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Well, I can honestly say this 1983 re-recording of Erich Wolfgang Korngold's legendary score is a major disappointment.

This is not a knock against the Utah Symphony Orchestra or its conductor Varujan Kojian. The quality of the performance is top-shelf (although I think Charles Gerhardt and the National Philharmonic Orchestra's rendition of the Robin/Merry Men fanfare is more appropriately bombastic). My problem is-and this is a gripe I have with ALL soundtrack albums-that Korngold's music has been severely edited and, in some instances, butchered beyond recognition. Huge chunks of music are missing from this album. The opening sequence, with Prince John's men attacking the Saxons, is absent, as is Robin's first appearance and rescue of Much. Robin's meetings with Little John and Friar Tuck are ridiculously pared down to nearly nothing. The scene where the Merry Men set and execute their trap for Sir Guy of Gisbourne in Sherwood is chopped in half, as is the music for Much's battle with the assassin Dicken and King Richard's stay in Sherwood. The coronation scene is cut off before Richard reveals himself to John. The finale where John is exiled and Robin is re-knighted is needlessly edited. The end credits music is completely absent. But the most unforgivable chopping comes with the climactic battle music. The fight in the throne room is just GONE, and the savage sword battle between Robin and Gisbourne...

...good grief, whoever decided to edit the music for this recording should be slapped. Repeatedly. With an armored glove. The music for this battle, with its ultraviolent orchestration and high-pitched xylophone percussion, is the high point of Korngold's score in the movie. For this recording, it's MUTILATED. We get the chase down the stairs, then an abrupt jump to the shadows bashing it out on the wall, then we get a grotesque, discordant, and just plain stupid bridge that was never in Korngold's score to begin with, then another bizarre jump to Robin getting backed against the wall, then ANOTHER jump to Robin freeing Marian. What the heck is this? The powers at Varese Sarabande clearly had access to Korngold's original compositions, especially with his son George producing the album. There was not one reason for them to butcher his score like this. But they did, as the end result is an album that, while nicely performed by a group of talented musicians giving it their all, is a disgrace to Korngold's work. To listen to this album, you'd never be able to understand why Korngold won an Oscar for this music.

Making this album an even bigger embarrassment is-surprise, surprise-the ROBIN HOOD DVD, which features an audio-only track in which every single bit of Korngold's music can be heard in all its glory, digitally remastered to the point where it sounds as brand-spanking new as any soundtrack album just coming off the assembly line. If the original soundtrack recording from 1938 still exists and is in pristine condition, why in blue blazes doesn't Warner Bros. release it all on a two-disc soundtrack album like they did with John Williams' SUPERMAN? After all, they released the soundtrack to James Cagney's YANKEE DOODLE DANDY just recently to coincide with the DVD release. Why don't they do the same for ROBIN HOOD and let people hear Korngold's score for what it is? Because I just have to say, it would beat the pants off this misbegotten Varese re-recording, and unlike this album, a full-blown Korngold reissue would actually be well worth the money.

I've actually worn out my VHS copy. So I was going crazy for the DVD release, constantly wondering, "What the heck is taking them so long?" Now that I've gotten my mitts on this DVD, I KNOW what took them so long, and it was soooo worth the wait.

The picture is crystal clear and the colors are as bright and vibrant as a Van Gogh painting. I was shocked at how fantastic the movie looked! I noticed details that I hadn't before--like that when Robin rescues Much the Miller, he (Much, not Robin, of course) is actually bleeding! And that Maid Marian's dresses are GORGEOUS!! And that Will Scarlet's lute has no strings!!! (How did I miss THAT??)

The extras on the second disk are pretty cool too. My favorite was the behind-the-scenes bit where you learn just how real those arrows were. Basil Rathbone's "Helmet Tests" are pretty funny as well.

This is a great movie, restored in a format that does justice to its greatness. It was definitely worth the wait.

That said, the poor ending scene was campy and cheapened the entire film with a very 50ish taint. And despite the fact that Bette Davis was able to deliver her eloquent lines with wit and precision, I still couldn't help but get the feeling that the players in this drama were not quite up to the level of sophistication required to really tell this tale like a classic. Gary Merrill is basically a TV actor, he was not up to the task. And the brilliant George Sanders, while good, appears to be mouthing it primarily for the paycheck. (compare with his performance in Hitchcock's 1940 best picture-winning Rebecca). The only thing memorable about Marilyn Monroe's brief appearance is her youth and Sanders' fateful remarks to her.

All in all, this is a good old movie, and worth watching. Sadly, it falls short of being a great 5-star film.

"All About Eve" keeps the status of classic mainly for two reasons: an excellent screenplay and magnificent and unforgettable performances. The movie is entertaining from beginning to end, each scene presents great dialogues, the characters have huge depth, and if someone asks for more, Marilyn Monroe appears in a small role.

"All About Eve" is recommendable for those who enjoy good stories and classic films.

But I did have several problems with this film. First, Omar Epps is too short to be a basketball star. They did terrible casting here. In this movie, that black guy from "Far From Heaven" plays an adulterous husband for at least the third time (see also "Waiting to Exhale" and "What's Cooking?"). How does someone get typecast like that? Third, the plot is choppy and the sequence where they fall out makes little sense.

I am disappointed that this DVD had no foreign language subtitles. Think of all the non-English-speaking basketball fans out there who could have benefitted from a subtitled or dubbed film.

Finally, (not that this is its fault as its the first movie) replace "basketball" for "rap" and this movie and "Brown Sugar" are the exact same films. Hollywood is really trying to squeeze a book out of black folks who want to see romance movies with us as the lead characters.

The first third is the show they wanted to make; the final two-thirds is the end result. I have never visited NYC, but my father is a retired firefighter and I am grateful he never had to do a high-rise rescue.

We viewed the planes entering the Towers, the overwhelming inferno, individuals jumping, the collapse of the Towers, the darkness as debris hit our windows with a fury. What occurred over a period of hours, seemed like a much shorter time span. The darkness was darker than an eclipse, darker than the darkest night; and then a momentary hush after the air cleared. Viewing the roof garden one floor below, with the human reaction of looking out to see if someone might be on that roof garden and in need of help. Debris strewn everywhere, recording tape and paper hung from the trees of the garden and oh, so much ash. The momentary hush, whether real or imagined, then the viewing of debris for a second, fantasized that a parade had just passed by on our short street. I experienced anger not fear - anger that factions could bring such evil deeds to our wonderful country. I now really understand the expression a feeling of helplessness, I couldn't fix what had just happened.

We stayed in our apartment until 5:15 p.m. that day, waiting for someone to knock on our door to advise us to evacuate, with nothing but a battery radio to keep us abreast of happenings. "In a New York minute", we evacuated via the stairwell touched with ash, the result of a first floor door left open. With a few belongings, gathered with a tad of thought of what was being left behind, we stepped out of the door onto the pavement, seeing and standing in ever so much ash and debris, I wanted to turn around and go back to our home. It was one of many moments of reality I carry to this day.

At first thought, we planned to walk up the East Side, but opted to pass through the building in back of the apartment complex. We gained access to the Esplanade walking the short distance to reach the Hudson River dock - North Cove. We were escorted to the New Jersey shore via New York Police boat. From the boat deck, we viewed even more damage to the Manhattan skyline, especially noting the zigzag shape of the side of the American Express building, housed in one of the World Financial Center buildings along with the glorious Winter Garden, as well as the fall of World Trade Center Building 7. We were taken to the Jersey City Hospital, attended to by compassionate staff. Then traveled by National Guard truck to Hoboken, NJ where we were housed by a wonderful family who welcomed, with great trust, strangers to their home.

On Friday 9/14, our eldest son & daughter-in-law drove from New Hampshire via New Jersey routes to Hoboken for transport us to New Hampshire for temporary residence with our daughter, who along with her friend and our youngest son, greeted us with open arms & the overwhelming feeling of not wanting to let go with each hug that followed. {I sometimes wonder what the count of hugs were given from day 9/11 and long thereafter? Billions.} Our daughter and son had spent that Friday in New Hampshire collecting items of clothing and necessities which the Concord community generously opened their hearts and donated by churches, stores, individuals, employers, American Red Cross, et al.

One of our grandchildren -- he was 8 at that time - arrived home from a few days with his Dad. He hugged us so tight, understanding the depth of 9/11 events for someone so young and yet so wise. He told Grandpa & Babcia (Polish for Grandma) that he had something for them... his Mom was not even aware of his gift. He had spoken to his classmates about his grandparents' closeness in location of the World Trade Center Towers. Presented to us was a large envelope full of hand-made cards from each of his classmates. And if that isn't love and caring, I don't know what is - from the hearts and minds of children!

Residing now in New Hampshire, not because of 9/11 drove us away, but circumstances just went that way as we continue to put our lives into perspective.

We Miss - New York City deeply; events found nowhere else in the USA, the introduction to & interaction with so many wonderful cultures. There isn't a day or night in the past two years, that we do not think of 9/11... the Lady of Liberty & Ellis Island both on the confluence of the East River and the Hudson River, viewed from the lower part of the Esplanade. And that Lady of Liberty wept, I just know it, and she still stands with pride and remembrance that the USA is a democracy that will prevail.

We Remember - the victims, the survivors, their friends and families, the workers from the public and private sector, the volunteers, our neighbors in Gateway Plaza and staff in the small group of stores on South End Avenue, Battery Park City.

We Remember - the places we visited, the book signings attended, the celebrities we met, the concerts and theater plays, the movies, the arts, the parks, the strangers we talked with, on streets, on subway and those while standing in line for an event... yet there are so many places we didn't get to.

We Remember - Always In Our Hearts, Forever In Our Souls, Heroes, Victims, Survivors One and All... We Were There.

Painfully, the lump in my throat and the twist in my stomach, the tears in my eyes and the pain in my heart, to the depth of my soul, forever go on.

"God, teach me to laugh again,
but never let me forget that I cried."
Katy Fisher

Eat me: The Simpsons