Sweet Dreams | | Cast : | Jessica Lange, Ed Harris | | Director : | Karel Reisz | | Studio : | Hbo Studios | | Format : | Color, Closed-captioned, Dolby, Widescreen | | Released Date : | October 02, 1985 | | DVD Released Date : | February 03, 2004 | | Language : | English (Dubbed), French (Dubbed), English (Original Language), French (Subtitled), English (Subtitled), Spanish (Subtitled) | | Audience Rating : | PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested) | | | BUY THIS DVD FROM AMAZON |
Customer Reviews
| Rating |  | | Date | January 10, 2005 | | Summary | Sweet sounds on Sweet Dreams | Content
 | It's just a waste of time to quibble about the minor boosts given to dramatization at the expense of absolute accuracy regarding this film. (The most notable fact being that Cline looked much more like Bette Midler than Jessica Lange.)
But the point was never about how she mistakenly married a wife-beating weasel or what she said just before she made a big smudge on a mountain somewhere. (By the way, why was there a "benefit for a disc jockey" that Cline's ill-fated plane had to go to, anyway? Didn't DJ's make enough big money even back then?) But all that matters is that this movie points new fans to the incredible sound stylings of Cline herself.
And the producers thankfully opted to keep only Cline's original tunes in this one, instead of putting Lange through some forced vocal training to imitate her. Cline could never be completely imitated anyway, and decades later we can see that her quality still endures. Sure, we'll never forget other swingin' young '50s and early '60s country and/or pop stars, like Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash and Bobby Darrin. And Patsy was one of 'em too!
Maybe one other point does need restating anyway, at the risk of being too obvious - hey, entertainers - whenever possible, stay the heck out of airplanes! If your career demands that you always get flown to your gigs instead of driven, then it's going way too fast. Nobody should be in that much of a hurry. You've got decades of a very rich life ahead of you - don't blow it all on a fiery crash in some crazy contraption invented by those nutty Wright brothers.
This lesson is shown by the following Top 10 music legends who all also died in those "new-fangled flying machines":
Buddy Holly
Ritchie Vallens
Big Bopper
Jim Reeves
Otis Redding
Ricky Nelson
Jim Croce
Bill Graham
Stevie Ray Vaughan
John Denver
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| Rating | | | Date | December 05, 2004 | | Summary | "Sweet Dreams" = Cline's life Hollywoodized | Content
| Hollywood made it: embellished, out of context and sometimes very inaccurate. Ask anyone who knew Patsy Cline or read Ellis Nassour's 1993 bestseller, "Honky Tonk Angel: The Intimate Story of Patsy Cline" and you'll see a much more beloved, complex Patsy Cline than what director Karel Reisz offers here. Filmed in 1985 in Virginia and Nashville, the main focus of the film is on Cline's second marriage to the love of her life, Charlie Dick, the father of her beloved children. It begins with their meeting and takes you on a short journey of how her career mixed with their marriage. All in all, the film, based on the extensive research I've done, is probably 40% accurate and her family and friends seem all but supportive of the film's story. Instead of showing the triumphant side of Cline - the woman who fought from an early age to leave her humble beginnings and realize her dream as a singer (and would become one of the best voices of all time) - it focuses on all of the tragedy of her life. But you know, trash sells. "Sweet Dreams" wasn't the box office smash it could have been. Jessica Lange's performance was well deserving of the Academy Award nomination that she recieved (she claims that the role of Patsy Cline was her favorite ever), although NOBODY could imitate someone as gifted and complex as Patsy Cline. It's worth a watch if you're a true Patsy Cline fan, but do yourself a favor and read Ellis Nassour's book, "Honky Tonk Angel: The Intimate Story of Patsy Cline" or buy the DVD documentary "Remembering Patsy". "Sweet Dreams" only scrapes the surface of the woman she was. In Nassour's book and the DVD documentary, you'll see a side to Patsy Cline that even Hollywood could never portray. They tried. And failed. |
| Rating | | | Date | October 04, 2004 | | Summary | Jessica Lange is Patsy Cline ! | Content
| While I'm not "Crazy" about the way Patsy Cline is portayed in this film (she wasn't an angel in real life, but she wasn't the devil they portrayed her in this flick either), I think Jessica Lange does an outstanding job as Patsy, and is the best one I've seen yet to play her. She captures the spirit and spunk of Patsy, and Ed Harris does a good job as Charlie Dick, Patsy's less than cordial husband. I can't believe people actually think Beverly D'Angelo was a better Patsy Cline in Coal Miner's Daughter. She didn't even come close. I also am glad that Lange did not use her own voice, but on perhaps a few hidden tracks in film. This is because this film has converted many into liking Patsy Cline because all her original vocals are on here. People who can't stand Country Music have drawn to her music through this medium. So I have to say all in all its a good film. |
| Rating | | | Date | August 02, 2004 | | Summary | Sweet Dreams, not so sweet DVD | Content
| Why haven't I seen or heard of this film before now? I am a big fan of Jessica Lange. Anyway, perhaps i was too young to be interested in the storyline when it was first shown in cinemas in 1985.
Sweet Dreams is the story of Patsy Cline, or should I say about her relationship with husband (Ed Harris) which dominates most of the film. Many have questioned the authenticity of the relationship displayed in the film, claiming it to be one-sided. Who knows for sure. What I can tell you is that Jessica Lange is outstanding in her role (although I did miss her blonde hair).
Jessica lip-synchs during the singing scenes, and does this quite well (except for the odd occassion).
SWEET DREAMS is a very watchable movie that is better than I expected. I thought the reason I hadn't heard of it before was because it might have been a bad film.
DVD SUMMARY: My summary of the DVD is based on the Australian release. While it should gets 5 stars for its anamorphic widescreen transfer, the transfer is not sharp, often quite bland. However, near the end of the film the transfer starts to get sharper. No extras at all on the DVD, not even a trailer. Also noted is that the chapter selection does not work. Aside from these issues, the DVD is worth owning or seeing for Jessica Lange's fine performance alone. |
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