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Pennies From Heaven (1981)

Steve Martin , Bernadette Peters , Herbert Ross  |  R |  DVD
3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (67 customer reviews)


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Product Details

  • Actors: Steve Martin, Bernadette Peters, Jessica Harper, Vernel Bagneris, John McMartin
  • Directors: Herbert Ross
  • Writers: Dennis Potter
  • Producers: Herbert Ross, Ken Adam, Nora Kaye, Rick McCallum
  • Format: Anamorphic, Closed-captioned, Color, Subtitled, Widescreen, NTSC
  • Language: English (Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono)
  • Subtitles: English, Spanish, French
  • Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  • Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1
  • Number of discs: 1
  • Rated: R (Restricted)
  • Studio: Warner Home Video
  • DVD Release Date: July 27, 2004
  • Run Time: 108 minutes
  • Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (67 customer reviews)
  • ASIN: B0001Z4P2I
  • Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #28,752 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)
  • Learn more about "Pennies From Heaven" on IMDb

Special Features

  • 20th Anniversary Cast and Crew Reunion

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Steve Martin plays Arthur, a '30s-era traveling sheet-music salesman whose marriage is bleak and who embarks on a fateful affair with a teacher (an amazing Bernadette Peters). Arthur's dreary world is juxtaposed with Busby Berkeley-styled musical production numbers that showcase Martin's and Peters's versatility. Arthur's world is desperate, sad, and only the more so when directly compared to the musical numbers. But it does work and it is affecting.

This dark, yet simultaneously ebullient film written by Dennis Potter is capable of presenting such polar-opposite visuals and emotion. Until this film, Martin was best known for his comedic albums, and for 1979's The Jerk. In other words, Pennies' disappointing box office can be accredited to audiences' inability to accept a dark Martin in the early 1980s. If Martin's dancing ability comes as a surprise, an even greater revelation is Christopher Walken in a sexy stripping tap-dancing number. Bob Hoskins played Arthur in the 1978 British miniseries of the same name. --N.F. Mendoza

Product Description

During the Great Depression, a married sheet-music salesman falls in love with another woman and uses cheery songs from that era to imagine a better life for himself.

Customer Reviews

Music, choreography, performances and dancing, all combined with the best results. Roberto Scorticati Lozzi  |  6 reviewers made a similar statement
They go by too quickly, and the film's pacing suffers as a result. Grigory's Girl  |  6 reviewers made a similar statement
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
81 of 85 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars The diversity of opinion about this film... February 14, 2000
Format:VHS Tape
should be an indication of something very special. For those expecting a happy, upbeat film reflecting the moony-spoony lyrics of the tin-pan alley song of the same name will be sorely disappointed. For those who love originality and can imagine the possibility of a singing/tap-dancing depression-era musical drama about seriously flawed people, each needing love which, even during the Great Depression, is harder to find than money... Well, maybe you get the picture.

But probably not. This film is almost impossible to describe but contains Steve Martin tapdancing through a fabulouly produced Busby Berkeley number, an amazing barroom tap dance dance number by Christopher Walken (yes, that Christopher Walken) and the title song interpreted by New Orleans performer Vernel Bagneris - a surreal elastic-body number in which it actually rains gold coins outside a seedy diner. The scene where teacher Bernadette Peters' first- grade classroom erupts into song and magically re- appear in tiny sequened tuxedos to tap dance on top their tiny desks is as surreal as it is refreshingly unexpected, like everything in this movie.

This film is brilliant. It's a thinking person's gem which juxtaposes the real world of The Great Depression with those happy-go-lucky songs of the same era that somehow helped people forget how bad things really were. This movie joyously, mischeivously, and darkly unites them. It's an amazing and truly original film. Don't miss it. .

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34 of 34 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD
This is a film for thinking people who love movies and aren't afraid to try something very different. The fact that this picture was made was a miracle in itself as it is almost unrelentingly grim, melancholy and dark, but so gorgeously shot, well-acted, and hauntingly scored that many will find quite a measure of joy in watching this film. The brilliant musical numbers (performed to perfection by the cast) are up to the standards of the Gingers/Rogers films of old, yet are so contrary to them thematically. Instead of the standard feel-good joi de vivre, they serve here instead to atually underscore the tragedy of the characters lives and demonstrate just how far away they are from the joyous visions the songs describe. So, if you're looking for a happy-go-lucky lightweight return to the MGM of the past, this likely isn't the picture for you. On the other hand, if you want a stunning homage to the musicals of the 30's, but one which does not sacrifice artful storytelling and an almost picture-quality reproduction of the grief, sorrow and anger of the Depression-era 30's, this is the pinnacle of filmmaking (and with sumptious musical numbers to back it).

IMO, this is hands down Steve Martin's best role and as well as Bernadette Peters (who should have been won the Academy that year). Both are incredible, as is Christopher Walken and Jessica Harper. As the main protagonist of the film, it is a rare distinction for Martin (as well as for this genre film) that he is not really a nice guy -- yet nor is he a true villain. There are sympathetic qualities to his character, but also irremedially selfish, childish ones. One of the great elements of this film is that all of the characters are fully three-dimensional and you don't really know where these characters are going to go or what decisions they're going to make. Behind the stylization, cinematography and dance numbers lies subtle artistic, poetic and psychological underpinnings wherein lie real people and their tragedies and the sorrow they bring upon themselves. Martin plays the frustrated husband who begins an affair with an innocent schoolteacher, destroying all of their lives, including his own, in the process. Make no mistake, this is a dark film which deals powerfully with themes of yearning and lost innocence, and which is fueled by an almost sexual rage. Sexual anger permeates nearly all of the musical numbers in ways that are surprising and original, yet almost always sad. Sex represents the catalyst for doom and evil in this film. There is hypnotizing -- almost trance-like -- and surreal quality to the way this film is shot, and the mood is pervasive and not one a mature film-lover is likely to forget right away...

As far as the DVD transfer is concerned: I'm very glad that it's in anamorphic widescreen as it should be. The color palette is deep and rich, and although there is some artifacting and pixellation, it is hardly distracting. A major treat is the commentary track by film critic Peter Rainer, a man who really understands the brilliance of this movie and its underlying themes. There is also a 20th Anniversary Cast and Crew Reunion (which unfortunately lacks Peters and Walken). The one sore spot of this disk is that it's missing deleted scenes, which is inexusable IMO, especially as one of crew discusses some beautiful scenes he was upset to cut out for the sake of pacing. Let's hope we get a Special Edition sometime in the near future.

Another musical didn't emerge again until Moulin Rouge and Chicago, both of which received great accolades. Without disprect to those, Pennies from Heaven is a far superior film in many ways: Uncompromising and artful, with touches of noir and mystery; at times a strange ride, and profoundly sorrowful, this is one of those rare classics that has not been seen by enough people.
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23 of 23 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars Vernel Bagneris' dance number has haunted me for years November 23, 2002
Format:VHS Tape
The title piece done by Vernel Bagneris has stayed with me since I saw this movie in the theater years ago. I just watched the movie again, and that wonderful and amazing dance in the rain, Christopher Walken's strip tease (who knew he was a fabulous song-and-dance man?), the classroom production number, and the wonderful cinematography all had me rewinding and watching things over again. This movie is tailor-made for someone who likes quirky musicals starring Steve Martin and Bernadette Peters with a supporting cast of great talent. What's not to love?
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars BEST CONTEMPORARY 30'S ERA MUSICAL NUMBERS, STEVE MARTIN RUINS IT, THO
The art direction, choreography by Danny Daniels and the Bob Mackey wardrobe are ABSOLUTELY FLAWLESS and everyone in the cast is really damn good, too...except for Steve Martin. Read more
Published 2 months ago by cdbndp
2.0 out of 5 stars A Pale Imatation of the Original
Steve Martin and Bernadette Peters work mightily in this VERY abbreviated version of the original Pennies, but the result is a very small "mouse. Read more
Published 3 months ago by William Britton
4.0 out of 5 stars visually stunning movie with not very likable characters
So I was ready for this movie to be a little odd. But I was certainly not disappointed by the musical numbers. They are worth watching over and over again. Read more
Published 8 months ago by Barbara A. Mills
5.0 out of 5 stars Just one question ...
Why is this movie not on Blu-Ray? It was surely the greatest send-up of 1930s Hollywood ever. I'd like to know much more about the genesis of the movie, and I'd like to here... Read more
Published 10 months ago by Bruce Frier
3.0 out of 5 stars What an odd movie
Musical numbers are fabulous - love the choreography and costuming. I like the idea of the dark plot interwoven with the full blown musical moments. Read more
Published 10 months ago by Janelle Durham
2.0 out of 5 stars Martin sinks it
I have to admit I've never seen the original British production, so I went into this blind. I absolutely loved the musical numbers; the fact that everyone was lip-syncing... Read more
Published 13 months ago by James Donovan
5.0 out of 5 stars "Pennies" worth much more
I first saw "Pennies from Heaven" when it was released in the early 80's. Remembered it as being totally outrageous...bizarre...great fun. Read more
Published 16 months ago by bev
5.0 out of 5 stars Movie/Musical
A different kind of musical from one usually sees. Gritty and kind of dark. Worth it for barroom dance scene.
Published 19 months ago by Jay W
5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful DVD
A great 1981 film version of the 1978 BBC TV drama by Dennis Potter, starring Steve Martin and Bernadette Peters both of whom are excellent in their parts.
Published on January 1, 2011 by Ursula Sadler
4.0 out of 5 stars Steve Martin - when he was adventurous
I haven't seen the 1978 BBC-TV miniseries written by Dennis Potter (who also wrote the screenplay for this adaptation), and my memories of his "The Singing Detective" are dim. Read more
Published on October 17, 2010 by Muzzlehatch
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