See buying choices for this item to see if it's one of the millions that are eligible for Amazon Prime.

10 used & new from �1.58

See All Buying Options

Have one to sell? Sell yours here

See larger image

Share your own customer images

Cradle Will Rock [VHS] [2000]

VHS ~ Hank Azaria

3.7 out of 5 stars See all reviews (3 customer reviews)

Available from these sellers.

1 new from �5.95 8 used from �1.58 1 collectible from �3.99

Customers Who Bought This Item Also Bought

Scoop [DVD] [2006] [Region 1] [US Import] [NTSC]

DVD ~ Scarlett Johansson

4.2 out of 5 stars (9)

Company - A Musical Comedy [2007] [DVD] [NTSC]

DVD ~ John Doyle

4.9 out of 5 stars (7) �8.98

The Lady Vanishes [DVD] [1938] [Region 1] [US Import] [NTSC]

DVD ~ Basil Radford

5.0 out of 5 stars (2)

Trainspotting [DVD] [1995]

DVD ~ Ewan McGregor

4.4 out of 5 stars (52) �10.98

God is Not Great: How Religion Poisons Everything

by Christopher Hitchens

3.7 out of 5 stars (132) �4.49

› Explore similar items

Product details

Actors: Hank Azaria, Rub�n Blades, Joan Cusack, John Cusack, Cary Elwes
Directors: Tim Robbins
Writers: Tim Robbins
Producers: Allan F. Nicholls, Allison R. Hebble, Frank Beacham, Jon Kilik, Louise Krakower
Format: Closed-captioned, Dolby, PAL, Surround Sound
Language English, Italian
Classification: 15
Studio: Cinema Club
VHS Release Date: 4 Feb 2002
Run Time: 129 minutes

Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars See all reviews (3 customer reviews)

ASIN: B00005AWFW
Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 21,025 in Video (See Bestsellers in Video)

Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?

Product Description

Amazon.co.uk Review
"Based on a (mostly) true story", according to the opening titles, Tim Robbins' dazzling dramatisation of one of the great stories in American theatre indeed takes a few liberties with history. Ostensibly it’s the story of the mayhem surrounding Marc Blitzstein's worker's opera The Cradle Will Rock, directed by Orson Welles for the WPA at the height of the Depression. But Robbins paints a veritable mural around this incident, showing us a city alive with plotting industrialists (John Cusack as Nelson Rockefeller), radical artists (Ruben Blades's Diego Rivera) and struggling citizens (Bill Murray's frustrated vaudeville ventriloquist Tommy Crickshaw). Lightning strikes when the government closes the show before it even opens and the cast marches 20 blocks to an empty theatre and tosses the staging aside to perform in the aisles, the balconies and the seats. It's a rare moment of cinema capturing the immediacy and charge of live theatre on the screen and it's the heart of Robbins' often exhilarating film.

His heroes are Blitzstein (a warm, gently impassioned Hank Azaria) and cheery WPA Theatre director Hallie Flanagan (Broadway star Cherry Jones), but in the process he snidely turns Welles and producer John Houseman into sour, silly caricatures. The stew of artistic creation and political action gets murky and at times contradictory, but vivid performances and Robbins' driving pace and staccato crosscutting keep it humming through even the most didactic moments. The songs are by Blitzstein, and the character-rich cast also features Vanessa Redgrave, Susan Sarandon, John Turturro, Emily Watson, and Philip Baker Hall. --Sean Axmaker, Amazon.com

Synopsis
This tale based on actual events, is the story of life in 1930s America.

Tag this product

(What's this?)

Think of a tag as a keyword or label you consider is strongly related to this product.
Tags will help all customers organize and find favorite items.

What Do Customers Ultimately Buy After Viewing This Item?

	52% buy Cradle Will Rock [DVD] [1999] 3.0 out of 5 stars (3) �5.87
	48% buy the item featured on this page: Cradle Will Rock [VHS] [2000] 3.7 out of 5 stars (3)

Explore similar items

Customer Reviews

3 Reviews

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

Average Customer Review

3.7 out of 5 stars (3 customer reviews)

Share your thoughts with other customers:

Create your own review

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars When Politics and Art Collide, 3 Oct 2002

By A Customer

Like Bob Roberts and Dead Man Walking, Cradle Will Rock is an undeniably and overtly political film, a commodity all too rare these days. Robbins' film is vivid, witty, colourful and vivacious, clearly influenced by the overlapping dialogue and multi-plotline style of Robert Altman. Mixing fact with fiction, he has crafted an extraordinarily uninhibited vision of 1930s New York, a time of economic worry and political polarisation.

The plot hinges on the premiere of The Cradle Will Rock, a real-life musical by wunderkind Marc Blitzstein (Hank Azaria), originally staged by Orson Welles (Angus MacFadyen) as part of the Federal Theater Project in the mid-1930s. However, storylines involving the creation of a mural depicting syphilis molecules above the heads of capitalists in the new Rockefeller Center, the decline of a vaudeville ventriloquist (a brilliant Bill Murray) and the selling of paintings by Mussolini's ex-mistress (a divine Susan Sarandon) to American fat cats to fund the Duce's war chest. And that's just scratching the surface.

That Robbins manages to juggle so many stories and still craft such an involving and moving experience is astonishing given the relative simplicity of Dead Man Walking. The first-rate cast, which also includes Vanessa Redgrave and the Cusacks, John and Joan, would normally have guaranteed box office success, but this is not really mainstream material. Few American filmmakers can still make such overtly left-wing films and get away with it; Robbins just scrapes by commercially (it is rumoured that his performance in the pretty dire Mission To Mars was a thank you to Touchstone for Cradle). Yet don't be put off if you haven't heard of it; the film is a genuine experience. As history, it is certainly confusing, given its status as "mostly" true and the whirlwind sketching of characters, but persevere and you will find an unusually satisfying film at its centre. It is worth it for the closing shot alone, a brilliant example of dramatic irony and a genuinely shattering punchline. A five-course meal of entertainment.

Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A film that shows the oppression of expression, 23 Jul 2002

By A Customer

"Cradle will rock," tells the stories of a variety of people living in the American depression who are all linked together through the theatre, or art. The main plot of the film being the production of the play called "Cradle will rock", a government funded play that attacks the government.
The substance of the film deals with the issues of freedom within art, political expression within art becoming the main theme in the film. In particular, this film highlights the American fear of communism, at that time, and the issue of unionisation. This film shows the oppressive stance the government took on expressive and challenging theatre at that time. This film may appear to be focusing on the production of a play, but it is the message of the play that becomes the true focus of the film.
An all star cast including John and Joan Cussack, Bill Murray, Jack Black and Hank Azaria (to name a few) turn in exceptional performances to make "Cradle will rock" the powerfully meaningful film it deserves to be.
This film is an effective social document, and a joy to behold. Never before has a period drama touched me like "Cradle will rock" has. This film has a strong message; Politics will always try to suppress expressive art, but, it will never succeed.

Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)

1 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Tedious, 21 Jun 2005

By A Customer

This review is from: Cradle Will Rock [DVD] [1999] [Region 1] [US Import] [NTSC] (DVD)

I am usually a huge Tim Robbins fan. I think he's a wonderful actor and 'Bob Roberts' was a superb piece of direction. However this has got to rate as the most boring film ever. I actually like political films usually and sympathise with the politics of this film. The problem is that it's really hammered home with no subtlety. I saw the film in a cinema and as I looked around the cinema I realised I was one of only three people still awake/alive. There was snoring to the left of me and snoring to the right- I only wish I could sleep in cinemas cos I could have caught up with some sleep. The only reason I didn't walk out was because I didn't want to wake up the people around me.

Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)

Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review

› See all 3 customer reviews...

.jsOffDisplayBlock { display: block; } .jsOffDisplayInline { display: inline; } .jsOffVisibility { visibility: visible; } .jsOnDisplayBlock { display: none; } .jsOnDisplayNoneBlock { display: block; } .jsOnDisplayNoneInline { display: inline; } .jsOnDisplayInline { display: none; } .jsOnVisibility { visibility: hidden; } .jsOnDisplayBlock { display: none; } .jsOnDisplayInline { display: none; } .jsOnVisibility { visibility: hidden; }

Customer Discussions

Beta (What's this?)

This product's forum (0 discussions)

	Discussion	Replies	Latest Post
	No discussions yet

Ask questions, Share opinions, Gain insight

Start a new discussion

Topic:

First post:

Prompts for sign-in

[Cancel]

Guidelines

Active discussions in related forums

Discussion	Replies	Latest Post
drama worst film you've ever seen ?	393	27 minutes ago
drama Favourite last scene.	65	30 minutes ago
drama Hitchcocks' best?	42	1 hour ago
drama Greatest U.S. tv series?	129	3 hours ago
drama what's been the scariest film you have seen?	23	4 hours ago
drama best comedy film ever?	25	5 hours ago
drama Favourite music or song from a film.	39	1 day ago

Related forums

drama (108 discussions)

Listmania!

The Atheism/God Debate: A list by R. Wilson "RW"
Anti-Theist Reading List: A list by Mr. R. B. G. Harries
Films That Will Change The Way You Think: A list by J. Controls "DudeThatsMessedUp"

Create a Listmania! list

Look for similar items by category

DVD & Blu-ray > Drama

Feedback

Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?

Health & Beauty at Amazon.co.uk

From soap to shavers, massagers to mascara, stock up on your daily essentials or truly pamper yourself.

›Discover Health & Beauty

Beauty without the Beast

Olay Regenerist Daily 3 Point Treatment Cream

From au naturel to party glam, we have all the best names in cosmetics and skincare.

›Discover Beauty at Amazon.co.uk

Boys Smell

Lynx Africa Body Spray and After Shave Gift set

But we make sure they smell good...

›Discover male grooming at Amazon.co.uk

Treat Someone

With an Amazon.co.uk Gift Certificate, you can get them what they want (even if you don't know what that is).

›Learn more about Gift Certificates

Where's My Stuff?

track your recent orders
view or change your orders in Your Account

Delivery and Returns

see our delivery rates and policies
thinking of returning an item? (See our Returns Policy)

Need Help?

Forgot your password?
Buy Gift Certificates.
still have questions? Visit our Help Pages

Your Recent History

(What's this?)

You have no recently viewed items or searches.

After viewing product detail pages or search results, look here to find an easy way to navigate back to pages you are interested in.

Look to the right column to find helpful suggestions for your shopping session.

Continue Shopping: Top Sellers

The Girl Who Played with Fire by Stieg Larsson

4.5 out of 5 stars (72)�3.86

Breaking Dawn (Twilight Saga) by Stephenie Meyer

4.1 out of 5 stars (460)�6.49

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson

4.1 out of 5 stars (162)�3.99

The Host by Stephenie Meyer

4.2 out of 5 stars (80)�3.86


Amazon Home

International Sites: United States \| Germany \| France \| Japan \| Canada \| China

Business Programs: Sell on Amazon \| Fulfilment by Amazon \| Join Associates \| Join Advantage

Customer Service \| Help \| View Basket \| Your Account

About Amazon.co.uk \| Careers at Amazon


Amazon Home

International Sites: United States \| Germany \| France \| Japan \| Canada \| China

Business Programs: Sell on Amazon \| Fulfilment by Amazon \| Join Associates \| Join Advantage

Customer Service \| Help \| View Basket \| Your Account

About Amazon.co.uk \| Careers at Amazon