Charly

Starring:Heather Beers, Jeremy Elliott
Director: Adam Thomas Anderegg
Studio: Excel Entertainment Group
Product Type: DVD

Average customer rating:

How good it is can be purely subjective.
Good despite a few flaws
Charly shows its age
Pulls at the heart strings....
Charly review

Charly
Starring: Claire Bloom , William Dwyer , Leon Janney , Barney Martin , and Skipper McNally
Director: Ralph Nelson
Manufacturer: MGM (Video & DVD)
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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Similar Items:

Flowers for Algernon
The Diary of Anne Frank
Awakenings
Flowers for Algernon : A Unit Plan (Litplans on CD)
Anne Frank - The Whole Story

ASIN: B0002KPHWY
Release Date: 2005-03-08

Amazon.com

Adapted from Daniel Keyes's novel Flowers for Algernon, Charly must be viewed as a soap opera of and for its zeitgeist--the halcyon '60s, when "natural" was nirvana, the air hummed with the mantra "Everybody's beautiful," and all ills stemmed from institutional monoliths such as Science, Government, Education, Religion. Accordingly, Charly (Cliff Robertson) is a 30-year-old retardate whose doofus sweetness makes him superior to most able-minded folk, whether they're the bigoted dolts he sweeps floors for or the ambitious scientists who see him as the human equivalent of Algernon, a mouse they've surgically (but impermanently) smartened up. Naturally, post-op Charly, sporting a genius IQ, "sees things as they are." Trotted out as the neurosurgeons' poster boy, he stands up to the "learned" audience--shot as faceless, inhuman interrogators. He's every '60s flower child, berating his "elders" for blighting their brave new world.

The one gift Charly gets out of becoming Brainiac is sex. In a lengthy montage resembling a retro TV commercial, he and his special-ed teacher (Claire Bloom, madonna with eternal Mona Lisa smile) romp through an Edenic outdoors, their embraces hallowed by sunlight glinting through leaves, moonlight glinting on water, and sappy Ravi Shankar music. (Stylistic clichés also include embarrassing outbreaks of split screens and multiple small screens within the frame, notably when rebellious Charly turns biker.) Robertson's performance is well-meaning but hokey. Still, in the penultimate moments when Charly begins to slide back into retardation, the actor achieves a genuine tragic gravity, and he became a surprise Oscar winner for his pains. --Kathleen Murphy

Description

From the classic Daniel Keyes novel Flowers for Algernon comes this "moving" (Boxoffice) and unforgettable adaptation. Featuring an Academy AwardÂ(r)-winning* performance by Cliff Robertson and a "shrewd, talented" score (Variety) by Ravi Shankar, this timeless tearjerker is "definitely one to see" (Cue). When a mentally retarded man named Charly (Robertson) undergoes experimental brain surgery, he is miraculously freed from the prison of his own mind. As his IQ soars to genius proportions, Charly's eyes are opened to a world he's never truly seen. But when the effects of his operation inexplicably begin to fade, Charly must find a way to halt his regression before his own mind destroys his life, his newfound romance and the man he's become. *1968: Actor

Customer Reviews:

How good it is can be purely subjective. .......2007-06-02

Unliike many reviewers, I saw this movie when first released before I read the book. Like many movies of its period this one has a distinct 60s flavor to it in many respects. Like movies from the 70s, many of the production qualities of this movie's time seem incredibly dated. But hindsight can put that kind of stamp on any time period (anyone ever watched an episode of "Miami Vice" in hindsight with a straight face?). So just when one saw "Charly" for the first time makes all the difference, as does which they did first- read the book or saw the movie. The impact it had on me when I first saw it was tremendous. I wanted to see it again but before that occurred I read the book. I probably enjoyed the book much more as a result. I agree that the two have dramatic differences, but that has always been the risk when adapting a movie from the book. Robertson gives a solid, award winnng performance that evokes pathos, though today it seems a bit over the top. The direction and camera work are reflective of the late 60s, which unwittingly seems to make this movie that much more of a time capsule, almost worth watching for that reason alone- almost! But that detracts from the film at hand. One could argue that if this movie was produced in a different decade it might still bear trademarks indigenousness to that time and place. When younger I demanded films that suited my taste buds of the age I was at that time. Since then, over the years I've watched lots of movies from different time periods that I either hadn't seen before, or now viewed differently. But generally that didn't take away from the appreciation originally instilled in me for a movie. I still find many scenes in this movie heartbreaking, particularly the sequence in which intelligent Charlie can't escape the vision of what inevitably awaits him once the experiment wears off. Just how that was accomplished by the film is irrelevant. Some movies demand remakes. Others are remade merely to add contemporary flavor in some shape or form and should never have been remade. In between those two there is a wide gap of grey, which is where I feel this movie falls. There are numerous films that don't find a contemporary audience due to the time it was released. I still know many who either haven't seen "Rosemary's Baby" or couldn't make it through it because they could taste the 60s while watching it. But that doesn't mean it wasn't a great film. Not to compare the two films directly, but it can be argued that "Charlie" suffers in the same manner. Though great movies withstand the test of time, to me, how much you enjoy "Charly" is purely subjective. How will good films from today look 20-30 years from now?

Good despite a few flaws.......2007-02-25

Daniel Keyes's Flowers for Algernon was voted one of the greatest stories of the past 25 years when I read the story in junior high in the mid-60s. Eventually made into this movie, I enjoyed it despite several points where the movie departs from the book and gets pretty hokey, when the director should have had the sense to stick with the original book. As has been mentioned before, the photo montage sequence of Charlie with Miss Kinian and Charlie's riding off on the motorcycle was almost embarrasingly bad (maybe they were recalling the movie, "Then Came Bronson," from the same period). But overall Robertson's portrayal of Charlie was engaging and believable and the scene where he addresses the assembled scientists is certainly very memorable as a demonstration of his newly attained genius. "Brave new loves, brave new hates," was how he summarized the coming age, a quote which turned out to be more prescient than anyone could have imagined. The movie in many ways epitomizes the 60s fascination with personal transformation through chemical means, and if only genius were so easily attainable as taking a drug. We may never achieve such advanced brain science but for its time the movie was a poignant and credible portrayal of fleetingly attained but ultimately lost genius.

Charly shows its age.......2007-02-18

Cliff Robertson plays the mentally challenged Charly Gordon in this so-so adaptation of Daniel Keyes's short story "Flowers for Algernon." Robertson volunteers to be a human guinea pig after an operation on the brains of mice have shown them to appear "smarter." Indeed Charly becomes a genius, after which he falls in love with his clinician (played by Claire Bloom). Director Ralph Nelson plays up this romantic element using all the cinematic clichés of the late 60s - falling leaves, pastel colors, soft music - perhaps new and different at the time, but pretty hard to take today. Worse is that Nelson's attention is drawn away from the real point of the story - the results of the experiment and what it says about the way we view each other, though the best scene in the movie is where Robertson lectures a roomful of doctors about their arrogance as he holds the dead mouse Algernon in his hand, a victim of the experiment - as Robertson will shortly become as well. Keyes's short story is dramatic and probing where this movie goes flat and flakey. Robertson won the Academy Award for his efforts.

Pulls at the heart strings...........2007-01-10

I purchased this movie to watch with my 8th grade language arts class. We had recently read "Flowers for Algernon" and I thought that the movie would be a good suplement. I was correct. The children, all 13 and 14 year olds related with this movie much easier than the text and when we went back and reviewed what we read they brought a bigger perspective and the conversations really picked up. I would recomend this movie to anyone that teaches and would be reading "Flowers for Algernon" or to anyone who is interested in Mental Retardation. This is a science fiction film but can really pull at your heart strings. Have a tissue close-by.

Charly review.......2007-01-04

I find the story hopeful and sad together. It is a great story.

Average customer rating:

All time favorite
The Christmas Box / Timepiece
the meaning of xmas
A pleasant review
The Christmas Box / Timepiece

The Christmas Box / Timepiece
Starring: Naomi Watts , Kevin Kilner , James Earl Jones , Ellen Burstyn , and Mercedes Kastner
Director: Marcus Cole
Manufacturer: Lions Gate
ProductGroup: DVD
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The Christmas Shoes
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ASIN: B0000ALPIW
Release Date: 2003-09-23

Amazon.com

Hallmark's warm, 1995 made-for-television movie The Christmas Box and its darker, 1996 prequel, Timepiece, are logically and delightfully paired in this DVD package. In the former, Richard Thomas plays Richard, a ski-shop owner consumed with work and unhappy about his family's insistence on sharing a lonely mansion with Mary, an icy, humorless widow (Maureen O'Hara). While Richard's wife and child develop loving ties with Mary, he suffers recurring dreams and grows convinced the house is haunted by a tragedy from the old woman's past. Timepiece jumps ahead 16 years from the resolution of that story, then takes us back to the 1940s, when Mary (Naomi Watts) and her late husband, David (Kevin Kilner), a wealthy arms supplier to America's war effort, marry and endure both a bogus murder trial and a crushing family loss. While it's wonderful to see O'Hara, Timepiece proves the grittier, more interesting film, helped mightily by a cast including James Earl Jones and Ellen Burstyn. --Tom Keogh

Customer Reviews:

All time favorite.......2007-06-14

This is an all time favorite family movie. We wore the video tape out and was very happy to see the DVD become available. This movie has been the family traditional to play for every Christmas season.

Get it!

The Christmas Box / Timepiece.......2007-01-20

My husband and I sat and watched both of these movies and really enjoyed watching them both.Great Christmas story for all ages.Richard Thomas was wonderful in this movie.Also purchased because it was recommened Homecoming a Christmas Story. Another excellent story for all ages.Has Richard Thomas in it also.

the meaning of xmas.......2007-01-19

I loved the movie thought it was very well done one of my favorated movies

A pleasant review.......2007-01-19

I was pleased with how soon my order arrived. No problems.

The Christmas Box / Timepiece.......2007-01-16

This is excellant viewing materal for all ages. I first saw it on TV and ordered the DVD. I watched it again when I received my DVD. I have shared it with realatives. Everyone likes it.

Average customer rating:

Fernando Lamas a good bad guy
100 Rifles
OK movie, some good parts
Exciting western with Brown, Reynolds, and Welch
Implausible But Fun Western

100 Rifles
Starring: Jim Brown , Raquel Welch , Burt Reynolds , Fernando Lamas , and Dan O'Herlihy
Director: Tom Gries
Manufacturer: 20th Century Fox
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: B000EHSVSW
Release Date: 2006-05-23

Description

A bank robber and a lawman join up with a female revolutionary to help save the mexican indians from a despotic military governor.

Customer Reviews:

Fernando Lamas a good bad guy.......2007-01-02

I admit - Raquel Welch, what a woman! I liked the acters in this flick. It wasn't bad. Burt Reynolds played a good wastrel. Fernando Lamas was the best though as the evil Mexican Commandant with his Colonel Klink sidekick/advisor (Victor Newman from the 'Young & the Restless'). Actually, Victor Newman, is an excellent cool actor. He should have been in more leading roles. I like his cool Prussian demeanor and would make a great stock bad guy. I was surprised that Jim Brown was able to pull it off not too bad.

One of those good 70s westerns, I recommend it.

100 Rifles.......2006-11-04

This was a very good film, I had not seen this movie in years. Shipping was fast on this item so I was pleased with that. Overall I was very pleased with the movie and purchase. Oh!, the price was reasonable, for this was a big plus.

OK movie, some good parts.......2006-07-08

Overall, the movie is an OK western. Very watchable, but not great by any definition of the word. But it has some memorable scenes, like the Raquel Welch scene at the water tower.

Exciting western with Brown, Reynolds, and Welch.......2006-05-30

100 Rifles will never be considered a great western, but it is a fun watch with plenty of action and a good leading cast. A Phoenix sheriff, Lyedecker, is pursuing a bank robber, Yaqui Joe a half-breed bandit, and ends up finding him in Mexico amidst an uprising. Before Lyedecker can bring him in, he is captured alongside Joe who is wanted for giving rifles to the Yaqui Indians by the Mexican Army. After a narrow escape, Lyedecker forms an uneasy, very uneasy, alliance with Joe to help the Yaquis fight back against the Mexican Army. 100 Rifles is one of many westerns that was released in the late 1960s trying to take advantage of the success of the Italian spaghetti westerns. It has the feel of spaghettis and was filmed in Almeria, but was American financed. All that aside, its a very enjoyable western with plenty of action. Add a great score from Jerry Goldsmith and a great looking print on this new DVD, and you can't miss.

Jim Brown stars as Lyedecker, the Phoenix sheriff trying to bring in Yaqui Joe for robbing a bank of $6,000. Brown isn't considered a great actor, but he's very good here. The man simply has a great presence on screen. Burt Reynolds plays Yaqui Joe, a half-breed bandit trying to give rifles to the Yaqui Indians. His part gives him some very funny lines, and together with Brown, they make a great duo. Raquel Welch plays Sarita, the love interest who fights alongside the men. She has a love scene with Brown, that at the time seemed shocking, but its pretty tame. As expected, Ms. Welch looks amazing, and director Tom Gries gives the viewer plenty of chances to oggle her. Fernando Lamas plays the evil Verdugo, the Mexican officer charged with wiping out the Yaquis while Eric Braeden offers advice as Von Klemme, a German advisor. This long-overdue DVD offers a great looking widescreen presentation considering the movie is almost 40 years old, three picture galleries with about 60-70 photos, a 100 Rifles trailer, and trailers for three other 20th Century Fox westerns. So if you're a fan of westerns, check out Jim Brown, Burt Reynolds, and Raquel Welch in the action-packed 100 Rifles!

Implausible But Fun Western.......2006-05-07

100 Rifles is the kind of Western you'd have expected someone to make in the late 1960's. One with a black US lawman, and two revolutionary Mexican Indians fighting for justice in their oppressed homeland. It would be easy to dismiss this as a politically correct western, even though it was made before the term was invented. But the cast and the production of 100 Rifles pulls it off, making a rare late 60's Western treat.

Jim Brown, recently retired football superstar, plays the US marshal with the virility and muscle that befits his status as one of the greatest, and definitely the most punishing running back in the history of the NFL. Burt Reynolds and Raquel Welch plays the two revolutionaries. Brown's character comes to Mexico chasing bank robbing Reynolds, ends up falling for Welch, and eventually helps both Reynolds and Welch with their revolutionary activities. Reynolds displays all of the vigor and charm that helped become the most popular box office star in the late seventies/early eighties, and Welch is, well Welch, oozing sex appeal and sensuality.

100 Rifles is definitely a product of the era in which it was made, but since there very few great Westerns made in the late 60's except movies like Hombre and The Wild Bunch, this is film to appreciate and treasure.

Louis L'Amour: Hondo and the Apaches/The Man Called Noon

Average customer rating:

A Man Called Noon
not as good as john wayne
Disappointed in Amazon
the movies i would give a 3,but this transfer is a zero
Love the movie, but hated the DVD

Louis L'Amour: Hondo and the Apaches/The Man Called Noon
Starring: Richard Crenna , Stephen Boyd , Rosanna Schiaffino , Farley Granger , and Patty Shepard
Director: Peter Collinson , and Lee H. Katzin
Manufacturer: Vintage Home Ent.
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: B0000A02V9
Release Date: 2004-01-06

Customer Reviews:

A Man Called Noon.......2007-01-04

This film has an error in the fight scene at the ranch. The film stops & then returns to the start: MOST ANNOYING. Otherwise 4 stars

not as good as john wayne.......2006-11-08

Have to say that this edition is in no way as good as John Wayne as Hondo.

Disappointed in Amazon.......2006-10-03

I expected to get a good quality movie in the Louis L'Amour-Hondo and the Apaches/The Man Called Noon. I was sadly disappointed in not only the very poor video but in 26 minutes of The Man Called Noon instead of a movie I got a poorly produced cut of it.

the movies i would give a 3,but this transfer is a zero.......2006-06-12

the hondo movie is two shows from the hondo t.v. series,and i had never heard of the other. i did like both but the disc is so bad(washed out color,sound drops,and the look of a transfer from a video camera and t.v. screen)!!! if you want these look for better copies out there!!!!!

Love the movie, but hated the DVD.......2006-01-04

I bought this DVD solely for HONDO AND THE APACHES. I was a fan of the series around 1994 when TNT was airing it regularly. When they pulled it I missed it until this DVD came out. Boy was I sorry I bought it.

The DVD looks like it was mastered from an old film print, maybe even an old VHS tape due to some of the print damage that looks like video-tape "snow" rather than damage to an old film print. On top of that, it should be 85 minutes long, and is only a mere 72 minutes. The quality of the other film, THE MAN CALLED NOON, is no better. I'm used to cheap budget DVDs, but when parts of the movie are missing, I have to complain.

Average customer rating:

A bit tedious but joyous nonetheless
Sometimes a little trip can change everything!
Very Upbeat Road Trip Film
Lost In Translation?
Lovely low-key, gay French film

Adventures of Felix
Starring: Sami Bouajila , Patachou , Ariane Ascaride , Pierre-Loup Rajot , and Charly Sergue
Director: Olivier Ducastel , and Jacques Martineau
Manufacturer: Fox Lorber
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: B00005U2FI
Release Date: 2002-02-19

Amazon.com

Unlike many gay-themed films, Adventures of Felix isn't about how the title character comes out of the closet, falls in love, or contracts HIV. We meet Felix (Sami Bouajila), who is of Arab descent, after these things have already come to pass. He and his partner live happily together in Dieppe, and his condition is under control. When he loses his job, he decides to travel to Marseilles to meet the father who left before he was born. Thus begins a road trip that is divided into five parts ("My Grandmother," "My Sister," etc.) as Felix meets strangers who help him out in various ways and come to fulfill these roles. By the time he reaches his destination, he realizes that family is what you make it. It may sound simplistic, but Olivier Ducastel and Jacques Martineau spin the tale in an engaging manner, and Bouajila is a real find. --Kathleen C. Fennessy

Description

An HIV-positive French North African takes an unconvential journey on a quest for his father who he's never met. On his way, he discovers that family need not always be connected by blood.

Customer Reviews:

A bit tedious but joyous nonetheless.......2007-02-11

The Adventures of Felix is a movie that you must be patient with. The pacing can be a bit slow but the center and end of it begin to pull the pieces together. It wasn't until after the movie was over that I realized how much I really liked it.

We follow Felix (who is HIV+...don't worry it's not one of those movies about HIV...this film dealt with it without the heavy-handedness that most movies do. Felix takes his pills and that's about it. ) who decides to take a trip to the south of France to see the father he's never met after being laid off. Meeting his father becomes irrelevant as he encounters an assorted bunch of characters that reveal more about Felix than he reveals about himself (my favorite was "the grandmother" who was a hoot). There is an incidental sexual encounter with "the cousin" (you'll understand when you see the movie--he's not really his cousin) but it's shown very flippantly as if it's just another part of the adventure (don't expect full on sex in this movie b/c you won't get it). The fact that Felix has a boyfriend doesn't seem to bother either of them.

The movie is designed to expand the definition of family and it does so without the sap. Sami Bouajila is quite charming, incredibly SEXY and, as Felix, a little self-absorbed. The movie is not terrifically deep; it's a nice little story that has a nice, little ending.

Sometimes a little trip can change everything!.......2006-10-05

The Adventures of Felix is an enjoyable film to view but it's not one I suspect I will watch over and over again. It does offer a nice variety of background scenery as Felix takes a trip to meet his father who he has never known, following the death of his mother. A funny thing happens on the way to Marseilles. Actually SEVERAL things, not all of them funny, but it definately has its moments. It seems that everyone who's paths cross with Felix' is drawn to him like "stink on a skunk" as we say in Oklahomo. These adventures include a steamy sexcapade with a driver who gives him a ride (in more ways than one), an elderly woman who takes him in to her home to keep him from sleeping on a park bench and taking the risk of being mugged, a woman with a van load of children who decides she wants to spend the night with him although he is gay, and her children who quickly refer to him as "Uncle Felix" on a road trip of their own enroute to their individual dad's homes for the weekend. The only people who don't seem to warm up to him are the men he witnesses killing another man, and his father of course who doesn't know Felix is his son. The two meet however and eventually have a relationship which satisfies Felix and gives him the sence that his journey was not in vain. In the process he solves a crime as the only witness. All in all, very good acting and a good cast. A nice gay road trip film, complete with comedy, drama, adventure, mystery and a little horror all rolled into one.

Very Upbeat Road Trip Film.......2006-10-03

This is truly a wonderfully charming film. It is refreshing to see a movie deal with a character being HIV positive who is approaching his condition in such a positive way. This movie, much like Brokeback Mountain, is not only for a gay audience. Everyone could benefit from experiencing Felix and his journey. I recently saw Umbrellas of Cherbourg for the first time, and there is a certain charm that is unique to French films. Plus of course the language is so beautiful. It does present a lot of heavy issues in a very entertaining way. Sami Bouajila is a magnetic screen presence. I can see this actor has been quite busy so I will check out his other films. Also the jazz score is extremely appealing!! This is a GEM!!!

Lost In Translation?.......2006-01-11

This is my third road movie in my last three rentals. I'm off this genre for the foreseeable future. The young man who plays Felix is certainly easy on the eyes, the French countryside is beautiful, and it's refreshing to see a character apparently healthy as he takes his HIV medications on schedule. The movie unfortunately doesn't really ever go anywhere. In the beginning of the film Felix, who has just lost his job, decides that he will pack up, leave his caring teacher lover and go looking for his father. Along the way he meets a "little brother" type with whom he steals a car containing a young baby, a "grandmother" type, a hunky "cousin" who he has a brief romp with and finally a "father" figure. I must have blinked or something got lost in translation since all at once Felix apparently is no longer interested in finding his real father but had a reunion with his lover and they go off into the proverbial sunset.

I even listened to the directors' commentary supplied on the DVD, something that is almost always fruitless since a director who has to spend 90 minutes explaining what he was trying to do is usually fighting a losing battle. That is certainly the case here.

Lovely low-key, gay French film.......2005-03-17

Just an enjoyable romp through France, as seen through the eyes of a young, gay, HIV+ Arab. A relatively upbeat and cheerful movie, especially compared to other French films, which often try to be depressing on purpose. The gay protagonist does NOT die or have something else horrible happen to him (straight viewers may wonder why I am saying this, but just watch some of the older movies about gays, and you will know).

Lush countryside, leisurely camera and convivial music set the tone. This movie has the best soundtrack I have heard in a long time. Yes, this is a movie you will want to watch again. No, the plot is not the major strength of the film. No, there are not compelling issues that must be resolved. No, this is not a cliffhanger or hard-hitting drama. Don't expect to get your emotions worked up. Nor is this an exercise in erotica. This is exactly what I said, an enjoyable romp through the French countryside, where our intrepid traveler has a series of minor adventures in his quest to meet his Father (or was it Mother, I forget, I saw this movie a year ago).

I would consider placing this in the top twenty of all gay feature-length films. Give it a try and see what you think. But like I said, you need to have a relaxed attitude and approach this film for simple entertainment. Personally, I watched the movie out of curiosity to learn more about the French. In that, I was not disappointed.

Average customer rating:

Great film!
Loved it
Astounding...
Charly DVD
29 Stars

Charly
Director: Adam Thomas Anderegg
Manufacturer: Excel Entertainment Group
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: B0001CJ8XM
Release Date: 2003-08-01

Customer Reviews:

Great film!.......2007-07-03

This is a good one for the collection. I love these family friendly LDS films. This is definitely one of the higher quality LDS movies around.

Loved it.......2007-04-03

I should start out by saying that I'm generally a fan of Mormon cinema. Given the low budgets, most of the films are remarkably good. I'm curious to see what happens as this particular genre matures over time. Within the genre, Charly's production qualities are well below par. I often felt like I was watching a 1980's made for tv movie. Most of the acting, with a couple of notable exceptions, is also below par. That said, I somehow managed to give this movie 5 stars. It is one of the most powerful love stories I have ever seen because it not only tells of eternal love, but it believes in it. Forgive its failings and listen to the message. You'll love it.

Astounding..........2007-03-26

My wife read the book as a teen, and bought the movie recently. She didn't tell me anything about it before we watched it; and I can't for the life of me remember being more emotionally moved by a movie. Clearly the ending is sad, but I was impressed with the depth of the relationship and the way this film addressed the sincere love between a husband and wife that truly love each other and get the eternal nature of marriage. I couldn't recommend this more strongly for married couples.

Charly DVD.......2007-01-12

Well Packed and Fantastic service for postage to Australia fastest i have ever had.

29 Stars.......2006-07-24

I own about 1,400 movies (business reasons), and this film consistently falls into my top ten, and maybe top five. I cannot recommend it enough. Charly is a romantic film with an unusual dose of reality. It doesn't end with And They Lived Happily Ever After, either.

Buy this film. You will watch it again and again and again.

You may also enjoy Baptists at our Barbecue, starring Heather Beers who is the perfect Charly and one of the two stars of Baptists.

The book Charly by Jack Weyland is also a cult tear jerker.

Average customer rating:

"First time, he forced her........"
Kidnapping with a twist
In Cold Blood
Sadism
Languid Metaphorical Western

The Hunting Party
Starring: Oliver Reed , Gene Hackman , Candice Bergen , Simon Oakland , and Ronald Howard
Director: Don Medford
Manufacturer: MGM (Video & DVD)
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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Warlock

ASIN: B0007O3952
Release Date: 2005-05-17

Description

Nobody steals from Brandt Ruger and lives. With a stellar cast led by OscarÂ(r) winner* Gene Hackman (Unforgiven), EmmyÂ(r) winner Candice Bergen ("Murphy Brown") and Oliver Reed (Gladiator), this searing western fires round after round of emotional heat with a torrid frontier love triangle that can only lead to revenge. To cattle baron Brandt Ruger (Hackman), his beautiful wife Melissa (Bergen) is just one of his possessions. So when notorious bandit Frank Calder (Reed) kidnaps Melissa, Ruger isn't concerned about herhe's enraged that someone stole from him. Melissa finds her captor quite kind, but Ruger is organizing a posse to hunt down the pairand recover his property dead or alive!

Customer Reviews:

"First time, he forced her........".......2006-12-21

Candice Bergen (Melissa Ruger) is a school teacher married to Brandt Ruger (Hackman). Brandt, a wealthy, powerful cattle man is incensed when he gets word of his wife's abduction at the hands of Frank Calder (Reed) and his outlaw gang. Frank intends her no harm though, he just wants her to tutor him so he can learn to read and write. Meanwhile, Hackman hears of the kidnapping while on a train to a hunting trip with 5 of his cohorts (two of them being G.D. Spradlin and Simon Oakland). He decides to change it to a manhunt. With powerful, long range rifles that can shoot accurately past 700 yards he and his buddies will pick off these outlaws. They leave the train on horseback and track the gang down. With scopes in place they start shooting from so far away the gang can't even see them. Spradlin is having a great time shooting men in cold blood until they sneak up on the snipers and shoot back. One of Hackman's party is killed and Spradlin decides he doesn't want to shoot at someone who's shooting back and leaves. Hackman won't quit though. He's had Frank in his sights more than once but wants to save him for last. Melissa falls for Frank. Hackman was worthless as a husband anyway. From the beginning it's hard to understand why she ever married the louse. Hackman and his fellow snipers are more like the bad guys than the outlaw gang. Lots of blood and violence, sadistic at times.

Kidnapping with a twist.......2006-08-27

A good western which starts with a slap of rejection, twists to the kidnapping and then the hunting trip begins. As for the twist, well watch the movie!!

In Cold Blood.......2006-08-19

A nontypical western, this moves from the classic Hollywood western concept of two idiots standing up against one another in "duel mode" to the more realistic human mode "kill them where they stand by whatever means necessary" and does it quite well.

People who want escape from gritty reality will hate this film. For those who want to explore the metamorphosis of depictions of the darkest of human emotions from the 1960's on through the rest of the century, it is a reflection of life and reality at any time in history and an example of an attempt at portraying the realities of human nature by a midcentury filmmaker. Although this may not be as pleasing as films like "Oklahoma" or "Casablanca", it performed the mission I have attributed to it as well as, or better than, movies such as "Full Metal Jacket" or "The Green Berets".

Sadism .......2006-08-05

I'm not a huge fan of the western genre but I don't mind seeing a good old wild west, action yarn. So when I watched this film a couple of years ago when it was airing on TV (about the only place it could be found at the time), I think was expecting a classic, fun, gun slinging shoot'em up but this film anything but fun.

The Hunting Party is very violent and in a meaningless way. In fact, that's all the movie is interested in: guns, gore and graphic carnage. The top notch cast (including Oliver Reed, Gene Hackman, Candice Bergen, L.Q. Jones, and G.D. Spraldin), nice cinematography, and good production values, simply do not make up for the brutish mean streak in the script; Hackman and his hunting party simply lay back in the bushes and blow Reed's gang apart with their high-powered rifles. I admit this may be more realistic (would the party really want to get into an outright conflict?) but it's just a bit too much. The script has very little depth to it as well. It only makes the whole affair all the more pointless.

I'm sure that had there been a proper ending I would have given this a higher rating but the movie just stops. There's no resolution, no redemption, nothing. This left a really sour taste in my mouth and it'll likely do the same for you.

Darkhorse86

Languid Metaphorical Western .......2006-03-21

Copious metaphorical rhetoric is abundant in this dubious Western staring Oliver Reed, Candice Bergen and Gene Hackman. Director Don Medford is out of his element trying to pull off a logical yet meaningful story out of this monstrosity of events and filmed images. Themes of violence, love, obsessive hate, sadism and more run throughout this film but there is no logical conclusion to what has transpired. Oliver Reed's performance is ludicrous. The stalwart L. Q. Jones gives the only good performance in this film!

Average customer rating:

A video nasty??? :::spoilers ahead:::
I lost 98 min of my life
things that make you go hmmmm
Cannibal Man (1971) d: De La Iglesia, Eloy
Anchor Bay rescues another so-so obscurity

Cannibal Man
Starring: Vicente Parra , Emma Cohen , Eusebio Poncela , Vicky Lagos , and Lola Herrera
Director: Eloy de la Iglesia
Manufacturer: Anchor Bay
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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Cannibal Ferox
Mountain of the Cannibal God
Anthropophagus - The Grim Reaper
Man from Deep River
Don't Go in the House

ASIN: 6305840008
Release Date: 2000-05-23

Amazon.com

A hot-tempered blue-collar butcher kills just one man, a bullying taxi driver whom surely no one will miss, and by the end of the week winds up with a veritable stockyard of corpses in his tiny home during a Spanish summer heat wave. It all starts when Marco's girlfriend insists he go to the police, and he strangles her to keep her quiet. Soon everyone he cares for is dropping by the increasingly crowded house looking for one victim or another, and Marco, as out of control as a rabid dog, keeps on killing, one cover-up leading to another. The stinking pile of bodies soon has all the neighborhood dogs smacking their lips, until he starts dropping his fetid victims into the slaughterhouse grinder, piece by piece. Though it sounds more like a farce than a humid thriller, it's neither a black comedy nor a gory bloodfest (despite the misleading title, there is no cannibal in this picture). Marco turns from macho hothead to doleful wretch as he numbly executes each successive victim as if it's a tortured chore demanded by mocking gods. Writer-director Eloy de la Iglesia doesn't shirk on the dirty deeds--one unlucky fellow gets a cleaver full on the face--but this is less a spectacle than a woebegone portrait of the spiritual disintegration of an angry antihero. --Sean Axmaker

Customer Reviews:

A video nasty??? :::spoilers ahead:::.......2005-11-05

After having watched a number of movies listed on the original video nasties, I can't help but wonder why a number of those gruesome movies were even put on there. One of those are "Cannibal Man." "Cannibal Man" is a Spanish serial killer flick that has nothing to do with cannibalism and also has very little gore in it. The goriest part of the entire movie (and most interesting) is in the beginning when there is a few scenes from a slaughterhouse of a number of cows being butchered. After that, the rest of the movie is a 90-plus minute borefest in which a man who works in a slaughterhouse and lives in the slums slowly loses his grasp on reality and quickly spirals into a madness from which he cannot escape while all the while trying to pretend that all is normal. Basically, "Cannibal Man" consists of a very simple plot in which the main character accidentally kills a taxi cab driver with a rock while the driver was busy assaulting his girlfriend. Later, he reasonably fears that his girlfriend is going to turn him in to the police so violently strangles her to death. A little later, his brother threatens to turn him into the police so he kills him too, but this time he pounds his sibling's head in with a large monkey wrench. He then kills his brother's unsuspecting fiancee, her father, (the father's death is probably the most interesting throughout the entire movie), then proceeds to kill a nosy older woman after he finishes giving her the "ole in and out." Interspersed between all these scenes is some really disturbing gay erotica between the main character and his homosexual neighbor. Thats pretty much the movie, only it drags on much longer than my concise summary of it. Probably not worth renting, certainly not worth buying, I suggest checking out "Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer" over this "video nasty" that isn't so nasty after all any day.

I lost 98 min of my life.......2002-10-02

The movie cannibal man is not like it says. First off, he isnt a cannibal at all. As a lover of cannibal films this is far from one. Even the description on the back is misleading. He works at a meat plant where he makes soup, wow how convenient on disposing of bodies. He does kill some people, but the scenes where people die arent that graphic so that wasnt worth my time and my friends who were there with me watching it. What is with his neighbor, the homosexual inuendos were there, and well really upfront and unnecessary. I do not recommend this film to anyone that likes cannibal films, or horror films. It sucked

things that make you go hmmmm.......2001-07-15

I read about Cannibal Man in a recent installment of the Catalogue of Carnage, which compared it to Henry, Portrait of a Serial Killer and Polanski's Repulsion. The Henry similarities are superficially there, but this was no masterpiece of psychological disintegration as in the case of the latter. It's kind of about madness and economical oppression but ultimately leaves you kind of wondering what you just watched. Wondering also why it's called Cannibal Man. He doesn't eat anybody! He merely puts parts of his victims bodies into the meat grinder at the soup factory where he works. Not exactly a horror movie, though it did resemble certain stylistic elements of the great Italian films and featured a Rosemary's Baby-derived lullaby that played repeatedly throughout, Cannibal Man tells the tale of a man who is unable to face the reality of his actions and ends up with a body count as a result. There is a fair amount of gore, which apparently got it banned in several countries, but somehow I don't think this would upset anyone seeking out a film called Cannibal Man - the slaughterhouse footage is far more disturbing. The weirdest (and most potentially interesting) element in the mix was Nester, Cannibal Man's would-be gay lover with whom he goes for an intimate swim. It was hardly suggested that Marcos kills because of repressed homosexual desires, so this scene and the tension between the two men just seemed extremely odd. If this theme had been developped, it might not have seemed so misplaced within the context of the rest of the film. Nester was fabulous though and I looked forward to seeing him again after every scene and watching Cannibal Man's expressions in contemplation of this strange new friendship. The dubbing is laughable.

Cannibal Man (1971) d: De La Iglesia, Eloy.......2001-06-04

This film is one of the better-directed movies that made it onto the Video Nasties list. A gloomy and depressing Spanish movie much in the style of Henry Portrait of a Serial Killer (1989). The movie tells the story of Marcos, a disturbed young man (Vincente Parra) who has been very desensitized by his job in a local slaughterhouse. He gets tired of butchering cows and starts killing people! One night while out on a date he goes "postal" and kills a cab driver in a heated argument. He later strangles his girlfriend (who witnessed the murder), then kills his brother for trying to convince him to turn himself in. He also cuts his brother's fiancée's throat when she discovers the bodies under the bed in his apartment. Her father comes looking for her, and in one of the gorier scenes, he is hit with a cleaver to the face. After slaughtering a woman who comes to visit his apartment things begin to literally stink, and the local dogs start hanging around. (Be sure to check out how many times dogs appear in this film, very strange indeed). The killer unsuccessfully takes his victims to work with him, and tries to turn them into hamburger. Realizing that plan was not going to work, Marcos finally turns himself in when a homosexual neighbor offers to help with the disposal of the bodies in trade for...favors. I enjoyed this one, but it left me with a weird dark feeling.

Anchor Bay rescues another so-so obscurity.......2000-12-07

Eloy De La Iglesia's "Cannibal Man" isn't about horror or even cannibalism. Instead, it's more of a parable about lower-class oppression and how the poor are deemed insignificant by the rest of society.

Marcos (Vincente Parra), a slaughterhouse worker with a beautiful young girlfriend, accidentally kills a cab driver and as a result becomes increasingly homicidal toward people over the course of one week. He's befriended by an eccentric who lives in an imposing apartment highrise nearby, and eventually Marcos becomes undone by guilt and the fact that he'll never get away with his crimes.

"Cannibal Man" is an odd title for this movie, considering there's no cannibalism (save for a brief soup-eating scene, but I don't think that qualifies) and it really comes from an era that preceded the 'cannibal/zombie boom' of the late 1970's and early 80's. The murders are relatively brief and not very inspired by today's standards (how many times have we seen a meat cleaver through the face in slasher films?), but the interaction between Marcos and his friend Nester is what really makes the movie. Morality, and--to a lesser degree--sexuality are questioned in a way that make "Cannibal Man"'s by-the-numbers bloodshed forgivable.

Product Description

From Robert Farrell Smith's best-selling novel comes a hilarious romantic comedy about a town where everybody's nuts...about religion! Tartan (Dan Merkley) is 29, single and Mormon. Tired of being set up by his marriage-conscious mother, Tartan takes a job as a forest ranger in Longfellow, a sleepy town where half the population is LDS, the other half is Baptist, and nobody can get along! Tartan's not the only recent transplant: the beautiful (and single) Charity (Heather Beers) arrives in Longfellow to spend some time away from her ex-fiance. Together Tartan and Charity devise a plan to unite the town by having and All-Faiths Barbecue! Sweet and charming, funny and touching, Baptists At Our Barbecue reminds us all that life is a barbecue to which God has invited everyone. Whom we sit by or pass the salt to is up to us.

Customer Reviews:

Kinda funny.......2007-07-03

This was a little silly, but pretty good. I'd watch it again, mostly because I know it's clean and I could watch it with my kids in the room.

Awful - bad acting, bad script and insulting to Baptists and Mormons.......2007-03-16

The only way this movie could have been successful is if they just expect every Mormon to go see a movie about Mormons. There are really no good redeming qualities about the movie. The script is horrible, the acting is worse and I thought it was very offensive to both Baptists and Mormons and for that matter anyone with a brain cell.

Just a quick thrown together movie that they'd hope to make a quick buck on expecting every Mormon to watch it/buy it because the subject is about Mormons (and Baptists).

This movie is so bad that it made my top ten list for movies I have ever had the displeasure of enduring.

Barbecue it!.......2006-10-26

This is a terrible film. The acting is sub-par, the directing is very poorly done, and the script is just plain awful. This movie insults all Mormons and Baptists by making every one of them seem like bigoted imbeciles. If it was written for a Mormon audience, then it must have been for those who do not understand Church doctrines or do not agree with them.

It almost seems as if an anti-Mormon activist wrote the script because the film makes Church leaders seem like fools, with the Stake President calling a man to be Branch President just because of the size of his house, the General Authorities of the Church sending the branch a cheap manufactured home, which was never set up right, to be used as their chapel, the Branch President being sustained by a High Councilor, etc. The film even makes fun of receiving inspiration from the Spirit to the point where it implies that all such feelings are from sources other than God.

The film also shows that no one in the town, Mormon or Baptist, will be willing to treat those of other faiths in a Christ-like way until they receive a false sign from God.

The only thing this film has going for it is that there is no offensive violence, sexuality, or profanity. If you like Mormon Cinema, skip this one completely and try out the vastly better The Work and the Glory movies, The Best Two Years, or Dutcher's God's Army films.

Corny Acting. Don't Waste Your Money.......2006-09-18

I watched this because the box said it was nominated for some awards. BY WHOM??? Ok, there were a few times I laughed, but for the most part, it was so stupid and corny and lacked any professional acting abilities that I had to ask myself, "Do I really want to sit here any longer?". But I did, out of curiosity. It was a waste of money and time. Spare yourself the drudgery!

Gail Gupton, author "Seekers of Truth" and "The 31-Day Diet of Spiritual Enlightenment".

Oeps did I just rent that?.......2006-09-05

OK, I am not a Mormon. I just picked up this movie from the rental place becase it looked like fun.

Maybe, if you are a Mormon, and this kind of stuff is all you get to see, you will think this movie is worthwhile. However for anyone else this movie is just an insult to your braincells. The acting between the "scenes" of porn movies is generally better and even the Olson Twins movies have more story line. Need I say more?

But then, you never know, maybe this thing will turn into a cult movie. Before it gets to that point I would spend my 99 cents for rental on something else..... anything else.

Average customer rating:

I love this film.
generally interesting drama
Powerful, quite moving
Now THIS is a movie
Truly a horrible movie

Forty Shades of Blue
Starring: Rip Torn , Dina Korzun , Darren E. Burrows , Christy Hamilton , and J. Blackfoot
Director: Ira Sachs
Manufacturer: First Look Pictures
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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Cache (Hidden)
L' enfant
The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada
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Babel

ASIN: B000EPFCK4
Release Date: 2006-06-13

Amazon.com

In Forty Shades of Blue, writer/director Ira Sachs takes three archetypes--temperamental artist, trophy wife, and brooding writer--and turns them into real people. Alan (Rip Torn, The Larry Sanders Show), producer of numerous R&B hits, is a Memphis legend in the Sam Phillips mold. On a trip to Russia a few years ago, he met the much younger Laura (Dina Korzun, Last Resort), who became his common-law wife. They had a child. It should be a good life, except fidelity is not part of Alan's vocabulary. Michael (Darren Burrows, Northern Exposure), adult son from one of his many previous marriages, is an English teacher and aspiring author. When Michael travels from LA for a rare visit, he quickly realizes it's easier to talk to Laura than to his own father--or even his own wife, who decides to join him later. The more Alan, who perceives himself as a man of action, ignores Laura and belittles the introspective Michael, however, the closer they become. But how much of their attraction is based on lust and how much is based on a mutual desire to get back at the larger-than-life hitmaker for his misdeeds? Winner of the Grand Jury Prize at Sundance, Forty Shades of Blue may sound like soap opera, but in the patient, attentive hands of Sachs (The Delta), it never plays like it. Alan, Michael, and Laura are neither heroes nor villains; just three lonely people trapped in self-contained worlds of their own creation. --Kathleen C. Fennessy

Customer Reviews:

I love this film........2007-05-16

I love how the story unfolds, the beautiful flawed characters, the simplicity of the performances, every single one. I could feel the strain in the married couple's interactions, as well as hope and perhaps surrender. Rip Torn is fun to watch in this film as well as others, but I was completely blown away by Darren Burrow's performance. (My mind was like, holy cow, that guy played Ed Chigliak in the Northern Exposure series.) Even without the comparison, his performance, restrained and so completely authentic, is over the top, fantastic. The entire film just hits an authentic chord.

generally interesting drama.......2007-01-02

"Forty Shades of Blue" features Rip Torn as an acerbic, hard-drinking music producer in Memphis who, though greatly beloved by his fans and the people in the industry, is viewed somewhat differently by those who know him best. Despite his advanced age, he has a gorgeous live-in girlfriend, Laura (Dina Korzun), whom he met while on a business trip to Russia and, even though they seem to be reasonably devoted to one another and their relationship, Laura is becoming increasing morose as a result of his constant philandering. When Alan's married son, Michael (Darren E. Burrows) - who has reasons of his own for resenting the man - comes from California for a visit, he and Laura enter into a secret love affair that forces her to finally question her commitment to Alan and to perhaps cut the chords - both obligatory and emotional - that bind her to him.

Although the script does an effective job capturing the tensions simmering just beneath the surface of the story, the plot itself seems too conventional and too underdeveloped to engage the viewer completely. Still the characters are complex enough and the performances sufficiently layered to at least hold our interest throughout. Torn is particularly good at creating a character whose amiability and likeability on the surface mask a callousness and mean-spiritedness below.

This is a subtle, if not exactly gripping, study of the compromises we make - and the choices we come to regret - in our effort to avoid loneliness and to find meaning and happiness in life.

Powerful, quite moving.......2006-09-10

I don't think I've seen a movie as good, in a long, long time. One of the ironies of life, is that we make some of our largest commitments with our feelings, our "hearts" rather than our minds. This story is about a woman seeking love, letting her heart (and sometimes other parts) make her decisions for her, and it generally destroys her life, and that of the man most committed to her. There aren't any real antagonists to speak of in this story, but there certainly are winners and losers. Is there a better metaphor for life itself?

Now THIS is a movie.......2006-09-04

This is the best movie I've seen in a long, long time. Rip Torn is perfect for this role; and the actress playing his wife is as well. If you like character studies, the finest cinematography around, the best script writing, excellent directing and feeling like you are a "fly on the wall" in the finest drama you have ever seen---buy this film. It never lets up, it never overdoes, it just gives you exactly what you need. And all without anyone blowing anyone elses brains out!

Truly a horrible movie.......2006-08-01

One of the worst movies I've seen. Dialogs are slow and every single performance is emotionless. I did not build any kind of sympathy towards Rip Torn's character or his wife. Yeah, you do get a sense that she's lonely, you do get a sense that he is a has-been still living the life of the rich and famous and you do see his somewhat distant son get it on with his mother-in-law. But might as well read it here as you'll feel no emotion whatsoever finding it out in the movie. The music is the only thing that spares it from being terrible.
This movie is ranked right at the bottom of my list along with Van Sant's Last Days. People seem to overrate these pieces of film waste just because they're different. But my God, you can be different and good, entertaining and thought-provoking.

DO NOT BUY OR RENT!

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