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Movies / On DVD / Vanya on 42nd Street
Vanya on 42nd Street

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Vanya on 42nd Street (1994)

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Reviews Counted:31

Fresh:27

Rotten:4

Average Rating:7.6/10

Consensus: Beautiful performances and the subtle hand of master Louis Malle make this adaptation of Chekov's Uncle Vanya an eccentric presentation of an enduring classic.

Runtime: 1 hr 59 mins

Genre: Dramas

Synopsis: David Mamet wrote the screenplay for this staging of Andre Gregory's play, "Vanya," itself based on Chekhov's masterpiece, "Uncle Vanya." A group of actors enter a theatre on New York's 42nd Street... David Mamet wrote the screenplay for this staging of Andre Gregory's play, "Vanya," itself based on Chekhov's masterpiece, "Uncle Vanya." A group of actors enter a theatre on New York's 42nd Street and run through a full-length rehearsal of "Vanya" --no costumes, no sets and no 19th-century pretensions. [More]

Starring: Wallace Shawn, Julianne Moore, George Gaynes, Brooke Smith

Starring: Wallace Shawn, Julianne Moore, George Gaynes, Brooke Smith, Phoebe Brand, Lynn Cohen, Jerry Mayer, Larry Pine, Andre Gregory

Director: Louis Malle

Director: Louis Malle
Story: Anton Chekhov

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Release:

Sep 24, 2002

No Details Exist
 
 

Reviews for Vanya on 42nd Street

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1 - 20 (sorted by date)
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The drawback, however, is that the actors chew the scenery in true stagecraft fashion, which, on film, induces regular wincing and a wish that they would hand out the valium and take it easy.

Full Review Source: Empire Magazine | comment Comment
08/12/08
Empire Magazine

Not entirely successful, but undeniably brave.

Full Review Source: Channel 4 Film | comment Comment
08/12/08
Channel 4 Film

here are moments of considerable power here but this stripped-down rendering gives us something closer to a latterday dysfunctional family than Chekhov's doomed bourgeoisie.

Full Review Source: TV Guide's Movie Guide | comment Comment
08/12/08
TV Guide's Movie Guide

The performances are precise, the language is alive and well spoken and the setting is striking, but Vanya on 42nd Street still suffers rather heavily from the limitations of filmed theater.

Full Review Source: Variety | comment Comment
08/12/08
Todd McCarthy
Todd McCarthy
Variety
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Malle adeptly eases us into the play so we can't tell at what precise moment Chekhov takes over, an ambiguity that becomes the film's triumph as well as its key limitation.

Full Review Source: Chicago Reader | comment Comment
08/12/08
Jonathan Rosenbaum
Jonathan Rosenbaum
Chicago Reader
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

It offers a unique viewing at a work in progress.

Full Review Source: Ozus' World Movie Reviews | comment Comment
11/06/07
Dennis Schwartz
Dennis Schwartz
Ozus' World Movie Reviews

There's more power here than in all the multi-million dollar fireworks of Hollywood.

Full Review Source: Time Out | comment Comment
01/26/06
Time Out

No review available.

comment Comment
06/13/05
Emanuel Levy
Emanuel Levy
EmanuelLevy.Com

A movie by, about and for actors.

comment Comment
06/10/04
Sarah Chauncey
Sarah Chauncey
Reel.com

No review available.

comment Comment
04/16/04
Carol Cling
Carol Cling
Las Vegas Review-Journal

No review available.

comment Comment
02/08/04
Daniel M. Kimmel
Daniel M. Kimmel
Worcester Telegram & Gazette

Despite great acting, the general impression of the film is underwhelming.

Full Review Source: rec.arts.movies.reviews | comment Comment
12/22/03
Dragan Antulov
Dragan Antulov
rec.arts.movies.reviews

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Palo Alto Weekly | comment Comment
05/20/03
Marc Vincenti
Marc Vincenti
Palo Alto Weekly

The elegant understatement of this production turns it into a livelier experiment, a fluent, gripping version of one of Chekhov's more elusive plays.

Full Review Source: New York Times | comment Comment
05/20/03
Janet Maslin
Janet Maslin
New York Times
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

No review available.

comment Comment
12/18/02
Dan Jardine
Dan Jardine
Apollo Guide

It's more than a worthy capper to Malle's brilliant career.

Full Review Source: PopMatters | comment Comment
10/04/02
Elbert Ventura
Elbert Ventura
PopMatters

No review available.

comment Comment
07/31/02
Philip Martin
Philip Martin
Arkansas Democrat-Gazette

A lively and intriguing adaptation of Chekhov's "Uncle Vanya."

comment Comment
07/30/02
Dan Lybarger
Dan Lybarger
Lybarger Links

Much too talky.

comment Comment
07/29/02
Betty Jo Tucker
Betty Jo Tucker
ReelTalk Movie Reviews

This live-wire Vanya, freshly observed for the '90s, is fiercely funny, touching and vital.

Full Review Source: Rolling Stone | comment Comment
05/12/01
Peter Travers
Peter Travers
Rolling Stone
Top Critic Icon Top Critic
 
 
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