Empire Falls (DVD)

HBO hired Richard Russo as screenwriter to turn his Pulitzer Prize winning novel into a TV film. Not only did he have the scope provided by television ( several distinct chapters, three plus hours) to represent the novel properly; he also ended up with a superb, really an inimitable cast: Paul Newman, Joanne Woodward, Ed Harris, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Robin Wright Penn, Dennis Farina, Helen Hunt, Aidan Quinn, and lesser lights whose day will come. What raw talent!The result is fantastic. I've never seen a film that was so faithful to the novel that prompted it. (And take advantage of the screenwriter/director's commentary really to plumb the depths of this.) "Empire Falls (the movie)" is really the test case of the question "Can a novel truly be turned into a film?" And the answer is an emphatic "YES!" Although I read the book first, with my imagination turned on full force, I will never again be able to visualize the characters of Max Roby and the Silver Fox as anyone but Paul Newman and Dennis Farina.An interesting side question, however: Did Russo realize things about the novel that he got to clarify when he was screenwriter in the film? I certainly thought so. It was suddenly clear to me that old Max Roby was the foil to Francine Whiting, and that the central question of the story was where and how a person determines to express love: The disreputable old charmer Max Roby made the decision to offer love where his ethics and commitment (however doubtful both of these were) told him to, whereas Francine permitted herself to wander away from love to embrace power and revenge. Maybe Russo was bringing out more distinctly what, as author, he knew was already there in the novel, but maybe he was simply realizing in the film for the first time what he had hoped to accomplish in the book (and this latter is what I for one think).Thus, this film is simultaneously a best reading of the book, while also providing a new understanding of it. In any case, how could anyone do anything but recommend it enthusiastically?

Was looking forward to watching this didn't even finish it very corny was the last project I believe Paul Newman worked on and not his best.

I saw this on HBO in 2005 when it first appeared. It grabbed my heart then - enough that when it came up on Amazon Prime my heart told me to watch it again. It is about the emotional side of life and why we sometimes do things that seem odd to others, but make sense to our hearts. It is about small town life and how some people make that work through their lifetimes. For me small town life was left behind long ago, but I appreciate experiencing a story through multiple levels. It is not easy to express this in a quick review but Empire Falls manages to flesh out the main character played by Ed Harris as he recalls his childhood, his mother, and people in his mother's life and give us an idea of why he quietly makes some decisions in his current life. The cast is deep in wonderful actors. The story has depth and breadth. The setting is perfectly captured, right down to the letters on the signs falling off-kilter and the neon light shorting out. It is a very well-done production - as HBO does so well. I am really happy to be able to watch this kind of programming again.

I saw this miniseries when it came out on HBO and have been wanting to purchase it ever since; I finally got the chance with my Kindle. I have not read the novel this series is based upon, but I know people who have and, by all accounts, it was excellent. The HBO series continues the tradition. The story (small dying town in New England full of "characters" all facing challenges, with one really bitchy rich lady - played convincingly by Joanne Woodward - overseeing it all and pulling strings wherever she can to cause trouble & keep people under her thumb) is very good, with each of the characters playing out his or her life story for the viewer in a carefully crafted way that inspires both sympathy and admiration. It would take too long to tell every character's story, so I'll just state that the actors are all fantastic in their respective roles; the cast reads like a who's who of Hollywood, and they tell a beautiful & tragic story in just the right way. Please rent ASAP if you want a great film.

Paul Newman was great, Helen Hunt also. Dennis Farina was a great pick and did a great job and Aiden Quinn as the brother was also well done. I'm normally a real Ed Harris fan, but I don't think he was the right guy for this one. They should have taken their time and worked a little harder on character development. It was a miniseries . . . could have used 2 or three more episodes to better develop plot and character. The fact that Russo (the Writer of the book) was also involved in the movie was surprising since the whole thing seemed so rushed. Great book, though.

Interesting seeing Joanne Woodward and Paul Newman, husband and wife in real life, play such opposite type roles--yet,, notwithstanding the extremes of their financial conditions, the roles were very much the same insofar as their manipulation and attempts at controlling others created such misery. One victim of their controlling forces finally realized that the only way to stop their influence was not to stand up to them but to ignore them and take back the power that was his power. It took decades but he simply stopped their evil influence by not allowing them to have any. That mental acknowledgement to himself set him and an entire town free. That is the dominating lesson of this 2 part series. People have power over us because we accept and acknowledge their power. Ignore it and their dominion over us goes away. Well acted.

Enjoyed the home town feel of the dvd. Wish it had been longer. Good acting. Thanks

Compared with some of the rubbish that finds it's way on to our screens from the US this is a gem of a mini-series. A good story, well made and with a great cast. Note that it's an import and an NSTC set. There are two parts so avoid "Part1" discs unless you can find the "Part2" disc as well. I got caught out by this but found the 2disc whole series set. You'll need a multi-region DVD player and be sure you're equipment will play NTSC discs before you buy.

Never shown in UK, if your a fan of ED Harris or Helen Hunt this is a must, not really a series, more a long film on two disks, a good story about a small town "similar to the spitfire grill"

Bought this on the strength of the Emmy awards. Its a good story, and does not disappoint. Ed Harris is a great actor and leads this cast well.

die DVDs kamen in jämmerlichem Zustand an!!! Gelegentlich kaufe ich durchaus gebrauchte Ware, aber nur, wenn der Anbieter den Zustand mit "sehr gut" beschreibt. Hier ging ich von Neuware aus. Es kam eine an Ecken und Kanten abgeriebene, schon recht schäbige Hülle, in der sich zwei DVDs befanden, die offensichtlich Kratzspuren aufwiesen, also wohl sehr häufig abgespielt wurden. Das ganze war dann in Plastik verschweisst, man wusste nicht recht, soll man das eklige Teil rausholen oder lieber drinlassen und zurückschicken...(Geöffnet wars nicht ganz so schlimm, trotz der Kratzer war alles abspielbar, aber dieser Verkauf war nicht "reell" - und, ja: das sollte man groß draufschreiben: Region 1 - das ist für einige ja möglicherweise ein Ausschlußkriterium. Für diesen Kauf nur 2 Sterne.)Zum Film: pures Fernseh-Glück, ein geseufztes "Schade", als er zuende ist, man hätte noch Stunden weiter schauen mögen. Die Verfilmung ist unbedingt (wie nahezu alle HBO-Produktionen) sehenswert - großes amerikanisches Filmerzählen mit allerfeinsten Schauspielern, der wunderbare Autor Richard Russo hat selbst das Drehbuch bearbeitet und (leider) kürzen müssen, weswegen sich auch der nachträgliche Kauf des Buches mehr als lohnt. Tun Sie sich selbst den Gefallen, kaufen und verschenken Sie es, es werden nur beglückte, kitschfreie Reaktionen vermeldet, garantiert! Beschämenderweise ist dieser Pulitzer-preisgekrönte Roman jetzt erst nach vielen Jahren ins Deutsche übersetzt worden und hat prompt den unsäglichen, dümmlichen und gottverdammten Titel "Diese gottverdammten Träume" bekommen, lassen Sie sich davon nicht abschrecken: er verdient absolut die größte Zahl an Lesern.

Die DVDs können aufgrund der Codierung nicht in DVD Playern in Deitschland abgespielt werden, aber ein normaler Computer tut's, das muss man natürlich wissen. Gut gemachte Mini Serie, die dem Buch gerecht wird. Ton ist nur in Englisch, aber Untertitel helfen, wenn der amerikanische Akzent zu schwer zu verstehen ist.