Home Movie Reviews

I was one of those people who never had time to catch the series when it was featured on public television due to work constraints. The blessing of technology today has allowed me to "catch up" on this classic courtesy of the DVD's. I really found this "world" relaxing and mildly fun. It is the type of world I remember of sitting in front of a fire, smoking a pipe and perhaps some liquid refreshment at hand talking with friends for hours on end. That is what this show emulates among many visitations to professional veternary emergencies. The characters are lovable, memorable, and reflect a part of the "polite world" which unfortunately today no longer exists. The unhurried atmosphere and the natural beauty of the Yorkshire countryside combine with the lives of rich and poor and animals on the dales. I suggest you read the account by James Herriot first. There is a very good Reader's Digest edition with great illustrations that efficiently condenses and contains the best parts of Herriots original series of "All Creatures Great and Small' books. This will aid you when you see the series because there are a lot of "old world" things that the book will aquaint you with (complete with illustrations that explain what the 'gadget" was used for) and you will see in the show. So you will appreciate the effort of the producers of this series all the more. Robert Hardy is memorable there are also spot characters that make it a very entertaining and wonderful production. You will love this work if you like animals or nature. Well recommended.

My husband and I watched this many years ago. We read the books and loved them. Now that this is available on DVD I bought this for my husband as a birthday gift. We weren't sure the kids would like it, it isn't full of action and adventure, but they all LOVE it! They are 12, 13 and 7. Every night they all ask to watch another show or two - heartwarming, funny, interesting - what more does a family need in a show??

All Creatures Great And Small is by far my favorite BBC series and the #2 with the Christmas segment makes me cry everytime I see it. Set just as WW2 is beginning James is faced with joining the service, and the snow as they head off to midnight mass has begun to fall. The tinkers (gypsies) are camped out in a farmers shed and the young girls pet needs tending but the father doesn't accept charity.......... And then there is the testing the Christmas cake for the senior vet, Siegfried Farnon. The whole cast is 10 star. The main characters are James Herriot (Christopher Timothy), Siegfried Farnon (Robert Hardy), Tristan Farnon (Peter Davison) and Helen Herriot (Carol Drinkwater, later Lynda Bellingham). The series covers the years between 1936 and just after 1950. This is a DVD that everyone in the family no matter the age will enjoy...........

I love this DVD, its so funny, the two together will make you laugh for weeks. Its a serious must have. Also check Only Fools and horses series. Classic British comedy at its best. 10/10!!!

I stumbled upon this series while I was living in Europe and bought it on VHS. I recently wrote to the BBC and was notified that there were no plans to release Bottom on DVD in Europe. Imagine my surprise to move back to America only to see that Bottom has been released on DVD here! This is an absolute cracker of a series. It is the funniest series of shows that I have ever seen in my life.

If only the BBC will release the "Bottom-Live" shows, the "Fluff Uncensored" videos along with other Rick and Adrian shows like "The Dangerous Brothers" and "Filthy Rich and Catflap" on DVD, I will be a happy man

If you enjoyed "The Young Ones", and no I don't mean Cliff Richard, you will be equally laugh your arse off with this comedy. Friends Rik and Ade once again prove that they are extremely talented as well as funny and have a great time on the set making this. It's a riot!

This is one of the best buddy films ever! I remember seeing this at the drive-in when it first came out. I love the scenes at Madame Zenobia's and the picnic.

Does anyone know who sang the gospel song "How I Got Over"? I would love to add it to my collection.

From the time I saw this movie when I was a child until now, this movie never fails to keep me laughing. From the time Poitier and Cosby goes to Madame Zenobia's,(this high swanky place to have a good time) and gets robbed out of Poitier's lottery ticket; to their encounters with Little Seymour and Big Percy(Harold Nicholas at his best);Geechie Dan Buford(Harry Belafonte)to Silky Slim(Calvin Lockhart:"Never have so few done so much for so many"); The good Reverend(Flip Wilson:"Loose Lips sink ships, bubbla,bubbla,bubbla"), and put it all together and you got one heck of a funny movie. I love it and it will make your day as well.

I have to say that this must be one of the greatest buddy movies of all time. Both Cosby and Poitier have great chemistry with one another in their first outing with each other. I only wish there was a DVD version available. Also check out there second and third outings with one another Let's Do It Again and A Piece of the Action.

The only thing that kept me from giving this film five stars was the fact that I didn't find the audio as stimulating as the video. There's nothing really wrong with the score or the narrator, but in my opinion niether sounded as inspiring as the images on the screen, and the added sound effects were at times almost annoying. The information in this documentary is very fascinating, but after watching it once I found the desire to play it again with the sound off; while listening to Beethoven instead. But for all this, it is really a very beautiful film.

All other documentaries should aspire to the level of that of the Blue Planet series. By far the most impressive documentary ever put together! Even though the Discovery Channel re-airs these programs; the high quality of DVD sound and audio make this worth paying for it.

You just won't believe your eyes. I think it may be the best thing ever on television.

This film was a very good in-depth look at the people who were most responsible for bringing radio to the masses. However, I find it distressing that Nikola Tesla was never mentioned once in this documentary. Everyone remembers Marconi as the "father" of radio, but it was actually Tesla, in his experiments with the wireless transmission of power, who invented radio and who was the true father. Ken Burns would have done good to at least mention that fact. Other than this discrepancy, the documentary is a very good look into the early history of radio.

This documentary skillfully tells the story of the three men most responsible for what radio has become today. It is also the story of radio.

Burns portrays brilliant yet egocentric FM radio inventor Edwin Howard Armstrong as the centerpiece of his film. Armstrong's friendship with RCA Chairman David Sarnoff and his personal and legal troubles with Lee DeForest and later Sarnoff are really the center of the documentary.

While Armstrong's story is somewhat heartbreaking, Sarnoff's story is alternately despicable and inspiring. It shows his rise from a Russian immigrant selling papers on the street to become, at his death, one of the most cutthroat and powerful people in entertainment.

Then, there's Lee deForest. He's portrayed as a flamboyant self promoter that built his life and career on the backs of others including Armstrong.

With the stories of these three men is also the story of radio from its early days. Burns weaves together old-time broadcasts and many interviews with popular public figures, people who knew Armstrong, deForest, and Sarnoff, and individuals associated with early radio. I acknowledge the earlier review that says the movie slights Tesla...it does. The documentary probably should have mentioned Tesla in some way, but the focus of the movie is more on the lines of the three men that made radio what it is today.

You will laugh at Lee Deforest, and you will feel deep sorrow in your heart for Edwin Armstrong. You may even hate David Sarnoff a bit. Ken Burns is a great filmmaker, and he's working with great material here. He clearly has a message in this movie. I wish Hollywood would get ahold of this book and make it into a feature-length movie. The documentary based on the book is really and truly a masterpiece. I recommend this documentary to anyone interested in the medium of radio or television. I also recommend this film to anyone interested in inventing or the history of inventing in general.

I first saw "Empire of the Air" on PBS when it debuted in 1991. At the time, I was a junior in high school and I had heard that there was going to be a program about Radio on PBS. All I can say is this is a great program for anyone who loves Radio and Television, and it really captures not only the history behind Broadcasting and Broadcast engineering, but it also examines the lives of the great men who built the legacy of the Broadcast industry into what it is today. I also have the book that this program is based on, and it is excellent too. Ken Burns has a unique way of telling a story and taking a viewer into another place and time that few documentary filmakers today are really able to do. The late actor Jason Robards narrates this film, and he was the right guy to have as a narrator for this production. Ken Burns proved with the Civil War series that he is a master storyteller, and I will also be buying "The Civil War" DVD set in the near future. I have a degree in Broadcasting from Eastern Kentucky University and we watched this program in a couple of my classes. One professor I had told us that the film could tell us more about the history of Radio and Television in two hours than he could ever hope to. That is saying a lot, because it was coming from a professor with a PhD. who had been teaching Broadcasting for probably 20 years. I am also an amateur radio operator, and there is a little of the history that ham radio operators played in the role of Broadcasting depicted in this film as well. I have been waiting for about 4 years for PBS to finally release "Empire of the Air" on DVD, and I will be buying this title shortly. I highly recommend this video, it is able to take the viewer to another place and time before the age of entertainment that we know today when families would gather around the radio for their news and entertainment. It is really a shame in some ways that we have lost a lot of the kind of closeness that Radio brought to families so many years ago. All I can say is Ken Burns is a genius!

The Prime Suspect series had 7 stories, several at 4-hour length, the rest at 2-hour length. The first two were released on DVD some time ago, then discontinued. This release of the first story has a new cover, with a big circled 1, suggesting they know there's more and, dare I assume, will be releasing them. That's the question here. The data given here shows 2 discs instead of the original flipper disc. The cover art is also new. One can only hope this is the beginning of the release of the entire series now, at last, as this series is exceptional in every way and deserves a strong DVD release, all seven productions of it.

As the other reviews here attest, this is a tremendously compelling series - initiated beautifully in 1992 with this nearly 4-hour episode (the next three episodes were about the same length...PS5 and PS6, which I don't think actually had those titles, were about 2 hours each). Lynda La Plante's script reconsiders the drab police procedural as a breathtaking and life-shaking event. Indeed there is much here that can be savored and appreciated on repeated viewings. Helen Mirren's performance is nothing less than astonishing. She is very human(e) and someone who endures much that both women and men will be able to easily identify and empathize with. However, while this series is certainly welcome (and wanted!) on DVD (although Prime Suspect 1 and 2 were available briefly on DVD in 1998 - and now out of print), this new edition - issued in 2003 - may not be the perfect release. (1) There is at least one full scene missing (Tennyson meets George's mother at her seaside rest home). (2) There seemed to be a couple of brief - though not awful - visual glitches on the first disc of my copy. (3) The handsomely packaged 2-disc set is quite expensive. None of these reasons is meant to fend anyone off of such an incredible performance (Dame Mirren) and one of the best crime series ever aired on TV. But such great work certainly deserves a little better attention.

Beginning in 1991, Granada released 7 stories called Prime Suspect. The first and second were given DVD releases on flipper discs, now discontinued. They can still be found through various internet sites. But this new release of the first Prime Suspect is given a handsome and tight-fitting digipac, a two-disc layout, and new and proper menuing to find your way through the four epsisodes. The quality of the picture and sound is excellent. The box cover shows a red circle "1" and the menu lists this as "Season One". This suggests the other six stories will be forthcoming. One can only hope so as this series was superb in every way. Some of the procedural stuff is a little dated and, of course, crime solving has new technology tools that are not reflected here. Still, if you just let the story unfold on its own terms, you will be captivated from start to finish. I rate it a must buy and encourage HBO Video to rush the remaining six stories out as fast as they can get it done. Good stories, good packinging, good presentation on the DVD.

The writing in this film establishes an excellent mood and atmosphere that's well sustained throughout despite other potential literary shortcomings depending on the individual tastes of the viewer. Lee as usual is delighfully eerie and menacing. The sound, color and clarity are excellent. The ending was disappointing for some reason that I cannot quite articulate, but overall a worthy addition to my growing dvd gothic collection.

A true gem that gets better and better with every viewing, Whip And The Body is an extremely sophisticated piece of work. Visually mesmerizing, totaly ahead of it's time as far as the plot goes, this is Bava at it's very best. Whip And The Body is recommended to all serious movie lovers so don't get frightened by the italian gothic horror label the movie carries, this is grand cinema, the work of a genius that needs way more recognition.

A beautiful woman's dead lover who enjoyed whipping her with a riding crop comes back to haunt her in a lonely castle by the sea. To reveal more would be to say too much. A stylish, elegant horror film and a must for Bava afficianados, this movie is fairly drenched in vivid color and haunting atmosphere. Of course, the lovely Dahlia Lavi (whatever happened to her?) graces the proceedings with a performance worthy of Barbara Steele and Christopher Lee is her match as the sadistic lover. To compare Lavi to Steele really isn't fair but these are the only two actresses who could have put this role over. Lavi is excellent in delivering the agony and delirium that Steele was so good at. This is most unusual fare for horror fans and not the least bit sensationalistic as it sounds. It's a mood piece in the Grand Guignol tradition that is a worthy addition to anyone's serious collection of "horror as art".

Yet another good offerring in the Zatoichi series of films. About the only thing I can offer that I have not seen mentioned before in any of the reviews is that this one is a fair bit shorter than part one but it has quite a bit more action than the first. At any rate, and most importantly, if you liked the first, you will like the second as well as the rest of the recent releases on dvd( of which they are apparantly going to release the first seventeen films in the Zatoichi series.). Also, a company called animeigo has the rights to a few of the later Zatoichi films and are supposedly planning on releasing them in the near future as well.

Let me say this, I saw my first Zatoichi movie back when I was 14 and since then I was absolutely hooked.

The move was beautifully done and I can not stress enough what an awesome character Shintaro Katsu can play. I have all of his VHS tapes and I am slowing starting to build my DVD collection. I have DVD's from overseas subtitled and let me tell you.
It invokes a feeling that no one anywhere, time, or place can in this day and age. The movies are genre films (Feeling invoking). DO you remember the first time you saw seven, primal fear, titanic - (kind of cheesy now) but at the time the movies gave you a feeling right.

Well all of his movies are like that. This one here is 1 of my top 10's! 5 out of 5. He has over 30 movies made and also 100's of TV episodes. Trust me on this. Its great. Once you get hooked you'll love it as much as me. BUT BEWARE YOU HAVE TO ENJOY FILM> If those action packed rockem sockem's are your only cup of tea then not for you.

I really appreciate Home Vision Entertainments production of the Zatoichi movie series. Each release has been an excellent presentation of Zatoichi. As a Japenese Samurai Movie fan I think that this series of DVD's is the best. The character of Zatoichi is very compelling and each story helps you identify with this Blind Swordsman who is always trying to do good for others. The examples of Japenese culture during this time period is very beautiful and detailed. Shintaro Katsu displays a wide range of emotions as Zatoichi and his display of swordmanship is excellent.

One of the absolute best, wittiest, most hilarious films I have seen in years. Roy and Gil (Reichmuth twins) do such an excellent job at submersing themselves in the world of white trash it seems like actual footage instead of a movie, and the part of Chris Kuldoon (sweet, cool...)was a wonderful addition. He's the one all the other reviews (mine included) seemed to quote in the opening line. Watch this movie to learn about puppy diseases, crib death, and horeshoe kidneys...

"It's sweet and it's cool", it will tickle your "brain meat".

"Fishing with Gandhi" was part of a series of indie films exclusively released by one of the major chain video stores. Lucky for me I wasn't as jaded about this type of indie series as I am now. The movie's centerpoint is the relationship and dialogue of twin brothers Roy and Gill. The brothers are the masterful creation of James and John Reichmuth. Roy and Gill, at first glance, are the typical lampoons of inbred Northwestern rednecks, but as the movie progresses they transcend that stereotype. Their dialogue, which was largely improvised during the shooting, sparkles with hilarious discussions of puppy disease, their family history, and their philosophical meanderings about insanity and truck-driving. Lest you think the director and writers were not being even-handed, other characters such as the hipster (and decidedly non blue-collar) roommates Stephen and Giles are also hilariously deconstructed. The film even tosses in a hippie for our enjoyment. Even peripheral characters such as super-extracurricular man and "hovering-above-the-pain" spoiled princess-girl are right on target.

It is the development of these characters and the dialogue-driven nature of the plot that make this film so excrutiatingly funny. Don't expect a lot of physical humor or tired stoner quips- this is a movie that requires your full attention to appreciate. It's the kind of movie where you notice something new each time you watch it. It is also the sort of movie that you are going to want to share with each and every one of your friends. And if you do expose them to it, don't be surprised if you share a private language with your friends based upon quotes from the movie.

The DVD version comes with an animated Roy and Gill short, extensive (and enlightening) outtakes, and a full-length commentary with four of the filmmakers- including the Reichmuth twins IN CHARACTER. This is great because "Fishing with Gandhi" definitely leaves you wanting more of Roy and Gill.

Overall Angel is a great series, and I hesitate to give season three such low marks but lets be honest, Connor was a mistake, such a huge mistake in the current season he is all but forgotten and never mentioned (rarely). Darla having a baby not entirely interesting though Darla is interesting pregenant Darla is whiny and uninteresting.

Second, Gunn and Fred love angle, another low point of the entire series, again the obvious love story between Wesley and Fred is put off for this very fake love story between Gunn and Fred.

Third, I just can't get it out of my head Angel trying to kill Wesley while he was unconcious, one of the worst scenes ever in the history of Angel, its hard to forget or forgive.

The fact I note so many people giving this season such high marks realy ignores these important points, I hope anyone thinking of purchasing this otherwise excellent series will take these points into consideration.

What I admire about Angel the Series is that each year (until recently) the show has expanded and delved into more complex and darker territory. Season 1 was a basic introduction to Angel (and his constant struggle to find his place in the world), Season 2 dealt with the effects of depression and hopelessness, and Season 3 was the most ambitious yet as it shifted from being a show focused on friendships and became a show about family. It's not just that the writers decided to give Angel a son, they were also smart to realize that by this point Angel and his group of heroes had become a tight-knit family of their own - with a real family's dysfunction, love, and pain.

However, Season 3 is ultimately about Angel's son, Connor, and the responses he inspires in the main characters. From the moment Darla (Angel's former vampire lover) shows up, impossibly pregnant, the reality of Angel's offspring is treated with skepticism, horror, joy, and fear. Will his son be a vampire? Or some other sort of abomination? Well, he turns out to be just a normal baby, who unfortunately inspires all of Angel's friends and enemies to imagine many sorts of outcomes for little Connor which lead to betrayal and heartbreak.

S3 is uneven (there a few episodes I can cheerfully never see again), but taken as a whole, it fits together nicely. Many people were annoyed by the addition of baby Connor (myself included) but by the time I realized that Angel's son was on the fast track to becoming the most screwed-up character in the Buffyverse (and that's saying something) I quickly started to like him. (Casting the wonderful Vincent Kartheiser to play the teenage version of Connor also helped.) In the end, I view S3 as a great prologue to S4 (AtS's best season) which beautifully sets up the show's defining themes of selfless love, free will, compromise, and loss. I'm excited to watch these episodes again, knowing what will come after.

(One addtional note: Unlike the other Angel DVD sets, I'm hoping that the S3 DVDs will have the "previously on Angel" montages. The show doesn't feel complete without them.)

In ever increasing rise of mediocrity on TV these days, Angel bucked the the trend of its spin-off start. The shows that are forced down our throats these days basically seem to follow formulas and are very routine.

So the creative team behind Angel, as they did with season two, expanded the show for its third year and it became a creatively superior show, sometimes surpassing Buffy.

And while the show could, at times, prevent new viewers from joining in, it still offered enough backstory in the "Previously on Angel" clips to get anyone caught up. So, I blame the laziness of viewers for the more episodic nature of Angel's current fifth season.

Anyway, season three really opened the show and every actor was able to grow more comfortable with their characters, with Carisma Carpenter becoming a fully rounded Cordelia, despite the ever changing hairstyle and personal issues that forced her out of 3 very important episodes during the later half of the season. And despite a previous post, her issues where never with Whedon, but with Fox. She wanted to reduce her schedule on the show so she could have a baby, and I think Fox punished her by forcing her to get her personal life together.

The only drawback to the season was Connor. The storyline was too daytime television for my taste, and I think it's nebulae nature of the final arc -Carpenter's personal issues -forced the writers into a corner they did not know how to get out of.

Still, the series is 1000 times better than most drama's produced these days. And season three would lead into the series 4th -and possibly best creatively -year yet.