Rating: Summary: Tuckered out. Review: ... Although the movie does bear Coppola's golden look, it doesn't have his dark styles; like in Apocalypse Now, The Godfather, and Bram Stoker's Dracula. The story is a true story, but a boring one as well. A man creates a revolutionary car with seatbelts, shatter-proof glass, and a rear engine. Big WHOOPY-DOOO!!!! The car doesn't even look much different than other cars at the time. But I guess that's not the point, it's about fulfilling your dreams of running a multi-million dollar empire. Jeff Bridges also manages to delight us with some of his most stone-walled acting ever. Let's not forget about the "all American" theme we've got going on here too. A rich inventor and his happy white family, with three servants, one of them Japanese, who don't mind a darn bit about serving their master. In fact he's one of the best they've ever been owned by. Yep, welcome to the world of 'Tucker'! A world where daddy doesn't get drunk and beat the biggins outa mommy. A world where his kids aren't smoking crack and having teenage pregnancies. In fact his family is quite devoted to him, and he to them. Not only this, but they are always involved in his business and personal affairs. Mr. Tucker can't even go and meet the reclusive Howard Hughes in a vacant airplane hangar in the middle of the night without bringing one of his boys along. Even when Tucker does get mad he's got a smile on his face. And I just love the scene with his family exploring a possible larger home for themselves, and talking about finally being wealthy. Oh, so they weren't wealthy before? Just Middle Class? Welcome to America folks, the land of the free, home of the brave, and where the rich get richer and the poor stay poor. Not only all of this, but after listening to Jeff Bridges repeat the song lyrics "Hold that tiger, Hold that tiger" throughout the entire movie, I don't want to hear the song again for as long as I live. One scene I enjoyed was watching Tucker's humble servants repairing the car just before its about to be displayed on a grand stage in a crowded auditorium. I guess they're so devoted they don't mind accepting one percent of the profits of Tucker and his dream. Well, this isn't the worst movie I've ever seen, but a pretty boring one....
Rating: Summary: A Story of Optimism and Indomitable Spirit Review: Being a car enthusiast and having read about the Tucker automobile and its inventor, I saw this picture at the theater and rushed out to buy it when it became available to purchase. "Tucker-The Man And His Dream" is the story of auto maker/inventor/visionary Preston Tucker, who bucked incredible odds to see his dream of a revolutionary car come to life. Jeff Bridges plays the title role with such energy and enthusiasm that you end up thinking this guy could conquer the world. Joan Allen is her usual excellent self as Preston's devoted wife, and Martin Landau is brilliant in his Oscar-nominated role as Tucker's somewhat skeptical business partner. Christian Slater, in one of his earliest screen appearances, plays Tucker's oldest son. Although they are on screen together for only a brief period of time in the picture, it is wonderful to see Jeff Bridges with his father, the late great Lloyd Bridges. The elder Bridges plays Homer Ferguson, a U.S. Senator from Michigan who instigated a probe and subsequent prosecution of Tucker by the Securities and Exchange Commission for allegedly defrauding investors (Tucker was eventually exonerated after his company folded due to the negative publicity). All of the acting performances in this picture are superb, and the pacing is almost frenetic. These factors, along with a rather ingenious use of transitions by Director Francis Ford Coppola (who coincidentally owns one of the few Tuckers left in existence), create a busy feeling that conveys to the audience that Tucker has got the world by the tail and is pulling hard...hold that tiger! Combine all of this with an excellent soundtrack by Joe Jackson (unfortunately very hard to find these days), and you have what one reviewer accurately describes as one of the greatest movies that hardly anyone ever watched. If you haven't seen "Tucker-The Man And His Dream", check it out...you won't be disappointed.
Rating: Summary: A Story of Optimism and Indomitable Spirit Review: Being a car enthusiast and having read about the Tucker automobile and its inventor, I saw this picture at the theater and rushed out to buy it when it became available to purchase. "Tucker-The Man And His Dream" is the story of auto maker/inventor/visionary Preston Tucker, who bucked incredible odds to see his dream of a revolutionary car come to life. Jeff Bridges plays the title role with such energy and enthusiasm that you end up thinking this guy could conquer the world. Joan Allen is her usual excellent self as Preston's devoted wife, and Martin Landau is brilliant in his Oscar-nominated role as Tucker's somewhat skeptical business partner. Christian Slater, in one of his earliest screen appearances, plays Tucker's oldest son. Although they are on screen together for only a brief period of time in the picture, it is wonderful to see Jeff Bridges with his father, the late great Lloyd Bridges. The elder Bridges plays Homer Ferguson, a U.S. Senator from Michigan who instigated a probe and subsequent prosecution of Tucker by the Securities and Exchange Commission for allegedly defrauding investors (Tucker was eventually exonerated after his company folded due to the negative publicity). All of the acting performances in this picture are superb, and the pacing is almost frenetic. These factors, along with a rather ingenious use of transitions by Director Francis Ford Coppola (who coincidentally owns one of the few Tuckers left in existence), create a busy feeling that conveys to the audience that Tucker has got the world by the tail and is pulling hard...hold that tiger! Combine all of this with an excellent soundtrack by Joe Jackson (unfortunately very hard to find these days), and you have what one reviewer accurately describes as one of the greatest movies that hardly anyone ever watched. If you haven't seen "Tucker-The Man And His Dream", check it out...you won't be disappointed.
Rating: Summary: The "Dream" Seems To Fade Pretty Fast Review: Coppola's autobiography of Preston Tucker is a truly colorful experince. I enjoyed the first 45 minutes to an hour of this film. Within that time we meet Preston Tucker(Jeff Bridges)his wife Vera(Joan Allen)and the rest of his family. Also,and this is really a high point of the film,we are introduced to Abe Karatz(Martin Landau). Landau's performance is simply wonderful to watch. It's one of the many reason he remains one of my favorite actors. But besides the acting in this movie there's more to catch your eye. I personally love stories about the 40's. I just love the style of it all. The way people dressed,the cars,and the music. So I thought that the production designs by Dean Tavoularis and the costume designs by Milena Canonero were exquisite. Vittorio Stararo camerawork is always masterfully done. Plus if all of this were not enough,Coppola directing is very good,not perfect,but good. But,it's after all of these outstanding moments that the film shifts gears. We go from the wonderful start this film had,of a man wanting to build the "car of the future",to a melodrama! I really started to lose interest when the "court room" drama started. It was all so,well...hollywood! It lost the "innocence" it has attained in the beginning. The wonderful warmth of a man wanting to build his dream car,and turned into a boring movie. Look out for father Lloyd Bridges in a brief cameo.
Rating: Summary: If you like 40's style......this one is for you. Review: For some strange reason Tucker didn't do well at the boxoffice. I know it can't hold up to cinema masterpieces like "Dude Where's My Car" (grin), but I just watched this movie again and I really love the film. It oozes with style. The clothes, set dressing and props look great. There is a wide variety of 40's clothes represented. Take a look at the jury. The womens clothes and hats are excellent. Even the extras look amazing. I seem to recall that Coppola had a few Life magazines and if you couldn't see it on those pages, it wasn't going to be in his movie. Also the cinematography is top notch. Joe Jackson's sound track is very cool.(I think it was the only one he ever did.) Coppola's transitions are so cool and unusual that I have to keep rewinding to watch them a few times. They work perfect for this film. If you haven't seen Tucker or you haven't seen it in a long time, I highly recommend you watch it.......tonight.
Rating: Summary: If you like 40's style......this one is for you. Review: For some strange reason Tucker didn't do well at the boxoffice. I know it can't hold up to cinema masterpieces like "Dude Where's My Car" (grin), but I just watched this movie again and I really love the film. It oozes with style. The clothes, set dressing and props look great. There is a wide variety of 40's clothes represented. Take a look at the jury. The womens clothes and hats are excellent. Even the extras look amazing. I seem to recall that Coppola had a few Life magazines and if you couldn't see it on those pages, it wasn't going to be in his movie. Also the cinematography is top notch. Joe Jackson's sound track is very cool.(I think it was the only one he ever did.) Coppola's transitions are so cool and unusual that I have to keep rewinding to watch them a few times. They work perfect for this film. If you haven't seen Tucker or you haven't seen it in a long time, I highly recommend you watch it.......tonight.
Rating: Summary: Tuckered out. Review: Frenetically directed biopic of Preston Tucker, automobile entrepreneur, genius . . . dreamer. The most offensive thing about *Tucker: The Man and His Dream* is the explicit comparison between its subject and its director, Francis Ford Coppola. The Tucker automobile is evidently meant to be compared to Coppola's Zoetrope film studio, just as each man is meant to be compared to each other. (Both even have large, rambunctious families.) The great difference, of course, being that Tucker happened to be a visionary, whereas Coppola just made some decent movies in the 1970's. (Who wouldn't rather have a Tucker car than a copy of *Apocalypse Now Redux* on DVD or even the overpriced *Godfather* collection, in which Coppola -- that uncompromising "artist" -- forces one to actually bring that *Godfather Part 3* into his own home?) Notice I said the 1970's: *Tucker* was made in 1988, and Coppola's glory days had definitely passed. And no amount of flashy direction -- cut-aways, scene-blending, hyper-kinetic camera movement -- can bring them back. The cut-aways etc. don't really bring back the 1940's, either, probably because the spirit in which the movie was made belongs strictly to the excessive 80's. The visual style reflects the entrepreneurial icons of the Reagan Era -- Lee Iacocca, Michael Milkin, Donald Trump -- more often than it recalls Preston Tucker. Flash, splash, crash. Is the movie entertaining? Yes. Whatever else can be said about F.F.C., he doesn't make BORING movies. But ultimately the movie is as shallow as its basic form, which is the Old Hollywood-style worshiping, deifying hagiography (along the lines of *The Benny Goodman Story*, *Yankee Doodle Dandy*, etc.). Finally, it must be stressed again that Coppola's ego is terrifying: identifying himself with a visionary inventor like Preston Tucker is, given his own checkered career as a director, not merely offensive, but close to obscene.
Rating: Summary: DVD starts instantly Review: I agree with the others about the film, and I just have to add this... Almost all DVDs these days force you to sit through minutes on end of animated logos and warnings of copyright laws and smallpox. This DVD, literally two seconds after you pop it in, you have the DVD menu! Please, DVD engineers, I implore you, follow this example. We know you are very good and fancy, but we *really* don't want all your fancy animations slowing us down every time we start or stop something, or select a different option. If you want to make art, make art. If you want to make a user interface, make a user interface!
Rating: Summary: The best movie nobody's seen. Review: I am an economics teacher in Ohio and I used this movie to display the effects of corporations, monopolies, and entrepreneurs. While the video works well for class, it is also quite entertaining. My students were riveted by Jeff Bridge's command performance as well as the realistic plot, not to mention the terrific soundtrack. You will not be disappointed by Tucker!
Rating: Summary: The Greatest Movie in the whole wide world Review: I don't have the movie but i recorded on Turner Classic Movies.It is the best movie ever!
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