Mike Leigh Collection, Vol. 1 (Abigail's Party / Grown-Ups / Hard Labour)

Mike Leigh Collection, Vol. 1 (Abigail's Party / Grown-Ups / Hard Labour) Review

I discovered Mike Leigh through SECRETS AND LIES, which prompted me to watch VERA DRAKE, which has led me to order all three MIKE LEIGH COLLECTIONS. Thus far I am very pleased.

Mike Leigh has observative powers which are rare in anyone. He can take something apart, put it back together, make you see it in a new way, and perhaps not even let you know what he's done until two hours after the movie's over. You get so wrapped up in his oh-so-real characterizations and organically unfolding plots that you forget. You and your partner are still talking about it after it's over.

Observing the broad sweeping things people do is difficult, but artists do it. But to also capture the minutiae is a Mike Leigh trademark. Watching these traits large and small feed off each other to create a sum greater than its parts is a true joy.

Mike Leigh has the ability to present things in movies that could be presented in novels, for example, but not as well. He's a master of the medium.

In all Mike Leigh films, I suggest not reading the DVD jacket or any plot summary. They give away his spoilers. Trust, watch, and enjoy.

Time to get specific here:

Hard Labour is from 1973, only 70 minutes, and it packs a punch. You'll think about this one long after you're done watching it. There are some issues about daily life that will move you, plus one bit of "controversial issue" that led to the film's title but which is actually a subplot that brings the main plot into sharp focus.

Grown Ups, 1980, is 95 minutes, and it also packs a punch. He captures family life more realistically than anyone I know. Uncomfortably realistic? If so, fortunately he leavens it with subtle humor.

Abigail's Party, 1977, is 105 minutes, and I'm glad I watched it last. I thought it was the newest -- oops. It is the one with the best sound quality by far -- I'm only giving the collection four stars because the sound's a bit off on the first two I named here -- and it also uses humor more effectively than the other two. A bit like SECRETS AND LIES that way, and definitely the product of a very mature filmmaker. If I'd seen this when it was released in 1997, I'd have become a Mike Leigh groupie right then. As it is, though, I became one 30 years later.
A three disk collection of Mike Leigh's works (Abigail's Party, Grown Ups, and Hard Labour) in one box set.

Mike Leigh at the BBC Collection: 6 DVD set including Abigail's Party, Nuts in May, Four Days in July, The Kiss of Death, Who's Who, Home Sweet Home, Grown-Ups, Hard Labour, The Permissive Society [U.K. Import Region 2 PAL Non-U.S. Format DVD]

Mike Leigh at the BBC Collection: 6 DVD set including Abigail's Party, Nuts in May, Four Days in July, The Kiss of Death, Who's Who, Home Sweet Home, Grown-Ups, Hard Labour, The Permissive Society [U.K. Import Region 2 PAL Non-U.S. Format DVD] Review

Mike Leigh at the BBC Collection: 6 DVD set including Abigail's Party, Nuts in May, Four Days in July, The Kiss of Death, Who's Who, Home Sweet Home, Grown-Ups, Hard Labour, The Permissive Society [U.K. Import Region 2 PAL Non-U.S. Format DVD] Feature

• 4 hours
• Direct from the manufactures-1st quality-factory sealed
• Auto start-auto repeat-photo gallery-interactive menu
• Silver Disk
• Surround Sound

[Non-U.S. format (PAL) region 2 U.K. DVD - This will not play on many U.S./Canada DVD players (or those from most other countries outside of Europe). You would need a "multi-region" or "region-free" PAL compatible DVD player or computer.] As one of Britain's foremost filmmakers and dramatists, Mike Leigh has enthralled, disturbed and provoked television and movie audiences for more than 40 years. His first film, Bleak Moments, premiered in 1971 to great critical acclaim, be he was not able to direct another feature film for 17 years. Instead he honed his skills on television, leaving an unrivalled legacy - from acclaimed five-minute shorts to classic plays such as Abigail's Party and films like Nuts in May. In his television work, Mike Leigh created the style that would make him unique among filmmakers. The way he deals with issues of class, race, politics and sexuality in both poignant and comic terms; his working methods of evolving films from intense improvising rehearsals; and his collaboration with great actors, including Alison Steadman, Liz Smith, Lesley Manville, Phil Davis, David Threlfell, Brenda Blethyn and Stephen Rea, makes his work instantly recognizable. This collection includes all of Mike Leigh's surviving BBC work from Hard Labour (1975) to Four Days in July (1985), along with his Five Minute Films: Probation, The Birth of the 2001 F.A. Goalie Cup Final, Old Chums, A Light Snack, and Afternoon. This box set also includes a 16-page booklet and THREE HOURS of bonus features including: four newly recorded director's commentaries; five documentaries (All About Abigail's Party, Welcome, Party Nibbles, Intro and Goodbye); Mike Leigh conversation with Will Self; The Long Goodbye, Mike Leigh in conversation with Bel Mooney; and the Arena episode Making Plays.

Grown Ups

Grown Ups Review

This movie has gradually crept to the top of my Mike-Leigh favorites list. Overall it is a positive, sometimes funny, sometimes agonizing movie with a number of scenes and tics (the male neighbor's throat-clearing in particular) that stick in my mind. Philip Davis is a not-too-bright dishwasher married to Leslie Manville, the backbone of the marriage. The realistically-quirky people with whom they interact are Brenda Blethyn, her frequently-visiting sister who is going downhill slowly and painfully, two neighbors, and a friend of Manville. How the husband and wife deal with the strains caused by relatives and neighbors illumines the ultimate importance and strength of the nuclear family that Leigh has approached from different directions in Life is Sweet, Secrets and Lies, and even Meantime. The movie's modest scope is a large part of its offbeat charm. Dick and Mandy, a young working class couple, move into a council house in Canterbury, and find Mr. Butcher, one of their former teachers, living next door. Mandy's unmarried sister, Gloria, is constantly dropping in, and will not take any hints that the couple would prefer to be left alone, until her presence finally goads them into action. The entire film comes to a head when both couples are found wrestling in the hall while trying to oust the poor sister from the Mr. Butcher's bathroom.

The Sexy Storybook Collection, Vol. 2

The Sexy Storybook Collection, Vol. 2 Review

English lit had it coming! Grownups get their own bedtime stories with six sassy, saucy tales offering a whole new twist on your favorite characters! First it's Shakespeare with skin in The Secret Sex Lives of Romeo and Juliet, an outrageously bawdy send-up of the world's most famous love story, and Marc Antony discovers a whole new side of The Notorious Cleopatra, a wacky sex comedy you won't see on the History Channel anytime soon! Then the ultimate jungle swinger lowers the loincloth for two raunchy adventures in Tarz & Jane, Cheetah & Boy and Tarzun and the Valley of Lust, filled with great white huntresses, sex magic, men in monkey suits, and manhood-munching crocodiles! Finally, Bram Stoker's famous bloodsucker gets a randy makeover in two gag-packed fangfests, Dracula the Dirty Old Man and Guess What Happened to Count Dracula, along with werewolves and ghouls to help him do his dirty work. Forget those squeaky-clean stories you read as a kid; these hilarious romps packed with bountiful beauties prove there's nothing like a good book to get your pulse racing!

Mike Leigh at the BBC Collection: 6 DVD set including Abigail's Party, Nuts in May, Four Days in July, The Kiss of Death, Who's Who, Home Sweet Home, Grown-Ups, Hard Labour, The Permissive Society [U.K. Import Region 2 PAL Non-U.S. Format DVD]

Mike Leigh at the BBC Collection: 6 DVD set including Abigail's Party, Nuts in May, Four Days in July, The Kiss of Death, Who's Who, Home Sweet Home, Grown-Ups, Hard Labour, The Permissive Society [U.K. Import Region 2 PAL Non-U.S. Format DVD] Review

Mike Leigh at the BBC Collection: 6 DVD set including Abigail's Party, Nuts in May, Four Days in July, The Kiss of Death, Who's Who, Home Sweet Home, Grown-Ups, Hard Labour, The Permissive Society [U.K. Import Region 2 PAL Non-U.S. Format DVD] Feature

• 4 hours
• Direct from the manufactures-1st quality-factory sealed
• Auto start-auto repeat-photo gallery-interactive menu
• Silver Disk
• Surround Sound

[Non-U.S. format (PAL) region 2 U.K. DVD - This will not play on many U.S./Canada DVD players (or those from most other countries outside of Europe). You would need a "multi-region" or "region-free" PAL compatible DVD player or computer.] As one of Britain's foremost filmmakers and dramatists, Mike Leigh has enthralled, disturbed and provoked television and movie audiences for more than 40 years. His first film, Bleak Moments, premiered in 1971 to great critical acclaim, be he was not able to direct another feature film for 17 years. Instead he honed his skills on television, leaving an unrivalled legacy - from acclaimed five-minute shorts to classic plays such as Abigail's Party and films like Nuts in May. In his television work, Mike Leigh created the style that would make him unique among filmmakers. The way he deals with issues of class, race, politics and sexuality in both poignant and comic terms; his working methods of evolving films from intense improvising rehearsals; and his collaboration with great actors, including Alison Steadman, Liz Smith, Lesley Manville, Phil Davis, David Threlfell, Brenda Blethyn and Stephen Rea, makes his work instantly recognizable. This collection includes all of Mike Leigh's surviving BBC work from Hard Labour (1975) to Four Days in July (1985), along with his Five Minute Films: Probation, The Birth of the 2001 F.A. Goalie Cup Final, Old Chums, A Light Snack, and Afternoon. This box set also includes a 16-page booklet and THREE HOURS of bonus features including: four newly recorded director's commentaries; five documentaries (All About Abigail's Party, Welcome, Party Nibbles, Intro and Goodbye); Mike Leigh conversation with Will Self; The Long Goodbye, Mike Leigh in conversation with Bel Mooney; and the Arena episode Making Plays.

Back When We Were Grownups

Back When We Were Grownups Review

Back When We Were Grownups is a delightful film. I watched it when it was presented as a Hallmark movie and it stayed in my mind for weeks after I viewed it.

It's the story of Rebecca Davitch (Blythe Danner) who at the age of 53 finds herself looking at her life and wondering how she became the person that she turned into.

As a young woman, still in college, she was engaged to a Will Allenby (Peter Fonda), a serious academic and they had a plan for their future. While at a reception, she met Joe Davitch, a divorced man, several years her senior. Rebecca was flattered and very much infatuated by the attention from Joe, and she married him without much consideration, except that she seemed to love him. She immediately became a stepmother to three little girls and manager of a home based business. She also inherited her husband's Uncle Poppy (Jack Palance) who had been living with the Davitch family since his wife died. Within a few years, Rebecca and Joe had their own child, another daughter. To further add to the confusion, Rebecca also has to deal with her husband's former wife who is played by Faye Dunaway

Although, amusing in many ways, I felt this story had a real feeling about the various relationships and jealousies that can crop up in any family. It also shows how one person often takes on the responsibility of keeping a family together.

Like many avid readers, I find that movies based on books, are rarely as good as the books. However, in this case, I enjoyed the film more than the book. I also thought that Blythe Danner did an excellent job in the major role of Rebecca.

With courage, grace, and celebration, a woman embarks on a search for herself, for a life she feared was long gone, and for a new awareness she never imagined possible. Based on the New York Times best-selling novel by Anne Tyler, the quirky story revolves around a widow who is contemplating what her life would have been like if she had married someone else and calls her ex-boyfriend to see if she can rekindle the old flame and spice up her life. Since her husbands death after only six years of marriage, Rebecca has single-handedly raised his ever-challenging and now adult daughters, as well as one of her own. Rebecca also inherited her husbands uncle, 99-year-old Poppy (Jack Palance), a crotchety old man whose total focus is his upcoming 100th birthday. A party planner by trade, Rebecca is always cheerful and upbeat, but, even after many, many years, shes still not really sure about her standing in this bizarre family. Stars: Academy Award-winners Faye Dunaway (Network) & Jack Palance (City Slickers), Tony Award-winner Blythe Danner (Butterflies Are Free), Academy Award-nominee Peter Fonda (Easy Rider) and Peter Riegert (Traffic).

Mike Leigh at the BBC Collection: 6 DVD set including Abigail's Party, Nuts in May, Four Days in July, The Kiss of Death, Who's Who, Home Sweet Home, Grown-Ups, Hard Labour, The Permissive Society [U.K. Import Region 2 PAL Non-U.S. Format DVD]

Mike Leigh at the BBC Collection: 6 DVD set including Abigail's Party, Nuts in May, Four Days in July, The Kiss of Death, Who's Who, Home Sweet Home, Grown-Ups, Hard Labour, The Permissive Society [U.K. Import Region 2 PAL Non-U.S. Format DVD] Review

Mike Leigh at the BBC Collection: 6 DVD set including Abigail's Party, Nuts in May, Four Days in July, The Kiss of Death, Who's Who, Home Sweet Home, Grown-Ups, Hard Labour, The Permissive Society [U.K. Import Region 2 PAL Non-U.S. Format DVD] Feature

• 4 hours
• Direct from the manufactures-1st quality-factory sealed
• Auto start-auto repeat-photo gallery-interactive menu
• Silver Disk
• Surround Sound

[Non-U.S. format (PAL) region 2 U.K. DVD - This will not play on many U.S./Canada DVD players (or those from most other countries outside of Europe). You would need a "multi-region" or "region-free" PAL compatible DVD player or computer.] As one of Britain's foremost filmmakers and dramatists, Mike Leigh has enthralled, disturbed and provoked television and movie audiences for more than 40 years. His first film, Bleak Moments, premiered in 1971 to great critical acclaim, be he was not able to direct another feature film for 17 years. Instead he honed his skills on television, leaving an unrivalled legacy - from acclaimed five-minute shorts to classic plays such as Abigail's Party and films like Nuts in May. In his television work, Mike Leigh created the style that would make him unique among filmmakers. The way he deals with issues of class, race, politics and sexuality in both poignant and comic terms; his working methods of evolving films from intense improvising rehearsals; and his collaboration with great actors, including Alison Steadman, Liz Smith, Lesley Manville, Phil Davis, David Threlfell, Brenda Blethyn and Stephen Rea, makes his work instantly recognizable. This collection includes all of Mike Leigh's surviving BBC work from Hard Labour (1975) to Four Days in July (1985), along with his Five Minute Films: Probation, The Birth of the 2001 F.A. Goalie Cup Final, Old Chums, A Light Snack, and Afternoon. This box set also includes a 16-page booklet and THREE HOURS of bonus features including: four newly recorded director's commentaries; five documentaries (All About Abigail's Party, Welcome, Party Nibbles, Intro and Goodbye); Mike Leigh conversation with Will Self; The Long Goodbye, Mike Leigh in conversation with Bel Mooney; and the Arena episode Making Plays.

Mike Leigh at the BBC Collection: 6 DVD set including Abigail's Party, Nuts in May, Four Days in July, The Kiss of Death, Who's Who, Home Sweet Home, Grown-Ups, Hard Labour, The Permissive Society [U.K. Import Region 2 PAL Non-U.S. Format DVD]

Mike Leigh at the BBC Collection: 6 DVD set including Abigail's Party, Nuts in May, Four Days in July, The Kiss of Death, Who's Who, Home Sweet Home, Grown-Ups, Hard Labour, The Permissive Society [U.K. Import Region 2 PAL Non-U.S. Format DVD] Review

Mike Leigh at the BBC Collection: 6 DVD set including Abigail's Party, Nuts in May, Four Days in July, The Kiss of Death, Who's Who, Home Sweet Home, Grown-Ups, Hard Labour, The Permissive Society [U.K. Import Region 2 PAL Non-U.S. Format DVD] Feature

• 4 hours
• Direct from the manufactures-1st quality-factory sealed
• Auto start-auto repeat-photo gallery-interactive menu
• Silver Disk
• Surround Sound

[Non-U.S. format (PAL) region 2 U.K. DVD - This will not play on many U.S./Canada DVD players (or those from most other countries outside of Europe). You would need a "multi-region" or "region-free" PAL compatible DVD player or computer.] As one of Britain's foremost filmmakers and dramatists, Mike Leigh has enthralled, disturbed and provoked television and movie audiences for more than 40 years. His first film, Bleak Moments, premiered in 1971 to great critical acclaim, be he was not able to direct another feature film for 17 years. Instead he honed his skills on television, leaving an unrivalled legacy - from acclaimed five-minute shorts to classic plays such as Abigail's Party and films like Nuts in May. In his television work, Mike Leigh created the style that would make him unique among filmmakers. The way he deals with issues of class, race, politics and sexuality in both poignant and comic terms; his working methods of evolving films from intense improvising rehearsals; and his collaboration with great actors, including Alison Steadman, Liz Smith, Lesley Manville, Phil Davis, David Threlfell, Brenda Blethyn and Stephen Rea, makes his work instantly recognizable. This collection includes all of Mike Leigh's surviving BBC work from Hard Labour (1975) to Four Days in July (1985), along with his Five Minute Films: Probation, The Birth of the 2001 F.A. Goalie Cup Final, Old Chums, A Light Snack, and Afternoon. This box set also includes a 16-page booklet and THREE HOURS of bonus features including: four newly recorded director's commentaries; five documentaries (All About Abigail's Party, Welcome, Party Nibbles, Intro and Goodbye); Mike Leigh conversation with Will Self; The Long Goodbye, Mike Leigh in conversation with Bel Mooney; and the Arena episode Making Plays.

The Same River Twice

The Same River Twice Review

A few days ago I watched the film "The Same River Twice." The film is a then-and-now story about some river guides on the Grand Canyon in the 1970s and their lives today. The 1970s portion is shown through some actual film footage taken on a communal trip down the Colorado River through the Grand Canyon in 1978. The now portion consists of interviews with some of the people who were on that earlier river trip. I think that the film accurately portrays the choices that some of us have faced, and for some of us, the film may be a little too real. Whether you or your friends were river guides, mountain travel trail hippies, backcountry ski bums, or just youthful wilderness adventurers in the 1970s, this film is about you and your friends - then and now.

The various people portrayed in the film have chosen different strategies to face maturity and middle age. Jim has stayed "on the river" as we used to say. The others have all found lives "off the river." Of the others, I would say that one woman Danny, has been the most successful in finding happiness and contentment in her life. To me, Danny's secret is to stay active and to understand and follow your own inner compass. I cannot over emphasize the point of staying active. Living an active life gives a spark to both Danny and Jim, a spark the others seem to lack. Jim, who stayed "on the river", faces the hardship and loneliness that comes with the vagabond life of a career seasonal river guide. Jim's spark suffers a bit from his appearance of being stuck in time. Danny has a good life and appears satisfied. Jim has a very good life too, but we see the price of his unconventional choices. The others appear less satisfied than either Danny or Jim.

It is a good film. The title comes from the saying attributed to the Greek philosopher Heraclitus who said something similar to, "You cannot step in the same river twice, for the waters are continually flowing onward"; a statement that I've remembered many times in my life. You may recognize yourself in parts of the film and I hope that your life is closer to Danny's or Jim's depending on your own chosen path. You are either on the river or you are off the river.
An instant hit at the Sundance Film Festival and nominated for an Independent Spirit Award, THE SAME RIVER TWICE is a rich and warmly insightful mosaic of change, choices and communal living, highly acclaimed as "piercingly poignant" (The New York Times) and "a [four-star] masterpiece! Powerful, compelling and graceful!" (Chicago Reader). In 1978, award-winning filmmaker Robb Moss and a close-knit group of free-spirited friends and lovers took a month-long trip through the depths of the Grand Canyon; a breathtaking, white-water rafting adventure down the Colorado River. Cutting between footage of their youthful--often naked--live-in-the-moment existences and the complex realities of their adulthood today, the film travels the road from peyote to Prozac, creating a compelling portrait of cultural metamorphosis and the struggle to find one’s place in the world. From running rapids to running for mayor, THE SAME RIVER TWICE is an intimate depiction of those baby-boomers who took the Sixties seriously, and then grew up. DVD Features: Audio Commentary with Filmmaker Robb Moss; Filmmaker Interview; Filmmaker Q&A; Theatrical Trailer; Filmmaker and Crew Biographies; Interactive Menus; Scene Selection

The Girls From Brazil

The Girls From Brazil Review

The first thing you understand while watching this movie is the meaning of being close to you parents, in this case even if they really far away from you. This movie is so good that it so obviouse that it gained so much success in film festivals around the world:

* The Tel Aviv International Documentary Film Festival 2007 (DocAviv)
* São Paulo International Film Festival 2007
* Docupolis International Documentary Film Festival of Barcelona 2007
* Estonia International Film Festival 2007
* Seoul International Film Festival 2007
* Amsterdam Jewish Film Festival 2007
* Sichuan TV Festival - China, 2007
* Austin Jewish Film Festival 2008
* Washington Jewish Film Festival 2008.


WOW! There are not enough children for adoption in Israel. During the 80's hope arose for those seeking to have a child - Brazil. Approximately 3,000 Israeli families flew to the carnival country to adopt a child. German and Italian families were also part of this adoption wave. In the meantime, the children, now grown-up, are traveling to their land of origin to look for the woman who gave birth to them. Filmmaker Nili Tal follows four young Israeli women on such a voyage. This is a moving trip to a third-world country, where women have four or five children from several men and another one somewhere in a far away place. It is also a personal voyage into each of the protagonists' life bringing up issues concerning us all.

This product is manufactured on demand using DVD-R recordable media. Amazon.com's standard return policy will apply.