Search - Five Corners on DVD

Good movie but crap quality DVD

05/29/1999

(3 out of 5 stars)

"I just saw this movie and my feelings are somewhat mixed. The film itself is quite good, atmospheric and surprising. On the cover, however, the words "superior quality" are printed. A word of warning: only compared to your old 8mm films! The picture is grainy, when blown up to fit a wide screen tv this becomes painfully obvious. The sound is quite good, but the chapter index is way off. When you select the first one you actually skip the start of the movie. Furthermore the scenes are not numbered and there is no time stamp so you can only guess how long it is. This dvd is not only available in the region 1 version but also in a region-free version. I bought mine in the Netherlands. I don't assume the American version is different though. Bottom line: Good movie but crap quality DVD. (On the other hand, it is so dirt cheap that you can't really complain too much.)"

...Not to Mention the Penguins

R. Lloyd Nelson | Oregon United States | 08/04/2002

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This is ensemble work at its best. A product of George Harrison's Handmade Films, it includes not only Jodie Foster and Tim Robbins, but also Todd Graff ("Hippie" in The Abyss), John Turturro, Elizabeth Berridge ("Mrs. Mozart" in Amadeus) with nicely interwoven storylines that dovetail spectacularly at the finish. Five stars means I own a copy (VHS since 1989, DVD since 2001) and watch it every year or so."

Very good film, but watch out for lousy DVD transfers

Sanpete | in Utah | 11/04/2006

(4 out of 5 stars)

"A quirky independent film with a strong cast, Five Corners mixes light touches and the very serious in unpredictable ways. The main action takes place over a couple days in the Bronx in 1964. John Turturro returns to his neighborhood with pent-up anger, particularly against Jodie Foster, the timid victim of the attempted rape that sent him to prison. Tim Robbins was her savior then, now only interested in preparing to become a civil rights freedom rider. Todd Graff is her willing but ineffectual boyfriend, crippled trying to stop the attempted rape. As Turturro tries to reestablish contact with Foster, she seeks Robbins' protection while trying to keep her boyfriend from getting hurt again. A subplot involves a couple out-of-control women and a couple mischief-making men who provide some comic relief and more. And there are penguins and mysterious bow and arrow shootings. There is a slightly surreal edge, and a peculiar usage of the famous duet from Delibes' Lakme.

Though very much its own thing, the nostalgia and offbeat mood reminded me of American Graffiti and Diner at times. The acting and rich dramatic texture drew me in so that I was willing to follow the odd turns without complaint. Turturro is particularly impressive. Unlike some, I didn't think the film fell apart at the end, which made as much sense as the rest and had some strong dramatic content. Very much worth seeing.

I have a Disc Plaza/Cascadia DVD release, part of a double bill. It's somewhat dark, soft, pixelly at times, not very good color, pan-and-scan. Sound is OK mono. Because of the poor quality I had to use the stop-action function to see who did what at a crucial point at the end. There are other editions out on DVD (search DVDs for the title), but the transfers may not be any better than this one. (Keep in mind that unless a review says which DVD release it's commenting on, it might not be the one for which the review is posted, so most of the remarks about video quality, including the ones from Amazon itself, aren't very useful.)

My copy is a bit under 90 minutes. According to the times listed for other DVD releases, most are 92 minutes, one is listed at 93, and a VHS edition is listed at 94. Such figures aren't always correct, but it may be that there are slightly different cuts of the film."

Quirky Film about 1960s Bronx

John Kwok | New York, NY USA | 02/24/2005

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Producer/Director Tony Bill's "Five Corners" is blessed with a decent - if often messy - screenplay from noted playwright John Patrick Shanley and splendid performances from John Turturro, Jode Foster, and especially, Tim Robbins. To his credit, Bill captures successfully the spirit of the Bronx in the early 1960s, inspite of Shanley's confusing screenplay. The film follows the fortunes and misfortunes of several teenagers for 48 hours. Turturro is especially effective as the sinister psychopath Heinz, newly released from prison, who is obsessed with neighborhood gal Linda (Jodie Foster), whose crippled boyfriend (Todd Graff) is unable to help her ward off Heinz's advances. In desperation she turns to Harry (Tim Robbins), the fellow who had put Heinz into prison, but he is now more concerned with the Civil Rights movement, Bob Dylan's music, and preaching nonviolence, than resuming his role as Linda's enforcer. Robbins' performance is nearly as memorable as Turturro's (I was pleasantly surprised to see Tim Robbins on the big screen, since my last memory of him was back in high school!); both of their performances nearly overshadow Foster's usual excellent work."