Sanitarium

Starring:Sanitarium
Studio: Mti Home Video
Product Type: DVD

Average customer rating:

I've seen better
Hard to Remember
this rules
0 STARS: This is STUPID!
Should Have Had 31 Sequels

Ice Cream Man
Starring: Clint Howard
Manufacturer: Allumination
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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The Dentist 2: Brace Yourself
Jack Frost 2: Revenge of the Mutant Killer Snowman
Jack Frost
The Dentist
Pinocchio's Revenge

ASIN: B0002T7YNA
Release Date: 2004-10-19

Description

The happy jingle of the neighborhood ice cream truck turns into hells bells as Gregory Tudor (Clint Howard) delivers torture, murder and mayhem with every scoop of rocky road. After witnessing the murder of his friend The Ice Cream King, Gregory grows up to become a demented ice cream man with mysterious frozen treats. No one is safe from the ice cream man in this pulse-pounding nightmare thats sure to leave you chilled to the bone.

Customer Reviews:

I've seen better.......2007-03-01

A high-school kid could make up a better story. Watch out for the Liger! Part Lion part Tiger

Hard to Remember.......2007-02-20

Anytime a movie doesn't stick in your head, you know it could have been better. That being said, anytime you don't forget a movie, you know it can't be that bad.

Applying the above principle has led me to give "Ice Cream Man" 3 stars.

I'll never forget how well Clint Howard distorted my memories of long-forgotten ice cream men I encountered growing up. Most of them (I think) were pretty cool guys working a part-time summer job. But after seeing this movie, I can DEFINITELY imagine that some of them could have been hiding lots of secrets (like dead people and stuff).

Anyways, I kept hoping that they would make a joke out of the popsicle commonly known as the "Firecracker". If I had written the movie, I would have given someone a Firecracker that REALLY WAS a firecracker! Get it? Just think: one lick and KABOOM! Ha! I don't recall if the "Ice Cream Man" killed people or anything, but it appears to be a horror film.

Or a sulfuric "Chaco Taco" (that's an ice cream treat)! Talk about hot sauce!

This movie definitely gets the creative juices flowing. Inspiring and nostalgic - a DEADLY combination (get it?).

Please gift this movie to me.

this rules.......2006-09-28

Horror man is wrong. THIS MOVIE IS DA BOMB.
anyone who thinks this movie isn't good should watch it again. IT IS SO GOOD IT HURTS. funniest movie EVER. ice cream man=good.

0 STARS: This is STUPID!.......2006-06-28

"Ice Cream Man" is not scary...it's not funny...it's just plain STUPID. You know, I don't have a problem with an ice cream man that turns into a homicidal maniac...that's not a bad idea. But, they made a joke of this movie. The acting is horrible and the movie sucked to no end.

Should Have Had 31 Sequels.......2006-06-27

The 90s started giving us horror villains that were more on the campy and silly side. It must have started with Leprechaun, then quickly the whole subgenre went direct to video and remains there to this day. Even now when you go to your local video store you're likely to see titles like Santa's Slay and The Gingerdead Man on the wall along with Nanny Mcphee and Fun With Dick and Jane. These films may have the horror film structure, but basically they're comedies made for horror film fans. Ice Cream Man came out in the mid 90s and didn't seem to find much of a cult audience though it's got cult film written all over it. I'm not sure why it didn't make a bigger splash. I mean, there is an audience for this stuff, they didn't make five sequels to Leprechaun because no one was watching. Ice Cream Man is a real gem. It has the immortal Clint Howard as a psychotic ice cream man driving a truck full of corpses, body parts and bugs. He's obsessed with the idea of an ice cream man bringing happiness to children, yet he wants to kill the children. Of course it's the kids who stumble onto his real intentions, and naturally the adults don't believe them. An interesting cast is assembled for this film. Alot of actors that will be recongnized by horror fans. Their roles are actually quite throwaway(like David Warner's), and usually below the talent of the actor playing it, but it's still cool to see them in it anyway. Clint Howard is the real star of the film however. His mannerisms, his gravelly voice and his cornball lines are enough to have you rolling. I mean, no one would ever buy ice cream from a guy who acted this way. If a closeup of a cop chewing an eyeball(that's been cleverly inserted into his cone) doesn't have you giggling, then you may as well shut the damn movie off, but lemme tell ya, this is some funny stuff and should have been a bigger hit. The picture quality on this dvd is for crap, but since no one will be in a rush to put out an Ice Cream Man Special Edition, this is what we'll have to deal with.

Average customer rating:

Intense and Poetic
Rather Pointless
Death by the Sea
About the dvd
Good Acting, Good Locales, Disconnected script

El Mar
Starring: Roger Casamajor , Bruno Bergonzini , Antònia Torrens , Hernán González , and Juli Mira
Director: Agustí Villaronga
Manufacturer: Picture This Home Video
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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To the Extreme
Just a Question of Love
Mysterious Skin (Deluxe Unrated Director's Edition)
You I Love
You'll Get Over It

ASIN: B00066FC4W
Release Date: 2004-12-14

Description

Unrequited homosexual yearning explodes in a coastal hospital just after the Spanish Civil War. Parental advisory: graphic violence and sex. Set against the backdrop of the Spanish Civil War and its aftermath, El Mar tells the story of three young friends, Tur, Ramallo, and Francisca, who witness a brutal killing when a classmate avenges his father's assassination upon another schoolmate, and then kills himself shortly thereafter. This secret will haunt Tur, Ramallo, and Francisca for the rest of their lives. Years later, the muscled, womanizing Ramallo reunites with his childhood friends when all three find themselves quarantined in a tuberculosis sanatorium. Ramallo, hiding a secret rent-boy past, bristles against the mandatory isolation. Tur, now thin and pale, leans on religious fanaticism to avoid acting on his sexual urges towards Ramallo. Francisca, now one of the nuns, helps ease the pain of the dying. Together again in this lonely outpost by the sea, they revisit their dark childhood and quickly become tormented by death, religion, and sex.

Customer Reviews:

Intense and Poetic.......2007-04-09

[...]"El Mar" is a dark but extremely satisfying movie. Dealing with the horrors of the Spanish Civil War, it is a vengeful look at wartime. It is the tale of three young children who witnessed firing squads and their own friends killing each other.
It is a harsh and cruel look at war. Ramallo (Roger Casamajor) and Manuel (Bruno Bergonzini) are the main characters in this drama and as they are witness to the tense and traumatic development, they succumb to a homosexual relationship. They play their roles with delicateness and sensitivity not usually seen in films of this nature.
I understand that those of us who do not know about the Spanish Civil War have no idea of the atrocities that were committed. The movie is a violent attack on all of the senses. The film is nothing short of a cinematic masterpiece which is brilliantly moved along by intense images of war. When the film opens the characters we see are children who act out what they have seen in the world of adults in which they live. We later meet them as adults when they in a sanatorium trying to deal with what life has wrought upon them. One of them is a recluse who is sexually repressed. Another is a hustler who has become ill and the third is a nun working there to heal the ill. What ensues is an allegorical look at how violence affects the psyche in three different ways.
The climatic scene is astounding but not easy to watch. It is profound and a logical climax to what we have seen on the screen. In the film we have a glimpse of Spanish history which takes us back in time.
It is a rough and stark view as it traces the profound effects of war and thus becomes one of the finest anti-war documents we have--the end result has a far greater impact than the reality of the present.
When the three main characters meet again at the sanitarium they slowly reveal the secrets and the scars of their childhood experiences with war. The sanitarium is the ideal location for them to meet again as it represents a graphic plane where there is a thin line between life and death, between love and lust, and between devotion and destruction. It is here that the impact of the film is the strongest. There is a great deal of graphic sex and male frontal nudity and the viewer should prepare himself to see every time of brutality known to man. These scenes are not gratuitous--they are absolutely necessary and the director Agusti Villaronga is to be congratulated for having the wherewithal to make this astounding film. This is a hard film but a necessary one for those of who do not know about the terrors that war can bring about.
Religion, sickness, love, violence and sexuality are present throughout the film and what is created is a tension filled and intense cinema experience. It is a sad movie in which people get hurt and bleed and sometimes a movie, in order to work, must make the viewer uncomfortable. I found "El Mar" to be poetic in its retelling of the sadness and horrors of war and haunting with its violence. It is over the top and restrained at the same time. It is charged as well as understated and the finale is a fest for the eyes. It is probably one of the finest films I have seen so far. It left me speechless as it wove an intense web that forced me never to take my eyes off of the screen as it swept through the history of the characters. There is nothing about the film that I did not love and I feel that those that see it will feel exactly the same.

Rather Pointless.......2006-10-03

I had heard nothing but good things about this film, and when it showed up in the "gay" section of my local video store, I purchased it, fully expecting a superior viewing experience. I'm afraid I was terribly disappointed.

I like art films and foreign films as much as the next person - about 20% of my large video collection (1,800 DVDs and growing) could be labeled as such. But I just couldn't get past the movie's major shortcomings.

To begin with, the plot was not only rather thin, it was terribly confusing. The entire opening sequence had me scratching my head wondering why certain people were being killed, and how such small children (no matter how jaded or exposed to the harshness of war) could possibly be so cruel and violent. And the premise that all three principal characters meet later at a TB sanitarium was a little far fetched. Yes, I understood that the story was intended to show how children who witness life's cruelties can grow up to become truly warped human beings, but the motivations and actions of the main characters were not really explained at all. The main character, Romallo, was so cruel, violent and unpredictable that I found it impossible to have any sympathy for him, and the character of Tur was just plain strange. The title ("The Sea") seems to refer to one short (and rather pointless, when you get down to it) speech by Romallo, and it never really came up again.

But my biggest objection was one I have voiced before - and that is the marketing of this DVD. It is being aggressively marketed to a gay audience, even though the plot and characters have nothing overtly gay about them. Once again, the distributors are attempting to lure gay male viewers with a sexually provocative photo on the box, and the promise of "male nudity" and a "graphic gay rape scene". They act as if gay viewers couldn't possibly be interested in a film UNLESS it has a naked hunk or two and some sort of graphic gay sex. I, for one, find this presumption insulting. I buy documentaries to be informed, comedies to laugh, and dramas to be challenged, entertained and intellectually stimulated. When I want porno, I'll buy porno, and the presence of a pretty face / body in a movie will not get my attention for that fact alone.

And, unlike some reviewers at other sites, I did not think this film was a step up from the director's previous film, In A Glass Cage, which, although far more twisted and bizarre than El Mar, had an element of creepy suspense that at least kept my interest. The plot of El Mar was actually rather boring, and the fact that the characters actions made little sense did not help.

I will say that El Mar is beautifully filmed, and the acting is really very good. But that just wasn't enough to save it for me.

Death by the Sea.......2006-09-26

Some films impress you with the cinematography and the finely honed camera skills of the director. Other motion pictures stun their audiences with shocking scripts and intense, brilliant acting. El Mar manages to impress, stun, and shock its viewers with a really daring, intrepid and brutal precision. This is not a movie you'll soon forget!
This is not something to watch if you're looking for light entertainment. It is violently bleak and nhilistic. The director used his camera as a great poet would his pen.
It is a really fine film, but I cannot honestly say I liked it. I was surprised at the integrity of the story. You can be sure this is a script that was true to its roots. It certainly wasn't edited in a way to appeal to a mainstream audience. Yet, as others have noted, the script proved problematic for me because it proved the weakest thread in the tapestry. Some of the actions of the characters, for example, didn't really seem plausible and were rather extreme. Also, there are some films where you get the feeling the writers were just being dark to the point of being ghoulish. I half expected the poor nun to hang herself from the cord hanging from the window at the end of the film just because it appeared the most extreme action she could take.
I think any other director would have made this film unwatchable. I look forward to seeing more of this director's work.

About the dvd.......2006-07-24

If you want to know about the movie you can read the previous reviewers, who give a very good idea of what you can expect.
I thought I'd add that the dvd image is anamorphic and very good quality. Although I'm pretty sure this is a PAL to NTSC conversion, it's the best I've seen. The image remains sharp and the colors strong. The only thing that gives it away is that it's not progressive and the running time.
It may seem absurd to you but this movie is not available in Spain so that's why I'm here.

Good Acting, Good Locales, Disconnected script.......2005-11-21

El Mar is a Spanish film about the toll the Spanish Civil War has on a group of young children who witness a mass murder and subsequently witness and/or participate in the murder of another child.

El Mar (The Sea) tells the story of three children: two boys (Andreu and Manuel)and a girl (Francisca). They grow up in a remote village where corruption from the Civil War still reaches them. The father of one of their friends is a corrupt official who murders those who would oppose him or fight in the resistance to the government. Their father of their friend, Paul, has been murdered by this man, so they determine to torture their friend as payback (and as only the mind of children can work) by forcing the boy to drink castor oil. However, things go wrong when the boy - Julia - taunts them and tells them that he just might have his father kill their fathers or them. Paul becomes enraged and eventually kills Julia - a feat that all the other children witness.

Paul cannot live with his guilt - so at the tender age of 10 - he commits suicide.

Flash forward ten years... The remaining children (Andreu, Manuel, and Francisa) all end up in the same location at the same time - a Tuberculosis Clinic set way in the countryside. Manuel has been there for some time as a patient, while Fancisca has been there for a while - but she is there as a nun/nurse. Andreu shows up as a patient shortly thereafter.

The rest of the story follows Andreu as he attempts to connect with his old friends AND disassociate himself from the crime lord for whom he has been not only a mule for stolen goods, but also a forced lover.

The attempts to show us the breadth of the corruption his crime lord has and how it is all but impossible for him to escape it. But it also takes us down an odd path, where we learn that Manuel has been in love with Andreu since they were children and Manuel has turned to religion to fight these sexual urges - and has maintained his virginity in the process.

Andreu is the driving force of the story, but the script lacks a cohesiveness to make us believe that this story is anything more than a character study. Is this about the effects of the war on these adult children? Is this a crime story? Is this a story about redemption lost and found? It doesn't effectively demonstrate a clear thread of synergy to provide us with a clear cut answer.

The acting is quite good and the settings sufficiently oppressive and realistic. This and another Spanish Civil War based film - The Devil's Backbone - give us glimpses into a child's mind with regard to the war and its effects - but they don't really tell the story in such a way as there is a complete resolution that satisfies.

El Mar more sufficiently resolves its storyline, but it isn't satisfying, because it doesn't make the connection between the children's past and their ultimate fate at the movie's end.

Gregg Araki deals with the emotional toll on children as they become adults much more effectively in Mysterious Skin. Although these two films have subject matter far different, the emotional framework is not that far apart.

In the clinic, Manuel has a pet cat that he dotes on. In a fit of anger Andreu kicks the cat almost to death (this is a particularly cruel scene and one I did NOT like in the least). Manuel sees this take place and does nothing - he says nothing - and he sheds not a tear. It doesn't fit with this emotionally fragile man, who constantly reads the Bible). It further doesn't fit that he would give the dying animal back to Andreu to put out of its misery, nor once Andreu does, that Manuel, upon burying the animal, is quite lighthearted.

Villaronga would have done well to show us a more consistent emotional thread for these children. Maybe it's an American's emotional expectations being cast on a film that reflects only a Spanish emotional demonstration...I doubt this though, since my best friend is Spanish and is sufficiently emotional in all areas. No, I think this is just a glossed over area of the script of a film that should have been far more emotionally engaging.

Average customer rating:

A Day At the Races
Director: Sam Wood
ProductGroup: Video
Binding: DVD

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Product Description

Doctor Hugo Hackenbush, Tony, and Stuffy try and save Judy's farm by winning a big race with her horse. There are a few problems. Hackenbush runs a high priced clinic for the wealthy who don't know he has his degree in Veterinary Medicine. This is the Marx Brothers at their commercial and popular peak, working with a top Hollywood director (Sam Wood of The Pride of the Yankees), supported with a healthy screen budget paying for such extras as a blue-tinted ballet sequence, love songs from crooner Allan Jones, and decorative sets. But the brothers are also at the top of their game in terms of their own comic material and timing. The story finds Groucho, Chico, and Harpo helping out at a sanatorium, where their longtime foil in the movies, Margaret Dumont, is the leading patient. The film has some of the trio's funniest and most memorable bits and a dazzling horserace at the climax. Not quite as good as its predecessor, A Night at the Opera, this is still a highlight in the Marxian filmography.

Average customer rating:

Enchanting
"Infinity", infinitely brilliant
A great biographical film of a truly great man
Infinity: What Is It Good For?
Misses the mark - maybe

Infinity
Starring: Patricia Arquette , Dori Brenner , Melissa DeLizia , Raffi Di Blasio , and Horton Foote Jr.
Manufacturer: Fox Lorber
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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Similar Items:

Tiny Machines: The Feynman Lecture on Nanotechnology
Wildflower
The God Delusion

ASIN: 1572527102
Release Date: 2000-04-25

Amazon.com

Actor Matthew Broderick (WarGames, Ferris Bueller's Day Off) offered up this, his 1996 directorial debut, as a whimsical romance and a tribute to an extraordinary scientist. Broderick plays the brilliant and eccentric Nobel Prize-winning physicist Richard Feynman in a story based on his early life. The fun-loving Feynman and his young bride Arlene, played by Patricia Arquette (True Romance) enjoy their courtship and young married life in New York until Feynman is called away to New Mexico to participate in the Manhattan Project and the development of the hydrogen bomb. Their storybook romance is further complicated when Arlene discovers she is seriously ill, and Feynman must confront not only the morality of his participation in the development of the bomb but the nature of life and death and the love he has for his wife. A nice, small sweet romance that aims low but scores high, Infinity is a quirky but poignant love story and a fine directorial debut. --Robert Lane

Customer Reviews:

Enchanting.......2004-04-06

I totally agree with one of the reviewers who says that this movie 'aims low but manages to score high'. I am a long time Feynman fan, just like many others, and I don't frankly think anyone could ever capture the essence of Richard Feynman on screen...except Feynman himself! But I think this movie does a brilliant job at portraying the emotional side of Feynman, through his relationship with Arline, his high school sweetheart. The story is very touching, as narrated by Feynman himself in 'What do you care what other people think!' It was a real tragedy she passed away early, as they were a perfect couple. The movie does manage to capture the sentimental value of that wonderful time which the two shared. About the performances, I do not think that Matt Broderick does a great impersonation of Feynman. But then, maybe no one can. On the other hand, Matt Broderick brings out the sincerity and honesty of the man to the greatest extent. He is perfect for the job, as he easily fits the character of a honest, nice and carefree kid. He is wonderfully complemented by Patricia Arquette. From what I have read about Arline, I think she quite fits the role of the clear thinking, artistic and emotional girl who could captivate someone like Feynman. Overall, I think that the movie is very touching, an example of the kind of films which you rarely see these days, and should be viewed as a very nice movie in its own right, bringing out the emotional side of a truly great man.

"Infinity", infinitely brilliant.......2003-06-15

I was immediately drawn in and was quietly taught a lesson in love, of oneself as well as another. Aside from Richard Feyman's scientific brilliance, it was more inspiring to learn that real love exists. Richard and Arlene had a great fusion of their own.

A great biographical film of a truly great man.......2002-08-22

I had heard rumors about this somewhat obscure film, but nobody who had seen it could remember the title. Finally, one day I stumbled upon it @ Amazon.com. With great excitement I ordered it immediately, nor did it end up being unworthy of my anticipation.

The film centers around the epoch of Richard Phillips Feynman's courtship of and marriage to his 1st wife, Arline. As such, it also touches upon Feynman's "vocation" during World War II, which was being an active member of the Manhattan Project in Los Alamos, New Mexico.

The book is mostly based on Feynman's book called WHAT DO YOU CARE WHAT OTHER PEOPLE THINK? [ISBN: 0393320928, also available @ Amazon.com]. The book is highly recommended for all persons who have an interest in viewing this movie. There are also a few tidbits from SURELY YOU'RE JOKING MR. FEYNMAN [ISBN: 0393316041] and John Archibald Wheeler's GEONS, BLACK HOLES AND QUANTUM FOAM [ISBN: 0393319911]. Both of these latter books are highly recommended to the Feynman enthusiast as well.

The story of Feynman's sublime and fervent love that he felt for his terminally ill wife is nothing short of inspiring. As the great physicist has for many years been one of my most admired personages, it is without embarrassment that I admit this to be one of the few films that has ever made me cry. Even viewers who have never heard of this scientist would be hard-pressed not to be moved by this film.

As a bonus, the film does a good job of incorporating on the margins Feynman's dad, little sister, Joan (who earned a Ph.D. in physics herself from Syracuse university), John Archibald Wheeler, Hans Bethe, a young Henry Bethe and Robert Oppenheimer.

The handful of verbal over-lays are well-placed and do not get in the way of the film's symmetry. Although Broderick has never been one of my favorite actors, he pulled off his portrayal of a young Feynman quite well (if you ignore the fact that his New York accent is a bit inconsistent). It would be nice to see more movies like this in the future.

Infinity: What Is It Good For?.......2002-01-06

I liked the performances and the visuals in this movie, but it lacked energy. The story moves along quietly and is involving, yet the areas in which I expected to feel some tension (the relationship between Feynman and his wife, scientific discovery, the moral issues involved in making the bomb) were so down-played it evaporated quickly. I can qualify this by adding I (still) don't know much about Feynman - more informed viewers to whom the issues (death, working for the defense dept) are relevant in an immediate personal way may get more from the film.

Misses the mark - maybe.......2000-06-17

Richard Feynman was surely the most interesting physicst in history and one of the most interesting individuals rivaled by very few. His books are brilliant and his ability both at physics (and nearly everything else he did) and teaching are legendary. Unfortunately, none of that is touched upon here. The closest we get is the scene with the cube roots (we also have the scene with Dr. Wheeler, but this shows him getting an incorrect answer). I know that the film was supposed to be a love story, and, in that, it was successful. This was tremendously emotional, and, I believe, true to the stories by Feynman, himself. Unfortunately, many of the stories that establish Feynman at his best are nowhere to be found. We see nothing of his time at school ("Who Took the Door", etc.), which would have been appreciated. This is not simply wishing to see physics and mathematics in a film, but rather to establish Feynman as the fun-loving practical joker and lover of life that he was. Broderick did a fine job portraying him (although I can honestly see Robin Williams playing him later in life), there was very little unique to Feynman. It could have been anyone. There was no mention of Feynman's need to do things his own way, and so forth. So, what I am really saying is that as a stand alone, or for someone who isn't totally in awe of Feynman as I am, this is a good love story. For someone like me, however, there's too much lacking that would have brought Feynman to the public as I think Broderick wanted.

Elvira's Movie Macabre: Count Dracula's Great Love

Average customer rating:

All the cheesy fun I remembered
Great movie...horrible bootleg
Its a Naschy
Blood, gore, and love make for an unusual vampire film
Decent Film, So-So DVD

Elvira's Movie Macabre: Count Dracula's Great Love
Starring: Jacinto Molina , Haydée Politoff , Rosanna Yanni , Ingrid Garbo , and Mirta Miller
Director: Javier Aguirre
Manufacturer: Shout Factory Theatr
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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Elvira's Movie Macabre: Legacy Of Blood / The Devil's Wedding Night (Double Feature)
Elvira's Movie Macabre: Legacy Of Blood
Elvira's Movie Macabre: Doomsday Machine
Dr. Frankenstein's Castle of Freaks
Werewolf of Washington

ASIN: B000GG4XU6
Release Date: 2006-09-19

Description

Five travelers are forced to take refuge in the legendary Castle Dracula. Unfortunately, the infamous Count Dracula (Paul Naschy) is alive and well and he's more than eager to take in his new guests. But when one of the travelers falls in love with Dracula, she must choose between her mortal soul and an eternity as Count Dracula's Great Love.

Customer Reviews:

All the cheesy fun I remembered.......2006-09-24

I haven't seen Elvira since I was a teenager back in the early '80s, anxiously awaiting her cleavage...er, her appearance each weekend as she poked fun at some schlocky movie. I really got a kick out of seeing her again. I forgot how cool the opening and closing sequences were for her show. I also forgot how extremely corny and cheesy some of her segments were. She's got a "Cooking with Elvira" segment on here that takes corniness to new levels.

The movie itself wasn't too bad actually. It's a Spanish film from the early '70s about four women and a man who are riding a horse-drawn carriage through the Transylvanian Alps in the summer. A wheel falls off the carriage and wouldn't you know it, the only place that they can go for help is Count Dracula's castle. Of course they don't know he's Count Dracula, they think he's a doctor. So they spend a few nights there (help is a long way off). Of course their numbers start dwindling rather quickly. Unfortunately the second half of the movie seems to lose its way; it just gets rather boring. The ending comes as a bit of a surprise though - it's the first time I've ever seen a vampire do that! Overall it has some nice Gothic atmosphere and I think just about every babe in here gets topless at one point or another. They also wear these low-cut dresses throughout the whole movie that show off plenty of cleavage.

As far as the technical aspects, it's an old, unrestored print, but it's exactly what you would expect for a 30+ year old Spanish film being shown on Elvira's Movie Macabre. It's perfectly watchable, and I was actually impressed that it looked as good as it did. It was originally widescreen, but here we get it in fullscreen. The opening credits now display the title as "unt Dracula Great Love". The dubbing job is pretty bad, I've seen dialogue that was in better sync with the actors mouths during a Godzilla movie. However, I didn't find it distracting at all. The voice acting is sort of a mixed bag, Count Dracula comes off as about the most un-threatening vampire I've ever seen, but most of the other characters (save for one of the girls) is done quite well. And this is the complete, unedited print of the movie, with all the nudity still intact. Way to go Elvira! You really do know how to show a guy a good time!

Overall, I really enjoyed this. You have the option of watching the movie with or without Elvira, so not only are you getting the full cheesy show with "The girl with the curves that'll rattle your nerves", you're also getting a fairly descent print of a fairly enjoyable movie as well.

Great movie...horrible bootleg.......2006-01-07

This is terrific Paul Naschy film, but my comments address the presentation of this DVD only.
This is a bootleg. They ripped off Sinister Cinema's transfer and matted the opening minutes of the movie to cover up the Sinister watermark that is present for the opening sequences.
Don't buy this rip off version, get a copy from Sinister themselves on VHS or DVD-R.

Its a Naschy.......2005-09-07

You either like Paul Naschy films or you dont. Personally i love his werewolf stuff and this film was a good one as well. But....the only thing worse than the print itself was the sound. I had to keep turning the sound up then down as needed to either hear the movie or be blasted out of my chair, and at times the sound vanished altogether. The print itself was pretty good considering very few of these more "obscure" films are pristine but it too has some problems. I would have loved to give this one 4 stars but with the afore mentioned problems i cannot do so. On the other hand if you like Naschy and want a print of this movie you might want to buy one of these as the chances of another being released anytime soon is doublful.

Blood, gore, and love make for an unusual vampire film.......2005-04-24

While Dracula's Great Love has a few problems, I'm quite taken with this movie. This Spanish vampire film from 1972 actually gives you blood flowing from open veins, a pretty Gothic atmosphere, lovely women running around in rather revealing clothing - sometimes licking blood off of one another, gratuitous nudity, and even one good virgin-whipping. What's not to like? Admittedly, the film is a little bit on the weird side, sort of coming unraveled a little bit during the final fifteen minutes, but the ending is nothing if not unpredictable. I'm used to seeing Paul Naschy playing a werewolf, so it was nice to see him shed all that hair and try his hand at channeling Dracula; I imagine he enjoyed himself, as well, since vampires - not werewolves - get all the women. As strange as it sounds, Dracula's Great Love is actually a rather tragic love story.

That story seems to take place somewhere around Borgo Pass, near the spot where Dracula was supposedly killed by Van Helsing. We hear the whole story from a fellow who is traveling through the region, via stagecoach, with a bevy of lovely ladies wearing low-cut Victorian dresses. Just about the time they pass by the creepy sanitorium on the hill (which one must assume is Dr. Seward's old stomping grounds), they lose a wheel, a horse kills the driver, and they have no choice but to seek refuge in the sanitorium. They are greeted there by Dr. Wendell Marlow (Naschy), who seems rather charming to the ladies (except for the one scaredy-cat of the group). Marlow, as it turns out, is actually Dracula, whose evil has survived his apparent death at the hands of Van Helsing. In order to fully regain his great power, though, Dracula must win the human love of a virgin. Gradually, our list of four candidates is wheedled down to one (but only after Dracula miscalculates and has a one-night stand with a woman who had obviously not been a virgin for a very long time - resulting in a rather awkward moment for our vampire). Once the designated virgin falls in love with him, Dracula can not only restore his powers but also bring his daughter Rodna back to life. (Please don't ask me where Rodna came from or what she is doing here, as I have no idea; we wouldn't have a virgin-whipping without her, though, so I vote we keep her.) I thought I knew where this movie was heading, but the whole substance of the story took a rather dramatic turn toward the end - it's hard to explain exactly why, but it does make this movie a memorable one.

Paul Naschy isn't bad at all as a vampire, and the women are great, always eager to lick the blood off of half-naked female victims. Their revealing wardrobes don't make much sense for the time period of the story, but they definitely add a little something to the film - it's called cleavage, to be exact. Haydee Politoff is particularly easy on the eyes. It's sort of a weird story, but Dracula's Great Love offers a most unusual take on the Dracula legend - I only wish I could talk about it without giving anything away. In terms of the technical quality, there's no mistaking the fact that this movie, shot on 35mm film, hasn't been restored; the print is rather dark for the most part, the night scenes sometimes look as if they were shot during the day, and there seems to be something of a cropping issue with the opening credits. Still, though, the look and feel of Dracula's Great Love really isn't all that bad. The dubbing could be better, but it could also be a lot worse.

Naschy is something of a horror icon in his native Spain, and I have to say this is the best of the few Naschy movies I have seen thus far. The story is grounded in the original Dracula of Stoker's creation but goes off in a most unusual direction, and that makes it a very interesting vampire film well worth watching.

Decent Film, So-So DVD.......2004-01-12

In this 1972 film from Spanish director Javier Aguirre, four women and a man wreck their stagecoach and must take refuge in a nearby castle. Unfortunately for the travelers, the castle's owner, Dr. Wendell Marlow (Paul Naschy), turns out to be none other than Count Dracula. After Dracula falls in love with one of the women, she must decide whether to live eternally as Dracula's bride or reject him and continue to live as a mortal. Her not-so-surprising choice leads to a strange and surprising ending. Like a lot of '70s European horror movies, the film suffers from slow pacing and a somewhat muddled plot. But there's lots of gothic atmosphere and a few creepy moments here and there to keep things interesting.

If there's anything to complain about, it's Sinema Diable's cheapo packaging. For a mid-priced DVD like this, you'd expect to see a reasonably sharp video transfer and decent audio, but both are very marginal here. In fact, the picture and sound quality are comparable to what you typically see in bargain-bin DVDs costing a third as much. There are no extras, either, like a trailer or talent bios, which are almost always included in DVDs in this price range. So I've deducted one full star for the low overall quality of the release. Hopefully, we'll see a little more bang for the buck in Sinema Diable's future products.

Of course, if you're a Naschy fan, or just can't get enough of these low-budget Euro-horror films, these faults probably won't bother you too much. Besides, until Anchor Bay or another company comes along with a better release, this may be your only chance to see this lesser-known, but worthwhile, entry in the Naschy catalog.

Description

Naschy as the Amorous Dracula sets out to seduce his one great love, with the help of his trio of sexy Vampiric Mistresses. This one is chock full of Naschy Eroticism and Gore.

Customer Reviews:

All the cheesy fun I remembered.......2006-09-24

Great movie...horrible bootleg.......2006-01-07

Its a Naschy.......2005-09-07

Blood, gore, and love make for an unusual vampire film.......2005-04-24

Decent Film, So-So DVD.......2004-01-12

Customer Reviews:

A movie for those who like twisted plots.......2003-09-05

This is one of those movies you love or you hate!
I think this movie is based in a PC game by the same name and somehow modified the plot, in an exelent way!
What would you expect from a movie with a name such as "SANITARIUM"? Disturbing things, twisted plot and madness... Well, this movie has it all.
The production is not that great, but the story is excelent. Maybe a little unbelievable, but it is a movie after all, not a documental, besides, it does its job, keep you guessing what's going on all the time!!!

i lovedf this film!!!.......2003-05-04

this film was soo mcuh better than I htought is twas going to be - it builds up with tension - it is really good!!! I bought it because I thought the cover was cool adn although te dvd qulity was rubbish the film was really good

not bad.......2003-05-04

stephen king style horror set in a mental asylum - very low budget but good fun

Scary!.......2003-05-03

I found this horror film set in a nut house really messed with my mind...jermy minns who plays the lead actor was chilling realistic in the portayal of the doctor gone mad. Really atmospheric

Creepy.......2003-04-30

Interesting low budget horror film. Atmospheric and creepy - well worth a look.

Average customer rating:

When Lower Life Forms Attempt To Make Movies...
An interesting theory!

Marilyn: Alive and Behind Bars
Starring: Marilyn Behind Bars
Manufacturer: Trinity Home Ent
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Horror | Genres | DVD | Video

General | Science Fiction & Fantasy | Genres | DVD | Video

DVDs Under $9.99 | Today's Deals in DVD | Special Features | DVD | Video

( M ) | Titles | Features | DVD | Video

4-for-3 All DVDs | 4-for-3 DVD | Stores | DVD | Video
ASIN: B000EXDRN0
Release Date: 2006-06-27

Customer Reviews:

When Lower Life Forms Attempt To Make Movies..........2007-07-03

The moment I witnessed the opening credits of this disaster, I knew I was in for an epic disappointment. Everything about this flick is terrible: Story line, actors, filming, production, editing, music... Everything. This movie is dated as having been shot in 1992, yet it looks as though it was actually made in 1972, on a two-dollar budget.

The "story" behind this mess is this: A man gets in a car accident on his wedding night, resulting in the death of his wife. He falls into such profound mourning that he attempts suicide. Due to his suicide attempt, he is sent to the local sanitarium, where he is kept doped up on drugs that make him vulnerable to suggestion. The viewer learns that this sanitarium is actually a slavery operation owned by two evil doctors. The new male patient's job is to go out in the town and capture young ladies. When the ladies are brought back to the sanitarium, they are promptly drugged and "retrained." Thereafter, they are sold to a Middle Eastern sheik for his harem. During all this, we have a parallel plotline where our hero, the male patient, discovers that the sanitarium doctors have imprisoned Marilyn Monroe for all this time- and amazingly, she hasn't aged! Perhaps Marilyn is a vampire! No... the viewer is not that lucky. Instead, the actress has been given a script that makes Marilyn out to be the most vapid, childish, naive, and stupid woman to ever stain humanity- which is insulting primarily because Marilyn Monroe was actually extremely intelligent.

Perhaps there is a director out there who could have taken this story and made something redeemable- campy, or even a "cult-classic". Perhaps there is a director out there who could have coaxed a spark of brilliance from each of the unfortunates who landed a role in this film. Instead, what this story got was a "production team" that consisted of a bunch of retarded chimpanzees who escaped their handlers and swiped a bunch of cheap video recorders from a Radio Shack. Even the score to this flick sounds like it was banged out on a Fisher Price keyboard that was designed for pre-school age children. In fact, I believe that a gaggle of toddlers could have created a better accompaniment. Hell, they could have created a better movie...

This movie is so terrible that if a burgler stole my entire DVD collection, he would actually break back into my house to return this one!

If Marilyn Monroe were alive today, she would sue everybody associated with this travesty.

An interesting theory!.......2007-01-24

Could it be true? Could Marilyn Monroe's death been faked? Could she be in a mental institution locked away to silence her? The acting in this film varies. Some performances are very good (John Phillip Law) some are mediocore. But it is worth viewing. I'm glad I own it. The ending is so touching in a light hearted way.

DVD:

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Les Amants Du Pont-Neuf

Rainbow - 30th Anniversary Special Edition

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Ticket To Ride - The Rivage To Gouvy Line 1997 To 2002