Fiddler on the Roof (Topol)

(Amazon UK link)

About eight years ago, when we started collecting DVDs, 'Fiddler on the Roof' was on special offer. I knew it was a classic, one of those musicals where I knew some of the songs, and had a vague idea of the storyline. I'm pretty sure I saw a stage version - maybe done at a school - when I was a teenager, but I had never seen the 1971 film production.

It's the story of a Jewish family living in Tzarist Russia at the beginning of the 20th century. Tevye, the star and narrator, is brilliantly portrayed by Topol; he's a likeable middle-aged peasant who has been married for twenty-five years and has five daughters.

Teyve pledges his oldest daughter to be married to the local widowed butcher who is wealthy, but not at all young or handsome. To his horror, his daughter pleads to be married instead to her childhood sweetheart. Teyve loves her, and wants her to be happy, so he agrees somewhat reluctantly… not realising the irony in that in marrying a nice Jewish boy whom he likes, she is being far more traditional than her younger sisters will prove to be...

For tradition is at the heart of the culture. The opening song glorifies the importance of tradition, which is how Teyve was raised, and how he expects his future to continue. Yet young people - most of all his daughters - are starting to query it. Concepts such as love are alien to Teyve; in the song quoted in 'love language' books, his wife lists the things she does for him, but is also a bit puzzled by the concept of love itself.

Teyve is a caring person, and is usually willing to listen; sometimes he will change his viewpoint too, often in conjunction with a quick chat with God. This is done in a style that works well as little asides, as if he is thinking aloud, pondering the pros and cons of various options while his companions of the time are temporarily frozen.

'Fiddler on the Roof' is a long film, nearly three hours in all. The musical style, even the songs themselves seem old fashioned at times, yet the choreography is excellent, and the scenery gorgeous. The Russian army, eventually driving the Jews out, are shown in historical context, making this useful from a social history point of view, and overall there’s much to think about. At the end, which was almost too abrupt, seeing Teyve himself having to depart from his beloved tradition for many reasons, I found myself wishing it could be longer.

Recommended.

Review copyright Sue's DVD Reviews

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, Rupert Grint)

(Amazon UK link)

Having decided to collect the Harry Potter DVDs and watch them, over a period of several months, we finally sat down to the fourth in the series on Sunday evening.

'Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire' is my least favourite of the books in the series. I haven't read it since 2005, but could remember most of the important plot points. It starts with some clear evidence of 'he-who-shall-not-be-named' seeking dark methods of returning to power. This is followed by the world Quidditch match, which doesn't much interest me. Most of the book, once the students have returned to Hogwarts, deals with the Tri-Wizard tournament - dangerous tasks between representatives of three different schools.

The ending of this book is particularly unpleasant and much darker than the previous novels; I didn't like it either of the times I had read it, and was not at all keen on seeing it on screen.

Still, the film is very well done, in my view. It keeps close to the plot of the book (or as much as I can remember, anyway) while - inevitably - cutting out some sequences, and cutting down on others. It's two and a half hours long, and quite intense. I felt myself quite tense at times. Some of the action scenes were so rapid that I had to close my eyes, but that's not necessarily a bad thing.

I deliberately didn't watch most of the climax at the end, knowing what was coming. Just listening was more than sufficient - and it was well done.

The three main actors - Daniel Radcliffe as Harry, Emma Watson as Hermione, and Rupert Grint as Ron - were clearly growing with their roles, and did very well portraying 14-year-old teenagers, sometimes moody and suspicious, sometimes emotional, beginning to show an interest in the opposite sex. This facet isn't overdone at all; the film's 12 rating (US: PG-13) is no doubt due to the somewhat dark theme - even though actual violence is not extreme. A sensitive child could find it very frightening.

I don't watch enough movies to have got fully used to the way that actors pop up all over the place, sometimes in similar roles, but - more disturbingly - sometimes very different. Maggie Smith is excellent, as ever, as Professor McGonagall; we've been watching 'Downton Abbey' and were a little bemused by her being a dowager countess in that, but the characters are not dissimilar.

Robert Hardy as the Minister for Magic was a bit strange - we knew him better as Siegfried Farnon in 'All Creatures Great and Small' - but I was at least expecting that. However, we both found it quite disturbing that David Tennant - the wonderful Doctor Who - appeared as the evil Barty Crouch...

I think I would recommend this film overall, to anyone who likes the books or has seen the earlier films. It would rather be confusing for anyone who knew nothing about Harry Potter, however.

Reviews of the other Harry Potter films:

• Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone
• Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
• Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
• Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
• Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
• Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (part 1)
• Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (part 2)

Review copyright Sue's DVD Reviews

Doctor Who, The Complete Third Series (David Tennant, Freema Agyeman)

(Amazon UK link)

We were reluctant, at first, to get hooked on the 21st century incarnations of 'Doctor Who', the popular science fiction show that was so popular (and scary) in my childhood. But after much persuasion from our sons and their friends, we've just finished watching the third series. We liked it so much that we are already looking forward to starting the fourth.

It took us about six months to watch our way through the thirteen episodes of Doctor Who series 1. But we then managed  the similar length Doctor Who series 2 in just three months. Season 3, with fourteen episodes in all, has taken us nearly six months, although that's not for lack of interest.

This series was mostly broadcast in 2007, but begins with the 'Christmas Special' from the end of 2006 in which a young and rather angry bride finds herself unexpectedly transported to the Tardis. We weren't quite sure what to make of this, but very much enjoyed the next episode which introduced Freema Agyerman as Martha Jones, a medical student in a hospital which finds itself transported to the moon...

David Tennant continues as the tenth incarnation of the Doctor. We found that we liked his portrayal more and more in the role as the series progressed. He has just the right amount of eccentricity verve; this series also gives him the opportunity to display his extensive skills as an actor. This came to the fore in the two-part episode, 'Human Nature' and 'The Family of Blood' which see the Doctor temporarily transformed into a human, unaware - other than in his dreams - of any other existence.

Martha Jones becomes the Doctor's companion for the rest of this series, zooming around the universe from the past to the long distant future. We liked her very much better than Billie Piper as Rose. Martha is highly intelligent and motivated, and saves the Doctor's life more than once. Inevitably she, too, finds herself falling for the Doctor even though he's a time lord and can never settle down.

Martha's family are very upset about her taking off with the Doctor. They are suspicious and rather worried too. There's an ongoing theme through the series, seeing her mother reporting every phone call to a government agency, in scenes that  are not explained until everything falls into place in the final episode.

As for that final episode, it's a three-parter. That must have been quite frustrating for viewers when shown on television, with a week to wait in between each part. It was so tense that we had to watch all three parts in one evening, something we would not normally do. It introduces yet another adversary from the Doctor's past, and has some very tense, rapid scenes, as well as some moving moments... and what appears to us to be a strongly Messianic theme in the final part.

Thrown into the mix of the third season are a meeting with William Shakespeare, a rather scary two-part episode featuring evolving daleks, and an elderly man after the secret of eternal youth. There are also some cryptic messages found on DVDs in a so-called 'Doctor-lite' episode which was very thought-provoking in terms of time travel.

All in all, we thought this an excellent season.

Note: Despite being rated PG in the UK, I wouldn't really recommend this for anyone under the age of about nine or ten; some of the concepts are quite complex, and while there's no bad language or gore, or indeed anything else to warrant a higher rating, there's a lot that might give nightmares to a sensitive child.

Review copyright Sue's DVD Reviews

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, Rupert Grint)

(Amazon UK link)

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban is one of my favourite books of the brilliant series by JK Rowling. However, I didn't see the film when it first came out in 2004.  I'm not a fan of cinema, and I'm easily scared. The thought of seeing dementors on the big screen was enough to put me off entirely.

However we picked up the DVD cheaply a couple of years ago, and decided to collect the whole series. We watched 'Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone' in April, and 'Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets' just a few weeks ago. A teenage friend pointed out that on-screen dementors could not possibly more scary than those of the imagination, and I decided she was probably right.

So, in a free evening, we sat down to watch 'Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban'.  The story starts with Harry getting into trouble, yet again, at his awful relatives' home. He becomes angry when they make rude remarks about his parents, and ends up walking out of the house dragging his school trunk. He's picked up by the 'Night Bus' and taken - after a somewhat hair-raising ride - to Diagon Alley, where he is reunited with his friends... and also warned about an escaped and dangerous convict, Sirius Black.

Three main teenage cast are superb in this film. I was particularly impressed with Rupert Grint as Ron, but all three really do carry this story forward, with excellent on-screen chemistry as they begin to mature in their roles.

Hagrid (Robbie Coltraine) has a bigger role in this film, and is great too. He plays the gentle giant to perfection, and I can't now think of Hagrid as being anyone else. Snape (Alan Rickman) is spookily nasty too.

Professor Lupin, a new teacher in this book, was a bit of a surprise at first. David Thewlis is excellent in the role, but does not look or behave at all how I had imagined him. Still, I liked him very much by the end. Professor Trelawney, is played in an over-the-top way by Emma Thompson; I got the impression from the books that JK Rowling didn't like Trelawney or her subject much, and she's done well, suitably over-dramatic and unbelievable.

The special effects are excellent, smooth and highly professional. The hippogriff seemed particularly realistic, and the various flights and other effects were very well done. The dementors were suitably unpleasant, but thankfully not quite the nightmares I had imagined. Gary Oldman as Sirius Black was exactly how I expected him to be, at first, even if the later scenes were a little too fast and didn't quite work.

My only problem with the casting was Robert Hardy as Cornelius Fudge, Minister of Magic. I spent most of his scenes trying to remember who on earth he was, and only later realised that he is, of course, Siegfried Farnon from the 'All Creatures Great and Small' series. He not only looked like him, but behaved like him.

This film was certainly worth watching, and I enjoyed it as part of the series.

However, this was a much more visual film than either of the first two. There seemed to be huge swathes of the book left out; it's probably a good thing that I haven't read it for several years, as I'm not currently familiar with all the details of the book, so was able to watch the film in its own merit.

But it was disturbing that there was so little dialogue, and that the film felt very short.  Despite this there were rather tediously over-long visual scenes of (for instance) Harry flying on the hippogriff, or Quidditch games, which added nothing to the storyline.

Some critics have said that this film was 'darker' than the first two; perhaps it is, but then so is the book. I didn't have a problem with that. But I would have preferred more action and speech and considerably less of the visual side. Had I not been aware of the overall plot, I'm not sure I would have followed it.

Reviews of the other Harry Potter films:

• Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone
• Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
• Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
• Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
• Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
• Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (part 1)
• Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (part 2)

Review copyright Sue's DVD Reviews

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint, Emma Watson)

(Amazon UK link)

I did see the first two Harry Potter films at the cinema when they came out at the start of the century. But it's only more recently that we've collected most of them on DVD, and plan to watch them in order. We saw 'Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone' back in April, but have only just got around to watching the second in the series, 'Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets'.

I have, of course have read the 'Chamber of Secrets' book several times, though not for a while. So while I remembered the overall plot, I was a bit hazy about some of the details when we sat down to watch the DVD.

As with the first film, the story starts with Harry (Daniel Radcliffe) at home with his appalling relatives who still treat him like dirt. He's looking forward to his second year at Hogwarts, although feeling rather neglected by his friends. Then he receives an unexpected visitor: Dobby the house-elf, who is superbly represented in the film, much as I had imagined him from the book.

Dobby has no self-esteem whatsoever and keeps punishing himself loudly for every minor infraction. However he is a huge fan of Harry's, and wants to keep him away from school because, he says, it will be very dangerous. So he causes all manner of trouble trying to ensure that Harry is either prevented from going, or - later on - sent home.

The main plot revolves around the 'Chamber of Secrets' which is a hidden part of Hogwarts School. It had been closed for many years but has apparently been re-opened, although nobody knows who was the culprit. Harry becomes increasingly worried because he can hear strange voices that nobody else can hear, and discovers that his gift of speaking to snakes is not a respected talent in the wizarding world.

There are plenty of other subplots, lots of excitement and tension, and a highly dramatic climax. Ron (Rupert Grint) and Hermione (Emma Watson) remain as Harry's most important allies, and it's good to see their characters developing in this film. There's a nice speech by Professor Dumbledore (Richard Harris) towards the end, including a very important line about the reason why he is in Gryffindor house.

It's hard to be fully objective about a film series which is so well-known and which has been so surrounded by hype. But, trying to look at it fairly with the benefit of hindsight, it was hard to find anything wrong with this film. There's an excellent cast who play their parts well, great direction, and some light humour to temper the drama.

We even remembered to watch the few seconds of 'extra' at the end of the credits, and liked being able to 'fast forward' through them, which of course was not possible at the cinema.

Definitely recommended, other than to small children who might find it over-scary.

While this can still be found as a single DVD, new or second-hand, enthusiasts wanting more than one of the Harry Potter books might do better to buy one of the boxed set Harry Potter Collections, which contain all (or all but the last two) in the series.

Reviews of the other Harry Potter films:

• Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone
• Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
• Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
• Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
• Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
• Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (part 1)
• Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (part 2)

Review copyright Sue's DVD Reviews

Father of the Bride (Steve Martin, Diane Keaton, Kimberly Williams)

(Amazon UK link)

Back in 2007, I watched the original black-and-white version of 'Father of the Bride' on an aeroplane. I liked it very much, and a year or two ago looked for it on Amazon. I couldn't find a reasonable edition of the original DVD, but liked the sound of the 1991 update, particularly since it stars Steve Martin.

We finally sat down to watch it on our anniversary, which seemed like a suitable occasion. I gather that some purists don't like the updated version, feeling it's too different from the original (starring Spencer Tracy). I might have felt the same way if I had watched them within a few months of each other, but with nearly six years' gap I was able to enjoy this with only the most general idea of the storyline.

Steve Martin is, in my view, wonderful as the hapless father, who begins the movie - as in the original version - surveying the chaos that has ensued after his daughter's wedding. Then as he thinks back, the story moves to the time, some months previously, when Annie (Kimberly Williams) returned from college and announced that she had fallen in love...

It’s nicely done with plenty of modern updates. Martin's ideas of a simple wedding, once he finally accepts that it IS going to happen, are gradually eroded by Annie and also his long-suffering wife (Diane Keaton is excellent in the role). From the time they decide to take on a wedding organiser (brilliantly - and bizarrely - played by Martin short)he is reduced to counting the rapidly increasing costs, and giving up on any personal input.

I'm sure the details are very different from the original, but they work well in the context of the 1990s. There are some great choreographed scenes showing Steve Martin at his best. His son Matthew is nicely played by Kieran Culkin, and the family life is shown as strong and closely attached despite the father's obvious eccentricities. It felt warm and encouraging throughout.

There's lots of light humour, a great pace, and then the ending was every bit as moving as I remember the original version being.

Definitely recommended.

Review copyright Sue's DVD Reviews

Heidi [2005] (Emma Bolger, Max von Sydow)

(Amazon UK link)

I have loved the classic children’s story ‘Heidi’ for many years. So when I learned that there was a fairly recent film adaptation of the book, I thought I'd put it on my wishlist.

While I haven't read the book for many years now, my initial impression was that this 2005 version of 'Heidi' was pretty close to the original. Having said that, there were a few odd digressions - the 'Alm Uncle' being referred to as 'Uncle Alp', for one thing, and the goats' names being changed. Both are so minor as to seem rather pointless to have changed, although I'm not such a pedant as to worry over-much.

Still, the basic plot follows that of the book pretty well. Orphaned Heidi (Emma Bolger) is taken by her aunt to stay with her grumpy grandfather (Max von Sydow) when nobody else wants her. He isn't keen at first, but they grow to love each other, and Heidi makes friends with the goatherd Peter (Sam Friend).

Then, out of the blue, Heidi's aunt returns and snatches her away, to become a companion to the wealthy but disabled Clara. There, Heidi has her first taste of fine living, befriends people of all classes, and takes the fancy of Clara's grandmother...

The scenery is stunning at times, but the pace is a bit slow; it's not that I wanted to rush through the film, but there were times when almost nothing seemed to be happening. Moreover, although the adults were well in character: I particularly liked Heidi's grandfather, and also the delightfully horrible Miss Rottenmeier (Geraldine Chaplin), we found the child actors disappointing.

Peter was mostly believable, but Clara (Jessica Claridge) seemed rather twee and unreal, and Heidi herself, though believable in places, seemed over-done, with exaggerated yawns and tears at times, and little show of emotion in general. I wasn't worried by the faint Irish accent which came through, but it did seem rather incongruous.

Still, overall we thought this a likeable film which would probably be enjoyed by children of any age who have enjoyed the classic book.

Review copyright Sue's DVD Reviews