Massacre

Starring:Heavener, Tang, Lee
Studio: Digital Multimedia
Product Type: DVD

Average customer rating:

THE Shaolin Temple movie
Gordon Liu Pre-Kill Bill 1+2
AKA Master Killer
One of the best kung fu movies I've seen...

The 36th Chamber of Shaolin
Starring: Gordon Liu , and Lo Lieh
Director: Lau Kar Leung
Manufacturer: Weinstein Company
ProductGroup: DVD
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ASIN: B000MM0LEG
Release Date: 2007-06-19

Customer Reviews:

THE Shaolin Temple movie.......2007-06-27

Gordon Liu (also known as Lau Kar Fai) stars as a young man who's friends and family have been killed by the new government. He wakes up at the Shaolin Temple, a place he has only heard about a couple of times. When he realizes he is at the best place possible to learn kung fu, he begs and begs to learn so that he can revenge his family. He does finally get taught, but has to start with the basics. Every part of his body must become stronger before he can learn how to fight. After he finishes the first stages of training in record time, he is now highly respected and moves onto learning actual fighting styles. He breezes through this and becomes a great fighter in only 5 years or so. This is not one of those movies that has 1 or 2 training sequences. Gordon is shown in at least 13 of the chambers and half of the movie is spent at Shaolin. So after he has become a master fighter, he is given a high honor and told that he can become second in charge of any of the 35 chambers. A senior monk played by the great Lee Hoi San objects to this and says that he can't have this honor unless Gordon defeats him in a weapons duel. Lee Hoi San does not play a villain, but he does not think that Gordon is a good enough fighter to receive so much praise. His plan works better than he could have ever imagined. He ends up helping Gordon improve as a fighter and as a person. Gordon is told he can leave Shaolin now, and he goes to take revenge on the evil General who killed his family.

One thing that sets this movie apart is that it tries to be a real movie, and it succeeds. Watching Gordon grow up into a man is remarkable to see. The commentators didn't notice, but a lot of the stuff in this movie is very real. When Gordon has to use the pole with the wieght on the end to hit the bell over and over again, that is a real weight on the end of the pole! Gordon talks in the interview (included on this disc) about how the sabres that Lo Lieh uses in the final fight are real, and it just makes the movie that much better. Dont expect your average tale of revenge. I was touched deeply when I first saw this and there are not many kung fu movies that have as much meaning and feeling.

Rating- 5/5

Picture quality is remastered very well. It does get a bit darker and lighter in some scenes, but other than slight print damage once or twice, the picture quality is perfect. The Mandarin, Cantonese and English tracks all sound excellent. In fact, I have never heard the English dub sound this good. The subtitles should have been written better, and the English dub is actually a better translation. They are not horribly written, but could have been a lot better. I am not complaining though since this is the only fault on the DVD.

Special features include a great commentary from The RZA and this Andy Klein guy who does not know very much about the genre. Luckily RZA is there to help him point out actors like Lau Kar Wing, Wilson Tong and Hsiao Hou. I found the commmentary enjoyable. RZA talks about his experiences with this movie, and he is definitely a 36th Chamber expert. And I found it pretty funny that he seems to think Gordon Liu is a monk in real life.

The 17 minute interview with Gordon Liu is very interesting. He talks about many things such as training day and night and how great of an honor it was to work with a megastar like Lo Lieh. Gordon skips over the years like people should know what he is talking about, but just in case you don't, I will fill you in. In 1974 Lau Kar Leung was Chang Cheh's top action director and Gordon Liu was cast as a villain alongside Johnny Wang Lung Wei and Leung Kar Yan in movies like '7 Man Army'. When Lau Kar Leung split up with Chang Cheh he started directing his own movies for the Shaw Brothers, starting with 'Spiritual Boxer'. In his next movie 'Challenge of the Masters', Lau Kar Leung cast his younger adopted brother Gordon Liu as the lead. This is what led to Gordon becoming the star of 'The 36th Chamber of Shaolin', the greatest Shaolin Temple movie ever made.

There is a 17 minute documentary on Shaolin that is basically another 17 minutes of awesome info from Gordon Liu.

The 8 minute interview with film critic/scholars Andy Klein and David Shute is a very good description of how great of a movie this is.

The RZA gets a 10 minute interview where he talks about where he first started watching these movies and also gives his thoughts on the Shaw Brothers and explains why the Master Killer in his rap group took that name.

The trailers are the best special feature. The trailer for 'Shaolin Mantis' is very unique. Instead of showing clips from the movie, the actors introduce what kind of kung fu styles are going to be used (be sure to look for Lily Li!). Lau Kar Leung is the director of 'Shaolin Mantis' and doesn't even have a role in the movie, but he gets to show off his ultra awesome kung fu skills quite a bit in the trailer. I think I have watched this trailer about 50 times, and I will eventually master that Shadow style!

Also included are ORIGINAL trailers for 'The 36th Chamber', 'Return to the 36th Chamber', 'Disciples of the 36th Chamber', '8 Diagram Pole Fighter', 'My Young Auntie', 'One Armed Swordsman', 'Infernal Affairs 3' and the original Master Killer US TV commercial.

The last special feature is a gallery of original movie posters and movie stills.

Gordon Liu Pre-Kill Bill 1+2.......2007-06-21

Here he is in his most important role EVER!!!! OK well that's a matter of opinion but it is in this movie that gordon Liu cements his position in the martial arts movie lexicon by totally nailing this role. He would go on to play a mon many times after this but this is the best of those movies, hands down. For years it's only been available in the dubbed version that many of us probalby saw many years ago. but this beautifully restored and fully remastered version should be a part of every martial arts fans movie collection.

AKA Master Killer.......2007-06-21

This is an excellent martial arts classic. It is a must see flick. Typical of martial arts films, there is a training period, and the training this young monk endures is quite interesting and entertaining (don't want to give anything away).

It is one of the few martial arts films I can watch over and over. There are some moderately humorous parts that keep things moving along (not as funny as Jackie Chan, but still some fun).

If you haven't seen this one, you should.

One of the best kung fu movies I've seen..........2007-06-19

What can I say about this movie that hasn't been said before? A classic. Yes. Influential? Absolutely. Entertaining? Most definitely. This movie is as good a place to start as any if you're interested in the Kung Fu cinema. And if you're already into Kung Fu, you've probably heard of this in the least, and I can't imagine why you haven't seen it. As to this release, really the best I've seen. The picture and sound are great, and the language option is nice. Most of the features are nice as well. Though I don't know how useful the Wu-tang clan video was. Still...a worthy DVD to a great movie.

Average customer rating:

True drek...
Cool
A way to improve....
Love it or Hate it - I just happen to love it!
Brilliant, Not For Everyone However

Kill Bill, Volume 1
Starring: Uma Thurman , Lucy Liu , Vivica A. Fox , Daryl Hannah , and David Carradine
Director: Quentin Tarantino
Manufacturer: Miramax
ProductGroup: DVD
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ASIN: B00005JMEW
Release Date: 2004-04-13

Amazon.com

Quentin Tarantino's Kill Bill, Vol. 1 is trash for connoisseurs. From his opening gambit (including a "Shaw-Scope" logo and gaudy '70s-vintage "Our Feature Presentation" title card) to his cliffhanger finale (a teasing lead-in to 2004's Vol. 2), Tarantino pays loving tribute to grindhouse cinema, specifically the Hong Kong action flicks and spaghetti Westerns that fill his fervent brain--and this frequently breathtaking movie--with enough cinematic references and cleverly pilfered soundtrack cues to send cinephiles running for their reference books. Everything old is new again in Tarantino's humor-laced vision: he steals from the best while injecting his own oft-copied, never-duplicated style into what is, quite simply, a revenge flick, beginning with the near-murder of the Bride (Uma Thurman), pregnant on her wedding day and left for dead by the Deadly Viper Assassination Squad (or DiVAS)--including Lucy Liu and the unseen David Carradine (as Bill)--who become targets for the Bride's lethal vengeance. Culminating in an ultraviolent, ultra-stylized tour-de-force showdown, Tarantino's fourth film is either brilliantly (and brutally) innovative or one of the most blatant acts of plagiarism ever conceived. Either way, it's hyperkinetic eye-candy from a passionate film-lover who clearly knows what he's doing. --Jeff Shannon

Description

The acclaimed fourth film from groundbreaking writer and director Quentin Tarantino (PULP FICTION, JACKIE BROWN), KILL BILL VOLUME 1 stars Uma Thurman (PULP FICTION), Lucy Liu (CHARLIE'S ANGELS, CHICAGO), and Vivica A. Fox (TWO CAN PLAY THAT GAME) in an astonishing, action-packed thriller about brutal betrayal and an epic vendetta! Four years after taking a bullet in the head at her own wedding, The Bride (Thurman) emerges from a coma and decides it's time for payback ... with a vengeance! Having been gunned down by her former boss (David Carradine) and his deadly squad of international assassins, it's a kill-or-be-killed fight she didn't start but is determined to finish! Loaded with explosive action and outrageous humor, it's a must-see motion picture event that has critics everywhere raving!

Customer Reviews:

True drek..........2007-07-01

Tarantino knows what he's doin', this is truly fodder for the children of suburbia, all the ones who were nurtured on sugar crisps & little league & sesame street & soccer moms & commuter dads, little tubeheads this is your stuff. *Bad language* woowoo, daughters of charlies angels meet asian martial arts movies woowoo.

Bad stuff, like thinking robitussin is a high, imitation of life. hahahaha.

smart move quentin.

Cool.......2007-06-23

While watching the Kill Bill movies, one word continuously and irresistibly comes to mind: cool. Scenes are shot from cool angles, flush with cool colors, at cool speeds, with cool characters that communicate in cool dialogues, all set to the tone of cool music.

Like the Godfathers I&II, Kill Bill immediately jumps right into the plot's heart. Initially mysterious elements are then illuminated as the story repeatedly sidles back through each character's past.

Uma Thurman's character avenges her former assassin squad colleagues one-by-one as payback for their having tried to murder her on the eve of her wedding. Her brutal violence and feverous hatred make her a textbook anti-hero character similar to Clint Eastwood's "man with no name" persona in old Sergio Leone Westerns.

With so many other movies featuring fight scenes, it's not easy to produce ones that hold the viewer's interest; however, Kill Bill's do because they blend the right combination of novelty, violence, creativity, suspense, and general eye-pleasingness.

If you're worried about violence, you shouldn't let that deter you from watching this series. There are some bloody parts, no doubt; however, perhaps because the violence is seemingly deserved, just twisted enough to be more comical than gross, or somehow alluringly cool, it doesn't seem quite as bad as it should.

If you want to see a cool movie, see this one.

A way to improve.... .......2007-06-18

The first, I really enjoyed... and the second didn't disappoint! Cheers!

Love it or Hate it - I just happen to love it!.......2007-06-08

After reading the other reviews, good and bad, I just decided to chime in with my two cents.

To be quite honest, I love this movie. Tarantino must have had an amazing time making it, and that shows up in the final product. It's just fun to watch. It introduces those of us who aren't very familiar with the kung-fu genre to it and makes us want to go watch a bunch of them. Volume 2 does the same with spaghetti westerns. These movies are like a crash course in Grindhouse-type cinema. I noticed one reviewer who negatively critiqued the film commented on the black and white photography during the fight scene-Quentin had to do that to get it past the MPAA; the Japanese version is all color. Anyway, the movie was a blast, and if you can stop being a snooty cinephile for about 2 hours, you should have a blast too.

Brilliant, Not For Everyone However.......2007-05-29

My first viewing of this volume in the Kill Bill saga occurred at two in the morning, as I suffered from severe insomnia. I was desperate, hoping that it would help me drift off. Unfortunately, or rather, fortunately, this film did anything but. The action, cinematography, and witty script blew me away; I loved it. The next day, however, I was surprised to learn that many people I knew did not feel the same way as I did regarding this flick. Willing to form a better opinion of the movie and shrugging the fact that I loved it off to simply being overtired, I watched it again.

I still loved it. And herein was where I realized that this film is not for everyone. As it is a homage film, a tribute to Spaghetti Westerns and Kung-Fu flicks, one must look from this perspective. I myself enjoy these genres of film and lapped up Tarantino's unique and witty take on them. It is apparent (as it is in most of his work) that he is a great fan as well.

As mentioned numerous times by others, there is gore abound here. Ridiculous violence, blood spurting everywhere, and bodies flying constantly. But somehow Mr. Tarantino, and you may call him sick or twisted for it, made all the slicing and dicing humorous and never too serious, witty lines and funny visuals all the way through. True cinematic genius in my book.

On the surface it looks like a senselessly violent revenge movie, but underneath it is far more. Like most of Tarantino's films, Kill Bill is riddled with culture references and contains a wonderfully varied soundtrack; absolute joy for the pop culture buff. It is a cleverly written, and the wonderful talent of all involved is clearly exhibited.

On to the acting, Uma Thurman is a true standout. Prior to this film I hadn't thought much of her, even believing her to be overrated. This one role of hers changed my opinion completely. Thurman is brilliant as "The Bride"; her piercing eyes and intense persona portray a woman out for revenge amazingly. Lucy Liu is also impressive as a cold Yakuza headlady, and Vivica A. Fox and Daryl Hannah both provide great supporting roles as well.

Overall this film is most definitely not something that everyone will go for- in fact, most will find it odd for the first ten minutes or so, but stick with it. This film is one of the most brilliant in recent years, even though it might not hit you with its depth right away. Highly recommended.

**By the way, make sure to buy Volume 2 along with your purchase of Volume 1- the films were intended to be one but due to time constraints two were made, as you see them now. It will add for a more complete viewing experience, not to mention the cliffhanger at the end of the first.

Average customer rating:

Very Good Movie
realism with mythology
Mountain Man
One of the great classic westerns
Jeremiah Johnson

Jeremiah Johnson
Starring: Robert Redford , Will Geer , Delle Bolton , Josh Albee , and Joaquín Martínez
Director: Sydney Pollack
Manufacturer: Warner Home Video
ProductGroup: DVD
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ASIN: 6304696531
Release Date: 1997-10-29

Amazon.com

After they first worked together on the 1966 film This Property Is Condemned, director Sydney Pollack and Robert Redford continued their long-lasting collaboration with this 1972 drama set during the mid-1800s, about one man's rugged effort to shed the burden of civilization and learn to survive in the wilderness of the Rocky Mountains. Will Geer is perfectly cast as the seasoned trapper who teaches Jeremiah Johnson (Redford) how to survive against harsh winters, close encounters with grizzly bears, and hostile Crow Indians. In the course of his adventure, Johnson marries the daughter of a Flathead Indian chief, forms a makeshift family, and ultimately assumes a mythic place in Rocky Mountain folklore. Shot entirely on location in Utah, the film boasts an abundance of breathtaking widescreen scenery, and the story (despite a PG rating) doesn't flinch from the brutality of the wilderness. In addition to the original theatrical trailer, remastered Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtrack, and informative production notes, the DVD also includes The Saga of Jeremiah Johnson, a promotional documentary on the making of the film. --Jeff Shannon

Description

Robert Redford has one of his best-ever roles as a 19th century mountain man in a wilderness of harsh elements and hostile Indians. Directed by The Firm's Sydney Pollack. Year: 1972 Director: Sydney Pollack Starring: Robert Redford, Will Geer, Stefan Gierasch

DVD Features:
Featurette
Production Notes

Customer Reviews:

Very Good Movie.......2007-06-17

A man had a family, Swan,Calab. He crosses a bural gound, His family is gone.
Will Geer, Robert Redford

realism with mythology.......2007-05-20

Great realism about life in the mountains of the west in the middle 1800s ( a time of the brutal transformation of the west from the Indian territory to that of white civilization.)

Mountain Man.......2007-05-13

One of the all time favorite movies. Plenty of action and outdoor adventure. Great scenery. A good picture of a dying breed of men and a time in history.

One of the great classic westerns.......2007-05-12

Forget all the cowboys and indians stuff, redskins biting the dust etc. This tells a story the way it really was. The hardship, the struggle, the beauty and the ugliness of the old, pre-civil-war west. Here is an honest, beautifully photographed reconstruction of a true - if exaggerated - story of a real-life mountain man, John Johnston, who became a legend in his own lifetime. So, for that matter, did old-timers like 'Bear Claw' Chris Lapp, Del Gue, Swan and others. They all lived. They're all here and they're all honestly portrayed.

Jeremiah Johnson.......2007-05-09

I used to have this Video for many years. But someone stole it from me. I decided to get it again to my collection and here it is,Thank God.
I had missed it,but now I can look at it whenever I want to.
Best regards
GSH

Average customer rating:

Justifying Revenge
Lest We Forget
Spielberg clarifies on the DVD
Well done, but has flaws.
Speilberg made the movie he set out to make when he chose 'Vengeance'

Munich (Widescreen Edition)
Starring: Eric Bana , Daniel Craig , Ciarán Hinds , Mathieu Kassovitz , and Hanns Zischler
Director: Steven Spielberg
Manufacturer: Universal Studios
ProductGroup: DVD
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ASIN: B000F1IQN2
Release Date: 2006-05-09

Amazon.com

At its core, Munich is a straightforward thriller. Based on the book Vengeance: The True Story of an Israeli Counter-Terrorist Team by George Jonas, it's built on a relatively stock movie premise, the revenge plot: innocent people are killed, the bad guys got away with it, and someone has to make them pay. But director Steven Spielberg uses that as a starting point to delve into complex ethical questions about the cyclic nature of revenge and the moral price of violence. The movie starts with a rush. The opening portrays the kidnapping and murder of Israeli athletes by PLO terrorists at the 1972 Olympics with scenes as heart-stopping and terrifying as the best of any horror movie. After the tragic incident is over and several of the terrorists have gone free, the Israeli government of Golda Meir recruits Avner (Eric Bana) to lead a team of paid-off-the-book agents to hunt down those responsible throughout Europe, and eliminate them one-by-one (in reality, there were several teams). It's physically and emotionally messy work, and conflicts between Avner and his team's handler, Ephraim (Geoffrey Rush), over information Avner doesn't want to provide only make things harder. Soon the work starts to take its toll on Avner, and the deeper moral questions of right and wrong come into play, especially as it becomes clear that Avner is being hunted in return, and that his family's safety may be in jeopardy.

By all rights, Munich should be an unqualified success--it has gripping subject matter relevant to current events; it was co-written by one of America's greatest living playwrights (Tony Kushner, Angels in America) and an accomplished screenwriter (Eric Roth); it stars an appealing and likeable actor in Eric Bana; and it was helmed by Steven Spielberg, of all people. While it certainly is a great movie, it falls just short of the immense heights such talent should propel it to. This is due more to some questionable plot devices than anything else (such as the contrived use of a family of French informants to locate the terrorists). But while certain aspects ring hollow, the movie as a whole is a profound accomplishment, despite being only "inspired by true events," and not factually based on them. From the ferocious beginning to the unforgettable closing shot, Munich works on a visceral level while making a poignant plea for peace, and issuing an unmistakable warning about the destructive cycle of terror and revenge. As one of the characters intones, "There is no peace at the end of this." --Daniel Vancini

Customer Reviews:

Justifying Revenge.......2007-07-03

We have gotten awfully used to the defense of inaction in this country. From Kindergarten on, we are told to turn the other cheek, tell the teacher, sticks and stones... blah, blah, blah. Here, however, is another take on this dilemma, one terribly relevant, it would seem, in this time of arbitrary killings, defended by grinning thugs. We can wring our collective hands or we can act. This film takes on this subject in a time when America's revenge genre, the Western, has gone out of fashion. "Munich" really is "The Unforgiven" set in Europe. The killers are hunted down and killed in return. It's more or less as simple as that, but here one is asked to identify with the assassins and to ask oneself if it would be as easy as it may have seemed, in so many movies where the good guys catch up with the bad guys. It's a film built around an ethical issue, a real issue, it seems to me. The film is not fully satisfying, but it is hard to say why. The acting is fantastic. I came away thinking the ending was weak. The entire sequence is New York seemed soft and sentimental suddenly and out of keeping with the film. The screen play by Kushner has other weaknesses. For example, I had trouble accepting that these guys would be so amateurish. Each killing is botched, which, were the assassins American, would seem believable but, given that they are Israeli, the finest intelligence units the world, it seemed somehow contrived. The setting is great, the subject matter thankfully adult, and it is finally a political film, which is a rare and fine thing.

Lest We Forget.......2007-06-05

"They're all gone," intones sportscaster Jim McKay. McKay and other ABC news folks of 1972 have their TV footage mixed with a quick montage of violent filmed movie scenes of the '72 Olympics where 11 Israeli Olympians were massacred by the Arab Black September group.

Five men led by a young Israeli named Avner are assembled to revenge the massacre of the Munich Olympians. The Munich Avengers hook up with a family that has been in private intelligence since the Vichy Government ran France during World War Two. Lebel (Michael Lonsdale) is its patriarch. He becomes a sage to the Five. "Never work for any government" he warns. Well, its a little late to change that just now. At first everything goes swimmingly. The movie looks like other well made thrillers. These 'pros' who have never exactly done this kind of work in their lives 'seem' very successful.

Thriller afficionados will remember Michael Lonsdale as the French inspector who traced assassin Edward Fox across France in the Day of the Jackal 33 years ago. Older and heavier, Lonsdale is right at home as patriarch of the French family aiding the Israeli assassins in targeting their victims.

The Israelis find themselves sharing a room in Athens with five Arab Assassins but arrange a truce by convincing the Arabs they are part of the German Beider-Meinhof gang. Avner discusses middle east morality and politics with the Arab gang leader. Avner is seen by the audience as losing that argument. Later the forger has to 'fix' a foiled murder attempt in a hotel room. He is wounded. Several of the Arabs Avner's crew boarded with are killed in a gunfight outside. Carl (Cirian Hands) is murdered in bed later by a comely prostitute after Avner has turned the woman down. The Israeli avengers trace her to a Brussels houseboat where each fires a shot into her as she vainly attempts a seductive but grotesque striptease to save her life. An attempt to kill the architect of the Munich Murders is foiled when five Brits, posing as drunks, interfere. Avner's men are now aware they are being followed and watched. Who do the five Brits work for, the CIA or Britain's MI-6? The hunters are now the hunted.

The foiled Assassination perplexes and demoralizes. Their Israeli handler Ephraim calls Avner home to tell him their work is splendid. Not to them it isn't. Avner doesn't want to continue. He suspects they have killed Arabs not involved in Munich and balks at giving names and addresses of contacts to Ephraim. They discover the CIA has protection deals with some of their targets. The remaining Four don't know who is after them or for what. Two more die and a demoralized Avner and Steve(Daniel Craig) split up.

Afraid now, Avner flees to his wife and baby in Brooklyn. But unknown agents follow and scare him. Avener fears for his wife and child. He attacks a bureaucrat in the Israeli Mossad office in Manhattan. He is desperate now. Ephraim meets with him and admits some of the six killed were not Black September but old Israeli scores being settled. Avner won't cooperate with Israel now. And Ephraim won't help him if Avner doesn't agree to continue.

Except for a nightmare-freighted, overdone sexual episode between Avner and his wife, the film is effectively over. Spielberg and screenwriter Tony Kushner have carved this thriller into a political morality tale. The Israelis cannot assume the higher moral ground if they are as murderous as Black September. Every act of revenge sews the seeds of more violence and death. What is the point of that, ask the Authors? An Arab character argues with Avner that the Jews in Israel are outnumbered by the Arab populations that are all around them and growing in numbers much faster than the Israelis. The Authors are saying the Israelis will never win, that time is on the side of the Arabs. Israel will not win and will not survive.

I agree with them. The American War in Iraq will not succeed either. Americans and Israelis will both lose because the Arabs are fighting for their homeland. The Americans, and the Israelis who claim THEY are fighting for their homeland, cannot succeed.

Spielberg and Kushner have loaded the dice too heavily here. Avner and his four henchmen have an underlying innocence about international terrorism calculated to buttress this story and its moral. But would the Israelis really have chosen such a bunch of innocent plebes to carry out a mission as cynical, dangerous and important as this one? Its a great story but it won't play in Bagdhad, Tel Aviv or Peoria not to mention on the big screen.

Spielberg clarifies on the DVD.......2007-06-04

What I watched was the single-disc widescreen edition which contained no DVD extras but for a short intro by the director Steven Spielberg. If you haven't seen the movie before, I recommend you leave the intro for after you've finished watching the film.

In his piece, Spielberg emphasizes that the movie is neither attacking Israel nor arguing for non-response. He says that in the context of responding to terror today, we have to "try and ensure that the results we produce are the ones we really intend." I think he was successful in getting that point across in this movie.

I usually prefer knowing as little as possible about the background of a film's story, so that I can enjoy it in its "pure" form. But I think I benefited from having seen One Day in September, the documentary about what happened during the 1972 Olympics. I recommend you see it before this film. (Makes chronological sense that way...)

Spielberg acknowledges taking the indisputable facts (11 targets, decision by Golda Meir...) from George Jonas's book Vengeance, published in 1984 and recently re-issued. The details are of course unknowable and it's those gaps in knowledge that made possible the effective dramatization of the material.

Well done, but has flaws........2007-05-30

I was very curious to see this chapter of history. The story of the 11 Israeli athletes getting killed by Palestinian terrorists and the story that followed. I feel the actors chosen to play the characters couldn't have been better and the movie itself was incredible. However I feel the message that was sent to the movie going public was the incorrect one. (Caution: when I say incorrect I don't mean untrue)

Right now we are living in a very controversial time where the situation in the Middle East is a very sensitive subject. I am one who wants to see peace, but with the violence escalating every day we are far from reaching that goal. What people need to understand is that only one side wants peace and unfortunately `Munich' did not elaborate on that enough. The Israeli task force is depicted to be just as uncaring as the Palestinian extremist groups in this movie. (Never do they show actual Palastinans that truly want peace). In the beginning the message is to kill the plotters of the Munich murders and in the end the Israelis are leaving bodies uncovered in shame and the main character gives up his love for his homeland. The scene where Eric Bana's character sees himself fighting along side the terrorists is an absolute disgrace. The pieces of the movie that should have been elaborated more were the people they were killing. These were Palestinian officials high in power living far away from the Palestinian hostage camps in lavish mansions and accepting money from all different governments just to keep the violence going. Those are actual living breathing people in the P.L.O. that are still alive today. The should have made it more clear that the mission was to kill the terrorists and not to hurt the innocent Palestinians like the women and children as well as Palestinian men that had nothing to do with assassinating Jewish people.

Is this movie good...yes it is a brilliant film worthy of its credit. Will is be nominated for awards...absolutely. I don't think that Spielberg displayed anything untrue in this movie. He did however show more sympathy towards the wrong side. I believe his message was to say he wants peace and the only way to show that was that both sides shedding blood constantly would only make it worse and there never will be peace. I feel there is nothing wrong with showing there are two sides fighting and only one side wants peace. If the world can understand that there are certain people (not a nation) that don't then the true evils in this world will be wiped out and there finally will be peace.

Speilberg made the movie he set out to make when he chose 'Vengeance'.......2007-05-27

Steven Spielberg took a lot of flack for "Munich," which he admits is neither pro-Israeli nor pro-Palestinian. From Spielberg, I suppose many expected - or wanted - something more ardently Zionist. But Spielberg cast the die when he decided on George Jonas' Vengeance: The True Story of an Israeli Counter-Terrorist Team as his source material. Vengeance's point of view - and its tortuous history - is predicated on the moral ambivalence of 'Avner,' the pseudonym of the team leader, as played on-screen here by an excellent Eric Bana. I read "Vengeance" a couple of months prior to seeing the film, and my feeling is that Spielberg accurately captured Avner's feelings as well as his metamorphosis. The one thing that got left out was Avner's complex relationship with his Dad, who - in the book - essentially foretells Avner's denouement at the outset.

Jonas' book is controversial. There are ongoing disputes over its inherent accuracy to the point where people doubt the essence of the story or whether an 'Avner' actually existed. In the most recent release - coinciding with the film - Richard Ben Cramer writes a nice new introduction with a pithy comment that the debate has evolved to the point where the essence of the argument is people now saying "Hey, my part in the movie wasn't big enough."

There are some nice surprises in the film including a pre-Bond breakout appearance by Daniel Craig as part of Avner's team, as well as appearances by first-rate Israeli Arab actors Makram Khoury and Hiam Abbass. It goes without saying that their roles here are all too brief (it belabors the point to mention why). I suggest you see The Syrian Bride to see these two talented professionals in top form. There's also the inclusion of a way-inside joke of encountering future Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak - dressed in very unconvincing drag - prior to a raid in Lebanon.

The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning - Unrated (New Line Platinum Series)

Average customer rating:

Accurate Portrayal
Amazing
Please enter a title for your review
Dont buy into it.
Gore! Gore! Gore!

The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning - Unrated (New Line Platinum Series)
Starring: Jordana Brewster , Taylor Handley , Diora Baird , Matthew Bomer , and Lee Tergesen
Director: Jonathan Liebesman
Manufacturer: New Line Home Video
ProductGroup: DVD
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ASIN: B000KJU1KK
Release Date: 2007-01-16

Amazon.com

The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning is a prequel to the recent remake of Tobe Hooper's classic 1974 splatter film, with an emphasis on the vogue for torture and bottomless depravity that characterize contemporary horror. As one might expect, The Beginning is just that, an origins tale about the Hewitt family of backwoods Texas. Step by step, we discover the source of their taste for human flesh, penchant for snaring young people passing through, and, most of all, how young Leatherface (Andrew Bryniarski) came to choose his favorite power tool and wear a mask made of someone else's flesh. R. Lee Ermey is very effective in his perverse authority figure mode as Hoyt, the lawman who earned his badge through unorthodox means and now supplies specialized food to the Lone Star cannibals. Much less interesting than Hooper's two Massacre films, The Beginning (on which Hooper has a production credit) is not so much a tribute to the films he directed but a more sadistic continuation of the franchise. --Tom Keogh

Description

The only thing more shocking than how it ended is how it all began! Born under unspeakable circumstances, a young orphan is taken in by the sick and demented Hewitt family and soon the seeds of a deranged murderer are planted. When two brothers and their girlfriends stumble across the house of horrors. Leatherface reveals his ravenous appetite for chainsaws and torture as the teens fight to survive.

Customer Reviews:

Accurate Portrayal.......2007-06-28

I really enjoyed The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning. I recently visited Texas, so when I came home and watched this movie, I was really taken by the history of this amazing state. I never realized that one of the most famous historical figures of Texas, Thomas Hewitt, was actually born in a meat-packing plant! Learning all about his family life was really something else. It really warms my heart to think about how despite such rough beginnings and facial deformities, one can still make something of themselves. I've watched my copy of this DVD about 11 times and I think I will have to watch it again tonight. Kudos to the filmmakers for creating such a breathtakingly accurate portrayal of the history of the Lone-Star State.

Amazing .......2007-06-17

The prequel does a excellent job with showing the roots of this family. The first half of the movie seems to be familiar, but it gets better. The final thirty minutes is amazing. I really enjoyed the ending and I will not give it away if you have to yet to see it. I recommend this movie to fans of the series; I dont know how you can hate this movie if you love the series. Anther cool thing is there are three alternate endings. All were good and could have been the ending. Highly recommend this movie.

Please enter a title for your review.......2007-05-29

Although it started slow the second quarter started picking up steam but the second half is a waste of film. Exhibit A in the case of the horror genre being populated solely by lazy genre-loyalist writers and directors who wouldn't know a creative idea if it disemboweled them. I spent half the movie willing it to get to the point and half the time when it did wondering what the point was. Boring sterile conventional suspense and climax, no plot points or characters to wonder about, no chance of anything coming out of leftfield, it just sets a tone and hammers and drones away at it. No big things needed to be changed to improve the film, it's just the little things that weren't there to hold your interest and make it worth watching, no attention to detail. They've got a perfectly functional skeletal plot outline for a movie, they just needed to let some creative writers do something with it before it was ready for filming.

Dont buy into it........2007-05-23

Really, after the original TCM and the remake were there that many unanswered questions? Sure, some might ponder on the origins of leather face and clan, but that is what makes good horror! At the end of the film you want the unpredictability and the lingering shock in the air, you aren't supposed to know every facet and detail and reasoning behind the brutal horrific acts. I never once asked myself "gee I wonder how Sheriff Hoyt came to be or how leather face was reared" I never once wondered who the first victims were, or why the slaughterhouse closed, or even how much garlic needed to be in the stew. We all, as fans, know that no one survives to tell about the first murders, because the "original" would have never taken place! Are we to root for this heroine, and her boyfriend and his brother and his girlfriend to make it? Do we hope within hopelessness that somehow they would get out and away and safe? Why watch the doomed? What is the point? Do the fans need more torture films, with familiar "faces", are we to watch more people get flayed, and stabbed, and eaten for no apparent reason at all because we are hungry for real horror. This isn't scary, or thrilling, or even worth a shiver. This "beginning" will fade into being a mere tiny blip of a footnote to the original.
I certainly hope this torture genre we have seen these past 3 or so years is almost over, and people will start wanting horror with good writing, and plot lines, and not buy into the Hollywood machine that touts movies like this as if it were bait for the starving fans.

Gore! Gore! Gore!.......2007-05-06

For some time now, horror films are back with a vengeance - no more (or, to be precise: far fewer) boring PG-13 rated children scares. Movies like LAND OF THE DEAD, HOSTEL, THE DEVIL'S REJECTS, MURDER SET PIECES, the recent remake of THE HILLS HAVE EYES or the British BROKEN push the envelope regarding violence, splatter and sheer terror in ways not seen since the glorious 1970ies. If you like the aforementioned films, you will like THE TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE: THE BEGINNING.

A pre-title sequence, set in 1939, has an obese female worker giving birth to a disfigured boy at her workplace, an incredibly filthy slaughterhouse in a godforsaken remote part of Texas.
The baby is discarded in a dumpster (!) and picked up by a poor white trash woman sifting through the garbage. She and her husband decide to raise the boy.
Fast forward 30 years. The boy is a grown up man and works in the slaughterhouse. The abattoir is closed by the authorities due to hygienic reasons. Leatherface takes issue with that and kills his supervisor. The sheriff is out to arrest Leatherface, but is killed in turn by Leatherface's "foster dad", who assumes the sheriff's identity.
Meanwhile two brothers and their respective girl friends enjoy a trip with their jeep before the guys are off to Vietnam (one of them has second thoughts about being drafted). They run into trouble with a group of wild bikers. When being chased by a female biker they crash their jeep (a very odd accident, believe me!) and one of the girls is thrown off the car. While our injured youths are being threatened by the biker gal with a sawn-off shotgun, the police car with the "sheriff" arrives at the scene...
What follows is a non-stop horror trip and a bloody descent into hell...

As already mentioned TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE : THE BEGINNING is EXTREMELY gory (remember it is the unrated cut!). Without wanting to give too much away storywise, you can expect shotgun mayhem, a face cut off, teeth beaten out, penetration by chainsaw (more than once), someone being cut in half, bones broken with a hammer, severed limbs, bear trap mayhem, cannibalism, throat slitting, stabbings... A very unusual and gross effect was the cow in the car accident! The scenes in the basement are especially gruesome! Even more unsettling than the gore are the scenes of torture and terror. The whole atmosphere is very gritty and sick in the extreme.
TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE : THE BEGINNING plays the horror straight and refrains from the annoying "irony" or "spot the refernce", which ruin so many horror movies (there is however a subtle reference to APOCALYPSE NOW, although it is not distracting). There is a bit of ultra-macabre jetblack humor regarding our "sheriff", who as veteran of the Korean war takes issue with one character's burnt draft card, although this does never compromise the horror. Lee R. ERMEY, a really GREAT actor, is perfectly cast in his role as sheriff and exudes an air of threatening menace and backwoods degeneracy throughout. And although ERMEY stands out, all of the other actors are convincing in their roles.
With the exception of the 2003 remake, I have watched all TCM movies over the years and although the fans of the 1974 original will loath me for it, in my view without any doubt TCM : THE BEGINNING is the best.

I also hugely enjoyed the DVD extra features.
There are several extended and deleted scenes, which in my view the filmmakers were right to cut from the finished film. There are 3 different alternate endings, one has an (underwhelming) coda, which unfortunately undercuts the violent and powerful climax and two are minor (lesser) variations of the original ending. There are optional commentaries for the deleted/extended scenes by the filmmakers.
The Making Of, titled "Down to the bone - Anatomy of a prequel", is excellent. Of particular interest for horror fans is the interview with special effects guru Greg NICOTERO, who explains the many gore F/X (for instance the cow that was torn to pieces in the car accident, was in fact made of glassfibre and filled with fake blood and intestines). It is incredible what these special effects wizards can accomplish! Actors elaborate on their respective characters. The shooting was unsurprisingly physically very demanding.
There is also the film's trailer, which I found disappointing and trailers for other movies (including SNAKES ON A PLANE, NUMBER 23, BUTTERFLY EFFECT 2 and UNDISPUTED 2 - LAST MAN STANDING).
Overall - a clear recommendation! A DVD any self-respecting horror fan and gore hound should own! Do NOT rent it - buy it! NOW!!!

Average customer rating:

Suprising....
Well done!
Tops!
Absolutely a "Keeper!"
Worthy

The Lost Battalion
Starring: Rick Schroder , Phil McKee , Jamie Harris , Jay Rodan , and Adam James (II)
Director: Russell Mulcahy
Manufacturer: A&E Home Video
ProductGroup: DVD
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All Quiet on the Western Front (Universal Cinema Classics)

ASIN: B00005U8F4
Release Date: 2002-01-29

Amazon.com

The true World War I story of an American unit that was surrounded by German troops and pounded mercilessly for days (at times even by its own artillery) is vividly portrayed in this made-for-television film starring Rick Schroder. Playing a patrician New York City lawyer commissioned a major and sent into combat, Schroder commands a battalion composed of New York wiseacres as well as so-called "apple knockers" from the West. The plot is straightforward (and will be familiar to those who know World War I history), but the film rises above what could have been a clichéd telling of the story of Major Whittlesey and his heroic men. The action sequences, shot tightly with hand-held cameras, owe a debt to Saving Private Ryan, and the surreal horror of World War I, in which armies killed with machine guns yet communicated by carrier pigeon, is conveyed very well. --Robert J. McNamara

Customer Reviews:

Suprising...........2007-05-04

I saw this movie coming on A&E or some other channel and thought it couldn't be good. It had RICK SHROEDER in it for crime's sake! And it was a made for tv movie. Well boy was I WRONG! This movie sucks you in with its realism and its insistence on detail. Small minute details are attended to as this story of the 1918 conflict unfolds in a most horrific (and true to life) manner.

This particular version is very crisp and clear. I actually like it better than the Made For TV version that I originally saw...

Buy it!

Well done!.......2006-10-17

Perhaps it was too long ago for anyone to have memories that could correct innaccuracies but few movies of the first world war seem to get it right. This one captures the American experience in that war like few others have. Drama and action together bring out a story of depth, courage, tolerance, and forbearance in the crucible of adversity. I watch it again and again. Hard to believe it was made for TV and not a major picture. Still one of the great war-stories to capture the American public.

Tops!.......2006-07-28

This is an excellent movie and very realistic. If you don't like to see what war does to people it's not for you. If you like military history it is. This true story is incredible!

Absolutely a "Keeper!".......2006-06-24

As an "old soldier" and a professor, I am not only a collector of war films representing all eras, but am a "student of war." In that role I am quite critical of all films in that genre, and I found "The Lost Battalion" to be practically flawless, which is indeed a rarity. The producers, director, and actors displayed a penchant for historical accuracy in this film, and provided rare glimpses of what it was "really like" during World War I.

There is a chilling reality throughout the film, to include how the war was seen and pursued from the lowliest fighting man through the top echelons of command, and even from the German perspective. Frankly, there are relatively few films that cover World War I very well, but this is clearly the very best. I feel that my collection - or anyone else's - of war films would be incomplete without "The Lost Battalion," as it is clearly the WWI equivalent of "Saving Private Ryan," and one of the best war films of all time.

Worthy.......2006-06-21

If you are my age, its hard to look at Rick Schroder without remembering where he got his start on cheesy TV sitcoms in the 1980s. He's always been kind of a joke.

I gained a little more respect for him when he played a great role in the epic TV series "Lonesome Dove", he did well. In this A&E film directed by Russell Mulcahy, "The Lost Battalion", he shines, and is perfect for the role. I have to admit that like the guy now. I really liked his character, and he quite thoroughly overcame my preconceptions.

This is the best WWI film for pure cinematic visuals that I have seen. Its filmed in 4:3 TV aspect ratio so its got a nice clean and crisp DVD picture, though it would have been magnificent in 6:9 wide screen. I wish they'd have done it for the big screen.

The story is a true recount of actual events, and its a good thriller with sweeping battle scenes - gritty and very much a WWI look that we don't see much- moving warfare, not trench warfare. You get a taste of both trench life and patrol life here, but the majority of the fighting is not trench fighting, but downright grueling battle in the woods. The German side is well represented, the US side is accurately portrayed.

This is a film about perseverance and dogged determination. Schroder plays Major Whittlesey, who finds himself hopelessly surrounded after being sent on a suicide mission, against his knowledge. His portrayal of a Major with honor and leadership abilities makes for a refreshing story in a time when many war films are about the rather nasty side of humankind or are predictably antagonistic to the honorable idea of fighting for what is right and good. As the plot moves along, the story unfolds in a fairly quick manner, but it is the characters' response to the overwhelming odds that really carries the story.

And the best part- detail, detail, detail! This is a visually rich film. Proper weapons, proper uniforms, loads of accurate scenery and attention to period detail make the experience believable. Small arms history buffs will enjoy this film. If you like early Mausers, Springfield 1903s, and especially the good old 1911, this is a film for you. Its colored in a rather dismal dusty unsaturated hue, perfect for the film's gritty nature. While not a blockbuster, the story is pretty good, and captures the true historical account acceptably well. WWI buffs need to have this movie, no doubt about it.

Average customer rating:

the true story
Goy-Ak-la An American Hero
GERONIMO THE BARBARIAN MEETS DIRTY HARRY
Don't forget Tom Horn... Geronimo wouldn't have.
Great Movie

Geronimo - An American Legend
Starring: Jason Patric , Gene Hackman , Robert Duvall , Wes Studi , and Matt Damon
Director: Walter Hill
Manufacturer: Sony Pictures
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ASIN: 0767817672
Release Date: 1998-11-17

Amazon.com

Walter Hill's revisionist take on the American cavalry's campaign to capture renegade Chiricahua Apache warrior Geronimo (Wes Studi) is, like Clint Eastwood's Unforgiven, a dark tale that both celebrates and critiques myths of the American West. Despite its title, Geronimo is really about the American cavalry officers who undertake the responsibility of recapturing the warrior, in particular the young narrator Lt. Charles Gatewood (Jason Patric), a Civil War hero who respects the great Geronimo and brokers a treaty with the Chiricahua, only to see it collapse when the army kills the tribal medicine man. Gene Hackman plays Gen. George Crook, the proud but sympathetic officer charged with bringing in the renegades who take to hills after the killing. Robert Duvall, the tough, racist army scout and Indian fighter Charlie Sieber, practically steals the picture with his cagey, underplayed performance. More complex and complicated than most Westerns, this is a Walter Hill film through and through: lean, ironic, beautiful to look at (it was shot on location against the astounding landscape of southeastern Utah), and driven by a wonderful Ry Cooder score. Don't confuse this with the 1993 TNT cable film by the same name; it confounded many viewers at the time of its release and may have been at least partially responsible for its box-office disappointment. --Sean Axmaker

Customer Reviews:

the true story.......2007-05-13

A very good historial movie. It has the Indians side of the story, which is refreshing to see. A great action movie that will hold your attention.

Goy-Ak-la An American Hero.......2007-04-27

Those who gave this movie low marks are neither as bright nor knowledgeable as they would have you believe. True - the movie was not historically accurate because it is a MOVIE. The public does not go to the theater to watch documentaries.

Who really knows the whole truth? If you desire more information about Geronimo, (Goy-Ak-la was his real name), I strongly suggest that you read the books; Geronimo, In His Own Words and The Truth About Geronimo, written by Bitton Davis. Davis was an Indian scout leader and knew most of the people highlighted in the MOVIE. He was not fond of Geronimo, but wrote a very interesting account of his attempts to capture the so-called renegade. The victors in any clash of cultures, all to often, write the history. My studies of Native Americans have convinced me that the original inhabitants of this country usually provide the most reliable accounts of these clashes.

About the movie: I agree with those who felt that the action scenes were well done and the scenery was breathtaking. The directing and acting was very good, especially Wes Studi and Robert Duvall. The movie, while it may not be historically accurate, gave the audience an insight into the issues and adventures of the main characters. This movie should be in the libraries of anyone who loves a good western or action movie, even those who appreciate a history lesson every now and then.

GERONIMO THE BARBARIAN MEETS DIRTY HARRY .......2007-04-09

A movie never comes from nowhere. John Milius, who wrote GERONIMO - AN AMERICAN LEGEND, had already written in 1993, among others, the screenplays of Dirty Harry, Jeremiah Johnson, Apocalypse Now and Conan the Barbarian, nothing less. He's one of the most influential authors of the American film production of the last thirty years. The John Milius hero is a rebel who tries to impose his own law or his own ideas on the society he has to cope with. Who else could have dared to glue the word legend with the figure of Geronimo, the Indian terrorist in essence ?

Now, the historical accuracy of the events described in Walter Hill's GERONIMO - AN AMERICAN LEGEND is not so important, Hill and Milius's purpose was not to present a documentary film about one of the last Indian rebellions than to make us think about the motives that actuated 50 Chiricahuas warriors to defy 5'000 U.S. cavalry soldiers. Everybody is entitled to have his own opinion about the events pictured in the Walter Hill movie but we should nonetheless take the time to think about certain issues raised by Geronimo (the movie character, of course) : Why does the White Man need so much space ? If the White Men hadn't been so many, would they have still had the right to claim the Indian territories ? These questions need to be asked and, let's hope so, there always will be a John Milius to irritate us with them.

A DVD zone guilty conscience.

Don't forget Tom Horn... Geronimo wouldn't have........2007-04-08

Geronimo was a renegade Chiricahua Apache warrior but not the tribal leader. He was in fact a war chief and medicine man with an uncanny ability to elude the US Cavalry. This movie might be made well but I'll never know because I won't watch any film so historically inaccurate. The cast includes all the major characters of this very real part of American history except the most important one other than Geronimo himself. Tom Horn. Trained by Al Sieber as a civilian scout and known as "Talking Boy" to the Chiricahua Apaches because he spoke their language better than any white man ever did, including Al Sieber whom he replaced as Chief Civilian Scout when Sieber retired. Tom Horn was the only man able to track Geronimo and twice talked the great Chiricahua Apache warrior into surrendering himself to the US Military authorities. I suggest that anyone interested in this part of American history should read Life of Tom Horn: Government Scout and Interpreter by Tom Horn. It's not great literature but it was written by the man himself. A man that Geronimo greatly respected and many white historians seem to want history to forget. Life of Tom Horn, Government Scout and Interpreter

Great Movie.......2007-04-01

I think this was a great movie telling a story of what happen to a great war chief Geronimo. I think what the government did to the indians was very bad. I wish they would make a sequel of what happen to Lt.Gatewood after he was transfered.

The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (Two-Disc Ultimate Edition)

Average customer rating:

Everything, including the chainsaw on the kitchen sink...
Not a gorefest, but a real celluloid nightmare...
i'm shaking my head
The scariest movie ever made!!!
One of the greatest horror films ever made

The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (Two-Disc Ultimate Edition)
Starring: Marilyn Burns , Allen Danziger , Paul A. Partain , William Vail , and Teri McMinn
Director: Tobe Hooper
Manufacturer: Dark Sky Films
ProductGroup: DVD
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ASIN: B000FS9FE4
Release Date: 2006-09-26

Product Description

ONE OF THE SCARIEST MOVIES OF ALL TIME Even More Terrifying 30 Years Later!
- Entertainment Weekly

The Ultimate Two-Disc Edition Of The Original Classic Now Remastered in High-Definition And Loaded With All-New Extras.

It has been called grisly, sick, and perverse as well as raw, unshakeable, and the movie that redefined horror. It was attacked by churches, banned by governments, and acclaimed by only the bravest of critics. It stunned audiences worldwide and set a new standard in movie terror forever. In 1974, writer-producer-director Tobe Hooper unleashed this dark, visionary tale about a group of five young friends who face a nightmare of torment at the hands of a depraved Texas clan. Today it remains unequaled as a landmark of outlaw filmmaking and unparalleled in its impact as perhaps the most frightening motion picture ever made.

Dark Sky Films presents this masterpiece like you ve never seen or heard it before, newly transferred in High Definition from the 16mm camera originals, remixed in 5.1 and 2.0 Stereo Surround, and featuring never-before-seen Bonus Materials produced exclusively for this definitive collection.

System Requirements:
Running Time: 84 minutes

Format: DVD MOVIE

Amazon.com essential video

This sensational, extremely influential, 1974 low-budget horror movie directed by Tobe Hooper (Poltergeist, Lifeforce, Salem's Lot), may be notorious for its title, but it's also a damn fine piece of moviemaking. And it's blood-curdling scary, too. Loosely based on the true crimes of Ed Gein (also a partial inspiration for Psycho), the original Jeffrey Dahmer, Texas Chainsaw Massacre follows a group of teenagers who pick up a hitchhiker and wind up in a backwoods horror chamber where they're held captive, tortured, chopped up, and impaled on meat hooks by a demented cannibalistic family, including a character known as Leatherface who maniacally wields one helluva chainsaw. The movie's powerful sense of dread is heightened by its grainy, semi-documentary style--but it also has a wicked sense of humor (and not that camp, self-referential variety that became so tiresome in subsequent horror films of the '70s, '80s, and '90s). OK, in case you couldn't tell, it's "not for everyone." But as a landmark in the development of the horror/slasher genre, it ranks with Psycho, Halloween, and A Nightmare on Elm Street. --Jim Emerson

Customer Reviews:

Everything, including the chainsaw on the kitchen sink..........2007-06-17

Fans of this cult favorite can relax - no, they didn't gloss up the film stock with digital sheen to make it look as though it were filmed yesterday. To be certain, TCM was cleaned up: the colors are brighter and more vibrant, and the film's nocturnal sequences aren't quite as murky as they were in the VHS edition. But this minor buffing hasn't betrayed the film's gritty, low-budget, high-grain 16mm (as transferred to 35mm stock) aesthetic. The '70s zeitgeist isn't even remotely diminished, but the attractive wide shots (mostly rural Texan landscapes) are as eye-catching as ever. The only way to get a better look at this film is to obtain the original theatrical reels, cigarette burns and all!

I hardly need to explain a film that's become an B-movie legend, one of the most successful and notorious independent films in American cinematic history. The synopsis, in summary: a traveling group of well-intentioned young twenty somethings run afoul of a family of redneck cannibals, one of which wears human faces as masks and uses a certain popular power tool for hunting and butchering. Fans of this film know the rest, and newcomers don't need to know any more. Even though the sheer horror of this film has been overrated (as is that of most popular horror films), few low-budget slasher flicks provide as much excitement and black humor as this one. If you haven't seen this yet, there's no reason not to.

This DVD offers quite a few features for fans of TCM, Tobe Hooper and Gunnar Hansen. Prominent among these are the soundtrack selections. For standard viewing, the film's soundtrack can be heard as a crisp stereo surround track that's a bit bright, and as the film's original mono recording, which is blunt, a bit messy and preferable for anyone who wants a more authentic viewing experience. The third option is a conversational audio commentary voiced by Hooper, Hansen and cinematographer Daniel Pearl. For fans and film students alike, I couldn't recommend this feature more; it's informative and very funny. Unlike certain audio commentary tracks, which are very dry as a result of the participants being recorded independently, this one benefits from the interaction between director, actor and cinematographer, especially when the three are comparing memories and discussing related experiences of a film that they collaborated on almost thirty years prior to this recording.

The disc's deleted scenes and alternate footage aren't quite so essential, but they are of mild interest. All of them consist of raw, untreated footage. The clips that haven't any sound are supplemented with textual script extracts. I think that audio commentary tracks would have been preferable to the textual summaries provided for each clip. Yes, the infamous makeup scene is included.

One of the more interesting features is "A Study In Filming," which consists of every unedited shot that was used to film the twenty-second scene in which Leatherface commits his first on screen murder. Even though this is essentially filler, it is somewhat engrossing, as it illustrates how much footage is required for a heavily edited (albeit short) scene.

This disc would be far from complete without the theatrical and televised trailers for the 1974 Bryanston release and New Line Cinema's 1980 re-release. Both sets of trailers are adequate and stylistically representative of their respective periods of release. Although it was hardly necessary to include the ludicrous trailers of TCM's two awful sequels and the incomparably terrible remake, they do make for compulsive viewing. They may induce squirms in a state of embarrassed discomfort.

The blooper reel is short, but rather amusing. Although it's nice to know that the making of this film was sometimes as jocular as it was maddening, the finished product is much more hilarious.

Silent footage of the Family's house is included. This provides a more detailed perspective of the macabre interior art design that featured quite a few chicken and human bones. I needn't mention that this is strictly intended for fans.

The provided film and production stills are competently shot, but not terribly interesting. They're included for the sake of completeness.

On the other hand, the scanned lobby cards and posters are definitely worth a look. The cards are typical (and probably worth quite a bit on eBay), but the art design of the theater posters are especially interesting. The Italian, German and Japanese posters are especially attractive and evocative, and some of them implement a few photos and paintings that I've never seen before.

For hardcore fans of "The Texas Chain Saw Massacre," this is an essential purchase if they don't already have it. For the more casual fan of horror and '70s B-films, this is definitely worth a rental. For anyone with a weak stomach, stay away - the nausea that this film can produce lives up to its' cult legend!

Not a gorefest, but a real celluloid nightmare..........2007-06-04

This is as terrifying as you've heard. Whether you saw it on an old, faded VHS copy, or you saw it in the theater when it came out, or on a later, remasted edition, it is so relentless and claustrophobic that it is impossible to shed from your mind. The thing about this film that despite its reputation, it has hardly any gore in it. It is not a gorehound film, not even close. It runs along the lines of Night of the Living Dead, an independent horror film that is truly scary and disturbing. It's not a film in which you get a few scares and then some comic relief. It's a plain nightmare of a film, and even in the end when one of the captives escape, you're still scared like hell. It burns into your subconscious like only a handful of films do (Cannibal Holocaust, Night of the Living Dead, and Salo for example). It's a testament to the filmmaker, Tobe Hooper, for making such a great film that still can scare people today. Forget the sequels or the remakes: this is the only one you need to see.

i'm shaking my head.......2007-04-25

This movie feels so wrong and yet so right at the same time. It tortures your mind and brings out your fear but I still love it anyway. I'm glad I waited until I was 24 to watch this movie as it is that unsettling. I've never been so relieved that a movie was over not because I didn't like it but because I was so glad that the terror I was experiencing was finally over. I was exhausted when I got through with this film. It is my top 3 for scariest movies of all time. One of the best things about this movie is that there is very little blood. NOT recommend for kids as they WILL have nightmares.

The scariest movie ever made!!!.......2007-04-22

I was in high school the first time I saw this movie...I watched it one day at 2 am thinking that it was gonna be just a gory lame kinda horror movie...When it was over, I was too scared to even want to turn off all the lights in the house and go up to bed...It scared the hell out of me...What I really loved about the movie was that since it was such a low budget film it looked too real(Unlike the crappy horror movies that come out now)...If you have never seen any of the TCM movies, this is the one to watch(the remake was ok)...

One of the greatest horror films ever made.......2007-04-16

This is worth owning if you are a fan of horror films. Its very disturbing.

Average customer rating:

Must-have DVD ... but there is a discrepancy
Beyond the Valley of the dolls
Get real
Wow.
So bad its actually good!

Beyond the Valley of the Dolls
Starring: Pam Grier
Manufacturer: 20th Century Fox
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Action & Adventure | Genres | DVD | Video

Comic Action | Action & Adventure | Genres | DVD | Video

General | Comedy | Genres | DVD | Video

Satire | Comedy | Genres | DVD | Video

General | Drama | Genres | DVD | Video

( B ) | Titles | Features | DVD | Video
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Gwendoline - Unrated Director's Cut (aka - The Perils of Gwendoline in the Land of the Yik Yak)

ASIN: B000EXDSC0
Release Date: 2006-06-13

Amazon.com

One never tires of watching Russ Meyer's Beyond the Valley of the Dolls, a distant relative of Jaqueline Susann's bestselling novel, Valley of the Dolls, and its filmic counterpart, Valley of the Dolls. Kelly McNamara (Dolly Read), Casey Anderson (Cynthia Myers), and Petronella Danforth (Marcia McBroome), star as the hot female trio who clumsily navigate Hollywood during the Swingin' Sixties to promote their band, The Carrie Nations. Written by Rogert Ebert, Ebert calls the film the "first rock-horror exploitation musical," because BVD, as it's called by fans, encompasses all that was sexy, funny, hip, schlocky, stylish, and horrific about America's most interesting cultural period. BVD can be viewed as a Sixties' artifact, packed with consummate party scenes (and a cameo appearance by Strawberry Alarm Clock), as the original skin flick, as a proto-cult classic, or as a benchmark in American cinema, since it is actually well- written, artfully shot, and finely edited. This special edition re-release includes a second disc comprised of five featurettes, whose topics include Meyers' biography, the Carrie Nations music as soundtrack, Casey and Roxanne's titillating lesbian love scene, and the political climate during the Sixties. Revisiting Beyond the Valley of the Dolls, especially after Russ Meyer's recent death, reminds viewers to treasure his visionary obsession with female beauty. --Trinie Dalton

Description

When three female rock'n'rollers travel to Hollywood to claim an inheritance, they meet up with a kinky music promoter who turns them on to a whole new scene. At first, all seems very exciting and the naïve trio becomes submerged in his dangerous tinseltown underworld-before they discover his true motives.

Customer Reviews:

Must-have DVD ... but there is a discrepancy.......2007-06-12

I just got a DVD set from an on-line auction that includes an extra disc (Ebert commentary, and just tons of extras) and miniature lobby cards.

But the Amazon listing above (same ISBN!) has none of these extras listed and is just ONE disc:

Another oddity is that the Amazon listing says it is rated X whereas my DVD has it rated NC-17. The running time of my DVD is the same 109 minutes however so if they cut some scenes to "soften" it for NC-17 they must have put new material in. My guess is that the MPAA now requires DVD releases to adapt the rating equivalent from the new system.

Beyond the Valley of the dolls.......2007-06-05

The movie it's self is okay. When I ordered this film, I was under the impression that this was the original "X" rated version. What I got was the NC-17 version. This is a milder version from what the original film is. When I ordered this film, it said it was the "X" rated one. I also read that they had changed the rating from the x rated to the nc-17 version, but did not mention that the content in the movie was aslo changed. I am somewhat disappointed.

Get real.......2007-03-21

Quite possibly, the stupidest movie ever made.

"well-written"--could have fooled me.
"artfully shot"--I guess it had its moments, especially if you like a lot of very black shadows covering most of what you want to see, but the rest of it is no better than the standards of crappy 60's TV.
"finely edited"--I guess there's an art to cutting a real turkey

Not a campfest, not a comedy, just plain bad. Get some busty dolls and some dopey guys, throw them in a stew, show some teasers of the breasts, add a cheesy, dashed-off script by a guy who suddenly exemplars "do as I say, not as I do" and plan on it becoming a "cult classic." This is not "The Rocky Horror Picture Show"! And you'd have so much more fun watching that one again instead.

Roger Ebert, do you really chuckle when you remember this one claim to movie making fame? I thought your profession was about helping people to not waste their time. You sure wasted mine.

Wow........2007-03-09

The Roger Ebert commentary is one of the most educational pieces available out there. (ps. the Newsradio commentary with Brad Grey, Paul Simms, Julie Bean and Warren Littlefield is a close second).

So bad its actually good!.......2007-03-06

Beyond the Valley of the Dolls is certainly the strangest film to ever have come out of Hollywood and that is saying something!

Made in the 1960s by Russ Meyer, the result is a cacophony of melodrama at its worst, sex for sex sake, comedy albeit unintentional and horror also possibly unintentional!

It is also a musical of sorts, in fact it has some of the best psychedelic rock in it from that era and this was for me what made the movie and stopped from failing completely as a movie.

The plot is simple enough, a rock chick band head for Hollywood, desperate to realise their dreams of fame and stardom, but they fall under the spell of rock Svengali Z-Man Barzell and find themselves drawn into the seedy world of casual sex, drugs and of course rock and roll.

This is ham and cheese at its best and worth watching with your friends, make sure you have a HUGE box of popcorn, lots of soda and sit back and enjoy a film that is so bad it is actually good!

Average customer rating:

Aguirre, the Wrath of God
Genius
Cinematic Marvel
A Great Film, Just an Incredibly Dull One as Well
An Experience.

Aguirre, the Wrath of God
Starring: Klaus Kinski , Helena Rojo , Del Negro , Ruy Guerra , and Peter Berling
Director: Werner Herzog
Manufacturer: Anchor Bay
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Action & Adventure | Genres | DVD | Video

General | Drama | Genres | DVD | Video

Adventure | Kids & Family | Genres | DVD | Video

Drama | Kids & Family | Genres | DVD | Video

( A ) | Titles | Features | DVD | Video
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ASIN: 6305972761
Release Date: 2000-10-24

Amazon.com

Quite simply a great movie, one whose implacable portrait of ruthless greed and insane ambition becomes more pertinent every year. The astonishing Klaus Kinski plays Don Lope de Aguirre, a brutal conquistador who leads his soldiers into the Amazon jungle in an obsessive quest for gold. The story is of the expedition's relentless degeneration into brutality and despair, but the movie is much more than its plot. Director Werner Herzog strove, whenever possible, to replicate the historical circumstances of the conquistadors, and the sheer human effort of traveling through the dense mountains and valleys of Brazil in armor creates a palpable sense of struggle and derangement. This sense of reality, combined with Kinski's intensely furious performance, makes Aguirre, the Wrath of God a riveting film. Its unique emotional power is matched only by other Herzog-Kinski collaborations like Fitzcarraldo and Woyzek. --Bret Fetzer

Product Description

In the mid-16th century, after annihilating the Incan empire Gonzalo Pizarro (Allejandro Repulles) leads his army of conquistadors over the Andes into the heart of the most savage environment on Earth in search of the fabled City of Gold, El Dorado. As the soldiers battle starvation, Indians, the forces of nature , and each other, Don Lope de Aguirre (Klaus Kinski), The Wrath Of God, is consumed with visions of conquering all of South America and revolts, leading his own army down a treacherous river on a doomed quest into oblivion. Featuring a seething, controlled performance from Kinski, this masterpiece from director Werner Herzog is an unforgettable portrait of madness and power.

System Requirements:
Starring: Klaus Kinski, Helena Rojo, Ruy Guerra
Director: Werner Herzog
Producer: Werner Herzog
Running Time: 94 Min.

Format: DVD MOVIE

Customer Reviews:

Aguirre, the Wrath of God.......2007-07-03

Lyrical and mesmerizing, this astonishing tale of megalomania and greed, told from the perspective of 16th-century monk Carvajal (Del Negro), is the ultimate Herzog-Kinski collaboration. Filmed on location in Peru under the very conditions it emulates, "Aguirre" has a dreamlike feel amplified by Thomas Mauch's exemplary cinematography and Popol Vuh's haunting score. Kinski truly savored the role of Aguirre, delivering a brilliantly intense, even frightening performance not far removed from his real-life persona. Fascinating for its hallucinatory opening and closing shots alone, "Aguirre" is a deranged journey to the heart of darkness you won't want to miss.

Genius.......2007-06-27

Werner Herzog has been called a madman, a dreamer and a maverick of cinema. An eccentric and driven filmmaker, his drive and eccentricity often crossed the border into obsession. Not surprising