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Ordinary People [DVD] [1980] [Region 1] [US Import] [NTSC]
 
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Ordinary People [DVD] [1980] [Region 1] [US Import] [NTSC]

DVD ~ Donald Sutherland
4.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (6 customer reviews)

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Region 1 encoding (requires a North American or multi-region DVD player and NTSC compatible TV. More about DVD formats.)

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What Do Customers Ultimately Buy After Viewing This Item?

Ordinary People [DVD] [1980] [Region 1] [US Import] [NTSC]
93% buy the item featured on this page:
Ordinary People [DVD] [1980] [Region 1] [US Import] [NTSC] 4.8 out of 5 stars (6)
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Product details

  • Actors: Donald Sutherland, Mary Tyler Moore, Judd Hirsch, Timothy Hutton, M. Emmet Walsh
  • Directors: Robert Redford
  • Writers: Alvin Sargent
  • Producers: Ronald L. Schwary
  • Format: Anamorphic, Closed-captioned, Colour, DVD-Video, Widescreen, NTSC
  • Language English, French
  • Subtitles: English
  • Region: Region 1 (US and Canada DVD formats.)
  • Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1
  • Number of discs: 1
  • Classification: R (Restricted) (US MPAA rating. See details.)
  • Studio: Paramount
  • DVD Release Date: 14 Aug 2001
  • Run Time: 124 minutes
  • Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
  • ASIN: B000055ZFA
  • Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 57,195 in DVD (See Bestsellers in DVD)

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Reviews

Amazon.co.uk Review
Robert Redford made his Oscar-winning directorial debut with this highly acclaimed, poignantly observant drama (based on the novel by Judith Guest) about a well-to-do family's painful adjustment to tragedy. Mary Tyler Moore and Donald Sutherland play a seemingly happy couple who lose the elder of their two sons to a boating accident; Timothy Hutton plays the surviving teenage son, who blames himself for his brother's death and has attempted suicide to end his pain. They live in a meticulously kept home in an affluent Chicago suburb, never allowing themselves to speak openly of the grief that threatens to tear them apart. Only when the son begins to see a psychiatrist (Judd Hirsch) does the veneer of denial begin to crack, and Ordinary People thenceforth directly examines the broken family ties and the complexity of repressed emotions that have festered under the pretence of coping. Superior performances and an Oscar-winning script by Alvin Sargent make this one of the most uncompromising dramas ever made about the psychology of dysfunctional families. There are moments--particularly related to Mary Tyler Moore's anguished performance as a woman incapable of expressing her deepest emotions--when this film is both intensely involving and heartbreakingly real. No matter how happy and healthy your upbringing was, there's something in this excellent film that everyone can relate to. --Jeff Shannon

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Customer Reviews

6 Reviews
5 star:
 (5)
4 star:
 (1)
3 star:    (0)
2 star:    (0)
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Average Customer Review
4.8 out of 5 stars (6 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

 
21 of 22 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars An extremely moving family drama, 26 Jan 2004
By Burjiz (Schaffhausen, Switzerland) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)   
This review is from: Ordinary People [DVD] [1980] (DVD)
This movie profoundly affected me when I first saw it 6 years ago,when I was 10, and watching it today its impact remains undiminished.

In the wrong hands, this could so easily have become yet another dreary family drama in the TV Movie of the Week tradition, but first-time director Robert Redford skillfully avoids all the cliches. His restrained direction ensures that the movie never descends into melodrama, and the big moments are superbly realised without the use of soaring strings or other Hollywood devices. Consequently, there is not a single moment that does not entirely ring true, and the movie is all the more heartwrenching for Redford's honest approach.

He is helped by a uniformly excellent cast. From all accounts, Redford is (as you might expect) an actor's director, and here he draws superb performances from two actors in atypical roles. Donald Sutherland is deeply moving in the difficult role of the father unable to comprehend why his family is falling apart, and Mary Tyler Moore is equally good as his emotionally repressed wife. The latter's performance is all the braver when one recalls that Tyler Moore's role mirrored her own off-screen turmoil at that time. For like the character of Beth in the movie, she too had recently lost a son, and was struggling to come to terms with her loss.

Judd Hirsch and Elizabeth McGovern are also impressive as, respectively, the psychiatrist and choirfriend who try to help Conrad, the troubled younger son of Tyler Moore and Sutherland. Conrad is played by 20-year-old Timothy Hutton in a mesmerising performance that will leave few viewers unaffected. Perfectly capturing the suicidal anguish of his character, Hutton rightly won an Oscar for Best Supporting Actor in this pivotal role. (Though why he was not nominated for Best Actor is beyond me; his is, after all, the central performance in the movie). Given the degree of Hutton's talent, one can only look in dismay at the downward spiral of his career in recent years.

Ordinary People was one of the finest American movies of the 1980s, and its themes are as relevant today as they were two decades ago. I highly recommend this genuine classic.

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11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Amazingly assured directorial debut, 30 Dec 2003
This review is from: Ordinary People [VHS] [1980] (VHS Tape)
Robert Redford's debut as a director distinguishes itself by the economy of the directing,but also the sreenplay, with not a wasted frame or throwaway line of script between the two.
The achievement is rounded off with towering performances, not only from Timothy Hutton, Mary Tyler Moore and Donald Sutherland as the surviving family members; but equally from Elizabeth McGovern as Hutton's soul mate,salvation and link with the rest of humanity, and Judd Hirsch ("Taxi") as the pragmatic,straight-talking but compassionate psychiatrist.
The regular on-the-couch interludes with Hutton and Hirsch create an effective thread to counterpoint the heavy domestic situation with Hutton and his still-grieving mother.
Likewise, Hutton's blossoming relationship with McGovern is sensitively intertwined with the rest of the plot,avoiding the obvious "love interest" angle for something more substantive.
In the end, the film is about forgiveness and accepting relationships for what they are, and not what we are told they should be.
Ordinary People,maybe, but a truly extraordinary film in terms of its insight, emotional resonance (you would need to be made of wood not to be profoundly moved by the way these people tell the story) and peerless performances by all involved on-screen and off. For what it's worth, definitely one of my Top Five of all time.
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6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Examines relationships, 12 Dec 2000
By A Customer
This review is from: Ordinary People [VHS] [1980] (VHS Tape)
Robert Redford directed this excellent film which examines the lives of a family thrown into termoil when one of the its members is tragically killed in an accident. This event affects the son who is very obviously tramatised and finds it difficult to return to a normal life. What makes the film both interesting and compeling is that it examines the inter-rationships between the family members and demonstrates in a gripping and realistic way that adversity can expose human weaknesses and frailties. It also explores the idea that relationships are only truely tested in difficult situations. I think anyone watching this film will relate to the superb performances of the actors and empathise with the emotions each of them goes through. Highly recommended and one of my all time best films.
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 		 Most Recent Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars A film of sensitivity and insight
This is a unique film, directed by Robert Redford. In it he provided a platform for Mary Tyler Moore to show us her deep talent as a serious actress and gain our compassion for... Read more
Published 15 days ago by L. Hamilton-white

4.0 out of 5 stars Beautiful film..
Was moved sufficiently by this film to write a small review. Was especially moved by Timothy Hutton's character - what an intense performance - utterly believable and sometimes... Read more
Published on 18 Feb 2007 by Bliss

5.0 out of 5 stars Noir Movie
When Beth ( Mary Tyler Moore) breaks a plate in Ordinary People the significance of the action is clearly signalled to the audience, but we have no way of knowing whether Beth... Read more
Published on 4 Mar 2006 by MightyBoosh

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