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I caught this movie on a movie channel not knowing what it was, never even heard about it or the Mitchell brothers. And to tell you the truth I didn't expect very much of it. I have always considered Charlie Sheen to be a quite bad actor and can you name one single movie Emilio Estevez has made since young guns? But to my pleasant surprise the movie turned out to be pretty good. Ok it was a bit slow sometimes, but overall it's a quite interesting story about 2 brothers rise and fall. To bad that both of them lost it and messed everything up, but hey, you can't change a story that is based on a true story, right? I give this movie 3 points out of 5 possible. These brothers life caught my attention I will definitely read the book now.

Harrowing is the word that comes to mind when trying to describe this movie. A fascinating look at two brothers, raised by a man who could have take parenting lessons from The Great Santini and being thrust into the world of 1970s porn and drugs. Yes, the porn angle of the story is very fascinating and is probably the reason most will see this movie, but I found it to be a riveting look at the older brother - younger brother relationship in the case of two men who led very enmeshed lives. Jim (the older brother) was always taught to take care of younger brother Artie and he did that all of his life, even kicking drugs on his own to show Artie that it could be done. Artie, meanwhile spirals down deeper into addiction and sexual excess and uses Jim's continued smoking as an excuse not to get straightened out. The ending scenes are very sudden and surprising, as they must have been when they really happened, but was this Jim's one last attempt to take care of Artie when nothing else seemed to work? This movie uses the not uncommon now technique of odd camera angles and color to put the viewer into the disoriented mindset of a person on drugs and perhaps on the edge mentally and emotionally. It was really showcased well in "Natural Born Killers" and has kind of been done already to death. But it does serve the story here. Recommended, and as a chaser after this downer of a movie, rent "Babe".

It's been a while since I've seen this, so I'll keep it short. I saw the film, and read the book. I guess the idea of making the film came a little too close to the "Boogie Nights" success. Both brothers, however, show that they are good actors, even if Charlie's trying a little too much to be Hunter S. Thompson (unless the character was actually like that.) It's a good movie about the porn industry whereas "Boogie Nights" wasn't really about the porn industry, which was used mainly a subplot (or one of many... I loved that film, I just don't think these two movies should be compared-- this is a straight bio-pic.) The demise of the Mitchell brothers wasn't the demise of porno. But, it should be noted, the demise of film making (for real) in porno. They tried like hell to make real films, and probably could have (some might say, with the budget, should have.) So the characters made a fairly respectable film that came along a bit too late.

Going into the theatre, I had mixed expectations. This is, after all, a movie about the porn industry. It could be very graphic, shallow, poorly lit. It most certainly would have a nauseating soundtrack. The tickets were free and it was the premiere event, so the food would be good-- and I went. I was thoroughly amazed to see a very creatively produced film, whose formal perks were as interesting as its content. I was entertained by and sympathetic toward the characters, who were multi-dimensional and intense. Mostly, I was impressed by the film's visual aesthetics-- I'm not referring to the sex scenes here, though there was ample representation of that action-- I'm talking about the piecing together of a beautifully shot film. But besides that, the soundtrack was refreshingly hip and the actors gave excellent performances. This is a Showtime feature that has exceeded its medium's limitations,producing a movie that is given more justice in the theatres than where it will deign to be exhibited- on TV.

This film is Based on a True Story about the rise and fall of the porn filmmakers:The Mitchell Brothers (Played by Charlie Sheen & Emilio Estevez). The Mitchell Brothers made a famous porn film titled "Behind the Green Door". Once they become successful, they have to go through the American government, the mob, the woman's in their lives and even each other to create a San Francisco Porn Dynasty but the drugs and their intense relationship puts them apart.

Directed by Emilio Estevez (Men at Work, The War at Home, Wisdom) made a terrific if wildly uneven drama that, it was never release in theaters. Instend it got debuted in showtime entertainment network.

DVD has an bright Pan & Scan (1.33:1) transfer and an fine-Dolby Surround 2.0 Sound. DVD has an surprisingly amusing commentary tack by real-life brothers:Sheen and Estevez.

The french Canadian DVD has an sharp non-anamorphic Widescreen (1.78:1) transfer and an good-Dolby Stereo 2.0 Sound. This DVD is only in french with no subtitles.

This is an unfocused but extremely well made film. Watch for film director:Peter Bogdanovich appears in a cameo as a film school professor. A must see for the performances by Sheen & Estevez. (****/*****).