As Good As It Gets

a film so unique, intoxicating and bizarre that it not only demands another viewing, but is also forgivable as a satirical comedy where the jokes eventually take the back seat.

After playing with our expectations, this turns out to be a very different sort of film.

The thing I enjoyed most about the film is the fact that it doesn't shy away from being a super-sized-cliche;

"Windows" is a leisurely paced, not terribly interesting drama about meek New Yorker Emily Hollander (Talia Shire of "The Godfather" and "Rocky" fame). She is targeted by a neighbor, Andrea Glassen (Elizabeth Ashley, "92 in the Shade", "Coma"), an unstable lesbian. Andrea will go so far as to hire a scummy cabbie (Rick Petrucelli) to assault Emily and record her cries and moans. The balance of the story details what happens as Andrea continues to obsess over Emily, and the latter is attracted to a nice guy detective (Joseph Cortese, "Evilspeak", "Monsignor").Renowned cinematographer Gordon Willis ("The Godfather", "Annie Hall") made his first and only directing effort with this film, which is not all that successful, unfortunately. If he had fully embraced the trashy elements of this material, that would have been one thing. It may have been distasteful to some viewers, but at least it would have been more entertaining than this. Willis directs it like an art house film, and it is lovely to look at (after all, he also served as his own cinematographer), but it's fatally bland.And speaking of bland, Shire and Cortese are dull as dishwater. It's hard to imagine why Ashley would have much interest in her, or why she would have much interest in him. The only main performer here who's even slightly intriguing is Ashley, who plays her lovelorn, disturbed character more low key than you might expect.Other than Ashley, the principal value lies in Willis' lighting and the pleasant music score by virtuoso composer Ennio Morricone.Otherwise, this is not one film that this viewer would easily recommend to potential viewers.Five out of 10.

Being a native New Yorker, I can relate to this movie well. During that time, I was too young to understand or see this movie that has premiered. Talia Shire of "The Godfather" and "Rocky" movies stars in this intense thriller. Here you have a divorced woman with a stuttering problem, comes home from work, gets jumped on by a knife wielding individual. She was laid out on the floor, and gets sexually intimidated. She meets with a detective and her neighbor Andrea (Elizabeth Ashley), went to check on her. Feeling unsafe in her location, she relocated to another apartment that has one rule, no pets. So Emily (Shire), sneaks her cat there. Earlier, her cat attacked Andrea when she went to get her. Little does she know, Andrea may have something to do with the attack. One day, Emily gets a cab. The driver turned out to be her assailant! But who was the planner? One night, she goes back to her old neighborhood, where Andrea found a new loft for herself. And she used that to spy on Emily. When she hears the truth, Andrea was a victim herself:sexually assaulted in her youth. Her desire for Emily was enough to sate her compulsive needs. This movie was not well made, the lighting kept going in and out on some scenes. Needs more to the plot, it wasn't intriguing enough. If they make a remake, it will be an improvement. But it's full of memories of the scenes of New York! 2 out of 5 stars.

This is one of those flicks I've wanted to see since it came out (I was underage at the time). The plot just sounded very freaky and bizarre. Regardless, it is one of the THE most impossible films to find since I don't believe it got a video release (except overseas) and I don't even think it played on cable in the '80s. It is however on YouTube now :-).This film gets trashed by a lot of people immediately as being non-PC and homophobic. I think that's more a signpost of when the film was released, when attitudes toward people with other orientations weren't so enlightened.No, the core problem behind this picture is that it's just a raving, stinking mess, and it really is virtually all Willis' fault. When you read the opening credits, your jaw drops...they read like an A-list of movie greats: Morricone, Bourne, Willis as DP. How could they screw this up? Easy. A) Don't build any suspense; B) Don't establish any characters or motivations; C) Allow the writer to write any damn thing he wants to, no matter how stupid or no matter what expense to the actors; D) Resort to constant dissolves when you don't know what else to do, especially since there is virtually no coherent action; E) Don't direct your actors...after all they're pros, they know exactly what to do. The list goes on....This is a stalker movie....it should be about stalking. There is absolutely no fear built, no tension. It's a real master class in wasted celluloid.Still, part of me has to admire this in a way you sometimes admire any bad movie. It sure didn't have any self-censoring going on. it did what it wanted to do and took no prisoners. One of the many things that makes it a museum piece today, even if that museum is a wax one.

Directed by the cinematographer of THE GODFATHER and starring 2 good actresses. Storyline is quite interesting and camera job impressive. It is an original movie. As it was a Warner release (and as I have the Warner Home Vidéo VHS in French version) I wonder how the former commentary can wonder if it was released in vidéo ? Besides, it is the perfect example of a, by now, rare title, which sould be offered again on DVD with sharp image quality and, of course, French soundtrack or subtitles !