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Lee Daniels' The Butler
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Additional DVD options | Edition | Discs | Price | New from | Used from |
DVD
March 10, 2014 "Please retry" | — | 1 |
—
| $11.36 | $9.50 |
Watch Instantly with | Rent | Buy |
Purchase options and add-ons
Genre | Drama, Biography |
Format | Color, NTSC, Multiple Formats, Widescreen |
Contributor | Lee Daniels, Forest Whitaker, Terrence Howard, Danny Strong, Jane Fonda, John Cusack, Oprah Winfrey, Wil Haygood, Cuba Gooding, Jr. See more |
Language | English |
Number Of Discs | 1 |
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Product Description
The Butler tells the story of a White House butler who served eight American presidents over three decades. The film traces the dramatic changes that swept American society during this time, from the civil rights movement to Vietnam and beyond, and how those changes affected this man’s life and family. Forest Whitaker stars as the butler with Robin Williams as Dwight Eisenhower, John Cusack as Richard Nixon, Alan Rickman as Ronald Reagan, James Marsden as John F. Kennedy, Liev Schreiber as Lyndon B. Johnson, and many more. Academy Award® nominated Lee Daniels (Precious) directs and co-wrote the script with Emmy®-award winning Danny Strong (Game Change).
Product details
- Aspect Ratio : 2.35:1
- Is Discontinued By Manufacturer : No
- MPAA rating : PG-13 (Parents Strongly Cautioned)
- Product Dimensions : 0.7 x 7.5 x 5.4 inches; 2.4 ounces
- Item model number : 28928265
- Director : Lee Daniels
- Media Format : Color, NTSC, Multiple Formats, Widescreen
- Run time : 2 hours and 12 minutes
- Release date : January 14, 2014
- Actors : Forest Whitaker, Oprah Winfrey, John Cusack, Cuba Gooding, Jr., Terrence Howard
- Dubbed: : Spanish
- Subtitles: : English, Spanish
- Studio : Weinstein Company/Anchor Bay
- ASIN : B00EV4EUT8
- Writers : Danny Strong, Wil Haygood
- Number of discs : 1
- Best Sellers Rank: #31,666 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)
- #5,238 in Drama DVDs
- Customer Reviews:
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Top reviews
Top reviews from the United States
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While Daniels wanted to tell the story of a man who selflessly worked as a butler in the White House for thirty-four years, serving under eight U.S. Presidents from Truman to Reagan, he also wanted to tell the story of what was simultaneously going on outside of the White House...mainly the Civil Rights era. Having read the forward in the book, I now understand this and the fact that, in order to tie it all together, changes had to be made. I consequently like the movie a lot more than I once did.
Forest Whitaker was by far my favorite in the film, playing Cecil Gaines, Eugene Allen's film counterpart. He played the character with a quiet self-confidence that Allen surely possessed in life. I thought it was a bit cliché for him to have personal conversations with many of the Presidents, but Whitaker's subtle ability to draw in an audience in made it work. I admit I wasn't sure about the casting of Oprah Winfrey as Whitaker's wife, but she did well. The older of their sons, played by David Oyelowo, was a portal for his family, and the audience, to see the struggles going on throughout the nation, especially in the South, as people fought for Civil Rights. You could see the conflict between father and son...it all felt genuine and that made the ending between them all the more satisfying. The second son, played by Elijah Kelley, was there just so there could be a second son. But he served one purpose, which was to illustrate a second conflict going on at the time. I knew nothing about either of these actors before they played these boys, but I was quite impressed by both of them. Another person who really impressed me was Aml Ameen, who played Cecil Gaines at age 15. The scene of his time at the café or diner or whatever it was was perhaps my favorite in the film.
As for the other supporting characters, this film featured a cast of all-stars. I did find it weird to see Robin Williams never crack a joke anywhere in a movie he was in, but he played a fine Dwight D. Eisenhower...in fact, I didn't see Robin Williams at all...I only saw Eisenhower. Same goes for John Qusack, who disappeared into his role as Richard Nixon. James Marsden once commented on all the Oscars and nominees he played alongside, but he can stand proudly among these folks as he was a fine John F. Kennedy. In the end, everyone who played a historical figure did a great job. My favorite among this crowd would have to be Robin Williams as Eisenhower. As for the fictional supporting characters, Cuba Gooding, Jr., was my favorite, but he didn't get nearly the amount of screen time he deserved.
The story was great as well. As I've explained, I've changed my mind and really do like it as opposed to the first time I saw it in theaters. There was never a dull moment throughout and many cast members, such as Oprah Winfrey and Mariah Carey, really surprised me, doing much better than I would have guessed.
I fully recommend this film as it delivers a worthwhile plot from beginning to end...and the final line will make you laugh and just smile right afterward because both Forest Whitaker and Cecil Gaines totally deserved to say that line after everything they had been through. I suppose my final solace with this film is that Eugene Allen's family also liked it. I do wish that the great man himself could have gotten a chance to see it, but that will never be. But you should definitely see this film and you should also read The Butler: A Witness to History ...everything is put into much greater prospective. Enjoy.
Top reviews from other countries
- une histoire de l'Amérique
- les premiers militants
- 9 scènes coupées
- rencontre au festival de Deauville
- Une chanson de Lenny Kravitz
- le bêtisier
Ce film est inspiré d'une histoire vraie, celle d'Eugene Allen, né en 1919, majordome afro-américain qui a travaillé pour 8 présidents à la Maison Blanche pendant 34 ans, jusqu'à sa retraite en tant que chef maître d'hôtel en 1986.
Ce film peut être vu en français ou en anglais, sous-titre possible: français.
Les critiques de la presse cinématographique sont majoritairement favorables à ce film porté par la performance de Forest Whitaker. Il y a également d'autres acteurs tels que John Cusack, Oprah Winfrey, Jane Fonda, Vanessa Redgrave, Robin Williams etc.
Quelques éléments du synopsis : "Dans les années 1920, le jeune Cecil Gaines grandit avec ses parents afro-américains dans une plantation de coton à Macon dans l'État de Georgie. Un jour de récolte, sa mère est violée par le fils de la propriétaire des lieux, Thomas Westfall, et son père est tué sous ses yeux car il ose protester. Annabeth Westfall, la mère de Thomas, prend alors Cecil sous son aile et lui apprend à être domestique (« nègre de maison ») tout en lui apprenant à lire. Quelques années plus tard, Cecil comprend qu'il doit partir de la plantation car Thomas ne le laissera pas vivre une fois sa mère disparue. Après avoir travaillé quelque temps dans l'hôtel Excelsior à Washington D.C., où il rencontre sa femme Gloria, il est repéré par le chef du personnel de la Maison-Blanche pour y être majordome auprès du président. Durant ses années à la Maison-Blanche, de 1957 à 1986, il deviendra un symbole et aidera sept présidents : Dwight D. Eisenhower, John Fitzgerald Kennedy, Lyndon B. Johnson, Richard Nixon, Gerald Ford, Jimmy Carter et Ronald Reagan. "
Le point de vue du réalisateur à propos de sa volonté de faire ce film : « Ce film permet de réfléchir à ce que la communauté noire a vécu, au cours des 50 dernières années, afin que des gens comme moi puissent obtenir le droit de vote. Cela transcende la division entre Noirs et Blancs, et j'y tenais, car au-delà du mouvement des droits civiques, le film parle des rapports entre un père et son fils. Le Majordome transcende le conflit entre communautés et dépasse même la seule histoire américaine : c'est un récit universel. »
10 nominations au cours de l'année 2013 + 5 récompenses, dont celle de Meilleur acteur pour Forest Whitaker à deux reprises (NAACP Image Awards 2014 + Africain-American Film Critics Association Awards 2013).