Reviews (1)

metropolis and indiana jones
after watching all of fritz lang's films, most of them in black and white, I found myself especially in awe of the color and detail in this dvd....yes, there are strong hints from metropolis: the leper's advance is similar to the movement of the deadly sins and there are complex tunnel passages in both films...as in rancho notorious, the plot deals with hate, murder and revenge; deception and fate also play their strong roles...but it's the way this film looks visually--the colors, costumes, and architecture -- that sets it apart from all the other lang films...it's definitely worth viewing. ... Read more

Reviews (370)

Movie sizzle.. DVD extras fizzle...
HEAT is one of the best crime dramas ever made! Director Michael Mann's saga is simply a tried and true tale of good versus evil. Al Pacino plays an L.A. cop, who leads a team, that is hot on the trail of a band of criminals. The bad guys are led by mastermind Robert De Niro. Mann tells the epic with such precision and skill, that it is just flawless, from start to finish. Even though Pacino and De NIro do not share much screen time, the film has so much going on, that it almost does not matter. When the two mega-stars do act in the same scene, everything crackles with intensity, that is is almost palpable. The supporting cast is first rate. Val Kilmer, Diane Venora, Tom Sizemore, Ashley Judd, Natalie Portman, and JonVoight lead the way into putting this film in the "classic" catagory

The DVD is a major disappointment, due to the lack of any extras, save for a trailler and production info. I wish those in charge would consider a special edition reissue soon. The movie is a winner despite the DVD sans extras and should be part of anyone's film collection. Warner Home Entertainment GET CRACKING on HEAT 2 disc set!

Buy It!
This crime story contains one of the best scenes in movie history. Al Pacino sits down in a coffee shop and chats with Robert De Niro. One is an eccentric detective and the other a ruthless criminal. They talk about what they do for a living and how it effects them. It's a tense and dramatic moment and you have to wonder if the actors are actually talking about their character's lives or their very own. "Heat" is one of the most underrated crime/heist movies of the genre. It has extravagent action scenes, solid performances and cameos (Hank Azaria,Tone Loc,Natalie Portman) and an engrossing plot. My only complaint is the tacked-on ending which seems to belong in a B-movie. Warner Bros. did only an okay job bringing it to DVD so be warned. It's missing some of the special features we have come to expect (director's commentary, deleted scenes, etc). Michael Mann did an admirable job of showing the exploits of professional bank robbers and the detectives who chase them. It's rumored that one of the advisors to the film was one of the bank robbers who was later killed in the infamous North Hollywood Shootout in 1997. Enticed enough now? This is an action movie with class...buy it!

fantastic
this movie has some of the best acting i've ever seen. the plot is great and the action scenes are also great. the dvd i'm reviewing now lacks extras, but a special edition is supposed to come out later this year. some might not like it being three hours, but i think the three hours i spent watching were well worth it.

The best!
Great flick.....perhaps the best car chase scenes and most "tactically correct" fire and maneuver sequences ever filmed. Outstanding plot and great acting.

Long, but good
Pacino, De Niro, Kilmer, Voight all in one movie. Isn't that great? It is. This cop movie is not bad at all, especially the story and the personalities are well developed.

Pacino is sometimes a little too rude and the movie takes too long with 2 hrs and 45 minutes.

Still worth seeing if you have the sitting-flesh. ... Read more

Reviews (26)

A celebration of the human spirit, even if you are not Greek
Since I am leaving today for a trip to Greece I figured I should watch "Zorba the Greek" since this 1964 film is considered the quintessential "Greek" film. I have to admit my first reaction was to be glad I was not going to Crete, because the way the locals treated the beautiful widow (Irene Papas) and Madame Hortense (Lila Kedrova), the old prostitute, were outright horrific. But this is why people like us and young Basil (Alan Bates) need to meet up with somebody with a zest for life like Alexis Zorba (Anthony Quinn).

Basil is an Englishman of Greek extraction who goes to Crete to check out a mine he has inherited. Zorba attaches himself to Basil, ostensibly as a cook but clearly as a guide to the joys and tragedies of life. In terms of Quinn's performance the only thing you can really say is that before there was Robert Begnigni there was Zorba the Greek when it comes to Mediterranean men who provided inspirational madness. As Zorba tells Basil: "Dammit, boss, I like you too much not to say it. You've got everything except one thing. Madness! A man needs a little madness, or else...he never dares cut the rope and be free." +

When they arrive on Crete it becomes clear the mine is not going to pan out for anybody. They move in with Madame Hortense, who is wooed by Zorba, who insists Basil go after the beautiful local widow. After these tragedies all that is left is Zorba's plan for bringing trees down from the top of the mountain, an endeavor obviously equally doomed to failure. This is why in the end there is only one thing a man can do, and it is in this cathartic conclusion that any and all sins of this film are absolved.

"Zorba the Greek" is written and directed by Michael Cacoyannis, based on the novel by Nikos Kazantzakis. The film won three Academy Awards: Lila Kedrova for Best Supporting Actress, Best Art/Set Direction, and Best Cinematography. Quinn did not win the Oscar for what is clearly his most memorable role in a long and distinguished film career, but that is usually the case with actors and their greatest roles. Marlon Brando did not win for Stanley Kowalski and Quinn did not win for Alexis Zorba. What is a man to do in the face of such a fate but dance?

¿Will you teach me to dance?¿ .... plz
Basil, a young English writer of Greek ancestry, meets an older, free-spirited Greek peasant named Zorba on the island of Crete. While Zorba pursues a relationship with Madame Hortense, an aging French courtesan, the inhibited Basil summons up the courage to court a young widow. When Hortense comes down with pneumonia, the impoverished locals descend upon her like vultures, as she lies dying in Zorba's arms. Later, Basil inherits a mine, and he and Zorba plan to reopen it and use their earnings to help alleviate some of the area's poverty.

Winning seven Academy Awards, this classic black and white film also starred Irene Pappas and Lila Kedrova and was based upon the Nikos Kazantzakis novel.

Must see movie.... Excellent cinematographie!

Full Screen Idiocy
Why on earth are they releasing the DVD for this great film in Full Screen. Haven't people gotten used to wide screen yet? I don't want to see 65% of a film when the director meant me to see 100%. The company releasing this needs to have its head examined.

Foxy scam!!!!!
The note is for the studio who, not only doesn't show any respect for intellectual & artistic property, but, as well, is selling only half of this movie, since the original format is 2.35:1. The full screen being an added option is understandable; not proposing the original screen ratio is inexcusable, whatever the price.

From A Greek About A Greek
Definatly a great movie to watch, but it really portrays the backward Greece of several decades ago. The movie portrays Greeks in a somewhat harsh and distorted way, sometimes painting a very bad picture.

After reading many of the reviews it seems as if people still think the Greeks are wearing togas, worshipping the Gods and spending all day studying philosophy. This isn't the case, it hasn't been for over fifteen hundred years and if that is what you are expecting, then find out more about modern Greeks before watching this movie or you will be very surprised. ... Read more

Reviews (70)

Subtle and Lovely
This is not a fast-paced, action-packed, Hollywood kind of movie. It's more akin to reading a book than watching a film. That is not to say that this is at all dull or boring.

Remains of the day is a lovely, and even tragic at times, movie about love and the more sweeping themes of life and death, among the reserved and proper English class of housemaids, butlers,and the multitudes of servants employed by large country houses in the early half of the 20th Century.

The story revolves around Anthony Hopkins and Emma Thompson as the heads of their respective sexes in the household and the deep affection they have for one another, but that Hopkins cannot exhibit. Thomspon's character is outgoing and a bit too modern for Hopkin's somber and traditional disposition.

The story tells of their meeting, and then follows an older Hopkins as he remembers his younger days and Thompson, as he travels to see her one last time.

A Masterpiece from Merchant Ivory Productions!
From the very beginning of the opening titles, set against the backdrop of the English countryside and exquisitely complimented by the music of Richard Robbins, you get the reassuring feeling that you are in for a cinematic treat. Well, 134 minutes later, your reassurances are confirmed, and within this time frame this movie manages to span the full range of emotions with such grace and dignity that you are certain you have seen one of the great motion pictures. Oscar winners Anthony Hopkins and Emma Thompson reunite (first paired in Howard's End) with the acclaimed Merchant Ivory film making team for this extraordinary and moving story of blind devotion-to-duty and forsaken love. Hopkins stars as Mister Stevens, the perfect English butler, an ideal carried by him to perfectionist lengths, as he serves his English master, Lord Darlington (impeccably played by masterful James Fox). Lord Darlington, like many other members of the British establishment in the 1930s, is duped by the Nazis into trying to establish a rapport between themselves and the British government. Thompson stars as Darlington hall's housekeeper, a high-spirited, strong-minded young woman who watches the goings-on upstairs with quiet disbelief. Marvelously well acted by a supporting cast that includes, among many others, Christopher Reeve as American Congressman Jack Lewis and then newcomer Hugh Grant as Lord Darlington's Godson, Mr. Cardinal, this movie captures on film a bygone lifestyle few are acquainted with, in as flawless a fashion as any you will ever see. Masterpiece!

James Ivory's masterpiece!
This is a slow paced movie, but so well acted and directed that you miss the rhytm. You feel caught from the first images with the voice in off . The photography is splendid. The art is direction is spectacular .
The script is a long tale from the memories of Anthony Hopkins and a failed relationship with Emma Thompson as the mistress in service of James Fox a hard enemy of the German forces in WW2.
The film travels from the passionate speechs about the destiny of the mankind , the human condition and also the intimate portrayal of this loyal servant , keeping the formalities with absolute gentleness.
Never before Ivory had been so inspired and convincing like this one .
The last sequence of the film is an extraordinary metaphor.
Thompson brilliant and Hopkins superb in this work.
This is a heavyweight champion movie , great and marvelous . Don't miss this one!

Dignity in Remains of the day
"Dignity in Remains of the day " by Shahzada Gofran

An American mother lost four out of five of her sons at war in Vietnam during 1954. Yet her head is as high as Mount Everest with patriotic dignity. But it's not the same dignity that we see in Stevens's life depicted on both in Kazuo Ishiguro's novel and James Ivory's film Remains of the day. It is Stevens' dignity that provokes questions to the readers and the viewers mind. It poses them to ponder what dignity actually means in life when they read or watch the film. Stevens (Anthony Hopkins) is the protagonist whose dormant feelings and self-indulgence have been suppressed by the concept of "dignity" that he cherished with profound delicacy throughout his service life at Darlington hall. But unfortunately, that "dignity" has brought little meaning and many unhappy moments in his life. His dignity has existed like a mist in a winter morning that goes away in the glare of a dazzling sun. Nearly at the end of the novel and also in the film, the viewers get to see how dignity plays a treacherous role in Stevens's life. Nevertheless, the film did an excellent job in changing some scenes to emphasize and show dignity that is so ingrained in Stevens' life. Although the book has a greater detail of events than it is in the film, the director kept the central themes congruent.

In the realm of modernism and capitalism, the English aristocracy and the formality of a butler's profession remain as an interesting story, but not as a pervasive manner of lifestyle for today's' generation. The modernism, individuality, and freedom of expression took over the habitual human thinking that was existed during the Darlington's era. Generally ordinary citizens have little right to express their opinions on issues of politics. The English colonialism and their mannerism have also had an impact on the people during that time. According to Bert Cardullo" the elegiac representation of the British imperialism and celebrates its heyday by depicting a return to the practice of social hierarchy"(The servant,1). We also have seen in the movie that the international delegates are so secluded from the touch of the ordinary people. However, one may argue though that the impact of Modernism we have seen in Remains of the day would shape and mold the English civilization gradually rather than occurring as a revolution. There were people during the Darlington era who also have similar mannerism and modern thinking as today. For example Miss Kenton who believed on her opinions and has the dignity of choosing for her own as oppose to Stevens. She opposed the idea of firing those Jews servants and she chooses to marry and quite the job for her own happiness that was impossible for Stevens. For her it is the confidence in what she values has the high dignity and self esteem just as we would in today generation.

The dignity is a quintessential idea in the novel. In the film it is undeniably repeated many times in order to simply establish the importance of it to the readers and the viewers of Remains of the day. The idea of dignity here has revolved around from the perspective of professional success and achievements. But both Stevens and his father have been a merciless victim of "dignity". Stevens father also suppressed his feeling for dignity. He served indifferently to the general even though his son died in war because of his absurd decision ( the remains of the day). But the dignity is nothing but merely a product of social and traditional legacy passed on to the so-called English gentleman's society, which was an impediment to the growth of individuality.

Nonetheless, dignity is not a valuable security that Stevens had thought about throughout his youth while providing service to Lord Darlington. It is unfolded at the end quite dramatically in his life. Because of the dignity he had lost an opportunity of having an affair with Miss Kenton who is Emma Thompson in the movie. Miss Kenton has implied her interests and feelings to him couple of times and tried to convey her love. Once she was invited to go out for a dinner with Mr. Benn and later proposed to marry him. And when she got back to Darlington, she asked Stevens about his opinion on it. But Stevens remained cold and formal as usual and expressed only congratulation that was inadequate and ignited subtly Miss Kenton's emotional feelings( film- remains of the day). It is his dignity once again that has not only left his life sad and gloomy, but lonely as well. Stevens' dignity was all about Lord Darlington. His satisfaction comes from providing a better service without making silly mistakes. But the honor and dignity put Stevens in an awkward position. According to one of the critiques of the Remains of the day, Jennifer Bussey " what a terrible mistake he realized that he made about both his failed romance with her and his support of Lord Darlington's Nazi sympathies. This may be no more than denial and evasion in Anthony Hopkins' performance, but there is more at work in the novel"(critique on Remains).

Eventually, Steven's remuneration of service to lord Darlington has become a nostalgic memory only. Because of his dignity, he remained with the international congregation and did not go to see his dead father. He even had to keep his identity secrete from the outside world because disclosing his identity and his former employer Darlington would demean his value to the people of England. Essentially, his dignity made him a man who has no room for learning his feelings until the end. The director of the movie James Ivory says "he portrays a kind of butler who does not talk or share opinions, but observes and sees ways to serve the master" (ljlkjljlkj). Thus, his "dignity" and professionalism demolished his life that he could have had throughout his youth.

Bibliography

Ishiguro, Kazuo: The Remains of The Day.1989; London.

Cardullo, Bert: The servant, Eden-Webster Library. Info Trac One file Plus.

Jennifer, Bussey article: critical essay on "The Remains of the Day"

Ivory, Jmames: Remains of The Day. Colombia Pictures Ltd.

The Price of Being Perfect
THE REMAINS OF THE DAY is one of my all time favorite books, but when I heard about the film, way back in 1993, I was sure the book wouldn't translate well. It was far too interior and quiet. When I saw the film for the first time, I was really surprised. Merchant/Ivory, along with the extraordinary talented screenwriter, Ruth Prawer Jhabuala, seemed to have done the impossible and I knew I'd buy the DVD the day it was released.

THE REMAINS OF THE DAY takes place in 1958 as James Stevens (Anthony Hopkins), a man of late middle age and the head butler at the sumptuous Darlington Hall, begins a motor journey across southern England to the West Country. The purpose of his trip, we learn, is to persuade Ms. Sally Kenton (Emma Thompson), once head housekeeper at Darlington Hall, to resume her old position and, perhaps, a bit more.

Most of the story is told in a series of flashbacks and we gradually come to know Stevens, Ms. Kenton and Lord Darlington (James Fox). Although THE REMAINS OF THE DAY centers on the relationship between Stevens and Ms. Kenton, there are subtle, but definite, political undertones in this film, for Lord Darlington is, of all things, a Nazi sympathizer who wants to prevent war. I've heard criticisms of the film because this subplot wasn't explored in greater detail, but I think Ishiguro (and Ruth Prawer Jhabvala) wrote just enough. To have expanded this subplot might have been interesting, but it would have definitely detracted from the more interesting main plot line, the relationship between Stevens and Ms. Kenton.

Almost from the beginning of the film, it's clear that Stevens and Ms. Kenton love each other. While Ms. Kenton does her best, however, she simply can't crack the wall Stevens has built around himself, the one he's been taught to build around himself, for, as long as Stevens can remember, his family has been "in service."

Stevens is the perfect butler, but at what cost? One of the film's most telling moments comes when Stevens' father, who is himself a retired head butler, dies in the servants' quarters of Darlington Hall. Although summoned by Ms. Kenton, Stevens, because of his strict adherence to perfection in work, and his dedication to "doing one's duty," does not abandon his post at a gala dinner party to be with his dying father.

Political disaster for Lord Darlington and personal disaster for Stevens dovetail in the film, but Stevens might just be given the second chance that most of us never get.

The end of THE REMAINS OF THE DAY is heartbreaking, but inevitable. This is a quiet, sad and extremely introspective film, yet it contains extraordinary emotion.

Anthony Hopkins as Stevens is perfection. Although Hopkins must show us a palette of emotions, he must show them with small gestures, mannerisms and facial expressions. Stevens is a highly complex man but he is, above all else, a man who represses his emotions.

Emma Thompson is Ms. Kenton is also perfect, but don't expect to see a lot of her in this film. This is Stevens' story and, as such, it's Hopkins who takes center stage.

Christopher Reeve is very good as Congressman Lewis, both as a guest of Lord Darlington and as the "new" owner of Darlington Hall. His part is small, though essential, and seeing him active and healthy only adds to this film's profound sense of sadness and loss.

The extras in this DVD include interviews with Merchant and Ivory as well as with Emma Thompson and they are so good, they make it worth owning the DVD rather than just renting it. THE REMAINS OF THE DAY is, at any rate, a DVD I think any film lover would want to own. It's absolute perfection and one I know I'll never tire of no matter how many times I watch it. ... Read more

Description

Bette Midler (THE FIRST WIVES CLUB, BEACHES) and Lily Tomlin (DISNEY'S THE KID, ALL OF ME, 9 TO 5) -- the first ladies of laughter -- star in this critically acclaimed box office hit about two sets of identical twins who are mismatched at birth. Forty years later, their paths cross amid the hustle and bustle of Manhattan, and the result is unrestrained pandemonium. New York's opulent Plaza Hotel is the setting for a wildly hilarious, classic case of mistaken identities, split personalities, and double trouble! With the unparalleled comedic talents of Midler and Tomlin, two's company ... four's a riot! ... Read more

Reviews (32)

They don't make comedies like this anymore....
I am SOOO HAPPY this is finally being released on DVD (my VHS copy has been watched so many times, it's not that good anymore!).

This is a great story about TWO sets of twins that are born in this rinky dink hospital in Jupiter Hollow, only to have one twin from each set mixed with the other. It's a hilarious romp and definitely a feel good movie. I think far too many critics these days miss that point. If a movie makes you feel good and makes you want to watch it over and over again, that's a 5 star movie.

Big Business will keep you coming back for a great does of monkey business!! Viva Tomlin and Midler!!

Soaps In The Shapes Of Swans...Could You Die?
Special thanks to Touchstone/Disney for finally releasing one of the BEST movies of all time on DVD! (Yes, I am talking about "Big Business") Lilly and Bette have an onscreen magic that I would love to see again in another movie. (Maybe "Big Business II?") Wishful thinking on my part.

This movie is filled with quotes that me and my good buddies Frank and Jake repeat over and over. 1/2 of our conversations and daily dialect somehow involve lines from Big Business. I have always wondered if there any other people out there that are as twisted as we are! Some favorites lines:

Sadie Ratliff: "For once in my life I'm gonna be Joan Collins, and your not gonna stop me."

Sadie Shelton: "I don't see how is it that you, my own sister, can stuff your face and nothing happens and I subsist on 60 calories a day or else blow up like a Macy's Day float!"

Judy: "Hi Rose, how's Duke doing?"
Rose Ratliff: "Duke!? My Dog? Boy, when you go snoopin' into people's lives, you don't miss a trick, do you?"

Office Workers: "Hi Rose"
Rose Ratliff: "Oh, hi, hi everyone. Just fine, had a good breakfast, oatmeal, but I guess you know that. Got on my Tuesday panties, but I guess you know that too."

Sadie Ratliff: "I got to get me some of those press-on nails. Do those things stay on? I wouldn't want em floppin off in any of those fancy nightclubs."

Dr Jay: "Rose I've been doing a lot of thinking and we can fix this."
Rose Ratliff: "Fix what? Oh, you're Sly."
Dr Jay: "Sly? I couldn't be more sincere"

Small child: "What's a cow plop mommie?"

Rose Shelton: "I hate my job... I hate shopping... I hate New York in June. How about you?"

Sadie Ratliff: "I hate grits. And I hate men who smell like beer and bean dip...and makin' love in the back of recreational vehicles!"

I could go on and on, but will stop here before I quote the whole movie. The fun of Big Business is endless. Be sure to buy this DVD, you won't be sorry you did!

One of my favorites
This movie is one of my favorites from growing up. I probably watched it at least 100 times as a child. I'm so glad to see it on DVD. Bette Midler(who plays Sadie and Sadie) and Lily Tomlin (who plays Rose and Rose)are so funny!

Lord, my load is heavy!
This movie is not one of the most memorable comedies of the eighties, but it should be. It stands out among the booby comedies and the over the top antics of the era. What this dvd lacks in features, it makes up for in laughs. The simple premise and fabulous comedic timing make this a romp suitable for the whole family. I laugh my hind-quarters off everytime I watch it! SAVE JUPITER HOLLOW!

This Movie is hilarious
Bette Midler and Lily Tomlin are great together. They are very funny in this movie and I would highly recamend this movie to all ages from kids to adults. It is about two set's of twins who get seperated at birth because the nurse mixes them up. I think that this movie is a movie that you can watch over and over again because it is so funny! ... Read more

Reviews (79)

Definitely worth seeing. Worth owning? Questionable.
Dustin Hoffman is a living legend. You can read any of the other excellent reviews here to get a good idea of what the movie is about, so instead I'm going to give you 'the truth as I see it' about why you should see this movie.
Obviously, Dustin Hoffman plays the role of David wonderfully. Susan George does a good job, although it would have been nice for this intended town hottie to have a pretty smile along with her pretty physique. But I guess that's the catch 22 in selecting a British cast, especially from that day and age.
The controversial rape scene in this movie, is almost paralyzingly disturbing. (Yes, paralyzingly...I don't care if it's not a word.) It's disgusting really. It was also very confusing for me, because of the fact that she was saying no, but the viewer actually does get the impression that she doesn't mean no. She kisses her 'rapist' and pulls him closer, and she invites him in in the first place, and then tells him not to leave. A very awkward occurrence. When the second guy rapes her, we understand clearly that she does not want him, but still she seems to have some strange bond with the first guy (apparently and ex-boyfriend or something) as they have a sort of strangely mutually understanding chemistry throughout the movie. This was one of the most disturbing scenes in any movie I've seen recently. It doesn't help that all the while we get up close facial expressions from her, showing a sense of horror and disgust, but at the same time thrilling satisfaction.
Basically, she gives in very easily when there is any sense of punishment as a consequence of resistance. She is trapped in a kind of school-girl mentality, playing childish pranks and teasing the men by showing her breasts and underwear to them. I'm guessing this is related to the way she was treated when she was that age. David, on the other hand, is a controlled, maturing man, trying to focus on his work. He doesn't give in so easily, and although some have said that he plays the role of mouse time and time again until he finally emerges as a 'real man' in the end of the movie, I personally feel that he is not the timid guy everyone thinks him to be, but rather that circumstance does not allow him to show his manliness (for example, when his wife brings in the bowl of milk with the beers). He is more confused than anything because he doesn't believe there is any real reason to confront the hooligans, until the execution of Kitty.
Anyway, like a lot of other people I was very confused by the ending. The implications of David defending his house, his wife, his honor, and his sense of manhood by protecting a man that actually was guilty of murder (albeit accidental), raise a whole other topic of discussion.
The violence, with the exception of the rape scene, is pretty tame according to today's standards, but the psychological horror is in full throttle here. This is a thinker's horror/suspense (not horror in the conventional sense of the word) movie.
The laughter of the crazy hooligan was really annoying to me. I'm sure many people will disagree with my views on the movie, but I think it's important to look at the movie for what it IS, as well as what it means.
I'm definitely glad to have seen this movie, and would highly recommend it, but I don't believe I'll be adding it to my collection. I might see it again one day, but movies this disturbing and confusing aren't usually on my list of favorite flicks to cuddle up to late at night.

PEACENIK HOFFMAN GOES BONKERS
In 1971 Sam Peckinpah's controversial STRAW DOGS was censored by the British Board of Film Classification. The cuts made it even more provocative than Peckinpah intended. Consequently, Straw Dogs was labeled by the media as an obscene, misogynistic piece of filmmaking. Regarding the uncut American version, even the esteemed Pauline Kael said it's "the first American film that is a fascist work of art."

"Straw Dogs" stands as one of Peckinpah's best, and a reminder of the ongoing struggle between an artist's freedom and suppression by the powers that be. But more than that, it's a brilliant and harrowing exploration of man's primitive animal nature and its implied, inherent violence.

The transfer's clean and sharp. Extras include an 80 minute look at Peckinpah's films and a new interview with Susan George, who talks about her daring, controversial performance of a woman who for a few brief moments seemed to enjoy being raped.

What does "Straw Dogs" mean? Is it from the saying: Behind every coward's eyes burn straw dogs? If so, what does that mean? What are "straw dogs"?

Another thing. Recently (of this writingt) Dustin Hoffman has made a point of speaking out about certain military operations to free brutalized, oppressed people. Personally, I'd rather not know what an actor thinks and feels about politics. However, in "Straw Dogs" Hoffman shows what it takes to fight evil aggression. His screen performance will outlive his words.

Recommended.

HORRIBLE!!!
I agree with another reviewer in that you'll either love this or hate it. But I think most people will hate it. (Note: I have nothing against violence in films, and I liked the Kill Bill movies.) The main problem here is that almost every character in this film is utterly unlikable, and terrible things happen to the two characters who are likeable. But even that wouldn't be so bad, if the film had a message.

Dustin Hoffman's character is a whiney, wimpy, and mean spirited person who, when he finally decides to act, he does so for all of the wrong reasons & defends the wrong person. I end up hating him MORE than the bad guys.
I rank this as the most unwatchable movie I have ever seen, even below "Short Cuts".
However, if you liked "Short Cuts", you'd probably like this, and vice versa.

A Remarkable Film Which Stands the Test of Time.
This is a really interesting film on many levels. It's not perfect; but, few works of modern art are. Nevertheless, this work stands the test of time. Firstly, one of the most remarkable things about this film is the absolutely Hitchcockian editing, which is remotely primitivistic, but strangely compelling: the editing engenders a peculiar ambience to the film right from the beginning brawl scene in the pub. Then, from the denoument sequence--which begins with the equally primitive church function and runs through to the climax and epilogue--the editing is nothing less than fine art. Secondly, the sets of the pub and the farm house are very convincing and interesting in their own right: there's plenty to look at. Also, the outdoor scenes with the ocean in background and the Cornish village all have the verisimilitude of realism. Thirdly, the soundtrack is not at all bad. Fourthly, the acting is good: of course, Hoffman is nothing less than brilliant; Peter Vaughn is excellent as the burly boorish Englishman; and Susan George isn't bad: she begins weak, but by the middle of the film she's quite okay, and from the denoument mentioned above, she's fine. Also, David Warner as the half-witted cripple is excellent--though not given notice in the credits. Lastly, the story is fairly well formed and possibly plausible--though that's no recommendation for fiction! It is possible in realistic or naturalistic fiction that a university professor might get a grant and take a semester or even a year off to do research; and this professor might want to go to some remote European destination where his wife has ancestral property by the sea, to get away from it all to do his thought-work; and it is possible that this professor might have married the woman out of sexual attraction, fully knowing that she had much less education than himself and was his intellectual inferior. But the plot has a quasi-classical form of characters with flawed personality traits; tension and contentious issues; incident follows upon incident resulting in a shattering climax, followed by an ambivalent coda. What more can one say?

Another amazing masculine character study by Peckinpah.
It's not at all hard to see the connection between Peckinpah's two greatest movies: Straw Dogs and The Wild Bunch. Both are studies of what it means to be a man, a look at the masculine and sometimes violent male nature. Basically, Straw Dogs is about an extremely timid American intellectual who decides to escape the Vietnam-fueled violence of the USA by moving into the small English town where his wife was raised. However, the man soon realizes that violence is pretty much omnipresent, when the men he hires to fix up his new home begin pushing him and his wife around. I won't give away the ending, but if you know Peckinpah you can probably guess.

of course, most people will probably want to see the movie for its infamous rape scene (which got the film banned in the UK, where it was filmed). Not only is the rape graphic, but the victim actually appears to enjoy it; at least at first. Here I must disagree with the lengthy rant of a prior reviewer when I say that the rape scene is not simply an exercise in mysoginy, but rather helps to show just how immasculinated the main character has become. Throughout the first half of the movie we see his wife slowly flirting with the contractors (at one point even letting them see her topless). This suggests quite obviously that she has become so disgruntled with her husbands lack of backbone that she is actively seducing the very masculine contractors, and the fact that she enjoys the rape is simply the logical extreme of her desire to have a truly "manly" partner. Of course, those who've seen the movie know that eventually she's punished for her covetry of man's aggressive nature.

Overall, I highly recommend this movie. In fact, I'd suggest you get it ASAP, since the Criterion version has been out of print for months now and won't likely be available for much longer. You need a strong stomach to watch it, certainly, and the pace is very deliberate, but those who have patience and put effort into understanding the meaning of the film will be very well rewarded. ... Read more

Reviews (23)

How do you lose an American journalist in Chile?
Missing begins with journalist Charlie Hormon (played by John Shea) and his wife Beth (Sissy Spacek) spending time in Chile during the coup of 1973. Charlie wants to get the big scoop and although the streets are muddled with dead bodies and tanks, he feels quite safe, and consoles Beth with the line "They can't hurt us, we're Americans."

Needless to say Charlie turns up "Missing" and the majority of the film follows Beth and his father, Ed (Jack Lemmon), on a search for him. During their search Ed finds himself dumbfounded by the corruption and bureaucracy he constantly comes across, not only of the Chilean government but also surprisingly of the one he trusted most, the American government.

One may find this movie slow-moving if you don't really have too much background into the coup or are old-enough to remember some of the Cold War politics of the past. You don't get to know Charlie well enough through the script to really care that he's missing. These factors may add up to a dull movie for some viewers or it could motivate you to learn more. The film rewards every viewer with great acting performances and a cool soundtrack by Vangelis.

MISSING is left-wing propaganda? Not by a long shot!
Based on the true story of Charles Horman,a young American journalist who mysteriously vanished during Chile's 1973 coup and was later found dead, MISSING is an extremely well-constructed political drama--the first American film from Greek director Costa-Gavras (Z, STATE OF SIEGE).

John Shea portrays Charles Horman, who, while covering Chile with a friend (Melanie Mayron), disappears from view, causing his wife (Sissy Spacek) to ask for help from Shea's staunch "my country right or wrong" father Ed (Jack Lemmon). Lemmon openly disapproves of Shea's and Spacek's political views and staunchly supports the preservation of the American way of life. Unfortunately, his rose-colored view of his country slowly but surely come apart as he and Spacek, who are initially at considerable odds, unravel bit by bit important details. As one Chilean informant tells them, Shea disappeared because "he knew too much." He knew that thousands of innocent people were being murdered by the new Chilean government, a staunch right-wing one that ousted a far more Marxist regime led by Salvador Allende.

Eventually, MISSING comes to a point of increased sadness and anger, as Lemmon comes to realize that not only was Shea killed (in the national soccer stadium), but that his own government probably had a hand in doing it. The unfolding tragedy brings Lemmon and Spacek together in the end.

A very poignant and highly dramatic story, with a fine score by Vangelis, MISSING also boasts typically top-of-the-line performances by Lemmon and Spacek, who have never been anything less than watchable. The script by Costa-Gavras and Donald Stewart (the latter of whom would do the adaptations of three Tom Clancy novels in the 1990s), won a richly-deserved Oscar for adapted screenplay (from Thomas Hauser's similarly-titled novel).

As to the previous reviewer's attack on the film as left-wing propaganda, I honorably but strongly disagree with that notion.

The facts have shown that the U.S. government supported the coup against Allende only because he believed in communism, but the regime that came to power then systematically trampled over the basic human rights of its people. And here, it very well may have contributed to the death of a young American--and the U.S. government turned its back on that man! No government anywhere in the world, anti-communist or otherwise, is worth American support if it ignores human rights. THAT is the political arguement clearly at the heart of this excellent 1982 drama.

A MUST HAVE
Thought-provoking,shocking,and brave. As relevant today as it was when it first appeared in the early 1980's. The fact that this movie will most likely not be available outside the U.S. and Canada says a mouthful. There is no way you can walk away from this movie and not be disturbed.

Outrageous, unbelievable and true.
I have looked at the cover of this video many times and then put it down again-not being very interested in South American history. It just so happens that I'm taking a class in South American history (!) and we watched the film this week. If you want to know what a 'military coup' is...this film does an excellent job of illustrating just that. It is absolutely terrifying. And the fact that it was U.S. backed has simply outraged me. Richard Nixon's administration was so corrupt. Henry Kissinger had knowledge of this torture and allowed it to happen. I can understand why he's afraid to leave the country. He could easily be charged with war crimes against humanity. This is not an easy film to watch, but for over a decade, this is how Chile existed.

The Classic Search Theme
Yes, Costa-Gavras couldn't help putting his Leftist beliefs into this film, but to dismiss MISSING as mere propaganda for the Left is to miss the entire point of the movie. Beneath the thin political veneer is the classic theme of people searching for a loved one who is lost. There was John Wayne in THE SEARCHERS (nobody called that propaganda against Native Americans). Then there's Hitchcock's THE MAN WHO KNEW TOO MUCH where parents search for their kidnapped son. More recently, there was THE VANISHING (not the miserable American version--I mean the original French film).

So it is in this movie. Jack Lemmon and Sissy Spacek play the father and wife, respectively, of a young American man who vanishes off the face of the Earth during Chile's most violent uprising. They are an unlikely pair: Lemmon's character, Ed Hormon is a proud conservative American, whereas his daughter-in-law, Beth (Spacek) is a vaguley leftist hippie. However, their search for the missing Charlie, and their love for him, bring them together in almost typical Hollywood fashion. But the relationship is more complex. What saves the film from that two-dimensional Hollywood ending is that they are also brought together by the horror and very real fear of the violent chaos all around them. Each interrogation of witnesses, each visit to the local militia, each stop-over at the stuffed-to-the-windows morgues seem to quench a little more the sparks of hope and belief in their fellow man in their eyes.

I've always loved Jack Lemmon (God, I miss him!) in his brilliant comedies, but never cared for his serious roles (SAVE THE TIGER? Feh!). In MISSING, however, his performance is without flaw. Sissy Spacek delivers her reliable skills to this movie as well. See it.

Rocco Dormarunno, author of THE FIVE POINTS. ... Read more

Reviews (15)

Whatever Lola wants she gets!
The film version of Gwen Verdon and Bob Fosse's first success together. With Ray Walston as the devil and Verdon as his muse, Lola, this film can not fail to please. An excellent example of Fosse's early choreography. Unfortunately, its producers thought that they could cut "The Game", a wonderful song sung by the Senators. A must for any musical video collection

Hollywood's Hall of Famer: a Grand Slam!
Forget about carping reviews. If you like: musical comedies; baseball;Gwen Verdon; selling your soul to the Devil; great dancing; happy endings; ironic gambits reaffirming olde time(pre-PM) morality, DAMN YANKEES is grand slam hit.This film adaptation of Broadway's World championship rendering of "The Year The Yankees Lost the Pennant" is classic Americana(It's more like"The Devil & Daniel Webster" than Goethe's Enlightenment epic,"Faust"). Tab Hunter does a fine job as guileless, baseball-loving, middle-aged dreamer who sells his soul to Mr.Applegate (My Favorite Devil/Martian; "Paint Your Wagon" schemer,Ray Walston).

Star of the show is Gwen Verdon. She's the devil's 007-ette,LOLA with"license to get-down".Down and sassy-classy she bedazzlingly is,as she funks; punks;Bob Fosse's-n-weaves/"sleezes" her way on Applegate's satanic service to seduce Superstar Joe Hardy into "eternal contract".WHATEVER LOLA WANTS (ultimately)she doesn't get. Because...like the show's theme banners...YOU GOTTA HAVE HEART! In The Ninth,Verdon's not-so-wicked witch of the West(like this superbly entertaining; funny; full-of-good-will fun flick) has Valentine Heart to the max.If you're a Yankee fan (as lovers of baseball begrudingly become)catching a glance of baseball legend Mickey Mantle in the film is a nice touch recalling innocence in values that've been lost to the Real Applegate and cohorts.Being from Houston, I look forward to some Yankee greats pitching for us next year. Until then, DAMN ASTROS(er)YANKEES is a Hollywood Hall-of-Famer well worth checking-out and cheering on.

SONG LEFT OUT!!!
This movie has been one of my top 20 favorites for a long time. I first saw it on television in the mid sixties. The very first song that begins the movie during the opening credits is "Think About The Game". When the home video was released, this song, sung by the Senator's while Joe Hardy was busy with the Shifty McCoy trial, was, without explanation or reason, was stupidly left out of the video version. I feel cheated and wanted my money back. Can anyone tell me why?

Thank-you.

Good soul-searching musical.
This is another film which would probably be better rated if it wasn't so slavishly compared to its stage original. It does its job just fine, thank you, but you must remember that stage and film are two different media. In the conservative postwar 50's there was very little controversy shown (or allowed to be shown) in the film and TV media; a Faustian book made into a film musical probably scared the Hays moral office to death! That said, the Abbott-Donen collaboration does a more than competent job of telling the story, and scores an extra base hit retaining most of the Broadway cast of the show in the first place. I've read that the studio tried to lure Marilyn Monroe into playing the Lola role (and assuring box-office returns), but the producers were smart enough to know that the role needed a real dancer-actress combination. In short, it needed Gwen Verdon. It needed her special brand of eccentricity, sexiness, and heartbreak. And it got her. If you're still not convinced, take another look at the exquisite cafe' dance of "Two Lost Souls."

How Lola can he go?
Shoeless Joe from Hannibal, Mo is the mysterious "Joe Hardy" who makes a pact with the Devil to be young again and the greatest baseball wonder the Washington Senators have ever seen. His agreement comes with an "out" clause but hired temptress, "Lola" uses all of her most beguiling tricks in order to put the vamp on innocent Joe and keep him from short-changing the Devil of another hard-earned soul.

Gorgeous boy Tab Hunter plays the part of quiet, innocent and unpretentious Joe, an easy soul target for the Devil and his indebted temptress, played by Gwen Verdon. Although the singing was slightly less than what it could have been, the dance parts were terrific.

Unfortunately, this famous Broadway show was placed before a movie camera and little was done to take it from the ranks of the contrived enthusiasm of a play to the artful poise of a feature film. The scripts made for stiff dialogue and the sets were composed as they would have been on a fixed stage. What could have made for a very entertaining musical became a stage play adapted by convenience with no consideration for creative filming. ... Read more

Description

A mad scientist attempts to drive his captive, Mike Nelson, insane by forcing him to watch B-Movies. This episode's feature is "The Wild World of Batwoman" (1966, 70min.) - Batwoman struggles to help her recover a mad scientist's invention, an atomic bomb hearing aid, before the evil villian, Rat Fink, can use it for his own personal agenda. ... Read more

Reviews (45)

Laughing out loud
Ever notice that you don't really laugh out loud when you're alone? Well, while sitting on the couch alone on a Sunday afternoon, this movie made me laugh until I hurt. Give the MST3K folks a movie with no plot and horrible acting and they'll turn it into on of the funniest things you've ever seen.

The (supposed) plot: scientist builds atomic hearing aid - Rat Fink and his agents steal it - Batwoman and her clan of scantily clad Batgirls save the day. Trashy? Yes. Awful? Yes. Entertaining? Absolutely.

Coupled with the "Cheating" short, this is one of the best episodes of MST3K I've seen. The typically unpredictable combination of obscure cultural references and Ye Olde Scatological Humour can cater to all of your comic sensibilities and leave you exhausted and begging for more.

"You're Speaking in Chinese Again!"
This is the original uncut version of 'The Wild, Wild World of Batwoman', as director Jerry Warren wanted it seen. The world was not ready for it when it was made and it still isn't. Most people know this film from Mystery Science Theatre 3000, where it was one of their most diabolical experiments ever. This is the un-MST version, so you are on your own. Good luck.

This is one of my favorite MST episodes because this movie is so unbelievably bad. Rarely has a film been so badly conceptualized, scripted, acted and directed. For lack of viability, I think that the only movie to top this is Warren's own "Frankenstein Island", where Katherine Victor plays Shelia Frankenstein. Here she plays Batwoman. Batwoman and her Batgirls spend the movie fighting crime against a dizzying array of bad guys (including the Mole People) but in the end are able to save the atomic powered hearing aid and, thus, civilization. If this sounds like a mess, that's not the half of it. This movie must be seen to be appreciated.

Five stars for staggering ineptitude on the part of every single person involved with this film. It is a work of grade Z genius!

Terrible - in a good way!
It is a testament to the immense talent of the Mystery Science Theater folk that they managed to turn such a horrible piece of rubbish as "The Wild World of Batwoman," into an uproarious comedy, worthy of being watched over and over and over again.

The plot is simple. I think. If there is a plot. Whatever it was supposed to be, it seems to involve a hearing aid (a "very large and ungainly hearing aid," to quote Crow), a mad scientist, a middle-aged woman in an uncomfortably revealing costume (and her cult of scantily-clad "batgirls"), monsters, cobalt, soup, guns, and dancing. The whole mess is bewilderingly incoherent, and at the film's climax (was there even a climax?) Mike expresses the audience's frustration by begging for an explanation - "What about the hearing aid?! Am I crazy? Wasn't that the PLOT?!" During the final scene of the movie, Tom loses it altogether, screaming "END!! END!!"

The movie is preceeded by a preachy short on the evils of cheating, which leads to some cheating-related friction in the Satellite of Love. Luckily, all is worked out in the end, with the help of Hostess Snowballs.

If only Batwoman had had some Hostess Snowballs, perhaps things would have made sense in her world, too. One can only wonder.

Buy this tape!

"Looks like Casual Day at Control Data"
Zounds -- the sight of our zoftig hero is enough to make even Luke Skywalker go over to the Dark Side. One of the most deliciously bad movies EVER, and Mike and the 'bots give it the full treatment it deserves. Store these images away for future nighmares: The wild scene with everyone swinging on ropes, while the soundtrack reverberates with "Ellie Mae goes to the see-ment pond"; Count how many times the Norm Crosby lookalike says "little doll,"; and finally Batwoman playing the organ (where's Al Lewis when you need him?) in her "hideout" that looks like part of Levittown. Who knew that drugs were such a problem in Hollywood, so early on? Don't try to figure it out - just let the wave roll over you and swim with it.

Where do they FIND this stuff??
This is one of my favorite MST3000 episodes, a true feast for bad-movie fans. It features not one, but two bizarre films to be spoofed. The first, an oh-so-earnest fifties-era industrial black & white short on "cheating," contains some of the worst performances I have seen in a long time. The director tried to make his film look surreal and Bergmannesque, a delusion of grandeur that results in some very funny comments from the MST3K team. The robot interludes, typically the least funny parts of an episode, here play off the short and deliver some great comedic interplay.

The second film and main attraction, "The Wild World of Batwoman," is almost incomprehensibly bad. This is the kind of film that could only have been made in the 1960s. You keep asking yourself, was this intended to be hilariously weird, or was the director simply on a par with, say, Ed Wood? Batwoman herself looks ridiculous, with a lumpy frumpy shock of a haircut, a cheap black mask and a bat tattooed right above her pulchitrudinous cleavage. She bears no resemblance whatsoever to a DC comics character. Her "bat-girls," decked out in bikinis for most of the film, spend most of their time either go-go dancing or obsessively reciting chapter and verse of the arcane bat-regulations.

The director's obsession with food is worthy of a Jan Svankmajer film. In the beginning, the girls force a newbie to drink what is supposed to look like blood, later explaining that it is only a synthetic substitute. Later on, there is a plot about drugged soup that makes people dance compulsively. Some of the scenes are so bizarre (but politically incorrect) that they would have been funny even without the MST3K commments...a seance interrupted by a disembodied voice screaming in ersatz Chinese, or the villains donning disguises that look like something out of Yiddish theater.

One of the characters, who looks something like Martin Mull, sits motionless for about five minutes during an interminably stupid and boring scene. When we later discover his dark secret, which puts him on a par with Robin Williams in "One Hour Photo," the moment is so badly bungled that we can only sigh and go on to the next absurdity.

If you are a MST3K fan, this one is for you. If you are not, give it a try. ... Read more

Reviews (46)

Digging Bear's Review
A masterpiece of American cinema, pure and simple. There is no person before or since that has portrayed General George Armstrong Custer better than Richard Mulligan in this film. Dustin Hoffman gives a truly wonderful performance as Jack Crabb all the way from boyhood to an aged man of one hundred and twenty one years old. The makeup done on Mr. Hoffman for the old man scenes is incredible. You can hardly tell that it's Dustin Hoffman under it. All the Indian actors are real American Indians and the movie is so much the better for it. The man playing Little Big Man's father, who is a fine actor seen in many a western movie, should have been nominated for an Oscar for this as I do believe Richard Mulligan was. The movie can seem long at some points but as soon as you would begin to notice you yanked quickly back into another engaging predicament Mr. Crabb has gotten himself in. One of my favorites is when he becomes a gun slinger with the outragous outfit to go along with the attitude. But when he meets up with Wild Bill Hickock and sees his first dead man, he quickly changes profession. The climax of Little Big Man is probably one of greatest moments in cinema. Jack Crabb is an Indian scout for General Custer at the Battle of the Little Big Horn. It does not get any better and is a must see.

Oh, and Faye Dunaway gives an erotic seduction performance that gives me goose pimples every time I see it.

Terrific film adaptation of Thomas Berger's novel
Just a few years after success in The Graduate, Dustin Hoffman continued his identification as the Everyman of modern youth in this delightfully rambling, mordant, and affecting picaresque set in the American frontier. Hits all the right notes perfectly in its representation of the contrary and conflicting moods of a person awkwardly attempting to makes sense of the world and find a place in it. Enjoyable in its own right as a marvelous piece of movie story-telling, the film yields greater meaning when viewed with appreciation for the conflicts of the late 60's: the war in Vietnam, the generation gap, Native American and other groups' struggle for freedom and respect. Chief Dan George turns in a magnificent performance as Cheyenne tribal leader Old Lodge Skins, Hoffman's adoptive "grandfather" and the film's spiritual centerpoint. I've watched this movie several times and always come away moved by the beautifully poignant ending with Grandfather and Little Big Man on the mountaintop. You'll want to view this film again and again.

ehhh
I've read the book, so I'm definitly biased, but I'd like to think that even if I hadn't read the book I wouldn't like this movie. It gets two stars for Dustin Hoffman and his Indian wife, who was really hot.

"I wasn't just playin' Indian - I was livin' Indian!"
Little Big Man is framed as a retrospective narration by Jack Crabb, who at age 120-plus, is the oldest living survivor of Custer's last stand at Little Big Horn, and in the 1960's (?) is being interviewed by a newspaper writer.

As kids, Jack and sister Caroline are the only survivors of an Indian attack, and they are taken to an Indian village and meet "Old Lodge Skins", the chief. Caroline expects to be raped later (and is somewhat disappointed when she is not) and rides away at night. The Cheyenne ("human beings") adopt Jack. Due to his small stature, Jack is named "Little Big Man" after he saves Younger Bear from a Pawnee attack.

In a battle againt the cavalry, just before he is about to be killed, Jack ID's himself as a white man, and is put in the care of Reverend Pendrake, whose wife (Faye Dunaway) takes an interest in Jack. He is taught to to read and write, and takes up religion with Mrs. Pendrake. After he finds Mrs. Pendrake and a soda-shop man in bed, that ends his religion phase.

Jack takes up with Mr. Meriwether, a con-man, and ends up getting tarred and feathered by a group lead by his own sister. Jack moves in with Caroline and she teaches him to shoot ("Go snake-eyed"). Jack becomes a flashy gun-fighter known as the Soda Pop Kid after his drink of choice. He meets Wild Bill Hickok ("Might I ask who I are addressin'?") but gives up gunfighting after Hickok kills a man in a bar. Caroline disowns him, so Jack gets a partner, becomes a store owner, and marries Olga, a large Swedish woman. Jack's partner is a crook, and he goes bankrupt.

General Custer is passing by, takes pity on Jack and advises him to "go west" with his personal guarantee of safety - cut to Indians raiding a stage coach and riding off with Olga. Jack looks for her unsuccessfully, and heads deeper into Cheyenne country, where he is ambushed. He convinces the Indians of his identity, and returns to their camp. He tells Old Lodge Skins about Custer.

Jack rides off, and joins up with Custer to be a scout to find his wife. Custer is snobby and gives him a job as "mule-skinner". He rides in a massacre against an Indian village which he tries to stop, then escapes himself. He meets "Sunshine" as she is about to give birth in the bushes, and returns to the Indians with her. Old Lodge Skins is now blind from a wound. Jack stays with Sunshine and she hooks him up with her 3 sisters, so he now has 4 wives as Old Lodge Skins once predicted. It turns out his competitive Indian arch-enemy has married Olga.

After birth of a son, the Indians are attacked and Sunshine and the baby are killed. Custer orders Jack hanged, but Jack identifies himself and talks his way out of it. Later at camp, Jack has the opportunity to kill Custer but chickens out. Custer insults him and Jack goes back to the white man as a common drunk. He meets Hickok again and learns Hickok was seeing Mrs. Pendrake, now a widow and prostitute. Hickok gives some money to Jack to give to the widow for a train ticket, then is shot and killed. Mrs. Pendrake flirts with Jack, but Jack just puts Hickok's money on her stomach and leaves.

Jack becomes a drunk again, and sees Meriwether (now with a hook and peg-leg) and does not join him in buffalo hunting. He has reached his low-point, and goes into the wilderness to become a hermit. He sees an animal's gnawed off foot in a trap and "snaps". He goes to a cliff to commit suicide, but hears the passing cavalry.

He decides to "meet the devil head on", and joins Custer again. Custer wants to use him as a "perfect reverse barometer" to out-fox the Indians. He asks Jack's advice on a proposed attack, which results in Custer's famous last stand at Little Big Horn.

Jack rejoins the Indians. Old Lodge Skins gives a moving speech, and goes to the hilltop to die. The narration leads us back to the present as old Jack Crabb winds up his story.

Originally R-Rated, the movie was re-rated PG-13, for violence and some sexual situations. The movie runs 138:35 minutes not counting end credits (listed as 139 on DVD, 147 at IMDB). I know they've cut the part of sleeping with the three extra wives when shown on TV.

Spectacular cinematography including the snow-covered great plains. Nice harmonica/guitar-based score. Excellent acting by all, and direction by Arthur Penn. Richard Mulligan as Custer is one of the best characters on film. Some of the movie dealing with the massacre of the Indians is truly sad, but the movie also contains a lot of ironic humor. Movies don't get better than this. DVD has widescreen movie, setup/subtitle options, and chapters.

In a year of Oscar insanity, Little Big Man had one nomination - Supporting actor for Chief Dan George - and "Airport" gets 10 nominations and wins a couple. Obvious a reflection of the political problems of the times.

"Sometimes grass don't grow, wind don't blow, and the sky ain't blue"

Timeless Film
Little Big Man is one of my all time favorite movies fro many reasons. Dustin Hoffman gives what I believe to be his greatest performance as Jack Crabb. His range here is incredible as he portrays a man torn between two cultures and his life weaves back and forth between the white world and the indian world in which he was raised. His performance is funny when appropriate and yet filled with pathos and emotion when the necessary. An absolute masterful job of acting.
The Cheyenne scenes are moving and Ghief Dan george who plays Crabb's adoptive grandfather provides the film with gravity as he consistently demnonstrates wisdom and dignity despite the increasingly difficult circumstances that his tribe finds themselves in.
I don't know the actor's name who plays Custer but he provides just the right amount of comic bravado to make Custer seem to be a pathetic character who's hubris led to his troops demise. While this may or may not be an historically acurate portrayal it certainly fits the mood of the film.
Other famous western personalities such as Wild Bill Hickock are included in the story as Jack Crabb's life zig-zags it's way through the west. A fabulous ride and a very memorable film to be enjoyed again and again. ... Read more

Reviews (96)

Like Coors Dirty Harry's an Original
It was a great idea taking the soft deliberate speaking, Western King, Clint Eastwood and placing him in society as San Francisco police inspector Harry Callahan. Harry is a maverick cop fighting bank robberies, handling suicides and finally chasing a crazed killer known as Scorpio. The only thing we can determine that really drives Callahan besides Good vs Evil is that his wife was killed by an alleged drunk driver. It's the pre prozac and therapist era and Callahans controlled rage is only adressed through the mishaps of his villanous prey and his by the book department. In a sense this movie is timeless as hostage situations still affect our urban areas but with this cutting edge cinematic view we become somewhat disconcerted by our own laws and policies. The line made popular here DO YOU FEEL LUCKY? will last forever. Villan Andrew Robinson is still working today as he did a great job making us hate him in 1971. Four sequels follow this one Magnum Force 1973, The Enforcer 1976, Sudden Impact 1982 and The Dead Pool 1988. All worth watching but you can flip flop Dirty Harry and Magnum Force as the best of the bunch!

It'll blow you away
"Dirty Harry" made Clint Eastwood a star. Yes, there was the Italian westerns that made him famous, but this is the one that made him an American icon. Harry Callahan is the man every man wants to be.
The story is that a roof top sniper is killing the citizens of San Francisco. He is a cold, vicious murderer who wants a huge ransom to stop. Harry Callahan is the cop assigned to the case. Harry is a loner, he's the type to shoot first (with his massive, now infamous, Smith and Wesson .44 Magnum) and ask questions later. At first he goes along with police procedure, until the killer starts a new MO. When Harry tries to arrest him, he violate some of the killer's civil rights, and then is released. Harry begins stalking him as the killer is now trolling for new victoms.
This movie is not a mystery, it is more about social issues. Some people say the movie is dated. Maybe, maybe not. I think that rights of the accused are still highly sensitive issue today. Dirty Harry just did what any one of us in those extraordinary circumstances would have done.
On top everything it is an excellent action thriller. The pace is tight and it is just great to see someone just doing what's right, not nessesarily what's leagle.

CONSERVATIVE VIEWPOINT
This movie is about conservatives and how they must battle against the oppressive forces of communism. It was written by the greatest screenwriter and director ever, because he is a conservative.

This movie makes me wonder if somebody saw a screenplay I wrote a few years ago and stole my idea. It was called "A Savage Campaign." In it, a politician and a murder take care of the daughter, whose wife finds out about the plan. The democratic senator is corrupt and goes to the KKK. When the plot is revealed, it is finally stopped by Barry Bonds, who I consider to be baseball's Superman. When I pitched this idea to many Hollywood executives they thought it sounded great, but they wanted me to change the democrat to a republican.

All men yearn to be free.

This movie is about how the system does not care for law and justice. But the American people do. God bless you all.

'GOD'S LONELY MAN."
John Milius is the greatest screenwriter you never heard of, not to mention a terrific director. He describes the "Dirty Harry" Callahan character as "God's lonely man." Milius is that rarest of rarities, a Hollywood conservative. He herein wrote a film for the Republican Clint Eastwood that spoke to the hopes and fears of an America yearning for justice, law'n'order in a world dominated by overarching liberalism in the 1960s and '70s.

Picture America at that time: Vietnam, the streets and campuses exploding in riot, and a new social ethos that was willing to blame a racist white establishment for the crimes of this nation's increasing population of criminals.

In the 1960s, the Supreme Court became activist to the hilt. The most obvious of these cases was the famous Miranda ruling from Arizona, in which a criminal was allowed to go free because he had not understood his rights, not understanding the English language spoken by the arresting officer. His subsequent confessions were thrown out. The Court spoke of the "forbiddeen fruit" of evidence gathered by overzealous officers who "failed" to inform criminals that they were being searched just before they discovered their weapons, their drugs, their evidence. A police officer who found evidence of crimes was unable to make the case unless he had probable cause ahead of time to find the evidence.

In "Dirty Harry", a character (Andy Robinson) based on the never-caught Zodiak killer who terrorized the San Francisco Bay Area at that time, goes on a murder rampage. Eastwood catches him at Kezar Stadoium. A little girl is lying in a hole some place. She has a limited amount of air left. Eastwood knows the guy did it. We know it. God knows it. The scene is worth watching in light of Abu Ghraib and the concept of the "ticking time bomb" theory of interrogation that the terror era has brought upon us.

Eastwood knows that if the man is arrested and booked, he will not talk, hiding behind a lawyer, and that the girl will suffocate. He applies a little bit of torture to Robinson, the Scorpio killer. What he wants is to know where the little girl is, so she can be saved. Scorpio wines about having rights and wanting a lawyer. Eastwood extracts the information from him. The girl, however, has died before she can be found by the cops.

Eastwood is confronted by the D.A., who tells him not only that the killer had rights, but that he will walk as soon as he is healthy, and he has brought in a Berkeley professor to detail to Clint how he violated the criminal's rights and, in essence, is worse than the Scorpio killer.

The end? We've all seen it a million times on TBS's "Movies For Guys Who Like Movies." Eastwood gets his man. He receives zero gratitude from the authorities. Millions of ordinary American citizens appreciated him in theatres and TVs since then, however.

STEVEN TRAVERS
AUTHOR OF "BARRY BONDS: BASEBALL'S SUPERMAN"

STWRITES@AOL.COM

BEST ACTION MOVIE OF ALL TIME!
IN THE ONE THAT STARTED EVERYTHING, ''DIRTY'' HARRY CALLAHAN [CLINT EASTWOOD] GOES AFTER A SERIAL KILLER [ANDREW ROBINSON]. STILL THE BEST OF THE DIRTY HARRY SERIES. HAS A SUSPENSEFUL PLOT, TOP OF THE LINE ACTION, EXTREMELY CLEVER PACING AND IT HAS A NOT-TO-MISS FINALE. EVERY COP MOVIE THAT CAME OUT AFTER THIS EITHER TRYED TO COPY ITS PLOT OR ITS MAIN CHARACTER. THIS IS ARGUABLY CLINT EASTWOOD'S GREATEST MOVIE EVER. I DON'T CARE WHO YOU ARE, EVEN IF YOU'RE NOT A FAN OF CLINT EASTWOOD, OR EVEN IF YOU'RE NOT A FAN OF ACTION MOVIES, YOU NEED TO MOST DEFINITELY SEE THIS IF YOU STILL HAVEN'T SEEN IT BY NOW. A TREAT FOR ALL. FOLLOWED BY FOUR SEQUELS, BEGINNING WITH MAGNUM FORCE. ... Read more

Reviews (68)

Marilyn's the blonde most gentleman prefer
Not a work of art, but alot of fun, Gentleman Prefer Blondes is one of those movies that is great to curl up with on a rainy day. A comedy with lots of song and dance numbers that show off Marilyn Monroe & Jane Russell to best effect, it is the story of two nightclub performers from Little Rock who set out to snag themselves millionaire husbands. Loralei & Dorothy set sail for France, and become embroiled in on-board hi-jinx, Loralei using her abundant charms to try and entice a rich industrialist to part with his diamonds, and Dorothy dueling with the private detective hired by Loralei's fiancee to keep an eye on her. The usual mishaps ensue, and it all ends happy as would be expected, so don't expect a brain workout, but it is an enjoyable vehicle for the two stars, with lavish costuming and sets all in glorious 1950's colour; and Marilyn & Jane bounce off each other well, getting some witty lines that send up both themselves as sex symbols, and also the maneaters they portray. And of course, there's that classic Monroe moment - the "Diamonds are a Girl's Best Friend" number, which shows Marilyn at her glamourous, iconically beautiful best. Everyone should see that number at least once, and for Monroe fans, Blondes is an interesting example of the dumb blonde roles the studios would have liked to keep her in forever. It's not to everyone's taste - those who don't appreciate Marilyn often find it a bit embarrassing, but perhaps an interest piece for you to try on your own one afternoon if you're curious.

A KISS ON THE HAND.....
An absolute gaudy delight. This wonderful glittering gem of a movie is a Technicolor showcase for the eye-filling talents of Jane Russell and Marilyn Monroe as showgirls on the prowl aboard a luxury liner and later in Paris. Based on Anita Loos' story and play, the two ladies work well together and each have showstopping musical numbers---Marilyn's "Diamonds Are A Girl's Best Friend" which is now legendary, and Russell's "Ain't There Anyone Here for Love" done around the ship's pool with the "Olympic Drill Team" as background eye candy. They're working out on various equipment and clad in tight flesh colored skimpy shorts that give added lustre to the phrase "Beefcake". How this got past the censors is anybody's guess since it's so homoerotic. Maybe they were too busy keeping an eye on Jane. Anyway, you can't go wrong with this classic. There's not a dull moment to be found. Charles Coburn is a delight as an old rapscallion Monroe takes a liking to because of his diamond mine and a tiara that belongs to his wife that she cons him out of. He's so smitten with her that he's utterly charming. Monroe and Russell are a formidable duo and the film is completely delightful from start to finish. The costumes by Travilla are stunning as well. A must for Monroe and Russell fans. They should have been teamed again. And it's gorgeous on DVD.

Superb production.
Even tough I'm a huge music and film lover. Marilyn Monroe never called my attention and the first time that I saw one of her movies was in 2002 when I saw "How to marry a millionaire" and found it very good and funny. So from that point I started to buy some of her movies. From all her movies my favorites are "How to marry a millionaire" and "Gentlemen prefer blondes".
This movie is fresh and funny. You may think that films from the 50's are boring and well sometimes they are but this movie has that classic effect that makes it remain "young".
The story is about two hot dancers (Marilyn Monroe and Jane Russell) that are searching love and money and well Marilyn is desperated also for diamonds.
So on one trip to France by ship they get involved in some problems with men and a diamond tiara.
The movie contains several musical numbers including the classic song "Diamonds are a girl's best friend".

That's Entertainment!
World weary after watching Ted Koppel's reading of the names of all the U. S. soldiers who have died in Iraq-- at least those we have the names of-- I needed a little Christmas in May and found it by watching again this little cotton candy movie. Based on the work by Anita Loos, directed by Howard Hawks and starring Mariyn Monroe and Jane Russell, GENTLEMAN PREFER BLONDES was just what the doctor ordered. With great musical numbers, hooty costumes-- particularly those of Ms. Russell-- and a plot as silly and inane as is humanly possible-- can anyone be so dumb as to think that a diamond tiara goes around her neck-- the film will convince you, if only temporarily, that the world is not going to hell tomorrow in a wheelbarrow. It's interesting to see how much movies got away with in the oppressive 50's as evidenced in the quite sexy number with Ms. Russell and the scantily clad males from the U. S. Olympic Team, her fellow travelers on the boat trip to Paris.

Ms. Russell is no slouch as a comedic actress and gets off some good one-liners here. And Ms. Monroe, though often imitated, will never be equalled for what she was, the epitome of the blonde bombshell. This movie is now over 50 years old and will remain a classic.

Fav
This is my favorite of Marilyn's films. I don't love it just for marilyn as Im a bigger Jane Russell fan and originally got into this film because Jane is in it. But I also like marilyn and find this one of my personal favorites she did. It is a fun film with dazzling cinematography. I love the songs and the whole feel of the film. A MUST buy for any fan of Marilyn or Jane. ... Read more

Amazon.com

David Lynch's 1990 Wild at Heart is an utterly random and ugly experience with pockets of startling imagery and inspired set pieces. Based on a Barry Gifford novel, the film stars Nicolas Cage and Laura Dern as lovers on the lam whose relationship is tested and who meet some truly dangerous wackos (includin