Customer Reviews

Providence [VHS]

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

An oldie but goodie (1969). This film has been one of my favorites since presenting it via a film society 22 years ago. That audience seemed to enjoy it as well.

This unique film possesses some of the most alive English language dialogue to ever hit the screen. Incorporated within the stream of consciousness visuals of master French director Alain Resnais (his first work in English), this film, written by playwright David Mercer, delivers the audience into the mind of a dying and somewhat bitter author (Sir John Gielgud) as he attempts to write one last work of fiction through a painful and sleepless night of rectal pain, albeit increasingly under the influence of an alcoholic beverage. As his minds clouds, his script becomes confused, often with comedic effect.

While sad, bitter sweet, moving and often serious, this film possesses wonderful humor. The recurring images of the "famous footballer" (David Warner), Ellen Burstyn's slicing of a phallic-shaped vegetable while accusing her husband of infidelity and the delivery of Dirk Bogard's pithy lines all conspire to amuse even the most jaded moviegoer. If you don't like a certain scene, be patient, the director/author will take another whack at it - usually with a subtle visual twist.

This is one film worth watching more than once. In fact, you will want to watch it more than once to see what you missed previously.

This masterwork seriously deserves to be re-released as a DVD.

An oldie but goodie (1969). This film has been one of my favorites since presenting it via a film society 22 years ago. That audience seemed to enjoy it as well.

This unique film possesses some of the most alive English language dialogue to ever hit the screen. Incorporated within the stream of consciousness visuals of master French director Alain Resnais (his first work in English), this film, written by playwright David Mercer, delivers the audience into the mind of a dying and somewhat bitter author (Sir John Gielgud) as he attempts to write one last work of fiction through a painful and sleepless night of rectal pain, albeit increasingly under the influence of an alcoholic beverage. As his minds clouds, his script becomes confused, often with comedic effect.

While sad, bitter sweet, moving and often serious, this film possesses wonderful humor. The recurring images of the "famous footballer" (David Warner), Ellen Burstyn's slicing of a phallic-shaped vegetable while accusing her husband of infidelity and the delivery of Dirk Bogard's pithy lines all conspire to amuse even the most jaded moviegoer. If you don't like a certain scene, be patient, the director/author will take another whack at it - usually with a subtle visual twist.

This is one film worth watching more than once. In fact, you will want to watch it more than once to see what you missed previously.

This masterwork seriously deserves to be re-released as a DVD.

This is, to my mind, one of the four or five best films of the seventies, and one that continues to give pleasure and inspiration. It's a shame that it isn't better known in the US, and scandalous that it hasn't been issued on DVD.

Many filmmakers and critics consider this to be the best film of its time. Not only are the performances brilliant, but a great deal can be learned about the language and mechanics of cinema by watching this movie very carefully. You will learn something new every time. Now if only they would make a good DVD!

I was very pleased to find this tape since Providence is one of my very favorite films. Unfortunately it is a very poor quality transfer and I can only recommend it to those who absolutely must see the film. Hopefully someone will eventually get this classic into DVD format so that it can be rescued from its undeserving oblivion and seen in the quality format that it deserves.

NOW it IS that kind of work and more.

Dying Author John Gielgud reflects with guilt on his long life, which includes the suicide of his wife [Elaine Stritch]as welll as other moments of regret.

NOT a depressing work, it's a thoughtful moving moody study of this man and his family. It's a sad work, that has to be visited and revisited, encompassing a grand score by Miklos Rosa, and those unique Resnais touches [the frozen sea in frame, but we hear waves crashing!] - when you recall with specific focus a moment [real and animated]but its surrounded by an immobile, frozen landscape [like "Last Year at Marienbad" an earlier and more satisfying work].

The rest of the ensemble? Ellen Burstyn, Dirk Bogarde [always spectacular, always taking risks] and David Warner [the werewolf?].

Elegant and thought-provoking this work deserves a proper DVD restoration.

Also see "Hiroshima, Mon Amour" - excellent companion.

This intellectually intriguing, deeply probing, brilliantly acted film deserves recognition as a classic. Instead it lies neglected by self-styled film critics, unavailable on DVD (except in PAL format), and known only to the lucky few who saw it in circulation in the '70s. Why the Criterion Collection, or another restoration house, hasn't reissued "Providence" baffles me. With all the flashy, trashy films on DVD, surely there's room for this Alain Resnais masterpiece, with great performances by Gielgud, Bogarde, Burstyn, Warner, and Stritch!

I remember this Alain Resnais masterpiece well, although I have not seen it since it was in the cinemas decades ago. The script is compelling and witty, the acting by this all star ensemble cast is a treat to watch, the cinematography is luminous, and I still play the vinyl LP with the soundtrack score of the film occasionally. Criterion Films should remaster this and release it in DVD and Blu-ray.

...until someone releases "Providence"!
It's a film that should stand next to Resnais' "Hiroshima Mon Amour", Godard's "Mépris", and... Cocteau's "Beauty and the Beast". Beautiful classical cinema, yet with narrative and visual invention that sets it far from any dull psychological and social chit-chat. Anyone interested in crossroads between reality, dreams, obsessions, hopes and decay should enjoy this immersion in Clive Langham's stream of consciousness. I myself have been looking for a "moral language" eversince I saw the film...