Product Details

• Actors: Kenneth Branagh, Judy Davis, Leonardo DiCaprio, Bebe Neuwirth, Charlize Theron
• Directors: Woody Allen
• Format: Closed-captioned, Black & White, Letterboxed, NTSC, Widescreen
• Language: English (Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono)
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Rated: R (Restricted)
• Studio: Miramax
• DVD Release Date: August 10, 1999
• Run Time: 113 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 3.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (64 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B00000JGOI
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #105,283 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)
• Learn more about "Celebrity" on IMDb

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Woody Allen's portrait of the celebrity life--as seen through the eyes of a newly divorced couple--is a black-and-white, New York-style La Dolce Vita that's a chillier flip side to Allen's earlier New York valentine, Manhattan. Despite a few missteps, though, it's an admirable (if dark) and worthy addition to the Allen pantheon. Kenneth Branagh and Judy Davis (both boasting American accents) star as the once-marrieds, each struggling to build new, separate lives in a media-saturated, celebrity-driven world. He tries his hands at celebrity profiles (while peddling a screenplay to any star that will listen) and falls into the lap of a bosomy starlet (Melanie Griffith), the first in a long line of briefly attainable women. She runs into a producer (Joe Mantegna) who offers her a job as a TV personality as well as a loving relationship. This seemingly simple double plot is punctuated with twists and turns in the form of flashbacks and innumerable side trips, all ravishingly photographed in black and white by the legendary Sven Nykvist, and populated by one of Allen's largest casts ever; if you blink you'll miss countless cameos by Isaac Mizrahi, Donald Trump, Hank Azaria, and a host of others.

While Davis is splendid as usual (aside from the requisite nervous breakdown scene she's done one too many times), somebody should have told Branagh to put a kibosh on his Woody Allen imitation, which is so impeccable as to become irritating. His failure in the role, however, isn't entirely his fault, as it's also another in a long line of unlikable male protagonists that Allen has created, as if daring audiences to hate his main characters after loving them in such movies as Manhattan and Annie Hall. He's never more unlikable than in a painful sequence in which he tags along with a spoiled, temperamental teen idol (a shrewd and clever Leonardo DiCaprio) and proves himself the quintessential noodge. Far more enjoyable misadventures with Branagh include Charlize Theron in the film's best performance as a libidinous supermodel with a penchant for echinacea; a stunning Famke Janssen as a successful book editor Branagh almost moves in with; and Winona Ryder, acting like an adult for the first time, as an aspiring actress who catches Branagh's eye more than once. All manage to slip through Branagh's fingers by the end of the film.

Despite the film's lack of focus, Allen aficionados will want this film for at least two wonderful moments, one in which Davis seeks solace from a streetwise fortune teller after she's fleeing her own wedding, and a beautiful nighttime scene in which Branagh romances a captivated Ryder at a subway kiosk. Both episodes prove that Allen, despite the fitful period he's moved into, still has that movie magic. --Mark Englehart

Product Description

With an incredible all-star cast, this critically acclaimed comedy takes a hysterical look at the pleasures and pitfalls of fortune and fame! Following their divorce, the lives of a restless writer and his inhibited ex-wife take off in outrageously unpredictable directions! While Lee (Kenneth Branagh -- HAMLET, OTHELLO) explores the wilder side of his newfound freedom, Robin (Judy Davis -- DECONSTRUCTING HARRY) begins an improbable transformaiton from neurotic schoolteacher to high-profile T.V. talk show host! Whether it's partying with supermodels, sexy encounters with movie stars, or interviews with the cream of high society, CELEBRITY offers you a riotous excuse to rub shoulders with the kind of people we all love to celebrate!

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

20 of 20 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars watch it again-you'll like it July 9, 2000

By A Customer

Format:DVD

Why do people keep expecting everything from Woody Allen to be "funny"? Like "Stardust Memories" or any number of his other movies, I would consider "Celebrity" more of a drama than a comedy. Yes, there are funny scenes, but there's more to it, I think. I didn't love the movie on first viewing, but I enjoy it more each time I see it. If you give it a chance and listen to what the director tells Melanie Griffith at the beginning about the "human condition", and how that relates to Kenneth Branagh (who I did NOT find annoying) at the end; and look deeper than Leonardo DiCaprio's small part, I think you'll find more than just jokes (or the absence thereof).

18 of 18 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Why are people mad at this movie? March 15, 2003

By BillyM

Format:VHS Tape

Kenneth Branagh is delightful in this film. Forget about Woody Allen for a moment and appreciate the performance (ask yourself if anyone could have done it better). I couldn't stop laughing! Every line of dialogue in this film is worth catching, Judy Davis is fantastic, and it's just a genuinely entertaining movie. The one star and two star ratings are ridiculous. Typical of arm-chair critics to blast a film when it doesn't fit the expected Allen mold. This is an excellent film, great dialogue, enjoyable plot.

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Kenneth as Woody. July 14, 2000

By phirefly

Format:VHS Tape

While the movie itself was pretty uneventful and seemed to drag, the absolute magnificence of Kenneth Branagh's performance made it worth watching. I think what a couple of previous reviewers may have missed is that the male lead was written by Woody for Woody. He, thankfully, had the wisdom to know he would not be able to believably play that role--with Charlize and Winona falling all over him. So, he got someone else to play him for him. Kenneth does a remarkable Woody Allen. The argument in the park is a prime example. So to the reviewer who said that leading men in Woody Allen films should stop trying to be Woody, please realize that sometimes that is the whole intent, and realizing that can make the whole film richer.

12 of 15 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars If it wasn't Woody, you'd all love it November 2, 1999

By A Customer

Format:VHS Tape

The expectations are higher when an artist like Woody Allen makes a movie. If some no-talent little jerk with dirty hair made this, you'd all be falling over each other to meet the next Great Young Director.

As it is, I will admit its not Woody's greatest effort, but it certainly is not as bad as most of you are making it out to be.

And I agree that Leonardo is great and he stands out - his scene is classic Woody. Winona Ryder and Famke Janssen and Charlize are gorgeous and its all good, as far as I am concerned.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars It gets better every time May 19, 2000

By A Customer

Format:DVD

When I first saw CELEBRITY, I hated it just as much as most of my fellow reviewers. But, I'm a die hard Allen fan, so I saw it again. The film seemed different the second time, the message seemed more defined, but it wasn't like it had changed since the last time. The difference, I knew when it was going to end. The first time it seems to drag on and on . . and on. But the second time round, you are free to listen and absorb everything a lot easier. This is a great movie, with an excelent cast and some hilarious moments.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars One of Woody's best, and most under appreciated films.. August 9, 2008

By APC Reviews

Format:DVD

"Celebrity" is one of Woody's best, and most under appreciated and also unjustly attacked films. The production is first rate, the characters diverse, and the acting -- from Kenneth Branagh, Judy Davis, Leonardo DiCaprio, Melanie Griffith, Joe Mantegna -- as good as in any Allen film. It is a wonderful and highly observant film, that seems to offend many for reasons that no one seems able to really express, other than by resorting to vituperative adjectives and hand wringing.

As far as I can tell, it offends some people because it is thought to be "more of the same" late "Manhattan" period Allen ensemble work -- pity Mozart if he had been cranking out symphonies for these complainers; it is thought to be annoying because Kenneth Branagh does what is, really, a wonderful Allen impression, Woody being too old by the time was made to play the lead in the story; because the characters are more fully developed, and so perhaps more subtle and less immediately amusing, versions of the classic Allen character types that, by the time the film was made, had become well known to audiences impatient for novelty and new amusements from Allen; because, perhaps, many solid middle American types have such an instinctive and deep seated hatred for the particular New York types that populate Allen films that this film evidently pushed the buttons of those audience members to extremes that mandated vicious opining in revenge; and, perhaps, last but not least, because Allen films tend to attract either comedy lovers who are put off by misanthropic elements, or misanthropes who are put off by overly human and flawed characters that don't live up to their notions of worthiness, or which make light of misanthropic virtues.

There's a reason Woody made Stardust Memories, also one of his finest films.... The raging disappointment expressed by some toward his more challenging films, and to some of his more phoned in and forgettable ones, points to the creative conflict, and conflicted audience reactions, highlighted in Stardust Memories. All that aside, "Celebrity" is a marvelous film, that surely deserves a better DVD transfer than it receives here. Hopefully, when the entire Allen catalog is given a much needed 16:9 remastering someday, "Celebrity" will re-emerge and be appreciated by new audiences. Read more ›

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Another Masterpiece for Allen September 23, 1999

By A Customer

Format:VHS Tape

Celebrity is a great movie. It isn't quite as brilliant as Deconstructing Harry, but few movies are. Woody Allen is one of the best filmmakers living today. I will not say anything about the plot because it's best for the viewer to descover it for themselves. I will say that Rider and DeCaprio are great in it.

12 of 16 people found the following review helpful

2.0 out of 5 stars DVD Edition is so poor ! October 12, 1999

By A Customer

Format:DVD

Even if this movie deserves 4-5 stars (lots of jokes, funny situations, and despite what other comments says, really good acting) I can only give it two because of DVD edition. No alternative language, no subtitles, no bonus material, nothing. You'd get the same on TV. What's the point ? Is it soooo expensive to try to get some quality ? Hello Miramax, is anybody alive ?