Center Stage [VHS]

Center Stage [VHS]
by Nicholas Hytner

Center Stage [VHS]

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Product details

Actor: Amanda Schull, Donna Murphy, Peter Gallagher, Susan May Pratt, Zoe Saldana
Director: Nicholas Hytner
Edition: VHS Tape
Audio: English (Original Language), Analog
Format: Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, NTSC
Running Time: 116 minutes
Release Date: 2001-02-27
Audience Rating: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Publisher: Sony Pictures
Studio: Sony Pictures

VHS Movie Reviews of Center Stage [VHS]

Movie Review: Fast Footwork or Camera Tricks?
Summary: 4 Stars

As a young adult my dream was to become a Ballerina, so when I saw this movie, I was transfixed to the screen. To see Julie Kent (Principal Dancer for ABT) play Kathleen Donahue added some credibility to the story. The story was a little weak, mostly about snippy personalities, eating disabilities, highschool drama type of fluff. But for a die hard like me, I did not care. I was watching for the love of dance! If you are like me, you will enjoy this movie too, however it will leave you wondering if it really delivers on the fancy footwork, or is it just camera tricks?
Still, all in all, I like this movie. And hope you do to. Ballet is one of the hardest and most rewarding artforms there is ... without Ballet, my life would have been dull. Enjoy.

Movie Review: One for the Ages
Summary: 5 Stars

I remember when this movie came out no one would go to see it with me, and I spent hours begging all my friends to come. The problem was that none of them wanted to see a movie with Peter Gallagher. I even advertised on line for a date, and got not one reply.

Well, I went to see it at the bargain matinee at the SONY Metreon here in San Francisco, and even on a small screen I was captivated. The story is filled with cliches, but they're my cliches! They're actually the cliches of every 20th Century Fox movie from the 1920s onward that focuses on three girls in the big city, from How to Marry a Millionaire through The Best of Everything and even Valley of the Dolls. Often, in this formula, there's a fourth girl who doesn't exactly fit in with the others in some way--really it's a three and a half girl movie formula. Like in Valley of the Dolls you have Helen Lawson. Often the fourth girl is more tragic than the others, attempts suicide or something. This happens in Where the Boys Are for example. Well, in CENTER STAGE the three girls are Jody, the blonde heroine; Eva, the black middle class girl who's always smoking a cigarette (my wife says that Zoe Saldana relies entirely on cigarettes to perform her idea of characterization) and Maureen, the perfect dancer who is the victim of an emotionally abusive stage mother (Debra Monk). The fourth girl, Emily, is too small a part really to count, but she's the chubby one.

The men are a mixed bag but Ethan Stiefel dances beautifully. He is no Baryshnikov in looks however, and that hairdo is a mistake gone wild! (Even Baryshnikov couldn't have carried off that haircut.) He's a good actor and has lots of sparks with Amanda Schull.

The whole movie belongs really to Donna Murphy, the Broadway diva who is playing the former ballerina Juliet here, the woman who develops a bond of quality assurance with Eva. They despise each other, admire each other, and finally, they come to love each other as surrogate mother and daughter. She gives CENTER STAGE whatever class it has, and you needed that one bit of seasoning to make the whole soup palatable.

Movie Review: This movie is almost 4 stars.
Summary: 3 Stars

It shows pretty well an array of rather common issues some females have (and have to deal with) from day to day:

Lust, Broken hearts, Bitterness, (an) Eating disorder and Cattiness.

Sounds like fun, eh?

Well it is! And I can't believe this movie is 9 years old! Sure, it won't be some peoples' cup of tea because there is a LOT of ballet dancing in it. And some of it is way too typical and a little boring, but overall, it was a decent watch and there was enough relationship stuff and mischief going on to keep you interested in these people and their lives and such.

I actually wouldn't mind owning this on DVD but it'd be the kind that I watch every few months or so. The cast is overall pretty attractive and the acting was alright.

Zoe (the black chick) seemed like she had a big chip on her shoulders throughout the movie though. It was kinda cute at first but after a while, it kinda wears on you.

3.8 stars.

Movie Review: Center Stage is a wonderful story
Summary: 5 Stars

about a young, committed group of dancers who want to make it in the tough, painful, disciplined world of Ballet. The actors, many of whom are really ballet dancers playing a role, are wonderful. The film doesn't hide behind anything. The envy, jealousy,narcissism of wanting to be a star or being a star are explored in a thoughtful, compassionate manner. A great movie!

Movie Review: Center Stage (Special Edition)
Summary: 4 Stars

If you love dance, especially ballet, you will appreciate this movie that takes you through the struggles of 7 young dancers trying to live and dance their dreams. It comes easy for some and not so easy for others. It reminds me of (an updated version) "The Turning Point" which also takes place within the walls of ABC(T) in New York City.

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Summary of Center Stage [VHS]

The primary appeal of dance movies is the dancing, with some added emphasis on the romance the art expresses. Center Stage wins on these counts, despite its reveling in overly familiar characters and formula plotting. Or maybe this reveling is responsible for what goofy fun this film is. The arduous task of becoming a professional ballet dancer is incarnated by many good-looking teens, all stock dance-film characters affectionately portrayed mostly by newcomers. But center stage holds Jody Sawyer (Amanda Schull), who may never be a great ballerina, but she's certainly one sexy jazz dancer. Then there's the arrogant genius (Ethan Stiefel), the dictatorial impresario (Peter Gallagher), the demanding instructor, the bulimic, the stage mother, etc. As we follow these characters, the message develops that one should let go and do what feels good. Jody may not be ballet material, but she scorches the stage when she's uninhibited. And that's really the fun of this movie, which is never seriously interested in ballet to begin with. One ludicrous scene depicts one of the dancers quitting because she realizes she never wanted to be a dancer to begin with but was pushed into it by her overbearing mother. She stands up to mom in the lobby of the auditorium where she's supposed to be performing, the music of her piece providing a syrupy backdrop to her little drama. When she's finished talking, she walks off to the audience's unwitting applause. The scene is so ham-handed you can't help but laugh at its audacity, if that's what it is. The rest of the film is not so overdone, but it's all fun. --Jim Gay

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