NekoHomey Purely Joyful Movie!

Stoutor It's not great by any means, but it's a pretty good movie that didn't leave me filled with regret for investing time in it.

Sameer Callahan It really made me laugh, but for some moments I was tearing up because I could relate so much.

Caryl It is a whirlwind of delight --- attractive actors, stunning couture, spectacular sets and outrageous parties. It's a feast for the eyes. But what really makes this dramedy work is the acting.

margielove A truly riveting doco/film - Crazy Love is a no-holds barred expose of the lives of Burt and Linda. At the beginning - Linda is truly an exceptionally attractive woman - whose life stands before her. Whether the relationship is a burden or gift is something only they know - probably a bit of both.Many reviews have alluded to Burt verging on the 'psychotic' - but I believe that the quote on 'obsession' at the film's start - is more realistically pertaining to Burt and his character and possibly near the end - to Linda.I am pondering on the old Jewish 'matchmaking' system in the European villages - through which this would be a 'non-story' because the Burt/Linda story never would have been allowed to happen. Does having 'choice' mean that it allows the obsession which Burt had for Linda - to flourish - with the direst of consequences?I could relate through this film to the way my dad thought about my mother - and he would have probably collapsed if anything had happened to her. Although of course violence was never in question. I was struck by Burt mentioning - at the end when Linda was married to him - that he 'still had dreams that Linda was lost and he couldn't find her'. That truly was an obsession. He was prepared to go to gaol - be attacked and injured - and lose so much for her. It was as though he knew that once she was blinded - it would potentially drive away all suitors - and reduce her life to dysfunctional - so that she would be dependent on him. In short he was prepared to suffer to the nth degree to finally marry her. THAT is true obsession/devotion. Not that throwing acid in someone's eyes is recommended!I also noticed the statements about how beautiful Burt thought Linda was even after the disfigurement. However - he may still be getting his comeuppance. (eg Listen to Linda's demands : "Get is the car - It's too hot. Have you watered the plants? Is my coffee ready etc?"?)I Like that New York directness. Living in Australia - it's something one doesn't hear - (Not since my dad and grandmother died. )A very interesting compelling/captivating story on so many levels.

SanFernandoCurt Wow! This film is so full of laugh-out-loud moments it's almost a comedy. And that left me rattled long after it was over, and I'd reconsidered the zany goings-on of a self-made millionaire lawyer maiming the beautiful woman who scorned him. BLINDED HER! Ooo. Hell hath no fury like an officer of the court told to go fly a kite. Then, years later, they get back together and tie the knot. Marry! ("Prison really muscled him up.") And THEN... long after that... he's accused of cheating on her with another woman, who he plots to kill after SHE dumps him. His infamies aren't crimes of passion. They're very, very bad habits! Part of the appeal is the setting - NOO Yawk nouveau riche - and the stunning scope of the story, spanning late-'50s to present (the unfortunate female, Linda Riss, was splashed with acid in 1959, the crime committed by thugs hired by her erstwhile lover, attorney Burt Pagach).But in the hands of the filmmakers, Pagach's astoundingly atrocious behavior is practically laughed off as a charming eccentricity. Or... maybe... the producers were as dumbfounded charting these two bizarre people as I was watching them. At times, Pagach is portrayed as almost romantically valiant. "He could still see the beauty in her," one of their gossipy friends says in a tone very close to admiration. Other talking heads (they provide some of the biggest laughs in the film) include legendary journalist Jimmy Breslin, who pronounces Pagach "insane". Bingo, Jimmy.The pop-song soundtrack grounds the proceedings in specific eras, although the choice of Elvis' "Burning Love" over the final credits is tasteless. And, yes, an irresistible choice.

piverba I was made aware of this film after watching on Philoctetesctr round table discussion: "Crazy Love: Who's Tormenting Whom?". The director Dan Klores and a panel of illustrious psychoanalysts were present. There was a lively discussion that I found interesting.Concerning the film, I do not believe it was well made. The director, being a nice man, however did not have a clue how to develop the characters. He was just scratching the surface with superficial description of who they were. The documentary does not rise above the level of newspaper article and film medium was not appreciably exploited. Burt and Linda are both quite unattractive people, only desirous of possessions: Burt wanted Linda and Linda wanted anybody, preferably rich. She would only market her virginity to the highest bidder after all legal documents are sealed. She's so infinitely boring. Burt is a pathological liar, therefore very good and successful attorney, an inventor of the ambulance chase. Once he decided he wants something, he'll get it, even through murder or mutilation. The pair is quite a condemnation of American bourgeois of 1950s. I think (and hope) that this social mentality already died out. All the ideas you get after viewing this film, if any, you will generate on your own, without the assistance of the film, and you will need quite a bit of imagination to do so.If not for Philoctetes round table discussion this would've been complete waste of time. In the future I will avoid films directed by (or associated with) Dan Klores.

john-quel When I first encountered the story of Burt and Linda Pugach, some many years ago, in the paper back edition of Burt's biography, what I read on the cover I simply could not believe. At first I thought it was a novel, some kind of elaborate publishing hoax with a rather sick premise, but gradually I came to realize this was for real. I didn't buy the book, I confess. I treated it like it was radioactive and after a few minutes I put gingerly in back on the rack thinking: no good can come from this. But, I never forgot the essence of the story. What did it say about them, us, everyone? So when the documentary was finally made I jumped at the chance to see it.The DVD is probably the way to go with this story, not watching it in theaters. It is just to intimate, in all the senses of the word, a tale. Watch it all, cut scenes, features etc. Most of all, make sure you listen to the commentary track. At the end, you will then be able decide for yourself. Personally, I think the documentary did their story as fairly and as in depth as could be done. It really is an outstanding achievement. It frustrates some people however because it must seem the truth is missing: this story is so off the scale, so far beyond "Freudian," that while it is tempting to make psychological assessments, don't. The overwhelming majority of people are not competent to do so -- I'm certainly not -- and one would advise against it in any event. Here are two people who themselves probably, even after fifty years of living with the story, have no idea what really happened. But they are living whatever it was, and that is all they or we need to know.As for Burt, he remains one scary dude, as the director himself would find out first hand, yet one cannot help but respect him, in a way. He is a survivor with a strong element of luck in his life, if that is correct way to put it. He certainly suffered, both before and after his crime, but whether he suffered enough I leave to others to judge. He's smart, resourceful, and in a word indeed "obsessed." "Determined" doesn't quite seem to say it about Burt. For someone who is 80, he comes across as sharp and tough as ever. Given all that he has been through and all that he has done, this is no small accomplishment.I should point out that Burt does at times appear callous and indifferent to Linda's blindness (a point the director himself makes in the commentary), but I can't help but wonder if he simply does not see Linda as she is now, but only sees her as she was in the late 1950's. The documentary seems to come to that conclusion as well. Love is blind, in more ways than one. Certainly forgiveness is, if it is to be worthy of the name.As for Linda, she's an old-fashioned girl who was saving herself for the right monster and one day Mr. Wrong did come along. Nevertheless, I confess I like her. She is obviously quite talented, intelligent, witty and every bit Burt's match in toughness. But as with Burt, I'm relieved I never had to interact with either of them. I care for them both, however, and certainly one of the most amazing things about "Crazy Love" is the degree we come to view both of them as human beings. This is not a freak show. There is so much suffering in the world if these two people can hold on to some measure of happiness given their history, then more power to them. I think as a viewer, you can't help but hope the best for them and at the end of the film wonder what will happen to the other when either of them dies.