Don Movie Reviews

Based on James Grady's novel Six Days of the Condor, this is one of several films from the 1970s which portray distrust of institutional authority because of various assassinations, the Viet Nam War, and Watergate. However, it is important to keep in mind that Joe Turner is not a major political or religious leader; rather, he is a relatively insignificant research analyst in a relatively insignificant C.I.A. field office. For me, the key point is that literally anyone anywhere can be selected for elimination at any time. Worse yet, we won't know who's involved, much less why. Redford delivers a solid performance as Turner, the focal point throughout the film. As for Dunaway, she does what she can with Kathy, not much of a part. Of special note is the work of Max von Sydow (as Joubert) and John Houseman (as Wabash). Theirs is a cold-blooded professionalism which views people merely as "assets" to accumulate or liquidate per orders from unidentified authorities. This is not the best of the political thrillers but it does portray some thought-provoking situations which still seem relevant 28 years later.

David Owens

I do want to suggest that anyone who has not yet seen the film read the review "Why? More to the point, why me?" -- BUT ONLY AFTER SEEING THE MOVIE. It is a very intelligenct and interesting review, but it gives away a crucial plot point that will lose its impact on first-time viewers if read beforehand.

(Please, reviewers--remember the guidelines say not to give away important plot points, something that too many reviews in the press and media do nowadays. Ruins a good movie for those who haven't yet seen it.)

01. A Man about the house
02. And Mother makes four
03. Roper's niece
04. No children, no dogs
05. Jack the giant killer
06. It's only money

Anchor Bay has done a great job with presenting the first season and has included a featurette on John Ritter. Yes it would've been great to have more features, but having the first 6 episodes that started it all is treasure enough! I hope they intend to release all 7 following seasons. Even though there were cast changes through out, Three's Company found a way to keep the laughter going. God Bless John Ritter for giving us so much laughter. Thanks to Anchor Bay for releasing this on DVD so we can relive it again and again! What a great show to own! The second season has 25 episodes, please don't take long to release that too!

Although it has its' drawbacks, it was worth the wait to see this. The band is unbelieveable, and all the myth surrounding Jaco Pastorius makes it worth the effort to search this out. Pat Metheny and Lyle Mays are wonderful (I love the way Lyle throws in that lick from "Phase Dance" right in the middle of the opening "In France They Kiss on Main Street"), and Jaco, well, Jaco can't really be described. It's just amazing seeing all this on video - the way the band plays off each other just can't be adequately described.

Like most of those who have written earlier, my main complaint about this is all of the old movie clips shown with no rhyme or reason throughout the concert. For me, they distracted from instead of adding to the experience.

Otherwise, this is mostly excellent. Joni is very loose (for a self-confessed introvert) and sure of herself. It's obvious she's having a great time. And who wouldn't, with some of the best musicians in the world backing you up?

Despite the cheessy obviousness of some of the videos, this is still a top-notch DVD. The 5.1 sound is excellent, and even though there are a couple of songs from the album missing, we get a few which are only on the video - Jaco's solo and nice version of "Raised on Robbery". Good stuff.

To my mind, Joni Mitchell is poorly served on CD. Her albums were HDCDed back in 1990, but I'm not sure that the quality of remastering is as good as you can now get. None has appeared on SACD and I've seen just one on DVD-Audio. This is extraordinary for such an important figure in contemporary music.

But 'Shadows and Light' is available on DVD, so that those of us with multi-region players can finally see a stellar line-up at the top of their game make the most of Joni's 1970s compositions. I had always wondered what the movie dialogue excerpt was for at the start of the CD. The DVD at least provides a visual explanation.

For fans of Pat Metheny, this DVD provides some of the earliest evidence of his brilliant career-long partnership with Lyle Mays. Pat and Lyle even plays one or two riffs from his 'Pat Metheny Group' LP inside the concert performance of 'In France they Kiss on Main Street'. But Pat was playing with Jaco Pastorius before he met Lyle, and, with hindsight, there is something tragic in Jaco's demeanour here. By 1979 he was near the end of his time with Weather Report, and here he looks world-weary, if not slightly wrecked. But, apart from his solo spot, his performance is wonderfully restrained yet intensely musical. His solo is pretty much the one he used to inflict on Weather Report audiences, though thankfully much shorter. [I only saw him twice in concert.]

Metheny's playing is impressive, but his guitar skills have reached even loftier heights since those pre-Synclavier days.

To me, the real star of this concert is Joni's voice, which gives a faultless, studio-quality performance. In fact, the recording of the entire band is crystal-clear, wih plenty of separation between all instruments except, at times, between Joni's and Pat's guitars.

My main complaints about the DVD are:

1. Terrible font used for the credits (but these were very early days for computer graphics).

2. Tracks that are on the CD that are missing from the DVD. (No 'Woodstock' and no 'God must be a boogie man', for example.) I can understand that there are restrictions on the length of videotape, but this is DVD, for goodness sake. At this stage, there seems no point in mentioning that there are a further three tracks missing from the CD that were on the original double LP!)

3. Poor choice of camera shots during the concert. For example, as soon as Jaco starts his solo, we want to see him -- we don't want yet another tedious scan of the Santa Barbara audience. (My guess is that the hired cameramen knew nothing of Joni's music.)

But, these minor gripes aside, this is definitely a five-star concert. The fortunes of the various participants would take opposite courses over the next decade. In 1979, Pat was on the brink of superstardom. Jaco was arguably past his peak, although still several years from his period of rapid decline, which culminated in drugs problems, street fights, the loss of an arm, and his death. Joni in 1979 was perhaps at her peak, and this DVD is testament to her enduring talents, superb voice and wonderful compositions. If she'd chosen to play 'Shades of Scarlett Conquering', I would have awarded this DVD six stars.

Although it has its' drawbacks, it was worth the wait to see this. The band is unbelieveable, and all the myth surrounding Jaco Pastorius makes it worth the effort to search this out. Pat Metheny and Lyle Mays are wonderful (I love the way Lyle throws in that lick from "Phase Dance" right in the middle of the opening "In France They Kiss on Main Street"), and Jaco, well, Jaco can't really be described. It's just amazing seeing all this on video - the way the band plays off each other just can't be adequately described.

Like most of those who have written earlier, my main complaint about this is all of the old movie clips shown with no rhyme or reason throughout the concert. For me, they distracted from instead of adding to the experience.

Otherwise, this is mostly excellent. Joni is very loose (for a self-confessed introvert) and sure of herself. It's obvious she's having a great time. And who wouldn't, with some of the best musicians in the world backing you up?

Despite the cheessy obviousness of some of the videos, this is still a top-notch DVD. The 5.1 sound is excellent, and even though there are a couple of songs from the album missing, we get a few which are only on the video - Jaco's solo and nice version of "Raised on Robbery". Good stuff.

To my mind, Joni Mitchell is poorly served on CD. Her albums were HDCDed back in 1990, but I'm not sure that the quality of remastering is as good as you can now get. None has appeared on SACD and I've seen just one on DVD-Audio. This is extraordinary for such an important figure in contemporary music.

But 'Shadows and Light' is available on DVD, so that those of us with multi-region players can finally see a stellar line-up at the top of their game make the most of Joni's 1970s compositions. I had always wondered what the movie dialogue excerpt was for at the start of the CD. The DVD at least provides a visual explanation.

For fans of Pat Metheny, this DVD provides some of the earliest evidence of his brilliant career-long partnership with Lyle Mays. Pat and Lyle even plays one or two riffs from his 'Pat Metheny Group' LP inside the concert performance of 'In France they Kiss on Main Street'. But Pat was playing with Jaco Pastorius before he met Lyle, and, with hindsight, there is something tragic in Jaco's demeanour here. By 1979 he was near the end of his time with Weather Report, and here he looks world-weary, if not slightly wrecked. But, apart from his solo spot, his performance is wonderfully restrained yet intensely musical. His solo is pretty much the one he used to inflict on Weather Report audiences, though thankfully much shorter. [I only saw him twice in concert.]

Metheny's playing is impressive, but his guitar skills have reached even loftier heights since those pre-Synclavier days.

To me, the real star of this concert is Joni's voice, which gives a faultless, studio-quality performance. In fact, the recording of the entire band is crystal-clear, wih plenty of separation between all instruments except, at times, between Joni's and Pat's guitars.

My main complaints about the DVD are:

1. Terrible font used for the credits (but these were very early days for computer graphics).

2. Tracks that are on the CD that are missing from the DVD. (No 'Woodstock' and no 'God must be a boogie man', for example.) I can understand that there are restrictions on the length of videotape, but this is DVD, for goodness sake. At this stage, there seems no point in mentioning that there are a further three tracks missing from the CD that were on the original double LP!)

3. Poor choice of camera shots during the concert. For example, as soon as Jaco starts his solo, we want to see him -- we don't want yet another tedious scan of the Santa Barbara audience. (My guess is that the hired cameramen knew nothing of Joni's music.)

But, these minor gripes aside, this is definitely a five-star concert. The fortunes of the various participants would take opposite courses over the next decade. In 1979, Pat was on the brink of superstardom. Jaco was arguably past his peak, although still several years from his period of rapid decline, which culminated in drugs problems, street fights, the loss of an arm, and his death. Joni in 1979 was perhaps at her peak, and this DVD is testament to her enduring talents, superb voice and wonderful compositions. If she'd chosen to play 'Shades of Scarlett Conquering', I would have awarded this DVD six stars.

This movie is about an escape from a nazi camp of american soldiers. But nothing is exaggerated here. Everything is logical and smartly played. You dont want to miss any scene.

It is black and white as it is 50 years old but still stunning. do not miss that movie!

The mystery of course if who is the guy and the comedy is too good to give away here.

Our lead character played by Holden is one of the most dislikable heroes you will ever see. You hate to root for him but are forced to do so.

Buy it.

The story concerns American prisoners of war held in the German "Stalag 17" in 1944, and it begins grimly: after much planning, the Americans have devised an escape for two of their number, but the next morning the bullet-riddled bodies of the two men are dragged into camp and dumped in the mud. But the escape plan should have worked. It was perfect. How did the Germans know? Suspicion begins to settle on J.J. Sefton (Holden), a bitter cynic and hardbitten opportunist who spends his time running various scams designed to strip his fellow prisoners of what little they have.

While this might have worked as drama pure and simple, the film counterbalances its darkness with streaks of a sort of "boys will be boys" broad farce played out in the most over-the-top way imaginable. And strange to say, even given the overplaying typical of the early 1950s, the balance works: for every dramatic twist there is a stroke of comedy, and for every stroke of comedy there is a dramatic twist. In Wilder's hands the ensemble cast, which includes the likes of Otto Preminger and Peter Graves, performs some of the most remarkable juggling of the decade. But the glue here is William Holden. Interestingly, according to most sources Holden hated the play and hated the character and did the project under duress. Whatever the case, he gives a truly remarkable performance: Sefton is not a likable man by any stretch of the imagination, but even so he has certain self-integrity that you cannot help but admire. While Holden is now probably best remembered for his performances in SUNSET BLVD and NETWORK, his work here is likely the finest of his entire career.

There has been some complaint that STALAG 17 is disrespectful to WWII prisoners of war, for it paints their Nazi captors as buffoons and camp conditions as not so much horrific as merely unpleasant--and it is true that the film makes no serious portray the extreme difficulties most POWs encountered. But to say that it is disrespectful to POWs is akin to saying that 42nd STREET is disrespectful to chorus girls: we know, just as 1953 audiences knew, that this is not an attempt to portray reality; it is instead a story told via our willing suspension of disbelief--and a very entertaining story it is indeed.

The DVD is truly a "no frills" product, but the print is crisp. And if you are expecting a realistic examination of men at war you may be disappointed. But still, this is a memorable film, directed with great skill, performed by an exceptional cast, and with a sharp story and clever script. It bears repeat viewing extremely well--which is a great deal more than one can say for most films made. Recommended.

--GFT (Amazon Reviewer)--

This movie is about an escape from a nazi camp of american soldiers. But nothing is exaggerated here. Everything is logical and smartly played. You dont want to miss any scene.

It is black and white as it is 50 years old but still stunning. do not miss that movie!

The mystery of course if who is the guy and the comedy is too good to give away here.

Our lead character played by Holden is one of the most dislikable heroes you will ever see. You hate to root for him but are forced to do so.

Buy it.

The story concerns American prisoners of war held in the German "Stalag 17" in 1944, and it begins grimly: after much planning, the Americans have devised an escape for two of their number, but the next morning the bullet-riddled bodies of the two men are dragged into camp and dumped in the mud. But the escape plan should have worked. It was perfect. How did the Germans know? Suspicion begins to settle on J.J. Sefton (Holden), a bitter cynic and hardbitten opportunist who spends his time running various scams designed to strip his fellow prisoners of what little they have.

While this might have worked as drama pure and simple, the film counterbalances its darkness with streaks of a sort of "boys will be boys" broad farce played out in the most over-the-top way imaginable. And strange to say, even given the overplaying typical of the early 1950s, the balance works: for every dramatic twist there is a stroke of comedy, and for every stroke of comedy there is a dramatic twist. In Wilder's hands the ensemble cast, which includes the likes of Otto Preminger and Peter Graves, performs some of the most remarkable juggling of the decade. But the glue here is William Holden. Interestingly, according to most sources Holden hated the play and hated the character and did the project under duress. Whatever the case, he gives a truly remarkable performance: Sefton is not a likable man by any stretch of the imagination, but even so he has certain self-integrity that you cannot help but admire. While Holden is now probably best remembered for his performances in SUNSET BLVD and NETWORK, his work here is likely the finest of his entire career.

There has been some complaint that STALAG 17 is disrespectful to WWII prisoners of war, for it paints their Nazi captors as buffoons and camp conditions as not so much horrific as merely unpleasant--and it is true that the film makes no serious portray the extreme difficulties most POWs encountered. But to say that it is disrespectful to POWs is akin to saying that 42nd STREET is disrespectful to chorus girls: we know, just as 1953 audiences knew, that this is not an attempt to portray reality; it is instead a story told via our willing suspension of disbelief--and a very entertaining story it is indeed.

The DVD is truly a "no frills" product, but the print is crisp. And if you are expecting a realistic examination of men at war you may be disappointed. But still, this is a memorable film, directed with great skill, performed by an exceptional cast, and with a sharp story and clever script. It bears repeat viewing extremely well--which is a great deal more than one can say for most films made. Recommended.

--GFT (Amazon Reviewer)--

John Wayne always played himself in his films. I don't know whether he could 'act', because the characters he played were always the same. I loved him and the stories he played in.

This was probably his best. I loved the Rooster Cogburn parts as well, but this one was, I think, his best.

A tired old gunman discovers he is dying of cancer. In fact, Wayne WAS dying of cancer when he made the film, which makes it the more poignant.

The supporting cast was excellent as well, each in their own role, and the casting was superb. Ron Howard fit the role of a snot-nosed kid who eventually developed some character, and Lauren Bacall was perfect as the widow--at first outraged, and finally sympathetic to Wayne. Hugh O'Brien was great as the conniving gunslick gambler, and Richard Boone was perfectly cast as a rotten bastard. I never cared for him in the part of Paladin, in the series, but this part was made for him. Harry Morgan acted the part of the marshal as if it were written for him.

All in all, this was a great film, and a fitting end to the great John Wayne's career.

Joseph (Joe) Pierre

author of Handguns and Freedom...their care and maintenance
and other books

This final film of the Duke could not have been more fitting. Wayne plays an old gunfighter who's dying of cancer. He knows he's dying, and tries to live out his final days in peace. The real tragedy of the story is that no one will let him--he is constantly harassed by would-be heroes, newspapermen, and people seeking to play a part in the death of a legend. The role is a different one for the Duke--he doesn't play the tough-as-nails cowboy this time--and yet he seems to fit it perfectly.

This is perhaps the most fitting farewell of a Hollywood legend conceivable. No matter what people think of him, few can deny the everlasting impact that John Wayne has had on American society. This film is the last hurrah, the blaze of glory. Wayne's character, and Wayne himself, senses the end of his era, and goes out with style.

This film packs a tremendous amount into about 125 minutes--a crisis of leadership, the testing of loyalty, and courtroom drama--all done superlatively well. This is the tale of ordinary men who are tested in wartime by the fact that they are serving a captain who is a spectacularly bad leader. As almost everyone knows, this is the story of the events surrounding what amounts to a kind of mutiny aboard a US Navy destroyer during World War 2 in the Pacific. The events leading up to this, and the aftermath, are a great story that ranks with "Mutiny on the Bounty" as a naval classic. The story moves at a fast pace, never drags, features excellent acting, and the script is a wonderful adaptation of Herman Wouk's novel of the same name.

The movie merited seven Academy Award nominations, and the book a Pulitzer Prize, all for a very good and simple reason: this is a great story about ordinary men who are placed in a difficult and all-too-possible situation. It is difficult to say whether the aboard-ship portion of the movie, or the segment dealing with the trial, is the better. Both are superb. Jose Ferrer was absolutely magnificent as Barney Greenwald, and of course Humphrey Bogart was peerless as Captain Queeg. Van Johnson does well as the uncomplicated but competent Meryk. The rest of the cast turn in fine performances as well.

Every movie afficianado will want to own this DVD and will enjoy this classic many times.

Episode 79:Power Of The Spirit: As Goku gathers energy for the powerful Spirit Bomb, the Ginyu Force battles Yamcha, Tein and Chozou on King Kai`s planet!Can Piccolo stall Freiza long enough for Goku to launch the ferice blast?

Episode 80:Transformed At Last: Goku has finnaly defeated Freiza by launching the Spirit Bomb. But as Freiza quickly stops their celebration by returning, it seems his reign of terror has narrowly surived! By defeating Piccolo and Krillin, Goku has powered up to the limits of his power:Super Sayin!!!!!!!!!

Episode 81:Explosin Of Anger:As Gohan carries the nearly eliminated Piccolo away from the battlefeild, Super Sayin Goku confronts Freiza! Does the horrific alein stand a chance of even clashing his energies with the now unstoppable Goku? Or is his superior oppenet going to crush him to dust?