[.ca] The Commitments (Full Screen) (ISBN 6305622922)

From Amazon.com:
An irresistible, comic drama from director Alan Parker (Evita, Mississippi Burning), overflowing and alive with passion, humor, and music, The Commitments showcases some old R & B standards in a new light. A headstrong, fast-talking, ambitious young Dubliner (Robert Arkins) fancies himself a promoter of talent, and sets about assembling and packaging a local Irish R & B band. His group of self-absorbed, backbiting, but stunningly talented individuals begin to succeed beyond his wildest dreams, until petty jealousies and recrimination threaten to scuttle the whole deal. A moody, vivid, and soulful exploration of the Dublin club scene as well as a showcase for some wonderful unknown actors, the film (and its wonderful soundtrack) also features the actual band covering classic soul tunes from the likes of Otis Redding and Sam and Dave. It's that combination of soul and soul music that makes The Commitments a special little film. --Robert Lane

The Soul of the City:
Alan Parker once again put together a previously unknown cast and has produced a fantastic movie with some stellar individual performances. "The Commitments" is the story of the struggle to escape unemployment and poverty, set in Dublin but equally relevant in any major city this movie chronicles the efforts of a new band to achieve fame and glory. The band choose soul music as their vehicle out of the ghetto at a time when James Brown is just a memory adding spice to an already engaging tale. After a faltering start the band start to pull it together only for their lack of discipline and focus to abort their chances at the very moment when real opportunity is at their door. The music is the star of the show with fantastic numbers such as "At the Midnight Hour", "Mustang Sally" and "Try a Little Tenderness" littered through the movie. The musical performances of Mary Doyle Kennedy (Natalie)and Andrew Strong (Deco)and the acting of Robert Arkins (Jimmy) are really superb. This movie is enhanced by this new format on widescreen DVD, but what makes it work is the screenplay, great acting and wonderfull music regardless of format.

Say it Once, Say it Loud!:
"The Commitments" is a raucous and joyful celebration of music. It's a gloriously simple and lovable tale, told with passion, profanity, and a deep understanding of how music can infect even the most despairing life with joy. About time the movie got its proper release on DVD. If you've never seen "The Commitments" because you cringe at the notion of white Dubliners singing American soul tunes, well, I hear ya. I fully expected watered-down music along the lines of Michael Bolton butchering Percy Sledge. However, I was wrong - the music, in the context of the movie, is pure and genuine, and performed by young actors who understand that you don't have to pretend to be anything you're not to get soul. Besides, Jimmy Rabbitte, the mastermind behind the band, gives them all a thoroughly convincing speech that assures the lads and lasses from Dublin that they, too, are qualified to sing soul. The movie - well, it's wonderful. Hilarious, free, sometimes moving, life-affirming. I almost wish the movie let the characters develop a little more before the inevitable and mythical ending, but then Joey the Lips gently reminds me (and Rabbitte), "this way, it's poetry." He's right - this is the proper ending for these guys, and the movie. The DVD offers some great extras, including a revealing making-of doc, where we learn that director Parker combed the nightclubs of Dublin nightly, looking for fresh talent. I also love the 10-years-later feature, where we get to revisit our old friends again. These are suitable extras for a movie that just plain makes you feel glad to be alive - how much more can you ask of a movie than that?

Howzit? Deadly!:
I was excited to find out they were releasing this movie again with some more behind the scenes interviews. I was surprised to see that the cast they did recently interview, looked relatively unchanged. It was like seeing a long lost friend. I remember seeing this movie the first time in the theatres being shocked at their monumental use of the f-word. This time, it just seemed to be natural. Maybe it's because I'm in my thirties now and it takes a lot to shock me or maybe it's because I've had a chance to read the short story the movie is based on. Roddy Doyle's adaptation of his story of a Dublin soul band was, for the most part, straight out from the page. There were a few parts that could have made it into the film, and a few parts in the movie that didn't need to be there, but on the whole I LOVED IT AGAIN! Seeing these actors come together as a real band was fun. I hope they re-release the last of the Barrytown Trilogy, The Van to DVD soon also.

Dublin Idol:
"The Commitments" still works for me, even though I haven't seen it in over a decade, since the night I turned 20. I watched it twice yesterday, during the long Amtrak haul from Boston South Station to New York Penn, the second time with the Alan Parker commentary switched on. The young woman who got on at New Rochelle and sat next to me for the last hour of the ride, watched over my shoulder and, without the benefit of earphones, started laughing at every joke or sight gag. Now it's a rare rock-and-roll band movie that works without sound! But that's the power packed by "The Commitments", a movie with as much soul as its soundtrack. This was the movie that took over my life in college, sophomore year. I rented the VHS from Blockbuster (how quaint!) in late 1992, at the end of the one semester in my life where I hardly had any finals. This is back in the days when you only had one VCR in every dorm. So we ended up with about 20 people watching (many of whom had already seen it before) and we all rocked out. I ended up watching it nearly a dozen times over the next year, and pretty much wore out the two soundtrack cassettes by the time I'd graduated. The movie hasn't lost any punch in the decade since I set it aside. The music is still electrifying, Andrew Strong's voice still an incredibly powerful instrument. The offstage interludes have, if anything, become even more relevant for me since then. At age 19 I didn't know anything about urban blight or housing projects, or what the movie was even about, really. In what has to be a reversal of the way these things usually go, I can identify with the characters more now that I'm a decade older than they were. The direction is a huge asset. One of the reasons a person can laugh with this movie, even on mute, is that so many plots are conveyed through mere looks and glances, without all that much dialogue. Natalie's unrequited crush on Jimmy, or example, or the older Joey working his way through all the comely backup singers. Most of the remaining scenes are dialogue free-for-alls, but the meaning of the movie is never muddled. The fantastic musical performances, especially at the band's final gig, play nicely against the verbal pile-ons that presage the band's messy breakup. The "making of" documentary on the second disc is a bit predictable -- if you listened to Parker's commentary, you can skip it. Much better, is the "looking back" feature, which interviews some of the cast members as they are today. There are more production anecdotes, and it's interesting to see what's happened to the cast. Felim Gormley (who played Dean, the saxophonist) is now the spitting image of Bono; Andrew Strong, who sounded 40, now actually looks 40. Strong and Robert Arkins (manager Jimmy, "Brother" Rabbitte) contribute original songs. Parker's commentary is informative, although at times I felt he patronized the cast a little too much. His production anecdotes are good, and his lengthy description of the casting process was intriguing. Like "American Idol" without Simon Cowell. I did wait in vain for him to comment on the several visual nods to "The Godfather" (as well as the overt references to some of his earlier movies), but that never came. A fitting asterisk and coda to the film is that the biggest discovered talent in the movie -- the Corrs -- didn't even get singing roles!

Bringing Soul to Dublin...:
On the north side of Dublin lives an enterprising young man by the name of Jimmy Rabbitte who has the bright idea of becoming a manager for a band. Through a selective process he hand picks the band musicians and vocalists as he wants to bring soul to the working class of Dublin. After many struggles he finds a way to bring a band together named the Commitments, which was chosen by Joey 'The Lips' Fagan. However, the many different personalities within the group begin to pull in different directions as the band slowly becomes more successful, and it is up to Jimmy to keep the band together. The Commitments is a terrific film with a solid plot that is supported with a cast that provides a real atmosphere to the film leaving the audience with a great cinematic experience.