FemaleFirst.co.uk: DVD: The Company [DVD] [2003]

The Company [DVD] [2003]
enlarge	Director: Robert Altman Actors: Neve Campbell, Malcolm McDowell, James Franco Studio: Momentum Pictures Category: DVD List Price: ~~£19.99~~ Buy New: £3.47 as of 22/11/2009 05:34 GMT details You Save: £16.52 (83%) New (8) Used (4) from £3.46 Seller: peter72777 Rating: 8 reviews Sales Rank: 10007 Format: PAL Language: English (Original Language) Rating: Suitable for 12 years and over Region: 2 Number Of Discs: 1 Running Time: 107 Minutes Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.2 Dimensions (in): 7.1 x 5.4 x 0.6 EAN: 5060049145709 ASIN: B0002VF5RA Theatrical Release Date: 2003 Release Date: October 11, 2004 Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days


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Customer Reviews: Showing reviews 1-5 of 8 1 2 Next » No plot, but an outstanding and absorbing spectacle December 29, 2004 Budge Burgess (Kilmarnock, Scotland) 16 out of 16 found this review helpful This film is a visual delight. It enraptures your senses ... even if you find yourself waiting for the story to begin. It is neither a documentary about the life of Chicago's Joffrey Ballet, nor is it conventional fiction. There is little that could be described as a plot. The fascination is in the performance and sense of intimacy Altman creates.pDirector Robert Altman has a naturalistic style. Working without a plot is not unusual - "Gosforth Park", for instance, has a very fragile structure. He tends, instead, to observe the characters interact, to focus on what makes the characters tick: his 1970 hit, "MASH", is perhaps the most widely seen example - there are sub-plots ... but no real plot other than survival.pAltman's concern is with interaction. The characters, here, are the dancers in the ballet company. They are artists, they work longer and harder than any other artist, yet they are treated like high school kids - they cram into a locker room to get changed, work hours every day, risk career threatening injury, and earn barely enough to keep a roof over their heads.pAltman portrays the pain - the blisters, bruises, muscle tears, the corns, plasters, bandages, the endless pressure. He makes it clear that the dancers can be expendable - they are rarely consulted about the art they perform, but are often patronised or bullied.pAltman has a critical perspective. The dancers provide a spectacle for an elitist audience - who may have to suffer the inconvenience of rain during an open-air production, but who clearly don't otherwise suffer much for their art. For them, the ballet is a social occasion, one in which they are presented with the seemingly effortless. Even the onstage injury of a dancer is concealed - a substitute takes her place ... and takes the bows at the end.pAltman has an improvisational style in his filming. He's said he wants the audience to pay attention, to work at understanding his movies. If you watch a ballet ... highly stylised, often utterly surreal ... how do you understand what is taking place? Altman makes you work to understand what is going on in this film, to value the performance without the artifice of a plot. This is life as dancers know it!pNeve Campbell's skills are very definitely on show here. She was the driving force behind the film: she co-wrote and co-produced it, and pestered Altman until he agreed to direct. Campbell spent six years at the National Ballet School of Canada; she was a dancer long before she became an actor. She was a cute teenager in "Party Of Five", appeared unflappable in teenage horror movies, but here, she takes on a gruelling, adult role ... and is convincing not only as a dancer, but in her ability to forego celebrity status and blend into the background as a member of the company.pCampbell is just one of the dancers. You are never allowed to see her as a star. The movie is more slice-of-life than a typical Hollywood vehicle for a celebrity cast. Most of the roles are played by actual company members - Campbell and the film crew are the outsiders.pThere are minor subplots, but the real concentration is on the hard work, dedication, and humour of the dancers. They smile, their faces stripped of any emotion other than ones called for by the choreographer. Malcolm McDowell gives a potent performance as the sometimes autocratic, sometimes avuncular director, perhaps echoing Altman's reputation as something of a control freak.pThe film takes on a documentary quality - the camera leads you in amongst the dancers. You can hear the sound of their feet hitting the stage - crisp little sounds, like pistol shots. You can certainly sense the eroticism of the performance - I've often wondered if classical ballet started as a form of pornography.pThe dancers, themselves, deconstruct their art. They parody the role of the director and choreographer, mocking the pretensions of the purists, and revelling in their own skills and vitality. They may be on pain killers and other supplements, may be too busy to have much of a life beyond the company, but they are performers, and they live to dance.pNot a film everyone will enjoy. I'm not a great ballet fan, but this movie captured my imagination and my interest. It is not an easy film to watch. You have to concentrate. But the visual spectacle is utterly absorbing. It's a film you can watch again and again and just ... well, just enjoy as a spectacle. But, if my review has intrigued you enough, I suggest you rent it first. The Greatest Dance Film Ever Made December 25, 2004 6 out of 10 found this review helpful This is a breathtaking achievement. I have never seen a film which portrayed the glory and hardship of dance so truthfully.pFully scripted and yet fully convincing, "The Company" is at once drama and documentary. Campbell, in particular, has shown us what she is capable of as not only actress and dancer, but scriptwriter and producer. Only Malcolm MacDowell fails to convince; he should be on a platter with applesauce, not making himself obtrusive in this otherwise masterful work.pThe film is refreshingly free of those perennial flaws of the Dance Movie: cliché and absence of dancing. The title is not a misnomer, for the company itself is the major star. Watch out for the performance of "White Widow" - you could faint* from the beauty. pNo aficionado of dance should be without this film. It is ravishing. Good show September 30, 2008 Margaret Swift (Greater London) I thoroughly enjoyed this - even if it didn't have a plot!. Great fun for non-dancers to get a glimpse of rehearsals, backstage etc. There were loads of dance extracts of modern ballets, none of which I'd seen before so it's worth it for this alone.Excellent dancing.So many dance film swheel in an actor who can barely stagger around so it was great to see real professionals at work. Nice idea but ... November 2, 2004 Michela Cocolin (Bognor Regis, England) 8 out of 12 found this review helpful Nice idea to go behind the scene of a ballet company. The viewer is there with the dancers when they practise and later, when the show is on. brHowever, the pace is rather slow, there are hardly any scenes of classic ballets at all, just modern choreographies.brHalf way through the film I wondered whether it had a plot.brWhere's the excitment of "Center Stage"? brI enjoyed the making of featurette more than the film.br3 stars for the director and dancers. Story???? April 10, 2005 6 out of 9 found this review helpful The star rating I gave was for the dance only, I feel a need to make that clear from the beginning. I was sadly disappointed in the lack of character, personality and stories.pIt was fragmented and mechanical at best, the dancers performed their pieces beautifully but they had no acting abilities and, even if they had some modicum of acting talent, had little or no story to tell!pSorry to anyone who may not like this review but I decided to add mine to the other reviews to give potential buyers a wider range of reviews and opinions to draw on. Showing reviews 1-5 of 8 1 2 Next »

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