Acne Movie Reviews

There is no denying the importance of the films of Gualtiero Jacopetti and Franco Prosperi as they have influenced everything from hardcore horror films ie Cannibal Holocaust to broadcast news and the reality TV craze of today. Blue Underground in an ambitious move have put out this great 8 disc box set (limited to 10,000 copies) which should more than satisfy any mondo fan.

The first two discs are Mondo Cane and Mondo Cane 2. Mondo Cane is certainly a milestone and in fact this entire genre of "shocking documentaries" which where made by Euro filmmakers is better known as the 'mondo' genre. Essentially Mondo Cane is a strange journey into some of the more bizarre and macabre places with the camera voyeuristically witnessing all kinds of oddities and bringing them back for the curious viewer. Mondo Cane 2 continues this tradition. The third disc Women of the World is similar but all the footage is tied together by a common theme of the varied roles women play in different parts of the world.

The next 2 discs are the cut English language version of Africa Addio and the Italian language uncut version. Considered by many to be the greatest mondo doco of all time, the crew head of into Africa during it's transition from colonial control. While the majority of this focuses on the interactions of white and black and some long sequences on the fate of wildlife with laws protecting them diminished (countless animals are gunned down and speared in these scenes and hippos are dismembered) what sets this apart is the aftermath of several massacres caught on film. Later the crew hook up with a group of mercenaries (these nuts look as though they just walked of col. Kurtz's compound in 'Apocalypse Now') and go on a mission, filming a couple of executions.

After the English language print was recut to exclude much political commentary and the censored version was released the film makers came under fire and accused of exploitation, racism and some even called them murders (accusing them of paying for the executions). Being labeled racists must have really angered Jacopetti and Prosperi resulting in them making Addio Zio Tom (Goodbye Uncle Tom) in order to prove that they are not racist.

The next 2 discs are Goodbye Uncle Tom in the cut English version and Italian Language directors cut (this disc alone in worth the price of the set). The butchered English version done little to mend their reputations as in order to have it released alternate versions of scenes were shot and some extreme (but easily justified) politics were omitted. In essence it became a different movie.

The director's cut of Goodbye Uncle Tom is one of the most amazing films I have ever seen. While some scenes are mondo filmed modern 70's events in America, the majority of this film is a departure of the mondo formula as they have made a regular motion picture with actors and sets under the pretense of them traveling back in time to shoot a mondo doco on the slave trade in America pre civil war. All these scenes are set up based on factual accounts and are unsparingly brutal and authentic, literally using 1000s of extras. The sweeping photography and epic scale of this film as we are taken into various aspects of slavery make for a simply breathtaking motion picture experience.

Some people have claimed these scenes are a false representation, by pointing out silly little things like "there probably wouldn't be so many slaves in the house" and "they wouldn't be allowed to jump on the bed like that" as well as others who are infuriated by this film claiming that "it was never as depraved as this" but once again this film is clearly well researched quoting writers of the time and besides how could any people who kept slaves not be "depraved" anyway? Gone With the Wind this certainly is not. Roots, while well made and genuinely heartfelt, is pure sacarine by comparison. Steven Speilberg made the typically cowardly film 'Amistaad'. How can this courtroom drama depicting Europeans as being cruel to slaves and Americans liberating them via the righteous legal system be hailed as "tackling slavery head on" when it completely ignores the 200 years of slavery in America? Goodbye Uncle Tom is clearly a one of a kind spectacle and in my humble opinion the best disc in the set.

The final disc is a doco on the filmmakers themselves, rounding out what is an awesome boxset!

When MONDO CANE first came out it was the "adults only" film every kid like me wanted to see. Needless to say, what was considered shocking and adult in the 60s all seems rather quaint in retrospect. Yet, it's a short distance from the Mondo craze of yore to the "shocking reality TV" we are saddled with today. With all that in mind, I ordered the Mondo Collection and figured $127 was a small price to pay for a little trip down memory lane. To my surprise and delight, the 8-disc set is a primo package. (Think Criterion Collection in terms of quality and restoration but from a company called Blue Underground.) All the shockumentaries are in the package, not to mention "The Godfathers of Mondo" documentary about the guys---the trailblazers---who gave us these films. Soon every schlock filmmaker would crank out a Mondo-this and Mondo-that shockumentary, hoping to out-Mondo everybody else. But, again, this collection gives us the real thing from the guys who put the word Mondo on the map. And, lest we forget, every time we hear a lounge singer do "More," we'll fondly think back to its origin: Mondo Cane. Buy this set and enjoy!

THIS WAS THE LAST MOVIE THAT GENE AUTRY MADE BEFORE ENLISTING TO FIGHT IN THE WAR. IT HAS A VERY GOOD STORY LINE AND ENDS WITH A FINAL PLEA TO AMERICAN PEOPLE TO STAND BY THEIR COUNTRY WITH THE SONG "DON'T BITE THE HAND THAT'S FEEDING YOU". GENE AUTRY WAS A VERY PATRIOTIC PERSON AND HE BELIEVED IN DOING THE RIGHT THING. THAT'S WHY HE ENLISTED, WHEN HE DID NOT HAVE TO. FOR A GOOD LOOK AT THE PERSONALITY OF AMERICA'S GREATEST SINGING COWBOY, AND POSSIBLY THE GREASTEST COWBOY THAT EVER LIVED, WATCH THIS MOVIE. FROM ALL ACCOUNTS HE WAS THE SAME OFF THE STAGE AS ON. "THE BELLS OF CAPISTRANO" JUST GIVES YOU A GLIMPSE OF THAT GREAT PERSONALITY. HE WAS TRULY A GREAT PERSON.

To clarify this movie takes place in Martinique, a French territory, not Haiti, the first free Black nation. I found this movie to be interesting, engaging, and realistic in it's themes. I recommend it as a required viewing for world studies high school classes and college classes on caribbean culture.

The first time I saw this film was in college when our history teacher showed it to us to aide in our discussion of the post emancipation period in West Indian culture. It is one of the most dramatic and historically correct films I have ever seen. The issues dealt with were reflective of the concerns of the "free man". One can see the emerging importance of education in the building up of the free black community in Martinique during that period as well as the nature of black /white relationships on all levels. For anyone who desires to know more about post emancipation life in the West Indies this is your most entertaining chance. I praise this most dedicated and talented Caribbean film director for an excellent review of a most interesting period in West Indian life. This is and will always be one of my favorite films next to The Sound of Music and Schindler's List.

As a French major and prospective teacher of French, I ofcourse find this a valuable tool for the classroom--BUT it's so muchmore than that! Since it's so often used in the classroom people tendto neglect that this is an outstanding film, beautifully put togetherwith some memorable acting. Anyone studying West Indian literaturewill get a chance to see in full color an outstanding representationof life in colonial Caribbean. (French teachers can also note that inusing a DVD you have the advantage of switching off the subtitles formore advanced students. And certainly native speakers will appreciatethis feature.) END

I first saw "Cane Toads" in science class in high school-- it's really wonderful, both as a lesson and as entertainment. The story of the cane toads, and the exploration of the issues surrounding their existence in Australia are very interesting and well-presented. I thought the music was particularly memorable! All in all, a lot of fun.

It was so funny!!! Especially the part when the toad was in the middle of the road mating with a dead female and this guy was watchig astonished. I watch the movie every summer. It is truly histerical. Another thing is when the guy uses it for hallucinations.

This movie was educational, but what I liked about it most was the people. I could hardly stop laughing at (or rather with) the down to earth people of Austrailia. If you want to learn and laugh at the same time, buy this movie!!!

This movie I thought had except for a few cute lines (all said by Holliday, who shone anyway) everything but a script. I read a few of the other "reviews" and disagreed with almost everything about them except their praise for Judy Holliday and the one comment that Crawford came across menacing rather than humorous. Come to think of it, he WAS menacing, remember when he hit her? There was very little humor of any kind in this flick (what there was, aside from two or three genuine witticisms, came from Holliday's supposed dumbness), it was very serious and far from light. I disliked the adaptation from stage to screen, particularly and emphatically the ridiculous ending in the car when Holden gives the cop his marriage license. Good grief! I do not like Garson Kanin anyway, on Bway or off, I think he's very dull and unfunny, and think he writes better when working with his strident wife Ruth Gordon (like on another Holliday flick, much warmer and gentler and more human and more humane than this one, "The Marrying Kind," finally out this month on DVD). I was surprised to read Holliday's competition for the Oscar, she was definitely good, but THAT good? All three of them should have gotten an Oscar. Judy Holliday is one of my all-time heroes (heroines), and I found this picture a big disappointment, lit up only when she was on-screen. By the way, I may live to eat my words if this "review" is posted, but speaking of dumbness, didn't ANY of these other "reviewers" proof their "reviews" before submitting them? Talk about illiterate, ungrammatical and DUMB!

This was a real surprise to me!...although George Cukor is one the best directors of all time and I'm very fond of most of his pictures, Judy Holliday was never one of my favourites, especially because I hadn't seen much of her films, which aren't many.

Here, she simply stoles the show as the dumb, vulgar, low-brow, blonde, ex-chorus girl (Billie, née "Emma") and lover of an unscrupulous and corrupt "junk" millionaire, played with great skill by Broderick Crawford, one year after his flawless Academy Award Winner performance in the excellent "All the King's Men", who learns "how to think and to use her brains" with the aid of writer Paul Verrell (William Holden).

Holliday won an Academy Award for this performance, in one of the most polemical winnings of the A.A. History, because she defeated both Bette Davis (for "All About Eve") and Gloria Swanson (for "Sunset Boulevard"), and many people felt she shouldn't have won. Anyway, there's no denying that she gave and expert and very funny interpretation of the sassy Billie, with all the mannerisms, voice inflections, hollering,etc, especially in her scenes with Crawford.

You must watch this wonderful classic comedy.

Judy Holliday won an Oscar for her fantastically nuanced performance as Billie Dawn, the so-called dumb blonde who isn't so dumb after all, just uneducated. When Harry Brock, her fiancee and business partner, chooses to have her educated in local affairs (they live in Washington D.C.) by a reporter who was doing a story on him (William Holden)--so she won't embarrass him in front of the Senators he is planning to buy--things of course, don't go as planned. She becomes too smart to be bossed around anymore.

Knowing the plot does not ruin the film at all. The fun is watching the actors, especially the chemistry between Holliday and Holden. Broderick Crawford is wonderful, too, as Brock, a guy you have to hate for the story to work. Even the bit players: the lawyer, the senator are letter-perfect in their parts. The script, based on a play by Garson Kanin, is full of one-liners and zingers. It's a little too patriotic in the end for me--sometimes I felt preached at--but that is easily overlooked during what is really a fun film.

Written by the gifted Paddy Chayefsky, this is a memorable film, deftly directed by Delbert Mann. That it has a stage-like, theatrical feel to it is not surprising, considering that it was first a made-for-television play that was later augmented for the silver screen. This element of theatricality, however, does not detract in the least from this gritty, thematically complex film.

Ernest Borgnine plays the role of Marty Piletti, a stocky, thirty-four year old, lonely Italian butcher living at home in the Bronx with his mother. He is the last of the Piletti brood still in the nest. Physically unattractive and a bit doltish, he is a socially awkward, lumbering lummox of internal pain and angst. His mother wants him to get married, or so she thinks, until the reality of what such might ultimately mean for her sinks in. She takes her cue from her sister, Marty's Aunt Catherine, who is living with her son and daughter-in-law and making their lives hell. Consequently, she is going to move in with Marty and his mother.

Marty spends most of his spare time with his friend Angie, as well as with a bunch of other losers. Unloved, unmarried, and unable to get a date, Marty has all but given up on finding Miss Right, when he meets a twenty-nine year old high school teacher, also from the Bronx, Clara Snyder (Betsy Blair), at the famous Stardust Ballroom. Clara, a well educated, nice plain-Jane, is there as part of a pity double date arranged by her brother-in-law. Unfortunately, her date turns out to be a total cad who unceremoniously tries to fob her off on anyone he can, so that he can get some action going with a hot babe he knows. Marty feels Clara's pain, so he asks her to dance, not knowing that he is meeting his feminine counterpart and soul-mate.

As the film peels the layers from Marty, the viewer meets the sensitive, kind man who lives within the unattractive exterior. The viewer really gets to feel his pain, as well as that of some of the other characters in the film. One senses the feelings of alienation and loneliness in Clara, as she is dumped by her caddish date. One senses the fear that Mrs. Piletti has at the reality of what Marty's getting married might mean for her. Aunt Catherine's ouster from her son's home, as the older, unwanted woman with few options in life, also makes an impact on the viewer. The angst of Aunt Catherine's son at having to cleave to his wife, rather than to his mother, is also palpable, as is that of Angie at the thought of the possibility of no longer having Marty around to share his own social isolation.

The themes in this film, such as loneliness, isolation, alienation, and fear are all themes still relevant today. The only real anachronistic note is struck by the fact that Mrs. Piletti and Aunt Catherine both appear to be in their late sixties or early seventies, but I found to my complete surprise that Aunt Catherine is supposed to be fifty-six, and Mrs. Piletti is her younger sister! Trust me when I say that, nowadays, women in their fifties do not look like that.

All in all, this is an excellent film. Those who enjoyed this film should also seek out another Paddy Chayefsky film, "The Catered Affair", starring Bette Davis and Ernest Borgnine, which is a bitter sweet film about another Bronx family.

When director Delbert Mann recreated the television version of Paddy Chayefsky's MARTY, he could not have guessed that he was also creating a masterpiece that spoke volumes about the self-imposed walls of loneliness that dispirited people erect around themselves. Ernest Borgnine has never been more believable than the 35 year old pudgy butcher who has been hurt so often by uncaring women that he has despaired of ever finding a wife. Marty is a caring, decent, if not attractive Italian man still living at home with his mother. Although the film starts out as Marty's cry of pain, it soon becomes apparent that he is not alone in his solitude. His mother is a widow who fears losing her son to another women. His aunt lives with her unwilling son and his wife and fears that if she does not boss them around, they will not pay attention to her. They, in turn, need their privacy but fear telling the aunt so. Marty's best friend, Angie, is a loser who wants only to make sure that he does not suffer alone. Marty meets Clara, a twenty-nine year old plain jane who has suffered plenty herself at the hands of superficial men. Each of them seems locked into a lifestyle that consists mainly of endless repetitions of "What are you doing tonight?" But this tiresome circle is broken at a neighborhood dance where several lives unexpectedly open and blossom. Clara is brought to the dance by a cad who promptly dumps her for another woman. Marty notices her distress and talks to her, first at the dance, then for hours at a soda shop. They talk, and talk some more, and discover that in Marty's words, "Maybe we are not the dogs that people call us." As they bond, Angie sees that he is losing his buddy sufferer and tries to break them up. Marty's mother sees the bonding and she tries to break them up as well. Marty discovers that solitude is a self-imposed blanket that can be discarded at will.

MARTY is a superbly entertaining movie that is not as simple as one might think, given the focused intent on the breaking of these bonds. What Ernest Borgnine as Marty and Betsy Blair as Clara prove is that if people can isolate themselves from others, then they will stay isolated until they decide that enough is enough. Marty and Clara learn this. Angie does not. We in the audience certainly do.

Lets forget just for a momnet the fine performances of all of the cast in this picture.

Lets forget for a moment the theme of the picture of loneliness and peer pressure.

Lets forget that I think Borgnine is one of the most underated actors ever. I think that I have never failed to enjoy him from the old McHales Navy series, to the Vikings, to Escape from NY.

The thing that makes this this movie great is the Italian family and how they are written.

My grandparents were born in the old country. My mother is as italian as they come and all of these characters and they way they talk and the way they think is like being at the dinner table or at any gathering of family.

As as the first guy in my stag crowd (which still hangs out together) to get married the "what do you want to do." is about as real as it comes. Of course in the days of D & D and hobby boardgaming we always had a choice.

One of the most real movies you will ever see.

The Big Heat is an excellent film-noir directed by Fritz Lang with a very fitting title. Lee Marvin steals the show as Vince Stone. He is the scum of the earth in this film, and he does it so well. He's the bad guy you love to hate. Glenn Ford is also very good as detective Dave Bannion. Lang tells a great story of corruption, greed, and violence. You will be on the edge of your seat. Beautifully shot noir. ****1/2 (of *****), too bad Amazon doesn't use half-star intervals, huh

Glenn Ford is a family guy/good guy/honest cop until somebody blows up his wife - oh well, into everyone's life a little rain must fall. This reads more like a hurricane. "The Big Heat" is a classic film noir peppered with explosive performances, great visuals and a thrilling climax. Lee Marvin is numero uno tough guy, flanked by sultry Gloria Grahame, who's playing both sides of the fence - you go girl!
Columbia Tri/Star has given us a very nice looking print of this classic film. After some grainy, opening credits, the picture quality is nearly flawless, with minor edge enhancement, pixelization and shimmering only apparent at times and, even then, at levels that are nothing to complain about. Contrast and black levels are beautifully rendered. The audio is original mono and very well represented.
EXTRAS: True to form, Colombia doesn't care about extra features. A real shame for this disc since a documentary would have been nice. Still, considering that, in their recent releases (The Awful Truth, Talk of the Town) Colombia doesn't seem to care even about the picture quality of the actual movie, I'll take what I can get! "The Big Heat" looks great!
BOTTOM LINE: This is a must have for anyone who admires those hard-boiled crime thrillers of yore that no one seems to make any more.

Columbia Pictures under the Direction of Fritz Lang produced a great Good Cop with a Hero Image Against the Rotten Corrupt World of a 1953 City. Thats Hollywood stile film making.

Glenn Ford portrays the only honest hardnose City Police Detective who sacrifices everything to maintain his morale integrity.

He investigates what seems to be a routine policemans suicide but uncovers a complex corruption ring which includes, gangsters, politicians and his own police precinct. Quickly finds himself on the outside with everyone trying to squash his investigation, life threatened he begins to battle the odds alone.

This 1953 Black & White Standard Format (Full Screen) is beautifully digitally transferred. The picture & sound quality is awesome. A great story, an outstanding cast with Glenn Ford as the hero Detective, Lee Marvin as a Gangster Stooge and a delightful Gloria Grahame as his girlfriend.

This is a must see movie for Sam Spade & Phillip Marlowe admirers.

Special features include only an original theatrical trailer.

Enjoy.

After finally succumbing to the allure of a DVD player, I bought this film noir gem for a song. I had heard about it for years but
could never find it on VHS. A perfect bank robbery netting $1.2 million goes astray when framed patsy John Payne goes after the real criminals. He discovers that the crooks were masked from one another and only the mysterious "Mr. Big" knows who they are and where the money is. Can John Payne break up the perfect crime and end up with Colleen Gray?
(What do you think?)

Director Phil Karlson (whose best-known work is probably the 1972 crime drama "Walking Tall")switched from being a decent director of routine films to one of the most innovative and influential crime film directors of them all with a remarkable series of tough,distinctive thrillers beginning with this one in 1952 and going on to include "99 River Street" in 1953, "The Phenix City Story" in 1955, and "The Brothers Rico" in 1957. "Kansas City Confidential" follows the pulling off of a well-planned and executed robbery that's been carefully thought out by an embittered ex-police officer. He plans it so that Joe Rolfe(played by John Payne) will be framed for the robbery. Rolfe is a WWII veteran who has some problems with the law in his past. After being grilled and ultimately (and grudgingly) released by the police,he pursues the thieves to Mexico,looking for revenge. Payne is fine in a sharp turnaround from the lightweight roles he usually played in the 1940s. Preston Foster is also good as the mastermind of the robbery, as is Coleen Gray as his daughter, a bright,decent young woman. The best performances however,are those given by three of the greatest heavies in movie history: Jack Elam,Neville Brand,and Lee Van Cleef,in the roles of the thieves who pull off the robbery. Elam,who is first seen sweating heavily and rifling through an overflowing ashtray in a dingy hotel room,looking for a cigarette butt with a few puffs left on it,is particularly good, but Brand and Van Cleef ooze menace and bad blood in just about every scene they're in. The film is filled with close-ups,tough,terse dialogue, and brutal (at least for its time) violence. The payoff of the film goes kind of soft, after what's come before, but this is still a first-rate example of cold,tough 1950s film noir,from a real master of the genre.

A great, great noir film starring John Payne(HELL'S ISLAND, 99 RIVER STREET). But the cast doesn't stop there! It also stars Lee Van Cleef, Jack Elam and Neville Brand. This really is a gritty little crime caper flick. If you watch it, it will be difficult to ignore how the film might have influenced a guy like Quentin Tarantino in the conception of RESERVOIR DOGS. Great dvd!

A Kentucky soldier (John Wayne) falls for a French general's daughter (Vera Ralston) and gets mixed up in a battle between unscrupulous river traders and French settlers. Nothing remarkable here. It's pure formula right down to the end, when the cavalry comes to the rescue. Oliver Hardy is entertaining in a rare appearance without Stan Laurel.

As another reviewer mentioned, the movie is a bit slow to start and leaves some plot points unexplained (yes, why *is* John Breen trying to get out of going with his regiment?) but is overall very enjoyable. Wayne is courtly and charming (nobody says "ma'am" like he does), and Oliver Hardy (showing off his native Georgian accent) is so adorable, I wanted to put him in my pocket. Truly an inspired piece of casting; thank goodness Wayne kept after Hardy when he initially refused to work without Stan Laurel. Vera Ralston as the French general's daughter was not the best choice, and I kept getting the two mustached villians mixed up, but I happily stayed with the movie until the "big calvary rescue" ending, and would watch it again. This DVD also includes some good behind the scenes photos, and plenty of interesting production notes.

A very different John Wayne movie as he plays a member of a Kentuckey Milita regement who falls for a French General's daughter in 1818 Alabama.

The addition of Oliver Hardy as his side kick is a very neat trick and works extremely well in this picture. I would have enjoyed seeing the paring more oftern.

The plot suffers as we never really know why he is avoiding his regement at the start but once we get up river it thickens and deepens to the point where we have quite a mystery on our hands, best exemplified when Wayne ask a character "Who's side are you on anyway?", and the answer comes "Mine."

Although some may disagree I think Vera Rawlson is very good in this picture and quite believeable, despite her being the studio heads girl (or maybe because of it, after all she plays the pampered daughter of a French General)

The big fight and chase scenes are pulled off well and the comic relief is pleasent.

An inexpensive movie and a pleasure.

And for those of you who scorn a colorized version, I don't know about you but my TV has a color control and you can turn it off.

It pains me to see quality classics destroyed by garbage studios such as Columbia Tristar. They release horrible reproductions of your favorite classics only to re-release them one year later as a special edition. Do you think if write Santa this Christmas I might be able to get a widescreen release of this film or one with a better picture. The pigs at Warner are infamous for crappy reproductions. Is it time to feed the pigs more money and buy this release? No way, get yourself a good DVD decryption program, rent this DVD, and copy it! Thank GOD for piracy, the studios have been ripping off the consumer for years and now it's time to fight back! Also download the lastest movie release's off your favorite newsgroup.It's time to send the studios a meesage. Hail Criterion for there restoration work on some of my favorite films. The films from Criterion are worth every penny you pay for them!

Having just finished watching two new Columbia releases on DVD, I feel both pleased and angry! First out was "The Devil at 4 O'Clock. Super transfer - fine contrast, properly letterboxed, correct color and mostly very sharp! Then I watch "Dead Reckoning"! Were the people at Columbia asleep when they made this transfer to DVD? Speckles galore all the way! Grainy as all get out! Lousy greyscale! No really black and white areas to be found anywhere! And a strange pulsating image in the darker scenes! "Remastered in High Definition" it says on the box! Bull!
I do not expect a bells-and-whistles restoration for a title like this. But I do expect that someone cares to remove dirt and scratches, and improve other defects within a reasonable budget.
Surely, this noir classic must be able to look better than what we have here! Was the best print really located in the Columbia vaults? You wonder! This is a boring question I often ask myself after having watched a Columbia DVD. Mind you, many are splendid indeed. But for every goodie comes a "Dead Reckoning", or a "Eddy Duchin Story", or a "Big Heat", etc. The labels shift in care from one title to another is puzzling! And there is so much up for release soon! Hopefully someone will blow the whistle before more classics get the substandard treatment! We fans want the Columbia gal to sparkle like her torch!

As a Humphrey Bogart fan, it pains me to say this movie was horrible. It is missing something throughtout the film, and it's hard to say what. I wasn't expecting Casablanca or the Big Sleep, but I clearly was disappointed and wanted to turn the movie off several times throughout the film. In general Bogie is the only actor you'll know int his film, or care to know. The plot was almost uninteresting, and never really develops. This movie definately could have used a Lauren Bacall, Edward G Robinson, Peter Lorre, or someone else.. Also, there are some lines at the end that are word-for-word out of Maltese Falcon, which shows this films desperation to be a classic, but it's far from it !