An Academy Award Winner
938251
Incredibly good script and acting.  Beautifully spoken French.  Riveting!
982279
Excellent story, great cinematography and a definite must see film that could possibly win an Oscar this year. This film will never be mistaken for another Rocky type story. The boxing scenes are amazing and actually look real. And it shows a small portion of the behind the scenes stuff that happens to these boxers as they are used and thrown away like garbage the second they can't make money for people and all of their Hanger On's.
3936239
"American Beauty" is a truly rare film, in my opinion.  But not in the way that most reviewers will tell you.  I could certainly mention the awards it has won, its delicate play of satire, etc.  But it is rare to me because it is one of the few films I can watch over and over and never tire.  The cast is alive in this film, the emotions are real, and it's all in your face.  The chemistry that is created on-screen in this film is unparalleled in recent years.  It definitely has the feel of a play, where the cast is not separated from each other.  It's quite likely that Sam Mendes brought this attribute from his stage experience and introduced it to the film.  I can only say that it works marvelously.  Kevin Spacey is brilliant and Annette Bening manages to create sympathy for a character to whom I truly did not want to become attached.
A dear friend of mine is disturbed by the "perverse" sexual content in the film.  I can only say that this film is dealing with that perversity and finding that it is, perhaps, more natural and less perverse than we may think.  In the very least, it is an aspect of our lives that is right under our noses whether or not we are aware of it.  This film manages to present America, in all of its faults and failures.  And yet out of those faults, life as we know it emerges.  And life is a wonderful thing, any way you slice it.
With great directing, a truly memorable cast, and a stirring soundtrack, "American Beauty" promises to be a film that I will continue to watch many years to come.  The DVD translates the film beautifully, and the special features are definitely worth a look.
1504123
I first found out about his movie nearly two years before its release. When i read the plot to it and saw the director i knew it would be a great movie. I saw it the fist day because i could not wait any longer to see. After it was over i realized it was worth the wait. This is one of speilbergs best. Although it was very long it still kept me interested throughout the entire movie. This movie deserves to win best picture at the academy awards and it wasn't even nominated. I recomend any spielberg fan to buy this movie. Trust me its worth the money.
510451
The French movie starts off with a butterfly landing in the street, then getting run over. That same day, Amelie is born into this world. Beauty reformed--ironically, another word for ameliorate (Amelie--ameliorate?).
In this charming piece of award winning cinematography, Amelie is raised in a rather dysfunctional family by her parents. Her father, who likes to invest time in his miniature shrine, mourns over the loss of his wife, who was killed by a suicidal body from the sky near the doors of Notre Dame. During Amelie's skewed youth, she turns much to her imagination.
Life's simple pleasures come easy to Amelie--at least in her mind. Her newfound passion for helping others serves gratifying, yet her preference for publicity was unwanted. She plays the role of a female Zorro, helping strangers without adopting credit. She lashes her sword against an evil force whom maltreats a man's love for quality produce. Intrigued by what I mean? Watch the movie.
In time, her heart of gold crosses paths with another man, one whom seeks a mystery of his own. Amelie becomes a second mystery in the man's life by marking clues of her existence after retaining his research he had dropped while chasing his mystery entity in a certain scene. After returning his odd memoir, she leads him through her fantasy and falls in love. Both were dreamers. Both were seeking love. Both lived shadows in a seemingly different world. Still intrigued? Watch the movie.
If you are also a person who looks for the "art" in a movie, one can not help but notice the complexity of the cinematography to which it's most defined for amongst film critics and analysts. The use of 3 basic colors in the movie was a challenge which proved to be worth taking. Green, red, and a speck of blue was used in nearly every shot. As you will notice after watching the film, its colors and montage are bold. The use of the limited colors helped create a mystical, mesmerizing gold color in which was used in a few scenes to accentuate significant signs or emotions. The camera shots used were just as well creative and challenging, which deserves recognition as well.
This movie is not for those who are seeking action-packed drama with the high level of thrill and suspense one might expect from a highly acclaimed film. This film can be appreciated by those who enjoy the simple pleasures life has to offer. It can be appreciated by those with colorful imaginations and avid art-lovers.
Intriguing? Watch it. :)
1524161
It is very difficult to understand why Todd Field's 'In the Bedroom' was completely unrepresented in the Oscar winners list in 2001. However this is not the first glaring error that the academy have made and it won't be the last.

Andre Dubus' quality writing delivers us an enchanting an involving relationship between single mother Natalie and young college bound Frank. This relationship is one of the areas in which 'In the Bedroom' succeeds where so many other films have fallen flat on their faces. Here the love between the characters is truly believable and the viewer is drawn into an attachment and identification with them that is uncommon in modern Hollywood movies.

The second, more sombre phase of the film is beautifully rendered and heart breaking. Sissy Spacek and Tom Wilkinson deliver wondeful performances that should have had more recognition in terms of awards. Here the film portrays grief and loss with an emotive impact that is rarely seen in cinema.

If you are a viewer who is interested in a film which delivers a vivid depiction of the gamut of human emotion, then 'In the Bedroom' is unmissable.
1913193
This movie should have won an Oscar and Daniel Day-Lewis should have won one too (Both were nominated). He did a magnificent job as a petty crook in Northern Ireland, who gets in trouble, and moves to London, where he gets in much bigger trouble when he is falsely accused of blowing up a pub in Guildford, and thus becomes one of the "Guildford Four."
Although the other three have minor parts, this movie is about Gerry Conlan (Day-Lewis), and his father Giuseppe, expertly played by Pete Postlethwaite, who turns in an Oscar-type performance himself. The touching scenes between Gerry and his father, show how their relationship changes over the years.
Emma Thompson, as lawyer Gareth Pierce, is the one, however, who manages to unravel the government's reason for keeping these innocent prisoners locked up. Using a cunning devise, she manages to get the necessary details from official British documents, which allows her to prove the innocence of the prisoners. Thompson does a superb job, as she takes it on her own, without any coaxing by Gerry, to win this case.
Everyone should love the ending of this DVD, as justice is finally served, after 15 hard years in jail for the "Guildford Four."
3304239
This is an excellent example of writing, direction and performance combining to create moving stories, vivid characters and ideas to think about. Every character is memorable and true to him or herself. It is unfortunate that so many of the very best films do not come to the attention of awards panels and voters. Rickman and Weaver are always good. I think Weaver deserved an Oscar nomination for her performance. I believe you will remember almost all of the characters with affection or at least understanding. It is just an excellent story brilliantly told.
4931293
There surely will be an Academy award for this outstanding movie.  Directed by Dustin Hoffman with great thought and feeling.  Wonderful scenes and dialogue, with outstanding music.  Great portrayal of the characters by Maggie Smith, Tom Courtenay, Billy Connolly and Michael Gambon.  I am so glad I purchased the movie.  Have viewed it now 3 times and look forward to sharing it with friends when I do  a movie evening.
3810081
Edgar Ulmer was the king of B-movie directors, and this one was definitely one of his best.  The story, for those who don't know it, is about a lady named Nora (played by the brilliant and versatile Marsha Hunt) and her son Tony.  Tony's father dies when he's an infant and Nora raises Tony to be a distinguished pianist.  Tony chooses another musical path - that of more popular music, much to Nora's disdain.  Nora, meanwhile, has developed a society at Carnegie Hall for promising young musicians to study classical music.  Tony goes on the road but comes back to Carnegie Hall for a concert, and wins back his mother's approval.  Marsha Hunt is my colleague - and at the time I'm writing this, she's 90 years old and still going very strong.  She agrees that the story was quite corny but the music made it all worthwhile.  She shared a brief scene with Heifetz, and she said that Heifetz was terribly nervous about the whole thing...except for when he was playing, of course.  She also said that Heifetz played solos for her during the rehearsal time.  This was not Heifetz's acting debut, though - he had a similar part in "They Shall Have Music" 10 years earlier.  Still, for all of us "J.H." connoisseurs who know the man and his art and philosophy, seeing him acting in a film is a REAL treat.

The music is the blood of the film - the story is pretty secondary.  Very cool to see Damrosch, Reiner, and Stokowski, AND the famed New York critic Olin Downes.  One curiosity is the camera zooming in on various billboards for the Carnegie Hall concerts - there's a billboard there for Kreisler.  Too bad that Kreisler was not part of the film, but by 1947, he wasn't performing much anymore and eventually he lost interest in violin playing.

An aside - this film didn't do well.  Good though the music was, and pleasant though the story was, "Carnegie Hall" became a nightmare.  It did far less well at the box office than was expected.  But there were many other problems Heifetz, for one, received $10,000 for his appearance in the film and although he was not given first billing in the credits, he was included as one of the film's shareholders.  Meaning, that if the film did well, he'd receive royalties for the rest of his life. The cost of production was around $250,000 (peanuts, even in those days.)  The production company, Federal Films, Inc. didn't come close to breaking even and the budget was entirely of borrowed money, which the bank sued them to repay, despite the box office failure.  As a result, all of those who had a share in the film were hounded by the bank.  Ultimately, the money was not paid back in full; the bank sued and became the new owners of the film.  Despite this, it is rather fitting that, over 60 years later, the magic of Carnegie is still very much there, and the music in this film attests to the greatness of "The Hall".
1235128
I first watched this film that won eleven Academy Awards including best picture when it came out in 1959 and when I watched it again on television I immediately ordered a copy for my library. To my mind, there will never be a more memorable motion picture scene than the breakneck  arena chariot race and the headlong drive to the finish line by the  dauntless Judah Ben-Hur played by Charlton Heston. But for me the most moving scene was in the sweltering heat of the Egyptian desert where Heston and the enslaved Jews were being force-marched to the slave galleys. The viewer is treated to an incident in which Heston, who is close to physical collapse, is offered a cup of water by Christ, Whose back we are confined to witnessing, suddenly appears on the scene. What is particularly striking is the effect His presence has on the non-resisting Roman soldier who is standing beside the fallen Heston. Truly one of the most memorable and legendary and unparalleled Biblical films of all time.
2758914
I can see why this movie won the Oscar. It mixes everything, emotionally, while telling a good bit of history we should all be aware of. The casting and performances are spot on. Watch the end segment, comparing the cast to the actual people. And listen to President Carter's section...it's a bit mind boggling.
3313245
it seemed this year that brokeback mountain would sweep the oscar's claiming the best picture award and directing, well it sorta succeded. in a surpries move, the film that claimed best picture was this movie, crash. hearing this, i soon got on it and headed straight to the video store to get it and after watching it, i can see why. the film is set in a matter of 36 hours were the lives of many people suddenly converge from whites, blacks, hispanics, middle easterns, and racists. it wins on many levels from the performences, the issues, and how even today, there is still cultural divide. the ones i thougth were great was sandra bullock's character freaking out over how the locks were being set by a hispanic, when matt dillon's bigot cop saves the woman he tried to put away the previous night from a car crash, and like mentioned before, dillon's character trying to send a black couple to jail. these moments and others prove that crash does deserve the best picture award but i still feel that brokeback should have won, i thought that was a great film and thats coming from a straight person but oh well, we'll get over it (just like shakespear in love beating saving private ryan). so, see the best picture of 2005 but not really. also, if you liked crash, try to see the runner up but true winner brokeback mountain.
2714734
First class acting, Reese Witherspoon shines and makes her case for an academy award. Beautiful screenplay.
1034281
The Hours
From a Pulitzer Prize winning book comes the movie event of the year. Imagine the lives of three separate women, each a reflection of the others, intertwined yet fiercely independent, and you have the cinematic masterpiece of "The Hours".
Virginia Woolf. Laura Brown. Clarissa Vaughn. Two fictional, one is real. Three women who live a day in their lives that is a day that is their life. In her day, Woolf starts writing one of her masterpieces, "Mrs. Dalloway", which in her day, Laura Brown starts reading, which in her day, Clarissa Vaughn is living.
This unique, tri-layered story allows for complexity not often found in film: writer, reader, and character, honoring each spirit wholly and totally. This powered the plot of the book, and the movie successfully managed to honor that device. When one thing happens to a character, it may or may not show up in another character's story. Part of the pleasure and surprise of watching "The Hours" is trying to find those story elements mirrored in each other's story, and this lends itself to multiple watchings.
Whereas the story is unique, it's the beauty of the moments in "The Hours" that stun and awe any watcher. The buying of flowers. A funeral for a bird. A brief, questioning kiss. Despair in a hotel room. This isn't a film that has you at the edge of your seat, waiting for the next exciting, thrill seeking moment to grab you, but one that draws you in slowly, completely, as you wait to discover the blossoming of each of these women.
What is thrilling is the performances. Nicole Kidman, almost unrecognizable as Woolf, has created a completely nuanced character. She is real, alive, complex. Try watching her performance and remembering her fantastic turn in "Moulin Rouge", and you'll appreciate her talent. Julianne Moore's internal pain as Laura Brown is so realized, it's palpable. Meryl Streep brings to reality a crumbling Clarissa with both dignity and pain. Clearly, these three complicated roles needed equally talented actresses.
Some people may be put off by the film's subject matter, or pacing. But "The Hours" is a film that demands repeated viewings to appreciate everything it has to offer, which is, one of the best cinematic events in recent history.
846247
BEST PICTURE at the Oscars this year.....so tired of the weirdo films winning....GOOD LUCK !!
3606737
Julianne Moore did an amazing job!!  I can see why she won the Academy Award.  She really defined the role and helped me as the viewer understand and feel tremendous compassion.  Evocative piece of film art.