Reviews (98)

Solid, entertaining classic restored
It's a fun movie. You can argue with the the "science"; you can argue with some of the optical effects (the use of poorly matted lizards vs. stop motion animation is a minor drawback to the film)and you can argue with some of the deviations from Verne's classic novel but none of this off sets the sheer aura of fun that surrounds this 50's classic. Made at the tail end of the science fiction boom that made the cinema profitable again during the threat of television, Journey succeeds through the top flight direction, witty dialog and performances of the cast.

James Mason is perfectly cast as Professor Lidenbrook and Arlene Dahl plays his spirited romantic interest. The plot is fairly well known so I'll stick to the quality of the film, restoration and DVD transfer. Pat Boone's career as an actor was often blighted by his singing career. He wasn't considered a "serious" actor. He gives a energetic performance that counter balances Mason's intense take as Liddenbrook.

The direction by Hollywood vet Henry Levin sparkles with a number of inventive set pieces. Michael Todd's spare no expense production allows this lavish production to continue to shine nearly 45 years later. The art direction is often imaginative and, despite the limitations of the time, manage to convey the wonder of Verne's original novel.

The optical effects are quite good half a century later. The matte paintings and miniatures still allow one to suspend disbelief and sink into the world portrayed here. The use of redressed lizards for the grand finale does undermine the conclusion a bit. Surprisingly, Todd and director Levin opted for using this approach instead of the more time consuming stop motion animation of Ray Harryhausen or Willis O'Brien. Although it would have delayed the film a bit and increased the budget as well, this brief sequence would have been more believable and lively if it had been made using O'Brien or Harryhausen.

All of this would have been to no avail if not for Bernard Herrmann's moody, inventive and idiosyncratic score for the film. Herrmann's best scores (North by Northwest, Psycho, Citizen Kane among many other classic scores)helped elevate the quality of many films. Hitchcock, Welles, Ray Harryhausen, Brian DePalma and Martin Scorese all recognized that Herrmann's scores were important characters in the films they directed.

The transfer is beautiful given the age of the original negative and condition of many of the films from this time frame. While the restoraation isn't as rich as that given to cinematic classics like Vertigo and Spartacus, the film benefits from the restoration efforts. The colors are vibrant and rich and, with few exceptions, the transfer is sharp and not as grainy as one would expect (particulary during the optical effects sequences).

The DVD transfer is quite good as well. Again, grain problems to crop up now and again and the widescreen transfer isn't flawless but these are fairly minor complaints. Fox has, on the whole, done a marvelous job restoring this classic adventure film. Sadly, Mason, director Levin and Todd are all deceased so we don't get any first person observations about the production of the film on a second audio track. Since Pat Boone is still very much with us, it would have been interesting to hear his memories on the production of this fine film.

I have very fond memories of watching this on the 3:30 Afternoon movie on KGO-TV in San Francisco (and, if memory serves, a couple of times on John Stanley's Creature Feature program as well). It's a perfect rainy day Saturday movie. It's enjoyable for the kids and, yes, even for this adult despite the wonderous explosion in visual effects over the years. While you're at it, you might also enjoy Jon Amiel's The Core an update of sorts of this classic film. Amiel's film vividly recaptures the sense of wonder and power of this type of film with his modern day take on the same theme.

Grand "Cinemascope" family entertainment from the 1950s!
OK, there's been some controversy here about the quality of this release, so let me put it to rest. This DVD is spledid! I think this adaptation of Jules Verne's 1864 French novel is a prime example of 1950's wide-screen motion picture family entertainment -- it's wholesome and has a little something for everyone. This is the best film version of this story, the most recent of which was done for the USA Channel on cable in 1999 and was very campy. They couldn't match the 1959 production values of this 20th Century-Fox film that has excellent color photography and art direction, and Bernard Herrmann's wonderfully atmospheric music score. These elements have continued to make it a favorite with fantasy film fans who can appreciate older movies, though it's true that some of it is silly at times, but I don't think the film's makers were trying for a serious movie. It also contains one of James Mason's best performances (He was always good). It's wonderful "Cinemascope" escapism from the bygone Eisenhower-era of the 1950s. Even though I've been watching it on TV since I was a kid in the sixties, I'd only seen pan&scan versions, and it wasn't until I got it letterboxed on laserdisc that I finally saw what a big-screen entertainment this movie was meant to be. It has splendid scope and a score by Bernard Herrmann that takes you right down into the bowels of the earth. Listen to it and you'll notice what I mean, as the movie progresses the music keeps going into a lower and lower register. Five organs were used, including one meant for a Cathedral. (The complete original recordings of the score are available on CD from Varese Sarabande.) Sure it's long in the telling and takes a while to get you down that extinct volcano in Iceland, but it's fun all the way with great special effects work by L.B. Abbott and matte paintings by Emil Kosa Jr. It's been a long wait for this to come out on DVD but it's now worth it. Although Fox should have known that fans would want more extras, including a production and poster still gallery and audio commentary by Pat Boone and Arlene Dahl perhaps?, or an expert on the production? (Perhaps we'll get it in a future release?), they have thankfully included the original theatrical trailer, whic is a lot of fun. They've also gone to great efforts to restore the color negative, and this 16X9 ANAMORPHIC TRANSFER has been struck from a newly made interpositive print, and has been further enhanced with digital video. The original 4-track MagOptical soundtrack is here offered in Dolby Digital 4.0 surround. Although the directionalized dialogue is often off the mark, the aged soundtrack sounds great and will really rumble your room if you've got a subwoofer. If you are a fan of 1959's JOURNEY TO THE CENTER OF THE EARTH, you'll be very happy with this DVD. I'd give this DVD five stars but for Fox skimping on the extras. Boy, you people at Fox can be real dummies!

A film for the whole family
Fox Studios was so successful with this film that they immediately made another Verne classic, "The Lost World" with Claude Raines as Professor Challenger. "Lost World" didn't fare as well. The reasons were obvious.

"Journey" was put together by a team of Hollywood professionsls at all levels: script, direction, actors, production deisgners. They were all dedicated to one goal: to entertain the audience while not pandering to them. The actors take their roles seriously, bringing them to vivid life.

This is a long film for a general release, family oriented project. It goes into good, solid character development, rather than settling for action over story, as they did with "The Lost World." The only thing both films have in common appear to be dinosaurs.

The special effects are excellent. Try not to compare them to what can be computer-generated today. Matte painting artists of the old Hollywood studio system could truly be called artists; this film is a prime example of this art.

Bernard Hermann's score is one of the true stars of the picture. It supports the film; it is like a character all its own; it complements the story rather than overpowering it.

This is a movie that can be seen over and over through the years and it still appeals. Once again, the DVD format presents the film in its original CinemaScope aspect ratio, which is the only way to appreciate a truly excellent example of the old Hollywood in its finest form.

all time classic
i remember seeing this movie as a re-release in t he 1960's
these are the type of movies that should never be put to dvd,
instead released to the theatres every so often where
mom's can drop off the kids for saturday afternoon fun.
james mason did a great job
alene dahl was hot to trot
pat boone played a 2nd fiddle good performance
thayer david ( what a wimpy creep..!)

Rated "G" for "Great"
This movie captured my imagination as a child, and I'm pleased to say that it retains all its adventurous charm twenty-five years later.

Based loosely on the Jules Verne novel, the movie tells the story of a group of scientists (and a scientist's widow ... and a hunky Icelander ... and a duck) as they follow the trail of a long-dead explorer into - wait for it - the center of the Earth. The film is partly a vehicle for Pat Boone's singing career, partly an excuse to design one fantastic set after another (partly filmed in Carlsbad Cavern National Park), but it's mostly a decent adventure story with the ever-wonderful James Mason leading the way. Sure, some effects are poorly done with blue screens, matte paintings, and miniatures (not bad by late '50s standards, though), but it doesn't take much suspension of disbelief to get into spirit of the thing (my 4-year-old screamed at the Dimetrodons), and an emotional connection is built between the audience and the characters (Count Saknussem's fate is richly deserved). Be sure to watch for Alfred the Butler (Alan Napier) as a University of Edinburgh dean.

The limited bonus materials are all worthwhile (as opposed to DVDs that cram in the extras, mostly mediocre). Included are movie trailers for nine Fox sci-fi movies (Sean Connery's Zardoz must be seen to be believed) as well as the trailer for Journey. The only other bonus is a before-and-after comparison of how the film was restored. There's no documentary showing the process, but the side-by-side and split-screen comparisons help you realize how close this treasure was to being lost.

This is a great film that deserves to be part of anyone's collection. The effects may be dated, but the adventure and characterizations are as powerful today as they were in 1959. If you're looking for a film the whole family can enjoy that isn't so sugary sweet it necessitates a visit to the dentist, Journey to the Center of the Earth fits the bill. ... Read more

Amazon.com

The futile yet inspiring stand of 300 Greek soldiers against the hugestarmy ever assembled in the ancient world inspired this typical example ofHollywood epic movie-making. King Leonidas of Sparta (Richard Egan,Demetrius and the Gladiators), prevented by political squabblingfrom sending his entire army to defend the narrow pass of Thermopylae,sets out with his personal bodyguard to fight off the ambitious Persianking, Xerxes. Along the way are a pair of young lovers, scantily claddancing girls, and treachery though a secret mountain path. The 300Spartans, made in 1961, has an overstated cold war subtext--there'smuch talk of freedom vs. slavery--and there are a few too many shots ofarmored men marching through the Greek countryside, but the historicalconflict has a fundamentally stirring quality. Also featuring Sir RalphRichardson (Dr. Zhivago, Dragonslayer) as a wily Athenianpolitician. --Bret Fetzer ... Read more

Reviews (32)

Memory vs now
Many of us grew up on these Hollywood 'epics' of ancient history. We remember them fondly. "The 300 Spartans" is one such film. Our memories, however, can play tricks on us. Then we see them again as we age, and our opinions change. We have to remember the times in which they were made and the type of audience that eagerly went to see them.

As a widescreen epic (and you have to see it in the 2:35x1 aspect ratio which the DVD presents), it stills holds some strange fascination.

Sir Ralph Richardson is the one stand-out performance; somehow, British actors seem to be able to deliver stilted dialog in such a way that it seems somehow classical. Richard Egan was also a good actor. As the Spartan king, his performance is consistant and even believable. He is rugged-looking and seems to understand what his character is all about. He brings the character on the page to some sembelence of life.

The rest of the cast make their characters seem cut from a comic book, or a very bad high-school production. This is especially true of David Farrar as the Persian King, who tears up the screen without once delving beneath the skin to give his role any dimension. These are supposedly professional actors, able to rise above a bad script. Unfortunately, the director accepted only fair performances and let it go at that.

Barry Coe and Diane Baker have the unfortunate roles of the young lovers. They were both young contract players at Fox and neither convinced anyone that they were either Spartans or that they were ever actually in love. Mr. Coe has one unfornutate line: "Have you heard anything about the Persians?" He delivers this like a football player asking his coach about the opposing team.

The script does present the story's history with fair accuracy. Once the Spartans get on the march, the pace picks up nicely, and the battle scenes are well staged. As usually happened with these epics, the production values of the behind-the-camera talent clearly outshone those being photographed.

300 Spartans revisited
I first saw this film when I was 12 or 13. At that age I thought it was an action movie and I took it solely for that - it was good with large battle scenes, sword clanging against shield, etc. However, it is a little deeper than that. The film tells the story of King Leonidas of Sparta who took a small cohort of Spartan soldiers to stand at Thermopylae against a huge Persian army. Most of the rest of the Greek city-states declined to send troops because the pass was so far from their territory. Leonidas realized that the pass was the best place to meet the Persians as the narrow space would allow a small force to block a tremendously larger force. The Spartans marched hard to get to the pass before the Persians and then fought like demons when the Persians arrived - actually driving them back and temporarily routing them with some well-planned tactics and ferocious sword play. After several days their position is betrayed and their meager allies killed or put to flight. The Spartans are then surrounded. Their sacred customs do not permit surrender or retreat so they make a suicidal charge at the Persian king. Leonidas falls and the Persians then massacre the remaining Spartans who refuse to give up his body.
Richard Egan is suitably noble and brave as Leonidas. It is obvious that he fears nothing as he wades into battle with spear,sword and shield. One comment is that Leonidas is like his name - that is, like a lion, and he is. The supporting cast is also quite good, including Sir Ralph Richardson as Themistocles (a crafty Athenian politician and statesman) and Diane Baker in an early role. The film is in technicolor or some similar process so the color of the Spartan's cloaks is a brilliant red and there are a lot of other bright colors, perhaps a little bit much considering the gore. What is perhaps most impressive and memorable is the music playing in the background as the Spartans march - it is haunting. As Leonidas says - no army in the world marches faster. The Spartans march for several days with almost no rest and the music slows to mirror their exhaustion - the men look haggard, dirty and unshaven - yet they continue to march. These marching scenes may be the best in the film showing the desperate race to reach Thermopylae before the Persians. At the end of the film there is a flashback to the Spartans marching with the music in the background. A narrator explains that the Greeks went on to defeat the Persians in large part because the Spartans delayed them long enough for an organized defense to be planned - also, perhaps because all of Greece was awed by the remarkable courage and nobility of a small band who sacrifice their lives for their country.
The film has definite defects and the end result could have been better. However, it is still quite good and I find that I like it even better now. While the film takes a few liberties with history, the basic story line is accurate - small group of Spartans under Leonidas hold off huge Persian army at Thermopylae and go down fighting. I have seen the film rated as only one star - I don't know who did this rating but it is off the mark badly - it is easily rates four stars and just missed five.

Exciting,dramatic recreation...
THE 300 SPARTANS does creditable job of recreating one of the most famous Last Stand battles in history. Director Rudy Mate makes excellent use of on-location sites to render the mytho-historical Battle of Thermopylae fought in August of 480 BC. An elite, 300 man-guard of Sparta's Battle King Leonidas arrayed itself in the narrow "Hot Gates" pass.[North of Athens and Thebes, but far north east of Lacedaemon/Sparta. This is critical,because Sparta's senate initially voted to defend much closer-to-home portion of the Peloponnesian Peninsula near the strategic land bridge of the Gulf of Corinth]. Xerxes,invading Persian Monarch and would-be world conqueror, myriad legions were averred so numerous that their force "drank the streams dry" marching to the attack.

Richard Egen does excellent job as Leonidas. He is charismatic yet characterisically laconic leader of Lacedaemons whose "warrior cult" society was legendary even to its Greek City-State peers,embodying The "RETURN HOME WITH YOUR SHIELD...OR ON IT!" victory or death ethic. David Farrar is fine as haughty despot Xerxes who none the less conveys astonishment(and once when a desperate,final Flying-Wedge assault by the Spartans threatens him personally)and respectful fear. Sir Ralph Richardson's role as Athenian senator who struggles to cobble unity from fiercely independent Hellenic poleis is "instructive" and understated.As noted,the background romance involving Diane Baker and a Spartan soldier initiate is essentially filler; Mate employs it well,however, to introduce a Greek traitor who discloses the mountain pass which allows Persians to flank...annihilate...the Spartans and their small cohort of allies.

THE 300 SPARTANS may not be epic film making but it's quite good. It's interestingly attentive to detail(wicker shields for Persians;the Lambda signum on shields of Spartans...dressed in red cloaks so enemies cannot see them bleed.)Photography is fine using both panoramic sweep and jump-cut close-up's. Battle scenes are convincing(lacking CGI magnus/extravagance)effectively conveying claustrophobic chaos and terror of close, no-quarter combat. This is an exciting,dramatic recreation of one of the signum battles of history. Overwhelming odds are confronted by resovled courage. It's the right stuff of myth that both chides the spirit as well as excites the imagination.

Your spear is for yourself. Your shield is for the line.
Here is a credible portrayal of the heroic stand that the 300 Spartans made at the pass of Thermopylae in 480BCE. Trying to make their way through the pass was a Persian army that likely numbered around 200,000. It was led by king Xerxes, son of Darius.

The Persians were set on conquering Greece, and Xerxes was out for revenge. 10 years earlier, in 490BCE Darius had launched an ill-fated invasion force that was turned back at Marathon. This time, Xerxes believed he had a large enough army that the outcome of the war between Greece and Persia would not be in doubt.

Unfortunately for Xerxes, he had never faced a fighting force of the like fielded by the Spartans. The valiant Lacedamons along with a handful of Greek coalition forces held the pass for the better part of 3 days.

On the third day, the Spartan king Leonidas dismissed the rest of the Greek forces so that they would live to fight another day. The Thespians declined to leave and they stayed and fought to a last man alongside the Spartans.

It is this obstinate and awe-inspiring battle that is depicted in the film. All-in-all, it is quite well done and does a reputable job of introducing most of the major characters in the period such as Themosticles, Leonidas, Xerxes, Mardonious, Aspasia and Ephialtes.

The best part of the film lies in its authenticity regarding Spartan battle dress and weaponry. In the film the Spartan shields have an upside down "V," which was the symbol of the Homoioi (full citizens). This was, in fact, what their shield depicted.

The Laconians had a long (roughly 8 foot) spear + a short-sword, and this is what the actors wielded. The Spartans also wore red to (supposedly) hide their blood, and this is accurately brought out in the film as well.

On the downside, there are a few weak parts of the script. The most egregious is an anachronism; Mardonious informs Xerxes that the Spartans "fight like machines."

There are also some directorial lapses and a few spots where armies are supposed to be in close combat and yet the extras move so slowly that you think they don't have a care in the world. I rather doubt the tension at Thermopylae 2,500 years ago would allow for such insouciance.

The acting is fairly good. Richard Egan gives a solid performance as the venerable Leonidas. The Xerxes in the film is not, I would think, too far removed from the actual pompous king who invaded Greece all those centuries ago.

Aside from all that, the primary reason one should buy this DVD is that it is real history. While some of it is fabricated and fudged, it is nevertheless an excellent representation of what really happened. To this day, to commemorate those three days in August of 480BCE there is an epigraph at Thermopylae. Translated into English, it reads thus:

GO TELL THE SPARTANS, STRANGER PASSING BY
THAT HERE OBEDIENT TO THEIR LAWS WE LIE.

Not as good as I remembered
Of course, that is because I was a very young child when this movie was originally being played. It's still fun to watch. The acting is marginal, costumes are poorly done and some of the spoken lines are terrible. It's main redeeming quality...it's a good clean movie that is biased toward the admirable qualities in mankind...duty, honor, country. This is something that you don't get to see very often from Hollywood these days.

I waited a very long time for this to come out on DVD, and bought it immediately. It will forever be part of my collection, and I will watch it many more times over the years. It's not The Ten Commandments or Ben Hur, but for me and probable many other baby boomers, it's still a "must have" movie. ... Read more

Reviews (30)

A very silly but lovely 1950s soap opera
There are some wonderful reasons to add the newly released-on-DVD "The Best of Everything" to your film library. For one, it is a glittering and colorful glimpse into New York City circa 1959. Fox certainly has done a commendable job with the DVD--the picture quality and sound are both crystal clear. Cinemascope has rarely been this fun to watch, because now one can see it digitally mastered in widescreen with vivid color photography by Deluxe brought to sparkling life.

The film is very, very lush. From the beginning, when the screen fills with a sunny view of the Manhattan skyline to the sounds of Johnny Mathis crooning the Oscar-nominated theme song, you know you are in for grand entertainment. All of the performances are fine, with Crawford a standout.

I think it's funny that although Joan Crawford only has five to ten minutes of screen time in "The Best of Everything," her picture is featured very prominently on the back and front covers of the DVD. The casual watcher may never know that the ultimate movie star had a only a supporting role, yet with that tiny role she managed to steal the entire picture and make it her own!That's star power!

As enjoyable as the film is, it is incredibly flawed. If one was interested in sexist attitudes (concerning men AND women) and how they have changed since the 1950s, there couldn't be a more relevant movie to watch. It is shocking, and sometimes disturbing, how much attitudes have changed.

For example, at one point during the movie, Catherine (played by lovely Hope Lange) is told by David, one of her romantic interests, that once she has proven to herself she can make it in the publishing world (which, in his view, could be the only reason a woman might have some kind of ambition) she should quit it all, get married, and "love happily ever after." Now there is nothing wrong with wanting to be in love happily ever after, but it certainly represents a double-standard. Who would ever tell a man such a thing?Could you imagine Hope Lange telling David that a man's ambition is only him trying to prove himself, and that he should cut it out and love happily ever after? (now I can imagine Joan Crawford saying that to Clark Gable, but there weren't any characters with that kind of will or independence in this film).

So much of the dialogue and morality in the film is dated, and some of it is very disturbing, but there are still some good things about the story. There are some great viewpoints on love, and how casual dating and hookups can hurt people, and my favorite line has to be, "Here's to men, with their clean-shaven faces and their dirty little minds." It's funny to say the least!

OH, YES... TAKE ME BACK TO '59
Yes, please take me back to 1959, to New York in 1959, or even back to Rio de Janeiro, a couple of years before, where I met Rona Jaffe practically every single night at the then world-famous "Sacha's" nightclub, where Rona was already drafting her novel mentally...
When the film started shooting the exteriors in front of the Seagram's building, one could actually walk-up to lovely Suzy Parker and chat with her about how real was the "new morality" of the liberated New York girls in the executive suites, decades before Sex and the City became the post-mortem of the sexual revolution of the Sixties.
At night we had the many parties thrown by Negulesco and his charming wife, while Stephen Boyd was being charming to my wife, Brazilian actress Mariza Woodward, featured in LIFE Magazine as one of the most beautiful gals in Rio.
Oh, yes, take me back!
And if you were not there then, if you were not even born then, do get this DVD and visit New York 1959 and see how charmingly it all started, despite where it eventually ended.

Good Peek into Women in Publishing in 1959
"The Best of Everything" is based on the novel by Rona Jaffe and it's popular fiction roots show.With a wonderful splashy opening song by Johnny Mathis and the sight of young, pretty Hope Lange as Caroline Bender answering an ad (hilariously promising "the best of everything" in a secretarial career) at a posh Manhattan publishing house, the film revolves around three young women seeking their fortunes in the Big Apple. The three central characters (all of whom start in the typing pool at Fabian's Publishing and come to share a cold water flat) include Lange as impeccably and jauntily suited Caroline (she really does wear a suit well), the woman with the most smarts and dignity of the three, who quickly demonstrates a natural aptitude and moxie for the publishing business; impossibly gorgeous Suzy Parker as aspiring actress Gregg Adams (Parker, a top model of the time, seems way too glamorous, sophisticated and beautiful to be lost in the typing pool or ignored by casting agents); and Diane Baker as chirpy, annoying, naive April Morrison, fresh from Hicksville and willing to swallow any hook or line that is thrown her way.Her main goal is to marry.

The usual soap opera commences, but it's fun stuff with lots of dish and dirt.Although the attitudes towards women remind women of why the feminist movement began (sexual harassment tolerated by the resident lecher, Mr. Shalimar, played with alcoholic panache and humor by Brian Aherne; all women with careers looked on as "hard" and having missed the boat in romance; double standard between men and women), honey, anyone who has seen the inside of a secretarial pool today can tell you things haven't changed terribly much beyond --cosmetically--the sexual attitudes. The secretaries storming the Bastille in the morning, brimming with gossip and tales of engagements, are much the same today, and Joan Crawford is believable as the tough editor Amanda Farrow who gives her "girl" a hard time -- with the exception of some of her unintentionally hilarious lines.(When Farrow retires to pursue a love affair, hoping it's not "too late," she later returns and announces, "It was too late.")And what man today would hand his girl socks to darn with she so cheerfully happy to comply?

But it's all fun!My favorite line:when the busload of employees are en route to the company picnic, singing, and Baker chirps to Lange, "Isn't it wonderful?" and Lange says, "I'd rather be shot in the head."

Great Slice of Nostalgia, but NOT campy!!!
After reading the reviews posted here, I ordered "The Best of Everything" with eager anticipation as so many reviewers mentioned the archaic dialogue, gorgeous scenery, and retro sets and costumes.The biggest influenece on my buying this however, was the constant comparison to my all-time favorite movie, "Valley of the Dolls".If you purchase this looking for the same campy, kitschy experience you get from VOTD, you will, like me, be very disappointed.This movie was indeed charming and a great look back at how it used to be, but not a camp delight by any means.Just don't expect something else like I did!

A Manhattan Melodrama Meets a Valley of Dolls
I am still trying to figure out why I like this film (and so many like it), when in truth, the submissiveness of females and their dependence on the love of a man really sicken me.The depiction of women in this film is perhaps a bit more progressive than that in other films of this genre, as the women are, at least, "career women", and much of the story is set in the office, of a large publishing firm, Fabian Publishing.However, among the three key friends and principal characters (played by Hope Lange, Suzy Parker, and Diane Baker), Lange's character Caroline Bender is the only one determined to be an editor.However, at the same time, when her colleague Mike Rice (Stephen Boyd) asks her if she has any ambitions beyond working a year or so, she quite adamantly says "no..none at all"...so, it's a bit contradictory, and frustrating. And he, of course, says it's "wonderful" when she agrees with him that it would be quite satisfying for her to "get her feet wet in publishing for a year or two to prove what she has "to prove", marry a doctor or lawyer, and have babies".UGH!!!But, it's 1959, so, you have to keep it in perspective.

Some of the dialog is beyond hope, but I inexplicably continue to watch this film, every so often.Maybe it's the women's clothing...I love suits, and I miss dressing up for work.(Business casual has been one of several downfalls of today's workplace, as far as I'm concerned). No, but really...perhaps it is because I want to see if at least one of these women wakes up and takes stock in her own life, and throws back all of the garbage that her "sweetheart" dishes out at her.Hope Lange does so to a degree when she rhetorically asks her slime-bucket hometown beau Eddie, in paraphrase, "what is it about men that they think they deserve the most refined, cultured, "respectable" women from the "best schools and the best families" only "part-time", for only fun, but ignore all of the attendant responsibilities that would turn frolic into long-term, serious relationships."She then goes on to say that a number of women will play the same game as men, for a while, but eventually, they'll have to pick up a few extra men of their own, to fill in the time when they're not with the one they really want.I at least admire her honesty about the pitfalls and emptiness of "casual dating" and "hooking up".

The opening credits are very nice...Manhattan in the spring/summertime is always glorious.Though I need to laugh that it's Johnny Mathis singing the title song, "The Best of Everything" (I've always thought that he was a very funny singer...he often breaks what should be long-held notes with silence...perhaps he's breathing, but we don't hear him inhale), it's also perfect....who else would be singing this song for a 1950's movie about finding your way in life and in love.

Joan Crawford's boss is in many ways no different from some of the tyrannical maniacs for whom I've had the complete displeasure to work.Joan Crawford's Amanda Farrow was more or less a direct, no holds barred, right-in-your face "meanie", telling Hope Lange that she does not have what it takes to become a Reader, much less an Editor.And, she did it in front of the rest of the typing pool (how unprofessional is that?).In the 80's, people stabbed you in the back.In the 90's, and to a degree, now, people smile at you directly, and let you believe all is well, until you're laid off in one life-altering second.

I found it inconsistent how the Suzy Parker character started out as an independent, career-minded, aspiring actress, who prided herself on never having needed a man ("to love, and to let go...that's me"), but ended up becoming the most debilitated by the rejection of a man with whom she had fallen in love.And of course, it's also amazing how Diane Baker, fresh from being thrown out of a speeding car and losing a baby (out of wedlock, no less, in the 1950's!) manages to attract the attention and heart of a young, studly doctor when she's still wearing bandages and no make-up in her hospital bed.Wonders never cease in a 1950's melodrama!

If you hedonistically enjoy "Valley of the Dolls", or "Written on the Wind", you'll love "The Best of Everything".
... Read more

Amazon.com essential video

George Stevens (Giant) directed this 1959 film adaptation of the hit play based on the writings of Anne Frank, the Jewish girl from Amsterdam who hid in an attic with her family and others during the Nazi occupation. As Anne, Millie Perkins is something of a milky eyed enigma and--in retrospect--too old for the part; but she is surrounded by an outstanding cast, including Joseph Schildkraut as Anne's patient father, Ed Wynn as a cranky dentist who moves into Anne's "room," and Shelley Winters as the loud Mrs. Van Daan. Stevens turns the many overlapping dramas of the caged characters into the foundation of Anne's growth as a young woman, ready for life and love just at the moment the dream comes to an end. Beautifully shot by cinematographer William C. Mellor, and written by Frances Goodrich and Albert Hackett from their stage production. --Tom Keogh ... Read more

Reviews (58)

It's Okay, But It Doesn't Do the Play Justice
"The Diary of Anne Frank," as directed by George Stevens, is certainly not a bad movie. However, it seems to lack the certain spark, sincerity, and tight acting of a truly great movie, and come to think of it, the play on which it is based. The movie is hurt severely by Millie Perkin's, who is whiney and lifeless as Anne Frank. Of all the worthy talent out there, why did they have to pick someone who was not only bad, but 10 years to old for the part. Ed Wynn is dreadfully miscast as grumpy dentist Dussel, and the whole movie is dragged on for so long that the ending is anticlimatic. On the positive side, Joseph Schildkraut and Lou Jacobi recreate the roles they held on Broadway with sincerity and gusto, and Shelly Winters won an Oscar for her delightful performence as Mrs. Van Daan. The screanplay by Albert Hacket and Francis Goodrich is also quite moving. Not a bad showing, but Stevens could have done better.

This play is an inspriation to me&I'm sure to others as well
I rented this movie from Blockbuster last night and I watched it (I'm watching it again right now).It is a wonderful movie.I know that it was/is based on the real thing and I am glad to know that I can not only read her diary and other books to know what Anne,her family,and the Van Daans suffered through,I can watch a movie and/or play about it as well~! I really did enjoy it and I reccomend it to everyone,old or young.It should make you think that no one in this world should be killed just because they are Jewish,America,Chinese or any other race.We are all one and will always be one as long as we all work together.I honestly believe what Anne said:
(quote)Anne Frank:"In spite of everything,I still believe people are really good at heart."(/quote)So please,watch and/or read "The Diary of Anne Frank".I guarentee that it will touch your heart;it touched mine all 10 times (and forever more when I read about Anne Frank)! =}~Jackie

Anne Deserves Better
There is no excuse why the best and most widely read Holocaust narrative couldn't have been made into a far superior movie than this disorganized and boring flick. For most Americans, The Diary of Anne Frank is the only Holocaust book they will ever read and most Americans won't even read that. Consequently, it is vitally important there be an excellent film adaptation of the book. This dull, watered down and not particularly well cast or acted film is not the perfect film memorial to the 7 million victims it needs to be.

This is the definitive movie for Anne's Diary
*** SPOILER if you have not read the diary or seen any of its movies yet

Absolutely no scene in movie history is as simultaneously gripping and gently conveyed as the final scene, when Peter Van Damme and Anne Frank hold hands and look out to the sky as the Gestapo beat down their door to take them to a death camp. The adults look down in the direction of the door and stand or sit still and wait for them to enter, resigned to the fact that they just can not escape the fate that the Nazis have assigned to them.

Nobody runs or even speaks, and Otto Frank puts down the newspaper and hands his wife her bag, as if they are going on a trip. Such small simple movments convey such finality for these 7 people who have shared the unimaginable experience of being caged liked animals to escape being killed like animals, because one man in power decided people of their religion and race should not live.

That scene says more than a million car chases and explosions. Watch it and see what I mean.

unfortunate timing
there was only one reason this monumental film was not awarded the "Best Picture" oscar at the academy awards. that reason is simple; the year of its release. 1959 was an unfortunate year for George Stevens to release this masterpiece of filmmaking, because released that same year was "Ben-Hur". any connesieur of classic films can attest to the magnitude of "Ben-Hur", winner of 11 academy awards. inspite of the legendary status of "Ben-Hur", "The Diary Of Anne Frank" deserves just as much recognition.
"The Diary Of Anne Frank" deserved the oscar just as much if not more than "Ben-Hur". the film was based on the diary written by Anne Frank while she was hiding out in the attic of an old house with her family and several others to avoid Nazi capture during those tragic days of WWII.
the movie is nothing less than monumental and a perfect tribute to Anne Frank and her family. it is nearly 3 hrs. long but easily maintains one's interest throughout.

there exist no words to justly express greatness of this magnificent opus of filmmaking. accolades to George Stevens for giving us this film. and God bless the entire Frank family for continuing to bring hope to the hearts of people globally for over 60 years. AMEN ... Read more

Reviews (88)

Marnie, an Alfred Hitchcock Delight
Marnie is an excellent movie with stars Tippi Hedren and Sean Connery (who was at a peak in popularity at the time). Marnie is an excellent suspense story with a shattering climax that will keep you on the edge of your seat. Marnie is about a frigid women who is in fear of bright red colors and thunderstorms.She works at a company for a while and then steals money from the company safe. Her sheme goes well until she comes upon a man who relizes she is a theif (played by Sean Connery). She gives her a choice of marriage or going to jail. She accepts the marriage and during their honeymoon cruse her fridgity almost makes Mark Rutland (who is Sean Connery) rape her. The next day she trys to commit succicide by drowning herself into the pool. When they come back many things occur. Mark Rutland is trying to figure out why Marnie is acting the way she is.Marnie is still constantly in fear in bright red colors and when a bright red color on a mans coat during a hunt causes her horse to go into a dangerous gallop she is followed by Mr. Rutlands sister in law. Her horse is finally stopped when the horse cannot make it over a brick wall. Marnie is forced to kill it with a gun. After the sad loss she trys to rob the safe, but she can't because Mark has caught her. She takes her to her mother's house where she reviews her childhood occurence of when she killed a sailor (played by Bruce Dern). When it was first released the movie was a misfire, but now it is one of best Hitchcock movies ever. The acting is excellent and the Supporting Actors and Actresses. Watch for Hitchcock's Cameo at the very beginning of the movie. This is an excellent movie and it was made by no other then Alfred Hitchcock.

Forgotten Hitchcock Treat!
Considered by many to be one of Hitchcock's worst ( the others being "Torn Curtain", "Topaz", and "Family Plot")but, I think has time has passed, people have rediscovered this film. It's not as bad as many think it is. When watching this film, I think of two previous Hitchcock films, "Spellbound" and "Vertigo". This film is better than "Spellbound" (I've never cared to much for that movie. I always thought that the plot asks us to "accept" too much)but whether it's better than "Vertigo", I don't think many will see it that way. But, it is an interesting piece of work, by the "master". Good performances by Tippi Hedren and Sean Connery ( a bit after his James Bond fame). The scrpit Jay Presson Allen is intriguing. It does offer some moments of suspense and excitment. But it does get a bit confusing between certain moments. It is a fun movie to watch with good acting and a wonderful score by Bernard Herrman, and of course as with any Hitchcock film, the directing is masterfully done. This is a movie all Hitchcock fans have to watch.

The masterpiece that is Marnie
This is my favourite movie, probably because there isn't another film like it. It's a very intellegent and romantic thriller made just before movies started to tackle more 'adult' themes in a more graphic way. Marnie explores these themes but it is done in a romantasised and stylistic manner.

Hitchcock directs brilliantly as you'd expect and manages to coax a real tour de force from Tippi Hendren. Connery is in his prime and Louise Latham is truly staggering as Marnie's mother. The underated (and dead sexy) Diane Baker is also excellent.

I really can't recommend Marnie enough and this DVD is superb (better than the region 2 one).

Hitchcock turns a thief into a victim

Director: Alfred Hitchcock
Format: Color
Studio: Universal Studios
Video Release Date: August 3, 1999

Cast:

Tippi Hedren ... Marnie Edgar/Margaret Edgar/Peggy Nicholson/Mary Taylor
Sean Connery ... Mark Rutland
Diane Baker ... Lil Mainwaring
Martin Gabel ... Sidney Strutt
Louise Latham ... Bernice Edgar
Bob Sweeney ... Cousin Bob
Milton Selzer ... Man at Track
Mariette Hartley ... Susan Clabon
Alan Napier ... Mr. Rutland
Bruce Dern ... Sailor
Henry Beckman ... First Detective
S. John Launer ... Sam Ward
Edith Evanson ... Rita
Meg Wyllie ... Mrs. Turpin
John Hart
Alfred Hitchcock ... Man leaving hotel room
Rupert Crosse ... Office worker
Louise Lorimer ... Mrs. Strutt
Kimberly Beck ... Jesse
Carmen Phillips ... Sidney Strutt's secretary
Melody Thomas Scott ... Young Marnie

One of Hitchcock's masterpieces, and like many other of his efforts, a psychological drama.

Marnie (Tippi Hedren) was a kleptomaniac, a compulsive thief. She supported her mother, Bernice Edgar (Louise Latham), who was a stern, domineering person of religious conviction with high standards of personal conduct, and who had turned her daughter into a man-hater.

Enter Mark Rutland (Sean Connery) who marries Marnie, knowing that she is a thief and liar, but unaware of all of her serious hang-ups. However, as the problems begin to surface, he tries to solve them.

Grace Kelly was originally considered for the part of Marnie, but was already the princess of Monaco and her subjects were less than enthusiastic about it, and besides, the picture was being made by Universal while she was still under contract to MGM, so she dropped the idea and never again considered a movie career. This was also an early effort in the career of Sean Connery, before his series as James Bond.

An entertaining film, with good acting throughout, and the excellent direction of Hitchcock, with his usual trademark cameo. You should enjoy the picture.

Bruce Dern plays a focal role, as well, as an unnamed sailor, but it is not an unimportant part.

Joseph (Joe) Pierre

author of Handguns and Freedom...their care and maintenance
and other books

Freud Wrote the Script
Hitch was truly angry that Grace Kelly backed out of this project, so Tippi Hedren got the call. Then Hitch made Tippi-Marnie suffer. No director ever played out his psyche in film like Hitchcock. The rape fantasy is central to Marnie. The criminal female mind, both sensual and man hating in its ambiguity is portrayed in Freudian terms. Visually, Marnie is startling to see and familiar to Hitch's fans. The backgrounds, for example, Baltimore Harbor and Marnie's childhood street are beautiful, yet unreal in a plastic sense. I noticed this in Vertigo; a place is somehow more beautiful and possibly ominous because of painted device, careful set, or clothing design that we have not seen except for Spielberg in his space visitor films or Spike Lee in his plastic black neighborhoods, so we always feel while we are viewing that the real world is somehow enhanced. Then there's the details, the way the shots are set up. The camera gradually circles the blonde ice goddess. Give us a close up of the keys in the drawer with the combination and pull back to show the cleaning lady in a split shot with the burglar. Marnie is a psychological thriller and because it plays Hollywood-Freudian, it slows and is stilted or amateurish. Couch time is pretty much a personal drama difficult for a general audience to care about. For all the tribulations uttered on the shrinks couch, the story is still the thing on film. Marnie is predictable and slow to unwind. All the advantages of a slowly unraveling story helped Hitch in Vertigo, but Marnie seems to plod along. Still, Marnie is better than 99% of the films ever made. ... Read more

Amazon.com

There were two movies about murder and the U.S. presidency released in 1997, and when you compare it to Absolute Power, this one is clearly the lesser of the two. That doesn't mean it's a bad movie, but it does make it a mildly disappointing one, and it illustrates the hazards of crafting a film to fit the persona of its leading man. In this case, you've got Wesley Snipes, a young, savvy man of action, playing a Washington, D.C., police detective assigned to investigate the murder of a woman in the White House. The president's son is a prime suspect, but there's a cover-up underway that forces Snipes to intensify his investigation beyond normal parameters. For a while at least, this makes Murder at 1600 a sharp and interesting film, and while the national security advisor (Alan Alda) seems highly cooperative (but don't be so sure), Snipes meets a secret service member (Diane Lane) who shares his belief in a high-level conspiracy. Unfortunately, that's when the film takes a downward plunge, resorting to a series of thriller clichés including an unlikely chase through secret tunnels beneath the White House. We're not suggesting this couldn't happen, but it's the kind of thing you typically see in movies that have run out of original ideas before they're over. Kinda makes you want to watch Absolute Power again, doesn't it? --Jeff Shannon ... Read more

Reviews (26)

Identity crisis leaves Murder at 1600 unsolvable mess
Murder at 1600 is an unsolvable mess that suffers from a severe identity crisis. It starts out with the murder of a White House staffer and ends up with everyday cop Wesley Snipes and his Secret Service counterpart Diane Lane trying save the nation from a constitutional crisis. Therein lies the problem with Murder at 1600: it is really two not very good movies in one. The first half is rather ho-hum, but is still believable; Snipes wades through bureaucratic bull while investigating the death of a White House intern. The second half is pure fantasy, livened up with shoot'um up action, as the trail of crumbs leads to an incredibly dumb conclusion. If the producers of Murder at 1600 could have decided which direction to go, they would have had an average, but entertaining movie. Instead, we get a movie that is average and not entertaining.

Good movie. Great picture quality, Great Sound quality
The story about a DC cop (Snipes) investigates murder of a young woman in the White House. Everybody is a suspect including the President and his son. The story is quite good and Dwight Little direction keeps the film interesting all the way. The DVD sound and picture quality is very good. This movie also features my favorite actress, Diane Lane. She is so good in the role of Secret service. I am so disappointed she was not even considered to replace Jodie Foster in the sequel of Silence of the lamb (Julianne Moore got the part). The producer should have seen this movie before made the decision. Anyway it is a great entertaining DVD to be added to your collection. You won't be sorry.

BILL CLINTON'S CRIMES?
"Murder at 1600" had me thinking that somebody read my screenplay, "A Murderous Campaign", used my idea but gave me no credit. Maybe. This plays on the public perception that Bill Clinton might just be a murderer. However, the President bears no resemblance to Clinton and the film does not take a partisan tone, although Alan Alda seems to be a caricatured right wing militarist.

STEVEN TRAVERS
AUTHOR OF "BARRY BONDS: BASEBALL'S SUPERMAN"
STWRITES@AOL.COM

An impressive, tantalizing thriller
Once again I find myself praising a movie that a majority of folks seem to view as average at best. Murder at 1600 is a serious movie that you can't take too seriously, not if you want to enjoy it. Wesley Snipes has a few humorous bits, and Dennis Miller is his normally wisecracking self, and I think the movie perhaps benefits from this remote air of unreality due to its subject matter - after all, the brutal murder of a young woman inside the White House is some pretty serious stuff. The other main aspect of the film, which supplies the motive for the murder in the first place, is - granted - a little bit out there, and that is where the subtle sense of unreality pays dividends; without it, it would really be hard to get from here to there.

Carla Towne is a young unknown White House staffer - until her body is found in a White House restroom sporting a number of deadly knife wounds. This is not good news for the President, who is already bottoming out in the polls for still attempting to negotiate, six months into the crisis, the release of an AWAC crew captured and obviously tortured by the North Koreans. Wesley Snipes plays Detective Harlan Regis, the investigator summoned to the White House to investigate the murder. The Secret Service as an organization is less than friendly and cooperative, viewing the White House as its beat alone. Except for his buddy and sometimes partner (played by Dennis Miller), Regis is pretty much on his own. The tight-lipped and intimidating Nick Spikings (Daniel Benzali), the chief of White House security and definite contender for the next Lex Luthor look-alike contest (his Marlon Brando impersonation isn't half bad, either) assigns Agent Nina Chance (Diane Lane) as Regis' liaison with the Secret Service. Spikings doesn't mess around, and once he has tabbed an individual for the murder, he wants Chance to have nothing to do with Regis. The detective is pretty persistent, though, and Chance has to weigh her sense of duty against her sense of justice.

The list of suspects is quite fluid, and I think the movie does a very good job of sustaining suspense and the sense of mystery throughout. The facts as Regis acquires them make not only the President's philandering son, but the President himself possible suspects. Then you have the crisis with North Korea coming to the fore, with the President really frustrating his top advisors with his incredibly wimpy refusal to risk war with North Korea over the military hostage crisis. The truth, when it comes, does push the envelope to some degree, but it is certainly logical in the given context. I didn't ID the real bad guy any sooner than Regis and Chance did, so that to me is a good thing.

A great mystery, plenty of action, power politics, lust, murder, conspiracy inside conspiracy: Murder in 1600 offers the viewers all of this and more. The ending itself is well done in my opinion, as well. Thus, this reviewer counts this as an impressive and very entertaining thriller.

Alda gets to show a different side of "Hawkeye"
Any movie that allows former-M*A*S*H star Alan Alda to play against type is worth a look.

Star Snipes adds another "action role" to his ever-expanding arsenal of "kick butt" types. Diane Lane, Ronny Cox, and Daniel Benzali supply enough backing to make this thriller passable.

The appearance of Diane Baker as the President's wife makes the movie work for me. ... Read more

Amazon.com

If you think Jim Carrey's comedy is an acquired taste, think of The Cable Guy as a potent bottle of bittersweet wine. The film has a lingering aftertaste, but it is just a bit too dark, a bit too extreme to invite another serving. On the other hand, you've got to give Carrey some credit for risking his $20-million paycheck (and a big chunk of box-office revenue) on this black comedy. A needy, psychologically unbalanced cable-television installer (Carrey) forces his friendship upon an unsuspecting bachelor (Matthew Broderick) who has just broken up with his fiancée. The movie gets edgier and more desperate--and in some respects funnier--as Carrey's cable guy gradually goes crazy. Director Ben Stiller manages to pack some pointed social commentary into the movie's many humorous detours.Although it was a box-office disappointment, The Cable Guy is nevertheless a daring comedy for those who have had their fill of Ace Ventura. --Jeff Shannon ... Read more

Reviews (97)

Underrated, funny, disturbing
I'm with most other Amazon reviewers -- I don't know why this movie got such a bum rap from most critics. I think it's because Carrey wasn't doing his usual Ace Ventura shtick which I personally don't care for (was not able to sit through either of the Ace Ventura movies). This movie was very funny, good dialogue, good characterization -- the Stephen character was very real and so was the Cable Guy even though he was nutty. My least favorite scene was the one where he beats up Robin's date. Not because it was violent but because it was pretty pointless, didn't contribute anything to the plot, just not very funny IMO (though I see that some other people disagree). I also thought the karaoke scene dragged on a bit. But the whole Medieval Times episode was a scream! Ditto for the Porno Password scene and the basketball game and the scene where the Cable Guy visits Steve in jail, as well as the Menendez brothers-like trial subplot with Ben Stiller. The way the Cable Guy kept modeling everything in his life on TV shows and movies was an inspired touch -- it may not be terribly profound or original social commentary but it was an interesting way of making the point. Finally, I thought the ending was just perfect. The Cable Guy is being airlifted to the hospital and the paramedic in the chopper says "Hang in there, buddy!." The Cable Guy asks, his eyes lighting up, "Hey! Am I really your buddy?" "Sure you are," replies the unsuspecting paramedic ... and we see the Cable Guy's face dissolve into a demented grin. Wow!

Carrey's underrated masterpiece
"The Cable Guy," as most know by now, was a major departure for Jim Carrey. The rubber-faced goofball of hits like "Dumb And Dumber" and "Ace Ventura: Pet Detective" was still present, but he was appearing in a radically different form. With Carrey playing a cable installer fixated on an unsuspecting customer, "The Cable Guy" is easily his darkest movie. However, I've got a soft spot for a good black comedy, and this one is about as black (and as good) as they come.

Although goofy behavior had been Carrey's trademark since his "In Living Color" days (remember Fire Marshal Bill?), "The Cable Guy" was the first movie in which his madcap antics hinted at something dark beneath the surface. Indeed, by playing such a twisted character, Carrey was finally able to let loose and reveal the full range of his comedic gifts (aren't bad guys always more fun?). In contrast to the likes of "Ace Ventura" and "Dumb And Dumber," which were basically just live-action cartoons (albeit amusing ones), "The Cable Guy" provides Carrey with a creepy, unsettling vehicle where he gets to show some real malevolence. When Carrey plays basketball prison-style while Filter's "Hey Man Nice Shot" plays in the background, it's both hilarious and disturbing at the same time. And even when Carrey hams it up, as when he does a vibrato-heavy rendition of Jefferson Airplane's "Somebody To Love" while a group of freaky friends dances around him, there's an undercurrent of the surreal.

In an equally dramatic departure from Carrey's norm, "The Cable Guy" even had a message mixed in with all its weirdness. It turns out Carrey's nameless cable installer, who gets his pseudonyms from old TV shows, was left by his mother to be raised by the TV, and has attachment issues stemming from his inability to relate to others. The plot is set against the backdrop of a former child star's trial for killing his twin brother, and director Ben Stiller (who also plays the murderous brother) takes several opportunities for pointed satire of our TV-addled culture. It's not until the end that the subject is addressed at length, but the pernicious effects of TV are a prominent theme of the movie. When the cable guy laments in his closing monologue that he learned about the facts of life from watching "The Facts Of Life," it's strangely poignant.

And how about a hand for Matthew Broderick as Steven Kovacs, the unfortunate object of Carrey's fixation? It's hard to believe this guy almost faded into obscurity in the five years or so after "Ferris Bueller's Day Off." If not for his classic turn in "Election," I'd say Steven was the role Broderick was born to play. At first Steven just regards the cable guy as a nuisance, but his annoyance over his new friend's increasingly creepy behavior grows as the film wears on until it turns to outright fear and desperation, and Broderick captures it perfectly. Few, if any actors, make a better hapless guy than Broderick, which is especially ironic given that he became a star playing the uber-cool Ferris Bueller.

Watching this movie, it's hard to believe it was such a letdown at the box office. I firmly believe entertainers should be rewarded for taking risks, but apparently Carrey's fans weren't quite ready for him to play such a troubled character in such a dark movie. That's too bad, because those who haven't seen this movie are really missing out. "The Cable Guy" doesn't go down as easy as Carrey's other comedies, but it's a lot more rewarding in the end.

Son of Cable Guy...future spin off?
I really liked this movie. Overall, I didn't find it that dark.
I look at it as a clever vehicle to let Jim Carey do his comedy. The way Mathew Broderick reacts to Carey is almost as funny as Jim Carey. In addition, all the actors shine in this movie.

The Cable Guy
This book has enspired many, encluding me, readers that love Jim Carrey as an actor. Eventhough this is just a book, doesn't mean Jim Carrey has lost his style. In this book, he played an amazing role as a cable guy. This is the only book that I have read that made me realize that if you have old friends that are now weird, doesn't mean you can't still be friends. I hope that this book will teach other students or readers, like me, love this book.

Many Laughs
This movie rocks. I love that Jim Carrey is the demented Cable Guy. Jim Carrey ( up till this movie) was only known for 'wacky' - goofy comedy. And this movie is leaps and bounds above that crap. If you want lame - childish - Pet Ventura junk then stay away. But if you can appreciate smart humor and good writing then this is a blast. The whole concept of Cable Guy is based on a man who will do anything to be liked - even though everything he does is over the top and annoying. The two scenes that always kill me: 1) he dresses up like Freddie Mercury and beats up Owen Wilson in the bathroom. 2) He mauls the dude in the basketball game in slo-mo, then eventually dunks the ball and breaks the glass after hanging on the rim and falls STRAIGHT down. ... Read more

Reviews (17)

The horse of course
This is a great family film from the Disney Studio. A fun adventure with Dean Jones, without as much slapstick as his other Disney outings. A little adventure, big dose of comedy, with some romance thrown in while a single father has to sort out his priorities.

Jones is an advertising executive that is stuck between an employer who is pressuring him for a jazzy new ad campaign, and being a single parent of a daughter that desperatley wants a horse. He is not to keen on horses, the cost of the riding instructions she is attending, or even the instructor. Of course the instructor (Diane Baker) feels his daughter is a fantastic rider and should actually compete. He is opposed to the extra cost and the let he fears his daughter will have.

Through a few twists, suddenly the 2 needs meet and he not only buys a horse but lets his daughter enter it in shows. But he really does it to promote an ad campaign and figures out a way to have his clients pay for it. Meanwhile his daughter develops a love interest in another horseman, a very young Kurt Russell. And Dad begins to fall for the instructor he hates. Dianne Baker and Dean Jones have a wonderful chemistry and if you loike them together you should really see them as a married couple in another Disney comedy called, "the Ugly Dachsund".

The DVD version listed here does NOT include widescreen, or remastered, or have any extras, which is a big dissapointment. My VHS version is clean though and looks fresh even though it is also not in widescreen.

Adorable Horse Story
I am a horse-lover and when I saw this movie I just loved it as well! It's a cute story about a dad and his horse loving daughter. He finally is able to get her a horse to show, but there is a catch. The horse is named after a company as part of an ad campaign. The dad ends up falling in love and the daughter has a thing for a very very young Kurt Russell! Overall great family movie, and a must-have for any horse lovers video collection.

Full Screen Sucks ......... most of the Time!
DVD Movies have many great features: great picture quality, making of documentaries, trailers and much more. However my favorite feature would have to be "Widescreen". So that is why I was so disappointed when I found out this movie was full screen. I bought this movie anyways, because at less I could replace my old faded VHS tape with superb color and sound and it did. However it did more than that. Upon closer comparison I noticed that was getting a lot more picture on the top and bottom and left and right of the screen!!!! On my 32 inch TV it's about and extra inch and a half more picture around the out side of the screen compared to my VHS tape. I was overjoyed and delighted by this discovery. So don't be too hasty in judge this movie if you love widescreen. Give it a chance it will be sure to please.

DISNEY DOESN'T GET IT!!!!!
No wonder the company is about to be taken over and broken up -- DVD was introduced to be an alternative to video, to offer more than video: better picture, more extras, and most importantly, more picture. Letterboxing. Widescreen. The complete image. So what does Disney do? They take some of their most beloved live-action films such as this one, and dump it on DVD in full-frame editions. What is the point of that? Who isn't used to widescreen DVDs yet? Why should I waste my money replacing my old Disney videos with the same crappy full screen image as before? Disney just doesn't get it, and their sales show it.

Great Movie! LOVED it!
Well, I thought this movie was wonderful! I am a horse lover, so I usually like almost any movie with horses in it. But I think people who are and aren't horse lovers will like this movie too. It's funny, it has a good story, and it has gripping competition. The horses used in this movie were excellent jumpers (not to mention beautiful). I have rented this movie from the local video store a minimum of 10 times. Its a good old Disney Classic thats good to watch when you just feel like curling up on a couch and watching a video. ... Read more

Amazon.com

The Net, the first of Hollywood's big cyberthrillers of the mid-1990s, was also the most successful, thanks in large part to the natural appeal of star Sandra Bullock.Still riding high from Speed and While You Were Sleeping, Bullock plays a computer expert victimized by sinister cyberforces who steal her identity for reasons unknown. It's a clever combination of high-tech paranoia and Hitchcockian references (including Jeremy Northam as a romantic stranger named Devlin, after Cary Grant in Notorious).Film historians may look back someday on films like this--Roger Ebert calls them "hacksploitation"--to see what they reveal about our society's reaction to the increasing role of technology in our lives, just as we now study the fears of Communism and the atom bomb reflected in films of the 1950s.Dennis Miller and Diane Baker costar.--Jim Emerson ... Read more

Reviews (56)

Thriller, Meet Ms. Bullock
I think Sandra Bullock has covered almost every movie genre but horror. And she's done each with expertise and fun. In The Net, Sandra plays Angela Bennett. A woman committed to her job as a computer virus-detector. After having a one-night stand with a guy on her only vacation in 6 years, her life ... is suddenly gone. All because of a single disc in which the man she slept with wanted. Now she must run from the police, and the group of people out to get her. With only the aide of her old shrink and lover, played by Dennis Miller. Sandra tackled the role of Angel Bennett as well as she has all of her roles. She shines throughout the whole movie. Although her character falls deeper and deeper into insanity. Dennis Miller was the comic relief, and did well at that. The story itself is something that could happen in real life, and that made the premise frightening in a way. To have your whole life stripped away from you in one second is absolutely terrifying. The directing in The Net wasn't topnotch, but does keep you on the edge of your seat. I wish the DVD would've had at least a featurette or something. It doesn't even come with a theatrical trailer. But the picture and sound quality are good, and there are scene selections. The menus look like they're right from a computer program. The Net isn't one of Sandra's best movies (Leave that to Miss Congeniality), but it certainly is one of the entertaining ones.

Underrated Bullock Film
Sandra Bullock stars in THE NET, a suspenseful thriller that will leave you at the edge of your seat. She plays Angela Bennett, a woman who is cut away from reality and the world and works from home as a computer virus detector. She comes across a disk which has a glitch that allows hackers to get into the FBI system. She takes a vacation and has a one night stand, with the man who is after her disk! Soon she finds her identity has been erased, and is forced to take on the identity of Ruth Marx. Soon she discovers this Ruth Marx has a criminal record, and must go on the run to protect herself and try to win back her identity. Dennis Miller plays her ex therapist and lover, who is a bit of a comic relief in the movie. The movie is fraught with mystery and suspense, as the story unfolds you'll find yourself hooked until the very end, when Bullock's character unravels the mystery and regains her life. THE NET is a movie that isn't as well regarded as some of her other hit movies like WHILE YOU WERE SLEEPING, MISS CONGENIALITY or SPEED, but it fits right among them as one of her best. She plays the part really well, of a woman who is terrified to find out that she has lost her identity. A must watch.

The tv-show was better
I remember when I saw this movie the first time I loved it, but ever since I saw the tv-show, this movie isn't much...

I wish they just would release the tv-show on DVD, so I could watch it again...

Sandra Bullock is the Best!!!!!!!!!!!!
I love Sandra Bullock she is a very good actress. You will even like the movie if you are not a techie.

medicore
Sandra Bullock- you either love her or you hate her. I must love her, because I can sit through even her worst movies, this being one of them. She gets into trouble with some computer crap, guys try to kill her blah blah blah. Boring and unoriginal but if youre a Sandra fan like me youll grin and bear it ... Read more

Reviews (47)

Whatever Happened to Mildred Pierce?
Joan Crawford plays Lucy Harbin, a woman who has been institutionalized for 20 years, after having hacked her unfaithful husband and his girlfriend to pieces with an axe. She is reunited with her estranged daughter, Carol (played by Diane Baker, who specialized in playing devious females at the time). Carol encourages her mother to dress like she did 20 years earlier,i.e. flower-printed dresses, jingly charm bracelets, and a black, 40s-style wig. Lucy does, and watch out! In what is my favorite scene in the film, Joan, looking like the world's oldest hooker, comes on to her daughter's handsome YOUNG fiance. It is almost obscene to watch this, but try and take your eyes off the screen! Mysterious axe-murders begin to take place. Joan's psychiatrist, (played by Mitchell Cox, Vice-President of Pepsi!)sleazy farmhand Leonard Kraus, played by George Kennedy, and then Carol's future father-in-law, played by Howard St. John. Naturally, we assume it's Joan, right? Wrong! I won't tell who the real murderer is, but I DID drop a clue earlier on. William Castle directed this Robert "Psycho" Bloch- scripted opus, and it is just what you'd expect from Castle-low-budget, full of cheap shocks, and just plain FUN. Miss Crawford is a hoot to watch, especially in her later films, such as this one. The film also has an entertaining cast, which includes Rochelle Hudson, Leif Ericson, and Edith Atwater, as Carol's bitchy future mother-in-law.

Mommy Dearest Loses her head, and so does everyone else!
This was Joan Crawford's big comeback film and she puts her all into this Camp Classic! If she doesn't get her way heads will roll. Written by Psycho creator Robert Bloch and directed by William Castle, Crawford gives an Academy Award performance in this B horror film. Her daughter played by Diane Baker takes her in after Lucy Harbin (Crawford) gets out of a mental ward after having chopped off the 6,000,000 dollar man's head (Lee Majors).
When her doctor (played by a non-actor Pepsi executive) comes to take her back to the asylum axes and heads again meet each other. We even get some good scenes with a young and non-fat George Kennedy as a lowlife who does his own take on Marie Antoinette.
The DVD version has some classic head-chopping outtakes as well as a "making of Straitjacket" short.
This was 1963 and though the plot and especially the "twist" ending is ridiculous its got some good surrealism that proved a harbinger of better films later in the decade. If you want to see one of the most hilarious Camp Classics this is the one. If you want to see Crawford in a great performance in a less than great role here it is.

Joan Crawford as Norman Bates
When William Castle (the director of the gimmick classics "The Tingler" and "13 Ghosts") saw Psycho, he liked it so much that he hired the writer (Robert Bloch) to create this gem. Unlike most of Castle's other famous movies, this one doesn't really have a cheesy gimmick, unless you count Joan Crawford decapitating people with an axe as a gimmick. Yes it has definite camp value, but it's a surprisingly well made horror movie that contains many genuinely suspenseful scenes. Joan Crawford's over-the-top performance in this movie is a great example of why she has such a strong cult following today.

The DVD is enhanced for widescreens and the print is in very good condition. Although the audio is only mono, it sounds very good. The DVD also contains a very good documentary on the making of this movie titled "Battle Axe".

MOTHER AND DAUGHTER
In watching this movie for the first time in almost 40 years, I found myself wondering why I liked it the first time around and again in re-watching. Joan Crawford was undoubtedly a "star" in the truest sense of the word; in the special features, William Castle and Diane Baker both confirm the many demands and conditions Ms. Crawford placed on the film. Her performance is definitely camp, but watching her play someone yearning for her youth, it hit home how Crawford's real life was shaping into the fall of a movie goddess.
But in the film, notice the strength Crawford and Baker give in their reunion. Without a word, the two actresses strongly display the range of emotions they are both feeling.
Diane Baker, who unlike one reviewer mentioned, had to this point played the innocent young ingenue, e.g. Best of Everything, Journey to the Center of the Earth, and in this one, she capitalizes on this innocence, so that when the venom comes, it's quite a transition. Seeing a young Lee Majors in his pre Big Valley days just reminds me how much time has elapsed!
Castle's films were gawdy, manipulative, but above all, they were entertaining.
Joan Crawford and Diane Baker are to be commended for rising above the inevitable and making this a classic camp film.

Fascinating, embarassing, and ultimately sad.
Strait-Jacket was one of my very first Joan Crawford movies. I had seen The Damned Don't Cry, Mildred Pierce, and Baby Jane by the time I was 11 and was absolutely in love with Joan Crawford from seeing her movies on AMC. To me she was the most beautiful, talented, and rather tragic of creatures. Of course, I expected Strait-Jacket to be of the same quality as Baby Jane. What a disappointment it was to me at that time, but now that I look back I see that this film introduced me to another side of Joan Crawford; the rather lonely, sad last years of her life.

The Crawford of Baby Jane is remarkably different than the Crawford of Strait-Jacket. Gone are the subtlety and the last remnants of a great beauty that were still apparent in Baby Jane. Gone is the masterful acting of Mildred Pierce, Humoresque, and even Queen Bee. What is left is a tired shell of Joan Crawford, clinging to the last remains of the glamour; the faded star. Of course, Joan's star has never faded, even 25 years after her death. Her fame was just too great to ever really die during her lifetime or generations after. But although Strait-Jacket appears to be nothing more than a cheap B-movie thriller, it is actually a striking look into the fateful last years of a legend. The movie will leave you thinking for a long, long time after you've seen it. The image of Crawford at the end of her career will burn in your mind. You'll be captivated and repelled at the same time, but what will remain is the fascination. Who was Joan Crawford really? Will we ever know? ... Read more

Amazon.com

Let's leave aside the small problem of Krakatoa actually being west of Java. This 1969 epic adventure about treasure hunters who encounter the volcanic island just as it blows apart and who then get bounced around in the ensuing tidal wave is technically impressive if narratively lame. An interesting cast of familiar actors portray the mixed group of adventurers, but the script and dialogue are so weak one just wants to get past all their drama on the high seas (the group is seeking sunken fortunes on the ocean floor) and watch the geological fireworks. Fortunately, they make for quite a show. --Tom Keogh ... Read more

Reviews (20)

Krakatoa in all it's uncut glory!!! Anchor Bay rules!!!
This review is for the Anchor Bay version of this classic disaster film!!! This is the full 131 minute cut of the film. And the film transfer is superb!!! You also get the choice of Fullscreen and Widescreen versions!!! This movie has a great all star cast!!! The original volcano flick!!! Five Stars!!! A+

Entertaining disaster flic....
if you don't take it too seriously!Mediocre acting, but pretty good special effects.The build up to the tidal wave sequence is quite effective and the wave scene doesn't disappoint. The unedited version does help to put the story together and it's now not so disjointed.Transfer is pretty good for its age and I'd recommend.

action clear through
Tidal waves,hat air baloons,erupting volcanos,convicts and good looking women. What else do you need.
So Krakatoa is west of Java, I could have cared less.
The special effects were excillent.
Maxmillian Schell gives his usual good preformance as owner of salvage boat,Brian Keith is a diver with lung problems,
Rossano Brazzi and son Sal Mineo try to spot werckage from air baloon,while John Leyton goes down in a deep sea bell and native girls dive down to the wreckage.
Ending ,each person must choose to stay aboard salvage ship or take a smaller boat to a near by island,those that made wrong choice are doomed. Film will never make the greats,but for entertainment value I felt it moved right along,was easy to understand and preformances were steady but not great. Just don't take too seriously and you should enjoy it.

One to avoid!
Terrible movie, awful picture transfer and sound. What more can I say...except why weren't the film reels destroyed years ago? I saw this movie at the cinema when it was released in the UK. I bought the DVD (cheap)on the basis that it was one of the first movies I had taken a girl to see (ah! memories). What a mistake I made (the DVD not the girl). Do not make a similar one...avoid!

Krakatoa Goes Boom
Although it takes almost an hour and forty minutes for this to happen, when the big rock does blow the film really comes alive with fireworks, boiling lava, miniature ships and some great tsunamis.Unfortunately the story leading up to those events is less enthralling, with a handful of familiar faces giving mostly flat, or in Diane Bakers case - overwrought, performances and faced with the glum prospect of being a mere supporting cast to the real star, the special effects.They play a group of disparate people who sail to the island in search of a sunken cache of diamonds, except for one woman who is trying to find her young son.Soon(not soon enough), there will be an eruption but not before Captain Maximilian Schell is forced to deal with the doped up rampage of Brian Keith, the almost-hijacking of his ship and too many other perils to mention.
This big production has a nice period design and is better than many of the 70's disaster flicks that would (dis)grace the movie screens only a few years later.The film's main purpose however was to showcase the Cinerama process it was made on and for that reason viewing the movie in it's widescreen form is strongly recommended... ...