World Famous Comics: The Unbearable Lightness of Being (Two-Disc Special Edition)
The Unbearable Lightness of Being (Two-Disc Special Edition)
Starring: Daniel Day-Lewis, Juliette Binoche, Lena Olin, Derek de Lint, Erland Josephson Directed By: Philip Kaufman Average Rating: Aspect Ratio: 1.78:1 Audience Rating: R (Restricted) Binding: DVD Format: Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, Dubbed, DVD-Video, Special Edition, Subtitled, Widescreen, NTSC Label: Warner Home Video Number of Items: 2 Region Code: 1 Release Date: February 07, 2006 Running Time: 172 minutes Theatrical Release Date: February 05, 1988
Product Description: Let others in 1968 Prague fret over liberty and the pursuit of happiness. Prague surgeon and avowed womanizer Tomas is focused on the happiness of pursuit. He's determined to live with a lightness of being unfettered by things like commitment and Communism. A young doctor's quest for sex and his stumbling into love are part of the rich storyline of this lyrical film from the landmark Milan Kundera novel produced by Saul Zaentz (The English Patient Amadeus) and directed by Philip Kaufman (The Right Stuff Henry & June). Daniel Day-Lewis Juliette Binoche and Lena Olin indelibly form the romantic triangle at the center of Tomas' world. It's a shifting world of hope spoiled and renewed of lives blighted byoppression and reinvigorated by deep maturing love.Running Time: 114 min.Format: DVD MOVIE Genre: DRAMA UPC: 012569734043 Manufacturer No: 73404
Amazon.com essential video: Daniel Day-Lewis stars as Tomas, the happily irresponsible Czech lover of Milan Kundera's novel, which is set in Prague just before and during the Soviet invasion in 1968. Lena Olin and Juliette Binoche are the two vastly different women who occupy his attention and to some extent represent different sides of his values and personality. In any case, the character's decision to flee Russian tanks with one of them--and then return--has profound consequences on his life. Directed by Philip Kaufman, this rich, erotic, fascinating character study with allegorical overtones is a touchstone for many filmgoers. Several key sequences--such as Olin wearing a bowler hat and writhing most attractively--linger in the memory, while Kaufman's assured sense of the story inspires superb performances all around. --Tom Keogh
As wonderful as the book!!! This an absolutely beautiful movie equal to the extraordinary book. Although touted as "sexual" in nature this magnificent film is about life and struggles.Inspiring & uplifting ..a reminder of the truly important things in life.
Constipated I have no idea how I was talked into watching this movie. I totally believe this was a waste of good film-and a lot of it. A young Daniel Day Lewis with a hipper Fonz impersonation and a whiney Juliette Binoche. Only Lena Olin was worth watching, but not for any depth or anything. This film actually made a communist invasion dull. I absolutely didn't care for this couple. Below par acting, horrible direction, terrible editing, annoying soundtrack and dialogue so bad I think someone should take away the screenwriter's guild card. Don't waste your time on this one.
"UNBEARABLE LIGHTNESS OF BEING" MOVIE REVIEW BY MICHAEL ELLIANO Prepare to be enlightened. This is what movie making was supposed to be about. The movie and characters draw you in for different reasons and gives you a taste of one of the most sexual (not dirty) movies ever put on screen. Temptation, reality, and real history mixed into one. A movie for the senses for those that enjoy good filmmaking. A top one hundred film of all time. A movie that will add to any movie collection and change your taste in movies forever.
The best film nobody saw The Unbearable Lightness of Being is a masterpiece, the most underrated American film of the past 30 years. Poetic, haunting, subtle, and terribly sad, it says more about the crushing impact of repressive (i.e. communist) regimes than a thousand documanteries or inflammatory speeches could tell. While idealizing the free-wheeling Prague of the late 60's the film also examines the emptiness of such a non-commital lifestyle- the unbearable lightness. If this all sounds very somber, ULOB is also one of the sexiest films you will ever see, and one of the few intelligent studies of sex in cinema. More surprisingly, it is a heartbreaking romance. Like a great novel, ULOB grows on you, and you'll hate to see the characters leave you at the end. Perfectly acted by its then unknown leads, and beautifully photographed, this is a film to grow old with.
Read the novel then watch the film. It is unfortunate this film is no longer in print. Set in 1968 Prague, and based on Milan Kundera's best-known novel, The Unbearable Lightness of Being (1984), this faithful film adaptation (by Jean-Claude Carrière and Philip Kaufman) tells the captivating story of a womanizing brain surgeon, Tomas (Daniel Day-Lewis), who loses his employment because he is critical of Czech Communism (he compared the Soviets to Oedipus Rex). He has had more than 200 lovers in his lifetime, and is determined to live his life unfettered by things like commitment. "Kundera's Quartet" of characters also includes Tomas's photographer wife, Tereza (Juliette Binoche), his painter mistress, Sabina (Lena Olin), and her academic lover, Franz (Derek de Lint). The title of the film refers to Kundera's idea that because we only live once, our lives are insignificant, and our decisions do not matter. Because our decisions do not matter, existence seems to lose its substance or weight, making our being unbearable. Tomas represents this philosophy in the film. He feels that nothing matters, that his life has the lightness of mortality. Conversely, enigmatic Tereza carries with her the weight of the world and is heavily impacted by life. She does not judge Tomas for his infidelities, because she knows that although he sleeps with many women, he loves only her. She is fond of animals, particularly her dog, Karenin, and a pig named Mefisto. Her relationship with Tomas is the center of the film. After meeting her by chance, Tomas gradually begins to understand through his love for Tereza that, because we only live once, everything matters. The inscription on his grave reads, "He wanted the Kingdom of God on Earth." Sabina lives her life in opposition to "kitsch" in any form, whether it is domesticity, unoriginality, mediocrity, or untruth. Her lover, Franz is a Geneva professor who seeks lightness of being through books and academia, which Sabina also considers kitsch. The Unbearable Lightness of Being is a profoundly-moving film, and among my top ten favorite novels of the last 25 years. Day-Lewis, Binoche, and Olin all bring Oscar-worthy performances to the nearly three-hour-long film.
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