Product Description

Based on the life stories of the eccentric aunt and first cousin of Jackie Kennedy, starring Drew Barrymore and Jessica Lange, Grey Gardens tells the tender, intimate story of an eccentric mother and daughter (both named Edith Bouvier Beale aka "Big and Little Edie"). They were raised as Park Avenue débutantes but withdrew from New York society, taking shelter at their Long Island summer home, "Grey Gardens ." As their wealth and contact with the outside world dwindled, so did their grasp on reality. They were reintroduced to the world when international tabloids learned of a health department raid on their home, and Jackie swooped in to save her relatives. Based on the lives that inspired the Maysles Brothers' classic documentary.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #832 in DVD
• Brand: Warner Brothers
• Released on: 2009-07-14
• Rating: NR (Not Rated)
• Aspect ratio: 1.78:1
• Formats: Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, DVD, Subtitled, Widescreen, NTSC
• Original language: English
• Subtitled in: English, French, Spanish
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 104 minutes

Features

• GREY GARDENS (DVD MOVIE)

Amazon.com
It's hard to imagine a feature film that could improve upon the classic 1975 Hamptons-gothic documentary Grey Gardens, co-directed by Albert and David Maysles. Yet this Grey Gardens, directed by Michael Sucsy for HBO Films, captures not only the pathos and peculiarity of Edith Beale, mère et fille--aristocrats who were aunt and cousin to former first lady Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy--but it provides something deeper and richer: the background story of the glamorous Beale ladies, and a glimpse at how they slid from gay 1930s high society to sharing rotting living quarters with litters of cats and raccoons.

Drew Barrymore, the Grey Gardens standout, rises to the particular challenge of playing "Little Edie" Beale, whose accent, carriage, and mannerisms have developed their own camp following over the years. Barrymore's performance is a revelation: she captures the weirdness of Edie, but she knows what the documentary fans know--the reality of what Edie once had been, and what she was becoming. Barrymore's performance is delicate and strong, with a hint of sadness underneath the fading ingénue's brave face. Jessica Lange plays "Big Edie," the mother who made more concrete choices to wall herself off from the outside world. Lange is excellent, though Big Edie is a less nuanced character than her daughter, and she seems more content with her lot, perched in her teeming twin bed surrounded by mounds of cats and trash.

The filmmakers pay deep homage to the documentary, and carefully recreate the third lead character of the drama--the East Hampton, N.Y., mansion Grey Gardens itself. The making-of featurette is a must-have for fans of either film, as the filmmakers and actors talk about how they built a three-story facsimile of the home near Toronto (which also stands in for the Manhattan scenes). Also fascinating is the story of how certain beloved sets from the documentary were painstakingly re-created, including the Beales’ yellow bedroom, the entryway that played stage to the dancing aspirations of Little Edie, and the crumbling porch and yard where Edie would pose and prance, decked out in tights, shorts, a pinned-up skirt, and her signature sweater-snood, fastened with a brooch just so. "Well, Mother and I are very entertaining, that's true," says Little Edie, when the Maysles first approach her about cooperating in their documentary. And, happily, viewers of HBO's Grey Gardens could not agree more. --A.T. Hurley

Stills from Grey Gardens (click for larger image)

Customer Reviews

Amazing!!! A genuinely happy surprise!!!
As a HUGE fan of "Grey Gardens", I was skeptical of whether this film would be cringe inducing or tolerable. Jessica Lange is a truly GREAT actress, but I could not imagine how even she would be able to pull off Big Edie. The real worry, however, was Drew Barrymore. I've always liked Drew Barrymore, but did not think she had the acting chops to pull this off.

Gladly, I was wrong on all accounts!!!

Jessica Lange is phenomenal, and Drew Barrymore is incredible as Little Edie!! Further, the direction, costumes, music, sets, cinematography, makeup, raccoons, and cats were all spot on. I found myself astonished throughout at what a happy, successful surprise this film was. I cannot wait to purchase the DVD with the hope of many extras (I hope). How about commentary, a house tour, etc. I've always been dubious of the term "instant classic", but I think this film will become as much of a cult classic as the originals....campy, touching, beautiful. Thanks to everyone involved.

STARPOWER IN A MASTERPIECE
It is a rare thing to see a performance where a star is so immersed in a character that the star completely disappears and you are faced with a real living breathing character. This is pure magic when it happens. It happened with Vivien Leigh in "A Streetcar Named Desire." It happened with Elizabeth Taylor in "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?" And it happens in HBO'S stunningly good "Grey Gardens", not once but twice.

The performances by Jessica Lang as Edith Bouvier Beal is a testament to her immense talent and a reminder of just how far she has come since she slipped from King Kong's fingers into our consciousness. This performance is one that should garner awards galore and be studied for years to come by aspiring actors. This is a masterwork by a great star.

Then there is Miss Barrymore. Born of a towering and legendary acting family she has shown us in the past just how astonishingly good she can be. But listen boys, batten down the hatches for the approaching storm that will wrench your heart from your body like a tin roof off a barn in a hurricane. As Edie Beal Drew Barrymore is a thrilling, revelatory, spectacle, a shear joy to behold and so utterly heartbreaking. This is the best work she has ever done and puts her beyond her ancestors as the greatest Barrymore in the dynasty.

And buried in the midst of these two towering performances one must not neglect the brilliant, lovely and gentle work by Jeanne Tripplehorn as Jackie Kennedy. Her work here is wonderful. Miss Tripplehorn is indeed with her work on HBO's "Big Love" and here in this film fulfilling her youthful promise as an actress and coming into her own in her middle years.

The thing of the matter is that these two wonderful actresses meld into the women in the story so convincingly that if you have seen the original documentary you will think you are seeing the real Beals. A great film, a touching and deeply moving story, a film that should be admired and treasured for the masterpiece it is.

simply amazing.
i have to admit that when i first heard of this film being produced i was more than skeptical. i thought it was going to be insane to try to reproduce the original documentary film. but the "reproduced" scenes from the original "grey gardens" are mesmerizing and have been executed with astonishing pinpoint accuracy. there are also flashback scenes to fill in the holes in the story line of the life that these two women shared.

both drew barrymore and jessica lange are dead on in their portrayals of big and little edie.