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| Shine [1997] (REGION 1) (NTSC) |
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Sheer brilliance
If Im honest now, when i sat down to watch this film i was ready to be bored. The film is about classical music, so not an erratic story about a group of adventurous rock gods. I was wrong. This is one of the most moving and memorable films i have ever seen, whether this is because its a true life heart wrenching story or it features passion in the form of musical genius, i cannot decide. The superb acting talents made the characters come alive, so much so that the viewer feels that they could describe their feelings to the most intricate detail. I would recommend this film to anyone.
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Stunning performance by Geoffrey Rush
He won the Oscar in 1996 for Best Actor in this role, where he portrays a pianist, David Helfgott, whose great carrier as a pianist is severely damaged by a nervous breakdown. The way Rush shows the ingenuity of a slightly odd mind and the influence that it has on the movement of the body is truly stunning.
Get it, especially if you love Rachmaninoff or piano in general!
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Forget everything you ever thought about classical music
This is certainly a film that can change your view on classical music. The story follows, somewhat erratically via flashback and revisiting, the life of an talented but capped young boy that make you find it hard to believe that its true. Only when you realise that this is in fact the case does the hardship and struggle faced by David Helfgott really hit home. This erratic story line must have been intentional as it mimics the strange behaviour of the man himself as a result of rejection and pressure from his father at such a young age, and servers only to draw you in to the character more.The descriptions and delivery of the music throughout gives you insight to the passion and fullness of classical music that always seemed to be missing in music lessons (at my school anyway). Sir John Gielguds performance as his music teacher makes the music seem as fresh and vibrant as Oasis or Blur today. I dare anyone to watch this and not be moved, heartened and touched by the story of the man, but also not to be enthused to go out and build a huge collection of Rachmaninov or Vivaldi..
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Paul Newman
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Paul Newman is always going to be an interesting subject to write a biography about, but with this book the author shows an obvious dislike or maybe even jealousy of his subject. It is written in a manner that criticises Newman for very petty things. The author is obviously not a fan and this is enh..
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D.W.Griffith: An American Life
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Minutely researched, Richard Schickel really did his homework. Griffith emerges as an intriguing, if not altogether engaging, character. He seems to have been the first to understand what was to become the accepted language of popular cinema. For example, he showed that intercutting two sequences (a..
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The 400 Blows - Criterion Collection
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Somewhat mirroring his own past, Truffaut uses the camera to give a sociological account of Antoine Doinels childhood.
Not a patronising account, however, but looking at the world, quite literally, from a childs perspective. Parenting and Authority are very much criticised, as Truffaut poin..
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Dumb and Dumber [WS/P&S] [1995] (REGION 1) (NTSC)
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Delivering exactly what its title promises, this celebration of stupidity was Jim Carreys 1994 follow-up to Ace Ventura: Pet Detective and The Mask. The film pairs the rubber-faced wacky man with Jeff Daniels as the not-so-dynamic duo of Lloyd and Harry, dunderheads who come into the possession of a briefcase containing ransom money that is intended for Mob-connected kidnappers. Lauren Holly co-stars as the woman who lost the briefcase, and with whom Carrey falls in love (both in r..
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Island of Dr. Moreau [WS/P&S] [1996] (REGION 1) (NTSC)
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Though this graphic 1996 version of HG Wells The Island of Dr Moreau was roasted by critics, its an utterly fascinating failure, largely due to the performances of David Thewlis, Val Kilmer and especially Marlon Brando in the title role as a mad (and in this case outrageously bizarre) scientist whose experiments in crossbreeding humans with animals have gone terribly awry. Thewlis plays the wayward scholar who is rescued at sea by Kilmer and brought to Moreaus island to discover the docto..
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