Customer Reviews

Roxanne (Widescreen / Fullscreen Versions)

5 star:		(46)
4 star:		(11)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(7)

 

 

This one is an all-time favorite and a long-time resident of my home video library. Comedy legend Steve Martin, in a way that only Steve Martin can, plays the role of the emotionally and intellectually-wealthy goblin of a man who falls for the equally emotionally and intellectually-wealthy blonde bombshell (Daryl Hannah--hey, why not?) who visits his small town. Unfortunately, this bombshell is lacking in the common sense department, because she immediately falls for the beefcake village idiot, played convincingly by Rick Rossovich. Go figure. But what happens as a result of this scenario is altogether funny, charming, touching and totally entertaining. This movie flows. Martin compounds his genius in the movie by assembling a stellar supporting cast (which includes Shelley Duvall and a young Damon Wayans) that more than holds its own throughout the film. Pay extra special attention to the balcony scene--from its beginning to its end, Martin and Rossovich are allowed to shine their brightest. Martin teams up for this 'Cyrano' retelling with director Fred Schepisi, the visionary behind 'Six Degrees of Separation', the movie that first separated Wil Smith from his legendary "Fresh Prince" persona. 'Roxanne' gets the highest possible recommendation for its perfect balance of humor and romance and the stellar performance of its entire cast. Please, please make it your business to own a copy of this movie.

Like other reviewers, I am apalled that this wonderful movie is available only in pan & scan format, chopping off close to half the picture. This is just inexplicable--even when this was released a few years ago, it was quite unusual for high profile anamorphic films like this to be released only in a P&S version. I'd love to add this to my collection--here's hoping a propererly framed version is forthcoming (hopefully also in Blu-Ray or HD DVD).

It's September 2006, and they *still* have not released a widescreen version. I got through the first 20 minutes of this pan-and-scan version before I couldn't stand it anymore. There are so many beautiful shots; I just can't watch them butchered like this.

Roxanne is a great movie, and it deserves more than this poorly rendered DVD version.

In 1987, the romantic comedy film "ROXANNE" starring Steve Martin and Daryl Hannah, a modern retelling of "Cyrano de Bergerac", was a film that received critical acclaim and has been regarded as one of the Steve Martin's best work as an actor and screenwriter.

The film was directed by Fred Schepisi ("Six Degrees of Separation", "Mr. Baseball", "Iceman", "The Devil's Playground", etc.)

"ROXANNE" is an entertaining romantic comedy with Steve Martin in the top of his game.

Featuring clever writing, wonderful acting and Steve Martin carrying this film to incredible heights through a perfect blend of romance and comedy.

VIDEO & AUDIO:

To see "ROXANNE" in high-definition was actually quite nice. The location in the Pacific Northwest shows us the mountain regions surrounding the area, sunshine, blue waters. Now in 1080p High Definition with an aspect ratio of 2:40:1, the film really does bring out the outdoor scenes and for an late 1980's film, the picture quality is actually pretty good.

The film does show its age because of the fashion (Daryl Hanna's leather boots and Fred Willard's Miami Vice fashion is so easily identifiable with the 80's) and musical styles presented and there are times that the film looks soft but for the most part, picture quality is clean.,

For a film that is over 20-years-old, you really can't go wrong with this Blu-ray release because currently, it is the best looking transfer that you will ever find of the film.

As for audio, "ROXANNE" is presented in Dolby TrueHD 5.1 (English, French and Portuguese) and a Spanish 5.1 Dolby Digital track. The film is dialogue heavy and thus a lot of the film is front channel-based and there are no use for special effects or rear channels for this film, so expect to see mostly your front and center channels being utilized. Audio is clear and well-understood and the scenes that showcase classical music was delightful to hear as well.

SPECIAL FEATURES:

Unfortunately, there are no special features included. The Blu-ray disc for "ROXANNE" is BD LIVE enabled.

JUDGMENT CALL:

It has been well over 20 years since I first saw "ROXANNE" on cable and for the most part, watching the film again, I can say that it does hold up quite well nearly 23 years later.

Steve Martin was absolutely fabulous in this film and his role as an executive producer, main actor and screenplay writer must have been quite interesting because he manages to seamlessly make this film seem smooth. How he took the storyline of "Cyrano De Bergerac" and wrote his interpretations for his character was a bit humorous and entertaining.

But when it comes to Steve Martin, it's all about delivery. Martin owned this role.

There is one scene where he is encountered by a man at the bar who wants to fight him but after losing a bet in darts, Martin's character C.D. has to come up with 20 unique nose jokes. Martin flawlessly pulls off over two dozen and you can tell by the talent watching him at the bar as they all watch him showcase his acting style, his quick wit but smooth delivery of his lines, they were impressed.

Of course, watching Daryl Hannah in her 80's clothing and hairstyle definitely made this film feel "80's" but thankfully for the High Definition transfer, watching "ROXANNE" in 1080p High Definition was quite nice. Seeing her blue eyes and beautiful smile definitely made her one of the popular actresses of the 1980's and both she and Martin, both look incredible now as they were 23 years ago.

And of course, the film also features a good number of talent such as the popular Shelley Duvall, "Top Gun" actor Rick Rossovich, Fred Willard, John Kapelos and emerging stars Damon Wayans and Kevin Nealon.

With a lot of positive to say about the film, the negative would be the lack of any bonus features. Granted, this film is an older film but it would have been nice to see Steve Martin, Daryl Hannah or even director Fred Schepisi make some sort of comment.

And for a comedy film, there has to be a gag reel or something that could have been thrown in. Not even the theatrical trailer was included and that is my only problem with this release.. the lack of any special features but the trailers for other films.

Overall, you can't fault the film because it's an entertaining romantic comedy that continues to stand the test of time and now it's available on Blu-ray ala High Def. If you are a Steve Martin fan, "ROXANNE" is a film that deserves to be in your collection. It's one of his best films (next to my favorite feat. Steve Martin, 1991's `L.A. Story') and definitely a film worth checking out!

I think we all agree that this 1987 classic romantic comedy is absolutely wonderful, entertaining, magic, funny and hylarious. The best romantic comedy for some, one of the best comedies of the 80's for others. Great story, incredible performance of steve martin , great production and artistic direction by Fred Schepisi. We can argue with that of course, but one thing beyond discussion, is that this Sony Pictures 2002 DVD edition for this masterpiece is so awful, that it manages to destroy the experience.

I had to put up with a VHS edition for 15 years, for what! This? I can say without any doubt, that this is one of the worst DVD editions i own, behind my Asian bootleg martial arts copies. Absolutely awful, this edition manages to restrain the impact of the movie with all the worst features of the fullscreen edition: Extreme close-ups, alternate or moving angles from the same take, chopped off characters from the scenes, people talking to shoulders and corners, people talking from outside the picture, missing scenarios and landscapes, blurry video quality... my god! Not even the 5.1 english soundtrack could emerge, not even the movie could! Extras? The movie trailer...In widescreen! It was torture.

By far, the worst 7 dollars i have ever spent, and a disapointment i'm never gonna forget.

My recomendation for fans looking for this wonderful movie in DVD: Go outside the store and get the widescreen edition, online or on local stores. I'm desperatly seeking for other better editions, i'm even willing to download it, or even buy a bootleg.

Whatever you do: Please, please, don't buy this awful Sony 2002 fullscreen edition.

And Sony pictures: Widescreen versions fit the screen too!

Steve Martin's LA Story and the remarkable Roxanne have to be the two best films from his huge body of work.

Having penned the screenplay, Martin cleverly adapts the Cyrano De Bergerac tale to a modern setting, however, manages to maintain the original story line and large personality of Cyrano in the character of C.D. Bales, a fire chief of a beautiful small town in the mountains of British Colombia.

C.D. Bales is an educated, romantic and modern swashbuckling man who can street fight and win with style, possess a sharp wit, can swing and climb rooftops with the agility of a cat and write poetry and love letters that will make any woman swoon with delight. Unfortunately, Bales like De Bergerac, has a nose the size of a small tree, resulting in his shyness in the matters of love.

C.D. falls head over heels for Roxanne, a visiting astronomer with alluring beauty and a keen mind but feels his appearance, a nose the size of Kansas, will prevent any relationship.

A handsome man, Chris, (Rick Rossovich) joins the fire station to help train the volunteer crew of town misfits but cannot talk to women. Bales' woos Roxanne through Chris with love letters and poetry, thus Chris wins her heart. This unusual situation turns complicated, (similar to De Bergerac) when the masquerade starts to come undone to hilarious results.

Australian director, Fred Schepisi, brings Martin's adaptation of De Bergerac together in an entertaining modern romantic comedy that even today, despite the dated soundtrack, continues to be funny.

Some movies deserve only to be seen once though Roxanne can be pulled from the cabinet and viewed time and again as it remains a classic tale of the 80's & the 18th century.

Possibly one of Steve Martin's finest films, I have always enjoyed this wonderful modern version of Cyrano de Bergerac. A fine cast turn in some wonderful performances. There are so many sequences in the film which I could talk about such as the opening "swordfight", the balcony scene and the most famous - the 20 things about CDB'S nose (actually 25 but who cares?). At the end of it all its a wonderful film that you can sit back and enjoy. If you need something to lighten the mood then this is one of those constantly funny films.

The picture quality of this DVD is excellent. The sound is good. The only downside would be the lack of features. My advice would be to buy it anyway.

I don't know why, in this day and age, some DVD companies still think that we need every one of the thousands of photographs that makes up these movies to be butchered just so they will fit the dimensions of our TV sets. Audiences are now smart enough to realize that movies need to be shown in their original format - we're paying for the whole movie, not some chopped up version. This is one of the funniest and most romantic movies ever made, and Fred Schepsi's beautiful town and images should not be chopped in half. Please re-release the widescreen version. And shame on Columbia Pictures and Sony Pictures for insulting movie makers and movie lovers.

I've just added this classic to my DVD library. Although the DVD itself is not that cool (no such special features as commentaries, cast & crew bios, production notes etc...), it deserves as cherished a place in my library as the place "Roxanne" settled in my heart. For the two last decades Hollywood had some rising stars in the category of physical comedy (Ben Stiller, Adam Sandler, Jim Carrey, the Wayans brothers...) but none of them has made a movie that got me laugh so hard while capturing my heart so tenderly at the same time as Steve Martin did with "Roxanne". Was it because those new actors couldn't work out something creative like "the 20 nose jokes", or was it because they just needed better scripts to bolster their talents? I found it amazing that Steve Martin decided to be the screenplay writer himself and somehow managed to convert the concept of a French Renaissance play -- "Cyrano de Bergerac" -- to this modern time comedy and turned its tragic conclusion into a happy ending. Apart from the "nose jokes", he gave us so many fun lines to enjoy and remember. And apart from Martin, all other actors also gave their best performances, and best lines too: Shelley Duvall's simple riddle, Daryl Hannah's "ironic" refusal of a coat, Rick Rossovitch's "extemporaneous" night and "pillow fluffing" request..., and, oh yeah, the "earn more sessions by sleeving" line... Well, all I want to say is, hurry up, add this movie to your library so your family and friends could share your joy. We all need this kind of joy in a world where "all the concepts of beauty have been programmed by TV's and magazines" -- to quote Tony Robbins from "Shallow Hal". Now that being said, please bear with one more humble opinion of mine: After "Roxanne", I only found "Shallow Hal" as a good one in the genre. Hope it won't be the last.

With this movie I discovered Steve Martin - and it couldn't have been a better one. In Switzerland, back in 1987, I hadn't heard much of the "wild and crazy" guy. And then two movies came to the local cinemas: "Little Shop of Horrors" and "Roxanne". Since then I am a hooked.

"Roxanne" actually tells the story of the French Renaissance-hero Cyrano De Bergerac, but brilliantly turned into a modern romantic comedy. Steve Martin stars as C.D. Bales, the head of a small village fire department. He has quite a big handicap, or should I say: nosicap? His nose is bigger than most men's... uhm, finger. But don't feel sorry for C.D.! In the first five minutes you learn that he is charming, witty, that he can take good care of himself and that he is by no means a victim of circumstances. However, C.D. is not always sure of himself. Especially when he meets beautiful Roxanne, played by Daryl Hannah. What will win Roxanne's heart: Good looks (which C.D. isn't really blessed with) or sweet and sensual poetry?

Look for the thousands of little details and funny bits. It's a pure feel-good-movie if you ever saw one. Every cast member has his or her big moment and everyone is just simply brilliant. In my opinion "Roxanne" is one of the most perfect romantic comedies ever and one of Martins best performances. I don't know if Steve Martin feels that way. I think he should - he'd have every right to be very proud of this little gem!

Buy it! Enjoy it! Love it!