Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil

Amazon.com

Readers of John Berendt's bestselling novel were bound to be at least somewhat disappointed by this big-screen adaptation, but despite mixed reaction from critics and audiences, there's still plenty to admire about director Clint Eastwood's take on the material. Readers will surely miss the rich atmosphere and societal detail that Berendt brought to his "Savannah story," and the movie can only scratch the surface of Georgian history, tradition, and wealthy decadence underlying Berendt's fact-based murder mystery. Still, Eastwood maintains an assured focus on the wonderful eccentrics of Savannah, most notably a gay Savannah antiques dealer (superbly played by Kevin Spacey), who may or may not have killed his friend and alleged lover (Jude Law). John Cusack plays the Town & Country journalist who arrives in Savannah to find much more than he bargained for--including the city's legendary drag queen Lady Chablis (playing "herself")--and John Lee Hancock's smoothly adapted screenplay succeeds in bringing Berendt's characters vividly to life with plenty of flavorful dialogue. In similar fashion to Warner's acclaimed DVD of L.A. Confidential, this classy DVD includes a behind-the-scenes documentary titled The Real People in the Garden and an interactive map tour of Savannah and its most celebrated (or notorious) citizens. The original theatrical trailer is also included. --Jeff Shannon

Description

Academy award-winning director clint eastwood helms this story based on john berendt's best-selling book examining contemporary events and unique characters in picturesque savannah, georgia, following a shocking murder. alternately suspenseful, satirical

Customer Reviews:

Fun and mysterious.......2007-09-06

This movie was out for quite a while before I saw it, and I really enjoyed the crazy cast of characters. I didn't read the book, which is likely even better, but the movie wove a fun and intriguing tale.

Savannah.......2007-06-27

Love this movie, slow but deep. Love visiting Savannah right after watching! Purchased, shipped, received fast!

one of the best movies of all time.......2007-05-13

The book is just as quirky as Savannah or is the Savannah as quirky as the book...an all time favorite that should be on every one's shelf...you never know when you might new it !!

southern hospitality.......2007-03-09

The star of this movie is: John Cusack. Kevin Spacey. The Lady Chablis. Minerva, the juju woman. Savannah. Uga.

Okay, Uga can only be a supporting star; #1.,his part is small - important, but limited, and #2., he's a dog.

But everybody in this quirky, involving, dramatized true story is a star without a doubt, including a few folks you will recognize from other movie roles but not be able to put a name to. This is the sort of movie that attaches itself to followers of "Northern Exposure" and other vehicles for personal expression and individuality. The setting itself is spectacular; Savannah, Georgia, a town I could place on a map but until this didn't know much about, is suddenly at the top of my list of places to see before the end. There is undeniable Southern charm, the cliqueishness of a community dedicated to keeping outsiders in the dark, an indefinable spookiness aided by Spanish moss hanging from the trees and lush green gardens and dark corners everywhere; mystery permeates every frame of this film, augmented by a waggish I'm-Southern-and-you're-not attitude presented by almost everybody without rancor or arrogance. These are people comfortable in their own skins and they don't care if the visitor is particularly at ease or not.

John Kelso (John Cusack), a writer for Town & Country Magazine, gleans the peach assignment of covering the annual and much-desired Christmas party hosted by Savannahian Jim Williams, an entrepreneur restorer of old mansions and art works who resides in the gorgeous former home of songwriter Johnny Mercer. The house itself is a character in the movie; classy, elegant, well-appointed, it is the architectural equivalent of its human conservator, Jim Williams, who oversees every aspect of his place in Savannah society with panache. Genteel is a word that applies to all but one of the principals here, and that principal makes his raucous and vulgar debut fairly early in the Christmas party. During John Kelso's tour of this beautiful home, as he is being shown around by Jim Williams, a loud, ill-dressed young man strides threateningly into the room yelling at Jim, and we are introduced to Billy Hanson (Jude Law), who is miffed that he wasn't included in the party. It's obvious from the start that there is more to this meeting than is immediately apparent, and you can watch the wheels turning in John Kelso's mind as he attempts to work it out. After the vulgar young man stomps out, an unruffled Jim Williams explains with perfect Southern charm, "Uh, that was Billy Hanson, works part time in the shop - and can, at times, be a very colourful character."

Later on, John Kelso is awakened in his carriage-house quarters by a deal of noise and confusion, and wanders out into a surreal scandal which becomes his full induction into Savannah and all its many colours: wall-to-wall police at the Mercer home, all of Savannah milling about outside in the dark, and a dead Billy Hanson in the front room, an obviously traumatised Jim Williams giving an emotional account of Billy's demise in another room to the police detective. John Kelso is allowed to wander through the crime scene unchallenged for a few minutes until he himself realizes what he is doing and vacates.

The movie swings into overdrive now in its parade of colourful characters. John Kelso, abandoning his Christmas party coverage in favour of instead writing a book about what he sees to be a sensational story, embarks upon an examination of everyone involved. The movie is clearly stolen by the Lady Chablis, a local showgirl and friend of many of the principals, who knows a little too much about everybody and who is, moreover, played to perfection by the actual Lady Chablis (I can't imagine anyone else in this role). Others in this group of individuals includes the actual defense attorney in the subsequent trial (in the movie he plays the judge); an old juju woman who communes with the dead; a juror in the trial who wanders through Savannah with a flock of horseflies attached to his person via threads superglued to the flies; an entertaining duo who run a club (the woman singer is played extremely well by Clint Eastwood's daughter Alison); and various other small parts that make up a cohesive whole of a truly unique and charming community.

The fact that this true story was portrayed by many of the people who were actually involved is a great stroke of luck; they bring a light to the story that would fall a little flat otherwise. (The Lady Chablis is her own story, and it is impossible to look away when she is onscreen.) Kevin Spacey is unsurpassed in his portrayal (he even bears a remarkable resemblance to the real Jim Williams) and his wonderful Southern diction is worth listening to no matter what he is saying. John Cusack's wide-eyed-New-York-writer is well-played also. The only role i thought a bit stilted was Jude Law's Billy Hanson, which was jarring (perhaps on purpose) and seemed strained.

The extras section, which includes a tour of the noted locations in Savannah, is as interesting as the movie itself, and as said previously, makes me eager to visit this beautiful city.

Very good product.......2007-02-14

The DVD is of very good quality. The jacket is in very good shape, also.

There were no scratches on the DVD and no smeared scenes, either.

I am pleased with the product.

Average customer rating:

Garden of Evil
Starring: Richard Grieco , Olivia Hussey , Malcolm McDowell , and Angie Everhart
Director: James D.R. Hickox
Manufacturer: First Look Pictures
ProductGroup: DVD
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ASIN: B000A2X3TS
Release Date: 2005-08-26

Garden Of Evil [ NON-USA FORMAT, PAL, Reg.2 Import - Great Britain ]

Average customer rating:

A great western!
A well-done character piece, concentrating on the evil influence of gold...
An Underrated and Forgotten Classic Western
Garden Of Evil - A Garden of Golden Performances

Garden Of Evil [ NON-USA FORMAT, PAL, Reg.2 Import - Great Britain ]
Director: Henry Hathaway
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: B000E2Z59K

Product Description

Great Britain released, PAL/Region 2 DVD: it WILL NOT play on standard US DVD player. You need multi-region PAL/NTSC DVD player to view it in USA/Canada. Languages: English (Dolby Digital 2.0) Synopsis: Gary Cooper, Richard Widmark and Cameron Mitchell portray three somewhat disreputable 19th-century soldiers of fortune, en route to California to prospect for gold. Stopping over in a tiny Mexican village, the three men are hired by Susan Hayward to rescue her husband, who is trapped in a gold mine in hostile Indian territory. The threesome agree to the expedition, their interest piqued by the possibility of picking up some gold themselves. During the harrowing journey, the party's already frayed nerves are aggravated when the men become attracted to Hayward. The group arrives at the mine's location--the Garden of Evil, so named because the Indians regard it as the domain of evil spirits. During the escape, Hayward's husband (Hugh Marlowe) is killed by the Indians, as is Mitchell. Cooper and Widmark play cards to decide who will take Hayward to safety and who will cover them while they flee. Cooper wins--but later discovers that Widmark had cheated in order to sacrifice himself. Garden of Evil takes too long to get to its climax, but the Cinemascope photography and Bernard Herrmann's rich musical score make the wait worthwhile.

Customer Reviews:

A great western!.......2007-05-24

Do not pass up Garden of Evil. It has Susan Hayward leading Gary Cooper and Richard Widmark into the garden of evil, along with Cameron Mitchell and others. There are big shoot outs, ravines to ride over, bandits to tangle with,a lost husband full of hate, forgotten churches, a strange priest(we never see him) who gave Susan H and her husband a map to a gold mine(played with savage brillance by the underrated Hugh Marlowe,) and who tells them it will bring them death, yet, gives them the map; there are dark scenes of betrayal, and death by crucifixion. And, to top it all off, it is in Cinemascope as you have never seen Cinemascope, and a Bernard Hermann score(he did most of the music for the great Hitchcock films, e.g. Psycho), that drives this film forward at a break neck pace.

There is dialogue that is illogical, but written purposelly this way to underscore the meaninglessness of the entire thing..a lust for gold.

Henry Hathaway directs, and he throws the raw meat at you always. Don't miss this one when it comes out on Region 1 DVD. Why it is not out, and why there never was video tape is another mystery.

See this one! Note: Rita Moreno in the opening, singing fuill tilt at 10 am in the morning in a cantina with three people! Show Biz was never like this.

A well-done character piece, concentrating on the evil influence of gold..........2006-12-31

While Cooper's career spanned ninety-two feature films, in which he appeared as everything from a masked Cossack to an Italian Renaissance explorer, a foreign legionnaire, a baseball great and countless sophisticated romantic adventurers, he is best remembered as a Western star...

'Garden of Evil' tells the story of three American adventurers (Cooper, Widmark, and Mitchell) who are stranded in a Mexican fishing village after the ship that was taking them to California is put out of commission...

All three were headed for the Californian gold rush... Instead, they are now in Puerto Miguel, approached by a woman in trouble, a Spanish-speaking American woman, Leah Fuller (Susan Hayward), who offers to pay them handsomely if they escort her through hazardous Indian territory to rescue her husband who is hurt and trapped in a gold mine up there in the hills...

The mention of gold makes them agree and, together with a Mexican macho man named Vicente (Victor Manuel Mendoza), begin their long, arduous journey...

Emotions become tense when Leah discovers Vicente marking trails and, later, finds herself fighting off the crude advances of one of the three soldiers of fortune...

When the group arrives at what the Indians call the Garden of Evil, a sacred grounds atop a high mountain where the mine is located, they found Fuller (Hugh Marlowe) still alive, but embittered and with a broken leg...

The group's troubles grow when they discover they are in danger, practically harassed by savage Indians...

"Garden of Evil" was Cooper first motion picture in CinemaScope... Along the way, he proves himself a powerful leader with a commanding performance...

Susan Hayward kept her thoughts and her affections pretty much of a secret, remaining skeptical about her motives... This was her second movie with Gary Cooper since her appearance in William A. Wellman's superb, high adventure 'Beau Geste,' and her third with director Hathaway...

Richard Widmark proceeds his ways of gambling with a neat line in cynical cracks; Cameron Mitchell fails in his unwelcome sexual advances; Hugh Marlowe uses a variety of both conscious and unconscious processes to deal with his angry feelings; Victor Manuel Mendoza gets intensely angry after being hit; and Rita Moreno delights the environment with her sweet voice...

Hathaway was one of the great Hollywood veterans still in harness, a versatile director whose Westerns have been as variable in quality as his other films... Filmed on location in Mexico, his 'Garden of Evil' is a beautiful spectacle to behold... The vistas are strikingly clear and vivid... The film is a well-done character piece, concentrating on the relationships of the characters as on the evil influence of gold...

An Underrated and Forgotten Classic Western .......2006-07-12

GARDEN OF EVIL is a Western rich with characterization that seems stereotypical on the surface, but on analysis, runs much deeper. Susan Hayward (an enigmatic heroine) hires a group of stranded travelers in a Mexican waterfront town to follow her to a remote mine where her husband is trapped. The adventurous group is comprised of Gary Cooper (the upright, moralistic hero), Richard Widmark (a cynical witticism spouting gambler), Victor Manuel Mendoza (the good-natured Mexican guide) and Cameron Mitchell (the back-shooting kid gunslinger). They must traverse perilous and dangerous Indian territory to get to the mine, but their motives are unclear. Is it the trapped man, the lure of gold or the subdued sexual attraction that Hayward exudes that drives them? The narrative is a study of personalities in conflict, their motivations, loyalties, cowardice and heroism. Richard Widmark's character comes off as the most interesting. He lingers in the viewer's mind long after the film is over and the question is raised - which is the more honorable: the moralistic hero or the dubiously elegant yet noble rogue? Henry Hathaway is a director known for atmosphere, character and authentic locations. He combines mood and action. This film has all those elements. It is beautifully photographed, yet the picturesque landscapes are juxtaposed with disturbingly photographed death scenes, menacing ever-lurking Indians (always photographed from a distance) and even mysterious looking set designs. The church bell tower sprouting up from the dried lava is all that remains of the town outside the mine and is symbolically ominous in appearance. Frank Fenton's screenplay is filled with vague dialog and only adds to the total feeling of uneasiness that permeates this film. Bernard Herrmann's score accentuates the moodiness of this haunting adventure tale, itself also vague and non-specific. It is very untypical of the Hollywood Western. He achieved a recurrent sense of ominous fate throughout this entire film without the score ever entering into the psychological realm. This is by no means a minor score by Herrmann and I rank this as one of his great scores. GARDEN OF EVIL under Henry Hathaway's direction intelligently yet emotionally integrates the psychological aspects of his characters and even the threatening locale into the action elements found in the standard Western genre to create an unnerving and very thought provoking experience.

Garden Of Evil - A Garden of Golden Performances.......2006-04-06

Garden of Evil (1954) ranks along with The Searchers and Shane as one of the greatest mythic westerns ever filmed. A superb script is matched by flawless performances by Richard Widmark, Susan Hayward, and Gary Cooper, who all seem to have been born to play these roles. In the hands of lesser talent, this film would have come off as vastly overly pretentious, but the absolute sincerity and conviction of the cast and director send this film into the highest levels of mythic art.

The story is simple, but classic. On a trip around Cape Horn to the California gold fields, three Americans (an ex-lawman, a gambler and a bounty hunter) are stranded in a sleepy Mexican village. An American woman walks into the bar they're in and asks for help to save her husband, who's trapped in a gold mine deep in hostile Indian country. The three Americans and a lone Mexican go, for a variety of reasons, and few return. The territory they cover along the way is as psychological as it is physical, and as archetypal as it is visceral.

Garden of Evil also features some of the most unusual and unique imagery ever seen in a western. Filmed on location in Mexico against a background of the ocean, palm trees, volcanos, a near impossible mountain pass and a village covered in lava with only the church steeple rising above it, the visuals have no trouble matching the quality of the performances.

The music is by Bernard Herrmann, one of the greatest soundtrack composers (with Citizen Kane, The Day the Earth Stood Still, and Taxi Driver to his credit) and this is one of his best scores (and justly available on CD).

There are many classic lines in this film, but the last line, spoken by Gary Cooper against a stunning sunset sums up the movie (...and life?) very nicely, "The Garden of Evil. If the Earth were made of gold, I guess men would die for a handful of dirt."

This movie is hard to find, but worth the effort. Don't miss it. There's nothing like this one.

Average customer rating:

CLOCKWORK IRIS
stupid movie
Awful,Terrible,Bad,Formulatic,Boring,Horrible,Dreadful

Garden of Evil (1998)
Starring: Pamela Bellwood , Justin Carroll , Roger Clinton , Angie Everhart , and Kim Morgan Greene
Director: James D.R. Hickox
Manufacturer: Ventura Distribution
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: B000063K00
Release Date: 2002-02-19

Customer Reviews:

CLOCKWORK IRIS.......2004-05-24

Malcolm McDowell has had one strange career: after his electrifying appearance in CLOCKWORK ORANGE, he went on to do other lesser roles, but always manages to give good performances (look at THE BARBER). However, he can't save this rather lifeless attempt at subtle horror. McDowell plays Ben Carter, a kindly elderly gardener, or so it would seem. For some reason, the writers give McDowell this rare (aren't they always) disease that makes him age faster. Looking 60, he's really only 35. This plot device serves no logistic purpose, and makes one wonder if they didn't do it to get McDowell. At any rate, the flashbacks to when he was a teenager are hilarious---Malcolm still looks 60, but he wears a wig and prances around like one of the Munchkins. Anyway, his only friend betrays him, and wants to find the perfect purified woman. Hence, he is killing women and making them into flowers. (The effects on this are quite haunting, almost of a cartoonish value, but look rather beautiful). Anyway, Angie Everhart, the Sigourney Weaver of the police force, believes McDowell is responsible for the disappearance of her friend, Iris. (NOTE: Iris leaves her car there, but no one seems to be concerned she's in any danger?). The eternally lovely Olivia Hussey has a brief scene as McDowell's aunt, who raised him when his real mother ran off and got killed in an auto accident. Richard Grieco comes on like a combination of Ernest Borgnine and Al Pacino in his role as Everhart's boss and former lover. Everhart has a ridiculous scene in a motel room while spying on McDowell, and the movie climaxes expectedly with a confrontation between the gardener and the girl!
Clever if derivative idea, ruined by stunted direction and quite bad acting, especially on Everhart and Grieco's part.
The finale in which all the girls appear in the flowers is reminiscent of LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS without the laughs.

If you are interested, rent, don't buy.

stupid movie.......2004-01-22

A really bad movie with an uninteresting storyline. Richard Grieco is in it like only 10 minutes - but it's not like he could have really saved a movie. Anyway, this movie isn't worth one's time.

Awful,Terrible,Bad,Formulatic,Boring,Horrible,Dreadful.......2002-10-08

WOW!!!Now this is bad bad bad bad bad bad bad bad bad bad bad bad bad bad bad bad bad bad bad stuff! Angie Everheart is completely terrible at acting in every sense of the term, and her character'skull is thicker than the width of her fake ones! And that is saying alot! I mean watching this you feel that there should be a new term other than dumb blonde, like maybe bumb redhead! And the villian is played by Clockwork Orange( that was a great one by the way )fame Malcolm McDowel. The Garden of Evil is proof that Malcolm's career is officially downhill. His performance is a far cry from terrible, but he can under no circumstances save this terrible film. Heck, Tom Sizemore or Al Pacino couldn't save it either! The story is about a serial killer that kidnapps women and turns them into flowers in his garden. Hooked yet? There should be an Academy Awards for worst straight-to-video movies, this would qualify. And that is saying alot, because just about every straight to video movie is rottingly horibbly bad. A life preserving warning: Do not be fooled by the cool box art and or the misleading description on the back! Amazon.com truly does not have a low enough rating for this .... Zero stars is not even enough, one must refer to negative stars!
-5 stars is my real rating!

Jayce and the Wheeled Warriors - Escape from the Garden of Evil

Average customer rating:

Jayce and the Wheeled Warriors
The Bab 5 connection
Genius
The only problem is studios don't make cartoons like this anymore!
I loved it, my brother hated it.(Why?!)

Jayce and the Wheeled Warriors - Escape from the Garden of Evil

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ASIN: B0001GH70Y
Release Date: 2004-02-03

Description

In an effort to stop planetary hunger, Jayce's father, Audric, accidentally creates evil plants that want to consume the minerals and water on every planet they cross. The Universe's only hope is Jayce and his ragtag crew, who must travel the universe in search of his father and a way to defeat Saw Boss and his evil plant followers, the Monster Minds. Features the episodes "Escape from the Garden", "The Vase of Xiang", and "Steel Against Shadow". Includes the bonus episode, "Flora, Fauna, and the Monster Minds."

Customer Reviews:

Jayce and the Wheeled Warriors .......2007-08-02

This brought back good memories, they should have put the first four
eps in order.

The Bab 5 connection.......2006-03-25

I first discovered Jayce and the WW when I was a fresman in college and found it, to my surprise, very engaging and fairly mature for a "cartoon".

Most are not aware, including me at the time, that it was penned by Mr. J Michael Strazynski himself and he imported a few of his ideas from this series into Babylon 5.

http://www.wheelies.net/wwb5/secretsymbol.html

I think all B5 fans should begin to lobby "The Animation Station" to release the whole series on DVD in order. If nothing more than to be able to experience JMS's work early on in his career.

Genius.......2005-09-25

This series of cartoons is absolutely genius and certainly one of the best cartoon series I remember from the 80's. It centures around Jayce and a few pals fighting a maniacal group of plants that turn into vehicles toting chainsaws known as the monsterminds in their set of cars with special abilites a bit like the ones in M.A.S.K. "Thundering across the stars Jayce searches for his father to unite the magic root and lead his wheeled warriors to victory over the changing forms of SawBoss. Wheeled Warriors explode into action, lightning strikes.... "Very Cool"

The only problem is studios don't make cartoons like this anymore!.......2005-09-12

I loved this cartoon when I was little specifically because it did not talk down to it's audiences. It assumed that we would be interested in and then capable of following along a complex storyline.

Yes (like many cartoons in the 1970's and 1980's) there was lots of tie-in-merchandise for us to bug our parents about. But this series was always so much more than a transparent toy commercial. It is a powerful tale about humanity, biology, science, ethics, technology, and justice.

Audric is a scientist, but one of his experiments goes bad and creates the Monster Minds. Led by the psychotic Saw Boss, these machine-plant hybrids are bent on world domination. Taking over Audric's lab, the Monster Minds subsequently make it their lair.

Meanwhile Audric must reunite with his son, Jayce if the Monster Minds are to be defeated.

Audric created a magic root to defeat the Monster Minds, but it was split into two halves and his son has the other. If the world will be saved, that root has to be reunited.

Jayce is only 19 years old this season (and still acts brash) but he demonstrates considerable maturity in the face of everything he has to deal with on a regular basis.

Jayce is aided by Gillian (the technowhiz who designed the vehicles and the pragmatic pacifist).

Flora is Gillian and Audric's experiment which turned out right. She was literally born of a plant and thus can communicate with plants and animals. This also means that she can sense when the Monster Minds are near--and it is time for battle. Jayce and the other people think of her as a little sister, but she really has a pivotal role in this series. Because I was around her age when the series originally aired, she was my favorite character.

Other than the bad people (who we're supposed to not like) I don't hate anybody on this series. There is some violence, but it is generally mild compared to some of the other 80's 'battle cartoons' and certainly mild against some of today's offerings. Made at the height of broadcast cartoon popularity, this series is one of the few which really can draw in viewers of all ages.

It's neat seeing the first episode of this series and remembering how the Lighting League came into being, but I think season DVD sets should be released.

I loved it, my brother hated it.(Why?!).......2005-09-04

I remember this, though I wasn't a "child" I was a HS freshman or something, but I still loved it.(It is better than Cowboy B. S. which is clownish) The dialogue is kiddish, but it is to be ignored for the excellent stories and those odd-sounding cars which I told my Dad were "rotary engines". My bro thought it was a Star Wars rip-off Jayce(or "Jace" as I misspelled in my own commic books I wrote about him for fun) winned like Skywalker about his father and sounded like a ninie. The Herc Character(yes Han Soloesque so sue me!) was my favorite and had more personality than the others in this series. The guys were witty and the girls were pretty, what more could you want? Better than the PC bull-- out now. I am not a fan of Aname but liked this and the Thunder Cats as well as the Hobbit(yes it was anime too.)

Beethoven - Fidelio / Dohnanyi, Benackova, Protschka, Royal Opera House Covent Garden

Average customer rating:

Benackova shines
A Fidelio that succeeds out of the sum of its parts.
Solid Performance
Okay
Well sung & staged; marred by poor supporting documentation

Beethoven - Fidelio / Dohnanyi, Benackova, Protschka, Royal Opera House Covent Garden
Starring: Gabriela Benacková , Josef Protschka , Neill Archer , Marie McLaughlin (II) , and Robert Lloyd
Director: Derek Bailey
Manufacturer: Image Entertainment
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

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( B ) | Titles | Features | DVD | Video
ASIN: B000056N96
Release Date: 2001-02-20

Amazon.com

Beethoven's lone opera had a troubled gestation, as its no fewer than four overtures suggest. The finished product, while obviously a work of genius, exposes its patchwork qualities even in the best of productions. Luckily, the 1991 staging by the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, is so lucid and intelligent that the opera--a forceful plea for freedom, even in the most severely dictatorial regimes--comes across as both a forceful drama and a thought-provoking message.

Stage director Adolf Dresen, together with set designer Margit Bardy and lighting designer Erich Falk, presents the characters (which on paper have a tendency to remain types) as fully human, their interactions made understandable and plausible not only by Beethoven's humanizing music but also the realistic period settings. Video director Derek Bailey has succeeded admirably at getting this across for the home viewer as well. Musically, this Fidelio is a whirlwind, with conductor Christoph von Dohnányi leading the Orchestra of the Royal Opera House and the Royal Opera Chorus in an energetic but never-too-fast performance (by the way, they perform the fourth overture); and the singers are topnotch vocally and dramatically. Soprano Gabriela Benacková makes an arresting, emotionally complex Leonore, and Josef Protschka as her imprisoned husband, Florestan, brings down the house with his impassioned aria at the beginning of Act II. --Kevin Filipski

Description

Composed during the Napoleonic era, Ludwig Van Beethoven's only opera is an inspired testament to humanity's constant quest for freedom. This critically praised Covent Garden production by Adolf Dresen is powerfully cast and moves at a compelling pace to convey the emotionally charged theme of love and liberty over the forces of evil and oppression. Directed by Christoph von Dohnanyi. 124 minutes.

Jaquino: Neill Archer
Marzelline: Marie McLaughlin
Rocco: Robert Lloyd
Leonore: Gabriela Benackova
Don Pizzaro: Monte Pederson
Florestan: Josef Protschka

Customer Reviews:

Benackova shines.......2007-03-11

This performance
became the source for which I learned the opera inside and
out. FIDELIO is a great opera. Full of Beethoven's heart
and soul, about tenacity, loyalty, love, courage and
steadfast devotion. I do not see the "faults" that have
been leveled against it. By the time of that final chorus,
I'm swept away in its soaring emotionalism.

I saw the Mattila MET telecast. A fine performance by the
soprano, involved and committed, but I do not feel it is
right for her voice. She certainly has the highs, but not
the lows, and the color of the timbre does not seem to be
right for the richness of Leonore's vocal persona.

What makes the 1991 Covent Garden performance so special
for me: Gabriela Benackova's Leonore. It was held in many
of the reviews of the initial LaserDisc & VHS release by
many critics that she lacked the intensity of Soderstrom
and some of the past exponents of the role, but I disagreed
heartily after the very multiple viewings I took in.

No, Benackova struck me as being deeply sincere, touching,
and dignified. No overdone histrionics here: as a result,
her traversal of the music is about the best sung, most
accurately handled to my ears. I heard most of the major
recordings - Ludwig (committed, but stretched at the top),
Nilsson (not enough warmth) Rysanek (uneven throughout the
range) Jones (squally) Janowitz (glacial) ~~~ the recent
ones I haven't heard.

Benackova's rich, warm tone is ideally suited to the score,
and she uses her voice with unfailing, consummate skill.
The big aria is a success, the awkward tessitura presenting
no problems; the security is of a rarely-matched standard,
the steadiness of the tone faultless. The top Bs ring out
commandingly. Moreover, you really believe in the passion
of Leonore's unwavering faith.

Where Benackova really shows her mettle, though, is in the
scene where she reveals her true identity to Pizarro, after
he brandishes his knife to Florestan. Her full-throttle cry
of "Zurück" is simply hair-raising: and when she launches
into the "Ich bin sein Weib, Geschworen hab ich ihm Trost,
Verderben dir," Benackova stuns with the overwhelming
power, thrust and intensity of her singing. The voice
sounds huge, full-bodied and in absolute focus - it alone
could seemingly blow Pizarro away; the resolute fury is
thrilling (I hate that overused word but its so apt here).

"O namenlose Freude" is one of those killer passages, after
a long night of singing, that seems to defeat many
sopranos; not Benackova - it is right on the money, poised
and deftly handled.

But what makes this such a winning portrayal is how honest
and straightforward Benackova's performance is. You see
registering in her face the spontaneous, inner responses to
the text and situation. The restraint is commendable, yet
it remains a warm, rather sweet assumption. Her success in
imparting these aspect is all the more impressive for the
amount of scrutinizing close-ups; no wild, bulging-eyed
reactions, and the security of her technique prevents the
typical facial contortions one often sees.

Josef Protschka's Florestan is another heartfelt portrayal.
Though a bit sqwawky at times, you really feel for his
character's pain. He and Benackova are totally believable
in their conjugal devotion, and their reunion and aftermath
is supremely moving.

Marie McLaughlin is a sweet Marzelline: she sets the tone
for a marvelously sung "Mir ist so wunderbar."

The late Monte Pederson is a properly nasty Pizarro: the
voice is a bit undersized for the role, but he is a good
actor.

Margit Bardy's sets are minimalist, grim and fittingly
depressing: the catacomb hellhole prison for Florestan is
terrifically claustrophobic and dank. Not sure about those
weird costumes, but they weren't distractingly offensive.

The prisoner's chorus is as usual moving and effective:
they are made to be dirty, tired and beat looking.

Christoph von Dohnanyi leads the Covent Garden forces with
skill and verve, really bringing the drama of the score.

I saw in the recent Opera Now that this release has been
"re-packaged" - I hope that means they'll do a better
engineering job than the one Image Entertainment did. The
LaserDisc incarnation I once had was outstanding - full,
rich, dynamic sound; on the Image DVD, the acoustic sounds
to me compressed and recessed. It took some fiddling with
the equalizer to enhance it.

A Fidelio that succeeds out of the sum of its parts........2005-05-10

Although we may be still in need of THE dvd Fidelio, this solid, reliable and competent ROH performance fills the void very well. Dohnanyi conducts the work in his usual objective, no-nonsense approach, yet projecting beautifully the melodic lines' essential nobility of spirit; he no doubt has the schooling and the feeling for that and finds in the ROH Orchestra a suitable and compliant vehicle for his wishes; they play outstandingly, mind you. He seems more preoccupied with reinforcing the work's architecture than in probing into the depths of beetovenian philosophy, however, and is well served by both the Covent Garden forces and Dresser's staging conception. Consequently, character projection advances beyond the sketchy and archetypical we usually and consensually blame on librettists Sonnleithner & Treitschke, and become more complex, a complexity to which contribute the intelligent singing of especially Benackova, Lloyd and Protschka (but why, according to Dresser, Pizarro surrenders the keys to the penal colony and simply walks away instead of being made prisoner himself is beyond me). As is rather customary today, there's no Leonore III inserted before the final scene.

Visual direction is superior, but there's no supplementary material; information on the covers is deficient.

Solid Performance.......2003-04-17

This is a solid performance that provides a decent idea of what this opera is like. The singing is uniformly good and Beethoven's stirring score provides it share of goosebumps. Some of the singers are pretty effective actors, particularly Rocco. But I find Pizarro a little wooden and un-scary (with an expression suggesting the eating of too many pickles); and Leonore/Fidelio not at ease with her character. Another poster commented on Florestan's plump physique, and I agree; the dungeon seems actually to have agreed with him. As for Leonore, I realize that no woman singing a role in drag could fool anyone in the real world. This Leonore, though, barely tries, given her ample bosom (which is apparent behind her coat) and netted long hair in back. This is asking for a bit too much suspension of disbelief. I would prefer a less buxom singer who looks more appropriate in drag. As for the sets and costumes, they're conservative and rather literal, and don't add much to the proceedings. And while the story may take place in sunny Spain, I would have liked a darker, more forbidding feel.

Okay.......2001-12-25

Good, not great. For one thing, the dialogue is kinky. How could any producer of "Fidelio" omit that wonderful exchange: when Florestan tells his wife how much she's done for him, and she replies, "Nichts, nichts, mein Florestan." A real weeper, for sure. And this guy cuts it. AAAH!

Singing is good. Staging is rather less impressive than the old Glyndebourne production on video. When will someone release Bernstein's production?

Well sung & staged; marred by poor supporting documentation.......2001-08-06

All the elements are there for an enjoyable experience. Whilst not in the front line of operas, such as Aida, Rigoletto, Carmen and La Traviata, Beethoven's Fidelio is composed of music that is deeply satisfying. The story line, when you eventually figure this out (see below), is appealing, even in modern times. The singers are quite competent and photogenic, and sing with feeling and good stage presence. It is somewhat odd that a burly and healthy looking Joseph Protschka sings the part of Florestan, when he is supposed to have been some time in the dungeon, and on "half rations", but, hey, this is opera!

The audio is very good; both PCM Stereo and Dolby 5.1 options are available; thanks mainly to the conductor (Christoph Von Dohnanyi). The video is clear and crisp.

Generally, stage presentations of the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden are second only to the Metropolitan's; the less lavish budgets of the former, may account for this. The set lighting for this Fidelio is bright, and the backdrops appealing.

Then why not five stars?

Poor packaging!

It has become standard for DVD operatic presentations to come with no libretto, so I cannot complain about this. But all the packaging gives are the names of the singers. Some of these singer's voices and faces will not be at all familiar to most of us, so it is very confusing at first, to try and identify the singers and the parts they are portraying. Especially so, when, early on, one of the male looking singers, Fidelio (aka Leonore), is clearly a woman (she is - see below), and another woman (Marzelline) is in love with him (her) to the delight of the latter's (Marzelline's) father (Rocco). Confusing isn't it!

I eventually had to skip to the ending credits and write down the relevant information to resolve this unforgivable oversight. Worse! Apart from a general (and brief) blurb about the importance of the opera when originally written, there is not a hint of any synopsis of the story line. I eventually figured this one out as well.

So this presentation had to lose one star.

It is still well worth having, but to save you from unnecessary grief, I give below details on the main characters, and at the same time indicate the parts they play. This is really all the information you require to fully appreciate this otherwise excellent presentation. I'm sure you will easily figure out the rest.

They are listed in order of appearance:

Jaquino (Neill Archer) - a prison turnkey, in love with Marzelline

Marzelline (Marie McLauglin) - In love with Fidelio, who is actually Leonore in disguise.

Rocco (Robert LLoyd) - father of Marzelline, and the chief prison guard

Fidelio, actually Leonore (Gabriela Benachova) - disguised as a male prison guard to try and rescue her husband, Florestan, who, she believes, is imprisoned in the dungeon.

Don Pizarro (Monte Pederson) - the prison Governor, and the "heavy" of the story; wants to "eliminate" Florestan.

First Prisoner (Lynton Atkinson)

Second Prisoner (Mark Beesley)

Florestan (Joseph Protschka) - a "freedom fighter" and a prisoner in the dungeon.

Don Fernando (Hans Tchammer) - a "fair minded" Government Minister

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Fun and mysterious.......2007-09-06

Savannah.......2007-06-27

Love this movie, slow but deep. Love visiting Savannah right after watching! Purchased, shipped, received fast!

one of the best movies of all time.......2007-05-13

The book is just as quirky as Savannah or is the Savannah as quirky as the book...an all time favorite that should be on every one's shelf...you never know when you might new it !!

southern hospitality.......2007-03-09

Very good product.......2007-02-14

The DVD is of very good quality. The jacket is in very good shape, also.

There were no scratches on the DVD and no smeared scenes, either.

I am pleased with the product.

Garden Of Evil [DVD] Gary Cooper, Susan Hayward (Region 4, PAL)

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An Underrated and Forgotten Classic Western

Garden Of Evil [DVD] Gary Cooper, Susan Hayward (Region 4, PAL)

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ASIN: B000HQT2UG

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An Underrated and Forgotten Classic Western.......2006-10-25

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Garden of Evil
Starring: Malcolm McDowell
Manufacturer: Dej Productions
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ASIN: B0002HOE9Y
Release Date: 2004-06-21

Charlie Rose with Harrison Ford; Byron Wien, Thomas Galvin & Albert Fishlow; John Berendt (June 16, 1998)

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Charlie Rose with Harrison Ford; Byron Wien, Thomas Galvin & Albert Fishlow; John Berendt (June 16, 1998)

Manufacturer: Charlie Rose
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Description

First, Harrison Ford looks back on his long career and discusses his latest movie, Six Days Seven Nights, in which he is stranded on a desert island with Anne Heche. Then, Byron Wien of Morgan Stanley, Thomas Galvin, investment officer for Donaldson, Lufkin & Jeanrette, and Albert Fishlow of the Council on Foreign Relations discuss the implications of the dip in the Asian markets for American investors and the stock market. Finally, John Berendt, author of Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil, discusses the book, which was published four years prior, its popularity, regionalist writing, and the American South.

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