Quantity:

More Buying Choices

30 used & new from �0.75

Have one to sell? Sell yours here

See larger image

Share your own customer images

Melinda And Melinda [2004] [DVD]

DVD ~ Chiwetel Ejiofor

3.2 out of 5 stars See all reviews (13 customer reviews)

RRP:	�19.99
Price:	�4.98 & this item Delivered FREE in the UK with Super Saver Delivery. See details and conditions
You Save:	�15.01 (75%)
	o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o

In stock.
Items for dispatch to UK will be sold by Amazon's Preferred Merchant. (Why?)

22 new from �0.99 8 used from �0.75

Christmas Offers--Up to 70% Off DVD and Blu-ray
Low-priced gift ideas, TV box sets, Blu-ray documentaries and recent drama, action and sci-fi hits. Go easy on your wallet this Christmas. Shop now

› See more product promotions

Rent DVDs from LOVEFiLM.com

Amazon's choice for DVD rental.
With a 14 day FREE trial. Learn more

Special Offers and Product Promotions

Do you know where Will Ferrell's career started? Find out this and more as we put Will Ferrell In the Spotlight...

Frequently Bought Together

Total RRP: �47.97
Price For All Three: �13.93

Some of these items are dispatched sooner than the others. Show details

This item: Melinda And Melinda [2004] [DVD] DVD ~ Chiwetel Ejiofor
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
Anything Else [DVD] [2003] DVD ~ Woody Allen
Usually dispatched within 1 to 3 weeks.
Dispatched from and sold by Amazon.co.uk.
This item Delivered FREE in the UK with Super Saver Delivery. See details and conditions
Mighty Aphrodite [DVD] [1996] DVD ~ Woody Allen
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

What Do Customers Ultimately Buy After Viewing This Item?

	76% buy the item featured on this page: Melinda And Melinda [2004] [DVD] 3.2 out of 5 stars (13) �4.98
	8% buy Match Point [DVD] [2006] 2.8 out of 5 stars (78) �4.98
	6% buy Mighty Aphrodite [DVD] [1996] 4.0 out of 5 stars (11) �3.98
	5% buy Anything Else [DVD] [2003] 3.8 out of 5 stars (5) �4.97

Explore similar items

Product details

Actors: Chiwetel Ejiofor, Will Ferrell, Jonny Lee Miller, Radha Mitchell, Amanda Peet
Directors: Woody Allen
Format: Anamorphic, PAL
Language English
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: 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment
DVD Release Date: 25 Jul 2005
Run Time: 95 minutes

Average Customer Review: 3.2 out of 5 stars See all reviews (13 customer reviews)

ASIN: B0009HBN5A
Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 9,610 in DVD (See Bestsellers in DVD)

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

Reviews

Amazon.co.uk Review

In Melinda and Melinda, Will Ferrell does a fine job playing Woody Allen--or at any rate, playing the fumbling, neurotic, lascivious character who appears in almost every Woody Allen movie (and is usually played by Allen himself). Hobie (Ferrell) is an unemployed actor who has fallen helplessly in love with Melinda (Radha Mitchell)--or at least with one version of Melinda, because Hobie's comic story runs parallel with a more serious version of the same plot, in which Melinda falls in love with a composer (Chiwetel Ejiofor). Melinda and Melinda is intended to be a sort of showdown between a comic and a tragic view of the world, but the comic story isn't all that funny and the tragic story isn't all that sad. You're more likely to feel annoyed by these characters than sympathetic to them, as they act more like Martians than New Yorkers; their responses and attitudes aren't exactly dated or implausible, they're mostly incomprehensible. The movie is still a step up from Anything Else, Allen's last effort; there are a handful of genuinely funny moments, Chloe Sevigny (as one of Melinda's best friends) and Mitchell are particularly good, and the turns of the two-fold plot--regardless of its genre--are engaging. However, these virtues will be best appreciated by those who are already Allen fans. --Bret Fetzer, Amazon.com

Synopsis

Woody Allen mixes the tragic with the comic in MELINDA AND MELINDA, a delightful, intelligent look at two versions of the same story. After hearing a tale about a quirky woman who walks in unexpectedly on a dinner party in an apartment in New York City, Sy (Wallace Shawn) expands it into a romantic comedy, while Max (Larry Pine) turns it into an urban tragedy. Allen intercuts between the two retellings, intermingling cause and effect, love and romance, failure and success, as Melinda creates havoc in both fictional worlds. Each story has its own cast: the comedy features Will Ferrell, Amanda Peet, and Josh Brolin; the tragedy stars Chloe Sevigny, Jonny Lee Miller, and Chiwetel Ejiofor. Radha Mitchell is the only repeat actor, playing both Melindas, and she does a tremendous job. Interestingly, the comic section is not a straight laughfest, like Allen's SLEEPERS, ANNIE HALL, or BULLETS OVER BROADWAY, and the more serious part is not nearly as dour as INTERIORS or ANOTHER WOMAN. Instead, Allen, who has been criticized by critics and fans alike for not making more funny films, has created two parallel universes that each combines aspects of comedy and tragedy, resulting in a wonderful, insightful drama.

Customers Who Bought This Item Also Bought

Anything Else [DVD] [2003]

DVD ~ Woody Allen

3.8 out of 5 stars (5) �4.97

Match Point [DVD] [2006]

DVD ~ Scarlett Johansson

2.8 out of 5 stars (78) �4.98

Mighty Aphrodite [DVD] [1996]

DVD ~ Woody Allen

4.0 out of 5 stars (11) �3.98

Cassandra's Dream [DVD] [2007]

DVD ~ Hayley Atwell

2.2 out of 5 stars (10) �3.98

Everyone Says I Love You [DVD] [1997]

DVD ~ Woody Allen

3.6 out of 5 stars (10)

› Explore similar items

Suggested Tags from Similar Products

(What's this?)

Be the first one to add a relevant tag (keyword that's strongly related to this product)

woody allen(9)

drama(8)

jonathan rhys meyers(6)

scarlett johansson(4)

london(2)

colin farrell(2)

ewan mcgregor(2)

comedy(1)

mia farrow(1)

awful(1)

match point(1)

Customer Reviews

13 Reviews

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

Average Customer Review

3.2 out of 5 stars (13 customer reviews)

Share your thoughts with other customers:

Create your own review

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Below par Woody Allen, 4 Mar 2006

By	filthmonkey (UK) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)

Looking back at the catalogue of Woody Allen accomplishments it's easy to see some easily recognisable themes, notably meditations on the meaning of life. One of these is asking the question "is life absurd (you know - funny and crazy and laughable because it's so ungraspable that all we can do is laugh) or is it basically a tragedy (a terrible existence of pain an misery and despair, uselessness, disenfranchisement and suffering)?" Of course, the philosophers have been out discussing that one for a long time, but whilst that's going on, Allen has taken it upon himself to re-examine the issue on his own, by means of this film.
To this end, he hires a cast of familiar actors. Some of them are his own friends from as far back as Manhattan and Husbands and Wives, and some are actors from things like Silence of the Lambs and even Trainspotting. Allen traditionally recruits from either a familiar crowd or an under-rated minority of otherwise successful films.
Although the film's task is admirable, this one marks a low-point in Allen's distinguished career. He doesn't pull out the stops and some scenes are overtly badly acted out - an indictment of direction rather than the cast.
Will Farrell does a good job of acting out the neurotic Woody Allen as we've seen him in other, earlier films, but this alone doesn't and cannot rescue what turns out in essence to be a mediocre exploration of an interesting debate about the meaning and nature of life itself. On that level, it's disappointing.
There are some warm and comedic moments in the film, and so overall it is worth watching, but only just, especially if you're interested in the output of Woody Allen's career. Just don't expect too much.
I think the film could have been done better with a little more dedication and willingness, but the Allen star is acending once more with more recent output than this, and so I'll forgive him just this once.
This film is not a masterpiece, but worth watching if you're really up for it, hence the 3 stars.

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

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars It delivers :), 30 Dec 2005

By	Alcat Garcia "aka bel_78 // A.G. is just an a... (Buenos Aires, Argentina) - See all my reviews (TOP 50 REVIEWER) (REAL NAME)

Is the essence of life comic or tragic? Can the same events give birth to a comedy or a tragedy, depending on the point of view? That is the central issue in this short but fairly original movie.

I don´t want to spoil things for you. Suffice it to say that “Melinda and Melinda” kicks off with a scene in a restaurant, where some friends are having dinner. Two of them are writers, but one is into comedies, while the other prefers to write tragedies. They start a discussion on the essence of life, something that leads one of their friends to propose a challenge: each writer must interpret some facts regarding the story of a young woman, Melinda, from his own unique perspective.

Truth to be told, both writers manage to weave extremely good stories that mirror each other but are at the same time quite different. The spectator is able to compare the stories within the story, and to enjoy the excellent acting of a uniformly good cast. I suppose I should highlight the splendid performance of Radha Mitchell, the actress that plays Melinda, due to the fact that her role was specially difficult, but I think that you will notice that as soon as you start watching this movie.

All in all, I really enjoyed “Melinda and Melinda”. Its premise is interesting, and it delivers. What else can we ask of a movie? So sit back and enjoy :)

Belen Alcat

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

5 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Below average by anyone's standards, 22 May 2006

By	Trevor Willsmer (London, England) - See all my reviews (TOP 50 REVIEWER)

A few years ago, Woody Allen criticized directors who spend two or three years between making pictures only for many critics to respond that with the quality of his recent output, maybe he ought to spend more time honing his own material. They have a point. Certainly of late it's too often felt that he's a disinterested businessman fulfilling a deal that'll keep him ticking over until something better comes along. Case in point, Melinda and Melinda, an unfortunate misfire that, like much of The Mighty Aphrodite, feels like Woody Allen has taken a premise and just thrown one-liners at it in the hope that some of them will stick rather than properly fleshing it out. Unfortunately, in the mouths of a rather second-rate cast of (mostly) underachievers who never really gel with each other despite (mostly) giving technically competent but unengaging performances, both the dramatic and comic interpretations of Miranda's story feel stale and tedious - and surprisingly badly written. Maybe the two rival playwrights are meant to be palpably bad writers, but even that doesn't excuse the clumsiness of Allen's exposition and characterization here.

Sadly there's no single great performance to pull the film together. Radha Mitchell tries but, while her comic face is sporadically engaging, never really catches fire, with her dramatic scenes feeling too premeditated and overly prepared. Chloe Sevigny, Amanda Peet and Chiwetel Ejiofor are the more successful of the supporting players, but most, like Jonny Lee Miller, simply feel like they're third or fourth choice actors reciting awkward lines in a bad play rather than flesh and blood people. And it's getting genuinely tiresome to see his leading men doing Woody Allen impersonations instead of giving a performance (here a weak Will Ferrell). Worse, the film feels incomplete, as if a third interpretation, mixing tragedy and comedy to show how it should be done, is missing. Instead, we're left with a hole waiting to be filled while a disinterested group of thespians watch from the sidelines while waiting for a bus.

As usual per Allen, there are no extras at all on the disc - not even a trailer.

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 13 customer reviews...

Most Recent Customer Reviews

4.0 out of 5 stars "I love watching a live creature being pulled out of somebodys body at 3:30 in the morning. If that happens again, please call."
Whilst many have felt that this film isn't as edgy as other Woody Allen films, the characters still display his trademark style of being analytical and neurotic. Read more

Published 23 months ago by DangermouseZilla

3.0 out of 5 stars not his best work, not his worst
A group of arty people sit at a table and turn a real life incident into two stories: one story is a comedy and the other a tragedy with a different set of actors and a different... Read more

Published on 4 Nov 2007 by dan the fan

3.0 out of 5 stars Not one of Woody's best, but still pretty good for fans
Hello, Woody fans. You know the score: the familiar white font on a black background, some light jazz, and we're off into one of Woody Allen's more recent explorations of the... Read more

Published on 29 Jun 2007 by Franklin T Marmoset

5.0 out of 5 stars One girl … two plots … great movie
Two screenwriters are invited to suggest alternative tragic and comic plots starting with the simple scenario of a girl crashing into a dinner party. Read more

Published on 13 Jan 2006 by pointone

2.0 out of 5 stars Pretty Poor
Maybe it's just that Woody Allen has produced so many great films that this one looks so dire in comparison - but by any standard this was complete rubbish. Read more

Published on 9 Jan 2006 by Donaldo

1.0 out of 5 stars Dreadful
One of the worst films I have ever seen. I'm not exaggerating. I had such high hopes after reading the plot details, but what I wasted two hours of my life watching was a... Read more

Published on 4 Nov 2005

3.0 out of 5 stars Melinda's Agony And Ecstasy
Is life essentially comic or tragic? And can neurotic New Yorkers ever find love? Woody Allen writes and directs an inventive new take on his classic themes in Melinda and... Read more

Published on 21 Oct 2005 by leopardo1973

5.0 out of 5 stars A film of two stories that fit like a glove
I had never seen a Woody Allen film before, I think I had sheltered myself from the "unknown". I came out from under my rock to grab the latest release and I was hooked! Read more

Published on 18 Oct 2005

5.0 out of 5 stars Melinda and Melinda - a review
As a big Woody Allen fan this film shows that the old master has not lost his touch.Melinda & Melinda shows Allen cleverly telling the same story as both romatic comedy and urban... Read more

Published on 5 Aug 2005 by J. D. Naylor

2.0 out of 5 stars Messinda Messinda
Being a Woody Allen fan I found this movie very disappointing.The story is messy, superficial and the characters are underdevelopped (putting it mildly)which makes the story very... Read more

Published on 16 Jul 2005

› See all 13 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; } .jqOnDisplayBlock { display: none; } .jqOnDisplayInline { display: none; } .jqOnVisibility { visibility: hidden; } .jqOnDisplayNoneBlock { display: block; } .jqOnDisplayNoneInline { display: inline; }

Customer Discussions

This product's forum

Discussion	Replies	Latest Post
No discussions yet

Ask questions, Share opinions, Gain insight

Active discussions in related forums

Discussion	Replies	Latest Post
comedy who is the best stand up comedian?	62	7 hours ago
comedy Christmas Films	13	9 hours ago
comedy Whatever happened to British comedy?	52	14 hours ago
comedy Peter Kay. What happened?	21	15 hours ago
drama Language & Subtitle Info	11	17 hours ago
drama help me find this french tv series	2	20 hours ago
drama Wandering Hand?	11	1 day ago