Reviews (190)

The Outsiders
When I was in high school, I had the pleasure of reading a fantastic novel named, "The Outsiders." The author, Susan Eloise Hinton, only 15 years old, wrote her rendition of the conflicts between high society and the lower class citizen. Her novel was so well written that you couldn't stop reading it. Recently, I discovered the movie version of the novel and just had to view it. Francis Ford Coppola, who's known for directing the films, "Apocalypse Now" and the first two "Godfather's" directed the film version of, "The Outsiders." Although no awards were won for the movie, the cast was full of the top stars that we see today, which includes, C. Thomas Howell, Matt Dillon, Ralph Macchio, Patrick Swayze, Rob Lowe, Emilio Estves, Tom Cruise and Diane Lane. With a cast this good how could you go wrong?
The story takes place in the early 1960's in Tulsa, Oklahoma where we see the classic rivalry between the rich, whom are call, "socs" (short for socials) and lower class citizen who were called "greasers" building tension toward each other until the final climax of the big rumble. The main themes of the story, are the struggles between two conflicting groups trying to bridge the gap between rich and poorer, honor among the lawless and treacherousness of male-female interaction through the narration of the main character "Ponyboy".
Although I felt the movie was incredible I believe the music soundtrack needed a little help. This action pact drama is rated PG for violence but, I believe that any age group, accompanied by an adult, would love to see and understand how society sometime manipulates individual outcomes. When you get right down to it, the movie, with its great story line and cast, causes you to laugh, cry and get wrapped up in all the conflicting moments. Any movie that can take you from the couch and place you and the middle of the drama deserves a high rating. That's why I recommend this movie to anyone and give it *****5 stars.

The Outsiders
The Outsiders is about some rival gangs, the greasers, and the Socs(short for social). Ponyboy wants to fit in, in his brothers gang. Ponyboy lives with his brothers after his parents are killed in a car wreck. The greasers never had much trouble fighting the Socs, until one night a Soc takes thing to far. Ponyboys friend is forced to killed him in self-defense. Their friend Dallas helps them hide out in the country in an old abandonded church. They are hiding from the town that doesn't want them around, until they are caught by the police. The actors who are in the movie are GREAT! most of them got their start in The Outsiders, like Matt Dillon, Emilio Estevez, Patrick Swayze, Rob Lowe, C. Thomas Howell, Ralph Macchio, and Tom Cruise. The movie teaches young people to not judge others before getting to know them. If you enjoy the movie, you will love the book by S.E. Hinton.

The Outsiders is the #1 Movie
Hey I watched the movie and read the book this year in gr.8 and I have seen the movie like 5 times and read the book like 4 times it's the best movie ever!! all the cast are so0o0 great and talented and I will watch this movie over and over again
From The BIGGEST Outsider Fan
GEL

Just as GREAT as the Book!!!
One of the best adaptations of a book I have ever seen. This movie brings everyone to life from the book. For me, this movie is a classic!!! This movie takes place in Tulsa,OK in 1966. All of the characters fit the description in the book for me. They all look like the typical greasers. I bought this movie without even seeing it and I was tremendously blown away. This is a great movie for the whole family to enjoy.

Outstanding
I had to read the book for a project in school this year as an 8th grader. It was outstanding. It was the last week of school and my class had finished our finals and we wanted to watch the movie, so my teacher went to our school library and got it for us. The movie follows the book pretty well but some parts were left out.

This book shows how lucky some people are compaired to others and makes a great point. It is like a less dramatic version of the movie "Elephant" which shows what people are going through. I am going to head down to my towns public library to borrow it and watch it again becuase it is one of the movies that you can just watch over and over again and still love it becuase it makes a great point and was directed really well.

I would recomend this movie to anyone who has not read it. I would read the book first becuase there are some parts that are left out in the movie that were pretty good.

~Doug Mellon
Kennebunk, Maine USA ... Read more

Reviews (6)

Not for the squeamish
Max Baer's friendly fascist is one reason, but not the only one, to catch this disturbing 1974 film. In fact, Baer's smiling, upright sheriff seems a blood brother in some twisted sense to Mayberry's Andy Griffith. Based on fact, the movie portrays the misadventures of real-life brothers Alan and Jesse Vint, as they frolic through the 1950's South on their way to a date with the Army. Bad luck and Sheriff Baer however turn their joyride into a nightmare that finally ends in tragedy. The last scenes are a suspense-filled stunner. This is Baer's production and he uses it to observe the effects of gun culture, brutality, and race prejudice in fairly subtle fashion. Except for Geoffrey Lewis's overdone station attendant, the acting is first rate, with Joan Blackman a long way from her frothy Elvis movies. Special recognition should go to the casting of the two southern lowlifes who are the most convincing and sinister drifters I've seen, and are guaranteed to put chills up the spine. At times the script seems too deliberate, as though there are explanations for everything. Still, this is a first-rate thriller that deserves its cult status, and is ultimately a long, long way from the bucholic ideal of Sheriff Andy's Mayberry.

Classic David Carradine
An intense adult drama, with a common plot element of an "innocent" female traveller (Ally Sheedy) who gets jailed in a southern jail on trumped-up charges, raped and beaten and otherwise abused by her captors, until another inmate (David Carradine) steps in (through the cell bars), grabs the bad cop, (who ends up dead) and the escape is on. The Sheriff is the usual dirty cop, who pursues the escapees ruthlessly, with Ally Sheedy's character resorting to more & more crime in her desperation to get away from the hell she's experienced, all the while being helped by, but not quite trusting, Carradine's ex-con. The violent subject matter makes it understandable why no one under 18 is allowed to buy this movie here, but all in all, it's a decent flick of its genre, with good performances by the leads.

Drive-In Classic looks Great on DVD
If you're a fan of low budget film making, the story behind the making of "Macon County Line" is as fascinating as the film itself, perhaps moreso. You'll learn about that in a short featurette that's included on the DVD that features interviews with Director Richard Compton, Actor-Producer-Writer Max Baer, Jr., star Jesse Vint and others. What I really enjoyed is the film commentary offered by Richard Compton during the film. It's actually more of a conversation with Anchor Bay producer Bill Lustig, a pretty good low budget film maker, himself (Maniac, Vigilante, Maniac Cop), about how the film came to be. Listening to the two directors talking about how to get the most out of a small budget (just over $200,000 for the film) is a real education. Lustig is a very good interviewer/commentator and has shown up on other Anchor Bay releases (his own "Vigilante" comes to mind).

The film, itself, is a much better-than-average story about mistaken identities and the tragic consequences that result. The cast is generally good and the acting is a lot better than what one might typically expect from drive-in fare. Max Baer, Jr., in particular, gives depth to a character that could have been played as "Sheriff Jethro Bodine." Baer wanted to break away from his "Beverly Hillbillies" image and, for the most part, he succeeds. Anchor Bay's widescreen edition looks great. I can't vouch for the sound since I don't have an elaborate audio system, but Anchor Bay generally has a reputation for doing good things with the available source material.

Fans of 70's era drive-in movies will really enjoy "Macon County Line."

Macon County Line a video classic
Critical acclaim is not exactly the way to describe Macon County Line. This film, with many of the other 70's classic drive-in features, is an absolute classic but didn't rate highly with critics. Alan and Jesse Vint, although not Hollywood royalty, deserve a place in film history for their parts as brothers who become the victims of horrible circumstances. Alan and Jesse popped up in other films through the 70' and 80's (most notably "Centennial"), but "Macon County" is their opus. It's just a shame that their talents were never showcased like this again. They are outstanding actors. The film has impact, and the DVD version is like watching it for the first time. WOW! What a film. If you are like me, a child of the 70's, and using Amazon and e-auctions to build nostalgic movie and music libraries, put this one in your DVD collection. It's outstanding.

cinema type excitment
Macon County line is a sure thriller.It leaves you with the feeling of "Could this happen to me". Out of his role of Jethro Bodine,Max Baer is truly convincing as the sheriff every small town seems to have. The story is based on fact .Two teens are senselessly murded and another is scarred for life, just for being in the wrong place at the wrong time.A true classic,Macon County Line Is a roller coaster ride of thrills and suspense every minute. You WLL ENJOY this film. ... Read more

Reviews (7)

once again
This has to be the worst movie I have ever seen (right below "Green Slime"). Ever a big Richard Boone fan: he is forgiven in this movie. Jack Palance: not believable, no matter what role except "City Slickers" where his persona, a dead cowboy playes true. Lee Van Cleef ever steely eyed, ever smooth talking is the only reason to see this film. The downfall, and major blunder, was to cast an amature (immature) to the film: preteen hearthrob Leif Garret. "Thankfully" throughout the video he is a mute boy but his acting skills, I give this flick a 1

Great Movie!!!
What's wrong with you people??? This was a great all round Spaghetti Western!!! Sure, it may not rate up there with "The Good the Bad and the Ugly" or the other two of the trilogy, but it is nonetheless a very good movie. Lee Van Cleef plays a great dual role of the priest (Father John) and the twin brother gun-slinger (Lewis), Sybil Danning (Jenny) is flat out beautiful and Leif Garrett is plays a very believable Johnny son of Danning. Oh, and lets not forget Jack Palance as the very bad Sam Clayton. All these characters blend together to make a very memorable movie. One the better scene's in the movie is when Johnny is trapped in the church bell tower and he takes a metal bolt and flings it at his pursuer hitting him in the head, causing him to go head over heals to the ground below. I also enjoyed the wonderful dancing lady in the Saloon. Sante Maria Romitelli produced a sound track equal to anything Ennio Morricone ever did and Orlando Signorelli did an equally good job in editing the film. This is one of my all time favorite Spaghetti Westerns and one I would recommend YOU buy. Forget the prior reviews and buy this movie.

Great Title, Great Actors, Bad Movie
What potential - A great title "Gods Gun" - three of the best tough guys ever, all with very respectable careers - Lee Van Cleef, Jack Palance and Richard Boone.
What is right?

Jack Parlance comes off OK. At times there are some clever script elements. That's it!

What's Wrong?

What "Plan Nine From Outer Space" was to Bella Lagosi, "Gods Gun" might be to these three actors. "Gods Gun" rivals Terror In Tiny Town in ineptitude. The actors in this Israeli - no budget Western must have been very hungry. You watch this film and wonder - how did this happen to them?
Van Cleef (who must have had the worlds worst agent), had all but lost his menacing charm. At this time in his career you wonder if directors were purposely mocking him -having him wear embarrassing costumes, wigs and at times singing awful theme songs. He must have realized he wasn't getting paid for this abomination because he obviously didn't stick around to loop in his own voice. He is ludicrously dubbed to sound like "A Sons of Hercules" character. Cheep sets, lame clichéd music, horrendously bad costumes, awful peripheral actors, stereotypes, and a bland and confused teen idle - Leif Garret. The whole thing would be unintentionally funny if it were not for the sadness of seeing three quality actors trying desperately to make this thing work. At least you don't feel so bad about Palance who went on to some better things - some quality Hollywood films and push-ups during an Academy Award ceremony. It is very disturbing watching Van Cleef, and Boone knowing that for the remainder of their lives they were hopelessly stuck in poverty row films like this one. "Gods Gun" has a very high cringe factor for those of us who were once entertained by these guys. Others who don't care may be able to laugh at the film. I personally could not stand watching what seemed like three old reliable pals being degrading junk like this.

Gianfranco Parolini's God's Gun
Parolini, directing under the American-friendly name "Frank Kramer," comes up with a film that almost succeeds.

Jack Palance and his gang take over a small town. Leif Garrett and priest Lee Van Cleef stand up to the gang, and Van Cleef is killed. Garrett rides off to find the priest's twin brother, a gunfighter, also played by Van Cleef. They ride back and defeat the baddies.

The film makers give Van Cleef the world's most hideous wig in his scenes as the priest. He and Garrett seem to be competing in a contest for the film's most unappealing hairstyle. Palance, as the outlaw gang leader, must get on his knees every day and thank God "City Slickers" came along and rescued his career from messes like this. Sybil Danning, as Garrett's mother, is given little to do but stand around wide eyed, worry about her son, and flash her right breast in a rape scene to be discussed later. Richard Boone, desperately missing John Wayne and the chance to be in his films, plays the stereotypical drunken sheriff who cannot stop the outlaws.

Garrett, who does not sing in this, heads to Mexico to find the gunfighting brother. It takes him just two days, since apparently Mexico is the size of a city block. Van Cleef as the gunfighter is more effective, especially in a clever plan to stop the outlaws by making them think the priest has come back from the dead. The gunfighter does this with the minimum use of guns, and it is entertaining.

The bad news? Ennio Morricone should sue the composer here for ripping off "The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly"'s soundtrack. Every time Van Cleef is shown, you here that "aahh" sound that pops up all time in the superior Sergio Leone film. About an hour into this, the gang tries to rape the judge's daughters. They then go to the saloon and proceed to rape the women there. Then Danning tells Palance he is the father of Garrett, and we are treated to her flashback when Palance raped her years before. I do not know why the majority of modern westerns must feature rape, but this trio of scenes lasts a very long SIX minutes, and seems longer. They are ugly scenes that did not have to be done, and only pander to the lowest form of viewer who needs to have it hit over their head that these are villains, in case all the murders and robberies were confusing.

Parolini finally starts doing some funky things involving his camera with about twenty minutes to go, but it is too late. The baddies are defeated, Garrett learns a big life lesson, and gunfighter Van Cleef rides home.

"God's Gun," also known as "A Bullet from God," had a lot going for it, but cannot overcome its own ugliness. I cannot recommend it.

This is rated (R) for physical violence, gun violence, strong sexual violence, gore, some profanity, brief female nudity, brief male nudity, and sexual references.

so bad, it's actually quite good
I saw this film a few years ago, on a home TV channel, and I thought I had just entered the twilight zone. I could not believe my eyes! What on earth was going through the filmmaker's mind as they sat down to green light this one? The main idea was a passable one, if a little unoriginal, but it was the execution that went wrong. It is hard to think that both the director and star of this one were responsible for the excellent 'Sabata' nearly a decade earlier.

A few highpoints of this film to watch out for:

1. In the saloon scene, note the whore in the red dress doing a very 'groovy' dance despite the actual music that is playing. Great arm movement, eh?

2. Another gem is the scene where Lee van Cleef confronts Jack Palance while they are camped for the night. Was it my imagination, or were the villains sleeping in the middle of the road? A bit dangerous, isn't it? I know that they are hardened criminals, their evil posturing has already alerted us to that fact, but this really is dicing with death.

3. A final word about the costumes. What happened? Most of the money seemed to go on the whore in the red dress (a talented dancer) but it seemed that van Cleef was forced to wear his own trousers for most of the shoot. How can I tell? The film was made in the late seventies or early eighties and this is reflected in the circumference of the bottom of his jeans. This is most noticable in the introduction of the twin brother mid way through the film.

That said, I have never laughed at an italian western so much in my life. Go on, buy it. ... Read more

Amazon.com

A virtual pantheon of icons from the 1970s populate Spirit of '76,a 1991 homage of sorts to the decade of excessive, tacky design. David Cassidyplays an inventor from a drab, lifeless future that wants to send a teamback to 1776 to retrieve the Constitution; a technical foul-up lands themin 1976 instead. You can imagine what follows: Crazy, funky get-ups andlimp jokes about Watergate, self-actualization seminars, GM Pacers,streakers, and disco. Leif Garrett, Moon Zappa, Devo, Tommy Chong, RobReiner, and others make cameo appearances, as well as more contemporarypersonalities like Julie Brown. It would be charitable to assume that thefilmmakers put all this together lovingly and didn't want to distractfrom the warm glow of nostalgia by making anything actually funny. Alsofeaturing Olivia D'Abo, Geoff Hoyle, and members of the band Redd Kross.--Bret Fetzer ... Read more

Reviews (7)

once again
This has to be the worst movie I have ever seen (right below "Green Slime"). Ever a big Richard Boone fan: he is forgiven in this movie. Jack Palance: not believable, no matter what role except "City Slickers" where his persona, a dead cowboy playes true. Lee Van Cleef ever steely eyed, ever smooth talking is the only reason to see this film. The downfall, and major blunder, was to cast an amature (immature) to the film: preteen hearthrob Leif Garret. "Thankfully" throughout the video he is a mute boy but his acting skills, I give this flick a 1

Great Movie!!!
What's wrong with you people??? This was a great all round Spaghetti Western!!! Sure, it may not rate up there with "The Good the Bad and the Ugly" or the other two of the trilogy, but it is nonetheless a very good movie. Lee Van Cleef plays a great dual role of the priest (Father John) and the twin brother gun-slinger (Lewis), Sybil Danning (Jenny) is flat out beautiful and Leif Garrett is plays a very believable Johnny son of Danning. Oh, and lets not forget Jack Palance as the very bad Sam Clayton. All these characters blend together to make a very memorable movie. One the better scene's in the movie is when Johnny is trapped in the church bell tower and he takes a metal bolt and flings it at his pursuer hitting him in the head, causing him to go head over heals to the ground below. I also enjoyed the wonderful dancing lady in the Saloon. Sante Maria Romitelli produced a sound track equal to anything Ennio Morricone ever did and Orlando Signorelli did an equally good job in editing the film. This is one of my all time favorite Spaghetti Westerns and one I would recommend YOU buy. Forget the prior reviews and buy this movie.

Great Title, Great Actors, Bad Movie
What potential - A great title "Gods Gun" - three of the best tough guys ever, all with very respectable careers - Lee Van Cleef, Jack Palance and Richard Boone.
What is right?

Jack Parlance comes off OK. At times there are some clever script elements. That's it!

What's Wrong?

What "Plan Nine From Outer Space" was to Bella Lagosi, "Gods Gun" might be to these three actors. "Gods Gun" rivals Terror In Tiny Town in ineptitude. The actors in this Israeli - no budget Western must have been very hungry. You watch this film and wonder - how did this happen to them?
Van Cleef (who must have had the worlds worst agent), had all but lost his menacing charm. At this time in his career you wonder if directors were purposely mocking him -having him wear embarrassing costumes, wigs and at times singing awful theme songs. He must have realized he wasn't getting paid for this abomination because he obviously didn't stick around to loop in his own voice. He is ludicrously dubbed to sound like "A Sons of Hercules" character. Cheep sets, lame clichéd music, horrendously bad costumes, awful peripheral actors, stereotypes, and a bland and confused teen idle - Leif Garret. The whole thing would be unintentionally funny if it were not for the sadness of seeing three quality actors trying desperately to make this thing work. At least you don't feel so bad about Palance who went on to some better things - some quality Hollywood films and push-ups during an Academy Award ceremony. It is very disturbing watching Van Cleef, and Boone knowing that for the remainder of their lives they were hopelessly stuck in poverty row films like this one. "Gods Gun" has a very high cringe factor for those of us who were once entertained by these guys. Others who don't care may be able to laugh at the film. I personally could not stand watching what seemed like three old reliable pals being degrading junk like this.

Gianfranco Parolini's God's Gun
Parolini, directing under the American-friendly name "Frank Kramer," comes up with a film that almost succeeds.

Jack Palance and his gang take over a small town. Leif Garrett and priest Lee Van Cleef stand up to the gang, and Van Cleef is killed. Garrett rides off to find the priest's twin brother, a gunfighter, also played by Van Cleef. They ride back and defeat the baddies.

The film makers give Van Cleef the world's most hideous wig in his scenes as the priest. He and Garrett seem to be competing in a contest for the film's most unappealing hairstyle. Palance, as the outlaw gang leader, must get on his knees every day and thank God "City Slickers" came along and rescued his career from messes like this. Sybil Danning, as Garrett's mother, is given little to do but stand around wide eyed, worry about her son, and flash her right breast in a rape scene to be discussed later. Richard Boone, desperately missing John Wayne and the chance to be in his films, plays the stereotypical drunken sheriff who cannot stop the outlaws.

Garrett, who does not sing in this, heads to Mexico to find the gunfighting brother. It takes him just two days, since apparently Mexico is the size of a city block. Van Cleef as the gunfighter is more effective, especially in a clever plan to stop the outlaws by making them think the priest has come back from the dead. The gunfighter does this with the minimum use of guns, and it is entertaining.

The bad news? Ennio Morricone should sue the composer here for ripping off "The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly"'s soundtrack. Every time Van Cleef is shown, you here that "aahh" sound that pops up all time in the superior Sergio Leone film. About an hour into this, the gang tries to rape the judge's daughters. They then go to the saloon and proceed to rape the women there. Then Danning tells Palance he is the father of Garrett, and we are treated to her flashback when Palance raped her years before. I do not know why the majority of modern westerns must feature rape, but this trio of scenes lasts a very long SIX minutes, and seems longer. They are ugly scenes that did not have to be done, and only pander to the lowest form of viewer who needs to have it hit over their head that these are villains, in case all the murders and robberies were confusing.

Parolini finally starts doing some funky things involving his camera with about twenty minutes to go, but it is too late. The baddies are defeated, Garrett learns a big life lesson, and gunfighter Van Cleef rides home.

"God's Gun," also known as "A Bullet from God," had a lot going for it, but cannot overcome its own ugliness. I cannot recommend it.

This is rated (R) for physical violence, gun violence, strong sexual violence, gore, some profanity, brief female nudity, brief male nudity, and sexual references.

so bad, it's actually quite good
I saw this film a few years ago, on a home TV channel, and I thought I had just entered the twilight zone. I could not believe my eyes! What on earth was going through the filmmaker's mind as they sat down to green light this one? The main idea was a passable one, if a little unoriginal, but it was the execution that went wrong. It is hard to think that both the director and star of this one were responsible for the excellent 'Sabata' nearly a decade earlier.

A few highpoints of this film to watch out for:

1. In the saloon scene, note the whore in the red dress doing a very 'groovy' dance despite the actual music that is playing. Great arm movement, eh?

2. Another gem is the scene where Lee van Cleef confronts Jack Palance while they are camped for the night. Was it my imagination, or were the villains sleeping in the middle of the road? A bit dangerous, isn't it? I know that they are hardened criminals, their evil posturing has already alerted us to that fact, but this really is dicing with death.

3. A final word about the costumes. What happened? Most of the money seemed to go on the whore in the red dress (a talented dancer) but it seemed that van Cleef was forced to wear his own trousers for most of the shoot. How can I tell? The film was made in the late seventies or early eighties and this is reflected in the circumference of the bottom of his jeans. This is most noticable in the introduction of the twin brother mid way through the film.

That said, I have never laughed at an italian western so much in my life. Go on, buy it. ... Read more