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The Hours [DVD] [2003]
 
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The Hours [DVD] [2003]

DVD ~ Meryl Streep
4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (48 customer reviews)
RRP: £17.99
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Customers buy this item with The Reader [DVD] [2008] DVD ~ Kate Winslet

The Hours [DVD] [2003] + The Reader [DVD] [2008]
Price For Both: £9.96

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  • This item: The Hours [DVD] [2003] DVD ~ Meryl Streep

    In stock.
    Dispatched from and sold by Amazon.co.uk.
    This item Delivered FREE in the UK with Super Saver Delivery. See details and conditions

  • The Reader [DVD] [2008] DVD ~ Kate Winslet

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    Dispatched from and sold by Amazon.co.uk.
    This item Delivered FREE in the UK with Super Saver Delivery. See details and conditions

What Do Customers Ultimately Buy After Viewing This Item?

The Hours [DVD] [2003]
91% buy the item featured on this page:
The Hours [DVD] [2003] 4.3 out of 5 stars (48)
£4.98
The Reader [DVD] [2008]
3% buy
The Reader [DVD] [2008] 4.1 out of 5 stars (67)
£4.98
Frida [DVD] [2003]
2% buy
Frida [DVD] [2003] 4.9 out of 5 stars (20)
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Iris [DVD] [2002]
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Product details

  • Actors: Meryl Streep, Nicole Kidman, Julianne Moore, Stephen Dillane, Miranda Richardson
  • Directors: Stephen Daldry
  • Writers: David Hare, Michael Cunningham
  • Producers: Ian MacNeil, Marieke Spencer, Mark Huffam, Michael Alden, Robert Fox
  • Format: PAL
  • Language English
  • Subtitles: English, Italian
  • Region: Region 2 (This DVD may not be viewable outside Europe. Read more about DVD formats.)
  • Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1
  • Number of discs: 1
  • Classification: 12
  • Studio: Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainm
  • DVD Release Date: 17 Nov 2003
  • Run Time: 114 minutes
  • Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (48 customer reviews)
  • ASIN: B000087JHY
  • Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 3,941 in DVD (See Bestsellers in DVD)

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Reviews

From the studio

· The Music of The Hours

· Three Woman

· Filmmakers Introduction

· The Mind and Times of Virginia Woolf

· The Lives of Mrs. Dalloway

· Theatrical Trailer

· Storyboards

· Audio Commentary with the Director and Screenwriter

· Audio Commentary with the Cast



Synopsis

Based on the Pulitzer-prize winning novel by Michael Cunningham, THE HOURS employs Virginia Woolf's classic novel and central character, MRS. DALLOWAY, as its foundation and inspiration. Spanning three different eras, during one day, the film focuses on the parallel lives of three women joined in their depression, alienation, and search for love. Nicole Kidman, wearing a prosthetic nose, is virtually unrecognizable as the tortured writer Virginia Woolf whose ongoing battle with mental illness eventually led to her tragic suicide in 1941. The film begins with the moment of her suicide and flashes back on her life and work as she crafted her most memorable character, Clarissa Dalloway, in 1923. In 1950's California suburbia another woman, Laura Brown (Julianne Moore), struggles with alienation and depression. Trapped by her clinging young son and an adoring husband whom she does not love, the desperate woman tries to prepare for her husband's birthday but cannot stop reading MRS. DALLOWAY. Finally, in modern day Manhattan, Clarissa Vaughn (Meryl Streep), a lesbian who lives with her lover (Allison Janney) and her daughter (Claire Danes), struggles to prepare a party for her ex-husband (Ed Harris) who is dying of AIDS. Director Stephen Daltry uses beautiful overlapping editing to sew the women's interwoven stories seamlessly together. At the core of this profoundly moving film is the trio of award-winning actresses who grace the screen with their bold and awe-inspiring performances.
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Customer Reviews

48 Reviews
5 star:
 (34)
4 star:
 (4)
3 star:
 (3)
2 star:
 (3)
1 star:
 (4)
 
 
 
 
 
Average Customer Review
4.3 out of 5 stars (48 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

 
22 of 24 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars So many unhappy people, 13 Feb 2006
By Joseph Haschka (Glendale, CA USA) - See all my reviews
(TOP 50 REVIEWER)   
During the first couple minutes of THE HOURS, it's 1941 and author Virginia Woolf (Nicole Kidman) commits suicide by walking into a river. That pretty much sets the tone of the film as a whole.

The body of the film skips back and forth among three timelines.

In 1923, Woolf is forced by physicians and her husband (Stephen Dillane) to live away from the center of London in a dreary suburb after two suicide attempts. The author resents her isolation, and tells her spouse that peace is not found by being shielded from the world at large. Virginia expresses her frustration by writing a book, "Mrs. Dalloway", in which the protagonist, while preparing for a dinner party, is confronted by events that raise into consciousness the shallowness and inadequacies of her life.

In 1951, Laura Brown (Julianne Moore), living in a Los Angeles middle-class housing tract with loving husband Dan (John C. Reilly) and young son, is reading "Mrs. Dalloway". Contemplating her lack of fulfillment in the roles of wife and mother, Laura bakes her husband's birthday cake, plans his party, and considers suicide.

In 2001 New York, Clarissa Vaughan (Meryl Streep) lives with her same-sex partner, while at the same time caring for ex-husband Richard (Ed Harris), who's dying of AIDS in a dark and cluttered flat. Richard is an award-winning poet, and Clarissa (nicknamed "Mrs. Dalloway" by her Richard) is planning a dinner party in honor of his accomplishments.

THE HOURS is a complex film, the heroines of its three subplots all linked by the threads of self-destruction, "Mrs. Dalloway", and the extreme emotional and psychological dissatisfaction each feels in the relationship with the man in her life. Clarissa is already in a lesbian liaison, and there are strong hints that the other two would welcome such. The performances of the four principle actors (Kidman, Moore, Streep, and Harris) are all of Oscar caliber.

There are perhaps as many messages to be gotten from THE HOURS as there are people who will view it. I perceived the velvet chains that bind two people in a relationship. ("That's what we do. We stay alive for one another". - Clarissa) Chains that may drive one to an exit of desperation if there's an absence of love, or the feeling of one's own self being smothered and not having a little patch of ground to call one's own. And the guilt we feel when those chains are broken, if even to the long-term advantage of self.

This is a splendid and brilliantly conceived film that deserves all the honors it will reap. The connection between the 1951 and 2001 timelines was cleverly done. But, for me, THE HOURS had one great flaw. It failed to establish any emotional attachment between the main characters and myself. Virginia was too sour, Laura too distant, and Clarissa too self-absorbed. I left the theater admiring the movie for its artistry more than I was moved by it.

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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars thought provoking and moving, 15 Jan 2006
By Helena Frith Powell (Abu Dhabi) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
I thought this was one of the best films I have seen for years. Nicole Kidman is brilliant as Virginia Wolf and Meryl Streep as always a total joy to watch. The film was moving and intelligent, I didn't stop thinking about it for days after I had seen it. The only slightly dodgy bit was the kiss between Virginia and her sister, I wonder if that really happened? If it did I suppose they had to include it. But I found it a bit gratuitous. Apart from that though a real winner of a film which has totally inspired me to re-read Mrs Dalloway.
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9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Touching, Brilliantly Shot, 20 Mar 2006
By G. Campbell "earthclanger" (West Sussex) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
This excerpt from the life of the English novelist Virginia Woolf is worthy to watch if for the performances alone. Nicole Kidman shows a depth of understanding that does not belie her accolades. Streep is as watchable as ever, if a little over familiar as the vulnerable but determined woman. The scenery and
interior shots of a timeless English estate bare all the trademarks of Room With A view. Excellent pacing, although a little slow to get moving, but time did move a bit slower in the middle of the 20th century; especially in rural England. Much of this is set in Sussex in the South East. The switching between times is a little awkward and hard to fathom at first. A punchier treatment of the link between the novel would have helped. The soundtrack provided by Philip Glass with it's typical pulsating and stripped down sound is an excellent backdrop to the theme. Worth a second view.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars over rated and pretentious or thought provoking and deep?
Well, you know what my answer is if you look at the stars. The film is intense and visual, with strong and bold music. Read more
Published 3 months ago by C. Edwards

5.0 out of 5 stars The Hours
This is one of my favourite films, but be ready for a good cry. It is gentle & unassuming yet powerful enough to knock you sideways emotionally. Can't recommend it enough.
Published 4 months ago by N. Hardy

5.0 out of 5 stars Brilliance in all creative areas with especially superb acting.
I have been moved to write this "review" by the comments of those who find this movie depressing. Great films/movies - call them what you will- leave an impression. Read more
Published 5 months ago by A. M. Glenville

5.0 out of 5 stars The Hours - DVD
For me this film is one of the best, most intelligent, sensitive, beautifully portrayed and moving films I have ever seen. Read more
Published 7 months ago by M. Kucharek

5.0 out of 5 stars very satisfied *****
thank you for a brilliant product,
it arrived quickly and very well packaged.

1st class service and will be buying again
Published 8 months ago by Ms. Lm Sockett

2.0 out of 5 stars overwraught and tedious
Being a huge fan of the novel, and Woolf too, I was interested to see how they could pull off the adaptation of a story which relies so heavily on the modernist model of internal... Read more
Published 11 months ago by Err Wells

1.0 out of 5 stars Depressing, dull and questionable.
The attempt at justifying the dumping of a child at a hotel is a particular low point in this film, which -for me- drags dreadfully. Read more
Published 14 months ago by Ron Labbatt

5.0 out of 5 stars "Mrs Dalloway said she would buy the flowers herself."
"Mrs Dalloway said she would buy the flowers herself". From this opening line of Virginia Woolf's novel of the same name, this marvellous movie blossoms. Read more
Published 20 months ago by Nicholas Casley

3.0 out of 5 stars so - so
When you first see this film, it blitzes you. There's so much talent on the screen, and they're all at the top of their game, so it's easy to get confuse into thinking this is a... Read more
Published 22 months ago by Emily Harwood

2.0 out of 5 stars Unfortunate title....
Pretentious, over-wrought twaddle. A middling sixth-form english student could probably script something similarly profound and tragic in tone, but of course no one would... Read more
Published on 3 Jun 2007 by Al

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