Customer Reviews

BYE, BYE Braverman

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

 

 

At the outset, let me say that this is one of my favorite films. I realize that it's flawed, slow-moving and not a laugh riot, but there are things in it--- moving moments, performances that just break your heart and ring very true. It's a film that says things that few others do.
Plus, as a New Yorker, it hits close to home.
Those who 'get' "Bye Bye Braverman", know what I mean. Those who don't, won't ever understand it.
I've been waiting decades for this to appear on DVD, and I'm not kidding. Everybody in the industry seems to have disparaging remarks about this film, even director Sidney Lumet, but it's fans--well, we're hardcore.
So finally, it arrives and well, there are problems.
Let's start with the $26.99 price.
Seriously, is Warner Brothers kidding?
But you want it, right? So you give in.
What you get for your money is a DVD-R disc. That's right, like you'd buy for 25 cents apiece for use in your computer.
Why is that? Because WB didn't think they'd be enough demand for this title, so they make them, "on demand". Crazy, right?
And for your money, you can basically forget about EVERYTHING. NO notes, NO remastering, NO extras, NO stereo mix of any kind, even just plain vanilla 2:1!
And the sound? Well, get ready to crank up the volume, because what they give you is especially low.
But what are you going to do? Well, for one thing, shop around on that price because if, like me, you must have this item, you can certainly do better.

Because it was so long in coming to DVD (if this release can be considered a REAL DVD), I had come to think that I was the only original-release-viewer of this film who liked it. Thank heavens I was wrong ...but, evidently, not by much. This is a most basic DVD offering, lacking ANY/ALL special features. It has the appearance of being a special-order DVD-R created on your uncle's PC. However, that makes little difference. The video quality is more than adequate and I am thrilled to (finally) have a copy of this wonderfully funny film in my library. The film may not be YOUR cup of Manischewitz if you don't appreciate a mix of talky and silly New York Jewish humor: Four neurotic, self-indulgent, intellectual friends confronting the phenomena of love, death, and friendship. No one should be allowed to die without seeing Godfrey Cambridge playing a New York Jewish cabbie. Buy it. You'll love it.

Bye Bye Braverman is one of my favorite films for a number of reasons. the cast, the director, the story and THE LOCATION. what is really a treat for me is the location filming sites scattered through the film.. during the credits, you see the supposedly youthful editions of the cast entering a movie theater to see an Italian film called Shoe Shine. the theater is THE GREEWICH, which was located very close to where i grew up, and a theater in which i spent many happy hours. a group of friends are trying to attend the funeral of a friend, whoose death came as a real shock to the surviving friends. they make arrangements to meet in Greenwhich Village, in a vest pocket park right on 6th Avenue. the first there is Jack Warden and George Segal. they decide to get hot dogs at a stand. however there's someone ahead of them, it's a little nebbishy looking man wearing heavy eyeglasses. could that be Woody Allen? there's a strong resemblence. he's not listed in the credits. i wish someone could answer that question. Just who is buying that hot dog? the rest of the film consists of four friends driving all over Brooklyn in a cramped VW beetle looking for the funeral home and then trying to get to a cemetary for the burial service. will they find the proper locations as they drive through parts of Brooklyn I know so well, meeting some very odd people along the way. this is a very well acted film directed by Sidney Lumet who uses not only the actors, all well known, as a backdrop for areas of a city, that will jog many memories for the films viewers. the story is adapted from a novella by Wallace Markfield called "To An Early Grave". see it, even if you're not a native Brooklynite, you'll enjoy this film. now if only someone can tell me just who was buying that hot dog..............

I have been looking for this film on dvd for many years. The wait was worth it. This wonderful and wistful story is as great as I remembered seeing it 40 years ago. The characterizations could be a little more subtle, but it is a comedy and it really evokes something about the way things were. Very entertaining. The dvd played well. Great!!!

Wallace Markfield's classic dark Jewish comedy transferred lovingly to the screen, with classic performances by Zohra Lampert, George Segal, Sorrel Booke, Joseph Wiseman and others. A gem.