War Games

Starring:Matthew Broderick, Dabney Coleman, John Wood, Ally Sheedy, Barry Corbin, Juanin Clay, Kent Williams, Dennis Lipscomb, Joe Dorsey, Irving Metzman, Michael Ensign, William Bogert, Susan Davis (II), James Tolkan, David Clover, Drew Snyder, John Garber, Duncan Wilmore, Billy Ray Sharkey, John Spencer
Director: John Badham
Studio: MGM (Video & DVD)
Product Type: DVD

Amazon.com essential video

Before Harrison Ford assumed the mantle of playing Tom Clancy's Jack Ryan hero in Patriot Games, Alec Baldwin took a swing at the character in this John McTiernan film and hit one to the fence. If less instantly sympathetic than Ford, Baldwin is in some respects more interesting and nuanced as Ryan, and drawing comparisons between both actors' performances can make for some interesting postmovie discussion. That aside, The Hunt for Red October stands alone as a uniquely exciting adventure with a fantastic costar: Sean Connery as a Russian nuclear submarine captain attempting to defect to the West on his ship. Ryan must figure out his true motives for approaching the U.S. McTiernan (Predator, Die Hard) made an exceptionally handsome movie here with action sequences that really do take one's breath away. --Tom Keogh

Description

Based on Tom Clancy's bestseller, directed by John McTiernan (Die Hard) and starring Sean Connery and Alec Baldwin, THE HUNT FOR RED OCTOBER sweats with high-tech anxiety and the tension of men who hold Doomsday in their hands. A new technologically-superior Soviet nuclear sub, the Red October, is heading for the U.S. coast under the command of Captain Marko Ramius (Connery). The American government thinks Ramius is planning to attack. A lone CIA analyst (Baldwin) has a different idea: he thinks Ramius is planning to defect, but he has only a few hours to find him and prove it - because the entire Russian naval and air commands are trying to find him, too. The hunt is on!

Customer Reviews:

Like, so 80's.......2007-06-24

This is a really good yarn, but the film adaptation is marginal - Connery and Baldwin are real, compelling, and entertaining, but the other actors leave much to be desired. Some really good shots of underwater scenes, and a good suspense level, but the acting could add a lot to this film.

The hunt for Red October.......2007-05-27

Connery at his best. A fantastic film. Definitely an owner movie.

Excellent Movie.......2007-05-02

I can't stand Alec Baldwin, but he did well in his first major motion picture. Sean Connery was good as he always is. I liked everything about it. The music is good. The special effects don't match these days, but I can live with it. A very dramatic, well acted movie I think.

Cold war movie.......2007-02-18

This is a great movie about the cold war with excellent casting and directing. I had read the book so when I first saw the movie I was a bit dissapointed from the fact that some of the important factors were underplayed in the movie. However this movie really grew on me and it is really entertaining.

The Hunt is OVER ... for a great Submarine Thriller!.......2007-01-21

I just finished watching the Hunt for Red October for the jilienth time... It had occurred to me that I never have written a review for this great movie here at amazon.com... I have reviewed the great WWII movie Das Boot, the hilarious Operation Petticoat, I have even put together two different lists about submarine books and submarine movies but incredibly I have not written a review about this great movie! I remember the first time I saw this movie when it came out in movie theaters and thinking, "Wow! How did Clancy know that, I thought that was classified?" I served on submarines in the `70s and considered myself very informed about submarines. This is a great Cold War yarn that will keep you on the edge of your seat - If you want to see a first rate submarine thriller then Hunt for Red October is a sure bet!

Average customer rating:

Clue
hilarious movie
80's Classic
The greatest of all comedys that is totally under appecttied
Clue

Clue
Starring: Eileen Brennan , Tim Curry , Madeline Kahn , Christopher Lloyd , and Michael McKean
Director: Jonathan Lynn
Manufacturer: Paramount
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: 6305882649
Release Date: 2000-06-27

Amazon.com

Undoubtedly the first movie in history to have played in theaters with three different endings (depending on which theater you attended), Clue is a silly whodunit based on the familiar board game featuring Colonel Mustard, Mrs. Peacock, and all the other usual suspects. A broadly comic cast play the sundry suspects gathered in a mansion to solve a murder, knowing that one of their numbers is the culprit. Michael McKean, Eileen Brennan, and Tim Curry are the best of the bunch, and the film is as lightweight an experience as a round of the game itself. Directed by Jonathan Lynn (My Cousin Vinny). The video release contains all three endings. --Tom Keogh

Customer Reviews:

Clue.......2007-07-03

Another great classic! You can't go wrong buying this movie. It's still good and funny no matter how many times you've seen it.

hilarious movie.......2007-06-02

This is one of my favorite movies and has been since I was a little kid. I'm not sure it would hold up to most people's tastes, but it makes me laugh every time. Some of the best movie quotes made into inside jokes. Playing the game when I was little only made some of the references more amusing.

One of the best parts is the end - there are three! You can watch one randomly or all three. Something I wish would happen more often with silly movies made nowadays.

80's Classic.......2007-05-13

This movie has an all-star cast, including Christopher Lloyd, Tim Curry, Eileen Brennan, and Madeline Khan. But the movie is just not funny at all. The only good thing about this movie besides the cast is the 3 different surprise endings.

The greatest of all comedys that is totally under appecttied.......2007-04-20

Who wouldn't love it when Wadesworth tells everyone how and where the murder's are committed in his super fast and comical way. You actually get to run with the six suspects as Wadesworth re tells what everyone was doing during each murder.

How about when Scarlett and Mustard were locked in the parlor with the dead driver and they were shouting to let them out. "Let us out! Let us Out!" oh and don't forget Plum and Greene trying to open the door "Let us in! Let us in!" How about when Yvette shoots at the door and misses and hit's the candler and freaks out everyone. Plum and Greene drop to the floor over each other as Yvette finally shoots the lock off; while inside the parlor Scarlett and Mustard are screaming at being shot at. How about Mustard's line "I have been shot" before the lock is blown away. Also when he marches out of the room and shouts that he couldn't take another shock to the nerves that night and the chandler comes crashing down.

CLUE is the one of the greatest comedy's that has been saddly and totally under appecitted. If you enjoy playing the game than you will enjoy this great movie with all these great and wonderful actors.

Clue.......2007-03-30

Goes great with the board game. My son loves the movie.
recieved in New condition.

Average customer rating:

Instant Teen Classic
It Takes Two Hands To Handle A WOPR
EXCELLENT 80's movie!:)
Am 80's classic.
another escape piece

War Games
Starring: Matthew Broderick , Dabney Coleman , John Wood , Ally Sheedy , and Barry Corbin
Director: John Badham
Manufacturer: MGM (Video & DVD)
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: 0792838467
Release Date: 1998-04-29

Amazon.com

Cute but silly, this 1983 cautionary fantasy stars Matthew Broderick as a teenage computer genius who hacks into the Pentagon's defense system and sets World War III into motion. All the fun is in the film's set-up, as Broderick befriends Ally Sheedy and starts the international crisis by pretending while online to be the Soviet Union. After that, it's not hard to predict what's going to happen: government agents swoop in, but the story ends up in the "hands" of machines talking to one another. Thus we're stuck with flashing lights, etc. John Badham (Saturday Night Fever) directs in strict potboiler mode. Kids still like this movie, though. The DVD release has a widescreen presentation, theatrical trailer, Dolby sound, director commentary, optional English, French and Spanish subtitles. --Tom Keogh

Description

Matthew Broderick (Ferris Bueller's Day Off) and Ally Sheedy (The Breakfast Club) star in this compelling drama filled with action, suspense and high-tech adventures! Featuring superb performances by Dabney Coleman and Barry Corbin, WarGames is "brilliant...funny...and provocative" (New York)a fast-paced cyber-thriller. Computer hacker David Lightman (Broderick) can bypass the most advanced security systems, break the most intricate secret codes and mastereven the most difficult computer games. But when he unwittingly taps into the Defense Department's war computer, he initiates a confrontation of global proportionsWorld War III! Together with his girlfriend (Sheedy) and a wizardly computer genius (Tony AwardÂ(r) winner John Wood), David must race against time to outwit his opponent...and prevent a nuclear Armageddon.

Customer Reviews:

Instant Teen Classic.......2007-06-28

In the era when nuclear threat was real and era of the Personal Computer birth, this film with an excellent story played by the wisecracking young Mathew Broderick and the really young Ally Sheedy (What happen to her she was really good and pretty) introduce us to the world of computers and hacking in the era of Cold War Tech with two countries fighting for supremacy and they stuck in the middle.

This film makes me go to college and study Computer Science, John Badham excellent direction and the Art Background is superb.

This Classic has to be in your collection if you where young in that time and if you haven't see it, would be educational to see what computers look like in the early eighties and what they could do.

It Takes Two Hands To Handle A WOPR.......2007-06-10

All storytelling revolves around three themes: Man against Man, Man against Nature, and Man against Himself. In the latter half of the Twentieth Century, a fourth paradigm was added, that being Man Against Machine. Largely told in the cinematic mode, Man against Machine has given us any number of low-budget American International Pictures releases, as well as such classic films as FAIL SAFE, DR. STRANGELOVE, COLOSSUS: THE FORBIN PROJECT, 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY, the TERMINATOR films, THE MATRIX and its sequels, and WAR GAMES.

WAR GAMES is a late Cold War Era entry (1983), and probably the only Teen Angst movie of this kind. Despite the inherent weaknesses of the Teen Angst genre, WAR GAMES manages to have been (and remain) satisfyingly entertaining, even after a quarter century. WAR GAMES remains timeless.

David Lightman (played by a pimple-faced, squeaky Matthew Broderick) is an underacheiving teenage computer genius who spends his time entertaining himself by hacking into the school computer and changing people's Grade Point Averages. Somehow, David manages to hook up with the pretty and popular Jennifer (played by a presumptively virginal Ally Sheedy). While trying to impress Jennifer with his pocket-protector machismo, David hacks into what he believes to be an online War Gaming site. Presented with a whole plethora of possible games, David, of course, skips over such boring choices as tic-tac-toe, poker, chess, and even the intriguingly named Falken's Maze to play Global Thermonuclear War.

David HAS hacked into an online War Gaming site. Unfortunately for David, and for us, it's NORAD. Having just completed a study showing that human button-pushers won't push their buttons in the event of an attack, NORAD has given the ultimate responsibility for button-pushing to a new computer, WOPR (the acronym is a little vague). WOPR doesn't realize that David is a hacker. WOPR also doesn't know that it's all a simulation. So WOPR starts World War III. David and Jennifer, realizing that it is all a terrible misunderstanding, spend the rest of the film trying to turn off the rambunctious little toaster oven. The ending is a Cold War parable.

After two and a half decades part of the fun of watching WAR GAMES is looking at all the quaint high-tech antiques. The computer geeks are an army of screaming, whining, barely toilet-trained four-eyed migraine makers. David's modem is a hard dock model that basically swallows telephone receivers. Reel-to-reel tape drives still look impressive. 5.25 disk drives are on the cutting edge. PCs as such don't exist, but 8088 integrated monitor-dual floppy drive-keyboard models are everywhere. No one's heard of the Graphical User Interface yet, and everything is reduced to green typing on black screens, the equivalent of computer cuneiform. DOS doesn't and Windows wasn't. Amazingly, David's home dinosaur can turn the typed word into an audio feed, allowing WOPR to talk. Tres cool, man!

As for the WOPR itself, it is appropriately named, being about a third of the size of a typical Burger King restaurant. Very well endowed with more beeping and flashing things than a Vegas Casino, WOPR has about as much computing power as an abacus, and works just about as well, but it is pretty to look at.

Even though the WOPR couldn't play a DVD, your computer can, and WAR GAMES is a fun popcorn-and-soda flick that's worth having in your collection.

EXCELLENT 80's movie!:) .......2007-05-12

This movie was (and still is) one of my favorite 80's movies, and NOW it's my daughter's favorite movie:) Wasn't the 80's awesome in terms of movies and music?:)

Am 80's classic........2007-04-19

In the 80's when computers were becoming popular alternative to human personnel the govt choices to swap personnel for an artificial intelligence that controls of all things the defense nuclear missiles. A crafty high school teen, savvy in the ways of hacking finds a "backdoor" into the database and initiates what he believes is a game. Without knowing, he inadvertently started a simulation of nuclear war which the computer thinks is real. The teen with the help of his friends must prove his innocence while trying to prevent a real nuclear missile strike from occurring.
This is a fun and exciting film. It brings you into a world of possibility. A favorite piece of the fun is the old PC he has at home, complete with talking speaker and on the hook modem. You remember those? You had to take the phone off the hook then place the ear piece and receiver on a caddy so it could speak through the modem. Its wild. This title is hard to find so if you're an 80's lover add this movie to your collection.

another escape piece.......2007-03-08

This movie is cute and intelligently presented. It is an old film, yet an escape for some young people who are overwhelmed with so much talk about war in the world. Broderick does an excellent job of portraying a typical teenager, wanting to play and try different computer games, coming across something larger than life.

Average customer rating:

Miracle - More than a Sports Story!
"On A Sheet Of Ice In Lake Placid, New York" ~ Knowing When It's Your Time
Thrilling
good uplifting movie
I LOVE THIS MOVIE

Miracle (Widescreen Edition)
Starring: Kurt Russell , Patricia Clarkson , Noah Emmerich , Sean McCann , and Kenneth Welsh
Director: Gavin O'Connor
Manufacturer: Walt Disney Video
ProductGroup: DVD
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ASIN: B0001US66E
Release Date: 2004-05-18

Amazon.com

The miracle about Miracle is that it gets so many details right in telling its 24-year-old story about the historic victory of the U.S. hockey team at the 1980 Olympic Games. It's typical for Hollywood to compromise such period details as hairstyles and fashion when catering to a contemporary audience, but Miracle looks and feels right in every detail, capturing the downbeat mood of post-Watergate America while showing how obsessively determined Minnesota hockey coach Herb Brooks (Kurt Russell) managed to assemble a once-in-a-lifetime team and whip them into a victorious frenzy over their Soviet champion opponents. With sharp support from Patricia Clarkson (as Brooks's wife) and Noah Emmerich (as his long-suffering assistant), Russell grounds the film with a well-balanced combination of aloofness, intimidation, and closely guarded strategy. No doubt the real Brooks (who died in a car accident shortly after filming completed) would have approved. Thanks to director Gavin O'Connor (Tumbleweeds) and the producers of the similarly laudable sports films Remember the Titans and The Rookie, Miracle brings plenty of heart--and historical accuracy--to an old, familiar formula. --Jeff Shannon

Description

From the studio that brought you THE ROOKIE and REMEMBER THE TITANS comes the movie everybody loves -- MIRACLE. Filled with exhilarating nonstop hockey action and heart-racing suspense, it's the inspiring true story behind one of the greatest moments in sports history — the 1980 United States ice hockey team's triumphant Olympic victory against the Soviet Union. Kurt Russell gives a brilliant performance as the dynamic and determined coach Herb Brooks, who had an impossible dream -- beat the seemingly unbeatable Soviets at their own game. Starting with a handpicked group of 26 undisciplined kids, Brooks coached them to play like they never played before, and turned 20 of them into a team that believed they could achieve the unachievable -- and in the process, united a nation with a new feeling of hope.

Customer Reviews:

Miracle - More than a Sports Story!.......2007-07-04

A story of powerful healing & believing, incredible human ability to achieve the "impossible" when using heart body and soul and working as a team, preparing and believing. Wonderfully inspiring, incredible coaching and spirit displayed by young men when our country needed this healing and unity. Love this movie and display of determination, belief, love, patriotism, and spirit.

"On A Sheet Of Ice In Lake Placid, New York" ~ Knowing When It's Your Time.......2007-04-27

Who will ever forget that memorable Winter Olympics in `80 when a young, inexperienced U.S.A. hockey squad beat the juggernaut Russian team in the semi-finals on their way to the gold medal? Well if you have just watch this movie and rekindle the memory of what was unquestionable the ultimate moment in the history of American hockey.

Released in '04, the inspirational sports film `Miracle' is a nostalgic look back at a time before professionals took over the Olympic games and young, starry-eyed college kids reached for that one glorious moment of fame. Yes it's overly sentimental and just oozing with saccharine but deep down inside I think that's how most of us want to remember this game anyway. U.S.A. versus Russia, doesn't get any better than that!

Thrilling.......2007-02-04

It is easy to summarize the plot behind this movie. It is about the 1980 U.S. hockey team that went all the way to gold in the Olympics at Lake Placid. What is harder to summarize is the era and feelings of the United States at that time, and just what a kick in the behind this game was for the U.S.

1980 was a very bad time. Inflation was horrible. We recently left Viet Nam, failing to accomplish whatever mission we had. Students kidnapped Americans from the embassy in Teheran. We suffered from a president who was tied to a politically motivated hotel break-in and from a president who was unable to effectively deal with politics in Washington, D.C.; then came the 1980 Olympic hockey team.

The hockey team of the Soviet Union was the dominant team for 20 years. They were favored to win the 1980 Olympics. The U.S. team might have a shot for bronze, if we were lucky. Instead, the U.S. team kept beating teams that "everyone" expected to beat the U.S. Americans began holding their breath as the team played each new opponent, and won. It was amazing. The gold medal game against Finland was almost an anti-climax after the game against the Soviet Union. While Coach Brooks was there to play hockey and go all the way, the biggest hurdle was going to be the tough, professional Soviet team.

This movie captures it all; the feeling of the era, details of the era, the thrill of each team victory, and Coach Brook's refusal to celebrate any victory until the truly important one. I was amazed at Kurt Russell's performance. He is compelling as Coach Brooks. Brooks is obsessed in his drive to make his team the best, and he skillfully transmits that obsession to his players. Kurt Russell was perfect for the role of Brooks, and it is one of his finest moments in a movie.

This movie is perfect for most members of the family, and may well serve as an inspiration for some family members. Some younger members of the family may be distressed by the violence of hockey, which is well replicated in this movie. You may not want to be eating while watching some portions of the movie.

Enjoy!

good uplifting movie.......2007-02-03

i like the perspective the movie tried to portray, that individual Olympians who are great at what they do are not representing themselves, but are representing their country. im really glad our hockey team won in those adverse times and that this movie was made to reflect a bit of the triumph they experienced.

I LOVE THIS MOVIE .......2007-01-28

What a great movie this was there was not one bad part in the whole Movie i think that the actors who played this made the Real guys looked amazing this is my favriot movie ever i just love it I think that Kurt Russell did a great Job betraying herb brooks i don't think that any other actor could do it as well as he did.

Average customer rating:

Like, so 80's
The hunt for Red October
Excellent Movie
Cold war movie
The Hunt is OVER ... for a great Submarine Thriller!

The Hunt for Red October
Starring: Sean Connery , Alec Baldwin , Scott Glenn , Sam Neill , and James Earl Jones
Director: John McTiernan
Manufacturer: Paramount
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: 6305182043
Release Date: 1998-12-01

Amazon.com essential video

Customer Reviews:

Like, so 80's.......2007-06-24

The hunt for Red October.......2007-05-27

Connery at his best. A fantastic film. Definitely an owner movie.

Excellent Movie.......2007-05-02

Cold war movie.......2007-02-18

The Hunt is OVER ... for a great Submarine Thriller!.......2007-01-21

Average customer rating:

The Legendary Battle Continues In Smaller Form....

Underworld (UMD Mini for PSP)
Starring: Kate Beckinsale , Erwin Leder , Bill Nighy , Michael Sheen , and Scott Speedman
Director: Len Wiseman
Manufacturer: Sony Pictures Home Entertainment
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: UMD for PSP

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Accessories:

Sony PSP PlayGear Amp
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Product Features:

In the Underworld, Vampires are a secret clan of modern aristocratic sophisticates whose mortal enemies are the Lycans (werewolves), a shrewd gang of street thugs who prowl the city s underbelly. No one knows the origin of their bitter blood feud, but the balance of power between them turns even bloodier when a beautiful young Vampire warrior and a newly-turned Lycan with a mysterious past fall in

ASIN: B000BYRCRO
Release Date: 2006-01-10

Customer Reviews:

The Legendary Battle Continues In Smaller Form...........2006-02-07

For those of you who've not seen Underworld, not just on PSP but on dvd also, you're missing out on a terribly good movie. Not only does this movie have style , but it also has some of the best action sequences in a vampire movie, as well as one of the best storylines, which is sometimes hard to find in a vampire movie. This movie looks just as sleek and sexy in mini form, as does Kate Beckinsale. So please, do yourself a favor and get this movie for your PSP. This may well be your favorite UMD, I know it's mine. Hope this helps. Enjoy!

Average customer rating:

Forbidden Games
A Superb Film
A tale that plays with the viewer
Hidden Scars
"almost unquestionably the most compelling and intensely poignant drama featuring young children ever filmed"

Forbidden Games - Criterion Collection
Starring: Georges Poujouly , Brigitte Fossey , Amédée , Laurence Badie , and Madeleine Barbulée
Director: René Clément
Manufacturer: Criterion
ProductGroup: DVD
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ASIN: B000BC8SWE
Release Date: 2005-12-06

Description

A timeless evocation of the loss of innocence, René Clément's devastating Forbidden Games tells the story of a young orphan and her friend forced to fend for themselves in World War II France. Featuring brilliant performances from its child stars, the film won the 1952 Academy Award for Best Foreign Film and remains a singular, breathtaking cinematic achievement.

Customer Reviews:

Forbidden Games.......2007-06-25

The stark simplicity of Rene Clement's masterpiece makes it one of the more eloquent anti-war statements ever put on film. In a world gone mad, Michel and Paulette respond with an act of quiet kindness, which is their way of making sense of what is happening. While clinging to childhood via their secret game, the two unwittingly reflect humanity's noblest traits in its darkest hour. Haunting and profound.

A Superb Film.......2007-03-15

"Forbidden Games" was never a film I wanted to see. I didn't know anything about it, but I saw it on video store shelves a couple times. This movie is a perfect example of why a person shouldn't judge a "book" by its cover. The cover is, usually, the first thing someone notices about a film and the cover of "Forbidden Games" doesn't scream "see me!" Too bad, because it is (as you probably already know) a masterpiece. Opening in France, in 1940, during the German blitzkrieg of Paris;
We watch as hundreds of people flee for the countryside. Then we see a young girl named Paulette, whose parents are hurrying her along. She's too preoccupied with getting her dog Jock. As planes fly overhead, Paulette chases after the dog, which leads to the death of both her parents and her dog. After the corpse of the dog is thrown into a river, Paulette retrieves it and wanders into the countryside home of the Dolle family. There she meets a child a few years older than her named Michel, whose family has enough problems that they are hesitant to bring in a child. After all, Michel's brother Georges was just kicked by a horse and lies in bed dying. But the father of the Dolle family allows Paulette to stay. The title "Forbidden Games" refers to what begins to happen midway through the film between Michel and Paulette. After burying her dog, Paulette becomes obsessed with burying other animals around him. She enlists Michel's help in doing so, as well as retrieving crosses for the burial sites no matter how he gets them. Death is the theme of the film and it is a theme that is hammered into the ground. Anyone who watches this film should realize that it's a great film, but that doesn't always mean you'll enjoy it. After all, a lot of great films aren't necessarily entertaining. This film, however, is entertaining. If Jean Renoir's "Grand Illusion" was the most important film about World War I, than "Forbidden Games" is easily the most important about World War II. It's a wonderful, beautifully photographed, and superbly acted film that is largely unseen today. I urge you, if you're reading this and have not seen the film, to go see it.

GRADE: A

A tale that plays with the viewer.......2007-03-06

How? By inviting the viewer to interpret the weird things going on, and thus reveal his own heart and mind (the dark side of them). The story, mind you, stands on its own feet if you don't interpret it and only bear witness to the superficial facts, which are innocent enough, tender for sure, and sad as any other story of war time can be. And that's it... at first sight. But evidently the director has made every little detail fit an ambivalent agenda. He hints at more; what more? That's the trick.

On the surface, if you disregard everything said above, the film is still beautiful and haunting. The charming little kids play their "secret" games. Games that would be macabre if they themselves were not so young and innocent to realize it. (Is the boy really that young and innocent?) One thing that makes me think, after watching the interview to the director in the extras, was that he intended to have as the little girl star an older gilr, more 9 or 11 than 5 years old as she was. Well, that would have made a lot of difference. The ambivalence wouldn't have been so; I mean, what is underlying now would actually be the meaning of the story.

In any case, the little kids do their parts wonderfully as I haven't seen in any movie with kids until now. The cinematography is gorgeous, the guitar (splendid 'Gardens of Aranjuez by Rodrigo) music is enchanting and the overall mixture of tragicomedy and macabre allegory is really haunting. I did not like the ending very much, though, but I can't come up with a good way to end the story but abruptly, since it has such an oneiric quality about it.

Another important thing is that if you focus too much on the two little leading stars you are going to miss a lot of other imprtant things going on. Every character (& groups of characters) is worth attention and study. A great film.

Hidden Scars.......2006-12-22

A small French girl orphaned by attacking Nazi planes is taken in by a farm family where she and the boy she bonds with establish a hidden animal cemetary.

No need to detail the plot since others have already done so. Just a few comments on points generally uncommented on by others.

Yes, the movie's main point concerns the invisible scars war leaves on the young. Little Paulette and youthful Michel will likely never recover from their psychic wounds, while the shot of little Paulette wandering helplessly among the chaotic tide of refugees is one of the most quietly searing in film annals. The harm already done her by the Nazis is in fact compounded by the unfeeling way she is disposed of by both the farm family and the orphanage. The film's brilliance lies in making us feel what she feels in a wholly unsentimental way.

That, I think, is the basis of the film's near universal appeal. However, there is a second less universal theme overlooked by most. In fact, as many French critics complained at the time, the two farm families really are depicted in unflattering fashion. Some called the portrayal of the Dolle's and Brouard's an unfair and vicious slur on French peasantry. Unfair or not, daddy Dolle comes across as a small-minded tyrant whose chief means of communication with son Michel amounts to a blow to the head, while the final beating in the barn is truly brutal. Then too, he flat out lies to Michel by sending Paulette away, seemingly indifferent to the boy's emotional trauma. And when the easily overlooked younger daughter tries to bring something "beautiful" into her life by reading in a dim light, he sends her to bed with the admonition that "light is not for reading". Also, the older surviving brother has dodged military service by faking an illness, while the Brouard son has deserted the army claiming a lack of leadership. As someone in the film wryly observes: with material like this, no wonder we lost the war. And no wonder some Francophiles complained loudly. There are many other unflattering instances as well, and somehow I get the feeling that this aspect of the script results from an entrenched hostility between city sophisticates and countryside traditionalists. Anyway, it's a testament to the mysteries of human personality that such a profoudly intuitive boy as Michel could emerge from such unpromising family fodder.

The other neglected point surrounds the film's often understated humor. Much of it passes quickly and so is easily overlooked. But it's there, particularly with the Brouard boy, and his lusty relationship with the older Dolle girl. He's a faintly comical character to begin with. Our first view of him is of a deserter returning home in baggy uniform, announcing his arrival by standing outside the Brouard hovel and blowing sour notes on a stolen trumpet-- a parody, I guess, of `The Hero's Return'. The graveyard scene between the feuding families also has a faintly comical undertone. It's not the kind of brawl to take seriously, and when daddy Dolle refuses to reciprocate by helping daddy Brouard out of the coffin hole, a rather humorous point is made about Dolle's selfish character. Anyway, look fast, because there are unexpected deposits of humor in an otherwise very somber story.

By and large, anti-war films are not known for their understatement, often relying on one form or another of visual or verbal shouting. `Games', however remains a masterpiece of unadorned understatement. Except for the rather stagey graveyard scene, it's told in simple and straightforward fashion, allowing audience emotions to build quietly until the final shattering scene. All in all, it's very effective. Of course, everyone wonders what is to become of little Paulette. But the same question could be asked of the disillusioned Michel. For it's clear in his final scene that while throwing away the graveyard crosses, he's casting aside more than mere pieces of wood.

"almost unquestionably the most compelling and intensely poignant drama featuring young children ever filmed".......2006-12-06

Hollywood film critic, Leonard Maltin, nails it with this movie. The child stars of "Forbidden Games" (Juex Interdits) absolutely blew me away! The acting was so superb! The movie was SUPERB! Although a war drama, I think that it was a great comedy film, too. The two child actors provided the best lines--and the scene where Paulette (played by Brigette Fossey) buried and blessed her deceased dog was one of the most outrageous and funniest things I had ever seen. The ending, however, was tragic and very sad. I almost cried.

As for the music, I loved listening to Narciso Yepes's version of the enchanting Spanish folk melody, "Romance d'Amour." It was a delight to hear throughout the entire film. (By the way, just a correction: Yepes didn't play with a lute; it was a classical guitar!). And though I really enjoyed Yepes's playing, I still prefer Christopher Parkening's rendition of this beautiful tune. His musical interpretation of the piece is exquisite!

The DVD bonus features were a wonderful surprise--especially the archival interviews with Rene Clement and Brigitte Fossey, in addition to the alternate opening and ending scenes of the film. I especially love the comment Clement made during his 1963 interview. When asked if he liked actors, he said simply, "Yes, when they're not actors. Those are the great actors."

"Forbidden Games" will definitely be considered as Christmas gifts for both family and friends. I highly recommend watching it. Ultimately, this is one cinema classic you don't want to miss!

Average customer rating:

Excellent Spy Story
Spy vs Spy

Night Flight from Moscow
Starring: Yul Brynner , Henry Fonda , Dirk Bogarde , Philippe Noiret , and Michel Bouquet
Director: Henri Verneuil
Manufacturer: Pathfinder Home Ent.
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: B00007JZYH
Release Date: 2003-06-17

Customer Reviews:

Excellent Spy Story.......2007-03-14

This is almost like a documentary in telling the story of the CIA taking a Russian defector to safety back in the 60s. It gives a good background on what the spy game was like then and an in depth look at the workings of the CIA at the time. This is not nail-biting action, but a good overall look at the spy business in a more intellectual study. I recommend it to those that enjoy spy novels the most and I think that even those that enjoy the James Bond action movies may find it interesting. Great performances by Yul Brynner and Henry Fonda.

Spy vs Spy.......2005-02-01

Better than average Cold War "Spy vs. Spy" thriller....good cast and story line.......Caution...much of the background conversations are in foreign languages...French, Russian, etc....there are subtitles but don't expect all the dialog to be in English....otherwise it's a good flick..!!

Average customer rating:

The Manchurian Candidate [HD DVD]
Starring: Miguel Ferrer , Bruno Ganz , Robyn Hitchcock , Ted Levine , and Simon McBurney
Director: Jonathan Demme
Manufacturer: Paramount
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: HD DVD

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ASIN: B000GW8VSU
Release Date: 2006-08-01

Description

Academy Award® winners Denzel Washington and Meryl Streep, along with Golden Globe and Emmy nominee Liev Schreiber, mesmerize a whole new generation of audiences in Academy Award® winner Jonathan Demme's "The Manchurian Candidate." As the entire nation watches the presidential campaign hurtle towards Election Day, one soldier races to uncover the conspiracy behind it - a conspiracy that seeks to destroy democracy itself.

Average customer rating:

It is like stepping into a nightmare
Stalone at his "Greatest"

Rambo - First Blood (UMD Mini For PSP)
Starring: Bruce Barbour , David Caruso , Brian Dennehy , Stephen Dimopoulos , and Bruce Greenwood
Director: Ted Kotcheff
Manufacturer: Live / Artisan
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: UMD for PSP

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Accessories:

Sony PSP PlayGear Amp
Sony PSP Comfort Grips Black
Sony PSP Psyclone Nodus Sound System
Sony PSP Travel Case

Product Features:

Academy Award®-nominee Sylvester Stallone stars as war hero, ex-Green Beret John Rambo in the one that started it all! First Blood is an explosive action-thriller that will keep you on the edge of your seat until the final, powerful frame. System Requirements: , Running Time 96 Min Format: UMD

ASIN: B000ARTMU2
Release Date: 2005-10-18

Customer Reviews:

It is like stepping into a nightmare.......2006-05-28

When your only skill is to kill and you have had enough of that, you tend to wander. This is the circumstance in which we find John J. Rambo (Sylvester Stallone) Vietnam vet. Wandering around in his old field jacket he had the misfortune to bump into, of all people the local macho Sheriff Will Teasle (Brian Dennehy.) It is the sheriff's duty to protect the community from people wondering around in his/her field jacket.

Well push comes to shove when the sheriff verdantly or invariantly draws "First Blood". Now nether one can back down and the whole town and surrounding hills becomes a shooting gallery.

There is only one man who may be able to save the situation if anyone is willing to listen, but will they? Yep its is Rambo's old commander Col. Samuel Trautman well played by Richard Crenna.

Stalone at his "Greatest".......2006-01-01

The sound was very good and the picture was great. Alot of action in this flick. I am not a real fan of Stalone but Rambo is a character to watch. Very good buy.

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