Rating: 
Summary: One of the great Classic May December Romances!
Review: This is a must have for the Hudson/Wyman fans. If you loved Magnificent Obsession, you will love All That Heaven Allows. It is the "Don't worry about what people around you think" message at it's best. Or as Thoreau would put it: "...If a man does not keep pace with his companions, perhaps it is because he hears a different drummer" The movie also delves into something that was once very taboo in the 1950's ... the May December Romance, with Jane Wyman very much playing the December part of the romance. Though in real life they were only 11 years apart, her screen presence and subtle undertones definitely lead you to think that they are almost twice that difference. The photography is beautiful..Technicolor has been and always will be my favorite color format. Douglas Sirk and Ross Hunter seemed to know how to play it up to it's best ... their signature trademark of color, architecture and the feel of "weather" truly stands out in this movie. (See also Imitation of life by Douglas Sirk and Ross Hunter, starring Lana Turner and John Gavin). Now for the one warning to those offended by "colorful language". The special features in this DVD includes a commentary by Rainer Werner Fassbinder which has quite a few of the "F" and "S" words. In my honest opinion, there is no need for that type of a commentary on a movie like this. If I had known that it was on this DVD in the format that it is, I would not have purchased it. I am in search of a pure copy of just the movie itself or maybe the movie and the Trailers and Vintage Lobby Cards. If you are offended by this type of language, skip that section of the DVD! Otherwise, enjoy this wonderful movie..and the two wonderful actors who brought it to our screens and into our hearts. Sincerely,
Patricia Jones
Clearwater FL
Rating: 
Summary: I am not a lower form of human life
Review: This movie is about as booty as they come. It's one of the great classics. It's right up there with Charade. I was sooo happy when it finaly came out on DVD. I've seen it on VHS about 20 times and now after watching it on DVD. Amazing. It was cool. Big Truck
Rating:
Summary: a nice film with a great theme
Review: This review is for the Criterion Collection DVD edition of the film. This movie follows the story of a widow (Jane Wyman) who falls in love with a much younger man (Rock Hudson) and risks alienating her adult children when she wants to marry him. The movie has a great theme of family relations and the concern siblings have for a parent. This film was later remade by Rainer Werner Fassbinder as "Ali Fear Eats the Soul" which was also released by the Criterion Collection. The DVD has numerous special features including a theatrical trailer, a slide show of lobby cards for the film, an illustrated essay about several of Douglas Sirk's films by Rainer Werner Fassbinder, and a rare BBC interview with the director Douglas Sirk.
Rating:
Summary: All that Heaven Allows
Review: This was a great movie. Rock Hudson is great in it.
Jane Wyman's chracter sacrifices her love for Rock for her children, but in the end her kids turn there back on her.
It is a very moving story and th camera angles through the mirrors are great. Douglas Sirk did a great job.
Rating:
Summary: the perfect dvd? this could be it
Review: Watching one of Douglas Sirk's 50's melodramas is slightly akin to visiting another planet. Everything about the Sirk reality is a bit askew: the people are basic and sincere, while their surroundings are heightened, beautiful and artificial (we know certain exterior scenes are filmed on sets, but the sets themselves are so big and elaborate they boggle the mind). It's a strange mix -- simple characters in an exaggerated world, almost like a David Lynch movie in which the only violence that occurs is emotional. But if you give Sirk's movies time and attention and allow yourself to be taken in by the strangeness, they are surprisingly easy to accept on their own terms. Sirk's 1955 film, "All That Heaven Allows," tells the story of the romance between a well-to-do widow and a young, dreamy, non-conformist gardener. It's the oldest problem in the world: they could be happy and in love if only it weren't for the other people around them. I think the key to the success of this film is the performance of Jane Wyman as the widow. Her character is so fragile, yet also surprisingly strong. She says no more than she has to, but what she does say speaks on many levels. She's kind, but she's also after something she clearly wants very badly. Wyman is able to communicate these contradictions and complications with a calm, almost effortless stoicism. The Criterion DVD is a marvel of technology. It has quickly become my favorite disk and there are a lot of disks that I like -- the picture and transfer are unbelievably crisp, the colors are richer than wet paint, the movie is restored to its proper aspect ratio, and you also get Fassbinder's essay on Sirk (he remade this movie in thoroughly different form with a film called "Ali: Fear Eats the Soul"), and there's also a long, fascinating interview with Sirk himself -- I'd never seen or heard any footage of the director until I saw this and the interview alone made it worth buying. If you're a fan of Sirk, you're going to love this disk. And if you're not familiar with his work, this is the place to start.
Rating:
Summary: Melodrama with a touch of genius
Review: Watching this film can be very rewarding. Director Douglas Sirk makes imaginative use of mirrors, colours, light and shade, and the composition of his shots is so precise, it seems as though nothing is accidental. For example, Cary makes a reference in the beginning of the film to moving away from wearing old black velvet dresses. Later, at one of her low points she is seen to be wearing an old black velvet dress. The central performances are fine, but since Rock Hudson is only eight years younger than Jane Wyman can he really be seen as a scandalously younger man? The supporting actors add a lot to this film, notably Jacqueline de Witt's vicious gossip and Conrad Nagel (the elderly gentleman who plays Harvey), who had been acting since 1918 and was one of the original 36 founders of the Academy Of Motion Pictures Arts And Sciences. The story is a pot-boiler, but Sirk's skilful handling and the playing of the main four actors raises it above this level. Considering the Criterion Collection's pricing I would have expected more extras, but the interview conducted with Sirk whilst in semi-retirement is special, although of a general nature and not spending much time on this film. The interview is curiously edited though, stripped of titles and credits, and presumably some material, with some of Sirk's answers replaced by intertitles. Also of interest are the extended sleeve notes by film historian Laura Mulvey and on-screen essays by Fassbinder on six of Sirk's films.
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