DVD Collectors Online

Goodbye, Mr. Chips, a review by Antares

Goodbye, Mr. Chips





Year: 1939
Film Studio: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, Loew's Incorporated, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer British Studios
Genre: Drama, Classic, Family
Length: 114 Min.

Director
Sam Wood (1883)

Writing
R. C. Sherriff (1896)...Screenplay
Claudine West (1890)...Screenplay
Eric Maschwitz (1901)...Screenplay
James Hilton (1900)...Book "Goodbye, Mr. Chips!"

Producer
Victor Saville (1895)

Cinematographer
Freddie Young (1902)

Music
Richard Addinsell (1904)...Composer

Stars
Robert Donat (1905) as Charles Chipping (Mr. Chips)
Greer Garson (1904) as Katherine
Terry Kilburn (1926) as John Colley / Peter Colley I / Peter Col
John Mills (1908) as Peter Colley as a young man
Paul Henreid (1905) as Staefel
Judith Furse (1912) as Flora
Lyn Harding (1876) as Wetherby
Milton Rosmer (1881) as Chatteris

Review my mind instantly turns to the classic film Goodbye, Mr. Chips has built up over the years and slowly the staff and students begin to accept and appreciate the new and improved Mr. Chips. His blissful transformation will soon be tested as an unforeseen tragedy befalls Katherine and he is once again alone. Believing that fate has intended for theirs to be a short, yet meaningful affiliation, he throws the weight of his new found enthusiasm into molding the futures of his ever-changing classroom. Generations will come and go and the memory of his dry and dreary deportment will diminish with time, and he will come to be regarded as the true embodiment of the Brookings School for Boys.

       Goodbye, Mr. Chips is a testament to the bygone days of the golden age of filmmaking when a story meant more than the bottom line of gross ticket sales. It is the kind of film that is perfect for viewing on a cold rainy day when a warm and charming tale can help you to escape the stark reality of the times we now live in.


Ratings Criterion:
5 Stars - The pinnacle of film perfection and excellence.

(From Goodbye, Mr. Chips (1939) on December 17th, 2009)

Mamma Mia!, a review by Danae Cassandra

Mamma Mia!
2008, USA

Sophie is getting married and wants her father to walk her down the isle.  Except he could be one of three different men. Undeterred, she secretly invites all three to her wedding certain she will know which he is.  What happens when they arrive, when her mother sees them, and when her fiancee finds out?  Based on a Broadway musical filled with the songs of ABBA.

I am the anti-Pete.  I love musicals!  Generally they're sweet, frothy fun - and this one is no exception.  Certainly this one is a bit campier and goofier than usual, but it makes it work.  Amanda Seyfried's general lack of acting skill is masked by the ensemble cast.  Christine Baranski plays a character I've seen her play somewhere before.  Some of the singing is not great - but you're going to do no worse with quite a few other musicals I can think of.  The setting is gorgeous and the film moves quickly from one musical number to another.  It seemed much faster than the nearly two hours it's timed at.  I watched this with five other women and we all had a great time.  I think even the one guy who watched it with us enjoyed it - but he might have stayed because his relationship to his girl is boyfriend, and we were abandoned by the fiancee and the husband of two of the others.  

Not great cinema by any stretch of those words, but if you're a chick who likes musicals it was a lot of fun.  

Overall:  2.75/5

(From Danae's reviews on April 19th, 2011)

Pete's Pilots, a review by addicted2dvd

The Brady Bunch


The Honeymoon
Mike Brady (Robert Reed), a widower with three boys, marries Carol Ann Tyler Martin (Florence Henderson), a widow with three girls. But just as the knot is tied, chaos breaks loose as the family pets wreak havoc on the ceremony. Mike and Carol admonish their children for the chaos - and then spend a fretful wedding night feeling guilty about their overreaction.

My Thoughts:
While The Brady Bunch was never a favorite sitcom of mine... it is a big part of my childhood (there was no way not seeing this back then) so it does hold some nostalgic value... even to me. The kids are definitely too goody goody for my taste... and everything was almost always (other then 2 part episodes) solved within the half hour episode. But it is kinda fun sitting back and watching it again now... just for kicks and to make fun of. Like in the pilot episode here... during the wedding the dog gets out of the car by stepping on the automatic window control. Only problem... right above his paw is the window crank where the car didn't have automatic windows. And that is just a minor blunder. I am not even going to go into the problems with the storyline. But as I said... it is fun to watch just for laughs when I am in the mood for something silly and nostalgic.

My Rating:

(From Pete's Pilots on November 9th, 2009)