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Life with Judy Garland - Me and My Shadows

Life with Judy Garland - Me and My Shadows

List Price: $14.99
Your Price: $11.99
Product Info Reviews

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Rating: 4 stars
Summary: A one-sided treatment, but...
Review: This is a pretty favorable treatment of the life of Judy Garland, at least from the standpoint of the role daughter Lorna Luft played in the context of growing up with a mother who became a legend in her own time. Lorna does, after all, narrate this thing, and as a result, you get the feeling that this is going to place herself and her father, Sid Luft, in the best possible light.

What makes this video worthwhile -- enough worth owning -- is that, flaws and all, it is still by far the BEST overall bio-pic available about Judy Garland. The firestorm of moods is all on display here, particularly with Judy Davis' spectacular (with a capital "S") performance covering Judy's post-adolescent years.

The music is incredible, the lip-synching is flawless and the re-creations are bulletproof to criticism. My aggravations associated with the near invisibility of daughter Liza Minnelli in her mother's life (she did tour with her didn't she? Sang with her, didn't she? But there's very little evidence of it here other than the notion that Liza was more career-focused and by implication, more selfish, compared to beloved daughter Lorna) -- were far outweighed by the sheer hypnotic delivery of the songs by both Tammy Blanchard and Judy Davis.

No one had a voice like Judy's, a true original, and thankfully for fans and non-fans alike, there's enough here that is jammed-packed great to make you overlook the "transitions" that act as bridges between songs. Certainly, you get the impression that Lorna's father, Sid Luft, was Judy's true love. Whether it was or not, this is Lorna's view, and the magnificent actor Victor Garber certainly makes a dashing and strong case on her behalf playing Mr. Luft.

Without Lorna's participation, this production would not have come to be and certainly the use of Judy's own voice could not be replicated by any other actress, living or dead. Judy Davis' performance is hands down riveting and wonderful.

And I don't want to overlook Tammy Blanchard, who plays "young Judy" to perfection. The Wizard of Oz sequences with "Over the Rainbow" literally have you, sorry, here comes the obvious, "over the moon," in their seeming authenticity. The magic of these early sequences are so precious that I must admit that when Judy Davis comes into the movie, the effect was jarring for several minutes, so unlike in appearance she is to Judy G. until the story reaches into Garland's "later years."

In sum, don't worry about the one-sided treatment and be satisfied about being transfixed listening to a voice for the ages. Never dull or boring, equal parts unsentimental and sentimental, "Me and My Shadows" stands as the best epic thus far about the life of Judy Garland. I'm sure Liza would have differed with many of the story elements presented, but there's no doubt she would NOT have quarreled with how "mama" is portrayed.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: wow
Review: THis is one of the best movies ever made. Judis Davids plays perfectly Judy Garland. She won the emmy as did tammy for playing the young judy. I was mad and suprized when it lost best miniseries to anne frank which was good but not that great.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Over the Rainbow with Judy Garland
Review: This movie contains brilliant portrayals of Judy Garland by Judy Davis and Tammy Blanchard. The costumes are amazing; they look exactly like the ones from her concerts and films. I also have to "give a hand" to Lorna Luft, Judy's daughter, who wrote the book, and co-produced the movie. It was nice to finally see a biographic picture on Judy that was written by someone who actually knew her; and not only knew her; she's her daughter. The re-creations of her movies are spectacular; this film deserved it's 5 Emmies. Any fan of Judy Garland, or of the golden actresses of Hollywood, should definitely get this film. Highly recommended.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Wonderful Performace by Judy Davis! (Yeah!)
Review: This movie is a great movie, that showcases Judy Garland's life both on screen and off screen. Watchnig the out-takes of "Wizard of Oz" really made the young Tammy Blanchard look like the real Judy Garland and Dorothy, really :)
I guess the only sad thing about this movie is the sceans where it shows Judy had him and taking too many pills at one time. That is really hard to bear! But for the most part it's a very entertaining film and I will always enjoy watching it again and again. You will love Judy Davis (lip-syncing) "Somewhere Over The Rainbow" it's marvelous!

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: A True Pleasure
Review: This movie is an incredable vision of the life of the Great Judy Garland. Lorna's story in intreging, and Robert Ackerman's casting is almost scary. Judy Davis captures Garland in a drop dropping way. Her acting and this film are ingenius!

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: BRILLIANT !!!! AN INSTANT STANDING OVATION !!!!!
Review: This movie left me breathless, I did not know much about the real Judy Garland until i saw this movie and the amazing performances by Judy (Davis) Tammy, and the rest of the cast.
They all deserved all the awards they've got, it was WONDERFUL!
I have seen this movie over and over and over, it never gets tiring. love it! love it! looooove it!

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Bringing her back...
Review: This was a Herculean feat, daring to bring back the greatest singing star of the last century. Fortunately, through the brilliant vision of the director, the guiding hand of her daughter, and Judy Davis in a performance of a lifetime, they manage to succeed on all accounts. "Me and My Shadows" is worthy of all the accolades.

Starting with the dramatic and angst filled life of Judy herself, the tale starts appropriately from the moment she stepped onstage to the moment she left it 47 years later. From the highs of her performance in the Wizard of Oz and later on, Carnegie Hall, to the lows of suicide attempts and her battle with drugs, this movie weaves a dramatic story that at times would be bold and unbelieable had it not actually happened. Judy's life was a roller coaster, but in it, moments of genuiness and brillance that only insiders, and now us, knew.

The outstanding performances of both Tammy Blanchard and Judy Davis amaze us from the moments they appear on screen. Tammy nails the young Judy perfectly, and you never doubt it one minute. This actress has an amazing range. Passing off the baton midway, Judy Davis runs as if her life depends on it. Her portrayal of the legend is dead on, spookily accurate, and inspiring. Not only does she look like her, but her concert performances are so realisitic you'd believe it was concert footage if not for the modern camera work. Judy Davis' recreation of Judy's "Over the Rainbow" in tramp costume is touching and true. Both women deserve all the awards for performance possible.

Some criticisms: the last part of the film seems to bog down a bit as it switches focus from Judy to her daughter Lorna's story. While understandable, especially since Ms. Luft was so instrumental in making the film, it seems to lose a bit of steam. You desparately want to stay with Judy, but she diminishes a little bit as Lorna grows up. Also, the commentary track on the DVD is wonderful, save one thought. Many times during it, the director Robert Ackerman often talks over Lorna, interrupts her, and comes across as being more of an expert about Judy than her own daughter. While that might be true, I would have enjoyed Lorna's story much more as an original source, and wished Ackerman would let her speak more.

Other than that, with the price and the quality of the performances, you cannot go wrong including this screen jewel in your DVD collection.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Judy Davis's best screen role!
Review: This will be probably what Judy Davis will be remembered for. She captures the exuberence of Garland almost to perfection. She absolutely deserved that Emmy. She worked so hard, you can tell. Also congratulations to Tammy Blanchard, who played the teenage Judy Garland. The "Oz" scenes look spooky because she has that little something extra that made her just right for that part. Everyone in the movie is perfectly cast, including both Judy Garlands, Victor Garber (Sid Luft), John Hickey (Roger Edens), Hugh Laurie (Vincente Minnelli), and for some comic relief Sonja Smits (Kay Thompson). This movie is destined to become a classic.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Davis and Blanchard shine as Garland!
Review: This, the second of 2 tv movies based on Judy's life(Rainbow being the first), definitely shines. Judy Garland is not the eaisestn of roles to play due to the complexities of her persona and talent. Judy Davis and Tammy Blanchard richly deserve their Emmies for their portrayal of Judy Garland. They manage to capture her essence like no one else has. True, the movie was filled with historical inaccuracies, but that can be forgiven, for the fact that this movie manages to portray Judy as she really was. A definite must have for all Judy fans and a great primer for those just starting out in learning about her.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: amazing bio-pic
Review: To say this film is good is an incredible understatement. What makes it so good is the jaw-dropping performances of its two Judys, Tammy Blanchard and Judy Davis. Ms. Blanchard plays Judy early in her life, up to Meet Me in St. Louis, and does one whale of a job. Her physical resemblance at times is eerie. Judy Davis portrays Judy from that film to the end, and HER resemblance is frightening! It's as if she 'channeled' the real Garland onto film. The concert performances were understandably lip-synced, but you feel as if you are watching actual concert footage. These two fine actresses each deserved and received emmies for their work, and the whole production should have received more. Knowing how Garland's life ended, I still broke down at the end, because it seemed like viewing history as it happened. This film is well-worth buying, and viewing over and over.


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