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| Restoration | 
| Director: Michael Hoffman
Actors: Robert Downey Jr., Sam Neill, David Thewlis, Polly Walker (ii), Meg Ryan
Studio: Miramax
Category: DVD
Buy New: $18.58
Buy New/Used/Collectible from $18.58
Avg. Customer Rating:  (49 reviews)
Sales Rank: 8988
Format: Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, Dvd-video, Letterboxed, Widescreen, Ntsc
Language: English (Original Language)
Rating: R (Restricted)
Media: DVD
Running Time: 118 minutes
Number Of Items: 1
Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1
DVD Layers: 1
DVD Sides: 1
Picture Format: Letterbox
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.3
Dimensions (in): 7.5 x 5.7 x 0.7
MPN: D17376D
ISBN: 6305428379
UPC: 717951002808
EAN: 9786305428374
ASIN: 6305428379
Release Date: August 3, 1999
Theatrical Release Date: 1994
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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| Editorial Reviews:
Amazon.com
A fantastic premise is utterly blown in this film by director Michael Hoffman and screenwriter Rupert Walters (the two collaborated previously on the winning Some Girls). Robert Downey Jr. plays Robert Merivel, King Charles II's (Sam Neill) spirited young physician in 17th-century England. The king offers to set Merivel up for life in exchange for one small favor: marry the royal mistress (Polly Walker) to provide his highness some cover for his philandering. But Merivel blows it by falling in love with the woman, and he is cast out of his pampered paradise to reinvent himself as a serious man helping victims of the plague beyond the palace's walls. It's a superb notion, and the film looks just terrific, particularly Charles's court, where scientific and artistic innovation flourishes. But somehow the story completely falls apart once Merivel goes on his quest for salvation. The scenes aren't there, the characters are underdeveloped, the drama is clunky. The whole enterprise feels as if an editor tried to salvage a major failure and barely came up with something coherent. --Tom Keogh
Description
Meg Ryan (KATE AND LEOPOLD) and Robert Downey Jr. (WONDER BOYS) head a superb cast of stars in this stylish and provocative story of love, power, and seduction! Robert Merivel (Downey) is a young man who seems to have everything ... until a passionate affair leads to scandal, suddenly leaving him heartbroken and penniless. But it's only after losing it all that Merivel discovers who he really is and -- with the love of a beautiful woman (Ryan) -- becomes the man he never dreamed he could be! Also featuring Sam Neill (JURASSIC PARK) and Hugh Grant (NOTTING HILL), this critically acclaimed and entertaining motion picutre won two 1995 Academy Awards(R) for Best Achievement in Art Direction and Costume Design.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 44 more reviews...
Restoration December 6, 2008
I enjoyed this movie, though it took a while before the film came to have any meaning or direction. At first this movie seems like it will be a raunchy, drunken, orgy film with the main character, Robert Merivel, gaining acceptance into the royal household of King Charles II of England. A physician, he saves the king's dog then becomes a drunken boor at court.
Chalres uses Robert for a dupe then Robert is cast out of court when he defies the king's wish. He ends up doctoring lunatics. It is at this point where the film takes on life. Eventually Robert's companion gives birth to a daughter then dies. Robert takes the daughter to London where the plague is ravaging. Then the fire of London happens. In the end, Robert is restored to some of his former acceptance at the court of the king again.
This film is a decent portrayal of restroation England, though this should not be confused with the film's title. Charles II is a supporting role, not the lead. We see Robert Merivel's rise and fall and restoration. Do not get history from films, the old saying goes. But if you like historical fiction, this film is worth a look.
 Interesting Movie June 11, 2008
Restoration, was an excellent movie, great cast, one I look forward to viewing again & again. Great DVD to add to my historical library collection.
Restoration April 25, 2008
Won 2 Academy awards, Restoration is Robert Downey at his best!!! Brilliant cast and story. Tragic with a happy ending, please don't miss this.
Surprisingly great! March 14, 2008
I loved living this period of history, which is not often portrayed, while watching this film. Much sadness and tragedy but a heartwarming ending.
Yes, it's beautiful, but it's more than that January 24, 2008
Beyond the obligatory enthusiasm about the lush settings and costumes, this is a lovely full arc of character development. Robert Merivel enters as an immature, self-absorbed goofball, with an irrepressible spark of the man he could become glinting through the coating of muck. He gets dragged through a series of harsh refining situations and emerges with the dross burned off. The final act of restoration (and you thought that only referred to the historic time period) is a solid two-tissue moment.
Robert's friend Pierce is a charming jewel of a character who doesn't make anywhere near the drastic developmental leap that Merivel does, but doesn't need to -- he's a perfect balance quiet integrity to Merivel's extreme dramatics.
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