What has Ciao done? I don't like the new layout at all!
What has Ciao done? I don't like the new layout at all!
Member since:05.03.2005
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Review of “Being John Malkovich” , DVD format.
Production Year: 1999. Genre- Comedy . Classification: 15 years and over ASIN B00004U8OC .Run time 112 minutes.
The DVD
Being John Malkovich is from Universal Studios, a modern comedy with a sci-fi/fantasy twist. The DVD I am reviewing is a one disc standard edition, with a few special features such as theatrical trailers, cast interviews and special effects information. I have to admit that I do not generally watch special features or bonus material on DVDs as I do not find it adds to my enjoyment as a rule.
Cast
Starring: John Cusack, Cameron Diaz, Catherine Keener, Orson Bean, Mary Kay Place, W. Earl Brown, John Malkovich, Sean Penn, Brad Pitt and Charlie Sheen
Director: Spike Jonze
The Plot
Craig Schwartz, played by John Cusack, is a struggling street entertainer, a puppeteer to be precise. Craig makes the most lifelike puppets imaginable and
his mastery of the art of puppetry is remarkable. Craig has very precise ideas of what his puppet shows should consist of and he enacts scenes from classical literature with his models. Whilst these are technically precise and absolutely outstandingly produced, they are not popular. People do not wish to watch Tristan and Isolde on street corners, consequently, Craig's career is going nowhere-fast. Craig is a geeky, oddball sort of man, he takes a great pride in his puppets, but has little interest in anything else.
Craig is a married man, his wife, Lotte, is played by Cameron Diaz. Lotte is obsessed with animals, the couple are childless and share their home with a wide assortment of pets including a tame chimpanzee.
Lotte wants a baby and she wants Craig to get a job. Craig wants to stay in bed all day. Craig sees a job as a filing clerk advertised and applies for the post. When he arrives in the office block where the company is based, he is non plussed to find his interview is to take place on floor 7 ½. Floor 7 ½ is a low ceilinged floor between floors 7 and 8. All staff have to bend almost double in order to get around and the wackiness of the situation appeals to Craig. He gets the job and on his very first day meets a colleague, Maxine played by Catherine Keener, who captivates him. Maxine has no interest at all in Craig and makes this very plain.
After he has been working for a short while, Craig finds a strange door behind a filing cabinet. He opens the door and a tunnel is revealed. Craig crawls into the tunnel and suddenly finds himself in a very odd place indeed. He is inside the head of actor John Malkovich. For fifteen minutes, Craig is John Malkovich.
After fifteen minutes of being John Malkovich, Craig finds himself dumped beside the road in New Jersey. The experience is so amazing that Craig confides in Maxine, she also takes a trip through the tunnel and becomes Johns Malkovich. Between them, Maxine and Craig then cook up a plan to send others into the tunnel and charge them $200 to be John Malkovich for fifteen minutes.
Lotte finds out about the tunnel and demands a trip in John Malkovich's head. From this event onwards, the plot takes the viewer through some very amusing twists and turns.
John Malkovich is played by himself and he also becomes involved in the story, he is horrified when he realises that strangers are invading his head. He too takes a trip through the tunnel and into his own head. More I will not reveal for fear of spoiling the movie for others.
Cost and Availability
My copy cost just £2 from my local Tesco store. The DVD is stocked on various websites such as www.amazon.co.uk for £2.50 new and from 84p used.
My Thoughts and Conclusion
This is in my opinion, a very amusing, modern comedy. The plot is fresh and intriguing, the characters are believable and well cast. It is a touch of genius to have John Malkovich enter his own head and the result of this is hilarious. “Being John Malkovich” is a comedy with a difference, it works, it is entertaining and well acted.
I recommend this DVD to others.
Thank you for reading.
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Production Year: 2004 - Comedy - Director: John Hay - Original Language: English - Classification: 15 years and over - Starring: Jennifer Love Hewitt, Jimi Mistry, Kate Miles, Dougray Scott
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While too many films suffer the fate of creative bankruptcy,Being John Malkovichis a ... more
refreshing study in contrast,so bracingly original that you'll want to send director Spike Jonze and screenwriter Charlie Kaufman a thank-you note for restoring your f...
Postage & Packaging: £1.21 Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days...
Craig Schwartz (John Cusack) is a struggling street puppeteer. In order to make some ... more
money, Craig takes a job as a filing clerk. One day he accidentally discovers a door... a portal onto the brain of John Malkovich (played by John Malkovich)! For 15 mi...
While too many films suffer the fate of creative bankruptcy,Being John Malkovichis a ... more
refreshing study in contrast,so bracingly original that you'll want to send director Spike Jonze and screenwriter Charlie Kaufman a thank-you note for restoring your f...
Postage & Packaging: Free! Availability: Usually dispatched within 6 to 11 days...
Ever wanted to be someone else? Now you can. While between jobs master puppeteer Craig ... more
Schwartz (John Cusack) takes a job as a filing clerk in an office building in New York City. One day he discovers a strange door behind a filing cabinet a door w...
Postage & Packaging: £0.00 Availability: 3-5 working days
Advantages: Highly original in it's concept, brave and polished in it's execution. Disadvantages: Sound balance, lighting (sometimes), too much swearing.
![Being John Malkovich [DVD] [2000]](http://picnicb.ciao.com/uk/78535277.jpg "Being John Malkovich [DVD] [2000]")
Sep 16th, 2009
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