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Buffalo 66

Buffalo 66

List Price: $24.98
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Rating: 2 stars
Summary: Widescreen? hardly...
Review: First, I have to say that I absolutely love this movie. I bought the VHS when it was first released as a rental copy. The DVD version of this film states that this is a "widescreen" or "letterboxed" presentation. I must say however that what they call "widescreen" is little more than the original VHS presentation with black bars cutting even more from the film! This is a ridiculous concept to me. The film on this DVD has been chopped on all sides from the theatrical version.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Excellent film
Review: "Buffalo 66" does an uncanny job in capturing the feeling of life in Upstate New York, be it Rochester, Buffalo, or Elmira with our Denny's, and economic recession, lack of jobs, and abandoned businesses. Yet Vincent Gallo manages to capture the beauty in our empty streets and grey skies. Vincent and Christina Ricci (definitely my favorite actress)develop a romance that is entirely believeable. I have to say, that I was offended by the obvious misogyny of this film (did anyone wonder why the beautiful Christina was so enamoured of Vincent after he ordered her around and treated her like trash?)but I chose to overlook it, though I have to say that I don't find it amusing. The family of Vincent's character are also totally believeable and farmiliar.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Get your kicks, with Buffalo 66!
Review: Vince Gallo has to be one of the most brilliant actors and directors to date, with this darkly hilarious film. Fianlly, Christina Ricci playing some roles that actually showcase her talent. The cinematography in this indie flick is superb, and the dance sequence and the "singing" sequence do anything but tkae away from the film. With SUPERB performances by the four leads, and an outstanding performance by GOON/ROCKY, makes this film a great achievement in independant film.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: breath-takingly good (who'd have thunk it)
Review: buffalo '66 is a surprisingly good film. real jaw on the floor stuff. for a first time director and evident geek of the first water, vincent gallo has made a movie that is as near to a masterpiece as we are likely to see. it is a touching, beautiful story of a misfit. gallo kidnaps the beautiful ms ricci and the film follows their relationship. it is, i suppose, an arthouse version of 'a life less ordinary' but without the angels and the wishing it was a coen brothers flick.

and whereas that movie, the story of a misfit who kidnaps a beautiful girl, is horrendously shallow and ultimately unsatisfying, buffalo 66 asks real questions about how we treat people, about the consequences of our actions and about the nature of love.

it is also a hoot! christina ricci has always been gifted with spot-on comic timing and she is superb, making the most out of a difficult role.

but it is gallo who is the revelation. as actor/writer/director/tea boy this film is entirely his baby and he does a fantastic job. the direction is a little bit tarantino, a little bit david lynch, with garnishing from other directors... but gallo somehow brings it all together in a perfect little melting pot.

okay, i'll concede we aren't exactly talking citizen kane here, but as debuts go this independent feature is well worth checking out.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Admirable first effort
Review: Actor Vincent Gallo (a virtual unknown, unless you're one of the several people who saw "The Funeral")pulls out all the film school stops for his writing-directing-starring debut.Usually, if an opening scene shows a character getting out of prison, I develop hives..but if you can make it through the first 20 minutes of "Buffalo 66", you will be rewarded for your patience. The film benefits from its habit of going to places you least expect, which is what got me hooked. One of the more inspired moments comes from the bowling alley/ballet fantasy scene with the ever-surprising Christina Ricci...I never dreamed I would hear King Crimson's(perfectly utilized)"Moonchild" pop up in a movie soundtrack! Gallo shows astute casting skills, with Ben Gazzara, Anjelica Houston and a rather leathery Jan-Michael Vincent along for support. Let's hope that Gallo can shake the Jim Jarmusch influences next time out and deliver more on the potential he demonstrates in this debut.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: rage, depression, and love
Review: this movie was quite an experience to view. it challenges you not to feel some emotion. i think that vincent gallo really portrays true sadness in this film. i really felt his lonliness and depression, and saw much of myself and my adolescence in him.

some may say that christina ricci's character is too submissive. i would have to disagree. i felt that she was the only person in billy's life that could see the good in him behind his bad attitude. gallo turns out to be a really good guy, and christina ricci's character was right all the long. billy brown has lead a depressing life. his parents are horrible, and we (or just i) feel so sorry for him. we feel many different things about billy brown throughout the film. we hate him for being so rude, 'kidnapping' a girl, etc. but we sympathize with him after seeing what a horrible hand he was dealt in life. this is a very unconventional movie in general. the shot selection and cinematography are very original and very good in my opinion.

i think that much of the things in the story may be taken from vincent gallo's real life, that's how real and vivid they seem to be portrayed. i also recommend the soundtrack with a great score from gallo himself.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Dysfunctional Ballet
Review: Gallo has made a hilarious, touching, and sometimes even deeply disturbing film here (heavily influenced in its style by Jean-Luc Godard, but distinctly original in subject matter), where implausible situations become irrelevant and transcendently plausible in light of the passion with which they're rendered. There's just an overwhelming joy of filmmaking here that makes any technical faults or plot holes quite irrelevant.

After a while, Gallo's eccentric little film truly becomes an allegory and begins to operate on an almost mythic level--a 'dysfunctional' ballet of sorts, with surreal musical numbers and everything.

Christina Ricci's portrayal of Leila, the dreamy-eyed tap dancer, who is kidnapped by Gallo to impress his parents, and comes to love his severe dysfunction and eccentricity is a modern classic (the funniest female character I've seen since Jane Hamper's "Junk" in Todd Solondz' early effort "Fear, Anxiety, and Depression").

Ben Gazzara and Anjelica Huston as Gallo's dysfunctional parents are so annoyingly accurate, it hurts. Everyone has either had parents, or known someone who had parents along these lines.

The final showdown between Gallo and the hated Buffalo kicker whose missed field goal ruined his life is one of the funniest things I've ever seen.

"Buffalo '66" does not go anywhere you think it'll go in terms of its characterizations and is unlike anything else ever made by anyone; it is one of a kind, and so bizzare and annoying, you can't help but love it.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Something Original and Cute
Review: I was actually quite surprised after watching this movie. At first, especially the scene where Billy( Vincent Gallo) comes out from prison, I thought "This is going to be a boring movie!". But was I wrong! All of the scenes afterward were great. I especially enjoyed the part where Billy's father sings, Laila Dances at the bowling lane( the way the the spotlight focuses on the two was really good) and at the very end, where Billy buys a heart-shaped cookie. I was truly amazed and awed at Vincent Gallo's talent, for directing, producing, starring, and composing this movie, which turned its magic on me by making me like a guy whom I thought I was never going to like at first( Billy)! With great performances from Anjelica Houston and all the other casts, especially Christina Ricci, this is one of my most favorite films and I hope to see more of Vincent Gallo's directed films in the future!

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: MAKES BUFFALO SEEM COOL
Review: This is a great indy film that I thought was one of the ten best of its year. Gallo does a fantastic trifecta as actor/writer/director. The acting is all topnotch-my personal fave is Ben Gazzara who continues to expand on his craft and contribute to quirky films (see HAPPINESS).

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: Not for sale to persons under 18? Why is it for sale at all?
Review: I wanted to like this movie. I really did. Edgy Barry Levinson-esque camerawork, some truly funny moments, an A-list cast who must have worked for scale, the whole nine yards. But I still couldn't get my head around this movie. Vincent Gallo just isn't credible as a revenge-plotting ex-con, though the movie other major plot (dealing with the dysfunctional family) works pretty well. The cast backing him up, with the exception of Christina Ricci (she plays it as well as she can, but her role is just written badly), injects some truly fine moments into this film, but a collection of fine moments held together in an awful pit of celluloid does not a good film make. Maybe someone will release an outtakes version (and cut out the hideous soundtrack, which is basically the guitar solos from Yes' song "Roundabout").


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