House of Versace

October. 04,2013      
Rating:
5.7
Rent / Buy
Rent / Buy
Trailer Synopsis Cast

Based on Wall Street Journal reporter Deborah Ball’s widely-read book "House of Versace: The Untold Story of Genius, Murder, and Survival", the movie brings to light the story of Donatella, who, following the brazen murder of her brother, world-renowned designer Gianni Versace (Colantoni) at the height of his success, is suddenly thrust into the spotlight as head designer of his fashion empire. At first ridiculed by critics worldwide, Donatella falls victim to drug addiction and nearly bankrupts the company. With the help of her family, including daughter Allegra, Aunt Lucia (Welch) and brother Santo (Feore), she enters rehab to confront her demons and soon comes back stronger than ever to re-ignite the beloved Versace brand with her own vision and builds one of the most powerful and influential fashion houses ever known.

Gina Gershon as  Donatella Versace
Enrico Colantoni as  Gianni
Yan England as  Michael
Raquel Welch as  Lucia
Mylène Dinh-Robic as  Amanda
Colm Feore as  Santo Versace
Donna Murphy as  Maria
Alex Carter as  Paul Beck
Samantha Hodhod as  Allegra Versace
Stefano DiMatteo as  Antonio D'Amico

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Reviews

Karry
2013/10/04

Best movie of this year hands down!

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Stevecorp
2013/10/05

Don't listen to the negative reviews

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Connianatu
2013/10/06

How wonderful it is to see this fine actress carry a film and carry it so beautifully.

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Zlatica
2013/10/07

One of the worst ways to make a cult movie is to set out to make a cult movie.

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evgenidilov
2013/10/08

I've always wanted the watch this movie, but I never got the chance... until HBO decided to air it. Well, it turns out that it was worth the wait. The movie is just incredible and it tells a breath-taking personal story that amazes the viewers. The cast is well chosen. Gina Gershon is flawless in her role as Donatella. She's got the look and all the gestures the leading lady of Versace always does. The thing that definitely got me speechless was the voice and the accent of Gina who imitated Donatella's strong voice unbelievably good. The scene of her passing out after she found out Gianni is dead was one of the moments when I asked myself if it really is possible to have that much talent. The fashion, the lush life of the celebrities, the paparazzi... everything is done in the right away. I absolutely recommend the movie to anyone who thinks that can appreciate it and get acquainted with the heartbreaking story of the Versace family.

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phd_travel
2013/10/09

This movie is more about Donatella than Gianni glossing over the murder and the life of Gianni but showing Donatella's meltdown and comeback. It's entertaining enough but maybe the focus could have been a bit more on before the death. The fashion shows and creative process are quite high energy.Gina Gershon gives a good performance even if her figure is much too beautiful than the subject. Almost any actress would be way better looking than Donatella but she captures the essence with the lips and blonde hair. Enrico from Veronica Mars looks like Gianni.Worth one watch.

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David E Schultz
2013/10/10

This is one of the most offensive portrayals broadcast in the history of television. Poorly written and cheaply produced it does nothing to capture the era. Gianni Versace is played by a lookalike mannequin whose performance along with a disgustingly superficial script makeover the master into a cheap fag. If you want to see the great Versace Atelier clothes or the roaring supermodel era of Miami thru 90's get a catalog, you won't find it here. Gina Gershon mopes thru her role as the fallen sister, replete with the obligatory and overdone drug problem. This offensive offering is a two hour game of charades played with fake Yawker Brooklyn/Italian accents. Versace ruled the fashion world during his short life, to have this man of immense talent portrayed in such a poor offering is a hostile and exploitive cheap shot.

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blanche-2
2013/10/11

If you like fashion, you might enjoy "The House of Versace," a 2013 Lifetime movie about Donatella Versace's attempts to follow in her late brother's footsteps, and her battle with drugs and alcohol.Versace's high-profile murder at the hands of a serial killer is only touched on. Enrico Colantoni is marvelous as the designer, and it's unfortunate that he only appears in part of the film.Versace is shown to be the genius of the House of Versace, and he and his sister Donatella (Gina Gershon) are interdependent, more so than their brother (Colm Feore) who handles the business side. Donatella is ambitious and wants her own line; while Gianni will defer to her as a stylist and believes some of her ideas are brilliant, HE is the designer and wants it to stay that way. They have some terrible fights but in the end they always reconcile.It might have been during one of these fights that Versace changed his will and left everything to his adored niece, who was something like 13 at the time. Hurt, angry, and unable to keep the House of Versace solvent, Donatella turns to booze and drugs and loses her husband, Paul Beck (Alex Carter) in the bargain. The question is, can she turn the house around so her daughter has anything to inherit? This is not Schindler's List. It's very Lifetime and has a lot of material to cover in two hours, so there's some shorthand involved. We don't, for instance, get much into Versace's death, as mentioned before; nor do we get much insight into his life with his partner, and while we see Donatella cheating once, we don't learn much about her marriage or her husband.Gina Gershon is, of course, much better-looking than Donatella Versace before or after she had her lips blown up, and she gives a good performance here. She is unrecognizable. Racquel Welch is absolutely gorgeous as Aunt Lucia, and I would have loved to have seen more of her.As mentioned in the subject line, this is a totally Canadian production. Colm Feore, who plays the third Versace sibling, is not only one of the best actors around, period, but one of the biggest in Canada - a positively brilliant stage actor who occasionally takes a TV movie for the money.Some nice fashion - again, I could have used more. Is this a fair representation of Donatella? Not sure, but she should have been happy being portrayed by Gershon.

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