Reviews (5)

the ups and downs of an itinerant family
Set in the 1920s and about a family of Irish itinerant sheepherders, this film has panoramic views of Australia (cinematography by Jack Hildyard), a good script, and a diverse and interesting cast; the sheep also are terrific, and there are many glimpses of kangaroos, koalas and more, all set to an upbeat score by Dimitri Tiomkin. The film also shows the backbreaking labor of shearing the sheep, and the hard life and hard drinking of the people who do it.
It has its share of drama, poignancy, and humor, the latter usually thanks to Peter Ustinov, who puts in another memorable performance as a British wanderer who is always able to extricate himself from romantic entanglements.
Deborah Kerr shines as Ida, the tough but sensitive wife who stands by her man through thick and thin (mostly thin). Robert Mitchum is good as her irresponsible husband, as is Michael Anderson Jr. as their son, and Glynis Johns adds her irrepressible charm as a pub owner.

Though not quite on the level of director Fred Zinnemann's best work (like "High Noon", "A Man for all Seasons", and "Day of the Jackal"), it still has his masterful touch, and is a fine film, well worth viewing.
It was nominated for Best Actress, Picture, Director, Adapted Screenplay, and Supporting Actress (Johns), losing out to Elizabeth Taylor in the first category, and "The Apartment" and "Elmer Gantry" in the rest.
"The Sundowners" is solid entertainment from one of the great directors of the 20th century, and total running time is 133 minutes.

sucks
Robert Mitchum`s aussie accent in this movie is not very believable.

The Ever Lovin' Aussie
This movie does a great job of profiling the lives and loves of the bushman. It should be preserved in DVD.

The Sundowners clearly shows how love fits in with the Aussie's love of freedom and adventure. Hard work doesn't take anything away from their sense of humor. The land is unforgiving with its fires and droughts; and the hardships created by traveling from shed to shed are mittigated by good kinship. They love gambling and would take bets on whether or not the sun will rise the next morning if they have enough "spirits" in them. All nicely demonstrated in the movie. Their accents believeable and the music in the background is a treat!

Wonderful and life affirming
Some films and some books just make you glad to be alive, for me The Sundowners is a lovely, life-affirming experience, beautifully acted, warmly funny and intelligent.

Everytime I see this film, the temptation to join the Carmodys is irresistible. This is not a sentimental story, but the film has a genuine warmth and exuberance as well as a young boy on the point of making his own life, working out the path he wishes to follow.

There is great love and deep affection shared by the Carmody family, a bond which is one of the few fixed points in their wandering life. This love is not saccherine romance but realistic emotion; it is not always easy, it does not prevent anger, exasperation and pain, but at the end of things their family genuinely cares for each other.

Sundowners is a film full of sunlight.

Frist Rate film for Mitchum fans
The Sundoners is probley one of Mitchum's finer performences he's probley the most under rated actor of his time. Gives a solid performance as a roving Australin sheep herder who in his own robost way tries his best to be husband an father, Deborah Kerr is excellant as the wife who binds the family together who hopes somday there roving life style will end, so they as a family can have a home to settle. This film has a litle bit of everything comic relif, drama an action with good solid back up performances of Peter Ustinov, Glynnis Johns. Again if your a Mitchum fan then buy this video,an watch an actor who style owns every scene he's in.Thank you N. Skyles ... Read more

Reviews (279)

Honor and Horror
The story of the 54th Massachusetts Infantry is told in a solid and entertaining movie. The casting is brilliant, including the surprisingly good choice of Matthew Broderick, an actor I'm normally indifferent to, who is utterly believable as the scion of a wealthy Boston family who accepts a commission as Colonel in command of the first black regiment in the Civil War. Rounding out the cast are Morgan Freeman and Denzel Washington, the two finest actors of ANY color working in Hollywood these days, and Cary Elwes in easily his best performance since The Princess Bride. If there is anything negative to say about this film, it is in the archetypical nature of several of the characters (I do not know how "fictionalized" the indivdual soldiers are) and a bit of, yes, "glorification" of what ultimately was one of the most horrific and wasteful events in history. But ultimately that is what makes honor and glory: sacrifice for the future. The tragedy should not be forgotten in the glory. So when you see this movie, let your heart swell for the glory and honor, and let your eye weep at the waste of human life.

A Movie for Warmongers and Pacifists alike
The Academy Award winner from 1989 stands out as a monumental film with stunning acting, crisp cinematography and one of the most realistic depictions of the horrors of war ever filmed.

Matthew Broderick is compelling as Robert Gould Shaw, the young and inexperienced commander of the 54th Regiment of Massachusetts, an all-black unit initially deprived of the right to fight but eventually allowed to prove its mettle in a pivotal battle of the Civil War. Morgan Freeman exudes paternal strength and wisdom as the eldest member of the platoon. Andre Braugher, Cary Elwes, Jihmi Kennedy, and a brilliant Denzel Washington (winner of "Best Supporting Actor" Oscar) make this film a genuine classic.

Making small but significant contributions to the film are Jane Alexander as Shaw's mother and veteran Raymond St. Jacques (his last role) as Frederick Douglas.

A further nod of praise goes to James Horner's masterful score. His music, along with the harmonies of the Boys Choir Of Harlem provides as glorious a background as is the inspirational story itself.

A Great American Movie!
This is one of the most historically acurate films about the Civil War. Not only that, it's one of the best acted and best shot movie in many years. Denzel Washington's performance is worth the Oscar he recieved. Matthew Broderick and Morgan Freeman are also exceptional. It's an unforgetable film about an event that changed the course of history.

HOTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTT
THIS IS ONE OF THE BEST MOVIES I HAVE EVER SEEN!
Matthew Broderick is AMAZING buy it and you won't be disapointed.

American tragedy
For so long, the image of the Civil War has existed in the collective American mind as a series of sepia-tone Matthew Brady photographs: ghoulish and nightmarish landscapes littered with bodies and body parts. However, with the notable exceptions of his portraits of the field generals, there is a sort of anonymity to the corpses in Brady's works. In one of GONE WITH THE WIND's most powerful scenes, scores upon scores of wounded soldiers lie in the streets, until they appear to be one large, unidentifiable mass of pain--which was the filmmaker's point. Edward Zwick's GLORY was one of the first films to put a human face and individuality to those who fought and died in America's most brutal years. Based upon the true story of Boston's young colonel, Robert Shaw, and his efforts to allow his all African-American outfit (the "54th") to fight on the side of the Union, GLORY is one of those rare films that successfully combines history with movie-making.

Wonderful performances abound in this powerful film: Washington, Broderick, Freeman and Elwes all give their best efforts. But the real star of the show is the camera. The battle sequences, as other reviewers have mentioned, are horrific, as is the scene in the triage tent. (THIS MOVIE IS NOT FOR PEOPLE WITH WEAK STOMACHS.) But the scenes in between, the relatively quiet ones, have as great an impact. I especially have in mind the training sequences. In another director's hands, the scenes in which the troops begin understanding each other, and as the officers begin understanding their troops could have wound up a syrupy mess. Instead, their horrible predicament unites them in an unsentimental, yet sensitive manner. Zwick's camera-work throughout is exemplary, making GLORY one of the best films about America's most tragic episodes. ... Read more

Reviews (5)

WEREWOLF and VOODOO COMBO RULEZ!!! BUY IT NOW!!!!!!!!!
Werewolf has a great scene where a werewolf is chasing down a woman in in the middle of nowhere.Before she fell in a big pool of mud we see her white dress was already dirty and if that wasn`t enough she has about five different screams and none of them is coming out of her mouth! This was a such a cool scene! Another memorable scene is where Carrie comes in the house,puts her car keys in her jacket pocket and asks Paul if he is home and he responds being a werewolf and he throws her really hard over the railing and down the stairs and her keys still stays in her pocket and the camra shows the werewolf like he is the hero and she is the villian!Watch for the camra man`s shadow thru out the film and near the end look for grafitti on the desert rocks and watch Joe Estevez and Randall Oliver talk about their silver bullets when it was never explained how and when they got them!Watch for Jorge Rivero to have nearly a dozen differenr hair styles and Tony Zarindast as a werewolf driving a car!A excellent cast is in Werewolf including special appearances by Tony Zarindast,Tony Bova,Neena Belini,R.C.Bates as Sam "The Keeper"(he is such a cool dude)and the special makeup man Mark Williams!I just love lauging at this movie.It`s one heck of a werewolf flick! I love Werewolf!

Voodoo is ok but it is nothing compared to Werewolf!The best part in it is seeing Sara Douglas.Nuff said!

Wow,a real nail-biter..................
This is by far and away,Corey's greatest cinematic achievement to date.We must dismiss all of Corey's past works,because he was a mere child with overbearing parents with addictions.Corey was extremely convincing as a 27 year old college freshman trying to fit in with a covertly demonic fraternity......O.K.....I admit it,it was lame.But,I was an extra in the movie,so watch it and hope you all enjoy my performance.

Poor Corey Feldman
This Movie is typical of bad strait to video horror flicks. A college student, Andy, transfers to a new school, the "cool" kids don't like him, his girlfriend doesn't seem to either, and the result is that he falls in with the wrong crowd. And boy is it the wrong crowd. A bunch of bad actors playing a voodoo cult posing as a fraternity. Eventually Andy catches on that there is something unusual with this group of guys, but not before they make him do a seemingly endless string of bizarre antics.

The interesting, or perhaps the intriguing, event of this film is not any one scene in the movie, but the star, Corey Feldman. Feldman, at least to me, is kind of a cult icon. He had roles in some of the great coming of age/teen idol films of the 80's. As far as I can tell this was the last film he was in. Which I think is just too bad. I would love to see Corey get back in the movies, and back in roles where he can shine. I guess it probably won't happen, but hey, he is above this film.

Who's the wonderful young actress?
Diana Nadeau, that's who. Delivering a heart felt performance is natural for this girl next door with her totally organic acting. This wonderful up-and-comming thespian can also be seen in The Westing Game along side Sally Kirkland.

A wicked feature!
Voodoo is one of the few movies that are truley worth watching. Am I saying that its good? Heck no! I am saying I would watch it again and again due to the extreme creepiness of the film. Was it intended to be creepy? Not in the way i'm talking about! It seems to be that everyone in the movie is trying to be hip and hot. I guess they got what they wanted... in 1995! I suggest you watch for the guy who shakes.. he is hot! ... Read more

Reviews (63)

From the files of when comedy was actually funny
Those who know me know that I don't often go to comedies that have been made since the Austin Powers era. The reason is that there has been a line that has been crossed in recent years that makes that majority of these films unfunny to me. While Austin Powers had Dr. Evil to save it from over all lameness most comedies these days are too reliant on riskaye sex jokes and over the top toilet humor that works in South Park and Nintendo's "Conker's Bad Fur Day" but nothing else. The Naked Gun is based on the short-lived but absolutely hilarious "Police Squad" TV series starring Leslie Neilson as Lt. Frank Drebbon. The show and films classic "who dun its" from the 40s and 50s with over the top classy humor, and a lot of well timed puns and gags. Timing is what makes not only this movie, but also its sequels do funny. The timing for everything is dead on, plus it's a Zucker film, and the Zuckers are almost up there with Mel Brooks. They know how to do comedy right. However the weakness of this film is in its time sensitive gags. A lot of the events in this movie are poking fun of events that were occurring at the time the movies were made. People who were not around in, or do not remember the early nineties may not get a lot of the gags. Even so there is still enough material that is not time sensitive for the film to be funny over all. Even a guest appearance by Weird Al Yankovic.
The special features are lacking, however. Part of what makes DVDs so fun is when you get a jam-packed DVD that goes in depth into the making of the movie. It is when you have those kinds of documentaries that the movie becomes more than a movie; it becomes a living piece of history. Considering that so many of the jokes are so era sensitive these making of featurettes that this DVD lacked could have been beneficial to those who don't know that backdrops to which so many of these jokes are built.

Frank Drebin from Police Squad hits the Big Screen
Yes, "The Naked Gun" is a funny movie, a fitting heir to "Airplane" in the genre of "Kitchen Sink" comedy where you had better pay attention to everything that is going on in the background and read all of the final credits or you will be missing out on the fun. But Leslie Nielsen's totally dead-panned performance as Lt. Frank Drebin in the original "Police Squad" TV series worked better than than the more hammy approach used in the films. Still, watching Priscilla Presley, Nancy Marchand and Ricardo Montalban deal straight up with all the wackiness redeems many things. Even if you never saw "Police Squad" (with Rex Hamilton as Abraham Lincoln), you will laugh parts of your anatomy off during "The Naked Gun." I wonder if Queen Elizabeth ever watched this movie? Too bad it is hard not to wince every time you see that guy playing Nordberg. Final Trivia Note: the German version of "The Naked Gun" runs four minutes shorter. See if you can guess what the fun loving Germans found so offensive they cut (No, I do not have any idea, but I am curious).

Classic Comedy
Based on the failed tv series "Police Squad", 1988's "The Naked Gun" was a smash comedy that gave new life to Leslie Nielsen's career (he had previously been reduced to dramatic roles) as well as escued the team of Jerry and David Zucker and Jim Abrahams, who hadn't had a hit since 1980's equally hysterical "Airplane" (which also starred Nielsen).

Frank Drebin (Nielsen) is a bumbling cop who is assinged to look into a plot to kill Queen Elizabeth at the World Series after his fellow oficer and good friend Nordberg (O.J. Simpson - yes, that O.J. Simpson) is nearly killed. The prime suspect is a businessman named Vincent Ludwig (Ricardo Montalban). Drebin and his partner Ed Hocken (Georeg Kennedy) will stop at nothing to find out who's behind the crime. That is, if Frank can avoid the charms of the sexy Jane Spencer (Priscilla Presley).

This is a great film for anyone who loves to laugh. And get the two sequels as well and pray they comeout with a fourth one soon.

This carn't be overlooked
Very funny movie if you haven't seen it its clear your behind in comedy.

Masterpiece
When asked what my favorite movie of all time, I always instinctively utter "The Naked Gun." While not everyone really appreciates this movie, unless you're into goffball comedies, this has to be one of the funniest movies ever. Not sure what else can be said about it. Puns, punchlines, side gags, are all brilliant. I laugh out loud every time I watch it. ... Read more

Amazon.com

1995 had already seen the box-office success of sword-wielding heroes in Rob Roy and Braveheart when along came this glossy revision of the Arthurian legend, in which Lady Guinevere (Julia Ormond) is torn between her love for the noble King Arthur (Sean Connery) and the passionate knight Sir Lancelot (Richard Gere). As the story opens, Guinevere's lands are under attackby the evil knight Malagant (Ben Cross), and she must choose between marriage to Arthur and the security of Camelot, or encouraging the affections of Lancelot, who has heroically rescued her from apotentially lethal attack. Anyone looking for meticulous medieval authenticity won't find it here, but director Jerry Zucker (Ghost) keeps the action moving with exuberant spirit and glorious production values. Even if you don't completely believe Richard Gere as a somewhat too-contemporary Lancelot, the performances of Ormond and especially Connery are effortlessly appealing. --Jeff Shannon ... Read more

Reviews (1)

noble beginnings
great, wholesome story. Right for the entire family. This is a must have in the DVD library! ... Read more