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From Amazon.co.uk
If Robert Zemeckis's mega-hit Forrest Gump was too sweet for your taste, you may enjoy the undiluted bitterness of his previous movie, a cynical black comedy that was ahead of its time. Death Becomes Her, an outlandish parable about America's obsession with youth and vanity, exposes the corrosive side of Zemeckis's comic sensibility, the sort of scathing satirical edge he gleefully flourished in his overlooked 1980 Used Cars, which has developed a cult following.
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
Product Description
audio in italianosituata in un arco di tempo che, in due tappe di 7 anni, va dal 1978 al 1992, proiettandosi infine nel 2029, e' la storia di due amiche-rivali di beverly hills. una scrittrice (g. hawn) e un'attrice (m. streep), ossessionate dalla paura di invecchiare, comprano da una fattucchiera (i. rossellini) un elisir di lunga vita che le rende praticamente immortali. macabra commedia satirica scritta da martin donovan e david koepp cosi' compiaciuta del proprio kitsch funereo che si dimentica di essere divertente. nonostante il brio delle interpreti, i personaggi rimangono bidimensionali come figure di un cartoon. per tenere in piedi la baracca mirabolanti effetti speciali dell'industrial light & magic di lucas, sfarzo di scenografie e una temporalesca colonna sonora.
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD|Amazon Verified Purchase
i love this movie and never get tired of watching it. goldie, meryl, bruce and isabella are just gorgeous to watch. i just ordered this on dvd and what a disappointment. the picture quality is awful. pixelated and blurry, even on an upscaling dvd player. can't wait for this to come out on Blu Ray!
10 of 12 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD
The passage of time weighs upon us all: the loss of youth's energy, agility, beauty. But let us say there is a potion, an elixir, "a touch of magic in a world obsessed with science." Drink it and you will be forever young. Do not drink it and watch yourself rot away with old age. Just such a potion falls into the hands of two women who are not only fierce rivals, determined to best each other no matter the cost, but consumed with vanity as well. Siempre Viva: Live Forever! Whether you like it or not!
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
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
By Stampy
Format:DVD|Amazon Verified Purchase
Falling actress Madeline Ashton (Streep) learns of a secret potion that will regenerate her beauty whilst her long term enemy Helen (Hawn) looks set to steal her husband
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.... Read more ›
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.... Read more ›
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD
Buy it...........watch it...........laugh 'till it hurts.....and then watch it again.
For some reason this fantastic film seemed to pass by unnoticed and I cannot understand why. Meryl Streep is the heart of the film and is on fine form, her comedic talent is second to none and in my opinion not showcased enough. Goldie Hawn is also terrific, and it is great to see Bruce Willis playing the shy, pathetic man for a change. No sign of John Mclane here!
If you are a fan of Ms. Streep then you have to own this film as in my opinion it is one of her best ever performances. Even if you are not a fan of the mighty Streep, buy it anyway and fall in love with her.
For some reason this fantastic film seemed to pass by unnoticed and I cannot understand why. Meryl Streep is the heart of the film and is on fine form, her comedic talent is second to none and in my opinion not showcased enough. Goldie Hawn is also terrific, and it is great to see Bruce Willis playing the shy, pathetic man for a change. No sign of John Mclane here!
If you are a fan of Ms. Streep then you have to own this film as in my opinion it is one of her best ever performances. Even if you are not a fan of the mighty Streep, buy it anyway and fall in love with her.
5 of 6 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD|Amazon Verified Purchase
This is one of my favourite films. The cast are obviously enjoying being in it as well which makes it nice to watch. There's some wonderful barbed dialogue and the performances are (while maybe a little broad at times) excellent. The reason this gets 4 stars and not 5 is the DVD itself.
Firstly it's not even anamorphic! It's only a bare bones release. There are a lot of deleted scenes from the film (including an entire subplot featuring Tracey Ullmann) that were cut out! In fact if you look up the trailer (youtube etc) for the film some of these scenes can be seen. Making it extremely frustrating that they are not included here.
In this world of "Special Editions" and constantly repackaged DVD's can't somebody at the marketing department suggest a re-release of "Death Becomes Her"?
Firstly it's not even anamorphic! It's only a bare bones release. There are a lot of deleted scenes from the film (including an entire subplot featuring Tracey Ullmann) that were cut out! In fact if you look up the trailer (youtube etc) for the film some of these scenes can be seen. Making it extremely frustrating that they are not included here.
In this world of "Special Editions" and constantly repackaged DVD's can't somebody at the marketing department suggest a re-release of "Death Becomes Her"?
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
Very good comedy!
Great acting, good story, a lot of laughter! It was a sensation when it came out and it is still a very good movie!
Published 2 months ago by Veronika
5.0 out of 5 stars
Hilarious comedy
I have always loved this film and had not seen it for years so decided to buy this DVD and I was not disappointed as it really is a hilarious film.
Published 3 months ago by Millie
5.0 out of 5 stars
Hilarious, makes me laugh everytime
Seriously, watch this film.
It is so funny, original comedy with scenes that every woman can relate too.
But also a thriller with magic and soft violence. Read more
It is so funny, original comedy with scenes that every woman can relate too.
But also a thriller with magic and soft violence. Read more
Published 4 months ago by jhorgan
4.0 out of 5 stars
Buyer Beware
On of my favorite movies. The description says it's anamorphic,the box it comes in says it's anamorphic,but it's not. It's 4:3 LTX.
Published 4 months ago by Robert Mcgoldrick
4.0 out of 5 stars
an oldie but goodie
Quite an old film now but still worth a look, plays on peoples vanity just like todays media and so called celebs.
Published 5 months ago by Jimbo
5.0 out of 5 stars
I love this film
I really love this film, full of great actors, funny and entertaining ecapism. I would recommend it to a friend,
Published 5 months ago by tilliemint
5.0 out of 5 stars
Amazing, it is a classic! A MUST WATCH movie.
What an amazing movie. Was looking for it for a while now and finally found it. Good standard delivery and the quality is agreeable for the price and the 'age' of the movie. Read more
Published 14 months ago by LovingBooks
5.0 out of 5 stars
Its a classic!
I am very pleased with this. I just wanted it on dvd. Its a whitty camp classic and the leading ladies look fabulous while exchanging barbs and smacking eachother with shovels and... Read more
Published 15 months ago by C. MCCARTHY
1.0 out of 5 stars
...NOW a warning??!!
A fiendishly funny black comedy utilising ground breaking special effects and a top-notch cast. Sadly, this DVD doesn't do the movie justice at all. Read more
Published 17 months ago by Phillip McGrath
3.0 out of 5 stars
funny black comedy
A terrific black comedy that skewers the vanity and lengths people go to staying young. Merle Streep and Goldie Hawn play friends/rivals through life and Ms. Read more
Published 19 months ago by Lord Anon
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