Customer Reviews

One from the Heart [VHS]

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(10)
3 star:		(8)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

I just saw this at the Castro Theater in San Francisco, where probably the worst dog of a movie would seem great, but this was very enjoyable. I loved this movie when it came out in 1982 or thereabouts and could never figure out why critics blasted it so unfairly. Coppola had worked himself into a persona non grata in Hollywood; the critics were mouthing that hatred--that's all I could figure.

Seeing it now, this would probably fall into the "art film" category, but it features some great dialogue and compelling performances by Forrest and Garr, with Raul Julia and Natassja Kinski playing more ethereal roles. Kinski is filmed beautifully. It's a beautiful film, period. The music and Vegas sets are wonderful. You miss it as soon as it's over.

Rich and visually exciting...perhaps not 5 stars, but then again this film just doesn't conform easily to any rating system.

If a piece of art is measured by its influence, One From The Heart rates on top. This is pure american movie art, something that get's harder to see every year. It's the result of a man's dream.
Along with The Godfather and Apocalypse Now, One From The Heart beautifully illustrates the behaviors, relations and also how beautiful and pleasant a cinema session can be. Unfortunatelly it was way ahead of its time.
I won't comment the storyline as you can read about it on others reviews.
How's this DVD? Image - 9, Sound - 10.
If I were Mr. Coppola I'd have presented this piece of art lover's with a "Director's Version", including the deleted scenes, along with the original version. They add a lot to the story and since this is DVD, additional minutes wouldn't hurt anyone. This is the only reason why it's not receiving 5 stars. The soundtrack is not DTS but it's nice and clear. The extras add a lot to the understanding of Mr. Coppola's passion, fight for this movie and its commercial "failure".
A movie like this happens only once in a lifetime. It took me 20 years to see something somewhat similar - Moulin Rouge. And Baz Luhrman assumes he had great influence from it.
Those who love cinematography, art direction, touching soundtracks, and once in a while like to fall in love must reserve a place for this loving piece of art in their DVDs collection. Go for it and you'll understand from every scene why it is "One From The Heart" of Mr. Coppola.

I'm only reviewing this in case somebody has read Robert Horton's review and has made a decision based on what was written. In fact if he hadn't said how great the soundtrack was I would have seriously wondered about his capabilities as a critic. I saw this film when it was released and as yet have not seen the dvd but I saw the film twice in one week and absolutely loved it. I disagree with pretty much everything Mr Horton says. The performances are great and the film carries so much warmth and beauty I find it strange as to what some people want from a 'love story'.
I'll tell you where I think the negative reviews come from. The film is ambitious in its' production and was very innovative and some just can't handle that. And people like to pidgeon-hole actors, directors, songwriters, bands etc and probably had a hard time figuring out what Mr Godfather was doing directing a love story. Well that is their problem.
If you like beautiful movies this is a must. If you don't your name is probably Robert Horton.

Like the real city of Las Vegas, you have to be in the right mood to allow yourself to sink beneath the flashy, dazzling, and artificial veneer that made up this dream-like cinematic mood piece. You have to let go. Stop thinking about why the hell would Francis Coppola made a movie like this. Stop thinking about the almost absurd acting and outsider-art like directions. Go chug down that two finger of bourbon, and sink into the neons. Which mood am I talking about exactly? I think looking at the DVD cover or listening to the nocturnal soundtracks done by the unlikely duo of Tom Waits and Crystal Gayle gives you a pretty good idea. It's not exactly fancy-pants snobby cinematic high art, but it has more of a three AM Fremont Street on a cold winter night kinda feel to it. This movie is jazzy, smoky, humorous (in a midnight carnival type of way), and there is a nary sense of melancholy to it. On that note, I think nobody but Tom Waits could have done the scores for a film like this. I love this movie and almost everything about it - the first time I watched it and ever since.

"One from the Heart" is a typical story of two lovers breaking up, running around and ultimately coming back together, but the simplicity allows for experimentation. The stylized, studio-bound film's complexities are revealed by Tom Waits' light jazz score and Vittorio Storaro's very theatrical lighting. Both are well-served by a gorgeous, eye-popping re-mastered transfer and 5.1 mix (an isolated score is also available). Modern day stylized films like "Moulin Rouge" owe a lot to this movie.

Director Francis Ford Coppola's highly engaging commentary on disc 1 goes into detail of his aspirations for "live cinema" - a product that combines the beauty of film with aspects of live television and theatre. He stands by his film despite its failure; it's easy to see how this unconventional film flopped, but you can't help but get swept up in Coppola's vision. Casual viewers may find "One from the Heart" pretty boring, but it should be required viewing for budding filmmakers.

Disc 2 features a sheer wealth of documentaries, both old and new, on almost every aspect of "One from the Heart"'s creation, as well as a special one on the history of Zoetrope Studios, which was bankrupted by the project. You can find out more about Coppola's shooting technique of 'electronic cinema,' Tom Waits' score, the stop-motion effects, and even the massive rehearsals for the picture. A selection of deleted and alternate scenes, alternate takes of Waits' score, trailers and other ephemera round out this excellent DVD package.

Back in the '80s I was fond of telling people this was my favorite movie of all time. (Well, maybe in a tie with The Wild Bunch) but the years passed and I suspected that like so much of what I valued then, I would now see this movie in a much harsher light.

Boy, was I wrong! I remain baffled by the way Coppola was mocked and vilified for hurling his whole creative (and financial) being into this little dream of his. But it remains a beautiful dream. While at once creating vivid, indelible characters so perfectly flawed as to resemble no one and everyone, it functions as a sort of second chance for Adam & Eve. Yielding to temptation, Hank and Frannie ultimately learn what matters most. I still end up in tears. Tears of redemptive joy.

Needless to say, Tom Waits' music functions beautifully as wry commentary on the ill-fated blunders of the principals. Waits here is at the peak of his powers as heir to the great American songwriter tradition. This is before he wandered off to the junkyard to pursue the ghost of Harry Partch.

In an era that scorns the very concept of beauty, when film critics rave over "documentaries" about men who have sex with horses, this little jewel of a movie might as well come from a million years ago. If you've loved and lost, (or won), if there's a trace of a heart left in you, you can't be unmoved by this film.

The story is very simple, i agree. But the setting is wonderful, the neon lights, the colors, the changing dimensions of the scene sets, that artificial paper moon, Nastassia Kinski walking on a thin rope, the charming dance scenes, the people doing carnival on a strange Las Vegas strip. This is a music video that really breaks your heart and then fills it again with light and colour.
Not for heartless grey people, for sure.

Trying the clssify this movie misses the point, though I would have to say that it does make heavy use of the sense of suspended reality that I tend to associate with musicals. Maybe the fact that I like Tom Waits make the music more palatable to me, but this is one of my favorite "modern" musicals (along with "Absolute Beginners.")

I think that this may be the best Las Vegas movie as well. The fabricated version of Las Vegas used on the movie helps to emphasize just how constructed everything is there.

Sure not everything makes perfect sense. It's not supposed to. This isn't "One From The Head." It's "One From the Heart."

Sure, ONE FROM THE HEART basically has little more than atmosphere for a story-line, but so what? It's meant to be a confection, Coppola's homage to the old-style silver screen musicals which pulled out every cinematic stop they could to draw you in and win you over. ONE FROM THE HEART doesn't quite rise to the best of that genre (FOOTLIGHT PARADE, SINGIN' IN THE RAIN), but it certainly holds it's own with Martin Scorsese's NEW YORK, NEW YORK and Bob Fosse's ALL THAT JAZZ, other films that are as much about the "magic" of film as they are about entertainment. Plus, hey, it's a sappy love story; if that's not your idea of a good evening at the movies, fair enough, but you'll rarely see a sappy love story told with so much class. Tom Waits' songs are the glue holding ONE FROM THE HEART together and his duets with Crystal Gayle are sublime.

As others have mentioned, Baz Luhrmann borrowed more than a little from ONE FROM THE HEART when he made MOULIN ROUGE. Suffice it to say, then, that if you liked MOULIN ROUGE, the chances you'll like the movie that influenced it at least as much, if not more.

this is an odd film, part romance, musical, part - I don't know what. It doesn't really fit into any category. There's dancing, music, (melo)drama, story, character, poignancy - it's all in there somewhere. And it's long too.

With all that, I suggest you stick with it at one sitting, it's a film that repays dividends. I find it tragically moving at points - and this for a film that concerns two very ordinay people. It's a film that can still make a lump come into my throat at times. I watch it longing for some of the fantasy moments - Terri Garr dancing with her fancy lover on a set that (crudely) conjures up Bora Bora, Frederic Forrest with Nastassja Kinski in the breaking up yard turning piles of wrecked cars into an orchestra - but you can only appreciate these precious moments in the context of the complete piece. You just have to wait for it to play out in front of you.

I can see why some people say it is over long and boring, that the underlying subject-matter is trivial and not worthy of the treatment. I say it is a masterpiece, that the director can elevate these two ordinay people's lives, and make them a little dramatic, make their lives move to music and poetry.

for me, it is a film that I allow myself to watch every now and again - just so as not to spoil the effect when I do watch it. And when I finish it, I am filled with a longing to see it all again - in the knowledge that I must be patient.

pls buy this video.

Richard