Sleepers

Starring:Kevin Bacon, Billy Crudup, Vittorio Gassman, Robert De Niro, Minnie Driver, Dustin Hoffman, Ron Eldard, Joseph Perrino, Jason Patric, Geoffrey Wigdor, Brad Pitt, Terry Kinney, Brad Renfro, Bruno Kirby, Frank Medrano, Jonathan Tucker, Peter Appel, Joe Attanasio, Gerry Becker, Casandra Brooks
Director: Barry Levinson
Studio: Warner Home Video
Product Type: DVD

Product Description

The judicial system is supposed to protect them. But when a youthful prank in New Yorks Hells Kitchen spins out of control, the punishment does not fit the crime. Sentenced to the Wilkinson School for Boys, four pals are mistreated at will by a cadre of sadistic guards. Now, 15 years later, they have an unexpected opportunity to use that system-for revenge. Friendship. Loyalty. Retribution. From its telltale opening lines to its stunning courtroom climax, Sleepers is spellbinding entertainment. With a vengeance.

System Requirements:
Starring: Kevin Bacon, Robert DeNiro, Dustin Hoffman, Brad Pitt, and Jason Patric Director: Barry Levinson Interactive Menus Production Notes Scene Access Theatrical Trailer Languages: English and French Subtitles: English, French and Spanish Widescreen version presented in a "letterbox" widescreen format preserving the "scope" aspect ratio of its original theatrical exhibition, enhanced for 16:9 widescreen TVs English: Dolby Digital 5.1 French: Dolby Surround 5.1 Two Sided Disc Special Features: Cast/Crew Bios, Film Highlights, Interactive Menus, Production Notes, and Theatrical Trailer Video Format: Widescreen (no A.R. specified) Enhanced for 16x9 TVs Subtitles: English, Spanish, and French Track Info: English: Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround French: Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Closed Captioning: Yes # Discs: 1 # Sides: Single Produced by Barry Levinson, Steve Golin; written by Barry Levinson, Lorenzo Carcat; running time of 148 minutes; Closed Captioned. Copyright: 1996, Warner Bros.

Format: DVD MOVIE

Amazon.com

The first thing you need to know about Sleepers is that it's based on a novel by Lorenzo Carcaterra that was allegedly based on a true story. The movie repeats this bogus claim, which was attacked and determined by a wide majority to be misleading. Knowing this, Sleepers can be a problematic movie because it's too neat, too clean, too manipulative in terms of legal justice and dramatic impact to be truly convincing. And yet, with its stellar cast directed by Barry Levinson, the movie succeeds as gripping entertainment, and its tale of complex morality--despite a dubious emphasis on homophobic revenge--is sufficiently provocative. It's about four boys in New York's Hell's Kitchen district who are sent to reform school, where they must endure routine sexual assaults by the sadistic guards. Years after their release, the opportunity for revenge proves irresistible for two of the young men, who must then rely on the other pair of friends (Brad Pitt, Jason Patric), a loyal priest (Robert De Niro), and a shabby lawyer (Dustin Hoffman) to defend them in court. Despite the compelling ambiguities of the story, there's never any doubt about how we're supposed to feel, and the screenplay glosses over the story's most difficult moral dilemmas. And yet, Sleepers grabs your attention and pulls you into its intense story of friendship and the price of loyalty under extreme conditions. The movie's New York settings are vividly authentic, and Minnie Driver makes a strong impression as a long-time friend of the loyal group of guys. --Jeff Shannon

Customer Reviews:

WHAT A CRAZY TWIST!.......2007-03-26

I WASNT TOO SURE IF I WAS GOING TO LIKE THIS MOVIE BUT ITS A WONDERFUL MOVIE. THE STORY HAD A CRAZY TWIST AND I NEVER THOUGHT THAT THIS MOVIE WOULD BE THIS INTENSE. ITS GREAT I WOULD RECOMEND EVERYONE TO SEE IT, BUT THIS IS NOT A FAMILY MOVIE UNLESS THE CHILDREN ARE OLDER!

So many missteps.......2007-03-14

Man, with this cast you really could have blown the roof off the house. I mean, all the national treasures of acting are here -- except for Kevin Spacey, Tommy Lee Jones, Will Smith, Martin Lawrence, John Travolta, Tim Allen and Carlos Mencia.

The kids were really annoying, right? How many astonished close-ups of them were we gonna get? Get over it. Big deal, a prison guard did some bad things to you. They acted like it didn't happen to everyone.

Dustin Hoffman is a national gem. He get so into character that sometimes he forgets to get back into Dustin. At least, that's all I can think -- because I saw him in Manhattan and I kept yelling, "Hey Dustin, want to go get a hot cocoa and some Buggles (crunchy corn snacks)?" But he acted as if he didn't hear me -- must of been deep into his character, yes?

Sleeper.......2007-01-12

IT WAS A GOOD STORY, TOLD WITH A LOT OF CLASS, AND THE SAD THING ABOUT IT,...IT REALLY HAPPENS TO CHILDREN..
BRAD PITT ANT THE CAST WERE GREAT....B. KIPKER

A feel good movie........2007-01-12

This movie is depressing, dark and a real eye-opener. Good cast, and good court-room drama. A strong cast and solid performances make this movie a must watch.

Entertaining well made film about a difficult subject.......2006-11-28

This film deals with a topic that continually arises in our culture, the sexual molestation of children by adults in authority positions. In some ways the film compliments the more contemporary film "Mysterious Skin" which deals with a similar theme. I will first discuss an overall assessment of the film and then return to the theme of sexual molestation and the long path to recovery from sexual molestation.

As a dramatic engaging film, this product is very good. The acting of Robert DeNero, Kevin Bacon, Jason Patric, Minnie Driver, Billy Crudup, Brad Pitt, and Dustin Hoffman is super. DeNero is wonderful as the priest put in an ethical dilemna. Jason Patric holds the second half of the film together as the most psychologically sound of the victims. Kevin Bacon is creepy and realistic as the sadistic molester. Dustin Hoffman is a rare talent as he plays an incompetent alcoholic drug addicted second rate lawyer. Also note that the child actors were very good also. The plot is well developed and engaging, especially the division of the film into childhood and adulthood experiences. The Count of Monte Cristo by Dumas is also used as a unifying theme of imprisonment, escape, planned revenge, and redemption from pain. The cinematography was very good (notice the camera angels and techniques used on the city streets, the courtroom, and especially in the youth facility) and sound track (with serious almost tragic overtones) are first rate. Overall the film gets 5 out of 5 points.

The theme of sexual molestation of children by adults is a difficult and disturbing topic. In this film, 4 boys are molested, with two emerging as angry killers and two emerging with intact emotional stability. Brad Pitt plays the young lawyer who uses the court room to unearth the sexual crimes committed by several guards in the correctional facility. Jason Patric however plays the victim with the the strongest emotional stability and who is capable of developing loving relationships and moving forward with his life. Revenge was the theme that holds the second half of the film together, carefully plotted and executed by two of the victims, impulsively and self defeating by the other two.

A fine film worthy of your time.

Michael Shayne Mysteries Vol. 1 (Michael Shayne: Private Detective / The Man Who Wouldn't Die / Sleepers West / Blue, White, and Perfect)

Average customer rating:

Review of Michael Shayne Vol 1
Classic B-Movies
Michael Shayne
action thriller
Good film noir

Michael Shayne Mysteries Vol. 1 (Michael Shayne: Private Detective / The Man Who Wouldn't Die / Sleepers West / Blue, White, and Perfect)
Starring: Lloyd Nolan , Marjorie Weaver , Joan Valerie , Walter Abel , and Elizabeth Patterson
Director: Eugene Forde , and Herbert I. Leeds
Manufacturer: 20th Century Fox
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: B000LC4ZDK
Release Date: 2007-03-20

Amazon.com

This very welcome box set turns up the heat on one of detective films' cold cases. Created by Brett Halliday, Michael Shayne appeared in 31 books between the 1940s and '70s. He is not as popularly known as other screen shamuses, but he's good company. As portrayed by Lloyd Nolan (best known as curmudgeonly Dr. Chegley on the groundbreaking sitcom Julia), Shayne is not as hard-boiled as Sam Spade or as sage as Charlie Chan. But, as one shady character observes to someone whom Shayne has just pasted, "You know better than to mix with Shayne." He's a working-class mug ("His office is in his hat, his home is in his car," he remarks), usually "down on his luck" and short on cash. As Michael Shayne, Private Detective (1940) opens, the furniture from his office is being repossessed. Still, Shayne has ethics enough to turn down $5,000 for a suspicious-sounding case. ("$5,000 will buy a lot of ethics," he's told). He's got some odd habits, from twirling his keychain to singing the odd Irish ditty. In each film, Shayne manages to get himself into some "screwy scrapes." In Private Detective, a "gag" backfires when an attempt to scare a gambling heiress straight results in a murder with Shayne's gun at the scene of the crime. In The Man Who Wouldn't Die (1942), Shayne pretends to be a wealthy woman's husband to get the lowdown on a body that won't stay buried. In Sleepers West (1941), he's on the right track when he accompanies a murder witness by train to San Francisco. Blue, White and Perfect (1942) is a real gem that finds Shayne embroiled in wartime espionage, smuggled diamonds and dodging his jealous, matrimonial-minded girlfriend.

These lively B-films each clock in at less than 80 minutes. What they lack in budget they more than make up for in shadow-drenched, dark, and stormy atmosphere, Shayne's moxie and inestimable support from some great character actors, such as Clarence Kolb (the crooked mayor in His Girl Friday) and Douglass Dumbrille (the nasty racetrack owner in A Day at the Races), who appear in Private Detective. For a collection of obscure films, this box set has all the trimmings, with three original featurettes that provide efficient primers on Halliday, Shayne, and Robert McGinnis, the artist who created luscious and lurid covers for the Shayne paperbacks. There is also an interactive trivia guide that makes the six-degrees connections between cast members and the film-noir world. This is volume 1, to which we can only say, "Come back, Shayne." --Donald Liebenson

Description

Disc 1 Side A: MICHAEL SHAYNE, PRIVATE DETECTIVE (1942) Disc 1 Side B: THE MAN WHO WOULDN'T DIE (1942) Disc 2 Side A: SLEEPERS WEST (1941) Disc 2 Side B: BLUE, WHITE, & PERFECT (1942)

**Plus Featurettes **Packaging designed by Michael Shayne and artist Robert McGinnis

Customer Reviews:

Review of Michael Shayne Vol 1.......2007-06-28

I think these movies made in the 1940's were fun to watch. I particularly enjoyed LLoyd Nolan playing the lead role. I also enjoyed seeing old glamorous movie stars like Lynn Bari and Mary Beth Hughes in action again.

Classic B-Movies.......2007-06-12

I am a fan of Lloyd Nolan. He has always shined in B-movies. And his signature role as Michael Shayne is no different. His wit and timing are nothing short of outstanding. I hope that another boxed set of these films are released soon.

I would even like to see the one's with Hugh Beaumont. It would be nice to see Beaumont play a character besides Ward Cleaver on Leave It To Beaver. But, Lloyd Nolan is still the best to play this character.

Michael Shayne.......2007-06-08

The Michael Shayne mysteries are not only clever, but very funny. Lloyd
Nolan is great and the best Michael Shayne there ever was. Can't wait
till Volume 2 comes out.

action thriller.......2007-05-16

this dvd box set of michael shayne is very good and well worth buying for any film buff who likes lloyd Nolan. he plays the part very good and is comical also. the rest of the cast also are well worth watching, I do hope 20th centry Fox turn out more of Mike Shayne in the near future, I have been waiting for this series to come on dvd and now they are out Im more than pleased I purchased them. I realy do say this that Mike shayne is excellent and well worth the price of this set. and Lloyd Nolan takes the part well and I highly recommend it. well worth buying if you Like Nolan

Good film noir.......2007-05-13

Had not heard of these before, but ordered them and they were very good.

Average customer rating:

Big 5 Stars!
Ultimate Avengers - The Movie
Entertaining [3.5 stars]
4 1/2 Stars Captain America Iron Man Nick Fury match whits
A complete waste buy the BOOK!

Ultimate Avengers - The Movie
Starring: Justin Gross , Grey DeLisle , Michael Massee , Olivia d'Abo , and Marc Worden
Director: Steven E. Gordon , Bob Richardson , and Curt Geda
Manufacturer: Lions Gate
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: B000CEVC9M
Release Date: 2006-02-21

Customer Reviews:

Big 5 Stars!.......2007-06-28

Loved it! Love the whole "Ultimate" line. I would love to see more Marvel Ultimate movies come out.

Ultimate Avengers - The Movie.......2007-05-14

If you loved, still love, comics; this is for you. It takes the static images of the Marvel world and brings them to dynamic life. All of the Avengers are well represented here. The only thing that might compete would be the much anticipated live action film planned for the not to distant future.

Entertaining [3.5 stars].......2007-04-26

The animation is good and the story line interesting. What makes the movie worthwhile is the climactic battle between the Hulk and the rest of the Avengers. Not surprisingly, there is a fair amount of "action" violence without any gore. Depending on your sensitivity to violence and language, kids can watch the movie.

4 1/2 Stars Captain America Iron Man Nick Fury match whits.......2007-04-21

Great follow-up, including with the animation to Marvels recent live action Spiderman, X-Men, Daredevil, Hulk, Punisher, and so on. What great exhibition of Marvel Comics favorites Captain America, Iron Man, and intro for those less familiar with Nick Fury, Wasp, Giant Man and the like. For an animated film there's a lot personality and attitude in each superhero. The final showdown with Hulk is the keeper, especially with about 70 min total running time. Stay tooned!!! Those familiar Marvel Comics "Guest Star" volumes or the Capcom Arcade tournament game, watching Hulk vs. Giant Man, Hulk vs. Wasp and Captain America, are the highly anticipated dream scenario.

A complete waste buy the BOOK!.......2007-03-04

The trade paper back was excellent what Marvel did here was take all of the character development, internal struggles, and just about all the debth to the story and threw it out the window and taked on an alien conspiracy to make more action (because pretty explosions is the only thing we need to make a good movie right?).
Buy the book, movies like this is what makes comics still look bad. worst adaptation of the year. Quality control people.

The Dead Zone (Special Collector's Edition)

Average customer rating:

One of the Better Stephen King Screen Adaptations
This Movie Is a Thought Experiment
ONE OF THE BEST "KING" ADAPTIONS TO DATE!
"You're Going To Get An Ice Cream Headache...."
The Dead Zone: Highly recommended dvd

The Dead Zone (Special Collector's Edition)
Starring: Christopher Walken , Brooke Adams , Tom Skerritt , Herbert Lom , and Anthony Zerbe
Director: David Cronenberg
Manufacturer: Paramount
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: B000GBEWH0
Release Date: 2006-09-26

Amazon.com

The Dead Zone is based on a novel by Stephen King, directed by David Cronenberg (Scanners, The Fly) and produced by Debra Hill (Halloween, The Fog). Such a trio of horror vets would be expected to come up with an evening of shocks and gore, but The Dead Zone is a surprise. While it has great atmospheric eeriness and undeniably scary moments, The Dead Zone is at heart a sensitive and thoughtful portrayal of main character Johnny Smith's dilemma. Christopher Walken, king of the vaguely creepy, plays Smith, a man who awakens from a five-year coma with the very mixed blessing of second sight. At the mere touch of a hand, Smith is unwillingly launched into scenes of past and future terror. (Director Cronenberg is said to have fired blanks from a .357 Magnum just out of camera range to keep Walken's flinching spontaneous.) The Dead Zone wisely takes its time telling the story, and thus allows for some great performances. Walken gives a rich portrayal of the conflicted Smith, and Colleen Dewhurst and Tom Skerritt both do welcome turns in smaller roles. The most fun of all, though, is clearly being had by Martin Sheen, who gives a spirited performance as a complete sleazebag. --Ali Davis

Description

Christopher Walken wakes from a coma due to a car accident, only to find he has lost five years of his life, and yet gained psychic powers. Foreseeing the future appears to be a 'gift' at first, but ends up causing problems…

Customer Reviews:

One of the Better Stephen King Screen Adaptations.......2007-05-18

David Cronenberg directs the Stephen King novel about a man who awakes from a coma with a life draining ability to see future tragedies when making contact with people. He also finds he can change these morbid outcomes. The screenplay (not written by Cronenberg or King) remains the films only real flaw besides some questionable supporting cast members. The novel is not a book that would make a perfect story to tell on film so the screenplay sort of stays in the shallow end and spits forth each episode that our hero Johnny Smith expereinces one at a time and without the level of understanding and depth King's book has. That is not to say The Dead Zone isn't a good movie. It's actually a very good movie.

The film remains a semi-classic in the suspense genre. Cronenberg has a way of handling scenes that is very European despite lacking the technical skills of his peers. He can give the actors very specific emotional direction and tell so much with using little or no dialogue. This helps the screenplay because it only offers some flashes of great dialogue. Cronenberg loves taking on films that lack certain aspects and giving them depth in places you never thought could have it. He is a unique force in independant films and earns his stars among the mainstream fans with this film. Martin Sheen surprisingly gives a solid performance here as well. He plays a crooked politician bent on gaining the presidency and earns our hatred quickly. He is actually quite remarkable here.

O.K., now it's time to play favorites. Johnny Smith is played by one of the most identifiable actors of all time. The greatest character and supporting acting of all time in my eyes and here we see him in a rare feature role. He is Christopher Walken and with all the imitations of his wild talk and bizarre off-screen shenanigans aside, he is quite simply an amazing actor. He takes his role very seriously here and turns the film from mediocrity into a very good movie. He takes the character for what readers may have loved about him and that is that he is your every day guy who happened upon some very usual and at times deeply sad circumstances...it just wasn't in the cards or it wasn't meant to be like Smith's Doctor felt. For those who read the novel you'll see subtle references to some of the more robust thinking in the story but never quite enough. There is an underlying message in the film that I really wish wasn't somewhat lost among the communication of the screenplay and the direction. King's novel touches on these things tremendously well and makes us question fate and wonder if time and death is really just so one-dimensional. The film makes you think if you want it to, but not like the novel which is truly one of King's greatest. I honestly believe Walken may have been the only guy on the set who understood this about the story.

If you are looking for a film full of suspense and several exciting climaxes and you like Christopher Walken, then I highly recommend The Dead Zone...but keep in mind that so few King novels have been done real justice with a film and where this is probably not one of them it remains a very good movie. It isn't quite Carrie or The Shining but it is still very good.

This Movie Is a Thought Experiment.......2007-05-18

I am used to Stephen King's work being horror stories. It was surprising for me to discover that this was not a horror story, but a thriller. I will not describe the story for the fear of revealing the plot. One thing I will say is that the description on the reverse of the package concentrates too much on the particulars of what happens to an individual and totally neglects the bigger implication - that this is Stephen King's thought experiment of what would happen if a person possessed a power that most other people do not possess - of the particular power of seeing the future, the past or the present - but elsewhere. What kinds of possibilities are opened for such a person? How would the society and individuals interpret his actions? This is, indeed, a thought experiment in sociology of ESP. I enjoyed this movie and was surprised.

ONE OF THE BEST "KING" ADAPTIONS TO DATE!.......2007-04-08

This is an impressive king adaption. Walkin is mezmerising as the man who can not only see the future,but he can change it. The rest of the cast is excellent in this first rate production of one of my favorite thrillers! This film deserves a completely remastered DVD treatment.

"You're Going To Get An Ice Cream Headache....".......2007-03-12

Stephen King has always been an enigma to me. Once in a while there's some pretty good adaptations of his novels("Carrie, "The Shining", "Misery") though it's his short works that seem to have produced the better films("Stand by Me", "The Shawshank Redemption", "The Green Mile"). "The Dead Zone" falls in the category of slightly above average thanks to the stellar direction of horror-meister David Cronenberg and a top-notch cast led by Christopher Walken. There were moments of deja vu here where I felt the film was derivative of a "Twilight Zone" or "Outer Limits" episode but there's also some genuine inspired moments as well. King has some interesting things to say about telepathy and the responsiblities of those imbued with it. Walken has a sympathetic turn here as the telepath whose psychic abilities are foisted on him. Good supporting work by vets Herbert Lom as Walken's physical therapist, Tom Skeritt as a local sheriff, cult fave Anthony Zerbe("The Omega Man", TV's "Harry-O") as a father who hires Walken to tutor his son. Martin Sheen's work here kind of anticipates "The West Wing". Think of Josiah Bartlett's evil twin. Not bad but could have used more cowbell.

The Dead Zone: Highly recommended dvd.......2007-02-16

The Dead Zone, in my estimation, represents Stephen King at his best.
It is an absolutely chilling story of psychic phemomena centering
around a man , Christopher Walken, who can not only see the future
but in some instances can change it. It is Walken's best work and
almost on par with his performance in the Deerhunter.
Martin Sheen is also quite excellent as a meglomaniac senator
who would become President and literally end the world by placing
his finger on the button and enabling nuclear holocaust to ensue.
Many similarities may be drawn to our current leader Mr. Bush.
The film was shot in 1983. It is now 2007. Stephen King
surely had tremendous insight into the future.

Average customer rating:

To be or Not to be...a Secret Agent Man.
Excellent!
Superb

Sleepers
Starring: Nigel Havers , Warren Clarke , Michael Gough , David Calder , and Joanna Kanska
Director: Geoffrey Sax
Manufacturer: Acorn Media
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: B000L2127W
Release Date: 2007-03-27

Amazon.com

Brewery worker Albert Robinson and financier Jeremy Coward seem like average British guys, until the Russian government claims they're Russian KGB agents defected to England, in Sleepers. This four-episode miniseries stars Vladimir Zelenski as Albert and Sergei Rublev as Jeremy, agents suddenly in danger of losing their anonymity when KGB agent Nina dedicates her work to solving the mystery of their whereabouts. Dry comedy in Sleepers transforms a potentially serious subject into satire about post-Cold War bumbling and bureaucracy, as various secret groups in the UK and the US get a whiff of what the sneaky Russians are up to and begin interfering. Scenes alternating between the KGB, the CIA, and the MI5 make it clear that no one really knows why they're hunting these two retired men, or what threat they pose. Sleepers' humor capitalizes on outmoded Cold War obsessions with keeping tabs regardless of purpose. Many comic moments center on military tracking of an unknown friend of Albert's, named Morris, who turns out to be his daughter's stuffed monkey. --Trinie Dalton

Description

The Cold War is over but all the players are still ready for a rumble
As seen on Masterpiece Theatre

Soviet agents Sergei Rublev and Vladimir Zelenski so successfully infiltrated the culture they were sent to spy on in 1965 that they have become more English than the English. Now living as financier Jeremy Coward and brewery worker Albert Robinson, the "sleeping" spies are horrified to learn that, after 25 years, the KGB is looking for them. The hunt also awakens the bumbling bureaucrats of MI5 and their ultra-paranoid CIA counterparts, who work themselves into a lather trying to figure out what the KGB is up to.

The poignancy of the sleepers' predicament plays out amid a hilarious cross-cultural send-up of the secret agent game. Nigel Havers (Manchild, A Perfect Hero) and Warren Clarke (Dalziel and Pascoe, The Onedin Line) star in this touching human comedy, remembered as one of the best British exports of the 1990s.

DVD SPECIAL FEATURES INCLUDE cast filmographies and scene selection.

Note: due to music rights, this program has been modified for home video presentation.

Customer Reviews:

To be or Not to be...a Secret Agent Man........2007-05-30

Like the earlier reviewer, I have waited a long time for this terrific BBC miniseries to come to DVD. It's a very interesting story of two men who were placed by the KGB in Britain as (possible) spies. Their instructions: Melt into the English population as if they were natives. And this they do. They are forgotten. And when they have become entirely British...indeed one of the men is now married with children...they get
an urgent call on their antique Russian radio to "reactivate" as spies.
Panic, panic, panic...as the two men who are friends, try to run from the
Soviet spy machine. They are everything but willing to have anything to do with the Soviets. And one of the persons after them is a beautiful Russian agent. A lot of fun and satire. Don't miss it.

Excellent! .......2007-05-29

Warren Clarke and Nigel Havers are living well in England's 1980s-1990s, respectively as a respected trade union man with wife and family, and as a rich, dashing investment banker. Little did we know that they are not what they appear to be. Wonderfully acted. All the actors are perfectly cast. If you're tired of blood and gore and unmentionable bad language, you must view this instead. (Warren Clarke is a talented actor, with ordinary looks, but dependable. He also appeared in Reilley, Ace of Spies.)

Superb.......2007-04-06

I've waited for years to see this thriller again. It's an example of what BBC was once able to do: create the nearly perfect drama. Everything about this classic is right. The casting is perfect; in a just world, Clarke would have been given many awards. There is much humor. And the spy story keeps your interest from beginning to end. How delightful to see this available. Don't miss it.

Average customer rating:

Tomb raiders take note
The Mummy
Neck and neck with Dracula ?
Make supple the limbs...
Maybe Hammer's finest hour

The Mummy
Starring: Peter Cushing , Christopher Lee , Yvonne Furneaux , Eddie Byrne , and Felix Aylmer
Director: Terence Fisher
Manufacturer: Warner Home Video
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: B00005NSXY
Release Date: 2001-10-09

Amazon.com

Hammer Studios' greatest nemeses, Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee, once again square off in this reworking of Universal's The Mummy (with elements of The Mummy's Tomb and The Mummy's Ghost thrown in for good measure). Cushing stars as archeologist John Banning, whose dig for a lost tomb results in untold treasures but leaves his father a mumbling madman and marks the rest of the company for death. Lee is Kharis, a former high priest turned gauze-wrapped guardian of the tomb, a veritable Golem sent on a mission of vengeance by Mehemet Bey (George Pastell), a disciple of the ancient Egyptian god Osiris. The scenes at the archeological dig and the flashbacks to the ancient burial are stagebound and cheap looking, but Terence Fisher is back in familiar territory when the action relocates to the misty swamps and Victorian mansions of rural England. The towering, 6-foot-3-inch-tall Lee makes the most terrifying mummy to date. He covers ground in giant strides, smashes his way into rooms with heavy Frankensteinlike swipes of his arm, and takes shotgun blasts with barely a twitch--yet he melts from rage to calm at the sight of Banning's wife, Isobel (Yvonne Furneaux), a dead ringer for his dead Queen. The film is still most famous for it's tongue-removal scene, discreetly hidden from the camera but nevertheless shiver inducing. --Sean Axmaker

Description

Three archaeologists searching for the 4,000-year-old tomb of Princess Ananka among the ruins in Egypt are warned of grave consequences if they violate her tomb. Madness strikes one and as the others return to England with a mummy a series of murders take place as the mummy destroys those who desecrated the secret tomb.

DVD Features:
Full Screen Version
Other:Digital Mono in English and French Trailer on Side A

Customer Reviews:

Tomb raiders take note.......2007-05-26

this was the first version of The Mummy legend that I ever saw, and until the last version with Brendan Fraser, it was the best. In fact, I would place it as a very close second. The newer version wins because of its outstanding special effects, but let's face it, it's really a spoof. Rather than an update of "The mummy", it's more like an update of "Abbot and Costello Meet the mummy".
The hammer "Mummy" is basically serious. Of course the whole Mummy legend is based on the bizzare death of Lord Carnavon after the opening of the tomb of Pharoah Tutankahmen. (a mosquito bite bcame infected and killed him)
It is well to remember that there are no big special effects in the Hammer film except for the mummy makeup and the simulated shotgun blasts that do not destroy Christopher Lee. The movie achieves true horror through the acting abilities of a truly outstanding cast of actors. Christopher Lee deserves special mention for his ability to express the complex feelings of Kharis even through heavy makeup.
There are some comments that the Egyptian scenes are stagy and unreal. Have you ever taken a good look at the surviving relics of Egyptian civilization? To the modern eye, they do seem stagy and unreal. That is part of our fascination with ancient Egypt.
This movie belongs in every collection of sixties melodrama as an example of what can be done with a simple plot, great actors, and a competent director.

The Mummy.......2007-02-08

Okay... bullets don't stop him, bogs don't drown him, and running a spear through him simply causes a handful of desiccated kidney dust to pour out of the exit site and, if those blazing brown eyes are any indication, get madder than he was to begin with. How do you stop Kharis (Christopher Lee), the Mummy, who has traveled from Egypt to the peaceful countryside of England to wreak havoc (aka, kill) the three English archeologists who desecrated the tomb of his beloved, Princess Ananka. Traveling with is his keeper, Mehemet Bey (George Pastell), who conveniently carries along with him, in a mini-mummy casket, a scroll of life which, when read, brings them back from the dead.

Man, what a thankless role Lee was stuck with in this one. His mummy makeup is as stiff as a plaster cast, he doesn't even get to growl, and the only emotion he's allowed to express in this one - save for an extended flashback scene where's he's the high priest preparing the Princess for burial - is through the eyes. Of course, Kharis had a forbidden, meddlesome love for the Princess, which helped accelerate his outraged congregation turning him into Dust-for-Guts, so I guess he had it coming to him. That forbidden love was a good thing for archeologist John Banning (Peter Cushing) though, who had the great good sense to marry Princess Ananka look-alike Isobel (Yvonne Furneaux.) If guns, bogs, and spears won't stop the Mummy (why didn't anyone think about a bucket of creosote and a lit match!? Sigh.) a squealed "Stop!" from Isobel/Ananka seems fairly effective.

THE MUMMY is one of those fun Hammer House films I haven't watched for a generation or so and delight in rediscovering. Cushing it at the top of his form, and Lee makes the most of his limited opportunities to generate sympathy for the monster. The Mummy is one of the hardest of the classic monsters to warm up to. Dracula is heartless but has a cold charm and more than enough style to hold our attention. Frankenstein's Monster is a pathetic creature in battle with his creator. The Wolfman's got that wolfbane curse that was a result of an accident totally beyond his control. The Mummy defies his gods by attempting to resurrect the Princess, and spends most movies trying to reunite with her. To their credit, Hammer's Mummy also has Mehemet Bey, who preys upon the residual guilt of the English for robbing Egypt of her sacred treasures. So this Mummy has a two-track, lost love/revenge theme going. Good fun, THE MUMMY is about as family-safe film as you'll find. There's no nudity, extremely minimal gore, and there's more talk than scare. Interesting talk, too, especially the third act guilt-trip Mehemet Bey tries to lay on Banning. Solid recommendation.

Neck and neck with Dracula ?.......2006-10-15

While watching this, for the first time just now, I kept telling myself that it was better than Hammer's first Dracula. I think this was because the supporting actors were much better and better-known; because the script was better-written; because the Egyptology was excellent; and because Yvonne Furneaux was dazzlingly beautiful. However, Dracula is still more powerful, and packs a greater punch. Also, its climactic ending is more dramatic: somehow, although the ending of The Mummy had potential as written, it didn't seem to close the story out as effectively as it might have done. So it's a photo-finish. The Egyptian scenes, given the budget, and with attendant artwork and hokey rituals, were really good. Jimmy Sangster, or the Art Director, had done quite bit of homework in this area. Part of what makes these Hammer frolics so impressive is the meticulous attention to the background detail, and the care lavished on settings and costumes. It's all so lush. The dialogue in this tale was also very interesting: the argument between the Egyptian devotee, and the rational infidel, Cushing, rang several bells. Yvonne's reincarnation from Egyptian princess to Mrs Banning was pure Rider Haggard, of course, but none the worse for that. I think she would have made a better Ayesha than Ursula Andress. All more entertaining than I'd expected, since the film isn't half as well known as Dracula.

Make supple the limbs..........2006-01-26

In the world of horror, the mummy sits right next to vampires and werewolves -- creepy supernatural things that can rip you to bits.

And they are rarely scarier than they are in "The Mummy," a classic horror movie with no blood, no gore, not even any curses. Yet this is creepier -- and more frightening -- than any dozen fright flicks from Hollywood now. Of course, having Christopher Lee lurching through locked doors helps.

A pair of archaeologists uncover the tomb of Egyptian Princess Ananka, but once inside, Stephen Banning (Felix Aylmer) collapses into gibbering madness. Three years later, a mysterious box arrives in England, at the same time that Banning tells his son John (Peter Cushing) that something is coming to kill him. He's found strangled in a padded cell.

It turns out that Stephen was murdered by a "living mummy," a disgraced priest who was buried alive in Ananka's tomb to protect his beloved. Now a zealot has brought the mummy to England, and is using it to kill off anyone who dared go into the tomb. Now John must stop them both, using his wife's resemble to Ananka...

"The Mummy" got a big-budget, low-talent remake in the late 90s, which shares a few things with this movie, but the Hammer Horror version is probably the most memorable and well-made. Partly that is due to the hulking, silent, menacing mummy, and partly due to solid scripting and some very good acting.

Okay, the Egyptian sets are hokey, and the Hammer people had little knowledge of ancient Egypt ("Karnak" is a place, not a god). But the film blossoms as it gets back to England, full of misty bogs and dark country mansions. It's an unlikely spot for a 4000-year-old Egyptian to wreak havoc, but it works surprisingly well.

The script injects a poignancy to the mummy's story, since he suffered a fate worse than death for love, and even now gets all mushy over a woman who looks like Ananka. At the same time, he's also a ruthless killer who strangles his victims without batting an eye.

Cushing plays the role, again, of a man who battles the forces of evil, no matter how bizarre or out-there they may be. And he does a solid job. Lee is outstanding, especially considering that his head is covered in papier-mache. The change of expression whenever he sees Isobel, a dead ringer for Ananka, is magnificently poignant.

"The Mummy" remains one of Hammer Horror's best films, with its solid acting and taut direction. Still creepy after all these years.

Maybe Hammer's finest hour.......2005-05-19

The Mummy has always been the Rodney Dangerfield of classic monsters: it doesn't matter the year or the studio, he just doesn't get any respect. But Hammer's 1959 version, starring the incomparable team of Peter Cushing (as the hero) and Christopher Lee (as the monster), might be the best treatment of the ancient Egyptian living dead on film, as well as Hammer's best film. At any rate, the best looking (and sounding) to come from the tiny English studio. Jimmy Sangster's script scrambles up themes (and even character names) from several Universal Mummy films of the 1930s and 40s, but in the process he comes up with the most literate and historically accurate treatment of theme on record. Particularly clever is the decision to make the hero, Cushing, an agile adversary with a bum leg, turning upside-down the convention from the old Universal Kharis films which presented a lame, shuffling mummy who still managed to catch up with his furiously running victims (though for the record, some have claimed that Cushing was really injured at the time of filming, and his limp merely incorporated into the story). The direction of Terence Fisher is atmospherically assured as usual without being obtrusive, but Jack Asher's photography is really something to behold: in particular, the scenes of ancient Egypt are stunningly beautiful. The supporting cast is one of Hammer's best, with Sir Felix Aylmer and Raymond Huntley joining such studio regulars as the great Michael Ripper and George Pastell, but the acting honors go without question to Christopher Lee, who excells in a role that has defeated lesser actors -- the silent, bandaged mummy -- and makes it not only frightening, but heart-wrenchingly tragic, simply through body language and his expressive eyes. If you're into mummy films, this one is a must.

Average customer rating:

the classic iced caveman film....
Good Flick, worth the purchase!
A Good, Honest Film
This DVD is in Pan & Scan not Widescreen
iceman

Iceman
Starring: Timothy Hutton , Lindsay Crouse , John Lone , Josef Sommer , and David Strathairn
Director: Fred Schepisi
Manufacturer: Universal Studios
ProductGroup: DVD
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ASIN: B0003JANU0
Release Date: 2004-12-28

Description

Academy Award winner Timothy Hutton and John Lone star along with Lindsay Crouse in this suspenseful drama about a team of Arctic researchers who find a 40,000 year-old man frozen in ice and bring him back to life. Anthropologist Stanley Shephard (Hutton) wants to befriend the Iceman (Lone) and learn about the man's past; Dr. Diane Brady (Crouse) and her surgical team want to discover the secret that will allow man to live in a frozen state. When the Iceman becomes part of their lives, the results are both moving and emotionally shattering. Shot on location in Canada's breathtaking snowy wilderness, Iceman uncovers life's greatest mystery.

Customer Reviews:

the classic iced caveman film...........2007-07-03

...this has to be one of the best 'caveman' films ever made. it has dated in a few places - notably 'computer game' entertainment (but hey it is set in a base in antartica, maybe they're a bit behind!!) but otherwise it stands up very solidly. Fred Schepisi directs it incredibly well with awesum photography and pace. The real win is Hutton and Lone - their performances are (i think) the best of both their careers! John Lone's make up is on the Neandertal side of cro magnon but realistic and captivating, only enhancing an electric performance. Timothy Hutton is brilliant as the misunderstood anthropologist and the cast around them is outstanding.
Overall a great example of what to expect should we ever discover an iced caveman: scientific arguements, trivial executive powerplays, moral ethics vs medical ethics, privacy abuses, and political/social mindgames! very reminiscent of the situation with Otzi the 'real iceman' whos frozen body was found in the swiss/french Alps.
A thought provoking film that hits its target - i recommend for all interested in our paleo history and our regression as a forward thinking civilization. top marks.

Good Flick, worth the purchase!.......2007-03-12

Like many other reviewers, I saw this movie a long time ago, and remembered liking it. So for various reasons that I will not bore you with, I purchased it recently, and was not disappointed. Although the movie actually has less happening in it than I remember (meaning less events), it was surprisingly much more powerful, and much more heart-wrenchingly-sad for me this time around (or perhaps I got more sentimental as I have aged- gasp! ;-).

For many (but not all) people under 25 (the generation that I feel is mainly into special effects, and constant action (be it sexual or violent), and has less appreciation for good dialogue, acting, and plot), this movie may move too slow at times, have too little happening, and will consequently probably have them bored by the end of the movie. However if you are not in the category I mentioned above, and you have a heart that can actually feel empathy for others, and you like something that is thought provoking...If you like a film that will probably get you to reflect on modern and ancient humans, the evolution of religious beliefs, human psychology, human rights, and other deep topics, than this movie, (although it is by no means in the same league with movies like Casablanca) is a good film, and definitely worth the purchase! ...Compliments for the man who played the Iceman- great character acting!

A Good, Honest Film.......2006-12-14

I remember watching this movie somewhere back in the early 90s on free television, when I was around 12 ("Iceman" came out when I was only 3). I thoroughly enjoyed the film then, and, even as young as I was, I was able to comprehend the meaning of the film. When I grew older, I was elated to find the movie was released on DVD. It is in my top 10 movies of all time. This is not to say it is the best movie ever; it is just one of my personal favorites. "Iceman" doesn't care about fancy special effects or all the other traps that big-budget Hollywood movies are littered with. This is one of those films that you watch when you just want to relax and enjoy a good, honest movie with some substance and some good dialogue.

Despite a few plot holes here and there, this movie is about one thing: Mans introspective search for understanding our origins. Any movie that explores that in any capacity gets a nod from me.

True, you only get the movie on this release. There are no bonus features or menus of any kind, but I believe a review should be based mainly on how good the film is or isn't. With that said, let's hope they release a special version in the near future.

This DVD is in Pan & Scan not Widescreen.......2006-11-30

A very good story and movie. Ruined by releasing it in Pan & Scan. I ordered it but did not notice the
version was the chopped up "full screen" version. I won't even bother to send it back. It goes in the trash along
with any movie that is not in it's original, uncut, widescreen format. What a waste of a good movie.

iceman.......2006-03-10

very good movie to view and deals with alot of emotions on the treatment of a human being no mater what time period he came from. if you care for people and understand what the scientists were trying to do to help further science to help mankind.

you must remember a human being has rights in a modern society that has passed through alot of history of abuses of thouse rights. case point adolf hitler and the jewish people. there are always concequences for what society or one goverment thinks is for the betterment of man kind. this movie brings you to that point where it shows hes more human instead of a gini pig.

Average customer rating:

One of the Better Stephen King Screen Adaptations
This Movie Is a Thought Experiment
ONE OF THE BEST "KING" ADAPTIONS TO DATE!
"You're Going To Get An Ice Cream Headache...."
The Dead Zone: Highly recommended dvd

The Dead Zone
Starring: Christopher Walken , Brooke Adams , Tom Skerritt , Herbert Lom , and Anthony Zerbe
Director: David Cronenberg
Manufacturer: Paramount
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ASIN: B00004W5UG
Release Date: 2000-09-19

Amazon.com

Customer Reviews:

One of the Better Stephen King Screen Adaptations.......2007-05-18

This Movie Is a Thought Experiment.......2007-05-18

ONE OF THE BEST "KING" ADAPTIONS TO DATE!.......2007-04-08

"You're Going To Get An Ice Cream Headache....".......2007-03-12

The Dead Zone: Highly recommended dvd.......2007-02-16

Average customer rating:

Wnter Sleepers
beautifully done
Not another "Run Lola Run"
Tykwer is the world's best living director
Twists of fate

Winter Sleepers
Starring: Ulrich Matthes , Marie-Lou Sellem , Floriane Daniel , Heino Ferch , and Josef Bierbichler
Director: Tom Tykwer
Manufacturer: Fox Lorber
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ASIN: B00004Y7CY
Release Date: 2000-11-07

Amazon.com

Tom Tykwer, writer-director of the international hit Run Lola Run, shows a more pensive side with Winter Sleepers. The film examines the lives of five characters in the aftermath of an auto accident. As with Run Lola Run, Tykwer's main concern is with chance and coincidence, and the ways people unwittingly influence the course of each other's lives. Theo, a farmer, sets off to take his horse to the vet, unaware that his daughter is hidden in the trailer. Momentarily distracted, Theo swerves to avoid a sports car coming the other way and crashes into a mountain slope, critically injuring his daughter. The sports car is covered by snow, and René, the driver, digs his way out and leaves the scene. Meanwhile translator Rebecca negotiates a stormy-but-sexy relationship with loutish ski instructor Marco, both of them unaware that Marco's stolen car was involved in the crash, and Rebecca's roommate Laura nurses the young accident victim by day and begins a tentative relationship with René by night. While Winter Sleepers doesn't have the same manic pace as Lola, Tykwer's visual style is very much in evidence--he makes beautiful images of everything from the snow-covered Bavarian mountains to a cut finger. As it moves through a series of tiny but crucial events to a truly haunting ending, Winter Sleepers is in many ways reminiscent of Atom Egoyan's The Sweet Hereafter, both in its central plot device and in its melancholy atmosphere of fatal inevitability. --Ali Davis

Description

Tom Twyker's thriller Winter Sleepers is a haunting film about passion, emotions, love and death set in motion by a mysterious car accident. It opens with a terrible sense of foreboding, which envelopes the stillness of winter. Almost hallucinatory events begin to unfold and engulf four young people -- Laura, Marco, Rebecca and Rene -- who have little or nothing in common with each other. When local farmer Theo enters the picture, their lives change directions forever. Their paths cross only briefly, but this crossing gives new and unforeseen meaning to their lives.

Customer Reviews:

Wnter Sleepers.......2007-01-22

winter sleepers is a good movie but kind of weird. I liked it ok and i can recomend it to german movie fans, especially "Heino Ferch" fans.

beautifully done.......2005-09-02

a great looking film about characters whose lives keep affecting eachother in ways that they themselves seem to be oblivious to. a film about twists of fate, winter sleepers is at parts slow and probably too clever at times for its own good, but none of this really matters. the film is hauntingly beautiful to look at, with amazing scenery, music , and atmosphere. great performances as well. just a well done, pretty film that deserves way more attention than it has received.

Not another "Run Lola Run".......2005-08-20

This is a different Tom Tykwer than I had seen in the past. "Winter Sleepers" is just as intense as "Run Lola Run" - but the intensity is unspoken - not an in-your-face adrenaline rush like "Lola."

Tykwer is the world's best living director .......2005-06-30

This is the film where you can watch Tykwer in action before he even understood his style. Nothing is as sharp as Heaven or the Princess and he indulges himself in whatever formal style he feels is appropriate to the scene. It's like the best film school class exercise I've ever had. He is remarkable.

Twists of fate.......2003-12-23

Before Tom Tykwer created international hit "Run Lola Run" (or "Lola Rennt"), he created the ponderous "Winter Sleepers" (or "Winterschläfer"). Like Tykwer's later films, this one deals with fate, destiny, death, and love. It's an interesting execution, with a flawed climax and the occasional question of "where is this going?"

Laura (Marie-Lou Sellem) arrives at her little country cottage, where her pretty friend Rebecca (Floriane Daniel) lives. Things are complicated after the first evening: while handsome but loutish Marco (Heino Ferch) is in bed with Rebecca, a strange man (Ulrich Matthes) wanders over and takes Marco's car. But when he is driving, he causes an accident that puts a child in a life-threatening coma.

The child's father (Josef Bierbichler), stricken with grief, goes on the hunt for the man who accidently killed his daughter. That man, Rene, is now in love with Laura, but can't remember anything about the accident. Rene is also inadvertantly causing cracks in Laura and Marco's fragile, tempestuous relationship. One person will die -- two will find happiness -- and one will find freedom.

"Winter Sleepers" has a lot of the same themes and feel of Tykwer's later films, but more unpolished and loosely knit together. Though we know the fates of all these people are interconnected, much of the screen time is devoted to Laura and Rene's blossoming romance, or Marco and Rebecca's deteriorating one, and not to the central theme of the movie.

The cinematography is breathtaking, with a lot of Tykwer's signatures like a camera panning in a complete circle around Rene, and a character death never being shown except by a thud and darkness. As he often does, Tykwer filmed many scenes in a portentous manner, as if every tiny event could start off something important. Perhaps the biggest problem is the conclusion. While beautifully filmed, it seems out-of-character and a bit of an easy way out, as if Tykwer wasn't entirely sure how to end the various interconnected storylines.

One thing that Tykwer does well is give humanity in subtle ways to the characters, even the stupid, cheating Marco, who is genuinely miserable and guilt-stricken after his girlfriend falls off a ledge. Matthes is instantly sympathetic as the sensitive, memory-impaired Rene. Daniel and Sellem are quite nice in their roles as, respectively, the sexpot and the quiet wannabe-actress nurse.