Cradle Will Rock |  | Actors: Hank Azaria, Bob Balaban, Jack Black, Rubén Blades, Joan Cusack
Studio: Buena Vista Home Video
Category: DVD
List Price: $9.99
Buy New: $3.85
as of 3/20/2010 18:04 EDT details
You Save: $6.14 (61%)
New (36) Used (22) from $2.76
Seller: -importcds
Rating:  64 reviews
Sales Rank: 11751
Format: Closed-captioned, Color, DVD, NTSC
Language: English (Original Language)
Rating: R (Restricted)
Region: 1
Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1
Number Of Discs: 1
Running Time: 132 Minutes
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.3
Dimensions (in): 7.4 x 5.4 x 0.6
MPN: D18288D
ISBN: 078881821X
UPC: 717951004765
EAN: 9780788818219
ASIN: B00003CWNU
Theatrical Release Date: 1999
Release Date: May 16, 2000
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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Product Description
Movie DVD
Amazon.com
"Based on a (mostly) true story," according to the opening titles, Tim Robbins's dazzling dramatization of one of the great stories in American theater indeed takes a few liberties with history. Ostensibly the story of the mayhem surrounding Marc Blitzstein's worker's opera The Cradle Will Rock, directed by Orson Welles for the WPA at the height of the Depression, Robbins paints a veritable mural around this incident, a city alive with plotting industrialists (John Cusack as Nelson Rockefeller), radical artists (Ruben Blades's Diego Rivera), and struggling citizens (Bill Murray's frustrated vaudeville ventriloquist Tommy Crickshaw). Lightning strikes when the government closes the show before it even opens and the cast marches 20 blocks to an empty theater and tosses the staging aside to perform in the aisles, the balconies, and the seats. It's a rare moment of cinema capturing the immediacy and charge of live theater on the screen and it's the heart of Robbins's often exhilarating film. His heroes are Blitzstein (a warm, gently impassioned Hank Azaria) and cheery WPA Theater director Hallie Flanagan (Broadway star Cherry Jones), but in the process he snidely turns Welles and producer John Houseman into sour, silly caricatures. The stew of artistic creation and political action gets murky and at times contradictory, but vivid performances and Robbins' driving pace and staccato crosscutting keep it humming through even the most didactic moments. The songs are by Blitzstein, and the character-rich cast also features Vanessa Redgrave, Susan Sarandon, John Turturro, Emily Watson, and Philip Baker Hall. --Sean Axmaker
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Showing reviews 1-5 of 64
 A page out of our history March 4, 2010
M. Eckroat (oklahoma)
I was most interested in the genre of the 30's and 40's-- What was happening and the characters who stopped the music because of prejudice and unrestrained labeling causing drastic impact on the genius of American life; the birth of the labor unions and the reasons for;the sad and arrogant behind the scene "movers and shakers" of that era; the state of the Union at that time period. This cast of stars depicted the personalities involved in a most changing/ground breaking time in American life before WWII. It was entertaining yet had a noir undertone of seriousness and darkness that required hard choices. The DVD, purchased on Amazon, was new and at a great price with a timely delivery. I recommend it!
 Brilliant! January 18, 2010
Phulax (WV, USA)
Though this film has an obviously ultra liberal slant and and appears much of the time to be a confusing hodge-podge (or at best a collage) of events, still it is undoubtedly brilliantly scripted, directed, acted and edited. Other reviews here adequately examine the historical background. As pure entertainment, it is not perfect but it surely excels nonetheless. My political leaning is conservative, but I can recognize and applaud a good film when I see one!
Highly recommended!
 Great Price, Fast Shipping, Perfect Condition September 17, 2009
Christopher Gomez (Rancho Cucamonga, CA)
Seller sent me my movie as advertised in great condition very quickly!
Very happy with my purchase!
 Cradle Will NOT Rock August 20, 2009
Maureen E. Mccabe
Cradle Will Rock, released in 1999, is a film about finding a balance between art and politics, as well as artists fighting in what they believe is right. Artists are influenced by issues in everyday life, which in this movie is dealing with unions, the government, and the Great Depression. The film tried to show that even though we are all tempted by different types of prostitution or exploitation, we all can remain pure by standing in what we believe in and stand against the evil vices we encounter. During a time of struggle, the artists in the movie (actors, painters, ventriloquists, etc.) stood up for what they believed in. They spoke the truth of the corruption in politics and society. This message is deep, yet I don't think the movie as a whole did a good job of tying it all together at the end to really portray this strong message.
Basically there were too many plots and sub plots interwoven in this film. There isn't a main protagonist and you don't get to connect on a personal level with any of the characters because there are so many of them. Also, this film is very confusing and hard to follow. Not a must see hit. It's a waste of 132 minutes.
Wait for it.... August 18, 2009
theatrekid28 (Bradford, MA United States)
From a seemingly muddled mess of subplots and characters, comes a great story of the Federal Theatre Project. Set during the 1930's and the Great Depression, Tim Robbins tells a story of poverty, Communism,unions and artistic integrity. Most of the characters and stories are accurate for the time, but there are some liberties taken, after all it is historical fiction. You may not find an affinity for one particular character but you will get behind their cause. While the different story lines seem disconnected they all wrap up in a nice neat bundle in end, you just have to wait for it, and it is well worth it.
Showing reviews 1-5 of 64
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