Amazon.com Customer Reviews
 Rated 5 out of 5!
Ciao!Manhattan:A Surreal Movie Experience
Ciao!Manhattan is avant garde to say the least! Filmed over five years by filmmakers David Wiseman and John Palmer, Ciao! does its best to blur the lines between the ficitonal Susan ("portrayed" by Edie Sedgwick) and the reality of Edie’’s real life. Shot in both color and black and white, the plot is hopelessly besotted in drugs and conspiracy. Try as they might, the filmmakers could not pull a story together that made any kind of sense. Nonetheless, the DVD is loaded with special features that make it a worthwhile investment. Included are interviews, a still gallery of rarely seen photos of Edie and lost outtake footage with great voiceover commentary from filmmaker David Wiseman. Another feature worth a try is the director’’s commentary. The stories accompanying the movie itself is eyeopening and educational, to say the least. This movie is a must have for anyone intrested in the 1960s/early 70s underground movie making experience.- Rated 5 out of 5!
The film is what it is, but the special features are great
Before I got Ciao! Manhattan on DVD, I had seen it twice before, once on video (first time) and once at a cinema revival screening of it (second). I was fascinated by the movie upon my first viewing, but managed to make it through the second showing just barely...my unconditional admiration for Edie Sedgwick being what got me through it. I mean, it’’s a weird, wacky, and wonderful film--full of great images of 1960’’s glamour and a funny, bizarre plot set in the 70s--but I bought the DVD really just so that I could complete my Edie memorabilia collection.
Anyway, I sat down to watch it the other night and turned on the special features first. They were fantastic! The interviews with David Weisman and Betsey Johnson were incredible; both of these people communicate very well the spirit of the 1960’’s and what they were experiencing and trying to communicate during the making of the film, not just in terms of the actual production but the way life itself was for these "youthquakers" back then. Weisman also gives some great insight as to why, after all these years, people (and young people in particular) are still so fascinated with Edie and the Warhol crew. And then there’’s the extra footage, which, despite having no soundtrack, is absolutely mesmerizing. Shots of 1960’’s kids, New York, Woodstock (I think), and of course outtakes from the film...well, it was just a fantastic bonus. Watching the features first really made me appreciate the film the most I ever had when I saw it the third time...this is a DVD not to be missed (well, admittedly, for a certain audience with an interest in the 1960s). - Rated 5 out of 5!
GREAT EXTRAS! GREAT PACKAGING!
Finally this film gets the recognition it deserves, struck from a pristine print, with a great cover and inside photos of vintage Edie, a nice booklet, wonderful DVD extras including lots of outtakes from the ’’67 footage, and insightful commentary from the director and great interviews with co-star Wesley Hayes, designer Betsey Johnson, the author of "EDIE" and more! It doesn’’t get any better than this for Edie fans.
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