Product Details

• Actors: Zero Mostel, Gene Wilder, Karen Black, Joe Silver, Robert Weil
• Directors: Tom O'Horgan
• Writers: Eugène Ionesco, Julian Barry
• Producers: Ben Baker, Edward Lewis, Ely A. Landau, Henry T. Weinstein, Mort Abrahams
• Format: Color, DVD, Widescreen, NTSC
• Language: English
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Rated: PG (Parental Guidance Suggested)
• Studio: Kino Video
• DVD Release Date: April 1, 2003
• Run Time: 104 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B00008HCAB
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #131,832 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)
• For more information about "Rhinoceros" visit the Internet Movie Database (IMDb)

Editorial Reviews

RHINOCEROS - DVD Movie

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

23 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Hilariious Americanized Ionesco, September 13, 2003

By 

LGwriter "SharpWitGuy" (Astoria, N.Y. United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Rhinoceros (DVD)

One of the great things about this DVD is that it includes an interview, taped in 2002, with the film's director, Tom O'Horgan. (He was the guy responsible, along with Galt McDermot, for the original Hair on Broadway). Among other things, O'Horgan talks about the conversion of the original Eugene Ionesco play into a cnematic version, giving great credit to the screenwriter, Julian Barry.

And with good reason. While Ionesco is one of the great absurdist playwrights, his sensibility is decidedly European. This means that the sense of humor expressed in the original play would very likely fall on deaf (American) ears, to a large extent. What the screenwriter has done is to essentially Americanize the dialogue, making it truly hilarious in many scenes.

And of course it helps to have a great cast. The two leads, Zero Mostel and Gene Wilder, are perfect for their roles, especially Mostel who is funny enough to make you micturate in your trousers, if you catch my drift. Seen first as a man overly concerned with appearance and manners, he descends, in the course of the film, to the level of the titular creature.

The story is of a small town which is beset by a bizarre plague, if one can call it that--the transforming of humans into rhinos. Ionesco was commenting on the radical changes occurring in society as the Cold War became a reality--meaning, more than anything else, as people had much more to be afraid of than they did before. Fear makes us lose our rationality, become less human. Even become rhinoceri.

This is a really funny film that is just as good now--maybe even better--than it was when originally released in 1974. In supporting roles, Percy Rodriquez and Joe Silver are especially good--staunch representatives of corporate America. Karen Black does a great job as a sexy woman who Stanley (Gene Wilder) works with and is smitten with and eventually anguishes over as he is the sole remaining human in a town full of rhinos.

Much, much better than you might think. Definitely recommended.

12 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A movie about the absurd, July 27, 2003

By 

gac1003 "gac1003" (Long Beach, CA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Rhinoceros (DVD)

Stanley is a bored, alcoholic young man who feels disconnected from the rest of society. His best friend John is contstantly trying to help him to fit in and get over his feelings of awkwardness. One Sunday morning, while the two are at a restaurant, a rhinoceros rampages through the streets. Soon, Stanley notices more and more rhinoceroses and begins to realize that everyone in town is turning into them. Determined not to change, he confronts John with the problem only to watch his transformation in a rhino. As the rest of the world changes, including Daisy, the woman of his dreams, Stanley desparately tries to transform, but realizes that he can't and that he won't.

This is a good adaptation of the absurdist play by Eugene Ionesco and changes the setting from a small French town to a big US city. Wonderful performances by Gene Wilder as Stanley and Karen Black as Daisy; and a standout performance from Zero Mostel as Stanley's friend John. Tom O'Horgan's direction is definitley unique, making it feel as though the viewer is watching a stage play. The only drawback is the bad '70s music that doesn't fit.

The DVD has some great extras including an interview with Tom O'Horgan, an interview with Zero Mostel, information about Eugene Ionesco, and the original movie trailer, to name a few. The trailer gives an idea of how the studio marketed this film as a comedy, even though it views more along the lines of a drama or a very, very dark comedy.

Having read the play in college, I enjoyed this adaptation. If you enjoy a movie that makes you think, then this is definitely the movie for you.

12 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars For those who love the quirky and marvelous, June 12, 2003

By 

Original L. "O.L." (Southern California) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Rhinoceros (DVD)

I guess I can understand how some folks don't like Ionesco or this play in particular. I have quirky taste. If you like Tim Dorsey or Elmore Leonard or Carl Hiassen, you might like this. I watched it by myself on television long about 1976 or so and almost died laughing.

The film is strangely up to date and topical too, with a kind of virus sweeping New York (IIRC). It's a stagey piece, with the two main actors providing almost all the energy. New Yorkers, being New Yorkers, have varying responses to crises, which is part of the fun.

And the virus itself is a barely disguised version of what really has gripped our nation since this play was written. Everyone should see it at least once.

Well, maybe not everyone.