Zoot Suiter
Added 5/12/2009
This is one of the best movies I've seen in a long time, the music is just great. And the fact that my first husband was there may have some thing to do with it. Besides that I still love the movie and the music. If you haven't seen it yet I'd say your missing a very good movie.And the price was just out of this world, you can't beat [..]every where that I have looked the price is over [..]. So thank you.
Thank You
Debbie Quintanar
quinnabe@sbcglobal.net
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Zoot Suit - Great!
Added 1/10/2009
Zoot Suit is a movie I recommend to all (especially Latinos) who are interested in a small portion of neighborhood life in LA during World War II. The musical score is excellent and has a tendency to urge you to increase the volume. The acting is very believable, while the alter ego character (James Olmos) constantly challenges your mind to determine who he is and what he represents - until the end. All in all, very enjoyable.
0 out of 0 people found this helpful.
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important history
Added 1/9/2009
Though not strictly an historical piece, not a documentary, Zoot Suit shows an entertaining and engaging storyline. It does this while revealing an historical event and how it is indicative of the unequal justice of the past and present for non-whites and those not fitting the social norms set by white society. It is truly worth seeing but I have had to explain the Edward James Olmos character to several people. He is voice in Henry Reyna's head, the image of what a Zoot Suiter was seen as, narrator of the story, and a few other things all put together. See him as a shadow more than an actual character that all others can see.
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A Classic!
Added 11/2/2008
This is a classic film that depicts a special niche of the Mexican-American culture of Los Angeles in the 1940's. The style and dramatization of the movie is presented in a fabulous musical expression of both color and emotion. Edward Olmos's acting is powerful and captivating as he sheds light into the dark recesses of men's hearts. While this film is a classic, like all true classics, it still speaks to us today.
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Dishonest Propaganda
Added 7/30/2008
This movie's best feature is that it is a perfect "opening up" of a play, just enough to be cinematically compelling, but never leaving the stage behind. It was done so well that the artfulness of the storytelling almost made me forget about the evasiveness of the story being told. I kept looking for reasons to like this, until the cop out ending made me wonder if there had been a single moment of historic or sociological truth in the previous 100 minutes.
It would have been perfectly sensible to end the story with an honest and factual recitation of the subsequent crimes committed by the men who had been falsely accused and abused by the legal system. It was perfectly bizarre for Valdez to invent "let's pretend" destinies for the defendants, full of success and happiness. Am I supposed to be amused by this phony rewriting of reality?
The very real evil of American soldiers, journalists and judges is laid bare, but the evil crimes of Mexican-American gang members are self-righteously minimized and sidestepped. In its trivializing of gang violence this play/film is a perfect illustration of the phoniness of Mexican-American pride. The Big Message is that double-talk and rationalizations of violence within "Chicano" communities is perfectly acceptable, so long as you can point your finger at systemic Establishment (read "White") racism. I guess that's the true nature of El Pachuco, then and now: swaggering BS.
With some self-reflective honesty this could have been a worthwhile phantasmagoria of fashion, music, ethnicity, crime and injustice. Instead Valdez squandered his talents on dishonest propaganda.
0 out of 3 people found this helpful.
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Zoot Suiter
Added 5/12/2009
This is one of the best movies I've seen in a long time, the music is just great. And the fact that my first husband was there may have some thing to do with it. Besides that I still love the movie and the music. If you haven't seen it yet I'd say your missing a very good movie.And the price was just out of this world, you can't beat [..]every where that I have looked the price is over [..]. So thank you.
Thank You
Debbie Quintanar
quinnabe@sbcglobal.net
0 out of 0 people found this helpful.
|
Zoot Suit - Great!
Added 1/10/2009
Zoot Suit is a movie I recommend to all (especially Latinos) who are interested in a small portion of neighborhood life in LA during World War II. The musical score is excellent and has a tendency to urge you to increase the volume. The acting is very believable, while the alter ego character (James Olmos) constantly challenges your mind to determine who he is and what he represents - until the end. All in all, very enjoyable.
0 out of 0 people found this helpful.
|
important history
Added 1/9/2009
Though not strictly an historical piece, not a documentary, Zoot Suit shows an entertaining and engaging storyline. It does this while revealing an historical event and how it is indicative of the unequal justice of the past and present for non-whites and those not fitting the social norms set by white society. It is truly worth seeing but I have had to explain the Edward James Olmos character to several people. He is voice in Henry Reyna's head, the image of what a Zoot Suiter was seen as, narrator of the story, and a few other things all put together. See him as a shadow more than an actual character that all others can see.
0 out of 0 people found this helpful.
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