it in Dolby Digital 5.1. Scarlett, sillouhetted, standing on the red clay of Tara, in the beautiful sunset, swearing she "will never go hungry again", the streets of Atlanta with the thousands of wounded confederates, the ball gowns, Mammy's big eyes,Atlanta burning,the cotton fields, all in the glorious technicolor it was first seen in. This DVD(Warner Bros) allows us to view Gone With the Wind as if we were seeing it for the first time.
For those that Are seeing it for the first time, you will love the drama,romance,adventure and history of the South during the Civil War era. All the famous characters, Margaret Mitchell gave us, are skillfully acted by Vivien Leigh(Scarlett),Clark Gable(Rhett),Leslie Howard(Ashley),Olivia De Havilland(Melanie) Hattie McDaniel(Mammy),and let's not forget the wonderful Butterfly Mcqueen(Prissy) who uttered the immortal, "I don't know bout birthin no babies, Miss Scarlett"
The film won the Best Picture of 1939, along with 9 other Oscars, including one for Hattie McDaniel(Best Supporting actress), making her the first African American in Academy history to recieve the honor. What's really amazing is that in 1939 there were so many phenominal films released. To name a few,there was Mr. Smith goes to Washington. The Wizard of Oz, Stagecoach, Wuthering Heights, Ninotchka, and Many more. So you know this was really special.
The DVD is a must have, It has excellent picture and sound, dialouge is crisp and clear, the Score by Max Steiner, ever present only adds to the greatness of the film. The film was directed By Victor Fleming although he was replaced during filming (due to illness) by Sam Wood. Don't look for alot of "Bonus Features". The film stands on it's own. It's 4hrs(you do have to flip the disc halfway through it) of cinematic excellance that you wont want to end. There are a couple of little extras though, on side A there an original theatrical trailer and on side B a GWTW trivia game.There are also subtitles in English and French if needed.
For more on the story and the book itself please see my book review.
Kick back and enjoy this one.......Laurie

Despite some of the negative connotations suggested by the title of this review, this is still one of my favorite ballets on DVD.

This is the movie of Adolphe Adam's Giselle, performed by the American Ballet Theatre. The choreography is by David Blair (after Perrot and Corelli). The principal dancers are Carla Fracci as Giselle and Erik Bruhn as Albrecht. The sets and costumes are beautiful and fairly portray the era they are meant to represent.

Fracci is a superb dancer, but beyond this, she does a magnificent job in her emotional interpretation of the shy village girl who falls in love with the deceitful Albrecht and then later in Act II, (as a spirit, after her death) where she tries to save her lover from a watery grave at the hands of the vengeful Wili. This ballet has several different mood swings during the performance and Fracci accomplishes them all with surprising ease and elegance.

I think this work has a lasting, timeless appeal because of the way that Adam's beautiful, haunting melodies are able to fit with the choreography that was provided for this ballet; the dance and music so superbly suited that this ballet has become ageless masterpiece.

There is, unfortunately, a negative side to report (thus the loss of one star): as mentioned by almost all reviewers; some of the camera work and editing is hard to believe. Awkward close-ups, bumpy movie scenes taken from the backs of moving horses, highly magnified distorted shots: all detract from an otherwise outstanding performance. I cannot imagine what the producers or editors were thinking when they allowed this product to be the final version for retail distribution. The cast must have been stunned to see this as the final cut.

All in all, I can recommend this work because the music, the dancing and dancers in this ballet are of 5 star quality, however, the entire work is somewhat tarnished and diminished by its less than stellar camera work and editing.

Sadly we won't see great dancing like this again but as usual the idiotic director/editor has ruined what could have been an incredible record of great artists. Where today can you see the drama and charm of a Carla Fracci or the princely elegance of an Eric Brune. Nowhere, that's where. The peasant pas de deux is wonderfully danced by the technical dynamo Eleanor D'Antuono and Ted Kivett. It is such a shame that it is all ruined by a demented director. You will see the same thing happen in the editing of many Broadway shows. Sunday in the Park with George for instance. What a waste!

I think the choregraphy, dancers are great! Unfortunely the camera try to show off.

I mostly agree with the other reviewers. I'm not as well grounded as some in opera, or Gluck in particular (I've never seen any production of this), but I do have a few comments.

I don't know what Ko'ená's makeup was supposed to accomplish, but I watched the recent Nosferatu DVD the other day, and the similarity struck me. (If we can have original Baroque instruments, why can't we have castrati?) In the same vein, the "Ballets et Danses" looked mightly like the hoards crossing the field in the Night of the Living Dead. I felt like the production was done on a dare: "Here's $123 for costumes and scenery; see what you can do. Oh, and you can have a blue light with a dimmer on it. Don't let anybody move; it stirs up the dust."

I did think the singing was pretty good, especially Ms. Ko'ená. Few of the possible vocal sins were committed. Acting was up(?) to opera standards. I have the old Italian version with Verrett on LP. That sounded good. (I saw her with Sills in Siege of Corinth years ago here in Dallas. Their duet brought down the house.)

I don't think anybody mentioned that this seemed to be recorded during live performance(s). The DVD sound was a little gritty on my system. (The 5.1 was better than the 2.0; I don't have proper 5.1 decoding yet, just Pro Logic.) There was a lot of color noise within some of the blue background gradients (all blue, of course).

If opera was just singing, I would give it four stars.

Nos encontramos ante una gran version musicalmente hablando de la ópera de Gluck. SIR JONH ELIOT GARDINER conoce a la perfeccion este repertorio y es difícil que alguien pueda hacerlo mejor que él. Su lectura al frente de los magníficos ENGLISH BARROQUE SOLIST es más acertada que en el disco que años atrás protagonizó Lee Ragin. Además, aquí se oferta la completa version de París.
MAGDALENA KOZÉNA es un Orfeo contralto de voz doliente, segura en toda la tesitura y sin problemas en las coloraturas. PATRICIA PETIBDefON cumple notablemente como Amour, y MADALENE BENDER cumple sin más en Eurydice. El MONTEVERDI CHOIR supera con nota su largo y complicado cometido.
Y aquí se acaba todo lo feliz de este dvd: La puesta en escena de Robert Wilson, desnuda, vacía y oscura es un fiasco. La dirección de actores, que deambulan por el escenario como si se tratara de estatuas acaba por cansar.
Definitivamente, este es un dvd para disfrutar de una leccion de canto y de una puesta en escena francamente aburrida.

Gluck's ORPHEUS & EURIDICE is one of my favorite operas. Strangely enough I have seen several different productions. I say, "strangely" since it is rarely produced in New York, but I have seen it in a gorgeous, traditional production at the Metropolitan Opera House starring the incomparable Marilyn Horne and in a concert version at Tanglewood with the same star. I have also seen a post-modern production at the New York City Opera which made little sense to me and in two interesting productions outside of New York City.

Robert Wilson is a director I admire greatly and this production is gorgeous: the costumes, the choreography, the stark settings and especially the lighting are all of a piece as if done by one person. The formal structure of the opera is stressed with Wilson's use of simple, symbolic gestures, mask-like make-up, few props and a bold use of color. The story is the mythic one of Orpheus who, in mourning for his wife, Euridice, decides to venture to Hades in order to return her to Earth. After various struggles, he does so with the great aid of the goddess, Amore.

There are only three principal roles in the opera, all sung by women and this cast is very good, if not up to the likes of Horne or in another fine recording, Anne Sofie von Otter, or in yet a third, Rise Stevens. In fact, there are times, especially in Act 1, when the mezzo, Magdalena Kozena, as 'Orpheus' frequently sings off pitch. Patricia Petibon does better as the goddess and Madeline Bender is fine as 'Euridice.'
Sir John Eliot Gardiner, his orchestra the Orchestre Revolutionnaire et Romantique, and the Monteverdi Choir are all superb.

Everything about the staging seems totally irrelevant to the subject of the opera, and there is no way to acquire any insight into what message, if any, the staging is attempting to convey. I would not have bought it if I had known it would be like it is. I endorse Joe McLellan's review.

Having seen this production live in (then East) Berlin and in London, as well as on video, I disagree with the dismissive attitude of the preceding reviewer. This is a masterful video--arguably a candidate for "top 10" desert island lists.

It is a splendid example of the power of "contemporary" resettings of great operas--and great myths. Orfeo, generally surrounded by abstract or elegantly classical sets, becomes a young man in a leather jacket whose girlfriend is killed in a car crash, and whose life becomes a confusing tangle as a result. In the end he turns inward to music--traversing a fragmented urban landscape with an electric guitar. There is nothing cloying or cheap about it; one feels the immediacy and concreteness of death, and of alienation, as we experience it today. The overall ethos is that of late East German productions, which had some critical bite with respect to modernity.

As for the music, this opera is all about Orfeo, and Kowolski sings with not a hint of pandering (he is, after all, a countertenor) and with searing intensity. Every moment of the performance is gripping. Despite the mythic theme and the modernist staging, this is, in my opinion, one of the most compelling muscial and dramatic performances of an operatic role ever recorded. For that alone, this DVD is worth the modest price. Five stars--no doubt.