FitnessProsBooks.com - Wit
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List Price: $9.98
Our Price: $3.47
Your Save: $ 6.51 ( 65% )
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Manufacturer: Hbo Home Video
Starring: Emma Thompson, Christopher Lloyd, Eileen Atkins, Audra McDonald, Jonathan M. Woodward
Directed By: Mike Nichols
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Average Customer Rating:  
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Audience Rating: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Binding: DVD
Brand: Warner Brothers
EAN: 9780783118413
Format: Closed-captioned
ISBN: 0783118414
Label: Hbo Home Video
Manufacturer: Hbo Home Video
Number Of Items: 1
Publisher: Hbo Home Video
Region Code: 1
Release Date: 2001-09-11
Running Time: 99
Studio: Hbo Home Video
Theatrical Release Date: 2001-03-24
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Spotlight customer reviews:
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Customer Rating:
Summary: There are no words, but having said that
Comment: There are no words that can express my feelings about this film, but having said that, this is one of the - maybe THE most moving films I have ever seen and definitely one of the most magnificent performances I have ever seen, Emma Thompson's. The spareness, the pace - both of which some other reviewers have commented on - seem to reflect, paradoxically, the experience of what is being faced - and as the character, Professor Bearing, comes to say: simplicity. Yet the story and the experience are anything but 'simplicity'. Profound, deeply thought provoking, comforting, rich, eloquent - and yet there are no words, as she also says at one point, even though words have meant so much to her. The comma in John Donne's poem - I think the lines that reflect on that are some of the most - affecting I've ever heard. One of the most moving scenes ever viewed in a film is the one where Professor Bearing's nurse played so wonderfully by Audra MacDonald rubs lotion on Professor Bearing's hands; so moving I wasn't sure I could bear it. This film is just extraordinary in every way and I wish I knew that Ms.Thompson, Mr. Nichols, Ms. McDonald, Ms. Edson, et al. could know how much it meant to my husband and me to watch it. John Donne, whose poetry was a subject in another of my favorite films - 84 Charing Cross Road - was done proud. I am grateful for the existence of this film.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Great Movie
Comment: I have loved this play for years and I wanted to compare it to the film for a project for my literature class. I was very impressed with it. It stays true to the text almost completely and the performances were excellent. I'd recommend it for fans of the play and everyone else.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Brilliant performance
Comment: A student of mine bugged me for an entire school year to get this and watch it. I did--and felt I'd been gut punched by the end. Thompson is brilliant, believable, amazing and inspiring in this role. Bravo, Emma. Thanks for being willing to take on this project. The film is exemplary.
Customer Rating: 
Summary: Couldn't get past the subject
Comment: The early scenes in the doctor's office are just too uncomfortable for anyone with a fear of disease. I skipped the rest.
Customer Rating:
Summary: More Wit than Want
Comment: I love Emma Thompson - Kenneth Branaugh is a lucky man... She is an incredible actress! And Mike Nichols is a fine director.
That said, this movie simply lacked something. There were poignant moments and rich depth of emotion and acting. And, yes, Emma Thompson was superb at moments throughout the movie. But I find myself in the unenviable position of criticizing someone's account of devastating disease. Yet if I'm going to be honest, criticize I must.
I think what the movie lacked was pace (OK, let's leave any jokes about slow as death behind us right here!). It was slow - too slow - to the point where I found myself uncertain whether I identified with Thompson's character's pain or simply the movie's painfully slow march toward debilitation and death. And there you find yourself caught between wishing things would move faster and realizing that faster meant the demise of the character depicted before you.
I know it's difficult to convert a stage play to the big screen (probably why they released this as an HBO flick - to avoid the big screen) and the result often falls into one of three categories - slow, slower, or slowest... Mike, you didn't break free from this difficulty.
There, I've done it. Call me a heartless cad. Tell me my taste wouldn't fill a thimble. I wanted to like this movie - I really did. Sorry, Emma, I tried - mostly for you! But at the end of the day, this just didn't cut it for me.
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Editorial Reviews:
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Vivian bearing is a disciplined english professor who finds her rational approach to live overturned when she is diagnosed with cancer. No longer a teacher but a subject for others to study vivian is about to discover a fine line between life and death that can only be walked with wit. Studio: Hbo Home Video Release Date: 06/01/2004 Starring: Emma Thompson Christopher Lloyd Run time: 99 minutes Rating: Nr Director: Mike Nichols
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