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The Notorious Bettie Page [2006] [DVD]
 
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The Notorious Bettie Page [2006] [DVD]

DVD ~ Gretchen Mol
3.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
RRP: £19.99
Price: £3.98 & eligible for Free UK delivery on orders over £5 with Super Saver Delivery. See details and conditions
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Customers buy this item with Burlesque and the Art of the Teese / Fetish and the Art of the Teese by Dita Von Teese

The Notorious Bettie Page [2006] [DVD] + Burlesque and the Art of the Teese / Fetish and the Art of the Teese
Price For Both: £20.23

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Product details

  • Actors: Gretchen Mol, Chris Bauer, Jared Harris, David Strathairn, Lili Taylor
  • Directors: Mary Harron
  • Format: PAL, Anamorphic, Colour, Black & White, Dolby
  • Language English
  • Region: Region 2 (This DVD may not be viewable outside Europe. Read more about DVD formats.)
  • Aspect Ratio: 1.78:1
  • Number of discs: 1
  • Classification: 18
  • Studio: Icon Home Entertainment
  • DVD Release Date: 19 Mar 2007
  • Run Time: 90 minutes
  • Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
  • ASIN: B000MX7YGI
  • Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 6,851 in DVD (See Bestsellers in DVD)

Reviews

Synopsis
Director Mary Harron (I SHOT ANDY WARHOL) and writer Guinevere Turner (GO FISH, THE L WORD) deliver a loving, whimsical biopic of the century’s greatest pinup queen. The film also offers a highly relevant commentary on the sexual mores of the 1950s, as well as stunning cinematography by W. Mott Hupfel III that perfectly captures the age. Played by the lovely Gretchen Mol (THE SHAPE OF THINGS) in a career-making performance, Bettie Page is portrayed as a sweet but strangely wise naïf from Tennessee, buffeted by circumstances outside her control but buoyed by an innate, cheerful optimism. After an abusive marriage and a brutal gang rape, Bettie flees to New York and begins a modelling career, for which she has a natural talent and which she does with an uncommon joy and palpable enthusiasm. She also begins acting lessons, but it’s the bondage photographs she takes with Irving and Paula Klaw (Chris Bauer and Lili Taylor) that really alter the course of her life. Shot in the basement of the Klaws' celebrity photography business, Bettie’s photographs were among the first harbingers of a society’s awakening sexuality, and her ability to project boundless delight--no matter what activity she is engaged in--is truly remarkable to behold. Eschewing the sensational, the film instead unfolds at a leisurely pace, lacking much cohesive narrative and revealing the mundane realities of the life of a notoriously glamorous figure. The story is bookended by the trial the Klaws were subjected to for selling obscene materials, which led to Bettie’s retirement to her much-loved Miami getaway and a rediscovered devotion to Jesus.

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Customer Reviews

13 Reviews
5 star:
 (1)
4 star:
 (3)
3 star:
 (6)
2 star:
 (1)
1 star:
 (2)
 
 
 
 
 
Average Customer Review
3.0 out of 5 stars (13 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

 
14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars Worth it for Mol's performance, but feels somewhat shallow, 27 Mar 2007
By Franklin T Marmoset - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)   
This fifties-set drama tells the tale of pin-up sensation Bettie Page, who was kind of the FHM cutie of her day. Wholesome Nashville girl Bettie sets out to New York with dreams of acting, but finds herself sidetracked into the world of glamour and bondage modeling for magazines with quaint titles like Wink and Sunbather. This being a more repressive time, poor Bettie also ends up at the centre of a McCarthy-esque anti-smut trial.

Holding the film together is a very good performance from Gretchen Mol as Bettie Page. Mol is immensely likable in the role, expressing perfectly the wide-eyed innocence of this woman who embraced her work (which included quite a bit of nudity, as well as some uncomfortable looking boots) with a big smile, a good heart and not a trace of shame.

If there's a problem with the film, it's that it feels heavily slanted and somewhat disingenuous. It's hard to believe everyone Bettie met in the mucky book business was as well intentioned as they're portrayed in this one. Additionally, you would think a woman who thought herself a good clean Christian throughout her career would have been more conflicted over the nature of her work. This isn't a problem during the first hour of the film, which is a delightful and funny look at a guileless young woman taking her clothes off and not understanding why it causes such a fuss, but later in the story you feel that director Mary Harron has avoided the darker aspect of the material.

That said, this is still a worthwhile watch. It had more humour than I expected and is far less prurient than you would think a film where the lead actress doesn't wear very much would be. It's a shame they didn't go deeper into Page's later life, but Mol's charismatic performance more than makes up for that, so this is recommended.
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13 of 15 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars Interesting story but..., 29 Mar 2007
By Jaybird (London, UK) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)   
I thought this was a really interesting attempt to look at the morality of the 40s through the prism of Bettie Page and a decent attempt to put her into her proper place in history.

Gretchen Mol looks amazingly like Bettie, and does a very nice turn in wide-eyed innocence. However, it is difficult to believe that Bettie remained quite as innocent and free as she was portrayed, particularly given her experiences in early life.

The relationship with her long-term partner is also sketched very loosely, leaving much unsaid.

The black and white filming, with occasional splurges of colour looked beautiful, but lets you know that what you are seeing is not really meant to be a realistic portrayal of Bettie's character; its what she showed those around her at the time.

What I really do not understand, given that there is very little nudity in the film and no intercourse, is how it managed to get an 18 certificate, because there is nothing in this that would be news to a 15 year old. Interesting yes, but erotic or realistic, definitely not.
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5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars A good movie but cant help but feel its a little bias, 6 Jul 2007
By amira (manchester) - See all my reviews
Firstly this isnt an erotic movie so if your interested in that aspect some of betties other work may be more appropriate. Overall it was a very good movie which spookily echos some of what is going on in the UK regarding pornography. Its well shot and does track betties career. However you cant help but feel aspects are missing and that betties character is painted to be a little bit more nieve and innocent than perhaps she really was.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews

4.0 out of 5 stars A homage to a scandalous era, how times have changed...
For those who think that Madonnas' image is cutting edge, take a look at this film to see where she discovered her look. Read more
Published 8 days ago by Mr. C. T. Brand

5.0 out of 5 stars An unusual gem.
I didn^t know about the real Bettie Page.
But found this to be a very good movie. Gretchen Mol is superb in the lead role. She is lovely to watch, so naive and sweet. Read more
Published 1 month ago by Edna Little.

3.0 out of 5 stars Betty Page
The actress who plays Betty Page is very attractive and plays the part very well. She looks better than Betty herself! Read more
Published 3 months ago by John Stephens

3.0 out of 5 stars Disappointing, but Gretchen is wonderful.
I was a little disappointed by this movie. Gretchen Mol puts in a very fine performance and paints a very endearing Betty - the nude model whose pouts and grins exude innocence... Read more
Published 6 months ago by doublegone

3.0 out of 5 stars 3 stars isn't enough
it actually pained me to rate this at three stars because there is so much about i liked, however there was a also so much a didn't like. Read more
Published 13 months ago by Cherry Lamore

4.0 out of 5 stars A good attempt...
Bettie Page to me is the most wonderful sexy woman ever (Apart from my wife..)and this film somehow got under the skin of Bettie, I found it affectionate and charming and as a... Read more
Published 13 months ago by J. H. Turner

3.0 out of 5 stars Great Performance in a Mediocre Film
Mary Harron, one of a slew of concerned filmmakers to appear in Kirby Dick's recent indictment of the MPAA This Film is Not Yet Rated, writes and directs her third picture. Read more
Published 24 months ago by Kasey Driscoll

1.0 out of 5 stars Don't spank me: kill me now instead.
Oh dear no. I was desperate for this to be good; but it is awful.
I really love her style, and wanted some light perkiness to fill an evening of dull TV, but no, really... Read more
Published on 9 Jul 2007 by SW4 Books

2.0 out of 5 stars The resurrection bop
On the 26th of September 1983 a short dumpy 60 year old woman stood trial for the attempted murder of Leonie Haddad, a lady whose husband had recently died and had agreed to take... Read more
Published on 1 Jun 2007 by Adrian Stranik

1.0 out of 5 stars Only part of the story
Bettie Page is a wonderful person who went through an incredible time. It is a hideous shame that this film only tells the part of her story that is considered morally... Read more
Published on 31 Mar 2007 by Michelle Knight

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