Under the Tuscan Sun | | Cast : | Diane Lane, Sandra Oh, Raoul Bova | | Director : | Audrey Wells | | Studio : | Buena Vista Home Vid | | Format : | Color, Widescreen | | Released Date : | September 26, 2003 | | DVD Released Date : | November 03, 2004 | | Language : | English (Dubbed), Spanish (Subtitled), English (Original Language) | | Audience Rating : | PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested) | | | BUY THIS DVD FROM AMAZON |
Customer Reviews
| Rating |  | | Date | July 20, 2005 | | Summary | This Movie Is A Gem And Has Beautiful Scenery!!! | Content
 | In this movie we see Frances , a book critic played very well by Diane Lane. Frances goes through a very traumatic divorce and decided she needs to take a vacation to Italy. Unable to face life back home in San Francisco she buys a villa and sets about restoring and modernizing it with the help of some Polish labourers. This movie is a gem and is worth watching for the beautiful scenery alone. PLUS for once you get a very good voice over narration which adds to the charm of this movie. Frances is such a classy and gracious lady that she still believes in the Power Of Love although she has yet to find it herself. 5 stars for this must see movie. |
| Rating | | | Date | July 19, 2005 | | Summary | It's JUST like that! | Content
| This may be the first total chick movie i've enjoyed. Watched the whole thing through and fell in love with it. I'm in the Navy and I've lived in Europe for 5 years, 3 of which were in Italy. I've been to Tuscany several times and can tell you this movie is very authentic in what it portrays. The friendliness of the locals and all. I didn't care for the story MUCH although it is a very happy movie out of a sad time in a woman's life. Diane Lane was absolutely gorgeous in this movie, even to an 18 yr old. All in all, it's got comedy, heartbreak, romance, recommended to anyone. |
| Rating | | | Date | July 15, 2005 | | Summary | So, What's your problem?.....It's Wonderful, romantic entertainment | Content
| Under the Tuscan Sun provided the viewer (me!) pure entertainment and a couple hours away from the "everyday" of my life. I enjoyed the film immensely, not only for the beautiful cinematography present in every frame - but to also watch a woman that has been crushed by a divorce she clearly didn't see coming (who are we to judge?), rebound and find joy again in the very little things we hurried souls take for granted in life.
I viewed the film with an open mind, not expecting earth-shattering epiphanies to appear for the viewer over every word of dialogue. I have watched Diane Lane in movies as her career has progressed, and applaud her for jumping in with both feet to portray this beautiful - and after the divorce fragile, and yet ultimately showing a woman's great strength as she regains her confidence and realizes those things she has wished for HAVE come to her, albeit subtly.
I've never cared for critics, and would have missed out on many a great film if I had listened to them. Yes, this film is a "chick-flick" to those I see that have reviewed it, but..........who cares and why does it matter? If you are looking for a film to watch on a lazy Saturday/Sunday afternoon (after church, of course!) that is beautifully shot, heartfelt, sensitive, romantic and uplifting all rolled into one, Under the Tuscan Sun will surely "fit the bill". Enjoy!
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| Rating | | | Date | July 03, 2005 | | Summary | For Fans of Film ...Not the Book | Content
| Not having read the infamous book upon which this film is based, I have no parallels from which to draw (i.e., novel to movie script). But I can rate this movie based on what I saw and how it affected me.
Diane Lane's performance was fine. She's an attractive lady who plays a jilted novelist trying to escape a failed marriage by retreating to the Tuscany beauty in Italy. The filming is absolutely breathtaking. The colorful little Italian villas, the flowering sunflowers and olive trees. The ancient artifices along the Italian coastal villages. Beautiful.
The story (again, I haven't read the book) was sound, too: a woman trying to rebuild her life by buying and rebuilding a home in Tuscany. She finds out that everything she needs, everything she's hoped for, comes true thanks to this little home and her healing spirit.
So many people have given this film a "poor" rating, and I've noticed that most of them have been fans of the novel. But if you haven't read the novel, and want to see some excellent cinematography and a good story, pick up this movie and enjoy. You won't be disappointed. |
| Rating | | | Date | June 27, 2005 | | Summary | "But the Beauty Knob Goes to Eleven . . ." | Content
| The one thing everyone must say about Audrey Wells' "Under the Tuscan Sun" is that it is visually stunning. Restraint is completely abandoned in this Oprah-ready tale of a beautiful divorcee (Diane Lane) "finding herself" in the postcard-perfect Tuscan hillside. Yes, this is a movie for those who sprinkle extra sugar on their cotton candy.
This is the kind of movie that won't give you a gorgeous shot of an old church -- rather, we'll give you a gorgeous shot of an old church on a picturesque Tuscan hillside as the camera peeks over a bank of photogenic sunflowers in full bloom. Not content to show the gorgeous Diane Lane exchanging sweet nothings with a gorgeous Italian hunk on a gorgeous Italian beach, Ms. Wells feels obliged to throw a kitten -- yes, a freaking kitten -- into the scene for no reason other than to send the cuteness scale over the top.
Ms. Lane stars in this ode to returning to basics - it is revealing that noboby I've talked to about the movie knows her character's name. In a plot device straight out of a gripe session on "The View," Ms. Lane gets divorced by her philandering husband -- and thanks to California's heartless divorce laws, she ends up living in the divorcee's flat while he keeps the posh San Francisco house. Massive depression ensues, as evidenced by Ms. Lane's furrowed brow. Let's just say that the stellar acting job Diane Lane gave us in "Unfaithful" is nowhere to be found in "Tuscan Sun."
Ms. Lane's stereotypically supportive lipstick lesbian friends try to buck up her spirits by sending her on a trip to Tuscany -- but it's a gay trip, get it! Actually, the gay tour offers one of the movie's few genuine laughs with its appellation, "Gay and Away!" Diane spots a "for sale" sign on a picturesque Tuscan villa and, after some hapless negotiating and some timely bird crap, she buys it.
We then enter a long series of scenes as Diane begins to restore the villa -- for those of you who were perhaps wondering if there would be a delightful parallel between the rehabilitation of the villa and Ms. Lane's personal rehabilitation, you won't be surprised. Again, the movie ain't subtle. Employing a trio of lovable Polish cardboard cutouts as laborers, Diane returns "Bramasole" to its villa-ish glory. Naturally, after living in Tuscany for a few weeks, Ms. Lane discovers that she has already mastered Tuscan cuisine, and the movie gives us several shots of her presenting her friends and laborers with meals that could be on the cover of a Tuscan cookbook. Unfortunately, "Tuscan Sun" is not that interested in food beyond its photogenics -- those looking for another "Big Night" will be horribly disappointed.
Of course, Ms. Lane must find her self romantically involved. To say this aspect of the story is handled poorly is an understatement. Her realtor achieves a cinematic first -- he offers to sleep with Diane while simultaneously confirming his devotion to his wife. And just about when the audience is expecting Diane to find herself a man, lo and behold she runs into a charming soul who looks like a champion Italian tennis player.
Several other sub-plots are handled in similarly skin-deep fashion. This is the kind of movie that doesn't interject a serious love interest for Ms. Lane until the last five minutes, and he really only gets about two or three lines of dialogue . . . but visually the movie tells you that he is the one to complete our heroine.
All in all, "Tuscan Sun" is an inoffensive, light-hearted, beautiful romp through nonsense. To borrow a Shakespearean title, "Much Ado About Nothing" completely fits. That being said, the movie can play a role if you find yourself completely depressed (or lacking in travel plans) -- Tuscany is a wonderful tonic. At least the movie got that right, if nothing else.
The DVD has virtually no extras to recommend it.
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