The Virgin Suicides (DVD)

...recently read Jeffery Eugenides’ novel, The Virgin Suicides, and it went down as one of the best books I have ever read, making a real impression upon me. Although I knew there had been a film version (the directing debut of Sofia Coppola), I was reluctant to watch it, as the book had left me with such vivid images in my mind of how the story should be, I feared that any visual representation of it could only disappoint. However, after various recommendations, ...
...I was not disappointed. The Virgin Suicides is the story of the Lisbon sisters, five teenage girls, who live in 1970s American suburbia. These beautiful girls are the object of the affections of all the neighbourhood boys, who watch and worship them from afar. The seemingly normal teenage world of the girls (despite a slightly strict upbringing by their prim mother and maths teacher father) is shattered when, at a party organised by their parents, ...

Pumpkin 15.03.2004 · Read full review
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Review of The Virgin Suicides (DVD)

One of the most acclaimed films of last year was this debut feature from Sofia (daughter of Francis Ford) Coppola. Adapted from the novel by Jeffrey Eugenides, it's a beautifully subdued affair. The Virgin Suicides is set in a mid-1970s American suburbia of sun-kissed lawns and dying elm trees. As its title might suggest, it is the story of hormonal teenage melancholy that ends in tragic circumstances. Five girls, all sisters, driven to their deaths ...
...that isn't laid out for the viewer within the opening five minutes, for as with American Beauty the ultimate fate of these characters is known from the outset - via Giovanni Ribisi's uncredited, restrospective voice-over. Casting his mind back to the events that still haunt him and the four friends who knew the sisters in the final months of their short lives, a poignant elegy is unfolded piece by piece. Framed by a woozy environment of blooming ...

EnglishPatient 08.02.2001 · Read full review
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Review of The Virgin Suicides (DVD)

...recently wrote a review on the movie “Dick” which starred Kirsten Dunst who is also in this movie. I thought it would balance things out as far as Kirsten’s acting goes, her performance in this couldn’t be more contrasting. “Dick” was even made in the same year. This was probably one of the first reviews I ever wrote for ciao, yet it never got posted. Why? Well I don’t think I could particularly write a good review it deserved. I happened to have ...
...it over and couldn’t believe the rubbish that I actually wrote (not that I’ve improved much) so I thought I would just start from scratch. At the moment I’ve got the worst ear infection! It’s painful and it’s constantly got me in a bad mood, so for that I want to watch a movie that will reflect my mood, something depressing yet thought provoking, that’s where my “The Virgin Suicides” DVD comes in. The movie is based on the acclaimed novel by Jeffrey ...

BabyGirl 17.06.2003 · Read full review
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Review of The Virgin Suicides (DVD)

...apparent reason, impaling herself on the fence outside the Lisbon house. From thereon, the girls are kept under lock and key, much to the intrigue of four of their male contemporaries, who try to reach out to the girls in their hour of need. Will the girls ever regain their freedom? Or are they doomed to remain fantasies? Directed by Sofia Coppola and based on the book of the same title by Jeffrey Eugenides, this film has won acclaim in some circles ...
...be my cup of tea, the fact that it is about suicide persuaded me to take a look. And to start with, it is certainly an intriguing film. Narrated by one of the boys who has always had an interest in the Lisbon girls, we are initially made aware that something strange happens to the family as a whole, although the narrator (Giovanni Ribisi who plays Pheobe's brother in Friends and doesn't actually appear in the film) makes it clear that he doesn't ...

sunmeilan 18.08.2008 · Read full review
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Review of The Virgin Suicides (DVD)

This film was the directorial debut of Sophia Coppola, daughter of Francis Ford. A lot of people will presume that this is another celebrity offspring living off her famous parents name. This is certainly not the case with Sophia Coppola. As well as directing, she also wrote this film, and she tried very hard, but the story she adapted is hard to make sense of at times. One thing is for sure, I hope she stays behind the camera, rather than subject ...
...novel, “The Virgin Suicides”, is the story of the Lisbon sisters, who we are introduced to at the start of the film. They are Bonnie (Chelsea Swain), Lux (Kirsten Dunst), Mary (A. J. Cook), Therese (Leslie Hayman) and Cecilia (Hanna R. Hall). They are the children of strictly religious parents (Kathleen Turner and James Woods) growing up in the1970s. The local boys are fascinated with the girls, and are shocked at the start of the film when the youngest ...

nicanddarrell 10.08.2001 (04.01.2004) · Read full review
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Review of The Virgin Suicides (DVD)

...here's a rough idea of the plot, such as it is. There's no point warning of spoilers here incidentally, as the movie title pretty much gives it away: It's about a family of five girls, the Lisbon family, who live with their very strict parents and who all commit suicide. Through them, it tries to be a film about emotional repressions, adolescence, developing sexuality and freedom and at times succeeds very powerfully. The film is narrated by a male ...
...the Lisbon girls in a stand-by-me kinda way. I half expected him to start out by saying "I guess we were never quite the same after that summer', but Coppola is actually very good at ducking cliches. It's an interesting choice of perspective given the movie is both written and directed - unusally - by a woman. There aren't that many females in Hollywood with that sort of clout but the surname gives it all away - the woman in question is Sofia Coppola, ...

ImogenW 14.03.2001 (20.03.2001) · Read full review
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Review of The Virgin Suicides (DVD)

...Sofia Coppola and based upon the novel written by Jeffery Eugenides, this film tells the story of the Lisbon sisters living in a 1970's suburban area in the United States. This movie is narrated by the neighbourhood boys who attempt to piece together the events of the Lisbon sisters lives, in order to understand an act which many would find difficult to comprehend; suicide. The film opens with the attempted suicide of the youngest sister, Cecilia, ...
...attempt and as a result the remaining four sisters are put on lock down within their home. From then on the film depicts the next few months of thier lives, including their eventual communication with the neighbourhood boys, who they involve in their final act. The film deals with many themes, including amongst others, teenage mental health issues, family bonds, underage sex and relationships as well as social isolation and its affects. The film ...

rachieb123 02.08.2009 · Read full review
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Review of The Virgin Suicides (DVD)

It must be something in the Copppola genes that makes them great at making films. Th Virgin Suicides is the debut of Sofia Coppolla, the daughter of Francis and last seen in a ill-advised role in Godfather III. She belongs on the other side of the camera because she has made a wonderfully hypnotic and incredibly sexual film that doesn't fail to impress on many levels. The story involves 5 sisters who are raised in a normal american suburb by loving ...
...life they enchant the local boys into lust and curiosity. Once one of the girls commits suicide, the other sisters are let off the reigns slightly and let out into the wide world with tragic consequences. The acting in this film is excellent. James Woods and Kathleen Turner play the parents. Woods is subdued and slightly comical, there is one scene where he talks to some plants which raises a smile. Turner plays the mother who is very protective ...

utero 28.01.2001 · Read full review
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Review of The Virgin Suicides (DVD)

The producers of 'The Virgin Suicides' clearly sought to create something individual among the occasionally bland world of modern films, but sadly they have not been entirely successful. While the film can on occasions be extremely innovative and imaginative, more often it is little more than illogical and confusing. The boldness of its' approach stems from the choice of narrative. The plot follows a family of five girls fixated upon by a group of ...
...became of them, beginning with the suicide of one of the girls and progressing through a series of other memories. Some of these appear completely random and out of place, or fail to link adequately with the main plot. Thus the film is peppered with ill-conceived holes where the dialogue and action is perplexing and irrelevant. At times the approach works excellently. A particularly passage detailing the time the girls went to the high school ball, ...

SkyscraperFanClub 23.05.2001 · Read full review
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Review of The Virgin Suicides (DVD)

Set in the 1970's this mysterious tale of growing up focuses on the lives of 5 sisters who are driven to suicide by the cicumstances that surround them. The story is narrated to us from the perspective of a group of boys who become obsessed by the girls. They collect every piece of evidence they can that could indicate why the girls would kill themselves. The story is never miserable or depressing but strangely uplifting and humorous despite the ...
...we are treated to all the usual coming of age items, the prom date, the first kiss, parents trying to rule their lives and more. Because the story presented to us is often gossip or rumour we are never sure what is true and what is not. How much of the tale of the five sisters is real and how much is in the boys heads is unclear. Kirsten Dunst is great as the main daughter. It’s good to see her in a more interesting role as opposed to the ...

danbot9 03.05.2001 · Read full review
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Review of The Virgin Suicides (DVD)

...a lot of talent in the family. The Virgin Suicides is based on, believe it or not, the much acclaimed novel of the same name by Jeffery Eugenides. It follows the life of five Lisbon sisters who, in turn, take their own lives, much to the disappointment of the boys who are obsessed with their every waking move. The film is told by one of those boys, who, even 25 years later, still remember well the life of the young girls. The title suggests that ...
...With the story being told from a boy (or man) about the lust he felt for the girls, we are presented with a wonderful black comedy. From the very beginning the film has a haunting mood to it when Cecilia, the youngest sister at 13, lays in a bath, her wrists slit open. She survives and is sent to a psychologist (Danny DeVito) and from this comes one of the most memorable parts of the film... 'Why are you here? Your not even old enough to know how ...

3rdRockSatan 12.05.2001 · Read full review
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Review of The Virgin Suicides (DVD)

The Virgin Suicides is an evocative look at the traumas of adolescent life, and is a superb adaptation of the equally superb book of the same name by Jeffrey Eugenides. The film follows a group of boys who in their 1970s teenage youth are obsessed by the five beautiful but aloof Lisbon sisters. They spy on the girls as they one by one commit suicide, and as a tribute to their lives, begin to collect every memory and memento of their lives, in an ...
...repeated viewing, thanks largely to the exceptionally strong cast, including James Woods and Kathleen Turner as the girls' parents who cannot come to terms with the loss of their daughters, and Kirstin Dunst, as Lux, the promiscuous and disturbed middle sister. The disc is presented in 1.66:1 ratio, however the picture quality for a DVD is only average. This is due to the slight blurring of edges, and occasional jump. The sound also does not do ...

peppermint 08.03.2001 · Read full review
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Review of The Virgin Suicides (DVD)

Based on the book by the same name, this less than epic depiction of the traumas of teenage existence is possibly the most mundane of all films ever made by anyone. The problem with this film is not that it's cenception wasn't inspired, the execution of its creation is where the movie loses track of the very things that it needed to hold on to, in order to make it as gripping and heart-breaking as it should have been. I don't think I will be exposing ...
...of virgins commit suicide, but the disturbing fact is that because of the way the film transpired, I found that I didn't really care. The narration was quite simply a monotonous dribbling stream, that was as meandering as it was meaningless. The reason for my apparent coldheartedness towards the terrible tragedy, was a direct result of the film's lack of effort to build up any compassion with the characters it wants you to feel upset about the death ...

chimp 22.01.2001 · Read full review
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Review of The Virgin Suicides (DVD)

...I think... it acts of the first cinematographic realization of Sofia Coppola, the daughter of Francis Ford, a film called The Virgin Suicides. It is a cinematographic UFO, an original film, extreme and upsetting that I wish to try to give you desire for seeing, if it is not already done. The director __________________ Sofia Coppola is at the same time director, actress, producing and scenario writer. American like dad, but of Italian origin, ...
...1 , she appears in the Godfather, turned by its governor... I wonder whether she touched a seal! she will act then in 7 other films of Francis, a film of Tim Burton, and a film of her brother Roman. All that for saying that one has a strong direction of the family in the Coppola family. It should be noted that Sofia is also the cousin of the actor Nicholas Cage. What does not prevent the talent but opens certainly more opportunities than for ...

sheli 08.09.2005 · Read full review
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Review of The Virgin Suicides (DVD)

...those who have not seen the movie, it is important to say that it is not just about teenagers suicides, it is a lot more than that. ACTORS James WOOD (Mr Lisbon) Kathleen Turner (Mrs Lisbon) Kirsten DUNST (Lux Lisbon) Andrea Joy COOK (Mary Lisbon) Leslie HAYMAN (Therese Lisbon) Chelse SWAIN (Bonnie Lisbon) Hanna R HALL (Cecilia Lisbon) Josh HARTNETT (Trip Fontaine) Giovanni RIBISI (Narrator) Jonathan TUCKER (Tim Weiner) Michael PARE (grown ...
...IS THIS MOVIE ABOUT? The movie is about 5 girls, I should say 5 very beautiful blonde girls, the Lisbon sisters. Therese is 17, Mary is 16, Bonnie is 15, Lux is 14 and Cecilia is 13. Tha narration is made by one of the 4 young men who were completely obsessed with these girls, they spent all their free time watching or talking about these girls. They studied every single move, every single word that the girls could say. The girls have parents (yes ...

jenna83 16.04.2007 (17.04.2007) · Read full review
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Review of The Virgin Suicides (DVD)