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Carmen Jones

Carmen Jones

List Price: $9.98
Your Price: $9.98
Product Info Reviews

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Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Dandridge and Belafonte sizzle on screen!
Review: I saw this movie years ago and was totally blown away by the performances. Now I own it, and my feeling is still the same. Dorothy Dandridge was a GODDESS!! She was in the role of her life and she played it the hilt! Based on the Bizet opera "Carmen", Carmen Jones is a free spirited, beautiful young woman who has broken many a heart in her lifetime with no apologies. When she sets her sights on Joe, the young Army pilot candidate, though, things change forever for the both of them...with tragic results. A ground-breaking love story featuring blacks in the lead roles back in 1954 when it came out, something that was rarely ever done before. Prior to this film, black portrayals on film were mostly regulated to singers, musicians, dancers, mammies, maids and shuffling, uneducated Negroes. "Carmen Jones" changed all of that. Hands down, Dorothy Dandridge deserved that Academy Award, but sadly, she was denied it. Harry Belafonte is GORGEOUS! Great performance for him as the love-sick soldier. Also worth noting is Pearl Bailey's performance as Carmen's wise-cracking best friend. Don't hesitate to buy this video! My 14 year old daughter is in LOVE with this movie, and I know it will be one of your favorites, too. GET IT!!!

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: CARMEN JONES, NOTHING BUT A MOVIE TITLE TO ME.
Review: I WASN'T TOO IMPRESSED WITH THIS ONE. MS. DANDRIDGE REMINDED ME OF A CHICKENHEAD FROM THE PROJECTS; RIGHT FROM THE START. HARRY BELAFONTE WAS COOL, BUT A LITTLE SQUARE. PEARL BAILEY COULD HAVE CUT LOOSE A LITTLE MORE, I KNOW SHE WANTED TOO. EVERYONE APPEARED TO BE STIFF IN THIS MOVIE, IT WAS A BIT DEPRESSING. THE ONE KIND OF MUSIC THAT I'M NOT TOO CRAZY OVER, IS OPRA. ESPECIALLY WHEN PEOPLE OF THE BLUES AND JAZZ ERA, TRIES TO SING OPRA. IT JUST DOESN'T FIT.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: EXCELLENT EVEN FOR TEEN VIEWERS
Review: I'M ONLY 18 BUT I SAW THIS MOVIE WHEN I WAS 17 AND I FELL IN LOVE WITH IT DOROTHY DANDRIDGE IS BEAUTIFUL!!!SHE LIGHTS UP THE SCREEN I RECOMEND IT TO TEENS MY AGE I GAURANTEE YOU'LL LOVE IT AND SYMPATHIZE

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Marilyn Horne's voice and Dorothy Dandridge's acting--Wow!
Review: I've seen the stage version of this amazing show, and though I usually prefer the immediacy of live shows, the movie is still tops in my book. Dorothy Dandridge *is* Carmen, and though her voice is dubbed, who can complain when it's dubbed by Marilyn Horne? Every time I see this movie, I find myself wishing again that Dorothy had lived longer, or at least made more movies in her short life. Can you imagine what she'd accomplish in today's film industry?

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Dandridge is sizzlin hot as Bizet's Carmen Jones
Review: If you haven't seen this movie. Correct that and see it now! Dorothy Dandridge and Harry Belafonte light up the screen in this dramatic musical based on Bizet's classic opera Carmen. Pearl Bailey is nothing short of genius. It's even fun to watch a young Diahann Carroll. And even though you know it's just a film you can't help feeling a little sad... I'll stop here for those who have never even heard of Bizet, Carmen, Oscar Hammerstein,II or Prosper Merimee [oringal story] Rent or buy the tape and find out for yourself why Hollywood is returning to sizzlin' hot screen romances!

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: exiting recreation of a wodrfull work
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Rating: 5 stars
Summary: WOW!
Review: Oscar Hammerstein took the fabulous classic work of Bizet "Carmen", and made it into a contemporary work and an instant classic now some fifty years ago. There are just not enough superlatives to adequately describe this movie. The first time I saw this was on the stage in LOndon years ago, and I had to seek out the video.

Dorothy Dandridge made her career in this one epic work. It is nothing short of transfixing. Seeing her use her charms to turn Harry Belafonte into her slave (what an incredibly lucky SOB!) and then torment him was like nothing I had ever seen before. It is interesting to note that even given the social morays of the time, D.D was so much more erotic in the simple act of putting on her stockings than we see today in a hour of almost total nudity on the screen! I am not sure that there has ever been anyone who burned up the screen any more before or since. Also featured were a young Pearl Bailey and Dianne Carroll.

My only question? Both D.D and H.B were fabulous singers in their own right. I have never understood why their singing parts were dubbed. Nonetheless, the contemporary adaptation of this classic music is wonderful.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: WOW!
Review: Oscar Hammerstein took the fabulous classic work of Bizet "Carmen", and made it into a contemporary work and an instant classic now some fifty years ago. There are just not enough superlatives to adequately describe this movie. The first time I saw this was on the stage in LOndon years ago, and I had to seek out the video.

Dorothy Dandridge made her career in this one epic work. It is nothing short of transfixing. Seeing her use her charms to turn Harry Belafonte into her slave (what an incredibly lucky SOB!) and then torment him was like nothing I had ever seen before. It is interesting to note that even given the social morays of the time, D.D was so much more erotic in the simple act of putting on her stockings than we see today in a hour of almost total nudity on the screen! I am not sure that there has ever been anyone who burned up the screen any more before or since. Also featured were a young Pearl Bailey and Dianne Carroll.

My only question? Both D.D and H.B were fabulous singers in their own right. I have never understood why their singing parts were dubbed. Nonetheless, the contemporary adaptation of this classic music is wonderful.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: ABSOULTEY INCREDIBLE, HEART-STUNNING AND WARMING STAR !
Review: That's what describes Dorothy Dandridge.When I saw Carmen Jones for the first time, I was just totally blown off my feet. Her style and grace was what made the movie so wonderful! I was just in this mode of wanting to know more about this beautiful and talented lady. So now I am reading Bogle's book of her life. The movie: Introducing Dorothy Dandridge, was just heart-stopping. I am now doing a term paper on Dandridge as my subject. If she was still alive I would love to meet her and tell her how much of an inspriation she has been to me. She was truly a remarkable person and is a legend.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Surrender to Dorothy
Review: The black Marilyn Monroe? Um, don't think so. Dorothy D. is one of a kind. Has there ever been an actress who could get this much ... mileage out of...polishing shoes, or just hip-swinging through a cafeteria? Add to that her considerable talents as an actress - whipping from comedy to pathos in a flash. Indeed, in comparison to other actresses of her day, black and white, her performance is remarkably modern. Some may call Dorothy's life and career a tragedy, but look at what she's left us with. Celebrate that.

True, "Carmen Jones" is wildly uneven as a movie (the first 45 minutes are pure bliss, however), and be forewarned that this new DVD is poorly presented with sloppily remastered sound and a shameful paucity of extras (just a trailer). But the music is great, Dororthy gives it her all, and Harry Belefonte and Pearl Baily both get show-stopping numbers. Yes, the dialogue is sprinkled with "dem's " and "dats," but that's a small price to pay in comparison to other black portrayals in the late 40s/early 50s.

Directed by Otto Preminger, it's a miracle the film got made at all, though Preminger never seems to know where to put the camera during the dance sequences, all but botching the lively choreography. Quibbles aside, this is a must have DVD for anyone interested in a stunning star performance that still packs a punch.


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