Robert Benton and Paul Newman’s show-biz detective tale is one of the best-looking thrillers of 1998. With its star lineup of Susan Sarandon, Gene Hackman, Reese Witherspoon, Stockard Channing and James Garner, its the equivalent of a dog-eared comfy mystery paperback. The classic themes and stylistics are here, but in a new Hollywood where movie stars can get away with murder, and nobody seems to care. Everyone is excellent and the show quite enjoyable, even if it seems we’ve seen a lot of it before. A solid academic extra is the audio commentary by Alain Silver and James Ursini.
Twilight (1998)
Blu-ray
Kl Studio Classics
1998 / Color / 1:78 widescreen / 94 min. / Street Date December 27, 2022 / available through Kino Lorber / 24.95
Starring: Paul Newman, Susan Sarandon, Gene Hackman, Reese Witherspoon, Stockard Channing, James Garner, Giancarlo Esposito, Liev Schreiber, Margo Martindale, John Spencer, M. Emmet Walsh, Lewis Arquette, Jack Wallace.
Cinematography: Piotr Sobocinski
Production Designer: David Gropman...
Twilight (1998)
Blu-ray
Kl Studio Classics
1998 / Color / 1:78 widescreen / 94 min. / Street Date December 27, 2022 / available through Kino Lorber / 24.95
Starring: Paul Newman, Susan Sarandon, Gene Hackman, Reese Witherspoon, Stockard Channing, James Garner, Giancarlo Esposito, Liev Schreiber, Margo Martindale, John Spencer, M. Emmet Walsh, Lewis Arquette, Jack Wallace.
Cinematography: Piotr Sobocinski
Production Designer: David Gropman...
- 12/6/2022
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
Krzysztof Kieślowski's magnum opus for Polish Television is a transcendent 'cycle' of moral tales, each based on one of the Ten Commandments. But sometimes it's difficult to get the connection -- these brilliant mini-movies are pretty tricky. Dekalog Blu-ray The Criterion Collection 837 1988 / Color / 1:33 flat full frame; 1:70 widescreen / 583 min. / available through The Criterion Collection / Street Date September 27, 2016 / 99.95 Starring Aleksander Bardini, Janusz Gajos, Krystyna Janda, Bugoslaw Linda, Daniel Olbrychski many others. Cinematography Witold Adamek, Jacek Blawut, Slavomir Idziak, Andrzej Jaroszewicz, Edward Klosinski, Dariusz Kuc, Krzysztof Pakulski, Piotr Sobocinski, Wieslaw Zdort Film Editor Ewa Smal Original Music Zbigniew Preisner Written by Krzysztof Kieślowski, Krzysztof Plesiewicz Produced by Ryszard Chutkowski Directed by Krzysztof Kieślowski
Reviewed by Glenn Erickson
Back in the early 1990s I believe my first access to Polish director Krzystof Kieślowski was a laserdisc of his film The Double Life of Veronique. I also remember a big reaction in 1996 when...
Reviewed by Glenn Erickson
Back in the early 1990s I believe my first access to Polish director Krzystof Kieślowski was a laserdisc of his film The Double Life of Veronique. I also remember a big reaction in 1996 when...
- 10/17/2016
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
Chicago – Movies don’t get much more personally influential than Krzysztof Kieslowski’s “Blue,” “White,” and “Red,” collectively known as the “Three Colors” trilogy, and recently released in one gorgeous box set from The Criterion Collection. As we all do, I was a bit concerned that perhaps my memory of these films had been enhanced with time, but I found the opposite — they’re even better with age and stand as one of the best film achievements of not just their era but of all time. I can’t say enough about Kieslowski’s talent as a director and, while some may point to the “Decalogue” films or “The Double Life of Veronique,” I’ve always considered “Three Colors” to be the greatest accomplishment of one of history’s greatest directors. And Criterion has done one of their most notable acquisitions justice with one of their best releases of the year.
- 11/28/2011
- by adam@hollywoodchicago.com (Adam Fendelman)
- HollywoodChicago.com
Release Date: Nov. 15, 2011
Price: DVD $59.95, Blu-ray $79.95
Studio: Criterion
Krzysztof Kieślowski’s Blue, White and Red receive the Criterion treatment this November.
Legendary Polish filmmaker Krzysztof Kieślowski’s Three Colors trilogy, a boldly cinematic trio of stories about love and loss, was a defining event of the art house boom of the 1990s. The films — Blue (1993), White (1993) and Red (1994) — were named for the colors of the French flag and stand for the tenets of the French Revolution: liberty, equality and fraternity. But that only hints at the film’s beauty, richness and humanity.
Set in Paris, Warsaw and Geneva, Blue, White, and Red (Kieślowski’s final film) range from tragedy to drama to comedy. They follow a group of ambiguously interconnected people experiencing profound personal disruptions.
Marked by intoxicatingly lush cinematography and memorable performances by such actors as Juliette Binoche (Chocolat), Julie Delpy (Guilty Hearts), Irène Jacob (Beyond the Clouds) and...
Price: DVD $59.95, Blu-ray $79.95
Studio: Criterion
Krzysztof Kieślowski’s Blue, White and Red receive the Criterion treatment this November.
Legendary Polish filmmaker Krzysztof Kieślowski’s Three Colors trilogy, a boldly cinematic trio of stories about love and loss, was a defining event of the art house boom of the 1990s. The films — Blue (1993), White (1993) and Red (1994) — were named for the colors of the French flag and stand for the tenets of the French Revolution: liberty, equality and fraternity. But that only hints at the film’s beauty, richness and humanity.
Set in Paris, Warsaw and Geneva, Blue, White, and Red (Kieślowski’s final film) range from tragedy to drama to comedy. They follow a group of ambiguously interconnected people experiencing profound personal disruptions.
Marked by intoxicatingly lush cinematography and memorable performances by such actors as Juliette Binoche (Chocolat), Julie Delpy (Guilty Hearts), Irène Jacob (Beyond the Clouds) and...
- 8/15/2011
- by Laurence
- Disc Dish
Irène Jacob in Krzysztof Kieslowski's Three Colors: Red Three Colors: Red Review Part II In Red, Piotr Sobocinski's cinematography is more compelling and ethereal than Sven Nykvist's similarly red-obsessed camera work in Ingmar Bergman's Cries and Whispers. Though not as emotionally intense as his work in Blue, Sobocinski's Red hues are more subtle and every bit as effective in the way they saturate the film. Besides, throughout Red there is a sharp angularity and poetic visual rhyming effect that recalls Michelangelo Antonioni's films, such as shots of the sun slowly dipping behind a mountain or of the eave of a roof. There is also a bravura sequence where we see Valentine first enter Kern's home. We hear her footsteps and see the camera peer down halls. It seems to be a subjective shot from Valentine's point of view, but it's not, for we soon see...
- 3/13/2011
- by Dan Schneider
- Alt Film Guide
The only tactful answer that Bessie can give to queries about how her father, who has long been bedridden with a stroke, is doing is to muster "he's still with us." That's the mournful reality of "Marvin's Room", a powerful and sobering look into dying and death. Boasting superb performances from Meryl Streep and Diane Keaton as two very different sisters who are brought together by a deadly disease, this Miramax film is a bracingly strong human drama.
Although its sobering subject matter may prove too difficult for casual holiday viewers, the film's many strengths will carry it far by word-of-mouth. Likely award nominations for Streep and Keaton, as well as positive reviews, will rejuvenate its long-term commercial prognosis.
As sisters, Lee (Streep) and Bessie (Keaton) couldn't be more different: Lee is vain and self-absorbed, while Bessie is plain and care-giving. They haven't seen each other in nearly 20 years -- single mother Lee has been raising two boys in Ohio, while Bessie has tended to their bedridden father (Hume Cronyn) in Florida. Like most estranged relations who only get together at funerals and weddings, it's an overpowering personal occasion that brings the two together. Bessie has been diagnosed with leukemia and needs a bone-marrow transplant, and only Lee or her offspring, as blood-related donors, can help.
A surface diagnosis of such a story line might lead one to suspect that the plot of this "disease" movie might be occluded by sugar, schmaltz and other sweetly unnatural particles, but "Marvin's Room" is a stunningly vital story of human need and selfless sacrifice. Screenwriter Scott McPherson, who has adapted the work from his own play, has created a hauntingly identifiable family situation and peopled it with characters whose needs and imperfections are completely realistic. While the characters are put to their ultimate tests when facing this life-and-death situation, their actions are altogether believable. Characters truly struggle, some more successfully than others, in dealing with the harsh hands that life, and now death, have dealt them.
Jerry Zaks' direction, combining a sharp clinician's eye with a soft consoler's heart, brings to life the very marrow of this hard subject. The performances are very special, particularly those by Streep and Keaton. As the chain-smoking, hardened Lee, Streep's nervous mannerisms and domineering attitude show an insecure woman who lives in constant terror of her needs.
Keaton's performance is similarly brilliant. The supporting players also reveal their characters' nerve endings, particularly Gwen Verdon and Robert De Niro. Hal Scardino, as the younger son, who attracts our attention while absorbing the frustrations of all his elders.
Powered by subtlety, "Marvin's Room" is a brilliantly constructed film, highlighted by Piotr Sobocinski's muted pastel colorings and invigorated by Rachel Portman's spare score.
MARVIN'S ROOM
Miramax Films
A Scott Rudin/Tribeca production
Producers Scott Rudin, Jane Rosenthal,
Robert De Niro
Director Jerry Zaks
Screenwriter Scott McPherson,
based upon his play
Executive producers Tod Scott Brody,
Lori Steinberg
Co-producers David Wisnievitz, Bonnie Palef, Adam Schroeder
Director of photography Piotr Sobocinski
Production design David Gropman
Editor Jim Clark
Costume design Julie Weiss
Casting Ilene Starger
Music Rachel Portman
Sound mix Danny Michael
Color/stereo
Cast:
Lee Meryl Streep
Hank Leonardo DiCaprio
Bessie Diane Keaton
Dr. Wally Robert De Niro
Marvin Hume Cronyn
Ruth Gwen Verdon
Charlie Hal Scardino
Bob Dan Hedaya
Dr. Charlotte Margo Martindale
Running time -- 93 minutes
MPAA rating: PG-13...
Although its sobering subject matter may prove too difficult for casual holiday viewers, the film's many strengths will carry it far by word-of-mouth. Likely award nominations for Streep and Keaton, as well as positive reviews, will rejuvenate its long-term commercial prognosis.
As sisters, Lee (Streep) and Bessie (Keaton) couldn't be more different: Lee is vain and self-absorbed, while Bessie is plain and care-giving. They haven't seen each other in nearly 20 years -- single mother Lee has been raising two boys in Ohio, while Bessie has tended to their bedridden father (Hume Cronyn) in Florida. Like most estranged relations who only get together at funerals and weddings, it's an overpowering personal occasion that brings the two together. Bessie has been diagnosed with leukemia and needs a bone-marrow transplant, and only Lee or her offspring, as blood-related donors, can help.
A surface diagnosis of such a story line might lead one to suspect that the plot of this "disease" movie might be occluded by sugar, schmaltz and other sweetly unnatural particles, but "Marvin's Room" is a stunningly vital story of human need and selfless sacrifice. Screenwriter Scott McPherson, who has adapted the work from his own play, has created a hauntingly identifiable family situation and peopled it with characters whose needs and imperfections are completely realistic. While the characters are put to their ultimate tests when facing this life-and-death situation, their actions are altogether believable. Characters truly struggle, some more successfully than others, in dealing with the harsh hands that life, and now death, have dealt them.
Jerry Zaks' direction, combining a sharp clinician's eye with a soft consoler's heart, brings to life the very marrow of this hard subject. The performances are very special, particularly those by Streep and Keaton. As the chain-smoking, hardened Lee, Streep's nervous mannerisms and domineering attitude show an insecure woman who lives in constant terror of her needs.
Keaton's performance is similarly brilliant. The supporting players also reveal their characters' nerve endings, particularly Gwen Verdon and Robert De Niro. Hal Scardino, as the younger son, who attracts our attention while absorbing the frustrations of all his elders.
Powered by subtlety, "Marvin's Room" is a brilliantly constructed film, highlighted by Piotr Sobocinski's muted pastel colorings and invigorated by Rachel Portman's spare score.
MARVIN'S ROOM
Miramax Films
A Scott Rudin/Tribeca production
Producers Scott Rudin, Jane Rosenthal,
Robert De Niro
Director Jerry Zaks
Screenwriter Scott McPherson,
based upon his play
Executive producers Tod Scott Brody,
Lori Steinberg
Co-producers David Wisnievitz, Bonnie Palef, Adam Schroeder
Director of photography Piotr Sobocinski
Production design David Gropman
Editor Jim Clark
Costume design Julie Weiss
Casting Ilene Starger
Music Rachel Portman
Sound mix Danny Michael
Color/stereo
Cast:
Lee Meryl Streep
Hank Leonardo DiCaprio
Bessie Diane Keaton
Dr. Wally Robert De Niro
Marvin Hume Cronyn
Ruth Gwen Verdon
Charlie Hal Scardino
Bob Dan Hedaya
Dr. Charlotte Margo Martindale
Running time -- 93 minutes
MPAA rating: PG-13...
- 12/9/1996
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
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