Collecting Movie Reviews

The Larkin Family is so endearing, I wanted to move in with them and make them my own. In fact, I almost felt part of the family as I went thru their adventures.

The acting by all parties, especially Pa and Ma, are outstanding, funny and make an indelible impression upon one. It is also quite clear why Catherine Zeta-Jones is a star today.

I wish there were more episodes - I miss them already! I will by this set for my husband for Christmas (really for me!) and watch it over and over again. I miss Home Farm already!

A word of warning to those newcomers to the series - don't be surprised if you find yourself cooking up a storm, eating in the tub, having cocktails at odd hours of the day, and just loving every single moment of life. "The Darling Buds of May" is a celebration of life and love. It is PerFik!

Vikki Wright

Surprisingly (considering the title) Le journal d'une femme de chambre is not about sex, nor is it a journal for that matter. It is about politics, sexual politics of course, but also domestic politics, manor politics, and nation-state politics. The time is the thirties as fascism moves toward its mesmerizing stranglehold on a decadent Europe. The place is France (Normandy, I imagine) where the republicans hold power. In the streets are those who would be brown suits and among them is Joseph (Georges Geret), groundskeeper for a petite bourgeois family of degenerate eccentrics. He is an incipient Nazi, a xenophobic anti-Semitic man who worships brute force, an ignorant man that every French movie-goer knows will be a Nazi-collaborator once France is under the occupation.

The story is seen from the point of view of Celestine, a chambermaid of some sophistication (and an abiding, but understandable duplicity), a Parisian who has come to work for the family in the country. She is played by the incomparable Jeanne Moreau of the plastic face, a woman of many guises, many moods and an ability to depict with a glance any emotion. She is a great star of the French stage and screen who plays the part effortlessly, with finesse and a fine subtlety. The screenplay by Buñel and the brilliant Jean-Claude Carriere (who penned so many outstanding films, Bell de Jour (1967), The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie (1972), Valmont (1989), The Ogre (1996), etc.) is an adaptation of the novel by Octave Mirbeau. There is a Hollywood film of the same name starring Paulette Goddard, Burgess Meredith and Judith Anderson, directed by Jean Renoir that I haven't seen, released in 1946. I understand the treatment was more comedic and conventional.

Surrealist Luis Buñel's film is perhaps best described as a comédie noire, a genre antecedent to the familiar (and somewhat similar) film noir. In the latter the comedy is usually incidental and there is no attempt at any great philosophic or symbolic significance. Here Buñel not only makes a statement about the nature of the relationship between bourgeois Europe in the thirties and fascism, but even delves into the primeval nature of women and gives us a sharp look at a woman's place in bourgeois society. Celestine is duplicitous because she has to be to survive. She uses men the way the society uses her.

Be sure and pay close attention to the final scene inside and outside the café and consider the implications of what is being shown. What is being suggested? Will Joseph finally get the punishment he so richly deserves? Or did Celestine make the choice she made out of fear? Is the union between Joseph and Celestine symbolic of that between the fascists and Europe?

For those interested in this last theme I highly recommend Vittoria De Sica's brilliant The Garden of the Finzi-Continis (1971).

Jeanne Moreau is Celestine, a beautiful Parisian chambermaid to moves to the Normandy countryside to work in the home of the wealthy Monteil family. The cast of characters she discovers there are laughable. The family patriarch, Monsieur Rabour, has a foot fetish (with which Celestine has no choice but to comply); his daughter is a frigid woman who cares about nothing more than her imported goodies (and her unvaluables too: she counts sugar cubes to make sure the staff hasn't been stealing); her husband is an amourous fiend who seeks moments of "amour fou" (mad love) with Celestine. Even Celestine's fellow servant-types have their quirks, except not so funny. Joseph, the groundskeeper, is a ruthless racist and sadist who denounces "kikes and wops," tortures animals and rapes and murders a child of whom Celestine was fond. All the while, he is active in a right-winged Facist movement to rid France of foreigners and destroy the republic.

It is the murder of young Claire, and her desire to see justice done, that keeps Celestine at the Monteil estate after her master dies (clutching a pair of shoes, no less). She quickly focuses on Joseph. She accuses him directly but fails to get a confession--though he didn't deny the act, either. There's only one problem: Celestine is forced to fight a sexual attraction to Joseph. In the end, she uses sex as her last shot at extracting a confession.

This film does not end with justice; nor does Celestine remain a character of moral fiber. In the film's last scene, with Celestine having just proven herself to be the ultimate opportunist, the countrymen are marching through the streets toward right-wing brutality and fascism.

From beginning to end, The Diary of a Chambermaid is an amusing look at everything Luis Brunuel apparently hated: the bourgeoisie, complacency, fascism, Catholic (pay attention to the scene in which Madame Monteil asks the priest how to cope with her husband's advances), and the goverment. This isn't knee-slapping funny, but a small slice of wisdom served up in black and white.

Adapted from a novel of Octave Mirbeau, DIARY OF A CHAMBERMAID was directed in 1964 by a Luis Bunuel already sanctified by two generations of movie lovers. French actor Michel Piccoli replaces the bunuelian Fernando Rey in the role of a member of the bourgeoisie slightly decadent and ridiculous. Jeanne Moreau (Jules and Jim), as the chambermaid, is a young woman coming from Paris and discovering what is like to live in the "deep" France of the early thirties.

DIARY OF A CHAMBERMAID can not be classified in any specific genre. It's a comedy yes, but with a very serious murder in the middle of the story. It's a detective story yes, but with harsch political critiques. In fact, it's simply a Luis Bunuel movie with his unique personal world impregnating a novel he admired from his childhood on. Highly recommended.

A DVD zone your library.

I never thought I'd have much interest in French film or culture. Hitchcock was and still is my favorite director of them all. Once I learned how much Truffaut respected Hitch I became more interested in his works. What a happy accident that at the exact same time Criterion released this set. I think The 400 Blows was nearly impossible to find. Before this collection, all Criterion editions had sold out.

As for plot, amazon has already provided all that you need to know. What is important is the character of Doinel; a charming, infuriating, idealistic, romantic, ridiculous manchild. How many movies document most of a character's life? Especially one that outwardly leads a somewhat ordinary life.

You can't really categorize any of these movies as sequels since not that much is repeated. The consistencies among the movies ring true to real life. (ex. recurring characters like the tall longhaired guy, Antoine ogling his latest 'apparition'.)

The only let down was Love On The Run. The character of Sabine wasn't that fascinating, and you cared more about Claude Jade's character than her. There were way too many flashbacks too. But much of that is forgiven due to the 'discovery' Antoine makes.

If you tend to overdose on life, then you must see this series. The only other Truffaut film I've managed to see otherwise is Day For Night, but I wholeheartedly encourage you to see that too.

Antoine & Collette is one of the favorite in the series. It is a short from the bigger work, Love at Twenty. Antoine has his first love and it is absolutely charming in its execution.

Stolen Kisses happens to be my favorite feature-length film of the group. It is so brutally honest and true to human emotions that we empasize for Antoine greatly. We go through all the trials of a young man, trying to get through life. He can't find the right job and is unsure about love. This whitty and funny film is one I'll be revisiting the most.

Bed and Board did not hit the high chord of the others. It was nonetheless entertaining and worth my while. Antoine gets a mistress and we deal with the troubles of that through his marriage.

Love On the Run is the flop of the group, told through mostly a series of flashbacks to the other movies. I really didn't enjoy it that much and found it boring. Basically what this film captured though, was a conclusion to the story. It wrapped up some of the ends, which I'm not sure needed to be.

The DVD package altogether is a very great deal. All the movies are excellent, with the exception of maybe Love on the Run. The transfers are also superb. If you found this set on here, you probably deserve to purchase it. All the films are funny, whitty, and deal with the troubles of youth, with someone who doesn't really want to grow up. There are also some very nice extras including a immensely charming early short that would somewhat inspire Truffaut to make The 400 Blows. I would recommend a purchase of this if you can afford it. These are some of the best films to come out of the French New Wave, made by someone who is incredibly passionate about his work.

Two of these movies are masterpieces, SHORT NIGHT OF THE GLASS DOLLS and WHO SAW HER DIE ?, both directed by Aldo Lado. The first one is more a mystery thriller than a pure giallo with his hero Jean Sorel, left for dead in the pragian morgue and trying to remember what has happened to him while the doctors prepare his autopsy. Really frightening, a movie that creates the same terror in you than another masterpiece of the genre : George Sluizer's THE VANISHING.

WHO SAW HER DIE ? is a movie shot entirely in Venice, Italy with a haunting musical score by Ennio Morricone. The uneasiness you feel during the movie is greatly increased by the fact that the killer's main victim is a child who's the main character of WHO SAW HER DIE ? during the first 20 minutes of the film. Terrifying.

Giuliano Carnimeo's THE CASE OF THE BLOODY IRIS is perhaps the movie of the box set that fits the best in the giallo category. One or two sexy scenes with Edwige Fenech, a madman hidden in the apartment of an old lady, subjective points of view that create the nervous tension, policemen with the I.Q. of an houseplant and knives as the main companion of the killer.

Antonio Bido's THE BLOOD STAINED SHADOW is, in my opinion, the weakest of the movies presented here but still presents excellent scenes in a Venice that isn't Venice (the movie was shot in an island nearby), specially the last scene in the church.

Anchor Bay has had the excellent idea to interview the directors of these movies who, in 10 minutes, manage to create in us the desire to discover their entire filmography. Superb work on the images and the sound too. A must-buy.

A box set that should already be in your library.

HOME ALONE--this is the first classic. This is the film that started it all! In HOME ALONE, an eight-year-old misunderstood kid named Kevin (Macualay Culkin) is left behind at home by accident when his large family leaves on a Christmas vacation to visit some relatives in Paris, France. Then, just as Kevin starts to think being home by himself is so cool, he comes across two dumbwitted crooks named Harry and Marv who are after all the rich and big-looking houses in Kevin's neighborhood to steal all their valuables! Kevin wants the two crooks locked up in jail where they belong, so he sets up all kinds of boobytraps to capture Harry and Marv on Christmas Eve when the two crooks plan to robb Kevin's house! This movie is very hilarious. It never gets boring. I give this part in the trilogy *****[5 stars]

HOME ALONE 2: LOST IN NEW YORK--a lot of people find the first one to be the best in this trilogy, but I actually enjoyed this second one more! It's bigger on the laughs and has more of a crazy, complex plot. Anyway, it's a year later after that incident last Christmas at the MacCallister household. It's Christmas again, and this year, the MacCallister's are planning a trip to Florida. On the day of their flight, they get all nervous because of what happened last time. But they end making sure Kevin is with them. While at the airport (running to catch the plane - again!), Kevin gets separated from his family after getting distracted. He sees someone that looks like his father and runs after home, only this man isn't his father and he's getting on a plane to New York City! Of course, Kevin doesn't know that until after he's there. When he gets to New York City and discovers he got on the wrong plane, he decides to make this seem like his own vacation - and uses all his father's credit cards and cash money (he was holding his father's bag at the airport) to get into this fancy hotel. Life's a ball for Kevin until he comes across Harry and Marv again who escaped jail and now are after a big fancy expensive toy store in New York. Kevin overhears this plot and decides to stop the two crooks once and for all, using a whole new set of boobytraps and schemes. I give HOME ALONE 2 **********[10 stars] because it's the best one!

HOME ALONE 3--I was kind of disappointed with this one, but it is still pretty good. This one is about another young boy named Alex (Alex D. Linz), who is left home alone with the chicken pox. This time, four crooks (including a female) break into his house and it is up to Alex to stop them with the famous boobytraps. I give this one ****[4 stars] because it was okay, but not great or specatular.

All in all, if you love these HOME ALONE movies, then you have to get this DVD collection! All three movies have great acting by the entire casts, good solid funny scripts, and cool special effects. In my own personal opinion, HOME ALONE 2 is the best. But everyone has their own personal favorite! So buy this DVD box set today and you won't regret it!

I started watching the first while I was in grade school. I used to be a dummy and think that the violent parts were as funny as they can be. But the humor had died down as time went by. And the second film wasn't as funny, though it had more violence! (And speaking of the second film, I had seen it on one of my most memorable (and yet very outdated) times in my life: my 8th grade trip to Washington D. C. (Boy, I wish I got saved back then, being a Christian.) And that movie will remind me of Washington D. C. every time I see it. I didn't see the third until late 1997. It wasn't about Christmas or Mr. Culkin, but still good.

I watched these films an uncountable number of times when I was in High School. They are good any time of the year.

Each film has its own score. I find the first and second the most magnificent, and a Christmas essential. But the third is still good, though still wintry. (And it had Dean Martin's "Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow.) I find "Somewhere In My Memory" the main highlight, with inspiring lyrics, sentimental background, and those magnificent bells at the end make you picture snow on the ground and those trees and houses decorated with lights. I wonder what I'll come up with when listening to Christian Christmas music this holiday season. I'll let you know.

Overall, you should at least give these films a try. And if little kids see this, make sure they don't do the same stuff Culkin and Linz does in these films. (It's all fake anyway!)

Until then, Godspeed!

Milos (Vaclav Neckar) is a virginal, naive, teenage apprentice railway depot platform guard in a village outside Prague. He is preoccupied with wishing for sex. He considers, and is even attracted to, joining the Resistance but that would require serious effort. So he spends his time doing as little as possible and flirting with the female conductor of a passing train.

This dark comedy is also a wonderful coming of age story in which the loss of innocence naturally parallels the greater losses in the increasingly mad world Milos inhabits.

Small town misadventures and petty rivalries are suddenly forced into a new perspective with the indomitable presence of the Germans and the surprising but inevitable hand of destiny. This is a comedy about Everyman enjoying his little realm of freedom and the System that eventually devoured it.

In some ways, this film has renewed meaning in our rapidly shrinking world where we question old beliefs and increasingly welcome the surrender of cherished Freedoms for the illusion of greater Security. Difficult issues that great films can clarify -- and obfuscate.

The real tragedy of this film however, is the director Jiri Menzel, whose many films have never seen the light of day in this country. A victim of the Soviet crackdown on Czechoslovakia in 1968, Menzel's follow-up film, the absurd and outrageously funny "Larks On A String" was banned until only a few years ago when it was briefly shown in the U.S. and had an even briefer run on VHS (hint-hint: a DVD please??). Clearly, Menzel was/is a genius whose gift was stopped in its tracks by the ugly spectre of politics.

Menzel, like his fellow film makers Milos Forman, and Ivan Passar has a unique and important voice. "Closely Watched Trains" is a masterpiece in its richness of character and observation on the human condition. There is not a single false moment, nor badly cast character in the entire film. It is a rewarding experience and one to savor over and over again. I don't know how many films can make that claim, but this is one film I will see for a very long time to come. I'm so glad the DVD has finally come out - I've worn out three VHS copies over the years.

And a good change it is. Petherbridge's Wimsey is much more like Sayer's character, right down to the irritating bits as well as the admirable one's. And Harriet Walters playing of Harriet Vane is spot on. She is exactly as I imagined her. As we watch the tale of Wimsey's intense efforts to save Harriet from being found guilty of poisoning her ex-lover unfold, it is easy to imagine them eventual lovers. Despite shortness of the screenplay some of the brittle, the bits of sparkling dialogue which makes them a success on paper come through.

I am less comfortable with Richard Morant's version of Bunter, Wimsey's man. He acts well, but is too young by a decade or so. As the result, some of the books camaraderie between the two feels more like borderline insolence, which the real Bunter would never have done. Shirley Cain's Miss Climpson is spectacular, however, the perfect agent for Lord Peter's schemes. In addition, the comic relief scene at Blindfold Bill Rumm's is done to perfection. The old safecracker reborn as a hymn singing lay minister is another of Sayer's tiny masterpieces of caricature.

It is unfortunate that the screenwriters, having managed to navigate the plot until almost the very end with nothing to quibble about, should suddenly decide to deviate entirely from Sayer's own ending. And, in doing so, made Wimsey look sappy and Harriet rather cruel. Whether out of bad romantic taste or a criminal need to shave thirty seconds off the length of the screenplay, it will provide some distress to those of us who have read the book. Hence, a four star rating where I would normally have given a five.

I recently acquired these DVD's (Strong Poison/Have His Carcass/Gaudy Night) and they are now my most treasured set. The performances by Edward Petherbridge and Harriet Walter are flawless!

This series is a MUST HAVE for all mystery buffs (especially Dorothy Sayer's fans!) For those who were disappointed in the Ian Carmichael series produced 10 years earlier, take heart--you have now found the answer to your prayers!

My only criticism is that there were no more titles produced in this series. I can't understand why they did not continue to make more of these wonderful productions. And furthermore, I can't understand why the BBC took so long to release this series onto Video/DVD. If I had known of the existance of this series sooner, I would have launched a campaign to demand that they make more episodes. Oh well...I guess we will just have to make do with the three gems that were made. (In fact you should probably buy two sets of these, as you may wear out your original DVD's from watching them over and over and over and ...ahem...oh yes back to the review...)

The first two films, Strong Poison and Have His Carcass, are faithful to the books and each is truly a pleasure to watch. The third, Gaudy Night (or "Gaudy Lite" as I have seen it referred to) skimps a bit in comparison to the novel. However, the extraordinary acting on the part of Edward Petherbridge and Harriet Walter more than makes up for this, ensuring that this version of Gaudy Night is a highly entertaining one. This series should have segued into "Busman's Honeymoon." However BBC dropped the ball on obtaining the rites and left us all hanging.

Perhaps it isn't too late for a continuation of this series after all. It has ONLY been 16 years since the last episode. Surely if Ian Carmichael could have the audacity to play Lord Peter Wimsey at his age, Edward Petherbridge could pull it off for at least another 20 years or so (and do it brilliantly I might add!)

Needless to say, I have become an instant fan of Mr. Petherbridge and can only hope I may find more of his work on film. (This is a daunting task since this distinguished stage performer seems to shy away from the camera. Something about acting for the love of the thing and not the money. Oh these serious actors!! By the way, isn't he WAY OVERDUE for some sort of Knighthood or something ...hmm??!!)

WARNING: Ordinary television will seem even more unsatisfactory after viewing these DVD's.

As I said before, you'd better get at least two copies of each of these DVD's (or to be on the safe side, you'd better make it three!!)

(NOTE: It seems that the UK version of the DVD's contain an interview with Edward Petherbridge as a bonus feature. Unfortunately for me, the American version does not. You lucky Brits!!)

Enjoy!