Collecting Movie Reviews

Last year I made a discovery... MST3K. Well, not really, I'd been watching the episodes for years. I only became VERY interested last year because I discovered Rhino had started issuing the MST episodes on DVD and including the original unedited films on the flip-side of the disks. The first four episodes Rhino put on DVD, I Accuse My Parents, Red Zone Cuba, Mitchell and Manos had lacked this feature and I had not been interested in getting those.

As a collector of odd-ball films I own a ton (many of them are Rhino tapes), but when Rhino started putting out double-sided DVD disks I became a died-in-wool MST collector too because for me the MSTied versions are like really, really good commentary tracks added to the disks. They are the kind of commentary tracks that all good DVD commentary tracks should aspire to be!

But now I discovered beginning with MST3K - Collection Volume 2, Rhino has reverted to the old practice of only one-sided disks!! Shame!! Tragedy!! On top of that, they've left the retail price in the same ballpark as the first collection which contained both versions of each film!

Oh yeah, I've read posts from others, "Rhino doesn't need to put the un-MSTied versions on the disks, those films are not worth viewing anyway! TRUE MST fans only want the MST episodes, blah, blah, blah…" Well, here is one person who is really saddened that Rhino has lowered the value of their disks (and not lowered the price!) Shame!

Who was the marketing genius at Rhino who dreamed this one up? I think there are other folks like me who enjoyed having the original films on the disks. I thought Rhino staff were people who (like me) who had a genuine love for off-beat cinema! Maybe Rhino has marketing-types running the show at company headquarters now instead of people who have a love for the product.

Here's the short version: Rhino won me over by putting out MST WITH the uncut films. Yes I'm still a big MST fan, but when allocating scarce dollars I will think twice about what gets purchased first. You know what? I don't own any of the single-sided disks. Rhino can sit on 'em! I'll buy them when they show up in the $5 cut-out bins.

Pisstified in S.F.,

Bob Burns

Rhino continues producing MST3K boxed sets, and I can't thank them enough. They foster my MST collecting habit with each release. I adore the boxed sets and recommed them for any devoted MiSTie. That said, on to the Film Blecch in this set.

Angels Revenge (bad puctuation not mine): a blatant, charm-free Charlie's Angels poser. The 'angels' aren't even remotely attractive, but they use their womenly wiles to bring down the drug trade. The real surprise in this one is the --ahem-- famous names, like Jim Backus, Alan Hale (he's shown up in a BUNCH of MST-treated flicks), and good heavens--Mr. Haney. Summary: cheesy 70s T&A theme flick, with as little story as possible, so as not to burden the audience. A dippy teacher rounds up a model, a scary stuntwoman, a lousy Vegas singer, and some other person to defeat the pushers. This one takes more than one viewing to enjoy the jokes, because it is JUST that bad.

Cave Dwellers: Rhino was smart to package this movie in the set that houses its sibling, Pod People. This cinematic train wreck has the same jumbled production values of Pod People--you'll recognize it immediately. Signature element: scenes from some other movie play behind the opening credits. Cave Dwellers gave Miles O'Keefe a set of fringed boots, a tiny loincloth, and not much else. You will HOWL during the host segment when Joel & the Bots do a half-screen action sequence of the guy with the fruity hat.
Summary: ?? go to the ends of the earth, and you still won't get what this turkey is about. Images not to be missed: Ator & Thong's fight with invisible monsters, Ator hangliding, and the scene with the "Most Attractive Man of the Middle Ages--MY MY MY!" Ultimately, there is a short bit of the actual Cave Dwellers, but the film has zero to do with them. ??

Pod People: HUZZAH! A real crapfest, complete with a bargain basement Alf wannabe. Can you imagine the pitch for this film? I think it must've gone like this: let's have a cuddly but murderous alien, a bad rock band, a weird mountain family with a poorly dubbed child, and OH! for extra spice, POACHERS! If this leaves you saying, "What the hell?" -- you are ready to watch the movie.
Summary: cuddly Alf-like killers inconvenience a bad rock group's weekend in the mountains.

Shorts, Vol 1: the best Shorts volume, IMHO. This set of shorts has actual hosting by Tom and includes The Home Economics Story, Junior Rodeo Daredevils, Body Care & Grooming (they're cops!), Cheating, A Date with Your Family, and Why Study Industrial Arts? A Date with Your Family is my personal favorite--"A violent argument erupts over whose day was more pleasant." This short couldn't get any whiter if it tried. Life in the 50s as introduced to us by the MST cast!

A great boxed set--pop the popcorn and get ready for cinema's disasters to spin in your player. A must for MST collectors, and even the box design is cute!

It was certainly a brilliant move on Rhino's part to include two of the very best episodes of MST3K, "Pod People" and "Cave Dwellers" in one collection. There would have only been 2 ways to make it even better.

1. To have also included another great episode, and one of my personal favorites, "Manos: The Hands Of Fate".

2. Instead of the rather dull and uninspired "Angels Revenge", they could have included the much funnier and lesser known "Incredible Melting Man"...which was the best of the Mike Nelson episodes (in my opinion of course).

But you can't have it all. And this collection is the best of the bunch, so far. and what you lose by having "Angels Revenge", you make up for by having the delightful "Shorts" disk, a feature of the show that was always a highlight.

I freely admit that in my opinion the show was never the same when original host and series creator Joel Hodgson left, but the show remained a laugh-out-loud study in sarcasim. and i never get tired of reliving old times with Crow, Tom Servio and the rest of the guys on the Satellite Of Love.

- and that's condemning with faint praise. The only disc of the lot that's even worth renting as far as I'm concerned, because of the unique enemies this set of angels presents for a giant robot team. Otherwise, my reccomendations remain to look at Bubblegum Crisis (and not 2040, either - the original), Transformers, Macross Plus, or Vandread if you want mecha, or in the Drama and Art sections of the live-action movies if you want introspection and philosophical meaning. To put it another way, let me paraphrase one of the Adventures of Weeble and Bob webcomic/flash thingies:

Animefan sings to his Evangelion boxed set: I love Eva... Eva don't lie... I love Eva... almost as much as mecha!

CD enters and looks at the box set: What this?

Animefan: ... Is mecha.

CD: Does not look like mecha.

Animefan: Is GOOOD mecha.

CD watches the show and grimaces: This tastes of donkey poop!

Animefan: Must be bad end.

the boxset dumps a load of depression on CD

Animefan: How rare.

- CD

Unfortunately the people at ADV have made a very bad work with the spanish audio, at least on volumes 4 and 5. The spanish track is noticeable lower in loudnes and it seems that it has a "flanger" effect on it.

One bog thumb down this time.

The three episodes on this DVD (12 thru 14) take us to the midpoint of the Evangelion series. The preliminaries are over, we have been introduced to the players, and have become fully engaged in the efforts of three young people to stop a steady flow of attacks on the earth by strange creatures known collectively as 'angels.'

Even so, we really know very little. In particular, the whys elude us. With each episode, we have been granted a tiny hint that something truly momentous lies just under the covers, that this is much more than an up-to-date space opera. Kabalistic symbols have danced in the air from the beginning, but now there are whispers of prophecies from the Dead Sea Scrolls and the Lance of Longinus. Just what is Gendo Ikari's true agenda?

In Episode 12, 'The Value of a Miracle,' Misato's promotion to major grants us a sudden insight into her own motivations. However, any festivities must come to an end when a new angel (Sahaqiel) appears in the skies over NERV head quarters. Asuka, Shinji, and Rei must stop it from crashing to earth like another meteor.

Then in 'Angel Invasion' a strange spreading corrosion turns out to be a nanotech angel (Ireul) intent on infecting the Magi - the three supercomputers that support NERV and Tokyo 3. Ritsuko Akagi, NERV's chief scientist, must battle the ghosts of her mother to keep the Magi from self-destructing.

After two episodes of monster slaying, Episode 14, 'SEELE, Throne of Souls', is an entirely different piece of work. It officially ushers in the second half of the series with a brief recap of past victories. Rei's own philosophical questions about her own identity are counterpoint to a nearly disastrous experiment with the EVA. In the background, the increased role of the mysterious SEELE committee raises more questions than it answers.

Hideaki Anno has proved himself a master at the subtle references that raise suspense and provide a continuous sense of mystery. Even as he allows his characters an increasing level of humanity, he starts the process of questioning exactly what that humanity really is.

Extremely creaky. Somehow when I opted to buy this DVD I didn't quite realise how removed people are these days (in every sense of the word) from what could have been considered entertainment in 1932. The film is more interesting as a historical footnote or curiosity than anything else (helping with the ushering in of European style and sensibilities into American cinema' etc. etc.). I won't lie; I didn't enjoy it in the least. It is stagy; Lubitsch may have been many things, but an innovator as far as the actual medium is concerned is not one of them. Here he restricts himself to a set-bound, at times stultifying commentary on a 'comedy of manners'. It is also quaint to the point of irrelevance, filmed with a embryonic and pedestrian sense of the possibilities of cinema (although I do understand and respect that this is an early 'talkie' and many problems were experienced in terms of freeing up the camera).

I prefer anything by Von Sternberg; check out the woefully scant special features and awful quality of 'The Scarlet Empress' (another Criterion DVD) and it will be made clear to you the reverence with which Lubitsch's work is regarded over that of Von Sternberg. Where Lubitsch went for safe entertainments, Von Sternberg put a great amount of effort into creating films that still seem strikingly contemporary (and genuinely daring) in sexual and emotional terms (the outrageous art department locales and costumes help erase any claims to pat reality). I think that it is an awful shame that Von Sternberg is neglected so- *his* 'European sensibilities' have been far more influential than Lubitsch's mechanical sense of pace and comic timing.

The DVD should be given a rent for the commentary and special features. As always Criterion's commentary on this one will provide you with all the information you might want to know about the film's place in the history of film (early talkie post depression era rhetoric etc. etc.). The people at Criterion perform an invaluable service when they do bother. The film itself is a waste of time. Come to think of it, maybe the special features are as well. Who needs to hear a host of people ramble on, sink into states of false reminiscence (like Peter Bogdonivich who goes on and on about Lubtisch as though they were good pals) and fawn over this grossly overrated film?

By the way, the cover art on this DVD is misleading; do not expect the film to look like the still image on the front cover minus the colour, the print is (understandably) washed out and extremely grainy. Still, more care and effort has gone into the re-mastering of this than went into the Scarlet Empress DVD-which is my main point of contention here, granted.

"Trouble in Paradise"... I had read sooooo much about this classic Lubitsch comedy, that I was afraid I would be disappointed upon watching, at last, this long awaited film, as it has happened to me many times before,..... well, I wasn't , it lived up to my expectations, A-B-S-O-L-U-T-E-L-Y.

We, ordinary people from this era, are not used to such delightful, delicate, sophisticated, witty and subtle screenplays & motion pictures. This film's pacing is perfect, the acting deft, the fun and enjoyment non-stop, Travis Banton's costumes are fabulous, the art-déco settings and the décors are top of the tops, and finally, the cast, an A++.

Herbert Marshall has never been so "bewildered" on the screen (so different from those dull characters he played, for example, in such films as those two landamark Bette Davis' melodramas of the early forties, "The Letter" and "The Little Foxes") as suave and elegant thief Gaston Monescu. Kay Francis (Mariette Colet) has never been so attractive, elegant, as a woman daringly, shamelessly, passionately and madly in love with debonair Marshall, and last but not least, Miriam Hopkins (Lily) was never so charming and beguilingly captivating, as Marshall's partner in crime and love. I will say no more -no spoilers here-, that's all you need to know before watching it.

Edward Everett Horton, Charlie Ruggles (as Francis' two feuding suitors) and C. Aubrey Smith (as the chairman to the board of directors of Francis' company), add expert supporting playing.

Beautifully photographed in black & white, one can easily understand why this motion picture is included in the top ten list of the best american films of all time, as the grandest example of the famed Lubitsch touch. By the way, I must say that the ending really caught me by surprise, a treat!

"Perfect" is an adjective not applicable to many films, but this is one of them. Lubitsch and Raphaelson pare down sex, wit, greed, and romance to their essences. There are no preachy moral or political messages here, no slapstick or toilet humor aimed at the lowest common denominator. L & R never talk down to their audience. They set the bar of wit, subtlety, and sophistication very high and respect us -- the audience -- enough to assume it isn't *too* high for us to get it. That means some will *not* get it, of course, as the disgruntled one-star reviewers here show. Perhaps a "dumb and dumber" diet of Jim Carrey and American Pie-type movies has blinded them to real wit, humor, and acute observation of the human condition. For the rest of us, this is a smart, humane comedy that presumes its audience is smart and humane -- I can't think of a single movie comedy of the past decade you could say that about. TIP reminds us all how much better and smarter comedy could be if today's filmmakers had even a fraction of L&R's craft, class, wit, and intelligence. TROUBLE gives modern Hollywood something to live up to -- now if they only WOULD try to live up to it ... LOL.

'Ivan The Terrible', the story of the first true Russian tsar, is Eisenstein's most theatrical film - with a couple of brief exceptions, every scene takes place indoors, with the theatrical space and decor hanging turgidly over the dehumanised human action. Long rhetorical speeches are performed by actors with grotesquely stylised movements and poses, oritund declamation and popping eyes. Whispering consists of shouting in crowded, silent halls. This already static film (which seems closer to Shakespeare's history plays and Russian opera like 'Boris Godunov' than cinema) often petrifies into interminable tableaux. All this barnstorming and grandstanding seems more Victorian than we'd expect from a modernist master. It's all thematically relevant of course - like Shakespeare, Eisenstein is concerned to analyse the politicking, the construction of symbolism and myth behind apparently 'natural' official pomp. If this is a Shakespeare history play, though, it's more 'Richard II' than 'Henry IV', a talkative, humorless pageant (with the exception of one bizarrely homoerotic scene in a chessboard-tiled throne-room, where a traitor unsheathes his sword for the Polish King, who fondles and returns it for a kiss).

'Part 2' is famous for having two reels shot in colour, but their quality is over-rated; shot in seeping orange and neon blue, their drunken revels aren't exactly 'An American In Paris', and having convicingly created a 16th century world with compositions that echo carved woodcuts, tapestries, paintings etc. the move into more modern, 'abstract' colour is an unsatisfying shock. Motifs that worked brilliantly in monochrome - the swans, the disapproving religious murals, the black cowls of the priests - lose all their definition and impact in colour, and to regain its power and suspense, the film has to return to black and white.

For a confirmed classic of World Cinema, 'Terrible' is an easy film to dislike, and even mock (you have to see some of these beards). With the exception of a couple of crowd-scenes recalling the montage-frenzy of earlier classics like 'Battleship Potemkin' or 'October', this slow film depends for its dynamics too often on Prokofiev's amazing score, with its mixture of pastiche and commentary, scuttling action and brooding menace, even wistful emotion - this music is perhaps irretrievably lost judging by the poor soundtrack on this otherwise essential DVD set.

'Alexander Nevsky' opens brilliantly on a plain of warrior skeletons, but as the film continues, you understand that the idea is less the futility of war than the futility of invading Russia. The oppressive stench of propaganda - the film, made in a period when Hitler was expanding eastwards in the search for Living Space, shows 13th century Rus discarding internal struggles, uniting under a saintly, strong leader, and defeating the bucket-visored Huns (as allegories go, it's not exactly subtle) - is not the only reason to baulk at this unlovely film. Like 'Ivan', it is faithful not just to the historical look of its period (costumes, buildings, language [here translated into the silliest cod medieval Yoda-speak], but its representational modes also, in this case the Scandanavian warrior sagas, with their formal speeches and boasts, their breaks for chants, marches and laments, their insistence on lineage etc. After the relentless interiority of 'Ivan', the sunny outdoors of 'Nevsky' is a great relef, but Eisenstein's narrative still proceeds by an accumulation of static, exhaustingly 'awesome' tableaux, in the rather tedious manner of late Kurosawa. The battle-sequence itself offers intriguing tensions, balancing a view of combat as a graceless mass squabble with individual feats of heroism - the result is ridiculous and endless. Individual scenes are staged with magnificent power, especially the massacre of Russian villages, the Huns burning babies while scaffolds loom in the smoke and humiliated prisoners litter the square. The pre-battle sequence is a remarkable feat of logistics, geometry and space, the two armies dehumanised as ominous lines on a vast landscape. There is a marvellously funny shot that seems like a parody of 'Lawrence Of Arabia' a quarter-century before it was even made, as two riders emerge from dots in the snowy wastes, racing towards the camera, only for one to slip on the ice!Unlike 'Ivan', the irritating lead performance is marginal and emblematic; once again, Prokofiev's multi-layered score is the film's saving grace.

Alexander Nevsky:

For those familiar with this classic of the Russian cinema, little need be said. For others, here are the high points: the story is set in medieval Russia and it essentially is about a great warrior who is drawn out of seclusion to lead the fight to defend the homeland against invading barbarians, who are German; there is much bravura acting from the loyal patriots, who deal not only with a vicious enemy from without but also with insidious traitors from within; the hero-warrior who leads them is suitably understated and dignified, striking a memorable portrait of nobility and grandeur. All this is dramatically heightened by some of the best cinematography ever, climaxing in a final battle over the ice which is done entirely with striking visuals and music-only sound. The result is one that rises far beyond the level of a mere costume picture or any cartoon story of battling types. This is a rich treasure from cinematic history, with all talents (including Sergei Eisenstein, one of the greatest directors ever, seen at his best) in brilliant form. Don't miss it.

Ivan the Terrible, Parts I and II:

During World War II, with Russia in the grip of Stalin and with Hitler at its door, the greatest Russian director of his day, and perhaps ever, joined the greatest Russian actor of his day, to depict the dark and brooding story of the rise and fall of a ruthless Russian Tsar who tyrannized Russia during the 1500s. While the story hardly amounts to movie uplift, the joy and fascination here lies in the details. Straightaway, in episode one, there is perhaps the most amazing movie opening ever filmed, in the coronation of Ivan the Terrible. Those familiar with Theodor Dreyer's "Passion of Joan of Arc" in 1928 will appreciate what fascination can lie in watching the camera cut skillfully from one grotesque image to another in endlessly imaginative ways, almost as if the gargoyles themselves were about to speak. The fascinating imagery proceeds non-stop from there, in the hands of master craftsman and director Sergei Eisenstein, like a medieval masterpiece come to life, though part two does not quite rise to the exceptional quality of part one. A taste of the high production standards is gleaned from a musical score composed by the great classicist Sergei Prokofiev. A very, very Russian production -- dark and grim, but full of amazing levels of interest, just the kind of production spoofed by Woody Allen years later in "Love and Death." Not necessarily to everybody's taste, but a great treat for connoisseurs.

"Ivan the Terrible Parts I and II" is a film of greatness, so great in fact that after seeing it only once I would probably include it among the ten finest films I have ever seen. It is a work of bold compositions (visual, aural, verbal, rhythmic, textural, political, etc.) arranged into a dense and exciting network of sensual and intellectual information. The interaction of motifs and ideas, symbolism and iconography into a sort of cinematic Russian fresco is absolutely thrilling. This often has a bizarre effect. The actor's movements are so deliberate as to be completely alien; after all, these are not human beings, they are representations of human beings on a screen, like portraits on a canvas, an idea which adds greatly to the purity of the film's artifice (of course, this is actually even more complex, having something to do with biomechanics, a theory I know too little of to discuss here). The film is completely engrossing, and is really a treasure trove hidden references and information, which really makes it fascinating. Honestly, I can not praise this film enough. It is grandiose and spectacular, a stunning work of depth and complexity.
"Alexander Nevsky" on the other hand would seem to be a very simple film, simple to the point of being stupid. In fact it is very complex (if not quite so much as "Ivan"), and only seems stupid because of a ridiculous political purpose and mindset that weighs it down. Its embarrassingly propagandistic, and politically compromised, something which greatly dulls the films underlying brilliance. "Ivan" is a complete reversal and a far superior film, at least in my view, in that it is able to subvert political expectancies, transforming what was intended as Stalinist propaganda into a disguised Stalinist and Communist critique, even lament. "Nevsky" lacks this independence, and while it is still fascinating as a work of form, structure, and motif (among many other Eisenstinean devices) it is ultimately too compromised to be as great a piece of art as "Ivan."
In spite of that, Criterion's treatment of both films (or three, depending on how you look at it) is absolutely grand. The transfers, aside from some rather rough spots on "Nevsky," are really quite good, the extras are fascinating and deeply insightful, and the packaging is far more attractive than it looks on amazon's picture. I probably own around 20 or more discs by Criterion, and all absolutely fantastic packages, but this one is the best! Absolutely one of the most solid purchases you'll ever make! And it's so wonderful to see these kind of films being given the royal treatment usually reserved for the more recent, popular, and... cough-shallow-cough releases. Long live The Criterion Collection, and God bless the soul of Sergei Eisenstein!

P.S. Oh, and God bless Sergei Prokofiev, composer of these films' beautiful and justly renowned musical scores.

The Criterion Collection DVD of "Great Expectations" almost surpasses its original brilliance on the silver screen. Visually stunning, the early Victorian mood is perfectly captured. The somewhat predictable story nonetheless stays true to the literary classic.

A young John Mills (father of the 1960s Disney favorite Hayley Mills) plays the grown up hero, Pip, who was picked as a companian by an excentric spinster when he was a boy. Growing up with a considerably older, abusive sister and her kindly husband, Pip serves as a whipping boy for the ever moody sister. Eventually the sister takes ill and passes on, upon which the step-father takes a new wife, this time one just as sweet and kind as he.

When the grown-up Pip is told that an anonymous benefactor will finance a life of leasure for the young man, Pip is certain that the Old Lady is behind it. As time passes, Pip grows into a regular idle snob. The girl he had secretly loved re-enters the picture. The resulting situations (including a rivalery with another suiter) are formula, thus offer little surprise. Of course, someone else turns out to be the mysterious benefactor.

As all of Charles Dickens' Classics, the stories center around early Victorian conflicts between the haves and the have-nots. Although the themes are timeless, the production seems dated, assuring a limited audience. As a school teacher I would recommend the film as a "special treat" following the reading/discussion of the book...

Joe Gargery, Pip's guardian, breaks your heart in his simple dignity and steadfast love for Pip, who he always regards as little Pip, "ever the best of friends..." Pip meets Magwitch, an escaped convict, and gets him "wittles" from his house, (He also steals a "savory pork pie", Mrs. Gargery had made especially for Christmas dinner...)feeling sorry for the poor wretch...this kind deed will come back to him later on. The Christmas dinner is great, with Uncle Pumblechook arriving with the announcement:"I have brought you Mum, a bottle of port wine, and I have brought you, Mum, a bottle of sherry wine..." To which Mrs. Gargery responds: "Unc-le Pumb-le-chook, that IS kind!" The theft of the savory pork pie is noticed at dinner, when, as Uncle Pumblechook intones: "You could lay a piece of savory pork pie atop anything you care to mention and do no harm." (Fortunately for Pip, the soldiers arrive, searching for the escaped convict, Magwitch, and the ensuing excitement causes the pork pie to be forgotten...)Alas for Joe, Pip grows up to be, for a while, an insufferable snob, brought about by his mysterious good fortune, bestowed upon him by an anonymous benefactor. We are led to believe, as is Pip, that it is Miss Havisham (WONDERFULLY played by Martita Hunt-"Do you know what I touch here? My heart...broken!" in her vast room with the enormous dining table still laid out for the Wedding feast, with an ancient cake, dainties, and rats running over the whole)...He is engaged, as a boy, to be a companion to Miss Havisham, but her motivation is darker than he knows, as she has trained Estella, (Jean Simmons, very young and very exquisite) her ward, to wreak havoc on men's souls, and Pip is an easy victim, arrested by her beauty and aloofness...an unattainable dream. "He calls the Knaves Jacks, this boy..." in utter disdain, as she is contemptuous of everything about Pip. He meets Mr. Pocket in the garden of Satis House, Miss Havisham's forlorn estate, with the courtyard clock set permanently at 8:30, the time of her doomed wedding that wasn't to be... (Enough House, great title) The two have a half-hearted battle, with Pip bloodying the nose of the affable Mr. Pocket. They meet up again as young gentlemen, and share rooms together, Mr. Pocket now a very young, very eager Alec Guinness, in a great interpretation. He endeavors to teach Pip the finer side of social graces, beginning with his table manners, interrupting his own conversation to remonstrate with Pip to be more moderate in his eating and use of silverware...when Joe comes to visit, he disgraces himself with his clusmsiness, in Pip's censorious eyes, and loses control of his hat, in a way that would have been funny were it not so sad, under the circumstances. Joe realizes the change in Pip and how a chasm has opened up between their friendship and love for each other; it saddens him, but he is still kind, and hopeful as he departs, and tells Pip to think of him back in the forge, where he belongs, and then he "won't judge him nearly so harshly."
Pip learns much along his way, and meets great characters, including the Lawyer who handles his fortune while guarding the identity of his benefactor, and his assistant, who takes Pip to visit his home, (a wonderfully fanciful place, a little castle, with drawbridge and moat, far away from the outer world) with his elderly father whom he addresses as "age-ed P."
Pip's turmoil when he learns the identity of his benefactor, and Estella's origins, (far more humble than she knew herself) is riveting, as are all the characters and their inner workings, diplayed in true, inimitable Dickensian fashion. The ending is wholly unpredictable and is somewhat of a letdown; you want something different to tie things up after all the drama and anguish you are forced to witness...still, it is Dickens, and that is how he chose to end this story, one of his best, although I prefer, of all of them, David Copperfield. A must see for the young Alec Guiness, the young and earnest John Mills, and the great, great Martita Hunt.

It seems that none of the many reviews shown here address the Criterion DVD version of "Great Expectations". I would like to know just how nice this DVD version looks before I pay out the premium price being asked for it. I've heard that some titles on the Criterion label are great, and others rather poor. I have this film on VHS, which looks about as nice as the VHS format allows, but I would consider upgrading to DVD if the DVD was mastered from a clean sharp 35mm source print, with clear sound, and good tonal balance.

Some critics praise Lean's "Expectations" as the finest feature film ever made. But many older titles seem to get short shrift when transfered to DVD. In so doing, the medium is not used to its full potential, and the film is not seen to best advantage. For such a great film as this, and for the high price of this DVD, the results ought to be outstanding. Are they? If you have this DVD, please let us know by writing a short review of the DVD edition. Thanks!

although this DVD wasn't exactly what i expected, it didn't fail to impress me. the DVD gives three videos and a special edit version of a video off of their BTNHResurrection album. not too shabby, the meat and potatoes of this DVD is the interview for their video shoot and the Behind-the-Scenes of recording BTNHResurrection. it isn't a professional studio tapping them so it isn't sketched or anything, just hardcore, raw, thuggish, ruggish Bone BEING Bone. they are a hilarious bunch. they give themselves on this DVD, you see the Original Thugstaz smokin', chokin', and just straight up clownin'. Bizzy is the most hilarious of the group, always messin' around. him and Wish get in a pretend fight when Wish calls him a baby. Bizzy Bone is so full of energy, when he talks about something that's on his mind, it's as if he is preaching. the most beautiful part is that you get to see the fellas record, behind the mic. you get to see the magic that they do in the studio, it's amazing and awesome to see them work, mess up, perfect it, and scream "RUN THAT BACK!" once or twice until the like the song the way THEY want it. a great buy, no doubt.

I'm gonna keep this short and maybe not sweet. This video is very good videos never seen (that very good is for quality cus the videos suck). The chillin with them is cool its like your their smoking with them dog. But it will get boring tell your friend to get it then watch it there and get the vids on kazza. Never buy a video unless its to be collected allright cus you will be mad when you realize that this is not what you want. I own all the bone videos including the one with wu tang and that is the only one i still watch. I'm not trying to tell you not to get this i'm trying to tell you to think if you really want it or not.

"HINT" if you are buying this for the videos don't get it. If you are a fan and want to add it to your collection then do. Still I say get a friend to buy it cus I wish I did that a long time ago before I got my computer now i'm mad at myself just trying people to not do the same.

The greatest rap group to ever live . This video shows everythang . Their life, lifestyle , what you dont get to see on tv . They give some stories as a bio I guess you could say . Its tight with plenty of videos .

Finally the complete film in a 35mm transfer, but...

What was once a glorious sound track with a major
Bernard Herrmann score has been ruined by filtration
and badly judged noise reduction.

Sell your soul to the devil and then get the world's greatest Yankee lawyer, statesman and orator to break the deal in front of a jury composed of traitors, cut-throats and evil-doers from America's past. Almost forgotten, THE DEVIL AND DANIEL WEBSTER (Criterion), based on Stephen Vincent Benet's famous short story, still grips with relevance and wit. Walter Huston is memorably subdolous as "Old Scratch." The transfer is restored and the disc is packed with extras. A great family film.

This is one of the most unusual movies ever made, a true treasury of inventiveness, and only one of about 200 total (out of nearly 20,000 films) to which acclaimed British film critic Leslie Halliwell had awarded 4 stars. Those who know Mr. Halliwell's work will immediately recognize that this makes for a very special film, since he was in his day perhaps the surest guide of all to Golden Age films, as well as being a very tough grader. Hence, a presumptively extraordinary film. In spite of this, the film failed commercially because it does not fit easily into any given category. It depicted a German Faustian theme about a farmer who sold his soul to the devil. Yet it was set in the context of down-home Americana. And it bore the arty qualities of a German expressionism brought to it by its famed director, William Dieterle. Into this mix, one can throw first-class American acting by Walter Huston and Edward Arnold, and the entire package becomes one weird combination for marketing purposes. That having been said, this indescribable mix is an amazing movie: it moves quickly, it is amazingly photographed in moody black and white, it has a first-class score that rivals anything Bernard Herrmann ever did (e.g., Vertigo), it has a lead performance by Walter Huston as the devil ('Mr. Scratch') that ranks among the most memorable performances ever recorded on film, and it concludes a fine and imaginative script with a 'courtroom scene' that is utterly fascinating in its depiction of the most infamous blackguards of American history being summoned from the depths of perdition to stand as jury to determine whether or not the poor farmer who had sold his soul should be held to have a binding contract with the devil. The film is roistering entertainment as well as caviar for the pointy-head crowd, quite a mix by any measure. Not to be missed!

Last year I made a discovery... MST3K. Well, not really, I'd been watching the episodes for years. I only became VERY interested last year because I discovered Rhino had started issuing the MST episodes on DVD and including the original unedited films on the flip-side of the disks. The first four episodes Rhino put on DVD, I Accuse My Parents, Red Zone Cuba, Mitchell and Manos had lacked this feature and I had not been interested in getting those.

As a collector of odd-ball films I own a ton (many of them are Rhino tapes), but when Rhino started putting out double-sided DVD disks I became a died-in-wool MST collector too because for me the MSTied versions are like really, really good commentary tracks added to the disks. They are the kind of commentary tracks that all good DVD commentary tracks should aspire to be!

But now I discovered beginning with MST3K - Collection Volume 2, Rhino has reverted to the old practice of only one-sided disks!! Shame!! Tragedy!! On top of that, they've left the retail price in the same ballpark as the first collection which contained both versions of each film!

Oh yeah, I've read posts from others, "Rhino doesn't need to put the un-MSTied versions on the disks, those films are not worth viewing anyway! TRUE MST fans only want the MST episodes, blah, blah, blah…" Well, here is one person who is really saddened that Rhino has lowered the value of their disks (and not lowered the price!) Shame!

Who was the marketing genius at Rhino who dreamed this one up? I think there are other folks like me who enjoyed having the original films on the disks. I thought Rhino staff were people who (like me) who had a genuine love for off-beat cinema! Maybe Rhino has marketing-types running the show at company headquarters now instead of people who have a love for the product.

Here's the short version: Rhino won me over by putting out MST WITH the uncut films. Yes I'm still a big MST fan, but when allocating scarce dollars I will think twice about what gets purchased first. You know what? I don't own any of the single-sided disks. Rhino can sit on 'em! I'll buy them when they show up in the $5 cut-out bins.

Pisstified in S.F.,

Bob Burns

Make some popcorn and get ready to laugh! John Carradine mailed in his horrible performance in "The Unearthly". Thor the wrestler (you might remember him from Plan 9 From Outer Space)outdid his role by actually having four lines in the whole movie!
"Sidehackers" is a real hoot! It's such a stinker it should come with a clothes pin for your nose. The bots are in rare form! I loved the "Shorts" the best. My stomach hurt from laughing so hard! Thanks for the fun guys!

MST3K is the best show on the TV today...Thank you Sci Fi...I have been watching this show whenever I get the chance and now that you can buy them on DVD is just great...Vol 3 is one of the better MST3K releases on DVD...The three movies are absolutely horrid but the hosts make you laugh so hard that you don't care anymore.."The Atomic Brain" is so mixed up with weird images and inept plot twists you can't help but shake your head and wonder how this ever got released..."The Unearthly" turns into a "Tor" celebration of sorts and Mr. Carradine just shines in this one..."Sidehackers" is pretty much a bomb after the opening credits... and the boys have a good time adding their comments to all three movies to our delight...I think the best of the disc set is the "Shorts"..."What To Do On a Date" and "A Day at the Fair" are pure hokey Americana in the 50's but Mike and the bots go the extra mile in making me laugh while watching these,they are a scream..."Last Clear Chance" is about car safety and trains, a cop bothers this farm family with advice to the new driver and it is very funny with Mike,Crow and Tom Servo ad libs...
A very good collection I thought,buy it today and laugh for a month...

I was pretty let down by this film due to the praise it received from a friend of mine whose opinion I value. I just found it didn't really present me with anything I hadn't seen before. The story was interesting but it could have been delivered in a much more original way. This is a good film but far from great.

'The Last Wave' is an eerie, beautiful film by Peter Weir and is a companion piece to 'Picnic at Hanging Rock', which he made two years earlier in 1975. Though 'Wave' is set in 1970s Sydney and 'Picnic' takes place at the turn of the 20th Century, both movies revolve around the great difficulty the white settlers, who took over Australia, had in fitting in, both with the land itself and with the Aboriginal natives. After all, Aboriginal culture was ancient long before there was an England or, for that matter, a religion called Christianity. Though both movies are highly recommended, both are uniquely Australian. Those with little knowledge of the place will find themselves at a loss as to what is going on.

David Burton [Richard Chamberlain] is a successful, middle-class tax attorney in Sidney. When he volunteers to take the case of several Aboriginal men accused of murder, he has little inkling of where this supposedly simple case will take him. Coincidentally, he has recently been having nightmares, one of which involves a young Aboriginal boy. He finds that the men are withholding much information. He comes to suspect that they are part of a tribe and that the crime was dictated by tribal law. His colleagues insist that there are no tribes in Sydney. Not only is David right, he discovers that there is a mysterious link between the defendants and the strange weather that has recently plagued the region. The case turns into a spiritual journey, one fraught with unanswerable questions and great danger.

The laconic and underrated Chamberlain is excellent. The movie is not a thriller, and it builds to its climax slowly and deliberately. This makes David's quiet descent into madness appropriate.

One of the film's greatest assets is Russell Boyd's cinematography. He beautifully captures the dichotomy between modern Sydney with its gleaming towers and the ancient world that lies hidden beneath them. His surreal, dreamlike camera work helps make up for this low budget effort's lack of special effects.

By the way, an American equivalent to 'The Last Wave' is the fascinating independent movie, 'The Rapture' [1991].

Other recommended Weir movies are 'Gallipoli [1981], 'The Year of Living Dangerously' [1982], 'Fearless' [1993] and 'The Truman Show' [1998].

My father turned me on to this film when I was about 4. He used to play it for me when he was cooking dinner, listening to music, studying, any time he needed some time to himself and needed me to stay in one place. (Chariots of fire and The Warriors work well too. lol ) Well, I am 25 now and this film is as creepy, fascinating and hypnotic as it was then.

I mean, the third wave, for christ sake. It's over. Your outa here. Done. Would you be remembered as a quality addition to the human race? Really, "Who are you?"

I can add no more than my peers here, as all except one giant bozo found this film to be as good as I did.

This is the third Sailor Moon series. It's about teenaged girls with magical powers who fight evil forces that threaten the world. In the S series, they fight humans who have been possessed by demons and forced to steal people's pure hearts in order to bring their master, Pharoah 90, into our universe. The Outer Senshi were introduced in this series: Uranus, Neptune, Saturn, and Pluto (though she had appeared in a few episodes of the R series). They're awesome. The original Japanese version is the best (more mature), but the English dub is also provided. Apparently, Cloverway had dubbed all of the dialogue, so you'll be able to hear English lines on here that you hadn't heard on Cartoon Network. Still, the English dub is censored and dumbed down. It's also incredibly inconsistent. Attack names (and even some transformation phrases) constantly change. Names of important objects in the series change also. Amara (Haruka) and Michelle (Michiru) are turned into "cousins", and that "fact" is constantly shoved down our throats. Still, listening to the English audio track while watching the uncensored video will provide some (unintended) laughs. I recommend watching an episode in Japanese with English subtitles first and then watching it in English. It's like getting two different series - 12-14 episodes per disc instead of 6-7. I do have some complaints. First, they used only the final version of the opening theme for all of the episodes. In the original, the new characters were added to the theme over the course of the series as they were introduced. On these DVDs, characters that haven't appeared in episodes yet are in the opening theme. That is not the way it originally aired, and it ruins the surprises. Also, on my computer monitor, there's a fuzzy line at the top of the screen during the opening theme in every episode. That means that the theme was spliced in. Were they too lazy to put the English credits over each version of the opening theme? Why did they have to put English credits there at all, anyway? They could have put them in the closing credits. I don't like the new English voice actors for Moon, Mercury, and Venus, but at least the original Mars is back! I also like Rini's new voice actor. I still think that Rini's an annoying character, though. The next episode previews were not included. The only extras are profiles on some of the Senshi/Scouts and some of the earlier opening themes from the S series. The DVD covers are reversible, so you can pick your favorite characters to be displayed. All in all, these 38 (or 76) episodes form a great story and are worth buying.

This Uncut Version is great! Six great episodes in one DVD that you'll truly enjoy! One of my favorites is "The Battle in a Demonic Dimension!The Sailor Soldier's Bet" because its funny and interesting to watch, like its funny how the Sailor Scouts play all these games just to get out,and I really enjoy watching this episode in japanese. These episodes also explain alot more about Hotaru not only that she might be Sailor Saturn, but also the Messiah Of Silence.

hi i don't have this DVD but i have it on tape. In this DVD you get to See Hotaru Tome for the first time. She rocks shes my favorite Senshi next to Makoto and Usagi.Ive been collecting sailor moon DVDs since they've been out. I got all the episodes. This is the best anime ever next to Tenchi. So if you want to see Sailor Saturn buy this DVD. Im in the 11th grade and i still like sailor moon, and im not ashamed to adimit that im 17 and i like Sailor moon.