Leon Russell & the New Grass Revival

Starring:Leon Russell
Studio: Classic Pictures
Product Type: DVD

Average customer rating:

Enter the stargate
One of my favorites!
Great story line but only good execution
Kurt Russell Fan -- and fan of SG-1
Hard To Explain

Stargate (Ultimate Edition)
Starring: Kurt Russell , James Spader , Viveca Lindfors , Alexis Cruz , and Mili Avital
Director: Roland Emmerich
Manufacturer: Lions Gate
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

Sci-Fi Action | Science Fiction & Fantasy | Genres | DVD | Video

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

Space Adventure | Science Fiction & Fantasy | Genres | DVD | Video

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

Science Fiction | Kids & Family | Genres | DVD | Video

DTS | Fully Loaded DVDs | Features | DVD | Video

Ultimate Editions | Fully Loaded DVDs | Features | DVD | Video

( S ) | Titles | Features | DVD | Video

4-for-3 Science Fiction & Fantasy | 4-for-3 DVD | Stores | DVD | Video

4-for-3 All DVDs | 4-for-3 DVD | Stores | DVD | Video

DVDs Under $7.49 | Today's Deals in DVD | Special Features | DVD | Video

Stargate SG-1 Season 2 (Thinpak)
Stargate SG-1 Season 7 (Thinpak)
Stargate SG-1 Season 3 (Thinpak)
Stargate SG-1 Season 4 (Thinpak)
Stargate SG-1 Season 5 (Thinpak)

ASIN: B0000844I8
Release Date: 2003-02-17

Amazon.com

Before they unleashed the idiotic mayhem of Independence Day and Godzilla, the idea-stealing team of director Roland Emmerich and producer-screenwriter Dean Devlin concocted this hokey hit about the discovery of an ancient portal capable of zipping travelers to "the other side of the known universe." James Spader plays the Egyptologist who successfully translates the Stargate's hieroglyphic code, and then joins a hawkish military unit (led by Kurt Russell) on a reconnaissance mission to see what's on the other side. They arrive on a desert world with cultural (and apparently supernatural) ties to Earth's ancient Egypt, where the sun god Ra (played by Jaye Davidson from The Crying Game) rules a population of slaves with armored minions and startlingly advanced technology. After being warmly welcomed into the slave camp, the earthlings encourage and support a rebellion, and while Russell threatens to blow up the Stargate to prevent its use by enemy forces, the movie collapses into a senseless series of action scenes and grandiose explosions. It's all pretty ridiculous, but Stargate found a large and appreciative audience, spawned a cable-TV series, and continues to attract science fiction fans who are more than willing to forgive its considerable faults. --Jeff Shannon

Customer Reviews:

Enter the stargate.......2007-07-05

"Stargate" is, obviously, the movie that later spawned the hit "Stargate SG-1" TV series, and its spinoffs.

But taken on its own merits, "Stargate" is a pretty entertaining blockbuster with some big flaws. It uncomfortably straddles the fence between "shoot-em-up bombs'n'action" and "mythology sci-fi," but provides a solid villain, some sketchy writing, and the foundation for a hit TV show. Well, it's definitely far better than your average sci-fi blockbuster.

Egyptologist Daniel Jackson (James Spader) has just lost his job, when a mysterious old lady invites him to become involved in a secret military project. Soon he finds out why -- a massive stone ring found in Giza decades ago, with strange symbols on a central ring. When they use his calculations, the Air Force is able to open a wormhole to a distant galaxy.

Obviously a recon team is sent through, led by the grieving Colonel O'Neil (Kurt Russell). This new world is a desert planet, inhabited by a race of primitive human slaves who practically worship the strangers. But things turn deadly when a pyramid ship descends on the desert, and a malevolent "god" decides to obliterate Earth -- using a nuclear bomb O'Neil brought along.

It's a pretty straightforward action plot -- scientist opens gateway to new planet, bad guy shows up and makes trouble, good guys attack bad guy with the help of plucky natives. "Stargate" doesn't add much to the typical formula, but it does dress it up with gilded robes, giant stone statues, glittering starships and sandswept deserts.

In fact, spectacle is what "Stargate" excels at -- it has big armies of invading, big ships, big pyramids, and big battles with Ra's warriors. When it comes to gun battles and explosions, Roland Emmerich does a pretty decent job. However, he gets mesmerized by the gilded interior of Ra's starship and the prettyboy alien slinking around -- the middle part of the movie is very slow-moving.

It's more clumsy at the intimate stuff of character development, such as Daniel's serious romance with a chief's daughter, or O'Neil's depression over his son. It just never feels natural or deep. The accompanying dialogue is usually pretty solid, but sometimes gets downright clumsy ("I don't want to die. Your men don't want to die. These people don't want to die. It's a shame you're in such a hurry to").

Spade pretty much steals the show as a lovable geek who sticks to his guns, even if it makes him a laughingstock. And the geek gets the girl, not the military grunts -- a nice change. Russell is stuck with a rather stiff, humourless military man, although he loosens up in the last lap. And Alexis Cruz, Mili Avital and Erick Avari all get kudos for making the lovable, deep characters come alive without a word of English.

"Stargate" is a fun movie for the spectacle and slam-bang action scenes, so long as the weak scripting doesn't hold you up. And it served as a good foundation for one of the best "exploration" sci-fi series in ages.

One of my favorites!.......2007-06-05

I love this movie and the hit series that developed from it. If you haven't seen it then you must buy it. This edition is better than the first as there are scenes that explain so much more!!

Great story line but only good execution.......2007-05-27

The 1990s saw four big science fiction movies. The two biggest came near the end; Matrix and Phantom Menace. But the two best came out in the mid 90's; Contact and Stargate. And of all four, only Stargate spawned its own popular TV show. The storyline is very innovative; the US military obtains an object that can be used to travel across the universe, a Stargate. They hire a scientist, Daniel Jackson, to make it work. Daniel succeeds, and is transported to a desert world (Arizona actually) along with a band of soldiers led by Kurt Russel's character, to search for extraterrestrial life. They find life, in the form of enslaved humans serving a powerful alien who travels through space in the form of a gigantic pyramid. Being good Americans, Daniel and the soldiers lead the humans in a rebellion, and the alien is killed by an atomic bomb.

This DVD features a slightly longer version of the movie than the original theatrical release. The extra scenes come mainly in the beginning, as we see how the alien first came to Earth. The entire plot is very good and original, with almost nothing copied from any other sci-fi movie. The link between the pyramids, ancient Egypt, and an alien race made in the movie was quite believable and original. The casting itself was great as all the characters fit their roles perfectly.

The only drawbacks to the movie was some of the scenes were executed poorly. The first of these occurs early in the movie when we see Professor Daniel Jackson giving a presentation and everyone walking out on him. I have been to many scientific conferences and scientists never walk out en masse from a peer's presentation if they disagree with the presentation. Instead, they embarass him in public with pointed questions. The second really dumb scene occurs right after Daniel figures out the last symbol needed to operate the Stargate. Immediately, the military sends in a probe, and the next day they send in a team of soldiers with Daniel as their guide. Astronauts go through years of training before even having a chance to sit in the space shuttle, yet this guy gets to go to another planet after one night! This was really fake and hokey. Third, the soldiers sent on this mission are wholly umprepared. They enter the stargate wearing fatigues and carrying AK-47's! You would think they would be better prepared for traveling to another world. How about some survival gear such as bulletproof vests, helmets equipped with oxygen masks, climbing gear, swimming gear, etc... A fourth hokey scene comes when the soldiers encounter the enslaved humans on the other planet. One soldier puts a handheld device by some minerals, and states that this mineral is of the same composition as the Stargate, quartz! This is interesting considering earlier in the movie one character states that the Stargate is made of some unknown mineral. Big contradiction! The list goes on and on.

Overall, a good movie, very entertaining with a great storyline. The only drawback is the numerous editing miscues and flaws.

Kurt Russell Fan -- and fan of SG-1.......2007-05-07

This movie is wonderful. The intrigue, the mystery, the wonder of traveling through the gate, discovering a ancient civilization, finding the way back home (in more ways than one) - all are covered in this movie. It pulls you in and doesn't let you go until the end. I love Kurt Russell and he is great in this movie, even though he's not the only main character. And to see that such a movie brought to TV, has lasted 10+ years is amazing!

It's such a great adventure - a must see for those who have not seen it and for those who have - they'll see it over and over again!!!!

Hard To Explain.......2007-05-06

I like this movie. I've liked it ever since I first saw it in theatrical release and I liked it enough to buy this DVD "Ultimate Edition" a few years ago. Despite this, however, I'm finding it hard to explain exactly why.

There's nothing profound or particularly clever in STARGATE. It's not outstanding in any way. In fact, as the professional reviews above point out, it's pretty hokey. But, if you like this type of hokey scifi adventure, you'll probably like STARGATE, too. As with INDEPENDENCE DAY, the Indiana Jones movies, or the STAR WARS movies, it's just fun to sit back and watch (not to compare it to those flicks, but it's in the same genre). The good guys win and the bad guys get what they deserve when the dust clears. The plot's pretty predictable, but there's lots of action and a few tense moments. Going through the star gate for the first time, not knowing what's on the other side, gives you a little tingle if you haven't seen the movie before.

STARGATE is another fun ride for fans of the scifi/adventure movie genre. If you like this kind of movie, don't miss this one.

Average customer rating:

Different WWII film that speaks to the war today
Purple Heart
"WE WILL BLACKEN YOUR SKIES AND BURN YOUR CITIES TO THE GROUND AND WIPE YOUR DIRTY LITTLE EMPIRE OFF THE FACE OF THE EARTH"
A must see
"We'll come by day and we'll come by night. Thousands of us.

Purple Heart
Starring: Dana Andrews , Richard Conte , Farley Granger , Kevin O'Shea (III) , and Don 'Red' Barry
Director: Lewis Milestone
Manufacturer: 20th Century Fox
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Drama | Genres | DVD | Video

Classics | Drama | Genres | DVD | Video

Drama | Kids & Family | Genres | DVD | Video

DVDs Under $7.49 | Today's Deals in DVD | Special Features | DVD | Video

( P ) | Titles | Features | DVD | Video
Similar Items:

Fixed Bayonets
Man in the Middle
Tonight We Raid Calais
Sailor of the King
Hell and High Water

ASIN: B000MGBLJ6
Release Date: 2007-04-24

Amazon.com

One of Hollywood's most striking films of World War II has very little war in it, yet it whips up a fearsome power. A U.S. bomber that took part in the Doolittle raid on Tokyo crash-lands in Japanese-occupied China afterward. Captured, the officers and crew are hauled before a Japanese court and tried for war crimes. The trial is illegal and stacked against the Americans from the outset. But that doesn't stop it from developing into a fierce duel of nerves and icy politesse, especially between the U.S. commander (Dana Andrews) and the Japanese general (Richard Loo), who is the chief architect of the strategy to break the Americans and learn how the raid was carried out.

The story for The Purple Heart was written by none other than 20th Century-Fox studio chief Darryl F. Zanuck, resurrecting one of his pseudonyms--Melville Crossman--from the days when he used to crank out gangster pictures and Rin Tin Tin movies for Warner Bros. Did it have any corollary in fact? Home front audiences in 1944 were ready to believe the worst, and what The Purple Heart asked them to believe was both terrible and inspiring. The film was directed, pungently, by Lewis Milestone, a two-time Oscar winner and Hollywood's most honored chronicler of the horrors of war (e.g., All Quiet on the Western Front); cinematographer Arthur Miller, Fox's master of black and white, worked wonders with the claustrophobic interiors. The solid cast also includes Richard Conte, Sam Levene, and Farley Granger. --Richard T. Jameson

Description

World War II American fighter pilots are shot down over China and tortured. Dana Andrews, Richard Conte and Farley Granger struggle against tyranny.

Customer Reviews:

Different WWII film that speaks to the war today.......2007-06-27

In my quest to see all of the great old films of WWII made in the 1940's, I bought this one and I'm glad I did!
It's very different from the "typical" battle-action films; this one is set mainly in Japan where American Army Air Corps pilots are put on trial for "war crimes."
In the course of their imprisonment, they are tortured to confess to crimes they didn't commit.
They have no real lawyers.
The Geneva Convention is never mentioned.
They go bravely and proudly to their deaths by execution.
All of it highlights not only the humane treatment we give enemy combatants now at Guantanamo Bay but also the fanatical aim of world domination of today's Islamofacist enemy in Iraq and Afghanistan is exactly like that of the Shinto/Bushido Japanese that we vanquished in WWII.
This movie is really a must see that acurately portrays the enemy in wartime as truly evil with none of the moral equivalence that we get from Hollywood and the Media these days.

Purple Heart.......2007-06-08

Fantastic movie, have enjoyed it for many years on my copy on a VCR tape that I made off of TV, and now I have a great DVD version of it. The best part of the movie is that it is in the Full Screen format and not as how most come. I wish that your organization could get more movies in the Full Screen format, and not as most company's use the Wide Screen or that stupid letter boxed. Keep up the good work!!

"WE WILL BLACKEN YOUR SKIES AND BURN YOUR CITIES TO THE GROUND AND WIPE YOUR DIRTY LITTLE EMPIRE OFF THE FACE OF THE EARTH".......2007-04-04

This is an inspiring movie to ALL Americans at this stage of the war vs Japan...in reality, three [3] of the captured USAAF crew were beheaded, others tortured unmercifuly...3 survived at war's end...with the release of, "The Purple Heart" at Christmas time [1944] well after the Gen Doolittle raid in April 1942, it hit home and in our hearts to the heroics of our courageous United States Army Air Force and Naval Forces in harm's way...this movie depicts Japan for all of her quick grabs in the Pacific War; yet, Japan was wide open and vunerable to air attack...it helped lift our morale to perservere, sacrifice and no more surrenders, ultimately paving the way for Japan's unconditional surrender forevermore in Aug/1945...it was NOT a propaganda movie; conversely, a cornerstone film for total victory over Japan who was our most formidable and cunning enemy we ever faced on the sea and on the land...Dana Andrews stirring lecture to that Japanese judge rang true as the "USAAF will blackened your skies, day and nite we'll come to burn your cities to the ground and wipe your dirty little Empire off the face of the earth"...that was a TRUISM and justly so...sadly, today's liberal Americans can't relate or comprehend to just what a UNITED effort it took to bring the Japanese Militarists to extinction in Aug/1945...the Japanese got what they readily deserved with A-Bomb interest...this movie was a harbinger of what was to come to the home-islands of Japan...WW2 was a great American lesson to America's enemies...I loved this wartime 1944 film about wartime April/1942....SSGT CHRIS SARNO-USMC FMF

A must see.......2007-02-21

This is one of the all-time classic propaganda pieces of the war. Here we have the "typical" American unit made up of boys from Texas, Brooklyn, and Iowa, led by a steely officer (Dana Andrews)in a tribute to democracy. For my money, however, the scenery-chewing performance of Richard Loo as the Tojo-look-alike Japanese officer (complete with an appliance in his mouth to make his teeth look bigger...just like all of the print propaganda characatures of Japanese soldiers) steals the show. Loo's line "How many people will the white man sacrifice?" has become a cult classic with my colleagues and I and will likely remain so for some years. You've truly got to see this to believe it.

"We'll come by day and we'll come by night. Thousands of us........2005-09-20

One of the greatest WWII movies ever made.We need this on DVD. The best part is when Dana Andrews tells the court "We'll come by day and we'll come by night. Thousands of us and we won't stop coming till we wipe that dirty little empire off the face of the earth." What could be more inspiring. Please put this out on DVD as a collectors edition.

Average customer rating:

By The Light Of The Silvery Moon (1953) - Doris Day
Another Doris Day Favorite
By the Light of the Silvery Moon
Finally!!!
Love it!

By the Light of the Silvery Moon
Starring: Doris Day , Gordon MacRae , Billy Gray , Leon Ames , and Rosemary DeCamp
Director: David Butler
Manufacturer: Warner Home Video
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Comedy | Genres | DVD | Video

General | Musicals & Performing Arts | Genres | DVD | Video

( B ) | Titles | Features | DVD | Video
Similar Items:

On Moonlight Bay
Move Over Darling
Romance on the High Seas
Do Not Disturb
Calamity Jane

ASIN: B000MGBLPK
Release Date: 2007-04-10

Amazon.com

The huge popularity of the nostalgic On Moonlight Bay prompted this 1953 sequel, which recaptures the first film's small-town, post-WWI spirit. Because young lovers Doris Day and Gordon MacRae are already together, the movie needs some sort of trumped-up conflict to separate them for a while; it comes with MacRae's decision to postpone their wedding until he gets his financial legs. Yawn. But don't worry, the subplots abound, including younger brother Billy Gray pilfering a prize Thanksgiving turkey, and dad Leon Ames suspected of romancing a visiting French music-hall star. Naturally there are vintage songs, including umpteen renderings of the classic title song (you won't need the bouncing ball to sing along) and Day and MacRae casually bopping out new lyrics to "Ain't We Got Fun." Also returning for the sequel are Rosemary DeCamp as the patient mother and shameless scene-stealer Mary Wickes as the bossy maid. And check it out: future talk-show host Merv Griffin cheerleading during the finale at an outdoor ice rink. Day and MacRae twinkle so aggressively that they sometimes resemble salesmen for a particular kind of Hollywood backlot America that probably never existed, but the whole thing is almost impossible to resist. --Robert Horton

Description

"On Moonlight Bay" stars Doris Day and Gordon MacRae are back together in top tune-crooning form for the further adventures of a small-town family turning the corner from World War I into the Roaring '20s. Year: 1953 Director: David Butler Starring: Doris Day, Gordon MacRae, Billy Gray

Customer Reviews:

By The Light Of The Silvery Moon (1953) - Doris Day.......2007-05-30

I love this film and the first of the two films On Moonlight Bay (1951) with one of my favourite actresses and singers Doris Day.

I remember as a child watching this and loving every minute of it. I am now 42 years old and was not even born when it was released but have seen it on TV many times and have copies of them on Video. My Mum got me into Doris Day with her music and films but this and its sequel are my favourites of hers and Mum's to.

It is a true family musical film about childhood, growing up, life in the early 19th Century USA and World War 2 and beyond.

I ordered my copy and the first film from Amazon USA as I could not wait for it to become available on Region 2 DVD. I can now at last retire my old worn out VHS Tapes and watch them on my DVD Player.

Another Doris Day Favorite.......2007-05-18

I love this movie! It is the segual to "On Moonlight Bay" and I like it even better. There is a funny subplot about a misunderstanding with Billy Gray at his best playing Wesley. The beautiful winter skating scene toward the end can't be missed. I highly recomment this movie. They don't make these kind of family movies anymore.

By the Light of the Silvery Moon.......2007-05-12

This is a continuation of the movie Moonlight Bay and is equally as good as the first one. I would highly recommend this one also.

Finally!!!.......2007-04-29

I have been waiting a long time to get this movie and it's companion movie, On Moonlight Bay, in DVD format. Finally they are here!! They are two of Doris Day's most delightful movies. They hark back to a sweeter, more peaceful time in our country. Some may say they are corny, all I can say is PASS THE CORN!! I love them both. Billy Gray is totally mesmerizing as the little brother, Wesley. And I always love Mary Wickes in whatever she does. These are wonderful movies, worth being in any collection.

Love it!.......2007-01-26

I love Doris Day, This movie is one of by favorties. If you love Doris Day you have to add this movie to your collection. Also get "On Moonlight Bay".

Average customer rating:

The Subtitles are there if you took the time to look
Stargate on Blu-Ray-The Best Version Available! But...
I love this movie
Flawed in a big way
Good sci-fi

Stargate [Blu-ray]
Starring: Robert Ackerman , Rae Allen , Erick Avari , Alexis Cruz , and Kenneth Danziger
Director: Roland Emmerich
Manufacturer: Lions Gate
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: Blu-ray

Action & Adventure | Blu-ray | Formats | DVD | Video

General | Blu-ray | Formats | DVD | Video

Horror | Blu-ray | Formats | DVD | Video

Science Fiction & Fantasy | Blu-ray | Formats | DVD | Video
Similar Items:

Total Recall [Blu-ray]
Casino Royale [Blu-ray]
Pirates of the Caribbean - The Curse of the Black Pearl [Blu-ray]
Pirates of the Caribbean - Dead Man's Chest [Blu-ray]
Terminator 2 - Judgment Day [Blu-ray]

ASIN: B000HIVOI2
Release Date: 2006-08-29

Product Description

The advertisements for Stargate declared ominously, "Sealed and buried for all time is the key to mankind's future." Well, mankind didn't fare too well, but director/writer Roland Emmerich and co-writer Dean Devlin did pretty well with this highly derivative science-fiction success that paved the way for Emmerich and Devlin's mega-hit Independence Day. The story begins in Giza, Egypt, in 1928, where an archaeological expedition unearths an ancient ring with cryptic hieroglyphs. The film then moves to the present day, where Egyptologist Daniel Jackson (James Spader) is busily trying to convince a group of skeptics that the pyramids were not built by man, but by an extraterrestrial force. After the lecture, a military man approaches him and offers him a job translating ancient tiles housed in an Egyptian archaeological site. The tiles turn out to be the key that turns a lock in a stargate which leads to an Earth-like world on the other side of the universe. The army sends over resident crackpot colonel Jack O'Neill (Kurt Russell) to travel through the stargate and see what's on the other side. O'Neill and his troops enter the stargate and end up in a place that resembles the Arabia from Lawrence of Arabia. The only difference is the three moons in the sky. It turns out that O'Neill has stumbled upon the land of Ra (Jaye Davidson), a sexually indeterminate Egyptian sun god. Ra was the intelligence behind the creation of humankind on Earth and this world as well, and is perturbed with the ancient Egyptians for sealing off their portion of the space and time portal, trapping Ra on the planet. Ra wants to get back to Earth and has decided the use these obtuse earthlings to do it. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide

System Requirements:
Run Time: 96 mins

Format: BLU-RAY DISC

Customer Reviews:

The Subtitles are there if you took the time to look.......2007-06-27

The only complaint I've found is that there's no subtitles for the Alien language without turning on subtitles for the whole movie. There is a second English subtitle option that just has the alien language. It wasn't in the menu itself because it's supposed to play automatically, but if you just use the subtitle button on your remote it comes up. Took a whole two minutes to find.

Stargate on Blu-Ray-The Best Version Available! But..........2007-05-30

First, let me start by saying that I love this movie. Perhaps because I traveled to Egypt when I was 16 and I saw the glory of the giant pyramids in person (just don't tell an Egyptian that it was the aliens who built their pyramids and not their ancestors, he or she will be mad at you forever!).
I also love Sci-Fi flicks, and this movie has a great story. if you haven't seen it and you like Sci-Fi movies, even adventure movies with Kurt Russell, you'll love this one.

Now about the Blu-ray DVD:

Let me say that I have been a happy HD DVD owner for almost a year now, but seeing some the movies that I love in Blu-ray only, made me decide to get a Blu-ray player.

Video: The picture quality of this Blu-ray disc shows excellent CLARITY and BRIGHTNESS and BETTER COLORS that were not on the standard DVD. It seems that the brightness level was boosted, but also at the cost of some graininess and video noise.

The Picture looks almost perfect in the bright sunny desert scenes, but with very visible grains indoors.
Overall, comparing this version to the dark (less grainy SD DVD) is like the difference between Day and Night!
Also, This BD has a cool disc menu with ancient Egyptian Hieroglyphic that turn into English letter.

There was a problem with the subtitled translation of the Alien language or ancient Egyptian (I'm not sure if this language was actually made up in Hollywood like the "Clangon" language in the Star Trek Movies). The problem is, the translation should show up in English whenever that language is spoken, but it doesn't!!!!!! One helpful reviewer on this page suggested going to the main menu and selecting English subs, and it works!, but you end up with subtitles throughout the whole movie. This release might have been rushed to the market (like many Blu-ray releases of 2006 in order to compete with the other HD format). How long do we "Stargate" fan have to wait again before we get a release with a good picture quality (hopefully grain free and no subtitle problem)????

Audio: very good

Conclusion: I can say that this is the best version of this movie available to date! but it has its problems. If you can't wait and you don't mind turning on the subtitles during the whole movie, it's a great release under $20.

I love this movie.......2007-05-13

One of my favorite titles. The HD transfer was excellent. I had the DVD and bought the Blu-Ray to get it in HD. I'm happy I did that.

Flawed in a big way.......2007-03-22

I love this move. I have been a fan of it since it was in the theaters. I jumped on the chance to own the high def version on Blu-ray. Anyone who has watched this movie before knows how much dialog in needs to be translated through subtitles during the movie. The problem with this disk is that the disk doesn't force any subtitles leaving the dialog completely untranslated. Even if you have seen the movie, and know what they are saying it is a huge problem. Tried to contact Lion's gate about the problem but they appear to be unwilling to even offer up a real e-mail address and they stopped answering their phones. Unless you can live with this problem do not buy this item.

Good sci-fi.......2007-02-19

This is a good sci-fi movie and fun to watch. The blu-ray edition is quite good if you take under consideration that it is an older movie. There is a problem with the subtitles, you have to turn them on so you can read the dialogue that takes place in the ancient dialect as they stay on for english too. But overall a good movie that was transfered on blu-ray pretty well.

The Concert for Bangladesh (Limited Deluxe Edition)

Average customer rating:

A Valuable Part of Music History
Still rocks after 30+ years
This concert is a reminder of kindness and good music
Musicians unite for the good of all
Jesse Ed Davis at Concert for Bangladesh

The Concert for Bangladesh (Limited Deluxe Edition)
Starring: George Harrison , Bob Dylan , Ravi Shankar , Ringo Starr , and Eric Clapton
Director: Saul Swimmer
Manufacturer: Rhino Records
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

India | India & Pakistan | International | Styles | Music

General | International | Styles | Music

General | Pop | Styles | Music

Orchestral Pop | Easy Listening | Pop | Styles | Music

General | R&B | Styles | Music

Folk Rock | Rock | Styles | Music

General | Rock | Styles | Music

Country Rock | Rock | Styles | Music

Psychedelic Rock | Classic Rock | Styles | Music

Album-Oriented Rock (AOR) | Classic Rock | Styles | Music

Smooth Jazz | Jazz | Styles | Music

General | Music Video & Concerts | Genres | DVD | Video

( C ) | Titles | Features | DVD | Video
Similar Items:

Cream - Royal Albert Hall - London May 2-3-5-6 2005
The Concert for Bangladesh
Bob Dylan - No Direction Home
Neil Young - Heart of Gold
Born to Run: 30th Anniversary 3-Disc Set

ASIN: B000AYQJJ2
Release Date: 2005-10-25

Amazon.com

Before We Are the World, before the Amnesty International concerts, before Live Aid, Live 8, 46664, and all the other charitable and/or political events that have used popular music as their principal draw, there was George Harrison's 1971 Concert for Bangladesh, a stirring affair released here in a fine two-disc set. The cause--raising money for the beleaguered people of Bangladesh (formerly East Pakistan), who were ravaged by war, floods, and famine--was enough to attract the support of stars like the former Beatle, who had never fronted a band before, along with Bob Dylan and Eric Clapton, both of whom had been out of the limelight for some years due to various personal problems and choices. Given the little time that Harrison, whose help had been solicited by sitar master Ravi Shankar, had to organize the affair, the results are very impressive indeed: the enormous band, which also features Ringo Starr, Leon Russell, and Billy Preston, is tight, the music (spotlighting tunes from Harrison's All Things Must Pass, along with a few Beatle numbers) inspired, the musicians at the top of their games. (Only Clapton is sub-par; looking out of it and playing weakly, he's a far cry from the guy who, some 30 years later, would spearhead the magnificent Concert for George.) For some, the opportunity to see Dylan onstage with Harrison, Starr, and Russell (playing bass) will be the big attraction. Others will thrill to the remastered DVD sound and restored picture. Still others will revel in an entire disc of bonus material, including three previously-unreleased performances and a documentary featuring new interviews with many of the participants. 1971 was a bleak period in rock history; the Beatles had broken up, Hendrix, Joplin, and Morrison were dead, Woodstock was a distant memory. The Concert for Bangladesh shone like a beacon, a revelation of the better angels that reside within us all. And it still does. --Sam Graham

Description

The Concert for Bangladesh was the first benefit concert of its kind in that it brought together an extraordinary assemblage of major artists collaborating for a common humanitarian cause-setting the precedent that music could be used to serve a higher purpose. The concert sold out Madison Square Garden and has helped to generate millions for UNICEF and raised awareness for the organization around the world, as well as among other musicians and their fans. It is acknowledged as the inspiration and the forerunner to the major global fundraising events of recent years. To quote the United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan, "George and his friends were pioneers." All artists' royalties from the sales of the DVD will go to UNICEF.

Customer Reviews:

A Valuable Part of Music History .......2007-06-11

I was 12 years old when this was originally released on vinyl (which i still have in excellent condition), and loved the record as much today as i did then. when it was first issued on cd quite a few years ago i was waiting for the store to open to get a copy! now, years later the film is finally released on dvd! what joy it is to see what i've listened to for so many years.(i never saw the film in the theater). a great set from a cast of spectacular legends from the music industry. George Harrison, Ringo Starr, Billy Preston, Leon Russell, Eric Clapton, Bob Dylan and a host of others in a spectacular performance for charity, an event that actually started concerts for charity. DVD quality is decent considering this show was shot in 1971, sound is very good. there are 2 low points for me in this set, but neither to drop my 5 star rating. the first being nearly 17 minutes of Ravi's performance. (did they really have to play that long?) while the music was intresting, its hard to listen to for that long for me personally, and two, the ommision of Bob Dylan's Mr.Tamborine Man! this track was included on the cd and original vinyl versions. On the upside, a couple performances from the afternoon show and rehersals have been added, "If Not For You," "Come On In My Kitchen," and "Love Minus Zero/No Limit" on disc 2 of the set. Overall it is wonderful to finally be able to own a piece of history!

Still rocks after 30+ years.......2007-05-18

How ironic that you asked for a review today. Having owned the dvd for 1 month, I finally got a chance to watch the first half of it just last night. It rocks. I saw the movie in a theatre when it came out and I was expecting it to be just okay (a la Mad Dogs and Englishmen, which does not live up to the memories I had of it for 30 years). This, however, is really good stuff. I'm only half way through, but so far have been blown away by the Billy Preston and Leon Russell songs in particular. The Indian music section is also excellent, and George is very strong, singing and playing well while balancing the duties of musical director. Unfortunately, EC is in noticeably mediocre form, playing sloppily and sometimes out of key. (What a great ad for the Crossroads Clinic! Thank God he made it through.) Anyway, buy this DVD. It's great. Camera work, sound, and performaces are all good. While you're at it, get the Concert for George, too. That has a wonderful inventory of GH's songwriting, with excellent performances by EC as a bonus.

This concert is a reminder of kindness and good music.......2007-04-06

I bought this DVD and CD set because it is a demonstration of human kindness from people who really cared. Nowhere on this DVD can you see the ego of these music legends. They played for the love of music and also to help out people who were in need.

George Harrison made this concert happen because he genuinely wanted to help the people of Bangladesh. I was born many years after the concert but it struck me how kind people were in the 1970's to want to help a bunch of people who really had nothing.

I am also a Bengali and a high school teacher in the US. I use the concert in my classes to show examples of human kindness and a willingness of Westerners to give back to the poor. The cover of the DVD speaks volumes and really makes an impact on anyone who looks at it. I was sadden and heart broken that when George Harrison died the Bangladeshi government did not send a letter of condolence to George Harrison's family or that there were no steps taken to honor the fantastic work done by George Harrison for the Bangladeshi people. So on behalf of a grateful nation and Bengali's everywhere, thank you George for the fantastic concert, music and your love for a nation of people who needed it.

Musicians unite for the good of all.......2007-03-18

Eric Clapton, Bob Dylan, Ravi Shankar, Ringo Starr, Leon Russell, and Billy Preston unite for the good of all. There have been many great efforts by those that are gifted with special talents to bring help to those in dire need of the basic necessities of life, but before efforts like "We Are the World," and other charitable events, George Harrison conducted a 1971 Concert for Bangladesh. By acquiring this DVD, you get the rare opportunity to witness this ground breaking great effort. The purpose for these musicians to come together was to raise money for the people of Bangladesh. The reason was that these people were living the dire consequences of war, floods, and famine. During the performance, we see the rare appearances of Bob Dylan and Eric Clapton who had been away for some time because of deep emotional challenges. Our favorite part is the bonus material, which provides the opportunity to see unreleased performances, as well as a documentary where the participants are interviewed. After seeing the performance, we researched and learned about the sitar and how it is constructed. Would highly recommend this DVD if you want to experience the outcome of a great effort transforming into a legacy of great music.

Jesse Ed Davis at Concert for Bangladesh.......2007-02-04

If you don't know who Jesse Ed Davis was...this DVD is the perfect historical record to introduce you to one of America's and rock's under rated and vastly ignored blues guitarists. Davis was a Kiowa/Comanche Indian from Oklahoma who rose from obscurity to standing on stage at this concert with Harrison, Dylan, Clapton, and Russell among others. Davis had backed up Russell, Taj Mahal, as well as releasing three solo albums.
I had the opportunity to speak with Davis in 78' at a benefit concert he performed at for the Denver Indian Center. He was a great guy, humble, and still an 'Indian' in his one on one meetings with other Indians.
Besides the great footage and music on this great DVD, take the opportunity to meet Jesse Ed Davis, even if it's hard to discern his playing and contributions to the concert.

Average customer rating:

Sweet Smell of Success
This Movie Needs to Settle Its Score
"Don't do anything I wouldn't do. That gives you a lot of leeway."
Great Acting, Great Script, Great...Everything
Great acting, great writing. A great movie.

Sweet Smell of Success
Starring: Burt Lancaster , Tony Curtis , Susan Harrison (II) , Martin Milner , and Sam Levene
Director: Alexander Mackendrick
Manufacturer: MGM (Video & DVD)
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Drama | Genres | DVD | Video

Classics | Drama | Genres | DVD | Video

DVDs Under $7.49 | Today's Deals in DVD | Special Features | DVD | Video

( S ) | Titles | Features | DVD | Video
Similar Items:

Double Indemnity (Universal Legacy Series)
The Big Heat
Elmer Gantry
Touch of Evil (Restored to Orson Welles' Vision)
Where the Sidewalk Ends (Fox Film Noir)

ASIN: B00005AUKD
Release Date: 2001-06-19

Amazon.com essential video

A classic of the late 1950s, this film looks at the string-pulling behind-the-scenes action between desperate press agent Sidney Falco (Tony Curtis) and the ultimate power broker in that long-ago show-biz Manhattan: gossip columnist J.J. Hunsecker (Burt Lancaster). Written by Ernest Lehman and Clifford Odets (who based the Hunsecker character on the similarly brutal and power-mad Walter Winchell), the film follows Falco's attempts to promote a client through Hunsecker's column--until he is forced to make a deal with the devil and help Hunsecker ruin a jazz musician who has the nerve to date Hunsecker's sister. Director Alexander MacKendrick and cinematographer James Wong Howe, shooting on location mostly at night, capture this New York demimonde in silky black and white, in which neon and shadows share a scarily symbiotic relationship--a near-match for the poisonous give-and-take between the edgy Curtis and the dismissive Lancaster. --Marshall Fine

Description

A powerful film about a ruthless journalist and an unscrupulous press agent who'll do anything to achieve success, this fascinating, compelling story (The Hollywood Reporter) crackles with 'taut direction and whiplash dialogue (Time). Bristling with vivid performances by Curtis and Lancaster, this gutsy exposÃ(c) of big-city corruption is a timeless classic that cuts deep and sends a chilling message. It's late at night in the steamy, neon-lit streets of New York's Times Square, and everything's buzzing with nervous energy. But press agent Sidney Falco (Tony Curtis) is oblivious to the whirlwind of street vendors, call girls and con men bustling around him as he nervously waits for the early edition of The Globe. Whose career did gossip columnist J. J. Hunsecker (Burt Lancaster) launch today...and whose did he destroy?

Customer Reviews:

Sweet Smell of Success.......2007-06-26

Turning from his comedic work at Britain's Ealing Studios to direct this noirish, all-American masterpiece about greed, ambition, and the perversity of power, Alexander MacKendrick relied on estimable playwright Clifford Odets and writer Ernest Lehman for their scripting talent. What resulted was one of the most cynical, caustic films ever made about the sleazy underbelly of Manhattan show business, featuring blistering performances from Lancaster and a young Curtis in his prime. "I love this dirty town," proclaims the Walter Winchell-esque Hunsecker, and you never once doubt him. Sinister, tawdry, and burnished with a tone-perfect jazz score by Elmer Bernstein, "Success" was never this twisted.

This Movie Needs to Settle Its Score.......2007-06-13

This is often cited as being a near-classic film, but I was a little disappointed when I viewed it again.

Tony Curtis does turn in a brilliant performance as a desperate, toadying press agent whose last-gasp career depends on getting his clients' names into the papers. But Burt Lancaster as New York's ruling gossip columnist seems improbably over the top in villainy. Although his portrayal may have been loosely based on the reputed ruthlessness of real-life columnist Walter Winchell, no such talk-of-the-town writer could be quite so overtly red in tooth and claw. Most gossip columnists had to maintain at least a glad-handing, amiable façade in order to encourage scoops and rumors to come their way. They had to at least appear to be more about human interest than about their own lust for power.

But the main problem with this picture isn't any one-dimensional character study. The main problem here is the score. The blaring music drowns out the actors. It rakes down New York's skyscraper canyons. It tells us what to think, what to feel at every turn, rather than letting us react to the movie on our own terms. That sort of intrusive score might have been the style in movies of the period. And this score's volume may have been additionally turned up to reflect the clash of wills, the brutal power plays taking place on the screen. But I just wanted the movie to be over in order to get away from those deafening, raw crescendos.

If the film could be re-mastered with a more muted score, maybe viewers could appreciate its performances more, and find the greatness in its themes.

"Don't do anything I wouldn't do. That gives you a lot of leeway.".......2006-11-19

Alexander Mackendrick's "Sweet Smell of Success" is one nasty little film. When it finally ends after 96 minutes, you will be running for the shower to wash off the stench left behind by its two main characters.

J.J. Hunsecker (Burt Lancaster) is a powerful New York gossip columnist whose words can make or break careers. When he finds himself with a problem on his hands, he seeks out publicity agent Sidney Falco (Tony Curtis) to do some dirty work for him. Hunsecker is not enamored of the jazz musician who is romancing his younger sister, Susan (Susan Harrison), so he tells Falco to break up the romance. Desperate to remain in Hunsecker's good graces, Falco agrees to carry out the task. However, matters do not go smoothly as Susan decides to stand up to her brother's meddling.

There is essentially nothing redeeming about Hunsecker and Falco. Watching them scheme makes you realize the cutthroat maneuvering and vicious backstabbing that is so common today is not a recent development. Men deluded by their power and men desperate for success have never shied away from treating others cruelly in order to further their aims. This was true in the Fifties when this film was made and it is true today. Lancaster and Curtis are outstanding in their roles with the latter's performance being especially impressive. Those familiar only with Curtis' more lighthearted works will be stunned at the tenacity and viciousness of his Sidney Falco. While it is difficult to watch, "Sweet Smell of Success" is nonetheless fascinating due to its insight into the darker aspects of human nature.

Great Acting, Great Script, Great...Everything.......2006-11-09

"Sweet Smell of Success" is a film from 1957, commonly called one of the greatest films ever made. It's pushing 50 years old, but even now doesn't feel dated for one second and features two great actors in their most memorable roles. These actors are Tony Curtis and Burt Lancaster starring as Sidney Falco and J.J. Hunsecker. Hunsecker is one of the most powerful newspaper columnists in New York, who is capable of ruining people with his column. Falco is a press agent, who works with Hunsecker by digging dirt up on people. Early on in the movie we learn that Hunsecker has shut Falco out, mostly due to the fact that Hunsecker hired Falco to break up a romance between Hunsecker's sister Susan (Susan Harrison) and a jazz guitarist named Steve (Martin Milner). Falco has failed to do so. The rest of the film is, for the most part, built on the foundation of this; With Falco and Hunsecker trying to create a smear ad to get Susan away from Steve. The acting is extraordinary. This is probably Tony Curtis' best performance aside from "The Boston Strangler." I'd never seen Lancaster in a movie, so imagine my surprise about how good an actor the man was. This is a very memorable movie; Most movies I see nowadays, I've forgotten the characters name within minutes. It's doubtful you'll forget the name Sidney Falco quickly, it's one of those names that just sticks with you. This is a legendary movie, Roger Ebert called it "One extraordinary American noir."
That's accurate enough, it's superb.

GRADE: A-

Great acting, great writing. A great movie........2006-11-08

As a New Yorker, I really appreciate this film. It is so true to the time and the place. I hung around Broadway and dined at 21. This film captures it all. This is in my opinion the best thing Tony Curtis has done. He and Lancaster play off each other in such a deadly way. Such a pleasure to watch this film.

Average customer rating:

A Valuable Part of Music History
Still rocks after 30+ years
This concert is a reminder of kindness and good music
Musicians unite for the good of all
Jesse Ed Davis at Concert for Bangladesh

Concert for Bangladesh (2pc)
Starring: George Harrison , Bob Dylan , Ravi Shankar , Ringo Starr , and Eric Clapton
Director: Saul Swimmer
Manufacturer: Rhino Records
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Pop | Styles | Music

General | Rock | Styles | Music

General | Music Video & Concerts | Genres | DVD | Video

( C ) | Titles | Features | DVD | Video
Similar Items:

Cream - Royal Albert Hall - London May 2-3-5-6 2005
The Concert for Bangladesh
Bob Dylan - No Direction Home
Neil Young - Heart of Gold
Born to Run: 30th Anniversary 3-Disc Set

ASIN: B000AYQJ3I
Release Date: 2005-10-25

Amazon.com

Description

Customer Reviews:

A Valuable Part of Music History .......2007-06-11

Still rocks after 30+ years.......2007-05-18

This concert is a reminder of kindness and good music.......2007-04-06

Musicians unite for the good of all.......2007-03-18

Jesse Ed Davis at Concert for Bangladesh.......2007-02-04

The Val Lewton Horror Collection (Cat People / The Curse of the Cat People / I Walked with a Zombie / The Body Snatcher / Isle of the Dead / Bedlam / The Leopard Man / The Ghost Ship / The Seventh Victim / Shadows in the Dark)

Average customer rating:

The Val Lewton Horror Collection
The Val Lewton Horror Collection
Quintessential Lewton...
Elegant horror
Note recycled Lewton props.

The Val Lewton Horror Collection (Cat People / The Curse of the Cat People / I Walked with a Zombie / The Body Snatcher / Isle of the Dead / Bedlam / The Leopard Man / The Ghost Ship / The Seventh Victim / Shadows in the Dark)
Starring: Simone Simon , Kent Smith , Tom Conway , Jane Randolph , and Jack Holt
Director: Jacques Tourneur , Robert Wise , and Gunther von Fritsch
Manufacturer: Turner Home Ent
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Classics | Genres | DVD | Video

General | Horror | Genres | DVD | Video

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

Sci-Fi & Fantasy | Boxed Sets | Stores | DVD | Video

Horror | Boxed Sets | Stores | DVD | Video

Classics | Boxed Sets | Stores | DVD | Video

( V ) | Titles | Features | DVD | Video
Similar Items:

The Bela Lugosi Collection (Murders in the Rue Morgue / The Black Cat / The Raven / The Invisible Ray / Black Friday)
Hammer Horror Series (Brides of Dracula / Curse of the Werewolf / Phantom of the Opera (1962) / Paranoiac / Kiss of the Vampire / Nightmare / Night Creatures / Evil of Frankenstein)
The King Kong Collection (King Kong 2-Disc Special Edition/Son of Kong/Mighty Joe Young)
Hollywood's Legends of Horror Collection (Doctor X / The Return of Doctor X / Mad Love / The Devil Doll / Mark of the Vampire / The Mask of Fu Manchu)
The Innocents

ASIN: B000A0GOEQ
Release Date: 2005-10-04

Amazon.com

Val Lewton's name is synonymous with the subtlest, most mysterious brand of horror filmmaking in Hollywood's golden age, and the nine horror classics he produced at RKO between 1942 and 1946 constitute the most remarkable cycle of creativity in B-movie history. (For the record, the Lewton/RKO legacy also includes two non-horror entries, Youth Runs Wild and Mademoiselle Fifi.)

Before becoming a film producer, the Russian-born Lewton was a prolific writer of pulp fiction, nonfiction, and a couple of pornographic novels. He also worked for years as assistant to David O. Selznick, a legendary producer with a distinctive personal signature--and a flair for grandiosity Lewton himself never emulated. It's ever so revealing that, on Selznick's Gone With the Wind, it was Lewton who came up with the idea for the famous rising shot of the Atlanta railyard filled with Southern wounded, with the Confederate flag streaming above--only he idly proposed it as a joke, never imagining that anyone would actually film such a spectacularly ambitious scene.

In 1942 Lewton left Selznick to undertake a series of horror films for RKO Radio Pictures. The studio would give him a budget around $200,000 per picture and a title RKO deemed to be grabby; Lewton would have a free hand as long as he stayed on budget, used the title, and gave the studio a salable movie of second-feature length (around 70 minutes). Over time, Lewton would increasingly have trouble with studio supervisors, but RKO was the right place for him. Although low in the pecking order among Hollywood majors, the studio made up for its lack of MGM-style glamour and Warner Bros. grit-and-gusto by working in a finely filigreed, almost miniaturist style. The art department under Van Nest Polglase and Albert S. D'Agostino was capable of exquisite artisanry, and in Nicholas Musuraca, a master of low-key cinematography and supple camerawork, Lewton found an invaluable collaborator in creating moody shadow-worlds where what you couldn't see was more disquieting than what you could.

He was also fortunate in having Jacques Tourneur to direct his first three efforts (they had teamed years earlier on the Bastille-storming sequence for Selznick's A Tale of Two Cities). They scored first time out of the gate with both a popular hit and a masterpiece: Cat People (1942). The story involves a pretty young Serbian woman in Manhattan (Simone Simon) convinced that her ancestors had practiced animal worship during the Middle Ages--and that she herself might shape-change into a lithe, ravening panther if her passions were aroused. The film is uncannily successful in keeping the viewer guessing whether this is a phobia borne of morbid obsession and sexual repression, or a genuine, horrific possibility. There are two sequences of matchless artistry and almost unbearable suspense--a lonely, echoing walk through pools of lamplight alongside Central Park, and a late-night swim in a deserted indoor pool--that build to throat-grabbing climaxes and remain milestones in the history of screen horror.

Many critics feel that the second Lewton-Tourneur endeavor, I Walked With a Zombie (1943), is both men's finest work. The title is so lurid that the heroine-narrator (Frances Dee) must shrug it off with her very first words, yet the movie is an amazingly delicate and poetic piece of spellbinding--nothing less than a reworking of Jane Eyre on a voodoo island in the Caribbean. Other horror aficionados prefer the more mainline ferocity of The Leopard Man (1943), an adaptation of a Cornell Woolrich story about a serial killer strewing corpses along the U.S.-Mexican border. Although on one level this is the Lewton film that veers closest to conventional mystery-suspense, there's no end of unsettling ambiguity (another black panther on the loose!) and hints of occultism and religious mania.

RKO promoted Tourneur to A-movies after this; Lewton would never again have so masterly a directorial partner. Yet in a weird sense (which is only appropriate), this underscores how much Lewton--with his wealth of arcane historical lore and storytelling archetypes, his quiet, patient attention to detail, and his taste for oblique narrative--was the essential auteur of all his films. Promoting first Mark Robson and then Robert Wise from the editing table, Lewton went on to make the deeply mysterious The Seventh Victim (1943) and The Ghost Ship (1943), two films in which such grotesque elements as Satan worship and murderous psychopathology are folded away inside eerily drifty, almost becalmed sleepwalks into eternal night. The Seventh Victim--a movie populated with more walking dead than Lewton's out-and-out zombie picture--is one of the cinema's supreme meditations on the ways lives brush against one another in the spaces of a great, impersonal city. And The Ghost Ship (the rarest of Lewton's films, owing to a ruinous copyright suit) is like a fever dream from which the viewer never awakens.

That's enough for a legacy, surely. Yet there remain The Curse of the Cat People (1944), a sequel that is not quite a sequel, a pretend-horror movie that's really a contemplation of the fragility of childhood; Isle of the Dead (1945), a doomed reverie about travelers who escape the Goya-esque chaos of a 19th-century war only to be beset with plague on a miasma-shrouded island; The Body Snatcher (1945), an atmospheric Robert Louis Stevenson adaptation that invokes the grisly history of graverobbers Burke and Hare, and supplies a together-again-for-the-last-time occasion for Boris Karloff and Bela Lugosi; and Bedlam (1946), the Hogarth painting come to life to portray the real-life horrors of an 18th-century insane asylum. Bedlam's critical and box-office failure ended Lewton's quasi-independent status at RKO; he would live to make only three other, unsuccessful films.

James Agee, the premier American film critic of the 1940s, reckoned that Val Lewton was one of the three foremost creative figures in Hollywood--an assessment yet more impressive when we consider that the other two were Charles Chaplin and Walt Disney. His greatest films--Cat People, I Walked with a Zombie, The Seventh Victim--are towering achievements, and even his half-realized projects are haunting experiences, the products of an utterly distinctive sensibility. This is an extraordinary collection. --Richard T. Jameson

Description

Val Lewton, a famous RKO Radio Pictures producer, redefined the horror genre with low-budget, high-box office films. Now available are nine of these horror classics on DVD in the all new Val Lewton Horror Collection. Exclusive to the collection are a new documentary on the producer and 3 of the 9 films.

DVD Features:
Audio Commentary:Greg Mank with Simone Simon on Cat People and Curse of the Cat People, Kim Newman and Steve Jones on I Walked With a Zombie, Steve Haberman with Robert Wise on The Body Snatcher, Tom Weaver on Bedlam, and Steve Haberman on The Seventh Victim.
Documentaries:Shadows In The Dark: The Val Lewton Legacy
Theatrical Trailer

Customer Reviews:

The Val Lewton Horror Collection.......2007-06-25

-------------------------------------------------------------
"Cat People"
What you can't see "will" hurt you

A man marries a strange woman with a European accent. She seems shy, but she actually carries a secret. Seems she knows she came from a line of "Cat People" and passion can bring out her claws. This is reinforced in a scene at a restaurant where another one of her kind recognizes her. She also suspects her new hubby's female friend has designs on him. So we get a spooky scene at a swimming pool at night alone in the gym.

There was not enough money or sufficient technology to show scary cat people. They tried people in cat suits, but they just looked cutesy. So they decided to just show shadows and sounds. The rest was up to your imagination. It is a psychological movie with a touch of film noir. ---------------------------------------------
"The Curse of the Cat People"
In many ways superior to the original

The Curse of the Cat People (1944) is not really sequel to Cat People (1942) as much as a stand alone physiological thriller that just happens to be an extension of the original characters. We have seen the formula before but you may not have seen such a presentation; a lonely child Amy Reed (Ann Carter) seeks a playmate that understands her. Who best but the spirit of Oliver's dead wife, Irena (Simone Simon) one of the cat people. Naturally this upsets the parents. Toss in Amy's new relation to reclusive neighbor Julia Farren (Julia Dean). Julia has problems of her own relating to her daughter. The story just gets complex from there.

The question is, is it dangerous to fantasize that much and what will become of the characters in the end.
-------------------------------------------
"I Walked with a Zombie"
A classic Val Lewton production

We are treated to exotic titles and expectations with titles such as "I walked With a Zombie." My only encounters with Zombies are those that process in an UNIX operating system that can not be killed. I also watched "Weekend at Bernie's II."

As with other Lewton productions he got a way with a psychological thriller in the guise of a monster movie. In the days of sailing ships a nurse (Frances Dee) is employed to go to San Sebastian to look after a plantation owner's wife (Christine Gordon.) She fined that her charge is more than just a victim of a disease that heft her without will. Turns out if you cut the wife she does not bleed. We all know what that means.

The true story is the relationship to man and wife, man and nurse, nurse and wife, brother and brother, brother and wife, need I say more? Could it mean that there is nothing supernatural or is love moving in mysterious natural.

Can this all be straightened out or is Jessica Holland the wife destined to be zomiated for ever and the nurse must learn to love from afar?

Yeah Lord pity them who are dead and give peace and happiness to the living.
--------------------------------------
"The Body Snatcher"
Based on a short story by Robert Louis Stevenson

"It is through error that a man tries and rises. It is through tragedy he learns. All the roads of learning begin in darkness and go out into the light." Hippocrates of Gos

This film has the psychological complexity of a Val Lewton production but is a lot more graphic than most of his productions where he just implies violence. He even takes it out on innocent dogs. I feel that some one was pushing Lewton from behind to be more vicious with this film.

A young student (Russell Wade) wants to become a doctor like the great Dr. Wolfe 'Toddy' MacFarlane (Henry Daniell.) Little does he know what it will entail?

The DVD has a voiceover commentary from the late Director Robert Wise who directed "West Side Story" and "The Sound of Music." Surprisingly he said that the original basic script was written by Philip MacDonald.
--------------------------------------
"Isle of the Dead"
"There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio,

than are dreamt of in your philosophy."
WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE / Hamlet Act 1. Scene V abt. 1601

`Under conquest and oppression the people of Greece allowed their legends to degenerate into superstition; the Goddess Aphrodite giving way to the `Vorvolaka.' This nightmare figure was very much alive in the mines of the peasants when Greece fought the victorious war of 1912."

Gen. Nikolas Pherides (Boris Karloff) is an experienced watcher. That is he must watch over his troops to be sure the do what they are supposed to and survive to win the day.

Finding some time take a war correspondent (Marc Cramer) to visit the grave yard island where his wife is buried. There he meats a strange collection of people and an unseen enemy that is much deadlier than any bullet. Will he be able to fight it logically and scientifically? Or will his cultural fears lead him to see the truth?

Once again we see that Boris Karloff can act and that Val Lewton can take a scary title and turn it from a cheap horror movie into a classic Psychological Thriller.
---------------------------------------------------
"Bedlam"
Story suggested by The William Hogarth painting Bedlam plate 8 "The Rake's Progress

Once again Val Lewton takes what would have been a second rate horror story and turns it into a sit on the edge of your seat psychological thriller. The basic question of the story is the same as the one in his movie "Ghost Ship"; that is, is man fundamentally good and helpful of others or is he so self centered that he will act even to his own ultimate demise? An added element is that of not quite being granted all mental faculties.

The year is 1791 Lord Mortimer (Billy House) is just one of the upper class (Wiggs) that gets his kicks from watching the loonies of Bedlam loon. His protégé (Anna Lee) is discussed at the treatment of the "guests" by the head apothecary, Master George Sims (Boris Karloff who can actually act). She attempts to correct this to the detriment of Lord Mortimer. So Lord Mortimer and Sims invite her as a guest to Bedlam.

Will she ever get out or just go crazy. While there she applies a theory supplied by a Quaker (Richard Fraser), one of the Society of Friends if this works the tables may turn on Sims. What can Sims say in his defense?
------------------------------------
"The Leopard Man"
All or our lives are like the ball bouncing at the top of the fountain

Rival entertainers meet in a club in New Mexico Kiki Walker (Jean Brooks) brings in a leopard to upstage Clo-Clo (Margo). But Clo-Clo gets the last laugh when she chases the leopard off with her castanets.

All is fun rivalry until people start dying. Naturally the local authorities think it is the leopard. But Jerry Manning (Dennis O'Keefe) who rented the leopard has a theory that this is the work of a demented person. This theory is sort of supported by Dr. Galbraith (James Bell) the local museum curator. To make matters worse the leopard's owner, Charlie How-Come (Abner Biberman) does not remember where he was at the time.

As with the cat people it is what you don't see that can harm you. And the simile turning of a card can mark you for death.

You may recognize Dynamite the leopard that was also used in the movie "Cat People".

Produced by Val Lewton (7 May 1904, Yalta, Crimea, Russian Empire (now Ukraine) ) whose story telling device is unique in that this is more of a psychological film that does not focus on any one person as they are all pawns in a much larger story. Some time it verges on the surreal.

Now that you have seen the film read the book "Black Alibi" by Cornell Woolrich.
----------------------------------
"The Ghost Ship"
A new third mate on his first long sea voyage in introduced to captain and crew. Before he steps on bard he is warned by a blond man. He runs into a mute. And before they even leave port Jensen is found dead, just a heat attack. "With his death the waters of the sea are open to us. But there will be other deaths and the agony of dieing."

Don't go looking for anything supernatural as this is a Val Lewton movie. I would pay close attention to the characters. One of them may be a bit unhinged. The big question in this story is man's nature to help or ignore their fellow man.
--------------------------------------
"Shadows in the Dark"
This is more of a Val Lewton biography with more emphasis on his producer years.

The Val Lewton Horror Collection.......2007-06-25

While the plots alone are enough to distinguish Lewton's brand of horror from other practitioners--a mysterious Serbian beauty might or might not have the ability to transform herself into a panther in "Cat People," a death-haunted New York woman is pursued by a cabal of satanists in "The Seventh Victim"--these films are also masterpieces of noir atmospherics. Karloff, an intellectual bored by ghoulish makeup, emerged from semi-retirement to make three pictures with Lewton: "Bedlam," "The Body Snatcher," and "The Isle of the Dead," with Bela Lugosi. It was a fruitful relationship. And this omnibus collection amply demonstrates Lewton's pulpy, lurid genius.

Quintessential Lewton..........2006-10-31

I've read the other reviews, and agree with most. Still, my favorite is "Curse of the Cat People". I've always been fascinated by (good) films that see life through the eyes of a child.Next to "To Kill a Mockingbird", I can't think of another film that brought me back to those simple, sweet times that adults just didn't get! (Except for Atticus, of course). I was also annoyed that the collection was in a tall box that would never fit on my shelf; I hate to separate them to fit on my shelf, alphabetically. Lewton had that wonderful idea, realized by Tourneur, with the glorious black & white photography, crisp and clear as a bell, and much appreciated by those of us who love outstanding film-making. I enjoy this collection a lot, but wish I could put it on the shelf with my other "collections", in a nice box.

Elegant horror.......2006-10-30

Steven Spielberg and Brian DePalma should be locked in a closet with a projection screen and forced to watch these films repeatedly until they swear an oath to imitate them. Made on what Tom Cruises' cleaning bill for one day's shoot would be adjusted for 1940 dollars, and infinitely superior to anything they have done. "Curse of the Cat People" and "The Seventh Victim" are largely unknown but the best and most subtle of these works. Less is more, I only wish there were more of them.

Note recycled Lewton props........2006-08-31

Val Lewton's productions have long been treasured by cinematic aestheticians. This accrues not only from his singularly intelligent treatment and subtle presentation of macabre themes, but from his recurring Lewton "stock company" of players. How we Lewton devotees savor the return of Jane Randolph, Jean Brooks, Isabel Jewell, Russell Wade, Sir Lancelot, Tom Conway, Ottola Nesmith ! etc. etc.

Less noted perhaps, are the recurring props to be spotted in Lewton films. Thus, Ottola Nesmith's tufted Victorian sofa from "The Leopard Man," later becomes the property of Miss Julia Dean in "Curse of the Cat People." Likewise, Miss Nesmith's daughter in the same film, ("Teresa") sleeps in the same curly maple bed destined to later belong to little Ann Carter in "Curse...".

Many other Lewton props follow this same recycling pattern, i.e., Kim Hunter in "Seventh Victim," turns up in that film's cocktail party sequence sporting Jane Randolph's fur trimmed topcoat from "Cat People"; the exterior double doors to Simone Simon's "Cat People" brownstone apartment building do double duty as the entrance to a hotel in "Seventh Victim," as well as serving as portals to the museum in "Leopard Man."

These delightful economies, however, may have more to do with RKO than Mr. Lewton, since Julia Dean's Victorian chairs may also be spotted in the non Lewton productions, "Beware My Lovely" and "Experiment Perilous."

Average customer rating:

Judy at her best!
Classic Judy, surprisingly thought-provoking movie
Ink-a-dink-a-dink!
Garland playing herself
Judy deserved Ross Hunter treatment but didn't get it.

I Could Go On Singing
Starring: Judy Garland , Dirk Bogarde , Jack Klugman , Aline MacMahon , and Gregory Phillips
Director: Ronald Neame
Manufacturer: MGM (Video & DVD)
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Drama | Genres | DVD | Video

General | Musicals & Performing Arts | Genres | DVD | Video

Drama | Kids & Family | Genres | DVD | Video

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

All Deals | Today's Deals in DVD | Spe