Reviews (23)

Swab the deck, me matey!
The Disney studios first official full length, live-action feature, TREASURE ISLAND is good fun. Although it lacks the slick story-telling flair of recent family films, the story, based on Robert Louis Stevenson's classic novel, is precise and fluid. Robert Newton chews up the scenery as Long John Silver, paving the way for many lovable villains. Bobby Driscoll (Song of the South) plays the brave little Jim Hawkins (or "Jim Harkins" if you speak pirate) who gets involved in a treasure seeking adventure of good vs. evil. In the end, like the viewers of the video, the line between the two is not so well defined. That is a clever twist, especially for a Disney family film. The VHS format already shows some deterioration after a few viewings so I look forward to a DVD release but in the meantime. Yo ho yo ho, A Pirate's Life for Me!

All Aboard With Long John Silver
Jim Hawkins is a tavern owner's son who acquires a map showing the location of buried treasure. He shows it to an adventurous squire who recognizes its value and outfits the good ship Hispaniola to set off in search of the prize. The squire hires Jim as a cabin boy and persuades his own physician to join the crew as ship's doctor. The gullible squire's first big mistake is to sign up a rascal named Long John Silver as ship's cook. His second mistake is to allow Silver a chance to recruit some of his old shipmates from his pirate days as members of the Hispaniola's crew.

TREASURE ISLAND is an excellent movie with plenty of realistic action and convincing settings. Robert Newton is brilliant as Long John Silver and Bobby Driscoll shines as young Jim Hawkins. A strong supporting cast includes Basil Sydney, Denis O'Dea, Ralph Truman, Walter Fitzgerald, Finlay Currie and Geoffrey Wilkinson.

Director Byron Haskins also directed THE WAR OF THE WORLDS.

Old memories
Emotions ran high when I saw this movie again after more than 50 years. It was as exciting now as when I was a young child. Robert Newton's performance is a classic. After half a century, he is still the baddest (best) pirate ever.

"The Disney Version" is better than the novel.
Don't believe it? Read the book. The reviewer who said "...every screen production I have seen comes across as a cartoon or at best, 'an animated feature'," wasn't paying attention.

Robert Louis Stevenson's pirate story _is_ a children's fantasy. (Stevenson - whose grandson would later become one of Disney's "house directors" -- says as much in the book's introduction.) The principal characters are well-drawn and believable, but the story is 98% adventure. There is no _dramatic_ thrust to events. And it's told from the view of a 20-year-older Jim Hawkins, which tips off the reader that Jim is never in any real danger.

The emotional focus of the story is Jim's attraction to / repulsion by Long John Silver. In the novel, the adult Jim briefly acknowledges that he was attracted to Long John Silver as a surrogate for his recently deceased father, but turned away, because Silver is plainly untrustworthy. Stevenson fails to develop the relationship any further.

Not the screenwriters -- they bring it front and center. The story is now properly focused where it should be -- can Jim _really_ trust Long John Silver?

Silver is also worried about Jim, who plainly doesn't need "Piracy for Dummies" to recognize Silver is not altogether on the up-and-up. In a scene not in the book, Long John attempts to sweet-talk Jim -- one might even call it a seduction -- ending with the presentation of his parrot as a gift. The effect is subtly erotic -- especially as the gift comes from someone with such an obviously phallic name. (One is tempted to think Stevenson's name choice was deliberate -- he must have known how cabin boys were "mistreated.") And though Silver is married in the novel (to an unseen wife), the movie leaves his marital status unstated.

Long John Silver is a morally ambiguous character, and the film plays up this ambiguity. Silver alternates between protecting and threatening Jim, and you believe his sincerity in both instances. At the end, Jim is forced into deciding whether he should let Long John escape or be turned over to justice, completing the film with a solid dramatic "bang!" (The novel simply peters out -- Silver is taken captive, later wandering off with some of the loot.)

Robert Newton's interpretation of Long John Silver has always been controversial. There's no question it's totally "over the top." But that's how we expect pirates to behave, and it's how Stevenson wrote the character. I've seen "Treasure Island" several times -- Newton isn't simply chewing the scenery. His is a conscious interpretation, and he's in full control at all times. It's a great performance.

Arr, maties! Climb abord for a rip-roaring adventure!
The first time we watched this movie I watched it for about five minutes before walking away, because it wasn't interesting to me at the time. But when I caught the last twenty minutes of it, I decided that it was interesting after all and watched it from the beginning again.

I loved it! Bobby Driscoll was wonderful as Jim Hawkins, and Robert Newton gave the performance of his life as Long John Silver. The rest of the cast was also tremendous.

I had tried reading the book before, but it hadn't been interesting to me, and I ditched it before I was halfway done. Now, because of this movie, I think I'll dust it off and have a go at it. Who knows, I might even like it enough to review it! :) ... Read more

Description

In THE NAKED JUNGLE, Charlton Heston plays the powerful, brooding owner of a plantation in the wild and treacherous South American jungle, while Eleanor Parker plays his charming American mail order bride.He is wary of this beautiful and talented woman, and wonders why she would leave America for the rigors of jungle life. But with the advance of relentless killer ants making their way across the jungle, the two find their relationship changing as they fight to save the jungle. ... Read more

Reviews (15)

An entertaining little known adventure film
The Naked Jungle is a surprisingly likeable movie. From the title, one either believes it's an erotic film or a comedy, both of which it is neither. The film is actually a mixture of romance and adventure, along with some doses of action and suspense and the combination is well done.

Eleanor Parker stars as Joanna Leinengen, a strong-willed, beautiful, and independent young woman who has been married via mail to Christopher Leinengen, played by Charlton Heston. He owns and lives in his plantation in South America so she travels by boat from the United States to meet him for the very first time. When she arrives, they don't get off to a very good start and Christopher ignores quite a bit and treats her without respect. However, as the time goes by romantic feelings begin to develop between them. But a problem is beginning to grow in the jungle. A 20 mile long, 2 mile wide line of soldier ants is headed for Christopher's plantation and is devouring everything in its path. Now, Christopher and Joanna must think quickly and defend their home from the tiny predators.

I honestly had no idea what this movie was about when I popped it into the VCR. It's truly a pleasant surprise as the romance in the film is well done with a lot of chemistry between Parker and Heston. Each deliver superb performances.

There's a switch in tone nearly 2/3's the way through this movie (it's 96 minutes long without end credits), from romance/drama to action/adventure and suspense when the ants begin to invade. The developing tension is taut and fast paced. One might get the feeling that a movie with this kind of plot might be rather cheesy but that's not the case with The Naked Jungle. Every moment is well-executed with competent direction and a good script to boot. For jungle adventure and romance, The Naked Jungle is a fine choice.

"20 miles long ,2 miles wide......Marabuta!"
Another film on the "It should have been on dvd already" list. This
is again fine vintage entertainment that still holds up thru repeat
viewings.

Based on the novel "Lanlogen and the ants" Charlton Heston stars as
the main character a plantation owner whose roots go further in the
ground than any of trees in the amazon, who has cut all ties to the
civilized world outside his. That is until "made to order" bride to
be Eleanor Parker shows up on his step. Prim,Proper and intelligent
& a mind of her own, she is not at all what he expected his brother
to send to him form New Orleans. To say more would spoil the show

I will tell if your screamish about ants (That's Marabuta in this
neck of the woods) then prepare yourself for millions of them as
they threaten to destroy everything in thier path leaving nothing
but "The naked jungle"

A great film with just the right amount of romance and adventure
Heston has never been brutal and Parker never more beautiful and
William Conrad in a good supporting role. Paramount's VHS tape is
the only to watch this gem for the moment,It has a fairly decent
picture and sound quality but (excuse the pun) I'm itching to get
my hands on the dvd when it finally comes out.

fire ants and fiery hearts
Set in 1901 in the Amazon jungle, this fabulous "Insect Feature" has excellent special effects and atmosphere, with Charlton Heston as a mucho macho man who is at war with the dreaded marabunta, the killer red ants who threaten to take over his plantation. He is also at war with his heart, as he tries to stay aloof to his mail order bride from New Orleans, the beautiful Eleanor Parker. Parker is cool as a mint julep in her Edith Head gowns, and tough enough to stand by her man; the chemistry between them sizzles, and they look so very fine together.
William Conrad is also good as the Commissioner, as he warns them to escape the billions of approaching ants which are "forty square miles of agonizing death !".

One of the best things about this film is the soundtrack by Daniele Amfitheatrof, which owes a lot to Stravinsky and Darius Milhaud, and is perfect in the way it underscores the dialogue, and accentuates the action. It's really worth just listening to this film once, to fully appreciate the music and the sound effects.
Ernest Lazlo's Techicolor cinematography is marvelous, and the Byron Haskin direction fast paced, with Heston doing most of his own stunts, which included having those nasty ants crawling on him.
Some of this film is quite exciting, some of it hilarious, and it's always extremely entertaining, and is the absolute best of the bug genre films.
As the ants bare the jungle, Eleanor tries to bare Chuck's soul...will she succeed ? watch this superb jungle romance and find out !
Total running time is 95 minutes.

Top-notch thriller is a hidden gem
Exciting drama-horror film about a South American planter who faces death and destruction from deadly soldier ants. The swarming Marabunda, as the ants are called, cover an area ten miles long and two miles wide and are the scourge of South American jungles, sweeping everything before them. Leiningen, the plantation owner, ignores warnings by the commissioner to abandon his acres of coffee and chocolate and makes preparations to fend off his intelligent, relentless foe. The ants are about two inches in length with razor-sharp mandibles and devour plants and trees in their path and even fierce jungle predators such as jaguars, wild hogs and tapirs flee before the voracious insects.

Another plot narrative is the marital discord between Leiningen [Charlton Heston] and his mail-order bride [Eleanor Parker]. Desiring a wife with whom to share his vast jungle holdings, Leiningen marries a woman by proxy from New Orleans and is displeased to discover that she is a widow, and has known men. The Leiningens clash repeatedly until the planter softens in his attitude towards his bride. Mrs. Leiningen stays by her husband's side and they and his plantation workers band together to turn aside the savage Marabunda.

A Surprise At The Theater
In junior high school, in an English book, I read a true story titled "Leinengen Versus the Ants", a good and interesting story for a school book.

Years later, when I saw this movie, I realized that it is the same story. Surprise! Having read it in a school reader gave it authenticity to my mind. Charlton Heston and Eleanor Parker gave it color and flavor. Very enjoyable movie. ... Read more

Amazon.com essential video

After the success of 1950's Destination Moon and 1951's When Worlds Collide, visionary producer George Pal brought the classic H.G. Wells story of a Martian invasion to the big screen, and it instantly became a science fiction classic and winner of the 1953 Academy Award for Best Special Effects. It's a work of frightening imagination, with its manta-ray spaceships armed with cobra-like probes that shoot a white-hot disintegration ray. As formations of alien ships continue to wreak destruction around the globe, the military is helpless to stop this enemy while scientists race to find an effective weapon. Gene Barry and Ann Robinson play the hero and heroine roles that were de rigueur for movies like this in the '50s, and their encounter with one of the Martians is as creepy today as it was in '53. It finally takes an unseen threat--simple Earth bacteria--to conquer the alien invaders, but not before War of the Worlds has provided a dazzling display of impressive special effects. As memorable for its sound effects as for its spectacular visions of destruction, this is a movie for the ages--the kind of spectacular that inspired little kids such as Steven Spielberg (not to mention Roland Emmerich and Dean Devlin, whose Independence Day cribs liberally from the plot) and still packs a punch. --Jeff Shannon ... Read more

Reviews (99)

Great for its time!
If you have ever listened to the original Orson Welles' infamous radio show of the same name, you will have to watch this movie. The story begins as a meteor crashes to the earth and puzzles the residents of a California town.

The incident isn't given much thought, until one night, everything in town turns off. No electricity, no phones, watches stop. Gene Barry, the resident scientist from Pacific Tech, is trying to find out what's going on, as masters' student Ann Robinson tries to help.....predictably, they fall in love while chaos ensues all over the planet.

The aliens are not friendly. Their technology outdoes anything on earth. Not even atomic energy seems to stop them. So, what does? You'll have to watch this and see. The movie is somewhere between a really great B movie and an actual heavy duty motion picture event. The story is entertaining, and the writing is not as corny and stilted as a lot of sci fi movies made in the 50's. And whoa, those special effects! Not bad for an old classic!

Excellent Adaptation of the H.G. Wells Novel
This movie is one of the standard bearers for early science fiction. The film is well-scripted and acted, and the special effects are quite good considering the age of the film.

Gene Barry plays the central character of the movie, Dr. Clayton Forrester, a scientist from Cal Tech. He and two buddies are fishing nearby when the initial Martian invasion ship lands (crashes) nearby. By the way, that must have been a heckuva landing the Martians had to endure when their 'meteors' touched down.

The movie details humanity's efforts to halt the apparently unstoppable murderous Martian invasion force. No pretenses about peaceful coexistence or some sort of misunderstanding here, folks. The Martians want our planet and are willing to kill every man, woman, and child on it to get it. As such, the military is portrayed in a pretty good light in this film (unlike many others). After all, when the alien's first club out of the bag is lethal force, then you pretty much have to go with the flow.

In the end, with atomic weapons having failed to stop the invaders, mankind appears doomed. Saving the day, however, is the most unlikely of allies (and, no, I ain't talking Russia).

Overall, a well-paced sci-fi/thriller with a basic premise that never fails to entertain when it is well done--as it is here.

When worlds collide
I am by no means a fan of science fiction movies but of the few that I do enjoy, "The War of the Worlds" is my favorite sci-fi flick. Devlin Emmerich's 'Independence Day" has nothing on this film despite having the state of the art special effects. "The War of the Worlds" was based on a radio program that legendary actor Orson Welles read one Halloween night and caused a lot of people to freak out because they thought what they were hearing were true. Dr. Clayton Forrester played by the handsome Gene Barry comes across a small town in California. He was called by the townsfolk to investigate the meteor that crash landed in their town. What Forrester soons discovers is that the meteor that crashed was no meteor. Chaos ensues when the aliens reveal themselves and their deadly intentions. For its time, "The War of the Worlds" had quite the special effects. It may not be as dazzling as that modern rip-off "Independence Day" and even the '80s tv series of the same namesake but it certainly had heart and was more entertaining. I remember first seeing the film in high school and enjoying every second of it, and ten years later I still enjoy watching "The War of the Worlds". Too bad Devlin Emmerich didn't have a backbone and had to ape the concept of this film for his atrocious "Independence Day". That just lacked originality. Nothing beats the original concept of aliens invading earth than "The War of the Worlds" in my book.

War of the Worlds: ground breaking sci-fi
H.G. Wells, is one of the first the introduce readers with the idea of aliens from mars taking over the earth, and triggered many writers later to write books involving martians. In the masterpiece, Wells introduces many ideas and masterfully blends them into his story.
England is in trouble as cylinders of metal carrying martians constantly crash on the earth every 24 hours. Each cylinder carries a walking tripod, that has a heat beam attached, a beam that melts and burns anything it hits. As more aliens come, they bring gasses that can kill a human just when they inhale it.
All seems lost for the main character as he tries to dodge martians, and return to leatherhead, where his wife has taken refuge. He is forced to hide from the martians byhimself, for almost everyone is dead.
Hope of survival is almost noting for humans, when they find out the martians have developed flying machines, to promote their world wide destruction, but something happens to the martians......
This is a great book and I am very pleased that I took the time the read it, even though some parts were very slow.

An Early Color Sci-Fi Classic
"The format is standard instead of widescreen...," says an Amazon reviewer of War Of The Worlds, one "lotus_scrum" of Phoenix, AZ. She also later adds, "Not the WORST looking dvd but the full screen format hurts it badly for me. If it gets a new release with widescreen, remastered sound and picture I'll give it a 5." None of which makes much sense, since the DVD has fine sound, and was NEVER shot in widescreen, since widescreen didn't exist back then!

And as President of the Widescreen Watchers Association, I should know. Here is the release date of the first movie shot in widescreen, which happened to star Marilyn Monroe: How To Marry A Millionaire - November 5, 1953.

And here is the release date of the standard movie in question starring Gene Barry: War Of The Worlds - August 26, 1953.

As you can see, War Of The Worlds could hardly have been presented in late August - almost 3 months before the process was first tried in early November! In addition, although many films started being shot in widescreen in 1954, several studios were slow on the uptake and did not make their films mainly in widescreen until late 1955 or early 1956. From Here To Eternity (1955), shot in standard screen, is a prime example of that.

What all of the above means in regard to this particular film is that nothing was cut off of the picture, so to paraphrase Flip Wilson, "what you get is all there was to see."

It's a beautiful film (although perhaps corny by today's computerized Matrix standards) and the use of color is rich and vibrant. Once you've seen it you'll never forget it. It's Pal and Haskin at their best.

I also recommend other such color sci-fi classics as Forbidden Planet, When Worlds Collide, and The Time Machine. ... Read more

Description

CONQUEST OF SPACE introduces a group of men brought together to construct an innovative robot to explore the depths of Mars.Located on a space wheel 500 miles above the Earth, commander Samuel Merritt (Walter Brooke) and his men (including Eric Fleming and Benson Fong) struggle to complete the mission when aggression within the group begins to surface. ... Read more

Reviews (14)

great 50's sci-fi from George Pal
I highly reccommend. This film is an example of great 50's sci-fi from special effects wizard and producer George Pal. The space scenes hold up well for me and are not corny at all 50 years later. I still get excited watching the space wheel over a decade before Kubricks 2001 version. There are no hokey monsters or aliens in rubber suits here, man is his own worst enemy. This movie goes far beyond most sci-fi films of its time, exploring many issues of the human spirit for exploration in the face of danger. For one thing, it has an international cast to people the space station and the mission that it launches to Mars. There is discussion of the danger ahead, disagreements, accusations, forgiveness, and sacrifice. Lots of suspenseful moments. The trip is fraught with danger and a crewman is killed during a tethered spacewalk. The scene of the crew leaving him dangling on his space tether while they continue onward through space is still chilling to me. They finally have a space burial that is very memorable. This is the first film I know of that shows this, and a crewman that loses his mind and tries to sabatoge the journey.

There are some minor glitches here and there, like the gloves that are not sealed to the spacesuits, but other touches like loss of gravity are well done. Lots of great gadgets, and neat spaceships that "transform". While the special effects are fun and look eyepopping for their time, the gift of this movie is in its most subtle moments. This is one to see more than once. The desperation when they are stranded without water is carried off very well, and when they are near death and denying that there is any higher power in the universe a miracle occurs in a scene straight out of "It's a Wonderful Life". The crew is very human, and has interesting interaction with each other.

The scenes of the crew preparing for the journey are comical as only the astronaughts eat space food while the wheels crew gets steak. The astronaught are getting fed up with being under such a tight training schedule and they each have different feelings about the mission. The character actors are a fresh contrast to the usual cookie cutter crew. There is a great scene where a younger trainee is "washed out" by the hard nosed commander. Another intersting moment when another crewmember smuggles himself aboard and nearly dies since he is not in a restraining couch.

The color is good, and the picture is very clean on this vhs, no problems with sound either. Will look better in widescreen, but the quality of picture was close to dvd i=on this well made copy.

An interesting view of our future from our past
In this follow-up to "Destination Moon" producer George Pal wanted to show how, possibly, our life in space would look. He used the book THE CONQUEST OF SPACE by Willy Ley and Chesley Bonestell as his basis and created a story of the first manned expedition to Mars. While the technology is deeply rooted in the 1950's, it interesting to note that the rotating space station that figures so prominently in the first half of the film is built as a combined project of the US, UK, Germany, Japan, Russia, etc., the same as the soon-to-be-launched ISS. While the film is not nearly as good as some of Pal's other works, such as "War of the Worlds" or "When Worlds Collide," it's still definitely worth a look.

Sadly, the producers of the video decided to release the tape in the EP/SLP format, resulting in a picture that is OK, but very grainy and sometimes hard to keep on track. It does have Hi-Fi sound, which is nice and clear. END

The Space Corps, the Great Wheel, and Mars
This year marks the fiftieth anniversary of this remarkable film. If you were born before the start of the Space Age it is a real nostalgic blast from the past. If you were born later, then it gives you a window into the minds of the visionaries of space flight. Both Chesley Bonestell and Willey Ley were advisors on this project, so you know that both the visual design and the technical background must be first rate. In fact, it is absolutely amazing how non-dated much of the film is after all these years. Plus, you get that indefinable positive spirit from the Age of Optimism. This is the sort of film that fueled the dreams of many a young scientist and engineer.

A pleasant additional aspect is seeing all those great old familiar faces in the cast that would later go on to television fame: Eric Fleming in "Rawhide", William Hopper in "Perry Mason", Ross Martin in "Wild, Wild West", and even Vitto Scotti in "Laverne and Shirley."

As for this release of this film, the "Master Sharp imprint" makes this the sharpest, brightest, clearest version since the original theatrical release.

Disappointing sci-fi "realism".
This 1955 epic was a commendable effort by producer George Pal to give the public a more-or-less realistic look at what space travel might be like a few decades ahead, with no monsters and aliens and all that. But the result is a film that is MORE dated, and less enjoyable, than SF films made even earlier which DID have monsters and aliens and all that. Almost every character is a corny stereotype, including the inevitable crude -but-basically-smart funny guy from Brooklyn. The film includes two memorably ridiculous plot contrivances.

We are going where?
Pretty good sci-fi story of a trip to Mars. No monsters, aliens or black holes but still a pretty entertaining picture. Eric Fleming of Rawhide fame is the main player. If drama and comic relief are your meat, then you should enjoy this film. ... Read more

Description

Welcome to a shadowy universe of crime, corruption and murder! One night on a dark and lonely highway, a speeding car tosses a bag full of cash into a stranger's back seat. The recipients have a dilemma; Alan (Arthur Kennedy, Peyton Place) wants to turn it over to the cops, but Jane (Lizabeth Scott, Dark City) has other, greedier ideas# lots of them. Soon they're both tracked down by sleazy Danny (Dan Duryea, A Guy Named Joe), who claims the money is his. To hang on to the money, Jane's willing to commit every sin in the book in this twisting noir-thriller that'll keep you guessing till the shocking end! ... Read more

Reviews (9)

Great movie, crappy DVD.......
I can't really add much to what's already been written about this under-rated, almost forgotten, classic film noir. Lizabeth Scott is the ultimate femme fatale, leaving a trail of dead bodies in her wake, while Dan Duryea shines as the foil. Great, snappy dialogue, especially from Duryea. There's a nice twist at the ending, which I obviously won't reveal here.
The DVD that I have, though, is easily one of the worst transfers ever - not what one would expect from a DVD in this day-and-age - it's skips, jumps and pops at various times and is overly-dark in some spots, although the dialogue that is missed is not really crucial to the story, but it is highly annoying. All in all, this has to be one of my personal favorite film noirs - along with Detour, Double Indemnity, The Postman Always Rings Twice, Mildred Pierce, D.O.A., Sorry, Wrong Number, The Killing, Raw Deal, Scarlet Street, The Strange Love Of Martha Ivers, Out Of The Past, The Asphalt Jungle, The Maltese Falcon, and Kansas City Confidential... (there are so many great ones in this genre!)

I think i'll pass........
For the price, Image should have put out a better quality print than what was used in this disc. You can see this same print on a dvd called "Film Noir Triple Feature Vol. 1". This film has an alternate title of "KILLER BAIT" which is available as a better quality print in a 6 disc set called "5 Film Noir Killer Classics". I'm so glad that i was able to rent this disc through the mail FIRST. The movie is good as far as content goes. I think i'll pass on this transfer of it, though.

Good Film, Terrible DVD
Too Late For Tears is a decent film and for fans of Film Noir, it is a real kick. Lizabeth Scott leaves a trail of dead bodies, lies and deceit that is classic noir. She could have used better direction, but the film still holds up.

That said, this new release from the Image "Dark City" collection is so technically awfull, it is an example of outright fraud. At this price, to release such a poor transfer with sound like this constitues "Grand Theft Video". No effort has been made to clean-up any part of the film. You might expect this from a $2.00 Garage Sale purchase, but not from a new release. It looks like a simple copy of the horrid Alpha release.

If you like Film Noir, please join me in wrting Image Entertainment to let them know how offended you are by this flim-flam tactic. Enough Said.

Even Dan Duryea is scared of Lizabeth Scott!
Holy guacamole! Lizabeth Scott plays the most fatal of all the femme fatales in noir history. The story details the effects of a mis-delivered bag of money ($60,000) on a married couple (played by Lizabeth Scott and Arthur Kennedy) and the intended recipient, played by Dan Duryea. Lizabeth Scott is unhappy in her current situation with nice guy underachiever Kennedy. When the pennies from Heaven arrive she fully intends to live a little higher up the food chain on the ill-gotten gains, Spousy be damned! Dan shows up and she has to think fast. She does. She eventually out-toughs his bad-boy character, driving him to drink and his eventual demise. And she does it all without mussing her shiny blonde hair! She bad!
Anyway, the movie is great, but either the transfer or the cinematography leave much to be desired. It was difficult to see what was going on in many scenes. But don't let that dissuade you from enjoying this rip snorting good movie. Lizabeth! She so baaad!

Terrible quality from Image Entertainment
Buyer beware. Image Entertainment/Dark City has used the exact same print of this film as was used for the budget-line DVD from Alpha Video/Gotham Distribution. The picture quality is so bad, it's virtually unwatchable. Right from the start, the picture is jittery, as if it's running in a broken projector. Everything is out of focus -- this must be a fifth or sixth generation print, not even close to broadcast quality. The picture is littered with grain, specks, scratches, you name it. Several nighttime scenes are absolutely pitch-black -- you can't see anything at all on the screen. And there are so many missing frames that the movie keeps lurching forward like a bad japanese animation film.This is the first release in Image Entertainment's "Dark City" series. I hope it's also the last. Image Entertainment has done a huge disservice to film noir fans. Instead of hunting down a better source print (or at least a second print to provide the missing frames) and doing even a halfway decent restoration job, Image presents a DVD that is no better than the budget-priced Alpha release, even though the Image release costs much more. Fans of old movies who are accustomed to the superior restoration work that's been done on DVD's from companies like Warner and Columbia, will be sorely disappointed by the inferior quality of this release. "Too Late For Tears," while not a classic, is a better than average example of 40's film noir. It deserves better treatment than this -- and DVD buyers deserve more respect. I for one will never buy another DVD from Image Entertainment. ... Read more

Description

In this continuation of Disney’s TREASURE ISLAND,Robert Newton reprises the role of Long John Silver that he made so famous. So set sail with this swashbuckling pirate classic and discover a cinematic treasure that will take you places far beyond the high seas! ... Read more

Reviews (9)

Great movie, crappy DVD.......
I can't really add much to what's already been written about this under-rated, almost forgotten, classic film noir. Lizabeth Scott is the ultimate femme fatale, leaving a trail of dead bodies in her wake, while Dan Duryea shines as the foil. Great, snappy dialogue, especially from Duryea. There's a nice twist at the ending, which I obviously won't reveal here.
The DVD that I have, though, is easily one of the worst transfers ever - not what one would expect from a DVD in this day-and-age - it's skips, jumps and pops at various times and is overly-dark in some spots, although the dialogue that is missed is not really crucial to the story, but it is highly annoying. All in all, this has to be one of my personal favorite film noirs - along with Detour, Double Indemnity, The Postman Always Rings Twice, Mildred Pierce, D.O.A., Sorry, Wrong Number, The Killing, Raw Deal, Scarlet Street, The Strange Love Of Martha Ivers, Out Of The Past, The Asphalt Jungle, The Maltese Falcon, and Kansas City Confidential... (there are so many great ones in this genre!)

I think i'll pass........
For the price, Image should have put out a better quality print than what was used in this disc. You can see this same print on a dvd called "Film Noir Triple Feature Vol. 1". This film has an alternate title of "KILLER BAIT" which is available as a better quality print in a 6 disc set called "5 Film Noir Killer Classics". I'm so glad that i was able to rent this disc through the mail FIRST. The movie is good as far as content goes. I think i'll pass on this transfer of it, though.

Good Film, Terrible DVD
Too Late For Tears is a decent film and for fans of Film Noir, it is a real kick. Lizabeth Scott leaves a trail of dead bodies, lies and deceit that is classic noir. She could have used better direction, but the film still holds up.

That said, this new release from the Image "Dark City" collection is so technically awfull, it is an example of outright fraud. At this price, to release such a poor transfer with sound like this constitues "Grand Theft Video". No effort has been made to clean-up any part of the film. You might expect this from a $2.00 Garage Sale purchase, but not from a new release. It looks like a simple copy of the horrid Alpha release.

If you like Film Noir, please join me in wrting Image Entertainment to let them know how offended you are by this flim-flam tactic. Enough Said.

Even Dan Duryea is scared of Lizabeth Scott!
Holy guacamole! Lizabeth Scott plays the most fatal of all the femme fatales in noir history. The story details the effects of a mis-delivered bag of money ($60,000) on a married couple (played by Lizabeth Scott and Arthur Kennedy) and the intended recipient, played by Dan Duryea. Lizabeth Scott is unhappy in her current situation with nice guy underachiever Kennedy. When the pennies from Heaven arrive she fully intends to live a little higher up the food chain on the ill-gotten gains, Spousy be damned! Dan shows up and she has to think fast. She does. She eventually out-toughs his bad-boy character, driving him to drink and his eventual demise. And she does it all without mussing her shiny blonde hair! She bad!
Anyway, the movie is great, but either the transfer or the cinematography leave much to be desired. It was difficult to see what was going on in many scenes. But don't let that dissuade you from enjoying this rip snorting good movie. Lizabeth! She so baaad!

Terrible quality from Image Entertainment
Buyer beware. Image Entertainment/Dark City has used the exact same print of this film as was used for the budget-line DVD from Alpha Video/Gotham Distribution. The picture quality is so bad, it's virtually unwatchable. Right from the start, the picture is jittery, as if it's running in a broken projector. Everything is out of focus -- this must be a fifth or sixth generation print, not even close to broadcast quality. The picture is littered with grain, specks, scratches, you name it. Several nighttime scenes are absolutely pitch-black -- you can't see anything at all on the screen. And there are so many missing frames that the movie keeps lurching forward like a bad japanese animation film.This is the first release in Image Entertainment's "Dark City" series. I hope it's also the last. Image Entertainment has done a huge disservice to film noir fans. Instead of hunting down a better source print (or at least a second print to provide the missing frames) and doing even a halfway decent restoration job, Image presents a DVD that is no better than the budget-priced Alpha release, even though the Image release costs much more. Fans of old movies who are accustomed to the superior restoration work that's been done on DVD's from companies like Warner and Columbia, will be sorely disappointed by the inferior quality of this release. "Too Late For Tears," while not a classic, is a better than average example of 40's film noir. It deserves better treatment than this -- and DVD buyers deserve more respect. I for one will never buy another DVD from Image Entertainment. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Not the greatest.........
This disc is OK if you really don't care about quality. The prints they used show alot of wear. For "HE WALKED BY NIGHT", i would suggest you buy the disc put out by MGM. The print they used here for "TOO LATE FOR TEARS" looks like the same one that Image Entertainment used. It has several splices and scratches. TOO LATE FOR TEARS was also released under the title "KILLER BAIT" which is available in a better quality print in a 6 disc set called "5 Killer Film Noir Classics". As for "KANSAS CITY CONFIDENTIAL", if i remember right the disc put out by Image is of better quality. (This review is for the "Film Noir Triple Feature Vol. 1" disc put out by Goodtimes Video") ... Read more