Neighbors
|
Our Price: $39.87 Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Buy Used: from $10.95 (click here) Category: VHS Video See more movie releases |
|---|
Buy this VHS video movie at online store in your country
Canada
Canada
VHS Movie Reviews of Neighbors
Movie Review: I Like Weird Movies!
Summary: 5 Stars
I'm a fan of both John Belushi and Dan Aykroyd so I wached this movie Neighbors and it was like nothing I had ever seen before. It was a very weird movie but I liked it and I have read that a lot of critics didn't think it was a good idea that John Belushi and Dan Aykroyd decided to trade characters with John playing the roll that was written for Dan and vise versa, I actually thought it was wonderful and and highly entertaining and Belushi was great as his character Earl and Aykroyd was a riot in his over the top performance as his creepy neighbor Vic! I would recommend this movie to every fan of Belushi, Aykroyd and SNL and I hope that this movie gets released onto a DVD, in widecreen and with extra features! After I watched the movie I found out that it was based on a book so I went to a used bookstore and bought the book Neighbors by Thomas Berger and it was good and I noticed that the movie was pretty faithful to it and the book is even weirder then the movie and Vic and Ramona even more bizarre and Earl's wife and daughter even more obnoxious!Movie Review: Pretentious
Summary: 2 Stars
I saw this movie years ago shortly after it was released in video. Belushi and Ackroyd had made a pretty good name for their cooperative efforts back then and virtually anything they did was going to draw a pretty good crowd. A lot of that had to do with the fact that these guys were pretty darn funny. However, that fact alone doesn't guarantee success and "Neighbors" was a good example.
For me, "black humor" is something along the lines of "Dr. Strangelove" and there have been a lot of great movies that came close to that standard. However, the "black humor" that this movie supposedly delivers is just a bunch of mindless, quasi-violent chaos. I didn't care for it but, obviously, many people did. What really got me about this movie was the opening statement that was shown before the cast and credits. I don't know if this is still a part of the movie but back then this statement appeared that said that "Neighbors" was based on a highly esteemed off-Broadway play. It went on to expand briefly on the high praise the critics gave it. I sat there reading that and realized that these guys knew they had a turkey but that they wanted to shame everyone from figuring it out for themselves. I've been waiting for the opportunity and after all these years, I'm proud to say that "Neighbors" is a highly mediocre film
Movie Review: I'm not alone anymore...
Summary: 5 Stars
Wow, I thought I was the only person on the planet that loves this movie. I am pleasantly surprised to see so many reviews here (positive, no less). When I tell people this is my all-time favorite dark comedy, they have no idea what I'm talking about. "Neighbors...what's that?"
For those not in the know, here is the basic story: Earl (Belushi) lives on the end of this cul de sac which appears to be in the middle of nowhere. There are only two homes on the street. Earl lives in one and the other is vacant. There's a swamp in the yard (how cool is that?!) and there are these dangerous-looking power lines running through the back yard emitting bolts of electicity every few minutes.
The movie begins with Earl coming home with his wife from a hard day of work. He's this ultra-conservative guy with a boring evening routine. As he sits in front of his TV to watch the evening news (as his wife prepares dinner in the kitchen) he hears a car door slam shut. Minutes later, the door bell rings (ding, dong). Enter the new neighbors, Vick and Ramona. Get ready for a ride! The next 24 hours gets interesting. Little ol' Earl has his life turned totally upside down by these crazy, crazy new neighbors. I mean, these neighbors don't even sleep!
This is a must-see for anyone who loves dark or offbeat comedies. Watch this with an opened mind and enjoy the ride!
Movie Review: Neighbors
Summary: 5 Stars
A real classic of dark comedy! Brilliant role reversal with Belushi and Akroyd. One could watch this movie 100 x's and find something new to laugh at everytime! Highly recommended!Movie Review: Best Black Comedy Ever - and the musical Score...!
Summary: 5 Stars
I'm glad to see so many people love this film. It truly is brilliant. I have loved it since first seeing it on HBO in the early 80's. I remember when it first came out, all my friends were so disappointed that it wasn't like Animal House. In fact, it got so many bad reviews that I never went to the theater to see it.
It has since become my most loved film; I know every line. The reviews I have read here already expound beautifully on the movie's brilliance as a Black Comedy, so I won't try to elaborate any further.
Rather, my main reason for writing is because no one has mentioned Bill Conti's wonderful musical score. (Bill Conti wrote the theme from "Rocky," among many other things) This is some of the most brilliant and creative film music I've ever heard. When I was a student at Berklee College of Music in the 1980's, this score was used as a "textbook" case study by the Film Scoring department. The masterful use of leit motifs and "Mickey Mousing" (taken from cartoon scoring of the 40's and 50's where the music mimicks the on-screen action), along with the multitude of original melodic and harmonic compositions, makes it, in my opinion, one of the finest and most ambitious film scoring efforts of its time.
In fact, I would go so far as to say that the score for Neighbors IS cartoon music. It was probably intended to be as such.
This is the classic film scoring "style," if you will - played in orchestral form, usually conducted "to picture" by the composer. This means that the entire orchestra is seated in a big recording studio with a screen behind them on which the movie is played. The composer then conducts the ensemble by watching the "live" action.
There is so much going on musically here, that I would really need part of a semester to disseminate it, but next time you watch the movie, listen to all the incredible detail in the music. I especially love the minor-key reharmonization of "No Place Like Home," and all the other themes and leit motifs he created, often with 2 or more variations of each. (A leit motif is essentially a character's own theme music - Earl's is always played with a trombone to impart the feeling that he's a chubby, hapless victim, while Vic's is played with a creepy Theremin sound).
I also love the scene where Earl comes out of "The Swamp" - this is classic 1950's Sci-Fi thriller music - maybe even borrowed from "The Creature From the Black Lagoon" or some other film of that era.
While watching this film recently, I realized just how important Mr. Conti's music really is to the film. It wouldn't be the same movie without it, and that is the film composer's ultimate goal - to create a score that becomes as much a part of the film as the visual elements, while also supporting character development and providing continuity that binds the whole story together.
Bill Conti achieved that and so much more in spades here.