Customer Reviews

Ordinary People (Widescreen)

5 star:		(85)
4 star:		(10)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

Let me first say that 5 stars is for the movie ONLY, and NOT the DVD.

This release from Paramount Pictures was sure as heck making alot of the film's fans smile, waiting for the DVD for so long. But yet again we've been swindled by another bare-bones DVD release, with only an original theatrical trailer and a 10 scene chapter selection, which seems utterly ridiculous for a two hour movie; I always end up fast-forwarding to the scene I want. The widescreen transfer is not too bad though. I was very happy to find out that this is a clean, TRUE 1.85:1 widescreen picture (I'm thankful it wasn't matted) that favors the right side of the screen. But as for the audio, it's English mono with hiss and pop throughout the picture, which makes the movie experience half-and-half; the picture clean, the audio scratchy.

Also, for those movie nuts out there who love watching a movie with Closed Captioning will be dissapointed. They are illegitimate at best, which also makes it unfair for the deaf and hard of hearing to enjoy the movie the way it's meant to be. I happen to get really annoyed when I watch a movie with very slow captioning. So then it looks like this:
[Captioning] "After Buck died, dad came into my room. He didn't know what to say. He put his arm around me. We just sat there."
[What He Actually Said] "My father came into my room, an-- and he didn't know what to say. This is-- this is right after Buck died. And, uh, he came over and he sat on the bed right next to me, put his arm around my shoulder, and we just sat there."
I feel that it kills the emotion of what's being said.

It is these kind of DVD releases that make us happy hearing it's coming, and make us dissapointed after the purchase. I'm hoping that Paramount will smarten up in the future and not go forth childishly releasing DVDs with VHS-like quality and lazy Closed Captioning.

2 stars for an OK picture transfer. I just wish it could have been better...

Every once in a while, a film comes along that makes you want to destroy your TV set. This film is it for me. Watching America's sweetheart transform herself into a distant, emotionless, cold woman was almost too much for me. I wanted to throw something at my TV. And I continued to watch, mostly in shock as the story unfolded. The direction was amazing. Robert Redford paced this film to perfection. The score - Pachabel's canon was perfect. The acting was so fantastic, it was unbellievable how believable they were. Timothy Hutton received a well deserved Oscar. Mary Tyler Moore was denied her much deserved oscar for this film. Donald Sutherland and Judd Hirsh put it all together with amazing performances. I just can't say enough; the film left me speechless. It was, in one word, brilliant.

Well, this film is easily one of the best I've ever seen. I saw it for the first time around 1981. It was odd, since i was watching with my own dysfunctional family when I was about 14. It's a film that moves you every time you watch it and you can take away something different each time. This is the mark of superb writing, acting and directing. I can't believe that this was Redford's first attempt at directing. It boggles the mind. Just the natural scenes of suburban Chicago alone are well-done.
Although Mary Tyler Moore, Sutherland and Hirch do fantastic jobs as Conrad's parents and psychiatrist, trying to get inside his head, it was Hutton's performance as Conrad that moved me most. He portrays the son left behind by a brother who died in a boating accident. When the movie begins, Conrad has just returned to "normal" after being in the hospital for months due to a suicide attempt. It is ironic that the title is "ordinary" people as this family is far from ordinary. But Hutton's performance, with both emotionality and such a sense of emptiness is one of the most vivid performances I've ever seen. What ever happened to Tim Hutton anyway ?
Mary Tyler Moore's performance of the cold Beth, who seems to still blame Conrad on her favorite son Buck's death, is impeccable. It really makes sense that you could get performances out of her and Tim Hutton of this caliber since both just lost a relative (she her son and Hutton his father) right before filming. Donald Sutherland really portrays the kind of father everyone wants, let's just admit it. He cares very much about his son ! To the point that he would visit his shrink to learn more about what he's going through. Excellent performance and I still don't know why he wasn't nominated.
I could write a short book about this film. Suffice it to say that everyone should see it, despite whether you view your family of origin as dysfunctional or not. We can all relate to certain themes: hiding feelings, being afraid to face pain, facing pain and not knowing what to do with it, loss of friendship, loss of love, "walking on eggshells" in your own home. Ordinary People is an extraordinary film !

I first saw the movie & then read Judith Guest's book. Both made a deep impression on me. The movie is passionately & beautifully made & all the acting superb.

What most impressed me, however, was that it addresses a vital process -- the psychology of dysfunctional families & of getting counseling through recovery from trauma -- Judd Hirsch intensely plays the psychiatrist.

Almost everyone, in the books I review, could do with a dose of counseling, although it is the rare author who takes this process seriously or considers it worth writing about, & I know from personal experience: counseling does heal, if you use it with that intention.

A Rebeccasreads First Rate Recommendation, certainly a movie which will get you talking afterwards.

This is a mini review of one of my all time top 10 favorite films

Robert Redford's directorial debut is a wonderful adaptation of Judith Guest's novel about a suburban Chicago family in crisis. Redford's direction elicits breakout performances from Tim Hutton, Judd Hirsch, Mary Tyler Moore, and Donald Sutherland.

This drama unfolds in the aftermafth of Conrad Jarrett's (Hutton) attemmpted suicide. The movie chronicles how the entire Jarrett family deal (or don't deal) with the tragic death of Conrad's brother Buck in a boating accident.

The film evenly deals with such difficult family trauma's but does so in a way that at once realistic and hopeful.

"Ordinary People" is one of those films you can watch again and again and still get something new from it. I watched it again the other night (after finally purchasing it on DVD). The performances from Tyler Moore, Sutherland and Hutton are so exceptional that they all deserved oscars.

How does a family deal with the loss of a well-loved son from an accident? Some will shut out their emotions like Tyler-Moore's character, while the son needs to show his emotions, and needs his mother more than ever. However, she is cold towards him, almost blaming him for the death of his brother. Sutherland is the husband and father caught in the middle of it all, who is also trying to deal with his own emotions over the death of his eldest son.

Ordinary People was made in 1980 and directed by Robert Redford. I have seen it at least 5 times now, and consider it a DVD definitely worth owning. Dont hesitate if you are looking for a special movie.

I recently watched this movie for the first time, and I was emotionally on edge for the entire two hours. Rarely does a film surface that so brilliantly tackles repressed human emotion and family tension. The film is very character-driven, especially the roles of Timothy Hutton and Mary Tyler Moore. Hutton plays Conrad, the tormented, suicidal younger son who survived the boating accident that killed his older brother, Buck. Moore is Beth, the icy, anguished mother who cannot forgive her younger son for surviving when Buck, her favorite, perished. Donald Sutherland is Calvin, the father who desperately tries to reconcile his wife and son and promote healing in the family. Judd Hirsch plays Dr. Berger, the psychiatrist who helps Conrad come to terms with his parents, himself, and his dead brother. Most of the movie is viewed through Hutton's eyes, but we see each character try to cope with Buck's untimely and tragic death. I liked the fact that we discover the details about the accident in flashback pieces throughout the movie; it adds an element of suspense to the psychological study of the characters.

Several scenes are especially moving and are permanently affixed to my memory: the photo-taking scene with the grandparents; the restaurant scene with Conrad and Karen; Conrad's first session with Dr. Berger; Conrad's breakthrough session with Dr. Berger; the scene where Conrad catches his mother reminiscing in Buck's room, and the two can't even carry on a conversation together; the scene when Moore finally loses her rigid self-control; and of course the final scene. Watch each of these scenes and you actually FEEL what each character feels. It's incredible; a testament to brilliant acting, writing, and directing.

I believe that each of us can identify with some element of the tragic, dysfunctional family presented here, and perhaps that makes this film so timeless and exceptional. This movie isn't over-the-top (even though the social class of the Jarretts isn't exactly "ordinary"). The film is impeccable. And here is what allows us to identify with this film, whether we've tragically lost a close family member or not: we all wish we were "ordinary people," but like these characters, we all have deeper emotions and tragedies that threaten to break us.

I read the book years ago and then recently watched the movie. excellant performances by everyone. timothy hutton, donald sutherland, mary tyler moore(she plays such a witch). the movie is about an accident that leaves a family unable to deal with their emotions. the mother, father, and son in their own way are dealing with their grief. the ending is great. moore deserves what she got. recommended highly.

For anyone who hasn't seen "Ordinary People," you really should see it right away. I first watched it as a huge fan of Mary Tyler Moore. What I saw, I never expected. Mary Tyler Moore breaks her comedic, enduring style to play a hauntingly distant mother. The move is absolutely brilliant. At first, I was angered, throwing pillows at the television in seeing my hero play a character who baffled me so. Then, from my love for her, grew a profound admiration for her talent. No role or portrayal has ever affected me in the same way. Adding to MTM's sheer brilliance, is the amazing performances turned in by Donald Sutherland and Timothy Hutton. Donald Sutherland, who is able to steel a movie with small roles, stays in the background of attention in this film. Yet, at the same time, his portrayal of the pathetic father, trying to hold his family together, is amazing and overlooked. Timothy Hutton is very much deserving of the Oscar he won for his performance, although it should have been a best actor as opposed to best supporting actor. As the depressed son, trying to find his place back in society, Hutton displays his talent at drawing us into a character and trying to understand what he is going through. Judd Hirsch, plays his psychiatrist, and is equally amazing. It is a far better portrait of a psychatrist than Good Will Hunting ever thought of portraying. He is the psychiatrist anyone would want to go to in times of trouble.
This picture is the best dramatic film of all time. While the ordinary is the upper middle class ordinary, it is like any family dealing with loss. Mary Tyler Moore gives us the greatest display of acting since Katharine Hepburn took the screen. As strong as Sissy Spacek's performance in Coal Miner's Daughter was, it does not compare to the profound and deep portrayal Mary Tyler Moore weaves us in. Robert Redford excercised brilliant casting for his Directorial Debut. He further enhances his brilliance with the style and score of the film. The story is a classic, and the film remains true to Judith Guest's novel. The film will affect you every time you see it. This film is not to be missed. It truely is one of the greatest films of all time.

Ordinary People is a fantastic movie about family and loss. Timothy Hutton is fantastic as the son dealing with a brother's loss. Donald Sutherland turns in an amazing performance of a dad trying to hold his family together. The strongest acting comes from the absolutely brilliant Mary Tyler Moore, playing the emotionally distant mother, Beth Jarrett. She should have won the academy award for this performance. One of the greatest movies ever! Director Robert Redford captures human emotion as well as any director ever has.