Sodom and Gomorrah ( Sodoma e Gomorra ) ( The Last Days of Sodom and Gomorrah ) Review

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(More customer reviews)Amazon's listings, normally accurate to a fault, erroneously tag this item as "full screen." In fact it's widescreen, 1.85 or 1.78, it's hard to tell, and the jewel case itself only states (in English) "Letterbox." So it's the original theatrical release aspect ratio. Don't worry about its being a Brazilian pressing: the language is English, the opening titles are English, everything English. Only the jewel case text is in Portuguese.
Quality wise? A-okay, certainly better than Fox's own VHS version which is full of streaks, scratches, and quivers. But it needs to be digitally remastered and released in DVD by Fox itself, Dolby 5.0 all that stuff. Meanwhile, this version is the best thing going, and it's damn good.
As for the movie. Well . . . de gustibus and all that. For me, the most fascinating persona is not Lot (Stewart Granger) but the "Queen of Sodom," a lady of tastes sapphic and sadistic ("Next only to the pleasure of giving death is the excitement of watching it" she burbles to a horrified Lot), played to a perfect lip-snarl by the French actress Anouk Aimée.
Most of all though is the MUSIC SCORE, which outclasses every other element of the movie and is a bit incongruous to find accompanying this biblical pabulum, amusing and visually stunning as much of it is. To me the score is simply one of Miklos Rozsa's absolute finest, his third best after Ben-Hur and Quo Vadis, utterly LUCID and free of the mushy dissonances that occasionally, just occasionally muck up the Rozsa repertoire. Take just one example: a pastorale Rozsa called "By the River," which plays when Lot is courting his wife-to-be (Pier Angeli), a little gem-of-a-gem that stands with ANY pastorale in any of his films.
So we need to have this DVD remastered in state-of-the-art by Fox itself in Dolby 5.0, the whole works. But meanwhile, kudos to the Brazilians for doing Fox's work for it, a very very credible job. Buy with confidence.

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Tiger Bay (1959) Review

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(More customer reviews)I first saw this movie at Goose Bay AFB in Labrador on a cold winter's night at the base theatre. I had no idea what was being shown, nor had any of the other GI's who attended that evening. Near the end of the film there is a particularly exciting moment and the entire audience - well over a thousand guys! - gasped with astonishment! At the end there was applause and shouts of "Great movie!" Several of us followed the movie as it wound its way to the many theatres on the air base, and we took others who hadn't seen it who were also deeply moved by the story. Over the years, now on video tape and DVD (Hurrah!) this "little" movie never fails to deliver its huge emotional impact. Hayley Mills (pre-Disney) and Horst Buchholz (pre-Magnificent Seven) will break your heart and then restore it. A truly great motion picture, one once discovered is never forgotten! If you haven't seen it you are missing one of the all-time classic films!

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Gigi (1958) Review

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(More customer reviews)For those wondering why they should purchase another edition of "Gigi" on DVD, here are all the extras; however, if you own a Blu-ray, you might want to wait and pre-order Gigi [Blu-ray]. Other than the technical specs, the extras are the same on both versions.
Winner of 9 Oscars, "Gigi" was produced after the demise of the original 3-Strip Technicolor system, and photographed in the industry-standardized Eastmancolor process, which had a tendency to fade to reds and purples. For this new DVD release, Gigi has been photo-chemically restored from its original camera negative and safety separations to produce a much sharper and colorful image than has been seen in decades. It also contains a 5.1 audio mix created from the original multi-track source elements.
Disc 1 (Gigi '58): 2.35:1 Anamorphic Widescreen * English DD5.1 Surround * French Mono * English, French and Japanese subtitles * Bluray specs: 1080P 2.40:1 Widescreen, English 5.1 Dolby TrueHD, English 5.1, French 2.0, Spanish 1.0 (Both Castilian and Latin), German 1.0, Italian 1.0 Dolby Digital, Subtitles (Main Feature): English, French, Spanish, Danish, Dutch, Finnish, German, Italian, Japanese, Norwegian, Portuguese, Swedish, Subtitles (on Select Bonus Material): English, French, Spanish, German, Italian, Japanese, Portuguese
*New Commentary with Leslie Caron & Film Historian Jeanine Basinger
*The Million Dollar Nickel [1952 MGM short]
*The Vanishing Duck [1958 MGM cartoon]
*Theatrical Trailer
Disc 2: "Thank Heaven! The Making of Gigi" The story of how 1958's Best Picture winner (the last of the classic MGM musicals) survived a turbulent production that included censorship battles over its daring sexual content and creative struggles between a studio in turmoil and a demanding, visionary director. Featuring an all-new interview with star Leslie Caron, and a rare interview with Oscar-winning director Minnelli
Original 1949 Nonmusical version of Gigi starring Daniele Delorme in the title role and directed by Jacqueline Audry (in French Mono with English subtitles)
For those not familiar with the plot, Gaston (Louis Jordan) is the descendant of a wealthy Parisian family who rebels from the superficial lifestyle of upper class Parisian 1900s society by socializing with the former mistress (Hermoine Gingold) of his uncle (Maurice Chevalier) and her outgoing, tomboy granddaughter, Gigi (Leslie Caron). When Gaston becomes aware that Gigi has matured into a woman, her grandmother and aunt (Isabel Jeans), who have educated Gigi to be a wealthy man's mistress, enjoin on him to become her provider and on her to accept such a golden opportunity. However, true love adds a surprise twist to this Cinderella story that was actually filmed in Paris.

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She (1935) Review

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(More customer reviews)If the 1935 SHE reminds you vaguely of the 1933 KING KONG do not be too surprised: both films were produced by Meriam C. Cooper, who endowed them with similar visual styles--and who tweaked the 1887 novel by H. Rider Haggard to create a similar story line as well. Starring Broadway actress (and later two term Democratic congresswoman from California) Helen Gahagan in her only film role as The Eternal One, SHE did not, however, meet with the same financial success. It lost a tremendous amount of money for RKO, was withdrawn, and for many years was thought to be completely lost.
Although the film alters the Haggard novel in a great many ways, it retains the basic elements. Lured by a family legend, Leo Vincey (Randolph Scott) braves the frozen European north with family friend Horace Holly (Nigel Bruce, best known for his appearances in the Sherlock Holmes series) and innocent Tanya Dugmore (Helen Mack, popular 1930s ingenue.) When an avalanche exposes a cavern, the three find that the Vincey family legend is not quite so fanciful after all.
Most particularly, they find themselves at the mercy of She Who Must Be Obeyed, a woman who recalls talk of Jesus Christ in the Jerusalem market place, a woman two thousand years old who preserves her life by bathing in a radioactive flame that vents from the volcanic floor of her hidden kingdom. She (known here as Queen Hash-A-Mo-Tep) has been waiting for the reincarnation of her long-dead love, and Leo is his spitting image.
The acting styles are stiff even by 1935 standards and although Miss Gahagan is attractive in a 1930s way she lacks the stunning beauty attributed to She by the Haggard novel--but the great draw of the film was never intended to be great acting: like KING KONG, it is an action-adventure film with knockout sets (a few of them actually lifted from KING KONG), memorable special effects, and remarkable cinematographic set pieces. Even as it borrowed from earlier films such as the 1932 Boris Karloff THE MUMMY, it would also influence later films in turn; it is hard, for example, to imagine the 1937 Ronald Coleman LOST HORIZON without it, and even the look of the evil queen in Disney's 1938 SNOW WHITE is said to have been inspired by Gahagan's look and performance.
The film has been released in several editions to the home market, and fans may be tempted by less expensive editions. A word to the wise: Don't. The film shows its age and there is no significant bonus material, but the Kino Video release (be it on VHS or DVD) offers what is probably the best print short of a digital restoration. Recommended for fans of 1930s fantasy cinema.
GFT, Amazon Reviewer

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From the creative team that brought you the original "King Kong" comes a thrilling tale of adventure, immortality and lost love. -In color for the first time and includes fully restored black & white versions -Great Ray Harryhausen bonus features, Additional Scenes, Classic Sci-fi Toy Commercials, Original She Trailer

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Three Musketeers (1974) Review

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(More customer reviews)Filmed in 1973, the one that began it all. The book was actually split into two movies to fit all the plot! This is the first half of the book. An amazing, star-studded cast, great attention to detail and it's funny to boot!
Let's see. Oliver Reed as Athos, Richard Chamberlain as Aramis, Frank Finlay as Porthos, Michael York as D'Artagnan. Christopher Lee, Raquel Welch, Geraldine Chaplin, Faye Dunaway. Just about every performance is amazing.
This has the REAL plot - not the entirely made-up one Disney foisted on us. D'Artagnan is cheating on his landlord with his landlord's wife. The Queen of France is cheating on her husband, the King, with the Duke of Buckingham. The cardinal is trying to gain power of France. The Musketeers gladly steal food and cheat when necessary. It's a rough world out there!
The attention to detail in the film is simply amazing. From the stunning costumes, to the silver-and-white ball at the end, to the interiors of the buildings, to the food they eat, wine they drink, games they play - it's all fully authentic. You could watch this in a history class and learn quite a bit.
And the swordfighting!! None of this pretentious sword-waving and back-flipping. These guys were professional soldiers. They fought to win. This involved rough-and-tumble brawl tactics at times. I compare Athos' fighting style to Aragorn's in Lord of the Rings. His aim was to stay alive and to keep his comerades alive, not to look pretty when he fought.
Now for the BIG WARNING. I wore out several copies of the video tape before getting this on the first DVD available. Fox Lorber put out the DVD version. I was thrilled to have it on DVD. I was less thrilled when I saw what they did to the movie!! They literally cut off ALL FOUR EDGES of the movie, losing quite a lot of the picture. The special features are completely missing. There is a new DVD version out which is a two-pack of "The Three Musketeers" and "The Four Musketeers" that has the special features and has the full version of both movies without missing content. AVOID THE FOX LORBER VERSION and get the other one.

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Mirage (1965) (1965) Review

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(More customer reviews)Really? A single DVD of Mirage? I'm skeptical. I thought this had only been released on DVD quite recently -- and then ONLY as one of a half-dozen Peck movies in a $60 boxed set. I wonder if the people offering "slim-case DVDs" are breaking up the box?
I love this movie so much I made myself a DVD of it a few years ago. I had to rent the VHS from Scarecrow Video, and because it was their only copy -- and long out of print -- they made me put down a $100 deposit on the tape.
That's how much I love this movie.
The movie has a palpable sense of vertigo about it (pun intended) where accountant David Stillwell suddenly realizes that two years of his life are missing. He sets out to fill in what his amnesia has removed, and all sorts of dangerous situations result. The Hitchcockian direction by Edward Dmytryk, the performances by Peck, Baker, Matthau, Weston, Kennedy & Erickson, the Herrmannesque score by Quincy Jones, the eerie black & white photography, the imaginative staging, the use of sound effects, the unforgettable images of watermelons... All of it is top notch. I've loved this movie since shortly after it first came out. An unjustly-neglected masterpiece!

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The Classic Sci-fi Ultimate Collection (Tarantula / The Mole People / The Incredible Shrinking Man / The Monolith Monsters / Monster on the Campus) (1955) Review

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(More customer reviews)I've been searching for each of these films individually for years, and to have them all at once is quite overwhelming. They are schlocky and tacky with bad acting...everything I expect from the genre, and I love it all. Love 'em or hate 'em, the video transfer of each film is crystal clear, and every aficianado of the 50's horror genre must have this in the collection. If you like this stuff, rejoice. If you don't, stay away, and don't criticize me because I do!

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There's nowhere to run and nowhere to hide as five incredible science fiction films crash down on DVD for the first time ever in The Classic Sci-Fi Ultimate Collection.This fascinating, collectible set will shock, terrify and captivate you with film favorites from the golden age of Hollywood including Tarantula, The Mole People, The Incredible Shrinking Man,The Monolith Monsters and Monster on Campus.Featuring amazing, ground-breaking special effects, these classics set the standard for all sci-fi terror to come.

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The Wild Ride (1960) Review

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(More customer reviews)In only his second top-billed role, Jack Nicholson already shows some of the commanding presence that would eventually make him a star, playing Johnny Varron, smart-mouthed, arrogant punk and "top man" in a gang of would-be hot-rodders (an "anti-hero" ten years before they were popular?). In the first scene, Johnny's questioned by police at a party after 'chicken-running' a motorcycle cop (who later dies) into a tree. Johnny rules his gang with an iron hand, dictating activities, designating girlfriends as 'in' or 'out' ("She doesn't 'fit', man"), and scoring booze from a crooked liquor store owner for their makeout parties at the beach. When 'second lieutenant' Dave appears to be going "shallow" over his girl (because he "chickened" to an oncoming truck and ran his bomb off the road when she screamed) Johnny demands that he drop her ("First thing you know you're gonna be sittin' on a sofa watching TV, and that's the end, you might as well be dead.") Later, in his first legitimate race (featuring some actually quite decent track footage), he wins through dirty tactics and is immediately fired by his furious sponsor (the entire gang goes "on the town" with a twenty in winnings from a bet he had one of his boys place on him). Interestingly, the 'square' chick is the only person who dares to stand up to Johnny, labeling his win at the track "disgusting." Ultimately, his obsession with controlling the gang leads to a high-speed chase and ensuing tragedy. The Wild Ride is short (only 60 minutes) but sweet, featuring lots of groovy hep-talk (count how many times they use the word "man"); a reference to Marlon Brando in The Wild One; some way-cool wheels (gearheads will be drooling); and a nice'n'sleazy, jazzy score heavy on sax, vibes, flute, and bongos. If you're into the late-50s JD/Hot Rod/AIP scene, this should be on your must-see list, daddy-o.
Unfortunately, the source print does have some problems: it's a bit contrasty, and exhibits the usual light speckling and blemishing throughout, plus a few mild jump cuts, some sporadic blotching and lining, and noticeable grain. That said, the picture is bright enough, with generally very good tonal scale and shadow/highlight detail, and acceptably sharp. Basically a pretty solid 16mm TV print, eminently watchable, and benefiting from the superior resolution of DVD. There are a few points where it seems that some footage may be missing, but I noticed no major gaps in continuity. Overall, it blows away the other two Brentwood discs I've purchased: both Hot Rod Girl and T-Bird Gang suffer enormously in comparison, both looking very flat, faded, and dupey. Extras (Casper cartoon with terribly balanced, faded color; movie trivia quiz; DVD Dictionary) are negligible; buy this one for the feature. Besides Brentwood, only Sinister Cinema currently offers this movie on disc (in DVD-R format), and from the few SC DVD-Rs I've purchased I'm not exactly overwhelmed with their overall quality (at several times the cost of this commercial DVD). Since there appear to be no plans for legitimate DVD releases of the bulk of Corman's Filmgroup productions, I highly recommend this disc to JD/hot rod aficionados, especially at the dirt-cheap price.

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Deadfall (1968) Review

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(More customer reviews)From 20th Century Fox's new Cinema Classics Collection, whose prerequisites seem to be that a film be old and somewhat ostentatious, comes the feature Deadfall (1968), based on a novel by Desmond Cory and adapted and directed for the screen by Bryan Forbes (The Stepford Wives, International Velvet), starring Michael Caine (Dressed to Kill, Deathtrap), Giovanna Ralli (The Invisible Woman), and Eric Portman (The Spider and the Fly, "The Prisoner"). Also appearing is David Buck (The Mummy's Shroud) and legendary composer John Barry (Dr. No, Midnight Cowboy), who also provided the music for the film.
As the film opens we meet Henry Clarke (Caine), a professional jewel thief and apparent alcoholic, who's currently residing in a sanatorium of sorts attempting a recovery (we eventually learn he really doesn't have a problem with the booze, as he's only their to get close to a potential mark). Anyway, as Henry is finishing up his `convalescence' he's approached by a smartly dressed young woman by the name of Fe' Moreau (Ralli) as she's got a business proposition. Seems she and her husband, a much older man named Richard (Portman), who, by the way, seems to enjoy the company of men more than he does women (i.e. he's a little on the fruity side but manages to keep the mincing to a minimum) are in the same business as Henry, and seem to know an awful lot about not only what he does, but what he has done, particularly in some of his past heists. Turns out Richard is more of a planner than a thief, and he needs Henry to basically do all the breaking and entering so that he can come in at the end and gain access to where the valuables are stored. Once the details are squared away, the trio begins working on a preliminary job, one that involves stealing some jewels from large and well-protected estate while the owners are away at a concert. Things go fairly smoothly in the beginning, but the pair do encounter some difficulties on the back end. Eventually they make the score and decide to head off to Richard's villa somewhere on the coast of Spain, if only to rest up and plan their next job. And this is when things start to get really weird...you see, Henry and Fe' head out early and end up developing a romantic affair, while Richard shows up a few days later with a...friend...a young male friend named Antonio. Henry, taken with Fe', wants her all to himself, but she's unable to commit due to the fact she's married and all, and while she doesn't really love Richard, she does have a certain attachment to the man, one she can't just give up easily. This back and forth goes on for awhile and eventually Henry learns some disturbing truths about both Fe' and Richard, truths that could jeopardize their plans for their next heist...
I enjoyed a number of aspects about this film, my favorite being the sequence involving the initial robbery performed by Henry and Richard. This was a lengthy piece of footage as the shots of them breaking into the large mansion were cut with scenes of the orchestra concert, the same concert the people who owned the house being burglarized were attending. As a result the music performed during the concert is also played during the heist, all of which was edited in such a way to make everything quite exciting and engaging. The first hour or so of the film (the movie runs about two hours) things move along fairly well, but then the next forty five minutes the story gets bogged down with a whole lot of relationship type material, as Henry tries to figure out why Fe' is as attached as she is to Richard, and why Richard is unwilling to let her go. There are some interesting and ultimately creepy revelations made around this time as we learn a number of things about Richard's past, but it kind of felt dragged out and slightly pretentious by the end. Things do pick up during the last fifteen minutes, but I do believe the film could have been shortened by at least ten minutes, perhaps in an effort to provide better pacing. The crux of the story isn't really the heists themselves, but the interactions that develop between the characters in terms of their relationships, so perhaps this aspect of the film was intentionally drawn out to provide the necessary development as perceived by those making the feature. Anyway, some other aspects that worked really well for me were the European settings and the smart dialog. There's a lot of philosophy thrown around, as Richard seems to pontificate endlessly while playing his odd, little head games, but Henry does counteract this well with his streetwise wit and natural charm. I'm generally intrigued by characters on film or in novels that always manage to pull an appropriate retort or reply out of their ash. I thought all the performances were very professional and Caine was entertaining as usual. The one element that tends to stand out the most, as I think most who've seen the film will agree, is John Barry's beautiful musical score (he also appears in the film as an orchestral director), which complements the activity on the screen remarkably well. If you're a fan of exceptional musical scores, it might be worth seeing this film on that aspect alone. Overall I thought this a curious feature with some definite entertainment value, but certainly not for everyone's tastes. If you prefer a quick pace, lots of action, and minimal character development, this feature probably wouldn't be of interest, but if you enjoy a textured and layered storyline with a focused eye towards the characters and a moderately bizarre twist or two, then perhaps this will fit the bill.
The anamorphic widescreen (1.66:1) picture on this DVD release comes across really well as the picture is exceptionally clean and clear, and the audio, available in Dolby Digital mono (English and Spanish) and stereo (English only) is excellent, in my opinion. There are some extras including a featurette titled The John Barry Touch - The Music of a Master, an original theatrical trailer, an isolated musical score and sound effects track, subtitles in English and Spanish (the back of the case states there are also subtitles available in French, but this isn't true), and a couple of trailers for some other Michael Caine films, Peeper (1975) and The Magus (1968), both of which were recently released onto DVD.
Cookieman108


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The Warner Gangsters Collection (The Public Enemy / White Heat / Angels with Dirty Faces / Little Caesar / The Petrified Forest / The Roaring Twenties) (1938) Review

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(More customer reviews)Who can argue that this isn't the greatest collection of classic gangster films ever made?
If you need more proof about how good these are, I have 3 sources that rated these films BEFORE they were released to DVD.
Leonard Maltin (represented by LM, his highest rating is 4 stars),Nick Martin & Marsha Porter (authers of DVD & Video guide - represented by DVDG), and All Movie Guide (Represented by AMG).
Let's go Chronologically:
Little Caesar: LM- 3 1/2; DVDG - 3; AMG - 5
The Public Enemy: LM - 3 1/2; DVDG - 4 1/2; AMG - 5
The Petrified Forest: LM 3 1/2; DVDG - 4 1/2; AMG - 4
Angels With Dirty Faces: LM - 3 1/2; DVDG - 4 1/2; AMG - 4 1/2
The Roaring Twenties: LM - 3; DVDG - 4 1/2; AMG - 4 1/2
White Heat: LM - 3 1/2; DVDG - 4 1/2; AMG - 5
If you really look at the ratings (and consider that Maltin uses a 4 star rating system (as opposed to a 5 star)),you will see that the profesional critics rate these as quite high. Let's face it. These are the cream of the Warner gangster library. Another neat thing that was done for the DVD is the Warner Night at the Movies (Similarly done with Yankee Doodle Dandy, Treasures of the Sierra Madre, and the Adventures of Robin Hood - also introduced by Leonard Maltin) which gives you the option of viewing the film the way it was in theaters during that year (complete with trailer, news item, short, cartoon, & movie). They all have commentaries by notable historians, and have "Making of" special features (a few which include Martin Scorsese).
The prints are the cleanest I've seen in years (Turner does a top notch job of getting the best available source material).
The sound is above average to good. There are subtitles for the films, and closed captioning. Subtitles in english, french, and spanish.
The bottom line is if you are into this genre, you are going to want to get all 6 of these films (watch them in chronological order, the way the "making of"s are presented is much more rewarding if you do). These are simply the best of the gangster films. Second to none, and (to quote Cagney) "Top of the World".

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The Public Enemy showcases James Cagney's powerful 1931 breakthrough performance as streetwise tough guy Tom Powers. When shooting began, Cagney had a secondary role but Zanuck soon spotted Cagney's screen dominance and gave him the star part. From that moment, an indelible genre classic and an enduring star career were both born.As a psychotic thug devoted to his hard-boiled ma, James Cagney - older, scarier and just as elctrifying - gives a performance to match his work in The Public Enemy as White Heat's cold-blooded Cody Jarrett. Bracingly directed by Raoul Walsh, this fast-paced thriller tracing Jarrett's violent life in and out of jail is also a harrowing character study.Jarrett is a psychological time bomb ruled by impulse. It is among themost vivid screen performances of Cagney's career, and the excitement itgenerates will put you on top of the world! In Angels with Dirty Faces, Cagney's Rocky Sullivan is a charismatic ghetto tough whose underworld rise makes him a hero to a gang of slum punks. The 1938 New York Film Critics Best Actor Award came Cagney's way, as well as one of the film's three Oscar nominations. Watch the chilling death-row finale and you'll know why. "R-I-C-O, Little Caesar, that's who!" Edward G. Robinson bellowed into the phone. And Hollywood got the message: 37-year-old Robinson, not gifted with matinee-idol looks, was nonetheless a first-class star and moviegoers hailed the hard-hitting social consciousness dramas that became the Depression-era mainstay of Warner Bros. Little Caesar is the tale of pugnacious Caesar Enrico Bandello, a hoodlum with a Chicago-sized chip on his shoulder, few attachments, fewer friends and no sense of underworld diplomacy. And Robinson - a genteel art collector who disdained guns (in the movie, his eyelids weretaped to keep them from blinking when he fired a pistol) - was forever associated with the screen's archetypal gangster. A rundown diner bakes in the Arizona heat. Inside, fugitive killer Duke Mantee sweats out a manhunt, holding disillusioned writer Alan Squier, young Gabby Maple and a handful of others hostage. The Petrified Forest, Robert E. Sherwood's 1935 Broadway success about survival of the fittest, hit the screen a year later with Leslie Howard and Humphrey Bogart magnificently recreating their stage roles and BetteDavis ably reteaming with her Of Human Bondage co-star Howard. Sherwood first wanted Bogart for a smaller role. "I thought Sherwood was right," Bogart said. "I couldn't picture myself playing a gangster. So what happened? I made a hit as the gangster." So right was he that Howard refused to make the film without him...and helped launch Bogie's brilliant movie career. In The Roaring Twenties, the speakeasy era never roared louder than in this gangland chronicle that packs a wallop under action master Raoul Walsh's direction. Against a backdrop of newsreel-like montages and narration, it follows the life of jobless war veteran Eddie Bartlett (James Cagney) who turns bootlegger, dealing in "bottles instead of battles." Battles await Eddie within and without his growing empire. Outside are territorial feuds and gangland bloodlettings. Inside is the treachery of his double-dealing associate (Humphrey Bogart). It would be 10 years before Cagney played another gangster (in White Heat), a time in which gangster movies themselves became rare. "He used to be a big shot," Panama Smith (Gladys George) says at the finale, marking Bartlett's demise...and signaling the end of Hollywood's focus on the gangster era.

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Movie Bad Girls (Sins of Jezebel / Queen of the Amazons) (1953) Review

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(More customer reviews)VCI Entertainment and Kit Parker Films presents "MOVIE BAD GIRLS DOUBLE FEATURE" (Sins of Jezebel (1954) & Queen of the Amazons (1947) --- (Dolby digitally remastered)...featuring top performances from the '40s and '50s with outstanding drama and screenplays, along with a wonderful cast and supporting actors to bring it all together ... another winner from the vaults of almost forgotten Hollywood gems.
First up we have Lippert Pictures feature "SINS OF JEZEBEL" (1954) (74 min/Color) --- Under Reginald Le Borg (Director), Sigmund Neufeld (Producer), Richard Landau (Screenwriter), Gilbert Warrenton (Cinematographer), Bert Shefter (Composer (Music Score), Carl Pierson (Editor), F. Paul Sylos (Art Director), Paul F. Sylos (Art Director) ----- the cast includes Paulette Goddard (Jezebel), George Nader (Jehuz), John Hoyt (Elijah), Eduard Franz (King Ahab), John Shelton (Loram), Margia Dean (Deborah), Joe Besser (Yonkel, Chariot man), Ludwig Donath (Naboth), Carmen D'Antonio (Dancer) . . . . . our film and story has a scheming wicked princess of Phoenicia named Jezebel whose pagan ways brings destruction to all she comes in contact with ... Paulette Goddard is believeable as Jezebel, with George Nader who is under her magical spell ... will she introduce her pagan idols in place of the God of Israel, what danger lies before the King of Israel Eduard Franz as Ahab ... Sins of Jezebel takes place in 9th Century, B.C., in the city of Jezreel, the prophet Elijah warns Ahab, the King of Israel, against marrying Jezebel the beautiful but evil Phoenician ... on a very small budget this film comes across and delivers the goods and more
BIOS:
1. Paulette Goddard (aka:Marion Goddard Levy)
Date of birth: 3 June 1910 - Whitestone Landing, Long Island, New York
Date of death: 23 April 1990 - Ronco, Switzerland
2. George Nader
Date of birth: 19 October 1921 - Pasadena, California
Date of death: 4 February 2002 - Woodland Hills, Los Angeles, California
3. Reginald Le Borg (Director)
Date of birth: 11 December 1902 - Vienna, Austria-Hungary (now Austria)
Date of death: 25 March 1989 - Los Angeles, California
4. Robert L. Lippert (Producer)
Date of birth: 31 March 1909 - Alameda, California, USA
Date of death: 16 November 1976 - Unknown City & State
BONUS FEATURES:
1. Movie Trivia
2. Photo Gallery
3. Three Nuts In Search of A Bolt (trailer)
4. Promises Promises (trailer)
Second on the double bill is a Robert L. Lippert Picture release "QUEEN OF THE AMAZONS" (1947) (61 min/B/W) --- Under Edward F. Finney -(Director / Producer), Roger Merton (Screenwriter), Robert Pittack (Cinematographer), Lee Zahler (Musical Direction/Supervision), John Link (Editor), James Reimer (Art Director) ----- the cast includes Robert Lowery (Gary Lambert), Patricia Morison (Jean Preston), J. Edward Bromberg (Gabby), John Miljan (Narrator/Colonel Jones), Amira Moustafa (Zita, the Amazon Queen), Keith Richards (Wayne Monroe), Bruce Edwards (Greg Jones), Wilson Benge (Professor), Jack George (Commissioner), Cay Forrester (Sugi), Vida Aldana (Tondra), Hassan Khayyam (Moya) . . . . . our story line as woman searches the Amazon jungle for her missing fiancé ... The problem is not that she finds her husband alive and well, but that he has fallen in love with the Amazon Queen ... is the jungle controlled by a tribe of she-devils ... are outsiders safe, or will they be enslaved and tortured by a gang of smugglers ... what's with all the lions roaming the Lippert Picture set, does one of them have a collar ... don't leave the theater you're about to find out in the last reel . . . . . all courtesy of VCI Entertainment, who in my humble opinion is the best there is in restoring early serials and film noir features like this one.
BIOS:
1. Robert Lowery
Date of birth: 17 October 1913 - Kansas City, Missouri
Date of death: 26 December 1971 - Hollywood, California,
2. Patricia Morrison
Date of birth: 19 March 1915 - New York, New York
Date of death: Still Living
3. Edward F Finney (Director)
Date of birth: 18 April 1903 - New York, New York
Date of death: 10 January 1983 - Los Angeles, California
BONUS FEATURES:
1. Movie Trivia
2. Photo Gallery
3. Bad Blonde (trailer)
4. Man Bait (trailer)
5. Unwed Mother (trailer)
Great job by VCI Entertainment for releasing the "MOVIE BAD GIRLS DOUBLE FEATURE" (Sins of Jezebel (1954) & Queen of the Amazons (1947), digital transfere with a clean, clear and crisp print...looking forward to more of the same from the '40s and '50s vintage...order your copy now from Amazon or VCI Entertainment, stay tuned once again for epics and jungle adventures that only VCI Entertainment (King of the Serials) can deliver.
Total Time: 128 mins on DVD ~ VCI Home Video KPF-559 ~ (9/26/2006)

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Rage at Dawn (1955) Review

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(More customer reviews)Another offering from the Roan Group.
"Rage at Dawn" is an interesting, but not particularly classic western. What makes it stand apart from most is the introduction of espionage.
Sturdy as ever, Scott is a "Peterson" man, an obvious allusion to the famous Pinkerton Detective Agency. He must infiltrate a gang of murderous outlaw brothers, and trick them into causing their own downfall. Their beautiful sister, a non-crook, and Scott naturally hit it off.
Familiar faces? How about a clean-shaven Denver Pyle? Pyle, best known to TV viewers of the 1970's as the white-bearded Mad Jack on "Grizzly Adams", or Uncle Jessie Duke on "The Dukes of Hazzard", Pyle was a supporting player in many westerns. Here, he plays the good brother who won't join in with his brothers' crookery.
Then there's Edgar Buchanan, famous as old Uncle Joe from "Petticoat Junction". In this film, he plays a crooked judge, on the bad brothers' payroll.
Of course, Forrest Tucker is the head bad guy, and J. Carrol Naish is along as another bad brother.
A good, sturdy western, with Scott playing his usual smiling tough guy (kind of a non-emoting Gary Cooper). Always fun to see Scott playing it cool in the face of the bad guys.

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RAGE AT DAWN - DVD Movie

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A Christmas Carol (1984) Review

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(More customer reviews)Christmas just isn't Christmas unless you watch at least one version of A Christmas Carol, and this is by far my favorite. George C. Scott gives one of the greatest performances I have ever seen an actor give; he truly becomes Ebenezer Scrooge to the fullest degree possible. Scott can say more with just the slightest hint of a facial movement than many actors can say during the course of an entire movie. All of the performers here are excellent, bringing to life adored characters such as Bob Cratchit, Tiny Tim, and Scrooge's nephew Fred. All four spirits are remarkable, none more so than Scrooge's old partner Jacob Marley; having Marley's jaw drop after untying the burial cloth holding his mouth closed is an important aspect of the story and certainly does make an impression on the viewer. This is just one example of the moviemakers' faithfulness to Charles Dickens' original story; another would be the inclusion of the two miserable children, Ignorance and Want, beneath the robes of the Ghost of Christmas Present.
This timeless tale works extremely well on its own, but the unsurpassed acting skills of Scott make it almost more than real. The change wrought in him during the course of the night, as he changes from a man of crass materialism and unkindness to a repentant soul pleading for a chance to change his ways, is powerfully presented and really touches the viewer emotionally. The simple happiness revealed in the lives of Bob Cratchit and others are as heart-warming as the forgotten mistakes and pains of a younger Scrooge are agonizing. If there is any heart out there that is not touched by the goodness and courage of Tiny Tim, I don't even want to know about it. No matter how many times you watch this movie, it proves itself capable of bringing a tear to your eye, a lump in your throat, and ultimately the very spirit of true holiday cheer and Christian charity that Dickens intended it to convey.
I cannot say I have seen every adaptation of A Christmas Carol, but I really cannot believe any other version could exceed the quality and emotional impact of this one. No matter how many times I read the story or watch the movie, it remains a source of eternal joy to me. This is more than a movie for me; it is an important and necessary part of each and every Christmas holiday season.

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Christmas elicits nothing more than "Bah, humbug!" from Ebenezer Scrooge (Scott), a miser whose sole pursuit of financial success has left him a bitter and lonely old man. But a ChristmasEve visit from the Ghosts of Christmas Past, Present and Future ultimately teaches him to open his heart to the spirit of Christmas and to the joys of friends and family.

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Rudolph & Frosty's Christmas in July (1979) Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)I have more to say about it at DVDtoons.com, but here's the short of it: It does run a little long, and could have certainly used some editing, but this movie is fun and rates well against the R-B TV specials. Anyone who thinks this movie is too confusing could not have been paying much attention, and I also would not say it's scary--- my 3-year old loved it (of course, it will depend on your own child's "scare threshhold"). Personally, I enjoyed the "origin" of Rudolph, found the new mythology of the characters charming, and thought Winterbolt to be a great villain. The movie gets a 7/10 from me, although the video quality could have been a little better on the disc. The lack of extras was disappointing too.

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Godzilla DVD Collection 7-Pack (Godzilla (1998) / Godzilla 2000 / vs. King Ghidora / and Mothra The Battle for Earth / vs. Destoroyah / vs. Space Godzilla / vs. Mechagodzilla / Giant Monsters All Out Attack / vs. Megaguirus) (2000) Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)First off, these are all good to excellent Godzilla
flicks - lots of fun and worth owning. I give 2 stars
because if you don't happen to already own any of these,
you can at least get an instant collection for a fairly
good deal (low price).
The bad news is for those who are not new to Godzilla and
who have a collection already: all Sony did, from the looks
of it, is bundle up the back stock of previously released dvds.
There are no decent extras to speak of. This collection
features 9 movies on 7 disks as follows (two disks are double
features).
The Good:
Yes, there is some good here! The following are how ALL the
movies should have been handled and would have made this a more
solid effort on Sony's part:

Godzilla x Megaguirus, GMK and Godzilla x Mechagodzilla are
all in High Definition, offer English and Japanese soundtracks
and english subtiltles, which is the way ALL Godzilla flicks
should be presented in this day and age of DVDs. The Bad:
Godzilla x Mothra Battle for Earth and Godzilla x Ghidorah.
A travesty because these are STILL not presented in their
original aspect ration; they have NO JAPANESE soundtrack and don't
even have close captioning/English Subs. These are the exact
same Full Screen-No Frills copies that have been floating around
for years - whats up with Columbia Tristar!?
Godzilla x Space Godzilla and Godzilla x Destroyah. Great
flicks which are at least in widescreen. Columbia Tristar
still held off from including a Japanese soundtrack!
Godzilla 2000 - still just an English dub here folks, sorry.
At least its in widescreen; there is also a comentary track and
a few other nice extras which lift this disk up a bit.
The Ugly:
Godzilla 1998 - including this movie was weak. It isn't
all that bad if you can forget it bears the title of a
Godzilla movie because that's where any similarities end. It
doesn't need further comment except to say its a dinosaur
movie with lots of CGI effects and no heart. Its worth
seeing for the general viewer of hollywood style flicks.
In conclusion, Sony didn't do anything to make this a more
interesting collection for the long-time, long-term fan. I'm
not as sour on Sony/Columbia Tristar as I may sound here, but
this release just doesn't have anything extra.
Sony will have little to say to those who seek out bootlegs
or versions released from other countries in order to view
the movies as they were originally released.
50th Anniversary Editions:
Better news is that the other earlier 70s Godzilla flicks
(GxMegalon, GxGigan, GxMechaGodzilla etc.) were released
with English and Japanese dubs. Hoo-Ray for Columbia Tristar!


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A Man and a Woman (1966) Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)And this ain't it. But it's all we got for now, so heh.
"Un Homme et une Femme" holds up quite well some 32 years hence. Younger viewers may not realize that a lot of the montage devices and tricks that may seem 'dated' were actually popularized and/or invented herein by Claude Lelouch. I actually found myself rewinding to watch the color sections a couple of times, especially the mid-film sequence scored to Francis Lai's achingly sentimental and lovely "Stronger than Us" as Anouk Aimee (the world's most beautiful woman) and Jean-Louis Triginant stroll the Deauville shore and muse on art and life. The tinting and grain of those sections - the boat ride, Anouk remembering her dead husband (Pierre Barouh) as he sings "Samba Saravah" to her - set a trend I pine for again.
The story? Well, thin, even by today's lughead standards (widower and widow fall in love against some lovely French scenery shot in winter), but it's obvious Lelouch was going for something that was quite new, then: a marriage of film and music that was not a "musical" per se, but rather, the forerunner of MTV (well, MTV with a soul, let's say). Cut loosely but thankfully not on-the-beat to Lai's jazzy/lush mid-60s score, Lelouch suceeds darn well. The freeze-frame ending cued to the final electric piano note, and that moment when Anouk Aimee pauses for the longest time and says to Jean-Louis, "You never told me about your wife", are two of my favorite filmgoing moments.
"Un Homme et une Femme" is emblematic of a world-view which I, for one, wish would take hold of folks again and topple the psychotic-trash-nihilistic consciousness now dominating pop culture. It was thoughtful, romantic, inward and outward at once, loving of sentiment but not wallowing in sentimentality, sophisticated, in love with love and with being alive in the world... not afraid of seeming tender. If any of this strikes you as square or passe or naive, then, this ain't your movie.
Let's hope the DVD gets released in French. Daria could use some alternative programming to 'Sick,Sad World', as could some of the rest of us.

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From director CLAUDE LELOUCH (And Now...Ladies and Gentlemen) comes this 1966 classic, a tender, visually exciting film of revitalizing love: a race-car driver (JEAN-LOUIS TRINIGNANT) and a movie script girl (ANOUK AIMEE) share a romance filled with humor and truth, intertwined with the demands of career and parenthood. Winner of OscarsO for Best Foreign Language Film and Best Original Screenplay.

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Mata Hari (1931) Review

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(More customer reviews)Actually, the only real reason I wanted to see this picture was the alluring Greta Garbo. The woman radiates mystery, which in today's cinema is all-to-rare. She is really the best thing about this film, which is kind of cheesy in everything else. The costumes are gorgeous, the sets are well-contrived, but it's the worn story and wooden acting all around Garbo that drag this film down.
This is a Hollywood rendering of a famous spy, Mata Hari, who, on being caught, is executed by firing squad in the end. There is no faulting Garbo's contribution, as she slithers from one scene to the next, fully convincing as the ill-fated, beautiful spy. I only the rest of the cast had put forth that much effort! Ah well.
Fans of Miss Garbo will, no doubt, fully enjoy this film, as Garbo is actually very moving in her scenes. Now don't get me wrong, I actually enjoyed this film, myself. I just wish more effort could have been put forth by just a few more of her colleagues.
I give this film four stars on the basis of Garbo's unique ability to light up the screen whenever she appears, and for the glorious costumes that populate her environment. Just sit back and enjoy the visual treat that was Greta Garbo.

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Mata Hari: the name breathes mystery, intrigue and sexual allure. Who better to play the notorious World War I spy than Greta Garbo, the enigmatic, exquisite screen icon called The Swedish Sphinx? Garbo is mesmerizing as the dancer-turned-German secret agent in a wartime Paris seething with secrets and betrayal. The notable supporting cast includes Lionel Barrymore as a Russian general besotted with her, Lewis Stone as an icy master spy, and Ramon Novarro as a handsome aviator who wins the heart Mata Hari did not know she possessed. With the world at war, love was her weapon. And the only men she couldn't seduce were the 12 in the firing squad that ended her tragic and tumultuous life.

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