Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #36822 in DVD
• Released on: 2002-04-15
• Rating: Suitable for 18 years and over
• Number of discs: 1
• Formats: Black & White, Colour, PAL
• Original language: English
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 117 minutes

Amazon.co.uk Review
Gia is a made-for-TV HBO film that stars Angelina Jolie as supermodel model Gia Carangi, who went from high school to the cover of British Vogue in less than two years. Carangi appeared on many more covers of Vogue (French, British, Italian, and American) and Cosmopolitan before dying of complications from AIDs (she was an IV heroin user) in 1986. Jolie comes by her talent honestly: she's the daughter of veteran actor Jon Voight, and her own training as a model serves her well here--she has the moves. Throughout, she's heartbreaking--as no doubt the real Carangi was--effective, and stunning. With good source material (Stephen Fried's A Thing of Beauty: The Tragedy of Supermodel Gia), Jolie's stunning performance, and strong directing by Michael Cristofer, the movie goes beyond the merely sensational. The script was co-written by Cristofer and novelist Jay McInerney, whose Bright Lights, Big City covers similar territory. As a cautionary tale, Gia works. But to watch Jolie in her character's tragic self-destruction is utterly compelling. --NF Mendoza, Amazon.com

Special Features
English
Region 2

Synopsis
Gia Carangi (Angelina Jolie), one of America's first supermodels, lives hard and dies young in the glamourous, excessive urban wilds of 1970s New York City. The made-for-HBO drama was adapted by director Michael Cristofer and novelist Jay McInerney from the biography THING OF BEAUTY by Stephen Fried. This film features an early screen role by Jolie.

Customer Reviews

Superb Performance By Jolie
As a big, big Angelina Jolie fan for many years, Gia was the one film I was still to see as it has not been shown on UK television and was never in cinemas. Before I saw it, I thought it was going to be your typical cheesey TV Movie that gets shown on Channel Five at 3.30pm. However, it blew me away and confirmed what a fantastic actress Angelina really is.It tells the story of tragic supermodel Gia Marie Carangi and her battles against drugs and later HIV. The part of Gia is a tough part to play but Jolie handles it so well - indeed I think only Angelina could have played this part (just as only she could play Lara Croft). As with all of her films, every time Jolie appears on screen she lights it up and is always a pleasure to watch. Her performance in Gia reduced me - a fully grown 6'3 man - to tears! It's a long film at two hours but it flies by. I have every other Jolie film on DVD and this is a worthy addition to the back catalogue. If you are a Jolie fan, I'm sure you're going to buy this anyway. However, if you are still to discover exactly what it is that makes people praise Jolie,snap this up at a bargain price. You won't regret it and you'll soon be an avid Angelina follower! ..

"....this or me?"
I must admit here and now that I wasn't a huge fan of Angelina Jolie before I saw this movie. I had seen "The Bone Collector" and thought it good...but quite frankly I had turned my back on her other role choices such as Lara Croft. However the theme behind "Gia" caught my eye and I took a peek....I'm glad I did.

Jolie is quite simply brilliant in this movie. No one else could have played the role of the supermodel who epitomised the slogan, "Too beautiful to die, too wild to live". With her stunning looks, background in modelling and rebellious charm, the line between actress and character, reality and fiction is lost and forgotten in this movie....a symbol of good directing, a fantastic story line and above average casting.

The movie moves from when Gia was first discovered at the age of 17, along the route of cameras, relationships, drug abuse and her eventual death in 1986 attributed to H.I.V. A sample of a rare mainstream movie that places a lesbian relationship at the heart of it's storyline...and paints it in an acceptable, artistic and moving tone.

Acting credit must also be given to the likes of Kylie Travis, Mercedes Ruehl, Faye Dunaway, and Elizabeth Mitchell of recent BBC feature "Man and Boy" and "ER" fame. Mitchell plays alongside Jolie as Linda, her make-up artist and love interest. Ironically, for me, it is Mitchell who delivers the most powerful line of the movie, "....this or me?"; once delivered the lump in the throat developed and I was glad I had taken a peek at "Gia".

All in all an excellent movie that treats a very senstive subject with great respect. Through it you get a sense of Gia Curangi the person...something that the 1980's public and fashion industry failed to acknowledge.

Well worth watching...
An excellent film, Angelina Jolie gives an breathtaking performance as the late Gia Carangi, a supermodel who meets her end as an early AIDS victim. The film documents the life of Gia (though with some artistic license) from childhood through her journey from obscurity to one of the most sought after models of the late 70s/early 80s, her battle with emotional instability, drugs, a fall from grace, rehab and her death. Jolie brings amazing depth to the character, revealing her as fragile and vulnerable and bringing out a softness that defies Gia's tough exterior. The story is heart-wrenching and Jolie portrays Gia as someone you can't help but like despite everything, a character who you laugh with and cry for. The depiction of the drug-fuelled and care-free era in which it is set is compelling to watch, as is Gia's (fictional) relationship with Linda. All in all a highly recommended film with a heartfelt and unforgettable performance from Jolie (who unfortunately has yet to repeat such amazing acting since Gia and Girl, Interrupted).