Angela's Ashes

See Larger Image	List Price: $14.99 Our Price: $12.99 Your Save: $ 2.00 ( 13% ) Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours Manufacturer: Paramount Home Video Starring: Andrew Bennett, Joe Breen, Robert Carlyle, Oisin Carney Daly, Sean Carney Daly Average Customer Rating:


Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1 Audience Rating: R (Restricted) Binding: DVD EAN: 9780792163084 Format: Closed-captioned ISBN: 0792163087 Label: Paramount Home Video Manufacturer: Paramount Home Video Number Of Items: 1 Publisher: Paramount Home Video Region Code: 1 Release Date: 2000-07-18 Running Time: 145 Studio: Paramount Home Video Theatrical Release Date: 2000-01-21
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Editorial Reviews: Because Frank McCourt's bestselling, Pulitzer Prize-winning memoir Angela's Ashes was dearly embraced by millions of readers, it was perhaps inevitable that Alan Parker's film version would prove somewhat disappointing. McCourt's book is blessed with subtleties of language and detailed observation that do not easily lend themselves to screen interpretation, and Parker's film suffers from an overly literal, reverently somber approach that lacks the cumulative emotions of McCourt's account of impoverished youth in Ireland. And where McCourt was able to leaven his family's suffering with tenacious humor and fighting Irish spirit, Parker's film provides precious little uplift in the course of 145 minutes. The film is by no means an artistic failure. While admirably avoiding sentiment, Parker is nearly peerless in his direction of children, and the three actors playing Frank at ages 7, 11, and 15 are uniformly superb. As photographed by Michael Seresin, the re-created lanes of Limerick, Ireland are almost painfully authentic in the cold, gray dampness that permeates nearly every scene. (This is surely one of the wettest films ever made.) As the McCourt parents--chronically depressed Angela and recklessly drunken Malachy--Emily Watson and Robert Carlyle successfully bypass the pitfalls of melodrama in a film that could have wallowed in bathos. And while Parker's anecdotal approach falls short in conveying the fullness of McCourt's experience (the director fared better with the Irish rockers of The Commitments), Angela's Ashes captures a specific time and place with vivid force, remaining loyal to the spirit of Frank McCourt's beloved tale of survival. --Jeff Shannon
Spotlight customer reviews: Customer Rating: Summary: Transcending Poverty in Ireland Comment: Frank and Malachy McCourt as children were living in poverty with their parents in New York, such destitution that the family was forced to return to poverty-stricken Ireland in order to survive. They were one of the few Irish families that viewed the Statue of Liberty on their way out of the harbor instead of coming in. Their father was a good man with serious flaws. He was unable to find work, and whenever he got some extra money, he spent it on booze rather than on his family. He was not an abusive drunk, but a pernicious one nevertheless. The mother was strangely passive at times. They lived in gray, dreary Limerick where it seemed always to be raining, and a pool of water sat in the downstairs of their house. The two brothers somehow thrived despite the gloomy life. Seeing them running through puddles, splashing each other, remaining somehow buoyant, helps to save the movie. Frank's confessions to various priests are priceless humor. In many ways this is a grim, sad story, but bursts of humor, great acting, and occasional evidences of humanity and generosity save it from descending into a completely depressing movie. Frank's days at school with the Catholic brothers are fascinating. The teachers rail against the British who dominated Ireland for so long. It is a story of transcendence over poverty. Based on Frank's book, it spares nothing as it shows the struggles he had to go through in life. The family faced deaths, debts, and a society that had little use for a family that had failed and returned from the city where the streets were paved with gold. The movie is made richer by those who have read the book. Nine Lives Too Many The Daemon in Our Dreams The Rice Queen Spy Clawed Back from the Dead Customer Rating: Summary: angela's ashes Comment: this is a book that you do not want to keep returning to the library, get one of your own, it is that great!!! also "tis"by the same author: frank mc court. but be wary, you may book a flight to limeric, ireland! Customer Rating: Summary: 'Tis Magnificent! Comment: Frank McCourt has a way with words! His memoir of growing up poor in Ireland, with a drunk for a father and lazy, shiftless mother is written without malice. He and his brothers are left to their own devices to keep themselves fed, warm and clothed when Frank, the oldest is not even four years old. They live in a house where the main floor floods every year and they have to wade through the sewage to live in the remaining room upstairs until the water recedes. They grow so cold that they resort to tearing the walls apart for firewood. And yet his mother needs her cigarettes and his father needs his drink. Frank's tenacity and humor in the midst of such misery is his salvation. And it is what makes this memoir so poignant. His own parents and grandparents, neighbors and the Catholic church leave Frank and his brothers to their own devices for survival. And they survive! And go to America. And it's a true story. Customer Rating: Summary: arguably one of the most depressing and bleak movies I have ever seen Comment: This movie is worth watching once. I had not read the book, so I had no idea what to expect. It is arguably one of the most depressing and bleak movies I have ever seen. Poverty is rampant in this movie and I dont think it ever stopped raining through the movie. It didnt escape me that the only speck of noticeable color in the movie is Angelas coat. The acting is magnificent and the sets were very well done and believable. Customer Rating: Summary: Not exactly like the book, but good just the same Comment: I bought the DVD of Angela's Ashes after purchasing the audio CD of the book (which I highly, highly recommend). Starting with the audion CD, I was enthralled in listening to Frank McCourt's own voice (almost as if he was telling his whole childhood story just to me). I actually was so disappointed when the book ended (because it had me so captivated), I couldn't wait to see the movie. So, I bought it. Now, the strengths of the movie are that you get to see some beautifulm and tragic, areas of where the McCourts came from. The acting was pretty good. The bad part for me was that it seemed so depressing. It was raining constantly (which I know it does frequently in Ireland, but not every day and all the time. Even the audio CD talked of days with sunshine. I think the creator/director of the movie was trying awfully hard to make the McCourt's childhood similar to people living in some kind of an abusive/prison type setting. The audio CD had me laughing out loud at some of the most tragic parts of his life, as Frank inserted his phenominal sense of humor into everything. I didn't seem to get that same feel from the movie. Many scenes that were discussed in the book were either left out or glossed over in the movie all together. After hearing the CD, I felt enlightened, enchanted, craving to hear more of his life (so, I bought 'TIS last week). The movie just wanted to make me cry and get on my knees to thank God I wasn't raised in that area of Ireland during the 1940's. I recommend it only if you have read/are going to read the real book behind this. It is worth seeing to be able to relate to the town and scenery that you will hear/read about in the book. More Reviews