Falstaff - Giuseppe Verdi DVD

Advantages: Robert Downey Jr, old fashioned romance, Italy
Disadvantages: No real chemistry between the leads

...achieve it, this is mainly due to the modern stars lacking the class of such Hollywood greats as Audrey Hepburn and Cary Grant. What Jewison does do extremely well, is to capitalize on the picturesque scenery of Italy, from Venice to Rome and onto the Amalfi coast. Plus, for anyone who has had the pleasure of driving one, the inclusion of an original Fiat 500 is a great bit of nostalgia. The soundtrack to the film is typically soft and romantic with pieces such as "Some Enchanted Evening", " Only You (and Only You)" and "Once in a Lifetime" setting the mood. But with the film being set in Italy, there is strong musical reference to Italian works both new and old, with pieces composed by Giuseppe Verdi as well as modern songs such as "Amore Contro" by Eros Ramazzotti. = The Cast = Marisa Tomei .... Faith Corvatch Robert Downey... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average very helpful

Advantages: Good DVD features
Disadvantages: Acting, direction, storyline

...plummetted, with his recent film 'Revolver' flopping badly at the box office. At least he's learnt one thing; never put your wife in the film. In Swept Away Madonna plays Amber, a rich, pretty but very spoiled and arrogant woman, who's seemingly fed up with her husband Tony (Bruce Greenwood), a big shot in the pharmaceutical industry. When Tony treats her to a private cruise, Amber is less than impressed, taking her anger out on the ship's first mate, Giuseppe (Adriano Giannini). After a freak storm, Amber and Giuseppe find themselves shipwrecked on a deserted island, with Giuseppe now having the upper hand over his rich counterpart. The premise is actually quite good, but sadly never lives up to anything more then a silly soap opera, as all we do is watch them sitting around trying to out-act each other, as Giuseppe tries to romance Amber... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful

Advantages: Pavarotti is a wonderful singer
Disadvantages: but he is not a great actor.

...This is one of Verdi's best operas. Stunning score, some well known pieces such as The Anvil Chorus etc. Il Trovatore (The Troubador) is a very good, if slightly complex story, about a baby stolen at birth and unknowingly finding himself the arch enemy of this own brother over a girl. The woman calling herself his mother, in fact a gypsy who stole him suceeds in making life for The Troubador more difficult, as he is torn between his love for her and for the woman he longs for. I have seen this with slightly different endings, so I won't spoil it! Sadly the only down side to this is the great Pav himself. Now I AM a fan. His voice is truly something magical and I never tire of listening to him. However he is not this best actor in the world, and this opera was filmed when that wasn't as important as it is today, and I did find him... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average somewhat helpful