Drama > Keitel, Harvey Drama

Let the piano do the talking

Advantages: interesting story, excellent acting,
Disadvantages: expected more

...into this movie knowing about the oscars it had won and having been recommended by several friends, I expected something good. As a fan of period films, this movie is set in the 1850's, New Zealand. Ada (Holly Hunter) is a mute who with her young daughter Flora(Ann Paquin) braves the dangerous journey across the world. We see the movie start with them landing with all their belongings, including the priceless piano. Life begins in the leafy forest ...
...Things take a turn for the worse when her new Husband sells her piano a neighbour, George (Harvey Keitel). George however, tells Ada she may earn back her piano by giving him piano lessons. Through the lessons, we see a turbulant but intreging relationship form. This movie wasn't what I expected, yet produced some awesome performances. Inparticular little, Ann Paquin, the devoted daughter and voice of Ada to the outside world puts in a great performance. ...

rafomania 16.11.2009 · Read full review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful
Review of The Piano (DVD)

Watch before you make up your mind

Advantages: Poses very interesting questions
Disadvantages: Harry Dean Stanton is underused as Saul

Watching The Last Temptation of Christ again after about ten years it is easy to see why it got the puritans pants in a twist. It also asks questions that no one has asked (specifically not on-screen) before. It poses ideas and gives a new slant on the New Testament – who was the man Jesus and was he just a man like you and I? Best to go into the film with an open mind rather than lambasting it straight away. Director Scorsese has chosen a great ...
...able to emote the feelings of great responsibility and desperation. Standout performances by Harry Dean Stanton as Saul give great lasting roles. This film is a long way from the Cecille B DeMille films of the 40s and 50s which offer a sanitised view of Christs life, nor is it like Zeffereli's Jesus Of Nazereth. It is a faithful recreation of the times even Peter Gabriels soundtrack uses authentic musical instruments (apart from one sequence where ...

adambrown43 21.01.2004 · Read full review
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Review of The Last Temptation Of Christ (DVD)

The little men in Little Italy

Advantages: Warm and realistic, as well as having one of De Niro's best performances
Disadvantages: Some might not like the lack of a solid plot

Mean Streets (1973) was the first major project that Martin Scorsese both wrote and directed for widespread distribution. As with his student films, he tried to recreate the familiar sights, sounds and colourful personalities of New York's Little Italy, the neighbourhood Scorsese grew up in. It's a film full of the youthful exuberance of a young director given a chance to prove himself, and while it lacks the polished, neat storytelling of later ...
...Admittedly, I came to Mean Streets thinking it would be a gangster movie, in the vein of Scorsese's most enduring 90s films such as Goodfellas and Casino, all top mafia gansters dodging bullets and trying to move up in the company - involving and often shocking motion pictures, but focusing on characters who need to exaggerate themselves in order to survive. I was surprised to find that at the heart of Mean Streets is its flawed and very human characters, ...

Adziu 09.10.2007 · Read full review
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Review of Mean Streets (Special Edition) (DVD)

Bad cop bad cop.

Advantages: Compelling and hard hitting
Disadvantages: Disturbing drama

...refreshing. Abel Ferarra, the bad boy amongst Directors, has made a film that really gets underneath human nature and whether redemption really is possible for a sinner. The whole subject line is pretty disturbing, a nun is raped by hoodlums, the cop investigating (Harvey Kietel) is a drug addicted gambler. One of the most telling scenes is if I remember it correctly, him smoking crack in his car while he's waiting to pick his kid up from school. ...
...whole lifestyle and whether a Bad Lietenant can find redemption if he does something good. The 'good' act he does is questionable but makes sense given the context, I wont spoil it for you. The ending should be sad but you feel such a lack of sympathy for anyone in the movie (even the nun who was raped because she wants to forgive) that you are left shellshocked and that is the very clever emotion that Ferrara wants you to feel. It is a very hard ...

BladeRunner2003 28.02.2003 · Read full review
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Review of Bad Lieutenant (DVD)

Smoking is good for you

Advantages: Subtly involving, understated but very rewarding
Disadvantages: It is slow paced so don't expect thrills and spills

...just another example of a smoke screen. This last tale in many ways encapsulated the mood and nonchalant style of the film. Smoke follows a long line of movies, which have tired in their own way to chronicle the New York life from Mean Streets, Manhattan or New York Stories albeit on a smaller less epic scale. It does this very well and it is surprising to find that it is director is from Honk Kong and it was produced by a German company. The performances ...
...Keitel gives the outstanding performance. He gives his character so much depth and emotional impact whilst keeping his performance very understated. All the support acting is also very good and it’s the many cameo’s and mini-scenes scattered throughout the film that give it is vibrancy and its strange real-life quality. I think it is a subtle, understated, intelligent piece of filmmaking, and a real gem. Due to its independent status this film did ...

Mauri 13.09.2001 · Read full review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful
Review of Smoke (DVD)