Priest

Starring:Linus Roache, Tom Wilkinson, Robert Carlyle, Cathy Tyson, Lesley Sharp, Robert Pugh, James Ellis, Christine Tremarco, Paul Barber, Rio Fanning, Jim R. Coleman, Bill Dean (II), Gilly Coman, Fred Pearson, Jimmy Gallagher, Anthony Booth, Giuseppe Murphy, Kim Johnson, Keith Cole, Adrian Luty
Director: Antonia Bird
Studio: Walt Disney Video
Product Type: DVD

Editorial Review:
Amazon.com
Despite its title, forget about finding this controversial drama on the Vatican's screening list. The film explores a provocative checklist of religious taboos--celibacy, incest, sexual abuse, homosexuality, the debatable secrecy of the confessional--as director Antonia Bird delivers a bold condemnation of what she views as the outdated politics and harmful nature of Catholic doctrine. The story concerns the ideologically strained relationship between two clergymen, the misleading conservative Father Greg (Linus Roache) and his older and more practical colleague, Father Matthew (Tom Wilkinson). Upon arriving at his new Liverpool parish, Greg is shocked to learn that Matthew ignores celibacy and openly sleeps with his black housekeeper. Greg chooses to satisfy his earthly desires in a more secretive way. Sometimes, he likes to lose the cloth, grab a leather jacket, and pick up guys at the local gay pub. He's got other problems as well. While torturing himself with his own moral dilemma, he's hit with another, as during confession a young girl confides that her father is sexually abusing her at home. While this drags out the old "bound by secrecy" cliché of many religious melodramas, Bird uses it to bolster her theme of unwarranted secrecy in the face of faith and social scorn. Ultimately, both the priest and the girl are victims of their own fear, and must find courage to destroy it. Thankfully, Bird's wicked sense of humor keeps the film's tone from slipping into saccharine sentimentality, while Roache's intense performance and a honest, shattering finale rescue the film from swerving too far into shallow TV movie-of-the-week sensationalism. --Dave McCoy
Description
Critics everywhere declared PRIEST to be one of the best films of the year! The deeply held religious convictions of an idealistic young priest are challenged when he must face extraordinary events within his own congregation. Soon, he is forced to make the impossible choice between keeping the faith and exposing the truth! A gripping and powerful story -- see this unforgettable big-screen hit for yourself!

Deliver Us from Evil
Average customer rating:

Where is Jesus in all this?

Power and Money Corrupt (again)

The Sacrifice of Father Thomas Doyle

A powerful film diluted by excess and lack of focus

Priests Should Marry

Deliver Us from Evil
Starring: Oliver O'Grady , and Thomas Doyle
Director: Amy Berg (II)
Manufacturer: Lionsgate
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: B000NIVJH2
Release Date: 2007-05-08

Amazon.com

A devastating investigation into the pedophilia scandals tearing apart the Catholic Church, Deliver Us From Evil begins by looking into one priest, Father Oliver O'Grady, who agreed to be interviewed by journalist/filmmaker Amy Berg. O'Grady's genial calm is at first ingratiating, until he begins to describe his crimes with an unsettling sociopathic detachment. But O'Grady's blithe interview is only half of the story, as the documentary also unveils how church superiors covered up O'Grady's crimes and shuffled him from diocese to diocese in northern California, finally placing him in an unsupervised position of authority in a small town, where he sexually assaulted dozens of children; the video deposition of Los Angeles Cardinal Roger Mahoney is a grotesque portrait in brittle denial. What makes Deliver Us From Evil crucial viewing, however, are the remarkable interviews with a few of the victims (now adults) and their parents, whose stories are wrenching and riveting. With the support of a priest seeking to reform the church, two of the victims actually go to the Pope, seeking some form of help in addressing O'Grady's crimes. This stunningly potent documentary combines raw feeling with lucid and persuasive discussions of the reasons for--and disturbing breadth of--this crisis within the Church. --Bret Fetzer

Description

The true story of the most notorious pedophile priest in the modern history of the Catholic church.

Customer Reviews:

Where is Jesus in all this?.......2007-06-08

This film is harrowing and heartbreaking. O'Grady is a pure psychopath. His light, airy descriptions of the horrors he inflicted on dozens of children as young as nine months old is chilling. He is incapable of truly understanding that he has done anything wrong, instead tut-tutting the damage he wrought as merely "unfotunate events" or "tragic occurrences", somehow removed from himself.

The man is clearly damaged goods, broken and lacking in empathy: in short, a textbook psychopath, happy to be the centre of attention...

But O'Grady is not the real villain, as vile as he is. No, the real evil here is the Roman Catholic hierarchy and their lust for power and money who enable the destrcution of innocent children in the thousands. From John Paul II, through Joseph Ratzinger, formerly Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith and the current Pope, down to the execrable Cardinal Mahony, we see people who have the audacity to say they speak for God and follow Christ while knowingly allowing the rape of children to protect their worldly power.

The victims of the horror are shut out, ignored and belittled by a callous corporation whose executives presume to be spiritually superior while hiding behind lawyers.

The mindset of the world's first multinational corporation is illuminated by the courageous Father thomas Doyle who labours on behalf of the victims, but is unable even to get a letter from the victims past the Vatican guards.

Of course, no Chuch officials agree to be interviewed...

The documentary is a masterpiece. It is a gripping and maddening glimpse into the mind of a psychopath and a chilling illustration of Matthew 7:

"Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves.
16 Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles?
17 Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit.
18 A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit.
19 Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire.
20 Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them."

Our old pal George Bush shows up like a dirty shirt to comfort the comfortable and afflict the afflicted.

Highly recommended!

Power and Money Corrupt (again).......2007-06-05

Apart from 10 minutes in which the filmmakers and the film's protagonist make a lame attempt to explain WHY priests are likely to sexually offend, this movie is brilliant and should be viewed by parents, church leaders of any faith, politicians, psychologists and law enforcement officials. In other words, just about everyone. It is yet another tale of power and money corrupting (supposedly) good men. Father O'Grady is a sick puppy who of course should be behind one set of bars or another (either jail or a mental ward of some sort), but his superiors who allowed him to continue his ways will, I think, someday occupy a special place in hell. Using the church, the business of saving souls, to attain power, and allowing children and families to be torn apart in order to reach that power, is nothing short of evil.

Those of us who call ourselves Catholics should all demand that Rome admit its mistakes, apologize to all victims and set a strict standard of turning all criminals within the church over to law enforcement officials. Hiding behind the church to allow criminals to prey on children can not be accepted.

The Sacrifice of Father Thomas Doyle.......2007-06-04

Deliver Us From Evil portrays how the Catholic Church grossly mismanaged the crisis of pedophilia within its hierarchy. It depicts how the victims of Father Oliver O'Grady continued to suffer as a result of being sexual abused. The experiences of the Jyono family are particularly touching, especially when Bob, the father, confesses that he no longer believes in God because of the terrible things that happened to Ann, his daughter.

O'Grady was a very odd character. He seemed childish and naïve to believe that his victims would come to see him and perhaps forgive him. Quite surprisingly, he admitted that he was sexually abused as a child by a priest and by his older brother. Of course, this fact does not excuse what he did.

As the documentary reveals, Pope Benedict XVI led the Congregation for the Doctrine of Faith (formerly known as the Inquisition) from 1981 to 2005, and one of his duties was to protect children from being harmed by priests. Unfortunately, he did a very poor job, and numerous lawsuits have been brought against the Church as a result. He was "accused of conspiracy to cover up sexual abuse" in the US and was granted "immunity from prosecution" by President Bush.

The inability of Church officials to appropriately address this crisis remains bewildering. Some have suggested that their negligence was a consequence of fear as well as the culture of secrecy that exists among the clergy. Former Oklahoma Governor Frank Keating compared their attitude of silence and concealment to that of La Cosa Nostra. As Jason Berry and Gerald Renner note, "the great sin in ecclesiastical culture was to violate its ethos of secrecy. Cardinals take an oath to the pope to safeguard the church from scandal -- to prevent bad information from becoming public." The suggestion by Auxiliary Bishop James Quinn in 1990 that the Church hide the records of its sexual offenders in the Vatican embassy because it has diplomatic immunity did not help matters.

Father Thomas Doyle and two others wrote in 1985 a secret report for the bishops, warning of a national scandal if sound policy was not adopted to handle the problem of sexual abuse. They predicted that the Church would face "extremely serious financial consequences" and "significant injury" to its image and estimated that "total projected losses for the decade" might reach $1 billion. Moreover, they warned that "in this sophisticated society, a media policy of silence implies either necessary secrecy or cover up."

Contrary to the 1985 report, the bishops declined to establish a national crisis intervention team. Naturally, the problems the Church deferred still haunt it today. Given its stringent moral code, the Church was regarded by a growing number of people as hypocritical and negligent because it allowed its clerics to physically and mentally abuse its followers.

Yet the most depressing aspect of Deliver Us From Evil is the sacrifice of Father Doyle, a subject not extensively examined by the filmmakers. For breaking the unwritten rule of getting too close to scandal, he was dismissed from the Vatican embassy in 1986 and lost his faculty position at Catholic University. Daniel Wakin of the New York Times writes that Doyle was "quietly removed from his job as an Air Force chaplain" in 2004 by Archbishop Edwin O'Brien, and many believe the decision stemmed from Doyle's outspoken support for sexually abused victims. A man of great moral courage, Doyle remains committed to helping victims and their families, calling the sexual abuse "rape and brutalization of the person's body" and also of "their soul [...] and the anguish and all that goes with that are still there."

A powerful film diluted by excess and lack of focus.......2007-05-28

As I write this, there are already eighteen reviews on Amazon.com, so I have to ask myself whether, after reading them all, I should post a nineteenth. Obviously, I decided I should, largely because so many of the reviews here are so passionate, often owing to the statuses of the reviewers. Indeed, when one ersatz reviewer prefaces a review with "I have not seen the movie," another is a spokesperson for the Catholic Church, and a third edited the film in question, there is a need for more reviews from people who have no personal involvement with the film or its subject except for membership in the human race.

"Deliver Us from Evil" is a remarkable film in at least one salient respect. Prominent in the film is Father Oliver O'Grady, who, by his own admission, molested children while he was a priest in California. What makes his presence so remarkable is that he recounts many of his deeds in an almost stoic fashion and at length. (Thankfully, though, his accounts as they appear in the film are generally not graphic in detail--with the exception of one scene.) O'Grady appears in scene after scene in the film, all of them filmed, I assume, in Ireland, where O'Grady is free after having served seven years in prison in the United States.

We also meet some of the now-adult victims of clergy molestation. One in particular stands out, though I hasten to add that she stands out from the others primarily because of the time the film spends with her and her parents. I do not doubt that the other victims, including those not shown or named, have harrowing stories, but Ann Jyono's case is especially poignant. Her parents were interviewed extensively for the film, and their comments, especially her father's, are deeply painful to watch. For example, there is one scene in which Mr. Jyono tearfully recalls that his daughter refused to tell him what was happening to her because he had said previously that he would kill anyone who hurt her, thus leading her to remain silent lest her father keep his promise and endanger his soul.

"Deliver Us from Evil" is about more than the victims and one molester, though. It is about institutions: the church itself and the priesthood. Indeed, the film spends a great deal of time and effort assigning blame to Cardinal Roger Mahoney of Los Angeles and even the current pope. The charges range from allegations that the church deliberately shuffled pedophile priests from parish to parish, never allowing the new parish to know what it was getting, to more general claims that the church seems more concerned with its finances than with the victims here. On this point, the film loses some steam and some credibility. It may be that every accusation in the film is true--I have no way of knowing--, but what comes through is so one-sided that I had to wonder how much really was true. Granted, the end of the film tells us that the Catholic Church declined to be interviewed, but one cannot help but wonder what responses church officials might have to some of the claims in the film. What we do see of church officials comes through depositions, and here, too, questions arise. Depositions are long, boring, and sometimes contentious affairs, so a few hand-picked minutes of footage is almost certainly misleading in one way or another.

The weakest aspect of "Deliver Us from Evil" is its tendency to offer hypotheses regarding the cause of the molestation. Is it the celibacy requirement for priests, which, the film assures us, has no scriptural support and was created so that the church could gain priests' property when the priests died? Is it, as the film hints, a case of abuse begetting abuse? The film's 103-minute run time is simply insufficient for these issues, especially when there is nobody to defend, say, the celibacy requirement. Instead of a debate, we get one-sided opinions. Certainly I do not begrudge people their opinions, but when the film advances, without opposition, the argument that the celibacy requirement, since it states that all sex for priests is bad, effaces the line between sex with a consenting adult and molestation, there are problems. Is the argument really that men who would otherwise form healthy sexual relationships with adults if they were allowed instead form them with children? If not, what exactly is the point? We never learn since the film just includes this claim without elaboration.

In the end, it may be that the problem is simply too big for one film. By trying to touch on so many different aspects, the filmmakers lose their focus and produce a film with far less power than it could have had. There is still a great deal of raw emotion here, but it is nonetheless diluted. And that's a real shame, because there are two scenes at the end of the film, both involving the Jyono family, that demonstrate what the film could have been. In one, Ann Jyono and another victim travel to the Vatican in the hope of delivering a letter to the Pope only to be turned away. In another, Mr. Jyono, seated next to his daughter, announces with firm belief that there is no god and the Bible is all written by men. There are so many aspects to this statement and the obvious loss of faith that are significant, but perhaps none more so than the fact that as he makes these statements, Ann sobs silently next to him.

Priests Should Marry.......2007-05-19

This movie banned in Singapore and DVD not allowed because of its truthful exposure of pedaphelia by Catholic priests. My mother was catholic but I never received parochrial training and stopped going to church at age 10, and so escaped what might have happed to me.

Oliver O'Grady is a monster should should be in Jail for life. Cardinal Mahoney should be in Jail too.

If you are Catholic and have children, watch this DVD or keep your kids away from priests unless you are present at all times.

I am glad this fildm was shown in Australia where I watched it.

Bill

Average customer rating:

Actually ........
Tipical Itilan movie
For Rental Only
Pretty edgy.
Fast forward review

Images in a Convent
Starring: Paola Senatore , Marina Hedman , Paola Maiolini , Marina Ambrosini , and Angelo Arquilla
Director: Joe D'Amato
Manufacturer: Exploitation Digital
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: B0007UVXCW
Release Date: 2005-06-14

Description

As nuns get possessed by the devil, the situation only worsens when well-meaning priests try to intervene.

Customer Reviews:

Actually ...............2007-03-11

if you take out the scenes of the nuns running up and down the dark halls of the convent then this movie is probably only 25 minutes long ... In the short I guess 84 minutes of this film I saw more doors opening and closing that can probably last me a lifetime, but then, of course, its a movie in a convent ......SSSHHHHHHH

All the girls in this movie except for the token fat and ugly nun ... there were no old ones here thats for sure .... are HOT HOT HOT .... The men are all pretty well continental dork material except for the bishop that had screen time at the beginning for about 4 minutes ....

The camera work on the sex scenes is absolutely stupendous and if you can overcome the 'nun' thing its probably one of the best erotica films around ......

Tipical Itilan movie.......2007-03-11

I found it better to watch if you turn the sound off.

For Rental Only.......2007-01-06

Yes, this is typical Joe D'Amato. It is explicit, but the the scenes are relatively short. If your curious and can rent it then do so. I wish that I had now that I'm stuck with a movie I don't particularly like. I've seen quite a few of his films, and I have "99 Women"( the explicit euro vers.), "Emmanuel in America" uncut just to name two. This movie is so bad that I've only seen a portion of it, and I have no intention of seeing the rest of it. I wish they would release "Top Model" as that was a good one.

Pretty edgy........2006-10-04

This one does have some hardcore scenes in here, especially toward the end. recommend the double disk set, has some other interesting sex scene clips.

Fast forward review.......2006-02-22

When you're talking convent movies, you're looking for a lot of lezzing out followed by remorse and self-flagellation or they get caught by mother superior, and get flagellated that way. This chestnut from way back totally delivers on the nun to nun action, kind of a soft "x" treatment, munch out city. Of course, it's 1979, so there's not a lot of hardwood, we're taking serious carpet. Even the obligatory dude who's wounded/sick and brought into the convent to recover is a pretty furry sort.

Hirsute issues aside, we got multiple extended scenes; nun munching, a whipped back lick, a forest rape with hot dogs, a hide the icon scene, lots of carpet rubbing and nudity up the ying yang, which counted for a lot more in the 70's than now of course. There's some plot, but it's not in English and the subtitles dissapear when you fast forward, so that's not a problem. Something missing? You bet, especially from a sex sleaze standpoint - where's the flagellating?? No bathing scenes either, but we'll let that slide.

So, 3 stars for all the sex, 1 star for the NTRL factor (nudity to total running length, although it's short), with a one star demotion for zero nun whipping. Worth a look.

The Exorcism of Emily Rose - Unrated (Special Edition)

Average customer rating:

Sure it's milking the "franchise", but fairly good for todays standards
"Reveal yourself,"
Interesting Struggle Between Religion and Science!
Worth a watch, but could have been sooo much better!
Science vs. Religion

The Exorcism of Emily Rose - Unrated (Special Edition)
Starring: Laura Linney , Tom Wilkinson , Campbell Scott , Jennifer Carpenter (III) , and Colm Feore
Director: Scott Derrickson
Manufacturer: Sony Pictures
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: B000BTJDGC
Release Date: 2005-12-20

Product Description

In an extremely rare decision, the Catholic Church officially recognized the demonic possession of a 19 year-old college freshman. Told in flashbacks, 'The Exorcism of Emily Rose' chronicles the haunting trial of the priest accused of negligence resulting in the death of the young girl believed to be possessed and the lawyer who takes on the task of defending him.

System Requirements:
Running Time: 121

Format: DVD MOVIE

Customer Reviews:

Sure it's milking the "franchise", but fairly good for todays standards.......2007-06-14

The Exorcism of Emily Rose" is based on the story of Anneliese Michel, a German student who, in the mid-1970s, was the subject of one of the rare exorcisms sanctioned by the Church in modern times. The results were less than ideal: Anneliese died of starvation, and her parents and the priests involved in the exorcism were put on trial for negligent homicide.

In the film, Anneliese has become young Emily Rose (Jennifer Carpenter), a devout small town American girl who heads off to a big city college and goes and gets herself possessed. The family priest, Father Moore (Tom Wilkinson), is called in after Emily returns home. Believing she is possessed, he performs an exorcism that goes awry, resulting in his standing trial for her death.

Trying the case are prosecutor Ethan Thomas (Campbell Scott), a self-described "man of faith" who nonetheless scoffs at the idea of demonic possession, and Erin Bruner (Laura Linney), an agnostic corporate attorney looking to climb the ladder in her firm. Thomas attempts to establish a medical basis for Emily's death, while Erin - thanks to some creepy moments courtesy of the "dark forces" (as Father Moore calls them) surrounding the trial, comes to realize there may be some credence to the priest's story.

Anyone who's seen the previews and is coming into this movie expecting a straight-up horror flick is going to be disappointed. What we have here is a courtroom drama, punctuated by horrific flashbacks. Naturally, any movie that deals with the concept of demonic infestation has to be careful it doesn't draw too many comparisons to the Big Kahuna of the subject, "The Exorcist." Fortunately (or not, depending on how big a "Law & Order" fan you are), "The Exorcism of Emily Rose" dwells less on the possession itself than on the subsequent trial. There are elements of Friedkin's classic here, as any possession movie is going to contain creepy demon fu and a final confrontation between the forces of good and evil. But "Emily" also pulls in references to "The Amityville Horror" and "Ghostbusters" (you'll know it when you see it) as well.

Linney, as always, does a fine job, and Wilkinson is believable as the tormented priest, but Scott is stuck playing a guy who's such a douchebag he doesn't see the hypocrisy in decrying a ritual based on "archaic mythology" when he himself is a Christian (he also has one of those James Keach moustaches favored by LAPD officers). Then again, if anyone gets short shrift, it's Jennifer Carpenter, whose Emily Rose spends most of the film in painful contortions and barking in Aramaic (maybe Mel Gibson can find a part for her in his next movie).

I have to admit, I don't believe in this stuff any more than Scott's character, and yet it still freaks me out. The exorcism scenes are reminiscent of the 1974 film (which I count among the scariest of all time), without being utterly derivative. And even the idea that the defense could trot out some of the stuff they did during the trial and not get laughed out of the courthouse was amusing in it's own way.

Why Sony decided to assemble a cast that includes the likes of Linney and Wilkinson and then place the untested Derrickson at the helm is beyond me, however. In a more capable director's hands, "The Exorcism of Emily Rose" could have been both a gripping courtroom drama and a chilling "is she or isn't she?" horror tale. What we have instead is a movie that drifts, almost unmanned, from plot point to plot point. A few more scares and a little less chatter from the principals would have made "Emily" much more memorable.

"Reveal yourself,".......2007-05-20

With a title like The Exorcism of Emily Rose, what do you think most of us expected to see? Well of course we did! With a title like that! What were we supposed to think? Although this wasn't the masterpiece The Exorcist became, it was definitely a good movie. First of all, it wasn't a horror film, it was a suspense film. And second, this movie was taken from true life events. Whether you believe or not, if your child experienced what Emily, played be Jennifer Carpenter, supposedly experienced, you'd certainly wonder. For instance, you might wonder as to the true validity of our collective spiritual imagination (God and Lucifer, Heaven and Hell, possession etc). In any event, The Exorcism of Emily Rose succeeds in delivering a taut, clever, and simmering investigation into the supernatural that many of us would rather avoid. Tom Wilkinson, Laura Linney and Campbell Scott are all masters of the subtle performance, which is a perfect compliment to this film. And their performances are so unselfish and revealing that you are completely blindsided by the films conclusion. But there is a caveat! This is not a message movie. While it is controversial subject matter, it's meant to provide entertainment. And entertainment only. Pop it in and enjoy!

Interesting Struggle Between Religion and Science!.......2007-05-06

What struck me about this film was the interesting debate between theological speculation and scientific reasoning. Was Emily Rose's death caused by a evil spirit or was it murder? Laura Linney and Oscar Nominee Tom Wilkinson give strong performances in this very intriguing motion picture. Director Scott Derrickson does a great job of trying to keep our interest by giving both side of the arguement without trying to insult our inteligence with a ridiculous and predictable storyline. A more inexperienced director would have tried to shock us with blood and gore, turning it into a forgetable "B" movie. By not taking the low road, this film actually becomes rather entertaining and spiritual. Don't let the title fool you. Give this movie a chance. You might like it, as I did!

Worth a watch, but could have been sooo much better!.......2007-03-11

I had heard mixed reviews about this film but I figured it was worth giving a shot, especially on a winter night with nothing else to do. So, here goes:

Overall, this movie was decent and definitely had its moments of thrills and suspense. The first half of the film is better than the second half and much of this is due to how things eventually unwind. The acting was solid, the pace was just about right, and there wasnt any uneccessary gore or "cheese" which did help. The thing that holds this back is character development and the flashback-style of story-telling which I dont really like that much.

Emily Rose seemed like a very good person and a great daughter/girlfriend. At least I think. I say I "think" because they dont really develop her at all and we only get glimpses of what this girl was like. She simply doesnt get much screen-time prior to her posession and this, IMO, hurts our feelings towards her. Obviously they couldn't spend an hour on this but I needed to know her better before I could really care about what was happening to her. Also, the Priest could have been a little more dramatic at times. He appeared to just read his lines sometimes and wasnt really getting into it as much as I felt he should be. Laura Linneys character had a little backstory but nothing out of the ordinary: Hot shot young lawyer, aggressive, agnostic, etc, etc.

Emilys family was also not given enough screen time and they also had a hard time portraying how unsettling this whole ordeal must have been. I needed to see more emotion out of these people, especially in the courtroom..... which brings me to my next issue: Too much courtroom footage and much of it was a little underwhelming. The flashback style seemed to build a little momentum and then it was back to the dreary, dull courtroom. The timing was off on this several times and I wanted to see more of this exorcism and the details surrounding it. I would have liked to see this first hand as opposed to having the lawyers summarize it for me. I would have been able to make my own decisions then as to what really might have happened here. Plus, this movie was suposed to be more of a thriller/horror film and it leaned towards being a courtroom drama with flashbacks to what appeared to be a VERY cool exorcism. Lastly, there were a few "noises in the night" moments that didnt really go anywhere for some of the characters and the defenses "special" witness has a problem that didnt add to the story at all, IMO.

So.... sounds bad so far after all that doesnt it? Well, it wasnt and I still enjoyed it. The exorcism was pretty well done with some truly disturbing images and scenes. This girl was downright terrified and you could see that. She was seeing things that certainly would have made me nervous and the scene in the barn was pretty dramatic and a little freaky. The questions raised about religion vs medicine are pretty standard fare but it was still interesting to watch. By the end, I was rooting for the Priest on trial, at least mostly.

Overall, this movie is worth a watch but I dont think has enough redeeming value to warrant a purchase. Netflix it or Rent it, but thats all I can recommend.

Science vs. Religion.......2007-02-11

"The Exorcism of Emily Rose" was a great surprise for me. Based on a true event, I was expecting a horror movie like "The Exorcist", but actually it is a great story of trial, with the confrontation of science and religion, but with an agnostic lawyer defending and a religious one accusing a priest.
It is the horror plot and the plight of Emily Rose which engages the audience most though. Her story is told in a series of flashbacks that are never disjointed or abstract. It is the realism of her tragic story that is the most frightening thing in the film. It may even make you curious to read up on the true case the film is based upon.
My only criticism would be that promising sub-plots end up going nowhere. Don't let this put you off though. "The Exorcism of Emily Rose" is that most rare of things. A good, contemporary horror film.

Average customer rating:

Bells Rung Sweetly
Movie was good...but......
Bells of St. Mary's
Bells of St. Mary's Review
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The Bells of St. Mary's
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Release Date: 2003-09-23

Amazon.com essential video

The Bells of St. Mary's works much better for its battle of wills between a parish priest and a head nun than the dopey musical interludes that pepper it, but Bells is still a winning, emotionally satisfying film. This sequel to Going My Way has Father O'Malley (Bing Crosby) taking over the St. Mary's parochial school and finding himself at loggerheads with Sister Benedict (Ingrid Bergman, looking gorgeous even in a habit). There's a wonderful balance to all of this: O'Malley takes a more worldly approach to administration and is wrong just as many times as the nun is when she insists on a more biblical approach. About four subplots suffuse the film, including the story of a young charge from the wrong side of the tracks, and the deteriorating state of St. Mary's in the shadow of a brand-new building (the owner is played by the avuncular Henry Travers). A dear film. --Keith Simanton

Customer Reviews:

Bells Rung Sweetly.......2007-06-08

This version of the Bells of St. Mary is a clear, restored cut of the original version. Crosby and Bergman shine brightly in the staring roles of Fr. O'Malley and St. Bernadette. Leo McCarrey's script is a winner as is the supporting role played by Henry Travers.

A feel good movie for the whole family. So let those bells "Proudly ring out As we sing out Hail, Hail, Hail!"

Movie was good...but.............2007-05-20

I always have enjoyed this movie while growing up...was a holiday tardition along with Going My Way....

Unfortunetly..the seller sold me a black and white movie and not a colorized one..that was my only complaint..:(

Bells of St. Mary's.......2007-01-19

I loved watching this movie when I was a kid. I wanted to share it with my children too. My kids loved it. I thought it my not hold their interest, but they watched the whole thing. A true classic.

Bells of St. Mary's Review.......2007-01-15

This is a classic Bing Crosby "Father O'Malley" Movie. It is the original
black and white uncut movie. This classic movie has been shown on tv numerous times in several versions. It's a joy to see it in its original
form. It is the heart warming story of a new priest and a fiesty nun trying to save an old parish school in the 1940's.

The Miracle at St. Mary's.......2007-01-11

Father O'Malley arrives at the parish and learns the previous pastor had been taken away to "Shady Rest". [The lighting tells you this is a stage set.] He meets Sister Superior Benedict and the other nuns of the parish school. Earthly honors and rewards are not for them; they do God's work. The children recite the Pledge in the new fashion, hand over heart. The school has no playground; they had to sell it to raise money for repairs to the school. [The Great Depression.] Mr. Bogardus tells Father O'Malley that he wants their school; if they don't sell the Town Council will condemn it (eminent domain or zoning). A woman arranges for her daughter to be boarded at school; she needs special help. A new boy gets into trouble. What is the proper way to handle interpersonal conflicts? The Sisters visit a sporting goods store (remember them?) To gain knowledge on a non-scholastic subject. Father O'Malley helps a young girl with her homework.

Young Patricia's essay hints at help from an adult. Young Eddie has profited from his extra-curricular education. The Christmas play put on by first-graders shows elegant simplicity. Mr. Bogardus explains his need for their school property - his workers need parking for their cars (a comment on the return of prosperity). The Sisters tell Mr. Bogardus that they want him to donate his new building to their school! [The war time shortages of materials like glass are referenced.] The stress is harming Mr. Bogardus. A long-lost husband is reunited with his wife, and we hear another song. There is a question of school policy as to passing students who are not academic high performers. What is the purpose of schooling? Isn't it a means to an end, not an end in itself?

Mr. Bogardus suddenly turns over a new leaf, and donates his building to St. Mary's! It's a miracle. The doctor has bad news: Sister Benedict has TB in an early stage. [This diagnosis was often a death sentence before the 1950s.] She must be sent away for a rest cure, but she cannot be told to keep her spirits up and effect a cure. Patsy meets he reunited parents, and things will be different. Patsy graduates to move on to High School. [In earlier times those who finished Grammar School went to work at age 14; their education continued in the workplace.] Was life really so simple in those times? Ingrid Bergman shows her acting ability as Sister Benedict.

I remember another version of this film that may explain Mr. Bogardus' generosity. His plant was land-locked, even if he got a new parking lot. But if he was able to buy a large property outside of town he would have more than all the space he needed, and lower taxes too. No traffic problems either. So Father O'Malley arranged a deal that was a win for all concerned. The availability of plentiful food has put an end to TB in America. From about 1860 to 1950 it was the major cause of death in America. Did we end up with an epidemic of obesity? Its better to die of a heart attack at 60 than of TB at 30. Your results may vary.

What's Happening Now!! - The Complete First Season

Average customer rating:

So happy
I love this show

What's Happening Now!! - The Complete First Season
Starring: Ernest Thomas , Fred Berry , Haywood Nelson , Danielle Spencer , and Shirley Hemphill
Director: Tony Csiki , Neema Barnette , Pat Fischer-Doak , Art Washington , and Bob Priest
Manufacturer: Sony Pictures
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: B000OVLBGW
Release Date: 2007-06-12

Product Description

Loosely based on the 1975 film Cooley High, the urban sitcom What's Happening! debuted on ABC in 1976 and ran for three seasons. After its network cancellation, the series went into syndication in 1980 and became so popular that the series was resurrected as What's Happening Now!

In the new series all the major cast members from the original show are depicted seven years later. Since the end of the original series, Raj and his friends have grown and their lives have changed. Roger "Raj" Thomas is an aspiring writer married to Nadine (Anne-Marie Johnson), a social worker and civic organizer. They are foster parents to Carolyn (Reina King), who displays the sass of Raj's younger sister Dee, who makes periodic visits home from college. Raj also purchased a half interest in his favorite high school hangout, Rob's Diner, which he now runs with feisty waitress Shirley. His dimwitted buddy Dwayne has become a computer programmer, Rerun is a used-car salesman and the two bachelors share an apartment.

22 episodes on 3 Discs, including:
Raj Returns, Dee's Dilemma, Goodbye, Mr. Ripps, A Horse Is Not a Home, Aunt Shirley, Dee and Dwayne, The House Guest, Raj on the Run, Nadine's Boss, One Enchanted Evening, That Old Gang of Mine, Mr. First Nighter, Dueling Menus, The Challenge, Shirley's Pen Pal, Dwayne's Crush, Rags to Riches, The Wedding, The New Kid, Married or Not, The Bully , The Improbable Dream

Customer Reviews:

So happy.......2007-06-08

So happy that they decided to release "what's happening now!" I loved the original, but I loved the continuation as well! I too hope they release all three seasons of this series.

I love this show.......2007-04-12

What's Happening Now!! is one of my favorite TV shows, with most of its original cast from the What's Happening!! show back in 1976-1979. What's Happining Now!! ran from September 7th, 1985 until September 3rd, 1988 for a total of Three seasons and 66 episodes (22 episodes for each season).

In this season Raj was newly married and trying to make it as a writer. Raj and Nadine, who were living in the house he had grown up in, took in a foster child named Caroline for a time. Rerun & Dwayne, now a used car salesman and a computer programmer, respectively, were sharing an apartment. Shirley and Raj were also partners running Rob's, and Dee (who only showed up occasionally) was in college.

The cast for this show were:
-Reina King..........Carolyn(1985-1986)
-Shirley Hemphill....Shirley Wilson
-Martin Lawrence.....Maurice Warfield(1987-1988)
-Ernest Thomas.......Roger"Raj"Thomas
-Anne-Marie Johnson..Nadine Hudson Thomas
-Ken Sagoes..........Darryl(1987-1988)
-Fred Berry..........Freddie"Rerun"Stubbs(1985-1986)
-Danielle Spencer....Dee Thomas

The first season consisted of 22 episodes and they are as follows:
01- Raj Returns
02- A Horse is Not a Home
03- Dwayne's Crush
04- The Houseguest
05- One Enchanted Evening
06- Aunt Shirley
07- The New Kid
08- The Bully
09- That Old Gang of Mine
10- Dueling Menus
11- Dee's Dilemma
12- Raj on the Run
13- The Challenge
14- Married or Not
15- The Improbable Dream
16- Rags to Riches
17- Goodbye, Mr. Ripps
18- Dee and Dwayne
19- Mr. First Nighter
20- Shirley's Pen Pal
21- Nadine's Boss
22- The Wedding

I hope that the following two seasons will be released shortly after this season.

Thanks for reading my review and have a nice day :)

Mama's Family - The Complete First Season

Average customer rating:

VIVA Mama!
A Good Show...But Not Complete
Worth buying
Absolutely Loved It
This is still on TV people. Why do you buy?

Mama's Family - The Complete First Season
Starring: Eric Brown , Karin Argoud , Rue McClanahan , Carol Burnett , and Harvey Korman
Director: Jim Cox , Dave Powers , and Bob Priest
Manufacturer: Warner Home Video
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Television | Genres | DVD | Video

( M ) | Titles | Features | DVD | Video
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ASIN: B000GH3PMM
Release Date: 2006-09-26

Amazon.com

Do you remember Mama? How could you forget her? As indelibly portrayed by Vicki Lawrence, formidable Mama put the "diss" in dysfunctional. Like Tyler Perry's Madea a decade later (but without the penchant for firearms or corporeal punishment), Mama dispenses no-nonsense motherly advice, discipline, and verbal kicks in the backside. She makes Dr. Phil look like Stuart Smalley. Thelma Harper does not suffer fools. She makes them--well, everybody--suffer. These include her sister, Fran (Rue McLanahan, The Golden Girls), a journalist who lives with her; her feckless son, Vint (Ken Berry, F-Troop), who moves in with his two teenagers after he is evicted from his house; and "bleached-blonde bimbo" Naomi (Dorothy Lyman, the original Opal on All My Children), who marries Vint by episode 4. Mama's extended family includes her two daughters, highfalutin Ellen (Betty White) and high-strung Eunice (Carol Burnett), who, to say the least, has issues. No one will mistake Mama's family for the Cleavers or the Bradys. They communicate mostly by screaming, and with put-downs often more cruel than comical. As a bystander tells Mama and Eunice in one episode, "Hold it, you're giving me a headache." One of the most memorable episodes is the one in which the Harpers must stick together when they appear on Family Feud (featuring a game Richard Dawson). Lawrence and Burnett, who appears in four episodes, share a palpable chemistry, honed all those years on The Carol Burnett Show, where Mama originated. As with those classic sketches, the best of these episodes, such as "Cellmates," in which Mama and Eunice are jailed after a disastrous birthday celebration, can make you laugh one minute and move you the next. Mama's Family is a great place to visit. Thank god we don't have to live there. --Donald Liebenson

Customer Reviews:

VIVA Mama!.......2007-07-01

Vicki Lawrence portrays one of my MANY beloved characters, Thelma Harper a.k.a. "Mama". A perfect spinoff from "The Carol Burnett Show". The cast are just made for each other. A real life and t.v. family anyone would love to be a member of.

A Good Show...But Not Complete.......2007-06-15

What I really want to know is when the unedited episodes of season two will be released. Some have indicated that Mama's Family was a low point in American popular culture. On some levels, I heartily agree. But when I look back at the sitcoms we were watching in the Eighties--The Facts of Life, Gimme a Break, Different Strokes, Family Ties and, Lord, help us, The Golden Girls--I remember Mama's Family as being hysterically funny. It's a shame that these episodes are the edited ones that aired in syndication, and the cuts are in fact noticeable, as a previous reviewer indicates. Nevertheless, there are some very good episodes here, and to call this show only a comedy would be to mis-label it; I remember in the Eighties, TV Guide referred to this show as a comedy/drama. There are dramatic moments between the laughs, and what one sees here, which we did not see in the sketches that originally aired on The Carol Burnett Show, is that Thelma Harper is a full person, a complex character who speaks from sorrow, heartache, fear, jealousy. She is not just a loud-mouth old lady (who reminds me of my Italian grandmother of the same generation), but a character to whom we can relate, and when we learn of her past, her fears, her disappointments, we understand why she is as she is and perhaps behaves as she does, and therein lies the shows value: its revelations into the conflicted human soul, punctuated by laughs. I don't want to over-dramatize that here, but the relationships between the characters are at times very realistic and based in things any of us can relate to: hating your new "floozie-in-law," enduring disappointment from your kids, living with relatives, realizing how much you loved your spouse once he or she is gone, realizing, maybe too late, that the life you are living is not the life you thought you'd be living. These revelatory moments come between the laughs of episodes like The Wedding and Fran's Dress and The Double Standard. Thelma Harper was a product of her times, the pre-Oprahfied times, where we didn't have talk shows to tell us how to feel or how to think of ourselves as victims who need to overcome our roots and beginnings. When I first saw these episodes again, I thought to myself, This plays like a really bad high-school play...And some of the episodes do, and they never transcend that; but some of them are almost extraordinary.

Worth buying.......2007-06-12

You will enjoy this season one Mama's Family. They put the D in disfunctional!!!

Absolutely Loved It.......2007-06-02

I loved the Mama's Family TV show and knew I had to have the DVD when it came out. I hope they continue to put out seasons of the show on DVD.

This is still on TV people. Why do you buy?.......2007-05-27

This show is GREAT but why these companies put these DVDs out while it is on Television is beyond me. I can see shows like Silver Spoons or Different Strokes but stuff that is still airing. Maybe they are hoping that some people do not have cable lol. I still give this 5 stars for being a great show

Average customer rating:

How to Talk Dirty and Influence Friends...
THE BEST FILM OF THE YEAR!
LOVED IT
Wonderful
Oooh! The Marquis de Sade

Quills
Starring: Michael Caine , Patrick Malahide , Pauline McLynn , Billie Whitelaw , and Geoffrey Rush
Director: Philip Kaufman
Manufacturer: 20th Century Fox
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: B00003CXPV
Release Date: 2001-05-08

Amazon.com

With bedroom eyes and the mischievous smirk of an insatiable roué, Geoffrey Rush is a perfect choice to play the Marquis de Sade in Quills, directed by Philip Kaufman and adapted by Doug Wright from his own stage play. Imprisoned in France's Charenton asylum at the turn of the 18th century, de Sade is a stately court jester in disheveled finery, and Rush imbues the role with the fierce urgency of a writer whose sexual fantasies are his sole remaining defense against repression and hypocrisy. Deprived of quill and ink, he writes with wine, then blood, then his own feces--a descent into madness or an impassioned refusal to be silenced? Quills embraces freedom of expression ("such beauty, such abomination," as one character notes) while affirming that all freedoms have a price.

De Sade smuggles manuscripts out of Charenton with help from Madeleine (Kate Winslet), a virginal laundress who relishes de Sade's scandalous prose--a divine irony since she was taught to read by asylum abbé Coulmier (Joaquin Phoenix), whose desire for Madeleine is suppressed by Catholic propriety. The delicate dynamic of this trio is shattered by the arrival of Royer-Collard (Michael Caine, appearing somewhat comatose), a righteous hypocrite appointed to silence de Sade once and for all. It's all very engrossing as a piece of theater (which it still is, despite Kaufman's elegant filming), and although Wright's literate dialogue limits de Sade to zesty ripostes and sneering perversity, Rush's intensity ensures that the marquis's plight is no laughing matter. Quills has a point, makes it without condescension, and knows the difference between madness and passion. --Jeff Shannon

Description

Rush gives a tour-de-force performance as history's most infamous sexual adventurer, the Marquis de Sade. A nobleman with a literary flair, the Marquis lives in a madhouse where a beautiful laundry maid (Winslet) smuggles his erotic stories to a printer, defying orders from the asylum's resident priest (Phoenix). The titillating passages whip all of France into a sexual frenzy, until a fiercely conservative doctor (Caine) tries to put an end to the fun, inadvertently stoking the excitement to a fever pitch.

Customer Reviews:

How to Talk Dirty and Influence Friends..........2007-05-08

This is an engaging period piece based on one of the most amazing yet perverse characters in history - - The Marquis De Sade. - - While the subject matter of DeSade's books or DeSade himself might be enough to make a movie on (plenty of more titilating/less savory ones have!), "Quills" actually paints a much larger picture -- quirkily demonstrating a darker side of the Enlightenment - - one in which one can't briefly wonder if DeSade's works were merely an allegory of the age he lived, and not the writings of a madman (who indeed was writing from an insane asylum.) - - It is also the story of Abbe de Coulmier, the Pioneering priest who ran the Charenton assylum in the early 19th century and was commited to the (relatively) humane treatment of his patients, shunning more traditional methods which involved varying forms of torture and abuse. To boot it also turns out to be a very traditional tale of love and jeoulosy... but with with a somewhat horrific ending... All of this said though, one thing is important to understand: it is historical fiction... a play BASED on the life of the Marquis De Sade... I mention this because there is one thing that disturbs me about the film... Basically a lot of people interpret the movie as a film about "censorship" and "freedom of speech" - - yet clearly, as the film plays out DeSade is portrayed not only as a madman (which many would agree) but as a madman who's writings were *clearly* dangerous to society. Everytime he is read from, writes or even speaks, it is as if the devil has come down to earth... chaos breaks loose, fires erupt, and people are forcefully victimized from behind until he's made to shut up. - - Ultimately, DeSade's words destroys not only those he doesn't care about but those closest to him as well... and at the end, he learns a lesson, and everyone else who listened to his "filth" get their revenge too... In essence its a film about divine justice and how a person needs be be careful what they say lest their words come back to haunt them. So how can this be called a statement about freedom of speech? (If anything its a morality play about how words can come back to haunt people.) - - In conclusion, though, the movie is not really a story about a martyr of free speech... but rather an excellent play about a struggle of wills, as well as a tale of sin, repentence, punishment and love.... Taken as pure fiction, it is brilliant to that extent, but if framed as a tale of censorship and literary freedom, clearly God wins out in the end and Voltaire gets sent to hell.

Regarding the ending - - after the "climax" the film becomes a bit funny - - first intentionally, then unintentionally.... - - In fact, at times I wonder if the director had toyed with several different endings and decided to use them all... Cuckoo's Nest, Hitchcock, Erotic Fantasy, Irony... or how about something funny (bingo!)

As for the acting... it is intense... Surprisingly, the Marquis himself is rarely seen during the first 17 minutes of the film... but appears as a shadowy figure... When he finally does appear, Geoffrey Rush's gushes with the intensity and charisma one would have expected the DeSade would have exhibited. There is no letdown and it is no surprize that he got an Academy for that role.

The dialogue at times can be funny and campy (be sure to have a pen on paper on hand as you watch and learn how to talk dirty with literary elegance) - - of course, this is a film about Western Literature's first and foremost intentionally distasteful writer/philosopher - - the man who turned scandal into high art. - - and one who's mind as profound and imaginitive as it was... filthy - - however, while the libertine life is not totally overlooked, the film is about far more than this... and most of the more graphic portrayals in the film come across as satire moreso than erotica.

As a footnote, the genuine British accents really let you know you're in 18th century France !

All in all, a fantastic tale of ribaldry with a twist !

THE BEST FILM OF THE YEAR!.......2007-04-01

Yeah, Mr. Rush did an outstanding job as the Marquis De Sade, but the part that really surprises me is Michael Caine as the EVIL sonofabotch who...well, ya gotta see the film...when I heard Mr. Caine was slated to star in BATMAN BEGINS, I was kinda worried...but he nailed that part, too! I usually don't care for films that talk about films and their related counterparts (books, music etc.), but this film is FOCUSED and AMAZINGLY ENTERTAINING! My heart-rate went up by 10x for much of this film! It eloquently presents the importance of free speech and does a power-house job at entertaining the audience! I'm not sure what year this film came out, but I'm thinking it was somewhere around 2000 or 2001; I can't think of a better film that came out EITHER of those years!

LOVED IT.......2007-02-22

I bsolutely loved this film. Though not for the faint of heart, or the underage. I will re-watch this movie over and over.

Wonderful.......2007-01-31

This film is a must see. Outstanding acting by the entire cast, great period piece, fun, funny and horrific. Goffrey Rush at his best. Joaquin Phoenix demonstrates again how underated he is. Kate Winslet . . . What can one say about her that hasn't already been said? Michael Caine at his most diabilical.

Oooh! The Marquis de Sade.......2007-01-12

It was a darn good movie. Kate Winslett was good and so pretty. Geoffry Rush was the marquis, so believable! Not for the kiddies...

Average customer rating:

Back to the Castle
A strong entry in a strong series.
this Dracula serie lacks of Van Helsing
Christopher Lee could replace his predecessor Bela Lugosi as Count
Scars? Getting Hardpressed For Titles Weren't They?

Scars of Dracula
Starring: Christopher Lee , Dennis Waterman , Jenny Hanley , Patrick Troughton , and Michael Ripper
Director: Roy Ward Baker
Manufacturer: Starz / Anchor Bay
ProductGroup: DVD
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ASIN: B00005KHJP
Release Date: 2001-08-07

Customer Reviews:

Back to the Castle.......2007-03-17

If you like the Chris Lee Dracula films as much as I do, I would recommend getting this one along with Horror of Dracula, Dracula-Prince of Darkness, and Dracula has Risen from the Grave. This one follows the same style setting---England in the 1800's. This particular film has a good bit of supense, and Lee is really evil in this one. Much better than Taste the Blood and AD 1972, this movie follows a formula that really works best for Lee's portrayal of this character---it was a return to form with Lee playing the darker,deadlier Dracula that he was in the first 3 films. The storyline is similiar, of course, with Dracula wreaking havoc on a local community who cower at the mention of his name until a young hero arrives to save the day. The ending is typical, but there is a twist. I won't give it away totally, but the hero thinks he has Dracula when he spears him with a long metal spike only to see Dracula smile and pull the spike out without leaving a mark or any drop of blood.

A strong entry in a strong series........2007-02-01

This is a surprisingly good edition to Hammer's classic Dracula series, though it's certainly not the strongest of the films in the franchise. It is, however, the most risqué, surprisingly so. In addition, this Anchor Bay release of the film has a bonus second feature entitled; The Many Faces of Christopher Lee, which is a lot of fun for fans of the legendary actor, especially the ludicrous music videos included, which are absolutely hilarious. Really, Hammer never made a bad Dracula or Frankenstein film, and it's a shame that most modern horror enthusiasts lack an appreciation for these old gems, because they're really missing out. This one is especially worth picking up, because of the second feature, and perhaps might be a good entry level film for modern film goers, since there is a bit more blood and skin in this one.

Also, in response to an earlier reviewer's statements, Bela Lugosi only played Dracula twice on film, once in Dracula, and once in Abbot and Costello Meet Frankenstein. Christopher Lee, however, played him ten times, and for my money, is the superior count.

this Dracula serie lacks of Van Helsing.......2006-10-28

here are some reasons, why this series becomes one of the weakest Hammer's British Dracula: 1. The very weak priest can't fight against the evil spirit, the actor has not a big talent and the role is not strong enough as Peter Cushing was. 2. The female stars are acting really awful 3. Dennis Waterman has no immense charisma to fight the almighty Dracula, neither does Chris Matthews (Paul). 4. The most worst of all is: Christopher Lee felt very boring to play the same role as Count Dracula. One can notice clearly that his acting was embarrassing and tedious during the movie set. Lee failed to balance the role in this film, which the excellent performance of Bela Lugosi had already appeared 40 years earlier

Christopher Lee could replace his predecessor Bela Lugosi as Count.......2006-09-26

Christopher Lee could balance and continue his charismatic predecessor Bela Lugosi(1882 - 1956) in the 60's Hammer british Dracula series.

This film is a great example for Lee as Count.

The differences are:
- Lugosi was more a theatrical Dracula from Broadway. Lugosi acted very elegant, exclusive & gentleman as a Dracula star. His charming style becomes a legend.
- Lee is more a mainstream Dracula star. He is not a theatre star like Lugosi did in 1931. He'd prefer a type of cold elegant beast. His style is less charming because he has to accustom himself into various directions in eight Dracula series.

Lugosi played as Dracula three times:
1. Dracula 1931
2. Return of the Vampire 1944
3. Mark of the Vampire 1935

Lee played as Dracula 8 times (see Filmography Imdb)

Frankly Bela Lugosi was a bit more charismatic than Christopher Lee, but Christopher Lee could balance the great charisma of his great predecessor.

Scars? Getting Hardpressed For Titles Weren't They?.......2006-07-21

Yes, the Hammer Dracula series continues, and this would be the last of the gothic era films. Roy Ward Baker has inherited the franchise and he does a rather good directing job considering the material isn't too original this time around. In the previous film, they tried to up the ante a bit by slapping an R rating on the series. It didn't really seem to achieve one, but Scars does. One scene has Dracula violently stabbing a woman to death. This may not be too shocking by today's standards, but it probably shocked at the time. It still is kinda brutal though. Plus we have a church full of bloody corpses from a rubber vampire bat attack. Scars also seems to be a sequel to Taste, though there are some major continuity errors between the two. This film has my vote for the most laughable "birth"(especially the birth!) and "death" of Dracula. Plotwise, it's rather simple. A couple of unsuspecting Britishfolk stumble onto Dracula's castle and must escape and destroy the evil. That's really about it. Dracula's a little more talkative this time around. Though Lee supposedly was sick of the role by this time, he can still do it like no one can. Even a tired performance by Lee is a good one! Of course we get the great gothic atmosphere, a sinister castle, sexy women and Michael Ripper! What more do you need? Plus it comes with a great Christopher Lee documentary/interview disc that runs about an hour. Man, he really seems like a cool guy. Well worth it.

Average customer rating:

Awesome
Warriors of the Vatican
LOVE IT!!!!!!!
"Time to kill some vampires. You with us, Padre?"
Vampires (1998)

Vampires
Starring: James Woods , Daniel Baldwin , Sheryl Lee , Thomas Ian Griffith , and Maximilian Schell
Director: John Carpenter
Manufacturer: Sony Pictures
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: 6305258287
Release Date: 1999-02-09

Amazon.com

Talk about an opening. The first few minutes of John Carpenter's Vampires--in which James Woods's vampire killer leads a dawn raid on a New Mexico "goon nest" of bloodsuckers--not only suggests a horror movie that will not pull any punches, it even evokes some of the more disturbing dream-memories of American Westerns. Muscular and uncompromised, the sequence suggests a new Carpenter classic unraveling before one's eyes. Well, dream on. Things don't quite work out that way, but this is still a film to reckon with. There are a few serious (and surprising) misjudgments on the director's part, particularly a mishandling of Sheryl Lee's role as a prostitute poisoned by the bite of a "master vampire" (who pretty much wiped out Woods's team of goon terminators). But aside from some weaknesses, the action is jolting, the suggested complicity of the Catholic Church in destroying monsters is provocative, and the traces of Howard Hawks's continuing influence on Carpenter's storytelling are in evidence. --Tom Keogh

Customer Reviews:

Awesome.......2007-05-21

Iknow this is short, but coming from a movie expert, this movie is awesome. The effects are awesome, there is like 3 or 4 scenes where people are decapitated. trust me this is a gory movie, a must see for gore fans.

Warriors of the Vatican.......2007-03-11

This is based on the book VAMPIRE$ by John Steakley. James Woods is a cynical vampire hunter and leads a team sanctioned by the Vatican. But after a job in the Southwest things go wrong. Suddenly a vampire shows up who is immensely powerful and knows Woods by name. In just moments the vampire slaughters everyone present, slayers, cops, prostitutes. Only those who were not there survived. To make matters worse, the Monsignor in charge of the slayers has arrived from the Vatican and wishes to meet with Woods. Woods is introduced to a new priest for the team and told to assemble and train a new team. But Woods is ticked off and wants to know how a vampire can be so powerful and also knows his name.

Woods does not follow his orders. Instead he tries to track down the vampire. It seems this is the original vampire; the one who spawned the rest. The vampire was created during a botched exorcism and seeks to perform a new ritual that will make him even more powerful and eliminate some of his weaknesses. Woods has little time to find the vampire and put a stop to him. Woods also has to put up with team members who are in grave danger of turning into vampires themselves. Armed with guts, a hatred of vampires, and some modern weaponry Woods is all that stands between the world and total domination by vampire.

This is a James Woods movie pure and simple. Sure, it has vampires, action, and women, but it is Woods that makes the movie. His character is wonderful. You have to wonder at how desperate the Vatican is for slayers to even tolerate Woods let alone employ him. The slaying techniques are different, efficient, and very sensible. All in all a pretty fun movie with James Woods at his absolute best. Fans of Joss Whedon's Firefly will probably get a kick out of the score which seems to have inspired the music in Firefly. Check it out.

LOVE IT!!!!!!!.......2007-01-05

IF YOU LIKE VAMPIRE MOVIES, THIS IS FOR YOU. PLENTY OF SEXY SCENES FOR THE GUYS AND SIT ON THE EDGE OF YOUR SEAT HORROR. NOT TOO SCARY, BUT JUST ENOUGH TO MAKE YOU WANT TO KEEP STAKES AROUND.....

"Time to kill some vampires. You with us, Padre?".......2006-08-09

Directed by John Carpenter (Halloween, The Fog, Escape from New York), Vampires (1998) stars James Woods (The Onion Field, Videodrome, Any Given Sunday)...Kurt Russell must have had a prior engagement...as Jack Crow, vampire hunter extraordinaire and master of the colorful invective. Also appearing is one of the lesser Baldwin brothers, Daniel, to be exact ("Homicide: Life on the Street", Mulholland Falls), who had an interesting turn last year on VH1's celebrity reality show "Celebrity Fit Club" possibly...scratch that...definitely indicating ongoing substance abuse issues, Thomas Ian Griffith (Behind Enemy Lines, xXx), Sheryl Lee ("Twin Peaks", "One Tree Hill"), Tim Guinee (Blade), whom I best remember from his role on the television show "Law and Order" as an infinitely creepy, manipulative killer who defends himself at trial (it was a 2001 episode titled "Hubris"), and Maximilian Schell (Judgment at Nuremberg, The Black Hole), godfather to actress Angelina Jolie.

As the film, set in the American southwest, begins, we see Jack Crow and his Roman-Catholic ordained and funded crew of mercenaries arriving at a dilapidated, isolated farmhouse they believe to contain a nest of vampires (and they're right). After cleaning house the crew of misfits celebrates with a drunken whoopee party in a nearby seedy motel, only to get slaughtered as a really powerful vampire (master of the nest they most recently destroyed), donning a velour overcoat, shows up effectively spoiling the festivities (nothing kills a party like having your melon torn off). Jack and another of his team, one named Montoya (Baldwin), manage to escape, taking along Katrina (Lee), a prostitute at the party who has since been bitten, as she's now Jack's only link to the one who decimated his team. Eventually Jack discovers, through his church connections, that the vampire that attacked him is one bad mofo, a six hundred year old European blood fiend named Jan Valek (Griffith), and has come to the new world in search of an religious artifact that when used in a ritual, will allow him to become even more powerful that he already is...(hint, he'd no longer have to use SPF 1000 during the daytime). As Jack, Montoya, Katrina, and a priest named Father Adam (Guinee), the last a new addition as the old padre didn't survive the events at the motel, track Valek across the Southwest, seems Valek's been a busy little imp calling forth some of his brethren masters to not only assist him in locating the religious artifact mentioned earlier, but to be a part of the ceremony that will give him what he utmost desires. Jack and his motley eventually do catch up to Valek in some podunk town only to discover they've walked into the middle of vampire central, and the only way out is through Valek and his thirsty, bitey minions...

While I did enjoy this film, it's certainly not among Carpenter's best or most memorable. Even so, a half-ashed effort from Carpenter is generally better and more entertaining than a full on effort from any number of directors currently schlepping out features these days (Carpenter's Ghosts of Mars may be the exception). Woods is fun to watch, as his trademark intense, semi-psychotic, flippant, profanity-spewing manner, seen in any number of previous features, is definitely present here (he always seems to be set at `eleven'). He does portray the typical Carpenter anti-hero well, but I can't help but wonder how much different the film would have been had Carpenter had Kurt Russell, who Carpenter's used in a number of films, in the lead instead of Woods, as Russell presents a generally more readily identifiable (and likable) character than Woods in a role like this (can you picture James Woods starring in Escape from New York or Big Trouble in Little China?). As far as the others, they did all right, but no one really stood out over another. I've never been a big fan of any of the Baldwins (they're all showboating, pretty boy, prima donnas in my opinion), so having Daniel here (the least of the bunch) really wasn't a positive aspect for me. As far as Valek, played by Thomas Ian Griffith, he certainly was a menace, but the character seemed to lack any personality traits that differentiated him from any number of vampires I've already seen in other films. Something else...at one point in the film Wood's character lays it out for Father Adam, in terms of what they're up against with the vampires...in doing so he jabs the effeminate portrayals presented in such films as Interview with a Vampire, in a roundabout way, but honestly, the vampire depicted here doesn't seem to be a fountain of manliness, but really a European dandy with a taste for hemoglobin. As far as the story, there are some interesting twists and turns, all punctuated by Woods and his gift for profanity laden gab, along with quite a bit of blood soaked violence. I particularly liked the fiery effects used when the vampires where exposed to sunlight (seemed the more powerful the vampire, the more explosive the effect). The converted armored car/battle wagon used by Jack and his crew was kind of cool, as was some of their sophisticated weaponry (when I say `sophisticated', I mean a flashlight built into a fancy crossbow or such). There's plenty of action and things move along well, strung together with some original scoring by Carpenter himself (Carpenter does a lot of his own music, which tends to fit with the material well, but can become repetitive over time). While this isn't the best of modern vampire films I've seen (I've always been partial to Near Dark), it's entertaining and worth a look, especially if you're a fan of Carpenter and/or Woods.

There seems to be a few DVD releases of this film floating around, but the one I own is the Superbit version. What's this Superbit business, you ask? Well, it involves how the material is compressed and transferred to the DVD (there's an insert that gives more details), providing what is supposed to be high-end picture, which is good, right? Well yes, but if you dig on special features, then it might not be so good as the material (both in terms of the audio and video) that makes up the film requires usage of a lot more space on the disc, effectively eliminating any room for extras (I guess adding a second DVD with just extra features isn't a viable option). As a result, the picture, presented in widescreen (2.35:1) anamorphic, looks very clean and sharp, and the audio, available in both Dolby Digital 5.1 and DTS, comes through well, but there are no extras, other than subtitles available in English, Spanish, French, and Portuguese. I'm thinking this Superbit technology may end up being a moot point with the rapid introduction of high definition, but I'm no techno wiz...all in all three and a half stars for the film, plus an extra half for the DVD, for a total of four stars.

Cookieman108

By the way, there was a puesdo sequel put out titled Vampires: Los Muertos (2002), with Carpenter and his wife Sandy King listed as executive producers, written and directed by Tommy Lee Wallace (Halloween III: Season of the Witch, Fright Night Part 2), that stars Jon Bon Jovi, and incorporates elements from this story, if you're interested. I haven't seen it, but it's out there...

One last point...at the beginning, I don't understand why Jack and his crew bothered searching the vacant house for vampires, risking their necks...why not just douse it with gas, burn it down and be done with it? Because it wouldn't have been as fun, I suppose...

Vampires (1998).......2006-03-02

Director: John Carpenter
Cast: James Woods, Daniel Baldwin, Sheryl Lee, Thomas Ian Griffith, Maximilian Schell, Tim Guinee, Mark Boone Jr., Gregory Sierra.
Running Time: 108 minutes
Rated R for strong vampire violence and gore, language and sexuality.

John Carpenter's "Vampires" concerns itself with a Vatican-sponsored, anti-vampire hit-squad led by the gruff and obsessive Jack Crow (played by an inspired James Woods). As it turns out, the Vatican inadvertently created the vampire during the excommunication ceremony of a priest named Valek (Thomas Ian Griffith), an event that occurred roughly six hundred years ago. Realizing that the creation of vampires might be seen as a blemish on the church's reputation, the Vatican determines to correct their mistake by destroying all vampires. This leads to the creation of the unit that Crow now commands. The film begins when Crow's unit sacks a deserted house that currently serves as a vampire lair, killing all of its undead residents. Crow and team then retire for an evening of celebration at a local hotel where their revels are interrupted by a surprise visit from Valek who is more than a little annoyed with them. Valek destroys the entire crew with the exceptions of Crow, his best friend (Daniel Baldwin), and a hooker (Sheryl Lee), all of whom escape to fight another day. As the movie progresses, Crow hunts down Valek, who is himself hunting for the black cross that was used in his excommunication ceremony (which, by the way, was never finished). If Valek can seize the cross and use it to complete the ancient ceremony, he will be able to empower vampires to walk in the daylight.

This film has two things going for it: 1) An interesting plot in the existence of this secret organization of vampire hunters and the nature of their prey, and 2) James Woods' outstanding performance as the obsessive, vengeance-driven Jack Crow. That being said, these two elements, even combined with John Carpenter's direction ("Halloween", "The Thing"), are unable to salvage this movie. "Vampires" is essentially a gratuitous sex, violence and gore fest strung together with a few interesting ideas and suspenseful scenes. The language is as coarse as in any movie ever; early every female who appears in this movie is, at some time or another, nude; and the nude scenes are a good bit more than just brief glimpses. The hotel scene at the beginning is a veritable orgy of sex and alcohol, and the violence and gore that follow throughout the movie may make some audience members cringe. There was little in the way of true suspense in this film although there were a few minor scares as viewed on the big screen. All in all, it really lacks the master touch that Carpenter bestowed to such films as "Halloween," "The Fog," "Escape from New York," "The Thing," and "Prince of Darkness." These movies make use of violence and gore to one degree or another, but they are also suspense and plot-driven, and none of them, not even "The Thing," comes close to the gratuitous violence and rivers of blood that flow in "Vampires." On a lighter note, there is a good bit of unexpected humor in this movie, most of which comes from James Woods. The vampire hunters' weapons and methods are different and interesting, and there are actually a couple of tense scenes, but these could not overcome the disgust factor that much of the rest of the movie created for me. This is certainly not a movie for children or the otherwise faint-hearted, and even if you're used to violence and gore, you may still find this movie unsettling. All in all, this movie was really sort of a "Die Hard" with vampires, and certainly did not live up to Carpenter's lofty reputation. Does not equal that of "Salem's Lot" or "Dracula" by any stretch of the imagination, but will certainly be enjoyed by those who enjoy a good gorefest and the ever-entertaining lead.

Average customer rating:

Required for the true horror collection...
Pretties For You
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John Carpenter is the True "Prince of Darkness"
So close...

Prince Of Darkness
Starring: Donald Pleasence , Jameson Parker , Victor Wong (III) , Lisa Blount , and Dennis Dun
Director: John Carpenter
Manufacturer: Universal Studios
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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