Saks, Gene

The Odd Couple

Neil Simon's terribly funny play about roommates Oscar the slob and Felix the neurotic was first committed to film in this 1968 production, directed by Gene Saks (Barefoot in the Park). Perfectly timed, ingeniously rendered, not a hair out of place in the history-making performances of Walter Matthau and Jack Lemmon (or the great support cast), The Odd Couple is a movie that one just has to see every two or three years to stay happy. The poker-game sequence in which Oscar's cronies seem to be falling under the sway of fussy Felix's talent for making sandwiches is priceless. --Tom Keogh

Neil Simon's beloved story about two divorced men who decide to share a New York apartment. Felix is fussy and fastidious to a fault. He proves that cleanliness is next to insanity. Oscar wreaks havoc on a tidy room with the speed and thoroughness of a tornado. An enduring and endearing picture with the intelligence one usually misses in comedies.

Barefoot in the Park

Devotees of Neil Simon's repartee, such as in his Goodbye Girl and Brighton Beach Memoirs, will enjoy this earlier tale of domestic dispute between newlyweds. Corie (Jane Fonda) is the young housewife trying to keep life exciting while making a home for her and her husband, Paul (Robert Redford), on the fifth floor of a Greenwich Village walkup apartment. He's working hard at starting his career as lawyer; she's eager to be romantic and spontaneous; and the two have plenty to squabble about. The film suffers a bit from Corie's excessive perkiness and the odd lack of chemistry between the two actors. But those who find the dramatic conventions a bit stiff (some of the dialogue and action seems more suited for stage than screen) may still smile at the dated look (circa 1967) at home life. Mildred Natwick is superb as Corie's mother, and Charles Boyer milks his role as the elderly bohemian neighbor upstairs. --Jenny Brown

Mame

Lucille Ball plays Auntie mame loving life and living it to the hilt with her nephew and assorted eccentrics in tow. Robert Preston Beatrice Arthur and Jerry Herman's smashing Broadway score add pizazz. Year: 1974 Director: Gene Saks Starring: Lucille Ball. Robert Preston Bea ArthurRunning Time: 131 min.Format: DVD MOVIE Genre: MUSICALS/MUSICALS Rating: PG UPC: 085391134145 Manufacturer No: 113414

The 1974 film version of Mame stars legendary Lucille Ball and is based on the 1966 hit Broadway musical, not the 1958 movie. When 10-year-old Patrick Dennis's father dies, he is sent to live with his eccentric Auntie Mame. Mame may know nothing about being a parent, but she's got love and spontaneity in spades, and Patrick blooms in the time spent with her. Though Miss Ball seems sadly miscast when Mame begins (she's too old and can't sing), by the time the movie reaches the famous foxhunt scene when Mame accidentally wins the hunt, and in turn the heart of gallant Beauregard Burnside, you start to believe Lucy is Mame.

Reprising her Broadway role (for which she won a Tony), Bea Arthur plays Mame's boozy pal Vera Charles. Songs include the now-classic "We Need a Little Christmas" and "Bosom Buddies" plus "Loving You," sung by Robert Preston's Beau and written for this movie. --Dana Van Nest

Bye Bye Birdie

Rock-and-roll icon Conrad Birdie mesmerizes audiences with his electric voice and energetic presence. Drafted into the Army Conrad's manager Albert (Alexander) arranges for him to travel to a small Ohio town to make a farewell television performance and kiss his biggest fan on "The Ed Sullivan Show".System Requirements:Run Time: 131 minFormat: DVD MOVIE Genre: COMEDY Rating: NR UPC: 084296407088 Manufacturer No: 40708

Cactus Flower

Walter Matthau stars as Julian Winston, an easy-going bachelor dentist whose delicately balanced scheme crumbles under some unexpected circumstances. Winston is stringing along his dizzy blonde mistress, Toni (Goldie Hawn), by telling her he has a wife and children. When he learns that Toni has tried to commit suicide over him, however, he promises to marry her. Toni, refusing to be a homewrecker, insists on meeting Winston's wife. He convinces Stephanie (Bergman)--his starched, no-nonsense receptionist--to pose as his wife, and there are unforeseen twists and surprises for everyone.

Brighton Beach Memoirs

Gene Saks, an old hand at directing Neil Simon's work on film (The Odd Couple, Barefoot in the Park), here takes a stab at Simon's most autobiographical work, which stars Jonathan Silverman as an aspiring writer living with two families under one roof in 1937 Brooklyn. Following his old working formula, Saks keeps an eye on the cast's energy and timing but otherwise stays out of the way and lets Simon's story and dialogue tumble wonderfully from the mouths of good actors. Cast in the lead in this 1986 film, the young Silverman (later the star of NBC's Single Guy) makes a very good impression, as does Bob Dishy as his narrator-father. The DVD release has a full-screen presentation. --Tom Keogh

Last of the Red Hot Lovers

In LAST OF THE RED HOT LOVERS, balding restaurateur Barney Cashman (Arkin) thinks he can cure his raging mid-life crisis with extra-marital trysts carried out at his mother's apartment. Unfortunately, his clumsy attempts at seducing three women in succession - a fiery, demanding Italian woman, a weird but attractive actress and the repressed wife of a friend - all end catastrophically. Finding that being a `player' is much more complicated and difficult than he could have imagined, Barney resolves that his boring married existence maybe wasn't so tedious after all.

Brighton Beach Memoirs

Gene Saks, an old hand at directing Neil Simon's work on film (The Odd Couple, Barefoot in the Park), here takes a stab at Simon's most autobiographical work, which stars Jonathan Silverman as an aspiring writer living with two families under one roof in 1937 Brooklyn. Following his old working formula, Saks keeps an eye on the cast's energy and timing but otherwise stays out of the way and lets Simon's story and dialogue tumble wonderfully from the mouths of good actors. Cast in the lead in this 1986 film, the young Silverman (later the star of NBC's Single Guy) makes a very good impression, as does Bob Dishy as his narrator-father. The DVD release has a full-screen presentation. --Tom Keogh

Barefoot in the Park

Devotees of Neil Simon's repartee, such as in his Goodbye Girl and Brighton Beach Memoirs, will enjoy this earlier tale of domestic dispute between newlyweds. Corie (Jane Fonda) is the young housewife trying to keep life exciting while making a home for her and her husband, Paul (Robert Redford), on the fifth floor of a Greenwich Village walkup apartment. He's working hard at starting his career as lawyer; she's eager to be romantic and spontaneous; and the two have plenty to squabble about. The film suffers a bit from Corie's excessive perkiness and the odd lack of chemistry between the two actors. But those who find the dramatic conventions a bit stiff (some of the dialogue and action seems more suited for stage than screen) may still smile at the dated look (circa 1967) at home life. Mildred Natwick is superb as Corie's mother, and Charles Boyer milks his role as the elderly bohemian neighbor upstairs. --Jenny Brown

Barefoot in the Park [Region 2]

Devotees of Neil Simon's repartee, such as in his Goodbye Girl and Brighton Beach Memoirs, will enjoy this earlier tale of domestic dispute between newlyweds. Corie (Jane Fonda) is the young housewife trying to keep life exciting while making a home for her and her husband, Paul (Robert Redford), on the fifth floor of a Greenwich Village walkup apartment. He's working hard at starting his career as lawyer; she's eager to be romantic and spontaneous; and the two have plenty to squabble about. The film suffers a bit from Corie's excessive perkiness and the odd lack of chemistry between the two actors. But those who find the dramatic conventions a bit stiff (some of the dialogue and action seems more suited for stage than screen) may still smile at the dated look (circa 1967) at home life. Mildred Natwick is superb as Corie's mother, and Charles Boyer milks his role as the elderly bohemian neighbor upstairs. --Jenny Brown