Rating: 
Summary: The DVD version has been edited and is shorter than the VHS.
Review: I've saw this movie on VHS a long time ago. I saw it again on DVD recently and I have noticed that it has been re-edited and shortened. In the longer version, the Jeremy Irons character at the beginning of the film is in his old age. He visits his old farmhouse with his daughter and remembers the years gone past. The movie then goes into a flashback and tells the story from his youth.In the DVD version, the entire opening scene is omitted and the story is told from the beginning. Therefore there is NO suggestion of a flashback. The edited out opening scene is quite poignant and gives more insight into the Jeremy Irons character. Decent and interesting film none the less. Hopefully the studio will release it in it's original unedited version with extras.
Rating: 
Summary: I wanted to like this movie
Review: The description sounded interesting and there are so many great names in the cast. Ultimately, though, I thought the movie was a muddled mess. Things like Clara's supernatural powers are brought up but never developed and do not affect the story - if Clara hadn't seen anything unusual, nothing would have been different in the movie since she never attempted to prevent anything she foresaw. Esteban's hateful attitude toward his sister and his willingness to rape the peasant women and beat his wife are dropped and he becomes a "nice" man by the end, though he was SO bad, his conversion rang hollow. The sister curses Esteban, and in a story with supernatural elements, you expect this to set up later events, but it doesn't. Although the voiceovers (quite lame) try to make the point that life happens so fast, we don't pay enough attention to the details (or something like that), the movie does exactly that. It skims along the surface of 3 generations of events, and the details that ARE brought up, like Clara's powers, her relationship with Ferula, the [illegitimate] son, or the curse, are simply left undeveloped. A lumbering waste of time. I hope the cast enjoyed the experience of making it far more than I enjoyed the experience of watching it.
Rating:
Summary: the house of spirits
Review: The dvd is a shame! I didn't even buy it! Why?
Because there was some users comments on the Amazon.com page reporting that the film in this dvd version was edited, changing the begining of the movie (absurd!). Executives shoudn't keep changing movies just because the digital technologies allow them to! Moreover, it shoudn't be fomated from its widescreen version to the 4x3 TV format. Leave the movies untouched!
Rating:
Summary: La Casa de los Espiritus, de Allende
Review: The movie is really really beautiful! I love the original "widescreen" version of the film!
But ARTISAN made this horrible transfer from the beautiful original widescreen version into a "standard version" to fit the screen of a TV. That was very sad!
The movie is absolutely beautiful, and deserves 5 stars, but this edition of the DVD by ARTISAN deserves one star or less.
Why do these companies, like ARTISAN and others, have to "mutilate" the beauty of the widescreen original films?
A horrible act of "mutilation", indeed!
Anyway, it is the only fomat availabe in DVD.
Rating: 
Summary: I still prefer the book
Review: This 1993 film is based on Isabel Allende's best selling novel. It tells the story of the sweeping changes that occurred in Latin America during in the past century. Mostly though, it tells the story of a family through the generations. There's passion, cruelty and greed. And there's also redemption and love. Meryl Streep is cast as Clara, a woman with the gift of clairvoyance who grows up to marry Esteban played by Jeremy Irons. He's become a wealthy landholder who treats his workers badly and takes advantage of the women. Winona Ryder is their daughter who falls in love with Antonio Banderas, a young revolutionary, and Glen Close is Esteban's spinster sister. That's quite a cast. And they all do excellent jobs. The story engaged me and kept me watching. It was interesting to see how the characters developed and how the country changed. There are many moments of high drama and conflict but my emotions were never stirred and it all played out like one long soap opera. I do recommend the film though, if for no other reason than to gain a historical perspective on Latin America.
Rating:
Summary: High drama and conflict but it didn't stir my emotions
Review: This 1993 film is based on Isabel Allende's best selling novel. It tells the story of the sweeping changes that occurred in Latin America during in the past century. Mostly though, it tells the story of a family through the generations. There's passion, cruelty and greed. And there's also redemption and love. Meryl Streep is cast as Clara, a woman with the gift of clairvoyance who grows up to marry Esteban played by Jeremy Irons. He's become a wealthy landholder who treats his workers badly and takes advantage of the women. Winona Ryder is their daughter who falls in love with Antonio Banderas, a young revolutionary, and Glen Close is Esteban's spinster sister. That's quite a cast. And they all do excellent jobs. The story engaged me and kept me watching. It was interesting to see how the characters developed and how the country changed. There are many moments of high drama and conflict but my emotions were never stirred and it all played out like one long soap opera. I do recommend the film though, if for no other reason than to gain a historical perspective on Latin America.
Rating:
Summary: I still prefer the book
Review: This is indeed a beautiful film, with scenic locations and a brilliant cast. I actually did like the movie a lot (though I was often surprised by their choice of actors). However, I'm left with a small dilemma. Having read the book, I find the ending and character deleting disappointing--I believe that an important commentary on love is over looked because Blanca was chosen to be the narrator and story ender, not Alba (those who have read the book should refer to Alba's lover, his sister, and her relation to Alba's uncles). However, I don't believe this would be an easy film to watch without already knowing the storyline and characters.
As mostly happens with movies made from books, I believe the book is better. However, given how difficult it is to make a movie from a magic realist text, this movie is wonderful. All the seemingly mismatched pieces fall together in a breathless poignant portrait of a family--a country--dealing with a changing world, violence, and finally, forgiveness.
On a side note: the military coup shown in this movie/book began a terrifyingly violent time period in which the bloody dictator Pinochet came into power. The resources needed for the coup were provided by the United States.
Rating:
Summary: Burning Bridges
Review: This was a totally engrossing movie spanning generations of history and complex family relationships and social issues of the third world. The main character is a facinating bridge burner who ascends in riches while decending into social purgatory. Well acted (except maybe by Winonna). Well staged. Incredible make up work (should have won an Oscar). The implied incest and (not implied) child nudity were gratuitious. If not for that I would have given it 5 stars.
Rating:
Summary: Burning Bridges
Review: This was a totally engrossing movie spanning generations of history and complex family relationships and social issues of the third world. The main character is a facinating bridge burner who ascends in riches while decending into social purgatory. Well acted (except maybe by Winonna). Well staged. Incredible make up work (should have won an Oscar). The implied incest and (not implied) child nudity were gratuitious. If not for that I would have given it 5 stars.
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