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Mighty Aphrodite [1996] (REGION 1) (NTSC)


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Editorial
Amazon.co.uk Review

Released in 1995, Mighty Aphrodite was arguably Woody Allen's most successful film since Hannah and Her Sisters almost a decade earlier. The story follows Allen's neurotic New York sports writer Lenny, who becomes obsessed with tracking down his adopted son's birth mother, Linda. His odyssey is narrated and commented upon with coruscating wit by a Greek chorus led by F Murray Abraham. Despite their dire warnings at his rather ham-fisted attempts at hubris, there is nothing tragic in the ultimately uplifting tale. Lenny eventually locates Linda (an Oscar-winning performance from the enchanting Mira Sorvino) and discovers that she's caught up in just about every aspect of the sex trade. Without revealing his reasons, he sets about improving her life with hilarious results.

Sorvino is a wonder as the tall, alluring and vulnerable Linda, who talks with candid innocence of her adventures in vice (she offers a blow job as if it was a pound of apples) and clearly deserves a better hand than she has been dealt. Helena Bonham Carter, not entirely convincing as a driven Manahattanite, plays Allen's ambitious art dealer wife whom Lenny ultimately realises is the love of his life. And a host of stars including Claire Bloom, Gwenn Verdon and Olympia Dukakis (Jocasta) contribute shining moments to this intelligent and touching comedy. When the chorus bursts into "When You're Smiling" at the end, it's like the sun coming out.

On the DVD: The widescreen (1.85:1) presentation gives the location-shot chorus scenes marvellous resonance, although the Dolby Digital mono soundtrack is occasionally rather flat. Both picture and sound quality, however, preserve the intimacy which is the trademark of Allen's finest work. There are no extras beyond a choice of subtitles and the usual scene selection menu.--Piers Ford


Woody Allen's best film
Review date: 2008-06-04 Rating: 10 out of 10

Mighty Aphrodite is the film in which Woody Allen gets the balance right between writing a script that is serious literature and mixing the serious literature with a modern day low-brow bestseller.He uses the idea of the chorus from ancient greek literature as the voice of his conscience and makes a most unlikely series of events seem plausible and highly entertaining,and manages to make something that could have turned out as seeming very sordid,touching and memorable.He was helped in no small part by Mira Sorvino's brilliant (oscar winning) feat of acting in which she played the prostitute Linda as somebody who was like a cartoon character but who was still recognisable as a human being that the viewer would think could exist in real life.There are plenty of subtle and amusing twists and turns in the plot and you come away from this film feeling positive and optimistic about people and life in general.How this wonderful movie managed to inspire Woody Allen to come up with the dreadful film "Deconstructing Harry" a year later is beyond me!

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Reviews


Mighty Aphrodite
Review date: 2003-08-17 Rating: 10 out of 10

Mighty Aphrodite rates as my favourite Woody Allen film of all time. Both Woody and Mira (Sorvino) are simply great. The film looks good and sounds good too. Mira Sorvino plays the part of a hooker, she plays the part in an almost cartoonish way, whiched i just loved.

Mira Sorvino is a stunning actress!!
Review date: 2002-02-05 Rating: 10 out of 10

This film is absolutely brilliant, wit, charm and great dialogue. Mira Sorvino steals pretty much the show as a hooker with a way with words and an unusual outlook on what she wants to do with her life. I wasn't a fan of Woody Allen's movies but after seeing this I gave him more of a look.

FEEL GOOD FILM
Review date: 2000-07-21 Rating: 10 out of 10

I believe Allen has produced a wonderful film here in the shape of "Mighty Aphrodite". There is no doubt that Sorvino steals the show, with her magnificent and engaging performance. However the true star is the script. Allen has an incredible knack for writing funny dialogue and creating very distinct characters. The latter is probably not up to his usal standards in this film, but generally the actors are quite good. Directing wise, the film is very bland, i never really saw Allen's strengths as a director, more a comedy actor and writer. At the heart of this film, is the feel good factor which is present throughout the entire duration. It is arguably one of Allen's funniest films to date and i recommend it highly.

Moody Woody
Review date: 2000-07-09 Rating: 8 out of 10

Allen is beginning to see life in a positive way. This comedy says so much about life in general and about parental relations, geniusly put into a modern-life context, and with satirical references to ancient Greek theater and philosophy. Woody Allen's done it again! A splendid comedy. About life!

Product Details/Specifications


Actor(s):
Pamela Blair
F. Murray Abraham
Al Cerullo
Claire Bloom
Helena Bonham Carter

Creators:
F. Murray Abraham (Primary Contributor)
Pamela Blair (Primary Contributor)
Carlo Di Palma (Cinematographer)
Dick Hyman (Composer)

Recording label: Miramax
Manufacturer: Miramax
EAN: 9780788814730
Binding: DVD
ISBN: 6305291470
Number of items: 1
Format: Closed-captioned, Colour, DVD-Video, Letterboxed, NTSC,
Release date: 1999-05-18
Universal product code (UPC): 717951001559
Aspect ratio: 1.85:1
DVD layers: 1
DVD sides: 1
Picture format: Letterbox
Region code: 1
Running time: 95 minutes
Theatrical release date: 1996-01-11
Language: English (Original Language)
Language: French (Original Language)

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