China Rose

Starring:George C. Scott, Ali MacGraw, Michael Biehn, Denis Lill, James Hong, David Snell (II)
Director: Robert Day
Studio: Platinum Disc
Product Type: DVD

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KEYS TO GOD
Spirituality vs. the Letter of the Law
"Lost" classic
AJ Cronin.. great old movie
Keyes to the Kingdom

The Keys of the Kingdom
Starring: Gregory Peck , Thomas Mitchell , Vincent Price , Rose Stradner , and Roddy McDowall
Director: John M. Stahl
Manufacturer: 20th Century Fox
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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Motion Picture Masterpieces Collection (David Copperfield 1935 / Marie Antoinette 1938 / Pride and Prejudice 1940 / A Tale of Two Cities 1935 / Treasure Island 1934)

ASIN: B000FFJ83K
Release Date: 2006-07-11

Description

A marvelous spectacle spanning six decades and two continents, The Keys of the Kingdom is the glorious epic that introduced audiences to screen newcomer Gregory Peck.

After losing his parents and his childhood sweetheart to tragedy, Francis Chisholm (Peck) joins the priesthood and devotes himself to a life of service and compassion. But Chisholm?s unorthodox beliefs raise eyebrows among his superiors, especially Bishop Angus Mealy (Vincent Price). And when he is sent to the farthest reaches of China to rebuild an abandoned mission, Chisholm faces his greatest challenge of all: to tame a hostile land, win over a superstitious people and save his parish from an invading army. Nominated* for four Academy Awards®, including Best Actor (Peck), The Keys of the Kingdom is a ?towering film stamped with greatness? (The Independent).

Customer Reviews:

KEYS TO GOD.......2007-05-17

Keys of the Kingdom is an inspiring, wonderful, and exciting movie. Gregory Peck plays a wonderful part as a priest.

Spirituality vs. the Letter of the Law.......2007-03-24

Keys of the Kingdom by A.J. Cronin is very dear to my heart as my first life lessons on tolerance were quoted from it to me by my dear grandmother.
EVERY TIME she came to visit she quoted the passage "there are many rooms in my mansion" to make the point that no one religion has a monopoly on Heaven. The movie is especially touching as were many movies made in the 1940s. The focus is actually on life and basic human values instead of superficiality, violence and vulgar sexual content. One walks away feeling uplifted with a new or revisited insight focused on spirituality rather than the "letter of the law". Gregory Peck is believable and engaging as the humble, sweet-spirited Father Chisholm. It is difficult to believe that this was his debut film. Everyone struggling with issues of faith in today's world should view this film to get in touch with what is truly important.

"Lost" classic.......2007-02-19

I had never heard of this film until I saw it listed in a video catalog a few years ago. I don't recall it being on TV when I was young and I doubt it was mentioned when I heard people discuss the "classics." After finally seeing it recently, however, I have to say that it SHOULD be.

Gregory Peck absolutely shines as Father Chisholm, a simple priest who is dealt a "bad hand" by fate. He encounters hardships in his youth, as a young man, and especially when he accepts an assignment to lead a mission in far-off China. Through it all, he keeps himself grounded and maintains a healthy sense of optimism, oftentimes when the average person might be tempted to "give up." It is a heartwarming story of one man's struggle to follow his calling, and watching it, one will have no problem understanding why Peck was nominated for an Academy Award for this performance. Peck's Father Chisholm exhibits extraordinary resolve and determination, tempered with a sense of humility and a sincere desire to be the best person that he can be.

Five stars. A "lost classic" that deserves to be rediscovered!

AJ Cronin.. great old movie.......2007-02-07

enjoyed this movie after reading the book. great story and well acted. book and movie are excellent..

Keyes to the Kingdom.......2007-01-21

The quality of the dvd was excellent. The story was wonderful. It has been a long time since I have seen this movie. AHH! The black and white films are the best

Average customer rating:

YOU TWO COULD MAKE ONE
An Old Time Adventure Movie
Power Rendered Impotent
An earnest Tyrone Power, a succulently hammy Orson Welles and an adventure from Norman castles to Chinese palaces and back again
If Marco Polo were a Saxon

The Black Rose
Starring: Tyrone Power , Orson Welles , Cécile Aubry , Jack Hawkins , and Michael Rennie
Director: Henry Hathaway
Manufacturer: 20th Century Fox
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Action & Adventure | Genres | DVD | Video

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ASIN: B000ND91X6
Release Date: 2007-05-01

Customer Reviews:

YOU TWO COULD MAKE ONE.......2007-06-22

Henry Hathaway's THE BLACK ROSE is based on the novel The Black Rose written by Thomas B. Costain. Walter of Gurnie, played by Tyrone Power, is 21 years old in the film while Tyrone was 36 but looked more, and Cecile Aubry, who was 22 years old in 1950, looked 14 as Maryam. It's no big deal but I still felt uncomfortable during the love scenes between the two characters. However, Orson Welles is brilliant as Bayan and steals the show each time he's on the screen.

I didn't read Costain's book but I can imagine that the author's main idea was to describe how the feeling to belong to a same nation could grow between people as different as Saxons and Normans. This antagonism is well symbolized by the character of Maryam who is clearly described as dual, remember how she must always disguise or apply heavy make-up over her body in order to look as an English girl. This duality is also present in the couple Walter of Gurnie/Tristram Griffin, the rational student and the poet with a bow.

The problem is that these ideas, that are certainly very interesting in a book, are not handled in a very cinematographic manner. I always had the feeling to read a book when I watched THE BLACK ROSE, with its chapters well marked: the scene in the castle, the scene in the family home, the scene in the desert, the scene in the Empress of China's palace and so on. THE BLACK ROSE is meant to be a swashbuckler but there is hardly a fight at the end of the film. With bows and arrows and without Tyrone Power. We see, in numerous occasions, thousands of extras walking in the desert but not a single battle against the Chinese army ! All these considerations explain why I don't consider THE BLACK ROSE as a major achievement in neither Henry Hathaway's nor Tyrone Power's careers.

A DVD zone Marco Polo and friends.

An Old Time Adventure Movie.......2007-06-01

This movie is an old favorite. It's about Norman/Saxon England, and a young rebel who with his friend Jack Hawkins and his trusty longbow, takes off for Cathay and adventure. He meets up with Orson Wells as a Mongol general and manages to survive and carry back to England various Chinese secrets (an English version of Marco Polo). The female star was poorly cast...but this is a movie that pushes through its problems with epic scenes of the Mongol army, and takes you back to old-time adventure stories, before the likes of Indiana Jones etc.

Regardless of problems with editing and the plot, this movie is an enjoyable ride on the backs of Tyrone Power, Jack Hawkins, and Orson Welles. This is not his best film, but so what. It is still a good Tyrone Power entertainment ride. An average Tyrone power movie is still a reality-morphing experience in my view. I am awaiting the DVD of the Bengal Lancers, another favorite.

Power Rendered Impotent.......2007-06-01

"The Black Rose" = stinkweed. Its unprepossessing plot is shot full of holes. The poorly drawn characters are generally unsympathetic. Consider the atrocious casting of the film's leading roles: mature, very American Tyrone Power as a young Oxford scholar; juvenile French actress Cecile Aubry--as the (unconvincing) romantic interest--is about as sexually devastating as a kewpie or cabbage-patch doll. The film's leaden pacing, its prolix and unremarkable dialogue, its profound lack of credibility as well as its failure to appeal to any other emotions than this viewer's boredom and contempt result in my judging "The Black Rose" as one of the worst films Tyrone Power ever had the ill fortune to make.

This otherwise undeserving DVD release does include a single interesting special feature: a Power Family Reunion featurette, in which Tyrone's son, two daughters, and second wife sit down and reminisce about him.

An earnest Tyrone Power, a succulently hammy Orson Welles and an adventure from Norman castles to Chinese palaces and back again.......2007-05-11

And what's a black rose? We're told it is the name given to the clove, the most precious of spices. In this case, the clove is Maryam, played by Cecile Aubry. She was a small French actress, discovered, it is said, by producer Darrell F. Zanuck, and who looks no older than 14. She has a small mouth which is filled with tiny teeth and a plump tongue, and she occasionally jumps about to express enthusiasm. If Vera-Ellen and Charlie McCarthy had ever had a child, it would look a lot like Cecile Aubry. The movie, The Black Rose, is no stinker, but it suffers from Aubry in the role. Unfortunately, it also suffers because Tyrone Power, playing Walter of Gurnie, a young scholar in his early twenties, looks every bit the 39-year-old man he was. The one insuperable drawback to the movie is its disjointed nature. We move from Norman England 200 years after William the Conqueror, to the middle-east and then on to a Mongol army moving and battling its way toward China, then to the imperial court of China itself, and finally back to England. We have a movie which is part historical adventure, part travelogue, part uneasy romance and, with Orson Welles playing the Mongol general Bayan with false eyelids, chubby cheeks and greasy skin, part succulent ham. The movie features some great scenic set-ups, interesting acting in one or two of the secondary parts, particularly by Jack Hawkins, and a nice look at a marching mongol horde, but on balance I think it is one of Power's weakest romantic-adventure films.

Walter of Gurnie, the illegitimate son of a Saxon lord who had married a Norman woman, is a hot-headed Oxford student who has left his studies when he heard his father has died. He hates, with good reason, the Normans. One night he joins a band of fellow Saxons led by Tristram Griffin (Jack Hawkins), an excellent bowman, in an attack on the castle which had been his father's. He planned to free some Saxon hostages held by his step-mother and her son, as well as to claim the boots his father had left in his father's will. In this will his father had publicly acknowledged him as his son. As a result of the attack, Walter and Tris must flee, and Walter decides they should go adventuring to Cathay to win gold, jewels and fame. Along the way he meets the great Mongol general, Bayan of the Hundred Eyes, who takes an interest in the two. Walter and Tris also are tricked into hiding a young woman, Maryam, who is one of dozens of maidens being sent to the Great Khan and who are traveling with Bayan's army. After battles and marches, archery contests, chess games and a walk along the rope of death, Walter is sent to the Chinese court to explain how powerful Bayan is and why the Chinese should surrender the imperial city. Now we have luxurious surroundings, manicured gardens, treacherous mandarins, jewels sewn into coats and a harrowing escape in which Walter and Maryam are separated. Finally, we're back in England, where the king honors Walter for his bravery and for bringing back the knowledge of the Chinese. All seems settled except for his lost love for Maryam. Will they be reunited? And how? See the movie.

Tyrone Power was Zanuck's champion swashbuckler. Power was, for me, a very earnest actor. In his early years he had great good looks. As he aged, his face thickened a bit, his eyebrows grew dense and his five-o-clock shadow must have been a real challenge for Fox's make-up artists. He was an actor who longed to show he could do more than prance around the scenery with a sword in his hand. In two movies, Nightmare Alley and Witness for the Prosecution, he fought for the chance to show he could handle unpleasant roles, and he did very well. Yet for the most part he stayed safely playing conventional star heroes. He died of a heart attack when he was only 44. He was filming, what else, a dueling scene for one more big, expensive and forgettable adventure movie.

For those who enjoy reading sweeping historical adventures, you might like the source book, The Black Rose by Thomas B. Costain. It's one of those big, fat novels that goes from adventure to adventure. Costain probably is barely remembered now. He was a Canadian journalist who, in his early sixties, unexpectedly struck it rich as a popular novelist. For ten years he wrote best selling fiction and well-respected popular histories. His fiction is packed with well-researched history and his histories read like well-written novels. The Black Rose is still a good read. The Black Rose

The DVD transfer does not have the crispness and rich color we've come to hope for. It looks like the DVD was made from a reasonably well-maintained source print which received no restoration work. One of the extras is a feature with Power's children and a former wife discussing him and his work. I only sampled it.

If Marco Polo were a Saxon.......2007-04-19

This is one of those old Hollywood saturated-color films that successfully transports me to another time and place, even on subsequent viewings. The plot steamrolls over its problems, leaving me with the sense of having had an exciting journey from England to North Africa to China.

It's based on a Thomas B Costain's novel of the same name and it brings from its source enuf 13th century details to give the story a historical feeling. The exquisite location photography of Jack Cardiff (in England and Morocco) completes the phenomenon.

Tyrone Power (as a Saxon embittered with Norman England) heads a fine, mostly British cast. He may be a tad bit too old and too stiff, but he's personable and has good chemistry with Jack Hawkins as a fellow Saxon runaway, and with the massively charismatic Orson Welles as Bayan of the Hundred Eyes (a historical Mongol General).

Cécile Aubry as "The Black Rose" is a mixed bag. She's gives a very good performance as the over-eager half-English, half-Arabic girl trapped in the Mongol caravan. But she's blonde and blue-eyed! She has a French, not an Arabic accent. And she's too little-girl-cute for my taste.

This is not a action/adventure movie by today's standards. It's too thoughtful. But that's why I like this film more.

Average customer rating:

What's Up, Tiger Lily?
A great pun...
Before its time
THIS gets 4 Stars???
Might of been funny then....

What's Up, Tiger Lily?
Starring: Eisei Amamoto , Steve Boone , Joe Butler , Frank Buxton , and Mie Hama
Director: Taniguchi, Senkichi
Manufacturer: Image Entertainment
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: B00009Q4W7
Release Date: 2003-07-15

Amazon.com

What better way for writer-star Woody Allen to cash in on the success of What's New Pussycat? than to write a quickie exploitation comedy that makes fun of quickie exploitation films? In some respects What's Up Tiger Lily? is a forerunner of Mystery Science Theater 3000, only instead of having actors sit back and make sarcastic comments about a cheapo movie, here they dub new dialog onto a ridiculous Japanese spy extravaganza. Allen's exquisite sense of the absurd is in fine form as espionage professionals pursue a top-secret recipe for egg salad. At one point during the planning of a break-in, a spy unfolds a map of their quarry's residence, explaining that the man "lives here." "He lives on that small piece of paper?" questions one of the henchmen. It's that silly. But it's often uproarious. Louise Lasser, Allen's former wife (and co-star of Bananas and future star of TV's Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman) is among the voice actors. --Jim Emerson

Description

An evil mastermind with an addiction to egg salad! Sadistic, torture- hungry double crossers! Gorgeous girls hungry for lovin'! A weird marriage between a cobra and a chicken! Only one man is daring, clever and sexy enough to take on this kind of mission: superspy Phil Moscowitz! Woody Allen spoofs the spy thriller in one of his funniest films, a nonstop frenzy of skewed wit, hilarious parody and sidesplitting wackiness. With dialogue rewritten and redubbed for a Japanese James Bond-style movie, What's Up, Tiger Lily? turns the sex-and-danger world of filmdom's spy game upside down!

Customer Reviews:

What's Up, Tiger Lily?.......2007-07-02

Broad, wacky, and extremely funny, "What's Up" is not for everyone, but if you're in need of some divine silliness, you cannot do better. Characteristic of Woody's earlier work, not every gag works, but there are so many of them that you come out way ahead, with cheeks and stomach muscles aching. A fully justified cult classic. My favorite moment: man peeking through keyhole.

A great pun..........2007-04-11

Whether you love this movie or hate it, it's the source of one of the very greatest puns in the English language:

Phil Moscowitz, to Shepherd Wong: "Well, you know, two Wongs don't make a white!"

Before its time.......2007-03-29

If you've ever seen Mystery Science Theatre or you just like to make up your own dialogue to old movies: This is where it all started. Woody Allen and a group of actors redid the voices for a Hong Kong action movie, and it's hilarious. Now, it's all about the quest for the secret Egg Salad recipe!

THIS gets 4 Stars???.......2007-03-13

I read all the reviews where everyone said this movie was so hilarious. So I gambled and bought it. Man, this movie really stunk. I mean it's like it could have been funny, but none of the re-dubbing was very funny at all. I watched this movie with some good expectations, but as it droned on and on, it slowly became apparent to me that no laughs were coming. In fact, as I kept watching it I kept thinking to myself, "Geez, even I could dub funnier dialogue into the movie than THIS!"

Don't get me wrong; dubbing over a corny Japanese spy movie definitely sounds like it would be very funny. It's an idea that has the potential to be VERY funny. It just wasn't done very well here. Don't expect many laughs from this movie. For most of the movie, no one is even talking at all! You're just watching a bad not-funny movie. But if that's what you like, then by all means, buy it.

P.S. By the way, this movie has it's occasional sexually interesting scenes. But you don't ever get to see anything. They've edited-out anything that might have been worth seeing. So not only is it NOT funny, but where the original movie would have turned you on, you are denied that as well. A nitpick to be sure, but it didn't make me like this movie any better.

P.S. #2. If you want to go watch something funny, watch "This is Spinal Tap." That movie is truly hilarious. It does not disappoint. It doesn't have anything to do with Woody Allen, but it will wash the bad taste out of your mouth that "What's Up Tiger Lily" is guaranteed to leave you with.

Might of been funny then...........2006-08-03

Back in 1966, when no one had done anything like this it was probably hysterical! But any one episode of Mystery Science Theater 3000, no matter which one, is at least three times as funny as this. At least in my opinion. This movie has a few funny moments, but I am glad I saw this as a rental and not a purchase.

Charlie Rose with Milton Friedman (December 26,2005)

Average customer rating:

Charlie Rose with Milton Friedman (December 26,2005)

Manufacturer: "Charlie Rose, Inc."
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

( C ) | Titles | Features | DVD | Video

Free to Choose: A Personal Statement
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Charlie Rose with Milton Friedman; Laura Tyson & Paul Romer (June 1, 1999)
Charlie Rose with Warren Buffett, Bill Gates & Melinda Gates (June 26, 2006)

ASIN: B000GAKSJW
Release Date: 2006-08-10

Description

An hour with Nobel Prize-winning economist Milton Friedman. Friedman discusses his life, his contributions to economics, the Republican Party and his view on the direction of the United States and the world in coming years.

Average customer rating:

China Rose
Starring: George C. Scott , Ali MacGraw , Michael Biehn , Denis Lill , and James Hong
Director: Robert Day
Manufacturer: Platinum Disc
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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Charlie Rose with Clive Owen; Edward Norton (December 22, 2006)

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Charlie Rose with Clive Owen; Edward Norton (December 22, 2006)

Manufacturer: Charlie Rose, Inc.
ProductGroup: DVD
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Charlie Rose with Judy Woodruff, Jeanne Cummings & Linda Wertheimer, Elvis Mitchell & Edward Norton (May 15, 2006)

ASIN: B000N2HB9I
Release Date: 2007-01-30

Description

First, a conversation with Clive Owen about his starring role in the film "Children of Men_. Then, a conversation with Edward Norton about his starring role in the film "The Painted Veil" as well as the experience of filming abroad in China.

Charlie Rose with Iris Chang; Ben Gazzara; Robert Pinsky (May 19, 1998)

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Charlie Rose with Iris Chang; Ben Gazzara; Robert Pinsky (May 19, 1998)

Manufacturer: Charlie Rose
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

( C ) | Titles | Features | DVD | Video

Description

First, Iris Chang, author of The Rape of Nanking, discusses her experience of researching the work, from hearing about it in her childhood to discovering it for herself as an adult. Then, Ben Gazarra, actor, discusses his life and career as well as his new film, Spanish Prisoner. Finally, Robert Pinsky, poet laureate, discusses the nature and state of poetry in modern times as well as its future.

Average customer rating:

Charlie Rose (August 31, 2005)

Manufacturer: Charlie Rose Inc.
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

( C ) | Titles | Features | DVD | Video

An Inconvenient Truth
The World Is Flat [Updated and Expanded]: A Brief History of the Twenty-first Century
The Illusionist (Widescreen Edition)

ASIN: B000GAKT6O
Release Date: 2006-12-21

Description

A rebroadcast of an hour with Thomas Friedman, columnist for The New York Times and author of "The World Is Flat: A Brief History of the Twenty-First Century", which originally aired April 5, 2005.

Charlie Rose with James Lilley & Chai Ling; Peter Duchin & Charles Michener (June 4, 1996)

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Charlie Rose with James Lilley & Chai Ling; Peter Duchin & Charles Michener (June 4, 1996)

Manufacturer: Charlie Rose
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

( C ) | Titles | Features | DVD | Video

Description

On the anniversary of the brutal attack of students by Chinese tanks and soldiers in Tiananmen Square in Beijing, Chai Ling, commander-in-chief of the student rebellion, and James Lilley, who was U. S. ambassador to China during the protest, talk about the incident and the new PBS Frontline documentary, The Gate of Heavenly Peace. After, famous band leader Peter Duchin, who leads his own band, the Peter Duchin Orchestra, and his co-writer Charles Michener talk about Duchin's new memoir, Ghost of a Chance, which is about his life and career.

Charlie Rose with Charlene Barshefsky; Helmut Schmidt (November 23, 1999)

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Charlie Rose with Charlene Barshefsky; Helmut Schmidt (November 23, 1999)

Manufacturer: Charlie Rose
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

( C ) | Titles | Features | DVD | Video

Description

Former U.S. Trade Representative Charlene Barshefsky talks about her negotiations with China regarding its inclusion in the World Trade Organization. She outlines the potential benefits for both the Chinese and American economies as a Congressional vote approaches. Also, an interview with the former chancellor of West Germany, Helmut Schmidt. He reflects on Germany's unification, Germany's place within Europe, and relations between his nation and the United States.

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