Cheap A Good Year (Widescreen Edition) (DVD) (Ridley Scott) Price

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Customer Reviews of A Good Year (Widescreen Edition)

Relentless stock broker finds out what life if all about
Russell Crowe plays an ambitious British stockbroker who gets his highs from making clever moves on the stock exchange, regardless of what effect his actions have on other people. He inherits his uncle's estate and winery in France and goes there in order to prepare it for sale. Instead his return brings back memories of happy times spent with his uncle and a reacqauintance with a kinder, gentler way of life. The scenery is breathtaking, the acting is good and the premise is interesting, but some parts of the movie were hard to understand. There is a question about the quality of the wine produced in Crowe's inherited estate, and whether it was the screenplay, the actors' accents or a confusing script, we were not always sure as to where the plot was turning and what was happening. The best things about the movie were Russell Crowe and the beautiful scenery.

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A Good Year
Another Ridley Scott triamph. An excellent story told well and filmed magnificiently. Have just visiy=ted the south of France and this movie drought it all back. A good people story. Wonderful

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Good luck being granted a second date if you took her to this on your FIRST date
I gave two stars to this movie for exactly two benefits I gained from watching it. These benefits are illustrated by the next two paragraphs. <
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>There is absolutely beautiful cinematography. Depictions of Provence, a region of France adjacent to both the Mediterranean Sea and Italy, were bountiful and beautiful. Director Ridley Scott's showcasing of the scenes representing Provence is enough to make one consider clicking the "complete order" button for a 14-day European vacation extravaganza. <
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>That catchy little tune by Alizee, "Moi Lolita", made a brief appearance in the movie which catapulted the song back into my consciousness. The song, of course, is one of many attempts by the media to capitalize on the cultural sensation of Vladimir Nabokov's controversial novel, "Lolita", but that is another story entirely. <
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>*plot summation information below* <
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>The essence of the story is the tired cliché of greedy, amoral pig finding meaning, love, and purpose via the simple equation of: abandoned family estate + attractive native love interest + beautiful French countryside = happiness. <
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>Max (Russell Crowe) is a wildly successful but unscrupulous power broker, who never met a market he didn't want to manipulate. Following a particularly successful business adventure, his assistant clues him in to the possibility that he is at risk of being investigated by the trade regulatory commission. As a partial solution, she and his superiors recommend that he take a temporary leave of absence from the company, preferably out of the country, until the heat dies down. <
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>As luck would have it, Max's uncle recently died in Provence, and since he left no will, the winery previously under his care is automatically bequeathed to Max, as he is the closest known relative. <
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>*end plot summation information* <
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>Many have complained about the sheer predictability of the plot, and that is definitely a negative aspect of this film, but not necessarily a terminal one. What did kill my enjoyment of the film is the utterly nonsensical editing. <
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>Scenes flash by without any semblance of explanation. Cut to a conversation, seemingly for no reason at all, explain nothing, and then cut do the next scene just as one is beginning to soak up the scenery. Include several characters in scenes without any actual suggested or implied reason for their placement there. Speed up the action in one or two semi-montage scenes in the vein of a physical-comedy film, with no pre- or post-scene comedic introduction or resolution. Finally, splice in a post-"fin" scene which could only be described as surreal. <
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>In essence, this movie was 200 mini-films spliced into one. At least, that's the impression I got, and it totally destroyed my suspension of disbelief. <
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>There are other negatives: the lame stereotyping (of secretaries, of Americans, of European humor), plots that go nowhere ("good"/"bad" wine secret "conspiracy"), and humor attempts which can only be labeled as "wince-inducing", among many, many other detrimental attributes. <
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>Romantic comedy lovers: this is neither romantic nor funny, so if you just HAVE to see the handsome Russell Crowe or the beautiful Marion Cotillard, buy a poster instead. <
>"Gladiator" or "Black Hawk Down" fans: no, even with the breakneck editing, it is still not an action movie. <
>Scenery fans: turn off the audio, fast-forward to the "scenery" scenes, and keep the Semillon flowing...I would recommend three bottles per person. <
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>Not even worth renting, unless your friend has already rented it, AND you have cleaned all the gunk you could reasonably be expected to clean out of your fingernails already.