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Blackmail, Murder & Mayhem

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Boxing Helena

Boxing Helena

List Price: $14.95
Your Price: $13.46
Product Info Reviews

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Rating: 1 stars
Summary: Whatever Happened to Julian Sands?
Review: Poor guy got stuck in this movie. That's what. After watching A Room With A View I immediately bought Boxing Helena. Big mistake. Even renting it would have been a waste of money. I heard from friends it was a horrid movie but I was going to watch it with an open mind. At least if it was bad I could stare at Julian Sand, hear his wonderful accent ane be content. No....this has got to be the worst movie made. Some of the scenes were downright laughable. When Sherilyn Fenn get her legs run over by the car....the way the scene played out made me and my roomates burst into laughter.

Couldn't control my giggles at Bill Paxton with a mullet overacting in every scene. Julian Sands character was such a wimp. In his case, hamming his performance up might have been better in this movie. Didn't care for him at all, even with his sexy accent. Sherilyn Fenn, I was wishing Julian Sands character would take our her lungs.

(...)

The ending....it could have been ten times better without that silly dream sequence.

And don't get me started on the sex scene. Julian Sands kissing HElena Bonham Carter at the end of A Room With A View was ten times sexier than the scene in Boxing Helena.

If I could give it less than 1 star I would. I wondered why after seeing A Room With A View, how come I haven't seen him in anything else. After watching garbage like Boxing Helena I understand. Must try and find another good Julian Sands movie now, if there is one to be had besides A Room With A View. Boxing Helena was not it.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Wierd but Good
Review: The first time I saw this movie I thought it was so gross...but then a couple of years later it came out on the IFC channel and I sat down and payed attention to it. I really liked it the second time around. I like the direction and the way the movie is done. The plot is well written and well created by the characters. It makes you sit and wonder if there really are people willing to go to that extent to have someone love them!

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: "A little party, then MEXICO!!"
Review: The more people say they hate this movie, the more I love it.
But I must warn you, this is not the uncut version or even the director's cut. To get that you need to find the Laserdisc collection that came with commentary, extra "dirty" scenes(which are great btw) and the package-only 24KT musical score by the wonderful Graeme Revell. I really loved the music composed for this film, and it's terrible that this is the only way you can obtain this great score. The commentary is quite insightful, J Sands pops in for a bit to chat about it with Jennifer. For her 1st film, I thought Jennifer did a superb job handling everything from the actors, to the lush sets, editing, etc. Fenn, Paxton and Sands are all in prime form here, I really couldn't ask for anything more!!
Enjoy, and scream for "HELENNA!!"
DMSR

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Watch it and judge it yourself! Just watch it!
Review: This film is obviously not for everyone. If you are an average, banal, normal person who can't handle anything out of the ordinary,stay away from this film. However,if you value originality, incredible acting, scintilating cinematography, and steamy erotica, this is a film to try. It is a story about obsession and the script completely presents that state of being. Jennifer Lynch had incredible insight when she made this film. Anyone who understands obsession can easily see that. Not only did she make the film interesting in and original, but she made it beautiful to look at. All the lighting,make up and sets are perfect. It has an ambiance of romance and depth, despite the fact we are dealing with one man's demons. The soundtrack is filled with opera and soothing original pieces by Graeme Revell(The Crow). I won't tell you anything about the story other than Julian Sands plays a Surgeon who obsesses about Sherlyn Fenn's character "Helena".Overall this is a brilliant, logical, sensual, realistic look at the mind of the obsessed. For those of us fortunate enough to have the Laserdisc, we are blessed with the Commentary by Jennifer Lynch. However, the Laserdisc was released in FULL SCREEN format which detracts from the picture originally shot for the theaters. Fortunately, on the DVD, they released it in the original 1.85 format so you don't miss any of the scene.
It is wild, Wonderful,strange,and sexy,but most of all... original. Please buy or rent it and enjoy this wonder for yourself.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Buy This Now
Review: This is an amazing movie in every way. After watching it, I want to find a girl with no arms or legs to date! Hot!

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Buy This Now
Review: This is an amazing movie in every way. After watching it, I want to find a girl with no arms or legs to date! Hot!

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Chopping Helena
Review: This movie is so weird...This guy falls in love with a woman named Helena and will do anything to keep her...and when I say any thing..I mean ANY THING...It's kind of long and drawn out and then a surprise ending..Check it Out ..U might like it.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Disturbing and unforgettable
Review: To fully savor this movie you need to suspend your judgement about the implausibility of the plotline, the stilted and artificial dialogue and the logistics of the central characters' lives. Once that is accomplished, you can enjoy the riveting sensuality of this production. That is, if you will yourself to overlook the deeply disturbing idea of a man resorting to deliberately mutilating a woman just so that he can keep her company.

The movie protrays the total and all-consuming sexual obsession that drives an urbane, wealthy, good looking and successful surgeon (Julian Sands) into being a grovelling submissive who repeatedly tolerates being humiliated by a beautiful woman (Sherilynn Fenn). The surgeon is the proverbial man who has everything, including the socially appropriate nice girlfriend. But he is driven to insanity by the woman who is initially out of his reach.

At the heart of the narrative is a purportedly deep psychological compulsion. This is the re-creation with a romantic partner of an unhealthy relationship with a rejecting parent. The movie shows short vignettes of the surgeon as a lonely little boy being ignored by his beautiful and seductive mother whose attention he desperately craves.

Whatever its other shortcomings, the movie is refreshingly different from others of this genre in its portrayal of sexual expression.The acting, soft-focus camera work and sensually swelling background music mingle to create an almost other-worldly dimension of eroticism. This is a marked change from the crude, mechanistic and predictable depiction of impersonal sexuality of most R-rated movies. For this reason alone, "Boxing Helena" is worth viewing.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: LYNCH jr.'s attempt is so-so
Review: Weak psycho-sexual trip about extreme obsession. Sands is utterly pathetic and Fenn is boring & redundant. If this film would have been released in the late 50's, it would be a cult classic but alas...

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: I LOVED THIS FILM!
Review: When I ask people if they've ever seen this movie, they all say no. I think this movie has been "slept on" so-to-speak. I've seen it a few times (mostly because I tend to see things the second and third time around that I missed the first time.) Granted, that the idea of the movie is a little twisted. It's basically a story about a man's love and/or obsession for a beautiful woman. The object of his desire shows nothing but her loathing towards this simple man and wants nothing to do with him. The only thing he really wants, is for her to love him back (mind you - this is MY interpretation of the movie.) I guess the trip part about this film is how he manipulates the situation and makes it so that she NEEDS him to survive - to feed her, to bathe her, to tend to her. Perhaps I just have a twisted sense of humor, but I thought this film was GREAT! It's old, but if you ever get a chance, pick it up at your local video store. It's definitely worth watching!


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