Last Exit To Brooklyn DVD

Advantages: Turbulant tale of life in 50's brooklyn
Disadvantages: Very dark

...Time has a funny way of altering your perceptions, back in 1991 the year after Last Exit To Brooklyn was released I remember watching the movie and thinking it was the most grim and disturbing movie I had ever seen. While 17 years later it certainly falls into the same categories, the passage of time means that the impact here is far less fierce. Last Exit To Brooklyn is set rather unsurprisingly in Brooklyn during the 1950's in a time where money was harsh and striking was the order of the day. Following no specific characters Last Exit offers a snapshot into the lives of various characters, the highs and the lows, while some lives improve other reach rock bottom. I can't say Last Exit provides any joy, in fact it's one incredibly harsh journey, that only seems to witness the darkest parts of human nature. It's imagery so intense... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average very helpful

Advantages: Turbulant tale of life in 50's brooklyn
Disadvantages: Very dark

...Time has a funny way of altering your perceptions, back in 1991 the year after Last Exit To Brooklyn was released I remember watching the movie and thinking it was the most grim and disturbing movie I had ever seen. While 17 years later it certainly falls into the same categories, the passage of time means that the impact here is far less fierce. Last Exit To Brooklyn is set rather unsurprisingly in Brooklyn during the 1950's in a time where money was harsh and striking was the order of the day. Following no specific characters Last Exit offers a snapshot into the lives of various characters, the highs and the lows, while some lives improve other reach rock bottom. I can't say Last Exit provides any joy, in fact it's one incredibly harsh journey, that only seems to witness the darkest parts of human nature. It's imagery so intense... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average very helpful

Advantages: Timeless classic
Disadvantages: No Kazan interview or extras

...Elia Kazan was already a big theatre star in 1945 when he directed his first film, A Tree Grows In Brooklyn, but he did'nt yet have the fame that classics such as A Streetcar Named Desire and On The Waterfront would give him, nor the infamy that his willingness to testify against his colleagues to US senator Joe McCarthy would bestow. Fans of the fierce Marlon Brando collaborations may be slightly disconcerted by this gentle tale of a bright girl, Francie (Peggy Ann Garner), trying to survive in early 20th -century New York despite poverty, lack of opportunity and dad's alcoholism. It's very much of its time but charming with it. Shame there's no Kazan interview included; after all, he only died two years ago.... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average somewhat helpful

Advantages: great Ellen Burstyn performance, original
Disadvantages: sometimes too flashy for its own good

...Requiem For A Dream is a film that definitely wasn’t made for your usual mainstream audience. The film is based on the book by Hubert Selby Jr. He is best known for the book Last Exit To Brooklyn. On directing duties in Darren Aronofsky who debuted with the $60,000 indie film Pi. On that film there was a clear visual style. Well on Requiem he has been let loose. The film follows four main characters in a harrowing tale of addiction in Coney Island, New York. Sara Goldfarb (Ellen Burstyn) is a lonely widow who spends her days in front of the television watching mind numbing shows. One day she gets a call asking her to appear on a game show. This is a dream come true for Sara and she wants to look great in the red dress she keeps in her wardrobe. Sadly she can’t fit into it and becomes addicted to diet pills in an attempt... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful