Amazon.com

The consequences of time travel are the thematic framework for thiscompilation of episodes from the revamped Outer Limits anthology series,produced for the Showtime network. The six stories compiled here are indicativeof the new version's competent but uneventful nature; scripting, performances,and direction (all hampered by the program's low budget) rarely live up to theplots' potential or the drama and suspense of the original series. AmandaPlummer's Emmy-winning turn as a scientist who travels 50 years into the past tocommit a murder in the Season Two episode "A Stitch in Time" is the highlight ofthe disc; the rest (culled from the series' seven-season run) offer well-wornvariations on time travel themes. The full-frame disc includes "The Outer LimitsStory," which offers talking-head interviews with executive producers PenDensham and Mark Stern, as well as featurettes on each episode. --PaulGaita ... Read more

Reviews (15)

Some good, some bad
Time travel is a very difficult topic to have a story about, mostly because of the holes one can place in time and space. However, these in general were very good stories.

Easily, A Stitch in Time is the best episode.... and one of the best time travel stories I have experienced in a long time. They do a very good job of exploring these holes that are created. This is also the best Outer Limits episodes that I have seen so far.

Okay, I've got a soft spot when it comes to storied dealing with families. I really enjoyed Tribunal. Other than the fact that the main character would need to speak Yidish, English, and German fluently for this story to make sense... it really pulled at the ol' heart strings.

Gettysburg really turned me off. Maybe I was surprised to see Prentice again. Maybe it was because of what Prentice was trying to accomplish. It seemed like there were a million different ways to change what he was trying to prevent from happening, and he chose the most complicated way to do it.

I said, "What, Prentice again!!!" when Time to Time came on. The statement by Prenice's co-worker on what it takes to time travel would have been cute and funny if it didn't completely put a huge hole in the former two stories. It reminded me a bit of the movie, "Millennium."

Deja Vu reminded me of a Star Trek episode where Data went through the same thing that Kevin Nealon did and also Groundhog Day (one of the best movies EVER!!!). It was entertaining once, but I think it lacked the shock and awe that the writers were going for (none of their big surprises were big surprises).

And Patient Zero. Okay, a big hole is building a time machine to go into the past and stop something from happening because at this time you lose the incentive to build the time machine in the first place and sending that person back. So, the person shouldn't exist in the first place and the universe shoud blow up. This episode was predictable all the way and left me very disappointed.

Overall, I really liked the first two episodes and Deja Vu. The others I never really got in to. I know that time travel is a difficult subject (I still haven't found the perfect one yet, but A Stitch in Time came VERY close), but the three episodes I didn't like forced me to dock the movie two stars. Also, I would love it if the Outer Limits didn't do themes, but released it season by season. I might have liked these all more if I hadn't watched one story after another. I also have a feeling that they WILL release them season by season in the future and I'll regret these purchases. Of course, I'll need a time machine or just have to wait to find out if I'm correct.

Outer Limits Time Travel Stories
This DVD has 6 "Outer Limits time travel stories" of the series. Maybe with a little luck, we will see the series put out on DVD by season.

1) A Stitch in Time - season 2 - Jamie Perrin of the FBI investigates the murder of 17 men that have been killed with the same gun over the last 50 years. The gun is traced to Dr. Theresa Givens who was 5 years old at the time of the 1st murder and to add to the mystery the gun had not yet been invented.

2) Tribunal - season 5 - At the Birkenau concentration camp Leon Zgierski watches Karl Rademacher shoot his wife and send his daughter to the gas chamber. A time traveler who grabs Radermacher's jacket sees the event.

3) Gettysburg - season 6 - Andy and Vince spend their weekends reacting battles from the Civil War. When their picture is taken with an old camera they find themselves on the eve of an 1863 battle.

4) Time to Time - season 7 - A daughter travels back in time to change her father's destiny.

5) Déjà vu - season 5 - Mark Crest builds a teleportation machine to transport some animals across the desert.

6) Patient Zero - season 7 - A man from the future arrives in the present to kill the carrier of a plague that could destroy humanity.

For all time
The SHOWTIMES cable channel has brought back the 1950s science fiction series THE OUTER LIMITS. In it the series has updated technology & special effects as well as theme-lines to match the late 20th century.

SHOWTIME has begun to release some of the "best-of" on DVD via general motif. Each DVD has 4 episodes. The previous installment was called SEX AND SCIENCE fiction & the stories were a nice blend of eroticism & Sci-fi.

The current DVD contains 4 episodes centered around the concept of time travel. Of the 4, the 2nd story [THE TRIAL] is by far & away the most poignant. It details a story about a Jewish concentration camp and is vividly moving. The 2nd story alone is worth the price of the DVD.

3 of the 4 stories are about a time-traveller from the future (including THE TRIAL). Of all 4 episodes, the fourth is the weakest. They layer on some elements from the 2nd and 3rd stories and it all comes across as being very ad-hoc.

If time travel is an interest of yours, here is a DVD with some fresh approaches to the topic. If you prefer erotic science fiction, I would recommend the 1st OUTER LIMITS compilation of stories. If (like me!) you are an avid sci-fi fan across-the-board, I would think both DVDs should be in your collection.

Top of the Crop to Bottom of the Barrel
These episodes range from some of the very best of the Outer Limits (Stitch in Time, Tribunal, Deja Vu) to the mediocre (Gettysburg, Time to Time) and the out-and-out bad (Patient Zero). Still, based on the superb quality of the three good ones (Tribunal in particular is a very intelligent treatment of time travel -- look carefully at the Nazis that take the old man's daughter away from him in the flashback sequence, for example)this is worth the money.

A must have.
Did you like the New Outer Limits? If so, this is an excellent DVD for you to own. I really wish they would come out with the seasons in box form, but this will keep me happy until that day arrives. A very well done edition. In every way. ... Read more

Reviews (25)

The Mother of all Slapstick
After setting the police profession back 100 years with the "Naked Gun" movie, director Jim Abrahams decided to set his sights on the military with "Hot Shots." And the military will never be the same again.

What makes this movie so much fun are the sight gags that are in almost every scene. As with all good slapstick comedy movies, there are too many sight gags for you to be able to catch them all the first, and even second, time around. Every time you watch this movie, you will find another sight gag that you hadn't noticed before.

The movie also comes with a great comedic cast. It stars Charlie Sheen who for the first time really gets a chance to show how funny he can be (his previous comedy movies are pretty much forgettable). He is supported by Jon Cryer, Lloyd Bridges, and Cary Elwes. Each of these people have a great track record on their own when it comes to comedy. Together, they make the movie work.

Hot Shots
Maybe it's just because I haven't seen Top Gun, but when I first saw this film I was absolutely clueless. Yeah, there were some funny parts and humor from the makers of Airplane, Naked Gun, and Mafia, but the plot fell a little short. Charlie Sheen plays Topper Harley and follows his fathers footsteps when he flies in the Navy. There's also other great appearances by Cary Elwes and Lloyd Bridges (getting a little older), and silly characters like Washout and Dead Meat. I suggest you see Top Gun first, maybe then you will get more of the jokes. I give credit to Jim Abrahams and Pat Proft, though, because Top Gun seems like a tough movie to spoof.

Hilarious!
Hot Shots is one of the funniest movies I've ever seen. Charlie Sheen is okay, but in my opinion, the real comic here is Lloyd Bridges, playing Admiral Benson. Of course there are many other funny characters including the wall-eyed vision Washout. If you like movies with stupid humor, this is a must see.

Great Goof Comedy!
If your not into those whacky comedy spoofs then you will hate this Parody of Top Gun, amongst other movies! But I love these kind of send up whacky comedys, and this one is high up there with the best of them all!

Charlie Sheen plays Topper Harley and has had a bad past with the US Air Force and has quit the army... but the Army needs him once again and with non stop stupidity and comedy through the movie from door bells on Indian Tee Pees, to Barbequing hot hots with the jets of fighter planes, and a dog that just keeps getting sat on amongst many others, this movie will have you laughing your tushy off!

Its no acadamey award winner, but thats obviously not the idea for this comic life movie! It parodys a lot of movies, mostly Top Gun, but adds its own great jokes to the plot with outrages slapstick humour!

Part 2 - Wasnt as great. It sends up alot of movies and the plot changes completly into a difreent type of movie! But if you can, the edition thats available in regoin 4 at the moment of Part one and Two togther in the same package is worth getting!

Good Despite Sheen
I guess you can see from the title of this review I am not a big Charlie Sheen fan. There were tons of men that would have shined in this film. Sheen does an okay job ( seeing how he isn't a comedian ) but he is overshadowed by a funny script and funnier co-stars. This film makes fun of famous dramas like " 9 1/2 Weeks " but is mainly a parody of " Top Gun ". Hot Shots is an enjoyable movie that sticks to a strong plot. It doesn't end up falling into that trap of " trying " to be funny like some spoofs. It's not as good as " Naked Gun " by all means but it is a heck of a lot better than " Hot Shots: Part Duex " which was far too silly for my taste. ... Read more

Amazon.com

Corey Haim (back when he was still cute) and his souped-up hot-rod of a wheelchair are all that stand between a sleepy little New England town and a ferocious full-moon killer in Stephen King's adaptation of his novella Cycle of the Werewolf. This minor entry into the werewolf canon lacks the scares and sense of humor of superior hirsute thrillers The Howling and An American Werewolf in London, but pays off in some nice casting touches. Gary Busey is loyal to the end as Haim's beer-guzzling Uncle Red, Twin Peaks's Everett McGill cuts an unsettling figure as the town minister, and fleshy B-movie icon Lawrence Tierney (Reservoir Dogs) is the gruff bartender who breaks up bar fights with a baseball bat called "The Peacemaker." The monstrous wolf beast, a towering mountain of fangs and fur, is the creation of Carlo Rambaldi (E.T.). --Sean Axmaker ... Read more

Reviews (58)

A Werewolf, Killings, Lynch Mobs,...A Silver Bullet
A delightfull movie from yesteryear, a very good movie indeed for the time frame and year it was made from. If your looking for all the computer animation, special effects of todays modern movies, tis best to look elsewhere, but tis if a night of fancifull storytelling, a slight scare, and a good story from stephen king tis what is on your mind, than look no farther than here.
A Story of a small town struggling against an unknown menace to most, but the killer is known all to well to a small boy that is lame and bound to a wheelchair.
Gary Busey gives a wonderfull performance in the part of Uncle Red...the uncle that each of us have, the magic uncle, the big brother uncle.
The Narrarator of the story adds a good element in her return of memory and the voice she adds to the movie, in the remembering form of the boys sister.
Overall a good movie to be had and seen, and I reccomend it, for both stephen king fans and those of the horror genre in general.
Watch it on a full moon, and don't forget to buy your silver bullett.

Excellent Movie!
This movie was an excellent horror movie. Corey Haim plays the hero in this film. He has a motorized wheel chair and without
question believes in the presence of an evil werewolf.His beer
drinking uncle is ably played by Gary Busey.The role of the minister(and actual werewolf) is played by Everitt McGill.The
werewolf is frightening. He is huge and bloodthirsty.This evil
monster spread fear throughout the community. It finally falls upon Corey Haim and his uncle to stop the werewolf by killing the monster with a silver bullet.The ending of the movie is very
noteworthy. This movie is a good watch. Buy it.

Entertaining
While this movie has few of the bone chilling moments of "An American Werewolf in London" or "The Howling," it still has moments where it is fascinating and at least a couple of places where the tension rises. Helping along the way are Gary Busey as Marty Coslaw's (Corey Haim) Uncle Red, Megan Follows as Marty's sister Jane, and Everett McGill as creepy Reverend Lowe.

There are murders happening in and around town, and Marty is convinced it is the work of a werewolf, with whom he has a close encounter; a really close encounter. At first no one believes Marty, as you would expect, but then Jane is convinced. Finally Uncle Red is sort of convinced. The tension builds until the night that Jane and Marty's parents are away from home and Uncle Red stays with Marty, Jane, and a single silver bullet.

While there are other werewolf movies with a higher scare factor, this one remains one of my favorites. I will watch this movie sooner than many others just because it is familiar and the characters are generally likable. It is like a cartoon in many ways, but these same qualities make it an easy to watch movie. There are a few intense moments to spike up the movie, including the encounter between Marty and the werewolf on an isolated walking bridge at night in the country, another encounter between a group of citizens out to hunt the murderer, and encounters between the werewolf in his human form and Jane and Marty.

This movie is a must have for Stephen King fans as well as those who have a penchant for people who change into furry creatures.

Super Scary
This movie was really scary. It got really bad reviews, and I don't understand why. True, there is a little bit of gore in it at the beginning, but so what. Really well done.

Hurricane22,

Amateur Movie Critic

By the light of the moon
A cycle of terror ...

Every month, when the moon is at its fullest, the usually quiet town of Tarker's Mills is visited by what the townspeople think is a homicidal maniac. Mutilated corpses begin to turn up and a curfew is administered upon the residents of Tarker's Mills. One crippled boy nevertheless decides to ignore the curfew - which led to the cancellation of the Fourth of July Fireworks - and meets the mysterious murderer face-to-face one night. So begins a quest to discover the true idenity of this monster.

Daniel Attias has produced one of the creepiest Stephen King films ever with 'Silver Bullet'. The screenplay (written by King) is an adaptation of his novella, 'Cycle of the Werewolf', about a lycanthrope who hunts down the townspeople of Tarker Mills. The film is well paced and has a 'whodunnit' feel, as well as plenty of extremely scary moments that will ensure you do not head for the 'eject' button, feeling you have wasted your hard earned dollars.

Moreover, there is a great cast here, headed by veteran actor Gary 'Point Break' Busey, Corey 'The Lost Boys' Haim, and Terry 'The Stepfather' O'Quinn.

I first watched this film when it came out for rental in the mid-eighties and it scared the bejezus out of me. So, take the nightmare ride of your life through the fog shrouded woods of Tarker's Mills, but beware the moon.

'Silver Bullet' also stars Everett McGill of 'Twin Peaks' and 'The People Under The Stairs', and Megan Follows, star of 'Anne of Green Gables'. ... Read more

Reviews (76)

A tokin' cult classic
For those of you who grew up in the 70's, Cheech & Chong where the Laurel & Hardy or Abbott & Costello of those times. Seeing this film in DVD is a joy, since I must have seen it on tape more than a 100 times, till it was unwatchable. Now, for the first time we can see the film in it's original panoramic (widescreen) format, and for those who saw it before on tape, you'll see all you've missed before. The copy is pristine clear, and it includes a load of deleted scenes, some actually funnier than what we saw on the original run of the film. Included on those missing scenes, is the infamous one featuring Harry Dean Stanton, who doesn't remember ever appearing in a Cheech & Chong film. Plus there is an audio commentary by Cheech himself and Lou Adler, the director, who prior to this, had never directed a film before. You'll be astonished to learn how much this film influenced other people, guys like Quentin Tarantino, for example, not to mention the numerous rock groups who grew up watching this guys and re-recorded their music. All in all, a real pleasure to discover this seminal gem from the 70's, given it's full use or advantage on DVD. If you saw this guys' films way back then, do yourself a favor, and get hold of this DVD. For those too young to remember them, but who heard of them from an older brother or "stoner" uncle, get hold of it and discover what kept us laughing during those daze, er, uh, days. Filmakers of today, take notice that films can be made without a million cuts per second and only with long continous shots.

Plot-Free Pot-Fest -- Big Whoop about Very Little!
Definitely DATED, this film has 70s "High Times" written all over it. These guys have not much more than "pot" on their brain. All jokes lead to the same subject...dope, man!

Cheech and Chong, already celebrated novelty song artists with several best-selling albums to their credit just had to take their "message" to the next level. "Up In Smoke" gave them plenty of exposure and secured a solid fandom. 25 years later, though, the laughs drop drastically on the dime-bag-scale.

When I was still in high school (and I didn't give in to the smoking of anything, then or now), I may have enjoyed this sort of nonsense more. As a middle aged intellectual, I can offer only a few tired smirks. Give me Laurel & Hardy instead!**

best stoner movie ever!
hello cheech and chong fans i may only be a teenager but i have been a fan for like 4 years now and this is the funniest movie i have ever seen might be the best comedy ever!.and if ypur going to order a cheech and chong movie get this one but if i were you and you had some money to spend buy all of them and all of there cd's.and im so glad chong is finaly out of prison and to all of you die hard c and c fans the new cheech and chong movie is going to start production in september chong and cheech were both on jay leno on july 9th so there back together for awhile. anyways dont get to high later.

THIS IS A PARODY, DON'T YOU PEOPLE GET IT?
This film does not advocate drug use, this film, and Cheech and Chong's act are parodies of people who do drugs. If anything it takes every stereo type of all kinds of drug users and makes fun of them. If you watch this movie again and think about what I have said you will actually think this film is even funnier than you did before. I have known most of these types of people and think this movie is halarious, one of the funniest films ever made and I do not do drugs.

ALL Pot and NO Plot makes this ONE DULL MOVIE!
Campy trip back to the smoky 70s. Definitely DATED, this film has "High Times" written all over it. These guys have not much more than "pot" on their brain. All jokes lead to the same subject...dope, man!

Cheech and Chong had already enjoyed celebrity as novelty song artists with several best-selling albums to their credit. This effort of "Smokin' Dope - The Movie" takes their "message" to the next level. "Up In Smoke" gave them plenty of exposure and secured a solid fandom. 25 years later, though, the laughs drop drastically on the dime-bag-scale.

When I was still in high school (and I didn't give in to the smoking of anything, then or now), I may have enjoyed this sort of nonsense more. As a middle aged intellectual, I can offer only a few tired smirks. Give me Laurel & Hardy instead!** ... Read more

Reviews (42)

A Great Western, A Great Deconstruction, A Great Film
This is one of my favorite Altman films (Vincent & Theo, The Player, The Long Good-Bye, and Short Cuts round out the top 5). He takes the Western--a great American genre, but an oft-hackneyed one--and injects new blood into its withered old veins. Gone are the trademarks of the old Western, many of which simply transplanted bourgeoise America onto the Plains: the setting is cold, wet, snowy, green and mountainous as much of the west was and is--not flat, dry, still and khaki-colored; the dialogue is common, vulgar and overlapping--not genteel and well-schooled; the people are crude, dirty and uneducated--not clean and prim; the hero is not a hero at all, not brave and skilled at gunplay--in fact, not everyone owns a gun; etc. etc. etc. Altman recreates the Western in this brilliant tale of greed, cowardice, power, cruelty, progress, and the calculus of addiction. Warren Beatty, Julie Christy and the rest of the cast are outstanding.

McCabe & Mrs. Miller
In the opening shots of Robert Altman's "McCabe & Mrs. Miller," we follow John McCabe (Warren Beatty) making his way on horseback through the hills of the Pacific Northwest. As the camera shifts to the side, it picks up the credits, hanging in the rain-soaked air. "McCabe & Mrs. Miller" shot by Vilmos Zsigmond, delights with beautiful plush cinematography.
John McCabe,a determined businessman with a mysterious past, settles in Presbyterian Church, a small Northwestern town, and opens up a saloon and a brothel. Soon after Constance Miller (Julie Christie) arrives and strikes a deal with McCabe to manage the brothel. McCabe loves Mrs. Miller and gives in to most of her wishes, she however uses opium and it's unclear how much she feels for McCabe. The money and power mining folks want to buy out McCabe's holdings in town and he bargains too long foolishly imagining the cards he was holding to be alot better than they were. The Mining company sends their killers and McCabe deals with them as the church burns and snow falls.
In The New York Times Magazine, Aljean Harmetz wrote of Robert Altman's films: "He wants to catch the accidents of life and fling them on the screen hard enough to knock the breath out of the audience. He wants to weigh the screen down with vulgarity, pleasure, pain, ugliness, and unexpected beauty". In " McCabe and Mrs. Miller" Altman has painted with these very brush strokes a still, quiet masterpiece.

Worst Western Ever Made
"McCabe & Mrs. Miller" is the worst western ever made. Warren Beatty and Robert Altman join up to destroy the whole western genre single handedly. This is not what the west was all about. Altman has it all wrong. There is no honor, dignity or glory to be found anywhere in this film. That's what the west was really all about. Sorry.

McCabe and Mrs. Miller
This is, I think, my favorite film of all time. It has everything: romance, comedy, suspense, gangsters, and the most archetypal of all American movie symbols, the Western shoot-out. And it's real. You are not watching actors reciting lines in a script; you are watching the first thousand people or so forging an American community. You are watching the town you grew up in when it was a seed.
It puzzles as much as reveals: just what is Constance Miller feeling for McCabe? McCabe for sure loves her a lot, enough to humble himself and pay money for sex. Would she ever do the same for him? Why is saving the church cause for jubilation among the townsfolk when apparently none of them felt connected at all to it? And my favorite puzzle of all: how on earth did Pudgy McCabe get the reputation of a fearsome gunslinger?
The first puzzle doesn't interest me very much. It's one of those character things that's often good to leave in limbo. But the second and third puzzles speak to the heart of the United States, for I think they have definitive answers in terms of what Altman was saying with this film.
As for the saving of the church: the rampant lack of real spiritual feeling among Americans is laid bare, for while the church is being saved, McCabe is being stalked. Americans don't put into practice those churchly ideas that they all claim to stand for, while at the same time they give their all to protect the symbol of the idea they are neglecting. You get to know these townsfolk intimately during the film, and you really like them. It's not as if they were evil, but Christian ideals are just words to them, as they are to many Christians today. How else to explain the rabid Christian right's war-mongering image over the years?
The third puzzle explodes the American myth of the Western hero. Pudgy McCabe, the feared gunslinger, turns out to be a bumbling character who shot a man with a derringer. Hardly Billy the Kid (who was hardly Billy the Kid either), but some of the stories circulating about Pudgy McCabe are ones of mythic proportions. The tall bounty hunter is wrong when he says, "That man never killed anybody." Americans will make their heroes out of lies if need be. The circulated story becomes the truth, and the truth becomes a lie. I believe Altman was speaking not simply of Western heroes, but American heroes in general. They are stories only. How else to explain Jessica Lynch and almost all of the politicians who crawl around in Washington, D.C.? We approve stories over truth, we approve symbols over substance. McCabe and Mrs. Miller is a damning indictment of the American heart, showing us up for our lack of spiritual depth.
Also, the novel McCabe, by Edmund Naughton, is interesting to read if you are a fan of the Altman film.

McCabe & Mrs. Miller
I've got to admit I'm a little surprised to read the negative critiques of McCABE & MRS. MILLER here. In my opinion this is one of the five greatest movies ever, in any genre, and I'm not an Altman fan.

Anyway, here's my response to some of the criticism.
This film has too much realism - I watched the movie with the audio commentary by Robert Altman and producer David Foster (which is good, as far as those things go), and the short documentary on the making of McCABE & MRS. MILLER, which I believe was made shortly after the movie. The realism, in my opinion, is what gives this movie depth and texture. The town was being built while the movie was being shot (the film was shot in sequence), and the buildings are not facades. They are real buildings. Interior shots were done in them and not in studio.

It's pointless, boring and pretentious - I think because Altman focuses so much on characters and their motivations the viewer may miss the plot. The plot here is pretty simple - At the turn of the last century a man builds a gambling/whore house in a small mining town. An astute madam joins him and in short order the venture is a success. Such a success, in fact, that an outside concern wants to buy him out. Two men are sent to the small town to negotiate with him, and he drunkenly refuses their offer. They leave and the outside concern takes the next step, which is to employ three hired killers to do away with McCabe.
I suppose letting characters evolve and refraining from throwing plot points at us can seem pretentious. To me, it simply felt like the director wasn't talking down to me. Altman says somewhere in the voice over that movies are canvases to him, and he likes working in the corners. That's not everybody's cup of tea.
And the ending.... Well, it ain't supposed to end like that, and even those of us who love the movie wish it had ended on a more positive note. We wish it only because we've become involved with the characters. But, if it had ended differently, if Mrs. Miller hadn't made that midnight run to Chinatown, we probably wouldn't be talking about it 30+ years on.

Dismal story, dismal photography - Altman speaks some about the "look" of the movie. The cinematographer, Vilmos Zsigmond, "flashed" the negatives to give it a daguerreotype feel. Flashing a negative is briefly exposing it to light before developing it. I hadn't noticed until I rewatched it the other day how the look changes after the pivot point - the failed negotiations. Before that the film looks warm and soft-focused, after that it acquires a harsh, white, sharp-focused look. The look, from set design to photography, is perfect.

McCABE & MRS. MILLER killed the genre - That's kind of like saying Pete Rose destroyed baseball. I'm a huge fan of Westerns, from Gene Autry to John Wayne to Clint Eastwood and all stops in between, and I think this fits comfortably in the genre. I certainly think McCabe's response to the threat at the end of the film is truer to reality than most. When you got skilled bad guys tracking you, you hide in the corner and shot them in the back if you get the chance. ... Read more

Reviews (6)

Not the most classic of classic TV
Novel plots, zany characters and Blake Edwards' superb jazz sound track distinguish this series. But all told they do not compensate for its lack of other outstanding features nor make it the best of its genre. Those who love classic TV and/or private investigator/police drama have many other better choices available.

Even better than the first set, if that's possible!
This show is very addictive and it serves to remind us what REAL "cool" is all about. No kiddies, it's not a face full of rings and studs and a tattoo on your butt. It's not some numb-nutted, no-talent, rap-squawking pimp-daddy grabbing his croth on the Leno show. It's not the concept of bacterial life in Martian rocks. It's not your baseball cap on backwards and a pair of stupid-looking three-quarter-length baggy pants. Here is the truth: Peter Gunn is COOL personified! A smooth, immaculately dressed private eye who hangs out in a jazz club (where his girlfriend is the Julie London-esque chanteuse) and mixes with, truly, some of life's beatnik eccentrics.... all to the sounds of a perfect Henry Mancini score and produced by Blake Edwards. How cool is that? Also what is really good about this series (especially for you older guys out there) is the number of familiar faces and character actors that we used to see in 50s/60s TV shows and Elvis movies. I swear that while I was watching this dvd I asked myself "When is Floyd the Mayberry barber from the 'Andy Griffith Show' gonna turn up?", and lo and behold, in the very next episode, there he was as an eccentic antiques dealer. I also like the bongo-playing skindiver with the apartment full of hula girls.... this is Atomic Age bachelor pad excess, I love it!! Yeah, I agree that the transfers are not up to the usual A&E excellence and in some shows the tape hiss is very noticable but hey, given the vintage of this stuff, I'll live with it. Can't wait for further volumes of this ultra cool TV noir and hope and pray A&E release BOURBON STREET BEAT, 77 SUNSET STRIP, SURFSIDE 6 and HAWAIIAN EYE in box sets. I highly recommend this dvd. Buy it, check it out, let the "cool" flow over you like molasses and put it up there on your shelf next to "Jazz On A Summer's Day" and "The Saint" mega-set.

Gunn-derful!
Nothing is overdone here. The acting, the sets, the music (oh, yes, enjoy the MUSIC) and most of the stories are cool. Craig Stevens is sublimely in control in the title role, Lola Albright's unspectacular singing voice but unmitigated charm fit into the unspectacular but charming setting of Mother's, the nightclub where Gunn hangs out with her, and Herschel Bernardi is the harried and weary police detective sometimes at odds with Gunn, the private detective. But how often have you seen that cop/dick relationship overplayed on TV series and in movies. Here it is understated. That is not to say the show is so low-keyed as to be boring. There are mysteries, there's humor (including an episode in which the immaculately tailored Gunn is scurrying about town with a trained seal in tow), and a good rock 'em sock 'em fight every episode. And all this is surrounded and united by the brilliant Mancini music. You will have fun and won't get tired even if you watch a bunch of episodes at one sitting.

Would you buy a film for its music? I did.
A great experience in life: all that mystery involved in a "film noir" crime scene. The splendor of the "Peter Gunn" series, one of the most wonderful and famous TV series. And the music of Mancini setting the scene! It's a treasure! It's a perfect demo of how to prepare our hearts and minds with music for a movie scene. Mancini is a master forever. This package is very worth of the impact of watching to the complete series at a time or at least half of it. There are volumes 1 and 2. Buy both for the complete series.

Better than we remembered.
Forty years old and still high quality entertainment. The quality
of the images and sound are better than we ever saw or heard on those primitive TV sets of the 60's. The acting is clearly for fun and the dialog is laced with good comedy moments. The talent of Blake Edwards, Henry Mancini, the actors and musicians, is clearly on display. You will watch it again and again. Whenever there is nothing worth watching on the networks or dish we enjoy Peter Gunn all over again. ... Read more

Amazon.com

A sweet and clever combination of anecdotes and autobiography, Radio Days draws heavily on Woody Allen's childhood. Fittingly, the unfolding episodes are woven together by music--lovely hits of the 1940s like "In the Mood" and "That Old Feeling." Some episodes are built around radio itself (like the burglars who answer the phone in a house they're burgling and win a radio contest), and others center on the life of a young Jewish boy (Seth Green, clearly playing a version of Allen himself as a child). Though light in tone, Radio Days is an ambitious re-creation not simply of an era, but of radio itself. Nowadays radio is little more than a way to sell pop tunes, but it used to transmit dreams; watching this movie, you get a taste of how inspiring this simpler medium could be. --Bret Fetzer ... Read more

Reviews (22)

The Best Woody Allen film of them all.
I love Woody Allen and his crazy sense of humor. I know that some people find him (at times) a little far out, but this movie should be loved by everyone with a family and a radio. The music is the background of the WW2 generation and their children. It reminds me very much of my parents and all my relatives. It is little episodes in the life of a 8 year old boy but told in a way that all of us can relate to. I live in Florida, and a few years ago on my birthday, we were under a Hurricane watch.........a whole crew of my family of all ages gathered at my house to wait. Trying to find something to entertain everyone was a real challenge. After a bunch of false starts on other movies everyone was getting edgy until we put on Radio Days. It calmed everyone down and cheered them up, made them laugh--the movie was a hit ( and the hurricanne missed us). The casting was great. All of Woody's regulars and some other talents too. I love it.

A standout gem!
I've been hurt in the past by a lot of "classic" Woody Allen films. But this one does not disppoint. I think this is one of his best films. A nostalgic look back on his childhood in the good ole radio days. Although for once, Woody was not the highlight of a Woody movie for me. And I never thought I'd utter thses words in my entire life. But...Mia Farrow was the funniest thing about this movie (and it was a really funny movie by itself). I just loved her eating as people are discussing where to dump her body and my favorite line of her's is upon hearing of the bombing of Pearl Harbor at an inconvenient moment, she asks kind of agitated, "Who is Pearl Harbor?" The second stories would switch, and she'd pop up, I'd already be laughing. And I am by no means a Mia Farrow fan. She was just so broadly funny; maybe that's what she should have done more of. Because usually she plays such dry characters...but this was a welcome change. Woody must have loved her role too. He basically recycled her in Bullets Over Broadway with Jennifer Tilly's ditzy character (also funny). This film was just so real and honest and clearly personal to Woody, that his passion showed in the writing and the acting and made this movie one of my favorites of his (and a young Seth Green did Woody justice too).

Very good music, but missing some great songs.
I purchased this soundtrack because it contained some really great music. However, my favorite song, September Song, was missing. If you saw the movie, it was the song that reoccurred numerous times, starting with the wind-swept rainy scene of his home, Rockaway Beach, near the ocean.

Not only that, but that song is near impossible to find now, as I've spent hours searching on the Internet with no luck. Still, there are many other titles I like on the CD. I just wish that were one of them, considering its sort of the theme song that reappeared so many times. Really disappointing.

Seth Green shines
Seth Green plays a Jewish boy..and its basically a story about Woddy Allen's childhood which this movie is greatly doned on...good acting fro Mia Farrow and others..a nicely done..feel good movie..you dont want to miss it

Nostalgia...ah, yes...
I'm a huge fan of Woody Allen (even his "clunkers"), but this is my absolute favorite Woody film. All of his films are personal, but none as personal and revealing as this...and ABSOLUTELY entertaining. Seth Green, Woody's young character, is perfect, justifying his current success. Wonderful performances from Woody's usual stock troupe (Kavner, Wiest, etc) are all in tune with the goings-on. Mia Farrow, in particular, is a hoot, especially her scenes with Danny Aiello. Woody even managed to squeeze a cameo from Diane Keaton at the end ("You Be So Nice to Come Home To"). Lovely and sweet. It's too bad the Academy eliminated the category for "Best Adapted Score", cuz this woud've won, no question. The greatest songs of the period (1940-1945) were lovingly presented, and anyone who sees this film can't help but be left with a wistful, soft and nostalgic feeling. Yes, this is my favorite Woody film. ... Read more

Description

"Buckle your swash and jolly your roger for the ultimate musical comedy pirate adventure! Kristy McNichol (LITTLE DARLINGS) and Christopher Atkins (THE BLUE LAGOON) star as dreamy young lovers in this uproarious update of Gilbert & Sullivan’s THE PIRATES OF PENZANCE, filled with virtuous maidens and shirtless cutthroats, savage swordplay and buried treasure, a dashing Pirate King (Ted Hamilton) and a modern Major General (Bill Kerr), plus plenty of pillaging, plundering, plank-walking fun! For years, fans have been clamoring for this infamous ’80s musical from the Oscar®-nominated director of THOSE MAGNIFICENT MEN IN THEIR FLYING MACHINES (1966). The wait is over: THE PIRATE MOVIE is now presented with a brand-new Widescreen Transfer, featuring a fascinating new Director’s Commentary and mixed in timber-shivering Dolby 5.1 Surround! " ... Read more

Reviews (154)

This Movie is Just So Cute!
The first time I watched The Pirate Movie was on TV and than on vhs. After my first time of watching the movie I was completely hooked and have been a fan ever since! This movie is cheesy but it's not a bad movie at all and is a very fun movie to watch. I recently got the DVD and though the widescreen transfer is nothing to brag about as it really doesn't look all that different from the fullscreen tape the quality of the film seems very nice and the colors look great! I still very much enjoyed watching this movie and I still liked the acting by Kristy Mcnichol and Christopher Atkins as Mabel and Fredric and by Ted Hamilton as the Pirate King and the songs, and jokes and spoofs of movies are also still good and I would recommend this movie to anyone who can enjoy a silly movie and I now wish they would reissue the movies soundtrack on CD. I have the soundtrack but it's an old two album vinyl record set and well, not only is it a little worn out but I can't play it anymore because the stylus on my record player turntable is broken so now that the movie has finally been put on DVD I hope the soundtrack will soon be put on CD! One complaint I have about the DVD is that it's a bare bones DVD and has hardly any extra features except the original theatrical trailer and commentary with the director. I would have liked them to have gotten Kristy Mcnichol, Christopher Atkins and Ted Hamilton to have provided commentary and/or interviews and deleted scenes and bloopers would have been nice too! At the end of the movie during the closing credits there is included an amusing blooper in which Kristy had been chewing on some gum and she is in the scene where Mabel is in the suit of armor and they just start filming the scene and Kristy realizes that she has forgotten to take the gum out of her mouth and it would have been good to see more outtakes like that!

80's camp and Anchor Bay wins again
Before it was rereleased on DVD, I had all but forgotten this movie. As a child, it kept me enthralled, and as an adult, it still has all the fun of a true 80's camp masterpiece. There were many of them in those days, and I'm glad that companies like Anchor Bay are still willing to invest in rereleasing cult films.

The Pirate Movie is loosely based on The Pirates Of Penzance, but don't think you'll find much similarity aside from general plot here. Taking place in some odd dream sequence, Kristy McNichol's character wishes to marry before her older sisters despite family custom. When she meets an x-pirate and is determined to marry him, all sorts of odd adventures and cheesy swashbuckling mayhem ensue in between bouts of raunchy humor and hilarious pop songs. The sexual humor is abundant, or even extreme at some times, but it's all in good fun.

Don't miss the Python-esque battle sequences in the climax. Pure classic!

Awesome!
This movie is so awesome!

Very happy that I now own The Pirate Movie on DVD!

The DVD hasn't got any extras but a trailer but I love it anyway because it's the movie that is more important to me and I love watching this in widescreen!

I recommend The Pirate Movie DVD to everybody!

I Loved It - I watched Twice The Day I Bought It.
I can remember when this film came out. I thought it was fun and different and weird and campy and completely ridiculous!

I loved it! The concept making a farce of the farce known as Gilbert & Sullivans PIRATES OF PENZANCE was brilliant. Ted hamilton does a greta job as the Pirate King and who could condem Christopher Atkins (The Blue Lagoon) and Kristy McNichols (Family) over campy romp with music and dance?

The brekaing of the "fourth wall" was the best part for me. I love it when they looked at or too the audience for support or reaction.

The Pirates were hysterical and the Major General and Chief Bobby were over the top - at their best! The music is hip and upbeat - refelctive of 1982 and the costumes were cleverly intertwined. It really looks like they all had a lot of fun!

The audio commentary is great and listening to the director, Ken Anakin (Long Day At The Beach) reminice about the shoot was great. I remember buying the Betaand Laser Disc copy of this. I even have the original RECORD soundtrack....

I wish there was a Making Of documentary on it or I wish Chis and Kristy could have done the commentary too! That would have been fun!

This is a fun, fabulous farce. Campy and filled with music and inside "sexual Innuendos", Star Wars jigs, Comic Banter and nonsensical gags. I loved it and you and the whole family will too.

Remember it was mad ein th 80's - so HAVE FUN WITH IT!4-1-05

excited to see The Pirate Movie?
i remember loving this movie as a child, and watching it over and over on HBO (probably many times at the theatre as well). i was very excited to see The Pirate Movie finally arriving on DVD. another chance at a glimpse of my childhood, but sadly this one just did not hold up over time (for me at least). most the jokes fall flat, there is alot of singing and "music video" sequences to fill time the time. the DVD itself is nothing to talk about, with homely looking menus and no features worth talking about. it may be worth a look purely for the sake of nostalgia; it will take you back, but just far enough to realize it is over. overall, i am sure you could get your fill of this one as a weekend rental. ... Read more

Amazon.com essential video

Woody Allen was going through his off-screen scandal with Mia Farrow when Manhattan Murder Mystery was produced, so Diane Keaton was brought in to fill the role intended for Farrow. The reunion of Keaton and Allen only improves this already enjoyable Allen comedy, since they're so comfortable with each other's neuroses that they're delightfully convincing as a married couple who suspect their neighbor of murdering his wife. Actually, it's Keaton who obsesses about the possible foul play; Woody just wants them to mind their own business. But pretty soon they've recruited their friends (Alan Alda, Anjelica Huston) as amateur sleuths, and the movie turns into a Nancy Drew mystery for sophisticated Manhattanites. With a typical abundance of Woody Allen witticism and some memorable comic suspense, this engaging throwback to vintage Hollywood mysteries is guaranteed to please even the most noncommittal Woody Allen fans, and the Allen-Keaton chemistry is, as always, a genuine pleasure. --Jeff Shannon ... Read more

Reviews (35)

Comfortable Comedy
This is Woody Allen doing screwball comedy for the contemporary film viewer. The familiar Allen schtick of neurotic tension, fearfulness, and anxiety, the effective Allen-Keaton chemistry, the lovely New York settings, and a cast of great supporting players make this an easy watch.

Sure, the humor veers into slapstick, but the characters are so rich and multi-layered and the script is so dense and fast moving that one forgives some of the broadness. The references to film noir and classic detective yarns embellish the pleasing story. The interplay between Allen and Keaton allows the history of their fictional marriage to be evident, with all its warmth, frustrations, doubts, and reliability. The distractions that Huston's and Alda's characters provide to each heightens the fun. The comic apsects of the movie don't stop it from having some genuine surprises. Although not the finest film in the world or even Allen's best, I have watched this many, many times and plan to enjoy it for a long while more.

My All-Time Fave Woody Allen film
while i've enjoyed allen's previous films (annie hall, husbands & wives, purple rose of cairo), this one is the best! allen and keaton, along with alan alda and anjelica huston (chic and witty as always)pull this story off so well, i begin to think this can only happen in a place like NYC.

Great throwback to the days of whine and neurosis
I absolutely loved this film. I laughed. I jumped. I laughed some more.

This script had been laying around for quite some time, and when Allen decided to resurrect it, I'm SO glad he got Diane Keaton to join him for the filming. Their chemistry is still there, and so is Allen's wonderful neurotic schtick. The elevator scene is priceless. I also greatly enjoyed the tape-player skit with Allen's inimitable bumbling.

I think the film hiccups a bit when it abruptly switches to a film-noir ending. Mind you, I enjoyed the ending, especially the Welles homage, but I think this decidedly dark ending causes the whole vehicle to lose momentum.

All in all this great fun with plenty of zany suspense and the fabulous interplay of Allen and Keaton.

A PLEASANT DIVERSION
Allen's a nebbish old man who wants to mind his (quickly deteriorating love-) life with an unagreeable wife.

Sensing this stale mate, the wife played by Diane Keaton, is out for some excitement. Which she gets, in a big way, when a neighbor dies. Just the evening after the two couples had a casual evening coffee.

Suspicions ensue. Old flames pop up. Relationships intertwine and flare. Clues unravel. Marital discord and sensitive chords are struck. All with vintage Allen humor, part neurotic, part drunk on its wit.

The cinematography is handsome, literally here, as candid steady cams are employed, giving the film its constantly roving hand-held look. I personally find this cloying after a while.

The murder itself is mildly suspenseful, but that's barely the point with a W-Allen movie. The twists are intelligent enough and managed to hold my attention for the duration of the movie.

All in all, despite the slightly cop-out denouement, it is generally quite an amusing experience. Recommended rental.

Wonderful mix of Murder, Mistery and Comedy
Diane Keaton and Woody Allen make quick friends with an older couple. After the woman dies of a heart attack, Diane Keaton starts investigating on her own thinking that it was not a heart attack afterall. Woody on the other end does not believe in this murder idea and thinks his wife is getting too excited for no reason.

The movie mixes great suspense and comedy. The skepticism of woody allen and the wild (but maybe not so wild) imagination of diane keaton make for highly entertaining dialogues. The new york atmosphere of the movie is quite lovely too. The story moves fast and as Diane Keaton discovers more and more clues you find yourself seating on the edge of your seat wondering what next is going to happen.

This movie is wonderfull all the way to the end that parodies the ending of an old movie classic. ... Read more

Reviews (40)

Two Wonderful Actors...One Playing The Other!
I wasn't really a Charles Chaplin fan when I saw this movie. I simply could not sit through a silent film. I found nothing special about them or in them, at that rather immature point in my film experiences. But I was (and still AM!) a huge Robert Downey Jr. fan, and couldn't wait to see his portrayal of the Tramp. I'll admit I WAS curious about this rather controversial fellow, Chaplin. I'd heard so many things about him and didn't know what was true and what wasn't. Was he a womanizer? Was he truly a communist sympathizer booted out of our nation for what certain parties in the government felt was the peoples' safety? So many questions, and such an enigmatic person, regardless of my feelings about the silent film genre. MY GOODNESS!!! The movie swept me away!!! Downey's portrayal of Chaplin's most beloved character The Tramp and his portrayal Chaplin the man were both superb, and that was certainly not an easy trick! (Which is even more obvious once you're read Chaplin's Autobiography upon which this movie is based...I read it soon afterward...and I also recommend it without hesitation! My 1st Edition hardback, a gift from my wonderful husband, is my most treasured in my collection!) I say not an "easy trick" to portray both, because they were totally different people! You'll see how shy he was in his "real life", and how, through his acting, he found a way to communicate with others that he never quite succeeded at in life, until very late when he met his beloved wife Oona. Since childhood his life was filled with hardship and heartbreak, and it's no wonder he had such difficulty with women! The man was a visionary when it came to movies; a genius far ahead of his time. Also, he was incredibly patriotic; as an immigrant from England, he truly loved this country for all of the freedoms we all so often take for granted, having never lived without them. The irony is that he was one of the many unnecessary and tragic victims of McCarthyism; and also a personal target of Hoover's rather "weird" agenda, who would it seemed, stop at nothing to get Chaplin out of the US at which he did of course succeed as we all know. There are other really wonderful parts of this film! It brings the silent stars to life for us. People like America's Sweetheart, Miss Mary Pickford, and that famous swashbuckler who was a dear friend of Chaplin's, Douglas Fairbanks. The three teamed together to form United Artists. Kevin Kline is DELIGHTFUL as Doug...you'll love his portrayal of Fairbanks, and the tale of their friendship is endearing to the point of tears from joy and sorrow. What this movie did for me personally? It opened my eyes. It showed me the value of the entertainment still to be found in the clever work done in silent pictures. It started my journey to learn as much as I could about Sir Charles Chaplin, whom I've found to have been a dear man, and a frustrated, perhaps even somewhat crazed genius so ahead of the times, that the very nature of his work was what consumed him. I dearly treasure my copy of this movie and his Autobiography! I also treasure the man who brought Chaplin back to life for us all...God Speed Robert.

Brilliantly Executed with A Terrific Cast!
Sir Charles would've been very pleased. This film stars Robert Downey, Jr. as the legendary Little Tramp, and is directed by Richard Attenborough. Many other actors including Dan Aykroyd, David Duchovny, Kevin Kline, James Woods, Anthony Hopkins, Marissa Tomei, and many others. What I find lacking in this film is that it didn't cover enough of Chaplin's life, however, may I suggest that you first read his autobiography. (Titled My Autobiography, which I purchased here at Amazon!) Then watch the movie. The ending is one of the most touching things I have ever seen on film. Robert Downey is magnificent, and must've have studied Chaplin's every move.

Robert Downey Junior - The Bad Boy at His Best
If you're anything like me, the almost semi-annual relapse and recovery of Robert Downey Jr. has been an interesting periodic feature of the morning news. After a while one begins to question why does Hollywood put up with him when there is no shortage of talented actors desperately trying to make it in Hollywood? Why would producers and studios, who are so financially dependent on their productions going off without a hitch, take yet another chance on Robert Downey, Jr? Then I saw Chaplin, and I understood.

The intensity and power of the Robert Downey's performance in this film is the stuff of Oscars and true movie legend! It's both a beautiful performance and a beautiful film!

Somehow Sir Richard Attenborough got out of Downey the kind of performance that can sustain a career, and a legend. But Sir Richard's mastery didn't stop there. He got spectacular performance out of everyone, including a young, pre-X-Files David Duchovny. (I know I misspelled that. But you know who I mean.)

In summation, Robert Downey's performance is every bit the equal of James Dean's in Giant, East of Eden or Rebel without a Cause, and maybe that's what we should keep in mind. For unlike Dean, another self-destructive personality, Robert Downey has not driven off the cliff yet, and hopefully he never will.

"Talkies!!!"
This is a lush production with a great cast of fine actors. Once in a while some of the actors cross the line into melodrama, but the remainder show up and their work is extremely talented. But the star of this film is Robert Downey, Jr. who steals every scene he is in either with subtlety or a dead-on impression of the late, great Charlie Chaplin. Director Richard Attenborough carries the huge production all the way with moments of inspiration that the actors feed on like mana. This is an interesting biography of the true comic genius, Charlie Chaplin.

A Dazzling Cinematic Experience...
Charles Chaplin was one of the pioneers in film who brought us classics such as The Kid (1921), Gold Rush (1925), Modern Times (1936), and Great Dictator (1940). His many successes are still to this day considered masterpieces which he created, acted, directed, and edited. He had a brilliant eye for what the human mind was observing and he could make comedy out of almost anything. However, despite Chaplin's great sense of humor the recurrent theme in his life seems to be surrounded by sadness and loss where his escape was to help others feel a sense of joy. Chaplin is a brilliant cinematic story that has a fantastic cast and where the lead as Chaplin is managed brilliantly by Robert Downey Jr.. In addition, the story weaves in moments out of Chaplin's life where he got his ideas in an ingenious manner which displays the superb directing in the story. When the audience sees everything put together they will experience a dazzling cinematic experience. ... Read more

Amazon.com essential video

Considered by many to be Woody Allen's best film, even over Annie Hall. Hannah and Her Sisters follows a multitude of characters: Hannah (Mia Farrow), who plays den mother to her extended family; her sister Lee (Barbara Hershey), emotional and a bit of a flake, who's involved with a much older artist (Max Von Sydow), who treats her like a child; and Hannah's other sister, Holly (Dianne Wiest), a neurotic who feels incapable of managing her life. Hannah's husband Elliot (Michael Caine) falls in love with Lee, which sets off a series of upheavals. Allen gives one of his best performances as Hannah's ex-husband Mickey, who--much like Allen himself--is obsessed with death and unhappiness. But a simple summary doesn't begin to capture the warmth and intimacy of this movie; though the story follows a capsizing family, the outcome is surprising, joyous, and richly human. --Bret Fetzer ... Read more

Reviews (53)

The finest film of Allen's notable career
Woody Allen's "Hannah and Her Sisters" is the finest of the neurotic writer-director-actor's pictures. His prowess in weaving together complete characters and compelling storylines is as intricate as Altman, as artful as Renoir. Yes, those are "big movie terms," but are warranted in describing this bitersweet marvel.

Allen's command of the medium results in some terrific photographic shots, including the classic "camera-revolving-around-the-table" sequence featuring Hannah (Mia Farrow) and her sisters (Barbara Hershey and dynamite Oscar-winner Dianne Wiest), whose lives all seem to be going through very adult mid-life crises with their husbands, ex-husbands, boyfriends, and families. Michael Caine's work in this film also shines, and Allen himself is in his prime. The ensemble cast in this film creates an atmosphere that has you really believing you're watching friends and family, and not simply actors acting, reciting lines, a problem even the better "ensemble films" often face.

All of the elements in this picture --- cinematography, classic jazz tunes, nearly-musical dialogue --- are on ample display in a film rich with human warmth and big laughs. Although Allen's films are not for all tastes, this is a film that should very easily be enjoyed by nonfans and especially film students who can get a chance to see a virtuoso talent at the top of his form, not conforming by traditional storytelling and filmic norms.

Woody Allen's best and one of my all-time favorite movies...
HANNAH AND HER SISTERS was recommended VERY, VERY highly by a fine arts teacher when it was first released in '86. He couldn't say enough good things about how wonderful the casting, the story and the humor made the movie a real treat. 15 years and at least a couple dozen viewings later, I couldn't agree more.

This movie is like comfort food. I have connected with the characters, Holly in particular (played wonderfully by Dianne Wiest, who won the Best Supporting Actress Oscar for this role)so many times that they are literally like old friends. The themes are common to everyday life and family, which doesn't make them a cliche, but more meaningful every time I watch.

There are moments in the film you can replay in your memory time and again: my favorite is the taxi scene when Holly is ruminating over her awful "date" with her friend April (another great performance by Carrie Fisher) and the architect, David.

I think this is one of the most well-cast films made by anyone, American or foreign directors included. Michael Caine, Mia Farrow, Barbara Hershey and Max von Sydow form a perfectly blended ensemble.

The DVD transfer is of average quality. The picture is crisp enough, but it doesn't look enhanced in the DVD format. It would be nice if the studio had included more than a skimpy essay on the film's production that is included as a two-page liner/note on the inside cover.

HANNAH AND HER SISTERS will make a great holiday gift for everyone, friends and family included this season!

Richly Human
This is a great story about how confusing human relationships can be and how people try to deal with the cards they are dealt in life. It's creative and witty, and don't forget smart!

One of WA's best films ever!

Also recommended: "Take the Money and Run"

Woody At His Best
Both Manhattan and Annie Hall are better movies but nothing beats Hannah for sheer excellence in exploring the mess that is the human heart and mind. Poignant, funny, quirky, and smart as hell. Caine, Farrow, Wiest and all the others deliver perfect performances. This is vintage Allen.

Vintage Allen
Woody Allen has never made a movie appreciably better than 'Hannah.' It may not be his single best (an honor I reserve for 'Manhattan'), but it's on the shortest of short lists.

My favorite moment in the movie, and maybe Allen's most insightful ever, is when neurotic Mickey (played by Allen) bursts out of the hospital, having just learned that he is cancer-free. He leaps and bounds down the street, joy overflowing, until, suddenly, he stops, paralyzed with a newly imagined anxiety. Yes, Mickey was delievered from cancer, but he wasn't delivered from himself. You could look long and hard and never discover another ten seconds of filmmaking that better capture what it means to be human. Life's vicissitudes alternately beat us down and lift us up, but in the end, we always revert to ourselves.

When Woody Allen is at his best, you can't help but feel he's writing about *your* life, or something very close to it. Who hasn't experienced Holly's rejection in romance, Frederick's anguish and regret over squandering a relationship, Elliot's clumsy giddiness as he falls in love, Mickey's obsessive anxiety about death? There's a recognizable moment from my experience in almost every scene.

'Hannah and Her Sisters' also boasts Allen's single-best-ever soundtrack. I dare you to watch this movie and not tap your foot. The soundtrack is not available on CD, so that's one more reason to crack open the DVD for the dozenth time.

If you haven't seen 'Hannah and Her Sisters,' now's the time. If you have, it can't hurt to revisit a bona-fide classic. ... Read more

Description

The comic hijinks of Tom Selleck, Steve Guttenberg, and Ted Danson -- three carefree bachelors turned doting dads -- delighted audiences in the #1 box office smash THREE MEN AND A BABY! Now this handsome threesome is back in the critically acclaimed and equally charming sequel! The hilarity soars to new heights as the trio continues to bring up baby Mary, who is now an adorably curious 5-year-old. All is well until Mary's mother accepts a marriage proposal and permanently relocates to England -- taking Mary with her! The ex-dads quickly discover how empty life is without their little lady, and go to outrageous lengths in their efforts to win her back! ... Read more

Reviews (19)

Winning Sequel!
it doesn't happen often, but occasionally a sequel far excedes the original. this is one of those times. guttenberg, sellick & danson are hilarious as the would-be batchelors turned babysitters, but now they have a much older mary to deal with. during the opening credits, you get to watch mary grow in a sequence of silent out-takes. nancy travis returns as actress/mother who is now successful. all live under one roof, but dealing w/ a 5 year old proves to be much more trying than dealing w/ a baby. this movie takes you thru twists & turns of each character's lives, all very funny. i only give it 4 due to a bit of a "serious" slowdown in the middle. this is a must see for any warm-hearted comedy fan or a fan of any of the fine actors who give excellant preformances. look for fiona shaw, who shows up about half way thru, adding even more humor as a stodgy(maybe not?) private school headmistress. enough laughs & silly humor in this one to keep all viewers amused. it's even tame enough for the kids, with no serious language & very few adult situations. i'll not ruin any of the surprises for you by going into any details, but i'm sure all will enjoy this one!

The continuing story of Three Men and a Baby
In November 1987,Tom Selleck,Steve Guttenberg and Ted Danson began to delight audiences with their #1 blockbuster "Three Men And A Baby". Three years later,the sequel "Three Men And A Little Lady" was released. It didn't score as high as the first film at the box office. Robin Weisman is the 5-year-old little lady Mary in this film. The six-month-old baby in the first film was played by twins Lisa and Michelle Blair. The three men of course,are Peter Mitchell(Selleck),Michael Kellam(Guttenberg) and Jack Holden(Danson). Peter,Michael,Jack,Mary and Mary's mother Sylvia(Nancy Travis) are all living together now. Peter,Michael and Sylvia in one scene are at a meeting with the principal of an elementary school that Mary has been enrolled in. Jack,an actor dressed as Count Dracula,shows up at the meeting late(he was filming a TV commercial). Mary in another scene is taught by Peter the definition of the word "penis". Peter and Sylvia are both shocked. Michael was quite amused. There's also Edward,who's an Englishman like Sylvia. Edward directed Sylvia,who's also an actress,in a broadway play. Edward and Sylvia,romantically involved,plan to marry in their native England,taking Mary with them. Edward deceptively schemes to enroll Mary at the Pileforth Academy,a boarding school there. In another scene,Sylvia is extremely angry at Peter because of some comments he made when Edward visited. She slapped him hard in the face. So Sylvia,Mary and Edward head for England. So Peter,Michael and Jack throw a party just like they did in one scene from the first film. Mary was sad to leave her father Jack and his two roommates. So Peter and Michael surprisingly travel to England to visit Sylvia,Mary and Edward. Jack was filming a movie so he couldn't join his roommates. Jack,dressed as the late Hollywood great Carmen Miranda,phones Michael in England. Jack said he wouldn't be able to attend Edward's and Sylvia's wedding. But,Jack,as himself,later arrives in England in time for the wedding,which never happens. As the bogus wedding begins,Peter,Michael and Elsabeth,Pileforth's principal,crash the ceremony with the enrollment list for the next term on which Mary appears. Sylvia had not known about it until this point and she become furious at Edward. I said "bogus" because the unofficial ceremony was performed by Jack,made up as an elderly priest. Sylvia decided she's going to continue living in New York and tells Peter,"You can see Mary as much as you like." Peter told Sylvia that he loved her. So a real certified priest enters the chapel,marrying Peter and Sylvia. Jack catches the bridal bouquet thrown by Sylvia after the ceremony. WAITING FOR A STAR TO FALL,performed by Boy Meets Girl,on hit parade in the fall of 1988,is played during the end credits. By the way,Sylvia's mother,of course,attended her daughter's wedding. She also visited in New York where Sylvia,Mary,Peter,Michael and Jack live.

It Was Okay but Not Great!
I liked Three Men and a Baby so I watch Three Men and a Little Lady and sorry but I just thought it was a decent sequel but nothing special or amazing and I was disappointed, it just didn't make me laugh and smile as much as Three Men and a Baby did and wasn't as enjoyable and is a 2 1/2 star movie at best!

It just doesn't even compare to the first movie!

It Was Okay
I liked Three Men and a Baby so I watch Three Men and a Little Lady and sorry but I just thought it was a decent sequel but nothing special or amazing and I was disappointed, it just didn't make me laugh and smile as much as Three Men and a Baby did and wasn't as enjoyable and is a 2 1/2 star movie at best.

Awesome
A great way to followup the classic "three men and a baby"!!! you have got to see this one if you loved the first one. its a must!!!!!! ... Read more

Reviews (39)

Gould is a surprisingly good Marlowe
Director Robert Altman can find a sublimely goofy sort of humor in almost any setting, and he does so here. For one thing, the musical score consists of a single tune played over and over by different performers.

What's amazing is how well this self-conscious jokiness fits with the bleak motivations of the flick's traditionally noir characters.

Gould's Everyman-ish anti-Marlowe is one you'd actually like to hang out with. He's just as good with cats as with comebacks, for instance.

If you've ever wondered how someone like Elliott Gould could be the top box-office draw in America for a short period in the 1970s, you should give "The Long Goodbye" a look. For a brief, shining moment, the man was king.

As Marlowe says, "It's OK with me."

Altman's best film to date...
Raymond Chandler's novel of the same name and the studio had no idea how to market the offbeat movie. It polarized critics and promptly disappeared from theatres. However, the film has survived on video and television, but only in a compromised pan and scan version that butchered Vilmos Zsigmond's superb 2.35:1 widescreen camerawork. Finally, The Long Goodbye receives a proper DVD treatment that it so richly deserves.

The Long Goodbye is much more than a murder mystery. Taking Chandler's novel set in the 1940s and updating it to the 1970s, Altman is also interested in satirizing the superficiality of Los Angeles culture. Marlowe is surrounded by an odd cast of denizens that populate the city: his neighbours are a group of women who spend their time getting high and doing yoga, the security guard for the Wade's estate does impersonations of famous actors like Barbara Stanwyk and Jimmy Stewart, and a nasty gangster who is proud of his Jewish heritage.

The stand-out amongst the extras on this DVD is the "Rip Van Marlowe" featurette. It runs about 24-minute and is an excellent retrospective look at the movie. Robert Altman and Elliot Gould are interviewed and talk about how they got involved with the project. Both men provide all sorts of fascinating information and are refreshingly candid.

The Long Goodbye is one of the best examples of American cinema in the '70s and now it is finally available on DVD in its original aspect ratio. MGM has produced a top-notch transfer and a solid collection of supplemental material that should appeal to fans of the movie and newcomers who are looking for something a little different.

Gumshoe, '60's Style
The screenplay (Leigh Brackett) of The Long Good-bye is unusually well thought out and coherent. For a private-eye movie, that's an exception, and I suspect it's that very tightness which forced the famously anarchic Altman into a disciplined groove. It also helped produce this, his most accomplished, film. Then too, only an audacious film-maker of Altman's calibre could have brought such an irreverent approach to the screen.

Small wonder Chandler purists detest this 1960's version of Phillip Marlowe. Like others of that period, the film sets about subverting an icon of the popular culture. Elliot Gould's Marlowe is anything but the hard-boiled professional audiences have come to admire and expect. Instead, he's grubby, feckless, and seemingly too disengaged to care about Chandler's prized passion: chasing after truth despite an uncaring corrupt society. Worse, one suspects Gould's Marlowe is a hippie at heart, ready to chuck it all and head for the woods with his beloved cat, a load of pot, and a world-weary "Its OK with me". Moreover, he's tossed about by most every event that comes his way, too burned-out to complete a thought and too bummed-out to press an investigation. He can't even find his cat. The slouching gait and hang-dog expression have all the assurance and verve of a man headed for a hanging. Bogart's classic impersonation, it ain't.

But Altman has laid a trap, one that only comes into focus at film's end. It's a startling yet oddly believable turn of events. Head doctors term this type of reconfiguration Gestalt Shift, and here the shift is a rewarding one, causing us to go back and re-examine the Gould character and his passage through what has gone before. It's also a brilliant stroke which at last links the counter-cultural Marlowe to the classic version. There are many fine touches in the film, including a highly effective use of sudden violence, par