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Lee Daniels' The Butler [Blu-ray Combo]
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| Additional Multi-Format options | Edition | Discs | Price | New from | Used from |
|
Multi-Format
January 14, 2014 "Please retry" | — | 1 | $5.40 | $2.00 |
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| Rent | Buy |
Purchase options and add-ons
| Genre | Drama, Biography |
| Format | Color, Multiple Formats, Blu-ray, Widescreen |
| Contributor | Lee Daniels, Forest Whitaker, Terrence Howard, Danny Strong, John Cusack, Jane Fonda, Oprah Winfrey, Wil Haygood, Cuba Gooding, Jr. See more |
| Language | English |
| Runtime | 2 hours and 12 minutes |
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![Lee Daniels' The Butler [Blu-ray Combo]](https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/810aVoqiI9L._AC_UL116_SR116,116_.jpg)
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Product Description
The Butler tells the story of a White House butler who served eight American presidents over three decades. The film traces the dramatic changes that swept American society during this time, from the civil rights movement to Vietnam and beyond, and how those changes affected this man’s life and family. Forest Whitaker stars as the butler with Robin Williams as Dwight Eisenhower, John Cusack as Richard Nixon, Alan Rickman as Ronald Reagan, James Marsden as John F. Kennedy, Liev Schreiber as Lyndon B. Johnson, and many more. Academy Award® nominated Lee Daniels (Precious) directs and co-wrote the script with Emmy®-award winning Danny Strong (Game Change).
Product details
- Aspect Ratio : 2.35:1
- Is Discontinued By Manufacturer : No
- MPAA rating : PG-13 (Parents Strongly Cautioned)
- Product Dimensions : 0.7 x 7.5 x 5.4 inches; 3.52 ounces
- Item model number : TWC61181BR
- Director : Lee Daniels
- Media Format : Color, Multiple Formats, Blu-ray, Widescreen
- Run time : 2 hours and 12 minutes
- Release date : January 14, 2014
- Actors : Forest Whitaker, Oprah Winfrey, John Cusack, Cuba Gooding, Jr., Terrence Howard
- Dubbed: : Spanish
- Subtitles: : English, Spanish
- Studio : Weinstein Company/Anchor Bay
- ASIN : B00EV4F5TC
- Writers : Danny Strong, Wil Haygood
- Number of discs : 2
- Best Sellers Rank: #80,602 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)
- #5,769 in Drama Blu-ray Discs
- Customer Reviews:
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While Daniels wanted to tell the story of a man who selflessly worked as a butler in the White House for thirty-four years, serving under eight U.S. Presidents from Truman to Reagan, he also wanted to tell the story of what was simultaneously going on outside of the White House...mainly the Civil Rights era. Having read the forward in the book, I now understand this and the fact that, in order to tie it all together, changes had to be made. I consequently like the movie a lot more than I once did.
Forest Whitaker was by far my favorite in the film, playing Cecil Gaines, Eugene Allen's film counterpart. He played the character with a quiet self-confidence that Allen surely possessed in life. I thought it was a bit cliché for him to have personal conversations with many of the Presidents, but Whitaker's subtle ability to draw in an audience in made it work. I admit I wasn't sure about the casting of Oprah Winfrey as Whitaker's wife, but she did well. The older of their sons, played by David Oyelowo, was a portal for his family, and the audience, to see the struggles going on throughout the nation, especially in the South, as people fought for Civil Rights. You could see the conflict between father and son...it all felt genuine and that made the ending between them all the more satisfying. The second son, played by Elijah Kelley, was there just so there could be a second son. But he served one purpose, which was to illustrate a second conflict going on at the time. I knew nothing about either of these actors before they played these boys, but I was quite impressed by both of them. Another person who really impressed me was Aml Ameen, who played Cecil Gaines at age 15. The scene of his time at the café or diner or whatever it was was perhaps my favorite in the film.
As for the other supporting characters, this film featured a cast of all-stars. I did find it weird to see Robin Williams never crack a joke anywhere in a movie he was in, but he played a fine Dwight D. Eisenhower...in fact, I didn't see Robin Williams at all...I only saw Eisenhower. Same goes for John Qusack, who disappeared into his role as Richard Nixon. James Marsden once commented on all the Oscars and nominees he played alongside, but he can stand proudly among these folks as he was a fine John F. Kennedy. In the end, everyone who played a historical figure did a great job. My favorite among this crowd would have to be Robin Williams as Eisenhower. As for the fictional supporting characters, Cuba Gooding, Jr., was my favorite, but he didn't get nearly the amount of screen time he deserved.
The story was great as well. As I've explained, I've changed my mind and really do like it as opposed to the first time I saw it in theaters. There was never a dull moment throughout and many cast members, such as Oprah Winfrey and Mariah Carey, really surprised me, doing much better than I would have guessed.
I fully recommend this film as it delivers a worthwhile plot from beginning to end...and the final line will make you laugh and just smile right afterward because both Forest Whitaker and Cecil Gaines totally deserved to say that line after everything they had been through. I suppose my final solace with this film is that Eugene Allen's family also liked it. I do wish that the great man himself could have gotten a chance to see it, but that will never be. But you should definitely see this film and you should also read The Butler: A Witness to History ...everything is put into much greater prospective. Enjoy.
At times the Gaines' home-life feels like my own childhood in the sixties - then all hell breaks loose at the homecoming dinner table. The tension is society's tension, generational tension, family tension, church tension. Heartbreak, conflict, hope - over and over in scene and dialogue skillfully set against one another, history plays out. Presidents, Cecil, his family, the news...
This is not a light movie, but it is a must-see. If you lived through this time, it may break open your memories. If you only know this era through history and others, it can open your heart. Where do we go from here? The Gaines' family pain made me wonder about healing the wounds of race, of generations, of the 'isms' that continue to wound and divide. Yes, this is a fictionalized account of the life of Eugene Allen. I've read Michael Reagan's outraged critique of 'The Butler', and find it overdone. It doesn't make the Reagans look weak or vicious in Reagan's pondering and self-doubt on race. The movie included Nancy, played by Jane Fonda, bossing staffers around for 'Ronnie's' sake. Fonda comes off a snarky and arrogant, but this is Jane playing Nancy - I don't think she could help it. Kristin Chenoweth would have been excellent in the roll. What was included about the Reagans speaks volumns: Cecil (as was Eugene Allan) is invited to be a guest at a state dinner. The movie massages this, and then -spoiler- has Cecil resigning over Reagan's decision to veto the Comprehensive Anti-Apartheid Act. Doesn't feel like a slam at Reagan, who was very much shaped by his generational anti-Communist worldview. It marks a turning point Cecil's attitudes and his growth, from his virulent opposition to his son's Civil Rights activity, rooted in his upbringing, his generational attitudes and experiences - and he movement beyond them. It marks the beginning of Cecil's reconciliation to his son, and of Louis to his father.
The last scenes are poignant -bit of a spoiler, if you haven't seen it- Cecil, now old and basking in the candidacy of Barack Obama, is fretting that his son hasn't been on time to pick them up for church since he'd been elected to congress. Gloria is fretting over their granddaughter. There is a powerful hope in the homey fretting and affectionate banter about grandchildren and life. Can we move beyond the chains and pains of the past, even live into brutal honesty and repentance and forgiveness into something like healing, as individuals and as a society? Yes, we can. We must.
Top reviews from other countries
I recommend the movie for an in-depth look at the horrors of racism.

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