Customer Reviews

Roxanne [Blu-ray]

5 star:		(21)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Ill write a longer review later but i defy anyone not to get past the first 5minutes of this brilliant film, without hurting their sides from laughing. Steve Martin (at his best) putting the world to rights with the aid of a tennis racket, is a joy to behold.

This movie is excellent. It's funny, smart, poetic, well-acted, and just a great movie to watch. This is one of Steve Martin's best works. A definate must see for anyone who like Steve's movies. This has some really funny poetry in it, and best of all, a guy with an exceptionally large nose, but it doesn't distract you. You see Martin's character more as a human being rather than a specticle to laugh at and stare at the large snoze he has. If you are thinking about buying this, then by all means do so! THIS MOVIE WILL NOT DISSAPPOINT YOU, UNLESS YOU'RE A NAZI!

This is a great movie, I watched it in my french litterature class after reading Cyrano de Bergerac. This movie is entertaining and is great to start (or end) the unit. the blu ray quality was good (if you consider that this is a 1997 movie).

This is one of my all time favourite romantic comedies. I bought the DVD several years ago and jumped at the chance to buy the Blu-ray when it became available. It is quite an improvement over the DVD. THe sound is better and the picture is much better in terms of clarity and resolution. I would definitely do it again. Eric

Of recent updatings of CYRANO DE BERGERAC, this one is one of the best, and is certainly the funniest. Although THE TRUTH ABOUT CATS AND DOGS has a soft spot in my heart, this version is by far funnier and more romantic. The other film focuses more on Janeane Garofalo's feelings of inferiority compared to Uma Thurman, and although funny, doesn't strive for the laughs like Roxanne does. Also, with apologies to Ben Chaplin, he is hardly as adorable as Daryl Hannah. She has never been lovelier than in this film.

This is also probably my favorite Steve Martin film. Despite his surreal schnoggin, he manages to inject his character with warmth, character, and lovability. You like him so much that you find it believable when he and Roxanne end up together at the end. (Interestingly, both this and the Janeane Garofalo film end happily, unlike the Rostand play.) The long scene in which a bar patron insults his nose, and he humiliates the man by coming up with 20 better and vastly funnier insults (this "Cyrano" is not merely a highly capable street fighter, but equally adept at verbal sparring) is easily the highpoint of the film. Even if I have seen the film recently, if in channel flipping I see the movie playing and that it hasn't reached this part of the film, I will wait and watch it.

One reviewer below mentioned the town being dull. I cannot agree. I think the physical beauty of the place stuns most viewers. If I knew I could find a job there, I'd move there tomorrow. The locale definitely adds measurably to the enjoyment of the film.

I have only two negative comments to make on the movie. First, I think they overdid it on Steve Martin's nose. It is impossible to imagine that anyone with a nose that long would not have had surgery on it, and there isn't any believable medical reason to believe the surgery couldn't be performed. Second, the musical soundtrack really sounds dated. The Kenny G. sound today just hasn't stood the test of time, so that the soundtrack reminds one more of elevator music or at best "Lite FM" than anything.

Still, if one can get past the music, this remains one of the most enjoyable romantic comedies of recent years.

Roxanne is so captivating that I have watched it dozens of times and if I could take one movie to a desert island, it would be this one. Steve Martin's deliciously romantic screenplay and his masterful portrayal of Fire Chief C.D. Bales, combined with breathtaking British Columbian scenery and perfect casting make this movie an experience everyone should have. C.D.'s soliloquoy under Rozanne's window is easily the sexiest, most romantic scene I've ever seen in a movie, and he set the standard for my own definition of the perfect lover. There are many "morals" about love and friendship that inform this story, but the "medicine" goes down with sparkling class and flawless humor. I fell head over heels in love with C.D. Bales, big nose, big heart and all.

An updated (and English!) version of Cyrano de Bergerac, this movie is wonderful. Steve Martin really shines as a self-effacing Fire Chief, and Darryl Hannah is always fun to watch. The humour (most of which surrounds Steve Martin's large nose) is funny but never interferes with the true love story at the heart of this movie.

An updated (and English!) version of Cyrano de Bergerac, this movie is wonderful. Steve Martin really shines as a self-effacing Fire Chief, and Darryl Hannah is always fun to watch. The humour (most of which surrounds Steve Martin's large nose) is funny but never interferes with the true love story at the heart of this movie.

Admirers of Steve Martin will probably agree with the 4 star rating, if you are not a fan of his, I would say the film sinks to a three. For those who do not know the background of this character, he is a soldier from France in 1640, a "Gascon", who were known for their bravery, arrogance, and aggressiveness. Cyrano is also endowed with a nose that he describes in the play as follows, "one could launch ships from that peninsula", to be redundant, this man has a nose that is a plastic surgeon's dream. As CD Bales, a fire chief in a small town, managing a firehouse of misfits, he retains the noble characteristics of the original, and loses the aggressiveness and arrogance. The one exception is when he is taunted for his nose, and then he strikes, although generally with his wit, and when it is physically, it is not a rapier, but a tennis racquet.

This film is all Martin, with some reasonable supporting players, but the only reason to watch this film is to see Martin use some of his many talents. The theme of misplaced love, and classic settings lifted directly from Shakespeare, the balcony scene, will make any fan wince on occasion, but taken as a whole, which is a bit too long, the film is still entertaining.

If the idea of Martin teaching firemen how to handle a hose against flames while moving to a waltz is intriguing, and the physical humor of Martin also entertains you, take 107 minutes and enjoy, "Roxanne". Siskel and Ebert call the film a, "comic masterpiece", which would make them well above average, when rated as Steve Martin fans.

Near the end of Edmund Rostand's play "Cyrano de Bergerac" the character of Roxanne encapsulates the heart of the tragic romance when she says, "I have loved one man in my live, and I have lost him twice." Ultimately, it is not Steve Martin's comic sensibilities but rather his sense of romance that makes this 1987 film a worthy counterpart to Rostand's original play.

In this new version of the tale Cyrano becomes C. D. "Charlie" Bales (Martin), a fire chief in a Colorado town who has a nose of epic proportions and no prospects in his love life. But then who should come into town but,the fair Roxanne, (Daryl Hannah), who has rented a house to check out comets with her telescope. He is totally smitten by her, but she only has eyes for Chris (Rick Rossovich), who is everything Charlie is not, to wit: handsome, stupid and lacking any social charm whatsoever. Of course the centerpiece of the film is Martin's take on the famous balcony scene, where Charlie feeds Chris the lines with which to woo Roxanne, but that is not where this film finds its heart.

That is because Charlie is the heart and soul of this quirky little town, where the only one who thinks anything about Charlie's nose is Charlie himself. Shelley Duvall as Dixie heads the supporting cast of well beloved but obviously quirky character actors, which includes Fred Willard and Michael J. Pollard. At the end of Rostrand's classic play you believe that Roxanne would have chosen the soul of the poet over the face of the angel. Several centuries later Martin gives her the chance to make the right choice (and I do not mean about wearing that red dress tonight). More impressively, Martin proves once and for all that he can be even funnier when he is not being "a wild and crazy guy"; such is the difference between a comedian and a comic actor.

Most Romantic Lines: Sorry, they are too lengthy to retype here. You will know them when you hear them, trust me. And remember that you too can "Earn more sessions by sleeving."

If you enjoy "Roxanne," then check out these other films on the AFI's list: #10 "City Lights," #24 "King Kong," and #34 "Beauty & the Beast." Why? Well, the first one because it also has a guy who has trouble believing he is good enough for the woman he loves and the other two because they are less metaphorical versions of the Beauty and the Beast type love story.