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A Very Long Engagement, a review by GSyren

A Very Long Engagement (7-321900-389723)

France 2004 | Released 2005-06-13 on DVD

123 minutes | Aspect ratio Anamorphic 2.40:1 | Audio: French Dolby Digital EX 5.1 (Matrixed 6.1), German Dolby Digital EX 5.1 (Matrixed 6.1), Commentary Dolby Digital 2-Channel Stereo

Directed by Jean-Pierre Jeunet and starring Audrey Tautou, Gaspard Ulliel, Jean-Pierre Becker, Dominique Bettenfeld, Clovis Cornillac

My thoughts about A Very Long Engagement

Un long dimanche de film... Well, I don't know if that's proper French, but I just wanted to say that the film was a little too long for my taste. I would have preferred a few less subplots. That would have made it easier  for me to keep my interest up throughout the movie. There certainly are movies over 2 hours that never feel too long for me, but this didn't quite make the grade. That said, I thought the cinematography was fantastic. I like Audrey Tautou quiet a lot. It was quite a bit gorier than I had expected, given that it was on Yves' grandchildren's top lists. The story was fine, but I'm not really fond of that many flashbacks. I prefer a somewhat more linear storytelling. Still, not a bad movie at all. Well worth the time put in to watch it, as Pete likes to say.

I rate this title: 4/5

(From Reviews and ramblings by Gunnar on October 27th, 2016)

How Green Was My Valley, a review by KinkyCyborg

How Green Was My Valley



Title:How Green Was My Valley
Year: 1941
Director: John Ford
Rating: NR
Length: 118 Min.
Video: Full Frame 1.33:1
Audio: English: Dolby Digital: 2-Channel Stereo, English: Dolby Digital: Mono, French: Dolby Digital: Mono, Spanish: Dolby Digital: Mono, Commentary: Dolby Digital: 2-Channel Stereo
Subtitles: English, Spanish

Stars:
Walter Pidgeon
Maureen O'Hara
Anna Lee
Donald Crisp
Roddy McDowall [Master Roddy McDowall]

Plot:
Winner of five Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Supporting Actor (Donald Crisp), this "Hollywood milestone" (Halliwell's Film Guide) from producer Darryl F. Zanuck and director John Ford is "one of the finest" pictures ever made (Variety).

Seen through the eyes of a boy (Roddy McDowall), How Green Was My Valley is the inspiring yet heartbreaking story of young parents (Donald Crisp and Sara Allgood) struggling to keep their family together as they endure severe hardship in a small Welsh mining town. Co-starring Maureen O'Hara and Walter Pidgeon, this acclaimed classic captures the sentiments and issues of its time while reminding us of the dreams, struggles and triumphs every family that can touch every family.

Extras:
Scene Access
Audio Commentary
Feature Trailers
Featurettes
Gallery
Production Notes
Closed Captioned


Another golden oldie. This time it's the Best Picture winner for 1941, beating out the revered Citizen Kane. I haven't watched Citizen Kane so I can't make a comparison but most who have seen both feel that CK was robbed for the Oscar. That said, I thought How Green Was My Valley a terrific watch!

Some comparisons can be made between this film and Ford's other classic story of family hardship, The Grapes Of Wrath. This time a small Welsh coal mining town sets the stage for a look at the dismal trials and tribulations of a simple but proud family. We see a slow, downward spiral of this family and, in many ways, the entire community as it is beset by changing times, greed, old prejudices and gossip.

The story is told by the youngest brother, played by a 12 year old Roddy McDowell, now grown up, reflecting on his early years. He watches his family, happy and proud at first, gradually splinter as their gloomy prospects take their toll. Some of the young men leave to go to America, some continue to work the mines while their wages are continually cut, tragedy strikes others.

The only sister, played by a very young and beautiful Maureen O'Hara, falls for the town minister (Walter Pidgeon). Their impossible love eventually drives them apart as she would then unwillingly marry into money by way of the mine owner's son. Even in this early role for O'Hara already we can see the fiery disposition she would carry on through so many more films in her career.

They would give O'Hara and Pidgeon top billing for this but the true stars are Donald Crisp (he won Best Supporting Actor) and Anna Lee who greatly reminds me of Jane Darwell in The Grapes Of Wrath. These two play the traditionalist parents who can no longer keep their idealistic flock of children in check. I thought Crisp gave the most dignified performance I have ever seen.

Great movie, though not quite as good as The Grapes Of Wrath.

KC


Rating: and a half

(From KinkyCyborg's Random Reviews 2011 on May 29th, 2011)

Twilight Zone, a review by addicted2dvd

49. Back There (1/13/61)
Russell Johnson is Peter Corrigan, a man who travels back in time to the date of President Lincoln's assassination. Will his presence have any impact at all - can he actually change history?

My Thoughts:
This is the second episode I have seen with Russell Johnson (Professor on Gilligan's Island), Was a good episode... really enjoyed it. Unfortunately the only extra attached to this episode was the Isolated Score. This was another episode I have never seen before.

50. The Whole Truth (1/20/61)
A special Model A automobile compels used car dealer Harvey Hunnicut (Jack Carson) to tell only the truth. Consequently, he can't sell a single vehicle on his lot - until he comes up with an unusual marketing idea.

My Thoughts:51. The Invaders (1/27/61)
A flying saucer lands in the attic of an isolated house inhabited by an impoverished woman - who soon becomes panic-stricken as tiny spacemen begin to stalk her!

My Thoughts:
This is a very good episode. One I have seen a couple times before. Starring Agnes Moorehead of Bewitched. One of the things I like about this episode is the fact that not a word is spoken in the episode until the very end. In this case it made the episode that much more intense.attached to the end of this episode was a TV Spot for the series My Sister Ilene. Extras for this episode is a Marc Zicree interview with Douglas Hayes and an Isolated score.

52. A Penny For Your Thoughts (2/3/61)
The lucky flip of a coin seems to give a mild-mannered bank clerk (Dick York) the power to read minds. But he soon learns that you can't believe everything you read.

My Thoughts:
This was another fun episode. One I have seen once or twice before. Attached to the end of this episode was a TV Spot for The Andy Griffith Show. Extras included for this episode was a Marc Zicree Interview with George Clayton Johnson and an Isolated Score.

53. Twenty-Two (2/10/61)
Liz Powell (Barbara Nichols) is terrified by a recurring nightmare involving the number 22. Her doctor (Jonathan Harris) reassures her that it is just a bad dream, yet Miss Powell is soon to learn differently.

My Thoughts:
Another episode I have never seen before. Was a really good one. Though it was pretty obvious where it was going. attached to this episode was a TV Spot for My sister Ilene and extras for this episode included Isolated Score, Original Production Slate and Script with Rod Serling handwritten notes (for DVD-Rom).

(2/24/61)
Flight 33 picks up a peculiar tailwind and is blown off-course. After apparently correcting the problem, the flight arrives at its destination - a billion years ahead of schedule!

My Thoughts:
Episodes I seen for the First time on this set include:

   1. Judgment Night (Episode 10)
   2. And When The Sky Was Opened (Episode 11)
   3. What You Need (Episode 12)
   4. I Shot an Arrow into the Air (Episode 15)
   5. The Hitch-Hiker (Episode 16)
   6. The Purple Testiment (Episode 19)
   7. Elegy (Episode 20)
   8. Mirror Image (Episode 21)
   9. A World of Difference (Episode 23)
  10. Long Live Walter Jameson (Episode 24)
  11. People Are Alike All Over (Episode 25)
  12. Execution (Episode 26)
  13. The Big Tall Wish (Episode 27)
  14. A Nice Place to Visit (Episode 28)
  15. Nightmare as a Child (Episode 29)
  16. The Chaser (Episode 31)
  17. Mr. Bevis (Episode 33)
  18. The Mighty Casey (Episode 35)
  19. A World of his Own (Episode 36)
  20. The Man in the Bottle (Episode 38)
  21. A Thing About Machines (Episode 40)
  22. The Howling Man (Episode 41)
  23. A Most Unusual Camera (Episode 46)
  24. Dust (Episode 48)
  25. Back There (Episode 49)
  26. The Whole Truth (Episode 50)
  27. Twenty-Two (Episode 53)
  28. The Odyssey of Flight 33 (Episode 54)

(From Twilight Zone on February 5th, 2008)