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New Factory-Sealed LD's Paradise Road AC-3 WS NEW LaserDisc Close Blanchett Drama

Paradise Road AC-3 WS NEW LaserDisc Close Blanchett Drama

Based on the Accounts of WWII Female Prisoners' Bravery

Paradise Road AC-3 WS NEW LaserDisc Close Blanchett Drama

Based on the Accounts of WWII Female Prisoners' Bravery

Rare Factory-Sealed, Dolby Digital AC-3, Widescreen, LaserDisc Movie Near-Mint Condition

$14.97

Click to Zoom-in on Hi-res Pictures

Paradise Road AC-3 WS NEW LaserDisc Close Blanchett Drama

Based on the Accounts of WWII Female Prisoners' Bravery

Rare Factory-Sealed, Dolby Digital AC-3, Widescreen, LaserDisc Movie Near-Mint Condition

$14.97

Member Options

$14.97

Rare Factory-Sealed, Dolby Digital AC-3, Widescreen, LaserDisc Movie

Near-Mint Condition

Glenn Close and Cate Blanchett in...

Paradise Road

( Catalog Number 0604185 )
(2.35:1) (3 Sides) (CLV) (NTSC)

LaserDisc Special Features

Best Version on LaserDisc
See Many More Rare Dolby Digital AC-3 LaserDiscs at DaDon's...

Paradise Road
1997 - 115 min. - Color
Genre: Drama
Rated R
Country: USA

LaserDisc Movie Storyline:
Based on a true story culled from hours of interviews by director Bruce Beresford, the film stars Glenn Close as British socialite Adrienne Pargiter. Alerted to the imminence of an invasion of Singapore in 1942, a group of the wives and children of Allied forces quickly crowd aboard a transport. When the ship is bombed, they end up on the island of Sumatra, where they are captured and imprisoned. Conditions in the camp are predictably brutal: food and medicine are difficult to come by, and the living quarters are squalid. One punishment requires a woman to kneel in the hot sun for hours only to fall on a sharp stake if she tires. Given the situation, Pargiter, who is also a musician, decides to organize the women into a vocal orchestra to help raise morale. Although they lack sheet music, Daisy (Pauline Collins), an Australian nurse, is able to re-create scores from memory. Among the reluctant women cajoled into singing are an Australian nurse, Susan McCarthy (Cate Blanchett); a cynical American, Topsy Merritt (Julianna Margulies); and a young British woman, Rosemary Leighton-Jones (Jennifer Ehle). At the first performance of Pargiter's orchestra, the Japanese guards are so moved by the music that they refuse an order to halt it.  Close gives another of her typically strong performances.

LaserDisc Movie Review:
Based on the testimony of survivors, this historical drama recounts the WWII heroism of female prisoners of war. (Glenn Close) stars as Adrienne Partiger, a society doyenne who flees Singapore with other expatriate women, mostly the wives of servicemen, when Japanese forces invade in 1942. When their gunboat is sunk in an air attack, the survivors wash ashore on Japanese-held Sumatra. The women are interned in a grim POW camp where punishments for even minor infractions are extreme. With the help of a missionary (Pauline Collins), Partiger corrals the women, including a tough American (Julianna Margulies), an Australian nurse (Cate Blanchett) and a young wife (Jennifer Ehle) into a musical group. Since singing is not allowed, the a cappella chorus dubs itself "a vocal orchestra" and is tolerated --- if barely --- by their Japanese captors. Though living conditions are squalid, food is scarce, and a thin sliver of soap inspires a shower brawl, the music keeps spirits uplifted and a Jewish-German doctor (Frances McDormand) provides some medical aid. Writer-director Bruce Beresford interviewed real-life participants in similar POW musical groups. Some provided, from memory, sheet music of the pieces they performed, which were used in the film. --- Karl Williams

Based on the true story of a group of women who end up in a Japanese internment camp in Sumatra during WWII, Bruce Beresford's film is evidence that history does not always fit comfortably into a cinematic format. Appalled by the camp's brutal conditions, the musicians among them form the others into a choir to bolster their morale. The essential problem with the script is its lack of tension and narrative drive. While the women endure suffering admirably, this is not quite enough to maintain one's interest. Had Beresford explored relationships among the women prisoners, which must have been fascinating, he would likely have made a more absorbing film. Nonetheless, the impressive cast, which includes Glenn Close, Cate Blanchett, Julianna Margulies, Frances McDormand, and Pauline Collins, give performances that are a tribute to the courage of the women they play. --- Michael Costello

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Reviews, Articles, Newsletter and Information for Movies on LaserDisc LD Laser Disc, LazerDisc.

Cast for Paradise Road

Glenn Close - Adrienne Pargiter
Pauline Collins - Margaret Drummond
Cate Blanchett - Susan McCarthy
Frances McDormand - Dr. Verstak
Julianna Margulies - Topsy Merritt
Elizabeth Spriggs - Mrs. Roberts
Jennifer Ehle - Rosemary Leighton-Jones
Sab Shimono - Colonel Hiroyo
Tessa Humphries - Celia Roberts
Susie Porter - Oggi
Wendy Hughes - Mrs. Dickson

Crew for Paradise Road

Bruce Beresford - Director / Screenwriter
Gregory Coote - Producer
Sue Milliken - Producer
Peter James - Cinematographer
Ross Edwards - Composer (Music Score)
Tim Wellburn - Editor
Herbert Pinter - Production Designer
Ian Gracie - Art Director
Graham Burke - Executive Producer
Andrew Yap - Executive Producer
Brian Edmonds - Set Designer
Terry Ryan - Costume Designer
Brian Cox - Special Effects
Colin Fletcher - First Assistant Director
Gary Wilkins - Sound/Sound Designer
Alison Barrett - Casting
Joseph Middleton - Casting
Patsy Pollock - Casting

Feature Details

Title: Paradise Road
Feature Release Date: 1997
Genre: Drama
Rating: R
Color: Color
Runtime: 115 Minutes
Picture: Letterboxed
Ratio: 2.35:1
Playback Format: CLV

IMDB Info...

Technical Details

Catalog Number: 0604185
UPC: 086162604164
Manufacturer: Pioneer USA
Publisher: 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment

Sides: 3
Cover: Jacket
Sound Analog Right: Dolby Digital 5.1
Spoken Language: English
Country: USA
Video Format: NTSC

Model: 0604185-N
Shipping Weight: 2 lbs
0 in Stock

Rare Factory-Sealed, Dolby Digital AC-3, Widescreen, LaserDisc Movie

Near-Mint Condition

Glenn Close and Cate Blanchett in...

Paradise Road

( Catalog Number 0604185 )
(2.35:1) (3 Sides) (CLV) (NTSC)

LaserDisc Special Features

Best Version on LaserDisc
See Many More Rare Dolby Digital AC-3 LaserDiscs at DaDon's...

Paradise Road
1997 - 115 min. - Color
Genre: Drama
Rated R
Country: USA

LaserDisc Movie Storyline:
Based on a true story culled from hours of interviews by director Bruce Beresford, the film stars Glenn Close as British socialite Adrienne Pargiter. Alerted to the imminence of an invasion of Singapore in 1942, a group of the wives and children of Allied forces quickly crowd aboard a transport. When the ship is bombed, they end up on the island of Sumatra, where they are captured and imprisoned. Conditions in the camp are predictably brutal: food and medicine are difficult to come by, and the living quarters are squalid. One punishment requires a woman to kneel in the hot sun for hours only to fall on a sharp stake if she tires. Given the situation, Pargiter, who is also a musician, decides to organize the women into a vocal orchestra to help raise morale. Although they lack sheet music, Daisy (Pauline Collins), an Australian nurse, is able to re-create scores from memory. Among the reluctant women cajoled into singing are an Australian nurse, Susan McCarthy (Cate Blanchett); a cynical American, Topsy Merritt (Julianna Margulies); and a young British woman, Rosemary Leighton-Jones (Jennifer Ehle). At the first performance of Pargiter's orchestra, the Japanese guards are so moved by the music that they refuse an order to halt it.  Close gives another of her typically strong performances.

LaserDisc Movie Review:
Based on the testimony of survivors, this historical drama recounts the WWII heroism of female prisoners of war. (Glenn Close) stars as Adrienne Partiger, a society doyenne who flees Singapore with other expatriate women, mostly the wives of servicemen, when Japanese forces invade in 1942. When their gunboat is sunk in an air attack, the survivors wash ashore on Japanese-held Sumatra. The women are interned in a grim POW camp where punishments for even minor infractions are extreme. With the help of a missionary (Pauline Collins), Partiger corrals the women, including a tough American (Julianna Margulies), an Australian nurse (Cate Blanchett) and a young wife (Jennifer Ehle) into a musical group. Since singing is not allowed, the a cappella chorus dubs itself "a vocal orchestra" and is tolerated --- if barely --- by their Japanese captors. Though living conditions are squalid, food is scarce, and a thin sliver of soap inspires a shower brawl, the music keeps spirits uplifted and a Jewish-German doctor (Frances McDormand) provides some medical aid. Writer-director Bruce Beresford interviewed real-life participants in similar POW musical groups. Some provided, from memory, sheet music of the pieces they performed, which were used in the film. --- Karl Williams

Based on the true story of a group of women who end up in a Japanese internment camp in Sumatra during WWII, Bruce Beresford's film is evidence that history does not always fit comfortably into a cinematic format. Appalled by the camp's brutal conditions, the musicians among them form the others into a choir to bolster their morale. The essential problem with the script is its lack of tension and narrative drive. While the women endure suffering admirably, this is not quite enough to maintain one's interest. Had Beresford explored relationships among the women prisoners, which must have been fascinating, he would likely have made a more absorbing film. Nonetheless, the impressive cast, which includes Glenn Close, Cate Blanchett, Julianna Margulies, Frances McDormand, and Pauline Collins, give performances that are a tribute to the courage of the women they play. --- Michael Costello

Thanks for Visiting DaDon's !

Reviews, Articles, Newsletter and Information for Movies on LaserDisc LD Laser Disc, LazerDisc.

Cast for Paradise Road

Glenn Close - Adrienne Pargiter
Pauline Collins - Margaret Drummond
Cate Blanchett - Susan McCarthy
Frances McDormand - Dr. Verstak
Julianna Margulies - Topsy Merritt
Elizabeth Spriggs - Mrs. Roberts
Jennifer Ehle - Rosemary Leighton-Jones
Sab Shimono - Colonel Hiroyo
Tessa Humphries - Celia Roberts
Susie Porter - Oggi
Wendy Hughes - Mrs. Dickson

Crew for Paradise Road

Bruce Beresford - Director / Screenwriter
Gregory Coote - Producer
Sue Milliken - Producer
Peter James - Cinematographer
Ross Edwards - Composer (Music Score)
Tim Wellburn - Editor
Herbert Pinter - Production Designer
Ian Gracie - Art Director
Graham Burke - Executive Producer
Andrew Yap - Executive Producer
Brian Edmonds - Set Designer
Terry Ryan - Costume Designer
Brian Cox - Special Effects
Colin Fletcher - First Assistant Director
Gary Wilkins - Sound/Sound Designer
Alison Barrett - Casting
Joseph Middleton - Casting
Patsy Pollock - Casting

Feature Details

Technical Details

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Paradise Road LaserDisc, Rare LaserDiscs AC-3 Dolby Digital Laser Disc

Paradise Road AC-3 WS NEW LaserDisc Close Blanchett Drama

Rare Factory-Sealed, Dolby Digital AC-3, Widescreen, LaserDisc Movie

LaserDisc Special Features

Rare Factory-Sealed, Dolby Digital AC-3, Widescreen, LaserDisc Movie

LaserDisc Special Features

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Paradise Road LaserDisc, Rare LaserDiscs
AC-3 Dolby Digital Laser Disc