Reviews (81)

Excellent sequel!
The story continues as Kirsty ( Ashley Laurence) is in a asylum after the events of part 1, she discovers that Julia ( Clare Higgens) from the original has been brought back to life. Pinhead ( Doug Bradley) and his Cenobite gang are back, only to have Kirsty play a deadly game in hell.
Highly entertaining and extremely graphic sequel to the original 1987 horror fantasy shocker. This one has fine performances and great gore effects, this DVD from Anchor Bay is quite excellent with it's THX Digital sound and picture. The Extras are very good including the director's commentary, Clive Barker has done it again with this macabre sequel that also includes Pinhead's origin. Be warned, this is definitely not for the faint of heart!
Also recommended: Hellraiser, Making Contact ( a.k.a. Joey), Hellraiser III, Hellraiser: Bloodline, Hellraiser: Inferno, Hellraiser: Hellseeker, City of the Living Dead, Re-Animator, The Evil Dead, Evil Dead II, Phantasm, Poltergeist, The Others.

3.5stars- A Worthy Continuation of Hellraiser
This is the only true sequel to the original Hellraiser. The cenobites return and all the main characters are back. In this movie, Kirty Cotton travels to hell along with a muted young girl by the name of Tiffany in an attempt to rescue her father's soul, yet finds a nice surprise waiting for her in hell in the form of the Cenobites, her stepmother, Frank, and a crazy doctor.

Full of vivid and violent imagery, Hellbound:Hellraiser 2 takes further in the world of hell by offering the ideas of Leviathan and the creation of the cenobites. It is not as gruesome or as fun to watch as the first Hellraiser, but it is as good as many horror sequels can get. The ideas brought forth in this movie have been with heated debate among Hellraiser fans. This is definitely the most involved into the inner workings of Hellraiser mythology.

Hellbound: Hellraiser 2 is indeed not for those with a weak stomach and I suggest it for fans of the original and of the series only. The atmosphere of this movie and the feel is one that cannot be denied. After this, the series went into a slump until regaining steam with Inferno. This remains a classic along with the original. It is certainly not as entertaining and perhaps a bit tedious, but that does not stop it from being a worthy horror sequel.

Everything is Flesh!
I really feel that the Hell Raiser "tale" should have been left on its own. Pinhead and Clive Barker's work is too precious to me, but then again, you can't help but want more!
So from what I understand, the lady that helped Clive with the original Hell Raiser movie, which is based off of the book: Hell Bound Heart. Was given premission from Clive to continue on with the Hell Raiser story (can't blame him, easy money). What she came up with Hell Raiser 2-4. The effects all seem to be from the same effects artists, at least for part 1, and 2. And the story, while dragging it out a bit too far, and into somewhat comic book proportions, including some failure to explain small details, like how Pinhead came back from death, since he was slain in hell, and if he could come back, then why couldn't he ressurect his minions, rather than slaughter a dance club, and create some kool, yet some what gimpy cenobytes such as CD Man.
Hell Raiser II remains most true in for to the feel and look of the original, with only a dash of comic book, and some VERY delightful creatures, beautiful women (pt 4), and interesting story line. The gore of course is great in the uncut version, and the show down is wonderful! "The Doctor Is In".

Bottom line, as much as I feel that the original should stand on its own, I am still very happy with the 1st 3 sequals. It is NO WHERE near as bad as the Candy Man sequals! :)

I'd give it a 5 star if part 1 did not exist.

The Best of All Time
If you are a horror movie fan like me, this is the movie for you. This movie has it all gore,flesh ripping, blood, guts and sex. The cenobites are the best character demons ever made for a movie. They are truly evil. I think this one was better than the first one only b/c it explores the unimagainable. it lets us into there world and we don't want to leave without seeing what happens. I mean lust, sex, violence,we are all interested in a certain way. This movie explains that the greatest treasure is not always what you may think. I think that 1, 2, and 3 are the greatest gore movies of all time. Storyline is terrific. I like the way these movies make you feel guilty and downright weird. They make you feel like PINHEAD is your neighbor. The scene on the bed and the doctors patient is the most disturbing deathe scene of all time. This movie will scare you and make your skin crawl and have you not wanting to solve any puzzles

not all its cracked up to be....
it is quite boring but apart from that it's okay i suppose.
it's not got pinhead in it very much, just like the first one. ... Read more

Reviews (25)

Classic Woody!
As I'm sure you now by now, this film stars Woody Allen as a film critic and CASABLANCA buff (coincidentally named Allen) whose bored wife leaves him in the throes of insecure bachelorhood, while he secretly yearns to fulfill Humphrey Bogart's role in his own love life. Watching Woody at his neurotic, self-deprecating best is fun, and he does a lot of physical comedy in this entertaining little film. It's funny that this is an essential Woody Allen film, yet Woody Allen himself didn't direct it! The film's director is Herbert Ross, director of some clever & funny movies such as MY BLUE HEAVEN (1991), and some not-so-clever-and-funny movies, most notably the awful PENNIES FROM HEAVEN (1981). However, Woody wrote the screenplay, which had been adapted from the stage play that he also had written. Since Herbert Ross doesn't take any liberties with Woody's style, it ends up being by all accounts a classic Woody Allen film.

Co-starring in this enjoyable film are Diane Keaton (in her first of many films with the irreppressable Allen), Tony Roberts (as Keaton's too-busy and full-of-himself husband), and Jerry Lacy (who continually appears to Woody as a vision of Mr. Bogart). This film was originally set in New York City, but ended up getting re-set to San Francisco due to a labor strike. Of course, all of the actors in this movie have New York accents, but that's no matter. PLAY IT AGAIN, SAM is so much fun to see for all of the trouble that Woody gets into with his dates that we only care for how his character will redeem himself by film's end.

Classic Woody!!!

An unknown classic
A very clever, funny film. Anyone who has struggled in the dating game will probably see a little of themselves in Woody Allen's charactor. The scene on the couch, between Woody and Diane Keaton, is one of the funniest scenes in any movie ever. Tony Roberts and Jerry Lacey are excellent as the too-busy husband and Humprey Bogart. If you liked ANNIE HALL or WHEN HARRY MET SALLY, I highly recommend this movie, even if you are not a Woody Allen fan.

Play it again, Sham... Go on!!!
A work of genius.

While this is one of Woody's finest moments, it also brilliantly underscores one of the dilemmas of modern man.

Allen's nerdy new age man Allan Felix is so in his head and ineffectual that his wife simply abandons ship - a brilliant observation on a social a trend that is if anything, on the increase.

The magic and true genius of this movie lies in the way Bogart's grounding yet wild Dionysian energy drives Allen's UberNerd to stop whining and intellectualizing and just act. I'm slightly paraphrasing, but Bogie's ghost's advice to Felix to 'Tell her she's beautiful' and 'Go on, kiss her... Go on!' are a joy to behold.

The revelation is that by finding his inner warrior, his wild man energy, he is actually successful, and creates a scenario in which the man and the woman can be more comfortable in their clearly defined, yet non-hierarchical roles.

While there is immense significance in the role and transforming power of the Bogart figure, this is still a warm, loving and utterly crazy Woody classic and can be enjoyed on any level.

Diane Keaton... sigh...

Great for my teenage angst
This was an important movie to me as a teen. Its the classic Woody as nebbish who wins out in the end. Far more conventionally filmed than a Woody-directed film its nonetheless up their with his funniest - touching as well.

Funniest movie ever
If you like comedy, I mean genius works of comedic brilliance, watch this movie. Buy it, rent it, or whatever. You won't be dissapointed. ... Read more

Reviews (130)

A standout performance by Ribisi
Apart from an outstanding performance by Giovanni Ribisi, there is nothing terribly remarkable about this paranormal whodunit. The plot is extremely predictable. If they hung a big sign on the killer that said "MURDERER", it couldn't have been more obvious than the way director Sam Raimi constructed the story around Billy Bob Thornton's screenplay.

Kate Blanchett does a good job as the fortune teller, although I wouldn't put it on a par with "Elizabeth". However, she does capture the essence of the poor southern mom right down to the accent, no small accomplishment for an Australian actor for whom her character must have seemed like a bit of a cultural enigma. Keanu Reeves seems to be trying very hard to shed his good guy image, following his performance as a psychopathic killer in the "The Watcher" with this role as an evil country boy. I would have to say that he was more convincing as a bad guy in this film than "The Watcher", but he is still not cut out for the villain roles.

Katie Holmes is another actor who uses this film to attempt to break out of her mold as the sweet teen. She tries hard to play the shrew, spicing it up with some R rated nudity and profanity, but ultimately comes across as spoiled sarcastic brat, landing not far from the teen perception she is trying to shed. This is a step backwards for her after a very solid performance in "Wonder Boys". Greg Kinnear is awful as Mr. Perfect schoolteacher, and his attempt at creating romantic tension between his character and Blanchett's is abysmally inept.

And then there is Ribisi. I have liked Giovanni in every role in which I've seen him. The kid can flat-out act. Here he outclasses the entire cast with a gut wrenching performance as Buddy, an emotionally disturbed character whose most important reason for being in the film is to add to the list suspects. Luckily, Raimi wove in enough of Buddy's story to give Ribisi an opportunity to strut his stuff, because his performance is one of the few things that elevate this film from mediocrity. Ribisi throws himself into the part, ripping his heart out and shredding it right on screen (for all you horror addicts, that was a metaphor, not a literal description). If Ribisi keeps belting out performances like this, he could well become another Dustin Hoffman, Al Pacino or Robert DeNiro, great actors who didn't fit the standard leading man mold, but made it on pure talent.

Overall, this was a middling story with average acting, mundane direction and a standout performance by an up and coming actor in a supporting role. I rated it a 5/10. Worth seeing for Giovanni.

A Bit Slow But Good...
It is very difficult to write a good thriller that will hold your interest as some of the great classics like flatliners and jacobs ladder. The gift is a bit on the slow side but it holds your interest throughout the movie. It has a good plot and a great cast. It is an enjoyable movie to watch. I personally bought a copy of this however what i have noted is that it seems to always be out in my video store. I believe this one to be the sleeper thriller that poeple will discover through dvd and "yuck" vhs. In short if it were not for being a bit slow this would have gotten 5 stars eazy!

A scary movie with a lot of suspense
Tons of scary movie dont really have mystery or suspense and this movie did, so I was really pleased with that. I say this is a must see movie.

Predictable but Very Viewable
Have watched this movie twice since purchasing it and am very proud of our Cate Blanchett. What an established actress she has become. If u cannot guess who the villian is in this movie before half time I will be very surprised.

I LIKE THIS STYLE OF MOVIES
I really LIKE THIS STYLE OF MOVIES { SIXTH SENSE style } This is one of the best-acted films I've seen in a while It kept you interested and Kate has great dramatic presence ... Read more

Description

One of the very first prison escape movies, Grand Illusion is hailed as one of the greatest films ever made. Jean Renoir's antiwar masterpiece stars Jean Gabin and Pierre Fresnay, as French soldiers held in a World War I German prison camp, and Erich von Stroheim as the unforgettable Captain von Rauffenstein. Following a smash theatrical re-release, Criterion is proud to present Grand Illusion in a new special edition, with a beautifully restored digital transfer. ... Read more

Reviews (36)

The strangely gentle vision of Jean Renoir
I was absolutely floored when I first saw this movie about a year ago, at the house of a friend. I adore old war films (think "The Great Escape," "Stalag 17," and "Bridge on the River Kwai"), and thought I had the genre just about memorized until I saw this. It is an intense film, a grand one, but ultimately gentle. It takes place during World War I, which, the director once said, was "almost a war of gentlmen." The Nazis were two decades from gaining power, the nations of Europe enjoyed relative prosperity, and the upper classes ruled over all. In this setting, the necessary brutality of such films as I've previously mentioned seems out of place. Indeed, in the first few scenes, a German pilot who has shot down two French fliers invites them for lunch with his officers (!). This kind of respect, this illusion that war abides by certain rules and expectations, seems anachronostic and dated at first, in a post-Vietnam, post-9/11 world. But there is such hope, such desire for a world where the classes between nations are united, that the movie never seems jingoistic or naïve, just optimistic.

The performances are exceptional; Jean Gabin, Erich von Stroheim, Pierre Fresnay--all seem to really live in their characters, not simply portray them. Von Stroheim, in particular, brings intense poignancy to the tragic figure of the German commandant von Rauffenstein, with his neck brace, stilted walk, and desperate yearning for companionship (which makes him turn to, of all people, his own enemy, Captain de Boeldieu, whom he shot down 18 months previous). Indeed, a lot of the film's message can be summed up in this character: his friendship with an enemy soldier, expressing Renoir's hope for a more peaceful, less divided world; his accoutrements of wealth and station, which hold him firmly in place, unable to change his views of the structure of the world, even as it shifts around him; and his belief in the eponymous "grand illusion" of the continued supremacy of the aristocrats over the working classes in a world scarred by war.

As a bit of a side note, this film, considering its age, is in startlingly pristine condition. The story of the film negative is told on the DVD, as part of the many supplements, so I won't bore you with it here. Suffice it to say that this version of this seminal film was lost for over 60 years before its discovery in the 1990s, resulting in its near-perfect condition today. The picture is as sharp as that of any contemporary film, crystal clear, and refreshingly free of dirt and tears that usually mar most older prints by virtue of constant use. This version is about the best you will find, as it has gone through a tedious, time-consuming restoration process that has given it this impressive sheen. My recommendation: Buy this DVD post haste.

Number 1 DVD transfer for the Number 1 movie !
Grand Illusion is sometimes considered as one of the greatest movies ever shot. It was Orson Welles' favorite. Even though many consider that "Rules of the Game" is more important and brillant. The two movies are very different, both incredible. Grand Illusion is easier to catch immediatly while Rules let you think endlessly. In regard of the DVD : BUY IT EYES CLOSED ! The picture is incredible, looks like it was shot yesterday because coming from the original re-found negative film. It has not even one small spot or crack. It is PURE. And it is the original 114 minutes version, not the well-known 105 minutes. The DVD is full of bonus, the best being the filmed introduction by Jean Renoir, and also the audio archive of Von Stroheim. I cannot express how much I love Renoir and this movie and I hope that Rules of the Game will come up in DVD soon in Zone 1 (it exists in France in Zone 2 with a beautiful master, but has no english subtitles). Then the world can contemplate this masterpiece again and again. Buy Grand Illusion and you'll never think of war and humanity the same way again.

So....you like war movies?
grand illusion is so well known that is almost not worthy to comment on it other than it is the best war/antiwar film of all time bar none, and is also very funny. it has been copied by the great escape, stalag 17, paths of glory, just to name a few. so if you haven' t seen this; it is essential. if you have, you know exactly what i am talking about.

"quite frankly, i find the theatre is much to deep for me....i prefer bicycling"

A timeless film
The bitter and wonderful dialogues about the decadence and the primary and secondaries effects about the war support the structure of this brilliant movie.
*The miseries of the war brought the richness in my brain*, this sentenece is pronounced by Stroheim to the men in the remarkable sequence at the dinner.
Jean Renoir made his masterpiece around the hope and the enjoy of living, despite the horrors of the war. The message is clear : you must to follow your bliss even in the worst circunstances : no matter how awful be the world that surrounds you. The great men are not prisoners of the fate : they follow his principles and the powerful will struggles the fate and so it becomes a consequence of their acts , the point is that they are just a few .
Andrei Tarkovski wrote once this wisdom statement:
*The art is possible in the world due its no perfection : if the world was perfect the art would have no sense*.
Thta powerful statement is the meaning force that feeds the behavior of these men . May be they are not conscious about the spirit of the statement of Tarkovsky , but they are doing precisely that.
The great illusion is a big slap in the face about the WW1 : but beware this is not an anti belic flim : it goes beyond this simple aspect : we should expect fifteen years after for Jeux Interdits , another supreme film of Rene Clement , which reflects with greatness the slap about the WW2.
This film is not only an extraordinary work. It's a thousand carats jewel.
So it's timeless movie.

A good movie great start for Criterion Collection
This movie shows a compassionate side to World War I This movie was made before WWII started so don't be surprised if the Germans seem a lot nicer. In it we have 2 men, a Catholic and a Jew escaping from a German POW camp during WWI. It is an excellent film and statred the popularity of prison escape movies.

One theme is the respect the German General had for his French counterpart in spite of the fact they were sworn enemies. It can also show that in war, that your enemies are people too.

The film is also viewed by some as a (failed) last cry to Germany (where it was banned) to avoid the destruction and senselessness of yet another war.

I am beginning to watch the Criterion Collection DVD's in order of the spine number and will review them when I have the chance. ... Read more

Reviews (14)

Rae of Hope
Sally Field gives a career turning performance in 1979's Norma Rae. Up to that point, Ms. Field was better known as a TV actress who starred in fluffy comedies like Gidget, The Flying Nun & The Girl With Something Extra. In 1976, she showed a more serious side, taking home an Emmy for her work as a young girl with multiple personalities in Sybil. After Sybil, she proceeded to star in more fluff pieces like Smokey & The Bandit, Hooper & The End with her then boyfriend Burt Reynolds. Norma Rae was a film with much more substance. In fact after reading the script, Mr. Reynolds advised her that she would win an Oscar for the film. He turned out to be quite prophetic. Ms. Field is superb in the title role. Norma is an unassuming factory worker from a small town in the South, who is widowed and has two kids with two separate fathers. That is until she meets Reuben Warshawky (Ron Liebman). Reuben is an Union organizer from New York City and he is trying to get the mill workers to set up a union. Most people ignore as they are fearful for their jobs, but Norma is intrigued and she starts meeting with Reuben to try and start a union. She is met with resistance and is bullied by her bosses, but Norma is not persuaded to quit. She feels that she has stood by her whole life without making a difference and this is her chance to actually matter. There is of course the famous scene where Norma is about to be removed from the mill and she defiantly stands on a table with the Union sign. Her co-workers one by one realize the chances she's taken for them and they shut off their machines in support. The film has some excellent supporting work from Mr. Liebman, Beau Bridges and Pat Hingle, but this is Ms. Field's film all the way. She proved Mr. Reynolds right and took home the 1979 Best Actress Oscar and set forth on a path that would add another Oscar to her collection and feature some of the best films of 1980's & 1990's.

A stunning achievement!
Director Martin Ritt reportedly commented that his film of a mother working in a southern textile mill was flawed but that he hoped it was a realtistic portrayal of life and its flaws. It's tough to find the flaws in this superb film that earned Sally Field the first of her two Oscars ("Places in the Heart" won her the second five years later). As mill worker Norma Rae, Field's character lands the reluctant role of union organizer but in the process uncovers the essence of her own character and courage. The latter is no better conveyed than in what turned out to be one of cinematic history's most memorable images when the near-beaten Norma Rae stands on a table in front of 800 co-workers and, in so doing, becomes her own person. The film expertly conveys life in a southern town, but its devastating impact is Norma Rae's gradual emergence as a truly courageous person who is willing to risk it all to literally stand up for what she knows is right. Field's riveting performance reeled in every major acting award the year the film was released, and justly so. It may well remain her best work ever.

A textbook example of how to organize in your workplace!!
I finally got the chance to watch this movie after missing out for almost 20 years. I should have watched this film years ago. Not only is Sally Field's acting great, but the screenplay was just as great as well. My only problem was the length of the movie as I thought 20 minutes could have been chopped off. With that said, this movie should be mandatory watching for all workers. If you care about the conditions in your workplace, watch it and learn how to organize your workplace!! It's a film much needed for required viewing in our society today!

One of the 10 Best Performances by an Actress Ever!!!
"Norma Rae" contains the thrilling performance by Sally Field as a woman on the wrong side of the tracks of life who decides it's time to stand up for the rights of her co-workers at a small textile plant.

She is offered and accepts a promotion when the plant's management tries to divert her, but a supervisory role doesn't appeal to her when her mother loses her hearing and she has to chastise her father for poor performance. Logically, inevitably she becomes more committed to fighting for a better life for herself and her loved ones and joins forces with a union organizer who came down from NYC. She ends up sacrificing all, including her self esteem, to give the workers more control over their working conditions.

Chills ran down my spine during the scene where she held up the "union" sign and another where she rebuked her husband for being non-supportive of her union efforts. I am not a union supporter, but I know good drama, strong performances, and a logical and interesting plot when I see it, so I recommend this fine film to all.

Hopefully they will give as much time and attention to dubbing and subtitling this movie into languages of third world countries because that's where this textile plant probably relocated a year after the events this film portrayed. A sad, sad outcome to an ideal.

No matter what the outcome, Sally Field delivers one of the finest performances in film history so "Norma Rae" gets only my highest recommendations!

TWO THUMBS UP! FIVE STARS OF EXCELLENCE!!!!
This movie is definitely a monster of a hit. Sally Field was great playing the single mother who wouldn't let unsafe conditions go undetected. This movie was Oscar material. It was strong, smart, and very uplifting. I like the part when she had the black men in the meeting and she told her husband played by Jeff Bridges that "they didn't give me a hard time". Whatever you say about it, but it's AWESOME! 10+ ... Read more

Reviews (127)

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Reviews (66)

A must see (relatively) unknown movie
I saw this movie while I was in college and could totally relate...and it rates as one of my all time favorites. This is a guy movie, but most of the girls I know who have seen it like it as well. The soundtrack (although as far as I know, never been released) is awesome and fits the movie perfect. If you like the Pat Metheny songs in the movie, then definitely get the Pat Metheny and Lyle May's CD "As Falls Wichita, So Falls Wichita Falls". It includes 'September 15th' (parts of which are in the movie) and 'It's For You' (song during wedding). The Blind Faith track 'Finding My Home' helps complete one of the best endings of any movie. I enjoy telling people this is one of my favorite movies and getting a reply of, "Never heard of it" ah...perfect....keeps it a hidden treasure.

Seen it 20 times
This is it. The first real introduction to Kevin Costner, Judd Nelson, Sam Robards, Suzi Amis, Elizabeth Daly, and of course the writer and director Kevin Reynolds. Although Costner and Reynolds didn't always see eye-to-eye on the rest of their collaborations, this one is the best. It is also my favorite movie period. Three particular scenes will leave your stomach hurting from laughter, they are: 'out of gas on the side of a dirt road', 'snake crawling up my pants leg', and 'skydiving with a stoner'. The last one has been rewound and played so many times on my copy that it was ruined during the last viewing. The story is a typical coming of age movie, but how can you have anything to write about in the plains of west Texas. You have to see it to understand and you will not be disappointed. Remember, 3 of Costner's best movies were filmed in 1985 (Fandango, Silverado, and American Flyers).

My Favorite
I have only one thing to say and that is this movie is my favorite. I've read all that true fans have to say about this movie and they all it home. I just have one thing to add, I have a VHS copy of this movie that I hardly EVER play or watch. Reason, it's reserved for SPECIAL OCCASIONS and die hard fans know what I mean. I wish to GOD that a DVD would come out of this movie. My wife had a hard time finding a copy of FANDANDO on VHS and I don't want to ruin my copy by playing it over and over again. If your from Texas you'll understand, the first time I saw this film was on AMC late at night drinking a cold SHINIR. I tell aeverone I know about this movie, to bad they can't rent it any more.

Please, the forces that be, release this CLASIC as a DVD, PLEASE!!!
Rusty

ONE FOR YOUR LIBRARY!
The makers of this movie owe ME money for the times I've been in a video store and said to friends looking for something to rent, "Have you ever seen Fandango? It's classic---you MUST have it!"
To say it is a 'coming of age movie' or a 'road trip movie' is kinda like saying, The Wizard of Oz is a 'homesick movie.' Fandango mixes hilarity with poignance seamlessly. The soundtrack is awesome and perfect, the capturing of Texas college boys making a road trip over the border. the dusty little towns using local folks, the conversations, Truman,......well, every last mooning bit of it is startlingly authenic to watch---ESPECIALLY for any of us graduating in the early 70's from UT or a Texas university in central or west Texas. I just can't imagine what it would be like to watch this without that lucky perspective. There are probably scores of Texan viewers who have seen this and said, "Oh my gosh, this is about US!" and for 'US' the nostalgia is thick.
My ONLY criticism would be an occasional attempt at a Texas accent not quite hitting the mark....(the majority of accents were fine, but when one is even a little off, a Texan can hear it as loud as a train wreck, and for just that blink it wavers the authenticity of the film. These were tiny in comparison to some) However, for me, the true test of a great movie is being able to view it countless times and STILL discover yet another facet to a character, see or hear something new, and never lose the "I-always-laugh-at-this" "I-always-cry-right here" moments. Fandango is like that. You rediscover it any time you see it. While appearing to be a tiny movie that slid past most, it is loaded with subtle dimension and truly a treasure. And if you are one of those who has said, "Oh yeah, I think I saw that once on cable" you need to try again, because you haven't really SEEN it....you would have remembered better than that!
Bravo Kevin Reynolds, bravo whoever put together that soundtrack---and the filming/editing was beautiful and smart. Kevin Costner's best movie hands down......I'll bet that if you ASKED Kevin Costner, he would not only say the same, but confess that Gardner Barnes WAS Kevin Costner at that time in his life.
DVD? Come on distributors---you're losing money here. We all want it, and buying the VHS version for graduation presents is getting pretty silly---VCRs are disappearing!

When will this be released on DVD?
Spectacular film! Complete disaster that they have not released this film on DVD. Does anyone know when it might be? ... Read more

Description

A cornerstone of French cinema, Alain Resnais' first feature is one of the most influential films of all time. A French actress (Emmanuelle Riva) and a Japanese architect (Eiji Okada) engage in a brief, intense affair in postwar Hiroshima, their consuming fascination impelling them to exorcise their own scarred memories of love and suffering. Utilizing an innovative flashback structure and an Academy Award®-nominated screenplay by novelist Marguerite Duras, Resnais delicately weaves past and present, personal pain and public anguish, in this moody masterwork. ... Read more

Reviews (35)

WEAPONS OF MASS INSTRUCTION?
HIROSHIMA MON AMOUR (Criterion) is a love affair between a French actress and a Japanese architect that's set against memories of Hiroshima's atomic aftermath. But more than anything, Alan Resnais' first feature is a visual tone poem to life, love and death. Long acknowledged as a foundation stone of French cinema, this film continues to gather gravitas by scholars, critics and others who define and dwell within film culture. From the perspective of the 21st Century, this emotionally heavy story is sometimes pretentious -- mainly because we have become inured to the raw aftershock of Hiroshima and have little fresh experience of just how devastating a real weapon of mass destruction actually is. Underlying Resnais' film is our profound human need to understand the flow of history; that is, our true identity in time and space. Originally released in 1959, this painful love story still has the power stimulate reflection and emotion.

Love among the psychological ruins
Director Alain Resnais' extremely matter-of-fact portrait of an adulterous, interracial relationship was considered frank to the point of shocking in 1959; today few will be even mildly startled. But while time has dimmed this aspect of the film, it has not dimmed the complex and very poetic nature of the film as a whole, and HIROSHIMA, MON AMOUR remains one of the finest examples of French "New Wave" cinema. The story itself is simple. An actress (Emmanuelle Riva) has come to Hiroshima to appear in an international film promoting peace. Two days before she is scheduled to return to France, she casually picks up a Japanse architect (Eiji Okada.) Instead of the casual sexual encouter they expect, the two find a profound physical and emotional passion. The depth of this passion leads Riva to make revelations about a tragic wartime romance to Okada--a revelation that leaves her emotionally fractured and vulnerable to Okada's demands that she remain in Hiroshima with him. The two are then faced with the choice of destroying their marriages by continuing the relationship or parting never to see each other again, with neither choice really desirable.

A description of the storyline does not in any way describe what director Resnais does with it. The two leads are exceptional in their handling of the equally exceptional script, which presents us with a series of visual and verbal motifs (hair, hands, heads) that gradually acquire a poetic quality. The cinematography and editing manage to merge a documentary tone with a poetic lyricism. And much of the film's complexity lies in the way it treats the city of Hiroshima, which was destroyed by the atomic bomb and yet rebuilt itself; the city becomes a metaphor for the couple's relationship, the tragedies of passing time, the transient nature of memory, and everything that is both best and worst in human passion. Ultimately, HIROSHIMA, MON AMOUR does not present us with any easy answers, either about the couple its story presents or the nature of human passion in all its guises; it also requires full concentration, a certain degree of patience, and the ability to grasp metaphorical content. Because of this, I do not really recommend the film to a purely casual viewer--but those actively seeking a complex cinematic experience will find it makes a powerful, multi-layered statement, and for them I recommend it very highly indeed.

Rememberance and Forgetting..........Hiroshima Mon Amour
Late last night I turned off the lights, layed in my bed, got comfortable, and took in one of my favorite films of all time, Hiroshima Mon Amour. I had seen the film before, and acknowledged its beauty, both visual and lyrical, but last night I really payed close attention, watched carefully, listened carefully, and really took this monumental film in. Now can I say that I have a better understanding of the film? No. In fact, I now have more questions than before. Upon first seeing this film, you will probably be in awe of the beauty of it all. The camera work is STUNNING, the score is one of the greatest ever written for film, and the dialogue is sheer poetry. Mysterious poetry. You'll find yourself wanting to know more about the film, for there are just so many unanswered questions. I could write for hours and hours and waste you wonderful readers' time about what I took from this short (90 minute) masterpiece, but I won't. I will however, tell what I think the point of it all was...........

The point was to show the importance of memory, and of forgetting. When you see the incredible and powerful opening documentary montage on Hiroshima, you will think "why do we forget this?". Such a disasterous and enormous event has all but faded from our memories really. Thus Hiroshima is the perfect setting for this film, about two lovers, a French actress and Japanese (very French Japanese i might add, haha) who have a fling. The man wants the woman to stay, he is scared he'll forget about her if she leaves. The woman begins to open up about her tragic past in Nevers, France, a place she would love to forget, but cannot. This theme is carried through the entire film, through to the last scene in a hotel, where the woman breaks down and cries "I'll forget you in a few years, I know I will!" Thus they give eachother names, for they havent had names up to this point, Hiroshima and Nevers. Two places that they will NEVER forget, and hopefully will associate with their lover.

This film is brilliant, beautiful, and DEEP. certainly not for every taste. It really makes one question why we forget things, and why we should remember things.

I have not even BEGUN to tell about this film, you must see it for yourself. it truly is remarkable.

Brilliant film on the illusion of never forgetting
One of the prime examples of the French New Wave, a style of cinema that focused more on a personalized visual and experimental styles, with increased depths of feelings and exploration of themes, was Alain Resnais's debut effort, Hiroshima Mon Amour, which explored the effects of the atomic bomb and underscored the need to remember traumatic but profound memories for fear of them being repeated.

There is a symbolic part in the movie of an arm enfolded over a body, all encrusted in frost. Soon, the frost turns to beads of water, which in turn is the sweat of two bodies together. Old passions reawoken, an intimate meeting of two cultures, and that depicts the love story between a French actress playing a nurse in a film on peace and a Japanese architect. Both, it turns out, are happily married, yet there's something wanting in the woman, and it all goes back to her traumatic past during the war, in her hometown of Nevers in Central France, Southeastish from Orleans, and situated on the Loire River. After a night in bed, the couple spend the remainder of the next day together. For the man, it's a desperate attempt to hold onto her, as she has to leave tomorrow for Paris. For the woman, it's an internal turmoil involving her past and her growing attraction to the man, to whom she confides in.

But it's interesting to see the POV's of both. For the architect, Hiroshima became a part of history indelibly imbedded in the Japanese psyche. For the actress, Hiroshima meant "the end of war, the real end...[I was] stunned that they had dared, stunned that they succeeded, then the beginning of a new fear, followed by indifference, and also the fear of indifference." That is a source of bitterness to every Japanese, that the whole world rejoiced at the end of the war, including the actress.

The initial half of the film is shot documentary style over the woman's narration, witnessing the legacy of Hiroshima fourteen years after the fact. For her, seeing the newsreel footage, the memorial sites built at detonation point, and the movies made of the victims, is being there. It is the footage from the films that is pretty grim, be it burns on people, peeling skin, closeups on deformed and scorched hands, many on children and infants, and bald patches on hair. "I felt the heat on Peace Square in Hiroshima. 10,000 degrees in Peace Square" she says, to which the architect's voice intones "No, you saw nothing in Hiroshima." He is more connected by the reality because he is Japanese, so how can she know, witness, or feel the concept of Hiroshima? She feels tied more by empathy, with the film she's making and her own experiences during the war.

The testament to war and victimization is by her narration on why people are angry when they are deprived of their dignity and the necessities to survive: "It is the principle of inequality advanced by certain peoples against other people. By certain races against other races, by certain classes against other classes."

Resnais tweaks the conventional linear narrative flow with one combining past, present, and future into one and using flashbacks reconciling time with memory. And some fluid camera shots panning down the Hiroshima concourses and streets are well executed. The actress's romantic past and newfound encounter mesh with her taking in the city: "Just as in love, there is the illusion that it can never be forgotten. So with Hiroshima, I had the illusion that I would never forget...just as in love." But can she forget the architect when she returns to her husband and children in France?

Both leads, Emmanuelle Riva and Eiji Okada, carry this movie. Lyrical, moody, thoughtful, and with brilliant cinematography utilizing the darkness of the cafes and nighttime streets, and the whiteness of the actress's dress. Riva herself exhibits a forlorn, credulous, frail, and ultimately vulnerable woman in the actress, while Okada's architect is stolid, sardonic, but also at breaking point when it looks as if he's going to lose her.

Despite the long-trod thought of "never again," the actress's thoughts paints a bleak future of mankind unless it gives up its warlike savage ways: "It will happen again. 200,000 dead. 80,000 wounded in 9 seconds. ...10,000 degrees on Earth, 10,000 suns on Earth. The asphalt will burn. Chaos will reign. A whole city will be lifted off the ground, then drift down in ashes."

Victims of War
This is an excellent film that depicts the pain and suffering of war on the large and individual scale. By contrasting the two, the film is able to make its' message that much more profound.

The film takes palce in Hiroshima circa 1959 and begins as we hear the voices of two quieted lovers. The woman talks about what she has learned from witnessing the bombing of Hiroshima. The man constantly reminds her that she was not there. As the voices (in French) become faces, we see a French woman and a Japanese man. The woman is clearly very happy and full of life. Their relationship is about to end (it apparrently had barely begun). The man does not want to lose his new-found lover and persists over the next 24 hours to try and talk her into staying. At one point, the woman recalls the emotional tragedy that she suffered at the end of WWII in France. As she painstakingly recalls the events of 14 years ago, we watch her gradually disintegrate into a depressed shell of her earlier self. This is the tragic beauty of this movie and an effective way to show the horrors of war. Part of the problem of comprehending the devastation of war is often the immensity of it. As we are shown some graphic pictures and statistics of the A bomb's effect on Hiroshima, it sometimes gets hard to put it in human context. By "superimposing" the story of a woman's emotional tragedy and its' self destruction of her, we see the human effects. Her point at the beginning of the movie; that she know's what happened in Hiroshima, becomes understandable in this context. Ironically, the Japanese man, whose family perished in the bomb while he was serving elsewhere in the army, seems to be the one who was less affected by the war.

This movie is one of those whose meaning grows on you. I bought the DVD and, while I'm no techical expert, am quite satisfied with its' quality. I initially thought the price tag to be pretty steep. After viewing it once, I have come to look on it as a bargain. ... Read more

Amazon.com

Brutal and breathtaking, Sin City is Robert Rodriguez's stunningly realized vision of Frank Miller's pulpy comic books. In the first of three separate but loosely related stories, Marv (Mickey Rourke in heavy makeup) tries to track down the killers of a woman who ended up dead in his bed. In the second story, Dwight's (Clive Owen) attempt to defend a woman from a brutal abuser goes horribly wrong, and threatens to destroy the uneasy truce among the police, the mob, and the women of Old Town. Finally, an aging cop on his last day on the job (Bruce Willis) rescues a young girl from a kidnapper, but is himself thrown in jail.Years later, he has a chance to save her again.

Based on three of Miller's immensely popular and immensely gritty books (The Hard Goodbye, The Big Fat Kill, and That Yellow Bastard), Sin City is unquestionably the most faithful comic-book-based movie ever made. Each shot looks like a panel from its source material, and director Rodriguez (who refers to it as a "translation" rather than an adaptation) resigned from the Directors Guild so that Miller could share a directing credit. Like the books, it's almost entirely in stark black and white with some occasional bursts of color (a woman's red lips, a villain's yellow face). The backgrounds are entirely digitally generated, yet not self-consciously so, and perfectly capture Miller's gritty cityscape. And though most of Miller's copious nudity is absent, the violence is unrelentingly present. That may be the biggest obstacle to viewers who aren't already fans of the books and who may have been turned off by Kill Bill (whose director, Quentin Tarantino, helmed one scene of Sin City). In addition, it's a bleak, desperate world in which the heroes are killers, corruption rules, and the women are almost all prostitutes or strippers. But Miller's stories are riveting, and the huge cast--which also includes Jessica Alba, Jaime King, Brittany Murphy, Rosario Dawson, Benicio Del Toro, Elijah Wood, Nick Stahl, Michael Clarke Duncan, Devin Aoki, Carla Gugino, and Josh Hartnett--is just about perfect. (Only Bruce Willis and Michael Madsen, while very well-suited to their roles, seem hard to separate from their established screen personas.) In what Rodriguez hopes is the first of a series, Sin City is a spectacular achievement.--David Horiuchi ... Read more

Reviews (143)

This is like the worst thing I've ever seen
Well, I'm sitting in the theater waiting for this to start and thinking about how great that last movie I saw was. It was The Pacifier btw and it rocked unlike this carp. Well, this thing starts and immediately something is wrong. I yell to the guy and tell him to turn up the color or something but he says that's how the movie is. WTFzzors? I just saw The Pacifier which was awesome in color and now I have to watch this carp trying to be a relic from the 1950s? If I wanted to watch a boring movie with bad dialogue in black and white, I'd rent Citizen Kane or Seven Samurai. I come to the movies to be entertained not to watch boring talk with no color. Pass this carp up. Go see The Pacifier with Vin Diesel instead. He's a much better actor than anyone in this movie.

Amazing Movie...
I could go on and on and tell you the 10 billion reasons why this is one of the best films i have ever watched, but everyone else has already done that. The fact is, this movie ROCKS, i could watch it time and time again and never get tired. So simply go out and see this movie and enjoy the visual masterpiece. The music is also amazing. SEE THIS FILM!

Miller's graphic novels become Rodriguez's film noir epic
"Sin City" is a black and white world, except when the blood is being sprayed around and then be prepared for lots of red or white or even yellow. Based on three of the first four "Sin City" graphic novels by Frank Miller ("The Hard Good-Bye," "The Big Fat Kill," and "That Yellow Bastard") and "The Customer Is Always Right" short-story from "Babe Wore Red" that was the test run for this project, this 2005 film sets the standard for what film noir will be in the 21st century and advances the cause of digital filmmaker even more than "Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow." That film was pure eye candy, but "Sin City" is much too gritty to be that sweet. You are going to wince at some of what happens in this film and you might even turn away once or twice as the over the top violence hits you in the gut as hard as it hits some of the characters in the side of the head. But chances are you are going to love this movie to death.

Frank Miller's "Sin City" is a world where the heroes can take a whole series of punches as well as deliver them, where justice has nothing to do with either mercy or the cops, and the system is crooked from top down to pretty near the bottom of the barrel. The dames are still worth dying for and some of them might even be goddesses, but others can defend themselves quite well, thank you. This is a world where protecting women is hard-wired into the psyches of guys like John Hartigan (Bruce Willis), Marv (Mickey Rourke), and Dwight (Clive Owen). If you fail to protect a dame, then somebody has to pay and in a way that will make the scum bucket think Hell is heaven when you finally let them go there. This movie is rated R for sustained strong stylized violence, nudity and sexual content including dialogue, but that is an R that is a lot closer to NC-17 than it is to PG-13.

Ang Lee tried to have parts of "The Hulk" look like a comic book, but that meant throwing several frames on the screen at the same time. But with "Sin City" director Robert Rodriguez knows that a comic book panel can be like a frame in a motion picture and visa-versa, so his solution was to embrace Miller's visual style and make him the co-director of the film (and give him a small role as a priest hearing his final confession). The "Sin City" were done largely in black and white, although sometimes white and black, and other times when the strategic addition of a single color as in the red of a woman's lips, the yellow of her hair, or the blue of her eyes. Sometimes the red is a cool looking car.

This is the bloodiest film noir of my experience, so it is a good thing that when there is a lot of blood is it just as likely to appear as bright white or neon yellow as globs of the red stuff. But it is also evokes more bursts of laughter at the audacious violence and the perfectly timed one-liners, most of which will never work uttered in Dirty Harry fashion out of the context of the film. This is film noir in the tradition of Mickey Spillane updated for the Quentin Tarantino generation.

The standout performance in "Sin City" is clearly Mickey Rourke as Marv, who is buried under so much makeup you keep assuring yourself that he is really in there somewhere. In keeping with the formula of the film Marv is both the most violent of the protagonists, giving taking somebody for a ride a whole new meaning, and the funniest, in both word and deed. Willis and Owen are both fine as the other two protagonists, but they are more the strong and silent types, neither as reflective nor as sardonic as Marv. Willis definitely has the world weary act honed down to perfection, but Owen seems a bit too mannered in his detachment in his story line and ends up finishing third in the hero sweepstakes. Elijah Wood as Kevin does not get to speak but still creeps you out as Frodo gone over to the Dark Side. Benicio Del Toro shows some nice comic timing as Jack Rafferty and Michael Madsen has not changed a bit as Bob, while Nick Stahl is scum of two different colors. Rutger Hauer, Powers Booth and Michael Clarke Duncan all take turns playing heavies and it becomes pretty clear Rodriguez could get just about anybody he wanted to do this movie.

Of the women of "Sin City" it is Devon Aoki as Miho who stands out although she never says a word (she does not have to). Jessica Alba's best moments as Nancy are silent, although there is a change in why that is the case as we go through the movie. Rosario Dawson has fun going over the top as Gail, Brittany Murphy goes slumming as Shellie, and Jaime King plays two sides of the same coin as Goldie and Wendy. Alexis Bledel is certainly trying to get as far away from Rory Gilmore as possible by playing Becky, but I am afraid she does not get far in that regard. Then again, if you have read Miller's graphic novels you will be impressed by how Rodriguez has brought the stark black and white images of Becky, Hartigan, the Yellow Bastard and the rest of them to life on the screen. This movie is going to make a ton of money, Miller is going to sell a lot of copies of the new editions of his "Sin City" graphic novels, and hopefully it will not be too long before we get the next cinematic installment, which should have Johnny Depp playing Wallace in the "To Hell and Back" segment.

Amazing experience in film
Genre: Action, Drama, Dark Comedy

Genre Grade: A

Final Grade: A

This was a spectacular movie with great achievements on all levels. Robert Rodriguez hasn't made a movie this good since From Dusk Till Dawn in 1996. However I think he has found an entirely new element and I hope he makes a sequel to this awesome flick soon.

I am not even going to comment on the amazing cinematography and style of this film because it's so obvious that it is top-notch. I will comment on the story though - a strong one that molds together to fit into a story that comes together in the end without ever confusing the audience as to what is going on and who is who. The dialogue seemed like it had been written by Tarantino himself, sticking to the classic, bold lines that make you grin and really root for the characters. Even Jessica Alba did a great job in her acting! I do wish Britney Murphy would have been in more of it, she is a great actress and so underrated, in my opinion. Bruce Willis, Clive Owen, Benicio del Toro, and Mickey Rourke all did a great job with their characters as well.

Great movie, but definitely one to keep kids away from. It is extremely gruesome (not so bad since it's in black and white) and it steps across new boundaries in mainstream film. Think Silence of the Lambs meets Se7en meets classic crime drama, and you got Sin City. Great movie!!

Oh, and I found out which part of the film Tarantino directed. It's about a 3-4 minute sequence and once I found out it was quite obvious that it was Tarantino who had directed it. If ye want to know, ask and it shall be known to ye.

Oscar worthy
Sin city may have to be the best movie I have seen this year. In short the movie levels onto standars such as Spiderman2 and superman. Though Sin city does tend to exeel these movies by one point. The acting. Mikey Rouke steals the show as Marv, the hulkishthug whose main purpose is to find the killers of the love of his life, and give them some street justice. His story is compelling and very, very, violent. Well I take that back the most violent story would have to be Bruce Willis who plays Hartigan , a violent ex cop who wants to protect a stripper from his past misadventure that has her also involved, in this story line you actually see a mans testicles ripped off............actually that was...........god .........burr. Anyway overall all the stories are downright violent. There is one more but I would not want to intrude like I did before..
Now as for dvd news Rodrigues is giving out a threatical release and an extended release.
Also he will bring in more Sin city movies from now on, and will be planning to release a new one 2008 or 9, so get ready.
Yours trully
film critique of the week. ... Read more

Amazon.com

David Suchet and Hugh Fraser team up again as the great detective Hercule Poirot and trusty Captain Hastings for three engaging hour-long adventures. In The Cornish Mystery Poirot has an unusual visitor--a victim who says she's not dead yet but is slowly being poisoned. The Adventure of the Cheap Flat blends international intrigue with the gentle comic relief of a foolish American FBI agent, and Double Sin contains a novel twist: Poirot announces his retirement and Hastings is left to solve the case by himself. The cast has the easy rapport of old friends, and as always Philip Jackson as Chief Inspector Japp and Pauline Moran as the remarkable Miss Lemon are welcome companions. Special DVD features include selected cast filmographies and biographies for David Suchet and Agatha Christie. Brew some tea, check it for arsenic, and get ready for a thoroughly entertaining evening.--Ali Davis ... Read more

Reviews (5)

Great Shows, Mediocre Video Transfer
This rating is an average, taking about 5 stars for the quality of scripts and performances, and about 1 for the technical quality of these DVDs. I've been a fan of Suchet's Poirot from the get-go; and have just about worn out my tapes. For my wife and me, Poirot is video comfort food. That's why I'm buying the DVDs-to have wear-proof copies of these beloved shows.

Having said that, Acorn should not be proud that this is the best technical quality they can produce. Basically, these shows on DVD look no better than mediocre VHS; perhaps less than mediocre. The imagery is neither sharp nor crisp; dark scenes have a sort of permanent haze over them; they're almost in a monochrome, washed out with little color to the wonderful period scenery and sets.

I believe the shows were shot on film, which means negatives must exist. One has to wonder if the negs were lost or damaged, and these DVDs were made from secondary or tertiary sources. At any rate, I would love to know the story of how these video transfers came to be.

Whatever the reason, it's too bad that such a great series is being represented this way on DVD.

No Closed Captioning
I bought the previous Poirot set and was extremely disappointed that it did not have closed captioning. I love Poirot but if I had known that cc was missing I would have passed. I haven't purchased this one but no mention of closed captioning here either.

Poirot Series 2
This is classy, intelligent entertainment. I've watched the series many times and have returned to it like an old friend. Beats everything else on TV hands down.

Poirot Gets Better and Better!
The Cornish Mystery - Perhaps not the most complex mystery ever concieved, but the character interaction in this episode more than makes up for that! There are great bits about an Indian restaurant, a man in a scarlet kneeband, a yellow-haired hussie, and Japp once again losing a case to Poirot. The actors really shine in this one! Also the background music is great! - 4.5 stars

Double Sin - This one combines great character interaction as well as a great mystery. The solution is great, and even the background music is good! If this episode has any flaws it's that the Miss Lemon side-plot seems out-of-place, but that doesn't really detract from the episode at all - 4.5 stars

The Adventure of the Cheap Flat - Another great mystery with a tad of a plot stretch. There are some enjoyable side-characters in this one like an American FBI agent and a club-owner who never picks up his phone. Just as good as the first two, rounding out this set rather nicely! - 4.5 stars

Box Set Overall score (Not an Average) - 5 stars

Good fun and no gore
There were many one hour and somewhat less two hour episodes of the Hercule Poirot mysteries shown on PBS; and foresighted fans should have taped them then, because when A&E re-runs them, parts of each have to be removed to make room for all the commercials. Very often, the solution at the end flashbacks to scenes that we never saw because of the abridgments and frankly the value of these episodes are reduced considerably.

But now Acorn Media is reissuing them in complete versions, with the two hour features on DVD and the shorter ones on VHS. Both series are a delight. The acting genius of David Suchet is enhanced by his usual supporting cast (Hugh Fraser as Hastings, Philip Jackson as Japp, and Pauline Moran as Miss Lemon), the wonderful guest casts, the done-to-perfection ambiance of time and place--the late 20s and early 30s--with all those fabulous art-deco buildings they have managed to find and populate.

The first boxed set of 3 episodes contains "The Disappearance of Mr. Davenheim," "The Veiled Lady," and "The Lost Mine." In the first, you might spot a bad flaw in the solution. Hint: how long was the playing time of the average 78 rpm disc back then? The second set includes "The Cornish Mystery" (with a genuine "blonde hussy"), "Double Sin" (with a Sweet Young Thing in Distress), and "The Adventure of the Cheap Flat" (with a neat reversal on the plot of Doyle's "The Red Headed League"). And if too many solutions depend on Poirot overhearing by chance some remark early in the story, well that should teach you to be more alert to these things on future viewings. Also if Poirot is not above breaking the law with a little forced entry now and then, well so did Sherlock Holmes. Very amusing sleuthing for one and all--and a very welcome relief to the grizzly "modern" mysteries now being shown with extreme close-ups, whispered dialogue, and as much gore as possible in each frame. ... Read more

Amazon.com

Film buffs and critics can argue until their faces turn blue about whether this lavish Dickensian musical deserved the Academy Award for Best Picture of 1968, but the movie speaks for itself on grandly entertaining terms. Adapted from Dickens's classic novel, it's one of the most dramatically involving and artistically impressive musicals of the 1960s, directed by Carol Reed with a delightful enthusiasm that would surely have impressed Dickens himself. Mark Lester plays the waifish orphan Oliver Twist, who is befriended by the pickpocketing Artful Dodger (Jack Wild) and recruited into the gang of boy thieves led by Fagin (played to perfection by Ron Moody). The villainous Bill Sikes (Oliver Reed) casts his long shadow over Oliver and his friends, but the young orphan is still able to find loving care in the most desperate of circumstances. Full of memorable melodies and splendid lyrics, Oliver! is a timeless film, prompting even hard-to-please critic Pauline Kael to call it "a superb demonstration of intelligent craftsmanship," and to further observe that "it's as if the movie set out to be a tribute to Dickens and his melodramatic art as well as to tell the story of Oliver Twist." --Jeff Shannon ... Read more

Reviews (84)

Consider it a wonderful experience
The movie musical was on its way out by the time 'Oliver!' hit theaters in 1968. Happily, this marvelously fun and entertaining film swept the Oscars and earns my vote for the best musical of the 60s (although 'The Music Man' ranks a close second). Mark Lester is adorable in the title role and Jack Wild is a kick as the mischievious Artful Dodger. Then there's Ron Moody recreating his stage role as the villainous (but still likable) Fagin. He's not exactly the same character created by Charles Dickens but he's memorable just the same. And Shani Wallis' Nancy along with Oliver Reed's Bill Sikes give the film some real dramatic punch. The production design strikingly recreates the feel and flavor of mid-19th century London. And the songs which include 'Consider Yourself' and 'Oom Pah Pah' are the icing on the cake. Do your family a great favor and add this timeless treat to your DVD collection.

I'm reviewing. . . .the situation.
I bought this movie because I had some vague, but pleasant memories of it from my childhood. I must say that the movie did not disappoint. It is a well-crafted musical with vivid characters. While they're not exactly analogous to their Dickensian counterparts, who portray a much darker, seamier side of London's underworld, the characters sparkle. Ron Moody as Fagin is unforgettable, and Wild as the Dodger was a perfect casting job. The musical numbers are memorable, hum-inducing performances, such as "Consider Yourself" "Oom Pa Pa" "You got to Pick a Pocket or Two" and "Who Will Buy". My personal favorite is "Reviewing the Situation" because I feel the lyrics to that song are so well done and so well executed by Moody. The adorable Mark Lester is the weak link in an otherwise strong chain. He plays a passable Oliver, but lacks the oomph that the others bring to their roles, and his voice is somewhat airy but sweet (according to other reviewers, too sweet). Nevertheless, he fulfills his end of the bargin, portraying a rosy cheeked cherub in the presence of villains. Oliver Reed plays Sykes to perfection, exuding such dark evil that his sinister shadow precedes him onto the screen. I handled his killing of Nancy better as a grown-up; however, young children may find that scene as distrubing as I did twenty years ago. Overall, this is a finely done musical, and for me, was time well spent.

I think I'd better think it out again.

CONSIDER THIS ONE A WINNER - OSCAR WINNER, THAT IS!
Carol Reed's "Oliver!" is the musical version of Dicken's Oliver Twist. It stars Mark Lester as the irrepressible street urchin, suckered into the lair of a vagabond by The Artful Dodger (Jack Wild) and forced into a life of crime by Fagin (Ron Moody). But when Oliver is salvaged from the slums by a benevolent philanthropist, Bill Sikes (Oliver Reed) decides to make a quick buck off of the trade. Shani Willis costars as Sikes' girlfriend, Nancy, who thwarts the kidnapping plot and pays for her betrayal with her life. This is a very stoic, stagy and rather dry musical that may capture the essence of Dickens in its settings characters and plot but seems totally out of touch with the effervescence of the traditional Hollywood musical. Even with such main staple songs as "Consider Yourself", "Boy For Sale" and "Food, Glorious Food", truly, the spoon full of sugar remains a bitter pill to swallow on this occasion.

Columbia Tri-Star has made "Oliver" available in a startlingly good looking transfer. Colors are solid, rich, vibrant and bold. Contrast levels are exactly where they should be. Blacks are incredibly deep. Fine detail is fully realized. Only occasionally do age related artifacts betray the vintage of the film. The audio is 5.1 and wonderfully spread across all five channels of the sound field. There are no extras. This film is spread across two sides of a single disc. The break comes at the point of intermission.

Moody's Fagin steals classic OLIVER!
Until CHICAGO reenergized the movie musical genre, this musical version of Charles Dickens' immortal "Oliver Twist" was widely regarded as one of the last of the great movie musicals. Indeed, with its high-energy performances, infectious music, steady direction by Sir Carol Reed and glorious sets, this movie won the 1968 Best Picture Oscar over such formidable competition as THE LION IN WINTER, CHARLEY, and FUNNY GIRL.

Of course, most people are familiar with the classic story of young Oliver Twist, whose mother dies giving him birth and is forced to be raised under the cruel supervision of the English workhouse officials. When he dares beg for more than his meager ration of gruel, the youngster is apprenticed to an undertaker and his extremely nasty family. After escaping this hostile environment, he finds himself taken in by the roguish Fagin, the Artful Dodger(Fagin's best pupil), and the rest of his band of young pickpockets. In time, however, Oliver will find his home, but not before dealing with the likes of the brutal Bill Sikes with the help of Sike's sympathetic lover, Nancy, and the kindly Mr. Brownlow.

As musical films go, it is hard to fault the wonderful casting in this film. Mark Lester makes a perfectly, if maybe overly, innocent Oliver, while Jack Wild is a delight as the rascally Artful Dodger. Shanie Wallis is heart-rending as the tragic Nancy. Oliver Reed (Sir Carol's nephew) is truly scary as the menacing Bill Sikes. Harry Secombe displays a glorious tenor in the comic role of Mr. Bumble, the beadle of the workhouse. However, it is Ron Moody's fantastic performance of the rascally Fagin that steals this movie. It is not surprising, when you consider that he created the role when the musical was first produced in London. Of course, the character itself has gone quite a change from Dickens' original, going from the debatably nasty anti-Semitic portrait of the novel to that of a lovable, if sneaky, eccentric. Indeed, Moody's excellent portrayal would set the tone for almost all future performances of the role to date, including those of such actors as George C. Scott and Richard Dreyfus, among others.

Some Dickens fans may quibble about the liberties taken with the book, from the softening of Fagin to the elimination of Oliver's evil step-brother Monks from the storyline. And it isn't a perfect film by any means. (The child singer who dubbed Mark Lester's songs sounds like she's in an echo chamber of some sort, which makes Oliver's singing a jarring contrast to the rest of the cast.) But, as a musical film, it is a wonderful entertainment and superb introduction to the classic story. As a result, this is one musical that I would DEFINITELY recommend.

Excellent
If only movies were made like this today. This film is filled with witty comedy, wonderful music, and great acting. One of the best musicals out there!! This film displays a boy's life going from the lowest of low (an orphanage) and slowely rising to a better life. The only thing is, it makes stealing look a little. .. well . . fun! But i'm sure we can all live with that right? ... Read more

Reviews (66)

Another Directorial Accomplishment
Robert Redford won an Oscar for his direction of, "Ordinary People", in 1980. He has since directed films like, "Quiz Show", and this film, "A River Runs Through It", with consummate skill. He also founded The Sundance Film Festival which now routinely introduces new talent in all aspects of the making of movies on an annual basis.

His only direct presence is the narration he does at various times during this movie. It also does not take a great deal of imagination to see in the actor Brad Pitt, of 11 years ago, a man that bears a remarkable resemblance to Redford himself. This story of the zeal with which aficionados dedicate themselves to the art of fly fishing is a beautiful film to watch. Redford puts Montana on the screen in such a way as to make virtually anyone desirous of having a home amongst the mountains.

The story is much more than a feast for the eyes as the story of a minister's two sons, who are strictly raised, ultimately have such divergent lives, both in type and length. This is not a very happy story, although it has moments of pure joy that balance tragedy as well as tragedy can hope to be balanced. One of the best examples is when Brad Pitt as Paul does battle with a prize catch in one of their favorite rivers. To say he almost fights the fish in its world as opposed to his own is not much of a stretch, and it is wonderfully filmed.

Robert Redford has made his place amongst the legends of the film industry, and he has done this by not only appearing in front of the camera, but behind it as well.

Cinematic Poetry.
I don't think anybody who has ever visited the American West, particularly the north-western states of Montana and Wyoming, hasn't come away deeply impressed with the majestic beauty of their mountains, rivers, streams, endless skies, prairies and meadows. Many probably went home to find that the photos they took, trying to immortalize their impressions, just didn't seem to do justice to the real thing, and wishing they possessed the craft to adequately capture the region's beauty in images, whether literary or visual. Robert Redford has succeeded to combine words and pictures in this stunning adaptation of Norman Maclean's 1976 autobiographical novella "A River Runs Through It."

Set in early 20th century rural Montana, this is the coming-of-age story of the author and his brother Paul, sons of a Scottish Presbyterian minister who raised them with both love and sternness and instilled in them, more than anything else, an understanding for the divine beauty of their land, symbolized by and culminating in a fly fisherman's skill in casting his rod, and his ability to become one with the river in which he fishes. For, in Norman Maclean's words, in their family "there was no clear line between religion and fly fishing;" and growing up, the brothers came to believe quite naturally that Jesus's disciples themselves must have been fly fishermen, too; and that consequently every good fly fisherman is closer to the divine than any other human.

But while they were united by their love for their native land and its rivers and fish, the brothers couldn't have been any more different on a personal level. And thus, this is also a story of brotherly (and parental) love and loss, of the inability to communicate, and of dreams and aspirations nurtured and fatally disappointed. While disciplined, sensible Norman (Craig Sheffer) left Montana for a six-year college education at Dartmouth and ultimately - after having temporarily returned home and taken a bride - to assume a teaching position at the University of Chicago, rebellious Paul (Brad Pitt in a truly career-defining role) knew that he would never leave his home state and "the fish he had not yet caught;" and opted for a journalist's life instead. But ultimately he wasn't able to fight the demons that possessed him; and his parents and brother had to stand by and helplessly watch him embark on a path of self-destruction, reduced to comments on symbolic matters like Paul's decision to change the spelling of their last name by capitalizing the "L" ("Now everybody will think we are Lowland Scots," scorned their father), where to open topicalize their concerns would have destroyed the careful equilibrium of mutual respect, love, hope, caution and guardedness characterizing their relationship. And so, only after Paul's death could his father tell a hesitant Norman that he knew more about his brother than the fact that Paul had been a fine fisherman: "He was beautiful" - and mourn in a sermon, even later, that all too frequently, when looking at a loved one in need, "either we don't know what part of ourselves to give or, more often than not, the part we have to give is not wanted. And so it is those we live with and should know who elude us. But we can still love them. We can love completely, without complete understanding."

Craig Sheffer and Brad Pitt are perfectly cast as the earnest, reasonable Norman and his maverick brother Paul, who relies on his innate toughness in his fateful attempt to take life to its limits and still beat the devil, but who also turns the casting of a fishing line into an art form that makes a rainbow rise from the water, and who with his greatest-ever catch stands before his father and brother "suspended above the earth, free from all its laws, like a work of art." Moreover, this movie reunited Robert Redford with Tom Skerritt, with whom he had first shared the screen in the 1962 Korean war drama "War Hunt" (both actors' big-screen debut), and who gives a finely-tuned, sensitive performance as the Reverend Maclean. Notable are also the appearances of Brenda Blethyn as Mrs. Maclean and Emily Lloyd as Norman's bride-to-be Jessie. But the movie's true star is Montana itself, particularly its rivers and streams; every frame of Philippe Rousselot's Academy Award-winning cinematography and every sweep of the camera over Montana's magnificent landscape, and along the silver bands of its rivers with their gurgling cataracts and waves curling softly against their banks, powerful testimony to Robert Redford's genuine love and respect for the West and for nature in general; the causes closest to his heart and matched in importance only by his efforts to promote a movie scene outside of Hollywood. And Redford himself assumes the (uncredited) role of the narrator, thus bringing to the screen Norman Maclean's lyrical language and uniting words and pictures in an audiovisual sonnet, subtly accentuated by Mark Isham's gentle score.

Both movie and novella end with the lines that have given the story its title: "[I]n the half-light of the canyon, all existence fades to a being with my soul; and memories, and the sounds of the Big Blackfoot River, and a four-count rhythm, and the hope that a fish will rise. Eventually, all things merge into one; and a river runs through it. The river was cut by the world's great flood and runs over rocks from the basement of time. On some of the rocks are timeless raindrops. Under the rocks are the words, and some of the words are theirs" - those of Norman Maclean's now-lost loved ones; those he "loved and did not understand in [his] youth." As we have had to learn, it is not only human life that is terminal; even nature itself (including, incidentally, the Macleans' beloved Big Blackfoot River) is not immune to destruction by human carelessness. This movie is a powerful plea to all of us not to wait until it has become too late.

The ONLY Movie I Have Ever Cried To !
A River Runs Through It is a stunning accomplishment for Robert Redford. The story is captivating, and yet one of the saddest movies I've ever seen.

This movie will produce feelings that will linger with you long after the ending credits !

Transendentalism (sp.?)
Way back in English Lit, University of Oregon, 25 years ago, I remember one idea that that once something achieves perfection in anything, it self distructs, always. A near perfect chair exists, a near perfect painting, a near perfect poem, a near pefect fly fisherman. But none of these exist in a perfect form. There is only one perfection and to attempt to mimimic it assures distruction.

This movie portrays that notion, just fine.

Beautiful cinema
This movie has some amazing cinematography. I've only been to Montana as a kid for very little time, but I wish I could visit again. The movie is about two different brothers brought up in Montana their father plays an important role in the movie also. There are scenes of fly fishing in this movie that are worth the price of admission. Also this film is well narrated by Robert Redford, it never distracted me and that's hard to do with a star that has such a familar voice, but it fits in so well. A gem, that may not be for all action film fans but a drama that will please many. ... Read more

Reviews (44)

We have identified last night's dinner, it was veal...
"We are the C.I.T.s so pitious, The kids are brats the food is hideous..." so the song goes as Bill Murray and his helpful counselors sing at the end of this funny film. Bill Murray is at his best when he has a stooge who is seriously discussing something with him, like the reporter who asks why the camp costs so much. Also there is one great routine where Bill explains "It just doesn't matter..." This is a fun summer camp movie for just about any age of viewer. Also good Murray movies not to miss are "Kingpin," "Caddyshack," "Groundhog Day" and "What About Bob?" Chris Makepeace did a very good job in this debut movie and then did "My Bodyguard" and a few other lesser known movies including at least one vampire film. Tom Willett

The Kids are Brats, the Food is Hideous!
No, it's not about fat guys at an Italian restaurant. It's a lovable, low-budget flick about summer camp, shot in Canada. The camp counselors have sex, but no slasher comes out of the lake to chop them up. Instead, Bill Murray takes Chris Makepeace (that kid from "My Bodyguard") under his wing and teaches him how to belch and talk at the same time, which brings the little guy out of his shell and makes him the most popular camper in Camp Northstar history.

There are some obligatory heart-string tugs, but mostly this is just amiable, low-brow fun for the whole family. You'll find yourself chanting "Spaz! Spaz! Spaz!" anytime you watch someone attempt something moderately difficult. Try it on a friend, or your spouse- it's fun!

Classic Murray
I think there are two types of people in the world -- those who get Bill Murray and those who don't. For those of us who intrinsically get him, he simply has no peer when it comes to pulling off the kinds of comedic characters that he portrays. It's not so much about what he does, but who he is and how he presents the character that matters. As the head camp counselor "Tripper", Murray is funny but he is also so much more than funny: He gives the movie it's heart and humanity, without which, it would be nothing more than a series of sophomoric pranks. In my opinion, that is why this movie works when all of the others in the series are deplorable.

To be sure, this is one of the definitive "summer camp" movies of all time; just as Caddyshack is one of the greatest golf movies ever made. But for those who somehow just don't get Murray, there is little that can be said that will convince them to like either movie. Even with as much commercial success as he has had, I believe his comic genius is still way underrated. I have given this movie four stars because I reserve five star ratings exclussively for movies which I believe are exceptional, and because the transfer of this movie to DVD should have been handled with greater care. Otherwise, it's a solid movie with plenty of laughs and some tender moments as well.

Classic Murray
Bill Murray puts in a hilarious performance, reminiscent of Carl in Caddyshack, as a camp counsellor in this coming of age film. It takes place at a kids camp in Ontario and has all the ingrediants for hilarity, heartbreak, and friendship. There were many copies, but this was the original. If you haven't seen it I recommend you do.

Miss movies like these
These comedies are great. Great and fun humor. Yes, there was some toliet humor mixed in, but its so tame by today standards you don't even raise an eyebrow when you hear it. Bill Murray is one of my favorite comedians. When I was younger I saw this movie and then every movie after when I saw Murray I would say "Hey, its the guy from Meatballs." Even to this day I when I see him I remember Meatballs.

I with this movie would get a better treatment with the DVD. Its one of the best comedies ever. Actually, its a family comedy that you can watch with any age group. The adults will get the minor sex jokes, and the teenagers will too, but enjoy the rest. Kids will enjoy the fun of Bill Murray father like figure to one of the kids.

This is a must see comedy. ... Read more

Reviews (102)

"AND THE OSCAR GOES TO..."
I have a quest to see all the movies that have won the Oscar for BEST PICTURE that I can find. Ordinary People won in 1980. I just saw this movie for the first time, and it blew me away! Between the perfect and wonderful screenplay, to the awesome acting and beautiful scenery -- This film should have won all the OSCARS for acting. Was Mary Tyler Moore even nominated? She was perfectly callous, cold, and unfeeling as Beth. Her performance was so incredible. Donald Sutherland was also excellent as the father who really wants to see his family kept together, and try to be happy again after losing a loved one. Timothy Hutton was definetly deservant of the Oscar -- but it should have been for Best Actor.... Juddd Hirsch was also brilliant as the psychiatrist that Conrad sees. All the acting, even the minor roles portrayed by DInah Manoff and Elizabeth McGovern is great to watch. I don't think that Oscar is the most important element in the film, but it totally deserves the praise. It was a beatifully filmed movie about a dysfunctional family..sounds like something that came out recently? American Beauty is this year's Ordinary People.. Granted, the characters in Ordinary People have different kinds of problems. If you want to see a powerful drama, with great acting, this is the film to watch. Oh, and don't forget the kleenex...cuz it jerks those tears right out of you.

No ordinary movie
"Ordinary Peole" deservingly won the Oscar for Best Picture of 1980. It desplicts realities of those in such living turmoil. It proves that such awful feelings toward oneself can strike those with the seemingly perfect life. It explores the after-effects of a family once they lose a child, and once the other attempts suicide. Robert Redford makes his Oscar winning directorial debut, leading the cast and crew to create a flawless, unforgettable masterpiece.

Donald Sutherland and Mary Tyler Moore(Calvin and Beth Jerrad) play the lead roles as the supporting father and the selfish non-loving mother. Their marriage is on the verge of divorce due to Beth's lack of support of their living son Conrad, played by Timothy Hutton. Conrad faces guilt after losing his brother, Buck, in a boating accident a year ago. His psychologist forces him to confront every life aspect.

Every actor portrays their character delightfully, forcing every drop of emotion to the audience, even those with limited screentime. Timothy Hutton deserved his Oscar win for Best Supporting Actor. Mary Tyler Moore and Judd Hirsch deserved their Oscar nominations for Best Actress and Best Supporting Actor. Why wasn't Donald Sutherland nominated for his best role of his career? Who knows.

Those looking for a serious drama should watch "Ordinary People". One may have to think about the events after the first watch. Those who've watched it twenty times still discover new interesting details.

One of the best films of all time
Well, this film is easily one of the best I've ever seen. I saw it for the first time around 1981. It was odd, since i was watching with my own dysfunctional family when I was about 14. It's a film that moves you every time you watch it and you can take away something different each time. This is the mark of superb writing, acting and directing. I can't believe that this was Redford's first attempt at directing. It boggles the mind. Just the natural scenes of suburban Chicago alone are well-done.
Although Mary Tyler Moore, Sutherland and Hirch do fantastic jobs as Conrad's parents and psychiatrist, trying to get inside his head, it was Hutton's performance as Conrad that moved me most. He portrays the son left behind by a brother who died in a boating accident. When the movie begins, Conrad has just returned to "normal" after being in the hospital for months due to a suicide attempt. It is ironic that the title is "ordinary" people as this family is far from ordinary. But Hutton's performance, with both emotionality and such a sense of emptiness is one of the most vivid performances I've ever seen. What ever happened to Tim Hutton anyway ?
Mary Tyler Moore's performance of the cold Beth, who seems to still blame Conrad on her favorite son Buck's death, is impeccable. It really makes sense that you could get performances out of her and Tim Hutton of this caliber since both just lost a relative (she her son and Hutton his father) right before filming. Donald Sutherland really portrays the kind of father everyone wants, let's just admit it. He cares very much about his son ! To the point that he would visit his shrink to learn more about what he's going through. Excellent performance and I still don't know why he wasn't nominated.
I could write a short book about this film. Suffice it to say that everyone should see it, despite whether you view your family of origin as dysfunctional or not. We can all relate to certain themes: hiding feelings, being afraid to face pain, facing pain and not knowing what to do with it, loss of friendship, loss of love, "walking on eggshells" in your own home. Ordinary People is an extraordinary film !

healing with counseling
I first saw the movie & then read Judith Guest's book. Both made a deep impression on me. The movie is passionately & beautifully made & all the acting superb.

What most impressed me, however, was that it addresses a vital process -- the psychology of dysfunctional families & of getting counseling through recovery from trauma -- Judd Hirsch intensely plays the psychiatrist.

Almost everyone, in the books I review, could do with a dose of counseling, although it is the rare author who takes this process seriously or considers it worth writing about, & I know from personal experience: counseling does heal, if you use it with that intention.

A Rebeccasreads First Rate Recommendation, certainly a movie which will get you talking afterwards.

Possibly the best film of my generation.
This is a mini review of one of my all time top 10 favorite films

Robert Redford's directorial debut is a wonderful adaptation of Judith Guest's novel about a suburban Chicago family in crisis. Redford's direction elicits breakout performances from Tim Hutton, Judd Hirsch, Mary Tyler Moore, and Donald Sutherland.

This drama unfolds in the aftermafth of Conrad Jarrett's (Hutton) attemmpted suicide. The movie chronicles how the entire Jarrett family deal (or don't deal) with the tragic death of Conrad's brother Buck in a boating accident.

The film evenly deals with such difficult family trauma's but does so in a way that at once realistic and hopeful. ... Read more

Reviews (5)

MYSTERY MAGNIFIQUE!
It's no mystery why this is the most-watched detective show in the history of the PBS "Mystery!" series -- Christie penned a brilliant Belgian dick who solves crimes only using his "little grey cells" and the aid of his affable associate Captain Hastings. And not one hair out of place on his perfectly coifed hairy lip! No mystery why fans can have sleuthing fetes: Acorn is releasing the entire canon. Mystery magnifique!

Some heavy revision to the source, but well done
"How Does Your Garden Grow?" is taken from _The Regatta Mystery and Other Stories_, while the others are taken from _Poirot Investigates_.

"The Adventure of the Western Star" - There's a legend about twin precious stones, the eyes of an idol in the Far East, having long been separated - the Star of the East and the Western Star - and of what is fated to happen when they meet again. The Western Star resides in the famous Yardley collection in England, while the Star of the East belongs to an actress about to film on the Yardley estate...

"How Does Your Garden Grow?" The old lady wrote to Poirot on a matter requiring such discretion that she would not commit it to a letter. Alas, she died before her commission ever reached him...

"The Kidnapped Prime Minister" - Viewed solely on its own merits, an interesting case. Viewed as an adaptation, however, it is flagrantly unfaithful to the source; the writers seem to have had a free hand in adjusting matters to make a more dramatic and puzzling story. The action now occurs between wars instead of during WWI, so the motive has altered and the kidnappers by necessity are a somewhat different group than in the original story. Written early in Christie's career, the victims and witnesses were just stage props leading up to one of Poirot's flashy conjuring tricks, with no depth or personality. While this worked in short story form, I can see the inherent difficulty in adapting it for the screen, so while I ordinarily deplore heavy revision, I concede the need for it here. Not to put too fine a point on it, the revision helped this story no end, and it's much more interesting on video than in its original form.

Poirot Does it Again!
How Does Your Garden Grow? - Good mystery, not too much depth, but at least Miss Lemon gets to leave the office! And it's always fun when Agatha Christe uses nursurey rhymes as plot devices. It creates sort of a surreal atmosphere. - 4 stars

The Adventure of the Western Star - More typical Poirot. It's easy to get used to how wonderful these are and start treating their greatness casually! My favorite part of this one is Hastings and his China-man! - 4 stars

The Kidnapped Prime Minister - Ireland gets some of the lime-light in this one as Russia did in the first. My favorite part of this one is when Miss Lemon is trying to remember the name of the castle! - 4 stars

Box Set Overall score (Not an Average) - 4 stars

Brilliant production values and truly gifted scripting.
Hercule Poirot is second only to Sherlock Holmes in the hearts of mystery fans everywhere and, along with Miss Marple, Agatha Christie's most famous and beloved private investigator whose "little grey cells" would figure out the guilty party in a style all his own. This third volume in the Acorn Media video set series showcasing the British television productions that brought Poirot vividly to life for millions of English and American viewers features three of Agatha Christie's best Poirot cases: The Kidnaped Prime Minister; The Adventure of the Western Star; and How Does Your Garden Grow? Flawless produced with meticulous attention to historical detail in set designs, clothing, automobiles, streets and building architecture, these stories present some of the finest actors that contemporary Britain has to offer and under brilliant production values and gifted script writing, lighting, and direction, present a very highly recommended addition to any personal and community library video entertainment collection.

More of the same and just as wonderful
There were many one hour and somewhat fewer two hour episodes of the Hercule Poirot mysteries shown on PBS; and foresighted fans should have taped them then, because when A&E re-runs them, parts of each have to be removed to make room for all the commercials. Very often, the solution at the end flashbacks to scenes that we never saw because of the abridgments and frankly the value of these episodes are reduced considerably.

But now Acorn Media is reissuing them in complete versions, with the two-hour features on DVD and the shorter ones on VHS. Both series are a delight. The acting genius of David Suchet is enhanced by his usual supporting cast (Hugh Fraser as Hastings, Philip Jackson as Japp, and Pauline Moran as Miss Lemon), the wonderful guest casts, the done-to-perfection ambiance of time and place--the late 20s and early 30s--with all those fabulous art-deco buildings they have managed to find and populate.

I have already commented on the first two sets (see those webpages). This third entry contains "The Kidnapped Prime Minister," "The Adventure of the Western Star," and "How Does Your Garden Grow?" The first offers a plot (in both senses of the word) that has been copied in many a mystery since then, and the red herrings are quite good. The second reveals its r.h. half way through, and still holds some surprises. The last is a good old Christie murder story in which all the villainous characters turn out to be...well, see for yourself.

I keep asking myself if the reason that I keep watching these episodes over and over is the superb acting, the marvelous décor, the other way around or both in equal measure. I will guess at the last.(...) ... Read more

Reviews (5)

An Absence of Little Grey Cells
The BBC Poirot series is, overall, an excellent one, with many excellent adaptations from Agatha Christie's works. But when some diehard fans insist that even the clinkers are worth 5 stars, they cheapen the whole series, and do a disservice to the superior entries.

On the plus side, all three stories in Set 4 are lavishly produced with period attire and fully-elaborated sets, and thoughtful cinematography. On the minus side, nothing close to the same competence went into the plots.

"The Million Dollar Bond Robbery" recounts how bearer bonds disappear en route from London to New York aboard the Queen Mary. The story is so full of implausibilities and outright holes that one wants to weep. (Quasi plot spoilers ahead.)

For starters, the mise en scene is unconvincing. What bankers in their right mind would ship such a quantity of bonds (worth over $20 Million in today's money) in a mere briefcase left unattended by a solitary bank official in his stateroom? These people never heard of armored vaults or professional security guards?

Much is also made of the fact that only a few people have keys to the briefcase (thereby supposedly limiting the list of possible culprits), when in fact any thief would simply take the whole briefcase. Once you appreciate that the bonds could be stolen without benefit of one of the authorized keys, the whole storyline is revealed as a Rube Goldberg concoction of gross proportions, using a pathetically convoluted scheme entailing many risks, when a much simpler plan would have done the job much more easily and safely (for the thief).

Then there's the person who needs to be in two different places at once, and is able to shift from Place A to Place B and back again with truly impressive ease, like Captain Kirk beaming up. And if this person had to be in B as part of the grand plot, why the appearance in A? There was no need for it. Wait, the appearance in A did serve a purpose after all; it was so Poirot could notice the clue that solved the case. . .

"The Plymouth Express" concerns a jewelry theft and murder aboard a train. This, too, evidences extraordinarily shoddy plotting.

Again, the villain orchestrates an elaborate scheme when a much simpler one would suffice. This villain goes to tremendous lengths to mislead the police (and the audience) about whether the murder took place before or after a certain train stop. To what end? As the story unfolds, we eventually come to realize it is totally irrelevant when the murder occurred.

And, let's not forget, there is no need whatever to commit this particular theft and murder aboard a train, exposing the perpetrator to many potential witnesses, not to mention requiring eight hours on a train (out and back) - not the most clever of getaway plans. There was ample opportunity to rob and kill the victim back in London.

Worst of all, the solution to this case is pulled straight out of a hat. All we're told is that Poirot was able to identify the perpetrator by studying his secretary Miss Lemon's "files". That's it?

The third story, "Wasps' Nest", succeeds a little better than the other two, though it still leaves much to be desired as a whodunit. Here, at least, the murder plan is interesting and plausible. However, the motive for the murder is somewhat of a stretch, and the story development is also spun out of thin air. Poirot in effect makes a series of lucky guesses, based on no clue discernible to the audience. No little grey cells at work here, just one guess after another to move the story along.

Agatha Christie would not approve.

Not as Good as Some Poirot, but any Poirot is great!
Poirot is such a superior series that even it's mediocre episodes shine brightly. But when judging one episode against the others there must inevitably be some that don't measure up.

The Million Dollar Bond Robbery - This is actually the highlight of the trio and features much enjoyable footage with the Queen Mary. As well as a rather good solution. - 4 stars.

The Plymouth Express - This is very well done and draws more emotion out of you than most episodes, but is still lacking. The plot just seems too simplistic when set against other episodes. Still the footage of the murder is chilling and you really feel for the victim's living relatives by the end. - 3.5 stars

Wasp's Nest - It's always nice to see them try something different, but this episode just didn't click with me. I've seen them all many times and I just can't get used to this one, even though I like the "solution." - 3 stars

Box Set Overall score (Not an Average) - 4 stars

A coincidental juxtaposition and one extraoridinary episode
We are now well on our way to the first six sets of the collection in boxed sets of three VHSs each. Please see my reviews of the first three sets for general comments on these sets as a whole.

Collector's set 4 contains two similar and one quite unusual episode from the immensely popular British television series. Without wanting to reveal the solutions, I can only say there is a marked similarity in those of "The Million Dollar Bond Robbery" and "The Plymouth Express." The former is quite different in detail from the short story, which runs only 8 pages in my "Hercule Poirot's Casebook" and thereby pretty well represents the changes necessitated by inflating short mysteries into full hour episodes.

The second is a few pages longer and the television version is more faithful to the original. Although you do not have too much sympathy for the murder victim in this one, the shot of the body and Poirot's description of the deed itself is chilling. One of the better entries, to be sure.

"Wasps' Nest" is the most unusual of all the mysteries in this series. Again, I must not reveal too much, but we have a very nasty Poirot suffering from having no case at hand and berating himself for looking at a new situation concerning a friend in a most negative light. Of course, his suspicions are confirmed and he sets out not to solve a killing but to prevent one. But I must say no more. What is doubly fascinating is that the original story takes place only between Poirot and the person in question. So what you see in the final scene of the video is pretty much how the original story is handled. It is also one of the slower moving of the episodes.

Do not forget that the most excellent and are available on DVD.

Agatha Christie is the greatest mystery writer of all time.
If you enjoy mysteries, you will love this collection. The plots are interesting and complex. The characters have great depth. Hercule Piorot is charming, clever, and full of surprises. Hercule always knows more than he lets on which make his explanations seem fascinating. There is not a dull moment and the mysteries are very easy to get involved in. Agatha Christie has done it again with this classic collection of mysteries and I guarantee that the end will surprise you!

Sachet
Made for BBC 1, this series was the kind of thing the BBC did really well - expensive, well-mounted period drama, this time based on Agatha Christie's Belgian (not French) detective 'Poirot' (rhymes with 'Kitaro', before you ask). At the time he was the most obscure of Christie's heroes, and this series rectified that in style. David Suchet (who, like all British actors, has played the bad guy in a Hollywood film - this time 'Executive Decision) played the character to perfection - fussy, pedantic and always right, he was nonetheless charming and an enormous hit with women of a certain age. The 1920's art deco presentation, especially the title sequence, worked well, and the atmosphere of dapper sophistication was a welcome change from the more homey Miss Marple. Technically the series is still going, although it's restricted, 'Inspector Morse'-style, to one-off specials. ... Read more

Reviews (68)

TERRIFIC SCI-FI...
I first saw this film when it was released in the mid nineteen seventies. I recalled how much I had enjoyed it, when I saw that it was available in DVD. The DVD itself is disappointing, as it offers virtually none of the features one has come to expect from a DVD.

This aside, the film itself, though somewhat abstract, is terrific, as it is not just a science fiction film with a twist. It is a film that explores themes that are timeless: desolation, alienation (no pun intended), and loneliness. At times, these themes are palpable, due to David Bowie's wondrously androgynous performance, which is heartbreakingly moving at times.

The plot is fairly simple. An alien, Davie Bowie, leaves his family on his dying and arid planet in search for water. He lands on earth and begins his project to send water to his devastated planet by amassing the wealth that he needs to do this. He patents numerous lucrative inventions which eventually find him at the head of a world wide conglomerate. He joins up with a kindly, though stupid and vapid woman who drinks gin like a fish, Candy Clark, with whom he begins a liaison of sorts. Yet, he is always lonely and melancholic, and like her, begins to spiral into an alcoholic haze, sometimes sidetracking him from his purpose here.

At some point, excruciatingly sad and lonely, longing for his family, he reveals himself to her for who he truly is, shedding his earthly appearance, only to be met with absolute horror and repugnance by her at the sight of him. She ultimately tries to understand him, but it is truly beyond her ken. He is infinitely sad at this and longs all the more for home.

On the threshold of returning to his planet and loved ones, he is kidnapped by corporate raiders who take over his holdings, and it is here that the movie begins to disintergrate somewhat. Yet, it remains strangely hypnotic and compelling, and becomes a sort of "Lost Weekend" of betrayal, booze, and promises that will never be kept. A parable of wanting to belong, yet knowing one never will. A story about wanting to go home, but knowing on some level that one can truly never go home again.

Restored science fiction art classic
It was an odd year. 1976 saw the release of Logan's Run with its occasionally heavy handed parable about the youth culture, Ralph Bakshi's Wizards gathered steam at the box office and included a trailer for some movie called Star Wars. Along came Nickolas Roeg with his arthouse science fiction epic and totally mystified everyone. David Bowie is perfect as the alien in this classic science fiction film. He's left his arid, dying planet and come to Earth in hopes that some of "his" inventions could create enough capital so that he can take resources from our planet to save his.

Unfortunately, Bowie's character pretends to be human all too well--he's sucked into the very flaws that cripple humanity. He becomes a victim of our culture rather than master of it. Roeg's film is fragmented and spooky (particularly the scene where Candy Clark discovers that Bowie's character has various attachments to make him seem human). The visually unsettling photography and editing help bring an edge to the film. Roeg manages to fuse science fiction to his European art sensibilities very well. In fact, Man is probably Roeg's most powerful film outside of Don't Look Now his gothic take on the horror film.

Anchor and Bay have restored the film to its original, uncut running time. They also have gone back to the original negative and camera elements to create as sharp a print as I've ever seen. The aspect ratio is finally correct and the sound, while not perfect, is a huge improvement over the previous DVD, video and television versions that have been floating around.

How to explain this movie...
This is one of those films that is best watched in the dark, by yourself, because sometimes, you just might want to shout out "WHAT?"

Basically this movie is a great cult classic about an alien who comes to our planet in search of water for his desert planet. David Bowie... how do you rate his performance with that of other conventional actors? You can't. He is brilliant in his role as Mr. Newton! I was completely mesmerized and even attracted to him as the thin redhead. I was surprised however that he was completely unclothed in one scene, but hey, it didn't hurt any part of the movie!

I would recomend this to anyone, period. I give the movie a 5, but Bowie's performance gets a 10!

Loving The Alien
I never went into thi film expecting anything that
conventional,considering David Bowie stars in it.But it is a
socially relevant science fiction movie about an alien who comes
to Earth in search of water to aid his draught-ridden planet and
in the process get's caught up in the corrupt politics of human
culture.In the end he basically forgets why he came to Earth to
start with after falling in love and becoming owner of a big
cooperation.The overall message-if aliens arn't visiting this

planet there's a REASON!The movie uses stark settings and is
shot very surreally so it isn't for those without the most
open mind to avante-garde film making.Bowie,having already had
mime and theatre experience (and being the dramatic Ziggy Stardust of course) is brilliant as an actor and it is all too
believable that he doesn't come from Earth (I wonder if Bowie
really IS an alien sometimes anyway).But for those who can make
their mind and visual spectrum stretch and who don't mind a sadly
ironic ending you will enjoy this film.

Another sub-par Anchor Bay disc
I suppose the flimsy slipcase, free-floating booklet design was intended to ward off Chinese pirates (Arrrh!) and sidewalk counterfeiters; however, the presentation is so awkward and unsatisfying to the die-hard collector that I've decided to consign this must-see film to my permanent memory bank and ditch this coaster set. As my collection grows, I find it increasingly difficult to find time to watch everything I've got (let alone multiple viewings which, if you think about it, is kind of the point of having a disc) and, thus, previously essential items are being turfed if they do not conform to Criterion-like presentation standards; heck, I'm even ditching some Criterions (take that, Antonioni!). Anyways, excuse the ramble folks and enjoy the rest of the reviews. ... Read more

Amazon.com

If you're going to submit yourself to a dazzling example of mainstream action, this thriller is as good a choice as any. Eraser is a live-action cartoon, the kind of movie in which Arnold Schwarzenegger can survive nail bombs, hails of bullets, an attack by voracious alligators ("You're luggage," he says, after killing one of the beasts), and still emerge from the mayhem relatively intact. Arnold plays an "eraser" from the Federal Witness Protection Program, so named because he can virtually erase the existence of anyone he's been assigned to protect. His latest beneficiary is an FBI employee (Vanessa Williams) who stumbled across a secret government group involved in the sale and export of an advanced weapon capable of shooting rounds at nearly the speed of light. Fantastic action sequences are handled with flair by director Charles Russell (The Mask), so it's easy to forgive the fact that this movie is almost completely ridiculous. --Jeff Shannon ... Read more

Reviews (52)

Eraser is one of of Arnold's best action films.
Eraser is Arnold's action spectuclar in years scene The terminator, Total Recall, Terminator 2: Judgement day and True lies. the story is about US Witsec officer John Kreuger (Arnold Schwarzengger) who protects, and takes out the ID's of federal witness's where he is recruited to protect witness Lee Cullen (Vanessa Williams) who is trying to get evidence about a weapons company selling new deadly guns, where Lee is a target of the company's renegades, where John plans on helping her, as his Witsec friend Robert (James Cann ) is invovled with them as John goes to put a stop to the madness. The film features very good special effects featuring Arnold firing EM rail guns, beging attack by crocodiles and sky diving out of a plane, if your a Arnie fan buy this right now or rent it in you nearest video store END

ERASER??? More like TRUE LIES 2! A real Arnold thriller!!!
ARNOLD SCHWARZENEGGER explodes to the TV screen as U.S. MARSHALL JOHN KRUGER of the WITNESS PROTECTION PROGRAM, assigned to protect LEE CULLEN (Vanessa Williams), a woman who is willing to testify against illegal weapon dealers. But, something goes wrong. A fellow Marshall and friend of JOHN's is working for the wrong team and trying to cover up the deadly plot to take out KRUGER's witness. Now, everyone at WITSEC is trying to kill KRUGER and CULLEN believing that they are the real enemies. Will ARNOLD SCHWARZENEGGER be able to prove his innosense and save the day in an explosive action thriller?!!!

Directed By: Charles Russell (The Mask, Bless the Child) and starring ARNOLD SCHWARZENEGGER (End of Days, 6th Day, Predator), JAMES CAAN (Mickey Blue Eyes), VANESSA WILLIAMS, and DANNY NUCCI (Crimson Tide, The Rock, Titanic)- ERASER is an action rush of sheer explosive adventure!

MOVIE NOTE: This movie might as well be TRUE LIES 2. ARNOLD is back, he's a U.S. MARSHALL SPY-Like hero, He has big guns, he's protecting a woman against a vengeful nemisis, he has great one-liners, he battles terrorists, crocodiles, jumping out of a speeding plane- trying to catch his parachute, shooting huge EMP guns, breaking into a high security weapons building, and blowing up a house by making a trap that will light a fuse in the house! That is TRUE LIES 2 to me! Anyway, we'll have to see what TRUE LIES 2 has in store for us when it comes to theaters sometime within the next 5 years...

MY REVIEW: This movie ROCKS! The special effects are great, the stunts and action sequences rule, the story, acting and directing are spectacular, and the humor is good too! THIS MAY NOT BE ARNOLD's BEST FILM EVER, BUT IT SURE MAKES HIS TOP 10 LIST!!!

Rent this movie or buy this movie today action fans!

ERASER is rated "R" for STRONG LANGUAGE and STRONG ACTION VIOLENCE THROUGHOUT. 1 hr 55 min.

Excellent action thriller!
Austrian accented "Terminator" actor Arnold Schwarzenegger hits another home run in his career in the 1996 action thriller entitled "Eraser" and let me tell you, this movie is truly unsettling and not to mention will make you angry as such acts could in fact happen in real life as we know it although the items are a bit far-fetched with today's technologies.

A special agent U.S. Marshall named John Kruger works for the Witness Protection Agency, an organization that takes witnesses of major crimes away, wipe out their identities, in order to shelter them from potential criminals who aim to kill those who witness their crimes. His latest mission is to protect a worker named Lee Cullen (Vanessa Williams) who works for a corporation named Cyrez that produces top secret weapons but a massive scandal is brewing and Lee discovers what's really going on and aims to expose the scam to the FBI. However, high level government marshals who are crooks themselves aim to kill Lee and Kruger to attempt to stop the truth from coming out. The Cyrez corporation, under the leadership of a corrupt CEO, is involved in an illegal arms deal with a Russian Mafia hitman who has had a history of murder and terrorist acts against civilians. The arms deal involves trading extremely advanced weapons that don't use any conventional ammunition and instead use magnetic pulses to fire rounds of aluminum at nearly the speed of light and if the arms trade succeed it will bring forth a horrific new era of high-tech terrorism worldwide and John Kruger must stop the arms shipment before it's too late while also protecting lee from corrupt high-ranking officials participating the scam.

If Lee Cullen and John Kruger are killed, then the FBI will lose any leads and/or evidence to bring the Cyrez officials to trial and to expose the scandal to the public.

This movie sometimes makes me angry not because it is bad because it is a really great movie but it's the whole concept of high-ranking government officials actually being a part of the problem than as the people trying to fight the criminals committing these crimes. I sometimes wonder how one can be able to fight such acts of capitalist greed even if they're totally fictional events.

The special effects while limited are really well done especially with the way the bullets create those smoke trails when speed through the air at speeds nearly that of light plus the action sequences are really awesome especially towards the climax.

The high-tech weapons are really terrifying with not only the light-speed ammunition but also how they seemingly can scan through buildings and make out movements all around the immediate vicinity. One can't help but feel really paranoid when viewing the scenes where they scan the area when seeking their targets.

Once again Arnold Schwarzenegger hits another home run right out of the ballpart playing the U.S. Marshall John Kruger. Arnold's action sequences are once again in top form as he fights against the crooks aiming to eliminate both Kruger and Lee. If you loves his "I'll Be Back" and/or "You've just been terminated" lines from the "Terminator" movies, then he comes up with another brilliant line which is "You've just been erased". God I love it. Vanessa Williams is also very good playing Lee Cullen as she tries to escape the assassins pursuit of her while trying to deliver the evidence of the crime to the FBI. In all honesty, Vanessa is far better when she's acting in movies and singing and releasing albums as opposed to wasting her time on these numerous bland commercials and infomercials!!

My favorite though of the main characters was Star Trek actor James Caan. Man, his portrayal of the traitorous agent Degeurin is absolutely terrifying and truly vivid and brings the horrifically callous nature of the corrupt agent to 'life' on the movie. I just can't help but feel really sometimes ticked off at Deguerin because of his horrific acts against the country but I've got to admire Caan's incredible acting in this movie because he was perfect for the role of the bad guy and Deguerin is one of the greatest bad guys I had seen in many years at the time of this movie's release.

While only a minor role, James Cromwell's performance as the CEO of the Cyrez corporation was also compelling and sometimes really scary. While not as bad as let's say Deguerin, Cromwell's character in this movie is just enough to make you upset at his callous nature.

Other favorites are the late Joe Pastorelli as Johnny C. along with his mob crime family and some of the characters are really funny especially Johnny C. It's really sad that Pastorelli departed us so soon because he was a talented actor. I also thought that the late Joe Viterelli was phenomenal playing the pug-faced mafia gangster. :-(

This movie is really very well done and delivers incredible action sequences, not to mention an original plot idea. The DVD as of this writing offers little of anything in the way of bonus material but is a grand improvement on the VHS.

Really excellent action-thriller! 2 Thumbs up!
Austrian accented "Terminator" actor Arnold Schwarzenegger hits another home run in his career in the 1996 action thriller entitled "Eraser" and let me tell you, this movie is truly unsettling and not to mention will make you angry as such acts could in fact happen in real life as we know it although the items are a bit far-fetched with today's technologies.

A special agent U.S. Marshall named John Kruger works for the Witness Protection Agency, an organization that takes witnesses of major crimes away, wipe out their identities, in order to shelter them from potential criminals who aim to kill those who witness their crimes. His latest mission is to protect a worker named Lee Cullen (Vanessa Williams) who works for a corporation named Cyrez that produces top secret weapons but a massive scandal is brewing and Lee discovers what's really going on and aims to expose the scam to the FBI. However, high level government marshals who are crooks themselves aim to kill Lee and Kruger to attempt to stop the truth from coming out. The Cyrez corporation, under the leadership of a corrupt CEO, is involved in an illegal arms deal with a Russian Mafia hitman who has had a history of murder and terrorist acts against civilians. The arms deal involves trading extremely advanced weapons that don't use any conventional ammunition and instead use magnetic pulses to fire rounds of aluminum at nearly the speed of light and if the arms trade succeed it will bring forth a horrific new era of high-tech terrorism worldwide and John Kruger must stop the arms shipment before it's too late while also protecting lee from corrupt high-ranking officials participating the scam.

If Lee Cullen and John Kruger are killed, then the FBI will lose any leads and/or evidence to bring the Cyrez officials to trial and to expose the scandal to the public.

This movie sometimes makes me angry not because it is bad because it is a really great movie but it's the whole concept of high-ranking government officials actually being a part of the problem than as the people trying to fight the criminals committing these crimes. I sometimes wonder how one can be able to fight such acts of capitalist greed even if they're totally fictional events.

The special effects while limited are really well done especially with the way the bullets create those smoke trails when speed through the air at speeds nearly that of light plus the action sequences are really awesome especially towards the climax.

The high-tech weapons are really terrifying with not only the light-speed ammunition but also how they seemingly can scan through buildings and make out movements all around the immediate vicinity. One can't help but feel really paranoid when viewing the scenes where they scan the area when seeking their targets.

Once again Arnold Schwarzenegger hits another home run right out of the ballpart playing the U.S. Marshall John Kruger. Arnold's action sequences are once again in top form as he fights against the crooks aiming to eliminate both Kruger and Lee. If you loves his "I'll Be Back" and/or "You've just been terminated" lines from the "Terminator" movies, then he comes up with another brilliant line which is "You've just been erased". God I love it. Vanessa Williams is also very good playing Lee Cullen as she tries to escape the assassins pursuit of her while trying to deliver the evidence of the crime to the FBI. In all honesty, Vanessa is far better when she's acting in movies and singing and releasing albums as opposed to wasting her time on these numerous bland commercials and infomercials!!

My favorite though of the main characters was Star Trek actor James Caan. Man, his portrayal of the traitorous agent Degeurin is absolutely terrifying and truly vivid and brings the horrifically callous nature of the corrupt agent to 'life' on the movie. I just can't help but feel really sometimes ticked off at Deguerin because of his horrific acts against the country!

Other favorites are the late Joe Pastorelli as Johnny C. along with his mob crime family and some of the characters are really funny especially Johnny C. It's really sad that Pastorelli departed us so soon. :-(

This movie is really very well done and delivers incredible action sequences, not to mention an original plot idea. The DVD as of this writing offers little of anything in the way of bonus material but is a grand improvement on the VHS.

Action packed fun for the masses!
This movie is awesome!!! Starring Ahnold as an adventurous U.S. Marshall he is assigned to protect a female witness to an illegal arms deal between a U.S. business and Russian mafia terrorists and the witness and Ahnold are the targets for assassination by the corrupt federal marshalls taking part in the arms deal. The arms shoot rounds of aluminum near the speed of light. California's governor once again hits another home run with awesome acting and incredible special effects. Go and see this movie today!!! ... Read more

Amazon.com

When it comes to the subject of community, David E. Kelley--theprolific writer-producer behind television's The Practice and AllyMcBeal--falls somewhere on a continuum between directors Howard Hawks and Robert Benton. WhileHawks's professional characters are bound by a knowledge of how to do what theydo even if they don't know why, Benton's people, professional or not, havelong ago substituted their own eccentric reasons for that elusive why. Thus we get the kind of in-house, oddball rituals sandwiched between passages of actual work on Ally, and the affectionately entangled personal andprofessional ties between small-town folks in Kelley's earlier TV series Picket Fences.

Kelley's script for Mystery, Alaska (co-authored by Sean O'Byrne)takes that level of eccentricity to a geographical and spiritual extreme. Thefilm revives the hackneyed Rocky formula, setting alopsided hockey match within a remote, self-contained hamlet where themembers of a tiny population all have to wear multiple hats and still keepneighborly ties intact. The story concerns the town's chief source ofidentity and pride: so-called "Saturday games," in which local men divide into teams and play pond hockey for the locals.When a prodigal son (Hank Azaria) of Mystery shows up with a televisionnetwork offer to bring the New York Rangers in for a televised match againstthe homegrown team, the town fathers agree. Coaching falls to the townsheriff, John Biebe (Russell Crowe), an admirable man and a longtime player recently bumped from the team. John, however, doesn't want the job: everyoneknows the real coach in those parts is Judge Burns (Burt Reynolds), but hewants no part of it either. All of that changes after a sad tragedy forces everyone to reevaluate their positions and pull together in order to beat theRangers.

Following the success of Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery, Jay Roach proves to be an abledirector of drama, swift action, and low-key, character-driven comedy notunlike that in Benton's Nobody's Fool. He has to deal with some pure corn at the end, but Roach pulls it off and guides the actors to and throughfar better moments. --Tom Keogh ... Read more

Reviews (95)

Slapshot Meets Bad News Bears Meets Our Town Meets Fargo
"Mystery, Alaska" juggles quite a few cliches, but it does so with wonderful charm and a constant nudge in the ribs.

A small town in the frozen North of Alaska, Mystery loves its hockey beyond all reason. The famed "Saturday Game," played each week with religious fervor, has been brought to the pages of Sports Illustrated by a Mysterian (Hank Azaria) who has left the town for bigger and better things -- although it may be because everyone in town says he plays hockey "like a homosexual" (this is an example of the surprisingly frank and profane language Mysterians like to use, which can be jarring in what is otherwise a sweet movie).

The team, led by John Biebe (Russell Crowe in a nice understated performance), is your typical bunch of loveable small-town lugs, each given either one defining characteristic (babe hound, son struggling with sense of inadequacy, hot young prodigy nervous about playing with the "big boys," etc.) or is mere entertaining window dressing. Otherwise content with the local fame brought by playing in the Saturday game, the guys are exhilirated and terrified to learn that the NHL wants the New York Rangers (at the time, a good team!) to visit Mystery to play the locals as a publicity stunt.

Biebe, who is also the town sheriff, is our lens into this quirky town going through this tumultuous development. A fixture of the Saturday Game for years, he is surprisingly demoted and asked to coach. One of his best players 'accidentally' shoots a representative from Price World, a Wal-Mart clone. Another player cuckolds the mayor of the town. And Azaria returns to make overtures to Biebe's wife. The tranquil little burg has never seen such excitement.

All of this unfolds in a lighthearted manner and builds to the "big game" against the Rangers -- which is only brought about by the untimely demise of a lovable local resident.

The game is handled very well, with the proper "underdog" notes played, but not overly so. The hockey action flows quickly, and feels like a game rather than someone filming a pretend game (a common problem in sports movies -- the action is not realistic enough). One problem - we rarely see Russell Crowe actually skate, which undercuts his status as the team leader and reminds us that he's a Hollywood star in a hockey film.

Perhaps the movie's most inspired moment is the mayor's unique way of invoking Mystery's home-ice advantage during the national anthem (with a hilarious cameo by Little Richard - yes, you heard me). Watch also for a great cameo by Mike Meyers, who has worked with director Jay Roach on the Austin Powers films.

In the end, all loose ends are tied up nicely . . . and perhaps too conveniently for some. Nothing in the movie is a great shock, but that's life in a small town for you.

While in many respects a good family movie, the language and humor is definitely not for younger viewers. And the "romantic" overtures of Skank, the team horn-dog, can be quite shocking to some. Still, a good movie and a fun time.

Mystery, Alaska is the place to be!
This charming film didn't get the positive praise it deserved. It was absolutely wonderful. The small Alaskan town of "Mystery" has a quirky "Northern Exposure" feel to it, and a wonderful ensemble cast add a lot of fun and games.

The "Saturday" hockey game leads off this fairy-tale story of David vs. Goliath, as their hometown boys go against the NHL'S New York Rangers. Former "townie" Hank Azaria starts this whole thing by writing a spotlight on the "Saturday Game" for Sports Illustrated and well.. Mystery is never the same after that. Russell Crowe turns in a great performance as "slightly older" town Sherif John Biebe, who is the heart and soul of the much younger hockey team. There are many wonderful smaller performances by faces you'll certainly know and love. It's a wonderfully sweet, charming and funny (with classic one liners from MANY of the young players) movie that only HAPPENS to be about hockey. There is so much more to it. You don't have to know a thing about hockey to appreciate this fun and lighthearted movie. It's right up there with my all-time favs. Definatley worth a look!

A Movie With a Heart As Big As All Outdoors
If you're interested in this movie, it's probably because it stars Russell Crowe. But if you thought that was the only reason to see this film, have I got some good news for you.

Mystery, Alaska, population 633, is a town obsessed with hockey. From the time they're children, every Mystery boy's dream is to be a member of the town's unnamed hockey team in the weekly "Saturday game." Through a sequence of events only slightly farfetched, the Mystery team is scheduled for an exhibitition game with the visiting New York Rangers, an event of only slightly less importance to this hockey-struck town than the Second Coming. One of the many great things about this movie is the town's reaction to news of the impending game. They're not awestruck by the Rangers, the visiting demi-gods; their first reaction is, "Can we win?" If Mystery plays, they intend to win. The Rangers might be big league American hockey, but Mystery has faith in its boys. It knows they're great even if the rest of the world doesn't.

The movie is about how the town and its inhabitants are affected by the upcoming game. The game itself, though perfectly realized in the film, is almost incidental. Colm Meaney (late of Star Trek: The Next Generattion and Deep Space Nine) plays the town mayor who discovers his wife (Lolita Davidovich) is sleeping with a member of the hockey team. Hank Azaria is Charles Danner, the home town boy who was never respected growing up, became a reporter out in the great big world, brings back to Mystery the NEW YORK RANGERS....and finds he's still not respected. Donna Biebe (Mary McCormack) is the girl Charles loved in high school, now married to team captain and town sheriff John Biebe (Crowe). Burt Reynolds, who still has it, and in spades, after all these years, plays town judge Walter Burns. Walter as a young man wasn't good enough for the Saturday game, a fact he's never forgotten and a source of conflict with his son, who's made the current team. But Walter was good enough for minor league hockey in the lower 48, making him the perfect choice to coach the team for and through the big game. He's the only person in town who really understands North American hockey. For his own reasons, he refuses.

Then there's Russell Crowe as John Biebe. The big game comes at the tail end of John's career. After 13 years in the Saturday game - a Mystery record - he's cut from the team just before news of the Rangers' visit hits town. And the town fathers, whose most solemn duties involve administering the hockey team, don't want him back. A man of quiet strength but not good at expressing his softer emotions, John doesn't know how to tell his wife how much he loves her when he sees Charles flirting, and her flirting back. The way he figures out finally to do that is both inventive and touching.

Though this movie "stars" Russell Crowe, it's not a star driven vehicle, it's an ensemble piece. And while Russell is wonderful as John Biebe, for my money the best performance in the film is Ron Eldard as "Skank" Marden, Mystery hockey player and dedicated fornicator. The scene where Skank appears on the mayor's doorstep one frozen night to apologize to the man he's cuckolded is, I think, the highlight of the film. It's fascinating to watch the unexpected decency, sensitivity, and dignity emerge from what til then seemed an indecent, shallow, undignified man.

The hockey game footage is convincing - thrilling, actually. Russell learned to ice skate for this role, and, with the help of some careful editing, looks pretty darn good on the ice. Numerous Rangers play themselves.

Mystery, Alaska has been called "Rocky On Ice" and that's a fair description. Yes, the film deals with a hockey game, but that's not what makes it special. This isn't a dumb, gimmicky, braindead hockey flick like The Mighty Ducks. It's a character driven, imaginative, well-acted drama....that happens to work within the framework of a story about a hockey game. By the time the Rangers arrive in Mystery you're totally on the home team's side, rooting for them because you've come to care for the Mystery boys, and respect the sacrifices they, and the town as a whole, have made for this game. Like Rocky, Mystery, Alaska shows you don't need a huge budget to make a good movie when you have a great script, solid direction, good actors, and the film possesses that quality indefinable but impossible to mistake or ignore: "heart."

So, can a team of pond hockey players from Mystery, Alaska REALLY beat the New York Rangers? Watch this movie and find out.

One of Russell's Best
I loved this movie. It was one of my first Russell Crowe movies. I am not a sports fan but even if you are not you can enjoy this movie. The romance and humor that flows through it, is wonderful.

more then just hockey
this movie is a story of more then just hockey its a story of life in a small town where the people only have a few escapes. This movie tells the ups and downs of this small town of Mystery and how a game against the Rangers changes their world. If your into hockey you'll love this movie if you are not you'll still like it. Rachel Wilson (Burt Reynolds daughter in the movie) is HOT. ... Read more