Don Movie Reviews

So,the waiting time is over.A beautiful DVD in Top Quality of the great Bonanza TV-Show.I am astonished about the remarkable Choice about the episodes.The Crucible and All about Walter,one dramatic and one funny,are truly some of the greatest from the complete Run.And the Orginal Sound and Opening Sequence let the heart jump.Bonanza Fans,this is the first real deal on DVD.Buy it and lets hope there will be more.And my wish is that there will be more classic shows like Branded,Man called Shenandoah,Lancer,High Chapparal,Bronco,Laramie or Gunsmoke.I think there is a big market for these treats.

this is the best dvd yet and i would highly recommend. i too will be waiting for future editions from artisan. now if we can only get alias smith and jones by someone like "artisan"!!!!

Finally!!! After years of getting the same 30 episodes on DVD by all kinds of renegade companies ARTISAN/Republic decided to release a proper set of episodes from a wider span of seasons.

The 30 or 31 episodes that have been repackaged the past 4 or 5 years all come from the first two seasons. This is due to the fact that ARTISAN had to prolong their sole rights to the first seasons but somehow forgot to. The episodes became "public domain" and as a result several renegade DVD companies have had a field day releasing these episodes again and again.

Through a internet petition by Bonanza fans ARTISAN learned that there were a great number of fans interested in getting episodes on disc, some even suggested to release all 14 seasons onto DVD, no less than 431 episodes.

What is so great about this set? It contains 8 well known and loved episodes from the first 6 years. If you already own one of the abovementioned sets, don't worry, there's no overlap! And that is another great thing. Contrary to the "renegade" discs, this set has the original Bonanza theme and no surrogate western tune. The sound is remastered and in stereo and the colours are wonderful. In fact, ARTISAN shows all of the renegade companies how it's done!

If you have had disappointing experiences with buying Bonanza DVD's this is the set that will change your mind. This set actually left me craving for a Vol. 2 set. And there's so much to pick from. I would love to get my hands on DVD's containing "Twilight Town", "Ride The Wind", "Hoss & The Leprechauns", "The Ride", "The Pursued"......I could go on forever!

Gert Eggens, Assen, The Netherlands

It's probably a well-known fact that some of the best martial arts movies come from Hong Kong. CROUCHING TIGER, HIDDEN DRAGON is a contemporary classic from Hong Kong. Jackie Chan, Jet Li, and Chow Yun-Fat are all martial arts legends who have made it big through the Hong Kong cinema. Cory Yuen (aka Yuen Woo Ping) has made himself a household name by staging the karate battles in such outstanding kung fu films as THE MATRIX, CROUCHING TIGER, THE ONE, CRADLE 2 THE GRAVE, THE TRANSPORTER, etc.

Don "The Dragon" Wilson, WKA World Light-Heavyweight Kickboxing Champion, stars in BLOODFIST V:HUMAN TARGET, a movie very much in the tradition of Hong Kong cinema. "The Dragon" plays Jim Stanton, a federal agent hell-bent on breaking up the arms-smuggling ring of Kwon, a nefarious Chinese criminal whose latest deal involves some stolen plutonium. Unfortunately, Stanton is shot in the head and left for dead by some of Kwon's meanies. He awakens in a hospital bed with his memory completely erased. Both Kwon and Stanton's superiors, who believe he's become a double agent, have him at the top of their hit lists, making his "wife" Candy (Denice Duff) his only ally.

There's no denying that HUMAN TARGET's martial arts sequences are lavish and flashy. One of the great things about Don "The Dragon"'s movies is that he's always given worthy opponents to go toe-to-toe with. In HUMAN TARGET, one of them is Steve James, whose been in such karate gems as the AMERICAN NINJA series. I rank him at the same level of all the best opponent's Don "The Dragon" stuck it out with, including Billy Blanks (BLOODFIST), Maurice Smith (BLOODFIST II), Gary Daniels (BLOODFIST IV:DIE TRYING), and Matthias Hues (BLACKBELT).

Still, it's Don "The Dragon"'s movie, all the way, and how better to showcase his astonishing kickboxing abilities than to put him in a Hong Kong-esque kung fu movie?

I had no expectations when I popped in this video, which might be why I absolutely thought it was the greatest film since "Total Recall." Great twists and turns, and "The Dragon" was quite good. I appreciate his realistic fighting style rather than all this "wire work" that is so preposterous in movies like "The Matrix." This film really deserves attention. It is that good. I highly suggest getting this film.

Move over Steven Segal. This picture has a great plot, filled with turns in the plot that keep you guessing, never knowing who to trust. Denise Duff is quite good in this. Who is she?! Usually, in a kickboxing film you only get long drawn out fights and little story. This film has terrific fights that don't outlast their welcome and a story that really works. Technical credits are solid. Writing and directing are top notch.

This is it! Goku is finally brought back to life, and rightfully resumes his place as the main hero of DBZ! Yep, no Goten, no Trunks, no Vegeta, and no Gohan! Goku's finally taking center stage again, and that means big trouble for Majinn Buu, especially when that pink freak absorbs Gohan! Can Goku defeat Buu, and save his family, his friends, and the universe? Maybe with a little help from Vegeta... and not only that, but the coolest character in DBZ shows up for the first time! I have only one thing to say for DBZ fans... VEGITO! So hurry up and get this volume!

For any fan of Dragonball Z, this DVD is a must have. When Goku returns to help Gohan things take a turn for the worse before the father and son can fuse, Gohan gets absorbed. The only people left for Goku to use the newfound Pottara earrings with, are Mr. Satan and Dende. The earrings will fuse two people together forever, plus give them a major power increase. There is a funny scene where Goku imagines himself fused with Dende, then another with Mr. Satan. Goku is about to throw the earring to Mr.Satan when he senses Vegeta soem distance away. He uses instant transmission to get to Vegeta. Sadly, Vegeta refuses to fuse with Goku, because Goku hid Super Saiyan 3 during their battle. Finally, once Buu is about to kill them, Vegeta agrees and they put on the earrings. Thus, the invincible hero, Vegito, is born. Awesome episodes and I can't wait for next months set.

The Old kais weapon-Gohan is battling Buu on earth and Buu is winning. Hercule and Dende watch in horror. The Old kai gives up his life for Gokuu so Gokuu can go. He gives Gokuu 2 earrings Kibit and Kaioshin take off 1 earring each and become a fused warrior. Gokuu goes to earth.
Ready to fuse?-Buu blasts Hercule but Tienshinhan saves them. Gokuu comes in and slices Buu in half. Buu attacks Tienshinhan and regenarates.
Gokuu hands Gohan the earrings. Buu loses the fusion of Gotenks and absorbs Gohan.
Union of rivals-Gokuu guesses the best person to fuse with is hercule so he tosses the earring to him but grabs it back.
"Wha?" Gokuu says. He senses Vegeta. He Goes to Vegeta and tells him to put the earring on. Vegeta says no. He fires Multiple blasts at Buu. He dosent even damage him. Gokuu tells Vegeta Buu hurt Bulma and Trunks Vegeta grabs the earring and puts it on. Veggito is formed and the battle begins.

It should of ended at the end of this DVD. Well, I actually watched the english version and let me tell you... It's better. Like one of the guys before me said, "You are too absolutely avoid the English version as it takes away from all the emotion of the Japanese version." Wrong. The original isn't always better...

The Japanese version has girls do the voices. And when I say girls, I am not joking. The voice of Goku in Japanese is done by an actual girl. It sounds like a girl, and its not very good for gokus character. Anyways, the Japanese version has bad music. Basically there is never any music too fit the mood. The sound quality is also less than average. Besides, When Goku finally powers up in the English version and gets ready to fire his bomb, an intense, moving music kicks in and lets you feel the atmosphere because you know the bomb is going to completely obliterate anything in it's path. In the Japanese version, there is no music(literally). Lets be honest though, the original isn't always better. Some people just won't stop whining about how the Japanese version is the only way to watch. Heres a tip, get a life... The English version on this DVD is way better, and who cares if it isn't the first version made like 30 years ago.

This has to be the single best DVD of the entire DBZ series. Those stupid people from Earth won't lend their energy for Goku to create the Genki Dama, Spirit Bomb, so Mr. Satan, of all people, convinces them to do so. Now it's up to Goku to finally finsh Buu off(and reclaim his place as the main DBZ hero, for that matter). The scenes on this episode are so beautifully written out and the music fits every scene. The English version is too be avoided, as the voices are horrible and the stupid music destroys all sense of emotion from the Japanese version. But still, the original version makes this DBZ volume a must-buy. Yes, it's THAT good.

This dvd is awsome & totally involving. I totally recommend watching it in Japanese since the voices, music and dialogues surpasses the butchered English version by many many levels.
The music in the japanese version is really beautifull & fit the moments pretty well unlike the ANNOYING tracks of the English version. I HATE the voice of chubby Buu in the English version, chubby Buu in the Japanese version kicks a$$.
Bluntly I'll give the Japanese version 5/5
while the English version 2.5/5(better luck next time;p)

"Night Call" is one of the top 2 or 3 creepiest Twilight Zone episodes ever!! Superbly written script with excellent plot development (it gets more than the allowable number of "stars")! A great acting performance, and gradually mounting tension throughout! The other episodes are much less effective although "Piano in the House" is actually a very good script-- Unfortunately, superficial character development diminishes some admirable acting performances--It gets "2 1/2 stars" but the remaining two episodes are below average (by Twilight Zone standards). By today's standards, they are above average!

I have most of the TZ dvds and plan on getting them all. This one marks the 30th I've bought and I have to say it's the best so far. All four episodes are strong and good, and there's something for everyone. For the fun-lovers, there's "Rance McGrew" - a light-hearted TZ episode that's really funny in certain parts. For the child in all of us, there's "The Big Tall Wish", which tells us to never stop believing in the magic. For the more serious-minded traditional TZ lovers, there's two excellent episodes in "Piano in the House" and "Night Call" - both excellent in every way! While most TZ dvds suffer from a slow episode or two thrown in with a few strong ones, this dvd has nothing but goodies on here. A great one to start your collection with!

Magic makes its presence known in the four episodes from "The Twilight Zone" collected in Volume 26 of this DVD series. Ivan Dixon has a nice role as Bolie Jackson in "The Big Tall Wish," written by Rod Serling. Just about washed up as a prizefighter, Jackson wins his fight because little Henry (Steven Perry), used magic to help. But Jackson refuses to believe in the magic. In "Showdown with Rance McGrew," written by Serling and based on an idea by Frederic Louis Fox, temperamental television cowboy star McGrew (Larry Blyden) suddenly finds himself in the real Old West where the real Jesse James (Arch Johnson) has a complaint about the way he and his fellow outlaws are portrayed on television. "A Piano in the House," written by Earl Hamner, Jr., stars Barry Morse as Fitzgerald Fortune, a cynical theater critic who uses a magical piano player to get his party guests to reveal hidden truths about themselves. Fortune is an unpleasant man who meets a deservedly unpleasant fate. Gladys Cooper makes a return visit to the Zone as Miss Elva Keene in "Night Call," written by Richard Matheson and based on his short story "Long Distance Call." Miss Elva, who is crippled, keeps getting strange phone calls with a man's voice saying, "Where are you? I want to talk to you." She is already scared, but when she learns the phone calls are coming from a fallen wire lying atop the grave of her long-dead fiance Brian, who was killed in the car crash that crippled her. This episode is another minor masterpiece from Matheson. This is an above-average volume in the series, which just happens to have three of my favorite "non-classic" episodes of the Zone.

This movie is great for people who love horses! This movie teaches people that phisical therepy with horses can build up your self esteim! I recomend this to anyone any age!

I thought this was a really nice family film....reminded me of the old "good" Disney movies before they turned into crud

What a concept -- a film that makes you feel good about life, even if it deals you a bad hand. Wind Dancer doesn't sugarcoat tragedy, but it shows how tough love, sacrifice and hard work can make things a lot better. I loved this message and want my kids to watch it again and again. Matt McCoy, Mel Harris, and Raeannin Simpson are fantastic. Not a lot of action, but a lot of heart. Kind of like real life!

I came to like Art Pepper later in my musical journey. I was always more of a trumpet fan, having only come to appreciate the saxophone after hearing John Coletrane or Cannonball Adderly play on Miles Davis records. Point is, I was never a huge fan of the sax. But in 2001 I stumbled upon a cd in a library, "Art Pepper Thursday Night At The Village Vanguard" and it sounded so real, so raw, and yet so polished that it actually PUTS you in the legendary club for the gig. You can almost smell the cigarette smoke, the booze, hear and feel the people around you, pressing in to take in the live jazz, done by a genius. I then purchased the rest of the cd series, "Friday Night", "Saturday Night" and "More For Les". These Art Pepper discs contain masterful playing, captured at a peak of sorts with a rhythm section that put the songs first, not the solos.

Needless to say, when this Art Pepper DVD came out, I had to have a look. It is a very sober interview with a man who has had many un-sober days, and he tackles the tough questions head-on. From telling how it felt to do heroin for the first time, for the thirtieth time, to his experience with de-tox and withdrawal agony in a cell in prison, to finally meeting his daughter and writing a song for her even though his gestures were never re-ciprocated, this is a painful, intimate look at the man, the music, the mess and the mystique of jazz. It really puts you there with him for an hour or so, both playing and telling you about it. If you like the "feel" of jazz, of blues, this delivers a good short dose of it. Get this, dim the lights, and enjoy! --mf

This is a wonderful memory of a battered genius that was able to come back one more time and make an unequaled contribution to the jazz world.

After seeing this poignant and moving video about the torture and genius of a true jazz great, I had to make a comment.Having followed his music since the days of Stan Kenton, it's wonderful to be able to retain a little piec of his music on video. This should be in every jazz fan's library.

'The Avengers" was a popular 1960's British fantasy-adventure series that focused on the exploits of a male-female duo in the service of the British government. The series underwent several changes of its female lead but its one constant male lead was John Steed always portrayed by the debonair Patrick Macnee (Originally the John Steed had two male partners but that format eventually changed). Kathy Gale portrayed by Honor Blackman became Steed's first female partner. However, when Honor Blackman departed the series and Diana Rigg entered as Mrs. Emma Peel, the show became an international sensation. Rigg brought sophistication, wit, charm and beauty, which hid her lethal and highly visual judo and karate abilities. Macnee and Rigg complemented each other beautifully with their carefree witty and charming exchange of dialogue. The show distinguished itself with bizarre and futuristic villains and fantastic plots. Popular at the height of the James Bond craze, the show was able to distinguish itself with its simply over-the-top visual style. Laurie Johnson's catchy and sophisticated main title theme matched the visuals of the show and still conjures up an image of the series when listened to today. When Diana Rigg left the series, Linda Thorson entered as John Steed's new partner Tara King. The series soon went off the air in the United States. It was a shame because the episodes with Tara King were quite good. The King episodes seemed to be a little more down to earth and contained some very good writing and intricate plotting. In any event series definitely left its mark amongst the finest. These DVD copies are gorgeous. Volume 4 of "The Avengers" 1966 is very good. It seems fresh even by today's standards.

If you relish a series like "77 Sunset Strip," "T.H.E. Cat," or "MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE" you no doubt know about the content of what you are getting. You are more likely concerned about the quality of the product. Like John might say to Emma, "You scratch my back and I'll scratch your back. Just watch the hat please." John and Emma are back and are here to stay via DVD technology. Being on DVD, the aesthetics about the actual episodes are not in question here. More appropriately one may ask how they look. They are much better than the Sean Connery film and they look good, very good, excellent in fact.

You can look up the individual reviews. This collection will either bring back old memories or create some new old memories. However you will have friends and relatives that will want to remember Mother (Patrick Newell.) A single case makes the movies easier to keep track of and look better on your video storage wall. Being DVDs this is a one-time investment. Buying them individually can add up in shipping and handling. So as Emma says "Always keep your bowler on in time of stress, and watch out for diabolical masterminds." And buy the collection. Also available is Avengers '67 Set 1 Vol 03 (1966).

This set starring Patrick Macnee as John Steed and Diana Rigg as Emma Peel is very funny and holds your attention. This is a classic set, but there is a problem. I find two of these episodes completely boring. The Living Dead and Never, Never Say Die are so boring. The Living Dead is an interesting plot, but the way it was made, they didn't do a good job(in my opinion). Never, Never Say Die has an interesting plot also. It's about substituting some certain people for robots in their place. It's neat, but for 20 minutes or something like that you just keep seeing this robot walking around. The Hidden Tiger, The Correct Way to Kill, Epic, and The Superlative Seven are all very well done. This is a pretty good set, but not my favorite!

Following the huge success of the first filmed series of The Avengers, starring Patrick MacNee as debonair British agent John Steed and his cool, sophisticated partner Mrs. Emma Peel, the producers opted to make the next batch of 26 episodes in color, to be broadcast in 1967. In order to accomplish this, foreign backing was necessary, and the American networks were approached. The US had broadcast the black and white season four as a mid-season replacement, and were interested in moving forward with a color season in prime time, however they only provided enough backing for 16 episodes initially. Another challenge was that Diana Rigg was not particularly keen to film another season of the show, and demanded a huge salary increase in order to secure her participation. She got the money, but it was made clear it would be her second and last season with the show.

Apart from the use of color film, there were other subtle changes to the show for this fifth season. Both Steed and Emma were given new apartments and Mrs. Peel a much more stylized wardrobe. The device of ending each story with the two leads driving off in a variety of vehicles was abandoned and instead a tag scene was used to introduce each story, where Steed informed his partner that they were needed in a variety of humorous ways. Each story title was also given a two-line subtitle. After completion of the first batch of 16, the American backers did provide finance for a further 16 but asked for both the subtitles and tag scenes to be dropped, and also requested that Mrs. Peel's wardrobe became more recognizably en vogue.

After only 8 episodes were completed, producers Brian Clemens and Albert Fennell left the show after a disagreement and the new producers opted not to continue with Mrs. Peel and began their own interpretation of the show. It wasn't long before Clemens and Fennell were back in charge, but the 67 series ended with "Mission highly improbable," although Rigg was brought back in 1968 for the one-off "The forget me knot," to introduce her replacement Tara King. This episode is included in this release as a bonus episode.

In terms of storylines, acting and the wonderful interplay between the two leads, there is little difference between this color season and the preceding black and white stories and the show had really reached its zenith by this point. Certainly in terms of popularity and ratings, it was never as successful again. Interestingly, several of these stories are in fact remakes of earlier episodes from the Mrs. Gale era. "The joker," "The correct way to kill," and "The $50,000 breakfast," are all remakes, whereas "The return of the Cybernauts," is a sequel to an earlier Steed/Mrs. Peel adventure.

Fans of The Avengers will of course be delighted to have these discs, and I'd highly recommend them to any other fans of the sci-fi/fantasy genre, and indeed fans of the 60's spy format. If you've ever seen the dreadful movie featuring Ralph Fiennes and Uma Thurman, don't let that put you off. These stories are the real McCoy!

If you fondly remember that great British import that we watched on TV way back in the 60s then you no doubt know about the content of what you are getting. You are more likely concerned about the quality of the product. Like John might say to Emma, "You scratch my back and I'll scratch your back. Just watch the hat please." John and Emma are back and are here to stay via DVD technology. Being on DVD, the aesthetics about the actual episodes are not in question here. More appropriately one may ask how they look. They look good, very good, excellent in fact. Still can't get that great theme out of my head.

A film by Ed Bell and Thomas Lennon

This HBO documentary is a powerful film. In the 1930's the United States government commissioned journalists to conduct interviews with those former slaves who were still living. The result was a collection of more than 16 volumes of interviews, the words of former slaves about their experiences. The interviews were transcribed with the way these men and women spoke, in their vernacular. This film is a documentary made up of actors reading some of these interviews to tell the story of slavery and what it was like for these men and women. The documentary uses photos and old video footage to augment the slave narratives. Along with the photos and video footage, we also see the actors reading the narratives, speaking in character. This film is narrated by Whoopi Goldberg and features readings by: Angela Bassett, Don Cheadle, Samuel L Jackson, Oprah Winfrey, Jasmine Guy, Ossie Davis, Courtney B Vance, Alfe Woodard, and others.

The strongest part of this film, as you might expect, is hearing the words of the former slaves and see photographs from that time. This is powerful, powerful stuff. What is less effective is seeing the actors read the narratives. They are perfectly in character, but seeing the actors sitting there delivering the lines is less powerful than just hearing it. Unfortunately, the film also shows the actors right before and after they read the narratives. While the actors are very moved by what they have read and they are very respectful towards the material, it takes us out of the moment and pulls back from the power of the words. This only happens a couple of times, fortunately.

I would definitely recommend this film, especially to high school and college students. This should be part of the curriculum and not be ignored or skipped over, like the subject often is. These narratives are powerful and moving. Highly recommended.

The casting was perfect and the real emotion of the stars and readers seemed genuine. There is no greater history lesson on the birth of a country and its evolution than to hear first hand stories of an enslaved people. Well worth viewing.

It is hard watching stories on this subject. It is so much pain. Sometimes, it is very uncomfortable. You think, how could someone do such things. But, this somehow, felt like listening to a story from your mother, your grandmother or sister. (Hence the narrative part lives up to its name).

As I was being educated about my ancestors, I could not help but feel pride. I felt the depts of thier pain by listening to these narratives.

These people, lived without shoes, ate very little, got whipped for the smallest of "crimes," but managed to survive, and to care for one another and to build families--if only for a little while.

I bought this DVD and will buy the book. Too bad they did not offer it in a set.