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Family Plot [DVD]
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| Additional DVD options | Edition | Discs | Price | New from | Used from |
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DVD
March 6, 2001 "Please retry" | DVD | 1 | $19.95 | $4.00 |
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| Genre | Comedy, Mystery & Suspense, Mystery & Suspense/Thrillers |
| Format | Color, Dolby, Dubbed, Multiple Formats, NTSC, Original recording remastered, Subtitled, Widescreen |
| Contributor | Alfred Hitchcock, Barbara Harris, Bruce Dern, Cathleen Nesbitt, Ed Lauter, Karen Black, Katherine Helmond, Nicholas Colasanto, Warren J. Kemmerling, William Devane See more |
| Initial release date | 2006-02-07 |
| Language | English |
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Product Description
A wealthy old woman hires a con man (Bruce Dern) and a phony psychic (Barbara Harris) to find her long-lost nephew. The results are diabolically funny as this suspense-comedy combines mystery and mayhem in nonstop excitement from beginning to end. Co-starring Karen Black and William Devane.
Bonus Content:
- Plotting Family Plot
- Storyboards: The Chase Scene
- Production Photographs
- Theatrical Trailer
- Production Notes
Product details
- Aspect Ratio : 1.85:1
- Is Discontinued By Manufacturer : No
- MPAA rating : PG (Parental Guidance Suggested)
- Product Dimensions : 7.5 x 5.5 x 0.5 inches; 0.01 ounces
- Item model number : 1028305
- Director : Alfred Hitchcock
- Media Format : Color, Dolby, Dubbed, Multiple Formats, NTSC, Original recording remastered, Subtitled, Widescreen
- Run time : 2 hours
- Release date : February 7, 2006
- Actors : Barbara Harris, Bruce Dern, Ed Lauter, Karen Black, William Devane
- Dubbed: : French
- Subtitles: : English
- Producers : Alfred Hitchcock
- Language : English (Dolby Digital 2.0), French (Dolby Digital 2.0)
- Studio : Universal Studios
- ASIN : B000CCW2UW
- Number of discs : 1
- Best Sellers Rank: #11,032 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)
- #319 in Mystery & Thrillers (Movies & TV)
- #1,083 in Comedy (Movies & TV)
- Customer Reviews:
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Customer reviews
Customer Reviews, including Product Star Ratings help customers to learn more about the product and decide whether it is the right product for them.
To calculate the overall star rating and percentage breakdown by star, we don’t use a simple average. Instead, our system considers things like how recent a review is and if the reviewer bought the item on Amazon. It also analyzed reviews to verify trustworthiness.
Learn more how customers reviews work on AmazonCustomers say
Customers enjoy this Hitchcock movie for its clever storyline with twists and turns, filled with wry humor, and generating great suspense. The cast receives praise for their good performances, and customers find it entertaining, with one noting it remains enjoyable even years after its release. The image quality and color palette receive mixed reviews.
AI Generated from the text of customer reviews
Customers find this movie entertaining, describing it as a fun Alfred Hitchcock film and one of his best works, with one customer noting it remains enjoyable even after several years since its release.
"...It's fun to watch, the performances are first rate and a great way to share a big bowl of popcorn...." Read more
"good movie. awesome ending" Read more
"...with plot twists, a bit of suspense, comedy, thrills and overall a great movie!" Read more
"A late Hitchcock but a good one. Hitch is back on track after straying with Frenzy." Read more
Customers enjoy the movie's storyline, describing it as a clever and engaging mystery with an excellent twist.
"This is the first time watching the movie. Excellent.. Excellent with a twist that you would not believe. Enjoy" Read more
"This is an older film but it is really a good plot and a fun mystery. It has always been one of my faves. Hope you love it too!!!" Read more
"...I've seen since it has a lot of funny scenes in it yet it has a great plot just like his other films...." Read more
"Good storyline" Read more
Customers enjoy the movie's humor, describing it as a fun Hitchcock comedy filled with wry moments, with one customer noting the car scene is particularly hilarious.
"...The film is not without charm, wit, and humor; the work of the master, and Bruce Dern's second film with Hitchcock, the first being "Marnie"...." Read more
"Cute movie, funny, good cast of people.Love Karen Black, Bruce Dern,William Devane and Barbara Harris are wonderful.Alfred Hitchcock was never better." Read more
"Good mystery great humor, great send-up, love the beauty of Karen Black, that wonderfully evil grin of William Devane, who never got as many good..." Read more
"...love this movie, filled with plot twists, a bit of suspense, comedy, thrills and overall a great movie!" Read more
Customers enjoy the suspense level of the movie, describing it as a fun mystery that generates great suspense.
"This is an older film but it is really a good plot and a fun mystery. It has always been one of my faves. Hope you love it too!!!" Read more
"Funny and entertaining. Holds your interest." Read more
"...More like a bad TV movie from the 70's. No suspense, just frustration waiting for the plot, dialogue, action, anything to improve...." Read more
"...Hitchcock's last film. He is the master of suspense and all else pales by comparison!" Read more
Customers praise the cast of the movie, with one customer specifically highlighting Bruce Dern's fantastic performance.
"...I'm a big Hitchcock fan and I like this film a lot. It has great actors and actresses in it, including Karen Black and Bruce Dern...." Read more
"Nice combination of comedy and suspense. Outstanding cast and lots of Hitchcock touches." Read more
"...Good cast!" Read more
"Bruce Dern deserved an Academy Award for this movie. The acting was wonderful. The story is outstanding...." Read more
Customers find the movie excellent, with one customer specifically praising the solid behind-the-scenes documentary included on the DVD.
"This is the first time watching the movie. Excellent.. Excellent with a twist that you would not believe. Enjoy" Read more
"How can you say anything else but brilliant and a great watch from the last movie the great master of the thriller Alfred Hitchcock. Brilliant!!" Read more
"His very last, and one of his very best. The car scene is harrowing! Entire cast is dynamite. Barbara Harris is adorable...." Read more
"...A good mystery/comedy with Bruce Dern doing a great job. I totally recommend it." Read more
Customers have mixed opinions about the movie's image quality, with some finding it outstanding while others report noticeable grain in many scenes.
"...Overlooked little movie. The blu ray is outstanding." Read more
"Not the best Hitchcock movie. Not blu ray quality either" Read more
"...The image is clear and sharp, with solid blacks, but there are occasional white speckles, as well as a large scratch just at the end...." Read more
"defective 4K disk..." Read more
Customers have mixed opinions about the color palette of the movie.
"...The image is clear and sharp, with solid blacks, but there are occasional white speckles, as well as a large scratch just at the end...." Read more
"...image is clear and sharp, with solid blacks, but there are occasional white speckles, as well as a large scratch just at the end...." Read more
"Good mystery great humor, great send-up, love the beauty of Karen Black, that wonderfully evil grin of William Devane, who never got as many good..." Read more
Reviews with images
A lesser Known Hitchcock Classic not to be Overlooked
Top reviews from the United States
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- Reviewed in the United States on May 1, 2024Of course, all Hitchcock fans are familiar with the movie. I have always liked it because of the humor and characters as well as the story and the usual excellent execution. Maybe not the most critically acclaimed Hitchcock movie but, for my taste, engaging and fun to watch. Movies that don't take things too seriously are a nice change of pace sometimes.
- Reviewed in the United States on June 26, 2021When it was originally released, it was panned by critics as sub-par for Hitchcock’s final movie. But since that time it has garnered much Critical acclaim. It is a true classic, and has proven to be one of Hitchcock’s finest works. The story captures the audience with a unique weave of action, humor, and intrigue as only Hitchcock can create. The cinematography and dialogue are equally superb. In every scene, the audience is made to feel like they are right there in the scene. Especially the scene with Bruce Dern and Barbara Harris when the car loses its brakes.
5.0 out of 5 starsWhen it was originally released, it was panned by critics as sub-par for Hitchcock’s final movie. But since that time it has garnered much Critical acclaim. It is a true classic, and has proven to be one of Hitchcock’s finest works. The story captures the audience with a unique weave of action, humor, and intrigue as only Hitchcock can create. The cinematography and dialogue are equally superb. In every scene, the audience is made to feel like they are right there in the scene. Especially the scene with Bruce Dern and Barbara Harris when the car loses its brakes.A lesser Known Hitchcock Classic not to be Overlooked
Reviewed in the United States on June 26, 2021
Images in this review
- Reviewed in the United States on October 20, 2019Hitchcock's final film is a lightweight thriller in the manner of "North By Northwest". Barbara Harris is a phony psychic looking to make big bucks by tracking down the long lost illegitimate son of a rich old lady's sister. Meanwhile a kidnapper of the rich & famous have the police baffled. Could these two stories be connected? Duh. Critics found a lot to fault when this movie came out in 1976. Same year as "Taxi Driver", "Rocky", "Network", "Coming Home", all stressing their realistic creds. There is nothing remotely realistic in this frothy entertainment. Hitchcock even resorted to rear-screen projection during an important scene about a car careening out of control down a twisty mountain road. But he was playing it for laughs at the same time. So what's to like about this movie? Barbara Harris plays the kooky psychic to a fare-thee-well. Bruce Dern is her perfect counterpart as the put-upon cab driver who does her footwork. William Devane is as icily sinister as any villain in the Hitchcock canon, especially in the close-ups, his voice as reptilian as anything George Sanders ever did. It was the performance of his career. Karen Black went from willing accomplice to reluctant murderer in a most convincing way. There are inspired set-pieces: the segue from the bickering psychic and her cabbie boyfriend to the kidnapper; the maze-like scene in the cemetery; the rapid editing in the kidnapping of the bishop. Kudos too, to John Williams' scoring, both light and spooky. Hitchcock was an old man when he made this picture. His previous effort had been "Frenzy", a huge success both critically and at the box office, but one that stressed horror over comedy. (The scene where the murderer attempts to remove his tie pin from the clenched fist of his victim is nearly unwatchable.) This one is pure entertainment. He actually seems to say as much when he makes his obligatory appearance, in silhouette, in the Coroner's office; not to mention when, in the very last shot of his last movie, he has Barbara Harris, the charming charlatan, turn directly into the camera, look straight at us, and give a slow, smiling wink.
- Reviewed in the United States on April 7, 2013This is a wonderful Hitchcock movie, although it did not gain fame and glory like his other movies - the plot, the actors and some humorous twist, it is a crime story but at the same time it is light with a comedy-like ending. I loved this movie before I bought this DVD - in fact I only bought it because it was time to replace my VHS casette which outlived its time. I loved treating my guests to this movie, of which very few knew, but we all became spoilt by the HD image quality, and my VHS no longer satisfied myself or my friends.
- Reviewed in the United States on August 24, 2013I watched this movie a day or so after it was announced that Karen Black, one of the movie's stars, had died. It's been reviewed by a couple of the director's biographers as a pleasant effort, but no more. The first time I saw it, when it was in it's first release and in theaters, I was tantalized by at least three of its set-pieces: the seance, the abduction of the archbishop, and the overhead shot of the pursuit in the graveyard. Even though their promise is not quite fulfilled, they make viewing this film worthwhile.
- Reviewed in the United States on December 9, 2011"Family Plot" is about plotting and two couples that cannot get enough.
One couple discovers a wealthy woman trying to find a lost given-up-for-adoption son.
The second couple (Karen Black and William Devane) consists of a pair of jewel thieves and doing quite well. AND, William Devane also happens to be the missing son.
The first couple (Bruce Dern and Barbara Harris make the discovery in a spiritual seance and begin a frantic search for the missing son.
The film is not without charm, wit, and humor; the work of the master, and Bruce Dern's second film with Hitchcock, the first being "Marnie".
I recommend buying and viewing this film over and over, as all Hitchcock films.
- Reviewed in the United States on April 11, 2019This review is of the Universal Blu-Ray.
A fake medium and her cab-driver boyfriend try to trace the heir to a family fortune, missing since infancy. The heir, now a successful jeweler and suave kidnapper living under an assumed name, does not appreciate someone poking around his past - unaware he is heir to a vast fortune.
I appreciate this film more and more each time I watch it. Though not a cinematic heavyweight like "Vertigo", nor hugely popular like "Psycho", there are numerous Hitchcock touches just beneath the surface - such as the many contrasting differences between the two protagonist couples.
The Blu-Ray image is an improvement over the DVD of a few years ago, but not great. The image is clear and sharp, with solid blacks, but there are occasional white speckles, as well as a large scratch just at the end. There is also noticeable grain in many scenes, particularly those involving special effects. I would give the video quality 4 stars.
Top reviews from other countries
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ValeryoReviewed in Italy on January 29, 20235.0 out of 5 stars Top👍
Per collezionisti
Amazon CustomerReviewed in the United Kingdom on March 14, 20155.0 out of 5 stars "Murder can be fun"
A criminally underrated Alfred Hitchcock film, Family Plot was the last project the great director finished. Though almost all of his films are thrillers, one can be as different from another as night is from day, a truth illustrated by Hitchcock’s last two. His penultimate, Frenzy, was a gritty, grimy, violent, and horrifying serial-killer thriller, set in '70s London. Family Plot, however, though it also relies on a deviously clever, teasing plot, is a polished, light-hearted caper about jewel thieves and long-lost heirs, set in sun-baked California. In this way, Frenzy and Family Plot can be compared to, say, Psycho and North by Northwest, two other Hitchcock thrillers with widely divergent tones.
Family Plot is a funny, self-aware film, packed with Hitchcock’s trademark suspense, sexuality, and mean little witticisms. Based on a novel, The Rainbird Pattern by Victor Canning, screenwriter Ernest Lehman supposedly wanted the film to be as dark as the book, but Hitchcock vetoed this in favour of comedy. Lehman’s original vision might have made a great film, and you can see the seeds of it here, especially in William Devane’s role as a heartless career criminal, but Hitchcock’s is just as good.
It's the kind of film only a director as old and assured as Hitchcock could have made. Presented with effortless cool and whimsy, it lacks any of a younger director’s need to prove himself. Its jokes and twists are arranged like notes in an idle but brilliant composition, by a composer enjoying his talents, as opposed to straining them. This is Hitchcock at his most relaxed, and it’s a masterpiece of elegant suspense. I’d even be prepared to crawl out on a limb and say that Family Plot is better than Frenzy, itself a good film marked by confident humour. It isn’t as gritty or realistic as Hitchcock’s London slasher, but why should films be realistic, necessarily? Give me cool escapism any day.
Family Plot‘s, erm, plot, begins with “Madame” Blanche (Barbara Harris), a phony psychic (is there another kind?) bilking a rich old spinster with voices from “the afterlife”, particularly said victim’s sister, whom she pressured into giving up her illegitimate child decades ago. Now old and without heirs, the spinster offers Blanche ten thousand dollars (presumably a life-changing sum in 1976, by the way the characters discuss it) if she can find her long-lost nephew. Blanche follows the trail with her boyfriend, George (Bruce Dern), a jobbing actor and cabbie. Unbeknownst to anyone, however, the heir (William Devane) isn’t your Average Joe. He’s a charming, sociopathic jewel thief with a soundproofed room in his cellar, wherein he houses kidnapped VIPs, from businessmen to bishops, ransoming them for precious stones. He’s assisted by his lover (Karen Black), who in true Hitchcock fashion wears high heels and a blonde wig to each ransom delivery.
Every scene with Barbara Harris is pure joy. Each line and expression radiates warmth, intelligence; she’s a mischievous pixie, winding poor, dim Bruce Dern (almost a Dr. Watson figure, if Holmes was always demanding sex from Watson) around one little finger. In short, she’s adorable. Her seances are a lesson in great comic acting; Harris is one of the most entertaining film comediennes I’ve seen. Even when I wasn’t laughing, I was smiling broadly. The film’s last shot perfectly captures her (and Hitchcock’s) sly charm.
Dern is also brilliant in his role as George, her lunk of a boyfriend, prone to clever observations but woefully amateurish in his attempts at discretion, and all too willing to let Blanche dominate him, no matter how much he protests. (“He doesn’t even drive his own car” one character observes.) Dern has the film’s single funniest line, during a runaway car scene, which he reportedly ad-libbed to Hitchcock’s delight. Said scene is one of Hitchcock’s most humorously directed, and is a riot throughout. Hitchcock had a strong talent for visual comedy, and the scene may be one of his best directed in terms of pure effect. Its crowning shot, as Barbara climbs out of the car and the camera cuts to Dern’s face, is hilarious.
As the main antagonist, Devane is perfectly cast. It’s easy to see why he was Hitchcock’s first choice, and why the director fired his replacement, Roy Thinnes, when Devane, previously occupied, became available. (Thinnes later confronted Hitchcock about this in a restaurant, and Hitchcock, not sure what to say, simply stared at him until he left.) As the soulless charmer, Devane is as oily and unsettling as a Dirty Harry villain. His grin is too wide, too cold, his teeth too large and white, like a waxwork’s. There’s a brilliant shot, also improvised, when he suddenly picks a piece of lint from an inspector’s lapel, during a routine interview about a stolen diamond he happens to possess. If Barbara Harris is the perfect protagonist for this breed of clever, light-hearted suspense, Devane is the perfect antagonist.
As his accomplice, Karen Black rounds out a beautifully chosen cast. Her first scene is as cool as anything you’ll ever see in a caper film; in her blond wig, large black sunglasses, trench-coat and panama hat, she waltzes behind enemy lines, poised with her dainty revolver, not speaking once while she assesses each situation. No wonder a shot of her in costume was chosen for the poster. Of the main four, Black’s is probably the least developed character, but her persona’s still sharp enough to be engaging. Essentially, she’s a criminal ingénue, happy to dress up and play cops-and-robbers with Devane, but squeamish when violence inevitably gets involved.
The film’s complex plot is carefully and leisurely worked out, leaving no loose ends, flaunting coincidences without ever once cheating. Devane’s criminal schemes, and the way the two couples weave in and out of each others’ lives, are delightful to witness. Family Plot was the only Hitchcock film to be scored by John Williams, frequent Steven Spielberg collaborator; on working with Hitchcock, Williams recalled a moment when, while scoring a suspenseful scene, the director called for more lightness in the music. When Williams questioned the appropriateness of this, Hitchcock replied: “Mr. Williams, murder can be fun.” With Alfred Hitchcock, it always was.
One person found this helpfulReport-
AriReviewed in Spain on January 5, 20204.0 out of 5 stars Clásico del cine
Un clásico del cine.
Formato económico y asequible.
git612Reviewed in Germany on October 26, 20215.0 out of 5 stars DVD
Okay
Claude CouillardReviewed in Canada on May 28, 20245.0 out of 5 stars excellent movie good movie
good movie used to entertain myself
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