Product Description

From the director of Apocalypse Now and The Godfather comes a different kind of love story...

Legendary director Francis Ford Coppola shines his spotlight on a Las Vegas couple (Teri Garr, Frederic Forrest) whose break-up on the 4th of July leads them both to a night on the strip in pursuit of their romantic fantasies (Raul Julia, Nastassia Kinski). But in this town of gamblers and dreamers, should they bet it all on dreams, or give true love another roll of the dice? Featuring breathtaking design, show-stopping set pieces, the stunning photography of Vittorio Storaro (Apocalypse Now, The Last Emperor) and accompanied by the wonderful Oscar® nominated music of the one and only Tom Waits, this neon explosion of color, sound and innovation is a cinematic valentine for all movie lovers.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #35057 in DVD
• Released on: 2004-01-27
• Rating: NR (Not Rated)
• Aspect ratio: 1.33:1
• Formats: AC-3, Color, Dolby, DVD, Special Edition, Subtitled, NTSC
• Original language: English
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 100 minutes

Amazon.com
One of the most famous productions of its time, Francis Coppola's One from the Heart is a "little movie" that grew into a gigantic, studio-bankrupting behemoth. Entirely shot on glorious sets in Coppola's Zoetrope studio, the teeny story follows a bickering Las Vegas couple (Teri Garr and Frederic Forrest) during a night's madness with others. It would be nice to recommend the film to romantics, or movie-musical mavens, but really this film is for the technologically minded: it's a flashy display of camera trickery and painted sets (anticipating Moulin Rouge). Alas, the techno-dazzle is somewhat at odds with the clunky performances and choppy editorial flow... and it has all the warmth of neon. Since its initial botched release, the film has developed a small but devoted following, in part because of the terrific song score by Tom Waits (sung by Waits and Crystal Gayle). It should be seen, not least as a case study in bravado. --Robert Horton

DVD features
Francis Coppola's expensive folly gets the deluxe two-disc treatment, including a director commentary and a music-only track with Tom Waits's marvelous song score. Documentary featurettes, rehearsal outtakes, and a revealing studio press conference provide a wealth of behind-the-scenes footage. It's obvious that Coppola meant to document the glories of Zoetrope Studio's futuristic technologies; unwittingly, the video cameras captured the Icarus-like trajectory of a production running out of control. A collection of deleted scenes, including radically different versions of the film's opening reel (altering our knowledge of the main characters), adds to the portrait of chaos and uncertainty. This is the rare DVD with an "extras" disc that offers more interest than the feature, for the fascinating story behind One from the Heart is more compelling than the movie itself. --Robert Horton

Shelia Benson, Los Angeles Times
A work of constant astonishment...Sumptuous, sensous, stunning.

Customer Reviews

Definitely better than critics' convention wisdom
I just saw this at the Castro Theater in San Francisco, where probably the worst dog of a movie would seem great, but this was very enjoyable. I loved this movie when it came out in 1982 or thereabouts and could never figure out why critics blasted it so unfairly. Coppola had worked himself into a persona non grata in Hollywood; the critics were mouthing that hatred--that's all I could figure.

Seeing it now, this would probably fall into the "art film" category, but it features some great dialogue and compelling performances by Forrest and Garr, with Raul Julia and Natassja Kinski playing more ethereal roles. Kinski is filmed beautifully. It's a beautiful film, period. The music and Vegas sets are wonderful. You miss it as soon as it's over.

Rich and visually exciting...perhaps not 5 stars, but then again this film just doesn't conform easily to any rating system.

Ignore Robert Horton's review. This is a great film.
I'm only reviewing this in case somebody has read Robert Horton's review and has made a decision based on what was written. In fact if he hadn't said how great the soundtrack was I would have seriously wondered about his capabilities as a critic. I saw this film when it was released and as yet have not seen the dvd but I saw the film twice in one week and absolutely loved it. I disagree with pretty much everything Mr Horton says. The performances are great and the film carries so much warmth and beauty I find it strange as to what some people want from a 'love story'.
I'll tell you where I think the negative reviews come from. The film is ambitious in its' production and was very innovative and some just can't handle that. And people like to pidgeon-hole actors, directors, songwriters, bands etc and probably had a hard time figuring out what Mr Godfather was doing directing a love story. Well that is their problem.
If you like beautiful movies this is a must. If you don't your name is probably Robert Horton.

I Believe in Francis C.
"One from the Heart" is a typical story of two lovers breaking up, running around and ultimately coming back together, but the simplicity allows for experimentation. The stylized, studio-bound film's complexities are revealed by Tom Waits' light jazz score and Vittorio Storaro's very theatrical lighting. Both are well-served by a gorgeous, eye-popping re-mastered transfer and 5.1 mix (an isolated score is also available). Modern day stylized films like "Moulin Rouge" owe a lot to this movie.

Director Francis Ford Coppola's highly engaging commentary on disc 1 goes into detail of his aspirations for "live cinema" - a product that combines the beauty of film with aspects of live television and theatre. He stands by his film despite its failure; it's easy to see how this unconventional film flopped, but you can't help but get swept up in Coppola's vision. Casual viewers may find "One from the Heart" pretty boring, but it should be required viewing for budding filmmakers.

Disc 2 features a sheer wealth of documentaries, both old and new, on almost every aspect of "One from the Heart"'s creation, as well as a special one on the history of Zoetrope Studios, which was bankrupted by the project. You can find out more about Coppola's shooting technique of 'electronic cinema,' Tom Waits' score, the stop-motion effects, and even the massive rehearsals for the picture. A selection of deleted and alternate scenes, alternate takes of Waits' score, trailers and other ephemera round out this excellent DVD package.