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starring: Kevin Kline, Ashley Judd, Jonathan Pryce, Kevin McNally, Sandra Nelsondirected by: Irwin Winkler
List Price: $9.94Amazon.com's Price: $9.44 You Save: $0.50 ( 5%)Prices subject to change.
Audience Rating: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Binding: VHS Tape
EAN: 9780792863625
Format: Closed-captioned, Color, NTSC
ISBN: 0792863623
Label: MGM (Video & DVD)
Manufacturer: MGM (Video & DVD)
Number Of Items: 1
Publisher: MGM (Video & DVD)
Release Date: December 21, 2004
Running Time: 125 minutes
Sales Rank: 14457
Studio: MGM (Video & DVD)
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Editorial Review:
Description:
'The most unusual and enchanting musical in years' (Roger Ebert), this cinematic ode to legendary composer Cole Porter is at once buoyantly fun and 'heartbreakingly beautiful' (Liz Smith). Oscar(r) winner* Kevin Kline (The Ice Storm) is 'perfection' (Rolling Stone) as the elegant and deeply complex Porter in a film that offers 'knockout performances' (Gene Shalit) from Natalie Cole, Elvis Costello, Sheryl Crow, Diana Krall, Alanis Morissette and Robbie Williams, and 'melancholy, wit and style to burn' (The Philadelphia Inquirer)! From Paris to Venice to Broadway to Hollywood, the lives of Cole (Kline) and Linda (Ashley Judd) Porter were never less thanglamorous and wildly unconventional. Though Cole's thirst for life strained their marriage, Linda never stopped being his muse, inspiring some of the greatest songs of the twentieth century.*1988: Supporting Actor, A Fish Called Wanda
Amazon.com:
It's astonishing that one man could have written so many memorable songs, but musical gems keep popping up in De-Lovely, about the life and loves of Cole Porter. Played by Kevin Kline (In & Out, A Fish Called Wanda), an elderly Porter is summoned by a mysterious director (Jonathan Pryce, Brazil) to view his own story, which unfolds as a series of theatrical tableaux. The movie is open (if a bit chaste) about Porter's homosexuality, but argues that the love of his life was still his devoted platonic relationship with Linda Lee (Ashley Judd, Ruby in Paradise, Kiss the Girls). Unfortunately, the narrative suffers from the fate of many biographies; by trying to cram in a person's entire life, it ends up a collection of snapshots without depth or context. The parade of celebrity singers (Alanis Morissette, Sheryl Crow) were apparently chosen for their jarringly modern vocal mannerisms. --Bret Fetzer
Customer Reviews
Average Rating: 
Rating:  - Cole Porter, Warts and All
Shadow Watcher
Nobody Drowns in Mineral Lake
As the story of Cole Porter, DE-LOVELY is perhaps the best, most imaginative movie musical biography ever made. Unlike NIGHT AND DAY, the 1946 whitewashed Porter biography that starred Cary Grant and Alexis Smith, this film presents the composer with all his warts exposed.
In other words, the Irwin Winkler-directed movie deals frankly with Porter's bi-sexual lifestyle, which often was quite indiscreet.
Kevin ... Read More
Rating:  - Good musical
Let me state my bias up front. I loathe musicals. There are very few I like- especially from the so-called Golden Era of Hollywood. That's because the whole convention of people breaking into song at a difficult moment always strikes me as forced and phony. There are exceptions, though. The Sound Of Music because of....well, I loved Julie Andrews as a child, Evita because there's only one spoken line in the film- it totally divorces itself from the conventional musical format, and Moulin Rouge because ... Read More
Rating:  - Almost Elegant
"De-Lovely" is the perfect film for someone who loves the music of Cole Porter but knows little about his life. Ashley Judd steals the movie as Linda, the socialite who marries the young composer, aware of his homosexual ways but loyal to him regardless. Kevin Kline, inevitably, is too manly in his portrayal of someone whose gayness was as pronounced as was Porter's. I expected more of the Monty Woolley character, Cole's friend since their days together at Yale...and the omission of Elsa Maxwell from ... Read More
Rating: - Great acting, good intentions, wasted opportunities
At one point Jay Cocks' script borders on the self-congratulatory when Cole and Linda are shown viewing the earlier biopic starring Cary Grant with obvious displeasure. This remake, of course, is going to tell it like it is, and indeed the script of "De-Lovely" strains to account for the (frequently) flawed face of artistic genius. Linda tells Cole that his music stems from his talent, not his behavior, whereas Cole tries to explain that it's all part of the same inseparable package: without the excesses, ... Read More
Rating: - Even better a few years down the road
While I thoroughly enjoyed this movie when I saw it in the theatre, it has aged most gracefully over the past couple years and now appears better than it did when released. The DVD extras are also informative and interesting. The Commentary was actually kind of fun.
The critics were right -- the flashback conceit serves to make everything emotionless -- who IS Jonathan Pryce suddenly in this movie where everyone else is real...and while it was advertised as "lush and detailed" it seems plain compared ... Read More
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