Search - THE COMEDIANS on DVD


THE COMEDIANS
THE COMEDIANS
Director: Peter Glenville
Genres: Indie & Art House, Comedy

     
4

Larger Image

Movie Details

We're sorry, our database doesn't have DVD description information for this item. Click here to check Amazon's database -- you can return to this page by closing the new browser tab/window if you want to obtain the DVD from SwapaDVD.
Click here to submit a DVD description for approval.

Similar Movies

The Night of the Iguana
9
   NR   2006   2hr 5min
The Elizabeth Taylor Signature Collection
National Velvet / Father of the Bride / Cat on a Hot Tin Roof / Butterfield 8
Directors: Clarence Brown, Daniel Mann, Richard Brooks, Vincente Minnelli
6
   NR   2004   7hr 15min
Suddenly Last Summer
Director: Joseph L. Mankiewicz
8
   UR   2000   1hr 54min
BUtterfield 8
Director: Daniel Mann
   NR   2000   1hr 49min
TCM Greatest Classic Legends Film Collection Humphrey Bogart
They Drive by Night / Across the Pacific / Passage to Marseille / Action in the North Atlantic
2
   NR   2012
TCM Greatest Classic Films Collection Murder Mysteries
The Maltese Falcon / The Big Sleep / Dial M for Murder / The Postman Always Rings Twice 1946
   NR   2009   7hr 13min
TCM Greatest Classic Films Collection Best Picture Winners
Casablanca / Gigi / An American in Paris / Mrs. Miniver
Directors: Michael Curtiz, William Wyler, Vincente Minnelli
9
   NR   2009   7hr 44min
TCM Greatest Classic Film Collection Legends - Bette Davis
Now, Voyager / Dark Victory / Old Acquaintance / Jezebel
3
   NR   2011

Similarly Requested DVDs

Harold Kumar Go to White Castle
Extreme Unrated Edition
Director: Danny Leiner
   R   2005   1hr 28min
   
Crime Story - Season One
9
   NR   2005   17hr 13min
   
Me and You and Everyone We Know
   R   2005   1hr 31min
   
Thank You for Smoking
Widescreen Edition
Director: Jason Reitman
   R   2006   1hr 32min
   
Superman - The Movie
Blu-ray
Director: Richard Donner
   PG   2006   2hr 31min
   
The Number 23
Unrated Infinifilm Edition
Director: Joel Schumacher
   R   2007   1hr 38min
   
The Last Mimzy
Widescreen Infinifilm Edition
   PG   2007   1hr 37min
   
DOA - Dead or Alive
   PG-13   2007   1hr 27min
   
 

Movie Reviews

Another excellent Warners Box-Set release
J. Kenney | 12/08/2006
(4 out of 5 stars)

"Only one film in this set, IMO, is a classic, and that's WHO'S AFRAID OF VIRGINIA WOLF, and it receives a nice two-disc special edition. You can get it separately, and I can't complain too loudly if you go that route. But 2 of the other films, the Haitian-based, Graham-Greene written THE COMEDIANS, and the glossy soap-opera THE VIPS are both very much worth seeing, relics of a long-gone widescreen full-colored, full-bodied era. VIPS has a great credit sequence, and if you like airports like I do, the great cast and highly competent production will make it a winner, although it certainly isn't a 100-best flick of any sort. Same with the COMEDIANS; a great cast and international-intrigue atmosphere, plus good widescreen photography make it one I'll return to, even if it isn't THE THIRD MAN.

That leaves THE SANDPIPERS, which Pauline Kael called a classic; yes, she meant a classic of bad cinema, but a classic of bad cinema is not the same as lousy cinema, and any film directed by Vincent Minelli, starring Burton, Taylor and Charles Bronson as a sculpter (!) is worth a look. It's not good, but it's not one you'll regret seeing if you think you're curious, with typical glossy Hollywood production values and good Big Sur footage.

So one great, two good (and rewatchable) and one compelling turkey. And I like the slimline cases, I have no room as it is; more box sets, Warner -- a Vincente Minelli set of the many MGM flicks he made with Sinatra, Douglas, Mitchum, etc. would be welcome."
MISSING LIZ MOVIES ON DVD
B. BURNETT | South Africa | 10/18/2006
(4 out of 5 stars)

"The movie BOOM was obviously not included as it is a Universal release, whereas the 4 titles are Warners and MGM[library owned by Warners]. My big gripe is the fact that Elizabeth Taylor's MGM movies from the '50s are still not available on DVD: Beau Brummell, Rhapsody, a decent transfer of The Last Time I Saw Paris, Raintree County, The Girl Who had Everything. These are now owned by Warners, and it's a disgrace that they have never been released on DVD. Hopefully, with the new Liz/Burton collection, someone at Warners is paying attention. A gem in the new collection is THE VIP's - made after Cleopatra and rushed into release before Cleo hit the screens, to capitalise on the red-hot duo, the movie is glossy, all-star fun."
GREAT BUT DIFFICULT VIEWING
Terry D. Robertson | Asheville, NC USA | 06/18/2007
(5 out of 5 stars)

"Author Graham Greene wrote the screenplay for THE COMEDIANS based on his intricate novel. To translate it to the screen would have been impossible with another writer--it would fizzle out. Granted, the movie is uneven, but it is extremely watchable thanks to great location backdrops and some fine performances by an all star cast.

The story of common last-named people set against the backdrop of the tumultous reign of terror under Papa Doc in Haiti is the setting for this relatively long movie. "The Comedians", is anything but comedy. It is the mask everyone wears to conceal their true selves. People have affairs but are not in love. They play parlor games to amuse themselves, but never get to the truth of the matter. Some are frauds, and others cynics.

Richard Burton is quite good as the hotel owner who believes in nothing. Elizabeth Taylor plays a diplomat's wife who is having an off/on affair with Burton. She is the weakest link in the movie. Her German accent is atrocious and her character completely unbelievable. However, Alex Guiness and Peter Ustinov are outstanding, as are Lillian Gish and Paul Ford as pacifistic vegetarians. Also look for early performances by James Earl Jones, and Cicely Tyson (in a bit part).

This movie has been transferred in Widescreen to DVD and is clean. The soundtack drops a bit now and then, but overall, the quality is excellent. It is housed in a "slimline jewel case" which many may assume is a bootleg. But it is an official Warner Brothers release.

This is not a movie to watch leisurely. It requires your complete attentiion in order to understand the characters. The violence of Papa Doc's Tontons Macoute is at times vividly graphic. The movie contains a voodoo scene that is not for the squeamish (it was performed by a real Haitian voodoo priest).

The movie runs 152 minutes and can be found on the "Burton/Taylor" 5 disc film collection. It is difficult to find separately, but well worth the look.

"
When they were good...they were very, very good....
Kenneth M. Pizzi | San Mateo, CA United States | 05/11/2007
(4 out of 5 stars)

"As a great admirer of Richard Burton's filmwork, I snatched this set up immediately. All the films, save for Vicente Minnelli's "The Sandpiper" held my interest throughout, with "Virginia Woolf" and "The Comedians" (based on the Graham Greene novel) taking top honors.

"The VIPs" was a pleasant surprise as I was completely unfamilar with this Burton/Taylor venture. Supporting cast is excellent with Rod Taylor, Louis Jourdan (as Tayor's lover), and the unmistakably impressive Orson Welles, in a semi-comedic role opposite Elsa Martinelli.

Melodrama to be sure, but done with class, wit, and an engaging storyline that holds one's interest throughout its entire 119 minutes. It is amazing how some actors, like Burton and Taylor can take a relatively bit of fluff from Terrence Rattigan's screenplay, and transform it into something absorbing and grand.

What makes these films work? One would have to argue that the chemistry between Burton and Taylor in so many of their films was unmistakable; certainly Mike Nichol's "Virginia Woolf" is a masterpiece, but these are performers who have a intrinsic quality that is rarely seen in actors today--I think we would call it PRESENCE--players ultimately in command of their material and the roles they play who make acting seem effortless and entirely convincing. Burton is a master of roles. He can play the burnt-out professor in "Virginia Woolf" as well as a conflicted, upstanding minister and school headmaster whose life, contrained as his clerical collar, tempts an extramarital affair with the free-spirited mother (Taylor) of one of his students in "The Sandpiper."

The commentaries and extras on "Virginia Woolf" are both ample and exemplary, while shedding a new critical light on this classic play."