Search - The American Film Theatre: Collection One on DVD

Fossils in amber.

filmbforever | Killarney Vale, NSW Australia | 08/17/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Being in my early 30s I could never have seen these plays performed by the actors at their age and in that time and space. Instead of being deprived of these soul enriching experiences they have been filmed and preserved for me - for that I am eternally grateful. On the tech side the "plays" look fantastic - the transfers are rich and clean and have been geared for 16:9 TVs. The sound is crisp and clear (don't knock mono, it sounds good on a decent system) and allows you to be immersed in the playwrights amazing dialogue (especially the incredible BUTLEY). This is truly one for the collection (and for you and your kid's educations) - I am buying the rest of the sets and I advise you to do the same - cheers!"

The play's the thing

Annie Van Auken | Planet Earth | 06/03/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"KINO'S AMERICAN FILM THEATRE series is a pricey, space-consuming three volume collection of 14 movies. That's the down side. The rest is all good! These stage plays (adapted to film between 1970-'75) are nothing short of superb. You get the finest works of the greatest playwrights, as rendered by top-notch actors and directors. Audio and video transfers of the restored movies is also first rate. It's a collection ideal for lovers of theater or for any fan of classy cinema. Highest recommendation!


AMERICAN FILM THEATRE: COLLECTION 2 contains A Delicate Balance (Albee), The Homecoming (Pinter), In Celebration (Storey), The Man in the Glass Booth (Anhalt) and Three Sisters (Chekhov).

SYNOPSES:

BUTLEY-- Concerns a moment of crisis in the life of an alcoholic college professor, who loses both his wife and male lover on the same day. Students, friends and colleagues take the brunt of the suicidal man's outbursts as he literally falls to pieces.

THE ICEMAN COMETH-- One of Eugene O'Neill's best works is an unrelentingly bleak drama set in the year 1912. In a Greenwich Village saloon, lower-class drunkards and prostitutes await the yearly arrival of Hickey, who always makes an appearance on his birthday. Excellent cast is directed by John Frankenheimer.

LUTHER-- An exploration of the life of the man, who in the 1500s, changed the face of Christianity forever.

THE MAIDS-- Based on a true story of a French woman and her daughter who were brutally murdered by a pair of sisters they employed as servants. In this Jean Genet play, the housemaids dream up elaborate sadomasochist fantasies while Madame is away.

RHINOCEROS-- Absurdist story written by Eugène Ionesco about the inhabitants of a small French town who transform into the horned beasts, all save one man, a heavy-drinking ne'er-do-well. This unusual study of philosophy, morality and culture reteams "The Producers" Zero Mostel and Gene Wilder. Watch for a cameo by Anne Ramsey (Momma in "Throw Momma from the Train").


Parenthetical numbers preceding titles are viewer poll ratings found at a film resource website.

(7.3) Butley (UK/Canada-1974) - Alan Bates/Jessica Tandy/Richard O'Callaghan/Susan Engel/Michael Byrne

(7.8) The Iceman Cometh (1973) - Lee Marvin/Fredric March/Robert Ryan/Jeff Bridges/Bradford Dillman/Martyn Green/Moses Gunn

(7.0) Luther (UK/Canada-1974) - Stacy Keach/Patrick Magee/Hugh Griffith/Judi Dench

(6.1) The Maids (UK-1975) - Glenda Jackson/Susannah York/Vivien Merchant/Mark Burns

(5.8) Rhinoceros (USA/UK/Canada-1973) - Zero Mostel/Gene Wilder/Karen Black/Joe Silver/Robert Weil/Anne Ramsey"