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Movies / On DVD / Pennies From Heaven
Pennies From Heaven

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Pennies From Heaven (1981)

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Reviews Counted:24

Fresh:20

Rotten:4

Average Rating:7/10

Consensus: A complicated little musical, Pennies from Heaven is a dazzling, tragic spectacle.

Runtime: 1 hr 48 mins

Genre: Musical & Performing Arts

Synopsis: Herbert Ross's PENNIES FROM HEAVEN is a lavish adaptation of the BBC series of the same name; it's a contemplative avant-garde musical in which drab everyday surroundings magically become movie... Herbert Ross's PENNIES FROM HEAVEN is a lavish adaptation of the BBC series of the same name; it's a contemplative avant-garde musical in which drab everyday surroundings magically become movie sets and everyday speech suddenly turns into song. Steve Martin stars as Arthur, who sells sheet music--and the dreams promised in their lyrics--in 1930s depression-era Chicago. He's not always the most pleasant of fellows: He cheats on his wife, lies to his lovers, and seduces an innocent schoolteacher, Eileen (Bernadette Peters). But his spirit still has a sweetness and innocence--the sweetness of the Tin Pan Alley tunes he hawks and the innocence of the fantasy-filled Hollywood musicals he sees. When Arthur and Eileen set out on a series of misadventures, their bleak world turns to song and dance in a series of lavish Busby Berkeley-style musical numbers. The film features stunningly versatile performances by Steve Martin and Bernadette Peters. [More]

Starring: Steve Martin, Bernadette Peters, Christopher Walken, Jessica Harper

Starring: Steve Martin, Bernadette Peters, Christopher Walken, Jessica Harper

Director: Herbert Ross

Director: Herbert Ross
Screenwriter: Dennis Potter

[See More Credits]

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Release:

Jul 27, 2004

No Details Exist
 
 

Reviews for Pennies From Heaven

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1 - 20 (sorted by date)
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Perhaps this was not the project on which to lavish so many MGM millions. The BBC show was an enchanted cottage; this is the Las Vegas Grand Hotel.

Full Review Source: TIME Magazine | comment Comment
02/02/09
Richard Corliss
Richard Corliss
TIME Magazine
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Almost as if he were directing Pinter, Herbert Ross has actors speak a line, then wait two beats before delivering the next phrase. Technique smothers such ordinarily lively performers as Martin, Peters and Harper.

Full Review Source: Variety | comment Comment
05/20/08
Variety Staff
Variety Staff
Variety
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Not for everyone, but those who respond to it will find it unforgettable.

Full Review Source: TV Guide's Movie Guide | comment Comment
05/20/08
TV Guide's Movie Guide

Underrated, fascinating musical starring Steve Martin and Bernadette Peters.

comment Comment
03/08/08
Steve Crum
Steve Crum
Video-Reviewmaster.com

No review available.

comment Comment
09/10/07
Cole Smithey
Cole Smithey
ColeSmithey.com

O ótimo conceito deste musical torna-se ainda mais fascinante graças às belas coreografias, aos ricos figurinos, à impecável direção de arte e, é claro, à magnífica fotografia de Gordon Willis.

comment Comment
07/08/07
Pablo Villaca
Pablo Villaca
Cinema em Cena

Let's face the music and dance, indeed.

Full Review Source: Time Out | comment Comment
06/24/06
Time Out

No review available.

comment Comment
03/09/06
Jake Euker
Jake Euker
F5 (Wichita, KS)

No review available.

comment Comment
07/16/05
Emanuel Levy
Emanuel Levy
EmanuelLevy.Com

Pennies from Heaven is dazzling and disappointing in equal measure.

Full Review Source: Chicago Sun-Times | comment Comment
10/23/04
Roger Ebert
Roger Ebert
Chicago Sun-Times
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

The movie, though, is not easy to respond to. It's chilly without being provocative in any intellectual way.

Full Review Source: New York Times | comment Comment
08/30/04
Vincent Canby
Vincent Canby
New York Times
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

No review available.

comment Comment
06/04/04
Jules Brenner
Jules Brenner
Cinema Signals

Dark as night but perfectly lit, a little sad but with a song in its heart.

Full Review Source: Filmcritic.com | comment Comment
03/26/04
Mark Athitakis
Mark Athitakis
Filmcritic.com

No review available.

comment Comment
03/22/04
Rich Cline
Rich Cline
Shadows on the Wall

No review available.

comment Comment
03/04/04
Frank Swietek
Frank Swietek
One Guy's Opinion

No review available.

comment Comment
08/22/03
Carol Cling
Carol Cling
Las Vegas Review-Journal

Potter adapted his immensely successful British TV series into a Hollywood script that maintained most of its intelligence as well as the musical numbers.

Full Review Source: Channel 4 Film | comment Comment
05/24/03
Channel 4 Film

Doesn't quite work. Enough of it works, however, to give the film a shot, and it does in some ways improve with the passage of time.

Full Review Source: Mountain Xpress (Asheville, NC) | comment Comment
11/06/02
Ken Hanke
Ken Hanke
Mountain Xpress (Asheville, NC)

No review available.

comment Comment
11/05/02
Philip Martin
Philip Martin
Arkansas Democrat-Gazette

No review available.

comment Comment
08/22/02
Jeffrey Westhoff
Jeffrey Westhoff
Northwest Herald (Crystal Lake, IL)
 
 
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