Heartless

Starring:MÃ¤dchen Amick, David Packer, Tom Schanley, Louise Fletcher, Pamela Bellwood, Monique Parent, Rusty Schwimmer, Emily Kuroda, Bo Svenson, Quinn Beswick, J.J. Boone, Elizabeth Landis, Scott Larson, Antony Sandoval, Liron Artzi
Director: Judith Vogelsang
Studio: Leo Films
Product Type: DVD

Average customer rating:

Think the worst and you'll be half right
review
Heartwarming
Christmas Snow

Christmas Snow
Starring: Helmond , Hart , and Caesar
Manufacturer: Platinum Disc
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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A Holiday Romance
A Christmas Visitor
Mr. Christmas
The Night Before Christmas
Eve's Christmas

ASIN: B0007CEXRM
Release Date: 2005-01-11

Customer Reviews:

Think the worst and you'll be half right.......2007-02-16

This "movie" is only 48 minutes long. Made in 1986, it was obviously a one-TV-hour show. See it only if you're a fan of one of the performers.

This gets my vote for the worst Christmas movie ever made and one of the worst movies ever made. The acting by Katherine Helmond is the phoniest I remember ever seeing. It's astounding to watch, it's so bad. You just keep gaping: how can anybody be that bad?

The little girl, Melissa Hart, is very cute. I hope she got the parts she deserves.

The story is the length of a short-short, so there's a lot of treading water in this show. The gratuitous nastiness to the woman customer who had traveled all the way across town in the snow was stunning. The fact that the little girl did not tell her adoptive mother about the footprints after they'd all been searching for the man all day is not credible.

Bottom line: if you buy this movie, you get what you deserve.

review.......2007-01-18

i purchased this as a gift so I am not able to offer a review.

Heartwarming.......2007-01-15

Nice heartwarming story to enjoy around Christmas time. This is an old movie that I enjoyed many years ago, and being a Cid Caesar fan, it's nice to have my own copy to share with family.

Christmas Snow.......2006-08-19

If you love old CHristmas movies that really touch your heart and get you in the Christmas mood then this is the movie for you. I love it.
Thank You
Mary D

Average customer rating:

a good subject, but sloppy handling
A GREAT DOCUMENTARY ABOUT BACKYARD WRESTLING
5 Star Backyard
Enlighting documentary
Worth a watch but be warned...

The Backyard
Starring: Rob Van Dam , James Weston , Andrew "The Lizard" Cook , Scar , and Bongo
Director: Paul Hough
Manufacturer: Image Entertainment
ProductGroup: DVD
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Customer Reviews:

a good subject, but sloppy handling.......2007-04-15

If you are not initiate to the world of backyard wrestling, this might be a good place to start, if you want to see something of the pure drive and horrors of this trend. Just like pick-up games in the dirt, youth in all corners of America are making their own wrestling federations, with of course no training outside of watching television and having a love for the game. You may say that backyard wrestling is far more dangerous than any kind of baseball or football game in the mud (especially when barbed wire and flaming tables are into play), and you wouldn't have too much of an argument from me, but the question here is how in-depth and revealing and objective this documentary is.

This film delivers a good range of proto-wrestlers, from The Lizard, who does aspire to be a proper professional wrestler (and puts his money where his mouth is and actually auditions for a WWE Tough Enough and goes to a wrestling school), to kids throwing each other on thumbtacks and slicing their own foreheads for a handful of fellow kids in their yards. Some seem like angry kids who would rather find ways to cut themselves open, and others seem totally lost and have no idea that they are working towards one day being fed through a tube. Some of them even show how their performances channel them through great pain in their lives--Scar, for example, was a sickly kid who went through mutliple surgeries when he was just a small child, and hardcore wrestling seems to give him a place to take control of his body, which was taken away from him for so many years. One boy plays out his history of abuse through his wrestling storylines, to somehow master the pain he has been put through. These are intriguing looks into some of the drives for what seems on the surface a horrifying youth trend.

But what drags me away from this movie are the thinly disguised manipulations on the moviemakers' part. When two brothers reveal to their grandmother the extent of their matches, it is clearly a moment set up for the camera, and so loses any appeal of seeing any true reaction from the grandmother. When a boy decides to arrange a match with a fellow kid who goes by the name of The Retarded Butcher, the Butcher's mom 'suddenly' shows up, again a clear arrangement by the moviemakers. Even Rob Van Dam's brief appearances in the film feel like obligatory 'counterpoint' and not a full examination of the sport vs. the backyard shindigs.

Ultimately, _The Backyard_ falls short of trusting the subject matter and has too many rough edges, and unfortunately they are not the rough edges that might cut open a scalp or two.

A GREAT DOCUMENTARY ABOUT BACKYARD WRESTLING.......2005-01-25

THIS INSIGHTFUL DOCUMENTARY SHOWS THE RECKLESSNESS THAT MANY YOUNG WRESTLING FANS PUT THEMSELVES THROUGH IN THE WORLD OF BACKYARD WRESTLING. WHILE BACKYARD WRESTLING IS ENTERTAINING, IT'S ALSO UNNECESSARILY DANGEROUS AND IT ALSO GETS TOO MANY PEOPLE HURT. THIS DOCUMENTARY IS THE FIRST TIME I GOT TO SEE ANYTHING DEALING WITH BACKYARD WRESTLING. AND AS THE FILM SAYS, IF YOU WANNA BE A WRESTLER, YOU HAVE TO GO THROUGH A TRAINING SCHOOL, THERE'S JUST NO WAY AROUND THAT. ALTHOUGH IT WAS A MOVING PIECE OF FILM, IT COULD'VE AND SHOULD'VE BEEN A LITTLE LONGER. BUT ANYWAY, IT'S GOOD FOR WRESTLING FANS TO WATCH. FOR A GREAT DOUBLE FEATURE, GET THIS WITH ''BEYOND THE MAT''. INCLUDES SPECIAL APPEARANCES BY ROB VAN DAM.

5 Star Backyard.......2004-08-09

I absolutely loved this DVD. It shows how much some of these teenagers really want to become profesional. I also really hope the Lizard makes WWE. I reccomend this to anyone! Just makee sure a stupid idiotic nagging cousin isn't near you while your watching it.

Enlighting documentary.......2004-04-11

I have always been a wrestling fan, and when I was younger, my friends and I would often stage video-taped "matches" in our backyards and basements. We weren't pros, but at least we were aware of that fact. Nor did we brutalize ourselves the way the kids featured in this documentary do. I think the film maker did a supurb job with showing these kids and what they do without using a judgemental slant, which could have been very easy to do. The film documents various backyard "wrestling" leagues. I think the saddest story is that of two brothers who violently torcher one another in their matches as an outlet for the pain of abuse they suffered when they were younger. Also featured is a 17 year old wannabe promoter who couldn't care less who gets hurt in his events. He comes off as heartless and power hungry in this film. Other leagues are featured, including some talented, although foolish boys in England. Their fun is stopped when a bystander calls an amulance when they see the blood of a kid who thought it would look cool to "blade" himself during a match (taking a razor blade and cutting a small nick in the forehead, producing just enough blood flow to look pretty nasty) The only group that seems to come out looking good in this film is a group of college kids in upstate New York that focus on working together and being safe. (In other words, they aren't cutting each other up, setting each other on fire, nor performing dangerously high risk maneuvers)

The film primarily follows a 26 year old who uses the stage name "the lizard" in his quest to become a real professional wrestler. When he finally makes it a legitimate pro wrestling school, the film shows quite a few shots of them doing strength training and physical conditioning; thats what will save your body in the ring.

I only give this video 4 stars and not 3 because of a special feature entitled "wresling Superstar", in which a professional wrestler talks in length about how to become a pro wrestler, the importance of a good education and following your dreams, and the foolishness of the brutality many of these backyard "wrestlers" put themselves through. I think any parent who's child participates in backyard wrestling should watch this film, know whether or not their children are putting their bodies at risk, and watch the "wrestling superstar" featurette.

Worth a watch but be warned..........2004-04-03

I consider myself to be a HUGE wrestling fan. However I have been raised on the WWF/WWE, I never really got into ECW all that much. I am much more into moves and storytelling and talent than that of the pure violence and bloodshed that is the Backyard Werstling set.

This movie tries to follow a few backyarders around and sort of explain to an uninformed public the "meaning" for what they do. Many think it is going to lead to a shot in a major league of the WWF...I have news for you boys (and girls) Vince doesn't recruit his guys like this.

Basically it a bunch of boys that idolize wrestling, that's all fine and good, but they are untrained individuals that are executing violent moves on either solid ground or homemade rings that can cause even more damage.

Wanting to be a wrestler is cool, but the message is lost when you see these guys abusing themselves and each other with items like light bulbs, barbed wire, glass, thumbtacks or god forbid the occasional use of lighter fluid to set objects or each other on FIRE!. All this done in front of HUGE crowds sometimes as small as 4 people. While the WWF can be critized for many things, they are never this blanantly brutal. The WWF has always been about the show...not the violence.

Most of the story focuses on a hopeful 26 year old guy named The Lizard, that dreams of entering the WWE. It's quite evident that after seeing him on camera, we as viewers know that will never happen. He lacks carisma and has such a bad command of the English language that it's laughable. His gimmick is horrible and he's skinny as all hell.

For all the wantabes in this thing, that dream of being a professional wrestler, nothing is ever said about working out, and getting in shape. AND LEARNING THE CRAFT. If they are fans they obviously don't see that Triple H, The Rock, and Stone Cold Steve Austin, have done a lot more than smash their high school buddies in the head with Flourcent light tubes.

Even Rob Van Dam mentions on this video that no matter what you need to go professionally trained, however this is never brought up to many of the kids. The Lizard, he knows he has to go, but he's older and wiser than the rest of these guys.

I think this video really explains it all when during the very first segment on 2 brothers that have a match vs. each other goes very wrong. Instead of landing on his back and shoulders, this guy gets dumped right on the back of his head and neck...OUCH! It is the furthest thing from professional wrestling you can get. This video makes me feel bad that I watch wrestling, becuse to people that don't know any better, they think it's all like this.

I'll take my WWE over this crap anyday. I don't agree with the movie, but it's worth it to see kids destroying their bodies before they finish puberty.

Customer Reviews:

"Cellular Memory".......2006-03-24

Heartless was quite a disappointment considering how interesting the theme is: Cellular Memory!
Just a few days ago (during March 2006) the news reported scientists as saying that they have evidence of such occurrences and so the timing seemed perfect for this movie.
As it turns out though, apart from the theme and Monique Parent's two "hot" scenes, there isn't much to write home about.
The movie brings to the screen the story of a virgin in her twenties (!) with a serious heart condition. Things get a bit more complicated when following a heart transplant from a murdered woman she begins experiencing the dead woman's memories as well as a personality change...
Apart from the theme, the plot, the acting and the dialogues are way below average.
Among the let downs was Pamela Bellwood ("Claudia" from Dynasty) whose performance was nothing compared to what she is capable of presenting, and Madchen Amick whose leading role in the film was just sad.
Moreover, the characters were unexpectedly plain and bland.
David Packer's character was overly exaggerated to the point that it got tiring AND annoying very early on, not to mention the acting, which was pathetic.
As for the rest of the supporting actors this film does not seem to be their thing. Subsequently, they are not convincing in their roles at all.
Though the potential for a great movie was there it fails to take off. A shame really...

Average customer rating:

The Backyard (UMD Mini For PSP)
Starring: Rob Van Dam , James Weston , Andrew "The Lizard" Cook , Scar , and Bongo
Director: Paul Hough
Manufacturer: Image Entertainment
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: UMD for PSP

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The Hillz (UMD Mini For PSP)

Accessories:

Sony PSP PlayGear Amp
Sony PSP Comfort Grips Black
Sony PSP Psyclone Nodus Sound System
Sony PSP Travel Case

ASIN: B0009K7RPC
Release Date: 2005-06-28

Description

In the heat of the Nevada Desert, two brothers fight to settle it once and for all in the "3 Stages of Hell:" battle in a barbed wire ring; buried alive in the scorching sands;" a grave covered by a plank wrapped in barbed wire and set aflame# Introduced by WWF Superstar Rob Van Dam. Also meet The Lizard, Chaos, Scar, Heartless and Sic, who inhabit the violent and bizarre world of backyard wrestling where lightbulbs, fire, thumbtacks, mousetraps and glass are weapons of choice. Beyond Jackass... Beyond Fight Club... Welcome to The Backyard.

Average customer rating:

"Cellular Memory"

Heartless [Region 2]
Starring: Mädchen Amick , David Packer , Tom Schanley , Louise Fletcher , and Pamela Bellwood
Director: Judith Vogelsang
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: B00004W48D

Customer Reviews:

"Cellular Memory".......2006-03-24

Average customer rating:

Scrooge
Starring: Oscar Asche , Donald Calthrop , Charles Carson , Robert Cochran , and Maurice Evans
Director: Henry Edwards
Manufacturer: Alpha Video
ProductGroup: DVD
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A Christmas Carol (Original B&W Version)
A Christmas Carol
Scrooge
A Christmas Carol
A Christmas Carol

ASIN: B0002W4UCK
Release Date: 2004-10-26

Average customer rating:

Christmas Snow
Starring: Christmas Snow , and Family Holiday Favorites
Manufacturer: Platinum Disc
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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Average customer rating:

"Cellular Memory"

Heartless
Starring: Mädchen Amick , David Packer , Tom Schanley , Louise Fletcher , and Pamela Bellwood
Director: Judith Vogelsang
Manufacturer: Leo Films
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: B00004XMT4
Release Date: 2000-10-24

Customer Reviews:

"Cellular Memory".......2006-03-24

Average customer rating:

The oldest Scrooge film available.
Better Than You Might Think for 1935...
Dated, but Hicks is Still Good!
The first talkie Scrooge film!
A very forgettable version. WARNING: Spoilers in review.

Scrooge
Starring: Seymour Hicks , Donald Calthrop , Robert Cochran , Mary Glynne , and Garry Marsh
Director: Henry Edwards
Manufacturer: Front Row Video
ProductGroup: DVD
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A Christmas Carol
A Christmas Carol (Original B&W Version)
Scrooge
A Christmas Carol
A Christmas Carol

ASIN: B00005T31A
Release Date: 2001-11-20

Amazon.com

This British production of Dickens's Christmas Carol has been eclipsed by subsequent versions, but it stands on its own as a darkly atmospheric (if sometimes regrettably brisk) telling of the beloved tale. Even with the rough quality of existing prints, this Scrooge has a visual intensity that approaches the bold compositions of German expressionism. And in its central role it has a mostly forgotten star: Sir Seymour Hicks, one of the era's celebrated English stage actors. With his gnarled face and flyaway hair, Hicks looks every inch the mean old misanthrope, and his cruelty has a realistic quality missing in some of the more stylized interpreters of the role. Hicks had played Scrooge many times on stage (and before in silent film), and he gets the tenor of every "Humbug!" just right. As a bandy-legged Bob Cratchit, Donald Calthorp is a perfect Victorian illustration come to grinning life. --Robert Horton

Customer Reviews:

The oldest Scrooge film available........2007-01-12

Having suffered through the butchered VHS version, this was a joy to behold. Well worth buying. Very interesting to see the low tech version of the ghost of Jacob Marley!

Better Than You Might Think for 1935..........2006-11-12

...But not as good as the last three versions (Sim - 1951, Scott - 1984, and Stewart - 1999). I do place this slightly above the Owen version from 1938, however - not as Hollywood-y.
As with another reviewer, I feel that they could have come up with better spirits than a light, a shadow, and a voice. I also agree with Scrooge's reformation coming on a bit too fast. He was clearly already a changed man before the Ghost of Christmas Past was finished with its job. And, I have to say that Scrooge's former love, Belle, seemed to be quite the motherly type - we counted at least 14 children from her post-Scrooge marriage!
Now for the pluses: the sets were terrific! Very authentic - I wonder if they were actually filmed in original period structures? The Cratchit's home is perfect for their status, as was the home of nephew Fred. And the showing of Tiny Tim's body lying in state in the Cratchit home gives realism that the other filmed versions (except for the 1999 version) haven't touched. Also, seeing Mrs. Cratchit pull out the pudding from the laundry tub gave this that extra bit of authenticity rarely seen anywhere else.
The addition of Queen Victoria celebrating Christmas was unique.
Unfortunately, the quality of the print is not as good as it should be. It's not horrid but not what one is used to from a remastered disc. I am guessing that the original print is long gone. But, it's much much better than the VHS version.
All in all, not bad for its age. Very dark, but Mr. Hicks gives a wonderful Scrooge impression that is better than most.
A worthy DVD, especially if you are a collector.

Dated, but Hicks is Still Good!.......2006-02-11

This is the oldest talking version of The Dicken's Classic and stars Seymour Hicks as Scrooge. Sir Seymour Hicks was a renowned stage actor during his time and actually does a commendable and faithful portrayal of Scrooge. He's certainly among the meanest, most surly and unkept Scooges you've ever seen on screen. This version isn't nearly as well known as the 1939 Reginald Owen or 1951 Alastair Sim versions due mainly because it very rarely shows up on TV these days...in fact it's rarely been on TV as long as I can remember.

There are some notable differences in this version. First, you never actually see Marley's ghost, merely here the disembodied voice of Scrooge's former partner. The sets are also far less ornate than even in the 1939 version. Although removed by only four years, clearly there was not a lot of money thrown into this version. Another weak point is the supporting cast. Hicks was a pro and had to pretty much carry the whole show. It's a good thing he is onscreen most of the time. Donald Calthrop is a rather dull Cratchit and a bit old for the part. Oscar Asche is a rather Bulbous Spirit of Christmas Present and far different than the types we've seen in latter versions.

Still the dinginess and starkness of the sets and costuming kind of fits with this period of Dicken's England so in some ways there is perhaps more authenticity to the film. It's not a horrible version but it's definitely dated.

Reviewed by Tim Janson

The first talkie Scrooge film!.......2006-01-18

Charles Dickens' immortal classic, "A Christmas Carol," is brought to life with sound for the first time in this wonderful 1935 British film starring Sir Seymour Hicks in the title role. Twickenham Film Studios' "Scrooge" is a straightforward interpretation of Dickens' famous Christmas tale about Ebenezer Scrooge, the coldhearted, miserly money-lender who detests Christmas as much as he detests his fellow man. All that changes one fateful Christmas Eve, when he is visited by the ghost of his old partner, Jacob Marley. The spirit warns Scrooge that if he does not change his ways, he faces an afterlife of torment and regret with not a soul to mourn his passing. Marley is soon followed by three more spirits in succession. The Ghost of Christmas Past shows Scrooge the choices he made that led him on his lonely and bitter path, the Ghost of Christmas Present enlightens Scrooge to the joy he is missing by shunning and mistreating others, and the Ghost of Christmas Future finalizes Scrooge's lesson by showing him the bleak future he has created for himself. By dawn, Ebenezer Scrooge has been "scared straight," so to speak, and begins his new life of doing good deeds and making friends with others, particularly the nephew he has long rejected and the employee who has suffered his wrath on a daily basis. Donald Calthrop costars as the perfect Bob Cratchit, Scrooge's impoverished clerk, and it is his and Sir Hicks' performances that make this very early version of the tale a must own for the die-hard Christmas Carol fan.

Like all the film incarnations of "A Christmas Carol," this one has its strong and weak points. Very little is put into the presentation of the ghostly visitors. Jacob Marley's form is invisible to the viewer after his brief appearance as a doorknocker, and only the Ghost of Christmas Present is a solidly visible entity. However, this is not necessarily a bad thing. It all depends on how much special effects you require to enjoy a film and what constitutes a "ghost" in your own mind. It adds a live-theater quality to the film that you may or may not appreciate. This film chooses to put more emphasis on showcasing the very fine acting talent and atmospheric visuals of the rich and poor celebrating Christmas in their all too different ways. Perhaps no Christmas Carol film does a better job of showing the disturbing plight of the 19th century poor of London and the extremely opposite lifestyle of indulgence the wealthy enjoyed, a point so important to author Charles Dickens in his original work. The only downside in this particular version, to me, is the short time spent on the important issue of Scrooge's past. In this otherwise excellent film, the Ghost of Christmas Past's visit is far too short. Scrooge only witnesses one grim Christmas from his younger days, the one where his fiance, Belle, terminates their relationship after viewing one of Scrooge's heartless foreclosures on a young couple. The scene is a bit melodramatic, and both Scrooge and Belle look a bit too old, but the real problem is that this was the first and only flashback we, and Scrooge, received. Ideally, we would have seen Scrooge growing up and an earlier encounter with Belle to allow us to invest in the characters and see Scrooge's pre-miserly self. However, while it's a tragic aspect to lose, it is not a good enough reason to pass up this fine holiday film! The movie is, of course, in black and white, 78 minutes long, and the Front Row Features disc, which makes the mistake of featuring an image from the 1951 Allastair Sim Scrooge on the back of the case, includes filmographies for both Sir Seymour Hicks and Donald Calthrop. For less than 3 bucks at most retailers when you can find it, this is a DVD the Christmas, Scrooge, or Dickens lover can't afford to pass up!

A very forgettable version. WARNING: Spoilers in review........2006-01-16

This version starts out well enough, but quickly goes sour. The thing that I enjoy most about the "Christmas Carol" movies are the ghosts. This version has the WORST ghosts of any version I've ever seen. The Ghost of Marley is invisible and is never shown on screen. The viewer sees Scrooge talking to nothing and it's very unbelievable. The Ghost of Christmas Past is nothing more than an illuminated shadow that's on screen for about a second or two. The Ghost of Christmas Present is the only "real" character. He's a fat guy and does allright, but by this point I didn't really care anymore. The Ghost of Christmas Future is shown as only a dark shadowed arm & hand that points. The writer and director of this version almost skips right past the parts of the ghosts, as if they were unimportant to the story. That is the main reason why this movie is forgettable.
Now if you can look beyond all that, then this could still be considered a decent version. Scrooge is played well and the sets are done very nicely. The best thing about this version is that the actors, sets and costumes look genuine for the time period that the movie was supposed to be in.
Another drawback, however, is that the film is too short and feels rushed. I didn't feel like Scrooge could've made the transition as easily as he did. He goes from being a miser to a changed man like no big deal. Weak character development.
Bottom line- Considering that this is one of the first versions of this story done on film it's worth taking a look at. Don't expect much though.

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