Rating: 
Summary: The Criterion Collection knows how to make a DVD
Review: The Basic Plot: 22 years after leaving his wife and children, and 7 years after not talking to anyone in his family, Royal Tenenbaum has returned to the "House on Archer Ave", where his now grown up children have returned to, in order to try and reconnection with his children, who have disowned him, and his wife, who has been proposed to by another man. Video: The 2:40:1 digital transfer of the movie is stellar. Great quality and looks great on most screens. Once again, these things are aimed at those lucky few with widescreen monitors. Expect awesome playback. Audio: Comes with Dolby Digital and DTS 5.1 audio. Talk about sweet sounding. Whether you're playing this on a laptop or in your banging home theater, the clear center speaking audio, the right left music, and nice surround sound use makes the audio track shine. Very clear with no odd ambient noises, clicking, or strange hissing. And since this movie is heavily driven by music (check out the CD for this one) it's nice to know that rich sound comes through loud and clear. Disc one Commentary: The commentary by Wes Anderson is a great thing to see. It's got great insight, some humor, wonderful detail, and really ties together points that seem to make sense but might need a little clarification or interpretation. Not intrusive or pervasive, nor idiotic or pedantic like some of the more superfluous commentaries I've heard (I.E. Warwick Davis in Willow, quaint but I'd rather hear from Ron Howard thank you). Disc 2: This disc is packed with about 5+ hours of extras from a 30-minute long behind the scenes with the director to in depth interviews with all of the major cast members from Gene Hackman to Owen Wilson about the details of each character and their part in the whole Tenenbaum Tragicomedy. It also includes many stills and a couple of sections that show the artwork of Eric Anderson's wall paintings that were used in the house. The Bad: There were only two things that bothered me. First, if you are going to put "outtakes" on the box, then show some. There were two somewhat funny shots of between take action and one REAL outtake that wasn't really that funny. Slap on the wrist Criterion, you can do better than that. Second, "The Peter Bradley Show: Interviews with the other cast members" - which is based off of "The Peter Bradley Show" that's used in the movie - is a waste of good DVD space. Personally, this section did nothing for me and wasn't really all that interesting. They could have saved the room for some actual outtakes rather than making them Easter eggs, especially in a movie that passes itself off as a comedy, even if it's a dark one. Hell, Death to Smoochy had more outtakes! The Final Word: Minor issues aside, this is one that should be in every DVD collection. A great film and a great DVD set. Worth the money!
Rating:
Summary: Terrific
Review: This is a great film. The pairing of images and music is simply superb.
Rating:
Summary: Wes Anderson Rules
Review: My love of Wes Anderson and Owen Wilson movie began with Rushmore. His style is enjoyable to watch. Their writing is great. I love their characters and plots. They are complex and very thought provoking. The Royal Tenenbaums is one of my favorite DVD's. The movie is so interesting and well written. His star power is well used. They bring life to each character and to the movie. Criterion Collection had an excellent choice to pick this movie as an addition to their catalogue. My favorite criterion collection special feature is commentary, unlike so many other movies where director's commentary is boring. Directors don't talk about their idea, and direction but Wes Anderson does and is a joy to listen to. The picture on this DVD is so perfect along with a sound track that brought my home theater to life. I can't say enough about this movie. Please do not listen to negative reviews of this movie. Those who don't like this movie are not the true movie lovers.
Rating:
Summary: A Precious Gem of a Film
Review: The cast of this movie should be a clue to you - not one person isn't a star in their own right. Or consider the synopsis of the plot - a family of dsyfunctional geniuses reconcile after decades of failure. Open the package of this DVD and you will immediately notice the love in which the film was made, right down to the personable scetches created by the director's brother. Now imagine watching this movie and have all you're expectations met or exceeded. That was my experience. This movie has become one of my all-time favorite films, something I've treasured and pondered long after I watched it. Nothing at all is ordinary in this film. The presense of Angelia Huston gave me the impression of a modern-day Addams Family, most everything bizarre and fascinating like that family was. The exiled head of the family, Royal Tenenbaum, attempts to reconcile with everyone by pulling a [quick one] on them. Richard Tenenbaum falls in love with his sister and lives in a tent in the middle of his room. Clas Tenenbaum is a childhood business mogol who is obsessed with safety after his wife dies, and thus dresses himself and his children in identical, bright-red jumpsuits. Each scene plays out like the characters - highly defined, quick witted and quick paced, backed with energy and emotion, and before you realized everything you saw, you're on to the next one. The conflicts resolve in a satisfying yet never-predictable way - nothing you ever are hoping for happens, and yet everyone ends up happy. The messages of redemption after failure are my favorite, and give this movie itself greatest weight. To watch this family work through its incredible problems is a source of hope to even the most bitter person.
Rating: 
Summary: Too complicated
Review: I don't know if im too stupid or this movie is too complicated
but it definitely is not a movie that the whole family
can sit down and watch,,...
many parts are funny but some parts are even little dipressing
Rating: 
Summary: Not your typical movie
Review: An interesting piece of work. For those who perfer more complicated, thought provoking. (Not sure what thoughts though)
Highly entertaining, and a joy to watch.
Rating:
Summary: An artful cinematic tragedy
Review: I didn't laugh at all when I first watched this movie. This movie is not a comedy. It's not even a black comedy. It is, for lack of a better phrase, a "pink tragedy." The whole film made me want to cry. The acting is excellent, although the star-only cast is rather distracting, and I have no complaints about the film except to say that I got a completely different feeling from this film than anybody else I've discussed it with. Perhaps a new era of emotional slapstick is dawning, but I don't think widowers are hilarious, or slit wrists, or dogs pinned under cars. This movie may be a pioneer in a new tragedy genre in which unrelenting grief becomes laughably absurd.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent film
Review: Sentimental without being mushy. Nostalgic without being unsophisticated. Great story, interesting characters.
Rating:
Summary: You will probably hate this movie.
Review: Totally self-indulgent, and totally engrossing -- for those of a certain temperament. Probably easiest to describe as "quirky", though that doesn't do it justice. For me, it was like the back story you might envision for a painting, not specifically leading to a definitive ending; more like a sensation of a life and it's events. You may identify with a sense of the absurd, densely layered with character portraits that seem like caricatures, yet intensely familiar. It didn't coalesce as completely as Rushmore, but then I don't know that it was meant to. Individuals with absurdly dysfunctional family histories are probably guaranteed a connection with this film. The soundtrack is superb to boot.
Rating:
Summary: Quirky off-beat comedy
Review: You know, this film is basically an acquired taste. If you like Adam Sandlers' sort of ha-ha films, this is not the film for you. If you prefer clever dialogue, smart acting, and a more European or independent approach to comedy, you may like this film. Look at it this way, Criterion is well-known for putting out solid DVDs on quality foreign films which may not always be to the general public's taste but have been shown over time to be influential or very good in their own right. Well, Criterion released this Disney film on DVD, so that pretty much says it all. The film is basically about a dysfunctional family, headed by the long-in-exile father Gene Hackman. Now, he wants to work his way back into the family's good graces when he learns that his wife (they never divorced) wants to marry another man. Sounds like the setting for a typical French comedy, so if you approach the film that way, you'll enjoy it just fine. Like me. Never saw it in the theaters, just bought it on a total whim, and enjoyed it very much. The cast is great - I loved Paltrow's Tuesday Addams impression, and the Bjorn Borgish family member's tennis meltdown is waaay funny in a classy way. One last word - I especially like the "Peter Bradley" interview on the extras DVD. It looks and feels like a real and serious PBS-type interview with cast members, but the sheer incompetence of the questions and answers (nothing outrageous, just hilarious in context) is classic. At first, you think, GAWD this interviewer is AWFUL; then you realize...they're pulling an Orson Welles stunt. :) Great stuff. A 5-star DVD!
| 
