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Tom & Viv - DVD

SKU: 5165055 | Release Date: 4/8/2003

Rating: PG-13

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Rating: PG-13
Format: DVD
Theatrical Release: 1994
Length: 115 minutes
Screen Formats: Enhanced Widescreen for 16x9 TV
Genre: Foreign Films
Studio: Walt Disney Video
Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1

Synopsis

Willem Dafoe stars as groundbreaking early 20th century American poet T.S. Eliot in this biopic focusing on Eliot's disastrous marriage. Young Tom Eliot meets the flamboyant Vivienne Haigh-Wood (Miranda Richardson) while they are both students at Oxford University in England in 1914. Eliot is studying under the famous writer and philosopher Bertrand Russell (Nickolas Grace). Tom and Viv elope after a very brief courtship, without the consent of her parents and against the advice of Viv's brother Maurice (Tim Dutton). On the honeymoon, Tom learns that Viv suffers from a severe hormonal imbalance which causes frequent menstruation. She is under the care of a doctor who calls her problems emotional and prescribes medications which worsen her condition. Viv is moody, often despondent, and frequently drunk. While Tom works as a bank clerk and tries to establish himself as a writer, Viv serves as his secretary and sometimes his muse, but more and more often she embarrasses them in public with her behavior. Yet her influence prevents Tom, who wants to become thoroughly British and a member of the Church of England, from becoming too staid. Eventually, Tom reluctantly commits his wife to a mental asylum and their troubled marriage continues to plague his life and color his work. ~ Michael Betzold, All Movie Guide

Version Details

Languages/Sound

Eng

Screen Formats

Enhanced Widescreen for 16x9 TV

Subtitle Languages

Eng

Additional Features

cc Dolby Digital Surround Sound Widescreen (2.35:1), enhanced for 16 x 9 televisions Trailors

Chapters

Side #1 --
1. Oxford
2. A Proper Englishman
3. The Getaway
4. A Big Mistake
5. One of the Family
6. Musical Chairs
7. Separation Begins
8. The Bloomsbury Set
9. Reading the Will
10. Insanity
11. Give Me Peace
12. Time to Go
13. The Lunacy Act
14. What Have We Done?
15. A Matter of Hormones
16. A Visitor
17. End Credits

Cast

Geoffrey Bayldon - Harwent
Philip Locke - Viv's father
Simon McBurney - Dr Reginald Miller
Hugh Simon - Concierge
Joanna McCallum - Virginia Woolf
Joseph O'Conor - Bishop of Oxford
William Osborne - Curate
Miranda Richardson - Vivienne Haigh-Wood
Donald Paul Pemrick
Michelle Guish
Willem Dafoe - Tom Eliot
Tim Dutton - Viv's brother, Maurice
John Savident - Sir Frederick Lamb
Linda Spurrier - Edith Sitwell
Roberta Taylor - Ottoline Morrell
Clare Holman - Louise Purdon
Christopher Baines - Verger
Anna Chancellor - Woman
James Greene - Dr Cyriax
Nickolas Grace - Berty
Rosemary Harris - Viv's mother
Lou Hirsch - Captain Todd
Michael Attwell - W.I. Janes
Don Pemrick

Crew

Screenwriter: Michael Hastings
Associate Producer: John Kay
Editor: Tony Lawson
Production Designer: Jamie Leonard
Producer: Marc Samuelson
Set Designer: Jill Quertier
Editor: Herve Schneid
Makeup: Morag Ross
Musical Direction/Supervision: Peter Glossop
Producer: Peter Samuelson
Casting: Michelle Guish
First Assistant Director: John Spencer
Producer: Harvey Kass
Screenwriter: Adrian Hodges
First Assistant Director: Sean Guest
Costume Designer: Phoebe Degaye
Art Director: Mark Raggett
Composer (Music Score): Debbie Wiseman
Executive Producer: Miles A. Copeland III ,Paul Colichman
Director: Brian Gilbert
Cinematographer: Martin Fuhrer
Play Author: Michael Hastings

Tom & Viv: AMG Review
Craig Butler , AMG

Something's missing from Tom and Viv, and that something is Tom, better known as T.S. Eliot. Films (or plays, for that matter) about writers are always difficult to pull off; the writer is presumably famous and interesting because of his work, not his life, and translating literary essence to another medium is practically impossible. Therefore, to provide drama and interest, a filmmaker usually concentrates on what was interesting and unusual in the writer's life and tries to relate that to his work. Viv, Tom's wife, was certainly interesting, and the film devotes a considerable amount of time to her travails. But aside from the fact that she embarrassed and inconvenienced her husband, the viewer learns little about how she affected him. Tom just sort of evaporates midway through the film; he's still there, but he's just a shadow, certainly one of Eliot's "hollow men," but not one which holds interest or demands attention. This is more the fault of the writer and director than the actor; Willem Dafoe does a credible impersonation of Eliot and seems to be doing all that is asked of him. Miranda Richardson, with the much showier part, grabs it and runs for all she is worth, using her enormous skill and facility to create an agonizingly annoying yet sympathetic character. Rosemary Harris brings stately grandeur and class to the role of Viv's mother; hers is a fine and captivating performance. Ultimately frustrating and unsatisfying, Tom and Viv is partially redeemed by the artistry of these two women. ~ Craig Butler, All Movie Guide

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Tom & Viv - DVD

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Tom & Viv - DVD

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Synopsis

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Cast

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Legal

Product Support

Credit Cards

Reward Zone® Program

Get Connected

Corporate Info

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