Sci-Fi Classics

Starring:Great Sci-Fi Classics
Studio: Platinum Disc
Product Type: DVD

Cult Camp Classics 1 - Sci-Fi Thrillers (Attack of the 50 Ft. Woman 1958 / Giant Behemoth / Queen of Outer Space)

Average customer rating:

Extremely Fun Boxset
Outstanding treatment of 3 sci-fi camp classics
Good to see these films again
These are not real movies.....
What a bargain!

Cult Camp Classics 1 - Sci-Fi Thrillers (Attack of the 50 Ft. Woman 1958 / Giant Behemoth / Queen of Outer Space)
Starring: Allison Hayes , William Hudson , Yvette Vickers , Roy Gordon , and George Douglas
Director: Nathan Juran , Eugène Lourié , and Douglas Hickox
Manufacturer: Warner Home Video
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Science Fiction & Fantasy | Genres | DVD | Video

Classic Sci-Fi | Science Fiction & Fantasy | Genres | DVD | Video

Sci-Fi & Fantasy | Boxed Sets | Stores | DVD | Video

Cult Camp Classics 4 - Historical Epics (The Colossus of Rhodes / Land of the Pharaohs / The Prodigal)
Cult Camp Classics 2 - Women in Peril (The Big Cube / Caged / Trog)
Cult Camp Classics 3 - Terrorized Travelers (Hot Rods to Hell / Skyjacked / Zero Hour!)
Frankenstein Conquers the World / Frankenstein Vs. Baragon
The Classic Sci-fi Ultimate Collection (Tarantula / The Mole People / The Incredible Shrinking Man / The Monolith Monsters / Monster on the Campus)

ASIN: B000OHZJGO
Release Date: 2007-06-26

Amazon.com

Featuring three enjoyably "awful" movies from 1958-59, Cult Camp Classics, Vol. 1: Sci-Fi Thrillers turns nuclear radiation into cause for celebration, especially if you enjoy movies with extra cheese. With the Cold War in full swing and society's worries blamed on the threat of nuclear annihilation, sci-fi buffs (like future filmmakers Steven Spielberg, Joe Dante, and John Landis) could see a new monster movie almost every week. Many of them came from Allied Artists, the low-budget B-movie production company (formerly Monogram) that rose from the ghetto of "poverty row" distribution to produce countless exploitation thrillers between 1946 and 1979. The '50s saw the rise of nuclear monster thrillers, and Allied popularized the trend with its own menagerie of giant, irradiated creatures. The key to Allied's success was its crowd-pleasing combination of exploitable ingredients, and what better way to combine sci-fi, sex, and horror than to unleash a towering babe with an attitude problem? That's exactly what Allied did with Attack of the 50-Foot Woman, a now-classic campfest in which a spurned wife (Allison Hayes) is irradiated by a glowing alien space-ball, grows to a height of (you guessed it), and exacts revenge upon her cheating husband (William Hudson). A year before she bared her shapely backside as Playboy's Playmate of the Month for July 1959, Yvette Vickers costars as Hudson's scheming mistress, giving the film an extra boost of sex appeal. With bargain-priced effects including a giant floppy-fingered hand, hilarious process shots, and cheesy models destroyed by the world's biggest bitch (for whom it is still possible to feel some sympathetic compassion), the movie's not as good as its celebrated poster (which now adorns movie-geek T-shirts around the world), but it's still a lot of fun.

The Giant Behemoth was director Eugene Lourie's obvious attempt to capitalize on his 1953 hit The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms, starring a gigantic paleosaurus rising from the Atlantic with a bad case of atomic radiation. London is the monster's eventual stomping ground, but the lumbering lizard is camera-shy for nearly an hour; you can imagine Beaver Cleaver and his pals groaning through seemingly endless scenes of talky exposition, anxiously awaiting the climactic stop-motion creature effects supervised by the legendary Willis (King Kong) O'Brien. Scoring much higher on the camp-o-meter, and far more entertaining, is the cult classic Queen of Outer Space, which borrows props and costumes from Forbidden Planet, Flight to Mars and World Without End for its outrageously kitschy plot about manly astronauts who crash-land on Venus and discover an underground society of mini-skirted space-babes. Unfortunately the disfigured Venusian queen (Laurie Mitchell) is a man-hater supreme, so the spectacularly costumed Zsa Zsa Gabor (as a Venusian scientist, no less) leads a revolution against her. With a screenplay by Twilight Zone veteran Charles Beaumont and a story credited (almost incredibly) to legendary playwright/screenwriter Ben Hecht (who surely never suspected his idea would eventually yield this movie), Queen of Outer Space is exactly what you'd expect it to be: So bad it's good, and more than worthy of inclusion in this irresistibly priced triple-feature set. --Jeff Shannon

On the DVDs
Three feature-length commentaries accompany the sci-fi thrillers in Cult Camp Classics, Vol. 1. Two of the commentaries are hosted by Tom Weaver, a noted authority on sci-fi and horror films whose historical acumen is more casual than academic: While sharing the commentary on Queen of Outer Space with the film's titular star Laurie Mitchell (who became a mainstay at fan conventions at Weaver's invitation), Weaver fails to explain how the production came to use props and costumes from the classic Forbidden Planet, and that's a glaring oversight. He compensates as an amiable interviewer with the equally good-natured Mitchell, and it's a treat to hear them enthusiastically reading unfilmed scenes from the film's original screenplay. For the commentary on Attack of the 50-Foot Woman, Weaver is joined by the film's comely costar Yvette Vickers (another regular at sci-fi conventions), and their combined anecdotes provide an adequate oral history of this camp-classic production. Star Wars veterans and special-effects masters Dennis Muren and Phil Tippett provide the loose-and-lazy commentary on The Giant Behemoth, which consists mostly of Muren making sarcastic jokes about the film's glacial pacing. It's hardly the authoritative commentary that some fans might've hoped for, but Muren and Tippett are well-versed in special-effects history (Muren even owns the original stop-motion Behemoth creature model), and they share an infectious enthusiasm for the films that inspired them to excel in their profession. --Jeff Shannon

Customer Reviews:

Extremely Fun Boxset.......2007-06-30

If you like 50's sci-fi, this set is a must have. Nice widescreen, anamorphic prints of all 3 films--50 Foot Woman and Giant Behemoth are b& w, Queen of Outer Space is in glorious Cinemascope color!

The Giant Behemoth is another solid 50's stop-motion effect giant monster movie, in the vein of Beast from 20,0000 Fathoms, The Black Scorpion and others. Very enjoyable.

Attack of the 50 Foot Woman is actually not as campily bad as it's usually hyped. The special effects are occasionally lackluster and do add a comedy element, but the acting, dialogue, cinematography and score are all decent. Pretty standard, fun 50's sci-fi.

Queen of Outer Space--now this is the camp classic! From this movie, I learned that the only women who don't welcome overt sexual harassment from leering, agressive men are the ones who are too hideously disfigured to be the object of said advances! Imagine Forbidden Planet, with all the cool special effects and engaging plot themes removed and replaced with lots of scantily-clad alien beauties and 50's era "battle of the sexes" dialogue--on the planet Venus, of course! Botchino! Botchino!

All in all, a very fun set for fans of 50's sci-fi.

Outstanding treatment of 3 sci-fi camp classics.......2007-06-27

This three-pack is an interesting collection of B features that are typical of what was churned out pretty regularly by some of the lesser studios that were capitalizing on the sci-fi films that were popular during the 1950's. These B pictures often came out campy, and these three are a best-of-breed collection that make for great fun. Like Dr. Johnny Fever whose DJ career took a plunge after he said the word "booger" on the air until he eventually landed at low-rent WKRP, you have to wonder how some of the talent involved in these productions wound up in this position. You've got bad directors gone worse, special effects artists going the way of Ed Wood, and girls gone wild - all the makings of some great cheesy fun. What is so great about this pack is that Warner Home Video cleaned up the video and audio on these films quite nicely, and even put commentary tracks on these films. Not even James Cagney merited a commentary track in his Signature Collection! The films and their features are as follows:

Attack of the 50 Foot Woman (1958)
A great case of camp and sci-fi meeting a love triangle. Poor little rich girl Nancy Archer has been drinking heavily since she found out her husband has been cheating on her, and it has recently caused her to do a stretch in an asylum - there was no such thing as substance abuse clinics back then. When Nancy drives off angrily into the desert one night she has an encounter with a very big alien who infects her with his largesse. Now we have a very big girl with one bad attitude on our hands intent on taking the nearby town apart to find her husband. I used to see this one on the UHF channels late at night back in the early 70's when I was babysitting. Great fun.
DVD Special Features:
Commentary by Yvette Vickers and film historian Tom Weaver
Subtitles: English & French (feature film only)

The Giant Behemoth (1958)
Here's another movie where metabolism has been altered, this time by science and radioactive fallout. This was one of the later giant creature movies of the 1950's, and it hasn't been as fondly remembered as its forerunner "The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms", but it is still great fun. This time a giant brachiosaurus, greatly enlarged due to improperly dumped radioactive material, emerges from the sea and is intent on destroying London. The poverty row budget shows in this one in spite of the presence of some skilled technicians that had worked on King Kong and The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms. Wires are often clearly visible, as is footage of one car being destroyed by the giant beast being used repeatedly in the movie as though they are different events.
DVD Special Features:
Commentary by veteran special effects creators Dennis Muren and Phil Tippett (The Academy Award winning visual effects and dinosaur supervisors of "Jurassic Park" provide insight into this ground-breaking stop-motion monster.)
Theatrical trailer
Subtitles: English & French (Feature Film Only)

Queen of Outer Space (1958)
This campy outer space movie has a captain and his crew landing on a planet where men are not allowed. However, not all of the residents of the planet are happy about this edict. Thus it comes down to the man-hating queen versus the planet's leading scientist (Zsa Zsa Gabor). To add to the suspense, like Marvin Martian, Queen Yllana wants to blow up the earth. Everyone in this film seems to know they are starring in a campy production and they are just having fun with it. This movie actually borrowed its sets, costumes, and special effects from "Flight To Mars", "Forbidden Planet", and "World Without End", and has a screenplay by the renowned Ben Hecht of all people.
DVD Special Features:
Commentary by Laurie Mitchell and film historian Tom Weaver
Theatrical Trailer
Subtitles: English & French (feature film only)

Good to see these films again.......2007-06-26

Prints for these films look fine, and it's good to see such modest movies cleaned up and given the DVD treatment, though some purists will question the minor letterboxing on "50 ft. Woman" and "Behemoth". Yvette Vickers commentary on "50 ft. Woman" is a treat. She remembers the film well and speaks fondly of it and of her time spent making the movie. Be aware though: the advertisements say the trailer for "Woman" is on the DVD, but for some reason it isn't. Strange: probably an oversight. "Behemoth" looks sharp and clear, but Dennis Muren and Phil Tippet's commentary does a great disservice. They clearly don't respect the film at all, and spend much of their time insulting it, even mocking it, before wrapping up with "well, I guess now we know why they never made a sequel to this movie." Wish they'd had some affection for the film, or had at least familiarized themselves with it before offering such caustic feedback. By the ninth or tenth time they say, "Ray Harryhausen would have done this SO MUCH better" the novelty wears thin, and one wonders what Harryhausen himself might have said about the movie. "Queen of Outer Space" has the novelty of color, and the surprising pedigree of a Ben Hecht screen story. Kudos to Warner Bros. for putting these films out, and yes, the "Behemoth" disc has the often cut ferryboat scene, for those who are interested. Too bad about the shoddy "Behemoth" commentary, but fans should enjoy thoroughly these long-awaited B movies.

These are not real movies............2007-06-23

real Movies have great casting and scripts to work with. None of these B-movies have any of that. They are not even scary. They are just so badly made and it;s no wonder that few if any of these actors ever found work again.

What a bargain!.......2007-06-08

If you enjoy 1950s campy B movies, then I don't see you going wrong here with this first set. For details just search each of the movie titles and you see each movie alone runs almost as much as this set and you will see from the reviews they are all kind of legends as far as the genre goes. They actually are some of the best of that period of B movies. I know I like all three of these in this set. I can say I compare the "50 ft Woman" to the "War of the Colossal Beast" and "The Giant Behemoth" to "Beast from 20,000 Fathoms". The last one with Zsa Zsa Gabor on the planet of women is not to be missed if nothing more than to see how far we had plunged into skimpily clad women with bad lines in B class SciFi moviedom. Hmmm does B stand for bad? Well even if it does these movies are entertaining for most fans of science fiction.

The first two movies in the set are black and white movies but they look like they have been gone over and cleaned up. "Queen of Outer Space" is in color and very clear and sharp. I got my set a few days ago so my wife and I watched the first two in the set a couple nights ago and the third last night. All the DVDs are sharp and clear. Each had a commentary available by someone in the movie. "Does anyone know if the costumes, sets, and music for "Queen of Outer Space" was done by people that later worked on "Star Trek"? The mens uniforms and radios definitely looked like they came from the "Forbidden Planet" wardrobe. I'm definitely glad I got this set.

Horror Classics 50 Movie Pack Collection

Average customer rating:

Made an excellent gift for a horror buff
Old Horror
For the true Horror afficionado
Cult movies , bad quality
50 Classic Horror Films for a Good Price

Horror Classics 50 Movie Pack Collection
Starring: Bela Lugosi , Vincent Price , and Judith O'Dea
Manufacturer: Mill Creek Entertainment
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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SciFi Classics Collection 50 Movie Pack Collection
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Product Features:

An instant library of 50 horrorics assembled on 12 DVD's.

ASIN: B0001HAGTM
Release Date: 2004-01-20

Product Description

An instant library of 50 horrorics assembled on 12 DVD's.

Customer Reviews:

Made an excellent gift for a horror buff.......2007-06-15

I bought this for my friend for Christmas who loves the older, pre 80s era special effects movies and TV shows. This was a little before his time, to say the least, but it was a great way of seeing where we've been and how far we've come.

I'd seen only bits and pieces of these movies over the years in late night movie marathons and cable, it was one of the first opportunities I had to see the entire movie from beginning to end. These movies are funny in so many ways, as in the silent movie era a lot of these actors were made up to look cartoonish rather than scary. I'd read that for movie make up Lon Chaney Sr. (and Jr.) didn't even use make up or prothetics but taped their faces and used hooks to change their appearence. There never was a "How To" instruction book on things, they had to learn by doing.

The only bit of criticism for this is that it's quite long. Don't think that you can watch an entire disc in one sitting. A little of these movies go a long way.

Old Horror.......2007-06-07

This is a fine, cheap package of movies if you like the old Black and White horror movies. Most are seemingly low budgetted movies, such as "Attack of the Killer Shrews" where dogs are dressed up in ratty costumes and puppets are used for close ups. I for one enjoy these types of movies.

For the true Horror afficionado.......2007-06-02

I'm a professional writer of supernatural thrillers. My Book of Common Dread reinvented the vampire, and my The Bell Witch/An American Haunting became the movie An American Haunting with Donald Sutherland and Sissy Spacek. Not only does my work demand knowledge of what's out there in print and on film, but I was also born just early enough to have caught a number of the films in this collection when they first came out. In most genres, a collection of works of such low acting and production value quality would be a waste of money. But we all know most so-called horror movies are second-rate Hollywood citizens right from the get-go. How many have won Academy Awards? Some of these are fun because they're so bad. Others are interesting because they have famous directors getting their start somewhere, mystery and horror writers of skill penning the dialogue, or actors who will later become famous. An occasional diamond is found among the zirconia here, but the real reason to purchase this collection is that it is incredibly inexpensive for what you get, and you can devour the cinema equivalent of nutritionless calories (like movie popcorn) for many nights of enjoyment.

Cult movies , bad quality.......2007-05-30

All 50 movies are cult classics but the only thing bad is the sound quality, sometimes you just cant understand what the characters are talking about they should at least put subtitels, but thats not a big problem because the movies are fantastic.
It realy pays to have this movie pack!

50 Classic Horror Films for a Good Price.......2007-05-14

This is a nice package to own for a great price. The quality is good on most of the films. Some of the movies in this package are really good and enjoyable, and there are some that is not worth seeing a second time unless you like it. But like many others have stated this is a good bargin for this amount of movies.

I found out that there is a 100 Horror Movie Pack, and it includes most of the movies from this pack and others. Maybe that will be a good start for some of you who don't own any of the sets yet. So if you like classic horror, then you will love this 50 Movie package.

SciFi Classics Collection 50 Movie Pack Collection

Average customer rating:

Great Mix of B Movies!
Not bad for the money
From or To
50 Flicks of Public Domain Goodness
On a 1 to 10 scale, this collection is rated: 3.2

SciFi Classics Collection 50 Movie Pack Collection
Starring: Dean Fredericks , Brandon Lee , and Paul Langton
Manufacturer: Mill Creek Entertainment
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: B0001HAGU6
Release Date: 2004-03-23

Product Description

Get an instant library of classic science fiction features on twelve double-sided DVDs. You'll be transported to a time where cosmic heroes battled and prevailed in the face of cheesy special effects, implausible plots and a lot of over acting. In other words, you have all the right ingredients for endless hours of fun, all for an amazingly low price!

Customer Reviews:

Great Mix of B Movies!.......2007-06-28

Have a slow Saturday afternoon? Pop in one of these DVD's and go back to your childhood. This is a great collection (for a great price)of old movies that you would probably never see on TV. Some are better than others, and some are not worth much, but all-in-all, I find watching these to be relaxing and fun. And isn't that what it's all about anyway?

Not bad for the money.......2007-06-08

While this pack isn't worthy of a 5 star rating, it's still a good value. Some of these titles I had purchased earlier at a cost of $5.00 a piece. The quality is not great, but they're watchable.

From or To.......2007-05-15

Clearly escape, but as Isaac Asimov said, 'There is escape from and escape to'.
These mostly awkward speculations do take you imaginative places. What more could you ask?

50 Flicks of Public Domain Goodness.......2007-04-27

SciFi Classics is a collection of 50 movies that have only one thing in common: they are all public domain and as such it is possible for them to be presented in highly affordable collections. I paid $21.99 for my set and that comes down to about 44 cents per movie. The way that movie tickets cost nowadays, you really cannot complain about this collection.

Anyways, here is how I rate the movies in SciFi Classics:

Good:

The Amazing Transparent Man
Assignment: Outer Space
Hercules and the Tyrants of Babylon
Hercules Unchained
Killers From Space
Laser Mission
Lost Jungle
Phantom From Space
The Phantom Planet
Planet Outlaws
Queen of the Amazons
The Wasp Woman
Zontar, the Thing From Venus

Average:

Colossus and the Amazon Queen
First Spaceship On Venus
Horrors of Spider Island
Robot Monster
She Gods of Shark Reef
They Came From Beyond Space
Voyage to the Prehistoric Planet
Voyage to the Planet of Prehistoric Women
Warning From Space
White Pongo

Bad:

The Astral Factor
Attack of the Monsters
The Atomic Brain
Battle of the Worlds
Blood Tide
The Brain Machine
Bride of the Gorilla
Cosmos: War of the Planets
Crash of the Moons
Destroy All Planets
Devil of the Desert vs. the Son of Hercules
Eegah
The Galaxy Invader
Gammera, the Invincible
Hercules Against The Moonmen
Hercules and the Captive Women
The Incredible Petrified World
King of Kong Island
Menace From Outer Space
Mesa of Lost Women
Prehistoric Women
Santa Claus Conquers The Martians
The Snow Creature
Son of Hercules
Teenagers From Outer Space
Unknown World
The Wild Women of Wongo

All in all, an incredible bargain.

On a 1 to 10 scale, this collection is rated: 3.2.......2007-03-31

SCI-FI CLASSICS COLLECTION is an eclectic mix of hokey science fiction and fantasy, with a sprinkling of action films (of the sandals and swords variety). One commonality here is the typically low score all fifty of these "classics" got from users of a film-related website. On a one to ten scale, the current average for this set calculates out to: 3.2.

Scoring is relevant only to plot, editing, effects, etc, and doesn't consider stock condition or audio/video transfer quality. This multi-pack may only be for the most ardent of sci-fi/fantasy fans, as well as lovers of well-aged cheese.

The following program list includes individual ratings, main actors, years of release and country of origin (if other than USA)--

(2.7) The Amazing Transparent Man (1960) - Marguerite Chapman/Douglas Kennedy
(2.5) Attack Of The Monsters (Japan-1969) - Christopher Murphey
(3.6) Battle Of The Worlds (Italy-1961) - Claude Rains/Bill Carter
(3.6) Blood Tide (UK/Greece-1982) - James Earl Jones/José Ferrer
(3.3) The Brain Machine (1977) - James Best/Gerald McRaney
(3.7) Bride Of The Gorilla (1951) - Lon Chaney Jr./Raymond Burr
(4.0) Colossus And The Amazon Queen (Italy-1960) - Rod Taylor/Ed Fury
(3.2) Cosmos: War Of The Planets (Italy-1977) - John Richardson/West Buchanan
(3.3) Crash Of The Moons ("Rocky Jones") (TV-1954) - Richard Crane/Scotty Beckett
(3.9) Destroy All Planets (Japan-1968) - Carl Craig/Peter Williams
(4.3) Devil Of The Desert Against The Son Of Hercules (Italy-1964) - Kirk Morris/Howard Ross
(2.6) Eegah (1962) - Arch Hall Jr./Richard Kiel
(3.3) First Spaceship On Venus (E Ger/Poland-1960)
(3.3) The Galaxy Invader (1985) - Richard Ruxton/Faye Tilles
(4.7) Gammera The Invincible (1966) - Albert Dekker/Brian Donlevy
(1.9) Hercules Against The Moonmen (France/Italy-1964) - Jany Clair
(3.0) Hercules And The Captive Women (Italy/France-1961) - Reg Park/Fay Spain
(5.0) Hercules And The Tyrants Of Babylon (Italy-1964) - Peter Lupus
(3.6) Hercules Unchained (Italy/France/Spain-1959) - Steve Reeves/Sylvia Koschina
(2.2) Horrors Of Spider Island (W Ger/Yugo-1960) - Alexander D'Arcy/Barbara Valentin
(2.9) The Incredible Petrified World (1957) - John Carradine/Robert Clarke
(4.2) Invisible Strangler ("The Astral Factor") (1976) - Robert Foxworth/Stefanie Powers
(3.0) Killers From Space (1954) - Peter Graves/James Seay
(1.7) King Of Kong Island (Italy-1968) - Brad Harris/Marc Lawrence
(2.5) Laser Mission (USA/Ger/So Afr-1990) - Brandon Lee/Ernest Borgnine
(5.1) Lost Jungle (1934) - Clyde Beatty/Cecilia Parker
(3.3) Menace From Outer Space ("Rocky Jones") (TV-1956) - Richard Crane/Scotty Beckett
(2.5) Mesa Of Lost Women (1953) - Jackie Coogan/Lyle Talbot
(2.3) Monstrosity ("The Atomic Brain") (1964) - Marjorie Eaton/Frank Gerstle
(3.5) Phantom From Space (1953) - Ted Cooper/Tom Daly
(2.3) The Phantom Planet (1961) - Dean Fredericks/Francis X. Bushman
(4.0) Planet Outlaws ("Buck Rogers") (1953) - Buster Crabbe/Constance Moore
(3.0) Prehistoric Women (1950) - Laurette Luez/Allan Nixon
(3.7) Queen Of The Amazons (1947) - Robert Lowery/Patricia Morison
(3.4) Robot Monster (1953) - George Nader/Claudia Barret
(2.5) Santa Claus Conquers The Martians (1964) - John Call/Pia Zadora (in a minor role)
(2.3) She Gods Of Shark Reef (1958) - Bill Cord/Don Durant
(2.7) The Snow Creature (1954) - Paul Langton/Leslie Denison
(3.1) Son Of Hercules (In The Land Of Darkness) (Italy-1963) - Don Vadis/Ken Clark
(3.1) Space Men ("Assignment: Outer Space") (Italy-1960) - Rik Van Nutter/David Montresor
(3.0) Teenagers From Outer Space (1959) - David Love/Dawn Bender
(3.8) They Came From Beyond Space (UK-1967) - Robert Hutton/Jennifer Jayne
(3.9) Unknown World (1951) - Bruce Kellogg/Otto Waldis
(1.7) Voyage To The Planet Of Prehistoric Women (1968) - Mamie Van Doren/Mary Marr
(3.3) Voyage To The Prehistoric Planet (1965) - Basil Rathbone/Faith Domergue
(4.2) Warning From Space (Japan-1956)
(3.1) The Wasp Woman (1960) - Susan Cabot/Anthony Eisley
(3.1) White Pongo (1945) - Richard Fraser/Maris Wrixon
(2.0) The Wild Women Of Wongo (1958) - Adrienne Bourbeau/Pat Crowley
(2.7) Zontar, The Thing From Venus (TV-1966) - John Agar/Susan Bjurman

Average customer rating:

The Birds
The Birds are the manifestation of the mother's rage against rivals for her son's affection
Hitchcock's best
Hitchcock's best!
A Cult Classic

The Birds (Collector's Edition)
Starring: Malcolm Atterbury , Veronica Cartwright , Lonny Chapman , Richard Deacon , and Ethel Griffies
Manufacturer: Universal Studios
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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Rope

ASIN: 0783240236
Release Date: 2000-03-28

Amazon.com essential video

Vacationing in northern California, Alfred Hitchcock was struck by a story in a Santa Cruz newspaper: "Seabird Invasion Hits Coastal Homes." From this peculiar incident, and his memory of a short story by Daphne du Maurier, the master of suspense created one of his strangest and most terrifying films. The Birds follows a chic blonde, Melanie Daniels (Tippi Hedren), as she travels to the coastal town of Bodega Bay to hook up with a rugged fellow (Rod Taylor) she's only just met. Before long the town is attacked by marauding birds, and Hitchcock's skill at staging action is brought to the fore. Beyond the superb effects, however, The Birds is also one of Hitchcock's most psychologically complicated scenarios, a tense study of violence, loneliness, and complacency. What really gets under your skin are not the bird skirmishes but the anxiety and the eerie quiet between attacks. The director elevated an unknown model, Tippi Hedren (mother of Melanie Griffith), to being his latest cool, blond leading lady, an experience that was not always easy on the much-pecked Ms. Hedren. Still, she returned for the next Hitchcock picture, the underrated Marnie. Treated with scant attention by serious critics in 1963, The Birds has grown into a classic and--despite the sci-fi trappings--one of Hitchcock's most serious films. --Robert Horton

Customer Reviews:

The Birds.......2007-06-28

Undoubtedly one of Hitchcock's scariest films, the special effects are surprisingly effective for the time; you may never look at our winged friends quite the same again. Rod Taylor is stolid in a role Cary Grant might have done ten years prior, and Tippi Hedren is suitably intriguing as the icy blonde who's a magnet for men--and birds. The scene where Melanie sees the birds gradually build up on the playground jungle gym remains one of Hitch's most inspired and creepy set-pieces.

The Birds are the manifestation of the mother's rage against rivals for her son's affection.......2007-06-12

Hitchcock's last truly great film, The Birds, is an anomaly in his oeuvre by being based on a supernatural force, rather than the motives and machinations of his characters. And as a supernatural film, it opens itself to interpretation of what the real-world phenomenon is that the birds serve as metaphor for. The question everyone has about this film is: WHY are the birds attacking? Hitchcock, in his book of interviews with François Truffaut, says that he doesn't believe there IS a reason for the bird attacks. But even if Hitchcock or screenwriter Evan Hunter did not intend to provide a solid reason for the attacks, their work does present a subtext and pattern of dialogue and events that can be interpreted. I believe that a persuasive case can be made that the birds are the manifestation of the mother's rage at rivals for her son's affection.

THE FILM:

The main character of the film is Melanie Daniels, played by Tippi Hedren. Melanie is the daughter of a San Francisco newspaper executive and, though it is difficult to see today, is supposed to be a wild international party girl. She is introduced walking across the street to a pet shop. A man's appreciative whistle is heard offscreen, and when Melanie turns hear head to smile, she sees masses of birds swirling in the distance.

Melanie enters the bird shop, where she has ordered a pair of Mynah birds. She intends to teach them naughty language in order to mortify her "prim and strait-laced" Aunt Tess. While the shopkeeper is in the back, Mitch Brenner [Rod Taylor] walks in and pretends to mistake Melanie for a shop assistant. He says he is looking for lovebirds that are "not too demonstrative, nor too aloof. Just friendly." Melanie does her best to fake her way through a discussion on the mating and molting habits of birds, releasing a yellow canary [similar to the color of Melanie's golden hair] into the shop in the process. As Mitch catches it, he says "Back into your gilded cage, Melanie Daniels," revealing that he knows who Melanie is and of her scandalous past. Taken aback, Melanie decides to play a trick on Mitch in return. She purchases the lovebirds he was looking for and takes them up to his house in Bodega Bay, about an hour North of San Francisco.

When Melanie arrives, she receives a great deal of helpful exposition about the layout of the town. A plot contrivance gets her to the home of Annie Hayworth [Suzanne Pleshette], who has been out working in her garden. "This tilling of the soil can become compulsive," she says. We will find out later that Annie is a former flame of Mitch's, but their relationship was destroyed by pressures from Mitch's mother Lydia. Tilling of the soil is what Adam was charged to do upon being cast out of Eden, by the way. Annie probes Melanie to find out what she's doing in Bodega Bay, and is rather arch upon realizing that Melanie is the latest pretty young thing to try to win his affection. She notices the birds in the car. Upon being told that they're lovebirds, she says "I see. Good luck, Miss Daniels." Melanie's confident "Thank you," and toss of the head is priceless.

Melanie takes a small boat across the bay and deposits the birds in the Brenner's house. Mitch sees the birds, sees her, and drives to the other side of the bay to meet her. As Melanie confidently approaches Mitch in the boat, a seagull dives toward her, cutting her forehead.

Mitch takes Melanie into the local diner, where, after some light flirtation, they meet Mitch's mother, Lydia. She is made up as an older version of Melanie, with a similar outfit and hairstyle, emphasizing that she could be somewhat interchangeable with the women who want Mitch. Lydia seems very disconcerted by Melanie's presence, especially upon learning that she has been invited for dinner. Upon learning that Melanie has brought not just any birds, but lovebirds, Lydia's response, "Oh, I see," echoing Annie's reaction, further reinforces the similarities between his suitors.

Melanie goes to dinner at the Brenner's that night and meets Mitch's sister, Cathy [Veronica Cartwright], who takes an immediate liking to Melanie. Lydia confides her misgivings about Melanie's partying past to Mitch, who calls her "dear" and "darling," while brushing her off. It is clear from the look on Lydia's face that her worries have not been eased. Before Melanie leaves, Cathy invites her to her eleventh birthday party the next day.

Melanie returns to Annie's house [where she's staying the night]. They have a conversation in which Anne reveals that she had an affair with Mitch four years before, just after his father died. In response to Melanie's protestation that there's nothing between her and Mitch, Annie responds: "Maybe there's nothing between Mitch and any girl." They were seeing each other, until he brought her to meet Lydia, whose "attitude nearly drove me crazy... I spent days trying to find out exactly what I'd done to displease her." And what had she done? "Nothing. I simply existed. ...Now that I'm no longer a threat we're very good friends." Annie speculates that what Lydia feels isn't simply possessiveness or jealously, but fear of being abandoned. Melanie articulates what I think happens by the end of the movie, which is that Lydia "would be gaining a daughter." Annie goes on to tell that even after her relationship with Mitch ended, she moved to Bodega Bay just to be near him. Mitch calls and invites Melanie to the birthday party the next day, while Annie, in a wonderfully framed shot, listens with detached interest. Hanging up the phone, Melanie asks Annie if she should go. Told it's up to her, she responds "It's really up to Lydia, isn't it?" Annie tells her to "never mind Lydia," and Melanie agrees to disregard what Lydia might think about it, and attend the party. At that moment a gull smashes into the front door.

The next day, at the party, Melanie and Mitch walk alone away from the group. Melanie tells Mitch of her plan to teach dirty words to the Mynah bird she is giving Aunt Tess, and Mitch responds "You need a mother's care, my child." This brings an unpleasant memory to Melanie, who tells of being abandoned by her mother at eleven [the same age Cathy is turning on that day], and she hasn't seen her since. Feeling foolish, she says "I ought to go join the other children." Near the house, Annie watches them on their way down from their obviously romantic walk. A few seconds later, Lydia comes out of the house and pauses, also watching the couple returning from their walk. Immediately after, seagulls attack the party.

Later that evening, Melanie is planning on returning to Annie's. Mitch suggests that she stay the night. Lydia freezes upon hearing this invitation, and then sparrows stream into the room through the chimney.

The local sheriff visits after the attack, but is ineffectual. While this is happening, Melanie watches Lydia neurotically gather pieces of broken teacups and try to piece them together. Melanie offers to put Cathy to bed, and suggests that she stay the night, "if it's all right with Mitch." Lydia again reacts.

The next morning Lydia drives over a nearby farm, the Fawcett's. Not hearing a response to her call, she goes inside and notes some broken teacups--and we all know what that means. The wordless sequence in which she explores the house, finds the body, and reacts showcases Hitchcock's wonderful ability to tell a story entirely visually. On her way back to her house, there is a shot in which it appears that she will run down Mitch and Melanie with her truck.

Later, Melanie brings Lydia tea in her bed. Lydia alternates so suddenly between describing her fear of being abandoned and her worry for Cathy that it becomes apparent that her concern for Cathy is a mask for her fear of abandonment. She says she feels that she lost all of her strength when her husband died, and that she can't relax or sleep since he's been dead. She says she lacks her dead husband's talent for understanding her children, for entering into their world and "becoming part of them." She says that on certain days she wakes up "and there's a very good reason for getting out of bed" --until she remembers that her husband is dead.

When Melanie is about to go, Lydia bids her to stay. "I feel as if I don't understand you at all and I want so much to understand. Because my son seems to be very fond of you... and I don't know quite how I feel about it. I don't even know if I like you or not." Melanie asks "Do you HAVE to like Mitch's girlfriends? Lydia says she wants to like whatever girl Mitch chooses, but Mitch does exactly what he wants. She then becomes emotional and articulates her fear of being left alone. This immediately reverts back into worry for Cathy. Melanie volunteers to go to the school to check on her. As she's leaving, Lydia warmly thanks her for the tea.

Melanie arrives at the school, and waits outside in the justly famous sequence of the massing crows. The birds attack the children as they run away from the school. This is followed by the also-famous sequence in the diner, in which various perspectives on the bird's behavior are aired, including one that says birds are dirty, messy animals and should be killed. A mother at the diner protests that the talk of bird attacks is scaring her children. This is followed by the brilliant attack on the diner and gas station. In the Truffaut book, Hitchcock says that in placing Melanie in the phone booth, he wanted to give the effect of her being a bird trapped in a cage. When the attack is over, Mitch and Melanie venture inside. The survivors, huddled inside, are made up entirely of women [save one male child]. The mother of the children addresses Melanie: "They said when you got here, the whole thing started.... I think you're the cause of all this. I think you're evil."

During the same attack, Annie was killed protecting Cathy. Mitch, Melanie and Cathy return to the Brenner home. At one point, Lydia demands to know what Mitch thinks they should do, and when he can't supply a satisfactory answer, she bursts out: "You don't know! You don't know! If only your father were here..." She then catches herself and apologizes. After a time, another attack occurs, this time with barely any birds seen at all, just the sound of them all around the house. After the attack has ended, Hitchcock brilliantly indicates that the birds have gotten into a room upstairs by shooting the characters in a hard up angle, emphasizing the space above them.

Later, when everyone else is asleep, Melanie ventures upstairs and explores a closed room. She is attacked by the birds. Note that this time the birds do not make any cries, the only sound heard is the flutter of their wings. Melanie is rescued and taken downstairs, but is now nearly catatonic. Mitch says that she requires medical treatment and that they must leave.

A radio report states that "Bodega Bay seems to be the center [of the attacks]." The massed birds outside the house are now calm. Mitch and Lydia help Melanie to the car. In the last bit of dialogue, Cathy asks: "Can I bring the lovebirds? They haven't harmed anyone." In the car, Melanie lays her head on Lydia's shoulder, squeezes her arm, and gazes vulnerably up at her. Feeling this, Lydia smiles down on her and affectionately nuzzles her forehead. The car drives unhindered through the masses of birds.

DISCUSSION:

The first clue is the title. "Birds" is a British slang term for women, and that seems to be what this movie is all about. The first scene in the bird shop sets up the flirtation between Mitch and Melanie, establishes Melanie's character as a brash, confident modern woman, and draws the connection between the two of them and the birds. It also gives a hint of Melanie's problems with maternal mother figures with her wish to give prim and straitlaced Aunt Tess the trash-talking Mynah birds.

The fact that Melanie sees a swirling mass of birds in San Francisco at the very beginning of the film has been argued to discredit the theory that the birds are the manifestation of rage directed specifically at Melanie, as she has not yet met Lydia yet. I think the explanation is a mundane one: Hitchcock, also in the Truffaut book, says that he felt pressure to include the presence of birds early in the film, in order to stave off his audience's growing impatience to get to the bird attacks that they had come to see. Since, at the very end of the film, the radio report says that the attacks are centered in Bodega Bay, we can assume that what she's seeing is just an unrelated bunch of birds.

The scene in which Melanie fist meets Lydia in the diner is interesting, as it portrays the three women [Melanie, Lydia, and Annie] as somewhat interchangeable. First, Lydia's appearance almost exactly mirrors Melanie's, except that she is in grey while Melanie is in gold--both of their outfits matching their hair color. Lydia also replicates Annie's reaction to the lovebirds: "Oh I see." This emphasizes Lydia's fear that she can be replaced and thus left alone; if all the women are the same, Lydia isn't necessarily needed. What sets Melanie apart is her confidence, specifically that she can manipulate men at her will. Lydia is hard-pressed to compete with that, and Annie won't even try.

The first four attacks are explicitly tied to Mitch and Melanie's relationship, and three of them directly follow upon content revolving around going against Lydia's wishes. The first attack, as Melanie is about to meet Mitch on the pier, cementing their flirtation; the second, just after Melanie decides to ignore Lydia's wishes and attend the party; the third, just after Lydia sees Mitch and Melanie returning from their romantic walk; and the fourth being the sparrow attack after Mitch suggests that Melanie spend the night. Since each of these attacks occurs immediately after displeasing Lydia, it is easy to conclude that the attacks are in some way an expression of Lydia's rage brought on by Melanie making progress with Mitch.

So, why do the attacks become more generalized after this point? What happens in between is that Melanie brings Lydia tea in bed, and by the time that they're done, Lydia has begun to like Melanie. She listens to Lydia's concerns about Cathy, her feeling of having lost her strength, her wish to like Mitch's girlfriends, and finally, Lydia opens up about her fear of being abandoned... which is fairly remarkable, considering her general antipathy toward Melanie. This is the beginning of the process that completes itself by the end of the movie, which is, as Melanie puts it, "she would be gaining a daughter." The two important points of this conversation are that Melanie offers to go check on Cathy, taking Lydia's fears seriously and seeking to ally them, and also that Melanie asks if it's so important for Lydia to like Mitch's girlfriends. We don't know conclusively from the film, but one would guess that the possibility of not liking one of Mitch's girlfriends, while still accepting that Mitch likes her, has never occurred to Lydia.

At the same time that Lydia begins to have these conflicted feelings for Melanie, the attacks become more generalized and frenzied. The idea of forces created by psychic energy attacking indiscriminately and even harming the originator of the psychic force isn't so unheard of; it also occurs in Forbidden Planet and Carrie. It is clear, from the abrupt subject transitions in Lydia's talk with Melanie over tea--from her feelings of powerlessness and fear of being abandoned to her worry for Cathy--that these subjects are unconsciously connected in her head. The scene in the diner after the attack on the gas station further elucidates the idea that the attacks center on Melanie herself as the mother observes that the attacks started when Melanie arrived in town, and that Melanie is the cause of them. If you buy the idea that the attacks are the manifestation of Lydia's rage against her, the woman is right. And it's true--the attacks did start when Melanie arrived.

Later that night, back at the Brenner house, it is easy to notice that Melanie has fallen into the mother role with Cathy, holding her close and attending carefully to her, while Lydia herself just sits down helplessly by the piano, watching. The attack that occurs soon after, in which we barely see any birds, could be seen as serving our subtext, in that the characters are cowering in fear from sounds alone--no immediate physical threat. In the Truffaut book, Hitchcock directly states that he shot this scene to emphasize that the characters are cowering from nothing. It may be overinterpretation to believe that this supports the idea that the bird attacks emanate from psychological forces in the character's minds, but it also doesn't disprove it.

Melanie's attack in the upstairs bedroom is what mentally breaks her. The confidence she exuded toward the beginning of the film is completely stripped from her, and she becomes like a child that needs to be taken care of. Her squeezing of Lydia's arm, and smiling up toward her, shows Lydia that Melanie is no longer a threat, and in fact now needs Lydia to take care of her. Lydia smiles at this, and nuzzles Melanie's head like an affectionate parent--she has "gained a daughter," as Melanie said, and the threat of being abandoned for Melanie is now significantly reduced.

We know that there was another bird attack written into the original script as the car drives away, so the attacks are not over, but, based only on the film itself, one could guess that now that Lydia's rage has been allayed, the birds are present, asserting their power, but placid and not attacking.

The last line of the film, "Can I bring the lovebirds? They haven't harmed anyone" reminds us that for all the sparring and manipulation Mitch and Melanie have practiced on each other, in the end they were the innocent and bewildered victims of a phenomenon they unknowingly caused.

Hitchcock's best.......2007-06-11

"The Birds" was the first Hitchcock movie I ever saw as a kid, and it is still the best to me. It was the first time I ever saw a lovebird and I decided that I was going to get one some day. I've had 3 to date! (No attacks by them either!) Tippy Hedron is perfect as the Paris Hilton of 1963. Rod Taylor is a great hero. I know all the lines and still have to see it again!! Suspence is Hitchcock's perfection!!

Hitchcock's best!.......2007-05-15

We see them everyday and take for granted that these creatures of flight are harmless. But when Alfred Hitchcock made this movie: it changed the way you look at life and horror.
This is more than a horror movie. There's suspense, and an ever building romance. The tension builds throughout this movie as the birds slowly begin to act abnormal.
The scariest part for me is when they went after the kids at school ...probably because I was only a kid when I first saw this timeless classic.
This is by far Alfred Hitchcock's best movie!

A Cult Classic.......2007-04-12

This movie freaked me out as a kid...watching it now is more entertaining than frightening. This is truly an Alfred Hitchock classic.

Chilling Classics 50 Movie Pack Collection

Average customer rating:

For the Price Well Worth It
Forget the other titles, watch this one.
This set may not be 'great', but it is good.
WARNING!! Beware of 2 different versions
On a 1 to 10 scale, this collection is rated: 4.2

Chilling Classics 50 Movie Pack Collection
Starring: Peter Falk , and Richard Boone
Manufacturer: Mill Creek Entertainment
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Drama | Genres | DVD | Video

General | Horror | Genres | DVD | Video

General | Science Fiction & Fantasy | Genres | DVD | Video

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( C ) | Titles | Features | DVD | Video
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ASIN: B000AOEQ4W
Release Date: 2005-09-01

Product Description

Get ready for a gut-wrenching journey into terror and madness that is strewn with bloody corpses and rocked by terrifying creatures in a relentlessly horrific universe.

Customer Reviews:

For the Price Well Worth It.......2007-05-21

With shipping I paid approxamately $20 for 50 movies. It works out to about .40 cent each. I have not seen all of them but enjoyed the ones I have. A inexpensive way to spend a evening. If you were Elvira Fans, they can be used to through an Elvira get together. Pick 2 selections have your your invited friends bring the chips, popcorn, whatever and you have a party.

Forget the other titles, watch this one........2007-05-19

Once again I don't normally watch this kind of movie--not serious enough.
But it has its moments funny and chuckles. Earth has been invaded by a galaxtic fast food chain and we are the food.

1. Neat idea.
2. Interesting storyline.
3. Interesting characters. Example: the aliens chase this one guy in to a shed. He closes the door. There are five aliens. The four aliens pick up the odd one and use him for a battering ram. It's somewhat funny, certaintly original as far as I know, and bloody. R rated, not family but worth a look.
4. Sometimes interesting special effects. Somebody at least took a shot at trying to be original.
5. Lots of gun fire...they look like full-loads from where I'm setting.

Hmmm, yes, I'm going to have to recommend this to the somewhat jaded popcorn group. Those of us who like our old movies this isn't going to be such a treat--myself included. Nevertheless, it is interesting enough to keep your attention throughout the movie and therefore it gets my recommendation. Bye!

This set may not be 'great', but it is good........2007-05-13

I own several 50 movie sets, and this one is pretty much standard. Most movies are fairly 'rough', but, that's how I remember them on the old B&W TV's. I am an old horror movie buff, so, I can find enough 'good movies' on this to make it well worth the price.

WARNING!! Beware of 2 different versions.......2007-05-09

I purchasing this set with the intent of watching Deadtime Stories since I remember it as a kid. I noticed when I got the set in the mail that it was not on the set. I Looked at the picture provided from Amazon and it shows Deadtime Stories on the bottom right however mine shows Horror Express in it's place. I have also noticed that the "50 MOVIE PACK" red box is located on the left as here is shows it on the right. So there are two versions of this set. So for people looking for the Deadtime Stories version make sure it says it on the bottom like the picture Amazon has, but if you order it from Amazon you won't get it. Sucks big time, oh well.

On a 1 to 10 scale, this collection is rated: 4.2.......2007-04-14

To all fans of blood-by-the-bucket cinema, monsters, ghouls and gore:
The CHILLING CLASSICS 50 MOVIE PACK was made JUST for you! These drive-in theater spectaculars are certain to amaze, the "special effects" dazzle, and the bizarre stories keep you entertained for many a day. Watch 'em with someone you'd love to squeeze when things get gruesome.

The averaged-out rating for this box set was determined from data gathered at a film-intensive website. User polling numbers (on a 1 to 10 scale) rate CHILLING CLASSICS at: 4.2.

The alphabetized program list below includes individual poll scores, original theatrical titles (where indicated), country of origin (if other than USA), years of release and prominent actors for each film.

(3.9) The Alpha Incident (1978) - Stafford Morgan/John F. Goff/Ralph Meeker (in support)
(6.7) Bad Taste (New Zealand-1987) - Terry Potter/Peter Jackson
(6.1) A Bell From Hell (Spain/France-1973) - Renaud Verley/Viveca Lindfors
(5.1) The Blancheville Monster ("Horror") (Italy/Spain-1963) - Gerard Tichy/Joan Hills
(4.5) The Bloody Brood (Canada/USA-1959) - Jack Betts/Barbara Lord/Peter Falk
(6.8) A Bucket Of Blood (1959) - Dick MillerBarboura Morris/Ed Nelson (in support)
(3.8) Cathy's Curse (France/Canada-1977) - Alan Scarfe/Beverly Murray
(4.0) Christmas Evil ("You Better Watch Out") (1980) - Brandon Maggart/Jeffrey DeMunn
(2.2) The Cold ("The Game") (1984) - Tom Blair/Carol Perry
(4.3) Crypt Of The Living Dead (USA/Spain-1973) - Andrew Prine/Patty Shepard/Mark Damon
(3.0) Deadtime Stories (1986) - Scott Valentine/Nicole Picard
(5.1) Death Rage (Italy-1976) - Yul Brynner/Martin Balsam
(7.8) Deep Red (Italy-1975) - David Hemmings/Daria Nicolodi
(3.3) The Demon (S Africa/Netherlands-1979) - Jennifer Holmes/Cameron Mitchell
(3.4) The Demons Of Ludlow (1983) - Paul Von Hausen/Stephanie Cushna
(4.4) The Devil's Hand (1962) - Linda Christian/Robert Alda
(4.4) Driller Killer (1979) - Abel Ferrara/Carolyn Marz
(1.7) Drive-In Massacre (1976) - Bruce Kimball/Adam Lawrence
(4.4) Dr. Tarr's Torture Dungeon ("Mansion Of Madness") (Mexico-1972) - Claudio Brook/Ellen Sherman
(5.3) Funeral Home (Canada-1980) - Kate Hawtrey/Lesleh Donaldson
(5.5) The Ghost (Italy-1963) - Barbara Steele/Peter Baldwin
(5.3) Gothic (UK-1986) - Gabriel Byrne/Julian Sands/Natasha Richardson
(5.2) Hands Of A Stranger (1962) - Paul Lukather/Joan Harvey/Sally Kellerman (minor role)
(4.8) Haunts (1977) - May Britt/Cameron Mitchell/Aldo Ray
(6.2) Horror Express (UK/Spain-1973) - Christopher Lee/Peter Cushing
(2.2) Horrors Of Spider Island (W Ger/Yugoslavia-1960) - Alexander D'Arcy/Barbara Valentin
(4.6) House Of The Dead ("Alien Zone") (1978) - John Ericson/Ivor Francis
(6.2) I Bury The Living (1958) - Richard Boone/Theodore Bikel
(2.3) Jesse James Meets Frankenstein's Daughter (1966) - John Lupton/Narda Onyx
(4.6) Lady Frankenstein (Italy-1971) - Joseph Cotten/Rosalba Neri
(3.9) The Legend Of Big Foot (1976) - Ivan Marx/Peggy Marx
(5.8) Man In The Attic (1953) - Jack Palance/Constance Smith/Francis Bavier
(2.7) Medusa (UK/Greece-1973) - George Hamilton/Cameron Mitchell
(3.0) Memorial Valley Massacre (1988) - John Kerry/Mark Mears/Cameron Mitchell (in support)
(6.0) Messiah Of Evil ("Dead People") (1973) - Michael Greer/Royal Dano/Elisha Cook Jr. (in support)
(3.3) Metamorphosis (Italy/USA-1990) - Gene LeBrock/Catherine Baranov
(2.4) The Milpitas Monster (1975) - Paul Frees/Douglas Hagdohl/'Crazy George' Henderson
(5.3) Naked Massacre ("Born For Hell") (W Ger/Canada/France/Itly-1976) - Mathieu Carrière/Debra Berger
(2.3) Oasis Of The Zombies (France-1983) - Manuel Gelin/Jeff Montgomery
(3.2) Panic (Italy/Spain-1976) - David Warbeck/Janet Agren
(2.5) Revenge Of Doctor X ("The Double Garden") (USA/Japan-1970) - James Craig/James Yagi
(3.4) Scream Bloody Murder (1973) - Fred Holbert/Leigh Mitchell
(5.0) Silent Night, Bloody Night (1974) - Patrick O'Neal/James Patterson/John Carradine (in support)
(4.2) Sisters Of Death (1977) - Arthur Franz/Claudia Jennings
(3.3) Slashed Dreams (1975) - Peter Hooten/Robert Englund/Rudy Vallee/James Keach
(2.7) The Snake People (Mexico/USA-1971) - Boris Karloff/Julissa
(2.3) Track Of The Moon Beast (1976) - Chase Cordell/Leigh Drake
(6.4) Virus (Japan-1980) - George Kennedy/Bo Svenson/Edward James Olmos (minor role)
(2.4) War Of The Robots (1978) - Antonio Sabato/Yanti Somer
(3.4) The Witches' Mountain (Spain-1972) - Patty Shepard/Cihangir Gaffari

Metropolis (Restored Authorized Edition)

Average customer rating:

Metropolis
Let your head mediate between your heart and hands
For those few who care. . . .
An aged classic
interesting

Metropolis (Restored Authorized Edition)
Starring: Alfred Abel , Gustav Fröhlich , Rudolf Klein-Rogge , Fritz Rasp , and Theodor Loos
Director: Fritz Lang
Manufacturer: Kino Video
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Classics | Genres | DVD | Video

General | Drama | Genres | DVD | Video

General | Science Fiction & Fantasy | Genres | DVD | Video

Classic Sci-Fi | Science Fiction & Fantasy | Genres | DVD | Video

( M ) | Titles | Features | DVD | Video
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ASIN: B00007L4MJ
Release Date: 2003-02-18

Amazon.com essential video

Fritz Lang's Metropolis belongs to legend as much as to cinema. It's a milestone of sci-fi and German expressionism. Yet the story makes minimal sense, and the "theme" belongs in a fortune cookie; to experience the film's pagan power, you have to see the movie. But for decades we couldn't, not really--not with so many versions, all incomplete, often in public-domain prints like smudged photocopies. This Murnau Foundation restoration changes all that. Some shots, scenes, and subplots may be lost forever, but intertitles indicate how they fit into the original continuity and the characters' individual trajectories. Most crucially, the images are crisp, vibrant, and three-dimensional instead of murky and flattened. The composite sequences (the Tower of Babel, a sea of lusting eyes) have been restored to their hallucinatory ferocity. And there's one moment when you can see a bead of sweat roll down a man's cheek--in medium long-shot. --Richard T. Jameson

Customer Reviews:

Metropolis.......2007-06-18

One of the most influential films ever made, Lang's "Metropolis" was inspired by the director's awestruck glimpse of the 1920s Manhattan skyline. Visually astonishing and darkly surreal, "Metropolis" is a flawless example of German Expressionism on film, with its heavily stylized, futuristic production design, odd camera angles, and bleak, shadowy evocation of the not-so-harmonious techno-industrial future. Rudolf Klein-Rogge is especially captivating playing sadistic capitalist Rotwang, who engineers a slave revolt against the reformers. A hypnotic, enthralling silent masterwork by the legendary director of "M" and "The Big Heat."

Let your head mediate between your heart and hands.......2007-06-06

Let your head mediate between your heart and hands, June 5, 2007

I'm not going to be buying this film. "What?", you say, "But you rated it 5 stars!!!"

'Tis true. This is a case where my mind and heart are at war much as the Metropolis "planners" are using their power to keep down the "workers".

Intellectually I'm drawn to this film by the innovative use of special effects (I still wonder how the "face stealing machine" lightning and light discs were done), its plot (Heavy with double entendre and symbolism with its classic "David vs. Goliath" allusion as well as Biblical allusions with its saviour and Virgin Mary figures). My mind even secretly feels a bit smug because it's a "foreign film". (Not that it matters that much since all the subtitles are in English and there's no dialogue)

Emotionally I never get swept away though. My heart never REALLY cares all that much about the workers' plight or feels shock at the callous disregard of them by the planners. You don't really find out WHY Frederson falls in love with Maria...he just DOES. They also don't seem to go into the motivations of Freder to be the king figure he strikes in the film.

In the end, my hands decide it's not worth shelling out the spoils of my time "fighting the clock" to have this in my collection.

BOTTOM LINE:
Just because *I* don't plan to buy it doesn't mean I don't understand why there are those who would. Enough filmmakers were influenced by this that merely seeing it will help you understand how visuals from other films came about and it really is a visual feast even if this jaded age of CGI animation and billion-dollar explosion fests. I'd advise this edition if you DO choose to buy because of the explanatory commentary that left me a lot less befuddled than I'd have been without it, as well as an interesting albeit too short talk about the restoration process with the German archivists involved (it's subtitled in English). There are also some production stills that give you the flavor of some of the many scenes that have been lost to time after the film was edited after release.

Even if you don't buy it, do borrow from your local library or an artsy friend...

For those few who care. . . ........2007-05-27

We all have many reasons for being interested in movies. Or in film. Or in cinema. Or today in video. Most of us seek laughter, pathos, or sheer entertainment. Yet since the establishment of American Movie Classics & more particularly Turner Movie Classics, there has been some growth in what might be called aficianados of film -- those who are truly interested in how modern film developed. (There are also groups who have strong interest in one or more actors -- such as Cary Grant, Katherine Hepburn, Spencer Tracy -- or certain directors John Ford, Howard Hawks, Orson Welles, or Alfred Hitchcock.

To the true film student, a video copy of the original METROPOLIS is viewed more for its groundbreaking cinematic techniques than for its story alone. There are many unique techniques & effects in METROPOLIS that have since been give further advancement. Clearly, we would never have had the STAR WARS series had it not been for the earlier METROPOLIS. Yet METROPOLIS somewhat pales in comparison to any of the STAR WARS series (particularly the first). Somehow the first of any series is normally the best. And many find pioneering initial films too simplistic for true appecition. It is much like watching Johnny Weismuller or Elmo Lincoln as TARZAN & trying to compare this shaky, fuzzy film with a more modern, slck color GREYSTOKE.

It may now be difficult to appreciate METROPOLIS or the CABINET of DR, CALIGARI or D. W. Griffith's BIRTH OF A NATION in the same way these films were appreciated when issued. Bear in mind, usually we see these classics only on a tiny TV screen. Consider how much more effective they might have been with sharp prints, on a huge theatre screen, & with majestic musical accompanyment of an organ or perhaps a full symphony orchestra.

Also there is no power like the power of an idea encountered the first time. So while I cannot recommand METROPOLIS or any classic silent film to the average film viewer of today complete with mounds of popcorn & gallons of soft drinks, it is a brilliant film. It is still brilliant, & still offers us a world of tomorrow that may yet prove closer to reality than we might wish.

Certainly no student of film as a medium should fail to see and to study METROPOLIS. It offers far more film vistas and futuristic life dilemmas than perhaps any other film of its time & type

David L. Woods, PhD, Adjunct Professor of Film, Communication, & Mass Media, Marshall University, WV

An aged classic.......2007-04-19

In 1927 my mother was 17 years old. Like most of the country at that time she would have been living a largely agrarian lifestyle, a countrified life, filled with cornpone and over-cooked green beans. Her simple cotton clothes would have smelled of some borax-like detergent and her nails would have been short and split from hard work around the farm. Had she made it to town to see this picture show on some muggy Saturday night in 1927 with my father, she would have stared agog at the screen as the phantasmagoric images swam past in futuristic splendor. For a brief hour and a half or so it would have lifted her away from the washboards and wringers and pump handles and udders and brooms and clotheslines. When she came out she would have shaken her head in disbelief and laughed with wonder that such a world could have been created. Imagine yourself in 1927 when you see this film and share the wonder of this, one of the very first films in (and the likely fertile progenitor of) the cinematic genre called science fiction. Its cost, they say, was over $200 million in adjusted dollars - quite an extravagance for the time, two-thirds the cost of Titanic.

interesting.......2007-04-17

I've been watching a lot of different genres of movies lately, and as my exposure to silent movies has been pretty limited, I thought this one would be good to watch. It was a very interesting movie. I'd never seen anything quite like it. The plot was interesting and and the special effects were good considering when the movie was made. The themes in the movie, such as the haves versus the have-nots, problems of mob psychology, and corruption that comes with power, are timeless. However, I found it hard to follow at some parts and there were some segments that didn't seem to have anything to do with the overall storyline. (For example: What was the point of the part where the imposter of Maria becomes an exotic dancer?) In spite of that, this is definitely a movie worth seeing.

Cult Classics: Earth vs. the Spider/War of the Colossal Beast

Average customer rating:

Double Trouble
WHO CAN RESIST SUCH A DOUBLE FEATURE?
Our Mr. Big
MEMOREIS MEMORIES WOW
Great old monster movies!

Cult Classics: Earth vs. the Spider/War of the Colossal Beast
Starring: Sally Fraser , Roger Pace , Duncan 'Dean' Parkin , Russ Bender , and Rico Alaniz
Director: Bert I. Gordon
Manufacturer: Lions Gate
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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Similar Items:

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The Classic Sci-fi Ultimate Collection (Tarantula / The Mole People / The Incredible Shrinking Man / The Monolith Monsters / Monster on the Campus)
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This Island Earth
The Monster That Challenged the World/It! The Terror From Beyond Space

ASIN: B000BYA5IC
Release Date: 2006-01-10

Customer Reviews:

Double Trouble.......2007-05-07

These two movies are a good example of 50s SCI-FI at its best. Earth Vs. The spider is good because it adds a bit of 50s Malt Shop Era to the movie. Its seems the spider shots may have been taken from an earlier Sci-FI movie Tarantula.War Of The Colossal Beast is movie #2 in this Twin Cult Classic Set.I remember watching this movie as a kid and still enjoy it. Would recommend this double SCI-FI Collection to all 50s Sci-Fi Addicts.

WHO CAN RESIST SUCH A DOUBLE FEATURE?.......2007-04-27

Two great cheese fests for the price of one! "Earth vs.the Spider" is excellent. "War of the Colossal Beast" is the sequel to "The Amazing Colossal Man". Strange that the two Colossal films weren't put on this double feature DVD? The Amazing Colossal Man" is not available on DVD at this time. As it is " War of the Colossal Beast" is pretty funny...unintentionally of course! After reading some other reviews, I have learned that the rights to the two Colossal movies are owned by different people....too bad :-( ...I hope they release the first one soon.

Our Mr. Big.......2007-03-18

For this baby boomer who grew up in the 50's, Bert I. Gordon was my George Lucas. He brought amazing creatures right into our movie theatres. In retrospect, I'm very grateful to him for many hours of enjoyment in that dark movie house. Yeah, these effects are nowhere what is done now, but I didn't know that at that time. I was just a kid in awe of what was on the screen. I loved "The Spider" (as it was called back then). The remake was a real letdown for those of us who enjoyed seeing the overhead shot of a girl screaming her head off, with her 50's skirt caught in the door of her car as the spider approaches. I love the idea that rock 'n roll awakens the spider, who then goes on a rampage all over town. And, yeah, that poor baby alone on a deserted street was very a disturbing sight. Mr. BIG was all about bringing entertainment to the massses, ready to scare us, thrill us and giving us our money's worth for an afternoon. "War of the Colossal Beast" was another reason that made going to the movies on a weekend just a thrill. Thank you, Mr. Gordon.

MEMOREIS MEMORIES WOW.......2007-02-08

i remember being 11 yrs old and going to see these movies. the spider one i had to get because way back then i hung around the olive recreation center in burbank ca.
the rock-n-roll band in this movie was headed by my friend dick de augustine ,his brother and paul the sax player. they were old in their early 20's.i watched that again 49 yrs later and what memories. now it looks corny but then it was scary. i wish that the amazing colossal man was available also but the sequel is very good.if you remember these movies. buy them because they are not shown very often
the prints are crystal clear but the price "go for it"

Great old monster movies!.......2007-01-09

I'm a sucker for the old classic black and white monster movies and these two are just perfect if you like that kind of movie. There's nothing like a giant spider chasing you, or a giant man with an agenda ticked off at the world! Sure they're corny by today's standards, but that's part of their charm and they are great entertainment. Safe for the family also - no swear words, nudity, etc. What a refreshing change!

Average customer rating:

kind of disappointing
Classics To Be Sure...
horrible quality of the physical discs
On a 1 to 10 scale, this collection is rated: 4.8
All Not Exploitation ,Some For Serious Social Change

Cult Classics 20 Movie Pack (4 DVD)
Starring: June Carlson , Fifi D'Orsay , Teala Loring , Mary Bovard , and Margia Dean
Director: Albert Herman , Leon Leonard , and Elmer Clifton
Manufacturer: Mill Creek Entertainment
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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Product Features:

Cautionary and unintentionally hilarious features with public service, morality or exploitation themes, you reel from the horrors of drug use in "Reefer Madness" and "Cocaine Fiends".

ASIN: B000FS9FI0
Release Date: 2006-06-27

Product Description

For movie buffs and collectors alike...20-movie, star-filled packs remastered on DVDs for hours of home entertainment.

Includes:
Assassin of Youth Star: Luana Walters
Chained for Life Star: Daisy and Violet Hilton
Child Bride Star: Shirley Mills
Cocaine Fiends Star: Lois January
Delinquent Daughters Star: June Carlson
Escort Girl Star: Betty Compson
The Flesh Merchant Star: Joy Reynolds
Mad Youth Star: Betty Compson
Marihuana Star: Harley Wood
Omoo-Ommo, The Shark God Star: Roy Randell
Reefer Madness Star: Kenneth Craig
The Road to Ruin Star: Helen Foster
Sex Madness Star: Vivian McGill
She Shoulda Said No Star: Lila Leeds
Slaves in Bondage Star: Lona Andre
Ten Nights in a Barroom Star: William Farnum
Terror of Tiny Town Star: Bill Curtis
Test Tube Babies Star: Dorothy Duke
Trapped By Mormons Star: Evelyn Brent
The Wages of Sin Star: Constance Worth

System Requirements:
23.7 Hours Run Time

Format: DVD MOVIE

Customer Reviews:

kind of disappointing.......2007-06-27

I got this at my husband's request. He thought it was a hoot. I didn't like the few shows I watched, couldn't justify spending more time watching. Poor quality,repeating scenes in spots. Glad I didn't pay much for it.

Classics To Be Sure..........2007-06-09

...but temper your expectations. The movies in this collection have suffered the ravages of time. Many of the story lines are difficult to follow; there are missing segments that make watching these movies similar to listening to a record that skips with every full rotation. If you're looking for quality, look elsewhere. If you have a morbid curiosity about early anti-drug and temperance propoganda, look no further.

horrible quality of the physical discs.......2007-04-13

some great content here, and I didn't expect great video quality, but the DVDs themselves are in terrible shape, like they were just burned on a bad computer. Several titles skip and hang so badly they won't play at all. Too bad, as there's some great stuff I'd love to see on here!

On a 1 to 10 scale, this collection is rated: 4.8.......2007-04-09

MILL CREEK ENTERTAINMENT packages offer unusual (and often rare) cinema at bargain prices. In their box set CULT CLASSICS 20 MOVIE PACK, vice is nice (or so it seems). Topics of these films include drugs and alcohol (when booze was illegal), love for a price, and out-of-control teens. There's human oddities like little people and conjoined twins. In fact, for fans of the luridly bizarre this movie collection has a lot to offer.

Polling was done on these titles at a film website, and on a 1 to 10 scale the current average score for CULT CLASSICS is: 4.8.

The following alphabetzed list includes individual ratings, original titles (when necessary), years of release and principal actors.

(3.5) Chained For Life (1951) - Violet & Daisy Hilton (Siamese twins)
(6.0) Child Bride (1938) - Shirley Mills/Bob Bollinger
(4.8) Cocaine Fiends ("The Pace That Kills") (1935) - Lois January/Noel Madison
(5.3) Delinquent Daughters (1944) - June Carlson/Fifi D'Orsay
(3.8) Escort Girl (1941) - Wheeler Oakman/Betty Compson
(5.5) Gambling With Souls (1936) - Martha Chapin/Wheeler Oakman
(7.2) Joyless Street (silent/Germany-1925) - Renate Brausewetter/Greta Garbo (uncredited)
(5.1) Mad Youth (1940) - Mary Ainslee/Betty Compson
(3.7) Marihuana (1936) - Harley Wood/Hugh McArthur
(5.4) The Marijuana Menace ("Assassin Of Youth") (1937) - Luana Walters/Arthur Gardner
(5.4) Omoo-Omoo The Shark God (1949) - Ron Randell/Devera Burton
(3.1) Reefer Madness ("Tell Your Children") (1936) - Dorothy Short/Kenneth Craig
(6.4) The Road To Ruin (1934) - Helen Foster/Nell O'Day
(3.6) Sex Madness (1938) - Vivian McGill/Rose Tapley
(4.5) She Shoulda' Said No (1949) - Alan Baxter/Lyle Talbot
(5.2) Slaves In Bondage (1937) - Lona Andre/Donald Reed
(4.9) Ten Nights In A Barroom (1931) - William Farnum/Tom Santschi
(2.4) The Terror Of Tiny Town (1938) - Billy Curtis/Yvonne Moray
(5.0) Test Tube Babies (1948) - Dorothy Duke/William Thomason
(4.7) The Wild And The Wicked - Joy Reynolds/Geri Moffatt

All Not Exploitation ,Some For Serious Social Change.......2007-01-22

I haven't viewed the entire set but so far the photography and sound are quite good and, in fact, excellent in Chained For Life and Child Bride. Chained For Life deals with actual Siamnese twin sisters who are wonderful singers/entertainers (in real life, too) in vaudeville. One is courted and exploited by another entertainer in the show much to the chagrin of the other twin. What eventually occurs is somewhat far-fetched but still possible. I won't ruin it but the twins are treated with dignity throughout the story which also features an actual very entertaining variety/vaudeville show. Child Bride concerns the dignity and rights of young pre-teen and teenage girls and, as the title denotes, a very serious social issue in the U.S.A. at one time. A teacher from the same mountain community (and in peril) advocates for a law forbidding this practice. There are also other conflicts within the mountain community, some quite ugly, but it's an interesting story, especially the unexpected ending/solution.

Average customer rating:

creepy, cool
How diabolical can a woman be???
Dream a little dream of me
Cabinet of Dr. Caligari
One of the most frightening movies of all time, and that's what matters

The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari
Starring: Werner Krauss , Conrad Veidt , Friedrich Feher , Lil Dagover , and Hans Heinrich von Twardowski
Director: Robert Wiene
Manufacturer: Image Entertainment
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: 6305075492
Release Date: 1997-10-15

Amazon.com

A milestone of the silent film era and one of the first "art films" to gain international acclaim, this eerie German classic from 1919 remains the most prominent example of German expressionism in the emerging art of the cinema. Stylistically, the look of the film's painted sets--distorted perspectives, sharp angles, twisted architecture--was designed to reflect (or express) the splintered psychology of its title character, a sinister figure who uses a lanky somnambulist (Conrad Veidt) as a circus attraction. But when Caligari and his sleepwalker are suspected of murder, their novelty act is surrounded by more supernatural implications. With its mad-doctor scenario, striking visuals, and a haunting, zombie-like character at its center, Caligari was one of the first horror films to reach an international audience, sending shock waves through artistic circles and serving as a strong influence on the classic horror films of the 1920s, '30s, and beyond. It's a museum piece today, of interest more for its historical importance, but Caligari still casts a considerable spell. --Jeff Shannon

Description

This milestone film, known for its expressionistic sets and techniques, tells the strange tale of a sleepwalker under the spell of the mysterious and evil Dr. Caligari.

Customer Reviews:

creepy, cool.......2007-07-03

I've been getting into these old suspense/horror/sci-fi films lately, and this has got to be one of the better ones. The plot is cool and mysterious, and the twisted sets in which the story takes place give it a strange, surrealistic feel. Anyone interested in silent films has got to check this one out.

How diabolical can a woman be???.......2007-07-01

Dr. Caligari presents the viewer with a frightening vision of the world through the lens of German Expressionism.

I cannot rec