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The Barefoot Contessa [1954]
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Must have been written especially for Ava
Review date: 2008-03-15 Rating: 10 out of 10
This is another beautiful piece of cinematography.
Ava and Bogart compliment each other beautifully.
Alot about the character seemed to echo Ava's life - her love of bullfighting and bullfighters and sheer zest she had for living and life!!
This is another DVD that I cherish - take a look at Pandora and the Flying Dutchman, another superb Ava film.
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Reviews
Bogie and Gardner at their Finest
Review date: 2006-11-05 Rating: 10 out of 10
It's been about a week since I viewed this film, and it's managed to stay with me since. I'm fairly new to Bogart, who manages to live up to his Film God hype with a classy performance full of believable empathy. Ava Gardner, as expected, steals the show with a brave, spit-on-the-ground performance of a character that was, in some ways, just like herself. Just a stunning, remarkable film with a tender friendship between the two lead characters, and a framework story that doesn't seem contrived. The beauty of this film is that Ava and Gardner carry the film together. Neither character is more important and both performances respect that.
Interesting tidbit: the statue of Gardner that features prominently in the film was also prominent in Gardner's ex-husband Frank Sinatra's garden in his Palm Springs home for over 20 years after their divorce. Sinatra's last wife demanded it be removed.
The bittersweet side of fame!
Review date: 2005-09-12 Rating: 10 out of 10
The Barefoot Contessa is one of the best films of the 1950's.Ava Gardner gives a magnificent performance as a beautiful Spanish nightclub dancer Maria Vargas who is catapulted to instant stardom in Hollywood from a poverty stricken background in Spain.Humphrey Bogart is superb as Harry Dawes the producer who discovers Gardner and becomes her friend and confidante.The film explores the darker side of fame in spite of Maria's fame, celebrity and desirability as a woman she craves a quieter simpler life with 'real ordinary,' people instead of the fake people she meets in showbiz and high society circles. Marriage to an Italian counts provides Maria with the escape she needs but with tragic consequences.
I really adored this film. When I watched it and I saw how Ava Gardner's character looked sad and lonely at the height of her fame even though she was popular and desired by so many men I realised that fame is not all that it's supposed to be. If you want to discover the magic behind Ava Gardner and Hollywood of a by-gone era then I recommend that you see this film.
Product Details/Specifications
Actor(s):
Humphrey Bogart
Edmond O'Brien
Valentina Cortese
Marius Goring
Ava Gardner
Creators:
Humphrey Bogart (Primary Contributor)
Ava Gardner (Primary Contributor)
Jack Cardiff (Cinematographer)
Joseph L. Mankiewicz (Writer)
William Hornbeck (Editor)
Angelo Rizzoli (Producer)
Franco Magli (Producer)
Robert Haggiag (Producer)
Director(s):
Recording label: MGM Entertainment
Manufacturer: MGM Entertainment
EAN: 5050070007770
Binding: DVD
Number of items: 1
Format: Dubbed, Full Screen, PAL,
Release date: 2002-04-15
Number of discs: 1
Aspect ratio: 1.33:1
Audience rating: Parental Guidance
Region code: 2
Running time: 125 minutes
Theatrical release date: 1954-09-29
Language: English (Original Language)
Language: Italian (Original Language)
Language: Spanish (Original Language)