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Gia (Unrated Edition) Customer Reviews (25 - 27 of 53 Reviews)

Missing 6 Minutes
This is a terrific movie and I was thrilled to see Angelina Jolie playing this part, (I first saw her in Hackers). But in case you don't know this, the DVD is missing 6 minutes of the movie. the only way to have the extra 6 minutes is to have gotten the original release on VHS (or recorded in from HBO). After Angelina became more popular, 6 minutes of her nude scenes were deleted from later re-releases of the movie including this DVD. But it still is a good movie.

Tragic, but Real
This movie is a tragic tale of the life of supermodel Gia Carnegi. It tells of her life of heartache, addictions, and the rise and fall of her modeling career. Angelina Jolie is exceptional in this movie. She taps into her characters pain and suffering as if it were her own. You feel as if you were watching this horrible train wreck in reality.

It saddens me to see what became of this beautiful model who was covered all over magazines and runways. Unable to deal with the pain and hardships of her life, she turns to drugs as comfort. This movie portrays addiction as it is, ruining the addicts life as well as those around her. It is an account of her life in the fast lane ending in tradgedy. I do not want to give the plot away, but it is worth a watch.

Model Behavior
The cable channel HBO has always led the way in its industry, among the other premium movie services, when it came to providing quailiy original films for its subscribers. Not only is Gia, from 1998, among its best, but it also helped launch actress Angelina Jolie into the stratosphere.

Gia Carangi (Angelina Jolie) is a gorgeous Philadelphia native who arrives in New York City to become a model and immediately makes an impression on high-powered agent Wilhelmina Cooper (Faye Dunaway). Gia's fierce good looks make her a star, as does her willingness to pose nude. Gia becomes entangled in a passionate affair with a photographer's assistant, Linda (Elizabeth Mitchell), but Linda is more conflicted about her bisexuality, driving Gia away and fueling the model's craving for mood-altering drugs. Failed attempts at reconciliation with both Linda and her mother Kathleen (Mercedes Ruehl) drive Gia further over the edge from cocaine to heroin, her emaciated body and sunken eyes becoming the catalyst for the "heroin chic" look. Although Gia is eventually able to kick her powerful habit, she learns that an infected needle has resulted in her contracting the AIDS virus.

Novelist Jay McInerney and noted playwright Michael Cristofer collaborated on the script that was adapted from Stephen Fried's A Thing of Beauty for this biopic. The film holds nothing back. Cristofer, who also directed the film, takes the material and gives viewers an unflinching tragic portrait. Jolie not only exposes her flesh in the film but her talent too. Working off of Dunnaway, Mitchell, and Ruehl, Jolie owns the role. No wonder she was honored with a Golden Globe...The ownership never gets over the top or mellowdramatic. Christofer keeps that from ever becoming an issue The unrated verson of the film lets it all go with an additional 5 minutes of material but isn't at all explotative.

With the unrated cut's release, I was hoping the DVD would have some meaty bonus material to go along with it. Sadly this is not the case. The photo gallery from the rated disc is here, recreating actual shots from Gia's portfolio, but that's all.

Lack of extras aside Gia is still a must see and is a fine cautionary tale.

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