Search - The Castle on DVD

Katcha S. (Katcha) from FORT JONES, CA
Reviewed on 10/30/2008...

OK the comedy is silly and almost lame at times, but the tongue-in-cheek honestly behind it all is charming and RIGHT. You might very well fall asleep in a class during a property rights discussion, but I bet you 'get' it after seeing this ;-)

1 of 1 member(s) found this review helpful.

US version vs original version

M. Fyvie | Zollikon, Switzerland | 12/24/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I must have watched the original version of this film (bought in Australia on VHS) at least 10 times. For many years I've wanted to get rid of the VHS version and buy it on DVD. During trips to Australia over the last few years I have tried to buy it (region 4, PAL), but have always been told that it is not available on DVD.How disappointing that Australians have to buy the US version on DVD, which is technically illegal - and unless they have illegally modified their DVD players to watch region 1 discs, technically impossible.Australian veiwers will then be further horrified when they find that their cult film has been altered in about 30 places. Many words and phrases have been changed, and the fact that the words don't match the lip movements is patently obvious. Music has been changed, music has been added where it didn't exist, and some scenes (which were very funny!) have been deleted entirely. For example - watch the trailer on the disc, the scene where she talks about not having kids until she is "at least 23" has been removed entirely. Why? The running time is only 84 minutes!Fantastic film, but a huge thumbs down for Miramax. If the rest of the world is forced to listen to American slang and work it out using context, why can't the US listen to the slang from another country? I'm sure the writers of the Castle were less than thrilled to have their work altered in this way.Then of course some American audiences are wondering about the rating - R. The only reason for this is the f... word. On a recent trip to the US I observed that 8 out of 12 films at a local cinema were rated R. In some cases these same films are rated 12-14 in Switzerland. For those wondering - the original rating on the Australian version was "M 15+ medium level course language"Some might argue that American audiences would have be unable to understand an unaltered version, but please - is there really a big difference between "scooped it [icecream] out of the punnet" (original) and "scooped it out of the bowl" (US). Or the plane flying overhead is no longer from Brisbane, it is "Sydney to Melbourne" in the US version. "Tertiary education" is also deemed too difficult and is instead simplified to "College education". This is but a small selection....So in short - fanstastic film - but I'm keeping my original VHS version. Should the Australian distributors ever decide to make this great film available on DVD for their own audiences, I'll be the first to buy a copy.My text, despite what the system might say, refers to the *DVD* version of this film. I can only assume that the American VHS version has been similarly altered from the Australian version."

Great movie - shame about the edits

R. Baldry | United Kingdom | 10/25/2001

(3 out of 5 stars)

"As a Pom who has just moved back from Australia, I thought I would buy this DVD to remind me what I'm missing. It is, of course, a great film and a funny one. However, I should warn anyone who has seen and loved the film in its original Australian release that there are some rather annoying edits for the American market. For example, Darryl now thinks that 'The only thing funnier than Funniest Home Videos is the best of Funniest Home Videos'. RIP Hey Hey it's Saturday. He's also waiting for some 'Cheap facing' for the extra room he's building. Oh, and no-one in the family has 'ever left their home town'. The idea that 'no-one's been further than Alice Springs' was obviously deemed meaningless.Not only that, but (and I'm sure this isn't my imagination) there are some rather interesting background music additions. Some of it is pretty sappy.Unfortunately, until a DVD version is released in Australia there is no alternative for people who want to get a copy of this film, but be warned - if you're a die-hard purist you will find this a bit annoying."

The BEST sleeper of 1999

lduerr@bytheshore.com | New Jersey | 09/30/1999

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Ok, so the video isn't out yet, but I'm one of the few people who actually saw this movie. Poor Miramax, they didn't market it very well, and thats unfortunate for them and for the general public. A hokey, funny, beyond charming story of a man, a family, and their home, which is THEIR castle. He can't understand how he got his home so cheap, soooo its next to an airport runway, and high tension wires are in his back yard. Its all theirs. Until... the airport wants to expand. How will they fight a huge corporation? The BEST movie to come out of Australia in years! I belong to a film symposium class that viewed this movie. Its the only movie of the year that actually got a standing ovation."