Description

Based on the true story of the hunt for the most savage and elusive serial killer on record. It started with eight bodies found murdered, raped and mutilated. A brilliant Soviet forensics expert (Stephen Rae) is put in charge of the case by his colonel (Donald Sutherland). But the investigation is buried under government red tape until a psychiatrist (Max von Sydow) is called in to create a psychological profile of the murder. With fifty-two victims to his name, the killer they call Citizen X finally takes shape before their eyes. But can they trap him before he kills again? ... Read more

Reviews (42)

The best "made-for-TV" movie I have seen
Steven Rea is outstanding in his portrayal of a police forensic specialist who must piece together the clues as well as fight a system unwilling to admit it's own shortcomings. His ability to convey the complex emotions of his character through facial expression rather than dialogue is reason enough to watch the movie. A cameo by Max von Sydow as a psychologist willing to brave the criticism of his contemporaries in an attempt to develop an M.O. for the killer is most notable for it's keen insight into the mind of a serial madman.

Donald Sutherland is actually quite entertaining as a communist aparatchik colonel who goes full circle with the changing climate. Jeffrey DeMunn, who has many supporting roles to his credit, is remarkable as the unassuming and pitiful murderer who manages to inspire revulsion as well as sympathy.

Not action packed by today's standards; however, an excellent psychological thriller with deep and thought provoking glimpses behind an "Iron Curtain" few of us ever really understood. Had it been released in theaters rather than on HBO, it surely would have received praise akin to other notables such as "Silence of the Lambs." The story strictly focuses on character development. In allowing viewers the unique luxury of using their imaginations, it does not offend by relying on eye-candy and shock effects. It simply tells an interesting story.

I couldn't wait for this one to come out on DVD!

Very good movie, but...
I saw the movie some time ago and thought it was very well done. I have since seen it 3 or 4 times and still consider it to be a superior film. However, I have since read the book upon which the film was based - 'The Killer Department' by Robert Cullen. As is often the case it bears little resemblance to the film. Colonel Fetisov (played by Donald Sutherland) was working on the first murders 6 months before the detective Burakov (Stephen Rea) came on the scene. The psychiatrist, Bukhanovsky (Max Von Sydow), was involved very early on in the investigation. There is great emphasis placed in the film on the role of the bureaucracy but this was not really the case at all. There was nothing in the film about the trial (which took 6 months) with Chikatilo putting on a performance. Despite all that I would still recommend this movie as one of the best of the genre.

"A Man Is What He Fights For" - Soviet Search For Citizen X
From Robert Cullen's true crime novel, "The Killer Department" comes HBO Studio's "Citizen X". Originally cablecast on HBO February 25, 1995, Donald Sutherland won the Golden Globe for Supporting Role Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture Made for TV in 1996 and also the Emmy for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Special in 1995.

Based on the true story of the eight year long manhunt in communist Soviet Union (1982 - 1990) for one of the most savage and elusive serial killers on record - Andrei Chikatilo (a chilling Jeffrey DeMunn).

The story starts out with newbie forensic pathologist, Viktor Burakov (a great Stephen Rea), and his first cadaver that comes into the morgue. A quick nightime search of the wooded area where the body was found is completed with eight MORE bodies found in varying degrees of decomposition and desication. All are children, boys and girls alike and have been murdered, raped and mutilated in some very odd ways.

Viktor, somehow, is put in charge of the WHOLE blessed case by Colonel Mikhail Fetisov (Donald Sutherland). With Viktor now being forensic expert, detective, and case cracker extraordinaire, he is more than a little wary of his own capabilites and feels like the only man who cares about these horrific murders that are taking place.

The investigation continues on for many years with many murders being committed over time because the case is being buried under the communist parties' government red tape and "poo pooing" by the Colonel's superior and sinister leader, Bondarchuk (Joss Ackland).

Thankfully and finally the cold war hits and Viktor is given permission to bring in a psychiatrist, Dr. Alexandr Bukhanovsky (Max von Sydow) to create a psychological profile of the serial rapist and murder. Not only is this the first case of serial murder in the USSR but the first to employ psychological profiles, US FBI tactics, and dissemination of the crimes to the general populus.

With fifty-two victims to his name, the killer they deem "Citizen X" finally takes shape right before their eyes... Watch this doozy of a true crime story and see if they "KATCH THEIR KILLER"!

All of the performances are top-notch with only a bit of the Russian accents faltering a bit, even in Sutherland's double award-winning portrayal. Rea, DeMunn, and von Sydow also deserved awards for their truly engrossing performances.

If you like true crime or the Hannibal stories, you are sure to enjoy this film!

Happy Watching and Don't Talk To "Strangers On The Train"...

Incredible
HBO has put out some very good and respectable original movies over the years. Supergun, Path to War to name a few. But this movie that chronicles Russian serial killer Andres Chikatilo's murder spree is without question the finest movie that HBO has ever made. Sydow is the movie's standout....his performances are stunning throughout. Sutherland also deserves special mention.

Lets be absolutely clear about this.....this is an ADULTS ONLY movie....it has much disturbing content. Put the kids to bed.....and be prepared for a chilling yet unforgettable movie.

Shocking, absolutely shocking
Ted Bundy. Jeffrey Dahmer. Andrei Chikatilo. Andrei Chikatilo? While the first two names are instantly recognizable, that last one raises shoulders. He belongs with the likes of Bundy, however, because Andrei Chikatilo was one of the most fearsome serial killers the modern world has ever seen. His murderous rampages took place in the former Soviet Union during the 1970s and 1980s, during a time when the hammer and sickle flew proudly over the Kremlin, Russian troops invaded Afghanistan, and Jimmy Carter boycotted the Olympics. He preyed on children riding trains, killing over fifty of them before the authorities finally brought him to justice. Chikatilo's trial, which took place after the fall of communism, saw the monster secured in a large cage in the courtroom as the parents of the victims wept, fainted, and hurled invectives at the seemingly mild mannered man. They had a good reason to be angry. For years, Chikatilo killed with impunity within a system that termed serial killers a "decadent western phenomenon," a system that continually ignored, mismanaged, and outright lied about the horrors unfolding in the forests around Rostov, the city where Chikatilo lived and practiced his abhorrent activities. Fortunately, the court found Andrei Chikatilo guilty of mass murder and imposed a sentence of capital punishment. Thanks to Russian prison authorities, Chikatilo has since exited this mortal coil.

"Citizen X" is more than the story of Andrei Chikatilo, a marvelously acted, written, and directed tale that succeeds because it goes beyond the story of a killer to tell a truth about communism and the former Soviet Union. The story begins when a local cop brings in a body to the office of the new forensic pathologist in Rostov, Viktor Burakov (Stephen Rea). When the doctor tells the cop to head back out and look for evidence, more bodies start pouring into the office. Obviously, the authorities have a problem on their hands. But in Soviet Russia, the police can't do anything without attending seeking permission from committees made up of local military officers, KGB, and party apparatchiks. Burakov goes in front of this body to report his findings and request funds to buy the necessary equipment to launch an investigation. He mistakenly mentions "serial killer" in the process, which outrages Bondarchuk (Joss Ackland), the local representative of the communist party. He denies a serial killer could ever arise in the people's paradise, labeling it a "decadent western phenomenon." Other members of the panel attribute the crimes to gypsies or other "social undesirables." Only one man, Colonel Mikhail Fetisov (Donald Sutherland), is willing to listen to Burakov's claims-and even then only outside the conference room. Fetisov knows how the bureaucracy works whereas Burakov doesn't. The efforts to catch the killer while dealing with red tape forms the critical link that eventually unites the two men.

Meanwhile, the killings continue. We learn that one Andrei Chikatilo (Jeffrey DeMunn), a disgruntled factory worker with serious inadequacy issues, takes his frustrations out on the wayward children who spend their days riding the trains. By preying on kids ignored by society, Chikatilo can and has escaped detection for years. He escapes his fate for a few more years despite efforts by Burakov to detain him. It turns out Chikatilo is a member of the communist party and thus immune from the normal procedures involved in a criminal case. Bondarchuk orders Burakov to release Chikatilo, thus allowing the killer to commit crimes for several more years. When the Soviet Union finally collapses in the early 1990s, Fetisov finally gains the power needed to launch a massive investigation. The investigators once again detain Chikatilo, but this time they bring in a psychologist by the name of Bukhanovsky (Max von Sydow) to conduct the interrogation. The film's conclusion shows us exactly what happened to Andrei Chikatilo after Fetisov, Burakov, and Bukhanovsky cracked the case. You'll get a measure of satisfaction watching the end of this film.

"Citizen X" is a made for HBO film that should have played in the theaters. Everything works in the movie. The acting is superb, with special mention going to Rea, Sutherland, Ackland, and von Sydow. The Burakov character as played by Stephen Rea captures perfectly the years of personal pathos an investigator undergoes during a murder investigation, as well as the futility of knocking one's head against the rigid communist party system. Sutherland, too, gives the movie a measure of dignity. His character at first comes off as hardhearted, but as the plot progresses we discover he too wants more than anything to catch this killer. Sutherland and Rea possess great chemistry that shows every time the two are on screen together. Ackland as the dogmatic communist with a secret of his own is a great addition to the cast. Von Sydow steals every scene he's in; my favorite part of the film happens when Bukhanovsky and Chikatilo are talking during the interrogation and the killer finally breaks down. The look von Sydow's character casts towards the two-way glass is brilliant in the way it conveys a whole host of emotions in the space of a single second. DeMunn too is fantastic. Actually, all the performances achieve a level of greatness rarely seen in a non-theatrical production.

Beware as you watch "Citizen X." The scenes of violence involving Chikatilo and some of his victims are extremely tough to watch. They even made this horror film fan cringe. As for the DVD, you don't get much other than some cast and crew biographies. Still, you won't miss extras that much with this movie. "Citizen X" may well be one of the best movies made about how the authorities track down a serial killer. For a fine viewing experience, give this one a watch soon. ... Read more

Amazon.com

A pilot crash-lands in the Sahara desert, and is surprised to meet a tiny prince with a sword... but who doesn't know the story of the beloved book by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry? The slim philosophical classic has delighted millions, and the 1974 musical of the book has its own charms. Scored by the estimable team of Alan Jay Lerner and Frederick Loewe and directed by Stanley Donen, this is a tuneful piece of whimsy that's better in moments than it is overall. Two guest appearances energize the second half:Gene Wilder as a lonely fox, and the superbly slinky Bob Fosse as a salacious snake (Fosse choreographed his own number, a welcome touch of Cabaret amidst the whimsy). Some of the book's slight observations don't translate well to the literalness of the screen, but that won't matter to kids, who should be hooked from the very first "Draw me a sheep." --Robert Horton ... Read more

Reviews (25)

Just Lovely
This 1974 version of The Little Prince will absolutely touch your soul! The actor who plays the little prince is remarkable and the dearest looking child you have ever seen (and heard - he has an adorable English accent). I really was drawn to this movie as well as to the book. After seeing it for the first time in the early 1990s, I kept thinking about it years later. I recently watched it again and had the same reaction - just lovely.

I wish I could meet that little prince.

The Best Coming of Age Film I've Ever Seen!
Yes, I admit, it's nowhere near as good as the book, but it's a great satire that shows the difference between how adults think and how children think. I liked the songs and I know you don't see people walking around singing them like you do for the Sound of Music, but you don't see them singing Willy Wonka songs either, and this is just like it. The actor who plays the Little Prince is superb (although hard to understand at times).

If you're reading this now, then you've probably already seen it. I want to tell everybody that this movie exists and how good it is for a rainy ay if nothing else. And hey, isn't it due for a 25th anniversary rerealease?

The Book is Cool- But a Movie?
Ok, first some background info on my Le Petit Prince experience. I read Le Petit Prince in french class this year, in French of course. I also read the English version of the book soon afterwards. Furthermore I have read much analysis of the philosophy presented in the book. Then in French class my teacher brought in this movie. Before we watched it she warned us that it was really weird. I did not really know what to expect, I mean the book was pretty weird, how could the movie be weird if the book was considered normal. After these thoughts came throug my head she told us that the people don't talk, but they sing. Whoa...
Basically most everyone knows the plot I will just touch on it. The movie starts out with some weird singing about the hat that the narrator drew as a child and then goes into an overlong song about the narrator's need for air. So far this was rather weird I along with the rest of my class looked as if we were watching a fat man dance naked in the middle of the street. You know that look? Half sneer and half laugh. Well the movie continued to get weirder and I came to the conclusion that existentialist stories should never be turned into movies. However later it reached the pinnacle of its weirdness with the snake dance that lasted for much, much too long. Well at least we know where Michael Jackson got his gig.
The movie featured much of the same dialogue as did the book, sometimes the conversion was word for word. However the movie did skip over many of the imprtant scenes that really did explain Saint-Euxpery's philosophy. Furthermore the Little Prince's naivite was betrayed by his request to go to Earth. One of the important scenes that was skipped over was the scene with the king telling the Little Prince about judging yourself and the scene with the vain man was equally important.
Furthermore the Little Prince was obnoxiously cute, and although he was not a bad actor, in fact he was a really good actor for a child his age, we could have easily gone without him opening his mouth to sing on a couple songs.
In conclusion the movie was much too weird for my tastes and did change some of the things that made the book a great book. However it did manage to convert the book into a movie, from a book that was probably not meant to be a movie.

Magic
Never has a cast been so perfectly suited for a film. The chemistry between the actors is amazing, and each turn in their best performances, creating a magical re-telling of the original story. Steven Warner, Gene Wilder and Bob Fosse bring the movie to life as the story captures your heart and never lets go. I guarentee you wont disappointed with this purchase.

A Bit Awkward
The Little Prince was surprisingly heartwarming. The acotr playing the Little Prince is a very cute child and a very good actor as well. The symbolism in the film creative and adds deeper meaning to the ocassionally awkward musical. Despite the musical scenes, the actors personified their animals very well and managed to create an overall impressive film. ... Read more

Description

Based on Tom Clancy's bestseller, directed by John McTiernan (Die Hard) and starring Sean Connery and Alec Baldwin, THE HUNT FOR RED OCTOBER sweats with high-tech anxiety and the tension of men who hold Doomsday in their hands.A new technologically-superior Soviet nuclear sub, the Red October, is heading for the U.S. coast under the command of Captain Marko Ramius (Connery).The American government thinks Ramius is planning to attack.A lone CIA analyst (Baldwin) has a different idea: he thinks Ramius is planning to defect, but he has only a few hours to find him and prove it - because the entire Russian naval and air commands are trying to find him, too.The hunt is on! ... Read more

Reviews (157)

Fantastic adaption of Clancy's novel
A first-rate thriller that provides the goods again and again. Excellent cast, good direction (the almost always reliable McTiernan--see "Last Action Hero" for the only real blemish on his record), plenty of suspense and thrills. There are a few differences between the novel and the film, but only purists will quibble about that. And yes, Scotsman Connery plays a Lithuanian, but he does it well, and as always, brings a touch of class to the role. I despise Alec Baldwin, but he's perfect as Ryan--the right age and look combined with the proper mix of guile, humility, and cockiness. The film also boasts an excellent supporting cast, with kudos to Sam Neill, Richard Jordan, and Courtney Vance for their performances. Scott Glenn and James Earl Jones are also solid in their roles. The occasional "technobabble" and military talk may confuse those unfamiliar with such terms, but it doesn't detract from the plot or action--in other words, you can still understand and follow the film even if you don't understand the terminology. The DVD features no extras of note, unfortunately, but the transfer quality--while a bit off-color at times--is still far better than VHS, and those of you with home theaters BEWARE--the sound quality (5.1 Surround) is frighteningly good at times (is that torpedo in your living room, or on the screen?!?). A so-so disc, but an incredible, intelligent thriller that's worth buying in any format.

Decent film; terrible DVD
"The Hunt for Red October" is a smart, tightly directed adaptation of Tom Clancy's novel of the same name. It's probably one of the more entertaining submarine movies (if you'll buy into the genre). There are some wonderful performances (especially by Joss Ackland, Courtney B. Vance, and the late Richard Jordan) as well as some inspired casting (most notably Tim "Dr. Frank-N-Furter" Curry as Dr. Petrov). While this film is certainly no "Das Boot," it is highly entertaining for all of its 134 minutes.
However, as an avid collector of DVDs and laser discs, this is perhaps the worst video transfer I have ever seen. In fact, I've seen Chinese bootleg copies of other films that have been superior in terms of video quality. For example: In the opening sequence there is a great deal of dust and dirt on the screen - like you're in a third-rate theater watching the film after it has been showing for about a month and a half. Another example: There is an important interior scene on the USS Dallas that features a wonderfully acted and written interplay between Seaman Jones (Vance) and Seaman Beaumont (Ned Vaughn). However, each shot of Jones is inexplicably awash with so much video noise that it completely distracts from the performances.
Why Paramount would neglect such a film is beyond me. The other huge disapointment on this disc is the complete lack of any extras. This disc is a complete bust. Frankly, I hope that another edition is released out of respect to this worthy film.

The best of the Jack Ryan film series.
Based on Tom Clancy's 1984 novel of the same title, "The Hunt for Red October" is the first Jack Ryan adventure on film. Although I like Harrison Ford better in the role of Jack Ryan than either Alec Baldwin or Ben Affleck, "Red October" is the best of the Ryan films partly because of the script, but largely because of the ensemble cast including Scott Glenn, Sam Neill, Tim Curry, James Earl Jones and, of course, Sean Connery as Captain Marko Ramius, the Lithuanian-born commanding officer on the Soviet nuclear submarine Red October who seeks to defect to the United States. Tension builds as Ramius and the Red October move closer to U.S. waters with the Soviet Navy in pursuit and U.S. forces unsure of Ramius' true intentions. "The Hunt for Red October" is a taut thriller, an excellent movie based on a modern masterpiece of a novel, and I fully recommend it.

One of the best movies you will ever see
Tom Clancy is a master writer. His books are amazing thrillers and the moives haven't been that bad either. This is the best of all the Tom Clancy books that have been made into moives and is one of the best book adaptations ever.

Captian Ramius(Connery) is the best the Soviet fleet has to offer. He's trained most of it and he's now in charge of a new Soviet sub. This sub has a new drive system that runs silent meaning it can't be detected by other subs sonars. After Ramius writes a letter to the Soviet Naval command the search is on. They alert the Americans saying Ramius and his crew has gone mad.

The Hunt for The Red October is on. The U.S. can't play around on this idea because the October could park in any U.S. bay and launch hundreds of Nuclear missiles. Jack Ryan(Baldwin) is a CIA Operative that gets selected to help with this mission. He's met Ramius before and doesn't believe that the man wants to harm the U.S. He believes that Ramius wants to defect along with his officers to the U.S., but he's not sure how Ramius is planning to do it. He now has only a couple of hours to prove the intentions of Ramius and save the ship before the U.S. or Soviet fleets find it and sink her.

All the actors are fantastic in the movie. Alec Baldwin is Jack Ryan is flawless. He played the role to perfection and it's the best movie he's ever made. Sean Connery is the man. Instead of killing Soviets he plays one to perfection in this moive. I love his accent and I though he did a great job of faking it. I loved Sam Neil in the moive. His character Vasily has always been one of my favorites because of his loyalty to Ramius. One of Neils best performances. Tim Curry is good as the weasal Soviet doctor. He plays a weasal better than anybody else. James Earl Jones is himself in this movie and like Connery is just the man. I also like Courtney Vance as 2nd Petty Officer Jones. He gives one of the most memorable performances of the movie. This is an all star cast and everybody is fantastic.

John Mctiernan is one of the best directors in Hollywood. He was one of the biggest when this moive was done with hit titles under his belt like Die Hard and Predator. He can make a good action thriller and this is one of the best ones ever made.

The cinematography is great in the film. You feel like your on real naval ships. The uniforms are authenic on both fleets. The sound is fantastic. This is such a well made movie and the is the movie that all submarine movies should stive to look like.

This is such a good movie. It's made to perfection with a great cast, well made, awesome score, and is just flawless. If you want to sit down and watch a good action thriller than this is it. You will struggle to find a better made movie than this.

Best of the Series
Though I have to admit that I prefered Harrison Ford as Jack Ryan, I'll have to give THFRO the nod for the best in the series. The show's brilliant. Brilliant script that is well executed by wonderful acting. Sean Connery's the man. Can't imagine anyone else playing Ramius. Baldwin did a wonderful job playing Ryan. His best role till date. Would have been greeat to have seen him develop the character in the sequels. And furthermore, James Earl Jones aka the voice of Darth Vader makes his presence in all 3 movies felt though his air time's brief. His presence was greatly missed in The Sum of All Fears.

If the studios are planning another Jack Ryan movie..... please get rid of Affleckand bring back Baldwin. ... Read more

Description

Famed British spy novelist John Le Carré wrote the screenplay for A Murder of Quality, adapting it from his novel of the same name. Former Intelligence agent George Smiley investigates a murder within an elite British school. Storyline takes aim at the British class system. Stars British character actor Denholm Elliot (Noises Off), Glenda Jackson (Salomé’s Last Dance) and a young Christian Bale (Little Women, American Psycho). ... Read more

Reviews (6)

No car chases, (...), you call this a movie!
Is blavis of Beaumont sure that his brain imploded after the film started! I am sure that Christian Bale is relieved that he was excluded from the crystal clarity of your in-depth and thoughtful review.

I suggest to any and all lovers of literature on film that you pass on the Top Ten favorite films of blavis of Texas and rent, buy or steal this film. You will not be sorry!

Murder of Quality.....John Le Carre
Excellent film rendition of the novel, done with the subtle touches that give the educated a stimulating exercise of the "little grey matter".

The so called review by:Reviewer: blavis from Beaumont, TX United States confirms the prevailing lack of educated beings' in Texas and most of the Southern US. Such a pity in this day and age.

Have not seen the movie
yet I feel sorry for blavis from Beaumont, TX United States. This person should stick to James Bond.

Solid Adaptation
The reviewer from Beumont, TX has no clue what he was watching. To watch this film without any knowledge of the unparalleled John Le Carre is folly. The reviewer didn't know that the so-called "ex-spy" was Le Carre's great hero - George Smiley, spy par excellence despite his failing in the social graces. If you are aware of Le Carre and Smiley, you will enjoy this movie. It is difficult to portray Le Carre books effectively, because of the depth of his characters, but this does a good job of portraying the Smiley character.

A fine production
This is an excellent adaptation of John Le Carre's elegant mystery concerning Britain's class system and academia.

Beware though: not for the unintelligent. ... Read more

Reviews (125)

A well-done movie in a non-Hollywood way
I wasn't expecting to be enthralled when I went to this movie (it was husband's choice movie night), but after the first five minutes of the film, I was thoroughly hooked. I came out of the theater feeling like I'd actually seen one of the first above-average movies of the year.

In this movie, Harrison Ford plays a 1960s Soviet sub captain who is brought in to command the Soviet navy's new nuclear submarine after the original captain (Liam Neeson) is removed from the position for political reasons. Neeson stays on the ship as second in command, and Ford is forced to contend with the crew's loyalty to Neeson. Problems plague the submarine before it even leaves drydock, leading the men to begin calling it "The Widowmaker."

This movie isn't told from an American point of view, and doesn't restrict itself to American ideals. The drama is played out without being biased by Hollywood notions of hero vs. villain or a formulaic plot. It really seems like this movie was true to the historic event it was based on.

The characters were portrayed well by everyone in the cast, including Harrison Ford, who was cast against type. Ford turns out a really good performance as the domineering captain and manages to escape his celebrity and really descend into the character. I actually forgot I was watching a Harrison Ford movie. Liam Neeson is solid as well, and the crewmembers without exception turn out convincing performances.

Director Kathryn Bigelow delivers a strong and well done movie with "K-19: The Widowmaker". In a sea of forgettable fluff, this movie rises above typical Hollywood and achieves something special.

Flawed but decent submarine drama
In the sub-genre of submarine dramas, K-19, The Widowmaker doesn't compare with great films such as Das Boot or The Hunt for Red October. Based on a true story that isn't as gripping as those other films, it has limited potential to begin with. So, of course, the couple of serious flaws that K-19 possesses quickly undermines that potential.

K-19 follows the maiden voyage of the Soviet Union's flagship nuclear submarine, whose initial captain (Liam Neeson) is replaced by a new captain (Harrison Ford). During a series of drills, Neeson and the rest of the crew are leery of their new leader, but after a dangerous but successful test of their limits, the new captain earns the crews, (but not Neeson's) trust. However, when a radioactive leak is discovered and the fate of the ship is up in the air, no one knows whose lead to follow.

One of my biggest problems with this film is the first third of it, illustrating drill after drill with a loud, suspenseful soundtrack that tries to make the mostly harmless drills seem more dangerous. The film here seems to be preparing the audience for an inevitable attack from an enemy. All it serves to do in the end is to be misleading so that when that inevitable attack never happens, it proves to be a let down. Also, and perhaps even more annoying, are the poor Russian accents. Everyone, including Ford and Neeson, have wavering accents that are sometimes Russian, sometimes American, and sometimes something else entirely. In fact, without even a single word ever spoken in Russian, the film's authenticity suffers. You never forget that these are all Americans playing Russians. Perhaps if the casting director found more Russian actors for the supporting roles, and the director maybe placed some Russian dialogue in the beginning (such as The Hunt for Red October did), It would have been more convincing.

Still, the film is not without merit. Once the radiation leak is discovered the film becomes more interesting and well worth your time. It truly was a harrowing event and the tension finally begins to build here. It's just too bad it took an hour of false tension to get there. If emphasis on the drills had not been pushed as it was, and the atmosphere more authentically Russian, this could have been a solid four star film doing justice to the true events.

It's worth a rental as it is, but stick to Das Boot or other submarine thrillers to fill your DVD rack.

Great Movie!!!
This is a great movie and is far superb to U-571. The story is exellent and just about everything is exellent. I recommend this to any submarine movie collector or just a person who likes a good story.

An Exciting Submarine Movie
Veteran actors Harrison Ford and Liam Neeson star in this thrilling film about a Russian nuclear submarine and its crew during the height of the cold war. Ford stars as Captain Alexi Vostrikov, a by-the-book, bend and no break commander of the Russian submarine K-19. Neeson stars as Captain Mikhail Polenin. Polenin is the exact opposite of Vostrikov. He is well liked by the crew and is willing to take advice from them.

The K-19 is the newest is Russian submarine technology. Capable of firing missiles up and down the American coast, the submarine and its crew set off on their maiden training mission.
The crew successfully fires the test missile, but soon another problem develops. The crew soon realizes that their nuclear reactor which powers the ship has developed a severe leak which threatens to possibly destroy the ship.

Volunteers are chosen to go inside the reactor area to try to fix the leak by welding pipes to bypass the leak, but these men soon are suffering from radiation exposure. Meanwhile, an American destroyer has come upon the crippled sub and has offered assistance. Vostrikov is determined not to seek help from the "enemy" Americans, and the K-19 does manage to contact another Russian sub and the crew is transferred.

I thought this was a very good movie. Neeson and Ford do very good jobs as the Russian captains, although I didn't care too much for the fake Russian accents. The special effects, especially the underwater shots of the K-19 are excellent. I've been a fan of submarine movies for a long time, and I rate this movie alongside others such as "U-574", "Crimson Tide", and "The Hunt for Red October". It is full of excitement and will definitely captivate you throughout.

Sometimes reality is far worse than Hollywood
I became a fan of the "sub" genre after seeing movies like U-571 and The Hunt for Red October. While U-571 was sort of a pastiche of all the other submarine films that went before it, it made me an immediate fan. It also made me realize just how contrived spaceship movies are.

Unlike the other films, K-19 - The Widowmaker is about a real incident (like the supposed Red October incident) in which a Russian nuclear submarine's reactor nearly had a catastrophic meltdown just off the eastern coast of the United States in the 1960s. Scary stuff.

As a result of this gritty reality, K-19 is powerful in a way that Titanic was powerful. It doesn't matter if the movie isn't quite realistic - the events are so horrible that tension is rife throughout the film. Or at least, it should be.

K-19's initial launch is a debacle. In short, the submarine never has a chance to be successful - the men are inexperienced and costs are cut, such that K-19's crew is lucky that it even works at all. Add in the ship's doctor getting run over by a truck, the failure of the christening bottle to break against the sub's hull, and the firing of the chief engineer and it's hard to disagree with the notion that the ship is cursed.

The new captain aboard Alexei Vostrikov, played by Harrison Ford, pushes the sub to its limits. The tension rises as he forces the crew to do random drills, forces it to dive to near crushing depths, and rise right through the arctic ice. This by far is the most exciting part of the film - there is no enemy except Vostrikov, and it's nail biting after witnessing the poor construction of K-19. Ultimately, K-19 fires its test missile, signaling a message to America that the Russians could launch a nuclear strike if they wished.

Then the sub is pushed to its limits once again, beyond what even Alexei could have feared. They are to patrol the eastern seaboard, right near a NATO base. The ship's original captain, Mikhail Polenin (Liam Neeson) disagrees. Indeed, he disagrees with everything Vostrikov does because he puts the men at risk. I couldn't help but feel contempt for Polenin, who seems so attached to his crew that he no longer has the stomach for war. I'm not sure if that was the director's intent.

Unfortunately, the second half of the film drags. The ship's engines begin to overheat and the inexperienced chief engineer concocts a plan to pipe coolant into the system from the ship's freshwater tanks. Failure means a nuclear explosion "a hundred times worse than Hiroshima."

And so we have a long, slow, miserable, sometimes disgusting foray into the effects of radiation poisoning on the human body. The men who go in have naught but chemical suits rather than radiation suits to protect them. That is, they have no protection at all. So they are exposed for 10 minutes a time in an attempt to minimize the radiation poisoning.

Not only doesn't that tactic works, the radiation leak spreads throughout the submarine. Alexei's choice: accept help from the Americans and save the men or sacrifice his crew to retain Soviet secrets. This decision takes a loooong time to resolve. The movie loses a lot of its momentum, almost becoming a different film that's a lot more like The Andromeda Strain.

What was most striking about this part of the film was how it's been cribbed in other genres. I couldn't help but be reminded of Wrath of Khan, my favorite Star Trek film. Similar to K-19, an officer takes it upon himself to enter the highly lethal radiation chamber in order to "sacrifice the few to save the many." It's chilling to imagine that real human beings had to make that choice. It certainly changed my perspective on Wrath of Khan. I'm not sure if that's a good or bad thing.

Ultimately, the Russians on board were treated like traitors instead of war heroes. The men weren't fighting any enemy but the politics of Russia itself, and as such they could never leave the disaster of K-19 as heroes. The movie wraps up with what happened to them afterwards, after the fall of the U.S.S.R. At least 27 of the crew died from radiation poisoning.

K-19 is a depressing movie that is torn between being an action submarine flick like U-571 or a disease epidemic battle for survival like Andromeda Strain. It's not as good as either film, but the fact that it's based on real-life events leaves a chilling reminder that sometimes reality is far worse than anything Hollywood can dream up. ... Read more

Description

John Cleese is hilarious as the descendant of Sherlock Holmes in this modern detective drama of international power politics and intrigue. Unlike his illustrious grandfather however, this Sherlock Holmes only succeeds in bungling every job he organizes. Also stars Arthur Lowe as the "bionic" grandson of Dr. Watson, Stratford Johns as the Commissioner of Police, and Connie Booth as Mrs. Hudson. ... Read more

Reviews (9)

Pun-itive Measures...
This is a non-stop pun fest.
Filled with sight-gags, puns, take-offs, wonderfully overdone japes, pokes, ribs and alliteration.
From the opening shot(s) [really] through the "Herb Jar lables" on to the crossword bit...
One finally comes to the "Solid Gold Woofer"... and the climactic "But Holmes..."
I dearly love it.

Yes it's stupid, but...
It is a very stupid movie, but it has moments of great hilarity and Cleese is in great form. The who's the real Watson scene is worth the price of the DVD alone. Holmes:One of you is an imposter! Watson:Good Lord! Is it me?

Goofy, with lots of familiar faces
When Dr. Henry Gropinger (a caricature of Henry Kissinger, played by Ron Moody), has his diary stolen, causing him to be killed, the finest detectives of the world discover than the one behind it is Professor Moriarty's descendent. Who else can they call for help but the descendent of Sherlock Holmes, Arthur Sherlock Holmes (John Cleese)? With the incredibly stupid Dr. William Watson (Arthur Lowe) in tow, he sets a trap that Moriarty cannot resist. Sadly, this Holmes is only a pale shadow of his illustrious grandfather, and his combination of quick-action and slow-thinking do not serve him well. [Color, released in 1977, with a running time of 56 minutes.]

OK, let's start off by saying that this movie has only the thinnest of plots, and the humor is beat-you-on-the-head dumb! But, in spite of that, it actually is a fun little flick. There's no subtlety here, but if you are willing to put your brain into neutral, you will get a kick out of it.

And, I must say, what I appreciated the most about this movie was seeing so many of my favorite British actors in one place: John Cleese (Monty Python), Arthur Lowe (Dad's Army), Joss Ackland (Lethal Weapon 2, They Do It With Mirrors), Denholm Elliott (Indian Jones and the Last Crusade), Nick Tate (Space: 1999), Josephine Tewson (Elizabeth on Keeping Appearances), Burt Kwouk (Cato on the Pink Panther movies) and Connie Booth (Fawlty Towers).

So, if you love British television, and want to see some familiar faces in a goofy, off-beat production, then this movie is for you. If you are looking for a cinematic masterpiece, then look elsewhere, this movie is definitely not for you!

This might have been the end of John Cleese's career.
"The Strange Case of the End of Civilization As We Know It" is the most awful exercise with which any Python has ever been associated. Nothing funny, nothing witty, nothing satirical, no jabs at authority or culture, and no entertainment value. At least "Fawlty Towers" is ugly, nasty, disspiriting, and a celebration of rudeness for the purpose of being cruel -- which is much nicer than anything one could say about "The Strange Case . . . ." The best non-Python Cleese is "Romance with a Double Bass" with the beautiful (and almost naked) Connie Booth.

Don't Buy This Tape . . .
It is awful--I mean it. It is worse than "How To Irritate People" and before I wasted the (money) on this I thought it would be impossible for Cleese to film something worse than "Irritate". You want to see John and Connie in their finest hours together?? Buy the complete set of "Fawlty Towers." It is their finest work. ... Read more

Reviews (45)

A most excellent, totally non-heinous sequel
While Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure was funny, Bill and Ted's Bogus Journey is simply hilarious. Of course, the movie is "dumb," but it's a comedy classic in my opinion. This totally triumphant sequel goes all out to entertain, producing a most memorable ending that brings the storyline of both movies together and unifies the past, present, and future of the Bill and Ted universe. Keanu Reeves is, I believe, at his best and most believable as Ted Theodore Logan, while Alex Winter shows off his impeccable comedic timing as Bill S. Preston, Esq. I think the wit is a little sharper in this sequel than it was in the original Bill and Ted film, and its closer associations and sometimes impressively subtle references to popular culture should make the comedy more appealing to a wider audience than that attracted to the original movie.

As the movie opens, the whole world is Bill's and Ted's oyster. They have their own apartment, they are in love with the princess babes they rescued from mediaeval England in the first movie, and the Battle of the Bands is all set to take place the following night. As they already know from Rufus (George Carlin) of the future, their performance at the Battle of the Bands will change the entire world and quickly lead to a blissful future for mankind in which everyone is excellent to each other. In that happy future, Rufus is teaching a class with the aid of such historical figures as Bach, Edison, and the killer guitar player from Faith No More. Then, from out of the blue, the classroom is taken over by gunmen led by Rufus' old crotchety gym teacher Chuck De Nomolos. The man's hatred for Bill and Ted and the way of life they brought into permanent being is so strong that he sends two evil Bill and Ted robots back in time to ruin the lives and future of Wyld Stallyns before they can really even begin. The robots are pretty successful, actually killing the good Bill and Ted. Here begins the truly bogus journey of our heroes, as they face the Grim Reaper himself, get an up close and very personal look at the depths of Hell, and journey to heaven to meet God Himself. It takes more than a well-coordinated Melvin attack on Death to bring them back to life, but they never waver from their determination to come back, save the babes, kill the evil Bill and Ted, and play most triumphantly at the Battle of the Bands.

I love the ending of the movie; it has little shame in its pursuit of utter goofiness, and I admire that type of commitment to inanity for the sake of entertainment. The whole scene takes about fifteen minutes, but the guys put on one heck of a show at the Battle of the Bands. The fun doesn't even stop when the credits begin to roll because we are treated to a number of magazine and newspaper headlines of the future chronicling the many successes of Bill and Ted and the somewhat troubled rock and roll career of Death. I love this most non-heinous, totally excellent movie. If you want comedy, look no further than Bill and Ted's Bogus Journey.

Bill And Ted's Journey through the After-life.
The first Bill and Ted movie was a big hit and now they came out with an awsome sequel. Instead of going through time, they go to the after-life. The two began a Bogus Journey they won't ever forget.

The story starts out in San Dimas, CA 2688 at Bill and Ted University. Rufus (George Carlin) is teaching a seminar class and the evil Chuck De Nomolos invades with his private army. With him are two evil robots of Bill and Ted who he sends back through time to kill them before they become superstars.

We find the Wyld Stallyns (Bill, Ted, Elizabeth, and Joanna) auditioning for the battle of the bands contest. Of course they stink, but they still get a shot in the contest. That night after Bill and Ted propose to their girlfriends, the evil twins call the good Bill prettending to be Joanna and dump them. So the evil twins show up prettending to be helping them by bringing them to the desert where the evil twins said the girls were. Instead they throw them off a cliff and the good ones are dead.

Then they wake up in the after-life seeking revenge and then Death shows up (William Sadler). He tells them to come with him and they ask him if they can come back to life. Deaths says they must challenge him to a contest and if they win, they go back to life and if not they stay in the after-life. So they ditch him by melvining him (otherwords, a wedgie).

So, they go Ted's parents for help and Ted's step-mom, Missy and her spiritual group send them to hell. So they are stuck in their own personal hells that revolve around the bad things they did in life. After the two being chased by a evil colonel, a evil easter bunny and Bill's grandma, they decide to challenge Death.

Now on with the games. They play Battleship and of course Bill and Ted win. Death is a poor sport and makes them play best 2 out of 3. Then he loses again in Clue and he says best of 3 out of 5. Then he loses in electronic football. Bill: "Best of 7?" Death: "DAMN RIGHT!" The last game is Twister. He loses and decides to take them back to life. They go to heaven, and find two alien scientists to help them build two good robots of themselves.

Now they have built the robots and they are at the Battle of the Bands where the evil ones are. So they destroy them at the concert. Chuck De Nomolos shows up to finally kill him themselves. He loses and Death melvins him (Wedgie). They play at the concert and win. The song they play is KISS's very own "God Gave Rock and Roll To You II" that they released for the movie and for their Revenge album in 1992.

This movie isn't as exciting as the first but definately a great sequel. Take the Bogus journey with Bill and Ted.

It's a great movie.
I love this movie. It's very funny, it has references to metal bands, and it's kinda like Terminator with the evil robots from the future. Terminator Bill and Ted! I think that could have worked besides Evil Robot Bill and Ted. Terminator is also a good movie. Buy that and this movie. Ha ha. I've watched this thing eighteen times since I bought it.
It's funny because a lot of the times Bill and Ted look like they are so stoned in the movie with their facial expressions and valley talk. And it if you smoke, watch this movie under the influence. You won't be disappointed.
This movie is also touching and has a message; Treat people nicely and don't judge them. "Be excellent to each other!" It's just flat out a good movie guys.

Hands up if you want more!
There definitely has to be at least one more of Bill & Ted. Both are approaching 40, and their bank accounts may soon be running a little dry (that's a joke), so surely that's an excuse enough to make another! Please? I'm sure there are more Bill & Ted fans out there, it's just not me! Keanu & Alex have both said they'd work with each other again, and lets face it, Alex isn't exactly up to much recently. He's mainly doing behind the scenes stuff, and apparently has a wife and child, and is looking mighty fine for a guy approaching 40. Keanu is also a fairly small name in the movie business these days, you may have heard of the Matrix trilogy?

The first movie was a success. The second isn't as exciting, although it does have its moments, but it is still a totally bogus movie. All the old characters appear, the princesses, the dads, Missy, and some great new stars, William Sadler playing the Duke of Spook, the Doc of Shock, The Man with No Tan, Death himself, the Grim Reaper. He is terrific in this movie, moreso towards the end, where he comes out with a excellent line: "You might be a king or a little street sweeper, but sooner or later you'll dance with the reaper." You've gotta love that line.

Not since Chasing Amy etc, has a movie come out with great end credits. (If you like the final song, you'll probably watch the credits right to the end, if you don't, you won't!) Here are some examples of what appears in the end credits to Bill & Ted's Bogus Journey:

"Be Excellent to Each Other and Party On."
The Full On First Unit
The Stellar Cast
The Non-Heinous Second Unit
The Bodacious Video Effects
The Atypical Creature & Makeup Effects
The Unprecedented Video Photography
The New Age Dudes
Totally Outstanding Guitars Provided By
Camera Operator "Evil" Bill Roe
First Assistant Camera "Good" Bill Clevenger

I hope there will be a third Bill & Ted movie. The best bit of both movies has to be the newspaper/magazine covers towards the end. If you read the headlines, they're pure class! If you haven't seen these movies, you must. They're before Keanu really hit the big time, when all he could do was goofy (and sexy at the same time!), and when Alex really didn't look like he'd hit puberty yet!

smarter than you might think
Watch the Seventh Seal by Ingmar Bergman and you'll appreciate the "battle" with Death even more. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

This double DVD set is worth conjuring up!
This is a review of the set and not the movies. You can find them elsewhere. This is more about the quality picturewise of the DVDs in this set and the extras.

Unlike my other review of the double offering by Anchor Bay (The Satanic Rites of Dracula/Dracula, Prince of Darkness) this one is sure to please. One sided disks instead of easily scratched two sided ones, contains two non repeating World Of Hammer episodes and commentary on both films! :) Much better than the other one.

The only problem I had with this was that one of the poster cards contained in the DVD set was cut too big for the case and was bent. I cut it to fit, but I don't know if this was only my DVD or many were made like this. The poster/chapter cards are one of the best things about this set and to have one bent is disappointing. But both movies play well with no weird cuts or anything (unlike Rites/Darkness--read my review) and it definately superior to the other releases as far as content and quality of the movies. ... Read more

Amazon.com essential video

"I foresee a glittering future for your daughter," the conspiratorial Duke of Northumberland insidiously whispers to the mother of Lady Jane Grey, the woman who would be England's queen, albeit for only nine days. The same could be said for Helena Bonham Carter, who, in her screen debut, carries this historical drama with aplomb. Jane, a principled and precocious 15-year-old (she reads Plato in Greek) was a pawn in a plot to maintain Protestant rule in the wake of young King Edward's death. A dashing Cary Elwes, anticipating his swashbuckling role in The Princess Bride, costars as Northumberland's feckless, wastrel son, Guilford, whose arranged marriage to Jane unexpectedly blossoms into love and rebellion. Anglophiles will bask in this impeccably mounted production (featuring Patrick Stewart as Jane's bullying father), but swooning teens, too, may embrace these young lovers as did the youths who made Franco Zeffirelli's 1968 Romeo & Juliet a box-office smash in its day. --Donald Liebenson ... Read more

Reviews (72)

Helena Bonham Carter is amazing in her film debut
As is noted elsewhere, there is some artistic license taken with the actual story of Lady Jane Grey. Most notably, Lady Jane and Guildford Dudley were not in love by any documents of the era, which renders the whole "love story" of this film invalid.

But as a simple period piece I really love this movie, and here's why:
1. Helena Bonham Carter gives a truly astonishing performance in her first movie. This film began a string of "period costume drama" performances for the actress that have since been surplanted with modern roles such as "Fight Club" and "Planet of the Apes". Her language - both spoken and simple gestures - are so expressive and she portrays a young woman who is well educated and full of passion.
2. The central conflict at the end of the film comes in her unwillingness to give up her religious beliefs. She is a protestant and her cousin, Queen Mary, is a staunch Catholic. Mary wants to make up for a lifetime of slights and abuses given to her Mother, Catherine of Aragon, whom Henry VIII divorced when Mary was unable to bear a male heir to Henry. The real Lady Jane was not only a protestant, but carried on correspondence with the great protestant minds of her day including John Calvin. It is not often that any popular form of entertainment is made depicting a person willing to die for their religious beliefs. I am not advocating protestantism, per se, only admiring this film's willingness to demonstrate a strong faith which doesn't involve religious fanaticism.
3. The real Guildford Dudley wasn't the love of Lady Jane, but Cary Elwes' performance here stands up well next to Bonham Carter's superlative one. I suspect this role may have led to his being cast in "The Princess Bride".

Pretty much no extras on this DVD, but this is a truly fine film (albeit historically misleading), and it's not one of those $30 DVD's either.

Fine movie about a very tragic young life
Helena Bonham Carter does a superb job portraying one of the most tragic characters in history, Lady Jane Grey, otherwise known as "the Nine Days Queen". Her soft innocence and vulnerability are convincing and heart rendering. You also get to see a very very young Cary Elwes providing a fine supporting role as her doomed husband and Patrick Stewart (way before his Star Trek days) giving an equally fine performance as her scheming father.

The story itself would make for a great Shakesparean tragedy if history hadn't written it first. I was quite moved at the cruel twists of fate that were handed out to this young girl. It is also a testament to the cruelty of parents to their children in sixteenth century England. This was commonplace at these times, even if one was of royal blood as Jane was.

The moving and historically accurate execution scene, in which the blindfolded Jane cannot find the block to rest her neck is quite heart wrenching. You want her to survive the circumstances that her family placed her in, and the wretchedness of her miserable upbringing. However, life is not a fairy tale, even for princesses; this is a profound example of the misery that many Tudor woman, including Elizabeth I, went through. I subtract one star for some of the historical inaccuracies, but overall it is a wonderful and moving film. It also makes you grateful that you did not live in those precarious times.

A historical tragedy turned into more of a fictional romance
One of the most interesting instances of genetic and gender in the history of Western Civilization is found with the death of King Edward VI of England at the age of 15 in 1553. Too young to leave heirs, his older half-sisters Mary and Elizabeth Tudor were both considered illegitimate because of the martial history of their father Henry VIII. Going through the Tudor family the only other potential claimants, Mary of Scotland and Lady Jane Grey, were also female. It seemed that God that determined that a woman would sit on the throne of England and the political question was who that woman would be. The one with the best claim was Mary Tudor, but she was a devout Catholic and the creation of the Anglican Church had created a religious schism in England that would turn ugly with her on the throne.

Lady Jane first became connected with the English crown as a potential mate for young Edward, who was more interested in Mary of Scotland or another foreign princess. Jane was supposedly betrothed to the duke of Somerset's son, Lord Hertford, but was then informed by her parents that she was to wed Guildford Dudley, the youngest son of the duke of Northumberland. Handsome and only one year her senior, Jane did not like him and refused the marriage until her mother literally beat her into submission. The couple were married in May of 1553 and lived apart, although the marriage was consummated the following month at the expressed command of Northumberland. Jane was then informed that she had been named Edward's heir three days before the king's death. Northumberland kept Edward's death a secret in order to stop Mary Tudor from claiming the crown and made a speech announcing Jane was the new queen. Forced to accept the title, Jane dismissed the idea that her husband would be made king. When Northumberland went forth with his army to meet that of Mary, who was marching on London, the royal council declared Mary queen and Jane's own father signed the declaration. On November 13 Jane and Guildford we tried, convicted, and sentenced to death. Jane believed the Queen would pardon her, but the revolt against Mary by Sir Thomas Wyatt in February 1554 hardened her heart against her enemies. Within days Guildford was executed, with Jane being beheaded on February 11th.

None of this historical information consistutes a spoiler because anyone familiar with the kings and queens of England knows that there was never a Queen Jane and even those unfamiliar with the specifics of English history will be aware early on that this is going to be a tragic tale. Even so, the 1986 film "Lady Jane" from director Trevor Nunn would more properly be considered a historical romance, with the emphasis more on the romance than the history as the marriage between Jane (Helena Bonham Carter) and Guilford (Cary Elwes) is turned into a tragic love story. Jane is presented as an intellectual (you would like to see her and Elizabeth Tudor have a conversation), and given a sense of nobility in that she and her husband apparently intend to rule in their own names, not only because it will thwart the plans of John Dudley, Duke of Northumberland (John Wood), but also because it is the right thing to do. In bed they tend to talk about their idealistic plans, such as not branding men or sending them into slavery because they are starving.

This new version of Lady Jane's marriage and her new found political ambitions work to add to the tragedy of her execution at the hands of Bloody Mary, even though her being an unwilling pawn in the machinations of some one else's power games makes her enough of a tragic figure. You have to appreciate the irony that these two privileged children of the British class system were idealistic friends of the common folk. The cast features the standard collection of British character actors, with Michael Hordern as Doctor Feckenham, Mary's teacher, Jane Lapotaire as Princess Mary, Joss Ackland as Sir John Bridges, and Sara Kestleman as Frances Grey, Duchess of Suffolk and Jane's mother. For me the low moment in the film is when Jane is betrayed by her father, especially since Patrick Stewart plays Henry Grey, Duke of Suffolk. Of course, both Bonham Carter and Elwes have gone on to much better films, although I was surprised that she made this after "A Room With a View," one of those much better films. "Lady Jane" runs a bit long, especially given that Jane's "reign" only lasted nine days, and while the fictional romance has its moments I would hope that one day the bleak reality of what happened to this young girl becomes the subject of another film.

Undelivered
While Helena Carter is terrific in her role as Lady Jane (Queen Jane for 9 days), the movie as a whole falls short because it doesn't present the sequence of events convincingly. The build-up to Lady Jane's crowning moment is rather lame and a little confusing, and the nine days of her "reign" are not documented well. There's also too much of a love story, with her persistence in her faith more like a sideshow or afterthought. Overall it's still an enjoyable experience, if it does frustrate the viewer a little.

"Blue Lagoon" goes Renaissance
It's a shame that the interesting and relatively untapped story of Lady Jane got this sugary sweet treatment. It alternates between nubile pulp romance and engrossing costume drama. So when it's good, it's very good...and when it's corny, it's ridiculous (even the score is over the top). Excellent supporting cast. DVD offers no compelling special features...it would have been nice to have some extra Tudor treat in there! ... Read more

Amazon.com

In Peter Greenaway's 8-1/2 Women (1999), a woman's death propelsa bereavedwidower and his son into carnal questing, via a harem of idiosyncraticladies. Similarly, 1985's A Zed and Two Noughts follows the Deuce brothers,zoologists and former Siamese twins, who lose their wives in a bizarrecollision--a great swan crashes into a car driven down Swann's Way by oneAlba Bewick (translates as "white swan"). The brothers become obsessed with photographing and measuring decay ("by degrees of grief"), from Apple toZebra, and equally obsessed with voluptuous Alba, who, having lost one leg inthe wreck, later has the other removed... perhaps for the sake of symmetry.Greenaway's funny, gruesome, gorgeous "zoo" also features hooker Venus diMilo, arbiter of the monetary value of everything; an amputation-happysurgeon who'd like to make Alba fit into a Vermeer painting; a sinisterPhantom of the Zoo who offs black-and-white animals; and other assorted,often twinned, exotics.

Sacha Vierny, who shot Resnais's Last Year at Marienbad andBuñuel's Belle deJour, visualizes Zed in richly erotic detail, every frame a feast for theeyes. Evoking melancholy pavane or stately funeral march, Michael Nyman'smusic marks the inexorable progression of a fever dream celebrating the powerof artifice and nature. Trained as a painter, educated in linguistics andphilosophy, Greenaway deftly weaves an exquisite pattern of puns, colors,images, words, ideas, and music into a cinematic meditation on life, death, andsex. Weird to the max, mesmerizing, and some kind of masterpiece. --Kathleen Murphy ... Read more

Reviews (20)

Origins of Life, Vermeer, symmetry. ZOO.... and OOZe
Everytime I see A Zed and Two Noughts I catch a phrase that I missed the double meaning on the previous time I watched it. Perhaps the fascination of watching bodies decay clouds my perceptions. Perhaps the beauty of the photographic images by Sacha Vierny, The arresting music by Michael Nyman, or the insistent guiding hand of Director Peter Greenaway (who is creating his own cinematic alphabet here, later to be explored in his subsequent films, and drawing upon his wonderful short films and early opus The Falls) is too much for one viewing to contain! Or perhaps it is getting wrapped up in the same mystery that consumes the twin zoologists. Why death, and why a car accident involving a pregnant Swan on Swann's way, no less??!! Speaking of doubles, you have the twin brothers, their two dead wives, the two legless lovers, the doctor who is a descendant of the master forger (a great faker must be praised I guess!) Van Meegeren, himself a double (dubious) of the painter Vermeer,or the fact that there are Vermeers in the film, and they are doubled on camera in certain shots, and more and more...
Is this a waste of film? DEFINITELY NOT. You go into a film with the knowledge you have up to that point, and sometimes a film challenges you to rise to the occasion as opposed to talking down to an audience. This is not for people who think watching a movie means some quiet time and maybe a laugh or two. This is a film where you are constantly challenged to make observations and opinions based on what you are shown. There is a thesis here, and I am not sure whether it is an artistic thesis, a scientific thesis, a moral and ethical thesis, or all or none of the above, but what I do know is that this is one of the most challenging pieces of moving image I have ever seen (I have only seen about 1,600 films in my life, so I admit I have not seen that much), and it is easier to walk away from it then to stay and appreciate the rich complexities of knowledge this film draws from. The choice is yours but I highly recommend it for knowledge seekers.
The DVD is of great quality, and except for the lack of extras (I would have LOVED to have seen the trailer for this film), it is a worthy purchase.

A must see
The very first time I watched this film was not in a theatre but on a small black and white TV (at the time I was about 17 and still living with my parents, so what do you expect :-). It made a tremendous impression on me then and it's still my favorite film ever. The plot is rich and weird, the music addictive and the dialogues are both odd and witty. As you might expect of one of the early films by Greenaway, the alphabet plays a big part in this film. A film about the beginnings of life, birth, life itself, death and decay. Excellent usage of clips of natural history films with the distinctive voice of David Attenborough. There are many storylines in this film and there's a kind of character development you don't see to often in these modern times. Greenaway created an atmosphere I had never seen before in films and very few films are even coming close to it.

All in all, as you might have noticed, I'm a sucker for this film. I can recommend it to anyone. And hey, if you don't like the pictures, you can still play the DVD and not watch it, but enjoy the soundtrack.

Get the BFI Version
If you have a European or multi-region DVD player, get the BFI edition of this movie, which includes a director's commentary and introduction, trailers for this and The Draughtsman's Contract and extracts from a "making of" documentary.

The film itself? Brilliant, arch, beautifully photographed and probably Greenaway's most accessible work.

A dark celebration by the simetry
This film is an intelligent puzzle. You must be building the story , the clues are given ironically, tragicaly and above all subrepticiously.
Two twins married with two sisters , a swan , murder, guilty the same lover, the one and the couple are engaged, come together , and become unending laberynth of borgian proportions. A man dreams that another guy dreams. This story is just fascinatong
The archetipes are precisely defined. Oparin makes his own web.
The feelings involved around a common tragedy, just having the zoo as a huge frame where the life begins and ends, without any pain, with natural precision. The speling music of Nyman, Sacha Vierny and his amazing photography, the dark poetry supports the dialogues, the desperation seems even not forced but she assumes slowly its place in the play.
Greenaway is a brilliant director with a unpleasant life's view. What it realy is amazing is the total absence of feelings in every one of the depicted characters. ou won't see a teardrop, even in the worst of one situation.
The homagge to Vermeer makes the film still more interesting, arrestong and provocative, in a style who reminds us to Luis Buñuel but without the religious ethics underlayed of the spanish director.
Certainly the multiple readings that Zoo and two noughts offer us walk around the biology, the huge affection of Greenaway by the insects, worms and all that little universe who survives under our indiferent behavior.
This trilogy of films together with the bely of an architect and drowning by numbers, allows us to traduce the universe of this excentric and irreverent film maker.
Don't miss this film.

Pointless
Like many of Peter Greenaway's movies, this one suffers from several problems. The most critical of these is that his opening scenes never emotionally tie you to any of the characters, resulting in you watching 2 hours of film without really caring. Secondly, his filming technique is basically more appropriate for a play - all the scenes look like they were specifically made as movie sets rather than as natural surroundings, and his direction of the lighting makes it obvious that everything is artificially lit. Thirdly, his subject matter. always bizarre, just isn't interesting. Why can't he pick the bizarre and the interesting? If you like film noir, then this isn't it. Having sat through 113 minutes of this, all I was left with was how pointless and a waste of film this was. ... Read more

Reviews (11)

This House Drips NO Bodily Fluids Of Any Kind...
Don't let the title fool you. There's no blood in this film. THE HOUSE THAT DRIPPED BLOOD is a four part horror anthology about an old manor and the untimely deaths of it's occupants. First, Denholm Elliot (Indiana Jones) is a horror writer who moves into the creepy place looking for inspiration for his next book. He draws a picture of a mad strangler character he's imagined. He soon begins seeing him in real life! Next, we have Peter Cushing as a bachelor who visits a wax museum, only to find an old girlfriend's image in a figure of Solome. He becomes obsessed with it. Meanwhile, the owner of the museum has dark secrets of his own. I found this one pretty dull. Number three stars Christopher Lee as a man who moves into the house with his 8yo daughter. He hires a woman as nanny for the girl who soon believes Lee is a heartless monster for keeping his daughter isolated and not allowing her to play with dolls. Is he evil? Or is there something seriously wrong with his daughter? Semi-creepy. Finally, Jon Pertwee (Dr. Who) is a jaded horror movie actor working on his latest vampire epic. Disgusted by the cheesey sets and costumes being used, he goes to an occult shop and buys a "new" vampire cape for 13 shillings (cheap). The cape appears to turn him into a real nosferatu! Ingrid Pitt co-stars as Pertwee's seemingly innocent girlfriend, who isn't at all what she seems. This last one's mostly for laughs and reminds me of an episode of Rod Serling's Night Gallery. All four stories are tied together by a Scotland Yard detective who tries to solve the mysteries. Enjoyable, if not all that scary. It's always cool to see Cushing and Lee in anything. Recommended for diehard horror fans...

HOUSE OF FUN......
A creepy old house in the country proves to be deadly for anyone who rents it in this enjoyable quartet of horror tales. From the British Amicus output of anthologies in the 60's-70's, "House That Dripped Blood" boasts a superb cast and an interesting set-up of a Scotland Yard investigator looking for a horror film star who disappeared after being the last to rent the house. A cop and the strange Real Estate rep who rents the house tells the investigator the stories of the people who met their doom while living there. The tales include a horror writer whose latest murderous creation seemingly comes to life, Peter Cushing discovers that a weird Museum of Horrors has a Salome exhibit that seems to be still collecting heads, Christopher Lee's angelic young daughter turns out to be a voodoo practicing witch, and in the final tongue-in-cheek (or is that TOOTH in cheek) tale, the horror film star buys a vampire's cloak that still has chilling powers. Jon Pertwee is wonderful as the actor and the bosomy Ingrid Pitt is his seductive co-star---a REAL vampire. Great supporting cast includes Nyree Dawn Porter (from BBC's "The Forsyte Saga"). Very entertaining film that uses atmosphere and good acting instead of gore to get the job done. The DVD from Lion's Gate is a fine print in widescreen and features an interview with one of the producers, Max Rosenberg. This is another example of horror films that need to be on DVD. A great treat for Halloween and a collector's item for fans. Cut down the lights and enjoy.

A Gruesome Delight
This is a collection of four short narratives with a link story about the mystery of the creepy old house where all are set. In the first, a writer of horror stories fears he is going mad when the lunatic murderer he is writing about suddenly appears in his life and starts to stalk him. In the second, a respectable retired unmarried stockbroker is thrown off balance when he comes across a waxwork of a young woman that reminds him of his lost love. In the third, a young woman is hired as a governess and is puzzled to discover that her employer has forbidden his sweet little girl to play with dolls... In the fourth, a hammy old horror movie actor goes off shopping for a vampire's cloak and gets more than he bargained for. His subsequent disappearance has brought a Scotland Yard detective sniffing around whose investigations are a basis for the slender linking story.

Five stars first of all because of the title. If it isn't the best title of any movie ever, what on earth is? And you know you're into a treat when you watch the rest of the credits: Christopher Lee, Peter Cushing, Denholm Elliott, Joss Ackland, Ingrid Pitt... But my most vivid memory is still one of NOT seeing it. When it was released I was a wee boy of seven or eight, a good ten years younger than the certificate said I had to be to go and see it at the cinema. But I saw it advertised and was, I remember, desperately frustrated: a film with such a title could not possibly fail, my small boy's bloodthirsty imagination insisted, to be the most brilliant ever made. Older and perhaps wiser (and able to watch it as often as I like without troubling the law), I'll now concede it my well not be the most brilliant, or even anywhere near the scariest, film ever made. But I think my seven-year old self would not have been disappointed by these lovely gruesome little tales (and would not, I confidently conjecture have suffered significant psychological harm from seeing them). And even now, at my present relatively disenchanted age, I can watch it with unmitigated and not particularly guilty pleasure.

This House doesn't have a solid foundation
Sadly, The House That Dripped Blood doesn't have a very solid foundation. The termites of time have chewed away at the film's frame and the result is a film that sags when it should chill. Before you give me a "not helpful vote" hear me out.
I'm very fond of the low-budget but crisply directed series of films that Amicus productions released during the 70's. Unfortunately, The House That Dripped Blood isn't one of their better titles. Stick with the imaginative Asylum and Tales From The Crypt. Both these anthology films are much bolder and better made than this entry.

House comes off looking like an English knock-off of Night Gallery. While there's a very good cast buried in this film, the writing by original Psycho scripe Robert Bloch doesn't sever them very well. Denholm Elliot (Raiders of the Lost Ark), Christopher Lee, Peter Cushing, Jon Pertwee (Dr. Who)and Ingrid Pitt do their best given the material but there isn't much here to begin with. Bloch's script has no teeth and the direction is on a par with very average 1970's television programs.

It's a pity. The framing story for this anthology promised much more than it could deliver. A famous horror film actor (Jon Pertwee)has disappeared and one of Scotland Yard's finest is sent down to refer on the case. It turns out that the house where the actor was staying has a curse on it. Horror things happen to everyone that has rented it from A. J. Stoker (in an all too obvious tip of the hat to Bram Stoker and Dracula).

The first tale starts promisingly enough. A writer (Denholm Elliot)suffering from writer's block is hoping to jump-start his new novel about a strangler with a change of scenery. His wife doesn't care for the place but it suits the writer's personality to a tee. Fiction intrudes on reality when the writer begins seeing the murderer from his novel everywhere. His wife doesn't see anything. When the writer nearly strangles his wife, she insists that he seek help. Needless to say, things end badly.

The second tale involves a retired stockbroker (Peter Cushing giving a solid performance as always). He rents the house for the isolation and escape from the real world. He discovers a wax museum which would have seemed at home in the film House of Wax. He recognizes one of the figures; it resembles a former lover that he and his best friend fought over years ago. When Cushing's friend shows up to visit, he takes him into town. They visit the wax museum. The friend is mesmerized by the likeness of his former lover and can't leave the town.

The third tale involves a little girl isolated from all other children and her very frightened father who hires a teacher to tutor her. The third tale like the first two have a lot of potential. The telling of the tale is so poor, though, that it's hard to develop any sympathy for any of the characters or care what happens to them.

The fourth and final story provides the resolution for the framing story about the missing actor. It seems that the actor was appearing in a horror film about a vampire. When the actor purchases a cloak that belonged to a real vampire the tongue-in-cheek tale takes a turn for the worst for the actor and his co-star.

The transfer and print look exceptional. The colors are rich and the print suffers from minor analog imperfections. The mono sound is occasionally distorted but, on the whole, it sounds prett