Search - A Fine Madness on DVD

And now for something completely different

David Dearborn | Connecticut USA | 03/14/2000

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Sean Connery sinks his teeth into a full-blooded comic role as a nonconformist poet suffering from writer's block and alimony collectors in mid-1960s New York. The film's madcap style is a bit dated but there are many gems of scenes in this satire of the misunderstood artist in cultureless society. Watching Connery drink and snarl through a poetry 'recital' at a ladies' tea is hysterical, and his little dance on the Brooklyn Bridge is among the revelations. It's interesting that 'A Fine Madness' makes a point of being a NYC movie, and an offbeat one at that, with its bawdiness hinting at the coming sexual revolution and featuring an international superstar who had the energy to stretch himself in something risky--which is more than we can say for most of today's typecast stars."

Another Interesting Connery Choice

FilmFan | Boston MA | 06/24/2005

(3 out of 5 stars)

"Connery was sort of the Johnny Depp of the Sixties/Seventies in that he was a handsome leading-man type who always was trying to break loose from the "Bond" straightjacket by choosing offbeat, interesting, "challenging" roles when he wasn't saving the world as 007. (The only place Connery wouldn't DARE go back then are the fey, semi-gay characters Depp will occasionally take on. Sean had/has WAY too much "Scottish Macho" flowing through his veins to "go gay"! It would be like John Wayne or Clint Eastwood playing gay!) Anyway, he tackled this against-type role of rollicking, blue-collar poet Sampson Shillitoe. (Albeit, Gawd knows, Shillitoe is a strutting, bristlingly macho, overloaded-with-testosterone, thoroughly HETEROSEXUAL poet---sort of what Norman Mailer would be if he was a poet & not a prose writer.) When the role was somewhat customized in this way to suit Connery's screen persona, he succeeded in pulling off a bravura comic performance. As previous posters have mentioned, highlights are his hilariously disastrous, drunken recital at some high-society Ladies' Social Club & his explosive display of feeling-the-touch-of-God creative joy on the (Brooklyn?) Bridge. The macho/near abusive attitudes toward women are now very dated (as they now are in the early "Bond" films), but the movie is definitely a keeper, a nearly-forgotten, flawed gem."

Somewhat Busy at Times, But Mostly Good.

Haplo Wolf | Los Angeles. | 12/10/2003

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Sean Connery plays a poet suffering from writer's block (incapacity to write something one feels is a finished creation, sort of; or not being able to write at all). He's the (supposedly) unrecognized genius and is as a by-product also totally different than most other people: he sees the world through different eyes, or so to speak. This is, alas, not portrayed as I would have liked to see; it's only more or less stated/presumed.Next to this he does not pay his bills, is unemployed and not seeking for work, or, if he has a job, losing it easily. And he goes from one woman to the next ... they flock to him, he thinks, so they're not his problem. Samson Shillitoe (Connery) is, in short, sexist and insensitive. He also has the habit of almost-hitting his wife whenever he feels like doing that. He only wants to work on his poem, and he needs, above all, time and rest. Neither seem to be available in considerable quantities, especially not if the past keeps getting in the way.Lots of problems, but they're in the case of A Fine Madness tackled with comedy. While I thought the film was at all times amusing, certain scenes stood out. One other reviewer (there are at this time only 3 or so; you'll find him/her) mentioned the poetry recital. Good material!I just hope you like the style of this film. Somewhat dated, yes, but what do you want? This is how old? From the sixties? I forgot."