Customer Reviews

Bonfire of the Vanities [VHS]

5 star:		(16)
4 star:		(19)
3 star:		(14)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(17)

 

 

Next to Michael Cimino's Heaven's Gate, David Lynch's Dune, and Francis Ford Coppola's One From the Heart, Brian De Palma's Bonfire of the Vanities is a savagely under-rated film. De Palma once again demonstrates he is a master of wit. The film was initially criticized, or rather misinterpreted, for being somehow 'lightweight.' If anything, the film is over-the-top! De Palma's choice for lavish sets and stunning cinematography (by vilmos zsigmond) in wall street upper class New York perfectly match the subject matter and commentary on the 1980s greed infested 'me' decade and Reagan/Bush era, adapted from Thomas Wolfe's popular novel. Critics howled that the film downplayed Wolfe's themes...people act like Tom Wolfe, albeit a talented writer, is somehow as deep as James Joyce or something. The message of the book is pretty darn simple people! and it translates very obviously, perhaps even too obviously, in the film. Not to mention the fact that film is a totally different medium than literature, and one should not expect a film to be exactly like the book. as for the miscasting criticism, it is true Hanks doesnt exactly perfectly fit the role of McCoy, but he doesnt take away from the movie. The supporting cast, however, is better than him. Griffith is fantastic, and Willis gives a performance that practically carries the movie. I think this film was very ambitious and ahead of its time, and will in the future eventually be recognized as a very good film.

I was only a young teen when this came out, but I vividly remember all of the scandalous press about how bad it supposedly was. Uh-uh, not true. Before watching it this past weekend, I noticed that almost all of the reviewers who hated it had read the book first and were upset it was so different. Well, I haven't read the book yet, and watched the movie this past weekend. It was just great - a very witty comedy/drama/social commentary of the '80s, not unlike one of my other faves, "Six Degrees of Separation". Melanie Griffith is the best one in this and yes, her southern accent does come and go, but maybe it was intentional - to show her character was a fake @$$ b!tch who couldn't even keep her accent going? Also great to see Kim Cattrall, who has obviously had a boob job since this was made. Charming also is "Sabrina The Teenage Witch"'s Beth Broderick.

I'm going to explain my book/movie difference theory using my all-time favorite movie "Valley of the Dolls" (VOTD) as an example. Yes, I know it (and the book for that matter) is considered trash, but it still proves the point. I saw the VOTD movie first and adored it instantly, so I then rushed out and read the book, which was SO different and had so many more subplots, additional characters, attributed different dialogue to different characters, etc. However, this still ADDED to my movie-going experience by giving me "bonus" footage/scenes to enjoy and supplemet the movie. Had I read the book FIRST, upon seeing the movie, I would've probably been disappointed because I already had preconceived expectations. I think the same rule applies to "Bonfire". It just isn't possible to get all of a full-length novel into a 2 hour movie and unfortunately they have to cast within the Hollywood system (who's hot, who's available, wtc.)... Please don't miss this! When Melanie gets her come-uppance, it is triumphant!

Having read the novel by Tom Wolfe right before the movie came out, I tossed the da*n thing across the room when I finished the last page, for the ending was horrendous! There was no ending! It just stopped, leaving loose ends dangling everywhere, and the reader in a mess of mass confusion with no resolution of any kind. Don't get me wrong, there were parts of the novel that I adored, it was definetly a masterpiece of modern literature, no doubt! Especially the old, Jewish judge who should have been played by Ray Walston, or the guy that played the judge in the horrible "Presumed Innocent". The character of the judge was the funniest character in the story. However, I have come to accept Morgan Freeman in that role, for his version of The Judge ranks among his best, like that of "The Shawshank Redemption" and "Driving Miss Daisy". There are moments that he is extremely hilarious in a vicious way, to bringing the house down with his brilliantly acted "speech scene" at the film's climax.
Now, about the film: This movie was killed by critics before it ever hit theaters. Things like "Bad casting", "Not faithful to the novel", etc, etc. kept popping up in article after article, and/or mentioned on talk shows before the film was even completed. So, you tell me who killed this film at the box office?! It sure as heck wasn't director Brian DePalma's fault! He served up a super satire that was very faithful to the book (except for the already mentioned judge character, and not detailing a lot of description about some of the character's backgrounds and/or motives, especially that of assistant DA Jed Krandall, perfectly played by comedic actor Saul Rubinec, who was last seen in a recurring role on tv's "Frasier" as Daphne's jilted fiance, and attorney -wonder where the idea for casting him as an attorney in a comedy came from???), and turning Peter Fallow from a Brit into an American, which I had no problem with what so ever. As a matter of fact, if you'll notice, that works perfectly since there are so many other British characters in the story, like Fallow's publishing boss, and especially the brilliant Beth Broderick as a bitter socialite whose Italian lover has been stolen away from her by the Devilshly femme fatale cunning b**ch Maria Ruskin, who is obviously a socialite wannabe phony, sleeping her way among the idle rich (think A.N.S.), whose accent is supposed to change back and forth because she's such a phony person, who doesn't have any problem being a "black widow", or setting up Sherman for a crime he never committed, so wonderfully played by Melanie Griffith; her best work next to that of DePalma's 1984 classic thriller "Body Double" and Mike Nicholl's excellent 1987 film "Working Girl". And, DePalma gave it a very nice ending that wrapped everything up. (Not that I feel that every story has to tie itself up all neat and tidy, but this is one of those stories that needed that kind of closure.)
And about the casting of Tom Hanks, well, I, too had my reservations about that since the only decent film he had made was Penny Marshall's "Big", which was still somewhat of a juvenile film, but still one that I love. This is THE film that started Tom Hanks onto the Award winning actor trail (and I'm so surprised, even all these years later, especially looking back on how his career evolved after this film that he didn't recieve better accolades for his performance), because the next roles Tom got offered, which I'm sure was due in large part to his awesome job in this film, were films like Jonathan Demme's "Philadelphia", Robert Szmeckis' "Forrest Gump", Speilberg's "Saving Private Ryan", Ron Howard's "Apollo 13", and Frank Darabont's "The Green Mile", all GREAT films, roles that I don't think that he would have been offered had it not been for this film giving him the chance to showcase what a mature, talented actor that he really was and still is. His films before this were duds like "The Burbs", "Bachelor Party", "Volunteers", "Turner & Hooch", "Joe Versus The Volcano", and the godawful "Dragnet". And let's not forget Kim Catrall's performance of Sherman's socialite b**ch of a wife, who until then was among the ranks of Tom Hanks' earlier work (except her great work in John Carpenter's comic classic "Big Trouble In Little China"), but went on from this to success in several great films and onto HBO's "Sex And The City". And a seven year old Kirsten Dunst who comes off like a modern day Shirley Temple in her scenes (she showed signs of her awesome talent for acting in this film), who went on to stealing the scenes in a lot of great movies, be it "Interview With The Vampire" or "Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind" (an AWESOME film!). And Rita Wilson (Tom Hanks' wife) had a great small part in the awesome tracking shop openening of the film, purposely playing a nerve-shattering socialite who comes across as meek and stuttery, shy and jiterry, naive and unnerving all in a 5 minute scene. Plus, the opening steadicam shot and the unnerving feeling that's created is on purpose because DePalma is bringing us into a world of chaos that's just smoltering away, just like today's eroding communities.
And the list of cameo's by "top" name people is endless: George Plimpton, comedic genius Alan King as Maria Ruskin's MUCH older husband, Arthur Ruskin, Geraldo Rivera (playing a fictional version of himself, which was dead on perfect since Rivera was the ultimate media sl*t - and I mean that in deep respect to Geraldo, for he in and of himself helped expose what trash the media can sink to - during the entire 1980's, as well as the '90's). And for Bruce Willis, well, it's a shame that a lot of people can't except him unless he's in a "Die Hard" movie, but has shown such extreme degree's to acting, whether it be on the TV or on The Big Screen, Willis has done some awesome acting, as in Terry Gilliam's brilliant "12 Monkey's", Rob Reiner's criminally bashed "North", and "The Sixth Sense". His interpretation of Peter Fallow is pitch perfect, looking like a modern day Cary Grant.
As other reviewers on here who like this film and know the story, are so right, this film was killed by critics for political reasons. And, that's a da*n shame, for this is one of the funniest satires to ever come out of Hollywood, and also because DePalma has sworn that he'll never make another comedy because people don't get his sense of humor. And, for anyone who's seen "Greetings", "Hi, Mom!", "The Wedding Party", "Phantom of the Paradise", "Home Movies", or "Wise Guys" will also agree that that's just flat out tragic, for his comedies are side-splitting hilarious! As for the rest of the cast, everyone did an awesome job bringing such loathsome characters to life in celluloid.
Everyone I knew back in 1990 agreed that this was an awesome movie, and they too had read the book. As for Tom Hanks' Sherman McCoy, I couldn't picture anyone else in this role. He offers the depth and pathos to make you feel for his plight as the man who's falsely accussed, whose life is shattered by one simple little accident and will never be the same again, a common theme often used in Hitchcock films. Another ploy often used in Hitchcock classics was to use star power instead of unknown actors. And, I think this ploy serves to benefit both directors for the films that they choose to use it for. This was definetly a film ahead of its time (remember the race riots in L.A. in 1995?), for it still stands out as a masterpiece of cinema even today. Even Kubrick's masterpiece "The Shining" didn't take such a beating for "not being faithful to the source novel", and I can't think of a better example of a film that stripped the source material down to the bare bones to be rebuilt into the classic it is today. And, "The Shining" was a far superior best selling novel than Tom Wolfe's one hit wonder ever was! So, again, it begs to question, why did critics, even before they even saw a single print of this masterpiece, decide to trash it, calling it a bomb BEFORE it was even released?!?!
That has always puzzled me. Either way, it hurt the film's box office performance (which I was lucky enough to see it in the theater within the two weeks that it played, and I remember a huge audience roaring with laughter throughout the entire film). I was hoping that word of mouth would help people overcome the prejudices set by the critics, but that just never happened, at least during its theatrical run. Who knows, it may have actually been a box office hit, but the media won't ever allow that to be known; because anyone I've ever known and/or encountered that has seen the film all agree that it was great. But, either way, it's nice to see on amazon that it has gained a growing audience of viewers like myself over the years. Just think, Hitchcock's final film, the hilarious classic "Family Plot" flopped upon release, but is now concidered one of his best films ever. Hopefully time will be as kind to DePalma's adaptation of Wolfe's novel, which was just as great as his adaptations of "Carrie", "The Fury", "Casualties Of War", "Carlito's Way", and "The Black Dahlia".
Either way, I will continue to enjoy it every time I get the chance, for I feel it ranks up there with some of the best comic classics ever made, along with Hitch's best classic comedies, like "Mr. And Mrs. Smith", "The Trouble With Harry", and "Family Plot". And for those that do like the film, always think of Beth Broderick's character on that zerox machine, saying to Peter Fallow "And when you find them, tell them this is from the tw*t that turned them in" whenever you need a laugh. If you haven't seen it, then it's worth viewing for that scene alone. Just remember this is a satire, NOT slapstick.

This movie got mercilessly flogged by reviewers when it was released. For that reason, I avoided it all these years. Well, that's what I get for being a sheep. This is actually a very enjoyable film. I'm sure it will continue to offend a lot of people, but what doesn't these days? I did read and like Wolfe's novel, and I really thought this was a faithful film version.

The reviews I see here are astounding. Either you love this movie or you hate it. I believe the film may be too intelligent for today's sensory deprived audiences. I will just tell you what I saw in the film... an all-star cast flawlessly executing an intelligent, humorous and socially insightful script. As for the plot, I will let the movie speak for itself. While this may not be another Star Wars, I certainly will not mind having this title in my DVD collection.

The Bonfire Of The Vanities is an underrated gem directed by Brian DePalma (Scarface), and featuring an all-star cast including Academy Award winners Tom Hanks (Big, Forrest Gump), Morgan Freeman (Million Dollar Baby, Driving Miss Daisy), F Murray Abraham (Amadeus), and a supporting cast including Bruce Willis (Die Hard), Melanie Griffith (Shining Through), and Kim Cattrall (Turk 182).

The story depicts a decaying society infested with racism, greed, hypocrisy, and corruption. The particular society in focus here is New York City, where an incident that signifies a major clash between the white upper class and the black lower class becomes media dinner. Hanks plays Sherman McCoy, a wealthy businessman who cheats on his wife, played by Cattrall, with another rich man's wife Maria Ruskin, played by Griffith.

On one of their nights on the town, McCoy and Ruskin find themselves in the slums of New York, where they are jumped by two black youths, and end up committing a hit and run as they run over one of the kids as they flee in McCoy's car. This goes straight to headline news. The African American community are not pleased, the mayor of the city, played hysterically by Abraham, wants to gain Black support by taking a rich 'white' turkey to court and reprimending him; in this case, the turkey is McCoy, a religious man who's only after money, and a drunken down-on-his-luck reporter Peter Fallow, played by Willis, who's hot on McCoy's tracks for this could be the story that will bring him to the top of his game, and in the longer run, make him a star of the moment.

Everybody's in for a surprise, however, to find out that Ruskin was the one driving the car, not McCoy, but the entire city wants McCoy's neck anyways. McCoy, on the other hand, must play a dirty game to clear his name even if it means that he should break the law.

The Bonfire Of the Vanities has no heroes. All the characters in the movie symbolize very dirty and corrupt people. The only voice of wisdom in the film is the judge, played by Freeman, hot off his Oscar nominated performance in Driving Miss Daisy, who gives a convincing speech at the end of the movie.

Even though the movie flopped in 1990 when it was released and today is considered one of the worst films ever made, I find Bonfire a truly unappreciated social commentary take on a dysfunctional system with ordinary people working as organizers of the system. It's a bittersweet slice of American realism that many people tend to walk away from.

Recommended

B

This is the dilemma the critics faced when reviewing this movie. And their problem was--they didn't like either the truth or the political incorrectness of this film. I've lived in New York and the truth of the depiction in this movie rang all too true. I was also shocked that any moviemaker would have the courage to present some of these truths, because they are blatantly politically incorrect. I doubt whether such a movie could me made nowadays. If it could, only the most independent of indies could make it. So, if you want to enjoy what may be one of your last chances to see politically incorrect truths on film, this is it.

Besides, it's a good movie. Tom Hanks tears your heart out as the wrongfully accused guy. Melanie is lovable as always, bless her lacivious heart. Morgan Freeman stood out--doesn't he always? The movie grips you from start to finish and doesn't let up for a moment. The ending is satisfying.

Bottom line: forget the politcal pundits and enjoy the movie.

Personally, I watched the movie without having read the book, which could be seen as both a good and a bad thing. On one hand, it allows me to judge the film as exactly that - a film, with no other conflicting point of reference to cloud my opinions. On the other, it means I'm pretty much ignorant as to whether or not the screen version succeeds or fails in living up to its story's potential. 'The Bonfire Of The Vanities' is a good film: nothing more, nothing less. So why, then, was it so universally slated by critics at the time of its big screen release? The answer, it would seem, is the overwhelming popularity of the piece of literature it was based on, Tom Wolfe's novel of the same name.

This movie is played on the borderline "tragedy and comic" the result, in my opinion, is a very interesting mix of ironic situations. Sherman McCoy (Tom Hanks) is on top of his game and is the top dog in one of the top financial firms in the city. He has money in spades, a socialite wife, a Park Avenue apartment, a mistress and a very nice car. While out with that same mistress Maria (Griffith) in that same expensive car, Sherman takes a wrong turn and ends up in the Bronx where, in a moment of panic at being confronted by crowds of African Americans, Maria suddenly hits a black man and they drive off back to normal white society. Sadly for Sherman, this minor incident escalates when the boy goes into a coma and his car is identified as the one involved, Add to this a DA who desperately needs to win the ethnic vote by prosecuting a rich white person and a journalist who, desperate to get off skid row, talks up the story with a series of sensationalist headlines that twist the truth. As these factors all come into play, Sherman's tidy, rich, world starts to crumble.

Griffith is great along with Tom even though he didn't win anything his performance is good. Bruce Willis is very funny as an alcoholic reporter who follows this New York scandal, I know we all like Bruce in action movies but he does well on this job. Morgan Freeman really catches your attention as an no-nonsense judge, seem suited to their roles. Really the plot in this movie is odd but watch it you see how it develops and relates to the lifestyles of the characters. I know that Brian DePalma has done better than this but remember many times a novel doesn't do well on the big screen. Again, "The Bonfire of the Vanities" was an '80s story based on a Tom Wolfe bestseller so don't blame Brian he done as good a job possible the cast had plenty of talent and that's why this movie is great and out of the ordinary.

I know-everyone thinks the movie paled in comparison to the book but I saw the film first so I met it with a clean slate. This was my favorite movie when I first saw it and it is still my favorite movie today. It just completely sums up the essence of humanity and also offers good acting as well as great direction. The setting was brilliant, the whole movie moved like a symphony. Tom Hanks was good as was Melanie and Bruce (don't forget movie first not book) and to my great surprise I just recently realized that the WASP-y Park Avenue wife is none other than Kim Catral! She makes a good dramatic actress. All in all I recommend this movie if you can see it as just that-the movie and not the book. I truly love it.

That's about all it took for Sherman McCoy's life to change. A tire. Lost in the Bronx with his lover Maria, McCoy ends up in an alley, gets out of the car to move a tire out of the way, when two black guys come to him. Are they looking for a fight? Are they gonna ask him something? Sherman McCoy really doesn't wanna find out, so he runs to his car and in his escape and one of the two boys ends up drastically injured.

McCoy, being a Wall Street tycoon, suddenly finds himself trapped in a web of racism and personal interests. His life begins to fall apart.

This is a very entertaining and interesting tale that was really underrated when first released. I think it's a really good movie. Can't say great, cuz I don't think it is, but it is good, that's for sure. Acting is great, the score is really good, and even though I am not really a Brian De Palma fan, I enjoyed this movie. I think it's not what he usually does.

Bruce Willis and Tom Hanks give a superb acting to the point of really believe their characters. I highly recommend it to anyone looking for a movie with something to say. Too bad the DVD contains no features at all, not even the theatrical trailer, which is the least you can ask form a DVD.