House Of D

I am an independent movie junkie, and have been fortunate enough to be able to attend film festivals in the past. However, I was unable to attend the Tribeca Film Festival for the past two years, but several friends of mine have attended. "House of D" was the one movie that my friends saw at Tribeca, and it had them all talking. There was no middle ground on this one -- either it was "the greatest movie ever", or "a total waste of time and film." (This division of opinion did fall into the "fan of David Duchovny" and "not a fan of David Duchovny" lines.) Their reactions alone was the main reason why I decided to see for myself why there was such a range in the critiques of this movie.I can say in all honesty that "House of D" certainly wasn't the worst movie that I have ever seen, and, frankly, considering all of the negative reviews it spawned during its release this spring, I was expecting to find it awful. I think it is a good first effort from Mr. Duchovny. I found Anton Yelchin charming, and his protrayal of Tommy very believeable. And I'm a huge fan of Erykah Badu, so I was thrilled to see her performance. As far as the other actors are concerned, I rate their performances as "not great, but not terrible either." There were parts of the movie that I laughed it, and other parts that moved me.But I can also say in all honesty that I don't believe "House of D" deserves all of the "best movie ever" reviews that have been popping up. There were several holes in the dialog that had me scratching my head in confusion. I understand that there are limitation when doing an independent movie, and that you can't always film all of the scenes you want to film, and you have to cater to the movie studios/backers/distributors, but considering there was a "voice-over" in the movie, why a few additional lines of dialog couldn't have been added to explain some of what I consider the obvious holes in the plot is a mystery. (An American kid living alone in Paris - how did he survive? I know he could speak French, but what about money? Where did he live? And how did he manage to get to Paris in the first place without a passport? And what about his mother's relatives who arrived to take Tommy in after his mother's overdose. Did they even attempt to find out what happened to Tommy? Or did they just say to themselves "Golly, he was here, but now he's gone. Oh well, those things happen." I know these questions can easily fall into the "just take it on faith" category, but I think they could have been solved, as I said, with some additional voice-over dialog.)I think this film falls into one of those "you either love it or hate it" categories. If you are a David Duchovny fan, I'm sure you are planning on watching this movie anyway, so you aren't bothering with any reviews. If you aren't a David Duchovny fan, you won't be wasting your time or money on this DVD. If you are like me (you know who David Duchovny is, but you can't quote bits of dialog from any X-Files episode), I would suggest that you at least give "House of D" a try. If you aren't confortable in spending money for the DVD, rent it at the video/dvd store.I would say that "House of D" didn't rock my world, but I'm glad I saw it, and I don't regret spending my money on the DVD. And I think that it was a decent effort on the part of Mr. Duchovny. (At least he wrote a screenplay, and got it on film -- how many people have been able to do that?). Base on this film, I am now more likely to see whatever acting/writing/directing Mr. Duchovny does in the future, especially in the writing/directing areas, to see how much "growth" has taken place.

So i bought 2 of these (one for my mom for Christmas and one for myself). One of the DVDs was packaged normally, like any DVD you would buy. The second dvd was like slightly opened?? Like the plastic got tore a little. Not at all a big deal! DVD was completely wrapped besides the little bits that were ripped (hopefully you can see in the pics). I just thought it was a little odd, so figured I'd mention. Movie itself is good! Sad but good!! Haven't seen this since middle school, early-ish 2000s, so I can't wait to watch again!

Man this film has been panned left and right by film critics, and I find the reviews puzzling. Why is this film so panned? I mean the reviews are brutal. Tons of movies come out that receive ok to stellar reviews, and taking the advice you get to the theater and realize you already saw the new movie six months ago with a different title, cast, and some minor variations. One thing is for sure, House of D aint one of these films. The film is a unique and distinct coming of age story, which might account for all the panning.In my opinion the film is good. What makes it worth watching is that the characters have awful things in their lives, yet the film offers a hopeful spin on life that can actually happen. Some films that deal with characters facing tough challenges have something extraordinary happen to them which helps them escape, but House doesn't. The characters' escapes in House come slowly and not all of them do. The central character Tom's escape comes with a lingering price that keeps him from living fully. The hopefulness in House is the answer it offers as to how to be humanly and genuinely liberated.The one critique I have of the film is that Tom seems to move up the socio-economic ladder too easily if his past is to be believed. But the deleted scenes fix this. The deleted scene titled "Meanwhile Back in Paris" has the character understate his struggle in Paris, instead of making his success seem too easy. This is definitely a film that if for whatever reason something in it rings true for you, you'll find it very good. If not, you can always get your pan on.

I am cured trying to get all of his movies. And this is such a great movie! I highly recommend it. If you love Robin Williams!

Back when this movie first came out, the crabby critical reviews kept me away. I finally got around to seeing it and wow -- I truly regret that I waited this long! I'm not sure what "official" critics are looking for in a movie, but this one is brimming with heart, nostalgia, and top-notch performances across the board. I was drawn in within the first five minutes, and the film held my attention right through the final scene. Along with way, I laughed quite a bit -- and unexpectedly, I cried as well. It's a much deeper story than I'd been led to believe; and there are moments of genuine loss, even grief. But from beginning to end, this film absolutely shines as it explores themes of unavoidable change, love, friendship, growing up, running away, and what it truly means to come home. Making things even more bittersweet, the inspired teaming of Robin Williams with then-relative newcomer Yelchin showcases impressive levels of sensitivity and character insight. Watching this movie, you can't help but miss Williams terribly and grieve for everything the gifted Yelchin might have become. But there they are, right up on the screen -- laughing, vibrant, full of joy and mischief, unchanging, captured forever in time.

ROBIN WILLIAMS REINS IT IN TO PLAY THIS ONE--YOU EXPECT A NANU OR SOMETHING CRAZY THAT HE WILL SAY AND HE DOES A LITTLE BIT BUT THIS IS ONE OF ROBIN'S MORE SERIOUS CHARACTERS. HIS DAUGHTER IS ALSO IN IT AND DAVE DUCHOVNY DOES A GREAT JOB IN THE LEAD ROLE AS WELL AS THE KID WHO PLAYS HIS YOUNGER VERSION..I LIKED IT.

If it wasn't for Amazon.uk I would have not known about this amazing DVD.Never seen it in Australia ...either for rent or sale.It is truely an extraordinary story that touches on many issues that other Producers are afraid to address.Whilst I am not a Robin Williams fan...I would give a standing ovation to him for his performance in this film.Anton Yelchin gives an outstanding performance as a young teen who is faced with the impossible task of looking after his mum and the awkward and uncompromising decision to stand by his retarded friend...at the expense of loosing everything he has.This movie is very funny...but also ruthlessly sad.It ends on a high...so I rate it definately 5 stars.

Nice movie, good actors.

I was drawn to this film because it stars David Duchovny. It is well thought out and scripted, Robin Williams gives his normal excellent performance. I t is well worth a look.

Does not play on English DVD players

unable to play again another which play in this region