FemaleFirst.co.uk: DVD: Rachel Getting Married [DVD] [2008]

Rachel Getting Married [DVD] [2008]
enlarge	Director: Jonathan Demme Actors: Anne Hathaway, Debra Winger Studio: Sony Pictures Home Entertainment Category: DVD List Price: ~~£19.99~~ Buy New: £2.25 as of 21/11/2009 13:53 GMT details You Save: £17.74 (89%) New (15) Used (4) from £2.25 Seller: films-on-line Rating: 10 reviews Sales Rank: 2793 Format: PAL Rating: Suitable for 15 years and over Region: 2 Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1 Number Of Discs: 1 Running Time: 108 Minutes Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.2 Dimensions (in): 7.1 x 5.4 x 0.6 EAN: 5035822894532 ASIN: B001Q3M38W Theatrical Release Date: 2008 Release Date: June 29, 2009 Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days


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Editorial Reviews: Amazon.co.uk Review Pitched between Robert Altman's emA Wedding/em and Noah Baumbach's emMargot at the Wedding/em--but more cautiously optimistic than both--emRachel Getting Married/em marks a change in course for director Jonathan Demme. Granted, few Oscar winners have walked a more diverse path. After a series of documentaries and remakes, the emSilence of the Lambs /emhelmer tries his hand at the intimate chamber drama. With the help of actress Anne Hathaway and screenwriter Jenny Lumet, daughter of filmmaker Sidney, he pulls it off. The festivities kick into high gear once Kym (Hathaway, with smeared eyeliner and unkempt hair) takes a break from rehab for her sister's big day. It soon transpires that Kym, who hides her wounded soul behind a veil of sarcasm, serves as the Buchman's resident black sheep. The problem goes deeper than drugs to a tragedy in which she played a part. As Kym, bride Rachel (emMad Men/em's Rosemary DeWitt), their parents (Bill Irwin and Debra Winger), groom Sidney (TV on the Radio's Tunde Adebimpe), and the rest of the bohemian Connecticut brood struggle with the past, the nuptials continue, graced by performances from past Demme collaborators like Sister Carol East (emSomething Wild/em) and Robyn Hitchcock (emStorefront Hitchcock/em). The hours between reception and after-party contain humor, affection, and painful revelations. In the press notes, Demme claims that he and cinematographer Declan Quinn (emIn America/em) attempted to make a film that looked like "The most beautiful home movie ever made." Using handheld cameras and believably flawed characters, they've done just that. --Kathleen C. Fennessy p/p span class="h1"strongStills from IRachel Getting Married/I (click for larger image)/strong/span table border="0" cellpadding="4" width="100%" cellspacing="4"p p tr align="center" valign="top" p tdimg border="1" src="http://g-ecx.images-amazon.com/images/G/02/uk-dvd/sony/RachelGettingMarried_1a.jpg"br Click to enlarge image p /td td img border="1" src="http://g-ecx.images-amazon.com/images/G/02/uk-dvd/sony/RachelGettingMarried_2a.jpg"br Click to enlarge image/td td img border="1" src="http://g-ecx.images-amazon.com/images/G/02/uk-dvd/sony/RachelGettingMarried_3a.jpg"br Click to enlarge image/td /tr tr align="center" valign="top" td img border="1" src="http://g-ecx.images-amazon.com/images/G/02/uk-dvd/sony/RachelGettingMarried_4a.jpg"br Click to enlarge image/td td img border="1" src="http://g-ecx.images-amazon.com/images/G/02/uk-dvd/sony/RachelGettingMarried_5a.jpg"br Click to enlarge image/td td img border="1" src="http://g-ecx.images-amazon.com/images/G/02/uk-dvd/sony/RachelGettingMarried_6a.jpg"br Click to enlarge image/tdtdimg border="1" src="http://g-ecx.images-amazon.com/images/G/02/uk-dvd/sony/RachelGettingMarried_7a.jpg"br Click to enlarge image p /td tdimg border="1" src="http://g-ecx.images-amazon.com/images/G/02/uk-dvd/sony/RachelGettingMarried_8a.jpg"br Click to enlarge image p /td /table

Customer Reviews: Showing reviews 1-5 of 10 1 2 Next » Reminded me in many ways of Dogme 95 February 14, 2009 Greedo (England) 8 out of 14 found this review helpful I'd heard good buzz about this film, even though of all the 2009 "Oscar season" films, it seems to be one of the ones that has slipped largely under the mainstream radar. Having seen it, I can see why, as it is certainly not a mainstream type of film, and would doubtless alienate many viewers within the first ten minutes. However, it is, in my view, a little gem. br / br /It reminded me in many ways of the Dogme 95 movement films, and more specifically, the Danish film "Festen". If you are reading this review because you loved "Rachel Getting Married", I would strongly urge you to check out "Festen". It is shot in a similar way (hand held cameras), has a similar "non-soundtrack", and also centres on a family get together with a rogue element that derails the whole thing. Indeed, like in "Festen", the characters' behaviour will at times make you squirm...a fact that may prevent some people from enjoying the film. br / br /The Direction, by Jonathan "Silence of the Lambs/Stop Making Sense" Demme is excellent...good to see a seasoned film maker still producing interesting and challenging work. The performances are also outstanding. Anne Hathaway in particular - who has been Oscar nominated for her role - absolutely nails the part of a recovering addict, who despite having kicked her addiction, still has to face the feelings that fed her addiction in the first place, and appears totally uncomfortable in her own skin. br / br /Of curiosity to music fans will be the fact that Sidney is played by Tunde Adebimpe, who is singer with one of the more interesting (not to mention brilliant) bands of recent times, TV on the Radio. I had no idea whatsoever that he acted before I watched this film, but since music plays such a large part in the atmosphere Demme creates, it is certainly an interesting collaboration. Along with Robyn Hitchcock, I suspect that there are a number of musicians in smaller roles in the film. br / br /To summarize, this is a fantastic film that will subtly change the way you feel over the course of its running time - the sort of intelligent film making that chooses to "show" rather than "tell" - and I recommend that any cinephiles check it out if they haven't already. Certainly not always an easy watch, and hence not for everybody, but definitely a rewarding one. Slow, irritating truly inspired! October 27, 2009 Mr. David Halliday (Ilkeston Derbyshire United Kingdom) 0 out of 2 found this review helpful Kim is a really horrid, self-centred and uncaring girl who finds herself being released from rehab in time for her sister Rachels wedding. Unfortunately no one, with the exception of her father, is particularly thrilled to see her return. Once back home she carelessly sets about making herself the centre of attention to the point where her sisters wedding is in danger of being overshadowed by her self pitying introspection and monologues. Her sister becomes increasingly exasperated both by her attitude and her fathers insistence Kim be allowed to do just about whatever she wants in case anyone dare upset her. br /As time moves on over a few days we learn exactly just how Kim's addiction has torn her family apart and just as you feel you would like to throttle her the, now divorced, mother turns up and it becomes increasingly clear just what has sent both sisters down their separate paths. Sympathies change and a closer understanding of the whole family situation means the two sisters personalities are not really a great surprise. br /Many reviewers here hated this and it's easy to see why. It is slow and so many of the characters are difficult to warm to. However for me this had a certain something that sets it miles apart from the truly mind numbing endless list of 'seen it all before' rom coms that Hollywood is endlessly spewing out. This is challenging. The wedding itself is different, both in the style chosen and in its filming which is ten minutes of no dialogue but different music styles. Really inventive in my book but to others boring. When the sisters finally spit out the bile they have kept inside for one another for so long it is moving and harrowing. br /Hathaway is a million miles from her usual cute as pie characters and seems to relish her role. She certainly puts in the performance of a lifetime. br /There are so many complexities here that its impossible to take them all in with just one viewing. The poor prospective groom and his bewildered family can only watch their in-laws repressed white middle class repressed lives fall apart in silence. br /The film is certainly long but this just allows for character development at a suitable pace. br /The picture is fine with the vibrant colours of the wedding contrasting well with the dull interior of the family home. Sound works well with a very powerful effective soundtrack that is often allowed to take centre stage. br /This is not for everyone but if you fancy something that requires your brain to be engaged and can live without the usual heavy coating of sugar that so often accompanies films then this is likely to be well worth your time. So good in parts... but so terribly flawed. July 5, 2009 Phil Hattie (Glasgow, Scotland) 7 out of 8 found this review helpful Rachel Getting Married is a bloody hard film to review. I say that because the actual story, the script, the performances, the real meat of the film is brilliant... but the stylings and the fluff on the side are truly awful. br / br /Rachel Getting Married should really be called Kym Getting Out Of Rehab, because as much as the eponymous nuptials form the reason for the characters to gather its really all about Anne Hathaway's Kym, sister to the bride, and how she affects everyone and is affected by them. She's an emotionally scarred and vulnerable ex-addict thrust back into the family that is essentially at the heart of her problems while they are all in that awkward wedding-y mindset where everyone tries to pretend that their interpersonal problems don't exist. As the movie progresses a couple of throwaway references to a person we never see are revealed to be deeply important to understanding this fractured family dynamic and this really opens up the story. br / br /Essentially, as a very talky movie the actors needed to be good and thankfully they are. Anne Hathaway shows more of the acting ability that will see her becoming one of the biggest stars in Hollywood if she continues to make clever choices. She pulls off cynical with aplomb but also really nails Kym's vulnerability and fears- the scene where people challenge her cynicism and she collapses in on herself because its counterproductive to her addiction recovery steps is a great example. Rosemarie DeWitt as the titular Rachel is also very strong in a much less showy role than Hathaway's and Bill Irwin as the girl's father is a stand out. Being frank though, the cast are uniformly excellent and dialogue wise they have really good stuff to work with, at times biting, at times funny, and at times heart-rending. br / br /Unfortunately, the decisions on presentation are terrible. Rachel's wedding is some freaky unrealistically multi-cultural event where diversity seems to have been a requirement for getting an invite. The bride and bridesmaids are in Saris, people read beat poetry, every ethnicity on Earth is represented... Its all ridiculously forced and unbelievable. Mixed race marriages are now really not unusual so as the film is constantly knocked off its footing by another worthy and right-on speech it really grates against the highly adept material surrounding it. The hand-held style of the filming will also irritate some, its not a plot point as in, say, Cloverfield but it can be very obvious and more than a little jarring at times. It's a relatively minor annoyance however. br / br /I really struggled with a rating for this film. The performances and core narrative are so far beyond average that a 3-star rating seems stingy. The flaws in the movie are so distracting that its hard to really feel effusive. In the end I've settled on 4, but for anyone who cares it's a 4 with real caveats. See this film for the solid performances, just be prepared to grind your teeth as you are hit over the head by the PC shovel. br / "I'm Shiva the destroyer, and I am your harbinger of doom for the evening ...!!" (says Rachel's sister Kym). May 8, 2009 Jana L. Perskie (New York, NY USA) 1 out of 3 found this review helpful I usually don't go out of my way to see a film with the word "wedding" in the title. I have absolutely nothing against weddings. I just don't enjoy the typical, cliched family dramas surrounding nuptials. There are exceptions. I really loved "Four Weddings and A Funeral," and "My Big Fat Greek Wedding." When I saw that "Rachel's Getting Married" had come out in rentals, I took a chance. I had heard so many good things about the film. So, I figured, why not? I must say I am not sorry at all. This is a really good, and most unconventional movie. br / br /Yes, it involves a dysfunctional family, (don't they all?), but there's lots of edgy humor, a cast which includes people of almost every ethnicity on earth, and extraordinary music - world music, jazz, rock, heavy metal, Brazilian sambas, and a few cuts which are impossible to categorize. The eclectic musical score suits, as the bride, Rachel, (played by Rosemarie DeWitt), a Caucasian, is marrying Sidney, (Tunde Adebimpe), an African American musician and record producer, and the wedding theme is Indian, with the bride and her court dressed in saris. Jenny Lumet wrote the screenplay, and director Jonathan Demme, ("The Silence of the Lambs"), obviously encouraged his cast to be spontaneous. Apparently, he chose not to plan shots in advance to add to the spontaneity. I am sure there is much ad libbing involved, especially during scenes from the rehearsal dinner, a myriad of speeches and toasts to bride and groom, (some rather bizarre), and the dancing at the wedding reception. Cinematographer Declan Quinn effectively shoots the movie with a handheld digital camera, which bobs through the partially improvised scenes, lending a sense of chaos and the realism of a homemade movie. br / br /Anne Hathaway, as Kym, plays a recovering addict who, after nine months in rehab, returns to her Connecticut home for her sister Rachel's wedding. Ms. Hathaway's wonderful performance earned her an Academy Award nomination for Best Actress. The chain-smoking, self-absorbed Kym, complains, after a few hours back in the family fold, "Everyone in the house is looking at me like I am a sociopath!" "What do they expect me to do, burn the house down?" Well yeah...maybe. Kym has a long and tragic history of unfortunate accidents while under the influence of - you name it. With her short, choppy hair cut, and black eyeliner, she throws frequent tantrums. During one, she demands that her sister's best friend step down as maid of honor and cede the place to her. Her wedding toast to the happy couple begins with: "I'm Shiva the destroyer, and I am your harbinger of doom for the evening ...!!" Oy!!! But, this is Rachel's time in the sun. The focus should be on the her and not the disturbed younger sister. It takes a while for the viewer to realize just how disturbed and damaged Kym is. br / br /The sisters, who obviously love each other very much, fight over the attention of their nurturing, peacekeeping father, (Bill Irwin), and their distant mother Abby, (Debra Winger, who is outstanding in the part). There is an exceptional scene between Hathaway and Winger, which is one of the best and most explosive mother daughter interactions I have seen on film or in the theater. The parents are divorced and both have remarried, which adds more tension to the mix. br / br /The ensemble cast gives performances of the highest caliber. The characters they play become people we care about. The viewer sees these people at their worst and at their best. This is an exceptionally good, rich family drama. A must see, especially for those who enjoy edgy Indies. br /Jana Perskie highly anticipated, somewhat disappointing October 10, 2009 mercury (Germany) 1 out of 1 found this review helpful after the rave reviews of Hathaway in this film i was looking forward to the dvd but somehow never wanted to watch it after i bought it. br /with good reason, as it turns out. br /the wonderfully layered story of the relatioship between the 2 sisters and their (now divorced) parents is completely drowned out it the multi-culti messiness of this 'alternative' wedding. br /Kym (Hathaway) is the 'bad' sister with a gigantic chip on her shoulder and her older sister Rachel (the bride) is too preoccupied with herself and her ancient grudges against her freak of a sister to be able to feel or attend to her needs. br /then there is the over protective father who always hovers and the conspicuously absent mother - who joins the film much later ( a great Debra Winger, wonderful to see her again!) and has her guilt and unforgivingness to deal with. br / br /unfortunately the tension which builds up very nicely in parts is then sacrificed in favour of overlong and totally irrelevant wedding speeches, or by showing extra long and extra close up shots of the carneval of wedding guests when dancing. br /at that stage the film becomes a farce, i wondered if it was a showcase for some up and coming actors. very annoying. br /one sighs with relief when the camera return to the wonderfully present and gripping face of Ann Hathaway. br / br /so - without all the sidetracking action and the boring string of 'colourful' guests it would have been a good film. as it is - because of the marvelous leads- it's still worth watching. br /oh, and before i forget - beware of the aweful music! it really gets on your nerves. Showing reviews 1-5 of 10 1 2 Next »

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