Genres

Visitors Review

waiching liu 2013-05-17 14:49:58

Gritty Yet At times Moving Look At Performing Arts And Its Students

Fame was released in the U.S. a year before I was born; I was too youngto ever remember the original version of Fame- and yet I heard and readnumerous things about it. Such as the fact that it spawned a TV seriesand that its soundtrack was led by the Irene Cara, Giogio Moroder hit,'Fame'.Fame was arguably the first of its kind to portray and showcase theworld of performing arts in the form of a feature length film. Thelives, the struggles, the hurdles the students and some of the teachersundergo themselves were under the eye of the viewers.The performances were great, yet one which caught my eye in particularwas Gene Anthony Ray, who played the troublesome yet promising Leroy.Angry, frustrated and at first rude, his character later became lessangry and frustrated and more committed to his studies- not just withthe practical in the performing but in the theoretical too. Irene Carawas good as Coco- the scene with her taking her blouse off while somepervy director was filming her was rather discomforting to watch-, aswell as Paul McCrane for his amazing portrayal of a vulnerable butcloseted homosexual trying to cope with life and enrolling on aperforming arts school in New York, after he had been kicked out of themilitary when he told them he was gay. Ralph played by Barry Miller wasinteresting but at times, his character did grate on my nerves.The choreography was excellent, there were some good dance numbersinvolved and the 'hot lunch' scene in the cafeteria was worth watching.Another scene that was great was when the 'Fame' song was played andall the kids started rushing out into the streets of New York anddanced wildly and without a care in the world. It was a street jam likeno other.The only star to ever truly benefit from this in the long run was andis Debbie Allen- she later became a producer, director and star- thoughshe mostly worked behind the scenes on shows such as Everybody HatesChris and The Fresh Prince of Bel Air. Paul McCrane later went on tostar alongside Peter Weller in the movie, 'Robocop', where he played avillain and E.R. as the judgemental, obnoxious Doctor Romano.British director Alan Parker shot this really well- he allowed theperformers to dance, act, sing to their hearts content without wantingto interfere with and affect their styles.Throughout the duration of the movie, we see the various stages thestudents encounter during their 4 years- from their auditions tofreshman year, all the way up to graduation in New York's High SchoolFor The Arts.Fame is one of those movies which caters for or is aimed at aparticular audience that isn't necessarily the general mainstream movieloving community- it is definitely NOT for everyone.I for one enjoyed it because I have an interest in the arts- nottechnically in terms of being a performer because I am not one but assomeone who appreciates that creativity and artistic expression can bechannelled through hard work, commitment and passion towards what onedoes with their talents. Therefore, if you are an aspiring dancer,actor- or just someone who is creative, you might be interested in amovie such as this- though whether the events in Fame are anything likewhat it is in a performing arts college/school in real life, then thatis a completely different matter altogether.The 2009 remake of this movie was released recently and frankly, itvirtually pales by comparison. As for the original Fame, almost 30 years on though yes it is a bitdated but it is still a great movie, nonetheless.It's not an outright classic but as a 80s cult classic, in line withother 80s dance hit movies, such as Footloose and Flashdance, Fame hitsthe spot. Isn't it a coincidence that all those dance movies begin withthe letter 'F'? Gritty, moving and intriguing, this one is worth a watch.

2013-05-16 22:06:42

FAME The Original movie

This review is from: Fame (DVD) I've not remember see this movie.It is rated "R" using bad language.The rest is ok.The movie was delivered in time.Great service thanks.

2013-05-11 23:57:04

THIS MOVE ROCKS

I could watch this movie over and over i jam to the soundtack in the car. If you want a movie to lift your spirts and show you anyone can achieve "FAME" this is it!!!

2013-05-11 10:15:08

So vague.....So broad......Perfect !!......2 and 1/2 out of 5

This review is from: Fame (DVD) My wife provided me with that title . We sat watching this truly wretched film together . Me , for the first time ever . Her , for the first time since 1980 . We were both seventeen at the time it was released . We would not meet until nearly twenty years and a coastal travel later . My wife is a hilarious woman . Much funnier than all the allegedly funny people in this awful film directed by an ocassionally great Director . I was groping , within my mind , for a title . She did not know that . I could not get a handle on this mess . At all . Then , voila . Pearls of gold poured from my love's lips . Not so bad it's good.........the other bad . Think GILLIGAN'S ISLAND with leg warmers . True story , working title was "HOT LUNCH" . Look it up . Nearly "THE WIZ" bad . We both enjoyed the charming woman who did her TOWERING INFERNO/O.J. SIMPSON audition . Hence the extra star . The various arts educators are excellent in their respective performances . Sadly , they are largely set adrift in this tripe .

2013-05-09 02:22:55

Up there in lights they'll be

Alan Parker's 1980 film about a group of students at New York City's School for the Performing Arts came out at the perfect time. The late Seventies were a time when NYC seemed at its scariest and most dangerous, but works from the era like the film SATURDAY NIGHT FEVER and the musical A CHORUS LINE showed how the city still retained its promise as a place where dreams of making it in the world of entertainment could still happen; this film almost magically recaptures that sense of precariousness between a falling-down infrastructure and social system and the hope of that old Broadway dream. Parker, the director, has a terrific visual sense, and some of the most stunning sequences, such as a Puerto Rican-American young comedian (Barry Miller) from the South Bronx racing through the rubble of his home to tell his mother he's made it into the school, play off this balance. (So too do some of the beautiful scenes shot in the ramshackle old Manhattan schools the film used for the production when they were barred from using the actual School for the Performing Arts for locations.) The other thing that really puts the film over are the superb young performers--Irene Cara, Maureen Teefy, Paul McCrane, Lee Curreri, and especially Gene Anthony Ray--, many of them chosen from the actual School for the PA (or schools like it), who play the central student characters: they do much to offset the dialogue's cheesy bathos and the film's ramshackle episodic structure. The songs and dances are energetic and exciting, especially the famous "Hot Lunch Jam" near the film's beginning (even though its hard to believe cafeteria workers would really be thrilled to see students dancing on the tables).

gcd70 2013-05-08 04:26:33

Strong and enjoyable music-drama

"Fame" is a strong, enjoyable drama whose success saw a spin-offtelevision series that enjoyed equal prosperity during the earlyeighties.Story centres around a College of the Arts where the privileged few,considered talented enough to attend, work like crazy in the hope ofone day attaining "Fame". Christopher Gore's effective screenplay owesits mastery primarily to his believable, well written characters whoare easy to identify with.The young cast deliver well weighted, hardy performances that sure upAlan Parker's professional direction. Special mention to Lee Curreri,Irene Cara, Gene Anthony Ray and Anne Meara as the English teacher whostruggles to keep her students focused on their academic achievements.Michael Gore's soundtrack is a treat and features Irene Cara's hitsingle "Fame".Monday, September 29, 1997 - Video

2013-05-02 16:38:27

It needed Debbie Allen for more than two lines.

Full of energy and spirit, but in the end a bit corny and very melodramatic. I attended a school of the arts in Washington, DC, and at that time we were all thrilled to see a film which paid tribute to the special institution we had to endure for 8+ hours a day- though there was not one moment, in the four years I attended, that anyone danced in the streets and on top of the cars!! I actually preferred the television show, which did not take itself as seriously, and created much broader, fuller, characters than the 'types' presented in the film (the ambitious over-achiever, the militant hood, the ingenue, the comic, etc.) All in all, it was passable, but could've been better. And recheck the movie; Debbie Allen is only in a small opening scene judging the dance auditions. She has been quoted as saying that her role was originally much larger, but producers felt it too closely resembled the Coco role, so it was finally reduced to two lines in the film's first fifteen minutes. She did, however, star in the TV show, and got to dance and choreograph on-screen.

2013-05-02 07:49:04

Loverly

wahahahahahaaaaa this was a really good movie, but a lot of noodiness!... we have to do this movie as a play in my school and i dont know how we'll do it. but i have watched ALOT of eighties movies and i really likes this one.

Brian-97 2013-04-30 21:53:35

Very well done!

"Fame" is a very well done portrait of the students who inhabit NewYork City's High School of the Arts. The film focuses on a group ofstudents who dream of making it big while they perfect their craft atthe now famous school. Director Alan Parker allows each of thehighlighted students to mature on screen, allowing you to feel aconnection with each one. The music here is infectious and fun. Thedancing is exciting and fresh. The film eventually became the basis foran Emmy-winning television series starring Debbie Allen and some of theother actors from the film. One of the more enjoyable "dance" films ofthe 1980's. Received Oscars for music. 8/10

BatonRougeBlues 2013-04-30 06:09:19

wow

I saw this awesome movie for the first time on VH-1 and i could easilytellit had alot of profanity cuz of the bleeps and stuff. I didn't get to watchalot of it cuz it came on at midnight so i decided to rent it. Well, when iturned off the movie at the end all i could say was "wow". This movie wasawesome! I'm a big fan of rock musicals(Rocky Horror, Grease) and 80s teenflicks(Breakfast Club, Fast Times at Ridgemont High) and after watching"Fame" i became hooked to it."Fame" is a rock musical/drama about the students at the New York's HighSchool of Performing Arts, which includes dancing, music, and drama. Youlook into the lives of the students from there audition when they were 15tothere graduation when there 18. You look at the changes they go through.Youlook closer into the lives of 5 or 6 of the students: Doris, Ralph/Raul,Montgomery, Coco, Leroy, and that blond chick. 2 hours and 14 gloriousminutes of drama, music, and dancing. I give "Fame" 10 stars!!!! Oh anditshould've been AT LEAST 40 minutes longer!!!

snjking 2013-04-25 20:02:06

Wonderful film. Slice of life style.

I read the other review and had to comment. No, this film doesn't tieallthe loose ends up in a neat package. That's what makes it to poignant.This film is one of just a few delightful musicals that you can file inthe"Slice of Life" folder. It chronicles a handful of teens who are givenanextraordinary opportunity and shows how they cope with it. We watch themdevelop over four years in their high school and then we see themgraduate.We have no idea what will happen to them next. But that's not the pointofthe film. The point is that the choices they make and the obstacles theyovercome contribute to who they are. All the things they go throughdon'tdull their desire for FAME, they are still out there, fighting, everydaytoget it.I think the ambiguity of the ending only makes it a more powerfulpicture.It's truly a classic as few films are brave enough to allow the audiencetodraw their own conclusions. I appreciate films that allow me to thinkanduse my own imagination.

2013-04-25 01:53:48

Why I Don't Want to be Famous

The story of a single class and its four years getting through the New York City High School for the Performing Arts. It was made into a TV series later, and a couple of the best and brightest were also in that: a singer named Coco and a dancer named Leroy. It's a very good film in a lot of ways, both exuberant and heart-wrenching. Many of the kids live in pretty awful conditions and bad things happen. Leroy, for example, is actually homeless, living under an elevated platform with several other homeless people, living on essentially nothing. Ralph lives in the south Bronx, where the streets are full of junkies and his five-year-old sister was molested while he wasn't home to protect her.The movie is mostly about the school and the hard work, even for truly talented kids, that goes into graduating from such a school. Not only are their performance classes demanding, but they must keep up the standard academic classes as well. And all this while dealing with adolescence in all its complexity. But they are mostly pretty lovable kids, and you will want them to make it.There's a bit of back-of-the-head realization that they have all made it, or they would not be in this film. But you can forget that and hurt along with them and their doubts and fears. And their ability to overcome them.

2013-04-21 00:50:37

Classic 80's flick

This review is from: Fame (DVD) Very good acting and writing. The music is OK kinda corny ,but overall Great Movie.

2013-04-20 10:03:15

Good service

This review is from: Fame (DVD) Both the timing and the item got as expected. Although I haven't checked the condition of the item because it's a gift. HopeEverything will be ok

2013-04-19 07:26:06

Fame (1980) (DVD)

This review is from: Fame (DVD) This is a review for the actual product.It was advertised as a 2-discs item, the first disc being the movie itself and the second being the music CD with 12 songs from the movie. However, i only received the product with the movie disc in it. What happened to the other music cd? Moreover, the item came in a single disc casing so it's impossible that the music cd walked out on me.Buyers, beware, it's a total misrepresentation. Disappointing.

Jason Jon Sanicki 2013-04-18 23:05:13

A nostalgic, beautiful look back on a time that is no more

I can remember hearing the soundtrack to this film all throughout mychildhood. As a young child, I was forbidden to watch the film seeing howit was rated R, but thought it was wonderful anyway because of what it dealtwith: the Performing Arts. Now, almost twenty years late, I've just watchedit again and I must say that things look a whole lot tamer today than theydid then. What was the big deal anyways? Frankly, I think that this film is Alan Parker's masterpiece. This is thefilm that he'll be remembered for, if not for the story of it but for themusic of it and the dichotomy of his actors, all of whom were virtualunknowns when this film was released back in the spring of 1980. Of course,this film spawned the hugely successful television series of the same nameand even a live in concert album (which I owned as a child).If anything, to me this film is a look back at a time that is no more: mychildhood and the early 1980's, when life in general was so much simplerthan it is now, when the only upheaval we had was actually electing an actoras President of the United States!This a film that certainly deserves more than one look.My rating: 3 stars

2013-04-12 15:56:09

Pretty Good

This review is from: Fame: The Original Movie (DVD) I enjoyed this movie. The one thing I would say that I did NOT like about the movie, were the loose ends. I won't go into naming them since they contain spoilers for those who have not seen it yet. But there were questions I had at the end, wondering why this wasn't resolved, or what ever became of that, or why didn't this happen, or that happen, etc. I'm not one for movies where I'm left with more questions than answers after watching, but it was nothing THAT serious to warrant a bad rating for the movie. It's pretty good. I could surely watch it again.

TOMASBBloodhound 2013-04-11 23:49:50

Good. Could have been great.

A recent survey of children in the UK re-enforced the notion put forthby this film 27 years ago. That being more than anything else, youngpeople want to grow up to be somebody famous. It used to be doctors andfiremen that kids wanted to be. Now, everyone wants to be famous. Fameis a story of a group of kids accepted into the High School forPerforming Arts in New York City. We seen them first audition, thentake classes and learn about life for the next four years. The film hasa lot of fine qualities, but ultimately leaves you feeling a littleunsatisfied.Alan Parker's bold directorial style fits the story pretty well. Thefilm has been classified as a musical, but more than anything it is adrama. Musical numbers and dance routines break out here and there, andParker keeps them as close to realistic as they really could have beenfilmed. The acting is for the most part top-drawer with a fewexceptions. The pacing is a little off, particularly toward the end ofthe film, but by that point, the story has already taken a few wrongturns anyway.First off, the auditions at the beginning of the film should haveweeded a couple of the principle characters out. It seems unlikely thatanyone would show up and audition for one department, then stumbletheir way through admissions to another. Some of these people justdon't look that talented or interested to begin with. Once the firstyear of classes gets going, the film settles into a nice groove. Theinteraction between students and teachers is very well handled, and itleaves you wanting more. The film begins to lose itself later on as wesee more and more of the students' lives out of school. Some of thesepeople just aren't worth caring about.The film's biggest mistake is making the Ralph Garcy character soprominent. This guy is a boorish; self-centered jerk. A "professionala-hole" as he proudly declares on stage during his comedy routines. Theaudience is supposed to somehow feel for this guy and his tragicpersonal situation, but I was just hoping they'd throw his butt out ofschool. Irene Cara, Maureen Teefy, Paul McCrane and the late GeneAnthony Ray are the people you'll care about by the time this film isover. Try as I might, I still can't develop abs like Gene Anthony Rayhad in this film.Overall this film is good. It is memorable, interesting, and full ofdaring scenes and performances. It runs maybe a little too long, andperhaps some of the wrong characters get fully developed while otherskind of hover in the background. The musical numbers are great, andthere is even a surprise or two waiting to be discovered by the timethe film is over. Though not perfect, Fame will be a film that lives onin one way or another for many years to come.7 of 10 stars.The Hound.

2013-03-31 03:20:05

hommage to a diminuished sort of pedagogical ethos

The "Hot Lunch Jam" with piano-player Bruno and singer Coco in the cafeteria (1), the title song "FAME" immortalized in the streets of NYC, danced on top of taxi cabs in Times Square, stopping the traffic (2), and then (3) the angst- and romance-ballad "(C) Is it / (G) O.K., if I call you / (Bb) mine / (A) just for a time? Dm, Dm7j, Dm7, Dm6 " - these lyrics and guitar-chords are starting an impressive scene of loneliness performed by "Montgomery" (Paul McCrane), visualized by a meagre illuminated window in a Manhattan skyscraper's nightly front, free of any orchestral noise, guitar pure. This movie (1980) of Alan Parker constructed little aesthetic units, which gave influence to advertising concepts and maybe later TV-channels like MTV. The straightness of his short, topic-centered scene-ideas indeed is remarkable - and gave food for many following 7 a.m.-TV-soap-operas, adding the musical-theatre-version "FAME" and movie-hits alike "Flashdance", "Footlose" and so on. "Like when I hear your name, or see a place that you've been, or see a picture of your grin, or pass a house that you've been in..." - if hetero-, bi- or homo-sexual - everybody, who lives, will remember pictures of his past looking at the screen of his inner eye, listening to lyrics like these. In this manner the script of Alan Parker clever mixes up spectators own experiences of friendship and fear, love and hope with projections upon the movie-characters: The shy, domineered-by-mother Doris (Maureen Teefy) gives an existentialistic advice to the juvenile audience, not to stick too long at mom's apron. The dare-devil girls like Coco (Irene Cara) are admonished not to follow guys, who say, they would be film-directors - it all ends up in tiny suspicious rooms (but I don't think, parents should forbid their children to consume this DVD, putting this one-second-nudity-sequence on an moral index). The ingenious single-minded private workers (Bruno, played by Lee Curreri), sitting in front of a mountain of synthezisers, are taught not to forget team-spirit. Analyzing the pedagogical pathos (Anne Meara), floating over "the body" Leroy (Gene Anthony Ray), this genuflexion-pedagogic vassal-style, making petitions to the knife-armed and nearly illiterate Leroy to join the school, though he sometimes likes to demolate the glass-cupboards in the floor - this enthusiastic pedagogic pathos maybe in the past 25 years has diminished - confrontated with amuck-runs, violence and vandalism, confrontated with extending seperated, not integrated neighborhoods, lately overtrumped by shooting- or bomb-attacks. In the year of 1980 pedagogical hope has been high and not been disillusioned. They nearly all believed in schools as important instruments of social evolution [take a look at this agreeable piano-teacher Mr. Shorofski (Albert Hague)]. Today maybe it's only a nostalgic reminiscence, but one, that soothes the vulnerable daily television-news-experience: A young generation loving brutal street demonstrations or even kamikaze bomb-attempts isn't really able to subordinate to a 4-year-school-discipline of a school. Times are a-changing. Director Alan Parker, by the way, before he made this hommage to the Manhattan "School of Performing Arts", - before that he directed the movie "Midnight Express", giving an insight view to a Turkish Prison. Maybe he badly needed a compensating factor - and so FAME was born as a counterpoint.

2013-03-30 11:05:52

DISAPPOINTING TRANSFER - LOUSY EXTRAS

"Fame" is the electrifying drama/musical from Alan Parker. It follows a troupe of wanna-be students through their trials and tribulations and it positively sizzles with memorable performances, potent songs and dazzling dance sequences. Criticized upon its release, "Fame" nevertheless managed to do boffo box office and made the successful transition to the small screen, becoming one of the most talked about and watched television series of the 1980's. Remember that name, Fame!Unfortunately there's nothing to stand up and cheer over with Warner Brothers lack luster transfer. It's softly focused, features a bleached out and faded color scheme, excessive film grain and some minor edge enhancement. During the dimly lit scenes fine details disappear into a muddy mess of blues, blacks and browns. Skin tones are often quite orangy and there is nothing natural about the color balancing that swings wildly from total saturation in some scene to incredible desaturation, almost to the point of looking black and white or, at the very least, tonal gray, during other moments. The soundtrack is remastered in 5.1. It's dated and strident but on the whole an ample job of a vintage 80's recording. Extras: The back advertises a "Class Reunion" feature which in actuality is a collective audio commentary track with various cast members spouting off, sometimes needlessly, about their experiences in making the film. Also incl. - a vintage featurette that has dated badly and the film's original theatrical trailer. Come on, W.B. - you're slipping.Bottom line: If you're a fan of this movie and can't live without it, buy it. But if you're looking for superb DVD mastering and vintage image quality - look elsewhere!