Reviews (88)

Living tension
For anyone who went to the Sarthe circuit for the Le Mans 24 hour in the 1970s this is the film that captures it all, far better than any home video ever could. The cars are the stars, the PA system with its irregular English update provides the commentary, and the drivers are the hired bit players.

Anyone who bags this film does not understand the tension and drama of most dangerous motor race in the world, and shouldn't be reviewing the film. Most dangerous motor race in the world? Nudging 400 kph at night in a rainstorm is dangerous!

The dialogue is sparse, and so it should be: the racing engine whose deep bellow rises to a crescendo, the tortured tyres that screech at every misguided change in direction and the chilling sound of shattering fibreglass, perspex and composite alloys tell the viewer what is really happening.

How real is this film? The camera car, which is seen in at least one scene entering the pit straight, came ninth outright. One of the drivers lost his leg during a practice shunt that is caught on film. There are fudges in the filming; note when MacQueen destoys his car the back wheels are still spinning long after the Porsche has bounced off a few armco fences. The accelerator was wedged open to prolong the crash.

Steve MacQueen's legacy to the motor racing enthusiast is one of the purest films made.

The Best Ever Racing Movie? Yes.
For the true race car enthusiast, LeMans, after more than 30 years remains the most realistic racing movie ever made. Steve McQueen was a true sports car enthusiast and a racer himself, and he hired director John Frankenheimer to film him (Steve) in the world's most important sports car race -The 24 Hours of LeMans. Real factory race cars from Porsche and Ferrari were used to make the movie, and cameras were mounted in the cars during the race for much of the movie footage. The action was real, the crowds, the location.

The only thing lacking was a story, an afterthought hastily written after the movie was halfway through production. But still, much better than the scripts in more recent films like "Days of Thunder" and "Driven" where we are led to believe an inexperienced rookie (Tom Cruise) and a washed-up has been (Sly Stalone) can roll onto a race track without practice, break the track records, stick quarters to their tires at 160 mph, start CART race cars without starters and race through downtown Chicago at night without lights and not draw the attention of police, and then go out and beat the established champs in the race the next day.

Another old movie like LeMans, "Grand Prix" with James Garner was good. Real tracks like Monaco, real drivers in the background scenes, but the cars were mocked-up Formula 3 cars -not Formula 1, and you could tell. Get LeMans, and get Steve McQueen's "Bullet" for the epic streets of San Frabncisco car chase scene, one of the best chase scene ever (now only recently relegated to 2nd place by the chase scene in "Ronan").

It will bore you indefinitely....
The photography is really amazing, but the movie is simply boring. Al least, at the end the victory goes to Larry Wilson, not for Steve "Michael Delaney" McQueen, what is a good turn to the movie. (The POrsche cars wew driven by pilots such as Jacky Ickx).

The idea of this movie was to document the suspense, drama, power and energy of a 24-hour race at Le Mans (the 1970 edition. It accomplished its purpose, but it's not a great movie experience.

Make no mistake: This is NOT a movie!
Make no mistake: This is NOT a movie! I'm rating it two stars not because it's bad. It's just because this is almost a doccumentary, not a movie. There is absolutely NO acting, no dialogues. The few times the cast open their mouths arwe for some contrieved and dull dialogues (although they do their best clearly). The movie is an endless line of cars chasing cars and chasing cars. If you're an auto-racing fan (like myself), it's clear you'll enjoy the sequences. But, if you are not biased, you'll notice clearly why this movie bombed at the box office.

It's not a bad movie at all!! It's a GREAT Movie. But, unfortunately, it has no actor nor dialogues.

Essential for ever LeMans fan
Of course how can we forget the studious Steve McQueen. A real LeMans racer. In this video you'll be amazed to the sights and speed of LeMans in the early 70's. Seeing these cars reach 200mph in the 70's is very fun to watch, they slip and slide without any nannying electronics. Leading you think and compare them to the cars of today such as the Audi R8s. These are the dinosaur ages of LeMans. Slipping and sliding the cars of the 70s are very popular indeed. The Porsche 917s are amazing but few would recall it was a bright red one that crossed the finish line first, but hey this is a movie so they had a blue one cross the stripe. Its a great film to see where LeMans was in the 70s and the speed and excitement an endurance race offers. Seeing the Porsches battle the Ferraris for the lead not on the GT class but for the overall lead. The cars in the film are regarded as one of the best and should not be missed. ... Read more

Reviews (33)

Excellent true life World War II suspense story!
Gregory Peck and Christopher Plummer give outstanding performances as Monsr. Hugh O'Flaherty(Peck) and SS Col. Herbert Kapler(Plummer). The action and suspense of the movie keeps it going at a brisk pace. The story follows Peck as a Vatican official trying to save Italian Jews and Allied escaped POW's from the hands of the German SS. Plummers portrayal as Col. Kapler is both chilling and frightening, especially when he personally executes a Catholic priest who was caught helping the Resistance. Peck's portrayal of Father O'Flaherty is very moving to watch. The intelligence and compassion of this man truly shows through and shows how much Father O'Flaherty deserved the awards and decorations he received from the Allies after the war. And the ending is very surprising as well! It is also a plus having the movie shot in Rome where the actual events took place. A truly classic movie. I highly recommend it.

Excellent true life World War II suspense story!
Gregory Peck and Christopher Plummer give outstanding performances as Monsr. Hugh O'Flaherty(Peck) and SS Col. Herbert Kapler(Plummer). The action and suspense of the movie keeps it going at a brisk pace. The story follows Peck as a Vatican official trying to save Italian Jews and Allied escaped POW's from the hands of the German SS. Plummers portrayal as Col. Kapler is both chilling and frightening, especially when he personally executes a Catholic priest who was caught helping the Resistance. Peck's portrayal of Father O'Flaherty is very moving to watch. The intelligence and compassion of this man truly shows through and shows how much Father O'Flaherty deserved the awards and decorations he received from the Allies after the war. And the ending is very surprising as well! It is also a plus having the movie shot in Rome where the actual events took place. A truly classic movie. I highly recommend it.

amazon bias
erik reitz review is incredibly bigoted and hostile toward catholics - however i wrote a review pointing this out and incredibly you don't post my review but retain his - another thing i've noticed that amazon allows bigoted views against western civ, christianity, catholicism, anglos, men, heterosexuals etc to be posted & while some people will reply exposing this bigotry amazon runs the double standard of allowing unrestrained bigotry on one side while censoring the other side - you claim to moderate fairly yet what you do is allow left wing bigotry unchecked and the rest censored - amazon has presented a hostile evironment to the above mentioned censored majority of which i am a part - i cringe everytime i shop amazon's reviews that my sensibilities will not only be ignored but trampled and violated

The Scarlet & The Black
Great Job ... Acting, Location & Story. Its nice to see one more positive telling of the Church during the war. Not too many people know that the Chief Rabi of Rome during and immediately after the war, Israel Zolii, was so impressed by the Christians in Rome who tried to protect Jews from nazi persecution, that he was baptised as Catholic shortly after the end of the war. He took for his Christian name Eugene ... the same first name as Pope Pius XII, whom he especially admired as a friend and protector of Jews. He died as a devout Catholic.

One of the best!
This movie never gets enough credit! This is one of the best war time movies ever and with Mr. Peck's passing this is a must see for Peck fans who have not seen this movie. Gregory Peck and Christopher Plummer in one of his best roles play a cat and mouse game during WW2. The acting is fantastic and there is a lot of suspense! A must see! ... Read more

Amazon.com

The Black Stallion
Adapted from the beloved novel by Walter Farley, the 1979 family classic TheBlack Stallion was hailed by no less than hard-to-please critic PaulineKael, who wrote that "it may be the greatest children's movie ever made." Avisual feast from start to finish, the timeless tale plays out on almost mythicterms. A young boy survives a shipwreck and is stranded on a deserted islandwith a graceful black stallion, with whom the boy develops an almost empathicfriendship. After being rescued and returning home, the two make a winning teamas jockey and lightning-fast racehorse under the tutelage of a passionatetrainer, played by Mickey Rooney in an Oscar-nominated role. From its serenelyhypnotic island sequence to the breathtaking race scenes, this delightful filmis guaranteed to enthrall any viewer, regardless of age. The BlackStallion is a genuine masterpiece of family entertainment. --JeffShannon

The Black Stallion Returns
A rare sequel that can stand alone, 1983's The Black Stallion Returns isboth a fun follow-up and a fine adventure in its own right. Kelly Reno returnsas the now adolescent, deceptively ordinary Alec Ramsay, who stows away on aplane for Casablanca after the titular horse is kidnapped by Arabs. Getting himback pitches Alec into the middle of tribal rivalries and all sorts ofcomplicated, dangerous intrigue. The cast includes Teri Garr, Vincent Spano, andWoody Strode, but the real star here may be cinematographer Carlo Di Palma, aveteran of several Woody Allen films and a master of color, light, and framing.Director Robert Dalva edited the previous film and happily executes countlessideas he appears to have stored up from his first stallion outing. But it'sReno's resourceful hero--with his anti-Harry Potter normalcy--that finally takeshold of viewers. --Tom Keogh ... Read more

Reviews (8)

so nostalgic...
Watching these movies brings me back to my early teenage years when Walter Farley's books were the ultimate for a horse crazy girl. Maybe they are not as sophisticated or technologically advanced as newer horse flicks, but they are special in their own right. Four different horses were used for this film, this explaining slight differences in appearance. In accordance to breed standards, an Arabian horse is the only horse that can be purely black, as the members of this breed have predominantly black skin, whereas other breeds have pink. A true black Arabian horse will not "bleach out" as a bay will. Anyhow, great movies for any horse lover.

The Black Stallion
If you have read the book, or just have a horse crazy person in your house you MUST see the movie! THe backround music in The Black Stallion is incredible, it follows the horses movements! You almost feel as if you are ridding the Black!

Speaking as a person who read the books...
I have read every book that Walter and his son have written about the Black. The books always captured a child's point of view about horses. The dream of sailing off into the wind on the back of a really fast steed. I think Coppola captured that feeling in both of these movies. I like the quietness of the first one. The book was written to make you feel rather than listen to dialogue. There was little dialogue to begin with. Slightly off the subject, I think Walter had a passion about Seabisquit and had him in mind when he created the Black.
Kelly Reno was superb. A total natural around horses. Cass- ole was stunning, even in makeup. Oh, if the horse looks brown in the sunlight, remember this, no animal is truly black. They're all just a really dark shade of brown.

Read the book
My suggestion is to read the book, and not even touch this movie. The boy is not a very good actor and the build up to the match race is incredibly weak. If you've seen the movie Seabiscuit, this movie would be a major step down for you.

A good value for the money on these horse-lover classics
Although there is little bonus material on these DVDs, fans of the Black Stallion will enjoy the crisp picture on both DVDs. ... Read more

Amazon.com

A rare sequel that can stand alone, 1983's The Black StallionReturns is both a fun follow-up to the 1979 Carroll Ballard/Francis FordCoppola film and a fine adventure in its own right. Kelly Reno returns as thenow adolescent, deceptively ordinary Alec Ramsay, who stows away on a plane forCasablanca after the titular horse is kidnapped by Arabs. Getting him backpitches Alec into the middle of tribal rivalries and all sorts of complicated,dangerous intrigue. The cast includes Teri Garr, Vincent Spano, and WoodyStrode, but the real star here may be cinematographer Carlo Di Palma, a veteranof several Woody Allen films and a master of color, light, and framing. DirectorRobert Dalva edited the previous film and happily executes countless ideas heappears to have stored up from his first stallion outing. But it's Reno'sresourceful hero--his anti-Harry Potter normalcy--that finally takes hold ofviewers. --Tom Keogh ... Read more

Description

Internationally renowned director Claude Lelouch intimately explores destiny and true love in this romantic delight. Admired by movie lovers around the world, this fascinating film encompasses a variety of filmmaking styles and illustrates the 20th century through the intertwined lives and destinies of three generations. Marthe Keller (Marathon Man) is magnificent in multiple roles, and André Dussollier (Amélie) shines as her soul mate. A film that can be enjoyed again and again, Toute une Vie is fated to be one of your favorites. Academy Award® Nomination: Best Original Screenplay, 1975. ... Read more

Reviews (4)

... DESIRE FUELS A PASSION FOR VIOLENCE
Seven commandos are about to embark upon a deadly mission - surviving one another. After losing their captain, this rag-tag group of misled mercenaries fight for survival.

"The Dirty Seven" aka "Emmanuelle, Queen of the Desert"
After watching Laura Gemser play a supporting role in "Emmanuelle 2" opposite Sylvia Krystel, I found out she later starred in several "Emanuelle neva" (Black Emmanuelle) films and even got the leading role in "Caligula 2: The Untold Story". This low budget action movie, however, came up as a pleasant surprise to me. Not only for the stunning beauty of this hot, hairy Italian-Indonesian girl, but the film itself was not bad either. If you like the look of Ms. Gemser you better check out her Caligula flick too, it's on DVD now. If you want to enjoy a double feature (I mean, this film under the title "Emmanuelle, Queen of the Desert" PLUS "Leaving Scars" featuring Lisa Boyle) you can buy it on DVD as well.

THE DIRTY SEVEN
Lots of violence and Lots of nudity. How can you go wrong for Three Bucks which is what I paid for it. Oh and the dubbing is pricless!!!

Hey Ken you like Godzilla? Huh? Superman Beats them all!

you must see this movie alone..........
The Dirty Seven (¡®82)-dir. Bruno Fontana-ITALY-One-note shoot-em-up action drama that turns into a rape-revenge film. The only real reason to see this is for Laura Gemser who, taking revenge on her sister who was raped & murdered by a group of militant assassins, uses her body to turn the men against each other! Recommended for Gemser completists only! RATED ¡°R¡± ... Read more

Reviews (4)

Worked for me
These are not Oscar material, but there was enough flesh to get a person excited, its entertaining enough. Its two movies so if you can get the DVd for five bucks or so its cheaper than renting and worth the trouble.

Awful
"Leaving scars" is boring and witless. For a softcore video, there is very little to look at.

"Emmanuelle, Queen of the Desert" is a poor transfer of a softcore movie that thinks it is a western with something new to add to the genre. It also has nothing in common with any Emmanuelle you might be used to.

I was suckered by the bargain price. Don't follow my lead.

Are you buying this for the sex? Then don't...
Both movies are pretty so-so. Which is to be expected but the sex is almost non existent. There's maybe two scenes between the two movies that are over a minute in length. The rest of the scenes are pretty short and far and few in between. Despite the price I wouldn't recommend it if you're looking for something to get you and your partner in the mode.

Lisa Boyle and Laura Gemser
This double feature DVD has "Baywatch" girl Lisa Boyle (in "Leaving Scars") and "Black Emmanuelle" Laura Gemser (in "Emmanuelle, Queen of the Desert"). It should be noted that the latter is otherwise entitled "The Dirty Seven" or "La Belva dalle calda pelle" (as listed by Amazon). Whether you think Ms. Boyle is hotter than Ms. Gemser or vise versa, this double hottie at a bargain price shouldn't be missed out. I would recommend, however, that you also check out "Friend of the Family" (Lisa Boyle, Shauna O'Brien & Griffin Drew) and "Emmanuelle 2" (Laura Gemser & Sylvia Krystel). ... Read more

Reviews (22)

Mini-series king Richard reigns supreme here. . .
I first saw this production in 1975, when I was a senior in high school, about the same time I was writing a paper about the book it's based on. From the time I was a little girl, Richard Chamberlain had made my heart flutter as Dr. Kildare on TV. "Count" was after the filming of Richard Lester's "Three Musketeers", but before such classic mini-series as "Shogun" and "Thorn Birds", which are what this generation associates the Chamberlain name with most readily. This production did a wonderful job depicting Edmond's despair and loss of hope as the years pass and he realizes that his enemies mean for him to rot away in the solitary confinement of prison. Fortunately, while trying to dig out of there, he digs himself into the cell of Abbe Faria, who becomes his teacher, mentor, savior. . .and ultimately, benefactor. (Trevor Howard was marvelous here, by the way).

It takes 20 years, but Edmond finally escapes jail, finds the treasure, engages the best barber and tailor in Paris, and proceeds to make monkeys of his betrayers. Chamberlain was physically right for this part--very thin, as if he'd subsisted on soup and bread for two decades--and capable of moving as smoothly as a panther. Kate Nelligan was excellent as Mercedes--a woman whose heart was equal mixtures of bitterness, regret, and love for her son alone after losing the great love of her life at age 20. I liked Tony Curtis--he'd played so many good guys in movies like Spartacus, and also comedy such as in Some Like It Hot--that it was fun to see him be the villian here.

All in all, this production was an excellent SHORT adaptation of the book. Had it been made five years later, when mini-series became more popular in America, much more could have done more with the secondary characters and little subplots. It would be the French who beat Hollywood to the remake, however, with the 1998 mini-series starring Gerard Depardieu in the title role. I rented the Chamberlain version and watched it again last year after having seen the Depardieu version for the first time. It's as good as it was 25 years ago, and the prison scenes are far superior to the ones in the Depardieu production. Other than that, you can't really compare the two of them. The French had a longer version, bigger budget, etc. The Chamberlain version, however, holds its own among newer English or American versions of Dumas' works. If you love the book, then all the video and DVD versions are worth collecting. I'll be adding this one to my own collection soon:)

A Story With A Strong Moral Lesson
THE COUNT OF MONTE CHRISTO is a film adaptation of the classic story by Alexandre Dumas of three men who conspire to have their common enemy Edmund Dantes sent to prison and the vengeance wreaked by Dantes after his escape many years later. The movie is reasonably faithful to the book. The early part of the film depicts prison life graphically and the mood changes abruptly for the better with the start of the revenge sequence.

Richard Chaberlain gives a good performance and is believable as both the younger and older Edmund Dantes. A strong supporting cast includes Kate Nelligan, Louis Jourdan, Donald Pleasance and Tony Curtis. David Greene is known for his direction of GRAY LADY DOWN and THE STRANGE AFFAIR.

An excellent film, full of rich characterization
This is a top-notch production. Richard Chamberlain, the fine English actor seen in "Shogun" and "Thornbirds", is in top form as the wronged and vengeful Edmund Dantes. The story begins with Edmund content and happy, then betrayed by a rival suitor. He spends 14 years in prison, then escapes and uncovers buried treasure through the directions of a fellow inmate. He resurfaces in Paris as the mysterious count of Monte Cristo and exacts revenge on the people who imprisoned him. The story moves swiftly and is quite engaging. Richard Chamberlain is believable and compelling, both as the young Edmund, before prison, then as the older and cunning Count of Monte Cristo. The acting from the supporting cast is also almost uniformly excellent. The script is well-written, although it is a bit stunted at times. This movie is part of a set of 8 in a series called LITERARY MASTERPIECES. I have also seen 2 others in this series, LES MISERABLES and THE MAN IN THE IRON MASK. These were top-notch productions as well. END

Richard Chamberlain .....IS.....THE COUNT OF MONTE CRISTO!
Richard Chamberlain gives a commanding performance as THE COUNT OF MONTE CRISTO. The newer version, with Jim Caviezel is bland and less believable, largely because Caviezel cannot compete with Chamberlain's passion and style. Richard Chamberlain was created to play this role with his long, lean, graceful body and beautifully carved facial features. No one has the ability to wear the gorgeous costumes and capes with such grandeur! Richard Chamberlain can always be counted on to provide stately charm and class when needed. This film will leave no doubt in your mind......Richard Chamberlain ....IS......THE COUNT OF MONTE CRISTO!

Chamberlain, Count of Monte Cristo
I have always like Richard Chamberlain, but I think this is one of his best works. The story does not bog down and action keeps going. I love movies in this time period and would like to see more of them. The scenery and acting in this movie, not only by Richard Chamberlain, but of all the actors is phenominal. I highly recommend that if you have not seen this movie, take the time to see it. It will be well worth your time. ... Read more