Customer Reviews

The Dead [Region 2]

5 star:		(49)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(21)

 

 

It's getting a release...but not a proper release. More than 8 minutes have been cut from the beginning of the film (according to dvdverdict). This isn't the result of region conversion. They were cut. No explanation. Please send a message to the hacks at Lionsgate and refrain from purchasing this travesty. What a great film being so sorely treated. You would think the idiotic cover art would be sufficient insult to Huston's final masterpiece.

Lionsgate has cut at least 8 minutes from the film. Probably this is a TV version, shorter to fill in a 90 minutes slot! When i first heard about this release i was excited, then appalled from the ugly cover and now simply disgusted...
DO NOT BUY THIS, LIONSGATE RECALL THE DVD NOW AND FIX THE PROBLEM!!!

EDIT: The fixed version is available from other retailers, Amazon why aren't you carrying it?

Do not buy this video if you do not enjoy movies made with delicacy and wistful melancholy -- it is short, has no real plot and features no special effects. Yet this movie stands as one of the best ever -- it weaves a spell over you, and captivates your every sense. We are treated to the visual trimmings of a holiday feast, along with the Irish folk music that will, just when you least expect it, turn your expectations upside down. The lively characterizations of every player in this movie bring it to vivid life; it's as if you have entered a Christmas card, and can taste, smell and feel everything around you. That James Joyce's story revolves essentially around a simple, but devastating revelation, is what makes it brilliant. So many times in this movie the obvious gives way to more specific visions: as one of the many, many colorful ladies speaks at her party, we are brought inside a bedroom, where we linger with the camera on objects -- picture frames, combs, etc., that spark the imagination and underscore the proceedings with a singluar clarity. Angelica Huston is magically compelling, and the final monologue, delivered with subtle power, will haunt your memory.

The following information applies to DVD's sold in the US. There are two versions of "The Dead" floating around. The correct "full length" version is catalogue number 27301 which appears on the actual disc and also above the bar code on the back cover of the DVD. The correct time (83 minutes) is also at the bottom of the DVD back cover. The "edited" version (73 minutes and missing important footage) is catalogue number 26399 which also appears on the disc and above the bar code. It is impossible to tell the two versions apart based on the DVD front covers. Although Amazon's product description states the film is 83 minutes in length, they are no longer a direct seller for this item. Instead, you must buy from an independent seller and hope they are selling the correct full length version. I purchased my first version of this DVD from one of the sellers listed by Amazon and got the shortened version. I was finally able to find the full length version at a Fry's Electronics superstore in Las Vegas. I wish I could give better info to potential buyers. By the way, the full length DVD has a good widescreen picture and Dolby Digital audio. There are, however, no special features. Lionsgate really screwed up this DVD release.

Joyce wrote this short story as part of a collection while he was living in Paris during the period 1904 and 1914.He had great difficulty in getting the collection published and his poem "Gas from a Burner" is worth studying in this context.
Joyce rarely wrote anything unless he was fully familar with the subject. In the earlier years of their relationship Joyce believed his wife, Nora Barnacle,had an affair with a young Galway accountant caled Michael Fury. Nora had embellished the story of that relationship culminating with Fury dying of tuberculosis. This idea of dying from TB, including the trace of blood on the hankerchief, occurs often in the movies.The film is beautiful. The recitation by Mr.Brown of Lady Gregory's translation of the poem "Donal Og" is quite something. Other reviewers have spoken of the last 20 minutes. Who am I to add to the comments. It is Huston's tribute to Ireland. He enjoyed his time with us here. Please buy this movie, you will be touched for the rest of your life.

Lionsgate what were you thinking - cutting 10 minutes from the begining of this flim. And no bonus features? I see a "Criterion Collection" release in this film's future.

A huge wave of shock and disappointment when I discovered Lionsgate had someone managed to drop what feels like the entire second reel of the movie. I can live with the cheap packaging and zero extras just to have a crisp clean copy of this film, but this is beyond tolerance. A good many people are like me and have waited a long time for this wonderful picture to arrive on DVD. Wait a little longer before ordering, till Lionsgate fixes the problem...and they better.

The NYTimes reported that Lionsgate was reissuing this marvelous movie with the missing 10+ minutes cut for no reason and gave a telephone/e-mail contact to receive an un botched copy. Two months and multiple attempts to contact them later, I am left with the expurgated version.

Jane

I've waited for years for a DVD version of John Huston's The Dead. Finally, it arrived, and it's such a disappointment. Why did they cut out important early scenes in a film that is already noted for its conciseness? It's like taking a Shakespeare sonnet and removing a few lines to accommodate the ADD-afflicted. Because of the cuts, later dialogue makes no sense. I have to admit I was initially wary of the DVD when I saw the cover, which shows a smiling Gretta (Anjelica Huston) holding a rose, as if she's being courted by her lover, conveying a sense of satisfaction that has absolutely nothing to do with the story as Joyce wrote it and as Huston presented it in the film. The cover is obviously the work of some third-rate marketing hack who thought sales of the DVD might be improved a little if the cover conveyed a sense of corny, Family Channel uplift. Lionsgate should be ashamed of sending this abomination out into the world.

If they wanted to do it right, Lionsgate should have presented the entire film, along with the documentary "John Huston and The Dubliners", which chronicles the making of the film. Maybe, some day, Lionsgate or some other corporate Neanderthal, will somehow stumble on the right formula. As for now, I recommend that moviegoers who cherish the film should stick to the videocassette if you are lucky to still have one. As for those who have never seen The Dead and are intrigued by it: Don't buy this DVD. It is not the film John Huston made.

I was SO UPSET when I saw this version I almost cried, and then almost shut it off. I waited years for it! I said, "I can never see this again," because my VHS tape was worn out. I NEVER give things bad reviews. I ran at once to Amazon to protest and found the good news they are re-releasing it. I know the script by heart. What an awful version!! The whole set up of who Gabriel is, the whole great entrance of Freddy Mullins and the scene with his mother and Greta's character setup, etc. etc. just...SNIPPED. I heard a rumbling of dear John Huston rising from his rest in wrath. But it will be restored!