Rating: 
Summary: A Very Disturbing Film
Review: This movie disturbed me. This will not be a popular opinion here but it is an honest one. When I saw it in theatres years ago I left feeling defiled. A woman who hates men has sex with a dead man so she can give birth, a child killed and a child maimed for life because their father coasted into the driveway and hit an unexpected car that was in the driveway that contained his wife performing oral sex on one of her students, women cutting their tongues out in protest over another womans violent rape. My friends have told me that I just wasnt looking at the humorous side of it. Kind of a weird opinion on their behalf. I think whoever conceived this stuff is a very sick person with a very sick view of the world.
Rating: 
Summary: A very well-done adaptation of the fabulous book.
Review: Definitely read the book first. Without that background, the viewer will miss many of the movie's references. However, the movie version impressed me. The actors were very well selected for their roles, and the film adaptation was about as good as it could possible be, although I still have to express the book's superiority. John Lithgow gave an especially surprising performance as the transsexual ex-Philadelphia Eagle, Roberta Muldoon, and Robin Williams uses his comic abilities to play a great Garp.
Rating: 
Summary: Great Movie - Awful DVD
Review: I've always been a big fan of The World According to Garp, so when it came out on DVD I picked it right up. As with many films The World According to Garp sat on my DVD shelf until I had a chance to watch it. Well, that night came this week and I gave The World According to Garp DVD a spin. I was shocked at how poorly this movie was treated on DVD. The audio is simply awful - I had to crank my receiver WAY up and even then I could hear a hiss in the audio track. The video is equally poor with scenes so riddled with edge enhancement that it looks like this DVD was mastered from the video tape! Also the DVD has zero special features. I know every release can't get Special Edition treatment, but The World According to Garp is so rich with possibilities - why not get John Irving to do a commentary (he did one for The Cider House Rules)? Robin Williams who could talk about the role that really launched him as a serious actor. Even director George Roy Hill (who also did The Sting, Slap Shot and Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid) is still around and has done commentaries! It's too bad that The World According to Garp was treated so poorly on DVD, and it's hard to tell people to skip the DVD of such a phenomenal film. [Geoffrey Kleinman DVDTalk.com]
Rating: 
Summary: Great,...untill,...
Review: this movie is interesting in parts, and reall over the top in other. Now I can appreciate an offbeat plot,...believe me I am tired of the conventional "marriage drama" but outside of the conclusion of the film being "easy and neat" it also has some nagging plot twists that while possible,...are a bit weird,... That being said, I still liked most of the film with fantastic performances by Robin Williams and Mary Beth Hurt which send the "too" offbeat plot in a direction and keep it together and flowing,...
Rating:
Summary: Great adaptation of a great book
Review: Robin Williams appears in his second (not first,remember Popeye) starring role, the one that proved that he was not just a comedian but a great actor. Supported by Academy Award nominated performances by Glenn Close (her movie debut) and John Lithgow, Robin brings alive the character of John Irving's book. Many other excellent performances from Swoozie Kurst and Amanda Plummer to Hume Cronyn and Jessica Tandy make this an acting tour to force. Great credit must be given the director George Roy Hill and to the writers John Irving and Steve Teisch for bringing the essence of Irving's complex book to the screen. The DVD would have had 5 stars from me if it had been made from a cleaner print of the picture and includes some better extras.
Rating: 
Summary: GREAT MOVIE -- TERRIBLE DVD
Review: GARP is one of my all-time favorite movies: funny, sad, satirical, full of great performances. But I can't recommend this...Warner Brothers' DVD version. (Which I've been eagerly awaiting.)...
Rating:
Summary: Avoid this one
Review: Garp is often mis-portrayed as a wonderful dark comedy. Other than some great acting from Williams, it is essentially a disturbing film, which offers few redeeming qualities. If you want to enjoy your time watching a film - avoid this one.
Rating:
Summary: Audio Problems with Garp
Review: This is one of my favorite movies, and I waited with baited breath for it's DVD release. Video rentals of this movie have provided a disappointing experience as the tapes are usually worn out and in bad shape. However, I was severely disappointed by the sound quality on this DVD. Granted, it's not surround sound, but the stereo mix is so bad it's hard to watch. The mix is brassy, full of hiss, low volume, and comes directly from the center speaker. It sounds more like a bad mono soundtrack, and I'm extremely disappointed with it. My quandry is that if I advise people not to buy this, we most likely will get nothing better as the distributers will take this as a sign that there is no interest in this film. Please purchase this edition to support the movie, but be prepared to be slightly disappointed with the sound. It should be noted that I couldn't fault the image quality.
Rating:
Summary: Stunning film is a mild DVD disappointment
Review: "The World According to Garp" is a milestone film in many ways. It is Robin Williams first starring role, as well as making stars out of Glenn Close and John Lithgow. As whimsical as most of Williams' characters to this point, he nonetheless plays it reasonably straight suggesting future brilliant performances ("Dead Poets Society", "The Fisher King", etc.). The acting, in general, is superb with great bits from the likes of Amanda Plummer and Swoozie Kurtz. The bittersweet tale (from John Irving's novel) involves life seen through the eyes of a collection of free-spirited individuals, most notably Jenny Fields (Close) and her son Garp (Williams). It's a fascinating narrative, and would make no sense to try to explain the plot. In any form--VHS, DVD, edited for content--it's worth seeing. The opening titles are, indeed, a joy to behold. My problem with the just-released DVD is that, though the film is rated R, it has been slightly edited to about a PG. Some of the most brilliant lines have been cut, or clouded over. Disappointing as this may be, it's still a brilliant film, an achievement worthy of the term "classic" (definitely "cult-classic"). Also, though filmed in Panavision, the "widescreen" transfer is only 1.85:1. Director Geore Roy Hill had lots of business going on that was virtually lost, or rendered unimportant. Regardless, don't miss this film. It's a real treat.
Rating:
Summary: Wonderful Adaptation
Review: This video is an adaptation of John Irving's novel. After reading the novel, I would have thought it impossible to make a movie as good as the book. The reason the film works is the acting. Robin Williams is a superb actor who is perhaps our most versatile actor today. Excellent performances by Glenn Close, Mary Beth Hurt, and John Lithgow, as well as Williams make this a 5-star video.
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