The Bridges of Madison County DELUXE EDITION
by Clint Eastwood
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DVD Cover Information
Actor: Clint Eastwood, Debra Monk, Jim Haynie, Meryl Streep, Phyllis LyonsDirector: Clint Eastwood
Brand: Warner Brothers
Cinematographer: Jack N. Green
Composer: Lennie Niehaus
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Original Language)
Format: Color, DVD, NTSC, Widescreen
Picture Format: 1.77:1
Running Time: 135 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2008-05-06
Audience Rating: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Studio: Warner Home Video
Product features:
- Condition: New
- Format: DVD
- Color; DVD; Widescreen; NTSC
Movie Reviews of The Bridges of Madison County DELUXE EDITION
Movie Review: This kind of certainty comes but once in a lifetime
Summary: 5 Stars
The Bridges of Madison County is a great film. It was based on a novel written by Robert James Waller. He finished his manuscript in just eleven days, intending it to be a gift for various friends and family. One of his friends asked if he could try to interest a literary agent in the book. Waller got a call from a New York agent who asked, "...Robert, where have you been all my life?" It was a powerful narrative, though some critics complained that it was poorly written. Nevertheless, there was something in the story that really resonated with a large segment of the public.
Various directors and actors were suggested for bringing the story to the silver screen. Sydney Pollack was supposed to direct it with Robert Redford as the star. Other contenders for the female lead included Cher, Isabella Rossellini, Catherine Deneuve, Susan Sarandon, Jessica Lange, Barbara Hershey and Anjelica Huston. Next it was going to be Bruce Beresford, but he wanted to make the Francesca Johnson character English, and the studio didn't accept this direction.
Eastwood proved to be the best possible choice for director, and he directed himself well as the National Geographic photographer assigned to take pictures of the covered bridges of Madison County. Meryl Streep stars as Francesca Johnson, a farmer's wife who has a four-day stand with the photographer that proves to be the love of her life, though she stays with her husband. As an actress, Meryl did all the things that Oscar hungry actors do to prove their commitment to their characters: Meryl played the character as both middle aged and old. Streep gained 15 or 20 pounds to play the role, and she speaks with an Italian accent. She is really good with accents, but that is just the beginning. What really impressed me was how she could convey such complex emotions, yet she was always totally believable and natural.
There is a really great scene where she prepares dinner for her family, and they all eat, each in their own worlds, oblivious to her obvious excitement, anticipating spending time with the photographer, Robert Kincaid, while her family is away. Since we know what the family doesn't, and since the camera is focusing on her, we see that she has a twinkle in her eye--but no one else notices anything out-of-the-ordinary. Streep is acting up a storm, but she makes it all seem so natural and realistic. This scene is a fine piece of acting, where it is not the culmination of the story arc, but just an average day in the life. Streep makes it all count, and all these little scenes set the stage for the really dramatic show downs when their emotions boil over.
The two children, when they learn of their mother's secret life, are shocked and dismayed, and very angry at their mother for betraying their father. But as they read more of the letters they come to a new understanding of their mother, and make changes for the better in their own lives. They go from acting like a couple of jerks to being very sympathetic characters. As good and well cast as these roles are, the main focus is on the once-in-a-lifetime romance between Robert Kincaid and Francesca Johnson. Eastwood and Streep prove to be the perfect combination.
Just a few random notes on other things I loved about The Bridges of Madison County:
Meryl Streep was trained as an opera singer, and though she doesn't sing here, there are two scenes with Maria Callas singing. One is "Casta Diva from 'Norma'" by Vincenzo Bellini. The other is "Mon coeur s'ouvre à ta voix from 'Samson et Dalila'" by Camille Saint-Saëns. As Francesca listens to some opera on the radio, her daughter switches to a station that is playing "Leader of the Pack" performed by The Shangri-las. This gesture speaks volumes about the mother-daughter relationship, and also shows how much her family takes her for granted. The opera is a great touch for her character, who is from Italy. Streep can be heard singing Country Western in Postcards From the Edge, and does a great job. She currently is in the ABBA musical, Mama Mia. She wanted very badly to have the role of Evita, and felt that she was a much better singer than Madonna. Hey, I'm inclined to believe her.
Robert Kincaid is more of a jazz fan, and there are some great cuts with baritone crooner Johnny Hartman setting the mood. Hartman is best known among jazz fans for his stunning album of ballads recorded with John Coltrane. Eastwood showcases some stuff that Hartman did without Coltrane, neglected gems worthy of further attention. Also heard are Irene Kral, Dinah Washington, and Ahmad Jamal. At one point Robert Kincaid takes Francesca to a rural blues joint where they are not likely to see anyone that knows her. It is a great scene and also gives him a chance to show off his son Kyle who plays bass with the group, The James Rivers Band. Eastwood himself, who plays piano, composed the theme music along with Lennie Niehaus, who also did the music for Bird.
Selected Films and Roles of Meryl Streep
The Devil Wears Prada (Widescreen Edition) (2006) .... Miranda Priestly was something different for Streep, a cold hearted business woman. Great performance that might have gotten more than an Oscar nomination if only her character wasn't so mean.
A Prairie Home Companion (2006) .... More accents for Streep as Yolanda Johnson, and also some good singing.
Adaptation (Superbit Collection). (2002) .... Streep is Susan Orlean in this convoluted story within a story about a writer trying to adapt a book about orchids into a film script. It is the second script for Charlie Kaufman after Being John Malkovich.
Postcards from the Edge (1990) .... Streep plays Suzanne Vale, an actress with mother issues. Mom, played by Shirley McLaine, is always upstaging. Written by Carrie Fisher, whose real life mom, Debbie Reynolds, might possibly have provided some material. Streep sings country western! She does great, starting out shaky but with a strong finish. "Checking Out of This Heartbreak Hotel" serves as a metaphor for her journey of self discovery and personal empowerment.
A Cry in the Dark (1988) AKA Evil Angels .... Streep did good job acting, perhaps better than Out of Africa. Streep's character, Lindy Chamberlain, was a real person in Australia who was sent to prison for killing her child, but claimed that "the dingoes got my baby." After a long time behind bars they finally decided that her story could have been true. Meanwhile, the line became a target for parody. The line even provided a name for a band on Buffy the Vampire Slayer.
Out of Africa (1985) .... As Karen Blixen Streep used a Danish accent. Redford's character was supposed to be English, but he refused. Streep however, can't resist the challenge of mastering a new accent, and it is one of the main tools in her acting toolbox.
Directed by Clint Eastwood
Million Dollar Baby (Full Screen Edition) (2004) This Oscar winning film, directed by Clint Eastwood, has Eastwood, Morgan Freeman, and Hillary Swank in the leading roles. It is about the sport of female boxing.
Bird (1988) Eastwood directed Forest Whitaker in this biography of jazz musician Charlie Parker. Eastwood has quite a feel for jazz, and he worked with Lennie Niehaus on the soundtrack, and Lennie also did the music for TBOMC.
Honkytonk Man (1982) Eastwood played the Honkytonk Man, and his son, Kyle played his nephew who followed in his uncle's musical footprints. In TBOMC Kyle has a part as a bass player for the James Rivers Band, who all play themselves.
Play Misty for Me (1971) This early directorial effort by Eastwood also has a jazz theme. He plays a jazz DJ who is stalked by a fan who always requests that he play "Misty." I think that the version he plays is by Errol Garner.
Caroline: Who knew that, in between bake sales, my mother was Anaïs Nin?
Summary of The Bridges of Madison County DELUXE EDITION
World-traveling National Geographic photographer Robert Kincaid and Iowa housewife Francesca Johnson aren't looking to turn their lives upside down. Each is at a point in life where expectations are behind them. Yet four days after meeting they wont want to lose the love they've found. Academy Award winners' Meryl Streep (earning her 10th Oscar nomination for this performance) and Clint Eastwood (who also produces and directs) bring blazing starpower and powerful conviction to the beloved characters of Robert James Waller's best seller of love choice and consequence. With luck a love like that happens to some of us sooner or later. For Robert and Francesca it was later. And it was glorious.Format: DVD MOVIE Genre: DRAMA/LOVE & ROMANCE UPC: 883929029419 Manufacturer No: 1000040475Some called it a snooze-fest, while others tearfully clutched their Kleenex. In any case, Clint Eastwood was an unusual and (as it turned out) perceptive choice to direct and costar in this lush adaptation of Robert James Waller's phenomenally bestselling novel. Meryl Streep costars as Francesca, the lonely Iowa farmer's wife who is instantly attracted to Robert (Eastwood), the photographer from National Geographic who is in the area to photograph the bridges along Iowa's rural roadways. The two fall in love while Francesca's husband and children are away at a county fair, but the story's passion and lasting appeal derive from their decision to part forever after just a few brief days of intimate connection. Superbly acted with an emphasis on quiet, graceful moments of tender revelation, the film builds to a crescendo of powerful and conflicting emotions. Like David Lean's Brief Encounter (to which it bears marked similarities), The Bridges of Madison County is destined to become one of the classic movie love stories. --Jeff Shannon
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