Product Details

• Actors: Thora Birch, Keith Carradine, Brendon Sexton III, Leo Fitzpatrick, Dean Winters
• Directors: Eric Mandelbaum
• Format: Color, DVD, NTSC
• Language: English
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Rated: R (Restricted)
• Studio: MONTEREY VIDEO
• DVD Release Date: May 5, 2009
• Run Time: 92 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 3.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B001RLW9ZK
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #90,618 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Editorial Reviews

Sex, Passion, Betrayal, Murder

A true story of an unlikely serial killer

A brilliant biochemistry student who is also a prostitute.
A brutally bludgeoned body buried naked in the snow.

Thus begins Winter of Frozen Dreams, a sordid love story and a macabre web of blackmail, lust, and deceit. The Hoffman case was the first televised murder trial in US history.

The true-life story of Barbara Hoffman, is complex and contradictory in every sense as
she was both a brilliant biochemistry student at the University of Wisconsin and Madison s most notorious prostitute.
On a frigid, twenty-two below zero Christmas morning, Barbara Hoffman s [Thora Birch] distraught young fiancé, Jerry Davies [Brendan Sexton III] leads police investigators to a corpse, which only hours before, he had buried in a snow bank. Lead by Detective Lulling [Academy Award winner Keith Carradine], the police investigators uncover the naked and brutally bludgeoned body of Harry Berge. Davies desperately insists that he is not a murderer and that he and Hoffman are guilty only of burying the corpse of a stranger.

Shades of film noir blend with true crime, as Barbara Hoffman lives out her days in prison, refusing to give interviews or even go before the parole board.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars One performance can't raise the mediocrity above average, May 4, 2009

By 

Steve Kuehl "SLV Video" (Boulder Creek, CA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Winter of Frozen Dreams (DVD)

Before anyone gets too upset, yes I do understand the issues and trials it takes to make an independent film, especially on such a sad topic as a black widow killer. But this was a mess. One more quick thing, I notice people keep talking about her as a serial killer, but I though that took three murders, but anyway.

Barbara Hoffman gets played decently by Thora Birch and Keith Carradine comes in to save the film (and the day) as the lead detective that helped bring this case to a close. Realizing this takes place in the 1970s, I wish they would have at least removed the 2000-era commercial truck, removed the 1990s props, or at least told the dead bodies to stop breathing for one take (I kept yelling at the screen saying he isn't dead...run!)

The misplaced editing style of time jumping was poorly done, the sound was a train wreck, and my favorite actor of the film in Dean Winters had a minor role. But the cavalry was Mr. Carradine, and he is a joy to watch. If you skip the entire movie and just watch the special features interview with him, you will have not wasted a cent. The other features are mediocre, including a shorter behind the scenes, a "Behind the Headlines" snippet and an "About the Author" that both would make for a good intro to an American Justice episode, but little else.

I felt disappointed when it was over, and so much more could have been done, but there were constraints and limits.

10 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Unfairly reviewed drama, April 24, 2009

By 

R, your friendly neighborhood reviewer - See all my reviews

This review is from: Winter of Frozen Dreams (DVD)

It's really unfortunate that Winter of Frozen Dreams will be, for the most part, overlooked. Most either seem to dismiss it as being fodder for the Lifetime Movie Network or are simply disappointed in its lack of nudity (much of the plot deals with prostitution). For what it is though (which is a very modestly-budgeted, straight to DVD release) this is a surprisingly good film. The filmmakers took an easily exploitable subject and managed not to sensationalize it which wouldve been the easy thing to do. Birch, along with the script, give depth to Barbara Hoffmann that someone might not see based on reading about the crimes she was charged of. There are genuinely tender moments between her and her victims in the movie. Hoffmann probably gave these men some of the happiest moments of their lives. Birch does a good job portaying this and Brendan Sexton as one of the victims is also impressive. If youre a fan of Thora Birch or can appreciate a low-key true-crime story, then you might want to check this one out.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars SOGGY SERIAL, July 22, 2010

By 

Michael Butts (Berkeley Springs, WV USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Winter of Frozen Dreams (DVD)

PROS:
*Good cinematography
*Thora Birch's performance
*Keith Carradine
*Dean Winters' slimy pimp
CONS:
*Awkward pacing
*Muddled ending
*Opening reveals the verdict which sabotages suspense
SUMMARY: Average biopic with little suspense or thrills buoyed by Birch's portrayal