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86 of 86 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Hallelujah! Widescreen and extras all the way!, January 19, 2004
For the better part of four years, I've complained about this fantastic movie going in and out of print, but ALWAYS ONLY available in the lousy pan-and-scan (instead of widescreen) format. This film, masterfully directed by the great British musical/drama cinematic maestro, Alan Parker (e.g., Evita, Angela's Ashes, Fame, etc.), deserved better treatment, and finally, let's thank the good executives at Fox Video for listening! A double-disk widescreen presentation with plenty of bonus features! Hooray! Keep in mind that this is one of the greatest films ever made in the 1990s, so influential and original to the extent that it made the British Film Institute's list of the best 100 films ever made in Ireland and the British Isles during the last century. Yet eerily, I can only count on two hands the number of people who've seen it! This has gotta change! Now the film is issued on DVD as it was meant to be seen -- in full stereo and widescreen glory. I like the fact that Fox Video gave this "little" picture a chance, that it heard the complaints from rabid fans for years and finally did something about it!...
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47 of 47 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Say it Once, Say it Loud!, May 19, 2004
This review is from: The Commitments (Two-Disc Collector's Edition) (DVD)
"The Commitments" is a raucous and joyful celebration of music. It's a gloriously simple and lovable tale, told with passion, profanity, and a deep understanding of how music can infect even the most despairing life with joy. About time the movie got its proper release on DVD.If you've never seen "The Commitments" because you cringe at the notion of white Dubliners singing American soul tunes, well, I hear ya. I fully expected watered-down music along the lines of Michael Bolton butchering Percy Sledge. However, I was wrong - the music, in the context of the movie, is pure and genuine, and performed by young actors who understand that you don't have to pretend to be anything you're not to get soul. Besides, Jimmy Rabbitte, the mastermind behind the band, gives them all a thoroughly convincing speech that assures the lads and lasses from Dublin that they, too, are qualified to sing soul. The movie - well, it's wonderful. Hilarious, free, sometimes moving, life-affirming. I almost wish the movie let the characters develop a little more before the inevitable and mythical ending, but then Joey the Lips gently reminds me (and Rabbitte), "this way, it's poetry." He's right - this is the proper ending for these guys, and the movie. The DVD offers some great extras, including a revealing making-of doc, where we learn that director Parker combed the nightclubs of Dublin nightly, looking for fresh talent. I also love the 10-years-later feature, where we get to revisit our old friends again. These are suitable extras for a movie that just plain makes you feel glad to be alive - how much more can you ask of a movie than that?
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49 of 53 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
GREAT movie, HORRIBLE dvd edition, November 21, 2001
an excellent movie with a talented cast--especially a surprisingly amazing 16/17 year old lead vocalist who
puts meat loaf and other vocal screechers to shame.
this guy actually has pipes!by now you know what's great about the movie itself,
what you may NOT realize is that this dvd edition is
FULL-SCREEN, and is NOT in its ORIGINAL ASPECT RATIO.
unfortunately, i doubt there is the kind of 'willy
wonka and the chocolate factory' movement behind a
small relatively unknown gem like 'the commitments.'
'willy wonka' was recently, to much outrage, release
in fullscreen format, but the studio release an apology
and a street date for a widescreen edition. were it a dvd with better sound quality (come on,
it's about music, after all) that wasn't cropped
into a fullscreen format, i would rate it 4 stars... (i mean, would you want to have the original mona
lisa (or other favorite work of art) given to you,
but because you only have 8 x 10 frames, have somebody
cut an 8 x 10 section of the painting and frame it
for you? would you write a poem but have somebody
tell you, 'sorry, i only have room in our publication
for 5 lines of it--we'll just trim everything else'?
when are people going to realize that it's a waste
of movie buyers money to release any film in any
format other than its original aspect ratio? 'chariots
of fire' is another excellent example--only available
fullscreen. go figure...) i would even rate this dvd higher than 4 stars
if there were any added features, bonuses, etc.
if you've got a clean vhs or laserdisc copy, stick
with that until they do this movie justice and release
a better than average dvd edition.
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