2001 - A Space Odyssey
Director: Stanley Kubrick
Average Customer Review:
DVD (03 February, 2004)
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Editorial Review

When Stanley Kubrick recruited Arthur C. Clarke to collaborate on "the proverbial intelligent science fiction film," it's a safe bet neither the maverick auteur nor the great science fiction writer knew they would virtually redefine the parameters of the cinema experience.A daring experiment in unconventional narrative inspired by Clarke's short story "The Sentinel," 2001 is a visual tone poem (barely 40 minutes of dialogue in a 139-minute film) that charts a phenomenal history of human evolution. From the dawn-of-man discovery of crude but deadly tools in the film's opening sequence to the journey of the spaceship Discovery and metaphysical birth of the "star child" at film's end, Kubrick's vision is meticulous and precise. In keeping with the director's underlying theme of dehumanization by technology, the notorious, seemingly omniscient computer HAL 9000 has more warmth and personality than the human astronauts it supposedly is serving. (The director also leaves the meaning of the black, rectangular alien monoliths open for discussion.) This theme, in part, is what makes 2001 a film like no other, though dated now that its postmillennial space exploration has proven optimistic compared to reality. Still, the film is timelessly provocative in its pioneering exploration of inner- and outer-space consciousness. With spectacular, painstakingly authentic special effects that have stood the test of time, Kubrick's film is nothing less than a cinematic milestone--puzzling, provocative, and perfect. --Jeff Shannon ... Read more

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Reviews (669)

Don't listen to the pseudo-intellectuals commenting on 2001
And there are apparently many, or also many who are simply
too thick to understand anything about one of the greatest
films of all time.I can understand people being turned off
by its slower pace and lack of dialogue, the dating of a film from 1968, ultra space realism, (no silly Star Wars explosion noises in space!) and metaphysical abstraction (especially the final sequence Jupiter and Beyond the Infinite which is abstract as it is for reasons which I could write volumes on, and might someday, 2001 being my favorite film of all time).Anyone puzzled by what the monolith is, or represents, can find out some answers to these and other questions simply by cracking a few books (if anyone reads books anymore), namely Arthur C. Clarke's original novel 2001, and also the book covering the making of the film itself 2001: Filming the Future, and also the early paperback of The Making of Kubrick's 2001, if you can find a copy, it's a highly recommended collection of early reviews, commentaries, and material inspiring the film and novel that is simply indispensable to fully grasping the impact this film
had on release, and continues to impart to audiences today.
I first saw this film in theatrical reissue in the early
1970s, and my parents were correct that it would make an
enormous impression on me. I was anything but bored at
six years old seeing the film, and I understood it fairly
easily, even on a subconscious level.The HAL sequence
hit home the most as an early glimpse of artificial
intelligence (gone awry) so far ahead of its time, it's still astonishingly fresh.Without giving too much away to someone who has never seen this masterpiece, the monolith was intended
by Clarke and Kubrick as mainly a "tool" or conduit, both
a communications beacon, signal, intelligence booster (for the
pre-hominids at the Dawn of Man etc.) and when Bowman finds
the Jupiter monolith at the film's final sequence, something
of a "star gate" or wormhole (not a black hole since they
would having nothing to do with Bowman's journey, since nothing
escapes a black hole)left by the "aliens" or cosmic intelligence (some argues it's God, which is probably as valid an argument as any, even "aliens" as in reality Kubrick and Clarke posit in novel and film) to transport the eventually advanced mankind to another level of "being" and intelligence, or another level of evolution. The monolith is represented as a simple, mathematically "pure" construction, similar to Dr. Who's famous police call box time machine, its simple appearance belies its
unbelievable complexity.This is why Kubrick and Clarke
embodied the "calling card" of the "aliens" as the monolith,
as simple an object as you could imagine, yet it contains
the key, in this story, to mankind's ultimate evolution
and fate in the universe.Bowman's bizarre "transformation"
in the "hotel room" at film's end is merely a construct,
a "way station" the aliens use to cushion his psyche as
he undergoes a fast, aging, death and rebirth as the
"star child," essentially Bowman has become reborn and
is now pure consciousness, another level of intelligent
being.You could also say Dave Bowman's become a spirit or ghost, in one sense, it might be just as accurate a description....who knows? the point of this film is not to provide all the answers, you must think about it and find out some of its truths for yourself.This is the whole point of
doing this movie for Kubrick and Clarke.If the film
explained everything there would be no point in watching it.
The spacecraft The Discovery is not so named for nothing.
Bowman alone (sadly) makes the discovery of the universe,
of all lifetimes, and this is the crux of 2001 for me.
I can't understand why people also don't "get" why
the HAL sequence has the astronauts speaking so little
and so tersely, this is as realistic as you can get;
the Discovery Jupiter mission is a long one, most of the crew
spend it in cryosleep, before HAL murders them tragically later,
so it's boring until they get to Jupiter, this is why
Poole and Bowman seem so low-key.The mission is uneventful
until the point at which the film finds them hurtling towards Jupiter space, as HAL for various reasons explained more in the shoddy sequel 2010 (far inferior but somewhat entertaining), disintegrates before their eyes.Astronauts are trained to remain calm and collected even in the face of the most extreme
situations, as it could mean their lives if they panic.
This is reflected directly in Poole and Bowman's careful
reaction to HAL's increasing unreliability.There's no reason
for them to act over-emotionally.Bowman later almost loses
his temper in a moment of near-panic outside the ship
in his pod, having rescued the body of Poole,
and this is showing his panic, but also that he must
think of the mission and survival to get back in the ship
and dismantle HAL.I never understood why critics
or viewers thought negatively of this sequence, to me the
dialogue and action are exactly as I would imagine it
if it were happening in reality.Contrast this dialogue
and action to the panic and hysteria in a film like ALIEN,
which warrants such a reaction (being hunted down by a
ravenous alien creature twice your size warrants some
more emotion! such as fear and panic and flight), and
I think you'll see what I'm getting at here.
That's enough, go back and watch this marvelous
film a few more times and really stay with it and you'll
eventually "get" it.2001 is also starting to remind me
more and more of Antonin Artaud's seminal book The Theatre and Its Double, he wanted a film and theater wherein the sound and visuals carried most of the story, since language is so full of
pitfalls and dishonesty of meaning.The fact that Kubrick
and Clarke tell this story mainly with the visuals and sound,
(and the remixed DVD 5.1 soundtrack is the best I've ever heard it) with an absolute minimum of dialogue, reflects Artaud's
theories directly, and I believe, most superbly.It is the
very concrete realization of this concept, especially the final
Jupiter and Beyond section of the film, which contains zero dialogue but explains the almost "unexplainable" in strictly sensory terms, sound and vision, no words!This is also directly reflected in Kubricks' flash cut edits to Bowmans' blinking
eye, taking in the sensory overload of his amazing journey
and transformation with no speech to interfere with it; how could he possibly speak at this point anyway? Words are inadequate, there was simply no other way to tell the finale of the story. Why have a stupid voiceover narration over the completely ineffable? And that's why 2001 is a masterpiece, but it may take some 50 viewings to figure it all out, and some may never figure
it out at all.But I believe they will be the poorer for
not making the attempt.

A VERY BORING MASTER...PIECE OF TRASH
I can easily see the reason for the contempt for this film. While visually realistic of the spaceships both interior and exterior,the docking bay, and space scenery. It is very unrealistic of how the people are portrayed. Was Stanley Kubricks vision of the future that we would be souless drones with no love for life or happiness. A lack of action wasn't the problem. A lack of good dialogue was. If this movie was supposed to have reflected real life then the written lines should have been less dull and morbid. I don't know about you but even my daily conversations are a lot more riveting than the script written for this movie. FREAKAZOID did an excellent sendup of the scene where the astronaut in his space suit is walking through the corridor of a mansion. He sees Freakazoid and whispers: Can you tell me where the bathroom is...? Freakazoid:(whispers) I don't know...Astronaut:(crosses knees) Shoot. The apes while (semi believable) did not look like the type that would evolve into man. They look more like they would evolve into modern day chimpanzee. Then there's the monolith;the huge stone slab. No one can explain this. Not even Kubrick can explain this. So don't you bother trying to explain it either. Because it would only be your imaginative opinion or an out and out lie. I do recommend you see this movie at least twice. The first time to get the anger out of your system. Then about a year later when your anger subsides see it again. At least this way you can hold your fist in front of your chin and say in snobbish mannerism; Yez yez, the visu-el ottisdree of thee pree zentation is to be highly commended however the hue men element is quite mystifying. Or you can say "Don't tell me this piece of junk is any good. I sat through it twice and it still didn't make any sense" Well readers you can sit through this show everyday for the rest of your life and it will never make sense. SO NOW I"M REFERRED TO AS A PSEUDO INTELLECTUAL. JUST BECAUSE I FOUND FAULT WITH A VERY FAULTY MOVIE. I HEREBY DECLARE THIS DRUDGEROUS MOVIE BE REDUCED TO ONE STAR.

Wonderful Artist's Vision
Im actually writing this in response to some of the members who gave this film 1 star rating and the impundent and inacurate description they gave it.
Of course there are things in this movie(like others) that you wont understand thoroughly. So I guess the only way to enjoy a good movie like this is to, I know this is tough but please give it a try.........use your imagination. Imagination is a wonderful gift that distinguishes humans from being just animals.
That is probably why people like Charlie Chaplin, Orsen Wells, Tim Burton, Martin Scorcese, Steven Spielberg, George Lucas, Franic Ford Coppola and of course Stanley Kubrick made their movies because they had imagination. They are not limited to what they see or what they can never be able understand fully.
Obviously people who gave this movie a bad review grew up in a rich family, lived in nice little suburbia, and whose only idea of having fun is snorting cocaine or drinking hard liquour and telling the same sex jokes over and over again.
If your going to watch your teen party movies like American Pie, Road Trip, Old School, Van Wilder, Animal House or whatever the h3ll they are, dont waste your time bashing a masterpiece like 2001, because your only making yourself look more ridiculous.....hmmmm actually I dont even think you could sink much lower.
... Read more

Asin: B00005ASUM
Subjects:  1. Science Fiction   

The Lion in Winter
Director: Anthony Harvey (II)
Average Customer Review:
DVD (19 June, 2001)
list price: $14.95 -- our price: $11.21
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Editorial Review

In this 12th-century version of Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, Henry II of England (Peter O'Toole) and his wife, Eleanor of Aquitaine (Katharine Hepburn), meet on Christmas Eve to discuss the future of the throne. These two are having slight marital problems, as she is kept in captivity most of the year for raising a rebellion against him, and he flaunts his young mistress. Then there are the problems raised by their three treacherous and traitorous sons.

James Goldman won an Oscar® for the brilliant screenplay, based on his Broadway play. It is a tad wordy, as the action is kept to a minimum, but those words are sharp as daggers. The humor is wicked and black and delivered with very dry, dead-on precision. Sparks fly and the screen sizzles whenever Hepburn and O'Toole tango, which is often. Both were nominated for Academy Awards® for their vigorous performances. (She won; he didn't.) There's also an infamous homo-erotic exchange between Philip of France (Timothy Dalton) and Richard the Lionhearted (Anthony Hopkins). Both actors were making their feature-film debuts. --Rochelle O'Gorman ... Read more

Features

• Color
• Closed-captioned
• Widescreen

Reviews (134)

A Royal Dispute
Anthony Harvey directs this 1968 film based on a screenplay by James Goldman on the reigns of Henry II of England (Peter O'Toole) and his wife, Eleanor of Aquitaine (Katherine Hepburn.)The film is more a theatrical piece as it is shot almost entirely in a studio/indoors and is also equally devoid of any action besides dialogue: but what great dialogue! Worthy even of the Bard's applause!

In the late 12th century, the royal Norman family of Anjou/Plantagenet is in a squabble.Eleanor D'Aquitaine is hostage to her husband Henry II in an English castle and each place their weight with their sons to ensure their prosperous reign in the years to come.Princes John (Nigel Terry: Arthur in 'Excalibur') and Richard (Anthony Hopkins) come to meet their feuding parents on Christmas Eve to discuss the succession to the throne. Intrigue is plenty as each monarch seeks to win the allegiance of their favorite son: one prefers the fierce Richard while the other prefers the moody Prince John.There's also a brief appearance by the King of France Philippe Le Bel (Timothy Dalton.)Again, the film has no action and the scenes are primarily limited to Eleanor's place of confinement.The script/dialogues are excellent and filled with passion and intrigue.A great film showing the woes of monarchy and succession and the intrigues of Medieval courts.

This is a powerful drama providing a good glimpse into the complexities of Medieval dynasties and English/French history.The disputes represented in the film were never really settled as Henry's marriage to Eleanor would later become the grounds of the Hundred Years War between England and France during the 14th-15th centuries.This film is ideal for audiences who either like history and/or theatrical dramatic plays as opposed to purely action-based Hollywood drama. For a good fictional novel on this subject, I would recommend Maurice Druon's saga titled 'Les Rois Maudits' (English translations are available) covering the dynastic reigns of England and France during the Middle Ages: an excellent work of literature.For a romantic novel on this period, the best is probably Sir Walter Scott's 'Ivanhoe' which covers in rich and abundant detail all of the nuances of English culture/politics during that period of time.

One of the best movies ever made
I think this is one of Katharine Hepburn's greatest performances (for which she did win an Academy Award for).I can't imagine anybody else playing the role of Eleanor of Aquitaine in this movie.Peter O'Toole (as King Henry II of England) should have won an Academy Award for Best Actor (he was nominated).This movie is gripping and mesmerizing.The dialogue is so clever and well written with lots of dark wicked humor.There is fighting between Eleanor and King Henry II, a dysfunctional family, all the sons fighting for the throne and lots of conniving, backstabbing and scheming.What more can you ask for?The acting is superb.It's one of the best movies ever made, in my opinion and one of my favorites.If you are a history buff, you have to see this movie.If you love powerful performances, clever dialogue, and strong characters, you have to see this movie.I HIGHLY RECOMMEND THIS MOVIE!My rating:A+

Beautifully acted film on bargain priced DVD
This wonderful historical bitchfest is colorfully preserved on DVD with a "cozy" bonus director's commentary (You'll feel like you're with Anthony Harvey, screening it in a drawing room...cigar and brandy, anyone?).The movie is definitely 1960s in style and design, but it doesn't distract from the pure pleasure of this dramatic version of the reign of Henry II and Eleanor of Aquitaine, brilliantly played by Peter O'Toole and Oscar winner Hepburn.

Timothy Dalton and Anthony Hopkins strut their early promise with vigor.Too bad one or both of them couldn't have been enticed to reunite for a commentary track.It would also have been nice to include a bonus feature with some historical information on the real-life characters portrayed.

Certainly a great motion picture for your DVD classics collection. ... Read more

Asin: B000056HEA
Subjects:  1. Feature Film-drama   

Rosemary's Baby
Director: Roman Polanski
Average Customer Review:
DVD (03 October, 2000)
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Editorial Review

Psychological terrorism and supernatural horror have rarely been dramatized as effectively as in this classic 1968 thriller, masterfully adapted and directed by Roman Polanski from the chilling novel by Ira Levin. Rosemary (Mia Farrow) is a young, trusting housewife in New York whose actor husband (John Cassavetes), unbeknownst to her, has literally made a deal with the devil. In the thrall of a witches' coven headquartered in their apartment building, the young husband arranges to have his wife impregnated by Satan in exchange for success in a Broadway play. To Rosemary, the pregnancy seems like a normal and happy one--that is, until she grows increasingly suspicious of her neighbors' evil influence. Polanski establishes this seemingly benevolent situation and then introduces each fiendish little detail with such unsettling subtlety that the film escalates to a palpable level of dread and paranoia. By the time Rosemary discovers that her infant son "has his father's eyes" ... well, let's just say the urge to scream along with her is unbearably intense! One of the few modern horror films that can claim to be genuinely terrifying, Rosemary's Baby is an unforgettable movie experience, guaranteed to send chills up your spine. --Jeff Shannon ... Read more

Features

• Color
• Closed-captioned
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Reviews (172)

I dont get it?
I am a very big fan of horror movies, I have been snice I was around 5 or so. This was on sometime during Hallooween on AMC, and it was always one of the "100 Most Horror Movies" on Bravo. When I watched it before that show was on I saw a few parts and though to myself when does the good part come?..But I ended up about to fall asleep so I taped it, but not every part came on, then I watched it again and though to myself this is not even scary what makes it so scary?...

The movies mostly about a young women and her husband who want a kid, then when she gets it(supposly she's rapped by the devil), and her kids the devil living inside her, but nothing really scary happened I was pretty dispointed.

What's all the rave?I don't see it.
I am a huge horror movie lover,but I have to say that I was truly disappointed with this.When I first rented Rosemary's Baby, I was expecting a delightful psychological suspense thriller after reading all these raving reviews, but what I got was a slow moving, average acting, and not scary at all flop of a horror flick.

I can certainly appreciate older films that truly builds the atmosphere and suspense as opposed to modern day corny slasher types or the flash a scary ghost face here, another dead body there while playing creeping music typical modern day horror.But boy, did this movie take a long time to develop!The whole time I was sitting there thinking---this is suspense?this is horror?Maybe we've been over-exposed to special effect type of horror and better technology and camera work, but at no time during this sad display of a movie was I scared or on the edge of my seat.The entire movie just happened without me having a reaction for it, the only reaction I had after the poor ending was trying to find a hammer to smash this sad excuse of a movie.

I normally don't give bad reviews, but this movie experience was ruined due to my high expectation from all the positive reviews and how bad the movie actually turned out.These actors won awards?People were actually scared by this movie?I don't think the movie was too "aged" for my taste since there are a number of films dated from the same era that I've enjoyed immensely.I really think this movie is vastly overrated and just poorly made.

Stunning Work of Art
After seeing this film more than a dozen times now,I still find the scariest scene of all to be the one in which Rosemary (Mia Farrow) suddenly appears in her New York apartment with a "Vidal Sassoon" haircut (not one of the better highlights of the late sixties era) and a horrid tannish-grey raincoat. Her husband is not the only one freaked out by this odd turn-of-events. Previously, Romemary seemed like a little girl, clad in outfits like yellow-flowered Mu-Mus (another type of dress from the sixties)and pigtails, so this is a big change for the audience and seems to heighten the sense of danger-- and black humor for which director Roman Polanski is world-renowned by his peers, critics and audiences.

Birth was, in the late sixties, male-dominated, and strictly handled not by the women themselves but by the male-dominated medical-pharmaceutical complex. Dr.Saperstein plays into the fears of a first-time mother who is Catholic, and these religious values, in turn, become blurred in a fascinatingly frightening fashion after the Pope's visit to Yankee stadium.

Rosemary's Baby is a sort of twisted, darkly humorous and truly scary coming-of-age movie, if you entertain the concept that pregnancy and childbirth are rites of passage that truly make a girl into a woman. Religion is not the only area that becomes blurred--the very outcome of the evil vs good struggle winds up ambiguous, something that is clearer in Ira Levin's book but definitely expressed by Polanski in his screen adaptation as well. There is no neatly tied up package with a bow, only an ongoing struggle both within the individual and the society.

I highly recommend this film, both on a technical level--it's a visually perfect (or as perfect as any) cinematic work of art and also touches upon some amazingly hard questions about society and psyche that are not typically asked by directors.



... Read more

Asin: B00003CXCF

Oliver!
Director: Carol Reed
Average Customer Review:
DVD (11 August, 1998)
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Editorial Review

Film buffs and critics can argue until their faces turn blue about whether this lavish Dickensian musical deserved the Academy Award for Best Picture of 1968, but the movie speaks for itself on grandly entertaining terms. Adapted from Dickens's classic novel, it's one of the most dramatically involving and artistically impressive musicals of the 1960s, directed by Carol Reed with a delightful enthusiasm that would surely have impressed Dickens himself. Mark Lester plays the waifish orphan Oliver Twist, who is befriended by the pickpocketing Artful Dodger (Jack Wild) and recruited into the gang of boy thieves led by Fagin (played to perfection by Ron Moody). The villainous Bill Sikes (Oliver Reed) casts his long shadow over Oliver and his friends, but the young orphan is still able to find loving care in the most desperate of circumstances. Full of memorable melodies and splendid lyrics, Oliver! is a timeless film, prompting even hard-to-please critic Pauline Kael to call it "a superb demonstration of intelligent craftsmanship," and to further observe that "it's as if the movie set out to be a tribute to Dickens and his melodramatic art as well as to tell the story of Oliver Twist." --Jeff Shannon ... Read more

Features

• Color
• Closed-captioned
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Reviews (89)

This is a classic for the family.
I miss these kinds of films. They are classics for the whole family. I put together a list to remind folks of some of the best ones out there that are family oriented interesting and full of great music. It blows me away when I meet a 10 year old who hasn't seen something like Sound of Music or Wizard of Oz. It's been a long time since Hollywood has come up with one of these!

Mary Poppins
Sound of Music
Chitty Chitty Bang Bang
My Fair Lady
Wizard of OZ
Willie Wonka and the Chocolate Factory
Annie
Oliver

I am an advocate of good old fasion family fun. I try and take my kids to these and other live musicals as well. We even do voice lesson Cds: (I recommend them as well)
"Voice Lessons To Go" by Vaccarino, to prep before we sing through their sound tracks. It's just another alternative to regular television time. There is a wholesome quality to them that sadly is not very prevelent today.

Topnotch in Every Way!
I like musicals and I had seen Oliver on TV when I was a child but it was shown in the edited pan and scan format so I was very happy to finally see this movie in it's original widescreen aspect ratio and I really liked what I saw. The music and the acting are topnotch and I think the whole cast was very good but especially Ron Moody as Fagin, Oliver Reed as Bill Sikes, Shani Wallis as Nancy, Mark Lester as Oliver, and Jack Wild as The Artful Dodger, and I have seen other movie adaptations of Charles Dickins Oliver Twist and I think Jack Wild was the best Artful Dodger ever and I think of him as the definitive Artful Dodger and I very highly recommend this DVD!

Dickens would have been proud
Many filmhistorians praise the 1948 film, but Carol Reed`s adaption of the Broadway play is a miracle come true. Sit back and enjoy a landmark in the history of "from Broadway to Hollywood"-musicals:-)... This and CABARET 1972 were the truly last great musicals.... Fortunately the genre was revived through the 90s via Disney and now we can enjoy Evita, Moulin Rouge, Chicago and The Phantom of the Opera. ... Read more

Asin: 076781326X
Subjects:  1. Musical   

Planet of the Apes (Widescreen 35th Anniversary Edition)
Director: Franklin J. Schaffner
Average Customer Review:
DVD (03 February, 2004)
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Editorial Review

Many early science fiction films are now, quite inadvertently (and in most cases undeservedly), objects of camp attention: we laugh at the silly makeup, tin-can special effects, and the naive "high-tech" dialogue. Planet of the Apes is no such film. Its intelligent script, frightening costuming, and savagely effective conclusion (which needs no big-budget special effects to augment its impact) remain both potent and relevant. When Colonel George Taylor (the fabulous Charlton Heston) crash lands his spacecraft on what seems to be an unfamiliar planet, he is captured and held prisoner by a dominant race of hyperrational, articulate apes. However, the ape community is riven with internal dissention, centered in no small part on its policy toward humans, who, on this planet, are treated as mindless animals. Befriended and ultimately assisted by the more liberal simians, Taylor escapes--only to find a more terrifying obstacle confronting his return home. Heavy-handed object lessons abound--the ubiquity of generational warfare, the inflexibility of dogma, the cruelty of prejudice--and the didactic fingerprints of Rod Serling are very much in evidence here. But director Franklin Schaffner has a dark, pop-apocalyptic sci-fi vision all his own, and time has not dulled the monumental emotional impact of the film's climactic payoff shot. If you don't know what I'm talking about here, you owe it to yourself to check out this stone classic, and even if you do, see it with fresh eyes; and don't be surprised if you get the chills all over again... and again... and again. --Miles Bethany ... Read more

Features

• Widescreen
• Dolby
• DTS Surround Sound

Reviews (181)

A 20TH Century Human has a "Damn" Bad Time in Ape City!!!
+++++

(Note that this review is for the 35TH Anniversary DVD Edition of this movie released by Fox Home Entertainment in Feb. 2004.)

This movie, based on the excellent an imaginative 1963 novel of the same name by French author Pierre Boulle, is about four astronauts who crash-land on an unknown planet in the year 3978.One dies in the spacecraft and the three remaining astronauts Commander Taylor (Charlton Heston), Dodge (Jeff Burton), and Landon (Robert Gunner) explore the planet that according to Taylor is "320 light years from Earth...in orbit around a star in the constellation of Orion."

These three soon discover a terrifying truth: this "madhouse" planet is ruled by intelligent apes that hunt primitive, mute humans.The ones they don't kill for sport are captured and used in scientific experiments that leave those experimented on either in a vegetative state or dead.

Dodge is not so fortunate in a gorilla hunt but Landon, Taylor and a mute woman Taylor befriends named Nova (Linda Harrison) are captured and brought back to Ape City.Luckily, Taylor or "Bright Eyes" meets two open-minded chimpanzee scientists Dr. Zira (Kim Hunter) and Dr. Cornelius (Roddy McDowall) that try to protect him due to his obvious uniqueness from the close-minded orangutan High Minister of Science Dr. Zaius (Maurice Evans). Unfortunately, Landon was not so lucky.

Dr. Zaius is also the Minister of Religion who keeps the sacred scrolls of the ape "Lawgiver."(These scrolls are like the human Bible.)One of these scrolls provides a warning:

"Beware the beast Man, for he is the Devil's pawn, alone among God's primates.He kills for sport or lust or greed.Yea he will murder his brother to possess his brother's land.Let him not breed in great numbers, for he will make a desert of his home and yours.Shun him, drive him back into his jungle lair, for he is the harbinger of death."

This movie is grand entertainment from its visually stimulating beginning to its chilling, unforgettable last moment where Taylor, realizing what's happened, yells "Damn you, God damn you all to Hell."It is a first-rate science fiction adventure that both thrills and poses to the viewer some soul-searching questions.

The acting is superb.This was Linda Harrison's first movie role.All actors in their ape make-up do good acting jobs especially Kim Hunter and Roddy McDowall.Special mention should go to Maurice Evans for his fine performance as the stern Dr. Zaius.The legendary Charlton Heston carries the movie as the cynical Taylor.

The ape make-up is very convincing.It's obvious why this movie won an Honorary Academy Award for Outstanding Make-up Achievement.

The spell-binding background music definitely adds to each scene.It's easy to see why this movie was nominated for an Oscar for Original Score.

The brilliant screenplay for this movie was co-written by the late, great Rod Serling and it shows on-screen.

This DVD picture and sound are exceptional (certainly better than my VHS version).There are eighteen extras in the form of such things as commentaries, documentaries, promos, outtakes, and galleries.

Finally, there is a sequel to this movie called "Beneath the Planet of the Apes" (1970) which, in my opinion, is good and also on DVD.There are also three prequels to this movie made in the early 1970s.A remake of this original 1968 movie was also made in 2001.(Actually, there is no similarity between the remake and the original.) Charlton Heston and Linda Harrison were the only actors from the original to appear in this remake.

In conclusion, this is a unique, exciting movie that makes you think and is now on a special DVD.Never has Ape City looked so good!!Also see why Charlton Heston yells the memorable line, "Take your stinking paws off me, you damn, dirty ape!"

(1968;110 min;2 discs;widescreen)

+++++

The good actors were the extra apes
When I was a kid, I loved Planet Of The Apes. Now as an adult I was able to re-watch this and I wondered what was I thinking? I honestly don't care for this film. Why? The acting was horrible, the story dragged on, and Charleton Heston's over-confidence made his character unlikeable.The funniest part was when the apes hosed Heston down and he screams "IT"S A MAD HOUSE!!! IT"S A MAD HOUSE!!!" and he's in a cave.There's loads of mistakes, too. For example, in a hearing, Heston's animalskins ar ripped off him and he is naked. They throw him a little piece of skin and he stands holding it in front of his crotch. Later in that same hearing, he is lead outside to identify someone, and ends up in a scuffle---wearing animal skin SHORTS. The camera angle would have shown EVERYTHING had Heston still had the original little piece of animal skin.A real mess of a movie, I say.

Not that great!
This movie was ok. I felt that the content could have been more well-presented. It seemed to drag on in certain parts. ... Read more

Asin: B0000TPA4C
Subjects:  1. Science Fiction   

Funny Girl
Director: William Wyler
Average Customer Review:
DVD (23 October, 2001)
list price: $19.94 -- our price: $15.95
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Editorial Review

Ah, Barbra. Of all her onscreen personas, she sparkles in none as she does in her role as 1930s comedian Fanny Brice in the musical Funny Girl. Portraying the life of this star of stage and radio, Brice preens and prances and sings, captivating her audience both onscreen and off. Fanny Brice started life on the Lower East Side of New York, the daughter of a Jewish saloon owner. Not the prettiest girl around, Brice still managed to quickly rise to stardom as a performer in the Ziegfield Follies. A shrewd, obstinate woman, Brice dictated her own success story on stage; things were a different matter in romance.Falling hard for the stunning Nick Arnstein (suavely played by Omar Sharif), Brice must navigate a difficult marriage. While kids may love the tunes (which include the now-infamous "People," as in "People who need people are the luckiest people in the world"), the plot is definitely adult-oriented. Enjoy this one, but don't go too far out of your way for the sequel, Funny Lady. --Jenny Brown ... Read more

Features

• Color
• Closed-captioned
• Widescreen

Reviews (68)

The Greatest Star By Far?...Still True
When Barbra Streisand hit the big screen in this expensive 1968 musical biopic of Ziegfeld star Fanny Brice, she became an instant movie legend and understandably so as master filmmaker William Wyler has tailored a launching pad so accommodating to her personality and drive that it becomes apparent only later that the film itself is not terribly exceptional. The first half of the film, by far the best part, is about Brice's fast climb to stardom and her blind infatuation of gambler Nick Arnstein, played with a bit too much continental charm by an overshadowed Omar Sharif. The comparatively dramatic second half is really about the inevitable fate of their relationship. The energy that drives the first half seems to sputter in the second half, and Streisand is left to carry the whole thing to the finish line.

The fact that the story has anything to do with Brice seems purely circumstantial in deference to Streisand's phenomenal talent especially as a first-rank comedienne and the pre-eminent song stylist of her generation. For the latter aspect alone, "Funny Girl" is essential viewing, especially for three solo numbers penned by the legendary team of Jule Styne and Bob Merrill (who co-wrote "Gypsy"). First, as a young wannabe trying to convince Mr. Keeney at the local burlesque house to hire her, Streisand sings "I'm the Greatest Star" with an appropriately persistent brassiness that suddenly turns into a dramatic clarion call picking up the percussive momentum of "Don't Rain on My Parade" until the song title truly becomes fact and not a boast. The second song is her anthem, "People", sung to an unsurprisingly awestruck Sharif on the darkened Hollywood-phony backlit set of Henry Street, first as an expression of her unrequited love for Arnstein and then more effectively as a solo plea bordering on desperation as she leans against a lamppost. The third number is made breathtaking by the ingenious way that Wyler films her performance of "Don't Rain on My Parade" as a montage of fast cuts that leads an Arnstein-chasing Brice to the amazing tugboat finish. The fact that they all occur in the first half makes the second half all the more desultory saved at the end by Streisand's memorably triumphant take on Brice's "My Man". These are all indisputably classic movie musical moments.

The remaining numbers are good and mostly a vehicle to show off Streisand's considerable comedy skills - maneuvering roller skates on "I'd Rather Be Blue (Over You)", flouncing her dress in front of a nonplussed Ziegfeld on "Second Hand Rose", waddling around as a "pregnant" bride in the Ziegfeld extravaganza "His Love Makes Me Beautiful", accommodating Arnstein's aggressive parlor advances in "You Are Woman", and chronicling her happily married state in "Sadie, Sadie". That's not to say she is not a fine dramatic actress, just a sometimes rather theatrical one at least in her first film here, as she expresses her heartbreak in a variety of overdone hairstyles and clothes until her seeming vindication at the end. No other actress can express as dexterously the concurrent insecurity, egotism and humor that Streisand in her prime could. The other elements in this movie seem incidental, even the supporting performances which include Kay Medford's sarcastically tender turn as Brice's mother Rose and Walter Pidgeon elegantly tyrannical and savvy as Ziegfeld. This turned out to be Wyler's penultimate film, and it's not really one of his best as the humanistic values that permeate his earlier classics seem missing here in favor of mounting a star vehicle for Streisand. But the logic is understandable as a Barbra Streisand does not come along very often.Even for those who have seen it numerous times before, the 2001 restoration contained on the DVD completely revitalizes the film.

BARBRA`S BEST MUSICAL
They weren`t sure they wanted her for the movie("She`s so odd looking... even ugly at times") and the story tells that Barb had to submit herself to an extensive test on film in front of the Columbia executives...

It really is a vehicle for Barbra! She dominates the film completely and no other in the cast challanges her a bit. Even so, it is a good-looking film directed by Master William Wyler(but musical scenes directed by Herbert Ross) and though Barbra`s Fanny Brice is abnormally ambitous; she still manages us to feel for her, like her, admire her and above all... care for her...

It really is a must for drama-musical-lovers.

NOBODY RAINED ON HER PARADE
36 years later, FUNNY GIRL shows why Barbra Streisand has become the legendary singer/actress/director/songwriter she so deserves.Taking on the role that launched her to Broadway stardom, Babs does everything in this movie to prove "she's the greatest star."Sure, there are poses, posterings, a little bit of histrionics, but when she sings these magnificent songs, and bats those delicious eyes, she is gorgeous!Her performance of "My Man" at the end is Oscar worthy; not to mention "I'm the Greatest Star" and "Don't Rain on My Parade."And of course, "People" one of Barbra's signature songs gives goosebumps even today.
Omar Sharif is lushly suave; Kay Medford does a nice turn as Fanny's Mom, and even though Anne Francis was upset with her small role, she's still convincing and lovely.
The comic production numbers, particularly HIS LOVES MAKES ME BEAUTIFUL and the Swan parody are priceless; Barbra can throw one liners off like the greatest of comediennes.I wish the filmmakers would have included the poignant WHO ARE YOU NOW from the Broadway version; I think they opted to write FUNNY GIRL for Oscar consideration, but WHO ARE YOU NOW was a heartbreaker.
Whether you can stand Barbra either professionally or personally, one can't deny this awesome debut performance.She truly is the greatest star of the musical comedy stage and screen! ... Read more

Asin: B00005O3VD
Subjects:  1. Musical   

The Producers (Movie-Only Edition)
Director: Mel Brooks
Average Customer Review:
DVD (02 September, 2003)
list price: $14.95 -- our price: $11.21
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Editorial Review

Mel Brooks's directorial debut remains both a career high point and a classic show business farce. Hinging on a crafty plot premise, which in turn unleashes a joyously insane onstage spoof, The Producers is powered by a clutch of over-the-top performances, capped by the odd couple pairing of the late Zero Mostel and Gene Wilder, making his screen debut.

Mostel is Max Bialystock, a gone-to-seed Broadway producer who spends his days wheedling checks from his "investors," elderly women for whom Bialystock is only too willing to provide company.When wide-eyed auditor Leo Bloom (Wilder) comes to check the books, he unwittingly inspires the wild-eyed Max to hatch a sure-fire plan: sell 25,000 percent of his next show, produce a deliberate flop, then abscond with the proceeds. Unfortunately for the producers (but fortunately for us), their candidate for failure is Springtime for Hitler, a Brooksian conceit that envisions what Goebbels might have accomplished with a little help from Busby Berkeley.

Truly startling during its original 1968 release, The Producers does show signs of age in some peripheral scenes that make merry at the expense of gays and women. But the show's nifty cast (notably including the late Dick Shawn as LSD, the space cadet that snags the musical's title role, and Kenneth Mars as the helmeted playwright) clicks throughout, and the sight of Mostel fleecing his marks is irresistibly funny. Add Wilder's literally hysterical Bloom, and it's easy to understand the film's exalted status among late-'60s comedies. --Sam Sutherland ... Read more

Features

• Color
• Closed-captioned
• Widescreen
• Dolby

Reviews (173)

"The Fruer Was A Great Dancer"
After seeing the Broadway show and now owning the movie I have come up with the opinon that the movie is actually better than the smash-hit Broadway show despite the fact it only contains two songs-- one of which was cut from the Broadway show. So if you expect it to be anything like the Broadway show your in for a rude awakening!

In this Motzel and Widler give great performances along with the hippie who sings the song "Flower Power" at his audition and manages to get the role of Hitler in Bialy's "Springtime For Hitler." The jokes in this movie never fail to make me laugh along with the hilliarous ex-Nazi who is now a pigeon collector. There is not a bad scene in this movie and Wilder gives his best performance.

The quality of the DVD is good and it's a movie I watch over and over again! If your a fan of good dialouge and old comedies this movie is at least worth a look at! All in all buy or rent this one!

The greatest comedy of all time?
I've got to say I was very excited about watching this movie.It had got 5 stars in the TV guide.Talking about how a re-make is being made and how there is a Broadway show of it.My wife was feeling ill so I thought it's the perfect day to watch this "greatest comeday of all time".

Within ten minutes we were wondering if there was any point in watching more.As the movie was supposed to be so good we continued to watch.Repeatidly saying "this is stupid!".

To put it bluntly it is the worst movie I have ever seen.Perhaps we don't have a sense of humour, perhaps we just don't understand art.I would strongly recommend not buying this movie!

For a truly funny movie I would recomment "Harold and Maude" (1971) by Hal Ashby.

thoroughly tasteless...thouroughly hilarious
Zero Mostel and Gene Wilder (and crew) make this movie version so very special.(More than the stage musical).They team up in a scam to make financially floundering Max(Mostel) bounce back by creating a play that is sure to fail...at least that's the plan.

In bad taste and hilarious, revealing the comic genius of Mostel, Wilder, Brooks etc. in satire even more likely to offend than that in Brook's 'Blazing Saddles'. ... Read more

Asin: B0000CBY1B
Subjects:  1. Feature Film-comedy   

Bullitt
Director: Peter Yates
Average Customer Review:
DVD (15 September, 1998)
list price: $19.98 -- our price: $14.99
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Editorial Review

San Francisco has been the setting of a lot of exciting movie car chases over the years, but this 1968 police thriller is still the one to beat when it comes to high-octane action on the steep hills of the city by the Bay. The outstanding car chase earned an Oscar for best editing, but the rest of the movie is pretty good, too. Bullitt is a perfect star vehicle for cool guy Steve McQueen, who stars as a tenacious detective (is there any other kind?) determined to track down the killers of the star witness in an important trial. Director Peter Yates (Breaking Away) approached the story with an emphasis on absolute authenticity, using a variety of San Francisco locations. Jacqueline Bisset and Robert Duvall appear in early roles, and Robert Vaughn plays the criminal kingpin who pulls the deadly strings of the tightly wound plot. --Jeff Shannon ... Read more

Features

• Color
• Closed-captioned
• Widescreen

Reviews (116)

Mustang makes it worth it.
The movie should be seperated into 2 parts, the actual movie and the historical car chase scene.This movie (with the exception of James Bond) redefined what a car chase scene should be all about.The fastback Mustang it worth watching the movie for, but when you sit down and watch it you also have to gasp at how good the story and the performance of the actors.Would recommend this movie for anyone and a must for any DVD collection.Long live the Mustang.

Chases, as they were... Oh, and good style too.
Many people remember this for the ever-famous chase scene, which still is more impressive, and more realistic than most modern chases.However, there is more to the movie then that, although having no stunt doubles for the chase wasn't a bad start.

First of all though the story: McQueen's character is Lieutenant Bullitt, and he is given what seems like a routine protection job of a high-profile witness; however, the witness is shot, and McQueen decides that maybe this is not such a small issue after all.

The story I felt was pretty good, but really the style is where the most effort was put and achieved.For example, the camera shots are used to quite good effect.At the same time though, the "realness" achieved is also pertinent.My only problem, and I promise not to spoil, is that the ending is all too reminiscent of the end of Chinatown (no specifics on how).

Overall though, with nice style as I said, a decent plot, and McQueen, the movie is rather enjoyable.

Excellent and Enjoyable Original Film
Finnaly the most original film bought to a two-disc special edition! Yes I loved this film I saw when I was 4 years old and was fascinated with it! I hope you enjoy this film. ... Read more

Asin: 6304698526
Subjects:  1. Feature Film-action/Adventure   

Yellow Submarine
Director: George Dunning (II)
Average Customer Review:
DVD (14 September, 1999)
list price: $29.98 -- our price: $22.49
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Editorial Review

This restored, animated valentine to the Beatles offers viewersthe rare chance to see a work that's been substantially improved by its technical facelift, not just supersized with extra footage. Recognizing that its song-studded soundtrack alone makes Yellow Submarine a video annuity, United Artists has lavished a frame-by-frame refurbishment of the original feature, while replacing its original monaural audio tracks with a meticulously reconstructed stereo mix that actually refines legendary original album versions.

What emerges is a vivid time capsule of the late '60s and a minor milestone in animation. The music represents the quartet's zenith--Rubber Soul, Revolver, and Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band. The story line, cobbled together by producer Al Brodax and a committee of writers, is a broad, feather-light allegory set in idyllic Pepperland, where the gentle citizens are threatened by the nasty, music-hating Blue Meanies and their surreal arsenal of henchmen, with the Beatles enlisted to thwart the bad guys. Visually, designer Heinz Edelmann mixes the biomorphic squiggles, day-glo palette, and Beardsley-esque portraits of Peter Max with rotoscoped still photographs and film; Edelmann's animated collages also nod to Andy Warhol and Magritte in properly psychedelic fashion, which works wonderfully with such terrific songs.

High orthodox Beatlemaniacs can still grouse that the animated Fab Four are (literally) flat archetypes, but that's missing the sheer bloom of the music or the giddy, campy fun of the visuals. Making sense of the story is second to submerging blissfully in the sights and sounds of this video treat. --Sam Sutherland ... Read more

Features

• Color
• Closed-captioned
• Widescreen
• Animated
• Dolby

Reviews (232)

In the town where I was born.....
Having never seen The Beatles Yellow Submarine as a child (but having heard the song since I was just a wee lad) I was delighted to discover this classic in its newly restored DVD presentation.A fond admirer of The Fab Four, I have watched A Hard Day's Night like a million times.Sublte humor was their gift when they were all still getting along back in the days of yore (the lads from Liverpool called it quits with each other when I was one year old).The fact that my two daughters (one being eight and the other fourteen) have developed a fondness for this movie speaks volumes.In the era of Disney-eque oblivion, Yellow Submarine shines.Funny and full of delightful animated eye-candy, The Beatles rule the universe. Definitely a great movie to pop in on a lazy Saturday afternoon.

AWESOME MOVIE
i LOVE the beatles and i love this movie. me and my friend sam watch it all the time and i know it word for word. AMAZING MOVIEif you like the beatles you will love Yellow Submarine

Surreal Beatles!Psychedelic Sixties!
This is a delightful Beatle fantasy film and I am so happy that it is now available for future generations to enjoy.For inveterate Beatle fans, this is a must have!

The restoration of this film is nothing short of excellent.The movie has fresh animus and fun, thanks to the work of those who made this available.
The re-mastered audio literally brings the Beatles closer to home; I love the George Harrison masterpiece, "It's All Too Much!"And we can't forget "Hey, Bulldog," an obscure treat that deserves much more air play and attention than it got at the time.

"Yellow Submarine" is a purely 1960s movie.The animation, the surrealism and the vivid, intense colors are like a day-glo explosion.I love it!The whole movie is intense, from the bizarre characters, e.g. Snapping Turks, Blue Meanies, et al. and the floating clouds and flowers.I love it!

Pepperland, no doubt inspired by "Sgt. Pepper," is a subaquatic community ruled in harmony by Old Fred and kept in check by their foes, the Blue Meanies.The Blue Meanies are weird, blue-humanoid looking creatures with what look like Mickey Mouse hats, large noses and sneers.Fred, one of the central charaters sails his submarine to England where he elists the help of the Beatles to keep the forces of evil (Blue Meanies and their supporters) at bay and to restore Peace, Love & Harmony to Pepperland.Sure, it's a soft plot, but the plot does help to serve as a vehicle to transport the music, talent and images of the Beatles!It is the icon of Psychedelia Sixties!

The animation is well done, with recognizable Beatles in the psychedlic clothing of that time period.The scenes involving color replacing a drab landscape and the Blue Meanies' change of heart add to the delightful 60s essence of this movie.

This is a good film for all ages.Beatle fans will love it and their counterparts are sure to be delighted as well.Seriously, how can anybody hate the Beatles?And how can anybody hate the Beatles and enjoy a Beatle movie? ... Read more

Asin: B00000JRUQ
Subjects:  1. Musical   

Romeo & Juliet
Director: Franco Zeffirelli
Average Customer Review:
DVD (12 December, 2003)
list price: $14.99 -- our price: $11.24
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Editorial Review

Franco Zeffirelli's 1968 adaptation of Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet was unique in its day for casting kids in the play's pivotal roles of, well, kids. Seventeen-year-old Leonard Whiting and 15-year-old Olivia Hussey play the titular pair, the Bard's star-crossed lovers who defy a running feud between their families in order to be together in love. Typically played on stage and in previous film productions by adult actors, the innocent look and rawness of Whiting and Hussey resonated at the time with a burgeoning youth movement from San Francisco to Prague. The tragic romance at the center of the story also clicked with anti-authority sentiments, but even without that, Zeffirelli scores points by validating the ideals and passions of strong-willed adolescents. Less successful are scenes requiring the actors to have a fuller grasp of the text, though the best thing going remains the unambiguous duel between Romeo and Tybalt (Michael York). Lavishly photographed by Pasquale de Santis on location in Italy, this Romeo and Juliet brought a different tone and dimension to a story that had become tiresome in reverential presentations. --Tom Keogh ... Read more

Features

• Color
• Closed-captioned
• Widescreen

Reviews (162)

O Romeo, Romeo, where for art thou Romeo?
I watched this version in my English class and it was so good. We watched it after we read the play and I got the part of Juliet. I love this movie because it is a great love story. This movie is a great love story and I love it!

O Romeo, Romeo, where for art thou Romeo? That is my favorite line from Juliet. I really love the story of Romeo & Juliet.

The classic version of Romeo and Juliet
I first saw Zeffirelli's R&J when I was 12 or 13 years old and I thought it was wonderful. Juliet and her Romeo are, I think, well-cast (thought I appreciate Leonard Whiting more now than I did then). I have watched Romeo + Juliet (which is how I refer to it when speaking--"Romeo PLUS Juliet"). I have no quibbles with R+J being new and innovative, but I think a lot of the details (guns called "Rapiers", Mercutio as a drugged-out drag queen, etc) wereover the top in a very distracting way. I have no doubt the Bard would have found Luhrmann's interpretation interesting (Shakespeare was, after all, most likely bisexual and English theatre of his day used boy actors to portray women, i.e. cross dressing) but I felt, as with most Baz Luhrmann films, the emphasis was more on style and less on substance.

The '68 version of R&J, has style by the barrelful, but it never overwhelms the story, which is the most important element. Since I watched it as a child, I was enraptured with Juliet. I think Olivia Hussey provided us with a definitive version of Juliet. Unfortunately, Claire Danes can't come close. Hussey seemed to understand what she was saying; it seems as though she understands the Elizabethan English and is at home in it. Danes several times seemed confused by what she was saying or her reading of the lines was off. Leonard Whiting as Romeo is slightly less successful, as Zeffirelli seemed to choose him based more on his waifish, slightly androgynous looks than on his talent, though I think he did a decent job. Strangely enough, there were moments when I preferred DiCaprio's Romeo as he seemed to have a lot more vigor and youthful force.

Aside from all the brouhaha over Zeffirelli being gay and thus highlighting the sexually ambiguous relationship between Romeo and Mercutio (not overly done and it did seem to have more to do with Mercutio than Romeo), Romeo and Juliet is essentially, a very sensitive portrayal of young, heterosexual love. Nothing for anyone to get upset over. As much as Shakespeare might have applauded Luhrmann's commercial angle (Shakespeare was also a businessman and wrote plays not only to be poetic works of art, but also commercially viable), but I can't help but think he would have been disappointed with the acting in R+J.

In Zeffirelli's version, the characters move naturally within their world. Aside from the beautiful sets, costumes, and Zeffirelli's use of real teenagers to play teenaged characters, the 1968 version MEANS something and holds an audience emotionally, whereas Luhrmann's version seemed like an exercise in excessive style.

If you want to see one of the best adaptations of a Shakespearean play, see this one.

Romeo& Juliet.
I have seen both versions of Roemo & Juliet. First, I viewed the 1996 and enjoyed every minute but after I saw the 1968 movie I enjoyed it even more! Franco Zeferrli (the director) is gay, but I'm not going to let that stand in my way. People might say that Mercurtio (Played fablously by Michael York) and Romeo (Lenard Whiting, what a doll! I'll get to him later) are a little TOO close to be best friends, I don't personally think that. I, myself, not even being a lesbian should know that males share a bond. I can't quite explain it but it's a bond, like, it's said in the bible that a brother is born for adversity and a friend should be closer than a brother...BINGO! Anyhoo, back to the movie. From the first fight in the streets of Verona to the last cry of anguish from Juliet in her tomb (I know I was crying) every scene was perfectly detailed, almost like a painting. I also enjoyed the Middle Age music in this film, particulary the score to the main theme What Is A Youth?. The actors are nothing short of fablous, Olivia Hussey (15) is a beautiful, adolscent Juliet and Leonard Whiting (17) is a handsome, rebllious Romeo. The same goes for the supporting actors/ actresses (Michael York, Pat Dunaway etc.)! This film has inspired me to watch more of Shakespere ( I have already viewed both R & J films, plus Taming Of The Shrew, Hamlet, Much Ado About Nothing and bits and pieces of A Midsomer's Dream, but that's a WHOLE different story). This movie has also inspired me to turn the story of Romeo & Juliet into a modern romance movie. So, thank you Mr.Shakespere for writing this extroadinary play and thank you Mr. Zefferlli for making a gem to all movie buffs (and fans of Shakespere). ... Read more

Asin: 0792165055

The Odd Couple
Director: Gene Saks
Average Customer Review:
DVD (01 April, 2003)
list price: $14.99 -- our price: $11.24
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Editorial Review

Neil Simon's terribly funny play about roommates Oscar the slob and Felix the neurotic was first committed to film in this 1968 production, directed by Gene Saks (Barefoot in the Park). Perfectly timed, ingeniously rendered, not a hair out of place in the history-making performances of Walter Matthau and Jack Lemmon (or the great support cast), The Odd Couple is a movie that one just has to see every two or three years to stay happy. The poker-game sequence in which Oscar's cronies seem to be falling under the sway of fussy Felix's talent for making sandwiches is priceless. --Tom Keogh ... Read more

Features

• Color
• Closed-captioned
• Widescreen
• Dolby

Reviews (30)

Very good film to say the least
I disagree with what the P{geon Sisters say about men being lucky and all but everything else in the film is fine. The characters of Oscar and Felix are excellent opposites though this Felix isn't into opera like the one on the tv show (that was the late Tony Randall's reallife hobby). Murray is not the fat, clueless one he was on the tv shopw. This Murray the Cop (in the film) has more depth.

the odd laughs don't stop coming
a very nice insight this movie gives
watching it again and again and again when I can on my player
the first time I put it in my player and watched it from start to end
I laughed, I cried. I sympathized. truly a great movie
it touches you and makes you laugh when it can. Jack Lemmon and Walter Matheau are great actors. see them in Out to Sea, and other movies if you can. even though they both passed away recently years ago. 1 year for one and 2 for the other. they both are great comedians and really literally I mean this "add character to their characters" they should never be forgotten. very talented men and actors. if they or their parents were alive they'd be so proud of them (themselves) see this movie if you haven't

Excellent!
I saw this movie about two weeks ago on AMC. It was funny and made me really laugh. I'm a 15 year old who likes classic and ORIGINAL films, not today's CGI filled/no talent actors/rap star cameo-esque films. Anyway, I really liked Jack Lemmon and Walter Matthau after seeing this movie. Of course, I always liked Matthau, because I've seen him in a couple of movies with Gregory Peck (also on AMC). It was a great movie! ... Read more

Asin: B0000507P8
Subjects:  1. Feature Film-comedy   

Night of the Living Dead (Special Collector's Edition)
Director: George A. Romero
Average Customer Review:
DVD (18 May, 1999)
list price: $14.95 -- our price: $13.46
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Editorial Review

We can hardly imagine how shocking this film was when it first broke into the film scene in 1968.There's never been anything quite like it again, though there have been numerous pale imitations. Part of the terror lies in the fact that it is shot in such a raw and unadorned fashion that it feels like a home movie, and is all the more authentic because of that.It draws us into its world gradually, content to establish a merely spooky atmosphere before leading us through a horrifically logical progression that we hardly could have anticipated.The story is simple: Radiation from a fallen satellite has caused the dead to walk, and hunger for human flesh.Once bitten, you become one of them.And the only way to kill one is by a shot or blow to the head.We follow a group holed up in a small farmhouse who are trying to fend off the inevitable onslaught of the dead. The tension between the members of this unstable, makeshift community drives the film.Night of the Living Dead establishes savagery as a necessary condition of life. Marked by fatality and a grim humor, the film gnaws through to the bone, then proceeds on to the marrow.--Jim Gay ... Read more

Features

• Black & White
• THX

Reviews (326)

A classic film forever loved by the Zombie Army!!!
First off, This film is proof that George Romero is a master director and a master of gore and guts!!! This movie scared me senseless as a child! I'm 22 years old now and I love this movie more than anything! I love how the characters react with each other, but they also want to save their own skin as well. This film was the gateway to the famous trail that Geroge A. Romero left of blood and body parts. This film is true art and also does a great job of reflecting the image of society and the world in the 60's when "Night of the Living Dead" came out. George Romero will forever live as a master director in my heart! This movie is worth seeing over and over again. A must buy!!!

Ultimate Romero!
This is THE version of Night of the Living Dead! Stay away from that cruddy 30th anniversary addition and pick this up instead! Must have for Romero fans!

Elite 1999 best; cheap Good Times DVD an ok clone
This film is a seminal work of its type that is seldom, if ever, bettered. One either likes it or doesn't. For years, awful, damaged, murky VHS and early DVD editions circulated, made from poor 16mm prints. In 1993, Elite restored the film from the original 35mm negative and issued it on laserdisc. In 1999, they re-issued it in the then-new DVD format minus a few extras. In 2002, they restored all the extras, adding a new surround sound option, calling it the "Millenium Edition." Terrible versions continue to proliferate however, worst of all the costly 1998 Anchor Bay "30th Anniversary Edition" which is grotesquely mutilated with a new electronic soundtrack and atrocious newly filmed scenes; still available, it is the one to avoid most carefully.

Despite having fewer extra features than their 2002 Millenium Edition, Elite's 1999 Special Collector's Edition is preferable, dealing with one problem more honestly. Stock recorded music is used throughout the film, and begins unsteadily. In the 2002 Millenium Edition, the soundtrack starts almost inaudibly and increases in volume for the first fifteen seconds, making the viewer expect a low sound level and then jump to turn down the volume a few seconds later. It's either a poor attempt to conceal a minor problem or just a mistake that Elite made while creating the new, unnecessary 5.1 surround track; sadly, the problem also afflicts the regular mono soundtrack in the Millenium Edition. The older Elite Special Collector's Edition presents the original consistent volume level from the beginning, and the slight opening unsteadiness is barely noticeable.

The 1999 Elite Special Collector's Edition has almost three times as many track cue points as their 2002 Millenium Edition--the opposite of what one would expect. The Millenium Edition's added extras are historical curiosities, generally pretty dull and sometimes a little embarrassing; they're certainly not horror film oriented and I doubt that many people will want to see them more than once. The surround sound of the Millenium Edition is artificial and seems inappropriate for an independent B&W film of this age. My feeling is that Elite's 1999 Special Collector's Edition is the best overall presentation; despite slightly fewer extras, the accurate opening volume gives it the edge.

The Good Times DVD, catalog no. 05-81170, is a clone of the 1999 Elite Special Collector's Edition without any extras. The cloning apparently produced a somewhat grainier picture and some motion blur on certain monitors, perhaps because it's not THX-calibrated like the Elite originals. Good Times masks their obvious copyright infringement thinly by eliminating or moving track cue points and deleting the final copyright logo. But if one doesn't care about extras or mind very slightly degraded picture quality--and video piracy, it's still better than anything but the Elite original, and can be had for about $4. Strangely, in library cataloguing of the Elite editions, "Good Times" is listed in the "added authors" column. ... Read more

Asin: B000007SI2
Subjects:  1. Horror   

The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter
Director: Robert Ellis Miller
Average Customer Review:
VHS Tape (13 January, 1993)
list price: $19.99
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Editorial Review

This quiet, sentimental 1968 drama based on the Carson McCullers novel is considered a classic contemporary coming-of-age film about alienation and love. Alan Arkin (The In-Laws) stars as a kind, but lonely deaf-mute who befriends a lonely teenage girl in his boarding house. Set in the deep South, the film depicts a wistful small-town life with an undercurrent of turmoil and intolerance. It features a standout performance by Arkin and the debut of Sondra Locke (Bronco Billy, Sudden Impact) as two fundamentally lonely people who find solace in themselves as they reach out to each other. --Robert Lane ... Read more

Features

• Color
• NTSC

Reviews (17)

When will we see this in DVD?
I have wondered why this touching and very compelling film adaptation of Carson McCullers' The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter has not yet appeared in DVD.I believe that issuing it in DVD would give new life to this moving story of friendship and family relationships.Even though it was made in the late 60s, it has a universality that reaches into the present and has a strong message for us.

Where's the DVD?
I'm sorry to say I did not read the book. I am familiar with the work of Carson McCullers, and her narratives are thoroughly character-driven. However, she does center her material on one character (as in "The Member of the Wedding"). In this case, it's an incredible man named John Singer, masterfully portrayed by the great Alan Arkin. Certainly, most books need to be "abbreviated" in their transfer to the screen. ("Tom Jones" comes to mind, a huge sprawling Henry Fielding novel, concisely brought to the screen). I have read ALL the previous reviews, and pitiably lament that I hadn't read Ms. McCuller's novel. Still, I feel that John Singer's integrity, loneliness and pain, not to mention his frustration, was so brilliantly conveyed by Arkin. Sondra Locke was nominated for an Oscar for this, critics comparing her to Julie Harris in "Member of the Wedding". It's an auspicious debut, but it is Cecily Tyson who deserved that nomination. Outstanding performances from Chuck McCann, Percy Rodriguez and Stacy Keach were wonderful and complete; having not read the book, I knew everything I needed to know about these characters, as a viewer. This simple film from 1968 could certainly benefit from a "re-telling" as a mini-series or HBO film. Perhaps, the lovers of the book would be sated (and maybe not). Until then, I'm happy to know that this story is captured on film, as well as Arkin's great performance. (Arkin lost the Oscar to Cliff Robertson in "Charly", another disabled character).I'm thinking Warner Brothers would do themselves proud to issue a DVD, since Arkin's still around, as well as Locke, Tyson and a few others. I'm also sorry to say that I'm not familiar with the work of director Robert Ellis Miller, but he's made a film that touched me profoundly, with every imaginable portrayal of prejudice and mistrust, all portrayed by "good, righteous" people. I admire this film very much. Please, Warner Brothers...where's the DVD?

Faithful to the book
It's such a relief when a movie does justice to a book.GONE WITH THE WIND comes to mind with its sweeping family sagas and passion, as does FRIED GREEN TOMATOES.Both are excellent adaptations and joining those two is the movie, THE HEART IS A LONELY HUNTER.With stellar performances by not only Arkin, but everyone else as well, this sweet, disturbing, haunting look at small town life during the Depression is a classic.One can only hope that McCrae's book, THE BARK OF THE DOGWOOOD gets treated as well as these two.Highly recommended. ... Read more

Asin: 6300269485
Subjects:  1. Feature Film-drama   

Targets
Director: Peter Bogdanovich
Average Customer Review:
DVD (12 August, 2003)
list price: $9.99 -- our price: $9.99
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Features

• Color
• Closed-captioned
• Widescreen

Reviews (18)

Very good film done in by political correctness
The plot has already been pointed out by other posters on this film. Let me tell you some great elements. The scene where the sniper shoots those on the highway brilliant. The home scenes of the sniper's wife and family are very good too. Fine incorporation of Karloff's real life being into the fictional Byron Orlock (though Karloff, according to director Peter Bogdonavich, didn't put himself down like Orlock does). The drive in climax is also splendid. I'm not bothered by the sniper's reactionto meeting Orlock in the flesh and not beating the old guy up. He's supposed to be stunned to meet this big movie star. Lots of other great stuff too. The only way this film falls down from great to very good is the totally stupid asian secretary bit. She works for Orlock and is accepted by him as such an equal. Yeah right! And what's more she's the love interest of a very white film writer named Sammy (director Bogdonavich in an acting role). Yes, so many struggling white writers in the 1960's would love to have risked becoming morbid social outcasts by even dating someone Chinese. Real believable stuff. And just to throw salt on dumb wounds she's supposed to have gone to Oxford! Like Sidney Poitier in To Sir With Love she's a minority character way too good to be true.The commentary by Bogdonavitch is good too. Learn things like how the people at the real life gun stores used in this movie thought this was a wholesome film about a young man going hunting with his father. They knew nothing of the sniper story it really was!

Cool for several reasons
First, PB's first directorial effort, and not bad, considering the limitations he was given. Second, and far more important,it was a great vehicle for the then-aged Karloff; a role with a decent amount of dignity and respect to it; something the man deserved 100 times over. Yes, the ending is a little sappy, and the acting gets somewhat chewy at times, but this is absolutely a must-see for any Karloff fan.

Ahead of Its Time
Peter Bogdanovich produced, directed, edited and wrote the screenplay to TARGETS. The film has a curious and dichotomous quality to it. On one hand Bogdanovich handled the sniper (a very clean-cut Tim O'Kelly) in a very real, threatening and unprecedented way for its time. O'Kelly looks so much like the all-American kid from next door that he is all the more frightening making the film very unsettling. O'Kelly munches on a sandwich and guzzles down soda in-between his targets. Moreover the sniper is ferreted out by a famous horror film idol (Boris Karloff) from the golden age of Hollywood. The confrontation comes at a drive-in theatre of all places in an unusual climax. The film is suspenseful and alluring. Once you start watching it you're hooked. Is there a message to this film? Perhaps there is. The finale is almost pure hokum, but perhaps that is the point. Leave the killings, the violence and horror up on the screen. Don't let it escape into the real world. Get your jollies at the movies then drive home and lead a normal life. Perhaps that was true 30 years ago. ... Read more

Asin: B00009RXKC
Sales Rank: 26461
Subjects:  1. Feature Film-action/Adventure   

War and Peace
Average Customer Review:
DVD (29 October, 2002)
list price: $39.95 -- our price: $35.96
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Editorial Review

Like Tolstoy's novel, this epic-length War and Peace is rough going, but worth the effort. Winner of the 1969 Academy Award® for Best Foreign Language Film and widely considered the most faithful adaptation of Tolstoy's classic, Sergei Bondarchuk's massive Soviet-Italian coproduction was seven years in the making, at a record-setting cost of $100 million. Bondarchuk himself plays the central role of Pierre Bezukhov, buffeted by fate during Russia's tumultuous Napoleonic Wars, serving as pawn and philosopher through some of the most astonishing set pieces ever filmed. Bondarchuk is a problematic director: interior monologues provide awkward counterpoint to intimate dramas, weaving together the many classes and characters whose lives are permanently affected by war. Infusions of '60s-styled imagery clash with the film's period detail; it's an anomalous experiment that doesn't really work. Undeniably, however, the epic battle scenes remain breathtakingly unique; to experience the sheer scale of this film is to realize that such cinematic extravagance will never be seen again. --Jeff Shannon ... Read more

Features

• Color
• Box set

Reviews (44)

An incredible realization!

Ever since I've heard about this movie, I always wanted to see it. It was not until recently that I acquired a great Russian dvd copy with multiple subtitles. A restoration of the complete 7 1/2 hour long, widescreen version thought to be lost for a long time. It took me a whole week after work to see it all (4 DVDs + 1 of extras) and during the weekend I had to see it again, this time with company who also enjoyed it until the end.
I'm certainly not a movie critic or pretend to be so I'm not going to dissect and criticize this movie. It is just the urge to express my joy when I confirmed again that the cinema is undoubtedly a new form of art from the 20th century. It is a media that can display (audio visually) all the forms of art. Theater, music, paint and in this particular case, literature.I must confess that I never read the whole "war and peace" book, just a digest in high school. I calculate that it would take me at least a month of daily reading during a whole vacation with nothing else to do but to read the whole book. And in 5 years I m sure I'll remember the movie better than the book, just like many other movies made after the book. For instance; when I think of "A street car named desire" I immediately think of Brando yelling "STELLA", reading the Tennesee Williams play couldn't make me feel what the picture did, but the picture made me feel what Williams wanted me to feel. Many times the movie differs from the book and fails to deliver the message or feeling that the author pretends,usually because of the "natural handicap" that movies have which is the short time (usually 2 hours) to complete a whole novel. The best example to probe this should be the other "war and peace" from 1956. There is just no comparison. And since I'm not a critic I give this a 5

Understand 'War And Peace' in a new and profound way.
If you want a fascinating viewing and reading experience that brings War And Peace to life like never before read the Constance Garnett translation of Tolstoy's masterpiece at the same time you are viewing Bondarchuk's film.

You will discover that the English subtitles are lifted directly from Garnett's translation and that director/actor Bondarchuk created many aspects of the novel in his film exactly the way Garnett describes it in her translation. Conveniently the film is divided into chapters that correlate with many chapters in the novel, e.g. The Drinking Party is chapter vi of the novel; Natasha Turns Thirteen is chapter viii, Count Bezukhov's Stroke is xx & xxi etc.

The film unfoldsas the novel does in a series of episodes that slowly outlines the action and a plot of epic proportions.It is fascinating to read a chapter and then see that chapter bought to life on the screen just the way Tolstoy envisioned the details in his novel; to read Tolstoy's description of a character down to the expression on the face and gestures of body language and then observe how perfectly Bondarchuk has cast that character and focused on the gestures Tolstoy describes is a marvel in itself.

Reading the novel and viewing Bondarchuk's film together results in a coherence not to be found in either separately. There are many lapses in dialogue in the film where Bondarchuk is focusing on a scene or action that Tolstoy describes in detail, the total significance of which one misses unless one has read it in the novel.

Because Tolstoy wrote in such epic proportions and in such detail it was impossible for Bondarchuk to recreate the entire novel in his film. For example the battle of Schon Grabern presentedby Bondarchuck is the climax of a series of battles covered in such detail by Tolstoy that they couldn't all be rendered into film. This is true of episodes amongst the families as well. But by studying the novel and film together one gains a total understanding and a unique perspective on this remarkable story.

Bondarchuk's obsession with historical accuracy, period authenticity, and faithfulness to Tolstoy's vision brings the characters and the war and peace within these families of Russian aristocrats utterly to life in the events of the Napoleonic Wars, and enjoying the novel and this film together is an epic experience in itself.

Cinematic Greatness Not Destroyed by Poor Quality Kultur DVD
I first saw this film on PBS in the '60s and never forgot it.Still hum the waltz theme from the ball scene. Recently I spotted the Kultur DVD set online, practically dropped dead with excitement, and clicked "purchase" without doing any research.

It never occurred to me that such a poor quality DVD might be for sale (for $40!!) at major online retail outlets.Some of the scenes in Part I are so dark I can barely make out the image.The sound is a bit scratchy too.I started to wonder if this wasn't videoed surreptitiously in a movie theatre.

Apparently the Ruscico version is far superior in quality, if more expensive ($70) and not without its own problems (see other reviews).Also, if you don't own a widescreen TV monitor, you may still prefer this Kultur full-screen version, which avoids the annoying "letterbox" effect -- though of course at the cost of cutting parts of the original image off the screen.

Despite its many defects - if you love cinema, BUY THIS FILM.Even the less than ideal audio and visual quality of the Kultur print cannot mask this film's greatness, its eye-popping scope, its dramatic story, its haunting music and memorable imagery.
And definitely get a version where you can hear the original actors speaking in Russian (with English subtitles).The majesty of the Russian language is central to this film, and you will feel it even if you don't understand a word.(The occasional Russian overdub of French dialogue is a minor annoyance, nothing more.)

If you have read and loved Tolstoy's epic novel, fear not.This film is as faithful to the original as was Peter Jackson's film to Tolkien's trilogy - if not more so (I'm still annoyed that Jackson went for a "Die Hard"-style dispatch of Saruman off Orthanc in Part II, omitting Tolkien's nuanced 'Scouring of the Shire' in Part III.)

A lot of reviewers complain about the "psychedelic 60s" filming techniques Bondarchuk used, but I think they misjudge Bondarchuk's over-the-top directorial style, which seems perfectly in tune with the traditional Russian penchant for emotional excess.This is no dry literal retelling of Tolstoy's narrative arc -- it tries to render, in cinematic terms, an impassioned yet faithful account of the emotions of the participants in this drama.If it misses its goal here and there -- you cannot deny the greatness of the very attempt.(Q: Who else but Bondarchuk would or could have made an oak tree into a central character?A: Tolstoy.)

A lot of reviewers also dismiss the message of the film asCommunist-era propaganda, but I'd say again that that is a misreading of the film, which is patriotic and Russophile only insofar as is the original novel.(PS: the Commies didn't invent love of the Russian fatherland.)

Even in its diminished condition (memo to Spielberg: How about financing a proper restoration?), this is one of the single most memorable films you will ever be privileged to see.

... Read more

Asin: B00006JO77
Subjects:  1. Foreign Film - Russian