Product Details

• Actors: Lou Gilbert, Ellen Madison, Tom Erhart, Ben Carruthers, Charles Fischer
• Directors: Benjamin Manaster, Philip Kaufman
• Writers: Benjamin Manaster, Philip Kaufman
• Producers: Philip Kaufman, Zev Braun
• Format: Black & White, DVD, Full Screen, NTSC
• Language: English
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Rated: NR (Not Rated)
• Studio: Facets
• DVD Release Date: January 31, 2006
• Run Time: 85 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B000CEV3B4
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #230,306 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)
• For more information about "Goldstein" visit the Internet Movie Database (IMDb)

Editorial Reviews

GOLDSTEIN, the feature film debut of talented director Philip Kaufman (The Right Stuff, The Unbearable Lightness of Being, Quills), is an early example of American independent filmmaking from the early 1960s. A fable about an old man with an odd effect on those he encounters, the film is a funny, warm-hearted postcard from an important moment in American cinema.GOLDSTEIN, starring veteran character actor Lou Gilbert (Viva Zapata!, The Great White Hope), shared the Prix de la Nouvelle Critique at the 1964 Cannes Film Festival with Bertolucci’s Before the Revolution. Cinema deity Jean Renoir called the film "the best American film I have seen in 20 years." Kaufman was encouraged to film GOLDSTEIN by renowned author Anais Nin, when she was a visiting lecturer and Kaufman a student at the University of Chicago. GOLDSTEIN was filmed on actual Chicago locations and includes appearances by notable cultural figures of the city, including author Nelson Algren, Second City founder Del Close, and original cast member Severn Darden. Other participants contributing to the pedigree of this indie gem include filmmaker Adolfas Mekas (Hallelujah the Hills), brother of experimental director and longtime Village Voice critic Jonas Mekas, and actor Ben Carruthers, star of John Cassavetes’ Shadows.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Goldstein, April 3, 2006

By 

Steven Hellerstedt "SH" - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Goldstein (DVD)

An old man crawls out of Lake Erie, a waitress gets pregnant, and a pair of gynecologists play the first, and probably last, comic abortion scene in movie history. Well, the first, for sure. It's a comic fable of the life of the prophet Elijah, according to its director, Philip Kaufman. Kaufman would go on to write the screenplay for `Raiders of the Lost Ark' and direct such hits as `The Right Stuff' and `The Incredible Lightness of Being,' very good Hollywood movies. GOLDSTEIN, though, was his first and, assuming he spake troth in the talking head interview included on the disk, still one quite close to his heart.

Released to the art houses in 1965, heavily influenced by French New Wave cinema, shot on a miniscule budget, and featuring members of Chicago's Second City improv group, GOLDSTEIN is an impressive debut. Alright, there's absolutely no plot and half of the ad-libbed scenes fall flat. It still looks good, Nelson Algren has a longish scene in it - talking about an old baseball player, kind of missed what his point he was driving at - and the streets of Chicago circa 1964 are delicately captured.

GOLDSTEIN is going to appeal to people who like to puzzle out what a movie's about. Heaven knows the plot, such as it is, gives you little to nothing to go on. The most compelling character for me was the Old Man, played by Lou Gilbert. Although he only in about 20% of the scenes his presence juices things up nicely. Lets face it - a bearded, wild-eyed man dragging himself out of one of the great lakes is going to attract your attention and whet your curiosity. I think I would have loved this movie if he'd been a central character and a stronger story had been woven around him. As it is I'm convinced the movie's Old Man, to some extent, inspired Robert Crumb's Mr. Natural.

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Thrilled, October 29, 2007

By 

Frances Van Kampen (Mt. Prospect, IL) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Goldstein (DVD)

I was thrilled that I was able to locate "Goldstein", which was filmed in 1963 in Chicago. I had a very small speaking part, and this particular scene was filmed at the "Gaslight Club" in Chicago where I worked in the early 1960's. The entire film was improv and the originator of "Second City" also has a part in the film, as did some of the original improv actors.
I can't wait to show this film to my grandchildren.