Product Details

• Format: Black & White, NTSC
• Rated: NR (Not Rated)
• Number of tapes: 1
• Studio: Hallmark
• VHS Release Date: June 25, 1996
• Run Time: 104 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• ASIN: 6303682979
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #441,209 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Exceptionally brilliant, July 10, 2003

By 

Rita Mitchell (Lancaster,, CA. USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Entertainer [VHS] (VHS Tape)

My husband and I first saw this film in London, as it opened, in 1960. I was a young wife of 23, and Sir Laurence Olivier's moving and extraordinary performance (look in his eyes throughout), gave depth to human frailty, and made me cry then, and most recently, 40 years later, has made me weep again, for the human condition.

I felt that the character of Archie Rice was portrayed with all his flaws, yet, Olivier, was able to illuminate,through his superb acting, the tender, vulnerable yet rather caddish side of human life, which side seemed to demonstrate his extreme insecurity. Where Olivier really was so brilliant, I think, was that he showed the viewer that Archie really KNEW himself, deep down. Olivier seems to let the viewer know that he felt inside of himself, that he was a failure by much of societal standards, and that, even personally, he had, somehow, failed to measure up to his own youthful expectations.

I believe this movie ranks with the play/movie "Death of a Salesman" by Arthur Miller -- It is about all of us -- about life.

All of the supporting cast were also outstanding. I believe that this film will move the viewer, and make the viewer think at least, twice, about his/her own life. And hopefully, will help the viwer try to understand yet forgive their own human frailties, as well as to try to understand and forgive others
(And I am not talking about "forgiving," horrible, abusive behaviors, as in "forgetting about it," and somehow going on!)

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Laurence Olivier becomes a great character actor, February 28, 2005

By 

Lawrance M. Bernabo (The Zenith City, Duluth, Minnesota) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (COMMUNITY FORUM 04)    (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Entertainer [VHS] (VHS Tape)

"The Entertainer" is a pivotal film in the career of Laurence Olivier. Before this 1960 film he had been a handsome leading man, receiving Oscar nominations for his performances in "Wuthering Heights," "Rebecca," "The Chronicle History of King Henry the Fift with his Battell at Agincourt in France," "Hamlet" (for which he won," and "Richard III." After "The Entertainer" his nominations were all for character roles, beginning with Archie Rice in this film and then for "Othello" (performed in makeup as a Negro), "Sleuth," "Marathon Man," and "The Boys From Brazil." Performing the film adaptation of John Osborne's play, Olivier restaked his claim as the greatest actor of his generation by adding modern drama to his collection of work in Shakespeare and the classics.

Archie Rice is a bitter character, without any noticeable redeeming quality besides the attempt to survive. He is a comic whose routines are not funny, and perhaps once upon a time, in the early days, they were a put-on, playing a bitter person taking out his anger on the world. Either way, the act is for real now and is a p[itiful] figure. Archie works in a seedy music hall and has his eye on Shirley Anne Field (Tina Lapford), who must be a symbol of some sort of redemption besides simple carnal desire. Just as he ignores his audiences, Archie ignores his own family, who would provide an even more devastating critique of his wretched life. There is no sentimental side to Archie, who remains unflinchingly flawed unto the bitter end.

The film is directed by Tony Richardson, who had done Osborne's "Look Back in Anger" two years earlier and who would win his Oscar for "Tom Jones." However, "The Entertainer" is clearly representative of the "kitchen sink" style of film that characterized Britain's own "New Wave" cinema, which tended to focus on the growing decline in the quality of life in Britain after World War II. The cast features a young Alan Bates as son Frank, Albert Finney debuting as son Mick, and Joan Plowright as daughter Jean (within a year she would be the third and final wife of Olivier). Brenda de Banzie delivers a touching performance as Archie's wife, a bitter alcoholic, whose husband stopped loving her a long time ago. However, from start to finish the film is focused on Olivier's performance, which Olivier often said was the one of which he was most proud, being such a departure from his usual roles and work. You might not think it is Olivier's greatest performance, but it is one of his finest.