Customer Reviews

Sabrina (Widescreen)

5 star:		(64)
4 star:		(15)
3 star:		(8)
2 star:		(6)
1 star:		(6)

 

 

If you ever liked the old version with Humphrey Bogart and Audrey Hepburn, don't even look at this one! The comparison to Bogart to Ford is zip, nada, nothing!!! The wonderful music from the old Sabrina didn't appear in this one... they barely put in "La Vie en Rose" one of the most romatic songs from the old version! I guess I'm too much of a Bogart fan to allow any man to take his place. Harrison Ford, I think, was much past his prime in this movie... And nobody can say the wonderful lines Boggy did... "It's all in the family"... Whenever Ford said all the lines, they just fell flat. Anyway... If you liked the old one, don't watch this one! I guess if you are a great fan of Ford you might enjoy it, but other than that, I don't think anyone can compare to Bogart, Hepburn, and Holden! Watch the OLD one! NOT the new!!! I promise you'll enjoy the old one much better!

I like most movies, and don't tend to be picky, but...why did they even bother to remake the original? Audrey Hepburn and Humphrey Bogart certainly don't need updated versions. Julia Ormond is lovely, but she cannot act. Perhaps the director knew this; there are about a million close-ups of her face, with no dialogue. But a lot of people seemed to love this movie, so maybe I missed something. I can't imagine what.

Hello -
I have watched this movie once - and found a faulty place in the middle - the movie fluttered for a period of time - this was relieved by fast forwarding to another place in the DVD. If this movie could be replaced, I would appreciate it. This is one of my favorite movies - but this DVD is faulty.

Shirley Hutty

A tycoon and the daughter of his chauffer--a match to endure especially after Sabrina leads him(Harrison) through training in the courtship ritual. An enjoyable true love romp!

This movie is wonderful. It takes an already-good plot and updates it -- an Ever After for our classic Cinderella story. The new Sabrina is more self-sufficient, worldly, and her relationship with Linus is much more mature than the variety of relationships portrayed in any movies from Hollywood's Golden Era. It's not that the first Sabrina isn't a wonderful classic, but while that one was classic for its fairy-tale quality, and cute scenes that could never be truly be duplicated, this one meets the demands of an audience who today, wants proof that these are actually two people in love. With Ormond's character, we, the audience, understand and participate in her transition from teenage infatuation to mature love. There are no petty emotional mind-games here, as are so common in Bogart-era romantic comedies.

In addition, the actors themselves add considerably to the movie's success. Kinnear's David matures as well, from playboy to partner, and it is easy to see that his relationship with his brother has played no small part in the formation of his playboy image. Additionally, many of his lines are priceless. Ormond delivers a few ringers as well, including my favorite, when she refers to Linus as "the only living heart donor."

And all this is without speaking of the music. The soundtrack is excellent. The score is classy for its infusion of jazz, yet made passionate by John Williams' unmistakable orchestration. Sting also contributes a haunting ballad. It all fits beautifully into the movie.

Everytime I watch the new Sabrina, it makes me cry. And I'm not the crying type. I highly recommend it -- not as a remake, but on its own merit.

In addition to this movie I've also seen the older one starring Audrey Hepburn and Humphrey Bogart, and I found that both can be enjoyed almost as two different kinds of films. Though not without its moments of drama, the Bogart/Hepburn film was lighter, more sparkling and witty, but also a little more shallow. In that movie, I couldn't understand the attraction between Bogart and Hepburn; they never seem to connect across their age gap.

In this remake of Sabrina, Julia Ormond gives a performance that's more mature and has more depth. Once she goes to Paris and grows up, she truly grows up (unlike Hepburn, who is loveable but too childlike). The love that develops between her character and Harrison Ford's is more believable; the movie takes more time and trouble to develop a plausible relationship between the grown up chaffeur's daughter and the billionaire without a social life. In addition to that, it also has witty dialogue and funny moments, just like the original.

"Sabrina" is a nice remake of a classic film (just invoking the names involved in the original -- Humphrey Bogart, Audrey Hepburn, William Holden, and Billy Wilder -- makes you wonder why anyone dared to remake it) . . . a nice romance filled with good, not great performances. "Sabrina" is a great example of what major Hollywood studios can do when things generally click -- it's a good little movie that (fortunately) doesn't seem to be trying too hard.

Essentially a retelling of the classic "ugly duckling" story, "Sabrina" focuses on the maturation of the title character (Julia Ormond, when Hollywood was still in love with her). Sabrina, the daughter of the chauffeur for the fabulously wealthy Larrabee clan, starts the movie as a dumpy little girl, watching the fantastic Larrabee Long Island parties from up in her tree through the world's most god-awful spectacles. Completely infatuated with the Larrabee's younger son David (Greg Kinnear, in a perfect role for him), Sabrina mistakenly confesses her feelings to the older brother Linus (Harrison Ford) before heading off to Paris for her education.

While in Paris, Sabrina works at one of those dream internships that people get in the movies - assisting photographers shoot models for magazine ads. Surrounded by beautiful, artistic people in a beautiful, artistic city, Sabrina finds herself and emerges as a gorgeous, sophisticated woman.

Sabrina returns to Long Island and promptly runs into David, who doesn't recognize her as the daughter of his chauffeur and shamelessly flirts with her even though he is engaged to another gorgeous woman, Dr. Elizabeth Tyson (Lauren Holly), who is just about too perfect for words. Linus, of course, being the businessminded drone that he is, instantly recognizes both Sabrina and David's infatuation with her.

This poses a problem -- Linus wants David to stay with Dr. Tyson, both for David's happiness (as he points out to David in a fun scene, "she won't be a burden") and because Elizabeth's dad Patrick (Richard Crenna) is in tense negotiations with Linus and the negotiations would go better if they are family. So Linus sets out to seduce Sabrina to keep her away from David -- after neutralizing David in a most creative fashion involving a champagne flute.

Of course, during his efforts to seduce Sabrina, the hard-hearted Linus, who has always been a tyrant of a businessman, even as a child, falls for Sabrina, too.

As you can see, a fairly predictable march through the numbers of romantic comedy. The movie's charm is in its execution. Director Sydney Pollack brings the best out of his talented cast, particularly Harrision Ford, who returns to the comic form he demonstrated in "Working Girl" but has been lacking in so many of his other efforts.

The only jarring note in the movie is Sabrina's over-insistence of bringing up Paris in every conversation. When looking at an old building on Martha's Vineyard, Sabrina inexplicably snots, "In Paris, they would consider that brand-new." While it's not surprising that she would return from Paris quite affected by the experience, at times in the movie it comes across as snobby rather than charming.

But this is a minor quibble. "Sabrina" is what it is -- an attractive comedy about attractive people falling in love in attractive settings by doing and saying attractive things. Not great, not inventive, not surprising, but pretty darn good.

The original Sabrina was a classic, with three of the greatest stars of all time -- Audrey Hepburn, Humphrey Bogart and William Holden -- being directed by Billy Wilder, one of the greatest directors of all time. To be sure, the producers of this remake did their best to duplicate the magic of the first film. It's directed by the great Sydney Pollack and stars Harrison Ford, Greg Kinnear, Nancy Marchand, John Wood, Richard Crenna, Angie Dickinson and Lauren Holly. In one way, the film is better for the casting of Harrison Ford in place of Humphrey Bogart. Ford probably wasn't much younger than Bogart was when he made his version. But Bogart seemed older than the 54 he was when the original was made. Ford, in contrast, seems much more youthful ( even with Linus Larabee's stuffy persona) and more of a natural match for Sabrina.

However, all of these quality elements are negated by the casting of Julia Ormond as Sabrina Fairchild. To be sure, Ormond is a beautiful woman. However, she has the charisma of a pile of wet toilet paper. She has absolutely none of the allure of her predecessor in the role and comes off very, very badly because of it. I know it's unfair to compare most actresses with the irreplaceable Audrey Hepburn, but this, after all, is the role she created, so she is being held to a higher standard. I knew there was a problem with the movie when I found myself more attracted to Lauren Holly as Greg Kinnear's jilted fiancee than Julia Ormond as the lead. Because of this bad casting, the film just falls flat and pales in comparison to the original. Too bad.

i have owned both versions of Sabrina for a few years. i find myself rewatching the remake over and over again. i adore audrey hepburn (having watched every movie she was in) but I feel that the 1954 version is a little dated and in need of a re-make. if you had to remake a movie, why not Sabrina. this re-make is a visual delight, with scenery and settings so apt for the occasion. throughout this movie, i never for one moment wondered what it would be like if audrey hepburn had played the part in this one. julia ormond's performance was seductive and credible. she was perfectly cast for the part. I agree with the reviewer who said that julia ormond should be the actress for "The Audrey Hepburn Story" which I would not recommend anyone to see, not Jennifer Love Hewitt. I checked out other Julia Ormond films, investing in the purchase of Smilla's Sense of Snow, and have always found that a rewatch of Ormond's Sabrina was a better use of time than watching her other films. I have always wondered why Julia Ormond made so few films and so little is known of her. I would have liked to see more of her in films where an audrey hepburn calibre actress was called for. incidentally, audrey was hepburn's film name. Audrey was originally Edda (refer to special features in My Fair Lady).

Julia Ormond is so beautiful and so perfect for this role. She is sweet without being annoyingly so. Harrison Ford is awesome as the uptight Linus Larrabee. Greg Kinnear is perfect as the good-natured, but unable to commit David. Nancy Marchand is funny in her role as the matriach of the Larrabee family. This whole cast just blends perfectly to make a funny, touching film.

I much prefer this one to the original. It's sassier, smarter, and just more fun. I highly recommend this movie.