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By 1939, when the earliest films in this collection were made, Mickey Mouse was the most famous cartoon character in the world. The unsuccessful hunter in "The Pointer" (1939) and the irrepressible magician in "The Sorcerer's Apprentice" (1940) rank among his finest performances. In both films, he sparkles with vitality.But as Mickey grew more popular, more restrictions were placed on what he could do, and the character grew dull. Those restrictions become obvious when the viewer compares these films with the shorts on Walt Disney Treasures: Mickey Mouse in Living Color. In "Mickey's Birthday Party" (1942), he clowns and stumbles through a comic dance routine, but it feels like he's working for the laughs. In 1936, when a more impish Mickey danced with a deck of cards in "Thru the Mirror," the fun came from the stylish grace of his movements: That Mickey didn't need to mug for the camera. In the later films, Mickey serves as a genial straight man, with Pluto and other side characters supplying the comedy.

A new generation of animators faced the same problems and restrictions when they tried to revive the character in "Mickey's Christmas Carol" (1983) and "The Prince and the Pauper" (1990). The extras include some deleted animation from "The Sorcerer's Apprentice," and the five opening sequences from the "Mickey Mouse Club" (1955), the last time Walt Disney provided the character's voice. (Rated G, suitable for all ages: minor cartoon violence, tobacco use) --Charles Solomon ... Read more

Reviews (15)

Excellent and overdue collection of Mickey's Best
I love Mickey Mouse cartoons. They might not be as funny as Donald Duck's, Goofy's or the entire Looney Tunes set, but they do posess a certain little magic, not to mention quality, to them that make them more like little artistic masterpieces rather than comic gems. This said, I'm glad we finally get to see "Runaway Brain" released on DVD, along with fellow Oscar-nominated shorts "The Pointer," "Mickey and the Seal" and "Mickey's Christmas Carol." The extras are more than plentiful and the inclusion of "The Sorcerer's Apprentice", although already available in both Fantasia and Fantasia 2000, is, as always, welcome, especially in a collection that is supposed to showcase what the mouse is all about...I've been a fan forever and I really couldn't have asked for a better DVD set than this!

Excellent!!! Also, Wave 4 announced!
I am very happy with the Disney Treasures Wave 3 collection. It's great to finally have Mickey's Christmas Carol, Runaway Brain, and Prince and the Pauper finally available on DVD along with the other classic Mickey films. Also enjoyed On the Front Lines, Chronological Donald, and Tomorrowland. They did not let me down. It has also been announced (and I've heard from a very reliable source) that the Disney Treasures Wave 4 will most likely be released in December. They are going to be "Mickey Mouse in Black and White Vol.2","Disney's True Life Adventures","A Pluto Collection", and the one I'm excited about, "The Original Mickey Mouse Club, Season One." Anyway, thank you Disney, and keep them coming! They are worth the wait!

Complete Mickey Mouse
Growing up as a kid in the 80s, my only real exposure to Mickey Mouse in animated form was in Mickey's Christmas Carol, and it soon became a personal favorite of mine.

This DVD set finishes off the theatrical releases of Mickey Mouse, right up to his most recent film "Runaway Brain." This DVD is great as it includes scenes from Feature length films that Mickey Appeared in, such as "Sorcerer's Apprentice," from "Fantasia," and "Mickey and the Beanstalk" from "Fun and Fancy Free."

Truthfully most of the shorts on this set are when Mickey was no longer the most popular animated star at Disney. In some of these cartoons he takes a supporting role to Donald and Pluto, but the full charm of these cartoons is still there.

Leonard Maltin, an expert on animation and movie history, is on the disc with special features. He also appears more often then not to preface certain cartoons to let us know that they are not "Politically Correct." While other reviewers found this annoying, I would rather have the preface then have Disney keep these treasures locked in a vault. Think "Song of the South" as an example.

They are consistent...
... at Disney's, because if they are proud of the crap they're making now, they're right to be ashamed of what their predecessors did. But, I'm not quite sure which is worse: cutting like they did for "Saludos Amigosos", or, like they're doing now, marring the DVDs with a new "Politikally Korrekt" feature (which doesn't even get a disabling option in the menu for people with a fully working and correct mind). If the nerds who 'think' (although the word is not very appropriate for the activity of the messy thing between their ears) that even the past should be adjusted to their nonsensical view of the present, why don't they destroy all evidence of that "shameful past": books, movies, magazines, and even people remembering this past; so, although some 20 years late, they would give a good start to George Orwell 1984's world. I never got much consideration before for Leonard Maltin as a film critic (he's too much of an Hollywood enforcer for that). And this new kind of performance he's doing for Disney won't help improving my opinion.

Great conclusion to Mickey's color career
Mickey Mouse in Living Color Vol. 2 is a great dvd package. Included are some very entertaining shorts and featurettes, many of which I had forgotten until I just viewed them again. In my opinion, I prefer the shorts on Vol.1, but it is nice to finally have the whole collection to enjoy forever.
A lot of people have complained here that Leonard Maltin's introductions to some of the shorts are annoying and unnecessary. I agree to an extent, that they can get repetitive. But Maltin was a major player in getting this great material released to the public in all of its uncensored glory. It does seem rediculous that we need to put shorts like "Mr. Mouse Takes a Trip" into perspective when Mickey dresses like an indian, because it was all done in fun and not meant to offend. Personally, I think that anyone who gets offended by a cartoon has bigger issues to deal with in their lives. We live in such a politically correct world though, that if he did not do this we may not be able to see the original versions. So you should thank Maltin for working so hard to get these to us.
Okay, as far as the content goes, it is great and each has its own charm. Highlights for me were "Mr. Mouse Takes A Trip", "The Little Whirlwind", "Orphan's Benefit"(Donald steals the show again), "Mickey and the Seal", and "Mickey's Christmas Carol(my new holiday favorite. Of course that only is the tip of the iceberg. Others are included that were already available, like "Sorcerer's Apprentice" and "Mickey and the Beanstalk" that are nice to have in a complete set. Extras are plenty on this volume as well.Included are the following:
"Mickey's Cartoon Comeback"
"The Voice Behind the Mouse"---The evolution of Mickey's voice
Mickey Mouse Club Titles in Color---5 original openings to the show.(This will be a Treasure in the next wave by the way)
"Mickey Meets the Maestro"
Mouse Mania-- A very strange stop motion short that you gotta see

Mickey Cartoon Physics from "Plausible Impossible"
Mickey on the Camera Stand from "Tricks of Our Trade"
"The Making of Mickey's Christmas Carol"--My favorite extra
Publicity and Memorabilia Gallery
Story and Background Art Gallery
In my area this and the Donald treasure have been the biggest sellers. This has a lot of entertaining content between the shorts, featurettes and the extras, which include great behind the scenes looks at how a lot of this material was brought to the screen. The picture never has looked better and probably never will. Children and adults alike will enjoy what this set has to offer, so get your copy now before they are gone. So far I have viewed this, Donald and Tomorrowland and I would rank this #3 behind Donald(1) and Tomorrowland(2) and I am about to go through On The Front Lines. But I say I rank it third and that is not a bad thing, fans of Mickey and animation in general should appreciate this set. It is definately worthy of bearing the Walt Disney Treasures name. ... Read more

Reviews (27)

ALOHA, HAWAII! Elvis loved it there.
If I had to summon up the content of this whole movie in one word, it would be: "exotic". Why I say that is because of the scenery, the palm trees, the Waikiki beach, the beach boys and girls, the Hawaiian music, the ukeleles, the luau, EVERYTHING! Elvis is a returning G.I. who does not want to go into his family's pineapple business. Instead, he works for a tourist guide service, and his first customers are a pack of gorgeous-looking girls and a beautiful chaperoning schoolteacher (Nancy Walters). Beautiful Hawaiian wedding scene at the end when Elvis marries Joan Blackman. Angela Lansbury is perfect for Elvis' mother in this picture. She enjoyed working with Elvis. "Blue Hawaii" is quintessential and Elvis' top picture and
his best '60s musical next to "Viva Las Vegas", and "G.I. Blues".

Tour Hawaii with Elvis!!!
Tour Hawaii with Elvis Presley!!! That's a pretty good description of this musical, the success of which marked the end of the singer's attempts at being a serious actor. For what it is--a travelogue with music and a slight plot--it isn't bad at all. But "King Creole," "Flaming Star," and even "Follow That Dream" demonstrated that Elvis could indeed act when given half the chance. That's all "Blue Hawaii" is, though: half a chance. The songs aren't exactly rock and roll, but most provide pleasant listening, and, of course, this is the movie that introduced the lovely "Can't Help Falling in Love," the song with which he would end all of his concerts in the 70s. Angela Lansbury is on hand as Elvis' mother, even though she was only a few years older than him (just as she was only a few years older than Laurence Harvey when she played his mother in "The Manchurian Candidate" the next year, a movie in which Elvis might just as well have been cast considering his apparent manipulation at the hands of Colonel Parker), and, of course, there are plenty of luscious babes about for those who don't consider Angela a turn on. "Blue Hawaii" is a real mixed bag. It is, perhaps, the very definition of "fluff," and as fluff it is attractive, but it would ultimately lead to dozens of execrable imitations that would make Presley's movie career one of the most lamentable in history. The writing was on the wall and, more importantly, in the grosses.

Can't Help Fallin' In Love With This Movie
Mr Presley certainly wasn't a great actor, but this movie shows him off to his best advantage. The music isn't the usual bad Elvis movie music and the scenery is to doe for. The storyline could come from any family - a son trying to be independent, a father who wants son to follow in his footsteps, a dropdead gorgeous girlfriend who just isn't what HIS folks had in mind, outrageous friends and an airhead, over-protective mama dead-set on embarrassing the son at any given chance. The plot is easy to follow and even makes sense. OK, not everyone breaks into song on a horseback ride, but what the Hell ! The wedding scene ( oops, gave it away ) makes up for any gaffes.

Blue Hawaii
I think this movie was above and beyond Elvis's usual movies. It has a cute plot and the scenery is unbelievable. If you are not a Elvis fan you will fall in love with the scenery.

Wonderful Postcard
I re-watched this just before going to Maui last November on my first trip to Hawaii. The story may not be much, but the scenery is "spot on" and this is a nostalgia trip for the "older Hawaii" of the 50's. What a great postcard, and Elvis thrown in, doing his 60's Elvis thing, with more style and good grace than later films would exhibit. He seemed to enjoy himself and you'll enjoy the music. ... Read more

Reviews (620)

The Ultimate
2001 is the ultimate cinematic experience. This movie has it all for fans of film. When i say this, I don't mean your casual film goer who thinks "2 fast 2 furious" is an instant classic, I mean those who appreciate film for what it is. For those pop culture movie goers, this film will bore them within five minutes. But, those who appreciate the art of film, will drool over the sheer awe that this movie has.
The story is a little more than simple. It starts in prehistoric africa where Moonwatcher the man-ape and his clan. A mysterious monolith appears and teaches them the use of crude, but usful tools in order to eat. It suddenly jumps (via on of the best jumps cuts ever) inot space in the year 2001 where a monolith has been discovered buried in the moons surface. When it is dug up it sends an ear peircing ringing through all of space, a sort of call letting the worlds know it is time. We then jump to the Jupiter mission in which the main story starts. This is where Hal 9000 makes his first appierence with Dave and Frank. We all should know what happens next.
This movie, released in 1968 but filmed before, was a technological phenomenon. Not even star wars can hold up to the power of 2001. The scene in which Dave enters the monolith could be one of the best in cinema. It is a filmed acid trip pretty much. Except it gave us a look at what other constalations might look like (remember we weren't even on the moon yet).
This is Kubricks best film, and by far and away one of the top five films ever made.

Still a masterpiece
Regardless of how "bored" some (probably adolescent) viewers may become (forced to maintain their attention span over vast minutes of time on something other than sex, car chases and dripping blood), this is obviously a great movie. At least for the rest of us. Rated in the top 250 (#66) at IMDb, and the subject of innumerable articles and reviews, Stanley Kubrick's much studied and admired visual, artistic and thematic masterpiece, based on the novel by Arthur C. Clarke, is still--remarkably, after all these years--a mesmerizing motion picture experience even on a television screen.

This is no mean accomplishment when you realize that Kubrick made his film before humans actually walked on the moon in 1969, and furthermore, when you consider how much more we now know about space travel and how much more advanced special effects have become. What I think contemporary movie makers might learn from Kubrick's work is (1) special effects without rhyme or reason may titillate first time viewers and the very young, but quickly grow meaningless; and (2) even in a movie that relies heavily upon special effects and ideas--which 2001: A Space Odyssey certainly does--it helps a whole lot to have a story to tell.

The story begins in the prehistory and ends in the future. It begins with a pre-human consciousness and ends in mystery. (Note that the last sequence in the movie is labeled in part as being "beyond the infinite"--whatever that metaphysical notion may mean.) Along the way we have a creditable hero (Astronaut Dave Bowman played by Keir Dullea, whom I also recall from David and Lisa, 1962) and a very cold and merciless villain (HAL 9000, the computer as megalomaniac--apparently his makers never heard of Issac Asimov's rules for robots!).

Today we know more about pre-humans and more about computers, artificial intelligence and space exploration, and with such knowledge today's movie makers would avoid some of Kubrick's mistakes. For example, the space craft was far too roomy (ask the astronauts!). Real space ships must be as small as possible to save fuel and they are incredibly cramped. Also, the year 2001 has come and passed, and we are nowhere near the practical capability of providing artificial gravity in space. And of course computers (or robots) don't have emotions unless such emotions are built or programmed into them.

Yet the visual sense of space and the terrible isolation of being alone in the vast vacuum has never been conveyed so well. Using music synchronized with visual effects laden with meaning for our earth-bound minds and bodies, Kubrick managed to depict the Pythagorean "music of the spheres" in a most splendiferous and awe-inspiring way.

However, the opening sequence with the hairy apes is probably what Kubrick would most like to redo if he had the opportunity. In the first place, the terrain, which is semi-arid, is all wrong. No hairy, long-armed, bent-legged creature would occupy such a landscape. The "foraging" they were supposed to be doing was ludicrous since there was obviously next to nothing to forage. The tapirs (forest-dwelling animals native to South America and Southeast Asia, by the way, and not to the savannas of Africa, which should have been the terrain depicted) were almost comedically fat for the ecosystem. And the apes themselves, looking and acting a lot like chimpanzees (no doubt the model that Kubrick used), are in conflict with the fossil record as we know it. Our primordial ancestors, the australopithecines, were upright walking apes and probably not exceedingly hairy since they needed to sweat as they walked and ran over the savannas and grasslands of East Africa.

As for using bones as weapons, yes, there can be little doubt that that is what our ancestors learned to do, followed by using hard wood and stones and then shaped stones. And the idea that a bone tool is a proto-type for all the tools to come is also correct, most saliently in the form of the space ship and HAL.

An interpretation of the ending would necessarily include the idea of time as being something other than we think it is. We see Dave as an astronaut in his thirties, and then as a middle-aged man dining in something like a very expensive Parisian apartment, and then on his death bed, and finally as a soon-to-be-born fetus returning to earth. I think it was wise of Kubrick not to attempt to explain what he clearly points to as unexplainable, as "beyond the infinite."

Perhaps the most haunting image of all, at least for me, is the red and yellow "eye" of the HAL 9000 computer as it coldly viewed the two astronauts talking. Therein was expressed, long before it became fashionable, the coming inexorable conflict between us and our machines, between our culture and our biological nature, between natural and artificial intelligence. Never in the history of cinema has that tension been so concisely conveyed as in that scene and in this movie.

See this for Stanley Kubrick, one of the greatest film makers of all time.

the movie that set the standard in sci fi
in 68,this movie was the best sci fi film ever.in it there is this force referred to as the monolith.it shows up at different points in time.finaly,a space crew goes to check it out.it is too intellectual for children.stanley kubrik directs so you know-since hes the greatest directer ever and all-that this movie is a classic!it is better than the sequel.thinkers will like it.in 68 there wasnt a computer paranoia like today.in this film,kubrik explores what would happen if the computer decided to just take the hell over.an idea not toyed with for years to come.he was a visionary.the music in it is very good too.for you wrestling fans,ric flairs theme song begins it.an abselute must for sci fi fans.

One of the greatest sci-fi movies ever made.
This was a brilliant movie. It never ceased to make interesting theories concerning life other than ours, whether or not we should be in space, and how exploration of the ether will affect our lives.

The film opens up with pre-historic man. They are shaggy, ape-like creatures who fight in loud blasts of sound, calls, etc. But at one point, they discover an immense slab of rock that is so finely crafted, they conclude it was made by "something." And with that, they discover they can use left-over bones as weapons, furthering their standing on the planet.

That is the not only the opening for the film itself, but also for its mood and thesis. It makes the case that knowledge of greater beings will propel us into greatness ourselves, using advanced artifacts as motivation and example. But the movie will eventually take a darker turn you'll have to explore for yourselves. If I went into any of the symbolism, I would be writing an essay, not a review, and could potentially ruin your experience.

As a film, it is not traditional by any means. I've heard of people walking out at the premier muttering furiously about how there was no story, or that they had no idea what Kubrick was trying to say and that his obsession with imagery and perfection led to the demise of what could have been a masterpiece. But to those who stayed and to those who see it now, it is apparent Kubrick meant to be challenging and intelligent: this is not for the light-hearted or the impatient. For instance, many of the sequences are realistically slow, such as an early docking sequence. But the images are so engrossing, I doubt you'll turn away.

And to top off Kubrick's obvious genius, there is an unforgettable soundtrack of famous classical music that complements the imagery so well, Kubrick left it in over an underscore that was being prepared. It often conveys the mood very well, expressing wonderment, curiosity and fright with incredible power. If you can't take the movie, if you can't take its themes and its slow-moving plot, if you can't take the sparse dialog (this is essentially a silent movie), at least sit back, close your eyes and watch the film through the tones and moods the music evokes: it matches Kubrick's imagination with every moment from the opening shot of an orb to the end shot of a star-child floating among the nebular and the giant.

Quick-Buck artists ruin a classic.
The video detail and special effects are great. The aspect ratio is good, but the sound track has been trashed. No bass, garbled treble and a dolby 5.1 remastering that sounds as if it was recorded off a small radio in another room. The producers of this remake should be ashamed. The original sound track would blow you away. I was very dissapointed to say the least. What a waste! I wish I could talk to their sound people. ... Read more

Reviews (139)

Peckinpah's ode to the closing of the American West.....
It would be impossible for film fans to have a conversation about controversial movies throughout the years, and for the epic western, "The Wild Bunch" not to get a solid mention.

Since I first saw this film over twenty years ago, I have owned numerous versions on VHS and laser disc, and it is particularly satisfying to finally have the restored directors version, with the accompanying documentary "The Wild Bunch : An album in montage" available on DVD in true widescreen format.

Sam Peckinpah's blood and thunder tale of outlaws on the Texas/Mexican border with their own set of unique morals has been such a dynamic influence on many directors and future films since it's release way back in 1969. But what sets "The Wild Bunch" apart from it's many imitators is it's deep, almost mythical storytelling, the complex moral nature of the characters peopling the tale and the gritty passion & energy that Peckinpah infused into the entire production. William Holden and Ernest Borgnine are simply tremendous as Pike & Dutch, the leaders of the Bunch...each man with his own individuality. Ben Johnson & Warren Oates portray the crazy Gorch Brothers, Jaime Sanchez is the arrogant and fiercely partiotic Mexican, Angel...and Edmond O'Brien is the grizzly, old timer Sykes.

Additionally, Peckinpah's film features Emilio Fernandez as the bloated, evil dictator Mapache...Albert Dekker as the manipulative and remorseless railroad man, Harrigan....and Robert Ryan putting in another one of his strong performances as the ex-gang member turned reluctant bounty hunter, Deke Thornton. And a Peckinpah movie almost wouldn't be complete without the appearance of LQ Jones and Strother Martin as a pair of filthy, grave robbing bounty hunters out for the reward on the heads of the Wild Bunch.

The Wild Bunch pulls no punches in it's tale of desperado's who they themselves are desperately running out of time...as Holden reflects in the film "We've got to start thinking beyond our guns...those days are closing fast". Whilst "The Wild Bunch" is most notorious for it's two bloody shootouts that book end the film's 144 minute running time...there is so much excitement, passion, adventure and personal conflict within the movie that can be found upon each repeated viewing of this stunning work.

A film that can be treasured and enjoyed by any true film fan....The Wild Bunch will be continually looked upon as one of the most important contributions to American cinema.

Director's cut not needed, but great moments still abundant
The Wild Bunch is, without a doubt, one of the greatest westerns that has ever been thought up, but it is also quite controversial. The romantic view of the Old West is shattered in this 1969 film; no sign of John Wayne anywhere, and most of the cliches found in a typical western are nonexistant(not that I dislike typical western movies, they're actually quite entertaining). Sam Peckinpah, a master of improvisation, creates an unforgettable movie that is not only responsible for redefining cinematic violence, but also carries with it an engrossing story of friendship, betrayal, and the dying west. I didn't feel a Director's cut was needed for this film though, because the original version moved at such a lightning-fast pace. The restored scenes may interest some viewers, but I just wasn't interested. That is probably why I don't own this version of the movie. I'd prefer that other Sam Peckinpah flicks be restored, preferrably Major Dundee. Besides that, the DVD still captures all the explosive action and catchy dialogue. I particularly enjoyed the presentation of the credits, and Jerry Fielding's music adds to the realistic atmosphere, and that's not a bad thing. If you're looking for a great action flick with a plot, The Wild Bunch is a winner for a weekend rental, but RENT this version before you buy it.

One of the best westerns of all-time
The Wild Bunch-Restored Director's Cut is one of the best westerns ever made and also one of the best movies ever. In 1913 during the Mexican Revolution, times are changing as the Old West disappears into oblivion. After a botched robbery in the town of Starbuck, the Wild Bunch, a gang of aging outlaws must decide what their next move is. The remaining members of the gang decide to head south into Mexico where their services may be needed. The bunch robs a gun shipment for a Mexican general, hoping this will be their last job. At the same time, a posse is hunting them down with a former gang member at the posse's head. While this movie is most well known for its violence, it is ultimately a story about honor among men in a changing time. Knowing that the world they knew is changing, the bunch has to try and survive as their end closes in. Nonetheless, director Sam Peckinpah knows how to construct an action sequence. The Battle of Bloody Porch is a balletic, slow-motion, masterpiece of blood and guts as the Wild Bunch meets their end. Just as good is their final march through the streets knowing what awaits them. One of the best westerns, if not the best, ever made and highly recommended.

What makes this movie special, along with the groundbreaking filmmaking of Sam Peckinpah, is the cast. The whole cast gives excellent performances. William Holden stars as Pike Bishop, the leader of the Wild Bunch who knows time is running out for the bunch. His right hand man, Dutch Engstrom, is played by Ernest Borgnine in a perfect part for him. Robert Ryan plays Deke Thornton, a former member of the Wild Bunch and the unwilling leader of the posses following the gang. The rest of the gang includes Edmond O'Brien as Freddie Sykes, Warren Oates and Ben Johnson as brothers Lyle and Tector Gorch, and Jaime Sanchez as Angel. Emilio Fernandez plays Mapache, the Mexican general who pays the bunch to steal a shipment of guns. Strother Martin and L.Q. Jones are great as Coffer and TC, members of the posse. What is surprising about these characters is that as despicable as they are, they are still likable. The Restored Director's Cut DVD includes about ten minutes cut from the original version, a theatrical trailer, production notes, an excellent making of documentary, "The Wild Bunch: An Album in Montage", and a great-looking widescreen presentation. For a great western with incredible gunfights, a terrific cast, and a great story, check out the truly classic western, The Wild Bunch!

NOT ONE OF YOUR GRANDPA'S WESTERNS.
"The Wild Bunch" is not the typical western that tells the story of a bunch of good ol' cowboys versus the mean ol' Indians, this movie goes beyond the cliches of the earlier westerns, so in some way "The Wild Bunch" resembles more to a Spaghetti Western than a John Wayne-versus-the-indians western.

Sam Peckinpah took two steps forward the use of violence in the movies, he show the world how to use violence in a movie to produce visual art. Of course, some might complain about the cruel scenes in "The Wild Bunch", but open minded people know that the violence in the movies is not even close to the cruelty of the real world violence, plus, the violence in a movie can produce visual art if it's used in the right way, like Sam Peckinpah or Sergio Leone did in their movies.

"The Wild Bunch" has an excellent cast: the always efficient William Holden and Ernest Borgnine plus a great supporting cast that includes names like Robert Ryan, Warren Oates and Emilio Fernández. Also, the director Sam Peckinpah gave importance to each character, and that contributed to form a solid story. The cinematography is spectacular, "The Wild Bunch" has a lot of impressive camera angles that show the cruelty of the bullets and explosions, and the movie has some of the most impressive scenes ever put to film.

"The Wild Bunch" is in a very selected group of westerns. That list includes movies like "High Noon". "The Searchers", "Stagecoach", "The Good, The Bad And The Ugly" and "Once Upon A Time In The West", among few others. That list includes the best westerns, and "The Wild Bunch" belongs in the list.

A Grand Finale to the Old West - An American Classic
This is simply a rich, masterful, nostalgic story of the Old West, in all of its fading glory.

The charaters too, are fading in their own time - pursued relentlessly by forces reshaping the country, lives and landscape they ravaged, shared, and loved.

A long-in-the-tooth band of outlaws set out on one last job - to lighten the rich railroad barons of a few sacks of gold. Doublecross meets disaster and they're thrown back on their heels in a narrow escape. Then on to Mexico to trade a stolen shipment of rifles, stolen from under the government's nose, to a Mexican general who is a ruthless hombre in his own right.

Good guys and bad guys change roles and the moral lines of right and wrong shift beneath their feet as they make a last stand for honor among men.

This is a fun, exciting, warm movie which is excellent in every respect. Beautifully filmed, extraordinarily acted, and a terrific story, wonderfully told.

Five stars for a truly American Classic. ... Read more

Amazon.com essential video

More timely now, perhaps, than when it was first released in 1957, Elia Kazan's overheated political melodrama explores the dangerous manipulative power of pop culture. It exposes the underside of Capra-corn populism, as exemplified in the optimistic fable of grassroots punditry Meet John Doe. In Kazan's account, scripted by Budd Schulberg, the common-man pontificator (Andy Griffith) is no Gary Cooper-style aw-shucks paragon. Promoted to national fame as a folksy TV idol by radio producer Patricia Neal, Griffith's Larry "Lonesome" Rhodes turns out to be a megalomaniacal rat bastard. The film turns apocalyptic as Rhodes exploits his power to sway the masses, helping to elect a reactionary presidential candidate. The parodies of television commercials and opinion polling were cutting edge in their day (Face in the Crowd was the Network of the Eisenhower era), and there are some startling, near-documentary sequences shot on location in Arkansas. An extraordinary supporting cast (led by Walter Matthau and Lee Remick) helps keep the energy level high, even when the satire turns shrill and unpersuasive in the final reel. There's an interesting parallel in Tim Robbins's snide pseudodocumentary Bob Roberts: both these pictures have almost as much contempt for the lemmings in the audience as for the manipulative monsters who herd them over the cliff. --David Chute ... Read more

Reviews (49)

Cognitive Dissonance
My image of Andy Griffith as and actor and as a person has always been positive. I don't know him, he may be the biggest jerk in the world for all I know, but he has managed his public image well and has kept his name unsullied by sordid rumors, so I have always liked him.
If your image of Griffith is the same, and you have never seen this movie, brace yourself for the cognitive dissonance you will feel when you watch this! Griffith turns in a powerful performance as a hobo troubador who is "discovered" by a small-town radio host while in jail and then uses the opportunities that unfold to rocket to fame as a canny, folksy and cynical television entertainer and pundit.
My take after watching the movie is that Griffith's character, Larry "Lonesome" Rhodes, was always self-centered but was quite the ladies man as well. He found with Patricia Neal's help that he could use his folksy manner to get what he wanted. He also found that simple folks fell for and identified with his cornpone stories. But it was his handlers who led him to believe his own press and that his insight was indispensable in every situation.
Kazan and Schulburg use the movie as a vehicle to show not only how television could be misused in politics, but also in advertising. With Rhodes as its spokesman, sales ofa worthless energy pill soared and so Rhodes became a sought-after spinmeister in other areas as well. Television does for Rhodes what radio did for the real-life folksy musician/politician Pappy O'Daniel.
On the romantic side, Rhodes was a real skirt-chaser, full of promises but always with his eye out for his next conquest. His come-uppance came when he jilted the woman who had helped bring him to his great heights for the charms of a groupie-like baton-twirling teenager (Lee Remick) he met when a judge at a twirling contest. The cliche is that "hell hath no fury...", and the jilted Patricia Neal lost no time in conspiring to bring him down. She got her chance when she burst in to the studio and aired for the nation to hear all of Griffith's contemptuous comments about his fan base to the bunch of "hayseeds" he used as a focus group on his show. That put a quick end to his popularity and the ranting,raving ending is really something to witness! It is left to the viewer's imagination as to whether Griffith follows through on his threat to jump from his office tower if Neal leaves him.
I never heard of this movie until recently and bought it on the strength of a recommendation. I'm glad I did. You won't be sorry either when you add A Face In The Crowd to your DVD collection.

Media Fascist
At first the central premise of "A Face in the Crowd" was a little hard for me to swallow.I'd like to think that the general public is a little more discerning and would not be so easily taken in by a megalomaniac like Lonesome Rhodes.But then, the argument goes that Abe Lincoln would never be elected president today.When you think about it our more successful presidencies, depending on your political persuasion, would be Kennedy, Reagan, and Clinton who were all masters of the medium.I'd like to think of this film as more of a cautionary tale of the dangers of the new medium of television.Director Elia Kazan from a script by Budd Schulberg have crafted their parable quite well.I would like to think that Rhodes is not quite the monster that he inevitably became, that he started his career humbly and with good intentions only to be corrupted by forces that manipulated him to the darker side.Andy Griffith, in probably one of the most criminally overlooked performances in American film history, is simply mesmerizing as Rhodes.He manages to convey the folksiness tainted with contempt and self-loathing that ultimately is Lonesome Rhodes.Patricia Neal is superb as Marcia Jeffries, the woman who discovers Rhodes and has mixed emotions about his fame.Walter Matthau is also good as Mel Miller, a writer on Rhodes' show who feels he's sold his soul in the process.I am trying to think of another film that tackled the beast that is television and the only comparable one that comes to mind is "Network".By all means check out the documentary on the film that includes reminisces from Griffith, Neal, and Schulberg.One priceless moment is Griffith recalling the filming of the baton-twirlers scene.

The First Andy Griffith Show
If you are a big fan of the great TV series, "The Andy Griffith Show"(and who isn't), you might want to think twice about watching "A Face in the Crowd".This is NOT the same character.There is a brilliant mind behind the easy-going "ah shucks" delivery in each of the characters.However, the sheriff always does the right thing, while Lonesome the drifter seems to always do the wrong thing.Yet if you're a fan of the actor, Andy Griffith, you can't miss this movie; it's his best acting role bar none.

What makes "A Face in the Crowd" so impressive is its' foresight in understanding media, politics, and the ability of one to manipulate the other.After all, this movie was made in the mid-50's when the power of TV was little understood or appreciated.It may well have gotten reviews that ridiculed its' premise when it was released.Yet, seen today, it is an amazing study of how one man, with a willing media accomplice, can control public opinion.Griffith's evolution from a Saturday night drunk to one of THE most influencial persons in the county is brilliantly scripted and directed.In addition to Andy Griffith, there is a very worthy cast.

Most of us would love it if the world was like Mayberry.Unfortunately, "A Face in the Crowd" comes a lot closer to reality.

One of the Greatest of ALL films....
Having read others' comments here (and on IMDB) and having just watched its new DVD, I'll add my two cents. This has been one of my faves since first seeing it (too) long ago. Well, it is more relevant than ever and should be seen be everyone (literally)!! I notice some (likely younger) folks mentioned comparisons to some politicians, but indeed Lonesome Rhodes was based on the phenomenally successful (and notoriously haughty) radio & early TV host Arthur Godfrey. Yes, Godfrey discovered Julius La Rosa, but La Rosa probably got fired for asking for a raise (after becoming very popular, both on the show and solo records). Apparently Arthur, like Lawrence Welk, was a cheap prick who only paid scale -- no matter what the tenure or how successful were his performers.

"A Face In the Crowd" was most definitely social commentary, NOT satire; although, as one from that era, I can understand why it seemed so to many at the time. It's apparent why it inspired so many future talents! That this film was not nominated on its own merits due to political differences/grudges is a GD crime!!!Can't say why Andy Griffith wasn't, but he sure deserved it... Awesome!! So awesome, it actually effected his personal life.

Anyway, re: politicians, "A Face In the Crowd" was a prescient warning of the dangers of that new media (TV), thus akin to those who subsequently capitalized on its propaganda potential and the *science* of people's weakness of mistaking "image" for truth!

But Kazan was not simply a great director; he was perhaps the most socially conscious of all Hollywood directors!! And he was one of the greatest actors' directors; hence, one reason why you never saw an Andy Griffith act like this in film again! (The DVD also has an excellent up-to-date documentary about the making of AFITC and its genesis, with many pertinent historical tidbits re: Kazan.)

In just 21 films, Kazan directed at least 10 GREAT films:
"America, America" (1963), "Wild River" (1960), "Baby Doll" (1956), "East of Eden" (1955), "On the Waterfront" (1954), "Viva Zapata!" (1952), "A Streetcar Named Desire" (1951), "Panic in the Streets" (1950), "Gentleman's Agreement" (1947), and "A Tree Grows in Brooklyn" (1945).

In his films, 21 different actors had Oscar-nominated performances: James Dunn, Celeste Holm, Gregory Peck, Dorothy McGuire, Anne Revere, Jeanne Crain, Ethel Barrymore, Ethel Waters, Karl Malden, Vivien Leigh, Kim Hunter, Marlon Brando, Anthony Quinn, Eva Marie Saint, Lee J. Cobb, Rod Steiger, Jo Van Fleet, James Dean, Carroll Baker, Mildred Dunnock, and Natalie Wood -- of which Dunn, Holm, Malden, Leigh, Hunter, Quinn, Brando, Saint and Van Fleet ALL won Oscars for their performances in one of Kazan's movies.

Not too shabby, eh!?

A great film with a great cast...
Beginning there, it is hard to go wrong.Andy Griffith plays a drifter/con man who can play the guitar and tell stories.He is discovered by Patricia Neal's character and he begins a "Will Rogers" type of career.Part humorist, part philosopher, and all-round phony, he parlays his talent into a national following which builds to a stunning climax.

What I liked about this film was its depth and the talent of the actors. Director Elia Kazan was fantastic in what I believe to be his finest picture.The emotions he drew out of the actors was fantastic! Everyone was perfect in their respective roles.This is also a movie you won't grow tired of watching.When you see it a few times, you notice things you didn't catch the first go-round.This one's a keeper! ... Read more

Reviews (44)

This movie is very intelligent
I liked the plot and the technical twists and turns of this thriller. Robert Redford plays a cia employee who reads books to find possible codes. He finds patterns and trys to break them or alert the Cia to there existence. He comes across something that causes his whole office or team to be wiped out leaving him as the only survivor, because he was out to lunch. How he goes about trying to survive is very intelligent and entertaining. There is a dry romance between he and Dunaway. He is on the run and time is not on hand so there scenes are quick and to the point. I liked the dialogue it was also dry and to the point. It sometimes took a few minutes for it to sink in. A highly intelligent film with good entertainment value. Worth watching.

4 Stars For "Condor"--One for the DVD!
Wire-rimmed glasses and a slight stubble of beard isn't enough to make Robert Redford completely convincing as a bookish CIA researcher, though he gives a terrific "movie star" performance (partially the result of co screenwriter David Rayfiel being brought in to customize some of Redford's dialouge).

Also, Director Sydney Pollack ("Tootsie") doesn't seem to have the feel for suspense-thriller pulp (the way someone like Peckinpah had), so "Three Days of the Condor" is a little too monotone and flat at times to be a completely successful representative of the genre.

No matter.

"Three Days of The Condor" had all the timing in the world going for it.

Released in 1975, just on the heels of Watergate and in the midst of the Church Committee hearings on CIA excesses, "Condor" became the only box office success of Paramount Pictures "Conspiracy Trilogy" (the others being "The Conversation" and Parallax View").

It's also worth noting the cinematography (done by the great Owen Roizman) is spectacular...the rainy Manhattan streets never looked so beautifully moody....and the score by Dave Grusin avoids all the usual thriller movie stabs and sting.

The transfer quality of the DVD is superb, but the special features are non existent (all that's included is the original theatrical trailer--hardly a "special feature" in today's DVD world).

"Three Days of the Condor" remains essentially a stylish artifact of mid-70's paranoia, and viewed today, in light of recent events, contains some really bizarre echoes.

The invisible government! Where?
Whenever I see this movie I always hear Roger Daltry's voice singing, 'can you see the real me?' Which is what a less loquacious Robert Redford tries to do after what may be one of the top ten movie opening scenes of all time, 70's, 80's, 90's or beyond.

Earlier reviews have fairly well constructed and described the plot but what's interesting is the unbelievability of it. Sydney Pollack keeps the heat on and the emotional cul de sacs plentiful as Redford tries to whittle down not so much the who killed all his coworkers but the why.

I believe alongside "Bullit," "French Connection," "Body Heat" and a few others, this is an essential movie both for it's time and our time. In light of Vietnam and Watergate, we just didn't blindly trust Uncle Sam anymore and were frequently reminded of the protest idiom, 'love your country; fear your government.' And for a captivating two hours, Redford is 'everyperson' ever profiled, searched, audited, traffic stopped, drafted and perhaps far worse. We didn't have to read George Orwell to know big brother was and is watching.

Cliff Robertson, a gifted actor denied his peak years because of pseudo-administration influence (do you remember 'Flowers for Algernon/Charley?), ironically plays the government role, as you would expect, brilliantly, and Max Von Sydow, is as always, superlative. I agree with some of the criticism of Faye Dunaway. She did better in other roles than she did here. It could have been Meryl Streep or Glenn Close as well, possibly better.

Essential movie if you want to know what you're talking about. Larry Scantlebury. 5 Stars.

Dated and Often Bizarre Thriller Amusing only to Old People
Like probably most people who were born well after Watergate broke, I became interested in seeing this film after seeing it lumped in numerous times with other paranoid conspiracy thrillers of the era, most notably Coppola's The Conversation and Pakula's The Parallax View. Those are two outstanding films, and Pollack's effort doesn't hold a candle to either. This movie is a disaster. Despite a dynamite opening act and a somewhat intriguing conclusion, together with a modicum of timeliness and poignancy with regard to real-world goings-on at the CIA, the vast majority of the film is spent slogging through dated fight choreography, awkward sex scenes, and some of the most atrocious dialogue ever committed to the silver screen. Faye Dunaway is particularly off-putting in a muted and emotionally confusing performance as a photographer who always blathers on about metaphorical pictures she keeps hidden away and only lets some people see.

Only Cliff Robertson and Max von Sydow escape unscathed from this silly, dated picture, resisting Redford's overacting and turning in fine performances (although Robertson's hair is perhaps the film's greatest mystery). To make matters worse, the soundtrack sounds like pornography, a perfectly awful mix of xylophone and smooth jazz.

For a much better time, please consider The Parallax View. If you have your heart set on Pollack, just watch The Firm, and you'll get the paranoia, the chasing and spying, and the pretty male lead, while what you sacrifice in political overtone you will gain in character development. I really thought I had something special when I took this home to watch it; it began with such promise. Truly it does not compare to the emotional wallop of Gene Hackman's Harry Caul, nor the mind-blowing psychadelic tension of Pakula's government coverups. Of this trio of would-be master Seventies spy storytellers, Sidney Pollack is the odd man out.

GREAT FILM, UNIMPRESIVE POLITICAL VIEWS
Robert Redford made a clunker called "The Way We Were" with Barbra Streisand that desperately tried to explain, apologize for, justify, glorify and approve of being an American Communist during McCarthyism, but just plain fails. He made the 1973 classic "Three Days of the Condor" (1973), with Cliff Robertson and Faye Dunnaway. He plays a CIA reader, a kind of pre-Tom Clancy research guy, a benign fellow among other benign CIA fellows, all of whom are murdered in a fuzzily explained hit by bad CIA fellows. After escaping, Redford tries to get to the bottom of it. Since he is a genius he has the intellectual tools to outwit his chasers. This is the film's highlight, revolving around the sexual tension between Redford and the redoubtable Faye, who he "kidnaps" in order to have a place to hide out, her apartment. The movie goes off the deep when the whole conspiracy turns out to be about the CIA's covert operations in the Middle East, where the U.S. apparently is planning the invasion (that never actually occurred) to take over OPEC. The message is that The Company murders innocents, the U.S. is a warmongering empire, and tool of capitalist greed. It is Redford's answer to Guatemala, Iran and Chile, where the people killed were generally Communists. Redford would rather show the CIA killing Chinese- and African-Americans and other non-threats.

STEVEN TRAVERS
AUTHOR OF "BARRY BONDS: BASEBALL'S SUPERMAN"
STWRITES@AOL.COM ... Read more

Reviews (53)

A lesser known Hitchock that can surprise.......
I love "Rear Window" and "To Catch A Thief," which are two of the three movies that Grace Kelly and Alfred Hitchock collaborated on. But I had always heard "Dial M For Murder," the first of the three Grace starred in for the director, was a dissapointing film, so it took a long time for me to get around to watch it. I finally rented it a few months ago, and WOW! I find it's a great film, and I loved it! Grace was beautiful as always, and Ray Milland did an excellent job as the "villain" of the film. The plot was engrossing, and did I mention Grace Kelly was beautiful? But be warned, "Murder" is a psychological mystery, and a dialogue movie. It has little action, other than the murder attempt itself. So if you are looking for a typical twisty, sit-on-the-edge-of-your-seat Hitchock suspense film, its probably best that you look for "Vertigo," "Rear Window" or "North by Northwest" instead. But give "Dial M For Murder" a chance, and be ready to enjoy a great film, definitely deserving of a five star rating!

Superior Hitchcock with an enchanting Grace Kelly
This is a fine example of the kind of mystery that little old ladies from Pasadena (or Russell Square) adore. Perhaps Arsenic and Old Lace (1944) starring Cary Grant might be comparable in its genteel and bloodless ability to glue us to the screen.

This is certainly one of Hitchcock's best, but most of the credit must go to a devilishly clever play written by Frederick Knott from which he adapted the screenplay. (He also wrote the play upon which Wait Until Dark (1967) starring Audrey Hepburn was based.) Hitchcock does a good job in not tinkering unnecessarily with the material. He also has the exquisitely beautiful Grace Kelly to play the part of Margot Wendice.

Ray Milland plays, with a kind of high-toned Brit panache, her diabolical husband, Tony Wendice, a one-time tennis star who married mostly for security. John Williams is the prim and proper Chief Inspector Hubbard. He lends to the part a bit of Sherlock Holmesian flair. One especially liked his taking a moment to comb his mustache after the case is solved. Robert Cummings, unfortunately plays Margot's American boyfriend as inventively as a sawhorse. For those of you who might have blinked, Hitchcock makes his traditional appearance in the photo on the wall from Tony Wendice's undergraduate days.

The fulcrum of the plot is the latchkey. It is the clue that (literally) unlocks the mystery. There is a modernized redoing of this movie called A Perfect Murder (1998) starring Michael Douglas and Gwyneth Paltrow in which a similar business with latchkeys is employed. I am not very good with clues so it was only after seeing that movie and Dial M for Murder for the second time that I finally understood what happened. Follow the latchkey!

Of course I was too distracted by Grace Kelly to fully appreciate such intricacies. I found myself struck with the ironic notion that anyone, even a cuckolded husband, might want to kill Grace Kelly or that a jury might find her guilty of anything! She remains in my psyche America's fairytale princess who quit Hollywood at the height of her popularity after only five years and eleven movies to become a real princess by marrying Prince Rainier of Monaco. Something was lost there, and something was gained. She was in essence the original Jackie Kennedy Onassis. I think, however, that the old saw about the man who marries for money, earning it, might apply to American princesses as well.

At any rate, Grace Kelly's cool and sublime bearing was on fine display here. Hitchcock cloths her in discreet nightgowns and fitted (but certainly not clinging) dresses that show off her delicate figure and her exquisite arms and hint coyly at her subtle sexuality. She was 25-years-old, stunningly beautiful, and in full confidence of her ability as an actress. She had just finished starring opposite James Stewart in another splendid Hitchcock one-room mystery, Rear Window (1954), and was about to make The Country Girl (1954) with Bing Crosby for which she would win an Oscar for Best Actress.

So see this for Grace Kelly who makes Gwyneth Paltrow (whom I adore) look downright gawky, and for Ray Milland whose urbane scheming seems a layer or two of hell removed from Michael Douglas's evil manipulations.

By the way, the "original theatrical trailer" preceding these Warner Brothers Classic videos is what we used to call the "Coming Attractions"--that is, clips directly from the movie and a promo. You might want to fast forward to the movie itself.

At Last!!!
I have been one of the many people who have sent in, demanding that this DVD be released and now it is! This is a great Hitchcock thriller and most of his films are on DVD, so why not this one. At Last!!!

Hitchcock Timeout
According to the director himself and no less an authority than Grace Kelly, Alfred Hitchcock directed this filmed stage play purely to kill time while readying his next picture "Rear Window." He was completely disinterested in the plot - (and no wonder) - a stupid theatrical concoction about misplaced keys and a bungled murder scheme. He found time however to fall in love with Kelly and tried to wardrobize her, something he would put in the movie "Vertigo" five years later. "Dial M" is watchable primarily because of the suave performances of Ray Milland and John Williams.

Interesting movie!
This is a great Alfred Hitchcock movie. It's one that is even better the second time you see it.

Now, about the DVD, does anyone know what the difference is between this one, and the other "Dial M for Murder" DVD that isn't released yet?? I was confused by that...

Please respond if you can help! ... Read more

Reviews (216)

Go girl! Hitch's feminist fable.
Although Hitchcock listed this as one of his 2 favorite films, I had once viewed it as "closet drama" because of the limited set, conventional bad guy, passive good guy. The voyeuristic angle was interesting, even provocative to a point, but insufficient to save the movie from its sense of claustrophobic one-dimensionality.

That was before I viewed the film through the eyes of Grace Kelly. In one respect, the critical, pivotal moment in the movie is not when Kelly puts herself at risk in Raymond Burr's apartment, nor is it the film's climax with James Stewart fending off the murderer with his camera's flash bulbs. Rather, it's the moment when Hitchcock's camera (not Stewart's) shows Kelly's eyes suddenly open wide and come alive when she, too, becomes interested in the scenes being played out on the other side of the court yard.

At this point, within the first half of the film, Kelley drops her high society, fashion-model airs and her constant mothering of Stewart. She now spectates with greater curiosity and imagination than Stewart, and even though she questions these "rear window ethics" and characterizes her behavior as "ghoulish," it's clear she has become a major player, fully participating in the game of voyeurism, scopophilia, and fetishism that is normally assigned only to men who fail to emerge from an obsessively narcissistic and hedonistic childhood.

For the past 20 years feminist academics have been applying "male gaze theory" to just about every film in sight, and invariably to the discredit of the male. He is the subject; she's the object; he's the one who sees; she's the one who is seen; he owns the gaze in all of his power, pleasure, and guilt; she can only helplessly follow the gaze, experiencing a kind of masochistic pleasure at best.

In "Rear Window" Hitchcock, frequently depicted by feminist critics as a mother-obsessed misogynist, turns gaze theory on its head. Grace Kelly demonstrates that a woman can get as much pleasure from looking as do men--an irony of collossal proportions when we consider that as a high fashion model her role, if not job, is to be looked at and photographed.

But Hitchcock's film manages to liberate its central heroine's vision while preserving the "institutions" of marriage, motherhood, and femininity. What is the object of Kelly's pursuit while playing the game at its most intense moment? A wedding ring, which she flashes before the probing telescopic lens of Stewart. And at the end of the film, the camera makes clear that, pending his recovery from double castration (both legs are now broken), he will no longer go off on adventures without Kelly at his side. But then, of course, Hitch has his final little joke when, once Stewart goes to sleep, Kelly (now wearing pants) puts away her mountain-climbing magazine and replaces it with a high fashion title. Still, a radical film for Hitchcock and, for that matter, most other filmmakers.

The DVD makes it all the more possible to read the visual dynamics of the film, permitting razor sharp stills of the principals' faces and eyes, disclosing the act of seeing to a degree never before possible.

Checking Out a Murder with Hitchcock
A daredevil confined to a wheelchair is the concept of Alfred Hitchcock's comedy-mystery "Rear Window", a man of action so bored with his confinement that he begins spying on the neighbors he can see across his Greenwich Village courtyard: the frustrated composer,the "interpretative dancer", the newlyweds, the desperately lonely spinster ... and the bickering couple. The wife suddenly disappears. Has she been murdered? L.B. Jeffries thinks so, and he convinces his fiancée Lisa (Grace Kelly) and the insurance company nurse Stella (Thelma Ritter) who visits him every day. (Jeffries, a professional photographer, has been temporarily disabled in an accident.) This set-up is perfect for Hitchcock, who loved tense situations in close quarters ("Life Boat", "Rope"), and who was in top form when he directed this masterpiece of entertainment in 1954. (There was a made-for-TV remake a few years back; according to... reviewers, it's pretty awful.) James Stewart was one of Hollywood's most popular personalities, but he was often mis-cast. He was pushing fifty when he played the 25-year old Lindbergh in"The Spirit of St Louis". Similarly, in "Rear Window" he's too mature for the lead. The part just weeps for William Holden. Stewart even takes his shirt off in a couple of scenes, revealing a pale, thin physique. The idea that Grace Kelly would travel all the way down from the East Sixties to Greenwich Village to spend the evening with him is a little ... well,unbelievable. Miss Kelly is almost as seductive here as she was in her next Hitchcock "To Catch a Thief".The Master was obviously infatuated -- but, then, who wasn't? She also had a droll sense of humor: the way she pronounces "weird" is priceless. Thelma Ritter and Wendell Corey give witty support. Raymond Burr, just a couple of years away from playing the most famous of fictional lawyers, is quite creepy as the killer Thorwald. The sound track is a mixed marvel of car traffic, distant voices, and snatches of music; it sounds great with stereophonic ear phones. About the only real complaint in John Michael Hayes' screenplay that the pragmatic might bring up: Doesn't Jeffries ever LOCK his door?

Trapped in a Sound Stage
I don't think this is Hitch's best film. It is highly ranked by film rating services, sometimes higher than Vertigo, but I can't agree. There's something claustrophobic about what is essentially a movie set. We are stuck in that lofty room with the big glass windows. Jimmy Stewart peers across a courtyard and observes New Yorkers in their habitat. When I was in elementary school we used to have projects called diorama's where we would take a shoebox and decorate it like a stage. Each apartment in Hitch's diorama showcases a mostly silent vignette, the gorgeous dancer and her boyfriends, the lonely-heart middle-age lady, the sex crazed newlyweds, and the guy who kills his wife. Stewart can watch all the fun, but with a broken leg, he can't leave the apartment to do anything about it. Hence, the suspense centers on Stewarts inability to maneuver when his girlfriend, fashion gal, Grace Kelly breaks into the killers apartment to find clues. We see the killer coming down the hall and Jimmy can't warn her from his perch. Stewart and Kelly are interesting as a couple with opposite interests. She's high fashion-society chick and he's a rough-it, world-traveling photographer. These differences never really resolve and Stewart appears maybe 15-20 years older than young marriage-scheming Grace. This is really a stage play with stage play lighting and a who-dun-it plot. Great suspense, yes, but not as good as Vertigo by a mile.

The Perfect Alfred Hitchcock Movie
North By Northwest and Vertigo are spectacular cinematic achievements but, for me, Rear Window is the one Hitchcock movie everyone must see. It is as perfect as a Hitchcock movie can be. One of the greatest American movies ever made. Not one false note. It is the movie I would show to someone who hasn't seen a Hitchcock movie but wonders what they're all about and why he's so revered. The tremendous psychological drama and cat and mouse suspense are perfectly tuned. Stewart turns in a brillantly nuanced performance as a morally dubious peeping tom. The film is about him, of course. Not about an unseen murder or a pieced together amateur murder investigation. Listen to the dialogue and observe the interactions between Stewart and his guests. Subtext and more subtext. Just perfect.

If you prefer souffle over meat or casserolle
5 stars as a piece of cinematic craft. 1 star as substance. another hitchcock exercise of excellent pacing, subtle humor and
droll commentary on the folly of human behavior, heavy on dramatic artifice, as are most of hitchcok's films. ... Read more

Reviews (52)

One of the few movies that the whole family really can enjoy
Oh why cant they make movies like this anymore? This is a wonderful movie and really does deserve to be called a movie that "the whole family can enjoy". This one has it all, comedy, drama, chills, suspence, singing, the whole shebang and not one wisecracking kid to be found. Not only does it feature a young suave Sean Connery but also the beautiful Janet Munro in one of the few films that she made. This movie is filled with myths and legends of Ireland and the special effects stand up to anything being made today and this one was filmed over 40 years ago! You will love this one!

Darby O'Gill and the Little People
Great Disney flick. Its a hoot seeing Sean Connery in his twenties. Nice family movie. I love the old Irish legends, especially the Banshee and the Coach d'Bower. Albert Sharpe does a great job as Darby. The cinematography is beautiful. My grand kids love this movie. They are 9 and 3. Its something they can watch together.

Full screen but not a total loss...
It is true that this release will be "full screen", however I believe it is an open matte full screen vs. a pan-and-scan, meaning you will get the full image as seen in theaters, plus a little extra top and bottom. It is also quite possible the director framed his shots with the full-frame in mind, knowing it would be exhibited that way in some venues. More importantly, the TV Special "I Captured the King of the Lephrecauns" is listed as an extra feature. Whether we'll be getting the show in its entirety or merely some clips is yet to be seen, but this show was just as entertaining and important as the feature it supports and I hope they have the common sense to include the full hour program.

I love this movie...
...and I generally dislike Disney films!

This dates from the time when Disney wasn't afraid to be dark and eerie. The story balances whimsy with supernatural terrors and is appropriate for both Halloween and St. Patrick's Day.

This film lovingly depicts an Ireland of times gone by, and perhaps an Ireland that never truly was. Nevertheless, the culture is saturated in fairy-tales and ghost stories, and everyone seems to believe.

A love letter to simple village life, and to the power of storytelling, and the Emerald Isle's vibrant and exuberant folklore. Well-acted (except for Janet Munro, who seems to always be reading cue cards), lushly photographed, and the special effects hold up VERY well in these days of overly obvious CGI. If you're Irish, or just enjoy a good fairy tale, or a good ghost story, then this is for you. Not to be missed!

Classic Live-Action Disney Mutilation!
Alas, one of Walt Disney's most personal pet projects, and I might add one of the best special effects motion pictures ever made without cheesy CGI assistance, Disney has chosen to "Blackbeard" another brilliant live-action Disney classic. Disney has chosen to maliciously release this wonderful film in Full Screen Format robbing the viewer the beautiful verdant scenery of Ireland. Why Disney continues to torture the consumer is completely illogical. Why an enjoyable but mediocre release of "Now You See Him, Now You Don't" receives an OAR release over "Darby" is beyond comprehension. Just keep boycotting these releases until Eisner is history. ... Read more

Description

Rod Serling's classic TV exploration of the uncanny, the unknown, and the unforgettable takes you beyond the deepest realms of imagination! Filled with twists, turns, and compelling characters, this legendary series has remained continuously on the air since its initial run and remains as fascinating, frightening, and thoroughly entertaining for viewers today. Each set contains nine DVDs; Collection #2 features Volumes 10-18, 34 episodes to tingle your spine including "The After Hours," "What You Need," The Midnight Sun" and "Living Doll." So pull up a seat and brace yourself for a fantastic voyage into...The Twilight Zone! ... Read more

Reviews (10)

Twilight Zone - One Of My Favorite Shows
If you buy one of these TZ Box Sets, you might as well buy the other four. Each set has nine volumes (sans the documentary Rod Serling - Submitted For Your Approval). My favorite episodes deal with Time Travel (No Time Like The Past, Back There, Walking Distance, Static, The Seventh Is Made Up Of Phantoms), Old Age (Kick The Can, Nothing In The Dark, The Trade-Ins, One For The Angels), The Civil War (The Passerby, An Occurrance At Owl Creek Bridge, Still Valley), and Paranoia (The Monsters Are Due On Maple Street, The Shelter, 4:00). My other favorites are the four by Jack Klugman (A Passage For Trumpet, A Game Of Pool, In Praise Of Pip, Death Ship) and Burgess Meredith (Time Enough At Last, Mr Dingle Mr Strong, The Obsolete Man, Printer's Devil). If you are new to the show, watch these episodes first. They are the creme de la creme of the show.

The series is excellent. However, it's deliberate attempts at humor are often misfires (The Whole Truth, The Bewitching Pool, I Dream Of Genie). The episode A Short Drink From A Certain Fountain is the "Spock's Brain" on the series, meaning it's the worst. The ending is bad; what were they thinking??? No wonder it didn't make the syndication package.

The Sound Quality varies from each DVD. Some have two channel mono while others have HIFI mono. Closed Captioned doesn't work for any of the DVD's. There's usually only 3 or 4 episodes per DVD, unlike other Box Sets that fit 8 per DVD, thus lowering the price. This is a minor beef, because the show is worth the money.

You will also notice that 3 episodes (Where Is Everybody, The Encounter, The Eye Of The Beholder) appear twice if you buy all five. Again, a minor beef since The Encounter is the only one of the three to be exactly the same on both separate DVD's.

These Box Sets are now a bargain compared to when each volume is sold separately. I never tire of watching the episodes and reading the notes. I also recommend Rod Serling's Submitted For Your Approval. It gives insight to Rod Serling and his creation as told by friends, relatives and co-workers.

Continuing the Excellence
My favorite TV show of all time is "The Twilight Zone". There are a number of reasons for that but mostly it is because those 1/2 hour shows packed more drama, excitement, and morality lessons than anything I've seen before and since. The star of the show was Rod Serling whose staccato-like voice opened to set the stage and wrapped up at the end with a statement of irony, intrigue, warning, or hope. Watch the credits at the end of any episode that really impressed you and the odds are that it was written by Rod Serling.

The First Collection in this series left you wondering if it had gotten all the "big" episodes but "Collection 2" shows that there's still plenty more out there. This collection has a couple of the later, hour-long shows that the first collection didn't have. The first one, "In His Image", was one of the old episodes that stuck with me for years and I was surprized to find that it was an hour-long show. It seemed then and now to move along at the same pace as the half-hour episodes. The second, "Death Ship", however, gives a hint that the extra half hour tended to drag down the pace too much. The rest of the episodes includes some of the great ones of the series. There are the humorous ones such as "Once Upon a Time " (with Buster Keaton), "One for the Angels" and "Escape Clause". There are the ones with happy endings such as "A Hundred Yards Over the Rim", "In Praise of Pip", and "Still Valley". There are the true morality plays such as "The Fever", "A Quality of Mercy", "The Man in the Bottle" and "I Shot an Arrow into the Air". Finally, there are the down-right chilling episodes such as "The Dummy", "Living Doll", and "The After Hours".

I watched these episodes with my son, now 12, who seemed to enjoy them just as much as I did. We'd only watch them at night with the lights turned out. Sometimes we'd just look at each other afterwards and say "Wow!". When there was the occassional episode that I thought might not interest him, he still talked with me about it afterwards. They seemed to work just as well for him as for me and that may be the ultimate testimony to "The Twilight Zone". With all the glitz and sparkle that TV has today, impressing a kid with a half-hour black and white show with (for him) no recognizable stars seemed too tall a task. However, true greatest meets and exceeds the test of time. Time now for "Collection 3".

Overall excellent, often visionary
There is as much strength in this group of episodes as in those packaged into "collection #1." (Please see my review of that.)

If you are a TZ fan, this merits your attention. If you are exploring TZ, try a small, inexpensive sampler, then step up to this when you are ready. Seriously consider this, also, for those on your gift list who have everything and/or are difficult to buy for.

The best show now on DVD
This is hands-down my favorite television series, and now it's on DVD in superlative form. You can't go wrong with any of the five collections.

Now Entering...The Nostalgia Zone
Having had a partial collection on video for many years now, I anxiously awaited the release on DVD. Finally! The complete series (156 episodes) has finally received the treatment it truly deserves. This series has held up well for 40+ years, and I have no doubt it will make it for at least another half century. Television writing was at its peak with this show, and the evolution of television filming (and videotaping) techniques is obvious over the course of this series. And the trademark twists at the end of each episode still take me by surprise!

Technically, the digital remastering to DVD has brought new life to Rod Serling's brainchild. The video presentation is crisp and well defined, bringing out the subtle details so well, that you will find yourself completely absorbed in the nuances of Serling's vision, and the outstanding production values for this early 60's series (just keep in mind that this is pre-Computer Generation era). The audio was clear, and blissfully noise free, but a bit low on the volume when compared to the title and menu audio tracks (both on the geyeballh version of the earlier disks, and the intro sequences on the later disks). The shows are presented in their original format, so no widescreen version is necessary. And television always translates well to...well, television. Although the extras include a Rod Serling bio, a brief synopsis of each of the 5 seasons that the series ran, and a Twilight Zone history, these features are identical on each disc. The true gem of the extra features is the episode synopsis and review. Each disc is unique in this respect, with a plot summary and some background "inside info". Although mostly taken from the book "The Twilight Zone Companion," I found this feature to be the most interesting.

Each collection has its ghitsh and gmissesh, but the series is, overall, a rewarding experience. The only "disappointments" that I found were the collection's lack of a subtitles option (which I really would have appreciated), and the fact that the episodes are not in order (which slightly detracts from observing the actual progression of growth within the series). That makes this more of a 4 1/2 star rating (but you can't do that, can you?). If you have ever enjoyed even one episode of this legendary series, you will not regret buying these collections. And if you've never seen it, give it a try...you'll be hooked. ... Read more

Description

The U.S. nuclear sub Tigerfish churns toward the North Pole. Its mission: rescue the imperiled members of weather outpost Ice Station Zebra. On board are Cmdr. Ferraday and his crew, severalunexpected arrivals with secret orders?and enough suspicions, suspense and twists to make Ice Station Zebra an engrossing espionage thriller. The Cold War heats up as John Sturges (The Great Escape) directs Rock Hudson, Ernest Borgnine, Patrick McGoohan, Jim Brown and more in this epic adventure nominated for two Academy Awards?* and featuring taut action set pieces above and below the ice. All hands to stations for excitement! ... Read more

Reviews (16)

Cold war drama warms up on DVD
One of the better cold war dramas produced during the 60's, "Ice Station Zebra" isn't exactly an action adventure; it's more of an action drama. Most of the "action" is the dramatic conflict between Commander Ferraday (Rock Hudson) and his guests Boris Vaslov (Ernest Borgnine)a former Russian spy who now works for British Intelligence, MI-6 secret agent "David Jones" (the wonderful Patrick McGoohan) and Marine Captain Anders (Jim Brown). A nasty ice storm brews at the North Pole. When Ice Station Zebra calls for help the Tigerfish is sent north to break through the ice to save the men stationed there. That's the cover story. The reality is that a satellite has crashed in the arctic tundra and must be recovered before a Russian expeditition gets to it.

The image quality is stellar on this first time release from Warner Brothers. There's hardly any analog or digital artifacts. While there's no commentary track we do get the original promotional featurette on the movie "The Man Who Makes a Difference" and it's actually pretty good at providing behind-the-scenes footage about the shooting of a real Navy submarine to be integrated with visual effects into the movie. The big attraction here is a wonderful 5.1 remix of the original soundtrack. While it's not as active as, say, a brand new movie, it sounds pretty darn good with better depth and expanded sound than any previous incarnation of the movie on home video.

This was originally shot in SuperPanavision and, atlhough this is a widescreen presentation much like "2001: A Space Odyssey". It's a huge improvement on the previously cropped versions that have floated around. The original Overture from the roadshow edition of the movie has been restored to this version with Michel Legrand's marvelous score. The intermission is also included, hence the 2 hour and 30 minute running time.

Patrick McGoohan took time away from shooting his series "The Prisoner" to make "Ice Station Zebra". Ironically he plays another secret agent. "David Jones" doesn't stray too far from John Drake the character he played in "Secret Agent Man" (aka "Danger Man in the UK)but McGoohan's clipped sarcastic delivery and unpredictabllity make him a stand out in the cast. Hudson's relaxed performance as the Commander provides a nice counter balance to McGoohan's intense one and provides a nice counter point to Borgnine's cagey Vaslov. The first half of the film is marvelous and, although it sags during the second half (for a lot of reasons) and the conclusion doesn't have the cinematic style of John Sturges' previous films ("The Great Escape" and "The Magnificent Seven")but, all in all, "Ice Station Zebra" still provides marvelous entertainment. The footage of the real submarine surfacing and going under the water looks marvelous.

Nominated for two Academy Awards (Best Cinematography and Best Special Visual Effects), "Ice Station Zebra" lost in both categories to "Romeo and Juliet" and "2001: A Space Odyssey". The visual effects that open the movie are still exceptionally good and wouldn't look out of place in Kubrick's film of the same year. That's ironic since MGM pulled "2001" from some theaters to premiere "Ice Station Zebra".

A Very Cold War.
Released in 1968, "Ice Station Zebra" remains an engrossing, suspenseful thriller, well directed by John Sturges. With films like "The Magnificent Seven" and "The Great Escape" to his credit, you know that any movie directed by Mr. Sturges is going to hold your attention, even if--in this case--it clocks in at over two and a half hours.

The titular station is a weather outpost located close to the North Pole. Something has gone terribly wrong there, and an American nuclear submarine is sent o