Frequently Bought Together
What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?
Product details
|
Reviews
Amazon.co.uk Review
Meryl Streep has a ball as the deliciously vicious Madeline Ashton, a flamboyantly mannered actress who makes Bette Davis's formidable Margo Channing in All About Eve look like a wallflower. Goldie Hawn is also in razor-sharp comedic form as Madeline's long-time "best friend," Helen. Sensing a bargain she just can't resist, Madeline steals Helen's meek, plastic-surgeon husband Ernest (Bruce Willis) for her own convenience, and the two women become sworn enemies. But the real complications arise when the two are introduced to a secret anti-aging formula by a mysterious and exotic woman (Isabella Rossellini, delightfully ridiculous) that not only smoothes away wrinkles but actually guarantees immortality. As their undying bodies are twisted and mutilated by violent attacks on each other, both women grow increasingly dependent on Ernest for cosmetic repair. The pioneering digital effects inflicted on Streep and Hawn are as grotesque as they are imaginative and hilarious. Like James Cameron (The Abyss, Titanic), Zemeckis loves a technical challenge, and the new visual tools developed for this movie made his later work (in Forrest Gump and Contact) possible. The digital video disc includes a short feature on the movie's production. --Jim Emerson, Amazon.com
Special Features
DVD 9
Czech\French\German\Italian\Polish\Spanish
English
Region 2
Dolby Digital Surround English French German Italian Spanish
Stereo Czech Polish
Dolby Digital Surround
Stereo
Behind The Scenes Featurette
Original Theatrical Trailer
Production Notes
Filmographies
Danish\Dutch\English\Finnish\French\German\Norwegian\Portuguese\Swedish
Tags Customers Associate with This Product(What's this?)Click on a tag to find related items, discussions, and people.
|
Customer Reviews
With excellent performances, an invective-laced script, and remarkable special effects, DEATH BECOMES HER takes on several great philosophical and literary concepts--and subverts them into one of the most wickedly funny black comedies in recent memory, dishy, bitchy, mean spirited, and a tremendous amount of fun. Film buffs will particularly relish this film, which references everything from THE ROCKY HORROR PICTURE SHOW to THE WIZARD OF OZ and a host of classic horror films such as FRANKENSTEIN, THE MUMMY, and CAT PEOPLE--and also tacks in everything from Tennessee Williams plays to rock legend Jim Morrison for good measure.
Unfortunately, the DVD release is commonplace, offering the film in pan-and-scan only. To give the release its due, the shift from widescreen to pan-and-scan is expertly done and not in the least distracting--but still, a widescreen option for such a special effects heavy film would be preferred. And while this would seem to be an ideal film for a making-of documentary, the DVD offers only a handful of production notes as bonus. Even so, the film is so extremely well done that I wouldn't miss it on that account! Recommended.
GFT, Amazon Reviewer
Black comedies are some weird and wonderful creations. The Coen brothers are creative masters at such a genre, whether depicting the nature of the government in Burn after Reading or revealing the solidity of harsh actions in Intolerable Cruelty the pair have become a landmark and favourites.
To take the concept of death and vanity and putting a comedy twist on it sounds almost as controversial as Dogma and as zany for Zemeckis as you like, given his previous hit was the final part in the Back to the Future trilogy. But despite the initially oddity of this picture, it is perfect comedy gold with a strange darkness and bizarreness to rival Tim Burton.
The film begins with a song and dance routine with Meryl Streep in as good as singing voice as in her later role Mamma Mia! After a couple of confusing scenes we see Helen has gone into depression after her husband got hitched with Madeline and it seems we have a soapy style love triangle but after Madeline gets her hand on a love potion and we see Helen return to the mix, everything becomes much more light hearted and very funny, with sharp physical comedy and maintaining that level of bizarre activity throughout.
Goldie Hawn is the stand out with a wacky crazed character that is simply likeable despite her vindictiveness. Streep is, as ever, on fine form and pleasantly Willis has dived away from his stereotyped action hero into a soft hearted struggler who wants his life back. The pairing of the three works wonders and is hard to imagine any other in such roles as the playful comic acting is in perfect harmony with the wacky script.
The film revolves around the concept of vanity with the female protagonists looking to get their lives back with simply changing their appearances. Echoes of Sunset Boulevard's excellent Gloria Swanson will be heard and there is almost a perfect intertextuality in the way Streep handles her character's selfishness.
Winner of Best visual effects at the Oscars this 1992 comedy fantasy brings the comedy as well as the fantasy with some bizarre visuals including weapons through the stomach and a neck twisting scene that will make your neck turn the other way.
Death Becomes Her is a must watch, simply because it is so out of sync with reality and maintains a strong level of comedy and fantasy that will make your head spin.
8.5/10
Customer Discussions
|
This product's forum
Active discussions in related forums
Search Customer Discussions
|
Related forums
|
Listmania!
|
|
Look for similar items by category
Look for similar items by subject
Feedback
- Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
|
