Rating: 
Summary: A must-have for Jackie O collectors and documentary-buffs
Review: Grey Gardens is an ironic and dark study of the aunt and first cousin of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis. The Maysles film an excellent fly-on-the-wall documentary that feels like rare footage of once high-society and now reclusive East Hamptonites, oblivious to their own filthy 28-room mansion and accompanied by with a few dozen stray cats. Big Edie has a prophetic line upon seeing a cat do its duty behind an unhung painting of herself in her younger days. She says something like, "Well, at least someone is doing something they want to do." Little Edie has some outrageous fashion tastes and invents ways to wear clothes when wearing an outfit the normal way no longer works. The mother-daughter relationship is full of tension. It is often difficult to stomach some of the neuroses and psychoses rooted in their arguments. But its not all tears. Together they enjoy sharing pate on saltines. Little Edie prances as Big Edie sings old songs of yester-year to her own voice on the record player. Or they listen to Norman Vincent Peel on the radio. Check out mayslesfilms.com for further insight.
Rating: 
Summary: Life in a Fishbowl...complete w/Flakes
Review: Happened to catch this on the IFC when first released...was absolutely riveted!!! I think it holds even more meaning if you are a female.......I made my mother watch it and we could not believe the similarities altho we are not like the Beale family. (I do get out..I am a flight attendant) But my mother and I are extremely close and the "dance" those two do are strikingly familiar to us....to me what is most apparent at first glance is the despiration Edie feels about leaving, she reminds me of a person that is incarcerated..time stops for them..in their emotional, mental growth. Then it makes me angry that Big Edie could ever be so selfish as to just "take" her daughters life from her..was it out of jealousy?Was it truly out of need? Did she just give up after her husband left her? You almost feel that it was all meant to be tho, especially from the way Big Edie describes her sons, she saw them so differently than she saw Edie. And then,times were so different for women back then.Excellant movie,I am sure the Kennedy and Bouvier Families were mortified!!! But we love them!!! It would be wonderful to see such individuality in everyone!
Rating:
Summary: Jackie Oh my GOD!
Review: Have to see what Jackie kept such a secret. I wish I had nieghbors like that!
Rating:
Summary: A Very Interesting Documentary
Review: I am not sure if entertaining is the best way describe this film. I think it is more interesting. You have two eccentric characters who live in an under-maintained home on Long Island. You witness them live a day-to-day life that combines both duty and love. They do not defend their condition or recommend it, they simply are who they are. And they give the rest of us some insight. Sure there are some regrets about missed chances, but who does not have them. In fact, it seems that they are better off because they not prone to the corruption that society imposes on us. It is almost like you have two characters living in a monestary or trapped on a desert island, deprived of many comforts, who nonetheless have adapted remarkably. In fact, little Eddie and big Eddie certainly display great soul and innocence that we can witness by watching this movie.
Rating:
Summary: IT'S THE AUDIO COMMENTARY THAT YOU HAVE TO HEAR
Review: I am so glad they re-released the film. It's the Audio Commentary by the Filmmakers and the phone call to Young Edie in December 2000 that has taken it to a new level. The film captures the lives of these two women and has had me captivated for years. It is recommended for anyone interested in human behaviors and relationships.
Rating:
Summary: A mother and daughters sad story that wins your heart
Review: I have never felt so much for two women that had it all and lost it but yet still had eachother in the end. This is a story about love and companionship like you never seen before. How they loved life in the past and are now just here to reminise. They make you love them. This is a documentary that has to be watched 20 or more times. This is not a joke. You cant believe what you see time after time. It is apalling but makes so much sense at the same time. After watching this for the 25th time, I had to drive out to Grey Gardens to see it for myself. A place with so much but yet with so little. Money isnt everything!! Mrs. Beale lived a full life and so did Little Edie. They are forever immortialized in my memory.
Rating:
Summary: A mother and daughters sad story that wins your heart
Review: I have never felt so much for two women that had it all and lost it but yet still had eachother in the end. This is a story about love and companionship like you never seen before. How they loved life in the past and are now just here to reminise. They make you love them. This is a documentary that has to be watched 20 or more times. This is not a joke. You cant believe what you see time after time. It is apalling but makes so much sense at the same time. After watching this for the 25th time, I had to drive out to Grey Gardens to see it for myself. A place with so much but yet with so little. Money isnt everything!! Mrs. Beale lived a full life and so did Little Edie. They are forever immortialized in my memory.
Rating:
Summary: A Personal History
Review: I saw this film at it's premiere, because as a curious 7-9 year old, I considered the Beales friends during the summer. Family of mine owned the house across the street, and Grey Gardens was the haunted house on the corner on the way to Georgica Beach. In the film, the house is somewhat cleaner (if you can believe it) than when I was there. I can remember singing " I can't give you anything but love" over the phone to Lee Radziwell, who I remember meeting once on the porch during a rare visit. I walked up the stairs barefoot, but mistake once. I had made it into their confidence. I will never forget the previlege of being welcome into the inner sanctum. Cat crap between my toes into Mrs. Beale's bedroom.... she liked me. Where as my sister Alexis was Miss Beale's favorite. The film does show the desperation quite accurately.
Rating: 
Summary: It's like watching an accident happen....
Review: I'm actually kind of mixed on this DVD. This look into the lives of 2 reclusive women was interesting to me. But a friend with whom I viewed the film was appalled that we watched these people have the same fights over and over again. As a fan of biographies, though, I find other people's paths and choices fascinating. And I think I have more understanding of the choices women make in their lives. **By the way, I just read in the Boston Globe on Sunday that Little Edie has died. One less "staunch character" in the world. Alas.
Rating:
Summary: "I'm Pulverized By This Latest Thing"
Review: I've had not one single night of sleep since August 15th. That was when I watched Grey Gardens for the first time. It left me impossibly stirred and moved. I was transported to the Edies' world of lost ghosts for 90 minutes and more than one week later, I'm still caged in that world. It's extremely haunting and beautiful. I watched Grey Gardens four more times over the next week and I'm still not tired of it. There is so much going in that exquisite slice of life, for instance, pay close attention to the scene in which the mother looks at herself in the mirror, then hands it to her daughter, and she does the same thing. That entire scene says so much about their bond. Each viewing gets richer and richer so that's why I think the DVD is a must-buy. Criterion does a gorgeous job with the transfer and the extras are amazing. You won't be disappointed with the quality of the DVD. Grey Gardens absolutely captures and possesses every part of me. Grey Gardens doesn't deserve reviews. Grey Gardens deserves your viewing. Enjoy!
| 
