Tales Of The City Reviews

San Fran in the 70's

Tales of the City is a kind of gentle 'Desperate Housewives' for the 1970 generation. The characters are beautifully drawn, from old Mr Halcyon, who is dying of kidney disease, thru to the off-the-wall Anna Madrigal, the pot-smoking landlady.

The script is a delight, the acting fabulous, the direction assured and generous.

There are no cheap laughs, no easy dramatic moments, no plot-line short-cuts. This is top-quality cinema with a conscience and a smile.

San Fran is a great city, and Maupin's tender affection is obvious. The endless routine of gay bars and baths in the pre-AIDS days is both quaint and yet oddly forboding - something had to break... There's a naivete and an optimistic unworldiness here, which has long gone...

Great stuff, highly watchable.

Enjoy!

For once a serialisation matches the quality of the book

The magical Tales in the City comes to life via this production and does not fail to impress. Excellent casting combined with fantastic location makes for compelling viewing. Olympia Dukakis in particular shines as the enigmatic Mrs Madrigal. I would heartily recommend this as an experience not to be missed.. often when tv turns a novel into the small screen a lot is lost but I believe Amistead Maupin was heavily involved in the mini series production, and it shows. Order this, get in a few bottles of wine, sit back and devour this treat.

RENT THIS NOW!

Small town girl in a big city - sex, drugs, and san francisco in the 70's! Funny, intelligent and ever so slightly mad. I loved it!

[Highly rated reviewer]

Tales!

Fab ditzy and more fab!

Great story, full of suspense

Must see this DVD. First I really enjoyed the books and now I could see all the words in real picture! Couldn't wait to see More Tales of the City. Perfectly well-cast! Don't miss this!

FANTASTIC

armistead maupins tales of the city is a joy to read but even better to watch thoroughly recommended

Don't know why, but I love it

I don't know why i liked this so much (it's cheesy, it's slightly naff, it's tawdy) yet I love it! LOVE IT LOVE IT LOVE IT! Probably it's twists, it's gay issues and yet emotional simplicity (if you get what I mean). Going to rent more tales and further tales of the city now!

Super tv series from early 90's

Super, really liked the realistic 70's San Francisco series. Refreshing angle to Multiple story telling in a single film. Recommended!!

A different slant on the 70's

This is a gentle comedy following the exploits of various characters in San Fransico in the mid to late 70's. It helps to have read the books, by Armisted Maupin, which are highly entertaining and insightful.

The plot follows Mary Anne newly from Cleveland to the west coast. With her we meet several wonderful and colourful figures who live in Barbary Lane under the compasionate eye of the wonderfully excentic Mrs Madrigal. Who by way of a greeting sticks a joint to the door of her tenants flats when they move in.

The comedy is gentle, subtle and witty. You feel for all of the people that you meet. Even the bragard Beecham has a human side and you really care what happens to the lovely Mouse (Michael) , Mona and Brian.

A truely romantic subplot is the relationship between Anna Madrial and the dying conservative tycoon Edger.

Highly recommended. Bright colourful, alive and memorable. Real care has gone into choosing the actors to play the parts as they do bring these vivid characters to life.

This version is as charming and delightful as the original books by Armisted Maupin.