Policy and Advocacy Movie Reviews

Let me tell you, I LOVE this dvd. I have been waiting for these shows to be released on dvd format for a long time. You get the first episodes of 5 classic 70's cop shows.

1. Charlies Angels
2. The Rookies
3. Starsky and Hutch
4. Swat
5. Police Woman

I love all these shows, but I espacially love Police Woman and Starsky and Hutch. I grew up watching these shows, and there is not a cop show today that can hold a candle to these shows. I have some Charlie's Angels on dvd, and Starsky and Hutch on VHS from Columbia House, but I have missed watching Police Woman in over 25 years. I had a serious crush on Angie Dickinson back in the day. This is a great dvd of classic tv, when tv was entertaining, not all this reality crap that is on now. I just hope they realease more Police Woman and Starsky and Hutch on dvd. Its well worth the price and then some. Get it....

I am so glad they are bring out those old cop shows out on DVD. I remember watching those shows like Charlie's Angels, Starsky & Hutch,S.W.A.T, The Rookies and Police Woman back then when I was a child in the 70's. I also watched those shows when they were on TVLand til they took all the cop shows off on TVLand. I brought the DVD and I have too tell you this is the best DVD ever!!! My favorite ones on there are S.W.A.T and Charlie's Angels. You Must Buy this DVD to enjoy!!

If like me, you're a fan of '70s pop culture...you'll want to add this DVD to your collection. Sure, you'll read reviews that refer to the "cheesiness" factor. Forget all that. I hate the word "cheesy." It assumes that everything that's current and hip will always be cool and in fashion. How short-sighted. But I digress. Watching "The Greatest '70s Cop Shows" brought me back to a time when TV was truly exciting. You get the following first episodes:

"Starsky & Huch" - "Savage Sunday"
"Charlie's Angels" - "Hellride"
"The Rookies" - "Concrete Valley, Neon Sky"
"S.W.A.T." - "The Killing Ground"
"Police Woman" - "The End Game"

My favorite out of this bunch is the "Police Woman" episode. I had not seen that show in at least 25 years and it holds up very well. Angie Dickinson is extremely sexy, sensitive, feminine and tough. What an awesome, groundbreaking show.

The sound on the disc is terrific, the picture is probably the best we're going to get...and the price is right. Never mind those big-budget theatrical versions of these shows...they don't hold a candle to the originals. Buy this and go back to the groovy '70s. You'll have a great time!

Both movies were great fun to watch. If you enjoy the old detective movies of the 30s and 40s, Bulldog Drummond is a lesser known fictional detective from that era. The films are short, but they tell complete stories and have good plot twists, too. The documentation about the movies, discussing Ray Milland as Drummond versus his currently unknown successor, was very interesting. The reviewer was right on target, and I would suggest reading the notes that come with this CD.

This is a great deal of a DVD. Two features are presented for your viewing pleasure, starring the very entertaining precursor to The Saint, Hugh "Bulldog" Drummond.

Created by novelist Herman C. 'Sapper' McNeile, "Bulldog" Drummond was a Captain in World War I. After the war, Drummond missed the life of action his military career offered. He joined the police force, and then resigned to become an independent player in the game of crime and punishment.

While each film is only about an hour long, don't let that dissaude you. You'll get a lot of action and fun packed into each movie.

In the first feature, "Bulldog Drummond Escapes", a young and handsome Ray Milland plays the famous action-seeker Captain Drummond. Wonderful as always, Milland portrays the character with such whimsy, you'll be hooked right away.

Drummond sets out to rescue the beautiful heiress Phyllis Clavering from the unscrupulous forces keeping her prisoner for her fortune.

Clavering is played by the ravishing Heather Angel, who quickly became a regular in the Drummond series of movies, playing Drummond's love interest.

Reginald Denny plays Drummond's fumbling friend 'Algy' Longworth in both features, and was also a regular in the Drummond films.

In the second film, "Bulldog Drummond's Secret Police", the role of Drummond is played by John Howard. Howard brings a "Thin Man" style to the character of Drummond, and is equally delightful.

In this one, Drummond is about to marry Phyllis, but a treasure-hunting murderer (played by Leo G. Carroll), turns his stately manorhouse upsidedown.

The real winner in both films for the viewer is the wonderful performance turned in by E.E. Clive, who plays the British "gentleman's gentleman" to the upper-crusted hilt.

Drummond is very much in the mould of Simon Templar, a.k.a. The Saint. However, Drummond (at least in these two offerings), is more lighthearted in tone, despite the occasional murder.

Fans of pre-1940 British films will like the sense of mischevous fun in both films, particularly in the Milland movie. While John Howard is great, and starred in several Drummond movies, it would have been nice to see the young Milland take up the cause of justice again as Captain Drummond.

Patlabor is certainly one of the best series of its time. You'll find some great characters here, along with memorable episodes of both drama and comedy. Don't go into this expecting a lot of giant robot battles and explosions, though. Patlabor has a few of those, but this series is mostly about the people, not the robots. If you like character-driven anime, this is the series for you.

The first few episodes of this DVD set aren't quite the best Patlabor has to offer, but the series finds its feet very quickly, so much so that this set has some of the best of the 47 episode run of this series. The two-part plot of "Eve's Trap" and "Eve's Shudder" will please action fans, and "Ota's Afternoon of Puzzlement", "You Win!", and "Captain Goto is the Target" are some of the funniest episodes of Patlabor. The rest of the episodes on the disc are also great.

The DVD transfer is just about average, though. There aren't many obvious video or audio errors, but the menus are a bit lacking, and the extras are weak. The subtitles are also slightly off. They miss almost all of the onscreen text, making a few scenes hard to understand if you can't read Japanese. Unfortunately, this DVD version is also saddled with a terrible English dub. As if overacting and cheesy delivery weren't enough, most of the actors can't seem to properly pronounce the characters' names. A real shame, especially considering the sterling quality of the original Japanese voice acting. Be sure to watch this one with subtitles!

All in all, I give this DVD set 5 stars for content, and three for presentation. It's too bad that Central Park Media didn't spend more time on the production for these DVDs... but this set is still the best way by far to see this classic series, so don't hesitate to buy.

I was a senior in high school when Patlabr debuted in 1989, and I really enjoyed it! So havng the boxed set for sale brings backs some great memories. The "Midnight Blue" edning theme song in particular rocks.

I don't bother tyring with the english versin on the dvds--why should I? But rest assured, you'd want to see Ohta and Shinshi go off on their infamous tantrums and episodes of madness--watch for those shiny glasses and scary voice! It's like meeting some old friends again, and soon the new patlabor movie will be ot on dvd as well.

This is a fantastic early live show from one of the best live acts ever, and it's obvious that the bands chemistry was there early on. The boys sound great! The only negative is the short set list.(At this point,The Police had only released one album.) One point of interest here, is that the band plays "Message In A Bottle" for the 1st time ever in public. Sting calls it "A sort of babtism". Picture and sound quality are top notch. If you are any kind of Police or Sting Fan, you'll want to pick this one up as soon as it becomes available. I was lucky enough to get a hold of the Japanese version, which has already been released. Enjoy the show!

I was lucky enough to get a copy of this show on tape while in college (many moons ago). Sad to say, the only copy I have left is a 3/4" master that I don't have a machine to play it on. Aside from the cheesy video graphics and a sometimes shaky (on purpose) camera shot, this is an excellent concert that showcases the raw talent of a very young Andy, Stewart, and Sting. I was lucky enough to catch them a few years later at the Warner Theatre on December 3, 1980 and at the Capital Centre (R.I.P.) on January 16, 1982 before they unfortunately pulled the plug on the whole affair. Truly a shame. I can't wait to add this dynamite show to my DVD collection. It is a definite message in a bottle (on a disc?) waiting to be enjoyed. Be sure to pick it up.

Dominion Tank Police is criminally overlooked by anime fans and companies too seeing how New Dominion Tank Police still hasn't been released on DVD.

You get 2 stories on the DVD - Acts 1 & 2 introduce the characters and Acts 3 & 4 tell the history of gang leader Buaku.

In a world where the sky is so polluted you have to wear breathing masks or risk death, the criminals ran riot, until the cops started to fight back with Tanks! It follows the exploits of ex Motorbike cop Leona Ozaki as she tries to fit in with Lt Britain's extreme method of policing. Once she wrecks his prized tank she rebuilds it into a cute mini tank much to Britain's fury. But Britain himself is a bit of a softie really, especially when Leona shows she can handle things in some great encounters between the Tank Police and Buaku's gang.

The animation is ok for the time and depending on if you watch it dubbed or subbed you'll get different songs and character names. It's highly enjoyable either way as it's a great action packed and funny anime. Keep a lookout for New Dominion Tank Police as once you've seen this you'll want more Tank Police action

This show starts out crazy and just keeps going further off the deep end. If you want serious drama this is not for you, but if you're in the mood for a zany buddy series this is it! Our band of skilled yet perpetually broke bounty hunters can't even seem to pay their tab at the local coffee shop/pub. And to make matters worse Natsumi and Sakura don't have hunter's licenses. What are they to do?

In this film, C.J. Caracci teaches some good hand to hand combat techniques useful for police officers. He gives a very compete instruction on every technique, and explains what details are important in succesfully employing the techniques. Caracci also shows counter moves to some of the techniques, which helps you pay attention to the important details.

The techniques shown are very simple to learn. I do not have much experience on martial arts, but still I had no difficulties on learning the techniques. And as a police officer, I have had a chance of testing some of the techniques in real life situations, and in my experience they work very well.

Caracci teaches also some little tricks you can use with other techniques than those instructed here. So, even if your departmental policy demands you to use different tehniques than in the film, you can still benefit from those tricks.

Run time: 1:44

Although all the Police videos are on here i wouldnt say that Police were any kind of "Pioneers" of video. Their videos were not that great but its the Police in any event so its classic. There are also concert footage and great special features on here so for any Police fan and some who are't this is an AWESOME
dvd.

When I originally saw the PATLABOR 1 movie listed on AMAZON,
I picked it up on the basis of good customer reviews. I was
a bit worried that it was just another "SGRA (Stupid Giant
Robots Anime)", but I found out that it well transcended the
limits of the genre.

While the TV series is not of the same standards as the movies,
it is not a bad piece of work, and in fact quite a bit more
intelligent than run-of-the-mill "machine made" anime. The
stories about the Tokyo "Patrol Labor" force are driven by
good, though not great, scripts and artwork, and very much
by well-developed characterization. Spunky little femme cop
Noa Izumi is particularly endearing. The giant cop robots
("Labors") are almost secondary elements in the stories.

If you have to choose between the PATLABOR videos, the PATLABOR
2 movie is the best -- very similar to GHOST IN THE SHELL in
style and artwork -- and the PATLABOR 1 movie is good as well,
though not quite in the same league.

However, if you like them, the PATLABOR TV series makes a
good addition to the set. If not exactly up to the movies,
the TV episodes are conscientious work and entertaining in
themselves -- I would have given this video collection five
stars instead of four if the movies hadn't been exceptional --
and they provide a lot of useful background for the
characters in the movies.

I am certainly planning to pick up the next set of episodes
when they are released on DVD.

It's difficult to say exactly why I rate this so high. I highly recommend Patlabor to anyone who likes giant robot movies, but even more so I recommend it to those who don't, those who think that all giant robot movies have to be the same. It's not true here. The labors take a back seat to the characters really giving them time to develop and grow on you. I can hardly wait for volume 2. Well worth it.

If you have had a chance to see the Patlabor theatrical features, you should definitely check out the series in order to better understand what the fuss is all about. Patlabor didn't get the recognition it deserved in North American over other worthy series, because it was not very well promoted and badly represented as a "mecha-action" show. This couldn't be further from the truth of what this program had to offer. The movies, while technically brilliant, were more about the ideas and less about what made the show so popluar overseas, namely storytelling and character development. Shows such as Neon Genesis Evangelion and Dominion, even Love Hina can trace many of their thematic and character development roots back to this wonderful show where mecha takes a back seat to the world which Headgear (the creative group responsible for the show) creates. In a sense, it's real success was in part due to the believability which they lent to the whole giant robot genre by popluating it with regular people who happen to use large machines in everyday life. The basic premise is at the end of the 20th century, newer more efficient construction methods needed to be developed, and robots were employed to fulfill this role. As a result, the number of crimes committed using these robots, or "labors", resulted in the need to create a special detatchment of the police force to deal with labor related crime. This is the premise in which we are introduced to Tokyo's newest section of the Special Vehicles Department and their crew: a crazy mix of personalities. Once you watch the show, there is bound to be at least one character you recognize from your own life, or maybe even yourself. From the regular folks who inhabit the Patlabor environment, to the cops, the construction workers, the media and their pets, everything is included and as the show comes to a close, it forms a wonderful symmetry which is rare on television. The show is the perfect set-up for the more political and philosophical approach of the movies which has been criticized for being boring; but try the series, and you won't be dissapointed. As far as I'm concerned, Patlabor was the last show that had anything interesting to offer with giant robots, and was the final word in the genre.

Not since Tracy and Hepburn have I been so moved by a cinematic romance that tugs at the old ticker. Leslie Nielson as hardworking, nose-to-the-grindstone Lt. Frank Drebin teams up with Priscilla Presley for a hunk of burning love in David Zucker's epic, THE NAKED GUN.

Presley plays Jane Spencer, who happens to be employed by evil Vincent Ludwig (Ricardo Montalban). Ludwig is the target of a criminal investigation led by Drebin--a ruthless, relentless investigation that tests the very limits of Drebin's endurance and competency--and the starry-eyed, ever innocent Jane finds herself falling head over heels. In love.

But the budding romance is derailed. Sadly, tragically, Frank's job challenges Jane's loyalties to her boss. . .to her own fragile ability to keep calling Drebin "Funny Face." And after a golden, yet fleeting, romantic interlude--complete with mustard, ketchup, Hermit's Hermits and a "nice beaver" rejoinder--we witness a romantic showdown in an Anaheim baseball stadium that ultimately will decide the shadowy fate of these two tragic lovers.

See THE NAKED GUN. You will laugh. You will cry. You will wonder if O.J. was driving a Bronco to and from the set. You will be astounded by the homeliness of British royalty. But most of all, you will be cheering for Frank and Jane, hoping beyond hope that their love will endure--at least until the next sequel.
--D. Mikels

Leslie Nielsen is such a great actor, he really raises the whole film to another level by himself. His expressions and delivery are dead-on every single time. Silly stuff, but brilliantly done.

This film successfully transferred the short-lived TV series "Police Squad" to the big screen. It is simply hilarious. One of the reasons it works so well is the carefully crafted screenplay. Of course the "plot" is inconsequential, but it is to the filmmakers' credit that they managed to come up with a solid foundation upon which to pile on the gags.

Many spoof-comedies simply take specific scenes from popular movies and parody them. If you haven't seen the films being sent-up, you might not get much out of it. But your enjoyment of The Naked Gun won't be based on your knowledge of specific films. The "Police Squad" series was a poker-faced parody of cop shows, and the Naked Gun movie remains firmly in that genre.

The DVD does, in fact, present the movie in it's complete theatrical release. As some reviewers have pointed out, the network TV version includes several scenes not found on the dvd. These scenes are referenced during the commentary track and would've been nice to have on the dvd-- only as Deleted Scenes, not incorporated in the movie. The TV version is by no means a "director's cut", and the version of the film presented on this DVD is definitive.