Costumes Movie Reviews

You can go read my review of Crash N' Burn and get the same feel for this DVD...average. I'm not saying don't buy these products only because whatever exposure American wrestling fans can get to the Japanese product is a positive one. It's really scary to watch the Gladiator vs. Falcon match and see how silent the crowd is out of respect. Oh, and if you thought those ...american announcers couldn't get worse, you're wrong. They spend considerable time in their commentaries calling each other transvestites and gay. It really blends with the wrestling. Overall, the matches are ok, but not on the level I want when I purchase a Japanese wrestling DVD.

If its bloodshed and highflying wrestling your looking for this DVD is for you.Those who are new to japanese wrestling this is the DVD you need to pick up,despite Tokyopops poor production and stupid commetators.But the Matches make up for it with the exception of the bonus match between Matsunaga and Horace Boulder.The Hayabusa/Mike Awesome match for the FMW World Brass Knuckles Title is worth the price of the DVD alone.I highly recommend this DVD!

It's really gonna hit the fan when anger erupts and grudges are settled. It's all about the quest for victory and nobody will stand in the way! Who will be left standing in the heat of battle? It's gonna take more than a dentist to fix Matsunaga when the psychopathic Super Leather breaks out the iron toothbrush:

Leatherface beat Mitsuhiro Matsunaga (15:04) via KO in a "Bed Of Nails Death Match."

Egos are bruised and hell is raised as Ricky. Fuji teams up with Ooya to take on Fujiwara and Ideda:

Yoshiaki Fujiwara & Daisuke Ikeda beat Ricky Fuji & Hisakatsu Ooya (12:33) to win the FMW World Brass Knuckles Tag Team Titles

Watch the sparks fly when Megumi Kudo teams up with her archrival Shark Tsuchiya in a tag team match that will leave you blazin.' And it's the ultimate grudge match when Hayabusa takes on Mike "Gladiator" Awesome in the Grand Slam Title Match:

Mike Awesome beat Hayabusa (23:38) to win the FMW World Title Tournament.

This DVD has some great matches, with all the sick bumps you hardcore wrestling fans wanna see. A must buy.

it is pretty stupid. I would have been inclined to give it 4 stars if the music performance were good, but they are so-so, and the sound quality of the music is also mediocre.

This DVD is wonderful in all its wonderfulness. Gesualdo, was perhaps the greatest musician to ever live. Not only did he compose wonderfulness, he was multi-talented in the areas of gardening (he chopped a measly country-side in a matter of 2 to 3 months), cooking (he prepared a meal for over 1000 people with 125 courses of quail), and murder. His music foreshadows the likes of such greats as Wagner, Jacopo Peri, Ignatz Stotmeiker, Stravinsky, and Charles Burney. We see the tortured soul of Gesualdo having an effect on present day pyschopaths. There is even a retarded boy riding a horse, and a young child being chained and flying through the air while forced to wear women's clothing.

In short, Gesualdo is the most imortant (besides Franz Tunder, Walter Von de Vogelwiede, and Busnois) who ever graced God's green Earth (which, incidently, is less green because of Gesualdo's wacking).

If I could give this 23 stars I would give it 17 and a half, but that's still more than the five I gave it here.

I almost can't believe that GESUALDO is out on DVD. This is one of Herzog's funniest documentaries. I'd never heard of Gesualdo before, but the film made me a huge fan of his music. He led a crazy life and made some hauntingly beautiful polyphony--all of it is shown with the expected immediacy and weird humor by master filmmaker Werner Herzog.

Both from the musical and scenical points of view, this is a great performance of Meyerbeer's opera with the elegant and beautiful Shirley Verrett, the powerful Domingo and Ruth Ann Swenson.
However I should have prefered to have much less noise in the recording. Sometimes I am tempted to turn off the DVD for it sound more like a workshop than an opera house. This is a minus five star performance of the sound engineers, in an otherwise great opera recording.

This is a excellent performance of a very good opera. The only complaint I have on this DVD is that the background noise from the live performance was not adequately removed. In spite of that, I would highly recommend it.

This was a 1988 revival of a 1971 production (available on a live CD) that teamed Domingo (Vasco da Gama) and Verrett (Selika - both then very much in their prime) in Meyerbeer's discursive swan-song. Seventeen years on, they are more statuesque than sexy, but both give larger-than-life performances that contain moments of completely thrilling vocalism. That is the only way to do a piece like this - which is leisurely, structurally broken-backed (though the many cuts exacerbate this) and contrasts music of real prophetic power (Verdi certainly took several ideas over into 'Aida') with some of mind-numbing banality, that is almost unintentionally comic - but that was Meyerbeer's problem, no quality control and a short breathed melodic invention that shows him wanting next to the real masters of 19th century opera. However, this traditional and opulent production makes the best possible case for the piece and it is thoroughly enjoyable in a slightly camp way.

The casting is very strong, with the exception of Justino Diaz's Nelusko, which has strong presence but not much vocal allure. As Inez, Vasco da Gama's fiancee and rival for Shirley Verrett, Ruth Ann Swneson sings with great beauty and has impressive stage presence, very much holding her own in the confrontation with Verrett in the last act (precursor of Aida and Amneris here). Domingo is refulgent of tone and dramatically convincing, and he and Verrett strike sparks. She really comes into her own in one of the most preposterous mad-scenes in all opera, where she is slowly poisoned by the scent of a giant tree, contriving to make this dramatically truthful and even moving. Bravos all round for a good old-fashioned night at the opera.

Sets and costumes are minimal, little more than limbo sets enhanced with lighting. Andrew Davis's conducting is slow paced, dry, lacking in nuance or excitement. Technical quality of picture and sound, however, are excellent. If you must have a DVD version of this opera, go ahead and purchase. Otherwise, better to wait for the filmed version, with the Wiener Philharmoniker, James Levine conducting, directed by Jean-Pierre Ponnelle. So much more exciting visually and musically, with principals Tatiana Troyanos, Carol Neblett, Catherine Malfitano, Anne Howels, Eric Tappy and Kurt Rydl. Hopefully this version will be released on DVD soon, and worth waiting for. Otherwise, try and get a used copy on LD or simply order on VHS!

It's nice to see that Mozart's operas are showing up more on DVD, especially such lesser known works as Clemenza di Tito--Mozart's last opera. This is an enjoyable and well sung production, with lots of bright colors that are very eye catching. The sound and picture are excellent, and as this was the first time I have ever SEEN this opera, it made me appreciate it all the more. The singers, while not all household names, are well chosen; they not only sing well but they act well and have excellent stage presence. This is a quality production that deserves to be seen.

Composed in only eighteen days, La Clemenza di Tito is Mozart's operatic swan song, his last opera, written a few months before his death (some say the one before last, The Magic Flute being the very last one) and perhaps the most beautiful opera ever written. It enjoyed considerable critical acclaim and great success in the years following Mozart's death and then it was largely forgotten, only to be revived in the last forty years or so. Contemporary critics were in doubt whether La Clemenza had surpassed Don Giovanni. It was referred to by one of them as a "heavenly work, full of emotion and expression with stately and sublime choruses and andantes of heavenly sweetness"; by another as "the most perfect work Mozart completed". This video is a very nice rendition of this supreme masterwork, beautifully sung and well acted. Ashley Putnam is a convincing Vitellia - envious, scheming, ruthless and yet... so human. The music is never too fast, the way Mozart should be played, though the recitatives occasionally are. It is sung in the original Italian with English subtitles. I found the staging slightly awkward sometimes (why the slanted stage?) and I don't understand why everybody is barefoot (unless there is some esoteric significance in that that escaped me) but it is still a 5-star video, I think. If you are only familiar with Mozart's other more famous master operas such as Figaro or Don Giovanni you may want to give La Clemenza a try. You will find a world of stunningly beautiful arias in the best Mozartian tradition, fascinating characters such as Vitellia and Sesto, who both dominate the opera, a clever plot, plus intrigue, seduction, love, passion, despair and at the end... redemption and mercy. Only Mozart could give us all that in just a little over two hours of music. In Mozart there is never any of the frivolity and the almost pop quality of the music you find in those often silly 19th century Romantic operas which sound like soundtracks of Hollywood movies. There is none of that here. In Mozart there is always structural perfection, sensitivity and unparalleled inspiration. Don't be misled by the fact that La Clemenza was composed in just eighteen days. Handel composed the Messiah in a little over two weeks and for a genius such as Mozart eighteen days could mean eternity. I don't know how many times I have watched both this video and the other version of La Clemenza available (the Levine/Ponnelle version, also very good - James Levine understands Mozart!). It never failed to move me. Mozart composed seven master operas in the last decade of his life (his early operas are also extraordinary works: Il Re Pastore, Mitridate, La Finta Giardiniera etc.). In my opinion, these seven masterworks are the seven greatest operas ever composed. La Clemenza di Tito is sublime in its perfection and simplicity, a fitting ending to Mozart's operatic career and truly his swan song.

This production of Turandot stands squarely in the middle between the Met's Zeffirelli extravaganza and Saltzburg's modernistic, surreal production with the new Berio ending. For about two years, this was the only Turandot available on DVD, but the availability of the Met and Saltzburg versions now doesn't render this one obsolete. It's what you would see in a good regional production, and there's a lot to be said for those values.

The primario members of the cast are solid -- Eva Marton, while less lovely than she appeared on the Met DVD (what a difference a few years of aging can make) still sings masterfully. Michael Sylvester and Lucia Mazzaria are adequate if not inspiring as Calaf and Liu. Kevin Langam, on the other hand, is a wonderful Timur, eclipsing the more famous Met and Saltzburg performers, Paul Plishka and Paata Burcheladze.

This production shines in several details. Ping, Pang, and Pong, led by Craig Estep's marvelous Ping, come closer to my ideal for the three ministers than do either of the other two productions. And the San Francisco sets ands costumes, which represent a stylized ancient China, work quite well. Often their austere stylization works more effectively than does the Met's ostentatious, sometimes over-busy, pseudo-realism.

The bottom line: Turandot is so rich that having many different conceptualizations is wonderful. If you love this opera, you should buy them all and revel in observing the differences.

When this production premiered in 1992 in Chicago, many comparisons were made between it and the Metropolitan Opera Zeffirelli production. In my opinion Mr. Hockney's production comes up second to Zeffirelli's, however it has many merits and many of them are emphasized on this beautifully reproduced DVD. Visually, because of the intense greens, blues and reds, the DVD is a knockout. Your television will never have looked better. Hockney goes for a less realistic, more story-book quality in his sets and costumes which is appropriate, since Turandot is a fairy-tale of sorts. The colors and detail are far superior to the Laserdisc edition with less "video noise" in the backgrounds and more clarity of definition and detail. Vocally, Eva Marton is not in as fresh voice as she was in the 1987 telecast from the Met or the 1992 Chicago premier. However, her performance vocally and dramatically is so intense and powerful that occasional vocal lapses scarcely seem to matter. Michael Sylvester does not have the vocal allure or richness of a Domingo or a Pavarotti, but he sings solidly and with a secure ending to "Nessun Dorma". Kevin Langan is wonderful and moving as Timur with make-up that certainly hides his true age. The vocal stand-out of this performance is Lucia Mazzaria. She sounds in many spots like a young Freni, with total mastery of color and style. Her two arias in Act III are worthy of many repeat viewings. The chorus is acceptable and for the most part accurate, but somewhat lacking in darkness and richness of color in the Italian "La Scala" style. David Runnicles' conducting is appealing if not revealing. This video is highly recommended but when the Met version is released you will want to own it as well for it's lavish and far more realistic sets and costumes from the always unbeatable Franco Zeffirelli.

When this production premiered in Chicago in 1991 it was bound to be compared with the lavish production at the MET. However since Mr. Hockney's sets and costumes will always fail in comparison, it is best to judge this production on its own merits, and there are many. The colors are vivid (especially on this recently released DVD), and the images are crystal clear. You have the choice of 5.1 Surround or 2.0 Stereo. Hockney sticks with various shades of reds, greens and blues. He goes more for a storybook look than for any sort of realism but since Turandot IS essentially a fairy-tale, there's nothing wrong with that. This performance was recorded in late 1993 and Miss Marton is not in as fresh voice as she was when the production was new or as she was for the MET telecast in 1987, but the performance is throughly committed and it is to her credit that the her portrayal comes off as well as it does. Rumors are that she and Mr. Sylvester were sick during the run and dubs from many performances were put together to produce this one for video release. Mr. Sylvester does not have the ring or the richness of a Pavarotti or Domingo and there is some provincial Italian in a spot or two, but again, he gives a solid performance that would be sought after in any major opera house today. The surprise is Lucia Mazzaria. She often sounds like a young Mirella Freni in timbre and range and her two arias in the third act are stunning and beautiful examples of true Italian style. Kevin Langan is rock solid in the brief and moving role of Timur and his make-up is expertly done to make this relatively young man look ancient and frail. The chorus is acceptable and for the most part accurate, but lacking in dark, rich, Italian color and nuance. The staging will leave anyone who hasn't seen the Zeffirelli production impressed. Colorful acrobats, ancients, palace guards, shaved monks (adult and children), and condemned princes all leap off the sceen at you. Chances are your television has never looked better! This video is highly recommended, especially for someone who is first encountering Turandot. Save the Zeffirelli DVD (unfortunately only available in Japan at present) for your ultimate viewing pleasure. In this day and age of ghastly, wrongheaded stagings of treasured masterpieces, we should be thankful that TWO such imaginative and vivid productions were committed to video.

This is one of the very few movies of dons that I like. It shows great fight scenes keeps the action pumping has good dialouge and the training sequnces really stick with you! It shows the true athletisism af the masters because dispite his performance in his other movies don is a phenominal fighter. this movie gives his name some meaning.

Don "the dragon " Wilson is a kick boxing legend. Winning 10 different world championships and proving his dragon style kung-fu was affective in the ring. Ring of Fire is one of my favorites. The plot is very well put together unlike some of Don's other films. Don only had one fight scene lasting a maximum 7 minutes. It has some great fights between what I like to call, "the asians" and the " white boys", Ring of Fire is a prety good martial arts/kick boxing film that gives you a action packed time!

After almost 12 years of looking hopelessly for this edition of Ring of Fire on VHS and DVD, and even asking people online and searching the web to see if someone taped a copy off of TV, the real deal is finally here on DVD! If you don't know what I'm talking about, there was about 4 minutes of sex and nudity cut out of all versions of this movie on VHS and DVD and was only shown on premium channels back around 1991 or 1992. After almost 12 years they finally decided to release it with the nudity. Even if you already own a previous edition on DVD or VHS this is still a MUST BUY for Maria Ford fans. You won't be disappointed and the movie's (finally) great now!!

If you are new to Verdi, I would stay away from this one. Go for one of the DVD releases of RIGOLETTO, IL TROVATORE, or UN BALLO IN MASCHERA. This one has some fine music and singing, but lacks the dramatic punch and intensity of those works. Like Verdi himself did, I found it a bit on the dull side. But those who already know Verdi's core operas will want to take a look at this lesser-known work.

The principal singers are certainly superb. Pendatchanska is one of those formidable Slavic sopranos you wouldn't want to meet in a dark alley.

The production, which seems to have been made for Italian television, has one annoying flaw. Although the sound is generally good, the microphones are so sensitive that they pick up a lot of extraneous noise, including a whispering line prompter who is clearly audible in many scenes.

Of all of Verdi's "unknown" operas, I Due Foscari is probably the least known. Its fate was not helped by Verdi's opinion that it was so dark and gloomy that it was rather boring. Yes, the opera is very dark but it is not, to me, boring providing that there has been assembled three excellent singers to sing the lead roles as has been done in this performance. It is my favorite of Verdi's "unknown" operas. I was reminded of that fact upon viewing this wonderful performance of the work that was taped at the theater of San Carlo and was led by Nello Santi who gives one the feeling that Verdi "runs in his blood". I first became acquainted with I Due Foscari on a Philips recording in the 1980s that features Jose Carreras and Katia Ricciarelli--both in their vocal prime. This new performance of the opera is as good, if not better, than that performance. Three exceptional singers have been assembled--Vincenzo LaScola, Leo Nucci and that fabulous spinto-soprano Alexandrina Pendatchanska all able to meet every vocal challenge that Verdi throws at them.
The director, of this production, does not "invent" action for the singers to perform because, in actuality, there is not very much action in the opera--tenor, baritone die, soprano begs for help from father-in-law, etc) Just beautiful music (some of the most beautiful orchestra music Verdi ever wrote--listen to the beginning of Act II). The director simply allows the singers to, more or less, "stand and deliver" and these singers DO deliver!! (By the way, this production has some of the loveliest scenery and makes us of the some of the most beautiful colors that I have ever seen in any opera production--gorgeous!)
Vincenzo LaScola, as Jacopo Foscari, is really an under-rated and under-appreciated tenor! His singing in this opera is awe-inspiring. He delivers some of the most beautiful mezza-voce that I have ever heard. There is also power, feeling and great vocal control in everything that he sings in this performance.
Leo Nucci, as Francesco Foscari, has been singing for what now seems like forever. I think that he is rather taken for granted as an artist; however, he gives an overwhelming performance in this opera--vocally and dramatically. His final scene, rightfully, brings the house down.
Alexandrina Pendatchanska has to be one of the most exciting sopranos around these days! Although this opera demands less of her dramatically than her knock-out performance as Elizabeth in the DVD of Donizetti's Roberto Devereux, she is, nevertheless, vocally stunning, as Lucrezia Contarini (Jacopo's wife) in this performance. She is simply fabulous--why she is not singing the Verdi spinto-soprano roles in the large opera houses, I don't know. Hopefully, she is building her career slowly; after all, she is still very young!
Do yourself a favor and become acquainted with one of Verdi's lesser-known, but beautiful operas, by buying this DVD. If you love Verdi, as I do, you will love it!

Verdi's I Due Foscari has, in my opinion, been unjustly neglected over the years. True, the story is extremely gloomy but the music is superb, foreshadowing the many glories to come while avoiding the bombast that often appears in Verdi's earlier works such as Nabucco and Attila. The baritone part is particluarly rewarding but all three principals have the chance to make their mark.

The performance on this DVD comes from the Teatro San Carlo in Naples and features the excellent baritone Leo Nucci as the elderly Doge of Venice, Francesco Foscari. Nucci is one of those rare artists who throws himself completely into his roles. His Rigoletto at the Metropolitan in New York was absolutely amazing. As the father who must exile his own son, there is no chance for bluster or bombast just quietly expressed grief and terrible sadness. The Doge's openening solo is spun with beautiful tone and his final denunciation of the Council of Ten quite rightly draws a huge ovation from the audience. There are no typically grand operatic gestures here and Nucci's dignity and restraint are perfectly suited to the old man's plight.

As the Doge's unfortunate son, Vincenzo La Scola sings with a lovely sense of line and would shame some of the so-called supertenors in that he actually sings quietly from time to time. This is probably just as well as a steady beat enters the voice when La Scola tries to beef up his tone. His acting is also restrained as befits the situation.

Alexandrina Pendatchanska is the least successful of the three leads but this has more to do with her character. The wife of the soon-to-be-exiled tenor spends the entire opera really, really, really angry and it's hard to gain sympathy when you're always cranky. Her voice is large and has that nice Slavic ping but she too displays a heavy beat when the voice is forced. Her acting is also affected by the part as she seems to spend the whole evening looked extremely annoyed. Verdi could have done better with the role.

The stage direction is pretty dull. The director has the chorus in two lines, with the Council of Ten in a little box half way up the backstage wall so there isn't much interaction with the leads. One gets the impression that the three principal singers were also left to their own devices, Nucci and La Scola delight with some beautiful little moments and expressions, while the
soprano just glares at the audience. A more sumptuous, old style production,such as the one mounted at La Scala this year would have been a better vehicle for the baritone and tenor.

The veteran conductor Nello Santi leads the orchestra with very good results. There is one occasion where the chorus and orchestra get out of step but otherwise, Santi has the show running smoothly. You'd expect nothing less from a professional of his calibre.

The sound and picture quality are superb and the direction for DVD is excellent.

A few minor quibbles aside,this is a masterful performance and one hopes that the Met will stage this opera for Nucci in the near future. In a perfect world, he could be joined by La Scola and either Renee Fleming or Maria Guleghina. Santi could conduct and the production should be designed by Del Monaco in the vein of the Met's excellent Simon Boccanegra.

For anyone who would enjoy a wonderful night at the opera featuring some truly wonderful singing from one of the finest baritones on the stage today, I highly recommend this DVD.

This is not by far the best Verdi Requiem I have seen and/or heard. The negatives leap at you: compressed sound, lack of eloquence, bite and power in the choir, and a somewhat tepid, let's-keep-Apocalypse-tidy Abbado. In short, this is not the Verdi Requiem I'd choose were I to have only one..... But one should not limit oneself to only one, pocketbook permitting, where great masterpieces of music are concerned.

The soloists are superb. In 1982 they were all in their prime. It is a rare privilege indeed to hear Jessye Norman perform a part which lies almost exclusively in the richest and most powerful range of her voice, middle-to-low. I love it. We don't have too many samples of that. It is also a joy to hear Margaret Price, the great Welsh soprano, and arguably the greatest soprano voice to have come out of the UK so far, in top form. She soars with crystal-bright, perfect intonation and minimal vibrato.... Again, she's under-represented on DVD. Her voice contrasts well with Jessye's (though not as stunning a pairing as Caballé/Cossotto under Barbirolli on EMI CD). Carreras sounded even and full in all registers, fresh, and golden throughout. The voice was at its peak before he started abusing it and, of course, before leukemia. Raimondi, even if not a dark base, is, as always, a pillar of strength, musicianship and a moving, noble artist. If one loves singers, that is one good reason to purchase this DVD.

There was around that time a live PBS broadcast of the Requiem with the NY Philharmonic under Mehta with Caballé, Domingo and others. I saw it. I remember Caballé's performance being legendary. A commercial recording of the performance was issued by CBS which edited a slip Domingo made in the Ingemisco (if I recall, he came in early which resulted in a repetition of the "inter oves" phrase....everything handled most professionally and with total aplomb....if you were not familiar with the score you probably wouldn't have noticed it). We are all aware of Domingo's greatness... I hope this does not inhibit the issuance of this live performance on DVD.

I understand Abbado's new performance for EMI is superb but I haven't seen it.

This performance was beautiful; I never have heard Carreras sound better. But I have to dispute those who acclaim the acoustics of Usher Hall. Either that, or the technology of 1982 just falls flat. I listened to the DVD on 5.1 surround sound; there was no reverberation at all, from neither soloists/chorus nor orchestra. The notes just stopped, dead -- CLUNK! From the audience's response, the performance may have sounded better in the hall; on DVD, it's dead.

An excellent performance and recording taped before an audience at Usher Hall in Edinburgh in 1982. The solists are in top form, and they are properly miked so that they don't sound too distant or too immediate. A choice of six- or two-channel audio tracks is provided. The visuals are solely of the performance, but even they manage not be tedious since the camera focuses mostly on the singers and avoids the deadpan instrumentalists. One flaw of the DVD is in not providing subtitles in Latin or English nor a booklet containing the text. The producers must think everybody who's going to watch this has the Latin mass memorized.

For those of you looking to see the best of the best grapplers from UFC and Pride (Ortiz, Kerr, Belfort, Hughes, Sperry etc) competing in the most prestigious submission grappling tournament in the world, this is the DVD for you. For those people looking for all these great submission experts to be placed in the greatest submission grappling tournament in the world with tons of "action", this probably isn't the DVD for you.

It's important to remember that this is a submission grappling tournament. That means the majority of the matches are going to be spent either stalking, the guard, side mount, or mounted position. If you hate these positions and want something with a faster pace, then this is not the DVD for you.

This DVD IS for:
-People who don't mind when UFC or Pride fights stay in the guard for 5+min (in this case without striking)
-People who understand the very technical aspects of grappling instead of seeing people "Just lying there"
-People who can appreciate ground grappling

This DVD is NOT for:
- People who want tons of action
- People who don't understand submission grappling strategy (position and points)
- People who look for the "ground and pound" seen in UFC and Pride
- People who hate when matches go to the ground

The broad casting quality is decent. They have different camera angles, but is no where close to the quality we're use to in NHB competitions (KOC, UFC, Pride). I give this DVD 3 stars because it gives THE best submission experts in the world, puts them in a tournament and delivers what it says it does. On the other hand, even for someone who studies BJJ with a Gracie, I found a lot of the matches kind of slow myself.

Historic grappling matches in the richest country on the planet.

This is the ONLY tournament where you get to see the best against each other.

The cover photo on this film prominently features Chris Rock and Tim Allen, two comics who went on to priminent stardom in the wake of this film. Are they typical of what you see in the film? Yes and no.

Yes, they're generally funny, with a strong bitter edge and a forthrightness that is refreshing in light of the tiresom self-censorship of most modern comedy. No, you mostly haven't heard of them.

Timm Allen and Chris Rock have both tamed their shows, moving into more social satire and less vulgarity. These early routines, as well as some rare footage of Bill Hicks, justify the cost of the film. However, many of the other performers haven't enjoyed their success. Stephanie Hodge, Monty Hoffman, and Thea Vidale have very limited acting credits, while Joey Gayno, Stephen Pearl, and Larry Scarano have no screen credits other than this one.

Some artistic decisions in this film are hard to understand. Why are only two women represented, when most of us have known a lot of raunchy women? Why are only two black people represented? And why did they end with Jackie "the Joke Man" Martling, whose routine consists of him laughing at his own jokes? Surely there was someone stronger they could end on.

The comics aren't equally funny. Otto Peterson and John Fox are downright feeble. But it's more funny than not, if you have the mindset for this kind of humor. Perhaps the highlight is the relentless pace and extreme mannerisms of Bill Hicks--fans of that artist should rush out and get this film right away just for his bit, as there is little enough film of his material to be found.

Obviously, this film isn't for everyone. But if you enjoy raucous humor or love any of the individual stars, this film is enjoyable, if hard to find. Find it if you can, you won't regret it.

Fair warning: this movie, featuring twelve standup comedians (like duh, right?), was made in 1988. Quite a bit of the comedy covers the last days of the Reagan administration, Iran-Contra, further paranoia concerning AIDS, Bruce Springsteen, and other late-eighties concerns that would date this movie. So if you're not too familiar with the era, much of the stuff contained within might not be as entertaining to you. But it does showcase a few talents prior to their breakouts into superstardom, with Chris Rock and Tim Allen being the most recognizable of the bunch, as well as the tragically unrealized potential of Bill Hicks.

Out of the twelve standups that performed in this movie, there are four that I found the most notable.

- Chris Rock doing part of his "Born Suspect" act, just prior to joining 'Saturday Night Live'. His sexual fantasy about Aunt Jemima is one of his most twisted standup moments ever. His performance here is one of the first ever recorded, and displays the spark of genius that would become a bit less mean-spirited, and more focused socially and politically in later years with "Bring The Pain" and "Bigger and Blacker".

- Tim Allen and his "Men Are Pigs" riff, his most notable standup performance, telling all what it "truly" means to be a man, as well as manly. I found it to be the movie's best performance. This is the act that launched him to superstardom, and helped inspire the "Home Improvement" sitcom.

- The late Bill Hicks revealing which celebrity and/or politician is the true Anti-Christ. Although I didn't always find his act to be laugh-out-loud funny, he was fun to watch and listen to. His act was basically social critiques in the spirit of George Carlin, but less focused and quite a bit more mean spirited. And anyone who can beat out Carlin in the mean-spirited comedy department is someone to admire in my book. This film was my first exposure to Hicks, and since then I've taken a listen to his other works, all of which I found both profane and wonderful. I'm still surprised that I never knew about him before this, and somewhat saddened that he's no longer with us.

- Jackie "The Joke Man" Martling, firing off the filthiest jokes & riddles I've ever heard. Although he had a small share of infamy as the Howard Stern Radio Show's head writer at the time (a position he still holds today), this is one of his first performances to reach a big audience. I both love and hate watching him perform... it's like a train wreck. Not only does he throw the jokes at an almost incomprehensible speed, he has a hell of a time trying not to laugh while telling his sick little stories. In some cases he's barely able to get the punch line out before guffawing. To summarize, he's got too much show to do, and not enough time to do it. It's both riotously funny and depressingly pathetic at the same time.

'Late!