Mommie Dearest (Hollywood Royalty/Special Collector's Edition)
by Frank Perry
List Price:
Our Price: $4.49
You Save: $8.49 (65%)
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Buy Used: from $4.39 (click here)
Category: DVD
See more DVD details
Buy this DVD movie at online store in your country
Canada
Canada
DVD details
Actor: Diana Scarwid, Faye Dunaway, Howard Da Silva, Mara Hobel, Steve ForrestDirector: Frank Perry
Brand: PARAMOUNT HOME VIDEO
Writer: Frank Perry
Producer: David Koontz
Producer: Frank Yablans
Writer: Frank Yablans
Writer: Christina Crawford
Writer: Robert Getchell
Writer: Tracy Hotchner
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Subtitled); Portuguese (Original Language); French (Original Language), Dolby Digital 1.0
Format: Color, DVD, NTSC, Widescreen
Picture Format: 1.85:1
Running Time: 129 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2006-06-06
Audience Rating: PG (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Studio: Paramount
DVD Reviews of Mommie Dearest (Hollywood Royalty/Special Collector's Edition)
DVD Review: Infamous Movie Version Of The Highly Sensational Tell-All Biography By Christina Crawford
Summary: 4 Stars
While I have an absolute horror of any kind of child abuse I find that the film version of Christina Crawford's notorious book on growing up in the far from happy household of movie legend Joan Crawford is fascinating and indeed quite addictive viewing. Long adored by the "camp", film going community, "Mommie Dearest", is undoubtedly remembered for all the wrong reasons and I feel a viewing of it is like watching a multi car pile up in slow motion; you can't stand to see what's about to happen but you can't take your eyes off it. Being a devoted fan of Joan Crawford and her incredible Hollywood career spanning almost five decades I'm of course horrified at the way both the book and film tore her reputation to shreds. In order to be able to enjoy Faye Dunaway's wild performance as Joan Crawford whether it be total fiction or very close to the truth, I tend to separate this film from the real life movie legend and just go with all the over the top fun that makes "Mommie Dearest", such entertaining viewing. Faye Dunaway I believe is incredible in the title role despite it being far removed from how the character was originally planned to be depicted during the film's planning stage. The film certainly has a lavish look to it as befitting a major Paramount production and is filled with first rate period recreation, sensational costumes, and sets. On the camp side of things however it is a film littered with outrageous lines, bizzare laugh out loud dramatics, and two very scary abuse scenes that still send shivers up my spine. "Mommie Dearest", makes totally eye opening viewing of the first order and whether or not it accurately depicts the Hollywood Diva in a truthful light, it is essential viewing for any fans of old Hollywood and movie stars in general.
Is this story fact or fiction? I guess the majority of us will never really know. Considering the very divided opinions even from close contemporaries of Crawford's I have to assume "Mommie Dearest", holds some truths, however over the top they are depicted here, and also contains much that is fiction. The film certainly has remained in the public eye all these years since its release in 1981 because of its outrageous excesses and especially because of the white hot manic performance from Faye Dunaway in the lead role of Joan Crawford. Personally I couldn't imagine any other actress playing this part and Dunaway seems to be one of the few modern actresses that still seems to possess that old "Movie Queen", persona that is so apt here. In her performance she is at times savage, frightening, tragic, and yes even in a couple of short instances extremely vulnerable which makes it a riverting viewing experience. Of course the main joy of watching "Mommie Dearest", is in witnessing Faye Dunaway uttering some of the campiest and most unforgettably hilarious lines ever in a major motion picture. They alone deservedly earned the film an honoured place in the camp hall of fame. Who can forget Faye/Joan firing off such gems as,
"If you can't do something well DON'T do it at all!",
"If you want to clean the floor you need to MOVE the tree!",
"Helga I'm not mad at you, I'm mad at the dirt!". (My favourite),
"Tina! Bring me the axe",
"Damm it! I may as well have "Property of MGM", tattooed on my backside!"
"I might have know you'd know where to find the booze AND the boys"
and how could any viewer ever forget their first shocked reaction to the now infamous,
"Don't f..k with me Fellas!!"
Beside all this the supporting players certainly have their work cut out for them trying to get a look in. Rutanya Alda as the (fictional) loyal personal attendant Carol Ann manages in her calm way to actually make an impression against the Dunaway juggernaut and both Mara Hobel and Diana Scarwid who play Christina at different ages make an interesting team in bringing this obviously very complex and troubled character to the screen. The story begins in 1939 during production of one of Joan Crawford's lesser efforts in "Ice Follies of 1939", and progresses right through to Joan's death in 1977. Many aspects of her life are noticeably cut out in the film version such as the fact that Joan had two younger children who she also adapted, while Crawford's exit from MGM as depicted in the film is fictional as it was Joan herself who when going through one of her famed "reinventions", actually pulled the plug on MGM. Production wise Paramount went all out and spared no expense in bringing "Mommie Dearest", to the screen. The period recreation of the eras stretching from the late 1930's right up to the mid 1970's is first rate and the sets recreating Crawford's lavish Hollywood home, the MGM studios, and 1950's New York are certainly among the film's major strong points and often stand out in stark contrast to the rather trashy proceedings on screen,. Special mention I feel also needs to be directed towards famed costume designer Irene Sharaff's magnificent clothes for the film. With a long brilliant designing career in Hollywood already behind her I believe her costumes here rival in magnificence and attention to detail her earlier stunning work on 1963's "Cleopatra". Considering the total destruction this film and the earlier book did to Crawford's memory, Sharaff's creations alone certainly did the real life Movie Queen Joan Crawford proud and at least helped preserve her reputation as one of Hollywood's best dressed women during its far off golden age.
Description of Mommie Dearest (Hollywood Royalty/Special Collector's Edition)
Outrageous and controversial, this is the story of legendary movie star Joan Crawford (Faye Dunaway) as she struggles for her career and battles the inner demons of her private life. This torment was manifested in her relationships with her adopted children, Christina (Diana Scarwid) and Christopher (Xander Berkeley). The public Crawford was a strong-willed, glamorous object of admiration, but Mommie Dearest reveals the private Crawford, the woman desperate to be a mother, adopting her children when she was single and trying to survive in a devastating industry that swallows careers thoughtlessly. The rage, the debilitating strain, and the terrifying descent into alcoholism and child abuse are graphically - and unforgettably ? depicted in this film, based upon Christina Crawford's best-selling book.The movie that made "No wire hangers!" a household phrase, Mommie Dearest is the very model of a modern "camp classic," so crazily outlandish that it's fascinating. Based on the scathing and scandalous tell-all bestseller by Christina Crawford, the adopted daughter of histrionic Hollywood movie queen Joan Crawford, Mommie Dearest was billed in advance as a serious dramatic motion-picture biography. But it turned out to be something much, much weirder--a genuine Hollywood oddity that serves up a bizarre mixture of melodramatic trash and outrageous tragi-comedy. Joan Crawford won an Oscar for playing the role of the self-sacrificing mother, the woman who would do anything for her daughter, in Mildred Pierce. As depicted by Faye Dunaway (playing the hell out of the role as if she's determined to win another Oscar of her own, damn it!), her role as offscreen parent puts her in a league with big-time scary screen mommies such as Mrs. Bates in Psycho, and Angela Lansbury's über-mom in The Manchurian Candidate. Dunaway's Crawford torments and terrorizes her adopted children in myriad ways--making them give away their own birthday gifts and rousting them from their beds for frantic after-midnight bathroom-scrubbing attacks. And when, after the death of her Pepsico chairman husband, Crawford tells the board of directors, "Don't f--- with me, fellas!" one is very much inclined to heed her warning. --Jim Emerson
Bestsellers in DVD
![The Story of Jeremiah [VHS] Image](/images/noimg.gif)
The Story of Jeremiah [VHS]Vision Video; VHS Tape; VHS Video
Wresting With God [VHS]by Vision Video
Vision Video; Published: 1990-10-01; VHS Tape; VHS Video
Price in other shops:
Study Bible Video with Workbook [VHS]Spring Arbor Distributors; VHS Tape; VHS Video
Best price: $7.95
Price in other shops:
Tempo:Childrens TV Favourites Video [VHS]HarperCollins Audio; VHS Tape; VHS Video
Best price: $9.17
Price in other shops:
Tempo.Herbs:Parseley'Sb/ Party Video [VHS]HarperCollins Audio; VHS Tape; VHS Video
![Strike the Original Match [VHS] Image](/images/Strike-the-Original-Match-VHS-0001374079-X.jpg)
Strike the Original Match [VHS]New Liberty Films; VHS Tape; VHS Video
Price in other shops:
![Medjugorje The Miracles and the Message [VHS] Image](/images/Medjugorje-The-Miracles-and-the-Message-VHS-0001373293-X.jpg)
Medjugorje The Miracles and the Message [VHS]JPN Film Production; Release date: 1995-12-15; VHS Tape; VHS Video
Best price: $29.99
Mayo Clinic Echocardiography Review Course for Boards and Recertification DVD 2008by Mayo
DVD
Price in other shops:
Pediatric Diagnostic Imaging DVD: Single Userby Oakstone
DVD
Price in other shops:
Cost Accounting [VHS]by Charles T. Horngren, George Foster, Srikant M. Datar, Howard Teall
Pearson Canada, Toronto; VHS Tape; VHS Video
Similar DVDs, VHS Video, Audio CDs
The Burning BedFAWCETT,FARRAH; Release date: 2004-09-07; DVD
Best price: $7.11
Price in other shops:
The Three Faces of EveTCFHE; Release date: 2004-10-05; DVD
Best price: $6.36
Price in other shops:
Hush...Hush, Sweet CharlotteDAVIS,BETTE; Release date: 2005-08-09; DVD
Best price: $7.14
Price in other shops:
The Incredible Shrinking WomanRelease date: 2010-01-11; DVD
Best price: $17.49
Price in other shops:
Imitation of LifeTURNER,LANA; Release date: 2003-01-07; DVD
Best price: $7.83
Price in other shops:
Sybil (Two-Disc Special Edition)FIELD,SALLY; Release date: 2006-07-18; DVD
Best price: $15.99
Price in other shops:
Bad Seed, TheWarner Brothers; Release date: 2011-01-25; DVD
Best price: $3.21
Price in other shops:
Mildred Pierce (Keepcase)Warner Brothers; Release date: 2006-08-29; DVD
Best price: $5.99
Price in other shops:
What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? (Two-Disc Special Edition)Warner Brothers; Release date: 2006-05-30; DVD
Best price: $11.39
Price in other shops:
Flowers in the AtticIMG; Release date: 2011-09-20; DVD
Best price: $5.69
Price in other shops: