$10.50$10.50
FREE delivery:
Feb 22 - 27
Ships from: QUICK CLIX Sold by: QUICK CLIX
$8.44$8.44
FREE delivery: Tuesday, Feb 27 on orders over $35.00 shipped by Amazon.
Ships from: Amazon Sold by: California Book Bag
Other Sellers on Amazon
+ $4.88 shipping
96% positive over last 12 months
Image Unavailable
Color:
-
-
-
- Sorry, this item is not available in
- Image not available
- To view this video download Flash Player
The Savages
- Free returns are available for the shipping address you chose. You can return the item for any reason in new and unused condition: no shipping charges
- Learn more about free returns.
- Go to your orders and start the return
- Select the return method
- Ship it!
Additional DVD options | Edition | Discs | Price | New from | Used from |
DVD
May 26, 2008 "Please retry" | — | 1 |
—
| — | $53.99 |
Watch Instantly with | Rent | Buy |
Purchase options and add-ons
Genre | Drama |
Format | Subtitled, Multiple Formats, AC-3, NTSC, Dolby, Widescreen, Color, Dubbed |
Contributor | Philip Seymour Hoffman, Nancy Lenehan, Guy Boyd, Philip Bosco, Marianne Weems, Debra Monk, Salem Ludwig, Michael Blackson, Margo Martindale, Michael Higgins, Sandy Daley, Christopher Durham, Maddie Corman, Laura Linney, Patti Karr, Peter Friedman, Madeline Lee, W. Mott Hupfel III, Cara Seymour, Peter Frechette, Mott Hupfel, David Zayas, Rosemary Murphy See more |
Language | English |
Runtime | 1 hour and 54 minutes |
Frequently bought together
Customers who viewed this item also viewed
Product Description
Product Description
The last thing the two Savage siblings ever wanted to do was look back on their undeniably dysfunctional family legacy. Wendy (Academy Award nominee Laura Linney) is a self medicating struggling East Village playwright, AKA a temp who spends her days applying for grants and stealing office supplies, dating her very married neighbor. Jon (Academy Award winner Philip Seymour Hoffman) is an obsessive compulsive college professor writing obscure books on even more obscure subjects in Buffalo who still can't commit to his girlfriend after four years even though her cooking brings him tears of joy. Then, out of the blue, comes the call that changes everything - the call that informs them that the father they have long feared and avoided, Lenny Savage (Tony Award winner Philip Bosco), has lost his marbles. And there is no one to help him but his kids. Now, as they put the middle of their already arrested lives on hold, Wendy and Jon are forced to live together under one roof for the first time since childhood, soon rediscovering the eccentricities that drove each other crazy. Faced with complete upheaval and the ultimate sibling rivalry battle over how to handle their father's final days, they are forced to face the past and finally start to realize what adulthood, family and, most surprisingly, each other are really about.
Amazon.com
It's almost impossible to describe The Savages in a way that makes it sound as richly engaging and enjoyable as it is. The story sounds bleak: Two unhappy siblings--Wendy (Laura Linney, You Can Count on Me) and Jon Savage (Philip Seymour Hoffman, Capote)--are forced to grapple with their dying father (Philip Bosco, Damages) as he slips into dementia. But this spare outline doesn't capture the wealth of human detail that the script and performances contain. Linney and Hoffman vividly portray the sort of cluttered, precarious relationship that brothers and sisters can have, thick with past grievances but also unspoken affections and connections that can't even be articulated. As Wendy and Jon struggle to make some kind of peace with their difficult father, watching these wonderfully understated yet compelling actors is a pleasure unto itself. But the script and direction deserve these actors; filmmaker Tamara Jenkins (Slums of Beverly Hills) finds honest emotion and sly, sideways humor in the starkness of mortality. She doesn't force any easy epiphanies on her story, but lets the characters find solace through their own clumsy efforts. Anyone who appreciates the messiness of humanity--the territory that Hollywood movies seem to have surrendered to smart indie films like The Squid and the Whale, Little Children, or The Good Girl--will find The Savages a smart, genuine, and empathic portrait of life. --Bret Fetzer
Beyond The Savages
More from Laura Linney
More from Philip Seymour Hoffman
More Comedies from Fox
Stills from The Savages
Product details
- Aspect Ratio : 1.85:1
- Is Discontinued By Manufacturer : No
- MPAA rating : R (Restricted)
- Product Dimensions : 0.7 x 7.5 x 5.4 inches; 2.4 Ounces
- Item model number : 2250679
- Media Format : Subtitled, Multiple Formats, AC-3, NTSC, Dolby, Widescreen, Color, Dubbed
- Run time : 1 hour and 54 minutes
- Release date : October 20, 2009
- Actors : Laura Linney, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Maddie Corman, Peter Frechette, Michael Higgins
- Dubbed: : Spanish
- Subtitles: : English, French, Spanish
- Language : English (Dolby Surround), Unqualified, Spanish (Dolby Surround)
- Studio : 20th Century Fox
- ASIN : B0014GI6I2
- Number of discs : 1
- Best Sellers Rank: #49,609 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)
- #8,363 in Drama DVDs
- Customer Reviews:
Important information
To report an issue with this product or seller, click here.
Customer reviews
Customer Reviews, including Product Star Ratings help customers to learn more about the product and decide whether it is the right product for them.
To calculate the overall star rating and percentage breakdown by star, we don’t use a simple average. Instead, our system considers things like how recent a review is and if the reviewer bought the item on Amazon. It also analyzed reviews to verify trustworthiness.
Learn more how customers reviews work on Amazon-
Top reviews
Top reviews from the United States
There was a problem filtering reviews right now. Please try again later.
1. Death of parents
2. Responsibility to elders
3. Serious illness
4. A demented parent
5. Placement of a loved one in the care of others
6. The quality of care provided for the elderly
It is difficult to express the feelings surfaced by The Savages as we witnessed brother and sister trying to care for a father, diagnosed with dementia, who failed to be loving or caring to them. The father is alone because his life partner dies and her children don't want the responsibility of caring or providing shelter for him.
From the outset, the movie will shock viewers with the crude reality of mental health issues confronted by the unfortunate individuals who suffer dementia. The acting is superb. Wendy, played by Laura Linney is the lonely play writer sister who has terrible relationships because she does not want the commitment to developing a family of her own. Jon, masterfully played by Philip Seymour Hoffman, is the brother who also can't commit to a relationship, living in an apartment that is so cluttered that when his sister visits and he offers the couch, which is covered with magazines and school papers, we hear her cynical comment: "what couch?"
The range of emotions displayed brought us to laughter, being upset, understanding the guilt and anger felt by the siblings, empathy and finally we were happy to see the transformation, the catharsis experienced by the family members as they learn much about themselves from the experiences shared.
Not an easy movie to watch, but an excellent view as to real human drama. A poignant film, don't miss it!
UPDATE: Having now gone through the additional and special features on the DVD, I also wanted to say that they are not just simple "add ons" but help add perspective to this film. The actors speak about the fact the complexities of family relationships and Seymour-Hoffman adds his take (which can also be seen here on Amazon's own snippet from the film for now) that it isn't normal for children to be estranged from a parent. In this case, the children of a very difficult father are alienated from him.
The film struck home for me because I'm helping to care for two relatives, both elderly, one in a nursing home. Trust me, I know authenticity when it comes to catching the dynamics of family relationships, dealing with an elderly parent and all the issues that come into play. Even in the best of situations, there are tough days. Aging can go down hard and mental and physical decline, as portrayed so aptly in this film, isn't easy to watch.
Philip Seymour Hoffman and Laura Linney are also excellent as brother and sister who have their own struggles with facing reality and dealing with an imperfect father. They have their own flawed and difficult lives and then, suddenly, they have total responsibility for their father, who is left without the girlfriend or backup support that the siblings thought was there. Now what?
That is the plot, in short. Hoffman manages to be clumsy but engaging, a trait he seems to have made into an art form in many films. In this one, he and his sister (Linney) have both tension and a bond between them. I could feel their pain when they were together and Linney's judgment of her brother's lifestyle...and yet they had to find a way to get through the situation with their father as well, however awkward that might be.
Of the two, Linney is the one who tries to be the "pleaser" and fix things. She goes through bouts of denial while her brother is less apt to turn away from reality. Yet Linney also seems to have more sympathy at times. Both Seymour-Hoffman and Linney work so well together, seeming perfectly believable as two very opposite sibling, both damaged by a very flawed parent. Now they have to care for that parent.
Everything seemed so real to me. I'd been in similar situations, faced with unexpected crisis. I know that "bumbling through" is sometimes the best we can do, although there are those of us who step up to the plate with grace, tact and composure at all times. This is a film for the rest of us.
Partly, I guess, this movie was about having to grow up, in spite of oneself. I am still struggling to be articulate about it because it pulled at me so strongly that it is hard to be objective - or anything approaching it. I simply loved this movie! It is, however, VERY slow-paced and the drama may not appeal to those who want something less real. It isn't really a feel good, escapist movie. It could even be called depressing by some, although I felt inspired by it, like someone understood the particular difficulty of dealing with an aged parent.
Also, Linney and Hoffman aren't schmaltzy. If you want to know if this film is for you, consider it a "slice of life" film about two people who have to handle a father's physical and emotional decline, senility and all that. If that doesn't sound appealing to you, by all means avoid it.
However, this film made me think about aging - and I had already thought about it plenty (or so I believed). It gave me new perspective on sibling relationships, flawed parents and it also was a very engaging film, in its own niche area.
I enjoyed the film immensely, with the exception of the ending - and I have to be honest about that, so there it is. It isn't nearly as dark as my outline of it may make it sound. There are quirky moments and humorous ones.
I do agree with the reviewer who noted that people who like films like The Good Girl and Little Children may also like this one. I like those types of films and am constantly intrigued by they psychological oddities of the human character. This film explores that territory, with a story line involving two siblings and an aging parent. Because so many Baby Boomers are both aging and handling elderly parents, this is a theme that deserves plenty of attention. I'm glad this film explores the subject.
Highly recommended.
Top reviews from other countries
SOLO ALLA FINE DELLA VITA DEL PADRE: I FIGLI LO CONOSCONO! E' QUESTO CHE SOTTOLINEO A TUTTI MA A TUTTI I FIGLI-
DA COMPRARE