Wholesale and Distribution Movie Reviews

Even though it's not a movie made with a big budget (or maybe because of that fact) the film has great atmosphere. Highly recommended!

In the original, the only characters on the island are Zaroff, his servant, and the shipwrecked Rainsford. Naturally, though, Hollywood needed romance, so Fay Wray, no stranger to playing a damsel in distress, makes a fine heroine. Robert Armstrong, on the other hand, grossly overplays the part of the drunken American boor. But overall, it's a good, enjoyable picture.

By the way, the original story is politically incorrect from every angle and could not possibly be faithfully adapted to the screen today. (Zaroff expounds on how easy it is to hunt men of certain races.) And some otherwise intelligent people insist that "dangerous game" in the title refers to the game Zaroff plays of hunting humans. But it obviously means that, for the hunter, the most dangerous game to stalk is man.

From the opening, I immediately had my doubts: Shaky camera work on an already unsteady highway, shots of a stationary car while the background changes, lights going down in a restaurant with the main character's face lit up for a flashback...all cheap B movie stunts, which you expect.

But what you don't expect are good performances. 'Detour' contains at least one good one and one superb one. Tom Neal plays a piano player from New York hitchhiking to L.A. to meet his sweetheart. Neal is right on target as the passive loser. His face looks like it was formed in a vat of perpetual disappointment. Something happens on his trip to L.A. that makes his life even worse, if that's possible. Then he meets a woman named Vera.

If they had a Best Actress category for B movies, Ann Savage's portrayal of Vera would be the standard by which all other actresses would be judged. She's evil, scheming, conniving, wicked, hateful, vengeful...and that's all before breakfast. Savage multiplies Neal's problems a thousand-fold and grinds the tension out all the way until the end. With a better script and better production values, Savage and Neal could have lit up the screen for the definitive film noir. But director Edgar G. Ulmer makes the best use of the limitations he has. Despite its problems, 'Detour' is a better than average B movie/film noir that deserves to be seen.

69 minutes, black and white

Ann Savage's character Vera is perhaps the most blunt, cold, evil, wholly unlikable woman I have ever heard tell of. It is quite easy to see why the man we meet in the opening scene is as hateful and short-tempered as he is. As we flash back to the whole story of Roberts' hard times, accompanied by plenty of voiceover narration, one cannot help but feel sorry for the guy. His initial decision to cover up the death of the guy who picked him up is a bad, undeniably stupid, mistake, but he certainly does not deserve the level of vitriol and pure evil that afflicts him in the form of Vera. The ending is a tiny bit flat, but the story itself is fascinating and the performances of Neal and Savage are not to be missed. Detour is vintage film noir and should not be missed by any and all fans of the genre.

Ken Wahl was certainly an inspired choice for the lead, but there are times he's so "down-to-earth", so "common", he's downright neanderthal, and you wonder how this guy ever graduated from grade school, much less became an FBI agent.

Funny, when I first read that the original soundtrack was missing from the DVD, I immediately thought of Nights in White Satin. I can't imagine the final scene between Vinnie and Sonny without that music.

Anyway, you may want to think about renting a few of the discs before you spend all this money on outdated memories.

First, as has been mentioned, is the price/format. The first two DVD's have four hours of shows, the third has three, and it seems like the fourth has even less. THEN they are going to put out the Profitt Arc later on. I think that they could've prepared the whole first season on six DVD's and left it at that. Obviously the technology is there as many other series have condensed a lot more material onto two or three DVD's.

Secondly, I was fairly disappointed that there were no captions/subtitles. This is a very basic DVD function that I generally assume will be available. I don't hear as well as I used to, and I usually enjoy a show much more with the captions on.

Third, as has been mentioned, is the OBVIOUS omission of the "Nights in White Satin" piece in the No One Gets Out of Here Alive episode. What were they thinking!?! Frankly, I believe that they ruined one of the most powerful and moving scenes ever shown on TV, and clearly several others agree with me.

If I was in charge of future DVD productions for Wiseguy, I'd pull my head out of my butt and remaster that episode for inclusion in a future set. I'd also make sure that all of the episodes had captioning. I'm sure that the original TV shows did, so why not the DVD's?

Will I buy future sets? Probably, because I really liked the show and I am looking forward to the Music Business Arc. I don't think they can butcher the future shows any worse than they already did by leaving out "Nights".

I hope that any future DVD's for Wiseguy and any other TV series will be truer to the original visions than this particular set.

You will find sympathy for the murderer, and the betrayer in this case is the "good guy". Your own feelings will be mixed, echoing Vinnie's. Nifty accomplishment for a "crime melodrama TV series", don't ya think? The writing and plotting here is top-notch.

Ray Sharkey is justifiably celebrated for his role here, and Ken Wahl clearly is doing the role of his career (as it would prove to be). Jonathan Banks and Ed Byrnes offer flawless support.
Caveats are few. Pretty much every female role is awful, and often embarassing. Every line from "Gina Augustina's" mouth is flat-out terrible, for example. Beginning with her name. And yes, the 80's hairstyles are a hoot. They are the reason widescreen television was invented.
Reading about "Nights In White Satin", I'm saddened that it was not included. I agree, it must have been something to see/hear. It's time for these "music rights" issues to be settled. If a film was butchered and sold without the creator's permission, the performing arts community would be up in arms. Now we must slice up the soundtrack because certain greedy individuals need even more money? Listen, you agreed once to have it in the film. Leaving it in will only sell you MORE records, not less. Enough already.

Back to "Wiseguy", yes the price is debatably elevated, but the entertainment value?
No question. Worth every penny.

1)Encounter In The Third Dimension
2)Alien Adventure
3)Haunted Castle

Why? Well, because it will keep you, the viewer, wanting more! And you will want more even when its over...lol The effects in each of the DVD's are AWE INSPIRING!

The first DVD, Encounter In The Third Dimension with Elvira, is a sort of HISTORY of 3-D. This gives you an orientation as to what 3-D is and how it came about. Although the storyline and the acting is terrible, the 3-D massively makes up for it. The opening sequence is astounding! Check out that part where the title comes on.....you'll LOVE IT!! There is also a snippets form amusement park rides. Look at the Terminator-2 3-D ride snippet where the liquid metal mechanized droid blows up and the fragments of it seem to be suspended in mid air! VERY COOOOOL EFFECT!!

The second one, Alien Adventure, goes a step further. The effects in this one are much better! And it shows off more of what this type of 3-D can do! You the viewer are put on various types of simulated rides with your green little partners. There is a rollercoaster, which is very gut-wrenching, a magic carpet ride, and a few more! Hey, I don't want to spoil for ya!! there are some funny moments in it too. The aliens almost look like the ones from the movie Mars Attacks!

Now, the last one, Haunted Castle, is by far THE BEAST out of all 3!! Visually its BEAUTIFUL!! I actually jumped on some sequences!! Absolutely mind blowing! One thing for you to pay close attention to is....once again, the opening title sequence with the bird on the tree! Look at the DETAIL!! You'll know what I mean when you see it!!

Be the envy of all your friends and own this sophisticated 3-D hardware! You can get more DVD's on the web-site printed on your instructions. Your skepticism will be a thing of the past!! BUY THIS.....NOW!!!

Until the Kodak company releases its competing "restoration," the 90-minute Image version, ASIN: B00005ABVF, is the only one to own, for completeness and clarity. My advice is not to try to save a buck or two in the used market UNLESS the seller specifically indicates in advance that he will be seinding you the Image release, that is clearly marked "Restoration" and with a running time of approximately 90 minutes, plus extras -- and it has the two dinosaurs on the cover, as pictured on the Amazon product page. Some versions touting "extra material" only have still photos of the missing scenes. The Image restoration has all its restored footage edited into the movie -- and it all moves!

The Image restoration is excellent. The picture quality is very good, the movie starts at its original, earlier point in the story, when the reporter's girlfriend Gladys tells him she can only marry an "adventurer," and contains much more footage throughout, including an entire set piece in a native village where Professor Challenger toys with the explorers by fooling them with a blank page instead of the map to the plateau. Also restored is Dr. Summerlee's fascination with insects, and some scenes of the brontosaurus near the end of the picture, like the one that amazed viewers on first run of the brontosaurus' huge head ramming through a window and interrupting a poker game -- and the bronto finally swimming down the English channel with a steamship in the background.

This is the first version of the movie for grown-ups. It foreshadows KING KONG, released 8 years later, by generally putting an expedition in a jungle full of dinosaurs, but also in one more specific way -- In Doyle's book, Challenger merely brings back a Pteradactyl's egg, and it hatches in the lecture hall and flies away. In THE LOST WORLD, in 1925, the expedition brings back a giant Brontosaurus, which gets loose and "wreaks havoc" (as the TV Guide was always fond of putting it) in the city. This original idea was later gleefully borrowed and immortalized in the much more popular, sensational, and brilliant KING KONG of 1933 -- by the same special effects master, the most gifted stop-motion animator of all time, Willis H. O'Brien.

Second, it would be unfair to judge the special effects by today's standards. The film was groundbreaking in its day and the stop-action manipulation of the dinosaurs is actually quite impressive.

Those who can read lips will also be happily surprised by how the actors remain in character with conversation not recorded on the dialogue cards. An example is when they escape the plateau and are met by a government official. He sees the dinosaur in the mud and exclaims, "My God, what is that?" Kids might enjoy watching other scenes and trying to decipher their actual speech.

My version ends rather abruptly with Professor Challenger on a bridge watching his dinosaur swim away. I cannot say how the restored version concludes.

>Plot violence and munching dinosaurs.
>No nudity or sexual situations.

These days it is hard enough to get young people watching black and white films, not to mention silent ones. However, those who are open to the experience will enjoy this movie.

The hunter and the reporter love the same woman. When she picks the reporter, the hunter shows himself to be a noble character and accepts, albeit sadly, her decision. A modern film would, no doubt, have a fight scene and maybe show the one kill the other for the woman. Times have changed. Further, one modern version makes it clear that Challenger is an atheist and has no place in his life for organized religion. In this version, we are told that he is a minister. The woman in the story wants him to marry her and the reporter. Modern films would skip to the chase and allude to fornication. Yes, times do indeed change. Too bad.

The Steve Francis part is sick. I must have watched it 37 times. The music is perfect and Steve goes unconscious for about 27 points, including several explosive dunks over multi defenders, bouncing the ball off a defender's head, perfect form jumpshots, behind the back dribbling infront of defender. I'm not sure when this clip was taken but it was in a Pro City leage game. The clip is great, and steve is one of the best fundamental, unconsciously ballin' players of our time. I cannot watch this clip over enough times.

The James White dunk section is also pretty good.

A funny section on how to play pickup ball for a white dude. This part was pretty funny, and white people should find it helpful. They are rules you should know by now, but if you don't there they are.

The great white lie part was kinda lame. I was disappointed in this section. I couldnt tell if they were goofin' on them or if they really thought those were some tight moves. A few were tight, but some were very lame.

Everyone criticizing this video because it doesnt have rafer alston is dumb. THere is a section on him but it was pretty much a done in a sad light, since in reality it is pretty sad, and rafer has gotten too much hype already and not lived up to it. Sure he was a great ball handler, but there is more to basketball than that. This video is centered around outrageous dunkers, playmakers, and players who Ball Above All. Competitors. Scorers. Atheletes.

Not some goofy little and-1-mix tape.