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List Price: $14.98 | | Label: Universal Studios
Salesrank: 18027
Released: February 4, 2003 |
| Our Price: $2.92 |
| Used Price: $2.93 |
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MPAA Rating: G (General Audience)
Media: DVD |
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Editorial Review:
A russian countess stows away in the stateroom of a married u.S. Diplomat bound for new york. Studio: Uni Dist Corp. (mca) Release Date: 01/09/2007 Starring: Oliver Johnston Margaret Rutherford Run time: 120 minutes Rating: G Director: Charles Chaplin
Description of Countess From Hong Kong:
Charlie Chaplin's last film is the cinematic equivalent of Willie Mays staying too long in baseball--a sad farewell from someone who has clearly lost his touch. Marlon Brando (who famously did not get along with Chaplin and initiated, with this film, his curious habit of undermining his directors' best intentions) plays an American millionaire leaving Hong Kong to assume an ambassadorship. He discovers Sophia Loren--playing a daughter of Russian aristocrats and a former gangster moll--concealed in his closet onboard the outbound ship, hoping to gain passage to the States. Brando, looking none too pleased, agrees to help her, with not terribly comic or romantic results. Chaplin's one modestly clever touch is to have the camera rock gently and slowly back and forth, ostensibly emulating the movement of the luxury liner. The humor falls flat, Brando and Loren have no chemistry, and the story isn't terribly engaging. The former Little Tramp appears, mercifully briefly, as a seasick steward who opens and closes a door, swooning in between. Appropriately enough, in silence. --David Kronke
Countess From Hong Kong Reviews:
Chaplin's final Feature film and easily his worst 
2009-12-04 - Countess From Hong Kong(1967) is Charlie Chaplin's final directorial feature and a rather sad swan song to such a magnificent career. The film is an outdated romantic farce about how a son of a succesful tycoon(Marlon Brando) finds a beautiful stowaway in the form of Sophia Loren, who he met in China and now finds aboard a ship with him. A romance develops, though you won't believe it. Obviously, both actors are excellent but are VERY miscast and add to the discomfort of viewing the picture as a whole.
Brando cannot seem to capture the nuances of romantic/screwball comedy and is totally out of league in a role clearly intended for a Cary Grant, David Niven or even a Rock Hudson. His character comes across as cold and unfunny throughout and never gains audience sympathy.
Loren looks gorgeous, like usual,but seems out of place in the role of the naive Countess. She does have a nice scene in a sarong, but that's about all that could be reccomended from her in this picture.
Charlie makes a cameo appearance as a steward, but it is too little and not enough. Tis a shame, because this film really could have used a true comedian.
Compared to many of the sex comedies this film feels antiquated and dosen't even have the charm of the earlier films it wishes to emulate. This is one worth skipping.
"All in all not bad for a director 77 years young ... Charlie Chaplin" 
2009-07-26 - Universal Pictures presents "COUNTESS FROM HONG KONG" (15 March 1967) (108 mins/Color) (Dolby Digitally Remastered) --- Marlon Brando is an out of sorts politician, Sophia Loren gives a tug at your heart performance and almost carries the film by herself --- She is absolutely stunning and shines even when she wears Brando's character's pajamas --- Must make mention of the haunting beautiful score composed by Chaplin himself --- Take note there is a plus with cameos from Margaret Rutherford (British films of the 50s Miss Marple) and Angela Scoular as the society girl just about steals the entire film, also great comedy scenes from Patrick Cargill as the butler, Tippi Hedren as Martha gives a so-so outing --- Sydney Chaplin might have been a better choice for the lead, but didn't have the star power Brando had during the 60's.
Under the production staff of:
Charles Chaplin - Director, Producer & Original Screenplay
Charles Chaplin - Original Music
Jerome Epstein - Producer
Arthur Ibbetson - Cinematographer
Gordon Hales - Film Editor
BIOS:
1. Marlon Brando
Date of Birth: 3 April 1924 - Omaha, Nebraska
Date of Death: 1 July 2004 - Los Angeles, California
2. Sophia Loren
Date of Birth: 20 September 1934 - Rome, Lazio, Italy
Date of Death: Still Living
3. Sydney Chaplin
Date of Birth: 30 March 1926 - Beverly Hills, California
Date of Death: 3 March 2009 - Rancho Mirage, California
4. Tippi Hedren
Date of Birth: 19 January 1930 - New Ulm, Minnesota
Date of Death: Still Living
5. Charles Chaplin - Director
Date of Birth: 16 April 1889 - Walworth, London, England, UK
Date of Death: 25 December 1977 - Vevey, Switzerland
the cast includes
Marlon Brando ... Ogden Mears
Sophia Loren ... Natascha
Sydney Chaplin ... Harvey
Tippi Hedren ... Martha
Patrick Cargill ... Hudson
Michael Medwin ... John Felix
Oliver Johnston ... Clark
John Paul ... The Captain
Angela Scoular ... The Society Girl
Margaret Rutherford ... Miss Gaulswallow
Peter Bartlett ... Steward
Bill Nagy ... Crawford
Dilys Laye ... Saleswoman
Angela Pringle ... Baroness
Jenny Bridges ... Countess
Charles Chaplin ... An old steward
Check out the Marlon Brando 4-Movie Collection (The Ugly American / The Appaloosa / A Countess from Hong Kong / The Night of the Following Day)
also available on this Amazon site:
http://www.amazon.com/Collection-American-Appaloosa-Countess-Following/dp/B0007RTBA6/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=dvd&qid=1248618787&sr=1-2
This is probably a good case of miscasting between Brando and Loren, there is no spark to their performances when together --- Another character to the film is This is My Song one of Charlie Chaplin's famous tunes from this film --- 'This Is My Song' reached number one after a week in 1967 when sung by Petula Clark --- She recorded the tune in French, Italian, and German --- Don't regard this film as Chaplin's best work, but it is far from being a bad film --- All in all not bad for a director 77 years young!
Total Time: 108 min on DVD ~ Universal Pictures ~ (02/04/2003)
A boring (and bored) performance by Brando!
2008-10-31 - First of all, I love Brando, love Sophia Loren. I saw this in the theaters when it first came out and I wanted to own it. It wasn't so much that this is a good movie; it's just entertainingly bad. The editing is choppy, the actors move around like they are pieces being placed on a chess board, Brando is obviously BORED and he looks as though he over-acts on purpose in some of the scenes. The extras are AWFUL...the whole movie has an out-of-date feel to it (and not in a good way). There is NO sexual tension between 2 of the sexiest movie stars ever. So, what do I like about it? The absolutely gorgeous love theme "This is my song', watching Sophia Loren's luminous eyes fill with tears, and Marlon Brando doing a semi-tango at the end (although he messes up at one point...watch closely). Yeah, I bought it, still watch it...it is one of my favorite bad movies.
Good dvd quality and service
2008-05-26 - The service was good and so was the quality of the dvd. I have nothing against this vendor regarding this dvd or their service.
Chaplin's Last and Possibly Least
2008-02-26 - Chaplin's final film is alternately a beautiful and meditative love story, and an old-fashioned (in the worst sense of the word) film that shows the limits of its director's abilities.
The lead performances depend on the direction that Chaplin was able to provide. In some scenes, Brando manages to mimic Chaplin perfectly, and it works. In other scenes, he still mimics Chaplin, but the result is less effective. (As a devout Method actor, Brando repeatedly clashed with Chaplin, whose directorial style consisted of having the actors mimic his movements and delivery exactly). Sophia Loren is well-cast as the former Russian countess-turned-dance hall girl who stows away with the newly-appointed ambassador to Saudi Arabia (Brando). Aside from a major error in Chaplin's script (that is, that Loren's character is supposed to have left Russia in the revolution of 1917, which would make her character quite a bit older than she is), Loren plays the role with a comic grace that is both captivating and charming. The supporting cast have their moments: Sydney Chaplin as Brando's friend and advisor, Tippi Hedren as his estranged wife, Margaret Rutherford, in a delightful cameo as an elderly passenger aboard the ocean liner, and in a particularly memorable standout performance, Patrick Cargill as Brando's valet. Cargill shows a gift for comic timing and understated delivery here that makes the viewer wish he had been given more opportunities to demonstrate his talent. He nearly walks away with every scene he's in, and remains perhaps the most memorable part of the film.
Chaplin's use of color and widescreen is appropriately understated in keeping with his style. However, it is in Chaplin's direction that we begin to see the limits of his filmmaking ability, at least in his later works. The cinematography is appropriately understated; however, it is in the editing that the pace of the film begins to bog down. Scenes requiring a frantic pace are edited entirely too slow, losing much of the comic rhythm between the performers. Many scenes are played out in single, long takes, without much interaction between the performers within the frame (they instead appear to have been instructed to stay "on their mark" and deliver their dialog).
Perhaps the film's most memorable aspect is its lush orchestral score composed by Chaplin, and featuring the great "This is My Song", which re-appears throughout the film. Chaplin's abilities as a composer at this point had perhaps outmeasured his abilities as a filmmaker, and-fortunately for future audiences-he spent the next decade composing scores to his silent features of the 1920s.
Universal's DVD of "A Countess from Hong Kong" is an excellent transfer in anamorphic widescreen. The colors are rich and the image sharp. It boasts a clear mono soundtrack, and features a trailer as an extra.
