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Washington Square
 
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Washington Square

Jennifer Jason Leigh (Actor), Albert Finney (Actor), Agnieszka Holland (Director) | Rated: PG (Parental Guidance Suggested) | Format: DVD
2.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)

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In biographies written before 1990, Jennifer Jason Leigh claims to have been born in 1958. Recently, she's changed that to 1962. In either case, she definitely looks a bit odd in this 1998 release playing a 20-year-old opposite the youthful Ben Chaplin. Even stranger is the fact that she's been cast as the ugly girl; after all, she was voted one of America's 10 most beautiful women by Harper's Bazaar. Still, this film captures to a T the Henry James novel on which it is based. The story concerns Catherine Sloper, a 19th-century heiress whose father disapproves of the man she loves. In a twisty plot, questions are raised about both her father's and her suitor's motives, and Catherine must untangle the connections between love and money. This provides fodder for Henry James's critiques of the shallowness and sexism of his society. Some find James's work stiff, self-important, and a bit dull, while others see him as the most astute social critic of his time, so your enjoyment of this film may be a matter of taste. But it's definitely a period piece done right, which is to say that it fully captures its era, and never stoops to anachronisms that would interrupt the viewer's sense of an older, crueler world. --James DiGiovanna

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Customer Reviews

8 Reviews
5 star:
 (2)
4 star:
 (1)
3 star:    (0)
2 star:
 (1)
1 star:
 (4)
 
 
 
 
 
Average Customer Review
2.5 out of 5 stars (8 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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1.0 out of 5 stars Poor acting and an altered script, Oct 14 2009
By 
Phoebe (Montreal) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)   
Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: Washington Square (DVD)
I greatly regretted buying this film because Jennifer Jason Leigh seemed not to have read James's novella. James's Catherine is described as seeming older than her age, and while she is not particularly intelligent, beautiful, or imaginative, she is solid and capable of speaking sensibly. The actress, on the other hand, behaves as though she is mentally challenged and a child. In addition, the film maker added scenes that did not exist in the book, such as having the pudgy young Catherine urinate on the carpet while her disgusted father and his guests look on. Furthermore, the scene in which Catherine's father approaches the young man's sister is altered completely, which is particularly disturbing, because the original offered a clear view of the nature of the lover's interest in Catherine.

I agree with an earlier reviewer that it made no sense to alter a masterpiece.
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1.0 out of 5 stars No thought put into this dvd release, Sep 6 2002
By 
Michael G. Haynes (Waterford, MI USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
This review is from: Washington Square (DVD)
I was really looking forward to this movie release on dvd as this was one of my favorite films the year it came out. I couldn't believe the price! until I saw the finished product. This was truly a waste of a great opportunity to garner more fans of this film. It did seem to sink quietly into obscurity after release though.

What I am upset about is that this dvd is non-anamorphic! That means two things to me. That I am not getting the most resolution possible with my toshiba 34" widescreen tv! and that no new transfer was created for this dvd. It looks from the first few frames as if it is just a recycled laserdisc transfer, dirty and somewhat washed out.

I'm certainly sick and tired of studios thinking they can make a quick buck by foisting inferior products on us, especially when ALL the major new releases are getting anamorphic transfers, special editions, and extras coming out their ear (even if they extras are plenty pitiful).

Do yourself a favor and avoid this release (although the studios will probably take that as a lack of interest in the title rather than a desire for superior craftsmanship).

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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars one of Ben Chaplin's finest films yet!, April 23 2002
By A Customer
This review is from: Washington Square (DVD)
This movie (Washington Square)will take you back to Washington to the days of horse drawn carriages and top hats. This is a film about a 19th century gigolo (Ben Chaplin) who is very charming and handsome and doesn't try to hide his english accent like in Ben Chaplin's resent films where they chop off his hair and cover up his natural english speaking accent. His recent films do him an injustice, but this film (Washington Square) was made before HollyWood had a chance to make him a common actor.
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› Go to Amazon.com to see all 63 reviews  3.7 out of 5 stars 
 
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