Reviews (127)

The Amityville Horror
This is an above-average film about haunted houses, and makes it a little creepy and fun to watch because of the so-called true story behind the book and this film. Margot Kidder and James Brolin are pretty good as the young couple who purchase a large house, to bring their children to as well. When strange things occur, the family begins a suspenseful escape from the house, which apparently has a life of its own.
The special effects are sometimes imaginitive and scary (such as the blood and ooze ejecting from the walls), but they can also be silly and embarrassing (the red eyes watching from the window). The music score is really absorbing and eerie, adding more atmosphere. It's no wonder the score was nominated for an Oscar. Overall, like I said, it's an above-average film with some good suspense, but something just feels missing. I don't know what, but it's apparent in its absence.

An fine ghost supernatural thriller.
The Beautiful, three-storied colonial in Amityville from the State of New York City. It`s seems to be the perfect dream house of George Lutz (James Brolin) and His Wife Kathleen (Margot Kidder) and thier children. Once they move to the house, troubles starts flying and Kathleen finds out a dark secert about the house. Series full of Inexplicable events are happening non-stop. When the local Priest (Rob Steiger) tries to bless the house but the house won`t let him. Cold Winds and Eerie Sounds rages thoughtout the house from the very beginning from it`s meancing eyes glowing from thier barn house, and the very walls of the house with a strange ooze. Now the Lutzes has to face the dangerous reality of the Situation of terror and Destruction, but the house would let the Lutzes leave?

Directed by Stuart Rosenberg, the film does have, it`s shares of Creepy Moments and including a share of Campy Moments in this supposedly based on a true story and Based on a Book by Jay Anson. This Film was an High Box Office Hit in 1979. DVD`s has an good non-anamorphic Widescreen (1.85:1) transfer (also in Pan & Scan) with an fine Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono Sound. The Film High-Light is the Creepy Score by Lalo Schifrin, which most of the score was unused for the 1973 Horror Classic:The Exorcist, which he Receive an Oscar Nomination. Grade:B+.

"GET OUT!"
It gets two stars for that scene alone! YIKES! I don't know, maybe it was because I read the book first that made me dislike this film so much. The book by the way is down right creepy - highly recommendable! If you haven't seen the movie yet, rent it first and then go from there. It's fairly disappointing but worth checking out.

The House Knows What Scares You
It's your typical fixer-upper: slight problems with the plumbing, doors and windows with a mind of their own and a bit of an insect problem. It's also got a bit of a grisly history (the house's former residents were killed in their sleep by one of their own), but the Lutzes (played by Brolin and Kidder) are undeterred and soon find out exactly why the house was sold for a song. This here is your typical haunted house movie (not as good as some, but better than others) and while it comes with the prerequisite scares assosciated with a haunted house story, it also generates enough energy to make the film somewhat unsettling. It should be noted that the film is based on the supposed "true story" of the Lutzes and their terrifying 28 days of residency. Whether or not you believe their stories of hauntings at the Dutch Colonial house, it is documented fact that the home was the sight of a real-life horrible tragedy in the mid-70's. Ronald DeFeo, murdered his entire family there and, when apprehended, claimed that "voices in the house" told him to do it. Herein lies the main unsettling nature of the film. It's not so much about the Lutzes or the bizarre happenings, but about the house itself. In fact, the film does an unnerving job of making the house the central character (what with it's half-crescent windows, it does seem as though the house is staring at you). The movie is filled with several not-so-very special effects, but also has enough tension in certain scenes to make it worth watching. Brolin and Kidder do an adequate job as the unsuspecting couple targeted for the house's wrath while Steiger wildly overacts in his role of Fr. Delaney, the priest who knows who the house's real owner is. Again, while the stories of the hauntings have been widely proclaimed a hoax, it is unnerving enough to imagine a new family moving into a place filled with such bad memories. This edition is sorely lacking in special features (surprising considering the incredible success of the film upon it's intial release and subsequent re-releases), but does feature an appropriately creepy menu design (which may seem silly to say, but owners of the DVD know what I'm talking about). All in all, it's worth a look whether you believe the stories or not and it does feature an incredibly well-done score courtesey of Lalo Schifrin (yes, the same composer responsible for the Mission: Impossible theme). Although "Poltergeist" would redefine the haunted house genre later in time by adding state-of-the-art (for the time) special effects, "The Amityville Horror" works mostly for it's sense of foreboding and the sincere sense of dread that the house elicits not only from it's characters, but it's viewers as well. I've seen the film several times and, while dated, it still works on some visceral level. Due, I would suppose, in large part to the house's actual history (documented here in the macabre prologue to the film). Technically adequate in the sense of direction, production and acting, it's no secret that the house is the star from the many shots of it presented in the movie (usually through an eerie red filter). My advice is to watch it with an open mind and to bear in said mind that, at least, the opening ten minutes of the film is entirely, incredibly and tragically true...

Amityville Horrible (sort of)
The movie Burnt Offerings is commonly compared (unfavorably) to Amitiville Horror. After seeing both, I prefer the former.

Amitiville Horror is popular mainly by reputation, and suffers from stock characters that make no significant contribution to the movie (the nosy detective, the renegade priest and his skeptical protoge, etc), not to mention cheesy effects (I know, it's the 70's but special effects don't make up for a good story). I keep thinking these extra characters are going to show up later at critical times in the movie and play some part in helping the family, but they don't. The priest and his protoge do show up in the movie again, but they have no further contact with the main characters and theirs is a minor side story that does not further the plot (unlike say, The Exorcist).

The movie Burnt offerings is scary because it is . . . creepy. It has only a few characters but all have an important part to play, and the movie doesn't rely on demons or flies. There is an undertone of something wrong that gives you the chills without other things to distract you. That is why I prefer it to Amityville Horror. ... Read more

Reviews (37)

Brilliant mood piece
How can you not love a movie whose soundtrack successfully intermingles Tammy Wynette songs with classical music pieces??

I like to think of this film as more of a "mood piece" than a "character study". It succeeds tremendously as both; but if I had to describe to someone what is meant by a "mood piece" I would direct them right to this film. It epitomizes the early-70s American wasteland look and feel common in some great "New Hollywood" films of its time (Jack Nicholson was in several such movies, like the classics "The Last Detail" and "One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest"). The scene outside the bowling alley especially captures this beautiful grit.

You all probably know the story, so I won't bother with the obligatory references to the diner scene, the hitchhikers, or the truly heartbreaking scene where Robert Eroica Dupea clumsily spills his guts to his sick father. I will admit it took several viewings to truly appreciate this film. But now I rank it as one of my favorites. It's rare to find a film that can take you to a time and place you weren't at and introduce you to people you've never known, yet feel it as if you had.

This one is not to be missed. Give it a few tries if you have to.

Five Easy Stars
After his strong supporting turn in Easy Rider brought fame to Jack Nicholson, he got his first starring opportunity in Five Easy Pieces. Teaming up with his old pal Bob Rafelson (from Monkees fame), they created an interesting character study. Mr. Nicholson is Robert Dupea, a hellion who is oilrig worker in Texas. He is basically shiftless and has no direction in life. What we soon discover is that Dupea is a piano playing prodigy who grew up on the Puget Sound in Washington. His girlfriend, played by Karen Black, wants to be a country & western singer and is constantly singing along to "Stand By Your Man". She drives him nuts, but after his best friend is arrested, he heads back home to Washington with her in tow. He ends up falling for another woman who also plays piano and is staying at his father's house. The title of the film is derived from five easy piano pieces that Dupea and the woman dissect. Mr. Nicholson does an incredible job of peeling back the layers of Dupea and his scene ordering a chicken salad sandwich is highly memorable. Ms. Black is perfectly annoying in her role and she does a tremendous job. Mr. Rafelson & Mr. Nicholson have teamed several times since this movie, but never were they any better together.

NOT Texas!
Why does everyone say Nicholson's character is working in the "Texas" oil fields? It's the California oilfields (Bakersfield, Shafter California).
Good character study, excellent acting. and the chicken salad scene is classic Nicholson.

A Great Film
In a story of two worlds and what happens when they collide, Jack Nicholson gives a performance that should have won an Academy Award. As Bobby Dupea, Nicholson abandons his privilaged life for that of an aimless drifter- something he will eventually apologize for. He goes from being a talented musician to working as an oil rigger but a family illness will bring him back to his affluent roots and it is here that he must decide the course the rest of his life will take. And while all the perfomances are excellent, it is Nicholson that keeps us spellbound. In a long career, he has played many facinating characters but in my humble opinion, it is as the wasted talent Bobby Dupea that Nicholson shines the brightest.

A film about people
This film got a fair amount of buzz in its time but I had never seen it. Having been interested by some of Nicholson's work (Head, Witches of Eastwick, Chinatown) I thought, in a weak moment, that it might be good to own a copy of this.

It is a film about people I wouldn't want to know relating deeply with other people I wouldn't want to know and has few other qualities which stand out after a first viewing. I give it two stars rather than one because it was, I suppose, professionally done. ... Read more

Reviews (3)

INTENSE DRAMA INTENDED AS BLACK COMEDY?
The psychotic kiler. The young heiress. The kidnapping that becomes a love story.

This violent, over-the-top Robert ("DIRTY DOZEN") Aldrich directed thriller is a remake of the 1948 British film "NO ORCHIDS FOR MISS BLANDISH" which was in turn adapted from the once banned-as-pornographic novel of the same name.

It's the 1920s. Kim Darby is the beautiful young heiress Barbara Blandish who is kidnaped by the brutal Grissom gang. Their plan is simple and savage: keep the ransom and kill the hostage. Unfortunately (for the gang) dimwit Slim Grissom (Scott Wilson) falls in love with Barbara. And the even more unfortunate Barbara is forced into a relationship -- as the poster says -- of "violence and desire."

Finally, when the police close in and the gang comes apart, the question becomes: Who will survive the final frenzy of love and bullets?

Tony Musante, Ralph Waite, Robert Lansing and Connie Stevens co-star in this still shocking, extremely vicious gangster thriller. The tense screenplay is by Leon Griffiths and the edgy, very 70s score is by Gerald Fried.

Those who knew director Aldrich, who was also responsible for "KISS ME DEADLY" and "THE KILLING OF SISTER GEORGE," say this film was intended as a black comedy and was a reflection of his bizarre, almost sadistic, sense of humor. He said, "if it makes you laugh or cringe or both is more about who you are..." ...

GANG BANG ( BANG )
Another superb DVD has just been released by Anchor Bay : Robert Aldrich's THE GRISSOM GANG, adapted from James Hadley Chase's "No Orchids for Miss Blandish". Excellent movie but only the choice between the standard and the widescreen version and a scene access as bonus features. Extra meager. Sound and images more than OK for me.

Robert Aldrich is more known as a successful director of action movies like THE DIRTY DOZEN than as a sensitive observer of psychological dramas but with THE KILLING OF SISTER GEORGE, released in 1968 and THE GRISSOM GANG, Big Bob showed that a golden heart was beating under his elephant skin.

Don't get me wrong ! THE GRISSOM GANG is also a gangster movies loaded with machine guns duels and vicious killings but what's more interesting is the description of the relationship between Slim, the psychotic killer, and Barbara Blandish, the spoiled heiress. This unusual couple has to face a collection of secondary characters one will not forget so easily. For instance, Ma Grissom, played by Irene Dailey, a criminal genius and an overprotective mother, or Eddie - Tony Musante - Hagan, the archetype of the gangster of the 30's, so seductive but ready to kill anything that moves, even women, if necessary.

In the good guys section of the movie, there is someone who, in spite of his millions, could have been part of the Grissom gang : Wesley Addy, Barbara's father and often present in Aldrich's films, his attitude is one of the most disturbing seen in a movie.

All in all, an excellent addition to your library.

A DVD zone Bonnie and Clyde.

Grisly gangster saga with blazing machine guns....
Adapted from the 1939 novel "No Orchids for Miss Blandish", Robert Aldrich's 1971 gangster flick is violent and punishing in it's nature. Set in the poor and barren Mid-Western region of the US during the Depression, the film immerses the viewer in a world of poverty, greed & lust.

Kim Darby plays snotty society girl Barbara Blandish, the product of her boorish and society climbing parents who is kidnapped by a group of petty thugs....however they in turn are ambushed by a more professional crew of hoodlums. Irene Dailey plays Ma Grissom, the cold blooded leader of the small time gang....Scot Wilson is the simple-minded and lovestruck thug, Slim Grissom....Connie Stevens portrays the air headed blonde gangster moll, Anna....and Tony Musante is the oily and vicious, Eddie Hagan.

Whilst definitely not a gangster classic, "The Grissom Gang" is an over looked addition to the genre that's not without it's redeeming qualities. Aldrich had a flair for directing hard edged films that explored the more violent side, and the underbelly of human nature....and this film does all that !! ... Read more

Amazon.com

Based on a bestselling, allegedly nonfiction book about haunted goings-on in a Long Island house (The Amityville Horror Conspiracy), this rather cheesy horror movie is more silly than unsettling. James Brolin and Margot Kidder star as newlyweds who move into the empty home and are gradually affected by the legacy of a murder committed on the premises. Rod Steiger is a priest who can tell what's up and gets dispatched in a rather ugly way. Director Stuart Rosenberg can't lift the action above a certain level of tawdriness, and the audience ends up watching the horror from a distance instead of feeling involved. In the wake of The Exorcist, this 1979 spooker seemed like a no-brainer knockoff--and still does. --Tom Keogh ... Read more

Reviews (160)

The Amityville Horror
James Brolin and Margot Kidder as a happily married couple who move into an old colonial home with their children, and discover that the tragic past of the house has inspired some chilling supernatural occurences. Great performances, a haunting music score and a script that doesn't OVER-exaggerate the events that are supposedly true, help to make this film a cult classic that should be seen at least once by horror fans everywhere. Recommended for horror fans, though not everyone may love it.

Simmering Long Island Haunted House
Seems like the mid 1970's and early 80's spawned a ton of horror/suspense films. Obviously some better than others, but so many of them necessary in a cheap thrills way. While my favorites include "The Shining", "The Omen" and "The Exercist", there are several others that deserve credit. On that 2nd tier right next to "The Thing", "Halloween", "Nightmare On Elm St" and "Poltergeist"... I must put "The Amittyville Horror" (1979). The acting by James Brolin as new homeowner George Lutz was average and stiff at best. His glazed look, his snappy remarks to the stepkids, and his wild shaggy hair were downright comical at times... not to mention his strutting around in his Fruit-Of-The Looms - didn't need to see that. Margot Kidder (prior to her talking to trees and living on park benches) was also average at best - a "B" movie actress if ever there was one (including "Superman"). Rod Steiger was good but over dramatic as the priest trying to bring some heart and soul into the house. This movie was not bloody in the sense of a "Friday The 13th" style of slasher flick. It was packed with style and suspense leading the viewer to believe there really was something hellacious going on in the house. Suspenseful moments include hundreds of flys gathering in one upstairs room; the house itself regurgitating the words "Get Out"; doors slamming shut by themselves, a brace-faced babysitter being locked in a closet, toilets vomiting black slime, blood dripping from the walls and staircase, loud rings of the phone at quiet inopportune times, and the family dog madly scratching at a cellar wall. "Amittyville" was more story than effects... showing the character(s) losing grips with reality by a haunted house. The scenery is typical Long Island (even though the outside town shots were in Toms River, NJ). The ending of the movie you can see again in 1982's "Poltergeist"... where the family runs out of the demon house yelling and screaming at night in a blinding rain storm never to return again. 7 sequels later it's still considered one of the horror classics. Many say the movie/book was a hoax... but, who is really to say? On a late night with the lights off, this movie serves up a nice clean scare.

Spiritual mumbo-jumbo a plus
This is a very 70s horror flick based on the bestselling book of the 'true' story of a haunted Long Island home.It was debunked and proven to be a total sham, but the film spawned about ten sequels and even that necessary remake.

The Lutz family purchases their dream house only to find that it's haunted, and also helpfully contains the passageway to Hell in the basement.Yes, it is completely and utterly crushing to think that if such a passage existed into something called Hell, it would be in Amityville, Long Island.

James Brolin plays the husband, tough guy with a lot of hair.Margot Kidder is the wife, who gets to react with big, wide eyes whenever she witnesses a ghost, hallucination, atrocity, etc.Most of the scares are indeed opening doors or something, looking at something, and then the music gets really loud, and then we see the peoples' eyes, closer, and then, da-da!A cheesy special effect.

Good for nostalgia value.The appearance of Rod Steiger as a crazed priest is a major plus.Like a cheap Exorcist.If these types of films scare you, it might be worth it on a slow night.Good for some unintentional laughs, too.

The Evil House's movie has its moments.
First of all, the DVD of The Amityville Horror is pretty barebones.It's only "special feature" is the theatrical trailer.There's not even any English subtitles for the hearing impaired.
But, as for the movie, it's not bad.It takes a little while to get going, but once it's there, it can have a few gripping moments.James Brolin, as Charles Lutz, does a great job in the lead.You genuinely like the guy, and feel both creeped out and sympathetic when the house starts to drive him nuts.Margot Kidder isn't bad.Her big plus was always her likeable personality (not her looks), and as Cathy Lutz, she's a very sympathetic mother/wife here.You just feel awful when Cathy gets smacked in the face by George, who's going over the edge.Rod Steiger's role is the question mark.As Father Delaney, the priest who tries to warn the Lutz's of impending doom, Steiger exudes creepiness just from his WAY jacked-up performance.But there's a problem:it feels like the movie could do without Father Delaney's storyline, altogether.Anyway, there are a handful of genuinely eye-widening moments.I still love the red-eyes-looking-in-the-window moment, and the part where the babysitter gets locked in the closet is creepy.The main thing the movie lacks is a great payoff.If you're expecting to see George go mano-a-mano with Satan or the house explode or some kind of apocalypse, you'll be let down.Overall, you'll get a satisfying number of creepy moments, I think, but this isn't a classic.

More Detailed Story, Less Shock and Scary Visuals.
Having just seen the Remake starring Ryan Reynolds, I had to check out the Original Amittyville Horror starring James Brolin(the current husband of Barbara Streisand), who is perfect for the role of George Lutz, because he's got the rough and macho look. Even though his performance is good, but it was Margot Kidder(Kathy) who was more striking with a performance that was filled with emotion and fear. Rod Steiger is very convincing as the priest with best intension to save the Lutz family from the evil force that lived in the old colonial house, but he gets defeated by the powerful demonic force.

The story is very detailed and slow-paced compared to the remake. It excels in providing a very gripping atmosphere to this movie while it had neglected to be visually stimulating like the remake. The sound effect and music are kind of cheessy when it always tried to accompanied the reactions of the characters. Theire are more characters in this film, even Helen Shaver had a bit part here.

There really is not enough scary moments in this film compared to the remake. The scene where the blood was leeking out from the wall and floor was the best visual, but everything else was just too low-key. It's done a better job at being more psychologically scary, but it's too long and boring at times. I prefer the remake more than this one. ... Read more