One From the Heart
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Movie Reviews of One From the Heart
Movie Review: Movie: 2 stars; DVD: 4 stars
Summary: 3 Stars
After his disastrous experiences filming "Apocalypse Now" in the Philippines during the '70s, director Francis Ford Coppola decided to play it safe with his 1982 follow-up, "One From the Heart," a modest musical comedy he filmed entirely on the stages of his own Zoetrope Studios. But the excesses that plagued "Apocalypse" carried over onto "Heart" and Coppola eventually built huge indoor re-creations of the Vegas strip, imported real passenger planes for an airport scene and commissioned detailed, 75-footlong models of the city. The budget ballooned. Upon its release, the film tanked and Coppola's little studio went bankrupt.
Since then, "Heart" has remained discussed but largely unseen, leading curious film fans to wonder, "Could it really be that bad?"
Now it's out on DVD and the answer is available: "Yes, it's really that bad."
"Heart" follows two estranged lovers (Teri Garr and Frederick Forrest) through a charmless musical fantasy. The story and characters are slim and feel slimmer in the midst of the huge, flashy sets. Tom Waits wrote all the songs, but they don't approach his best work. And, ironically in light of the film's title, an air of artificiality hangs over the picture; much like the black ceiling that can clearly be seen above the nighttime streets of Coppola's Las Vegas, the movie's sugary ideas about love and romance feel hopelessly fake.
As an experiment, though, the film is interesting; it borrows the look and feel of classic musicals yet remains a unique attempt, and it's arguably a forerunner of "Moulin Rouge" and "Chicago," but that's not enough to redeem "Heart." As a DVD, though, it's worth checking out for the second disk's exhaustive extra features, particularly the documentaries that explore the ups and downs of Zoetrope Studios, the processes behind Waits' compositions and the debacle surrounding this odd, frustrating movie.
Movie Review: I Believe in Francis C.
Summary: 3 Stars
"One from the Heart" is a typical story of two lovers breaking up, running around and ultimately coming back together, but the simplicity allows for experimentation. The stylized, studio-bound film's complexities are revealed by Tom Waits' light jazz score and Vittorio Storaro's very theatrical lighting. Both are well-served by a gorgeous, eye-popping re-mastered transfer and 5.1 mix (an isolated score is also available). Modern day stylized films like "Moulin Rouge" owe a lot to this movie.Director Francis Ford Coppola's highly engaging commentary on disc 1 goes into detail of his aspirations for "live cinema" - a product that combines the beauty of film with aspects of live television and theatre. He stands by his film despite its failure; it's easy to see how this unconventional film flopped, but you can't help but get swept up in Coppola's vision. Casual viewers may find "One from the Heart" pretty boring, but it should be required viewing for budding filmmakers.
Disc 2 features a sheer wealth of documentaries, both old and new, on almost every aspect of "One from the Heart"'s creation, as well as a special one on the history of Zoetrope Studios, which was bankrupted by the project. You can find out more about Coppola's shooting technique of 'electronic cinema,' Tom Waits' score, the stop-motion effects, and even the massive rehearsals for the picture. A selection of deleted and alternate scenes, alternate takes of Waits' score, trailers and other ephemera round out this excellent DVD package.
Movie Review: Definetely from Francis Coppola's heart
Summary: 3 Stars
For all that this really doesn't totally add up as a simple romantic fairytale, it's a little unkind to dismiss ONE FROM THE HEART as "Coppola's Folly." There actually is a lot of heart in this movie, even as it gets bogged down in the technological murk. Frederic Forrest and Teri Garr make an attractive if mutually dim couple. Yes, they come off as more than a little clunky, but for me,at any rate, that's part of their charm. It makes it all the more believable when temptation, in the forms of Nastassja Kinski and Raul Julia, threaten to break our hero and heroine apart forever. The one thing that doesn't quite mesh is the musical "greek chorus" of Tom Waits and Crystal Gayle-----and, don't misunderstand, I LOVE this soundtrack whenever I'm playing it independent of the movie. WITH the movie, though, it comes across as even more heavy-handed than the special effects here, and I wonder if we wouldn't have gotten the point of what was happening onscreen if the music hadn't been so obviously shoving it into our faces. Nonetheless, ONE FROM THE HEART is better than its reputation suggests, even if it isn't right up there with the best of Francis Coppola's films. And it does have a LOT of heart.Movie Review: DVD is a disappointment
Summary: 3 Stars
The theatrical release of "One from the Heart" was indeed groundbreaking. While the story and characters were not terribly riveting and the musical numbers were a bit uninspired, its stylized sets and homage to classic Hollywood musical revues were a 1980's cinematic treat. And the colors were electrical and dazzling. Eye candy in a way that makes "Moulin Rouge" (despite its nervous, attention-deficit cinematography) look derivative.The DVD release, however, misses the mark. The lavish sets nearly disappear on the typical home screen. The effect is similar to watching "2001" in TV format. "One from the Heart" is an eye-popping big-screen film and does not translate well to most home theaters.
Movie Review: Let's Be Honest....
Summary: 3 Stars
This movie is not good and should be purchased only by Coppola or Raul Julia completists. There's a couple of good movies in here, but instead of teling the story of either Julia's nutty Ray or Kinski's sexy circus performer, Coppola chooses to focus on boring Garr and Forrest. The movie has gorgous sets, and terrific perfomences from its supporting cast, but you're unlikely to want to see this again and again, thanks largely to the banal, imporvised dialogue that causes the main story to make little sense. The DVD treatment is fantastic though, and better than the film deserves.