Product Details

• Actors: Andrew Bennett, Joe Breen, Robert Carlyle, Oisin Carney Daly, Sean Carney Daly
• Format: Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, DVD, Full Screen, Letterboxed, Widescreen, NTSC
• Language: French (Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround), English (Dolby Digital 5.1)
• Subtitles: English
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Rating: R (Restricted)
• Studio: Paramount
• DVD Release Date: July 18, 2000
• Run Time: 145 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (110 customer reviews)
• ASIN: 6305872058
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #84,191 in Movies & TV (See Bestsellers in Movies & TV)
• For more information about "Angela's Ashes" visit the Internet Movie Database (IMDb)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com
Because Frank McCourt's bestselling, Pulitzer Prize-winning memoir Angela's Ashes was dearly embraced by millions of readers, it was perhaps inevitable that Alan Parker's film version would prove somewhat disappointing. McCourt's book is blessed with subtleties of language and detailed observation that do not easily lend themselves to screen interpretation, and Parker's film suffers from an overly literal, reverently somber approach that lacks the cumulative emotions of McCourt's account of impoverished youth in Ireland. And where McCourt was able to leaven his family's suffering with tenacious humor and fighting Irish spirit, Parker's film provides precious little uplift in the course of 145 minutes.

The film is by no means an artistic failure. While admirably avoiding sentiment, Parker is nearly peerless in his direction of children, and the three actors playing Frank at ages 7, 11, and 15 are uniformly superb. As photographed by Michael Seresin, the re-created lanes of Limerick, Ireland are almost painfully authentic in the cold, gray dampness that permeates nearly every scene. (This is surely one of the wettest films ever made.) As the McCourt parents--chronically depressed Angela and recklessly drunken Malachy--Emily Watson and Robert Carlyle successfully bypass the pitfalls of melodrama in a film that could have wallowed in bathos. And while Parker's anecdotal approach falls short in conveying the fullness of McCourt's experience (the director fared better with the Irish rockers of The Commitments), Angela's Ashes captures a specific time and place with vivid force, remaining loyal to the spirit of Frank McCourt's beloved tale of survival. --Jeff Shannon

Product Description
Paramount

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

46 of 50 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful child actors...., June 29, 2000

By	Dianne Foster "Di" (USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 100 REVIEWER)

Well, I have to disagree with those who don't like this film. I read the book and I saw the film and the film is actually easier to take in some ways than the book. Both are pretty grim, there's no getting around that. Frank McCourt's childhood was a difficult affair.

The film and the book are works of art. The job of the artist is to shake us up, to make us see what we did not see before. The Ireland that Frank McCourt experienced was poor, dirty, downtrodden and very Catholic. Although I am not Irish, I grew up Catholic, and his depiction of the RC clergy was right-on. I can remember at the age of eight having a nun scream so hard she grew red in the face. I was terrified.

Well, read "Irish Immigrants and Exiles" if you think Mr. McCourt is exaggerating.

The film faithfully follows the book and I thought the film was more "hopeful" than the book. The child actors who play Frank at three different ages are wonderful. Mr. Mccourt said that he thought the film was a wonderful film that exactly captured his family. Guess we have to trust his judgement.

Whether you want to be subjected to this misery is another matter. The story reminds me of the films Carlo Ponti made about Italy after the War. Dirty, hungry children and pregnant 15-year olds. There are plenty of places still like that in the world, if only we can bring ourselves to look at them.

21 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A film can never be a book, March 8, 2000

By	Marius Nell (Kampen Netherlands) - See all my reviews

Like so many millions of people I adored the novel of Angela's Ashes with a passion and was horrified to hear that a film version had been made. My doubts were slightly dispersed when I read that the direction had fallen upon Alan Parker, who is a favourite, but still some doubts remained. Let me state categorically that it is a superb film from every possible perspective, except for the screenplay. It is not that the screenplay is bad, it's just impossible to condense the novel. It is hard to tell, but I think that anybody who has not read the novel, might have problems following the story and definitely will not get the indepth references.

Parker has done a superb job with the direction and the fact that the cinematography did not at least garner an Oscar nomination is a crime (and a comment). The film is shot in sepia-coloured repressiveness and the use of colour is astounding. Take, for example, the red coat Angela wears, which jumps out of the screen.

The acting from Carlyle as Malachy and Watson as Angela is likewise of the highest possible calibre, although the three boys playing Frank steal the show, which is as it should be. Carlyle does a particularly good job of making the boys' continued devotion to their father believable, when his character could so easily have become an arch villian. Watson's Angela is understated as it is in the novel: she is the life force as well as the life-draining force of the drama. An excellent performance from a most gifted actress.

The final word, though, has to go to the "feel" of the film, which I felt to be spot-on with the novel. Comedy and tragedy are blended to perfection and sobs of tears and laughter were almost perfectly matched in experiencing it. That is what the film is: an experience, not just a film. Obviously it can never be the novel, but as Frank McCourt gave his personal seal of approval I see no reason why anybody else would not.

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great movie, February 8, 2006

By	cooperandre (Fullerton, CA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Angela's Ashes (DVD)

I enjoyed the movie, and of course movies sometimes are a bit of a let down from the book, but for those who rather just see the movie it does a fine job of telling the story. I read the book before seeing the movie and I thought they did a pretty good job, I do agree that there were some parts missing in the movie that was in the book. Emily Watson did a great job in this movie as well as each actor that played Frank McCourt. So regardless if you read the book or not I think you will enjoy this movie. And as for those, who think this movie is too Hollywood, well if that was the case then Frank's mom would have been played by Julia Roberts, his dad Tom Cruise, his aunt Britney Spears, and Frank would have been played by Will Smith, not to mention all the special affects they would have added to the movie. So I think it's a pretty good movie and recommend it.