| Empire Falls | 
 enlarge | Director: Fred Schepisi
Actors: Ed Harris, Monique Jeanine Lycette, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Helen Hunt, Paul Newman
Studio: Hbo Home Video
Category: DVD
List Price: $19.98
Buy New: $3.67
You Save: $16.31 (82%)
New (75) Used (28) from $3.66
Avg. Customer Rating:  51 reviews
Sales Rank: 9109
Format: Closed-captioned, Color, Dvd-video, Ntsc
Languages: English (Original Language), English (Subtitled), Spanish (Subtitled), French (Subtitled)
Rating: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Number Of Items: 1
Running Time: 195
Aspect Ratio: 1.78:1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.4
Dimensions (in): 7.7 x 5.5 x 0.6
MPN: HBOD92753D
ISBN: 0783134908
UPC: 026359275326
EAN: 9780783134901
ASIN: B0009W5IMO
Theatrical Release Date: May 28, 2005
Release Date: September 13, 2005
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Condition: Brand New, Factory Sealed, Thousands of Titles Listed, Fast Processing
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| Editorial Reviews:
Product Description
Trapped within the confines of empire dalls maine since the death of his mother miles has been unable to sever his many ties to his dilapidated hometown including his reformed brother his lay-about father his soon-to-be-ex-wife & their intelligent if awkward daughter tick. Studio: Hbo Home Video Release Date: 01/16/2007 Starring: Ed Harris Paul Newman
Amazon.com
A frame-bursting roster of actors crowds this two-part HBO miniseries, which is nothing less than a look at America through the lens of a small New England town. Richard Russo adapted his own novel, a story of a gently depressed factory town that has always been run by the wealthiest family around (currently lorded over by matriarch Joanne Woodward). Ed Harris plays the central role, a decent, cautious man who runs a local diner and carefully negotiates the political niceties of Empire Falls; Paul Newman is his rapscallion of a father (the son is perpetually picking food out of Dad's beard), Helen Hunt is Harris's ex-wife, Aidan Quinn his feistier brother, and Robin Wright Penn his tragical mother seen in flashbacks. The goal of Russo and director Fred Schepisi seems to have been fidelity to the novel, which gives the film a pleasingly relaxed pace but also a somewhat literal-minded binding. Even that doesn't explain the general lack of tautness, or why so much of the dialogue has an awkward fit in actors' mouths. Harris and Newman, of course, are younger and older versions of American monuments, and their sheer presence goes a long way toward making the picture work (for the premium Newman-Russo match, see Robert Benton's sublime film of Nobody's Fool). Most of the twists in the final reels are genuinely affecting, and the movie has the courage to end on a mild note rather than strain to tie everything up. It's a fitting finale for an unassuming enterprise. --Robert Horton
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| Customer Reviews: Read 46 more reviews...
 BAD COMMENTARY TRACK October 9, 2008
I like the 8 episode version after a slow start. The commentary was disappointing because the comments did not often follow the visuals. They should have explained why they chose a '62 Thunderbird for Hoffman's character and then shot it like a contemporary commercial which is about escape. This was THE CAR at that time in which to escape and it should have been acknowledged.
 In Memoriam, Paul Leonard Newman (1925-2008) September 28, 2008
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
This miniseries should be re-watched because we lost a GREAT actor recently who done so good for so many.
This was his final appearance on film and he deserves a final award. Now is not the time to grieve, it is time to help others who need our help. This will truly honor a GREAT man indeed...
Markus Henry McLaughlin
marknetproductions.wordpress.com
Hudson, MA, USA
FRED SCHEPISI, OPUS 16 September 23, 2008
**1/2 2005. A TV movie based on Richard Russo's Empire Falls and directed by Fred Schepisi. Two Golden Globes and an Emmy award. A stellar cast for this 240 minutes adaptation of Richard Russo's novel. Not great, not bad, the film depicts the life of a few people living in a small New England town. In my opinion, it should have been much longer in order to describe all the tracks the residents of Empire Falls have left in the town. As it is, EMPIRE FALLS is imperfect and can only emphasize the limitations of the TV medium. Already forgotten.
An excellent story and production January 24, 2008
I love Richard Russo's stories and this one is outstanding. The production values are also outstanding, and it's fun to see old favorites like Paul Newman, Joanne Woodward, Ed Harris, Aidan Quinn, Helen Hunt and Philip Seymour Hoffman strutting their stuff.
Remarkable Cast of Characters January 22, 2008
In this HBO miniseries of Richard Russo's novel, Ed Harris plays an unpretentious restaurant manger that shows us his life within a small economically depressed Maine town. While trying to keep the doors of the Empire Grill open, he must deal with an ever increasing cast of characters - from Joanne Woodward, the town matriarch to Paul Newman - his curmudgeonly wayward father, to his ex-wife Helen Hunt (who does not pull off the accent very well). Ed Harris shows the traumas and realities of his everyday life while coming to terms with his past.
I never did read the book which some swear is better, but this gem of a movies, with its beautiful scenery and amazing cast of characters is a wonderful way to spend an afternoon.
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