- Condition: New
- Format: DVD
- Color; Dolby; DVD; Full Screen; Subtitled; NTSC
Dr. Sullivan Travis, a successful Dallas gynecologist, finds his life disrupted by the women in his life; his wife suffers a nervous breakdown, his eldest daughter plans to marry despite being a lesbian, his youngest daughter is a conspiracy freak, his se
Genre: Feature Film-Comedy
Rating: R
Release Date: 21-OCT-2003
Media Type: DVDLoose-limbed and casual even for a Robert Altman movie,
Dr. T & the Women has a sly, offhanded wit that makes up for its ramshackle structure. Richard Gere's eponymous gynecologist seems the model of success: his office is packed daily with the cream of Dallas's society matrons clamoring for an appointment, his home life is blessed with loving wife Farrah Fawcett and daughters Tara Reid and Kate Hudson, and when he needs a break! from the estrogen congestion there are always weekends to be spent with his trio of hunting buddies. But on a trip to the mall to shop for Hudson's upcoming nuptials, Fawcett strips naked and leaps about in a waterfall. Her subsequent incarceration in a mental hospital (she's diagnosed with the fictional "Hestia complex," suffering from receiving too much affection) along with the ongoing preparations for the wedding barely make a dent in Gere's charming, compassionate demeanor. Then his golf course hires a new female pro who's everything the other women in his life are not--independent, self-confident, Helen Hunt--and Dr. T finds himself with yet another woman to love. Though the minor characters are mostly nasty little caricatures, the film is not the bitter misogynistic rant its detractors claim it is; the problems in Dr. T's life are placed squarely on his own inability to see that women don't need his genteel protection, and Gere perfectly captures this sweet yet cond! escending blind spot.
--Bruce ReidIn director Robert Al! tman's s tar-studded new ensemble comedy, Richard Gere is a frantically overworked, socially in-demand gynecologist whose life is coming apart at the seams. His wife (Farrah Fawcett) has regressed into a childlike state, while one daughter (Tara Reid) is raising suspicions about the relationship between his soon-to-be-married other daughter (Kate Hudson) and her maid of honor (Liv Tyler). Meanwhile, just as his champagne-loving sister-in-law (Laura Dern) arrives with three nieces in tow, the doctor falls for the sexy new golf pro (Helen Hunt). As complications mount, the good doctor's life rapidly approaches the force of a Texas tornado!Loose-limbed and casual even for a Robert Altman movie,
Dr. T & the Women has a sly, offhanded wit that makes up for its ramshackle structure. Richard Gere's eponymous gynecologist seems the model of success: his office is packed daily with the cream of Dallas's society matrons clamoring for an appointment, his home life is blessed with loving! wife Farrah Fawcett and daughters Tara Reid and Kate Hudson, and when he needs a break from the estrogen congestion there are always weekends to be spent with his trio of hunting buddies. But on a trip to the mall to shop for Hudson's upcoming nuptials, Fawcett strips naked and leaps about in a waterfall. Her subsequent incarceration in a mental hospital (she's diagnosed with the fictional "Hestia complex," suffering from receiving too much affection) along with the ongoing preparations for the wedding barely make a dent in Gere's charming, compassionate demeanor. Then his golf course hires a new female pro who's everything the other women in his life are not--independent, self-confident, Helen Hunt--and Dr. T finds himself with yet another woman to love. Though the minor characters are mostly nasty little caricatures, the film is not the bitter misogynistic rant its detractors claim it is; the problems in Dr. T's life are placed squarely on his own inability to see that w! omen don't need his genteel protection, and Gere perfectly cap! tures th is sweet yet condescending blind spot.
--Bruce ReidMaverick director Robert Altman handpicked country star Lyle Lovett to score his latest film, and with the help of pianist Matt Rollings and bassist Victor Krauss, Lovett has accomplished the feat with his usual level of professionalism and personal touch. Lovett has always been one of Nashville's outsiders, soulful and smooth yet intelligent and menacing, just as likely to emote from a gospel shout or blues holler as from the expected Nashville twang. "You've Been So Good Up to Now" and "She's Already Made Up Her Mind" are reprised from Lovett's acclaimed
Joshua Judges Ruth album, and the tracks are indicative of Lovett's subtle touch, as both unpeel their emotional turmoil slowly. The new instrumental numbers range from the haunting theme and the New Orleans goodtime of "Opening Credits," to the old-time honky-tonk of "Golf Cart Love" (which begs for a Lovett vocal) and somber piano ballad "Lady of the Lake."! Mostly, though, it's lots of barrelhouse piano and fiddle-fussing around from a simpler time. The one new vocal number, "Ain't It Somethin'," is a dirge about how we silly humans can make the most mundane things seem so significant.
--Rob O'Connor Get ready for unlimited thrills and chills as all six of Universal's classic Inner Sanctum Mysteries come to DVD for the first time ever. You'll have a hauntingly good time with horror icon Lon Chaney, Jr., as he gives timeless performances in these spooky feature-length films: Calling Dr. Death, Weird Woman, Dead Man's Eyes, The Frozen Ghost, Strange Confession and Pillow of Death. Based on the popular radio shows of the 1940's, this collectible set is a must-own for every classic mystery and horror fan. Death, dementia, dark arts...it's just another day in the forbidding and fascinating world of the Inner Sanctum! Calling Dr. Death (1943): A distraught doctor is tormented by voices in his head that are urging him to! end his unhappy marriage - forever. Weird Woman (1944): Sorc! ery and superstition take a walk down the aisle when a professor marries a woman raised in the jungle by voodoo witchcraft practitioners and then dismisses her ominous warnings. Dead Man's Eyes (1944): When an artist loses his sight in a freak accident, his future father-in-law promises to bequeath his own eyes upon his death - which ends up being much, much sooner than anyone could foresee. The Frozen Ghost (1945): Things are certainly not what they seem when a hypnotist takes refuge in the spectacular mansion of a female friend who made her money from a creepy wax museum. Strange Confession (1945): A brilliant chemist with the key to the cure for influenza is force to take drastic measures when his greedy boss prematurely releases the unfinished drug to the public. Pillow of Death (1945): A psychopathic killer is on the loose, so the eccentric and wealthy Kincaid family calls in a psychic investigator to put an end to the mysterious murders haunting their household."This is th! e Inner Sanctum...." And this is the world of B-movies, where Hollywood studios churned out entertaining little numbers to fill out an evening back in the Golden Age. Universal's
Inner Sanctum series, released in 1943-45, was inspired by the successful radio show of the same title. They're gathered on
Inner Sanctum Mysteries: The Complete Movie Collection, a fun grouping of a minor cinematic achievement.
All six films star the phlegmatic Lon Chaney Jr., and most begin with a floating head in the crystal ball, welcoming us to the inner sanctum, "A strange, fantastic world, controlled by a mass of living, pulsating flesh... the mind." The vaguely supernatural promise of this grabby opening is rarely fulfilled by the movies, which tend to be acceptable murder mysteries with--despite the wacky titles--very little horror content. Chaney plays a man of some distinction (a professor in Weird Woman, famous mentalist in The Frozen Ghost, physician in ! Calling Dr. Death) who runs afoul of women (among them ! Evelyn A nkers and Patricia Morison) and murder. At some point in each movie he has some elaborate voice-over agony, making clear the connection to the radio series' interior monologue. The one-hour-and-change productions are handsome, considering their budget restrictions, and Universal's prints are well-preserved; the literacy of the writing is surprisingly high--although decent writing can't put much zip into the proceedings.
Weird Woman is probably the best of the bunch, an adaptation of Fritz Leiber's novel Conjure Wife (later filmed as Burn, Witch, Burn!). Chaney is an expert on superstition who marries a voodoo-obsessed woman, whose spells might be responsible for his rapid professional rise. The influence of Cat People is as strong as the source novel. Calling Dr. Death, the first in the series, is duller, with a hypnotism-minded Chaney bedeviled by a wanton wife who conveniently dies under mysterious circumstances. Dead Man's Eyes and the amazingly-titled Pillow of Death are more fun, the former a variation on the old eye-transplant story and the latter a whodunit with lawyer Chaney accused of his wife's murder (the supernatural touch this time: séances).
Strange Confession has Chaney as an honest chemist battling an evil pharmaceutical tycoon (J. Carrol Naish), and The Frozen Ghost combines two horror staples, the unstable mentalist and the wax museum. It's just crazy enough to be entertaining, even if there's no ghost (and hardly any freezing). All in all, the DVD set is a good look at Universal's second-tier output of the era. And then there's Chaney, whose jowly steadfastness can become weirdly fascinating if you watch a few of these close together. Universal put him hard to work after the success of 1941's The Wolf Man, and alongside his monster-movie excursions and his singular triumph in Of Mice and Men, the Inner Sanctum pictures represent C! haney's best moment as a leading man. Despite his limitations,! he'll a lways have his spot in the Universal galaxy. --Robert Horton
