Fox releases a large set of films starring Paul Newman
calvinnme | 06/20/2009
(5 out of 5 stars)
"This 17 disc set will include:
1. The Long, Hot Summer (1958) - directed by Martin Ritt costarring Joanne Woodward
2. Rally 'round the Flag, Boys! (1958) - comedy directed by Leo McCarey costarring Joanne Woodward
3. From the Terrace (1960) - directed by Mark Robson and costarring Joanne Woodward. Rather complex story of the disintegration of a marriage.
4. Exodus (1960) - directed by Otto Preminger costarring Eva Marie Saint. Story of the birth of the modern nation of Israel.
5. The Hustler (1961) - directed by Robert Rossen costarring Piper Laurie. One of Newman's most famous roles as a pool hustler who wants to beat Minnesota Fats. The current two disc edition of this film is quite good, it will be interesting to see if it is improved upon.
6. Adventures of a Young Man (1962) - directed by Martin Ritt costarring Diane Baker. Paul Newman is tenth billed and thus plays a very small part.
7. What a Way to Go! (1964) - directed by J. Lee Thompson. Stars Shirley MacLaine as a woman who brings fortune, fame, and death to all of her husbands. Paul Newman plays one of them, so this really is not his film.
8. Hombre (1967) - directed by Martin Ritt and costarring Frederic March. This is a very good western with the focus back on Newman in the lead.
9.Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969) - directed by George Roy Hill and costarring Robert Redford. A delightful western with comic and tragic touches.
10. Towering Inferno (1974) - costarring Steve McQueen. Newman plays an architect who returns from a long vacation to find that the skyscraper he designed has been constructed in a substandard fashion. A fire breaks out the night that the building owner is hosting a party on the roof celebrating the building's opening.
11. Buffalo Bill and the Indians, or Sitting Bull's History Lesson (1976) - directed by Robert Altman and costarring Joel Grey. A bit too long, and somewhat controversial tale with Newman as Buffalo Bill.
12. Quintet (1979) - directed by Robert Altman and costarring Vittorio Gassman. Futuristic film in which bored humanity has invented a game - "Quintet" - to pass the time. However, dying is the penalty for the human game pieces.
13. The Verdict (1982) - Sidney Lumet directs and James Mason costars in a courtroom drama involving medical malpractice in which Newman's character lands a case where all parties wish to settle out of court. However, Newman's character wants to pursue the case to trial.
Thirteen films in all, although I'm not sure why "Adventures of a Young Man" is included since Newman's role here is very small, and this is not even a major film. A booklet is also supposed to be included with this set."
Hardly Definitive
Kenneth E. Stein | 10/09/2009
(2 out of 5 stars)
"Well, like most tributes and memorial services I've ever been to, they end up reflecting just a pale shadow of the loved one and inevitably leave you missing the real person all the more. Many of this magnificent artist's by far not greatest films just sort of all thrown together (mostly just two or three stars at best) as well as a few of the truly great ones -- The Hustler and The Verdict. Buy those two to watch over and over and rent the others to watch once, but sheesh. This collection sure is hardly definitive. Just some big quick bucks for some big corporation. Yawn."
Your DVDs will be scratched
Yeah Well Okay | Knoxville, TN United States | 01/05/2010
(2 out of 5 stars)
"This is in no way a review of the movies included in the collection, but entirely based on the packaging faults.
When I received this, six of the DVDs had come loose from their pockets and had been terribly scratched. The DVDs are not kept in cases, and are not in any way locked in. They are instead slid into pockets on a fold-out DVD case. There is nothing to prevent the DVDs from coming loose, and the pockets do not secure them tightly to start with. Needless to say, I had to return the product.
If you really want this, I suggest buying it somewhere you can be sure that the discs are not loose from travel.
I've never felt the need to write a review for anything I've purchased from Amazon before, but I had to in this case."