Claire of the Moon

Starring:Trisha Todd, Karen Trumbo, Faith McDevitt, Craig Damen, Leslie Hidula, Caren Graham, Sheila Dickenson, Patricia Blem, Melissa Mitchell, Gathering Marbet, Sherilyn Lawson
Director: Nicole Conn
Studio: Fox Lorber
Product Type: DVD

Amazon.com

Dark Kingdom: The Dragon King is a visually impressive historical adventure based on the same Germanic and Norse legends that inspired Richard Wagner's Ring Cycle operas and J.R.R. Tolkien's Lord of the Rings. Produced for German television (and shot in South Africa), the film stars Benno Furmann as Siegfried, a prince whose family is slaughtered by a pair of evil kings; raised by a blacksmith (Max Von Sydow, still commanding as ever), he meets and falls for Valkyrie queen Brunhild (Kristanna Loken from Terminator 3) and slays the dragon Fafnir for King Gunther (Samuel West), which in turn, involves him in treachery, war, and separation from his beloved Brunhild. Well directed by Uli Edel (Last Exit to Brooklyn>, The Mists of Avalon), Dark Kingdom occasionally suffers from exceedingly purple dialogue, but the performances, action, and special effects combine to make for a rousing fantasy-drama. Originally broadcast at three hours in length, the DVD presentation here is the U.S. cut, which comes in at just over two hours; a battery of five making-of featurettes are included in the disc's supplemental features. --Paul Gaita

Customer Reviews:

Finally the story of Siegfried is told.......2007-06-01

The story of Siegfried and the Dragon was one of the most important and well-known legends in northern Europe, as evidenced by the vast number of references found in the archaeological record, but the story has been mostly forgotten by the general public. Everyone has heard of Achilles, but few people are familiar with Sigfried--or Sigurd as he was called in the Norse version of the tale--except those who study Norse mythology or German opera. Finally the story is told in a format that's accessible to the common man.

The advertising claims this was the inspiration for Tolkien, but this story inspired many more than just him. Richard Wagner goes without saying, but other stories like Grimm's classic Sleeping Beauty were obviously derived from Sigfried's saga as well, although that link isn't so obviously portrayed in this version.

I believe this was originally released as a mini-series on German television, then a year later on the Sci-Fi channel in the U.S. The acting is about what you'd expect from a TV movie, most of it is okay but there are many weak points. I suspect it's this weakness that earned it a less-than-stellar rating on IMDB. I didn't find it too distracting the first time through, but on repeated viewings you notice more. I still quite enjoy the movie, though. The one notable exception for me was Kristana Loken, who played Brinhild (also the Terminator in T3). She gave an excellent performance, and while of course Max Von Sidow always does an excellent job, Loken's performance was very memorable for me.

The worst thing about the movie is that this version is cut by about 50 minutes, as other reviewers have mentioned. It's frustrating because the edits were completely unnecessary. They cut the entire story of Prince Giselher and his developing relationship with Sigfried, along with some important scenes like Sigfried returning with the dragon's head. The original contained many scenes where they explored the differences between Sigfried's pagan religion and Christianity--very respectfully to both sides, I might add--but they cut out all of that. What's most frustrating is that this is the only version available in region 1 and I'm not aware of any efforts being made to release the original. I'd almost say you should buy whatever version you can and then download the full version if you can find it, but I'm sure they'd say that isn't legal.

If you are interested in ancient European legends or Norse mythology then I would highly recommend this movie, despite its flaws. If it inspires you to read the original tales, The Saga of the Volsungs or the Nibelungenlied, then all the better. If you just want a fun fantasy movie then I'd also recommend it as it's better than much of the fantasy fair out there, although it doesn't compete with The Lord of the Rings.

I give it 3/5, docked a point because of the missing scenes. The full-length version I would rate 4/5, if they would ever release it here.

Comes up from behind.......2007-04-13

I see a lot of movies, so its easy for me to become stale brained, wandering during even supposidly GOOD movies, well so many of them are FORMULA so....

This one however, comes up from behind ---got my FULL ATTENTION during much of its display.

The encompassing beautiful scenery -- I want to go visit!
Themes of the tragic flawed hero--gee I want to be like him, well, not in EVERY way
Beautiful heroine maiden --where do I buy my door length poster?
Treachorious seething villiany!

just kept me going.

At first I though, it was DRAGONSLAYER movie, he spends the time preparing. then climactically defeating the dragon, but that was only the big battle leading to something far more --intriguing.

I did not see the SCIFI series and did not even know of it, so my thoughts are not jaded because of the cuts, but I would have liked to have a DVD with ALL of it should one be released.

When I'm in the video store and they ask me about what I rented, I generally point at the wall where they have Dark Kingdom and say "not quite as good as THAT!"

Awesome TV series but..........2007-03-21

I watched this on Sci-fi everytime it was on. I could probably recite the entire movie to you, but I am ver dissapointed in the DVD because it is missing a lot that was shown in the series on tv. I would not recommend purchasing this DVD,b but if you get the chance, tape it if it ever comes back to Sci-fi

Amazing.......2007-02-07

This was a made for tv movie, a sci-fi channel exclusve. I had the great fortune to catch this 4 hour movie one nite, and have since seen it twice. It is remarkably well done, highly enjoyable, and the special effects are for the most part quite good. A family movie, magic, dragons, and lots of swordplay. Guaranteed to be a winner.

Eh.......2006-12-25

This movie was adequate.
What I would have to say about this movie overall is that some parts of it had potential.

The movie had great scenery and attention to costume design. Some of the acting was superb (brunhild), while others I hated (Sigfried! What kind of accent was that? I just hated his character as well).

Also, I think the character brunhild was superb. I loved her character design and personality very much, and it's a shame that she was paired with such a weak character like sigfried. They should have had the movie based on her instead.

Sigfried was not how you would picture a hero at all. He wasn't even an anti-hero. All he cared about was himself and the only quality that in my mind made him a hero was his "courage" and "strength."

This movie starts out very badly and kinda unrealistically, but it gets more interesting towards the latter half (aka: when brunhild comes in) and ends on an unexpected and sorta unsatisfactory ending.

Average customer rating:

Beautiful, Original and Touching

Claire (2001) (Full B&W)
Starring: Toniet Gallego
Director: Milford Thomas
Manufacturer: Strand Releasing
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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The Films of Kenneth Anger, Vol. 1
Performance
Hollywood's Legends of Horror Collection (Doctor X / The Return of Doctor X / Mad Love / The Devil Doll / Mark of the Vampire / The Mask of Fu Manchu)
Sweet Movie (Criterion Collection)
1900 (Special Collector's Edition)

ASIN: B000HC2LSU
Release Date: 2006-09-26

Description

Directed by : Milford Thomas

Set in a storybook 1920s rural American South and inspired by the Japanese fairytale "Kaguyahime," Milford Thomas' CLAIRE tells the story of a childless, elderly male couple who discover a princess made of moonlight inside an ear of corn. The enchanting young Claire bewitches onlookers with her readings of fantastic poetry in unfamiliar languages, entrances a local boy who courts tragedy when he tries to win her affection, and unwittingly becomes a healer in the process. While exemplifying the untraditional family (two men lovingly raising a moon-child), CLAIRE celebrates the diversity of family and sublimely addresses the grief associated with losing a loved one.

An homage to early cinema, the film was glowingly shot on a vintage hand-cranked 35mm camera and is accompanied by the Orchestra De Lune conducted by Anne Richardson. Like its silent-era camera, all set-design and special effects were achieved the old-fashioned way, using canvas backgrounds, semi-hidden wires and multiple exposures, creating a timeless atmosphere of wonderment and magic.

CLAIRE is written, directed, produced and edited by Milford Thomas and stars Toniet Gallego, Mish P. DeLight, James Ferguson.

Customer Reviews:

Beautiful, Original and Touching.......2007-01-14

Unique idea, well-executed, screened with an original score performed live by an orchestral group which makes it that much more emotional, charming and touching. Shot on, I believe, a hand-crank 1920's (?)camera for the most part (or perhaps entirely). Even if it weren't so absolutely compelling and interesting to watch and listen to, the story itself is so charming, uplifting, enlightening, if not a bit heartbreaking, that it alone deserves to be experienced. Loved it, and would see it again live in a heartbeat if it were to come back to town. Bought the dvd. It won several awards, I believe, in one of the San Fransisco film festivals, and I expect is the first of many great films by Milford Thomas. He is a director with a natural talent for both creative film-making and strikingly touching visual storytelling.

Average customer rating:

Tender and cute
Good movie but negative
The movie we lesbians love to hate!
Yes, and No
So it's outdated. But not that bad of a film

Claire of the Moon
Starring: Trisha Todd , Karen Trumbo , Faith McDevitt , Craig Damen , and Leslie Hidula
Director: Nicole Conn
Manufacturer: Fox Lorber
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: 1572523018
Release Date: 2000-01-25

Amazon.com

Every stereotype in the history of lesbian movies applies in this insipid piece of coitus interruptus from Portland, Oregon, director Nicole Conn. Not only doesn't she have the courage to write and direct something that is uniquely her own--she pulls almost verbatim from Donna Deitch's better, more masterful lesbian drama Desert Hearts--but she banters to every inane heterosexual cliché, including slow-burning looks, endless cigarettes, and long, slow-motion walks on the beach. This horribly acted love story between legendary writer Claire Jabrowski (Trisha Todd) and sex therapist Dr. Nicole Benedict (Karen Trumbo) unfolds as the two (gulp) become roommates at a New Age writers workshop. The romance then relies on flirting and inane banter to involve the viewer. After an hour of scary lesbian dyke drama, we're all ready to change sexual preference. It's poorly acted, silly, and titillating in that it will provoke bored straight women more than gay girls. In the end this regressive movie will appeal most to lost souls who believe true love will be found in all the wrong places. Too, it's an insult to freelance writers everywhere who struggle hourly to make a living. Watching Claire--of the moon or of whatever planet--walk beaches while she reaps paychecks and accolades from unknown sources (never do we see her type a word) is ridiculous and false. I'm here to tell you they do it (finally) in the end, but the long wait isn't worth the boring soft porn finale. Look instead to Patricia Rozema's When Night Is Falling for real thrills. --Paula Nechak

Customer Reviews:

Tender and cute.......2007-06-15

Ok, it's not the best movie out there, but its certainly one worth watching. I found this movie to be sensual, sweet, respectful and just down right cute. Take into account, when it was made, how it was made, one can only say that this peace of work should be respected and embraced. If you have an ounce of romance in you and enjoy watching women on screen who embrace their art then you'll enjoy it too. By the way, did I mention there are also some really funny moments in it aswell? Southern Comfort...

Good movie but negative.......2007-03-11

I used to watch it when it have VHS long time ago. I love that movie. I thought of getting DVD to watch it again. BUT the negative thing is there is NO CLOSED CAPTIONED or SUBTITLE for Deaf, Hearing Impaired or Hard of Hearing people to watch it. It isnt worth it to buy it.

The movie we lesbians love to hate!.......2007-02-06

OK, OK, we've all had years to take pot-shots at this semi-stinker of a movie...
What I hated: the acting is pretty bad, especially Trisha Todd. Yeesh, what a spoiled little brat her character was too! I hated the dialoge, so contrived and AWKWARD! In the "making of" tape, Conn describes the actress who plays Maggie as some sort of female Clark Gable - UGH! Wrinkled up truck driver with an overbite..not suave and sexy! The guy that Claire kept "doing it" with was annoying the heck out of me.
What I liked: the fact that Karen Trumbo is so sexy is about all that saved it for me. (except, did anyone notice that she kisses like she's about to swallow the other person whole??) I also liked the stretch when they began to find peace with each other and became friends. The fantasizing about each other was cool...
Definately of dubious quality, just a sexy setting, some good "tension", and a few funny lines...I think if most women are honest, there's a place for this on their shelves.

Yes, and No.......2006-11-03

Claire of The Moon is a movie about sexual awakening. The story is great, but the acting skills a bit to "stiff". We follow Claire's process from defining herself as a straight girl with many male partners, to becoming the lover of her female cabin mate at a writer's seminar. The movie depicts wonderfully the struggle Claire goes through and that is what makes this movie worth watching again and again. Another thing that makes this movie worth watching is the character Maggie. She is a strong character and the acting is GREAT. I would characterize Maggie as soft butch and that is rare to find in any film about lesbians. I love watching beautiful woman as much as the next person, but Maggie is a real life character that adds to this movie and I wish that more movie makers would celebrate diversity.

So it's outdated. But not that bad of a film.......2006-10-29

Okay so it is an early 90's film not as modern as some lesbian films. I love the bonding of the women. Faith McDevitt is my favorite as Maggie who is running the writers group. I would have preferred an all female cast. The scenes with the writers group are fantastic. I wish Faith McDevitt had done more Lesbian films.

The extras are well worth the purchase.

Claire of the Moon (Two-Disc Collector's Edition)

Average customer rating:

Tender and cute
Good movie but negative
The movie we lesbians love to hate!
Yes, and No
So it's outdated. But not that bad of a film

Claire of the Moon (Two-Disc Collector's Edition)
Starring: Trisha Todd , Karen Trumbo , Faith McDevitt , Craig Damen , and Leslie Hidula
Director: Nicole Conn
Manufacturer: Wolfe Video
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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