Vanya on 42nd Street
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Movie Reviews of Vanya on 42nd Street
Movie Review: The essence of live theater - great performances
Summary: 4 Stars
I cannot top Charles Houser's spotlight review. He nailed it. This film is bleak as a Russian winter -- the characters are mostly family members trapped together in a house, all venting their frustrations and disappointments. And yet the viewer is made to feel sympathy with the characters and is drawn into their conflicts.
I've seen this film several times, and I'm not tired of it yet. Every two years or so I will pull it out and view it again. The DVD does not greatly improve on the video quality of the VHS tape edition, but it is nice to see it in widescreen instead of pan-and-scan.
Like the Beatles' Anthology CDs, this movie draws people into a rehearsal -- no costumes, no sets, virtually no props -- as if we are eavesdropping on the creative process. But the actors speak, the drab surroundings of the decaying theater fade away, and the mind begins to paint a picture of a country house, with these weary souls sniping and pleading and commiserating with one another. Though this is a film, we see the power of theater -- great actors creating an entire world with only their voices, facial expressions, and body language. Vanya on 42nd Street doesn't seem incomplete. I think a full production with sets and costumes would be a distraction. That is the canny charm of it -- using that which is missing as an asset. We are forced to focus on the performances, because there is nothing else!
All the actors are superb. I wish we saw more of these people in film. Except for Juliane Moore, none of them are classically beautiful, but they are a heck of a lot more interesting than the pretty cardboard cutout people who seem to populate Hollywood and suck up all the money for their "star vehicles."
Movie Review: What are you people thinking?!
Summary: 2 Stars
I think the only reason this is given such high reviews is owing to the fact that it is such a great play. The performances here are frankly mediocre, and Wallace Shawn is just not that good in the role. Vanya is in the middle of a nervous breakdown and Shawn plays him tired and resigned. PLEASE see the BBC Chekhov collection with Kenny Jones as Vanya to see what this really could be. PLEASE. At least for an English version; curiously, there is no Russian version of this anywhere on DVD.
Movie Review: sorry, fail to sit thru the whole 9 yards
Summary: 1 Stars
the casts are all good but i couldn't stand the endless blah,blah,blah. maybe it's good but i simply fail to find this bore-to-death movie the least interesting. if i were in the theatre, i might have to apologize to the other audience when i bailed out of the aisle in the middle of the big nowhere.