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A Fish Called Wanda (Collector's Edition) [DVD]
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| Format | Color, Dolby, Dubbed, Subtitled, Widescreen, NTSC, Collector's Edition, DVD |
| Contributor | Charles Crichton, Geoffrey Palmer, Michael Palin, Neville Phillips, Mark Elwes, Maria Aitken, Jamie Lee Curtis, John Cleese, Peter Jonfield, Cynthia Cleese, Patricia Hayes, Kevin Kline, Tom Georgeson See more |
| Language | English |
| Runtime | 1 hour and 48 minutes |
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Product Description
Tour-de-force performances from an unparalleled comic cast highlight this much-loved hit that Roger Ebert calls "the funniest movie I have seen in a long time." Monty Pythoners John Cleese and Michael Palin (Search For The Holy Grail, The Meaning Of Life) join Oscar® winner Kevin Kline (In & Out) and Jamie Lee Curtis (True Lies) in an entertainment so impeccably timed and executed that Time Magazine hailed it as: "Genius, [a film that] redefines a great comic tradition."
Four conniving jewel thieves...three yorkshire terriers...two heaving bosoms and one proper British barrister. It all adds up to "a non-stop barrage of...outrageous plot twists and over-the top performances" (L.A. Weekly) when a girl called Wanda (Curtis) tries to deceive her Nietzche-quoting boyfriend (Kline), an animal-loving hitman (Palin) and an embarrassment-prone counselor (Cleese) out of a fortune in jewels in this hilariously funny farce.
Product details
- Is Discontinued By Manufacturer : No
- MPAA rating : R (Restricted)
- Product Dimensions : 7.5 x 5.5 x 0.53 inches; 4 Ounces
- Director : Charles Crichton, John Cleese
- Media Format : Color, Dolby, Dubbed, Subtitled, Widescreen, NTSC, Collector's Edition, DVD
- Run time : 1 hour and 48 minutes
- Release date : April 17, 2004
- Actors : John Cleese, Jamie Lee Curtis, Kevin Kline, Michael Palin, Maria Aitken
- Dubbed: : French, Spanish
- Subtitles: : English, French, Spanish
- Studio : MGM (Video & DVD)
- ASIN : B000E33W1C
- Writers : Charles Crichton, John Cleese
- Number of discs : 2
- Best Sellers Rank: #30,745 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)
- #4,050 in Comedy (Movies & TV)
- Customer Reviews:
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Top reviews from the United States
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I love a good farce, and if written well, can make for a healthy amount of belly laughs. I find complicated plots like this one to be a challenge to pull off, and I’m happy that this film does the job.
All of the acting is great, and I felt that Michael Palin’s stutter (not a spoiler, it’s revealed early in the film) was not out of ill intentions, in fact, he played the most likable character in my opinion. His facial expressions reflect his sharp and deadpan delivery. I expect no less from a Monty Python veteran, which brings me to approve of John Cleese’s performance.
The rest of the cast is silly and fun. Everyone’s timing is impeccable, in particular Curtis’ and Kline’s. They are funny in a subtle and equally ridiculous manner. I recommend it as an enjoyable flick on a boring, rainy Saturday.
George (Tom Georgeson) has a plan to rob a bank with the help of Wanda (Jamie Lee Curtis), Ken (Michael Palin) and Otto (Kevin Kline). Wanda is manipulating all the men and plans to betray them all. When Otto rats out George to get rid of him Archie Leach (John Cleese) becomes his lawyer. That makes him another target for Wanda.
Cleese wrote a great script. Otto is an idiot. Ken has a stutter. Leach is a completely nondescript lawyer who is completely unhappy. Amongst this odd mix of men Wanda is the one with the brains.
As would be expected there are plenty of hilarious moments. Wanda is trying to seduce Leach when Otto shows up because he’s insanely jealous. When he hears them talking about how stupid he is he pops up and demands an apology from Leach who refuses. Otto then hangs him upside down out of a window. Ken on the other hand is tasked with assassinating an old lady that saw George at the robbery. Instead of killing the woman however he keeps on taking out her dogs, which greatly hurts Ken because he’s an animal lover.
Overall the movie is a good laugh.
C
Yes, Wanda's got a slightly dated 80's vibe -- the music cues are pretty on the nose, and there are couple of insensitive jokes that wouldn't fly today. But the cast is amazing top to bottom, anchored by Kevin Kline, who won a darkhorse Best Supporting Actor Oscar for his crazed portrayal of ex-CIA killer Otto. You can see Cleese's satirical mind at play, skewering Anglo / American relations left and right. Cleese's sober barrister character lives in mortal fear of embarrassment, so of course he falls for a pretty American criminal and finds himself dancing naked in front of a family on vacation. Kline's Otto is a pastiche of over-the-top American symbolism -- simultaneously a dangerous physical powerhouse, an egomaniacal pervert, and a self-styled intellectual who doesn't quite get there (Otto, having just been called an ape: "Apes don't read PHILOSOPHY!" Wanda: "Yes, they do, Otto. They just don't understand it."). Whenever confused or out of options, he whips out a gun and attempts to shoot the problem.
And so on. Michael Palin brilliantly serves up some of the broadest comedy in the film as an animal-loving crook with a stutter (I mentioned the insensitive jokes? "It's K-K-Ken, c-c-coming to k-kill me!"). Jamie Lee Curtis has great (perhaps under appreciated) comedy chops of her own, and brings charm and intelligence to what could have been a by-the-numbers con-woman role. Maria Aitken as Cleese's character Archie's wife handily owns a scene with Kline, which (per the documentary) she partly ad-libbed.
Quotes and scenes from A Fish Called Wanda still pop into my head unbidden on a regular basis. To a degree, the movie is a really string of brilliant comedic bits, but the caper story holds it together well enough, and I approve of the slightly sunnier ending that was apparently retrofitted when American audiences didn't care for the darker one Cleese had in mind. I bought it because it's worthy of regular re-watching, and I don't feel that way about many films.
Five stars for a real comedy classic.
Top reviews from other countries
Memorable scenes include Otto torturing Ken by stuffing hot chips up his nose and eating his pet fish one by one; Archie dancing naked for Wanda and being surprised by the new tenants of the flat they are in; and the final act set in Heathrow airport. It’s fair to say however, that the movie is simply one great scene after another, and with all the cast at the top of their games, this remains a true British comedy classic – despite the musical score and some key cultural shifts, feeling a little dated.






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