 | |
List Price: $14.94 | | Label: Sony Pictures
Salesrank: 14970
Released: May 15, 2007 |
| Our Price: $6.17 |
| Used Price: $2.49 |
|
MPAA Rating: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Media: DVD |
|
Editorial Review:
No Description Available.
Genre: Musicals
Rating: PG13
Release Date: 15-MAY-2007
Media Type: DVD
Description of Rent:
Rent, the show that in 1996 gave voice to a Broadway generation, has finally become an energetic, passionate, and touching movie musical. Based loosely on Puccini's La Bohème, it focuses on the year in the life of a group of friends in New York's East Village--"bohemians" who live carefree lives of art, music, sex, and drugs. Well, carefree until Mark, an aspiring filmmaker (Anthony Rapp), and Roger, an aspiring songwriter (Adam Pascal), find out they owe a year's rent to Benny (Taye Diggs), a former friend who had promised them free residence when he married the landlord's daughter. Roger has also attracted the attention of his downstairs neighbor, Mimi (Rosario Dawson), while Mark's former girlfriend, Maureen (Idina Menzel), has found a new romance in a lawyer named Joanne (Tracie Thoms). Philosophy professor Tom (Jesse L. Martin) finds his soul mate in drag queen Angel (Wilson Jermaine Heredia). But because this is the late-'80s, the threat of AIDS is always present. The remarkable thing about Rent the movie is that nearly 10 years after the show debuted on Broadway, six of the eight principals return in the roles they originated. They're a bit older than would be ideal for their characters, but they do have the advantage of having learned the show directly from creator Jonathan Larson (who died of an aortic aneurysm while the show was in previews), plus they started young--we're not exactly talking Sarah Brightman and Michael Crawford here. Alongside a polished performance like Rapp's--sometimes observer-commentator, sometimes participant in two of the score's showstoppers, "The Tango Maureen" and "La Vie Boheme"--the two new additions (Thoms in place of Fredi Walker, Dawson in place of the edgier Daphne Rubin-Vega) slip comfortably into the ensemble; the pivotal Dawson makes a seductive case as Mimi when she tempts Roger in the mesmerizing "Light My Candle" or burns up the stage of the Catscratch Club in "Out Tonight." Moviegoers who have an aversion to people who break into song while walking down the street probably won't have their minds changed by Rent (even if they are singing rock songs), and the gritty subject matter and lack of big-name stars make it unlikely to cross over to general audiences the way Chicago did. But fans of musicals should find "Seasons of Love" as stirring as ever, and the show's passionate admirers--the "Rentheads"--probably couldn't have wished for a more sympathetic director than Rent fan Chris Columbus, or a more faithful representation of the show they love. --David Horiuchi
Rent Reviews:
two versions; one compelling story 
2009-11-16 - I saw this first on IFC and had to have a copy.
Don't miss the bonus stuff! Knowing the back story makes the whole project more meaningful.
I also recommend seeing the stage version; some things just work better on stage.
Beware! You may find these tunes running through your head for weeks aferwards.
-- Bart
RENT THE MUSICAL PSP 
2009-11-06 - ITEM JUST AS DESCRIBED ! FAST AND FRIENDLY ! A REAL PLEASURE DOIN BUSINESS WITH ... THANK YOU !
Rent the Movie
2009-08-29 - As decribed brand new in the wrapper. It only took 2 days to receive it. Thanks
Skips 
2009-07-14 - The movie it self is amazing!!!! But I was dissapointed that the disc skips about 30 mins of the movie. From the take me for what I am song all the way to Angel's furneal. Get this movie from another company!!!
The Abridged Broadway 
2009-07-05 - I saw Rent twice on stage and have the soundtrack memorized. I was excited to see it had come out on DVD as well... until I watched it.
Seeing it on stage was transcendent. This movie cut a bunch of the songs (time constraints?), cut many of the layers out of some songs that were kept (too hard to film on their budget?), and turned many lines that were sung in the original into spoken dialogue (wanted to make it a musical instead of a rock opera?), which felt awkward and flat.
They also changed parts of the story. For example, in the stage version, April left a note to Roger saying the two of them had AIDS and slit her wrist in the bathroom; in the film, he's standing beside her as she gets her test results and we're to assume she died of AIDS-related complications, which takes a lot of the punch out of Roger's character. In the stage version, all of Act One happens on Christmas Eve; in the film, it's split up into two (or more?) days for no apparent reason, which makes the lyrics of some later songs inaccurate. The conflict between Roger and Mark is entirely left out of the film.
I think the film version still delivers an important message, but it lacks a lot of the artistry and power of the original. I see that a filmed-on-stage version is now available, which wasn't the case when I bought this movie. I'd highly suggest getting that instead.
