Product Details

• Actors: Gena Rowlands, Buck Henry, Julie Carmen, Tony Knesich, Gregory Cleghorne
• Directors: John Cassavetes
• Writers: John Cassavetes
• Producers: Sam Shaw, Stephen F. Kesten
• Format: Color, HiFi Sound, NTSC
• Rated: PG (Parental Guidance Suggested)
• Number of tapes: 1
• Studio: Sony Pictures
• VHS Release Date: January 19, 1999
• Run Time: 123 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (43 customer reviews)
• ASIN: 6302799112
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #156,089 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Even a genre film looks different in the hands of writer-director John Cassavetes. In this one, he casts a wonderfully hard-boiled Gena Rowlands as the title character: a former Mob moll who picked up a few tricks along the way. She becomes the unexpected guardian of a young boy (John Adames) who has just seen his parents wiped out. Worse, the Mob is after him as well, seeking a book he has--and the overdue fine is a killer. Though Cassavetes lets his actors have a little too much rein, it pays off in the complex--and surprisingly funny--performance by Rowlands as an unlikely nanny who discovers that, though she is an unwilling bodyguard, she actually learns to care for the tough little guy she's trying to keep out of harm's way. --Marshall Fine

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

29 of 31 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Gena Rowlands is the BOMB!, April 16, 2001

By 

Kali "bengaligirl" (United Kingdom) - See all my reviews

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

Never sentimental, often brutal, "Gloria" follows the life and times of ex-gangster's moll Gloria who finds herself protecting the young survivor of a mafia massacre. Armed with only her wits and a pocket gun, Gloria goes on the run, taking with her Phil, played wonderfully by then child actor John Adames who tries his best to be Gloria's equal in everything. Gloria knows enough about mafia life to know that she and Phil are living on borrowed time but she's one tough broad, and there's a chance that the Mafia just might have met their match in a woman whose maternal instincts have been aroused, and who will do anything to protect a child she has come to love as her own. Gena Rowlands is crackingly good as the foul mouthed Gloria who gives as good as she gets, as she takes on the mob, and the whole corrupt city system in a battle of wits, blood and bullets. Considering that this film was made over 20 years ago, it has aged pretty well and is just as watchable now as it was then. Worth adding to your collection if you life a film with teeth.

18 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Would be 5-stars, but this video was cut/edited, May 3, 1999

By 

J.A. Greenleaf "JAGreenleaf" (Donegal, Ireland) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

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

Sudden Light: Donegal's NovelOne of my all-time favorite movies, easily worthy of 5 (or more stars), in the theatrical version. BUT, for reasons unknown, this one was cut in at least two key scenes, and probably many others. The scene in the apartment, when the shooters come in, we no longer see the mother and father with their guns and the shootings of the grandmother, mother, and father, and, off-camera, daughter. Instead, the camera is on Gloria and the kid in her apartment (something that wasn't in the original, as I recall). The scene where Gloria is on the curb with the kid and the mobsters roar up in their car. In the theatrical release, Gloria says, "Suck on this!" as she points and shoots them, point-blank. Major slice in the video, no "Suck on this!" You can see the jerkiness of the cut. I'm amazed that this was done. Interested in continuity errors? [...]

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A spunky performance., October 12, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: Gloria (DVD)

I bought this DVD because I remembered seeing this film back in high school and never quite forgot the dialogue or the bravado of Gena Rowlands performance. And it's this performance and the acting ability of this great artist which makes me glad I purchased it. I've already viewed this DVD several times and never get tired of this fast paced action drama about a female hero who unlike most heriones will surely never become quite domesticated in the end. This is what makes "Gloria" unique, along with the off-beat stylized direction of Gena Rowlands late husband John Cassevettes. The story takes place in Manhattan and the entire film serves as a representation of the late 1970's. Gena Rowlands goes all the way with this character, screaming at mobsters such lines as "You let a woman beat you" "uh." Despite such dialogue or maybe because of it(and the unique, progressive, and "classy" quality of this production) this film represents an overall entertaining experience. Highly Recommended!